2009: My Year in Review

I must say that 2009 has been a fascinating year, for better or worse. It was the year of Obama and Pelosi, who have been behaving like kids in a candy story since they assumed control of the Whitehouse, Senate, and House or the first time in a long time. In Canada, the average person could be fooled into thinking we had controversy after controversy, even if they were all contrived by an opposition desperate to reclaim power. When a nurse in a small community in the north ordered too many body bags, that meant that Stephen Harper wanted aboriginal people to die, at least according to Michael Ignatieff.

Meanwhile, while all of these contrived faux controversies were being pumped by the CBC on a daily basis, the TSX was up 4000 points since March and none of the mud slinging stuck to the Prime Minister, at least according to poll numbers. Now we enter 2010 with an opposition that has cried wolf so many times and in so many ridiculous situations that they have reduced themselves to a caricature of folly. I suppose nobody told them that crying wolf has diminishing marginal returns. Some folks have to learn the hard way.

In the news of the World, the people of Iran are trending in the right direction, and Pakistan is trending in the wrong direction. Iraq is the same as it was a year ago, as Barak "hope-a-dope" Obama really didn't do anything in that theatre. Hugo Chavez is just as nuts as ever, and we are preparing for the arrival of Kim Jong Ill jr. With Iran becoming more desperate and facing domestic pressure, they will likely tap Hezbollah to increase hostilities with Israel, though somehow I suspect Hassan Nasrallah is at least a little bit nervous about pissing off Benny Netanhyahu.

I just saw on the CBC that apparently the Richard Colvin testimony was the story of the year because "it blew apart the secrecy that the Harper Government is operating under". Thanks for that CBC. I suppose the successful economic recovery for what was heralded as the Great Recession was not a major story. The TSX adding 50% in value since March is not as newsworthy as a disgruntled bureaucrat passing on second and third hand information about something that happened 4 years ago.

2010 is shaping up to be a far more interesting year than 2009.  The year of Obama has been about what I expected it would be, though the premature ejaculation of the Nobel Committee was unforseen.

In 2009 I grew my first grey hairs, turned 30, and my website is still not accessible in China.

Proroguing the Senate

To listen to the Kady O'Maley's of the world tell the story, the prorogation of Parliament is entirely about covering up the Afghan Detainee issue and silencing dissent in Question Period (as though QP is a source of national pride). News flash, the detainee matter is not a current matter. We all agree that the Conservative Government cleaned up the mess, this whole debate is about how quickly they cleaned up the Liberal mess. What really happened in 2006 will be no different in March than it is now. The Liberals are pissed off because they are going to lose their tactical advantage in the senate to filibuster and alter legislation. They continue to make unelected amendments to legislation that passed the elected House of Commons with unanimous consent.

That is why the Liberals are raising a stink. This costs them an advantage, on an issue that will be no different after the Olympics. It will be interesting to see how the Liberals treat the senate when they lose their majority, whether they will continue to support the status quo or whether they will shift towards the strong majority of public opinion and call for the senate to be elected or abolished. By my nearest estimation, 96% of Canadians support electing or abolishing the senate. It will be interesting to see which side Iggy takes.

And having watched a lot of CBC news yesterday, on the second to last day of 2009, I saw no mention that the TSX, the barometer of our economy, is up 4000 points since March. Instead of talking about the magnificent job that Stephen Harper and Jim Flaherty have done for our economic recovery, all that you will see on the CBC is debating whether we should debate the Afghan detainee issue before or after we host the world at the Olympic Games. A major International event such as this requires a whole lot of government work, and debating a 4 year old matter instead of hosting the Olympics doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

20 Predictions for 2010

I would like to put on my "Nostradamus Hat" and attempt to look into the future ahead of us.  I am going to make some predictions of events that have some probability of occurring this calendar year.  I may be right, I may be wrong.  Regardless, I would like it recorded into the public record that I thought this might happen.  You are welcome to comment on the most likely and less likely.  It would make an interesting webpoll to ask which prediction is most likely to come true, though I don't want a 20 option poll.  Takes up too much space.

1) Jim Balsille will own a NHL team (may have to wait until Bettman is gone in 2011)
2) There will NOT be an election in Canada
3) Quebec City will break ground on a new arena
4) The Democrats will perform very poorly in midterm elections
5) The Toronto Maple Leafs are still not a playoff team
6) The "Yes Men" will be arrested at the Vancouver Olympics
7) Justin Trudeau gets somebody pregnant
8) Canada will earn more medals than Norway in Vancouver
9) The TSX will be back in black
10) The Iceman moves to Calgary
11) Gordon Campbell will introduce at least 3 new taxes in BC
12) Dalton McGiunty's approval rating will be lower in 365 days
13) Sarah Palin announces her candidacy for President after the midterm elections
14) Iran has their own Tiananmen Square
15) Hezbollah becomes more hostile
16) Levi Johnston gets a book deal
17) Joe Biden will say something stupid
18) Jim Flaherty will find a way to reduce government spending
19) The Turkish military is in Northern Iraq
20) Bin Laden remains at large

I will be cheering against Norway

I will be closely following the 2010 Winter Olympics as a Vancouver resident and I will be cheering passionately for Canada to own the podium and win the total medal count.  That means that for the next few months, I am cheering passionately against Norway, one of our chief competitors in winter sports.  Sure, all the people that I have ever met who have ever been to Norway loved it, but right now, they are the bad guy.  If this is Mighty Ducks 2, Norway is now my Iceland.  We must defeat Norway!

I have liked every Scandanavian that I have ever met, but my Scottish genealogy has an imbedded skepticism of Vikings.  Something about living on the coast of the North Sea a few hundred years ago created an animosity to Vikings that is stuck in my DNA.  Sorry.  Go Canada, BOO Norway!

And on the matter of the Men's Hockey team, I would not have selected Bergeron or Seabrook.  I would have taken Vinny and Green.

Shutdown Parliament? Goodale Knows Best!

In the World according to Ralph, shutting down Parliament is a flagrant admission that our soldiers committed war crimes. In the upcoming days and weeks, thousands of athletes, dignitaries, diplomats, and civilians from countries all over the world will be landing in Canada and staying in our hotels. What we really need is for them to flip on the TV in the afternoon to watch Bob Rae in Question Period accusing our soldiers of war crimes. That would be fantastic, and a great way to increase our standing in the world when the world is coming to visit. Do I really want the delegation from Norway watching Jack Layton scream on TV when they walk off the tarmac?

Don't get me wrong, as one of the 9 people in Canada who actually watches Question Period (albeit often in mute) I am devastated that I won't get my next fix until March. As a political junkie I would prefer Parliament sit as much as possible, but as I wrote on Christmas Eve, I have no objection to going prorogue given this set of circumstances. To be totally honest, as a Canadian I often find QP embarrassing. If there are thousands of important people from across the planet staying in our hotels, I am strangely comfortable with them turning on the CBC and not watching our politicians makes asses of themselves. As someone who lives in the riding that will be hosting half of the events, I would like my MP John Weston to stay in West Vancouver--Sunshine Coast--Sea to Sky Country for the next 2 months. He has lots of work to do.

I also hope that our Minister of Justice is working on the Yes Men file. Guaranteed they have already bought their plane tickets to Vancouver, assuming they don’t ride their bicycles.

Canadian Mob War? What we need is a Rudy Giuliani!

Having read about the recent assassination of the first born son of a mob boss in Montreal and the assertion that this is the beginning of a Canadian mob war; I say that we either need our own Rudy Giuliani, or we need to consult Rudy personally on how to proceed. Considering that Rudy was building the winning case against the 5 Families of NYC around the time that Sarah Palin was competing in a beauty contest, I trust Rudy's experience on such matters. This is why I support Rudy to be the next President of the United States, to bring Al Qaeda to justice. Whatever is going on in Montreal right now, I would love for Rob Nicholson to contact Rudy and discuss the current situation. If anyone knows how to prosecute and deal with organized crime, it is Rudy.

Does Rudy have enough spare time to do the Soloman Show? We need his opinion right now, if a mob war is imminent within our borders.

Deep Thoughts with Mike Ignatieff

I can't shake the image from my brain of Iggy's facial expression when he announced to Canadians that they did not want an election after he spent four months so diligently trying to convince us that we needed one. Of course when he announced his new "Scorched Earth" policy in Sudbury, he was completely oblivious to the will of Canadians; but after months of trying to force an election upon us, he finally came to the conclusion that his policy was an abject failure. Eureka! What a profound thinker.

That gets me to a fantastic idea for a Tory election commercial. Start with the caption "Mike Ignatieff out of touch with Canadians" and then flash to a clip of the Sudbury speech where he proclaims that Mr Harper's time is up and that Canada needs an election. Then collect the whole series of video clips of Ignatieff passionately proclaiming that we require an election, and show the best ones. The impromptu presser outside the Commons on body bag-gate might be the best, where he cites the government wanting aboriginals to die as yet another reason that we need an election. Then end the commercial with the recent clip of Ignatieff proclaiming with superlative zeal that if he learned anything this fall it was that Canadians did not want an election, followed by his sarcastic "HELLO??!!" then end with the caption "Ignatieff, just visiting."

I think the best ammunition to use against Iggy is his own words.

No carry-on bags?

Okay, now you people have lost your minds. I hereby refuse to fly while your new "security measures" are in place. What we need to do to ensure pure safety is everybody strip down naked when they enter the airport with no bags but those God gave them. That is the only way we will all be safe, assuming that you include multiple body cavity searches.

Next time I travel, I will be taking my carry-on bags onto the bus or train.

Who is the Top Woman of the Decade?

I put the question to you, who is the top woman of the 2000s? Women that we just met for the first time at the end of the decade don't count. Women who quit their jobs to write books don't count. And people from the University of Toronto who want to poison a poll by deleting cookies and continuously refreshing the page, I can see what you are doing on Statcounter. You don't count.

Aung San Suu Kyi, what have you done for me lately?

Today I launched a webpoll asking who is the woman of the year for 2009. Where all of my other recent polls have been about the (insert blank) of the decade, I made this poll about 2009 specifically because I wanted to include Sarah Palin in the poll, and until September of last year few people outside of Alaska knew who she was. She has no right to even run against Aung San Suu Kyi in such a poll, so I made it Woman of the Year to level the playing field. Had I so desired, I could have not included Palin's name in the poll but that would have defeated the entire purpose of the exercise!

As predicted, there was a pushback from the Palin fans to my support of Aung San Suu Kyi. Leading to this exchange on my comment section.

The Iceman wrote:

"Influenced by Mahatma Gandhi's philosophy of non-violence, Aung San Suu Kyi entered politics to work for democratization, helped found the National League for Democracy on 27 September 1988, and was put under house arrest on 20 July 1989. She was offered freedom if she left the country, but she refused.

One of her most famous speeches is the "Freedom From Fear" speech, which begins, "It is not power that corrupts but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are subject to it."

Anonymous wrote...

"tops 20 years of house arrest"

Again, is the poll about 2009 or the last 20 years? Because Palin's record breaking success in the literary world happened completely in 2009, not over a period of 20 years.

I guess the question is what has Aung San Suu Kyi done SPECIFICALLY in THIS YEAR ? If we're going for freedom fighting in '09 I would rather support one of the women active in Iran right now because its a current, 2009 event.

Because had I known we were allowed to nominate on going success for things that happened years ago I will switch my vote to Mary, mother of God.

So what has Aung San Suu Kyi done for the world lately? Evidently being under arrest itself does not warrant any kind of achievement on the scale of quitting your job to write a book. I would list her Nobel Peace Prize, had that award not lost its distinction in recent years, but that award didn't happen in 2009 either.

So what happened this year? 2009 marked the 20th Anniversary of her placement under arrest for advocating democracy under an oppressive military dictatorship. Over that entire detention she had the option of complete and total freedom if she simply decided to leave the country. For all 20 years, she refused to leave while her people were suffering under the rule of the sick, twisted Knights of the Roundtable running the country.

Just how sick is the government of Myanmar, errr, Burma? Well rewind to 2008 when Cyclone Nargis was bearing down on the coast of Myanmar. Storm watchers in neighbouring countries warned the Burmese military junta of the danger of the approaching storm, which would cause massive destruction along the densely populated Irrawaddy Delta. Not only did the junta refuse to evacuate, they refused to even warn the people of the coming danger. Why might they do that? That region is among the most supportive of the pro democracy movement. What happened? The cyclone slammed into the coast and 150,000 people died.  Nargis dwarfs Katrina in every category imaginable.

As we move along to 2009, an American tourist breached the perimeter of her home with the desire of meeting the Nobel Laureate. Since the term of her imprisonment was due to end, the junta seized on this as an opportunity to extend her house arrest. Why would they want to extend her house arrest? They plan massive federal elections in 2010 to firm up their grip on power, and the last person they want walking the streets is my favourite lady. This is the first such election in nearly 20 years.  Aung San Suu Kyi won the last one.  So in 2009, on the 20th Anniversary of her original house arrest, she faced trial by a military tribunal for allowing someone to invade her property. The term of her sentence, by miraculous coincidence ends soon after the election.

She did not merely sit in detention for the entire term of 2009. What is heroic about that? She in fact faced prosecution by one of the most tyrannical governments on the planet for someone else invading her property. The courts sentenced her to 3 years of forced labour, but the junta was kind enough to scale that back to 18 months of house arrest. Again, she has the option of leaving her country, going vogue, to an international audience where she would unquestionably elicit incredible fame and wealth on the speaker’s tour like Sarah Palin. But no, she refuses to leave her detention while her people are suffering.

Where is the nobility in that? How anyone can have the audacity to argue that Sarah Palin deserves more acclaim for quitting her civil service job to make millions of dollars than a brave warrior of democracy who willingly chooses to endure detention and refuses to leave while her people suffer? To me that is a hero. Not the 'Sarah come lately' who goes vogue and abandons the people who elected her so that she herself can attain incredible wealth.

Who is my woman of 2009? Aung San Suu Kyi.  Who is my woman of the decade?  Aung San Suu Kyi.

I don't care if I ever read Going Vogue, but here are 3 books that unquestionably have more to teach you about the nature of the Planet Earth.  Whose life experience do you think is a more valuable message for the citizens of this planet? The folly of Kyi is that Gandhism only works when your oppressor is a true democracy.  When the oppressor is a military junta, you end up dead or in jail... sometimes for several decades.
 

What is the worst International Political Event/Person of the Decade?

Of all the political events/persons that occurred outside North America in the past ten years, which has had the most damaging effect on global security?  For example; the election of Hamas, Bhutto assassination, Kim Jong Ill, Mushareff resigns, Iranian nuclear program, Hugo Chavez, Osama Bin Laden, and so on and so forth.  I decided to split my worst political event/person of the decade into North American/International.  Honestly it hardly seemed fair to put the McGuinty government in the same poll as the Iranian nuclear program.  I know sometimes it may feel that way, but they should be judged on a different scale.  I'm not looking to put natural disasters on the list.  Again, if you have any suggestions, just leave a comment on the bottom.  I am considering leaving Osama off the list as the winner, and have everyone else compete for 2nd place.

Best Political Decision of the Decade?

I ask the question, what has the best/smartest political move of the 2000s? I will be launching my poll for the worst political disaster of the 2000s shortly and would like to take some nominations for the smartest political decision. I am having a more difficult time selecting the smart political moves of the decade, as there does seem to be a preponderance of bad news, disasters, war, terrorism, etc. This will be slightly different from my worst political disaster question, this is about a person or country making a very positive political decision. I look forward to your ideas.

1) MacKay - Harper unite the right
2) Harper elected leader of united right
3) Michaelle Jean prorogues Parliament
4) Swift boat veterans expose John Kerry
5) Supreme Court overturns Gore Presidency
6) Troop surge in Iraq
7) France and Germany elect Sarkosy and Merkel
8) Israel elects Netanhyahu
9) Chretien resigns

PS My worst political disaster question is going to be more focused on individual people than acts of terrorism or natural disasters.  Both of these polls are being asked from the perspective of if you are a Conservative.  I decided to take George Bush out of the equation, because he is like cat nip for the left wing loons.

Ignatieff pulls plug on Election? What took so long?

How marvelous for us mere mortals to have Mike Ignatieff inform us of what we already knew, that we did not want an election.  To watch him speak the words on television is to watch a man who believes he is enlightening us, when he himself was completely oblivious to the mood of the country when he pulled the plug in Sudbury.  This is the man who despite living outside of Canada for most of his adult life, had the audacity to write a book about how Canadians should feel about their patriotism.  Right, Mike Igniatieff is an expert on why I love my country.  Thanks Mike, but no thanks.  This man has no idea about how Canadians feel about Canada because his roots are fleeting and his adult life was absent from Canadiana.  Just because the Liberal Party has launched their own Sputnik into outer space, doesn't mean that I need jolly ole Rasputin to break news that I knew all along.  That only took four months.  Even Stephane Dion thinks Iggy is slow to react!

Top Woman of 2009?

I ask the question, who is the top woman of 2009?  I endorse Aung San Suu Kyi as both my woman of the year and my woman of the decade, but we may as well put it to a vote.  Everybody needs to read the book Letters From Burma.  I would like to take nominations before I launch the poll, just incase I am forgetting anyone, which I'm sure I am.  Who is that lady in Iran that fights for human rights?  She should be in this poll.

My nominees are:

Aung San Suu Kyi
Angela Merkel
Hilary Clinton
Sarah Palin
Ann Coulter
Danielle Smith
My Mom

Worst Political Disaster of the Decade?

I am preparing my poll for the worst political disaster of the 2000s, and I would like some feedback to make sure that I'm not forgetting anything.  Thus far I have ten nominees, but I would like to knock that down to maybe 7, so anything that you should nominate needs to bump something already there.  Worst disaster can mean either a specific event, or a sequence of unfortunate events.  I mostly focus on North America, but included the Bhutto assassination because that had a direct impact to the fortunes of the men and women of our Armed Forces.  Here are my nominees:

The Gomery Inquiry
The Stephane Dion Experiment
McCain chooses Palin
Howard Dean, Yeah!
John Kerry
FEMA and Katrina
The Governator
Dalton McGuinty
Assassination of Benazir Bhutto
Government Subsidized Mortgages

Top Commentor of 2009

I would like to take a moment to thank the people who take the time to leave comments on my blog posts.  Disagreements have ensued as a result of some comments left behind, but it more often than not makes a significant positive contribution to the narrative.  I would like to ask the people who read my blog whose comments they enjoy the most in the form of a webpoll.  I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings, but I will personally be voting for Wilson.  Wilson tends to jump in with the perfect comment at the perfect time with relative frequency.  I don't want more than 10 choices, and I have established 8 guaranteed entries.  Leaving 2 spots open.  I have a list of possible nominees, and I don't know how I am going to choose. 

I ask you who belongs on the list of ten?

Guaranteed Entries:

Wilson - Sorry ya'll, but Wilson gets my vote
Powell Lucas - Valued contributor
Canadian Sense - Solid and consistent
Dodo can Spell - Solid and a free pass for following me on Twitter
Marx-A-Million - I lost a bet
Kerry Forrest- Free pass for signing up as my follower and whom I endorse for Mayor of Renfrew
Hinchey's Store - Free pass for signing up as my follower
Patrick Ross - He excites the right people for me

Possible Entries: see 10 choose 2

Mr. Anonymous
Gimbol
Hunter
Wind at my Back
Jenn
Bec
Phantom Observer
Spin Assassin
Tripper
Alberta Girl

Airport Security, come fly with me?

I think that I might be done with airplanes. I have probably been on 40 flights in my lifetime, and never had any fear of flying. I flew on United airlines with my family from Las Vegas to Toronto a week before 9/11. Anytime I passed through airport security afterwards, I was willing, nay happy to endure any level or method of screening that diminished the probability of a terrorist successfully carrying out any comparable operation.

As time has progressed, new measures have been stacked on top of the original measures. When they started asking me to take off my shoes, I willingly took off my shoes. When they told me to leave my Pepsi at home, I left my Pepsi at home. I have been completely and totally compliant with every security measure that has been imposed on passengers to increase the probability they arrive alive. When they banned the fluids, even lip gloss or toothpaste, it made some sense but it did feel like an overreaction to something that never actually took place.

I read the new measures that are being imposed after this latest failed incident, and I am starting to ask the question of whether or not I would like to continue to travel this way. Where is this arms race of amateur terrorist and airport security evolving? What happens the first time some wacko decides to wear clothes made of explosives? Will that be the end of clothes on an airplane? Are we going to reach a stage where everyone just strips down to their birthday suits when they enter the airport?

My recommendation is that we remain at high alert in the event that this was a smaller component of a larger attack, but if it is determined to be an isolated incident, can these new measures be temporary? I have never had a single complaint regarding an airport security screener, but I don’t want a cavity search at the screening station AND the loading gate.  Maybe I'll try the train next time.

Best Athletes of the 2000's

Who is the best athlete of this past decade? I split it up into 2 polls, one for hockey and one for the rest of sports (excluding soccer which I don't know anything about). According to the associated press, Tiger Woods was the most successful athlete of the decade, and according to Puck Daddy Nick Lidstrom is the top hockey player over that same span. Crosby and Ovechkin have been the best players of the second half of this decade, but does half a decade of success warrant player of the decade? I voted for Lidstrom, who had six Norris trophies, 2 Stanley Cups, and was plus 232 playing 28 minutes a night against the other team's best players. I would rate Martin Brodeur #2 on my list.

I will be shifting my theme from Christmas to decade awards, so I will be accepting feedback on poll questions and suggestions. I am easing into the polling with some sports polls, as the sports posts get significantly less traffic than political posts on the Blogging Tory site. Start out small. Some of my ideas thus far for future polls are:

1) Best politician of 2000s
2) Best political accomplishment of 2000s
3) Top woman of the 2000s
4) Top man of the 2000s
5) Best movie of the 2000s
6) Biggest train wreck of the 2000s (Britney Spears, Dion, etc)
7) Political disaster of the 2000s (Dion, Kerry, Sponsorship Program, etc)

District 9

I am assuming that there are more than a few people this holiday season who will not be working in the next few days.  If you are looking to rent a movie and you think District 9 is something you might be interested in, then it would likely be worth your while to rent it and watch it.  The film is a far cry from Lord of the Rings, but if you enjoy science fiction you should enjoy this.  In so far as alien invasion movies are concerned, this was pretty much par for the course.  Not as good as Independence Day, similar to War of the Worlds, and far better than Signs.

I don't really want to discuss the plot because I imagine that a few people will be renting this week.  All that I would like to say is that it is a decent flick, there is some blood and guts, but it should entertain you while making you think. When I return this to the video store, it is the last time that I will spend money to watch or acquire this film.  I really don't have anything else compelling to say about this movie.  It might be interesting, but it is not inspiring.

THIS IS IT; I've had enough!

As I am preparing to watch District 9, up pops a preview for the new Michael Jackson documentary movie.  I was entirely and totally creeped out for every moment that I watched that preview.  Regardless of what Al Sharpton might try to tell you, there is an abnormally high probability that the man belonged in prison, for crimes of the most deplorable nature.  I have a few of his songs on my I-Pod and I appreciate what he meant to music, but there was just way too much smoke to be no fire.  And I just can't see past that when I watch him on television.

If you feel like watching the movie because you enjoyed his music, by all means spend your money.  I just choose to never watch this movie under any circumstances because it bothers me to see someone walking around free because he had made enough money to buy his way out of prison time.  As a consumer that is something that I cannot consume.

I just wanted to get that out of my brain before I start watching District 9.

Does the Taliban know it's Christmas?

I read recently in the newspaper that the Pakistani government is ending its military offensive in Waziristan, surely a welcome gift to the enemy.  What remains unclear, is if any strategic objective was attained by the very necessary offensive, or if this was simply a facade to placate NATO.  According to their spokespeople, Pakistan killed hundreds of enemy militants, but according to American military intelligence there is little to no evidence of any heavy fighting.  It would appear that the 4 months warning that Pakistan issued to the people of Waziristan that they were coming was sufficient time for combatants to clear out.  All this begs the question, was this a feigned offensive?  Did they ever intend to inflict a death blow to our enemy?

Meanwhile, the withdrawal comes amid speculation that Pakistani military leaders may attempt a coup to overthrow the democratically elected government.  Government Ministers have been prevented from leaving the country in some instances, where police made it clear that they take orders from Generals and Judges, not elected politicians.  The big question is, what if anything should NATO do if a coup takes place, and if the new leadership will be allied with radical Islamists?  I'm sure India already has a battle plan to invade Pakistan if the worst case scenario comes to fruition, but if the inmates take over the asylum, will Obama have the stones to do what needs to be done?

It is difficult to accurately measure what if anything was achieved in the Waziristan campaign, as the Pakistani military did not invite Wolf Blitzer to come along with them.  They control the media message in their conflict zone, and thus we are at their mercy for information.  I have always maintained that there needs to be a joint military operation between Pakistan and NATO inside sovereign Pakistani territory to pound the militant command and control like a hammer and anvil.  But I suppose if Pakistan never intended to crush the Islamic militants, then it would be counter to their objective to invite a superior fighting force to accomplish what they don't want accomplished.

I suppose all that I can really do from my perch is just keep my fingers crossed and keep my faith in the brave men and women of our Armed Forces.

Happy Christmas!

I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas! I have to work, and I already celebrated Christmas when I visited my parents last month. We had a little ceremony were we pretended it was Christmas because I was not going to be there for the holiday. As far as I'm concerned, Christmas was on November 25th. Now I see everyone else celebrating it, and I'm thinking, where have you been? Where were all you people when Christmas occurred in my own reality? I would like to extend my best wishes to all human beings today, even the 25% of my audience that would prefer I live in outer space than on terra firma.

Ironic that my last post on Christmas Eve was about the possibility proroguing Parliament. I tried to adopt more of a Christmas theme this week, but my brain didn't come with an off switch. I can't just shut it down like everyone else, and since I can't be with my parents, with whom I celebrated Christmas with a month ago, on a day when I have to work, I just can't get excited. But I'm very happy, and I suppose that is what matters most. I think that this is the most webpolls that have ever been open on my page at any given moment.  And shame on MacDonald's for not being open this morning.  All I wanted for Christmas was a God damned egg McMuffin, and I can't even get that.  Now I will have to work on an empty stomach.

Going Prorogue

Evidently there is a rumour in circulation that the Prime Minister will request that the Governor General prorogue Parliament in January until after the Olympic Games. While I understand there is a tactical advantage to this strategy, I generally prefer Parliament to stay open for business as much as possible. I strongly support proroguing Parliament when a goof, a Marxist, and a separatist have signed a pact to overthrow a newly elected government. In this current instance of possible prorogation, I have no strong objections. We are preparing to host a major International event in less than 2 months, and I would like the full force of government to get behind it.

I strongly disagreed with Gordon Campbell's past decisions to cancel entire sittings of the legislature, and I do not advocate prorogation under normal circumstances. But it is rare to have a goof, a Marxist, and a separatist sign a pact to overthrow a newly elected government, and even rarer to host the World at an Olympic games. I would like Government ministries to continue operations during this period of time, but I will not be offended or outraged if we pause Parliament for a few weeks.

I would like to see the Justice Department prepare criminal charges for the Yes Men; because I guarantee you that they are already planning their Olympic experience. It would be nice if we could place them under arrest when they step off the airplane. According to a poll done by Iceman-Decibal Research, 91% of respondents would like to see the Yes Men charged with a criminal offense for impersonating government officials at an International conference.

Which Conservative would you most enjoy hosting for Christmas dinner?

If you could invite one Conservative to your home for Christmas dinner, who would you choose?  There were a lot of names that I could have included in the poll, but I decided to stick to the biggest names, Stephen Harper, Preston Manning, John Baird, Peter MacKay, and for some gender equality Helena Guergis rounds out the nominees.  I think that Baird would be the most entertaining guest, but it would be a tremendous honour to have the Prime Minister of Canada sit down at your dinning room table.  And yet, who doesn't love Preston Manning?  You could do a TV talk show called Everybody Loves Preston, but in the Jerry Springer mould where Presto brings Liberal politicians out onto the stage and grills them.  I think it would be a hit.  I would like the CBC to consider it.

Pushing Smart Cars out of 3 Inches of Snow, or Female Ski Jumping?

Given where the evolution of automobile technology is heading, they should really consider making Smart Car Pushing an Olympic sport. Each winter, hundreds, nay thousands of unwitting people across the planet participate in this event anytime a few short inches of snow falls to the ground. Let me say that I believe any sport in the Olympics for one gender should allow competitors from both genders; ergo I believe women's ski jumping should be a part of the Olympic Games. I can recall being furious as a youth that I was not allowed to play Ringette. I know that male Ringette was my best ticket to an Olympic medal, and that it does not exist is like a black hole in my soul.

Having said that, the Supreme Court made the right call, specifically because the ski jumpers had no business suing VANOC. Truthfully the reason there is not female ski jumping in the Olympics is because not enough women want to fly through the sky with nothing between them and a safe landing but two skis. What we need to do is encourage more of our young daughters and nieces to leap from giant jumps, for hundreds of feet through the air and attempt to land on their feet. I endorse female ski jumping, and I encourage more women to take up the sport. It is the last holdout in achieving true gender equality in Winter Olympic sports. The more ladies that participate, the tougher it will be for those chauvinist pigs to deny tried and true gender equality.

To all you proud Smart Car owners out there, how many inches of snow does it take to fall in your driveway before your car is stuck? Was 3 inches too generous? You sure can't feel very smart when you have somewhere you need to be and you can't get your brainmobile out of the driveway. For the record, when Smart Car Pushing becomes a Winter Olympic sport, there should be BOTH male and female competitors. In fact, I will be sure to lobby to allow mixed doubles, as I am certain that there are thousands more women with experience pushing Smart Cars out of 3 inches of snow than there are women ski jumpers.

The Trailer Park Boys

I would like to send some props to my peeps, the Trailer Park Boys.  I am a big fan of the show, I just finished watching the new release, and I loved it!  I do not condone breaking the law, but I appreciate this satire for what it is, satire.  They break the law, and they always end up in jail.  Break the law, go to jail, message sent.  People should not treat this as an alleged documentary into Canadian rural life, it is a satire!

The movie was fantastic, and the show is even better.  I was very sad the day that I learned they were ending the series.  There were so many different ways that they could have taken that premise artistically and they barely scratched the surface.  I doubt any of these actors or producers will go on to anything beyond the perfection that they have already achieved.  If the show goes back on the air, I will volunteer my writing services.  Can't the CBC pick this up?  God only knows how much crap is on the CBC.  Can't we just keep the Trailer Park Boys going?  I humbly request, from my modest perch of public opinion.

Surely there have to be a lot of Canadians out there who agree with me.  Sorry, I had to delay my best Christmas song poll to make room for a poll about my film review.

"His ego is writing cheques that his brain can't cash dawg"

- J-Roc, Trailer Park Boys

J-Roc's performance in the final credits had me dancing in my living room.  I grew up on Rap Trax, CB4, DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, et all.

 

All-time best Christmas Movie...of these choices...

I have launched my poll of the best Christmas movie, but I added a catch. I wanted to go predominantly with movies released in my lifetime, with exceptions made for Rudolph and the animated Grinch because those were my two favourites when I was a child. As I grew up, I matured to enjoying new classics like Rocky 4 and Die Hard. As this is my site and my poll, I would like for you to choose from my list of the all-time best Christmas movies. I have never even watched It's a Wonderful Life or Miracle on 34th street. They may belong on the Mount Olympus of Christmas movies, but not in my poll. I should have included a Muppets movie. My bad.

So the poll question is; which of these Christmas classics would you most prefer to watch right now?

Home Alone - I watched this 3 times in the theatre
Rocky 4 - The one I voted for
Earnest Saves Christmas - A timeless classic
The Elf - Nephew's favourite movie
Die Hard - Classic
How the Grinch Stole Christmas - Jim Carrey's version not as good
Rudolph - My second choice if not for Rocky 4
Scrooged - Classic Bill Murray
A Christmas Story - You'll shoot your eye out
Gremlins - Classic
 

Sarandon and Robbins?

I thought that Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins were a match made in heaven. Honestly, have there ever been two people more perfect for each other? Doctor Frankenstein could not have created two creatures so uniquely designed to be a team. That being said, I am not the least bit surprised that they have split up, as is being reported on the CBC. These are two of the most vile wanton assholes on the planet. I can scarcely imagine how intolerable it would be to spend any duration of time with either one of them. Susan has aged well and has always been a foxy lady, but that aside I would never care to sit down and have a conversation with her about anything meaningful. Tim Robbins was fantastic in the Shawshank Redemption, but he also has several terrible acting performances under his belt.  His "box office batting average" is considerably lower than his public profile would suggest.  I would run a webpoll of his worst acting performance, but I have to make room for my Christmas polls.

To Tim and Susan, I say good riddance to bad rubbish.

I watch the CBC so you don't have to!

Goldgate

Okay, so the Canadian Mint, like many government institutions, was very much disorganized at the end of 12 years of Liberal rule. Words cannot even begin to express my gratitude to the people of Canada for electing a Conservative government in 2006. I shudder to think where we would be today had Paul Martin squeezed out another victory; in what horrendous state would we be? I am thankful that we have had Stephen Harper to lead us through this recession, as Canada's performance amid challenging circumstances has been the envy of the industrialized world. Of all the contrived controversies that I have seen these past few months, I would rank Goldgate the most insignificant. A bureaucrat screwed up. It had nothing to do with the government, other than it was tragically disorganized when the Tories took over.

But to see Rosemary Barton break the news on the CBC, one could be fooled into thinking that the current government was to blame for a comparatively small error by a mid-level bureaucrat. The amount of “slag” that was sold off below market price represented a fraction of a percentage point of the total gold at the Mint. A bureaucrat likely deserves to be fired, but this is hardly an error by our elected officials. Good grief...but ring that bell and Pavlov's Liblogs salivate.

For more on gold as a commodity, read Would King Midas Hold American Dollars?

And people, how is the Bob Rae Bobblehead doll not getting more votes?  That would be a cerebral gift!

Jobs 101: Did Iggy stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night?

I watched the interview where Ignatieff so gleefully proclaimed that if elected Prime Minister, he would live in a hotel for his first term. In that same interview, he accused the government of focusing on the deficit over jobs, which he spoke with such passionate zeal that you'd have thought that he just figured out how to split the atom!

First his statement is obviously false, that the government is putting deficit reduction over job creation; what do you think that whole 30 billion dollar Economic Action plan was supposed to do? The entire purpose of the stimulus was to create jobs, which it did. Infrastructure projects which required the hiring of new workers, the need for steel and resources then increases demand in those sectors, on a large scale from coast to coast to coast.

Then more people have jobs, the more people there are in the economy spending money, which once inventories have cleared leads to new job creation and innovation. It is a process, and you just cannot arbitrarily stick a fork in it at any given moment and pronounce it done, especially when most of the leaders at Copenhagen have reason to envy how Canada has weathered the global downturn. We are doing far better in recovery than most industrialized countries, and maybe that is why we have a target on our backs. To suggest that this government is putting the deficit over jobs is absurd! And all that money, which Iggy demanded we spend last January, was the biggest contributor to our current deficit!

I can't even begin to tell you how many times I have listened to this man auditioning to lead my country make ridiculous comments that remind of the quote from Stealer’s Wheel, "I've been trying to make some sense of it all, but I can see it makes no sense at all." Which puppet master told him to say that, Donollo or Kinsella, or did he happen upon this pearl of wisdom while he was staying at a Holiday Inn Express?

I would love to see This Hour Has 22 Minutes do a series of Ignatieff Holiday Inn sketches. This whole hotel gaffe, likely a planted question, only reinforces the notion that Iggy is just visiting. I wonder if that question was spontaneous, pre-approved, or requested. Either way, it was a dumb idea and Iggy should have said that it is the last thing on his mind.

What would you buy Ignatieff for Christmas?

For one of my Christmas Polls, I would like to ask the question; if you were invited to the home of the official opposition for a Christmas Party and could leave a gift in Iggy's stocking, what would you give him? Thus far my ideas are 1) a Bob Rae Bobble head doll, 2) one way plane ticket to Boston, 3) fill his stocking with tar sand, 4) a DVD copy of the Manchurian Candidate, 5) a pink slip, or 6) copy of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Politics.

Speaking of the home of the Opposition leader, couldn't Iggy give that up to the Prime Minister during the renovations to 24 Sussex while Iggy stays at a Holiday Inn Express? Come to think of it, that would be a funny series of commercials, Ignatieff saying and doing all sorts of things he is not qualified to do then at the end he says "but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night." I think it would be awesome if Iggy lived out of a Hotel right now! He is after all, just visiting...

I probably have enough ideas to launch the poll, but I will wait a bit for your suggestions.

P.S The poll on the Olympic sport in reality only has one correct answer...

Merry Christmas Polling

For the next few days, I would like to run some Christmas themed polls.  For example; best Christmas movie (ex: Earnest saves Christmas, Rudolph, Home Alone, Rocky 4, etc), best Christmas song, and best acting performance as Santa (television or film).  If you have a suggestions for a Christmas poll (like what should Santa leave in Ignatieff's stocking) or suggestions for nominees, please leave a comment below.  I have a 2 year old nephew whose favourite movie is the Elf.  I personally celebrated Christmas a month ago when I visited my parents, and I am working all week.

                                                                                                     

Dennis Miller on "Copenhagen Chaos"

I am a very big fan of Dennis Miller.  Of all the people on TV with an opinion, I agree with him the most.  He magnificently presents a classic Libertarian analysis of the loonacy in Copenhagen.  I would strongly encourage everyone to watch this segment of the O'Reilly Factor if you have not seen it already.  Dennis even inspired me to do a little Photoshopping...

On the subject of Miller, this past year he interviewed a guest who had a PhD in Astrophysics who wrote the biography of the Sun. David Whitehouse was one of the first credible PhD's I heard come out against the false science of the hardcore climate changeologists.  It inspired me to write Fire in the Sky.

I would encourage you to buy his book.  If you purchase via the link below, I earn a commission for you owning a book that you need to read and you can own it for cheaper than visiting your local Barnes and Noble.  I don't know if you can get it delivered in time for Christmas.

Liblogs on Detainees; It's all just a little bit of History Repeating...

If it weren't for the constant insistence that our soldiers violated the Geneva Conventions under a flawed Liberal prisoner transfer agreement, I might almost consider the daily fallacy of juvenile investigative journalism coming from the Liblogs on the Afghan Detainee file amusing. Aside from the complete ignorance and denial of any Liberal responsibility for a problem that they themselves created, Pavlov’s Liblogs keep writing new posts that make the exact same argument as nearly every other post that they have written on this matter without breaking any new information or opinion. It's like one bozo gets one stupid idea, and then finds 30 ways to write the same post for 30 days. They continue to make the same argument every day, until one of their overlords like Soloman or Kinsella give them a new bone to chew on.

Furthermore, you will get a bozo who finds a new way to write what we wrote yesterday, and then right after he writes it, 3 other Libloggers will repost what that unoriginal dipshit posted, again trying to find a new way to say the same damned thing. By finding new and creative ways to say nothing creative or enlightening, they are keeping the detainee subject on the main page with repeating frequency to portray the preponderance that this is a bigger issue than it is. Evan Soloman has been sure to assure us that if a subject appears multiple times on the Liblogs, then this surely must be what the whole country is talking about. E-Solo is an expert on what average Canadians are thinking, hence why he has the arrogance to lead every show with "you are where you need to be". Thanks for the brilliant insight Evan, how's about "you are where the Lang and O'Leary Exchange just was, and now you have lost the remote but you are where you can’t avoid being"

The Liblogs consider it their duty to keep people talking about this issue, and they exaggerate the significance with these 3rd rate tactics. Like ‘Shallow and Wide’ will write a post titled 'Peter MacKay admits to cover up' where he just repeats the same bullshit as the day before; then ‘The World Famous Bull Shits’ will post an entry titled 'Cover up, MacKay confesses' where the dipshit does not write anything new, he simply links to the article posted 20 minutes earlier. I’m sure we can come up with a name for this tactic if it does not already exist. Where you repeatedly link the same post on the main page to increase the amount of total main page space dedicated to that one story.

Lay people could cruise by the Liblog page and see the two headlines that are not actually discussing anything relevant, but in seeing the same headline twice may exaggerate the significance of a non-existent story. None of these idiots realize that the Liberal Party shares responsibility for any injustice that may have occurred, and yet they plow forward because they have convinced themselves that there is no downside to their own party for throwing out absurd allegations of government and military misconduct. At least Warren Kinsella is putting on the breaks. We will see if others follow. The Liberals are more vulnerable on this issue than the talking heads on television will admit.

I would say that reading the Liblogs makes me ashamed to be Canadian, but I am not at all ashamed to be Canadian. In my opinion this is the best country in the world to live. I don’t believe that my Armed Forces committed any war crimes, and that the government behaved ethically according to the laws of warfare.

This blog post was brought to you by the Propellerheads...

Podcasts, the voices in my head

To all of those people who will be opening up their first I-Pod on Christmas morning, or to those who already own an I-Pod and don't know all the possiblities at your fingertips; I am a huge fan of Podcasts.  It is like a radio show, except that you store it on your I-Pod and listen to it at your leisure.  Most are free to download.  My favourite Podcast is the B.S Report with Bill Simmons, followed closely by the Dennis Miller Show, Charles Adler, Adam Carolla, Laura Ingraham, CBC At Issue, and National Post Podcast.  I refer to these as "the voices in my head" because I listen to them via the miracle of headphones, just incase you didn't pick up on that already.  :)

I always listen to Podcasts when I am out in public, basically to feed information to my brain when I am not sitting at my desk.  Podcasts have replaced talk radio in my books.  The only radio shows that I still listen to anymore are Adler Online and the Roy Green Show.  I personally see Podcasts crowding Talk Radio out of existence, hence why many pundits have hedged their bets and have a radio show AND a Podcast.  The Podcast is not regulated, and you can listen to it whenever you want, pause it, fast forward, etc. 

Bill Simmons is the best, though he talks about basketball too much.

                               

Which CBC Employee would you Hire?

I crap on the CBC regularly, and yet I do choose to watch CBC Newsworld as my primary source of televised cable news (I get my print journalism from the National Post).  I watch it so that I may complain about it when warranted, and since my taxes help pay for it I feel like I have an invested interest.  My question today is, if you were starting your own cable news network and could hire one of these CBC journalist/talent, which would you choose?

I included Don Cherry on the list even though he has to be close to retirement and really can only do sports, but sports can be a part of a cable news network.  Personally I voted for Amanda Lang.  I am a big fan of Amanda Lang.  I don't know how well Mercer would fit into cable news, but I'm sure you could find a late night slot for him.  The options are listed in the order that I thought of them.

None of the above was not listed as an option.  If you don't want to hire any of them, then change the poll question to if you were REQUIRED to hire one of them.

Amanda Lang
Rex Murphy
Don Cherry
Rick Mercer
Peter Man-Bridge
Susan Bonner
Evan Soloman

Hungover Funny People

This weekend I rented both the Hangover, and Funny People, so I would like to do two movie reviews in one. The Hangover was hilarious, and I laughed quite a lot. I don't think I laughed at all during Funny People, in fact it made me sad. I was happy when I started watching it, and I was sad when I was finished. Maybe if you are already feeling sad, this movie will make you feel a little less sad, but it is really a depressing movie, regardless of the quality of any of the acting performances. If you'd like to feel depressed, rent Funny People. Granted, depressed is not the emotion that you expect to feel with a film titled Funny People.

If you need to watch one of these two movies, rent the Hangover. I did not find it to be as funny as the hype that it generated, but on my laugh-O-meter it was a 7.5 out of 10. The Goods was an 8 out of 10 if you have ever worked in sales. If you find yourself at a video store this week and must decide between:

1) The Goods
2) The Hangover
3) Funny People

I recommend them in that order, but again, Funny People is more sad than happy. I would probably recommend Inglorious Basterds over all three, and I have also rented Public Enemies which I haven't watched yet.  I appologize if this film review lacks professional analysis, but I just finished watching funny people and I need to curl up in a ball in the corner and cry.  I also don't want to discuss the plot because these are new releases and I would like you to enjoy them spoiler free.  I spoiled 2012, because it was a piece of shit and required spoiling...



 

Warren Kinsella does NOT want a Public Inquiry on Afghanistan?

It would appear that today on his blog the draped crusader Warren Kinsella has renounced Public Inquiries as eroding and corroding democratic institutions.  I suppose that it is hard to have been opposed to the Gomery Inquiry into the Sponsorship Program and then support an Inquiry into 2nd and 3rd hand hearsay of a bureaucrat who did not understand the detainee system and admitted to never even seeing a prisoner in a cell.  The question now is, where Warren leads, will others follow?  I have never attended a Liberal Cocktail party, so I can't predict with any reliable certainty how much influence he asserts over the Liberal Party or Pavlov's Liblogs.  Is he ringing the bell, or just ceding his opinion right out of the narrative?

Personally I have been reading through more of the Colvin Testimony, and I was interested in this one exchange between Colvin and Ujjal Dosangh.

Hon. Ujjal Dosanjh:

In terms of General Gauthier, you put him on the e-mail list. Did you ever talk to him personally?

Mr. Richard Colvin:

Yes, I talked to him quite a few times.

Hon. Ujjal Dosanjh:

You talked about the allegations of torture and about your concerns?

Mr. Richard Colvin:

No.

Hon. Ujjal Dosanjh:

Why not?

Mr. Richard Colvin:

He's quite a difficult guy, General Gauthier—somewhat unpleasant to deal with. He was a tough guy to talk to. I preferred to use the official channels rather than try to engage him, where he could simply just be rude for no particular reason. It was just a personal sort of way he had of dealing with people.

Hon. Ujjal Dosanjh:

Thank you.

Basically on the several occasions where Mr. Colvin had the opportunity to speak directly to the General who could have stopped the alleged "torture transfers" he was reluctant to do so because the General is "somewhat unpleasant to deal with". I prefer my Generals to be unpleasant to deal with, but if you are a Government official who suspects we are violating the Geneva Conventions, you have to say something to the man who can do something about it.

For some of my past opinions on the Detainee issue, read this.

Mike Ignatieff Photoshop Contest

I would like to attempt a Mike Ignatieff Photoshop Contest, I just don't know if Tories have the time, or care to take the time to do some Photoshopping.  The objective is to design the cover of the next book about Ignatieff, after he is usurped by Bob Rae and back mopping floors at Harvard (a book preferably authored by me, though you may put your own handle on the cover if you so desire).  I have written about Iggy Pop quite a lot, and it is one of the potential subject matters for my first book (writing a book is on my Bucket List).  Since I started Blogging less than a year ago, I have published roughly 25,000 words on Ignatieff, and have maybe 10,000 unpublished.  Assuming I get submissions, I will then publish them tastefully on my webpage and conduct a webpoll asking which one you like the most.  Send your submissions to slatekeeper@gmail.com.  Please, no submissions showing the death or torture of Igg.  Let's show a little class.

I have asked the question in the past, if the Iceman were to write a book about Ignatieff, what should it be titled?

If the Iceman were to write a book about Mike Ignatieff after he is usurped by Bob Rae, what should that book be titled?


Ignatieff; Much Ado About Nothing (41%)
True Patriot Abandonment (12%)
The Fall of the Czar; the Mike Ignatieff Story (12%)
Iggy Popped (11%)
A Bridge Too Far; the Mike Ignatieff Story (7%)

Or you may also draw inspiration from this poll...

What is the dumbest thing Ignatieff has said since joining the Liberal Party?

"If you mess with me, I will mess with you until I'm done!" (35%)
"The government is sending the message that they want aboriginals to die." (32%)
"Mr. Harper, your time is up!" (18%)
"A coalition if necessary, but not necessarily a coalition." (10%)

Some of my own cheesy examples of Photoshopped book titles...as you can tell it is very amateur.  I'm not asking you to paint the Sistine Chapel here...

                                                                                                                 

December Poll Archive; Vol I

I have collected the last month of Iceman polling into a blog post.  I took the time to dig up the blog post that launched or inspired the poll and included the links in the archives.  I try to have fun with my polling while testing the mood of my audience, but I confess that it is unscientific.  I needed to do some housekeeping today and clear some of the clutter from my page, so here are the last few weeks of Iceman Decibal polls.

To view the complete history of polling, click on this.


WHAT IS THE ALL-TIME BEST EPISODE OF SEINFELD?

The Abstinence (27%)
The Contest (24%)
Is anyone here a Marine Biologist? (22%)
The Library Cop (14%)
George does the Opposite (11%)

WHO WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE HOST POWER AND POLITICS?

Mark Steyn (43%)
Charles Adler (39%)
Rex Murphy (14%)
Evan Soloman (1%)
Rosemary Barton (0%)

WHICH IS THE MORE SERIOUS OFFENSE?

Assault with a deadly weapon (85%)
Infidelity (15%)

AMBITION?

Necessary (96%)
Evil (4%)

WHICH WOULD YOU RATHER HAVE?

More Police (99%)
Gun Registry (1%)

WILL THE ICEMAN EVER REACH OUTER SPACE?

Dream a better dream... (53%)
You better believe it! (47%)

 WHAT IS THE NET EFFECT OF A YOUNG MIND WATCHING THE COLBERT REPORT?

More likely to vote Liberal (55%)
No effect on voting outcomes (36%)
More likely to vote Conservative (7%)

THE ICEMAN NOW TWEETS?

Business is business (75%)
The Iceman is a Whore (25%)

MICHAELLE JEAN ONE MORE TERM AS GOVERNOR GENERAL?

no (54%)
yes (46%)

WHAT IS THE MOST INFORMATIVE STATEMENT IN THE COLVIN TESTIMONY?

"I have to say that I've never seen a prisoner in a cell" (39%)
"I didn't witness any acts of torture" (35%)
"I wasn't really following this quite as closely as I should have." (7%)
"That's a good question, Mr. Rae" (7%)
"it took me a while to really understand the nature of our detainee system" (5%)

WHICH IS THE MOST APPROPRIATE THEME SONG FOR HEATHER MALLICK'S LIFE STORY?

Loser, by Beck (36%)
Send in the Clowns. by Barbra Streisand (36%)
Hit the Road Jack, by Ray Charles (8%)
Because I Got High, by Afroman (6%)
What's My Age, by Blink 182 (6%)

WHAT WOULD BE THE BEST TITLE FOR PAUL MARTIN'S NEXT BOOK?

The Sponsorship Program; A Love Story (31%)
Destroying the Liberal Party Come Hell or High Water (21%)
A Bold Fresh Piece of Liberal Feces (20%)
Jack Layton; A Love Story (8%)
Deliberating With Idiots (8%)
Bombed (6%)

WHAT IS THE BEST MEASUREMENT OF THE "SPHINCTER SCALE"?

smell (64%)
sound (36%)

WHO CREATED THE PRISONER TRANSFER AGREEMENT THAT ALLEGEDLY LED TO TORTURE?

the Martin Government (100%)

WHERE WOULD YOU RATHER LIVE?

Alberta (86%)
Campbell's BC (8%)
Dalton's Ontario (6%)

WHICH BOOK WOULD YOU RATHER OWN?

Arguing With Idiots   by Glenn Beck (21%)
Liberal Fascism  by Jonah Goldberg (18%)
Going Rogue by Sarah Palin (18%)
If Democrats had any Brains They'd be Republicans by Ann Coulter (11%)
Leadership by Rudy Giuliani (10%)
How to Talk to a Liberal by Ann Coulter (10%)
Culture of Corruption by Michelle Malkin (8%)
                                                                                                       

Ignatieff speaks like hypnotizing Chickens!

It would appear that Donolo has decried that Iggy can now be released back to television, and he is beginning to reappear on my TV screen after a prolonged Where's Waldo strategy. This guy cracks me up. He unveils this brilliant insightful stroke of genius that we should focus on jobs over the deficit. Thanks Mike. Also when I inhale, my lungs fill with air. Considering that job losses always lead to decrease in government tax receipts and an increase in EI expenditures; you are hardly exposing the missing link here. He takes the most obvious statement possible, and he coats it as this magnificent revelation that we should all thank him for saying to us.

Of course he is hypnotizing chickens as Iggy Pop once so eloquently sang, because all Pavlov's Liblogs start lining up behind him and playing the same tune. Of course all these people are unoriginal miscreants who have to take their leads from the Pied Pipers like Iggy, O'Malley, Mallick, and Soloman. Pipers who will accuse Stephen Harper of having his hand up the ass end of every Blogging Tory. The Conservative Party doesn't send me e-mails telling me what to write, and I rarely visit their webpage. Ironically, I get most of my news from the CBC and the National Post.

Ignatiev has proclaimed now that we need a Made in Canada Climate Action Plan. Okay Sir, why don't you tell us what we should do that we haven't done already. I also like where he reveals to us that the tactical error of trying to force an election in the fall session was because "people didn't want an election." Duh? What, you actually thought that they wanted one? Then why are you acting shocked when sharing the shocking revelation with us that Canada did not want another election less than a year after the last one? Seriously!? You are just finding this out now? Did the LPC have to pony up $500,000 in focus groups to expose that inconvenient truth?

I just watch this douche speak with a reverence and arrogance devoid of any real tangible information.  He acts like he's worth a million in prizes, but if this is the new "modern guy", then give me a little old time rock and roll...

When Appeasement Attacks; Iran invades Iraq

It will be interesting to see how the Nobel Peace Laureate responds to reports that Iran has been conducting military operations inside Iraq's sovereign borders to seize oil fields. According to the Iraqi Government, the Iranians are now fortifying their position around an oil well near the border. Obama has been employing a policy of appeasement in dealing with Iran thus far, and for his efforts, they invade Iraq. Apparently appeasement is a far more effective means of diplomacy than the threat of force, and yes that was intended as sarcasm.

I am not going to attempt to predict the next sequence of events, other than to say this is an instance where you need to punch the bad guy in the face rather than asking nicely. If Iran is able to seize Iraq's oil wealth without opposition, the incentive to take it all will be very alluring. In May, a few months after Obama's victory, I wrote a piece set to Annie Lennox Put a Little Love in your Heart to illustrate how events around the world were unfolding after the "hope and change" election victory. Say what you will about George Bush, tyrants and despots were afraid of him. Evil people take advantage of love and feed off of fear.

In the aftermath of the fraudulent Iranian election, I wrote an extended commentary on the state of Iranian leadership titled the Prince of Persia. Then when there was talk of a re-count a few days later, I said that re-count implies that you counted in the first place!

I am free to have an opinion on Iran, but there is precious little that I can do about it from my foxhole. If Iran is indeed going to press Iraq's eastern border, Obama is going to have a very difficult choice to make, and my bet is that he lets them take it. Has anyone been following the status of the Turkish army on the northern border? Is this situation set to explode?

Calgary or Edmonton?

The more that I think about it, the more certain I am that I will be moving to Alberta after the Olympics. I am already paying a carbon tax, and I refuse to pay an HST on top of it. I fled Ontario before Dalton could unleash his scorched earth on that Province, and now I am sitting here in Gordon Campbell's Vancouver looking east. When I drove from Ontario to British Columbia 5 years ago, I should have stopped in Calgary and settled down.

Where should I move to after the Olympics? I'll put that up to a poll, because I do prefer the Oilers over the Flames and will consider Edmonton as a viable option. Also in terms of hits per capita, I am disproportionately popular in Whitehorse. Though to be honest, I prefer the anonymity of the big city. If making your way in the world today takes everything you've got, I'd like to go where nobody knows my name, and they don't give a shit I came. (ps that was a spin on the Cheers theme song)

Letters From Burma

When I began my webpoll of the most deserving winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, I endorsed Aung San Suu Kyi as my nominee. I did not expect her to defeat Martin Luther King and the Dalai Lama. Evidently more people know who she is than I anticipated. She is a World Hero of Democracy. Her political party was democratically elected to run the country of Burma, and the Military Junta in power refused to recognize the overwhelming results of the vote. Aung San Suu Kyi was then placed under house arrest as a political prisoner where she lives today. She refuses to leave Myanmar, but I want this shinning light of Democracy to live for all to see.

When I first read the book Letters From Burma, I was 18 years old as a Freshman at the University of Guelph, 20th Century World History. Our term paper was to be about Burma, which was renamed Myanmar by the twisted Knights of the Roundtable. The thesis of my term paper was that countries buying their resources (predominantly China) were funding the suppression of Democracy. To do what the Junta is doing requires one of the highest military per capita's on the planet. That costs money. Whoever was sending money to Burma for the resources the Generals were exploiting, were funding the oppression.

An over-zealous TA gave me a C- because I called it Myanmar throughout my essay. I brought it to the Prof, and he bumped me up to a B+ because it was a solid essay. Grad students in the Arts are wasting time and money. Burma has been on my radar for some time. Rambo jumped in later in the game.

Remember that Typhoon 2 years ago? India warned the government of Myanmar that the storm surge was coming, and they did not even issue a storm warning. It was projected to hit the hardest in the hot bed of the pro Democracy movement, and so they did not warn the people. Tens of thousands died in failure of governance that dwarfs Katrina. We need to do something about these assholes in power and suppressing the will of the people. But China props them up, and according to Iggy, we should lick China's ass when it comes to human rights...