I was going through my collection of internet photographs. As a raw amateur myself I’ve become interested in looking for shots that really moved me. Here’s one that haunts. It reveals how we treat the mentally ill today. You feel the despair, the hopelessness, the helplessness that infests this young
Continue readingAuthor: The Mound of Sound
The Disaffected Lib: Would BC Sabotage the Enbridge Pipeline?
It’s widely accepted that British Columbia lacks the authority to stop the Northern Gateway pipeline. The argument goes that the pipeline proposal would be a matter of federal jurisdiction. Maybe, maybe not. British Columbia’s unelected, unelectable and outgoing premier, Christy Clark, says Victoria could kill the pipeline by simply refusing
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Even Forbes Gets It. Why Can’t Steve Harper?
Forbes, yes that Forbes, the business magazine understands the damage that income inequality is exacting on America’s economy. New research indicates that growing income inequality isn’t just unpleasant; it is seriously hurting the U.S. economy. And economists are figuring out just how the damage is done, according to a fascinating
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: A World Gone Mad
The ethical, philosophical and societal implications of this are truly mind-boggling. Imagine getting your hands on a functioning, entirely lethal pistol a mere matter of downloading a file and running it through a 3D printer. This is the future?
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Remember When It Was America and Pakistan Versus the Soviets?
Now America’s plans for a long-term presence in Afghanistan may be driving Pakistan into Moscow’s arms. Pakistan army chief, Ashfaq Parvez Kiani, is headed to Moscow for talks. The Pakistani military spokesman has confirmed the “historic” visit will take place on Wednesday. The spokesman said Kiani is expected to meet
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: We’ll All Be Muslims Soon Enough – Chris Hedges
We’re discrete about it, sometimes, but we treat Muslims amongst us differently. We’re suspicious of the way they dress, their religion, their culture and, well, just what they’re really up to. And we’ve worked out ways to keep tabs on them in the hope of being able to spot acts
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: One Simple Truth that Reveals All Others
We need to accept one simple truth. To avoid runaway climate change we can burn just one-fifth of already discovered reserves of fossil fuels. One fifth, no more. Fossil fuels have, for the survival of mankind, become sub-prime assets. The higher-carbon the fossil fuel the more worthless it is. That
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: A Greek Tragedy –
Its flag looks eerily like Hitler’s swastika. “It” is the far-right Golden Dawn party that has risen out of the turmoil of Greece’s economic collapse. And another eerie echo from the past is that Greek police, hard hit by government austerity, are reported to be sending crime victims to Golden
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Ten Years Ago, Alarm Bells Would Have Rung. Today, Yawn.
Face it, we’re becoming acclimated to environmental collapse. “It’s happening, so what?” Especially when we learn of it in some distant, as in out of earshot, range. A case in point, the Great Barrier Reef. This heralded Wonder of the World has now lost fully half its legendary coral cover.
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: A Huge Breakthrough for Renewable Energy
One serious drawback of some forms of renewable energy, such as wind or tidal power, has been that they don’t conform to peak market demand. Some are intermittent, some work best at off-peak, low-demand hours. What’s been missing is a viable means of storing surplus renewable energy production. A Brit
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Will Afghan National Army Drive NATO from Afghanistan?
NATO countries may have had their fill of their soldiers being murdered by Afghan soldiers. While most ISAF forces are scheduled to leave in 2014, NATO Sec-Gen, Anders Rasmussen, says the spate of “Green on Blue” killings could speed up their departure. “From now until the end of 2014 we
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: A "Green on Blue" Battle?
Has it really come to this? A U.S. Army unit has engaged in a firefight with an Afghan Army unit resulting in two dead Americans and three Afghan Army fatalities. Afghan officials say the Americans fired first. The Americans claim the gunfight broke out after two Americans were killed by
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: MacKay Marches on Asia
Chronic prevaricator and Harper DefMin Peter “Airshow” MacKay obviously got a double shot of testosterone while in Washington for meetings with his counterpart, Leon Panetta. MacKay rushed from the meeting to the Canadian embassy where he got on the telephone to gushingly call for Canada to establish a “permanent, visible
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: The Fifth Estate Shoots the F-35 Down in Flames
CBC’s The Fifth Estate aired one of its all time best episodes tonight, “Runaway Fighter.” The programme laid bare the rank dishonesty and duplicity of the Harper government and its obsession with Lockheed’s aerial “turkey.” Clips showed both Harper and MacKay lying through their teeth about fictional competitions and supposed
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Criminal Cartels Behind Global Trade in Illegal Timber
Organized crime may be behind 15 to 30% of global timber trade. A U.N. report finds organized crime responsible for half to 90% of illegal logging in the Amazon basin, Africa and Southeast Asia. Japan, the United States and the European Union remain targets of illegal wood trafficking but the
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Was Mitch Romney Another Rightwing Chickenhawk?
Dave Letterman refers to him as “Mitch” Romney. I like it. Think it should stick. Jim Webb, a highly-decorated Vietnam Marine combat officer, has raised the notion that Mitch must have glommed on to a few deferments in his day to avoid getting called to Vietnam. The former Marine and
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Obama’s "Double Tap" War Crimes
Barack Obama is very probably a war criminal. As Commander in Chief of a military behemoth that kills without regard to international law, Obama should be on trial if that sort of thing was conceivable in a world run on Victor’s Justice. The Obama White House is big, very big
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: 100,000,000 To Die by 2030 from Climate Change
And that’s if we’re lucky. A study commissioned by 20-governments finds that, unless our leaders reverse course on climate change, it will claim the lives of 100-million people by 2030. And, for those like our own miscreant government, that argue it would be economically unwarranted to move quickly to decarbonize
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: 200 Reasons to Say No to the F-35
There were at least 200-instances since 1988 when CF-18 pilots had to shut one engine down and return to base on the remaining engine. Put another way, the Canadian Air Force had two hundred examples over the past 24-years when, had they been flying the F-35, their aircraft might have
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: The Shocking Truth About Inequality in the U.S.
Brace yourself. A report by two professors, one from U.C. Davis, the other from Harvard, contends that income inequality in the United States today is more severe even than it was during the Revolution – with slavery factored in to boot. The conclusion comes to us from an newly updated study by
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