2009-06-30

Winning a Twitter argument in 35 seconds

FACLC I can tell that @ecoDomestica hasn't been stuck in the hell that is 114thst traffic jams this past decade #yeg
ecoDomestica @FACLC Sure I have. Almost daily, in fact. Yes, 114 St sucks. But keeping Keilor Road open wouldn't have helped. #yeg

Oh really?


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2009-06-29

Tennis blitzkreig

German sensation Sabine Lisicki continues to light up Wimbledon.

Meanwhile, you didn't come here to hear about some tennis prodigy. You came here to see her! (I first featured her here in late March).





Ashley Tisdale on Hannah Montana

I was kind of hoping that Suite Life of Zack and Cody was on when I saw Miley Cyrus on set at the Tipton Hotel, because the twin-powers of Ashley Tisdale and Brenda Song in short skirts and high boots is even better than three Swedish triplets this particular episode features.

Still, it was a neat moment. Now here's Ashley and Miley not kissing, but if you squint...

2009-06-28

Holey rusted metal, Batman

SPACE really need to play the first 3 Batmans in reverse order. Give us the Joel Schumaker campfest piece of crap that was Batman Forever first, followed up with Michelle Pfeiffer in a catsuit [meow. -ed] and then the classic Batman featuring a non-faggot Joker.

Update, June 29 2009 12:30am: And now Family Channel is playing the first Batman. "A little song, a little dance, Batman's head on a lance..." Ah classic!

2009-06-24

General Wolfe Appreciation Day 2009

On this la Fête provincale du Québec, let us take the time to celebrate, as Third Edge of the Sword always does on June 24th:

GENERAL WOLFE APPRECIATION DAY

We salute you, oh conqueror of Quebec! The man who made the French citizens kneel down like dogs and kiss his British arse in respect for the army that could have wiped them off the face of the earth.

(Previous celebrations can be found here and here. An explanation of the holiday can be found here).

2009-06-22

This day in blog history

Two years ago today was the closure of Compusmart in South Edmonton Common.

2009-06-21

L'Intestional aux Fort-itude

Power Boating Canada just finished up a show on Fort Lennox, the National Historic Site in Quebec.

There's only one problem. They constantly had the French host on, and he often was using the French name of Ile aux Noix, plus his "Fort Lennox" was impeded by his Frenchman "L".

I had to Google to find out what they were talking about. Because I knew they weren't talking about this fort.

2009-06-20

I wonder how well Alberta would fit....

SCTV's classic "What Fits Into Russia"?

2009-06-19

This day in blog history

It was three years ago today that the Edmonton Oilers lost the Stanley Cup.

Bonus history: Edmonton Police services showed their true colours during that span as well.

2009-06-17

I found it!

Presenting, as I've finally been able to find online, the greatest Kids in the Hall skit EVER!


2009-06-14

We get the government we deserve

Crowds gather for Ahmadinejad victory rally

Supporters of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad have gathered in Tehran to celebrate his re-election, after a vote his critics say was fixed.

There have been several outbreaks of violence since the result was announced and there were reports of new small-scale clashes before the rally.

Security forces have arrested up to 100 members of reformist groups, accusing them of orchestrating the violence.

Mr Ahmadinejad denied any vote-fixing, saying the result was "very accurate".

At an earlier news conference, the president accused foreign media of refusing to accept the result because they did not like it.

"Forty million people have taken part in this process. How can they question it?" he said.

Asked about Iran's nuclear programme and Tehran's relations with foreign powers , he said the nuclear debate "belongs to the past", and that Iran had "embraced" the idea of an international effort to eliminate nuclear weapons.

Global reaction to the election has been muted, but US Vice-President Joe Biden told broadcaster NBC there was "an awful lot of doubt" about the result.

Mr Ahmadinejad's closest rival in the election campaign, Mir-Hossein Mousavi, announced on Sunday he had lodged an official appeal appeal against the result to Iran's Guardian Council .

"I urge you Iranian nation to continue your nationwide protests in a peaceful and legal way," he said in a statement.

Leader's endorsement

Mr Mousavi has called several times for his supporters to avoid violence, but angry protesters have been setting light to vehicles and throwing stones in Tehran.

Dozens of activists have been arrested, with reports saying those detained were members of pro-reformist political parties which had backed Mr Mousavi during the election campaign.
[You can't believe he's actually endorsing Ahmadinejad. "What did the Iranian people do to deserve this?" I can hear you ask. Er, who said it was the Iranians who are getting the Iranian leader they deserve? -ed]

2009-06-13

More Google Maps fun

Hey, did you know that Saskatchewan has no cities? At least, that's the first impression you get from Google Maps. Take a look (click all pics to see fullsize):



Now obviously Saskatoon and Regina still exist: just that on that zoom level, their populations don't trigger a mention (no exemption for capitals, like in normal atlases, one notices). In fact, the very next zoom level provides you with both major cities in Saskatchewan [which is a hard sentence to proofread without giggling -ed]

Google Maps as a slave to population side brings up an interesting point, actually. Notice anything strange about this view of northern Alberta?


Okay, pay attention to the red "A" thumbnail:


Yes, that's right, Fort McMurray, one of the province's largest and most important urban centres, is missing. Why? The 1995 amalgamation into the Wood Buffalo Regional Municipality cost Fort McMurray its official designation as a municipality. No municipality, no city, even with 65,000 residents (a little larger than Whitecourt). One of the more unfortunate side effects of the little taxation decision was costing the community a lot of international status. Not that Sherwood Park seems to mind.

2009-06-12

June seems so far away

Its my semi annual joke, though I already tweeted it:

I thought the AIDS Walk was in September

What you missed

Whilst a bunch of pro-sodomite teachers and leftist bloggers and leftist journalists were blathering on and on about a minor provision in a bill that makes it illegal to talk about the sick faggot agenda (a.k.a. Bill #44), here's a list of the far more outrageous and useless and dangerous legislation being passed by Her Majesty's Loyal Government in Her Province of Alberta:

Bill 26:
Expanding the non-warrant powers of Fish & Wildlife Officers by not requiring "immient" action being required

Bill 23:
Making it harder for you to fight unfair assessments and prevent overpaying tax to municipalities

Bill 25:
Helping out teachers unions, for all that goodwill it engende...er, waitaminute!

Bill 39:
Raising tobacco taxes again.

Bill 42:
Corrupt police officers can now accuse you of being in a gang, and require bar owners (who themselves are often members of a gang) kick you out

Bill 30:
Legalizing red light cameras to take speed readings. Er, so they've all been illegal until now?

Bill 46:
Mandatory stab reporting from people who won't give out information anyways

Bill 201:
Backdoor extra implementation of Firearms Act

Bill 29:
More "deadbeat dad" attacks. There are actual criminals getting away with shit out there, so why are we wasting time with this?

Bill 206:
Uh, aren't these things already crimes?

2009-06-10

Some rocking good tunes, courtesy of George W. Bush

In an effort to cut down on the number of illegal immigrants crossing the U.S./Mexican border, the U.S. Border Patrol is playing music that warns potential illegal immigrants that their journey could end in death.

According to the Associated Press, the Border Patrol has created a five-song CD that it has distributed to Mexican radio stations with songs like El Mas Grande Enemigo (The Biggest Enemy), with lyrics that discuss the death of a Mexican citizen trying to cross the American border.
But can you dance to it? I'm downloading these songs now, and should get an answer for you soon!

Sorrow-full

Earlier this afternoon The Bear played Tin Foil Phoenix's cover of "A Man of Constant Sorrow".

That song was written around 1913, likely making it the oldest song played on The Bear.

And here's the song as done for the movie O Brother, Where Art Thou?

Why Alberta parents need Bill 44 to protect their children from the disturbing political agenda of their teachers

As what will likely be the totality of this blog's coverage of Bill #44 (which I tweeted about on occasion), I present to you:

Gay-Straight Student Alliances in Alberta Schools: A GUIDE FOR TEACHERS, a disgusting document put out by our dispicable "friends" in the Alberta Teachers Federation.

I got a lot of flack for noting that this post brings up this topic:

Should your child show intolerance towards a child who identifies themself as homosexual we reserve the right to instruct your child in the value of tolerance. Understanding your child will be removed from this institution and all other publicly funded institutions until such time as he / she or HeShe has received such counselling they will not be permitted to attend any public institution in Alberta, Do you wish to opt your child out of any sensitivity training required due to their intolerance of others based upon sexual orientation? _____
I quite rightfully call right out on here the hypocrisy of the anti-Bill#44 crowd. Every time I have stated that Alberta Teachers are already pushing a pro-uranist agenda on schoolchildren I have been the horrible monster for speaking the truth. Yet here we go again, with parents being advised that they have the power to punish children for saying a basic fundamental truth: faggots and sapphists are sick and depraved individuals. They do not feel love, they only live in lust and purile sexual practises. They live a disgusting lifestyle which nobody should ever have to accept.

Now we have this little PDF file. Exhibit B, you might call it.
Current research indicates that between 3 and 10 per cent of people identify as nonheterosexual (Frankowski 2004; Ryan and Futterman 1998). However, these statistics
may be greatly underreported due to the societal stigmatization and fear of violence that are often associated with publicly identifying as nonheterosexual.
At least we got this silly 10% myth pushed a little farther back out of the mainstream. Now its the upper bound, and acknowledged as flights of fancy (ha!) at that. I like the argument though. Like this argument it doesn't hold up under any sort of scrutiny, but it can be used quite effectively in favour, of, say: conservatism. This man is secretly a conservative. He hates ass piracy, Barack Obama, tax money assisting the poor and destitute, and gun control. If you need proof of this, look at his public approval of them. (see, this game is easy)

First Past the Post

Over the last few years, I have been blogging. Over the last few years, there have been a few movements to bring some form of Proportional Representation into the Canadian Westminister system. To date, the two have never mixed (except once briefly), and this is a very short post to rectify that issue.

First off, I am opposed to proportional representation. They tend to take a small flaw of first-past-the-post (popular vote and seat count being variant), and sort of but not completely correct it. At the same time, they create a myriad of problems. I'm agin' it.

Who's in favour of it? Alberta Get Rich. Idealistic Pragmatist (with bonus commentary by me). Big City Lib.

Of course, results like this end up coming in, and suddenly we see both an odd coincidence and a flaw that like Al in Quantum Leap apparently only some of us can see and hear.

The British National Party won its first ever county council seat in the UK today.

The [...] party won its first seat in Lancashire in the party's stronghold of Burnley as Labour was routed.

Hours later a second followed in Coalville, Leicestershire.

Sharon Wilkinson was elected to Lancashire County Council with a massive 30 per cent of the vote as electors dumped Labour in their droves.

Her victory in the Padiham and Burnley West ward, where she was born and brought up, is a major victory for the party.
Specifically, isn't it odd that the people who support P.R. are the same ones who already have prominant extreme-left parties (NDP, Greens) that are basically capped in support, while those who oppose it are the ones with media marginalized parties that would greatly expand support and receive well deserved popular support?

Of course, most support for P.R. tends to come from the far leftists who have weird pipe dreams about their abilities and achievements. But in reality P.R. gives disproportionate influence by narrowly-appealing fringe parties. And in the far-left culture that we are presently gripped in, don't be surprised if the political schemers who benefit from MMV or STV or whatever acronym hell is invented are not the ones that the BigCityLibs of the world would be happy handing the reigns of power over to.

Another flaw in all these proportional representation proposals is to create some semblance of sanity and prevent insanely unworkable parliamentary bodies, the rules get so mind-blowingly confusing that even resident geniuses such as myself get soft in the brain trying to work through all the permutations and quirks and systems in place. First past the post is easy. Remember those 5 names on the ballot? Whoever gets the biggest number next to their names at the end of the night is in and everybody else is out.

2009-06-09

Ann Coulter on shooting abortionists: personally against it, but we wouldn't want to impose our views now would we?

Ann takes on the murder of George Tiller in her new column. The link isn't up yet, but I'll adjust this page when it is. For now it goes to her main site. Here are some of the highlights:

According to recent polling, a majority of Americans oppose abortion -- which is consistent with liberals' hysterical refusal to allow us to vote on the subject. In a country with approximately 150 million pro-lifers, five abortionists have been killed since Roe v. Wade.

In that same 36 years, more than 49 million babies have been killed by abortionists. Let's recap that halftime score, sports fans: 49 million to five.

Meanwhile, fewer than 2 million Muslims live in America and, while Muslims are less murderous than abortionists, I'm fairly certain they've killed more than five people in the United States in the last 36 years. For some reason, the number "3,000" keeps popping into my head.
In 1997, The Washington Post reported that Tiller attended one of Bill Clinton's White House coffees for major campaign contributors. In addition to a $25,000 donation to Clinton, Tiller wanted to thank him personally for 30 months of U.S. Marshals' protection paid for by the U.S. taxpayer.

Kansas Democrats who received hundreds of thousands of campaign dollars from Tiller repeatedly intervened to block any interference with Tiller's abortion mill.

Kathleen Sebelius, who was the governor of Kansas until Obama made her Health and Human Services Secretary, received hundreds of thousands of campaign dollars from Tiller. Sebelius vetoed one bill restricting late-term abortions and another one that would have required Tiller to turn over his records pertaining to "substantial and irreversible conditions" justifying his late-term abortions.

Kansas Attorney General Paul Morrison also got elected with the help of Tiller's blood money, replacing a Republican attorney general who was in the middle of an investigation of Tiller for various crimes including his failure to report statutory rapes, despite performing abortions on pregnant girls as young as 11.

But soon after Morrison replaced the Republican attorney general, the charges against Tiller were reduced and, in short order, he was acquitted of a few misdemeanors. In what is a not uncommon cost of doing business with Democrats, Morrison is now gone, having been forced to resign when his mistress charged him with sexual harassment and corruption.
The official Web page of the ELCA instructs: "A developing life in the womb does not have an absolute right to be born." As long as we're deciding who does and doesn't have an "absolute right to be born," who's to say late-term abortionists have an "absolute right" to live?

I wouldn't kill an abortionist myself, but I wouldn't want to impose my moral values on others. No one is for shooting abortionists. But how will criminalizing men making difficult, often tragic, decisions be an effective means of achieving the goal of reducing the shootings of abortionists?

Following the moral precepts of liberals, I believe the correct position is: If you don't believe in shooting abortionists, then don't shoot one.

(Ironically, nobody seems to have noticed, but Tiller died on May 31st, eleven days after being mentioned as the prototypical abortionist in this article by Ann)

2009-06-08

Fifth Eighty Second Avenue Heartache

CBC Edmonton is reporting that Whyte Avenue merchants are concerned about lost business due to construction.

The north side of Whyte between 104th and 105th streets has been torn up so crews can repave the road and replace curbs and sidewalks.

You're kidding, right?

Ask these guys if they would prefer to maybe just have 1/2 the road torn up in a single block.

This also bodes poorly for my age-old plan of having a subway built underneath Whyte Ave. Think they mind the construction now?

2009-06-05

Turning a Monkey into a Buzzard

Remember this story?

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A process that started months ago among White House lawyers to compile a list of possible Supreme Court picks has accelerated with word Justice David Souter plans to step down from the bench in June.


Well now we see it coming back:
June 4 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor said she was first contacted about the high court appointment four days before Justice David Souter announced his retirement.

Sotomayor, 54, in a questionnaire the Obama administration provided to the Senate, also said she has been in almost “daily contact” with the White House since May 1 when Souter revealed his plans to leave the court.

President Barack Obama, filling his first high court vacancy, announced on May 26 that Sotomayor was his choice to be the first Hispanic justice and the third woman ever on the court. Sotomayor confirmed that Obama interviewed her five days before the announcement and that Vice President Joe Biden interviewed her as well.