Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Sad! Nothing To Celebrate
Happy North America Day? Contributed by NAUWATCH on Friday, June 26 at 08:15 (241 reads)
As Canada Day fast approaches I feel a sense of pride and sadness. I am a proud Canadian who loves her homeland and all that it has represented over the years, but those days are disappearing with nary a look back by most. As I think more and more about what Canada is, I come face to face with what it’s not. Canada is no longer a nation making its way in the world for its citizens or posterity. We are no longer the nation of peacekeepers. We are no longer in control of our destiny.
Read More » (97 words) | 10 comments
Hey Canada, it’s July 1st once again. You’re supposed to be happy.
On the hill in Ottawa, the CBC will provide its annual embarrassment of “entertainment” for the television cameras … supposedly depicting what we Canadians are all about … complete with bullshitting politicians and the Prime Minister will get off his fat ass to take advantage of the photo opportunities that abound.
The reality is best summed up in the words of that old, popular song, “Sixteen Tons” … with apologies to Tennessee Ernie Ford: “It’s July 1 and whaddaya get …. Another year older … and DEEPER in DEBT as Herr Harper’s “government” panders to the elitists and continues to put every Canadian, including generations to come, deeper in debt by gifting this corporation and that with your tax dollars. And YOU don’t even get kissed.
But, hey, you should be happy … you’re supposed to be happy … THEY have commanded you to be happy, dammit.
The Star Backed McGinty And Miller So....
Welcome, to the newest kitten-eating Conservative
Once again, the Toronto Star farms out a hit piece on the new Ontario Conservative leader, Tim Hudak. Only this time, they take a ribbing in the comments from readers who, like me, are sick to death of the bitchy old buzz words being trotted out any time someone slightly more conservative than Chairman Mao dares to show his face on the Canadian political landscape.
Congratulations to Tim Hudak for winning the leadership. Now let's hope he can win the election. Personally, I like the prospect of a Mike-lite. Actually...I'm more apt to cheer for Mike-heavy, if he's of a mind to get things back on track in this province.
It Depends If You Are A Contributor Or A Public Service Employee
- What do you think about sick leave and the Toronto city workers' strike? posted byRefuge
Objectivity Put On Hold???????
- June 30, 2009| ByBahija Réghaï|In recent years, it has seemed the Conservatives will do and say almost anything to back Israeli aggressions. Last week, they hosted extremist Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman in Ottawa.
Maintain Your Decorum Ladies...No Burping Or Farting
Ladies Who Lunch
June 30th, 2009
I’ll be scarce for a while, since today is the monthly Vast Right Wing/Vast Zionist Conspiracy luncheon. I’ll be there with Kathy, along with other members of the VRWC/VRZC, and Kevin Gaudet of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. While I’m off helping decide the news and market cycles for the next four weeks, while drinking the blood of Palestinian babies, do check the links below:
- RIP Billy Mays - the uber-marketer
- Friday was a good day to bury bad news
- I’m quoted in this piece about the Toronto garbage strike
- I’ll never understand the queer/Palestinian dynamic - ever
- People who know me know that I don’t give anything away for free
- Brass Balls Radio kicks ass this week - have you listened yet?
- I ordered the winning t-shirt from Alexander of Hollywood last night - they are limited edition, so you have to order via email
Have a great day. Kisses on your pink parts and all that.
We Should Always Be "Election Ready"
Wells: Harper’s next big chance
In the last week of May, Prime Minister Stephen Harper met with his top political advisers and the Conservative party campaign team. He “put all the troops on high election alert,” an adviser said last week, “and told them to ... I Agree.....
If the strikers are on city property they are trespassing and I assume the boundaries of city property include a designated easement. If they are on not on city property then they are interfering with the rights of individuals to be able to travel without interference.
Police should do their job
What is it about strikes which make the police suddenly forget to do their job?
For instance, it's the duty of a police officer to ensure citizens can travel freely without fear of harassment or intimidation.
Yet, for some reason the police typically do nothing to stop such harassment and intimidation from taking place on a picket line.
A case in point is the current city-worker strike in Toronto. Strikers are hindering citizens from entering public spaces and the police won't do a thing about it except watch.
Police Const. Tony Vella says the cops are there to "keep the peace. They have to stay neutral."
Neutral?
By doing nothing to stop union-bullying the police are far from neutral. They are actually aiding and abetting union bosses who wish to hold taxpayers hostage.
That's wrong.
For instance, it's the duty of a police officer to ensure citizens can travel freely without fear of harassment or intimidation.
Yet, for some reason the police typically do nothing to stop such harassment and intimidation from taking place on a picket line.
A case in point is the current city-worker strike in Toronto. Strikers are hindering citizens from entering public spaces and the police won't do a thing about it except watch.
Police Const. Tony Vella says the cops are there to "keep the peace. They have to stay neutral."
Neutral?
By doing nothing to stop union-bullying the police are far from neutral. They are actually aiding and abetting union bosses who wish to hold taxpayers hostage.
That's wrong.
No One Should Be Surprised Who Supports Bylaw!
What next? People with hearing disability must sign in both languages? The bilingual signs must have bilingual braille for persons with a sight problem? Police must challange persons during the commision of a crime in both languages? POLICE! DROP YOUR WEAPONS AND RAISE YOUR HANDS!/POLICE! Lâchez vos ARMES ET SOULEVENT YOUR HANDS!/پلیس! قطره سلاح های شما و بالا بردن دستان خود ر
- The New Brunswick city of Dieppe is considering a bylaw to make all commercial signs bilingual. Should other Canadian cities follow suit?
- Yes
14% - No
83% - Undecided
3%
- Yes
Congratulations Comrade Miller.....
Yes, Toronto... you're number one...
...with a bullet..."Twenty more Toronto public high schools will each get a police officer on a full-time basis when students return to class in the fall, bringing the total number of schools with officers to 50, the police chief said Monday."Total number of schools in the Prince Edward-Hastings County district with a full-time, armed police presence?Well, that'd be, er... none.*
halls of macadamia |
Speed Up The Process......
Government Does Right By Deporting American Deserters
June 29, 2009 — Raphael Alexander
There is a ridiculously biased article in the Ottawa Citizen involving the Conservative government and their current deportation policy on U.S. Army deserters. The tone it strikes is immediate:
Jason Kenney’s most memorable assault on U.S. war deserters seeking refuge in Canada occurred soon after he became immigration minister in October 2008.
Kenney dismissed them as “bogus refugee claimants,” a phrase that set off alarm bells among the deserters’ supporters because it was more loaded than anything said before by his Tory predecessors in the job.
How is it an “assault” on anybody to state the absolute truth of the situation? These are not genuine refugees, fleeing a war-torn country or a situation in which their lives are imperiled by actions beyond their control. These were men and women who knowingly and willingly signed into service with the military with the full knowledge of their actions and the consequences of desertion. Some of them even joined up long after the Iraq war had already started.
When you join the Army, there isn’t a checkbox to enter in which wars you want to join. There isn’t a checkbox which indicates what you may or may not morally approve. When you join the Army, you sign up for service for your country. And the consequences are well known. A dishonourable discharge and a possible year in prison is the penalty for abandoning service without permission. That’s hardly a steep price to pay for weaseling out on a contract.
Still, the underlying message in the printed material dating back three years is there is no appetite for intervening politically to do for Iraqi war deserters what Pierre Trudeau did for Vietnam War draft dodgers and deserters in 1969, when his government laid out the welcome mat for both groups. There also is nothing in the documents that suggests the issue has spurred any debate within government ranks.
In a memo to Kenney in February, then-deputy minister Richard Fadden provided a thorough review of why all Iraqi war deserters’ claims for refugee status had failed so far with the Immigration and Refugee Board, the Federal Court of Canada and the Court of Appeal.
There’s a simple reason for this. The Iraq war is not the Vietnam war. And let’s be clear here: while the Vietnam war was unpopular on both sides of the border, Prime Minister Trudeau did Canada no favours by rebuking our allies and letting in the deserters. What makes that situation slightly more valid is the fact that they had, at the time, conscription, so there were many soldiers who did not want to be in Vietnam who were forced to serve. In Iraq there is nobody serving that did not sign on a dotted line. Everyone who is there deserves to be there. They all knew the risks and the consequences when they enlisted. And even during the Vietnam era, not everybody believed that resisting the war meant running to the nearest border. Muhammad Ali, the top boxer in the world at the time, refused to go to Vietnam and surrendered three years of his life to that belief. His actions then became a matter of political objection, and carried weight in the arena of opinion in his country.
As for those who left? Well, much like the current brand running away from duty, they were forgotten about, ignored, or just plain didn’t matter.
If you believe in something strongly, you don’t run away from that principle. Perhaps the Canadian border represents the U.S. Army’s greatest test of character for a soldier. Those who run for it probably wouldn’t have made a competent member of the team anyway.
Unambiguously Ambidextrous
Social In-Activists Don't Want Solutions; They Want GRANTS!
The myth of feminist scholarship...
Christina Hoff Sommers tells the truth about feminists..."Harder to kill than a vampire." That is what the sociologist Joel Best calls a bad statistic. But, as I have discovered over the years, among false statistics the hardest of all to slay are those promoted by feminist professors. Consider what happened recently when I sent an e-mail message to the Berkeley law professor Nancy K.D. Lemon po
GayandRight
Christina Hoff Sommers tells the truth about feminists..."Harder to kill than a vampire." That is what the sociologist Joel Best calls a bad statistic. But, as I have discovered over the years, among false statistics the hardest of all to slay are those promoted by feminist professors. Consider what happened recently when I sent an e-mail message to the Berkeley law professor Nancy K.D. Lemon po
GayandRight
Judged By Who You Associate With?
Strong: Obama, Chavez & Castro
In true Carter-esque fashion, el-Presidente Obama condemned the "coup" in Honduras. While Obama was slow to criticize the brutal repression and killing of demonstrators in Iran, he wasted no time coming to the vocal defence of radically left wing President ... 
Become Greener-Dig Deeper
Cap-and-tax job loss chart of the day; Plus: A Senate reading assignment By Michelle Malkin • June 29, 2009 04:13 PM
McGinty Working Hard To Validate Flaherty's Opinion About Ontario
Parlez Who
Ottawa s'intéresse à un mémoire de maîtrise sur la souveraineté
Grâce à la Loi sur l'accès à l'information, La Presse a obtenu une note d'information classée «secrète» et envoyée par le greffier sortant du Conseil privé, Kevin Lynch, au premier ministre Stephen Harper, vers la fin du mois de juin 2008.
You Have A Couple Of Months To Think About It
Ignatieff's unable to capitalize on vulnerabilities of government in vicious global economic recession
Tim Powers, Warren Kinsella and Brad Lavigne: POWERS: After eight long and tough months, a very turbulent period of Canadian politics has come to an end with the arrival of the Parliamentary summer recess. From November's.. MORE...
Parties have 'homework' to do on barbecue circuit this summer Persichilli: While politicians may be on holiday, politics is not. Presently, the economic challenges have forced all political organizations to abandon the traditional gospel they have preached for years, sailing in a stormy sea without.. MORE...
Tim Powers, Warren Kinsella and Brad Lavigne: POWERS: After eight long and tough months, a very turbulent period of Canadian politics has come to an end with the arrival of the Parliamentary summer recess. From November's.. MORE...
Parties have 'homework' to do on barbecue circuit this summer Persichilli: While politicians may be on holiday, politics is not. Presently, the economic challenges have forced all political organizations to abandon the traditional gospel they have preached for years, sailing in a stormy sea without.. MORE...
Immigration Applications Readily Available.....
...it makes you wonder why these countries aren't swamped with applications fom North America, et al!
Canada's EI benefits pale compared to most OECD countries
Canadian recipients of unemployment insurance benefits are poor cousins compared to their counterparts in most OECD countries, says a new study.
Canada's EI benefits pale compared to most OECD countries
Canadian recipients of unemployment insurance benefits are poor cousins compared to their counterparts in most OECD countries, says a new study.
Putting Things In Perspective.....
...some might contend that much larger frauds are perpetuated daily governments. If Obama's (insert your favorite) stimulus program fails will he be charged?
Madoff's no murderer Christie Blatchford
White-collar crime is hardly worthy of more grievous punishment than violent criminal offences
Bernie Madoff and the cruel law of averages Margaret WenteTranslated......
Yoni Goldstein: The secret of speaking Klingon in Esperanto
Posted: June 29, 2009, 9:00 AM by NP Editor
Estas tiel multe da problemoj pri la angla lingvo. multaj vortoj havas multoblajn signifajojn (estas ironie, ke, "signif" estas unu el ili) kaj multoblaj vortoj povas signif la sama afero. estas ankau esceptoj plimalpl ciu gramatika regulo kaj la cagreno de neregulaj verboj. Preskau la ceteraj lingvo en larga uzado havas sian problemoj, tro. La demando estas: estas pli bona lingvo tie? Universala jargono kiuj ciuj de la homaro povus parol konkorda?
Click here to read more...
Posted: June 29, 2009, 9:00 AM by NP Editor
Estas tiel multe da problemoj pri la angla lingvo. multaj vortoj havas multoblajn signifajojn (estas ironie, ke, "signif" estas unu el ili) kaj multoblaj vortoj povas signif la sama afero. estas ankau esceptoj plimalpl ciu gramatika regulo kaj la cagreno de neregulaj verboj. Preskau la ceteraj lingvo en larga uzado havas sian problemoj, tro. La demando estas: estas pli bona lingvo tie? Universala jargono kiuj ciuj de la homaro povus parol konkorda?
Click here to read more...
In All Fairness You Have To Include Most The Leftwing Losers.....
- ....who are traumatized by voting for change and electing Dullton McGoonty.
- Say, isn't that Mike Harris running the Ontario Conservatives?
- If you read The Star's coverage of the Ontario Progressive Conservative leadership vote, you could be forgiven for thinking Mike Harris staged a comeback as leader.In fact, Tim Hudak was named to head the party, having defeated three other contenders in three ballots.But The Star (and the province's Liberal government, which isn't exactly the same thing, but close) are keen to position Hudak as Harris Reborn, the better to scare the voters with.The Star didn't even mention Hudak in its headline, which instead read: Mike Harris protégé wins as Tories turn right
OH CANADA!
Countdown to Canada Day
Just 36 more hours to bitch and whine about your country!
Who's up for some good old-fashioned iconoclasm? The Globe and Mail’s Doug Saunders entertainingly and incisively questions four of this country’s most central and most ill-informed myths. For example: we are not in fact “a northern nation,” but a nation that lives quite logically in its southernmost climes, that rarely thinks about the Arctic except to indulge misconceptions about it, and that as a result of its negligence—particularly in contrast to nations like Norway—is at risk of losing its claim to all the booty up there. Also, Saunders argues multiculturalism is not a 1960s, Trudeaupian phenomenon, noting that Governor-General John Buchan was pitching the same basic concept in 1935. Great stuff, as usual, from Saunders.
If, however, this leaves you yearning for a not-very-interesting, rather hackneyed and (in the unlikely event you make it to the last paragraph) squirm-inducing examination of the wilderness’s place in the Canadian “psyche,” please consult the Globe’s Margaret Wente.
Comrade Miller Failing To Deal With This Garbage Also
Boy, 16, shot in drive-by near Eglinton and Keele
by Henry Stancu, Jasmeet Sidhu
Jun 29, 2009
Police are looking for as many as four suspects after a teenager was wounded in the leg during a drive-by shooting in Toronto's west end this..
Three injured after stabbings in North York, Scarborough
Now He Knows How We Feel.....
......and he can get an insight into how the rank and file feel by crossing the picket line at Silly Hall or any garbage dump.Christie Pits protesters interfere with temporary trash dump
Miller frustrated by lack of response from inside workers By THE CANADIAN PRESS The City of Toronto and two CUPE locals representing about 24,000 workers continue bargaining as a strike enters a second week.
Miller, union trade barbsby Vanessa Lu, John Spears
Jun 29, 2009 
(160)
(160) Negotiations to reach a deal with the city's inside union are moving so slowly that Mayor David Miller accused the union of failing to respond to a...
Tell us how you are copingMiller lashes out at inside workers
(Should the garbage strike continue, here's a list of dump sites that may be open in the future)
Monday, June 29, 2009
If They Weren't Queer Would Rabble.ca Give Them A Forum
- June 29, 2009| ByRyan Hayes | rabbleTV exclusive coverage of Toronto Pride 2009 with Queers Against Israeli Apartheid.
People Have Short Term Memories
Imagine What It Would Be Like Without M&M's
Not the candy. I'm talking about McGuinty and Miller. While either an Ontario or Toronto election are in the distant future, signs in the last few weeks seem to indicate that both the people of Ontario and Toronto are finally starting to pay attention to how poorly mismanaged both the Premier and Mayor have done their respectful jobs. In McGuinty's case, Ontario has seen a steady decline since
A CAW Workers Voice Of Reason |
Not the candy. I'm talking about McGuinty and Miller. While either an Ontario or Toronto election are in the distant future, signs in the last few weeks seem to indicate that both the people of Ontario and Toronto are finally starting to pay attention to how poorly mismanaged both the Premier and Mayor have done their respectful jobs. In McGuinty's case, Ontario has seen a steady decline since
A CAW Workers Voice Of Reason |
I Agree In Principle BUT......
....in all fairness arrangements were made for Pride Week Activities with the committe picking up some of the cost but even then the unions made a big "stink" which caused some delays. BTW the CHIN Picnic scheduled for July 1st will continue...different union.
Dominon Day to be cancelled in Toronto? I am listening to John Tory on CFRB. Apparently Canada day celebrations in Toronto will be cancelled. This disgust me. Miller and the union are both despicable. They both knew the strike was coming , why was no provision made for the celebration of the great Dominion. I am greatly saddened by this. I called the show to express my disgust. I think the private sector that already does most of this
Dr Roy's Thoughts |
Dominon Day to be cancelled in Toronto? I am listening to John Tory on CFRB. Apparently Canada day celebrations in Toronto will be cancelled. This disgust me. Miller and the union are both despicable. They both knew the strike was coming , why was no provision made for the celebration of the great Dominion. I am greatly saddened by this. I called the show to express my disgust. I think the private sector that already does most of this
Dr Roy's Thoughts |
No One Forces People To Attend......
......and the gay "community" shouldn't be judged by the actions of a few but they should bear the brunt of criticism for the action of those few and should encourage police to lay charges. Remember politicians and business reap a lot of benefit from Pride Week.
This is being proud to be gay?!?!
I call this indecent exposure!
I wasn't there, but the first Google search for Pride 2009 pictures yielded me these shocking examples. I wonder if these proud people were arrested for indecent exposure?
I mean, what the hell is this? I sure hope they are wearing sun screen.
If those pictures were shown in a movie, it would be R rated. This is a double standard plain and simple.
Pride 2009 tries to make this event a family friendly event!
Family Pride celebrates Pride Week 2009 with a rich and exciting line-up of events for everyone in the family on Saturday June 27 and Sunday June 28 from 11am - 6pm.
Family friendly?!
Let's look at these pictures again! How can any responsible person take their children to this parade? There is nothing wrong with the naked human body per say, but I don't won't my children to be exposed to a stranger's naked body.
This is awful, plain and simple.
It is time to take back our country, if you don't want filth like the above displayed for all to see during a parade then you had better donate your time or money to a party that will fight to prevent this sort of despicable display, a party that will fight for real honest to god family values. For me, today, this is the Conservative Party of Canada.
Their is nothing wrong with being gay. There is nothing wrong with gays and lesbians marrying. I mean, why can't they be just as frustrated and unhappily married as the rest of us heterosexuals.
There is something wrong with parading through downtown Toronto naked, and getting away with it because you are gay, or celebrating gay pride week.
This whole event sickens me, but of course you know our favourite kooks were in attendance during this parade, that's right, Jack, Olivia, and Lizzy. Standing up for real Canadian values it seems. I know I gather my family around the kitchen table discussing real issues like: "Why the hell can't people parade down the streets of Ontario's capital naked?" Way more pressing then actual issues like how to make the streets safer, or how to re-jig the EI system so that it is fair and transparent for everyone across all the regions of Canada, or even how to not bankrupt Canada via stimulus spending.
Now somehow, I, or the Conservative Party will be made out to be bigoted and racist, pricks that have a big hate on for gays and lesbians, and nothing could be further from the truth. I have no problem with gay pride week, I have a problem with naked men regardless of orientation parading through downtown Toronto.
I wasn't there, but the first Google search for Pride 2009 pictures yielded me these shocking examples. I wonder if these proud people were arrested for indecent exposure?
I mean, what the hell is this? I sure hope they are wearing sun screen.
If those pictures were shown in a movie, it would be R rated. This is a double standard plain and simple.Pride 2009 tries to make this event a family friendly event!
Family Pride celebrates Pride Week 2009 with a rich and exciting line-up of events for everyone in the family on Saturday June 27 and Sunday June 28 from 11am - 6pm.
Family friendly?!
Let's look at these pictures again! How can any responsible person take their children to this parade? There is nothing wrong with the naked human body per say, but I don't won't my children to be exposed to a stranger's naked body.
This is awful, plain and simple.It is time to take back our country, if you don't want filth like the above displayed for all to see during a parade then you had better donate your time or money to a party that will fight to prevent this sort of despicable display, a party that will fight for real honest to god family values. For me, today, this is the Conservative Party of Canada.
Their is nothing wrong with being gay. There is nothing wrong with gays and lesbians marrying. I mean, why can't they be just as frustrated and unhappily married as the rest of us heterosexuals.
There is something wrong with parading through downtown Toronto naked, and getting away with it because you are gay, or celebrating gay pride week.
This whole event sickens me, but of course you know our favourite kooks were in attendance during this parade, that's right, Jack, Olivia, and Lizzy. Standing up for real Canadian values it seems. I know I gather my family around the kitchen table discussing real issues like: "Why the hell can't people parade down the streets of Ontario's capital naked?" Way more pressing then actual issues like how to make the streets safer, or how to re-jig the EI system so that it is fair and transparent for everyone across all the regions of Canada, or even how to not bankrupt Canada via stimulus spending.
Now somehow, I, or the Conservative Party will be made out to be bigoted and racist, pricks that have a big hate on for gays and lesbians, and nothing could be further from the truth. I have no problem with gay pride week, I have a problem with naked men regardless of orientation parading through downtown Toronto.
Something To Be Proud Of.....??
Angry strikers block Pride parade cleanup
Workers say city went back on deal not to hire private contractors
It's A Start But Let's Not Get Too Cocky.......
- Nanos National Ballot - Impresssions of Harper and Ignatieff measured
The latest Nanos poll suggests that the election dialogue between Harper and Ignatieff has lifted the Conservatives in Ontario, at the expense of the Liberals, the NDP and the Greens.
Jack Layton looked like a kingmaker when the Liberal-NDP coalition threatened to topple the Conservative government last fall, but eight months later he is struggling for attention.
Selling The Sizzle But Serving Crap
No excuse on pay raise
June 28, 2009
Besides saving a $1.22 billion streetcar deal from collapse, Toronto City Council's special session last Friday is worth remembering for another reason: it showed that if a problem is deemed important enough, a strike by city workers needn't stop councillors from meeting to fix it.
Residents in the grip of a week-long walkout would probably consider any serious effort to help end this strike worthy of a council meeting. But Mayor David Miller and his supporters on council apparently disagree, for they are refusing to back a special council session to roll back an indefensible 2.42 per cent pay hike pocketed by city councillors earlier this year. They supported a raise for themselves even as they froze the pay of non-union staff and played hardball in negotiations with the unionized workers. It is no surprise that this hypocrisy is fuelling labour discontent in the strike by 30,000 city workers.
A group of councillors, led by Doug Holyday, is pushing for a special meeting to reverse that mistake. But last Tuesday Miller said there was no need to gather councillors, and a bureaucrat backed him up by suggesting that a special meeting could not be staffed due to the strike.
Ironically, two days later Miller called a special meeting to approve the streetcar deal.
The precedent has been set. Councillors could – and should – meet again this week to roll back their pay raise and demonstrate to striking workers that everyone is sharing in the belt-tightening. The Star
- National Post editorial board: Toronto's lessons in losing
-
After providing 40 years of practical examples of how not to win a Stanley Cup, Toronto is expanding into a new branch of training: how not to run a city.
Mayor David Miller is a pleasant NDP supporter who has devoted his five-plus years in office to well-meaning projects that appeal to his left-wing constituency, declaring war on plastic bags, take-out coffee cups and “unhealthy” food at hot dog stands, while battling downtown traffic in favour of bike lanes. Stating that city employees should be able to afford to live in the city they serve, he has championed generous contracts all-round. His greatest efforts have been aimed at expanding and improving transit, for which he regularly begs money from the provincial and federal governments.
Coming Out Swinging
Get a grip,' new Tory leader tells city unions
by Rob Ferguson
47 min. ago
Public sector unions like Toronto's striking civic workers need to "get a grip" and realize they don't have life so bad compared with most...
- 'It's time for a change'
Ontario's Progressive Conservative party took a right turn Saturday as it elected Niagara-area MPP Tim Hudak -- a man who has promised a return to middle-class values and plain talk conservatism -- as its new leader.
Comments From The Original Form Of Blogging
Letters to the Editor By SUN READERS
RYAN REVOLTINGRe "Workers didn't cause recession" (Sid Ryan, June 25): I just read this column and one line particularly caught my eye. "The mother who needs affordable, high quality, publicly delivered child care is supported by the child care worker on the picket line who wants to deliver just that sort of service." What a typical union con job! They strike because they are greedy ... period! The idea child care workers could use innocent children as bargaining tools in the never-ending attempt by unions to get more money and better benefits for doing less work is absolutely repulsive.
DOUG GRAHAM
(We're not sure how many people Ryan swayed to his side with his argument)
RECYCLING STRIKE
Every time the TV cameras scan the mountains of trash, I can't help but notice 75% of it is recyclable stuff ... boxes that haven't been flattened, paper coffee cups, food containers all of which can be stepped on and flattened. If people separate all cardboard, paper and boxes that can be flattened and stacked we will reduce the needed space by 50% and I'm sure there are people who will actually collect and remove flattened cardboard. The same goes for tins, bottles etc. Why are people complaining and doing nothing to help themselves? Remember when you complain about the stink ... a skunk gets the scent first. Recycle Toronto!
TIM DEVLIN
TORONTO
(Are we so desperate to dump our trash we can't hold on to the paper for a bit?)
ELECTION DISPUTES
We should remember when Mike Harris won his first victory in 1995, the losing side, although not disputing the election, saw fit to launch a massive anti-government protest at Queen's Park. Such protests are not unique to Iran and thus should not be taken as evidence of election impropriety.
HUGH ALLIN
NEWCASTLE
(We don't recall any deaths here)
SOCIAL CONTROL
Re "Angry consumers holding the bag" (June 22): In the debate over the 5 cents charge for plastic bags, which do recycle, Coun. Glenn De Baeremaeker says, "the government is here to protect the public." I believe what he really means is in the minds of the social engineers of Miller's Utopia, that it is in the government's purview to control every aspect of other peoples' lives. What we really need is protection from the De Baeremaekers of the world.
LORNE HAMILTON
ETOBICOKE
(You really think the history of the 21st century is going to be written in ... um ... plastic bags?)
TYPICAL UNION CRY
Re "Worker's didn't cause recession" (Sid Ryan, June 25): I got news for you, Sid, Miller and city council didn't cause the recession either. Neither did the provincial and federal governments. Your typical union cry of "Everyone else 'got' so we should too" is getting very old and stale. Please tell me, how exactly do unions getting what they want, thereby driving up the price of goods and services they "deliver," benefit the rest of us again? You're not kidding anyone, Sid. The unions are in it for themselves and could give a rat's behind about the rest of the working class people. If you really cared, you'd call off the strike.
BRIAN WILLIAMS
OSHAWA
(If everyone gets what the last guy got, who goes first to get less?)
BAD GAMBLE
What a way for David Miller and city council to waste this great opportunity for infrastructure funding from the federal government. Does the mayor think he can bully everyone into doing what he wants? The guidelines for the federal government money are clear. The city should get the money for our decrepit water mains and our roads that have been falling apart for years. I guess these aren't priorities for the tools at City Hall. The taxpayers of Toronto deserve much more. They deserve the jobs that can be created with the federal money. For once I just wish this council would do what is best for us and stop screwing things up.
FOTIOS MITROPOULOS
(It should be noted council is spending hundreds of millions of dollars on pipes and pavement, too ... have you noticed the water bill increases?)
The Reality Of Obamaism Starting To Show
Hey media, Obama isn't 'God' By LORRIE GOLDSTEIN So, as it turns out, U.S. President Barack Obama is not "God" when it comes to dealing with the Islamic world after all.
- Kelly McParland: Obama's different road on Iran
-
It's not often that conservatives criticize politicians, especially liberal politicians, for failing to provide the world with enough rhetoric. Usually we get more than enough of that stuff to keep everyone happy, especially in instances when the opportunity for effective action is absent, meaning the words are all we're going to get.
But it's pretty much universally accepted among conservatives that President Obama has let down the side, not to mention democracy and the valiant street protesters in Tehran, by laying off on the fiery declarations while Iran teetered on the edge of revolt against its mullah dictatorship. Even some normally-friendly voices -- which means the vast bulk of the U.S. press corps -- have been unusually snippy in demanding to know why the President has been so recalcitrant in refusing to put Washington four-square behind the anti-mullah forces and their battle.
- David Frum: Canada well-positioned to benefit from Obamanomics
-
A veteran of Washington wheeling and dealing told me this story from an administration long ago:
At the mid-session budget review, the staff had to present the president with some bad news. The budget deficit would be much bigger than anticipated. The president answered firmly: No it won’t.
So the staff resumed work. What if we adjusted the inflation number? Raising the estimate for inflation in years five through 10 of the budget plan makes future revenues look much bigger. And if the raise is small enough — say from 1.6% to 1.64% — nobody will notice: 1.64 rounds down to 1.6 after all….
After a few such devices, things had been massaged into much better shape. The president got his number.“So what lesson did you learn from this experience?” I asked the veteran.
“Never trust numbers,” he answered. You can describe numbers as very big or not so big, scary or benign, but when you see all those decimal places — you are being conned.
Just remember that as you listen to the news from Barack Obama’s Washington. Money is being spent and debt incurred at a staggering pace. On June 15, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that the Democrats’ new health plan, known as Kennedy-Dodd, would add perhaps $1.6-trillion to the budget deficits for 2010-2019 — $1.6-trillion!
Going Green.......
Fluorescent bulbs risky By CHRISTINA SPENCER, NATIONAL BUREAU Compact fluorescent lightbulbs may be energy efficient but their potential hazards have prompted Health Canada to warn of effects ranging from too much UV exposure to possible mercury poisoning.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
We All Know Someone Like This......
Awful Man Offers Witty, Acerbic Take On Everything He Sees
"Wow, this is going to look really candid since I'm always hanging out by scaffolding," says the terrible human being
ROCKVILLE, MD—Local resident Alan Bower's particular brand of sardonic, no-holds-barred commentary about everything around him has firmly established the 31-year-old policy writer as an absolutely terrible person who is always ready to crack a joke, sources reported Monday.
According to friends of the modern-day Oscar Wilde, Bower has a singular knack for sucking every last bit of genuine enjoyment out of any situation with his hilarious, nonstop incisiveness.
"Alan is a really funny guy," said civil engineer David Finestra, 30, whose slightly eccentric clothing choices are a favorite target of Bower's biting analysis. "His sense of humor takes some getting used to, but nothing gets past him. Who knew someone could go off on a Kmart billboard for 25 minutes? But that's just Alan for you."
"Man, and if you're already having a bad day, and then you spill the tiniest bit of beer on your shirt, you'd better look out!" Finestra continued. "That's good for at least four or five scathing comments from Alan. The guy never stops. Ever."
Though Bower's lightning-quick, whip-smart criticism occurs without pause, brother-in-law Peter Ulster, 34, said the deft ironist still manages to surprise those who know him by expertly dismantling their enthusiasm from an inexhaustible variety of angles.
"With Alan, you never see it coming," Ulster said. "You'll be discussing something you really enjoy—like, say, surfing or whatever—and you think he's engaged and agreeing with you, and then bam! He pulls the rug right out from under you with a spot-on remark about how it's a pretty feeble attempt to recapture one's long-past youth. He'll get you every time with that one."
Other acquaintances indicated that shooting blistering one-liners at any person he comes in contact with is just one of the ways in which Bower can always be counted on to ruin a good time. Longtime friend Stephen Rosenthal said that dogs, infants, films, and even inanimate objects are never safe from Bower's hilarious assessments.
"Trust me, nothing's sacred to Alan," Rosenthal said. "I remember one time he came to my 6-year-old son's T-ball game, and he gave it the same type of relentless send-up that he would give to a bad movie or a Vespa scooter. There's just no holding him back."
Added Rosenthal, "He's really, really funny."
But it's at parties, sources confirmed, that the awful man's complete eradication of even the tiniest bit of non-ironic joy is most apparent. At any social gathering, Bower is able to draw total attention to himself and his clever, razor-sharp barbs, which always have everyone laughing and walking on eggshells.
"You really have to watch what you say around Alan," coworker Sarah Orbe said. "He's just so quick and hilarious, and he's always, always 'on.' I'm really glad he heard about my birthday party this weekend through a mutual friend. I'm sure he'll really liven things up like only he can."
Though Bower's reputation for amusingly tearing apart everyone and everything in his path is well known, his own passions remain a mystery. When pressed, no one who is acquainted with the scintillating killjoy could attribute anything even remotely resembling an authentic personality to him.
"Now that you mention it, I don't think I've ever heard him say that he liked or enjoyed something," said market research associate Kyle Sullivan, a former roommate of Bower. "Other than that he makes some pretty trenchant points about how annoying and pointless market research is, I guess I actually don't know a whole lot about him."
"Oh, but I did hear that he's getting divorced again," Sullivan added.
Facetious Question Or Borderline Homophobia?
I opt for the former......
So, hang on there a sec...
...what happens if you have a heart attack on "Heterosexual Monday?"*
halls of macadamia |
So, hang on there a sec...
...what happens if you have a heart attack on "Heterosexual Monday?"*
halls of macadamia |
Worth Reading To Find Out The Cost
A city made for cyclists (Hint: it's not Toronto)
Copenhagen could teach Toronto how to become a cyclist-friendly city.
There's no war between cyclists and drivers in Copenhagen, where a dedicated director oversees a cycling program with a $15-million annual budget and a staff of seven.
Copenhagen could teach Toronto how to become a cyclist-friendly city.
There's no war between cyclists and drivers in Copenhagen, where a dedicated director oversees a cycling program with a $15-million annual budget and a staff of seven.
June 27, 2009| By johnbon
|“We’re picking on the people at the bottom of the food chain, the people who really can’t afford to pay the taxes,” said Joe Hill, senior olympian cyclist.
June 27, 2009| By johnbon|
People suffering in communities across Ontario are feeling isolated; they have no one to listen to them. Governments at all levels don’t seem to care.
Don't Let Facts Get In The Way Of Change
- George Jonas: Hillary Clinton rewrites the Middle East's past
-
For Obama, “change” apparently includes altering what has already happened
People who plan to change the future often take a practice run at the past. In 2008 Barack Obama campaigned on a platform of change. As it turned out, “change” for the charismatic candidate didn’t only mean altering what was to happen, but also what happened before.
Writing in The Wall Street Journal this week, Elliott Abrams, formerly in charge of Middle East affairs at the U.S. National Security Council, provides an illustration. On June 17,President Obama’s Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, stated that there were no agreements between the U.S. and Israel concerning Israeli settlements in the disputed territories.
“[I]n looking at the history of the Bush administration, there were no informal or oral enforceable agreements,” Mrs. Clinton remarked. “That has been verified by the official record of the administration and by the personnel in the positions of responsibility.”
No so, writes Mr. Abrams, a Middle East specialist, who was one of the American negotiators in 2003. “Not only were there agreements, but the Prime Minister of Israel relied on them in undertaking a wrenching political reorientation — the dissolution of his government, the removal of every single Israeli citizen, settlement and military position in Gaza, and the removal of four small settlements in the West Bank.”
Stephan...Don't Diminish The Value Of My Vote In The Name Of Diversity
- National Post editorial board: The vote needs protection, not weakening
-
Voters should be required to produce government-issued photographic identification
The federal government has quietly dropped plans to ban veiled voting in national elections. Part of their motivation is practical: A ban would be unlikely to pass the House of Commons. Since coming out in favour of such a ban two years ago, all three opposition parties have recanted under pressure from politically correct special interests.
But the government’s second reason for abandoning its voter ID act is harder to understand. Steven Fletcher, the minister of state for democratic reform, says that the government will instead be working on “increasing voter participation” through such measures as adding two advanced polling days before each election.
Giving Canadians more choices over when and where to cast their vote is a good thing, but we don’t see how it and measures to ensure the legitimacy of our national elections are mutually exclusive. If anything, “vote security” — the need to establish that each voter is who he or she claims to be and has a right to cast a ballot — is more crucial when voting opportunities are expanded and the risk of fraud is multiplied.
We definately need legislation to make it clear that veiled women reveal their faces to vote...The federal government has quietly dropped the idea of forcing veiled women to show their faces if they want to vote in Canadian elections.The loss of interest comes just as the issue of face coverings is heating up overseas, with President Nicolas Sarkozy declaring that the Islamic burka is "not welcom
GayandRight
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
About Me
- Unhypentated Canadian
- I lean to the right but I still have a heart and if I have a mission it is to respond to attacks on people not available to protect themselves and to point out the hypocrisy of the left at every opportunity.MY MAJOR GOAL IS HIGHLIGHT THE HYPOCRISY AND STUPIDITY OF THE LEFTISTS ON TORONTO CITY COUNCIL. Last word: In the final analysis this blog is a relief valve for my rants/raves.