Silent Extinction

Don't get me wrong, I signed the petition, but it's still fucked up that because people don't care enough to look into other people's situations in the Western World, they care more to act for animal rights than human rights:

In case it isn't clear, the email's subject line is "Silent Extinction".

Need we remind people that unarmed Black men are still getting shot daily by police in the U.S.?

That the sub-language and dialect of Paw-Paw (or "Missouri French") is in its last decade of existence in front of our very eyes?

Oh, speaking of French, that 6.5 million people in Québec are another generation away from losing a language they had kept alive for over 400 years because so-called Federalists' cuts in the education system have rendered those under the age of 25 unable to fucking spell and write their own fucking language?

On the daily, we are watching governments or government employees decide or participate in the silent genocide of people who have one thing in common: they are members of a community that is decidedly poorer than the ruling class of white Anglo-Saxons.

But let's save giraffes, or send whatever means of help to Congo, or start wars with Middle-Eastern countries, or threaten China with economic sanctions, or lift those with Russia. And let's keep having the media depict Cuba as a power-hungry dictatorship instead of a complete systemic overhaul that overthrew racism and corruption and is one detail away (an embargo from the world's largest exporter of goods) from thriving.

Yep, makes sense. White, Anglo-Saxon, imperialistic sense.

United Nations Fire Wonder Woman

Here's a chain of stupidity:

It starts with the United Nations voting on a new Secretary General and electing António Guterres of Portugal to the position. This enraged some people of the "what about us" crowd, of course. You see, it had been noted that the U.N. had never - in the nine times the role had been appointed previously - chosen either a woman or an Eastern European.

Indeed, here are the past Secretaries-General:

Gladwyn Jebb, U.K. (Western Europe), 1945-1946.
Trygve Lie, Norway (Scandinavia), 1946-1952.
Dag Hammarskjöld, Sweden (Scandinavia), 1953-1961.
U Thant, Burma (Asia-Pacific), 1961-1971.
Kurt Waldheim, Austria (Western Europe), 1972-1981.
Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, Peru (South America), 1982-1991.
Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Egypt (Africa), 1992-1996.
Kofi Annan, Ghana (Africa), 1997-2006.
Ban Ki-moon, South Korea (Asia-Pacific), 2007-2016.

So, uh, if we're going by "everyone should have a turn", it's missing members of the LGBT community, the Caribbean, and a North American. Also, of nations with Independence Movements in their midst: Canada (Québec), Spain (Catalonia), Russia (Chechnya), or even Czechoslovakia (Slovakia) pre-Annan.

Now, of that list, Jebb can be taken off because his term was merely the inception of the brand, he was there until someone else was officially appointed, which means no one from the G-7, G-8 or G-20 had ever held the position before Ban Ki-moon, and even then, when he took the position, the G-20 did not actually exist - the G8 stood as the world's economic summit until 2009, when it was deemed smarter to include emerging countries to the list.

Just to recap, the G-20 encompasses: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States and the European Union, which was founded/conceptualized in 1993 but only got its traction and recognition when it was decided in 1999 that it would have its own currency, the Euro, effective in 2002.

So, in summation: there was outrage that out of eight (8) elected appointees in history, two groups out of possibly five or more had never held the position. One said group represents half the population of the planet, while the other one has had a pretty harsh 20th century and likely deserves a shot of optimism.

But not thinking it through, the U.N. bowed to a relatively low amount of pressure and instituted, for their 2016 selection, public nominations. Five candidates emerged: two men from Eastern Europe (Vuk Jeremić from Serbia and Miroslav Lajčák from Slovakia, who ran on the "zero tolerance policy on sexual violence and abuse by peacekeepers against civilian populations is a must; such violations must be fully investigated and perpetrators brought to justice" platform) and two women (Irina Bokova of Bulgaria, and Helen Clark of New Zealand), in addition to Guterres.

And though technically, Bulgaria is in Eastern Europe, the Southeastern part is often seen as having had less suffering than, say, Serbia or Poland. Of course, the four "minority" options split the vote and Guterres won.

Guterres, by the way, is highly qualified. He was the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees between 2005 and 2015, Prime Minister of his country (which doesn't have a poor Human Rights record of late) from 1995 to 2002 and President of Socialist-International from 1999 until 2005; we're talking about a guy who has always been about equality, rights, and protecting the little guy.

Again, of course, there was outrage. Limited, Twitter-storm-type outrage, but still, some angry voices were heard, and the U.N. created a new position, that of "honorary ambassador for the empowerment of women and girls". Instead of appointing one of Clark or Bokova, or German chancellor Angela Merkel, Hillary Clinton, Françoise David, Madonna, Kathie Sarachild, Shamima Shaikh, Annie Sprinkle, Oprah Winfrey, Geena Davis, Naomi Wolf or even the actresses who famously played the part - Lynda Carter and Gal Gadot - the U.N. chose to name the character Wonder Woman to the position.

It wasn't wrong per se: famous feminist publisher Gloria Steinem had put the character on the front page of Ms. magazine in 1971. "She" is a powerful, strong-willed character who would never back down from a fight or a challenge, yet she is also a diplomat who would rather negotiate than wield her power, a lover of peace who strives to never escalate a conflict because she wants to give her opponents a chance; if a conflict does arise, she will prevail - with the utmost authority. You know, like the fucking U.N. is supposed to.

But hey, an online petition was started by a bunch of fucking idiots and the idea was canned, because she "dresses too sexily", among other reasons. That's right: the U.N.'s "honorary ambassador for the empowerment of women and girls" - a fictitious character - was fired because of how she chooses to dress. I'm guessing it's suits like this one that led to one person being shocked enough to start the petition:

Which conveniently forgets that she has also been drawn as follows by Jim Lee, the guy who made all five of these drawings:

Wonder Woman is an Amazon Princess, a warrior, and a diplomat; she's Pocahontas, Mulan and Angela Merkel all rolled into one, when most other characters in her medium are one-dimensional.

Some people - particularly on the left side of the political spectrum, the one I identify with the most - just don't know how to pick their fights. That's why we can't have nice things, because everything has to be so fucking watered-down that it doesn't mean anything anymore, making sure no one gets offended by any of it (which is impossible for anything of substance), and no victory but the ultimate one (well, the translucent and aseptic victory devoid of taste, anyway) is ever good enough. The same short-sighted fuckers who want to fight for everyone's equal rights one minority at a time instead of the more efficient FOR ALL at once.

Open Letter To Men

Guys. Dicks, obviously.

Those who act like dicks, anyway. We're fed up with your shit. And by we, sure, I can easily mean the 85% of the population that isn't you. But I mean ''we'' more specifically as well, as in ''those of us men who aren't fucking assholes''.

I'm not an idiot. I know places like 4chan are just a haven for dumb bullying, bravado, and one-upping one another on the ''hardest'' shit one can come up with, and most of it is posturing and done in ''trolling good fun''.

Most people do.

Did.

What the fuck, man?

Do you really need to cross the line every fucking time? You do realize that by doing that, while you're masturbating in your parents' basements about making girls cry or whatever it is that turns you on in that shit, you're lumping the rest of us in your stupidity?

When the story about a girl getting into a fight with a guy who was too drunk and horny and didn't take ''no'' for an answer at my favourite bar (Casa Del Popolo) broke last week, I tried telling people to take a deep breath, assess the situation, not lump all their shit together into one, too easy issue, especially when some of them were making associations with Roosh V being in town recently and linking them, as if a drunk person needed inspiration to be rowdy and out of bounds and/or antagonizers needed inspiration for their bullshit.

The girl's speech was bordering too much on the ''all guys are assholes'' terrain, reminiscent of shitty after-school specials where a guy would typically become a racist and hate all black people because of one asshole who probably deservedly stole his girlfriend. Or whatever - you know the cliché.

But you fucking fuckers.

You motherfucking cock-brained idiots had to go and add fuel to the fucking fire.

And now you've got her pissed off, blind with rage and disappointment in mankind, and she has a fucking platform and people's attention to say things like:

''We do need to look at the comments. They are representative of the darkest corners of humanity that exist beyond the internet. People need to know this is real. These are real people walking around in our daily lives; the guy sitting next to you on the metro, the person you call for your internet tech support, the branch manager at your bank. It could be that cute boy you have a crush on in your class, or that self-proclaimed “nice guy” you just started dating. These are real people typing these things on their keyboards and they represent our real-life problems regarding violence against women.''

And it doesn't come from a bad place. She's wrong to lump all of us with you assholes, and hopefully she will see that in time - but you brought it on us. And in the meantime, that's a message that's getting attention. That's going to fuck the world we all (men, women, boys, girls, whatever lies in between and encompasses both) live in for a little while, because you fuckers couldn't stop yourselves from piling it on ON A FUCKING KID.

Okay, now to the rest of us who aren't worse than cancer and AIDS put together:

I've said it before and I'll say it again: at this point, I'm not certain our society can be repaired and sort itself out the way it is. If tomorrow, everyone had the same rights, same wages for the same jobs, same advantages, no more race or gender or anything, it wouldn't be enough because many feel they've been wronged for too long that equality isn't enough. And I don't blame them, though that'll be the subject of another - probably much longer - post. But the solution lies with starting anew. New or no borders, new or no systems, new or no laws. Simplification, not more loopholes: don't mess with others or their shit.

In the grand scheme of things, many have been wronged and most Peoples are a victim of something, of someone, at least in their narrative. Except probably the British and their direct descendants.

In the girl's fight last week, she witnessed a guy hitting on too many women, then herself, and concluded he was a ''pick-up artist'' and decided he deserved to have a drink poured on him to make him stop. She still feels this was fair punishment, while I tend to want to use the same weapons for attack as defense, that's fine, it didn't harm anyone physically and got her point across.

He then allegedly choked her, after which she broke a pint of beer (glass) over his head, making him bleed profusely.

I feel this escalated way too quickly, for one, and the dude did, indeed go way overboard by initiating physical contact, and she slit his head open, which is deserved retaliation at this point.

This was a fight.

I wasn't there, but from those details, which are from her exact deposition and account of the event, that's all it was. A disagreement that turned physical, because a guy went overboard and a girl reacted.

Grand scheme of things? Misogyny? I don't see it. I see a system that isn't working for women, that isn't equal though it's written to be, I see more men with loud voices getting their message(s) across than women and some of them do not treat women with respect (though I see - slow - progress in pop culture diversification though much of it seems contrived and doesn't necessarily always fit the proper narrative); we're in a ''freedom of speech'' society where, if it's done within certain boundaries and not inciting to behaviour, this is acceptable - BOTH WAYS. Person A can be an ass, Person B can call them out for it. Person A is allowed to think a certain way, Person B is allowed to fully disagree.

We do need to grow the fuck up as a species. Not just be civilized, that's a given - and shit, when some people are, it's so rare nowadays that it makes the fucking news -  but also, get rid of our persecution complex.

We're in 2015. You are bigger than your skin colour, your race, your sexual orientation, your gender, your preferences, your tastes. YOU HAVE AN IDENTITY. YOU ARE ONE. You do not need to represent anyone other than yourself, we're aware of most of what's out there, we're fine with it, count your vote as your own.

I may love you for who you are; why can't I hate you for who you are?

Do you know WHY 4chan fuckers say the things they say? Because they know words can destroy you, when, really, they shouldn't. LOOK IN THE MIRROR AND ASK YOURSELF WHO YOU ARE. When in doubt, ask folks around you. What defines you?

If something that can come out of someone with Tourette's mouth can ruin your day, you're fucked.

You're allowed to have off days, days where the slightest thing will break you down, yes; but you can't be like that every day. You need to rise and stand up so we can rise with you. Life isn't an individual sport, it's a team fucking effort, and in it, we're allowed to have as many teammates as we want or need. You don't have to choose to reject everyone for a few fuckers, and you shouldn't live your life with the fear or impression that they lurk underneath the skin of everyone you meet; you'll only be hurting yourself and stopping yourself from fucking feeling things, and if you can't feel a thing, what's the point in being alive?

You defended yourself when he was choking you, didn't you? Ergo, you had a will to live, and a will to fight for what seemed right. Come back on the team, or let us join yours.

Trust me, there are bigger canyons to cross ahead - like the one where even really good people make really bad fucking mistakes once in a while. Not every murderer is a criminal, and not every criminal is a ''bad'' person. And few of the most clean-cut are as perfect as they seem. Again, regardless of gender, race, religion or tolerance to lactose.

Chickenshit Fil-A

There's a petition making the rounds in Canada these days about/against Chick-Fil-A opening its first Canadian branch inside the Calgary airport, and people want to stop them.

A letter is not going to stop them.

A letter shows how fucking weak their opposition is. A petition shows them how hundreds of thousands of anonymous nobodies may or may not (but would prefer not to have the option to) frequent their establishments.

We're talking about a company whose owner donated two million dollars to anti-gay groups in the U.S. to try to stop homosexuals from having the right to marry, something that doesn't sit well with a majority of Canadians (though you could argue the best place to start a franchise is in Calgary).

What the petition does is give Chick-Fil-A free publicity. I had no idea they were coming - and probably neither did most Canadians.

What should have happened is people physically going there and protesting the store, warning its patrons as to where their food money might be going (again, perhaps not as efficient in Alberta as anywhere else in Canada); the only petition worth writing is one demanding for a competing chain right in front of Chick-Fil-A's, to have the option to spend our money where our allegiances lie - and to show them right in their face that we do have money to spend, and are choosing to spend it elsewhere.

If you don't agree with someone who is as powerful and determined as their CEO Dan T. Cathy, who is aggressive in taking action, the only way to fight him is to bring him down, and stop him from having money in the first place - make him go bankrupt, buy elsewhere. Don't send him letters and petitions that he can frame and masturbate to when he's tired of fucking human rights in the ass.

Sochi, Day One

I guess we know, now...

It was the opening ceremonies at the Sochi Olympic and, perhaps because of Russia's anti-gay-propaganda law, the top-right ring of the Olympic logo refused to come out, by fear of getting arrested and/or beaten.

Karma or terrorism/activism?

The Thing About Russians (Very Brief History)

At the bottom of their heart, one-on-one, people of earth all pretty much all the same. Their opinions may differ, but there's a way to hold a conversation with anyone, on almost any topic. The differences come not from DNA per se, and especially not skin colour or language, but mostly how they're raised, in their family and peoples' historical context.

That being said, Russians are a different breed. Made tough by 75 years of what we in the West have deemed a ''communist regime'' (though actually pretty far removed from Marxism and actually more of a cross between a monarchy, centralism, totalitarianism, and what I call absolutionism - the government also being the main employer and corporation) in which civilians mostly had to take shit all the time and just continue on with their lives in a more-than-military fashion or risk prison/expulsion to work camps mixed with almost-extreme poverty, they are fearless, and seemingly impervious to pain. And nothing rattles them.

Case in point:







Yeah, it's almost like those redneck videos and redneck inventions. Except they fucking make it work.

So when Russia made their anti-homosexuality law (actually an anti-homosexuality-propaganda law, they're not going to jail folks engaging in what they're doing at home, but they are restricting free public speech, marriages and even clothing - no rainbows), there was bound to be an in-home reaction. Particularly a year after the Pussy Riot trials.

And so, months prior to the Sotchi Games, at the Moscow World Athletics Championships, a public display of affection was bound to rock the international press...

Welcome To The 14th Century

By now you've probably heard about Marte Deborah Dalelv, the Norwegian woman who was sentenced to 16 months in prison in Dubai after having gone to the police to report she had been raped by a colleague.

If not, here are the facts - those that can be proven in a court of law, at least: she went out one night with friends and work colleagues, was accompanied to her hotel by a colleague around 3AM, things ensued, she managed to get out of the room she was in when room service came for the wake-up call, called the police to report she had just been raped, then spent four days in jail; her passport was confiscated and never returned.

After four days, the only thing that happened was this:

A piece of paper with Arabic text was handed to her, she said. An Arabic speaker told her it listed two charges against her: one for sex outside of marriage and the other for public consumption of alcohol. Both are violations of the law in the United Arab Emirates.

She claims her colleague raped her that night - and it is (most) probably true.

She was later told by either the police or the person managing her case (who was also her translator, the United Arab Emirates being an Arab country) that she should change her story from ''rape'' to ''consensual sex'' so she could just forget about the ordeal and go back home, and deal with the situation from there.

But as anyone in the right frame of mind would have realized, that would not only be admitting guilt about the two charges against her, it would also add perjury to the mess - and that's what she was found guilty of. Well, that and the other two, of course, which her recant pretty much admitted to:

Dalelv was convicted Tuesday on all three charges and was sentenced to one year in jail for having unlawful sex, three months in jail for making a false statement and one month for illegal consumption of alcohol.

There are three things I want to say about this case. First, it's fucking awful what happened to her, her government should stop at nothing to get her back home safely. And I do mean nothing: money, bribery, sending in the fucking army, getting Bill Clinton to act as negotiator - anything.

Secondly, though, we all need to reflect a bit more before we accept to go into foreign countries, find out what we're getting into before accepting the consequences. Many all over the world are reacting to this particular story and saying the UAE is an ''ass-backwards'' country, where women have no rights, etc. Which is all true. She is not the first woman in this situation. 99% of them know not to go to the police with their story because it'll just make matters worse, but all of those who did got in trouble for it:

In December 2012, a British woman reported being raped by three men in Dubai. She was found guilty of drinking alcohol without a license and fined.

In January 2010, a British woman told authorities she was raped by an employee at a Dubai hotel. She was charged with public intoxication and having sex outside of marriage.

An Australian woman reported in 2008 that she was drugged and gang-raped. She was convicted of having sex outside marriage and drinking alcohol, and she was sentenced to 11 months in prison.

The men there live in a culture that lets this happen all the time; every time one (or a bunch of them) get away with it, it just reinforces their attitude and almost encourages them to act this way. If 91 women can get raped in merely 4 days in public in Egypt (other reports claim ''at least'' 169 were raped in Tahir Square in the same period, 80 on July third alone), a 'moderate' country which has just discovered democracy, how the fuck do you think they're going to act in one where Sharia Law is in full effect?

Which brings me to #3. I'm all for instituting rules, and protecting people - heck, I've often been quoted as saying many troubles would be saved if all countries pledged that well-being laws would apply to all citizens equally and if there were also a universal minimum wage - which would put an end to child labor and poorly-maintained death/suicide-factories in third world countries.

But one thing we can't do overnight - nor in a few centuries, apparently - is change the mores and customs of folks. Countries are different for a reason, and immigration is massive for another - well, a lot of other reasons, but one of them is that if you don't like where you were born, and it doesn't fit your moral compass, and you do not feel like you can make enough of a difference there to make it more like you'd want it to be, you can leave. You can smuggle yourself out, or you can apply for a visa, for immigration - as a potential resident or refugee. Almost anywhere.

Sure, you can be born into a world where your rights are negated from day one and not even be aware that it's wrong, much less that you can change it. This is particularly true of countries who restrict their citizens' rights and/or access to media and information. But people from the West should know what they're getting into by now when working abroad - especially since most of them are qualified, certified, highly-paid skilled workers, usually very educated. They should refuse at the very first sign of unsettling business.

Now, don't get me wrong: I AM NOT BLAMING THE VICTIM for getting raped. She ''wasn't asking for it'', she was just overpowered by the wrong asshole who happens to have been taking advantage not only of her, but also of the fact that he was in a country that forgives men for those types of actions while it judges women for far simpler transgressions (drinking? really?).

Maybe she knew that those things happened in Dubai, but didn't know how frequent it got, because most of those crimes go unreported, and she wrongly evaluated her chances of it happening to her as being similar to Norway.

We should seriously re-evaluate sending them workers at all, or at the very least make sure they're protected 24 hours a day. Anything else just seems like it would have no effect on how women get treated in the UAE anyway.

Again, my three points:
1. get her back home safely, quickly
2. I don't think we can change the UAE
3. we should stop sending folks there, short of having them be accompanied by a Blackwater commando for protection

Just writing this made me angrier than I was reading the article, because three hours went into it rather than 10 minutes. Now I need to go throw up.

When Bigots Are Criminals

After my post earlier this week about Republican candidate Eric Bodenweister's indictment on 113 counts of sexual crimes came this story, about Christian/anti-gay lawyer/activist Lisa Biron: a member of the anti-gay Alliance Defense Fund, which has filed numerous lawsuits in opposition to LGBT rights nationwide, she has been arrested on multiple felony charges related to child pornography.

In fact, what she was in possession of was evidence of a sexual encounter she had with a female minor, which she took to Canada to film and fuck. So, all told, here's what happened:

FBI agents swiftly arrested Lisa Biron yesterday morning as she awaited a hearing on child pornography charges at Manchester’s district court. About 9 a.m. FBI agents entered the courtroom, told Biron to leave her belongings and took her into an adjoining conference room where she remained for several minutes before coming out in handcuffs.

Outside, Biron ducked her head below the backseat window of a white vehicle as it was driven away from the courthouse.

A few hours later in U.S. District Court in Concord, Biron, who is associated with a national coalition of Christian lawyers, was formally told of the federal charges against her: transportation with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, possession of child pornography and five counts of sexual exploitation of children.

So I guess in her opinion - a ''respectable'' one since she's a lawyer and all - same-sex sex is wrong, unless it's done with a minor, in which case I assume it's just ''experimenting''. I'm sure her God would agree, since he's the same one who is prayed to from pedophile priests and Republicans...

These people have no clue are the reason why folks no longer believe in the Institutions, public office, or anyone with power and/or authority. Their so-called morals shame them, and in turn, they try to ruin life for everyone else by trying to ban everything. That, and they keep putting themselves in positions of authority to gain access to their victims. Here's another charge that should be brought against people like that: being fucking assholes, worth three years in prison to be added to the rest of their sentence.

When Republicans Are Criminals

This one predates the (U.S.) election by a few days, and I just hadn't gotten around to it - I'm pretty late on a lot of things I've wanted to share/do/work on.

It's about a candidate for senate who had a hard stance on homosexuality, and as is often the case when those bastards try to regulate stuff that should be of no concern to others, he turned out to actually be worse than what he was against - he didn't just enjoy the company of males, he liked them underage, which I think is the only illegal/sinful thing in that sentence. Oh, and he wasn't just indicted on one count, either... 113.

It has been reported by delawareonline.com that Eric Bodenweister's indictment included 74 counts of unlawful sexual contact, a felony in the second degree. Also attached were 39 first-degree felony counts of unlawful sexual intercourse.

Yeah. Hypocrisy at its worst. Plus, his name sounds like a bad beer that claims it's the King Of Beers - another case of lies and hypocrisy. Should have seen that one coming...

Holy Discontent, Batman!

40+ years in, and it still hasn't kicked in...



The ad features Batman (not Adam West), Robin (Burt Ward), and Batgirl (Yvonne Craig).

Pussy Galore

I've been holding off actually writing about Pussy Riot until they were sentenced - which seemed inevitable considering the actual ''crimes'' they were accused of: 1. inciting insurgency against the clergy (definitely), 2. vandalism (not really, more of a unlicensed public performance), 3. disturbing the peace (definitely).

Of course, for foreigners, the sentence of two years of forced labour is irrational, but in the context of Russia, with Vladimir Putin acting like a czar, with the maximum sentence being 7 years, they actually got off pretty lightly.

Not just that, but the actual purpose of condemning them - suppressing the dissidence in the wake of irregularities in Putin's last election - actually backlashed. Before the trial began, 46% of Russians wanted a harsh sentence against them and Putin's popularity was at 60% (he got 62% of the vote); by yesterday, 74% of Russians wanted clemency against the feminist punk band and Putin's popularity dipped below 50%.

And now, the three activists are internationally known, supported by the likes of Madonna and Paul McCartney, and the hood they wore have joined those of the V For Vendetta comic/film in worldwide protests.

But most importantly, they have turned the eyes of the world on Putin's Russia and their take on human rights and free speech in an era where we seem to have forgotten how harsh he can be with his own people. No longer is China alone with a troubling vision of human rights, but this time it concerns an important member of the G-8 who is no longer communist and is supposed to be an ally no matter what.

If we're lucky, we might even re-open talks about how he's treated the Chechen separatists - who voted for independence in 1991 but were rebuffed by two wars waged by the Russians (1994-1996 and 1999-2002) to get them back under their control.

And there's the whole ''no Gay Pride parades for 100 years'' thing...

Thanks to Pussy Riot, it's ok to criticize Russia again.

Oh, Captain, My Captain!

“Doesn't matter what the press says. Doesn't matter what the politicians or the mobs say.Doesn't matter if the whole country decides that something wrong is something right.


This nation was founded on one principle above all else: The requirement that we stand up for what we believe, no matter the odds or the consequences.

When the mob and the press and the whole world tell you to move, your job is to plant yourself like a tree beside the river of truth, and tell the whole world -- "No, YOU move.”

Now, MY nation wasn't founded on that principle, at all, but my country/countries like(s) to borrow from the U.S.' worst traits and never the right ones, and we have a shot - just a tiny one - at taking some of the good, for once, and for that we must stand tall and not surrender.

The student strike against a tuition hike is now in its 13th week. The government have replaced their puppet Education Minister with another one who will not be going up for re-election, meaning they threw the old one under the bus to save their asses and hired a temp with nothing to lose to keep the Party's hardline against the future generations.


They need their regime of corruption to continue, as do their mob friends and their family members in the energy and mines industries, who they literally gave our resources to (see how Pétrolia found oil in Anticosti and now owns it); they need to look like they've won this, stood up to the greedy kids and ''kept society safe'', before they move on to another sphere of citizens and take their rights away. And steal their money - more than they already do.


Our education system, by the way, is self-sufficient and was set up to keep paying for itself forever, but as multiple governments took away from its profits/allocated taxes, bit by bit they replaced ''free'' with loans and, over time, by incorporating the private sector into it and cutting into services, made it a money-guzzling pit of corruption and greed - just like everything else they touch.


Just like in the United States (hello, Fox News), they have the loudest media on their side, of course, because huge corporations benefit from gifts while the public media get shat on their budgets cut for not following Party lines.


If we lose here, we will lose everywhere. If we win, we may motivate others to keep up the fight - I'm looking at you, Occupy.

When Even Fox News Says You're Retarded...

Freedom Of Speech... Just Watch What You Say

Only in America - again.

In the Land Of The Free and Home Of The Brave, a Hispanic (Venezuelan) baseball team manager can have no consequences by insulting gays, but gets suspended (without pay), boycotted, picketed and petitioned to get fired for saying he ''loves'' or admires somebody... if that body is Cuban President Fidel Castro.

Sure, Ozzie Guillen is now managing the Miami Marlins, in a town filled with Cuban expats, but Castro is the former leader who freed his fucking people from American abuse, gave them universal health care, free quality university education - Cuban doctors are widely known as the best on earth - and provided his people with all the basic necessities to ensure a decent life in country as well as abroad despite an embargo that would bring other countries past the brink of famine.

The two most common knocks on the Castro regime are: rigged - or absent - elections, and the imprisonment of political dissenters, two areas of expertise seemingly reserved for Americans, whose last two-term chief actually lost his first election and then spent 8 years putting opponents in jail or ruining them in newspapers under the guise of ''national security''.

Yet Bush II didn't free his People from oppression, instead facilitating future oppressive regimes by giving the presidency too much power. But ''boo'' on the commies, right?

Not everyone is going nuts over this, at least.

Video Of The Day: Wyclef Jean

In light of the earthquake in Haiti, a thought for those who were injured, who died, and those left standing.

A thought to the diaspora as well, as Haitians are spread just about everywhere on this planet, particularly in North America, shaping us as we are shaping them.

Wyclef Jean first burst onto the scene as the frontman of hip hop group The Fugees; from the get-go, he wore his heritage on his sleeve, and as soon as he came into money, he made sure to help spread it in his country of origin as well. Sure, some of it was lost to local corruption, but that just made his resolve stronger in bringing aid directly to those in the street.

We might lose track of this from some of his more recent contributions to modern music, cameos on songs that don't mean anything, collaborations with pop stars (Shakira), film stars (The Rock) or divas (Mary J. Blige) - but the guy is a heck of a humanitarian.

Shout out. Props.