Does 911 Help Barack Obama

Though some will think this question is in poor taste I think it is an interesting one.

Many were very surprised when the two leading contenders for the United States Democratic Party nomination for President turned out to be a white woman and a black man. Until then conventional wisdom was that the United States was not ready for a black, or a female, President.

Hilary Clinton’s case is unique, as the wife of a former President, but of course there are other factors at play there as well.

In the case of Obama, while racism may not be as rampant in the United States as it once was, presidential elections can be won by very narrow margins and it would only take a small percentage of voters who would never vote for a black candidate to defeat him. Yet, he may become the Democratic nominee.

Part of the reason for that may be that the racism dynamic in the United States appears to be changing. Racism, though expressed in hate, is based on fear. Traditional racism in the United States was born with the end of slavery as white men began to fear free black men - afraid they would seek revenge for slavery, defile their women and take their jobs. It may have been irrational but it was used by many to their own personal and political advantage and justified by religion.

With 911, or more precisely, the response of the United States government to 911, the racism dynamic was changed. It is no longer white vs black but Christianity vs Islam. It may be just as irrational but it is just as real.

Indeed those using racism to attack Obama are not doing it on the basis of his blackness but are trying to label him as a Muslim. They put undue emphasis on his middle name, “Hussein”, which is of Arab origin and by inference Muslim. As well they refer to his alleged “Muslim father”, although Biography.com states “His father, Barack Obama, Sr., was born of Luo ethnicity in Nyanza Province, Kenya. He grew up herding goats with his own father, who was a domestic servant to the British. Although reared among Muslims, Obama, Sr., became an atheist at some point.”

But the Muslim labeling appears not to be having any significant effect on voters and his blackness appears to be seen as an asset rather than a liability.

If Barack Obama is elected President it will be on his own merits and his ability to reach the minds and souls of the American people with his message of change, but it may very well have been made possible by the changing dynamic of racism in the United States

Rick on Ezra

The Rant says it best.



When the relatively insignificant Western Standard was the only Canadian publication to publish the infamous Mohammad cartoons I felt sad that they had felt the need to publish such an insult but pride that all other Canadian publications had voluntarily declined to join the frenzy.

The response to the Western Standard’s decision can only cause us all to be uncertain of the voluntary nature of all those other publications decisions and wonder if our pride in Canada’s response to this issue has been misguided.

You can read more about what the Fifth Column has to say about Freedom of Thought here.

Too Dangerous for Crops - Let’s Rub It On Our Children’s Brains

The CBC and CTV report that shampoos, marketed to treat head lice, that contain an insecticide, Lindane, that has been banned from agricultural use, are being sold over the counter in Canada.

According to the Lindane Education And Research Network:

Lindane is the primary synonym for gamma-Hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) also commonly referred to as benzene hexachloride (BHC). Lindane is a nerve poison, an organochlorine pesticide. Lindane is a known carcinogen in the state of California where it has been banned. Lindane is an Endocrine Disrupting Chemical and Persistent Organic Pollutant. Lindane is found in air, water and soil samples throughout the world. Lindane is documented in human breast milk and amniotic fluid. Many countries have banned lindane. Unfortunately, in the United States, it is still widely prescribed and used on children and their families for treating head lice and scabies. It is also used on pets, livestock, fruits and vegetables, cotton, wool, tobacco, plants, trees and as a wood preservative.

The CBC report states:

While several environmental groups have called for a ban on lindane-based pharmaceuticals, Health Canada still allows its use in lice and scabies treatments, even though its use as an agricultural pesticide has been banned.

The Canadian Paediatric Society is reviewing its position on lindane products and currently recommends that they not be used on infants and children under 17. The society advises that products that contain pyrethrin or permethrin, instead of lindane, are considered safe.

Pesticide linked to convulsions, deaths

California banned lindane products in 2002 amid concerns the chemical was showing up in wastewater and because lindane-based medications were generating reports of skin irritation, dizziness, headaches and, in some extreme cases, convulsions and death.

California estimated that a single treatment of a lindane-based product that was washed down the drain was impacting 22 million litres of water and bringing contamination above the limit of 19 parts per trillion.

Parents should also note that head lice “aren't dangerous and they don't spread disease” (kidshealth.org) and “head lice are not a hazard to health” (simcoemuskokahealth.org) and finally “Head lice rarely (if ever) cause direct harm, and they are not known to transmit infectious agents from person-to-person. Thus, they should not be considered as a medical or a public health problem” (hsph.harvard.edu).

So why have parents been frightened into using a dangerous toxic chemical and carcinogen on their children’s brains to treat something that is not harmful. Our schools must stop promoting this lunacy and tell parents the truth about head lice and Lindane-based shampoos. And parents must not allow themselves to be bullied (by their children’s schools) into placing their children’s health at serious risk.

March 17 - Not Just For That Irish Guy

Happy Birthday Maggie !








(click photos to enlarge)

It's The Bullshit, Stupid - American Election Analysis

If video not working click here.

Source: The Onion

The Fifth Column will be taking a blogging holiday during the March Break, The Fifth Column will return Monday, March 17, 2008.

Computer Nostalgia

I was working away at my slide scanning project when I came across this photo of my wife at our desk working on our first computer, an Osborne 1 in June 1983.(click on images to enlarge)

The Senate Must Reject Bill C-10s “Censorship” Provisions

Much has been written about the “censorship” provisions in Bill C-10. One might argue that it is not “censorship” but just the government setting standards for what it is willing to fund with taxpayers money. However, as others have pointed out, here are already provisions that prevent “pornography” from being funded. This is much more odious than that.

It is one thing to say the government will not fund “objectionable” content. It is another to say it will only fund content that promotes the goals of the governing party. That is what this provision allows and even mandates.

The key wording in Bill C-10 is the following phrase used to describe what the government would fund:

“(b) public financial support of the production would not be contrary to public policy”

Note the careful choice of words. We are not talking about the “public interest” but about “public policy”. What is “public policy”. What other interpretation could there be other than that it refers to “government policy”, and “government policy” is established by the party in power and changes as governments change.

At best, it is so ambiguous that film and television producers would never know if a film or television program would be eligible for funding or not. At worse, the government would be mandated not to provide public funding to films or programs that are contrary to Conservative Party policy.

Of course the government will argue that is not what it means. If so, why is that what it says.

At least one Member of the House of Commons has admitted to voting for Bill C-10 without knowing that provision was there. That is not surprising. The provision is well hidden in a 600 page tax bill. Simply for the reason that Members of Parliament were not aware of this clause, the Senate should send it back to the House of Commons for reconsideration.

Bill Clinton’s Priorities - Life Beyond Politics

In the midst of the most critical stages of his wife’s political campaign Bill Clinton has shown that there is life beyond politics. The Toronto Star reported that on March 2, 2008 he was in Toronto to speak at a fund-raising event for the Clinton Giustra Sustainable Growth Initiative which will assist local leaders in Latin America and the developing world in addressing issues of social, economic and environmental impact through employment and economy.

"The world is bedevilled by three great crises: the persistent and growing inequality in economic opportunity, education and health care; the insecurity caused by our interdependence making us vulnerable to terror, to weapons of mass destruction, to the spread of dangerous materials, to global epidemics; and the unsustainability of our current developmental course because of the threats of global warming," Clinton told more than 1,000 people at the Westin Harbour Castle Convention Centre.

We give credit to the former president for his international humanitarian role and his work with the William J. Clinton Foundation and the Clinton Global Initiative.

Cuba Has Surrounded Gitmo...

...with organic fruit and vegetables !

From: Oxfam Canada

Cuba: Organic Farming Improves Lives

Oxfam has helped the Cuban Association of Agriculture and Forestry Professionals (ACTAF) convert 13 hectares in the urban periphery surrounding Guantanamo into an organic, urban agriculture farm. 106 stable jobs were created - 51 of the workers are women. The majority live in the neighbourhood and their new union is now pushing for a day-care center for their kids.

“The people like this work because it’s close to their homes. They’re better paid then in other jobs, they can buy affordable fruits and vegetables for their families and they feel they’re doing something important”, said Oscar Borges, the Project Coordinator for ACTAF in the province. “For us it has been a great experience to work with Oxfam because there was always dialogue, flexibility, comprehension and respect.”

The fruits and vegetables are grown without any chemical inputs. Instead, the farmers produce their own fertilizer using organic compost and worms. They produce their plants in a new greenhouse. The project has contracts with government institutions to deliver produce to hospitals, child care centers and workplaces throughout the neighbourhood of 55,000 people. Their excess produce is sold to local people at affordable prices in a small shop on the farm and by bicycle around the community.

Odalys Puente manages the farm after years as an agricultural worker. For her “our goal is not to maximize our own benefits, but to contribute to good, healthy and available food for our people and be able to live our life with dignity”.

A class room has been built and equipped and is used for training farm workers as well as ACTAF members in the province. The project provided input and funds for a new edition of a technical manual for this kind of organic agriculture that will be used across the country.

Reflections on Cuba and Castro

The retirement of Fidel Castro has raised renewed interest in Cuba. Here are some resources that I found that might be of interest.

From the Pew Research Center, the article Global Views on Castro and Cuba, which states:

Fidel Castro ends his long tenure as president of Cuba with international opinion mixed on the question of whether his leadership has been good or bad for his country. While Americans have an overwhelmingly negative view of Castro, attitudes in many Latin American countries are far more favorable to the longtime Cuban leader. The Pew Global Attitudes survey in the spring of 2007, for example, found that pluralities in Bolivia (42%), Brazil (39%), Argentina (39%), and Peru (38%) think Castro has had a positive effect on his country.

Opinion in Canada is also positive towards Castro, with 44% saying that his leadership has been good for Cuba, the highest percentage among the nine countries surveyed about Castro. Even there, however, opinion is mixed, with 36% saying he has been bad for his country.

From Straight Goods the article Cuba's accomplishments likely to be overlooked in media coverage, which states:

With Fidel Castro's resignation, Cuba is poised to move onward and upward, building on what he began. Whether Canada and the United States will do so as well depends on the results of the next election in each country.

In days to come, we can expect to hear media reports casting Castro mostly as a strongman, dictator, revolutionary and nuisance to American presidents. He was all of that, but those were means to an end for Castro. The end was to build a miraculous, egalitarian society on a poor mountainous island with a history of colonialism and slavery, surrounded by enemies.

Other important realities of Castro's Cuba usually go unreported in news coverage. Castro's accomplishments in a poor, post-colonial economy are extraordinary.

* All Cubans have health care and free education up through post-secondary.
* Literacy levels are so high that Cuba has been able to offer doctors to other nations — including the US, after Hurricane Katrina.
* No Cubans starve. There is no homelessness problem.
* After the Soviet Union collapsed and Cuba lost its oil supply, it became a world leader in organic agriculture

From CBC-TV: Doc Zone the film Castro, A Life of Revolution the summary of which states:

Now, after ruling Cuba for close to fifty years, Fidel Castro has stepped down. From his childhood in rural Cuba through his fight in the Sierra Maestra to winning the revolution and transforming the country, Fidel Castro: A Life of Revolution presents an account of his life and times that has rarely been heard – the account of Castro himself, taken largely from private letters, correspondence, speeches and interviews.

The documentary concludes with a debate about Castro’s legacy as world opinion now seems divided between those who blame him for executing hundreds, imprisoning thousands and driving hundreds of thousands into exile, and those who credit him with the most influential revolution of the modern era. Exclusive footage of Castro's childhood home and his rebel headquarters in the Sierra Maestra mountains is complimented by classic archival footage, including CBC interviews with Castro when he was the most wanted man in Cuba.