The last time I'd tried Google's 411 service, it was only functioning in the US of A. I'm not sure when it started working in Canada, but it worked for me today!

It's a completely FREE service, which is a hell of a lot better than what the phone companies will offer you. And it seems to work a hell of a lot better than the 411 that Manitoba Telecom Services offers. And like I said, it doesn't cost anything, which is much nicer than paying a f*#%ing dollar just to get a phone number.

It's very simple. Dial 1-800-GOOG-411 and follow the voice prompts. You'll be connected to your desired connection within seconds. Give it a shot, it's brilliant. And did I mention it's free?

Labels: etc

I've always said that Computer Scientists will save the world. And along that line, I am not in the least surprised to read that therapists are using the Nintendo Wii for rehab (h/t).

We saw 77-year-old Jerry Pope getting a workout playing a virtual tennis game. He suffered a debilitating stroke in June. Pope said that the Wii has enabled him to regain his balance, and the use of his arms.

"Not only am I moving the hand, my feet are moving, I am jumping around, it is as if I am really playing the game. It is motivational, makes you feel like you are progressing, even if you are not and that helps you," he said.

Before his stroke, Pope was a semi-pro tennis player. He initially tried the traditional exercises recommended by physical therapists, but found them repetitive and boring.

He says the Wii is fun and it is helping him make progress. His therapists agree.

I had guessed that the Wii would make its first practical use in Phys. Ed. classes, to keep the brats in a more controlled environment with fewer weapons around.

Nintendo has also developed a pad that you stand on, which can detect most movements your body makes. Along those lines they are developing some really cool "games", like Yoga, and Soccer amongst other things.

Nintendo totally scooped the gaming console market with the Wii, which anybody will tell you is more fun than the Playstation 3 or Xbox 360. And with an unknown number of practical uses for it on the horizon, Sony and Microsoft had better watch out.

Labels: etc, golf, technology, video games

One of last weeks weirder stories was Nebraska State Senator Ernie Chambers lawsuit against God.

Angered by another lawsuit he considers frivolous, Chambers says he's trying to make the point that anybody can file a lawsuit against anybody.

Chambers says in his lawsuit God has made terroristic threats against the senator and his constituents, inspired fear and caused widespread death, destruction and terrorization of millions upon millions of the Earth's inhabitants.

The Omaha senator, who skips morning prayers during the legislative session and often criticizes Christians, also says God has caused fearsome floods, horrendous hurricanes and terrifying tornadoes.

He's seeking a permanent injunction against the Almighty.

Its a stupid waste of time, no doubt, even for a politician. But the real surprise is that God responded to the lawsuit.

One of two court filings from "God" came Wednesday under otherworldly circumstances, according to John Friend, clerk of the Douglas County District Court in Omaha.

"This one miraculously appeared on the counter. It just all of a sudden was here -- poof!" Friend said. [...]

His [God] response argues that the defendant is immune from some earthly laws and the court lacks jurisdiction.

It adds that blaming God for human oppression and suffering misses an important point.

"I created man and woman with free will and next to the promise of immortal life, free will is my greatest gift to you," according to the response, as read by Friend.

There was no contact information on the filing, although St. Michael the Archangel is listed as a witness, Friend said.

Since famed O.J. Simpson super-lawyer Johnny Cochran has passed on, it would come as no surprise to see him defend the Almighty. But it begs the question, do good lawyers go to heaven?

Labels: etc, God, lawsuits

Whoops:

CARACAS (Reuters) - A Venezuelan man who had been declared dead woke up in the morgue in excruciating pain after medical examiners began their autopsy.

Carlos Camejo, 33, was declared dead after a highway accident and taken to the morgue, where examiners began an autopsy only to realize something was amiss when he started bleeding. They quickly sought to stitch up the incision on his face.

"I woke up because the pain was unbearable," Camejo said, according to a report on Friday in leading local newspaper El Universal.

His grieving wife turned up at the morgue to identify her husband's body only to find him moved into a corridor -- and alive.

Reuters could not immediately reach hospital officials to confirm the events. But Camejo showed the newspaper his facial scar and a document ordering the autopsy.

Oh, Hugo. Thats a wonderful country you've got there. Dead until proven alive. I can just imagine the doctors who saw Camejo, poking him with a long pointy stick to test if he was alive. "The patient did not respond to poking, he simply MUST be dead. Send him to the morgue."

Labels: etc, Human Rights

As if the charges relating to dog-fighting weren't bad enough for Michael Vick. Now he's facing a lawsuit for $63 billion, filed by South Carolina convict Jonathan Lee Riches.

Riches alleges that Vick stole two white mixed pit bull dogs from his home in Holiday, Fla., and used them for dogfighting operations in Richmond, Va. The complaint goes on to allege that Vick sold the dogs on eBay and "used the proceeds to purchase missiles from the Iran government."

The complaint also alleges that Vick would need those missiles because he pledged allegiance to Al Qaeda in February of this year.

Who knew Al-Queda was purchasing weapons from Iran, through NFL stars with funding coming from underground dog-fighting operations? Perhaps this is a case of 'too strange to be true'.

Labels: etc, Iran, sports, Terrorism

They make a good point.

It looks like those alleged drunken drivers in Florida trying to get their hands on the source code to the breathalyzer that deemed them intoxicated may have been on to something, as the Minnesota Supreme Court has now granted just that to a defendant currently facing DUI charges in an unrelated case. According to CNET, the court ruled that CMI, makers of the Intoxilyzer 5000EN, must turn the breathalyzer's source code over to the defense attorneys, who said they needed it because "for all we know, it's a random number generator." Apparently, the case wound up focusing largely on whether the source code was actually owned by CMI or by the state, with the court ultimately siding with the latter camp, although not without a good deal of dispute. No word on a next move from either party, but we have a sneaking suspicion that it won't be too long before someone starts lobbying for the code to go open source.

It's a damn good argument. Why shouldn't the accused be able to scrutinize the source code of an electronic device that is essentially convicting him of a crime? Especially, when it's known that:

The request may actually have some merit, as Kentucky-based CMI, who manufactures the devices in question, has been accused of making uncertified changes to the machines, and has had to issue at least one recall in the past due to faulty software.

Labels: etc

Bizarre:

A South Korean tourist has filed a formal complaint against a monkey he says stole his reading glasses during his visit to the Hindu holy city of Varanasi in northern India.

Kim Dang Hoon says he opened his hotel room window for fresh air when the monkey made his move.

"He headed straight to the table where my glasses were kept and took it away," Kim said in the statement. [...]

On Tuesday, police combed Varanasi's alleys searching for the monkey.

"It is difficult to trace the monkey but I am trying my best to locate the rogue," investigating officer Inspector Govind Singh said from Varanasi, some 185 miles southeast of Lucknow.

Problems with monkeys harassing tourists in the city are common, Singh said.

"But we can't do anything. We cannot shoot them or beat them as Hindus worship monkeys," he said.

If they can't "shoot them or beat them", maybe an alternative would be to start jailing and fining monkeys.

Labels: etc

Here's yet another reason why Canada's schools suck.

King said he was threatened with police action by Principal Susan Wilson previously after making the case that marijuana was less harmful than alcohol.

"In my opinion, cannabis is safer than they say, it is not worse than alcohol or tobacco," said King, a 15-year-old Grade 10 student.

A curious student goes home and researches a subject in which he's interested. He then discusses his findings with friends at school.

This is how people learn. When you find something interesting, and you dig up all the information you can on the subject. When you find people with similar interests, you share opinions as a group and learn from each others experiences.

Except in Canada. If your facts aren't contained in an education-board prescribed text book that's fifty years old, your opinion not only carries no weight, it's deemed to be dangerous. Asking questions which are not answered in the prescribed reading is exactly how an individual gains greater knowledge of a subject. Any fool can remember that 1+1=2, but if the pupil doesn't ask "Why?", or "How?", then they really haven't learned a damn thing!

What kind of message does this send to kids in our schools? If you ask too many questions and start to think independantly (ie. not agreeing with the school board), you're sorry ass will get suspended, and you're life will be ruined.

Kieran King is no slacker. He's an honor student with all of his grades in the 80's and 90's. And damn lucky for him. Due to his suspension, he'll be forced to miss his final exams. Due to his excellent academic work he'll still be able to pass. And unfortunately his transcript will reflect his ability to think independently as a negative.

With a school system that penalizes students for "thinking outside the box", it's no surprise that:

Compared with other industrialized countries, Canada is sinking in a pool of mediocrity that threatens to pull down our standard of living, says a new report from the Conference Board of Canada. [...]

The report card's results "tell a story of governments, businesses and people punching below their weight," its authors say. Even though the country is rich in natural resources and its population well educated, "too often we trail the pack. The failure to innovate is a large part of the explanation for our mediocrity -- a mediocrity that is hampering what we can do and what we can be."

Labels: Canadian Justice, drugs, etc, Kieran King

At long last, Google has come to understand the importance of this blog! My life long dream of being Google's top top Natedawg has finally come true.

Since this blogs origins actually trace back to an experiment I was doing in regards to manipulating GoogleBot, I take great pride in finally achieving, well, whatever the hell it is I've achieved.

A Google search for "Natedawg" also turned up some rather interesting, and startlingly accurate information from Urban Dictionary:

1. Nate Dawg
used a a noun 'Natedawg' describes an individual who has dedicated his life to the pursuit of THC. His tolerance is off the scale and he cannot be smoked under the table. However, when certain levels of intoxication are achieved, dancing has been known to occur. Use at your own risk.

The Natedawg was so fucked up he started grooving in the middle of the movie theater.

2. Nate Dawg
-Anyone who sets a standard for inebriation without sacrificing the ability to take care of one's responsibilities, to the extent that the responsibilities do not take away from said standard of inebriation.
-Someone that aspires to lay on a beach and smoke doobs for an occupation.

"Damn, if we were all as smashed as Nate Dawg last night, half of us wouldn't be alive."

If smokin' "doobs" was an occupation, I would enroll at that ivy league community college in a heart beat.

Labels: etc, Google

Books! I love 'em, but rarely have/find the time to read them. I finally finished Mark Steyn's Head to Toe, which had been sitting on my night stand for QUITE... SOME... TIME. I love Steyn, don't so much like his books made up of old random columns, only because the theme tends to get lost.

This week the University of Michigan Press offered me a free read, so I gladly obliged. The book is called "Private Guns, Public Health" by David Hemenway.

My first reaction was obvious: here's another ivory tower university professor type telling us a lot of reasons to ban guns. But apparently, it's not so.

I have yet to have a chance to open the book, but while 'about the town' tonight, I actually heard from some other people who'd read the book. It seemed that no matter their political disposition, the reader had enjoyed the book, and most agreed with Hemenway's ideas.

So, my aim is to finish reading this book in two weeks (thats a high bar for me). I will review the book upon completion. And I will also be doing up a review of Mark Steyn's "From Head to Toe". Book Reviews... I hated them in high school, and now I'm doing them for fun! Who'da thunk it?

Labels: David Hemenway, etc, Guns, Private Guns Public Health

News site WinnipegFIRST.ca announced today that they are suspending operations.

From the sounds of things the ad revenue just wasn't there to keep such a large staff. The site and content will apparently remain online however.

This turn of events really is unfortunate. The site hadn't been around long, but the content that they have posted has been excellent. Not only do they have better local news content online than any other source, they were always the fastest to post breaking news.

I suspect that John White will find the funding he needs in short order. The idea is great, the site is fantastic, and the content is the best in Winnipeg. If anybody knows any potential investors and/or advertisers they should contact John White.

Labels: etc

Today is the annual day when uneducated fools decide not to fill up their gas tanks for 24 hours, trying to send some kind of a message to Big Oil. Unfortunately, gas usage over this week will not see any change. As with most leftist causes, it has plenty of emtion, but lacks any substance.

The theory goes that if nobody buys gas on May 15th, oil companies are going to suffer significant losses. The problem is that the drop in demand today will be offset by a spike in demand yesterday, by those who were well prepared; and tomorrow when everybody else rushes to the gas station. The same amount of gas is used, it's just on different days.

Another reason not to "gas out", is that those who are hurt the most aren't the big gas companies, but the people who run independant gas stations. My buddy used to operate a gas station, and on slow days only he suffered.

So fill up your car guilt free today, cause it ain't gonna change anything.

Labels: etc

Well, it's about damn time I made the page wider. I was under the assumption that a significant portion of the population still used a screen resolution of 800x600. I took a look at my Google Analytics stats, and it turns out that only 15% of readers have a screen resolution lower than 1024x768... so the switch to the wider page has been made.

The wider page should allow me to be a little more creative with the content I post here, since the slim column before didn't leave me a lot of room to work with.

Also, I plan on implementing a "share on facebook" link for each post, technorati links, along with a revamped banner(s) and general clean up of the page since I feel it's getting a little crowded.

Feedback on the changes would be much appreciated.

Labels: etc

Did anybody not see this coming?

Venezuela stripped the world's biggest oil companies of operational control over massive Orinoco Belt crude projects on Tuesday, a vital move in President Hugo Chavez's nationalization drive. [...]

The four projects are valued at more than $30 billion and can convert about 600,000 barrels per day (bpd) of heavy, tarry crude into valuable synthetic oil. [...]

"Open investment will never return," he [Chavez] said on Monday to thousands of cheering workers dressed in the signature red of his self-styled leftist revolution at a rally for workers rights.

"We are sealing up that open investment era and burying it deep down in the Orinoco oil reserve," he added. [...]

Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez has said there may not be compensation in some cases and that Venezuela will only consider agreements on the booked value of the projects rather than their much larger current net worth. [...]

Industry analysts fear Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA could ultimately run into production and safety problems when it loses the management and technology of the experienced majors.

It's just a matter of time until they start digging mass graves in Venezuela. And to ensure that Venezuela has to go it alone when their economy collapses, Chavez announced that Venezuela will be pulling out from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

On the bright side, Hugo Chavez's bestest buddy Fidel Castro missed the annual International Workers' Day parade in Cuba due to health issues. The clock is ticking.

Labels: Dead Dictators, etc, politics, Wish You Were Dead

Rockets start flying over Israel... again.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Wednesday authorized the army to carry out limited operations in the Gaza Strip, but ruled out a large-scale ground offensive in response to a new round of rocket attacks, Israeli officials said. [...]

On Tuesday, the Islamic militant group said its members fired 41 rockets and 54 mortar shells in response to Israeli raids.

How much longer until Hezbollah gets involved is anyone's guess.

Labels: etc, Hezbollah, Israel

The Copyright Royalty Board in Washington, DC upheld a ruling yesterday that will virtually be the end of internet-radio broadcasting.

The board decided on new fee rates for online broadcasters. The new fee schedule will increase the costs to streaming radio stations from 300% - 1200% according to SaveNetRadio.org. The old fee structure was based on a percentage of revenues a site generated. The new structure demands a streamer pay a fee for each song listened to by each user.

Personally, I use Pandora all the time to listen to tunes. It's a fantastic website, and a fantastic idea... but it's as good as dead now. The only alternative now would seem to be websites like Torrent Spy, ISO Hunt, BitTorrent, Torrent Reactor, and uTorrent.

The recording industry is thinking completely backwards here. The RIAA does nothing but gripe about loss of sales. But at the same time, they're trying to opt out of the greatest marketing vehicle in the world - the internet. There is no doubt that this decision will decrease record sales for the RIAA, decrease royalties received by the RIAA, as well as increase music piracy on the internet.

Labels: etc

Thirty-three people were tragically murdered today at Virginia Tech in one of the worst mass-shooting sprees in recent American history.

Police are not releasing much information yet. What is known is that the shooter took his own life. Two of the fatalities happened in a dorm room two hours before the other incident happened. It's unknown how many people were injured. The shooter can not yet be identified, because he had no ID and shot himself in the face.

As expected, the terrible incident raises the debate in Canada about the long-gun registry. The tragic incident comes days after the Stephen Harper government confirmed an extension of the long-gun registry deadline.

An interesting comment came from NDP Whip Yvon Godin on Mike Duffy Live this afternoon. Godin pointed out, correctly, that this deranged maniac could have just as easily driven a car 100mph through the campus and killed just as many people, but that doesn't mean we'd ban cars.

The reason that school shootings resonate so strongly with the public, is because for 99% of us school is/was a pretty safe place. The worst fears most people have when they go to school is getting a bloody nose from a bully.

Labels: etc

Thomas Walkom writes today about "Another 9/11 Victim".

The way Walkom tells the story, Benamar Benatta was victimized by our government because he was deported to the US after 9/11 and detained for five years, even though it turns out he has no ties to terrorism.

Benatta's background makes it a little clearer why he was detained for as long as he was; he threw up a tonne of red flags. Benatta came to the U.S. in 2000 while on a military training assignment for the Algerian Air Force, of which Benatta was an 8 year veteran. The U.S. assisted Algeria in military matters because the government was allied with the Algerian government against the opposition Islamic party. Benatta unfortunately, being a Muslim, didn't seem to appreciate all the years of fighting his own people.

In April 2001, while in the U.S. for training, Benatta defected from his Army, and jumped a bus from Baltimore to New York. Benatta spent the next five months in New York, where his visa expired. Sometime while in New York, Benatta decided to try to get political asylum in Canada, and purchased faked identification.

On September 5, 2001, Benatta showed up at the Canadian border seeking asylum - but using his fake papers. He was detained at the border until an investigation could confirm his real identity.

On September 12, 2001, some unknown Canadian immigration official decided it was best to deport Benatta back to the U.S. based on the following evidence:

• Benatta resented his own government and the U.S. for the treatment of Muslims by his government.


• Benatta had on his person while trying to enter Canada, pictures of both the World Trade Center and the White House.


• Benatta was using a false identity to enter Canada.


• Benatta is a flight engineer and former Air Force Lt.


• Benatta had been living illegally in the U.S.


• Benatta is a Muslim from the middle-east

Of course, the most damaging circumstantial evidence came on September 11, when 19 Muslims of middle-eastern descent, who had received flight training in the United States, crashed two airliners into the World Trade Center, one into the Pentagon, and the fourth was suspected to have been targeting the White House.

Benatta's story is tragic for sure. But it's not Canada's job to protect every single foreigner who shows up at our border, especially when they're trying to lie their way into our country.

Ironically, since Benatta was released by the U.S. Canada has granted him temporary resident status to pursue his status as a refugee. Which are hardly the actions of an irrational racist government. Benatta was a victim of circumstance, nothing more.

Labels: etc, Terrorism

I'm not sure how I missed this. Winnipeg Sun columnist Tom Brodbeck now has a blog.

The page is company-sanctioned, so I won't be expecting it to be much different than his usual column. The timing is also interesting, seeing as there is an election writ just waiting to be dropped, and Tom is no fan of the NDP.

Labels: etc, Manitoba, NDP

An interesting video on the Pakistani gun-market (h/t Dust My Broom.
Clearly, the Taliban won't be running out of weapons any time soon. More reason to kill 'em. More means to kill each other.

At least 40 people have been killed and more than 70 wounded in clashes between Sunni and Shia Muslims in north-western Pakistan, a senior security official said.

Labels: Afghanistan, etc, Guns, YouTube

This week has been taking its toll on me, and it's early in the week. Something that I haven't mentioned in this space yet, is that I lost my summer job a couple of weeks ago. So, being the hard-working, and only bill-paying member of this household, Natedawg has soldiered on - but this week has been lousy.

Mere days after losing my last job, my uncle Bob was kind enough to offer me a job. Seeing as the rent was due, amongst a plethora of other bills, it seemed like a great idea at the time, so I accepted. The only two downsides of the new job are; having to work with my cousin, and the one-hour commute out of the city. But since I don't believe in global warming, it's only a logistical problem, not a moral problem. So if anybody wants to inform me of employment opportunities, I will be listening.

Bovine, the stray cat has also been ill this week. I've never seen a cat with a cold before, but this is one for the story books. The poor little guy has actually had a runny nose all week, which is totally weird. He's been sneezing all week, and actually blowing snot anywhere he goes. He's even lost a bit of his facial fur from sleeping in a pool of his own snot. Live and learn I suppose.

Enjoy Easter, while I'm busy trying to trick my cat into eating vitamin C. And on that note, a hilarious Easter joke from West Coast Chaos.Hahahaha! PETA can go suck an egg!

Labels: etc, Real Life

Saudi Arabia has developed a rehab program for Al-Queda terrorists.

Each of those on the Saudi rehabilitation course once stood accused of involvement in domestic or international terrorism, usually linked to al-Qa'eda. Abu Suleiman's own rehabilitation included talks with religious scholars about Muslim doctrine. The Koran, they pointed out, prohibited the killing of citizens regardless of their religion.

In addition, psychologists helped him overcome the trauma inflicted by his time as a "jihadist" and by his four years in Guantanamo.

Finally, last year, the authorities gave him his freedom, a job and a car. And when he married last month, a representative of Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, the minister who began the programme, attended the ceremony.

I'd like to think that these guys have been de-radicalized, but part of me suspects they're only in it for the job and the car; one word from Osama bin Laden, and I fear they'd fall off the wagon (or is it on the wagon?).

Labels: etc, Treason

The Hack will be live-blogging something Monday at noon central. He's been hyping it up for a week, but at no point has he indicated where or what the event is.

Also, The Hack points out this great story.

Standing on an armoured vehicle in the desert sun, a Canadian flag flapping on a radio antenna overhead, Ottawa Senators owner Eugene Melnyk handed out $50,000 worth of hockey gear to soldiers to show his support for their efforts in Afghanistan. [...]

Melnyk also had some new gear for the American players, including New York Rangers and Washington Capitals jerseys.

Canada won the game 9-0.

Labels: Afghanistan, etc

The following letter was printed in today's Winnipeg Sun.

Museum boycott urged

I am a Second World War veteran who is insulted by the wording of the plaque at the new War Museum in Ottawa. The plaque reads as follows:

"Mass bomber raids against Germany resulted in vast destruction and heavy loss of life. The value and morality of the strategic bomber offensive against Germany remains bitterly contested. Bomber Command's aim was to crush civilian morale and force Germany to surrender by destroying its cities and industrial installations. Although Bomber Command and American attacks left 600,000 Germans dead, and more than five million homeless, the raids resulted in only small reductions in German war production until late in the war."

Like many other young men of that era, I joined the RCAF when I was 19. On graduation, as a Pilot Officer, Wireless Air Gunner, I was posted overseas, where after more extensive training I was posted to 425 Squadron with my crew and did our operations over Germany in the spring of 1945.

I disagree with the implication that we went specifically to destroy their cities. Our targets were: marshalling yards; harbour installations; U-Boat harbour installations; coastal batteries; close air army support; targets in the Ruhr Valley. Never were we briefed to indiscriminately bomb a city without being given a specific strategic target. To me, the wording in this plaque insinuates that I am a criminal and deliberately went out and bombed German civilians. Remember that we were at war, defending our country from a demented dictator (Hitler) and that we were fighting for survival.

I was in London the first night the Germans sent their V1 "Buzz Bombs." To me, this was indiscriminate bombing of civilians. These were pilotless drones (loaded with explosives) that fell anywhere over London, when they ran out of fuel. The same logic applies to the V2s.

My wife and I often go to Ottawa to visit her sister and her family and although I would love to visit the museum again, I do not plan to do so as long as that plaque is there. I would encourage all WW2 veterans to boycott the museum until this plaque is removed.

E.J. Chenier CD

Flight Lieutenant (Ret'd)

Winnipeg

The wording of the plaque definitely is far from flattering. Why do we in this country always vilify our soldiers? The plaque should tell a story of bravery and determination by our soldiers.

Labels: etc

Well, I started off April fools day feeling foolish. National Newswatch is headlining a CTV article that Ben Mulroney will run for the Conservatives in Papineau, the same riding being sought by Justin Trudeau. I was writing up a post on it, when I noticed the date and realized I'd been duped! I'll admit that I was salivating slightly at the prospect of a Trudeau-Mulroney contest.

Remember dear readers, don't trust anyone today. It's likely that the blogosphere is going to erupt with a hoard of lies and slander today. I gotta give Newswatch credit though, its a beautiful fake!

Labels: etc, Funny

Rosie O'Donnell: America-hating conspiracy bitch (h/t).
Rosie thinks the situation with British soldiers in Iran was staged by the British and US as a pretext for war.

If the West wanted a war with Iran, it would be done. The Iranian nuclear program would be all the pretext needed. Along with the constant threats to Israel, meddling in Iraq, destabilizing Lebanon, and supporting Hamas; there are plenty of good reasons to attack Iran. Also, Britain has provided evidence proving that the British ship was in Iraqi waters when it was ambushed. Yet Rosie takes sides with the genocidal Iranian regime.

She claims that America is brainwashed by a media conspiracy. Yet if you read a newspaper in Britain, Canada, The Netherlands, Germany, France, any country with a free press, and the news will remain the same. While opinions may differ, the facts remain the same. Rosie would rather get her news from state-controlled sources, while at the same time dismissing every word from George W. Bush's mouth out of hand as a lie.

Rosie thinks that all Americans are bigots and have "dehumanized" the people of the middle east. Yet America has lost thousands of troops in an attempt to make the middle east a better place by overthrowing tyrannical regime's like Saddam's and the Taliban. Even the media, which she disregards as an American propaganda machine, on a daily basis vilifies American troops and broadcasts propaganda disseminated from known terror organizations.

Meanwhile, she defends the Iranian regime; the same regime that stages rallies where thousands fill public squares to chant "Death to America". The regime that sentences women to death for being raped. The regime that proudly performs public executions. The regime that parades American and British soldiers, both dead and alive, on international television for propaganda purposes. The genocidal regimes of the middle east do more to dehumanize their people than America could in a hundred years.

She thinks the War on Terror is nothing but propaganda. She implies that the US government played a part in the attacks, propagating the conspiracy theory about building WTC 7, regardless of the fact that every argument she makes has been thoroughly refuted.

Rosie's lack of information in this rant is proof that she hates America. Any person who'd bash their own country to the benefit of an enemy, while promoting lies and enemy propaganda, clearly is not a patriot. I for one will be boycotting ABC until Rosie is fired, or the CIA covertly throws her sorry America-hating ass into Guantanamo.

Labels: Britain, etc, Wish You Were Dead

Labels: etc, YouTube

Hypocrisy is a trait that most people embody, some more than others. The rapper Eminem is on the "more" side of that scale.

The motion seeks to prohibit Kim Mathers from making "derogatory, disparaging, inflammatory and otherwise negative comments" about him in public, because, the motion claims, her comments would harm Hailie.

The funny thing is, that Eminem has built his entire career on making derogatory, disparaging, and inflammatory comments about his wife Kim - though he does it in song. Though he's never really written a song, he steals beats and melodies from creative artists, and then raps his slander to catchy beat.

All of this comes in response to Kim Mathers' comments on public radio about Eminem.

"I can't stand him. He's an absolutely horrible person, and he gets worse every day," [....]

"I vomit in my mouth whenever I'm around him or I hear his name. There's nothing left in me for him. Nothing at all." [...]

She categorized sex with her twice ex-husband as "bad," and said "he's not very well endowed." She added, "If you're going to have sex with Marshall, make sure you have a little blue pill, because otherwise it does not work."

And just to throw a little politics into the story, and to give a Liberal some props (I like to do that once in a while, just for show... and yes, this exemplifies my own hypocries).

Michael Bryant, a Liberal member of the provincial government, has called for the MTV and Grammy-award winning musician to be turned back at the border.

"In Canada, we have laws that say expression which causes harm may not be protected under our constitution and may result in criminal sanction," he said.

Now the stupid thing about the situation (back to trashing Liberals, kinda) is that Kim has every damn right to say what she's said. And Eminem has every damn right to sing shitty songs about his bitch of a wife. The tragedy is that every time either of them opens their mouth they harm their daughter.

The smart thing is that everytime these idiots sue each other they get a few column-inches. And as such they get more publicity, and get a little richer. And in promoting it, I am being hypocritical too.

Labels: etc

Since the weather is starting to turn seasons, I'm attacking my apartment in a cleaning offensive unlike anything this apartment has ever seen.

Much like the Taliban have their "Feared Taliban Spring Offensive", I have a March tradition, the "Feared Natedawgian Spring Cleaning". And believe me, it is terrifying.

The differences between Spring Cleaning and Spring Offensives are subtle. The Taliban get a little "frisky" around this time of year, and get a hankering for their allotted seventy-two virgins in the great hereafter. Spring Cleaning also, is all about the ladies; though I prefer my ladies to be in this life, and I don't mind a girl with a bit of experience either.

Every good campaign needs an effective propaganda machine to pull the wool over the enemies eyes. My propaganda machine will be employing this technique from Lifehacker.

Back in my bachelor days, I lived on my own for a while. I hated doing dishes; however, I enjoyed eating off of plates. At some point, I realized that plates were merely platforms to hold food. I got the idea to place plastic wrap over plates or any other hard surface to recreate a clean plate. So, if you don't want to do the dishes any more, get some microwaveable plastic wrap and place it over your plate. When you're done eating, throw out or recycle your plastic wrap.

Battle updates may or may not be available in the comments.

Labels: Afghanistan, etc

The jury has finally delivered it's verdict in Scooter Libby trial. He's been convicted on 4 of 5 charges. That's bad news.

This is an abomination of justice in my humble opinion. He was not the one who committed the "crime". It turns out that there wasn't even a crime! I think the President should pardon him as soon as possible.

So Joe Wilson and his wife can go suck an egg now. And "Fitz" can focus his attention on his other show-trial against Conrad Black.

Labels: etc, politics

At the end of the 4th hour, Jack had killed his long time partner Curtis to protect an informant. Doing this caused Jack to have a bit of a melt-down, and decided to "get out of the game".

Of course, just moments later the nuclear bomb went of in L.A., and Jack was right back at it.

Even though Jack didn't kill anybody in episode 5, it was interesting nonetheless. We have the surprise return of a character from last season. It turns out that the "bad guy" who was giving President Logan his marching orders last season, is in fact, Jack Bauer's brother Graham Bauer.

I had previously assumed that Jack had killed off his entire family, for the good of the country of course. But apparently not! Not only does it appear that Jack's own brother is aiding the terrorists, but Jack is also torturing him after not having been in contact since Jack's wife died. So much for "Long time, no see."

Of course we're now also left waiting to meet Jack's father. It's been nine years since they've had a "falling out" (I can only imagine what could have caused that), but his father is now linked to the Islamic terrorists who are holding America hostage.

Next week, I'm looking forward to see if Jack kills Graham or not. As this episode ends, Jack has a plastic bag wrapped around Grahams head, and doesn't appear to be letting go anytime soon.

Labels: 24, etc

I'll have to admit up front that 24 is my favorite show on television. In fact, next to the NHL its probably the only thing I watch on TV.

First of all getting Kumar to play a terrorist, I just wasn't buying it. I kept expecting him to say "fuck it, lets go to White Castle", but instead he's dead.

Jack shooting Curtis in the throat, wow! I'm not surprised Jack shot him, but I am surprised Jack killed him. Jack's gonna have to find a new wing-man.

President Wayne Palmer isn't too convincing. It's quite a character swing from being his brothers pragmatic advisor, to being a tough talking President. It's also interesting that they brought in the Palmers' little sister. Maybe she'll be President in a future season (a black, female President... the real life Democrats would be jealous).

And of course, the Nuke! Wow, I didn't see that coming, at least not so early in the season. I think it'll be exactly the reminder that Jack needs to regain his stomach and get back in the fight.

Either way, since they've already blown a Nuke in L.A., it should be interesting what the rest of plot has to offer. We know from experience that the folks at 24 always continue to crank it up.

Labels: 24, etc