Thursday, January 24, 2008
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Can Girls be Violent?
BIG BIG SHOCKING HEADLINE.
Girl cuffed etc. in police cell.
Perhaps at first hysterical glance this appears to be an obvious case of "police brutality."
Perhaps we weren't there.
Perhaps you have never been in the presence of a drunk and violent teenager.
William Glasser, the author of the ground-breaking work, "Reality Therapy," pointed out 40 years ago that the first thing you have to do with an out-of-control person is stop him.
Of course, today in a society soft of belly and brain matter, a society dedicated to the proposition that anything I do is OK, such notions as restraint seem quaint,
Why is this girl suing the police 3 years later?
Perhaps this was a really, really slow news day.
Duh?
80,000 Olympic plates sold.
???
The moment you get this impulse to waste $60, please call me and I'll give you a list of worthy charities.
Short story
A man drinks all night at a Victoria pub. The staff don't stop servng him, but they try to encourage him not to drive home. They warn him that they will call in his license number to the police. He drives, he crshes into a wall. He's dead.
The good part of this story is that he didn't kill anyone else.
$450/Hour? One born every minute
A rare kudo to the BC Law Society.
Usually protective to a fault, like all other so-called "professional" bodies, the Society is investigating massive over billing by Liberal Senator Mobina Jaffer and her son.
This raises among other questions why do we have a Senate? How does Jaffer qualify? What earnings are Senators allowed outside of their heavy, serious Red Chamber duties?
End the Free Rides
Guest Editorialist, John Martin, writes very well in the Province today what many of us have been hollaring for years. No more Statuatory Release for prisoners. You want parole? Earn it, the old fashioned way. Whatever that may be.
Read this first-rate piece here.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Housing and History
If the nation's mayors are going to beseech Stephen Harper to fund remedies for homelessness, it would help if they knew their own history.
The federal government was in the social housing business in a major way for many, many years under the auspices of the Central Mortgage & Housing Corporation, CMHC.
About the same time that Ottawa abandoned funding for health care (from 50% to 18%), police and the military, funding for social housing was torn out of the CMHC mandate. For the past 30 years, this initiative has not been on the horizon.
Demand of the Prime Minister that CMHC be returned to its former role.
Watch Out for the BCTF - They are Testy
Of course the BCTF is against any kind of testing.
We have had this argument for years.
I work at a college. I see kids term after term studying for exams. Do they need an army of grief counsellors to cope?
Driving to the grocery store is a contest. It shouldn't be. It needn't be. But more often than not it is.
We are tested every day in a thousand little ways.
What do the well-armored folks at the BCTF want to do - keep kids in swaddling clothes until they are 16 and truly unable to face life?
Not really. They just want to protect their tiny domain.
Edwards, Who Cannot Win, Is Best
The headline says "Obama & Clinton Tangle at debate."
But that wasn't the story at all.
The real story was how articulate and focused and fascinating was 3rd place runner John Edwards, who easily outshone his opponents for the Democratic Presidential nomination.
At one great moment, during the increasingly tiresome cat fight between Hillary and Barak, Edwards interjected something like, "How is all this personal mudslinging going to get us better health care, education and housing?"
Hillary was sharp as always, if not lovable.
Obama was curiously mushing and deficient when it came down to details. He was obviously swinging on his own star. He seems to be magnificent when orating in grand terms, but less than assuring when it comes down to the nitty gritty of real issues. he seems to be a man who wants too much to be loved.
Edwards on the other hand was very impressive in every way. Solid, knowledgeable, passionate and reasonable.
It's too bad he hasn't a hope in hell. He might ,make a fine President.
But this is the day that the Oscars were announced.
In modern life, all is show biz.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Quotes of the Day
Hahahaha...these are classics:
1. Gangster is gunned down. Real Bonny & Clyde stuff. Guy is known drug kingpin associate of many underworld leaders.
Into the fray steps a writer who was teaching creative writing in a prison. Now, there's a worthy to begin with.
Writer says of recently deceased, "This is realy tragic. He was a very creative guy. It is really sad to me that the prison system failed him."
THE PRISON SYSTEM FAILED HIM...
Does this genius still have a gig?
Does "the prison system" have a clue? Does Mr. Novel Teacher?
2. Questioned about the 8 1/2 Million dollars tax payers shelled out for the Strike named after him ("Sam's Strike"), the Nutty Mayor squealed out this gem.
" The level of service was much higher than in previous strikes."
Hahahaha....
One can wait weeks for stuff like this.
Thank you, Gods of Public Postulence.
Alex Tsakumis on Vision in Friday's 24 Hours
A VISION OF HOPE
By A. G. Tsakumis ‘Rebel With a Clause’
One needn’t look any further than Vision Vancouver’s Annual General Meeting of last Monday for incontrovertible proof of the ruling Non-Partisan Association’s pending apocalypse. It was startling: 400 committed, enthusiastic members, in sync and empowered to bid Sam Sullivan’s nothingness a celebrated farewell, in attendance at an otherwise administrative meeting where the clearly united Board presented with purposeful clarity and conscience. Moreover, present without masquerade were over three dozen former NPA members, almost ten percent of the room, and a surprisingly healthy contingent of former COPE members. Interesting too, the number of prominent federal Liberals, whose natural constituency you’d think would be the NPA: Mike Witherly, campaign boss for B.C.; Catherine Evans, former candidate; Ian Bailey, provincial director; Senator Larry Campbell, of course, and none other than Greg Wilson, ubiquitous ground war campaign tactician to the Grit (non)stars, and, immediate past campaign manager of the NPA. Mr. Wilson was also elected to the newly expanded Board of Directors. This was no ordinary show of strength. So much for the necessity of a deal between Vision and the ultra-left blowhards at the rapidly (thankfully) disintegrating COPE. With this much momentum, skill and organization already in the tank, Vision will be almost impossible to beat for council. The notion that they are the farm team for the NDP is laughable. What does that make COPE? I’ll tell you. The witness protection program for dogmatic has-beens, who’d rather talk about Marx than Main Street. Think about their priorities for a rapidly devolving Vancouver: nuclear free zones, Dubya’s political donors and flute players at council meetings. While our city crumbled they fondled with their incessant need to pontificate about inconsequential matters that served absolutely no purpose. The average ‘joe’, who they claim to protect, they abandoned in favor of the sound of their own voices. Anne Roberts, Ellen Woodsworth, Fred Bass and particularly Tim Louis, who favours wearing the picture of murderous thug Che Guevara on the back of his wheelchair, would do well to take one way tickets to Venezuela for tea with Hugo, instead of considering a return. And if David Cadman had any sense at all, he’d swiftly bolt from COPE to Vision. But I digress… Of particular note, was Vision’s decision to run their own Mayoral candidate and it is here that the calculus gets interesting. Clr. Raymond Louie (who told me he enjoys this column—clearly against his better judgment) is thinking about running for Mayor, as is, surprise, former NPA Parks Commissioner Al DeGenova, who left the AGM early to join his Parks Board colleagues in session. Neither of these men will do anything but serve to divide Vision. Neither has the cache to beat Mayor Sullivan’s vicious machine. The only potential candidate who could beat Sam Sullivan, handily, is a fellow named Gregor Robertson, the man at the Vision AGM who received a stunning ovation. Young, intelligent and affable, Mr. Robertson exudes hope and promise—something we haven’t seen in a very long time. “Sam’s approach on everything he’s touched since he became Mayor has resulted in confrontation and not one real accomplishment…it’s pretty shocking that the city has no leadership at such a critical time…Sam’s got it all wrong on everything from density to the Downtown Eastside..what happen to policing and treatment?” says Mr. Robertson. And while he makes great sense, he’s still thinking about running, apparently. But it sounds Mayoral, doesn’t it?
Friday, January 18, 2008
Your Weekend in Review Before it Happens
The blogger will be out of commish form the weekend...
so here's what you can take to the bank between now and Monday:
The Patriots and the Packers will win their games, setting up a classic showdown Feb. 3 in the Stupor Bowl between Tom Brady and Brett Favre, two of the games greatest quarterbacks ever.
Your mutual funds will be worth less than they were on Thursday.
More illegal immigrants, criminals and miscreants will be safely hidden amongst us, gathering income supplements of one kind or another and refusing to return to the hell hole from which they came.
More amazing pronouncements will be made by more governments about fabulous programs that will enrich all our lives. And, by the way, we and our grandchildren will pay for these initiatives, but we won't mind because we are Canadians, a genus often difficult to distinguish from sheep.
Kim Capri will move into the luxe new dog pound.
Sam Sullivan will claim ownership of yet another program that he has had absolutely nothing to do with, while simultaneously refusing to admit that he owns other programs for which he has registered private patents. As always, his staff will be blamed.
Gordon will still be wearing those glasses that declare, "I am a thirty-something Yaletown law student."
Province Column - January 18/08
Make public transit pleasant, safe and quick and we will pay for it
David Berner
The Province
Friday, January 18, 2008
BART, where are you now that we need you? Not Bart Simpson. He's on 15 channels, even at four in the morning. I mean San Francisco's Bay Area Rapid Transit System.
I was in the Bay area recently, and travelled from the San Francisco airport to the Oakland-Coliseum stop and back on separate days, a trip of about 50 minutes.
I also travelled from the Oakland-Coliseum stop to Powell Street, Market Street and Union Square and back on another day. That's a trip of about 25 minutes.
Has BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) reduced auto traffic on the Bay Bridge or roads in general? I would guess not.
We drove four times from the Oakland stop to and from my friend's house in the suburb of Clayton. Each trip took one hour on a packed freeway system.
Does that mean BART is a waste? Not at all. It's a great system. Millions of people use it every day. And if more lines are built, more people will use them.
On all occasions, I found the BART experience almost pleasurable.
Imagine, a pleasurable transit experience . . . cheap, efficient, reliable, easy to understand and negotiate, just like transit in Washington, D.C., London and Toronto, to name three.
Imagine big, bold readable signage that directs you to board the train you actually want.
Imagine ticket and turnstile systems that actually cut the freeloaders down to nil.
Imagine streetcars and buses that don't feel like the first stop on the road to Purgatory.
Compare that to your daily Metro Vancouver drudge.
If Premier Campbell wants to build more public transit, I say do it, bring it on! What's a billion here, a billion there between buddies?
The monumental premier is working so hard to belong to the W.A.C. Bennett class. He hungers to leave behind him steel-and-concrete memorials -- the Gordon This, the Campbell That, twinned bridges, convention centres, luge tracks.
Fine. Whatever pumps your cylinders. Build the damn things already, only this time, try to do it right.
Give us trains that are bigger than Tonka toys. Compared to subways almost anywhere else in the world, SkyTrain cars feel like a short step above the miniature railway.
Give us buses and more buses and then some more buses. And how about streetcars and light rail?
And give us security. We don't want drivers punched. We don't want to listen to garbage talk. We don't want women robbed and assaulted at station hubs.
More is good, but better is better. We want transit that is a reasonably pleasant experience.
The carbon issues, the global-warming themes are all very nice, but for most of us these are mute points.
We want to get from A to B relatively quickly and in one piece, ready for our workday or our evening at home.
Yes, we want more public transit. And yes, we'll even pay for it.
But, be warned: If it's the same old bummer, look out for my new Hummer.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
JOB HUNTING...duck, baby, duck...
This person seeks an executive position. He will be available soon,
and is willing to relocate. Hard to argue the facts.
RESUME: GEORGE W. BUSH
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, DC 20520
EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE:
Law Enforcement:
I was arrested in Kennebunkport, Maine, in 1976 for driving under the
influence of alcohol. I pleaded guilty, paid a fine, and had my
driver's license suspended for 30 days. My Texas driving record has
been 'lost' and is not available.
Military:
I joined the Texas Air National Guard and went AWOL. I refused to take
a drug test or answer any questions about my drug use. By joining the
Texas Air National Guard, I was able to avoid combat duty in Vietnam.
College:
I graduated from Yale University with a low C average. I was a
cheerleader.
PAST WORK EXPERIENCE:
I ran for U.S. Congress and lost. I began my career in the oil business
in Midland, Texas, in 1975. I bought an oil company, but couldn't find
any oil in Texas. The company went bankrupt shortly after I sold all my
stock. I bought the Texas Rangers baseball team in a sweetheart deal
that took land using taxpayer money. With the help of my father and our
friends in the oil industry (including Enron CEO Ken Lay), I was elected
governor of Texas.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS AS GOVERNOR OF TEXAS:
- I changed Texas pollution laws to favor power and oil companies,
making Texas the most polluted state in the Union. During my tenure,
Houston replaced Los Angeles as the most smog-ridden city in America.
- I cut taxes and bankrupted the Texas treasury to the tune of billions
in borrowed money.
- I set the record for the most executions by any governor in American
history.
- With the help of my brother, the governor of Florida, and my father's
appointments to the Supreme Court, I became President after losing by
over 500,000 votes.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS AS PRESIDENT:
- I am the first President in U.S. history to enter office with a
criminal record.
- I invaded and occupied two countries at a continuing cost of over one
billion dollars per week.
- I spent the U.S. surplus and effectively bankrupted the U.S. Treasury.
- I shattered the record for the largest annual deficit in U.S. history.
- I set an economic record for most private bankruptcies filed in any
12-month period.
- I set the all-time record for most home foreclosures in a 12-month
period.
- I set the all-time record for the biggest drop in the history of the
U.S. stock market. In my first year in office, over 2 million Americans
lost their jobs and that trend continues every month.
- I'm proud that the members of my cabinet are the richest of any
administration in U.S. history. My 'poorest millionaire,' Condoleezza
Rice, has a Chevron oil tanker named after her.
- I set the record for most campaign fund-raising trips by a sitting
U.S. President.
- I am the all-time U.S. and world record-holder for receiving the most
corporate campaign donations.
- My largest lifetime campaign contributor, and one of my best friends,
Kenneth Lay, presided over the largest corporate bankruptcy fraud in
U.S. History, Enron.
- My political party used Enron private jets and corporate attorneys to
assure my success with the U.S. Supreme Court during my election
decision.
- I have protected my friends at Enron and Halliburton against
investigation or prosecution. More time and money was spent
investigating the Monica Lewinsky affair than has been spent
investigating one of the biggest corporate rip-offs in history.
- I presided over the biggest energy crisis in U.S. history.
- I presided over the highest gasoline prices in U.S. history.
- I changed U.S. policy to allow convicted criminals to be awarded
government contracts.
- I appointed more convicted criminals to my administration than any
President in U.S. history.
- I created the Ministry of Homeland Security, the largest bureaucracy
in the history of the United States government.
- I've broken more international treaties than any President in U.S.
history.
- I am the first President in U.S. history to have the United Nations
remove the U.S. from the Human Rights Commission.
- I withdrew the U.S. from the World Court of Law.
- I refused to allow inspector's access to U.S. 'prisoners of war'
detainees and thereby have refused to abide by the Geneva Convention.
- I am the first President in history to refuse United Nations election
inspectors (during the 2002 U.S. election).
- I set the record for fewest numbers of press conferences of any
President since the advent of television.
- I set the all-time record for most days on vacation in any one-year
period. After taking off the entire month of August, I presided over
the worst security failure in U.S. history.
- I garnered the most sympathy ever for the U.S. after the World Trade
Center attacks and less than a year later made the U.S. the most hated
country in the world, the largest failure of diplomacy in world history.
- I have set the all-time record for most people worldwide to
simultaneously protest me in public venues (15 million people),
shattering the record for protests against any person in the history of
mankind.
- I am the first President in U.S. history to order an unprovoked,
pre-emptive attack and the military occupation of a sovereign nation. I
did so against the will of the United Nations, the majority of U.S.
citizens, and the world community.
- I have cut health care benefits for war veterans and support a cut in
duty benefits for active duty troops and their families in wartime.
- In my State of the Union Address, I lied about our reasons for
attacking Iraq and then blamed the lies on our British friends.
- I am the first President in history to have a majority of Europeans
(71%) view my presidency as the biggest threat to world peace and
security.
- I have so far failed to fulfill my pledge to bring Osama Bin Laden to
justice.
RECORDS AND REFERENCES:
- All records of my tenure as governor of Texas are now in my father's
library, sealed and unavailable for public view.
- All records of SEC investigations into my insider trading and my
bankrupt companies are sealed in secrecy and unavailable for public
view.
- All records or minutes from meetings that I, or my Vice-President,
attended regarding public energy policy are sealed in secrecy and
unavailable for public review.
Would you hire him?
FRee Speech Under Arrest
A number of people have asked for the context of Ezra Levant's Opening Statement posted this morning.
You can read here op-ed article from this morning's Sun, or read the comments after the video for other links to flesh out this nightmare.
Opening Statement
I was alerted to this amazing video by an article on today's op-ed page in the Sun.
The subject is FREEDOM OF SPEECH.
The TYRANT is the Alberta Human Rights Commission.
This is a most important document. Watch it. And remember it.
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