Work Place Dress Up?

So today is Halloween. The day when little kids get dressed up like ghosts and ghouls and trick 'r treat for candy. Oh wait did I say kids, I should also add moron coworkers!

This being my fifth year with the company I'm no longer shocked to see this, but I'm still a little disgusted. Grown adults, working in a professional setting, coming to work dressed up for Halloween. Is it just me or is this just stupid? Don't get me wrong, I don't have a problem with adults getting dressed up for Halloween and don't even have a problem with adults getting dressed up and going to work....depending on the job! My wife being a teacher got dressed up for Halloween and I think that's great. The kids will love it. There are certain jobs where I think it's not just acceptable, but maybe even a nice thing to do to get dressed up in costumes on Halloween and go to work: Teachers, Nurses, Day-Care workers, maybe even some retail stores. Places where dressing up will make your customers smile and have a good day.
However, I don't think dressing up in a costume and going to an office environment is appropriate. I don't want to appear as a kill-joy, but come on! We're at work. Sure many of these people who get dressed up probably don't have to interact directly with our customers, but what does this say about our workplace or even employees. Just imagine what employees of other companies think when they see these 'ghosts' walking from the parking lot to our building? Can these people not wait until 4 or 5 o'clock, when work is over, before dressing up for their kids or for a party? I'll admit I'm not a big Halloween fan, but that's not really my complaint here. My complaint is, there is a time and place for most things and working hours in an office building is not time to open your magic chest and find a new Mr. Dress Up costume.

Now people are going to argue, 'Does it really hurt anyone to let them dress up, since it boosts their morale?' So that brings me to my next point. If dressing up as an X-Men boosts your morale at work, you're probably not too smart and should be working at Wal-Mart! Anyone with an IQ over 10 cannot have their morale boosted by a plastic mask and toxic face paints, unless those toxins are damn fine. We keep lowering the bar of what is tolerated in the office place. Don't get me wrong, I like the fact I don't have to wear a suit to work, but lets show some kind of effort to look presentable. How many times have I seen people in the building wearing, what my friend Steve would describe as, Painting Clothes to work. Why is this allowed? It's always allowed in the name of morale! At my company I've seen groups have movie days, team building days, picnics all in the name of morale. Let me fill you all in on a little secret...IF YOU HAVE TO RESORT TO MORALE BOOSTING EXERCISES, YOU'RE ALREADY TOO LATE!
Morale and love of your job does not come from your coworkers catching you when you fall or sitting in a parachute as your coworkers flip you in the air. Love of the job comes from having a job you find challenging, rewarding, receiving a decent salary and getting respect. Morale comes from working with people who are intelligent, pull their weight, will help you when necessary, and who you respect as coworkers.

Using that criteria, I think I can safely say my respect for my coworkers has dropped yet again; thus, my morale is now into the negative.

Then again, this is coming from a gothic anarchist!

Happy Halloween!

On The Disabled List

Damn it! When did I get old?
Yesterday, I finally got together with my friend, from work, Mike to play an hour of tennis. Let me first say that the duration of our time together was even shocking. When I booked the indoor tennis courts on Thursday I was actually debating booking them for two hours. I thought one hour could not be enough! Man was I shocked 15 minutes in to be huffing and puffing chasing down balls!
It was great to be on the court again, it's been almost 4 years, since I played a competitive match. Boy did it show! My serve came back to me about a half hour in, but my ground strokes were absolutely brutal and we won't even discuss my volleying.
We rallied for about 30 minutes and then played a set for the remaining 30. In the end I came back from down 3-0 to win the set 6-4. TAKE THAT MIKE! MUWHAHA!
Really, I didn't care if I won, I just wanted it to be competitive. From now on Mike's ass is mine! MUWHAHAH! You listening MIKE?!
So now that I've said the actual play was great, let's talk about the day after. Today!
My god I'm hurting. I have the predictable leg pains from running around for the first time in months, but my neck is completely busted up. I slept bad on Saturday night so it was stiff on Sunday, but it seems the tennis on Sunday just made things worse. I can barely move my neck today. I actually had a doctors appointment today, for something else, and made him look at my neck. He confirmed that it's just muscle pains and that I need to use heat and stretch it. So I actually left work at 2 to lie on the heating pad. After about 2 hours of the heating pad I'm able to type this and make dinner.
This is brutal man. No more old man injuries. I've got to stay in shape!

The Devil Inside

I promised earlier on to recommend a few books, CDs and wines throughout my blogging journey. So that brings us to today. I just finished, last night, I, Lucifer by Glen Duncan. I have to say I was very impressed by this book. I don't think it's one of the best I've ever read, but it definitely had its moments and I think I'll remember this book for a long time. Without giving to much away, the story is essentially about God offering the Devil an opportunity to regain entry into Heaven, so long as he lives out his life as a human without doing anything 'too bad'. Rather than accept this offer immediately he chooses to give out human life a test ride for a month. Along this month long journey he explains to us the truth of his downfall from heaven and his influence on infamous evil people.
I found his historic recounts to be extremely interesting and humour; however, I found the most challenging parts of the book to get through was his life as a human. I found it a little to predictable and boring. But, all in all I would recommend this book to anyone with an open mind. If you are extremely religious I would probably not recommend the book, since it will challenge your ideals of who and what the Devil really is. I also think it's important to mention that you probably should have a general idea of the story of the Devil, from the Bible, as it will add a little more depth to the story.

I hope you enjoy!

Blondes?!

We've all heard the blonde jokes before. But, seriously how many of us really, truly, believe in the message of these jokes? We all laugh and say, 'hahhaha stupid blondes', but we really think, 'blondes aren't really that stupid'.

Well I am reconsidering that thought after yesterdays German class.
In case you're not up to date with my latest activities, I've been taking a German class at an 'Adult' Education centre. I put adult in quotes, because they have all ages at this school on Saturdays. My Grade 11 class is a mix of high school students and adults. I started in the Grade 10, because I thought Grade 9 would be to basic with the level I've learned from teaching myself, but found Grade 10 to be basic. So, up I went to Grade 11 and so far it's a good match.
Ich denke, dass es sehr gut fur mir ist.
Anyways, back to the blonde part. There is a high school girl in my class who is blonde. She is from the Ukraine and quite an attractive girl, if you like Eastern European women. I like to call her Barbi when referring to her with other people. I've slowly been losing intellectual respect for her the more this class goes on, as she is not bright. But, yesterday was the quintessential moment in defining my respect for her.
She sits behind me in class, next to another highschool boy, who I'm sure has German parents since his German is really quite good.
The teacher had called on her to translate an English sentence to German. The boy next to her, I overheard, told her to say, 'I agree'. Of course, she did this and anybody within listening distance of the young boy, including me, burst our laughing. After wiping away the tears from my eyes, I thought, 'what a dits! Good thing she has looks, maybe she can marry a rich man.'

Now to be fair to her, she was obviously not paying attention and that does not accurately reflect someone's intelligence, but you have to view this in context. I've been in this class for almost two months now and this behaviour is not unique; and the German boy has been messing with her mind from day 1. Again to her defense, her parents are probably forcing her to take this class against her will, since if she was really interested she would pay attention. But, this does not take from the overall humour of the situation.

So are blondes really not as smart as non-blondes? Well here is an interesting picture to help with research. It took me a while to find some pictures on my GIS of Blonde as mostly porn came up! (Yet more evidence?)

Qu'est-ce que c'est?

I found this on someone else's blog and thought I'd give it a try. You should too! I found the first two to be interesting and fairly accurate. I actually though the job propects to be quite interesting. However, the personality type I think is way off. I'm as unbalanced as they come and would disagree that I'm currently living life to the fullest, but I agree about the success part. I added a few more and you can tell me what you think? You've Changed 60% in 10 Years

You've done a good job changing with the times, but deep down, you're still the same person. You're clothes, job, and friends may have changed some - but it hasn't changed you.

How Much Have You Changed in 10 Years?

Your Career Personality: Original, Devoted, and Service Oriented

Your Ideal Careers: Art director Book editor College professor Composer Film director Graphic designer Novelist Stage actor Psychiatrist Writer

The Quick and Dirty Career Test

You Have A Type A- Personality

You are one of the most balanced people around Motivated and focused, you are good at getting what you want You rule at success, but success doesn't rule you. When it's playtime, you really know how to kick back Whether it's hanging out with friends or doing something you love! You live life to the fullest - encorporating the best of both worlds

Do You Have a Type A Personality?

What Your Face Says

At first glance, people see you as driven and ambitious. Overall, your true self is passionate and physical. With friends, you seem dramatic, lively, and quick to react. In love, you seem mysterious and interesting. In stressful situations, you seem sad and helpless.

What Do People Think Of Your Face?

You Have a Phlegmatic Temperament

Mild mannered and laid back, you take life at a slow pace. You are very consistent - both in emotions and actions. You tend to absorb set backs easily. You are cool and collected. It is difficult to offend you. You can remain composed and unemotional. You are a great friend and lover. You don't demand much of others. While you are quiet, you have a subtle wit that your friends know well. At your worst, you are lazy and unwilling to work at anything. You often get stuck in a rut, without aspirations or dreams. You can get too dependent on others, setting yourself up for abandonment.

What Temperment Are You?

You Should Rule Mercury

Close to sun, Mercury has very long days - and is rarely visible to the rest of the solar system. You are perfect to rule Mercury, because you live for the present - and can truly enjoy a day that goes on forever. Like Mercury, you are quick and elusive. Your wit is outstanding, and you can win any verbal sparring match. Some people see you as superficial, but in truth, you just play many roles and have many interests. A great manipulator, you usually get what you want from people. And they're happy to give it to you.

What Planet Should You Rule?

The Man I Hate The Most, Right Now...

I don't know about you. But, for me this man makes my blood boil. I've always thought he was an ass, but not until recently did I really pay much attention to him.
All these thoughts are running through your mind as you try to figure out who I'm speaking about. George Bush? Steven Harper? Osama Bin Ladin? Michael Sabia?
Sorry! None of the above. I dislike all of them on that list and maybe even hate some, but none can compare to this man. The people, above, on that list at least have some thing they believe in and some maybe go way off the map with their beliefs, but they are disliked more for their beliefs and actions than just personality.
The man I hate the most is as arrogant as they come and in fact he's so arrogant, he's clueless. There's a level of arrogance where the person realizes he's very confident to the point people don't like them, but Conrad Black has no clue. He thinks he's the shit.

I hate this man so much. He really does represent the stereotypical rich man. Arrogant to the point of cluelessness, pompous, criminal, and utterly heartless. He's the type of man who would throw out a half eaten sandwich rather than give it to a begging homeless man, at his side. He would, in fact, step on the poor bastard's face to get to the garbage and throw it out. Actually, he would get his servant to step on the poor bastard's face to throw out the sandwich for him, because God forbid Conrad touch garbage!

So why hate him so much now and not for the past ten years? Well here's my summary of events and you tell me what you think. I may add some 'opinion' to my summary. Just a warning.

So Zeus...I mean Conrad Black had a huge media empire. He was a rich bastard with none of the day-to-day concerns peasants like us have. One day someone stupid, like the queen of England or some other asshole monarch in the U.K., decided that Conrad Black should be a Lord in England. If you recall in the British world they have a House of Commons for trash like us and a House of Lords for our superiors. However, hold on. There was a problem! Conrad Black was a simple Canadian and our stupidly, oudated and overly cruel laws don't allow Canadian citizens to become British Lords or any kind of title for that matter. Now poor Conrad was conflicted, well maybe not conflict, but I'm sure he thought about it for about a second. So, Conrad dumped his Canadian citizenship to become Lord Black. Now, me being a fair and open minded guy, heard about this and thought what an ass and moved on with my life, because I could care less what he did back then.
Now, just between you and me, it would take a lot for me to dump my Canadian citizenship. Yes, I am a dual citizen and have the benefit of being a citizen of two great countries. If Switzerland contacted me one day and said you have to dump one of your citizenships, I would have to think long and hard about it. This would not be an easy decision, especially since my wife and I live in Canada. To disregard one of my citizenships so I can have some stupid title like "King Shit", I would pass.
Now back to our story. So Conrad slowly fell out of the media spot light, until about two years ago. He got busted by US government for being a downright lowlife bastard. All of this is accusation and from memory so it may not be entirely correct. (Wink wink, but we can all assume it's probably true!) Conrad was apparently pillaging his company's pension plan; thus, robbing his employees of financial security and what was promised to them. Remember Enron? Similar. What's with these rich guys having to rob the poor? Assholes.
Right...my story. Well apparently Canada and the US have some kind of agreement where, I guess, non-dangerous offenders who are citizens of the other country can serve their terms in their home prisons. So guess what Conrad wants? He wants his Canadian citizenship back!
Of course he would. He would rather spend his time in a luxurious Canadian prison, rather than the pound you in the ass American penitentiary where a guy named Bubba would make sure Conrad never had diarrhea ever again.

I want to make sure that Conrad Black never gets Canadian citizenship ever again. If, by chance, he realized he made an honest mistake and wanted his citizenship back without all this stuff in the background, I would think he deserves it. He was born in Canada and did make his millions in Canada. But, that's not the case. He doesn't want to be Canadian, because of emotional feelings and history. It's all about convenience and his rights! I'm sure he can't even fathom that people hate him. He thinks he deserves whatever he wants.
I am not usually a write letters to your MP kind of person. Ya I know, "shock", given my political nature. But, for this issue I will write letters, protest on Parliament Hill, do whatever it takes to keep Conrad out of Canada forever! I hope you'll join me!

Just to add some more fuel to the fire for those of you sitting on the fence. I've added a picture, below, of Conrad at a masquerade party. He dressed as Cardinal Richelieu and his wife as Maria Antoinette. Tell me you don't hate him now!

What have I been missing!

I have a strange personality. I think most people that know me would agree I'm not the norm. I kind of have this voice in my head telling me to try new things. Maybe, it's just another facet of my OCD complex? I've known lots of people who drink Scotch. When I was younger I though Scotch was no better than Jack Daniels Whisky so I never bothered to try it. Things have changed over the past two weeks. Today, Vintages did their 'special' Scotch release. This got my attention and I did a lot of reading on Scotch and found it to be quite unique, a lot like wine. I decided that since, I really love big powerful smokey Shirazs I would probably like smokey Scotches. I was ready to go buy a $125 bottle of Scotch in the Vintage's release, but luckily a friend at work is a big Scotch drinker and was able to recommend a more affordable bottle for a rookie like me. He recommended Laphroaig 10 years old Single Malt.


Now, I think it's important to kind of summarize how most Scotch Whiskeys are made in order to fully understand the flavour descriptions of Scotch. I read the descriptions and thought I understood, but not until I read about the making of Scotch did I fully understand what it meant. First, what is Peat. Peat is a combustible substance found in the bogs. In Scotch, peat from the bogs of Scotland is used to create a fire to dry the barley grains that are used to make the alcohol. My understanding is the drying process can vary, thus, varying the amount of smokey/'peaty' flavour the barley will pickup which will influence the overall flavour of the final Scotch. The dried barley is then distilled in copper vats to make the whisky and then aged in wooden casks, much like red wines.
So, now back to tasting Scotch. Like I said early, I though a smokey Scotch would be my preference; thus, I purchased a smokey/peaty Scotch. Let me first say that verbal descriptions cannot properly explain the experience of tasting Scotch and that goes for wine as well. However, this Scotch is 'PEATY' . I know understanding what 'peaty' really means. It is a unique, yet interesting flavour. Scotch really has to be rolled around your whole tongue to make sure all taste buds experience the beverage. If you do this, you will pick up all the unique flavours that can be experienced, like: salty, floral, smokey, peaty. I still prefer wine, but I can now say I have a spot in my heart for Scotch. This is quite a special drink, but I can definitely see how this would be an acquired taste due to the alcohol content and strong flavours. I look forward to trying all the different flavours of Scotch available. Cheers!

I Miss Switzerland

This morning driving to work, on my typically monotonous drive, down Adelaide Street I was looking off in the horizon and saw one of the most beautiful sites I've seen in London. The clouds, off on the horizon, were so fluffy and low hanging and they had the perfect colour and texture that they looked like mountains on the horizon. I had a mixed emotion looking at these clouds. Part of me was happy to see such a beautiful site and part of me really missed Switzerland.
How can that be? I didn't grow up in Switzerland and have only visited it three times, two of those I can actually remember. For some odd reason I have this weird, almost genetic, connection to that country. I've never lived there, but every thought I have of that country is of home. Not to say Canada isn't home too, but Canada gives me a more comfortable almost effortless feeling of home. It's kind of like I know where everything is and should there ever be a need for something I'd know where to look, but it doesn't give me that happy relaxed feeling, like when you were a child and would go home to mom at the end of school and everything felt in place. I don't know how else to explain it.

So, in honour of clouds that look like mountains, here is a picture I took of the mountain range in Lucerne last year.

My Political Compass

I found this neat website which asks you a bunch of social and economic questions and then plots your 'politics' on a grid to create your Political Compass.

I scored:

Economic Left/Right: -7.75
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -4.21

To see what that looks like plotted click here.

I scored similar to Gandhi, The Dalai Lama, and Nelson Mandela. Interesting. Let me know how you scored.

Stand up for freedom of speech.

Last night, before bed, I had a great topic for today's blog entry, but upon reading the news this morning my mind completely lost that thought. I was so angry when I read the following article about the French and the Armenian genocide, from the BBC this morning. The French decided to pass a law making it illegal to deny the Armenian genocide by the Ottoman Turks at the end of the Ottoman Empire during WWI. Now it wasn't just this new law that got me all hot under the collar, but more the combination of events like these that just highlight the stupidity of politicians, the politically correct, and in general the human race.

Was there an genocide of the Armenians during WWI? I don't know. That call is up to historians to make the ruling. The Armenians says yes and the Turks say no. So we end up in the middle. What is known for fact is that lots of Armenians died at the hands of Turks during WWI, because of the Armenians 'treason' of aligning with the Russians. I don't know all the details and I don't think most of the world knows all the details either. The problem is the word 'genocide' has become the latest activist buzz word. A genocide is what the Nazi's did to the Jews, what Mao did to the Chinese. It's a systematic, planned, programmed, well thought out process of killing a certain group of people. These days any form of inter-ethnic civil war is being labeled a 'genocide', weakening a very powerful and important word. No wonder there is so much confusion about whether a genocide really occurred to the Armenians at the hands of the Turks. With such loose a definition shouldn't the French be guilty of genocide in Algeria during their colonial days? My question is 'Does it really matter, 90 years later, if we call it a genocide or not?' Most, I think, would agree with me that, no it doesn't really change anything today. Innocent people died and that should not be forgotten, but we cannot change the past and by having a ceremony or giving it a name will not make everything better. That's my first complaint.

My second complaint is about the idiocity of the French parliament. This new law says you cannot deny the Armenian genocide. So does that mean I'll be arrested when I visit France, because I can neither agree nor disagree that a genocide took place? This law was a kind of rebuttal to the Turkish law which basically disallows any discussion on the topic of the Armenian genocide and should you be daring enough to say a genocide occurred you will be in violation of another law regarding insulting Turkishness. Am I the only one who sees a kind of irony here? France is telling their populace what to think, just like Turkey is telling their populace what to think. What happened to freedom of speech? What happened to everything Europe stood for? What happened to the ideals Voltaire pushed into the mainstream; thus, creating the sense of freedom we now enjoy in the Western world? What a huge step back France just took. I know some of you are thinking, 'Well most Western countries make it illegal to deny the Holocaust'. I see that as different. The denial of the Holocaust is usually propagated by hate groups used as a form of anti-semitism. Plus, I don't think many educated people would argue the Holocaust didn't take place...it's a fact.
But, where things have really gone off the track is that fact that the French are using this law as a means to draw the line in the sand for Turkey's membership into the EU. There is a huge division in the EU around the potential membership of Turkey. Turkey does not fit the EU mold. It is a Muslim nation, not Christian. Yes, it's modeled after a Western style democracy and in the large cities you would be hard pressed to notice any religious fanaticism, but in the rurals, there is still a strong religious presence that does not like the path Ataturk led Turkey down.
The fact is the EU sees a clash of cultures between itself and Turkey and they don't anticipate good things coming out of this partnership. But, they are all afraid to speak the truth. Rather they hide behind meaningless, stupid laws and political rhetoric. What happened to the world? I speak my mind and a lot of people don't like that about me, but a lot also do. I don't say hateful things, I just call it as I see it. Yes, sometimes I can go way off base, but that is usually just to ruffle feathers and I know my audience most of the time. The fact is the world is now a spineless shell of what it used to be and I blame not the Muslims that sparked a lot of debate, but the West for not standing up in what made us special.

All this brouhaha really flamed up after the Muhammad cartoons. Muslims around the world went apeshit, because a Danish newspaper published cartoons of the profit Muhammad. According to Muslim law or beliefs such an act is blasphemy. What did the Western world do? Stand up and fight for freedom of speech! No, they capitulated and said we won't do it again. Were the cartoons in bad taste and some even prosecutible under Canadian hate laws? Yes, I think they were done with the soul purpose of pissing off the Muslim world, but we live in a free society where religious law does not govern civil and criminal laws. Every newspaper in the Western world should have republished the cartoons, excluding the hate crime worthy ones; thereby, saying 'we believe in freedom of speech'. What if the Pope now declares that mocking the cross is just as bad as publishing a Muhammad cartoon? What if all the Christians start protesting like the Muslims did? Does that mean we will stop allowing Madonna to do her stupid concert with her posing as Jesus on a cross?

The West and the Muslim world have a huge clash of culture. Does that mean we change our beliefs to not offend them? My point is not to inflame and anger the Muslim world, but make it clear that in the West our laws and beliefs are different and we will not adapt to be PC friendly. Just like if anyone from the West should visit a Muslim nation they shall abide by Muslim laws while there. I'm picking on this issue, because it's the most recent and probably emotional, but it's just the tip of the iceberg. Just look at how politicians skate around abortion, homosexuality, crime, education, almost any topic. We are no longer proud of our beliefs and opinions and too afraid of who we may offend. It's an opinion not a weapon!

We need to learn how to appreciate different peoples opinions and stop getting offended at every comment. Most are not meant to be derogatory or hateful, you just think it is!

Turkey Day

It's just about time for Thanksgiving up here in Canada and the big question coming across everyone's mind is...What red wine can I drink with the turkey meal? Okay, maybe not.

I'm going to be a little generous this time and share with you one of my favourite wines. The reason I'm being generous is it's a Pinot Noir. One of the most difficult wines to make; thus, one of the most difficult wines to find. There are plenty of Pinot's on the market, but few are stellar. I have found a few really good Pinots over years and this one is one of the best, though not the best (I will never share that with the public hehehe!).

The problem with Turkey is it's not a very strong flavour; thus, big reds don't go well with it. Most people resort to white wines with turkey but, you know me, I want RED!

So what choices do you have? The obvious Gamay/Beaujolais which is really a difficult wine to appreciate, since most are very thin and lack depth and sometimes way to fruity. Your next choice is another lighter red, but unlike Gamay, Pinot has that refined delicate touch with great fruitiness that will win over any wine lover.

So my recommendation is:







This Pinot Noir from New Zealand is unbelievable. The price is moderate, probably around $30-40CDN a bottle. Considering that this wine could compete with some top-notch Burgundies, which will costs upwards of $100, I think it's a steal. The wine is from the Marlborough region on the bottom of the North Island of New Zealand. They have come a long way in New Zealand to master Pinot Noir, as well as, Sauvignon Blanc. The producer is Te Kairanga. I tried the 2004, yes they can be drunk young unlike Burgundies, but have yet to try more from this producer. The 2004 was amazing, everything a good Pinot should be. If you've never tried Pinot I suggest you wait until you can try one highly recommended. Pinots are very hit and miss. If you try a bad one first, you may be reluctant to try more in the future. If you can find this Pinot you will discover a wonderfully captivating red wine. You will be hit instantly with the aroma of cherries, but as you delve further into the wine you will pick up subtle hints of plums and spicy undertones. The producer says there are aromas of cinnamon, but I did not discover that in my tasting. When you finally take your first sips you will float off into heaven. There is an almost refreshing personality with this claret. My first tastes, honestly, made me smile. The wine is a perfect balance of low acidity, very mild tannnins and a long savoury finish. If there are only two of you drinking this bottle you will find it very hard to not drink the whole bottle, as my wife and I discovered.

There is something special about Pinot Noir. Probably the most difficult and elusive wine to find in good quality, but when you find one you will never forget it. I'm a huge fan of big, powerful, fruit forward wines like Shiraz, Cabernet and Merlot, but it's hard to find a better wine than a well made Pinot. I wish you luck in finding one and hope you all enjoy your Turkey Day.

Cheers!

To Be NDP or to not be NDP?

I decided today's post should tackle the issue of Canadian forces in Afghanistan. I also, felt it important to take a look at the NDP party stance while evaluated this issue. If you've spoken to me in the past few years or so, you will be very aware of the fact that I'm very left-wing in my political views. I've always said, "If communism could work, sign me up." I feel it's important to get a full view of my political views before delving into my opinions on this issue. Last election I voted for the NDP party. I specify the NDP party because, God bless the British electoral system, I can not for the life of me remember the name of the person running for the NDP in my region. But, hey that's another post in the future. As I was saying, I voted NDP for a specific reason. Not because of my left wing tendencies, but because I could not vote for the Bible thumping Conservatives or the corrupt Liberals. I like the NDP party, but find their fuzzy math and extreme views a bit too scary sometimes.

Now that I've summarized my views I can get into the meat of the post. The NDP a few weeks ago has been, essentially, crying for the Canadian military to leave Afghanistan. They don't like the fact that we are taking an offensive role over there rather than peace keeping and 'Nation Building.' As a left wing person I find these comments completely embarrassing and frustrating. We, Canada, are part of an organization called NATO. NATO has taken it upon themselves to play this role in Afghanistan, because the Americans essentially, "Found It, Fucked It and Forgot It." The NDP would like that we essentially not uphold our member responsibilities to NATO. They want to have their cake and eat it too. NATO will protect us, and we'll do nothing. That's my first problem. My second issue is with people not understanding that it is essential that Afghanistan stabilize. If it does not stabilize it will just become home to another extreme Muslim government who will allow terrorist groups to breed on their soil to plan attacks on whomever they please. That being said I also don't know how this will ever be accomplished unless the people of Afghanistan accept democracy. Democracy is really the answer to the problems there; however, democracy has to be accepted, it cannot be forced upon people.
The West is really quite arrogant and I can sympathize with the Arab countries why they hate us so much. The Americans and the West are trying to force the people of Afghanistan and Iraq to accept democracy through a revolution. The only way these Muslim countries will accept a democracy is for the people to evolve in much the same way the West did during the age of enlightment. The people in the Middle East view our "good intentions" as an attempt to undermine their religious beliefs. Let me ask this question. What country in the Arab country has a real democracy? Turkey is the only country that comes to mind. Jordan, no it's an American sponsored 'Monarchy'. Most countries in the Arab world are Religious governments or some kind of oppressive 'Western Sponsored' government.

What's my point? My point is simple, but my point won't help fix Afghanistan and get our troops home. My point is we cannot force Afghanistan to become democratic until the people have realized and believe that democracy is in their best intentions. This won't happen anytime soon. We can install a mock government, maybe in a few years, and leave only to return in another 5-10 when another Religious leader has a successful coup and takes over the country. Coups don't work when the people reject them, eventually they will fall. The people always hold the power in their hands. The problems come about when the people select someone like the Taliban.

I hope for the best for our troops, but really wonder if what they are doing will really have a positive effect on Afghanistan or the World.

Here's to hoping they can stay safe!

Why I Love The WhiteHouse.Org

This post from the Whitehouse.org is a perfect example of why I love this site. In much of the same vain as theOnion.com, it is a satirical look at the Whitehouse rather than the world. The juvenile humour is just soothing sometimes. If you wish to see the entire article just click on the photo.