Harper has been inviting groups to speak out against him since he stepped into office. From cutting funding to aboriginal initiatives, daycare, repealing income tax cuts, and backing off the Kyoto accord, it’s not surprising that people are standing up against him. Now, despite a clear and decisive majority in last year’s vote, as well as several of his own caucus telling him it will never pass, he’s going to waste time again and have a vote on Same-sex marriage. And why not? Everyone knows that same-sex marriage treatens the traditional family…even though it has nothing to do with religion and has provisions to protect the churches. Wait….I can’t even be sarcastic about it. I am disgusted with Harper for bringing this up again. Actions like this are why I will never support the Conservative Party. It is not acceptable to use parliament’s time to shore up social conservative’s support.

I’ve talked about this topic before and I’ll touch once again on it. Marriage traditionally was not religious. It was a contract between families and joined communities. It was several hundred years after Christ before it became part of the Church. It’s not even a sacrament and is a human institution (unless you are a christian denomination that makes up doctrine like papal infalibility and assumption of Mary). Same-sex marriage does not erode families, it just creates families. I can’t wait to see some stats in a few years comparing percentage of same-sex marriages that end in divorce compared to opposite-sex marriages. I will bet that same-sex marriages will survive more often.

When people talk about the “slippery-slope” and the “activist judges” I want to puke. The most common saying same-sex marriage is a gateway to polygamy. They are two completely different topics. It’s analogeous to if we were back in the 1800’s and giving visible minorities the right to vote and arguing that it will be the gateway to women having the right to vote. If our laws are bound to legalize polygamy, it will happen either way, NOT as a result of same-sex marriage. They are independant of one another. I have extreme faith in our Judicial system (which had a majority of conservative appointed judges throughout the 90’s when many landmark rights cases were made) to be non-partisan. We aren’t the US and our judges are picked for their qualifications, not their political affiliation. (Look at M. v. H., Vriend v. Alberta, and Egan v. Canada for decisions during a majority conservative appointed supreme court)

You get the point…so no need to continue more. In other news, the Leadership Campaign is heating up. There will be debates in Winnipeg this weekend which will be interesting. Also a satrical site about Volpe has appeared. He had it shut down, but it was moved to a different server (which apparently is out of their reach now). With this whole campaign funding fiasco it makes it even more clear it was the right decision when I rejected him for Comuzzi supporting him. Seriously…accepting thousands of dollars from kids? You are just asking for bad press. I’m surprised that election law doesn’t close that gap. It’s clearly a loop hole. How many of those kids truely made the decision themselves to support Volpe? It’s just exploiting them by their parents as a way to funnel more money for lobbying. Shame on them and shame on Volpe.

Ending on a high note, all of Canada should be pleased with the performance of Finola Hackett, who placed 2nd in the National (American, but open to international people) Spelling Bee. It’s amazing how far she went (improving from the year before) and is a wonderful example of youth education in Canada. It’s nice news to hear in between the beheadings and the religious nuts.

***EDIT*** News today, Canada’s Unemployment Rate drops to 6.1% (32 year low).

Currently Listening to: Office Chatter

Random Wikipedia Article: Warchalking

In a follow up to my last post, I am getting closer to making up my mind over who I’d like (and my riding) to support for the Liberal Leadership. The Globe released an article saying who were the bilingual candidates and this really has influenced my opinions. This effectively crosses off Fry, Bennet, and Dryden (Who you’d think would have better French from all that time in Montreal!) from the running for me. For reference, Wikipedia’s entry on the Liberal Leadership Candidates and the Globe’s profiles.

I’d really like to meet the other candidates, but the Waterloo meet is during the week when I’m working in Windsor. Maybe they’ll come down here. After meeting Hall-Findlay, I’ve scratched her off my list as well.

Leading for me is Rae. While he has a lot of Ontario baggage, he did what was needed to be done in the early 90s to fight the recession. Intellectual, bilingual, high profile, and very good views in my opinion. The next tier I’m going to stick Kennedy and Ignatieff, though they seem quite opposed to each other. Respectively, too left, then too right. But only on a few issues. I want to meet them before ruling them out. Third tier is Brison (French problem), Bevilacqua (Low profile), Volpe. Volpe apparently has Comuzzi supporting him…and we all know I hate Comuzzi…it’s like being in league with the devil…something has got to be up with that.

I’m going up to Waterloo for the Long weekend (I get 4 days actually). I plan on seeing the Da Vinci Code and catching up with friends for a nice enjoyable weekend. Not rushed like 2 weekends ago.

One unrelated topic I’m disgusted at the UW Admitted Students Forum. The lack of moderation has spawned countless threads and discussions that are breeding false information. It’s mostly the blind helping the blind with no one telling them which ones of there opinions are true or not. Atrocities range from program information, to co-op, to student services. Many of the moderator responses are even misinformed! There are so many opportunities for them to set the record straight, or to provide more info. (Example: thread on clubs lead into service territory and people were just let to believe that GLOW was a club). It’s just a rumour mill that will disappoint or surprise people when they see the error of their discussions. Shame on the Office of the Registrar for their failure in the propagation of truth and information.
Oh, and everyone should check out Mike’s book.

Currently Listening to: Dear Mr. President – Pink

Random Wikipedia Article: Evil Albino

I have moved cities again and am now back in Windsor working for Nemak. Same place, same job (same house even). Seems like it’s going to be an average work term.

Recently the only news seems to be a new announcement for someone entering the Liberal leadership. There are so many now that I am not really sure who I want to support at this time. Martha Hall-Findlay came to Waterloo to speak to us and I was unimpressed. Of course I am considering Scott Brison (who shares several views with me), but I’m concerned that he may not have enough French down at this point. Maybe he’s not ready to be PM just yet. Maurizio Bevilacqua looks promissing, though I need to read more into him. Gerard Kennedy has been cited as being a friend to students, but he might be too left wing fiscally for me. While Michael Ignatieff may be highly intellectual and skilled, I fear he may be to Neoliberal for my liking. (He has that whole torture thing going on, and was for the War). I think it’s a good thing that there are so many candidates. Sparks some policy debate and doesn’t force me into a specific vein of thought just yet, as a small group would. Dion is also up there in my books. There are several more candidates, and I guess I’ll just have to look into them before making a decision.

Yesterday the new Conservative government announced it’s first budget. I’m more confident than ever in my decision not to vote Conservative. Their tax policies are way off base. From the moment they announced it, I’ve been against the 1% reduction in the GST (Next year, 2%). My prefered method of tax cuts is through income tax. There’s something wrong when I, a full time student, am paying a great deal of income tax (Or any at all!). Their child care plan is outrageous too. By giving individuals $1200 (of my money!) to spend as they want, you aren’t improving childcare. I don’t mind supporting childcare, but I expect my contributions to be efficient. I think the most efficient way is to set up day care places. For the people who truely need it, this is the best choice. I support assistance to people who need it, but I expect them to put effort back. And if they are working, then funding their childcare is a worthwhile cause. If they are able to work and aren’t, then they are just abusing the system, and I won’t support deadbeats.

That said, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. Finally I can deduct my $100s of books, which will help a little (to compensate for the INCREASE in income tax for me). They didn’t pull back the Liberal income tax cuts completely, which is better than what I thought they would do, but they did roll them back a 1/2%, which could have been left the same if they didn’t have their stupid GST rollback. If they end up with a deficit, there will be hell to pay. Our VP Education (at Waterloo), Jeff Henry, has already issued a press release condemming the budget for ignoring Education issues. They have a lot of things they need to fix if they want Liberal support. For now the Conservatives are in bed with the Bloc. Not unexpected.

Finally, here is some budget highlights.

Currently Listening to: Hockey Monkey – The Zambonis

Random Wikipedia Article: Quine

One angry commentor on my site tried to “trap” me by asking if I’d support human charities always before animal charities (such as PETA). The fact is, there was never a trap, and they were confused. I had thought I made my self clear enough in the entry, but that’s exactly what I explicitly said: Human issues take precident always over animal issues. Until an animal has the ability to solve my differential equation assignment, and the world recognizes their “rights”, my view won’t change, and I find anyone who thinks otherwise very misguided.

This topic comes up with the onset of the 2006 Canadian Seal Hunt. Every year this takes over the news and people protest and we see countless pictures of the “inhumane” activities. The fact is (alot of this taken from CBC) that the methods used have been evaluated by the Canadian Veterinary Journal and given approval. The governement closely watches the hunt and ensures the hunt is performed humanely. Seal “rights” sites twist the truth, such as on this website, Harpseals.org, where the show multiple images of white coats, despite the fact killing white coats is illegal. The still provide links to poaching videos of the 70’s. All of this propaganda is used to advance their cause which is severely misguided. They seem to ignore the fact that the seal hunt provides much needed income for East coast families. I’m sorry, is it wrong to support income for families so they don’t starve at the expense of the death of a few brainless seals?

Of course all the environmentalists don’t talk about the environmental benifit of the seal hunt. Since our society chooses more to breed our food in controlled situations, the ecosystem needs controlled hunting to reduce animal populations to balance the food chain. The government decides exactly how many seals can be hunted to maintain the population and ensure they don’t grow out of control, thus effecting other populations such as fish. As a classmate has said, the only reason people protest this is because seals are cute….no one cries foul when you boil a lobster live or hook fish with barbed hooks and cut them up while still living. In fact, just because nerve spasms show movement doesn’t mean it is alive…like many seal protesters claim. They need to focus their energy elsewhere.

Today the Globe has an interesting article about confrontations between Hunters and Protesters. My favourite part, where they talk about the “angry hunters charged the protesters’ boat and flung seal intestines and other pieces of carcasses at the activists.” A week ago it was reported that Senator Celine Hervieux-Payette responded to a letter from an american couple in regards to the seal hunt. She replied saying that they were misguided and what she finds horrible really is “the daily massacre of innocent people in Iraq, the execution of prisoners – mainly blacks – in American prisons, the massive sale of handguns to Americans, and the destabilization of the entire world by the American government’s aggressive foreign policy, etc.” I’m glad that we have a tenured senate that is willing to actually say what is on the mind of many Canadians.

All this talk about seals has encouraged me to go have a Mammoth Burger at Chill and Grill…or if you are DQ, the Grill.

Random Wikipedia Article: Libertarianism

Currently Listening to: MODS professor drone on

All the major Canadian media will be covering it. I think I’ll be watching CTV and checking the Globe and Mail. If you need a ride to the polls, call one of the local party offices and they will be glad to pick you up and drive you there, regardless of who you vote for. Also remember that your employer is entitles to give you 3 consecutive hours off to go and vote. It doesn’t take very much of your time, but it does make a difference.

I hope that all people I know who are eligible will go vote. Getting involved in politics, or just even being informed is a civic responsibility. Yesterday I went to Kitchener to a Liberal rally with 2 of my roommates (note: just because they were there doesn’t mean they are Liberals). The Prime Minister was present for this rally (why we picked it). Unfortunately we never heard anything really new in his speech, but it is nice to see the PM taking time to visit your riding and talk with media so close to the election. (Unlike Harper who has ended media interviews…hiding away like he’s doing some of his candidates) Too bad he totally shafted me (His hand was 2 inches away and he turned!) Can’t really blame him, dozens of people trying to shake his hand, he looked a little dazed.

Well, tomorrow we will have a different make-up of government. I’ll be choosing my Canada, I hope the rest of you do too.

Currently Listening to: Crazy Train – Ozzy Osbourne
Random Wikipedia Article: Port Knocking

Unfortunately for my readership this is going to be more like a regular blog (the HORROR!) than I usually make it. And you also get the *privilege* of listening to me rant about politics and the election. Hurray for you.

First off, I got an ‘Excellent evaluation’ on my work term at Nemak. I’m pretty happy about that. I really enjoyed my work term this time around. Learned alot about mechanical and facilities engineering as well as manufacturing and industrial settings. Hopefully I’ll get to return.

I recently passed 1500 unique visitors, and for the first 6 months of being online, I’m pretty happy. Last I checked I have a PageRank of 5, which is pretty decent. Between searches for my name, and for PDEng related search strings, that is where I get most of my search result referrals.

On to Politics…It’s been almost a month since the government dissolved and the election started. Last week we had the first french and English leadership debates. Nothing really special came from that. I do find it quite confusing though why Harper keeps on bringing up the Same Sex marriage legislation. It’s law, and won’t be changed. He claims that if he becomes PM he will have a free vote in the house to overturn the legislation. He also claims that he won’t use the Notwithstanding Clause to do so and he will grandfather in all current marriages under the law. Now isn’t this confusing? He says he is going to overturn the legislation that 134 law scholars have went on the record of saying that the Notwithstanding Clause is needed to overturn…without using the Notwithstanding Clause. Upon further reading, Harper doesn’t believe the Clause is needed, so he apparently believe he is more of a legal scholar that 134 respected legal scholars. Apparently a Masters in Arts is good enough to prove JDs wrong…

Furthermore, he is proposing to make second-class citizens of a subgroup (mainly gays) while making them also second class citizens to the greater population. The Grandfather clause he proposed (most likely) in an attempt to appease some voters further will discriminate as some individuals will have been awarded full rights, while others will be barred from them. Why is Harper wasting parliament’s time on this issue? It was decided earlier this year with a MAJORITY in the house. Proved that this nation’s parliamentarians (at least the ones who voted for it) are doing their work to preserve minority rights and support the Charter.

I’m going to have a tough time deciding who I’m going to vote for in this election. While I’m a self identifying Liberal, what it really comes down is the individual candidates in my riding. This leaves Joe Comuzzi (Liberal) and Bruce Hyer (NDP) [I won't vote conservative]. I don’t know if I can stomach voting for Joe after he resigned from cabinet earlier this year over Bill C-38. And Bruce is such a nice guy. I heard from my Dad that he stopped by our house looking for me (I volunteered at his last campaign) and even though my Dad noted that I had switched parties, Bruce left the invitation of meeting over the Christmas break to discuss policy and “win me back”. How can I argue with such a dedicated and personable man? The qualities I have witnessed in Mr. Hyer are far greater than anything I’ve ever seen Mr. Comuzzi convey. It’s not like Comuzzi has a cabinet position anymore where he can make an impact for his constituents.

Well, that’s for me to think about I guess. I still have a bit to decide. I do know that I will not ever vote conservative, especially with Harper at the helm. Last week a speech from 1997 came to light in which Harper, speaking to a group of Americans as vice-president of the National Citizen’s Coalition, in which he called Canada “a Northern European welfare state in the worst sense of the term”. He went on to scold unemployed, bilingualism, Quebec, our established political system, judicial system, and political parties. He even said the “NDP is kind of proof that the Devil lives and interferes in the affairs of men”. Essentially he bashed every aspect of Canada. I’m not sure how even the Conservatives picked such a horrible leadership candidate. He just wants Canada to turn into The United States.

Speaking of them, they had a few issues in the last week as well. The Patriot Act failed to be extended in Senate, with Bush saying “The senators obstructing the Patriot Act need to understand that the expiration of this vital law will endanger America and will leave us in a weaker position in the fight against brutal killers.” Meanwhile, he’s defending himself against illegal wiretaps against his own citizens saying “It was a shameful act for someone to disclose this important program in a time of war…The fact that we’re discussing this program is helping the enemy”. Funny that he will call it war when it conveniences him, and when he takes prisoners in this “war” won’t call them “war prisoners”, but “enemy combatants” to get around international law. The US has committed so many war crimes and should be charged, the administration indicted, and economic sanctions imposed.

And the US media? Did anyone else hear Tucker Carlson say ?Canada is a sweet country. It is like your retarded cousin you see at Thanksgiving and sort of pat him on the head. You know, he’s nice but you don’t take him seriously. That’s Canada.? Wow. And you wonder why there is Anti-american sentiment in the world…sickens me.

Currently Listening to: The Sound of Silence – Simon and Garfunkel
Random Wikipedia Article: Parkour

Yesterday (article) the Pentagon charged Omar Khadr with a series of crimes relating to an incident in Afghanistan on July 27, 2002. That means it took the US almost 40 MONTHS to charge him! Where was he for this time? Being held at Guantanamo Bay.

Even worse is that Khadr, who was born in Canada (a full Canadian Citizen), was 14 at the time of the alleged crime. The Pentagon has replied to this by saying “He’s over 18 now”, charging him as an adult and leaving open the option of the death penalty. Holding a Canadian minor is a foreign prison known for torture, prisoner abuse, and human rights violations, without charging him with a crime for YEARS, until he is over 18 is not only illegal, but is repulsive and nauseating. The US continues to trample over international law and no international body will stand up to accuse them of crimes and punish them accordingly.

The media has twisted this story over the last several months and I’ve been following it closely. I’ve read articles that have claimed he had surrendered and then used the grenade killing a non-combatant. In fact while the soldier who died had medic training, he wasn’t a medic, and was in a soldier role at the time. The truth was twisted, and few reported that Khadr was shot and blinded. Bias has plagued this event. No matter how horrible the crime is, or who committed it, the individual deserves a fail trial, access to legal aid, and not be subjected to torture and the international crimes the US commits.

The history of the event and the characters behind it is very interesting as well. The Khadr family has been linked with Al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden, and has been in the news more than once. Whatever the case, Omar Khadr has not been proved guilty, and despite his family’s past, he should be given all civil and legal rights that all Canadians deserve. I sincerely hope the Canadian government can ensure true justice takes place.

***EDIT***

US now says they won’t seek execution of Khadr.

Random Wikipedia Article: Trapped in the Closet
Currently Listening to: American Pie – Don McLean