The Religion of Peace

Yesterday, Upon hearing about the bombing in Manchester, I exhibited the usual response. I had to find out more, what happened exactly, how many people were affected and who is claiming responsibility?

When I usually read news articles, I make an effort to view the comments being expressed by both official sources and by those posting comments on the article. I read comments because while it can sometimes provide entertainment on lighter subjects, it also gives you a perspective on how average people are reacting towards the issue or act being focused on. Sadly, in recent years, many of these comments usually begin with "The Religion of Peace" regarding a new bombing.

Anti-Islam cartoon that spreads misinformation about the religion as a whole

Using this term is not only harmful toward those who practice Islam, which they profess is a religion of peace, but also provides the radicals with more incentive to continue. While it is perfectly normal to show fear in the chaos resulting after something bad happens, it is never beneficial to come to conclusions without really knowing the facts.Radicals of any religion are just that, people who use a religion as their motivation to enact horrible acts and spread fear.

While ISIS has taken responsibility for the acts of last night, their own story of what happened does not exactly match up with what police are saying occurred. This should raise questions among everyone watching, however it is often overlooked. Can we blame people for being angry and wanting to hate someone who targets children cowardly?

What worries me more is how certain public figures have responded to the attack and the language they have used. Specifically, we have Donald Trump calling the attackers losers and while it may be true that they are losers, his choice of wording is interesting. Especially, when only a day earlier his own administration conducted billions in business with Saudi Arabia, a known terrorist supporter, while preaching for Muslim countries to remove extremism from their countries.

Donald Trump during his visit to Saudi Arabia

The acts in Manchester does not have a real purpose, as targeting a concert occupied by children really has no valid gain aside from simply spreading fear.The bomb involved even contained screws and nuts, which is intended to maximize the exposure of the damage from the device. This makes Manchester, if anything, a response to something that recently happened internationally.

This leads me to believe that yesterdays bombing was nothing more than a response to the actions of Donald Trump in Saudi Arabia, in order to not only show the world that terrorism is still alive and well in Western countries, but also to illicit responses such as "The Religion of Peace." When people target Islam as the culprit of radicalism, these terrorists continue to win as they aim to create a war of civilizations in order to increase their ranks and their power.

To kill radicals, everyone must abolish their actions in a united front!

The Western world will mourn for this horrible act like it does with every other horrible act and in time people will see the strength that comes from these acts in order to bring us together. What will remain important however is that people continue to keep their head on their shoulders and not fall for the fear that allows the spread of misinformation and hate. While an enemy does exist, this enemy is not an entire religion, if anything Islam and moderate Muslims are allies we need to work with more closely in order to abolish ISIS and other religious radicals.

Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear. - Mark Twain

-The Political Road Map

A Fairy Tale Wedding

Today, on this chilly Saturday, a wedding has become official that sounds more like a fairy tale scenario to those involved.

No, this fairy tale wedding does not involve Pippa Middleton and her investor husband, but rather a match that might be even more compatible.

Today, Donald Trump has taken the necessary measures to strengthen the bond between the Saudi Arabia kingdom and his administration. Trump went beyond the moral ethics of his predecessors, by initiating both military and investment licenses that range around $300 billion.

This deal with the Saudi kingdom does not only reinforce the foundation of the Trump administration, but further shows the hypocrisy in it as well. While Trump may not trust Muslims due to the issue regarding fanaticism, he has no problem accepting a lot of money from them.

The questions regarding morality involved in selling military equipment to dictators with spotty human rights records are vast and not new. The fact that Trump has taken this step, while many before him have worked toward direct peace, just shows the business side of Trump's administration and the fact that it shows no shame.

Saudi Arabia has been known to export its weaponry to support causes throughout the Middle East, which both support its own agenda and Political Road Map, but also acts of terrorism.

Donald Trump was greeted by a small army and men dressed in traditional garb, dancing with swords as they welcomed him to their lands. His connection with Saudi Arabia should come as a natural one, as both the kingdom and Trump share many of the same ideals pertaining to women and the rule of law. Specifically, where one is suppressed, while the other is directed with an iron fist.

Viewing this trip on the surface shows just how desperate Donald Trump is in correcting his image. As many know, Trump is not doing good in terms of the popular vote regarding his actions and connections to Russia, which is making his impeachment become more and more of a reality as the days pass. This tour around the Middle East is a good way to showcase his ability to create jobs through economic pacts, while also showcasing a positive reception from those welcoming him to their countries. Trump is basically hoping that most Americans will see this as an example of strength and as such associate his work as positive, while hopefully forgetting about the whole Russia connection.

The main question that arises from this kind of activity between the West and known despots is how far do we turn away when dealing with large contracts that are worth a lot of money? In Canada, we have witnessed Justin Trudeau also dealing with Saudi Arabia in the armoured vehicle contract previously put into motion by Harper. Trudeau did not blink while he moved forward with allowing the deal to continue, even though he campaigned as an outspoken feminist and promised to act opposite of his predecessor.

Our elected officials seem to generate amazing camera time and action shots while campaigning for the goodness of human rights and the empowerment of women. Then they turn around and decide to sell military equipment and actively trade with countries that actively stand against these same beliefs. Such hypocrisy should be questioned by all Americans and also Canadians, but sadly, it often goes either unnoticed or without much care from the electorate, which is something that has to change.

Either way, Donald Trump has shown today that his administration has no moral compass and furthermore that his Political Road Map contains no reservations with profiting from dealing with leaders and countries that represent some of the worst human rights records.

Add today's match made in heaven between Donald Trump and Saudi Arabia as another reason to remove this man from the office of guiding the free world.

-The Political Road Map

To Trump All Secrets

Donald Trump is a man of no secrets, even though much of the media is making him out to be someone with a lot to hide.

A man who talks so much, but often says very little

This should come as no surprise to many of us, as the entire American election saw Donald Trump speaking his mind in many scenarios that would destroy the chances of other candidates.

No, Trump not only has no secrets, but goes out of his way to ensure that everyone is so confused regarding his actions, that the truth still cannot be found.

Just look at the number of people he has publicly fired (6) and made to feel disgrace for the simple fact that they gave him some resistance.In doing so, Trump not only continues his path of madness and uncertainty, but also is able to hide his most egregious flaws in plain sight. Think of Gus Fringe in breaking bad and dumb him down a bit and you see Trump's current action plan, his Political Road Map.

The fact that Trump gave secret material to the Russians is also no surprise. In fact, many Presidents and international leaders will share information with allies or other partners, when they both face a similar objective. The problem with how Trump has proceeded with this transaction, is that he made the mistake of getting caught. If anything, this will hurt American foreign policy regarding data collection, but that is nothing the NSA cannot acquire through some new data mining technique anyway.

Donald Trump is most likely working with the Russians, because he has made it very public from the beginning of his administration that he intended to open dialogue with the Russians. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, since it is better to be working on good conditions with another military force than risk agitating them through your own sporadic actions. Lets face it, with someone like Trump commanding American forces combined with his overall temperament, this passing of information is probably a good thing to avoid an all out war.

Where the scandal arises in this scenario, is the fact that Trump seems to be at war with the American judicial system. Whether it is regarding the appointment of a member or the introduction of travel bans, Trump seems to be aiming his attack inward as opposed to the usual suspects on the international scene. More so, when he has fired James Comey in the middle of an investigation regarding Russian interference that favoured Trump, so we are all witnessing more of the same from the election routine that Trump utilized.

While I doubt Donald Trump has the ingenuity to craft this Political Road Map himself, he has been successful so far at evading serious consequences for his action. Sure, people have protested and voiced their displeasure of him, but that doesn't necessarily take him out of office, even though in a Democracy you think it would.

No, Donald is trumping us all, but crafting enough chaos in his daily administration to not only keep everyone at attention, but to literally bend the rules and skirt the necessary conditions for impeachment all in the open.

I still stand by the claim that this will eventually backfire and we will all witness an impeachment process put forward to remove Donald Trump from office. His administration and the very fact that he is in office is nothing more than America's own social experiment with authoritarianism. Eventually, Trump will make a mistake that will directly expose his actions and freedom will prevail,which contrary to Trumps claim is the exact opposite to how his vision of America is panning out.

To my American brothers and sisters, always remember...Where are you? Where are you going? Is your government heading in the same direction?

Donald Trump thinks he has everything calculated and in his favour, but forgets that every time he strokes that pen, every time he voices against someone or some group, he further increases the material and people who want his head.

In Closing, Trump will most likely not make it to day 365 of his administration. His chaotic Political Road Map will eventually expose itself and like always, the American people and judicial system will kick in to do its job.

-The Political Road Map

Comey had it Coming!

Years in the future, when humans develop the ability to inspect the time line and revisit moments in history, they will most likely mark two main points of interest regarding the rise and fall of Fascism in America. Those two points will be the reopening of the Hillary Clinton email investigation during the election and yesterdays dismissal of James Comey, which officially began the process of impeaching Donald Trump.

TERMINATED!

Ex-FBI Director James Comey shouldn't be surprised with the notice that Donald Trump has fired him. His actions during the election not only arguably gave Trump a win, but also put into motion the idea that exterior forces were aiding a campaign against Hillary Clinton. This made him a marked man, as his release of information became an all too coincidental action during election crunch time. One might question how different the election would have been, had Comey released an announcement of Russian interference regarding the Trump camp? Conspiracy much?

Now, a new conspiracy claim in Washington, As Comey has been vigilant regarding the investigation of Russian interference regarding Trump. Did Trump fire him over a disagreement? Most likely, since he has always insisted that his actions had nothing to do with the Russians. So, Comey becomes an annoyance for Trump, since he has already served out his purpose during the election.

The real question will be how the country reacts to the termination of Comey? While this may seem like Donald Trump being Trump, it also shows a trend in the Administrations governance. Trump seems to have a lot of fun firing those who do not agree with him, which shouldn't be a surprise, since the man did have a reality television show that centered on this very act. Not to mention, he copyrighted the term "You're Fired", true story!

Actual footage of Trump firing Comey

  
I believe that while Trump has removed Comey due to how unpopular he has become, he has also put into place the necessary motions that will lead to his impeachment. Everyone knows it, while some are greatly wishing for it, but the fact that Trump will end in impeachment is not a stretch. He has taken his administration in many different directions and really showcases how unstable he is.

Comey had it coming though, he created enemies with the Democrats and then went forward and easily created enemies with the Republicans. This was evident in the media, where Comey went on record with his direct displeasure in the fact that he may have swayed the electorate into choosing Trump. He then took this further with a commitment to ensure all facts were investigated regarding the Russians. 

Americans have taken their love of reality television and uplifted it to the highest office in the country. So, the fact that we are witnessing multiple people being fired for doing their jobs, while Trump drives America into multiple directions blindly, shouldn't be a surprise. The people wanted a show and Donald Trump is giving them one, while making a lot of money for both himself and his friends. 

Moving forward, we now wait and see who will be next on the Trump chopping block, since we know its only a matter of time before someone else says something in opposition to him. Then, we wait a little further and count down until Trump himself becomes the next one to hear, You're Fired!

Put me down for $10, that Trump will not make it to day 365 of his current administration.

-The Political Road Map

Politics in Cinema

May the fourth be with you and May you enjoy this post and share it throughout the galaxy!

To say that cinema has become a favorite past time of people is to greatly under appreciate its impact on our society and our lives.

I always find it interesting how the political process is represented in movies and on television, specifically, the dramatization that is added to the process in many cases. While the dramatization has a purpose, since you are paying for a show, it can also misrepresent the tiring process behind governing and legislating policy.

While Science Fiction can utilize this dramatization, other cinema styles can tell great truth through the acts it creates or imitates on the big screen.

Today, many people will be enjoying Free Comic Book Day throughout the country and will most likely be watching or thinking about Star Wars and while real life politics do not usually revolve around intergalactic senates averting universal war, the themes and metaphors present in these movies directly touch upon those in real life.

Politics in cinema has arguably become more important today, as we face a world where people are afraid and leaders are encapsulating this fear to literally divide and conquer. To be able to enjoy cinema that dispels this fear or explains complex situations in more humble and direct ways only serves a positive encounter for the general population.

I would even go as far as to say that the dramatization, while exaggerated in many cases, can bring some life to topics that may usually be viewed as boring or less than appetizing by the average citizen.

So, in honour of politics in cinema, I thought I would create this post and also include some memorable movie scenes that I know both empowered me, as they covered important real life scenarios.

Political Science Fiction

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Intergalactic Diplomacy in Star Wars

Police State of the Future- Hunger Games

God among men or Dictator among his people?

Political Fiction

Red Dawn- Depiction of an occupation and its day to day roll out

Our favorite revolutionary- V for Vendetta

 

Cinema Based on Political History

The Rise and Fall of Canada's Arrow

All the President's Men- One of the best journalism movies- Watergate

Lincoln

 

The fight for gay rights in America

To end this post off, I want to leave you with this quote, which I felt properly sums up the connection between daily life and the political realm.

Life is politics, basically, but you don’t just go to a gallery and put the words ‘art’ and ‘politics’ on the wall.“

-Luc Tuymans

 


The Political Road Map

Why Can't We Feed Everyone?

If a mother and father fail to feed their children for any long period of time, the government will step in for the sake of the children and take action. When citizens of Canada fail to have access to food, with some living on the streets eating garbage, average people walk around them as if to pass some sort of refuse. Sadly, much of this problem does not even affect Canadian adults, but their children.

So, I am going to take a complex problem and simplify it into a question.

 Why can we not feed everyone in Canada? 

Is it a lack of political will? 

Yes, to a certain extent, the government does not have the political will to fight poverty and hunger directly, instead pouring money into programs that often either compete with each other or handle very large numbers of people with the bare minimum of a budget.

Are we cruel? 

I would have to agree that society is still quite cruel, while we have advanced to become more technologically savvy( Kind of), we are still very cruel to each other. We hate too easily, live with too much stress and view our fellow Canadians as adversaries, contrary to the belief that Canadians are nice to everyone.

Are Food Supplies Short? 

This has to be the most upsetting thing about our current system and problem. While we have people either going without the proper nutrition or just in general hungry, we actually have more than enough food to feed everyone.

So much so, that even if our food supplies are low, we have the technology to develop and maintain food supplies, even into the winter months.

So, Whats Up? 

It isn't even what is up, but more accurately what is down. Since the majority of our food comes from either California or Mexico, we often fall victim to the pricing and conditions of other markets that directly affects Canadians. The problem overall is that we are not organized enough in Canada to use every bit of our food supply chain to its maximum efficiency.

Throw in the risk of law suits and public scandal and you have even more food put to waste instead of being redistributed to those in great need. I remember personally working for a large Canadian supermarket chain, who would rather throw everything out each night as opposed to take a loss in price with the high risk of someone complaining about illness.

This problem isn't just with commercial enterprise though, as the typical Canadian tends to waste a lot of food annually, an average of $400.00 in some cases.

My background is Italian, so in my family it was natural to ensure that no one went hungry. Whether we were growing and cooking our own food or cooking in bulk at home to ensure food was available. This changed though as members of family began to become more and more integrated into Canadian society. The best example would have to be with younger family members, who have entered the habit that purchasing food instead of making it from scratch is the way to go and they aren't alone.

People have forgotten the traditions of their family in many cases and naturally lose the ability to cultivate, prepare and cook their own food from scratch. This isn't all their fault though, as society has become more demanding in Canada. Job security for one thing is no longer present in many industries and while our advances in technology have been cool, they have also led to more demanding requirements from employers, which sadly leaves less time for activities in the home and with the family.

This may seem perfectly natural, but it has ripple effects that are leading to the average person losing quality in their life and with others being left behind or ignored.

When you look at the charities on tv showing famine on the continent of Africa, you often see many children eating a mushy rice, which will provide them with a basic nutritional value. In Canada, many people are forced to pick between different canned foods, which often contain a lot of fat and salt. I often argue that rice may fill a persons belly, but pasta puts a smile on their face!

In a country as rich as Canada, we shouldn't be witnessing the ever growing need for food banks and rampant hunger among the poor. Italians faced many years of poverty after World War II, which supported the Cucina Polvera concept. This concept would be an important addition to Canadian mindsets, as it basically means poor kitchen. What it entails is the utilization of various ingredients that are basic and easy to make available, in doing so, it creates flexible recipes that create food in small portions that allow people to eat.

Whether Canadians in need adopt this policy or not, it is important that their ingredients remain natural and not canned and processed with large amounts of salt and sugar. In doing so, we are investing in lower health care costs and hopefully lower social assistance costs, as healthy people have the strength to not only survive, but also thrive.

It has become sadly evident that the various charities and social programs currently in place are not adequate enough to solve the problem, they are becoming overwhelmed and cannot address the numbers in need. Climate change will only make this problem worse in the near future, as our food sources become vulnerable to more extreme weather, which means the number of people expect is only going to grow internationally, which includes Canada.

Salvation Army Hunger Campaign

Do you agree with what I have said in this post? Does Canada have the resources available to end poverty and hunger from sea to sea to sea?

The Political Road Map

Exaggeration in an Age of Trump

Recently, it was Don Meredith, an embattled Senator, who defended himself as he was targeted for his relationship with an underage girl.

Now, we have Harjit Sajjan, our Minister of National Defence, who is defending himself over his claims that he was the brain child of a successful Canadian military operation.

After reading a few articles from CBC, Sun News and the Toronto Star, I had to take a deeper look, So I did what I usually do, dove into the comments section. Comments are an interesting realm for social media in general, as you enter an area of many dangers and both indirect and direct anger.

I find it interesting specifically, that many members of the military are showing disgrace regarding Mr. Sajjans actions. However, I question if partisanship is fueling more outrage than the comments made regarding Operation Medusa?

We are living in an age of Donald Trump, who throws around words, regardless of their meaning or how offensive they may come across as. Can we truly hold against an elected official, something that did not directly offend a cultural or religious group and with whom apologized for his actions?

Not too long ago, people were commenting on how bad ass Sajjan was, regarding his military service, which does include 3 tours in the Middle East and his overall support for the Canadian military.

Harjit Sajjan giving good advice, but not taking it.

While Minister Sajjan made a critical political mistake, that will no doubt affect his reelection chances, he continues to support our military and that I would argue is more important. He has opened a lot of kinks in his armour, which will give opposition candidates a lot of ammunition on his character, but for him to lose his job over something arguably minor that he has fessed up about? I do not agree with that, even though I do not support Trudeau's Liberal administration, so I cannot say I am bias in saying so either.

How do you feel regarding the situation? Do you believe his actions in government are now overshadowed by an exaggerated claim regarding his involvement in Operation Medusa?

The Canadian military needs all of the help it can get and I believe that we should hold Minister Sajjan to the truth as was done regarding his comments, but allow him to continue doing his job and boosting the military's image and support as much as possible.

When the next election arrives, both he and Justin Trudeau, will have a lot of work cut out for them to be reelected, so I say it is important to never forget, but let the election be used as a tool to determine if he should stay or go.

The Political Road Map

Sugar: A Sweet Conspiracy

It is delicious, makes everything taste better and is used liberally throughout our processed food chain to ensure that every bite has a smile.

Sugar is a natural part of life, we actually need it to live a healthy life, but like anything else in the world, it must be consumed in moderation, which unfortunately does not seem to be the case in modern society.

Refined or added sugar is a silent killer, but also sweet and addictive!

I had the chance to watch a documentary by Jamie Oliver recently on the sugar epidemic currently being faced in the United Kingdom. For those who do not know, Jamie is a famous chef and has campaigned on his Food Revolution, which is taking cooking back to the home kitchen and using natural and simple ingredients. His documentary focuses on a few different countries, however its data is something I wanted to compare to the best country in the world, Canada. I will post a direct link to the documentary below for you to view, once you've had a chance to finish reading this entry.

So, how much has diabetes affected Canadians and more specifically, how many amputations are occurring as a result of the disease?

Upon searching various government and non-profit websites (Canada.ca & Diabetes Canada), I quickly realized we have a problem in this country and its mostly invisible.

Most of the information I was sourcing dated back to 2011/2012, with little to no accurate information present for any year outside of 2015. We are currently in 2017 and as far as I am concerned, sugar is still present in almost everything.

Here are facts I found: 

Currently, it is estimated that between 3-3.4 million Canadians have diabetes, with 1/3 of these people not currently aware of their disease. This is an estimate from 2015 and covers those who have been diagnosed along with those currently living with the conditions necessary for the disease, so there could be more cases that have yet to be identified quite easily.

In 2011/2012, Canada experienced an average of 2000 lower limb amputations per year, with the majority occurring in Ontario. The information was so vague that the estimate does not really cover any other province except Ontario, so this number could also very well be much higher.

To compare, the Sugar Rush documentary listed below indicates that in the UK, amputations related to diabetes is currently at 135 a week or roughly 6,480 annually. Mexico, which is currently the largest consumer of soda/pop, experienced 75,000 diabetic amputations in 2011.

Scary realty, when these are becoming hot ticket items!

So, we know that this disease is deadly and causes a lot of complications, so what does it cost us in economic terms? Well, we know that processed food usually appears to be the cheaper alternative, when in reality is does cost us a lot. However, the cost to our health care system is currently estimated to be at $9 billion annually. This is mainly because a diabetic patient requires a lot of care and monitoring and also testing to ensure their sugar levels remain stable. Throw in amputations, ulcers or complications related to nerves and vision and this cost jumps due to the extra care it requires.

Solution Time

 

The obvious recommendation is usually the most simple, but not really. That recommendation is to live a healthier life via a lower consumption of sugar and the avoidance of stomach fat to be specific.

This becomes difficult as a lot of food currently has a lot of sugar in it and unfortunately, you never see a daily recommended percentage associated with the amount of sugar in the product. This was mainly done so, because  the sugar industry fought hard to remove labeling that would counter the concept of consumer due diligence, since no one could apparently agree on a daily recommended level ( Simple Version).

We need to start reading labels more closely and either scaling back our portions and or avoiding the item all together, try making it at home, it might be a lot easier! 

The other important step that would assist directly in the battle against consumption would be a sugar tax. Yes, I know the mention of tax is as much of a pain in the ass as doing your taxes, however it has been proven that a sugar tax on highly processed foods and drinks has led to a reduction in overall consumption with a much needed cash boost to our health system.

Unfortunately, the industry has hidden behind the idea that consumers need to be educated in their own way to avoid over consumption and live a life of moderation. This is not only utter bullshit, because the information is either not present or vague, but also criminal in the way it allows for an open range of sugar use.

Adding sugar to food not only makes it more appealing and easier to sell, but it also activates a reaction in our body similar to the consumption of drugs, we crave it and go through withdrawal.

Know Your Grams

Food items in restaurants now have calories added to assist in making healthier choices, but this is still too vague, as calories come from everything, both healthy and processed. You could consume a healthy* diet of 2000 calories per day, while still consuming 10x the amount of recommended sugar at the same time! Please note though, that the main issue we currently face is the added sugar in food, while you should try to moderate overall sugar intake, a lot of natural and healthy food will contain sugar, just not as much as the processed foods available to buy.

Oh, and the daily amount of recommended added sugar intake for an adult: 35 grams or 9 teaspoons per male and 25 grams or 6 teaspoons for women. 

 

To put that into perspective, look at the example below. A large Double Double from our most favorite cultural icon, Tim Horton's, contains 30 grams of sugar or your entire daily recommended dose! Dammit!

30 grams of sugar for a large coffee, XL contains roughly 35grams!

It's shocking how easy it is for the average person to fall into a sugar rush, since the majority of our products fail to provide us with an accurate picture of the sugar contained compared to the recommended dose per day. When we have an industry, who also continues to maintain and hide behind the fact that adults should have the common sense to know all of this information, the problem becomes even more serious as misinformation or an uninformed populace eats toward its doom. The companies pumping sugar into their food do not have to face the financial consequences of diabetes and other sugar related disease in Canada and frankly, they do not care if you end up having an amputation.

I have seen first hand what diabetes can do to a person, as members of my family have had it. While the disease can also be genetic, it becomes much more common when an individuals diet supports the necessary conditions for it to flourish.

Please, if you take anything from this entry, just take a moment to watch the following documentary and the next time you go to pick up an item at the grocery store, keep in mind the number 25 and 30 with relation to the amount of sugar in grams are present per portion. Our government can only do so much, but with the proper legislation coupled with consumer education, we can not only save a lot of money in our health care system, but help people avoid the awful consequences of disease related to sugar consumption. A healthier life is a happier life and we all deserve to live with the highest quality of life in the best country in the world!

-The Political Road Map



References:

Jamie's Sugar Rush

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bpr20BdngSY

Canada.ca

https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/type-2-diabetes.html