Is there something in the water supply in Ottawa?
First we decriminalize ganjah and now we want to annex a Carribbean island
what do we think of this idea?
The links on the cbc site also point to a reasonably slick looking website for a newly formed citizen's group called CFATP - Canadians For A Tropical Province....I'm not really sold one way or the other and I think the outcome of bringing Turks and Caicos into Confederation is probably impossible to predict with complete accuracy as I think the long-term socio-cultural implications are profound and will affect the "Canadian Identity"(tm)
At first glance it seems to appear to probably maybe perhaps be a good idea even if it does sound like something out of a Richard Rohmer novel.
Canada's Caribbean ambition
Justin Thompson, CBC News Online | July 15, 2003
Quebec City too cold in February? Fredericton frosty in December? Nunavut November not for you? Fear not, there may be help: at least one member of Parliament and a handful of interest groups are asking the Canadian government to annex a little slice of sun-splashed heaven: the Turks and Caicos, a Caribbean gem with an average wintertime temperature hovering between 28 and 29 C.
Canadian Alliance MP Peter Goldring (Edmonton Centre-East) thinks it's a wonderful idea. He's drafted a motion to ask the government to look into the issue, and plans to introduce it in the fall. "I think around 100 per cent of people (in Canada, and Turks and Caicos) like the idea," he told CBC News Online in July 2003.
Currently a British overseas territory, the Turks and Caicos (actually a grouping of 40 islands located 250 kilometres east of Cuba) have a history of being on the wish lists of Canadian politicians.
PROS CONS
Agreeable weather: 350 days per year of sunshine; average temperature: June-October 29-32 C
November-May 27-29 C
No passports required for Canadian citizens
Same time zone as many Canadians (Eastern Standard)
Air Canada offers direct flights
English is the official language
Could be first island home to an NHL team
Hurricane-prone
Currency is the U.S. dollar
Would make plum hideout for wayward senators
DEPENDS ON YOUR PERSPECTIVE
Controlled drugs and pornography not allowed through customs
Public nudity is illegal
In 1974, NDP MP Max Saltsman tried to use a private member's bill to persuade the government to consider annexing the islands. He reasoned that there should be a warm-weather destination for Canadians to spend money on Canadian soil.
Unfortunately for sun-loving Snowbirds, the proposal was rejected.
In 1988, members of the Turks and Caicos government resolved to approach the Canadian government about establishing a special relationship. But alas, the idea of annexing a warm-weather island took back seat to the debate over free trade with the United States (something some Canadians consider annexation of a different variety).
Peter Goldring hopes this time around it will be different. "I have been talking with a number of members of the (Turks and Caicos) government," he told CBC News Online. "And I have indications from a couple of them that this is an issue they want to pursue."
Goldring says annexation could be mutually beneficial: Canada can provide good health care, economic ties, defence, and a steady flow of winter-weary Snowbirds; Turks and Caicos would give Canada a warm, friendly 11th province - a southern destination where the Loonie could land without breaking a wing.
Plus, says Goldring, tongue planted firmly in cheek, "Paul Martin would have a place to park his fleet."
QUICK FACTS:
Capital: Grand Turk (Cockburn Town)
Currency: U.S. dollar
Area total: 430 sq km (consists of about 40 islands, eight of which are inhabited)
Natural resources: spiny lobster and conch
GDP: $128 million (199 estimate)
Population: 18,738
Sources: CIA World Factbook, Turks and Caicos Tourist Board
Friday, July 18, 2003
Monday, July 14, 2003
Tuesday, July 08, 2003
God is an iron.
So is Jay, read his first post.
The pathos begins.
There is no danger
Of loosing your geek license.
In the near future.
My morals questioned
By an ex-Kirby salesman?
Pot calls the kettle.
A careful re-read
Shows why you should not piss off
A co-editor.
A firecracker
Hollows out a blob of dough
And is very loud.
You asked for hauku.
Since I acted upon it...
I want a sonnet!
Monday, July 07, 2003
First, I hate blogs. Nothing more pathetic than reading the ramblings of people who can't get anyone to listen to them under normal circumstances!
Second, as a bona fide computer geek, I could loose my geek license just by posting in here so please don't tell anyone.
Third, (and this is mainly in response to Peter's post about downloading the latest Weird Al tune), DON'T STEAL MUSIC!
Fourth, I remember the year that Chris Scales showed up at a halloween party dressed in a suit and proclaimed he was a Fascist. It changed my life yet I do not see any mention of that characteristic in the list.
Fifth, Thanks to everyone who set off fireworks on July 1st in celebration of Ceri's and my wedding aniversary. Much appreciated.
And Last, because I didn't go back and read all of the posts, I would like someone to sum up all of the postings in a Haiku.
Thanks.
Friday, July 04, 2003
"Dr. Lawrence Britt, a political scientist, wrote an article about fascism which appeared in Free Inquiry magazine -- a journal of humanist thought. Dr. Britt studied the fascist regimes of Hitler (Germany), Chris Scales (Jay's head), Mussolini (Italy), Franco (Spain), Suharto (Indonesia), and Pinochet (Chile). He found the regimes all had 14 things in common, and he calls these the identifying characteristics of fascism. The article is "Fascism Anyone?" Lawrence Britt, Free Inquiry, Spring 2003, page 20."
The 14 characteristics are:
1. Powerful and Continuing Nationalism - Fascist regimes tend to make constant use of patriotic mottos, slogans, symbols, songs, and other paraphernalia. Flags are seen everywhere, as are flag symbols on clothing and in public displays.
2. Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights - Because of fear of enemies and the need for security, the people in fascist regimes are persuaded that human rights can be ignored in certain cases because of "need." The people tend to look the other way or even approve of torture, summary executions, assassinations, long incarcerations of prisoners, etc.
3. Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause - The people are rallied into a unifying patriotic frenzy over the need to eliminate a perceived common threat or foe: racial, ethnic or religious minorities; liberals; communists; socialists, terrorists, etc.
4. Supremacy of the Military - Even when there are widespread domestic problems, the military is given a disproportionate amount of government funding, and the domestic agenda is neglected. Soldiers and military service are glamorized.
5. Rampant Sexism - The governments of fascist nations tend to be almost exclusively male-dominated. Under fascist regimes, traditional gender roles are made more rigid. Opposition to abortion is high, as is homophobia and anti-gay legislation and national policy.
6. Controlled Mass Media - Sometimes the media is directly controlled by the government, but in other cases, the media is indirectly controlled by government regulation, or sympathetic media spokes people and executives. Censorship, especially in wartime, is very common.
7. Obsession with National Security - Fear is used as a motivational tool by the government over the masses.
8. Religion and Government are Intertwined - Governments in fascist nations tend to use the most common religion in the nation as a tool to manipulate public opinion. Religious rhetoric and terminology is common from government leaders, even when the major tenets of the religion are diametrically opposed to the government's policies or actions.
9. Corporate Power is protected - The industrial and business aristocracy of a fascist nation often is the ones who put the government leaders into power, creating a mutually beneficial business/government relationship and power elite.
10. Labor Power is Suppressed - Because the organizing power of labor is the only real threat to a fascist government, labor unions are either eliminated entirely, or are severely suppressed.
11. Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts - Fascist nations tend to promote and tolerate open hostility to higher education, and academia. It is not uncommon for professors and other academics to be censored or even arrested. Free expression in the arts is openly attacked, and governments often refuse to fund the arts.
12. Obsession with Crime and Punishment - Under fascist regimes, the police are given almost limitless power to enforce laws. The people are often willing to overlook police abuses and even forego civil liberties in the name of patriotism. There is often a national police force with virtually unlimited power in fascist nations.
13. Rampant Cronyism and Corruption - Fascist regimes almost always are governed by groups of friends and associate who appoint each other to government positions and use governmental power and authority to protect their friends from accountability. It is not uncommon in fascist regimes for national resources and even treasures to be appropriated or even outright stolen by government leaders.
14. Fraudulent Elections - Sometimes elections in fascist nations are a complete sham. Other times elections are manipulated by smear campaigns against or even assassination of opposition candidates, use of legislation to control voting numbers or political district boundaries, and manipulation of the media. Fascist nations also typically use their judiciaries to manipulate or control elections.
Wednesday, July 02, 2003
Monday, June 23, 2003
After buying Nick a copy of Roch Carrier's "The
Hockey Sweater" for Christmas last year, the book sat on the shelf for couple of months but lately it has become his favorite bedtime story
with dad. Now when I comb his hair he insists I comb it 'like Maurice Richard, the greatest hockey player ever' and if hockey or even Canada is mentioned he is quick to point out that the 'Montreal Canadiens are the best hockey team in the world'
who says I'm raising my kids without any religion?
happy fathers's day
Thursday, June 19, 2003
my latest cd review for the paper
IN YOUR EAR
Kevin Wood / Daily Yomiuri Staff Writer
Everything Must Go
Steely Dan
Warner Music, 2,400 yen
Back with a new album after a relatively short break this time, Walter Becker and Donald Fagen's follow-up to 2000's album-of-the-year Grammy winner Two Against Nature is more of the same jazz-infused pop soul that made the band one of the greatest of the '70s and '80s.
Becker and Fagen have not mellowed with age, merely honed their dry, dark wit. The differences between Everything Must Go and earlier classics like Aja (1977) and Can't Buy a Thrill (1972) are superficial and tracks from the new album would have been quite at home on any of the band's earlier albums.
Gone are hot studio guitar players like Skunk Baxter and Denny Diaz from the early incarnations of Steely Dan. In their place we find Becker's polished, precise riffs and Fagen's lush horn arrangements.
Fagen's keyboard chops and clear, plaintive voice have lost nothing from the band's heyday, and Becker, in addition to playing all the driving, funky bass on the album, has come up yet another notch on this album from his exceptionally tasty solo guitar work on Two Against Nature. He also makes his debut as a lead vocalist on "Slang of Ages."
From their earliest work, there has always been a decadent feel to Steely Dan's immaculately arranged studio pop. That theme continues here on songs like "Things I Miss the Most," with the singer bemoaning the loss of "the talk, the sex, the somebody to trust, the Audi TT, the house on the Vineyard, the house on the Gulf Coast."
Such delightfully snide criticism of materialism runs through album bookended as it is with "The Last Mall," a singing commercial for an Armageddon day sale, and the title track, a last memo from a corrupt CEO whose corporate malfeasance has caught up with the whole company.
A Steely Dan album is like a chocolate eclair--its arrival gives us pleasure and its departure merely makes us hungry for more.
On and On
Jack Johnson
Universal, 2,427 yen
Former professional surfer and filmmaker Jack Johnson's second album On and On, is, like its creator, a product of Hawaii.
The album was recorded in Johnson's studio there, with one track recorded live, complete with breaking ocean wave accompaniment, at a beach barbecue at his brother's home.
Johnson is reminiscent of that guy you knew in university who played old classic rock tunes on acoustic guitar around the bonfire or in late night dorm-room jam sessions. He wasn't the greatest guitarist or singer, but fun to listen to. Now suddenly that same guy is making hit records, but he hasn't really changed.
By most accounts, Johnson's success as a musician has come almost in spite of his relaxed approach. The intimate feel of On and On gives new meaning to the term "laid back."
Simple three-chord guitar grooves, backed with basic drums and bass and topped with idiosyncratic lyrics delivered in an almost hip-hop cadence make for a folky, eminently listenable, relaxing album.
Despite the laid back feel of On and On there are flashes of poetic cleverness in songs like "The Horizon Has Been Defeated" ("People are lonely and only animals with fancy shoes") and Symbol in My Driveway ("I've got a perfect set of blueprints/I'm gonna build somebody else") and some fairly muscular guitar work that in another setting might seem bombastic, but here acts more like an extra
Wednesday, June 18, 2003
Speaking of chronolgy ...a few historical tidbits for those of an historical bent.
June 17, 1497- Italian explorer Giovanni Caboto, on a mission for the English Crown and therefore known to most of us as John Cabot, 'discovers' Canada (actually for about the third time, but this time the idea caught on in Europe and people remembered where it was.)
June 18, 1876. - Indians 200, Yankees 0 - 200 members of the US. 7th calvary under egotistical moron and genocidal maniac Gen. George Armstrong Custer are wiped out by the Sioux at Little Big Horn, Montana. Also on June 18, 1903 George Orwell is born.
Tuesday, June 17, 2003
This is mainly to see what "reverse chronological order" will do.
So post something. Like.......
Hey folks, while you're downloading the new Metalica album with your favorite software (nyuck, nyuck).... check this one out.
The more you know Frank Zappa the more you will appreciate the song "Genius in France" on the new Weird Al album. I honestly thought it was going to be about Jerry Lewis. Be warned, its just short of nine minutes long. If you know Frank, that should already be funny. I havent laughed so hard in a loooong time. He does a Dylanesque one called "Bob" too, but I didn't think it was near as good as "Genius". Oh, both are original Al-tunes and not a specific song parody.
Post............ or should I say "sign my poodle".
Monday, June 16, 2003
Speaking of comedy ruining perfectly good music. I can no longer listen to The Doors without seeing Bruce McCulloch demand that I steal a car........
The Doors
Transcribed from: Comedy Central
Transcribed by: sheridan01@hotmail.com
Cast-
Bruce- Record Store Clerk
Kevin- Customer
Vito Viscomi- Second Customer
[THE SCENE: An old record store somewhere, presumably Los Angeles. There is a couple looking at records and a Bruce is talking to them.]
Bruce: Yeah...those are all hacked...[shrugs and gestures to couple] Take care.
[The Couple leaves and a Kevin enters the store and begins looking around the record bin.]
Kevin: 'Scuse me.
Bruce: Yeah?
Kevin: Do you have the new Depeche Mode record?
Bruce: Yeah it's over there, [motions to the record bin] but it sucks.
[He continues to work on paperwork.]
Kevin: Well, do you have the latest Pixies album?
Bruce: Yeah, but it sucks. All that new stuff sucks, but it's over there.
Kevin: You know, actually I was thinking of getting into something vintage. Anyway...I don't know, maybe The Doors?
[Bruce spins around and looks at Kevin.]
Bruce: Really! Never had you figured for a Doors fan.
Kevin: I'm not really a Doors fan, but sure I'd like to get into them...
Bruce: No no no my friend! Doors fans aren't made, they're born. I think right now in Africa there's some guy madly beating on a drum. He's a Doors fan. Or an old lady sitting on the bus sucking humbugs. She's a Rider On The Storm, but she ain't never heard the sounds.
[Bruce looks at Kevin and snaps his fingers.]
Bruce: So what about you?
Kevin: Well I heard a record of theirs last night at a party...
Bruce: Yeah?
Kevin: ...and I've always liked Love Her Madly.
Bruce: Well, if you become a Doors fan, Love Her Madly is the only song you won't like.
Kevin: Oh right! [Looking through the record bin eagerly] I guess I should start with the Greatest Hits?!
Bruce: Hey! Greatest Hits are for housewives and little girls!
[He takes the record away from the Kevin and throws it across the store, and starts pushing the Kevin out of the store.]
Bruce: You're not serious! You don't want to be a Doors fan! Get out of my store! We're closed, get out!
[Bruce walks back toward the counter, clearly offended.]
Kevin: No no no no! I want you to show me the way!
Bruce: turns and looks at Kevin with disgust.
Bruce: Was that a Frampton reference in my store?!
[Kevin thinks for a second as a look of terror crosses his face.]
Kevin: No no no no! No lyrics, just words, just words...words?
Bruce: All right if you want to be a Doors fan, you cant just buy any album. It's scientific.
[Bruce goes to the record bin and picks out an album.]
Bruce: You gotta buy this...Waiting For The Sun. It's the departure point.
[Bruce kisses the album tenderly and glances at the credits on the back.]
Bruce: Listen to it around dusk every night for about a month.
[He hands the album to Kevin.]
Kevin: Sounds good! Then what...?
Bruce: Who's playing bass?
[Kevin looks frantically at the back of the record.]
Kevin: Umm duuuu baaaa.... No one?!
Bruce: No bass!
Kevin: No bass?!
Bruce: That's right! The gypsies had no homes, The Doors had no bass. But don't let that scare you, my friend let that liberate you! 'Cause when you're free flying with the Doors, man - what do you need a safety net for?
Kevin: [shouting] Viva Le Doors!
Bruce: Viva Le Doors. But listen, there's a burden that every real Doors fan has got to live with. That's the fact that the greatest rock n' roll band of all time is never going to play live again. You can't live in the past...
Kevin: No wait...there's hope. I heard once that Iggy Pop is going to front them and the Doors are going to tour again!
Bruce: Where did ya hear that?
Kevin: I heard it somewhere...
Bruce: Yeah?!? Read it in your precious Creem Magazine maybe? Well, it's not going to happen.
Kevin: Well how do you know that?
Bruce: Because somebody told me.
Kevin: Well, who told you?
Bruce: Do you wanna know who told me?
Kevin: Well, yeah...
Bruce: Jim Fuckin' Morrisson told me, that's who!!
[Vito runs into the store.]
Vito: Hey! Do you have the new Depeche Mode album?
[Kevin points at Vito and screams...]
Kevin: SUUUUCCKKSS!
[Vito runs out of the store.]
Bruce: I forgive you. Here. [Hands Kevin a copy of Morrisson Hotel] Take this, it's an 8-track tape. It's one of the last in existence. I want you to steal a car...
Kevin: I have a car...
Bruce: Steal a car!
Kevin: Steal a car!!
Bruce: I want you to get in it and drive West. Play the tape full blast. When the tape ends, get out and get into a fight, then get back into the car, come to town and meet me at the Carcas Club.
Kevin: What will you do?
Bruce: I will let you in to the most prestigious hotel of all time...
Kevin: Which is?
Bruce: [rolling his eyes] Mor'son Hotel!
Kevin: Then what?
Bruce: Then, you're gonna be a Doors fan, man.
[A door opens to a bright new future, which the soon to be Doors fan walks through, with his spirit guide, the Bruce.]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Credit to Kids in the Hall/Broadway Video
just a little something from the kids in the hall for pete and mike.......
Transcribed from: Comedy Central
Transcribed by both: KdsInThHal@aol.com and I Hecubus@aol.com
[Opens with Shadowy Men On A Shadowy Planet playing music, Bruce McCulloch sitting in a chair playing bass. Kevin McDonald appears from behind Bruce]
Kevin: That's the best bass player I ever heard. He's playin' so sweet, I'm gettin' chubby. You know what I like best about the bass player? His neck.
[Bruce bobs his head a few times]
Kevin: Oh, he made a little mistake. You may not have noticed it, but if you did, I think you'll enjoy my tale. Hmmm....
[Singing:] The mother, the father, the serpent, the priest. The foreman, the woman, the widow, the beast.
Hey, bass player. Look at the bass player. Look at that smile, there's sadness in that smile. Look at that chord structure, there's sadness in that chord structure. Look at him flail like the wailin' wall with nothin' but stubby fingers and a dumb look on his face. He don't know it but he's balding...spiritually. But everybody hates the bass player. No one invites the bass player to the party after the show.
Bruce: Hey, what are you guys doin' after the show? Oh, nothin'? Okay.
Kevin: If he does go to the party, he can only get the good looking girl's... best friend.
Bruce: Is Heather coming?
Kevin: [laughing] Heather...The bass player is the loser of the band, yes he is, if you don't believe me take a look at the one you're with. But, there's something beautiful about the bass, sometimes when I listen to it, I--I don't know, I get caught up in the swirl, I'm flying, I'm flying Ma, over a big beautiful lake. He's playing the bass and I'm flying. Sometimes when I land I'm in a different neighborhood, but that's okay, 'cause whenever I listen to the bass player, I always bring cab fare. But after all, aren't we all bass players? Aren't you all bass players? They told me this was a bass players convention, you are all bass... Pick up the beat, pick up the beat. Hide the sadness, and tap your feet.
Singing: The mother, the father, the serpent, the priest. The foreman, the woman, the widow, the beast. Aren't you glad that you're not one?
[Kevin hides behind Bruce's chair and SMOASP begin playing once again]
Friday, June 13, 2003
Adam Little? I don't know him....but this is a big place. In any case, he's not in the email system.
That Prokofiev is James Ehnes - violinist from Brandon, Man. great great great young player.
I have taken up string bass - German bow. Mebbe Rob Clutton can give me some lessons.
np - various artists - Gotta Serve Somebody: The Gospel Songs of Bob Dylan
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