2004: Tucked into the Annals of History

2004

This is a year that can be summed up quite simply. It has not been a year so much as the year.

This has been perhaps the most active cycle of 366 days ever, and the fact that its a leap-year only adds another day of action. Whether its been games, politics, war, religion, or people, things have spun wildly out of control. A brief look at some of the phenomena that happened this year:

1) The Halo phenomena, Halo 2, the sequel to the sleeper hit Halo, was released with hype and fanfare that would have even started the PR for Lord of the Rings. Microsoft spared no expense marketing the game, and the hype over-exploded the game. (I personally thought it was decent, but a far cry from the Second Coming that was pandered to me by the Corporation). This was the first time that a console game has ever had such a big release, and Master Chief will forever hold the seat of media stardom labelled "World's first Mega-Release:

Halo 2: 2004"

2) The US election. This is a phenomenon that last happened in the 1930's. It proves that not only is it acceptable to be an UltraCon, but fashionable as well, minus the voting fraud. All the lying and cheating aside, this is going to be another mind-bogglingly stupid four years of politics. So stupid, that many people with brains will simply stop talking, because the perfect counter to intelligent debate, aka, bigotry and assumption, are being shipped out en-masse from White House headquarters.

To you, Mr. Bush, we have the sign:
"I am the Elephant. I run, you clean up after me."

3) The Religious Meltdown. This goes hand-in-hand with the political Right-Wing mess. All factions of Christianity are at an uproar with each other over gay rights, whilst silently in the background, super-conservative factions are pressing into service an agenda that would make Jesus do cartwheels. Religious dogma is subtly being injected into the governments, and our enlightened perceptions of the world are rapidly slipping backwards into the days of the Crusades, the Inquisition, and the years when the earth was flat.

4) Iraq. Speaks for itself. Political mess, religious turmoil, bloodbath, all of these are true. People are so bent on killing, oil, money, and power, that nobody even knows whos who anymore, and its just a mad dash between the USA and a desperate, sinister, fragmented enemy for whatever shards are left of the shattered nation.

5) The Quake. Boxing Day horror, a 9.0 on the Rhicter scale, and it was so powerful that it caused the earth to shift on its axis. The resulting tsunami has been responsible for over 120,000 deaths at the time of this press, but final estimate are somewhere between 500,000 and a million. And out of all of this, the "developed nations" have thrown pocket change out of their cash reserves, the US especially. Levelling a multi-billion dollar deficit on new tanks and rockets, when 1/50th of that money would have put the Red, White, and Blue as the highest contributor to the national disaster relief.

6) Media. This is the year it ends. CNN, Fox, newspapers, local. No. It doesn't exist anymore. They report what they're told, and unless you see it for yourself, it didn't really happen that way.

The example: The Levelling of Falluja. The actual military operation didn't start until almost two weeks after the media release.

More on the year later, I'll likely be typing well into 2005, which henceforth shall be known as the year of:

Terribly Swift Painful Year of Ramifications

Some Axiom of Truth and Arlighty

Truth is a powerful thing. It's pursuit can lead to the discover of untold wonders, secrets of the universe that are terribly beautiful, and terribly powerful. The truth reaches in, as well as out, and it's attainment is often tempered by something, often called Morals.

Now, I watch as out southern neighbors preach an endless stream of morals. Supposedly, President Bush was elected based on his morals, and it is these morals that will carry the nation forward.

They will not.

What has happened, is the United States have become hyper-moralized. So obsessed with the pursuit of truth and good, that the very essence of what they seek to become has disappeared. The US has become a nation that has wrapped itself with the very essence of arrogance and Ivory Tower outlook.

Becoming less involved with the truth, the US has become a bastardization of morals. Instead of pursuing "what's right," they've taken the alternate path of "we're right." The somehow, because a democratic, and increasingly fundamentalist nation deems something needs doing, or something is wrong, they are automatically right. Such is neither democratic, nor overly Christian. A respectful sovereign nation does not shatter another sovereign nation based on morals alone. Such is the path to destruction and devolution.

Everything that the US stood for at its conception is moot. The Constitution is scrap, and the South won the war.

Unilateral action of destruction based on Truth and Morals is not the so called Path of the Paladin, champion of good. A force of good never works alone, and never burns its bridges with others of a like mind, if of a differeing opinion.

Stop the charge and listen. You might second guess yourself, but you might also make some friend and amends, which are, at this time, something essential to the survival of the United States as a free and democratic nation.

Gag Me

Returning from my own pseudo-mental stupor, I thought I should comment on something that has been bothering me.

The recent gag that seems to have blanketed the US Media, and the US Right to Freedom of Speech.

You see, President Bush just had the honor of visiting my home country. While he was here, the wonderful folk over at FOX news decided it would be fun to libel and slander my nation.
"It's like Honduras, only not as warm and fun."
Yeah, sure. Canadians say some pretty mean stuff about Americans, it's true... but we don't say it on goddamned national news television and get away with it.

Also, I'm surprised with all the sled-dog and igloo jokes that were passed on the air when FOX and CNN were interviewing Canadians. This is news? You, prodding a Canadian about sled-dogs and igloos? Are you NUTS? And People watch this shite? Like it was news? Real news?

Well, back to Bush. While he was here, we asked him kindly if he would reopen the boarder for Canadian Beef. He said... no. "We have a beaureacracy," he said. President Bush, who slammed his opponent Senator Kerry, for wanting a large government, is telling Canadians, that a goddamned government agency is holding up the boarder? What with all the government reduction, he couldn't axe the one thorn that has held up over 10,000 Canadian farmers?

Nope, guess not.

All the while, CNN is broadcasting the President's takeoff from a snowy Ottowa, cracking jokes about snow and igloos.

Great, you cut the slander, we have... err, had your President.

In other news, Bush went hard and heavy, trying to slam his missile defense up Canada's vulnerable Cabinet, shucking traditional diplomacy in favour of being the asshole cowboy telling the natives to shuck up or move out. Sorry spud, we're a democracy, and when something this big... and pardon me not being polite, stupid, comes along, we tend to gauge support for the idea democratically.

Which means you're sunk Mr. Bush. There are all of two Cabinet Ministers who support the idea, P.M.P.M., and Bill Graham. And they aren't cowboys like you.

Now, would you need a missile defence shield if you had addressed the root causes of conflict with the US? No, not likely, but seeing as how deterrence rather than detente has come back into season, I guess I'll just let the baby play.

9/10 reasons for strife and malignation against the US in today's world have been caused by past US foreign policy.

Blowback baby, it's a bitch.

Torpid Planet

Monday night heralded a brief return to my world of dreams. This time it was even more frightening than the last.

The world was filled with torpid, vapid people, who, through their laziness and self-absorption, sought to destroy the world and themselves with it. Acting on their behalf, was my nemesis, the Demon. This time, I felt truly powerless. He had me.

I help the people, he wins.
I leave the people, he wins.

This is a dillemma that is reflected in the living world. If I leave the people to their own, they will inevitably self-destruct (and love every minute of it). If I try to help, it empowers those who should not be empowered, and the world (or at least my locale in it) will be ripped apart in war (while people seem to care less).

Perhaps there is an approach that I am missing.

Sleep Doesn't Come Easy

I had a dream last night. I call it a dream, rather than a nightmare, because nightmares are only what the weak call their own ambitions, coming back to haunt them. Pardon that, it's not true.

Anyway, my dream last night was haunted by something that I'm afraid to see in real life. Apathy killing. Uncaring murder. In my writing, this is characterized by a man named Harm, who kills others without cause, just simply because he can, or because it's deemed necessary. His life has been far from anything normal, living from one abuse to another, and he magnifies and transfers this abuse to those he sees fit. This is what I dreamed of.

I was walking down the stairs of my house, sort of half-aware of the blood-stains on the walls. It might seem timid here, but if you were to actually live through that, you would have trouble walking up in the morning. You would be a mess of both relief and fear. Anyway, moving along, I see someone I don't recognize. Or maybe I do. In the past I've characterized simply as "The Demon," because he is completely unfamiliar, but always recognizable. Well, he's just ended most of the human race... brutally.

Those that weren't intent on killing each other were met with a shortening of existance by this person's hand. Like Harm, he does it without reason, but unlike Harm, he seems to enjoy it. Like some kind of probverbial machine, I get drawn around the globe, gawking at the man's handiwork. All that remains of the once proud and arrogant human race is a few smouldering pockets of withered, frightened, pitiful beings. This burns a question on me that hurt until I woke up this morning.

Why was I spared this tragedy? Surely, I, if pressed, could have done something about this great wrong, but I myself was more or less unaware of what was going on until it was too late. I have fought the Demon in the past, and always triumphed, over such tribulations as abandonment (I merely pressed on alone), Subjugation (I simply broke the bonds), and most often, direct combat (in my dreams, I am not the frail, meek being I am awake. I am to be feared by all of evil intent).

This was something by far more sinister. He showed me my other weakness. Despite all my bitterness and hatred toward other human beings, they are my cause for fighting. I cannot be like Harm, and fight because I can. I must have purpose in life... and without purpose, I suffer.

This is why I was spared. The Demon laughed over his small victory last night. Perhaps he is just a figment of my imagination, but by all that is good, he is not something I trifle with. My sanity hangs in a balance between logic and faith, and just as the cold logic of self-annihalation strikes fear in me, so does the rendition of evil in my mind that balances all the good I seek to make.

Perhaps tonight, I will be strong, and I will bring people back to my dream world. It is rarely consistent from night to night, but for me, there is always myself and the Demon.

I'm Different

Given all that's happened in the world in recent years, I'm still utterly floored at how people in North America behave. After all the times we've banded together in the face of adversity, all the times we've raised our hands together to commemorate ourselves as a culture of diversity, we still, in the end, turn on one another, based on what makes us different.

I myself have often been the "victim" of seemingly harmless criticism. I've lived a better part of my young life detached from social contact, and just recently have I come to learn some of the nuances that make the difference between being coherent, and just being wierd. For me, weird is about all I get.

Perhaps its the fact that I make odd noises sometimes, forgive me, I'm just a big fan of onomatopeia. There is nothing wrong with my brain that warrents me being called the Turett's Syndrome poster boy (I'll get the spelling for that later). I also fidget and walk kind of weird. Forgive that too. My legs grew too fast for my knees, throwing my balance off, and I point my toes up in stride when I walk to avoid tripping. It gives me an extremely awkward, but utterly stable gait as a walker and runner. My statements as a person are sometimes crude, or well above normal human understanding. My lucidity is not always lucid, I can be a bit mad sometimes, so watch out.

I think a lot of my awkwardness comes from my way of thinking, which is habitually outside the box (sometimes too habitually... simply because I cannot find the answer to a math problem does not mean the problem is non-linear). A lot of people have trouble understanding that after a virtual lifetime of discussing things like prophecy, philosophy, and things beyond the scope of here-and-now, it's very hard to come back to reality and start discussing things like food and people in a coherent, and oft times humorous manner.

My mind-set is also well off the mark. Perhaps I'm branded the outsider because I think only fools go out to kill other people. Real men do not take lives, they save them. It is fully possibly to go Carpe Diem on the world and still come out without having hurt anybody. Peace is also attainable without an excessive buildup of weapons. Besides, peace by deterrence isn't peace. It's just war that hasn't started yet.

I understand that there are other people out there who suffer worse stereotypes than I. I would like to extend my support to those people, especially those of French descent, and those who are of the Muslim faith. Those who believe in peace and understanding have friends, regardless of how unpopular, or unfavorable they are. Those who suffer disabilities are also often stereotyped, although its often more subtle than racial, national, or religious profiling. I feel especially for those who have hinderments of the brain. To me, the brain is sacred, much like a Chapel Perilous for every man and woman. To be disabled in mind, either from birth or by incident, is a tragedy of Biblical proportions.

To think that those with crippled minds should live, and yet live fuller than those with full minds and empty hearts.

Are you scared, Demon?

Well, categorization is a dog, ain't it?

We spend most of our lives trying to accomplish three things:

1) Procreating: It's a status symbol for a man to "get with" or "get laid". It's also a positive image for women to be mothers. We put very little value on those who will never reproduce, or will never want to reproduce, even though they likely hold the truth of the world. And yet here we are, its very fashionable to get bent out of shape because someone isn't getting enough hanky-panky.

2) Consuming: Eating, burning, using, etc. This is so important to us, that we slated it into our religion. Supposedly the Earth is ours to rape, but do you think the Earth had a say in that? Not likely... considering after all, planets can't talk.

3) Killing: Didn't see that one coming, did ya? We spend more time killing each other than we do building structures. The main super-powers of the world spend more on weapons and WoMD than they do on... ohhh, healthcare, education, and food. What's the remedy to this little problem? Go back to point #1.

After all that, some people still think that they have nothing to be sorry for. Well, big guns kill lots of people, but there are ramifications out there, and it will only take time before something happens that reverses all this karma we've heaped upon ourselves...

Or perhaps God will spare us the destruction of our own doing?
That's right, count on the parent to save the kid from the fire that they started.

Profitable Ambition

It's been a long hiatus for me, and for those of you who read but don't comment, I apologize. Truth is, I've been tied up with edumafacation, employment, and my dear girlfriend. Between the shat that's been going on in the US government, and Yassir Arafat dying, there is too much to blog, and to be frank, most people don't care what I think about that anyway, so I'll touch on a more personal problem that I've had ever since I learned how to write.

My one and only truly enjoyable ambition in life has been my writing. Fantasy and Science Fiction are the peak of my employable enjoyment, and they are all that I really want to aspire to. Now, we all know how much an unknown author makes. Pretty much nil, which is why I'm sitting in a college classroom now, learning how to become a journalist.

Now, being a journalist is secondary to my prime ambition, but for some reason, everyone is expecting me to haul away as if I will be a reporter for a newspaper for the rest of my life, as if that is destined to be my career.

Well, it is best that I get this off my chest now. I was born into my career in Grade 6, and have been practicing it ever since that time. I don't aspire to write the critical articles that will level a nation with the sheer, raw facts. I know, that trying to do something like that would consume my life, and likely consume me as a person. That is not something that I want to do for the rest of my life. I want to write stories of awe and wonder, and I have been doing that for years, and now I am expected to go out and get a career.

Sorry, too late. I work hard in my classes, for I want to get into something that can support me when my regular writing can't. I put priority on my life over my ambitions, but when it comes to a priority of what I want to do with my life, my choice was made years ago.

...before the Plunge

Bush has been elected... again.

It's a sad day the world over, unless you have something to gain from Bush's re-election. I know for a fact that with his re-election, the US is guaranteed an economic recession soon, as proof, the Canadian Dollar is quickly threatening to overtake the US dollar. Many Americans believe that the Canadian economy and American economy are intertwined, and that if one sinks, the other will follow.

This is wrong. As demonstrated with the US cattle embargo on Canada, we have proven that we are capable and self-sufficient. We have also shown, with our rising monetary value, that our economy is the inverse of the American one. When the US slips into recession, Canada's economy booms (although not all aspects of our economy are so overjoyed to see such expansion).

My largest worry, however; has nothing to do with money or economies, but rather with human life. With Bush in power, and super-conservatives taking larger and larger pieces of mainstream American life, my major concerns now relates to two things: the decay of rights and freedoms in the US, and the ever greater threat of the US invading or pressuring other countries to try and either a) submit to American will, or b) adopt and American democracy.

The fact that democracy is spreading, is, unto itself, not a bad thing. However, the fact that nations are being invaded, and people are dying to spread democracy is. The American people had a choice to try and stop this, or at least, give pause to see the truth.

51% of the people chose not to heed the warning, and now an entire world and 49% of the US population have to live with it.

The Deep Breath...

Today is election day in the states, and by the time I get home tonight, the fate of the world will be sealed. I'm sure the people in Iraq are watching the events unfolding in the US today with more attention than they would their own election, judging their conquerors for their own use of the system that they, the Iraqi's, had imposed upon their nation.

I personally would vote for Kerry, given that Bush's reign over the last four years has been one of the most destructive ever chronicled in US history. However, if there are any American citizens reading this, I urge you not to take my word for it. The only peoples who have anything to gain from Bush's continued reign are large businesses, religious zealots, and the Saudi oil barons. Those in the US middle or lower classes of income only stand to lose, not only their standing within the US, but the respect of the rest of the world. You can ignore what the rest of the world is saying, but not what the rest of the world is doing.

The fate of our future, and our children's future, rests in this election. The results of this evening will shape the type of world that my children, and my children's children will have to live in, much as the President's of my grandparent's era shaped the Cold War for my generation, and my parent's generation to mend.

The world we live in has changed, indeed, but not as Bush and Kerry would have us believe. The world is not "Post 9/11". Terrorism existed long before the tragedy that unfolded that morning. In fact, the US had experienced their own home-grown version of it under the attacks of Timothy McVeigh. Was his bombings a warrent for an international War on Terror? No. Why? Because there was nothing to be gained at the time, since the initial threat came from the interior.

Whether it's either Bush or Kerry that gets elected, remember, both will try to use your fear against you. The War on Terror is just that, a tool to keep everyone the world over ductile. To be molded into the ideal supporter, and into the paranoid parents that we know we've become. Security is killing the liberties and freedoms that we died protecting. And now we're dying for the security thats killing our liberties and freedoms that we died for.

Dead is dead?

If you could fight for freedom or security, which would it be? And remember, they are not the same thing. Security does not beget freedom.

In other news, it is likely that less than 50% of the population of America will vote in this election. Way to exercise your duty, folks.

Like Ripples

Like a stone hitting the water, another term for George W. Bush will likely send shockwaves around the globe... and the emphasis there is on shock.

An example here on the type of spin he's throwing out (and that people are actually digesting):

Subject: The missing explosives in Iraq.
Facts:
The explosives were visited by US forces before they were looted.
The explosives were supposed to be put under US surveillance.
The explosives were not under US guard.
The lack of US prescence at al Qaqaa has already been attributed to two causes: a fault in the chain of command, and a lack of US forces available for guard duty.

What Bush is saying:
The explosives may have been looted before the US arrived at the al Qaqaa depot.
The US forces are guarding the depot.
There is no fault in the chain of command, and there is more than enough soldiers in Iraq to guard all major objective points (mostly oil stations, but military storehouses should have been a higher priority).

And then he goes on to say that Kerry is badmouthing the armed forces in Iraq.
Hmmm... I don't know where the bigger diss is, Kerry acknowledging that military forces are currently inadequate for all their roles in Iraq, or Bush spinning things so terribly that the opposite becomes true of the truth.

My head hurts after thinking this...

Bush getting elected for another term will likely cause a spontaneous head explosion in the less-than neocon population, as four years of absolute hell in a fascist's paradise was bad enough. Another four will be proof that somebody upstairs doesn't like us, and will let the man have his go at making a New Rome (actually, they call in PNAC now, the Project for the New American Century). Think of it.

100 years of neocon rule, where you must be Christian, you must be devout, and you must serve your own interests above those of the less fortunate. To some this would be heaven... yeah, all 50 of you. For the rest of us:

There is no place on Earth that is safe. I'd be thinking that Mars would be the next best thing.

Difficult Democracy

With the US election virtually on our... or rather, your doorstep, its becoming very hard to keep my head on straight regarding platforms and information. Call them the spin doctors, but the US news networks, namely Fox and CNN, are doing a prime job of spinning information. They are so good that no information that you read or hear is actually the whole truth, and they are getting so fast at it, that every time one of the candidates says something, the earth spins off its regular axis.

Does this make for a credible government? No, not really. But who am I to argue? I don't live in the states, why should I care?

Well, Maher Arar also doesn't live in the States, but that didn't stop the long arm of the FBI when he stopped over in New York after a vacation with family. His nightmare still gives me nightmares, and his year of terror is what keeps my head down and to the grindstone.

Did anyone take responsibility for everything that's happened, post the 2000 election? No. Nope. Why would they? They only act, they don't clean up the messes they make.

2004 + Bush Reelected = World in Trouble

2004 + Kerry Elected = World on the Mend

The US president is almost literally president of the world. When you swing the economic and military might of the US, it is not impossible to think that all powers of the world against the US would still be a lost cause. HOWEVER, as with any corrupt leader, if Bush gets into power again, the American people can expect dissent the world over.

I know many US citizens could care less what the world thinks, but honestly, it should be mandatory that the US president keep positive tabs on the world. I would like to see a Diplomatic President, rather than Mr. War President. Those who think the world can f*ck off (its a verb this time), should take a look at what's happening to their troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. That could easily be you out there. I'm sure it wouldn't be above Bush to consider using the draft if he can't get enough volunteers. Speaking of volunteers, I bet its no surprise that most of the military force sent to Iraq was drawn from volunteers in poorer poverty stricken states... The very same that were supposed to be improved through Bush's tax cuts and NeoCon take on trickle-down theory.

Do the American people want another 4 years of this?

I'm surprised how much Conservative resistance Kerry has gotten. People will find reasons to hate him, even though they have no idea what the US would look like with him at the helm. He hasn't been elected yet, so why is everyone so uptight? We already know the horrors that came with Bush... so it can't possibly be any worse under Kerry.

Can it?

Grammar 101

Thunder claps in the distance, and a storm rages somewhere.
Actually, not, it snowed today. The only storm was the blazing rage that my girlfriend experienced today.

I would say that it has to do with an age shock. Grandparents who grew up more than 60 years ago dictating to a 16 year old girl what she should, and should not be doing. News flash from the Second World War: Hitler's dead! Tyranny is out of style!

Anyway, on to today's grammar lesson. It has to do with a four letter word that you are all very familiar with, and I thought I would go over some of its uses.

The word, is fuck.

I guess I should have put a parental warning on that. Oh well, if your offended by this word, go cry to mommy's skirt. This isn't a kiddy blog anyway.

So anyhow, fuck is an amazing word. It can be a noun, a verb, or an adjective. It is equally dexterous in all three contexts; observe:

A noun.
"Say hello to the fucker."
The subject of the sentence is "fucker".

A verb.
"You can go and fuck your verbs."
Fuck, is the action in this sentence.

An adjective.
" Who the fuck is the fucking dahooey?"
Ahh, tricky Raine, very tricky. The describing word is "fucking".

And when you master all three uses, you will find you can compose nearly entire sentences with this word:

"Well? Go fuck the fucking fuckers!"

It loses some of its impact and meaning through repeated and voracious use. A word of caution, some people are not cultured enough to make use of this amazing word. Do not be surprised if they are offended by its use.


(This lesson has been a joke. If you are offended... well, thats what this lesson is for)

18

Thanks to my girlfriend for making my birthday special, she really does care, unlike some other people *cough* parents *cough*.

Today, I join the age of majority in my province, which is 18. Technically, now I'm a person, according to law. Before, I was some liberty-less named entity that was the property of my parents. Thats right. Before the age of majority, people are not even considered human beings. We (now they) get treated under a competely different set of rights, often which directly conflict with our enshrined rights in the Canadian Charter.

A case in point, a while ago in my city, they enacted a smoking bylaw that stated anyone under the age of 18 may not be in any interior space where smoking is allowed. Basically, I could not go where smokers liked to frequent. Somehow, City Hall deemed that smoke would affect minors more than people who were over the age of 18. So therefore, if I was caught in a smoking location, I could be fined, rather than the people who were smoking... when neither of us are doing anything technically wrong. They are smoking in a smoking area, and I'm not (I at the time was underage). And yet... still they continued with the BS until they finally passed the anti-smoking bylaw.

Also, there is the small matter of government/corporate treatment. My bank would regularly yank my chain, making me stand a wait while they verified everything about me... since you know, I fraud my paycheques from my boss (when he has virtually every security feature on his cheques). They forever maintained that I was guilty until proven innocent... not once, but every time I tried to deposit a goddamned cheque. I have places to go, and people to meet.

And as for the GST rebate. Everyone was bragging that they got a GST rebate back from the government. All I got was a letter telling me that my little golden egg had been witheld because I was not of the age of majority. So great, I payed EI and CPP and income tax, ever since I've worked, just to be told that I can't get a bit of it back, because I shouldn't have been paying any in the first place.

If I had to flip my middle finger every time either a bank or the government has done something rediculous to me, I would be pointing, printing, and gesticulating with it day in and day out for the next 18 years of my life.

Christ, if women can get the rights and respect they deserve, why can't working teens?

The Big Bum Theory

Now, for today's latest bit of hypocracy. How the theological right-wingers can call Kerry pro-murder, when they simultaneously prop a government responsible for the death of over 16,000 Iraqis (thats the citizens, not insurgents).

I don't care whether you're Democratic or Republican, you're Pro-Murder either way. So, now comes the choice: Do you slay an unborn child, of which you know nothing about? Or do you slay thy worldly neighbor, whom you know nothing about?

Dead is dead.

Try getting a PR person to explain that to a foaming, ravenous hoard of rabid partisan supporters.

Will the people recognize that no matter what party you vote for, death will be a constant? No. Fight for the ideal, not the interpretation of it... That's what Stalin did, and look what it got him. Longest term as a national ruler, and unrivaled power on the world stage.

Stick that in the pipe of ignorance, and smoke it.

The New Pages

Well, as my second attempt at writing fantasy begins winding down (soon to be going into third short story installment soon), I will be beginning a new story in a completely different vein from my normal writing. Normally, the focus of my writing has been on the "magic" aspect of two realities, one being an Elemental base in the "Cycles of Tiris", and the other being the Omni-Verse in the aptly named "Nightmare World" trilogy.

My third attempt will contain a different form of "magic". Instead of it being a major role in the book upcoming, it is my aim to make it a supporter, rather than the main aim. In fact, the main character will have no magical abilities whatsoever.

The magic itself is shadowed compared to the brilliant displays seen in my other two works. The focus will be on small-act Thaumaturgy, such as converting water to wine, or making stones sing by scribing runes on them. However, there will be a powerful underpinned magic in the story. Necromancy will be a prominant factor for the antagonists. Don't get the wrong idea, I hate the undead as much as the next guy, but for the flavor of characters I'm going to be using in this upcoming piece, it will probably be the best past-time when there is no kingdoms to raid or people to kill.

The main character himself will be a mercenary, but much more than that... I don't feel like giving the whole story away just yet.

"Yes Bobo, go find me a graveyard. I have some need of company with a lot of brains but little guts."

Conservative vs. NeoCon

You know its bad when Conservatives are struggling to free themselves from the horrible actions of their NeoCon alter egos.

http://www.commondreams.org/views04/1013-34.htm

Its sad, when members of the Republican party are jumping out of the bandwagon, because their patriotism and common-sense won't allow them to sit silent any longer. Common Dreams is a progressive news source (that means Liberal Outlet in Chenish). However, Robert Black is a conservative, having served and agreed with the ideals of the Republican party for many years. It strikes a sour note when a former Republican accuses the president of trying to insert extreme right wing people into important government and court positions. Its a hard distinction for leftists to make, but I urge all people of a Liberal mind, that there is a difference between a conservative person, and a NeoCon.

In the Dark

Have you made your opinion clear today?
Have you made sure everyone knows what you think?

Just checking, you see, so many people are obsessed with what they think, or what they believe, that they forget to actually stop and think about what they are talking about. Sure, its easy to spout support for President Bush, or to declare with righteous conviction that Jesus is the Lord, but have you stopped to think about why you support Bush, or what brought you to the white steps of Chrisitianity? Is it what your parents told you was right? Do you follow because it makes you feel good? Do you need that kind of support?

Do you need that kind of crutch? Being aware of what makes you tick is something everyone should do. If you know why you do something, than you can justify it, or at the very least, understand it. If you follow Jesus Christ because you think it is the truth and that it is right, more power to you, but mind being kept in the Dark.

The Dark? Whats that mon Padre?

The Dark, is someplace everyone goes at some time in their lives. Its when you stop caring about the "why", and you just had the reigns over to someone else. Freefall would be an appropriate term, and its not all bad, but lets just go over what some of the symptoms and side effects of the Dark are:

1) You just don't care anymore. If some kids are getting blasted by rockets over in Iraq, that's their problem. All you care about is the here and now. You can't be bothered with the plight of others.
2) You follow. You let others make the decision making. Whether its your friends, your President, your Prime Minister, your Pope, whatever, you let them do all the thinking and acting, so if something goes wrong, they will be accountable, not you. (Don't mistake following with suggestion. Listening to your friends is good, but keep in mind that your actions are your own).
3) You blame everyone but yourself. You didn't know, its not your fault. You don't care to read the writing on the wall, so you just let bad stuff happen, and then you blame everyone but yourself, because gee whiz, ignorance is bliss, isn't it?
4) You want. Rather than looking for what you need, you strive for higher and higher levels of comfort, all the while becoming more and more miserable and not being able to achieve the highest level of happiness (pursuing physical wealth over emotional wealth just takes you down the pole, not up). Eventually, you consume everything around you, and for your enormous consumption, there is nothing left for anyone else... yeah, even those that need it more than you.
5) You act. Rather than making a difference, you posture and play the drama.

If this describes you, look in the mirror pronto. Say your full name 5 times, and if all the crap doesn't rinse out immediately, you may be facing a lifetime of mindless self-serviance (hey, that can be good too, but just don't look me up for company any time soon... I might have to rasp on you).

If you feel like handing over the reigns and just vegitating for a month or so, stay connected with the ones you trust, like a loved one, or a best friend. Have a lifeline. It might be all that keeps you from losing a life worth living.

Focus on yourself, and your role in life.

Bright Colours

Whoever designed Hello must have been beated quite badly with an iTube. It makes a grand appearance of being intuitive and easy, but the damn thing can't connect to shit, so my blog will remain devoid of any form of pictures forever, it seems.

Unless...

Wretched

Wow, watching people live is like watching rats swipe cheese from the mesh of an electric fence.

Its amazing that there aren't more deaths in a day, when everyone on the roads this morning seemed hell-bent on trying to wreck themselves on each other. Three things all drivers need to remember when they are on Canada's roads:

1) The Speed Limit is the Posted Maximum, not a suggestion. If you are going 5 above the speed limit, you are going toooo fast.

2) A merge is for merging, not yielding. Accelerate WHEN MERGING! Repair shops love idiots who don't know how to merge, because they can charge lots of money to fix those unsightly fender benders. The converse is true. DON'T MERGE and a yield sign. If you try to, you'll threaten, hurt, or kill someone.

3) Cell-Phones, Tim Hortons Coffee, Makeup, and the Radio are not legitimate distractions in the car. Turn the phone off, put the coffee in the cup holder, ignore your hideous morning face, and just leave the radio off. There, problem solved (women claim they multi-task better than men... there is over a years worth of statistical data that says no matter how well you multi-task, you shouldn't do it while driving a car).

There, got that out of the way.

Now, for some real news:

Newspapers don't give real news. Have fun looking for a new and unique story in Canada's free press when all major newspapers share headlines, and just regurgitate story information. I see no reason why there even needs to be more than one newspaper, the object of the competition: namely the news, is no longer an exclusive item. Could I change that? Very likely, with a little practice. Would a newspaper print what I get?

As the old adage goes; only time will tell.

Paradox of Political Proportions

Try saying that five times fast.

I've gone over the transcripts for both the Presidential Debates, and the Vice Presidential Debates. As usual, Bush was his blubbering self, answering hard topics with stale rhetoric. I would very much like to see something intelligent come out of his mouth, but I fear I shouldn't hold my breath. Kerry did a decent performance, but my politician radar tells me he was walking on eggshells for most of it. Not that I blame him, it was Fox News filming after all.

The Edwards vs. Cheney was a bit more fiery. Edwards came out swinging, and get this, Cheney actually answered some of the questions. However, don't let this fool you. Edwards made vocal what we've already known for over a year: There is no link between al Qaeda and Iraq.

Cheney responded by telling Edwards that "his facts were wrong."

So tell me Mr. Cheney, are you willing to tell the entire world that what we've accepted as a proven fact... is wrong?

Iraq did not have the potential to collaborate with al Qaeda, or any other terrorist organization before this war. However, with the toppling of the Iraqi government, tempermental anarchy has allowed Iraq to become a festering breeding-ground for terrorists. Bush and Cheney's false statement ended up becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy. I'm 100% sure that within 20 years, Iraq will come back to bite the American people. I offer my condolences early, and I pray that your president is not a neo-con republican when whatever happens, happens.

I've come across a new philosophy for politics. Politicians need to be accountable, but it is not always necessary to slather blame. Bush should be accountable for the Iraq war. He should be interviewed after his presidency to get the truth. However, I don't believe the American people should be lumped together and collectively blamed for the war. For the majority of Americans, it was just the matter of having a soft-spoken nation trying to reign in a deaf president. (I'm aware that not all Americans are soft spoken, but bear with the analogy).

Care.

Last Chance for Space?

I skipped the presidential debate last night. I heard it was little more than a "question period", nothing really worth noting. However, something that has had my hackles up all night is the proposed NMD. Prime Minister Paul Martin, and Defense Minister Bill Graham seem to be all for the idea in wrapping Canada in a blanket of null-defense. Obviously, they must have missed all those reports that spoke of the failure of the Patriot Missile System.

Its sad that people would be so bought into the notion of security, that they would was something in the ballpark of $43 Billion when all is said and done. All this, and for a system that wouldn't work anyway. Its like arming yourself with a golden wuffle bat to protect yourself from being poisoned. The next, and most obvious step, would be to replace the Patriots with active Medium Range nuclear weapons. Why not? It seems logical that if you can't hit the "incoming" nukes with metal tipped patriots, you could at least blow them out of the sky.

Which reminds me... other than Iran and North Korea, there are no serious contenders for a hostile nuclear arms program. Unless you count the US of course. Upgrading the nuclear arsenal and building an NMD has just brought the Cold War back. Hell, if I was Iran or North Korea, I'd want nukes too. There is absolutely nothing other than brute force that can protect non-democratic nations these days. With unilateral action, the US has shown that it can do whatever it wants, and then strongarm everyone else into submission. Naturally, it creates an atmosphere of internation fear and paranoia.

Fear and Paranoia?

Yeah, its the same thing that allows fearsome dictators to remain in power. I'm sure, in North Korea, the people have been told that the only thing protecting them from the imminent invasion of the Capitalist US is the glorious Communist party. Are they right? Well, we'll have to see what kind of action the US takes with regards to North Korea, won't we? For all we know, they'll be right.

How to spread democracy:

Rather than using smoke and mirrors, assasination, strongarming, and threats to spread democracy, the US should follow its own example. This doesn't just apply to the US though. Canada, Britain, Australia, just about any developed democratic nation is victim to its own apathy. I find it bitter and discomforting that we are literally cramming the giant appendage that is Democracy down the Iraqi people's collective throats, when we ourselves call a 45% turnout for a federal election a "record high". We don't even practice our own fundamental right to vote, so why in the flaming dung would we want to impose that on someone else? And why would we "establish" an "interim" government first? Why not get right into the election, rather than make a puppet sign the pages to create Iraq an oil-well for the US?

Profit maybe?

Also as a note, Bush rails against everyone opposed to the Iraq War that the US was not safer with Saddam in power. Agreed. However, it was Bush's method of blowing into Iraq, like so many other imperial dictators that earned him the ire of the world. Had he stopped to wait for a moment, the UN might have come to the aid, and Bush's coalition would consist of something more than US soldiers and mercenaries. (I'm well aware of France's pending veto, but doing so would have likely gotten them ejected from the Permanent Table at the security council).

Ah, well, not much I can do here right now.

One last question for the intellects out there:

Who is the enemy of the US?

The Monster on 9th and Curb

You crawl out of bed.
You wipe the sleep from your eyes.
You can't hear whats being said.

You sat on down, you ate your beans.
You failed your mind, you beat your teens.
And all that it stands for,

Is just what its all for,
Just answer me:
You monster on 9th ave.

You turn the big beat,
You made the big buck,
You got your cut of meat,
You big stupid...

schmuck.

The peace is broke...
You got all wide eyed crazy,
All you want is smoke,

And all it ever meant to you,
is your life.
You
Monster.

So you went to bed,
all teary eyed.
Your money, it can't buy love.
Your gas, it ain't free.
Your blood, it ain't gas.
Your arrogance,
it don't make right.

The right thing.

So you wake up,
In the middle of the night.
You can taste blood,
and you know it ain't
right.

So you go downtown,
to face the one,
the one who did all this to you,
yeah, you're the one.

So what do you do?
Do you sing or do you preach?
Do you eat or do you sleep?
Do you fight or do you fall?

You don't, all you have to do is think,
To beat the
Monster on 9th ave.





Thanks for reading. This is an original piece of mine, created on the spot. I dedicate it to those who break the mold and rise above their own chains. I know I'm an ass poet, and an even worse songwriter, but I felt I should at least try. Baby, this one's for you too.

Good night.

Impossible?

Anyone who knows me personally, knows that I have a thingy for magnetic accelerators. Specifically those of a coil or gaussian nature. I was told that the only functioning rail-gun ever built was the size of a semi and used on a US battleship. I was told that handheld accelerators were only a thing of fancy, and would never have a place in the real world.

Well, those who said so, you were wrong.

http://www.pskovinfo.ru/coilgun/indexe.htm

Its a long-gab of a link, but its essentially a coil-gun the size of a glock, with an 8 round magazine, and is powered by 6 NiCad AA cells. It ain't pretty, but it works, and by the looks of the website, it was a basement project.

Enjoy.

Sad State

I went through John Kerry's speech today, and I feel that its only fair to say that it's 99% true.

However, I won't put my golden wings on Kerry.

Kerry, for all his understanding as to why Bush was, and still is, a failure, still clings to the notion that the United States will win the War on Terror, and not only that, but Kerry believes that strong alliances like NATO are a stronger force for democracy than international democratic organizations like the United Nations.

In other news, Koffi Annan has stated that the international rule of law has deteriorated, and if world peace and order is to have any chance, all nations must learn to grow and live peacefully and with justice. However, such an idyll is not likely, as, much like the one rotten school child, the US's invasion caused a cascade effect, and now all the little bastards want to play big.

Its like a allegory of whats happening in today's classrooms. One kid goes bad, and they all follow.

How do you retain order? Well, it used to involve a stiff leather strap and a lot of tears, but now it involves asinine homework and a verbal lashing. Neither of which is very effective, hence why there is a sudden flood of f**king assholes in the world. Not only do these people lack self-discipline and common courtesy, but they also have the gall to procreate and continue the trend.

I almost don't want to have kids, as I had a difficult time dealing with peers who were little more than dill-holes for stuffing cigs and booze. It will be 10x worse for the next generation, and it makes me wonder. Fear, and wonder.

SAIT Appendices

Well, it looks like some SAIT students and teachers will be hitting up this little blog soon, so I had best get on my good behaviour.

For starters, students in the News Writing class can visit these "alternative news sites". Warning: a grain or hundred of salt must be taken with these sites, as they are very opinionated in their criticisms and reporting schemes.

http://www.alternet.org

http://www.truthout.org


More will be added as I find them, but these two are the most mainstream.
Enjoy, and read on.

The Religious Black Hole

The War for Souls

Thats what those 'ole romantic neo-Christians are calling the religious situation in Iraq. Despite the fact that the nation is almost completely muslim, a select group of Baptists, and other religious groups, decided to go in with the troops to "fight evil" as they put it.

If there is one thing that I've noticed about Christian religions nowadays, they convert unsuspecting individuals using some very unscupulous means.

First off, there is the subjugation, as what is happening in Iraq. A subdued people are easily coverted, especially when there are vague promises made towards those who convert, as if becoming Christian will protect them from bombs and missiles. Well, that's a lie, but at least you'll be going to heaven when you die, right?

Second off, there is temptation. A favorite among my neighborhood church of Latter Day Saints. They try to throw off this wonderful impression of being family-oriented, good wholesome fun. They put everything in a rose coloured lense. Everything is good, yeah? Join us and it will be better!
And then they have you. And thats when you find out that they have the most authoritarian dogma, ever. They are the richest chuch in the world because their doctrines put heavy emphasis on mandatory donations, called tithes (10% of your income). And then they have the gall to preach against the devil's temptation (the very same method they used to convert you).

Third off, there is the corpse-conversion. This varies across some sects of Christianity, but almost all sects have been responsible for illicitly converting a newly deceased corpse, to "alter its path towards heaven."

Christianity should do everyone a favor. Worry about your own, and those who want to convert, will. You don't need to go out and cram the bible down the throats of the "heathens".

ie. Heathens are people too. They can think and make their own choices. They can choose their own religions, and despite the doctrine that says otherwise, most Christian sects do not allow any form of significant choice for self-religion.

A relic of another time, perhaps

The election race in the states seems to be getting wierder and wierder, at any rate and method of criticism.

Its like some kind of bad nightmare, being warped back to the 1970's, the Cold War is raging, American soldiers are dying in Vietnam, and during it all, two idiots are vying for the presidency.

Warp back to present.

The two idiots have not changed.

The only thing that has changed is the scale at which delirium and dementia has gripped the nation in their stead. This election campaign, for both sides, has nothing to do with things that matter, like the people dying in Iraq, homelessness, joblessness, poverty, health care, etc.

No, instead Kerry and Bush are going at each other over their Vietnam records, their personal achievments, electoral support, and worst of all, the US stance on the War on Terror. Instead of focusing on the here and now, they have instead decided to douse each other in aged rhetoric. They're both boys from long ago, survived the wrath of Vietnam, and now they're bringing their garbage home and up front.

And the media is buying it. There's nothing I hate more than a broadcast jockey (supposedly a professional), who sits on the other end of the camera, telling me what he thinks I should be caring about.

I do not give a flying rat's anum posterior what happened to either Bush or Kerry during the Vietnam war. It was almost 10 years before I was even born, so its hardly important to me (so why the hour special on Kerry's three purple hearts?). I don't give a diving monkey screw what the progress on the War on Terror is, since it should take second priority over the veritable army of homeless that is living in the US. I don't care about who voted for which bill, unless its a bill for health care (and you know, its not like congress reads them anyway).

But then again, I am a Canadian, so why would I care?

Here's the reasons:

1) Poverty spreads. If people support elitist governments, then, like communism, it spreads.
2) War spreads. Bush should have never gone into Iraq, and now that he has, Israel, Russia, and North Korea are following his footsteps.
3) Idiots shouldn't rule. People should be able to elect honest, intelligent individuals. Its rare for such people to enter politics, but when they do, they should be elected tout suite.
4) The Economic backlash. Bush is spending on deficit. Not only is this bad for the US economy, but everyone elses as well. If the US suddenly hit rock bottom and called in all its debts, not only would the US still be at rock bottom, but every other nation would join them at the dark hole they dug for themselves.

Reason enough?

Crash Course

Well, its been over a week since my last post.

My apologies for the delay, but I've been a little tangled up over the last few days. I was at my cousin's wedding last weekend, then I was shoved into three days of work in a row. Couple that with full time SAIT classes and a burgeoning homework load, and... you know, 24 hours isn't enough time.

I just thought I would bring up the threat of nuclear proliferation. Bush says its a hoax, much like the Global Warming theory (as now, the fourth Hurricane of the month is now boiling off in the atlantic). It is not a hoax, that much I can tell you. North Korea, threatened by Bush's upgrade of the nuclear arsenal, and his proposed Star Wars plan, has begun its own nuclear program (which could very well be used to reconquer South Korea), Iran has the potential to develop nukes. France is debating whether to upgrade its nuclear arsenal or not, and of course, there is Russia, which seems to be slipping back under the grip of totalitarianism the moreso every second.

Every one wants them, and for what reason? Defense? Last time I checked, deterrence was a great way to blow up the planet. It wasn't deterrence that ended the Cuban Missile Crisis (although, last time I checked, it was part of the reason the whole crisis started in the first place). Nukes are not a defense. They are not a shield against enemies. They are a tactical weapon of massive destructive powers. You, the reader, have no idea the magnitude and power of these weapons, and what their use would spell in the future, if ever they were released en-masse. The extinction of the dinosaurs was a terrific event. The extinction of mankind would be nothing less than a cosmic catastrophe.

Also, on a note, US congress refused to renew a ban on assault weapons in the US. While I do support some gun control, I would prefer that any weapon, whether it be automatic or just a single shot, be in the hands of a competent and empathic individual. Once again, having a gun is not a means of defense. If somebody is stealing your car, I hardly thing blowing their brains out their asses is an acceptable means of defense (it would just likely piss off the thief's buddies, who would come to your house with their own assault weapons and blow your brains out). An engine cut device or even just a simple "club" for the steering wheel is often enough...

Although if you're really paranoid, a locking garage is good, and it doesn't kill people...
unless of course they throw themselves under the door as its closing.

In any event, I must be off now. Classes are calling, Nader's been nixed off the Florida ballot, and the Liberals are lying again.

The Fundamentals of Life

This is the first moment in more than a week that I've actually had time to sit down and think.

And think I have. I've had lots of contact with new people over the last couple of weeks, and its added many diverse viewpoints to the many that I've been exposed to over the years. I've also met a few lunkheads who reinforce my image of mankind as a waste of genetic material, forever reverse-evolving into the most basic and simplistic of life-forms.

Imagine this. I've seen men who swank and swagger because they've got a wang in their pants and money in their pockets. They talk tough and push hard, and bite at the air, but they have little in their heads (the thinking ones anyway) worth mentioning. This, is what I consider an inferior man. They think they are invincible, and they can toss lives at will. They don't know that balls can be castrated by a girlfriend used too many times. They don't know that money is finite, and their bodies can be shattered by just about anything. They don't know that they're mortal... and its a great mystery as to why this is. Evidence otherwise just points itself out.

Likewise, I have seen women who strut like gulls, because they "bear the children", and are "temples of carnal pleasures". They think they have all the brains, and live like leeches off the old wive's tales of the superior gender. They raise children to the stereotypes, while at the same time denouncing stereotypes. They refuse to let men raise young, because men are just "lunking, brutish, animals". I really don't need to go into much more detail then that. Its pretty painful to see such stupid superiority complex.

I have also seen those that have broken the gender barriers, the racial barriers, just about any barriers that cross their path, they break through with the courage and determination that makes me stop in awe. I have seen men cooking baguettes (can you even say that?), I have seen women welding cars. I have seen children making a world of difference.

You see, this is the truth of life. The Ying-Yang. The only thing holding ourselves back is ourselves, and the only thing moving us forward is us.

A New Look

For you regular readers out there, you may have noticed I've been tinkering with the appearance of my blog. Its gone through several renditions, and colour changes, the latest one I think I will keep. It looked rather dull with the basic white post headers, so I changed them back to a near-default yellow, but instead changed the background to a blackish-blue colour.

Speaking of Black and Blue, has anyone been keeping tabs on the ratings for Bush and Kerry?

The surveyors need to be cleaned out along with the rest of the dead wood, as each is rooting for their respective parties, based on their corporate ownership.

In short, don't bother reading the polls. Vote for who you think is right.

Is it the end?

Well, with the US national election coming up soon (the Republican Convention was this week), the world is torn between the terror of a four years that should have never happened, and the uncertainty of a future that could be just as bad, or even worse than, the last four years.

That coupled with the fact that Iraq has seen the first relative peace in a few weeks could be either a good or ill omen. The fighting around Najaf ended with the intervention of the holiest of Shiite Holy men. His name eludes me right at the moment, but I know he was very holy indeed. I also know that he had no links to the CIA and the USA, unlike Mr. Allawi. Whether or not you can swallow the lies fed to you by the current US government and its loyal media lapdogs, one thing still remains clear. The US presence in Iraq still falls under "occupation", and the North American business practices there are clearly labelled "exploitive". You still think the Iraq war wasn't about oil? Why then did oil prices skyrocket with al'Sadr's forces threatened Iraq's oil exports? Why is it now shameless to allow companies like Halliburton to begin exporting Iraqi oil, without giving any of the profits back to Iraq?

Attack me if you will, it shows you're out of reasonable options.

I won't say Canada is perfect. We have our own illegal occupation to deal with right now. That of Haiti, the troubled place that was a momentary radar blip on the corporate media. While Aristide was there, he asked for just a few hundred peace-keepers to help him restore order. Canada refused. When Aristide left, a peace-keeping force was sent in, including over 500 Canadians. They are still there. Why, might I ask? I'm sure their orders are to maintain order in the conflict stricken nation... but there is more up in the higher states.

http://http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=55&ItemID=6108

Just ask Denis. I'm sure he'd know something.

Or is he a mindless clown, just like the rest of us?

I could take very literal the meaning when people tell me to act my age. In reality, they are telling me to act more like them, which would mean I'd have to act about 2 years old with the cognition and ambition of a megalomaniac.

Signing out.

The Perfect Army

I've been bombarded time, and time again from some Right-wing juveniles from the US, that their military is superior to the one-man raft we call the Canadian military.

To make things simple, and painfully clear, the Canadian military is not as small and feeble as most let on to believe. Our troops are some of the best trained, highest elite, that any democractic nation has to offer (JTU2 is rumored to run Sniper Camps for US snipers). The only reason our military is stretched so thin now, is due to funding issues with the rather pacifistic liberal government. Most of our military issues could be solved by sacking the Govenor General, and then allocating her pay to the military, but I digress.

The point of this post, is to go beyond a national army, and to point out what would make the perfect army. This is something out of a nightmare, so those of you who think I would actually support any of my following statements should promptly re-evaluate your own mental health.

First of all, the backbone of any army, the Soldiers:
If it is absolutely necessary, only use the best trained soldiers. The type of soldier is depends on the situation. If stealth is required, nobody should even know that soldiers have been deployed. If it is a mass ground action, soldiers should be trained and equipped to the best of their abilities. Fibre-armor and combat aids also help, as well, every soldier should be able to fill any rank required, based on changing battlefield conditions.

Next, the equipment:
The weaponry should consist of a staple firearm. By firearm, I don't necessarily mean a regular gun. More often than not, US soldiers go into battle with an M16, or a modified M4A1, or something of that sort. Automatic Assault Rifle. These are good for heavy fighting, but their ratio of friendly fire fatalities is not good, as its very convenient to riddle any target full of holes in a matter of seconds. In the perfect army, soldiers would be armed with either powerful automatic (or even gatling) firearms, controlled with advanced Fire Support Software. Futuristic technology isn't out either. They could have weapons that deliver powerful clusters of ionized matter, delivered via a EM rail. The new LASER system the US is developing could also be adapted to a large weapon to replace the older SAWs and whatnot. Missile equipment could be upgraded to fire a volley, or even tactical self-guiding weapons (Short Range Ballistic Missiles). Anti-Personelle weapons could include burst cannons (big-daddy shotguns that mulch at short range), as well as a variety of non-lethal weapons, including a pistol that delivers a blast of brilliant light, triggering seizures, soft-shot rounds that bruise rather than break, and shooter-tazers that are fired like regular rounds, but incapacitate rather than kill.

The Armor:
Modern Tanks are touted as the ultimate land vehicles, but lets get something clear. They are by no means perfect, and all one need to do is be creative to thwart the beasts. Tanks of the perfect army hardly touch the ground, using a combination of aerial hover technology, and directed air vectoring (modified from old Harrier designs... exclude nothing). The armor on the tanks would be a layered polymer, with honey-combed interior metallic structures. A spray-on ablative (similar to Pam used on frying pans) would be used to bolster protection against missiles, RPG's, and other forms of directed explosives. Weaponry on the tank would be modular, changing from mission to mission. In fact, almost everything on the tank would be modular, including the engine.

The Air Force:
It has long been a rift that helecopters and VTOL aircraft be seperated from traditional fixed-wing fighters and bombers. In the Perfect Army, a single vehicle fills the role of both. Using technology derived from Harriers and the F-22 JSF program, it would only be a short leap to have a vehicle that could cover the rolls of both helecopter gunship, AND airborn fighter/bomber.

The Navy:
The Navy would be, for the most part, sub-surface. Surfacing only to launch air-craft, or to engage other sea, land, or air targets. Gaussian weaponry could be supported on sea-going collssus', allowing silent long-range bombardment with a variety of weapons, including nukes. Sub-ships could also be used to quietly launch and then base invasions (not for no good reason though).



Well, there you have it. The perfect army. Keep in mind, the army does what its told. This whole thing could be a blessing or a curse, depending on who picks up the keys. I would rather the whole thing got dumped in a binder somewhere are never mentioned again, as all this kind of power does is corrupt (ya hear that? Big army = power = corruption). Also, keep in mind, military superioity us just a button-click away from disappearing. I would rather there were no armies, and no nukes... but it seems some ambitious individuals are hell-bent on owning the world through force.

Let the babies play. They haven't grown up yet, so likely they won't ever.

Those Three Little Words

Its really late, and I decided to turn on the TV before I retire for the night. Upon doing so, I promptly turned it off. Those three, meaningless, void words were bombarded upon my groggy brain, inducing an immediate and intense reaction of revulsion. You might be guessing by now of what those three words are, but I'll stop the mind games here, and explain exactly what these words are, and why they are so devoid of any meaning or purpose.

Fresh - Fresh is a word that is commonly associated with the food you eat. Usually at a fast food joint, or your local Atkins whore named Subway. Fresh is a word describing the state of your food. Fresh... unused, non-stale. Well, hell. If your food was un-fresh, the market would be out of business, now wouldn't it? Do marketers think they're getting cookie points for pointing out the obvious? 10 cents says yes, they think they are. But really, if you eat somewhere because its "fresh", perhaps its time you started cooking your own food for a change. It would do you good.

Freedom - This word has a dual standard. It can apply to the juxtaposition of politics, in which North American nations can flant and tout this word as if it were bread and butter to the masses (while simultaneously flaunting their new runners that were assembled by poorly paid sweat-slaves in some god-forsaken corner of China), or Freedom can be used to describe clothing. Shoe-X afford you the freedom to run-like-the-wind. Freedom means you can go to the Olympics (but you may not comment on what you do there, and you may not use beverages or goods not assigned to you as sponsors). Freedom is almost as bad as discussing politics for verbal masturbation. Get off your high horses ladies and gentlemen, the more you tout, the less its worth.

Life - Life is perhaps the most misused word in the English language (those who speak Chinese, Arabic, French, Spanish, or Portugese, let me know). Life is beyond a word, and yet we associate everything in our asinine existence to it. We even have bloody insurance for it. Should something happen to X's Life, Bobby will be paid $x. The average value of the human life has been calculated to $250 000... pending approval from the insurance bureau. Life has also been used to describe the daily drama that unfolds in our daily lives. We are so bored with our existence, that we weave menial betrayals and excitement to entertain ourselves through the drudgery of life. Life... it takes on a whole new meaning when its threatened. It becomes valuable, for one. Life takes on a whole knew level when there are bullets flying overhead, and you know that your stay in some foreign hell-hole might be permanent, pending some schmoozy politician gives his signature on a document for your soul. When life is the most threatened, it is the most valuable... when you see your life flashing before your eyes, you do not care who is screwing who's boy/girl friend. All you care about is your own role in life. How you've played, worked, lived. Lived, as in the past tense.

Drop the act. Once its over, its too late to go back, and when the curtain falls, you'll know its all just been a sham.

And for the love of life, start giving a damn for somebody other than yourself.



I'm going to bed now. Work will be calling me for tommorrow.

Balance of Power

I've read numerous articles explaining the New World Order, and the balance of power therein.

The US has all the super-weapons, all the military might, and they use that to champion the cause of Democracy and Freedom. Aggressor nations need not even attempt to challenge the US superiority, as they will just be quashed back to the stone-age.

You don't need a crystal ball to see that the US isn't exactly "championing" anything, save military might, and unilateral action. Mr. Bush's plan to upgrade the nuclear arsenal is completely unnecessary, as is his ressurrection of the archaic "Star Wars" program. He's still fighting a Cold War that ended in 1991. Against who?

My guess is, its the terrorists. His hated enemies. Problem is, they don't have a nation that can be bombed into submission. (Or do they?) Instead, perhaps he is stockpiling to face off against North Korea, a nation which he is allowing to become a critical threat.

Or, perhaps, he's just waiting for somebody to develop something more frightening than the atomic bomb.

Perhaps a bomb that can fission the particle/waves of light? The energy released with equal amounts of light vs. matter in a fission bomb is a ratio of n:1, where n is a multiple of the Speed of Light. Lots of bang. Or perhaps a satillite that fires controlled bursts of plasma, fuelled from the sun? Ever seen a human body burned? Imagine that at the approximate temperature of a lightning bolt...

Not pleasant, and it must not be allowed to happen...

But how will building up a doomsday aresenal ever prevent that?

It won't. If anything, it will hasten it. Prepare yourselves Earthlings, for the Art of War is entering a new age.

The age of Techno-Death.

The only cure: Finance Fairness, Disarmament, and Understanding.

Beneficial Dictatorship

The election in Venezuela has ended and Chavez will be staying. That is what the people wanted, and with a 95% poll turnout, the "people have spoken."

It leaves a bitter taste in my mouth, after seeing and reading the reactions recieved in the North American sector of the world. Washington openly supported the Chavez opposition, citing that Chavez was a "dictator". One of my own home newspapers, shame of shames, aired a half-page story about a "radical Chavez supporter" opening fire on a "peaceful protest" of opposition supporters... while giving the actual results of the election little more space than probably the width of your two most middle fingers. Much like we used to smear and slander the old Communist nations, and their supporters. Shameful, and it leaves me bitter and resentful of us, the bastions of democracy.

With our last Canadian election getting "record" turnouts of over 45%, it makes me believe that our elections are little more than a sham. The US elections have never been very big with the entire population. The richest 8% always vote republican, and the middle 20% always vote democrat. The rest are either too impoverished to care, or are simply too disenfranchised to worry about the election. After all, its not the number of votes that count, but rather, where they're from.

Shameful.

I suppose that makes us the most hypocritical continent in the history of mankind. Champions of uexercised democracy, Crusading ever to oust the tyrranical, unless of course, they are in league with us.

We must be the Bastard of Democracy.


On a side note, I would like to thank the Canadian soldiers out in Afghanistan for their hard work, especially my neighborhood PPCLI. Even though I'm not sure you men and women should have been out there in the first place, you're still doing a good job. Come home okay.

Space and Time

Anyone who reads this blog knows that I have too much time to think about things.

Well, this is something I've thought about a lot. This, ladies and gentlemen, will absolutely shake down your perception of the world.

Space and Time as something other than money and market. Think of it this way, when you wake up in the morning, what's the first thing you think about? Usually your routine... eating, showering, stuff like that. You don't care where that stuff comes from, its outside your sphere of influence... unless of course, it inconveniences you. You don't care two hoots that while you were sleeping, some 10, 000 people might have died across the world, maybe more, depending on if there was any fighting. Its outside of your "Space"... and it would take too much "Time" to think about it in a reasonable way, so its best just to ignore it.

Well, do you feel like a participating member of this world yet? If not, don't be alarmed. I won't feign superiority here. I'm also fairly out-of-step with the rest of the world, and I'll tell you something. Its very hard to try and keep track of everything thats happening. Very hard, but not impossible. You just need to free up some space and time, and think about things a little more. Stop worrying about the latest fall styles at Aldo, their shoes are imported anyway. Start worrying about whats going to happen if North Korea actually puts a Nuclear Sub in the water (thanks to Mr. Bush's waffling with N. Korea, we might face another Cold War, good news for his military budget).

Start worrying about what will happen when all news companies are owned by corporations, or government draft agencies. Your freedoms are fast slipping off the toilet paper they were scribed on, and the last bastion of freedom might very well be somewhere not on this world, but rather in your mind.

Space and Time, think about it.

And while your at it, get outside before fall comes. You'll be glad you did.

The Potential Exists

In spite of the 24 hour newscasts declaring that we are living in a dangerous world, frought with imminent danger, I feel about the same as I always have. Whether or not a terror attack is imminent or not is somewhat of a moot point. If we give them that kind of attention, and worse, fear them for it, then they win.

Mr. Bush's Homeland security plans are fraught with fear-enticing tactics, meant to confuse and frighten the masses. Don't believe me? Answer me this, then.

What exactly does the Alert Status Orange/Amber mean? They call it Elevated.... but an elevated what? Risk? Iminence? Arrogance? I can't tell you, and odds are, not many people can. There's probably a description of the Alert system out there, but its likely not in a place the common joe can find it, or would want to find it. My personal theory is that the Alert Status system is little more than a fear gauge designed to invoke a desired reaction in the American people.

The Alert Status is Orange: Begin fearing the rumoring of a possible attack from a shadowy and bogus source.
The Alert Status is Yellow: Begin fearing the threat of rumoring of a possible attack from a shadowy and bogus source.
The Alert Status is Blue: Begin a guarded routine, living normally, but subconciously targetting suspicious individuals for arrest and questioning.
The Alert Status is Red/Green: Either the entire world is at war with you, or your nation has just launched it entire nuclear arsenal at the Middle East.

See the trend? Its just fearmongering. Bush likes having the looming threat handy, because it makes the American people more open to molding and directing. I'll spare the lecture of how 9/11 gave him an excuse to wage two wars, but lets face it. The American people virtually let him get away with it, since their grievous hurt had not yet been given time to heal. He promised closure, but look now.

We're still fighting a war for nothing but bloody vengeance.

Best Before Date

Homo Sapiens

Nutritional Information:

% daily recommended intake.

Idiocy: 128%
War: 99%
Exploitism: 963%
Suffering: 10938%
Compassion: 23%
Profit: 210%
Science: 1%
Education: 0%
Understanding: 0.2%
Ego: 100%

Best Before: The corruption of Democracy.

Warning: If Homo Sapiens develops nationalist, pro-destructive policies, discard at once. If Homo-Sapiens develops illness, debt, or dislike, discard at once. If Homo-Sapiens builds, develops, or tests, nuclear equipment, burn all containers of Homo Sapiens. Your health depends on it.

I think he's the Fodder

If I could find myself the time to laugh during the day, I would, and at such idioventions as those made by the current US president, Mr. Bush, and those of the common bigot.

Mr. Bush is planning on "protecting" the American society from the blight of same-sex marriage. This much we have known ever since the Republicans aligned themselves with the Ultracon wing of Christianity, religious bigots, and Neocons everywhere. Ever since the Senate shot down the amendment Bush proposed, he has become that much more adamant to make it so.

What I don't get, is what exactly he is protecting. How can gay marriage negatively impact a free society? I see no harm in letting same-sex couples marry. If you want something that is a threat to society, an internation revocation of Driver's Liscences would be in order, 9/10 drivers forget what exactly they are driving, and are completely oblivious to the hazards they cause.

Also, lets not forget the irrepairable damage that Mr. Bush has done to the US culture as it is. Ladies and Gentlemen of the US of A, your nation is the most hated nation on the face of the world. You can brag that you care not a whit about how other people view your nation, and with the biggest boom-stick army in the world, you can back that position up. But just remember, if Bush's reckless foreign policy continues, as well as his sodomy of the civil rights in America, the USA will be less a free country, and more a hostage-taker.

The hostage being the rest of the world.

Also, your rights are being squelched. The Patriot Act, designed to protect you, is actually more of a threat to you than any terrorists (fictual or otherwise) ever could be.

The Patriot Act also applies to non-American peoples, perhaps only stopping over for a short break before returning home (Mr. Arar for example, had a nightmare that lasted a year when he was illegally deported by US authorities to Syria where he was tortured).

Keep in mind, these are dark times.

Dark times indeed.

$250 000

$250 000 is the estimated value of the Human life, fame, fortune, and position modifiers notwithstanding.

If such is the case, Astronauts, you are getting the shaft (minus the foam).

The fruit of the Columbia Disaster inquiry should have been insight into dangerous design flaws that could pave the way to ingenious new ways of keeping our astronauts safe. For example, a contained cockpit that would act as a life-pod should the rest of the ship crumble.

Is this the case?

No, of course not. In an effort to avoid looking the money/result ratio problem in the eye, NASA has come up with an ingenious solution to reduce damage, and therefore the risk, to our Astronauts.

Cut down on the amount of foam used in the monopod liquid fuel drum.

Somehow, I get the feeling there should have been more from the inquiry...

But somehow, I also know that the 8.1 billion dollars that NASA needs would be "better spent on national defense."

Petit Grandois

Its always pained me to think that I'm some kind of freaky asshole magnet, that somehow, my quiet demeanor and strong ideals always attracts the brash, stupid, and abrasive in society. I know now, that I'm wrong. It has nothing to do with me being a magnet, and more to do with the sheer numbers of fucktards walking the planet. Or should I say, North America. I doubt that in Kenya, a stranger would cuss and elbow you in the ribs simply for being there.

I'm surprised that North American culture has gotten as far as it has, Its like we've been raising a culture of ignorant assholes who, as Matt put in one of his songs, "take what we wanna." I feel like an asshole myself for not being able to do anything about it, as acting could cost me any of the following things:

1) My health
2) My safety
3) The safety of those I love
4) My job
5) The reputation of my place of employ
6) My status as a law abiding citizen

See, the way things work, I just have to grin and bear it.

However, I can only grin for so long before my teeth start to grind. I can only fray so much before the threads get bare. I can only stay silent for so an so long.

Ladies and gentlemen, regardless of consequences, you are living in a culture of assholes. Your obsession with money and power has stripped you of that which makes you human. YOU have opened the rift between yourself and the world, and only YOU can build the bridge back. If I call to you from across the rift, do not take offence at the noise.

It's just an insecure young man calling to anyone who will listen.

"What's wrong with you?"

Hiatus

Well, I'm off for a one week stint, starting Friday.

I will be back... on Friday, of the following week (hence the one week, durrr).

 
For those on CSRPG2, I will have new stuff for you when I get back. For now though, I am in much need of vacation, rest, sleep, and recouperation.

Speaking of sleep, we all know who's been doing a lot of that at the wheel.

Brace for impact, the 9/11 commission report is coming in.

 
And for those of you that care, 9/10ths of all assholes will make your life miserable when you have done nothing to warrant their ire. If I had my way, they would be set to the stake, and made to run 10,000 miles while firmly strapped to a post, all the while stepping on sharp, rusty knives, and then also made to have salt rubbed into their eyes by uncleaned restaurant cutlery.

After which time, they recieve medical attention through the Alberta healthcare plan.

Well, see you all when I return, and good hunting on the web.

Coup de Grace

Well, the more that I think, the worse things seem to get. Short term memory aside, there's quite a few things that have had holes blown in them over the last few days.

Iraq, as usual, is a den of fighting as US led forces continue to clash with "insurgents" (which, by the way, would have now used the WoMD that Bush said was in Iraq by now if they existed... Wait, Bush retracted that claim). I feel sorry for the US soldiers and Iraqi police forces, its like a 24/7 tour of hell over there. On a similar note, I feel sorry for the so-called "insurgents". While they now seem to be the ones initiating most of the fighting, I believe that they would not be attacking the US without a reason. Their side of the story has never been published, released, or even heard, whatsoever. The notion that they are bloodthirsty warmongering haters is little more than shit-faced propaganda in my eyes. These guys are people too, and I'm hoping for their sake that peace in Iraq won't be too far away.

Also on a similar note: The relationships between the insurgents and the abductor/executioners seems to be no relationship at all. Sure, both are fighting against the same enemy, but the approaches are completely different. I dare not go into to deep detail, but I'll just put it simply and plainly. The insurgency is fighting a desperate guerilla war on its home turf, the executioners are more aimed at terrorist tactics. Public beheadings meant to demoralize the enemy and make a statement. The difference is obvious, but whether or not either group is (provably) related to al Qaeda is still yet to be seen.

In the meantime, Iran has once again mauled due justice in court proceedings held there (in secret), and Saudi Arabia continues to commit public execuitions and brutal methods of justice.

Advancement or no, its a sad state of affairs. Are we going forward or back?
Most assuredly back. Reading the newspaper today, in the business section, Oil and Economy were mentioned in the same sentence no less that 76 times. On one page. Are we making any progress on alternative fuels? No. Its not profitable.

I'll be sure to show you're childrens children the same courtesy when I die and they inherit the planet.

I have that funny feeling again...

I gave my girlfriend a hug today, and that funny, great feeling came back to me today.
 
Its that feeling of flying through space, playing with stars, falling through black holes, coming out the other side. Drinking up the milky way, dancing on Europa, swimming on Jupiter (not too long though, I get pruny).
Slinking around Neptune, and then for a final run, slinging out past Pluto and sleeping on the Oort Cloud.
 
That, ladies, gentlemen, and adolescents, is inspiration. And it is the material world's single entire purpose to keep me from it.
 
If only everyone could feel this, there would be no war, no pollution. We would just sit at home all day holding our loved ones, and then no-one would be in want.
 
Its an idyll... don't take it seriously.
 
Now, there is work to do. Until next time.

And somehow, things go on.

Ack, I must be having a nightmare.
 
If somebody says something nowadays, its almost guaranteed that they'll do the opposite.
Unless of course, they're genuine, and actually mean what they say.
 
Its seems, the more power people have, the less they can be trusted. You give a President his Commander-in-Chief powers, and suddenly, all the international controls on that kind of power abuse are made null... because hell, what does the world know? Its an internal affair thats screwing the rest of the world like rabbits in a pet shop.
 
Charge into Iraq to liberate an oppressed people, sure thats all fine and good. Why not stick with that story from the start, rather than falling to it when your previous excuses fail. Hell, if the Prez was honest, he could have just said, "Its because we don't like Saddam", thats alright. People would have bought that, and there wouldn't be all the bullshit.
 
Along come the Darfur crisis. People are dying and the grand liberator sits there strumming his thumbs. There goes consistency. Osama, Saddam, and Terrorists aren't involved, so why bother?
 
I'll tell you why. In case you missed it the first time, people ARE dying. Women are getting raped, children massacred, men slaughtered by the mass. Its a humanitarian nightmare, and the fact that the Sudanese government does nothing (and may even be supporting) for the actions taken against their own people only adds to the torment that the region is going through.
 
What would a UN military intervention do? As much as I respect sovereignty, and national rights, this requires some form of enforcement, something the US army is very good at when driven by something other than profits, sneaky motives, and blatant lies.
 
No Oil? No Terrorists? No Service?
 
Lets look at the good things about Iraq.
 
It taught us that history repeats itself. Vietnam should have been lesson enough, who was the genius who decided to go for round II in the Middle East, of all places?

There's always something...

Shut up.
You're not qualified.
You don't know what you're talking about.
You're biased.
You're lying.
 
Sound familiar? These are some of the replies people get for speaking their mind. Ignorant anuses (otherwise known as ignoramuses) often mistake critical documentation as a form of complaining. In a way it is, and from an early age, we've been taught to "Sit down, shut up, and mind our own business". But the difference is thus.
 
This isn't "Jimmy stole a cookie", or "My dress pants are the wrong color".
 
This is, "my god, we've just been had, people are dying, and I'm just now learning about this?"
 
Will I "Shut up"? Will Matthew Good, Noam Chomsky, or Juliet O'Niell ever "Shut Up"? If the day comes that we can all agree to sit in silence while the world starts spinning the wrong way (don't get critical with me, if people die for money, I'd call that wrong, regardless of religion), then maybe we'll all shut up.
 
Safe, warm, comfortable, cozie... a ten mag thunderstorm and a couple of nuclear bombs. Power isn't peace unless peace is dead.

Democracy isn't dead yet.

For what its worth, something good happened today.

The US senate rejected President G.W.Bush's proposed amendments that would ban same-sex marriage.

Bush's policy was one that Same-Sex marriage would harm society, and rip the moral fabric of the American people. Not be be caustic, but the moral fabric of the American people has already been used repeatedly as an ass-wiping instrument, and anything that would kill the rights of a legitimate, non-violent group would harm society much more than any gay/lesbian couple could.

What would be the next ban? Teen driving?

I'm curious how people could support such movements.

Alert Status Puce

Well, the DoHLS (Department of Homeland Security), has released a report that al Qaeda might be planning an attack during the November election.

It would be just like them right?

And you know, I just love how accurate intelligence has gotten post 9-11. Maybe somebody actually started reading those reports... you know, the ones labelled "URGENT".

In any event, it gives the Republicans something to prop, if they lose the election, it was al Qaeda's doing, and all Osama's fault.

The intrigue is killing me.

In other news, BC is looking into the implications of the US Patriot Act to see whether or not it could affect BC citizens through the (routine) searches of private information that administration has been given through the sweeping security powers given by the Patriot. This should alert all Canadians who think their personal information is safe on this side of the boarder. If you use an American based product or service, your just as likely to be 'probed'.

I can forsee there being a rift between American businesses and Canadian citizens in the future. Its sad, isn't it?

"We put the 'Anal' back in Analyze"

Crushed by the Stampede

I always loved outdoor shows.

Well, thats a bold faced lie, but still, a lot of people enjoy things like the Stampede, and Klondike days. While there may be other shows around the world, the grandest shows are decidedly Canadian, and draw tourists from around the world.

Which brings me to my next thought of the day...

If there were to be great shows like this is other nations, what would the be like, and what would they be called?

It would be something to see, for sure... roller coasters in Iraq (if they feel up for it), and pancakes in Paris.

It sure would be something to see.

Signing out.

Assault charge to be upgraded

Pellet gun shot blinded teen

The charge against a city teen accused of blinding a friend with a pellet gun shot will likely be upgraded, a prosecutor said yesterday.
Crown Lawyer Robert Bassett said his office is considering filing an new information against the youth who is now charged with assault with a weapon.
Bassett told youth court Judge Gordon Burrell the teen will liekly face the more serious allegation of criminal negligence causing bodily harm when he returns to court next month.
The accused, 17, who can't be named under provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act, was arrested after a city teen was shot in the eye, April 25th.
The Act also prohibits naming the victim who was also a youth at the time of the incident.
The accused, who did not appear in court and was instead represented by a lawyer, also faces four other charges, including assaulting a peace officer.
The accused, who is not in custody, is scheduled to eneter a plea Aug. 4th

Is this the article everyone is talking about?

I won't name any names, to respect the Youth Criminal Justice act, but I think everyone who knows my blinded friend, also knows the shooter.

I hope justice is done, because, believe it or not, my friend is going to be blind out of one eye forever.