Add NHL To Our List Of Political Parties

Can Hamilton steal one?

By JOE WARMINGTON

They can just taste it.

Odds "N Sods

Montreal Doctor assailed for leaving dead man in waiting room

Kiwi candy ... Eskimo lolly ... or racial slur?

Good news, Mom: Morning sickness, baby's IQ linked

Webbies feast on Billy Bob Thornton


Apple's first worm 'nothing to panic about'

Let Me Check Your Purchase Receipts.....

....how man from big box stores?

Big-box blight a symbol of failed culture March 31, 2009
Re: What should we make of empty big-box stores? March 29
The disposable architecture of big box stores is true to their contents: disposable employees selling disposable products made unsustainably on the backs of cheap foreign labour.
Their arrogant ugliness is a simple cipher of their social blight.
Just like the impossibly cheap junk they sell, their architecture adheres to the laws of extreme planned obsolescence and short-term gain, with the usual consequences of enormous social, political and environmental degradation.
Vast but not sublime, functional but inhuman, imposing but forgettable, there is no beauty in big boxes, not by any standards of Western aesthetics.
Whatever symbolic or artistic merits foolish theorists and artists might see in big boxes, their chief characteristic is the rejection of all culture and indeed of the whole Western tradition of artmaking as the slow, difficult, expensive crafting of symbols of beauty and excellence.
Real meaning takes time and is painfully wrested from drab reality. Historians will look back on big box stores as an expression of an utterly failed culture.
Raze them. Leave no traces.
Ryan Whyte, Toronto

Great News BUT.....

...it would be even better is the program could be integrated into the community rather than another public housing project.

Great gift for mothers

New public housing complex caters to singles under age 25 who have a child

Each year for the past seven, 23-year-old single mother Kinda Rodriguez has been forced -- for one reason or another -- to pick up her life and move.

The Perils Of Halloween

Americans Should Look At The Signatures On The Letter

Rush Limbaugh Turns the Tables

Tuesday , October 16, 2007

By John Gibson

Remember that stink manufactured a week or so ago about Rush Limbaugh?

Forty-one Democrat senators signed a letter to Limbaugh's boss demanding he be officially scolded over the "phony soldier" flap.

The letter is evidently worth a lot of money and the money is going to the children of Marines and law enforcement who have died in the line of duty.

So the eBay online auction site has now bumped the letter's value up to $45,000. With the right conservative running the fund, it might actually benefit a few of the kids of people Rush was accused of sliming.

(Click here to read the letter on eBay's auction page)

He wasn't sliming soldiers, or Marines, or service people, of course. It was a phony issue made up by the left wing to try to take the "General Betray Us" stink off MoveOn.org and those Democrats who were too cowardly to denounce MoveOn.

Limbaugh is sending the proceeds of the letter auction to the Marine Corps-Law Enforcement Foundation and he's challenging the 41 senators who signed the letter to match the amount of the winning bid. Do the math: If the 41 match $45,000 you get $1.8 million or so in the bank for the Marine Corps Law Enforcement Foundation.

By the way, Senator Harry Reid of Nevada is the man who led the charge against Rush. His popularity in Nevada has plunged in the most recent poll — a 23-point drop from early May.

His favorable/unfavorable rating is now below both George W. Bush and Rush Limbaugh — which is what I call just desserts.

Reid is wildly out of step with Nevadans, who are an independent, but conservative-minded bunch, especially outside the one big city, Las Vegas. The recent arrivals from L.A. who live out in Henderson, Nevada, mostly, seem to be coming around to the way Nevadans think, especially about somebody like Harry Reid. And good on them.

That's My Word.

Wonder Women & The Lassoo Of Truth

Let me get this straight...

He was already on probation for a juvenile conviction -- the details of which are "unclear" -- when he and 5 friends decided to beat the crap out of another kid at school for the crime of being white. Now we are all supposed to be enraged at the racist travesty of justice because he has been sent back to jail for violating his probation?

It can only be because he's black, right?

Nevermind that he was already a convicted criminal. Nevermind that the little racist bastard does not deny that he participated in a violent assault on a fellow student because he was white.

Everybody knows white kids never get sent back to jail for violating probation, right? And because the sight of a noose hanging from a tree is perfect justification for almost beating someone to death.

Call me a racist...and many will...but I think nooses are a supreme waste of rope. If the goal of whities is to rid society of blacks, judging by the constant spate of violence in this and many other black communities, blacks are doing a spectacular job of taking care of the problem for us.

Just keep shooting, Shaquan. Me and my white kids are all to blame for your problems...really.

Posted by Wonder Woman

Let's Get The Working Poor Into Private Housing.....

.....first and then worry about the "homeless."

Housing for the homeless beyond bricks and mortar

Oct 10, 2007 04:30 AM

Colin Busby

When it comes to homelessness and affordable housing, many of us assume the solution is easy: simply increase the supply of social housing. However, what if public money could do a better job of getting low-income families into housing by using the private rental market?

It just might be that housing for the homeless could be delivered faster, at less cost, and more fairly. It is time that Ontario considered portable rental vouchers, or allowances, for low-income families in need of proper shelter.

Public anger erupted this past summer when a few violent encounters between homeless people and passersby had tragic, widely publicized consequences. Unfortunately, little of the public anger was redirected toward public policy solutions to the underlying problem: Low income earners who lack housing and the means to attain it.

What Is Your Intangible Wealth

Have you used it to increase your line of credit?

Brian Kalt: Prosperity and the Value of Social Institutions

Reason Magazine, by way of Arts & Letters Daily, has a fascinating piece that begins with this enticing (to me) opener: A Mexican migrant to the U.S. is five times more productive than one who stays home. Why is that? The answer is not the obvious one: This country has more machinery or tools or natural resources. Instead, according to some remarkable but largely ignored research—by the World Bank, of all places—it is because the average American has access to over $418,000 in intangible wealth, while the stay-at-home Mexican's intangible wealth is just $34,000. But what is intangible wealth, and how on earth is it measured? And what does it mean for the world's people—poor and rich? That's where the story gets even more interesting. The value here, as descried in a World Bank study, is from educational systems and other social institutions, like the rule of law. The result? "Cropland, pastures and forests are more valuable in rich countries because they can be combined with other capital like machinery and strong property rights to produce more value." It's a short piece definitely worth a look. kalt@law.msu.edu Brian Kalt is a law professor at Michigan State University

A Holiday Greeting

Going To Be Interesting To See How This Plays Out

So far, on talk radio, people have expressed moral outrage, have blamed the school, have blamed the girls, have blamed society, have blamed what teenagers call music, etc. I don't envy the police and the microscope they will be under from the parents, school officials, politicians, etc. and I am sure all of these "interested parties" will be vying for their 15 minutes in the spotlight.

Eight boys arrested in alleged sexual assault of four girls

TIMOTHY APPLEBY AND JESSICA RAFUSE

From Friday's Globe and Mail

October 5, 2007 at 1:33 AM EDT

In a further shock to a Toronto school system still grappling with two homicides during the past five months, eight boys aged 12 and 13 face sexual assault charges after four girls told of being molested on the grounds of an Etobicoke middle school.

The assaults allegedly occurred after a basketball game at Smithfield Middle School in the city's northwest corner last Tuesday afternoon.

Police responded to a complaint by one of the girls, witnesses were interviewed and the eight boys were arrested early Thursday morning. They appeared in court on Finch Avenue West, where a further court date was set for Nov. 8.

“It was basically a situation of the girls being held down while they were fondled, through their clothing, so there were no major injuries,” a source familiar with the investigation said.

“All the same, it was pretty traumatic.”

MORE

You Have To Visit Wonder Woman To Access Link.....

....it will be well worth the time.

Hump Day Pinup

To start our Hump Day off right, the lovely infidel at Quid Nimis provides us with a sweet tidbit that makes me appreciate Ted Nugent a lot more than I did before (which was not at all, actually)…

Ted Nugent, rock star and avid bow hunter from Michigan, was being interviewed by British journalist and animal rights activist Robert Chalmers:

The discussion came around to deer hunting. The journalist asked, 'What do you think is the last thought in the head of a deer before you shoot him?
Is it, 'Are you my friend?' or is it 'Are you the one who killed my brother?'

Nugent replied, "I don't think deer are capable of either of those thoughts, you Limey a$$hole. They are only interested in three things:
the best place to eat, having sex, and how quickly they can run away.
Much like the French."

And speaking of French…it is ironic, in a country where bilingualism is force-fed to 80% of the populace, that residents of Quebec are forced to ship their children to another country, just to learn English – one of the official languages of this country. In Ontario, I have the option of sending my children to a French Immersion school. Apparently, the Quebec education system thinks providing a comparable choice to French families is beneath them.

Barack Obama parrots the same tired and ineffectual platitudes of the gun-ban lobby, and thinks that a world-wide ban on nuclear weapons will make us all a lot safer. No word on how he plans to make North Korea and Iran etc, respect the nuclear bans already in place against them…details!

Just a quickie today…too much work to do!

Posted by Wonder Woman in Pinups

Weird View Of Civic Responsibility

School Daze

My son is graduating from high school on Friday.

And in order graduate, he not only had to pass his academic courses, he also had to complete a minimum of "40 hours of mandatory Community Involvement."

This is supposed to develop "a sense of civic responsibility and strong community values."

So civic responsibility, in other words, means forcing kids to work for no pay.

To me that sounds like slavery.

Small Dead Animals Given Recognition

Not So Incredibly

You've probably never heard of this magazine.

Posted by Kate at 2:36 AM

Defining Conservatism

I didn't realize that having conservative leanings was so complex. It almost makes you want to become a liberal where simplicity rules......get everything and as much as you can without making a contribution.

Up from Conservatism

A friend sent me this interesting article, in which an objectivist tries to define conservatism.

It's useful reading for those of us trying to define the Canadian brand of conservatism.

posted by Gerry Nicholls @ 9:01 AM

VOTE NO TO MMP

Let's not reward losers......

Sunday, September 30, 2007

Random MMP based thoughts

Woke up this morning to some good news in the form of the Toronto Star rejecting MMP from their editorial page. Now, editorials don't mean as much as people may think but I'd still rather have the Star on side then off side. I just came back from canvassing here in Kingston. People are in general very happy to receive any information regarding the referendum. The failure, thus far, of Elections Ontario's education campaign is downright pathetic. I don't care which side of this referendum you support. However, the pro-MMP side's advantage was on display for me again today. They had apparently canvassed the same area yesterday and I found numerous mailboxes loaded up with both vote for MMP propaganda and the the supposedly neutral Citizens' Assembly flyers. No MMP has cobbled together our pennies and paid for a few radio ads in major centres this week. So keep your ears out. I missed the TVO debate Thursday night but I look forward to watching it when it is released on the Agenda's website.

THis Could Be The Pilot For A New TV Show

Thanks to CBL......

Lemon: Update - How the Parties Would Spend the Surplus If They Were Families

Kudos to reader GDW for exquisite improvement

Mr. and Mrs. C.P. Canada
I think we need to invest the windfall by paying down our mortgage and paying off our credit cards. A penny saved in interest is a penny earned. Plus, it's time to put money away for our retirement and to plan for our estates so we leave something behind for the kids.

Ms Green and and Mr. Party
We're gonna retrofit our greenhouse, put in new solar cells and a water recycling system. Then we're gonna buy lifetime TTC passes and new bikes and rebuild our Birkenstocks. The rest we're gonna use to buy carbon offset credits for all our friends and family that can't afford them. Probably give anything that's left equally to Gore and Suzuki.

Mr. Grit
Well, half will go to my ex-wife, of course. The rest I'm going to invest in the Liberal Party because for every cent you send their way, you get five cents back. Plus, I got this thing going on with Ms Green and she really likes high living. She's almost worth it.

Mr. and Mr. N.D. Party
Well, obviously we're going to travel a lot, I mean everywhere. And we'll dine out always and buy new furniture and whole new wardrobes. Then there's the animals to think of, so we'll give a lot of money to PETA and the poor people in Darfur. Plus, maybe put some toward ashrams or tents or whatever it is that those freedom fighters defending Afghanistan against the imperialists live in.

Hopefully This Is The Future Of Other Social In-Activist Groups

Disaster for relief committee Homeless advocacy group appeals for support after acknowledging 'serious financial straits' By Sue-Ann Levy After nearly 10 years of riding the homeless bandwagon, it may be the end of the line for the posse of poverty advocates on the Toronto Disaster Relief Committee (TDRC). A Sept. 24 e-mail sent out by TDRC queen bee and street nurse Cathy Crowe -- and obtained by the Toronto Sun -- says the TDRC is in "serious financial straits." Crowe indicates they're reviewing their options for the future but are faced "with closing down" their Trinity Square office -- effective Oct. 11 -- and operating "only as a volunteer organization. "After more than nine years of struggle on the homelessness front, TDRC is facing a new challenge -- whether we can secure enough funding to continue to our 10th anniversary," the TRDC co-founder and author writes, inviting anybody who wishes to make a "generous donation" to their cause. "Homelessness is our Katrina but it wasn't caused by the weather," continues Crowe, who was awarded a three-year $100,000-a-year Atkinson Foundation fellowship in 2004 to continue her work on the homeless cause. That award was recently renewed for a year. This will come as no surprise to those who regularly follow this column, but I won't be holding any tag days for the shameless self-promoters on the TDRC. Perhaps they've finally outlived their useful shelf life, if they ever had a raison d'etre in the first place. The TDRC was founded in 1998, around the same time former NDP councillor Jack Layton convinced council to declare homelessness a "national disaster." But while they talked a good game about wanting the homeless off the streets -- claiming ad nauseum that conditions there are "horrific" -- they have repeatedly fought any moves to get street people into shelter or proper housing. In 2002, Toronto became the subject of a page 3 article in the New York Times when a weak-willed council under former mayor Mel Lastman, Layton and his TDRC hangers-on allowed Tent City, an encampment of 110 squatters, to flourish down on contaminated Cherry St. lands. Can't work with NDP They haven't even been able to work with an NDP regime -- the very politicians you'd think would mirror their own ideology. During Mayor David Miller's four years in office, the TDRC has vociferously opposed the plan to remove the 90 homeless people once squatting on Nathan Philips Square, the Streets to Homes initiative that has endeavoured to put homeless into private apartments and the city's first homeless census in April of 2006. But last summer a ragtag crew from the TDRC -- particularly Crowe and her sidekick Beric German -- sunk to a new low when they endeavoured to intimidate Coun. Jane Pitfield to resign as co-chairman of the city's homeless advisory committee for daring to push for a "qualilty of life" bylaw to get panhandlers off the streets. The "ballsy" Pitfield hung tough and Crowe and Co. ended up boycotting in a huff the committee they'd stacked and hijacked for months. Since last November's election, the homeless advisory committee has been put on ice -- leaving the TDRC with no official City Hall forum. Crowe couldn't be reached for comment. However Tanya Gulliver, the only level-headed member of the TDRC steering committee in my view, told me last week they'd survived with project funding from foundations and on union donations. But foundations won't typically fund "core activities" or "activism type of work," she said. Asked about the TDRC's proudest accomplishments, Gulliver says she thinks it's the work they've done to raise the issue of homelessness as a "national disaster." She said they've also done a lot of work locally to improve shelter standards and to get more shelter beds. She feels they still have a "friendly relationship" with a lot of city councillors and the mayor. But Maureen Gilroy, who fought council's shelter bylaw, says she always found the TDRC a "pretty self-serving organization. "I just found them to be meddlers for their own purpose," Gilroy said. Coun. Doug Holyday, the lone councillor (of 57) not to declare homelessness a national disaster in 1998, said he wouldn't be sorry in the slightest to see the TDRC go. "They've sure extended whatever life they did have," he said, insisting they've helped perpetuate a "growing" homeless industry. "I don't think these people have done anything to help the homeless situation. sue-ann.levy@sunmedia.ca

Google Launches 'The Google' For Older Adults

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA—The popular search engine Google announced plans Friday to launch a new site, TheGoogle.com, to appeal to older adults not able to navigate the original website's single text field and two clearly marked buttons.

"The Google will have all the same information currently found on regular Google, but with the added features of not stealing your credit-card numbers or giving your computer all kinds of viruses," said Rick Tillich, The Google project director. "All you have to do to turn the website on is put the little blinking line thing in the cyberspace window at the top of the screen, type 'thegoogle.com,' and press 'return'—although it will also recognize http.wwwthegoogle.com, google.aol, and 'THEGOOGLE' typed into a Word document."

Tillich added that he hopes the site will soon replace Yahoo Internet Website.com as the most popular search engine for users over 55.

Ah Well.....We Are Canadian