Monday 31 October 2011

Les Têtes à claques ... Hallowe'en

Literal translation: the faces you'd like to smack.

These animated creations are Québecois icons now. Some of the dialogue has become part of the short-hand communication friends and work colleagues use, as a shared cultural joke and a wink.

First the classic Hallowe'en original followed by its dubbed into English version.






I'd love to see a version of les Têtes à claques with caricatures of Stevie Spiteful, Cashmere Tony and Screamin' Baird.

*Cashmere Tony* - Trick or Treat?

Gawd knows we try to stay on top of Cashmere Tony's various dodges and Con jobs.

It seems the NDP has just uncovered another discrepancy in his Ministry, a possible misappropriation of funds.
Official Opposition critic for the Treasury Board, Alexandre Boulerice (Rosemont--La Petite-Patrie), wrote today to the President of the Treasury Board Tony Clement to ask him to explain the latest example of flawed accounting practices in his department and the possible misappropriation of funds.

New Democrats are asking Clement to explain the error involving the apparent mismanagement of hundreds of millions of dollars by Industry Canada and to take steps to review the estimates for other problems as well as implement a review of internal accounting procedures.


Just business as usual for PMSHithead's Contempt government; whatever happened to transparence and accountability?

It should be entertaining to uncover which of the ReformaTory pigs at the trough were the beneficiaries of Tony's prestidigitational largesse.

Saturday 29 October 2011

G-D knows about this and She is not amused.

In fact, She decrees it's the men who should be sitting at the back. Also, to ensure that their gaze won't fall upon the women, the driver will issue blindfolds to the men.

From here:
[...]men told her that she had to get up. Move to the back, they insisted.They were Orthodox Jews with full beards, sidecurls and long black coats, who told her that she was riding a “private bus” and a “Jewish bus.” When she asked why she had to move, a man scolded her.

“If God makes a rule, you don’t ask ‘Why make the rule?’” he told Franchy, who rode the bus at the invitation of a New York World reporter. She then moved to the back where the other women were sitting. The driver did not intervene in the incident.

The B110 bus travels between Williamsburg and Borough Park in Brooklyn. It is open to the public, and has a route number and tall blue bus stop signs like any other city bus. But the B110 operates according to its own distinct rules. The bus line is run by a private company and serves the Hasidic communities of the two neighborhoods. To avoid physical contact between members of opposite sexes that is prohibited by Hasidic tradition, men sit in the front of the bus and women sit in the back.
Perhaps to avoid complete physical contact with women, fundamentalist zealot men of all religious orientation should live on a different planet.

Isn't it interesting how the *brothers* of Judaism and Islam ressemble one another in their hatred of women?

Grand merci to lagatta who provided the source material for this post.

Scouts Honour

Walking the talk, the Girl Scouts of Colorado have calmly opened themselves up to fire from the religious right by standing firm on inclusivity in their ranks. A male-bodied 7 year old who has identified as female-spirited since age 2 has joined the state org's membership.

It's not like the Girl Scouts aren't already considered the scions of Satan by theocratic conservatives but expect this to bring on more shrieking and juxtaposition with the Christian patriarchy stronghold of the Boy Scouts of America.

What I found bonus enjoyable is this specific case's parental positivity on having a child not fitting gender norms. Given the recent fecal matter storms of virulently negative commentary by people aggressively invested in gender norms over previous instances of gender nonconformity for kids, it's obviously still an act of adult courage to step up for the child who the patriarchal system will brutally attempt to crush otherwise.

I'm always morbidly amused by the commentors who declare the parent in these stories is the cruel party, not making their child lie and hide so bullies can't pick on them. Sanity forbid anyone should have to put in the effort to stop the bully children from being the enforcers and plausible deniability distancing from an adult-instilled and *approved* system that Kills Children everywhere every day.

You *go*, Girl Scouts and Girl Guides. I salute you from my thin-mint cookie crumb covered desk.

650% more than Sun Infotainment

46986241.jpg

Oh ... snap!

Source: this tweet.

Friday 28 October 2011

Con Senator Hates Canada ...

's Mascot. Go read Creekside: Stupid Senate Pet Tricks to learn what the latest Contempt Party Hate-on Canada is.

PMSHithead has made it clear over and over that he will change Canada into a Con country.

It seems appropriate one of his ReformaTory Connibals would propose an animal emblem that, though threatened by climate change, ressembles the great white shark; it has been known to hunt human beings and to feast on their flesh.

Besides, why the hell is Nicole Eaton grousing about her dock on Georgian Bay; she is surely wealthy enough to have a new one rebuilt every year.

Are Fetus Lobby Zealots Unfit Parents?

It's time to give FetusLobbyists a taste of their own bitter medicine.

Call Children's Aid (or the appropriate local authority mandated to investigate child abuse) whenever Zygote Zealots willfully ignore the safety and interests of their own spawn in order to better stick their nose into the wombs of pregnant women.

I suspect there would be a lot of shrieeeking involved.

In a stunning demonstration of a classic double standard, FetusLobbyists obsess about other people's *pre-born* and support a number of invasive laws that would subject women and healthcare professionals to untenable regulations.

Yet any attempt to investigate these folks to document whether they do in fact provide their own kids with adequate parenting and nurturing essentials would produce the expected reaction to government intrusion into their private lives.

Thus, they're *free* to exploit their child as a pretext, accessory or photographic support in their various Right Wing Nut Job ideological pissing wars.

Did it hurt?

Now what could possibly go wrong with this situation?



The photo was taken yesterday outside the Kensington Clinic in Calgary where the 365 Days of Harassment continues.

According to a member of DJ!'s crack team of nationwide fetus-fetishist watchers, the kid in the tree belongs to the woman with the “Mommy will it hurt?” sign.

Perhaps the kid should have been holding the sign.

Because, predictably, the little tree could not support her and she fell, luckily missing the fence.

Mommy and gang continued to ignore her. And after a few anxious (well, at least clinic staff were anxious) seconds on the ground, she got up, seemingly OK.

One wonders: if the kid had needed medical treatment, would the clinic harassers have allowed one of the medical professionals (aka Evul Abortionists) take a look at her?

Or, worse, if the kid had needed an ambulance, would the fetus fetishizing liars gone all SHRIEEKY with their usual 'Ambulance Called to Abortuary. Again!11!!!' headlines?

Me, I'd bet a fair amount of dough that the clinic workers would NOT have been dancing in the streets.

We're reminded again, as Saint George of Carlin said about the zygote zealots, 'To them, if you're pre-born, you're fine. If you're pre-school, you're fucked'.

'The Crimson Tub'

The pressure mounts in the Rob Fucking Ford embarrassment.
Left-wing councillor Joe Mihevc said “it's absolutely important for the tapes to be released to clear the air,” adding Torontonians should know how their elected officials treat city staff.

“If the tapes are not released, the absence of them basically verifies CBC’s version of events. If it turns out he behaved in the way CBC says he did, an apology is in order and people can question the appropriateness of his actions and his ability to serve as mayor.”

Dr. Dawg is on it, and while admiring the coinage of 'SchadenFord', comes up with a pretty good description of Robbo without using you know, the word *cough* 'fat'.

Admire:
Compared to this crimson tub of vulgar, stupid ineptitude, Mel Lastman and even Ottawa’s clownish ex-mayor Larry O’Brien look like statesmen. How in the name of whatever gods that be could anyone have voted for this moron?

Have a look at this slideshow about the actual encounter between the Crimson Tub and Mary Walsh and decide who's telling the truth.

As for the 911 recording, we'll just have to wait to see if RFF will deliver.

Let's keep up the pressure, eh?

I guess it's time for this illustrative photo again.


Wednesday 26 October 2011

Who ya gonna believe. . .



Jabba the Ford or Mary Walsh?
Comedian Mary Walsh recalls her Monday morning visit to Mayor Rob Ford’s house much differently than he does.

Walsh said the mayor’s daughter wasn’t there when she showed up in his driveway in character as the outlandish, loudmouthed Marg Delahunty.

“There was no child at all,” she told the Star. “I mean, was she inside his suit jacket? We never saw any children.”

Ford’s daughter was with him but fled back in the house crying and “freaking out,” the mayor told Newstalk 1010 Tuesday evening.

In the clip that aired on CBC’s This Hour has 22 Minutes on Tuesday night there were no children in sight outside Ford’s home.

Walsh, dressed in the red “warrior princess” garb her Delahunty character sometimes wears, ambushed Ford around 8 a.m. on Monday with a crew from the comedy show.

She said the mayor retreated inside his house and later emerged with a phone in hand as he was calling 911. That decision baffled Walsh, who said she wasn’t trying to alarm or upset him.

“I’m a 60-year-old woman with a plastic sword,” she said. “I was just going to give him a bit of friendly advice.”

Walsh said she called out to him: “Oh, a big husky guy like you, trying to call the police. Come on.”

The Toronto Police website says 911 should only be called in emergencies. They consider an emergency to be any situation where there are people or property at risk.

Spokesman Mark Pugash said police don’t comment on specific calls.

Ford’s office didn’t respond to requests for comment.
. . .
The CBC received less than a dozen complaints about the incident with the mayor, spokesperson Chris Ball said. The segment aired at 8:30 p.m. Tuesday.

There's a short clip of the encounter at the Star link.

Jabba also claimed it was dark. Watch the clip. Is that dark?

Of course the Twitterverse broke into rage (RWNJs) and mockery, the latter led by the inimitable @canadiancynic:
Oddly, wingnuts who claim that all those Anders Breivik socialist brat victims had it coming furious about comedians in someone's driveway.

Today, some wanks are trying to spin it into sympathy for Ford.
Watch the clip. Jabba jiggling his way hurriedly into his house inspire any sympathy in you?

Hiding behind (as if!) a child. Lying about the conditions.

The old maxim seems to be holding: Bullies are, at heart, rank cowards.

Image source.

UPDATE: Oh dear. More about Jabba's classy reaction.
In the video of the encounter, Ford seems at first to be playing along, but becomes increasingly agitated, asking, “Can I go to my car please?”

Ford eventually walked back inside his home and called 911 — not once, but twice.

Several police sources tell CBC News that Ford asked for police assistance but became agitated as he waited, and called back to ask when officers would arrive.

Sources say Ford turned on the dispatcher, yelling: “You … bitches! Don’t you f--king know? I’m Rob f--king Ford, the mayor of this city!”

Recordings of the call have spread like wildfire throughout the police service — even though officially Toronto police spokesman Mark Pugash tells CBC News they can't discuss a private call to the 911 service.

Dispatchers sent a crew on high priority, arriving at his Etobicoke home 10 minutes after the call.

Way to waste a bunch of very expensive (thanks to you) people's time, Robbo.

ADDED: Alison in the comments brought us a link to the whole clip.

AND ALSO deBeauxOs here, adding from this tweet, a link to Robbo's past anger management *issues*.

More Contempt from PMSHithead

Stephen Harper affirme qu'il est temps de compléter un tour du chapeau... (Photo: PC)

According to Stevie Spiteful and his Cons, the Ruger Mini 14 is a *duck gun*.

That should be comforting to the 14 women shot dead on December 6 1989 and the victims of Breivik's murderous rampage.

Yet, according to this:
The majority of guns owned by Canadians are non-restricted long guns. Should new legislation be passed as the Conservative government has pledged, there will be no requirement to register this class of weapon.

Once a gun is bought, it can be modified to make it more agile and functional. Common tactical additions include pistol grips, folding or collapsible buttstocks, sophisticated sights, flash hiders, and lightweight synthetic bodies.

When purchased, a Ruger Mini 14 or "Ranch Rifle" is a fairly standard semi-automatic rifle, shooting the same 5.56-calibre ammunition used by NATO militaries. But when modified with specialized parts, it becomes considerably more combat-ready, accurate and intimidating.

A heavily modified Ruger Mini 14 was the weapon of choice for Anders Breivik in the recent Norway shootings, as well as the weapon favoured by [the killer] in the École Polytechnique shootings in 1989.

The Mini 14 - and its big brother, the Mini 30 - are widely available in Canada for around $1,000 and are classified non-restricted.
The day when ReformaTory Attack Parrots™© - with their constant prevarications and obfuscations - become political dead ducks can't arrive too soon.

The One Demand

This is from August 10, 2011. (Sorry for shitty quality.)



I had never heard of Dylan Ratigan, but he's got cred.
Ratigan won the Gerald Loeb Award for 2004 coverage of the Enron scandal.

In Ratigan's final CNBC broadcast from the floor of the NYSE he reported on what he called "an important story developing" that Goldman Sachs and "a variety of European banks," in his assessment and that of his guests, essentially "perpetrated securities fraud" and an "insurance fraud scam" against AIG — and, by extension, the government and taxpayers funding that insurance company's "bailout" — by insuring their questionable investment vehicles and, upon their devaluation, making claims on them to be paid by AIG "at 100 cents on the dollar" despite all of the markdowns "being forced upon every other" entity including the government, banks, shareholders, bond holders, taxpayers and homeowners.

"I think that it should be a bigger political issue than whether somebody bought an airplane ... Forget the private jets, forget who got a million dollar bonus. Fifty billion dollars," he said, minimizing what he saw as populist side issues to "the real question" of how "government policy makers" are to deal with the "problems of contract law" inherent in the agreements of businesses receiving government assistance during the financial crisis.

"The banks are being asked to take 'haircuts' on their toxic assets, why are the Goldmans and the Deutsche Banks of the world not being asked to take haircuts on their toxic credit default swaps? It's a real question. I will continue to pursue it for sure, I hope others will as well." Ratigan praised New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's subpoena of AIG to determine the bank payouts as "legitimate inquiry" and looked forward to "a body of lawmakers in Washington D.C. who are going to ask, it appears, some of the same questions that I'm asking."

Canada may not be quite as corrupt as the US, but thanks to King Stevie and the Contempt Party of Canada, we're heading that way at a furious pace.

h/t SherryBGood.

ADDED: Once the Contempt Party rams through its regressive new legislation, it will prorogue again until 2012. Then 'just watch them'.

Saturday 22 October 2011

Ninjas!




Improv in Toronto pulled this stunt last Saturday.

Found at Torontoist by Meg Campbell who said:
The takeaway: we’re pretty lucky to live in a city where, when people are suddenly rushed by a horde of sword-carrying ninjas, they assume it must be part of a harmless flash-mob stunt.

Yeah.

'Farcically Ill-Equipped'



'Farcical' is right.

Stephen Maher in The Vancouver Sun yet takes Tony Slush apart. Title: 'Up Muskoka River without a paddle'.
So Clement's defence is that the mayors made the recommendations, which they didn't, and that Baird made the decision, which he didn't.

We need to know why there was no paperwork for the auditor general, because we are up Muskoka River without a paddle if politicians are able to hide their files from the auditor general, the only official with the power to pierce the veil of secrecy in Ottawa.

Clement's explanations are gibberish, and he does not appear to have the judgment necessary for his current job as president of Treasury Board, the minister in charge of enforcing spending rules.

Whether it's gazebos, the long-form census or the InSite file, Cashmere Tony is an embarrassment.

To everyone but PM SHithead himself, of course.
Prime ministers need loyal servants, so even though Clement's G8 shenanigans show that he is farcically ill-equipped to carry out his job, Harper is unlikely to move him or to force him to fully account for the rule-breaking porkfest in Muskoka.

But good on the MSM for staying on this.

Wednesday 19 October 2011

Corporate Welfare for Quebecor and thus Sun TV

Look who's another MASSIVE liar.

Why, it's none other than Quebecor, owner of Sun Infotainment.
For more than three years, Quebecor has been using its newspapers, and more recently, its SunNews Network TV license to pursue a campaign against CBC/Radio-Canada. But there are some things Quebecor won’t tell you:
  • Quebecor has received more than half a billion dollars in direct and indirect subsidies and benefits from Canadian taxpayers over the past three years, yet it is not accountable to them.
  • Quebecor uses this public subsidy and its dominant position in protected industries to make record profits yet complains that its TVA television network "competes” against Radio-Canada.
  • Quebecor boss Pierre Karl Péladeau has sent over a dozen letters to the Prime Minister and others in government to complain that Radio-Canada does not spend enough money advertising in his newspapers.
From here.

More background on Quebecor, here.

Tripling Down on Women's Rights

The US Congress seems to be having a competition over who can come up with the most outrageous anti-choice legislation.

Most recently, there is the Let Women Die Bill.

And now there's the You Can't Talk About That Here Amendment.

Seriously, radical misogynist TeaBagger Jim DeMint has just come up with a doozy.
Anti-choice Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) just filed an anti-choice amendment to a bill related to agriculture, transportation, housing, and other programs. The DeMint amendment could bar discussion of abortion over the Internet and through videoconferencing, even if a woman’s health is at risk and if this kind of communication with her doctor is her best option to receive care.

Under this amendment, women would need a separate, segregated Internet just for talking about abortion care with their doctors.

Spiteful, misogynist, hoop-hopping and, for extra bonus points, sneaky.

Amanda Marcotte has a great post at RH Reality Check on the War on Women today. Here's a sample (emphasis mine):
Both the activist and political behavior of anti-choicers lately has made one thing excruciatingly clear: shame is the name of the their game. The vague principle of “life” has always been a farcical cover story for anti-choice sentiment, of course, and much of this website lately has been dedicated to drawing a line between recent anti-choice antics and how little relationship they have to this cover story about “life”. If anything, however, the response to being so exposed hasn’t caused anti-choicers to retreat and look for new ways to convince people that they aren’t the anti-sex misogynist obsessives that they are. They’ve just been doubling down lately, as two recent news stories show.

The two stories are the Let Women Die Bill and the outing of an anonymous abortion doctor by Troy Newman and Operation Scumsuckers. Effectively targetting her as they did Dr. Tiller.

Amanda should have waited a few hours. Make that TRIPLING down on women's rights.

Tuesday 18 October 2011

Defend Against Defunding

Torontonians: As you are planning your various rallies, marches, and occupations for this weekend, remember Campaign Life Coalition's Defund Abortion Bunfest this Saturday at Queen's Park.

Of course, there's a counter rally planned.
Start: Oct 22 2011 - 1:00pm
End: Oct 22 2011 - 3:00pm
Location: North-east corner of College St. and University Avenue Toronto, ON, Canada

Organized by the Ontario Coalition for Abortion and the Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada.

Never forget: Canadian fetus fetishists are slavering to instigate a War on Women just like the Rethuglicans in the US.

In a heartbeat.

Maybe one of the forays from the Occupy Toronto base camp could mosey up University Avenue at some point between 1 and 3. Just a suggestion. . .

Monday 17 October 2011

Elizabeth Warren

Usually, I don't have the patience to watch long videos. About six-seven minutes is my limit.

So, last night, as I told my sweetie about Elizabeth Warren, I showed him this (short) video.



Then, from the same YouTube page, he clicked on this. It's nearly an hour long, but it's rivetting and provides the facts and figures for the long decline of the middle class in the US. And, no doubt, things are much the same -- except for the healthcare issue, thank the goddess -- here in Canada.

The lecture was given in 2008, but it explains everything you need to know about the Occupy movement.

Elizabeth Warren has had an interesting and very impressive life. At the moment, she's running for the Senate seat in Massachusetts currently held by this tool.

She's smart, attractive, and a great speaker. A down-to-earth Harvard law professor.

I hope we're looking at the first female president of the US.

Sunday 16 October 2011

OH NO! What now for SUZY ALLCAPS?

Blob Blogging Wingnut's favourite form of expression - ALLCAPSLOCK - is being phased out.
Caps Lock had its uses back in the olden days. [...]

By the 21st century, Caps Lock had become an outdated scourge. Modern-day personal computing—surfing the Web, writing school papers, chatting online—doesn't require nearly as much capitalization. As of 2010, the most-common Caps Lock users are enraged Internet commenters and the computer-illiterate elderly. The key's location makes it a frequent target for an aCCIDENTAL STRIKE when your pinky reaches for the "a." Worst of all, Caps Lock occupies prime real estate that could be deeded to a more useful key, like Control or even a second Enter button. In 2006, Belgian computer programmer Pieter Hintjen launched the "Caps Off" campaign to persuade hardware manufacturers to abandon the key. Their slogan: "STOP SHOUTING!" Many online publications ban comments that are typed in all caps. Some people pry the offending key right off their keyboards in protest.

So why has Caps Lock stuck around so long? The simplest explanation is technological inertia.
From here.

Now if only the rest of the tactics that Fetus Lobby members deploy could also become extinct. As expressed by that now-viral photo:

Religion is like a penis Very Funny Photo

You have the right to hold a religious belief. Just don't shove it down our throats.

Friday 14 October 2011

What do you call a Catholic Bishop indicted

on a charge of failing to protect children after he and and other clergy in his diocese did not report - for five months - to police that hundreds of images of child pornography were found on one of their priests' computer - a priest who worked in a parochial school?

A beginning.

From here.

I am not moving.

Yo! Penis People!

Read this and try to plumb the depth of Theo-Neo-Con loathing and disgust for women.
Today the GOP-led House of Representatives, with the blessings and encouragement of the United States Council of Catholic Bishops and extremist religious groups such as the Family Research Council, passed a bill in a vote of 251 to 172 that would, among other things, allow doctors and hospitals to "exercise their conscience" by letting pregnant women facing emergency medical conditions die.

Yes. Die.

This is what the Republicans called the "Protect Life Act." And no, I am not kidding.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi called it what it is... "a savage assault on women's health."


Here's the representative of that hate.





Abortion is always an issue.

Thursday 13 October 2011

And here we thought SunTV would be

a pipeline for Stevie's PMO aka the Politburo, feeding English-speaking Canada non-stop ReformaTory propaganda.

Who knew that it would become the CONmedy Channel, with enough Poe's Law ambiguity to Confuse its intended audience? John Doyle describes an ersatz mash-up of Red Green and Stephen Colbert.
In its short but feisty life, Sun News Network has emerged as the finest of comedy sources. I’ve said that before. But now it’s even funnier.

I thought few instances of rip-roaring satire in the history of Canadian comedy could match the time Sun News host Ezra Levant marked Earth Day by assaulting a potted plant with a chainsaw. Levant, wearing a lumberjack shirt and a hard hat, began by making a lengthy speech at a pulpit. [...]

Then an assistant fired up the chainsaw and, after some small difficulty getting a grip on the instrument, Levant committed an assault on the unfortunate plant.

Sheer genius. Earth Day, Soviet communism and a chainsaw wielded by a guy not too familiar with the instrument.
And of course, there's Krista Erickson's totally hysterical impersonation of a journalist, replete with moves evoking Ann Coulter on crystal meth.

Meanwhile, the *real* Coulter's career as the official stand-up comic of Right-Wing Batshit Crazies has taken a queer turn.
"Hold on to your cowboy hats kids because there is a big surprise coming up on The A-List Dallas — an appearance from none other than Ms. Ann Coulter. While Ms. Coulter’s political viewpoints are a frequent source of debate, she has always been somewhat supportive of the gay community."

How can someone always be somewhat something? And Coulter supportive of the gays? Like when she endorsed Don’t Ask Don’t Tell? Or when she spoke in support of reparative therapy?
From here.

Grand merci to Jymm at Let Freedom Rain.

Yet Another Abortion Defunding Gambit

Gearing up for their Defund Abortion Bunfest on October 22 at Queen's Park, the fetus fetishists have released another *yawn* poll.
The majority of Ontarians oppose taxpayer funding of abortion according to a poll commissioned by Campaign Life Coalition, LifeSiteNews.com, and The Interim. More than six in ten Ontarians oppose the status quo of paying for all abortions in the province while just three in ten support subsidizing this unnecessary, elective surgery.

According to an Abacus Data poll, 40 per cent of respondents think abortion should be available but only funded in medical emergencies, while 11 per cent think abortion should be available but never funded, and 10 per cent do not think abortion should be available at all. In contrast, 30% think abortion should be available and always funded. Another 8 per cent said none of those positions match their view.

I downloaded the PDF and got this:
While overall a significant majority (81%) of Ontarians feel that abortions should be available to those who choose to have one, a majority (61%) also oppose government funding of all abortions, including many of those who support access to abortion.

Now unless Ontarians are significantly stingier about funding medical care than Canadians overall, this doesn't square with consistent numbers from Angus Reid.

In three polls from January 2009 to Jan 2010 (I couldn't find any more recent), about 43% of Canadians are cool with funding all and 41% are in favour of funding only in emergencies.

In fact, the number saying 'fund only in emergencies' is down by 5 points over the period. But 'not fund at all' is up by 6 points (from 4% in July 2009 to 10% in July 2010). So I'd call that a wash.

The poll included another of those idiotic 'gotcha' questions fetus fetishists love. Like this one going all SHRIEEEKY over the fact that Canadians didn't know that there is no time limit on abortion under law. (There are of course medical guidelines on limits.)

This time they're going all SHRIEEKY over the fact that 91% of Ontarians don't know that abortion costs the government 'at least $30 million' a year.

Well, duh. Under our system of single-payer medicare, I betcha 91% of Ontarians haven't the foggiest what is spent on appendectomies, cancer care, childbirth, or any other medical procedure.

And that's a good thing.

I did find out how they came up with that figure spent on abortion in Ontario.
Statistical Evidence:

Abortions in Ontario per year: 32,000 (Canadian Institute for Health Information) to 51,000 (Source: Project for an Ontario Women’s Health Evidence-Based Report (POWER)
Average cost of an abortion: $1000 (Joyce Arthur, Pro-Choice Action Network)
Annual cost of abortions (excluding complications): 32,000 x 1,000 = <$32 M to $51M

(Isn't that sweet? Citing pro-choice Joyce Arthur as an expert.)

I have no reason to quibble with that number, but wouldn't it be more responsible to put it in some kinda context? Like, what do we collectively spend on childbirth, vasectomies and other 'lifestyle choices' (as the CLC spokesthingy styles abortion)?

I tried to find out what a vasectomy -- 99.5% covered by OHIP -- costs and this is the best I could find. It looks dodgy, but the figure of $500 to $1000 seems reasonable.

(Reversing vasectomies has been defunded and the 'unsnipping' will run you nearly $2000.)

This next quote is also sweet, considering that the fetus fetishists probably expected Tim 'Defund Abortion' Hudak to be premier at this point (emphasis mine).
“The poll results show that a clear majority opposes the status quo of taxpayer funding for all abortions, proving that politicians should not be afraid to address abortion defunding.” said Jim Hughes, President of Campaign Life Coalition. “What politician or political party will have the guts to stand up for taxpayers and accountability to resist paying for the personal choice to destroy an unborn human being?” asked Hughes.

Quick answer, Jim: Nooooobody.

Slightly longer answer: Because with the vast majority of Ontarians staunchly pro-choice, to do otherwise would be political suicide.

Friends of the Cons

Yet another installment in the ongoing saga of which moneyed interests are bankrolling, lobbying and cozying up to Stevie Spiteful's Contempt Party.

*Gold Card* Baird recently flew to Libya. Did Rusty commandeer luxury travel arrangements for himself and the ConservaTories cronies in his entourage?
John Baird brought Canadian funding for efforts to build democracy and control weapons in Libya, but it was the guest list for his trip to Tripoli that pointed to another priority: Executives from big Canadian companies travelled with him.

The foreign minister flew to the Libyan capital with heavy security and secrecy, but also executives from Montreal engineering giant SNC-Lavalin, Alberta oil giant Suncor and Calgary-based pipeline-technology firm Pure Technologies.
From here.

SNC-Lavalin ... oh yes. The Cons recently sold the commercial operations of Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. to the Montreal-based engineering giant for $15 million.

As well, the RCMP raided their Ontario office, in the course of investigating whether bribes were involved in the award of a large construction project in Bangladesh.

More here (in French so use Google translation to get the goods).

SNC-Lavalin has a MASSIVE Public Works contract to maintain government buildings across Canada; accounting forensic probes led by Price-Waterhouse indicate that the current government has approved irregular and over-priced invoices from the engineering firm.

Not surprisingly, the CEO of SNC-Lavalin dismisses public demands for an official inquiry regarding corruption in the construction industry in Québec. One does wonder if he has received *coaching* from Dimitri Soudas in how to handle inconvenient media queries.

Anyone taking bets on whether SNC-Lavalin might have an inside track on building those mega-prisons that PMSHithead's *Hard-On Crime* Omnibus bill will foster?

Wednesday 12 October 2011

Poland Just Got Interesting



Over the years, DJ! has kept an eye on priest-ridden, misogynist Poland. Mostly, we've been appalled, but this week there's some very interesting and hopeful news.

In Sunday's election, ten per cent of Polish voters went nuts and voted for the Palikot Movement.
There is a picture, drawn by Polish cartoonist Marek Raczkowski: a crowd of people demonstrating in the street, carrying aloft a big banner that simply reads "FUUUCK!''. This is exactly how many young, well-educated, open-minded people felt on their way to the polling booth last Sunday. And these Poles voted for Janusz Palikot, whose recently created Movement party ended up coming third, with 10% of votes. His success is without a doubt the most thrilling story to come out of these elections. So who is this man, and why did 10% of Polish voters back him?

Palikot's Movement is the first political party in our country that has not been afraid to open up a debate about such sensitive subjects as a secular state, civil unions for heterosexual and homosexual couples, in-vitro fertilisation reimbursed by national health insurance, or a modern drug policy.

Thanks to Palikot's Movement, we now have the first openly homosexual politician in our parliament, Robert Biedron, and the first transsexual woman, Anna Grodzka. It almost feels like the day when the first black president of the United States was elected. One of the first things Biedron said after hearing the election results was: "A few years ago neighbours from my town used to throw rocks at me when I went jogging, because I was gay. And now Poles have chosen me to be their deputy. This is unbelievable. Our country is changing!"

Palikot wants to decriminalize marijuana, liberalize Poland's idiotic abortion laws, institute civil partnerships, and get the fricking Catlick Church out of politics.

He's a bit of a character.
The eccentric Palikot first conquered our hearts when he was Civic Platform's deputy a couple of years ago: during a now infamous press conference, he waved a plastic vibrator and a toy pistol around in order to call attention to a cover-up about a young woman who had been raped at a police station. Another time, he brought the bleeding stump of a bull's head onto a popular TV show, as a "mafia gift". Palikot has imagination and courage, and has earned enough from his previous career so that him and his family do not depend on the deputy's salary.

In my opinion, there is one conclusion we can draw from Palikot's victory: 10% of Poland's voters are willing to wave their metaphorical pink vibrators at the political establishment. Their vote was Poland's equivalent of camping on Madrid's Puerta del Sol or occupying Wall Street. Next, they want to hear some serious political solutions.

I dunno about that last bit, but Prime Minister Donald Tusk's party was re-elected with only a plurality. He needs votes in parliament. Will he continue to go with the misogynist pro-Catlick gang he has been working with? Or ally himself with the dildo-wavers?

Stay tuned. Poland just got interesting.

Image source.

Tuesday 11 October 2011

From Hell's Heart of the New West, I Stab At Thee

I'll preface this up front by stating Halloween and Days of the Dead is/are my favorite social celebration/s of the year. It's a momentary departure from how one is told one *should* behave that not only permits but encourages all ages to celebrate colour, imagination, magic, What-if, the fantastic, the unknown, the untouchable, pageantry, debauchery, overdose of sugarbombs liquid and solid, heros, villains, ancestors, and anything else you can cram into it.

The fiestas are the breath between Harvest's closing and hopefully fat moments, and the shadows veiling the next Harvest, reminding us the only true certainty in the future is Death and if we don't laugh about it, we'll cry.

Having so much fun contemplating altered states and mortality apparently drives 'serious' religionists bats. And when they insist on being serious in Alberta, I get to hear about it as if it's news. Welcome to Jeesusween . Not as fun as you'd think.

Aside from the 'what marketing genius thought up the name so the rest of us can point and laugh', it's sadly apparent that the pastor doesn't seem to understand the Christian origin of Halloween. Note, I didn't say origin of Samhain, I said Halloween, or All Hallows Evening, the un-fun night before the amazingly un-fun All Saints/Hallows Day. No, not Harry Potter's Deathly Hallows. That would be *fun*. Yet another church day invented by the Catholics to usurp the pre-Christian Roman Empire rituals of the 'Celtic' calendar, in this case, their New Year.

You'd think Christians would at least know their own history but perhaps that far back is too papal. All I really know is, when the Christian Hellhouses started up in righteous moral opposition to the demonic influences of 'secular' Halloween, it was easy to see the teenagers allowed to take part were diving into the grislier parts of their horror show with nearly secular glee. They truly found their inner Grand Guignol in depicting the sins and punishments of Hell. Medieval as H..all get out.

Trust Alberta to come up with a version that will suck even that much life out of the experience for kids and everyone around them. This October 31st, I could find adults using kids as their stalking horses, planting them on doorsteps with some version of Christian bibles and 'sharing the Word'.

From "Benefits" at the darling website...

"The children coming out to give the bibles will do it with excitement. They will not feel deprived as they will be coming out like other kids to give the Word to people. They will definitely be received by families as it is just natural not to turn a child down. The children will understand from an early age that it is fun to give the Word."

And if that isn't enough, just think of the fun on the faces of the children receiving bibles and other heartwarming Christian paraphenalia in their treat bags when visiting a Jesusweenie household. I mean, really? Not even a chocolate Jesus?

Fun. I do not think this word means what you think it means. Also, too, Jesusweenies? Stating "The dictionary meaning of Ween is to expect, believe or think"...

a/doesn't make it so no matter how much you want to retroactively try to make it sound like you meant it that way and scavenging a dictionary for justification is just *low*. If you came clean and stopped doubling down, you wouldn't have to resort to JesusWin as the hep backup name.

b/isn't where Ween comes from in relation to Halloween, hence apparently requiring you to spout what Word Detective encounters all too often in etymology; 'common sense' interpretation of origin. How's that working out for you around evolution again? I mean, why not just say Jesus'een? or better yet and this is after three seconds contemplation on my atheist part, Nazar'een...wait...why am I helping you? You're accomplishing all I can ask of a Christian 'outreach'.

Happy Halloween, Pastor Paul.

Game On!



Woo. We almost missed this. Nominations for the 2011 Canadian Blog Awards are now open.

And still with a seemingly uncontroversial Best Feminist Blog category.

Go nominate your faves. And no, this isn't a hint. DJ! and a bunch of other good bloggers fought long and hard for a feminist category. We want to support the new and improved Canadian Blog Awards.

And thanks again to Support Bro Jonathan Kleiman.

Suits for Bay Street



Clever idea.

On October 15, our crack team of well dressed artists, designers, and wardrobers will deliver racks and racks of business attire, free of charge to anyone at Liberty Square. We'll be joined by progressive tailors, radical barbers, and folks who want everyone to look great.

The way you say it matters as much as what you say. So say it in style. Say it in a suit.

What We Need and What You Get

You can help us realize this vision with your donations. Twenty dollars will put a protester in a crisp thrift store suit.

Or mail us a nice suit you're not using anymore. It’s free if you mail it from work. Here's our address:

Proper Business Attire Working Group
C/O The House of Yes
342 Maujer Street
Brooklyn, NY
11206

Extra suits and late deliveries will be donated to Threads for Success, an innovative New York City program that dresses young people in the justice system for court appearances and job interviews.

Let's get organized.

Look sharp. The whole world is watching.

Other Ways You Can Help

Post our campaign to anyone who needs to see it.

And straighten your tie.

Somebody should set something like this up for #occupytoronto.

Name that Protest!

Who would have predicted that, from Tunisia to Wisconsin, Tahrir Square to Wall Street, 2011 would be the Year of the Big Protest?

From here. The Occupy Wall Street protesters have perspectives that are quite different from the ultra-conservative Tea Party movement on the nature of US problems - though at times their complaints sound remarkably similar. Call you tell the Tea Hatriots from the Occupiers?

Try the BBC quiz. Pay close attention to the substance of what is said and how it is expressed. Hint - one of the quotes is attributed to Sarah Palin.

Friday 7 October 2011

Suck it up, Buttercup

Well, that was sweet, wasn't it?

As deBeauxOs gloated pointed out earlier today, The Sun is in a tizz, which I find especially delightful since they refused to endorse Hudork.

And our friends over at Freak Dominion -- yeah, those guys who told the whiny lefties to suck it when we pointed out that a majority of Canadians did NOT vote for King Stevie the First -- are having a bit of, um, what to call it?

Oh, right. IDWCDI. It's Different When Cons Do It.

In a thread dissecting the loss of their boy, a commenter named 'Conservative Toronto' says:
Just to put things in perspective, 0.492 x 0.3762 = 18.5% of Ontarians voting for McGimpy, and 81.5% choosing to do "other".

To which 'smallLliberal' replies:
so what, that would mean Hudak got around 17% .. 83% chose "other"

Yep.

First Past the Post is a bad system and NOT just when your boy loses.

Of all the morning-after blah-blah out there, I really enjoyed this from Andrew Coyne, accounting for Con losses in both Manitoba and Ontario.
In short, conservatives in this country, at least of the partisan, capital-C variety, have lost their nerve. They do not believe in themselves, yet somehow hope the public will. They reek of flop-sweat, calculation and guile, yet ask the public to trust in their leadership. They offer no alternative, yet campaign on “change.” It is a formula guaranteed to fail, as it has done, over and over again. Yet it is the one they return to, over and over again.

Dan Gardner, who pointed to the piece, said:
BTW, I love this: "They reek of flop-sweat, calculation and guile." Impossible to read that without seeing Hudak.

Yep.

One more morning-after bit from me. A Globe reporter named Steve Ladurantaye was reassigned from his usual real estate beat to ride the bus with Hudork. I found his reporting good and his tweets even better.

I could try to find it, but near the end of the campaign, he tweeted something like: 'I don't usually cover politics and am finding the level of dishonesty/lying/disingenuousness [something like that] amazing'.

Imagine. A reporter who asks questions, expects to get them answered, and is surprised when he's lied to.

Yo! Globe! Keep Steve on the political beat.

And give him a raise.

Today, he tells the story of Hudork's borrowing of Wayne Newton's raunchy tour bus, a story the Con staffers wisely kept to themselves until after the election.
Reporters were never told, for good reason. The replacement bus formerly belonged to Wayne Newton, party insiders said, and featured a stage complete with a stripper pole in the back.

Dammit, if only we'd known.



Image source.

Welcome to Hell

Last night on Twitter, it was rumoured that would the blazing headline on the cover of all Sun tabloids in Ontario.

I thought: "How sweet. Though Hudak snatched defeat from the jaws of the victory PMSHithead predicted for him, Sun Media is still going to run the headline they'd prepared for him."

So, did it happen? I don't buy that tabloid and the front page doesn't seem to appear online.

I also worry about poor little Miller. Montreal Simon tweeted this.

Imagine having to look at Mr Grumpy-face every day until the next election.


Thursday 6 October 2011

Contempt Party and femicide

This is DJ's ongoing reflection regarding the Contempt Party government & its *Hard-On Crime* Omnibus Bill.

I believe that it will encourage police forces and the court system to shift resources away from investigating and prosecuting crimes against women and children. Since the Cons' Crime Bill will significantly reward cops for the number of arrests leading to convictions, they will only pursue criminals that are "easy" to catch.

Did you see *Justice* minister Nicholson's weasel performance a couple of weeks ago?


He evaded questions regarding costs and priorities but kept using buzz words to create the impression that the Cons care about preventing violence against women.

The inevitable result of this re-engineering of the legal system will be a vicious circle of fewer and fewer women reporting criminal assaults that are inflicted upon them, and less investigations and prosecutions of their assailants. These violent men will get the message they can and they will continue to sexually terrorize and harm women and children.

Consider what is happening in the US. With diminished funding and resources, the states and the municipalities are trying to dump the responsibility for charging spouses with *domestic abuse* on the other jurisdiction, which means violent criminals walk, unchallenged.
[...]domestic violence advocates in Topeka say it’s already putting vulnerable people at increased risk. Since the county stopped prosecuting the crimes on September 8th, it has turned back 30 domestic violence cases. Sixteen people have been arrested for misdemeanor domestic battery and then released from the county jail after charges weren’t filed. “Letting abusive partners out of jail with no consequences puts victims in incredibly dangerous positions,” said Becky Dickinson of the YWCA. “The abuser will often become more violent in an attempt to regain control.” The YMCA also said that some survivors associated with their Center for Safety and Empowerment were afraid for their safety if the dispute wasn’t resolved soon.
PMSHithead and his party of Cons have taken the craft of lying to new depths. Under their watch, expect the usual deliberate obfuscation and political theatre that focuses on so-called "honour" killings and disregards systemic violence against women and children.

Update: Kevin Page, Parliament's independent budget officer has some choice words about the cost of the Cons' *Hard-On Crime* bill.
The Conservatives say their massive new crime bill, which includes nine separate pieces of legislation, will cost $78.5 million over five years, part of bigger justice agenda the government says will cost $2.7 billion.

But Page, who has been asked by the Opposition parties to cost out the bill by mid-November, told The Canadian Press the government estimate includes no methodology, no supporting information and no provincial costs. Nor can Page find the $2.7 billion expenditure listed in any federal budget of the past two years.

More lies from Contempt Party government.


They LIE.
They lie they lie they lie THEY LIE!

Today our government introduced the Budget Implementation Act II which includes measures to eliminate the Per Vote Party Subsidy. In November 2008, our government committed to ending this tax on voting that will save the Government of Canada around $30 million per year. This move is being heavily criticized by the NDP, who receive most of their funding from large unions and have come to rely on this subsidy for a portion of their annual funding. This disrespect for taxpayers' money is yet another reason why the NDP are not fit to govern.
From here, where Kady O'Malley eviscerates the truthiness of the above agit-prop produced by the Contempt Party's propaganda machine, aka Stevie's Politburo.


"In our country the lie has become not just a moral category but a pillar of the State - Alexander Solzhenitsyn."

Wednesday 5 October 2011

RIP, Bert

Aw. Guitar legend Bert Jansch has died.
Robin Denselow writes: Bert Jansch was that rarity, a musician who really did deserve to be regarded as a legend, and who retained that status throughout his career. He was an extraordinary guitarist and a thoughtful songwriter, and generations of would-be pickers sat at his concerts watching his fingerwork with envy and astonishment.

He was influenced by traditional songs, blues and the "folk-baroque" of Davy Graham, but his distinctive style always allowed him to take chances and work with different musicians. When I first met him, as a student journalist in the 1960s, he was outselling Bob Dylan in the folk shops along the Charing Cross Road, and told me: "I'm not recording for anyone, just myself."

Years later, visiting him at his garden flat in Kilburn, it always struck me how little he had changed – he was still a tousled-haired figure with a slight mumble and quiet sense of humour, happiest when picking up a guitar and discussing music. One of the most memorable of Bert's shows was his 60th birthday celebration at London's South Bank, when he ran through the full gamut of his work, joined by younger fans including Johnny Marr, Bernard Butler and Hope Sandoval. He was a unique performer.

My highschool boyfriend was a very talented musician. He studied the bass but loved the guitar. Like all guitar-nuts, he was blown away by Jansch.

One day we were listening to a new Jansch album and almost came to blows over a particular song. I think it was this one.



Boyfriend insisted that it was double -- at least -- tracked. Had to be two -- at least -- takes mixed together. NOBODY could pick like that.

Nobody but Bert.

RIP.

Ourselves



Hands up. Who remembers her (or his) first encounter with 'Our Bodies, Ourselves'?

It is 40 years old this year. (Eeek.)
It was described by evangelical pastor Jerry Falwell as "obscene trash."

High schools and public libraries banned it, while teenagers -- male and female -- hid it under their beds like a dirty magazine.

Women across the country passed it to their friends, their sisters, their neighbors. They read chapters about rape in closets with flashlights. They gaped in dorm rooms at the photos of childbirth.

The landmark women's health handbook was filled with sometimes graphic information about the most intimate aspects of women's lives. It was revolutionary in its candid discussions -- and depictions -- of the specifics of sex, birth control, childbirth, lesbianism and other formerly taboo topics.

In 1971, the first "Our Bodies, Ourselves" book sold 250,000 copies. Today, it is available in 25 languages and has sold more than 4 million copies.

It's hard to believe it all began in Boston with just 12 women.

The CNN piece continues with an interview with Judy Norsigian, one of the founders and now executive director of 'Our Bodies, Ourselves'.

What I remember most vividly were the anatomy drawings. Who knew there were so many varieties of vagina?

I referred to it often over the years. The information was always clear, direct, and helpful. I imagine it still is.

Hard to imagine the women's movement without it.

Congrats again to the Boston Women's Health Book Collective.

Image source.

Fetus Lobby® Poster-Boy

With yet another fetus fetishist bunfest going on -- called 40 Days of Harassment -- Luna has written a thoughtful post from a Christian perspective at Dr Dawg's. It's sparked a lively debate -- 147 comments when I last looked.

She calls the clinic harassers 'a bunch of old white jerks'.

Which, of course, immediately brought this video of the 2009 March for Lies in Ottawa to mind.

Here it is again.




Hateful misogynists? Nah, loving, peaceful Xianists.

BONUS: Read The Mound of Sound's The Older I Get, the Less I Like Old People. To which I say, amen.

Tuesday 4 October 2011

Seriously, Andrea?

I just saw a bunch of posters in my nabe featuring this image:



I think we got that, Andrea. You're a chick. ^NOT a suit.

But really, in the 21st century, we're going to promote female politicians with fuck-me shoes?

Image source

Jackpot, Fishy Poopypants

Found this at Andrew Sullivan's.

Dunno about poopy-pants, but I almost peed mine.


Monday 3 October 2011

Creekside: Steve plugs for Harper Hudak Ford TeaCon trifecta


You can watch Stevie Spiteful's jolly little screed against the NDP that was posted on YouTube immediately after it was recorded and which Harper's Contempt Party and his Politburo have tried repeatedly to suppress.

The mystery has been solved.

The reason there are so many cat pictures on the Internet on Twitpic

Answer to the often asked question: Why are there so many cat pictures on the Internet?

Is there anything more despicable than pimping your own kid?

Apparently, Tim Hudork doesn't think so. He thinks it will win him an election.

Here he is using his daughter's recent serious illness (and some ringer nurses) to talk about healthcare.

Here he is using a ginormous photo of wifey and adorable daughter as bus-wrapping.

Here he is again using daughter's illness to try desperately to connect with someone, anyone. (Warning: major glurge-fest.)

And how about this one this past weekend? Adorable daughter has a birthday party and a CP vidographer just happens to catch the candle-blowing out part.

Awwwww.

But really, I wonder how he can top today's kid-pimping effort.

Defending a homophobic flyer sent out by his party -- a flyer that spouts a bunch of lies about that sensible sex-ed program that the Liberals scampered away from when Foghorn McVety stamped his widdle foot -- he trots out adorable daughter again today.
“My little girl Miller – it’s her birthday today – is just four and she has started JK,” he said. “The notion that Dalton McGuinty thinks a priority in education is sex-education curriculum starting at Grade 1 when they should be learning their ABCs and how to tie their shoes is another example of how Dalton McGuinty has lost touch with mainstream Ontario.”

How low can a pol possibly go?

Well, there are three days of desperation left. We may find out there is yet a lower sinkhole in pandering pimpitude.

AFTERTHOUGHT: Surely, in a Theo-Neo-Con's mindset, teaching a child to tie her shoes is a PARENT'S responsibility.

Sunday 2 October 2011

Women are punished for rapists' crimes.

Thanks to the Contempt Party government Obnibulating Crime Bill, female victims of crime can expect to be treated like this.
Kainat Soomro is a 17-year-old Pakistani girl who has become a local celebrity of sorts in her battle for justice in the Pakistani courts, a daring move for a woman of any age in this country, let alone a teenager.

She is fighting to get justice for a gang rape that she insists happened four years ago in Mehar, a small town in Pakistan.

We first met her in the office of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan. A colorful traditional Pakistani shawl covered her head. Her father sat next to her as she recounted the 2007 incident.

"I was walking home from my school and I went to the store to buy a toy for my niece," she said, staring at the floor of the office. "While I was looking at things a guy pressed a handkerchief on my nose. I fainted and was kidnapped. Then four men gang raped me."

As she shared details of her days in captivity and multiple rapes, she kept repeating, "I want justice, I will not stop until I get justice."
After all the Con bluster and clusterf***ing Hard-On Crime subsides, the privatized penitentiaries built and operated by Friends of the Contempt Party will fill to the rafters with pot-growers while child rapists get to spend a few days in the comfort of provincial jails.

Saturday 1 October 2011

In Your Face!



Under assault from Operation Scumbag, Whole Women's Health, a women's clinic in Austin, Texas, is fighting back.

According to this blogger, that banner is the work of artist and activist Heather Ault. Visit her webpage, some good stuff there.