And What A Day!

Did you know that today is National Potato Day in Peru? Enjoy a potato, or creamy, cheesy mashed potatoes.

It is also the feast day of Saint Joan of Arc, Mel Blanc's birthday, the anniversay of when the "Goddess of Democracy" statue was erected in Tiananmen Square, Indian Arrival Day in Trinidad and Tobago and Canary Islands' Day in Canary Islands (where else?).

The Hardest-Working People On the Planet

The hardest-working people are...the Koreans. I could have told you that. These people need a month-long vacation. I doubt the fairly recent five-day work-week is sufficient. It has been my experience that people would take an hour to two hour long trip home after putting twelve to sixteen hours of work in. Leaving when the boss leaves is unheard of. The titles still confound me. While in Canada, many take liberties and refer to someone they've just met or an older person by a familiar name. Not so in Korea. There are titles for the home and workplace. They exist everywhere.

I respected (and still respect) the South Koreans for their work ethic. However, rest is just as therapeutic as earning a day's wage.

A Rare Glimpse of Humanity

Despite being a totalitarian state with an enforced one-child policy (a policy many say is useless as well as draconian), repression of its citizens, a government that aids rogue states in warfare against its people, crooked consumer practices, the Chinese have decided to forego their traditional stances on adoption and reach out to earthquake orphans.

Let's hope this sticks.

An Empty Wagon

The Koreans have a saying: Bin suraega yoranhada. It translates into: an empty wagon is noisy. Basically, stupid people make alot of noise. Judge if you will these examples.



Though I haven't seen Bella (a remarkable movie, so I'm told), I have been made to understand it is a film with a pro-life message. Not according to one viewer:

Correct me if I'm mistaken-- the woman entered an abortion clinic and chose not
to abort the child, therefore the movie wasn't Pro-Life, but Pro-Choice.
Pro-Choice is about having the means necessary to have an abortion and chosing
whether or not to take advantage of it. She chose to deny those services, so she
in fact-- made a choice. The term "Pro-Life" orginated before the opposition had
their title of "Pro-Choice". "Pro-life" was coined in such wording to make it
appear as if pro-choice = pro-death, when in fact pro-choice is about supplying
safe means for women to choose to keep the child or not, without having to worry
about the dangers of back-room abortions which have led to disease and very
often death through out various cultures of the world, inbedded in those
socities for many years before us, and I'm sure many years to come. Bella was a
beautiful portrayal of how women come to terms with unexpected pregnancy, and
I've seen people turned away from it due to its supposedly pro-life message, and
that is being close-minded in my opinion. Just as it was close-minded for people
to grasp onto such a label without really thinking it through.

I believe the terms need some clarification. The so-called pro-choice faction hate the word "abortion" with a passion because it is an ugly word with an ugly meaning. I have yet to hear so-called pro-choice believers openly and unreservedly advocate adoption over abortion. As for me, I personally refuse to coax anybody's ego. If you support abortion, you are pro-abortion because that is what you believe in. If there is nothing wrong with it, don't shy away from the word.

If the hijab is nothing more than "a flimsy piece of cloth", as this writer suggests, then would he kindly explain this, this and this. And really, isn't Islamophobia nothing more than certain parties worried that the rest of the world might not approve of wife-beating, effigy-burning and wilful murder?

Is it Myanmar, or Burma? How about Burma seeing as the military government prefers Myanmar?

Just some thoughts.

Milestones

May 8th marks the end of the European conflict of the Second World War and the birth of modern Israel.

From 1939 to 1945, Canada, among other nations, bravely fought against fascist tyranny. The war scarred men, women, children, nations. Though other Pandora's boxes were opened (the Iron Curtain and the dawn of the nuclear age), other evils were dealt with. Men died for others they had never met.

Israel has transformed itself from a fledgling scrap of desert into a modern state, perhaps the only civilised one in the Middle East.

Here's to you.

Quick Thoughts On Mark Steyn

Mark Steyn is like a train. You can either stand in front of him and get knocked down, or you can get out of the way.

Three law students who appeared with him on tvo's The Agenda should have figured that out by now. Mr. Steyn appeared on the program to justify his position on the Maclean's Muslim article matter.

It is my opinion that Mr. Steyn defended himself in his typical outstanding and out-of-the-way manner and the three law students blathered on how his written words (some of which are statistics and polls- what some may call empirical evidence) and let their insecurities show. The moderator did his job and caught both sides on their comments (basically, he never let anyone get away with rhetoric).

If one had read America Alone, Mr. Steyn, though very pointed in his manner, was clear to distinguish Westernised Muslims from fundamentalists bent on domination.

For more, please go here.

Just my thoughts.

Another Reason Why We Should Stay

Another Canadian soldier is killed.

Corporal Michael Starker, an EMS in civilian life, was killed in an exchange of gunfire in the Pashmul region in Afghanistan. He is described as having had a "heart of gold". He will be sorely missed by all those who knew him.

It's bad enough that certain individuals attack school girls (here and here, if it pleases some), kill Korean missionaries and support the killing of the brave men and women serving in the Canadian Forces, but now they kill those who treat ALL patients, Afghani or otherwise.

Real bravery.

Shoah

...The grave was finished, but the spade

Remained in memory.

(Emily Dickinson, poem 111)

I've Got Mail!

Yeah, I know I said the preceding post would be my last for the month and I also acknowledge I get some pretty interesting feedback from some pretty nice people but this stuff was just too good to pass up. It comes from a brave person calling himself (or is it herself?) "anonymous" because whoever it is far too brave and important to call themselves anything else. There is strong language and bad spelling within. I would apologise for it but these aren't my words.

I think your Blog should be called "Stupid Right Wing Christian Bullshit from an
Idiot with no Relevant or Useful Information WhatSoEver!"

I wasn't commenting on JUST this article, as I mentioned 'the blog' in its
entirity is due for a name change. Although I do beleive she does have insight,
and has done her reasearch (as she quotes - quotes but I don't think
comprehends), I see that its mostly one sided, definatly not an unbias blog. I
believe her views to be typical of a Right Wing'd Christian Radical, which is
fine if you'd like to walk the earth with one eye shut, and an arm and leg tied
behind your back.

Thank you, anonymous. I will continue being relevant, useful and unbiased.

Keep on rocking in the free world, as they say. And thanks a bunch to all posters.

The End of the Month Post

I wonder what the Koreans could be mad at the Chinese for? Could it be their involvement in the Korean War? The forcible return of North Korean refugees? The theft of historical and geographical properties? The ill treatment of Koreans in general? Only the dousing of the Olympic torch will tell.
Raul Castro's reforms appear to be nothing more window dressing, as was thought. A dictator would be loathe to bring on dramatic reforms that would oust him from his undeserved power. It would be best to appear to grant freedoms that were tacitly accepted and show the dim-witted West what a nice totalitarian monster you are.
Some claim the Raoul Wallenberg mystery may be solved but probably not (the press service calls it a Holocaust mystery but in reality Wallenberg was kidnapped toward the end of the war). The fact of the matter is that the Soviets kidnapped Wallenberg and refused to admit one way or another what truly happened to him. Diverting their involvement by spinning (or creating) facts and pointing the finger elsewhere is nothing unusual. They have been doing it for decades.

Happy Earth Day

Here are some tips to make the Earth not only greener, but a more pleasant place to live.

1. Should we cut down trees? Maybe, if they're in a bad mood all the time.

2. Don't hug a tree. That's unwanted physical contact.

3. If God didn't want us to eat animals, He never would have made them out of meat. It's wrong to waste.

4. Don't walk on the grass. You'll give it a complex if you do.

5. Toxic gases make the air unbreathable. Therefore, avoid certain foods.

Any more ideas to make this world of ours more golden?

Pope Benedict vs. the UN: Round One

According to Reuters news service, the Pope is going to "attack" and "assail" the UN with the notion that might is not right. The wordsmiths at this particular news service used the choicest words because, as we all know, Catholics are an insane and irrational people who pray for world peace and brotherly love, promote solidarity with oppressed peoples, help people in the Third World and run soup kitchens.

What a pack of monsters!

Chock Full of Postage

More posts, more fun.

Free China, free the world. Sure, we could free Tibet, but if we free China we can free the following: the Chinese people, victims of a draconian one-child policy, the ethnic and religious minorities within China, North Korea, the Darfurians, the average consumer AND the Tibetans. Kill one bird with several stones.

North Korea has proven- again- how unwilling it is to unlatch itself from Chinese-backed power. Any South Korean president who is unwilling to deal with them on their terms is considered an enemy. North Korea is already impoverished and its people are steps away from starvation. Nevertheless, Kim Jong-Il will instill in them a state of fear and promote war until he gets his sushi. Forget the myth of the American warmonger. The crisis in the Korean peninsula still isn't over.

A distressing letter proves how utterly nasty, immature and brutish multiculturalism is. Where is the tolerance in bullying? Where is the communion in complete difference? Where the basis in the baseless?

Sarah Polley proves why no Canadian taxpayer should ever fund the arts. The baseless claims that Bill C-10 will lead to all-out censorship completely belie the fact that a good chunk of what is paid for not only doesn't represent Canadians or Canadian culture, but that Canadians will not watch anything produced in Canada. Or maybe paying for stuff that has no bearing on the Canadian public good is the Canadian thing to do.

Stephen Harper proves he is a weasel. Remember when South Africa faced boycotts, or when the former Soviet Union threw a diplomatic hissy-fit? Those worked, didn't they?

Kevin Rudd does something right. I realise the Chinese are used to thuggery but at least keep it on their own soil.

Oprah Winfrey is a self-important moron...but you already knew that.

Dis-course

This article proves that the Sauds are the limit.

First of all, was Mohammed a prophet? Of course. Was he a good one? No. He was a war-monger, a pedophile, a rapist and a thief. To ask anyone to accept him or anyone like him as a prophet is intellectually and morally absurd, to say the least.

Secondly, what kind of person would demand that someone else embrace a tenet of their religion in order to be treated justly? You must embrace Christ to be a Christian but nothing should prevent one from treating someone else like a human being. Imagine if a Christian demanded that a Jew or Buddhist accept Christ before getting a drink of water. It would be outrageous. If what is being proposed in the article isn't outrageous, then I must not have a full understanding of the word.

Thirdly, who asks for dialogue and make demands immediately? A selfish, inconsiderate person does. Forever the victim and forever needy. The House of Saud has our oil money. They want out self-respect too.

Lastly, the audacity one must possess to behave the way the Sauds have (indeed, a great bulk of Islamists) is truly astounding. Everything and anything offends them. They have yet to prove that they are a peaceful and rational people awaiting dialogue and peaceful relations with everyone else. They lie when it suits them.

We have bended over for them. When will they reciprocate?

Dith Pran

Dith Pran, on whom the movie, The Killing Fields, was based, has passed away. He was a survivor (so, too, was Dr. Haing S. Ngor who portrayed him in the aforementioned movie) and a tireless reporter on the killing fields of Cambodia where the communist Khmer Rouge murdered an estimated 2 million Cambodians.

That we may not forget what he struggled to tell us.

Where There Is Fire...

The politically gruff Mark Steyn throws his hat into the Fitna ring. He has pretty much said it all.

I have no idea why some discussions even occur. Time and again, certain elements prove their fear of any freedom, especially freedom of discourse, by bullying people into submission. Yet, there are those who are comfortable with this. Youtube, the BBC, and other publications are more than willing to blot out anything critical of Islam (or the Chinese dictatorship) for fear it will impede dialogue. How? There is no dialogue. We can't even bring it up. We are to be cowed by thick-browed bullies. These things only serve to prove that those who criticise are utterly correct.
And in that, there is no argument.

Fitna

Watch this movie before it disappears. If anyone has any belief that Islam is a philosophy of peace, this film will definitely change your mind.

WARNING: there are rather disturbing and graphic images therein.

Bad Moon Rising

King Abdullah has called for an interfaith dialogue to combat what he feels are rising religious tensions. In the wake of what some call a controversial conversion, the Wahabist monarch wants Christians (in particular, the Pope) to realise the ripples in the sectarian pool. There is tension, the king claims. The press and certain Muslim pundits are (over) reacting to the conversion of Mr. Allam on Easter Sunday. What would be a private matter between an adult, who has thought over the matter of his religion for a long time, and God has become for others a matter of debate. The matter of interfaith dialogue has become for me a matter of speculation. Anyone who leaves Islam is an apostate and forced conversions in the Islamic world are well-known. For King Abdullah, the one of the wealthiest people on earth and a firm believer in the strictest sect of Islam, the thought that a well-known Muslim can leave Islam for Catholicism and be baptised by the leader of the Catholic Church on Easter must be horrifying. This interfaith dialogue, I think, will come to nothing but flowery words and empty promises.

Happy Easter!

He has risen.

Indeed, He has risen.

Russian Easter greetings.

And other miracles.

Shut Up, China

China, in all its infinite and possibly uranium-laced wisdom, has reminded Canada to keep its collective mouth shut concerning China and its woeful policies on Tibet.

China may feel that its over fifty years of totalitarian rule and its stranglehold over imports may entitle it to meddle in others' affairs, but I hardly think it is qualified to do so here or anywhere. Maybe when they allow a democratically elected government, basic freedoms, discontinue their ethnocentric policies and stop selling cheaply made garbage at slave-labour prices will their criticisms be welcome.