Problem solved

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Only in Canada

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Which U.S. party is more fiscally responsible?

Are Republicans fiscally responsible? Evidence says a resounding "No".

In fact, you would have to go back to Eisenhower (1953-1961) for the last time they balanced a budget, and only back to Clinton (1993-2001) for a Democrat who did the same thing.


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Third world countries

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What a deal!

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Oh...that splains it

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No commentary required

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The threat of Iran

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Naked scanners may be dangerous

WASHINGTON — Some US scientists warned Friday that the full-body, graphic-image X-ray scanners now being used to screen passengers and airline crews at airports around the country may be unsafe.

"They say the risk is minimal, but statistically someone is going to get skin cancer from these X-rays," Dr Michael Love, who runs an X-ray lab at the department of biophysics and biophysical chemistry at Johns Hopkins University school of medicine, told AFP.

"No exposure to X-ray is considered beneficial. We know X-rays are hazardous but we have a situation at the airports where people are so eager to fly that they will risk their lives in this manner," he said.

"We still don't know the beam intensity or other details of their classified system."

Story

Nice. The government creates a device they won't release the specs to, forces you to submit to a scan, examines your genitalia, and says "Trust us, it's safe".

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Whack-a-country

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SiCKO

I just finished watching the movie and I wept.

I wept for Americans without health insurance. I wept for Americans with insurance but who have had claims rejected. I wept for Americans who understand the need for universal health care but can't convince their fellow Americans of it. I wept for Cubans who despite great challenges understand the value of pulling together as human beings to help one another, particularly when one of us is ill. But mostly I wept for Americans who "don't get it".

If you watch this movie and are unaffected...I'd rather not finish this sentence.

A thought came to mind shortly into the film...

Michael Moore is the Noam Chomsky of the lunch pail crowd.

By the way, the part about sending the cheque to his rival with the website dedicated to bashing Moore--what could be more poignant?

If you haven't seen it, I urge you to.

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KFC set to unleash bunless Double Down sandwich on America

First there was the Double Big Mac. Then came the Baconator. Now KFC is triumphantly laying claim to the World's meatiest and - in our opinion - most nutritionally-challenged sandwich. Their recipe? Two strips of bacon, two slices of cheese and a healthy dollop of the Colonel's Sauce all sandwiched between (insert drum roll please) two thick and juicy filets of deep-fried chicken. That's right, this sandwich is so serious it doesn't need a bun.

The whole story.

How long before the U.S. government starts spying on KFC patrons so as to disqualify them from health insurance?







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The Rush to the hospital

HONOLULU – Conservative talk radio show host Rush Limbaugh said Friday tests showed nothing was wrong with his heart after he was hospitalized with chest pains.

Limbaugh, 58, was released from The Queen's Medical Center two days after he was rushed there during a vacation. Doctors said he did not have a heart attack or heart disease.

"The pain was real, and they don't know what caused it," Limbaugh said, adding his best guess was he had a spasm in an artery.

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As it turns out, someone was able to get a copy of one of Rush's x-rays and it's been circulating around the web. It just goes to show that these days it's hard to cover up anything and when something is uncovered, it spreads like wildfire. Despite assurances that the cause of the chest pain was of unknown origin, I think the x-ray speaks for itself...



For God's sake, Rush--chew it up a bit before swallowing. You don't have to prove you have a big mouth.


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Adolph Bush

I like to pass along the occasional gem I come across. This certainly qualifies even if it's a bit past its "best before" date.

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A stark contrast

The following two stories appeared today on my Google News page separated only by a story on Iran's nuclear ambitions.

The first story came out of the U.S. and bore this headline:

4 police officers shot dead at Wash. coffeehouse

The other described how a very controversial issue is threatening to tear Switzerland apart:

Swiss Vote to Ban New Minarets

Now, if you're unaware or unsure of what a minaret is, let me let you in on this explosive controversy. A minaret is a slender tower attached to a mosque that traditionally is used as a "call to prayer" for Muslims, but in modern times and modern countries, including Switzerland, minarets are not used for anything other than traditional "window dressing".

While I am sympathetic to Muslims, and appreciate the affront on the sensibilities of some of them (the 10% of Swiss Muslims that actually adhere to traditional Muslim codes), quite frankly, the contrast between these two stories was very vivid to me. Four people dedicated to serving the public and upholding the laws of the land were brutally attacked and savagely murdered in broad daylight is something I think all would agree is far more egregious than offending anyone's sensibilities.

Let's face it, the social issues that face America are and have always been far more grave than those of most countries, especially when you exclude third word countries whose extreme poverty is usually the cause of their problems. Such attacks as described in this story are not isolated but can be considered a way of life for Americans. My take is that when you treat people with less than the dignity human beings deserve, you should expect them to act in ways only subhumans would. Providing basic health care to all is a good step in the right direction.

From the aforementioned story...

Last month, Seattle police officer Timothy Brenton was shot and killed Halloween night as he was sitting in a cruiser with trainee Britt Sweeney. Sweeney was grazed in the neck.

The U.S. is the serial killer and mass murder capital of the world. This is no accident. You reap what you sow. My heart goes out to the families of the victims, but until Americans realize that it is their politics that drive people to such depths, they should expect the carnage to continue. No amount of cops and super prisons will fix this problem. Wake up, America.

And to Switzerland...Don't go spoiling the fine reputation you have spent more than half a century cultivating. It doesn't look good on you.


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Only in America

America, the (armed and) beautiful.

A Kentucky pastor is inviting his parishioners to bring their firearms to church in order to celebrate the Fourth of July. A gun will be raffled off and patriotic music will be played. How better to honour America's deep belief in God and weaponry?

The Story.

It's no wonder people call it Faux News

I can easily imagine a few of the lines in the following video taken from a late night Fox News show being used in a Canadian comedy production. Making light of our army is as much a part of our identity as the fact that the Canada's military has participated in more U.N. peace missions than any other country, including the United States. But given that there's a war going on in Afghanistan, a war where Canadians have had more soldiers there than any other country except for the U.S., I find it to be in very bad taste. This coupled with the fact that this aired while we were honouring the latest four fallen soldiers, bringing the total number of Canadians lost in this war to 116, elevates the statements to deplorable.

Imagine that a Canadian news program went on the day after 9/11 and participants joked and laughed about how Americans can't build office buildings properly, etc. How appropriate would that be? In comedy, it's all about timing. And this segment's timing was way off. How funny does it seem now?

Q & A's from around the web

In what ways do you worship George W Bush?

As a human reflection of Dionysus, the god of drunkeness and tomfoolery

i cry out his name while having problematic bowel movements

How ironic is it?

How ironic is it that the election of Obama as president of the United States has made virtually the whole world jubilant while almost half the citizens of the united States are so completely distraught over it? Barack Obama was widely called a terrorist and even the anti-Christ. How could 150 million people hold such an extremely different view from the other six billion people on the planet?

I think the answer lies in the fact that Americans think quite differently than the rest of the world. And Obama is more like the rest of us than he is like the average American. In the minds of a great number of Americans, this can only spell disaster. Several had expressed to me that they would leave the country if Obama were to be elected. Remember, these are the same people who elected George W. Bush to office not once but twice. I think this makes it extremely clear how Americans think.

US toll in Iraq hits all-time low as month ends

That was the AP news headline today. Does anyone else believe that this is the calm before the storm that will be unleashed in the months ahead? The "opposition" in Iraq doesn't have the resources the Americans do or for that matter that Iraq has. But I don't believe that insurgents there are ready to give up, especially while American troops are still there. I expect that they are regrouping, raising money and re-organizing before mounting a major wave of attacks. Let's hope I'm wrong. Let's also hope that no major attack is perpetrated against a western country. After all, nothing has changed for those who have been disgruntled with The West for more than half a century.