“How dare Islamic fundamentalists kill to protect their religion from such a small and meaningless movie. And though I oppose the hate-filled and misguided film, I would die fighting to protect the studio’s right to release it.” – The irony of fundamentalism. The recent violence in the Middle East over
Continue readingTag: America
Saskboy's Abandoned Stuff: No Go Argo
When I saw the trailer for Argo, I had a flashback to the Tommy Douglas Story. It was obvious from the focus of the plot that the CIA was going to get credit for saving the American hostages in Iran, 1979, instead of Ken Taylor, the Canadian diplomat. That’s the
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: America’s Bought and Paid For Judges
A great way to water down democracy is to control the judiciary. This is what happens when you combine unrestricted corporate electoral spending with an elected bench. Judges whose election and tenure are tied to corporate funding can be reasonably apprehended to have a corporate bias on the bench. Those
Continue readingEclectic Lip: In praise of (some specific aspects of) libertarianism
(written Dec 8, 2010 — uploaded Aug 28, 2012) I ridiculed the silliness of some aspects of libertarian thought in an earlier post, and planned to offer some balance by noting that their inherent suspicion-of-authority has played a big role in raising awareness of the financial crimes and improprieties of
Continue reading350 or bust: Saturday At The Movies
This gets my standing ovation: the most honest 3 1/2 minutes of television.
Continue readingEclectic Lip: How Libertarians brought America Big Religion and Bigger Lawsuits…
(originally written Nov 2010; uploaded Aug 21, 2012 as part of my Great Upload of Musings… for balance, I’ll soon post the follow-up which praises some portions of libertarian philosophy which are very dear to my progressive heart. Politics makes for strange bedfellows, and I’m not above shacking up with
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Another Glimpse Into the Warfare State
Further evidence that America is being transformed into a genuine “warfare state” comes from a report in Wired magazine that the Pentagon is planning to unleash SEAL teams to attack and kill drug lords south of the U.S. border. “According to anonymous Mexican and U.S. military sources cited by Proceso
Continue readingUnderlooked Stephen Harper quotes P5: Canadian indepedence
Part 5 of underlooked Stephen Harper quotes. Part one, two, three and four here. Quebec and Americanism/Corporatism And ironically, says Mr. Harper, that same aspect of Quebec’s social distinctiveness is what makes it unsuitable for independence. ‘The only real independence is economic independence’ he says. ‘When you don’t have
Continue readingUnderlooked Stephen Harper quotes P5: Canadian indepedence
Part 5 of underlooked Stephen Harper quotes. Part one, two, three and four here. Quebec and Americanism/CorporatismAnd ironically, says Mr. Harper, that same aspect of Quebec’s social distinctiveness is what makes it unsuitable for independenc…
Continue readingMontreal Simon: Mitt Romney, the Billionaire, and the Scissor Sister
When I watch this latest attack ad from the Mitt Romney campaign, I can't help thinking how desperate he must be, and how much money he must have. If he can outspend even Obama. Read more »
Continue readingArt Threat: Representing Eisenhower – The ongoing dialogue around the design of the Eisenhower Memorial
I caught wind of a different kind of political art and politics of art this past weekend while reading the latest issue of Vanity Fair. As anyone who’s done any kind of planning in teams can imagine, building a monument can be a mighty task. As it turns out, the
Continue readingSaskboy's Abandoned Stuff: San Diego’s Big Bay Bust
I’ve witnessed two big American 4th of July fireworks shows, in New York ’02 and San Diego ’10. The San Diego show two years ago lasted at least 20 minutes, and we watched it from a hill near PB. While there we also heard people talk about ice blocking down
Continue readingThe Scott Ross: America Falling Or World Rising
The United States’ influence is declining in the world, but there is at least one reason why Americans shouldn’t lament. It is not that the United States is falling behind but it is that the world is catching up. The weakening of America’s superiority may raise concern at home, but
Continue readingThe Scott Ross: Syria Isn’t About Syria
Bahrain and Syria both have repressive governments and both had uprisings in 2011, the United States and Saudi Arabia stopped one but are continuing the other, showing democracy and humanitarian concerns don’t shape foreign policy, national self-interest does. In February 2011 protesters took to the streets in Bahrain calling for
Continue readingThe Scott Ross: Nature’s Environment Is Man
Facing an unprecedented environmental crisis a world summit like no other was called. “We have to do something, we can’t let our environment just die.” A member of the Dirt delegation said with the driest of throats. Other representatives of the world’s nature lined the large circular table. Tree’s foreign
Continue readingThe Scott Ross: Symbolizing The Maple Leaf
Canada is the maple leaf, the United States of America is the stars, one is modest and pragmatic, the other is idealized and constant. National symbols are chosen to represent countries, but somehow countries cannot help but represent their national symbols. For the religious and industrious United States of America
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: Jailbreak – Bannu Pakistan Edition
Al Jazeera: “Hundreds of prisoners are believed to have escaped from a jail in northwest Pakistan after it was attacked by anti-government fighters armed with guns and rocket-propelled grenades. Some of those who escaped from the facility in the town of Bannu, in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, early on Sunday morning were “militants”,
Continue readingSaskboy's Abandoned Stuff: Diminished Honour is spelled Honor
F-35 $10B+ lie. Your polling station has been changed, lies. Your funding is ^NOT granted, lie. Canada is rapidly losing its honour (with a u). When our honour is diminished, we’ll have to spell it the American way, to indicate its smaller role in our national reputation. Has Canada Lost
Continue readingSaskboy's Abandoned Stuff: US Blocking UK Travel to Canada
This is completely outrageous. Better hope no one with your name ends up on the US No Fly list. This move makes the financial blockade against WikiLeaks, look like a simple administrative dispute.
Continue readingThe Scott Ross: The Road We’ve Traveled
The Road We’ve Traveled, isn’t just a new video released by the campaign to re-elect President Barack Obama, it’s a display of historic influence. The United States may have the largest army in the world, it may have the most nuclear weapons, but soldiers and bombs don’t win over hearts
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