Stephen Harper and a true WTF moment

Stephen Harper is being given a Human Rights Award by the Canadian Jewish Congress?!? What for? Because he approved Israel's indiscriminate killing of over 700 women and children during the December 2008 invasion of Gaza. Also approving of Israel's indiscriminate killing of women and children in 2006 when it invaded Lebanon. What is this? Divine rights of Israel to kill kill kill, and kill some more? I suppose Palestinians and other Arabs are not humans and it is promoting human rights when you kill them or approve of such killing. I thought all humans are created equal but apparently this is not so.

And Ignatieff and Layton are speaking at the same function. What kind of skull-duggery is this. These guys are a bigger jerks than I could ever imagine. This is truly a WTF moment.

Click here to read more.

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North Korea and Israel - Flashpoints for World Peace

Both North Korea and Israel are dangerous flash points which can start a perilous war the world has yet to see.

Let us look at North Korea first. Kim Jong-il is one sick puppy. He is in poor health, old and dangerously eccentric. He is bent upon making North Korea a big nuclear power and it does not matter to him if his people have shelter over their heads or food to eat. It has become a strange country reflecting Kim Jong-il's eccentricities and it looks that no one even smiles in North Korea, they look like a people from another planet. Kim Jong-il's arms build up is making South Korea, Japan, and many other countries very nervous. If Kim Jong-il takes some erratic action of attacking another country, then world watch out, it is going to be a very perilous war.

Equally volatile and dangerous, if not more so, is Israel. Especially under the leadership of Benjamin Netanyahu as Prime Minister and Avigdor Lieberman as a Foreign Minister. Netanyahu is known to be hawkish and not ready to accept any agreement which will involve the creation of an independent Palestinian state. His recent statements that settlements will continue in the West Bank is making the Obama administration very nervous . As far as Lieberman is concerned, he is "foreign" to any negotiations and would like Palestinians pushed out of Gaza and the West Bank to neighbouring Arab countries, or just plain obliterate the Palestinians. This does not look good for Middle East peace.

What is the most troubling about Israel is that successive US administrations have armed Israel to the teeth. Israel wants that no neighbouring countries should have any weapon and if a Palestinian kid has a rock to throw at an Israel military tank, then he is "armed and dangerous" and must be dealt with, even killed.

Moreover, Israel has over 100 nuclear war heads thanks to successive US administrations however any neighbouring countries dare not experiment with developing a nuclear arsenal. For that reason Israel made aerial attacks on Syria and Iraq in the past to destroy their suspected nuclear plants. Similar threats are being made to Iran. To make the area nuclear free it is extremely important that Israel is nuclear free too, otherwise Iran and Syria and other Arab countries will try to arm themselves with nuclear weapons to protect themselves from Israel. Israel cannot forever behave like a master in the Middle East and dictate terms. Furthermore, Israel needs to pull back to pre-1967 boundaries if it wants peace. Israel also has to let Palestinians have their independence. It is a simple equation of human nature. No nation or people can be subjugated indefinitely.

The Arab world is already on edge because of the Bush administration's disastrous policies, especially the invasion of Iraq. Any actions by Israel will be throwing gasoline on the fire.

If the world, especially the influential nations like the US, Russia and China, do not take care of these problems then we are in for a rough ride or a big explosion where nothing will be left to ride anymore and it will be a one big crash and burn catastrophe. We need to do something about the Kim Jong-ils, Benjamin Netanyahus and Avigdor Liebermans of this world.

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Judge Sonia Sotomayor and Rush Limbaugh

Barack Obama has nominated Hispanic Judge Sonia Sotomayor for the US Supreme Court and some of the Repugs have gone berserk, such as former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and big mouth Rush Limbaugh. They are calling the judge a racist. This is truly the pot calling the kettle black. Limbaugh is also upset that Obama is succeeding. What is wrong with these guys? Not only are they making fools of themselves, but they are also hurting the Republican Party. Bye bye Latin American vote for Repugs. This is making some member of the Congress very nervous but Limbaugh and Gingrich are not fazed at all as they continue their hyperbole. Smart move on the part of Obama as he has turned on the Repugs' self-destruct switch.

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Governor General Michaëlle Jean’s Seal of Approval

First let me clarify, I am not questioning the way of life of Natives. It is not their actions at question but that of the Governor General.

If Sarah Palin's actions were so repulsive when she stood in front of a turkey killing machine, why is Michaëlle Jean getting the seal of approval? Why are even some of our own reporters using double standards here. I think her eating a raw seal heart did not promote any cause. It simply put more fuel on the fire.

I have been a supporter of the Governor General right from the beginning because she represents visible minorities and women. Even after she agreed to prorogue Parliament at Harper's urgings, my view was that as GG she did not have much choice as she has to do what the PM asks her to. But this one was a little over the top and it looked like a job interview to be confirmed for another 5 years as Harper and company do support her actions. I do consider her behaviour bizarre.

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Governor General Michaëlle Jean Eats Raw Seal Heart

What was she thinking? This one was over the top. Supporting seal hunt is one thing but standing in that blood and gory and then eat the heart of seal. Odd!

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India's Growing pains - Update

Here is the video shown on PBS.

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India's Growing Pains

As India's economy grows, it is becoming more exposed to the World. PBS had a story on India the other day which talked about the Untouchables and how they are required to work in the sewers only, without any protection from gases in the sewer lines - the levels of injury and disease is very high because of this. I must admit, I found it flabbergasting that, in this day and age, that fellow human beings can be put through that kind of living hell. I hope this exposure will help India overcome this kind of severe human rights violation -- it's amazing that we talk about human rights violations in China, but so little is known about India.

Please Note: I was unable to find the PBS video online, but I found another video from the United Nations which talks about this issue.

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Dangers in this world

In my view these gas guzzling cars and other vehicles are more dangerous than the Taliban. The Taliban are confined to a small area of the world and can be tackled with but these gas guzzling monsters are everywhere and are slowly poisoning us all. Also, they are more difficult to tackle with as there are too many car-hugging folks around.

The Taliban were created by the US when the Soviets invaded Afghanistan. The US happily funded these Jihadists to fight the Soviets and later the same group became the Taliban. There were better ways to deal with the Taliban, which is diplomacy which would have gone a long way. Let us not forget that the Taliban never invaded the US or Canada and it was mostly Saudis who were allegedly involved in 9/11. Therefore the invasion of Afghanistan was uncalled for. Now we complain about IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices) and suicide bombers. What do you expect? We invaded their country, we are occupying their country, not the opposite.

As far as these gas-guzzlers are concerned and other sources of CO2s, they are causing global warming and are the real danger to the safety and well being of our planet and are a danger to all kinds of life which exists on it.

Everything was created for a reason including the mouth, eyes, and ears of humans. So dear politicians and leaders use them properly. Give some break to your mouth and have nice nutritious food, chatter less and listen more and see what is going on all around you. Then there is the brain and it has a purpose too. Again dear politicians and leaders, please use it properly and then you would do a favour to yourself and to humanity.

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Michael Ignatieff and Stephen McNeil (NS Liberal Leader)

Michael Ignatieff recently visited Nova Scotia, and when he stood on stage with the NS Liberal leader, there was an uncanny resemblance. McNeil looks like a younger version of Ignatieff. Now I have put them in a beard, which McNeil used to have, and the resemblance is a little better. McNeil shaved his beard I think because CTV had a news item which pointed out that politicians with beards do not fair well. What politics makes you do - even change the identity and put on a different mask literally and metaphorically.

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Stephen Harper and Michael Ignatieff: How the Coalition was formed?

You might have watched this Air Farce clip. It is funny and truly describes the background to the coalition between Harper and Iggy.

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Canadian Politicians Can Sing.

The Darth Vader Rap by our politicians. Enjoy.

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Mao Tse Tung and Nostalgia

It was in the news that a lot of Chinese are very unhappy with the way the US economy has failed during the Bush-Cheney era. Some Chinese are angry with their government investing in capitalist US as some of these investments have hit the rock bottom. There is also a lot of nostalgia about Mao Tse Tung glory days. The Chinese are saying they are a powerful economy and US brand of capitalism will endanger its growth and stability. Go figure. Is there going to be a swing back to communism? Thank you Dubya.

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It is not Harper’s fault ;)

Seismologically our Parliament is built on a fault so Harper can say it is not his fault. When people work there something happens to them because of the nature of the foundation of the Parliament buildings ;)

Now let us look at Harper. He promised scandal free and open government. Scandals we had a few including the Chuck Cadman affair. Then of course he passed the legislation for a fixed election date. We all know what happened to that. Open government? Harper government is one of the most secretive. Most of all past PMs made themselves available to the media but not Harper. Tight controls were put in place as to who can ask the PM questions. Then of course most Ministers and MPs are muzzled.

Now comes the Oliphant inquiry. Choosing Oliphant in itself was interesting. A former Conservative federal Minister and appointed by Brian Mulroney to the bench. They cannot come any more politically tainted. When Mulroney was being questioned it looked that Judge Oliphant tried hard to warn Mulroney how he must not self-incriminate and clarified such points very quickly. I hope I am wrong and we will get a very objective report.

Then of course, and this a big "then", Mulroney's lawyers and PR staff will be receiving $2.2 million in fees and compensation paid by the taxpayers. The inquiry itself is going to cost us $16 million as reported by the CBC. Guess who is the biggest loser in all of this. You and I the taxpayers. WE are the big suckers. If we are not the big suckers, then please name one who qualifies better than us.

All the inquiry has done so far is give Harper the Weapons of Mass Distraction. Forget about the economy; forget about job losses; let us watch the soap opera starring Brian Mulroney, Karlheinz Schreiber, and Judge Oliphant. I hope you all had fun because the $16 million production cost is not a pittance.

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Olbermann to Limbaugh: F.U. -- WTF?!? Moment

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A Taste of Torture

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A conservative radio host who previously said that waterboarding was not torture had his mind changed when he was waterboarded - he said it was worse than he thought it would be, and that is was "absolutely torture."

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Dick Cheney – Torture Mania

Dick Cheney is not giving up despite that talking heads on news networks and political pundits have pointed out that his ramblings are hurting Repugs just like the ramblings of Rush Limbaugh. Maybe astronauts should have taken these two and put them in the Hubble Space Telescope, as they do not belong on planet earth. They could have communicated there with extraterrestrial creatures. At least their lack of understanding would have been mutual – extraterrestrials not understanding them and vice versa.

Hey Dick it is about time that you get lost. It is about time to cut-off this Dick. Calling on a certain Ms. Bobbit.

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Keith Olbermann - Cheney's Speech False to Fact and Reason

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Great Special Comment by Keith Olbermann. Dick Cheney claims that Obama is not strong on national security, but it was because of Dick Cheney's negligence that the 9/11 attacks were allowed to happen in the first place (as he ignored all the warnings). When will Dick Cheney just go away?

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Religions and Exploitation

Most religions teach brotherhood and sisterhood and ethical standards to live by. However, we being human with all our shortcomings forget the basic teachings of religion and hang on to the rituals. One of these rituals is celibacy among Catholic clergy and teaching abstinence. Both do not work because we are fighting against nature. If someone is religious and believes in God then that very God created that nature and going against nature will amount to going against God.

We all know about abstinence that it does not work. Latest example is Sarah Palin's daughter and multiply that by a few million. Then there is John McCain's daughter who has spoken out that abstinence does not work. So boys and girls, get some condoms and birth control pills after you turn 18 but before that abstinence will be recommended because child-raising is not an easy matter.

Let us discuss celibacy. That does not work either. In Ireland they are finding out that 40% of Catholic clergy was sexually active and serious sexual molestation of children took place. It happened in Newfoundland Canada, as well as elsewhere in Canada and around the world. It is about time that this ritual be revised. Mr. Pope if you believe in God, which you do, then do something. Going against nature is not much help to God as he created that nature.

To read more about abuse of children by Catholic clergy in Ireland, click here.

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Rush Limbaugh quits as the ‘head’ of the Republican Party.

Where would his ‘head’ go next?

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Peter Mackay, Peter Pan or Ali Baba

Harper and partners have been telling us a story from the Arabian Nights - ie. Ali Baba and the 40 thieves plus magic lamp. We were told in 2006 by Harper that we were winning in Afghanistan. That how important the mission was and that you were either with him or with the Taliban. My oh my times change. Now we hear of negotiation with the Taliban and that we can try and contain the insurgency but there is no such thing as winning. Yes we lost the lives of over 100 soldiers but someone please tell me what are our gains.

In last few days Peter Mackay - or Peter Pan or, even more appropriately, Ali Baba - has dropped by in Afghanistan. Now he knows that victory was always elusive and he started talking about rebuilding and reconstruction of Afghanistan. Then he tells us that for reconstruction why there should be a time limit when we can do it indefinitely. What a balderdash. C'mon, why not admit that our mission is a failure and soldiers' lives were lost, and alot of taxpayers money was spent for what goal to be achieved. Ali Baba and the 40 thieves plot intensifies.

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Sri Lanka and ongoing tragedy in the world

In recent years barbarianism and savagery was relived through Bush and co-conspirators such as Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld. These savages chose to display the bodies of Saddam Hussein's sons after killing them and the same was done to Saddam Hussein himself after being hung. Should they have not shown some respect to the dead bodies? How are these barbarians different than barbarians who killed their adversaries and then hung their skulls outside their caves as trophies? And add torture to that.

What happened to progress, democracy, and civilization?

Now the Sri Lankan government is repeating that tradition started by Bush and fellow savages. It is bad enough that the Sri Lankan army has killed thousands upon thousands of people and is now displaying the bodies of dead Tamils. This is plain barbarianism and savagery. What happened to civilized manners of showing some respect to dead bodies? Thank you Bush for setting up such precedents of butchery, savagery, and barbarianism.

I do not know enough about Sri Lanka and the Tamil situation to give my opinion as to who is right and who is wrong in this conflict. But this display of dead bodies and news networks showing them again and again is totally reprehensible. Thousands of innocent people continue to be slaughtered and Bush's legacy lives on through all this. So few caused so much murder and mayhem in the world.

The stupidest story coming out of all is that Bush and gang believed that God was on their side for all this savagery. It is this kind of stupidity that must make God break into tears, that what a creature he has created.

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George W. Bush - More Stupidity Revealed

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From Keith Olbermann's Countdown. Donald Rumsfeld and George W. Bush say that God was on their side, what extraordinary damage to the very concept of God being just and fair. According to Bush, God approved his actions in Iraq - slaughter and murder. This moron Bush, along with Cheney and Rumsfeld, belong in a mental asylum. If left free, they are still capable of more crimes.

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Age and Experience

You know in China and other traditional Asian societies there is a lot of respect for age and experience. At least that is what I learned through my travels and studies. After all, the longer you are on this Earth the better you know how to deal with your fellow human beings and other socio-physical environments.

In the West we are obsessed with individualism. At university I learned about this teacher's son who was using four letters words and was swearing in his living room while watching TV with his sister and mother. The professor got upset and told the youngster that he had the right to express but he must get his own living room and TV for swearing. The boy responded, "hey old man be nice otherwise I will have to call Family Services to tell them about your cruelty towards me and for trying to control my speech." In these parameters, how do you teach your children manners?

That brings me to Bush Sr. and Bush Jr. or Dubya. Bush Sr. did invade Kuwait to "liberate" it from Saddam's army. Bush Sr. had some excuse as one sovereign nation took over another sovereign nation (although it did not stop the US from doing the same) despite Iraq's claim that Kuwait was always part of Iraq until the British did the division. Also the US ambassador to Iraq indicated to Saddam that the US would not object to such an invasion. I put "liberate" in quotation marks because before Saddam's invasion, Kuwait was probably run by oil barons and it is run by oil barons again who are in bed with local sheiks. It has become a permanent military base for the US to keep a watch on oil resources in the region. Bush Sr. was smart enough to not go beyond Kuwait as he realized that it would be an unwinnable war and a quagmire.

Why did Bush Sr. not give this advice to Dubya as a father and former President that it was a wrong move to invade Iraq. Or Dubya is just like that teacher's son and would consider such advice an intrusion into his ability to decide independently. But he wasn't independent, as it looks Cheney and Rumsfeld made those decisions for him.

Iraq has become the biggest fiasco of the Bush administration and not only the current generations of Iraq and US are suffering but suffering will be passed on to the coming generations. I do not need to explain about Iraq as it is obvious but in case of the US there are over 4000 soldiers who will never come back. Their families and loved ones are trying to cope. Then there are tens of thousands of soldiers coming home with PTSD (Post traumatic syndrome disorder) and what kind families they will raise? Moreover, spending a trillion dollar on this senseless war has brought financial disaster for the US economy. Finally, it has alienated and antagonized the Arab world and Muslim world against the US. Now where are the gains?

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Body Tattoos and Piercing

First of all this post is no advice or lecture. Just my personal opinion. Do we not abuse our bodies enough through eating fast food and other junk food? Do we really need to pierce it and tattoo it? Both of which may be poisoning it.

We only get one body, so why not be a little more respectful of it. I have done my part of abuse and probably will continue to do so but NEVER tattooing or piercing. I think that is too much. If there is a world hereafter then surely we are not going to take our bodies there. It is the soul/mind which escapes the physical body. So even if there is an eternity, this body is once and no more. What is beautiful about mutilating the body? Ladies and gentleman look at the picture. Now which body is more attractive? The one with tattoos or the one without.

The lady with tattoos is relatively young, imagine how she'll look when she gets old.

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Dog Protects Dog.

You have heard of "dog eat dog" world. Opposite is true here, dog protects dog. Smart creature.

The injured dog had a broken leg and was the mother of the protector.

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Brian Mulroney – “What “is” is?”

I have been watching the Oliphant inquiry off and on whenever I get a chance. I do not know what to think of Brian Mulroney. He could have gone down in history as a good Prime Minister had he not been involved in shoddy dealings. He was no replacement of Trudeau, as Mulroney became very cozy with Ronald Reagan of the US which was not a good move.

In hindsight I think the Meech Lake Accord was a good deal for Canada and Quebec but he screwed it up by bragging about the "roll the dice" business which annoyed some Premiers and also many other politicians involved which, in the end, killed the Meech Lake Accord.

However Mulroney stood firm on human rights issues as he firmly supported sanctions against apartheid South Africa. He was also good on the environment and earned the title of green Prime Minister. He definitely was much more progressive than Stephen Harper.

His achievements went down the sewer after revelations of his shoddy dealings with Karlheinz Schreiber. What was he thinking? Mulroney had many Clintonian moments during the inquiry. He was asked why he did not tell the truth during the Airbus inquiry about having business relations with Schreiber. Mulroney declared during that inquiry that he had nothing to do with Schreiber. His answer was typical Clintonian, "it was the context" and he had no dealings with Schreiber in the context of Airbus. Yeah right Brian, too bad for you. At least Clinton had a lot of fun. Then Mulroney was asked why did it not bother him that he was receiving these bags of cash and that it could be inappropriate and illegal. He retorted something like this, "No sir they were not bags they were legal size envelopes." Yeah sure Brian and that really makes it legal and all is well.

It does not look good for Brian Mulroney. He mentored Stephen Harper and Steve already completely disowns him. What a cruel world! One feels sad for Mulroney and his family. He is 70 years old and should be enjoying his life as an elder statesman but all the shoddy dealing are coming back to haunt him. Life, thy name is tragedy.

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Keith Olbermann - WTF?!?

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Olbermann's latest WTF, it's a good one.

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World's 10 happiest counteries

Canada

We made the list, eh! Number 6. Number 1 is Denmark. I agree. It is indeed a great country. I have been there twice. People are friendly, happy and hospitable. Good list.

Click here for the list.

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A Dog with balls

I was walking by and I saw this man standing in his drive way with an old hockey stick, he would kick a ball and the dog would jump, run, pick up the ball, and bring it back to the man and put it near the feet of man or hand him over. The dog seemed to ensure that the man could not move an inch while the dog was having the time of his life and getting alot of exercise. I thought to myself, "smart dog."

At one point the man kicked two balls, one after the other. The dog picked up one ball and moved his head side to side, looked at the second ball and seemed to be saying, "hey fellow I may have a big mouth but not any bigger than yours" and proceeded with one ball at a time. There! This dog had the balls and smartness while the man was standing still and getting little exercise.

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CBC in the Jaws of Death

Over the years I have learned to appreciate the contributions of the CBC as a broadcasting organization. It gives more objective information than commercial news networks with less annoying commercials. It has become a national institution and a national icon up with our beloved snowbirds. To finish it off will be a tragedy, as it may become another Faux News. We need to save it from such sudden death and from the Harper government's Jaws of Death.

Now here is something I can support current Liberals on, saving the CBC. If only the Liberal leader would show more gumption on other issues such as the environment and war and peace issues in the world.

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Dick Cheney's Stature

Hey big Dick, give up. You're not relevant anymore and you don't matter in the scheme of things any longer.

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Keith Olbermann's New Feature - WTF!?!

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Cherniak_WTF, Olbermann's stealing your copyright ;)

This commentary is worth listening to, it's really good.

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The Great Misunderstanding

Whenever I get a little time, I walk on the city streets or through a park. There is always an interesting spectacle which is people walking with the illusion that they have their dog on a leash. I say it is an illusion because the opposite is true. It is the dog who decides when to stop, when to play with an electric pole or fire hydrant, whether to stop to smell something, whether to try to greet other people walking around or deciding on which trail to go on in the park. Even President Barack Obama and his family had that illusion when they brought Bo the dog to the Whitehouse, but Bo decided to tour the Whitehouse lawn in his own way and Obamas had no choice but comply.

So my fellow evolved (evolution) creatures, wake up and face the reality, it is the dog who has YOU on a leash and not the other way around.

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Dick Cheney at a love fest.

Cheney does have friends who tell him how he should amuse himself and have fun.

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A Monkey With A Conscience

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If only certain humans had a conscience such as Dick Cheney, Rush Limbaugh and Donald Rumsfeld.

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Donald Trump into the Rivers or dumps

This season Celebrity Apprentice became a bigger joke than it used to be as Donald Trump declared Joan Rivers the winner. The other final contestant, Annie Duke, raised four times more money for charity in the last episode (over $400,000 compared to little over $100,000 by comedian Rivers). Duke was manager more often than Rivers during the overall contest, won more contests, she is cool and collected and generally respectful of her fellow contestant. Meanwhile Joan Rivers and Melissa Rivers (her daughter) constantly complained and whined, insulted their fellow contestants, especially women. When Joan Rivers saw she couldn't win from Duke she called her Hitler, her supporters Mafia and many other insults. If Donald Trump follows any business ethics he should and must have fired Joan Rivers, but not so.

The guy takes himself too seriously. I see him nothing more than a product of a collision between a sperm and an egg like rest of the humanity or miniature of the big bang, which created the universe. Made after the image of God, eh.

Donald Trump's behaviour was unethical and it is not clear what Rivers has over this guy that despite her utterly irritable and cranky personality she survived the whole competition and was named the Celebrity Apprentice. Now Donald Trump should run for the President and if successful appoint her as Secretary of States and Rush Limbaugh public relations secretary. It will be a one big comedy but not good for the US however these characters care less.

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Dick Cheney needs a muzzle

During the Bush administration, Dick probably ran the show but from behind the scenes and from an "undisclosed location." Since the change of administration this guy just does not shut up and he is all over the media networks singing the songs of how great Gitmo is and how by closing it Obama is endangering the security of the United States. He also says that "enhanced interrogation," or blatant torture, did work.

Hey Dick what are you trying to do? Maybe you're afraid that you and your buddies will be made accountable for unlawful torture techniques. You are carrying out, as usual, pre-emptive strikes at the Obama administration as you carried out pre-emptive strikes elsewhere with disastrous results. You're the one who created extraordinary resentment against the United States in Arab countries and in rest of the Muslim countries because of Gitmo and torture.

Resentment is, and will be, motivation for the new recruits of extremists - a resentment which may survive for decades to come. You and your buddies not only further endangered the United States but also destabilized the world, especially the Middle East and the Afghanistan/Pakistan region. So Dick, it is about time that you shut the hell up and let the chips fall where they may. Another reason to remain shut-up is that the Obama administration is very hesitant to carry out any prosecution for illegal torture activities but through your big mouth you are providing all the reasons in the world that such a prosecution must take place.

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Michael Ignatieff and Iceman

What if a man from the ice age thaws out and goes to a tropical island and tries to lay down rules as to how the islanders should live and conduct themselves. Would the islanders not feel the resentment? Iggy has such a commonality with the iceman. He pretty well spent all his life abroad awashed in imperialism. He talked in the past about the need for an imperial power, like the US, to run the world. Now he comes to Canada and wants to become PM. Does this man really understand Canada, the Liberal Party and its ideology? His sole obsession seems to become the Prime Minister and all the rest is secondary.

Then Iggy's positions - or lack of them - are very disturbing. He supported the Iraq war and if he were PM instead of Chretien he would have happily sent Canadian soldiers to Iraq. He supported, and still supports, the Afghanistan war which is a major quagmire where innocent civilians are being slaughtered in Afghanistan and neighbouring regions of Pakistan with no end in sight. Is that what Iggy supports?

He has abandoned Dion's position on the environment. Although Dion making the green shift election issue was a blunder and I said so in my previous posts, it needs enhanced public awareness before green shift policies can be implemented. Iggy thinks Tar Sands are a great asset for Canada. It is an environmental disaster. Iggy also supported Israel's slaughter of women and children in Gaza by stating that Israel is just defending itself. Israel has routinely carried out such carnage in neighbouring area such as Lebanon and West Bank and the most recent one in Gaza. How can Iggy unconditionally support such a slaughter?

Iggy is too autocratic and self-centred to lead Liberal Party. Will this man learn and change? I do not know.

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Pakistan and Swat Valley

After the recent media coverage on Swat Valley I did some research of my own because those faces of innocent children bother me whether they are in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Swat Valley, Iraq, Sri Lanka, Gaza, or elsewhere. It is my understanding that after Alexander the Great was in that area it had been relatively a peaceful place and avoided trouble during the USSR invasion of Afghanistan. It is also one of the most beautiful places in the world. However that all changed after Bush invaded Afghanistan and some Taliban moved into the area. Now it is becoming a killing field. And that beautiful place has turned into a living hell for local residents. What rights does anyone have to do that?

It looks that Zardari of Pakistan (a.k.a "Mr. 10%" - a reference to his being corrupt when his wife Bhutto was in power) is under great pressure from the US to do something in Swat and military action has been taken. It is resulting in the killing of innocent civilians and displacing close to a million people. Since these young kids are being put through hell don't be surprised that they become in future "terrorists."

Where is all this leading to? We can never win there militarily. A former US soldier was interviewed on CNN and he said the only way is to talk to local people and that killing in Swat Valley will further discredit the US. If the US or US sponsored aggression stops, then it is possible to win the heart and minds of local people.

As far as our role in Afghanistan, I believe Harper must stop playing Alexander the Degrade. He should consider pulling out of Afghanistan and only play a role of peacekeeper assisting with socio-economic development to give back our dignity as peacekeepers. If we stay there as a combatant power then we are going deeper into the quicksand and putting our soldiers in harms way. I think it is about time that Steve comes to his senses. He must realize that his idol Bush is long gone and we are really not getting any gratitude from the US.

Now is the time for Iggy to show some guts and leadership instead of personal aggrandizement. Hey Iggy, so far you have been a major disappointment and if you maintain your current narcissistic approach then it will be nothing more than a second coming of Harper if you get elected PM.

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Ruby Dhalla and the Housekeeper Issue

Is there anything to allegations that she mistreated her housekeepers or is it one of those political assassination monstrosities? First it was some Bollywood movie and now this. Ruby Dhalla is one of the few Liberal MPs who actually has liberal views. This is based on what I read about her, including her stand on the proper education for special needs children.

Where is Iggy on this? What about supporting a fellow caucus member or is this autocratic man for himself only? Another disappointing action/non-action by Iggy.

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Ali Velshi, Lou Dobbs and Rick Sanchez: CNN Distractions

I read this interesting article on the Huffington Post about some annoying characters on CNN.

I do not know about the rest but the following three indeed can be very annoying.

Ali Velshi: If you enjoy gloom and doom then tune in for Ali Velshi and he will never disappoint you. His financial forecasts invariably end with a conclusion that the end is near. He will make quite a propaganda man if we intend to demoralize our enemies by giving news about their economy and financial situations. Ali, you must contact the CIA as they may have a job for you in Iraq or Russia.

Lou Dobbs: As the article pointed out, he does belong to the Fox News crowd. He will fit right in with Sean Hannity and Bill O'Reilly. There are right wing nuts and then there are plain nuts and Lou Dobbs fits in the second category. If he can help it, no non-white will ever be allowed into the US. It is obvious he wants to keep the US lily white. As soon as I hear his name I reach for the remote control. Hey Lou, you will be very successful on Fox News.

Rick Sanchez: Overall he is an OK guy but boy is he ever obsessed with himself. He keeps posing for the camera as if he is on a photo shoot for some role other than giving news. Take it easy Rick, you already have a role to give news and objective commentary.

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Stephen Harper in Afghanistan

Our majestic leader was in Afghanistan on a surprise visit. Since he was not invited to the Whitehouse when Karzai of Afghanistan and Asif Zardari of Pakistan were meeting Obama, he went to Afghanistan in desperation to show that he is a major player in the conflict and on the international stage. Other than wasting the tax payers money, I do not see any merit to his visit especially when Karzai is sitting in Washington D.C.

Even Obama is slowly pulling back from this war. He inherited this horrible war and being in quicksand up to the eyebrows, it will cause some hurt before it all ends. It is encouraging that he has put the diplomacy card on the table.

Harper wants to live in the glory days of Bush when Harper considered himself a big kahuna. Harper also has the illusions of being a conqueror. Bush was stupid enough to start this horrible and unwinnable war and quickly moved to Iraq, jeopardizing both regions and making them unstable for a long time to come. Bush also chose destruction over diplomacy. Harper is still into that illusionary mode of his master Bush.

Hey Steve, stop wasting our money and stop putting our soldiers in harms way. You should stay in Afghanistan and be a soldier for a while, then you might understand what damage you are inflicting.

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Joe the Plumber (Joe Wurzelbacher)leaving the Republican Party

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Sooooooo sad :)

Update: Sorry folks I posted the wrong video. The problem originated with MSNBC. I have posted the right video now.

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Father Alberto’s Dilemma

Father Alberto was having some fun on Miami Beach and the overarching Archdiocese relieved him of his duties. What would you do as a man and single if a consenting Stormy Denials shows up on a beach.

This celibacy thing is definitely outdated. I have a great problem with a religion that teaches and tries to practice unnatural living such as celibacy. We humans should work with nature, as going against it will bring disastrous results. Sexual urges were put there by the nature and as long as they are practiced within reasonable rules it should be OK. Celibacy is not reasonable at all, especially when we do not know for sure if Jesus was celibate.

Because of this unnatural imposition of celibacy, the Catholic Church has faced many scandals over the years including sexual abuse of young boys and girls. Which is better, molestation of children or recognition that even priests have sexual urges and that they should be allowed to marry? Removal of such unnatural restrictions will minimize these scandals and may even eliminate them as we do not hear of similar cases among other religions unless they are fanatic sects which is even worse.

It is about time to change the rules to become a priest. Moreover some highly qualified and spiritual people do not make it to priesthood and child molesters do. When will the Pope and the Catholic Church realize this?

Click here to read the story.

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Rush Limbaugh and Joe Wurzelbacher (Joe the Plumber) - The Faces of the Republican Party

It is interesting what is happening with the Republican Party in the US. It is going through its newfound puberty. They lost both the Congressional and Presidential elections in 2008 and now they seem to be rudderless. Two of the prominent faces of the party recently have been Rush Limbaugh and Joe Wurzelbacher (aka Joe the Plumber). The party had fun with tea bagging (sounds like a puberty stage when youngsters do experiment) all over the US. What is next for this party? Other faces which peek through once in a while are Sarah Palin and Bobby Jindal. Wow, sounds like fun.

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Swine Flue Paranoia

I was at a function yesterday. I saw this man taking a bottle from his pocket and squeeze some stuff on his hands and rub over his hands every time some one coughed. I realized that he was using disinfectant. My mind went into mischief mode. I inched closer to the guy, coughed a bit, and told him how bad the swine flue can be. As I was greeting another person and when I turned back the man had disappeared from the function. That is how bad the paranoia is. Human thy name is fickle.

Then I thought of all those Canadian travellers in China who are being quarantined. However, they are being fed well. Then I thought of street folks that I chat with once in while and thought maybe they have a good chance to play on this paranoia and get some good food a few days in one of the health facilities around town.

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Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi of Italy has girl problems

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Berlusconi is indeed a dirty old man ;)

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Brande Roderick, Joan and Melissa Rivers

All I watch on TV are news and reality shows. Some of my friends have told me that they do not much care for reality shows. I like these shows however because they are a good study in human nature and all my life I have been a student of human nature.

One of the shows I watch is Celebrity Apprentice. It is bad enough that Donald Trump has a huge ego but on his new show participants have even bigger egos as they are celebrities. However two very annoying characters are Joan Rivers and her daughter Melissa Rivers. They are truly a nasty pair. Although they were playing on opposite teams, they continued to nourish each other's egos. They are proverbial she-devils. They pretty well insulted every participant on the show, especially women.

One of the friendly characters on the show is Brande Roderick. Okay moralists before you get too upset as she was Playboy centrefold, she is less of a hypocrite than the other participants. Joan and Melissa Rivers of course insulted her too. If I were Donald Trump, thank God I am not, I would have fired them boom boom in first boardroom sitting because they are plain nasty. I did not know them before but now I do a little bit and I cannot stand them. Last episode I watched, Melissa was fired and Joan had packed up her bags too. Good riddance. They should have been gone long time ago – complete she-devils.

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Humans and Jackasses

When nature/evolution/God let humans be, they were given two legs and feet for transportation. Initially humans used them and moved 10's of miles a day in search of food and shelter, but somehow nature/evolution/God knew that humans are going to be lazy creatures so many other means of transportation were created such as horses, camels, elephants, and jackasses. Yes jackasses with whom some greedy humans have a lot in common. I am sensitive to the fact that comparing certain humans to jackasses is not fair – not fair to jackasses as they perform an impressive job for people around the world, especially in the Asian and African continents.

Humans discovered wheels. Not there was anything wrong with this but it is the abuse which will cause problems. Then of course airplanes and ships on the seas. The sad part is that problems began when humans went for fossil fuels to energize all of these toys. That is when they went overboard, overdid it, and are overdoing the exploitation of fossil fuels and other sources of energy (I worry about nuclear too). Is it possible that fossil fuels and other energy sources were another one of those forbidden fruits that we were not supposed to touch, or at least not exploit so extensively. Now the resulting side effects of this energy consumption (CO2) may destroy our planet.

Energy companies are really behaving like jackasses. Okay they have billions and billions of dollars in profits, but what will they do with these profits if the planet is made uninhabitable. Too many of us love fossil fuels that we are willing to die for it. This deep adoration may bring an end to the planet as we know it. The energy which currently energizes our toys may become the tools of our destruction. Is it possible that the creator (through evolution or through God) regrets creating these monsters called humans? Something to think about...

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Michael Ignatieff’s Coronation

Okay, I did listen to his acceptance speech for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada. Was I impressed? No. I got the feeling that the Libs got themselves a robotic arm and with the advancement in modern technology maybe robots shall rule. The man lacked the passion of Jean Chretien, business savvy of Paul Martin, charisma of Pierre Elliot Trudeau, and the sincerity of Stephen Dion. Iggy's speech was robotic at best.

At times Iggy was directly plagiarizing Barack Obama when he talked about unity, saying that Canada is more than its ten provinces and territories and that we are one nation and that "yes we can" be united. Words from Obama's playbook during his campaign when he said that there are no blue states or red states, but rather one nation – the United States of America. Also the "yes we can" slogan. Then Iggy sounded like Hillary Clinton when he described his visit to the former Yugoslavia during the war there. His description seems to match that of Hillary Clinton's trip to Bosnia. I hope though that, unlike Hillary, Iggy's visit is backed by the facts.

I have been pretty good at predicting the future of political leaders and election outcomes but Iggy is an anomaly. Stephen Harper has botched up so badly that even a brick as a leader of Liberal Party may win the next election. However Iggy's positions, or lack of them, on certain issues has been troubling. He admires the Tar Sands as a great asset to Canada. Reality is that it is dirty oil and an environmental disaster. He can talk all he wants about being green, his words do not match his supposed convictions.

Iggy is driven by personal ambition and this seems to be the only motivating factor of his leadership. Iggy is for Iggy. Iggy said in his acceptance speech that Harper put the country on the back burner in November 2008 when he ignored the will of Parliament and saved his government contrary to the will of the majority of Parliament. Okay Iggy, why then did you prop up the Harper government come January 2009? And you have been doing that since then. Was this for Canada or was it for Iggy solely? Iggy your words don't match your actions and I hope you realize it and either take an exit or try being a leader with integrity. Moreover you and your cronies mistreated Stephane Dion and kept a big knife in his back for the duration of his leadership.

Finally, if Iggy is in it for his personal ambition only, then I hope that Igg's gig is soon over.

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Swine Rules

Like country singer Willie Nelson's song, "On the Road Again," I was on the road again. (Word of caution for Willie; he must not play "on the road" that often as it is one of the dangerous places. Trust me, Willie). I came back Friday evening, turned on the TV, and all I heard was swine, swine, swine, and then the reporter said flu. OK that is what it is then. Swine rules the airways and so he rules the world. You know we are led by swines too with the exception of Barack Obama who I still think is doing well.

Swine virus is sending its drones all over the world and much better drones than the US ever came up with. Before you know it, it could be traveling your airways. Hey Israel and some Muslim countries, you do not want to hear about swine but too bad guys and gals, it will be there whether you like it or not. Or is it exaggerated and actually a danger that is not as big as is portrayed in the media? A media which is suffering from news famine and thus reporting anything which comes their way.

As far our own leaders are concerned, Harper will indeed look after himself and do not worry, Layton and Duceppe are protected too. As for Iggy, he is masked well – he cannot hear or see but his mouth keeps going. Now you know why Iggy is becoming so impervious to the environment and some humanitarian issues as his ears are plugged and his eyes are covered from reality.

Finally bigots are having their jollies. US Congressman Brown thinks illegal aliens are deliberately slipping swine flue into the US, including a 22 months old Mexican boy who died in a Texas hospital. By the way, he was legally in the US when he caught the deadly bug. What a swine this Brown fellow is.

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