Okay maybe I am jumping the gun here. But if I recall correctly the price at the pumps jumped up virtually at the same time the price of oil started to climb. I am assuming now that oil has dropped below the $60 dollar a barrel mark that gas prices will follow the same line. It's only fair right?
Light sweet crude for December fell $1.46 to settle at $59.76 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the lowest close since July 28.
Front-month heating oil futures fell 7.37 cents to settle at $1.7698 a gallon, the lowest level since Aug. 5, while front-month gasoline futures dropped by 9.81 cents to settle $1.5261 a gallon, the lowest level since June 8.
Natural gas futures declined 85 cents to $12.205 per 1,000 cubic feet.
Who the hell am I trying to kid. Whoever said "what goes up must come down" never had to deal with oil and gas company's.
Monday, October 31, 2005
Woooooo Hoooooo gas prices dropping
Sub Standards
The navy's only operational submarine, the HMCS Windsor, experienced some difficulties today when a fire broke out during a transformer meltdown. Thankfully there were no injuries and the fire was extinguished in short order. It remains at sea to continue to endanger the lives of its crew.
I can't help but wonder how long our country will continue to expect our armed forces to continue to perform their duties without providing them equipment at or above the quality of the people who serve. Helicopters that hardly fly, vehicles with little armour, submarines that would be better off used as BBQ's, and the list goes on.
I have an idea. Lets give the politicians the Heli's to travel around the country and give the challangers to our more deserving people in the armed forces. I would much rather lose a few politicians in acident then I would anyone who actually serves this country.
Sunday, October 30, 2005
Night Before Halloween
Night Before Halloween
by
Natasha Wing
Twas the night before Halloween, And all through the house, All the creature were stirring, Except for the mouse.
The monsters were gathered To plan and prepare, For the trick-or-treaters Who soon would be there?
Mummies unraveled And put on new wraps, Spiders found corners And spun silky traps.
Count Dracula grinned And slicked back his hair, Frankenstein's bride cried, "I've nothing to wear!"
"Hurry up!" said a ghoul who started to yawn. "There's so much to do before bedtime at dawn."
So the witches brewed up A magical potion, Which set every monster and goblin in motion.
They blew up balloons, and hung streamers and lights, And decorated till the wee hours of the night.
Meanwhile the children were tucked snug in their beds, While visions of candy corn Danced in their heads.
In the morn when they woke, It was Halloween Day,
There was bobbing for apples and rides in the hay, There were costume parties and games to be played.
Cupcakes and candy and Of course a parade! After dinner was served, And the kids were done eating, It was finally time To go trick-or-treating!
Mom re-painted faces And straightened clown hats, Put wings back on fairies, Angels and bats.
Jack-o`-lanterns were set Out on porches with care. Their grins seemed to say, "Knock if you dare."
Gypsies and pirates And zombies in rags, Grabbed their bright flashlights And trick-o-treat bags.
They walked down each Lane, Avenue and Street, Rang every doorbell And said, "Trick or treat!"
But just when the children Thought there done The princess said, "We've forgotten just one.".
So they walked to the house At the top of the hill, Which gave all the kids A spine tingling thrill.
They stood on the porch And were ready to knock, When they heard heavy footsteps, And a turn of the lock.
When what to their Curious eyes should loom But a wicked old witch Holding a broom.
Her cape---how it shimmered! Her face---oh, so scary! Her hat was so pointy, It frightened the fairy!
The wicked witch said, "Welcome. We have a surprise." And the children yelled, "RUN! It's not a disguise!"
The monsters were sad When the kids ran away. They wanted to the children To come in and play.
The wicked witch said, "we can have our own fun! Come on, little monsters, the nights just begun!"
The monsters all cheered As they danced with delight, "Happy Halloween to all---and to all a fright night!"
Thursday, October 27, 2005
Albertan Vikings steal Canadians money!
Albertan Vikings have stolen $54,294,712 from the coffers of hard working Canadians! How disgraceful! Those damn oil rich Albertan have once again screwed the country by winning the Lotto 649 yesterday. Everyone knows that there is not an Albertan out there who deserves or needs this money as their streets are paved with gold and their pockets are overflowing with cash from the proceeds of oil.
Just thought I would beat MyBlahg to it.....
We will resume our regular deprogramming momentarily.
Wednesday, October 19, 2005
Minimum Sentences
I am of the opinion that one of the biggest problems of the Canadian justice system is the lack of minimum sentences for most crimes. We give judges far too much individual power to descide what is a fair sentence. Now that I have said that, the wonderful legal team that advises our government tells us that minimum sentences do not stand a chance of getting past the "Charter of Rights and Freedoms". WTF? According to a government lawyer, (Section 12 of the Charter) "Everyone has the right not to be subjected to any cruel and unusual treatment or punishment."
So what exactly is the definition of cruel? According to Webster online it is:
1 : disposed to inflict pain or suffering : devoid of humane feelings
2 a : causing or conducive to injury, grief, or pain (a cruel joke) b : unrelieved by leniency
Does a minimum sentence inflict pain? I guess it is a pain to be in prison and not being out free to commit more crime. Suffering? You bet. Having "Billy Bob" come visit you in the shower with his slippery bar of soap would definately come under suffering. Devoid of humane feelings? Most definately. We would not want to hurt the criminals feelings now would we. More bad news. Unrelieved by leniency. This means we "must" be lenient to the criminal element in our society.
Guess there is no point going into the definition of unusual is there.
Now if you really want to be liberal about section 12. We could easily read the "or punishment" seperate from the rest of the wording. So if you really think about it, "punishment" of any kind is against the charter. Time to let everyone out of the prisons, close up the doors, lay off all the gaurds, parole officers and anyone else employed by the prison system.
Seems appropriate that webster would have chosen (a cruel joke) to use as an example for this definition.
Thank you very much PET and all the signatories to the charter. You truely have created a "free" society.
Sunday, October 16, 2005
Here we go again
Again the NDP are willing to prop up the floundering liberal government if they agree to meet some of the NDP policy priorities. I can't help but wonder how much this arangement will cost the Canadian tax payers this time around. I can't blame Jack Layton for doing this, as this is really the only oppertunity for the NDP to get these policies through the house. What I do have a problem with is that the NDP are willing to keep this poor excuse of a government in power at the expence of over taxed Canadians.
Funny how this would come out at the same time the NDP came out from a weekend of discussions on ethics and corruption in government. Yet they are willing to support the same if the price is right.
Let them fall. Let the people decide at the polls who should be managing the country.
Saturday, October 15, 2005
Award acceptance Speech
Anal over at Anonalogue has bestowed me an award! Top billing I might add. Even though Anal was not kind enough to actually place links to all the winners sites of his awards, I will link to his so people can see for themselves what a fool this guy is for themselves. Its nice to know I left such a lasting impression on him. It would be nice if he allowed comments as I would like to thank him personally but that would be too much to expect from such an arrogant soul.
"Stupidist Fucking Pet Owner Blogger Award: Tim from TABaker threw a hissy fit about a post I did about stupid fucking pet owners not evacuating New Orleans. I think he wants to marry his dog."
I am truely honored to be recieving this award today. Very unexpected. I would like to thank my Mom and Dad for all their support and for bringing me up in a way that makes me a responsilble pet owner. I would like to thank my vet for giving the care Roxy needs in a timely manor. Thats more than I can say for the Canadian health care system. The folks over at IAMS for making a dog food that keeps Roxy in great health and her coat so shinny. All the people that make wonderful dog toys that allow me to spend quality time with her. The city of Edmonton for having great off leash area's. All the groups who take the time to actually give a shit about peoples pets in time of need. SPCA, Humane Society, International Fund for Animal Welfare, Best Friends, United Animal Nations(EARS), Noah's Wish, ect... Peta not included! To all the folks in NO that cared enough about there pets to actually want to take them with them and not leave them to suffer or die needlessly. Most of all I must thank Roxy, pictured above. Without whom, this would have not been possible. How can you not love this cutey? She may look like a puppy but she will be 6 on Oct. 31. As for the rumour of our marriage, sadly untrue, her heart belongs to the English sheep dog across the alley.
In honour of this Award I have concidered changing the Quote in my mast head from:
"The more I get to know people, the more I love my dog." to "The more I get to know people like 'Anonalogue', the more I love my dog" or maybe "The more I get to know people like Anonalogue, the more I support abortion." I would like your thoughts on which would be more appropriate. Thanks in advance. :D
Thursday, October 13, 2005
The Prize! or is that Prise?
Click on "photo" for a Larger view.
I no longer have an excuse not to get the renovations done to my house that I have been putting off for the longest time. Thanks to Zorpheous, I now have enough "round tuits" to keep me busy for some time. 20 of them to be exact. He even personized them from items on my blog. Not at all what I had expected from the founder of the Wingnuterer. I am however a little confused why he included two round tuits with his site on them. Does he think he can cash these in and have me do some chores around the squirelly house? I think not!
I am impressed and will display them proudly in my office at home as well as at work. Thanks Zorph!
Wednesday, October 12, 2005
Wingnuterer Prize
The new phone book is here! The new phone book is here!
Oh wait, it's just the mailman with a package from Zorph.
Hmmmmm wonder whats in it? Must be careful, it maybe "ICED". 6" X 9" shipping envilope. Amazingly enough no spelling mistakes and it arrived at proper destination. Hmmmmmm a white/recycled doccument about "Trojans".... get your minds out of the gutter. Its from "Symantec security responce". Looks like someone got a virus? Anyways...
Whats wrapped inside this trojan?
I'm not tellin... not just yet anyways... stay tuned to find out more about the "prize" from the first ever WINGNUTERER contest... :P
Monday, October 10, 2005
The Value of Scrap Lumber
Scrap wood could now become a valuable comodity thanks to some new Canadian technology. Canadian company converts wood into 'bio oil'. And it is enviroment friendly too!
"Instead of transporting this wood waste or burning them and making pollution, we produce clean energy," explained Gholam Yavari, of DynaMotive. "And it's clean, environmentally friendly and pollution-free and greenhouse-gas neutral." The company uses the oil to power a new turbine generator that produces 2,500 kilowatts of electricity, enough to power 1,400 homes. This maybe a solution to the softwood lumber industries woes as well. A whole new market is evolving.
Telus strike comes to an end.
Damn, Just when I was starting to get used to seeing them sitting in their lawn chairs along Jasper ave.
This is the End of the World as we know it?
Is it just me or does mother nature seem really really pissed at the earth and its inhabitants this year?
Here are just a few things she has dealt out to us this year.
Jan. 6 - 13 - Storm moves throughout much of the USA leaving record snowfalls and flooding. 25 dead.
Jan. 8 - 12 - Wild storms batter much of Europe. 19 dead.
Jan. 22 - 23 - Snow storm hits midwest and atlantic states in the USA. More record snowfalls. 22 dead.
Feb. 22 - 23 - Heavy flooding from snow and rain in Pakistan. 20 dead.
Feb. 22 - 6.4 earthquake shakes Iran. 612 dead.
Feb. 17 - 23 - A series of storms hit California causing flooding, landslides and avalanches. 9 dead.
Feb. - Extreme winter weather, cold and snowfall causing landslides and floods in South East Asia. 1400 dead.
Mar. 20 - 7.0 earthquake hits Japan. 1 dead.
Mar. 18 - 22 - Heavy rains and melting snow kill 200 in Afghanistan.
Mar. 28 - 8.7 earthquake strikes Sumatra, Indonesia. 1313 dead.
April - Hemorragic fever out break in Uige Angola. 280 dead.
May 18 - Fierce snow storm in Chile kills 46.
June - Major flodding in Southern China. 536 dead.
June 12 - Northern China hit with flash floods killing at least 117.
June 13 - 7.9 earthquake kills 11 in Chile.
June 18 - 19 - Major flooding in southern Alberta Canada.
June 19 - Strong thunderstorms roll through North Dakota with 100 mph winds.
July 10 - Hurricane Denis hits Florida.
July 18 - Hurricane Emily strikes Mexico.
July 26 - India recieves record rainfall of 37 inches. 1000 dead.
July - Heat wave stikes Arizona, USA kills 21.
July - Niger suffers from drought and famine.
Aug. 5 - 9 - Wildfires take over 37,000 acres of Washington state.
Aug. 16 - 7.2 earthquake strikes Japan followed by a small Tsunami.
Aug. 25 - 30 - catagory 4 hurricane Katrina strikes the USA gulf coast. over 1600 dead.
Sept. 1 - 3 - Typhoon Talim hits China killing 129.
Sept. 14 - 15 -Hurricane Ophelia dumps 18 inches of rain on south eastern USA.
Sept. 20 - 25 - Hurricane Rita strikes the Gulf coast of the USA.
Sept. 20 - 25 - Typhoon Damrey hits China, Phillipines, Thailand and Nepal killing 122.
Sept. 28 - Oct. 3 - Wildfires around L.A. California.
Oct. 1 - Volcano erupts in El Salvador.
Oct. 3 - 4 - Hurricane Stan strikes Central America killing 246.
Oct. 8 - 7.6 earthquake devistates Pakistan. India and Afghanistan also suffer damage.
Oct. 10 - Southeast USA struck by heavy rains and flooding. 5 dead.
Oct. Avian Flu(H5N1) outbreak in Romania and Turkey.
2003 - to present - Avian Flu(H5N1) outbreak in Asia.
Hmmmmmm.... there are still 2 months and 21 days left in this year. What else could she have up her sleeve?
Sunday, October 09, 2005
Don't Mess With The Pigs
From:The Sun(UK)
Workers in the benefits department at Dudley Council, West Midlands,(U.K.) were told to remove or cover up all pig-related items, including toys, porcelain figures, calendars and even a tissue box featuring Winnie the Pooh and Piglet.
Bosses acted after a Muslim complained about pig-shaped stress relievers delivered to the council in the run-up to the Islamic festival of Ramadan.
Muslims are barred from eating pork in the Koran and consider pigs unclean.
Councillor Mahbubur Rahman, a practising Muslim, backed the ban. He said: “It’s a tolerance of people’s beliefs.”
And what about their tolerance in our beliefs? Why is it that everyone else is to tolerate others beliefs yet others don't tolerate their beliefs? Its a vicious cirlce and there can be no winner.
H/T to Candace via Relapsed Catholic
Thursday, October 06, 2005
Wednesday, October 05, 2005
Global Warming?
The people in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana and Wyoming may have a new opinion on "Global Warming" as of today. Anywhere from 20 to 33 cm of heavy wet snow fell in these areas closing schools and taking out power.
"It is, on our records, probably one of the earliest ones, as far as our recorded history goes, in 126, 130 years," said Sam Walker, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Bismarck, N.D.
My appologies... It is no longer politically correct to call it "Global Warming". Guess this would fit under the new title it was given..."Climate Change".
Monday, October 03, 2005
Hooked on Big Game Fishing
I would like to thank the folks over at PeTA for giving me the inspiration to stop using my guns to slaughter poor innocent animals. I have seen the errors of my ways. It is way more exciting not to mention challenging, to fish for them rather than shoot them.
Not sure when I gave them permission to use my photo for this advertising though. I wont complain, as I do believe they did get my good side.
I started by practicing in the back yard using my good ol friend Fido. Being a retriever by nature it was not hard to catch him.
I then tried my luck "Deerfishing". The bucks were a little leary and just would not take my bait. I had to settle for this doe.
Once getting my feet wet so to speak. I moved on to bigger game. I could not believe my luck when I bagged this moose on 100 pound line, and no leader. Someone up there likes me.
Best of all, now I don't have to worry about gun registries, hunting licences, ammo, and all that other expensive stuff I use to buy every fall. Not to mention fishing season is open far longer than is hunting season. My freezer has never been so full.
Sunday, October 02, 2005
Thanks Dino another meme
1. If money were no object, what would you be doing with your life?
Fishing all around the world.
2. Money is just that - an object, so why aren't you doing it?
I have not found a suger mama to pay for my endevours.
3. What's better: horses or cows?
I would not know. Beastiality is not my thing.
4. What do you think the secret to happiness is?
Enjoying nature and all it offers.
5. When was the last time you had a dream that you either remember well or did not want to awake from?
I don't seem to remeber my dreams at all.
6. When you were a little kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
To quote Jimmy Buffett..."I'm growing older but not up"
7. Complete this statement: Love is...
A four letter word.
8. Can you tell a good story? (write one!)
No, but I can rant with the best.
9. Can you remember your last daydream?
Yes, I'm a daydream believer....
10. If you were to thank someone today, who would you thank?
My oldest brother. Thanks Ken!
And I tag...
Blue Blogging Soapbox
Mike at Rational Reasons
I Am (also) Canadaian
Saturday, October 01, 2005
Ruffling The Headdress
A non Indian point of view.
Before everyone starts screaming "RACIST!" Let me clarify a few things. "Indian" by definition is: "a original inhabitant of North America" according to the Oxford dictionary. "Indian" is also the term used by the Canadian government and therefore the department that oversee's this group is called "Indain and Northern Affairs". I have friends from many nationalities and races. A very close uncle is Metis and I have two adopted cousins that are status Indians. Besides, ask anyone that knows me, I hate all humans equally so there is no possible way I can be a racist. Onward we go...
I was listening to Dave Rutherford yesterday morning. He was speaking with, if I remember correctly, Mr. Jason Goodstriker, a representative from the "Assembly of First Nations" on how much money is needed to fix problems. Rutherford asked many questions but never really got an answer to any of them. It was almost like listening to Question Period. The common vague answer's were "there is no question money is owed" or "the treaties" blah blah blah blah blah. I was hoping that I would gain some insight but was left disapointed. They did agree that a half hour was not enough time and that they would get together for another show at a later time. Guess I'll have to wait and see.
In the meantime....
From where I sit, no amount of money will ever fix the problems. Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC)budget for 2004 was approximately 9 billion dollars. According to INAC,(PDF doc page 13) the Indian population in Canada in 2004 was 733,626. 415,422 on reserves and 318,204 off reserve. If you do the math, ohhhhh, okay, I will do it for you.
$9,000,000,000.00 divided by 733,626 = $12,267.83 for each and every Indian in Canada. or $24,535.66 for a family of two or $36,803.49 for a family of three or $49,071.32 for a family of four or $61,339.15 for a family of five and so on and so on.
Now should all Indians recieve this money? Should only those who remain on reserves recieve it? I suggest that all Indians regardless of where they choose to live within Canada should share this income equally.
During my search for information on this post, I tried to find information regarding the "poverty Line" for Canada. What I found, is there as usual are various opinions on what it actually should be. Figures for 2004 for a family of four, varied from as low as $21,835.00(PDF doc) from the fraser Institute based on "basic needs", to a high of $37,791.00 based on Stats Canada's "Low Income Cut Off"(LICO). Keep in mind these figures are based on before tax calculations and I am basing my argument here that all of the moneys from INAC are tax free. I am also taking into consideration that INAC will be scrapped and therefore will not need an operational budget. Therefore all money dedicated to that department would be sent directly to the qualified persons or their gaurdians.
As you can see by the numbers, by dispersing the funds directly to each individual they would be well above the poverty line no matter what figures you choose. Keep in mind that this is more than likely not the only source of income. There are many other finacial factors involved. Indians do not have to purchase many of the licences nor are they bound to the same rules as required by the rest of society in regards to these licences. These would include fishing and hunting, which in turn lesson the costs incured for the purchase of food.
But now this does not take into consideration of the educational, health, housing, and other provided "needs" that are currently in the INAC budget. So how does Canada currently provide these things to the rest of the public? They tax our income to pay for these services. So now if you apply the same tax rules to this income as all other income it would obviuosly cover those cost would it not? Oh thats right. By law Indians do not have to pay taxes in Canada. Well this is not exactly true. They do not pay taxes on purchases or icome on any reserve. They do however pay provincial taxes, the GST and other taxes on purchases off of the reserve. They also pay income taxes on income that is gained from off reserve employement. More info can be found here regarding this issue. So for the sake of argument, lets call these "taxes", "transfer payments". A portion of each Indians "non taxable income" would be "transfered" to the reserves to provide the required services for its members. These would include the same services a typical municipality provides for its citizens. Water, sewer, roads, ect.....
As far as dealing with the housing problem. It is my opinion that ownership, or the lack there of, is the biggest problem. I believe that the "land" on reserves should remain the property of the reserve as a whole. Each "family" should be leased(transferable) a resonable portion of the land at no charge to build and maintain their own home which would be theirs to live in or sell to another reserve member as they see fit. Pride in ownership plus the possibility of increased value of that property would go a long way in preventing some of the neglect that is currently occurring to some of the housing on reserves.
O Ohhh... This is starting to sound too much like the non Indian way of life in Canada. This is not acceptable! This strays way to far away from the treaties and the Indians "Rights" in same. Yes it does, and for a good reason. The current system does not work! Basing everything regarding Indians and their way of life on treaties signed many many decades ago simply will not and cannot work in terms of todays reality. No one at the time of these treaties from either side could have imagined the changes that would take place in the decades to come. To continue trying to deal today using the terms set back then is absurd. Housing back then was something we all built using available free sources in the area we were in. Not built by a contractor making profits. Food was hunted, grown and gathered by each household or group. There were no supermarkets. Transportation was a horse, a canoe or by foot. Roadways were trails mostly created by the natural animals going along with there daily life. Not paved highways costing Billions to build and maintain. Need I go on?
We live in a new and forever changing world. We can choose to either accept that fact and move on for the betterment of all living here, or as some would like, continue holding on to the past rejecting enevitable change. I myself would love to go back in time and live in much simpler times. However this is not possible. I therefore accept the changes, grasp new technology and move forward. I would suggest that for their own good Indians should be doing the same. This does not conclude forgetting about ones heritage. That is something we all need to promote and encourage to our children and them to theirs. Its survival does not come through government regulations or legislation but by each of us teaching it to our children. This is the case whether you be Indian, French, English, Japanese, Chinese, ukrainian, ect...
To summerize, I guess what I am trying to say is that if we don't change the way things are. They will remain the same no matter how much money we dump into it.
You can have your cake and eat it too. However that cake comes with a price, and at times, that cake can make a bit of a mess that needs to be cleaned up.