METANOIA
SAFE SURREY COALITION WINS Doug McCallum & OUR OWN Allison Patton
Politics . Art . Health . Economics . Entertainment December 2018
CONTENTS
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METANOIA MAGAZINE
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Executive Summary
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Revolution or Evolution? By Hank Leis
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Parties, Politics, and Panache Awards & Events
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On Putin's Blacklist An interview with Director Boris Ivanov
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The Sound of Sirens and Failed States By Andreas C. Chrysafis
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Strategic Imperative By Hank Leis
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Remembering Robert Leach In Memorium
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Who Am I? By Lilian Puust
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Dan Walker Chronicles By Dan Walker
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What a Ride By Len Giles
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American Steel Tariffs By Shiraz Balolia
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On the So-Called "China Shock" By Donald J. Boudreaux
On the cover: City of Surrey Councillor Allison Patton and Mayor Doug McCallum
Executive And Staff PUBLISHERS Salme Johannes Leis & Allison Patton EDITOR Shahid Abrar-ul-Hassan EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS JR Leis & Heino Leis COPY CHIEF Caleb Ng ASSISTANT TO THE EXECUTIVE Jillian Currie PHOTO ARCHIVIST Galina Bogatch INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTOR Suzette Laqua INTERVIEWER/PHOTOGRAPHER Britany Snider DISTRIBUTORS AUSTRALIA Peter Storen CANADA GREATER TORONTO AND HAMILTON AREAS Henry Maeots GREATER VANCOUVER AREA Lesley Diana
CONTRIBUTORS Beth Allen, Gerald Auger, Maureen Bader, Shiraz Balolia, Alex Barberis, Mario Basner, Andy Belanger, John P. Bell, Donald J. Boudreaux, Des Brophy, Dr. Tim Brown ND, Richard Calmes, Andreas C Chrysafis, Anabella Corro, Kamala Coughlan, Brian Croft, Miki Dawson, Shane Dean, Vie Dunn-Harr, Cheryl Gauld, Len Giles, Kulraj Gurm, William Haskell, Greg Hill, Matt Hill, Carly Hilliard, Dr. Gordon Hogg, Marilyn Hurst, Boris Ivanov, Dr. Arthur Janov, Jeanette Jarville, Randolph Jordan, Richard King IV, Peter and Maria Kingsley, Mark Kingwell, Rod Lamirand, Barbara A. Lane, Valev Laube, Suzette Laqua, Marilyn Lawrie, Hank Leis, Nelson Leis, Salme Leis, Chris MacClure, Dunstan Massey, Seth Meltzer, Thomas Mets, Fabrice Meuwissen, Dr. Caleb Ng ND, Paul Nijar, Janice Oleandros, Stefan Pabst, Dr. Allison Patton ND, Ivan Pili, Lilian Puust, Luis Reyes, Danielle Richard, Cara Roth, Dr. Bernard Schissel, Pepe Serna, Diego Solis, Cameron Stewart, Lisa Stocks, Peter Storen, Mohamed Taher, Christopher Titus, Jack Vettriano, Dr. Jack Wadsworth, Chris Walker, Dan Walker, Saravut Whanset, Tom Weniger, Sharon Weiser, Harvey White, Robyn Williams, and Helena Wierzbicki METANOIA MAGAZINE
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Politics in Surrey, British Columbia is complicated because the combinations and permutations of cultural preferences create an infinite number of possible outcomes. Doug McCallum, a retired political warhorse and former mayor, and his band of untainted and innocent aspirants under the banner of SAFE SURREY COALITION shocked the political world in Victoria and Ottawa by routing the much better financed and established SURREY FIRST SLATE. This issue begets the question, "Was it revolution or evolution?� Boris Ivanov is interviewed by Hank Leis about making the documentary On Putin's Blacklist. This documentary is of personal interest to both interviewer and interviewee as their own pasts intertwine with the events taking place in Russia today. And there is more.
Since the founding of Metanoia Magazine by three Naturopathic Doctors and the Leis family in 2008, we have produced over ninety issues. We have had over one thousand articles written, including interviews of over 100 actors, 100 artists, dozens of politicians, philosophers, psychologists, and experts in other fields. A majority of the writers have post-graduate degrees or have expertise or knowledge of a special nature.
City of Surrey Council (from left to right) Councillor Steven Pettigrew, Councillor Brenda Locke, Councillor Allison Patton, Mayor Doug McCallum, Councillor Laurie Guerra, Councillor Jack Hundial, Councillor Linda Annis, and Councillor Mandeep Nagra
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MUNICIPAL POLITICS
REVOLUTION OR EVOLUTION?
By Hank Leis
With a population of over 500,000 souls, Surrey is the second largest city in British Columbia. In terms of land mass, it is the largest in British Columbia. What happens in Surrey does not stay in Surrey. It ricochets across the province, then throughout the country and eventually to its' capital Ottawa and finally around the world to distant places in Asia. It is a city that is relevant in terms of how it influences far away places and how people in this community are affected by their cultures of origin. On October 20th, 2018 the citizens of Surrey elected a new slate of councillors with an elder statesman Doug McCallum as mayor. The “Old Man” had been called out of retirement to lead a new batch of hopefuls. He will be the guru to educate, demonstrate, and inspire the new crop of councillors to take over the reigns of the
city and introduce a new paradigm that would replace the will of the previous generation of politicians he had brought in before. The irony of this election could not go unnoticed. This is the second time Doug had been asked to bring in ‘the new’. McCallum in true form responded to the call of the Asian community to undo what had been done. The Caucasians, nowhere near as politically astute, were not as sensitive to the goings on as the rest. Indo-Canadians cling to their politics as they do to their politicians. They know the power that politicians have and the effect their policies have directly on their lives. The Caucasians, if they vote at all in civic elections, do so under duress or with resentment, along with derogatory comments about politicians, and then retire to their business, assuming they have done their duty and any further METANOIA MAGAZINE
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obligation is limited. For Asians, getting their candidates elected is only a beginning. What follows is a ritual of confirming promises and maintaining contact to assure them that the politicians deliver. It is a complex process that assures the politicians that the voting public is never too far away from them to avoid detection of their actions. Doug McCallum is a man of the people. He delivered in spades. Seven of the eight new councillors are members of his Safe Surrey Coalition. Each were recruited to ensure that the vision that united them would be carried out. It is a legacy project. The world is watching and wanting him to succeed.
Full Disclosure: Hank Leis, the author of this article worked on the campaign to elect the Safe Surrey Coalition.
PANACHE, POLITICS AND PARTIES
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ENTERTAINMENT & WORLD POLITICS
On Putin's Blacklist AN INTERVIEW WITH DIRECTOR BORIS IVANOV By Hank Leis
Tell me about where you grew up and the influence of your family in your choice to become a documentary maker.
experience. As a child, more about growing up in Russia.
Now, is there a specific reason why I grew up in Russia, living in Moscow you left Russia? until I was sixteen years old. In 1991, Well, I left Russia on my own when I I went as an exchange student from was 16. I don't know if I can cite a specific Moscow to live in a small town in reason for leaving, though I would say that California. I arrived in the US in July, a despite or perhaps because of growing up month shy of experiencing tanks in the B OR I S I VA N OV in the Soviet Union, I've always believed streets of Moscow, during the 1991 August in freedom, and allowing people to make Coup. Then, in December, I missed being The tug-of-war between Russia and the world is in the news constantly. Russia’s involvement in personal choices. In Soviet society that in MoscowUkraine, whenWestern Borissanctions Yeltsinimposed was tossed on Russia, anti-Western policies that the Russian government was not norm. The norm whatever is adopting punish the WestUnion - it all reminds Cold War.the I’ve met so many people who is grew on the streets andto the Soviet was us of the up terrified of the Soviet Union’s nuclear posturing.the Is this where it is allgroup going again? While living in which collective tells you to do, dissolved. Canada, So basically, I missed all of the we may feel that these world events have little to do with us but I know many Canadians wasgeopolitical how you live. This And was excitement of lives theareSoviet falling whose directly Union affected by Russia’s current position. waspropaganda one of the inspirations to tackle this film. always very noticeable to me... Sometimes apart by being in California. as aparliament, child I which felt like opinions The passing of the “Dima Yakovlev” Law by Russian bannedmy the own adoption of Russian orphans by US citizens, the first clear stepskewed in Russia’sbecause movement I'd awaybeen from the What area of California did you was move were force fed Since then, Russia has piled on anti-West legislation, denying that anything positive has to in 1991?West. this propaganda and then I would say been achieved since the breakup of the Soviet Union with the help of the Western partners. When something, and I'm like, "Wait, why did I I realized that hundreds of thousands of children had become pawns in this geopolitical squabble, I knew that I needed to do something. Then online thethat? disgusting videos LGBTQ youth Humble County, approximately six I sawjust say That's notofwhat I believe." But being tortured in Russia. I just couldn’t believe that this was the country I was born in. Through hours away from San Francisco. I found it sometimes fight what both my filmmaking and life experiences, I realized it's I havehard a unique voice and can to bring this story to you’ve very interesting to live there. a international audiences in a There way that was will resonate. been trained to say, and have been told very different perspective I experienced, by everyone around believe It is easy to use children for propaganda purposes, to speak about them asyou if weto know their in. So, in comingexperiences. from Moscow a smalltotown For me, itto is important give a voice to the orphans who areInow who can even as a child, feltadults, that and I would prefer to tell usWhen firsthandI what the experience was to like. By giving them a voice, we are subverting Russia’s in California. decided to come live in a society where I had more freedom propaganda narrative. Sometimes, the amount of information is overwhelming and those spreading America, propaganda I had thought that was going to express myself. understand thatI by making it complicated they guarantee that the truth doesn’t come out. I am able to in usethe my unique and knowledge to open this can of worms and let people see to have issues living USAvoice because the truth. of my nationality. I was from Moscow, What was the most noticeable and a lot of had grown up putting difference that you saw between To people put this complex story and project on screen requires not only a deep knowledge of Russian having society and political systems, but also an understanding of the cultural underpinnings of books overhistory, their heads during emergency lived in Russia and then coming here to the Western world. I grew up in the Soviet Union until I was fifteen, and I understand Russian culture drills, living that nuclear weapons America? Was and in thefear political baggage inherited from the SovietNorth times. But I also graduated highthere school insignificant the in Canada I have observed the development were goingUSA to and fallfinished downuniversity on them. But Iand was differences there?of Russia over the last twenty-five years from my base in Vancouver. As the country became more and more Stalinist, just surprised like when talked toI realized was it was time to say something because I can, unlike in theeveryone books I read Iabout 1930’s, I mean, in regards to significant many people in Russia now.one negative very supportive. I didn't have things, I found people to be more open experienceMy because of my background, intention is to make the film as international as possible because the stories of Americans North America. found that the in Russia, affected by the events town are similar Canada or Sweden or theIUK. By bringing even though it was a small andto Iindividuals was inin world into the narrative, the film makes the pointpeople that all ofwere us are affected by current Russian very closed off, they really really the only Russian there. regime and its whimsy. protect themselves, and they don't want I’ve always had a strong vision for the film to to show geopolitical conflict through lives of That was my sort of introduction tobe ablelet anyone or anybody in.the Obviously, for the individuals it affects. I feel that I did just that. North America and since then, I went to the whole history of Soviet Union, when university in Canada, and I've lived in both you let somebody in there was the chance the US and Canada. So my experience they would suddenly report you to the as adult has been a North American KGB, and then next thing you know, you
DI R ECTO R ’ S STAT EMENT
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Russian President Vladimir Putin (source: Official Russian Presidential Website).
are in Siberia. Due to that, I think people have been trained to protect themselves and their thoughts. There's no lightness in Russia, everything and everyone is very serious, and guarded about what they say. In contrast, North American people are still sometimes too innocent, sometimes too happy, sometimes whatever, but there's not the same wall between you and everyone around you. What started you on this documentary that you did? I've been producing documentaries since 2000. A number of them have been directed by my sister and have something to do with adoption. I've always cared about the topic of adoption, I think because of my own experience of leaving home by myself at 16. I feel like I have lived through a strange sort of adoption myself, of having been temporarily adopted by other families as a member of their own. As well, in the 90’s my sister was an adoption facilitator, who helped to bring Russian children into Canada to have them adopted. So both of us strongly connect emotionally with adoptions, we've done
a variety of films on the subject. I was really upset when (in 2012) Russia closed off adoption to North America, first to the United States, and then a year later to Canada and everywhere else in the world with legalized same-sex marriage. They chose to use children as pawns in their geopolitical games. So I felt like I really wanted to tell that story. What were the biggest challenges you had in making your film? We had two big challenges in filming this documentary. First, we had the challenge of convincing broadcasters that there was actually a story, and that it was worth showing. I first started pitching this project after the Dima Yakovlev Law in 2012 and really, unfortunately, the subject of adoption is not very hot in terms of media coverage. No matter how much I tried to explain that the subject of the film was not really about adoption, it is more about geopolitics using adoption as one of the ways to combat sphere of influence and power. Nobody bought it. It took me two years of pitching the project to finally find a broadcaster, METANOIA MAGAZINE
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which ended up being Super Channel. Then when I started making the film and got partway through filming, Super Channel had got into financial troubles and reneged on dozens of contracts with documentary filmmakers. Suddenly, I had half the film filmed, but some of the money to produce the film had been taken away. And so the woes of doing independent documentaries is quite often financial woes at the forefront. Second was the challenge of dealing with fear. There's a lot of fear in the world nowadays, we found that a lot of people were afraid to participate in a project that has anything to do with criticizing Putin or Russia. People, even Americans or North Americans of Russian descent, are afraid that somehow Putin is going to get them. Obviously Russians are afraid, many organizations that are Russian or involved in Russia wouldn't give us an interview because they were afraid that they would be barred from doing business in Russia or banned from entering Russia because of the movie. So it was very hard in that sense to get people to appear on camera.
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Your documentary really begins with a kind of strategic overview of Russia and its' view of the world. Can you talk a little bit about that? Because it really does form a large part of your documentary, at least the first half, I think. Right. Well, I feel that Russia's view of world is impacted by how they viewed themselves as a major super power, that everybody in Russia had their country’s importance built up on because they have nuclear weapons, they have power, and they have the ability to use it. So, they perceived themselves as on the same level as America. They really believed themselves to be a very strong country. And then the Soviet Union fell apart. Suddenly there was a financial crisis, with no food, and Russians became reliant on basically scraps or donations from the West. When all of the government businesses got sold off, it felt like the whole country had been sold off. When Russia became less of a political Superpower, it felt like its’ influence was not being paid attention to during world conflicts. Suddenly Russia was no longer feeling that its’ opinion mattered. So all those things contributed to Russia and Russians feeling like the world is trying to destroy them permanently, and Putin used this sentiment to his advantage when he came into power. He used it to build up this new Russia, where people once again feel that Westerners are trying to take advantage of Russia, that they don't care about the Russians people or culture. Anytime anyone needs proof, Putin would just point to 1990’s and say, "See how horrible it was? Now I'm in charge, it'll never be that bad. So trust me." That's the way I feel the trajectory of Russia has been since Soviet Union fell apart up to until now. Well, where do you think Putin went wrong, strategically? I don't know if Putin went wrong strategically. He is a KGB operative, he is, I believe, playing by the KGB playbook. He is controlling the media, and he has a lot of support among the KGB and army community. To me, I believe Putin would have done better to have kept more people with a different opinion than him around him, because right now he only has voices that just say, "Yes," to everything he says. He has gotten rid of anyone who may question him or those who may be brave enough to offer alternative opinions. So now, unfortunately, whatever Putin says goes. But quite often, I think, for running any government or organization, it's better to have dissenting opinions, to at least
Director Boris Ivanov with Justin Romanov, Russian LGBT activist and now Torontonian who was featured in On Putin's Blacklist. Romanov assists Russian LGBT community members on understanding immigration and asylum processes in Canada.
consider other people's opinions before issuing your own final decision. You chose to deal with really two different subjects, but they are connected. One is having to do with the suppression of the LGBT community, and the other is the orphans. How does that play out in Russia and why do you think he chose those two? Why did Putin chose to victimize these two groups? Well, unfortunately it is very easy to victimize these groups, because they're completely unprotected. One is unprotected because they are children and they have no rights, with no adult there to stand up for their rights. The other is unprotected because of the legislation put in effect by the government, where you can't even discuss what it is like to be gay or offer access resources about being gay. And then secondly of course, it's something that's unknown, it's easy to blame issues on a scapegoat, to say, "That's the reason for all the hardship." So they're just very easy on the surface, ways to say, "Oh, this is what's responsible for certain issues in our country." For them, quite often, in regards to the LGBT community, Russians believe that westerners, specifically North Americans, are pushing this concept of LGBT into Russia. There is the cultural belief that there's no LGBT in Russia, a concept that unfortunately comes from the past Soviet Union days. During the Soviet Union, being gay was illegal. You went to prison for many years. Most gay men in the Soviet Union had to marry women just so that they could live their lives and not end up in prison. There has been a lot of history METANOIA MAGAZINE
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Masha Gessen, staff writer for The New Yorker and author of The Man Without a Face: The Unlikely Rise of Vladimir Putin. In On Putin's Blacklist, she spoke on her experiences living as a journalist in Russia (source: Wikipedia).
Former U.S. Ambassador Michael McFaul meeting with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. Michael McFaul served as Ambassador to Russia from 2012 until 2014. He is featured in the film On Putin's Blacklist (source: Official Russian Presidential Website).
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around LGBT oppression in Russia, so it's very easy for Russia to just continue with the same rhetoric that was there during Soviet Union. Of course, North America and the western countries right now are pushing equality for all on variety of levels, including sexual orientation. However for Russians, especially now that the Orthodox church is so important in Russia again, the rights of the LGBT community clash with the conservative values of Russian society. As well, they can easily point to the LGTB community as being western import because supposedly in Russia we don't have that. Once again, unfortunately, it's not what is best for the children that was considered with the Russian banning of adoptions to countries with legalized same-sex marriage, but the issue of foreign control of Russia through orphans. Foreign adoption has been viewed as foreigners coming into Russia to take our resources. As referred to by Putin, Russian children are being defined as a national resource, one that was being stolen by Westerners. So once again the same rhetoric occurs, of the idea that foreigners are taking over what belongs to Russians and we have to protect it. So it's just the same kind of mentality that's sort of protecting us from the west. The actions that the West took against Russia in retaliation for the Ukraine invasion, how are they regarded and other things, how do the Russians themselves regard this? Well, I would say the former MP, Ilya Ponomarev who appears in the documentary, does not believe sanctions are the right way to go. He believes that if sanctions affect regular people then it gives Putin the ammunition to say, "Well, you see that the West doesn't care for you, they want you to suffer and that's why these sanctions are in place.� It just enables the continuation of the same rhetoric for Putin as being the only possible defender for Russia from the West. So that's why, in his opinion, the sanctions are an issue. For the Russians, when foreign countries issue their sanctions against Russia, Russians retaliate by banning things such as imports of lots of foods from different countries and different products. Then suddenly in Moscow you can't buy foreign fish, condoms, and a bunch of different things. When that happened, they did questionnaires to see if Russians cared that the foreign imports that were banned. Of course in Moscow,
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St. Petersberg, Russia during an Antihomophobia rally (source: Wikipedia) 17
Former Russian State Duma MP Ilya Ponomarev was the only Duma member to vote against the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation in 2014.
From left to right: The signing of Crimea's Annexation to the Russia Federation March 14, 2014 by Crimea's Prime Minister Sergei Aksyonov, Chairman of the State Council of the Republic of Crimea Vladimir Konstantinov, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and former Sevastopol Mayor Aleksei Chaliy (source: Official Russian Presidential Website).
Additionally, Ilya Ponomarev was a vocal critic against the Gay Propaganda Law and the Dima Yakovlev Law, publicly dissenting against both laws. He was exiled from Russia in late 2014, his bank accounts in Russia frozen. Ilya Ponomarev has since been featured in articles by The New York Times, Vox, and The Washington Post, as well as On Putin's Blacklist. He has continued his political activism while in exile. Currently, charges of embezzlement await Ilya Ponomarev if he returns to Russia. Ex-Duma MP of Russia Ilya Ponomarev speaking during a rally (source: Wikipedia). METANOIA MAGAZINE
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where they were dependent on foreign foods, 70% of people were against those bans. However outside of Moscow, in Saint Petersburg, only 10% cared because they'd never seen foreign foods before. They never got to have it anyways. In both Moscow and in small provinces 80-90% of people surveyed didn't actually care that condoms got banned because nobody in Russia wants to use condoms. Sexual education is something that is defined as an other, that really people are very much against in Russia. The big issue is with sanctions, I think, is that for people who would have access to foreign travel and access to foreign foods, they do feel those sanctions. However, people in small provinces and small towns are not affected as much by the foreign sanctions. Generally I do think for Russians that it is harder for them to travel or to do business, especially for big companies. But once again, it's interesting to remember that there were bans on travel for MPs from Russia who supported the action in Ukraine. Yet I remember when one MP got sick and he needed to get treatment in Germany, he was given a visa and allowed to go to Germany to receive treatment. Yes, there are sanctions against Russia but if countries can randomly say, "Oh this person can do this," or, "This person can do that." Then it's not really all that helpful. You have to enforce sanctions. How did the intellectuals and the academics respond to this? I think it's very hard now for any citizen in Russia to express themselves,
The Russian Federation The former Republic of Crimea, now a member of the Russian Federation Ukraine Source: Wikipedia (file modified).
intellectually or otherwise. They are prosecuting some scientists for supposedly sharing information with foreign powers, when all they did was present lectures on their scientific findings in foreign countries and conferences. I think a lot of people are shutting down, just like during the time of the Soviet Union, not expressing themselves, and are just trying to keep to themselves. It's very hard to be yourself, to not end up on the wrong side of the law. Just like during Soviet times. During the film I was filming demonstrations in Russia against foreigners and over the adoption issue. What those demonstrations are and who they are for, is to create a system in which the opinions of the Russian government is the opinions of the majority. For example, workers in a factory or a sort of plant had somebody tell them, "Okay on Saturday, you're going to demonstration. And you're going to be on this side of the demonstration, you're going to be talking about that you hate foreigners and if you don't show up you may lose your job." And that's how they used to do it in the Soviet Union too. So suddenly there's 50 thousand people participating in the demonstration, large enough numbers of support to put on television, though it's all fake. But you have to participate in the system. And I think when you are the kind of human who wants to believe in doing right, it's very hard to exist in that environment where you can't express yourself and you're even forced to do things for political reasons and for your own survival. What do you think the long range holds for Putin? Like you can do certain things you want to do, but then the effect sometimes is totally contrary in the long term to what you want. What do you think of this? It's hard to know what Putin wants. He is probably the richest man in the world. So if that's what his goal ever was, he's achieved it. Recently, I was reading articles about the Novichok poisonings in England. They had featured on Russian television the two guys who are accused of doing it, basically saying that they were just tourists who were visiting to check out their architecture. It seems like most of Russia is now laughing because when those interviews were done on television, the way the men were responding made it obvious that they were not just general tourists. The whole propaganda machine is just so obvious now, it's almost hard to know who’s benefit it is done for. It seems like METANOIA MAGAZINE
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most people with any intelligence would understand that it’s fake. And of course, there's demonstrations about pension reforms that Putin wants to institute, now pensioners and other people are demonstrating in all these towns and getting arrested. It's just slowly unraveling just like Soviet Union unraveled, held too tightly for so long until when at some point, it just fell apart. So if that happens to Russia, then it'll have to rebuild again. Ilya Ponomarev, ex-Duma MP of Russia, believes that after the Soviet Union fell apart, the people who took over the government were the same old guard from Soviet Union. So people who bought out businesses, who bought out private factories that used to belong to the government, are all connected to the same people who used to run Soviet Union. So that the situation of a country falling apart happens again, Ilya Ponomarev believes that it should be similar to how Germany was after World War II. That anyone who was in power should no longer have powers, that they would not be allowed to be in power. New people should be taking over the government. So I differ to his opinion because he would know more than I would. I guess there's one thing that I really wanted to know: Are you on Putin's blacklist? I think I'm a very small fry. I think I'm not sure if I am on a blacklist. The quick answer is, I have no idea. I know that people who appeared in my documentary, like Michael McFaul, the previous US Ambassador to Russia, is now on the blacklist, and is not allowed to travel back into Russia. Of course, Ilya Ponomarev is on his blacklist. So some people who have spoke against Putin have been added to the blacklist, but for example, members of Pussy Riot are allowed to go back and forth between countries. I understand that the journalist who appears in my film, Masha Gessen, is still allowed to go to Russia and do interviews. So it's very randomly enforced. The system works very randomly to decide who's allowed, who's not allowed. But anyone can get poisoned, so that's how I view the reality of it. There's a message in that too. Yeah. What about the future? What are you going to do next? I think in part, for this documentary I filmed quite a lot on adoption and the whole complex situation of orphanages in
Russia, questioning why there's so many orphanages, why there's so many children abandoned, and what is happening. I still have footage showcasing those issues, which I think I'm going to put together in a film sort of more really dedicated to the specific subject of abandonment in Russia. I am also working on a more North American topic that is completely unrelated to adoptions. It is a film about regular people who are considered to be very low-grade reality stars, or those who consider themselves to be larger stars than they are. I’m trying to capture how it feels to go from the glamour and praise you receive when you appear on television, and then the confusion and identity crisis a person has when they’re suddenly reverted back to regular life. They re-enter their regular lives which doesn't seem normal anymore to them, because they have experienced something more, they don’t want their regular life back. They want the stardom back, but can't quite get it. So it is about this dilemma of current society and our obsession with celebrity, and the reality of when you taste fame and you don't have it anymore, and what happens to you. Good idea. Well thank you very much.
A Note From the Author Since the interviewing of Boris Ivanov by Metanoia Magazine, Russian President Vladimir Putin's approval levels have experienced upheavals. Unpopular pension reforms have been signed into law, reforms which re-define the national age of retirement for Russian women up from 55 to 60, and for Russian men, from 60 to 65. The reason for the pension reforms have been cited as money issues, as Russia's aging population is not supported by the number of young workers. However, the World Health Organization (WHO) 2016 Life Expectancy for Russians puts the life expectancy for Russian men at 66 and 77 years old for Russian women, which leaves very little time for the Russian populace to be receiving government pensions. The pension reforms were signed into law on October 3, 2018. Public protests and demonstrations since the announcement of the reforms have been attended by the thousands in several Russian cities, including St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, and Moscow, according to Reuters and the Guardian. As tracked by Levada Analytical Center, a Russian non-governmental research center, Putin's popularity has dropped from 82% in April 2018 to an approval rating of 66% for October 2018, an low in Putin's popularity rating not seen until before the annexation of Crimea.
Russian President Vladimir Putin (source: Official Russian Presidential Website, modified to remove background).
Interviewer and author Hank Leis and Director Boris Ivanov meeting for their interview. METANOIA MAGAZINE
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WORLD POLITICS
The Sound of Sirens and Failed States REVOLUTION OF THE MIND SERIES By Andreas C. Chrysafis
July 20 and August 14, 1974 – marks the day of remembrance and a morbid recollection of Attila’s military invasion of Cyprus. This is the time when the shrieking sound of sirens blasting across the island wake up ghosts and old memories as a reminder not to forget the past. Each year passing, it is also a time to reflect on the present and to consider what’s in store for Cyprus - both uncertain scenarios and most unpredictable! For the Turks in the occupied area represents a different mood; one of festivities and jubilant parades in the streets jam-packed with thousands of imported nationalist Turks and Grey Wolves waving a sea of red flags in celebration of Turkey’s “victory.” During those celebrations some EU countries including Canada and other state-
representatives arrived as guests to view the official parade and commemorate Turkey’s conquest of the Greek island. Ankara considers the occupation of Cyprus “fait accompli” but for the Greek Cypriots, Turkey’s stranglehold has become a nightmare! An arrogant Sultan Erdogan – especially after his re-election – has gone one step closer to irrationality and his megalomaniac-deranged delusions of grandeur are becoming bolder by the day. His cronies recently have been calling on Greece and other EU states to accept Turkey’s Neo-Ottoman Islamic rule for a “better quality life”! The other region under Erdogan’s Islamic aspirations it’s Thrace located northeast of Greece and bordering Bulgaria and Turkey. It has a population of 120,000 Muslims and Erdogan has been hinting for years to “liberate” that Turkish minority of Greece. Ankara in fact has been using the same tactics applied against the Republic of Cyprus to justify its war threats by citing “irreconcilable differences” between Muslims and Christians! He is using the religious hate card and if Greece falls into his trap to “negotiate a Thracian solution.” Like it dishonourably did with Macedonia, Thrace could end up becoming Greece’s METANOIA MAGAZINE
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own “Cyprus Problem” with unpredictable consequences. Meanwhile, Erdogan has already announced his plans for Cyprus; he will not abandon Turkey’s war trophy to allow its underbelly unprotected! If no radical steps are taken by the Cyprus government but decides to play into Ankara’s whims for a Bi-Zonal, Bi-Communal Federation (BBF), demographics would set the final nail to the coffin for Hellenism in Cyprus! A high Muslim birth rate and the influx of Turkish nationalists on the island will see to that! Brain drain, unemployment and migration will reduce Greek Cypriots of becoming a minority community in their own country – Cyprus would never be the same again! In the absence of a credible foreign policy, countries have in fact given up on the Cyprus Issue and are no longer troubled by Turkey’s invasion or its control of the occupied area. For them the issue it’s a thing of the past and does not play a significant role on the world stage; it’s irrelevant and a small fry at that! A number of allies including the EU have already washed their hands from the Cyprus Problem. They prefer to ignore and forget the killing of over 10,000
Greek Cypriot men, women and children or those women and young girls being brutally raped as war trophies of conquest by Turkish soldiers pumped up with zombie - induced amphetamines. The physical and mental scars of those Greek women compounded by the humiliating experience of mass abortions in hospitals may have subsided but certainly not the psychological trauma they had encountered during those dark days of hell. For forty-four years those forgotten women were treated as “collateral damage” and inconsequential victims of war. Shamefully, no government so far has taken up the issue and the matter has been swept under the carpet! The sound of sirens on August 14, also remind people of a reprehensible act by the Greek military junta, their Cypriot collaborators and the National Guard’s attempt to topple the Makarios government. The short-lived coup d'état saw Greeks killing other Greeks because of stupidity, brainwashing and hunger for dictatorial power to serve foreign interests – a despicable act of betrayal! None of those collaborators were ever brought to justice and not a single person has been prosecuted! In fact, the proverbial “Cyprus File” has been kept top-secret and collecting dust ever since! There lacks the political will to reveal the truth or to expose names behind the Cyprus tragedy and the file it’s well hidden away inside dark closets! Protectionism, non-transparency, cover-ups and political plotting, have become a national trademark for both debt-ridden Greece and Cyprus. The principle of the Rule of Law and Justice have being replaced by the ugly signs of apathy, complacency – and for Cyprus – a national betrayal that ultimately triggered Operation Attila’s occupation of the island! What was it that caused the erosion of a proud Greek nation to become a nation of EU political drones driven by banksters, cultural corruption and bad politics? People may also ask; what kind of leadership does Greece and Cyprus produces nowadays that continues to fail the people once elected into office? Most importantly, what kind of a strange virus eats away nations and reduces them to failed-states? Serious questions indeed but only in a failed-state can a government justify robbing its own citizen’s bank accounts (EU Troika Bail-in directive) to save a failing corrupt banking system! What the Anastasiades government did on 25 March
2013, was in fact a criminal act on a grand scale by stealing billions of people’s hardearned cash without asking - that’s what a failed-state is! The recent inferno and unspeakable tragedy in East Attica on 24 July 2018, is yet another example of a failed-state shaped by a self-serving culture and ideology! Zoning irregularities and corruption was the reason 100 lives perished senselessly and hundreds of homes burnt to the ground as a crude reminder that Greece has been a failed-state for years. Thousands of terrified citizens were trapped in blazing fires without clear access to reach the safety of the beach! Nearly all approaches to the water were blocked by illegal structures; and so, people burned alive while others drowned in the sea – that’s what a failed-state is! In the Republic of Cyprus a similar culture (or virus) exists where zoning abuses have become the norm by those who consider themselves untouchable and above the law. Recently, a government minister (of all people) spoke publicly demanding the relaxation of zoning bylaws to allow the construction of an illegal hotel in Paphos on the claim that: “if the hotel its not allowed to be completed then half of the island has to be demolished.” That says it all! The specific case sends signals of blatant corruption in high places. The hotel owners were given a permit to build a two-floor hotel but after an appeal, the planners allowed two additional floors and yet, not satisfied, the hotel owners went ahead and constructed – without council approval – a fifth floor in total disrespect of the law. They hoped backhanders would help their quandary! Shamefully some parliamentarians and local officials campaigned in support of the development demanding that Paphos Town Planning Department should turn a blind eye to deviations from the law! This is the type of culture that destroys nations and produces failed-states! Regardless of the outcome, a most important principle is at stake here: to respect and apply the law of the land equally to all or to allow oligarchy and unlawfulness rule the day! In any other law-abiding country no such ugly behaviour would be tolerated but would bring in the bulldozers for demolition – but no so in Greece or Cyprus! The question remains, why not? The Mari/Zygi Naval Base tragedy on 11 July 2011, it’s another fine example of a failed-state at its worse; ninety metal METANOIA MAGAZINE
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cargo containers full with ammunition and explosives en route to Syria were confiscated and had been stored outdoors under the scorching heat of the sun for over two years! Without proper protection, the bloated metal containers self-detonated killing 13 people as well as injuring over 60 others. The calamity nearly brought Cyprus to its knees and yet, no government official resigned; the matter was covered up to protect political party cronyism! The sounds of sirens are certainly a reminder of dangers but also forewarnings of things to come! They remind people not to repeat the same mistakes of the past but to re-invent themselves into a transparent meritocratic society that can start building a Nation of Leaders instead of a nation of followers! For this miracle to happen, Hellenism needs to get rid of the monkey off its back – corruption, political party cronyism and EU/Troika punitive taxation that ultimately reduces proud nations into failed-states!
Andreas C. Chrysafis Was born at Ayios Ambrosios, Kerynia, Cyprus. He studied and lived in the UK and Vancouver, Canada for most of his life where he practiced his profession as an architectural designer. He is a prolific writer of books, press articles including The Vanishing Cyprus series and The Revolution of the Mind series both published worldwide. Today, he lives between London and Cyprus devoting most of his time writing and painting works of art. Info@evandia.com www.facebook.com/ACChrysafisAuthor www.facebook.com/ACChrysafisArtGallery
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Strategic Imperative By Hank Leis
Left: President of the United States of America with President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin during the 2018 Russia–United States summit held in Helsinki, Finland (source: Official Russian Presidential Website). Above: Ireland G8 Summit meeting featuring Russian President Vladimir Putin, German Chancellor Angela Merkle, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe, European Union Commission President José Manuel Barroso, European Union Council President Herman Van Rompuy, Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta, former Prime Minister of Canada Stephen Harper, former President of France François Hollande, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom David Cameron, and former President of the United States of America Barack Obama (source: Official Russian Presidential Website).
God! I just did not think it was possible – but somewhere between CNN’s Fareed Zakaria’s, The Most Powerful Man in the World and Boris Ivanov’s On Putin’s Blacklist, I suddenly found myself understanding Putin. I got him and through his eyes I got Donald Trump – kind of. When Vladimir Putin became the leader of Russia, the Soviet Union had collapsed. The liberal Mikhail Gorbachev who was followed by the drunk and corrupt Boris Yeltsin - two successive heads of state allowed the degradation and dissolution of the Soviet Union. With the demolishing of the Iron Curtain, the brilliant intellectuals and academics from Harvard had the idea that they were going to set the Russians straight on how democracy and capitalism functioned hand in hand. After the Russians had “learned” how to METANOIA MAGAZINE
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run their country, the NGO’s financed by foreign countries –primarily the US – took over the administration of social services and shipped out orphans to a better placeagain mostly the US. In the eyes of Russians, the US had invaded their country and were recreating systems that too often already proved unworkable in their own countries. Resistance was futile. How could one condemn all this good news and education that foreigners were thrusting on the poor and ignorant Russians? Additionally as this was occurring, there was Hillary Clinton and her cultural superiority shrieking for the ousting of Putin, as Russia was careening; on the brink of civil war, with no one else to lead. The country was in shambles and the US was calling for liberalization, when in fact liberalization was causing it to collapse.
Former President of the United States of America Barack Obama with President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin during the Lough Erne G8 Summit in 2013 (source: Official Russian Presidential Website).
The strident and proud Putin, with the support of Russian nationalists took control of a frightened and angry population that relied on the state for infrastructure and direction to produce an economy that barely sustained them, and that was enough. Capitalism brought wealth to the apparatchiks – and impoverished the rest. Putin learned from the Americans – but not the lessons they thought they had taught. He learned that Americans, particularly in the Liberal community, humiliated their “client” states by good news. They imposed values that could not be attained without hundreds of years of history – the way that they had evolved in Europe and the US. The US had not been an overnight success – and immediate success was what the Russians needed. Throughout history and through the Second World War Russians had embraced suffering, and now for the dignity of Russia, Putin asked them to suffer again rather than face the indignity and humiliation of American interference. And they came to support him in throngs – the psychology already embedded in their
hearts and minds of the Russian populace as a result of generations of suffering for Mother Russia. And slowly things began to change with the emergence of a wealthy middle class that was tolerated despite its' glitter – was tolerated and even encouraged! – and Rock and Roll took over Moscow Nights. The Russian liberals were shocked. Where was the Russia they had anticipated – where the universities would flourish and wise academics would rule the activities of the country by virtue of their superior intellect (as they believed it did in America)? But they did nothing to grab power as the academics had in the US. They believed the Russian people would assert themselves by electing Liberal officials. But they did not, and the Liberals who were notoriously cowards were left in the dust – executed and demeaned by those they sought to uplift. Putin had won. Nationalism is a strange thing. It energizes people collectively and for no reason. The idea of belonging to a group makes the individual feel stronger, more energized, and ready to do whatever
is necessary to maintain the power it offers. The energy a group attains is a huge multiple of that of an individual. And Putin’s appeal was to those who felt that electricity. His popularity of 80% plus could only be envied by leaders in the West – but in a country where leaders were assured of over 90% support – 80% in a “democracy” was still no small feat. The Magnitosky Act, a bi-partisan bill passed by the US Congress and signed by President Obama in 2012, was believed by many Russians as an act of war by the US. It was an isolation of the Russian elite from the enjoyment of travel and ownership of assets in foreign states. A monumental mistake, in my view of the Obama administration and US Congress. It was none other than Secretary of State George Schultz who had brought out the Russians from isolation to join the aspirations and experience of the rest of the world, and now the Russians were again alone where they had been before. The bill reinforced the view by Russians that America having imposed their views inside their country and were now also controlling their physical presence outside the country.
President of the United States of America Donald Trump and President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin (source: Official Russian Presidential Website).
The response, of all things, was to cut off Americans from adopting Russian orphans. The logic was that Russia was exporting their children to hostile nations who would inevitable use them as soldiers to attack Motherland Russia. This was a strategic response that made sense to Russians. In America it became a motherhood issue, “How could they deny orphans the opportunity to be adopted by loving American parents?” Inevitabley the Liberal views expounded by foreign NGO’s on the necessity of equality and LGBT right prompted backlash from the Russian people, as yet another imposition from the US. With the support of Patriarch Kirill and the Russian Orthodox Church, the Russian government condemned ‘deviant sexual habits’ through the banning of all circulation of ‘propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations’ among minors. This of course was received by the Russian thugs as permission to humiliate and attack those who did not conform to the expectations of, by Western standards, an ignorant and unsympathetic majority. Pussy Riot – an extraordinary group of young women – took on the church by donning masks then singing, dancing, and interrupting church services. Their reward was being assualted and imprisoned by the authorities. It was of course an embarrassment to Putin internationally– and while he may not have understood how badly this would play out around the world, he understood that Mother Russia would not tolerate such insolence. Personal issues and tragedies in Boris Ivanov’s documentary are juxtaposed against international concerns. Of course, foremost for the audience is the image of the ugly brutality of orphanages and the treatment of the LGBT community makes the issues personal for the audience – and was enough to bring this writer to tears.
Russian Punk Rock band Pussy Riot (source: Wikipedia, Denis Bochkarev).
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev (source: Official Russian Presidential Website).
The documentary is explicit in exposing the horror of Putin’s regime – if you are not one of them. Those who live on the fringes are outcasts and left without protection. The horror perpetrated on them fits every description of ruthless behaviour, obscene acts that are absent of any human kindness or generosity that one might extend to another. To make matters worse, all these actions are supported by the Russian Orthodox Church. Putin’s willingness to treat portions of the population with disdain gives those who glorify intimidation of the weak a kind of relevance – relevance that thugs rarely have in other countries – but in the long term it can all turn back on him and he knows it will keep them busy for now.
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But without an enemy within – the Motherland cannot be glorified. And what better enemy than the weakest? Putin learned the wrong lesson in his East German experience as a senior spy. He fooled the East Germans and became a hero – but in Russia the bomb is ticking – and ultimately Hillary Clinton’s admonishments may prevail.
Hank Leis Is the author of The Leadership Phenomenon: A Multidimensional Model
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IN MEMORIUM
Robin Leach
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Champagne wishes and caviar dreams.� Robin Leach passed away on August 24, 2018, in Las Vegas, Nevada. He was born in England where at a young age he became a reporter. He was renown in America for his television show, Life Styles of the Rich and Famous where he interviewed the wealthy and the famous, in the process himself becoming rich and well known. In a fortuitous encounter he hit it off with the owners of Metanoia Magazine and agreed to have us publish his writings on show biz events taking place in Las Vegas. Sadly an accident and subsequent illness did not make that possible. We will miss him.
Who am I? By Lillian Puust
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Who am I? I have been looking for an answer to that question for a while now. Where do I come from? Estonians like me, my children, and their children, are descended from an ancient people, who 7,500 years ago, were the first people to come to a land on the corner of the Baltic sea, where the sun doesn’t set for most of the summer, and where it hides for most of the long winter. We are indigenous to Estonia. After reading Indian Horse, I wonder if my ancestors are like the ancestors of the Ojibway, because it feels familiar to me. My ancestors were also meshed with nature. They say that our cheekbones are cut from the coastal cliffs that rise above our shorelines. They say that the blue of our eyes comes the from the gray-blue skies, our fair skin the reflection of endless white winters. Our blond hair comes from where the northern sun warms the wheat and rye fields waving in the wind. The intensity in our gait is determined by the harshness of our climate to prepare for the months when our land is sleeping. Life is serious in a northern climate. We have always been a people who must work and fix and create and make whatever surrounds us better. There is no other choice. I have always felt that the gods live in the natural beauty around me, that I am part of and related to what I see when trees change their leaves to amber and crimson, when a lake starts to shine and sparkle with sunlight. For centuries those before me have watched the signs around us learning the language of the water and the land. It is still with us. We have not been buried by cities. The need to be in nature is something I see in every family member and almost every Estonian I know. Sometimes I feel a connection to something unexpectedly. There is something right about it, something I have not thought of before. And, what if I really can sense a part of what I have in my DNA? And that is why it feels right to me? What if I feel ancestors of long ago within me?
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As a child in the pine forests of Sweden I felt that I was descended from the Vikings. I needed to explore, like they did. I thought I was a forest Viking! I now have proof that I am. I had my DNA tested. It shows that I am 62.6% Baltic, 17.8% Scandinavian, 18% Finnish, and surprise! ‌ 1.6% Central American! So, all except 1.6% is from the area from which 31
the Vikings came. No wonder I feel it. But what about the 1.6% Central American? Is it exotic Inca or Mayan ancestry? I don’t look it. Or, did my seafaring ancestors bring someone back from America? Or, perhaps some Siberian ancestors skedaddled across Asia and over the Aleutian Islands to Alaska and came down through the Americas to become the Indians of America. It could be! My DNA code is K1a4a1. Codes which start with K can be traced back 16,000 years ago in Europe. I know that my K ancestors wandered around Europe and the British Isles for a while, but eventually my direct line ended up on the coasts of two of the largest islands off the mainland of Estonia, eventually producing my mother from Saaremaa and my father from the west coast of Läänemaa. Years later, they brought their line of DNA to Canada. The ancestry companies keep sending me lists of people to whom I am related. They are usually 5th cousins, but it’s good to know that they live in predictable places in Europe, the British Isles and North America. I haven’t gotten too excited about these distant relatives, since through Geni.com I have already found a tree of 6,000 people related to me going back to the late 1600's. Since I have no brothers or sisters and only four first cousins in Canada, I was excited, when through Geni I found second cousins, who I contacted and met when visiting Estonia. I enjoyed meeting each one. I am getting somewhat closer to figuring out who I am, what is in my DNA and whether my grandchildren will be happy to be related to me and my ancestors. I have found parts of myself in every story I have written and other parts just being in my Memoir class. There are many stories to tell. I wrote about my grandparents, parents and their siblings. They have stories worth reading – about my entrepreneurial grandfather and his five daughters, about Ady who fell in love with a sea captain, who at nineteen dared to come on her own to Canada in search of him but ended up in far off Winnipeg instead. About a romance triangle with two sisters, about my mother and how she met my father, about my father and others who were caught between the machinations of Stalin and Hitler’s empires, about fear and bravery, about starting over from nothing several times in new countries and learning new languages. About me as an immigrant child in Canada living on a farm and how we played and learned,
growing up in Montreal, summer jobs in the Rockies, about Toronto and sailing on Georgian Bay. I found parts of my identity spanning many years and centuries, a few also in the present. I keep seeing me and my ancestors in my descendants: in Häli and Ariana who are always reading, in Häli who writes, in Lukas I see my father, in Tarvo I see myself... Who am I? I am getting closer to finding this out and I hope in the end that my children and their children will be proud of where they have come from, of the DNA which they have inherited and of what they will become.
METANOIA MAGAZINE
Lilian Puust I think of myself as being Estonian, even though I came to Canada at the age of seven and have spent almost all of my life here. I grew up in Montreal but have lived in Toronto the longest. The influence of the Estonian community has helped me remain Estonian. That does not make me less Canadian. It makes me a better Canadian, because Estonian culture does not conflict with being Canadian and the Estonian community provides values, support, and inspiration to do well in life. I visit my little country frequently, since its history of hardships, irrepressible spirit and achievements inspires me. My family’s stories are intertwined with the story of Estonia and my heritage.
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TRAVEL
The Dan Walker Chronicles CIENFUEGOS, GUAMร & HOME
Dan Walker Is an adventurer, a businessman, and raconteur. He has visited every country in the world. His trusty Rolls Royce has taken him across many continents. He includes his grandchildren in some of his travels allowing them to select the destination. Originally, he hails from Victoria, British Columbia, but now resides in Costa Rica. We are pleased to present the Dan Walker Chronicles.
We made an early start for Guamรก Hotel. First we drove around Cienfuegos, including the very long main street with a boulevard of benches & statues in the centre and colonial columned buildings on each side.
Peninsula. When we arrived we were assured that for a $3 fee the car would be well looked after, and another $7 got us a return ticket on the next boat, which dropped us at the hotel on the far side of the lake.
We navigated successfully through a maze of back roads connecting small towns with the help of directions from a number of people en route. Soon we were travelling along the south coast on roads crawling with millions of crabs. We stopped for photos - there were so many there was no possibility of dodging them - the road was paved with them to a depth of about an inch. The sound as we ran over crabs was similar to the clickety clack of trains.
As the hotel price was only $60 we were a bit apprehensive, but on arrival were delighted. Each room is a separate thatched cabin on stilts in the lake with individual board walks to shore. There is a large bathroom, sitting room, a large bedroom and a dressing room. The bar and dining room are each in separate buildings on stilts as well, all connected by varying lengths of arched bridges. The afternoon was a lazy one - I drank beer and read while Marilynn cooled off in the pool.
There were some beautiful beaches from Playa Girรณn to Playa Larga along the infamous Bay of Pigs, where the abortive US sponsored invasion of Cuba took place. We stopped at a couple of places where there was no beach, just a short drop off from the edge of volcanic lava to water as clear as I've seen anywhere. We turned inland for the drive to Guamรก, a tourist stop on a canal that connects to Treasure Lake, where independent travellers and bus tourists alike can take a boat down the canal and around the lake. The boarding area had tourist shops, bar and restaurant. I had spotted the place while using Google Earth to help plan the trip, and prepaid one night's accommodation while staying at the hotel on the Ancon METANOIA MAGAZINE
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We booked a boat tour in the evening. The guide rowed one boat and towed another through the canals where birds were plentiful. The participants spoke some English but no Spanish so Marilynn interpreted - tourists here were Danish, Dutch, or Russian. It was an interesting tour, ending in an abortive sunset due to rain clouds on the horizon. Our rower dropped us at the restaurant where it proved impossible to get service. There was one waiter on duty for the onslaught of diners, and he was supposedly the bartender as well. That job was totally forsaken, so there was nothing to ease the pain of waiting. After about an hour our order was taken, and another bartender was brought in so we could actually get a drink. Dinner was definitely not worth waiting for.
PLAYA BLANCA BEACH CLUB
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CONTINUING FROM THE LAST METANOIA
A BOOK BY A CANADIAN RCMP AND A CSIS OFFICER
from across Western Canada. It was a poignant statement of the dedication of members of the Force, to the policing service they provide to the community and more importantly, to the support, or back-up, to each other. This was a case of each supporting the other, not knowing fully what they were up against. They carried six-shot, Smith and Wesson revolvers, as we all did at that time. They were under-powered, slow and difficult to reload, particularly under stress. Those Constables had no chance as they were up against a high-powered rifle. I think we all realized during the service that any one of us could have been named on the plaque.
The Chase
WHAT A RIDE By Len N. Giles
Now, in Salmon Arm, dealing with the Native community, I found no mystery there and as I recalled my friendship with Emil, saw no reason to treat the local Natives any differently from the way I treated him. Consequently, it seemed that over time I became known and familiar to them, not as just another cop. Quite often, I was greeted with “Hey, Len” as I passed by or stopped to deal with the problem I had been called to respond to. I found treating them all with respect, no matter what their condition, always met with respect in return. One individual, whom I had addressed as “Sir” paused and looked at me for a long moment then said, “I will do anything for someone who calls me Sir.” What a profound and telling statement. It told a story in itself, of an individual who seldom, if ever, was treated with respect and how just one word ”Sir” directed to him, had affected his thoughts. It gave him a brief glimpse of dignity, something he seldom encountered and seldom felt. Consequently, I never found it necessary to use force or harsh treatment
to undertake the action required of me as part of my police duties. Sadly, there were those in the Force who reacted very differently. Unfortunately, I lost all contact with Emil after that summer in Ma-me-o, nor did I ever know his last name. In reflecting upon what I learned from him, I have to thank him for giving me the understanding to appreciate and treat the Native community as I did. Many years later, long after my retirement, I became involved in a Commission of Inquiry in Vancouver into the death of a Native; which was a very moving and cathartic experience for me. While in Salmon Arm, in 1963, I was called to Kamloops to participate in a memorial service to dedicate a cenotaph to the memory of RCMP Constables E. Keck, G. Pederson and D. Weisgerber. They had been killed in 1962 at Peterson Creek in Kamloops by a deranged gunman using a surplus military rifle. I was on the Musical Ride at the time; nevertheless, it was a very moving ceremony as members, all in Red Serge dress uniforms, gathered METANOIA MAGAZINE
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As for the office, tensions continued from time to time; however, one learned to steer clear of the Corporal and his mood swings. Basically, you did your job and made sure you did not do anything that would irritate him. On June 1, 1963 I was moved from Detachment duties to Highway Patrol. I would be working with Jack Lawson, my friend from Princeton Highway Patrol who had been moved in to Salmon Arm to take over the unit that spring. In my mind, it was an exceptionally good move for me as Jack was a great mentor for whom I had the greatest respect. He was a good highway patrolman who took his job seriously and ran his unit like a fine Swiss watch. I learned from him a job was what you make of it. It was all in the attitude, he said. Basically, Jack was a man with a gentle heart and a humanitarian who treated everyone with respect, no matter what the circumstances. Consequently, he was highly regarded in the community. Later in the summer, the Constable in charge of nearby Enderby Detachment requested Salmon Arm Highway Patrol to cover the Enderby area on a Saturday. He had to be out of town for the day and the second man at the Detachment was away on holidays. Enderby was within our highway patrol area and Jack opted for the two of us to go and spend the day in the area. Normally, we would only pass through there once or twice per week. That Saturday was hot and the countryside was very arid as we were badly in need of rain. With the heat and dust, our uniforms, high boots, spurs, breeches, long sleeve shirts and ties were uncomfortable. There was no relief to be found other than to keep the highway patrol car moving in order to provide some movement of air. Air conditioning was unheard of in police cars and seldom seen in any vehicles for
that matter. We had been patrolling in town for a half-hour or so and had made our presence known. The white doors of the highway patrol car were not a common sight in town so everyone took notice we were there. We were about to stumble upon an event that would be talked about in the community for years to come. Jack was driving and had just pulled up to a stop sign when a black Ford four door hardtop passed from right to left in front of us on the main street. We watched it pass and continue over a bridge leading to the Mabel Lake Road heading due east out of town. We noted there were three young men in the vehicle. As it went up onto the bridge the driver put the pedal to the metal. There was a loud roar and a lot of dust as the car left the bridge and headed east on the Mabel Lake Road at a high rate of speed. Jack, observing this in his usual calm manner, said, "Well, well, he’s got some nerve. I think we should have a chat with him." As Jack turned left, the chase was on. The driver, in essence, had laid down a foolish challenge. He thought he could outrun us, particularly on a gravel road. However, what he did not know was that Jack was a seasoned highway patrolman with exceptional driving abilities, second to none. We crossed the bridge with red light and siren going. The very dry gravel road was conducive to creating a lot of dust so, to improve our visibility to oncoming traffic, we turned on our bright headlights. The driver of the Ford, likely thought we would not be able to get near him due to the thickness of the dust cloud. At times, he was right; we could hardly see the road. Jack pressed our luck to the limit as we pursued the Ford at speeds of 85 to 90 miles per hour. On Saturday afternoons, people usually came into town for their week-end shopping and visit. Therefore, there was more traffic on the road than normal and we met a number of cars, two of which had been run off the road by the Ford. As we went by at 75 or 80 miles per hour, they appeared not to have suffered any damage as far as we could see. One individual was even out of his car waving his fist and pointing in the direction the Ford had gone. One thing we knew, as long as we were in the dust cloud, the Ford was not far in front of us. The Ford did not slow down and we would only get glimpses of it through the dust or when the road curved and we could see him clearly if the dust drifted in the right direction. Often, we took corners in a controlled slide and were fortunate we did not lose control or run
off the road ourselves due to the frequent, albeit temporary losses of visibility. The chase seemed to go on and on until suddenly we came into clear air. No dust. That meant the Ford was off the main road and onto a side road. Jack came to a sliding stop, jammed the car into reverse and in no time we were off to our left on a logging road, again in hot pursuit. At that point, we had chased the Ford for 25 miles on the main road. Jack's ability as a driver soon overtook the ability of the driver of the Ford on the narrow logging road. Within a mile or so, we were right behind him. He could either continue or stop. There was no other option as we were right on his tail and intent on staying there. The road was a narrow bush road used by logging trucks, so there was no place to pass or to turn off. It was dangerous for both vehicles and apparent the driver was not going to stop even though we were right behind him. The red light and siren had no effect. Under the circumstances, I don’t know where he could have gone or for how long. We needed to put an end to this dangerous adventure before someone missed a corner. To do so, as we approached a down-and-to-our-right switchback, I took out my revolver and fired three shots, well ahead of the Ford. I had no intention of shooting at it. The passenger in the front seat was looking up and to his right at the highway patrol car. When he saw the revolver and realized I was shooting, he frantically disappeared from sight as he got down on the floor of the car. The driver, now realizing the seriousness of their situation, hit the brakes hard and the Ford came to a sliding stop in a cloud of dust. At this point, we became the “Keystone Cops.” We stopped, in a cloud of dust, within ten feet of the back of the Ford and by the time the driver turned and looked to his left he was looking directly down the barrel of my .38 calibre revolver. I told him to turn off the car and get out. As I did so, I realized Jack was not with me. I looked to my right to see where he was and to my amazement saw that he was half hanging out of the driver's side of the car. In his haste to get out, he had forgotten to undo his seat belt. When he tried to get out it allowed him only enough leeway to get partially out of the car. There he hung, half in, half out, struggling to get back far enough into the car so he could undo the belt. Finally, he appeared beside me, laughing, as the occupants of the car were getting out.
I still had my revolver drawn and had the driver against the rear quarter of his car. I quickly checked him for weapons and obtained his driver's license before handcuffing him. His surname was Hazzard. I could not believe it. In any case, I wanted to get him handcuffed before I put away my revolver, which I did. When I tried to put my revolver back in my holster I found the lanyard, which was around my neck and connected to my revolver, was between Hazard’s wrist and the handcuffs. This meant undoing the handcuffs before I could put my revolver away. That was a moment where laughter, in spite of all of the events leading up to this arrest, was overwhelming. All of us––including Hazzard–– had a chuckle; on me! It was one of my more embarrassing moments. After putting Hazzard in the back of the police car, we took all the details of the other two individuals and searched the car. Nothing was found and we had no reason to hold the two passengers, so they were allowed to drive Hazard’s car back to town. Hazzard however, accompanied us to Salmon Arm where he was locked up and charged with driving without due care and attention. As I recall, on Monday, he appeared in Court, was fined $150.00 by the Magistrate, Noel Dawson, and released. In 1963 a $150.00 fine was quite heavy. Of course, to end it all, when Corporal Dodd heard I had fired my revolver, he threatened to have me charged in Orderly Room, the RCMP equivalent of a military court martial. Fortunately, that never happened.
To be continued in the next issue of Metanoia Magazine
Leonard N. Giles Joined the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) in 1960. When the Canadian Security Intelligence Service was proclaimed in 1984, he crossed over after twenty years in counterespionage. In his career, Giles had assignments in the United States, Japan, Singapore, Thailand, India, Macau and the Philippines, retiring in 1991.
American Steel Tariffs By Shiraz Balolia President, Grizzly Industrial, Inc., Bellingham, Washington
“I feel compelled to respond to Zachary Karabell’s article claiming President Trump’s Tariffs to have the equivalent effect of bringing a knife to a gunfight.
tariffs, are actively working on sourcing those products from other countries that do not have such tariffs. Once this business leaves, it will never return to China and there will be long term effects on Chinese manufacturers. They know this and will have to address some of the demands made by President Trump.
I am the founder and President of a mid-size (9 figures) wood working and metal working machinery and tools import company that has been affected by the tariffs. However, I disagree with Mr. Karabell on many fronts that the tariffs are ineffective. Even though USA is not the biggest importer of Chinese made products compared to all the other countries combined, it still remains the largest single importing country of China made products. Even a partial loss of the US business by China cannot be made up by new business from other importing countries, thereby creating pain for China and its economy. On top of that, companies like us that are affected by the
For too long other countries have taken advantage of us by putting restrictions and heavy duties on US made products while we allowed their products to enter our country at minimal, low single digit duties. None of our last few Presidents had a back bone to stand up to these countries, nor to the pressure from special interests and lobbyists. President Trump is running the country like a good businessman should! Perpetual scholars and most politicians don’t have two cents of business sense about running businesses. Let The President do his job instead of constantly criticizing a person under whose watch the country is prospering and job creation across all industries is at an all-time high.”
This is in response to an article that was published in the Wall Street Journal on 10/15/18.
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MISSIVES
ON THE SOCALLED "CHINA SHOCK" “To the Editor, Washington Post" Editor: Megan McArdle is correct that free traders have so far failed to convince the public of the merits of free trade (“How free-traders blew it,” June 27). However, she errs in pointing to the so-called “China shock” as real-world evidence against economists’ case for free trade. The econometricians who advanced this thesis claim to have found that U.S. trade with China reduced overall employment in the U.S. by 2.4 million from 1999 through 2011. That’s an average net monthly job loss, over the span of those 13 years, of 15,385. Put this figure in perspective: each month in the U.S., since the end of the Great Recession, on average about 1.7 million non-farm jobs are destroyed. (Typically, an even larger number of jobs are created, thus resulting in net monthly increases in total employment.) So even accepting the socalled “China shock” thesis on its face, U.S. trade with China was responsible for less than one percent of all job destruction. Most jobs are destroyed just as most jobs are created: by the ordinary churn of competitive, innovative markets, often having nothing much to do with international trade. Why would Americans calmly accept as a matter of course the economic forces responsible for 99 percent of all job destruction but become tormented and lured to Trumpian populism by a force that is responsible for no more than one percent of job destruction? To suggest as much makes no sense. Moreover, the vanishingly small size of the “China shock” figure combines with the fact that the time span covered by the study includes the Great Recession to suggest that it is impossible to conclude that trade with China is responsible for any net reduction in U.S. employment. Because non-China forces in the U.S. economy monthly destroy close to 1.7
million jobs - and also because during each typical month slightly more than 1.7 million jobs are created - there is simply no way that the “China shock” authors, regardless of their brilliance at using econometrics, can single out trade with China as being responsible for a net average monthly reduction, over the course of 13 years, of a mere 15,385 jobs. It might well be that there are today 2.4 million fewer jobs in the U.S. than there would have been had employment trends up to 1999 held steady. But if so, it is impossible to credibly pin the blame on one force - trade with China - among the countless forces that regularly destroy and create jobs in the U.S. economy. METANOIA MAGAZINE
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Donald J. Boudreaux Professor of Economics and Martha and Nelson Getchell Chair for the Study of Free Market Capitalism at the Mercatus Center George Mason University Fairfax, VA 22030