not too much to say today. heading to ottawa tomorrow. it'll be cold. at least it was 52 F today in the district. tomorrow it will be 54... nice weather to send me off with. here are some bits and pieces from what i've been reading on the interweb, as my buddy laser likes to say. one. chantal hebert is one of the smartest pundits i know of. i've always thought she was regularly astute and wise. this article is no exception. it does draw a deep distinction between how the grits and tories are fighting this campaign. i assume the liberals will turn up the heat and kick themselves into high gear come january; because if they don't, harper's policy-a-day approach will win over voters in ontario. in particular because so many of the policy announcements are moderate and geared towards the ontario grind. but he's still polling poorly there. national unity will have to emerge as the #1 issue if the liberals hope to keep even a minority. two. big brother has never really listened to congress anyway; and the fact is, unless the dems can win in '06, they'll have no way to do much about this massive violation of basic civil liberties. land of the free, home of the brave or land of the watched, home of the fearful? or as the GOP would put it: the democrats are just not serious on national security. most people thought the reason security was so important was because of liberty, not in spite of. three. anti-bush people need to do their best to keep this language out of the debate, or else pursue it only with a backing of a vast majority of the public. lacking that, and a senate majority, it's clear that bush will never be impeached, and the election may just confirm that so many are willing to give up all their freedom to "get those terrorists." four. i'm not even sure why this list was created at all. does it even describe verizon's coverage? either way, a simple tool (we call it an atlas) would have gone a long way at getting any of this right. five. world exchange plaza has always had shitty management. i also like that the salvation army fellah was only able to notice three "big ones" this year. the fact is, natural disasters struck more than thrice, and always have. it just so happens we were convinced that caring was worth it this time. clearly for those victims in the U.S. gulf coast, that compassion was undermined by the gorgeous "deficit slashing" budget. and certainly, the people rebuilding worldwide, in pakistan, sri lanka, india, indonesia, and so on also felt the well dry up when the media coverage did. that's how it always goes. six. i really hope something happens here. most likely the government of the united states will cut their losses and get out of "knowing" these suspects as soon as possible. i'm out.

tomorrow will be 52 F or 11 C in washington! woo hoo! but, then, it's off to freezing cold and uncomfortably clean ottawa

one. to indulge my weird curiosity.

two. i can hardly believe alberta is doing something about this!

three. the war on christmas reaches carleton place: a hotbed of anti-christian discrimination...

four. quebec separatism will never be defeated, unless a more viable and appropriate federalism is in place. harper nor martin can really do this.

five. has its time finally come?

six. the strike may end today, but still.

seven. apparently, so...

eight. why haven't we?

nine. this guy's so astute on so much, including, apparently, social commentary.

ten. lovely. just so right on.

workers unite! it's not that i support strikes, per se; but the transit strike in new york city makes me rather upset. you can see the MTA budget here. but take a look at 2004's final budget; an interesting thing to note is how the MTA has decided to keep its capital projects grants and appropriations out of the revenue section, while keeping the depreciation and amortization that is apparently the result of earlier capital projects in the operating expenses. there is a clear increase in net assets, while the operating budget shows a loss. that being said, it seems to me that the demands of the transit union are entirely fair given the work they've been asked to do and the manner in which the MTA operates its business. visit the ATU site. when i get info on how to support the workers, i will post it.

two more... one. wild. two. also wild.

where i've been on the internet recently. mostly news sites. a little boring, i admit.

one. this is totally fucked up. i mean, not really though. even folks with passion and a love for freedom can be bought.

two. a little strange, but i'm curious to know the outcome.

three. i have a strange obsession with trashy news. mostly because so many folks out there also do, and i want to understand why.

four. people know how to complain more than they know how to appreciate. that's the way everywhere.

five. only in calgary do people think this is what the election is about.

six. merry christmas.

seven. this is couched deep in the international news sections in the west; meanwhile, a people is losing their king.

eight. can fox news, so critical of anti-patriotism so often, really hire a traitor with a straight face.

nine. soon trade liberalization will expand enough that capitalism will be revealed as the largest pyramid scheme ever.

ten. this surely freaks a lot of folks out; but freedom is freedom.

eleven. maybe he'll accelerate the peace process.

twelve. the newest kind of separatism?

thirteen. jim harris is going down. good for the greens. maybe next time around (18 months?), they'll be able to take the organizing he's brought and leave out the conservativism.

fourteen. no comment.

fifteen. just common folk, huh? politeness should never have become an uncommon trait.

sixteen. maybe we'll get a fence too.

seventeen. henry ford got a few things right, including paying your staff enough to enjoy the products they create.

some more. funny stuff today. one. this is intense. permanent (total) war is a war on criminals. it is not a war with warriors. as jello biafra has said, If Evolution is Outlawed, only Outlaws will Evolve. which is an easy way of putting jean baudrillard's larger point about marginalization and popularization, as he described in 1997. so many very interesting undercurrents. two. this is not a widely discussed issue, but if the entire state of california were having trouble securing food, it certainly would be. isn't easier to spread people out and dilute our concerns? three. one day, latin america will have nuclear weapons. until then, they will nationalize all their shit and make huge sums of money. capitalists worlwide will whine and cry, but when autonomy and freedom reign, meddling is so much harder! four. is there anything to say? clearly, this article is getting a little dated, but it's not like we don't remember the nineties. or live like they were better than now. oh, the new millenium is not living up to its potential?

some links. commentary.

one. wasn't it the last GG who was all "i'm above politics?"two. oh, i hope both the east and the west invest their oil money well; if not, in 80 years they'll be back on the teat of mother ontario. thanks to john a, and his national plan for that one.

three. bush whacked!

four. still alive? there's an election today! vote for freedom!

five. it's sad to see donna doing this. oh donna. we miss you. don't be such a hater. creatively, i think she has the right to do as she pleases, despite that i will probably never watch that 70s show in the same way!

i've been doing some writing that i will be hopefully posting to the words section of this site by the end of the year. it is/will be a short play. I might post some more of my work in that regard as well. for the time being, i appreciate your patience. also, been working on some various propaganda pieces, and may have some room for them here as well. keep your eyes on the vids section (in history). i'll post when i update. here's a couple links: one. you'd think after all the money and time so many have spent trying to figure out cancer, we'd have a better idea that things like 'linked to'? even when we think we're right, we're more often wrong about it. two. i don't even know what to say. only in western medicine.

another list. brief commentary.

one. the cold is creeping up on me. i'm not ready.

two. oh those martin libs are fuck-ed!

three. grasping at straws. both use jet fuel, after all.

four. i'm claiming canadian residency status, and don't plan to stop anytime soon.

five. just get a passport now, before the wait gets too long.

six. she left the supreme court to do this? i hope it was worth it.

seven. in hundreds of years, we will remember pinter. and those other two?

eight. they couldn't shoot this guy in the leg? or the foot?

nine. this would be quite something in forcing the hand of medical practitioners. but we already do that, now, don't we.

some links. brief commentary. i.e. this is the junk i read on the internet. one. quite a thing to be famous for. two. have i ever said that before? three. got interviewed and photographed for this one. they obviously chose better looking people in the end. four. what's strange is no one really is paying att'n to the fact that they weren't allowed in before. a new logo doesn't equal a new diplomacy, it seems. five. proves the real purpose of these ventures is profit not sanctity.

one of the things that drives me crazy about how security officials envision preventing violence, is that they are terribly uncreative. the US TSA is changing its rules a little. it will allow scissors up to four inches long. this is pissing off at least two members of congress; which to me seems ridiculous. there is no way that we can actually prevent the comandeering of an aircraft by preventing folks from bringing nail clippers, scissors, box cutters, machetes, etc. you'll have to also prevent wine (bottles are breakable and sharp) from being served, plastic (that can be torn into sharp edges) from being used in food service, soda cans (which can be torn for sharp edges as well) from being used. we'll also have to ban steel toe shoes, which can be used to bonk people on the head. while we're at it, i think i could smother someone with that little pillow they give you - on a long red-eye flight, i could make it through most of the cabin. my point is this: its like supply and demand. cutting off supply 100% is impossible, so focus on the worst shit, like machetes and guns. then use your resources wisely, and certainly cutting off demand (a largely educational and political process) will be the best bet. so, there's nothing that's a sure bet, but that's how i feel when i cross the street. how much paranoia can we sustain while still living relatively normal lives?