Random Thoughts From A Wandering Mind

WWIII

2006-07-31T19:49:00.000-07:00

Over my brief blogging career I have made two predictions that would transpire over the next 5 years:

1.) A major US recession

2.) World War III

see: crumbling of an empire

We have started to see point one come to fruition - falling dollar, massive deficits, falling prices, etc. etc. etc. It won't be too much longer, in my opinion, until it ultimately implodes.

Now to come to point two: hopefully I'm entirely wrong on this one, god do I hope I'm wrong. Here is my prediction of transpiring events laid out in 10 simple steps:

Step 1
Sept. 11, 2001 - The twin towers fall giving America the foundation and public support it needs to go to war in Afghanistan and Iraq, securing a major oil asset. As a result, increasing hostility in the middle east against the "Western powers". As a subtle reminder, here is a 9-11 call that is sure to jostle the old memory. This one will leave a lump in your throat.

Step 2
Israel goes to war with Lebanon - A massive Israeli military funded and armed predominantly by America = a fairly one sided battle, but increases tensions of East vs. West and further lays the groundwork that Iran/Syria is funding Hezbollah and other terrorist regimes.

Step 3
Israel/US/England strikes Syria resulting in Iran getting involved in the picture

Step 4
What little confidence the world has for U.N. conflict resolution seizes to exist. Don’t worry Kofi – I’m sure Bush has a spot for you on his advisory team.

Step 5
Israel/US/England goes to war with Iran.

Now it starts getting ugly…

Step 6
Other world powers do not sit idle while America tries to secure another major oil reserve – Russia (They have problems of their own, but…)? China (What is the world’s largest military capable of…)?

Step 7
All hell breaks loose – India/Pakistan, North and South Korea, China/Taiwan attack each other. Nukes start to fly.

Step 8
America goes into a country wide state of panic so severe that citizens will give up liberties and Constitutional form of government. The plan calls for the dissolution of the US Constitution, triggered by a significant enough 'terrorist' attack. The ultimate intent is to introduce a global government and one-world religion. Yup… it all comes back to religion.

Step 9
The Western world collapses

Step 10
Who the fuck knows…

Now I'm going to go listen to some Bob Marley...

rents out!!!!!!!!!

Enron - The Smartest Guys in the Room

2005-12-29T11:23:00.000-08:00

So I watched the Enron movie last night. Definetly a must see for documentry fans. I can't think of a bigger scandle in American history in terms of corporate crime nor one that ruined so many lives. The above diagram shows how the scam worked in a nutshell.

There was one interview where a man's 401K went from $360,000 to $1,200 and you know he wasn't alone. How on earth does someone at the age of 55 recover from something like this.

It just baffled me that no one caught on to their scam earlier than the eventual wistle blower, but when you take a step back you realize this isn't just any ordinary company. Enron had virtually everyone in their pocket, from all the major investment houses to the Bush administration. It was absolutely unreal how much power they had. When one investment banker downgraded the stock, Enron would flex their muscle and have the bank fire him, when the California government got tired of being raped and stood up to the corporate giant, Enron launched a smear campaign and it's widely thought that the company is largely responsible for Arnold Schwarzenegger being elected.

The trial of Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling is sheduled for January 2006. Contrarty to the norm of most corporate criminals I think these two are going to have the book thrown at them, America needs to make an example. Saying that however, jail is just too good for these guys. I hope they both share a cell with Bubba and learn the new meaning of "playing house".

A few points of interest:

20,000 people lost their jobs and medical insurance
Average severance pay: $4,500
Top executives were paid bonuses totaling $55 million
Employees lost $1.2 billion in retirement funds
Retirees lost $2 billion in pension funds
Enron execs cashed in $116 million in stock
15 Guilty Please, 6 Cconvictions, 1 Acquittal, 11 Pending Cases
Three California Traders pled guilty to wire fraud
Four Merrill Lynch execs convicted of fraud in the Nigerian Barge Case

Way too much info to cover - go see the movie.

Hung

2005-12-28T18:18:00.000-08:00

This guy is so cool looking I had to throw him in a post. He's an ant eater for all you daft pricks that don't know your mamals. haha ownt!

Hypocrisy

2005-12-20T12:29:00.000-08:00

I'm not a fan of Stephen Harper to begin with, not just because he looks like a creepy child molester, but also for his views on various current affairs. For example, his stance on the Iraq war. He was probably one of, if not the biggest, advocate upon the initial invasion. Going to such extremes as taking out newspaper adds appologizing to the US that Canada wasn't showing more support.

It looks like Harper's mouth and knees have gotten sore enough over the past two years to enable him to stop sucking America's cock and actually realise that the war was completely fabricated. On second thought he's probably just realised that the large majority of Canadians don't in fact support the war which is a contradiction to what he said in 2003 when he told Fox news that the majority of Canadians outside of Quebec supported the US led invasion. He also introduced a motion in the Commons asking Canada to support the war. Following are a few quotes I dug up supporting this claim:

"We should have been there, shoulder to shoulder with our allies."

With respect to the liberals waffling on the issue: "They argue one day that there are no weapons of mass destruction, yet warn such weapons might be used. They tell us the war was immoral, then moral but impractical, then practical but unjustified."

Now - December 13th, he has this to say:

If I were prime minister, we would not be involved in Iraq. I would encourage the Americans and hope they're successful, but our government would not be there." Conservative Leader Stephen Harper, Dec. 13, 2005 at a press conference in Trenton, Ont.

Thank your for telling the public whatever you think the majority want to hear, even though your still supporting the fact they went in and murdered thousands of innocent people. If your elected, I'm moving because the thought of being America's 51st state (which, based on your comments on not only these issues but countless others, seems a likely outcome).

hmmmm, maybe I should start a political career

James out

On a lighter note...

2005-12-04T12:51:00.000-08:00

A woman was in a coma. She had been in it for months. Nurses were in her room giving her a sponge bath. One of them was washing her private area and noticed that there was a slight response on the monitor when she touched her.

They tried it again and sure enough there was definite movement. They went to her husband and explained what happened, telling him, "As crazy as this sounds, maybe a little oral sex will do the trick and bring her out of the coma."

The husband was skeptical, but they assured him that they'd close the curtains for privacy. The husband finally agreed and went into his wife's room.

After a few minutes the woman's monitor flat lined, no pulse, no heart rate. The nurses run back into the room. "What happened!?" they cried. The husband said, "I'm not sure - I think maybe she choked."

Life Deals a Kick To The Nuts

2005-12-02T17:08:00.000-08:00

Life is funny really, one minute your on top of the world - I got married, school was going well, work was going well, I got to see Greece and London, and then bam, out of nowhere life gives you a swift kick to the nuts!

I've been out of commission for a while and am writing this post for 3 reasons: first, I wanted an electronic copy of my ordeal so I can go back and read it in a year and hopefully see some progress made, secondly I find blogging a somewhat comforting way to vent, and lastly, I tend to get a few anonymous readers stopping by so if they can take something away from my experience then that's just a bonus. Here we go...

After coming home from my honeymoon in Greece, I got the runs. Now this isn't anything new, I figured to myself, I've been traveling, eating oily and different foods, my body is just clearing itself out, but after two weeks, I started to get worried. After Imodium did nothing I decided to go to the doctor. On my third visit they decided to give me an antibiotic in case I picked up a bacterial infection (cipro). This did nothing as well. Four weeks after being back from Greece my symptoms starting getting worse (intense stomach pains, gastro bleeding, etc.) I had finally reached my breaking point, so much so that I was reduced to tears. Everyone has their breaking point and I just met face to face with mine. My wife had seen enough and dragged me to the emergency.

While waiting in triage, I found myself debating public/private health care systems. For the record I still believe public is the only way to go, although if ever there was a two-tier system that could work as effectively as public, I could be persuaded a little easier after this whole experience.

I finally get to see the emergency doctor and he ordered some x-rays and a CT scan of my gut. There was moderate inflammation in my intestine and the diagnosis was probable ulcerative colitis (a disease that causes inflammation and sores, called ulcers, in the lining of the large intestine which falls under the umbrella - inflammatory bowel disease).

Now emergency doctors have a very tough job, they need to be knowledgeable in so many areas that they are bound to make the odd mistake, unfortunately for me one of those mistakes came in prescribing me a drug that is no longer used because of all the associated side effects (sulfasalazine). After returning home for 2 days I couldn’t believe it, but I was actually getting worse and decided to once again go back to the hospital, this time I would be admitted for a week and finally see a specialist.

When people say hospitals are depressing, they aren’t kidding, I have never felt more down in the dumps than I did that whole week. I would lie in bed 24 hours a day except to use the washroom (which was occurring every two hours like clockwork for 2 days straight – imagine shitting out broken glass or barbed wire and that is what I felt like). I would have to say that I reached the absolute bottom. I’m usually an upbeat person, but damn it was hard to stay positive. Then you see 10 year old kids walking around with leukemia and you quickly realize you don’t have it half as bad as them. Suck it up, life goes on and what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, right? So onward and upward.

Upon release it was determined that I picked up an infection in the hospital (C Diff.) which is a result of taking widespread antibiotics. The body’s stomach produces bacteria naturally (lets call it good bacteria) that protects against infections, but because the antibiotics are widespread (not targeted to a certain area) they kill everything including the good bacteria. In my case a “bad bacteria” was picked up and started spreading throughout my stomach/intestines before the good bacteria started to produce. The drug prescribed to kill this is flagyl, nasty stuff, but it seems to be working. I’ll have to take this one for 3 months.

Finally, due to the infection and mass amounts of “the runs”, I developed an abscess (infected cavity filled with pus). This too caused a tremendous amount of pain so it was off to the emergency for a third time. I was given some morphine for the pain – oh baby did it provide some relief. An abscess requires surgery - draining the pus from the infected cavity, making an opening in the skin to relieve the pressure. I met with the surgeon at about 9:00 a.m. and he said the surgery would happen that night around midnight. I looked at him and asked if it would still be him performing the surgery and he replied yes. Now I got a little worried, he’s been at the hospital since 7:30a.m. and is going to operate on me 16.5 hours later – hope he has good hands.

Turns out I went into surgery around 6:00p.m. as an operating room freed up. I must admit I was a little scared about the surgery, although only minor, there are always risks involved with surgery and after no sleep for a couple of days and lots of drugs running through my body, my mind couldn’t help but concentrate on the “what if” scenarios. Once in the operating room they give you a shot of something to calm you down and five minutes later they knock you out. Twenty minutes later I was awake in the recovery room and apart from breathing a bit weird I felt good. It was back to my room for the night in case any complications arose.

The next morning I was feeling pretty good, not too much discomfort. I met with the surgeon and because of what he saw inside, changed my diagnosis to Crohn’s disease. Crohn’s disease is very similar to ulcerative colitis but the inflammation can occur in any part of the digestive tract, from the mouth to the anus and usually penetrates deeper into the lining of the affected organ causing more sever symptoms.

Well with everything out of the way it was time to go home and recover from surgery, the C. Diff infection, and my inflamed bowel. After 2 weeks of watching movies and resting I finally feel normal again. There is a little bit of an upset stomach and a feeling of nocuous from all the drugs (21 pills a day in total), but compared to how I was feeling it’s night and day. I can eat pretty much what I want now, but am keeping away from the hot sauce for a little bit. I’ve now started on the main Crohn’s maintenance drug (imuran) which should take full affect after three months.

That’s my life for the past 6 weeks.

A quick note to express my thanks for all the support I’ve received from my friends, family, work and an extra special thanks to my wife because I don’t want to think what it would have been like going through this alone. I guess if I had to take some positives away from this experience it has brought my marriage to a new level after such a short time period and I suppose I will view my health in a new light.

Finally, one last shout out to Lance as per his request – your still gay and I’m going to kill you in fantasy football this weekend, hope that’s what your were looking for lol.
Okay, that was depressing, something more cheerful in the next post I think.

Is matty good hanging them up?

2005-10-14T12:59:00.000-07:00

From his site:

I was doing an interview yesterday with the Winnipeg Sun and realized, after answering a question, that this may very well be the last tour that I ever do with this sort of band. That’s not to say that there might not be the odd one off in the future, but I really don’t see the point of continuing presenting material this way, especially if it doesn’t jive with new material. So you never know, this could just be the last time that you get to hear some of these songs live.

I personally enjoy his older material when I go see his concerts, but it sounds like he wants to go solo in my opinion, maybe an acoustic tour. Guess I can't blame the guy, he's been in the game for quite a while.

Looking forward to his concert in Calgary on Nov. 1

Pimp my propaganda

2005-10-14T12:41:00.000-07:00

The US propaganda machine got a bit of a facelift yesterday when it nationally televised a teleconference with George and U.S. troops. I guess you have to give them kudos for trying something new lol. Here's an excerpt, and the entire summary can be found here: teleconference

WASHINGTON - It was billed as a conversation with U.S. troops, but the questions President Bush asked on a teleconference call Thursday were choreographed to match his goals for the war in Iraq and Saturday's vote on a new Iraqi constitution.

"This is an important time," Allison Barber, deputy assistant defense secretary, said, coaching the soldiers before Bush arrived. "The president is looking forward to having just a conversation with you."

Barber said the president was interested in three topics: the overall security situation in Iraq, security preparations for the weekend vote and efforts to train Iraqi troops.

As she spoke in Washington, a live shot of 10 soldiers from the Army's 42nd Infantry Division and one Iraqi soldier was beamed into the Eisenhower Executive Office Building from Tikrit — the birthplace of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

"I'm going to ask somebody to grab those two water bottles against the wall and move them out of the camera shot for me," Barber said.

A brief rehearsal ensued:
"OK, so let's just walk through this," Barber said. "Captain Kennedy, you answer the first question and you hand the mike to whom?"

"Captain Smith," Kennedy said.

"Captain. Smith? You take the mike and you hand it to whom?" she asked.

"Captain Kennedy," the soldier replied.

And so it went.

I'm back baby

2005-10-14T12:37:00.000-07:00

So I've been away for a while: got married, had a honeymoon, back in school for another semester, etc. etc. etc. Strangley I've actually missed bloggin a little bit so I'm going to climb back into the saddle and start posting again. So much has happened in the past month and a half that I'm not sure where I should begin - maybe start with Bush...

T.O.

2005-08-11T15:09:00.000-07:00

I am sick and tired of hearing about Terrell Owens in the news. Comparing himself to Jesus, not showing up for training camp because he wants to re-negotiate his 7 year, $49 million US contract, lifting weights and playing basketball in front of a media circus when he gets kicked out of training camp. Get a life you over-paid jag off.

If it wasn't for the NFL you'd be selling rock in the streets as it's obvious you don't have the mental capacity to work a real job. Below are the top five T.O. stunts in his NFL career:

1. Sharpie-gate: Owens whipped out a Sharpie pen from his sock and signed a football for his business agent after a touchdown on Monday Night Football in Seattle in October 2002.

2. The Stomping of the Star: In September 2000 Owens raced to midfield of Texas Stadium to twice celebrate touchdowns on the famed Cowboys' star logo -- arms outstretched, head tilted skyward, toward the hole in the roof and the heavens. Owens, of course, was tackled by vigilante Cowboys safety George Teague after his second sprint to midfield, setting off a near brawl.

3. The Playboy Interview: Owens granted Playboy an interview this past offseason, and surprise, surprise, the magazine seemed to ask questions relating to a sexual nature. One of which led Owens into at least intimating that quarterback Jeff Garcia, his former 49ers teammate, was gay. "Like my boy tells me,'' Owens said, "if it looks like a rat, and smells like a rat, by golly, it is a rat.''

4. Desperate Cross-Promotion: Desperate Housewives co-star Nicolette Sheridan drops her towel to seduce T.O. into not taking the field against the Cowboys.

5. The Greg Knapp sideline scream-fest: Owens went off on his 49ers offensive coordinator, Greg Knapp. One of the nicer guys in the game, Knapp endured a ridiculous verbal thrashing from Owens on the San Francisco sideline in the Metrodome, all because things weren't going so swell for Owens in his mano a mano duel with Pro Bowl Vikings receiver Randy Moss.

Not a bad start, wonder what this jackass will do next

Get em while they're young!

2005-08-02T18:25:00.000-07:00

-from mblog

President George W. Bush delivered a pep talk on Sunday to thousands of Boy Scouts, urging them not to waver after four tragic deaths and a rash of heat-related illnesses cast a pall over their camping "Jamboree." More than 32,000 Boy Scouts and leaders from across the United States are attending the 10-day Jamboree.

Leve it to Dubya to work in a little brainwashing at the boy scouts jaomboree lol:

Bush said the Boy Scouts "understand that freedom must be defended," and touted what he called the "armies of liberation." The Army has fallen behind its recruiting goals amid the Iraq war. "When you follow your conscience and the ideals you've sworn as a Scout, there is no limit to what you can achieve for our country," Bush told the crowd, which chanted "USA, USA."

Kids - now that your all in high spirits, visit the booths we've set up beside the stage to read through an "information package" on our army. One day when you've reached the draft eligible age, you too can fight for freedom and bring democracy to more countries that don't want us there.

Go screw a goat

2005-07-20T13:03:00.000-07:00

Did you know that the USA has 17 states where bestiality is legal. No you didn't misread that last sentence, I said legal. Now let's put this into perspective for a moment shall we... legalizing gay marriage has been debated for years because it's un-Christian, but wait - it's okay to go screw a goat or a hoarse.

To illustrate this, let me put together a quick story:
After moving out and going to college for a year, Suzie (now 19) shows up for dinner at her parents house in Washington D.C. "Hi mom and dad, I'd like to introduce you to my new boyfriend trigger." Suzie's mom and dad stand awestruck in the doorway with a "wtf" type look their face. "I know what your thinking mom, he's a horse, but look at all the advantages of dating him; he doesn't talk back, only eats grass/hay so food is cheap, and check out the package on him." says Suzie.

Yeeeeehaaaaaaaaaaaaaw

2005-07-10T20:45:00.000-07:00

Well it's that time of year again - the time when downtown Calgary stops working, puts on cowboy clothes, bars charge twice as much for beer, and everyone gets drunk for 10 days. I hit the grounds on Saturday. It was pretty much the same ol' Stampede with the exception of the grandstand having double the fireworks as last year. I must say, the most fireworks I have ever seen at an event, it was "way kewl dood". After four heroin beers at the grandstand show we were all well on our way and ready for a change in scenery. Next stop - Drum and Monkey.

After meeting up with the rest of the crew, they quickly found out I was gunned and proceeded to order jager bombs to further aid the intoxication. It didn't take long before I was seeing double and all of a sudden the lights were turned on, it was time to go home, eat a spulombos sausage and crater.

If Saturday night is any indication of this year's Stampede, my liver and I aren't going to get along.

Missing the point

2005-07-04T10:40:00.000-07:00

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Live 8 performers are playing for free, but local organizers plan to shower the celebrities with a Hugo Boss duffel bag loaded with high-fashion trinkets valued at about $3,000 US.

They'll also be able to add to their goodie bags with big-ticket items including Hugo Boss suits, valued at $800 to $1,000 each; XM satellite radios and subscriptions, $500; Gibson guitars, $2,000; Bertolucci watches, valued between $1,500 and $6,000; and other items. In all, a celebrity could walk away with a bag of gifts worth as much as $12,000.

"We want this to be a thank-you to the celebrities who are giving up their time and energies," said Nicole Cashman, whose firm was tapped by Larry Magid's Electric Factory Concerts to put the bags together.

Do 95% of celebrities even understand how poverty began in third world countries? I certainly doubt it. To accept goodie bags where the majority of the material was probably made in these very countries just epitomizes my point.

Secondly, has anyone ever stopped and asked why Africa seems to be the prime focus of these recent campaigns? Any deal that involves the world powers is never for free. Africa has an ambundance of natural resources and this is no doubt the underlying motive. If Africa had the skill set and technology resources North America posess, they would be self sufficient. This is the only way to truely eliminate poverty - building a foundation from the bottom up otherwise the cycle will just repeat itself.

Happy Birthday Canada

2005-07-02T16:17:00.000-07:00

What better way to celebrate our nation's Birthday than with good friends, fine food, and plenty of drinks. I've said it before and I'll say it again: We live in a great country! I hope all Canadians took a couple of moments to reflect on how lucky we are to live in this country. Now if only we could get a new neighbor.....

O Canada!
Our home and native land!
True patriot love in all thy sons command.

With glowing hearts we see thee rise,
The True North strong and free!

From far and wide,
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

God keep our land glorious and free!
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

Summer at the box office

2005-06-30T12:01:00.000-07:00

Old Boy
Memento meets Manchurian Candidate meets Korea (in a sense) but provides a more intricate storyline with a twist ending that will make your skin crawl. Definitely worth checking out if you can suck it up and read the subtitles.

Star Wars - Episode 3
I saw Episode 3 some time ago. It tied up a few loose ends but wow, was it cheesy! The Emperor converted Anakin to the dark side faster than the length of Tom Cruise's future marriage to Katie Holmes. I was a huge fan of the original Star Wars, there was so much creativity in the films, I just can't comprehend how you can go from the caliber of the first three to this. I'm beginning to think that George Lucas never really had a story that spanned 6 episodes, but made an additional 3 after the originals did so well.

Land of The Dead
It's no Freddy Vs. Jason, but it's definitely worth seeing, Romero's movies are always worth the price of admission. There is enough gore in the movie to last the entire summer: severed limbs, torsos, and zombies eating loads of intestines. People will say it's cheesy, but that's just the way it was supposed to be.

Devils Rejects
Although Rob Zombie's first film was terrible, this one actually looks pretty cool. When it comes right down to it, your really can't go wrong with an hour and a half of bloodshed and violence. I'm looking forward to this one.

War of the Worlds
Tom Cruise is an idiot, therefore I smell a shitty movie on this one. Anyone who proudly displays their membership in a cult (Scientology) is a whack job waiting to happen, and Tom Cruise is well on his way, depicted by his outbursts in recent interviews. Furthermore, is Hollywood that tapped out of ideas that they have to start re-making movies? Planet of the Apes, Flight of the Phoenix, Freaky Friday, Gone in 60 seconds, Star Wars x 3, etc……. the shit just keeps piling up.

At the puppet show tonight....Gitmo

2005-06-23T11:19:00.000-07:00

"The lack of a definitive answer despite repeated requests suggests that the United States is not willing to cooperate with the United Nations human rights machinery on this issue," said the statement issued at a meeting of U.N. Commission on Human Rights representatives and experts.

Wow, what an increadible surprise. I figured they'd just open the gates and let them take a tour of one of the biggest human rights abuse in the history of our planet. After all, we saw how powerful the U.N. was in stopping the Iraq invasion.

Let the puppetshow continue

Pass the wine Mike

2005-06-19T11:27:00.000-07:00

Was it really any surprise that MJ was found not guilty? Money talks in the land of the Hollywood Stars. I kept asking myself... was his lawyer really that good? was the prosecution really that bad? or was there some conspiracy theory behind it all heh heh? Maybe a combo of the first two, who knows.

What will Mike do next? My prediction is a book telling "his story" followed by a new albumn that will surely sell millions after all this publicity. Then, as a friend mentioned, perhaps he will start his own daycare chain...

New Pope = Brilliant

2005-06-12T14:17:00.000-07:00

More than 60% of the world's 40m people with HIV live in sub-Saharan Africa. In South Africa alone, 600-1,000 people are thought to die every day because of Aids.

Now ask yourself this... what's one way this epidemic could be improved? Maybe some form of birth control would be a start. Not according to Pope Benedict "The traditional teaching of the church has proven to be the only failsafe way to prevent the spread of HIV/Aids." Perhaps in your next interview you could elaborate a little instead of making some idiotic claim such as this and banking on the hope that all your faithful sheep will nod their heads in agreeance.

The Pope warned that contraception was one of a host of trends contributing to a "breakdown in sexual morality", and church teachings should not be ignored. "It is of great concern that the fabric of African life, its very source of hope and stability, is threatened by divorce, abortion, prostitution, human trafficking and a contraception mentality," he added.

That's better, thanks for the clarification. Now go brainwash somewhere else, we're all stocked up here!

Anal

2005-06-05T11:07:00.000-07:00

Baghdad, Iraq, Jul. 17 (UPI) -- American journalist Seymour Hersh has said there are videotapes of American soldiers sodomizing young Iraqi boys at Abu Ghraib prison. According to the ACLU, a federal judge has ordered the release of dozens of Abu Ghraib photos and four videos documenting the torture and abuse some US soldiers allegedly took part in.

Since the war on Iraq began, the Bush administration has been able to deflect every scandle/allegation brought against it. Perhaps I'm naive, but I would think that everyone has a breaking point, a line that when crossed, people stand up and say, "hey that's just not right". Could this be the line where the American public finally takes a stand against their governement? Lets face it, the shit storm that this is going to cause in the media is going to be massive. Impeachment? Time will tell.

Brainwash Day

2005-05-30T19:54:00.000-07:00

Today is memorial day in the U.S. A chance to honor all the soldiers who have been killed in Iraq over one of the biggest charades ever to take place. A war that even most of the soldiers fighting for, don't understand the basic premise it was based upon. Perhaps a better reason for memorial day is a means to disseminate wide spread patriotic propaganda in an attempt to focus the general public's interest on grieving families rather than the killing spree, war crimes, and all the rest of the horrific acts taking place across the ocean. This is long from over however, and it's beginning to look more and more like Vietnam. There is one major difference between these two situations though: the abundent supply of oil in Iraq. Whether that will be enough to cover the vast cost of this whole situation remains to be seen.

Keep spending those greenbacks Sam, you can always invade another country when this supply runs out.

Death Penalty

2005-05-11T20:45:00.000-07:00

Usually I don't believe in the death penalty, but for a sick fuck like Jerry Hobbs, I can make an exception. I just can't comprehend something like this, but I guess that's because I'm not a crazed degenerate such as him... so that's a good thing. Have fun in jail Jerry, lube up often as people like you are usually quite popular.

WAUKEGAN, Illinois (CNN) -- An ex-convict has admitted punching, kicking and stabbing to death his 8-year-old daughter and her 9-year-old best friend on Mother's Day, prosecutors in suburban Chicago said. Jerry Hobbs, 34, was charged Wednesday with two counts of first-degree murder and denied bond, Lake County State's Attorney Michael Waller said. Hobbs could face the death penalty if convicted. Prosecutors are calling the killings "a slaughter." Laura Hobbs was stabbed 20 times and Krystal Tobias was stabbed 11 times, they said. The second-grade classmates were found dead Monday, a day after they were last seen riding their bikes.

Happy Birthday Peter North

2005-05-11T17:44:00.000-07:00

A true Canadian icon :-)

Old Men

2005-05-01T21:03:00.000-07:00

So last night a large group of us went out for Brad's Birthday. It started out innocently enough with a nice meal at Bookers (some of the best ribs I've had - ever!). 9:30 - let the debauchery begin. We made our way to a quaint little pub - The Drum and Monkey, where we immediately ordered drinks. We casually sipped away at our drinks and chatted about various topics from football to politics. I would call this brief time period the "calm before the storm" because soon thereafter, the shooters started flowing freely and before we knew it, everyone was corked. Now I'm not sure if it was the reminiscing over our road trip to Vancouver last summer or if it was just the copious amount of alcohol consumed, but we got it into our heads the best way to pick up girls was dropping your pants and telling girls "hi, I'm hung". The female species tend to be a little more conservative than men and this tactic had a low success rate, but what the hell... it was fun and memorable. I woke up this morning at 8:30a.m. and wanted to die, it's been a long time since I've had a hangover of such magnitude.

Tonight I had great ambitions of pre-reading for a block-week course I start tomorrow, instead I surfed the net and watched real time updates of my baseball pool. I figure since I got by University with winging it, one more course can't hurt.

Week In Review April 22

2005-04-23T09:01:00.000-07:00

Two suicide car bombs blew up in central Baghdad, killing fifteen and injuring thirty.[BBC News] A bomb in Kirkuk killed twelve Iraqi guards,[Al Jazeera] an American contractor was kidnapped north of Baghdad,[BBC News] and Marla Ruzicka, an activist from California who made it her mission to count the number of civilian casualties in Iraq, was killed in Baghdad by a suicide bomber.[Guardian]
-I've read and heard about this so many times over the past few years that it no longer has a disturbing affect on me... A disturbing thought in itself.

In the United States, Eric Rudolph, a Christian terrorist, pleaded guilty to several bombings, including those at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996, an abortion-clinic bombing in 1998, and an attack on a gay nightclub in 1997.[BBC News]
-I'm sure Jesus told him to do it, so it's okay in his warped brainwashed little mind

Prompted by the credit-card industry, which made $30 billion in profits last year, the House approved new legislation that will make it much harder for families to declare personal bankruptcy.[American Progress Action][New York Post]
-Just go see The Corporation, already

Fewer than half of all Californians approved of the job Arnold Schwarzenegger was doing as governor,[Guardian]
-And were supposed to be surprised by this?

Zoo officials in Johannesburg, South Africa, were pressuring one of their chimps to stop smoking.[Reuters]
-I love monkeys

As pilgrims washed away their sins in India's sacred Narmada River, a dam was opened upstream, releasing a wall of water that drowned fifty-two people.[ABC News]
-Maybe the 52 had too many sins to wash away?

Catholic cardinals convened a conclave,[ABC News]
-Hail Hitler... I mean the new pope.

A Christian radio talk-show host was fired for questioning whether the dead pope would go to heaven.[Local6.com]
-Bahahahahaha

The United Nations released a video game called “Food Force” that lets players pretend they are feeding the starving,[BBC News]
-If you didn't think the UN was usless before, this should put it to rest. The resources spent making a video game far outweigh those of actually feeding third world nations, I'm sure of it.

Let Your Interpretations Run Wild

2005-04-23T08:59:00.000-07:00

Week In Review - April 11-16

2005-04-18T19:30:00.000-07:00

Eighteen people died when a U.S. helicopter crashed in Afghanistan. The Taliban claimed they shot down the helicopter; the United States blamed bad weather.[BBC News][Chicago Tribune]

-Interesting that their stories contradict each other?

Iraq's parliament elected Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, as president; his Presidency Council then named Ibrahim Jaffari, a Shiite, as prime minister.[BBC News]

-hmmmmmmmmmmm

Senior American defense officials noted several positive developments in Iraq: only thirty-six American soldiers, they said, died there this March; attacks on allied forces were down to thirty or forty a day; and by early 2006, only 105,000 American soldiers may be needed in the country.[New York Times]

-Great, only 36 families can mourn their loved ones for the rest of their existence over a war waged on lies- not bad at all...morons!

Tens of thousands of Iraqis held a nonviolent march in Baghdad to protest the American occupation,[Reuters] tens of thousands of Lebanese held a mass jog through Beirut to show national unity,[AP] and thousands of Chinese rallied to protest Japanese history textbooks.[The Australian]

-Can't we all just get along?

The Bush Administration was working to gain access to records of international money transfers,[New York Times] and transcripts of legal proceedings at Guantanamo Bay were released. “I don't care about international law,” said the president of a military tribunal in one transcript. “I don't want to hear the words 'international law' again. We are not concerned with international law."[AP]

-Yeah international law is only important when it's used to facilitate something of interst to you, I mean isn't it?

Funny, but true?

2005-04-09T10:09:00.000-07:00

Well I think I've commented enough on Bush lately, so I'll just let this pic speak for itself. To see more cartoons like this one, take a look HERE, this guy is brilliant

Week in Review for March 31

2005-04-04T15:29:00.000-07:00

In Minnesota, an overweight loner Chippewa neo-Nazi goth teenager shot and killed his grandfather and his grandfather's girlfriend, then went to his high school and shot and killed a security guard, five students, a teacher, and himself.[BBC News] The National Rifle Association suggested that such rampages could be stopped if teachers armed themselves. [AP]

Florida lawmakers were considering an Academic Freedom Bill of Rights, intended to stamp out "leftist totalitarianism," that would allow students to sue teachers who insist that evolution is factual.[Alligator.org] Several IMAX theaters in the American South decided not to show a film about volcanoes because it might offend Christians [AP]

Russian doctors grew a penis on a man's arm,[Ananova.com]

President George W. Bush's approval rating was at 45 percent, the lowest of his presidency; only 32 percent of those polled thought that economic conditions were good or excellent.[AP] Less than half of Americans supported the President's plan for Social Security,[AP] and a thirteen-year-old Arizona girl threw an egg at the president's motorcade. She was arrested.[Common Dreams]

The United States approved the sale of U.S. F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan, upsetting India. The United States was also planning to sell fighter jets to India.[BBC News] Venezuela ordered 100,000 assault rifles from Russia; Donald Rumsfeld said that was too many.[Sign On San Diego]

Western Christians celebrated Easter. In the Philippines, fourteen men were crucified, one for the nineteenth time.[The Independent] Seventy-eight percent of Americans believe that Christ rose from the dead,[Newsweek]

Israel was preparing to attack Iran's nuclear facilities with helicopters, guns, and dogs, [Times Online]

Starbucks came to Guantanamo Bay [New York Times]

Engaged

2005-03-29T19:22:00.000-08:00

Well it's official, I am now engaged. I will recap how I planned it just in case there are some desperate men looking for ideas out there :)

While Christy was out shopping I set-up an easter egg hunt which ended up at a little display where I asked her to marry me on 4 colored eggs and an easter bunny holding the ring (pictured above).

That is all for now

Terri Schiavo

2005-03-29T19:04:00.000-08:00

I'd like to think the husband is acting in her best interests, but removing a feeding tube is basically starving a person to death whether brain-damaged or not. It just seems a bit inhumane to me. I think this case serves a good example as to why euthanasia should be legal. Saying that however, I don't think anyone can really comment to any extent without being in a situation like this one. Since this really is none of my business I'll be on my way...

In other news, I seem to have Matt Good's single - Fearless in heavy rotation lately. An oldie but a goodie.

Lance = Idiot

2005-03-29T19:02:00.000-08:00

That is all

Orca Whale

2005-03-16T20:40:00.000-08:00

The Orca Whale (Killer Whale) has the biggest penis of all mammals, followed closely by the walrus and myself. Booyeah!

Do I hate America?

2005-03-15T18:59:00.000-08:00

For the record...

I've been asked on numerous occasions if I hate America. NO, I don't hate America. In fact I have quite a few friends down south and some of the nicest people I've met throughout my world travels have been American. What I have a major problem with is American foreign policy. When I see people exploited, tortured, and slaughtered on numerous occasions for absolutley rediculous casues, or when a small country, such as Nicaragua, tries to stick up for itself by revolting and electing certain individuals the public actually want in power, but are repeatedly beaten down by American intervention, I have to vent once in a while. America has done some extraordinary things in this world, however this does not excuse them from doing some of the most horrific in contrast. When I express my thoughts I'm speaking about certain individuals or foreign policy in general, in no way am I encompassing the entire American population.

Ebbers Faces up to 85 years

2005-03-15T17:52:00.000-08:00

After screwing America and other major investors around the world out of Billions, I hope old Bernard gets a new "wife" in jail and they can live happily ever-after. Remember Bernard - Vaseline will help reduce friction when you drop the soap so lube up often.

I read an article yesterday on naked short selling and how this problem is getting so big that the SEC doesn't know how to stop it as it would cause an absolute meltdown in the market place. The article can be found at the following link: Naked Short Selling I think we'll see a few more "bad apples" like Worldcom and Enron before were done. In one of my previous posts I gave a few reasons as to why the US economy would hit a major recession within the next 5 years and I think situations like naked short selling will just act like a catalyst and perhaps even reduce that 5 year window. Investor confidence is already low, what would it be like if the American public found out that certain hedge funds were literally screwing them out of billions. Everyone would be afraid to invest!

The Fifth Estate

2005-03-12T12:16:00.000-08:00

Well, I finally watched the Fifth Estate episode "Sticks and Stones" in its entirety. The clips in my previous post from Bill O'Reilly and Anne Coulter were from this episode and are availbale here if interested: http://www.cbc.ca/fifth/sticksandstones.html

After watching this I thought it would be interesting to see O'Reilly go up against someone like Noam Chomsky. Of course this would never happen because Fox News knows he would tear O'Reilly to pieces, but boy would that be fun to watch.

Addiction

2005-03-11T20:15:00.000-08:00

Well I've been able to install quake 3 once again, what a gong show downloading all the maps and updates after my reformat. Have I ever expressed how much I hate Windows? Well I do, and my next computer is going to be a Mac.

Time to feed the addiction - frags away.

Journalism at its finest

2005-03-01T18:38:00.000-08:00

Click here to see Anne Coulter in action

Click here to see Bill O'Reilly in action

Where do I begin... how these two ignorant bigots can be broadcast to such a wide audience is aboslutely beyond my comprehension. Their tireless lack of proper journalism and ultimate spread of propganda is pathetic. Keep up the good work you mental fucking midgets. Ahhhhh, that feels better to get off my chest, now back to studying argh!

cudos to matt good for posting these two movies on his blog first :)

Star Wars

2005-02-28T11:08:00.000-08:00

After Martin publicly confirmed that Canada would not take part in the N. American missile defense shield, Paul Cellucci responded by saying:

We will deploy. We will defend North America,he said. We simply cannot understand why Canada would in effect give up its sovereignty, its seat at the table to decide what to do about a missile that might be coming towards Canada. -Globe & Mail

Martin responded with the following:
"But in terms of Canadian airspace, yes we would expect to be consulted. This is our airspace. We're a sovereign nation. And you don't intrude on a sovereign nation's airspace without seeking permission.[..]"We did not give up sovereignty," Martin responded. "We affirmed sovereignty."-CBC

I like the decision as I think it distances us from America, however it does worry me a bit that we will have no leverage in terms of intercepting the missiles, i.e. where they get blown up. Depending on the direction, if it's over Canadian soil going towards the U.S., you can bet that the President will not wait to consult the prime minister, nor would he have time to do so. I don't think this is over yet, let's see how it shakes out.

-Now fuck off and stop dragging us into your bullshit foreign policy problems.

In other news, I'm studying for a spreadsheet analytics course and going stir crazy because of it, why did I decide to do an MBA again? I must sub consciously love having no life, yes, that must be it.

Crumbling of an empire.

2005-02-23T11:56:00.000-08:00

Here are three reasons why I think the U.S. empire is close to falling in the near future (2-4 yrs):

Foreign Investment:
Currently the two biggest purchasers of US Treasuries are China and Japan accounting for a little over 20% of total foreign denominated purchases. Both these currencies are pegged against the US dollar, therefore, as simple supply/demand shows, as people pour more money into these treasury instruments, the US dollar rises, but so to, do Japan and China's currency. Being pegged basically forces these countries to buy a certain amount in order to keep their currency stable. It's no surprise that as a result of China's booming economy, they have announced that they will be removing this peg at some point in 2005. This will surely cause a drop in the dollar which will result in a drop of investor confidence. As a result we could see a further decrease in foreign corporate investment. The tension between Saudi Arabia (The single biggest investor, in the US economy accounting for 24% if I'm not mistaken) and the US, could serve as a catalyst whereby if they pulled out a portion of their investment, other countries would follow. All this amalgamated could contribute to a -600 drop on the Dow.

Astronomical Debt:
2005 budget highlights: Outlays: $2.568 trillion. Deficit: $390 billion. Discretionary outlays: $922 billion. Mandatory outlays: $1.41 trillion. Interest payments: $211 billion. Need I say more? The question, however, has to be asked: where does all this money go? The answer is quite simple, most of it can be attributed to the war in Iraq and all the other small wars in developing countries that don't get any press. To quote a knowledgeable friend in this area, how long will other countries invest in a silent worldwide genocide?

History has a way of repeating itself:
You can look at any empire in the past, whether it be the Greeks, Romans, Napoleon, Egypt, and now perhaps the U.S., they all come to an end for virtually the same reason: they try and conquer too much in a small time period. Sure there were other reasons that contributed such as Napoleon's army not believing in his "vision" etc. but they all seem to stem from this same problem. Human morale will only hold out so long when resources are stretched thin. With the involvement in Iraq and now talk of Iran, Syria, and N. Korea, surely something has to give.

Now with all this being said, although the current president has an IQ of a monkey, policy makers are no dummies and have no doubt thought this through. I'm sure they have a few tricks up their sleeves and Iraq was one of them, we shall see if the newly acquired oil reserves will be enough to sustain economic growth and fuel the empire.

Busy Busy

2005-02-21T10:14:00.000-08:00

Well I haven't had a lot of time to post as of late, so I'm going to put up my top 10 favorite songs of all time (or at least the ones I feel are the top ten that pop into my head right away, in no particular order I might add) because I'm too lazy to think of anything else:

1.) 1979 - Smashing Pumpkins
2.) With or Without You - U2
3.) Madagascar - Art of Trance
4.) Fireworks - Tragically Hip
5.) Nuthin' But a "G" Thang - Dr. Dre
6.) Typical Situation - Dave Matthews
7.) Imagine - John Lennon
8.) Painted Black - Rolling Stones
9.) Can't Always get what you want - Rolling Stones
10.) Anything by Matt Good

Well after compiling this list I realized there are so many other songs over the years it is impossible to give a top 10 list, maybe 20 or 30 would capture them all. I missed Bob Marley, The Beatles, Radiohead, and so many others. Oh well, at least I hit just about every genre.

Mushroom Cloud Anyone?

2005-02-12T10:59:00.000-08:00

bush-on-bomb2
Originally uploaded by rentonj.

Could policy makers be laying the groundwork for an Iran invasion? Unlike Iraq, Iran may have the capability of nuclear weapons, but just thinking about the ramifications that an invasion would cause throughout the rest of the world scares the shit out of me. If the Muslim world didn't hate the US before (and potentially any other Western country due to guilt by association), I don't think anyone could fathom the tension this would bring. I think this might be a long shot however as the war machine's resources are stretched fairly thin with the Iraq entaglement. Perhaps trade sanctions would be a more logical option. But you never know, when it comes to the general population of America, it's like the old saying goes: "Ignorance is bliss."

Then we have N. Korea. and Kim Jong Il. I'm not sure what will happen here, you have one trigger happy president controlling the most powerful country in the world, and a crazy dictator with nukes. That could just open a can of worms an have a snowball effect and our whole world would be one big mushroom cloud.

All I know is there is way too much drama and fighting in this world today and I can't for the life of me figure out why. Media and religion seem to pop into my head when I sit back and reflect.

Oil For Food

2005-02-07T16:43:00.000-08:00

Well, the scandal is now finally out in the open and confirmed after an investigation. It seems as though America is flexing it's muscle now in an attempt to "clean house" at the U.N. The replacements no doubt will be American puppets put in place to facilitate their global advancement, perhaps even domination. Control of this pawn in the world power chest match might be more significant than what is appearent on the surface. Who knows what will happen, this is just one potential outcome that popped in my head.

In other news, President Bush unveiled the new budget proposal to congress today:

BUDGET HIGHLIGHTS
Receipts: $2.178 trillion. Outlays: $2.568 trillion. Deficit: $390 billion. Discretionary outlays: $922 billion. Mandatory outlays: $1.41 trillion. Interest payments: $211 billion.

hmmmmmmmmmmm... Wonder what they will do with all this money, I'll try and address some of these issues in my next post.

Media Power

2005-02-01T20:39:00.000-08:00

Before I start this post I have to comment on American media. I find it quite humorous that the US has been touting the Iraqi election as the biggest liberation in history, democracy at it's finest, etc., etc., etc. Michael Jackson jury selection begins and the election barley makes the front page of CNN anymore (a single link is all I can find at the moment)... Anyways, moving right along:

Media is a powerful tool boy, perhaps the most influential tool in society today, The CIA and it's affiliated/owned news agencies is probably the biggest in the world, Al Jazeera might now be second as it has become the dominant source for Muslim news. I would infer that it's even gaining some exposure in some Western countries. I'm not sure why it took me this long to realize it, but I wonder if this was on the agenda of American policy makers when deciding to invade Iraq. One would think that this would cause great alarm in the white house. One of Al Jazeera's biggest offices is located in Baghdad. Taking out this location and replacing it with the American propaganda machine might be a step (in the eyes of the white house) to influence a percentage of the Muslim population into thinking along the lines of Westerners. In my mind it would probably constitute the biggest infiltration with respect to another region's media source since WWII. Time will tell I suppose.

My Top 5 Restaurants in Calgary

2005-01-31T13:49:00.000-08:00

Enough political posts, I think it's time for a something a little lighter.

I thought I'd share some "hidden treasures" in Calgary, my five top ethnic restaurants are the following (in no particular order):

Bulgogi House - Korean Bar BQ
La Vienna - Some of the best Italian I've ever had
Sunny Restaurant - The best Phox (Vietnamese Soup) I've ever had.
Salt and Pepper - The best Mexican food in the city - second to that; only served in Mexico
Mango Shiva - Some of the best Indian curries you'll find.

Bon Appetite!!!

9 Points to Ponder

2005-01-27T17:32:00.000-08:00

At my economic lecture last Monday the prof started out the class by reiterating 9 points that he has compiled over the years. I found the first one quite interesting as he virtually had nothing when he landed in Canada as a result of political unrest in Sri Lanka, except his PhD.

He also went on to talk about his views on Canada and more specifically how he thought if there was ever a country that might be able to change the world for a better place that Canada has the ability to do it. I'm proud of our country and what it values, it truly is a great nation and I think we sometimes take for granted the luxuries available to us. Sometimes we all need a little reminder from time to time...

CHERISH AND VALUE EDUCATION: It is the only acquisition that will stay with you always
BELIEVE IN YOURSELF. You are capable of achieving much more than what you believe is possible. DARE TO DREAM AND NEVER GIVE UP
TRY TO GIVE YOUR BEST IN EVERYTHING YOU DO. Time is the most precious resource you have and should, therefore, not be wasted.
DO NOT BE HARD ON YOURSELF. Even in the depth of despair believe that things will pass and that a better and brighter future awaits you.
TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR ACTIONS. Do not blame others for your failures.
BE FREE OF HATRED AND ALL PREJUDICES. They are the main cause of conflicts and destruction in our world. Respect all living beings.
LOVE ALL AND SERVE ALL. Reach out to others and give back to the society that has nurtured you, whatever you can. Service is the greatest joy in life
BRING SPIRITUALITY INTO YOUR LIFE. Lead a life of truthfulness and purity.
TRAVEL WIDELY. Travel widens one's horizon and makes one appreciate the good life we all have.

LET US WORK TOGETHER TO CREATE A MORE PEACEFUL WORLD AND A KINDER AND GENTLER SOCIETY.

Democracy is expensive these days

2005-01-26T08:44:00.000-08:00

"But it is the long-term objective that is vital and that is to spread freedom, otherwise the Middle East will continue to be a cauldron of resentment and hate for those that have this vision of the world that is the exact opposite of ours."

"As I said in my speech, not every nation is going to immediately adopt America's vision of democracy and I fully understand that," Bush said. "But we expect nations to adopt the values inherent in a democracy, which is human rights and human dignity, that every person ought to have a voice. And his majesty is making progress toward that goal."

US Death toll is over 1,400

Iraqi death toll is between 15,493 and 17,721 (as of last estimate Jan. 18, 2005)

The administration plans to seek $80 billion to pay for war costs, bringing the total since the Sept. 11 attacks to more than $300 billion

That's some expensive oil they acquired if you ask me...

The Oscars....

2005-01-25T20:48:00.000-08:00

As I sit down and type this, I cannot currently think of a bigger waste of time, money, and energy than the annual Oscars award show (well maybe a missile defense shield, but that's another post) but then again, what do you expect from a country built and operated on one big charade?

Interestingly enough however, some say the fall of communism is, in part, due to the American entertainment industry as many Eastern European countries, mainly Russia, thought daytime soaps depicted the way of Western life and thus gave up hope in their own economic system. I wonder what the 33% of Americans who need to sell their house or take on a second mortgage to afford health care think of this...

Here's to the Oscars....

I will note, that it was nice to see a film such as Maria Full of Grace get some attention, I'd like to think this may, by some chance, open a few pairs of eyes.