Oorgo

A note to my American friends

Here's an article that you should read by a very competent source, a blog I've been reading since not long after the Iraq War started, by a reporter named Christopher Allbritton who has been there pretty much from day one.

Anyways, he brought to light Randy Scheunemann, Senator McCain's chief foreign policy strategist and spokesman. Have a read, I don't want to tarnish it with my Canadian ignorance on U.S. politics. Suffice it to say if I knew that dude was influencing my candidate for office I would have second thoughts about voting for said candidate.

re-educate!

So just to let you all know, in the future, don't take pictures of shoddy built schools which collapsed killing children and students, next to solid built buildings that are still intact, at least not in China anyways. Apparently by doing the above and then posting the pictures on the internet, accusing the builders of shoddy work and local officials of collusion, you will be taken without warning to serve up to four years of re-education without trial or formal charge. Your family will receive a re-education notice with your signature and fingerprints, but with no reference on how long you will be gone.

What happened to you, China? You used to be cool. Ok that's a lie, everyone knows there are human tragedies that are going on there, the lack of human rights and fascist iron fist rule. One thing the Olympics have done is opened China up to criticism, I don't really think they considered all the effects a world event would have on the wall. You really can't hide things as much as before, the wall is crumbling all around you, China, welcome to the 21st century of information.

Alberta Election 2008

So here we are again in Alberta, the reigning conservative party calling an election, the other parties scrambling to get noticed by a populace that has voted like zombies for 37 (?) years. PC after PC after PC has been in power, and we just got rid of the bloated Ralph Klein who everyone wrongly credits for bringing Alberta out of debt. Sorry people, that was the out-of-country companies raping our natural resources that pulled us out of debt.

We have what appears to me to be an incompetent untrustworthy nincompoop in power, a guy who said to the oil companies 'Ok, we're changing the royalties, you guys aren't giving us enough of the pie' and then aboiut a month later reversed his stance, backing down. NO spine. Then there is the so-called opposition poorly underfunded with a ridiculously unseen campaign (so few ads I don't think I've seen one on tv). I like these guys, I really do, their leader seems very competent, personable and they have a good platform, but if you don't show your face on the most popular media (tv) then you're dooming yourself.

On the other side is an NDP leader that seems to me to be a little overzealous and focused more on what wrong things the gov't is doing, then offering up drastic change (Albertans as you can see can't handle drastic change). Oh yeah and a party called the 'Wildrose Alliance' party ... yeah... I watched this dude on the debate and the words that came to mind are 'creepy, backwoods and a little insane'. He made nasty comments on 'the government can never bla bla bla' well dude... if you got into power wouldn't YOU be the government?!

Alberta elections always exasperate me, because you just KNOW that the status quo will reign supreme, you KNOW that the grandparents and business people are out there in zombie voting mode... derrrr... my parents and their parents voted this way... don't give me none a' that change boy.... derrr...

Please, if anyone actually reads this go and vote for someone other than the PC party... It's about time.

Election Day

So today is election day here in my city, and a more wacky bunch of kooks ..er... candidates for mayor could not be dreamed up.

We have the current mayor who has not exactly made friends by raising taxes, accepting pay hikes, planning new sports arenas where they shouldn't be and aren't needed and pretty much throwing our money around willy-nilly. Meanwhile our streets are in HORRIBLE disrepair, I mean the roads are so rough and the potholes are so deep I think I saw a pair of eyes peering out of one the other day. We have hundreds of homeless people living in tents etc. along with needy people in the thousands who can barely afford living in our crazy boomtown economy.

Some of the contenders for office:

A nice guy but little experience
A whack job
A whack job nutcase
A redneck guy whose claim to fame is a website
A bunch of other guys who don't have websites and I know nothing about.

Who do I vote for?

I dunno... the inexperienced guy probably ... anything is better than the current one or worse yet the vocally anti-gay anti-abortion freakazoid who somehow got support to run.

Stand up

When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.

When they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.

When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.

When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out.
-Martin Niemöller

link

a la Discopants and Haircuts

Sheep, I tell you! Sheep!

I should stop reading the newspapers, I really should. Today I read this headline 'Conservative party support soars with new budget' and I cringed.

I know, you're probably saying "You should be happy with the budget! Green support! Help with family $$$! bla bla bla!! " Yeah ok, that's great and all, I'm happy that these things are being brought up, even though the work towards environmental changes are minimal at best and WAY too late coming. It's great I will have extra money in my pocket as a single income family dad and there are incentives to buy fuel efficient vehicles etc.

What really grinds my gears is the fact that the Conservative party is ONLY doing this because it's a minority gov't and they want to stay in power. If they didn't put forth this budget the other parties would have voted 'no confidence' and the present gov't would fall. NOW though if the Conservative party gets in with a majority of votes, they will go back to the same old status quo, ignoring the environment and focusing on big business. The same STINKIN' road that got us into the situation we're in.

Yet again, another reason why humankind is screwed in the long term.

What would you do?

The news coming out of Lebanon and Israel is so mixed up and slanted that many times it's hard to see who's telling the real story, what's really happening.

You can't deny though that the recent videos from this guy are disturbing, and not just the content but the fact it's entirely staged to over-emphasize the death of civilians. The same civilians that they are using as shields when they fire rockets from their backyards and balconies of apartment buildings. Why would you load the dead into ambulances? Why were they not looking for the wounded and trapped, or were those folk already taken care of before the propoganda video was filmed?

I was previously disturbed by the amount of damage done by Israel, but after further consideration if I was in their place how would I fight these people ? How would I defend my country against those who hide under womens skirts to fire their machineguns and rockets?

War is horror, war sucks, war is created by people who are under the impression they are somehow superior to others by religion, race or otherwise. How do you stop them though? I keep hearing the phrase World War III and I shudder and I want to hide in my basement.

Thanks to Willow tree for the heads up on the videos. My thoughts are with her and her 2 boys who are in the Israeli military.

I Walk the Blog Talk

Sweet! I was quoted on Blog Report - Newsweek Blog Talk - MSNBC.com from a review I did of one of their recent articles about American patriotism running amok.

Almost famous? No. Cool? Yes.

"My Nation" vs "My Foundations"

I was over at Random Fate reading a well thought-out bit of a rant by Jack about the nationalism, patriotism and the immature reaction to 9/11. He also pointed towards an amazing article by Christopher Dicky on MSNBC titled "U.S. Nationalism Run Amok", or "American Dream, American Nightmare". Albeit a bit overdramatic title, the content of the piece is tremendous and well thought-out.

Dickey refers to George Orwell's work “Notes on Nationalism.” to paint a disturbing picture of how Americans general way of thinking has little to do with patriotism and more to do with nationalism, which comes part in parcel with the ability to continually deny or ignore facts, truths and immoral actions performed by your country, because you believe it's beyond reproach. Here's a little quote:

“In nationalist thought there are facts which are both true and untrue, known and unknown,” Orwell wrote, in a spooky foreshadowing of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s nationalist musings. “A known fact may be so unbearable that it is habitually pushed aside and not allowed to enter into logical processes, or on the other hand it may enter into every calculation and yet never be admitted as a fact, even in one’s own mind.”

I like the fact there is very little partisan speech in this essay, making it enjoyable to read even by an outsider such as my self, located up here in Canada.

I don't want to spoil the articles with my feeble attempts at a review, so I would suggest just reading both Jacks and Dickeys. Absolutely worth it.

Down the wrong path

The longer that this new government is in power, the more concern I have for Canada's future. I'm not concerned about economic future, but rather the health of our freedom of speech, environment and our global role as a peace-keeper. The recent change of government seems to be going farther and farther down the path that the US gov't has already trod. No Canadians wish to become Americans other than apparently our Prime Minister.

Harper is ignoring all of the warning signs of environmental chaos, even though The Debate is Over on global warming. Even GWB has acknowledged it and wants to focus on a solution rather than placing the blame. Harper's idea of an environmental plan is to let you write-off part of the cost of your bus pass. Yeah, fat lotta good that's going to do for farmers or people in the sprawling cities of Alberta. Edmonton's bus service is so shitty it can take up to 2 hours to get to a location it takes 20 minutes in a car. Oh and I almost forgot: "Let's get out of the Kyoto agreement because it's going to be too difficult", way to make us look like schmucks, Stevie.

Harper has also turned the gov't of Canada website into a propaganda machine for the Conservative party (found this through Darren's blog), plugging their five priorites, and news articles making them look peachy. Alongside the propaganda machine is his refusal to meet with the Ottaway press corp, they apparently didn't ask they right questions.

"They don't ask questions at my press conferences now. We'll just take the message out on the road. There's lots of media who do want to ask questions and hear what the government is doing."

Ok, so he doesn't like they way they are playing so he's going to take his ball home to western Canada where he hopes they will ask questions he is willing to answer. We don't know what he's planning next but if he keeps going down this road I can see the black helicopters on the horizon.

Military commitments seem to also be a priority for this government, not merely for peacekeeping but for coalition forces in Afghanistan rooting out terrorists. Ok for some this sounds fine, but really that has never been our role as a country, we go in after-the-fact and keep things calm until some semblance of order can be maintained. When our forces start bombing civilian towns as is what happened recently, it tarnishes our country's name. I also don't agree with the change of policy that flags will no longer be flown at half-mast with military casualties, although I can almost understand this concept because as of late the flags would be lowered 3 days out of 5.

We can only hope that his continued disregard for Ontario and other cities,his preferential treatment of Quebec and the absolute abysmal environmental plans will push the Canadian people over the edge. With regards to Quebec, as Harper himself said:

"Make no mistake. Canada is not a bilingual country. In fact it is less bilingual today than it has ever been."

So why is he suddenly making concessions for one of the last standing refuges of the French language in Canada (other than New Brunswick)? Votes. That's right, Quebec has a shitload of people, and somehow they also have a federal party even though there are no PQ MPs outside of Quebec and no electoral candidates for that party outside of Quebec. That same federal party has a party leader willing to ignore the rest of Canada for the good of Quebec, to prop up a government that is not good for us and is leading us down the wrong path.

Edit: Turns out Quebeckers aren't entirely down the wrong path: Quebec is "resolutely committed to Kyoto," says Charest, a former federal environment minister in the early 1990s, and he expects the federal government "to do its part.", so why are they so quick to jump into bed with the PM?

Look at the shiny coins

So I can't not say something about budget that came out yesterday. From what I've seen it looks like a completely typical Conservative budget, focused on money, focused on business, and this one is extremely focused at getting them back in as a majority next year. Hey, I'm all for receiving money from the gov't for taking care of my kids, and the $200 a month will definitely help us out, but one of the big jabs in my side is their absolutely feeble show of support to climate change and the environment. Harpers view of the world apparently doesn't include the reality of the obvious decline in air quality, our extreme dependancy on non-renewable resources and climate change. A tax credit for those people that buy bus passes. Give me a fuckin break. Oh and not a penny towards hospital wait times and many of the projects have been downsized from the previous Liberal plans.

I am seeing a government focused on the middle class, big business and money. Like I said, typical Conservative politics, obvlivious of anything but economy and attempting to suckle at the teat of the George Bush regime. Take the softwood lumber deal; let's see they were tariffing our lumber, completely against a previously signed Free Trade agreement, instead of demanding all the money back we'll take back 5/6ths of it, 5 billion, and then as long as the prices are high and the demand is high there will be no "management" of trade. THAT's right, the US companies are hurting for softwood so of course they're going to agree with this deal, they're getting a billion dollars of free money, and once the demand goes down they can go back to screwing the Canadian companies by managing the trade.

In an extremely tasteless ripoff of Soundgarden "Outshined": We're looking Harper but feeling Mulroney.

[update] Ok, after looking more at the budget there's a chunk of spending there that is going to the right places, I may have been hasty to write-off the whole thing. I'm still pretty disappointed at their environment policy: "Everyone who buys a bus pass gets %15.5 of it back in tax credits", yeah, first you need an environmentally friendly working transit system that services everyone. In our city there was so little planning in transit in the beginning that now it's costing mulitudes more than it would have if they would have thought ahead a bit.

3rd Way and Albertan Ennui

My friend Darren wrote about the fact that only 150 people have sent in comments to Klein's Third-way (doesn't that resemble Third Reich?) framework plans. He had a great response to it, and so I decided to send my own, I would encourage other Albertans to do the same.

Here's where you can comment on it.

And here are my comments on it:

In Alberta, the poor or lower income people are already being forced to pay for Premiums when they cannot afford it. The proposed "Third-Way" would just increase the gap between the health of the "haves" and the "have-nots". The folks who CAN will gladly pay today for a hip replacement, while the old lady in a seniors home living on a fixed income will have to remain in pain. Having a way for the rich to avoid the queue will be yet another way for them to feel superior and have a higher quality of life.

If you are an Albertan who makes almost poverty wages you are still required to pay your FULL AHC subsidies even if you can't afford it. The punishment for not being able to pay is ruination of your credit record. How is this "Third Way" going to help someone who can't even afford to pay $100 a month for their family's health care premiums?

On another note: I believe the lack of response and comments on this issue is based largely on a growing negative attitude in the publics perception. People don't believe what politicians say, they also don't believe that promises will be fulfilled or that politicians have the publics best interests in mind. Incorrect statements from the Premier such as "Our power plants are running on Clean Coal" and exaggerations of health care statistics do not increase our confidence in his leadership abilities, or his promises.

Perhaps instead of bringing in a system more based on the US system of private health care, we should be trying to fix the problems caused by Mr. Kleins ridiculously large health care cuts at the start of his career as Premier. Perhaps incentives to bring back doctors who leave, or helping out our universities so that tuition costs are less hazardous to the economical future of the students attending.

It's voterrific!

Oh, yeah, if you're in Canada go vote today eh?

'Cause if you don't, like, the hoseheads will get in,and we don't want that, no sir.

No sir, we don't

If you're not voting, then you know the jackass down the street with the guns and the dobermans is. And he's deciding who will be your Prime Minister.

edit: Everyone should be like this guy from New Brunswick, he hiked across an Ice Jam to go vote. You wussies.

Hurrrrk

I'd just like to say once again how disgusted I am with the choice of politicians we have to give the power of running our country.

They reek of desperate men only looking to win.

Dear Dick

The Mighty Middle has posted a great letter and strong response to Dick Cheney's recent speech . I try not to get too political around here for many reasons, but you should check this out, and spread the word.

I found this via Random Fate

February funhouse

So now it appears that 3 of the big loser (non-ruling) parties in Canada are raving and frothing at the mouth for an election in February of next year. Why? Oh, because the "Liberals are corrupt, they have to be taken down", or "I don't trust them".

Let me let you guys in on some secrets that maybe you don't know, but the rest of the general public does:

1. We don't want to get out of our heated cars in -28 C weather in February to cast a ballot in an election that no one wants
2. There is no choice for government, because not one of the parties up there has shown itself to be completely reliable and trustworthy or held themselves up to the mirror they are suddenly holding the current government up to.
3. Not one of the loser party leaders should be a party leader, a party leader should have charisma, charm and leadership skills. Perhaps they should go back to being the attourneys that they were before (I have no backing on this, I would more likely guess they were accountants). Maybe go into denying insurance claim money to injured women and children. Only perhaps Jack Layton seems trustworthy, but even he seems to be a bit of a crackpot these days.

Sure the Liberals were corrupt, EVERY government is corrupt as long there are men and women sitting in positions of power. Corruption breeds in backslapping handshaking environments where people get paid 6 digit figures for working 20ish days a year. Deal with it.

The best motions and programs came from minority governments, let's see how the current gov't pans out, get the fucking power crazy look out of your eyes and sit the fuck back down.

Welcome, GG Michaëlle Jean

After reading this article about Governor General Michaëlle Jean's visit to one of the country's poorist schools , I was quite moved and I would like to take this opportunity to welcome her as our new Governor General. I hope this spirit spreads, I really do, and I think if you continue in this direction you will be a wonderful force of good and hope.

Weather the storm

As the rampant abuse and madness continues on in the world of media and wanna-be-media, as some opinions are stomped into the ground using name calling and ignorance, and the din of the yelling is too loud to hear yourself think, I think it's time to turn around, take a stand and stop feeding the frenzy.

Silence, give them silence.
When logic and fact fail, stop all conversation and turn your back.

Silence is more powerful than pandemonium. In a recent parade in my home town, folks cheered for an opposition party leader but when the current premier showed up, silence. It was more deafening than any jeers or shouts, saying he's not worth the air coming out of your lungs, not worth the vibration of your vocal chords. Just think of the "silent treatment" you were given as a child by your mother when she was really infuriated by you.

Let them scream at the brick wall. Brick walls give no feedback, they don't feed the frenzy by retort, they simply stand, silent. There is no argument when there is no one to argue with. Yell at your wall in your room, tell me how rewarding that is.

When the time is right, speak in volume. When it comes time to vote, speak then, but speak with your pen. If there is an issue that affects you, write to your local legislator, speak/write to like-minded people and encourage them to do the same.

Return namecalling with nothing.
Liberal, redneck, peacenik etc.. these words are meant to inflame. If the fuel they are trying to ignite is dampened by common sense and calm, there is no flame except perhaps contempt and disbelief at the ignorance. My wife once said, after hearing me swear about something "Could you not have come up with a more intelligent way of saying that?". She was right, bursts of profanity shows lack of self control and lack of diction, I'm working on it but I have a long way to go.

"The fool speaks, the wise man listens." as the African Proverb says.

n.b. I'm not saying that I haven't done my fair share of inflammatory statements etc. but I think it's time to stop the foolishness.

Red and Ready to Implode

Oh the face... the face of defeat.



CBC News: Klein drops fight against same-sex marriage

Ralphie, are you actually in the closet?

Could our premier be any MORE redneck and homophobic? (notice the lowercase p in Premier, that's how much he deserves the title) CBC News: Alberta may stop solemnizing marriages: Klein

Is he perhaps a closet homosexual, and that's why he is so afraid of a couple of people signing a document noting they are in love? Didn't he read the f#$@ing clause about Churches having the choice whether they wish to perform same-sex marriages?

I'd say he's got a nice set of +3 rose colored glasses of denial +6 vs reality +10 vs anyone who doesn't agree with him.

pc = politically corrupt

So the truth comes about regarding MP Gurmant Grewal and his allegations that the Liberal party tried bribing him to join them. These PC guys are looking more and more crooked, if the public decides to vote them in, in the painfully obvious upcoming election, they'd be simply replacing a people orientated governing party with skeletons in the closet, with a big business orientated governing party who has skeletons on the front lines of their cabinet, and socially stunted gunslingers as party leaders.

Turns out that:

The man who acted as a go-between for Conservative member of Parliament Gurmant Grewal and federal Liberals during recent talks about crossing the floor confirms a Liberal minister's claim that Grewal initiated the negotiations.

How oh how does this improve their public standing? Does the pc party think that the general public is so vehemently opposed to the Liberal party that we will blindly vote in an obviously corrupt an dysfunctional group of malcontents? Considering the average age of pc MPs, these guys are definitely showing their age and immaturity.

I cheered very loudly in my car when I heard that Belinda Stronach moved across the floor. Here's hoping that more of her former colleagues will gain some sense and do the same, or at least not vote with the thug majority. Here's hoping that logic prevails and opportunism fails in todays vote.

Whaaaaaa! I want it now... NOW mommy!

Once again, our esteemed "opposition" parties are champing at the bit to upset the Liberal control of the government and free us from the "corruption and moral ineptitude" or whatever the hell they call it.

What it boils down to is the leader of our opposition using the same grade 4 mentality that he used when he lost the last the previous election. After the election was over he threatened to quit the PC party and leave politics, well now that he sees an opening for him and his thugs to take down the Liberal government he can't wait for 8 days, he wants "Now mommy! Gimme it now! NOW!".

I'm sick of this crap and what is this with the PC party aligning itself with a Quebec Separatist party? Does this mean that they've made deals behind doors for special privileges if the PCs actually get into power? It's all unsettling. I mean look at these guys, would you trust them?

60 years, little learned

In my daily readings I read that Russia is marking the 60th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, and that in 6 years 27 million civilians and soldiers of the former Soviet Union died. I took a second take on that "27 million", unfathomable, especially since the current estimate of the population of Canada is 32,190,455.

A death toll of that magnitude would leave 5 million people scattered across our land, less than 1 out of 5 people surviving. At the time of the war, that was 2.7 times the population of Canada. I wish my knowledge of history was better, but I don't think 100% of those deaths were caused by outside forces, but also by the soviet leaders, and political cleansing (correct me please if I'm wrong).

A quote from the article and Russian President Putin, which are my sentiments exactly:
"May 9 is "a sacred day" in Russia, serving as a reminder of "what monstrous consequences violence and moral intolerance, genocide and persecution of others could lead to."
If only the rest of the world would listen, think and learn from the past. Racial, religious, moral, or political intolerance when taken to heart and pushed to extremes can snowball into horror and death. We're all people, all of us, and we are all entitled to our freedom; that doesn't mean your freedom is the same as mine, or your peace is the same as mine. You can't dictate my lifestyle, just as you can't dictate how I think or feel, I can't condemn you for your fear but I can try to help you understand that it's not needed.

F.Y.R.K.

(or F#$@ You Ralph Klein)

So recently 4 RCMP officers were murdered when trying to retrieve stolen property as has been much publicized recently. This being the largest slaying of police officers in Canadian history (that I can think of anyways), the entire nation is in somewhat of a state of mourning over it.

In walks Ralph Klein into the situation, Mr Perfect (bad) Timing, Mr Shove My F#$@ing foot in my fat mouth A$$wipe, saying "Whether it was registered or not, it didn't prevent him from using it in an illegal and tragic manner". WTF, no clue, no couth, no care for the grieving family, and from history, not a surprise that he would say these things. Yeah well whether we want you here or not, Ralphy you are here for another term, and whether they like it or not, the moneys put towards police seems to be getting smaller and smaller. Perhaps if you put as much effort into training them as you do towards dismantling Public Healthcare, they would be better trained to handle crisis situations.

Once again he proves that nothing matters other than his own goals. No own else matters, especially his constituents, and any chance he can get he will plug his anti-socialist pro-american bullshit.

Who the hell voted for this guy? Oh right, 50+ % of the Alberta population. Once again, thanks Alberta

An elected leader in Iraq?

No longer world leaders? Gee, who would have predicted...

According to Worldchanging.com, Europe may soon be the world's biggest economy, meaning that the IMF would have to move overseas. After 60 years of being on American soil this would send a huge message that if things don't change the US could go into a slump like they've never seen before.

I'm not the only one

I'm apparently not the only one taking the "Welcome to Canada" stand regarding liberal Americans escaping the Bush Regime. www.marryanamerican.ca
'offers refuge to distraught Democrats | The Register' with a matchmaker type website. Unfortunatlely the site is super busy right now so it's almost impossible to browse.

A sobering thought from The Register ala canada.com is that

Welcome emigrants

I would like to be the first to welcome all the refugees/emigrants from our neighbours to the south. I think Bush has been the best thing for the Canadian economy (other than the BSE clusterf#$@). Maybe the brain drain will come north now, as all the intelligent people flee their racially biased, religiously intolerant, warmongering fellow countrymen.

Please take this with a grain of salt, I am upset with both the electoral system and the fearmongering that has populated this campaign. I can't imagine what the people that didn't vote GWB feel like right now, I sympathize.

"I'll apologize, but not to you yippers"

So our King Ralphie apologized, yippie. If it was a heartfelt apology or I thought he actually considered anybody he discarded or accused it would be valid. Here's his apology:

"I know that it has upset some, and for that I will apologize, OK? If there are some people who are legitimately on AISH or some programs I will apologize to them,"

If my kid ever said that to me he'd be grounded until further notice. "I'll apologize, but only because you are all pinko bleeding heart babies, and I want you to elect me in 4 weeks".

100 reasons to be logical

Came across this great article at The Nation, via Norbizness: 100 Facts and 1 Opinion. It's a great list of real reasons why Americans should vote against Bush in the upcoming election. I don't care if you don't like Kerry... look what your current administration has done.

Oh isn't it wonderful to live in Alberta

Where the politicians mock and deride the severely handicapped and infirm. Where people are accused across the board of abusing a fund that gives them a pittance of $850 a month to live on. Where our premier openly admits he is the king and our opinion doesn't count, gets pissed up, threatens and verbally abuses men in a homeless shelter.

'Severely normal' people don't want to talk about AISH: Klein

I think he believes he will be voted back in so much that he's pushing the envelope, pushing peoples buttons and showing his true character: an uncaring jackass.

Fahrenheit 9/11

I got this from Darren. You can now watch Fahrenheit 9/11 online, not great quality, but it does get the point across.

BUSH FLIP-FLOP

This gives all you folks who reviewed it via heresay and brayed for blood without any basis, a chance to view it incognito. Do it, you know you want to.

GWB site goes on ultra-paranoid stealth mode

Bush website conspiracy theories darken skies | The Register

Apparently today Georgebush.com began rejecting any connections from any computers outside the US or Canada. In my eyes it's like an admission of guilt, he's trying to hide out from the large quantity of haters out there. Either that or maybe they're trying to save money on bandwidth, and those foreigners don't need to know 'bout him anyways.

A Chill Wind is Blowing

Came across this through this great site called "Not in our Name". I would like to believe it reflects many of the Americans thoughts and feelings over the last couple years. The site also has this great ad that was aired apologizing to the Iraqi people.

Transcript of Tim Robbins Speech to the National Press Club

Before you blow this off as some anti-american propaganda, give the speech a read, it's worth it.

Bla bla *shudder* Bla

Happy Furry Puppy Story Time with Norbizness: In Their Own Words

I had to link to this summary of the recent "showboat" of a farce with Bush and Allawi, because, well... you'll have to read it. Every second word that has come out of Bush's mouth since he got to the UN has made me want to build a bomb shelter, hole up and hide. I just hope these guys theories pan out so we can get off this planet, maybe go here and leave the dumbasses to kill each other. Either that or we need an alien species to appear and start threatening the world ... then maybe all of these f#@$kers would smarten up.

Intent is 9/10ths of the law

So I'm not sure how to take this report that was reported by CBC News: Saddam intended to start developing WMD: report

Are they saying that intention is grounds for war? Or are they saying once and for all that he had nothing in place to create WMDs? I'm sure that somehow GWB will try and confuse the moron vote into thinking somehow his own supposed "good intentions" (the killings and bombings and such) were justified because Saddam had been sitting in his palace pondering how great it would be to have big nasty weapons to attack them with.

I apparently lied in my last post when I said I don't like reading the news... that's all I've been posting about lately. DoH!

I still don't understand how a population of people can vote back in a president when he blatantly lied, and in doing so has killed so far a minimum of 12755 iraqi civilians. Is this some racial thing, or alien thing, that somehow their lives don't count as much as the 1000+ US troups that have died? I don't understand it.

Bush-wacking

It looks like John Kerry is winning in the internet world.

When you search for "I hate John Kerry" on Google you get approx 898 results, but man... search for "I Hate George Bush" and you get approx. 1680 results.

Why post about this? Because it's lame. And in my opinion, so are the reams of blogs out there bashing around politicians.

Especially the ones who are jumping on the "Kerry said this" "Bush said that" "You're not murrican, yer a dam Demokrat". A good portion of the bloggers are so unbelievably ridiculous, that they might as well be reverting to the 60's word "Commies" for Democrats and "Nazi Warmongers" for Republicans (not sure if that's 60's but hey, whatever) .

It's so fun to find someone to hate right? And beating a dead horse is great fun too; especially the splatting sound it makes when your splintered baseball bat hits it's shattered skull (I'm speaking metaphorically <- for all the less enlightened). After a time you would assume that this would become boring (of course the ass u me joke comes in at this point and you realize you can't assume), but then again realize some people still love Nickelback.

The most exasperating thing to me, is that neither side looks very good. If you stopped a few seconds and pondered, most people would realize that neither government deserves their vote. Maybe if some would get off the bandwagon for a week, turn off the inflammatory blogs, step back and look at things logically, they could generate a sane thought in their head and stop the slander.

For what it's worth, I've purged most of the slant from my blogroll.. I AM Canadian after all. Hey, if we had only 2 parties to vote for you couldn't enjoy hearing speeches from the Marijuana party and other wackos.

Yew Ess EElehkshun Thangs

Norbizness found some great U.S. election merchandise for Dubya. It's no wonder that he was "elected" when you look at the intelligence level of his supporters.

Happy Furry Puppy Story Time with Norbizness: Wanna Stay Free, You Pinko Asshole?

My favorite is the "America, Love it or leave it" t-shirt

Massage the data, lie and cheat

Came upon this over at Dan's Blog

The Junk Science of George W. Bush

by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

I'm reminded of Soviet Russia, 1984, Nazi Germany. The use of science to distort truths, even well known truths, for the profit of business or government bodies. Lying to the public, to the point of putting their health in jeopardy. Heinous acts against nature, with no remorse, or regard for future generations.

Change that number, fire those scientists
The dinosaur is my business
Keep it from extinction
Gimme profit, gimme gimme
It's safe to breathe, just ask the EPA
It's safe to drink, we've proven it
Don't worry, that will heal

- DKH

EElehkshun

I have to laugh.

Liberals are amazed they won, CPC are pouting they lost, NDP is back where they were, and the non-federal party BQ is celebrating .. for some reason. Stephen Harper: "You guys won't let me win so I don't wanna pway"
Paul Martin (hands over eyes): "Of COURSE we can keep a minority government going"
Jack Layton : Smiley emoticon, emoticon, emoticon.

I think the people who were answering the polling companies were either lying or didn't vote. Maybe they were among the 39.2% of Canadians who apathetically sat back and did nothing while everyone else chose who will run the country.

I have a cousin who didn't want to vote because she didn't like anyone.
"Well who do you think is the least horrible?"
her: "NDP"..
"well vote for them!".

Sheesh! If the 40% of the lazy populace would have done the same, the NDP would have had a minority government, or the official opposition.

Well, if anything, all you shmucks who didn't vote will have another chance to not vote in about 8 - 10 months. There's no chance in hell the Liberals will be able to hold on to a minority government of this size. The first time they bring up something in parliament that isn't popular, they'll lose the vote, get themselves a vote of non-confidence, and BAM you'r back at the polls.

REMEMBER JOE CLARK, 1979.

What's that damn kid doing after church?

I forgot to post a link that I found on geek@work last week, I was amused and disturbed all at the same time by this link to an article by Terry Jones on the Guardian.

The thing is, if people don't say where they're going after choir practice, this country is at risk. So I have been applying a certain amount of pressure on my son to tell me where he's going. To begin with I simply put a bag over his head and chained him to a radiator. But did that persuade him? Does the Pope eat kosher?

It's easy to rationalize things when it pertains to aliens and "folks of a different cullah", but just apply those rationalizations to people you care about and see what happens

get the slant

Ok... maybe I'm not done with politics...

What always infuriates me about elections, and it seems to be especially bad this time around, is the obvious slanted reporting from major media providers. Most noteably the use of an editorial as a news story, with no mention of it actually being an editorial. Here's an example:

'Martin Disappearing Quickly'

The above story is a typo'd version of the reporters concept that Liberal candidates are distancing themselves from Paul Martin. Sure, who knows, it might be the truth... but from that article it looks to me more like he's some rabid Conservative/Alliance supporter foaming at the mouth in his contempt for the PM.

Plea to news providers: Please Print EDITORIAL at the top / bottom/ anywhere on an article this slanted.

Ok one last thing

I pledge to stop talking about politics after this post, because truthfully, all it does is fan the flames of the hate-on I have for the political system.

The crap that comes out of Ralph Kleins mouth about Healthcare Really pisses me off. How can he speak for the entire province when he won't F#$@ing listen to what we say, or respect our opinions. Healthcare affects every one of us, and more privatization of it doesn't help anyone, except those who can afford it. "I need knee surgery, but have to wait, but Joe across the street mortgaged his house again, or spends caso he is getting it right away!" - how fair is that?

I'm worried about the direction the country is going, and the blindsided attitude the public has towards these important issues. Maybe the media, or politicians themselves are responsible for jading the public towards healthcare, so they just "Don't wanna hear about it any more". Just like environmental issues, people can only be concerned and freaked out for a limited amount of time, after that they become numbed, jaded and uncaring. Only when they come face to face with a situation where it affects them personally do they start jumping up and down, all red in the face.

Big Brother

Stephen Harper by Conservative campaign bus. (CP photo)

"I can see what you're doing... the thought police will be out to your location momentarily"

The misquoting media

I was listening to Counterspin on CJSR last night on the way home, and they were talking to a veteran reporter called Robert Parry about the Media's misreporting of the Reagan years, and all the atrocities that happened during his reign. Today I decided to look him up and I've been reading this excellent article about how the media has purposefully distorted and misquoted Al Gore's comments to make him look like a liar and fool.

Don't get me wrong, I think Al Gore has about as much personality as Stephen Harper (little to none), but hey ... everyone should have fair treatment in the news.

The Gall of Some People...

I was going through the CBC news for today and came upon this story about the BSE crisis and the majority of payment going to meat packers instead of farmers.

One specific quote from our esteemed Minister of Agriculture Shirley McLellan got my goat:

Right... so those farmers that got $75 ... have less to lose right? No farm land, house, machinery, feed, cattle, family, sanity to lose. Those multi-million dollar packing companies who most likely have insurance up the ying-yangfor this, they have much more to lose. Right?
OH and if so she KNEW about how the dollars were doled out, why didn't she come forward with this information instead of making the government spend our money with the audit!

The sheer flippance and calloused attitude the Alberta government has towards its people just infuriates me. And the fact that the Alberta people vote THESE SAME PEOPLE into government term after term. Ralph and his buddies don't care about you, they don't care about your children or the future, or farming, or anything. They care about MONEY, they care about fancy trips to New York where they spend tens of thousands on travelling expenses.

A friend of mine was the one that tipped off A-channel about Ralph's drunken visit to the Herb Jamieson center, he was told to say nothing, to "keep his mouth shut because this guy pays our bills", by the people running the center. He also helped escort the Premiere out of the center, all the while being bellowed at with "Do you know who I am?" and "I paid for this center".. When my friend went forward with the story he was promptly fired.

If only my "esteemed" fellow Albertans would take a look at the past 12 years of leadership at the hands of RK and the current state of our schools, healthcare, cities, and taxes, then look at the follies and disregard for the people that RK and his cronies have. MAYBE then they would wake up, shake off the apathy and vote someone, almost ANYONE else in.

UPDATE (sorta):
Oh, and looks like the PC's on the Federal front are just as wonderful. THanks Darren for finding the story about a B.C. Tory candidate who is defending private health care delivery... apparently Stephen Harper is also open to a 2-tiered Health system

And the Tories are creeping ahead in the Polls... SOMEBODY THROW ME A FRICKIN' BONE HERE PEOPLE!

Ronnie Really Remembered

I came across this from Norbizness' blog, and just had to share it.

This happens to every president, and to almost every person that dies.

No one likes to speak ill of the dead. Is it because of some sort of superstition thing? Maybe if you speak ill of the dead you are supposed to be cursed with them haunting you forever? Or maybe speaking ill somehow taints your soul... boowahahaha

Of COURSE, the cartoon is more like speaking the truth of the dead, not glamorizing his life, ignoring the bad and glorifying the good.

Undecided?

This was on Darren's blog a while back, but I'm going to revisit it.

Undecided on who you are going to vote for on June 30th?

Answer 19 questions, from The 2004 PoliticsWatch.com VoteSelector Quiz and see where you stand.

my results:
NDP: 100
PQ: 88
LIB: 59
CP: 41

C'mon people!

C'mon... if you're going to take the time to become an election candidate for your party, for your riding, at LEAST create a decent website, or keep it updated.

Here are the 3 of the worst websites for the candidates in my riding:

Peter Goldring for Conservatives
Janina Strudwick for NDP
Edward Spronk for ... get this... the "Christian Heritage Party"... good lord

What blows my mind in the NDP case is she's in her mid 20's .... I thought that most people in that age group could create a web page, or know the importance of the internet. I'm all for the NDP, but what is she going to do for my riding if a) I haven't seen ONE party sign in my area and b) her logo is Name/Nom.

It's June 8th people... 20 days to the election

The 2 parties that have the most impressive webpages are here:
(most surprising to me is the Green Party website, go GREEN!)
Harlan Light for the Green Party
John Bethel for Liberals

Update!
Looks like Janina Strudwick's web guys finally updated her site last night, and she was voted in as a candidate May 27, so I guess I can cut her some slack.

Politics and arguing

I had an interesting conversation with Amber last night, interesting for me, but apparently very annoying and frustrating for her.

I like to argue. I like to contribute my opinions, counter others, break down theories and come up with new ones. It's not that I like to make people angry (in most cases), and it's not my intent to frustrate people so much they won't talk to me for awhile. It just happens sometimes. The combination of politics, myself and my mother-in-law are lethal in Ambers eyes.

Here's a summary of the argument/conversation:

I believe, and I've almost always believed, that when it comes around to election time you should vote for who you want to be in government. If you think that a candidate is going to uphold your values, and do good things for you, then vote for them right? Sounds logical.

Voting for a "Not in the top 2" is NOT throwing away your vote, but expressing your view of who should be running the place. Canada is NOT a bipartisan system like the United States, we have multiple parties, with multiple platforms, varying cultures and varying opinions.

The only time when this does not come into play is when a candidate you absolutely hate looks like they could be voted in, and you couldn't imagine them running the country/province. In this last case you would vote for whoever has the greatest chance of beating them. (I.E. the last federal election, when the Alliance party had following in the west, who wants those bible-thumping, abortion stopping, right-wing nuts governing them).

In the last example though, this turned out to not be the best route. It brought back in Jean Chretien for another round, and the money-wasting, do nothing, populace ignoring gov't reigned once more.

If the next election creates a minority government that would be great. It would make everyone in the government work harder, get those lazy backbenchers off their asses and give the underdogs a voice.

NDP ... well.. ok...

The more I hear about Jack Layton, NDP leader, the more I like him. Sure he comes off as a bit of a radical/loose cannon, and yes he's shoved his foot squarely in his mouth at least once, but after this article about comments he made regarding Paul Martin being responsible for the freezing deaths of homeless people.

I especially like this line:

When you are able to admit your own faults, to me that adds credibility to your character.