Thou hast the strength of will to slay thyself,
Then is it likely thou wilt undertake
A thing like death to chide away this shame,
That copest with death himself to scape from it:
And, if thou darest, I'll give thee remedy.
One time a thing occured to me What's real And what's for sale --STP
From Andrew Sullivan's Blog, comes a comparison of an Israeli phone company ad, depicting Israeli soldiers playing football with the Palestinians on the other side of the security wall:
The scene is recreated by the Palestinians, and...
The scene is funnier given the background music is from the original ad.
Of course, the original ad is ridiculous on a couple of different levels.
The first is that the wall, obstensibly a security measure, but also a consolidation of land grabs since 1967, is made to be something of a funny joke that serves as a prop between the two groups of obviously like minded adversaries. Hey! Everyone likes football!...AND a joke between the military and a demoralized minority, deprived of voting rights in a de facto Israeli/West Bank state that has cordoned Palestinians off into hundreds of open air prisons.
The other thing is that this is ad is obviously for only Israeli consumption. The ad takes the most aggressive of ME armies and a controversial security measure and turns them into non-aggressive play things. Anywhere outside of Israel would this farce been ridiculed out of existence for its cruel mangling of reality.
However within Israel, you can imagine the ad is retail therapy. An Israeli consumer, possibly feeling at odds with the measures of the government and settlers and upset by foreign disgust with the occupation gets relief by a moment of levity regarding these burdens. The Palestinians, those baring the brunt of the crushing policies, never make an appearance, allowing the imagination to envision a people having the time of their lives playing football with their oppressor.
It is a purely psychological manipulation by a marketing PhD's, juicing demand through addictive, reality warping advertising.
Which is why the second video is so funny. It is an act of genius, blowing apart the happy take on the Palestinian/Israeli divide, and destroying the ridiculousness of the marketing schmaltz.
I'm supposed to be i-d-i-o-t a.k.a i-d-i-o-t, yeah thats me i-d-i-o-t. I put with being laughed at cause I put up with being me. And then on artificial someone says I'm the i-d-i-o-t. But I got motivation yeah I pretty much love it all. --The Hives
Um, by the way, sure wish folks could ever, ever understand that we ALL could learn so much from someone like Trig - I know he needs me, but I need him even more... what a child can offer to set priorities RIGHT - that time is precious... the world needs more "Trigs", not fewer. --Sarah Palin
This is one of the most bizarre, uncomfortable, weird, demented and horrible speeches I have ever watched/heard/read.
Unfortunately for Governor Palin, I believe that there is another shoe to drop. This is a very unexpected move, and probably the result of a hurried decision made by worried advisors in expectation of some very bad press. We are missing a large chunk of the equation, but sure enough...it will come.
Hi Alaska, I appreciate speaking directly TO you, the people I serve, as your Governor. People who know me know that besides faith and family, nothing's more important to me than our beloved Alaska. Serving her people is the greatest honor I could imagine.
I want Alaskans to grasp what can be in store for our state. We were purchased as a territory because a member of President Abe Lincoln's cabinet, William Seward, providentially saw in this great land, vast riches, beauty, strategic placement on the globe, and opportunity. He boldly looked "North to the Future". But he endured such ridicule and mocking for his vision for Alaska, remember the adversaries scoffed, calling this "Seward's Folly". Seward withstood such disdain as he chose the uncomfortable, unconventional, but RIGHT path to secure Alaska, so Alaska could help secure the United States.
People who know me know that besides faith and family, nothing's more important to me than our beloved Alaska.
Alaska's mission - to contribute to America. We're strategic IN the world as the air crossroads OF the world, as a gatekeeper of the continent. Bold visionaries knew this - Alaska would be part of America's great destiny.
Our destiny to be reached by responsibly developing our natural resources. This land, blessed with clean air, water, wildlife, minerals, AND oil and gas. It's energy! God gave us energy.
So to serve the state is a humbling responsibility, because I know in my soul that Alaska is of such import, for America's security, in our very volatile world. And you know me by now, I promised even four years ago to show MY independence... no more conventional "politics as usual".
And we are doing well! My administration's accomplishments speak for themselves. We work tirelessly for Alaskans.
We aggressively and responsibly develop our resources because they were created to be used to better our world... to HELP people... and we protect the environment and Alaskans (the resource owners) foremost with our policies.
Here's some of the things we've done:
We created a petroleum integrity office to oversee safe development. We held the line FOR Alaskans on Point Thomson - and finally for the first time in decades - they're drilling for oil and gas.
We have AGIA, the gasline project - a massive bi-partisan victory (the vote was 58 to 1!) - also succeeding as intended - protecting Alaskans as our clean natural gas will flow to energize us, and America, through a competitive, pro-private sector project. This is the largest private sector energy project, ever. THIS is energy independence.
And ACES - another bipartisan effort - is working as intended and industry is publicly acknowledging its success. Our new oil and gas "clear and equitable formula" is so Alaskans will no longer be taken advantage of. ACES incentivizes NEW exploration and development and JOBS that were previously not going to happen with a monopolized North Slope oil basin.
We cleaned up previously accepted unethical actions; we ushered in bi-partisan Ethics Reform.
We also slowed the rate of government growth, we worked with the Legislature to save billions of dollars for the future, and I made no lobbyist friends with my hundreds of millions of dollars in budget vetoes... but living beyond our means today is irresponsible for tomorrow.
We took government out of the dairy business and put it back into private-sector hands - where it should be.
We provided unprecedented support for education initiatives, and with the right leadership, finally filled long-vacant public safety positions. We built a sub-Cabinet on Climate Change and took heat from Outside special interests for our biologically-sound wildlife management for abundance.
We broke ground on the new prison.
And we made common sense conservative choices to eliminate personal luxuries like the jet, the chef, the junkets... the entourage.
And the Lt. Governor and I said "no" to our pay raises. So much success in this first term - and with this success I am proud to take credit... for hiring the right people! Our goal was to achieve a gasline project, more fair oil and gas valuation, and ethics reform in four years. We did it in two. It's because of the people... good public servants surrounding the Governor's office, with servants' hearts and astounding work ethic... THEY are Alaska's success!
We are doing well! I wish you'd hear MORE from the media of your state's progress and how we tackle Outside interests - daily - SPECIAL interests that would stymie our state. Even those debt-ridden stimulus dollars that would force the heavy hand of federal government into our communities with an "all-knowing attitude" - I have taken the slings and arrows with that unpopular move to veto because I know being right is better than being popular. Some of those dollars would harm Alaska and harm America - I resisted those dollars because of the obscene national debt we're forcing our children to pay, because of today's Big Government spending; it's immoral and doesn't even make economic sense!
Another accomplishment - our Law Department protected states' rights - TWO huge U.S. Supreme Court reversals came down against that liberal Ninth Circuit, deciding in OUR state's favor over the last two weeks. We're protectors of our Constitution - federalists protect states' rights as mandated in 10th amendment.
But you don't hear much of the good stuff in the press anymore, do you?
Some say things changed for me on August 29th last year - the day John McCain tapped me to be his running-mate - I say others changed.
Let me speak to that for a minute.
Political operatives descended on Alaska last August, digging for dirt. The ethics law I championed became their weapon of choice. Over the past nine months I've been accused of all sorts of frivolous ethics violations - such as holding a fish in a photograph, wearing a jacket with a logo on it, and answering reporters' questions.
Every one - all 15 of the ethics complaints have been dismissed. We've won! But it hasn't been cheap - the State has wasted THOUSANDS of hours of YOUR time and shelled out some two million of YOUR dollars to respond to "opposition research" - that's money NOT going to fund teachers or troopers - or safer roads. And this political absurdity, the "politics of personal destruction" ... Todd and I are looking at more than half a million dollars in legal bills in order to set the record straight. And what about the people who offer up these silly accusations? It doesn't cost them a dime so they're not going to stop draining public resources - spending other peoples' money in their game.
It's pretty insane - my staff and I spend most of our day dealing with THIS instead of progressing our state now. I know I promised no more "politics as usual," but THIS isn't what anyone had in mind for ALASKA.
If I have learned one thing: LIFE is about choices!
And one chooses how to react to circumstances. You can choose to engage in things that tear down, or build up. I choose to work very hard on a path for fruitfulness and productivity. I choose NOT to tear down and waste precious time; but to build UP this state and our country, and her industrious, generous, patriotic, free people!
Life is too short to compromise time and resources... it may be tempting and more comfortable to just keep your head down, plod along, and appease those who demand: "Sit down and shut up", but that's the worthless, easy path; that's a quitter's way out. And a problem in our country today is apathy. It would be apathetic to just hunker down and "go with the flow".
Nah, only dead fish "go with the flow".
No. Productive, fulfilled people determine where to put their efforts, choosing to wisely utilize precious time... to BUILD UP.
And there is such a need to BUILD up and FIGHT for our state and our country. I choose to FIGHT for it! And I'll work hard for others who still believe in free enterprise and smaller government; strong national security for our country and support for our troops; energy independence; and for those who will protect freedom and equality and LIFE... I'll work for and campaign for those PROUD to be American, and those who are INSPIRED by our ideals and won't deride them.
I WILL support others who seek to serve, in or out of office, for the RIGHT reasons, and I don't care what party they're in or no party at all. Inside Alaska - or Outside Alaska.
But I won't do it from the Governor's desk.
I've never believed that I, nor anyone else, needs a title to do this - to make a difference... to HELP people. So I choose, for my State and my family, more "freedom" to progress, all the way around... so that Alaska may progress... I will not seek re-election as Governor.
And so as I thought about this announcement that I wouldn't run for re-election and what it means for Alaska, I thought about how much fun some governors have as lame ducks... travel around the state, to the Lower 48 (maybe), overseas on international trade - as so many politicians do. And then I thought - that's what's wrong - many just accept that lame duck status, hit the road, draw the paycheck, and "milk it". I'm not putting Alaska through that - I promised efficiencies and effectiveness! ? That's not how I am wired. I am not wired to operate under the same old "politics as usual." I promised that four years ago - and I meant it.
It's not what is best for Alaska.
I am determined to take the right path for Alaska even though it is unconventional and not so comfortable.
With this announcement that I am not seeking re-election... I've determined it's best to transfer the authority of governor to Lieutenant Governor Parnell; and I am willing to do so, so that this administration - with its positive agenda, its accomplishments, and its successful road to an incredible future - can continue without interruption and with great administrative and legislative success.
My choice is to take a stand and effect change - not hit our heads against the wall and watch valuable state time and money, millions of your dollars, go down the drain in this new environment. Rather, we know we can effect positive change outside government at this moment in time, on another scale, and actually make a difference for our priorities - and so we will, for Alaskans and for Americans.
Let me go back to a comfortable analogy for me - sports... basketball. I use it because you're naïve if you don't see the national full-court press picking away right now: A good point guard drives through a full court press, protecting the ball, keeping her eye on the basket... and she knows exactly when to pass the ball so that the team can WIN. And I'm doing that - keeping our eye on the ball that represents sound priorities - smaller government, energy independence, national security, freedom! And I know when it's time to pass the ball - for victory.
I have given my reasons candidly and truthfully... and my last day won't be for another few weeks so the transition will be very smooth. In fact, we will look to swear Sean in - in Fairbanks at the conclusion of our Governor's picnics.
I do not want to disappoint anyone with my decision; all I can ask is that you TRUST me with this decision - but it's no more "politics as usual".
Some Alaskans don't mind wasting public dollars and state time. I do. I cannot stand here as your Governor and allow millions upon millions of our dollars go to waste just so I can hold the title of Governor. And my children won't allow it either. ? Some will question the timing. ? Let's just say, this decision has been in the works for awhile...
In fact, this decision comes after much consideration, and finally polling the most important people in my life - my children (where the count was unanimous... well, in response to asking: "Want me to make a positive difference and fight for ALL our children's future from OUTSIDE the Governor's office?" It was four "yes's" and one "hell yeah!" The "hell yeah" sealed it - and someday I'll talk about the details of that... I think much of it had to do with the kids seeing their baby brother Trig mocked by some pretty mean-spirited adults recently.) Um, by the way, sure wish folks could ever, ever understand that we ALL could learn so much from someone like Trig - I know he needs me, but I need him even more... what a child can offer to set priorities RIGHT - that time is precious... the world needs more "Trigs", not fewer.
My decision was also fortified during this most recent trip to Kosovo and Landstuhl, to visit our wounded soldiers overseas, those who sacrifice themselves in war for OUR freedom and security... we can ALL learn from our selfless Troops... they're bold, they don't give up, they take a stand and know that LIFE is short so they choose to NOT waste time. They choose to be productive and to serve something greater than SELF... and to build up their families, their states, our country. These Troops and their important missions - those are truly the worthy causes in this world and should be the public priority with time and resources and NOT this local / superficial wasteful political bloodsport.
May we ALL learn from them!
*((Gotta put First Things First))*
First things first: as Governor, I love my job and I love Alaska. It hurts to make this choice but I am doing what's best for Alaska. I've explained why... though I think of the saying on my parents' refrigerator that says "Don't explain: your friends don't need it and your enemies won't believe you anyway."
But I have given my reasons... no more "politics as usual" and I am taking my fight for what's right - for Alaska - in a new direction.
Now, despite this, I don't want any Alaskan dissuaded from entering politics after seeing this REAL "climate change" that began in August... no, we NEED hardworking, average Americans fighting for what's right! And I will support you because we need YOU and YOU can effect change, and I can too on the outside.
We need those who will respect our Constitution where government's supposed to serve from the BOTTOM UP, not move toward this TOP DOWN big government take-over... but rather, will be protectors of individual rights - who also have enough common sense to acknowledge when conditions have drastically changed and are willing to call an audible and pass the ball when it's time so the team can win! And that is what I'm doing!
Remember Alaska... America is now, more than ever, looking North to the Future. It'll be good. So God bless you, and from me and my family - to ALL Alaska - you have my heart.
And we will be in the capable hands of our Lieutenant Governor, Sean Parnell. And Lieutenant General Craig Campbell will assume the role of Lieutenant Governor. And it is my promise to you that I will always be standing by, ready to assist. We have a good, positive agenda for Alaska.
In the words of General MacArthur said, "We are not retreating. We are advancing in another direction."
###
-------------------------------------------- A fifth grader could have done better. Sweet Jesus that was horrible.
He was truly an original, and an artist that towered above his contemporaries. Like other commentators, I wish that he finds what he looking for in the afterlife, if one exists. He was a tortured soul, irresponsible in his actions, callous in his disregard for social norms and behaviours. But what he will be remembered for is the incredible performances, the leaps and bounds he made musically, and a style that could not be imitated.
"The Embassy was closed Saturday and there were no Canadians at the Embassy when the protests began. Reports that we were providing shelter to Iranian demonstrators are false," foreign affairs and international trade spokesperson Simone MacAndrew said in a statement to CTV.ca.
"Canada's Embassy is located in the centre of recent demonstrations. Due to the tense security in Tehran this week, the Embassy has been closing early so that staff can return home safely before the public and democratic demonstrations begin
They are backpedaling - Everyone knew the big protest and possibly hyper-violent confrontation was on Saturday and Canada made a conscious decision to send the losing regime a message: Scoring some minor points with the murderous dictatorship is more important than doing the right thing and keeping a positive image of Canada.
On moral grounds, this is reprehensible. Just on moral grounds, Canada needs to open the Embassy.
If the decision were purely Realpolitik, it will not work either. The fact that hundreds of thousands, if not millions of Iranians know what Canada did and now the entire world knows means that our standing in the world has been dealt a serious blow. And for what purpose? So the old regime will smile on us just a little more than say the Swiss? What tangible benefits will we see from this?
Is it enough that the country cannot look at itself in the mirror? Or will the benefits be so much that it will not matter that the future Iranian regime will remember this travesty?
If you feel like I do, you will want to email the responsible parties: Prime Minister Harper: pm@pm.gc.ca Canadian Tehran Embassy: tehran@international.gc.ca Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon: Cannon.L@parl.gc.ca
Someday a future president may have to apologize to Iranians for Mr. Obama’s nonfeasance, just as Mr. Obama apologized for the Eisenhower administration’s meddling. But the better Eisenhower parallel is with Hungary in 1956. Then as now a popular uprising coalesced around a figure (Imre Nagy in Hungary; Mir Hossein Mousavi in Iran), who had once been a creature of the system. Then as now it was buoyed by inspiring American rhetoric about freedom and democracy coming over Voice of America airwaves. And then as now the administration effectively turned its back on the uprising when U.S. support could have made a difference. Hungary would spend the next 33 years in the Soviet embrace.
The error in 1956 was on the part of Radio Free Europe, in holding out to Hungarian resisters the false hope that the West would or could intervene on their behalf. It would be similarly cruel and immoral to give Iranian demonstrators the false idea that we in the democratic world can offer them anything more than our sympathy. We can’t. We will not invade Iran, and nothing else we do will have much of an effect on the behavior of a regime fighting to retain its hold on power. The demonstrators in Iran must know that they have to win the struggle for a fair election on their own, and must be prepared to face the consequences of failure. And they do know this. That is precisely what makes them so courageous. It would be stupid and irresponsible of the US to use their struggle as an occasion for ineffectual rhetorical grandstanding, and fortunately President Obama, unlike our last President, seems able to resist the temptation.
Iran's establishment can absolutely suck the wind out of this thing with one fowl swoop if they can paint the US as being anywhere near this revolt. Best to stay out of the way, stop the navel gazing and just observe.
Everywhere I hear the sound of Marching, charging, feet, boy --Rolling Stones
I guess millions and millions of shocked Iranians can be discounted - Ken Ballen and Patrick Doherty did a pole last month showing that of course Ahmadinejad would win, by approximately 2 to one over Mousavi.
Of course, if you take a couple minutes to review the pole there are issues that begin to emerge. The stink emerges from this piece of drivel fairly quickly:
When our poll was taken, almost a third of Iranians were also still undecided.
Really? That doesn't seem right - Seems a high for a well publicized election.
So 15% refused to answer, 7% would not vote, and about a third were "undecided", and around 3% were voting for someone other than the two frontrunners. Despite these completely oddball results, Ballen and Doherty decide that these people were not intimidated because the respondents generally were pro-reform, pro-democracy, and pro-detente with the west. Ballen and Doherty decided that this meant they saw Ahmadinejad as the "best negotiator" for Iran.
The problem is that if you follow Ahmadinejad's rhetoric, it's clear he is not interested in detente, reform, or any of the above. It straight up does not make sense.
More damning, is that the election results showed massive wins for Ahmadinejad in areas that are typically won by underdogs, including Kurdish areas which never vote for the Conservative hardliner. Even Azeris, Mousavi's own people, apparently voted for Ahmadinejad in record numbers. Ballen and Doherty never address this, nor any of the actual voting irregularities spotted by anyone over the weekend. In fact, they only saw the results as being "similar" to their own findings, and said "we are freaking geniuses!"
Here are the 2009 results for candidate Karroubi against Ahmadinejad, keeping in mind that Karroubi beat Ahmadinejad in all of these areas in 2005:
Nothing unusual here, say Ballen and Doherty. No intimidation of the voters was present during the polling.
Why? Well, because Iranians know that they are free to express their opinions without fear.... They are well aware that an Iranians' political viewpoint is sacred, and not to be coerced one way or another by violence...
Seriously, how could anyone think that the Ayatollahs would ever stoop to such barbarism??? I mean intimidation? Really???
How batshit crazy do you have to be to believe that Iran's leadership would do something so ridiculous? -------------------------------- Ballen and Doherty should have come clean about their own shoddy work and admitted that intimidation and reprisals were at work during their polling and instead became enthused that the election reinforced their findings(although not really - see here and here).
Instead of admitting their errors, they became useful idiots of the Iranian establishment's propaganda. Ballen and Doherty will not live this down anytime soon, and it is my hope they never, ever do. F***ing Enablers.
Unbelievable.
Broken back to the ceiling Broken nose to the floor I scream at the silence, it's crawling It crawls under the door There's a rope around my neck And there's a trigger in your gun Jesus say something I am someone, I am someone I am someone --U2
But I won’t let you sit by So cold in the pitch night Alone You can’t make amends --Interpol
The former expense account junkie, Adrienne Clarkson, showed up in Iqaluit last week. She was entering the Frobisher Inn Gallery restaurant as if she were royalty, being late for her lunch appointment and then presenting herself to the room for several moments before finding her seat.
But she knew exactly where she was sitting. John Ralston Saul was sitting with her party of a dozen right at the front of the restaurant.
Clarkson unimpressed with Jean's seal-eating gesture By Alexander Panetta – 4 hours ago
IQALUIT, Nunavut — At least one person's unimpressed by all the fuss over the seal-skinning adventures of Michaelle Jean: her predecessor as Governor General.
Adrienne Clarkson was curt when asked by a reporter about Jean's headline-grabbing gesture last week, and Clarkson's own memories of meals with the Inuit.
"I've eaten raw food here since 1971. It's nothing new to me, okay?" Clarkson told The Canadian Press this weekend. Both women were attending an arctic gathering hosted by Clarkson's husband John Ralston Saul.
Yes, but did Clarkson eat seal in front of the media in order to defend Canada's seal hunt? Did she send the world a message of solidarity with other Canadians?
What a bitchy, self-centred response.
The issue was not about her, it was about Michaelle Jean, and Michaelle's gesture, not about what Clarkson had eaten and when. Nobody cares what Clarkson did in '71, and no one wants to hear about it.
Somehow, this ugly leftover from the Chretien Regime just regurgitated her self-important bile all over the news again.
Dear Adrienne: Please disappear for another 5 years or so. This is the last Canadians will need to hear from you for a long, long time.
It's no surprise that protectionism has become the latest phenomena in the downturn. Fear, driven by nationalism, job losses, general malaise, and xenophobia results in a hostile and economically reactionary constituency. Lawmakers, and in particularly Obama, despite their true selves are servants to a greater master than ideology, education, party, or accumulated knowledge. We have seen this in almost every downturn in the 20th century, and this is no exception.
They are servants of populism - the plague of any downturn. If truth is the first casualty of war, then reason is the first casualty of a recession. Case in point:
WASHINGTON — Canadian Industry Minister Tony Clement on Wednesday slammed the Democratic-led U.S. Congress for expanding "injurious" Buy American rules that bar Canadian firms from bidding on American economic-stimulus projects, suggesting Capitol Hill lawmakers are ignorant to the potential for their actions to backfire on the U.S. economy.
Unfortunately for the US, "Buy American" and other assorted assanine policies driven by an inwardly focused electorate mean that others may retaliate for the continuing idiocy of Congress:
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva paid a visit to his Chinese counterpart, Hu Jintao, this week, with a view to boosting trade between the two emerging economies and promoting what Lula called a “new economic order” that relies less on the US dollar.
[...]
”I think the trip that I am about to embark on…is one of the most important I am going on to defend a new economic order and a new commercial policy in the world,” Lula told journalists before he left Brazil, AFP reported.
China and other major trade partners, including Canada, have been waiting for a sensible US trade policy for a long time. The "Buy American" policies may be a last straw for the US' biggest partners.
Witness Canada's push for a oil deals away from the US, China and Canada's continued push for European trade integration and diversification away from the US trade hegemony. ------------------
It was inevitable that the American and world believers in Obama (this blog included) would be disappointed by Obama because of his need to have as large a tent possible. The short-sightedness of certain actions (not releasing more torture photos, keeping Gitmo's military trials, etc) has made the world wonder if Obama's better instincts and image have not been permanently damaged by adhering to a populist agenda that requires bending over backwards to satisfy the most backward of the US' interest groups.
I declare the world's honeymoon with the new president over.
It's back to earth, and back to playing hardball with one more compromised and damaged politician, beholden to satisfy idiocy as opposed to Obama's supreme intellect and abilities.
So much for the PHD's from the University of Chicago he surrounded himself with. What a waste.
Just as I am I awoke with a tear on my tongue I awoke with a feeling of never before
Another time, another place --U2
The media, the politicians, and the world at large want to believe that the killings in N. Ireland are completely without popular support.
Unfortunately, murderous terror organizations do not form in a vacuum. They are aided and abetted by large groups of sympathizers forming a critical mass capable of enabling, defending, encouraging, protecting and giving ideological support to the most capable of their members - ie: the terrorists themselves. Today, it appears that the bad old days are back in N. Ireland, if the above picture and the ongoing and probably completely well-rehearsed riots are any indication:
LURGAN, Northern Ireland (AP) — Irish nationalist gangs hurled gasoline bombs at police officers on Saturday after three suspected Irish Republican Army dissidents were arrested on suspicion of killing two British soldiers in an attack designed to stir up wider violence in Northern Ireland.
Police officers in armored cars and flame-retardant suits said no members of their force were injured during the rising mob violence in the Irish Catholic end of Lurgan, a religiously divided town southwest of Belfast. Rioters also blocked the main railroad that goes between Belfast and Dublin, which runs alongside the town’s hard-line Kilwilkie district.
Belfast is still a divided town, and the segregation, religious bigotry and soci0-economic stigmas that permeates the city means that the while the progress at the top end (ie: political) may have been a necessary first step, and there is progress with law enforcement (Catholics can be policemen without the IRA hunting them), the most basic issues remain.
Catholics are still living in rundown ghettos in the worst areas of Belfast, while industries are protected for Protestants officially or otherwise. Protestants are still being force fed a diet of hate by preachers and leaders in an ancient and continued effort to keep the lower classes divided in an effort to keep down labour costs, and keep religion alive one of the last corners of fervant belief in Europe.
Leadership is not the only issue. The terrorists that kill the innocent have crossed the vast moral divide from sympathizers to cold-blooded killers all by themselves and deserve nothing but punishment. Where once there was an argument about "protection" by the militants from the British, the British soldiers today are far from the soulless killers that shot from the hip into crowds of unarmed people 30 years ago.
The murdered soliders were ordering pizza, and hanging out with their friends at a barracks. Innocent.
But apart from the CIRA and RIRA, the Catholic and Protestant communities need to come to terms with the fact that they are still producing young men capable of sectarian murder.
Again - this does not occur in a vacuum. The communities themselves need to recognize that the conversations at the dinner table, and the sermons on Sunday have an effect on the impressionable. That those charged with more hormones than blessed with brains may think that they can serve their clan by killing more of the enemy based on what they have been told.
N. Ireland has come a long way in a short time. It still has a long way to go.
The least intelligent of all the federal leaders in Canadian Politics in living memory makes one of the stupidest gaffes you could imagine since the last time she opened her sorry mouth. In discussing where she would like to be elected as an MP, Elizabeth May said:
"I have told the party I’m prepared to look a bit around, although I don’t want to," she said. "Anything in Nova Scotia is more palatable to me than having to move out West."
This is probably the least astute leader I have seen in a long time. I'm counting Stockwell Day in this assessment, too.
It's probably the worst thing I have heard a politician say since Elizabeth May came out and said she thought Canadians were stupid, and then started suing the pants off anyone that disagreed with her demented explanations for saying it.
If Canadian politics were the "Gong Show" she would have heard the ringing in her ears long before now.
Well you stole it 'cause I needed the cash And you killed it 'cause I wanted revenge --U2
The killings in N. Ireland over the past few days serve as a grim reminder of the recent past where the IRA and various Loyalist terror outfits ran one of the most contested pieces of land on planet earth - Northern Ireland. It also serves to remind us of the not quite unfinished business of the uneasy detente between the Protestants and Catholics in the province.
The good news of all this, is that if there is one thing both sides of the great divide can agree on: It was wrong. It should not have happened, and there is no public support for more killing.
Even Martin McGuinness, famed enforcer of the IRA came out against the attacks standing (get this) shoulder to shoulder with the N. Irish Police.
The question has to be why now? Why would the paramilitaries choose to assert themselves, when the public backlash was sure to be swift?
Some see the method in the madness. It's the same insane calculation that all resistance/guerilla movements count on - an overreaction by the authorities to a challenge of their dominance resulting in a massive wave of support for the movement:
Does this mean a new round of Troubles? No. But a new round of Troubles wasn't likely to happen 40 years ago, either. Public opinion was firmly against IRA terrorism in the late 1960s; a mere 2 per cent of Northern Ireland Catholics then supported the Provos. Catholic women initially brought tea and biscuits to British soldiers on patrol; after all, they had arrived to protect Catholic areas from Protestant mobs in 1969.
So why did the Troubles happen? Well, the Brits made horrendous mistakes when the IRA began its terror campaign. Sometimes, they overreacted, as when British paratroopers fired on a crowd of demonstrators and killed 19 people. Sometimes, they underreacted, as when they let the IRA set up "no-go areas" where it brutally consolidated support.
As to what motivates them, a dissident spokesman provided a clue last month in a rare interview with a Belfast paper, the Irish News. Politics had failed republicans: “politics and military cannot operate side by side.” To avert another Omagh they would not leave bombs in town centres but would target the security forces. Police and mainstream republicans say, and a number of arrests bear them out, that most dissidents are not disaffected ex-IRA but younger men, drawn in by a mixture of diehard belief that violence is essential if Northern Ireland is to be freed from the United Kingdom and a hankering for the excitement of disorder and the community status that paramilitaries once enjoyed.
A belief that the imagined utopia of the Troubles is a the way to the future is the cornerstone of a doomed movement.
There were no good ol' days.
Let's just hope the authorities and the Sinn Fein can act conservatively and wisely by playing the public against the murderers. This will be a battle for hearts and minds, and any drastic reactionary response by the British will end badly.
Here's MIA, pre-superfame, discussing the nature of resistance in her own terms:
It sounds like a cliche because it is true: The drug war has failed.
Eradication programs in countries with a steady demand for drugs means that the less drugs on the market, the higher the price, ergo more dealers/suppliers push for more drugs to enter the market as profits get higher and higher.
Basically, without addressing demand, authorities are playing a wack-a-mole project with the supply of drugs. It won't work. And the only way to address demand, is to stop criminalizing addicts, who will be imprisoned for their mild self-harming ways, only to be placed in an environment inundated with copious amounts of drugs, violence, paranoia and intimidation.
That's only the problem with the addicts.
The other big issue is the massive black market for gangsters, supplying widely used products without any product safety inspection, quality control or worker's safety. You think your workplace is unsafe? Well...Meanwhile, the government is ceding major revenues from taxes to people who kill each other for a living.
How did the model ever make sense? Why do we keep going down the same failed path for decades, when it appears obvious a shift in policy is required?
There are two main reasons for arguing that prohibition should be scrapped all the same. The first is one of liberal principle. Although some illegal drugs are extremely dangerous to some people, most are not especially harmful. (Tobacco is more addictive than virtually all of them.) Most consumers of illegal drugs, including cocaine and even heroin, take them only occasionally. They do so because they derive enjoyment from them (as they do from whisky or a Marlboro Light). It is not the state’s job to stop them from doing so.
What about addiction? That is partly covered by this first argument, as the harm involved is primarily visited upon the user. But addiction can also inflict misery on the families and especially the children of any addict, and involves wider social costs. That is why discouraging and treating addiction should be the priority for drug policy. Hence the second argument: legalisation offers the opportunity to deal with addiction properly. [...] This newspaper first argued for legalisation 20 years ago (see article). Reviewing the evidence again (see article), prohibition seems even more harmful, especially for the poor and weak of the world. Legalisation would not drive gangsters completely out of drugs; as with alcohol and cigarettes, there would be taxes to avoid and rules to subvert. Nor would it automatically cure failed states like Afghanistan. Our solution is a messy one; but a century of manifest failure argues for trying it.
You know I've tried so hard to keep myself from falling Back into my bad old ways And it chars my heart to always hear you calling Calling for the good old days Because there were no good old days --The Libertines
There was a detente between the Harper Tories and the remnants of the Chretien regime that had (mostly) missed the blows of Gomery, the Martin purges, the RCMP investigations and far-off ambassador posts/exile. Most of the Chretienites may have felt shame for their part of Chretien-era shenanigans, and decided that belonging to a regime that had exchanged brown paper bags full of money for favours in Italian restaurants in Montreal was a sign that perhaps they needed to exit the public stage.
The only two real "survivors" of the regime were the two with the least amount of shame: Joe Volpe (yes, Mr. "I think those kids were impressed with my speeches" as an excuse for why 10 year olds were giving him $5,400 in campaign contributions) and WK.
WK, as you may recall, spent loads of time attacking the right wing of the blogosphere during and before the Gomery Inquiry, attempting to censor and rewrite the history of the Chretien days by actively silencing anyone with a blog who looked at him and the Liberal past cross-eyed (including myself). For anyone who forgot, this was his chief claim to fame in the Gomery Inquiry:
David Dingwall, the former minister of public works and current CEO of the Royal Canadian Mint, admits he crossed the line in 1995 when he insisted to his deputy minister, Ran Quail, that Chuck Guité be promoted to review all advertising and communications activities of the government.
Dingwall testifies that Guité came highly recommended. "He was universally acclaimed," he says.
Dingwall's chief-of-staff at the time, Warren Kinsella, wrote a letter at Dingwall's request to Quail asking that Guité head the review. In hindsight, Dingwall acknowledges that ministers shouldn't interfere in the hiring process of public servants.
Yes, that Chuck Guite. [insert your own conclusions here]
Anyway, in the ensuing dysfunction that characterized the post-Gomery Martin Prime Minister-ship and the schadenfreude period of the initial Harper win, WK appeared to make friends with those on the right that took no part in his character-bashing and those he didn't threaten to sue (and some he did, a la pax blogospherica with Norm Spector after repeatedly belittling Norm and threatening him with lawsuits). Canadian politics made strange bedfellows as WK linked to Pierre Bourque, advocated on behalf of Angry in the Great White North when (get this) Janke was sued for defamation and generally made a Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact with the moderate right.
Well, like the ol' "let's have a hudna and divvy up Poland!" party of the late '30's, this ridiculous pairing of moderates and hyper extreme partisan had to end.
WK senses he is near the halls of power. His symbiotic host, Michael Ignatieff, a half decent politician and world class intellectual, has a decent chance of winning the PM office with a Conservative party (and most of the world) unfairly paying for the excesses of the overindulgent American elite. This unhappy convergence of a so-so opposition and a hapless and disappointing government means that the remnants of the last successful Liberal regime may be rehabilitated, and their glory returned...(Hey!! Remember the nineties???? Seriously?? Ok, besides the fawning press overlooking a barely comprehensible, sexist, decrepit, corrupt old man making a mockery of Canada and purposefully neglecting western Canada as a scorched earth strategy??? GOOD TIMES!!!). As a result of Ignatieff's rise to leader, the honeymoon between the Conservatives and WK has ended, and the Game is back.
Which brings us to the present situation.
At this point, the Conservatives rightly sense that Ignatieff's weakest point is WK. Just as Obama's surrogates took some aim at the Bushies surrounding McCain, the Conservatives realize that the stink of a formerly disgraced regime may cling to the new prince because of his choice of Richelieu as his attack dog.
Thinking of WK, a quote from the movie "300" comes to mind, when Dilios says of Xerxes:
The god-king has betrayed a fatal flaw: Hubris. Easy to taunt, easy to trick. Before wounds and weariness have taken their toll, the mad king throws the best he has at us. Xerxes has taken the bait.
[W] had written that he would be spending a few weeks in Ottawa and decided to celebrate “with some barbecue cat and rice” at a Chinese restaurant that was a favourite when he was a student at Carleton University.
Not smooth. The right pounced easily on the self-mutilated WK.
WK hit back wildly, making a mission of taking on TVO's Steve Paikan because of Paikan's choice of arch-conservative Kathy Shaidle as a guest on his program, threatening Paikan with telling on him to the responsible provincial minister (yes, a provincial Liberal). At this point, WK may have taken a moment to consider the negative fallout from continuing down a path where he was making an enemy of Ignatieff's future debate moderator.
(Aside: The only real upside would be to make Paikan far too timid in a real debate for fear of appearing biased, with public knowledge that he has a beef with Ignatieff's team, a la Republican attacks on Gwen Ifill, before the VP debate. But this is a dangerous strategy where Paikan is a far more dynamic and aware individual. And I'm probably giving W too much credit...)
But instead he doubled down.
It now comes to light that WK is alleged to have possibly threatened the Canadian Israel Committee for having some right wingers be invited on a tour to Israel. Which...just happened to coincide with his "resignation" from the Canadian Jewish Congress.
"The Liberal Party is back doing business as usual and has clearly not learned its lesson from the Sponsorship Scandal," said Paradis. "First Michael Ignatieff brought back disgraced Chretien backroom organizer Warren Kinsella and now he has welcomed a key Sponsorship Scandal figure into his inner circle."
This is the offending passage. I kid thee not. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- I guess the larger game is that the Conservatives want to bring out the worst in the hyper aggressiveness of WK and his penchant for over-zealous, "politics as fist-fighting" partisanship. He is far too easily led into a brawl, when it seems obvious to the casual observer that this type of politics is out of style, and reflects badly on Ignatieff's judgment.
There is no cause for hysteria, and no reason for hitting out in every direction, but WK is and will continue because that is the only way he knows how. One gets the sense he was just itching for a fight for the last 3 years, and now sees rightwing enemies everywhere and anywhere, and the only way ahead is to bulldoze.
He's got a reputation. He's got a style. And with his blindfold and imagined rightwinger boogeyman pinata, he may just randomly hit the wrong person. With more enemies accumulating by the minute, and fewer Conservative or Liberal moderates on his side (ie: Cherniak and co) he may find himself short of backup this time.
By John Morrissy, Financial PostFebruary 23, 2009 OTTAWA — Canadians were feeling more optimistic about the economy in February despite a decline that has shown no signs of loosening its grip on the housing market, the jobs sector or their depleted retirement savings, new polls show.
The shops are open but Canadians aren't spending and the finance minister is predicting more of the same in the months ahead.
Statistics Canada said retail sales plunged 5.4% in December compared to the previous month -- the largest decline in more than 15 years.
"Retailers knew it was going to be a tough holiday season, but today's results are somewhat softer than anticipated," said Mark Beazley of the Retail Council of Canada.
I'm not sure how you can reconcile these two data sets, but I'd love to see someone try.
I've been ****ed over, left for dead, dissed and forgotten Luck ran out, they hoped that I'd be gone, stiff and rotten Y'all just piss on me, **** on me, spit on my grave (uh) Talk about me, laugh behind my back but in my face Y'all some "well wishers," friendly actin', envy hidin' snakes With your hands out for my money, man, how much can I take? --Nas
Obama's longtime rival and wannabe nemesis, Alan Keyes, decides to make a name for himself by playing the same game that Hillary did during the primaries:
"Obama is a radical communist and I think it is becoming clear. That is what I told people in Illinois and now everybody realizes it is coming true. He is going to destroy this country and we are either going to stop him or the United States of America is going to cease to exist" [...] "He is an abomination"
What he is describing is a fraudulent takeover of the US presidency by a foreigner. Some misguided "patriot" might take this the wrong way and decide that the only way to rectify this is by removing this threat to the US by any means necessary.
And that would be a tragedy. I hope that day never comes, but if it does we know who to blame.
And i really cant come to grips With how these fellas act just like chicks But now i retaliate with clips And now i retaliate with force You should come to grips With how you really should watch your lips --Dizzee Rascal
Rick Santelli, moron du jour, and TV personality on CNBC (billed as the George Castanza Channel - if everything it says is wrong, the opposite must be correct) called for a Boston Tea Party in Chicago this summer to protest the bill signed by Obama this week, to hoots of approval by the traders on the Chicago floor, calling them a "good cross section" of the American public - let's pray he's wrong:
"We're thinking of having a Chicago Tea Party in July," Santelli told CNBC "Squawk Box" co-anchor Joe Kernan. "All you capitalists who want to show up at Lake Michigan, I'm going to start organizing."
If by capitalists, he means those able to properly manage risk, manage a company's operations profitably, and be a responsible member of the commmunity, then there are no American Capitalists left.
They left with the advent of mega bonuses to executives of companies in chapter 11 and begging for government money.
They left when all around them, calls for responsible management of high risk mortgages went unheeded when the writing was on the wall years ago, and became painfully obvious in 2007. ---------------------------------------------------------------
I guess this is like financial Groundhog day - The finance professionals and their enablers within the media still don't realize how responsible they are for the meltdown, and so it is bound to continue.
The first step to solving your problem, is realizing you have one.
