John's Place for Photos: News and politics

Following the cartoons.......

Sun, 26 Mar 2006 03:43:01 GMT

Today as I moved around on the 'net getting news and misc. tasks that I do, I ran into a few articles that really struck fear into me. I'd like to share them with you if you'll take a minute to read them and come back.

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/subcontinent/2006/March/subcontinent_March944.xml&section=subcontinent&col=

and then

http://www.youmeworks.com/sharia_canada.html

Scared yet? Are we letting religous freedoms fall in the name of political correctness, or empowering religous zealots within our state system under the misguided cover of multiculturalism. As we make our preparations to move out west (after nearly 10 years near, in, and around the self proclaimed center of the universe - Toronto) a few things I've noticed are the constant spineless attitude displayed by the current Ontario government. Now active or implicit support for Sharia law has long been a topic of disussion in Ontario. Given the recent developments in Afghanistan about the persecution of Muslim to Christian convert Abdul Rahman, any discussion about the merits of Sharia law in Canada should rapidly become apparent to all. It is not a point of religous freedom but more a point of human rights, equality, and respect for others at a fundamental level.

Please read the articles and think about the ramifications in our Country. One other point to ponder, whether it be real, important, percieved, or missinterpreted, it should be noted that a google search of the persecuted Afghan, Mr. Abdul Rahman returns numerous pages of terrorist links and FBI materials.

It could be that his name is similar in nature to John Smith in the USA or Chan Wong in China. I dont know, but I do know we are in danger here of being complacent, of being implicit supporters of bringing this new law into Canada.

Thank God we have our boys and girls in Afghanistan to help make a difference and exert some pressure to stop this. Video on our troops here.

Bono on Justice and Equality

Mon, 13 Feb 2006 01:58:59 GMT

Listening to CBC this afternoon on my way home from work, I heard a Keynote address given by Bono (the U2 band frontman and one of my favorie musicians). The address was given at the 54h National Prayer Breakfast on Feb 2nd, 2006 at the Hilton Washington Hotel. Below is a exerpt that made me take pause for some reflective thought and it may well provide this for you as well. Let me know in your comments. The link at the end shows the transcript in its entirety, a good read or listen or watch.

"This is not about charity in the end, is it? It’s about justice. The good news yet to come. I just want to repeat that: This is not about charity, it’s about justice. And that’s too bad. Because we’re good at charity. Americans, Irish people, are good at charity. We like to give, and we give a lot, even those who can’t afford it.

But justice is a higher standard. Africa makes a fool of our idea of justice; it makes a farce of our idea of equality. It mocks our pieties; it doubts our concern, and it questions our commitment. Six and a half thousand Africans are still dying every day of preventable, treatable disease, for lack of drugs we can buy at any drug store. This is not about charity: This is about Justice and Equality.

Because there's no way we can look at what’s happening in Africa and, if we're honest, conclude that deep down, we would let it happen anywhere else -- if we really accepted that Africans are equal to us.

I say that humbled in the company of a man with an African father.

Look what happened in South East Asia with the Tsunami. 150, 000 lives lost to the misnomer of all misnomers, “mother nature”. Well, in Africa, 150,000 lives are lost every month -- a tsunami every month. And it’s a completely avoidable catastrophe.

It’s annoying but justice and equality are mates, aren’t they? Justice always wants to hang out with equality. And equality is a real pain in the ass. Seriously.

I mean you think of these Jewish sheep-herders going to meet with the Pharaoh, mud on their shoes, and the Pharaoh goes, “Equal? Equal?" And they say, "Yeah, that's what, that's what it says here in the Book, here. We're all made in the image of God, sir."

Eventually the Pharaoh says, “Look, I can accept that. I mean, I can accept the Jews -- but not the blacks. I mean, not the women. Not the gays. Not the Irish. No way.”

So on we go with the journey of equality.

On we go in the pursuit of justice."

Source:

http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/bononationalprayerbreakfast.htm

Prompted response on global issue

Wed, 08 Feb 2006 06:05:38 GMT

Globaly, voices now are rising for reason and patience in the wake of the latest inflamation of the muslim world. I had definitley thought I didn't want to post thoughts on this blog about this topic but having been propelled into responding on different sites, I thought I should see what happens here.

“What we say to Muslims is that we must not at this time stoop to the level of those who want to resort to insulting the prophet of Islam as a terrorist. We should engage in peaceful, responsible protest.”

Haji Mustafa, a representative of Muslim group, Hizb-ut-Tahrir, conveys his dismay at Muslims threatening Westerners with violence during a demonstration in London.

Is this an islamic voice of reason?!?!? Could it be? Let us take the log out of our own eye before we take the splinter out of someone elses….or should that be the other way around? hmmmmmm

I am deeply saddened by both sides, and we both have nearly valid arguments. The problem is the methods of communication between cultures. Given a fundamental belief in the same God and core rules - ie. the 10 commandments - the escalating riots cannot nor should not be tolerated by any culture/society/religion/group. Killing cannot justify any actions, nor can two wrongs make a right. All religions preach peace, forgivness, and love yet to practice what they preach appears a nearly hurculean task - and let us in the west not take the ‘holier-than-thou’ attitude now for we have strayed in the past as well.

Antagonistic? Maybe. Freedom restricting? Maybe. Insensitive? Maybe. Justified? Maybe. Representative? Maybe. It’s all in the eye of the beholder. Sadly, some peoples vision is much more near-sighted then others.

Other family thoughts can be seen here:

http://willbop.breebop.com/2006/02/07/lampooning-cultural-icons/trackback/

http://awaketodream.net/?p=110

Of other note, Iran is a much graver situation currently and now drowned out by the media furor over cartoons. To complete my segway to Iran, here is a cartoon done 3, yes THREE, years ago on Iran. See a pattern? Ohh, should I post political cartoons or could it be insensitive to the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

Meanwhile such a volume of anti-American sentiment makes any action on their behalf, at the global behest, appear imperialistic. They are the only ones able to defend against this threat but global optics make this action appear like another takeover of the mid-east oil patch. Will Alberta be next?!? Please no cartoons with grass, cowboys, or rodeos.

Cartoon source:

http://www.coxandforkum.com/archives/2003_09.html

European Commission Finally Selects Universal Language

Tue, 10 Jan 2006 07:55:38 GMT

The European Commission has just announced an agreement whereby English will be the official language of the European Union rather than German, which was the other possibility. As part of the negotiations, the British Government conceded that English spelling had some room for improvement and has accepted a 5-year phase-in plan that would become known as "Euro-English." In the first year, "s" will replace the soft "c." Sertainly, this will make the sivil servants jump with joy. The hard "c" will be dropped in favour of "k." This should klear up konfusion, and keyboards kan have one less letter. There will be growing publik enthusiasm in the sekond year when the troublesome "ph" w! ill be replaced with "f." This will make words like fotograf 20% shorter. In the 3rd year, publik akseptanse of the new spelling kan be expekted to reach the stage where more komplikated changes are possible. Governments will enkourage the removal of double letters which have always ben a deterent to akurate speling. Also, al wil agre that the horibl mes of the silent "e" in the languag is disgrasful and it should go away. By the 4th yer people wil be reseptiv to steps such as replasing "th" with "z" and "w" with "v." During ze fifz yer, ze unesesary "o" kan be dropd from vords kontaining ou". Efter ziz fifz yer, ve vil hav a reil sensibl riten styl. Zer vil! be no mor trubl or difikultis and evrivun vil find it ezi tu understand ech oza. Ze drem of a united urop vil finali kum tru. Und efter ze fifz yer, ve vil al be speking German like zey vunted in ze forst plas. If zis mad you smil, pleas pas on to oza pepl.

Imagined Nation article....

Sun, 01 Jan 2006 05:32:24 GMT

This is an artice published in the Western Standard to which I subscribe available online HERE.

I hope you all read this.

Imagined nation

David Warren - Monday,8 August 2005

"Why do you think Canada is breaking up?" This perfectly straightforward question from a reader took me aback. What appears obvious to me, may not appear so to others; and vice versa.

The short answer is, because there is nothing left to hold it together. Anything that was particular about the country--not about regions but about the country as a whole--has been obviated by government legislation, or put quite purposely into disuse. We are no longer a Dominion; we have a Queen only on paper; our system of Crown-in-Parliament has been negated by the quasi-presidential rule of a succession of "federaste" prime ministers from Quebec. Our history is no longer taught in schools.

We are reduced to waving a Canadian flag--and that is itself an imposture. The current Canada is something that was invented from scratch, in Liberal party advertising agencies, and dates approximately from the invention of that flag, in 1964. But successive Liberal governments could think of nothing with which to replace the old symbols. Hence, a "new Canada," defined by a bunch of nothings.

Ask a Canadian who is waiting for a bus--or more likely for a CAT scan--what Canada means to him, and he will say something like "multiculturalism" or "tolerance" or "universal health care." These are nothings. There is nothing Canadian about any of them. Every postmodern country has all these things, and none of them are worth having.

But this is old news, dating back to Pearson. The late Pierre Trudeau made no secret of his contempt for Canada and Canadians as a national group, and instead put his faith in universal abstractions. We got what we deserved by repeatedly electing him.

Quebec has a linguistic identity. Alberta has a western identity--which by now appears to be shared with the B.C. Interior and much of Saskatchewan. (It is, in fact, what's left of the old English-Canadian identity.) Newfoundland has a Newfoundlandish identity. The Maritimes and Manitoba are resentful, mendicant districts; the North is a kind of environmental reservation; and Ontario exists by default.

I live in Ontario, and so far as I can make out, it is the ultimate zero. It eats, makes money and sleeps. It has no morals, no religion, no culture, no purpose beyond getting to work in the morning. No Ontarian can explain what he stands for, except with negatives. The only thing I see is a smug dislike for anything with a shape. Ontario hates the rest of the country, the West especially, for embodying positive qualities Ontario once had.

And it is Ontario that supports the Liberal party--together with the bought provinces, which live on Ontario's evaporating goodwill (plus money appropriated from the West). It will not vote Conservative for fear that the Conservatives have a "secret agenda," i.e., that they may harbour any opinions at all.

This is why Canada will break up. The Liberal party is absolutely despised by the great majority in Quebec and the West. Ontario will vote to keep it in power, in the full knowledge of the degree of its corruption, for the sake of "national unity." Yet that is the very thing to which another Liberal victory will give the coup de gr‰ce.

For Ontario does not even pretend the Liberals are not despised elsewhere. Ontario doesn't care. It doesn't think separatists are serious. It is not even sure the rest of the country exists. Well, it thinks Quebec exists, but that Quebec can be assuaged by saying, "We wuv you."

It is like a husband who doesn't know his wife hates him. Who will be utterly surprised when she sues for divorce.

European countries are still held together by common ethnicities. The United States is held together by a rich, common historical and constitutional heritage, inculcated in children from birth. Canada has become more like an African state, with diverse tribes, and no memory of what they are doing together. We, at least, were something once, but now that is gone. We have become a sleepwalk, a "gay marriage."

Sad and True that the state of affairs really has come to this. Spend some time thinking about what it really is to be Canadian to you and see what you come up with. By the way, Happy New Year and I'm now posting Christmas pictures.

John

Leaders Debate

Sat, 17 Dec 2005 02:03:43 GMT

And here we go again. Laytons wild leftest rants(pleads) about sending more democrats and everything 'Broadbent'. Duceppes comments about the problem with all things british such as our parliamentary system and provincial autonomy. Watching Martin talk about ethics....not many things make me as ill as that one. Harper didnt seem to lead the group but had some real answers and proposals with tax reduction, allowing individuals and families to choose the direction for childcare that best suits them (we want beer and popcorn here). Harper did push the clock a bit, Laytons affirmative action ("vote NDP for the women"), Martin "It shouldnt take a miracle to be civil", and Duceppes separatist agenda (why is he even here anyways?).

At least we didn't fall into a shouting match. Although the new debate format is duller. We wll see I suppose.

Dead Donkey

Thu, 15 Dec 2005 23:52:16 GMT

A young man named Paul bought a donkey from an old farmer for $100.00.

The farmer agreed to deliver the donkey the next day. When the farmer drove up the next day, he said, "Sorry son, but I have some bad news...the donkey is on my truck, but he's dead."

Paul replied, "Well then, just give me my money back."

The farmer said, "I can't do that. I went and spent it already."

Paul said, "OK then, just unload the donkey anyway".

The farmer asked, "What are ya gonna do with him?"

Paul said, "I'm going to raffle him off."

To which the farmer exclaimed, "You can't raffle off a dead donkey!"

But Paul, with a big smile on his face, said "Sure I can. Watch me. I just won't tell anybody that he's dead."

A month later the farmer met up with Paul and asked, "What happened with that dead donkey?"

Paul said, "I raffled him off. I sold 500 tickets at two dollars a piece and made a profit of $698.00."

Totally amazed, the farmer asked, "Didn't anyone complain that you had stolen their money because you lied about the donkey being dead?"

And Paul replied, "The only guy who found out about the donkey being dead was the raffle winner, when he came to claim his prize.

So I gave him his $2 back plus $200 extra, which is double the going value of a donkey, so he thought I was a great guy."

Paul grew up and eventually became the Prime Minister of Canada, and no matter how many times he lied or how much money he stole from Canadian voters,

as long as he gave them back some of the stolen money, most of them thought he was a great guy.

Dont buy a dead ass on Jan 23rd!!!!!!!