Follow the Yellow--Red--Brick Road #4

Background: Tracing Threads and Networks

What follow are what I consider the main points of the post Media Hatchet Job in the Maritimes ... Global TV 'News' posted Dec. 6, 05

http://
frosthitstherhubarb.blogspot.com/
2005/12/media-hatchet-job-in-maritimes-global.html

I followed the links from GlobalTV's biased account of their 'news', negative on Conservatives' chances in the Maritimes; I moved backward, to find out where that search would lead, the source of what I heard. Actually, given the interviewees, that news item had threads running from a university course to government funding for UN global perspectives--rights and more--to the Liberal government of Canada and globalization. My search moved:

* through the GlobalTV news and its reporter (Is she a graduate of STU journalism?)

* through the St. Thomas University Chair of the Political Science Department, Thomas Bateman, whose views were featured, along with his students and a few others

* via the course offerings, as described on the university website, heavily influenced by socialist / leftist thinking ... to

* The web of connections through

* STU's Distinctive Programs -- Journalism, Interdisciplinary Studies, CANIMUN leading to a government of Canada Exchanges Program -- That's tax dollars, I believe.

* Research Centres & Endowed Chairs -- Atlantic Human Rights Centre (AHRC) -- Endowed by whom or what organization?


My Comments and Observations as of Dec. 15, 05

Whose rights? Are there discussions:

* of the individual citizen's rights (e.g. to be free of fear, of international criminals and guns, gangs and drugs), the rights of citizenship over the rights of non-citizens, perhaps the rights of our own poor over the far-away poor, such as in Africa or elsewhere

* of national rights, among them being consideration of our own Canadian family, the ones who pay the bills, first?

Or is the emphasis on, e.g. global rights such as

* HIV/AIDS patients' rights to medicines -- e.g. Africa
* refugee rights -- e.g. to enter Canada with or without documents, with forged documents and still be able to remain and maybe even fight deportation using Canadian taxpayers' money
* Refugee / immigrant rights -- e.g. the right to remain in Canada whatever the wrongdoing (criminality, torture and torture funding, terrorist sleeper activity or those who may be, etc.) instead of being returned to wherever they emanated from, to face what might be torture -- and which is often later found to be lies anyway?

All of this has tended to make it impossible, it seems, for Canadians to protect ourselves against the world's drug and criminal gangs, free loaders, terrorists and other assorted "rights" claimants -- if we follow the Charter which is based on the UN concept . . . or is it the Liberal-government-mediated concept of rights that has emanated from the UN?

Is there a hierarchy of rights with Canadians at the pinnacle in their own country? Or is that interpretation to be left to the undemocratic states presently running the UN?

* Interdisciplinary Studies -- focus on emerging issues -- Which ones and who decides -- on what basis? Did they ask you? They didn't canvass me. I wouldn't be so suspicious if it weren't for the rest; read on.

* Academic Exchanges -- with their President's Travel Awards available to selected students in support of . . .

* The United Nations Association in Canada (UNA-Canada) -- "a national charitable organization" whose "mandate is to engage the Canadian public in the work of the United Nations and the critical international issues"

To that end, UNA uses UN staff "at the National Office and a network of volunteer-driven regional branches.", presumably students, to learn the UN perspective and to give voice to them [See more below] -- Is this indoctrination, perhaps even activism, before students are mature enough? Before learning other perspectives? Students become--activists?--members of committees such as:

* International Court of Justice -- The current president is from NB -- [that globalization / global governance perspective, again ]

* Council of Confederaton -- [ Why should 'confederation' concern the UN? ]

* NGO Network -- [Is it from this that 'student activists', 'protestors', and 'stakeholders' arise like the phoenix?]

* Arab League -- [There are many questions about that inclusion and the exclusion of other areas ]

* Model United Nations

* CANIMUN Sponsors -- a 'tournament' funded by Foreign Affairs (DFAIT, Min. Bill Graham), Dept. of Canadian Heritage (Min. Lisa Frulla) and National Defence (Min. Bill Graham )

Canada's Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) has been supporting the United Nations Association in Canada's Model United Nations Programme. . . . the United Nations Association in Canada (UNA-Canada) . . . an international Model UN Conference in Canada for Canadian and international university students.

The United Nations Association in Canada (UNA-Canada) is a national charitable organization . . . [whose] mandate is to engage the Canadian public in the work of the United Nations and the critical international issues . . . . accomplish our goals through a dynamic staff team at the National Office and a network of volunteer-driven regional branches.

. . . . .We work closely with [indoctrinate?] the educational communities in every province and territory to build their capacity to educate young people from a global perspective. . . . .

UNA-Canada's projects also aim to define foreign policy priorities for our government. . . . with a variety of stakeholders . . . peace and security, human rights and sustainable development. . . . Canada's international priorities, and a range of global issues. . . . .

At that point, I realized that all that interest in and activity with students has a very political intent and perspective, Would we--should we--term it social engineering by our government? (See #7 for an exploration of this. ) Another example, check:

ECOSOC and Summits -- Do you recognize any of Paul Martin's buzzwords from this list? Any of his 'priorities'?

World Trade Organization (WTO)
Topic 1: Role of the L20 in Trade Negotiations
Topic 2: Review of the Doha Development Agenda
United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)
Topic 1: Child Soldiers
Topic 2: Child Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
Topic 1: Climate Change
Topic 2: Biodiversity and GMO's
United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO)
Futuristic Committee
2050: World food supply and production capacity have drastically depleted
United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS
Topic 1: Building an Intersectional Model
Topic 2: HIV/AIDS, Security, and Humanitarian Response
United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
Topic 1: Preserving Indigenous, Non-Official, or Second Languages
Topic 2: Proposals for new World Heritage Sites

In Canada's Future: Is it Humanitarians Doing Good ... or Something Else?

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