Letters to Wookiee: The Daily Spew Forth

Today's Hysterical Political Attack (#1)

2011-08-02T20:21:00.001-07:00

Via The Globe and Mail's Twitter feed (@globeandmail) 02Aug2011. Blogged via Blackberry - please forgive thumbos & layout.

"NDP credibility under attack after Turmel's Bloc ties revealed: http://tgam.ca/CjUf"

I have never understood the virulent reactions to politicians who change their minds on any issue. The vitriol comes from both those who stand to gain the most from these attacks (opposition politicians), and those who stand to lose the most (eligible voters) - and none of it makes rational sense. Are we really intolerant of people who expand their knowledge on subjects and alter their viewpoints based on what they've learned? Having a reasonable discussion or debate on an issue can logically lead to both a more cemented point of view, or a shift in belief. Why is the latter considered wrong or weak? From issues of national importance to decisions on dinner, we can all be swayed by an excellent argument or by having a fresh thought illuminated, so why can't our elected officials? Wouldn't we rather have representatives who are willing to listen and change, rather than stick stubbornly to a belief in the face of evidence to the contrary?

Interim NDP leader Nycole Turmel is being attacked for simultaneously, and briefly, being a member of the NDP and Bloc parties. She has repeatedly stated that she was never a supporter of the sovereignty portion of the Bloc's agenda, but her opposition colleagues deny not only her ability to support portions of a political platform and not others, they also claim that she can not "un-become" a separatist.

"Conservatives said her recent ties fuel questions about the NDP's ability to carry out its duties as Official Opposition." This is a statement that ignores the fact that the Bloc is a legal, and until the last election, formidable member of the opposition. It also obscures the fact that all parties are guilty of courting Bloc votes - which at those times don't seem so toxic. The Liberals piped up and said that "Ms. Turmel and the party "have serious questions to answer about her personal views as well as the NDP caucus' position on Quebec sovereignty and the future of our country."" And the party? Are the Liberals now suggesting that every NDP member is, in their hearts, a separatist?

Even if Ms. Turmel had supported a separatist movement at some point (which she denies), can we not allow her to now support a unified Canada? It follows that Conservatives and Liberals don't believe separatist Quebeckers can ever abandon those views - which means they also must believe that all their time spent arguing against separatism is a waste.

But this all raises another issue; the idea that if you support a political party, it requires you to swear fealty to every word of the party platform. Bloc MP Louis Plamondon said, "When you back a party, you back its program." This is obviously a ridiculous statement to make, and is even laughable coming from any of the major parties. The Bloc themselves had abandoned bludgeoning Canada with the sovereignty portion of their platform for several years before the most recent election. When they trotted it out in full force, their base walked away and they suffered a humiliating defeat. So it seems Bloc supporters did not embrace the entire "program" that they were supposed to. Let's now look to the Conservatives, whose leader routinely claim that a vote for them equals full-support of their platform. Perhaps this is something their own MPs and members should be informed of, because the Conservative party has been split between the Reform and Progressive Conservative portions of their amalgamated party ever since their inception. Stephen Harper may support the entirety of the Conservative platform, but his party certainly does not. Liberals have no high ground to stand on either while they are dripping with spectacular public in fighting compounded by the bickering that still exists between the remnants of Team Paul Martin and Team Jean Chrétien.

Now ask yourself, is there a single Federal party platform out there with which you 100% agree with? Before you answer, actually read your chosen party's platform that is posted on their website. If you find that you fully support every single line you read, I would be astounded. I have yet to find a party at any level of government that I agree with on absolutely everything - nor one that I can agree with on even just the major issues. But I can still support one party (or several) over others because it comes closest to what I would like to see. That's democratic life, it's not perfect.

So can Ms. Turmel be a federalist and a Bloc supporter at the same time? Of course she can. No matter what one thinks of the Bloc's separatist agenda, it can't be denied that the party's primary focus is the people they represent. Quebec is one of the most, if not the most, progressive provinces in the country. They have a strong belief in protecting the environment, indigenous rights, preservation of their culture and language, child care, public welfare, work/life balance, gun control, and the list goes on. In these areas, parties like the Liberals and Conservatives, are nowhere near being on the same page. If a federalist Quebecker believes strongly in all of these areas, and doesn't see it reflected in any other party, can he really be faulted for supporting the Bloc when their separatist notions seemed to be waning?

Your priorities may be different, and you may not agree with every voter - but then, you're not supposed to. So I ask, can we at least have a civil and reasonable conversation about it?

Harper Wants to Take Away Canadians' Choices at the Polls

2011-03-30T16:58:00.001-07:00

For someone who relentlessly attacks Ignatieff for allegedly being too American (channelling the Birthers to our South no doubt), Harper sure does act mightily un-Canadian.

From Harper's insistence on fixed-election dates modelled on the American 4-year cycle that helps foster US style continuous campaigning, to his refusal to acknowledge that he is not a President, but an MP with little more special status or power than every other MP sitting in Parliament, he has shown time and again his disdain for the Canadian electoral system.

One of Harper's favourite things to do is ignore grey areas. He acts as the uneducated do and pushes to frame all issues as black/white, left/right, with us/against us. This man condescends at every turn, and believes in only two extreme political perspectives: all the way Left, or all the way Right. This again is indicative of his preference to ignore Canadian approaches and in this case embrace the American two party system of Democrat or Republican.

In Canada we have a more robust and nuanced approach to the issues affecting many vastly differing areas of the country. We have seen many major parties come and go, succeed to play on, or merge with others to survive or up their odds. Canadians appreciate a variety of opinions and champion the many legitimate choices we have at the polls. This however, is something that our current Prime Minister seems to reject with gusto. The most recent evidence is a statement made today regarding the inclusion of Green Party leader Elizabeth May in the televised leaders debate. During the last election, Harper moved to exclude the May by threatening to boycott the debate if she was invited to participate. A classy move supporting democracy it was not. This year Harper has gone further, stating that he would be interested in a debate that included only himself and Liberal leader Ignatieff because really, the election is between them, and voters have only two choices.

I don't know about you, but I certainly can't even consider supporting a person who would be as condescending, hateful, exclusionary, and disrespectful as this. And I certainly won't allow us to throw away our multi-party system without a fight. Only a madman bent on power like Harper could.

The quote, as reported by the CBC (http://bit.ly/hR223Q):

« Ce sont les réseaux de télévision qui prendront cette décision [la participation ou non de Mme May]. De notre côté, a précisé M. Harper, je suis ouvert à plusieurs formes de débat, un débat traditionnel qui comprend tout le monde, ou un débat entre moi et Michael Ignatieff, parce qu'en fin de compte, les élections sont à propos de moi et M. Ignatieff. Les électeurs n'ont qu'un choix entre nous deux. »

In It But Not Of It: Fun At Mass

2010-07-03T12:43:00.000-07:00

In It But Not Of It: Fun At Mass

This still makes me laugh!

Glimmer Of Hope?

2010-01-28T10:18:00.004-08:00

The opinion poll tide is turning in Canada and more and more Canadians are turning their backs on the Conservative Party.

Can this be true? Is it sustainable? Do I dare to hope?

The Globe & Mail published this story today, asking if Canadians will "throw the bums out" if a Spring election was called. Polls show that Conservative support is in a remarkable slide, while Liberal fortunes are on the rise.

Why now? After all the bullying, American-style leadership, right-wing, evangelical, and plain evil that Harper has been bringing us for four years, what has caused people to finally say they've had enough? Proroguing Parliament. Again.

The second time Harper decided to prorogue to stem the loss of political points, he thought that if anyone cared at all, that they'd be on his side. I'll admit that as much as I care and opposed it (the first and second time) I thought the same thing as Steve - if the masses were on his side the first time, eating up lies about how our Parliamentary system works, why would it be any different the second time? I'm as surprised as he is over the public's reaction. And it appears that no amount of politicking around Haiti has reduced the prorogation ire.

I think I will allow myself a sliver of hope that Canadians will sustain their disgust, and will reject another round of Conservative leadership. I do so not only for the good of Parliament, but because I want to believe that Canadians don't hold the same views and perspectives on the world that Harper does.

Besides, I would find it endlessly amusing if Harper's decision to prorogue, a unilateral move he hoped would save his dictatorship, proves to be his undoing.

Three Months

2010-01-13T12:09:00.005-08:00

It's been three months since my last post. I have been an absentee landlord to my Letters.

Today I try to get back to the habit with a report from a top bureaucrat named Kevin Page. He's a current hero because he's a current thorn in the side of the folks who thought that rampant spending paired with broad tax cuts would bring us prosperity. Well, we have debt. Lots of it. More than Canadians are accustomed to, since normally we have surpluses, and it's more than we can recover from any time soon.

For many months, our Prime Minister and Minster of Finance have been going on at length about how the economy is doing just fine, that the deficit is short-term and temporary, that their stimulus plans will save the day, and that any talk to contrary is an attack on our troops - their usual go-to defence for any attacks on their incompetence and failings.

In order to avoid any further discussion on their aforementioned incompetence, (we can look away from the economy, randomly point in other directions, and find plenty of other issues: torture in the Middle East, or funding cuts to museums and education for example), over the December holiday season Harper decided to prorogue parliament until after Vancouver's Olympic Games (another disaster I won't get into) to allow his MPs to have favourable photo-ops at the Games.

Which brings me back to Kevin Page, the Parliamentary Budget Officer in Ottawa. Harper knew that proroguing Parliament would cause all current work in the capital to cease - which means no reports released, no committees meeting, no transparency, etc. But one report did find it's way out of the mess, and that's because Kevin Page wouldn't let it die in prorogument. He has released his budget report showing that the Conservatives, with policies pushed by Harper and Flaherty, have sunk us into an $18.9 billion structural deficit. $18.9 billion. From yearly surpluses to a structural deficit in just a few short years of Harper's reign.

And to stymie any thoughts about this being some kind of Liberal/NDP attack, let's remember that the Parliamentary Budget Officer is a public servant working in a non-partisan office that was created by the Conservatives.

This budget mess is only one of a thousand bad decisions Harper and his Conservatives have made, but it's the one that has, at last, managed to grab a lot of attention and animosity. I hope, with all that Harper has done to damage Canadians here and abroad, our reputation, our government, and even the land itself, that the voting public will finally say we've had enough. Speak with your ballot and to your elected representatives - and do it before it's too late. We're already teetering over the brink.

Use The Lies

2009-10-14T15:08:00.006-07:00

The thrust of this Globe & Mail article is to reassure Canadians that we will, in fact, have an H1N1 vaccine before those in other countries - even though we have only just begun clinical trials and have no plan or date for rolling it out.

What is interesting, is that in the sidebar of the article there is a video titled "Swine flu vaccine available in U.S."

And yet the Globe headline, "Canadians will get H1N1 shots faster than others: official" stands, catching unawares those too lazy to read beyond the headline and first paragraph.

Update (15OCT09): More from Reuters about how others are getting shots faster; "Britain to start swine flu vaccination Oct. 21"

Blogs Are Dead

2009-10-14T14:50:00.004-07:00

You know it. I know it. This blog has suffered because of it. Why? I'm micro-blogging with the world in the Twitterverse. And Facebook. And Flickr. If you want to, you can follow my tweets here: @LaSpage.

See this old Wired article for proof of the blog's demise.

2010 Uniblahs

2009-10-01T10:12:00.004-07:00

The Olympic uniforms for Team Canada have been revealed! Are they modern? Do they match? Is there any continuity? Do they look like uniforms? No. Those four models could just be a group of people you see any day in town.

Of course, it makes sense that athletes are just given regular street clothes this year since all this cold-weather gear probably won't be seen much by the public. The opening ceremonies are being held indoors where t-shirts will suffice, and parkas and toques will be ridiculous.

Local Top Gear

2009-09-12T09:43:00.004-07:00

Too bad the plate isn't on a much nicer car. Like that brand new Gallardo Spyder I saw downtown yesterday...yum!

Debate Reform

2009-09-11T09:40:00.002-07:00

Tom Axworthy's think tank has come up with a report and recommendations for how campaign debates should be run in Canada. I'd have to say that I'm on board with most of these recommendations, but I don't know if I can agree to having Gilles blocked from the English language debate. The reason stated in the article (that Quebec Anglophones would be denied access to his debate) is an excellent reason, but mine is selfish - I just love hearing him speak and what he has to say to the other leaders. But the best thing in there would have to be about taking away the power from the insane networks that control who can debate and when. That nonsense last year with Jack and Steve trying to block Liz from the debate? Insane crap. Let's get Elections Canada involved!

LeRoi Moore - Not Forgotten

2009-09-09T17:19:00.002-07:00

After Dave Matthews Band (DMB) co-founder LeRoi Moore passed away last summer, the band continued their tour and played a video tribute to their fallen saxophonist during encore breaks. The video was set to the beautiful song #34 and I haven't seen it since last year. On September 7th this year, the day that would have been his 48th birthday, DMB presented a new web page dedicated to celebrating LeRoi's memory. The site is fairly extensive and I found the video, so I'm embedding it here. Thanks for the memories LeRoi!

Find more videos like this on LeRoi Moore

McLaren's New 600bhp Supercar

2009-09-09T11:21:00.004-07:00

It's called the MP4-12C and isn't scheduled to go on sale until 2011, but the teasers are out and the car is hot.

Facts:
-3.8 litre V8 twin turbo developing 600bhp
-0 to 60mph in 3.4 seconds
-lowest carbon output per hp of any car currently on the market (including hybrids)

A short vid from the BBC here shows some interesting features of this F1 inspired car.

Windmills!!

2009-09-07T11:28:00.000-07:00

Brabe and I got entirely too excited about being near these bad boys!

Gorge!

2009-09-05T20:13:00.001-07:00

Post-rain storm a phenomenal, intense double rainbow appeared (that this
pic does not do justice), and post-rainbow the pink sunset ruled the stage
backdrop.

Overheard In The Office #4

2009-09-02T14:40:00.003-07:00

"I can't watch that movie."

"Why not?"

"I can't watch Tom Cruise movies because I'm distracted by his tooth. Every time I see him, all I can think is: tipped lateral incisor!"

Letter to Brabe #5 / Letter to Wookiee #9

2009-08-08T15:14:00.002-07:00

Movits!!

Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings on Letterman last year.

Bleeding Hearts = Less Bleeding

2009-07-17T10:24:00.006-07:00

A new Canadian study, released yesterday, reaffirms the obvious conclusion that right-wing politicos and their worshippers can't seem to grasp. Throwing youth in jail/detention centres teaches them a lesson - not to stop pursing crime, but rather to continue and/or escalate their crimes. I am once again not at all surprised to find that the approach of "bleeding heart liberals" produces less crime than the "tough on crime conservatives" - are you?

Think this will change Harper's course? Or pry open the closed minds of hardcore right-wingers even a tiny bit? Absolutely not. Don't they believe that learning and changing ones mind is a sign of weakness?

Letter to Brabe #4 / Letter to Wookiee #8

2009-07-10T18:38:00.004-07:00

After all this time, it's still an all-time favourite! And I was wrong, it's Brabe's hat being blown off near the end that I loved, not the squirrel's head.

Sorry the quality isn't great, but it's all that TheTube had to offer!

The Things I Reference

2009-07-08T18:09:00.002-07:00

It's no wonder nobody understands what the frak I’m telling them.

“I passed this guy on my commute and I had to laugh, I mean, what’s the point dude? He’s in a Jag XK8, but he’s driving it like it’s the Pazyryk Ice Maiden!”

Robert S. McNamara

2009-07-06T10:18:00.003-07:00

1916 - 2009

I have much respect for the man, particularly after watching Errol Morris's documentary, "The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara." (transcript). A sad day indeed.

From the NY Times:

"In the film, Mr. McNamara described the American firebombing of Japan’s cities in World War II. He had played a supporting role in those attacks, running statistical analysis for Gen. Curtis E. LeMay of the Army’s Air Forces.

“We burned to death 100,000 Japanese civilians in Tokyo — men, women and children,” Mr. McNamara recalled; some 900,000 Japanese civilians died in all. “LeMay said, ‘If we’d lost the war, we’d all have been prosecuted as war criminals.’ And I think he’s right. He — and I’d say I — were behaving as war criminals.”

“What makes it immoral if you lose and not immoral if you win?” he asked. He found the question impossible to answer."

Wicked Stage!

2009-07-04T21:09:00.001-07:00

Blogging By BlackBerry

2009-07-04T21:06:00.001-07:00

Waiting for Green Day to hit the stage! Woo!

Blogging By BlackBerry

2009-06-23T19:02:00.001-07:00

My week of lo-fi entertainment in Ottawa in three thoughts:

1. The "variety" offered on the flight's personal onboard entertainment
system under the category of Television, Drama, is limited, to say the
least. Your choices are between; six episodes of Mad Men, one CSI:NY, and
one CSI. Damn.

2. Seriously!? What is up with the hit songs? I keep seeing a Brad
Paisley ad on TV where he sings this lyric;

"I'd like to check you,
for ticks."

Are you kidding me??

3. Apollo is British?? There are these ads for Law & Order UK where Jamie
Bamber is a British cop! What the frak?!

Blogging By Blackberry

2009-06-16T16:18:00.001-07:00

After trekking the Rideau Canal, the River Walk along the Ottawa River, and
the sheer cliff stairs back up to Parliament Hill, I am now enjoying a
pleasant lay upon grass in front of the West, Centre, and East Blocks of
The Hill. Disgustingly, right now the weather is much more enjoyable here
than at home.

Blogging By BlackBerry

2009-06-16T14:52:00.001-07:00

Post-meeting in Ottawa, I am enjoying this glorious afternoon along the
Rideau Canal before I head up to Parliament Hill to lay on the grass...or
Majors Hill Park. Such tough decisions!

As You Wish

2009-06-12T14:18:00.002-07:00

I love this story. A large forest fire in BC is threatening to destroy a swath of homes and an evacuation order has been given in the area. In wicked matter-of-fact Canadian fashion, those who are refusing to evacuate have been asked to provide "tombstone" data on themselves "which includes, date of birth, next of kin to be notified in case of death and the name of their dentist".

"B.C. RCMP have asked seven residents in the path of a growing central B.C. forest fire for their dental records after they refused to leave the area earlier this week.

RCMP spokesman Cpl. Dan Moskaluk said Friday the move was not a scare tactic.

"It's just the fact of the matter. We use dental records to identify charred remains," he said. "This is done all the time.""

Maybe it's wrong to laugh, but I find it hilarious! If you don't want to leave, that's fine, but you're going to die so please provide us with the information necessary to identify your body.

I know that many people have stayed through previous fire-related evacuation orders and have been safe, however I think that it is better to be safe than sorry. If people paid any attention to history, even very recent history, they might think differently. Do you recall the people of New Orleans who decided to stay in their homes in defiance of the evacuation order because they had stayed through plenty of storms before without issue? I remember lots of them dying horrible deaths when the levees broke.

No Surprises Here

2009-06-04T14:33:00.004-07:00

The CBC has refused to air Conservative attack ads on the grounds that airing political ads during non-election periods is a violation of their "strict guidelines".

Regardless of your opinion on the CBC's rules, they exist, they've been recently reviewed, and the corporation is following them.

"One Conservative source, speaking on background, said the party thought it was odd CBC would turn down its advertising dollars at a time when the network was struggling under financial pressures."

It is no surprise that the Conservatives don't respect principles - and are apparently confused by them.

Clearly.

News Fit To Tweet

2009-06-04T13:13:00.003-07:00

Two Twittered links to share today from those I follow:

MissySuicide posted this link about David Carradine's apparent suicide.

From panphil (Philip Pan of the Washington Post), this link to "A new photo of the iconic moment of the Tiananmen crackdown 20 years ago" and the story of how it came to be.

Commenting Idiots

2009-06-03T14:56:00.003-07:00

Okay, this article is irrelevant "news" but I'm posting it anyway because the current first comment is hilarious. Here is the article about a man who helped his wife deliver their baby alone even though they were in a hospital. The original comment is just plain stupid even we ignore what the re-poster points out. Check it:

Obi John Kenobi wrote:
Posted 2009/06/03
at 5:47 PM

ETHughGRection wrote:
Women have been giving birth without doctors for hundreds of years... its not rocket appliances!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

rocket appliances???

Today's Raw Sewage

2009-05-29T10:00:00.004-07:00

Last summer, to much fanfare, Halifax officials declared their harbours safe for people to enter "after decades of closure due to high coliform counts" (aka: too much ass bacteria). Today the mayor has confirmed that the city's raw sewage is being pumped into the water once more. Their sewage treatment plant broke in January, and they are still not functioning, so feces, condoms, tampons, and everything else that enters a toilet is once more flowing freely into the harbours. What a disgusting embarrassment.
In other raw sewage news, Barack had this to say today; "So cyberspace is real and so are the risks that come with it." Thanks for the breaking news. Cyberspace is real. Who knew? Barack was speaking about a new White House office that will work in tandem with a new military command "to conduct both offensive and defensive computer warfare". Did anyone tell the President that although cyberspace is real, you can't put soldiers in it?
Minister Fletcher also spewed some raw sewage today in his bid to limit Senate terms to 8 years. He argues that if left unchecked, Senators could do their jobs for as long as 45 years. Now, I definitely agree that Senators should be required to be present for bill readings and not be permitted to take large chunks of the year as vacation, but this is as far as my support for Senate reform goes. The idea that a person who amasses a few decades of experience in a job, presumably becoming more adept at it, is valued less than a new employee is flabbergasting. When a person retires from an organization and can say that they have been there for 45 years, they are generally applauded and celebrated for this. The organization is pleased to have retained them and their skills and knowledge. Only a backwards Conservative government would consider this a bad thing. If a Member of Parliament came into your workplace, where you are firmly ensconced in your career, and told you that 8 years was enough and that you'd have to leave, would that make sense to you? It's an extremely flawed argument, so I wrote the Minister Fletcher to tell him that I have yet to see a compelling reason to agree with his reforms. Oh, and it's also unconstitutional for them to try to change it.
Finally, more government raw sewage: the ridiculous GM bailout means we are paying $1.4 million for every job saved in Ontario. And this number continues to grow. How exactly is this responsible, effective, or helpful? In any way? Especially when you take these things into consideration:

1. "“You're not going to save jobs. All you are going to do is destroy jobs at Ford and Toyota,” said Mark Milke, director of research at the Frontier Centre for Public Policy in Calgary.

Mr. Milke dismisses the bailouts of GM and Chrysler as “a massive transfer of wealth to companies that consumers have already rejected.” The result, he maintains, is that governments “are punishing the companies that have actually run their businesses very well.”"

2. "Besides, no matter how many conditions Canadian politicians place on the loans to GM and Chrysler, or how ironclad the guarantees may appear, governments will find themselves with little or no leverage to enforce them.

“You have no guarantee that two years down the road, they'll say: ‘Well, this Canadian factory is not up to snuff, so we've got to close it.' What are the governments going to do then?” That is what happened with GM's car assembly plant in Quebec, which received $220-million in federal and provincial interest-free loans in 1987 only to pull out of the province in 2002. None of the money has been repaid."

3. "...the auto bailouts are typical of political decisions that benefit relatively few people at the expense of millions. But because the risk of a cross-Canada taxpayer revolt is small compared to the potential payback from voters in hard-up communities in Southern Ontario, the decision to bail out the auto companies is an easy one for politicians."

Time to write another letter.

Blogging by BlackBerry

2009-05-23T10:20:00.001-07:00

At my brother's wedding.

Desert Flu

2009-05-21T17:07:00.002-07:00

I have been dragging my phlegmy body around for two weeks since returning from Vegas and I haven't even uploaded my pictures yet. In the meantime, enjoy this video from College Humor!

Watch We Didnt Start the Flame War on CollegeHumor

Blogging by BlackBerry

2009-05-14T21:16:00.001-07:00

Wook, Brabe, and I are checking out a Mike Doughty show in a very hot and
humid church. Craziness.

Blogging by BlackBerry

2009-05-11T09:59:00.001-07:00

I'm on a stopover at the San Francisco airport and went to the Burger King
for a sandwich. The menu had an interesting entry at the bottom: "Picture
menus available upon request." Burger King caters to the illiterate! But
how will they know they can request the visual version?

Blogging by BlackBerry

2009-05-10T22:22:00.000-07:00

The lions in the MGM habitat are gorgeous and gloriously regal.

Spage is...

2009-05-10T21:12:00.001-07:00

...being brought to tears by the beauty of the Bellagio Fountains.

Spage is...

2009-05-09T21:56:00.001-07:00

...enjoying Night 2 of Dave Matthews Band at the MGM Grand!

Spage was...

2009-05-09T00:51:00.002-07:00

...just this close to Flavor Flav!

Spage is...

2009-05-08T21:22:00.001-07:00

...at the Dave Matthews Band show at the MGM Grand in Vegas with Brabe!

Spage is...

2009-05-08T00:29:00.001-07:00

...in Vegas!

Spage is...

2009-05-07T00:09:00.003-07:00

...preparing to travel with Brabe to enjoy two Dave Matthews Band shows at the MGM Grand Arena.

Tomorrow, we take Vegas by storm...a quiet, polite, apologetic Canadian storm.

Year 4

2009-04-29T12:02:00.002-07:00

Today is the Fourth Anniversary of my first post.

Happy Birthday, Letters to Wookiee!

Flickr Update

2009-04-15T20:45:00.004-07:00

I have spent many days and countless hours painstakingly selecting photographs (scrutinizing images and asking myself things like; which one of these 219 nearly identical shots of Parliament Hill best evokes in the viewer what it is I want interpreted?), creating titles, descriptions, and tags for each picture (sometimes resorting to series' with names like 'Boats' 'More Boats' 'Boats Again'), and all the while marvelling at how many different places I was lucky enough to visit in such a short period of time.

Please enjoy these recently created sets on my Flickr page:

Moncton & Halifax (Nov/08)
West Edmonton Mall (Oct/08)
Victoria & Ottawa (Oct/08)
Seattle (Sept/08)
Montreal (Sept/08)
San Francisco & Berkeley (Sept/08)
Montreal (April/08)
Seattle (April/08)
Ottawa (March/08)
Edmonton (Feb/08)
Edmonton (Jan/08)
Seattle (Sept/07)
San Francisco (Aug/07)
Seattle (May/06)
Tofino, Ahousaht, & Hesquiaht (March/06)
Victoria (Feb/06)
&
Photo Walking Tours

...plus...

See new additions to Life In Macro (now conveniently organized by date uploaded, with the most recent displayed first!)

...but wait, there's more!

A new collection that I have been compiling at an excruciatingly slow rate for several years:

The Broken Umbrella Series

Spage is...

2009-03-28T13:05:00.000-07:00

...at the airport, waiting around baggage claim, curious about this guitar
case on carousel 5.

Spage is...

2009-03-27T18:53:00.000-07:00

...eating a traditional native feast in the Nisga'a Hall in Prince Rupert,
having already enjoyed a performance of dancing, drumming, and singing.

Spage is...

2009-03-26T20:52:00.000-07:00

...in Prince Rupert, British Columbia. And it's snowing. But the light is
doing beautiful work on the water, so that makes up for it.

Overheard at Starbucks

2009-03-16T00:11:00.003-07:00

Two men in their mid-30's...

"Yeah, we've finally joined...whatever century we're in right now, and bought a computer and an ipod."

"Oh yeah? You liking it?"

"It's fun, we're busy copying all the CDs we have."

"Well, congratulations on joining the Now Generation!"

Value For Money

2009-03-15T13:15:00.000-07:00

I just took a flight from Victoria to Vancouver. It cost roughly $550.
Total time in the air? 14 minutes.

Sometimes I'm jealous of Americans...but only for their dirt-cheap
airfares.

Declare Your Weapons

2009-03-11T20:01:00.000-07:00

I just went through airport security and my bag was pulled aside for
secondary scrutiny. Not an unusual occurrence.

The security man asked me if I had an electronic items in my bag and I told
him there were a few different power cords. He pointed at the x-ray image
of my bag to an item and asked if it was an electronic device. When I saw
it, I suddenly realized that I had not unpacked my rather large Leatherman
multi-tool. I was crushed! I was going to have to watch them throw out my
awesome tools!

And I exclaimed, quite loudly, "Oh no! I completely forgot that was there!
It's my multi-tool! And I don't suppose there's anyway I can mail it home
is there?" The guy looked at me and smiled and said once more that they
thought it was electronics. I told him once more it wasn't. Then he said,
"Well...I'm just going to take a look, okay?" And he said it in a way that
I immediately read as him saying he wasn't going to expose the tool. So I
quieted back to see what he would do.

He did a quick explosives swab and then just said "Yep. Here you go." And
slid my bag to me. He was going to let it slide!

I thanked him muchly, grabbed my stuff, and headed to my gate before anyone
changed their minds. I have just boarded the plane with a multi-tool
equipped with, among many other things, a 6" knife and saw.

So there you have it. Want to bring weapons on board? Just tell them you
have them! If you're not covert, you must not be a threat!

Small Bites

2009-02-27T17:09:00.000-08:00

Thank you Conservatives, for the return of Canada's National Debt Clock.

Take heart, that workaholic who keeps trying to outshine you at the office is going to get dementia.

Go Barack! Rescind! Rescind! Rescind! As many Bushy things as you can!

Conveniently buried at the bottom of this alarmist article about Russian bombers breaching Canadian airspace is the tidbit about how the bombers never entered Canadian airspace or broke any international rules.

Spage is...

2009-02-19T13:57:00.000-08:00

...down at the beach enjoying the sun and views of downtown, mountains,
kite flyers, and happy dogs.

Spage is...

2009-02-19T10:10:00.000-08:00

...at the University of British Columbia's Longhouse for Day Three of the
National Collaborating Centre for Aboriginal Health's From Visions to
Actions: Social Determinants of Aboriginal Health Forum II.

Spage is...

2009-02-16T16:57:00.000-08:00

...watching coldness waft over seafood at the Korean market with Wookiee.

Schmap Publishes Spage

2009-02-13T09:51:00.001-08:00

A tiny triumph: Schmap Guides Ottawa has published one of my pictures in the Historical Background section here. It's the in the top right corner and is the view of the roof of the Library of Parliament, the Royal Alexandra Interprovincial Bridge over the Ottawa river to Gatineau, and Majors Hill Park as seen from the Peace Tower.

On a more recent trip, I took these pictures from Majors Hill Park looking back at Parliament Hill - a nice bookend to the Schmap picture, I think.

Our Head Evangelical Strikes Again

2009-01-29T08:28:00.004-08:00

You can add yet another member to the club. ->

Harper's new year's resolution seems to be to take several stabs at our venerable scientific community. And I haven't heard any of the opposition parties cry foul over it yet.

It seems that the only agency in Canada that funds large-scale science in Canada was shut out of the new budget. This move means that Canada will have to pull out of some large international projects, abandon groundbreaking research, and generally frak with science.

The Globe and Mail article spells it out nicely.

I believe this one is worth writing my MP over.

Affordable Housing in BC?

2009-01-28T10:38:00.004-08:00

Demographia has produced their fifth annual International Housing Affordability Survey and British Columbia has come out on top...of the list of "Severely Unaffordable Housing Markets" - the most unaffordable classification.

To be fair, Australia actually holds three of the top five spots on the list. Canadian cites are ranked four times in the top 25 least affordable housing markets and all four are from BC; Vancouver (4), Victoria (7), Kelowna (19), and Abbotsford (25).

To all the condescending Torontonians who enrage us by refusing to accept that they do in fact live in a place that is remarkably affordable by comparison, it is interesting to note that no other Canadian city made the top 60 list. Toronto, Mississauga, Richmond Hill? All more affordable than Toowoomba, QLD, Australia.

The News Story
The Complete Report (PDF)
Demographia's Site

America's Duceppe Speaks

2009-01-22T10:19:00.005-08:00

"The message we are sending around the world is that the United States intends to prosecute the ongoing struggle against violence and terrorism ... and we are going to do so in a manner consistent with our values and our ideals," Obama said.

"We are not going to continue with a false choice between our safety and our ideals."

With this statement on ideals, Obama reminded me of my favorite politician orator, Gilles Duceppe. Barack is making me like him - and I'm okay with that. Of course, no American politician is able to speak very eloquently without a prepared speech like a Canadian (or British, etc.) politician can, but he's certainly no Bush!

So what is this all about? I'm sure you've seen the news, unless you checked out the Globe and Mail website where they buried the story; Obama is ordering the closure of Gitmo! I'll no longer have to fear ending up there due to an error when I travel! It's pretty exciting news, check it out:

BBC News
Globe and Mail
Canada.com
CBC News

President Barack Obama puts his pen away after signing an executive order to close the Guantanamo Bay detention centre during a ceremony in the Oval Office at the White House on Thursday. Standing behind Obama are Vice-President Joe Biden and retired military officers. (Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images)

Letter to Braemar #5

2009-01-20T09:28:00.001-08:00

MILF FOR LIFE IS COMING SOON!!

That is all.

You're Not Kidding

2009-01-19T10:27:00.000-08:00

I just walked my co-worker to the lab for some tests. On our walk we
started talking about celebrities we've run into and she said that she's
terrible at recognizing famous people; she was once in an elevator with
Robin Williams and even after her friend started chatting him up, didn't
really recognize him.

When we got to the waiting room I picked through the available magazines
and revealed one with Tom Cruise's face on the cover. I let out an "ug"
and my friend asked why so I showed her the cover and she asked "Who's
that?". Um, Tom Cruise? Dude, he's like, the most recognizable movie star
on the planet! You really do have trouble recognizing famous people!

Canadian Under Any Circumstance

2009-01-17T03:01:00.000-08:00

I just watched a Fifth Estate special on CBC Newsworld called "Life + Death
in Kandahar" that centres on the Canadian-run NATO military trauma hospital
there - one of the busiest ones in Afghanistan.

Something stood out to me near the end of the program. After officially
pronouncing the death of a Canadian soldier, the head doctor is asked
questions about how difficult her work is in the context of being a mother.
Tears quickly threaten to fall and she stops speaking. She reflects for a
moment, allows a small smile, and then quietly says 'thank you' before
retreating behind the authorized personnel only doors of the hospital. And
she didn't say it with malice or contempt, no disguised sneer for having
manipulated those emotions from her. Her 'thank you' was sincere and
respectful. It made me think immediately that this was a consummate
Canadian; working in that environment, pestered by a reporter, but
remaining above all, humble, genuine, empathetic, and courteous.

Perhaps in that moment she represents the ideal and not the norm, but in
those two words, I saw a National identity that is slipping away, and felt
a profound loss for casualties of war. A powerful moment for this
Canadian.

Letter to Braemar #4

2008-12-27T17:01:00.001-08:00

My walk yesterday triggered fond memories of Railroad Chicken Wrestling:
Snow Edition & Snow Joust: Road Edition.

Happy Holidays to my partner in ridiculous full-contact platonic fun :)

Spage is...

2008-12-24T14:48:00.000-08:00

...wading through crotch-deep snow like some frakking regular Canadian.
Snow confuses and enrages Vancouverites. I am no exception.

Spage is...

2008-12-20T00:51:00.000-08:00

...checking out her across the street neighbour's pretty holiday lights.

Spage is...

2008-12-11T15:00:00.000-08:00

...at Margaret's retirement party. She has been a Federal Public Servant
for 33 years!

President-elect Steve Harper

2008-12-08T12:19:00.003-08:00

Our Prime Minister has it in for Canada and our political institutions. He never respected those institutions and now he's moving to disassemble them because they are roadblocks on his path to becoming the head of state for Canada. Is this alarmist? Hardly. In this editorial by Rick Mercer, who should be The Official Opposition of the House, around the recent coalition/prorogue mess he points out that the Conservatives are publicly alluding to these plans. And this is not news if you take into consideration many of the smaller actions Harper has taken to subtly move Canada into step with America. Remember fixed election dates? Harper insisting on being the mouthpiece of the government even though it is made up of 308 elected Members of Parliament? That he's evangelical? Declining to name a Deputy PM? His desire to make judges and Senators elected? His instance that it is his right to choose who asks questions at press conferences? Refusing to participate in media scrums outside of the Commons? Taking a motorcade from his front door to the Governor Generals house - across the street? It all sounds very Bushy in nature.

There is one good thing about Harper; in hockey he has a preference for an overtime period in lieu of a shoot-out. Who could disagree with that?

Brabe Says

2008-12-04T21:22:00.000-08:00

"Hey Brabe, remember earlier, when you were asking me about how to affect
change? Well..."

"Don't tempt me with terrorism, Spage!"

Spage is...

2008-12-03T16:58:00.000-08:00

...out and about downtown enjoying this warm and sunny December day. I do
adore this corner of Canada!

"A mean little man obsessed with revenge"

2008-11-28T17:11:00.000-08:00

Wookiee sent me this link to a wonderful little column that Rick Mercer submitted to the Globe and Mail. It's a criticism of Harper's plan to stem the current economic crisis by attacking our democracy. I will copy it below.

Yesterday Harper actually tried to claim that his plan to financially cripple his political opponents would be helpful to Canadians. If he means it will help us reduce our political options, eliminate different voices and viewpoints, and force us into an American-style system where you can choose between the conservative guy or the really conservative guy, then yes, he'll be helping us.

Like a trip to Baskin Robbins
RICK MERCER
Globe and Mail Update
November 28, 2008 at 3:09 PM EST

Okay we just might as well admit it and get it over with. Stephen Harper is a genius.

Here we are faced with a global economic crisis. Nations all over the world are struggling to figure out how to protect their citizens — who are terrified. We've seen unheard of cooperation between political rivals all over the industrialized world.

But not in Canada. Not with Stephen Harper. Not on his watch. No my friends, he has one goal and one goal only and it has nothing to do with governing: how can he use this crisis to destroy the opposition?

And wouldn't you know, he almost did it.

Stephen Harper decided Canada doesn't need a stimulus package; all we needed to do was cancel the subsidy that political parties get.

Which would have saved the government about $26-million. That's about the same amount Harper spends on bodyguards every year when he visits danger zones like Thunder Bay or Nunavut.

But the real upside for Harper, of course, is that the entire opposition would have been crippled or destroyed. It gives me great faith to know that as our economy crumbles Harper is on the case trying to come up with new an innovative ways to cutback the Green Party's office budget and bankrupt the Liberals. And then the world will be a better place.

Maybe he has a point. Maybe that's why Canada keeps refusing to give the man a majority. It's not because he's a mean little man obsessed with revenge, but because we just have too many choices. We go to the voting booth and get confused. Like that first trip to Baskin Robbins.

Maybe we'd all just be better off if Conservative was the only flavour on the menu.

Well we almost found out. Because if Stephen Harper got his way on this, democracy would have changed forever. And not a single citizen will have gotten to vote on the matter.

Spage is...

2008-11-22T10:49:00.000-08:00

...waiting at the snowed-in airport because her flight home was delayed
again. Earlier today, Spage enjoyed the Farmer's Market next door to the
hotel in Halifax.

Spage is...

2008-11-19T14:40:00.000-08:00

...at McKelvie's in Halifax, ready to dig into her steak and lobster,
having already enjoyed a wonderful crab bisque.

Spage is...

2008-11-19T11:13:00.000-08:00

...extremely impressed with Rachel's ability to rip apples in half with her
bare hands. Look how perfect it is!

Spage is...

2008-11-17T18:12:00.000-08:00

...watching my friend rock the stage.

Spage is...

2008-11-15T20:14:00.000-08:00

...watching/listening to a band in an underground bar in Halifax.

Spage is...

2008-11-14T14:30:00.000-08:00

...eating a wicked seafood platter of fish, clams, scallops, and shrimp at
Jean's Home Cooked Meals & Seafood in Moncton, NB.

Furthering Confusion

2008-11-11T16:29:00.000-08:00

This sign is on the main doors of the airport.

Spage is...

2008-11-11T16:18:00.002-08:00

...at the Moncton, NB airport - I think. The welcome sign to Dieppe is throwing me off.

Sad/Exasperated

2008-11-06T17:09:00.001-08:00

Maybe it's because I have a stupid head cold, but today's news made me chuckle with ridicule and shake my head.

Observe:

Headline: Alberta wants in on climate negotiations with U.S. (Premier says Alberta should have a seat at the table when Ottawa negotiates a deal with the United States)
Reaction: You and your oil sands are not more important than Canada or the welfare of the planet! Who do you think you are? Quebec??

Headline: No more free rides, Dion warns Harper (Liberal Leader says his MPs will vote based on merits of legislation, even if it means another election)
Reaction: This coming from the outgoing leader who won't have to suffer the consequences. And by the way, you want to force an election when you have no leader?

Headline: Ottawa will look into infrastructure fund delays: Baird
Reaction: *groan* How many more years of Baird do we have to endure?

Headline: Harper may run budget deficit
Reaction: He squanders the amazing budget that was handed to him when he was elected and promised to not run a deficit if he were re-elected this year. He can blame it on the economy, but the reason Paul Martin, as Finance Minister, padded in a surplus was for exactly this kind of situation.

So it goes.

VANOC Gets Schooled

2008-10-28T10:01:00.000-07:00

"Academic community joins the Vancouver 2010 team"

That's the headline of a Vancouver Organizing Committee (VANOC) press release from yesterday. The "Academic community" to which they refer is; "The British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT), Capilano University, Douglas College, Kwantlen Polytechnic University and Langara College".

These are not the institutions that come to mind when I think of academia. They are the "universities" that I reference when I talk about glorified high schools.

And my instinct is correct because VANOC is not interested in the brains at those schools. This misleading headline actually refers to the Community Contributor Program where "universities and colleges will provide services, including parking spaces that are essential to VANOC’s overall transportation plan and Park and Ride program for spectators using the Olympic Bus Network to travel to venues in Whistler from Vancouver."

Yep. It's about parking spaces. The press release might as well have been titled "Parking lot rental agreement acquired by Vancouver 2010 team". But then I guess I wouldn't have opened the damn thing.

Spage is...

2008-10-24T20:44:00.000-07:00

...at the Bob Dylan show...with another useless blurry picture.

Spage is...

2008-10-22T20:05:00.000-07:00

...at the Death Cab/Neil Young show.

Spage is...

2008-10-17T15:34:00.000-07:00

...watching the West Edmonton Mall's Sea Lion show for the 5th time in
three days - and it's still awesome to see these animals up close!

Spage was...

2008-10-15T14:47:00.000-07:00

...firing pistols (Glock, Beretta, and a .45) at the range in the West
Edmonton Mall.

And this too was delicious :)

The range attendant is a competitive combat-style handgun user and he
informed me that I'm a natural shooter. This I knew, from the first time I
fired semi-autos (and rifles and shotguns) as a tween, but it's nice to
know that I've still got it.

In fact, I didn't pay to use the higher caliber pistol (which is why I
don't know what make it was, perhaps the one used in the US Armed Forces?)
- the dude was so impressed with me that he let me fire his own gun that he
had holstered. I just had to promise not to tell anyone he let me do it.
I figure you don't count.

Spage is...

2008-10-14T19:48:00.000-07:00

...staying in a Hollywood themed room, that includes a huge fully mirrored
jacuzzi next to the bed, at the Fantasyland Hotel at West Edmonton Mall.

I will enjoy watching election results coverage in this hilarious room!

Spage is...

2008-10-13T18:34:00.000-07:00

...watching Wookiee prepare a Thanksgiving feast. Mmmmm...deep fried
turkey, sweet yams, homemade pecan pie, and more - oh my!

Spage is...

2008-10-10T21:35:00.000-07:00

...at a Weezer show in Vancouver.

Spage is...

2008-10-09T14:33:00.000-07:00

...lying on the grass in the sun and wind on Parliament Hill.

And it's delicious.

Canadian Headline Of The Day #5

2008-10-03T21:01:00.001-07:00

Pictou County moose fell from chopper

Department of Natural Resources now reviewing rescue procedures

It turns out the moose that died Thursday was dropped from a helicopter.

The Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources initially said the endangered moose likely died of a combination of drugs and stress.

But on Friday,a spokesman for the department admitted the net that held the moose came loose from the cable as the helicopter took off.

"When the moose was first put into a sling for transport, it fell approximately 12 or 15 feet when being lifted by the helicopter," said Dan Davis.

"We wanted to let people know that," he said. "We don't know at this point, but it may have contributed to its death."

Wildlife officers moved in Thursday to relocate the young bull moose after it was spotted roaming near the town of Pictou. They feared the animal might cause a traffic accident.

A spokesman said officers shot the animal with a tranquillizer dart, then hoisted it by helicopter. By the time it was lowered to a waiting trailer, the moose was dead.

Information about the fall wasn't available Thursday afternoon, Davis said, adding the department is now reviewing its procedures.

A veterinarian is examining the moose to determine the cause of death.

The mainland Nova Scotia moose was declared an endangered species in 2003. There are only an estimated 1,000 animals left in isolated areas, a decline of 20 per cent over the past three decades.

By the way, thank you CBC for writing (badly) an article in a style that assumes you read a previous article. Who opens a news piece with, "It turns out the moose that died Thursday was dropped from a helicopter."? It's insane!

There must be a Sarah Palin joke somewhere in all this...

The Election: Loving & Loathing Gilles

2008-10-03T19:32:00.001-07:00

I am extremely disappointed that during the Canadian Federal election campaign I am on near constant travel status and have not been able to keep myself saturated in political news - which is my preferred state.

I did manage to watch the Leader's Debate on CBC last night and, politics aside, I was delighted to see five candidates being animated and unruly in the tradition of Canadian politics. It was a beautiful and stunning contrast to the US Presidential "debate" I saw a couple of weeks ago. What's up with the whole two party thing?

I won't get into a breakdown of the debate, or who I think should be supported, but I will say this; I wish Gilles Duceppe was not a Bloc separatist because every time I see him orate, I wish I could vote for him. Gilles, in both official languages, is witty, engaging, charismatic, intelligent, and kind of feisty...but not in that smarmy way that Jack Layton is. If only Gilles believed in a complete and equal Canada and ran candidates in every province!

Just when I've come to terms with having only four candidates to pick from I am reminded again, in an article, the kind of things that Gilles says to remind me of my unattainable desire to vote for him.

"In Toronto, Bloc Leader Gilles Duceppe launched an attack against Harper.

"It is very dangerous when a prime minister makes his decisions through an ideological prism instead of a pragmatic one," Duceppe said in a speech to the Toronto Economic Club, a Bay Street audience.

Duceppe accepted the group's invitation despite the fact his separatist party only runs candidates in Quebec."

Elegant, subtle, concise, intelligent, and biting. Plus, I agree with him. I long for a realistic candidate for Prime Minister who speaks like that.

Flickr Update

2008-09-20T21:33:00.001-07:00

I have uploaded four new sets to my Flickr page:

Ottawa, Toronto & Saratoga Springs

Halifax Does Vancouver

PNE 2008

Gorge 2008

Here We Go Again

2008-09-04T15:10:00.001-07:00

"Harper to launch election Sunday"

I've lived in fear of a Conservative majority government. Now the nightmares begin.

In other news, I haven't been in town and am about to leave again. I will be posting pictures from the Gorge, PNE and a visit from some Halifaxans soon but after I return from Berkeley and Montreal.

In the meantime, enjoy this article about how we need to pay security to stop people from budging in line at transit stations. Adults: they're worse than 10 year olds.

More importantly and not unsurprisingly, Trevor Linden (Go TL!) will have his #16 jersey retired by the Canucks this December 17th. Vancouver couldn't be happier.

LeRoi Moore 1961 - 2008

2008-08-20T09:47:00.004-07:00

I mourn with many others. I forgot to ask him something when I met him a couple of years ago. You never know when one chance will be your last.

"We are deeply saddened that LeRoi Moore, saxophonist and founding member of Dave Matthews Band, died unexpectedly Tuesday afternoon, August 19, 2008, at Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center in Los Angeles from sudden complications stemming from his June ATV accident on his farm near Charlottesville, Virginia. LeRoi had recently returned to his Los Angeles home to begin an intensive physical rehabilitation program." -The Warehouse

LeRoi passed away yesterday afternoon and a few hours later the band took the stage in Los Angeles to play a three hour show for their fallen band mate. "That Matthews and his mates were able to soldier on so valiantly with an often profoundly moving and largely unsentimental performance wasn't just admirable – it was downright astonishing. What's more, it spoke to the inexplicable but immense healing power of live music."

When LeRoi was injured back in June the band kept on with the tour. Bassist Stephan Lessard explained, "It's what Roi wanted us to do."

Here's to you LeRoi. I'll miss you.

Spage's 2008 Olympics Moments #2

2008-08-15T10:41:00.000-07:00

When I turned on the television I was greeted with the Canada vs. China baseball game. The next Canadian batter was walking up to the plate and was being introduced. His name? Stubby Clapp.

And that was enough to make me turn off the t.v.

Spage's 2008 Olympics Moments #1

2008-08-13T12:08:00.006-07:00

One World,
One Dream,
One Thought...

While watching the incredible opening ceremonies in Beijing I had one overriding thought: We will never be able to beat this in 2010. Not a chance.

Images from the Boston Globe.

Once Proud

2008-08-13T11:03:00.004-07:00

Oh CBC online news, how far you've fallen in one short year.

Now you're using the ridiculous user comments from previous articles to write new ones?

Hang your collective heads in shame while you lift your glass to useless editorialized "news" services.

Citizen Batman

2008-08-08T07:40:00.005-07:00

"It is time, in the West, to defend not so much human rights as human obligations." -Alexander Solzhenitsyn

Anthony Furey has written an interesting "web-exclusive comment" for the Globe and Mail about The Dark Knight movie and it's political philosophy. It may be simple but it speaks to a problem that has been infecting us, at an alarming rate: our fellow man not being civic-minded or politically involved.

When people cease to be actively engaged in the world and choose to retreat to an insular and selfish existence great harm done to societies, then starts to compound before eventually moving us towards Gotham-like social decay. Taking your responsibilities as a citizen of your neighbourhood, province/state, country and planet seriously means that care, concern, and action follows.

"[Bruce] Wayne realizes that, as a billionaire, he has the option of secluding himself from a society run amok. But he believes that as someone who has reaped the benefits of good society, he also has to stick it out with bad society. That's the social contract he feels he's signed. Thus, the story confronts our sense of citizenship."

A certain level of idealism is necessary, which seems to disappear rapidly in the psyche as one ages, so active pursuit and maintenance of ideals is needed to fend of weariness and hopelessness. This is not easy and staying accurately informed takes effort, but is at least honorable and at most a duty.

"Batman is rejecting what has come to be known as the "lesser evil" approach, in which one can commit an otherwise undesirable act if there is an urgent and significant need. Underlying this rejection is the notion that society is greater than the sum of its parts — that the sheer fact coming together to form it is something worth fighting for."

The Dark Knight movie entertains the masses, there is no doubt there, but it also holds an important, if not desperate, call to those masses to become engaged with their environment and do their part to move our societies forward, to improve ourselves and do what is right for the global community. To take our responsibilities seriously may not be the most fun thing to do, nor the easiest, but is by far the most important.

"The one basic, cogent argument that can be gleaned from Gotham City's embers: Nobody ever said democracy was going to be easy. The democratic tradition is one that asks its members to participate fully and to constantly reconsider its fundamental tenets and be willing to fight for them. The film challenges you, regardless of your views, to get in the game."

Our North

2008-08-07T11:22:00.002-07:00

In the Northern world's mad race to claim a disputed region in the Arctic, which is land we Canadians always assumed was ours...like the maps say, a team of Canadian and Danish scientists seem to have found "proof that the Lomonosov Ridge is, in fact, a natural extension of the North American continent."

In your face underwater-flag-planting-Russia!

The team's "landmark findings" are being "presented at the 2008 International Geological Congress in Oslo under the innocuous title "Crustal Structure from the Lincoln Sea to the Lomonosov Ridge, Arctic Ocean.""

Here's to the success of their presentation and to the hope that the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) approves our submission in 2013!

Insite v. Tony

2008-08-07T09:36:00.005-07:00

For the past couple of days our Health Minister, Tony Clement, has been travelling around the planet shooting off at the mouth about Vancouver's supervised safe-injection site, the first in North America, InSite.

A hefty amount of research has been done on safe-injection sites and it has been overwhelmingly been deemed a vital step in the right direction for harm reduction plans. In the face of recommendations from such respected groups as the World Health Organization, Canada's Conservative government has taken it upon themselves to disassemble the great strides that have been made in Vancouver. From Wikipedia:

"The Canadian Insite Supervised Injection Site commenced operation in in 2003. As well as public order and improving health, the major difference between the supervised injecting centres and the unsupervised European model is the more clinical nature of the service."

But what is the worst and most ridiculous thing about the Conservatives' stance? Yesterday, at the 17th International AIDS Conference in Mexico City, Tony had this to say about the WHO's strong endorsement of InSite, "it's not my job to kowtow to orthodoxy."

Tony's Conservatives are now trying to say that a relatively recent, innovative program that has been embraced by only a handful of countries in the world and rejected by large powers such as the United States is orthodox. The Conservatives are trying to paint themselves as the progressive bunch who are going against the grain by attacking an established method. Safe-injection sites are hardly traditional! How dare the Conservatives try to even suggest otherwise? Worse still, now a whole lot of idiots are going buy the horse shit our Ministre de la Santé is serving us. Cheers!

Fording The Road

2008-08-07T07:05:00.003-07:00

While my motorcycle is out of commission, let's talk cars.

I have a Mercury that I inherited a few years ago that I never give any credit to. I mean, it's a freaking Ford, so you know it's no good. This morning, after reading this article, I will definitely soften my attitude towards my car and ask for it's forgiveness.

J.D. Power and Associates have finalized their yearly automobile rankings for dependability. In this study, dependability is measured in "problems experienced by the original owners of vehicles after three years." For the 14th year in a row Lexus has topped this list with a record of 120 problems per 100 vehicles.

"Ford Motor Co.'s Mercury brand ranked second, followed by General Motors Corp.'s Cadillac. Toyota was fourth, and Honda Motor Co.'s Acura luxury brand was fifth. Land Rover, which Ford sold this year to India's Tata Motors Ltd., was the worst-performing brand, with 344 problems."

I never would have guessed that my car's brand ranks second and I can now laugh at all the yuppies parading around town in their status symbol Land Rovers. There are more brands listed in the article, which also has a link to the annual study. Where does your car sit on the list? Are you as surprised as I was?

One Day in the Life...

2008-08-05T09:46:00.004-07:00

One of my favourite authors, the man who penned "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich" and "Gulag Archipelago", has passed away. This weekend, at age 89, Nobel Laureate Alexander Solzhenitsyn succumbed to heart failure. Solzhenitsyn survived Stalin's Gulag prison camps, documented their tyranny, challenged Soviet rule at home and in exile, was a critic of corruption upon his return to Russia, and on Sunday was recognised with a lying-in-state in Moscow.

Words from Solzhenitsyn...

"For a country to have a great writer is like having a second government. That is why no regime has ever loved great writers, only minor ones."

"Violence can only be concealed by a lie, and the lie can only be maintained by violence. Any man who has once proclaimed violence as his method is inevitably forced to take the lie as his principle."

"Hastiness and superficiality are the psychic diseases of the 20th century, and more than anywhere else this disease is reflected in the press."

Captain Obvious & The Pope

2008-07-25T06:26:00.004-07:00

I just read AFP's story on the emergency landing of a Qantas Boeing 747 that happened earlier today in Manila.

The first seven sentences, and the title of the article, have six descriptions of the three metres in diameter hole made in the plane's fuselage through passenger accounts. So the "gaping hole" that collapsed the cabin floor, through which luggage is clearly visible from within and without, is common knowledge.

The Eighth sentence is this statement from the company;

Qantas chief executive officer Geoff Dixon said initial inspections showed the aircraft had sustained a hole in its fuselage, and it was being inspected by engineers.

Thank you Captain Obvious! You can practically see an inspector looking intently up at the fuselage before pulling out his cell phone to call the CEO, "Mr. Dixon, it looks like, and this is just my initial report, there might be a hole in the plane. I don't think the passengers noticed though."

But what's really strange is the out of place remark that closes the article;

[Qantas] said the 747-400 involved in the scare was not the one used to fly Pope Benedict XVI out of Australia earlier this month after his visit to Sydney.

How is this relevant? So that those who revere the Pope won't think he might have been in possible danger in the past? Or is it so that non-Pope worshipers can say that he caused the plane to deteriorate?