Why do we need a Vision?

GAB got me thinking about the idea of a national vision and how we don't seem to have one, or at least not one that has captured my fancy.

What is a Vision? Here is one answer from Susan Ward at About.com, adapted for politics:

"What you are doing when creating a vision statement is articulating your dreams and hopes for your country. It reminds you of what you are trying to build.

While a vision statement doesn’t tell you how you’re going to get there, it does set the direction for your planning. That’s why it’s important when crafting a vision statement to let your imagination go and dare to dream – and why it’s important that a vision statement captures your passion."

I have a personal Vision Statement and it has created the space for me to go back to school with the aim of heading off to Law School. One year ago, I didn't know what I wanted to do and if I had not sat down and thought very hard, brainstormed very creatively and dreamed a little I would still be slogging away, my life much the same, sinking slowly ever deeper in debt and knowing that something was amiss but not knowing what it was.

My Vision has wrought massive change in my life, I am moving in a month, I've gone back to school, and I've had to re-evaluate my volunteer commitments.

The point is that creating and believing in a Vision creates massive change but it acts as a support and guiding light to inspire you forward. The change becomes empowering instead of frightening.

I too wonder when we will see a politician of great vision in this country. One who can give the rest of us something better to aim for than 'resource whore'.

The Green Party has Vision 2020:

The Green Party holds a positive Vision of Canada, now and into the future.

We will strive to support a society where the pressure to make a living does not crowd out having a life; where having more does not supplant being more.

In our Green Vision, Canadians enjoy a higher quality of life, experiencing health and wellness, education and meaningful work, prosperity and economic success supported by ecological health.

In our vision of Canada, ability or disability, economic, racial, or cultural backgrounds do not preclude individuals from contributing to and benefiting from a prosperous Canada.

Canadian communities – urban and rural – thrive in our Green Vision, including communities dependent on fisheries, forestry and agriculture.

Canada plays a positive role in the world, working cooperatively with governments, North and South, to ensure equity, global security and peace."

While I buy into the Green Part Vision, it seems a little long to me. I'd like to see a one-sentence Vision Statement, something short and snappy. Personally, I vote for Bhutan's Gross National Happiness. :-)

Schreiber - the saga continues

I hate even giving him the credit of creating a saga, but it is a story that has managed to capture the fancy of the Canadian media. Silly media, tricks are for kids.

So they managed to get Schreiber before the Ethics Committee and he proceded to play our illustrious members of parliament for total patsies. Very smart Schreiber. Why isn't there an outcry, an uproar? Why aren't citizens screaming to ship this to Germany so he can face charges of fraud... Fraud. Let's take a moment to think on that...



Fraud. And yet we expect him to tell the truth here. Sigh. He refused to say anything until they cut a deal which includes giving him more time "to go through his documents" and lays out how long he'll be able to avoid extradition.

Seriously, give me a freakin' break. I want this man gone gone gone. I don't care if Mulroney did take the money and promise to be his 'special' friend. I really don't. There are much bigger issues of integrity-breach to be dealt with.

Like our nation looking like a bunch of two-face, lame-asses who broke their word on an international treaty (yes, I am talking about Kyoto). That breach should be enough to ensure that our standing internationally has dropped to somewhere about the level of the, hmmm..., ah yes, the U.S. Oh no wait, I guess our reputation is lower than that since at least they refused to ratify so made no promises. We are oath breakers, they are just deniers.

Or perhaps our internment of Ukranian Canadians during World War I and Japanese Canadians during WWII. Or maybe our unbelievably poor treatment of the indigenous peoples from whom we stole this land.

But, let's spend some more time listening to a criminal play our country for a fool. Why not? It's better than looking at our own issues.

P.S. I realize he is a dual citizen but I don't think he is at risk of torture in Germany.

Golden Compass banned in Halton Catholic Schools

Sigh. They even banned distribution of the Scholastic flyer that had an ad for the book.

Support Catholic school funding, support banning books. Fun. I'd like to point out once again that we are only committed to fund separate school up to Grade 9, Ontario continues the funding through high school voluntarily.

"Thursday, November 22, 2007 - 07:55 AM
By: 680News staff

Toronto - The Halton Catholic School Board has pulled a fantasy book off library shelves because of a complaint.

The Golden Compass was named the best children's book in the past 70 years by readers across the globe and has been made into a movie, opening Dec. 7, starring Nicole Kidman.

But its popularity didn't stop the school board from banning it.

Two other books in the trilogy by British author Philip Pullman have also been removed as a precaution.

Halton's Manager of Library Services said the complaint came after Pullman said in an interview that he's an atheist.

Principals have also been ordered not to distribute December Scholastic book flyers because The Golden Compass is available to order."

Robot Overlords...

I, for one, will welcome our new robot overlords! (just wanted to show my support early)

My favourite lines:

Tyrone: Robot overlords don't give Scooter Libby pardons. No rich man can bribe his way out of the robot overlord court. You telling me you don't want to see the robot overlords kick in Dick Cheney's door --
John: I would buy that DVD. The two disc box set, with robot overlord commentary.

Schreiber

Okay, I just had to put my two cents in on this one.

Please, please, please extradite him to Germany. Please, for our country's sake. The man has played our legal system like a pro and made us look like a bunch of chumps.

Just send him away.

I don't care whether there were unscrupulous business dealings. I really don't. I mean, $300,000? Our government wastes that much on letterhead, much more on fancy golf balls. Who cares what Mulroney did almost 20 years ago?

There was far more money wasted canceling the Airbus deal and the damage it did to our international reputation... how is this going to help?

And now, Schreiber says he won't co-operate if he gets extradited. He is issuing threats and attempting to hold my government and my justice system hostage to his rantings.

Send him home.

He has been fighting extradition for 8 years. Eight! It is so embarrassing.

Don't waste millions more on a public inquiry that is likely going to find - oh, what a shock! the guy was pulling out any desperate accusations he could to remain out of the reach of the German legal system...

where maybe there's a hope in hell he'll actually get convicted of something.

sigh.

Remembrance Day

November 11th is a tough day for me - as I'm sure it is for so many. Of course, my memories are not linked to any of the traditional wars. Nope, November 11, 2004 was the day that I finally took my mother to the Emergency Room in Toronto and waited 8 hours to finally discover that she had a tumour in her brain the size of a plum.

Today though, is beautiful. The sun is shining, the sky is brilliant blue and, after a hard frost and a temperature a few degrees below zero Celsius, the maple trees on my little court appear to be, quite literally, throwing off their leaves. I can sit and watch them fall in a shower that would normally only be caused by a squirrel or bird rummaging amidst the branches.

It is a thrill for me to sit here and watch them, early on this Sunday morning, comfortable and safe in my little house. A house that I have recently sold because I plan to move down to the city. Which, today, reminds me of how fortunate I am to have the freedom to live where I want in this country, and even, if I ever wanted to - to move beyond the borders to one of a multitude of other countries.

Of course, I'm moving so that I can be closer to my school. I confess the reason that I am up so early is not to watch the leaves or enjoy the brilliant fall weather but to work on my essay that is due in a couple of days. I actually feel a little guilty, I am loving my schoolwork perhaps a wee bit too much. So I am grateful for this as well, there are many parts of the world - the majority of the world, in fact, where I would certainly not be allowed to attend a school of higher education and be learning about International Studies. As a woman, there are many parts of the world where I wouldn't be able to leave my house alone at all.

So, on this Remembrance Day, I feel gratitude. Deep, deep thanks for all the men and women who have worked so hard, who gave their toil, blood, and lives when called upon to do so to provide me with these amazing freedoms that I often take for granted. To those who continue to do their best for me today, no matter how often I disagree with them, I admire their passion and will to go on working.

Thank you.

Privacy Issues

Ugh. It was going so well and then I fell into a black hole of non-blogging in October. Climbing back up on that horse, here is my first post on the first of November. (Of course, it is no longer the first day of November, but I did try.) From dw-word.de

I was hoping he wouldn't say it, but he did. "If you haven't done anything wrong, you don't have anything to worry about." Bad politician, bad. Once again, a western politician invokes the fear of terrorism and uses it to try and crush discussion and critical thought.

The topic:

Digital fingerprints encoded on German passports.

Yuck!

This honestly makes me cringe. The more I learn about how easy it is for electronic scanners to gather information about us the more I want to toss my cell phone. Someone with a portable scanner could casually walk by and learn exactly who you are - it will also allow a store to greet you personally when you walk in.

But digital fingerprints - that takes possibilities for identity theft to a whole new level. Imagine you visit a hotel in a foreign country and they ask for your passport at check-in (which they often do). A quick scan and they have access to your fingerprints in the form of a computer file - how easy is that?

I also have concerns about the construction of a ginormous database that police organization and governments would have access to with fingerprints. It feels more than a little creepy.

For me, it's right up there with electronic voting machines.