I liked Fidel, he was no saint but he certainly accomplished a great deal. He had quite a bit to say.  text of History Shall Absolve Me

Excerpt of Speech

"...

You will not be able to deny that the regime forced upon the nation is unworthy of Cuba's history. In his book, The Spirit of Laws, which is the foundation of the modern division of governmental power, Montesquieu makes a distinction between three types of government according to their basic nature: 'The Republican form wherein the whole people or a portion thereof has sovereign power; the Monarchical form where only one man governs, but in accordance with fixed and well-defined laws; and the Despotic form where one man without regard for laws nor rules acts as he pleases, regarding only his own will or whim.' And then he adds: 'A man whose five senses constantly tell him that he is everything and that the rest of humanity is nothing is bound to be lazy, ignorant and sensuous.' 'As virtue is necessary to democracy, and honor to a monarchy, fear is of the essence to a despotic regime, where virtue is not needed and honor would be dangerous.'

The right of rebellion against tyranny, Honorable Judges, has been recognized from the most ancient times to the present day by men of all creeds, ideas and doctrines.

It was so in the theocratic monarchies of remote antiquity. In China it was almost a constitutional principle that when a king governed rudely and despotically he should be deposed and replaced by a virtuous prince.

The philosophers of ancient India upheld the principle of active resistance to arbitrary authority. They justified revolution and very often put their theories into practice. One of their spiritual leaders used to say that 'an opinion held by the majority is stronger than the king himself. A rope woven of many strands is strong enough to hold a lion.'

The city states of Greece and republican Rome not only admitted, but defended the meting-out of violent death to tyrants.

In the Middle Ages, John Salisbury in his Book of the Statesman says that when a prince does not govern according to law and degenerates into a tyrant, violent overthrow is legitimate and justifiable. He recommends for tyrants the dagger rather than
poison.

Saint Thomas Aquinas, in the Summa Theologica, rejects the doctrine of tyrannicide, and yet upholds the thesis that tyrants
should be overthrown by the people.

Martin Luther proclaimed that when a government degenerates into a tyranny that violates the laws, its subjects are released from their obligations to obey. His disciple, Philippe Melanchton, upholds the right of resistance when governments become despotic. Calvin, the outstanding thinker of the Reformation with regard to political ideas, postulates that people are entitled to take up arms to oppose any usurpation.

No less a man that Juan Mariana, a Spanish Jesuit during the reign of Philip II, asserts in his book, De Rege et Regis Institutione, that when a governor usurps power, or even if he were elected, when he governs in a tyrannical manner it is licit for a private citizen to exercise tyrannicide, either directly or through subterfuge with the least possible disturbance.

The French writer, François Hotman, maintained that between the government and its subjects there is a bond or contract, and that the people may rise in rebellion against the tyranny of government when the latter violates that pact.

About the same time, a booklet - which came to be widely read - appeared under the title Vindiciae Contra Tyrannos, and it was signed with the pseudonym Stephanus Junius Brutus. It openly declared that resistance to governments is legitimate when rulers oppress the people and that it is the duty of Honorable Judges to lead the struggle.

The Scottish reformers John Knox and John Poynet upheld the same points of view. And, in the most important book of that movement, George Buchanan stated that if a government achieved power without taking into account the consent of the people, or if a government rules their destiny in an unjust or arbitrary fashion, then that government becomes a tyranny and can be divested of power or, in a final recourse, its leaders can be put to death.

John Althus, a German jurist of the early 17th century, stated in his Treatise on Politics that sovereignty as the supreme authority of the State is born from the voluntary concourse of all its members; that governmental authority stems from the people and that its unjust, illegal or tyrannical function exempts them from the duty of obedience and justifies resistance or rebellion.

Thus far, Honorable Judges, I have mentioned examples from antiquity, from the Middle Ages, and from the beginnings of our times. I selected these examples from writers of all creeds. What is more, you can see that the right to rebellion is at the very root of Cuba's existence as a nation. By virtue of it you are today able to appear in the robes of Cuban Judges. Would it be that those garments really served the cause of justice!

It is well known that in England during the 17th century two kings, Charles I and James II, were dethroned for despotism. These actions coincided with the birth of liberal political philosophy and provided the ideological base for a new social class, which was then struggling to break the bonds of feudalism. Against divine right autocracies, this new philosophy upheld the principle of the social contract and of the consent of the governed, and constituted the foundation of the English Revolution of 1688, the American Revolution of 1775 and the French Revolution of 1789. These great revolutionary events ushered in the liberation of the Spanish colonies in the New World - the final link in that chain being broken by Cuba. The new philosophy nurtured our own political ideas and helped us to evolve our Constitutions, from the Constitution of Guáimaro up to the Constitution of 1940. The latter was influenced by the socialist currents of our time; the principle of the social function of property and of man's inalienable right to a decent living were built into it, although large vested interests have prevented fully enforcing those rights.

The right of insurrection against tyranny then underwent its final consecration and became a fundamental tenet of political liberty.

As far back as 1649, John Milton wrote that political power lies with the people, who can enthrone and dethrone kings and have the duty of overthrowing tyrants.

John Locke, in his essay on government, maintained that when the natural rights of man are violated, the people have the right and the duty to alter or abolish the government. 'The only remedy against unauthorized force is opposition to it by force.'

Jean-Jaques Rousseau said with great eloquence in his Social Contract: 'While a people sees itself forced to obey and obeys, it does well; but as soon as it can shake off the yoke and shakes it off, it does better, recovering its liberty through the use of the very right that has been taken away from it.' 'The strongest man is never strong enough to be master forever, unless he converts force into right and obedience into duty. Force is a physical power; I do not see what morality one may derive from its use. To yield to force is an act of necessity, not of will; at the very least, it is an act of prudence. In what sense should this be called a duty?' 'To renounce freedom is to renounce one's status as a man, to renounce one's human rights, including one's duties. There is no possible compensation for renouncing everything. Total renunciation is incompatible with the nature of man and to take away all free will is to take away all morality of conduct. In short, it is vain and contradictory to stipulate on the one hand an absolute authority and on the other an unlimited obedience ...'

Thomas Paine said that 'one just man deserves more respect than a rogue with a crown.'

The people's right to rebel has been opposed only by reactionaries like that clergyman of Virginia, Jonathan Boucher, who said: 'The right to rebel is a censurable doctrine derived from Lucifer, the father of rebellions.'

The Declaration of Independence of the Congress of Philadelphia, on July 4th, 1776, consecrated this right in a beautiful paragraph which reads: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness; That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it and to institute a new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.'

The famous French Declaration of the Rights of Man willed this principle to the coming generations: 'When the government violates the rights of the people, insurrection is for them the most sacred of rights and the most imperative of duties.' 'When a person seizes sovereignty, he should be condemned to death by free men.'

I believe I have sufficiently justified my point of view. I have called forth more reasons than the Honorable Prosecutor called forth to ask that I be condemned to 26 years in prison. All these reasons support men who struggle for the freedom and happiness of the people. None support those who oppress the people, revile them, and rob them heartlessly. Therefore I have been able to call forth many reasons and he could not adduce even one. How can Batista's presence in power be justified when he gained it against the will of the people and by violating the laws of the Republic through the use of treachery and force? How could anyone call legitimate a regime of blood, oppression and ignominy? How could anyone call revolutionary a regime which has gathered the most backward men, methods and ideas of public life around it? How can anyone consider legally valid the high treason of a Court whose duty was to defend the Constitution? With what right do the Courts send to prison citizens who have tried to redeem their country by giving their own blood, their own lives? All this is monstrous to the eyes of the nation and to the principles of true justice!

Still there is one argument more powerful than all the others. We are Cubans and to be Cuban implies a duty; not to fulfill that duty is a crime, is treason. We are proud of the history of our country; we learned it in school and have grown up hearing of freedom, justice and human rights. We were taught to venerate the glorious example of our heroes and martyrs. Céspedes, Agramonte, Maceo, Gómez and Martí were the first names engraved in our minds. We were taught that the Titan once said that liberty is not begged for but won with the blade of a machete. We were taught that for the guidance of Cuba's free citizens, the Apostle wrote in his book The Golden Age: 'The man who abides by unjust laws and permits any man to trample and mistreat the country in which he was born is not an honorable man ... In the world there must be a certain degree of honor just as there must be a certain amount of light. When there are many men without honor, there are always others who bear in themselves the honor of many men. These are the men who rebel with great force against those who steal the people's freedom, that is to say, against those who steal honor itself. In those men thousands more are contained, an entire people is contained, human dignity is contained ...' We were taught that the 10th of October and the 24th of February are glorious anniversaries of national rejoicing because they mark days on which Cubans rebelled against the yoke of infamous tyranny. We were taught to cherish and defend the beloved flag of the lone star, and to sing every afternoon the verses of our National Anthem: 'To live in chains is to live in disgrace and in opprobrium,' and 'to die for one's homeland is to live forever!' All this we learned and will never forget, even though today in our land there is murder and prison for the men who practice the ideas taught to them since the cradle. We were born in a free country that our parents bequeathed to us, and the Island will first sink into the sea before we consent to be the slaves of anyone..."

Zimmer dog - 2001 - 2008

the coolest dog in the universe suddenly died as a result of a massive tumor.  everyone loved zimmer - when we were recently visiting the Coliseum in Rome Italy people stopped to take pictures of her.

My Last Breath (evanescence)  

"holding my last breath
safe inside myself
are all my thoughts of you
sweet raptured light it ends here tonight

closing your eyes to disappear
you pray your dreams will leave you here
but still you wake and know the truth
no one's there

say goodnight
don't be afraid
calling me calling me as you fade to black"

actually, i outsourced my life to Europe to take advantage of the rising Euro and so ended my term at the u of w.  i traded my view of parking lots for mountains and a lakeside city in Switzerland. I was offered a chance to work in Europe and I asked myself "Y stay in north america and keep doing the same thing, Y live with regret for missing a wonderful chance, Y live a life of self indulgent hypocrisy, Y not, indeed Y not???"  Moving to Europe seemed like something that was totally worth rolling the dice on and i once knew someone who constantly went on and on about moving to europe so it made sense. 

Now, as a graduate and financial contributor let throw out some commentary on the u of windsor's new logo - are you fucking kidding me??? that is the ugliest, strangest symbol i have seen and they changed the school colours. The athletic department developed a kick ass logo that has some connection to Windsor's past, i guess the football team will have get new uniforms and helmets.  oh well, style over substance.

the u of windsor administration finally discovered that they are located next to one of the busiest border crossings in Canada (constructed in 1929) and have a rail line that crosses through the campus (i suppose taking money from the bridge company has shrouded their view of reality or truth) and belatedly produced an emergency response plan 3 months after i reported the absence of such a plan.  better late than never, now maybe the u of windsor will be honest and public about the on-campus various health threats that exist that are ignored or suppressed (potentially radioactive leaks, or bombs found in residences, or  or the alleged cancer problem that may exist on this campus). something is better than nothing, but for people who  claim to care about this community, the u of windsor administration is somehow and overwhelmingly lame. but thanks for caring, about 70 years too late.....

etter late than never

many students who take my music and the state class are kick ass talented (it is a terrible shame that the u of windsor is unable or unwilling to develop a program that would embrace these students, but alas the administration is stuck in the 1960s).

watch micLordz - miscommunication

Keith Olbermann represents all that is wonderful and great about the United States - i would buy him a beer.  On the other hand, Bush represents all that is sick, twisted, and horrible in the US. 

Two examples of city government gone mad!

Although you wouldn't know from listening to Windsor's government or the Windsor Star, the Windsor is deeply mired in a devastating economic crisis.  Recent actions by the city council suggest that they are delusional.  The city council wasted approximately $3 million on a new restaurant on the riverfront - this in a city where restaurants are closing or losing business, this in a city where the city council invested in a building that sits largely empty directly across from the new "bistro".  Let me repeat, our elected officials pissed away $3 million on a restaurant and they are planning more along the river.  Why not put up the entire riverfront for sale - people can purchase riverfront luxury boxes (burrowed into the ground) where they can live or operate businesses (by the way this suggestion is only meant in jest). 

Moreover, the insanity is compounded by the erratic, irrational planning for the new border crossing.  The city council is inexplicably obsessed with destroying the Black Oak Heritage Forest Park and Ojibway Park for a new bridge (despite the fact that parks are good for the environment and even better for tourism).   

The city council needs to take a holiday from destroying Windsor.  At this point, doing nothing is better than the ineptitude they have engaged in during the past year.

this all matters for canadians because stephen harper is the same kind of dirt bag as bush.

if you are serious about a quality university education - Ontario schools are not the place to be. apparently the optimal faculty to student ratio is 1:15, and the current average in Ontario is 1:27, and the mcintyre to student ratio is about 1:125 (i am not kidding, i teach nearly 700 students per year at the u of windsor - there is something really fucked up about that).

University education deteriorating: Report
May 13, 2007 03:28 PM
Allison Jones                
Canadian press
                                                                                                                                                                             

Ontario must invest at least $1.35 billion each year for the next three years if it has any hope of reversing the trend of a deteriorating quality of post-secondary education in the province, a new report suggests.

if You are going to iran anytime soon, be sure to bring the proper threads (from the NY times).

Download green day - fashion victim

does post secondary education actually benefit students (and by extension society, the economy, the environment) or is it just another expensive and time consuming instrument to compel certain behaviors that benefit economic elites?

Download pink_floyd_another_brick_in_the_wall.mp3

i rarely sing the praises of the u of w administration, becasue they rarely deserve praise, but finally there is some evidence of that 'vision thing'.  This is a long overdue and wonderful proposal that will serve as catalyst for investment, high paying jobs, and a cleaner safer environment in the windsor-deeeetroit region. 

The city and university should collaborate on planning for the some modern, green, residential buildings and a couple of soccer fields around the new engineering building as this would dramatically enhance the 'clean-tech' people friendly environemnt that could emerge downtown.  Now if only the university would take bike commuting seriously, the  bike facilities on this campus are disgraceful (the u of Oregon provides covered bike parking).

Of course this means that the parking lots at california and wyandotte will remain and the cricket players will be able to continue playing there.  Of course that brings up another issue i have with the u of windsor - why don't we have a cricket team, or a cricket house league????

another example of interesting, practical, political, and quantitative research - if you graduate from a post secondary institution and are unable to find, read, explain and describe quality research then you better hope to win the lottery (or be very artistic) cuz you are going to be excluded from most opportunities of future prosperity.  there is a reason it is called the knowledge economy.

birds are carrying a virus that could lead to a massive worldwide flu pandemic, and for the past year bees have been disappearing (this poses a potential catastrophe for many agricultural crops) and researchers may uncovered evidence that may explain this very disturbing process. 

once again the media is jumping all   over rap (from the Boston Globe) as a source of all of society's problems (hopefully your final exams will help to clarify how this issue can be addressed).  An alternative position (from the NY Times)

earth day (should be 365).  nickelback sort of bites but they have put together a video that promotes political activism which seems appropriate on earth day

have a good  420

I will be teaching the following classes in the fall 2007 semester

45 275 Research Methods (Thursday 16:00 - 18:50, plus a 1 hour lab on fridays) - this is a required class for all political science majors (the prereq is 02 250 the intro stats class).  It is seriously hard ass stuff and i am a total prick.  the primary purpose of this class is to prepare students for graduate school, it is very practical and vocational.  In order to get an A in this class you need to demonstrate that you are capable of understanding, conducting, and communicating about qualitative and quantitative research (meaning that you have to learn how to use SPSS and perform a variety of statistics such as correlation and regression).  I will use the same textbook from fall 2006.  This class is also offered in the summer and winter semesters as an online class.

45 100 Intro Canadian Government (Tuesday/Thursday 11 - 12:20) - this is a HUGEEEE (500 students) lecture class full of first year students who talk too much (be forewarned - I have a massive egotistical need to be the sole focus of students and i am not partial to those who do not hang on my every word :)  I will be using the same book as in the past - Brooks - Canadian Democracy.

45 514 Political Participation - this is a graduate class and I do not do a very good job teaching it to be honest.  I will be working on dramatically improving this class.

here is the link for the online grade reports - some of you are having a tough time digging it up

Online grade reports

A bunch of you have submitted papers and you want some sort of individualized receipt or confirmation from me and you will get it in the form of the grades that are posted (after the date of the final exam).  If a grade is missing for an assignment that you submitted then we will sort it out at that point.  But, i have 7 working days after the final exam date to submit grades and on the 7th day i shall submit them (but not before).

i am a tree-liker, even a tree-toucher, but rarely a tree-hugger.  trees emerged long before the dinasours.  Some researchers have been able to piece together a very old tree - image of a 385 million year old tree.