Good news and questionable news...

So two things have occurred this week that, on the face of them, should have a positive aspect. For one, the last of the serving American troops made a 'tactical road march' out of Iraq. They now sit at Camp Adder in Kuwait as they prepare to finally come home. Home for the Holidays… It sounds cliché I know, but I'm very happy for them. They are finally out of there and won't be around when the other shoe finally drops. And drop it will…



Iraq is standing on the verge of an immense bloodbath that once started, nobody will be able to stop. Let's face it… whenever you have Sunni and Shia populations living together, there is no way around it. It's all they know. Mankind simply does not have enough years left in our time here on Earth, as a species, for these people to evolve beyond that. We're talking about ancient civilizations that have been around much longer than us North Americans, with equally ancient blood feuds between them. It's the same type of blinkered, stone-aged, pig-ignorance that brings you such trappings as Islam and Sharia Law… or the Taliban. For anyone to say at this juncture: "Hey… you're bashing Islam! You must be an 'Islamophobe'!", let me tell you something. I bash EVERY religion. I do so because they are ALL founded on bullshit and fairy tales and are invented solely (by man, NOT GOD, because there are no GODs but those that we choose to invent…), to exert control over large sections of humanity. The term 'phobe' comes from the Greek work 'phobia', which in turns implies an unreasonable fear. I don't fear religions, I loathe them. So there...

So yes, for as much as American troops leaving Iraq is a good and positive thing, for them and other fellow Americans, it bodes absolutely nothing well for the Iraqis themselves…

Second ray of sunshine in the news this week, the croaking of North Korea's 'Dear Leader', Kim Jung Il. I hate to appear insensitive here, but I could not repress a fit of braying laughter as I read about a teary-eyed North Korean TV anchor, informing the masses that their dear leader had apparently died of 'overwork'. More like a lifetime of excessive debauchery finally caught up with him. Just like his old man, who actually managed to live longer than his ill-fated son. Though to be fair to his father, North Koreans did not die of starvation in the hundreds of thousands under his rule.

"His heart has stopped beating but his face and his deeds will be remembered forever…", slobbered the TV talking head. Yeah, right… Just like a certain German dictator's face and deeds have been forever etched into the collective minds of humanity. Funny how most civilized people won't even name theior dog Hitler, to this very day. The mass hysterical grieving 'show' being displayed by the country he left behind…? To be kind, one can only describe it as 'Pavlovian'. There is no genuine remorse in any of it… Certainly not if North Korea as a nation can ever be saved… For anyone genuinely sorry that Kim Jung Il died, why don’t't you lean out into the strike zone and take one for the team… your type should never be a contributing element to any society.

So again, it's the glass half-empty or half-full scenario. Sure, it's good that Kim bought the farm, but that's only until we find out what kind of fuckiong loon is going to be taking over the reins of power in that tinderbox of a region. His son Kim Jong Un is by all accounts, his pre-selected successor. We'll have to wait and see how he makes out…

Questionable news indeed...

What...? NO Christmas Tree...????

Okay... Here's my rant-du-jour...

I found out today that at Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (Service Canada) offices, the employees are forbidden to put up a Christmas tree, for fear of "offending people of other religious beliefs". Now, I know that the folks that write government policy on many fronts, are not exactly 'intellectual luminaries' when it comes to the use of common sense and/or fair play, but it had never occurred to me that they would be willing participants in selling off our own cultural rights. So this begs the question: "Are the hiring practices which give preference to immigrants for positions within the federal government (at the expense of folks born and raised here), partly to blame for this denigration of our own beliefs and cultures? It would only follow suite that reversely prejudicial hiring practices would spill over to the importance given to other aspects of our Canadian identity.

Needless to say that this farce has gone on long enough. Remember, immigration means assimilation. You don't move here to turn this country into some other nationalistic state, you move here to become Canadian. That means adopting our culture, traditions and values. To do other wise is not immigration, it's invasion. And let's call a spade a spade here. These people are NOT immigrants. Immigrants founded this country. Those who come here in ever-increasing numbers these days are migrants. The only people who might ostensibly be offended by our observance of Christian holidays (let's be honest and totally politically incorrect here), are the Muslims. Canada's Jewish population has always been quite okay with Christmas in Canada, even though they may not observe it themselves. They are Canadians. No other sector of our population has ever expressed any form of 'indignation' when it comes to the celebration of Christmas.

My country will not become a Muslim state, with all the abhorent customs, traditions and mindsets which come with that particular sect. And every single Canadian, regardless of where they hail from, should be making a lot of noise to protest this creeping regression of our national identity. Maybe we should begin voicing our discomfort and revulsion in seeing women wearing the hallmarks of a repressive and mysoginistic religion, such as niqabs, hijabs and definitely burkas. These are the relics of a stone-age mentality and they have no place in a progressive society such as Canada. Every woman out there should feel insulted to see these trappings worn by their so-called sisters.

Neither has there been much of an outcry by the public following the spate of 'honour killings' in our country, even though the media has finally clued in to them. Cases of domestic violence against women throughout Canada, amongst all races and religions, are already startling. But there has been a disturbing and steadily increasing trend when it comes to honour killings amongst the Asian and Middle-Eastern communities. There are many articles to be found online regarding this topic, the link below is simply a 'for instance':

http://www.vancouversun.com/life/Honour+killings+rise+Canada+Expert/3165638/story.html

The writing is already on the wall for all to see. Those who care to look, at any rate. How far will this trend be allowed to go before we as a nation, finally come to our senses and recognize what is at stake here? If someone has a problem with Christmas, they can bloody well move. It should also tell you a lot about the person who offers such a comment. If a particular sect of our society want to subjugate and terrorize their women and young girls, they can take that back home with them. This isn't Teheran or Peshawar yet. Importing that type of blinkered, philistine pig-ignorance is not only at loggerheads with everything we believe in, it's an act of war.

For our federal government to not only aid and abet such behaviour, but to partake in it as well, is beyond reprehensible.

EPILOGUE...

Seems as though first of all, this edict for Service Canada offices, was relegated to those offices in the Province of Québec. Somehow I'm not overly surprised. However, it seems that this decision has been overturned by the Minister for HRSDC here in Ottawa.

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/life/Deck+halls+Anti+decoration+stance+Service+Canada+offices+reversed/5804742/story.html

I guess this is a case of  "all is well that ends well"... Well done to Minister Findlay.

So you're going to give up riding, right...?

You know, it's funny how many people can look at the same situation and see something totally different. Case in point: if a person is involved in a car accident, how many people will cluster around them, admonishing them on the dangers of driving and try to persuade them to give up driving automobiles altogether?

None, right? So pray tell why is it, that if you happen to have been involved in a motorcycle accident, the "most logical thing for you to do", should be to give up doing what you love?

I will take a moment here to add that I am very fortunate that those nearest and dearest to me, do not take this viewpoint. Sure, they're concerned about my well-being and my safety, but they understand that neither the bike, nor riding, were responsible for what happened. I didn't almost get killed because I was riding a motorcycle... I almost got killed because some airheaded dumbfuck driving a pickup truck did not have the skills required to be doing so.

Still, it's astounding how many people arrive at this fatally-flawed conclusion. It's as though for some reason, you shouldn't be riding them in the first place and you really ought to have known better. Really??? THIS is the type of uneducated and judgemental mindset that inevitably leads to the equally retarded leap of logic that it's 'okay' to run bikers over, because let's face it... "they're just asking for it".

I think it's safer to assume that this is a knee-jerk reaction that many drivers have when confronted with this scenario, because THEY don't want to be held responsible or accountable for their actions on the road. Maybe they know only too well that they themselves are guilty of so many of the bad habits and lapses of attention, that normally lead to the typical car-motorcycle encounter. And that is without taking into account the fairly recent phenomenon of cell phone usage and texting.

What they're actually thinking is: "If I accept that you have the same right to ride on the same roads that I drive on, that means I'm going to have to actually drive my car and pay attention to what I'm doing out there!!" And guess what? That's absolutely right. I do have that right and I do choose to exercise it!

There are many people out there that when questioned about motorcycles, will tell you that they are terrified of them. Without delving into what would make a person say such a thing, that statement is insane on the face of it. A vehicle which is capable of terrifying people? Unbelievable... When was the last time they had a motorcycle come catapulting through their living room window and kill one or several family members? Or were they ever stalked and subsequently run over by some demon, riderless motorcycle? Chances are they never were...

I can see them being terrified because they are aware of what might happen to THEM on a motorcycle, yes. All kinds of horrible atrocities which might be inflicted on them by drivers of cars and trucks... NOT by motorcycles. So if they should be terrified of anything, it should be of cars and trucks and the insufferable, mindless butchers who drive them.

The problem is that most drivers out there, regardless of gender, do anything BUT drive their cars. They occupy themselves with a myriad of mundane tasks, totally unrelated to the job at hand. They're bored. Jaded. They fancy themselves so proficient at driving, that they have become convinced they can get from point A to point B without even giving it a thought. Much less having to apply themselves.

The rising stats behind motor vehicle accidents seem to demonstrate that the number one cause of such calamities, is inattention and sheer ineptitude. Pure and simple. For those of you who drive pickup trucks, let me dumb it down so you can understand: "YOU DO NOT HAVE THE MENTAL OR TECHNICAL ABILITY TO SAFELY CONTROL A VEHICLE WITH SO MANY MOVING PARTS!!!  YOU ARE A DANGER TO YOURSELVES AND TO THOSE AROUND YOU!!!" We have droves of mindless zombies out there, to whom the province has seen fit to give control of a motor vehicle, who have their thumb up their arse and their brain in neutral.

Maybe it's time for the "riding public" to go on the offensive. An eye for an eye. It worked back in the day... You try to kill me on my bike? Better do a good job of it. If I survive, you will be looking over your shoulder for the rest of your life.  

A motorcycle enthusiast was taken out last September in Rocky Mountain House, Alberta. A driver in a truck made "an unsafe left-hand turn", which led to the death of this fellow rider. The driver's fine for causing this death? A paltry $115.00 traffic citation. So yes... in that part of the country, a motorcyclist's life is worth $115.00. If you bought a slave off the auction block for that price and killed him out of hand, there would be a great uproar across this land and elsewhere. And rightfully so... Funny how if you're a biker though, folks just don't give a shit...

http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/Canada/20110818/alberta-man-fined-traffic-violation-killed-motorcyclist-110818/

It has to change, people. If John Law and the courts can't protect us (and God knows they're not there to 'protect' anyone), then maybe we have no option but to defend ourselves. That is what nature expects of most semi-sentient beings in this world. Unless they want to travel down the road to extinction...

I, for one, ain't gonna travel that road willingly.

Five Rules to Remember...

FIVE RULES TO REMEMBER IN LIFE:

1.) Money cannot buy happiness but it’s more comfortable to cry in a Mercedes than on a bicycle.


2.) Forgive your enemy but remember the bastard’s name.


3.) Help someone when they are in trouble and they will remember you, when they're in trouble again.


4.) Many people are alive only because it’s illegal to shoot them.


5.) Alcohol does not solve any problems, but then neither does milk.


Have a great day!

I love British censorship...

So just today I received an e-mail from the BBC. Seems they took exception to a comment I attempted to post on their website, dealing with the current unrest and rioting taking place over there.

Here in brief, was the e-mail I received. Please note that I have not edited or omitted anything. This is just as I received it:

Dear BBC Visitor,

Thank you for contributing to the BBC web site.  Unfortunately we've had to remove the content below because it contravened one of our House Rules.

Your comment was considered to have broken the following House Rule:

"We reserve the right to fail comments which...
Break the law or condone or encourage unlawful activity. This includes breach of copyright, defamation and contempt of court."

For more information about the House Rule your comment broke, please visit -http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/moderation.shtml#d
You can read the House Rules in full here -
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/moderation.shtml#house

Please do not reply to this email. If you wish to appeal against a moderation decision, please visit -
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/moderation.shtml#canappeal

Please note that anyone who seriously or repeatedly breaks the House Rules may have action taken against their account without further warning.
Regards,

BBC Moderation Team.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs
http://www.bbc.co.uk/messageboards

URL of content (now removed):
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/newscommentsmodule/F21804196?
thread=8263160&post=109942924#p109942924
Subject: England riots: Clean-up as England riots spread

Posting: I'm from Ontario, Canada. I feel I am witnessing the unravelling of the fiber of British society. In my own personal opinion, the Army should have been called in on the second day. In most 'civilized' societies, looters and arsonists ought to be shot on the spot. Their 'rights' do NOT outweigh those of their victims. Sad to see this. Really, truly sad.

I would have to assume that considering this response, I shouldn't hold my breath for them to post a subsequent comment of mine. This one merely pointed out the reminder that: "In any country, it is NOT the responsibility of the local police to protect anyone. The police are there only to pick up the pieces after things have gone terribly wrong. Self-protection is a right which is not granted by any court or deity. It is an innate response for any living, semi-sentient being. See: Natural Selection."

Nice to know that in this country at least, we can still express (and have published most of the time) views which might not be popular with everyone, or which might be deemed 'controversial'. In retrospect, it is somewhat amusing to see the utter trash and bullshit that the British papers WILL publish, heedless of peoples' actual rights and privacy, so long as they deem it fit for the public's 'entertainment'.

Just don't try to rock the status quo...

Yup... the more I discover, the more I love this country of OURS.

This texting thing...

As you may know from some of my previous ramblings on here, I at times take issue with certain fads or social conditions I see around me. There is probably no more aggregious habit of late, than that of texting.

Texting itself, is just another means for people to "stay in touch" with each other. But it has grown from a simple convenience to some sort of manic, wide-sweeping addiction. You've seen them... Those people who wander along stoop-shouldered, aimlessly, disregarding everything around them as they frantically seek to inform others of their present doings or to read of how one of their many contacts has finally made it to their local Bridgehead.

To say nothing of our innate sense of laziness as humans, which has led to the birth of 'text speak'. This is no more than a bastardized version or phoenetic diction, meant to save time while conveying the basic gist of a conversation. The drawbacks to this are evident when many young people are called on to write any type of correspondence. They are functionally illiterate and show no grasp of even the basic concepts of English grammar or sentence structure. 

This they do while ignoring traffic signs, vehicles, their children, the dog they're walking, those around them... Seriously??? It's enough to make you scream. Or at least approach and clobber them with a piece of 2x4, 'cause they'd never even see you coming. Muggers must be having a field day with these plebes. So much for being aware of potential dangers around you... the very first premise of surviving in this world.

I can't tell you how many drivers (the vast majority of these being women...) I have seen, who are guilty of this infraction. It is unacceptable in any form to text and drive, but I have a particular loathing for those who drive and text with a child or children in their car. Or for anyone who does so with a passenger next to them. Are you fucking kidding me here...??? Frankly, if you are a passenger in someone's car and the driver is texting as he or she drives, if you don't take steps to make them stop, or pull over so you can get the fuck out, you're as much a brainless moron as they are and obviously deserve whatever calamity awaits you. Obviously if you're a child, you're pretty much S.O.L.

We watched a young mother having lunch with her child at the local McDonald's. Not once did she raise her eyes from her phone to engage her child in any type of conversation. The young boy sat and basically had his lunch all by himself. She will no doubt one day wonder why her child never really developed any sort of bond with her, or why he never really pays any attention to what she might say.

It is one thing to be aware and in tune with today's technology. Being tech savvy does have it's advantages in today's society and to be sure, in many instances if you are 'not connected', you will miss much in the way of information, programs and services which otherwise might be available to you. You know... the important stuff.

But being a slave to the trends which accompany these advances, does not 'connect' anyone. Instead, it promotes a society which is becoming more and more isolated and unaware of the actual reality that surrounds us.

As we leave Afghanistan...

Photo by David Goldman - AP

On 30 June 2011, it was broadcast by the media that Canadian combat troops were being withdrawn from Afghanistan. Once more, Canadian troops had been called into battle and had acquitted themselves in exemplary fashion. But now what? Not all of our objectives had been met, the enemy was still firmly entrenched and bent on destroying any advancements our mission there might have accomplished.

I cannot rid myself of this spirit of unease, as I wait for the other proverbial shoe to fall. The fact that our combat troops have been withdrawn from this theatre of war, does not mean or imply that we have no more boots on the ground. There are still contingents of Canadian service personnel active in Afghanistan. Their mission now is to train the still-fledgling Afghan National Army (ANA).

I cannot imagine it otherwise that with the departure of our combat troop strength, the Taliban will no doubt be emboldened. Now would be their most opportune time to mount a 'surge offensive' of their own. How would our reduced personnel cope with such an attack? Would they even be able to maintain control of the airfield at Kandahar? These are things I think about, when I lie in bed at night...

I somehow think I may not be alone in this.

What? Me, grouchy...???

So it seems to me that ever since I heard the pronouncement from my doctor about my left shoulder, I have begun to be somewhat of a grouch. Really... I find myself being short-tempered and snappish, even with my wife who wants only to help me through this continuing ordeal.

I guess it's possible that I have let myself sink into this feeling of helplessness. That somehow doesn't sound like me. Not even to me. I will admit that it has taken a tremendous amount of energy to keep my spirits buoyed and my attitude positive throughout this. God knows some days it was not the easiest thing to do. I feel as though I'm running out of steam. I need a shot of something good to get me over this hump.

Yes... yes... I know. "But consider that you're still alive", or "It could have been a lot worse you know". I have heard and thought these same lines on many, many days. I am reminded of this everytime I go outside for a break and run into a young fellow-resident here, who had a leg amputated below the knee following an ATV accident out in the country.

But that does not mean to say that my grief over my own situation is not valid, or legitimate, or deserved. It's like back when I was a child and my father left us. I could not grieve for my loss of him, or even talk of him. He was 'the bad guy' and therefore my grief at having lost my father at such an early age, was deemed illegitimate. It was a process that I was never 'allowed' to begin, let alone complete.

But I digress... I have to believe that it is this final realization of my diminished capacities, which has caused this shift in temperament. Up until now, I have been harboring this dream that some wonderful and routine surgical procedure, would return my arm's range of motion, while banishing this ever-present pain. Now I know for certain that this will never happen. That's a pretty big dream to have squashed.

As I heard my doctor intone his dispassionate assessment of my current condition, I was taken back in time. I was, by my own admission, quite a hellion as a young man. I had plenty of run-ins with 'John Law' and truth be known, spent most of my teenage years behind bars. After 56 court appearances in Quebec's juvenile justice system (Judge Gaston Lacroix became almost a surrogate father...), I was no stranger to hearing sentences pronounced on myself and others. And here I was so many years later, hearing yet one more sentence pronounced on me. But this time by my doctor. And this one had no liberation date. It was for keeps...

Sure, I tried to appear upbeat and cavalier about it. That's how I deal with stress, disappointments, near-death experiences and horror shows of all types. Put up the walls... that'll hold the world out. But that takes a lot of strength. A ton of energy. I need to let down my guard so I can replenish both of these. I have no other choice.

So in the meantime I will have to monitor myself. Surely there are better ways to get through this, without becoming a grouch or an asshole. I'm working on it, but so far... it's an imperfect art. 

A special place in Hell...

Okay... listen up, gang.

There are many people out there who do their damndest to make life hard for the rest of us. Whether it's through willful design, ignorance or pig-headed stupidity. You know the folks I mean... Those who park their shopping carts right in the middle of the aisle so that nobody can get through from either side, those who park their cars in the middle of a goddamn crosswalk or at the entrance to your driveway, the list goes on...

But I have to tell you that there exists a particular brand of socially-retarded dimwit out there, for whom there must surely exist a very special place in Hades (assuming that this fictional place were actually to exist). I'm talking about those hordes of walking sphincters (for there are many...), who rather than return their shopping carts to the outside corrals or to the front of the store, park them in the HANDICAPPED PARKING SPOTS!!!!!!

It is doubtless that you disingenuous, empty-headed, moronic fucks know full well who you are. What the fuck can possibly be going through your head, that you would do something so mindlessly fucking stupid? Were your parents related? Were you the defective sibling that should have been eaten at birth? Do you frequently attend family gatherings in the hopes of meeting a mate? What gives???

How fucking callous, unthinking and lazy are you, that you cannot walk the extra 10 feet across the roadway to dispose of the cart properly? To say nothing of the fact that you then expect someone of diminished physical capabilities to move your fucking cart for your lousy, socially-disposable carcass, before they can park their vehicle!!

So here it is... Fair warning!  If I ever catch anyone doing this within my field of vision, physically diminished capabilities or not, I will take my cane and fucking beat you to death where you stand. Then I will impale you with said "Handicapped Parking Only" sign and leave you there like a grotesque scarecrow, so that your shell of a being might serve as a reminder to those other like-minded droids.

Um-mmm... not to put too fine of a point on it.

An update on stuff...

So it's now been 10 months and 29 days since my accident. I am now mobile enough to walk and have embarked on a physical fitness routine which might guarantee my mobility, if I'm smart enough to stick with it in the future. There's a very good incentive.

I never knew it would be so hard to find a new abode, or that so many obstacles would arise for those properties that we actually wanted to buy. It seems like 'Groundhog Day' everyday. Still, I maintain some degree of faith that all of this will sort itself out eventually. I'm not going to get into moaning and dripping about how long we've been at this, as it serves no actual purpose and let's face it... it's boring as Hell.

I will however go so far as to say that 'it got old' a long time ago. My prospects are looking good for returning to work, albeit on a temp basis at first. It's still progress and I welcome it. I've been away from my peeps for way too long now. I think the sense of productivity that this would provide, would only be a good thing.

I have found out recently that my current physical limitations, will in fact be of a permanent nature. This came as somewhat of a blow, as I had been harboring the hope that I would someday be free of pain and more viable than I am now. I will manage to come to terms with this in time, if for no other reason than I have no choice in the matter. We as humans are far more resilient than we give ourselves credit for.

Okay... whining session over. Now to get back to a good old rant.