wire (d).

Christ the King School to Give Credit for Being a Jerk

2011-10-13T06:10:00.001+03:00

Oh good GAWD! Now what's going on.

I have little respect for people who stand outside of places that offer abortions with their "vigils" and such to show how much they care about fetuses and wish to show women who they do not know that they are awful for choosing to have an abortion, something that SHOULD be a woman's choice.

And, I have even less respect for Christ the King School of Winnipeg, Manitoba and their principal David Hood's brilliant idea of giving extra credit to school kids who attend anti-choice vigils like the Campaign Life Coalition's 40 Days for Life one being held in front of the Women's Hospital here in the city right now. Isn't this called bribery? "Hey, kid, if you go out there and make women feel guilty for having an abortion without bothering to find out the circumstances or the tough choices the women have had to make to get there, we'll give you extra credit! Whaddya say?"

You know what I say? Let's start holding vigils outside of Catholic Churches to recognize the thousands upon thousands of children globally who have been sexually abused by the Catholic Church. Or a vigil to people in Africa who have become HIV positive because the Pope, the good man he is, has condemned the use of condoms. We should also hold a vigil for aboriginal children who were beat, molested and died in boarding schools in Canada, some run by the Catholic Church. We should hold a vigil for members of the LGBT community who have taken their own lives partly because of a feeling of lack of acceptance, understanding and support, and the often extreme feelings of guilt and self loathing partly kept alive in our society because of wonderful organizations like the Catholic Church.

In other words, people of the Catholic Church, shut up. As long as you are involved with an organization that has brought so much horror and evil to the world, you have lost all legitimacy to speak out on practically any ethical issue. Go ahead with your little prayer vigils. You've already made your pact with the devil. You must get your own house in order. Otherwise, your theatrics are nothing more than that. And please, involving your children? Giving them school credit for taking part in these prayer vigils and saying that it is a community service? Talk about pushing the line ethically. And, to make things all that much more fun, although the school is a private school it does get public funding. I wonder what would happen if a secular school gave credit to students who attended pro-choice rallies? Hmmmmm.

Colour me unimpressed.

#occupywallstreet According to Pastor Bill

2011-10-07T08:13:00.002+03:00

So, I made a comment on twitter basically asking why the #occupywallstreet hashtag was not "trending". Oh how I hate that term, but it seems to be the term to use. At that particular moment, twitter was telling me that Hockey Night in Canada's Don Cherry was "trending". I couldn't figure out how Don Cherry could be "trending", but not #occupwallstreet who had far more tweets. And then, poof, from out in the twitterverse, I got a response! It just said "Because people don't follow morons." It was a small statement that could easily be written off, until I saw who it came from. It was sent by Dr. William Livermore, pastor at Center Road Baptist Church. in West Seneca, New York, who goes with @pastorbill45. on twitter, and apparently is a HUGE fan of White Castle. In fact, one of my favourite posts on the wall of the Center Road Baptist Church Facebook page is this beauty from March 1st:

It has been 3 months since this page has been updated so i figured i should jump on and say something. White Castle sunday went very well with 4 visitors coming and 2 geting saved!! Whoever says Center Road isa loser church obviously doesnt like souls getting saved. We had 6 more visitors this past sunday as well. Keep going strong Center Road!!

They even have a White Castle Sunday where people can be saved...at White Castle! Wow, talk about convenient. Show up, order a big wack of tiny burgers and get saved all at the same time! Fantastic! It is fair to say that any church that caters to their fast food indulging flock so attentively could not possibly be a "loser church". Damn those people who don't like to see souls getting saved.

But, the more telling post from August 28th is what really got me:

A very thought provoking sermon by Pastor Livermore this morning. He asked the question ,"Can the world see Jesus in you?" Your testimony to the world can lead souls to Christ. Let Jesus shine in your life.

Well, that is very interesting and thought provoking Pastor Livermore. Now, tell me, what part of calling people morons helps people see the Jesus in you? As a man of the cloth (or White Castle napkin in this case), and the leader of the Center Road Baptist Church flock, I would assume that you would take the idea of having people see Jesus in you very seriously. Did Jesus go around calling people he disagreed with "morons"? Is this the Jesus in you, Pastor Livermore? Is this the Jesus we should all know? Is Jesus against Occupy Wall Street protesters? Does he see them as morons as well? Do you honestly think that calling people morons will help lead souls to Christ?? I hope that you revisit this very thought provoking sermon of yours and then take a close look at your own words and actions and see how you stack up. You wouldn't want people to think that Center Road Baptist Church is a loser church because of you now, would you?

Clark Stevenson and the "Where are the Parents?!" Question

2011-09-16T21:10:00.001+03:00

It’s a pretty normal after something goes wrong in the worldof kids and young adults to ask “Where are the parents!?” Is it a fair questionto ask in the case of Clark “Clarky” Stevenson, the 15 year old boy who wasstabbed so severely at 2:30am out in the streets of Winnipeg that he later died?Is it fair to ask why a 15 year old kid, and his young attackers were outroaming the streets of Winnipeg at such an ungodly hour? Where exactly were theparents? Did the parents know these kids were out, and what kind of mischiefthey were up to? Something has gone terribly wrong here, but what is it?

According to aninterview with the CBC “Jenna Wirch, a friend of Clark Stevenson's, said shebelieves a lack of funding for youth programs has failed him and other troubledyoung people.”? Sniff, sniff. Do you smell that? You’re right. It does appearto be the smell of a scape goat! It is fair to say that Clarke lived in a rough‘hood. Are community programs important? Yes. Is a 15 year old kid not beingout on the streets at night important? Yes! Can a program keep a kid at homelate at night so he isn’t roaming the streets getting stabbed? Good question,no? So, how much responsibility should be on the parent’s shoulders and howmuch goes to the community? It seems that the job of keeping a kid at home fallssquarely on the shoulders of the parents. If they don’t take responsibility,what can be done? Does the city have to step in with curfews for young kids toprevent them being out on the streets stabbing one another at 2:30am? If so, won’tthat further move funds away from programs and into policing? And, then does itnot, by default, put the responsibility of parenting on to the shoulders of thecity?

Now, let’s rewind for a moment to earlier in the summer whenriots broke out in London. Although initially being sparked by the shooting ofyoung man by police, before long areas of that city were torn apart by whatappeared to be absolute senseless violence, looting and vandalism. The samestory was used to explain what had happened there as in the Clarke case, whensome said that the riots are the result of drastic cutbacks to communityprograming in low income areas which have left a generation disenfranchised,living without direction and, in many cases, bored. But, the question wasraised over and over again, by the media, police and the community, “Where werethe parents?” Why were kids, some of them very young, able to be out on thestreets at late hours taking part in such serious crimes? Who is in charge ofkeeping kids in, where they will be safe? Were there no parents wondering “Whereis my son tonight, and why does he suddenly have a large screen TV in hisroom?”? Police took to the airwaves, asking parents to step in and keep theirkids at home. And it seemed like a reasonable request.

So, here we have what seems to be senseless violencehappening in two parts of the world with the same reasoning given for both.Lack of community programming is being blamed and the “Where are the parents?”question is being asked. Is it fair to say that both have validity? Yes. Thecommunity as a whole does have to look at what it can do to help areas of thecity where there are issues with poverty, gangs, violence and drugs. But,ultimately, a community and community programs can only do so much. Family andfriends are in mourning, and it’s a tough time to be asking questions, but, itreally does have to be asked. Could this tragedy have been prevented simply bysomeone, a parent, a guardian, an aunt and uncle, or whoever, making sure that 15year old Clarke Stevenson was in his bed at 2:30am instead of out in thestreets fighting?

UPDATE: So, today, it appears that an arrest has been made.They have charged a 14 year old boy with the 2^nd degree murder ofClark Stevenson. How on earth does this happen? Where the heck are theparents of THIS kid?! How is a 14 year old kid able to be out on the streets of Winnipeg at2:30 in the morning, with a knife, stabbing another kid?? It makes no sense tome. Something needs to change. But what?

Islamicism??

2011-09-07T18:46:00.000+03:00

Our main man in Ottawa, crack criminal expert, PM Stephen Harper has come out in an interview stating that "Islamicism" is the biggest security threat to Canada.

First off, what is Islamicism? Is Harper starting to make up his own words, possibly inspired by legendary orator Sarah Palin? Unfortunately, it almost sounds like the problem is Islam by looking at this odd word. Did Harper mean Islamification? It almost seems like it, but who knows. I guess that is the beauty of being able to make up your own words when you are the leader of a country. It keeps people guessing. Is Harper afraid of Muslims? This word, which seems to encompass all of Islam without distinguishing between radical Islam and Islam, seems to imply that this is the case. I'm sure Harper realizes the difference, right?

Regardless, I would like to take a moment to call BS on this. Islamic extremism is a threat. Yes. However, as I sit here in Winnipeg, I have seen in the papers a daily barrage of news stories about murders, stabbings and shootings. There is a biker war going on in the city, gangs are very active and there appears to be a arsonist or several on the loose who seem intent on burning down Winnipeg. Thus far, I have not seen or heard about ANY problems from Muslims. So, organized and unorganized crime is tearing apart this city, just as it is other cities across Canada, but the major threat is Islam? I'm thinking not. Remember the riots in Vancouver, which was essentially a large act of terrorism? Who was responsible for that? Moronic, rampaging hockey fans. So far, it appears that radical hockey fans cause much more harm and damage to Canada than Islamic extremism. I think it's time we start targeting hockey fans, doing more security checks on them, putting them on no fly lists and sending them off to Syria to be pummeled. It seems to make far more sense than targeting Muslims, no?

I am saddened to see that once again Stephen Harper appears to have no grasp on reality. Is Islamic extremism an issue? Yes. Always. Extremism of any kind is an issue. Thus far, Canada has had little issue with Islamic extremism, while it has had more than it's fair share of issue with extremist criminals in the biker and non-biker classes of gangs. We've had more damage and fear caused by hockey hooligans than Islamic extremists. No, Harper, it would appear that there are far greater issues that threaten national security than Islamicism, whatever that is.

Inspired by Fluid Hair Salon, Edmonton, Canada!

2011-09-01T01:13:00.005+03:00

Last night, I wrote a blog post about Edmonton, Alberta's Fluid Hair Salon and an ad campaign that they had run showing a woman who appeared to have been beaten and a man who appeared to have beaten her. I was harsh. I didn't like the ad. But, then I thought about it, and I realized that Sarah Cameron, the owner of the salon, had a point when she said:

"Is it cutting edge advertising? Yes. Is it intended to be a satirical look at real-life situations that ignites conversation and debate? Of course. Is it to everyone’s taste? Probably not."

So, I did a little cutting edge, satirical art of my own! Thanks for the inspiration Sarah Cameron! I owe you one! It may be a little crude, and there are some kinks to work out, but it's a start. I hope you like my creations.

Fluid Hair Fuck Up

2011-08-31T01:51:00.000+03:00

Holy GEEZ! Have you seen this ad for Fluid Hair Salon in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada? Okay, let me just say straight out, this ad idea is messed up beyond all belief. How on earth did someone think that this could possibly be a good ad idea!

The owner of Fluid Salon, Sarah Cameron says, "Is it cutting edge advertising? Yes. Is it intended to be a satirical look at real-life situations that ignites conversation and debate? Of course. Is it to everyone’s taste? Probably not."

Um, what?? Is it cutting edge advertising? No. Other than showing up a beat up women and a mean looking dude, this looks like your typical crappy Vogue magazine ad. Blah. Satirical look at real life situations?? Huh? If by satire you mean "Ha! This woman with a black eye is hilarious! You should not look at her black eye though, you should be looking at her hair, which we did! Isn't that hair great?! We are such a great salon! She looks great even when beaten black and blue! We are awesome!" Is it to everyone's taste? I would seriously question anyone who likes this ad, or who decides to go to this frickin' salon based on this ad.

Sarah Cameron seems to believe this is art. Well, whatever. If she believes that, that is her view. Art, advertising, any way you cut it is a bad, bad idea for a campaign to promote a salon. Essentially it is a glorification of violence that make hip-hop videos look tame, selling a crap salon run by an arrogant women who seems to think her salon is adding to the artistic edginess of the world through a crappy paid advertising campaign. It is nothing more or nothing less. She got a New York ad agency to do this up for her. She has to justify spending those big bucks I suppose. "Abuse? No, no, no...ART! It's art! Controversy? Oh, THAT. Well, if it sells my salon, then I'm all for it! Look at me! Look at me! Look at my salon! You will love us and become life long customers because we spent all of this cash on an ad campaign from...NEW YORK CITY! Aren't we cutting edge?"

Ad agencies in New York don't make art. They make campaigns. They sell junk and ideas. They aren't interested in the viewer in anyway other than seeing them as a target audience who will buy stuff from their clients. That's what puts money in their pockets and what puts money in the pockets of the clients. Can they be artistic? Yes. Are they art? That's up for debate. Is this art? In the eyes of Sarah Cameron it is. So, ladies, be sure that after your man has beat you to a pulp that you go to Fluid Hair Salon! You will be so glad that you did because even though your man treats you like scum, Fluid Hair will make you feel alright, and you will look good even after a thorough beating!

Royal Boredom

2011-07-09T22:19:00.000+03:00

Back in Canada now for a spell, and the main news here? Will and Kate! Yes, they came to Canada for a Royal tour. And there was no escaping the news coverage. Wall to wall, ceiling to ceiling, coast to coast, all Will and Kate, all the time. Oh it was a royal bombardment. It started out with Will and Kate are coming. Then, Will and Kate are here. Then Will and Kate did this. Will and Kate did that. Will and Kate, Will and Kate, Will and Kate.

Now, I do find the English Monarchy interesting. I have enjoyed watching them over the years. I once met Sarah Ferguson, you know, back when she was still part of the Royal Family. I saw Prince Charles and Camilla on their wedding day. I like to do a bit of Royal watching.

But, I have to be honest with you. I am not a fan of Will and Kate. Why, you say? They are so frickin' BORING! Their squeaky clean, perfectly pressed, always smiling, always waving, always gentile ways are just plain DULL! There is nothing exciting about these two. They are being billed as the great saviours of the English Monarchy. They are loved, people are showing up in droves to see them, they are the apple of so many people's eye. But, they are so painfully generic and blah that even watching them on TV makes me want to wretch at their ultra-sugary sweetness.

I want Prince Harry to get married. Now that guy is exciting. He's constantly making gaffs like his dad and his grandfather. He's more rough around the edges. He's interesting! Charles? Oh, he's such a unique old fuddy, duddy, with his organic gardening and his wacky ideas. Phillip? Oh man, he is gold! If his mouth is open, he is generally putting his foot into it. Will and Kate? Dull as the dullest dull thing there could possibly be.

These do-gooder, friendly, warm, smiling, thoughtful, considerate, clean, well spoken, poker straight, perfectly groomed Will and Kate people? BLAND as stale oatmeal with no added sweeteners or preservatives. Thanks a lot Will and Kate for sucking out all of the fun of watching the Royal family. Now please, start having some affairs or developing some addictions, and don't come back until you do!

Persians, Oh How I Missed You So!

2011-06-17T07:37:00.002+03:00

Oh goodness me. I made it home to Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada for a few days this month and I got to sink my teeth into some of Thunder Bay's famed PERSIANS! It was heavenly. Let me tell you, I have dreams about these things. And for whatever reason, they are exclusive to Thunder Bay. Why? I don't know, but I'm sure glad they exist somewhere. Here is a short video of the memorable experience of being reunited with my favourite dessert item after too long apart.

The Not So Suprising Vancouver Riots

2011-06-17T07:28:00.000+03:00

It's not like there are hasn't already been plenty written about it, but I may as well put my two cents in on the topic of the Vancouver riots.

So, last night, I thought I would turn on the final game of the Stanley Cup playoffs to see who would wind being champions and subsequently heroes to legions of hockey loving people. I haven't watched hockey in at least two years, and I can't say I am a huge fan of the sport. But, because Vancouver was involved and seemingly every other Canadian was watching the game, I thought I should as well just in case the subject came up in the future while talking to fellow Canadians and I wanted to participate in the conversation.

I watched hockey for one hour. It wasn't a great game as far as I am concerned, though I admit I don't really know how to judge a good game. Anyway, it didn't really matter. The long and the short of it is that Vancouver lost and the other guys won and then all hell broke loose and I ended up watching one hour of bad hockey and three hours of top notch rioting.

You may have seen the images and the videos and the reams of analysis that have already blanketed television sets, newspapers and computers across the country. If not, then you probably don't have television, newspapers or a computer. Here is a nice little summary of events from the CBC.

Okay, with all of that out of the way, let's get to the opinion part of this. Did people really expect this not to happen? I wasn't even in the city and I expected there to be a riot, or at least some disturbances, win or lose. Why? It's hockey. Now, that may sound unfair to say. It's not like there haven't been other Stanley Cup wins and loses that haven't ended in complete anarchy. What gives? Well, sure, all out riots like this one don't happen everyday which is good. But, I don't think it is far off to say that what happened is partly related to the culture of violence associated with hockey.

We got an arrogant, big mouth, redneck on the national TV (one, Mr. Don Cherry) glorifying violence on the rink and calling those who don't fight "pansies" while hundreds of thousands lap his moronic alpha-male BS up like milk in a....I don't know...thing that milk is in. When a fight happens on the ice, the crowd goes WILD and of course it's shown on the highlight reel during the sportscast with slack jawed, gelled up, fake tanned sports announcers commenting on the "nice left shots" or whatever being used by the buffoons beating the snot out of one another. After a fight, the players head to their penalty boxes, which are more like King's throwns, where people worship at the foot of the tough, brave heroes that end up in there after trying to knock what's left of the opposing teams teeth out for whatever the frick reason.

Then, THEN, you add alcohol into the mix. Who sponsors all of this? Beer companies. Who makes millions off of this? Beer companies. What do these fans do while watching hockey? Drink beer. Drink beer and go WOOOOOO! There is a lot of of WOOOOOOing and high fiving among drunk hockey fans I have come to notice. Oh the alcohol that flows. What was the first thing that happened to trigger the riots? Beer bottles were thrown at the giant screens put in downtown Vancouver so people could watch the game. That's rather telling, isn't it?

So, then comes the finals in Vancouver, with big screen TV's and thousands upon thousands of people flooding into the city to watch the game on them. It's a beautiful night, the beer is flowing, the WOOOOOOOing is at a fever pitch and the hockey is on. And it's not JUST hockey. It's THE event of the year...the final game of the playoffs and the local team can win it all, or lose it all. And they lost it all. And that completed the creation of the perfect storm.

BOOM. The rest is history. Fans riot, burn cars, burn jerseys, burn themselves, burn others, break stuff, steal stuff, jump on stuff, drink more stuff, do a whole lot more WOOOOOOOOOOOOing, fight each other, fight police, fight dogs, fight whatever gets in their way, drink some more, throw around some porta-potties, some newspaper boxes, some construction material, some other rioters. Oh it was a joyous night, wasn't it?

It has happened before, it happened last night, and it will happen again. Next time, try not to look so surprised.

Our Children's Future VS. Sanity and Reality: Challenging the Edmonton Public School Board

2011-06-04T08:52:00.000+03:00

Well, you know, I've been a wee bit busy and stuff, and it's distracted me somewhat from becoming enraged enough by something to write a blog about it. But, I just read something that changed that, and here is my blog about it.

What has me so enraged that I actually stopped being so lazy and took to the keyboard? Well, that damn Edmonton Public School Board (EPSB) in Alberta, Canada wishes to create a safe and inclusive environment for all of their students. What BEASTS! What ANIMALS! How could the Edmonton Public School Board wish to create a school system where a diverse range of children can study together and create a bright and better future for all?? Someone REALLY should protest this.

And, alas, thankfully, someone has! Apparently all of this talk of inclusion was far too much for whoever the frick is behind a weird little, seemingly anonymous website titled "Our Children's Future-Standing Up for Moral Standards in Edmonton".The first red flag is always the "moral standards". When this phrase is used, especially in conjunction with anything to do with children, you know bigotry and hatred is what is to follow.

Apparently, the problem this person/these people have is that under a proposal by the Edmonton Public School Board in a policy on sexual orientation and gender identity, sexual "minority" students and same sex parented families will be (among other things, such as being accepted and protected from discrimination) AFFIRMED by the EPSB. Now, this lovely group or person or entity or whatever that is behind this site states:

We agree that all people regardless of sexual orientation have to be treated lovingly and not subjected to bullying however we will not affirm their unique identities, families, cultures or communities. Affirming this type of sexual orientation violates the basic tenet of our belief systems, which is not a series of man-made rules and evolving human ethical standards, but the Holy Bible which clearly prohibits this type of sexual behaviour in both the Old and New Testaments.

Gotcha. And your narrow minded beliefs should come first and foremost, is that correct? That appears to be the belief, and they are calling on other like (narrow) minded people to do their duty and write to school board members to tell them that they shouldn't be treating these gays and lesbians and such with the dignity and respect they deserve because it goes against their beliefs. Look, telling people that your beliefs (religious) trump THEIR reality (sexual orientation) is NOT treating them lovingly. It is discriminatory. Telling someone that you will not accept them based on their sexual orientation is pretty mean and low. I always question the moral standards of someone who says something like that. We clearly do NOT share the same morals, and for that I am very glad.

So, here is what the proposal by the Edmonton Public School Board looks like and I think it looks not too bad at all:
http://www.epsb.ca/policy/aaadraft_ifa.bp.shtml

If you go to http://www.ourchildrensfuture.ca/ you will see that the site's creator(s) have done a fine job of listing all of the school board members which they are asking other bigots to write to and explain why the school board members should listen to bigots and not give GLBT (etc) students and their families the support and recognition they deserve.You may wish to contact them regarding the issue as well, what the heck. There is also a survey you can take, apparently, to give your views on the EPSB's proposal at this survey link. May as well plug in your answers there, too!

I hope that if you are reading my blog, you feel the same way as I do. I think this is a positive inititative by the Edmonton Public School Board and I want to see it put in place, not only in Edmonton, but across the country. I want to see kids feel at home at school, not as outcasts, and definitely not as being immoral just because of their sexual orientation. And I don't want to see people that believe discrimination and bigotry constitute "moral standards" from hijacking public school systems.

Walking Sluts and BBC Facebook Commenters

2011-05-10T22:24:00.000+03:00

Why oh why do I read things on the internet. If I was smart, I would stay clear of the thing. But, NO, what do I do? I go ahead and read stuff. What am I thinking??

What am I outraged about this time? Well, have you heard of this "SlutWalk" thing? Here's the deal. A Toronto cop, Michael Sanguinetti, goes to York University to give safety tips to students in a Personal Security class. One of his pieces of advice? "Women should avoid dressing like sluts in order not be victimized". How did this go down? Not very well, as you can imagine, and the comment has help start a new protest movement based around the idea of a "SlutWalk". Protesters can dress up, get out, hit the pavement, and basically say a big F.U. to the idea of asking to be a victim by wearing certain clothes. Here is the website for the first "Slutwalk" event held in Toronto for some information on what it's all about. It's more complex and interesting than I have presented it. Anyway, inspired by this, similar events have either been held or are to be held in places all over the world!

So, the BBC picks up this story. They decide to discuss it on their World Have Your Say program. To get input for the show, they post the story premise on Facebook and people can make comments. And this is what I started to read when I, once again, lost faith in humanity. What were some saying, you might ask? Well, here we go:

Nii Adumuah Nortey the policemam is right. Ladies must b decent or be seen as different. It is time someone voiced out his opinion

Suldan Tippu Tip Hw cn u use the term slutwalk to send ur voice and b offended by it....its sily 2 show ur assests as a tool of ur beauty plus dea z a gud reason y its called private part of ur bdy.

Touseef Dar i do agree wd ploice. IT iz also an lSLAMIC advice.

Ibrahim Meddie i agree with the police lady because she is doing her moral duty of advising citizens before falling into the hands of the victims. And God is very happy when He sees people dressed appropriately and are modesty.

Azd Warfare The police guy said the same thing what islam says hes 100% right.If u dnt wanna get raped dnt mk sm1 horny by dressing like sluts

Kipkemoi Korir I agree with policeman,women sometimes dressed half naked.we are humanbeings.our feelings high.women dress properly to avoid men temptations .

Kellc Kalombo
The Police Man is totally right... Women tend to advertise themselves like products... They should not dress like Prostitutes If they don't want to be taken like such...Their outrageousness only shows how right the Policeman is and also just how stupid those women protesting are. Real women take care of themselves like Gold (Jealously) not like cheap cloth. These women protesting should be taken and arrested because they are the ones proving to be a bad influence to the youths of today who are mostly raped because of the same dressing and behavior. We need Mothers not Holes.

Ismail Adefemi Allimson I do agree wit d Police.
D ladis dont kno dat dey do assault we MEN Psykologicaly by arousin sme uncontrolable emotions.

Nasiru Suwaid If a lady advertises as an invitation to treat, why should she mind the resulting harassment, after all nobody prevents examination on a super market shelf, thus how could ladies put it out & prevents examination from goers, that is cruel.

Rodney Lungani I have always argued this women empowerment issue had a motive behind lol - at times free speech has its curse, we need to draw the line somewhere

Is it just me, or are these people INSANE? Yes, these are REAL comments by what I presume to be real people, and I still can't believe what I have read. And there are more! There are LOT'S more where these came from, sadly and scarily enough.So, there are actually people out there who do believe that a woman dressing in a certain way does allow people to think they are open to be raped? Apparently.

One of the BIG problems with this whole discussion is the definition of "slut". At what point, based on how a woman is dressed, is she considered a "slut"? The idea of dressing "slutty" is completely subjective. So, women are being told to dress accordingly to prevent rape, but no two people will be able to agree on where exactly the line is that shouldn't be crossed. This puts women in a pretty tough position. Some think that nothing short of completely covering a woman in black cloth is acceptable. Others see a woman wearing makeup and heels and it means she is trolling for sex. No, no, no. The message from the police MUST be that "no is no" and rape will not be tolerated. As long as the message continues to be that part of the issue is in how a woman dresses, then it continues to create an atmosphere where blame is still put on the woman.

At the moment, the message appears to be that if you are like one of "THOSE" women, well you're headed for trouble. One of "those" women? Can someone please define this whole "slut" term a little clearer so that women can know exactly how people want them to dress so they that when she is raped they will feel adequately satisfied that she did not provoke the situation by being dresses like a "slut"? And then, when you do define that, can you kindly take that definition and stuff it up your....

If each of those posting with attitudes like those above changed THEIR views as opposed to telling women to change the way they dress, the world would probably be a whole lot safer. Women could live in freedom and wear whatever the hell they wanted to and not feel as though they were the problem! Wouldn't that be great?

Michael Sona vs Democracy

2011-04-15T14:59:00.000+03:00

Oh Michael Sona, you are indeed an idiot.

Have you heard this story? It's a good one, showing just how much democracy appears to be eroding in Canada at the hands of the Conservatives. Sad and scary. It seems that there was a special ballot station set up at the University of Guelph to entice more students to take part in the voting process. Yes, it's a bit early, but this has been done before (for a wide variety of groups) and appears to be perfectly legit and fine with Elections Canada. However, the Conservative Party doesn't seem to agree and wants these votes discounted as expressed in a letter sent to Elections Canada.

To make matters worse, one Mr. Micheal Sona, the communications director for Guelph Conservative candidate Marty Burke, decides to show up, declare that what was going on was illegal, and apparently even reach for the ballot box (what he was planning to do with it, I am not sure)! Oh may, oh my, oh MY! What can I say about that? What can anyone say about that? To get your slimy, no good, democracy hating lawyer (I shouldn't say that, I don't know the guy, I am only speculating) to send a letter to Elections Canada is one thing, but then to take matters into your own slimy, no good, democracy hating hands? What kind of an idiot must you be?? If these allegations are as true as they appear to be, this is just the latest sign that the Conservative Party would appear to be enemy of democracy. Disrupting voting is a disgrace. Canada sends observers to other countries to monitor elections to PREVENT these kinds of things from happening. Michael Sona was not only out of line, but seemingly out of his mind. This is just another black mark on the Conservatives who have already been kicking people out of their party rallies, stifling the media, and just generally being Conservative morons. These guys must go!

I not only urge Elections Canada to make sure that each of these votes count (and I hope each one of them is against the Conservatives) but whoever has the authority to deal with this situation must take action against the Conservatives for this complete and utter display of jerkititude. Does Canada need any more proof that the Conservatives aren't fit to be running the country? I sure know I don't!

Jean Wharf, "Fuck Yoga" pins and Shaw Pet Homes

2011-04-07T22:57:00.001+03:00

William Shaw, owner of Shaw Pet Homes of Calgary, you have WRONGED ME!

Okay, I'm just kidding (That's Shaw Pet Homes, Calgary, Manufacturer of Alberta's BEST cat furniture! Visit them today at CrossRoads Market in Calgary! It is Calgary's LARGEST Indoor/Outdoor Market!) I don't really have that big of a beef against William Shaw. Or do I? Well, YES I DO, darn it all.

I love it when business owners make me mad. The thing is, when you are representing your business along side of your own personal conversations in social media, it does open you and your business up to being discussed. And, right now, William Shaw, owner of Shaw Pet Homes of Calgary, is on my mind. We just had a lovely interaction on Facebook where he was a complete and total jerk to me! Oooooh, that burns me. Actually, I really shouldn't get into debates on-line anyway. It never really seems to work out. Do they ever? They usually end in everyone telling each other off and everyone walking away mad. At least this is my experience.

Anyway, the topic at hand? According to a short, not very in-depth article posted by the CBC (you can read the article here!), apparently, a girl by the name of Jean Wharf, who was riding (or attempting to ride) a SkyTrain in Vancouver was kicked off because she didn't pay the fare (fair enough if that is true), but then a comment was made that she couldn't ride the train again while wearing her pin that read "Fuck Yoga". Now as the owner of shirts that say "Fuck Homophobia" and "Fuck Your Fascist Beauty Standards", I have to say that I defend wearing items of clothing or accessories that contain the word Fuck. I don't really like to say the word. I try not to use it on a regular basis. About the only time I use it is when I am really angry. Anyway, this was my first comment about the story:

It's pretty hard to make an assessment based on such a short article. If she indeed was kicked off the train because she had a button with the f-word, then that is ridiculous. If she was kicked off for not having a ticket, well, that's different. I have many pins and several shirts with the f-word on them. I haven't had any trouble wearing them and I would be very angry if I did get into trouble for wearing them...in a free country anyway. I don't wear them wear I am living now. I would end up in jail...:)

I didn't think that was too bad, was it? Now this was Mr. William Shaw's first response to the article:

Too bad!! She is a theif and theif is a criminal and criminals don't deserve fredom of speach. Besides, her button was one that was meant to insult and insite dissension toward a system that promotes well being. What is she, an emo goth, neo nazi squatter?

Well, okay then. That seemed a little intense. But, that is just my opinion. His response to ME!

Suck it up, Chris! She was probably lippy to the transit cop and she got what she deserved. As well, she steals from tax payers by not paying fair, but now she is costing tax payers more money because of this stupid inquiry. People like you and her have no positive purpose for society as a whole.

Because I don't think being told that someone can not wear a "Fuck Yoga" pin on the subway is right, I have no positive purpose for society?? Wait a minute here. That seems a little intense. Why oh why would you take this approach Mr. Shaw (owner of Shaw Pet Homes in Calgary)? Why? Look, the girl did nothing wrong with her pin. She did wrong by not paying to ride the train, but she did nothing wrong with her pin. Yes, I defend her. I think it would be a shame if we started to clamp down on things like this. Freedom of expression, freedom of thought, freedom of ideas is very important in our society (meaning Canada). Today it is that pin, tomorrow it is blasphemy laws! Well, maybe not tomorrow, but using the slippery slope idea, well, ya, it could happen. There are many (too many if you ask me) who would like to see that happen.

In previous blog posts, I have expressed anger about other people's opinions, especially when it comes to homophobia. Well, I stand by those. I have not called for business boycotts, I have not called for anyone to be arrested. I have spoken out against ideas that I feel are wrong and destructive. I have expressed outrage and concern. But, I have not called for freedom of speech to be curtailed. The hope is that in the future, discrimination based on sexual orientation is squeezed out of society. And, the hope is also that a person wearing a pin that says "Fuck Yoga" is not being told they can't ride the train because of it. Yes, it may offend people. I have seen those pins. My interpretation is that these pins are criticizing the excess commercialization of yoga and the turning of it into merely a fitness craze (Power Yoga? Come ON!). I think that is a fair assessment really. Again, this is how I interpret the pin and if I were to wear it that is the spirit I would wear it in. And that is why I support her. Maybe if someone had asked her, "Why do you wear that pin?", people might find out for themselves what her reasons are.

Most of the posts on that article revolved around the use of vulgar language and how unacceptable it is that someone would have the word Fuck on a button. Well, ya, it is a vulgar word, but it isn't illegal. Also, if that is the worst her button has to say, well, that's not too bad, really. If that is the biggest complaint people can have, then Canadian society is doing pretty darn good, if you ask me!

Now, remember to visit William Shaw at Shaw Pet Homes in Calgary and pick yourself up one of his UGLY as SIN cat houses and lizard dens or whatever the heck those those things are. I think he has a few little spider homes and stuff too.

:)

Terry Jones: Legally a Jerk

2011-04-03T21:43:00.000+03:00

Do I really have to go into the background of this story? Probably not. This has been a fairly well publicized one. As many know by now, a Pastor of a tiny church in Florida by the name of Terry Jones burned a copy of the Qur'an. You may be familiar with this book? In the last few days, Afghanistan has been rocked by violent protests over this. On the day they began, 11 people were killed, 7 of them being UN workers, two of them being beheaded. As I write this, protests are in their third day, and seem to be spreading.

Now, I don't know Terry Jones personally. I've never met him. But based on what I have read about him, I can't say I am overly fond of the guy. I don't think he did a very nice to thing when he burned a Qur'an. However, I have to be quite frank in saying that killing people over this action is incredibly ridiculous. Some have come out saying that Terry Jones has blood on his hands and is responsible for what is going on in Afghanistan. He is not. He has been roundly criticized throughout the world for his actions, but what he did was not illegal where he is from. Terry Jones is guilty of being a jerk. That is it. How people have responded is up to them personally, and they are responsible for their actions. What is most ridiculous about this is that it was one man in a tiny church in Florida who burned the Qur'an. That's it. That's all. Nothing more. To say the least, I think it is fair to say that the violent backlash has been disproportionate at best, completely idiotic at worst. He has been roundly criticized. I agree with the criticism. That's about as far as things should go. But, NO, people's heads rolled (literally!). And, TODAY, Hamid Karzai, the fearless leader of Afghanistan is calling on the US Congress to do something about this guy. What?? What should they do about a man in Florida legally being a jerk?

Look, there are no blasphemy laws in the US. Although I believe burning a Qur'an could be considered inciting hate, it was done on private property and therefore he was not doing anything against the law. Besides, there are plenty of hate groups in the US who are protected by freedom of speech laws. That is the way it works in the US. Freedom of speech is alive and pretty important. Does Mr. Karzai want the US to adopt blasphemy laws so that the people in his country don't go completely berzerk and start cutting off peoples heads?? That doesn't seem like a good idea at all. Should Terry Jones be punished? Well, he didn't actually break any laws, did he? No, he didn't. So, no, he shouldn't be punished, other than what is dished out in the court of public opinion. He has pissed off a lot of people. Fine. But, nothing he has done should be resulting in beheadings and riots. It can be met with anger and frustration, with speaking out against him, by making one's feelings known. But, when it get's to the point where people are dying, things have gotten way too out of hand, and it isn't the fault of Terry Jones.

Let's Talk About Kim Evans of Riverview, New Brunswick, Shall We?

2011-03-16T22:43:00.000+03:00

Oh Kim Evans of Petals and Promises in Riverview, New Brunswick, what the hell were you thinking??

Have you heard about this lovely story? (You can read about it here if you wish) It seems that Kim Evans, a self proclaimed "born-again Christian" (I still can't for the life of me figure out what that is, but, whatever) decided that she did not wish to sell flowers to a same sex couple who were getting married. Well, first she said that she would provide flowers for the couple's wedding, and then she found out that the couple in question shared the same kind of genitalia and she sent them an email saying (I love this) "I am choosing to decline your business. As a born-again Christian, I must respect my conscience before God and have no part in this matter,"

Oh, isn't that lovely. That's like sending an email to a mixed-race couple saying "I am choosing to decline your business. As I have recently joined the Klan, I must respect my Grand Wizard and have no part in this matter." Yikes. Come on lady! You not only refused their business because they are a same-sex couple, but you did so in a terribly rude and horrible way. That doesn't help your case at all, not that you had one in the first place.What other acts of bigotry does your "born-again Christian" status allow you to indulge in? Who else are you refusing business to? Are you getting a detailed CV from each potential client now to make sure you approve of everything they have ever said, done or will do to make sure it fits into your new Christian lifestyle?

I have no patience for this kind of stuff. There is no way that this kind of discrimination should be taking place, in CANADA, in 2011. I feel personally insulted by what she has done, as a human being and a fellow Canadian. This is not what Canada is about. This is not what being a human is about. Treat people with some decency, would you Kim Evans of Petals and Promises in Riverview, New Brunswick, Canada! And get a better name for your business, would ya! Petals and Promises??? What the hell kind of name is THAT! Bahhhhh. See how angry I am? It's the Promises part of the name that erks me. You PROMISED them flowers. You gave them homophobia. What a rotten deal.

No Foreign Intervention

2011-03-01T19:08:00.000+03:00

I believe someone has spoken. I have no clue who. If this voice represents those in Libya fighting for democracy and their wacko of a leader to fall, then I would say what they want is pretty clear.

Why The West Must Stay Out of Libya (And The Whole Middle East)

2011-02-27T23:37:00.000+03:00

Face it. No matter what the US and "The West" does when it comes to Libya, it will get criticized harshly. Libya is in a difficult region where people are already pretty pissed off with "The West" for support of Israel and, of course, colonialism. Anti-Western sentiment runs very high, justifiably or not. The US/West getting further involved in the region would be, frankly, quite stupid. And there is no reason to.

What is happening right now in Libya is bloody, horrific and brutal. But, it is what Libya needs. It is a true, grassroots uprising. It is change from within. Many lives have been lost, and many more will be lost. But, with defections happening amongst Gaddafi's regime, more and more areas of the country falling out of his control, and a more determined than ever population, it is fair to say that those who want freedom and democracy are winning. This is good. If outside forces get involved militarily, even more lives or going to get lost and there will be a distraction from the real cause. Those who oppose Gaddafi but are equally defiant against The West will be stuck in the middle, those who are sitting on the fence not sure who to support could be emboldened to jump in with the pro-Gaddafi side to try and oust the "occupiers" and pro-Gaddafi fighters could get a new lease on life with a new reason to fight. It will, once again, be perceived in the same way as colonialism, an invasion of sovereignty, a spit in the eye of proud Arab people, and as an expansion of the great American empire (as it is seen). All around, it doesn't sound like a good scenario. There have been talk of sanctions already, and the concern is that the people being affected by them are going to be the population of Libya, not Gaddafi and his friends. So, even this attempt at action has the potential to backfire tremendously.

US President Obama has been hammered for not coming out quick enough with condemnation of Gaddafi or the violence. I think that Obama has made a number of very wise moves with this approach. Throughout the change in the Middle East, he and his government have not been quick to jump in. Good! That's exactly the way it should be. Revolution is happening. The people are taking to the streets and demanding change, and it is coming, slowly but surely, from within. This is the way it should have been in Iraq, and the way it would be optimal to have happened in Afghanistan. There is no doubt that those two wars have been pretty disastrous. The US became further hated around the world, hundreds of thousands of lives have been lost, and trillions of dollars have been spent. Already, there is so much anger because the regimes that are falling are seen as being "US backed" (a point that Al Jazeera LOVES to point out over and over again, but I digress). So, any new regimes will be dealt with pretty suspiciously if the US endorses them, or shows too much of a preference. The US will be seen as interfering if, on the surface, it appears to have too much of an opinion on how these revolutions should transpire.

So, like I said off the top, no matter WHAT the US, and it's Western friends do, it's going to get blasted from someone, somewhere. So stay out, let the revolutions unfold and hope for a much better future for the citizens of those countries and a better, more trusting and solid relationships with "The West" in the years to come.

TV is a Powerful Tool!

2011-02-08T22:55:00.000+03:00

COME ON Al Jazeera Arabic! What the heck kind of "reporting" was THAT! What am I speaking of? I was just at the barber's, got a haircut from a nice Turkish gentleman. The whole time I waited and the whole time I had my haircut, about 45 minutes in total, the SAME loop of images kept rolling over and over and over on the TV they had hanging in the shop. It was like A Clockwork Orange! Police beating on protesters, protesters beating on other protesters, police torturing subjects, a dead and mutilated body, simulated torture scenes, a police truck running over protesters. Over and over and over the same images kept going and going. And, in the background, an "interviewee" screaming at the top of his lungs (there may have been a couple over the span of time, but it was hard to tell because it was just plain screaming!) The only break was when three promos for Al Jazeera ran which were all filled with MORE images of unrest in Egypt. This wasn't reporting! This was sheer incitement and provocation! I wanted to go break stuff after watching 45 minutes solid of these brutal images played over and over...and over...and OVER. Man, that was brutally horrible and terribly irresponsible. Thank goodness Al Jazeera English is not quite like that, although I have had my complaints about them, and my list is growing. I will probably write about that tomorrow.

Back Off, Al Jazeera.

2011-02-05T14:21:00.000+03:00

I am growing increasingly frustrated with Al Jazeera's coverage of what is going on in Egypt. They have gained a lot of viewers and attention over the last 11 days and have a new found power. I generally like Al Jazeera, and am pleased to see that they have done well, BUT, I am also disappointed with a number of issues, particularly when it comes to how it reports on US/Israeli involvement. Face it, Al Jazeera is hardly unbiased when it comes to these countries. It continually rails against them. That isn't saying there aren't legitimate grievances. There are. But, when watching Al Jazeera, I can't help but get the sense that the US and Israel are the most evil, horrible countries on the planet. They wait with bated breath on what the US and Israel are going to say about what is going on, and then slam them when they do make a comment. They seem obsessed with the US and Israel, while getting angry because American media is not reporting the situation from the same vantage point as Al Jazeera. Bizarre, really.

I have been watching CNN quite a bit during this crisis and am finding them to be a bit better in their coverage. They have been looking at the crisis from a broader perspective, I find. They have been accused of looking at the crisis from and American perspective, which I have not found to be completely true. They are an American based channel, so of COURSE they will often look at the situation from an American perspective to a good degree. However, they have also looked at the greater reality of what is going on in Egypt and how it is being seen in the rest of the world and what the impact of this revolution will be, something Al Jazeera is less concerned with. Egypt is a very important country in the region. The uprising there has MASSIVE consequences for the rest of the Middle East and the world. But, for trying to report this, Al Jazeera slams them. Why? I don't live in Egypt. Most of us watching do not. We see what is happening and wonder how it will affect us all. It is an uprising among Egyptians, and that is being acknowledged and reported on. BUT, there is uncertainty and plenty of it. There doesn't seem to be a clear leader ready to step in if Mubarak steps down now. That is concerning for both Egypt and the world. Al Jazeera doesn't seem to get that point. The Muslim Brotherhood? A lot of people have a lot of questions about them. CNN is giving a range of opinions on that group. And, although those in Tahrir Square is made up of people from all walks of Egyptian life, the Muslim Brotherhood is the largest opposition group involved in politics. Of COURSE people want to know about them. I don't think they should be feared, but I understand people's desire to know about them, and to get to understand them.

This isn't to say that Al Jazeera is not doing a good job. In many ways, they are. They are providing a great service. So, I am not anti-Al Jazeera. I suppose I became far more frustrated after I saw this report, which I felt was particularly low:

After watching this, I wanted to stick up for American networks, which is not something I usually rush to do. But, in this case, I think the US is getting a bad rap. Their main target, of course, is Fox News, which is a given. I can't say they are a reliable voice for much, so they deserve their fair share of criticism. However, other networks are doing their very best, as far as I am concerned, just as Al Jazeera is. By taking a Fox News approach to reporting on American media, they have stooped to a Fox News level, which is pretty low. I expect more from Al Jazeera, and hope they focus on the news and stories, and focus less on beating up their peers, and lay off a bit more on the US and Israel (again, something I never imagined myself saying).

Asian Cup Ridiculousness: The Story Continues

2011-01-31T14:57:00.001+03:00

My third post on the same subject. Sorry, I just can't let this one go. It is on my mind. It makes me furious. I am particularily frustrated by the response of organizers. Get a load of this one:

"We said to the spectators, 'come early'. Unfortunately, yesterday we had to close the gates for security reasons," he said, adding that around 3,000 fans were locked out.

"Most of the people outside were without tickets, which was causing a problem. We feel sorry for the people not having a ticket. I hope this will not give a bad impression about the tournament. We were hoping we would not have anything like this happen, but it happened, and you can't satisfy everybody."

From: http://mwcnews.net/news/sports/8321-officials-defend-asian-cup-lockout.html

What? Huh? Run that by me again? Did you just blame the fans who weren't there on time, or at least your version of on time?? Since when is anyone in Qatar on time for anything?? When, exactly, did you guys tell people to get there early? I certainly never heard anything like that. Most of the people outside were without tickets?? Uh uh. Most of the people outside HAD tickets because you fuckers gave their seats away! Bad impression of the tournament?? Do I have a bad impression? DAMN RIGHT I do! Lies, lies and other crap used to justify pathetic behaviour. How arrogant and utterly unprofessional. There were people locked out that had flown to Qatar just for this event. There were people out there who had bought tickets at full price months ago. What were you idiots thinking?? Shame on the organizers. Shame on the AFC. Shame on FIFA. Shame on Qatar. Stop with the lies. Stop with the alternate reality you are trying to create. Own up to the screw up. Refund all those who did not get it, and all of those who actually paid for tickets. Repay flight and hotel costs for those who came from out of town to watch the game. And then forfeit the World Cup and give it to a country that wouldn't pull this shit.

Asian Cup Ridiculousness #2

2011-01-30T16:20:00.000+03:00

Okay, so, I bought a ticket to go see the Asian Cup final in Doha, Qatar about a month before the game, which was held last night. I paid 35QR for said ticket. Fair enough, not a bad price, really. Last night, I go to the game between Australia and Japan at Khalifa Stadium. I get in only to find that they were letting everyone and anyone in free, without a ticket. No one cared about my ticket. Why did I pay 35QR for this ticket again? Why were people who paid nothing getting better seats? Made no sense. When I got into the stadium, it was just stupid. I went to find my seat and was just told to sit anywhere, to go in any gate and just get a seat. Okay, well, fine, I got in, I got a seat, and I watched the game. Well, apparently, not long after I had gotten in, they shut the gates, leaving about 3000 fans, many of them holding a ticket for the game, locking them out. This included people who had traveled from Australia and Japan for said game. Needless to say, they were unhappy, and, according to reports, there was some roughness between some fans and the police. No explanation was given as to why they were not allowed in. The gates were just shut. At the end of the game? If you were still there when the award ceremony started, you were in until the gates reopened. I left before the final goal. But others were locked into the stadium at the end of the game to watch an awards ceremony and fireworks. Of course, people were told that gates would be closed until 15 minutes AFTER the end of the fireworks "for your safety". So, why did all of this take place? Well, Sepp Blatter and the Emir were in attendance for starters. It's clear that they wanted as many people in seats as possible before the game got under way to show that they could get the fans. Unfortunately, that meant that anyone deemed late was left outside. When has anyone in Qatar been on time for anything? Apparently, for this one event, everyone was supposed to be there and in their seats well before kick off. They closed the gate 45 minutes before the game started. What? Why?? That makes no sense. Then, the fans locked out are blamed by the organizers for not being on time? What? Huh?? It was the fans fault that you gave away the seats they paid for to other people for FREE in order to look good in front of the FIFA president, the Emir and TV cameras?? Yes, that, once again, is the way things are done here. Window dressing. They don't care about the fans. They care about looking good. They care about looking like they can host a World Cup while clearly showing that they can't. Why did I pay for a ticket I shouldn't have paid for? Why did people pay for tickets and hotels and then be shut out of the game? Then, THEN, to add insult to injury, they showed the number of fans in attendance on the big screen. It was something like 37,500 people. How did they come up with this number? Whose butt was this pulled out of?? No one was checking tickets. Everyone was just being shuffled in as fast as possible into seats. How they could have possibly got some exact count of the number of people were in the stadium is beyond me. And, another question comes up. Estimates were that 3000 people were locked out. The stadium holds about 40,000. That means 2,500 seats were empty. That isn't all that far off of the number of people stuck outside of the stadium. Does this make sense? Of course not! Why would it make sense? Overall, it was a disgusting display. What is going to happen when the World Cup comes?? I can't imagine 3000 England fans being told they can't attend a game when they have tickets in their hands, can you? This was a disgrace and Qatar and the organizers should be ashamed.

Here are some news stories on the whole affair for your reading enjoyment.

http://english.aljazeera.net/sport/football/2011/01/201112921940597529.html

http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5gvg0XsC-9XQLl7tY2f6OAd_JHcSw?docId=5798760

http://www.goal.com/en/news/3550/asian-cup/2011/01/30/2329566/asian-cup-2011-exclusive-fans-vent-anger-at-being-locked-out

Asian Cup Ridiculousness #1

2011-01-30T15:25:00.000+03:00

I wrote this a while ago, but never posted it. Here it is, in all it's outdated glory:

The AFC Asian Cup is being hosted this year by Qatar. On July 14th, I took in a great game where Australia and South Korea played an intense match to a 1-1 tie. It was a joy to experience. It’s just too bad that all who wanted to attend were not allowed in. My friend and I took our two kids to see their first football game. We had no problem getting tickets. Then, five young Nepalese labourers attempted to get tickets. They were told that only “family and ladies” tickets were left. They asked me what to do. I didn’t have an answer. They looked confused. I figured that the stadium must be pretty packed if they were just down to one section reserved for families. When we entered the stadium, I saw the reality. It wasn’t packed at all. There were all kinds of empty seats. Then, it was announced that attendance was 15,000 people in a stadium with capacity for 25,000. My friend and I were in the “family” section, where there were several groups of Arab and Western men. Our supposed “family section” was not a family section at all. It was a general seating area. So, why on earth would five workers be denied entry into a stadium with 10,000 empty seats? That is the way it is in malls, in parks and anywhere else that labourers are not wanted. These young men are the very ones who will be building the stadiums, the roads, the infrastructure needed to put on the World Cup when Qatar hosts it in 2022. But, how many of these workers be allowed into the stadiums? They work long hours in brutal conditions, live in squalid conditions and tend to earn very low wages. Often, their passports are taken away, and they are subject to a system that essentially makes them slaves to their employers. The very people who are building Qatar are outcasts and discriminated against. And when they try to go to malls, parks and tourist areas they are turned away. Apparently, the same goes for some of these foreign workers who try to go to Asian Cup football matches. The Asian Federation Cup is proving to be a games where only select fans are permitted to attend, despite the fact organizers would like to have full stadiums. It makes no sense. What will happen when the World Cup arrives in 2022?

Educating the Masses: London Burns

2010-12-10T11:22:00.000+03:00

It was a rough day in London yesterday. Now, I'm not going to pretend that I know everything (or for that matter ANYTHING) about British politics. Most of my knowledge of UK politics comes from British comedians and The Bugle podcast (with one of my all time favourites, Andy Zaltzam. Check it out!).

So, this is what I gather. In the wake of a coalition government being elected (sorta) to run things, something went horribly wrong. Two completely opposing parties somehow shook hands and decided to work together. These are the Conservative party and the Liberal Democrats. Okay. I'm writing this more to get things straightened out in my own mind as opposed to trying to give anyone else info. So, Nick Clegg, the leader of the Liberal Democrats ran on a platform of no new university fees (roughly. Please, someone correct me if I am wrong with any of this). So, this platform went down well with students, so, they voted for him. Then he became part of the grand coalition and changed his mind, thinking it wasn't such a good idea after all. Now, of course the world has been in a bit of a financial mess for the past few years and governments everywhere are trying to cut back on spending. This coalition that is running things in the UK is taking this idea to heart and going nuts with their cuts, by the looks of things.

So, yesterday, it was decided that tuition fees would rise from roughly 3000 of those pound things to somewhere around 9000 of those pound things. Now, that is one heck of a crazy increase if you ask me. Apparently this doesn't have to be paid right away. Very nice of them. This is paid back once the grad gets a job that pays enough to be able to get them deep into debt paying this cash back. At least this is what I'm garnering. Cuts to university budgets also seem to be going through which will cut the number of available seats in university classrooms by 6000. That's a whole lot of seats. Think of a game of musical chairs with 6000 seats? Less seats means less opportunity to get into a school that is getting increasingly harder to afford. This just doesn't sound very good all around for students.

And there have been protests. Oh have there been protests. Lots and lots and lots of protests by some very angry students. And rightfully so, although some of the violence that has gone along with it hasn't gone over well with the British public, understandably. Last night, when the vote went through to approve all of this stuff, things got pretty heated...literally. People lit fires. Well, mostly because they were cold. But, there were fires none the less. And vandalism. Even poor Charles and Camilla had their car dented up a bit. That wasn't overly cool. It was a nice car! Students battled with police, horses were involved and, according to angry callers in the BBC, Christmas shopping was interrupted in some places. Tragedy.

Why should these students be protesting? That's easy. Here is why, based on my knowledge as a Canadian. I am going to do a bit of assuming that there are some parallels between Britain and Canada. We are both pretty common, what with our...um...our....well, we have the same Queen. There.

My wife went through 8 years of university. Or more. I can't recall. I guess I could ask her. Anyway, we'll be paying off that education for the next 25 years (or less...or more. Again. I should ask her). Basically, a lot of money was spent and a lot of money is owed. Now, it's impossible to get a decent job WITHOUT a university education. Jobs that at one time only need secondary education now require college diplomas or university degrees. There are so many people looking for jobs, the competition is high, and without a good education, chances are pretty bleak. In addition, traditional jobs in manufacturing were shipped to countries where workers are paid far less meaning that there aren't jobs out there for those without an education, unless it is in the service industry. And what kind of future is that? If someone is living in London, Vancouver, Toronto or some other big city, how can they possibly do that on a McDonald's paycheque?? Then, add on to that, less and less companies are actually hiring people full time. They are preferring to go with contracts. That makes things pretty tough. Insecurity abounds. Education can relieve that. The more one can bring to a company, theoretically, the safer their job may be. Things have changed a lot even in the past 10 to 15 years. More and more, employers are doing what they can to circumnavigate involvement of unions and doing more and more to shed any responsibilities to their employees, and....um, I think I'm getting off on a tangent here.

Anyway, the point is that if fees go up and cuts are made to education, meaning fewer seats for students (at least those that can afford it) opportunities will dry up even faster. More unemployment or underemployment because people can't get access to education? I can see that happening, for sure. That doesn't seem like it would help the economy of a country that is looking to improve it's economy. In fact, that sounds like it would do the opposite! Why create a situation where it may be even harder for people to get decent jobs?? Education is an investment. The better educated a nation is, the better off that nation...well...is. Don't take away educational opportunities. That's like shooting yourself in the foot. Make sure people can get the education they need so that they can get to work and keep the economy going.

I'm sure I'm missing some points in here. There is plenty more to say. It seems like a very complicated and tough situation all around. I feel for the students. I support their protests. It would nice if stuff wasn't wrecked in the process, but that seems to be a small minority of people who are doing that stuff. So, keep up with it kids! Will it help. No, probably not. Sorry to end that on a negative note. Damn.

The Double Edged Sword: 2022

2010-12-02T20:59:00.003+03:00

Well, Qatar did it. Qatar put a bid in to FIFA to hold the 2022 World Cup, and today they were awarded the games over the US, Japan and, well, another loser who I can't remember.

I was fortunate enough to be down at the Corniche in Doha, the capital city where I am living, when the announcement was made. Well, I say fortunate, although at the time, I felt dumb. There were a few other location around the city that had giant screens for people to gather around to watch the awarding ceremony. I thought the Corniche was one of those places. I was wrong. There was no screen. So, I sat, in my car, looking out over the waters of the Persian Gulf and listened to Al Jazeera on the radio waiting for the announcement. There were very few people around. It was pretty quiet. I was going to miss all of the excitement it seemed. Not a great move. Then, two minutes after the head FIFA-er announced that Qatar had won, the Corniche suddenly filled up with cars and a whole lot of very, very excited Qataris. Boy, were they excited. Horns honking, flags waving, music playing, laughter and joy all around. I had never seen revelry in Qatar, let alone this amount. People were having a really great time. I mean, a REALLY great time, driving around, honking, waving, and being open, warm and friendly! It was impressive and fun and I'm glad I was there when it happened. I headed home as streams of people were heading in. I think the festivities will go on for an awful lot of fun.

HOWEVER, tomorrow will be a new day, and Qatar is going to face a lot of scrutiny and be in the center of a very powerful spotlight. It's going to be interesting to see how this goes down. Already twitter is alive with a whole lot of interesting comments. Let's take a look, shall we...

windoverwater

#Qatar will expect all women to have shoulders and neck covered, no #tanktops ladies, sorry.

azewde

#Qatar built its track & field team by naturalizing East African runners. Now they'll build their #2022 soccer team w/ West Africans #Quatar

@danlobb FIFA representatives will be very very very rich from announcing #Russia 2018 & #Qatar 2022 world cups.#howmuchdidyoupayRoman???

girlfriday19

Seriously tho, I understand ppl want to separate sports from politics, but end of the day, human rights issues are more impt. #Qatar #FIFA

vicki_dee

Alcohol Laws of #Qatar: Public drunkenness, openly displaying alcohol in public are forbidden. ...Ummm, that #worldcup is gonna suck.

windoverwater

#Qatar apparently has no tolerance for #homosexuals. Will be jailed on sight.

dawashington

Does @FIFAcom hate gay soccer fans? (goo.gl/wajtp) #worldcup2022 #qatar

SeeDice

#Qatar? Its as big as san francisco.

bisialimi

And #2022 goes to ....... #qatar, now #fifa is a Joke, big time ... Lol

_nctrnl

Boycott #FIFA World Cup in #Qatar 2022 Sign the Petition http://twt.gs/FHWIT #WorldCup2022 #WC2022 #FIFAFail #Fail #EpicFail

msalgado

Raise your hand if you think western women want to travel to a World Cup in Qatar! #nofuckingway #qatar #wtf

MegoSalbashian

The only way for Qatar to play in the world cup is to buy the whole bid in 2022. #Qatar #Worldcup2022

jabmakepeace

#QATAR #worldcupcorruption Interesting human trafficking report on QATAR - http://bit.ly/hp01l8

nwskyles

Fifa is crooked. #Qatar #WorldCup

GarethGeorge

The 2022 #worldcup will 100% not happen in #Qatar. Not a chance, zip, zero. New vote within 5 years.

TheLazySalesman

I'd love to see the #Qatar 'bid book', an index and 500 blank pages of Rymans finest Basildon Bond I reckon

markmravic

Fiver: "the preposterously wealthy human rights- and women-abusing crackling furnace that is #Qatar." http://bit.ly/ew81lg

peterkonnecke

@insidethegames something stinks with qatar team seen congratulating each other before vote announced #fifa #qatar @worldcup

martywyss

#Qatar does not meet humans rights standards of the UN and still has a form of slavery called sponsorship ... smart move #FIFA

ZacherMediaPR

Cowherd on #Qatar: "People from Qatar vacation in Phoenix in August to cool off."

And it goes on and on and on. And, it's only four hours after the announcement has been made. Qatar isn't a fan of negative comments as it is, so I think some of the stuff that will be talked about in the media and online is going to be pretty hard for some Qataris to swallow.

As you can see by a number of the comments, already questions about migrant workers and human rights are being brought up. What more will come? Qatar is a pretty small country and it has gone largely unnoticed by much of the world. Everything is about to change, and with that change is going to come some heavy criticism, I think it is fair to say. How will Qatar handle it?

Qatar did a good job with it's bid presentation. It has the 2022 World Cup. Now it has a lot of work to do. It will be an interesting 12 years.

More Gay Hate. Oh GAWD, Spare Us From Your Followers!

2010-11-29T19:34:00.006+03:00

My faith in humanity has once again been rocked. My trusted friend, facebook, has brought me a posting from the BBC regarding the persecution of homosexuals in Kenya. Here is the story:

A gay rights activist has criticised Kenya's prime minister for threatening a crackdown on homosexual people....

Okey, dokey. So, this piece of news has been the trigger for a flurry of comments that were posted by BBC fans the world over on BBC News' Facebook page. So, what do some of these fans from the world over have to say?

Ejike Anichebe When evil gather strength to resist the truth, then d world is heading for a ruin. Those who engage in acts that tend to extinct life rather than promote it should ask themselves if their entrance to this world was through that means. If their answer is in affirmative, go forward. If it is negative, they should take a decision to either totally be blinded by their so called crave or craze for freedom/right or seek clearer sight by embrasing the light. Enough of the deception.

Nde Denis HOMOSEXUALITY IS A CONTAGIOUS DESEASE AND MUST BE CURED JUST LIKE ANY OTHER SICKNESS!!!

Irfan Ahmad Naz Gays should be persecuted..african ppl dont let these western ppl to destroy ur society...

Frederick Otobele In Africa Gay or lesbanism are not practise openly because if you are caught you could be burnt to death. Being gay, lesbian or raping kid is a sign of mental disorder

Grace Muwaga Whatz wrong with some people who think that one is born gay, no one is born gay and that act is not right. People just decide to do the wrong things and come out and defend them. Cows, goats are even more understanding than gays. Gays you need the supernatural being to forgive you.

Osman Sacad it suprises me people who have no principles no rules , yeah dey have trrafic lights for de cars but wen it comes to human being values dey follow their guts they have no respect for human race as whole... dey out-lawed marryng more dan one woman but to be gay is allowed ...dis is insane..dat is how people do wen dey leave out their religion!!

Lazaro Prieto Cortes I'm not African but I agree that gays are acts of evils, we have seen good & evil in this world . We know Satan is real & we can't change a gay' s sick brain therefore we must keep away from Satan & his followers. Good people don't belong to Satan.

Ceasar Joseph Mcgrath hahahahaha! We will arrest all the gays u have no place in africa and mostly KENYA

Ejike Anichebe All these western pals promoting gay here, i pity ur conditions. Homosexuality is not civilization, u morons. Pls enjoy it in ur place & leave africa alone. Nobody is born gay. Go back to ur history & upbringing u will learn that u acquired it. You can still mend ur way if u believe & start thinking like human.

Donald Chibueze Madueke Need i say without equivocation,that God designed man and woman in their different but sexually complementing biological make up .aswell he endorsed sex between them by perempting them to multiply and fill the earth.be that as it is,God has never planned for man to lay with his fellow man hence he wouldn't have created the woman.therefore sodomy or homosexuality is an obvious aberration to the natural built of man.it is therefore biblicaly and moraly sinful. its partakers and practice should be refuted in its entirety.

Jamil Lahyani Homosexuality is a disgusting uncurable disease!!!

Mariusz Wiloch I would suggest makin a penalty for gays like it is in Saudia Arabia, prison is not a good choice, dead penalty would be perfect. End of topic.

Ezra Rakim Corleone Gf

‎1 issue pro homosexuals neva get to talk abwt is this...procreation,& these xo called civil rights groups campaining for rights to everything including homosexuality fail on expounding on this issue..honestly is it moral or humane to a chi...ld 2 be raised in such filth were roles r reversed father & mother becomes father(dad) father(mom) & vice versa...& how about this an innocent vulnerable being(obviously adobted!) being nurtured in such an unreasonable filth that will highly likely currpt the mind making 1 end up a faggot! & how r we supposed to ensure continuity of our species if saddly th straight give in 2 ua fallacy?

Holy CRAP. What a load of hate filled garbage this is. And this was just the tip of the iceberg! These people can't be real, can they? Sadly, I think they are. How can people possibly think this way? I cannot fathom it. I cannot understand it. I cannot comprehend it. It's too crazy. It's too disgusting. It's too horrible. It's too scary.

I feel disappointed in the BBC in some ways. I don't advocate restricting free speech, but a lot of this stuff, as far as I am concerned, either borders on, or dives headlong into hate speech territory. I wish the BBC would take some action against some of the more extreme statements being made, but they don't seem to have an interest in doing that. Maybe that's good? I don't know. They are letting people speak for themselves and allowing be open for criticism. They should face criticism, as far as I am concerned. I just wish so many of these people didn't hate so much. I take it back, it's not the BBC's fault that these folks have such horrific things to say.

Neglegency. Is That A Word??

2010-11-23T21:39:00.002+03:00

I have been rather neglectful of my blog as of late. But now is not the time to rectify that. I am awfully tired, and I am going to sleep. I will update again...one day. It will be soon. It has obviously been on my mind if I have bothered to write this post. Until then, goodbye and goodnight.

Election Day in the USA.

2010-11-02T13:17:00.000+03:00

Dear former neighbours to the south,

You are voting today, which means the rest of the world is waiting to see what you will have in store for us in the next few years. Of course, the United States is, at the moment, the world’s sole superpower. Decisions made in Washington have a tendency to affect everyone on the planet in one way or another, and too often the effects are unfavourable. After taking a big step forward in 2008, sadly it would appear that the US is on the verge of not only taking a step back, but diving into a completely new puddle of stupidity by voting for a right wing that is getting increasingly, and scarily, farther right…and by that, I mean, WRONG. Two years ago, Barack Obama really did bring in change. After the world had to suffer through 8 years of Bush, Obama brought hope back. He has managed to rebuild bridges that were completely firebombed, bulldozed and buried by George W. He has managed to save the US from a complete financial meltdown and a major depression. He actually has some plans for getting out of Afghanistan, and has done a fairly good job of starting to get out of a badly tore up and beat down Iraq. He has at least begun to deal with Guantanamo Bay and start getting some of these guys on trial. He managed to get somewhat of a fairer health care system going in the US. He really has done an impressive job in just two years. He isn’t getting the credit he deserves and as a result, we may all end up paying the price. Please, people of the US, refrain from voting for ridiculously stupid right wingers from the Republican Party, and even worse, the Tea Party. And, worse than that, out and out Libertarians. We are counting on you America! Don’t let us down! Those on the right are bad news.

Best wishes…

A concerned citizen of the world.

Hooked on Racing.

2010-10-30T01:51:00.003+03:00

Well, I can't seem to stop playing Dirt Track Racing 2 on my computer here. It's a highly addictive little racing game! It's preventing me from doing much else on my computer, which includes writing stuff. It's not like I actually write that much stuff anyway, but I am writing even less as I'm fish-tailing around dirt tracks all across the US with my car that I have spent thousands of virtual dollars getting in top condition. I'm working my way through a few racing series until I can get myself a late model stock car and go big time! It's sort of a new career direction for me, albeit one that isn't grounded in reality. Oh well. One must follow their dream, and my dream is to dominate in the world of Dirt Track Racing 2!

Assimilate Already!

2010-10-23T19:31:00.009+03:00

So, what was it that the Chancellor of Germany, Ms Angela Merkel said last week? Multiculturalism has utterly failed in Germany apparently. Immigrants are not doing enough to assimilate, apparently. Then, what did she say? Wasn't it something about inviting all these people to come and work and toil for Germany a few decades ago, and now they just won't leave? Oh man, this was some disturbing talk from the Chancellor (what is a Chancellor exactly??).

First off, I've seen Germans in Doha where I live right now. I don't exactly see them converting to Islam, wearing thobes, and learning Arabic. I'm not seeing a whole lot of assimilation here by Europeans and other Westerners. We Westerners go places and we hardly assimilate. One constant worry that Westerners have here is "I can still get alcohol, right?" Another love of us Westerners is to complain about the lack of bacon. BACON! NO BACON! What kind of place has no bacon? I haven't met one Westerner here, or anywhere I have gone, who has assimilated as it were. If anything, it's the opposite. The world assimilates to us. The world is becoming a McDonald's eating, Brad Pitt loving, Nike wearing, Eminem listening, English speaking homogeneous wasteland (ironically, NONE of these things is German). We are still colonialists. We are not the victims. We are still on top. The world is bending to our needs! It makes life easy for me as a very Western, English speaking white guy who is pretty darn lazy. In fact, I guess I can't complain at all. I really can't. I got it darn good in this world. I have it better than darn good, I'm at the very top. How did I get there? Being born in the right part of the world at the right time with the right skin colour, surrounded by the right language. In other words, I did nothing! That was easy, let me tell you. It's hard to assimilate, which is probably why we just don't do it, us First World hypocrites. We want people to assimilate in our countries, although we don't actually have a clear definition of what that means. With the new fad of banning face veils worn by Muslims, it would appear that looking Muslim, or even being Muslim for that matter, means that you have not assimilated. Sometimes I think people feel that others have not assimilated when some one speaks with an accent, or has not managed to completely forget their traditional language and speak English perfectly. If being able to speak English well means you have assimilated, half of my hometown of Thunder Bay would be asked to leave, but they would have nowhere to go because that is where they were born....eh. They would all be loaded up on a boat and their selected leader would say "F off, eh? Like, we ain't goin' nowheres, eh. We're, like, from Thunder Bay, eh, and you gots no right to do this, eh."

Secondly, the last part of what Ms. Merkel said. This whole idea of bringing people into a country to do crap jobs that no one else would take when the economy is good, and then getting mad when the economy isn't so good anymore, and they are still there. In other words, Merkel is mad about disposable people not being disposed of, and most of these are Turks it seems. Darn people and their giving their hard work, blood and sweat for Germany and it's economic growth and then not going away when they aren't needed. Shameful! So, leave now people! Get out! But leave your kebabs. They can stay. Meanwhile, while I was living in Turkey, I would shop at a large German supermarket, a large German hardware store, and almost get run over daily by many makes of German cars. So, as long as the money is coming out of Turkey to Germany, no problem! But, if those damn, dirty Turks are going to Germany, whoa, problem! Does this just sound completely horrible to you, all of this stuff? It does to me.

Road Junky Sahara Retreat: This Looks Frickin' AMAZING!

2010-10-22T11:07:00.004+03:00

Holy jeez, check this thing out.

Here's the deal. I have been following a blog for a while now called Road Junky. It's a travel info site with country guides, advice, stories, videos and all kinds of other information for more independent travelers. I love it. There is a ton of good stuff to read. I do love to travel after all, and I do love to read what other travelers are up to. This is a great place to do it. Take a look at the site: http://www.roadjunky.com/

So, the folks at Road Junky are putting on a retreat vacation into the Sahara desert! I think this looks pretty darn cool and the price is pretty darn good, if you ask me. How good? It's just 199 Euro for five days. That's good. Face it. This includes everything, other than airfare of course. If my parents weren't coming to visit me and my family in Doha right at that exact time, I would be going. I'm looking at the breakdown of what will be going on and it sounds amazing, what with YOGA and all. Imagine, yoga, in the Sahara desert. Surreal! Read about the retreat, I think you will be impressed: http://roadjunkyretreat.com/

Want to book your spot? Why not book it HERE! Even if you don't book at this link, consider booking somehow, someway. It really does seem like an amazing experience. Why not sign up? Could be, SHOULD be, the adventure of a lifetime!

DISCLAIMER: This message has been brought to you by me. I love this road junky site and they have been really great to me. I've been enjoying interacting with them, and they have been supportive and helpful in my own writing, which I appreciate. That's why I want people to know about them, and of course this retreat.

Sick of Sick

2010-10-18T13:15:00.003+03:00

I've been sick. Very sick. Some kind of a stomach flu. I'm not enjoying it. I would like it to go away, but it will not. It keeps following me. I'm not having fun. But, I should look on the bright side: I think I am losing weight. I must be. I have eaten very little since Friday. Today is....wait, what day is it?

My Motto

2010-10-14T16:13:00.003+03:00

I'm not sure if my motto should be "everyone deserves respect, because we are all one in the same. We are human beings and no one is greater of lesser than anyone", or "all people suck". There are just some days when the latter seems far more appropriate.

Qataris in Their Natural Environment

2010-10-06T21:44:00.004+03:00

It's very easy to start feeling negative about Qatar. There are a lot of things that go on here that I really dislike. The problem is, I know there are good people here. I just have to meet them, right? This is a problem. Since I have arrived here, I haven't actually met many Qataris. I wish this weren't the case. When we lived in Turkey I met a lot of Turks, but here I haven't met many Qataris. It seems that the only contact we have with Qataris is either when they try to run us off the road, or when we see them in malls. Other than that, there is no contact. It's hard to have an accurate view of people when you don't actually talk to them. The odd encounter I have had has been very good, as I have outlined in a couple of previous blog posts. But, since then, no contact with the illusive Qatari. This is stupid. I have to meet some Qataris. I have to get to know some people and get a better understanding of what Qatari culture actually is. This is my new goal. I mean, we were in Nepal for one week and I met more Nepalese than I have met Qataris in the year I have been here. For that matter, I have met more Nepalese in Qatar than I have met Qataris. This isn't right. This isn't good. This isn't the way it should be.

Carbon Dioxide is Good for YOU!

2010-08-24T21:09:00.006+03:00

From the great state of Kentucky comes a letter from the Cadiz Record comes a scary letter from a firm believer that global climate change is a myth. Yes, there are still people who believe this, and Mr. Richard Crutchfield is one of those people.

Current heat may not be out of the ordinary for our planet

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Dear Editor:

To date, more than 31,000 American Scientists (9,029 of them with PHDs) have signed the Oregon Petition asking that Congress not waste billions of taxpayer dollars on the global warming hoax. These Scientists affirm that, “There is no convincing scientific evidence that human release of carbon dioxide, methane, or other greenhouse gasses is causing, or will, in the forseeable future, cause catastrophic heating of the Earth’s atmosphere and disruption of the Earth’s climate. Moreover, there is substantial scientific evidence that increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide produce many beneficial effects upon the natural plant and animal enviroments of the Earth.”

Geological records show that there have been fluctuations in heating and cooling temperatures for thousands of years. There have been many times of temperatures such as we are experiencing today, yet the gasoline engine, which is blamed for the so-called global warming trend, was not invented until 1870 by Siegfried Marcus in Vienna.

Long before psuedo-scientist Al Gore’s “inconvenient lies” burst upon the scene, the God of heaven promised Noah that while the Earth remains, there will be seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, that these shall not cease (Genesis 8:22). When I was a teenager in the 1950s, we had days of hot weather such as we have had recently.

Richard Crutchfield

Cadiz

I'm not one hundred percent sure how extreme levels of carbon dioxide will benefit us all, but, I guess if so many (American) scientists, some with PhD's even, say it will be so we should welcome this increase in a gas that leaves humans and other animals gasping for air as we all suffocate. There doesn't appear to be any hard evidence that may have been presented by these (American) scientists, some with PhD's even, but they do tell us that the hundreds of thousands of other scientists around the world who know that climate change is happening are wrong, without actually stating how or why they are wrong. In other words, these scientists seem to have chosen just to ignore the evidence that is out there and tell us that we should all feel very assured and stop wasting our precious time and money on this whole saving 6 billion people and hundreds of thousands of species of animals and birds thing.

Where all of these scientists (some with PhD's remember) failed, Mr. Crutchfield comes through by providing some very important hands-on observational data. Apparently, he went outside one day when he was a kid and it was hot, and that means global warming is a myth. Good work, Richard! And, THEN, to top it all off, he adds in a quote from the most scientific of sources; the bible. God will make seasons, apparently. We've had those for many years, it is true. You can't deny that. I just wish god had mentioned his preferred oxygen to carbon dioxide ratio for the earth's atmosphere when he spoke to Noah, and maybe told him what we should do when the ice at the north and south pole completely disappears. It would've helped us all a great deal.

God Loves a Winner?

2010-07-30T06:13:00.005+03:00

I don't even know how I came across this video, to be honest. I was just playing around on youtube, and there it was. So, I watched it. And, I cringed. And, now I am writing a blog about it.

Okay there, Evander. First off, I don't think god is really on your side with this one. I'm pretty darn sure that he isn't crazy about you getting into a ring to intentionally pound the snot out of someone else while others gather around, get drunk, cheer, and make bets. It just doesn't seem like the kind of thing a good god would do. The idea that a deity would be all for this makes me a tad nervous. Is this what our grand leader who art in heaven really and truly wants from all of us?? Is this the way god intended the world to be; his incredible master plan for the human race?? If so, we are all failing him miserably by not all becoming heavy weight boxers and beating people up. No, I'm sorry Mr. Holyfield, I just can't buy that god was all pumped up about this particular card. I don't think he was on the sidelines pulling for you as much as he was walking away, his hands in the air, saying "Look, you guys are on your own with this one. I don't recall telling anyone that I was okay with this. Is it in the bible? NO. You know why? Just guess. I'll give you three guesses. Who was the genius that thought up this 'sport'? When it's all done, don't call me, I'll call you."

I Hate My Generation

2010-07-23T06:27:00.002+03:00

I wrote this a while ago, but didn't post it. I haven't actually re-read it yet either. You think I would do that before I put it on my blog, but you would be wrong.....

We blew it. We blew it big time. Our generation could have done so much more, but we dropped the ball.

I saw Pearl Jam not long ago, on a giant stage flanked on all sides by giant adverts in front of a crowd of people who left me in total disgust. Boy did they look like a shadow of themselves up there. The band that fought ticketmaster, MTV and mainstream music is now a classic rock band made up of middle age men making millions of dollars. What the hell happened? Volvo was a big sponsor of the event for god sakes. Hard Rock Café, the main sponsor, sold at least 10 different styles of Pearl Jam t-shirts at their special merchandise stores throughout the festival site for something like 25 pounds each. This isn’t the Pearl Jam way…is it? It appears that now it is.

And the crowd? A drunken mess of frat boys and morons. This was the band of the counter culture at the end of the me, me, me 80's, or at least so I thought. They heralded in a new wave of going against the grain, the antithesis of Guns n Roses type rock bands, and slickly produced pop artists. And here were all of their devoted fans, drinking like they were still 19, perfectly happy going along with the massive mega marketing platform that is the modern mainstream music festival. And, the marketing was brilliant. You could get your hair dyed green by the main beer sponsor, you know, so you could re-live your wild youth when you would defiantly dye your hair to make a statement, even if you didn’t really know what the statement was. Now, there is a statement to be made, and that statement is beer company X is great, I like their beer, and they are radically alternative. You could go over to the Volvo exhibit and sit around strumming guitars with Volvo logos on them…giving that feeling of just making music with your friends while hanging out in a park, only this time when people watch you, they see how much you love Volvo’s!
The revolution was hijacked. Pearl Jam gave up. Now, they play their songs

and do their thing, and that’s it. They don’t inspire. They don’t stand up for anything. They are just another classic rock band with some good songs for kids to “rock out” to while trying to relive their old high school days. Jeremy is no longer a story song with a message; it’s a sing along anthem to get drunk to. And get drunk to it they did. When the night was over, Hyde Park was filled with green plastic beer bottle from the main beer sponsor, people were peeing in the bushes or passed out on the grass and everyone had severely lightened wallets. How very rock and roll. I hate my generation.

Pray Baby Pray!!! Why God Isn't Listening Anymore.

2010-06-21T12:20:00.005+03:00

Oh, thank goodness for twitter. If it wasn't for the otherwise useless social networking site (remember when they were just called chatrooms?) I would never have seen this fine example of Sarah Palin's mental state:

@SarahPalinUSA Gulf disaster needs divine intervention as man's efforts have been futile. Gulf lawmakers designate today Day of Prayer for solution/miracle.

Wow. Okay. Well, let us presume that Sarah Palin's version of a god does exist. I hope he or she does not, because the existence of any entity as interpreted by Ms. Palin is a scary thought.

Here is what I would imagine god saying to her call for a massive pray-fest:

"Look, you morons. I purposely hid the oil under rocks, under water, under anything I could find so that you idiots wouldn't get your hands on it. I knew that if you did, all hell would break loose. But, NO, you guys had to go poking around and start taking it out of my carefully planned hiding places. And now look what you have done with it. You have burned it to the point where people can no longer breathe, the climate is changing, and the plastic bottles you made with the stuff are choking streams and rivers. On top of that, you have been fighting wars over the stuff. I kept it away from you for a reason!!! You see why now? And, to make it worse, every time something goes wrong as a result of the oil that I took great pains to hide, but you still found and started to use recklessly, you pray to me to make it better! When people get sick from pollution, you call on me. When people head off to war to fight over it, you call on me to protect them. Now, you've gone and destroyed the Gulf of Mexico, and who do you call? Me. Of course! What do you want me to do? You caused this. I hid it as deep as I could to keep it away from you. As far as I can see, I did my part. I am not listening anymore. Good luck with it all! Find some other sucker to pray to"

At least that is what god SHOULD be saying.

What is Going on Here??

2010-06-13T20:56:00.004+03:00

I saw this report on Al Jazeera International today. It left me with a sour taste in my mouth. So, I hunted down the clip on the internet (which wasn't really that hard, to be honest). Take a look:

Now, I am not in anyway doubting that there is a humanitarian crisis in Gaza. There clearly is. However, what worries me is that the baby being shown, who is obviously suffering from malnutrition, is being cared for by what appears to be a very healthy mother. Is there something I am missing? Am I wrong? What is the problem here? How can the mother appear to be so healthy, and the child be starving?? Maybe there is an explanation. I hope there is an explanation.

Desert Rednecks?

2010-06-12T13:24:00.003+03:00

Now, being from Northwestern Ontario, I am very familiar with rednecks, and stories about rednecks doing stupid redneck things. I suppose one could say that this is a story of desert rednecks. It comes from the Gulf Times of Qatar .

Shepherd gets one year in jail over murder
By Nour Abuzant
Staff Reporter
A Doha court of first instance has sentenced a shepherd to a year’s imprisonment and ordered he be deported after serving the sentence for premeditated killing of a compatriot colleague, following a quarrel between them on who should ride the camel and a verbal dispute a day before the crime.
The family of the Sudanese victim had dropped their rights to blood money as well as any punishment and that can explain the “lenient” verdict that the accused got for such a serious crime, court sources told Gulf Times.
The victim was murdered on July 11, 2008 in the Shahaniya ranch where they worked. Both were in their early 20s.
According to the charge-sheet, “the accused hit the victim with an iron bar thrice in the head, back and chest.”
The court heard from witnesses that the victim cursed the defendant’s mother a day before the killing.
The defendant’s lawyer argued that his client attacked the victim ‘in a fit of rage’ and that the crime should be treated as beating to death and not premeditated murder.
However, the judge dismissed the claims, ruling that there was a time gap between the verbal dispute and the deadly assault on the next day.
The court added that the incident constituted a “classical case of premeditated murder.”
The court said that the suspect confessed to the charge during interrogations and told the police that the victim failed to apologise for his action (cursing) and that was the motivation for hitting him.
The judge ruled that the accused knew that hitting the victim with an iron bar on the sensitive parts might lead to death.
The judge said that he understood the anger of the accused on hearing someone cursing his mother, considering where he came from, “but the period between the dispute and the crime was enough to give the killer a chance to think calmly about the meaning of his action.”

Wow. Well, there you have it. I never knew that people could feel so passionate about riding a camel. I've seen plenty of camels in my time here, but haven't had an overly strong desire to ride any of them, let alone kill someone over wanting to ride one. Does that make me strange?

Giving Up on Israel and Palestine

2010-06-03T17:15:00.004+03:00

Well, I'm completely done with the Gaza freedom flotilla story that has been so prominant in the news as of late. You probably know the one, where Israeli commandos boarded ships headed to Gaza, and the end result was a number of dead activists. I've had it. Enough is enough. There has just been too much propaganda, too much finger pointing, too much confusion, too much crap...and not enough actual information. No more. It's useless. It's frustrating. I have no clue of who or what to believe. To be honest, I almost want to give up on the region as a whole. If these folks can't make peace, what the heck can the rest of us do?? Nothing. It's just never ending. Back and forth, back and forth, back and forth.

I feel for the people in Gaza, I really do. And I don't like the Israeli blockade that Gaza has been under for several years now, BUT, will arms be the first thing that starts flowing into Gaza if the blockade is removed? How much of the humanitarian situation in Gaza is thanks to their own government? Will Israel ever stop building settlements, using collective punishment, and using what I see as excessive force from seemingly trigger happy and overzealous soldiers? Will rockets ever stop being fired into Israel from Gaza? Will the regular people of Gaza who are just trying to survive ever get the humanitarian aid they desperately need? Will Turks who justifiably condemn the violence that happened on the Mavi Marmara, the boat in the Gaza freedom flotilla where the deaths of activists occurred, ever look at what is happening in their own country and condemn it with the same amount of vigor? Will the Turkish government even allow the kind of protests seen over Gaza happen over the plight of the Kurdish in the south east of the country? Will Israel ever come forward with the truth about nuclear weapons? Will they ever release the video and photographs taken by activists on board the freedom flotilla? Will Israel ever acknowledge their own wrong doings? Will the US ever condemn Israeli actions when they really should be condemned? Will every action that Israel take ever not be seen as unjustified by the opposing side? Will Israel ever stop playing the role of victim? At the same time, will they ever not be a victim, in some senses? Will pro-Palestinians ever not be seen and referred to as terrorists? Will the siege on Gaza ever come to an end? Will the wall being constructed around the West Bank ever come down? Will there ever be peace?

It would be nice to be optimistic, but, I'm not. I am not at all. I hate to say there is no hope, but frankly, I don't think there is any hope. There is just too much division, too much bitterness, too much hatred, too much boiling blood, too much history. This incident is just another in a LONG list of incidents. And, the rhetoric never changes. The results are seemingly all the same. And progress doesn't seem to be ever be made. It's sad, it's horrible, and it's ridiculous. But, that just seems to be the way it is.

High Seas Drama: The Slaughter of Truth by Israel, Turkey, and Pretty Much Everyone Else.

2010-06-02T12:32:00.004+03:00

You know what I'm tired of? PR folks thinking that we are all morons.

So, you may have heard about the little incident involving Israels infamous IDF, and the Gaza Flotilla headed to, well, Gaza. Nine people were killed when things went horribly wrong. What exactly happened, we may never know. But, it sure didn't take long for the "spin" to kick in as, again, PR, representatives, politicians, etc. seemingly assured themselves that we are all complete and utter idiots who will just buy anything anyone says as long as they say it enough times.

The event that happened on the Mediterranean was bad enough, but to hear the post event rhetoric has just been excruciatingly painful, and fraught with hypocrisy, over the top exaggeration, confusion, accusations and finger pointing and, for the most part, just out and out crap. Israel says it was doing what it did in self defense, and the people that were dropped onto the ships in international waters were justified in killing 9 people. Turkey's Prime Minister has called the event Turkey's 9/11 after the killings occurred on the Mavi Marmara, a Turkish ship. Turkey's 9/11?? The condemnation from Turkey is understandable and all, but completely hypocritical given their own dismal human rights record. So, as Turkey tries to spin this into the greatest disaster that may have ever happened, Israel is insinuating that these boats were essentially filled with terrorists, they had to act in self defense and the killings were justified. And WORSE, there are claims that there is no humanitarian crisis in the Gaza strip! DAMN YOU ALL! Quit talking to us as if we are complete morons and idiots! Stop with the PR propaganda. It's INSULTING! Let the facts come out, would ya? Let us get a relatively TRUTHFUL understanding of what happened! Don't keep feeding us your well planned, well rehearsed, polished and pretty prefab pablum! Let us find out the truth. I don't believe we will ever know the complete truth, but, as long as we can get all of the PR crud out of the way, we can start to piece together something relatively CLOSE to an unbiased, impartial look at the events. Just spewing the same lines over and over and over and over and over again with the belief that people will just stop questioning and accept what is being spewed out is arrogant and disgusting.

No more propaganda! And that goes for you too, big corporations, governments and special interest groups everywhere. Every time anyone tries to push their biased crap, question it. We are constantly bombarded: The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the war on "terror" in general, the killing of Tamils civilians in Sri Lanka, the crisis in Darfur, the problems in the Gaza strip, the Catholic church sex abuse...oh, the list goes on and on and ON. Toyota has a brand new advertising campaign showing how much the people who build Toyota vehicles LOVE the product they are building and care so much about your safety! It is painful to watch. They are only saying it because they got BAD publicity when they screwed up with their cars. But, they want to turn their image around and protect their "brand". Screw the brand. Protect the people. I don't want to hear about the "brand" anymore. I'm tired of PR. I'm tired of spin. Quit treating us like idiots...you idiots!!!

Everybody Insult People Needlessly By Drawing Muhammad Day!

2010-05-21T10:19:00.012+03:00

Well, yesterday was the big day....Everyone Draw Muhammad Day. And, as I do, I scoured the internet to see what was going on and what people were saying. You know, I was rather surprised. There actually WAS some good debate. And frankly SOME of the pictures were actually very well done and...*gasp*, even somewhat respectful. The majority, however, were just insanely stupid, horribly racist, and disgustingly bigoted. So were many comments left around the internet. Here is just a sampling, copied and pasted directly as they appeared on their original sites:

"***** Mohammed! This is a free country!!!!! and, I will say what I want. Censor South Park? Are you kidding me???????? This is going way to far!!!!"

Notice the stars? Ya...whatever word was there, and I presume it was fuck, was censored (not by me).

"Hahaha, I love it. Say, egc52556, were you not aware that almost EVERYTHING "sticks a finger in the eye of Muslims"? It's not like a cartoons of Mohammed can be stopped. I mean why not? the whole demeanor of the guy, the history of his antics, literally begs to be made a cartoon of, marrying a 9 year old, calling for the murder of Jews behind every rock, "No pictures of me", as if he was hiding from the "paparazzi" of the day, and then there's his promise of the "12 virgins", are you kidding me? this is a religion?. Let's hope Muslims finally get over themselves, if not, well maybe the rest of the civilized world will finally get it that Islam is a whackjob religion, as bad if not worse than Catholicism."

"Can you be a good Muslim and a good American? I doubt it."

"I'm sick of the Muslims getting preferential treatment....ooooo comedians can't mock you, but everyone else is open game."

I will now refer you to my previous posting on this blog.

"Welcome to America, stand up and take it, or LEAVE, it is that simple...take your extremest friends and go back to whatever country you came from....that is the essence of what we call "freedom of speech"."

"If anything happens to the creators of South Park, the world should go after all muslims...I'm sorry if you can't keep your extremest representatives in line, than all should pay the price..."

"Mohammed was a murderer, child molester, rapist, thief and liar, among his more notable achievements. He should be cartooned as a pig, a snake, some pestiferous vermin. He is, at present, undoubtedly much more concerned with the agonies he is suffering in Hell than with verbal or written insults. Islam is a religion of ignorance. Who in his right mind would follow a mohammedlike varmint anywhere, except to shoot it and claim the bounty?"

"The hysterical vapid extremists will scream no matter what. Let the cartoons begin."

"I think I'll draw Mohammed tomrrow... maybe I'll use some bacon as the medium."

"I think they are foolish for even suggesting they would kill anyone who drew their "god". Why? I know two things for fact. First, there are only 55,000 cops in Canada. Second, their are 33,000,000 Canadians, of which 3,700,000 are like me, a hunter; with lots of guns with scopes. You decide for yourself if killing one infidel is worth the fall out. Just a little food for thought."

"Good on you Molly Norris. Reveal through art the Muslim goat shagging wankers following the delusional ravings of yet another pediophile from a dark age. My check is in the mail."

"pbuh stands for poopy be upon him"

"I figure if the savages ever do take over, I’ll just keep my head down and continue on pretty much as I do now. It’s the gays, ecofreaks, multiculti demanders and vociferous atheists who are going to discover how the brave new world really works."

Oh GOOD, not only going after Muslims, but also adding in some gay bashing, and general hate against liberals.

"Generations of culturally proscribed first-cousin marriages have not served them well. It's like 'Deliverance', but with nuclear weapons instead of banjos. This will not end well."

"I’d draw something to show my support, but I’m not really sure I could draw a pedophile sodomite without violating some site more."

"Draw his head on a pig’s body. That will get the IslamoFascists riled up."

"Filthy ragheads should be burned for the way they think"

Isn't that sort of a veiled threat?? Isn't this what the whole day was AGAINST??

"those people can kiss my ****. go bleed all over something else liberal scum. muahahaha"

Wow, and it comes back to us darn liberals once again.

"Screw Islam. Oh, and here is a txt pic of Muhammad:

=8)

It's a pig faced Muhammad...get it?!?! Turn your head to the left...

Mulsims: Take that!!!
Rest of the world: You are welcome!!!"

"i submit that it is worth drawing muhammad ******* a pig while eating bacon and drinking vodka while watching middle eastern burka ****, LOOK OUT they're showing their wrists! what ***** "

"The beast that Islam has become will be defanged and declawed!"

yo champs...islam *****.....get real go fish...also have a BBG sandwich ******* delicious.

"mooslame lol"

"They are the scum of the earth. But I'm not the least bit surprised that Christians are running to their defense, after all, they share the same vulnerabilities and expect us to respect their bronze-age myths."

Huh?

"Islam means submission. Islam and Western Civilization are incompatible.
The time is fast approaching to decide if we will submit or fight."

"I have no respect for mooselimbs."

"Next time you read someone writing that pbuh crap, try substituting the onomatopoeia for spit in your mind. It makes it more palatable."

"In the words of the cave dwellers: “Let it be so.”"

"After saying “Mohammed”, I sometimes add “PBUH”. The “P” stands for a word that sounds similar to “peace”, but has a completely different meaning."

"Bees Piss Upon Him."

"Those with talent please draw the cartoons-mine is but a stick figure (with a goat)- and enjoy. But draw a bead on the American Leftist, traitor and Dhimmitude and show courage to our weaker brothers that they can rise to the challenge. When Mohamed and his demon worshiping hords swarmed out of the desert they swept MOST everyone out their way but only MOST. On every front the moon god ran into strong opposition from great leaders who stopped them-sometimes permanantly sometimes only for awhile. But they were often stopped.Now we need to roll them back, first sweeping the American Traitors, Dhimmitude and such out of the way. Draw a bead.

What is this even about??? I also love the persons posting signature:

"Let your sidearm be like Master Card:
Don’t Leave home without it."

"Come on, if the KKK is protected under the first amendment then stupid-ass Mohammed is *definitely* fair game."

"I wrote to the Muslim Terrorist living in our white house and told him that his silly little allah is nothing more than a figment of someone's imagination. I told him that when he will stand before the only true God, (it is written that every human being will be required to do this), his silly little allah won't be there to help him. The blood dripping from his hands for all of the innocent murdered babies will be one topic God will take up with him. What a lonely, anguished spot he will be in."

What?

Well, there you have it! Another successful day of promoting widespread Muslim bashing (and, of course, liberal bashing). So, was the day a success? Well, like I said, there was some good debate. A suprising number of comments I read on blogs and news stories were from people who didn't support the drawing of Muhammad as a protest, a sentiment I agree with. And, there was a good number of people who made very civil, very well worded posts of support for the protest.

Apparently, this is going to be an annual event. Great. We get to revisit all of this in a year! Oh GAWD!

Family Guy Fun! This Time, it's Veterans.

2010-05-18T11:55:00.006+03:00

Well, well, well. What do we have here. A fresh bit of controversy around an animated program. This time the offending show was Family Guy! It appears that Family Guy, during their 150th show, ran a clip that is considered VERY offensive to Vietnam Vets (which I can see and understand). Grab your popcorn and get comfortable! Here is the offending clip.

Wow. Okay then. So what have some been saying about you might ask? Thank you for asking! Here are a few choice words I found posted in some blogs on the subject, posted in a fine array of colour to reflect the equally colourful language:

"The creator of Family Guy Seth MacFarlane deserves a swift kick to the face"

"Veterans, from 1776 on, have giving Seth MacFuckface and his ilk the freedom to push trash like Family Guy on the public. Piss on the graves of veterans, you pathetic piece of shit. Judgment Day will come for you sooner or later, see how that works out for you. Anybody on WZ know the sponsors of this little, crappy, non-funny show? I feel it is my right to boycott the sponsors."

"Please give us a phone number, email address, something as I am not going to let this go.I am sick and tired of these little, hate-filled punks spewing their crap under the guise of “comedy” and getting away with it."

"It wasn’t even a joke. It was a verbal diarrhea – the very stinky one. I don’t know who’s watching FG. And you know what? I almost wish ill to the creators of this crap. I wish them the most grotesque scenario in their own life, when it’s too late to regret."

"Mcfarlane is just one more piece of crap to clean up when the revolution starts."

"This dirt bag goes on the pile. I hope he finds himself in the wrong place with the right people and he gives that little ‘peter’ laugh as some right thinking American vets kick the life out of him…..opps just crap wouldn’t want to be accused of inciting anything RIIIIIGHT."

"With the great job our government is doing for the economy and with the SHTF right around the corner, us veterans are going to know what to do. Libtards like McFarlane are going to be screaming like little girls when the gangs are approaching his neighborhoods to rape and rob everyone. Since libtards hate guns, they will have nothing but a dust mop to protect themselves. Yes, McFarlane is going to die a pussies death for sure!"

"Certain sacrifices are not to be made fun of for any purpose. Not suggesting censorship, but self restraint considering that if you happened to be human, you might understand how many families are still feeling the tragic loss of the Vietnam War. There is nothing funny about a war that cost 50,000 American lives. Of course, Jane Fonda, Walter Cronkite, and every other NewYork/Hollywood media Commie actively worked to raise that US casualty total by directly aiding and comforting the enemy. What a shame the same community sees fit to mock the lives their predecessors helped to destroy. Go to Hell after a painful, protracted illness, unfunny-Family-Guy-writer moron."

"Now, if they really wanted to be funny,“Vietnam! Undefeated!” Vet pulls .45. “BANG!” That’s how South Park would do it."

"Damn Shame McFarlands mother was not Pro Abortion. I want him to do a Mohammed show, so I can Post HIS Address all over the Internet…"

"Well then they’re free to speak out with an episode about the pedophile mohammed (peices of shit be upon him)...Yeah right.."

"Wouldn’t it be ‘funny’ to see Seth McFarland die just like Daniel Pearl did?"

Response: "No. It would be funny to see him water boarded with burning kerosene."

"One of these days the marxist-sociopaths will be burning in hell."

"It would have been fine if the Vietnam Vet punched the Vietnamese guy in the face while he was gloating."

"If this doesn't wake up people to what these lefty loons feel about this memorial Day represents to them,you deserve whats coming next.They are taking this country down a very slippery slop!!"

"That was rude and lacks empathy. The sociopaths that wrote & others that allowed this to air, probably don't care about my families good friends who is etched on that wall. I will have to pray to God to give me the strenght to forgive their sorry backsides. Hollywood elites are among the most per verse of the anti-American progressive movement.
Progressives are a serious cancer in America in need of a serious cure. God Save America!"

"Systemic in this sick,sick,sick,over the top sick culture we have allowed to flourish."

"We have all heard the libs and far left screech about how much they love the troops, so it couldnt be them right?"

"Whoever did this should be hung from the nearest tree."

"I wonder what if they would repeat the joke Memorial Day weekend when the Nam Knights and other motorcycle groups show up to honor the Wall and all the names on it they call a "scoreboard!""

"Crap like this is very much like burning the American Flag. Yeah, it’s first amendment protected speech but you better not do it in front of me. Or my 2 tour Vietnam Vet father-in-law."

"When someone has the gall to disrespect even one vet, they disrespect all vets! I too, did my time in the military having served a combat tour myself over in Iraq, and I’ll tell you what Mr. McFar-lame…come down to my VFW post and crack your jokes about any of our great past generations of veterans. Or better yet, if you truly have a set of cajones, take your punk ass up to the VA Hospital and show off your bulls*** to the Vietnam vets, or and other number of vets your despicable display of utter contempt for those who served.

I guarantee you wouldn’t last five minutes after we got our hands on you and had a little ‘wall-to-wall’ counseling session with you, to explain the errors of your ways. Can anyone say pitchforks?…torches?…tar-and-feathering? Mawaahahahahaaaaaaa!!!!!"

"As a proud Veteran — and of that era — I can’t quite make up my mind whether the man should be hanged by his testicles until dead or pitied for his ignorance and insults of the highest order.

Right now I’m leaning toward the former."

"If Seth had the stones to act that scene out at my local VFW and then stick around for the feedback, I'd give him some respect.

"I'd like to see the Family Guy cast part of one of those "punked" shows where the whole cast thinks they're getting an award and the limo pulls up to a VFW.

The inside of that limo would smell like a public restroom."

Wow. Well, what can I say? There you have it folks! Remember the one veiled threat to Comedy Central about South Park? Seems rather tame now, no?

South Park, SHIFT and Stupidity.

2010-05-12T19:35:00.005+03:00

Alright, alright, alright. I finally have broken down to approach a topic that has been on my mind quite a bit. It is a topic that just won't seem to go away and it's one that has me frustrated and angry.

Remember when those two morons offered up a veiled threat online to the two morons who make South Park, one of the least funny television programs I can think of? It seems the animators put Mohamed who wasn't even Mohamed in a bear suit or something, I dunno. Well, that little incident keeps raising it's head. In my view, this whole thing has been blown completely out of proportion. It really wasn't even a threat that was issued, and the two punks that did it were just, well, punks. Yet, Comedy Central DID make a big deal of it and did some fancy censorship...and then the Western world went crazy! Ironic, isn't, that this surrounded the 200th-2001st show, a large milestone for the program? After all, South Park had portrayed Mohamed in a previous episode, and as far as I know, NOTHING happened. If it did, Comedy Central didn't let anyone know then. So, why they went all crazy over it now is rather suspicious if you ask me. That's just my little conspiracy theory.

The latest stupidity that I ran across in relation to this whole deal relates to the actions of a group called SHIFT (Secular Humanists for Inquiry and Free Thought) from Northwestern University in Chicago. Now, the idea behind the groups seems pretty okay, I can't argue with them based on their title. What does get me is a campaign they held recently where SHIFT members went around the campus and drew stick figures, in chalk, of the Prophet Mohamed. Now, as we all know by now, this can be a bit of sticky subject with people. There are Muslims who get very offended by portrayals of a man who they feel isn't supposed to be portrayed. Fair enough. I mean, there is no problem with that. People who are offended SHOULD stand up and say "Hey! I'm pissed off! You have offended me!". When it gets into violence, well, that's a different story.

Now, this campaign seems to have been inspired by the whole South Park incident. They seemed to have wanted to make a statement about the narrowing of taboos in relation to free speech. They wanted to get people talking, apparently. Well, lovely. Kicking someone's grandmother in the teeth would get people talking as well, but it's not a nice thing to do. Why keep pissing people off for no reason? Because you have the right to? Oh, lovely! That's a great way for the world to run. "I CAN piss you off, so I WILL and you better be okay with that!" seems to be the message here. Come on, why needlessly hurt people, or offend them, or be disrespectful to them. Ya, sure, I can understand speaking up against those who wish to use violence when they are pissed off. I can see standing up for free speech. But, come ON, just being a dick for the sake of being a dick? Really? Has it all come down to this? If so, then we have all lost.

The problem is, no thought appears to have been put into the idea that there is a reason for people to be hurt or offended by these portrayals. You may not understand it, but there is still a reason. Does anyone care about that? Every culture has it's taboos and sacred cows. If SHIFT had gone around campus and drawn swastikas, or put up pictures of dead American soldiers, or the letters "KKK", or hardcore porn, or something, how would that have gone over? Not well, I would hazard a guess. To ignore our "Western" taboos and go straight for taboos that pertain to a particular group that you don't seem to understand, one (being ME) has to ask...why?? It seems to be a case of "Get over it Muslims! We're drawing your man! We know it pisses you off, so what are you gonna do about it, eh??" which keeps cropping up after the blown out of proportion South Park insanity. Come on. It's so childish, and stupid. You have the right to make those drawings. You are protected by law in the US to do it. That doesn't mean you HAVE to do it. So, why do it? What point is being made that hasn't already been made? Let the other idiots who are going to threaten people be the idiots. Don't resort to being an idiot yourselves! Geez! If you are REALLY interested in having people talk, in opening dialogue, in tearing down walls to freedom, or whatever, then pick some other way, like, say, talking to people, you know, like actual discussions. If you want people to talk, talk to them, don't provoke them.

What Was That Name Again??

2010-05-09T21:37:00.007+03:00

Heart-wrenching. Just heart-wrenching. When I read this letter from Arkansas' Log Cabin Democrat (www.thecabin.net), I couldn't help but think how cruel Mother Nature can be. She has a cold, cold heart.

Toad Suck Daze this year, especially on Saturday, was a complete disaster. It seems almost every year that inclement weather cancels certain festivities, like this year’s headliner concert by Clint Black. Wouldn’t it just be easier for Toad Suck Daze organizers to move the date of the festival to a less rainy time of the year?

The highest average rainfall of any month in the Conway-Little Rock area is in May. So, why have a festival when statistically it’s most likely to rain? The lowest average rainfall of any month in the Conway-Little Rock area is in August. Thus, moving the Toad Suck Daze festival to the late summer or early fall would likely be a better solution.

The Toad Suck Daze committee should take moving the festival to a less rainy time of year into serious consideration. It’s a move that would prove to be a win-win situation for all.

Julian Spivey, Conway

Toad Suck Daze?? Oh man would I like to know the story behind this festival. Clearly you can see why I am so upset. I feel for this poor girl. I mean, come ON! Toad Suck Daze being rained out?? That's just too painful to think about. All of the earthquakes this year in Chile, Haiti and seemingly everywhere else there was earth that could quake, a volcano shutting down European airspace, floods, bush fires...NONE of them compare to the "complete disaster" that was the cancellation of Toad Suck Daze events. I hope the Toad Suck Daze committee is on this. DAMN YOU Toad Suck Daze committee!

Either I'm Crazy or She is Crazy. Which One Is It?

2010-04-28T18:13:00.010+03:00

I love getting into online debates. I've been getting into these debates lately on Facebook. This story came along from the fine folks at NPR about how support for Al Qaida is fading, and it was open for comments. So, I took part in the commenting as I am prone to do. One particular commenter stood out, at least from my point of view. Here is how the conversation went, completely unedited. I just copied and pasted. You may also noticed that I have tried some fancy new formatting, including bringing this to you in COLOUR! Check it out!

Colette Aube: The basic problem which gave rise to al-Qaida in the first place still exists! We have, HOWEVER, given light to the problem and now we are faced with the problem of dealing with the mental illness which inflicts 99% of all males, that they are god, that they are superior, it's called MEGLAMANIA.

Just watch and see how this goes. Oh, and to those dittos of CHICKEN LITTLE that subscribe to that paranoia from that publisher concerning THE END TIMES and those drug dependents worried about 2012, WE SHALL SEE, WON'T WE?

ME:@Aube: Uh....what??

Colette Aube: Hi Los Chris Hearn, I can see you have space to rent, lets see if I can improve it so that somebody can move in and rent that space between your shoulders.

Al-Quaida, if ya haven't noticed, is like many Muslims and they worship the PHALLICE. Don't go an think that it's a muslim thing since phalllic worship is highly honored by xtians and jews. Matriarchy is not PATRIARCHY and the only diety that does any creating in the Western hemisphere is the Male who is distringuished by his appendage called a PHALLICE which they stick in your face so that you get the message to worship it. You, in your roll as G.I.Joe or Ken, don't see it simply because that's the only thing you know, THUS, like all menshaviks trying to become BOLSHEVIKS, you have no idea what a CALIPHATE or a HAREEM is, brothel or bordello, you can grasp but that's only because the problem has been reduced to simple fractions.

The problems with Al-Quaida are far more deeper than the absolute ignorance and disrespect that both terrorist groups, Usama bin Laden's group and George W.Bush's group, run by the same main-frame computer program the robots to say i.e. the childrens game called "He said/She said" where Muslims says it the xtians and the xtians say it's the Muslims. Look, if Usama bin Laden is part of a "royal family" in Suadi ARabia then that Roya Family has a lot of appologizing to do and if that nut case that the Egyptian prison system gave to Afghanistan and to Usama bin Laden has any say in it then the Egyptian prison system has just as much appologizing to do as those royal clucks from Suadi Arabia. The equation is Usama bin Laden = George W.Bush since they are both the exact same Ken Doll sold to society.

You can believe what you want to believe but don't spend what money I do not have on bombs that I disagreed with back in Nov. 2001 on my website when it was clear that GWB was buying votes, YET I STILL HAVE NOT BEEN EMPLOYED SO HE SHALL NEVER GET MY VOTE.

Lets see how the real estate brokers like the improvements I've made on that SPACE TO RENT between your shoulders. Then we'll take it from there

Colette Aube: (Responding to someone, although I couldn't figure out who, exactly): "They say I'm crazy but I have a good time", I never said the Al-Quaida was ded. I'm only saying that they were made from the same batch of plastic that manufactured many other GIJoe dolls and Ken dolls. I think I've made the case that you cannot seperate George W.Bush and Usama bin Laden as being different since they are the same. Somebody with my background has to constantly say tht I am no longer a conpirator involved in that conspiracy; I understand the conspiracy but I certainly do not believe in it. I would not want any person associated with BLACKWATER to be near me, however I understand their views.

You Anthony are as empty as Shunyata could possibly explain, if you even think of studying a philosophy outside your devotion to masturbation and the Vienne School of two dimensional reallity aka SIGMUND FRAUD.

Al-Quaida is like any revolutionary group. The only reason they existed was to fight the Soviets. When the Soviets left the battle, they had all these American made and American given toys of DEATH. They couldn't just sit there and ignore the only reason that they are alive. They had to find somebody to HATE

ME: @Aube. Um....what?

Colette Aube: ChrisHearn,Pssst,while you may nothave noticed but our friend THE MARLBORO MAN,aka Ron Reagan and George H.W.Bush gave birth to Al-Quiada by supplying them with the drugs they needed to satiate their grand DELUSION of superiority, stinger missiles, etc, and isn't I George H.W.Bush that lays claim to giving birth to George W.Bush? So isn't it true ... See Morethat George H.W.Bush gave birth to two brothers fighting over control of the Pop-e, I mean Poppie? Is the HATE that Usama bin Laden gives that different from the alleged luv that George W.Bush gives?

Ooops, pardon me, you remember those constant and ritual words "... as above so below...", or maybe you rely upon the version that says the same thing in the form of "...on earth as it is in heaven". Shazam! well look at that, what was the caste member saying to the Senator from Detroit today as he was questioned? The senator was speaking of an Email that this CFO sent suggesting that one of his products that he sold to a "customer" was shit, then, after the email showed he cognized the value of the product that he was selling to people was shit he turned around and sold about 1500 more of the same product. This CFO, or whatever, then turned around and said that he felt no remorse or any responsibility to the customer that he and his company, GoldmanSAchs, defrauded the public with as a means of enriching his myopic sense of reality in his ivory tower, aka STratus (see Gene Rodenberry). Funny,people have been saying that GOLDMAN SACHS is the pinacle of financial services on wall street, so we get this utter disrespect and concern for any other person from the top, from the best, or in this psuedo-heaven, formed by a caste system or maybe a fuedal system, and,being a former sailor in the USN, I can say the mantra: SHIT ROLLS DOWN HILL, where we find ourselves back at "...as above so below..." or "...on earth as it is in heaven...", do you mean to tellme that the FRAUD is obscure or oblique or hidden in some way when it is perfectly obvious. It is the same congressional record that Barry Bonds spoke on that said he "never took any performance enhancing chemicals to secure a better salary".

BSorry, children shouldn't be allowed to concern themselves with such blatantly fundamental concepts and procedures. But I imagine that you or stuck running on the wheel like a rodent or ken doll, maybe a barbie doll, and have no ability to think for yourself since you sold your brain to the corporation when you went to a manufacturing facility, university, which will give you a warrantee that enables you to be sold on the market to a corporate position.

ME: @Aube: Um...what?? I haven't been able to make sense of anything you have posted in this thread. You need an editor...badly. I am completely confused.

Colette Aube: Not surprising if/when CONFUSION is your norm. Sorry for answering, now, at this time since it's early and I just went searching for some info. I read several yrs. ago, on Yakov Leib HaKohaine's corpus, and I read, predjudiced my immediate position, w/ a work on something like "the Tikkun of animals" where he used Balem riding a donkey; the donkey ... See Morewould not pass what was perceived of as a "sign" of the "lord" but the man could not see this "sign". The donkey maintained the "will" to not pass this "sign": an example of justifying the actuality of a presence of a higher deity/power.

Why do you say that I need this or that? In this case it's "an editor" How do you know that you are without blame, that the fault, a fault, is not YOURS that you have to overcome?Why is it some other person's problem? Getting off of Western practices and going to my center of things currently, Mahayana Buddhism, why is the problem EXTERNAL and NOT INTERNAL? Why is the problem "Out There" and, in your case, NOT IN HERE? Again, I refering to a meglamania implanted within the human organism by a gang, a group, a fraternity/sorority, that you may wish to become part of or gain acceptance in and you fail to see that a foreign substance/characteristic has been placed into your AUTO-EXEC program which runs your micro-processor/mind.

Is "confusion", which you say that you possess, is this confusion the opposite of ENLIGHTENMENT? Will "knowing" cause you to feel better? Do you really have to open PANDORA'S BOX, the arch of the covenent, "door number 3", to see what's in the box, in the arch, behind the door, or do you actually need to prepare yourself better to apprehend the reality which is before your eyes, your ears, your nose, your mouth, your body, your mind? As "Morpheus" told NEAR EARTH OBJECT, I mean Neo, in the movie THE MATRIX, "I can only show you the door, you have to walk through it."

ME: @Aube. Yes...yes, it must be me, all me. It's obvious now. What a fool I have been. How could I possibly have thought otherwise.

Okay, so, PLEASE, someone tell me that I'm not the crazy one here for once.

SHOCKER: Nutcase Makes Nutcase Statements

2010-04-26T20:18:00.005+03:00

WOW. What an opinion this guy has got! What a seemingly baseless, aimless, bizarre, distorted, horrific opinion this guy has got. What's the best way to describe this guy? Unhinged is a good place to start. This was carried by Christian Newswire (http://www.christiannewswire.com/news/1127513671.html). Boy am I glad they ran it. Thanks to this I will NEVER send my child to a government run school because they are HORRIBLE. I'm just not sure why they are so horrible?? Maybe I best order his book today to find out!

Are You Going to HELL and Taking Someone with You

Contact: Gregory Thompson, 417-754-8774, gregory@asleepknowmore.com; www.asleepknowmore.com

OPINION, April 20 /Christian Newswire/ -- The following opinion is submitted by Dr. Gregory Thompson:

The government schools are anti-Christian, atheistic and pagan, and they are against God, family, and country. Do not call yourself "Christian" saying you love the children, yet have children in a government school, k-12 through college. Christian priests, pastors, and bishops hate their congregations if they do not warn their people to get out of the government schools. Pastor, you must help the parents with this issue of education. Jesus said "love your neighbor as yourself". If you do not tell your neighbors to get their children out of the government schools, you hate them instead of love them. To know this truth, and not do anything about it in your area of influence is sin. James 4:17 - "Therefore to him that knows to do good and does it not, to him it is sin." If Church or Government leaders say otherwise, it is a lie from hell.

My name is Dr. Gregory Thompson, I have been a teacher, coach, Athletic Director, Principal, Superintendent, School Board member, on state committees, and am warning you that the "Sacred Cow of Government Education" is harming the children now and for eternity. Many are trusting and ignorant, some are willfully ignorant, and many just don't know what to do.
Facts:

· Government Education helps promote a culture of immorality and death.

· We could not give your child an aspirin without calling you, yet your grandchildren could be murdered without you knowing it.

· your children will receive a much poorer education than is possible

· your children will be more likely to engage in sex and perversions.

· your children will be more likely to be indoctrinated in Sodomy/homosexuality and encouraged to experience it in Government schools

· your children will be more likely to be raped & molested

· your children will be more likely to be bullied

· your children will be more likely to be taught lies

· your children will be more likely to get an STD

· your daughters will be more likely to become pregnant.

· your children will be more likely to become selfish

· your children will be more likely to become rebellious

· your children will be more likely to kill their pre-born child, your grandchild.

· Because of some of these things your children will be more likely to commit suicide

· Worst of all, your children will be more likely to go to HELL!

Do you love the children? I will give you my book free. Please do not be willfully ignorant! "Giving Aid and Comfort to the Enemy". I ask only that you help with the cost of S&H. This book bears witness to the truth and can cause strong reactions. Email: gregory@asleepknowmore.com. God bless.

Jesus says "Not every one that says unto Me, 'Lord, Lord', shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of My Father which is in heaven" Matt. 7:21

www.asleepknowmore.com

Are you going to Hell and taking someone with you???

The Fools God Makes

2010-04-25T13:13:00.004+03:00

The Vicksburg Post of Vicksburg, Mississippi (www.vicksburgpost.com) printed a lovely, brief and utterly confusing letter on March 7th, 2010.

Global warming zealots being offered a lesson in humility

I think Al Gore and his global warming advocates were made fools of by God.

They would be wise to remember the Scripture. “If a man thinks himself to be wise, I will make him a fool so he can become wise!” What’s happening now has happened before and will happen again.

James Boone

Vicksburg

What the heck is this all about? Where did it come from? What is it connected to? What does it even mean?? Why??

Beats me! I have no clue what was going on in the mind of one Mr. James Boone from Vicksburg, Mississippi when he wrote this letter. I am wondering if HE even knew what was going in his own mind at the time.

Murdering in the Name of God: Uganda

2010-04-24T13:03:00.006+03:00

Wow. I don't even know what to say when I read an opinion piece like this. Here is a posting in the Nile Times from Uganda (http://www.thenltimes.com/apps/blog/show/2536769-homo-practice-is-unnatural-in-uganda). It is completely unedited.

What can be said? I cannot wrap my head around this way of thinking. This is a horrid interpretation of the bible, promoting murder in the name of god...and ignorance. And, even worse, it's sanctioned by the state who is pushing for an anti-homosexuality bill, dubbed the "Kill the Gays" bill by some. Fortunately, the outrage shown by the world may be at least helping to soften the bill.

Homo Practice is Unnatural in Uganda
Posted by niletimes at 12:45 AM on January 09, 2010

In Uganda and world over, there has been a lot of contentious deliberatations on the proposed Anti Gay Bill currently under scrutiny by Parliament of Uganda.

Biblically, Genesis 19: 4-11 naturally outlaws any carnal knowledge of any person against the order of nature. In the above verses, the men who had sex with fellow men were made blind by God.

Also Genesis 2:24 is to the effect that a man will leave his father and mother and is joined to his wife. And in that way, two people become one.

From the above Biblical analysis, it is a fact beyond any reasonable doubt that naturally a man goes with a woman, a bull goes with a cow, a cock goes with a hen and that is the order of nature.

In Uganda at the moment, homosexuality is outlawed by Section 145 of the Penal Code Act, Cap.120 under Unnatural Offences. This Section provides “Any person who has carnal knowledge of any person against the order of nature; has carnal knowledge of an animal; or permits a male person to have carnal knowledge of him or her against the order of nature, commits an offence and is liable to imprisonment for life”.

Therefore, the proposed Anti Gay Bill is meant to strengthen and widen the framework for implementing the already existing legislation. This is a defining Bill for our country, for our generation and for enhancing moral integrity. The Bill is by Ugandans and for Ugandans.

To fellow Africans, the choices, actions and agreements made now will determine which future becomes a reality for the young generation. It is our role to speak on moral and unnatural issues affecting our Continent.
I applaud the authority in Malawi for arresting two men last week on charges of Public indecency after becoming the first gay couple to marry in a country where homosexuality is illegal. I am reliably informed that a court in Malawi has equally denied the two bail for their own protection.

Magistrate Nyakwawa Usiwausiwa told a packed court in Malawi that he could not grant the couple a bail, saying the ruling was for their own protection. “The public out there is angry with them”. Usiwausiwa said.

Tiwonge Chimbalanga and Stephen Monjeza committed to marriage in a symbolic ceremony in southern Malawi last month, attracting hundreds of angry onlookers.

It is also recalled that barely two weeks ago, Gambian President Yahya Jammeh said Gambia is a country of believers and that such sinful and immoral practices as homosexuality will not be tolerated in the country.
President Jammeh vowed to “cut off the head” of any homosexual found in his country and also said that a legislation will be introduced, which will be “stricker than those in Iran”, with regards to such acts.

These are examples that should be emulated by all African countries to forthwith stop this moral vice that is invading our society. I cannot imagine how a man can kiss and sleep with a fellow man. This is extremely satanic! In Genesis 1:27, the purpose of God creating mankind (male and female) was for procreation and companionship among others. Can a man have children with a fellow man? What has gone wrong with the world?

As a Ugandan legislator, I support the criminalization of homosexuality because it is unnatural, unchristian, a moral and social evil. As a Parliament, we may consider revising the proposed Bill to limit maximum penalty for offenders to life imprisonment rather than execution, because it gives room for offenders to be rehabilitated.

I call upon other Members of Parliament to support this proposed Anti Gay Bill for the moral good of our society and young Ugandans.

The writer is Youth MP - Northern Region
obuason@yahoo.com

I Want CHICKENS!

2010-04-22T22:47:00.003+03:00

I was reading the posts on CBC Manitoba's Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/cbcmanitoba) when I came upon what I thought was rather an odd comment by an obviously disgruntled potential chicken owner...

chickenman (not his real name):

why can't a homeowner in any part of the city can't keep a reasonable number of chickens but our overpaid bums at city hall allow someone in river heights to keep 26 cats in her house and no rules in place for irresponsible cat owners!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yessss.....hmmmmmm. Well. What can I say?

Ahhhh, Whistler.

2010-04-22T22:26:00.004+03:00

It seems to me that about the only place on earth where you would find a letter like this would be in Whistler, BC. This was in the Pique Newsmagazine (http://www.piquenewsmagazine.com/). No date is given as to when it was published. I want to go on the record as saying that I think more letters should contain the phrase "stuck in my craw", don't you?

********************************

A little respect for others

So rarely does something get stuck in my craw, but lately I swear! Bear with me and I'll make this rant as short and sweet as possible.

I'm just guessing here but I imagine that if my friends and I climbed over your fence one night and were hanging out uninvited in your hot tub or living room you would tell us to get out and probably call the cops, you might even consider kicking my ass. That reaction would be entirely reasonable as we were trespassing on your property. See where I'm heading with this?

Last night I told a guy to "get the ^%$ out of my hot tub" and I am unapologetic about this, especially since this stranger is a repeat visitor, never brings us any beer and hasn't offered to help us with our strata fees. Whistler is always a much nicer place to live when people aren't climbing over other people's fences, taking other people's bikes and dropping litter everywhere but there's always one tool isn't there? Moving on...

There are a number of people who can not walk five metres in either direction to put a drink bottle or piece of trash in the garbage. You know who you are and you suck. I see these benevolent strollers picking up random pieces of garbage they see and I want to say a big "thank you," but obviously it must be a struggle for them to keep up with so many idiots opting to leave their garbage on the ground instead of using a bin. Whistler is so beautiful with so many bins, so I have to ask, what is your excuse?

Julie Andrews

Whistler

****************************

Oh ya! You tell 'em Julie Andrews...if that is indeed your real name!? The hills are alive with the sound of your complaints! I hope this letter makes those damn hot tub hooligans see the error in their ways!

Random Photo: Al Khor Fish Market Workers

2010-04-22T14:28:00.004+03:00

No real reason to post this photo. It's not a great photo, but I still like it. I used my fancy new Canon Rebel to take it. I'm still getting used to the camera. So far, so...well...mediocre. I'm not sure exactly what I'm doing wrong, but pictures don't seem to exactly be coming out how I would like them to. Plenty of learning still to come.

NIMBY'ers are Killing Thunder Bay!

2010-04-19T12:44:00.007+03:00

Is it just me, or does it seem that almost anytime anything, and I mean literally ANYTHING, is proposed for Thunder Bay, it polarizes the community, and in the end, it all falls apart? From snowmobile races to a stock car track, recycling depots to development on the waterfront. Why do these things constantly become a big mess?? Now, the issue is an electricity generating "wind park".

Here is a project that can have excellent implications for Thunder Bay, through jobs, a cleaner environment, and possibly the start of a new green industry in the region. Face it, Thunder Bay needs jobs. It also needs energy.

Those concerned about the negative effects of wind turbines have a right to be concerned, HOWEVER, we have been living in the midst of a coal burning electrical plant and several paper mills for years that are far worse to our health than wind turbines will ever be. As far as I can see, the project won't have turbines very close to houses. If I am wrong, I apologize. For that matter, I wonder how many of these people who are against this development for health reasons run around on snowmobiles, have motor boats, and drive big SUV's? Guess what. They aren't the best for your health either, folks.

Eyesores? Depends on ones point of view. Isn't a giant red and white smoke stack rather an eyesore? There has been a long abandoned ski ramp at Big Thunder for years and on Mount McKay there is an abandoned ski hill! People would rather look at these than wind turbines? I have flown into European cities, looking down at these wind turbines turning away on the outskirts of town and thought to myself, "This is great! We need more of this in Canada!"

The tiring outcry that is "PROPERTY PRICES!" is ridiculous. The way Thunder Bay is going, there are less and less people around to buy property. Property prices only mean something if you can sell your property. Otherwise, the value is zero! And, the assumption is that everyone who wants to buy a house would not want to see a wind turbine. That isn't true. So, lay off of the property price crap.

Thunder Bay needs to progress to survive. It will never do that as long as the city becomes so polarized each and every time a change is proposed. This project is a positive project for Thunder Bay. It must happen.

Apparently, Only Tea Party'ers Should Have a Voice

2010-04-16T15:22:00.004+03:00

I ran across this letter to the editor in the Tooele Transcript Bulletin (http://tooeletranscript.com) of Tooele, Utah, printed on April 13th, 2010. Again, I felt the need to comment! Soooo, I did.

______________________________________________________

Cartoonist Shows Skewed Opinion

On March 30, your cartoonist, John Christian Perkins, once again showed that he doesn’t deserve the right to be published. More than once he’s shown that he thinks more of his own skewed opinion than he does the facts or the feelings of others. The Tea Party is a valid group of concerned citizens who believe that government spending is out of control, and there’s a general disregard for our great Constitution in D.C. The Tea Party has clearly articulated concerns that most of us share. They’re everyday citizens who give their time and resources attempting to change the direction of a “runaway” Congress and White House administration. One of the things I love about our current form of government is the right of law-abiding citizens to try to make a difference in our nation’s affairs. I am not a part of the Tea Party groundswell, but I believe they’ve been very respectful in their actions. I am offended by Perkins’ direct attack on the character and thoughtful process of those in the Tea Party. I’m also offended by the Transcript allowing such a caustic attack. When you first came to the Transcript, you said that you were going to change the tone of the “Letters to the Editor.” You did not believe that name-calling and caustic comments were appropriate. I agree with that. Perkins’ cartoon appears inconsistent with your stated goals for the Transcript, and I ask you to reconsider your association with him.

Jon McCartney

Tooele

_______________________________

Here is what I had to say to Mr. McCartney....
_______________________________

Hmmmm. Wait a minute here. It sounds like Mr. McCartney is not familiar with the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, a document that those in the Tea Party hold so close and so dear as they remind us time and time and time again.

Truthfully, Tea Party-ers are making their own bed to lie in. Sure, there are some good people involved with the movement who care about the United States and it's future. But there are also, unfortunately, a good number of "bad apples", as the saying were, and these folks are tarnishing the groups standing among many. It is not accurate, and is in fact insulting, to paint a rosy picture of the entire group.

John Christian Perkins has fulfilled his role as an editorial cartoonist perfectly. He did what he should do. He created a satirical visual representation of his opinion. He appears to have stirred up some debate, has prompted people to think, and has entertained. Good job, Mr. Perkins! I don't see any reason why he does not deserve to be published. He is an excellent artist and has a keen sense of news and politics. To call on the Tooele Transcript to stop printing his cartoons is, again, insulting. A good newspaper presents a wide range of ideas. Not every reader will like what they read. That's the way it is in a free nation. To debate his point of view is perfectly fine. Calling for his voice to be silenced is shameful.

Chris

___________________________

THERE! I said it, dammit! Man that letter made me angry. Boy did it make me angry. Did I mention how angry it made me? It made me ANGRY I tell ya!

TAKE THAT, Pastor LaFleur!

2010-04-16T12:58:00.005+03:00

Here is a letter to the editor from the Southwest Daily News of Sulphur, Louisiana (http://www.sulphurdailynews.com/). It was printed on April 7th, 2010. I took the liberty of responding to it on their website, and here is the letter and my response. In it, I play the role of an American.
_________________________________________

I have sympathized with the scores of people who have had their cars go out of control and speed away with them, leaving them fearing for their lives. I can’t imagine the panic they must feel… or maybe I can. Our federal government is out of control. Our constitution prescribes a representative form of government. Our sense of security is based on the fact that we are “in control” of the direction of our country. We decide, inform our congressmen, and laws are made accordingly. But, when Congress is out of control and acting on its own accord the system goes completely out of order. At that point, we no longer have a representative government. We have a “bureaucratic dictatorship,” an oligarchy. The will of an “elite class” determines the direction of our country, the course of our lives, the welfare of our families, the status of our economy, and the success of our professional lives. When the people of America have used every means available to communicate our wishes to our representatives and our message is downplayed, dismissed, or totally ignored, we are in a defective Toyota with a mind of its own, determining our fate, and giving no thought to our right to control.

Pastor Larry LeFleur,
Sulpher, Louisiana
___________________________________________

And here is my comeback....
___________________________________________

This letter makes me angry, quite frankly. Mr. LeFleur, your views DON'T reflect those of all Americans. There are a whole range of opinions across the nation for government to consider.

I am not one hundred percent sure what you are referring to when you speak of feeling out of control. I can only assume that the health care issue is at the forefront. You must understand, sir, that there are MILLIONS of Americans who have been fighting for health care for years. To say that the government isn't listening is false. Frankly, I am tired of that rhetoric. Just because they passed a bill that you aren't in favor of doesn't mean that they aren't listening, it means that they have taken into the account the needs of others with differing views than yours in our society. You can't have everything you want all of the time. This isn't registering with too many people at the moment. You aren't the only one in America, and your voice isn't the only one out there. Please understand that.

Chris
______________________________________

I'm pretty happy with that response, now that I look at it. I mean, I don't want to toot my own horn. But, I expressed some thoughts that I have been feeling for a while as I have watched what has been happening in domestic politics within the US. It was nice to get it off of my chest.

WWJD??

2010-04-15T23:17:00.004+03:00

The Ledger-Enquirer newspaper of Columbus, Georgia (http://www.ledger-enquirer.com) received this letter which they printed on Thursday, April 8th, 2010.
_________________________________

House defiled

Congressman Bishop tried to blame Jesus for his own decision to vote for a catastrophic bill, but if Jesus did go to Washington, D.C., and step into the House chamber, I believe Jesus would be turning over tables and desks everywhere to run off the money exchangers.

Hal Kirven

Columbus

__________________________________

Now, I'm not an overly religious guy, BUT, I'm thinking that Jesus wouldn't do what Mr. Kirven believes he would do. Jesus doesn't seem like the kinda guy who would turn over tables and desks. I could be wrong. Maybe this is a reference to some sort of biblical event that I don't know of? Highly possible.

Al Gore, Chile, Irena Sendler????

2010-04-14T23:12:00.007+03:00

OH MAN! I just hit the cream of the crop when it comes to wacky letters to the editor thanks to the Columbus Packet in Columbia, Mississippi. (http://myweb.cableone.net/columbuspacket/letters.html). But this one, of all of the letters, is the one that got me scratching my head the most.

________________________________

Editor:

Where is Al Gore when we need him? Where has all the Global Warming gone that he became filthy rich going around the world preaching about? Well, most of the warmth has gone South, in fact, way down South-like below the equator.

I remember my first trip to South America. It was mid Summer here but when I landed in Santiago , Chile, I discovered it was winter there. Since I didn't have winter clothing with me , guess who didn't leave the Hotel except for the trip back to the airport.

I think Mr. Gore owes the whole world a loud apology and then return the Nobel prize along with all the "cold cash" which should have been given to the most deserving person, Irena Sendler.

Raymond Gross
Columbus
____________________________________

What?

Can I See That License of Yours??

2010-04-14T22:46:00.005+03:00

From the Letters to the Editor section of the Orlando Sentinel of April, 6th, 2010 (http://www.orlandosentinel.com/) comes this letter of complaint:

___________________________________

Osceola hospital needs to remedy parking ills

I am 87 years old, disabled, seriously arthritic, and require the aid of a walker to get around. Several times I have had to park at Osceola Regional Medical Center, and each time has been a nightmare.

Not only can I not find a disabled spot — because there are so few — I have never been able to locate a parking place anywhere near the hospital entrance.

On a recent visit it took me 22 minutes to walk from my car to the entrance.

I am required to go to Osceola Regional Medical Center for treatment, as ordered by my doctor, periodically. Other hospitals provide either valet parking, or have extended golf carts patrolling the parking lot to pick up and drop off the people.

Why can't Osceola Regional Medical Center do the same?

Donald A. Cameron, St. Cloud
_______________________________________

Now, I am all for independence for senior citizens. HOWEVER, given what this guy wrote, I'm thinking he probably shouldn't be driving, and therefore shouldn't be parking! Eighty seven years old, arthritic, disabled, and needs a walker!? I'm thinking that someone at the DMV was either paid off, or just didn't care about their job on the day he walked in for a license renewal. I don't mean to judge the guy, but, he doesn't exactly build up his competency level very well here. Best of luck to him...and to everyone else on the road when he's driving!

DOCTOR Becker, I Presume?

2010-04-13T22:24:00.006+03:00

I can't figure out if this guy is a half full or half empty kinda guy, and when I say that, I mean...IN HIS HEAD!

Here is a letter to the editor from my hometown paper, The Chronicle Journal, in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada (http://www.chroniclejournal.com/includes/datafiles/print.php?id=256703&title=Why%20I%20don%E2%80%98t%20support%20the%20cancer%20industry) from Tuesday, April 13th, 2010. It goes as follows:

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From www.chroniclejournal.com

Letters to the Editor
Why I don‘t support the cancer industry
Sunday, April 11, 2010

Summer is just around the corner and so is the Walk for Cancer and the Run for Cancer and a multitude of requests for donations to help the cancer industry find a cure for cancer.
This multi-billion-dollar-a-year industry has been operating for so long that employees have been retiring after comfortably working their entire lives in it.
So, please leave me off your request list because I refuse to support the search for a cure.
There is no cure for cancer!
After spending billions of dollars a year for more than 60 years, if there were a cure for cancer, don‘t you think they would have found it by now?
How many decades must we search before we finally admit there is no cure and there are better areas to research?
We need to spend less time and money looking for a non-existent cure and put more emphasis on earlier detection, education, prevention and treatment.
Look at our archaic treatment methods – surgery, chemo and radiation. These treatments haven‘t changed for more than half a century.
The objective of these primitive treatments is to poison the body almost to the point of death so that the weaker cancer cells are destroyed and hopefully the body recovers. Sometimes, it doesn‘t and even when it does the results can be extremely debilitating and painful. Is this the best we can do after more than half a century?
For decades we‘ve known that cigarette smoking kills half of all smokers and yet we still allow the sale of cigarettes. That‘s insanity! We need to help smokers stop smoking.
We know that exercise, weight control, better diet and screening can reduce cancer by more than 50 per cent so why are we wasting time and money looking for a non-existent cure?
Cancer has always been with us – it‘s found in Egyptian mummies and dinosaur bones. It cannot be eradicated but it can be drastically reduced.
Cancer industry spokesmen tell us that we are making great strides and that cancer patients are living longer. Yes, they are living longer not because they found a cure but because of better education, prevention and earlier detection. That‘s where we need to spend our money. And, we need to develop better than primitive treatments.
You might think I‘ll change my mind if I get cancer. Wrong! It‘s not a matter of if I get cancer; it‘s a matter of when. You see, three of my grandparents died of cancer (we aren‘t sure about the fourth), both of my parents had it and my father died of it. If nothing else kills me, my chances of dying of cancer are 100 per cent. That‘s why I won‘t contribute a cent to searching for a non-existent cure. I‘ll start contributing when the majority of research is directed toward education, prevention, earlier detection and better treatment. After all, my life depends on it and so might yours.

Gerold Becker
Thunder Bay

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Well, Dr. Gerold...and I PRESUME that you are a Doctor, seeing as you seem to know it all, you frickin' know it all. Where do I even START! Well, let's start here. As someone who has had cancer, and has been cancer free for many years now, all I can say is...SHOVE IT UP YOUR FRICKIN' BUTT! That is exactly what happens to me every year or so. I had colon cancer. I get regular colonoscopies. They have been saving my life. When my grandfather got colon cancer...HE DIED. There were no other options. Obviously the billions Dr. Becker speaks of has gone to SOMETHING. For example, genetic testing, to see WHERE the cancer comes from and what can be done about it and how the future might be different for later generations of my family, and others. I've been involved in that ever since I was diagnosed with colon cancer. After surgery, I did have chemotherapy and am DAMN GLAD I did! Why? Because it saved my life. Sure, it wasn't fun, but, gosh darn it, neither is dying, you bone head! And, thanks to research, they have been figuring out how to best administer chemotherapy to do the most good for the least discomfort...DR. BECKER! So, that money is just being thrown out the window making lives like mine BETTER. When I was having my chemo, I was part of a trial drug program, to test if a new medication could FURTHER help folks like me. But, apparently, nothing has changed in over 50 years, according to DR. FRICKIN' BECKER! Apparently he feels that more money has to be spent on education and prevention. No kidding, Doc! You don't say? Hey, have you not looked around to see that this is happening!??? Maybe he hasn't noticed all of the breast screening programs that have sprung up as just ONE example? Maybe he hasn't watched, sayyyy, a television in his lifetime. You will find plenty of information on that thing, DR. BECKER. I presume the guy doesn't have the internet. No, couldn't. If he did, he could possibly look this shit up and actually know what the heck is talking about. Perhaps his head is stuck so far into a pit of vomit that he doesn't realize the efforts that are being made by many cancer charities in doing EXACTLY what he blabbered on about (you know, the education thing, and the prevention thing) WHILE giving cash to those trying to figure out how to find a cure. Sorry Mr. pessimist Dr. BECKER! You are SO right. We should abandon all hope, especially now when there IS progress being made, because you can't be bothered to actually research and find out that, yes, indeed, there IS progress being made. More and more people ARE surviving, and living longer lives cancer free. Sounds pretty good to me. Would this have been possible without research? Mmmmmmmmmm. According to DR. FRICKIN' BECKER, no! I beg to differ. I HAVE been on the receiving end of the progress that is being made. Thank GOODNESS for the donations that have gone towards cancer charities and such. What I think DR. FRICKIN' BECKER should do is read a book or something, and maybe learn about what is going on around him! It is clear he hasn't done this. What kind of Doctor IS this guy, anyway??

Crying Over...You Guessed It!

2010-04-12T21:55:00.004+03:00

The latest traffic news from the Crewe and Nantwich Gaurdian in the UK (http://www.creweguardian.co.uk/li/traffic.in.Crewe/?ref=ltp) as of April 12, 2010 at 10:00pm Doha time....

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A534 Wheelock
Both ways between Crewe Road and Houndings Lane
Last updated 39 minutes ago
Road cleared and traffic returned to normal, spillage of milk cleared and recovery work completed on A534 both ways between Crewe Road and Houndings Lane.

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I cried.

Damn Kids and Their Baggy Pants....AGAIN!

2010-04-12T17:02:00.003+03:00

Crazy punk kids.

From the webpages of North Bay, Ontario's baytoday.ca, comes a harrowing tale from the North Bay Police Department's "Beat" from March 30th, 2010.

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On the 29th of March at approximately 8:45 PM it is alleged that a female was walking on Johnston Rd. listening to her IPod when she was suddenly accosted by a lone male. This male then grabbed her silver coloured IPod and as the victim tried to keep her ear plugs she was pushed to the ground. The attacker then fled westbound to a nearby van and left the area. The victim remembers having seen the van pass her before the attack and it is described as being an older model Caravan, burgundy or maroon in colour with grey bottom panels. She also described the van as being noisy and “clunky”. The attacker is described as being white, 6’ tall, slim build with short brown hair and longer in the front. He wore baggy bottom blue jeans, a dark coloured ECKO hoodie and beige shoes.

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I have taken the liberty of highlighting the parts of this story that made me, literally, laugh out loud. First off, indeed, the immediate thing you should consider saving when having your ipod stolen, is the earphones! Ipods are a dime a dozen. Earphones, however, are rare as gold. Noisy and "clunky"? Well, that's just plane hilarious. I'm surprised they didn't say something like "It went chug, whirrrrrrrrr, zing, pop, chugga, chugga" or something equally as descriptive. It's a petty, stupid thing to bring up, but it DID make me laugh, I cannot lie to you. Knowing Northern Ontario as I do, I am positive that noisy and clunky sums up the sound a vast majority of vehicles in the region make. And, of course, the baggy bottom jeans! Who else would steal a girls ipod but a kid in baggy jeans, I ask you?? Damn kids and their baggy pants, always causing trouble, stealing ipods and kicking puppies! Speaking of stealing, I wonder how many songs on that ipod were illegally downloaded? I'm just saying, that's all.

Fortunately, there is a happy ending....

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This coming Sunday the 4th of April Constable Sue Solman will facilitate the presenting of an iPod to the woman that was robbed of one yesterday.
We had released that this women had been robbed on Monday the 29th of March at 8:45 PM while walking on Johnston Rd.
This release prompted a concerned citizen to call the officer in question and offer a substitute iPod.
This will be facilitated on Easter Sunday by the officer.
Any media agency that wants an opportunity to have photos and a possible story on this are requested to call the officer direct at 497-5555 on Sunday the 4th of April.

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That's the kind of thing that you won't see happen in the big city folks! After reading this, my faith in humanity has been restored....but I still hold on to my hatred of those DAMN KIDS and their BAGGY PANTS!!!!

Crazy Kids and Their Baggy Pants!

2010-04-11T18:07:00.003+03:00

Skimming through the internet, I came across this piece in the Manotick Messenger (http://www.manotickmessenger.on.ca/). It was written by a fellow named Jeffery Morris. His column is entitled "From the Other Side". I am grateful to him for writing this, for I no longer feel quite as square as I did prior to finding this. Now, I am presuming that he has written this with his audience in mind. And, based on that assumption, I'm guessing his audience isn't very youthful. That is the only explanation I can think of. Not that I intend to be mean spirited here. I liked this column. It cracked me up. That can only be a good thing.

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Street cred, mall cred, no cred

“Pants on the ground, pants on the ground.
Lookin’ like a fool with your pants on the ground.
With the gold in your mouth, hat turned sideways,
Pants on the ground.”
Larry Platt, 2010 American Idol audition contestant and YouTube sensation

There is nothing quite like the experience of clothes shopping with teenage boys.

Okay, I couldn’t even begin to imagine the horrors of clothes shopping with teenage girls. But at least most girls have an idea what to look for. Perhaps, at times, appropriateness is not at the forefront of their priority list, but at least most of them know what look to go for.
With boys, well, most don’t have a clue. I know this, because when it comes to fashion, I don’t either. I never have. I never will. I have been stuck in this rut for about 30 years. And now, with teenage boys of my own, the number of fashion dufuses on Planet Morris has tripled.
So, I went on a scouting mission for them. I was at the mall – one of those big city type malls in Ottawa.

What is out there for a kid beyond a pair of jeans and a hoodie?
Well, not much.

I watched kids walk by me. They were the mall people. They hung out in the food court. They loitered around the cell phone accessory kiosk. They sat and texted and downloaded iTunes and they twittered and skyped and they talked about apps.

So I kind of watched them and even kept tabs on which stores they went in. They definitely had a look. I’m not sure what the look was. It was like there was a moat between the kingdom of hip-hop and the land of skateborders, and these kids were stuck on a raft in the middle of it.

The New York Yankees’ designer hats were on sideways, and the chains around their necks had dog tags which were worn on the outside of their seemingly too small t-shirts. Two of them had the elastic waist bands from their boxers peeking out above their low-slung jeans. The crotch of their jeans was somewhere down between their shins. A couple of them had loosely fitting hoodies over the shirts, but they weren’t anything like the grey hoodies with a simple Nike logo like my kids would wear.

“Call yourself a cool cat with your pants on the ground.
Walkin’ downtown with your pants on the ground!
Giddy-up, Pants on the ground.”

I came home, wondering if there was something beyond simplicity for my boys. I don’t want them to look like punks or to look like they would call all of their friends “G”. I don’t want them to look like they belong at a 50 Cent concert.

I just want them to look like who they are.
Regular kids.

I was just about to go on a rant about this when I saw something interesting on a U.S. news channel.

In New York, where this look is said to have originated due to what may or may not be an embargo on body-length mirrors, a state Senator is personally attacking the pants on the ground look.
Senator Eric Adams has purchased ads on two Brooklyn billboards with more on the way to promote his “Stop the Sag” campaign. Adams, a retired cop who is African-American, has also made an online video and claims “You can raise your level of respect if you raise your pants.”

The look, which has been popular since the 1990s, originated from the hip-hop and urban fashion scenes. It has been hotly debated throughout the U.S. at council meetings, school board meetings, on TV programs like Dr. Phil, and has even gone to courtrooms. The Dallas School Board embarked on a “Pull Your Pants Up” campaign in 2007, and last year, a St. Petersburg, FL high school ordered thousands of plastic zip ties for students to hitch their pants up. Bill Cosby attacked the look at a civil rights rally in 2004, saying that it gave black youths a negative portrayal as a demographic. Even the President, Barack Obama, slammed the look in a 2008 interview and speech.

Mark-Evan Blackman of the New York Fashion Institute of Technology, says the low-slung pants look is derived from the unbelted and oversized look of prison uniforms. The look was initially a symbol of street credibility. The style quickly spread from inner cities to suburban malls, both in the U.S. and Canada.

It makes you wonder. If the once street cred look is considered to be the look of a gangsta thug prison inmate and it is considered to be embarrassing for an entire culture and demographic, then how and why are we allowing our youths to emulate this look and give it, well, mall cred?

As I have been guided out of fashion purgatory this year, I have learned that pleated pants make me look 30 pounds heavier and that there is a world beyond pastel-coloured golf shirts and a five dollar haircut. For my kids, maybe a pair of jeans and a hoodie isn’t such a bad look for them? Maybe I’ll surprise them and get them a t-shirt. I’m not sure who Justin Bieber is, but I’m sure that they would love these matching tops with his face on them.

Just kidding.

Pants on the ground.

Jeffrey Morris was the 2008 OCNA Columnist of the Year. His book, From the Other Side: It's No Use Sacrificing a Chicken if You Can't Read the Entrails, is available at Videoflicks and the Manotick Messenger offices, and online at www.canadabooksonline.com.

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Crime Reporting.

2010-04-11T12:04:00.003+03:00

A few days ago, I was reading a story in the Toronto star about a shooting in Times Square, in lovely New York City. You may have heard of the place? Anyway, in the report, it said, "Overall, crime in the city continues to decrease despite an uptick in murders, felony assaults and rapes."

What was that again? First of all, I can't say I have ever heard the word uptick before. But, most importantly, if murder, rape and assault went up, what crimes went down?? Those three are kinda the big ones, no? Put it this way, they are the ones that concern ME the most. I'm not so concerned about jaywalkers or people sticking gum on subway seats. I AM concerned about being murdered! I don't think I am the only way who shares that sentiment, am I right?

Vote BNP for Britian!

2010-04-09T15:05:00.004+03:00

It has been brought to my attention, through the grapevine that is Twitter, that as of 3pm on April 10th, 2010, the British National Party's twitter bio reads as follows:

"The British National Party exists to secure a future for the indigenous peoples of Great Britian."

Yes, indeed. The British National Party spelled Britain wrong. I repeat, the BRITISH NATIONAL PARTY spelled their beloved country's name incorrectly. Shall I repeat that again? No, I don't think it is necessary.

I think it might be time for the BNP to get a new PR person. Better yet, maybe it would be better for the party to get out of politics altogether.

All Heart Maintenance. Part II.

2010-04-06T20:57:00.004+03:00

Yesterday, I made a blog entry about the Chris and Karleena Perry "letter incident" in St. Albert, Alberta, and the craziest thing happened:

People read it!

Three hundred or so people visited my blog, if not out and out read it. This was a new experience. I am used to having maybe one or two people read what I write in these pages. Ten readers would have been amazing. Three hundred? To me, that's the equivalent of being in a rock band and filling up a stadium!

But, I realized something as the result of seeing that so many people took a gander at my thoughts on the subject. I look at some of the words that I wrote about the Perry's, in particular, the nonchalant way I talked about boycotting their business, and I see it in a different light. It has a new meaning now. Do I think that by me writing that people will run out and boycott their business? I hope not. I don't think so. I don't think anything I write has that power. I'm not the Pope (thank goodness)!

I disagree with what the Perry's wrote, to say the VERY least. I was critical. Others have been critical. But, do they deserve to lose their business over this? I don't think so. It's unfortunate that they feel the way they do. I spoke out. That should probably be the end of it. I don't wish them ill will. I don't want to be vengeful towards them, and I sure hope that there has been no threats against made by anyone else at all. Yesterday, I feel that I might have got caught up in wanting to be mean to them for coming across so mean in their letter. In other words, I felt vengeful. That isn't right, is it?

I also feel a bit bad about even mentioning their children. I do hope that they will not feel the way their parents seem to. But, I also don't want to see them caught up in this whole deal. That isn't really fair, is it? I hope they aren't being implicated in this at all. I hope it isn't personally affecting them. Even when I say "the Perry's"....is that right? I mean, it is, technically...but, does that imply that I feel the whole family should be criticized? No. Chris and Karleena are the ones who wrote what they wrote, not the kids. So...sorry kids, if I did what I now know I didn't want to do.

There are many reasons that I have felt so passionately about this letter and what was said. I could go on about why, but I won't. But, ever since I read the letter, I have thought and thought...and thought about it. It angered me, it surprised me...shocked me...upset me. That is why I wrote about it yesterday. That is why I write about it now. I may write about it more, who knows. I may do that because it touches on my current situation...the place that I find myself right now in the world. It hit very close to some issues that I have been dealing with, and thinking about, and analyzing, and OVER analyzing in my brain.

Funny world, it is. A letter written in St. Albert, Alberta, in a small newspaper can have such an impact on a guy on the other side of the world. For that, I am glad that the St. Albert Gazette printed that letter, and, I guess, glad that the Perry's wrote that letter. What an odd turn of events, no?

All Heart Maintenance?

2010-04-05T13:23:00.004+03:00

Time to add my voice to a controversy that has hit the place I was formerly a resident in: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The following is a letter written to the editor of the St. Albert Gazette by Chris and Karleena Perry, owners of the All Heart Maintenance company in St. Albert, Alberta, just outside of Edmonton. Keep in mind the name of their company as you read the letter.

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Higher-earning families part of St. Albert's appeal

April 03, 2010 06:00 am

In the past few months it has become apparent to the people of St. Albert that a proposed project by Habitat for Humanity has been planned for an area of Akinsdale. At first word of this my wife and I had no comment as we believed this would not affect us, but as time wears on we have come to realize that this is an issue that will affect all St. Albert residents.

My family and I are homeowners in a new development in Kingswood. We moved our family and business to St. Albert so our children could have what we believed would be a better upbringing. The list of amenities made the decision easy; some examples are good schools and programs (not so crowded), low crime, a higher standard of living, great recreational possibilities and numerous other aspects. Every example owes itself to one major factor: high or above-average income.

The average family income for St. Albert is higher than in Edmonton or any other area municipality. We moved to St. Albert because we can afford it and we deserve it. This is a great city with great families. We feel comfortable joining in activities we would not have considered in Edmonton.

This development is a bad idea for St. Albert for both current residents and the people who will occupy the new development. Current residents will have to deal with the likeliness of children influenced by crime in our schools and adults in our community. Our cost of living will increase as we will have to pay for low-income subsidies due to higher school fees or other taxes. We won’t feel comfortable taking our kids to activities like movie night in the park or other St. Albert events for fear that there will be unruly families. We can assure each other that measures will be taken to prevent this influence, but that’s not what we want.

We don’t want a police presence at family outings. We don’t want to worry about drugs at elementary schools or gang fights at the high schools. We don’t want to worry about people speeding, possibly hitting our kids, or having to increase our police force. What we want is for St. Albert to remain as it is with very few low-income households, a place for families that work hard to live here. You can say we will screen to make sure those families won’t make the cut, but there is no level of pre-screening that will prevent some form of crime from infiltrating the proposed development. It will happen, guaranteed.

This will start a landslide of things that will turn southeast St. Albert into a low-income area instead of middle class. Low-income families will have difficulty up-keeping the proposed development, and in turn it will bring down the value of the surrounding houses. This sounds unjustified; look at some of the Habitat for Humanity developments in Edmonton where this has already occurred.

This development will be hard for the families moving in. Being low income will make it difficult for children to be accepted in local schools. Like it or not, the children of St. Albert are high-standard children and have no place for low-income classmates. When we first moved to St. Albert our teen had a hard time fitting in because of money and it was hard on him. Now he is good, but it did not go away with just a loving hug — his status was accomplished once his friends saw our house and other possessions. It sounds cruel but that is how it is; ask your children, they will tell you.

Sports activities in St. Albert are another problem area. Sure the base costs are the same as other areas, but the teams here expect more financially from families. In Edmonton there are recreational activities at the YMCA; there are no subsidies for families in St. Albert, nor do we want to pay for it. Our family membership to Servus Place is $1,300 a year plus costs for Fountain Park and other activities, but we can afford it. Putting low-income families in this situation is not reasonable or fair — it would be like giving a new car to someone that can’t afford the gas. They would be better off with a bus pass. I am all for low-income housing in Edmonton. I believe more independent living housing is required in St. Albert and would be better suited than this proposal.

Chris and Karleena Perry, St. Albert

http://www.stalbertgazette.com/article/20100403/SAG0904/304039974/-1/SAG09/higher-earning-families-part-of-st-alberts-appeals

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What the fuck were these people thinking!? Well, it's clear what they were thinking, they wrote it out in black and white what they were thinking, and now we all know what they think.

Now, heck, I know the whole free speech deal will come up, as it should. These folks have every right to express how they feel. Now it's our turn, as the readers of the above article to express how we feel.

It's sad. It is sad that these folks feel this way. It is sad to know that this is the way they see the world. It doesn't do much to instill faith in humanity. What HAS restored my faith, however, is the outpouring of frustration, anger, and disapproval this letter has been met with.

I will be honest. I don't know these people. They may be nice folks. Who knows. Based on this letter, and this letter only, I cannot imagine that they would be good folks. And, I am concerned that they are part of the problem. Here is my concern. They own a company called All Heart Maintenance. First off, that name just doesn't suit anymore. How about Bigot Maintenance. That works! How about Two Complete And Utter Assholes Maintenance. I like the ring of that. By the All Heart part has to go. Sorry.

That is the minor issue, however. More pressing is the type of business this is, and knowing that maintenance companies don't have a good record of paying staff very much, I do question...what ARE they paying their staff? Chris and Karleena seem to be doing well...they point out this fact to us very clearly. That's nice. What about the people that work for them? How are they coping? If they aren't being paid very much, I would question how well they are coping. If they aren't paying them well, what does this mean? Doesn't this mean that they are adding to the "problems" that they have talked about in this mean spirited letter? Would they want the people they employ living in the same city as them? If their employees aren't making the big bucks, it sure doesn't seem like it. So, what does this say? Well, to me, it says lesser humans, as determined by the Perry's, are made to serve rich folks and then be pushed out of the way, out of sight, out of mind and out of one's hair. Lovely. I'm sorry Chris and Karleena, but in my view, you guys deserve every bit of criticism and backlash that you are getting.

Free speech IS important. But, so is facing the consequences of that free speech. That is what is happening, by the sounds of it. Personally, I call for a boycott of All Heart Maintenance, as others have. Sounds fair. Sounds fitting. Mind you, if you agree with the sentiments put forth by the Perry's, you may be considering hiring them! Good luck with that. Hope it works out for you. I'm sure their employee morale has been boosted by this episode, and you'll get some great work out of them folks.

Well, that is my rant on the issue. Is there more to say? Oh, you bet. I could ramble on and on and on and on about this. But I shant. I'll just end by saying, oh Chris and Karleena Perry, it is so sad, SO sad that you see the world in such a way. I hope your son doesn't pick up your way of thinking. I hope that there will be hope for the next generation of Perry's.

SMALL ADDITION: Here is a good blog discussion about this incident. The post is excellent, and a lot of good comments were made. Reading it made me feel that maybe I was a bit harsh, maybe? Wellllll...maybe not.:)

http://www.albertadiary.ca/2010/04/how-embarrassing-st-albert-finds-itself.html

Why, Old Lady, Why?

2010-03-14T12:05:00.003+03:00

Why, exactly, did the old woman feel that she needed to swallow all of those other things?? Swallowing a fly isn't really that big of a deal. It would have dissolved in her stomach acids, and that would have been the end of it. Why she felt the need to intervene in such a dramatic way does not make sense. Could she not see where it was all going? I mean, she did do pretty good. She got as far as the horse before she died. That's a major accomplishment and should qualify her for some kind of an eating record. But, come on, did she really expect to be able to swallow a horse and live to tell about it? She must have been a bit senile. Maybe she should have been in a home, is all I'm saying. She probably shouldn't have been left on her own. There is a valuable lesson in here, I believe. If you have an elderly loved on who feels the need to swallow live animals whole, you might want to question their mental state and take appropriate measures to insure a tragedy of this scale never happens again. Sad. So sad.

Author of the Day: Leo Tolstoy

2010-03-10T21:39:00.003+03:00

Today's "Author of the Day" is Leo Tolstoy, just like the title of this blog post suggests.

Tolstoy, as most people know, is most famous for having three toes on his left foot and six toes on his right. He was named after a lion who had a similar name: Leo. The moniker reflected his nature - furry, yellow, laid around a lot, ate his meat raw.

He was a very prolific writer, a man truly ahead of his time. He wrote the autobiographical books Tolstoy 1 and Tolstoy 2, which were later brought to the silver screen. Marketer's changed the titles of the movies, feeling that Toy Story would appeal to a wider audience.

A great love of his was acting. He is best known for playing the role of "creepy, boring, pointy-eared alien #1" on the original Star Trek television show, alongside "odd speaking hunk and alien chick magnet #1". He also released a number of hit singles that no one listened to.

He married twice. His first marriage ended when his wife didn't show up to their wedding. His second marriage was more successful, making it to the honeymoon phase before rupturing. Heartache led to depression which led to an addiction to snorting ink directly from ink wells. Friends would see that black ring around his nostril and know that he was "on the ink" again. Eventually, he was able to kick the ink habit, but the damage it had done to his career, his reputation, his finances and his nose was irreversible.

And there you have it! Today's "Author of the Day", Leo Tolstoy.

Justification.

2010-03-01T12:36:00.003+03:00

Okay, okay, okay. My hopes and dreams of writing in this blog more often have not come to fruition. This doesn't mean I'm not writing, however. I was thinking about it, and realized that I am constantly writing, and practicing and getting my brain going, it's just in a more micro-blogging/social media kind of way. With facebook and twitter, etc., I'm always writing something. It's either a status update or a response to someones status update, or a response to someone who responded to my status update, or comments on photos. After I'm done doing all of that, I'm done. I've done my writing for the day. Staying at home with my son takes up most of the day. So, when I do any writing it is at night. And, I tend to be pretty tired by, say, 8pm. Therefore, my blog output has been minimal.

There. I've justified my lack of blog posts. Ha!

Getting Stuck Ain't So Bad

2010-02-14T21:16:00.013+03:00

The roads around Northwestern Ontario can get pretty rough. I've gotten used to potholes, flying rocks, ruts, washboard, mud, oil pan scrapes, fish tailing, and everything else that goes along with Canadian backwoods driving. Much of the time, I drove these roads in a regular ol' car, never a 4x4. The family had a number of vehicles over the years that were a bit larger, with the biggest probably being a Suburban. But, most of the time, smaller vehicles did the trick. The terrain in Qatar, in many ways, is not all that different when off of the main roads. Most of the trails I've gone down have been hard packed, a bit rocky, and fairly easy to navigate, just like the one I found myself on the other day.

At the end of a shabby, neglected paved road north of Doha, after passing an Oryx farm, some twisted, collapsing buildings, dead date palms and abandoned irrigation equipment, is just such a road. The terrain looked very flat. In the distance were flames atop giant towers-something to do with the oil and gas industry. What they are, I don't know. But, I thought that would be a great area to head to. I wasn't one hundred percent sure where I was. I suspected that if I headed that way, I would make it to the Gulf coast. It turns out I was WAY off. I wasn't close to the coast at all. Everything was going along just fine. Just driving. The road was pretty good in fact, until....wham, a sand pit. Now, when I headed towards this sand pit, I thought I was going fast enough, and I thought it wasn't all that deep, and I didn't think it would be a problem, but as it turned out, again, I was WAY off. I got myself stuck and stuck good. Tires spun, sand flew and swearing ensued. The sun was starting to go down, I was half way between the road I left and the giant fire sticks that I was heading towards. And, as far as I could see, there was no one around. At least, that's how it seemed. I got out and began shoveling sand with my hands. It reminded me of all those times I've gotten stuck in the snow over the years, only it was much warmer and the sand was much lighter. The idea of being stuck out in the desert for a night was much more appealing than being stuck out in -30 degrees in a snowbank. As I dug, a Toyota Land Cruiser and a smaller Toyota truck drove towards me. Where they came from, I have no clue. But, there they were and I was pretty happy to see them. The Land Cruiser stopped and out jumped a smiling fellow in a black thobe, with his hand extended. Mohammed was his name. In his Land Cruiser was his wife and two of his children, both girls. In the other truck, was four of his other kids, all boys, all under 16, and all taking their turn driving. So, everyone jumped out and soon my vehicle was surrounded by this large Qatari family, all scratching their heads and trying to figure out how to get my little car out of the sand. Everyone seemed to have an idea, or at least this is the impression I got, seeing as I don't speak or understand Arabic.

First, we tried pushing. Nope, that didn't work. That only got the car deeper in the sand. I am grateful to Mohammed's kids who pushed their hearts out, even the little girls who were so proud to be helping out, but, it didn't work. Rope! That was next. Out of the Land Cruiser came a pretty thin, worn looking rope. I could see this was not going to end well. And it didn't. SNAP went the rope, and the car hadn't moved a millimeter. Next up, putting rocks under the tires and trying to get some grip. This is where the girls really kicked into action. They started scrambling around looking for rocks, bringing handfuls of them over. Again, they were so proud and so excited to be doing their part. Sadly, however, it didn't work either.

That's when another Land Cruiser pulled up. An older gentlemen in a beautiful brown thobe jumped out, smiling. He was met with cheek kisses by the family, a showing of respect to an elder, even though they didn't know the guy. He had a bigger, better rope! Yeah! So, attach the rope we did. TWANG! That didn't hold either. Things were looking a bit grim. By now, the sun was down and we were deep into civil twilight. Alright, so, we were back to pushing again. Turns out though that this new gentleman was pretty darn big and, even better, strong. He was much stronger it seemed than six young children. Him and I took to the front of the vehicle, rocking back and forth, while Mohammed was behind the steering wheel, turning the tires back and forth. This combination WORKED! Oh, thank goodness it worked. And with that, my car was freed from it's sandy trap! It was free to continue.

So, Mohammed says to me, "Come with us!" "Okay," I said. He knew a good way to get back to the main highway. They were going that direction anyway, but on the way we were going to take a stop to check out the the older gentleman's camels. Mohammed's son Hamad would take the wheel because he knew where to go, which left one of his younger brothers driving the small truck. Off we went, following two Land Cruisers, and followed by the other kids in the truck. Hamad was quite the kid. Soft spoken, intelligent, polite and mature. He had gone to school in London for several years where he perfected his English. He liked American football and played for a team at school. His family was out in the desert that day looking for desert trifles which appear after the rains, but they found it was a bit too early in the season yet. He talked about his family's boat, and their fishing trips. They would catch fish, like Tuna, sometimes taking what extra they had to the market. They were clearly well off, so they didn't have to, but, still, it seemed to be something they wanted to do. It was interesting talking to him, a proud Qatari who enjoys the best of both world's: modern development and ancient traditions.

It wasn't too far to the camels. About 50 of them were penned in at a spot far from anything and anyone else. It was the end of the day, and the animals who were grazing were now being rounded up and tucked into their beds. When we stopped, Hamad told me it was time for them to pray. I left them alone and headed over to see the camels as the family took part in their ritual, first washing in the water provided by a tank in the middle of the corrals, and then facing towards Mecca, reciting a passage from the Koran, kneeling and bowing. There was a peace that hung over the small camp where the camel herder's lived, taking care of the older gentleman's "flock" of camels. I don't know if "flock" is correct. It seems to work there. I should check and see what it really is.

This time of year is when baby camels are born. With cooler weather and more abundant food and water, it is a good time to come into the world. Like most baby animals, baby camels can only be described as adorable. They are playful, fuzzy and look awkward with their long, long legs and comparatively tiny bodies. And there were a number of young ones, including one that must have been born just a few days before. Camels range from a very light colour to a dark chocolate brown. All colours were represented, as were all sizes, from males that were about 4 or 5 feel taller than to me, to more slender, sleek smaller females, and down to the young newborns. Shy at first, they became a bit more curious of me. One giant, dark brown male lowered his massive, long neck down so he could take a closer look, sniffing me and eying me up. He was a gentle giant, with a certain beauty that one normally associates with horses.

After prayers, a circle was formed. The men of the camp, Mohammed, his sons and daughters all sat and tea was served. Mohammed, an engineer who studied at Qatar University and in London, who now worked in the petroleum industry, was a modern man with a rich understanding and appreciation for tradition. He knew all about camels. He knew the desert. This was his land and he was a product of it. He told me about camels milk and how important it is to Bedouins, about how concentrated and full of protein it was. It also did not need pasteurization. He pointed out how the camels were sitting, with the wind behind them so as not to get sand in their eyes and mouth. He talked about the changes that have come to Qatar in the last few decades, since oil and gas production came into full swing. He was a proud, kind, gentle man, smart, well spoken, generous and humble. It was a pleasure being there with the whole group, sitting in the sand, in a circle, the flaming sticks in the background, the stars starting to come out above, and the camels behind us. There was no wind. There was only peace and quiet.

At the end of tea, Hamad took control of the wheel again as Mohammed led us out of the desert towards the main highway. When we arrived to the side of the road, we shook hands and I asked if there was any way I could repay his kindness. He said, "No, this is what we Arab's do. I did it for me." It made him feel good. It was his good deed, his way of showing his respect, his compassion and proving that he was a good man. This was a traditional act of kindness. We exchanged phone numbers as I thanked him again. He asked if I knew my way from there. I did. And then we parted ways.

I drove home knowing I just had an amazing experience. If I hadn't got stuck in that spot at that time, I would have missed out meeting Mohammed and his family. Although I hope not to get stuck too often, that mishap started a series of events that helped to create a memories that will last a lifetime. I feel as though I experienced something that too many people don't have the opportunity to experience. It helped me feel pretty good about humanity. It made me feel pretty good, period.

Still Nothing.

2010-02-11T11:28:00.001+03:00

Just another post to say that I have not written any blog posts lately. This will change.

Well, okay, maybe it won't.

Did I Just Turn Myself In for Something I Didn't Do??

2010-02-03T21:28:00.005+03:00

I'm not sure what I did, but I think I just reported my blog as a "phishing" site. I was trying to access it through a link on another blog, and I got a weird message about "phishing" as well. Why? I'm not sure. I wonder if it has something to do with the google analytics thing I have been playing with. To be honest, I still haven't really figured it out. It seems interesting and all, but there is a lot of data that I don't need. All I want to know is "Did someone come and read anything on my blog?" What I get is maps and charts and calendars and numbers and all kinds of other things. Maybe it's not such a good idea after all to be using it? If people try to come to my blog but are warned that I am "phishing", which I am not, then they will probably not come. Right? Right!

I don't even know what I would be "phishing" for if I was "phishing." Even if I were to get someone's personal information, it's not like I would know what to do with it. And, I don't have anything to sell anyone.

Now that I think about this, I really should do some more research. That might clear up a few things. I said MIGHT. It MIGHT. It also might not.

New Post!

2010-02-01T13:03:00.001+03:00

Hello there, here I am with a brand new post. Today I will dis- OH! Gotta go. My son is waking up.

Keepin' On Keepin' On.

2010-01-28T21:39:00.006+03:00

Keeping with my desire to write at least something each day, here is a new blog post.

Ummmm.....errrrrrr......uhhhhhhh.....hmmmmmm. Can anyone tell me what I should put here? Developing as a writer is very difficult if I cannot actually write stuff. Mind you, it is almost 10 at night and my brain is a little on the fried side. Maybe if I tried writing earlier in the day? That would make sense, I suppose.

I have several posts that I have been working on for a while that I will eventually put up. They are, as blogger refers to them, drafts. So, I have these drafts, and I do work on them, and I will get them up. But, in the meantime, I still have to make sure that I am writing something each and every day. Must keep the fluids and chemicals and blood and icky bits of matter working up there in the skullery region.

With all of this said, it is now time to go and listen to my ipod which has me thoroughly annoyed. It likes to skip to the next song half way through a track. Why does it do this??? Why, Mr. Jobs...WHY! I have always been impressed with Apple products. I have only ever owned one Apple product previous to this, and it was an ipod nano that my wife found in the bathroom of a movie theater. That one worked well. This newer ipod classic with a 160GB hard drive... wellll, it's not impressing me quite so much. I've been seriously considering buying a Mac computer of some sort. But, my concern is that because Apple seems to have grown into such a massive company, and it always wants to be on the cutting edge of a very competitive industry, that quality is starting to decrease in the quest to get the "best" thing out there onto the market as fast as possible. However, I do say that without having any knowledge or understanding of how the electronics industry actually works, or whether or not this may or may not be the case. So, please ignore the last few lines of this post.

Goodnight. May all of your ipod songs play through to the very end.

A Quick Post on Afghanistan

2010-01-27T21:08:00.003+03:00

Writing something each day is important. I gotta keep the brain working. But, I'm pretty tired, so this is going to be short.

I've been thinking about Afghanistan. How can a conventional army succeed? I don't see a possible way. When guys who can survive in the mountains, know the land inside and out, do what they are doing out of pure single minded dedication and unbelievable will, and be able to blow up multimillion dollar pieces of military equipment with 100 dollar homemade bombs, can a bulky army of paid soldiers without a clear, decisive mission, distanced from the terrain and their counterparts by being in their tanks and planes, coming from a completely different culture and mindset? This war has been going on for 8 or 9 years now. There isn't an end in sight. There seems to be no shortage of those who wish to fight against NATO, and particularly the US. With each bomb that falls and destroys another persons life, there is the potential to create another warrior to deal with. Billions...TRILLIONS of dollars have been spent bringing the best trained fighters and the highest of high tech war toys to Afghanistan, and they are struggling against dudes rigging up cheap, small bombs in caves or in a tucked away part of a remote village.

For the purposes of this post, it doesn't matter if the war is right or wrong. The point is more can anything be accomplished? What will happen in Afghanistan? Where will it leave NATO in the end? If they lose in Afghanistan, what is that saying about the future of armies around the world? Are armies as we know them officially obsolete? They don't seem to be able to fight the types of wars that seem to be more common now.

Just a few thoughts before bed. Speaking of bed, I'm going there.

Ooops. Slipped.

2010-01-24T21:58:00.002+03:00

Okay. Well. My streak ended. Back to square one.

Companion Post: Pictoral References

2010-01-11T21:48:00.004+03:00

Here are some pics to go along with the "Desert? Dessert?" post from the other day. As you can clearly see, I did not lie. The water is there. I hope you will also take note of the picture of the two young fellows who befriended me. They showed excellent Qatari hospitality. Thank you young men!

Beautiful Mosul

2010-01-11T21:17:00.004+03:00

After spending Christmas in Munich, we took to the skies to head back home to Doha. The flight was good. The service was fair. The food was edible.

As the sun began to set, we crossed the border of southern Turkey into Iraqi airspace. I was rather shocked to see that this was the route we were taking. On our way to Germany, we skirted right around Iraq. I thought there was probably a valid reason for that. But, heading home, we flew straight down the middle of the country. From the air, I looked down and was able to see cities that I had heard about in the news. Mosul was one that we passed over. The lights were bright and easy to see. The sky was clear. There were cars and trucks driving on the highways leading in and out of town. The way the city is set up, it looked like a spiderweb, with well lit main roads circling towards the center. From where I sat, there was no way to tell that below laid a main city in a war torn nation. When I got home, I checked the news on the internet to find out what was going on in Mosul; to get a sense of what was happening there. All I could find were tales of kidnappings, bombs, arrests, fire fights and death...all within the week prior to us flying over. I would check the news again periodically only to see that the situation seemed to worsen as the days went on. Yet, from the sky, it looked like such a peaceful place...a city like any other, with people living as normally as anyone else. The view from above betrayed the horrors and mayhem of life in Mosul. What looked like a decent place from the sky is really rather scary. What looked pretty from a distance is really quite ugly close up. There must be a lesson or two to be learned here, no?

Uh oh.

2010-01-10T22:10:00.002+03:00

Progress has come to a screeching halt. Where did the motivation go? Where did the ideas go? Where did my brain go? Where am I?

Desert? Dessert?

2010-01-04T20:24:00.003+03:00

Driving in the desert on the outskirts of Doha yesterday, these two very friendly Qatari kids stop me and ask if they can help me at all. I said, "Nah, I'm just driving around." They asked if I wanted to see some birds. This sounded good. "Sure!" I said. So, I got into their little 4x4 and off we went. They took me to this little 'oasis' type place just up a dirt trail. They did not lie. The place was teeming with birds. I don't know what kind of birds they were exactly, but there were a lot of them. Ducks I recognized. They were the first I had seen in Qatar. Overhead, giant falcons cruised the skies looking down for food. A giant crane like bird lifted off from the tall reeds that ringed the water. Dragonflies darted around. The water was perfectly still. It was a green, watery paradise surrounded by miles of sand..

The one kid said something interesting to me. I said we had no deserts in Canada. He said "To us, if there is no desert, there is no life." To many, the desert is the opposite: void of life, a harsh place, brutal place. I remember being taught the difference between the spelling of 'desert' and 'dessert' in this way: 'dessert' has two s's because you want more, 'desert' has one s, because you want less. Deserts are graveyards, hot and dry, inhospitable. In movies and cartoons, the desert swallows up poor, delirious people who end up lost with no water, dragging their weakening tattered bodies as they hallucinate and see mirages.

Turns out that the desert isn't a wasteland. It can be a harsh place, but it is still filled with life. Where ever a bit of water can be found, a spot of shade can be seen, a small hole can be dug, and other food can be caught, there is life in the desert. Plants and animals have adapted, figuring out ways to survive and thrive, just as this kid knew how to use the desert for his benefit. He told me about hunting hares and birds. He would point out the birds that were particularly delicious as they flew off. As it turns out, he owns and trains falcons in the north of the peninsula. Falcons have been used for generations to hunt. He knows where to find animals, food, water. The desert sustains him and his family. It has kept his lineage alive for decades...even centuries.

This was an important meeting for me, personally. One can easily look at Doha and see a very shallow place. Big glassy buildings are going up everywhere. SUV's rule the roads. Money is in obvious abundance. It seems as though there is no traditional culture whatsoever. But, as it turns out, that isn't the case. The land is still important. Traditions are still very much alive. The desert still means life to many Qataris. I saw a different side to this country, and this culture...this complex culture, where things are never what they seem to be, and just when I think I have things figured out, I discover that I don't.

Would YOU Wear This??

2010-01-01T22:25:00.003+03:00

I'm no fashion expert, I will freely admit that. I have no clue what is going on in the fashion world. I skip over the fashion channel on TV as fast as I possibly can. I can't say I have ever read a fashion magazine. I couldn't tell you what is hot and what is not. I wouldn't know high end, trendy fashion if my life depended on it. BUT, I do know what I would never wear, and that is a giant bug on my head. Who the heck would buy this hat??? It's in a shop in a very chic part of Munich, Germany. It MUST be expensive. There is nothing on that street that isn't expensive. Okay, let's face it, this is an expensive hat! To wear this hat, someone would have to shell out some mighty big dollars!

Honestly though, I would love to go to a dinner party where someone was actually wearing this...this...thing. What would one say to someone wearing a hat with a giant bug on it? Could I lie and say, "Nice hat!"? How could I not stare? How long would it be before someone smacked her on the head thinking it was a real bug? How long before she would leave in a huff saying, "Hmph, those peons wouldn't know fashion if their life depended on it! Take me home Armando!"

So, am I missing something here? Have I not been paying attention? Are more and more ladies wearing giant bugs on their heads?? Is this the 'in' thing to be doing? Am I that out of touch?

Quit Messin' With My Head!

2010-01-01T11:16:00.003+03:00

Okay, okay, okay. I'm confused. It's 2010. I think it's the end of the decade, right? But people are telling me it's not the end of the decade until 2011. How exactly does that work??

Regardless, Happy New Year. I'm sure we can at least all agree that it is officially a new year...right? Please tell me this is so. I'm confused enough already!

Analyzing Analytics

2009-12-30T19:49:00.003+03:00

Alright! I just spent the last half hour figuring out Google Analytics so I can see how many people visit my site to read what little I have posted, partly because I have spent so much time doing stupid stuff like trying to figure out Google Analytics. With that aside, I should say that the whole GA thing looks kinda neat, what with the fancy graphs and bars and lines and stuff! I like statistics. I like information. I like gathering information. So now I can gather information. I just have to put up information for people read so I can gather information on that information that they are reading!

It's Amazing how I can put so much time into things that are really so unimportant, but can't seem to find time to do something that is important, which is to work on my writing. But, with each little post I make, I hope it will get my brain going and guide me towards making bigger, better, more interesting posts. It's one of those baby step things, I guess.

Not Again!

2009-12-28T22:52:00.002+03:00

Ahhh, geez. I did it again. I got myself all tired and now I can't think straight enough to write a blog post. One of these days it will happen. And when it does, it's going to be good...DAMN GOOD!

In the meantime, I hope everyone has a great New Year. My resolution will be to write more. No, I I should say that my resolution is to actually write.

A Wee Bit of a Christmas Post

2009-12-25T23:20:00.003+03:00

That was a darn good Christmas, I tell ya. If you are going to be anywhere in the world for Christmas, I can't think of a more festive place than Munich! The only thing that would have made it better would be friends and family. But, thanks to this new fangled internet thingy, the world has become a much smaller place, and we can talk to our loved ones and feel as if they are here with us. And, we did just that.

I would write more, but, man am I tired. Christmas is tiring! The sugar high induced by fists full of chocolate and candy, followed a bit later by a thudding crash once the sugar stops doing it's thing is part of the reason, I suppose. Excitement? Yes. Even as an adult, after all of these years, Christmas is still exciting. And, now, with a one year old, it is starting to get even more exciting. Oh sure, our little guy is a bit young still to really know what is happening...but, he still have a fun day and it enriched our Christmas experience as a result. And, it's only going to get better as the years go on.

Late Flights and Bad Advertising

2009-12-20T20:23:00.005+03:00

Here we are in Munich, Germany for our Christmas Holidays. We left Doha at 2am. Yes....2am. I repeat....2am. Will we ever do that again? No, sir, we will not do that again, ever.

Now that we have a one year old, our traveling style has changed somewhat. We asked the hotel to arrange for a driver to pick us up. I usually frown on this and disuade my wife from ordering such a service, but, I have softened in this stance recently. A driver arrived. He ferried us out to his BMW, bundled us in, and headed down the road. While en route, said BMW lost all power and died...just a few short miles from the BMW factory. Not a ringing endorsement for BMW. I will always remember this warning should we decide to purchase a car we really can't afford anyway.

Leaves are Hard to Turn.

2009-12-17T22:19:00.003+03:00

Alright, well, this turning over a new leaf has not gone smoothly so far. Not only did I not turn it over, I appear to have just left it there to rot. Since I wrote what I last wrote....nothing has really changed.

I shouldn't say that. I have been working on several posts, and eventually they should make it to my blog. It's a slow, slow process this getting the brain functioning once more. It's never functioned at 100 percent anyway. It's always been a bit out of whack, one could say.

With that said, I shall go and work on the posts I one day intend to actually post with the hopes that those intentions will become realities.

Time Flies When Your...um...Your....um....What Was I Saying?

2009-12-09T21:37:00.005+03:00

If there is one thing I haven't been doing very much of lately, it is blogging. Well, I guess that is pretty obvious by the lack of posts that have been put on my blog between this one and the previous one.

Why? My brain has not been working at all. It's kinda like a jelly fish floating around in a sea of...of...uh...what was I thinking about again? Oh yes, cake. I could go for some cake.

Spending everyday with our one year old son does seem to be having that effect on me. I can no longer communicate with adults. I can only talk using one word sentences...and one word doesn't even make a sentence. And sometimes that word doesn't even sound like a word. But, somehow, it has become a word to me because my son, who also uses these words, has convinced me that they are indeed words.

Given that, it's time to get back into writing to help me remember that, yes, there are actual, full length sentences and more than grunts, squeals, and whines to our language.

Don't get me wrong. I do take time when my wife is home to go out and do some exploring in our new and exciting land. However, much of it is spent in the desert, where I end up seeing, and communicating with camels using much the same language as with my son, or in solitude along the shores of the Gulf, where, again, the birds that make their home there sound an awful lot like a one year old.

So, with all of this said, I am turning over a new leaf, as they say, and getting back into writing words down to try and get my "jelly fish-fied" brain back on track...back working!

If you don't see another post for a while, you'll know it didn't quite work as planned.