Saskatoon Sunrise

Nice time-lapse sunrise from the "Paris of the Prairies" - my ol' stompin' grounds. A big shout out to Toon Town. Keep it real.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLWMQvGnToM&feature=related

Latecomer Customers

So I work at a local grocery store as you may or may not know. And one thing I REALLY hate, one thing that REALLY bothers me, is when we have those late comer customers - who have had THE ENTIRE day to get their butts down to the store and do their shopping - show up at 1 minute to closing. They come on in to the store, - and no these aren't hard-working, blue collar types who just got off work and need a quart of milk and a loaf of bread - No. For those people I have sympathy. They're in, they're out. As I do when I go to a grocery store near closing.

But no, last night, we had two ladies decked out in their nice winter hats and scarves, golden earrings on. Two Haitian sisters or something. Anyways, they saunter on in, push their cart at a speed of a cm/hr. They pick up this package and put it down. Then this package and put it down. Then they pull apart my nicely, straightened counters. (For some reason customers are ABSOLUTELY CONVINCED that if they just keep digging - by George! they will find the perfect pack of chicken breast or butt roast. So they dig and rummage and dig and rummage. Then they stroll over to the fish counter, la di da di da, oh, Mr. Fish Man (they say to my colleague), how much does this weigh, how much would a pound be of this, etc. etc. They stand at his counter for 7 whole mins! Ladies! WE ARE CLOSED!!!! Get your shit and go home! We've been there for more than 9 hours already. We want to go home. Why couldn't you have come 6 hours ago when we had 8 guys on duty and we can bend to your every beck and call. Not at 10 minutes after closing, a day before christmas eve, when it's been busier than a snow plow guy in Ottawa in mid-December!

Argh. These people. To all of you out there, please do the friendly employees at your local grocery stores a favour - GET THE HELL OUT WHEN THE STORE IS CLOSED! ty.

Oh, and in good news, Dwayne De Rosario will be playing with Toronto FC next season. If he has a healthy season, he, along with Brennan (coach Carver should really play him up front more) could be pounding home the goals. I also see a spot for young Ibee Ibrahim up there too. Or even Dwayne and Ricketts. Whoa whoa whoa. And we can't forget Barrett. Power line: DeRo, Ricketts and Barrett. Wow. I see that line averaging a goal a game. I see TFC finishing third in the conference this year. Allez les rouges!

Magic Trick Gone Horribly Wrong

Title says it all.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWTaVjX9TR4&feature=related

update (09.01.2009): i just realized that it was somewhat irresponsible of me to not add a disclaimer to this posting. this video is graphic.

Eye Of The Needle Art

An amazing story out of England:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OE5gdDcmo_4

An artist, a sculptor, who creates his works of art inside the eyes of needles. Not too bad.

Facing Life Head On

Something I've learned over the past few weeks is to face life head on. This means not putting off to tomorrow what can be accomplished today. For example, sometime in the next 3 weeks I have to call Civic Hospital and book an appt. with the anaesthaesist (is that how you spell that?). (This would be for my upcoming wisdom tooth extraction.) I don't really want to. Cause I don't really want to go through with the whole thing. Who wants to go under the knife, get put out, and wake up all doped up and peeing in potted plants as my girlfriend put it. (A family member apparently attempted to do this after coming out of general anasthesia, thinking he/she was in the bathroom).

Anyways. I realized I can't put stuff off. If you have that piece of paper work to fill out for some government loan or benefit or drug plan. Fill it out. Don't say tomorrow. If you have something to pick up, but it's snowy and cold outside and you want to do it tomorrow, no. Do it today. Of course within reason. Don't endanger your life. But I mean, 90 percent, if not 99 percent, of the trials and ordeals we face throughout our daily lives involve non-life threatening issues. Filling out paperwork, getting your hair done, this and that. So go do it.

Cause life can't be a bowl of cherries. And I know we all know this by a certain age. But we still strive for it. We turn on the computer cause we don't want to do our homework. We flip on the PS2 or the Wii cause that'll kill some time and we don't have to go to the gym. This and that, this and that. You can always put something off. But if you do what you have to do when it should be done, you will find yourself a lot further ahead. It's hard to take that first step.

Example, going to the dentist a few months ago. I hadn't been in nearly two years. I didn't want to go cause I was worried they'd find a cavity or have to do a filling and that my wisdom tooth poking through would need to come out. In fact I was right about all of it. I had to get a filling re-done (that drill sure vibrates your jaw!) and I have to get that wisdom tooth pulled - not just the one but all 4 now! But you know what, once all that's done. It's done. Then, presuming I don't chicken out at the last minute, when I get my wisdom teeth pulled at the end of February, it's done. So when I have my next dentist appt. in June, I go and my filling is done, my wisdom teeth are out, and there's not really a whole lot left they can price gouge me for. lol. nah, they mean well. there's not a whole lot left they can do for me.

So when you tackle the issues as they come at you, you win. It might sound cliche, but it's true. Do what you have to do today, not tomorrow.

As for myself, I have an anaesthesist appointment to make...

Good Songs

Every once in awhile I like to do a posting on some good tunes. Too many people miss out on good music - one of those things that helps us get through life. I would easily place it in the top 5.

Here are some songs that have been influential to me over the past six months:

TUPAC - often thought of in some circles as a typical, gangster rapper, Tupac Amaru Shakur was actually VERY poetic and in many ways, not at all your typical African-American rapper. His songs deal with social issues: poverty, drugs, street life, single moms, broken homes, deadbeat dads, and race relations. Here are some songs that have sort of been relegated to dusty and forgotten shelves - good songs with a purpose and a message: (NOT gangster rap! not all about the "bling, booze, and bitches") YouTube these titles:

They Don't Give a Fuck About Us
Last Muthafucka Breathin'
As Soon As I Get Home
Dear Mama
Ghetto Gospel
Unconditional Love
My Block

Next up, so many people miss out on good, foreign music. French, Italian, Arabic - whatever. Myself, I love music from the middle east. Arabic, Persian, Turkish, North African. It's all amazing. Well, to be honest, some of it isn't any good, but the songs that are, are true gems. They make for AWESOME driving music or workout music or simply "lift-you-out-of-your-bad-mood" music. Check these titles on YouTube:

Rai NB Fever: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4BIYTE6jEA
Rai NB Fever: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEpWs4Clw-U&feature=related

And One Of My All-Time Favourites! (My girlfriend can attest to this as I listen to it over and over again in the car.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PS5PEPQwVyQ&feature=related

This song will pump you up!!!

Moving on (listening to it right now so im gonna type really fast and perhaps make some typos. bear with me.)

Other songs worthy of mention:
Nickelback: Gotta Be Somebody
Lights: Drive My Soul (she's Canadian)
The Killers: Mr. Brightside, Somebody Told Me (older, but still awesome)
Rocky Soundtrack: Going The Distance
And one of my new Top 10 faves: Thriving Ivory: Angels On The Moon

Enjoy. And listen to lots of music! It's good for ya.

Wisdom Teeth Oh Wisdom Teeth

I've got 4 wisdom teeth. Guess that means I'm smart? Either that or a cash cow for oral surgeons in the Ottawa area.

I'm going under the knife in late February. Gonna get all 4 suckers taken out - in 45 minutes apparently. God speed doctor! I'm actually happy about this 45 minute time frame. Means minimal chances of jaws locking up, etc. I hope it's quick and easy. That it be painless, I can't wish for that. But I think I can take it. What with Advil Hercules Strengths and all - have they not patented those yet? : )

But yeah it'll be good. Since I'm a diabetic I'll be going into the hospital. But that also means that Ontario health pays for it. Not a bad thing.

I'm not looking forward to it, I don't think anyone ever looks forward to surgery. But if you look at the fact that you are on this Earth for up to 100 years, chances are something will go wrong at some point in that amazing body of yours. Colons, cataracts, ulcers, cysts, this and that. A little date with the scalpel never hurt anyone. Or did it? I don't want to hear the bad stories!

No doubt I'm a little anxious about going under general, but it's only for an hour or two. Also, the drugs they use in those anasthesias are apparently much less worrisome than they were 30, 40 years ago. Heck ol' Jean Chretien was put out for 4 hours when he got heart surgery a year or two ago.

I'd be more concerned for people from the Ottawa valley. Many residents in this neck of the woods (my girlfriend included) are suspected to be carrying a gene for Malignant Hyperthermia, MH. MH basically is some sort of immuno reaction to the anaesthetic. The body says, nope don't like this, and for some reason shuts itself down = death. This happened to a distant cousin of my girlfriend's back in '74. As for myself, unless my Quebecois ancestors from around Montreal mixed with the people from the Valley, I should be in the clear. It's a one in a million thing. And no, I'm not going to go on to Google and start reading about bad reactions to anaesthesia. I don't want to know.

I asked the surgeon at my consultation today. What did people do 100 years ago? They must have had wisdom teeth too? Well apparently "their jaws were bigger" - I don't really buy that, humans don't evolve that much in 100 years - that's only like 4 generations. He also said that alot of teeth back then would have simply rotted out and thus there was most likely room for the wisdom teeth. Who knows. All I know is I wish I had only had 2 of them. : )

Alright folks. More on this later. Take 'er easy. Hope your shopping is all done.

Weird News

Well another weird news item to come out of the United States. Apparently a New Jersey couple, whose childrens' names are, and this is no joke, these are the names of his toddlers:

Adolf Hitler Campbell
JoyceLynn Aryan Nation Campbell
Honszlynn Hinler Jeannie Campbell

If the web is to be believed, then the latter of these children, Honszlynn Hinler, is actually named after Nazi scientist Heinrich Himmler. The sad thing about these racists, and let's call it what it is, these people are clearly white supremacists, is that they are ignorant to the point where they fail to even properly replicate the name of their child's namesake. It's the kids a person has to feel sorry for. Growing up with parents like these.

Now the parents of these children allegedly called a local grocery store looking to have them decorate little Adolf's birthday cake with, not only his name (as the two parents contended) but a SWASTIKA as well!!! according to the store bakery's manager. And these two people have the gall to say that they aren't racists?

What sort of parents would even let their kids attend little Adolf's birthday party - I do not know. Apparently some of the guests were of "mixed-race" ancestry. Heck, if I was a Korean-American or African-American I wouldn't let my kids deliver flyers to that house! let alone attend a birthday party! The party hats were probably adorned with swastikas and they likely hailed "Hitler" instead of singing young Adolf "Happy Birthday".

Mr. and Mrs. Campbell, there are some names that you simply don't bestow upon your children. Your children who are growing up in the 21st century (read: less racist, less homophobic, and more tolerant and accepting than Nazi Germany). Your kids need to go to school with black children, Asian children, Native American children. I can't see their peers looking upon them favourably with names like those! Heck, not even names. Better words have been used to describe faeces.

Governments want to allow for freedom of speech, expression, etc. In the United States, this I believe is cited in the First Amendment. However, there are other clauses and conventions that coincide with this Amendment and the right to freedom of expression. Namely, "the right to swing my fist ends where your nose begins." In other words, we can say, express what we want, if, and only if, what we are saying does not infringe on the rights of others. To a point of course: the whole no saying "Merry Christmas" thing in Canada these days is ludicrous. Because we have been saying this for over a century and this is a part of our culture. If I go to a Jewish synagogue, are they not allowed to say Happy Hanukkah to me because that might infringe on my freedom of religion?

The "Merry Christmas" debate aside, what these parents have done is clearly unacceptable and crosses a line within the parameters of the Freedom of Expression. For they have infringed upon the "liberty and happiness" of their child.

Looking down the road (as his parents have clearly failed to do), how is he supposed to get a job with a name like that? How is he supposed to go through high school with a name like that? High school can be bad enough with a name like John Smith as many a John Smith out there would no doubt tell us.

What these two parents have done goes beyond freedom of expression. The manager of the bakery was totally in the right to have refused such a request for a 3 YEAR OLD's BIRTHDAY CAKE!

If some people are clearly so inept at choosing appropriate names for their children perhaps it's time the government step in, as they have had to do in some other countries where parents have bestowed such absurd names upon their offspring.

Read the story for yourself:
URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28269290/?gt1=43001

Moving On

Well my emotions re: the Great Bus Strike of 2008 are dwindling, and setting in is just a numb feeling of let down. However, the show must go on. We, the people of Ottawa, are finding ways to cope with this ordeal and things are going quite well. I will patiently sit on my hands and wait the 2 more weeks this will likely take to be resolved.

Good things to come out of the bus strike:
-neighbours getting to know each other, sharing rides, etc.;
-co-workers getting to know each other through carpooling;
-people making money on the side by giving rides - my girlfriend for example will likely be able to cover all her fuel expenses for december through such payments (5 bucks one way);
-I am walking more.

Now, to help us get through the winter blues we have the gift of sport. And, more importantly, in fact, MOST importantly, a little, wee site called: justin.tv.

For those of you out there still unaware of this fine gem of a site, YOU HAVE BEEN MISSING OUT!!!!

OMG, I have had a heart attack (figuratively speaking), everday since having found this site. Game after game. Movie after movie. All live, free, webstream, internet TV. I have been able to reconnect to the wonderful world of European football, thanks to the click of my mouse and a 4 x 6 inch screen. Games from England, Turkey, Egypt, Japan. It's INCREDIBLE. Words cannot describe it. Check it out.

Now, aside from that, there is the streaming hockey site that I have found. Hockeywebcasts.com. I don't even want to be advertising this as I don't want y'all to start clogging up the bandwidth - but these sites are just too amazing not too share. Having neither cable nor satellite, I am now able to tune into games that even some satellite/cable subscribers cannot get! The Sens game was on TSN2 (*cough* moneygrab!) the other night. Many people with cable/satellite could not get the game as they only had TSN. I went on the site and watched the game. That simple. To those poor editors in the Citizen who were complaining - you guys should have tuned into this site!

Anyways, folks. It's cold outside. Stay warm, watch lots of sports, and drink your coffee and hot chocolate.

The Icing On The Cake: Striking Drivers Set Targets On University Students

This has GOT to be, the cherry on the top. At least I hope so. Can we endure much more of this absolute baloney? Preventing international hockey teams from getting to ScotiaBank Place for team practices during the upcoming World Juniors, is despicable at best. NOW! NOW we hear of the drivers refusing to allow students to get to their university exams! These drivers, speaking of "respect and dignity", would actually prevent hard working university students from getting to their exams!?!?!?

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2008/12/11/ot-081211-carleton-shuttle.html?ref=rss&loomia_si=t0:a16:g4:r1:c0:b0

WHAT IS GOING ON HERE! I'M PULLING MY HAIR OUT! WHO DO THESE PEOPLE THINK THEY ARE?

The radio right now: "George Street is a parking lot because the drivers are blocking the roads. And the same with the government buildings at Constellation."

What is wrong with these frickin people? They said that their issue was with the city - some of the drivers are calling in to CFRA and apologizing that they are disrupting so many peoples' lives! THEN WHY!? WHY!? WHY!? WHY!? are they blockading PUBLIC streets!!!!!!!

WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE!? 2,200 whiny drivers don't own the city. Stop interfering with our lives! Damn these buffoons.

I feel for the elderly, the single moms, the failing Bank Street businesses, and everyone who has to put up with this garbage. Down with the people involved in these strikes. The drivers, OC Transpo, city management involved with OC Transpo. Tar and feather them and throw them out of our town! This strike should NEVER have been allowed.

CFRA Callers

Man oh man! These union goons are done!

Solidarity, work together, band together. Let's shut these unions and these drivers down! Yeah! This "municipal terrorism" as one caller has dubbed it.

The "arrogance, the smugness" and the "Jimmy Hoff approach to negotiations". I'm not sure who Jimmy Hoff was but if he was half as bad as ATU 279 President Andre Cornellier, then man oh man, was he a bad dude.

Cornellier, was "rude, evasive, arrogant" and worse. He was like a 5-year old kid having a temper tantrum, closing his ears and shouting down the interviewer with the same one-liner, something about the city contracting new drivers.

RIDICULOUS! As one caller mentioned, if this is what the negotiators and the city had to deal with trying to broker a deal, no wonder there was a strike. You can't talk to these union people!

Point 2. As the caller also noted, very eloquently, in large cities like Ottawa, public transit must be declared an ESSENTIAL SERVICE. 350,000 people take the bus in Ottawa each and every day! The union and OCTranspo, consisting of 2,200 people, has taken the city hostage with this baloney! Our hands are tied! You can't negotiate with these people! This Cornellier fellow, he said he only has "to answer to his membership." Well Mr. Cornellier, I agree with caller Joanne, that you have to answer to us! The city taxpayer. We pay your wages you fool!

To add insult to injury, these goons are blocking busy, downtown intersections near City Hall with their picket lines! I hope they're stoned and paintballed.

Moreover, they have not given their consent to not interfere with yellow buses trying to transport kids to school! Somehow kids going to school would infringe upon their protest!

Fire the lot of them! Give the boot to the union! Throw these fools out. If they stage a sit-in, arrest them.

I don't even want these fools ordered back to work! We don't want them! That's it. Finito, caput. They're out. Down with ATU 279 and these striking drivers.

As to the callers on CFRA. You guys are amazing! You speak eloquently (nothing like Cornellier), you put your points forth in a fair and just manner, and you make GOOD points. Let's work together. Let's band together. Let's solidify the masses. Talk to your neighbours. Help each other get to work. Let's do this. We don't need these OC Transpo fools.

6.5 million dollars in overtime pay between 800 OC Transpo employees...ridiculous.

OC Transpo Strike

OC Transpo is acting in a childish way. In fact worse than that, because even children, when you offer them a candy bar or some sort of incentive to stop their bully-boy, childish antics, they will accept.

OCTranspo, this "organization", run entirely by men (NOT A SINGLE WOMAN ON THE EXECUTIVE BOARD), seems to me to be chalk full of PATRONAGE and GREED.

Check out their website: www.atu279.ca

This website is EXTREMELY unprofessional and amateur. Black and white images of the old days adorn the borders of their barebones website, attempting to make the viewer feel that the unions of today are somehow as important of those of yesteryear - a time when workers worked 6 days a week, 12 hours a day, for 50 cents an hour.

I called and left a message with the union's leader, Andre Cornellier. No reply.
I searched and searched for an e-mail - in vain. What sort of union has no e-mail address? A union that doesn't want angry e-mails from pissed off citizens!

Why is their office way out in the sticks on Gladwin Crescent? A small little hole in the wall sort of place too by the looks of it. (unit C-9) Why is that? Because they don't want people protesting outside their offices. Put your damn offices downtown, now, because we want to scream and holler at the top of our lungs and tell you how STUPID this is! At Christmas! 10.5 percent wage increase (over three years)! You say it's not about the money! Take that bloody figure off the table then! No damn wage increase! If it's really about the scheduling talk to your bloody management! Don't step on the elderly, the students, and the single moms who rely on the bus day in and day out! 350,000 = Ottawa daily ridership! GET WITH IT! GREED, GREED, GREED!

And another thing, Mr. Cornellier. It's about "respect and dignity". The city doesn't respect the bus drivers like other city employees. Boo hoo. 25 dollars an hour. Some drivers make 100,000 a year! You don't need a high school diploma! Many drivers barely speak English (or French)! And they are RUDE RUDE RUDE. I totally disagree with your presumption that when the city hires other people to drive the buses, outside of the union, that they are somehow less professional. Unionized bus drivers are some of the biggest jerks I've ever met. And Ottawa agrees with me!

To the city: why is public transit not considered an "essential service"! Hurry! Now! Hurry the hell up! Public transit is as essential as running water! Essential as the police service! They are an essential service! We "cannot survive without them". That is the definition of an essential service. By the sounds of it, from what I've heard, we, the transit users of Ottawa are suffering! Just because you drive a nice car to work, and park in your reserved, electrified spot at City Hall, doesn't mean you can't throw us a frickin' bone! Get your heads out of the sand.

OC Transpo drivers - do not strike. The City - hurry up and work this out.

Hope For The Markets

Sir John Templeton once said:
"Bull markets are born on pessimism, they grow on skepticism, they mature on optimism, they die on euphoria."
(Globe & Mail)

Hopefully our euphoric period was a year ago. Let the birthing of the bull markets begin.

CFRA Ottawa

Have had a GREAT time listening to CFRA Ottawa this morning. What an amazing show! Lowell Green, Michael Harris - these guys have great things to say.

I was brought up to despise talk shows like these. My mom called these guys right-wingers and I was made to feel that they were write offs.

The same thing with the Calgary Sun. (We lived in Calgary at the time). It was a right-wing paper. A paper that I was not advised to read.

But you know what - CFRA, the Sun, etc. These are the PEOPLE. This is Joe Public talking. And you guys are saying what I want to hear!

The whole issue of this OC Transpo strike! Man was I stinking mad. I now officially hate unions. I called into CFRA, vented my frustration, found A LOT of sympathy. Ottawa is up in arms re: this strike! UP IN ARMS! The knives are out. Down with the strike.

NOW. We have the Liberal Party of Canada of which I was a longtime member! And a proud one. But what have they done? 932 party big wigs have decided suddenly that Ignatieff is the leader. With no consultation among the millions of members of the Liberal Party. Well screw that. I'm done with the Liberal Party.

Go Harper.

Liberal Leadership

I'm not sure whether I am happy or not about Stephane Dion stepping down, perhaps as early as this week. He is an intelligent politician, he looks at facts and statistics before supporting new policy proposals. Many other MPs simply vote along party lines or according to their political ideologies.

One reason that many European decmocracies are so successful is that parties spend a lot of time examining the science behind policy proposals. They crunch the numbers, they take polls, they interview the experts. In Canada, whatever the Conservative party feels is a good idea, must be a good idea, and it's put to a vote in the House, without any public consultation or examination of facts. Just exactly how did Harper think that his last budget would pass with all the crankpot ideas in that scrap of legislation?

Dion is an academic. An intellectual. He would have been great in a European democracy. Sadly, Canada, with its majoritarian (38% forms a government!?), first-past-the-post system, politicians with an "I'll do what I want" attitude are successful; intellectuals and academics like Mr. Dion are simply punted to the side.

Enter Michael Ignatieff. The Liberal version of Mr. Harper. A man who feels that he can do as he pleases. We are going to see a polarized Parliament. Ignatieff is going to carve out an ideology for the Liberal Party and thus make it unappealing to Canadian voters. There is a small chance he will adopt the "Third-Way" model, which is what Britain's Labour Party has done so well over the past two decades. But I'm worried that, due to his competitive nature, he will seek to differentiate both himself and the Liberal Party from Mr. Harper and the Tories. In doing so, he will alienate Third-Way voters, and force people to become either Liberals or Conservatives. I tell you right now, the majority, when faced with such a polarized decision, will choose the latter over the former. That is to say, that more people will come to identify themselves with the Tories rather than the Liberals. The Liberal Party would drop to 50 seats in such an event (as there will no doubt be another election within 2 years), the NDP would stay the same, the Bloc would gain a few, but the Conservatives would have their majority.

Right now, as "useless" as Dion might seem to the party, he is able to see past his own desires - he has been described by MANY as having little to no self-ambition. He is able to envision a coalition, something that the pompous Ignatieff cannot accept, or refuses to, on grounds that the Liberal Party is not a small, fledgling party but rather is a party with more than a century of tradition, a party that can be a national contender. Yeah right Ignatieff. The Liberals will not regain the popularity they enjoyed during Chretien's rule for at least 10 more years (at which point they'll achieve a smashing majority). But now is not the time.

Rather, until voters forget about the sponsorship scandal and until the Conservatives plunge our country into greater economic disaster, Canadians will continue to buy into Harper's cavalier, "get 'er done" mentality. For he speaks for the average, working-class Joe. At least that's what they think. He speaks for joe public on one hand and accepts huge payouts from Canadian and American big business with the other. But it's going to take 10 more years to see change in that department.

So we have a 10 year wait Iggy. Please don't play "politics" or the Liberal Party will be destroyed. Canadians don't want to see "politics" right now. This coalition ianitiative is the best thing the Liberal Party has going for it, as their unpopularity is cancelled out by the small but steady popularity of the Bloc and the NDP. You need to hold on to them!!! Not the other way around. Stick with the parties and keep the high horse in the barn. Please, for the sake of our country, and the Liberal Party of Canada.

Political Ideology and the Coalition

Mark Twain sums up best, the reason why some are for the coalition and others against it. I think now, after examining the thoughts and feelings of friends, family, and co-workers with respect to the proposed Liberal-NDP coalition, I have come to the conclusion that no matter what facts, stats, numbers are presented to the Conservatives and their supporters, they don't like the coalition. There is no convincing some people. In the same way that they cannot convince me that this coalition is a "dirty, backroom deal" and "undemocratic".

"We know why Catholics are Catholics; why Presbyterians are Presbyterians; why Baptists are Baptists; why Mormons are Mormons; why thieves are thieves; why monarchists are monarchists; why Republicans are Republicans and Democrats, Democrats. We know that it is a matter of association and sympathy, not reasoning and examination; that hardly a man in the world has an opinion on morals, politics, and religion that he got otherwise than through his associations and sympathies."
-Mark Twain

Political Apathy Out The Window

We have witnessed a STUNNING past two weeks in Canadian politics. Canadians are getting INVOLVED again! From coast to coast to coast, Canadians are flooding radio talk shows, bombarding internet forums, and getting organized.

All this talk of a potential coalition (temporarily relegated to the backburner due to Jean's decision to prorogue Parliament) has Canadians engaging themselves in our country's political sphere. As I read in the Metro (newspaper) yesterday, cabbies, barbers, teachers, students, bus drivers: everyone is talking! Tout le monde en parle!

These are exciting times for Canadian democracy. Perhaps we are not so apathetic after all!

A Coalition Could Work

A coalition between the Liberals and the New Democrats could work. I went to the rally at Parliament Hill today - what a spectacle! An amazing show of support for the coalition. Canadians from all walks of life turned out: unionists, the unemployed, lawyers, athletes, students, anyone and everyone.

When I saw Duceppe take the mic I was star struck. I'm not sure why but the BQ leader is probably the most charismatic of all the federal party leaders. His character demands attention. However, he is a Quebecer through and through and I wish he would have spoken more about the coalition and less about the detrimental affects the continuace of a Conservative government would have for Quebec and Quebecers.

Even the MC for the day, a very fine speaker, spoke too much about what I felt were irrelevant matters: gay/lesbian issues, the environment, pro-choice, etc. I don't want to see anyone alienated in this fragile, fledgling coalition movement. We shouldn't be discussing those subjects. We need to be discussing the importance of a coalition and how it can work.

Dion was very formidable and gave an impassioned speech, rife with criticism for the Conservative government and Mr. Harper, and full of hope for this coalition movement.

I think this coalition could really work. Too bad we don't get to give it a chance until January 26th now. I'm hoping that this arrangement will still be on the table.

I wonder how many Canadians are for and how many are against. If every Canadian were asked, and every Canadian was given the literature and the background of the situation so that they would make a fairly informed opinion. I would like to say 80% would be for, with only 20% against. But you never know.

Still, I believe that, at the end of the day, no matter what facts/statistics are shown to some of the nay-sayers, they would still refute a coalition. It's interesting, but there is something about human nature - whereby when we have an opinion on something, or a feeling about something, i.e. pro-Harper, pro-Conservative, this opinion will never be broken. We all view the world through a different set of lenses, and as such, it would take a DRASTIC change in a person's life to knock of those lenses. The majority of Tories are decided Tories - they will never go to another party. What's interesting is that the Tories will often berate other party members (those of left and centre parties) for their political beliefs without ever checking their own. I believe that, even if every scientist and person of influence in the world were to tell the Tories and their supporters that this coalition government would be a great success for Canada - there would still be many, many, who would disagree. Look at the climate change debate. Some people still don't want to believe that the world's climate is changing due to carbon emissions.
We all tend to believe what we want to.

Why We Must Privatize OCTranspo

Absolutely ridiculous. The city has offered OCTranspo employees a 6.2% wage increase, and a $1400 bonus. OCTranspo is asking for a...wait for it...10.5% increase! They're going to strike as early as next week if their demands aren't met! The nation's capital is going to be without a bus system! This should be illegal.

10.5%!? Where the he&% are we going to get that kind of money in a time like this? Do bus drivers/employees not make enough? They have great benefits, they're unionized...perish the thought...and they have decent salaries. What the heck are they being so GREEDY!?

It's high time we privatize OCTranspo.

Harper and the Bloc

Harper worked with the Bloc during his last minority government - Duceppe and the evil separatists propped up the Tories for over a year, seeing them through 145 bills! It was okay to accept their help then. What's wrong with the Liberals and NDP accepting their help now?

Why, why! in September 2004, did Harper and the Conservative Party ask then G.G. Adrienne Clarkson, to consider a coalition between them, the NDP, AND THE BLOC!?

Watch this if you need more proof:

http://watch.ctv.ca/news/latest/question-period---dec-3/#clip118310

AND AND AND:

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/12/03/day-bloc.html

tsk tsk, Tory hypocrasy at its finest.

All I Want For Christmas Is...A Coalition!

Excellent. The idea for a coalition is gaining steam across the country!

Here are some simple arguments: the parties involved in the coalition garnered 65% of the votes. Why should the Conservatives, a party which only gained 35% of the national, popular vote, feel entitled to run our country? 65% of us are unhappy with his government!

Some statements from today's National Post:

"It may be impossible to explain to a cynical public, but the essence of Harper's blunder is that he betrayed the trust of Parliament. After some initial posturing about co-operation, he reverted to his ruthless modus operandi, scheming to crush his opponents."
Cape Breton Post

Why did Harper, why did Harper, start off Parliament by introducing a budget that would cripple his political opposition? Cancelling public subsidies to political parties? Those public subsidies are the very lifeblood of our country's pluralistic, multi-party democracy! We are not Americans. Our parties don't need hundreds of millions to gain seats in the House. If that were the case, public office would be unattainable for 90% of the population. Public subsidies are essential to maintaining our multi-party system. BAD, BAD, move on his part. Is it any wonder, when faced with this threat of extinction (the Liberal Party is nearly bankrupt as it is), that the opposition parties might not band together to quash the bigger bully on the playground?

Peter Van Loan was on CTV earlier today, denouncing the "socialists, and separatists" who are going to take control of the country. What about when Harper tried to get into bed with the Bloc and NDP himself?

"Stephen Harper shows disdain and contempt for Canadians when he tries to fake outrage at opposition party attempts to work together to form a coalition government. Let us not forget the letter he signed on September 9, 2004 (along with Gilles Duceppe and Jack Layton), which urged then Governor General Adrien Clarkson to consult with the opposition parties should Paul Martin's Liberal government fall. Mr. Harper asked the Governor General to see if the opposition parties could form a government because they formed a majority in the House. It is this type of cynical, conniving and manipulative politics that might ultimately prove to be Harper's Achilles heel.
Trevor Hache, Ottawa (National Post)

Alas, Conservatives and their supporters constantly pull this double-talk out of the bag. It's okay for them to do it, but not other parties. Think back to when David Emerson was elected as a Liberal in Vancouver in 2006, yet crossed the floor at the invitation of Mr. Harper for a cabinet post. Think back to when Michel Fortier, an UNELECTED party member from Montreal, was given a Senate post by Harper. Why is it always wrong for the other parties to do these things but not for the high and mighty Conservatives?

As Bill Casey, a former Conservative MP, put it: "He [Harper] doesn't get you can only push people around for so long before they push back."

Or this, from the Truro Daily News:
"When Stephen Harper and the Conservatives won their minority this fall and were headed back to Parliament, they said it would be a kinder, gentler session, one of cooperation to help Canada through tough times. Apparently they didn't mean it...should all this come to pass, the Conservatives can blame it on their own hubris."

Or this from La Presse:
"Stephen Harper committed an unpardoned error in putting his partisan interests ahead of those of the country."

Or finally this, from the St. Albert Gazette:
"Playing brinkmanship politics during a global financial crisis, when Canadians are worrying about their jobs and pensions, should cost Stephen Harper his job...Harper's actions are more about playing confrontation politics."

Thus Mr. Harper was beat at his own game. Why, why, did he attempt to cripple his opponents in such a Machiavellian fashion? He only has himself to blame.

Now as for the "separatists running the country" point that critics of the coalition bring up, I must report that:
-Duceppe has agreed to set aside Quebec sovereignty arguments for 18 months and work with this coalition;
-Jean-Claude Rivest, an independent Senator said: "there will be no threats or attempts by the Bloc to take the Canadian government hostage [with this coalition]...that's rubbish...the Conservatives will riase that point but it's really not serious."

Now, the "undemocratic" argument, that this coalition is somehow some "dirty", "backroom" deal:
-No. This is not illegal. Everything that the opposition parties are doing is legal and constitutional.
-Onyl 37 percent of Canadians voted Conservative; 63 percent voted for one of the other three parties. Are not the majority of Canadians now going to have their interests served? For example, only 54 percent of Saskatchewan voters cast their ballots for the Conservatives. That means that nearly 50 percent of Saskatchewan residents voted for someone else. The Conservatives DO NOT represent "the will of Canadians" as the Harper war room has been trumpeting.

Mr. Harper made another blunder by alienating the unions! The unions! As much as I may disagree with some of the tactics/powers unions employ and enjoy, you don't come out and say that! He went after the Public Service Alliance of Canada! Not allowing strikes and handing them only a minimal wage increase over the next 3 years. Totally fair perhaps, even to myself, but you don't actually say that! Now he's got 200,000 angry PSAC members. Add to that the Canadian Labour Congress and Harper's got some big opponents.

I'll sign off with a clip from Elizabeth May:

http://watch.ctv.ca/news/latest/constitutional-chaos/#clip117846

p.s. The dinner table at my girlfriend's family's is going to be a warzone this Christmas.

The Three Musketeers of Ottawa

Fascinating times in Canadian politics! History in the making people!

Huge controversy! Guns blazing!

The three opposition parties are banding together to topple the Conservatives. For thos who have a problem with it, watch this:

http://watch.ctv.ca/news/latest/done-deal/#clip117761

Machiavellian politics backfiring baby. Harper, that sly old fox, thought he'd crush his opposition parties, thinking them weak and unable to recover from electoral defeats in a weak economy. By cancelling the $1.95/vote allotted to the parties (payed through by taxpayer dollars at the end of each federal election once all the votes have been tallied) Harper thought he'd throw a KO punch to the other three. WRONG! Rather, the opposition parties have signed a deal and there is a good chance we could have a new government by next week.

One thing however, the Conservatives are likely to porogue parliament, and put off the budget vote until the 26th of January. They will edit their budget and hope it will pass. However, the only problem is, that even with the amendments he makes to his budget, he's alienated the other parties! His true colours have shined through: he wanted to cancel funding to political parties! There is a reason for that funding: we have a pluralistic democracy. We don't have a 2-party system like our neighbours to the south. Parties don't need to have hundreds of millions of dollars to earn seats in the House. Public funding is ESSENTIAL to maintaining our pluralistic, multi-party system. Even if the Tories manage to produce a new budget in late January, this Parliament may not want to support it and instead forge ahead with their own plans for government. Excellent. There's always another way.

http://watch.ctv.ca/news/latest/done-deal/#clip117764

interesting article - personality disorders

I know from my own experience, that mood swings, anxiety, and paranoia really cripple a person. As a diabetic, my blood sugars often dictate how I feel. I can go from happy to sad in a matter of hours. As I get older I'm getting better at sorting it out and addressing my feelings, but it is a neverending struggle.

Most recently I felt like acting like a Soprano. If you act like something youre not, long enough, you actually change thought patterns and sort of become that other person - which is weird. But it caused a few fights in my personal life and I hope not to go down that path again.

I am quite influential and watching 3 episodes of Sopranos a day for almost a week was not a good idea. I will be watching no more of The Sopranos.

It's hard to be one's self when you're hurt or shit on - you feel that if you put up a bit of a front then it's only your front that gets hurt. It sort of serves as a "buffer", not allowing people to really get close to the real "you". However, you do give up something when you behave like this - yourself. And when you give up being yourself, forget who you are and what you stand for, you have a problem.

From now on, no matter how much I get annoyed or crapped on, I will always be myself. I not only owe it to myself to behave this way, but also to everyone that is important in my life.


1 in 5 young Americans has personality disorder
Fewer than 25 percent of college-age suffers get treatment, study finds
The Associated Press
updated 5:10 p.m. ET, Mon., Dec. 1, 2008
CHICAGO - Almost one in five young American adults has a personality disorder that interferes with everyday life, and even more abuse alcohol or drugs, researchers reported Monday in the most extensive study of its kind.

The disorders include problems such as obsessive or compulsive tendencies and anti-social behavior that can sometimes lead to violence. The study also found that fewer than 25 percent of college-aged Americans with mental problems get treatment.

One expert said personality disorders may be overdiagnosed. But others said the results were not surprising since previous, less rigorous evidence has suggested mental problems are common on college campuses and elsewhere.

Experts praised the study's scope — face-to-face interviews about numerous disorders with more than 5,000 young people ages 19 to 25 — and said it spotlights a problem college administrators need to address.

Study co-author Dr. Mark Olfson of Columbia University and New York State Psychiatric Institute called the widespread lack of treatment particularly worrisome. He said it should alert not only "students and parents, but also deans and people who run college mental health services about the need to extend access to treatment."

Particularly vulnerable
Counting substance abuse, the study found that nearly half of young people surveyed have some sort of psychiatric condition, including students and non-students.

Personality disorders were the second most common problem behind drug or alcohol abuse as a single category. The disorders include obsessive, anti-social and paranoid behaviors that are not mere quirks but actually interfere with ordinary functioning.

The study authors noted that recent tragedies such as fatal shootings at Northern Illinois University and Virginia Tech have raised awareness about the prevalence of mental illness on college campuses.

They also suggest that this age group might be particularly vulnerable.

"For many, young adulthood is characterized by the pursuit of greater educational opportunities and employment prospects, development of personal relationships, and for some, parenthood," the authors said. These circumstances, they said, can result in stress that triggers the start or recurrence of psychiatric problems.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, an estimated 1 in four U.S. adults suffers from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year.

Highlighting a need
The study was released Monday in Archives of General Psychiatry. It was based on interviews with 5,092 young adults in 2001 and 2002.

Olfson said it took time to analzye the data, including weighting the results to extrapolate national numbers. But the authors said the results would probably hold true today.

The study was funded with grants from the National Institutes of Health, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and the New York Psychiatric Institute.

Dr. Sharon Hirsch, a University of Chicago psychiatrist not involved in the study, praised it for raising awareness about the problem and the high numbers of affected people who don't get help.

Imagine if more than 75 percent of diabetic college students didn't get treatment, Hirsch said. "Just think about what would be happening on our college campuses."

The results highlight the need for mental health services to be housed with other medical services on college campuses, to erase the stigma and make it more likely that people will seek help, she said.

In the study, trained interviewers, but not psychiatrists, questioned participants about symptoms. They used an assessment tool similar to criteria doctors use to diagnose mental illness.

Dr. Jerald Kay, a psychiatry professor at Wright State University and chairman of the American Psychiatric Association's college mental health committee, said the assessment tool is considered valid and more rigorous than self-reports of mental illness. He was not involved in the study.

Personality disorders showed up in similar numbers among both students and non-students, including the most common one, obsessive compulsive personality disorder. About 8 percent of young adults in both groups had this illness, which can include an extreme preoccupation with details, rules, orderliness and perfectionism.

Kay said the prevalence of personality disorders was higher than he would expect and questioned whether the condition might be overdiagnosed.

All good students have a touch of "obsessional" personality that helps them work hard to achieve. But that's different from an obsessional disorder that makes people inflexible and controlling and interferes with their lives, he explained.

Obsessive compulsive personality disorder differs from the better known OCD, or obsessive-compulsive disorder, which features repetitive actions such as hand-washing to avoid germs.

OCD is thought to affect about 2 percent of the general population. The study didn't examine OCD separately but grouped it with all anxiety disorders, seen in about 12 percent of college-aged people in the survey.

The overall rate of other disorders was also pretty similar among college students and non-students.

Substance abuse, including drug addiction, alcoholism and other drinking that interferes with school or work, affected nearly one-third of those in both groups.


Slightly more college students than non-students were problem drinkers — 20 percent versus 17 percent. And slightly more non-students had drug problems — nearly 7 percent versus 5 percent.

In both groups, about 8 percent had phobias and 7 percent had depression.

Bipolar disorder was slightly more common in non-students, affecting almost 5 percent versus about 3 percent of students.

More on personality disorders

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URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28002991/?gt1=43001