Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.): "Republicans want you to die quickly"

Sarah Palin started the “death panels” mania. Now Democratic Representative Alan Grayson from Florida is trying to get even with the likes of Sarah Palin. Does he have a point? Or will he be labelled crazy too?

The truth is that the insurance companies kind of operate that way. Their primary motive is to make a profit. So it is in their best interests to insure those who are not ill, and withdraw insurance from those who are going to make claims. As long as there is a profit motive, any health insurance doesn’t mean anything – and people being denied coverage by their insurance companies when they need it most (ie when they are sick) or where there are pre-existing conditions can be (and is) fatal.

UPDATE: Congressman Alan Grayson has apologized, he says that he apologizes to all those people whose loved ones have died because they had no insurance and that this "holocaust" must stop. He further indicated that according to a Harvard University study 40,000 Americans die every year because they have no insurance. He was also on the Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer where he said that Republicans have no plan whatsoever and that they are behaving like "neanderthals" as they are not supporting the proper healthcare reform.

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Sarah Palin's Book: A Sneak Preview

The title of her brand new, hot off the presses, book is: "Going Rogue: An American Life."

Surely she talks about her experiences while campaigning as VP. Here is what she said at a fundraiser in San Francisco on Oct. 5, 2008 - "They are also building schools for the Afghan children so that there is hope and opportunity in our neighbouring country of Afghanistan."

You can click here for the full story.

And many more "outstanding" quotes and contributions by Sarah Palin in her new book ;)

Over one million copies of the book are being published in expectation of booming sales. New definition of capitalism – how to be a moron and make millions. Does one feel jealous/angry of her success of making money in this manner? You betcha.

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Tom Delay’s dance steps or missteps.

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As shown on Countdown, MSNBC. He survives another week. I never thought I will say this about a hardened Repug, indicted for corruption, but I do admire the guy for his courage to display his dancing skills in this manner.

P.S. One of these days I will learn the proper grammar so that I don't have to constantly edit and re-edit and still not get it right ;)

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Stephen Harper's Doughnut Commercial

Harper likes doughnuts and Tim Hortons so much that he left New York and the UN meeting on global warming, and ran to Toronto to a Tim Hortons for a donut ;) Would he not be a perfect candidate to be Tim Horton's pitchman for its next commercial? ;)

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Muammar Gaddafi’s Second Speech to the United Nations.

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Don't worry, this one is short. Actually this is SNL's take on Gaddaffi's speech as shown on MSNBC's Countdown.

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Benjamin Netanyahu, Muammar Gaddafi, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

I think all these clowns from the Middle East should be treated equally. Yes Iran should not be allowed to develop nuclear weapons. In order to achieve that Israel must get rid of its nuclear arsenal which, according to former President Carter, consists of over 100 nuclear warheads. As long as Israel has nuclear arms, the nuclear arms race will continue in the Middle East. We cannot ask one party to disarm while arming the other to the teeth.

Right now the situation in the Indo-Pak sub-continent is very dangerous. Both India and Pakistan have nuclear weapons. After the botched invasion of Afghanistan, the neighbouring country of Pakistan has been destabilized hence making the situation very dangerous in the region. Should the world powers not pay attention to that too?

Right now all the pressure is on Iran and this kind of one-sided approach may backfire.

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Life, its mysteries and its pains

How life started there is no definitive answer. But one thing is certain, all form of life is a big mystery and being alive accompanies pain and hurt whether it is the life of a human, a huge animal like an elephant, or a small bug like an ant. So next time when you step on an ant, you should know that you cause pain to it before it dies.

We are all familiar with human suffering. A child comes in this world crying and kicking and no one leaves this world laughing and smiling.

How did life start? Who created it? We do not have a definitive answer. If we buy evolution theory in its totality, then life sounds empty and meaningless. It all happened by accident and there is no real purpose of life other than to survive at every cost, even if it includes ending other lives. The only overwhelming moral value is to let the fittest survive.

Another aspect of evolution is baffling too. If we humans are indeed descendant of chimps and genetically so close to them, then why through all these recorded centuries has no chimp given birth to a human who has the brains and ability to talk? And why has no human given birth to a chimp – okay let me correct myself, as there are humans who behave worse than chimps as they have not progressed beyond the animal stages of a predator (you see this especially with all the creulty there is in the World).

Here I do part company with evolution and strongly feel that there is some purpose of life and a life with purpose must have a creator. If there is a creator then why did he create all this life which carries with it so much pain and suffering? I do not know the answer. Maybe prophets and saints know something that escapes the rest of humanity.

I have thought about the mystery of life every day of my conscious life but so far no answer or enlightenment.

Then there is something called the mind which is beyond the physical being and cannot be explained with physical parameters. This mind tries to avoid pain and seek pleasure, the whole life revolves around this struggle. The mind uses the body as a tool to draw pleasure. Mind over matter does matter. This pleasure seeking is more often than not the cause of all problems and pain and suffering as quite often pleasure is drawn at the expense of other humans and living creatures. Sometimes it goes wild and we know the consequences the troubled mind causes. And then some pleasures it cannot obtain within societal norms and during waking hours it sometimes fulfils through dreams.

Dreams are another mystery which cannot be measured through physical parameters. The way the mind escapes the body during sleep and goes into the dream world, is it possible that this mind also escapes after death and only the physical being dies? We do not know.

Life indeed is bewildering. The mystery of life continues. The more I learn about life, the less I understand about the mystery of life.

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What is good for Gaddafi is good for Gander

As I stated in an earlier post, Harper left New York for some Tim Hortons donuts in Toronto claiming that he was boycotting Ahmadinejad's speech at the UN. Yet Gaddafi of Libya is invited in Newfoundland. Lawrence Cannon, the Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs, is flying all the way to Gander to meet Gaddafi. His excuse is that he wants to reprimand Gaddafi for the welcome Libya gave to Ali Mohmed al Megrahi, the alleged Lockerbie bomber. Can you believe that? Gaddafi agreed to stop in Newfoundland to meet Cannon so he can reprimand him. Wow! Cannon should get a prize for his extraordinary diplomatic achievement!

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Obama doing interviews selling his healthcare agenda

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Saturday Night Live rendition of these interviews as shown on Countdown, MSNBC. It is hilarious.

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Stephen Harper: Is he insecure?

Whatever you may think of other world leaders such as Gadaffi of Libya or Ahmadinejad of Iran, they do not shy away from the world stage to express their views. It looks that Harper is afraid of other world leaders and does not feel secure in their presence. First he did not show up for the global warming discussion at the UN saying that Obama spoke for Canada too. Instead he was having lunch with the mayor of New York.

Then when Obama spoke again to the UN on world issues, Harper ran to Toronto to help himself with some donuts at Tim Hortons. This time using the excuse that he was boycotting Ahmadinejad's speech. Okay, but he could have stayed for Obama's speech to show some solidarity with the US and give Canada some visibility at the international level. Apparently he has some serious issues being with other world leaders. Looks like an insecurity complex.

Obama has indicated time and again that he wants to actually have a dialogue with Iran on various issues including nuclear weapons proliferation. So where is Harper on that?

Now Gadaffi is stopping over in Canada, in Newfoundland. Our Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lawrence Cannon, is going all the way to Newfoundland to greet him there – that black oil is so sweet. Excuse being used is that the Minister wants to reprimand him for the welcome Libya gave to Ali Mohmed al Megrahi, the alleged Lockerbie bomber. Yeah right. Gadaffi's views on Israel and Middle East are not much different than that of Ahmadinejad. Why does the Harper government not do the same with the President of Iran – talk to him and reprimand him on his views.

Harper seems to have too many problems nationally and his continued anemic performance on the international level should be a source of great concern for all Canadians.

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Evolution: Are humans really that evolved?

Animals can be very sentimental and get along so well. We humans have still a lot to learn from animals. The evolution process has a long way to go.

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Kyle Hatcher, The Religious Freedom Guy

Kyle Hatcher, a US embassy liaison with religious and human rights groups, was just checking out some religious freedom and human rights in Russia. ;) What is the big fuss.



Russian Video here
Warning: This video is graphic.

Now you know how these religious types give a bad name to religion. The saying "do what I say and not what I do" applies so well here.

Click here to read the story

Update: It looks that Russian video has been removed from the youtube.

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Michael Moore - Capitalism: A Love Story

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Michael Moore's latest movie takes on Wall Street and their form of capitalism.

Moore appeared on Keith Olbermann's show to discuss his latest movie. It sounds like a fascinating movie just like Sicko which exposed the disastrous healthcare system in the United States.

In Capitalism A Love Story, Moore points out how capitalism can be fatal to people - as only the top one percent capitalize on capitalism while the rest are told to "work hard and they'll make it" when really, the vast vast majority of them will not make it to the top. It's the top 1% that is doing all the exploiting and making the rules without regards to the other 99%.

This definitely looks like a movie worth seeing.

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Tom Delay doing a victory dance

Tom Delay survived first week of Dancing With The Stars. He is doing a victory dance for Cheryl Burke, his dancing partner.

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Sarah Palin's speech in Hong Kong

She talked about her role models: Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher. Yeah some role models. If she does get elected to a national office good luck to Americans ;)

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Stephen Harper: Disappearing Act

Harper was in New York this week. It looks he was there on the taxpayer's dime. Why did he not show up at the United Nations where many major world leaders had gathered to discuss the issue of global warming? He was asked about it and he said that Barack Obama spoke for Canada too when he spoke at the UN. What does he mean by that? Does his Royal Highness have Barack Obama as his spokesperson? Or, are we the 51st State of the US? Which one is it?

If he was not invited to the UN then what was he doing having dinner with Mayor Bloomberg of N.Y. Was he giving a job interview after finishing as PM of Canada. Should he not be paying from his own pocket for such an interview?

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Bug

There is a bug on your computer screen.

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Tom Delay trying to impress Cheryl Burke of Dancing With The Stars

They could not quite synchronize - professional dancer with a politician? One judge told him he was worse than Sarah Palin.

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Haute Couture: Human Stupidities

It was a lazy Sunday evening and there was nothing much to watch on TV, however this program on CBC "The Passionate Eye" caught my eye. It was talking about Haute Couture fashion, a special group of some 200 women in the world who spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on their clothes. Their collection could be worth millions of dollars.

These women did not look happy and frankly I did not find them particularly beautiful or stylish. Do they have no conscience that hundreds of millions of women and children in the world go without food and sufficient clothing? Why not donate all that money to good causes.

Then there were the so-called fashion gurus. Strange looking creatures who did not look or behave like men or women but something in between, however they surely know how to exploit these filthy rich ladies.

I never was fashion conscious and like to dress casual. When I worked in an office environment I wore casual clothes. I received an indirect reprimand, as there was a memo being circulated about how folks should dress - women and men. No short skirts for women or open collars for men. I realized that I was the only one deviating from the norm so the memo must have been directed at me. So from then on I started wearing a jacket or suit and tie, but grudgingly.

I like to look at beautiful women. In my view the beauty of women is a healthy body which has its own attraction and clothes which are within the norms of the society. Why does someone have to pay tens of thousands of dollars to cover one's body? It doesn't make them more attractive - maybe make them look ridiculous. Just eat well, exercise, and go for the natural beauty. Moderation in everything is important.

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Dmitry Medvedev interviewed by Fareed Zakaria of CNN

Who is really in-charge of Russia? Now you know the answer. Remember you learned it on this blog.

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Sarah Palin to speak in China

The event is closed to media but through our efforts we found out what she will be saying ;)

我可以从我的后院俄罗斯 (和中国了。我是一个傻瓜。(I can see Russia from my house and China too. I am a goofball).

Click here to read the story.

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Harper survives confidence vote

Meet the government of Socialists, Separatists and Steve.

Politics indeed makes strange bedfellows.

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Is Wolf Blitzer under cover in the U.S? ;)

He does not much care for Ahmadinejad of Iran but leaves the impression that he is sympathetic to Mousavi who was a candidate for the Presidency of Iran in the bitterly fought election of this year.

Is Blitzer actually an Ayatollah and living under cover in the U.S? Because some Ayatollahs are sympathetic to Mousavi ;)

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Stephen Harper Government is ready for the Swine Flu epidemic

Will it get any more creepy and morbid? Northern native communities asked for help to cope with H1N1 and Health Canada sends them a lot of body bags. What kind of message does that convey? It will creep out any community but especially natives who are not into preparing for death. Body bags give a forecast of deaths.

So far we have been defending our public health care when it was attacked by American Republicans as inefficient and indifferent to individual needs. Now they have new arsenal in their weaponry to attack. Get the public health care like Canada and public health will send you body bags when you are sick or need help. What were those officials thinking when they packed the body bags. Insensitivity of the worst kind. It gives me creeps when I think about it. Just imagine, receiving body bags in your mailbox with a note that it is H1N1 supplies. Yikes.

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Which way the Ottawa River flows

Whichever way the occupants of Parliament decide. In December 2008 it was all set that there would be a coalition government between the Liberals and the New Democrats supported by the Bloc and a two years pact. It started with Dion but Michael Ignatieff supported it. However, then Dion resigned as leader and Ignatieff was anointed as the new leader by the Liberal caucus. Come January 2009 Ignatieff changed his mind and decided to prop up the Harper Government. That went on until the end of the Parliament spring session of 2009. Come August Ignatieff changed his mind again and wanted to bring the government down. This time NDP and Bloc are saying "no dice Mikey we will prop up the Harper government". So they are even with Ignatieff now. Do you blame them?

Harper is playing the opposition parties like a fiddle and so far he has won all the political poker moves. The opposition has played Harper's game time and again. Is there really any opposition?

The real losers in all of this are the Canadian people.

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Steve goes to Washington

The Right Honourable Stephen Harper goes to Washington D.C. Right! Really. Is he that honourable? Reminds me of an American acquaintance of mine. He asked me why in Canada we call a mayor "your horseshit". I corrected him saying that it was "your worship". He laughed and said "whatever". Quite frankly I don't understand these formalities myself. What is this "Right Honourable" and "Your Worship" business? They are humans like us. Just "Mr. Prime Minister" or "Mr. Mayor" should be enough. These formalities are the remnants of the bad old days of Kings and Queens when they had a "divine rights of kings". I thought we left those days behind.

Anyway, what is Harper going to achieve through this visit at this juncture when his government is somewhat wobbly and his real master Bush is not in Washington anymore? I hope he does not commit more of our troops to Afghanistan for a longer period of time. Then of course he will meet his idols in Congress such as Joe Wilson and others of that ilk.

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Wolf Blitzer of CNN: The newest twit(ter) on the block

Wolf Blitzer just got a twitter account, he couldn't stop talking about it. He kept going tweet tweet on his Situation Room yesterday. What is up with this twitter business? I intend to stay away from it.

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Jimmy Carter Speaks Out on the Issue of Racism

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From Countdown With Keith Olbermann, Joe Wilson has unveiled the ugliness of racism in America.

UPDATE: Below is the interview with Jimmy Carter by Brian Williams:

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Joe Wilson: Maureen Dowd’s column in New York Times

In her most recent column Maureen Dowd did an excellent job of calling out Joe Wilson's impulsive behaviour during the joint session when he yelled "you lie" during Obama's speech. She exposed the likes of Joe Wilson - as well as birthers, deathers, etc. - as racists, as people who cannot accept that an African-American is President of the United States.

She explains it very well in the following quote:

"I've been loath to admit that the shrieking lunacy of the summer - the frantic efforts to paint our first black president as the Other, a foreigner, socialist, fascist, Marxist, racist, Commie, Nazi; a cad who would snuff old people; a snake who would indoctrinate kids - had much to do with race."

It's great that these rightwing nuts are getting exposed for what they truly are, racists (of course not all conservatives are racists, but many racists do infect their movement). George W. Bush and Bill Clinton faced their share of opposition, but never the vitriol that Obama is facing, for instance no one ever questioned Clinton's or Bush's nationality... but then they were not black, and their middle name was not Hussein.

Click here to read the column.

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Iraqi shoe thrower – musical

Is this going to be the new hit? Iraqi shoe thrower is freed. He has become a folk hero in Iraq and has marriage offers and finacial offers. Way to go Muntadar al-Zeidi ;)

Click here

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Afghanistan: Another soldier gives the ultimate sacrifice with his life

Pte. Patrick Lormand was only 21. It is very sad.



Our mission in Afghanistan needs to be re-assessed. In the recent Afghan elections there are complaints of hundreds of fraud cases. Karzai's own former foreign minister and now his main political opponent Abdullah Abdullah has spoken out about the rampant fraud. On CNN he said that Karzai is doing as much harm to Afghan society as the Taliban. This is very depressing to hear when our soldiers are giving their lives to better the lives of Afghans. Unfortunately the lives of Afghans are not getting better, it is definitely not the fault of the soldiers, it is the corrupt political system in Afghanistan.

Karzai is allied with war lords and drug lords and yet all he can claim control of is Kabul - that's why he is called "the Mayor of Kabul." Maybe he needs these alliances to merely survive. Can NATO change that situation? Many experts say not through military force. The only solution left is negotiations, including with tribes allied to the Taliban, and to put a government in place that will better represent the will of the people of Afghanistan. A very tall order.

Our main concern must remain that our soldiers are not giving their lives in vain.

Click here to read the story of Pte. Patrick Lormand.

I intended to write more about the Afghanistan situation, the Karzai government, the corruption and fraudulent elections as claimed by Karzai opponents and some independent observers, but out of respect for Pte. Patrick Lormand I leave it at this for the time being.

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Joe Wilson: The Horse's A##

Too much importance is being given to this guy. CNN and other networks are talking about him non-stop. That is too much. He is nothing more than a horse's a## and he should be left there.

Obama has his flaws and has to still prove himself, but this Joe Schmo Wilson is plain wrong for behaving the way he did during the joint congressional session addressed by Obama.

Give Wilson the title he deserves and file him away.

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Ronald Reagan: The good guy

He is very impressive and very liberal in his thinking. He supported Barack Obama. I watched him on MSNBC a few times and one can't help but be impressed that this Ronald Reagan is so different from conservatives. Both him and Nancy Reagan support healthcare reform. Good for them.

If you don't know, he is the son of Nancy Reagan and the late President Ronald Reagan. The President was quite conservative, but what a difference a generation can make.

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IS KKK behind violent demonstrations?

We live in a very troubled world. Has the KKK morphed into birthers, teabaggers and deathers? Many of these demonstrations, whether at the state level or more recently in Washington D.C, had very little to do with healthcare or the economy and were more about a brutal anger of some kind. Is this anger directed at a black President? Is it too much for the white supremacists that a black man occupies the Whitehouse?

I am not saying that all the demonstrators are motivated by race but the driving force behind these demonstrations seems to be race. Long before global warming destroys our planet the stupidity and prejudices of human beings may do it. What has transpired in the last few months in the US is alarming.

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Joe Wilson with evidence that Obama lied on healthcare

What is with South Carolinians? Do they eat weed for breakfast?

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Stephen Harper has a new Financial Advisor

This is in view of the out of control financial situation and a projected deficit of over $55 billion. Since Jim Flaherty cannot do it alone, Harper is reaching out. And who knows best to juggle billions around than Bernie Madoff himself ;)

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Joe Wilson: Republican Stupidity

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Keith Olbermann's Special Comment, my take on it all is that Republican Representative Joe Wilson fell into the gutter, a gutter probably built by Joe the Plumber.

John McCain, during the 2008 campaign, gave quite a gift to the Republican Party in the person of Joe the Plumber who dug the trenches of a gutter for Republicans where birthers, deathers, teabaggers, and their like wallow and fester like mosquitoes in a filthy puddle.

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Private Health Insurance= Highway Robbery in broad daylight

Robber asks the victim for a date.

In this case the victim calls the police and gets the robber arrested.

What does this story has in common with private healthcare? Private health insurance companies are robbers too but the date in this case is a willing victim - like Republican Michele Bachmann. I don't believe in private healthcare and it scares the hell out of me because of the profit motive. A customer of such companies is a valued customer as long as he/she pays hefty premiums and is healthy and makes no claims. But the minute the customer makes a claim and there is no longer profit then what happens? What comes first? Customer's health or profit? If you think it is health then think again. Private health insurance is the real death panel. I think Americans must wake up to this reality. And we must shut up the voices of those in Canada who are pushing for private healthcare. I think even drug coverage should be under public hands removing the profit motive from that important aspect of healthcare.

Private healthcare is only good for those who are very rich or very gullible.

UPDATE: I realize that "shut up" was not an appropriate word in this context; but we should take on those who would seek privitization of our healthcare system.

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Racism is well and alive in the US and Canada

This is the ugly side of our countries – both US and Canada. With the election of Barack Obama the real ugly side of the US started showing: the birthers, teabaggers, KKK, and other bigots and racists started coming out of the wood works.

Some Americans, especially in the south, are terribly upset that a black man is occupying the Whitehouse. That is why you saw these morons on TV, who call themselves birthers, questioning the legitimacy of Obama to be President contending that he was born in Kenya. Tell the truth birthers, that you're upset because he is black.

Then this teabaggers stuff started. Same racist groups. Both birthers and teabaggers are becoming an embarrassment for the mainstream Republicans and others who tried to embrace them. Similar manifestations came forth with the healthcare reform raising the issue of "death panels" and "pulling the plug on granny". Fear mongering of the most repulsive kind is succeeding which shows how racists can be effective at influencing the general public and at causing damage.

The real death panel and those who pull the plug on grannies are the private health insurance companies. It is frightening that healthcare is based on profit motives where, if there is no profit, the plug is pulled and to hell with granny's health or for that matter anyone else's health. My personal belief is that healthcare must be free of any profit motive otherwise it is deadly to our health with the exception of the very rich. The only way profit motive can be removed is through public healthcare. Americans are making a stupid mistake if they do not go for meaningful reform and the public option.

Similar racism showed up when Obama planned to speak to schoolchildren. The racists came out in full force to stop him. They conveniently forgot that practically all former Presidents spoke to schoolchildren. What is different in the case of President Obama is that he is black and how dare he play a role model to the children of these racist folks. Their excuse is that Obama is going to indoctrinate these children. If he wants to indoctrinate children by telling them to work hard and stay in school then which parent will disapprove of it other than racists.

I included Canada because since Harper took over racism started showing its ugly face more blatantly. First Harper indicated that certain dress means terrorism such as the turban forgetting that there are a few Sikhs in Parliament. Then there were the positions taken on minority Canadian citizens such as Maher Arar, Suaad Haji Mohamud, Omar Khadr and many others.

Then when a white man from South Africa applied for refugee status stating that he was afraid of black men beating him up in South Africa he was given refugee status in no time – how dare black men scare this "poor" white guy. Who got the title of racist country in the world because of this incident? Canada.

What happened to the Trudeau's human rights policy, multiculturalism and Charter of Rights and Freedoms?

What is happening now are dangerous trends. I see no difference between the KKK, birthers, teabaggers and many other manifestations of the deadly diseases of racism which have plagued many societies over the centuries.

This racism is being carried out on the international level. For example when our soldiers are killed in Afghanistan (which is indeed a terrible tragedy). Our soldiers should not be there and our politicians must not use them as sacrificial lambs. Now the corrupt government of Karzai has removed any legitimacy which might have been there. The terrorists are considered bad (and rightly so) but if we kill hundreds of civilians through bombing then it is just collateral damage.

We are all humans and equal respect must be shown for all human life. As long as these discrepancies exist there is no chance for peace in the world.

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Happy 09/09/09

Once in a century event that three single digits (three nines) will line up like this. Some consider it good luck others don’t. Go figure.

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Obama Speech to School Children: Conservatives provide the rebuttle

I got this link via A Creative Revolution. It is hillarious and worth watching. Spread the word. Conservatives must have their voices heard ;)

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Obama's speech to school children: Neo-cons upset

Now you know why? Is it not apparent he is trying to indoctrinate the students? ;) If you have any doubts read the speech here.

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Mysteries of the Mind

This is a fascinating story of a homeless person who was once headed for Carnegie Hall, he is an extraordinarily gifted musician. But then life took a strange turn for him and his mental illness, schizophrenia, took over and he became a homeless street person.



He was gifted but unfit to live a so-called normal life. How can the mind be so well wired for certain abilities yet missing other instincts of survival? Those are the mysteries of the mind and of life. We claim to know so much yet we know so little. A while ago I read a book by a well-known brain surgeon, Dr. Wilder Penfield, who lived in Montreal. In his book he indicated that he has some understanding of the physical part of the brain but that the mind is something else and beyond his grasp and understanding as it has no physical existence. He then had his own theory of God, that if the mind is evolved enough it can make that connection which cannot be explained in physical and so-called scientific terms. In his explanation, the mind has the ability to access God and that ability is developed in varying degree for different human beings.

As far as quality of life, I don't know who is better off, this musician or Bill Gates. Who is happier we do not know. Just think of the worries of the rich when stocks are tumbling. Some even committed suicide. At least this musician has none of those worries.

Life remains an extraordinary mystery and we are a long way to understand it. I will say both fanatic religious and fanatic atheists are at extremes. By fanatic atheists I mean the extremes such as Joseph Stalin of the former USSR who did the killing in the name of social justice - some social justice. Capitalism does the killing for greed in the name of God. So who is better? I do not know. Or who is the worse? I will say both extremes.

We have a long way to go to fully understand life, but in the meantime if we can learn to live peacefully then that in itself will be a monumental achievement. What limited study I have done of religions, I have found that they all teach peace whether it is Buddhism, Christianity, Judaism or Islam. However, people forget the peace part and declare God as partisan to their cause and then proceed to kill in his name.

I hope someday that we will evolve to a better and more peaceful world provided we do not destroy the globe through our selfishness and greed. That destruction could take place through wars or plain destruction of the environment and one strong indicator of environmental destruction is accelerating global warming. The earth and life on it evolved over centuries and it could devolve too, as it may be in the nature of things, but we must not contribute to its devolution or destruction.

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Bill Maher Interviews Bill Moyers: Part III

Continuation of the interview on the Afghanistan War and on the Kennedy and Johnson administrations. Very good insights.

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Bill Maher Interviews Bill Moyers: Part II

Continuation of the interview on Healthcare and Wars: Vietnam and now the Afghanistan War.

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Bill Maher Interviews Bill Moyers: Part I

Thought provoking interview on healthcare.

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Embassy Guards Wild Party in Afghanistan: Some faces revealed ;)

A lot of research and interviews have gone into it. It is something the MSM has completely missed such as CNN, Fox, MSNBC and in Canada, CBC. But my team of investigative journalists was able to discover them ;) Here are they from right to left:

Dubya
Steve
Mickey
Tony and
John

On their personal request their last names are withheld. However we can disclose that they do come from different NATO countries.

There are a few who are still unidentified. In the due course we may find out.

Update: The participants have given their consent that we can disclose their full names and their country.;) Click here

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Barack Obama’s speech to schoolchildren

Let me first say a few words about Obama. First, that he is a fallible human being like the rest of us and he has yet to be tested. Therefore I don't believe in an Obama cult of any type. He is yet to be tested in how he manages the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and in how he deals with international issues such as Iran, Israel, and Palestine. One speech in Egypt (while a good start) will not resolve the problems or unpopularity of the USA in these part of the world. Also he has yet to be tested on healthcare reform and other domestic issues.

However, he is the duly elected President of the United States. So the latest objections by Repugs that it is dangerous in that he speak to school children are more than preposterous, they are plain bigoted. Redneckers became a little redder at their necks. Reagan spoke to schoolchildren and so did Bush Sr. but there were no such objections. George W. Bush was talking to schoolchildren when the World Trade Centre was being attacked and no one objected then. Actually he kept talking to the children (or rather staring aimlessly like a deer in the headlights) even after he was informed of the attacks and that was kind of good as he did not want to alarm children but no objections were there as there are in the case of Obama. What is different other than the fact that the current President is a black man?

Now these very parents will not object if their children are listening to David Duke spewing out his hatred towards blacks and other minorities. They probably will not object if their children are helping themselves to porn on the Internet late at night. But Obama speaking to them is so terribly so bad. It is many manifestations of KKK to Teabaggers to Birthers and on and on it goes.

As I said, he is a duly elected President of the USA. Now every time he wants to speak these Teabaggers and Birthers are going to object. First it was a catholic university and now it is speaking to children. Some have gone to the limit to say that he can indoctrinate children into liberal values and he has no right to do that. I would think that these children are much smarter than a lot of Congressmen and women, and he speaking to members of Congress on Wednesday. Is there not a real danger there that he can hypnotize these good conservative Congressmen and women? Should these very people who are objecting to him talking to children be objecting that he is speaking to Congress? That is where the real danger lies as Congressmen/women can do things which will impact people's lives while children cannot do that. Then he speaks more often to these Congressmen and women. That is where the real danger lies. Speak up.

These Repugs, neo-cons, birthers, and teabaggers are truly becoming a joke. It will be really funny if they did not cause so much harm. In the end they will hurt the cause of Repugs more than Obama or the Democrats could ever do. This movement of Repugs is truly becoming repugnant.

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Crime and Terrorism

This fellow Guy Heinze Jr. killed 8 members of his own family according to police. If this fellow were a minority or a Muslim it would have made much bigger news. Why are we so biased? A study a decade or so ago revealed that juvenile delinquency and crime in general was lowest in places like China, India and Pakistan because of the influence of parents not police – through social control as opposed to legal police control. Although things are changing fast in places like Pakistan thanks to the American invasion of Afghanistan which has destabilized Pakistan. Yet the crime rate is still much lower. So which are better societies?

Here are names of people this Heinze guy has killed:

The dead included the suspect's father, Guy Heinze Sr., 45; his uncle, Rusty Toler Sr., 44; and his aunt, Brenda Gail Falagan, 49. Also slain were Toler Sr.'s four children — Chrissy Toler, 22; Russell D. Toler Jr., 20; Michael Toler, 19; and Michelle Toler, 15.

Chrissy Toler's boyfriend, Joseph L. West, 30, was also killed. Byron is her son.

Click here to read the story.

Police: Grandma threatened to bomb school

Now this Grandma threatened to bomb the school. Easy before you jump to conclusions. She is not from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia or Iran, she is a home grown terrorist - a white American. I believe we are very troubled societies in the West and we need to learn a lot from these other societies, rather than invading them in the name of democracy and then turning them into living hells only to afterward claim that we have given them freedom. We are being very dangerous hypocrites.

SAN ANTONIO - Officials accuse a 51-year-old San Antonio grandmother of phoning a bomb threat to an elementary school that wouldn't let her visit her grandchildren.

Click here to read the story.

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Alberto Gonzales's new song - a hit.

Quite a hit. Enjoy.

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Glenn Beck is plain crazy

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Watch Keith Olbermann go crazy over it. Forget about Jon Stewart, this guy Olbermann is going to take over Comedy Central.

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Philip Garrido: A face of a hideous criminal

In the case of Garrido, the legal system and the courts terribly failed society and it failed the two little girls and the 25 years old woman who became his victims. Now police have released information that Garrido raped a 14 year old girl in 1972 and he went free because the victim would not testify, probably because she was too afraid: Click here for the story.

Then there was the case of Katherine Callaway Hall who was abducted and raped by Garrido in 1976. This time the police caught him and he was prosecuted and sentenced to 50 years. He served less than 12 years and he was out again: Click here for the story.

If only he would have been kept behind bars then Jaycee Dugard could have been spared. As we know now, he abducted her in 1991 and kept her imprisoned for 18 years.

I believe people can be reformed, especially when they are young, but this man was beyond any rehabilitation. It was a grievous blunder to let him loose on society. Now three cases of confinement and rape have been revealed. It is possible that more cases will be discovered. Predators like him must be kept in a cage and always locked up.

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Julie Couillard case keeps on giving

More revelations:

- Misplaced papers left at the home of Julie Couillard contained hundreds of pages of material stamped 'Secret' Le Devoir says

- Montreal — The Canadian Press Last updated on Thursday, Sep. 03, 2009 11:58AM EDT; The misplaced documents that got Maxime Bernier booted from cabinet last year contained a treasure trove of sensitive information, according to a newspaper report today. Details of the documents were revealed in a report by Montreal's Le Devoir newspaper titled: 'A mine of crucial information for the enemy.'

Click here to read more.

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Is Canada Racist?

Can we believe this trio that Canada in not racist? It is disturbing how Canada has handled some immigration cases.

Maher Arar, a citizen of Canada, was deported to Syria (with full knowledge and approval of Canadian authorities) when he was in the US. He suffered in the jails of Syria as he was tortured there. It became an international case and after a lot of pressure Canada gave in and admitted him back into Canada.

Then there is Omar Khadr's case, Canadian-born who has been confined at Gitmo from a very young age. At worst he was a child soldier, otherwise he was an exploited young man indoctrinated by a certain environment. Even US authorities have given indications that he should go to Canada but the Harper government has fought back tooth and nail and now the Harper government is taking the case to the Supreme Court to stop Khadr's deportation to Canada. Does that not show a great amount of racism on the part of the Harper government?

The more recent case is that of Suaad Haji Mohamud who was detained in Kenya and imprisoned. The Harper government will not move on her case. She had a young son in Canada. Canadian immigration authorities asked for DNA tests before agreeing to let her back in. She languished in Kenya for over a year.

There are many other similar cases and all such cases involve a minority, mostly Muslims. What is happening to Canada, a country of multiculturalism? It is shameful.

More recently a white man from South Africa, Brandon Huntley, applied for refugee status claiming that he would be prosecuted by blacks in South Africa and that he was attacked by blacks in Africa when he was there. Jason Kenney and officials wasted no time to take him in their arms to welcome him to Canada (true the decision was made by the Immigration and Refugee Board, but the buck stops with the government and one can have little doubt that the Board have been taking cues from Stephen Harper and his cronies). South African officials are crying racism and probably rightly so. After all, one of Harper's MPs, Rob Anders, called Nelson Mandela a terrorist and asked that he not be given honorary Canadian citizenship. Shame.

As a Canadian, I feel ashamed about the actions of Harper and his cronies.

To read the Brandon Huntley story, you can click here.

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Do rightwing nuts want Obama assassinated?

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This is scary. According to Dan Savage, a columnist who appeared on MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann, some of these rightwing nuts are consciously or unconsciously provoking people to kill Obama. Are slogans of "death panels" and "pulling the plug on granny" actually meant to incite crazies to harm Obama? Birthers, teabaggers, Michelle Bachmann, Glenn Beck, and other crazies must be stopped before they do irreversible damage. Some of these crazies are showing up with guns at public meetings where Obama is speaking. This should send alarm bells. These crazies must be taken into custody before it is too late.

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Michael Ignatieff to bring the Harper government down?

Can we believe Iggy? Have we not been through this before? He has given new meaning to the phrase "talk is cheap". I hope he keeps his word this time. In the past he showed similar displeasure towards Harper only to take a fast "right exit" when it came time to vote. I say "right exit" because he is quite on the right with his buddy Harper when put to test whether on the environment or on international policy.

Let us hope that this time he keeps his word and he is the changed Iggy that he says he is. That he will stand for environment, for better and improved public healthcare, compassionate international policy and not be in the pockets of the oil industry or American bosses. If he does change, then who knows Canadians may actually trust him.

Click here to read the story.

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Jaycee Dugard: A very disturbing story

This young lady, Jaycee Dugard, was abducted in broad daylight when she was only 11 years old. She was kept in captivity for 18 years in the backyard of Phillip Garrido and he had two children with her, two girls aged 11 and 15 now. Questions are being raised as to why she didn't try to escape when she had so many opportunities. In her case, I have some understanding as she was only 11 years old at the time of abduction and then she was indoctrinated at that tender age like fanatics indoctrinate young people into a religion or a cult. Then of course she had children, and which mother does not get attached to her children and to certain extent to the father of the children, especially when father controlled every aspect of her life.

What I do not understand is why Nancy Garrido, Phillip Garrido's wife, co-operated with this man in the abduction and then in confining her and letting him have children with her. She was a grown up woman at the time of the abduction. Did she not feel jealousy that another much younger woman was coming in her husband's life? Why did she not object and expose the man.

There are other similar cases where wives are involved in abductions, witness sexual abuse of the abducted and just do nothing. That part is hard to understand. Psychologists have analysed the man and victim but said very little about the wife. Another heartbreaking part is what will happen to the little girls born to Jaycee Dugard when they learn the full story of their mother and father. What kind of pain will it cause and how will it affect their adult life? All these are very troubling questions.

Nonetheless both Phillip Garrido and Nancy Garrido are hideous criminals and it is hoped that they get proper punishment and never see the light of the day again. They truly belong in the slammer. Phillip Garrido must have never been let go after his first rape case in 1990s. It was a grievous blunder.

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