Sunday, July 31, 2011

Heather Mallick Has a Message for Tim Hudak...



















You can run but you can't hide.

Hudak thinks it’s sufficient to promise he won’t reopen the debate on abortion rights, although such a debate is not occurring in Ontario and the fact that he thinks it is says a lot about his views.

A politician’s promise means nothing, especially since Hudak has to answer to a hard-right caucus that may well demand that since abortion can’t be banned, women seeking abortions must be tormented.

Mallick gives credit where credit is due.

The story about Hudak signing the petition emerged on a blog by a smart woman who keeps an eye on things. She noticed that Hudak’s stance, or lack of one, was reported on the ARPA website.

And explains to the Christianist who complained, why he doesn't know what he's talking about:

The blogger “had a chip on his/her shoulder,” Penninga said.

And yes, she did. But what he and Hudak and Harper should understand is that abortion is not a “chip” on a woman’s shoulder, it is her body and her life, her internal sanctity and her choice.

I am warning those who want Canadian women to lose their right to abortion that this will not be a skirmish. It lives in the hearts of girls and women. We will fight you on this.


You know Hudak can shrug off the controversy over his plans to put dangerous criminals on our streets and in our parks. And he can try to explain why he seems obsessed about chicken houses.

The Conservatives have egg on their faces after claiming there's so much red tape in Dalton McGuinty's Ontario that egg farmers are told what colour to paint the insides of their barns.

The feathered IDIOT.

But the abortion issue will haunt him all the way to the election.

Run Hudak RUN.

Thank you Dammit Janet...

How to Give Toronto a Touch of Class Again

















Well now we know that when he's not flipping the bird at people, or belching loudly, Rob Ford can shake his massive butt in the street. As long as it isn't at a gay event.

Even though Pride Week brings at least five times as much money into the city as does this Carnival.

At its launch July 21, Ford praised the festival’s contribution to Ontario’s economy and arts scene, saying it brought $483 million to the province in 2009.

And now that we know that him and his gang have no intention of listening to the people of Toronto.

At the press conference called Friday afternoon to debrief the media on next steps, budget chief Mike Del Grande was clear the emotion of deputants the night prior had changed nothing.

“Just because everything is on the table,” Del Grande said, “doesn’t mean it’s going to be cut.” That’s why Del Grande has been carrying around a piggybank and warning about the coming “tsunami.”


And now I know that the millionaire Con the piggybank is modelled after is a grotesque bully:

Rob Ford, the football coach, has this thing he does with his players when they step out of line. He makes them roll the length of the field in full equipment until they puke.

And you know how I hate bullies.

Wouldn't it be nice if we could roll him out of City Hall, and make Margaret Atwood the new Mayor of Toronto?

Oh sure I know it's just a symbolic protest, and the best way to stop Ford is to put pressure on the city councillors who are shamelessly kissing his ass. And organize massive demonstrations.

But wouldn't it be lovely to give the city a touch of class again?

And send this message out to the whole world: Rob Ford is NOT our Mayor.

We are better than that.

And so is Toronto...

Obama and the Teabagger Taliban













It's a scary and surrealistic spectacle. The most powerful nation on earth being held hostage by a group of fanatical teabaggers, who are dragging the President, the country, and the global economy towards the abyss. And acting like the Taliban.

"We now have a group of US politicians seeking political purity, who seem to have much in common with the Taliban. They are Tea Party members; and because of blind adherence to smaller government, they seem intent on risking destroying what American political leaders have constructed in more than two centuries of hard, often painful work..."

And the scariest thing is when you read the latest so-called compromise.

Officials close to the talks, speaking on condition of anonymity, said both Republican and Democratic sides were now discussing a plan to raise the debt limit by about $2.4 trillion, as well as enact slightly larger cuts in spending, to be carried over two stages.

It's pretty clear that the Teabagger Taliban are winning. And that Obama has surrendered to the tyranny of simple solutions, and political expediency. Agreed to savage cuts that will hurt the poor and the elderly. And failed to make the argument that taxation is the foundation of a civilized society. And that the rich can and should pay more taxes.

Which is why I like Maureen Dowd's latest column.

The world is watching in fearful —and sometimes gleeful — fascination as the Tea Party drives a Thunderbird off the cliff with the president and speaker of the House strapped in the back. The Dow is hiding under the bed with a glass of single malt. Can it get more excruciating? Apple has more cash than the U.S. government.

Because that's so true you could die laughing. And this needs to be said:

Democratic lawmakers worry that the Tea Party freshmen have already “neutered” the president, as one told me. They fret that Obama is an inept negotiator. They worry that he should have been out in the country selling a concrete plan, rather than once more kowtowing to Republicans and, as with the stimulus plan, health care and Libya, leading from behind.

As one Democratic senator complained: “The president veers between talking like a peevish professor and a scolding parent.” (Not to mention a jilted lover.) Another moaned: “We are watching him turn into Jimmy Carter right before our eyes.”


Now I don't want to be too harsh on Obama because nobody can reason with fanatics who take their instructions directly from their God.

“Where’s the chapel?” Rep. Tim Scott (S.C.) asked as he emerged from an arm-twisting session with Majority Leader Eric Cantor Thursday night. The freshman lawmaker explained that he wanted to “go to the divine source.

”As it happens, the Lord gave Scott the wisdom to oppose Boehner. “I think divine inspiration already happened,” Scott said. “I was a ‘lean no’ and now I’m a ‘no.’ ” And he’s not much worried about default, saying: “I hope the Lord blesses our nation in a way that is measurable.”


And Obama must surely know that these Teabagger Taliban also believe that they have a divine mission to destroy the first black President, by whatever means necessary.

Which is why I find this blast from the past so chilling.

Mix rabid ideology, crazy religion, guns, a weak President, a decaying empire, a naked class war, and you have all the elements for a real disaster.

So how bad will this movie get?

Gawd. I don't know eh?

But at least as bad as this one...



But one way or the other be very afraid.

Because the Teabagger Taliban are torching America. The craziness is out of control.

And any Canadian who thinks we won't get burned.

Is living in a dream world...

Saturday, July 30, 2011

Rob Ford's Horrible Animal Farm Story
















Well I suppose it was inevitable that Rob Ford's City Hall would turn into yet another Con version of Animal Farm.

With the hero of the Ford Nation morphing into another bully Napoleon, who waddles around on his hind legs, sucks back Red Bulls, and can't take no for an answer.

He said he could find close to $2 billion in the city budget without the average citizen noticing. He could do it without cutting services. “Guaranteed,” he said.

Turns out he can’t find vats of savings. Easy money. The KPMG consultants he brought in to sniff out the fat have filed their findings and the savings would have to come from real services that people use and cherish.

In short, Mayor Rob Ford’s credibility is shot, shredded, blown to bits — victim of his excessive rhetoric and unsubstantiated claims.


Golly. What a horrow show. But you've got to admit it's quite an ANIMAL story eh?

The other day the Fordzilla  was accused of flipping the bird at a woman and her young daughter. Today he was accused by another woman of suggesting she's a female dog.

And now his penguin Budget Chief is suggesting that Hogtown might raise some money by harvesting the animals at the city's tiny  children's zoo.

The politician in charge of Toronto’s finances is unwilling to take any cost-cutting options off the table, suggesting there is money to be found in unexpected places, including the pigs and chickens at Riverdale Farm.

OMG. Since they already sell eggs at the farm, will the poor petting cow be next?
















Will the old horse be sent to the glue factory...or worse? I mean can you IMAGINE what a Ford Burger might look like? I can. *Shudder*

One pound of cow/horse beef, between two slabs of pork, floating in half a bucket of gravy. Because nobody ever called him classy eh? Just crass, vulgar, and DUMB.

Like all those people who voted for him. The ones we now call Ford's fools. Because if they lose anymore I.Q. points we are going to have to water them. Thanks a lot IDIOTS.

Oh boy. It's not easy to live on Fordzilla's Farm.

But this too is true. The day we get our act together and drive that homophobic hog from power, the people will be dancing in the streets.  And down at the children's zoo.

Even the chickens will be celebrating...



But while we wait for that happy day to arrive...

Enjoy your weekend eh?

Because it's going to be a long four years...

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Norway's Bloodied Youth and the Porcelain Unicorn















When I think about the traumatized youth of Norway, and what a right-wing monster did to so many of their finest future leaders.

I can't help wondering why oh why couldn't the police get there sooner?

But then I read this story.

And the anwer seems obvious. Nobody could have imagined somebody would want to murder such fine young people. And Norway wasn't a police state, and doesn't want to become one.

The prime minister of Norway acknowledged yesterday that his country had fundamentally changed as a result of the attacks on a youth camp and government complex last week, but he vowed to protect the culture of openness that is a source of Norwegian pride.

“I think what we have seen is that there is going to be one Norway before and one Norway after July 22,’’ he said. “But I hope and also believe that the Norway we will see after will be more open, a more tolerant society than what we had before.’’

But still it's so hard to accept. And for some reason I can't help thinking of a video I saw recently.

And wonder why couldn't someone, anyone, or anything, have stopped that right-wing Christianist monster?

And where was the porcelain unicorn when we needed one so badly?



There was no porcelain unicorn. Nothing could have saved them from that fascist beast.

But at least those noble, idealistic, young progressives didn't die for nothing.

The right-wing threat has been exposed for all to see.

Norway will not surrender to fear or bigotry.

And the kids will REMEMBER....

Stephen Harper's Horrible Summer Makeover















OMG. I knew Stephen Harper was spending his summer trying to be transformed from Great Ugly Leader into Mr Nice Fuhrer.

After forgetting himself at the Redneck Stampede, and revealing his ball crushing plans for total Canadian domination.

“Under our Conservative government, Canada is more united than it ever has been. My friends, I think something has changed. I believe the long Liberal era is genuinely, truly ending. As with disco balls and bell bottoms, Canadians have moved on,” he said to applause and laughter.

“Conservative values are Canadian values. Canadian values are Conservative values.”


But who knew his makeover could be so horrible?

Great eh? It's on Boing Boing !!!!  So now even if you don't belong to his Google + inner circle i.e. John Baird, Robert Mugabe, and Jason Kenney, people all over the world will think he's a nice guy.

And name their babies after him.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH !!!!!!!

But of course, what they don't tell you is how his favourite kitty turned out...

















Or how he was the lucky one...



















Or what the ball crusher is planning to do to us eh?

Oh boy. People of Canada Matadonia enjoy your summer and your freedoms while you can.

Because Stephen Harper is going after total WORLD domination. The kittens are running for cover. MeeeeOUCH !!!

And NOBODY is safe...

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

My Summer Journey and JJ's Return











(click to enlarge)

I must admit that I'm finding it hard to blog these days. I'm not sure where I want to go. I don't know where this country is going.

There are a lot of stories out there, but after this story.

So many flowers cut down so savagely. They all seem so trivial.

And then there's summer...












It's so short I want to enjoy every minute of it. Soak up the sun, feel the gentle breeze in my face.

Smell the flowers...















Before they are gone.

Because what happened to Jack Layton reminded me that for everything there is a season. Life is so fragile. And I can't get his parting words out my head.

We WILL replace the Conservative government, a few short years from now.

And we WILL work with Canadians to build the country of our hopes
Of our dreams
Of our optimism
Of our determination
Of our values...
Of our love.


Because they sound so much like an epitaph.

But since I don't know to what dark place Stephen Harper is going to take this country...













I don't know how we can stop him. Nobody wants to talk about that because its summer. And since defeating the Cons means everything to me, the progressive blogosphere seems strangely hollow, and more of an echo chamber than ever.

Or the personal sandbox of a small group of gigantic egos, who can't write enough posts, and suck up all the oxygen in the blogosphere, competing against each other for votes.  

Which brings me to the good news. The return of the Unrepentant Old Hippie.

JJ is an amazing blogger, a feminist warrior, and a very old friend who was one of the first to encourage me when I set out on this blogging journey six years ago.

I missed her terribly, and the progressive blogosphere has never needed her free spirit more.

You know I was thinking tonight if only the blogger Bruce MacDonald could come back it would be like it was before. But of course he can't, and maybe that's why I find his great friend's return so comforting.

I don't know where this summer is taking me. Or where Stephen Harper will take this country.

But all seems fine tonight. JJ is back.

Life goes on and the journey continues...

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

The Invasion of the Con Apes











It seems like they are everywhere these days. Con apes on a rampage. Smelling their armpits, and shocking the world.

In Norway they are still counting their losses after one right wing monkey killed dozens of people. While his foul furry trainers lick the blood off their fingers, and run for the trees.

As they learned that their ideas had formed the ideological basis for one of the deadliest acts of terrorism in recent European history, these writers and leaders have delivered responses that range from denunciation to denial to awkward arguments that the killer was correct in his motives, but his actions damaged their common cause.

In the United States the RepubliKong gorillas are holding their country hostage.

Demanding tax breaks for the rich, no food for the poor, or medicare for seniors.

Or they'll eat the economy. Even if it kills them.

In Britain the Cameron chimps are beating their hairy chests, boasting that their savage cuts have saved the economy. Even as it stalls.

Chancellor George Osborne yesterday boasted his austerity measures have turned Britain into a safe haven from the storm just hours before figures are expected to show UK economic growth has ground to a halt.

Me Tarzan. You idiot. Me mankey. You Murdoch.

















But wait, it gets worse.

Here at home, in the land of the Monkey King Harper, his Con apes are praising the Norway killer.











Mocking people with cancer.








And giving their constituents the finger.

I mean take a good look at that photo again and you tell me...
















Is that a Mayor or a Fordzilla?

And no, you can't teach an ape to read.

Oh boy are we ever in trouble eh?

The good news is that people all over the world now know how incompetent and dangerous these Con apes are. And the Con brand has been seriously damaged

And the bad news?

If we don't organize, unite, defeat them, tame them and if necessary cage them.

It may soon be too late....

Monday, July 25, 2011

Norway and the Bigot Bastards













As Norway mourns its dead. And sorrow turns to anger.

The right-wing monsters of this world continue to try to turn tragedy into triumph, by blaming Muslims for the massacre.

Or condemning the killer for damaging their bigot cause.

During the hours when I thought that Oslo had been attacked by jihadists, I wept for the city that has been my home for many years. And I hoped Norwegian leaders would respond to this act of violence by taking a more responsible approach to the problems they face in connection with Islam. When it emerged that these acts of terror were the work of a native Norwegian who thought he was striking a blow against jihadism and its enablers, it was immediately clear to me that his violence will deal a heavy blow to an urgent cause.

Great eh? From the man who did more than most to inspire the monster's bloody rampage. Never mind the dead kids, it's all about THEM.

And then there are our own pathetic xenophobes, like the blogger Unambiguously Ambidextrous.

Who after tying himself up in knots concludes...surprise...surprise... that the Mooslims made him do it:

Breivik’s rampage would likely never have taken place if Islamic terrorism wasn’t so ubiquitous. If we didn’t need to breathe that sigh of relief that al-Qaeda didn’t attack Norway, the attack probably wouldn’t have happened at all, since dangerous fanatics in Central Asia wouldn’t have inspired a dangerous fanatic in Norway.

Only to have that steaming turd attract some ghastly flies.

Like this one:














And this one:











The bigot bastards. Now can we call them ROACHES?

Oh well. At least the light of the world is shining on their Roach Motel.

The man accused of the killing spree in Norway was deeply influenced by a small group of American bloggers and writers who have warned for years about the threat from Islam, lacing his 1,500-page manifesto with quotations from them, as well as copying multiple passages from the tract of the Unabomber.

And they can run but they can't hide:

Mr. Spencer wrote on his Web site, jihadwatch.org, that “the blame game” had begun, “as if killing a lot of children aids the defense against the global jihad and Islamic supremacism, or has anything remotely to do with anything we have ever advocated.” He did not mention Mr. Breivik’s voluminous quotations from his writings.

The Gates of Vienna, a blog that ordinarily keeps up a drumbeat of anti-Islamist news and commentary, closed its pages to comments Sunday “due to the unusual situation in which it has recently found itself.”


Yup. Poor decent little Norway will survive. Which more than I can say for the bigots.

For they have been dealt a mighty blow.

It's getting lonely in the Roach Motel.

And their shaming will last FOREVER....

Jack Layton Takes His Leave















He fought so bravely against one cancer, leading his party into a gruelling election campaign, even though it was clear that some days were harder than others.

Now he must fight another battle.

My battle against prostate cancer is going very well. My PSA levels remain virtually undetectable.

However, these tests, whose results I received last week, also indicate that I have a new, non-prostate cancer that will require further treatment.

So, on the advice of my doctors, I am going to focus on treatment and recovery.


Whether they support his party or not, most decent Canadians must surely recognize a great leader and a good human being.

The ghastly Cons, and their accomplices in the MSM, tried to slander and debase him. But they couldn't because he's so much better than them.

So I have to admit that this moved me to tears:

If I have tried to bring anything to federal politics, it is the idea that hope and optimism should be at their heart.

We CAN look after each other better than we do today. We CAN have a fiscally responsible government. We CAN have a strong economy; greater equality; a clean environment.

We CAN be a force for peace in the world.
I am as hopeful and optimistic about all of this as I was the day I began my political work, many years ago.

I am hopeful and optimistic about the personal battle that lies before me in the weeks to come.

And I am very hopeful and optimistic that our party will continue to move forward.

We WILL replace the Conservative government, a few short years from now.

And we WILL work with Canadians to build the country of our hopes
Of our dreams
Of our optimism
Of our determination
Of our values...
Of our love.

But it will also inspire me. Because I so believe in that. That hope keeps me alive. And all the young Canadians I know, even the Liberal ones,  absolutely love him and Olivia.

Fight this new enemy like you fought all the others Jack. Give the bastard cancer hell.

Get better and come back soon.

Because we miss you already.

And this country never needed you so badly...

-----------------------------------------------

P.S. I made a video about Jack just over a year ago, when despite his weakened condition he braved the brutal heat to take part in the Gay Pride Parade.

It's a humble little video, but I think you can feel the love, and the song  is one of hope.

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Behold the Face of a Right-wing Monster













A monster so cruel and evil he would use dum dum bullets on helpless children.

Dr. Colin Poole, head of surgery at Ringriket Hospital in Honefoss northwest of Oslo, told The Associated Press the gunman used special bullets designed to disintegrate inside the body and cause maximum internal damage. Poole said surgeons treating 16 gunshot victims have recovered no full bullets.

"These bullets more or less exploded inside the body," Poole said. "It's caused us all kinds of extra problems in dealing with the wounds they cause, with very strange trajectories."


And this is his deeply disturbing video...



I made some screen caps of that video in case it's taken down for whatever reason.

























(click pics to enlarge)

So you can at least get an idea of the hideous ideology behind his murderous act.

But here's the thing eh?

I also made a screen cap this morning of a comment left on the blog of a member of the Blogging Tories.













To his credit, the blog owner sharply criticized that comment. But he spends much of his time mumbling darkly about the Mooslim Threat. It does show you what kind of hate is out there.

And I know that if I visited other conservative sites, like the sewer called Free Dominion, I would find more and much worse.

Now I hate violent Muslim extremists exactly as much as I hate any other kind of violent religious fanatics, bullies, bigots, and thugs.

But the fact is in certain right-wing circles, bashing peaceful, decent, Muslim Canadians, and their religion, has become far too common. It's wrong, it's evil, it's nonsense. It can only create the conditions for some act of murderous violence.

And however flawed this country may be, or whatever our democratic differences, it's still a peaceful place to live.

And this horror must never happen here.














I can only hope that our Con government, and our security services are monitoring potentially violent right-wing terrorists as closely as they are monitoring any others.

And that the Cons aren't blinded by their own foul ideology, or the ghastly grunts of their rabid Christianist base.

Because the beast that would tear our beautiful country apart is surely among us.

And it must be tamed or caged, before it destroys us ALL....

Life, Summer, and the Death of Amy Winehouse















Lordy. If it wasn't for one glorious day at the beach, I don't know how I would have made it to Sunday.

Because these days only the wind, or a wave, or a board in my face, can make me forget that I live in Harperland. Or the suffocating heat, the old lady with her head in the fridge, the tragedy of Norway.

Or the long announced death of Amy Winehouse. Which is also a tragedy because she was a huge talent who changed the music scene  forever.

She was sharp; had a way with words, as well as song. And, oh boy, the songs – the accolades, the awards and the artistic attention was all justified too. Back to Black, her second album, with its six Grammy nominations and five wins when she was only 24, changed the music scene for ever, with its lyrical musings on cold, dead broken hearts, illicit sex, and chips and pitta and gin.

And nobody could save her from her demons and her drug addiction.

There were many subsequent attempts to quit herself of drugs and booze for ever. She tried in the UK, she tried overseas. Her stays in these places never lasted long, because Winehouse's real problem was self-belief, an insecurity only compounded by the extraordinary worldwide success of Back to Black, which left her less sure of herself than ever before.

It's such a waste. But she did live her short life to the limit.

While we walk back and forth like ants in the barren desert of Harperland, measuring out our little humdrum lives like cough mixture. Putting ties on our straitjackets, and making a virtue out of boredom. 

Yup. History will be much much kinder to Amy Winehouse than her short life was to her.

In the end, long after people have stopped telling stories of drink and excess, they will talk about Amy Winehouse's voice and her music.

And she WILL be remembered by her many fans.

Long after tomorrow is over...



Although I'd rather remember her like this...



A little pissed but having fun.

It's your life. It's your life.

Ain't life a monkey?

It's summer in Harperland.

Enjoy it while you can...

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Michael Coren and Right Wing Syndrome





















Well as just about everybody knows by now, the Christianist Gollum Michael Coren crawled out of his cave hole anal orifice and laid this stinky turd.

But not before looking like a complete idiot:










NO YOU DON'T YOU BLOODY IDIOT !!!!! JUST HISS THROUGH THE GAP IN YOUR FRONT TEETH, AND SAY IT IN LIMEY ENGLISH !!!!!

But then he isn't the only right-winger to be suffering from Right Wing (Derangement) Syndrome.

Take his bosom buddy Blazing Cat Fur. He was gleefully cooking up a veritable mountain of anti-Muslim caca stew. Only to come up horribly short.

But then of course that makes sense eh? Because he's married to the teeny weeny racist Kathy Shittle.

And she was practically eating her own excrement.

Which is, of course, appalling etc. etc.

Although I don't want to be too harsh on the blazing furry fanatic, because HOURS before we knew that the killer was a Christianist right-wing scumbag.

He kinda....um... hit the nail on the head...






So if Shittle rolls her turds into some rancid pastry, and bakes it between her buttocks or her armpits, they can STILL share some humble pie.

Which is more than we can say about Coren eh?








Because he can't tell a sewer from the trickle between his ears legs. So he's still banging that nail. Into his own head.

Fear not, we are winning.

Golly. Has the Gollum lost his ring.... or his marbles?

Gawd. I KNEW this was going to happen. That old homophobe is going to Sun TV and he is determined to show Ezra Levant who is the top guy, the biggest asshole.

And the sleaziest Gollum...

















Oh well. If they clutch and grab at themselves in loin cloths, and Levant becomes Coren's bitch, or vice versa, I suppose it could be funny. In a gross sort of way.

Although what's not funny is how after the MSM realized that it wasn't the work of Islamic terrorists, the killer morphed from a right-wing terrorist, into just another madman.

Anyone who claims therefore, that the perpetrator's "right-wing traits" and "anti-Muslim views", or even links with "Christian fundamentalist" websites are irrelevant is trying to draw a veil over the unacceptable truths of such "traits" and expecting us to believe that right-wing ideology is incapable of prompting someone towards such criminality.

Of course, that idea is nonsensical.


But that's Right Wing Derangement Syndrome eh?

Those ghastly right-wingers don't realize how ugly they are.

And they don't know when they're BEATEN.

Simon...Simon....you're not going to use this horrible tragedy against them are you?

Are you kidding? After this?

Oh boy am I EVAH.

Play them out my furry creature...



Norway: The Horror and the Sorrow
















If you sail a boat in a straight line off this Scottish beach where I played when I was a boy, it won't be too long before you'll find yourself in Norway.

Which is why I know them so well, why this hurts so much.

A lone political extremist bombed the government center here on Friday, killing 7 people, the police said, before heading to an island summer camp for young members of the governing Labor Party and killing at least 80 people.

Why this makes me so angry.

After the shooting the police seized a 32-year-old Norwegian man on the island, according to the police and Justice Minister Knut Storberget. He was later identified as Anders Behring Breivik and characterized by officials as a right-wing extremist, citing previous writings including on his Facebook page.

A Facebook page matching his name and the photo given out by the police was set up just a few days ago. It listed his religion as Christian, politics as conservative.

And why I'm so proud of my Norwegian friends tonight.

“I have a message to the person who attacked us and the people who are behind it: You’re not going to destroy us,” Jens Stoltenberg told a news conference shortly after the attacks. “You’re not destroying our democracy and our work for a better world. We’re a small country but a very proud country. No one can bomb us to be quiet. No one can shoot us to be quiet. No one can ever scare us from being Norway.”

The evil right wingers are always trying to kill the future, because they know it won't belong to them.

But they will not succeed. Norway will keep on being the decent little nation of peacemakers it has been for so long. And the young WILL change the world.

As I told you last night, two weeks ago I attended the big Scottish music festival T in the Park. There was the usual contingent of kids from Norway. And they were as sweet and as funny as I remember them.

So tonight I can't help thinking of them, and this song...



Here's to the bloodied youth of Norway, and all the other suffering people in that beautiful little nation.

May they continue to be a progressive beacon of light in a dark world.

Viva la vida.

Life is so fragile...

Friday, July 22, 2011

Stephen Harper and the Politics of Punishment

















Every now and then he betrays himself. Every now and then the mask falls off and exposes the monster behind it.

Like when he woke up one morning and decided to gut the census. For no sane reason.

Or when he plans to jail even more Canadians, especially young ones, even though the crime rate is going down.

New statistics show the national crime rate is continuing its 20-year decline – reaching levels not seen since 1973 even as the federal Conservative government prepares legislation that would put more Canadians behind bars for longer periods of time.

Because this is not only unadulterated bullshit:

“Unlike the Opposition, we do not use statistics as an excuse not to get tough on criminals. As far as our Government is concerned, one victim of crime is still one too many,” Justice Minister Rob Nicholson said in an e-mail Thursday evening.

It's eerily similar to the reason the idiot Tony Clement gave for killing the census. Because a thousand complaints one complaint was too many.

So why is Stephen Harper doing it? I like to think it's because punishment turns him on. He enjoys inflicting it, just like he enjoys humiliating women. But it's probably mostly politics.

Like every demented right-winger, or tin pot tyrant, he knows he can't fool people into supporting his fascist law and order agenda, unless he scares them first.






















And convinces them that young Canadians are a dangerous threat. Even though they're not, and they are already treated harshly.

The harsh treatment of youths is even more apparent when the handling of youthful offenders is compared to that of adult offenders. For example, in 1997 the rate of detention for adults in Canada was 151 per 100,000; for youth, 209 per 100,000 were incarcerated

An adult will typically be released somewhere between the one third and the two thirds point in the sentence. A youth sentenced to a long period of custody can have that custodial sentence reviewed in youth court but this is relatively rare.


So how does Great Twisted Leader get away with this monstrous fraud? Answer: with the enthusiastic help of our idiot media.

The specific types of youth crime stories that are deemed newsworthy tend to be those which can evoke feelings of anger and retribution in members of the public. These feelings inevitably lead to movements toward harsher youth justice measures. The media's continued favoring of recent events of youthful offending serves to reinforce and provide added momentum for the "get tough" movement.

And why does the media portray young offenders as a mortal threat to society? Answer: because it sells papers, and boosts ratings in an aging country that hates its young.

Great eh?

You know two weeks ago Seb and I went to the big Scottish music festival T in the Park. We got a really good look at the under twenty generation...with their "new" Beatle haircuts.

And although we argued over the relative merits of the Arctic Monkeys.

We both had to agree that the kids were MAGIC...



And at the end of the day this is the harsh no-bullshit truth.

A Prime Minister who would declare war on young Canadians for no good reason, is a twisted and evil man.

And a country that would allow him to get away with it, is one so old and broken it can scarcely be repaired...

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

How to Stay Alive in Harperland













One of the things you notice right away when you return from almost any modern country in the world, is the crumbling state of our infrastructure.

In Toronto, giant pieces of concrete regularly fall off this elevated expressway, not too far from where I live.

And not long ago a 100-year-old pipe burst, and you practically had to swim across it.

In Montreal, you take your life in your hands everytime you cross the Champlain Bridge, Canada's busiest.

Even if the Harper government tried to cover that up that scary situation.

Federal Transport Minister Denis Lebel said Tuesday he didn't want people to worry unnecessarily.

"If we made the report public, it might be misinterpreted by people who don't understand the subject," said Lebel. "It might create unnecessary fears. It's not time to create public insecurity."


But of course, that's easy for him to say eh?

Because even if you make it on to the island of Montreal, and all the way downtown without breaking an axle in one of the city's gaping pot holes.

You still have to be very careful where you park your car...



And it's the same situation all over the country.

The Cons had a chance to tackle this infrastructure problem with their Porky Action Plan.

But they preferred to spend our tax dollars building such things as gazebos in Con ridings...












So now the money is gone, we're going to have to live with this situation for the next twenty years.

Oh boy. Welcome to Harperland. Don't forget to carry a hard hat, a life jacket, and a parachute wherever you go.

Because you never know when you might need them...