Sunday, April 26, 2009

New Convention Center

Went to visit the new convention center today, the one that went 400 million over budget and cost 883 million dollars. Looked impressive from the outside. A pleasant young lady was holding the door open for us. Went inside. Wanted to go up the escalator to see the view.
There was another security woman guarding the path upwards. The 'public' are not allowed up there she told us. We wondered why it was open then? She told us we could go downstairs to see it in the basement. The public was not allowed upstairs.
Sort of made me translate 'public' to 'unwashed'.
From outside I could see the rich people up there looking out the wonderful windows. Well I don't want to be a buddy of Gordon Campbell that bad.
Eight hundred million. Four hundred million over budget. Taxpayers' money.
No wonder I want to be a tax evader.

Friday, April 03, 2009

Google Street View - invasive?

Google has now started mapping the city streets all over North America, the UK, Australia, Japan and Europe.
This is what Google will have eventually; you will be able to zoom down into a town, then lower to a street view, like they do presently with satellite pictures ... but, what they are now doing, is having a car drive through your neighbourhood with multiple cameras attached that takes ground level pictures, nine cameras recording a 360 degree view of everything on the street. Including people sitting at coffee shops outdoors, walking by, your children in their front yard and even through doorways or windows if they are left open or uncurtained. The house pictured is at 33rd and Bertona in Seattle, could yours be next?

This has led to all kinds of fears among people as to what is really going on? Recently Britishers formed a posse to stop the Google car recording their community, citing fears of burglaries once criminals would be able to actually see what was on each street and what the houses look like. Targetting the vulnerable via Google. Yes burglars use the latest technology too. As do shadow governments.
In the case of Britain, London is now known as the most heavily infested city of closed circuit tv cameras anywhere. The average Briton in now captured 411 times in the London city core by CCTV and they even have face recognition cameras, that once you might be identified, (assumably as someone up to no good) can track your movements, and even send an alert to other cameras to follow you.
So if you enter a store, the camera actually waits for you to appear again and tells those other cameras to be ready to track you if you sneak out the back door! And tail you to your next destination.
Although the police are saying their CCTV cameras are to prevent crime. And Google tells us theirs are just new technology, many are rightly afraid that the New Word Order is stealthily forming where we are all destined for slavery and submission through control and removal of unwanted elements. This kind of information is just too juicy for both organized crime and organized government, isn't it.
A combination of 1984, A Clockwork Orange and the worst Sci-Fi horror movies all rolled into one. Big Brother is nigh but we don't know who it is just yet.
Are you afraid? I am.


Monday, March 23, 2009

Chrysler - take a hike!

You see Chrysler Corporation is threatening to leave Canada if we don't give it taxpayer money. How the hell did we ever get in this position?
Michael Levy was on the radio telling Barak Obama to stay out of executive salaries in the US. Obama is perturbed about millions of dollars in bonuses paid out to company brass who already got US taxpayer dollars. And Levy says the President of the United States has no right to dictate company salaries. Well that of course is true. However, the taxpayers of the US AND Canada have every right to dictate ANY terms of bail-out using THEIR hard earned money when those brilliant executives come begging for cash because THEY ran their respective companies into the ground! It all comes down to giving share-holders a chance to bail themselves out.
The people I know are always struggling to survive. Most of them never had any extra money to 'invest' in stocks. Food was foremost. Of course these companies keep coming back with the rationale that they need to pay huge bonuses to attract the best talent!
I have news for those CEOs ... THEY DESTROYED YOUR COMPANY! They are NOT the best! Any reasonable Chairman of the Board would have fired them long ago! Without severance pay. Let them try and sue you for it and tie them up in court for 20 years! What are those payroll lawyers doing anyway?
It is time we stood up to these arrogant beggars and told them to take a hike. The welfare payments to those workers will be far less than the bail out and the executive bonuses.
C'mon government, represent the taxpayers for a change.

Monday, February 16, 2009

Puleeeez

The word was 'ramp up' last year. Everyone was ramping up something or other. Instant cliche. Happening all over again with 'going forward' the new buzzword that is so sickening when you hear it from every single person on radio and TV!
Please, vary your speech and notice the useless buzzwords! They are an earitant!

Monday, February 09, 2009

Warning to tourists

Welcome to the Olympics - body armor is available.

Tourists and residents - Places where you should not go in the Greater Vancouver area
- Any Skytrain station
- Granville Street clubs at night
- Surrey in general
- Any Langley Mall
- Anywhere in Abbotsford
- many grocery store parking areas
Please call police or RCMP for their list of safe places to visit, I think there is one so far.
Don't call Wally Opal, he has nothing to do with .. er ... anything.

Warning signs - Any Cadillac Escalade or black Lincoln Navigator driven by teenager. - added - Black Range Rover

Tourists and people looking for danger holidays, adventure weekends, Olympic side trips please visit any of the above locations and don't worry about flying bullets, the police assure us that they are not aimed at you. Sort of like 'friendly fire' in Iraq.
Drugs are freely available on almost any street corner, just watch for someone staring down the street, they are all similar.
Have fun and get your will up to date!

update: 15 shootings in Vancouver in the last month!
oops, TWO last night = 16
oops, another one today - 17
oops, another one last night - 18 (maybe we should put a gun on the Olympic pins?)
oops - 46 shootings so far as of April 5.

Criminal sentences in BC - average sentence for first crime = 101 days ... average sentence for 35th to 40th crime = 25 days. Come to BC.

Thursday, February 05, 2009

Hudsons Bay Company

The Bay just announced that it is laying off 1000 employees 'because of the economic downturn causing poor sales'.
Message to the Bay - You just don't get it, do you; Your poor sales have nothing to do with the economy, it's because you have only one sales person per floor who is only there to shop for themselves!

Monday, February 02, 2009

Google and your ISP

Google has just announced a new project designed to irritate internet corporations who are ripping you off. I think they are onto something. Google is saying that many internet service providers are not supplying the service you are paying for. I am embracing Google as God!
In my own case I have Telus as my internet people. I pay them lots of money to provide a connection to the internet for me. I am supposed to be on something called 'extreme high speed DSL', that is of course when I can connect at all! Mornings are spent steaming at the screen message, 'Cannot connect to the server.' Otherwise my connection is only extreme slow.
Here is a site you can use to check the speed of your own connection now - http://www.speedtest.net/ Be prepared for surprises.
My Telus speed this morning is 5168 kilobytes per second download, 642 kbps upload with a ping of 137. I was told by a Telus technician that was fast, for Telus. What you usually cannot do, is check a different internet connection through your own computer. In my case I have a wireless neighbor through the wall and can use that connection as well! It is a Shaw Cable connection. The speed this morning on Shaw, right after my Telus measurement, at the above test site was 14782 kbps! Fourteen THOUSAND! 978 kbps upload and a ping of 36! That is way over 100 percent faster than my so called Extreme High Speed Telus connection!
So Google intends to have a site where we can all go and get our internet speed. Good for them, the only remaining thing is to get your service provider to answer the phone on inquiries about what speed results you want to know about.
In the case of Telus, you'll be dealing with a strategy of confusion and frustration intended to make you hang up and go away.
I wish I had not gone to Telus in the first place. My bad for being loyal to my old BC Tel company.

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Bail outs - sweet deals

Sometimes we need companies to fail. But it is business as usual in America.
So the deal is; taxpayers give banks a huge bail out to snatch them from the hungry jaws of bankruptcy. The deal was supposed to stimulate the whole US economy. But now Pfitzer, the pharmaceutical company is about to buy Wyeth, a similar company. It should be known that the banks financing this take-over are Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase, Citigroup and Bank of America, all having received taxpayers' bail out money!
But the thing these merging companies are proudly announcing is that they will be dumping 5,000 JOBS as a result of the merger! (the pharmaceutical industry has shed over 160,000 jobs already)
So, simply put, taxpayers give the government their money, (no choice for people) - it gives the cash to poorly managed banks - companies merge to save costs and monopolize product, (shareholders happy) - and those companies help themselves by laying off 5000 employees. Same old money circle to benefit rich shareholders and dumb CEOs.
Sweet deal.
And they wonder why the underground economy is growing at an exponential rate.

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Bail out result ...


Here's proof that Detroit still just doesn't get it.
They are announcing the new Cadillac Escalade going hybrid! The 10 ton behemoth Drug Dealers' special is now into green! Now you can save gas while transporting your cocaine cash across the border. And they've dropped the turrets and the bulletproof rear glass too.
Sawed off shotgun or AK47 optional.

Tuesday, December 09, 2008

Today in History ... December 9

1994 U.S. President Bill Clinton fired U.S. Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders for reportedly suggesting that masturbation be taught in schools.

Of course Bill knew of a better way to ease one's tensions.

Is Telus throttling?

Have you experienced the same thing as me? Basically an ultra slow or none existent or erratic internet connection with Telus.net during certain hours?
I know that between the hours of about 8 to 10 am, and again in the afternoons from about 3 to 6 pm, my internet connection virtually disappears.
A year ago when I complained that I had no obligation to honour my contract as Telus was not providing the high speed services agreed on, they gave me a brand new Siemens modem. I spent over two and a half hours on the phone with a technician in Singapore trying to get it to work, That guy finally gave up (refusing to let me speak to a supervisor) and I had to reinstall my old modem and router myself! I began checking my speeds online, (http://www.speedtest.net/) and found them incredibly slow. I can also connect to a neighbor's network with Shaw Cable so I had an instant comparison ... my Telus speeds were 1900 kilobytes per second while the Shaw connection was 13,000 kbps!
So after almost a year of suffering poor connections, I complained again, (probably my tenth email to them and hundredth phone call) they sent a technician to install the modem, a very nice young man who installed it, and boosted me to the so-called 'extreme' speed.
But now I suspect that Telus is 'throttling'. This is when your internet service provider purposely slows one connection to enhance another. Companies are doing this now and it is an issue with the powers that be. I think Telus slows down the speeds of personal customers to favour the corporate customers in the mornings and evenings.
So I am left with an 'extreme speed' internet service that is like rotary dial-up. And stuck into this deal with Telus for another year of frustrating internet, trying to get help results in endless answers to a mechanical voice, which then simply disconnects to leave you to start over! I have 5 pages of transcripts from Telus Ecare technicians transferring me from one to another and never solving anything at all, except to say that my speed is good, "for Telus." Implying that even the techs know it is lousy.
If you are sending info over the web, or a web designer trying to upload content to a website, you have to consider anyone BUT Telus for this job - my internet speed with Telus on the tested site is now 5100 kbps. At the same site within 1 minute after switching to my neighbor's Shaw cable connection my internet speed was still 13,000 kbps!
Draw your own conclusions.

My two cell phone contracts are up for renewal too. Hmm.

Friday, December 05, 2008

Coalition of Bozos

So The Three Bozos lust for power takes precedence over sensitivity to the public electorate.
In the recent election the public was nervous and voted accordingly. They WANTED a minority Conservative government. Voters HOPED they were sending a message to all parties to show us at least a little leadership and perhaps some cooperation. Didn`t work.
So now we have the fuzzy Dion, a `leader` rejected by his own party, who needs a translater for English, telling us he can now be Prime Minister!
And we have Layton, whose role can only be defined as the Basil Rathbone character whispering into the King`s ear, and playing the important sidekick.
Worst of all, treasonous Duceppe! Sworn to undermine Canada at every turn and hate everything Canada is! The separatist who carefully omits telling Quebeckers what separation will really mean.
This is truly a deal with the Devil that Canadians see right through as the polls are showing already. And it looks like, whether we like Harper or not, another election would backlash right through these greedy pretenders and result in a Conservative majority.
What would happen if this so called coalition gets their fingers into Canada? Well, Mr Ignatief is already considering himself King and assumes whatever he says as 'the Word' so Dion will fumble himself into a one line note in Canadian history. Mr Layton will get to proclaim Tuktoyaktuk as a nuclear free zone closed to American aircraft carriers. Mr. Duceppe will get agreement from the other two not to tell anyone the truth about separation and not to interfere in the coming referendum.
Good deal for Stephane, Jack and Gilles.
Quick, someone throw a pail of water on these tumbling idiots!

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Bail outs

Give some of the taxpayer's money to these crucial to the economy companies if we have to, but FIRE ALL the CEOs and top management who caused the situation with pooor management and poorer planning! And DON'T give them one cent in severance or bonuses! And put a government watchdog into the top offices to see what these big spenders are doing with the money!
They should have resigned anyway for plundering their own companies! Arrogance and mismanagement should be punished, not rewarded.
If there was ever a position for Ralph Nader, here it is.

Suggestion from out there - "Maybe Exxon-Mobile should bail them out? They make trillions every quarter and all because of the auto industry."

Thursday, November 06, 2008

Classless people in hockey

1 - Wayne Gretsky - for scratching young Kyle Turris, former Vancouver Giant now with Phoenix, after the pregame skate when he knew Turris had been interviewed for days about his excitement to play in GM Place in front of over 100 friends and family members. And Turris scrounged all week for the tickets which he paid for. In the game of class Gretsky is a loser for forgetting that hockey is still a sport. Gretsky is not a coach to play for, Turris should ask for a trade.

2 -Alain Vignault - who put his personal feelings against Trevor Linden ahead of hockey when he sat out Linden on the road trip where the team brings along the fathers of the players. Imagine having your Dad with you and being scratched every game! Trevor was embarrassed but Vignault showed he had no class at all doing that to the most popular player the Canucks ever had. Toss a rotten tomato at Alain.

3 - Mark Messier - For signing with Vancouver, demanding to be captain, then seeing that Pavel Bure was getting all the attention, and deciding to play his way OUT of Vancouver by not scoring, not checking, not being able to recieve a pass, and floating while sucking up to Mike Keenan to undermine the other players on the team. We think he's gay anyway.

Class still counts, but none of these guys have it.

addenda:

Three more people who should never play in the NHL. The two sons of Patrick Roi, and Sean Avery. If these types who know nothing about sportsmanship are allowed to enter or stay in the league, we lower the NHL to the same status as the NBA.

Monday, October 27, 2008

The Plumbers - Joe vs Guido

The US election has their `Joe the Plumber` but I`ll bet our plumber, Guido Hatzis is way more fun .....

go here > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=domXumvTVI8


One more snub

Vannoc's recent decision to send twenty-five million dollars to American workers is just another snub of British Columbians. Gordon Campbell's government has no confidence that BCers can do anything.
We've lost control of BC Hydro to the private 'run-of-the-river' power projects, where those companies can eventually sell their power outside of our province without any power going to us in time of need.
BC Ferries is run by Americans who put surcharges on the fares at the drop of a hat and then ignore the plunging oil prices when it is time to eliminate them.
We've lost our very own railroad, BC Rail which resulted in the bypassing of many community stops for British Columbians who depended on it.
Those shiny new German ferries were built with 542 million dollars of British Columbian`s tax money sent to help German workers buy homes, cars, stoves and TVs. Nothing for capable BC ship builders and no spillover into OUR general economy.
And now when BC workers are scratching for every dollar they can in a threatening economy we award a contract to a Milwaukie company to build tents for our two week spendfest called the Olympics. Again, a 25 million dollar contract that spits in the faces of many capable British Columbian companies.
Just another snub by a government who has shown time and time again that they have no respect for British Columbians or their families.
I`m voting for the party that says `British Columbia first`.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Pesky pesticides

Normally I don't admire Quebec, but those Quebeckers can have a feisty attitude when they want. And I think we all should in this kind of case: The Canadian unit of Dow AgroSciences is suing the Province of Quebec for banning one of its products in a sweeping move of pulling more than 200 pesticides and herbicides from shelves. The specific product in question is
2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, and the name is enough to have it banned in my opinion.
But get this - They are suing that government under Chapter 11 of the NAFTA Free Trade Agreement that includes a provision that allows
private companies to sue the federal governments of any of the three countries if a member country enacts laws that "expropriate" their profits.
Yes, if children start being born with three eyes and five legs, we are supposed to respect company's profits first!
Oh my Gawd where have we gotten to? We've seen Wall Street greed spashed across everything we read lately and now we are seeing the ultimate: - profits before public safety. This company, Dow Chemical, is now in the realm (if it wasn't already) of the cigarette companies insisting that smoking is still good for you and fish farms saying sea lice are not hurting our wild salmon.

I hope those feisty French-Canadians are up to the battle and I think they are. They are the only ones in Canada prepared and brave enough to go after the biker gangs in their province, we have to give them an applause for this too. And encourage other provinces to follow their lead.
Hourra car vous, Quebec!


I know this has nothing to do with the Union Carbide spill in Bhopal, India, but if you want to see a quick bit about the damage chemicals can do go here - http://www.bhopal.org/whathappened.html

Friday, September 26, 2008

Bank Manager

So remember that last time you wanted a loan from your friendly local bank?
Remember when the bank manager said you needed to already HAVE the amount of money you wanted to borrow? You thought, but if I had it I wouldn't be here.
Remember they wanted your house, your car, your wife, your children, your salary and future salary, your RSPs, your socks and your left foot as collateral? They even inquired about how old your dog was and asked if you had your DNA on file? And what shares in what companies you held? And you said you'd never had any extra money to actually BUY any shares in anything.

Remember you gave them every bit of private info about yourself on that form you had to sign?
Remember the terms were that you had to keep working until you are 90 years old to pay the interest on the loan and only after that would you start nibbling away at the principal?
Remember how they turned you down with that contemptable look and then took another 5 bucks out of your account?

Now those very same bank managers want you to bail out their poor management and arrogance. They want to use hard working Americans' tax money to rescue the rich and the shareholders. They are asking for 700 BILLION dollars with a straight face!
And they don't want to answer a single question or provide a one bit of collateral because they don't really have any. And they don't want their 56 or 17 million yearly dollar salaries affected.

If the government passes them this money the US taxpayer should turf out every single elected person who votes to pass the bill rewarding the CEOs for incompetance.

Just remember, the shoe is now on the other foot. Are our contempt is deserved.

Tuesday, September 09, 2008

Political debates

I am not going to bother watching any televised debates this time.
Is there a point to them?
All the parties get together before the 'show' and agree on what questions might be asked by an empathetic reporter. The audience are all preordained. In this case in Canada, the parties and TV networks have agreed to ostracize anyone out of what they deem as THEIR mainstream. For the same reason that the US will not allow Bob Barr or Ron Paul in their presidential debates: They are afraid of embarrassing questions. And perhaps logic.
If the Green Party partakes in the Canadian debates, something out of control could happen. Like a question with an implication that no one of the big four parties gets it. Or really cares. Same old same old. Wouldn't want anything spontaneous now, would we?
YES!
But that ain't gonna happen. Elizabeth May knows she isn't going to be Prime Minister, and it seems that environmental issues are the first item on most Canadian's minds in this election and though she might have something important to say, she will be excluded anyway. When one has no chance they don't have to follow the same rules.
One would wonder whatever Gilles Duceppe is doing in any debate? He of the 'Rob Canada' Party not only has no chance of being PM, he has no interest! Layton has no chance, he just wants to continue milking his horse a few more years. Dion, a citizen of France needs an interpreter for English! He's probably already promised Quebec to Sarkozy.
And we all know they will have set answers too. We all know they all lie. They've all lied before, over and over again. And we all know that your local politician has absolutely no say in anything even if you send him to parliament, he has to go by the party line no matter what. Or he or she might not even represent you anyway! Emerson's Rule, look out for yourself.
So why bother watching any so called debates?
To see if Harper will wear another wimpy vest?
Hmmm.
What I'd like to see is Harper tell us he'll go after Chretien and Martin for the Sponsorship scandal! And Dion to tell us he'll go after Mulroney for being Canada's biggest ever crook! Maybe Duceppe to declare he will be a nation and refuse any handouts from Canadian taxpayers!
I'd like to see red faces and stuttering and gulping but I won't .... I'll be watching something else anyway.



silliness here: read the post - ex conversation
http://caterwauls.blogspot.com/2005_04_01_archive.html
or here:
http://caterwauls.ca/new_page_13.htm

Saturday, September 06, 2008

Windows Vista so far ....

My Toshiba M30 crashed. It lies dishevelled on the floor holding Windows XP SP1 in a death grip. Forceded me to buy a new HP Pavilion that came with Windows Vista SP1, 32 bit. I tried to find out what the big deal about Vista was before, and all anyone could tell me was the aero screen was great. Well it is. It's all the other stuff that's giving me trouble. So many problems that I doubt Bill Gates could handle this frustration!
It recognized my HP 960c printer right away. Wow. Then my Trekstor External Hard Drive. Great. My HP 3500c scanner. Nice. Then I started reloading software. Mostly it went right in. I was thrilled!
Then I started trying to recover files from my Trekstor Hard Drive with Nero BackItUp. I can see there is a back up there, made just 4 days before my crash. Windows Vista can't read it. And I can't just put two drives together and drag files between them like I did in XP. Someone changed that ability in Vista. My scanner won't work from the computer either, only the buttons.
But wait, I worked a photo on an Adobe drawing/photo program that I always use. Went to save it. Program disappeared completely. Yes, it does it every time. Another program just freezes everything. Can't even shut the puter down with Ctrl+Alt+Del! Have to pull the plug! Yet another just loops between start and open and start.
My printer prints way too dark now. Used to be perfect with XP. I've wasted a whole tree already trying to make it better. Vista has a wonderful screen look.
I had Media Player 9 in the XP system, it loaded and started to play a video in about 10 seconds. Vista just loads and loads ... and loads. It has Media Player 11.
Same video. I had 512 Mbs of RAM in the Toshiba, 3 Gbs are in the HP. Shouldn't it be way better?
I would say if you are considering a new computer with Vista installed, you add at least $500. to your budget to replace your existing software. Have some pills or liquor nearby too in case of frustration - which will start in the first 10 minutes.
So far I love the screen look, but it seems like that age old corporate problem, that these high paid technicians NEEDED to change things to show they were working, no matter how well things worked before.
I think I'll fiddle with the old Toshiba and see if I can get it going, just for the pleasure of killing it all over again, it caused me all this. Didn't it?
That screen is marvellous, especially with all these pills and liquor in me, I think I'll just stare at it a while longer, transfixed by these vistas.
Wake me when the new operating system comes out.

Monday, August 25, 2008

Minorities

I was looking through this blurb from my local community center. Wondering what educational or artistic things I might partake in for the indoor season of autumn and winter here.
I have always been a strong advocate of night school and community programs because they offer something for everyone to improve themselves.
Alas. Things have changed as Bob Dylan said. Now there seems little for ME to do, only for certain other people.
In the first few pages I found art for Chinese Canadians, Kababayang Pilipino dance, Mexican Altars competition, Diwali Festival workshops, Shaq'asthut Gathering Place, Fabric Messages from the Middle East, Katari Taiko music, African Dance, Dimasalang Artists, Youth Kontzert Series, and it went on from there.
There is tons of stuff if you get pregnant. And for kids. But it's not worth getting pregnant for. Babies Only Botanical Care, I'm not going there because of the images already in my mind of infants with vines growing out of their ears tending gardens.
Ah wait, here it is, adult things for me ... Knitting with Wire, hmm, since there are no more knights about to joust in the lists, I'm not sure why anyone needs to make chain mail. Wheel Throwing with Sue. She must be the champ, like how far can it roll? Sounds strenuous.
I could do Belly Dance with Venus, but they'd see the lust right away and toss me out. Reggaeton for Women, oops not for me, how to seduce a man with reggaeton body movement. But how many times can you listen to Bob Marley's Buffalo Soldier without smoking weed? Dog Obedience. Training won't stop them pooping at embarrassing moments. My dog could never digest corn.
The Buddha Within - described as Brain and Nervous System Seminar. Fiddling around with my central nervous system makes me just .... nervous. Urban Women of courage. Is that Joan of Arc complex? Urban women who stay at home to look after their own kids without killing them must quality for that one.
Ah, here we are, something just for me, Older Adult Programs. Oops, it's in Chinese. Wonder what it says? Oh darn, that's the only one under that heading.

I seem to have 5 strikes against me these days - I am not a landed immigrant, was born here in Vancouver; I am not gay; I am a non-lesbian; I am male: I am over 40, well ok, over 50; I only speak English; my heritage is white Northern European; I have no esoteric religion. (This would include the mysteries of Catholicism and Protestantaneanism.)
I guess I can look bleakly forward to another winter of surfing the web endlessly.
I AM a minority now, but I don't qualify for anything.

Thursday, August 21, 2008

American credibility

Condoleezza Rice recently said, "Russia is a state that is unfortunately using the one tool that it has always used whenever it wishes to deliver a message and that's its military power. That's not the way to deal in the 21st century."
This reptilian shape-shifter must be kept in a closet by Bush between forays into the world. She seems sublimely unaware of America and Iraq or Afghanistan. Either that or she is the ultimate hypocrite! Just transpose the word Russia to the word USA.

But wait, here's the guy who wants to be voted into the US Presidency, John McCain, "Countries don't invade other countries in the 21st century."
He seems to blink when talking like that like he's wondering where he is. I hope this 'wrinkly old white-haired Dude' goes to a nice old folks home. Paint it white so he thinks he's president, even Napoleon if he likes.

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Today in History ... August 14

1900 - Some 2,000 U.S. Marines joined with European forces to capture Beijing, ending the Boxer Rebellion against the Western presence in China.
Beijing retaliated by holding the Olympic Games in 2008, luring Americans with prospects of gold, but poisoning the unsuspecting Western visitors with pollution.

Saturday, August 09, 2008

Olympics closing ceremonies

A Canadian Olympic spokesperson makes a final comment to our athletes -

"We are satisfied with our (cough) efforts to compete here in China. You all did (cough) excuse me, very well. Considering.
"We're sorry that so many of you had to spend hospital time here in (cough) Pekin, Peking and Bei (cough) jing. All those who are returning to Canada on the (cough, sniff) Implant Express planes, please head out to the airport now, lungs are available back in Canada. Don't forget your oxygen tanks. (cough) You'll be able to shower safely again in Canada, try not to touch friends or loved ones until you do. And please burn your Olympic uniforms, (cough) oh sorry, I didn't mean because they were ugly, they might be contamin.... oh you know what I mean,
"Anyone standing at the back of the room who can't see me through the room mist, (cough) I hope you can hear me, Q-Tips are at the door. And those Olympic rowers who just rowed out to sea .. well, there were fresh breezes out there (cough) what can I say? We're sure our marathoners will be found soon. (cough, hack, snort, sniff cough) And we're sorry about that crash on the cycle track, where our (cough) rider got turned around the wrong way. We've dropped the protests on the track events too, (cough, cough, prolonged coughing fit) because there were no visible video (cough) recordings seen through the smog of our final positions. The infrared and heat sensing cameras were (cough, cough) okay but the Chinese disputed who the figures actually were in the 100 meter races etc. And please don't think our athletes were crying just because their eyes were like that. (cough, hack, cough, drip)
"Well until the next Olympics, thank you all ...
...
"er ... Anyone still here in the room? Sorry can't see anything ... Someone should really stay for the closing ceremonies.
(cough, sniff)
Anyone out there?
(cough)
Anyone?"

Friday, August 08, 2008

Vote for Paris Hilton for Pres.

Could it be any worse than it is right now? McCain uses Paris Hilton in an attack ad against Obama without her consent. This is her retaliation.

1 - 0 . . . . for Paris.

Wednesday, August 06, 2008

BC Ferries

The Coastal Renaissance, the shiny new German ship built in Germany by Germans in 2007, has broken down.
The old reliable ship, the Queen of Cowichan, built in Victoria by proud British Columbians in 1976, is filling in.

Sunday, August 03, 2008

Canada leads in Frankenfood secrecy

This comes under the 'Did you know?' category.
In Britain, there is controversy over the growing of open air GM (genetically modified) crops. These trial crops have always been identified as to location. However, some have been attacked by 'vandals' opposed to open air growing because there are no studies or interest for that matter, on what could happen to the environment with these Frankencrops growing adjacent to regular crops.
This has led the scientists to ask that their precious study crops be kept secret.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), which licenses open air trials commented: "EU legislation says that we must disclose GM trial locations to the public. We are awaiting a European Court of Justice ruling, likely later this year, on a French legal case that should clarify how the EU law in this area can be interpreted by Member States ...
We should follow the same approach as that followed in Canada for very small scale trials of say 400 plants or so - where the risks are looked at by a panel but the location of those sites is not revealed."
Friends of the Earth in Britain, believe that the trials should be stopped altogether. " ... we don't know the impact they'll have on the environment and on health and very often these trials are not set up to look at that."

A panel? When was the last time you heard of a Canadian panel looking out for the public interest?
Nice to know that we are leading in something, isn't it. Even if it is secrecy.
Er ... isn't it?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7529590.stm

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

IOC double standards

The International Olympic Committee has banned Iraq from participating in the Beijing Olympic summer games, saying 'political interference' was happening in Iraq.
Meanwhile the Chinese hosts of the games have cut off internet access to Chinese citizens during the Olympics and only says they will allow journalists covering their games, limited access to certain sites. Some writers have already complained about broken promises regarding their articles. Maybe censorship. Wouldn't that be political interference too?
The IOC was promised all kinds of freedoms by the Chinese Communist government when it got the games, none of the promises yet delivered. Looks like two standards to me.
Now if the USA was seriously interested in helping Iraq make its way in a post Saddam world, they might want to step up and suggest no Iraq, no USA. It would show that they won't accept the Chinese tampering with the rules, even if the IOC does.
And if worst comes to worst, and it's a no-go, they'll be saving their athletes lungs.

Truth in packaging


Well, they're not exactly lying. They do tell you there are 100 pills in the bottle.
But isn't that bottle like 10 times too big? Isn't it made of plastic? Isn't that something like made from oil? See the pills, way down there in the bottom? taking up 1/4 inch of space in a 4 inch high container.
Oh, but I forgot, business isn't supposed to cut down on greenhouse stuff, only us menials. We're supposed to save the world while they keep destroying it.
I think it is a bit fraudulent.

Telemarketers - how to win

You can now go to a certain website or call Bell Canada to register your phone number on a 'do not call' list. This is a measure taken by the CRTC because of the huge increase in bothersome calls, mostly at dinnertime. However, many organizations will be exempted under the new rules. Charities, political parties, polling firms and newspapers can continue to make unsolicited phone calls. This is no fun.
And how many people will actually add themselves to that list?
Telemarketers wouldn't call anyone unless it was profitable. People actually stay on line with them and buy the product! I suspect it is lonely 80 years olds who have no one to talk to.
But would telemarketers continue to make thousands of calls per day if you bought the product but didn't pay for it? If everyone did that they couldn't possibly sue us all.
And don't forget that they are calling YOU, interrupting YOUR privacy, and you are not obligated to tell them the truth about anything. Including where you live. So just buy the product on COD and have it sent somewhere else! Maybe to a law firm downtown, lawyers can look after themselves. Maybe you gave a wrong credit card number? That's just human error. MISinformation to them but DISinformation for you.
Y
ou might want to lie to pollsters too. As a matter of fact, if everyone did, polls would soon become so unreliable they would be of no use to the polling interests. And no use to call you to ask your opinion at supper time! Political parties are especially good to lie to. Just tell whoever calls that you'll vote for them. You already KNOW that whoever gets into government WILL lie to you.
If everyone always lied all the time ... silence for dinner.
You can have your number taken off the list, but you'll be missing out on the fun of lying if you do. Answer the phone.
My number is 555-IM1-RU12.

www.lnnte-dncl.gc.ca

Monday, July 21, 2008

Canucks - seasonal excitement

The hockey season is gearing up. Everyone's excited.
We might get Matts Sundin, the big 37 year old 33 goal scorer for the losingest team in Canada, Toronto Maple Leafs. He'll make a good defenceman for Coach Vignault. For 10 million a season. Is that the league's highest? Naslund is gone. Morrison is gone. The Canucks are looking for more grit. Maybe they can get Cooke and Ruutu back. And more scoring. Maybe Vignault will be able to re sign Marc Chouinard and Jan Bulus, they could add about five goals a season, he loves those guys. They don't want Anson Carter. I heard Rick Blight is ready to return. The rumour is that the Canucks are actively seeking Sumo wrestlers in Japan to stand beside Luongo. Now that would be a Vignault defensive team. And they are testing a new technique where they put nicks in the skate blades to stop them from slipping on the ice.
There is so much to get excited about .............................not.

But get ready for the media spin anyway.

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Bruce Break - but not broken

The Canadian Broadcast Standards Council recently concluded their 'investigation' of Bruce Allen's comments via radio about people coming to Canada and wanting to change the laws or at least not abide by existing Canadian laws. Part of the comments by Ron Cohen of the CBSC were that although Bruce is "arrogant. ignorant and offensive", he was not discriminatory and didn't break any rules. Cohen also commented that public media MUST have balance.
These rules of balance may be what causes the problems. Radio, newspapers and TV are so conscious of the need for 'balance' in reporting, (because of the CRTC and CBSC etc.) that in publishing street polls, for instance, we ALWAYS get this so-called balanced reporting, which in some cases may actually distort the truth.
Ask the question and make sure the answers are never more than 3 to 2 one side or the other. A street pollster once told me that if 10 people in a row say one unified answer, that media rep will just go on and on until they can publish their favorite 3 to 2 snap-shot of what people think. Maybe they asked 100 people the question before they found 2 who countered the feeling of the other 98. Then they publish five of their results, choosing 3 for and 2 against. So the very act of balancing the reporting becomes artificial and NOT reflective of community standards.
The poll therefore distorts the truth because it is manipulated and fraudulent. Sometimes with disastrous results ... 3 November, 1948, the Chicago Tribune proclaimed “DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN.” Because the polls told them so. 1972, the polls said WAC Bennett was a shoe in for another term as BC Premier. The next morning it was Dave Barrett who was smiling as he read the results. The polls may have been 'adjusted' for political reasons.
Personally I lie to all pollsters, you are not obligated to tell them the truth.
One can expect a poll to ask, "Do you love war?" and the results to be 3 to 2.
Meanwhile Bruce is free to express opinion about our society, but we'll never know if he is 100 percent correct or only 3 to 2. Balance, remember, is everything, even if it's a lie.
At least Bruce Allen is telling us HIS 100 percent truth, the polls are not!

Sunday, July 13, 2008

my POLL - how sneaky could Campbell be?

Overwhelming answer - really sneaky.
One person believes he could be THIS sneaky .....

Developer friend - "We could use the property that BC Place Stadium is on to make millions."
Gordon Campbell - "Don't worry, I've got it under control."
Df - "But you just announced a new roof for the stadium?"
GC - "Look, we'll get past the games, then we'll start the campaign to tell the public they don't want a new roof."
Df - "How would that work, Gordon?"
GC - "We'll start right in telling them it's an unstable building. Then go to massive new construction expenses. The public will see we are being responsible with their money. Even use the toxic waste beneath the building ploy. "
Df - "Wow. You think you could pull that off?"
GC - (chuckle) " I sold their BC Rail didn't I? We're by-passing BC Hydro on river power. We built BC Ferries ships using Germans, didn't we? And they all forgot they once owned BC Gas already. And they're going for the gas tax, aren't they? Need I say more?"
Df - "Okay, Gordon, I guess you have got it under control. I'll start drawing up designs for the high rises. How's that plan to sell Vancouver Island to the Americans going?"
GC - Shhhh.

Monday, July 07, 2008

Carbon Tax - brilliantly saving the planet

Most of the time I just don't get it. But I just heard an ad on the radio that explained the government's carbon tax.
It basically stated that the Campbell tax you're going to get on your gas fill-up will enable you and your children to breath fresh air forever.
Seems too simple doesn't it? Tax is the answer. This must have been thought up by the same guy in the basement of the Royal Bank (ba-ad vernacular, they only want to distract you nowadays with RBC) who thinks up fees and ways to sneak dollars out of your account.
So if there is a world wide food shortage, we could tax bread higher. Make it like twenty bucks a loaf. Voila! Everyone has a full stomach!
Water droughts? Meter your glass. Tax every spoonful. Maybe five dollars a sip. That way the water will be drinkable even in the swamps of Africa.
So the carbon tax will surely stop the building of those 65 coal fired energy plants that Dick Cheney announced. All those diesel truck fleets will suddenly stop emitting foul black smoke. China's pollution will stop blowing across the Pacific into our lungs. Butterflys will fly, the grass will grow and the sky will be blue. All it takes is taxes.
Speaking of lungs, what about, say, 10 cents a breath? Might as well eliminate emphysema while we're at it.
I get it now.

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Daily Laugh item

Have you ever wondered why our Canadian justice system is so screwed up? No, you're like me, you've just come to accept it as a joke.
There's this Toronto accountant guy. He did the books for these twenty-one daycare centers. He (allegedly) stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from them when he suddenly resigned from the job leaving his wife and kids and disappearing to another country. That was two years ago. No one in our police system could find him. (We assume no one thought of checking travel agents or airline passenger lists.)
Then the CBC program The Fifth Estate somehow finds him in Africa. He's out of money. He wants to come back to Canada to face justice .....
BUT ..... you knew this was coming, right? ..... the Canadian authorities wouldn't arrest him and fly him back to Canada! So the CBC team pays for his flight back in the interests of having an exclusive story! He finally gets arrested at the airport.
I guess if he was going to be a major criminal and wanted to hide he should have just hid within Canada like all the other criminals do.
Our justice system is a never ending source for your Daily Laugh.

Please don't cry.

Monday, June 16, 2008

My Left Foot

A human left foot was discovered partially submerged in the water near Westham Island in Ladner, B.C., Monday. It's the fifth human foot police have found in the province in less than a year. Four right feet, each wearing a sock and sneaker, have been discovered since August. A woman's right foot was found on uninhabited Kirkland Island in the Fraser River in May, just a few kilometres from where police found the fifth foot.
Three other men's right feet washed up in the Gulf Islands between Vancouver and Vancouver Island. In August, feet were discovered on Gabriola and Jedediah islands and, in February, another foot was found on Valdez Island.
Baffling isn't it? Is it ritualistic? Is it crazy? How could severed feet be turning up in Georgia Straight? Where are they coming from?
My deduction is that someone is dropping them into the Fraser river somewhere. Not too far or they might have been discovered farther upstream.
How does one obtain such a bizarre item for whatever reason? A person working in a mortuary would have access to human body parts. They could sever a foot of someone just before burial or cremation and it would be hard to discover.
But after who knows what secret ceremony?
Bizarre, but then the human mind has always had the capacity to be grotesque if you look closely enough.

Friday, June 13, 2008

The Sequel is Real

Kobe Bryant NBA Idol

Kobe Bryant, 'star' player in the NBA had wonderful leadership type comments last night after a loss. He said he " had lots of wine and beer, and about 20 shots, they wet the bed and it was a big one too, not that you can put a towel over."
One wonders about all those school kids who look up to sports heroes.
But wait, it's the NBA, the Sleaze League. It seemed to start a few years ago when all those fans with hand-held TVs at the game noticed that when it was dead quiet in the actual arena, there was the frantic excitement of cheering fans on the TV broadcast and it was found that the NBA was adding their own soundtrack to make basketball seem exciting.
Sort of what professional 'wrestling' might do.
So now many referees working the NBA are under investigation for fixing games! Because the league wanted 7 game playoffs. I suppose they rig it so each team wins 3 and they toss up the last game. Sort of like today's game actually, you go down our end and shoot, we go down your end and shoot. All preprogrammed until the last minute of play. The referees making sure of it all. Sort of like NASCAR which always brings out yellow flags with 5 laps to go.
If you're not exactly a follower of the NBA, you might still recall Kobe as the central figure in a sleazy legal case when he was charged with felony sexual assault against a 19-year-old woman at an exclusive spa. The case was dissolved when the woman decided not to testify after receiving death threats. Bryant, at a news conference, insisted the act was consensual, ignoring the fact that he is married and his wife was standing beside him.
Maybe I'm getting too excited about this?
Maybe he's not influencing school children at all, maybe the young people who look up to Kobe aren't in school, they're out robbing liquor stores or wetting the bed.
Never mind.

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Tiger Woods and hockey

Tiger Woods says he doesn't dig hockey, especially on television. Hmmm. Is there anything more stimulating than golf on TV?

Commentator : (whispering) Tiger tees off ... straight down the old fairway.
zzzzzzzzzzzZZZzzzzzzzzzz
Commentator : (whispering) Tiger choosing a nine iron ... chips it high ... rolling straight onto the old green.
ZzzzzzZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Commentator : (whispering) Tiger about to putt ... drops straight into the old cup, how exciting is that, folks?
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzZZZZsnortzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Commentator : (whispering) And now a word from old Cadillac ... now with old OnStar so they can tell you old folks who you are.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzZZZ
Commentator : (whispering) Tiger is accepting his new billlion dollar cheque ... straight into his old pocket.

Hmm. (whispering) Maybe old Tiger could buy himself a personality?