Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - July 7, 2004, Winnipeg, Manitoba A13 Winnipeg free press focus wednesday july 7, 2004 America being used As a Pawn l Ondon ? you can never say this without hurting the feelings of some americans but it needs to be said. At the Stone laying ceremony of july 4th on the site where the world Trade Center towers formerly stood new York state governor George Pataki dedicated the building that is to replace them with the rhetoric that is Standard in the . On such occasions let this great Freedom Tower show the world that what our enemies sought to destroy our democracy our Freedom our Way of life ? stands taller than but 9/11 want really about any of that. Imagine the scene its 1999, and a group of wild eyed and Bushy bearded islamist fanatics Are pacing a Cave somewhere in Afghanistan planning 9/11. We must destroy american democracy says one. America run by a dictator would be a better yes says the second and we must also curtail their Freedom. Americans have too Many television channels too Many breakfast cereals and far too Many kinds of make up to choose goals no this scene does to ring True then Why does almost All Public Dis Cussion in the . About the goals of the islamist terrorists assume that they Are driven by hatred for the Domestic political and social arrange ments of americans because most americans cannot imagine foreigners using the United states As a tool to Pur sue other goals entirely. Public debate in the United states generally assumes that America is the Only True Home of democracy and free Dom and that other people and coun tries Are pro american or anti american because they support or reject those ideals. Practically nobody on the rest of the planet would recognize this picture but it is the Only one most americans Are shown ? and it has major foreign policy implications. This is what enables president George w. Bush to explain away Why the United states was attacked with the simple phrase ? they hate our freedoms ? and to avoid any discus Sion that delves into the Impact of american foreign policy in the Middle East on Arab and Muslim attitudes towards the United states. It also blinds most americans to the nature of the strategic game that their country has been tricked into playing a role in. So once More with feeling the 9/11 attacks were not aimed at american values which Are of no interest to the islamist one Way or another. They were an operation that was broadly intended to raise the profile of the islamist in the Muslim world but they had the further quite specific goal of luring the . Into invading Muslim countries. The True goal of the islamist is to come to Power in Muslim countries and their problem until recently was that they could not win Over enough local people to make their revolutions happen. Getting the United states to March into the Muslim world in Pur suit of the terrorists was a potentially promising stratagem since an invasion should produce endless images of american soldiers killing and humiliating muslims. That might finally push enough people into the arms of the islamist to get their Long stalled revolutions off the ground. Planners specifically the Al Aida planners expected the . To invade Afghanistan and get bogged Down in the same Long counter guerrilla War that the russians experienced provid ing along the Way years of horrifying images of american firepower killing innocent muslims. In fact their plan failed the . Conquered Afghanistan quickly and at a very Low Cost in lives. The reason Al Aida is still in Busi Ness in a big Way is that the Bush administration then invaded Iraq. The islamist were astonished no doubt but they knew How to exploit an Opportunity. And so the real game continues while the Public debate in the United states is conducted in terms that have Only the most tangential Contact with strategic reality. Perhaps its unfair to ask gov. Pataki to get into any of that at an emotional ceremony that was in part a commemoration of the lives that were lost on 9/11, but when will it be addressed and by whom what major american pub Lic figure will stand up and say that the . And its values Are not really under attack that the country and its troops Are actually just being used As pawns in somebody else a strategy Many senior american politicians and Mili tary officers understand what is going on but its More than their career is reforms hinder democracy return to voter Friendly enumeration and longer campaigns needed by Marjaleen repo e extraordinary Media Atten Tion is being paid to voter no wonder. In a remarkably Short time the turnout of eligible voters has dropped from 75 per cent in 1988 to 61.2 per cent in 2000, to 60.5 per cent on june 28 and heading towards the . Rates of 40 per cent. Lack of civics in our schools is blamed or a weakened sense of citizenship in the country and perhaps in the Western world or just Peoples Busy lives. Mostly the blame goes to politics which is experienced As meaningless and alienating and on politicians who make and break their promises As they see fit. But to understand Why people Are not voting one must also understand concretely what prevents people from Vot ing. The Low turnout does not just consist of people who choose not to vote but also in Ever larger numbers of people who can to vote although they very much want to. That is Why we need to examine voter obstruction and not just voter changes in the late ?90sparliament introduced two changes which contributed Hestily to the dramatic fall in the voter turnout. First door to door enumeration was eliminated in favour of a permanent voters canadians of voting age recall enumerators Herald ing the coming election and function ing not just As registrars of eligible voters but As a sort of warm up act for the election. The accuracy of their lists was High making it easy for people to turn up at the polls. The state assumed full responsibility for enabling citizens to participate in this All important National political event. Contrast this to the permanent Vot ers list which was used for the first time in 2000. Compiled from the 1997 voters list provincial lists and from voluntary registration from tax returns and vehicle registrations applications it turned out to be a Complete Dud full of wrong information dead people peo ple who had moved several times since ?97, and More significantly great num Bers of people missing altogether including ones who had not moved and of course All who had just come of age or become citizens. In the Prince Albert Riding in 2000, our Campaign spent More time than we cared to just helping people get on the list not an easy task As the system was not set up then nor is it now to Cope with the errors and omissions that Are inherent in the so called permanent Vot ers list. Getting on the list was a major Obsta Cle course. Election Canadas phone would ring Busy and a personal visit to the local chief returning officer was often the Only recourse. For Many their efforts to vote stopped there and then because they simply could to make the trip. On voting Day our office was flooded with urgent Calls from people denied the right to vote despite having been instructed by elections Canada to appear at the poll with their id. Many discovered they were in a wrong poll and were unable to go to a different location far from their residence. This regressive Reform had full support from both the liberals and the Reform Alliance and was done to suit the less government ideology of these two parties and their obsession with spending cuts. In one fell swoop the change in voter registration puts the onus on the individual to get herself registered while placing numerous obstacles in her Way. The ones most affected Are the poor and Young ? the very people whose voices must be heard for democracy to function. Thus the change has contributed to voter inequality too. A second regressive and Little under stood feature of the Reform is the shortened Campaign period from a minimum of 47 Days to 36, another Cost cutting measure. But More was Cut than costs As a Shorter period significantly lessens participation in the electoral process. It also heavily favours the incumbents who get out of the starting blocks faster while the challengers scramble to get their offices function ing ? and to get Access to the Ever so flawed preliminary voters lists one visible result of this Short period is the Lack of All candidates meetings where voters can come to listen to question and to heckle if need be in the grand old electoral tradition. The Reform is a train wreck that has devastated citizens chances of meaningful participation in the election. The Campaign has left them and has become lodged in the Media a virtual reality where personalities commentators and programme hosts with their never end ing spin have replaced the voters. Debates the to debates Are structured to allow for none of the give and take of a proper Public meeting and both the candidates and the voters watching them Are cheated. The voters who should be lining up at the Mike to Pum Mel the candidates with Well prepared questions Only appear in Media clips ? the More negative about politics in general the More Likely to be heard and seen. The informed and thoughtful voter no longer fits in the show formats scripted and directed by Media Opin Ion makers who have become vote makers. Elections Canada is now hell Bent to introduce internet voting. That will in my opinion be a final blow with reliability and accountability out the win Dow As voting Security ? or any Security ? cannot be guaranteed on the net. Electoral fraud would be practically invited. More significantly in a country full of techno peasants Many of them without even the most Elemen tary computer equipment just think of our aboriginal and Rural populations and the working and unemployed poor in our cities voter participation would further terminally diminish institutionalizing voter inequality for Good. No if we Are to have a functioning democracy we must go Back to the future we need to restore the voter Friendly enumeration and return to a longer Campaign so candidates and Vot ers will have an Opportunity to meet each other face to face and not through the limited and controlling Media Fil ters. And we must do our utmost to pre vent the death of democracy by electronic voting Marjaleen repo is a political Strate Gist and organizer. She ran David Orchards 2000 Federal Campaign in Prince Albert his pc party s leadership campaigns in 98 and 03, and was Saskatchewan representative on the party a management committee. Letters to the editor the free press welcomes letters from readers. They must include the authors name address and Telephone number. Letters May be edited. Letters to the editor 1355 Mountain Avenue Winnipeg r2x 3b6. Fax 697-7412. Email conservatives views scared voters away so Many westerners Are complaining about the outcome of the Federal elec Tion. How can easterners continue to elect a government that wastes our Money they ask especially with such a wonderful conservative alternative. Firstly just a reminder ? Over 70 per cent of canadians did not vote for the conservative party including Over 60 per cent of Manitoban and Well Over 50 per cent of Western canadians. For most of us it was not a matter of fiscal mismanagement is. Fiscal responsibility. It was a matter of Fis Cal mismanagement is. The destruction of fundamental human rights and Public health care. It want Paul Martin that scared most of us away from Stephen Harper. It was Harper and his party a extremist views. Most of us were not fooled by Harper s family values which Are simply code words for intolerance and bigotry. Believe it or not come election time some of us Are concerned about issues other than our own financial gain. And no i did t vote for Paul mar tins liberals either. The Federal party i support is the Only one that has not repeatedly proven that they cannot successfully run this country. Andrew Morris Winnipeg the people have spoken i found Tom Oleson a july 3 article Welcome to Ottawa Jack to be inflammatory and just Plain rude to the majority of canadians. The people have spoken. Though they hold a minority government the liberals Are at the Helm once More. Get Over it. As for Why voters decided As they did Here is some insight into the thinking of myself and others who have had the temerity to vote against or. Harper. As one who habitually voted pc i freely admit to having voted Liberal in this past election. Why because the conservative party is not what it once was. Now i and apparently others fear it is just a slightly watered Down version of the old Reform Alliance party. Same old prejudices and same old Chip on the shoulder with the Eastern provinces. Everyone living East of the Prairies has to be concerned about the old Reform bitter disdain attitude toward everything and everyone East of the Prairies. Anyone in the entire country who is a Little different from the Ever narrowing main Stream society has reason to fear the bigoted attitudes and narrow minded thinking the old Reform Alliance party proved again and again was so solidly embedded in too Many of its members. Lets face it appropriating the conservative name did not give them the instant respectability in the eyes of doonesbury enough voters. Too Many were not fooled. They saw through the deception. Nice work with the smoke mirrors and string by or. Mckay and or. Harper. They fooled Many of us. Here san idea. Clean out your House As the liberals Are doing. Make your new party respectable. Show us you intend no ill will to this great country As it exists today. We do not wish to become .a. North. Show us your members have the Broad views and insight to envision a great proud country filled with tolerance peace and Prosperity. Show us the new conservative party has a platform grounded in Fis Cal reality. Show us there is a real alternative. Please show us some thing. No More tricks with the smoke and the mirrors and the string. Eugene Schmidt Winnipeg mosquitoes must go this past week has proven to every one How bad our City dealt with the Mosquito Issue. We finally got some decent weather and were unable to enjoy our Patio entertaining barbecuing Etc. We had company in from Edmonton and they could not believe the swarms of mosquitoes in our City. I could not believe How bad it was. All the years that i have lived in this City i have never encountered mosquitoes like the past week. Where were these traps we have this same problem every year Why do we need traps to Tell us whether we need to Spray. We know that by the time the traps show us How bad it is it is too late. I have to take my hat off to the Tough Winni Eggers i saw at Parks Etc. Because there is no Way that i could have tolerated it. Do we not have to be concerned about the virus or do our City Council lors not really care at this rate people will have to visit Winnipeg in the Winter at least the Only problem then is the cold and we can All Deal with that. Lillian Mustard Winnipeg by Garry Trudeau ;