See how stupid the whole "nation" thing really is?
Stardate Stupidity
Quebec lawyer Guy Bertrand suggests (again) that Quebec should have it's own hockey team for the world hockey championships in 2008...
Piss off. Quebec is only a province. A wee part of the whole that is a NATION CALLED FUCKING CANADA. They happen to be full of folks from a distinct culture, but then so is Newfoundland. And British Columbia. And Alberta... And... oh wait. Were all provinces. Not nations.
Stupid idiotic politicians are going to destroy our country. I bet the world is laughing their heads off at us right now... oh wait. They already are because of our powerful stance on the environment.
Yep. Gerard Kennedy hits the nail on the head with his opposition stance on the entire Quebec/nation sillyness.
The motion provides "official recognition to the idea of nation without defining it and that is irresponsible," Kennedy said at a press conference on Monday. "It puts that official concept in the hands of the people who would use it for things that are frankly at odds with what most Canadians believe in," he said.
If we want to keep Canada united, then any reference to any part of Canada being described as a "nation" all on it's own is ridiculous. Kennedy says that Harper should define "nation" before tossign the term out so loosely. I partly agree, but we already have a definition of "nation" and frankly, Quebec is not it.
The boys went into a game tonight that I seriously thought they would lose about 4 to 2. After a good first, they slowed down as is typical of late in the second. Down by a lone goal in the third, Koivu scored to tie it up and head into overtime.
After Huet makes a brilliant save at one end, Kovalev and Koivu set up Souray for the winner with a mere second left on the clock.
Tomorrow, we see the Flyers come into Montreal, a team that should be much easier to handle than Buffalo.
I have nothing against Quebec, or french speaking folks. As a matter of fact, my favorite hockey team has been the Habs since I was old enough to know what a puck was. I have taken french for numerous years in school, and had the joy of visiting Montreal and seeing both the Exposition grounds as well as the old Forum.
All of this talk about Quebec being a nation is somewhat tiring however. The motives I believe, of Duceppe and his merry band of separatists, is to get Canada used to calling Quebec a Nation so that it becomes comfortable, and soon, they can separate without anyone knowing the difference. What is crazy about this, is that they have a distinct culture, but unless they actually leave Canada, they can NEVER be called the "nation of Quebec". It is laughable to me that our Ministers waste so much of our tax money and time debating such nonsense in the House, nonsense I believe is purely political in nature.
Why is Alberta not a "nation" since it is the redneck cowboy capital of Canada? We could suggest that Nelson BC should be a nation, since they have a unique culture of people living there.
The fact is, Canada is a Nation. Quebec, like the rest of us, is only a part of the whole. The people in Quebec form a unique culture, as do the people in Nelson, or Alberta. However, they are NOT a nation in my books.
Is California a nation? Didn't think so. How about we get back to debating Health Care, and the Wait times guarantee? Oh right... it's not as important as Tory tax cuts for the next election...
I haven't posted much of late. Truth be told, I am a little burnt out of politics right now, and perhaps with the humbling of the Chimpster down south, it is time to take a break from the daily grind of writing. Of course, I am still going to post, and in fact post about politics if something of interest grabs me, like the British fellow on CTV news this morning that I agree with, but I can't find any links, and I can't remember his name.
I am in the process of starting a new painting project that is of great personal interest to me, and this will consume some small amount of my time at home to be sure. It is kind of funny how things change as one's interest peak and wane. In a month, I could be right back where I was in the summer!
I'll post the odd pic of my project as time goes on. For now, I will suggest that this is really my first Warhammer 40K (sci-fi) miniature ever, and he is from the Eldar race. Intrigued? Then watch this place for news!!!
This lawyer says that he doesn't see "what the big public outcry" is all about because his client who was driving drunk killed two people and injured their kids...
Sure he is innocent until proven guilty, but I'll wager that his client wouldn't have been charged with two counts of impaired driving causing death and two counts of impaired driving causing bodily harm if he wasn't frigging impaired.
The problem isn't that alcohol is readily available and people are addicted to alcohol like the lawyer says. The problem is that people like this lawyer try to make it okay for people to drink and drive. How many times have you heard those ads ont he radio about people fighting impaired driving charges?
I have a brain wave here. DON'T DRINK AND DRIVE! Then you avoid all of this, and in fact, little Kali and Jeremy O'Dell would still have parents.
I have never been embarrassed to be Canadian until now. We were a leader in environmental change and awareness, and now we are one of the worst greenhouse gas polluters on the planet.
I am not an expert on the Kyoto protocols nor am I an expert on environmental change. I suspect also, that many readers and bloggers also are not, but one thing is crystal clear. If something is not done soon, we are headed for a world of hurt in a very short time. This means that we all need to do something, regardless of our geographic location. Canada used to be a leader int his area. We had very minimal targets to reach... something like a 6% decrease of 1990 levels by 2012? I am not sure. However, we are now at a much higher level (27% in fact). In other words, our greenhouse gas emmissions are getting worse, and the government doesn't seem too worried.
Recently, the Conservatives, led by our glorious Environment Minister, Rona Ambrose, revealed their massive "do nothing until 2050 plan" that will replace Canada's commitment to the Kyoto Protocol. So we are the first nation to pull out of Kyoto, and the replacement option presented by the Tories is a piece of worm-ridden filth.
The most embarrassing thing about Ambrose's speech to the international delegation, is that she didn't bring up her own useless and widely criticized plan (if you call doing pretty much nothing a plan) and didn't even have the balls (heh) to say that Canada is out. All she could do was blame the Liberals. She maintains that the levels set forth in the Kyoto Protocals (the 6% decrease) are unattainable, even though most of the European Union and even strugglign nations like Japan are sticking with their goals. Of course they are unattainable if you do not try! In fact, they are making things worse by showing everyone else that we don't give a shit.
Pathetic. The biggest problem is the fact that the Tories are again using the S.E.P. (Somebody Else's Problem) approach to this, and blatantly blame others for their own lack of direction. I am surprised they have not blamed the Liberals for their pathetic plan they just released.
This is probably an uninformative and disjointed rant, but this woman has really embarrassed Canada in front of the entire world. Go ahead and attack me abouy this, I don't care; there are much more important things to worry about. After all, it isn't us that will have to live with a ruined planet, it is our children and grandchildren. The tories don't seem to give a crap as is obvious by the dates set forth in their own dismal plan.
We absolutely deserve the "Fossil of the day" award... several times over in my opinion.
I have had a painting project on my desk for some time now. Originally, I received this from our local store (The GROTS) pre-release, but life got in the way, and now I am just finished it.
He is extremely large and this is evident as the base on the fleeing figure is about the size of a quarter.
You can see all sorts of larger pics on my painting site as frankly, these pics are tiny and show little detail!
Take a moment this day, to pause and reflect on those who have made the ultimate sacrifice to help put an end to torture, oppression, and aggression throughout history, and around the world today.
Politics have a nasty way of marring what these brave souls do, but ultimately, not all of us are as brave and self-sacrificing as these men and women.
With the last gurgling gasp of a strangled victim, the final battleground for the US Senate was conceded by George Allen. Now the Democrats have complete control of both Houses for the first time in 12 years, so what's next?
Can we expect Chimpy the Wonder Buffoon and Dick Cheney to be indicted soon or what?
"Five days or five weeks or five months, but it certainly isn't going to last longer than that." - Donald Rumsfeld, Nov 14th, 2002 on invading Iraq
In the wake of the mid-term elections which saw the Democrats take control of the House, and possibly the Senate (pending two recounts), McChimpy has announced that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has stepped down. He will be replaced by former CIA director Robert Gates.
Not much anyone can do about the theft of millions of votes, but the best way to combat the Bush administration is to go out and vote against the Republicans. If things are ever going to change south of us, and up here as well (if we follow trends), then the Republicans simply must lose these midterms. I hope enough Americans have the gonads to do the right thing.
If anything is ever going to be done to bring the Bush administration to justice for their lies and incompetence, then the Democrats must win. If Democrats "losing" in Iraq is the reason you want to vote Republican, then wake up. You've already lost in Iraq.
The Conservatives recently launched their amazing Clean Air Act that will do nothing for years and not show any actual targets for reduction until something like 2050...
Now, H-Dawg is jamming out of meetings with European leaders at the end of November and many suggest it is because he is afraid of the criticism he will get over the Tory abandonment of Kyoto and their ridiculous Clean Air Act that replaced it. He says he needs to stay close to home because of how fragile his minority government is, but yet he is still goign to attend trade talks in Hanoi and NATO meetings in Latvia (only a short jaunt from Finland really) only two days after the scheduled meeting in Finland. I guess greenhouse gasses aren't as scary as terrorists...
Shouldn't be long now before Canada really does become the laughing stock of the world. Unless we're all dead or on respirators...
According to polls in Canada, the United Kingdom, Mexico and Israel, over 60% of respondants feel that Flightsuit McChimpy and his World Tour of Freedom has made the world a more dangerous place than before 2001...
In Canada, 62% of people think the world was safer before Bush, and 34% say he is a great danger to the world. He is the third most dangerous leader, behind Kim Jong II and Osama bin Hidin. If we look at the trail of devastation his policy has left in Afghanistan and Iraq alone, I have no alternative other than agreeing with this. If we postulate what could happen with hotbeds like North Korea and Iran, or even the on-going fiasco with Israel and it's neighbours, it can and will only escalate.
In Britain, 69% of the people said the world is less safe now. Wisely, they say Bush poses an even greater threat than Kim Jong II!
I suppose when the most powerful nation on earth lies and bullies it's way around for years, the rest of the world will start to take offense and wise up to the BS. More and more, people all over are realising that the War in Iraq is wrong, and that it should have never began in the first place.
Wait times guarantee? Hold on, I'm getting a tummy-tuck
Stardate 6618.20
One of the CPC's 5 priorities used to be Health Care. Specifically, the wait times guarantee. Excerpts from their website suggest that they are standing up for Canadians, and "Getting things done for all of us", so let's have a look and see...
Ensuring Canadians Get the Health Care They Have Paid For
Canadians have paid their taxes to support our system of public health insurance. But all too often, they find themselves waiting too long for critical procedures. That is not good enough. It is time Canadians received the health care they have paid for. The Government will engage the provinces and territories on a patient wait times guarantee for medically necessary services. This guarantee will make sure that all Canadians receive essential medical treatment within clinically acceptable waiting times.
So it sounds to me like they have no plan (go figure...) but are willing to take on suggestions. At the very least, they are concerned about the problem, and should act to remedy anything that is helping contribute to the wait times problem.
CTV 's Kathy Tomlinson has been investigating a disturbing trend however. According to her research, many public hospitals are allowing non-essential cosmetic surgery operations such as tummy tucks and breast implants to take place in their operating rooms for a small fee. Now, these operations are generally done in "off" hours, but of course, if they go on longer than anticipated, many essential operations are rescheduled for other days.
"Cosmetic procedures are being subsidized by the taxpayer," Dr. Clifford Albert of the Canadian Academy of Cosmetic Surgery (CACS) told CTV News.
Naturally, the hospitals themselves likely have no problems collecting the fees for the use of their facilities, which can range naywhere from $500 to $2,500. This makes sense to them, since it is a much higher sum than they would get from say a cataract operation (only about $750).
Dr. Albert claimed, "There's no question if you do a procedure in hospital, your costs can be off-loaded to the health care system." "I have heard of many physicians who have had necessary surgery bumped as a result of a cosmetic procedure going on," said Dr. Albert.
The Doctor in charge of reducing wait times in Ontario, Dr. Alan Hudson, has stated that these procedures can in fact delay essential procedures for other patients, and the only reason public hospitals allow them is to train and keep plastic surgeons so they don't leave. He feels the practice should be exposed to public debate.
The thing that gets me is that our Federal Health Minister, Tony Clement, seems dis-interested in the problem. He says it is the responsibility of the provinces. Okay, maybe partly, but this government has promised to work with the provinces to reduce wait times. His response suggests that he is employing the infamous H-Dawg S.E.P. field (Somebody Else's Problem field) on this matter...
"I am going to certainly wait for the provincial health ministers to respond to your excellent story."
So last year, our public health care system helped fund some 180,000 invasive cosmetic surgeries. That's approximately 135,000 operating room hours. Of 104 plastic surgeons contacted across the country, over half said they do the procedures in public hospitals.
So you want to at least start helping reduce wait times? Maybe this practice should be shut down. At this rate however, our government should have something in place in roughly 6999 days (the same time they will actually have national air quality targets in place)...
All opinions shared on this site are strictly my own. Some people may disagree and that is fine, but rude comments or overzealous debate will be curtailed. I enjoy civil discourse, and encourage independent thought. I oppose George W. Bush and his Wars based on lies.
Site design created by Zaphod. All written work and code is the intellectual property of Glyn Evans.
I have lived in Central Alberta almost my entire life, except for a 4 year stint when I was younger in Swaziland, and about 5 years in beautiful BC. I have a wonderful girlfriend and am expecting very soon! I work in the engineering field and enjoy writing in my spare time.
You can see all sorts of larger pics on my 
In Canada, 62% of people think the world was safer before Bush, and 34% say he is a great danger to the world. He is the third most dangerous leader, behind Kim Jong II and Osama bin Hidin. If we look at the trail of devastation his policy has left in Afghanistan and Iraq alone, I have no alternative other than agreeing with this. If we postulate what could happen with hotbeds like North Korea and Iran, or even the on-going fiasco with Israel and it's neighbours, it can and will only escalate.
