Wanted - Global Factory Whistle - Very Loud

Image: CIO.com


Wanted - Global Factory Whistle - Very Loud

One that goes off automatically and is heard everywhere every time a politician tells a lie or does something crooked.

Like this -- does anyone really believe the Canadian government cares about protecting whistleblowers?

CBC: A tissue paper shield': Expert slams Canadian protections for whistleblowers

• U.S. impeachment hearings raising questions about how Canada protects government informants
• Two famous cases in particular have dogged Canada's international reputation for protecting people who come forward. 
• Joanna Gultieri exposed exorbitant spending on accommodations overseas for Global Affairs employees two decades ago. She said her bosses harassed her and moved her to a dead-end job after she came forward. She tried to sue the government, was ultimately unsuccessful and was ordered to pay its legal fees.
• In the 1990s, Dr. Shiv Chopra shed light on the drug approvals process at Health Canada, saying he and his colleagues had been pressured to approve drugs despite concerns about human safety. He was fired in 2004 for insubordination and lost a 13-year legal battle to be reinstated.
• "If you want to blow the whistle you have to be prepared to risk your career," he said. "That includes financial damages, personal damages. Your family suffers as well," Chopra said in 2017 of his ordeal.

Those two cases are now acknowledged by the current government, yet politicians still live high off the tax payers' dollar and the drug Industry is still killing people.

It does seem like a good step, the protection of whistlers. Especially when Canada's protections are compared unfavourably with those of the US and UK.

HUH? What about Snowden, Manning and Assange????

Either I'm losing my ability to comprehend government, or there's something sickeningly hypocritical about that whole scenario.

We could have used a very loud whistle when Trudeau and cohorts lied about SNC Lavalin. But all we had was Jody Wilson-Raybould and look at what happened to her. The liars are back running the show while JWR sits on a back bench.

Maybe you have to be a CIA agent, or at least be thought to be, in order to have a whistle permit and still keep your identity hidden all the way up to the highest levels:

CNBC: Trump-Ukraine whistleblower is a CIA employee who was detailed to the White House

And then there's Israel which seems to have some kind of special pressure cooker for blowers, since it took forever for (some of) Netanyahu's sneaky, self-serving activities to be exposed, and it's taking even longer for them to be dealt with appropriately.

Yeah, this post is more about Israel than Canada or the US, but it's a prime example of how backs are turned at every opportunity. One can't help wondering what kind of dirt Bibi has on his right-wing allies that they've, in turn, shielded and backed him for so long to keep him in power?

Is it because he's a darling of the US government (what does he have on the US gov't? - plenty, no doubt) that the right-wing, religious fanatical Knesset members enjoy the love and support of America's far-right-wing Bible thumpers?

Netanyahu may well be keeping a ton of secrets that demand gifts and privileges.

I'm going to be quoting quite a bit from the Times of Israel because they can't seem to stop twitching.

TimesofIsrael: Oct 2019 - Netanyahu to convene right-wing allies as criminal hearing begins

• With coalition talks floundering, long-awaited pre-indictment meeting to start ... with presentation of PM’s defense in Bezeq bribery case ...

Whereupon the Times falls back on the tried and true way to deflect criticism of Israel:

TimesofIsrael: Nov 2019 - ‘Not anti-Semitic’: Khamenei defines Iran’s goal of ‘wiping out Israel’

• Belying Tehran’s relentless threats to ensure ‘nothing left’ of Jewish state, ‘raze’ Tel Aviv and Haifa, leader says aim is to abolish ‘regime,’ get rid of ‘thugs’ like Netanyahu

That's manipulative, one-sided journalism at its most creative. Note the words that actually have quotes around them, and the additional words inserted to alter and/or intensify their apparent meaning.

The article tries hard to make Khamenei seem like a ferocious beast out for gratuitous blood, but it's such an obvious ploy for sympathy and distraction from the underlying threats against anyone who has sympathy for the Palestinian people that it's almost laughable for its obvious weltschmerz.

Conveniently, the word "if" is ignored when quoting Khamenei, who actually states what would happen "if" Israel attempted to carry out its threats again Iran.

"A tiny country surrounded by enemies" just doesn't cut it anymore. You can't boast all kinds of prowess and pull that one off at the same time.  But hey, it's a good distraction from the current messiness of Israel's government.

It seems that Netanyahu has survived, despite actual criminal charges against him, because of a coalition with the Knesset's right wing religious fanatics who are schizoid enough to allow, without confirming or denying, that Israel be seen as a nuclear threat while remaining a non-signatory to the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty, and boasting of its advanced and ferocious military prowess yet still attempting to portray their country as a tiny, innocent victim of gross antisemitism.

Fortunately, there are plenty of Jews who wouldn't mind seeing the back of Bibi.

Forward: April 2019 - Netanyahu Is King Of Israel Now — But Not King Of The Jews

• Even though his apparent victory was narrow in Tuesday’s election, and his tenure uncertain because of the corruption charges he faces, Netanyahu’s unprecedented fifth term in office solidifies his stature as the leader of 21st century Israel. He has expanded economic growth for many (though not for all,) enhanced Israel’s diplomatic standing (though largely with autocratic regimes) and found in President Trump an ally willing to do his bidding, even if that means counteracting international law and American foreign policy.

What really galls me is that the West doesn't say boo when a flim-flammer like Netanyahu is allowed to stand for a 5th consecutive term of office while a good guy like Bolivia's Evo Morales is criticized for having sought a 4th mandate.

Bibi just gathers his peeps and brazens his way through:

TimesofIsrael: Netanyahu to convene right-wing allies as criminal hearing begins

Wikipedia: Investigations involving Benjamin Netanyahu

It seems now that Netanyahu's private activities are erupting into public mayhem:

Times: PM claims Gantz going for minority gov’t with Arab backing, urges mass protests

• In Likud call, Netanyahu warns of ’emergency,’ says such coalition would be ‘historically dangerous’; Gantz says he continues seeking unity, says ’emergency is hundreds of rockets’

​
So, who really was behind the firing of those rockets into Israel?  And could it serve a dual purpose, that is, aiding and abetting the aims of the US against Iran?

Times: Conflicting claims as to whether Hamas leaders okayed rocket fire at Beersheba

• Some reports indicate Israel believes terror operatives acted independently;
• Pompeo: Iran’s use of Islamic Jihad to strike our ally shows its desire to destabilize region​

Times: Full text of criminal allegations against Netanyahu, as set out by Israel’s AG

• On May 15, a Channel 12 television report claimed Netanyahu had conclusively decided to legislate in order to avoid prosecution for as long as he remains in office. It claimed Netanyahu and members of his close circle had begun briefing Likud MKs “on how to market this to the public.”

The man is scum, an inveterate con artist, with no sense of right versus wrong.

Khamenei was not lying; he was stating facts:

• “We are not anti-Semitic. Jews are living in utmost safety in our country. We only support the people of Palestine and their independence” ...

Me too.

Image: Brainyquote