Harper's Name Games

Here's an article about the fact that Harper still hasn't announced how much money Canada will give to help fight AIDS in the developing world. Remember the AIDS conference a few months ago? The one which Harper chose not to attend because he was worried he might catch gay? And then when people criticized him, he got all huffy about it and announced he was going to make a very generous pledge to help fight AIDS but that he wouldn't announce it now because the situation was too 'politicized'? Well he still hasn't ponied up. Christ, I hope he does catch gay.

And here's another article about the Torie's much-vaunted "Made in Canada" Hot Air Pollution Plan. Well according to a team of environmental lawyers who studied a leaked copy of the 'plan' -- "Based on the draft reviewed, this bill is mainly housekeeping and minor adjustments in language. It shuffles air pollution and greenhouse gas provisions to a new section of CEPA."

This is how Harper works, he announces that his government is developing plans and programs that don't exist, and then repeats their names until everyone thinks they do exist.

Like all Neo-conservatives he is more concerned with running the media than with running the country.

Youtube be praised!

Youtube be praised! The video which the industrial food machine didn't want you to see is BACK! This is why chicken is so cheap. Buy free-range when you can.

OPEC

So, for a long time, I thought, maybe this war in Iraq wasn't about oil. I thought, hmmm, maybe this war happened just because W. was a psychopath. But then, just today, I noticed something. While Iraq has managed to train a police force, rebuild it's army (sort of), write a constitution and hold elections, they haven't joined OPEC.

OPEC is a cartel of oil-producing nations that regulates oil prices in their favour (to the disadvantage of the US) but self-imposing quotas to all member nations when prices begin to drop. The members are Algeria, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela. Right now, they're discussing cutting production, but the Saudis are hesitant because there's an election coming up and George and his family have been sucking them off for thirty years.

Why hasn't Iraq joined OPEC? They have nothing but oil, they don't have the infrastructure to exceed quotas anyway and high oil prices are their only hope for rebuilding their country.

(It's not that I don't believe W. is a psychopath. I'm pretty sure he is. How else could he be so cynical and sarcastic and down-right jovial in the face of the death and torture and destruction that surrounds him everyday?)

Fuck you, Meng!

Cheney's Speech from a Recent Repuglican Convention

Dancing in the Streets

Matthew, my less-than occasional, less-than sensational editor, has been more distracted than usual lately, because he has gone off on another one of his quixotic campaigns to engage in his bizarre hobbies. He would like me to inform all of you that should you actually want to learn to spin on your head, he is now teaching classes at The Street Dance Academy. You can go to the website by clicking here.

[Ed. Note -- SDA teaches many styles of dance, including breaking, lindy-hop and street-tap. So if you're looking for a fun way to keep active during the winter, check it out.]

"Who are these children Congressman? Who are these children?"

Presumably you have heard that Republican Congressman Mark Foley has resigned after it came to light that he sent very inappropriate text messages to several teenage pages. It's a sad story, Congressman Foley was abused as a child himself.

What is not sad or tragic, but purely despicable is Tom Reynolds, Chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee. Tom knew about the messages months ago and he did basically nothing, or rather he told some other Republicans including Dennis Hastert (the Speaker of the House) and they collectively decided to do nothing. In particular, they decided not to mention it to the Pages Committee, which is bipartisan and thus includes a Democrat, who might, perhaps, have blown the whistle and prevented further abuses.

So, a few days ago, when the scandal broke in the media, Mr. Reynolds realizes that he's going to have to have a press conference to discuss the matter, but he doesn't want it to get to heated. He certainly wouldn't want anyone in the press to actually read out the graphic text messages that he knew about and covered up, so he, and i'm not making this up, brings a whole lot of children up on stage with him.

In the video a reporter asks if he could ask the children to leave so that they could actually discuss the topic at hand. Reynolds says he's happy to take any questions, but he won't ask any of his "supporters," who are mainly six and seven years old, to leave. This is fucked up beyond words. Just watch.



"Who are these children Congressman? Who are these children?"

laughter of DOOM