05 Jun 2020
A Contrarian View

Shutdown Fatigue And Oppressive Dictators

Shutdown fatigue and opposition to the erosion of liberty seems to be gaining momentum in sync with increasing temperatures and longer days. (In the Northern Hemisphere) I wrote more about the shutdown in this post.

shutdown
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I notice more cars on the road, more irritation and complaints about standing 6′ apart in long lines under the blazing sun while waiting to get into banks and shops.

It seems ludicrous that my bank closed one of its two branches in our little city, reduced opening hours and allowed its telephone service to degenerate to levels of inefficiency I remember from Zimbabwe. All the while blaming it on “keeping you safe.”

The tide seems to be turning in social media too. More people now seeing through the propaganda, overcoming their fear and speaking out.

It’s all very well to complain to a fellow frustrated shopper across a 6′ safety zone in a queue or rant on social media, but it takes more than that to end the shutdown and get our country back to work.

I have been emailing MPs, writing on this and other platforms, speaking out wherever and whenever I can. I have upset many people. Probably lost some friends and followers on social media. I believe we should have the courage of our convictions and do something.

Politicians hate admitting they were wrong. They will risk more damage to the economy, rack up billions of dollars more debt and condemn millions to harsh lives of misery before reversing course and acknowledging they screwed up. If we are benevolent, we could say that our leaders were misled by flawed computer models and incompetent health experts.

That excuse wore out within the first two weeks of the shutdown.

Yesterday, I received an email from Rebel News with a report of a restaurant owner being fined and threatened with a further massive fine and imprisonment for opening his restaurant even though the lifting of some shutdown restrictions permitted him to do so. The email is at the end of this post.

That is appalling. The hypocrisy of allowing liquor and beer stores to operate but not restaurants and churches is unbelievable.

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It motivated me to send the following email to my provincial and federal members of parliament and the four contenders for the leadership of the federal Conservative party.

I am awaiting responses – but I am not holding my breath as it could be a long wait.

Ever since I turned 18 and in every country that I have lived in, including Canada since becoming a citizen in 2008, I have voted Conservative.


Despite my greatest respect for you and our Federal MP Dave McKenzie, I am appalled that Doug Ford behaves more like a dictator every day.


The gross overreaction to the coronavirus panic. The deliberate destruction of our economy, the denial of essential health services to thousands of non-coronavirus patients and the condemnation of thousands more to unemployment, bankruptcy and years of misery is unforgivable. In my living memory, I cannot recall churches being ordered to close – and being so cowed that they complied. Even in the London Blitz in WWII, those churches still standing did provide spiritual comfort in times of difficulty.


And all for a virus that kills less than 1% of those it infects. A virus with a mortality rate ranging from lower than a “regular” flu season to similar to a more serious one. The major difference the spring timing as opposed to the winter.


I believe our provincial and Federal leadership are guilty of serious abuse of power. If I was kind I would add incompetence, but I am more inclined to call it economic sabotage.


I was grateful to have been offered a new start in Canada after losing my farm, my income, all my assets and very nearly, my life in Zimbabwe because of that country’s government’s authoritarian and illegal actions.
It seems I have exchanged oppression in one country for the same in another.

Many states in the USA have scaled back most of the restrictions on business activity and are still seeing reduced infection and mortality rates. Others are remaining static with only very few seeing marginal increases. Most of those that have relaxed restrictions are seeing lower rates than some that have not. 


Trudeau and Ford’s actions would be understandable in Hitler’s Germany, North Korea or Zimbabwe. They have no place in a supposedly free and fair democracy like Canada.

If this story about a restaurant owner being fined and threatened is true then it is yet one more sign that Doug Ford has no regard for the rights of the majority of Ontarians who are trying to survive. Unless the provincial party leadership exerts some pressure to get our province back to normal as soon as possible, I cannot in principle vote for the Provincial Conservatives again. 


Similarly, unless I see some real attempt by the Federal party leadership contenders to show some leadership and oppose the Liberal’s draconian oppression, I see little point in wasting time voting for any of them.


There is something seriously wrong in this province and this country.

Here is the email from Rebel News that prompted my email to the MPs.

After months of keeping his restaurant closed to comply with Ontario’s Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act, and facing imminent bankruptcy, Jason Lake decided to reopen his Minden 50’s Diner for sit-down service.

You won’t believe what this simple act of defiance led to. :

Despite taking the necessary precautions to make sure his guests were adhering to social distancing rules inside the restaurant, Jason was still slapped with a $880 fine and threatened with a $500,000 fine and jail time if he dared to do it again!

While violent criminals are , hardworking entrepreneurs are being treated like second class citizens!

And to add more salt to the wound, Doug Ford just extended the lockdown for another month!

Is this what Ford meant by “open for business”? Give me a break!

Yours Truly,

David Menzies

P.S.

Although we’re not fighting this case, you can support our campaign and follow the dozens of other cases we’re working on at . 

Thanks to your support and our superb criminal lawyer, Sam Goldstein, we’re fighting these political brutes to put a stop to their heavy-handed intimidation tactics. If you or anyone you know has been treated unfairly by bylaw officers because of the lockdown, you can submit your case at , and we’ll get you the justice you

It’s time to speak out and get our leaders to stop this insane destruction of our country.

Leave a comment add to the debate.

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23 Apr 2020
A Contrarian View

Trust In Government – The Real Casualty Of The Virus Panic

Trust in Government? Half the world’s population – estimated at 3.5 billion people- have been coerced into voluntary house arrest. Economies are being devastated and lives affected more than at any time since WWII.

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All due to the carefully orchestrated propaganda campaign instituted by the WHO and adopted without question by leaders and populations who should be intelligent enough to know better. Half the world’s population cowed into submission without a shot being fired. Hitler’s propaganda team would be green with envy if they were alive today.

The plot to destroy individual rights has even seduced the churches, most climbed on board with indecent haste to prevent worshippers congregating. The first time in my memory that churches have aided governments in oppressing people. Churches and religious leaders are usually to be found as the instigators of resistance to the slightest real or perceived hint of government heavy-handedness.

On 8 April 2020, I sent the following email to the four contenders for the leadership of the Canadian Federal Conservative party and my local Federal and Provincial members of Parliament.

As of today 22 April, I have had two automated acknowledgements that my email was received, no replies.

So much for trust in government.

The Email

I have been doing my own independent research into the true situation with the coronavirus.

The facts are:

Mortality rates are wildly exaggerated with many deaths from other causes recorded as from the virus.

It is unlikely to cause as many deaths as those from the annual winter flu season.

Total number of deaths from all causes in most of Europe and even some Italian cities are below average for the first quarter.

Hospitals in the USA are not overwhelmed by sick people but by people driven to panic by irresponsible media reports. 

The suffering and misery that will follow the overreaction to this virus will be felt for generations.

Some highly qualified doctors and infectious disease specialists believe that “social distancing,” by delaying the onset of herd immunity will prolong the epidemic, increase the number of deaths – especially among the elderly – and increase the prospect and the severity of a second wave of the virus next fall.

I agree that it is necessary to protect vulnerable people, the elderly and those with health complications. at age 69 and a heart attack survivor, I am in that category myself.

However, I am appalled that the Conservative Party is complicit in the greatest propaganda campaign since WWII and working with the Liberals to destroy the economy, bankrupt small businesses, prevent farmers from producing food and condemn millions to a precarious financial future.

That this campaign should ignore the rights of individuals, encourage citizens to snitch on their neighbours and allow the police to harass innocent people is unbelievable in a democracy. 

Some stores are now refusing to accept cash – surely refusing to accept our nation’s legal tender is an act of treason.

Is it any surprise that a rapidly increasing number of people are suspecting a conspiracy to install an authoritarian world government and remove the last traces of freedom? If this continues, I believe there is a real danger of resistance from distrusting populations and anarchy in many parts of the world.

If outside elements had caused as much harm to Canada as the Federal and Provincial governments have in the last 3 weeks, it would be considered an act of terrorism.

It’s time to get Canadians back to work and back to living without fear.

Just one source which quotes a Canadian doctor:

Dr. Joel Kettner [], professor of Community Health Science at Manitoba University and Medical Director of the International Centre for Infectious Diseases declared recently:

I have never seen anything like this… I am not talking about the pandemic, because I have seen 30 of them, one every year… But I have never seen this reaction, and I am trying to understand why…

There are more relevant articles on that and other sites, sadly ignored by the mainstream media. 

I survived 3 years of intimidation in Zimbabwe during Mugabe’s farm seizures, eventually losing my farm and all my assets after being illegally imprisoned to prevent me from returning to my farm. I am very grateful to have been accepted by Canada in 2004 and am now a proud citizen and Conservative voter. However, I hope that I have not exchanged one authoritarian regime for another. 

If you want my vote as leader of the party, it’s time you took a stand for Canadians not the UN, and WHO.

Trust our own thoughts

That was two weeks ago. The madness continues.

There is hope. Every day the opposition to this erosion of citizens’ rights increases. Visits to alternate media that question the official facts and provide data from doctors and unbiased medical experts are growing in number.

People are starting to think for themselves, ask questions and realise that something is not right with the stories we are being fed. Street protests in many cities are visible signs of this lack of trust.

Sadly, trust in the authorities is becoming so low that I fear frustrated, hungry and broke people could resist the forced oppression violently. I hope that our leaders wake up and get our societies back to a semblance of normality before then.

Join the discussion, leave a comment.

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09 Jan 2015
A Contrarian View

The tragic human cost of political correctness.

Terrorism and political correctness

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A friend recently sent me this link to a with an example of how the media is blurring out images in its reporting of the terrorist attacks in Paris this week.

To avoid offending Muslims!

13 people (or perhaps more by now) dead from Islamist terrorists and the liberals are worried about offending the religion that spawned these murderers.

Disgusting, spineless and immoral.

The deaths of these innocent victims, civilian and police, along with those in recent incidents in Australia, the UK and here in Canada can be directly blamed on successive liberal governments too afraid to institute responsible immigration policies or to enforce compliance with local laws and customs.

Appeasement has never worked.

Equally guilty are those in government and the media that conspired to disarm the law-abiding population and severely punish those that do use their legally owned weapons for protection of themselves, their families or their property.

The final nail in the coffin of freedom is the condemnation of anyone who dares to criticise anyone else who is of a different race, religion or sexual orientation from the established majority.

It is no longer acceptable to be a politically and socially conservative white, Christian or Jewish, heterosexual male or female speaking one of the main-stream European Languages. Conservatives of other races are often even more unacceptable.

The liberal lunatic fringe has hijacked social media to elevate mob-rule and character assassination by “virtual lynching” to an art form.

What happened to the policy of “live and let live”?

Your views on gun ownership might be different to mine and I accept that there are many nut cases who should never be allowed to possess guns. However this attack, the one in Sydney recently, the two in Canada  on military personnel both on and off duty and many of the mass shootings in schools and shopping centres in the US happened partly because the terrorists (and maniacs with a grudge at the schools), knew the victims would be unarmed.

It is one of the shameful consequences of disarming the law-abiding population in Australia, Canada and Europe and restricting the carrying of weapons in schools and cinemas in the USA.

I accept that handguns are not a good match for AK47s, and there may well have been some casualties in these incidents. But I am convinced they would have been far fewer had there been competent gun owners around to provide a defence.

Contrast these incidents with the experience of our terrorist wars in Rhodesia & South Africa when much higher numbers of terrorists did not break into homes and offices to kill the occupants because they knew that most of the people carried guns, knew how to use them effectively and were determined to use them to save lives, protect property and support the police in upholding the law.

The terrorists did cause casualties with bombs and landmines and by attacking the defenceless tribal population. One could argue that they were neither as rabidly brainwashed nor determined as Islamist fanatics or deranged students, but an armed and aware population was a huge deterrent.

The fact that I had guns and would use them, saved my life on more than one occasion without having to fire them.

My 65-year-old father was able to save his and my mother’s life when they were ambushed by 9 terrorists with AK47s because he had a gun and returned fire.

There was a report of an attempted armed robbery at a jewellery store on our local television news last night. It was foiled when an armed guard shot the robber in the leg, leading to his arrest.

The reporter was shocked that a security guard at a jewellery store had been armed. No congratulations that by his action he may have saved the lives of the staff, prevented a robbery and taken an armed criminal off the street.

A police spokesman was quoted as saying that the shooting would be investigated and that the guard may be charged with a firearms offence!

The mind boggles at that sort of attitude, is it any wonder that these terrorists and other nut cases think they can get away with their murderous acts.

Western culture, its Christian and secular values are under attack. We are allowing the enemy to use the advantages of our societies to launch their attacks. We are allowing the liberal fringe to protect the bad guys while emasculating the law-abiding population through political correctness and handicapping  them by taking their guns away.

If our voters and leaders do not wake up soon, we will follow the Roman Empire into oblivion.

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02 Oct 2014
A Contrarian View

An Argument For Guns

Guns stop beheadings

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last week an Islamist terrorist beheaded a woman at a food products factory in Oklahoma. He attempted to behead a second woman but was stopped when he was shot by the owner of the factory.

The liberal media and authorities are falling over themselves to portray the incident as a case of “workplace violence”. Given that the murderer was a recent convert to Islam and chose the ISIS terrorist group’s method of choice for the execution, that is a hugely implausible attempt at political correctness. Absolute nonsense, but that is a separate debate.

It’s just one more example of how guns in the hands of good guys save lives.

On another continent, guns saved my parents’ lives in a terrorist ambush. The knowledge that I had guns and would use them prevented our farm-house being overrun and my wife and I being severely assaulted or murdered in the Zimbabwe farm invasions.

If that beheading incident had taken place in Canada, the second victim would have had no chance. Gun laws here would have prevented the owner carrying a weapon or having one close to hand in a workplace.

In the unlikely event that the owner did manage to get his gun out of a locked gun safe, remove the trigger lock, get ammunition from a separate secure place and load the magazine in time to shoot the murderer, he would almost certainly have been charged with a number of firearm offences.

The West’s tolerance of demands for special treatment by immigrant minorities and tolerance of their disregard for local customs and laws is going to have serious consequences. I hope I am wrong, but I fear more incidents like the Oklahoma beheading.

Canada’s gun laws have left law-abiding citizens emasculated, unable to defend themselves and exposed to persecution by big government should they attempt to exert the most basic human rights of all. The right to life and to protect one’s family.

 

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25 Jun 2014
A Contrarian View

A strange type of justice

Strange type of Justice

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A strange type of justice was reported in the on Saturday.

A bizarre decision by a jury in Montreal convicted a woman of two counts of criminal negligence causing death and two counts of dangerous driving causing death.

The woman stopped on the highway to help 2 ducklings on the side of the road. Now she could be facing a lengthy prison sentence.

A motor cyclist ran into the back of her parked vehicle killing himself and his passenger, his 16-year-old daughter.

It was estimated that the motor cycle had been travelling at between 113 and 129 kilometres an hour at the moment of impact. Over the speed limit and certainly a contributing factor in the accident.

This case is bizarre for several reasons.

There was clearly no criminal intent involved, carelessness, negligence, irresponsibility, poor judgement and skewed priorities, maybe.

She was neither behind the wheel nor in the vehicle when the accident occurred, how can she possibly be convicted of any driving charge other than illegal parking or stopping on a highway?

If in fact that is always an offence. Vehicles do break down and stop of their own accord in the most inconvenient places.

The motor cyclist was travelling above the speed limit, a contributing factor in the accident.

In every country in which I have lived or driven and in many cases I have read about in Canada, the vehicle which runs into the rear of another is always the guilty party unless either a third vehicle or major mechanical failure caused the leading vehicle to stop without warning.

The prosecutors desperate attempt to obtain a jail sentence and remark that “a clear message is sent to society that we don’t stop for animals on the highway” smacks of a more vindictive and strange justice system than is found in many third world countries.

It is a source of absolute incredulity to me that the Canadian justice system refuses to accept that accidents do happen, its determination to find someone guilty of the most serious offence it can in every incident and to impose draconian punishments for incidents that would not be considered offences in many other countries.

Adding to the incredulity is the reluctance of the authorities to take action and use the necessary force against certain groups of protesters, aboriginal people blocking roads and rioting students destroying property being two examples. Compared to its heavy-handed treatment of others. Particularly older, white, male, licensed gun and property owners.

A few years ago, a major oil company in Alberta was fined a million dollars because 100 ducks drowned in a tailing pond. That makes an Albertan duck worth $10 000, but trying to save a duck in Quebec results in a criminal conviction and a possible jail sentence.

Something is wrong with this picture.

 

 

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11 Jun 2014
A Contrarian View

Iraq in flames again

 

Iraq in flames – again

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This week, Mosul, the second largest city in Iraq was quickly overrun by Islamist rebels. A few weeks before, Falujah was captured and is still in rebel hands.

that the same rebels have captured the town of Tikrit and a major oil installation and that up to 500 000 people are fleeing the captured areas.

The Iraqi army has proved totally ineffective, abandoning their posts after only putting up a token resistance to their attackers. Reports of officers being the first to run, leaving their men to their own devices.

This is one part of a larger movement to establish a separate state across the North of Iraq and Syria. A state controlled by brutal Sunni Islamists aligned with Al-Qaeda.

A former US ambassador to Iraq today suggested that now is the time to support “moderate” Syrian opposition with weapons so that they can defeat both President Assad and the Al-Qaeda linked Islamic State of Iraq and The Levant.

This could be a huge mistake for two reasons.

The Syrian opposition is in disarray, it has lost ground to government forces and is split into various factions ranging from pro West to those linked to Al-Qaeda.

There is more than a fair chance that any weapons supplied to “moderate” forces would soon find their way into Islamic militant’s hands.

Secondly and perhaps more importantly, there is no single strongman in the opposition camp to hold the ravaged country together should the campaign to oust Assad be successful.

Notwithstanding relative stability in Morocco and Tunisia, the failure of democracy to flourish in the countries affected by the turmoil of the “Arab Spring” indicates yet again that Western style democracy is not the best form of government for the countries in the region.

Under Mubarak, Egypt was more stable than it has been since he was overthrown. He was imprisoned because under his command some protesters were shot, but the new president is celebrated for squashing all opposition, while responsible for the deaths of greater numbers of protesters. Hundreds more have been sentenced to death.

Since the end of Gaddafi’s rule, Libya is fast becoming a failed state controlled by various militia. A threat to Europe because its lawlessness is providing a conduit for illegal migrants from across North Africa and beyond.

Before the civil war in Syria, there was relative peace and stability. Now there is chaos with millions of refugees creating huge problems for neighbouring states and hundreds of thousands of casualties.

If we turn a blind eye to the mass gassing of Kurds and a protracted war with Iran, Iraq under Saddam Hussein was fairly stable.

All those dictators were, by our standards, awful dictators, nasty and ruthless. But they kept control. What we consider “human rights” were denied to most citizens, but most of them stayed alive, had a roof over their heads and food to eat.

Thousands of American, British and other nations’ lives and billions of taxpayers dollars, pounds and euros have been lost in Iraq and Afghanistan trying to prop up systems that were doomed to fail.

It is becoming increasingly apparent that most of the countries now in turmoil need strong dictators, not ineffectual and unenforceable democracy, as unpalatable as that may be to sensitive liberals in the West.

Many of the borders in the region were lines on a map drawn by the colonial powers early in the last century. It seems that Al Qaeda determined to replace them with the originals.

The West does not need an unholy alliance between a strong Syria under Assad and a radical Iran with nuclear capability. It needs that and a new state controlled by Al Qaeda even less.

It’s time to put our Western arrogance aside and accept that peace and stability in the region will only come when strong, effective and probably ruthless, leaders fight their way to the top.

With hindsight, the West should certainly have propped up Mubarak and there is now a case for suggesting many lives would have been saved in Libya, Iraq and Syria if we had left the despots in place and not weakened by sanctions.

 

 

graphic courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net

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04 Jun 2014
A Contrarian View

Donald Stirling strikes a blow for common sense.

Last Laugh

Media reports indicate that Donald Stirling has sold the LA Clippers for $2 billion – way above the $700 million bandied about when the NBA launched the crusade against him.

Now it appears that he is suing the organisation for $2 billion.

It might be unlikely that he will get anything like that amount, it doesn’t matter. Winning the case will be a huge blow for common sense and a clear victory over political correctness and the tyranny of the intolerant left.

It will also be a sharp reminder to pompous sports administrators that they do not get to play God and that private conversations are just that – private.

It is a sad day when we have to fear expressing our own opinions in our own homes.

Donald Stirling might still have the last laugh in this ridiculous saga.

Is this a sign that the pendulum is reaching the end of its swing towards intolerance of mainstream values, away from common sense and respect for individual rights?

For the future of Western society, let’s hope so.

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29 May 2014
A Contrarian View

Getting paid for doing nothing

via

 

What a wonderful world, 60 000 Silicon Valley employees are to receive a share of a $325 million settlement of a class action lawsuit against Apple and Google, Intel and Adobe. The settlement still has to be approved by a federal judge.

Is it because the employees were unfairly dismissed? Discriminated against?

No, it is because the authorities allege that the high-tech  companies (and others named in a separate suit) colluded in an “anti-poaching” pact. They agreed not to try to lure each others top-level technology workers.

Note, they did not agree not to hire each others workers if the workers left one employer and applied for a position at another of his or her own accord.

So what is the problem?

In areas or industries with shortages of talent or skilled workers, it does not make sense to encourage an environment of widespread poaching from competitors. That leads to a merry-go-round of people continually hopping from employer to employer, reduced productivity and escalating costs.

Certainly not in the interests of customers and only of benefit to those employees looking for short-term gains, not building long-term careers.

While businesses will often try to entice key players, it has long been the practice in many industries not to embark on widespread poaching.

Now, if the award is finalised, employees on average will receive $4000 for doing absolutely nothing. That cost will be born by the customers and shareholders of those companies.

How many of those workers would have jumped to better paying jobs at one of the other employers in the group if there had been no pact? It is unlikely that it would have been a huge percentage.

As far as I am aware, there is no slave labour in the USA, no one is forced to work for Apple, Google or any other business. If you don’t like your employer’s conditions, policies, hiring practices or pay scales, go and find another job or start your own business.

Don’t hold out your hand and ask the government to make your employer and every one else pay you a bonus for what you think you might have been entitled to.

Sadly, another symptom of the times we live in. Too much interference by big government.

 

 

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16 May 2014
A Contrarian View

Why # won’t free Nigerian schoolgirls

 

 

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A month ago, 300 schoolgirls were abducted by Islamic terrorists in Northern Nigeria. Their school was destroyed

The Nigerian government made almost no effort to find and release them.

For three weeks there was little reaction from world leaders, few comments in traditional or social media. A deafening silence from feminist groups and all those crusaders for “equal rights” who attack opponents of politically correct causes – same-sex marriage, for example, with such fervour.

More girls were abducted, some escaped and returned home. More attacks from Bakar Haram.

Videos of the girls, now in Islamic dress, were recorded with demands for captured terrorists to be freed in exchange for the girls release.

Angry and frustrated at the lack of response by the Nigerian government, families of the captured girls start protesting and demanding action.

Information released by external organisations suggests that the Nigerian government had been warned of an imminent attack on the school.

It is alleged that the warning was taken so seriously by some teachers that their own children were removed from the school.

Almost a month after the abduction, the outside world woke up and took action.

What did it do? Several nations sent token forces of “advisors” to help the Nigerian forces. Surveillance planes have been offered.

A new secret weapon was announced by the First Lady of the USA.

The hashtag.

Now we see the leaders of the former super powers and other countries, agonising over the fate of the schoolgirls.

What a pathetic spectacle.

I have great sympathy for the abducted girls and their families, but hashtag bearing First Ladies, tweets, placards and pontificating presidents are not going to get the girls back.

Only resolute action can do that.

 

That means capable, determined men on the ground with the skill and will to hunt the terrorists down and shoot them.

But there is no one to do it.

The Nigerian government has proved itself incapable of stopping Bakar Haram.

Western governments have no stomach for armed conflict in Africa.

Neighbouring African states have neither the ability nor interest to take on Bakar Haram.

The seeds of this abduction and much of the misery affecting the ordinary people in Africa were sown many decades ago. Not when Africa was colonised as liberals are so ready to suggest.

Africa was a violent and brutal continent centuries before the first Europeans arrived.

The real problems started after a few decades of explosive population growth thanks to the introduction of Western systems of hygiene, medical care, education and food production.

After introducing these systems, in the 19th and early 20th centuries, by the late 1950s and 1960s, the former colonial powers were abandoning their former colonies with indecent haste.

Leaving millions of people at the mercy of inept, corrupt and brutal dictators like Mobutu in Zaire (now Democratic Republic of Congo) and a succession of military officers installed in armed coups in Nigeria. Similar examples, ranging from madmen like Idi Amin of Uganda to inept social meddlers like Nyerere of Tanzania had equally devastating effects on most of the continent.

The only two countries to buck the trend, maintain law and order, grow their economies and increase living standards substantially, were South Africa and Rhodesia.

Why the difference? Because these were the only two countries on the continent to resist one-man-one-vote, retain efficient, relatively incorruptible governments. Effective administrative systems kept the economy expanding despite, sanctions, terrorist wars and for South Africa, floods of illegal immigrants escaping the harsh reality of life in independent Africa.

There was however a huge problem.

The government of the only two successful countries on the continent were exclusively white.

That was unacceptable to those  who had already ruined their own countries and to weak Western leaders more interested in appeasing murderous dictators than the well-being of millions of people of all races on the southern tip of the continent.

Rhodesia and the old efficient, viable, South Africa are gone, sacrificed on the altar of appeasement. Replaced by the corrupt and economic basket case of Zimbabwe and an ANC controlled South Africa heading down the same slope.

In the most recent version of violent transfer of power on the continent, it is Bakar Haram, and other terrorist groups, Islamic or not, taking advantage of ineffective governments to seize control of vast areas of Africa with their campaigns of terror.

Until the unfortunate residents of countries like Nigeria have governments that can govern effectively, the problem is not going away.

Now is the time for the West to get tough with those governments, cut off all aid, funding, assistance until the governments show some responsibility. Exercise the same rabid tenacity to stop African rulers squandering revenues or stashing funds in tax havens as the authorities do to law-abiding Western citizens taking advantage of legal loopholes.

Only then should material assistance to fight terrorism be given. Weapons and equipment sent now will almost certainly find their way into Bakar Haram’s arsenals to be used to capture more schoolgirls and kill thousands more innocent people.

That will be infinitely more effective than hashtags.

 

 

 

 

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01 May 2014
A Contrarian View

Aggravating racism by poking a stick in a festering sore.

Bandage it, don’t poke it with a stick

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Why does North America have such an unhelpful and unhealthy attitude to racism?

The reaction to the comments by Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Stirling’s comments goes beyond ludicrous.

His comments, if they were correctly quoted, were not the most sensible considering many of his team and fans are black. They may have upset many people, but on the long list of serious problems in the world today, no reasonable person can rate them near the top.

However, they were made in a private conversation. One that was not intended to be made public.

For a country that claims to be against racism and for freedom of speech, the escalation of this incident and the resulting punishment of Mr. Stirling borders on the insane.

As a victim of far more serious racism than a derogatory comment in a private conversation, I am appalled at both the hysteria that this incident has generated and the reverse discrimination visited on Mr. Stirling.

For the record, my father was murdered, my mother crippled for life.  Later, I was thrown in a police cell while my farm and all my assets were illegally taken from me by the Zimbabwe government. All because we were white. That is the sort of racism every one should be concerned about.

Do I blame all black people for that? Of course not.

The most irresponsible and malicious actors in this sad saga are the person who “leaked” the conversation to the media, the media channel that publicised it and all those in both public and private office who have used it to make themselves look good.

Here’s why:

It was a private conversation.

Who among us can honestly say that they have never made a derogatory comment about a group of people in a private conversation. I cannot and I don’t think many others can.

How many times do we hear criticism of Democrats, Republicans, Conservatives, Liberals, Bankers, Oil executives, the Rich, the poor, the homeless, Southerners, Newfies, Italians, Germans, Russians or any other nationality?

What about criticism of religions, Christians, Catholics, Protestants, Muslims, Jews, Buddhists? Or sports teams, the police, the military?

As a former white resident of Southern Africa, now living in North America, I frequently have to ignore allegations of my obviously “terrible attitude to, and treatment of, black people”.

I know that these comments are made from ignorance by people who have no idea of the real situation in my former countries and who have been subjected to anti South African and anti Rhodesian propaganda for most of their lives.

While I may not like the comments, I understand that people are as free to make them as I am to publish my opinions and Donald Stirling is to express his in a private conversation.

The comments were not illegal

At the time of writing there has been no indication that the comments broke any laws.

Donald Stirling is a wealthy man who may be quite happy to sell his team for the $600 to $700 million it is reported to be worth. It’s poetic justice that he will realise a huge profit on his original $12 million investment if he does sell the team.

It would be supremely ironic if he chose to disband the team, but I doubt if anybody would walk away from that sort of money.

Will he go on the counter attack and sue who ever he can? Again much as I would like to see it, I think the deck is stacked against him.

Unethical manipulation of an owners association

If the man has not committed a crime, it is entirely unethical for the NBA to exert pressure on the owners association to expel him. It is also wrong for him to be expelled from the association and banned for life while he legally owns a team.

This treatment establishes a dangerous precedent akin to Hitler’s persecution of the Jews in the 1930’s. Then it started with smashing shop windows. Now it’s by banning an owner from enjoying free use of his assets.

It establishes other dangerous precedents, underhand methods for sabotaging successful teams, alienating sponsors and supporters, crippling them financially.

It gives unsuccessful businesses the ability to raise charges of racism to unfairly eliminate competitors in the knowledge that even if the charges are completely unfounded, the media will ensure that damage is done.

Other than the reversed shirt incident, it does not appear that any team members have expressed their disapproval by walking away from the team. Their outrage is not sufficient to jeopardise lucrative contracts.

What would the NBA do if the team expressed solidarity with the owner and demanded that he continue as owner?

The USA trumpets the virtues of the free market system. The market should decide Donald Stirling’s fate, not the self-righteous advocates of totalitarianism that seek to control the thoughts and comments of a nation.

The end of free speech

It is an unacceptable use of thought and speech control, the same mob rule mentality that hounded Brendan Eich from his job a few weeks ago has struck another victim.

Who will be next, will it be you because you said something that a politician or someone in the media did not like?

Why this attitude is unhealthy

When a child comes to his or her mother with a minor scratch, she treats it with the appropriate amount of first aid and leaves it to nature and time to heal.

She does not poke it with a stick to make it much worse and then call the media to show the festering wound to the nation.

That’s what the over hyped reaction to incidents like this does, turn a minor scratch into a festering sore.

Like minor scratches, incidents like these should be left alone for time and nature to heal, not used to provoke racial tension and victimize people.

Why should incidents like this provoke such over-reaction? More hysteria than in some countries with histories of interracial conflict?

Is it lingering guilt over slavery? Or guilt over the almost total annihilation of the indigenous populations of North America and their reduction to powerless minorities? Or the success of the politically correct liberal left in dividing the moderate majority and stifling any opinion other than its own.

Be aware, you could be the next victim.

 

 

 

mage courtesy of Stuart Miles /

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