Politiical Correctness as Pure Evil

Eisenhower in Dachau

It is a matter of history that when SupremeCommander of the Allied Forces, General Dwight Eisenhower, found thevictims of the death camps, he ordered all possible photographs to betaken, and for the German people from surrounding villages to be usheredthrough the camps and even made to bury the dead.He did this because he said in words to thiseffect: "Get it all on record now - get the films - get the witnesses -because somewhere down the track of history some bastard will get up andsay that this never happened"

.. All that is necessary for the triumph ofevil is for good men to do nothing.

Edmund BurkeIn Memorial

This week, the University of Kentucky removed TheHolocaust from its school curriculum because it 'offended' the Muslim population which claims it never occurred.

This is a frightening portent of the fear that isgripping the world and how easily each country is giving into it. It is nowmore than 60 years after the Second World War in Europe ended.This e-mail is being sent as a memorial chain, inmemory of the 6 million Jews, 20 million Russians, 10 million Christiansand 1,900 Catholic priests who were murdered, massacred, raped, burned,starved and humiliated with the German and Russian peoples looking theother way!Now, more than ever, with Iran , among others,claiming the Holocaust to be 'a myth,' it is imperative to make sure theworld never forgets.

Build it and They Will...Arrive

Rich Coleman's mega-plan for the Riverview property is not bad at first blush.

I have nothing against development or large development. Such initiatives can be exciting and welcome, as this one may in time prove to be.

But there are already some questionable aspects to today's announcement.

- Coquitlam Mayor Maxine Wilson knew nothing about this huge plan. Now, I appreciate that the boys in Victoria see little local mayors as non-players, but would it have hurt to involve local people?

- The announcement includes this bit of mysterioso: "Newer specialiazed mental health centres in health authorities acorss B.C." Really? Where is this?

- The former Winnilington youth detention centre is now being refitted to be a place for mentally ill and the addicted? Really? More news. Who? What? How? When? This is all so much bs.

- The Riverview plan is modelled after "Springfield" in England, where two middle-class home owners have been murdered by mental patient neighbours. This information is most helpful to the NIMBYs. What, if any possible, precations are included in Coleman's plans?

- Whose cousin gets the contract? Buildings, cement, wiring, plumbing...a very small large fortune is represented here. It will be hard to believe that open tenders will be the rule on all aspects of this scheme.

The Local Anglicans are Wrong

It is a shame that local Anglicans have voted overwhelmingly in favor of splitting with their own local authority over saame-sex blessings.

The issue of same-sex relationships/marriages/unions is so enormously minuscule it always amazes me that anyone can get their knickers in a knot over it.

Let me ask you this:

If you can't tolerate Bob and Ted sitting the pew next to you, what can you handle?

Somehow you put up with all the rude offensive people who dash through your lives on a daily basis. (Yesterday, during my BIg Walk, a pleasant-looking woman driving her little boy home from school, absolutely made the clear decision to NOT stop from a considerable distance and drive practically over me. I was close enough to pound on her passing car. I didn't.)

So if you can tolerate all the idiots in your community and you know how shaky your own marriage/relationship/union is, what's the problem with putting up with Jane and Carole?

You don't have to dance with them, break bread or drop by for tea. All you have to do is LIVE AND LET LIVE. Or, DO UNTO OTHERS.

Not new ideas.

Volunteer, My Ass

The Victoria idea to pay snivel servants to leave their desks and "volunteer" for the Olympic stag is offensive on many levels.

I should pay taxes for workers who under-achieve at the best of times so that they can hang out at Whistler and watch the luge?

Real volunteers who actually you know, like, VOLUNTEER, as in give of their time and energies, should get in line behind paid "volunteers?"

And finally, the community needs volunteers by the thousands on a daily basis for hospitals, children, education, the elderly, immigrants, physically and mentally impaired and people stuck at home for one reason or another. Every volunteer who puts time and energy into the Big Bash would dp better service by volunteering today for something substantive and real and valuable.

Quote of the Day

"It’s hard to believe you, sir. I hate to say that because you’re one of my heroes, but it’s hard to believe you."REP. ELIJAH E. CUMMINGS, to Roger Clemens after his testimony before a Congressional panel.

Graceland-Paul Simon Concert in Zimbabwe

One of the great pop geniuses...Simon has said he always starts with rhythm...was he ever better than in this lovely tune?

Hola, Ninos

Non blogismentis today. Sorry.

In the words of the Governator...I'll be back.

Tomorrow.

Have a good evening.

BLOG POSTING LATER THIS AFTERNOON

Racing with the clock, racing with the clock, racing....

Uno, The Beagle, Best in Show

Think We Got Troubles?

For those of us burdened with thoughts of Convention Centre overruns, Port Mann Bridge doubling, Richmond Skating Oval disasters and the like, consider the plight of the modern Venetian.

Below are 2 items from a Venice newsletter I receive each week concerning the immense fiasco known as the Calatrave Bridge.

Read it. All of it. It will make you laugh and cry. Your heart will sing. You'll take yourself out for dinner.

Greetings from Venice! The titbit of the week concerns the initial results of the inspection of the fourth bridge across the Grand Canal. The name that should be given to the bridge at its dedication, an event that has been postponed so many times without setting a specific opening date, is The Incapables’ Bridge. Frankly, this appellation, which is not in accord with the tradition of naming bridges after their designers, is not as evocative as the names of other bridges, but that is the cruel reality – the project has proved to be endless and has cost citizens a fortune. To use a very Italian word that, unfortunately, is lacking in grace, the project is a true “casino” in which technical, civil, penal and, last but not least, moral responsibilities are involved. The verification of the shortcomings is a sort of triumph for the angry citizens, though they are aware that they are the only ones who, through their taxes, will pay the price for all the problems. This ugly and useless bridge, which began as a sketch on a restaurant napkin and rapidly turned into a chronicle of ineptitude, is a great shame that, evidently, also involves the people who have neither stopped it nor responded to all the well-founded criticism. Have a great week, Rosalba

NEWS - The accusations brought by the supervisory authority against the Calatrava Bridge project, its architect, the project administrators, and the company in charge of construction are reasonably serious and deal with bookkeeping and with penal and disciplinary responsibilities related to public contracts. The Municipality was served by the national regulator with a document dated 21 December which was, subsequently, sent to the General Authority of the Court of Audit before being made public.The list of problems is quite long: the building firm was not prepared, the project was not adequately defined, and the Municipality erred in approving a contract that did not provide for intervention to limit damages. Mistakes have also been cited in the architectural master plan approved by Calatrava’s office and in the Municipality’s management of the contract. Moreover, there are some deficiencies associated with Cignoni, the company in charge of construction, and the consequent cost overruns. The Municipality should have proceeded with “the compulsory rescission of the contract” back in 2004 and “work should have been completed on 16 February 2004.” Costs rose from “6.72 million to 10.7 million euros, an increase of 3.981 million that is equal to almost 59%, with the exception of the settlement reached during the course of the project.” At present, Cignoni is asking for seven million euros while the Municipality only recognises one million.Since the metal work totals 43 percent of the budget, general construction 40 percent, and specialised foundation work 17 percent, the report comments in particular on the allocation of funds to the Og3 category (streets) instead of Os18 (steel structures), making it possible for the company which offered the lowest price – Cignoni – to win the contract without being qualified to fabricate the steel components for the bridge. Such a serious mistake by the Municipality meant that a qualified firm could not be selected. Given the situation, Cignoni then assigned the foundry work to a company, Lorenzon, that could handle it competently, but Cignoni should have subcontracted the work as an employment arrangement and not identified it as purchased material, according to the contract, the inspectors say.Other problems were under-estimated and there were additional general errors, including some in Calatrava’s master plan for which he charged 475,000 euros (plus 91,800 for architectural consultancy and 67,000 for technical consultancy). All of this is in spite of what Mayor Cacciari had declared -- that the bridge was a “present” to the city. The project needed to be modified six times during construction, with an attendant increase in cost and time. Neither the expense of testing (243,000 euro) nor of the 24-hour monitoring (1 million euro per year for at least five years) had been factored into the budget. In the end, it was a project handled by a team of beginners, to say the least.

Freedom to Hate Week

Greg Felton believes that Jews are responsible for 911.

Greg Felton was fired about 9 years ago from his job as writer for The Vancouver Courier, a Canwest newspaper, owned by the Asper family, Winnipeg Jews.

Felton is obsessed with his hatred for Jews.

I know this because I worked with him for 8 months as we entered the 21st century.

He is incapable of maintaining a human conversation for longer than 4 minutes without beginning his rant against Jews.

Now, the Vancouver Public Library is giving him a stage to discuss his new book. This is the library's contribution to Freedom to Read Week.

The Library should have its head examined.

There are hate crimes and hate laws in this country. Perhaps you don't think we should have them. But for the moment, we do.

Is freedom of speech limitless?

Read Terry Glavin's editorial in this morning's Sun here.

The More The Merrier

Let's hope that Peter Ladner's bid to keep the NPA from anointing The Nutty One is successful.

Anythind that points to the end of this disgraceful administration is a welcome sign.

Richmond Broom Ball

The Richmond dirt was hidden away in a tiny piece on page B2 in this morning's Sun.

Mario Ferreira, a Richmond city employee, left work 6 years ago, sued the city for harrassment and finally settled out of court.

The city will never say what this was about or who did what to whom or what their libilities or responsibilites might be.

Sweep, sweep, sweep...

Nice work, Richmond.

Happy Anniversary, Wherever You Are

Today is the 25th anniversary of Michael Jackson's "Thriller," the biggest selling album of all time.

I wanted to show it to you, but you cannot upload it from YouTube.

Well, just go back into the garage, find the old VHS and crank it up one more time.

And careful doing those turns on the living room carpet. You might want to move the coffee table back a bit first.

Frank Sinatra sings

75 years old!

Off Keyes.

I couldn't sit through the Grammys.

This is clearly a sign of what an old fogey I am.

The show opened with Alicia Keys doing a duet with a live orchestra and a video of Sinatra. It was pathetic, tragic.

There's Frank, cool and sophisticated and perfectly on pitch, and there's Keys off-key and shrieking.

I'm done. I'm outta here.

Enjoy The Master in the post below.

frank sinatra - summer wind

Every few months, you'll hear a Sinatra tune on the radio and you are at once reminded what a musical genius he was. NObody made him sound better than Nelson Riddle.

It's Not About You, Sir

It was disgusting - entirely predicatable - that with all the beautiful fotos available from yesterday's Chinese New Year's Parade, the Sun would show Stephane Dion. (Between the two of us, we took over 100 pictures and we estimated that over 1,000,000 shots would be taken with such an enormous and enthusiastic crowd.)

In fact we actually said this would happen.

Is the Sun waiting breathlessly to anoint this faker, this Costume Boy, the next Prime Minister?

Clearly, Mr. Dion was extremely uncomfortable in his Chinese disguise. He probably has never met a Chinese, doesn't know a word of Chinese and can't eat with chopsticks.

How many times has this cold fool ever been in vancouver in his lifetime.

You could see the message clearly in his icy stare. "I am here becuase it is politically expedient. My handlers told me I must be here, but I don't like it."

To the Sun: This was not about Politicians. It was about the Chinese celebrating Spring Festival.

To the Parade organizers: Ban all politicians from participating. Tell those self-serving blood suckers to stay home with their families on a Sunday.

Parade Great. Politicians Not.

THIS AFTERNOON I SAW STEPHANE DION, GORDON CAMPBELL, SAM SULLIVAN AND WALLY OPPAL, AMONG OTHER INSINCERE FAWNING POLITICOS, PRETENDING TO MEAN SOMETHING AT THE GUNG HAY FAT CHOY ANNUAL PARADE THROUGH CHINATOWN.

WHAT FALSE NOTES THEY RANG. HOW TRANSPARENT THEY WERE. AND NOBODY CHEERED.

Be the Judge

The news that the North Shore is adding 6 officers who will focus on problems of alcoholism and addictions on reserves is welcome and not to be discounted.

These RCMP and West Van police are necessary and we can only hope that they will help.

But I know of no other way to put this gently.

Until aboriginal families abandon their "traditional" "non-judgmental" ways, these nightmares will continue.

Non-judgmentalism has been all the rage in almost every aspect of the dominant white culture for several decades now. Child rearing, education, psychology, every corner of society has raised the BE NICE flag.

Certainly yelling and screaming and criticising and beating each other and our children is downright bad and counter-productive.

But another meaning for judgment is care. Asking the one you judge to take himself to a higher standard. Having high and hopeful expectations.

Like, being clean and sober. Like, doing well in school.

White, urban, middle-class bores have long cited the admirable qualities of native non-judgmentalism.

Perhaps it's time for some aboriginals to notice with envy the demands that many other cultures put on their children to succeed and to be proud of themselves and their successes.

Yah, I know. This is a racist rant.

Right.