Friday Post

The evening was Palin-rrific!

As she swept into Hamilton last night with her entourage and adoring fans and lonely protesters and press pack, it was abundantly clear that the former Alaska governor and one-time Republican vice-presidential candidate has transcended politics to become the ultimate American powerhouse: a full-fledged celebrity.

Yes, they are lonely.

And it is that status, more than anything, that drew 900 posh people to Carmen's Banquet Centre to hear Palin speak for more than 45 minutes about her family. From her bootlegger grandfathers in Saskatchewan and Alberta, to the five children we know so much about.

The best ones are Canadian in some way. :)

The $200-a-ticket event raised money for Charity of Hope, a local group supporting such charities as Good Shepherd Youth Services and McMaster Children's Hospital.

Of course.

Palin's tightly stage-managed appearance left no room for spontaneity. Or going rogue.

D'oh. I wanted to hear some snark.

She arrived at Carmen's at about 4:30 p.m., likely not even noticing the two lowly protesters who were shooed a half-block away by police. One brought a tambourine, a bongo and a case of lemonade to share with the crowd he was expecting.

The love-nuisance ratio here is quite telling, is it not?

"There should be a lot more people here," he lamented, as the ink on his quickly-made "Honk 4 Our Healthcare" sign dried.

Our healthcare sucks and so do your expectations. Moving on.

Most every aspect of her life is produced and played out before an audience, it seems. Ironic for a woman who has built her platform and image on being genuine and still manages to come across as such. She is watched and discussed and loved and hated but never ignored.

I'm not sure how irony fits in. However, she is magnetic. This is Sarah Palin's power. Whether she rises to the most powerful office in the US or becomes a trusted voice upon which political ambitions lie, she is the one with the reins in her hands. This frightens those who have placed their trust into lesser beings.

The article goes into the more superficial fashion and starlet angles which I don't think apply to Mrs. Palin but only serve to undermine the kind of political whip she wields. Nevertheless, a good time was had by all.

If only Miss Coulter's venture into Canada had been fraught with less- how shall we say?- stupid people trying to shut her up because they are insecure leftists. Okay, that's not pithy or eloquent but you get the gist of it.

Moving on....


Microsoft Corp. is facing a public relations nightmare in the wake of new allegations that teenage workers at a Chinese manufacturing plant which produces computer mice and other products for the software giant was subjecting its employees to inhumane working conditions while paying them extremely low wages.


Not surprised. Remember- the Chinese are cheap labour, unless they are members of the communist party. Then they are the slave-drivers.


More from the article:

According to a new report from the National Labor Committee -- an American workers' advocacy group based in Pittsburgh, PA -- workers at the KYE Factory in Dongguan, China have been working 68 workweeks while being paid as little as 65 cents per hour -- with 13 cents being deducted for factory food -- while building Microsoft computer mice, including the company's Life Cam VX-7000, its Wireless Notebook Laster Mouse 6000 and its "Basic Optical Mouse."

The report alleges that KYE recruits hundreds of "work study students" -- mostly girls -- between the ages of 16 and 17 year old. The women are reportedly forced to work 15-hour shifts, six or seven days a week, with a typical shift running from 7:45 a.m. to 10:55 p.m. The report says that in 2007 and 2008, women as young as 14 worked in the factory.

The National Labor Committee has also posted a series of photographs which show the workers of the KYE Factory asleep at their workstations during breaks.

According to the report, the female workers are sexually harrassed by the security guards and are prohibited from "talking, listening to music or using the bathroom during working hours. As punishment, worker who make mistakes are made to clean the bathrooms."

"The workers have no rights, as every single labor law in China is violated," the report states.

"Microsoft's and other companies' codes of conduct have zero impact."

That is the nature of our dealings with China and the extent to which some people will go to make some money. Don't get me wrong- making money is fine, only when it's done fairly.

Militant groups train children to kill "infidels":

"Do you know who I will kill with this gun?" a little boy says into the video camera, waving his toy pistol.

"Who will you kill with this gun?" the cameraman asks.

"The infidels."

The scene appears in a new video by the al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabab that shows the Somali militant group indoctrinating children, some of whom appear to be toddlers.

Among those seen in the 28-minute video urging the children to fight and become "martyrs" is a former Toronto resident, Omar Hammami, alias Abu Mansour the American.

The video, distributed on the Internet this week by Al-Shabab's propaganda arm, shows a "children's fair" hosted by Al-Shabab leaders. The boys and girls, identified as the children of "martyrs," are given balloons and snacks and rewarded with toy guns for correctly identifying the late leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Musab Al Zarqawi, from a picture.

In Indonesia, Muslim groups rule in favour of underage marriages.

As one can see, there are some extremely large things to worry about other than observing political correctness.