Accoring to the XE currency converter, 1.00 Canadian dollar equals 1.00244 US dollars.
I hope the City of Windsor, Ontario can celebrate by being murder-free for 2010. There's only a few more hours to go.
I do hope for a federal election in the Spring of 2011, and that Harper is defeated. If not, at least I hope that his Conservative Party does not get a majority of the seats.
I do hope that some of the federal parties actively supports voting reform in the next election. I know voting reform is not a bread-and-butter issue. I will accept voting reform as being one of the important items in a party's campaign platform.
Global Television court reporter, Alex Pierson, had a previous verbal confrontation with the officer who was charged with assault with a deadly weapon in the alleged Queen's Park assault. According to Ms. Pierson in an interview on Newstalk1010 CFRB, the same officer confronted Pierson because she was carrying a gas mask that had been issued by her television station. She asked him if it was against the law to carry a gas mask. He didn't answer the question. However, he did take away her gas mask and G20 government issued accreditation. She also mentioned that he was not wearing any police issued identification.
Gil McGowan, president of the Alberta Federation of Labour, writes an interesting commentary in the Calgary Herald about federal finance minister Jim Flaherty's proposed Pooled Registered Pension Plan. The banks prefer this over an increase in the premiums to the Canada Pension Plan because the banks would be guaranteed funds for investment. They would also be able to charge contributors to the proposed PRPP. Businesses will like the PRPP since they may not be required to contribute the same share as they do for the current CPP.
The [banking and financial] industry fears that if Canadians are able to invest more of their money through CPP then they'll put less money into things like private mutual funds.
And reduced investment in mutual funds would mean fewer bonuses and fewer and BMWs for bankers and mutual fund managers (heaven forbid!)
"Stephen Harper is the greatest guy in the world! He knows how to deal with the pinkos in the Liberal and New Dummocratic Party. He'll body check the Bloc Qweebecwaas back to their brothers in da Taliban in Afghanistan!"
Don Cherry gave the Frank Drebin speech about Rob Ford to Toronto's city council. He certainly gave a silly speech. Listen to Lt. Frank Drebin speech (as played by the late Leslie Nielsen).
A British television viewer criticized a news presenter for not wearing a red poppy to honour fallen soldiers. The news presenter, Jon Snow of Channel 4 News, blasted back by stating that he will honour the soldiers in his own way at church and not on the telly.
Anyone may choose to wear a poppy or not. I choose not to wear one. It's not because I do not wish to honour those soldiers who have sacrificed their lives for Canada. I have attended several Remembrance Day ceremonies throughout Ontario. I have observed them on television. I choose not to wear a poppy because the red poppy is a trademarked symbol or the Royal Canadian Legion. The current red poppy does not belong to all Canadians, but to an incorporated entity. I refuse to wear a trademarked logo on my jacket or shirt (if it not already imprinted). It doesn't matter if it is the Royal Canadian Legion's poppy, McDonald's M or some other corporate logo.
Yes, I will remember the dead and injured Canadian soldiers who participated in World War I to the current Afghanistan War. I just refuse to wear a trademarked logo.
Sooner or later, I knew someone would raise the argument that boycotting Israel will really hurt the Palestinians. I remember during apartheid South Africa era, a similar argument was promoted by white South Africans stating that a boycott of South Africa would mainly hurt the non-white South Africans.
Gil Troy, author of a Montreal Gazette commentary, states that a boycott of Israel would really hurt the Palestinian cause. Israelis would be less inclined to support a two-state solution. I argue that they may support a two-state solution. However, how much of the territory would these Israelis propose that the Palestinians rule? If we were to fully support Israel, would the Israelis be more inclined to accept a two-state solution based on the pre-1967 line of control boundaries? I doubt it. The Israelis would have no need to accept a two-state solution of the world fully supported Israel.
Mr. Troy gives the usually argument that we should devote a boycott of truly repressive dictatorships of Iran, North Korea, and Saudi Arabia. I will agree that we can call out these particular countries for their human rights abuses. That does not mean that Israel should be let off the hook. As a consumer, I very rarely see goods on store shelves that come from Iran, North Korea, and Saudi Arabia. It's difficult to boycott something that is already absent. The last time I bought something from North Korea was in 1991 in the former Czechoslovakia. It was a cheap towel that I needed. There wasn't a great selection of towels back then. All the Czech towels at a particular store came from North Korea. There wasn't a great selection of anything. This was just after the Iron Curtain came down.
Back to Canada and Saudi gas. It's difficult for me to go to my local Petro-Canada station and ask the attendant what percentage of oil comes from Saudi Arabia. I could drive to the local Esso and Shell stations and ask the same question of where their oil comes from. Those attendants wouldn't know either.
A boycott by Canadians against Israeli products and services such as travel will probably have little effect on Israel. However, if the Europeans and Americans support a boycott, the combined effect will put a lot of pressure on the poor Israelis to get their government to support a mutually agreed peace settlement between the Israelis and Palestinians.
The City of Toronto uses the undemocratic and antiquated First-Past-the-Post voting system for choosing the mayor and councillors. Since no major mayoral candidate nor my council candidates support changing the voting system to something that is proportional and democratic, I will not be voting in the Toronto municipal elections.
I will not participate in an election that is not democratic, nor advances in the direction toward democracy.
Officer Tiny Bubbles claims that the cartoon videos and some of the YouTube comments are defamatory. [According to] Tiny, the video is slanderous, and the comments are libelous. I can't comment about the comments because the cartoon videos and related comments are no longer posted on YouTube. I will comment about the cartoon videos which are posted elsewhere on the internet [but are also being deleted].
The person who created and posted the cartoons is a brilliant cartoonist who has definitely insulted Officer Bubbles. This cartoonist is much like political cartoonists who sometimes post insulting cartoons at political leaders. One example is by cartoonist Theo Moudakis of the Toronto Star who drew a picture of Stephen Harper at the UN General Assembly trying to get a seat for Canada on the Security Council. Behind Harper was a row of G20 riot squad officers. Were these officers really with Harper when he actually spoke to the Assembly? No. Was it insulting to Harper? Probably. Was it actually Stephen Harper in the cartoon? I don't know. The same ideas hold true for the A. Josephs "Officer Bubbles" video cartoon. Is that actually Adam Josephs in the cartoon? No. It's a cartoon. It's a piece of fiction. Is Wile E. Coyote actually Adam Josephs? Should we ban "The Roadrunner and Wile E. Coyote?"
Have people threatened his family because of the cartoon and some of the comments? I did not see anything in the cartoon that told people to attack his family. I hope none of the commenters said that his family should be attacked. If people threaten to attack Adam Josephs' family, then he and his family should go after the people who actually make those threats.
Finally, I am wondering why Officer Bubbles is just going after the commenters who posted possible defamatory comments on the cartoons and not the live video of Adam Josephs. I'm guessing that the live video comments would be as nasty as the ones posted under the cartoon videos.
Remixed cartoon and video for those who want to see the cartoon version.
Big Bird and Mr. Snuffleupagus were walking down Sesame Street. All of the sudden, they saw a strange character who called himself Kory Teneycke.
Standing in front of Oscar the Grouch's trash can, Big Bird asked, "What is that thing with numbers on a line, and why are you holding it against Oscar's can?"
The Teneycke replied, "It's a measuring tape, and I'm going to build a new TV news station."
Snuffy asked, "Do you want to use Oscar's trash can because your new station will be full of CRAP?"
Big Bird and Mr. Snuffleupagus were so excited to see their new friend, Kory, that they told him to wait so that they could introduce him to their other Sesame Street friends. Away Big Bird and Snuffy went in search of others.
A few minutes later, the Sesame Street gang came back to Oscar's can. Oscar even woke up after a long miserable sleep and popped his head out of his trash can.
"Hey, what's going on?" Oscar grumbled.
Big Bird explained that he and Snuffy saw a new friend named The Teneycke. He wanted to use Oscar's can for a new TV news station. It would be called, "Sun TV News."
Oscar shouted, "I don't like anything that has a sun in it! I don't like that CRAP! There won't be any Sun TV News crap in my trash can! I only accept good crap--not crappy news CRAP!"
Big Bird shouted, "Kory! Where are you? My friends want to meet you!"
The Teneycke didn't appear. Except for Mr. Snuffleupagus, none of Big Bird's Sesame Street friends believed that Big Bird had a new friend. He must have been using his imagination.
Disappointed, Big Bird decided to head to his bird's nest. As he opened the side door, he discovered that his nest was missing. Instead, new arena seats and an ice rink were installed. Would Big Bird's home be the new home of the [new] Quebec Nordiques?
This episode has been brought to you by the letters, K, T, and by the category 2.
As TVA Group Inc. defines mandatory access, broadcasting distribution undertakings (cable and satellite distribution companies) would be require to carry the SUN TV news channel for a period of three years. It is my opinion that BDU's would be required to carry it, but they would not be required to have it on their basic services. They do have to offer SUN TV News to subscribers if they want it.
Kory Teneycke did not mention that when BDU's (cable/satellite companies) distribute broadcast signals, they are obliged to pay a per subscriber rate to each broadcaster of a signal. If the CRTC accepts the TVA Group Inc.'s proposal, the CRTC will also set the rate that BDU's must pay to TVA Group Inc. It might be 10, 15, or 25 cents per subscriber per month. That means that even if we subscribers do not want to have Faux News North on our cable/satellite services, we will be required to pay for it anyway because of TVA Group Inc.'s request for mandatory access.
Under Kory's proposal, BDU's will be required to carry SUN TV News/Faux News North. Cable/satellite subscribers will not be forced to watch it unless the BDU's decide to offer Faux News North on the basic service, or subscribers decided to order FNN as single channel or part of a package. However, all subscribers will be forced to pay for Faux News Network for a period of three years whether we like it or not. I will not like it!
Kory Teneycke is misleading Canadians when he states that Canadians will be obliged to pay for "Faux News North."
Note: I could not find in the CRTC glossary any official definition of mandatory access.
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UPDATE: Under Broadcasting Notice of Consultation, click 2010-1182. Save or open file DOCS-1420709-v1-2010-1188-2. On page 7, one will find the following:
We believe that the appeal of CNN for Canadians comes from its program formats and it’s on air personalities.
Canadians do not watch CNN for hard news, but more for interview style and more opinioned programs like Larry King Live, Anderson Cooper 360 and Campbell Brown. These 3 programs are CNN’s most watched shows in English Canada.
Essentially, SUN TV News will be a news/entertainment channel where conservative shock jocks will spew their pro-Harper and pro-Conservative CRAP. If one lives in Toronto and listens to CFRB radio (1010 AM), one can hear the news shock jocks spew their garbage. SUN TV is not going to have news journalists; it is going to have news entertainers who will interpret the news so that the channel can entertain Canadians, but not inform them.
I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.
Five years ago, a great American by the name of George W. Bush, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed some document. This momentous degree came as a great flashlight of hope to millions of African American who had been burnt in the flames of some kind of injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.
But one hundred years later, the African American still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the African American is still sadly crippled by the manicures of segregation and the necklaces of discrimination. One hundred years later, the African American lives on a lonely island of Hawaii in the midst of a vast ocean of a lot of things. One hundred years later, the African American is still eating linguini in the corners of American society and finds himself an Excel in his own land. And so we've come here today to dramatize a shampoo conditioner.
In a sense we've come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote big words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promise keeper note to which every American was to fall here. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men...you know, those African American men... as well as white men and women, would be guaranteed the "unalienable Rights" of "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happyness." I saw that movie. It was really great! It is obvious today that America has defaulted on that note, on a sofa as her citizens of color (you know black people—I mean those Africans) are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the African people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds." I’m not sure what that means, but it seems pretty bad.
But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so, we've come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. I think this sounds pretty good!
We have also come to this hollowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the bad drug of slowism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desso-late valley of splitting people apart to the sunlit path of Rachel justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of Rachel injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.
It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the African American's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. These are big words! Twenty-ten is not an end, but a beginning. And those who hope that those Africans needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. And there will be neither rest nor trankwilly in America until the African is granted his citizenship rights. The tornados of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice E-merges. I like computer talk.
But there is something that I must say to my people, who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice—I think it’s Wal-Mart: In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of Starbucks coffee. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of niceness and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence like the Muslims are doing—not all of them, just the bad ones. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with sole force.
The marvellous new militancy which has engulfed the African community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextr... bound to our freedom.
We cannot walk alone.
And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead.
We cannot turn black.
There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as the African American is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of bad brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the African's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their self-hood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating: "For Whites Only." We cannot be satisfied as long as a African in Alaska cannot vote and a African in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until "justice rolls down like waters, and to the right of us like a mighty stream."
I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. I love those tribbles on Star Trek. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. And some of you have come from areas where your quest -- quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of bad brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive. Go back to Alaska, go back to those other places, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed.
Let us not swallow in the valley of this pair, I say to you today, my friends.
And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal”—unless they are gay. I have gay friends. They’re great so long as they don’t want to get married because I am for traditional marriage between a man and a woman.
I have a dream that one day on those hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. IKEA has great tables!
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with a lot of heat, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my poor little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today!
I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vick-see us racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with those sex words “intercourse” and “Nelly f*ckation”-- one day right there in Alabama little African boys and African girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers just as long as the boys don’t hold hands with each other. Same with the girls.
I have a dream today!
I have a dream that one day every valley shall be extra salted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the gay places will be made straight; "and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together."
This is our hope, and this is the faith that I go back to the South of Alaska with.
With this faith, we will be able to hoe out of the mountain of the pair of stones of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling of the cords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to Alaska together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.
And this will be the day -- this will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning:
My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing.
Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim's pride,
From every mountainside, let freedom ring!
And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true.
And so let freedom ring from the big hilltops of New Hampshire.
Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.
Let freedom ring from the heightening Alphaghettis of Pennsylvania.
Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.
Let freedom ring from the bikini slopes of California.
But not only that:
Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.
Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.
Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi.
From every mountainside, let freedom ring.
And when this happens, when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, African men and white men, Jews and good Muslims, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old African American song:
Prime Minister Harper wants to have six Conservative MPs and three senators assigned to each cabinet minister for consultations on future bills. While this may appear to be an improvement in democracy, this takes away from each cabinet minister and Conservative MP to consult with each other. Under Harper's proposal, I will assume that Harper will appoint the MPs and senators to sit on each committee. Essentially, a Conservative expert on the environment (sounds like an oxymoron) may be appointed by Harper to work under a cabinet minister responsible for transport or veterans affairs. That MP or senator won't be able to consult with any cabinet minister of his or her choice. I also wonder if this is a way to lessen any influence of parliamentary committees by having Conservative only consultative bodies which will probably be a one-way monologue from the Prime Minster to the cabinet ministers and then to the Conservative MPs and senators.
Stephen Harper and his merry Conservatives are returning to their progressive roots. I, Skinny Dipper, am very proud that the prime minister and his Conservative government are spending Canadian taxpayers' money on the bare-essentials such as providing a great recreational environment for the nudists of Canada. I strongly believe that Canadians including fellow skinny dippers like myself who support nudists going au naturel should vote for Stephen Harper's Conservatives in the next federal election. This is all thanks to Stephen Harper's Canada's Economic Action Plan! See photos (G rated).
...Even if English or French is your mother tongue.
The Toronto Star has an article about immigration minister Jason Kenney using "ministerial instructions to circumvent public scrutiny and consultation, ramming through changes without parliamentary oversight."
Dodi Robbins is an immigrant and Harvard educated lawyer whose first language is English. She is required to pay $285 for an exam fee to take the IELTS tests. Previously, immigrants could get a submission attesting that their first language is English or French. That is no longer possible.
As a tribute to all things Canadian, I present to you the Google Canadian Alphabet. At www.google.ca, I typed the first letter of every letter of the alphabet in the search box. Google comes up with suggested topics beginning with each first letter I type. For example, when I typed 'a', the first suggested search topic was Air Canada.
Here is the Google Canadian Alphabet:
Note: I have adjusted the words for proper capitalization and spacing.
Yes, you read that right. The police would not allow peaceful protesters to legally protest anywhere near the fence because there could have been violent black people within their midst.
On Saturday afternoon, black people were hiding among peaceful marchers who were walking west along Queen Street. As the peaceful protesters went north along Spadina, the black people got together and headed back east along Queen Street. They started vandalizing businesses such as Starbucks and banks. Eventually, the black people went north on Yonge Street, and vandalized more stores. Some of those violent black people were able to destroy a few police vehicles. The Eaton Centre had closed its doors because of the fear that black people would destroy property inside the shopping centre.
There were very few people enjoying the downtown on Saturday and Sunday. Perhaps they feared the black people. Maybe it was because of riot cops in black. Whatever the case, let us be thankful that our finest police force in Toronto and the visiting forces across the country were able to keep us safe from all those criminal black people. Because of those black people, the police had to curtail the freedom of expression, the freedom of movement, and the right to protest peacefully from every Canadian.
I don't know why the police had to demand the identity of people getting too close to the security fence. It should have been easy for the police to spot violent black people from others. Because of a few black people, the police had to treat all Canadians like criminals instead of citizens.
If this guy in Toronto had only brought a map, he wouldn't have been arrested. Sarcastically writing, he should have cooperated with the police and given his ID.
How absurd that today, the Group of 20 (G20), whose forerunner was the Group of 8 (G8), meaning the world’s leading industrialized DEMOCRACIES, inevitably turns large portions of any city unlucky enough to host it into an armed camp, the same as you’d find in any Third World, tinpot dictatorship run by a psychotic military general.
Wow! Our Stephen Harper is a psychotic military general running a Third World, tinpot dictatorship!
Please be advised that you may experience delays when travelling to the Prize Centre between June 21 and 25, 2010, due to the G20 economic summit being held in Toronto. Information on affected routes is available at www.g20.gc.ca. Please see our How to Claim Prizes section for additional prize claim options.
Please also be advised that the Prize Centre will be closing at 1 p.m. on Friday, June 25, 2010, due to anticipated traffic delays and demonstrations associated with the G20 economic summit. The Prize Centre will reopen at 9 a.m. on Monday, June 28, 2010; however, there may be a longer than anticipated wait due to the previous week's closures and traffic delays.
Let's hope that no one has a 2009 winning ticket that expires on June 25.
I would like to know when the Israeli blockade of Gaza started. Did it start when Israel accused Hamas of firing rockets into Israel, or did it start when Hamas assumed control over Gaza?
It was great to see fellow Progressive Blogger Vijay Sappani at Desifest in downtown Toronto today. The event is being held on the southeast corner of Yonge and Dundas. I only saw some of the stage events because I went to a few Toronto Doors Open attractions. The few events that I saw on stage at Desifest were youthful and upbeat. I encourage anyone in Toronto to go downtown today to Desifest. Thanks for your great work, Vijay.
Skinny Dipper
Click Desifest, then About Desifest, Vijay's photo is fourth from the right. Click it for some biographical information.
Would the inclusion of Queers Against Israeli Apartheid in Pride Week violate Toronto's declaration of a non-discrimination policy? I don't think so.
From the City of Toronto:
Declaration:
On behalf of and with the authority of the organization named below, I hereby declare that this organization adopts and upholds the City of Toronto’s policy statement which prohibits discrimination and harassment and protects the right to be free of hate activity, based on age, ancestry, citizenship, creed (religion), colour, disability, ethnic origin, family status, gender identity, level of literacy, marital status, place of origin, membership in a union or staff association, political affiliation, race, receipt of public assistance, record of offences, sex, sexual orientation or any other personal characteristics by or within the organization. City of Toronto anti-discrimination policy (pdf)
Would Pride Toronto be violating the declaration if it admitted Queers Against Israeli Apartheid (QuAIA) and let this group use the words "Israel" and "apartheid" together? While there are the words "place of origin," I believe that refers to criticizing individuals or groups or individuals because they come from another country or from another place in Canada. I haven't read or heard anything from QuAIA that made fun of or criticized someone for being Israeli. "Religion" is also in the declaration. That doesn't mean that organizations can't criticize the Roman Catholic church. It means one cannot ridicule someone because of his or her religion. As for Israel, it is a country--not a religion. "Family status" is also listed. Does that mean that no one may criticize the group Focus on the Family?
I think the Pride Week organizers do not want QuAIA to participate in the event, not because QuAIA discriminates against Jews or Israelis (it doesn't), but because of political reasons of possibly losing funding from the City of Toronto. The optics of accusations of anti-Semiticism look bad from the city's point of view.
Pride Toronto will be excluding Queers Against Israeli Apartheid in the upcoming Pride Week parade and festivities. I personally don't have a problem if the decision was based on QuAIA not being gay-focused enough. If the decision was based on QuAIA's perceived anti-Israel or anti-Semitic biased, then I would be against Pride's decision.
Here is a photo of last year's marchers from Kulanu which is affiliated with Hillel. I see a few rainbow flags, some Canadian ones, and lots of Israeli flags. I wonder if this parade group was supporting Israel or gays in Israel. If it is mainly supporting Israel, then aren't these marchers just adding the "gay" tag to their group like others question about QuAIA? Bernie Farber marched with Kulanu/Hillel.
The Harper Conservative régime refuses to provide funding for the Toronto Pride Week event through the 2010 Marquee Tourism Events Program. The government is also not funding any other Pride event across the country. The Harperites are funding Whoop-up Days which are taking place in Lethbridge, Alberta.
Here is my challenge to readers: describe in your own words what Whoop-up Days is/are. No cheating! No, you may not do an internet search before commenting. I want to read original comments.
I think Whoop-up Days is a celebration of beautiful bosoms. The climax of the festival is the annual milk-off! Whichever femme can squeeze the most milk out is crowned "Queen Whoop-up." Note that femmes need not be human. There's the usual square dancin' music, horseshoe competition, and steak-off. No vegetarians are allowed.
Enjoy (or not) the photo of Harper getting reading to show his excruxiating bling and ding-a-ling to the Archbishop of Zagreb, Croatia. Harper appears in Adriatic attire. (14+)
Tim James, Alabama Republican nomination candidate in his own words (You Tube):
From Rumisouth at YouTube: Dear God: please, oh please let Tim James win the Republican nomination for [Alabama] governor in 2010.
If you need hilp (sic) with the translation:
Tim James: "Why do our politicians make us git (sic) driver's licenses in twelve different languages? This is Alabama. We speak English. If you wanna (sic) live here, learn it. Wonly (sic) giving that test in English...It makes sense. Does it tyew (sic)?"
Perhaps 'Labama nids a draver's lassense tist in Redneck.
UPDATE:
I don't think Tim James would want foreigners such as thesedravin' on the roads of Alabama. They drav like commies from an ex-Soviet republic.
ANOTHER UPDATE:
LeDaro has a blogpost about this topic: http://ledaro.blogspot.com/2010/05/alabamas-tim-james-english-only.html
Seriously, I do think that any city in Canada can hold a similar type of festival to promote safe and healthy sexual choices. Yes, that includes abstinence. Such a festival would not necessarily promote sex. It would promote healthy living. The oversized penis (and vagina) are symbolic of getting past the prudishness of thinking that sexuality is bad and immoral.
Vote in my poll for mayor of Toronto. You will use a rank-order preferential ballot to select your preferred candidates for mayor. One to be elected. The order of candidates' names on the ballot have been randomly placed by the internet program. You may vote once per day.
Have fun selecting the next governor-general of Canada.
We have some fine canadidates. In no particular order, they include Skinny Dipper, Balbulican, Louise Arbour, Graham Fraser, Dr. Dawg, Rick Hansen, Joe Clark, Frank McKenna, Bobby Orr, Paul Henderson, Wayne Gretzky, Betty Fox, and a category for Someone Else.
This is a rank-order ballot with one person to be selected. Rank your ballot choices 1, 2, 3, and so on.
Enjoy! The results are on-going. You may vote once per day.
Do you know any interesting Canadians who might be interested in becoming the next Governor-General of Canada? You may nominate a well known Canadian, a not-so-well know Canuck, or a fellow Canadian blogger. That person must be at least 18 years of age but not in dog years. That person should own at least $4,000 of property in Canada, or have racked up a $4,000 Visa or Mastercard credit card bill. He must be living; she must not be dead. I don't know if that would disqualify Céline Dion. I don't like her wailing/whaling music.
Feel free to nominate your Canadian for GG. Give a reason or two if you want. Next week, I will place all the nominated candidates on a preferential ballot for people to choose. If you do not want your name on the ballot, that is fine by me so long as you agree to pay my $4,000 Visa bill. Feel free to use your Mastercard if you have to.
Do you care about the Middle East or want the Catholic and public schools systems to combine? If you are a member of the Ontario NDP, do not bring these ideas to the party. If you support other causes, your concerns may not get heard in Andrea Horwath's party (unless she gives approval).
In about a year and a half, Ontario will be having an election. I think the hidden message that Ms. Horwath has sent to her party members and supporters is that she will be setting the party's agenda--not the activists.
Personally, I think that the Tropicana commercial that was filmed in Inuvik, NWT looks cool. It was nice that the inhabitants were given free cartons of Tropicana orange juice on and around the day that Tropicana was shooting the commercial.
I just wonder how much a carton of Tropicana orange juice costs on a regular day in Inuvik.
Originally, I thought Harper should have sold the Canadian anthem to CTV. Then, the CBC could have held a contest for a new Canadian anthem with the prize for best anthem being $100,000.
Here's something better. (Courtesy of Ren and Stimpy)
Someone named Larry Derfner writes in the Jerusalem Post the following:
Another brightly-lit sign that Israeli Arabs aren’t living under anything like apartheid is their wall-to-wall opposition to becoming citizens of a Palestinian state – even, as Israel Beiteinu proposes, after a change of borders that would allow them to remain on their land. Israeli Arabs aren’t Zionists, and they have altogether legitimate complaints aboutdiscrimination , but the overwhelming majority are not out to dismantle the Jewish state, only to make it more fair and equitable. (As much as I wish foreign anti-Zionists knew this, I wish even more that Israeli Jews did.)
When I read the words Israeli Arabs and Israeli Jews, I feel that there is a sense of division--that these two groups of peoples do not belong in the same universe. Arab Israelis live in Israel; they don't seem to belong in Israel. When I envision Israeli Arabs, I see them being compared to Egyptian Arabs, Syrian Arabs, and Algerian Arabs. I envision Israeli Jews being compared to Russian Jews, French Jews, and Canadian Jews. In my opinion, there is no commonality between Israeli Arabs and Israeli Jews unless they are redefined as Arab Israelis and Jewish Israelis. The difference in using Israeli as an adjective instead of a noun may not seem like much. The semantics are very different.
I do find in interesting when I read Larry Derfner, who I assume is Jewish Israeli, state that the Israeli Arabs are in opposition to bcoming citizens of a Palestinian state. That may be true. I just wish I could read or hear Arab Israelis tell their own stories about living in Israel rather than just getting the information from Jewish Israelis and their overseas Jewish kin.
I wish the Rogers telemarketer would stop calling me. This number 1-866-564-2427 has called me three times today! I finally called the number and a recorded message told me to leave my number if I want it off Rogers' list. Unfortunately, the recorded mailbox was full so I could not leave my number. Aghhhhhhhhhh!
CTV is showing the Olympics.
So is TSN.
I get CTV in high definition,
But not TSN.
I get all the Rogers SportsNet channels in high-def.
They're all showing the Olympics.
I get RDS, the French version of TSN
I do get the French version of TSN in high definition.
APTN is showing the Olympics in English, French, Oji-Cree at different times of the day.
I do get APTN in high-definition.
OMNI1 and 2 from Toronto show the Olympics in English, Italian, Portuguese, Cantonese, and I think Mandarin.
I get these in high definition.
I get some V channel from Quebec showing me the Olympics in French,
In high definition.
I get CPAC English and CPAC French showing me the Olympics in French.
They also broadcast the V channel in French,
But not in high definition.
OLN has Olympic stuff,
But not CityTV in Toronto and Vancouver.
CityTV is airing UEFA soccer that would normally be aired on Rogers SportsNet.
I am getting the soccer game in high definition.
NBC usually has delayed coverage of highlights of the Olympics.
The coverage is in high-def.
Fox Buffalo has Olympic caliber coverage on the Jerry Springer Show.
It's on a high definition channel,
But not in high-def.
There's so many choices.
I've made up my mind.
I choose the Olympic events of different men and women all fighting for first.
Or is that men and men?
I want to wish the Canadian flag a happy 45th birthday!
I also want to wish a happy Family Day to families living in Ontario, Alberta, and Saskatchewan. I just wish this day were a federal holiday called Canadian Heritage Day.
I had some students complain about the way I pronounce "again." I'll let you know later how I pronounced it.
How do you pronounce "again?"
1. a-gen (short e)
2. a-gayn/agén (long e)
3. a-gin (short i)
4. some other way.
Note: all have hard G's.
If you wish, please state your approximate location in the world (Canada/Saskatchewan/Estevan/Puxatawney/Australia/etc.). You may also wish to state that English is your first or second language if necessary.
Today's Toronto Star editorial must have been written by Ian Urquhart, a foe of voting reform and proportional representation. Here's a quote from the editorial:
Electoral reform, the panacea favoured by some, would result in an even more fractured Parliament, with likely more power in the hands of the executive.
I assume that we should elect a Harper majority in the next election so that Harper can share his power with his fellow party MP's and with the opposition.
If Harper gets a majority, he will stop being a control-freak.
The Toronto anti-prorogation rally was a success in my opinion. I estimate that there were about 5,000 to 10,000 in attendance. All of Dundas Square was filled with participants.
Maclean's has a photo montage of the event in Toronto on one of its blogs. Included is a photo of a homemade sign about "electoral dysfunction" that I stapled. Note: I did not design the poster. Thanks to Fair Vote Canada for the design.
There will be anti-prorogation rallies taking place in many cities across Canada next Saturday. Some rallies may be shown live in part or whole on the Canadian news channels. I wonder if Stephen Harper will hold some kind of news conference at 1 p.m. on Saturday just so that the television news media won't air the rallies live. I wonder if the media may fall for such a Harper trap.
Strike a pose.
Strike a pose.
Prorogue, prorogue, prorogue
Prorogue, prorogue, prorogue
Look around everywhere you turn is a headache
It's everywhere that you go [look around]
You try everything you can to escape
The pain of life that you know [life that you know]
When all else fails and you long to be
More powerful than you are today
I know a place where you can get away
It's called the Olympics, and here's what it's for, so
Chorus:
Come on, prorogue
Let your body move to the music [move to the music]
Hey, hey, hey
Come on, prorogue
Let your body go with the flow [go with the flow]
You know you can do it
All you need is your own intimidation
So use it that's what it's for [that's what it's for]
Go inside, for your finest inspiration
Your dreams will close the door [close the door]
It makes no difference if you're a dictator or not
If you're a Con boy or a GG girl
If the music's pumping it will give you new life
You're a superstar, yes, that's what you are, you know it
(chorus, substituting "groove" for "move")
Beauty's where you find it
Not just where you bump and grind it
Soul is in the musical
That's where I feel so beautiful
Magical, life's a ball
So get up on the dance floor
(chorus)
Prorogue, [Prorogue]
Beauty's where you find it [move to the music]
Prorogue, [Prorogue]
Beauty's where you find it [go with the flow]
Ayn Rand, and Palin
Condi Rice and Glen Beck
Stephen Harper, Stephen Harper
On the cover of a magazine
Stephen Harper; Harper, Steve
Picture of a beauty king
Stephen Harper, Stephen Harper
Stephen Harper, quite a scare
I have tactics, I take away the mace
I can't stand the democratic place
McKay, Poilièvre, Flaherty too
Angry Baird, they don't think much of you
Conservatives with an attitude
Conbots that were in the mood
Don't just stand there, let's get to it
Strike a citizen, there's nothing to it
Prorogue, prorogue, prorogue, prorogue
Oooh, you've got to
Let your body move to the music
Oooh, you've got to just
Let your body go with the flow
Oooh, you've got to just,
Prorogue !
