Malaysian scam

Nigerian Princes often get flack for trying to get internet users to depart with their money in the hopes of receiving millions, but never before have I seen the good name of Malaysia dragged into this scandalous foray. 

Well imagine my surprise when I received an email from a would-be scammer saying a relative of mine had died in Malaysia and left a grand sum of $18,000,000 just lying around.

So, in good fun, I decided to write back.

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The Will of Giants

"Standing on the shoulders of giants" is a saying that usually pertains to accomplishing feats by using the past accomplishments of others as a launch pad for your own attempts at greatness.  Modern physicists would identify Newton and Einstein as their giants while human rights advocates would look to Martin Luther King Jr. and Mohandas Gandhi for their inspiration.  But when does standing on a "giant's shoulders" turn into becoming a giant?  I'd like to leave behind the connotation of accomplishment that comes with this saying and instead offer a new definition of what it is to be a giant.  A giant is someone who exerts their influence on the world around them; their presence is felt wherever they are, towering above the multitude, acting as an anchor of certainty and imposing their will on the world.  Sounds like a force to be reckoned with, right?  This idea of the proverbial giant is what has been on my mind the last little while.  What would it take to become such a being?  And after becoming a "giant", would you be happy with the results? 

As I said before, I'd like to leave accomplishment out of this definition for now.  Of course, accomplishment is a major measure of greatness and as such will produce giants of its own but that will come with time and the right setting.  However, the social environment we reside in is ripe for producing giants and it is in this conceptual setting that I would like to explore.

So, first let me tell you how I happened upon this idea.  It's been a long time coming, especially since the foundations were laid down by my transition to atheism.  The idea of a God who is constantly minding your business and judging you is very limiting.  It creates a feeling of being fenced in and of having limited options for how to live your life, though at the time you don't realize this (I know I didn't).  Upon shedding the idea of God, I realized that there are no permanent social boundaries.  None whatsoever.  The only boundaries and limitations that exist are those that we build for ourselves and those that are built by others.  Sounds dangerous doesn't it?  And it is, if not tended by a steady mind.  For this is the world we live in (whether you choose to believe it or not) where physical interactions determine everything that occurs.  Divine intervention has no role here.  At this point in my transition I was aware of this reality but lacked the motivation or understanding to do much about it.  I carried on with my life, trapped by boundaries that continued to define and mould the path I took.  Only recently have events occurred that have allowed me to see this truth and to begin reshaping the boundaries in my life. 

I was pretty much starting from scratch.  Questioning the fabric of my existence was only the beginning, as I was now in a position to create my own moral/social code for me to abide by.  As I mentioned above, this is where it gets dangerous.  Someone with little regard for the lives of others may come up with a code that is incompatible with a harmonious society, where a person's individual wants override everything else.  Such attitudes have existed throughout history and still do today.  But in my personal search, I could see the value of placing the wants and needs of others on the same level as my own and so that is how I decided to sculpt my moral code.  So how was I to start?  After thinking about it, I resolved to rely on what I have always used to determine how I treat others, empathy.  Truly, empathy is the vehicle for us all in determining how we interact with others.  So with an atheistic mindset and empathy in hand, I began the construction of my own social and moral code.   

As I was building my code, I kept revisiting a certain theme.  I was free to do anything I wanted to do or be whoever I wanted to be.  There was no solid carving of myself set in stone.  Only a fluid one, which I am responsible for forming.  Nobody knows who I am.  Nobody knows what I'm thinking.  And nobody knows what I'm capable of.  So why sell myself short.  I then decided to ask myself an important question: what did I want out of my life?  It is essential to understand this question before answering it.  Your answer should not be to "get married and to have a nice car or house".  It should delve deeper than that.  It should touch on what you want to drive your life (your motivations), the kind of person you want to be and how other people fit into your existence.  Once I honestly answered this question, I had a path to follow. 

And so you must now ask yourself this question.  And be sure to answer it honestly.  Only once you have your answer can you truly begin to "be who you want to be".  Everything that held you back; fear, embarrassment, timidity, apathy or lack of confidence can be overcome and replaced with a certainty of character and purpose.  That is how giants are created.  Their thoughts are translated into actions and made visible for the world to see.  And that is the next step.  Actually going out and exerting your influence.  Bending this world to your will through your actions and making something out of your existence.  That was one of the initial thoughts I had concerning this subject: the idea of control.  The feeling of being in control is an intoxicating one.  You feel like you are no longer subject to the weathering of the outside world.  That you are no longer a pawn, but a player in this game we call life.

"monster"

I must mention here that by no means am I claiming to be a giant.  Only that I have stumbled upon the path one may take to become one.  I can only imagine that, as a giant, it would be easy to lose perspective.  Towering above the multitude can lead to the establishment of a "God Complex" within a person.  History is certainly rich with examples of this, ranging from Xerxes of Persia to Adolf Hitler of Nazi Germany to recently deceased Moammar Gadhafi of Libya.  In becoming a giant, a personality of humility and modesty must be fostered.  To do otherwise is to risk becoming a monster.   

A certain quote comes to mind as I wrap up my thoughts.  It comes from one of my favorite novels, The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss, and touches on the path we take to define ourselves.

"It's like everyone tells a story about themselves inside their own head.  Always.  All the time.  That story makes you what you are.  We build ourselves out of that story."

So what stories will you tell?

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Reflections

As I move on in life, I constantly sense myself changing.  I don't mean this in the physical sense so much, but more mentally and emotionally.  Call it maturation if you wish.  I prefer to call it discovery.  It's as if every so often I look back at myself and my actions and realize who I am now is not the person I was in the recent past.  The most startling realization is that recent past does not mean 3 years ago or even 1 year.  I can trace a significant change in composure or thought down to months ago.  It's as if I'm standing in a room with mirrors on both sides of the wall, creating a never-ending cascade of pseudo-me's that carry my physical appearance yet have different individual assessments of this world and my place in it.

I think one of the first times I felt this way was during my transition from Christianity to atheism.  I had encountered a new way of thinking about the world and was excited to share it with my friends and anyone who would listen.  Boundaries had fallen that were kept in place by my acceptance that a god was necessary for this world to exist, such an idea I had never thought of questioning until then.  I could now view the world through glasses that were not smeared by a layer of fog that had been my religion.  However, I was still wearing glasses.

Not these kind of filters....

And I didn't know it then.  I didn't know that my perception of the world was still being obstructed by my thoughts and other beliefs that I held.  Well, hold on a second.  Of course I understood that these "filters" probably existed, but I didn't know what they were or how to tackle them.  Cue life.  It didn't take long for these filters to become apparent.  One by one they appeared, each having a unique impact on me.  The way I handled each of them was unique too, ranging from indifference to fear to acceptance.  Although, that's not to say that I've succeed in defeating all of my known filters and apprehensions.  In fact, I readily admit that I am still plagued by them.  They pop up everywhere in my life and some are harder to get rid of than others.  And I'm still discovering more of them!

So where does that leave me?  Am I to accept that I am forever doomed to drown in a sea of my apprehensions.  Nope. So, I've decided to swim.  What would life be like without any struggles?  Certainly nothing that could elicit the emotions that we've come to let define our human existence.  But enough of that.  The weights that try to pull me down into the abyss are not what I wanted to write this post about.  I want to write about the gasps of air, the uplifting moments of realization, that I have experienced.

Most of you will have experienced them too.  The intense feelings associated with friendship and with loss.  The embrace of a lover and the consumption that is lust.  The rush of accomplishment and the drag of laziness.  Wondering if you'll make it to the end of the year with crushing finances and ominous deadlines.

Indeed, over the past year I have gone through many moments of realization and I've let them consume my life.  In fact, many of them became my life for various amounts of time.  Perhaps that is what it means to live; to let people and ideas become a part of you.  A process so fluid and seamless that I didn't even realize it till now.  And yes, it seems obvious as I write this.  Many of you will think it is obvious and you are justified in saying so.  But I think that we often forget this as we go through our lives, performing the daily activities that constitute our existence.  Those daily actions often become our existence and we forget what it means to actually live.  That is what this previous year has shown me.

While I could write about my individual episodes of realization, I am currently consumed by another idea and would much rather share that with you instead.  It's a simple idea really.  Though it takes the right frame of mind to truly understand it and implement it in your life.  What is it you say?  Well, you'll have to read my next post to find out.

It feels good to be back at the blog.  I know I've let it sit idle for a long time, but hopefully this will mark the beginning of more to come.

When the Minority Rules the Majority

On Monday May 2nd 2011, Canada went to the ballot box. The results of the election will haunt Canadians for years to come. The Conservative party claimed a landslide victory, gaining a majority of 167 seats in the House of Commons. The NDP, riding their "Orange Wave" followed up second with 102 seats in the 308 member body, greatly increasing their presence from the 37 seats they had won during the 2008 election.

Many people will tell you that Canada didn't want this election. I'm here to tell you that Canada desperately wanted this election and was robbed of its choice by an unfair electoral system. Stephen Harper's minority Conservative government had fallen just a month before due to being found in "contempt of parliament" for its ongoing refusal to supply the opposition with details of proposed bills and their cost estimates. The timing was perfect for a renewal of trust in the Canadian government.

So if things were so bad under the minority Conservative government, how did we get here. First, the Canadian voting system must be understood. When Canadians go to the polls, they vote for a MP that will represent their particular riding. The federal party with the most MP's gets the first chance to form the Government of Canada. This is known as the "first past the post" approach. The party with the most seats will go to the Governor General of Canada and ask to form a government. However, if this party does not hold a majority of seats in the House, then the Official Opposition (the party with the second-most amount of seats) can also try to form the government with the assistance of other opposition parties, effectively forming a coalition.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canadavotes2011/

What also must be noted is that Canada is not a two-party country. We have FIVE federal parties (four if you don't count the Bloc Quebecois, which I and most Canadians don't) consisting of the Conservatives, the Liberals, the NDP, the Green Party and the Bloc Quebecois (BQ). Unfortunately, the playing field is not balanced as there is only one "Right" party - Conservatives, one "Center" party - the Liberals, and three "Left" parties - the NDP, Green Party and the BQ. What this results in is a catastrophic split of the vote.

This is how the Conservatives were able to win a majority of seats while only garnering 39.62% of the vote. The center-left parties took the majority of the popular vote and none of them were left with enough support to take first place. This is outrageous!! How dare a political party with not even 40% of the vote be allowed to govern without check and balance, the country that we live in. Unfortunately, the situation is even worse than most know.

While Prime Minister under the last minority Conservative government, Harper appointed 38 Conservative representatives to the Senate and in doing so, sealed his control over Canadian politics. The Conservatives now have 52 Senators over the Liberals 46, giving Harper unprecedented control of what legislation gets passed in the senate. Power that Harper used to defeat an NDP Climate Change Bill that had passed in the House of Commons.

So now with a majority in the House and a majority in the Senate Harper controls almost every facet of Canadian politics. Adding insult to injury will be the retirement of the current Auditor General Sheila Fraser. The auditor general conducts audits of the federal government, holding them accountable for their actions. Later this year, Stephen Harper will now have the chance to appoint an Auditor General who will turn a blind eye to his misdeeds. He surely has gained control over everything. Just as a tidbit, our current Governor General, David Johnston was also appointed by Stephen Harper.

So how to fix this terrible mess we're in. Unfortunately, we can't. At least not conceivably in the next four years. As the Conservatives have a majority, forcing a vote of non-confidence (which is how governments in Canada are toppled) is definitely out of the question. This leaves our next fixed election which would take place on October 19, 2015. Over four years of majority Conservative rule with the NDP powerless to stop Harper will do terrible things to our country. The corporate tax rate will be cut to an insanely low level of 15%. The public Health Care system we treasure will slowly be transitioned to a two-tier system of public and private. The focus of military patrol in the Arctic to "protect our resources" will suck up billions of dollars. New prisons will be built in a U.S. style attempt to combat crime and the the freedom of the internet as we know it will be infringed upon. I won't even mention attempts of restricting abortion or gay rights that some of Harper's party will no doubt try to accomplish (Yes I know Harper said he wouldn't revisit these issues but in politics, everything is fair game.).

So fast forward to October 19, 2015. If the center-left voters of Canada wish to take their government back, what must be accomplished? As I see it, there are two options.

1. Change the Electoral/Voting system

2. Unite the Center-Left

We have too many choices in an electoral system that doesn't reward choice. The Left needs to unite or the game needs to change. In regards to changing the voting process, I propose a "Ranked Choice Voting" system. Here, the voter lists their chosen candidates in the order of preference. If the candidate of first choice does not secure the majority vote in their riding, then the voter's ballot gets counted toward the candidate of second choice. What this does is to ensure that the winning candidate has a majority of support from the community. In practical terms, it would cripple the Conservative's choke hold on our government.

In order to illustrate this concept, I will take the Ontario riding of Kenora as an example. Conservative Greg Rickford won that riding with 46.85% of the vote. The NDP next at 28.18%, Liberals at 21.8 and the Green party at 2.58%. This means that 51.56% of those polled voted for a party of the center or the left. If the "Ranked Choice Voting" system were in effect then those who voted Green and Liberal as their first choice could have their votes switched to NDP, snatching the seat away from the Conservatives.

I took a look at the poll numbers across the country and if such a system were implemented, there would be a total of 51 possible seat changes from Conservative control to either Liberal or NDP control.

The number of seat changes (from Conservative to Liberal/NDP) in each province are as follows:

Yukon - 1
Western Arctic (Northwest Territories) - 0
Nunavut - 1
British Columbia - 6
Alberta - 1
Saskatchewan - 3
Manitoba - 2
Ontario - 27 (3 in the North, 24 in the South)
Quebec - 4
Newfoundland and Labrador - 1
New Brunswick - 3
PEI - 0
Nova Scotia - 2

So in effect the Conservatives would be reduced to a total of 116 seats (assuming all the listed votes went to Liberals or NDP). This is a way lower number than the current 167 seats they enjoy.

Same name of the UK party

If such a system (or one like it) is not put in place by the next election then the only hope is for the Liberals and the NDP (perhaps with the support of the Greens) to form a new party which I will dub the "Liberal Democrats". Yes there will be difficulties. Yes, there will have to be compromises. But the center-left will claim victory.

This is how the 60% of Canadians who didn't vote for Stephen Harper will have their vengeance.

So how about the immediate future. Well for starters, hardcore Liberal supporters can stop with their attacks on the NDP. Lets be grownups here. The Liberals were handed a crushing defeat because a majority of left-leaning voters saw promise in Jack Layton and the NDP. It also doesn't help that the Conservatives were able to smear your leader, Michael Ignatieff, as an American who only came back to Canada for himself. I'm not saying it's true, I'm just saying they were successful attacks. So ease up on the NDP and support them. Jack Layton's job will be an almost impossible one to do as they are up against a Conservative majority. From here on in, comments about NDP inexperience and the "unrealisticness of their platform" must stop. Lets work together for a united Canada, not a divided one.

Today a new era in Canadian politics has begun. I'm not happy with it. Sixty percent of Canadians are not happy with it, but it is here to stay none the less. If yesterday was your first chance to cast your vote and you were one of the many who were left disappointed on election night, then do not despair. You will have your chance again. And when it comes around, come out in full force and be ready to take your country back.

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