Stephen Harper as Vacuum Cleaner Salesman?

I have no problem with differences of political opinion and philosophy, but I have a huge problem with rulers like the Harper Tories which lack values such as integrity, full disclosure, etc. I have no problem with Canadians going to the polls more often than every five years, and no problem with coalition governments. There could be ways to improve the system. I’ve wondered why we don’t do away with the election period. We could just have an immediate election (allowing time for Elections Canada to get set up) but with no campaigning. Then the parties would have to always be doing their best between elections, and we would judge them on that – not on the promises that they make during campaigns, and are not likely going to keep anyway. Another danger of campaigns is that people will forget the “wrongs” that parties have done since the last election. There is a site (click shitharperdid.ca to see it) which lists some of these things not to forget. Don’t be put off by the summaries on each page. Click on the related links and you will get legitimate news coverage to back up the topic.

I’ve tried to remember some of the wrong-doings of the Harper Conservatives. As I made this list it just made me sick. The Harper Conservatives are way over the top in terms of their secrecy, lack of accountability, pattern of misinformation, limited truthfulness, obstructionism and overly controlling nature. That’s not the sort of transparent and accountable government that Canada should have. Harper Conservatives do not deserve to be elected. Here’s the list that I’ve come up with (for those of you who are really interested in the Harper as a Vacuum Cleaner Salesman, which is based on a piece by Margaret Atwood published in The Globe and Mail, it comes after the list):

-the Harper Conservatives prorogued Parliament in 2010 rather than face legitimate questions about Afghan detainees. The issue is whether Canadian officials knowingly handed over prisoners for torture by Afghan authorities, a potential violation of the Geneva Conventions. The Harper Conservatives have steadfastly refused to provide documents on the matter, even though they were ordered to do so a year ago by House of Commons Speaker Peter Milliken. To date the documents have not been released. Here’s some further material that The Globe and Mail published on this on April 8, 2011:

The detainees story offers an extraordinary portrait of the governing morality. It led to former defence minister Gordon O’Connor’s demotion after he had to apologize for misleading the House. It led to Mr. Harper and ministers, as well as Chief of Defence Staff Walter Natynczyk, having to issue embarrassing corrections of previous claims. It led to the Prime Minister’s dumping of Peter Tinsley, the head of the Military Police Complaints Commission, who was hot on the trail of the file. And it led to other outrages, such as the government denial of documents to the commission on the basis of national security - even though commission members had national security clearance. There was more. The detainees imbroglio saw the government attempt to discredit a respected diplomat, Richard Colvin, for having the courage to come forward and challenge its story. It prompted Mr. Harper to try and deny Parliament its historic right of access to documents. It was a catalyst in the Prime Minister’s decision to prorogue Parliament 15 months ago, which touched off a national protest. It led to the Speaker’s historic ruling condemning Mr. Harper’s government.

The Speaker ruled condemning the Harper Conservatives! How can they be elected?

-the Harper Conservatives around March 23, 2011 failing to provide all of the information requested by MPs around the cost of the Conservative’s crime legislation and the purchase of 65 fighter-bombers. Recall that around March 11, 2011 the Parliamentary Budget Office stated that the F-35 stealth fighter jets could cost Canada $29.3 billion, nearly double the Harper Conservatives’ initial estimate of $16 billion. The Harper Conservatives have again misled us about the real cost of their agenda.
-the Harper Conservatives are so big on law and order, and integrity, that the Prime Minister himself hypocritically hires someone like Bruce Carson as one of his senior advisers, working on sensitive issues including Afghanistan, the federal budget and climate change. Mr. Carson has had five criminal convictions, been bankrupt, and had years of debt problems. It was Mr. Carson’s relationship with another sex worker that first landed him under the glare of the RCMP. Mr. Carson is alleged to have performed lobbying on behalf of a company with ties to Michelle McPherson, a former prostitute who also owns a house with Mr. Carson.
-the charge by Elections Canada around February 26, 2011 of some prominent Harper Conservatives of violating federal law in connection with their in-and-out financing scheme involving more than $1 million in expenses during the 2006 election, which skirted an 18.3 million spending cap. For a party which says that it is very pro law and order, this doesn’t sound very respectful of the law!
-and let’s not forget the Harper Conservatives’ cuts to social programs such as literacy. Right, let’s keep illiterate people unemployable; that will lead them into poverty, which can lead to crime; which will be a way for the Harper Conservatives to fill the jails they want to build and won’t tell us what they will cost!
-the ruling around March 10, 2011 by the House of Commons Speaker that on its face the Harper Conservatives withheld information from a Parliamentary Committee and that International Co-Operation Minister Bev Oda may have misled the House of Commons (re her testimony about an altered memo that she signed cutting funds to an aid agency), which ruling could have been the basis of contempt of Parliament charges if the election had not come.
-the unfounded allegations by the Harper Conservatives about former cabinet minister Helena Guergis.
-the secretive axing of the mandatory long-form census. So let’s not have information about our population. That way no one can argue when the Harper Conservatives say there is no need for social, education, health etc programs to the extent that they are needed and where they are needed.
-the sundry hirings and firings of executives in government-funded agencies.
-RCMP investigations into interference in access-to-information protocols and allegations of illegal lobbying.
-the development of the black eye for Canada on the world stage to the point that we were not able to be voted a seat on the Security Council of the United Nations.
-the big splash by the Harper Conservatives that they were going to do so much for mothers and children in Africa, and then we find out that they secretly were also going to impose the Harper Conservatives’ own family planning views along with the program. How deceitful!
-further evidence of the control-freak nature of the Harper Conservatives is the actions during the early part of this campaign when they cordoned off reporters and had the RCMP evict people attending events based on information that they were not Conservative supporters. These are public events. Are we to expect a society from the Harper Conservatives in which only their chosen ones will participate – i.e. we will not have freedom of association and freedom of speech.

So here’s the piece about the vacuum cleaner salesman. Margaret Atwood outdid herself in this piece I've copied below, which was published in The Globe and Mail.

Would you buy a vacuum from this man?

Isn’t this your signature? the salesman asks. Yes, but the document’s been changed to mean the opposite of what you signed

MARGARET ATWOOD
Wednesday, Apr. 20 2011

I am a fiction writer. So here's a fiction.
A vacuum cleaner salesman comes to your door. "You must buy this vacuum cleaner," he says. "Why?" you say. "Because I know what's good for you," he says. "I know things you don't know." "What are they?" you say. "I can't tell you," he says, "because they're secret. You are required to trust me. The vacuum cleaner will create jobs."
"Where is the vacuum cleaner made?" you say. "In another country," he says. "So the jobs will be created in another country? Not here?" you say. You believe it's your right to query: It's your money and, come to think of it, you pay this guy's salary.
"Stop bickering," he says. "I am competent. That's my story and I'm sticking it to you." "I'm not bickering," you say. "I'm asking relevant questions. How much will the vacuum cleaner cost me?" "I can't tell you that," he says. "Why not? Because it's more than you claimed at first?" you say. "Or because you don't really know the cost?" "I can't tell you that, either," he says. "But you have to pay."
"Just a minute!" you say. "You want me to commit to an unknown, very large sum? That's not fair! And it's not competent, either." "More bickering!" he says. "We need stability!" "But I might have to go on paying huge sums for decades!" you say. "We're already up to our necks in debt! I'll have to give up other things - I won't be able to pay for the doctor, or support for special needs, or drinking water, or care for the elderly, or the kids' education, or ... and what happens if there's a pandemic, or a natural catastrophe such as an earthquake, and you've already spent the money that could have helped in a disaster?"
"You are a very negative person," he says. "You are not welcome here." "Where is here?" you say. "In my country," he says. "These are my mountains, this is my hockey, this is my flag. Mine! All mine! And I'm stamping my image on all of it!" "I like those icons, too," you say, "but I think they should be shared with everyone, don't you?" "What is this 'shared' of which you speak?" he says. "I believe in the individual and nothing but. Talk to the hand! Weak to the wall!"
"I don't want to pay for the vacuum cleaner," you say. "You have to pay for it," he says. "See, it says here on this document. Isn't this your signature?" "Yes," you say, "but the document's been changed to mean the exact opposite of what I signed. If I altered a document like that, I'd end up in jail." "You are double-plus not welcome," he says. "I make the rules around here."
"But -" you say. "Don't interrupt," he says. "In addition to the vacuum cleaner, you will have to pay for several very expensive jails, the cost of which is unknown."
"But the crime rate is falling!" you say. "Not for long," he says. "I'm planning to have it rise again. Once people have their money vacuumed away, with none left for doctors, or the kids' education, or making sure you don't eat poisoned food - all those frills - they'll get scared and depressed and desperate, the middle class will be toast, and the crime rate will rise. Anyway, I will criminalize lots more things. Because we need to fill up those jails!"
"I get the feeling you don't like me," you say. "Is it because I'm a girl? Or because I don't want you to run up huge debts without telling me what the money is for? What happened to accountability? It used to sound so great!"
"You are beneath my notice," he says, giving me the Death Glare. "Once I really get the whip hand, I will never have to answer another question from anyone. Not one question. Not ever again."
"That's a very dark fiction," says the reader. "Surely people won't sign away their right to know how their money is being spent! That would result in tyranny! It can't happen here!"
"Anything can happen anywhere," I say.

Margaret Atwood's latest non-fiction book is Payback: Debt and the Shadow Side of Wealth.

Yoga Practice is a Method

The following was written by Jonathan Austman and published in the April 2011 Newsletter of Winnipeg Yoga Shala. (The archive for the newsletters of Winnipeg Yoga Shala can be found  here.)   I liked Jonathan's article so much I wanted to pass it on to you (and to have an easily accessible copy in the digiverse for my own reference):

The days are getting longer, the sun is warming the earth and smiles are appearing everywhere! During morning Mysore practice the brilliance of the sun warms our bodies and hearts as we take our practice. It is a truly beautiful and inspiring experience! Along with the new and fresh growth that spring is ushering in there are many new students coming to practice each day. Old and new students are expressing their gratitude for finding a space where they are supported as they explore the depths of mind, body and breath and the resulting development of skillfulness at being more present and grounded in all aspects of their lives.




I am grateful for all of the students and teachers at the Shala who support the growth of yoga in our community by taking up the work of yoga. Too often yoga is presented as a way to forget about our stresses and problems. Taken this way yoga easily becomes a method of avoidance, a way of covering up or skipping past the deep-seated roots of our neuroses and anxieties. Yoga practice is a method, a process, of digging deeper and deeper into our bodies, minds and character. It is a method for learning to be fully engaged in the unfolding of our lives, to be as present and mindful in our struggles as we are in our ease. It is hard work and takes a long time. It takes regular application of the methods we learn and practice. It is meant to challenge our likes and dislikes, to bring us face to face with our fear and weakness. It challenges us to accept ourselves as we are and to move forward from that place. By taking yoga this way we uncover and access our strengths. It is through this difficult work, going slowly, being patient and attentive to our actions on the mat that we mine to the depths of our character and find true release from our struggle and suffering when we are off the mat. We learn to practice with acceptance and faith, to respect our teachers and the methods they present, to not rush or question the process. By doing this we may experience the true freedom that comes from surrendering to what is. I am inspired by all of you who are willing to undertake the difficult task of becoming better human beings. By doing this for ourselves we are making the world a more balanced and peaceful place.



Om Shanti,



Jonathan

from Paul Gold's Blog: Dilemma – Fewer Practice Days or Less Practice Everyday?

Posted April 9, 2011 on Paul Gold's Blog at  http://paulmitchellgold.wordpress.com/2011/04/09/dilemma-fewer-practice-days-or-less-practice-everyday/   :

While we were in Mysore, a yoga student of ours stopped coming to the shala because she didn’t have enough time between attending school and working in a restaurant.




I should qualify that she didn’t have enough time to do the practice that she had been accustomed to doing before she was juggling school and work. My understanding is that it may have been possible to either come to the shala fewer days per week and do what she had been doing (i.e. – the same number of asanas) OR she could come to practice daily and do a shortened practice (i.e. – fewer asanas). In the end, she didn’t choose either option and, I imagine, isn’t currently doing any yoga.



Practicing is never a static experience. Life is constantly changing and so practice is constantly changing. It’s important that we don’t cast our practice in stone or we will not be able to adapt. It’s also equally important to understand what “practice” is.



First, let’s answer the question. Is it better to practice fewer days or practice less everyday? The answer is we should do as much practice as we are able as often as possible, if not everyday. I am implicitly talking about ashtanga yoga; so, everyday is Sunday through Friday with moon days off and three days off for ladies’ holiday. It’s important to practice everyday. It’s always been important and that’s why it’s stated explicitly in the Yoga Sutras. Sutra I:14 is crystal clear about this. I don’t see how “done for a long time without interruption” can be interpreted differently. That said, when things are crazy, some days practice isn’t possible. Let’s say as close to everyday as possible.



Back to life, then. As life is constantly changing, we have to be able to adapt our yoga practice. Too often, we associate our practice with a particular number of asanas that we’ve been taught. When life is a particular way and we are able to do all of those asanas, awesome. When life’s a different way, we have to assess how much time we have and to do the number of asanas that we can in that time. Students have come to class and asked what they should do as they have to leave early on a particualr morning. I tell them to start practice and do as many asanas as they can before they need to finish up and rest. I don’t send them home because they can’t do full primary series!



If we look at Sutra I:13, we can see a more useful and proper definition of “practice.” Patanjali says that any effort put towards restraining the tendencies of chitta is called Practice. Since doing ashtanga yoga purifies the senses and mind which allows us to restrain the chitta, we can infer that any amount of time spent on the mat is beneficial. We shouldn’t see practice as an all or nothing endeavour.



Too often, when things get tough in our lives, we abandon practice with the excuse that we don’t have time. We know full well that practice would be helpful and we love to acknowledge it rhetorically. We know that practice would help us focus while we’re studying for exams, that it would release stress when we were visiting a friend or family member in hospital, that it would ground us after when our babies weren’t sleeping through the night. The list is endless, right? But what if we did 10 minutes of surya namaskars and lay down to rest for five minutes? What if we did half-primary or only standing asanas until our schedules changed (remember that things are always changing)? What if we did what we can everyday?



If practice is a relative amount of time that we have to spend on our yoga mats and consists of doing as much as we can in that day’s amount of time, we won’t ever be in a position where we feel there’s a dilemma. The commitment and dedication required to practice ashtanga yoga is not dependent on the number of asanas we do, but rather on the arrival on one’s mat.

ElisabethBass Blog: Confessions of a Glam Girl - The Social Media Darliings I Love

I should declare my bias up front - this is a post by one of my daughters.  But she has totally impressed me with her interesting insight and well written expressions of taste.  She makes a very valid observation about the effect of the digiverse.  Well worth a read, and a blog worth following.

ElisabethBass Blog: Confessions of a Glam Girl - The Social Media Darlings I Love: "A few years ago I realized I was obsessed with fashion. It may have started when my luggage was lost, never to return that I realized how m..."

Being Present

Discovered a new way this past week to be present:  enter the water - swimming pool is fine but salt water is better; turn over on your back; top of head facing into the waves, if applicable; legs and feet together, toes pointed; elongate the spine, gentle curve upward in the back; open your heart; arms at your side gently moving back and forth slowly in short strokes as required to keep your head above water; gaze gently upward; if outside, feel the gentle sun upon your soft visage; engage in your breathing exercises; let any thoughts drift away; become present.

It was the warm waters of the Mayan Riviera that helped this discovery!