Canada is a 'feudal system' disguised as a democracy. Since 1931 we’ve been 'governed' by cozy deals brokered between politicians running amok. Canada is bereft of a constitution & we have little effective control over government, its abuses and its waste. To become a real country, we must become a nation of united inhabitants who understand it is we who are the masters, and the politicians and bureaucrats are the servants. Until then we’re nothing more than a 21st century feudal society and modern-day feudal serfs. This blog will remain largely Canadian-focused. For international issues visit http://www.modernfeudalserf.org.

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Wednesday, May 25, 2005

350,000,000 REASON$


...and one very obvious conclusion.



The Gomery Commission is doing it's job and Justice John Gomery is distinguishing himself in Canadian legal and political history. It seems strange twist of fate that the one thing Prime Minister Paul Martin will be remembered for doing right is selecting Justice Gomery for the task of unraveling and exploring the Adscam Sponsorship Program Scandal.

There has been an obvious conclusion emerging since Auditor General Sheila Fraser first blew the lid off Adscam ...some in high office, holding positions of great public trust are as crooked as the local fence who trades in stolen goods and obscures his sources and methods ...and are as dishonest as the white collar thieves in Enron who orchestrated and manipulated facts and people to their own selfish benefit and profit.

Only Paul Martin knows the intimate reasons he chose John Gomery in particular ...in the meantime he claims to have known nothing at all about what was going on and his selection of Gomery would seem to support that claim since Gomery is so efficient in his pursuit of the truth. On the other hand, perhaps one of those 'intimate reasons' lays in the premise that Martin actually did not have a direct hand in the AdScam Sponsorship activities and therefore felt that a thorough inquiry would leave him unscathed since, by rules of evidence, he was not a party to the activities. But who was likely at the helm and who has been Paul Martin's chief nemesis all these long years? Jean Chretien of course. Would that speak to motivation to launch an inquiry and install a very capable man such as John Gomery? It would seem more than reasonable to postulate so!

However, before we light up a giant halo for Paul Martin, let's look at another reasonable conclusion. It's true that Martin was an outsider where Jean Chretien's circle of intimates and cohorts is and was concerned. Reasonably that alone would have excluded him from directly participating in the dark plans ...but it would not exclude him from knowing. No one can tell me that a Finance Minister would not be aware or alerted to what was afoot …especially when hundreds of millions of dollars are concerned!

Reasonably, also, Martin's political opportunism and the personal enmity toward Jean Chretien may well have kept his lips sealed in the hope that scandal revelations would have brought Chretien down …leaving the PM's office door open to Martin! Paul Martin should have been the first and loudest whistle-blower …not a passive observer waiting for his moment of opportunity! To say he knew nothing is one of two things: A lie, or a blatant admission of incredible incompetence, possibly because his attentions were more on seizing power than on the intricacies of the Finance portfolio!

Did you notice how Jean Chretien exited politics early, even though having clearly said he would not retire early? (Was that ducking when inside intelligence suggested the lid was about to come off AdScam?) Could the little scrapper from Shawinigan have been run out of office early? (When did Jean Chretien ever back down from a fight?) And isn’t it interesting how much effort Chretien (and Gagliano) have put into derailing the Gomery Commission? Clearly ‘facts’ are not a popular item …guilty people simply do no like the facts getting in the way of their claims of innocence!

No matter how you cut it, or however many tangents that may be fun to explore and gossip about, ONE FACT remains clear …the AdScam Sponsorship could never have happened without cooperation and influence at the highest levels. Period. As of yesterday’s news, we now have 350,000,000 reasons why the Liberal government should be brought down as soon as possible …regardless of how inconvenient it would be for so many to have to trudge off to vote when they’d rather not …too bad, national interest is more important and anyone who thinks rooting out that level of dishonesty and corruption are less than a national priority is a national fool.

Til Next Time!
The Serf

Wednesday, May 18, 2005

The Unsurprising Surprise


Politics makes strange bedfellows indeed!


Belinda Stronach isn’t a popular woman right now …nor is she considered particularly ethical, nor loyal to the people who hired her to be an MP …her constituents. You’d think she believes she was elected because people like her …rather than elected for what she purportedly represented at the podium (the place where candidates plead with us for the job) which was the ‘blue’ resistance to the red rougue Liberal Party of Canada.

The bottom line seems to be Ms. Stronach’s sexual interests …"conservative love making” with boyfriend Peter McKay represents her softer side. However, the wild vixen within her prefers to slide into bed with Liberal Prime Minister Paul Martin to give Canadians as a whole a thorough screwing!

How surprised should we truly be that Belinda Stronach would rise and cross the floor to join the corrupt and arrogant Liberal party? Not much really. After all the rookie MP was lured with a cabinet post …right? Possibly not, since Ms. Stronach and Paul Martin share yet another intimacy not well known …as co-board members for outfits such as Montreal’s Power Corp …a key player in the Kyoto ruse that will see the trading of carbon credits become its own economy funded with dollars out of your pocket and mine! (For more on this go HERE)

The real story, however, is not so much the intrigues, betrayals and sound bytes around this latest political tidbit that fascinates our inquisitive and gossipy imaginations. Once again, the real issue is that of how we ‘allow’ government to function, and how little direct control we have over our elected employees …which is virtually none.

It is far too easy to get caught up in the ongoing Ottawa soap opera …too easy to get drawn off on titillating tangents …and too frequently that we say “to hell with it” and stop trying to figure it all out -- because the day was too long and tiring as we tried to support our families on incomes that belong more to governments than they do to us! Between those few obvious factors we lose sight of a very simple truth …the system is wrong. Why is it wrong? Because it was designed by the wrong people.

In Canada, government has written its own mandate(s) all along and we are ‘consulted’ every few years to see who will sit in Ottawa and continue the charade. There has never been a constitution written by the people and given to ‘government’ as their ‘job description’ …as their framework of what we, the rightful owners of this land, give those we elect permission to do while serving us. Over time, governments have given those to themselves and it isn’t rocket science to figure out that we (the people) have been given second or third consideration behind what government wants to do. Actually a role reversal has ocurred over time in that we elect people to serve us and end up serving them!

If we were to write that framework document today, we would be wise (right out of the gate) to eliminate the word “govern” because it implies too much permission and leeway. In its place I would suggest the word “administer” because it is a far more appropriate word for what their function truly is …to simply (and ONLY) administer certain of our national affairs, (the one we give them permission to administer) …nothing more unless we have been asked for and have granted permission. I say this because I wish to underscore an important issue that has (over time) cost us billions of dollars and cost many of us untold grief.

The issue is that governments take it upon themselves to embark on enormous amounts of social engineering that reflects the particular bent of the dominant party. Those programs alter lives and destinies and once in place are all but impossible to dispense with and we end up stuck with them, stuck with the cost and stuck with the most often odious consequences ...including yet another entrenched, inefficient and costly bureaucracy!

Canada desperately needs that document (written by us and only us via Citizen's Assembly similar to that which studied electoral reform in British Columbia) that clearly and absolutely outlines the ‘job description of our elected employees'. The document is called a constitution, and anyone who tells you Canada has one is offering you a gross distortion of facts and history. For more on this go HERE to find out how the charade has been pulled off over time.

Now, for today’s entertainment …tune in to your favourite news program and listen to the colourful explanations that will be coming out of Belinda Stronach concerning why she took it upon herself to decide what political stripe would represent her constituents …instead of resigning her seat immediately when her own political direction (ambitions) changed from that which got her elected in the first place! It should be good!

Til next time!
The Serf

Thursday, May 05, 2005

If you carry the biggest stick

***********************************
…you no longer need to ask for what you want!

Did you hear the collective sigh of relief? You know, that giant “whew” …the one that occurred right around midnight on Monday! For those of you who missed it, that was the sound of millions of voices as Canadians filed tax returns by the deadline. And as we all know, that deadline is a serious issue considering the 250% fine, daily interest and risk of being carted off to jail more expediently than any car thief, child molester, drug dealer, terrorist or murderer would be …after all, the government HAS told the judiciary that ‘jail should be a last resort’ …unless of course it’s a tax-related issue! National priorities, you know!

Now it occurs to me, your humble Feudal Serf, that fair should be fair …right? That being so, since we agree, we can certainly expect (as a matter of course) that all the lolly doled out via the AdScam program will be subject to the same rules …250% fine, daily interest on every nickel since its beginning and if Mr. Martin, Mr. Chretien and the rest of the crew on the Liberal gravy boat do not pay up within 90 days …off to jail with them. Right? Rules are rules …we’re all equals under the law ..right?

Excuse me …did I hear you say “wrong”? No, no ... it can’t be wrong! After all, we live in a ‘democracy’ and our civil ‘servants’ couldn't possibly have different rules than the rest of us do … we never told them they could operate that way. They do?? They did what?? They made rules especially for themselves? How did they do that? We’re a democracy with a constitution and all so it can’t possibly be so! It is? Welcome to feudalism!

Next thing you know we’ll be seeing “conscripted labour” …that’s pretty feudal too! Of course I’m being very cynical …right? What? … I’m wrong again?? We do have conscripted labour? No way! We’re a democracy … common law (Anglo-Saxon) and the Magna Carta apply here! Conscripted labour is a form of slavery … that’s outlawed too! I’m sure you’re mistaken ... there’s no such thing in Canada …we’re an enlightened first-world nation that opposes oppressive regimes all over the globe, you know!

Apparently “G.S.T.” actually means Grab Serf’s Time. It would seem that anyone collecting GST for Ottawa falls under the “Provide Tax Collection Services Or Else” law. Under that 'law' you are required to provide collection, accounting and remittance services with no wage agreement for doing so. Of course, there is the little perk of GST rebates for you in exchange, however that may not be adequate compensation in the final analysis for the time and effort expended. In essence you are being told that you are to work for what is offered and are given no option to refuse if the ‘compensation’ isn’t adequate or acceptable. I wonder what happened to being able to choose who I work for and under what terms and conditions?

All things being equal, it would appear that (by example) you or I are entitled to go into the street and conscript labour (by threat of force if they refuse) and just to make things look good we can offer them a stipend which is not negotiable by them. I wonder how long we’d get away with that before other branches of government we’re hauling us off to the pokey for extortion, uttering threats, violations of labour law and other things … not long, I suspect!

There’s that double standard again ...the one that says “do as we say, not as we do”. The same ethic that says Canadians who can afford to pay for medical procedures can’t … but politicians can do so (at public expense) any time they like. As a matter of fact, if those "in power" set an example then is it not also a precedent that all can quite rightfully follow? Something to think about! As we know, the double-standard examples abound from our so-called “leaders”.

Back when the Serf was being schooled in the ethos of leadership, the bottom line was that you "lead by example”. So perhaps we are faced with correcting a long-standing typographical error! We must forthwith edit all documents past and present, concerning government, and replace all occurrences of the word “leaders” with the correct term “leeches”.

A suggestion for Canada’s new motto:

“ Land of the Fee and Home of the Knave ©


…after all …that’s the consistent example!

Til Next Time
The Serf

Wednesday, May 04, 2005

Is AdScam a Temporary Blip?


Or a beginning for a better political structure in Canada?


Aren’t the polls amazing? By rights the Liberal party and government should have remained in a free fall till they went ‘SPLAT’ at the bottom. But that doesn’t seem to be the case as they trail a scant five percent behind the Tories! That’s even more amazing!

Scene of the Crime

If you were a business owner, and your office manager and/or accountant had been skimming the bank account over several years, what would you do? It seems reasonable to assume that most business owners would have that individual or individuals investigated, charged and dealt with forthwith …and would then hire a new manager and/or accountant.

By contrast, it would be totally illogical (dare I say stupid?) to renew the employment contract or contracts of those individuals for yet another term – particularly with no additional checks & balances in place to prevent further fraud. By renewing their employment you would be setting a ‘precedent’ (on the basis of presumption) that the individual or individuals involved have your unspoken ‘permission’ to continue embezzling your business!

Yet the latter of those two scenarios appears to represent the minds of about 31% of Canadians (where AdScam is concerned) according to a recent poll! One must wonder under what possible circumstances a third of Canadians find themselves willing to overlook or turn a blind eye to the obvious dishonesty, criminality, deceit, arrogance and self-indulgence of a group of people who pompously consider (and espouse) themselves to be the “Natural Governing Party of Canada”! Amazing!

Was everyone in the party or government involved? Of course not! However (contrary to some excusist types) “a few rogue individuals” would not be capable of orchestrating, carrying on and concealing their activities so well (over such a long period of time) without help from some very influential players. Period. Between testimony and confessions, the Gomery Inquiry has already established that the crimes DID occur. Furthermore it has established that the cadre responsible were Liberal insiders and intimate supporters.

Therefore we know the general ‘WHO’ is the group who have had the reigns of power and therefore the ability to abuse that trust. The specific ‘WHOs’ are secondary to the big picture because the methodology of the larger body is evident. It therefore follows that what work the Gomery Inquiry has remaining, including Justice Gomery’s final report, will not exonerate either the Liberal Party or Liberal government …it will simply identify specific individuals, timelines and scenarios and then make recommendations.

AdScam makes it obvious that the custodians of the Canadian trust have far too much ability to hide their activities and feel far too unaccountable for their actions. That is a huge problem! It’s particularly a problem because it clearly illustrates that ‘government’ considers itself beyond accountability and/or scrutiny. It regards the citizens of Canada as inferior in status to itself, and essentially says to us that we should just “pay up and shut up” …that what government does “behind closed doors” is none of our business. I beg to differ …it is ENTIRELY our business and entirely within our legitimate rights to know what government is doing in our name and with our resources.

The AdScam fraud and embezzlement scandal has exposed the shambles of Canadian governmental structure relative to its relationship to the country as a whole. It’s been said that “this is not a national crisis, it’s a Liberal crisis”. Once again, I beg to differ! Yes, it’s a Liberal crisis …as they panic over their looming loss of power. Anyone who thinks the Liberals are even remotely concerned about the national implications is naive in the extreme! The scandal is (most importantly) a ‘national crisis’ …because it places a huge spotlight on the urgent need for a complete overhaul of how government is structured, how it operates and who it accounts to in Canada.

Restructuring may seem like a large, if not impossible, task. Yes it is large, but by no means impossible. The most difficult challenge Canadians face is that of taking ‘collective’ action. We’re so divided by regions, along multi-cultural lines, and by fear that’s spread by politicians who have no answers or ideas that acting in unison is problematic. A further problem is that we are also very confused about how this ‘country came to be’ and are rarely students of our own history. For that reason Canadians, in general, think or assume we have a constitution …after all, didn’t Trudeau patriate it? …And isn’t there the Constitution Act?

To be clear …the Constitution Act was simply a piece of paper passed by politicians who voted themselves into ‘governance’ …nothing more. A “constitution” by proper definition is:
A CHARTER OF GOVERNMENT DERIVING
ITS WHOLE AUTHORITY FROM THE GOVERNED
(Black’s Law Dictionary, 6th Edition)
Here is a challenge for you: If you can, find the date in Canada’s history when the people assembled to draft and then democratically ratify a constitution define how government shall be structured and how it shall behave and operate in Canada. (See definition above)

For those of you who are too busy to do that research because you have so much on your plate just trying to supply enough after-tax dollars to keep your family sheltered and fed, the answer is: There NEVER WAS SUCH A DATE IN CANADIAN HISTORY ...EVER. Anything ever passed off as a “constitution” in Canada is a worthless document created by politicians to serve their own interests and secure their own influence …nothing more. That amounts to an ‘edict’ – not a “constitution” – and once again represents the very ‘feudal’ system we mistakenly call a “democracy”.

So now that we know what is wrong, we also know what to fix. Thank you to AdScam, the Gomery Inquiry and very particularly to Auditor General Sheila Fraser, we have now been well educated regarding the levels and mechanisms of deceit, dishonesty, fraud and abuse that occur when government is not wearing a ‘leash’ crafted, drafted, agreed to and enforced by the people.

With all of this in mind, we are now in a position to write a truly great constitution, free of the gullibility and naiveté that existed in the past when politicians were assumed to be honourable people with the nation’s best interests at heart …now we know better!

OK …Who’s got a pen and paper?
Let’s get busy, we have a country to rebuild …the right way!!

Til next time
The Serf

Tuesday, May 03, 2005

C'mon now ...what's in a word?


Answer: Way too much at times!


Step into a court room and a 'word' can mean the difference between success or failure. Read the history of the BNA Act and a single word made the difference between economic freedom and carrying a tax burden far exceeding that of a medieval serf! In everyday Canadian life, certain words have created a mindset that is contrary to the essence of a democracy ... at the centre of those words is 'govern' ...and following are all the extensions, variations and metaphors of that word, and most importantly the subliminal effect of it! Another word to pay attention to is "democracy" ...we talk about it, and we even go through some motions ...but we don't live it!

Lets begin by defining what we are supposed to be -- a "democracy".

Definition: Democracy is literally "rule by the people" and "the democratic method" is the institutional arrangement for arriving at political decisions that realizes the common good by making the people itself decide issues through the election of individuals who are to assemble in order to carry out its will." Period, full stop.
So clearly, by long-standing, accepted definition, a 'democracy' is a society where the people (collectively) are the rulers of their own land and therefore the will of the people is what 'governs' that land. As such, that arrangement is not complicated or vague, and it makes complete, logical sense. Generally, it's what the average person honestly believes to be the case!

How do we exercise and voice our collective will -- our collective governance of our own country? We do it by electing people to represent our collective will every so often through the elective process. The elective process amounts (simply) to a 'job interview' that lasts several weeks. Those seeking the job come before us and tell us why they are the best choice for the vacant job and why we should employ them on a short term contract (the period between elections). At the ballot box we convene to make a collective decision as to who that contract employee will be. Democracy at work!

So far this makes a lot of sense, is logical and is a rational way to manage the affairs of a large geographic area inhabited by a large number of people ...except for one problem. What problem? The problem we have is that those who begged for jobs at the podium are under absolutely no obligation to pay any attention at all to what their 'employers' want! The proof of this lays in Alberta Court of Queen's Bench Justice, E.A. Marshall's decision concerning docket number 9012000725 on the 10th of December 1990. Citizens brought suit against their MP for his failure to represent their wishes. In Justice Marshall’s decision he said:

“ I know of no legal duty on an elected representative at any level of government to consult with his constituents or determine their views. While such an obligation may generally be considered desirable, there is no legal requirement.”

This applies to all of us, no matter what province we reside in! Did we, the people, give permission to have our wishes ignored by the politicians we hire? NO. Did the politicians give themselves that prerogative? YES. Does this sound like democracy? NO. And this brings us to the use of the word "govern" and all the other words that go along with it!

To think of ourselves as "governed" implies acceptance of subservience on our part, and suggests 'superiority' on the part of those elected to "govern". The mindset is the complete opposite of what the real 'power structure' is in an actual 'democracy'. In a democracy we hire (elect) individuals to 'manage' certain of our affairs on our behalf ...period. In effect such elected people are merely the custodians of our will ...not our masters, betters or superiors ...that would be too feudal. The biggest problem (with this ingrained perception) lays with those elected individuals who have abused the moral trust their offices properly and rightfully include.

We in Canada, although touting ourselves as an enlightened democracy, have bought into paying homage to a foreign monarch, giving free (and free-spending) reign to that monarch’s representative in Canada (The Governor General – note the authority implied with both “governor” and “general”) and this has trickled down to a pompous elected ‘elite’ who deem themselves our masters!

In a democracy the elected do the bidding of the electors to manage necessary infrastructure essential to the country. This is not the reality in Canada as politicians over generations take a host of liberties, experiment with their own flavour of ‘social engineering’ and lately treat ill-gotten tax dollars as if that money is their personal pocket change! These examples are tips of icebergs but represent the backward and destructive power structure in Canada that disguises itself as a democracy and smooth talks the population into believing so. The reality is that every few years we do nothing less than ‘elect’ feudal dictators and give up our natural right to a voice in our own affairs!

Some questions to ask yourself and each other …and think about next time you are inclined to just accept things as they are:

  • Who owns Canada ..the people or the politicians?

  • Who asked politicians to re-subject Canadians to British rule?

  • Who gave politicians permission to vote themselves gold-plated pensions and perks?

  • What right do politicians have to tell you that you’re not free to purchase medical attention with your own money?

  • Who told politicians to write a Charter of Rights on our behalf?

  • Who told politicians it was OK to tax people to ridiculous levels?

  • Who told politicians it was OK to turn issuance of money in Canada over to private banking concerns?

  • Who told politicians it was OK to indebt generations of Canadians in order to fund political promises and social engineering experiments?

  • Who told politicians to go easy on criminals and pay more attention to criminal rights than victim rights?

  • Who told politicians to make a sex offender registry with no retroactive teeth? (Oh yes, that was Chretien …probably because his step son would have been on the list?)

  • Who told politicians to do most of what they have assumed they can do because they assume themselves our masters?

The Answer: It wasn’t us!

Do we get any say in how this country is run?

Til my next "words"
The Serf