read: CTV News Story about Emerson

So basically, Emerson is so proud and full of himself now, that he believes a riding which voted for conservative in the third place slot no less, and has not voted a conservative to power for 48 years will somehow completely change its mind and vote for him if a byelection were run. It is really too bad that, even with all of his ego and pride, he is not willing to run in a byelection. This is the politicians I thought the Cons wanted out of power. The egotistical, culture of entitlement, self-aggrandizing politicians who believe that not only can they do whatever they darn well please once they are in power… But that they deserve to be in power because they are so smart/great/intelligent, etc.

If Emerson really believed that he would win another election, then he should step down and run in one. Instead of this egotistical crap he keeps on pulling.

The fact that he had protesters arrested who wanted to talk with him personally, shows a lot about how Emerson feels about his constituents. Emerson is not in government for his riding. Emerson is in government for himself and his rich buddies. Just like most of Harper’s cabinet, unfortunately. As much as things change, nothing ever really does.

read: CBS News Poll on Bush

I normally hate quoting American news sites since they are horribly, horribly biased almost all of the time. (Even this one tries to get in a “pro-cheney” comment edge-wise… Fails miserably as always.) Yet, Apparently Bush’s ratings are at an all-time low… Again.

Too bad it means not much will happen. No wonder the Cons in the states are so gung-ho for a unitary executive. It would make it a lot easier to ignore your electorate for most of your term as president. Especially if mid-term elections meant nothing. Hopefully the Dems (or some other left-wing party) in the states will get over feeling so bloody sorry for themselves and actually do what it takes to win the election this time, and pull the country back to the left. Instead of the pseudo-democrat crap they have been doing since Gore. There is a reason democratic, left-wing voters do not go out and vote for democrats.

read: CBC news articles on gays and the Catholic Church

I am really wondering what the cardinals and such are going to do about this. Personally, I think they are wise enough to just ignore it and let it be. Quebec has too few priests to begin with and arguing it will just drive more of the congregants out of the church. The number one thing good Catholics should not want to do. If it leads to a more open policy in the church towards same-sex couples, that would be excellent. However, it could just as easily lead to the Con elements becoming more and more agitated by those darn heretical liberals.

Have fun,
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Today, a historical moment in Canadian history occured. Stephen Harper found a way to make people think that the promotion process for supreme court judges is more transparent, while ensuring that it is not.

The MPs are not allowed to ask any political questions (abortion, seperatism, ssm, etc). This is to avoid having this turn into a political appointment. Yet, how can the MPs have any effect on the supreme court if they cannot ask political questions? The prime minister still has final say on who goes in, and if we remain “dignified” and such, the prime minister will never be given any sort of long term reason to deny the supreme court judge entry.

Do you really think that Stephen Harper does not already know all he needs to know about this justice before he is going to appoint him? This is just a waste of money and time honestly. The MPs are either going to go in the room and turn this into one gigantic circle jerk, or they are going to revert to American-style politicking over supreme court judges. Either way, it ends up degrading the Canadian supreme court, and costs every Canadian who has to pay for this meaningless, pointless gesture in the name of “transparency”.

There is nothing that the MPs can honestly ask that will change Harper’s mind. Unless, of course, he chose someone bad to begin with. In that circumstance, he will be able to make a show about how useful the MP review thing is, even though it just shows a lack of competence in his office. In the case that he chooses a good justice, this just provides an opportunity for everyone to stand up and pat eachother on the back for doing such a great job and again is just a political ploy.

If Harper really wants transparency in government, he should force Fortier and Emerson to run as soon as possible. Yet, unfortunately, he instead decides to throw us a bone. Hoping he’ll satiate those who are upset by his cronyism. This is not transparency, this is a waste of money and time… Plain and simple.

There are far more important things Canadians want than their MPs to sit in a room putting on a show about how great a judge is.

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So yeah… It is probably a good time to let everyone who reads my blog know my plans for the next year or so.

Basically, I am currently working in Waterloo to pay off some debt and wait for the snow to melt. My contract ends at the very last day of April. May 1st, I will be travelling up to Montreal for a week (until May 8th) to visit with all of my friends up there one last time for a long time before I pack up everything and make it back to Alberta in time for my buddy Roshan’s wedding May 13th.

Now, not many people know why I am returning to Alberta, or even that I am returning. Well, I was invited to go continue my graduate studies in mathematics at the University of Calgary. Specifically, I was invited to work with a biology group there to be the resident graduate student mathie/CO/CS guy and help them work on a long list of medical research that excites me. (Included in that list is working on a cure to cancer.) I have not been formally accepted yet, however I was flown out in December by the director of the institute I will be working with, and it seems that I should be able to comfortably start my studies in September.

So for those of you who want time with me before I leave eastern Canada for a while. I will be in Montreal from May 1st to 8th, for those in Montreal. For those in Ottawa, I can try (would like) to arrange a weekend journey to visit with you and spend some time at Zaphods. For those in Waterloo/Toronto/Hamilton, all you have to do is give me a call on MSN or my cell phone and we will find some time before I leave.

After I get myself set up in Calgary, you will all be welcome to come and visit (assuming you give me some heads up. )

Have fun everyone,
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I now have comments through haloscan. Have fun people.

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I got another e-mail today from what I guess I can only call a fan. Mostly it consisted of ranting about how much of a communist I am and such. Yet, through the garbage, there was one comment that I am hearing more and more as my blog gets more and more hits… Where can I write my own comments?

Well… Originally, I had real issues with people writing comments on my blog. Mostly because I pay for the space and really do not want to have to deal with the plethora of spam and crap that happens. However, enough people have pestered me that I am rethinking that decision.

If you think I should (or should not) have commenting on my site. Just let me know, so I can make my decisions accordingly.

…..1337hax0r…..

There… I said it. I watched the game, and that was the saddest bit of hockey I have ever seen. They were rarely on the offensive. Even when they had the powerplay on the Russians, it looked more like the Russians were in control of the game than them.

Honestly, that was a pitiful showing. I sure hope next time we play, we get better players who are willing to play hockey rather than pussyfoot around on the rink.

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I announced a long time ago that I had finally gotten the blog aggregator for the “vast left wing conspiracy” up. Well, I kinda fibbed. It is now actually working 100%. So if you have a blog, and consider yourself anything that is not explicitly right-wing (ie. center to far-left.) Feel free to check it out at vlwc.1337hax0r.com and join if you like, or send me any suggestions you may have.

Have fun,
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So, Stephen Harper has gained significantly this week. The Emerson affair, which still has not been handled successfully. An affair the latest Ipsos poll shows that 62% of Canadians believe should lead to Emerson’s resignation. Yet, silence from the masses. Blogs have pretty much become silent in the last 4 days to a week about this, and why? Well, it is because they do not see any way that people, grassroots, could have an effect on this matter.

Harper not only successfully broke the ethical standards he put out before being elected, but was correct that Canadians will give up once they realize that there is very little that they can really do. Basically two things have happened that may have any effect. One, the NDP’s bill, which will likely not see the parliament floor for months, and two, the Liberals have once again sat on their hands anxiously (Which is why they lost the last election in the first place). They are turning into the Democrats in the states. Afraid to do or say anything that might show a position for fear that they will lose votes.

Unfortunately, in today’s world, not showing a position or a stand against things that really upset people is a great way to become non-important in people’s lives. Luckily, unlike the states, Canada has another left-wing party that has been trying to make some noise and racket, but have been mostly unsuccessful beyond the initial rallies and such. Short of an outright uprising in Emerson’s riding, nothing much is going to happen, and our democracy will become that much less of a democracy. Which, from the way Harper behaves, seems to be playing right into the Cons hands.

In other news, the Bloc have decided that their polling values, which show them tanking majorly in Quebec, are too low for them to do risk having an election. Now that the Gomery scandal has more or less passed over, Quebecers are not as enthusiastic about seperation as they used to be. So, the Cons are being given pretty much free reign to do as they wish in this parliament until they go that one step too far to anger Quebecers. Which, since most of the votes pulled away from the Bloc have gone to the Cons, is probably the best strategy imaginable for the Seperatists. Wait in the folds until your only real political opponent messes up.

So, we’ll have to see, but needless to say, I am not overly excited about anything that will likely come out of this parliament.

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After years of search I now have found my four colognes for all occasions. In general, most colognes I find smell either way, way, way too musky on me or are almost irritatingly perfumey on me and just disgust me more than tittilate me. However, After spending an inordinate amount of time trying colognes at Conestoga on Saturday, and wearing the few testers I brought home, as well as experiencing the colognes I have tested/bought in the past, I have determined the four colognes I like most. So without further ado…

Body Kouros

This is, by far, my favourite cologne. It has a very masculine incense smell that is both smooth and very attractive. All of my ex-girlfriends, and a large number of my current female friends love this cologne. Unfortunately, it is almost impossible to buy anymore. The Bay, where I used to purchase it, does not seem to stock it anywhere and I have been to Edmonton, Waterloo, Toronto and Calgary looking for it. Naturally, this is the cologne I prefer to use for dating and personal encounters with friends. Yet, due to the difficulty of getting it, I am finding myself rationing more than I would like.

PI

This was the first cologne that I ever purchased and still is one that I enjoy to use on a casual basis. It is a nice mild smell that is comforting at work, and when people hug you they have a habit of basking in it for a while. Very personal, very relaxed, and almost has a marshmellow tone to it on me which makes a lot of people feel that much more comfortable with it.

FCUK

Someone originally handed this to me in Montreal when I was walking down St. Catherines. Normally I would toss them out, but I was sitting at home one night and thought to myself, ‘what the hell’ and tried it on. Surprisingly, the smell in the bottle was not very pleasing, a bit too sour for me, but once it got mixed in with my natural scent it actually ended up smelling very rich and very clubby. So, this is my “go out and feel like a rich prick” cologne that I wear when I want to go clubbing or to a really fancy martini bar. It has a far sharper smell than any of my other colognes, and if worn too often, could actually be a bit irritating. However, once and a while everyone enjoys a FCUK.

Obsession

I never thought I would say I like a Calvin Klein cologne. I remember all of the people in high school who used to wear eternity or truth, and have that awful flowery sour smell to them. Yet, when I was at the mall this weekend trying colognes, I only found 2 that I even remotely had an interest in and then Joe sprayed this one. The smell, a real spicy friendly smell, really caught my attention. There is a “Obsession Night” as well, which is way way way too musky on me, I tried it hoping that it would dull down, not get stronger. However, when I tried the obsession tester that I was given the next day, I really enjoyed the smell. It was smooth and spicy, and my skin naturally toned it down to a very relaxed special occasion style of cologne. I am quite happy with this one.

So there you go, after lots and lots of testing I have found my favourite four colognes that are masculine smelling without being so musky or perfumey that they choke up everyone in the room. I am now officially a happy boy.

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A lot of my conservative friends up in Canada have been resorting to the same rhetoric that the Democrats in the states resort to now, and the Republicans have been resorting to for years. Mostly that the system is unfair in that they are guaranteed to lose for a long list of reasons. Even my Big-L Liberal friends (who should really be Cons like Emerson) are getting frustrated that Canadians are disillusioned with them and thus the situation must be unfair. Personally, and I have told at least 2 of them this now privately, I find this irritating and childish.

A primary complaint from the Canadian Conservative camp is that it is unfair the media attacks them for every mistake or move they make. Since, obviously, everyone makes mistakes or decisions that do not please everyone. What scares me most about this camp is people who are sacrificing their values (They are not compromising their values though. There is a subtle difference between the two.) in exchange for power. People voted for the Conservatives specifically because they would be more ethics and integrity to politics. Now that they are in power, it seems that it is more important to them to follow the party line. The young MP who stood up to Harper and will now enjoy a "rat-infested" office is a good example of this mentality. Personally, I find being partisan to the point of sacrificing your values for power really disturbs me.

Yet, apparently the system is unfair for them. After some further discussion I found out it is because they feel that they have to sacrifice their values to get into power and do anything meaningful. They struggle daily trying to get a very social conservative agenda through, knowing that the population as a whole does not want it. So, naturally, this is all unfair. Even among my american Conservative friends, this frustration exists. They want to completely change the political landscape, but they realize that it is not possible to do. This is because, in general, western democracies are strongly centrist and in most cases a bit left of center. So without complete consolidation of power, it is not possible to do any radical political change without fear of being "voted out" in the next election. So, instead they slowly enact the changes they desire, and try to appear as centrist as possible while doing it. I believe this is why Harper is trying so hard to appear centrist in this minority government, because he is obviously pining for the day that he will have a majority and really be able to push change on Canadians.

Now, the Liberals in Canada have a different problem entirely. Their party is in freefall. There were run, badly I might say, for the last three years by a man who ran a coup d’etat in his own party against a man who (according to Gomery) helped steal millions from Canadians. They, currently, have no real leader other than maybe Ignatief, but even he has not stepped up to the plate. The old guard are all stepping down for their own reasons. It was rather funny after the election how many people were announcing that they were not running for the leader of the Liberal party position. Perhaps this could be a good thing if the Liberals change their rules a bit and let anyone run, instead of those with huge amounts of cash just laying around. That way, maybe the Liberals will be able to really change the old guard and get a decent leader.

Personally, I think it is just farcical though. So, the Liberals, due to the fact that their party is basically wasting away, have resorted to blaming the NDP for all of their woes. In the last 2 elections and the last parliament, Layton has done a very admirable job of making the NDP a real option for Canadians. If the latest decima poll means anything (http://pollingreport.ca) the NDP are heading towards a real coup in the next election in terms of seats and votes. However, the Liberal hard-liners cannot stand this. Obviously the NDP are just stealing votes away from them, and thus somehow miraculously destroying the Liberal party. There have been actually quite a few interesting blogs and editorials I have read in the last while which show this attitude. Yet, as the bible says, perhaps they are trying to remove the spec from their neighbours eye while ignoring the plank in their own.

There is one main problem with this mentality that the NDP are "stealing" votes from the Liberals. The NDP are gaining votes, that is true, and it must come from the Liberals because the Conservatives are too far to the right of the spectrum for any meaningful shift of the votes to the NDP to be plausible. However, this mentality has the problem that it fails to realize that all the Liberals need to do is try to regain votes from the Conservatives. The Liberals are a party that sits right on the center of the spectrum of politics in Canada (more or less), it would not be too hard for them to shift a bit to the right instead of crowding the left-wing of Canadian politics. I am not implying that the Liberals should become so far to the right that they are the Conservative party. However, if they did not waste their time complaining about the NDP, they would probably be doing a lot better. Canadian politics would not shift to the right, the NDP would be solidly there to guarantee that.

Unfortunately, the two primary colors of Canada (red and blue) do not like that idea. Having a third party is ’scary’. Because it means; for the Cons, that they have to compromise more and thus do what Canadians want, rather than what they want; for the Libs, that they actually have to fight to get votes and do some actual work for Canadians, because they cannot just assume that the left wing vote is theirs.

To them, all of democratic politics is just… unfair.

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