Vic Toews, Hypocritical Dirtbag, or Hypocritical Fuckwit?

Vic Toews on the the proper use of House resources:






"I take strong issue with the idea that House resources would be used to attack secretly a member of the House."






 
Vic Toews using House resources to publicly attack Canadians:

 "...stand with us or with the child pornographers,"

Facts That Won't Change the Narrative

Now that a Liberal staffer has admitted to putting publicly available information on Twitter, there is going to be a metric fuck-tonne of whining about "leaks" and "privacy". There is going to be a fetid stream of shit about how awful was this invasion of Toews privacy, and that we would never have known about him fucking his babysitter if not for the "leaks".

 There was no leak. You cannot leak publicly available information. Who says? The Government of Manitoba says, that's who.

Policy: Access to Court Records in Manitoba 1.0 Introduction 1.1 Principle of Openness

 An open court that permits access to both court proceedings and court records is of fundamental importance to a free and democratic society. This ensures that justice is not only done but seen to be done. This principle of openness is founded in historic common law principles which have been referred to by the Supreme Court of Canada in decisions such as Nova Scotia (Attorney General) v. MacIntyre [1982] 1 S.C.R. 175, wherein Dickson, C.J. for the majority of the court stated the following: Many times it has been urged that the ‘privacy’ of litigants requires that the public be excluded from court proceedings. It is now well established, however, that covertness is the exception and openness the rule. Public confidence in the integrity of the court system and understanding of the administration of justice are thereby fostered. As a general rule the sensibilities of the individuals involved are no basis for exclusion of the public from judicial proceedings.

3.0 Electronic Access
Subject to the exclusions set out in 2.3, electronic access is given to court record information of the Court of Appeal and the Court of Queen’s Bench in Manitoba respecting civil, family and adult criminal proceedings. At this time, there is no electronic access to Provincial Court records. The following information may be obtained electronically via the courts web site http://www.manitobacourts.mb.ca or at
http://www.jus.gov.mb.ca.

• court file number and title of the proceedings
• a listing of the documents filed, the document number and date filed with the court, document
• name and brief notes as to the contents of the document
• names of court parties and the name of their lawyer, contact information for the lawyer
• the date and time of next court hearing(s) in the court proceeding
• reference to any related court files
• general information as to available court dates to assist in the scheduling of a matter before the
• court
• a view of the daily court hearing list for court locations throughout Manitoba
• prejudgment and postjudgment interest tables from April 1993

The mainstream media has, by keeping quiet on Toews' divorce and philandering and refusal to pay child support, decided that the subject is not germane. I think that if you are going to be a moralising, privacy-invading, screaming fucking hypocrite, then you deserve to be punched in the balls.

You Have the Right to Believe in Ooggity Boogity, Not to Learn

Thomas Farr, former director of the American Office of International Religious Freedom, argues that the establishment of a Canadian Office of Religious Freedom will help Canada to achieve its humanitarian and strategic goals.



From the video:

Interviewer: In your view, does establishing an office of religious freedom implicitly place religious freedom above other human rights?

Farr: Certainly not, although I think it's important to recognise that not all rights that on can conceive of are equal. For example, I would argue that religious freedom is more fundamental than, say, the right to...a secondary school education...to pick something out of the air, which is created by government. Religious freedom is among those fundamental rights that are sort of attached to human beings by virtue of their existence.

I just can't come close to agreeing that the right, the immutable innate right, to believe in the supernatural, to believe in any sort of bullshit hocus pocus you want, is more important that the right to be educated. Especially when so many of those believers want to keep their followers from getting an education. I suppose they know the same thing Mr. Farr does, that being sufficiently educated generally leads to one losing belief in supernatural nonsense.

It is interesting to note that Farr's support of religious freedom might not extend to all Muslims. He says that in getting the church/state balance right, Egypt must

"...Deal with the Muslim Brotherhood" and if they don't, it will "have implications for the Coptic minority, and other Muslims in Egypt."

So some religions/sects are good, and some are bad. Junior ministers in Ottawa will decide which is which I suppose. I know that's a reach, and he is trying to discuss the persecution of one religious group by another, but it's the Office of Religious Freedom, not the Office of Christians and Western-Friendly Muslims. I guess that is exactly what it is.

Here's my favourite bit:

Farrr: We cannot simply conduct our relationships with other countries on a purely economic basis, especially authoritarian and quasi-totalitarian countries like China.

Farr then goes on to claim that China will not prosper economically unless they allow greater religious freedoms for the Chinese people.

I'll give you a chance to enjoy the sound of your own laughter.

From the National Post:

"When Prime Minister Stephen Harper meets with his Chinese hosts this week, he will be greeted with smiles and the veneer of friendship. There will be polite discussions about trade, investment opportunities and China's eagerness for a larger supply of Canada's oil. It will all be very civilized: No one will talk openly about the obvious moral qualms that many Canadians have about doing business with this amoral regime.

Unfortunately, Canada doesn't have much choice. Most Western economies (including our own) are on the edge of recession, and Canada's salesman-in-chief needs to go where the business is - which is why Mr. Harper's in China and not, say, Greece. 

... the Chinese simply don't care about what the rest of the world thinks about their attitude to human suffering. Just the opposite: Chinese nationalists are obsessed with their country's rising place in the world, and see any Western criticism as a form of unjustified meddling and paternalism."

Farr would counter this with his notion that China's economic growth cannot be sustained, and that when their economy fails, they can be aided by

 "...religious actors. One thinks of "The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism"...let them be themselves [the religious people in China], they're not going to be revolutionaries, but what they will do, is be economically productive over a long time."

Certainly the people of China could use a good solid dose of Calvinism to help curtail their profligate ways and to dampen their sinful natures. That way lies true (economic) salvation. More current opinion comes from Artemy Malkov, and Daria Khaltourina contend  who contend that it wasn't simply Protestantism that gave rise to the European and North American economies, it was, and is, rates of literacy. You know, reading. The kind of thing you learn in school, the one you have no right to attend.

I think I can summarize  Mr. Farr's point thusly:


If you want to be success, say your prayers, do your training, and take your vitamins. Swim with a buddy too.

Canadian Politics, Hitler, & Porn

Can you combine dry Canadian politics, Hitler memes, & porn, and end up at the funny? Yes, yes you can. Throw in a Degrassi reference and it's gold Jerry, Gold!





I do so love a good Pierre Poilievre joke.

Objectively Awful: The Worst Thing I've Seen All Minute

I know it's not my fault that this game exists, but I still feel ashamed. "Are You Smarter Than A Cheerleader" is a "real game" that can be found in the Xbox Live Marketplace. At least we finally have something more exploitative than Night Trap.



 I think the worst part about this game is the shame and embarrassment obvious on the faces of these young ladies. It seems like they've answered the ubiquitous ad for "models" often found in the classified section of the Local Shopper.

I suppose they should be glad it wasn't an attempt to get them to act in pornographic casting couch videos (you know what I mean, don't make me explain it to you) for a here-today, gone-tomorrow web site. Of course that might allow the videos to fade into the ether. Thanks to market penetration of the Xbox, these lucky ladies might have this necklace of infamy for quite a while. I only hope that it leads to internet fame, and not further shame, because they've been punished enough by having to wear those ill-fiting, dime store costumes.

Let's be certain to place our shame and blame where is belongs, on the goofball who made this thing. Somethings should remain unrealised. This is about four of them.

Download the demo, you'll find out that you can feel worse about the world.

You Are Incoherent and Sweaty; I Like You

Friggin' Oprah wannabe, veyesectomy trigger point, like friggin what? I mean, whaaaa? Oh my god.




 I think our friend here is trying to say that he objects to a bill put forward by Yasmin Neal, a Democrat in the Georgia House of Representatives. The bill in question "would regulate and limit male vasectomies. The "male sterilization bill" was crafted in response to Republicans' "fetal pain bill," which would ban abortions after 20 weeks. Neal argues for the proposition, saying, "Women, our bodies, and what we do with it, are always up for debate. This bill has been drafted for all women who have the wherewithal to chose. The day has come where men should feel the same pressure and invasion of privacy that women have faced for years.""

Honestly, I can't make heads or tails of the enraged word-salad he is tossing, and I can't tell if he knows it was joke legislation that was tabled to make a point, or if he doesn't. I do know that he is pro-veysektomeee, and that he needs to check his blood pressure meds yesterday.
 For the sake of clarity (what little there is here), I present Rep. Neal in her own words:




Wow. That is quite the glint. I mean, wow. Or whaaa? Or something. I'm really not sure but I know that it makes me uncomfortable. Not Rep Neal, I mean the white guy worried about a black woman being in control of his penis. He can barely contain his discomfort at the thought. As for me, it makes me gleeful. His penis I mean. Not really his penis, but her control of it. Not that way of course, but legislatively. You know what I mean.

Music in the Key of Gee That Sucked

Another SNL, another bad musical performance. Sleigh Bells were vigorous, but it came off as a wall of noise that was on the unappealing side of bad. Since the horrible sounding performance put on by Lana Del Rey, "people" (You know, "them", "the guy". You know.) have been blaming the SNL soundstage, proclaiming it a musical black hole that sucks in talent and only lets out crap. Is it possible instead that Lana Del Rey and Sleigh Bells are just shitty musicians? Or, if they are indeed as talented as their fans claim, they can't find a soundman to make them come across as the professionals they purport to be. Or maybe they just choked.

It's not impossible to sound really good on SNL. Listen to Bon Iver from a few weeks back.


Solid musicianship, and they sing on key. Of course, one could say that suddenly stepping on to the big stage can fill one with fright and ruin a big break. Yup, that is a road you can travel. Alternately, you can grab the performance by the balls and shake it the fuck loose like the Scissor Sisters did back in 2004. This was a "Holy fuck, who is this fun band?" performance for the bulk of us, who had not heard of them before this point. They move, they sing, they play, they entertained.

It's not the accoustics. It's not the stage. It's you. Be better.

Vic Toews is Just Playing Footsie With Your Privacy

Don't be mad at Vic Toews, he just wants to play "show and tell" with your private affairs. Long winter nights in Steinbach can get lonely, and you don't always have the company of a fresh new dalliance (or two) to keep the Manitoba winter at bay. So be nice to Vic, and let him play show and tell. It's how he shows he loves you.

More Evidence of Adam Daifallah's Fatuity; Redux Absurdium

Sometimes you have to go back to the well again, and again, and again. As documented here, the Republican base has creamed all over itself with the death of Whitney Houston. Why? Because she is black and any black person suffering any problem, mishap, or setback is more than enough reason to condemn millions of other people who happen to share a similar skin colouring. Like her daughter.
So please, no more of the "both sides are to blame bullshit". That weak-kneed, fake-middle-ground argument holds as much water as a French, enamelware colander.

Fine, here it is.

Here is the original post from August, 2008. 2008? Holy fuck, that is a long time to be insufferably wrong.

Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong. Wrong. Daifallah-wrong

Faithful readers will recall the words of Adam Daifallh, mocked here, and here. After Barack Obama's presumptive nomination as the Democratic candidate for President, he opined thusly:

"Anyone still clinging to the tired myth that America is a racist country can no longer claim to be serious...Obama inspires a lot of people (I'm still trying to understand why)

Sadly for Adam, reality keeps getting in the way of punditry because good old John Derbyshire of the National Review Online is here to poke a hole in Adam's trial balloon. John is still beating that Learnin' is tough horse with his unique brand of pundicomitry (the blend of political punditry and comedy that only the best can pull off). Except that this time the object of his contempt isn't the Epsilons of all races (who can't learn Spanish), but the black and brown ones who can't learn at all. They can't learn, they won't learn, and they'll never be able to learn, according to Derbyshire. So he is looking for a miracle. Something akin to "time travel, cold fusion, and personal immortality" says John.

So, Adam. Do you see the problem with your statement that only silly people see racism as a problem in the U.S.? And can you, could you, would you, try to understand why a message of hope from a presidential nominee might be just the miracle some people are looking for? Do you understand that there has to be hope for change, and hope for effective change, before there can be substantive change? And that hope for change can inspire people to be better than they are?

Never mind.

h/t to Sadly No

Calypso + Innovation = Success!

Far from being just a party sound about good times, calypso can, and does, address the concerns of today. Even older tunes that concerned themselves with economic issues of yesteryear can be applicable to our modern times. Case in point, "Cuttin' Wood" by Mighty Terror. This happy ditty, part parable, part cautionary tale, could be used in any entry-level business course. The lady in question owns a saw mill. She has come up against some hard wood which her mill cannot handle. Rather than lose out on the potential income from taking on this massive log, she seeks outside consulting help to inform her of the best way forward. The lesson learned is one for the ages; knowledge is power, seek help before jettisoning any project, and lube. Lots of lube.

"Real Time" Will Bring A Cloud To Your Sunny Day

There is no better month than February, and no better time in that month than Valentine's Day, to watch "Real Time". It will bring joy and misery to your dreary, love-starved day like few movies can. And you can see it on Netflix.

"Real Time" stars Jay Baruchel as Andy, a choss-pile of human failure. Andy's bad luck and bad bets have finally caught up with him in the form of hit-man Randy Quaid, who gives Andy one hour to do anything he wants before he puts Andy down with a bullet to the head.

Filmed in Hamilton, Ontario, "Real Time" is a at once sad, depressing, funny, and delightful. Hamilton is made to look like an absolute shit hole. This did not take much work on the part of the special effects team--they just filmed it as is. To be fair, they could have filmed it in London in February and had the same soul-sucking result.

Baruchel does a fine job as Andy, a loathsome character you really want to punch in the mouth. Quaid is surprisingly understated and effective as Reuban the hit-man with a heart, in spite of the curious Australian accent he affects. Acting veteran Jayne Eastwood is typically good in her small part; I think there's some arcane federal regulation that ensures she's in anything filmed in Ontario, but it's for the better.

The real star of "Real Time" is the soundtrack. From well-known Canadian artists like The Stamperders ("Sweet City Woman"), to Chlliwack's "Fly At Night", to the Hip's "Scared", the Can-Con soundtrack is the delightful part of this slow, but never laborious film. Sure, some of the tracks are well-played standards, but their placement in the film, and their use as a narrative tool, set the movie apart from other films about failure and gambling in Hamilton.

So for this Valentine's Day, get a six of 50, some chips, and sit down with your old lady or old man, and watch Real Time. Let them know how much worse it could be and that they should be thankful they settled on you. You, the big door prize.

Real Time Soundtrack

• "Since Birth" - Triznian
• "One of Us Is Dead" - The Earlies
• "The Cigarette" - Jake Wilkinson 
• "What Time Is It" - The Jive Five
• "Goodbye Farewell" - Abraham's Children
• "One Fine Morning" - Lighthouse
• "Sweet City Woman" - The Stampeders
• "Fly at Night" - Chilliwack (band)
• "Two for the Show" - Trooper
• "Gymnopédies #1" - Composed by Erik Satie and performed by Mary Kenodi
• "Without You" - Harry Nilsson
• "Scared" - The Tragically Hip

This one in particular made me smile as I'm sure I haven't heard it since the early 70s.

Snow At Last, Snow At Last, Oh My God, Snow At Last

It's taken 27 years, but the promise of Live Aid has finally borne fruit. How well we remember those heady days of 1985, when by sheer force of gathered talent could hunger be eliminated, starving Africans could be fed, and finally, there could be snow at Christmas time. Why do starving refugees need snow? Who the hell knows.

Consider the song a prayer to the unthinking, uncaring universe. Like all prayers, if you wait long enough, and keep your mind open to anything that could possibly be construed as a positive result of your desires, it will come true.

Behold, there will be snow in Africa.  

Thank you Bob Geldof. Thank you hippy drummers. The universe has answered your prayers and given snow to an area ill-equipped to cope with it.

Ladies, Raise Your Standards. Dramatically.

Courtesy of Blue Gal at Crooks and Liars, we have this striking image to burn into your brains and never, ever forget.

Questions, so many questions.

"One woman, Anne Manning, has come forward and confirmed a relationship with him during the 1976 campaign. "We had oral sex. He prefers that modus operandi because then he can say, 'I never slept with her.'" Kip Carter, his former campaign treasurer, was walking Newt's daughters back from a football game one day and cut across a driveway where he saw a car. "As I got to the car, I saw Newt in the passenger seat and one of the guys' wives with her head in his lap going up and down. Newt kind of turned and gave me this little-boy smile."

Think about what Gingrich has said and done.


Look at that picture.

Now ask yourself: why would any woman suck that man's cock?

My God is Like, Totes Awesome 'n Stuff

Tom Harpur is again dipping a toe into the wading pool of intellectual discourse. Harpur, who should be smarter than he comes across on paper, states that :

"God, the ultimate source and ground of not just this universe but of untold, as-yet unknown, universes beyond, is not only “great” but greater by a zillion degrees than anything our limited minds or technologies can ever possibly conjure up."

A zillion degrees.

I've tried using my local Sun paper, the London Free Press, to pick up dog crap. The crap rejects it.

Let's view Tom's argument as it deserves to be seen, as interpretive dance.

Anyway, god is so totally more awesome than anyone could ever, or will ever, be able to imagine. At least Tom has set the groundwork for his argument in that he is going to make bald assertions that are not only unverifiable, but could never be verifiable, ever in the infinite history of the universe. This is what is know in religious conservatives circles as "debate".

"atheism is today a wholly untenable position"

Not having a belief in gods is untenable to Tom. He is saying that not believing in the supernatural (literally outside of nature as he outlined above) is not a logical position to take. That takes some balls and being a bear of very little brain. Of course it could be that Tom has evidence to bring forth to convince us.

"The most amazing thing about the universe as we now know it is the fine-tuning of the physical constants behind the structure and coherence of everything else."

There we go. Full fucking moron in 9 paragraphs. In case anyone is not familiar with the argument for fine tuning, I'll let Douglas Adams, by way of a real atronomer, explain this widely discredited argument for the existence of a god.

Tom says "blah blah blah" when what he means is that, thanks to his belief in the supernatural, he thinks that the universe was always meant to create human life. Such ego.  Such hubris. Why, it's not christian, is it? Where's the humility?

Tom pops off with this resounding zinger:

"Frankly, when I consider the amount of confidence in sheer coincidence required by atheism in the face of the latest scientific findings about the origin and nature of the universe, I realize I simply don’t have and never will the amount of faith such a leap demands."

Tom packs a lot of straw into that little paragraph. It has intelligent design, atheism as a religion, knowledge of abiogenesis, and a sweet little "Bless your heart" to finish off on our faces. Do these guys wake up and go "Holy crap, there's a cock under this fat flap! I had no idea it was there." That is how he comes across; as someone who has just stumbled upon an idea, new to him, but that has been discussed to death, and widely discredited. It's like when Madonna discovered sex, we all had to hear about, about how awesome it was, and how she was the only one doing it right .

Let's graphically illustrate the universe, fine-tuned for human life.

Here a Venn diagram I made showing the intersection of the known universe, and the portion of the universe suitable for human life, as far as our current knowledge allows. The entire universe is black, and the portion containing us is in yellow. I know the yellow is too big, but I don't have the right kind of software to make it any smaller.

That is some fine, fine tuning there. According to Tom there has been billions of years of evolution, billions of years of infinite galaxies forming, billions of star systems that were born and died, untold astronomical events that have been happening since the beginning of time, and it was all for him. All so that we could end up with this picture:

Not worth it.


Yes, I know what you're thinking as you gaze upon that picture, so here you go.

It's nice to end on a positive note. Where do they get those facts anyway?