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?