Tommy Douglas, father of universal health care - Greatest Canadian???

What does it say about our country?

That we're good for our health care?

No dis to Mr. Douglas, but isn't there more to our country than Canadian Medicare?

Like telecommunications? Hockey? Scientific innovations? Traditional values? Political will and resolve? The hardiness of our national character? Our ingrained audacity.

The standings look like this in CBC's Greatest Canadian Campaign...

1. T.C. Douglas.
2. Terry Fox.
3. Pierre Trudeau.
4. Sir Frederick Banting.
5. David Suzuki.
6. Lester Pearson.
7. Don Cherry.
8. Sir John A. Macdonald.
9. Alexander Graham Bell.
10. Wayne Gretzky.

In a nutshell...

Terry Fox lost his leg to cancer and decided to run across the country to raise awareness of the disease.

Pierre Elliot Trudeau, for better or for worse, brought the country together and created the progressive atmosphere of the "Just Society" that people like me are still paying for.

Sir Frederick Banting uncovered the secrets of insulin and paved the way for diabetes research. Sadly, like cancer, there's still no cure for diabetes.

David Suzuki, still alive and kicking, gave a human face to science, environment and activism, and has one heck of a sense of humour in doing so.

Lester Pearson helped broker a resolution of the Suez Crisis and implement United Nations Peacekeeping. Sadly, General Romeo Dallaire was hardly considered even though he risked his own life and sanity while dealing with the organosation's shortfalls.

Don Cherry is Canada's "Mr. Hockey" known for his outspoken views on, well, anything that's not yet bolted down or granted "sacred-mad-cow" status.

Sir John A. Macdonald was Canada's first prime minister and Father of this Confederation. Was it an achievement or a mistake? Who knows? Who cares? We have a country. That's good enough, right?

Alexander Graham Bell was more than the guy who invented the telephone. He also pioneered the hydroplane on Bras D'or Lake at the turn of the 20^th century. If it weren't for him, we wouldn't be getting all this porn-site and penis-enlarger spam. Now that was a mensch.

Wayne Gretzky didn't invent hockey, but he owned it during the 80s with the Edmonton Oilers. Too bad he's a bit over-the-hill to go back to the sport he loves, but what the Hell... he had been and always will be "The Great One" wearing 99 for Peter Pocklington.

Check out the story here

New feature... take a guess and look below!

See... that's a new feature.

Will it go or will it blow? You decide!

Now enjoy the rest of my weblog, you knucklehead. :)

In my travels...

Peoples and places
Disparate races
Melding and blending
Various buildings

Streets of gold
Roads of dirt
Cheers of joy
Tears of hurt

Mountains of BC
Plains of Alberta
Saskatchwan wheatfields
Regina New Year

Lakehead in the winter
Waking in Wawa
Great Canadian Shield
Big rocky field

Concrete corridor
Quebec to Detroit
Endless Ohio
Blue moon of Kentucky

Keep on shining crazy diamond
In the muddy Mississppi
Suffocating in Memphis
On a hot August day

With Elvis at rest
Lying in Graceland
Just a plain old house
Just like my own

Georgia on my mind
Sun sand sex on the brain
Florida moonshine
On a hot winter day

From the concrete corridor
Toronto to Quebec
The valleys of the Madawaska
The world's longest covered bridge

Moncton skyline
Amherst pit stop
Breakfast at Timmy's
Dinner at Wendy's

Halifax water
Dartmouth bedroom
Moonlight over Musquodoboit
Harlots in Charlottetown

Passed out on George St.
St. John's summertime
Pizza in the morning
Whiskey in the jar

Midnight sun
Aurora Borealis
Iqaluit, Nunavut
Barren land of ice

Everything seen and heard
Reduced to synapses and memories
Frozen in time on celluloid
Or in combinations of 1s and 0s

Permutations of destinations
Sights, sounds, tastes, smells
Cold bed, warm body
Full tank, empty stomach

Country in Canmore
Gospel in Tennesee
Rock in America
Hip Hop through Dayton

Tijuana nightlife
San Diego rain
Vancouver junkies
Buying fixes by selling meat

Or cameras, speakers
Anything they could steal
They could have gotten something
Like a bath or a meal

Endless journey
Sleepless nights
Truck stop respite
On an endless road
Somewhere on the way to anywhere

Buy my record (then go away)

You think I'm an asshole but why go through the hassle
I'm only trying to do what's best for me
You put me on a pedestal but you know sweet fuck-all
About all the trouble I had to go through
Trying to get my record out

Buy my record... go away
Thanks for caring, you made my day
But don't you come to me for help
I'm just human, just like you
I am ugly, just like you
I'm in no way better than you

Sitting at your PC, going for the lowdown
Going for the download getting off for free
But there's no such thing as a free lunch, friend
'cause it costs so much money
Trying to get a record out

Buy my record... go away
I hope you're happy that I made your day
But you must pay if you want to play
If you really want to know
You must reap what you have sown
It's the same thing every day

You don't know about my hell
I'm not the one to kiss and tell
I just kill to eat and make what I sell
I wish I could help you every day
But it's best that I rather wish you well
Just buy my record and go away

I don't care about the way you vote
The way you travel by car or by boat
I've got no time to be your daddy
Nothing personal but I don't know you
And you don't know me, please understand
I'm not that famous, I'm just a man
If you got money that's okay
Just try to save for a rainy day
But what I do, I want to get paid
I have to pay my bills each day
So buy my record and go away
It's the best, I have to say
I may be arrogant selfish and rude
But, hey motherfucker I'm here to stay

Buy my record... go away
Make me rich, I'll make your day
But don't ask me 'bout how you feel
I don't care if you are hot
I don't care if you smoke pot
And I don't really give a sweet goddamn
About you or your boyfriend or your mom or your dad
About your jerk of a teacher, about your jerk of your boss
About your jerk of your boyfreind and your unborn child
About your girlfriend and how she doesn't understand
About my music and my life
Because I'm human just like you
So here's my advice for you

Live your life... not mine

Spoon-fed: train-of-thought rap...

Starving... wanting...
Hungering... lusting...

You want it in you here-and-now
Not today but yesterday
You want it in you right or wrong
As long as you don't have to pay

Touching... feeling...
Expediently... appealing...

It's not my country right or wrong
That made me have to write this song
Just give me money, give me bling
Guns and ho's and everything

I've got my money
Give me everything
Give me your money
I'll sell you anything

Playing... praying...
Everyone... is waiting...

You be the devil that you know
You want to star in your own show
You take your chances, then you go
Then watch you empire slowly grow

Bleeding... feeding...
Drink this wine... freeze your mind...

Iraq and Afghanistan
French, Yanks and the Germans
Jews, Islams and X-tians
Gather 'round the Candyman

You want everything
Give out your money
Ready to wear and ready to eat
Sell your kids to me

Gimme gimme never get
Don't you know your manners yet
There's no land of plenty
Made of milk and honey

It's the same old movie
With the same old story
Just with different people
And a different author

When your children all grow up
Will you continue or give up
Take it in stride or step aside
Or stick around and stand your ground

Take flight or stand up to fight
Use your brain or follow your heart
In the end all will be gone
Except for art

"Band Aid 20": we don't need another remake

Way back in the Evil Eighties, Boomtown Rat Bob Geldof, moved by the plight of starving Ethiopian children, decided to write a song about feeding the world and let it know about Christmas.

Never mind that everyone was a X-tian back then and that Noel was another 4-letter word. Bob was determined to get that song out to an unsuspecting public to raise funds to alleviate the African famine, even though some people suspected that it was man-made.

Cynicism aside, the single eventually sold 50 million copies since its release in 1984. Since then, people in sub-Saharan Africa are no better than they were back in the day. But we felt none the worse anyway.

Which brings us into 2004, and like all good roads to Hell, the pavement is being done with the production of a new cover of the rock-pop classic. As Sun-Media's Liisa Ladouceur wrote in her article:

Think about some of these lyrics: "Do they know it's Christmas time?" Uh, most Ethiopians are Muslims. I doubt they care much about Jesus' birthday on a good day. "There won't be snow in Africa this Christmas time." Really? Is that because of the drought? And of course, that famous "thank God it's them" line Bono and Justin both wanted to sing. What kind of prayer is that?

That kind of naivete should be left in the '80s, like wearing satin shorts with sport socks. Today, it just seems ignorant. Like so many holiday pleas, it's also a blatant call to care only when your God is watching.

But let's go back in time when Reagan was in the White House, Thatcher was the U.K. prime minister and Canada was about to elect its first Tory government in years. Bob assembled the best U.K. performers at the time... Paul Young, Boy George, Simon LeBon, Bono, George Michael, Eurythmics, Phil Collins - stuck them in a studio and churned out what turned out to be a classic carol. Considering the spirit of the age - the Cold War "us versus them" attitude, Reaganomics, style over substance, cocaine, etc. - its wasn't a bad song. But there was this patronizing attitude that if we tossed money and food their way, the poor countries would have enough strength to sustain themselves and recover, thus gaining new allies against the Evil Empire in return, right?

But due to some inherent corruption on the part of the governments that negotiated with the Band Aid project, not all the food and money went to the masses. Yet in spite of all the glitches and bitching, pissing and moaning, the Band Aid juggernaut kept growing until Geldof decided to put on a new project called "Live Aid" to escalate the process. Even to this very day, this worldwide television event was, bar none, one of the best showcases of talent in support of a single cause.

Fast forward to 2004, and we have the best that the U.K. has to offer these days. Oh, yeah, Bono and Geldof are on this recording as they were on the original, but now they're joined by a few upstarts such as Joss Stone, Dido, Justin Hawkins from the Darkness - whose very participation pissed off the now-Sainted Bono, Chris Martin from Coldplay (aka Mr. Gwyneth Paltrow), Robbie Williams and Sugarbabes - most of them virtually unknown/criminally ignored (I personally take Williams over Timberlake in a Doom III-style deathmatch any day) on this side of the Pond.

Of course there will be cynics on the Wrong and the Right: after all, once is enough, twice is pointless. I can't fault Geldof for his good intentions, influenced by the recent events in Darfur. But ask yourself this: can a single, seasonal song that tried so hard to make a difference back in 1984 do the same in 2004? 2005? 2006? Can an Eighties mindset, never mind a Sixties one, be of any spiritual and pragmatic value, let alone have any positive influence, in this turn of the century? The world seemed to have changed: Communism, if not dead, has transformed itself from a transnational entity to that of a popular protest movement; political and ideological conflicts have been replaced by petty religious and racial conflicts; the haves and have-nots are still at loggerheads with each other; we still have the same robber-barons/philanthropists running all over the world; and Israel is still not getting any respect.

Or maybe, nothing much has really changed, only the packaging.

Maybe we should write a new song altogether. And for God's sake, not another Christmas song.

A post-U.S. Thanksgiving moment...

For all my Yankee viewers, I wish you all a belated Happy Thanksgiving.

And while you're still digesting the turkey, ham, succotash, corn, stuffing, pumpkin and sweet potato pies, meet the man who was the inspiration for Rammstein's song "Mein Teil".

Armin Meiwes had such a good appetite he decided no only to invite other men to his house for dinner: he made them his main course.

Bon Appétit!

Tara Tittie Tease

At a recent P. Diddy/Puff Daddy/Dirk Diggler/Whatsisname party, American Beauty Tara Reid let it all hang out.

Until something slipped, and hung out a little more of herself than we're entitled to see.

Big up big-boys.com.

Bigger up, Tara.

Who the hell is Sean Hannity? (And why does he deserve to be hated?)

Courtesy of mensnewsdaily.com, columnist Chris Davis explores the deep, dark side of one of Amurrica's controversial conservative commentator.

Joe Scarborough, a former Republican congressman from Florida who now hosts MSNBC’s “Scarborough Country,” says the challenge for conservative hosts will be to prove “that we’re more than just the Pravda of the right.” He adds, “I think that’s going to be difficult for some people. I honestly don’t know what Sean Hannity is going to be able to talk about. If you’ve been reading off the Republican National Committee’s talking points like he has for the past four years, it’s going to be hard to be critical of the status quo.” Amen, brother Scarborough. It’s about time someone stood up to this fascist radio host.

I'm already beginning to hate this Sean Hannity guy. And I never even heard him speak.

It appears that this fascist, jackboot-licking, running-dog lackey of U.S. imperial interests is in league with like-minded automatons like the blonde Aryan wench-dominatrix Ann Coulter, inbred oxyxontin junkie Rush Limbaugh and the self-whoring disgrace to the brown-skin race Michelle Malkin. They all want to turn this progressive, peace-love-flower loving nation of placid drones into one big capitalist, imperialist Treblinka state, complete with colour-coded warnings of imaginary threats based on hearsay and rumours. Some people believe that it's on its way, while others believe that it may already be here, only that this socio-political Apocalyse isn't yet noticeable on the surface, eh?

And it's the existence of those genocidal fuckers that makes me grateful for being the citezen of the most enlightened, sacred, progressively Liberal welfare nanny-state of Canada.

A place where 50% of my pay goes to the government to fund programs that most people are too ignorant to be aware of, but I'm sure as hell that they're programs that are needed.

A place where if you intentionally kill someone, you might only have to spend less than 25 years of you life behind bars, enjoying sattelite t.v., 3 square meals a day, a chance at a secondary or post-secondary education and a faint hope of an early release for good behaviour.

A place where if you're a child molester, you can be anonymously placed back into the community after serving hard time.

A place where we don't really need an armed force to protect our sovreignty: just true patriot tender loving care.

And most of all, a place where one can get the World's Bestest Health Care!

But back to the subject at hand, eh?

Mr. Davis proudly espouses things that his beloved Democratic Party belive in, things that we Progressive Canadians take (or want to take) for granted...

(W)e are the party of inclusion. We are the party of compassion, not George W. Bush, a man that titles himself a “compassionate conservative.” We are the party that classifies all people into groups. We’re the people that understand minorities need a helping hand, knowing they couldn’t possibly make it in America on their own. We’re the kind of Americans that believe women have been exploited, and that women like Laura Schlessinger are disgusting for telling them to stay home and raise children. How dare she insult the women of America? How dare she claim they bond with their children, and become a wonderful mother, wife, and lover?

... We must label men like Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh as ignorant bigots, because they represent the majority belief in America. We know they threaten our socialistic way of life, our blue states, and our united goal in one, powerful controlling and meddling federal government. We must cast aspersions at women like Ann Coulter, labeling them as angry white women, knowing we have become the party of hate, lies and deception. We are represented by Teresa Heinz Kerry, Barbara Streisand, Whoopi Goldberg, and Howard Dean.

And it all goes on!

I say "Yay!" to Big Liberalism and a Progressive Future!

I say "Yay!" to State Mollycoddling and Intervention on matters such as sushi and those pesky English words on signs in the Enlightened Belle Province du Québec!

And I say "Yay!" to our brave former Prime Minister Jean Chretien, who stood up against that Hitlerite death-camp mongerer George W. Bitch when he waged war against poor, innocent, progressive and freedom-loving leader of the mainly grateful Iraqi children, Saddam Hussein.

Boo on you, USA. Yankee go home. Vive la Liberté. VIVE LA FRANCE!

And boo on you, Hannity!

(SILLY SARCASM OFF! :P)

AAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGGOOOOOOOOOOSSSSSSS!!!

The name says it all!

In this year's Grey Cup, it's time to put those B.C. Pussies in their collective place, preferably in a hospital ward!

What Bob O'Billovich did for them in the 80's, Pinball Clemons will achieve this year.

'nuff said. Argos 34 - Pussies 28

AAAAAARRRRRRGGGGOOOOOOSSSSS!!!

UPDATE:: can you say "GAME - SET - MATCH"?

Argos 27 - Punk Ass Rug Candidates 19

AAAAAARRRRRRGGGGOOOOOOSSSSS!!!

What You Don't Know About Salem...

When I was growing up, I watched "Days of Our Lives".

So you might ask, "Jacques, what the Hell?" Well, back then they did have a kick ass storyline about the feud between good guy Roman Brady and his archnemesis Stefano Di Mera.

Personally, I was cheering for the bad guy, played to perfection by Joseph Mascolo. A lot more believable than Wayne Northrop's portrayal of the ill-fated cop in the fictional town of Salem, USA.

Someone in this blogspace still has a soft spot for that little town where hotties such as Jennifer Horton, Hope Brady, Marlena Evans (whatta cougar of a babe!) and Carrie Brady live and breathe. Jeff at Beautiful Atrocities decided to inquire about the characters and the people behind them. For instance...

• 3 cast members on Jeff's list, including Alison Sweeney who plays über-biatch Sami Brady (another hottie!), spent their X-mas holidays with US troops in Iraq and Afghanistan;
  


• 5 cast members, including Kirsten Storms (Belle Black) and Melissa Reeves (neé Brennan, Jennifer Horton-Devereaux) happen to be Evangelical Christians. So much for any potential hot, intense 3-way action with Belle and Jen;
  


• John Aniston (Victor Kiriakis) is the father of ex-"Friends" hottie Jennifer. He also used to be a naval intelligence officer. WTF, Vic?
  


• Bill Hayes (Doug Williams, father of Hope) had a hit song in the 50's with "The Ballad of Davey Crockett".

It's there are some more interesting tidbits that Jeff dug up. Now if I could start getting back into watching this series again, maybe I could find out what the fuck happened to my Salem...

Oh... and where the fuck's Carrie?

Ohhh... Those Fucking Liberals Again!!

2 things that make me so pissed off at liberals:

1. John "I know what Blacks like" Sylvester: this Übergenius at Madison, WI's WTDI-AM ranted about Condoleeza Rice's political ambitions. And, guess what, Munchkins: he played a Card...
   
   

   Sly (not an apt nickname, is it - Mr. Jacques), the on-air name for John Sylvester, told WTDY-AM (1670) morning show listeners that Rice, who is black, bought her way into the White House with obedience to President Bush.
   "I'm not apologizing for what I said," Sylvester said Thursday in an interview. "I stand by it.
   
   "I was aiming that directly at a black person that is letting himself (and herself) be used by an administration that has been extremely hostile to minorities," he said.
   
   "Being subservient and being a black role model are two different things. I think (Rice) has not only been bad for the country and for national security, but I think she's been a bad black role model.
   
   "I don't think being subservient to white people and not blowing the whistle on their misdoings is a good role model at all."
   

   
   
   So he thinks he knows what the Black Peoples thinks, doesn't he? Not so, says Michael King, who just happens to be - wait for it - Black.
   
   IMO: President Rice? President Powell? Hmmmm... It all depends on who's side you think you're on.
   
   There is a bit of Orwell's "Animal Farm"/"1984" newspeak in contemporary liberal commentary these days: Jesse Jackson="good boy" / Condoleeza Rice="bad girl" (can't get myself to use that dayum N-word, Nigga!) As usual, the "4 legs good, 2 legs good" metaphorism reigns supreme in the wonderful world of punditry, and the world continues to feel less better for that.



2. "DING DONG - THE BITCH IS (POLITICALLY) DEAD": in my World of Oz, Member of Parliament Carolyn Parrish is currently wishing she had used Dr. Scholl's foot powder before inserting said foot in mouth.
   
   For those without a clue, Ms. Parrish is the Liberal politician/automaton famous for saying "Damn Americans, I hate the bastards" in front of a national t.v. audience, and has done a good job in baiting our Neighbours to the South.
   
   Unfortunately, she may have bitten off more than she could chew when she did a skit on the CBC's "This Hour Has 22 Minutes" and stomped on a George Bush doll. After being reprimanded by our boy-wonder PM, she said the following:
   
   

   "Every time he gets up and reprimands me, be it ever so gentle, it just feeds it and he looks like he can't control me, which he can't.
   
   "If he loses the next election and he has to resign, I wouldn't shed a tear over it.
   
   "I have absolutely no loyalty to this team -- none."
   

   
   
   That, along with a whole bunch of other shite as a result of a hyperactive mouth, outspoken synapses and occasional outbursts of pediphagy, hurt the Boy-Wonder's feelings, so Ms. Parrish got the proverbial heave-ho.
   
   Not that she would have any regrets, though. The problem is that not even the socialist New Democratic Party could tolerate an outspoken activist of Parrish's calibre.
   
   So she stands alone, even though she would vote with the Liberal minority government "90 per cent of the time". Meanwhile, she should start on her resumé real soon. She'll need it.

Damn Liberals.

A 9/11 Hangover from a New York POV

Here's something that I stumbled upon over at OMGJeremy.com.

It's a nice little screed form a Native New Yorker about the fallout from 9/11.

It simply tells everyone to "fuck off and get on with living".

On heroic New Yorkers...

Sure you've got the real heroes, like the Police and the Fire Dept, but please, don't include me, and the vast majority of New York in that category as well. When those two buildings came down, you did not see the entire state of New York running into the crumbling buildings to drag people out. No, You saw us running the other fucking direction. But for some reason though, the media decided that EVERY New Yorker was a hero. Yes, even that fool that hid behind a pizza stand and screamed the entire time. HE WAS THE COOLEST HERO EVER. Oh, and me? I stayed the fuck in my house and prayed no one would violently loot the neighborhood. I AM A HERO.

[...]

Go talk to other countries. See why they don’t have heroes and stuff, and you never hear about their attacks and their many heroes that got blown to bits. Because it’s an everyday occurrence over there. If they had memorials and and vigils for every attack, nobody would ever get anything done over there. It would be like an hourly thing. They all pretty much know by now that any person with a bomb can just fuck up their day at any point. But they don’t whine and run around like spazzes. They get on with their lives and make fun of us for being scared of everything. They stick that shit out and go to McDonalds. And WE'RE heroes? I think not.

On New York parking lots...

While the prices of these places, depending on the relative demand, will vary on a daily basis, they are never anything but eye-bleedingly expensive. The owners of these lots and garages know exactly how valuable a commodity it is they control, and they know that you have a choice between paying them with your blood and soul, or parking in Connecticut. Every square foot of land is like tarry black gold, so they'll pack their helpless victim's cars in four and five deep. This means that not only will you be signing over the deed to your house to afford the parking fees, but you'll have to wait several hours while the utterly apathetic foreigners in charge of the joint dig your car out from under the pile of SUV's.

And on the subject of the "new" Times Square...

Once a sleazy, shady pit of vice that personified New York's aura of danger, edginess, toughness and rough, cheap sex, the great whore of Times Square has been tamed by the cash-green cock of Mickey Mouse, laid bare and sallow for the weak seed of obese tourists from the Midwest who walk the streets without fear or respect for the former den of decay and crime. The sex on Times Square is utterly commercialized now, pale Calvin Klein models desperate to be sexy in a landscape bereft of teeth or edge, leaving the place feeling spiritually vacant, lifeless even though it is nearly always filled to overflowing.

Anyways, check it out. And resume your life on hold.

Remember Us!

Too many people tend to forget the hardships and sacrifices involved in keeping the peace.

The same people have no clue how and why we have the good life that we take for granted.

Sometimes, a price has to be paid for all the best that this life on earth has to offer.

So before you launch into another singalong of "Give Peace a Chance", think about those people who have to fight for it.

Thank a vet.

To the Wrong: leave those X-tians alone, eh?

Ya' gotta love the Wrong.

They seem to think that they want to be morally superior to their Right Wing counterparts in terms of compassion and charity.

Too bad that they never look beyond their own limted, suffocating paradigms. My favourite bald middle-aged man Michael Coren gives out a couple of examples to shatter the Wrong's perception of the X-tian Rightists.

Maybe not all X-tians aren't that loony after all. Check this article out right here.

Respect to One Dirty Bastard

The Once and Future Wu Tang Clansman Ol' Dirty Bastard died in a recording studio. He was 35.

This is one Bastard we'll surely miss! Respect.

What's so fucked-up with this picture?

This poor, misbegotten fucktard named David Welch was sentenced to 90 days in jail for scrawling "All women are filthy fucking whores ... die all women ... kill all women."

Former Georgian College student David Welch, 29, of Richmond Hill, was sentenced in Barrie court to 90 days in jail, to be served intermittently so he can keep his job as a bouncer.

Ohhh... poor little muffin. But this gets a little more interesting...

In 1993, Welch was charged with the murder of his grandmother after he beat her to death with a candlestick holder while he was under the influence of LSD. The charge was later reduced to manslaughter and he was sentenced to 5 1/2 years in prison. He was also convicted in 1993 of pointing a firearm at a female friend.

So why is this thing still out on the streets?

Any answers?

For all my American friends who voted for Kerry

I would really love to help you out, but the Toronto Sun's Thane Burnett has a better way.

If you can't beat us, Hell, might as well join us.

heh heh heh

Politics Make People Stupid: an appeal to Blogs on the Left and Right

All the ballots have been counted, speeches have been made and tears shed, but the Left and Right are still fighting in the post-electoral rubble.

Both sides have made their points and the people have spoken.

Yet, there's some pathological form of hating that's seething about, fingers pointing to people pointing to those pointing at them.

Accusations of fraud, sabotage, subversion and perversion get tossed between the 2 tribes, obscuring the issues, impeding reconciliation and usurping dialogue, all in the name of righteousness of the side of choice.

The election is over, you dummies. The dirt you toss at each other is no longer of any use, as it's best before date has since been past.

Now is the time for new issues, not the tired rhetoric that plagued the Left and Right Blogs.

No more Swift Boats. No more National Guard excuses. No more Haliburton conspiracies. It's all over and all overdone.

Go back to the real world. Try to live in the here and now for the sake of tomorrow. Go and live the life you lived before the election and realise that the sun still rises and sets, that the winds still blows and that the trains and cusses that you commute on still stuggle to run on time.

Worry about the traffic you have to face while driving to work. Worry about the price of coffee and the price of gas. Worry about what to have for lunch, snack and dinner, and whether your fridge is stocked enough to feed you for another week.

Take action on your finances, taxes and health - they have and always will remain constant, no matter who's running the country and who's fighting whom.

In other words, get a life and find another Quixotic windmill to challenge, a dragon to slay, a suitor to rescue and a hobby to keep you grounded.

IN OTHER NEWS: I'll be on exercise for the next 2 weeks. Don't expect too much change on this Blog.

Stay Clean!

Four more years of Bush, eh? THANK GOD!

Thank God that the campaign's over.

Thank God that John Kerry conceded his defeat.

Thank God Americans are blessed with a reliable leader, even though he's not really that perfect nor is more in tuned to what's going on in the street.

Thank God W didn't rub dirt in his enemies' faces in his victory speech.

And thank God, he even acknowledged those who voted against him and invited them to help rebuild it even further.

Thank God... people can get on with their lives once more.

Too bad that 4 years can, and will pass by real fast.

Don't fuck up your second term, George.

'nuff said!

"HO WEE OH... HO WEE OH"(The Bollywood Remix)

Who said there ain't such a thing as "flying monkeys". In Gauhati, India, where supposedly, all life is scared amongst some of the populace, local kids are getting their asses whipped by a bunch of temple monkeys.

"They hide in trees and swoop on unsuspecting children loitering about in the temple premises or walking by, clawing them and even sucking a bit of blood," Bani Kumar Sharma, a priest at the Kamakhya temple in Assam state, said.

Bright little buggers, aren't they: they must've been watching filmi such as "The Wizard of Oz" and "The Birds".

"I was returning home from school when a monkey suddenly pounced on me, scratched my head and hand and pushed me to the ground," said Jolly Sharma, a six-year-old girl.

Not-so-Jolly might have left out the part when said simian gangsta ran off with her lunch money...

Monkeys are often found in tens of thousands of temples across India. They are seen as a symbol of Hanuman, the monkey god, and devotees visiting temples often feed them. While occasional attacks by monkeys are not uncommon at temples, the sudden surge in attacks at the Gauhati temple has experts perplexed.

Maybe their Parliament should consider "workfare" for these freeloaders?

Happy 62nd Birthday, Larry Flint!

Hustler's head honcho is currently kicking back in Gai Paris, but is a tad concerned about the big bad election back home in the U - S - of - A...

Flynt said he feared the re-election of President Bush would lead to an erosion of civil liberties, citing the 2001 anti-terrorism Patriot Act.

"I hope that the undecided really will raise the question of personal freedoms before voting, but personally, I feel sick thinking of four more years of Bush in charge," he said.

And just to think that this man would love "Bush" a lot!

The high price of swimming against the tide.

A great nephew of infamous painter Vincent van Gogh was slain in Amsterdam, allegedly because he made a movie critical of Muslim treatment of women.

A suspect was arrested after a shootout with officers that left him wounded, police said. Filmmaker Theo van Gogh had been threatened after the August airing of the movie Submission, which he made with a right-wing Dutch politician who had renounced the Islamic faith of her birth.

Van Gogh had received police protection after its release. Dutch national broadcaster NOS and other media reported van Gogh's killer shot and stabbed his victim and left a note on his body.

There are many Dutch politicians who have shown concern about immigration from Islamic countries and the potential for these immigrants to assimilate into Dutch society. van Gogh had some conservative bent at the time of his death, making controversial movies that were in line of his beliefs.

The last film was done with the help of a Somali-born politician who left Islam because of the faith's treatment of women.

The short television film Submission aired on Dutch television in August, enraged the Muslim community in the Netherlands.

It told the fictional story of a Muslim woman forced into a violent marriage, raped by a relative and brutally punished for adultery.

...

Somali-born Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a member of the Dutch parliament, has repeatedly outraged fellow Muslims by criticizing Islamic customs and the failure of Muslim families to adopt Dutch ways.

...

Needless to say, the spiritually illiterate will eventually have to come to terms with the shrinking world. The more they stall, more blood will be shed.

A very Hallowe'en Triple Header at the Marquee

I don't go out too often these days... money is too tight, bills have to be paid, food and smokes and booze are getting too damn expensive.

But a triple bill featuring Limblifter, Auf der Maur and Matthew Good was too freaking good to pass up, so I decided to head out to the Marquee Club to check them out.

In very short order...

1. Limblifter: Left Coast rockers (remnants of Age of Electric, FTWK) left a pretty good impression on the Haligonians in the place. Did a couple of tunes off their latest release, I/O. Abbreviated "Wake Up to the Sun" due to time constraints (the intro to that song on the CD is awesome). Should see more of them real soon.
   


2. Auf der Maur: Melissa Auf der Maur has been compared to Lee Aaron by many Can-Rawk rawk-ficionados. When I asked her about the similarities she told me that she didn't know who Aaron is, which was a bit of a letdown - damn generation gap. I also asked her if she had ever seen the video for "Metal Queen". She hoarsely replied that she would check it out. I didn't mention Blinker the Star to her. Maybe next time.
   By the way... great set in spite of frog in throat.
   


3. Matthew Good: good show - pun not intended - from vet Vancouverite. Managed to drop in some MGB nuggets in addition to a short spoken word performance of Hamid Karzai's corporate past. Sadly, I left before he launched into "Weapon" - a little past my bedtime, eh? I'll stick around for his next show in this neck of wood.
   

Best $30 ever spent. Extra $50 went to getting CD's (Auf der Maur's self-titled debut, Limblifter's "I/O" and MG's "White Light Rock & Roll Review"). Another $40 was spent on cab, drinks and the best damn slice of pizza anywhere ($4 - yeah, it's expensive, but worth every cent and bite).

Catch any of these people if/when they drop by. Live music RAWKS!

How do you spell "white elephant" in Québec? M-I-R-A-B-E-L

Last international passenger flight leaves Mirabel airport, future uncertain: courtesy of CNEWS.

The sprawling complex 40 kilometres north of Montreal faces an uncertain fate after being billed the airport of the future when it was opened amid great fanfare in 1975...

... When the airport opened, officials at the time predicted 60 million passengers would pass through the glass, steel and concrete structure annually by 2010, but yearly passenger traffic never surpassed three million.

Roads to Mirabel, 40 kilometres north of Montreal, were left underdeveloped, a proposed rail link never got off the ground and thousands of displaced residents bemoaned federal expropriation of their land.

The government expropriated more than 324 square kilometres of prime farmland but only used 16 square kilometres for the airport. A total of 10,000 people had been forced from their homes.

If that doesn't say anything about government short-sightedness, what else can?

NEXT!