Protecting My Title

Yesterday one of my co-workers was telling me how she is all about putting things off. She asked if I agreed but I had to counter with, "Putting things off is my domain. I rule the Land of Procrastination with an iron fist of apathy."

The Expected Response

In a shocking move today, the United States government has rejected the UN's call to close down the human rights violations cesspit that is the prison at Guantanamo Bay, release the prisoners, or at the very least charge them with a crime and put them on trial (article). No kidding, the US doesn't want to do that? America really doesn't give a shit about the UN, and they certainly won't want to shut down their little shop that conveniently works outside the law. Did this development really surprise anybody?


In personal news, I've been off the blog for a little while due to two mid-terms, deadlines at work, and a business trip to Victoria earlier this week. Updates and pictures will be presented soon...I hope.

Cartoon Violence

I wasn't sure if I was going to post anything about this, but after the escalation today I just have to. So now we're killing each other over a cartoon. Yep. A fucking cartoon. Are humans just looking for any excuse to be violent? Trying to get out that primal aggression that modern society has no place for? What is the most insignificant thing you can start a war over? If you don't know what I'm talking about, here are a couple of articles with some details that I won't reiterate right now. (1, 2) One of the arguments presented by Saudi Arabia's Al-Riyad is, "Freedom of expression does not justify insulting people's feelings and beliefs." Um, what? So every individual on the planet can demand punishment and retribution if their feelings get hurt? I can sit here and say that an editorial cartoon hurt my feelings and then threaten to cause bodily harm over it and then burn down international embassies? People have really got to relax and just calm the fuck down! Seriously, there are millions of people who get offended/pissed off/irritated by any number of things we read/see/hear regularly, things that are probably more significant than a cartoon. Should every one of those annoyances be outlawed and condemned? Of course not! I like what these two had to say about it (from cbc.ca):

France Soir defended its right to publish in an editorial, saying religious freedom gives people the right to practise their faith, but not to impose the rules of their religion on all of society.

Berlin's Die Welt argued there was a right to blaspheme in the West, and asked whether Islam was capable of coping with satire.

All I can really say at this point is that I'm glad the newspapers are refusing to apologize for running the cartoons, I'll be extremely disappointed if they are forced to by government or by violence. It's bad enough that France Soir was fired for running the cartoon, in fact, that's offensive enough to me that I should probably threaten the guy who fired him and demand a personal apology. Of course, the cartoon critics should be free to disagree, but they should not be able to put themselves on an international stage by rioting and threatening lives. What do they think I will find more reprehensible?

Unmatched Irritants

I really hate over-the-top 'unmatched' levels of customer service that are supposed to make me love a business. Good customer service does not mean you have to be this perky ball of excitement and get right up in my face about everything. Have you ever gone into an Enterprise car rental shop? It's like dealing with caffeinated aliens.

The Sneeze

I've been enjoying a blog called The Sneeze lately. I was intro'd to it through the Steve, Don't Eat It! page, and I think it was a good place to start. After that I read the three most recent posts on the main page; Captain Indifferent, iDisappointed, and Taste the Rainbow of Frustration. All of which were awesome, so if you want, go for it! Here it is again: The Sneeze.

Magnetic Poetry #3

In case that's too hard to see, it says:

protect the exotic blue beer from the moist harsh old fruit roll