Monthly Archives:
June 2006

News round-up

The PM has dismissed critics of the Afghan war because the critics do not see what is the “reality on the ground.” The reality on the ground is that Canadians are being killed. To say anything against the US is to be, it seems, anti-American.

Motion to Dismiss

I am not anit-American. I am, however, anti-American-policy. I also believe their procedures for dealing with situations is absurd. To go skipping down the merry road holding hands with the US because we don’t want to be anti-American is just ludicrous.

Americans are not oppressed. Americans are not being held down. There is very little stopping Americans. Except for the unfortunate lower half. They are crushed, ignored or walked over.

It is about money. Everything seems to be. And a lobby group has spent 38 or so million dollars to proclaim the sweet goodness that is Alberta oil to Americans.

Forget about clean air. Forget about other possible solutions to the energy question. Oil it is. Oil for one. Oil for all. Why? Because it is secure. It is not overseas. It is here. It is now. Oil, Oil, Oil.

Oil Rig

And oil equals money. And money should never go into a pool where services can be provided for everyone. Unless that pool is located in the pocket of the insurrance companies.

Money pays for things. In Britain money pays for the Queen, her gardens, castles, staff and so on. But people complain that it is too expensive. On average a single UK taxpayer pays $1.28CDN per year for the Queen.

Yikes! This is absurd. Unless you live in Canada where the Conservative tax cuts will help you cover that and then you may even have enough money left over to go see a movie.

Better Dead than Red

Maybe a movie where some jackass gets his hands on a missile launcher and blows up the left-wing socialist commie nazi fascist headquarters because he does not believe in gun control.

In BC, during the gun amnesty period, someone turned in a missile launcher. If gun control is a bad thing, I think there should still be restrictions on what people can actually get their hands on. Something to be said about the possibility of such an occurance.

Maybe it only happened once. Maybe. But once is enough. And that is how most Canadians feel about marriage. Most Canadians will get married only once. A few may get married twice. A very select group will marry more that that.

But gay marriage will end all of that, right? Because the mere possibility of marrying someone of the same sex will drive heterosexual persons to re-negotiate their sexual bias.

A friendly reminder for Americans:
Piratism

Misguided or unguided.

Misguided or unguided. Just like the Balastic Missile Defense sheild.

Praise for Harper’s and MacKay‘s tough guy approach to Iran is echoing down the empty halls of Conservative understanding.
hero death
It seems that MacKay may have been on the ball and is acting in good fashion – just like his suits and ties. But what gets me is that the praise is not just good-old affirmation. It is a call to “Press them, as hard as you can, until they die or surrender.”

Damn skippy, you may say. But I ask, is that how we should treat others? As a pacifist I am always asked “what if someone was treatening to kill someone you loved?” There is a problem.

Do we teach our children to retailiate with violance when someone wrongs them? Do we encourage fighting on the school-yard? No, or at least we shouldn’t. But by wishing violance on an entire nation of people we are suggesting that death and violance are the only answer. There has got to be something more.

And more perspectives on this the Tories bring. The issue here was suggested in an American newspaper to be a situation where Bush can learn from Canada. Some (err, one) Tory blogger suggests that being pro-Canadian is to be anti-American. To suggest that Bush is fallible and the Harper/MacKay have done right is to suggest that the US sucks. I don’t think that this is necessarily the case. But Tories, in general, don’t seem to care what other people think. They assume their perspective is right and that the “lefties” are confused. Not only do they not understand (which is fine) but they refuse to try to understand (which is not fine).

Trying to understand another person’s perspective is a key to actually begin to get a grasp on the bigger picture. This is especially true in Canada.

What is also true in Canada is that we have different priorities than Americans. And we damn well should. Our priorities begin with Canadians. American priorities should begin with Americans. However, we need to work together to achieve these goals. They are are not mutually exclusive. Except when one insists their goals are more important.

What is more important – human health and well-being or property and prosperity? I vote for health.

North Dakota, again, wants to have Devil’s Lake drained into the Sheyene and Red River water systems. This is a potential health hazard for a number of reasons.

They cannot pump this water right now because the limits on certain toxins are exceeded. The solution – raise the allowable limit. Really, that is what is being proposed. Rather than providing a proper filtration system or waiting for one to be implemented, let’s do away with the restriction altogether.

How is that for trying to understand another person or country?
Death in the Kitchen
Back to the Tories. How is it that we can all agree that the military is a good thing? A military is needed to protect. Protection is needed when we are threatened. Threats occur when someone wants something from us that we are not willing to give up. What is it that Canada has that terrorists want? Their land back? The west to leave them alone?

Do they want our freedom? Do they want to take our flag? I don’t understand the need for a military, especially a military the way the Tories want a military.

The Tories want a military like any good capitalist wants to make a quick buck. And the easiest way to make a quick buck is to sell some piece of shit for more than it is worth but convince the buyer that they are getting a deal.

Everything that is bought and sold, and provides income for the seller is being sold at an inflated price. The person who produced it is getting paid less then the value of what time and energy was put into production. The person buying pays more than the sum of all costs. If the person buying the product is the same as the producer then the person is being raped on both ends.

Minimum wages do not destroy the economy. Capitalists destroy the economy. The desire to make money destroys the economy. Money in the bank destroys the economy. Mortgages destroy the economy. A capiital-centrist economy destroys the economy. And as long as money is the root of the economy (the key indicator) then any restrictions on companies regarding economics will be considered a hindrance.

Philantropy actually helps the economy. Except some Tories seem to think that helping the homeless is a waste of time because taxpayers don’t benefit. And because the homeless do not pay taxes then, well, fuck you.

Helping your fellow Canadian is not a concept covered Tory School. But there are entire semesters dedicated to destroying foreigners.

Conservatives can kiss my ass. I try to understand but whenever I engage any in conversation they are either defensive or offensive but never in a mood to understand.

Or at least try.
death card

Nerd Alert

I can’t fight it anymore.

Cool Hunter

I don’t understand it, but I have to accept it.

I am a nerd.

Nerd

I cannot be cool.

I will not be cool.

Those who think otherwise are misled.

Don’t be misled.

My dreams are those that lead me further down the path of becoming the Duke of Nerddom.

A dream:
Smart Car
A Smart Car

Another dream:
Apple MacBook Pro
Apple MacBook Pro

My entertainment:
Doctor Who Drawing
Doctor Who on BBC (downloaded via BitTorrent and watched on my TV via video out on my Linux server using MPlayer).

And, to make sure that I was not misleading myself, I took this test and found out that I am a “Pure Nerd.”

A little over the top nerdiness. Even for me.

Pure Nerd
78 % Nerd, 39% Geek, 26% Dork

Give a Nerd a Chance

Yesterday was beautiful.

S-Hole and I went to the Red Cactus on Corydon. I had a chicken burger, several beers, and a coke and rye.

I am a wall-flower. I enjoy sitting back and watching the action around me. I could sit for hours on Corydon watching all the beautiful people walk by.

Then I would lament for hours that I never engaged anyone in conversation. This is why I am single, I guess. I need people to come to me. I guess I am just lazy that way.

There were these two women who, in colloquial terms, were MILFs or Cougers. Very charming though.

They were working on a crossword puzzle but they had botched the whole thing up.

Couger 1′s explanation of crosswords was this

“It is so general over here,” pointing at the clues, “and so specific over here,” pointing at the answers. “And then there are numbers and columns. It is so confusing.”

S-Hole and I finished the crossword for them. Then talked with them for a while.

It was clear that S-hole was hitting on the artist (Couger 1) but he says it was so that he “could keep his skills up to date” or something.

Anyways, the teacher (Couger 2) was complaining that “all the rich fucks in the city are self absorbed pricks” and that she is “ready to date a poor, boring accountant.” She also proclaimed that this week is “give a nerd a chance week.”

I hope all the single twenty-somethings out there hear that. I am a nerd of sorts. Give me a chance. Lord knows that my method of sitting and waiting is not working.

So, eventually the bikers started coming down Corydon. These bikers were bikers from the Marion. The Marion is a biker bar that, as far as I know, is unaffiliated with the gang scene here in Winnipeg.

The teacher knew many of these guys. These bikers told us that The Bombers won the game.

I was introduced to each of them. Very nice guys. They were going to take part in the “Ride for Sight.” They were also trying to get others to participate.

Then everyone left and so we went home too.

That is how most of my evenings end. Often I spend the whole evening that way.

And this is my lament that this is how I operate. So if someone wants to help me end my lamentations she could rest assured knowing that I would not hit on anyone else.

Give a nerd a chance.

Long Story Short

Long Story Short

One Day Left til Retirement

One Day Left Until Retirement

Heaven Denied.

The big news of the day is the death of the number 2 al-qaeda man. How many times can there be a celebration over the death of one man? But right now the right-wing is high-fiving each other until their hands are raw. With the number of times that they thought they got him I would have waited untiil there was 100% evidence to support this. Anyways, It does appear that there is no such thing as forgiveness, regret, love, or understanding from the right.

If a Christian right-winger is excited about this development and, to celebrate, declares any sort of jubilation in the idea that al-Zarqawi is burning in Hell then they are guilty of a multitude of sins. Wishing evil on someone, even if that person is dead, is hateful, spiteful, unloving, unforgiving, and un-Christ-like. Cruising through the Blogging Tories posts I found none of the posts proclaiming anything remotely Christian. This is likely the case because none of the Blogging Tories are Christians. Or maybe they are just un-Biblical Christians. I don’t know. That is theirs to figure out.

The Right wing is full of spiteful people. Mostly they ignore the fact that any group of people is made up of persons and, so it would appear, a human is only really a person if that human is known personally.

Or there are ideas like this:

Personally, I am from a long line of English Protestants who are proud to have used legitimately extreme measures in defeating the likes of Adolf Hitler. Perhaps Winston Churchill was an Anglican ‘extremist’. Who knew.

Tranquility Base is here in Canada where the ‘peace-pimps’ dishonourably expect others to do their fighting while they reap the profits of peace.

First of all, it is not peace when there is fighting. I think the definition of “fighting” is the antithesis of “peace” so these two cannot coincide. As well, how can you reap the profits of peace if there is always a new enemy to fight? Cold-war, Korea, Viet Nam, Iraq and other peaceful love-ins in foreign lands. I am not a war-historian, but didn’t Russia actually do most of the work in WWII? I don’t think it was the US or the UK. The US was reluctant at first, scared shitless second, and third they were just the ones who pushed the last guy off of the hill. King of the hill is a game that never accurately demonstrates who is better.

As for the legimate use of extreme measures we could consider the Crusades, the many Holy wars, the witch hunts, and so on. These, while be the easiest to call on, were considered legitimate at the time. I would wait before calling the actions of the Western world something legitimate and then tieing that legitimacy into religion. It seems to look different after 500 years.

Then there is the idea that we do not have to follow the Bible until everyone else does.

I really don’t know how to entitle this one. I’ll agree with the author of the article below on one point, and only one… the Lord Jesus Christ would have all of us “Love one another”. If we could get the world to do that, we’d be just fine.

The article that is being referred to is one about religion and Bush. The point is that killing someone that is causing grief for you is OK. What would happen if a foreign group of Christian radicals rose up and starting doing exactly what the Muslim extremists are doing? Hmmmm, maybe I should start a club….

How can you not get it?The father of a man murdered by al-Quada speaks out against Bush and is then thought to be deserving of scorn and pity. No feelings of sadness, empathy, understanding? No feelings of regret that possibly Western actions or attitudes are somewhat to blame? That’s right, just a whole lot of disassociation. Even more cognitive dissonance – “the Bible says peace and love or something and so we will use war and hatred to bring that about” (my paraphrase of the religous Right.

As for understanding, some Conservatives feel it is ok to disregard an entire religion simply because the #2 Terrorist is dead.

Beck’s point is that putting a ham-hat on terrorists after they are dead would make them think twice about “martyring” themselves. They may believe that their pork laced corpse would prevent them from reaching paradise if buried in such a way.

Honestly, I like the idea.

The only reason someone could like the idea is that they have no respect for any other religion. Unless . . . they actually believe in Islam and feel that they need to prevent access to Paradise. In which case this would be odd because, as an infidel, they would end up in the same place as the believer they wanted to bar. My question: Are you with us or against us?

Justice is another word that Christians assign to God but right-wingers like to impose. I cannot see how dropping a bomb on a guy is considered justice.

Justice is a concept involving the fair, moral, and impartial treatment of all persons, especially in law. It is often seen as the continued effort to do what is “right.” In most of all cases what one regards as “right” is determined by consulting the majority, employing logic, or referring to divine authority, in the case of religion. If a person lives under a certain set law in a certain country, justice is considered making the person follow the law and be punished if not.

In this case the right-wingers consider death as justice served. But what of the others who died during the implementation of this justice. Were not others killed thinking it was Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi? Were their deaths considered to be in the name of justice? If so, then justice would mean the death of anyone who opposing the current mission. Or getting caught in the cross-fire.

It seems to me that right-wingers claim to hold the only set of keys to unlock peace, love, justice, understanding and the keys to heaven. Seems to me it is rather stupid to hold those keys and never use them. Sort of like holding the keys to a vintage Vespa and never going for a ride, not even a short drive to show it off.

Heaven denied, not just for Al-Zarqawi, but for everyone.

Being Drunk, the closest thing to Utopia.

So it appears that Progressive Bloggers now are talking about terrorists. But they are not talking about the big news of the day.

The Conservative Budget passed with unanimous consent.

Why is this news even though it would likely have passed because the Bloc would have supported it anyway?

Are the Conservatives afraid of being told that they were being propped up by “seperatists” like they accused the Liberals?

Are the Conservatives scared of negative publicity when the NDP speak to the media about the vote? The vote that did not happen?

Specifically, are they afraid that because the main stream media is boycotting them that the opposition would be able to sink their teeth in?

This is news. The Conservatives are playing hardball while the Liberals, NDP and the Bloc are still striking out while playing tee-ball. It seems that while the Conservatives are getting to know the insides of their assholes the Opposition is still trying to learn what makes a finger fing.

And everyone is asleep at the switch. Crying foul over the proposed gay-marriage debate. Or lamenting the fact that Canadian presence outside of Canada may be drawing attention at home. Or that Harper is an ass. Or that blah blah fuck blah has now blah blah shit damn blahed during blah fuckity shit blah.

Where is the actual voice of Canada? Harper claims to hear it. The Blogging Tories claim to be it. But each of these has their own agenda. And the ProgBloggers are no different.

Maybe I will give up on politics and the Canadian system and focus on the love of my life right now.

Oh, Holly Golightly I love you.

And the Canadian ideal is a dream, a figment of the imagination, a smoke-screen, and a dim light of hope that only exists in drug-induced hallucinations. I had hoped for something greater than that which is. That is only possible after 5 beers, 4 shots, several gin and tonics and far too many coke and ryes. Maybe a nice neat single malt scotch to start the ball rolling.

But then I would be throwing up with my right cheek keeping cool by pressing against the porcelain toilet. And that is how I feel about our system, our politicians and the Canadian public. I have seen more interesting things spew from my mouth involuntarily and then dribble onto my shirt.

[Editor's Note: I missed this post. But the silence is destroying what I my Ipod earphones have not yet been able to.]

Rage, rage against the Dying Light

On Progressive Blogger the current angst is being directed at Harper’s anti-gay message. On the Blogging Tories the angst is aimed at the potential terrorist plots to attack Canada.

Don’t get me wrong, I love gays (but not to the point of actually making love to one). And don’t get me wrong I think killing someone for ideological reasons is wrong (all killing is a worthless exercise).

In fact I think it is wrong to discriminate for any reason. Whether that discrimination be due to sexual orientation or due to ideological positioning.

But the focus of these two groups demonstrates a very important point. The Progressive Bloggers determination to demonize the right for the alledged bigotry is overwhelming and over-exaggerated. It is true that the Tory determination to reopen the debate about same-sex marriage is a step backward. I mean, if two men want to get married that is their decision. Marriage, as far as the government is concerned, is purely a financial arrangement. God has no part in it.

But the constant talk about Harper and the gay community demonstrates a need for government to act for the people. Government is voted in by the people. This is democracy whether we like it or not. While I am not a Liberal I must say they fucked up right when the small-L liberals in Canada needed them most. And the Tories won out. But that is our system. Unless gay marriage is enshrined in the Constitution it will always be up for debate.

The Tory over-concern over terrorism demonstrates their inability to think of cause. Why would someone want to attack the country that has provided them with benefits that many other countries cannot and will not provide?

The problem with these two communities is that they both insist on sticking to one line of thinking without considering what else is involved.

The Progressives seem to have forgotten that this is our system. Rather than demanding gay-marriage to be enshrined they are telling Harper to back off. And Harper is the devil because he is doing what our system of democracy affords him to do. As much as I might hate it.

The Tories, on the other hand, have a mission. That mission is to back Harper no matter what. As well as backing the Afganistan mission which likely is the root cause that has sparked the terrorist plots inside Canada.

The point I really want to make is that both these groups are looking at what is happening and what will be done. Rather than looking at what has happened and what can be done to actually prevent it from happening again. But let the bitch fest rage on.