Adolf Hitler and Donald Trump Similarities

And the similarities don't stop there. Hitler and Trump have a lot more in common.

The context in which Adolf Hitler was elected is that he was first nominated and appointed as chancellor during a period in which multiple political parties were vying for power and there were successive minority governments and coalition governments.

At the time Hitler couldn't secure a majority because of a lot of the crazy/funny things he said. He was considered by many Germans to be a joke candidate, so far to the right wing that over half the population didn't even take him seriously.

In February 1933 the Reichstag building was set on fire (some say it was deliberately set by the Nazis, who claim it was set on fire by the communists). Whatever the cause, it led to a new election in March 1933.

After the fire suddenly the German people took Hitler more seriously. And it showed in the voting records.

Hitler and the NSDAP won 43.9% of the vote during the March 6th 1933 election, not enough for a majority, but enough that he was the clear victor.

Following the victory Hitler was given the power to create new laws for 4 years without needing the permission of the Reichstag. This unprecedented move allowed Hitler to have control over the government without having a majority.

Afterwards Hitler moved quickly to use police and military forces to secure his control over power, and to use new laws to slowly eradicate any opposition to his leadership. By August 1934 he became Fuhrer for life.

Now consider Donald Trump. He hasn't exactly won the Republican nomination. But he won enough that his political opponents eventually quit and Trump (original German name is Drumpf) became the de facto nomination of the Republican Party.

Trump didn't get a majority of party votes, although he did manage to get a majority of delegate votes (there is a difference). During polling of Republican voters Trump never got above 30% of the Republican vote. But he managed to get 1053 delegates of the 2473 delegates available before his opponents dropped out of the race.

As such Donald Trump doesn't even have the support of his own political party, let alone the support of the American people. Even his own political opponents within the Republican Party openly mock him.



Which brings me to my point, neither Hitler or Trump were taken seriously when they were nominated to take power.

Once he had power, Hitler never let go. He seized it, secured his power base, began waves of propaganda techniques to boost his popularity, he passed discriminatory laws to persecute the Jews (which ultimately led to the Holocaust, war crimes and genocide), he rounded up disabled people and had them surgically sterilized, and he gave the police unprecedented power to enforce Hitler's rule of law.

Trump in comparison has promised to ban Muslims from entering the USA, to deport Muslims, to pass discriminatory laws against immigrants (especially Mexicans, although anyone "brown" will do), and he has promised to give police more power and more guns (essentially rubber stamping the idea that "black lives don't matter").

Trump has not promised to sterilize disabled people, but he has openly made fun of a disabled person.

Okay, so here is the thing.

We need to take Donald Trump seriously.

Even though he is an idiot. An arrogant, entitled, moronic buffoon. We still need to take him seriously.

The President of the United States has access to nuclear weapons, and when asked about how he would deal with problems in the Middle East he responded by saying that nuclear weapons are on the table. This implies he intends to use them if the option is presented to him.





So really we are looking at a Hilter-esque presidential candidate, who if elected will have access to nuclear weapons... and he has implied that he would use nuclear weapons and risk nuclear war.

Now you might think "Oh Trump doesn't have a chance of winning."

Except that is what the Germans were thinking of Hitler in 1933. It didn't work out too well for Germany, their country was laid to waste 11 years later.

Interesting notes...

USA Voter Turnout in 2012: 54.9%

USA Voter Turnout in 2008: 57.1%

USA Voter Turnout in 2004: 55.7%

USA Voter Turnout in 2000: 50.3%

USA Voter Turnout in 1996: 49.0%

During the 2000 presidential election George W. Bush was elected with 47.9% of the people who voted... but only 50.3% of eligible Americans voted due to very low voter turnout. That means only 24.09% of Americans voted for Bush.

Meanwhile Al Gore got 48.4% of the votes (24.3% of the total eligible voters), but still lost because Jeb Bush and his cronies rigged the polling stations in Florida.

Voter turnout in Germany, March 6th 1933: 88.74%. The NSDAP got 43.91% of the votes. This means only 38.97% of Germans voted for Hitler.

History has shown that horrible leaders can be elected with just a small percentage of votes. If it happened to Hitler and Bush, it could happen to Trump.

Republican Values

Herr Trump and the Last Hurrah of White America

The United States of America is leaning dangerously towards the right wing as Donald Trump leads the Republican nomination for the presidency on a platform of ultra-right racism, fiscal irresponsibility and vague promises to "make America great again" - which is reusing Ronald Reagan's campaign slogan of "make America great".

Americans should be advised of the following things:

Donald Trump bankrupted multiple businesses, including a casino. How fiscally bad do you have to be to bankrupt a casino?

Donald Trump was born into wealth. He didn't become wealthy using business acumen, he is the result of his family's previous wealth and his own skill at swindling people out of their money - hence numerous lawsuits and allegations of fraud.

Donald Trump has been accused of defrauding Americans many times, but never convicted. That means he isn't just good at defrauding people, he is very good at getting away with it.

Donald Trump will say anything to win - including bashing Mexicans and Muslims in an effort to prop himself up with racist voters. Hey, it worked for Hitler, why not for Trump?

History shows us that Trump is a devout capitalist, interested only in himself and making himself richer. He has zero interest in helping the American people. Much more likely he will bankrupt the USA and sell much of it to China. Or Saudi Arabia.

Many of Trump's biggest financial supporters are from Saudi Arabia - just like the Bush family and Ronald Reagan. This sets an almost foregone conclusion that Trump actually has a chance to win the presidency. If the same people who backed the Bush family and Ronald Reagan into the White House could get those idiots into power, they could certainly get Trump into power too.

Which is bizarre when you consider the people who are supporting Trump in the USA - people who evidently don't know Trump is both proposing banning Muslims but is also receiving huge campaign donations from Muslims - are mostly white and mostly male, and uneducated.

So uneducated it even spawned a fake internet quote.

Fake or not, it doesn't matter. It raises a very valid point about the average intelligence of Republican voters in the USA. They're not just uneducated and stupid, they're downright ridiculously stupid.

And Donald Trump, a self professed genius, is playing right to the heart of Republican voters. He isn't talking about economics (or when he does, he basically just brags about the fact he is a billionaire) or the US national debt, slumping quality of education, household debt, poverty in America, the quality of health care in America or anything worth actually talking about, and instead he refocuses attention on how much he would bomb Muslims, how he would ban Muslims from the USA, promote hatred of Mexicans, force Mexico to build a wall across the border (there is already a fence, what more does he want?), and basically make meaningless platitudes and BS his way through debates.

And Republicans, those who can't even platitudes or know what the word means, eat it up like it is sugar-covered-sh*t and then think it is chocolate.

If elected - and it is looking more and more possible - Donald Trump will be the biggest loser in American politics. The most laughed at. The most powerless. The lamest of lamest ducks.

Why?

Because even Republicans, dumb as they are, will eventually realized when they have been swindled.

For fun have a look at George W. Bush's approval rating during his time in office. He left office with an approval rating of 33%, the lowest approval rating of any president in the history of the USA. Donald Trump can do one better. He can get an approval rating in the 20s or lower.

Now in the title you may have noticed we added the bit "the Last Hurrah of White America".

We chose this title because racism is fighting a losing battle in the USA. It is a matter of demographics and population growth. White people are currently in the majority in the USA, but during the next 45 years white people will lose that position of dominance and start the process of becoming a minority.

There are two main racial groups in the USA that are growing rapidly: Hispanics (not just from Mexico, but also Central and South America) and people who are mixed race - which is one of the reasons why the percentage of African Americans is not expected to increase, due to mixed race marriages/children - a phenomenon that is rapidly growing in the USA.

At present the best estimate is that white Americans will officially become a minority by 2044.

And let us be honest about this. The idea that white people (some of which are descended from former slave owners) might become a minority in a country that was once dominated by a hundred million Cherokee, Sioux and other "Amerindians" before white people showed up and started a mass genocide that wiped much of their culture away... Well that just freaks the hell out of white Republicans.

To them they think that they might see a return of slavery, but it would be white people who are the slaves. Or that the other races will band together to kill all the white people, just like white people did to Indigenous Americans (aka "Amerindians"). Utter nonsense, but that is what some white people think will happen.

So Donald Trump represents to white Republicans a sense of "hope" for the future, to help white people stave off the hordes of scary Mexicans and Muslims and other "brown people" that white Americans find so scary.

Ultimately the USA was a country born amidst racist genocide, endured over a century of racist slavery, struggled for over a century with racial divides of wealth, income, social status - and continues to struggle even now, despite electing a black president.

Racism is alive and well in the USA, and it is showing its ugly head in the form of Donald Trump.

DONALD TRUMP

MAKE AMERICA WHITE AGAIN

Stephen Harper beat by Justin Trudeau

Conservatives across Canada are still stinging from the beating they got from "not ready" Justin Trudeau, leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and now Canada's 23rd Prime Minister.

So what now?

Well, for starters Trudeau is planning to deliberately run 3 deficits for 3 years in order to boost the Canadian economy.

This actually is the right course of action right now, as Canada has entered a "post oil collapse recession".

Stephen Harper (aka, Harper the Horrible, the former prime minister) basically put all of his eggs in the same basket - the Alberta oil industry. Harper basically bet everything on oil, the price of oil continuing to go up, and continued demand for oil from Canada's closest neighbour, the USA. However since then the price of oil has collapsed so instead Harper has been trying to ensure Canada's future by trying to build an oil pipeline to the USA, hoping that cheaper transportation of oil will keep his buddies in Alberta happy.

However the USA isn't buying the Keystone oil pipeline idea. Obama killed it with a veto, and Americans in general weren't happy about an ecological disaster either.

So Stephen Harper's plans for oil and riches were not going to pan out anyway.

Remember the old adage, don't put all your eggs in one basket? The idea is that you don't put all the eggs in one basket, because if you lose or drop the basket, you don't lose or break all the eggs. Well Stephen Harper did that. Invested everything in oil futures and then his dreams of oil pouring into the USA and money pouring into Canada were a complete waste.

Trudeau's plan calls for something much more stable and diversified. He is going to invest in manufacturing jobs. Building things. Airplanes. Cars. Roads. Construction. New homes. By focusing his attention on boosting the economy for Canada's beleaguered manufacturing sector he will be creating jobs in a sector that has been hard hit by NAFTA and trade deals with Asia, where products can be made for a fraction of the cost.

Boosting manufacturing in Canada means more Canadians buying products MADE IN CANADA and less reliance on products made overseas. It also means Canada will be shipping more products overseas and to the USA / Mexico, our NAFTA trading partners.

Manufacturing jobs are the backbone of a strong economy. Basing an economy on oil and mining sounds great if you are rich and own the oil fields or the gold mine, but it is manufacturing jobs that helps the middle class of Canada.

And that is really the reason why Trudeau won the election on Monday. The middle class of Canada has been neglected by Stephen Harper and are suffering. They voted Trudeau in because he is going to boost the economy for the benefit of the middle class - and impoverished Canadians will benefit too, many of them will make the jump from being "poor" to "middle class" as more manufacturing jobs are added to Canada's economy.

It isn't rocket science. It is economics 101. Stephen Harper evidently failed that course. See Stephen Harper has the worst economic record in 70 years.

Below, Trudeau tosses Stephen Harper in the trash.

Canadian Liberals win landslide Majority

9 days ago, after studying the polls and population distribution of ridings, we predicted a Liberal majority government. 170 out of 338 seats were needed to form a majority. We predicted the Liberals would win a narrow majority with 172.

2015 Election Predictions
Liberals 172
Conservatives 101
NDP 60,
Bloc 4
Green 1

2015 Election Results
Liberals 184
Conservatives 99
NDP 44
Bloc 10
Green 1

So. We were right in our prediction of a Liberal majority, but like many predictions our's was slightly off on the final numbers. The Liberals ended up winning 12 more seats than our predictions - ending with a strong majority of 184.

The Conservatives won 2 less seats than our predictions, the NDP a whopping 16 seats less, and the Bloc 6 more seats than we thought possible. And the Green Party was spot on.

The accuracy of our prediction was due to the high polling numbers we saw in Atlantic Canada, Ontario and other parts of the country. We correctly predicted the Liberals would sweep Atlantic Canada - we didn't expect all 32 out of 32 seats for the Liberals, but hey, a sweep is a sweep. We also predicted the Liberals would do well in Ontario and Quebec, especially in Toronto and Montreal. Lastly we predicted the Liberals would win an assortment of extra seats in the Prairies and B.C., just enough to boost the party into a majority.

We were wrong however. The Liberals did way better than we predicted, sweeping whole regions and strong showings in other regions. Total % of the popular vote was 39.5% across the country.

In other news we have a message for the horrible former Prime Minister Stephen Harper (aka, Harper the Horrible). It goes like this:

Na na na na
Na na na na
Hey hey hey
Goodbye!

Who would you vote for? Game of Thrones in Canada

Liberal Majority Government Predicted in Canada

Its official. Lilith News is predicting a Liberal Majority government in Canada in the upcoming election. We are basing this prediction on the direction polls are showing Canadians are planning to vote nationally and population distribution of those votes.

2015 Election Predictions
Liberals 172
Conservatives 101
NDP 60
Bloc 4
Green 1

The NDP and Liberals will duke it out in British Columbia and the Territories, where the Liberals will take about 60% of the seats.

The Conservatives grip on the Prairie Provinces is weakening, with the Liberals taking only a few seats in that region - but a larger number than recent previous elections.

In Ontario and the Atlantic Provinces the Liberals will get approx. 70% of the seats, most of what they need to form a government. This will guarantee they form at least a minority government, but will allow a majority if the current polling holds true.

The NDP will take 60% of the seats in Quebec, with the Liberals taking only 20%. The Bloc will take most of the remaining seats.

So. The question now is whether this poll-based prediction of population distribution of votes will hold to be accurate.

Note - This does not mean you should not vote in the upcoming election. Go out there and vote early. Get it done. Vote strategically if you really don't mind a NDP or Liberal MP, and really just want Stephen Harper gone.

Separate polls show that approx. 80% of Canadians hate Stephen Harper and want him booted from the PMO. (Not the exact words of the poll, but anyways.) Hence the "Anybody But Harper" slogans and similar concepts geared towards getting Canadians mobilized to get rid of this "corrupt dictator" who has been behind scandal after scandal for over 10 years.

It is time for him to go.

2015 Canadian General Election Anthem: Harperman

This is officially the anthem of the 2015 Canadian general election. "Harperman" was created by Canadian singer / songwriter / scientist Tony Turner.


Remember a vote for the Liberals or the NDP are both good, but you may want to vote strategically in your riding if you want to make sure Stephen Harper is kicked out of office.

The good news is Stephen Harper keeps falling in the polls.

Bob Barker fails to convince Ontario to ban the Spring bear hunt

Bob Barker (TV host from The Price is Right) has tried and failed to convince the Ontario government not to bring back the Spring bear hunt, which the province cancelled in 1999 during declining bear numbers.

But now the bears are back and they're becoming a nuisance.

It costs the province time and money to hire game wardens to shoot and kill nuisance bears that are threatening the human population and thus Fall and Spring bear hunts allows Ontario hunters to kill bears and keep the bear population at a manageable level.

It is normally rare for black bears to attack humans (80% of bear attacks in North America are from grizzlies), but since bears fight for territory and when the population of bears explodes they end up encroaching on towns and city suburbs more - wandering in to find food in the same manner that raccoons do.

In the past the city has made new laws and spent $35-million on alternative approaches to nuisance bears, encouraging people to avoid leaving food or garbage in places where bears can get at it, but such approaches have had no success in lowering bear attacks on humans.

Currently northern Ontario has a bear hunting season that runs from mid-August into October, but with rising bear numbers and increasing bear attacks on humans it is clear that the bear population needs to be culled.

Fatal bear attacks in Ontario have been on the rise since the 1980s due to the careful balance between human populations and fluctuating bear populations.

Since the Spring bear hunt was cancelled in 1999 the black bear population in Northern Ontario has grown so numerous that the bears are now migrating south into more populated regions - and bear attacks have risen significantly because of this.

Bringing back the Spring bear hunt will allow hunters to kill more bears preemptively - which will ultimately save the province time and money by not having to send police officers or game wardens to deal with problem bears - and it will save human lives. It was really only a matter of time before the Spring bear hunt had to be brought back to safeguard territorial bears from traveling too far south.

But saving human lives is not enough for vegetarians and animal rights groups like PETA who want all hunting abolished (which would cost the province millions by having to hire people full time to kill nuisance bears on a constant basis). PETA is promoting the abolition of hunting (not just bears, but all animals), and also eliminating the farming of livestock (cows, chickens, pigs, etc)... as such their views are considered to be very controversial since most people in North America enjoy bacon and eggs on a regular basis.

"I feel deep concern about any animal mistreatment any place in the world, and this is in one of my favourite places, Canada, and I want to try to do something about it to protect these bear cubs," says Bob Barker in an interview from his home in Hollywood, California.

Barker says it is "barbaric" to let bear cubs starve to death after their mothers are lured from the den by bait and then killed by bear hunters. "You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to realize you’re murdering every cub," says Bob Barker. "I urge every Canadian who knows anything about this to step up to the plate and take a swing for the cubs."

But what Barker fails to understand is that hunting in Ontario is governed by hunting tags - which are released for males and females of the species - and stiff fines for killing the wrong type of bear. This means the government can release X amount of male bear tags and X amount of female bear tags. And while sometimes a female might be killed instead of a male (for whatever reason), it allows the ministry to more accurately control the culling of bears.

And while that is true that bear cubs will starve during the Spring bear hunt, it is also true that reducing the population of bear cubs will sharply reduce bear populations in a hurry. Thus Ontario may only need 1 or 2 years of Spring bear hunts before the bear population has reached more manageable levels.

The good news is that most hunters also eat their kills - including bears, which tastes very gamey but is very high in protein. Ethical hunters believe in always eating their kills and feel very strongly about it.

There is even a huge variety of black bear cooking videos on YouTube. Like the two videos below:






Ontario Natural Resources Minister David Orazietti has disputed Bob Barker’s claims about cubs being left to starve to death during a spring bear hunt. "I have a ton of respect for Mr. Bob Barker, but I’m not sure where he’s getting his facts on this issue, and that’s not in fact the case at all," he said.

As mentioned above, the ministry releases way more hunting tags for male bears than for females. Furthermore the new Spring bear hunt will be limited to only 8 of 95 wildlife areas this Spring in a pilot project to see if the province can curb bear populations in regions that are closest to civilization - and therefore reducing the number of emergency calls and instances where police are forced to shoot nuisance bears.

"I’m not sure if Mr. Barker is aware that eight other provinces in Canada and all territories have full province-wide or territory-wide spring bear hunts," says Orazietti. "This is a much smaller, targeted approach to deal with really what’s become a public safety issue."

Furthermore the Ontario bear hunt will be non-profit and limited to local hunters only. That means no trophy hunters coming in from the USA or overseas to hunt bears. It will be limited only to local bear hunters.

Barker called the Spring bear hunt "unethical" and "legislated cruelty" and said it doesn’t matter that Ontario is trying only a small scale pilot project. To him all hunting is wrong and unethical.

"Whether it’s an experiment or it’s going to last for 30 years, it is just totally unacceptable in today’s society," he said. "I just can’t understand how they can possibly do this."

Could it be because it is the most effective way of curbing the bear population?

That is line of thought being promoted by the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters, which has urged the public to make sure "big city animal rights extremists" don’t derail the pilot project for a Spring bear hunt.

"While the partial reinstatement of a hunt is a positive step, we believe that all of bear country deserves to experience the benefits of a spring hunt," says the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters in a statement.

Hunting is also a tricky activity to get into. It is usually passed from father to son (most hunters are male, despite what you might see on the Hunger Games). To become a hunter in Ontario you must first complete the Ontario Hunter Education Course plus get either your H1 (firearms) or H2 (bowhunting) Outdoors Card, plus enter a lottery to get hunting tags (of which there is a limited number and randomly distributed). As such hunting is an activity that in recent decades has been on the decline as the population shifts to a more urban society.

Last year a black bear wandered into a Northern Ontario town on Halloween, a night when small children were walking around with bags full of candy. Fortunately police responded before anyone was injured or killed.

"We’ve had over 50 resolutions from municipalities wanting to opt in to this pilot program, and that certainly speaks to the sense of urgency that communities have in northern Ontario in terms of dealing with this," says Orazietti.

"We have young kids in schools who can’t go out for recess because bears are in their playground," he said. "Teachers are wearing bear whistles to call the students back into the safety of the school."

Such unsafe conditions has parents up in arms, demanding that the province deal with the nuisance bears.

A Spring bear hunt to cull the number of bears is the logical solution.

If the number of nuisance bear reports drops dramatically in those 8 regions it will be a sign that the Spring bear hunt is working.

"I think the most important thing we need to do now is to ensure that the proposed pilot project has the desired effect, including a reduced number of 911 calls," says Orazietti.

Russia loses the Olympics

Russia has lost the Olympics.

Why?

Let us count the ways.

#1. Russia lost a key hockey game against Finland and won't even get a single men's medal in hockey. By Russian standards if you don't get gold in men's hockey then you LOSE THE OLYMPICS. That is Russia's own measurement of success.

#2. Pussy Riot has embarrassed the Russian government by pointing out Russia's many human rights violations. (And to make matters worse the Russians sent cossacks to attack Pussy Riot in the street, and it was all caught on video.)

#3. The Russian gay community has embarrassed the Russian government due to Russia's crackdown against gay rights.

#4. Toilets. Apparently Russians don't know how to install a toilet in many of the unfinished hotels built in Sochi.

#5. Russia hasn't been winning as many medals as they want to. They aren't even in the top 3.

#6. Terrorist threats that never materialized has scared away many of the would-be tourists. The Sochi Olympics is a financial boondoggle.

#7. Russian construction companies owned by the Russian mafia pocketed a lot of the money that was to be used for building hotels/etc. As a result this financial boondoggle has embarrassed Vladimir Putin with the lack of financial oversight.

#8. A French newspaper accused the Russian and American judges on colluding together to keep other countries out of the gold and silver couples figure skating competition. The allegation was not proven, but it had a ring of truth to it.

#9. Political unrest in Ukraine is overshadowing the Olympics. The unrest is due to Russis trying to put economic pressure on Ukraine to not form stronger ties countries in the European Union.

Conclusions

The 2014 Sochi Olympics has shone a bright light on Russia's government corruption and Vladimir Putin's despotism.

Oh and Russians apparently suck at hockey.

Harper government asks for help rewriting Canada's prostitution laws

The Harper government wants to hear from the Canadian public about how to rewrite the nation's prostitution laws that were struck down by the Supreme Court late last year - why? Because they don't know how to write a new law to replace the old laws which were struck down, a new law which would not violate the Canadian Charter of Rights and not be struck down immediately for violating the charter.

In a December 20th 2013 ruling, the high court unanimously struck down laws against street soliciting, living on the avails of prostitution and keeping a brothel.

Since then the Harper government has been searching for a solution that will make his government look good on paper, but won't violate civil rights.

So instead they are turning to the Canadian public for their ideas and holding a month-long, online consultation period on the Justice Canada website. The consultation began yesterday (Monday February the 17th) and runs to March 17th 2014 (St Patrick's Day).

What is funny is the percentage of male Conservative MPs in the Harper government who regularly use prostitutes as sexual aides, both when they are on the road and lonely, and also when they are closer to home and having marital problems.

In other words we are talking about the kind of people who cheat on their spouses, but because they are politicians and don't want to have any messy affair they use prostitutes because they are more discreet. (It is a well known fact politicians use prostitutes more than the average person.)

A 1998 poll suggested 7% of Canadian men have paid for sex at least once in their life. The % for male politicians is unknown, but we know it is significantly higher - likely around 25% - because politicians value discreetness.

But at the same time, because it is the Harper government, they have to at least pretend that they are against prostitution even though they and many of their colleagues use prostitutes regularly. It is all about optics and what the public sees.

“Our government is concerned about the significant harms that flow from prostitution to communities, those engaged in prostitution and other vulnerable persons,” said Justice Minister Peter MacKay in a release.

Oh really? What harms would that be? Husbands that stray from the marriage bed would still stray from the marriage bed even if they could not find a prostitute. They would find a mistress, a servant, a willing woman of somekind - and that would cause more messy affairs in the media.

If MacKay is referring to STDs we should remind him that prostitutes are more paranoid about STDs than any other profession. They are not taking risks in that respect.

Or maybe MacKay is referring to the "moral decay of society" by the mere presence of prostitutes? (As if they are to blame for society's woes, as opposed to being a product of those woes.)

"Doing nothing is not an option," says MacKay. "We are therefore asking Canadians right across the country to provide their input through an online consultation to ensure a legislative response to prostitution that reflects our country’s values."

So here is a solution for Peter MacKay.

TEACH FEMINISM + GENDER STUDIES IN HIGH SCHOOLS.

Don't bother with trying to eradicate prostitution, governments have been trying to do that for millenia with absolutely no success.

But if you teach feminism + gender studies in high schools, make it part of the curriculum, then you will be raising young women who see themselves as more valuable to society than a $300 per hour mistress for wealthy men.

But lets face it, asking the Conservative government to promote feminism is like asking a Republican to promote gay rights. It just isn't going to happen.

Another solution would be to make Johns (the men who go to prostitutes) illegal (as opposed to solicitation, which is still illegal). But that would probably get half the Conservative Party arrested in police sting operations, along with many of their big donors.

Prostitution is a whole big can of worms. It has religious issues, feminist issues, legal issues, public health issues, civil rights issues, economic issues. The government is not going to solve this with any quick fix.

Long term promotion of feminism in schools, designed to bolster the self-esteems of young women, would over time eventually eradicate much of domestic prostitution - which leads us to the problem of imports, women who are brought into Canada for the sole purpose of working in Canada's sex trade in Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, Ottawa, Toronto and Montreal. Calgary and Edmonton are apparently the two biggest importers of sex workers, because of all the oil company executives there who want exotic women.

Canadian Institute of Diversity and Inclusion releases video on Gays in Sochi

The Canadian Institute of Diversity and Inclusion has released a video promoting LGBT rights with respect to Olympic athletes, a public condemnation of Russia's anti gay laws.

Gay and lesbian rights have become centre stage at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics - largely because of Russia's new draconian communist era laws which have brought gay bashing back to the forefront of Russian politics.

Russia's new laws include:

1. Prohibiting pro gay demonstrations in the streets, such as gay pride parades, public protests, etc.

2. Anyone who shares / publicly promotes "homosexual propaganda" will suffer a fine of roughly $17,000 USD - which is so loosely written it includes men or women kissing in public.

3. Promoting "homosexual propaganda" in any manner which could be seen by children. (Because according to Putin, children might become gay if they see, hear or read anything removely gay.)

The video by the Canadian Institute of Diversity and Inclusion is making waves across Canadian and international media, making it clear that while Russian President Vladimir Putin is willing to take Russia back into the dark ages by limiting freedom of speech, freedom of expression and even the freedom to love.

Rob Ford's proposed budget cuts unrealistic and voted down

For the last month Rob Ford has been boasting that he had found at least $50 million in waste in the city budget, but in the end they were deemed too ridiculous and unrealistic. Instead only $726,000 worth of cuts went through council yesterday.

Ford's 18 motions for Toronto's 2014 Budget included:

- eliminating $7 million to plant 97,000 trees - trees that clean up Toronto's air quality, reduce smog, beautify the city, and indirectly boost tourism to Toronto. (Because nobody wants to visit a smoggy city.)

 - $2.5 million in savings by charging $14 for to register for the Welcome Policy, which subsidizes recreation programs for low income families. (Apparently Rob Ford doesn't understand the concept of "low income" families.)

- reversing $600,000 in increases to the student nutrition program. (Something parents of school age children campaigned for in the first place.)

- eliminating security guards at libraries to save $1.6 million. (Because book theft costs the Toronto Library even more to replace stolen books, to say nothing of keeping crime out of the city's libraries.)

- reversing a $390,000 increase to community grant. (Grants that help a variety of special needs.)

- axing council's $3.1-million general expense fund and its $60,000 travel budget, and cutting each councillor's staff salary budget by about 10 per cent. (Ha, like they would ever do that. Why doesn't the mayor axe his own salary first if he wants to halt the gravy train?)

The only two motions that had any impact on the 2014 budget: eliminating the city's employment engagement survey for savings of $250,000, and scrapping two city newsletters worth $476,000.

Total savings = $726,000.

This is Rob Ford's problem when it comes to budget cuts - he doesn't seem to understand that city services are designed to HELP people. Where he sees "gravy" everyone else sees things that are beneficial and needed. eg. If Rob Ford was in charge of an apartment building he would cut off the heat and the hot water, cutback on maintenance to a bare minimum, and fire all the security guards / cleaning / gardening staff, because he would see those things as unnecessary. This is not the kind of guy you want running a city.

Ford's two other successful motions were to request reports on finding $19.1 million in corporate sponsorships for the Pan Am Games and accelerating an effort to streamline city services (which Ford thinks will save $15 million, but might only save $1 or $2 million - or nothing).

Neither of the two reports guarantees any additional money for the city.

The end result was a $9.6-billion budget which passed by a count of 35 to 9, with the mayor and his brother Councillor Doug Ford voting against. After the vote, Rob Ford called it "the worst budget that has ever been presented."

Well who's fault is that? We have a mayor who doesn't seem to comprehend the concept that city services are often necessary - including the ones that protect people, increase tourism and help Toronto's less fortunate.

In the past Rob Ford has made wild claims that his budgets have saved the city "a billion dollars" but there is no actual proof of that when you look at his budgets.

Not even close.

In the past Toronto mayors have always campaigned and wooed councillors to get through the budget cuts or increases a mayor is hoping to get approved. Rob Ford's response has been to try and bully city councillors, calling them childish names, heckling them, acting like a buffoon, etc - as if bullying people would get them to do what he wants.

Rob Ford is not a bridge builder.

Rob Ford is a wrecking ball.

Barack Obama's State of the Union 2014

The big emphasis this year in Barack Obama's State of the Union address was economics and raising the minimum wage of Americans - effectively giving every American a raise.

New Rob Ford video, Toronto mayor drunk

A new video of crack smoking Toronto mayor Rob Ford has surfaced, this time showing a drunk (and possibly high) Rob Ford talking to some men in a fast food restaurant while speaking in a fake Jamaican accent.

The photo from the right and further below are from the new Rob Ford drunk video.

The video has reignited calls for Rob Ford to resign as mayor and seek rehab for his drug and alcohol addiction.

We must warn you, much of the language used by Rob Ford is considered offensive. The video below is uncensored.

Bill Clinton's Speech in support of Barack Obama

Clint Eastwood hands Barack Obama his re-election

Hollywood legend Clint Eastwood's strange and somewhat senile looking speech with a chair has practically handed Barack Obama his re-election.

The speech even overshadowed Mitt Romney's nomination acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention, according to a new poll.

According to the Pew Research Center poll, 20% of television viewers said the actor's empty chair performance was the highlight of the convention.

However, only 17% of viewers said the presidential nominee's acceptance speech was the highlight, Politico reports.

A tenth of viewers said Ann Romney's address on the convention's first night was a high point, and nine percent said the same for vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan's speech.

According to the report, other speakers all received less than 3% in the poll, while 20% of viewers said the convention had no highlight whatsoever.

The poll also revealed that fewer Americans watched this year's convention than in 2008.

A majority, 61%, said they watched little or none of the convention, compared with 44% four years ago, when 50% of viewers named then-vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin's speech as a convention highlight, and 17% named Arizona Senator John McCain's address.

Coincidentally it was Sarah Palin who hammered the nail in the coffin and practically handed Barack Obama his election... So will history repeat itself? Republican gaffs = Democratic election? We shall see.

In the meantime Clint Eastwood has been a target of paraphrasing, showing what one badly scripted skit can do. During his skit Eastwood basically admitted that the economy's failures was the Bush Administration's fault.

Feminist musicians sent to prison for 2 years

By Suzanne MacNevin

Three women of the feminist punk band Pussy Riot have been convicted of “hooliganism” today for their anti-Putin performance in a Moscow cathedral. The band held a brief guerrilla performance, a "punk prayer" entreating the Virgin Mary to protect Russia from Vladimir Putin, who at the time was on the verge of winning a new term as Russian president.

Judge Marina Syrova sentenced them to two years in prison, a year less than what the prosecution asked for. Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22, Maria Alyokhina, 24, and Yekaterina Samutsevich, 30, said they were protesting against close ties between Putin and the Russian Orthodox church and did not intend to offend believers.

The three musicians stood in silence in a glass courtroom cage as the judge read out the verdict. They lifted their cuffed hands in salute to acknowledge supporters after the sentencing and smiled to each other.

After the judge finished reading the sentence, which took three hours, many Russians in the court room shouted “Shame!”

Officially the three were charged with "hooliganism connected to religious hatred", but they have been very clear their goals had little to do with the church and more to do Vladimir Putin's iron grip on Russia's government - including the judicial system which has become puppets of the Putin regime.

The judge also said that the songs being performed were "blasphemous". The case has attracted international attention as an emblem of Russia’s intolerance of dissent.

The case is not alone either. Many other incidents have been happening in Russia and the government crackdown on free speech is becoming ever stronger. This case comes in the wake of several recently passed laws cracking down on opposition political parties, including one that raised the fine for taking part in an unauthorized demonstrations by 150 times from 2,000 rubles to 300,000 rubles. In dollars the fine used to be roughly $60 but is now about $9,000.

Another extreme measure now requires non-government organizations that both engage in vaguely defined political activity and receive funding from abroad to register as “foreign agents.” That way anyone who defies the government can now be arrested for being a foreign spy and has already admitted on a government document to being a "foreign agent".

So yeah... Russia is going down the drain and freedom of speech is pretty much disappearing if you live there.

Canadian banks ripping off Canadians says 12-year-old girl

Twelve-year-old Victoria Grant from Cambridge Ontario has been giving a rehearsed speech to audiences at conferences about how “the banks and the government have colluded to financially enslave the people of Canada.”

The video has become an overnight Internet sensation after a video of her giving a scathing criticism of Canada’s banking industry went viral.



So basically the Emperor has No Clothes and as usual its a kid who is the first to point it out.

George Clooney arrested for protesting against Sudanese dictator

By Suzanne MacNevin - March 16th 2012.

POLITICS - Actor/philanthropist George Clooney was arrested today outside Sudan’s embassy in Washington for protesting against the Sudanese dictator / mass murderer President Omar al-Bashir.

Omar al-Bashir is currently engaged in ethnic cleansing in South Kordofan in eastern Sudan, in and around the Nuba mountains.

For George Clooney it is basically its the equivalent of protesting against Hitler and then being arrested for it. For the people living in the Nuba mountains it is genocide.

President Barack Obama recently visited the affected region, but the USA has yet to take any diplomatic action on the topic of Sudan's genocide.