I am sorry, but honestly, I’ve heard some pretty damn awful speeches in my life, but the one made by Furlong, in closing the Games has to rank right up there, as being a total pile of craptrap. It is nice that Canada won so many Gold Medals, good for those athletes that did win, and all that, but please, don’t insult me by making me think that it was the greatest event, that suddenly unified a nation.

No wonder Stephen Harper looked so pained, so constipated, because he has done more to try and divide this nation, than anyone since Brian Mulroney. Yes, the games have brought us joy, pride in our Nation, our varied multi culturalism, that Stephen Harper has tried to use to devide us with, but there is a lot more to being a Canadian, than any game or sporting event can ever do.

I think if we could just sit back, cut out the opening & closing ceremonies, cut out the inane droning of the sports announcers from CTV, these games would have been a super hit. It would have been a huge hit, without the guessing games of what events were being shown, and if they had kept to their schedule.

Instead of telling us how good we are, why not simply let us see? Would it have hurt CTV to have simply shown the events, and not tried to impart their warped idea of what we wanted to know, like talking about how courageous this one was, that one is, or how they overcame terrible pasts, to get here?  Nice for an interview or wrap up piece, but not while they are out there performing.

And let’s talk about the commercials, that could do our National Anthem better than who they hired for the ceremonies. Makes you wonder what Furlong was thinking when he hired them, or Campbell for putting Furlong in charge. Like just how much did his campaign get?

Hey, lets not forget Stevie Boy who cancelled Parliament so he could attend the games, to say ‘Go Canada Go’ instead of concentrating on unemployment insurance, on how we are going to afford the 60 Billion Dollar deficit he created for his corporate buddies. Least he got a nice new Canada Jacket out of the deal, while we get billions in debts.

How many of you have experienced the repeated calls by Credit Card Services or some such operation, explaining how you can lower your credit card rate? 

I have been getting those calls very frequently, and when you ask the morons to unsubscribe you, they hang up,  or pretend they are getting someone to help you, and the line goes dead. So finally I called Telus, to complain, and lol and behold, there is nothing they can do.

Why?

Seems that Mr. Harper took over management of the no call list, and that there is no longer ANY LEGISLATION that allows the telecommunication companies to BLOCK CROSS BORDER TELE MARKETERS.  Nor is there anything in the USA to do the same, thanks to, yep, George W. Bush.

Kind of makes you all warm and fuzzy to see how these so called CONSERVATIVES have ignored the needs of the people that elect them, in order to curry favor with the big corporations, including the shills, scammers, thieves, and outright scum.

Just one more example of how the Harper Government doesn’t give a shit about the people in this country, unless they have lots of money, can contribute lots of money, or deliver votes through their sermons on Sunday.

Hey, our Prime Minister actually opened something, instead of closing it down. You, know, like Parliament?  It is unbelievable, but he’s actually had a business meeting, in preparation for the upcoming budget, with the head of Ganong Chocolates. Isn’t that nice, we now get our economic plans from a chocolate maker.

The group, which included J.D. Irving Ltd. president Jim Irving, Ganong Bros. president David Ganong and Greg Thompson, minister of veterans affairs and MP for New Brunswick Southwest, discussed a range of issues, including the deficit, as well as economic stimulus and infrastructure spending. ( source – CBC News )

Frankly I do not understand politics anymore. Sure, it was never perfect, but it had character, it had some interest, excitement even. Today it is more about being mean, about hiding the realities of life, of failing to stand up for what is right. I mean there shouldn’t be any question, that USA should use of our waters for transport of hazardous materials AND that is not going to happen. Instead Harper side steps the issue, as usual.  THAT ISN’T BEING A LEADER.

People are out of work, the Loonie is soaring, menaing higher prices and business is still reaping profits, on the backs of the poor and middle class. And Stephen Harper is on holidays, taking parliament with him. IF Harper stays in office much longer, we won’t have a Middle Class anymore. We will truly become a 3rd World Country, as Hilary Clinton called us, as George Bush treated us.

IS THIS THE TYPE OF LEADERSHIP WE WANT FOR CANADA?

A MAN WHO RUNS FROM PARLIAMENT, BUT EMBRACES THE CORPORATE WORLD AT ANY COST?

The whole matter of our diplomat, Richard Colvin, and his testimony before Parliament makes me wonder at our education system, and how conditioned we are, by the media, by the attack philosophy of Mr. Harper & his party. I mean come on people, we are talking about a country, that was under Taliban rule for a long time. A country rooted in a culture, where torture is not exactly foreign to them.

I mean too, we have to understand, that this nation, Afghanistan, was, and is not, a Western Democracy. It has been invaded, conquored many times, and ruled by a lot of people, who were basically dictators. So if we are willing to assume that people like the Taliban tortured their own citizens, that Hugo Chavez does that, why are we so quick to assume that the current regime there isn’t?

In a different time and place, we were no different. I mean look at the Inquisition and how torture was used, all in the name of GOD, and so we are surprised that it is still being used in nations like Afghanistan? Get real folk, and stop hiding your heads in the sand.

Colvin told a Commons committee in November that all detainees transferred by Canadians to Afghan prisons were likely tortured by Afghan officials. He also said that his concerns were ignored by top government officials. ( source – CBC News )

For anyone to not believe that, is like saying Hitler was a nice guy, except for when he tried to rule the world. I mean really, torture is something that does really happen in this world. It isn’t that far away, as even the United States admits to using torture, even if they call it something else. Hell, we don’t have to go back too many decades to see how law enforcement used torture tactics with alleged criminals. I mean the story of rubber hoses, isn’t exactly new, now is it?

IF, we truly believe in our Democracy, in the principles of it, we should abhor torture, and the use of it. Yet, we make excuses daily, for allowing some form of torture, as a means to protect our society. That is the reality, and here in Canada, we are seeing a Government hell bend on protecting us, at the risk of our humanity, and of our principles. To attack a man, for telling what WE SHOULD KNOW ALREADY, is just plain wrong.

Richard Colvin merely told us, what we should know, what we are refusing to acknowledge. Torture is rampant in that part of the country, so why would anyone expect that a nation at war, would suddenly change its philosophy, simply because it has our support? That doesn’t make it suddenly reject all of its past, just as our own culture is rooted in the past.

What is really happening with this entire affair, is that Mr. Harper doesn’t want us to face the truth, of the reality of fighting terrorists. He doesn’t want to admit, that our hands are as dirty as those we are fighting, and that our allies, are anything less than spic and span clean. Truth is, we have lost our way, have disregarded our own principles, because people like George Bush, Stephen Harper, Tony Blair, have made us afraid.

It is no different than the Spanish Inquisition, that made us fear those who are different, and who used, & justified, inhumane acts, all in the name of preserving the faith.  We really haven’t advanced that much, have we?

Well, that is good news, of course it makes me wonder, what took so long?

Harper is touting this as a success to his Asian Tour, but I wonder, has all these supposed break throughs, been managed? Have these concessions been sitting, waiting for his Nibs to show up, then suddenly become a reality?

Hong Kong, a key market for the Canadian agriculture sector, is worth more than half a billion dollars for the nation’s farmers and processors. In 2008, Hong Kong was Canada’s fourth-largest export market for beef. ( source – CBC News )

It is this perception, that keeps nagging at me, when it comes to Stephen Harper. He said we wouldnt have a deficit, during an election, then suddenly, within months, we are in the hole tens of billions of dollars. Now suddenly our Beef can once more be exported to Hong Kong, the other day it was Pork to China.

These things don’t just happen, they are reached at, through negotiations, and it seems these talks, were aimed at being announced during his visit. Least to me it does. In the meantime, if he hadn’t waited for his trip, could the exports have already been increased, meaning more income earlier, or is this just being paranoid?