"Coach Melody Davidson has announced Canada's Women’s Hockey roster for the 2006 Olympic Winter Games"

"Today on Politics, sports"- Don Newman.

Take that Elexmas! In Vancity they finally made the big announcement. Very exciting. They had a moment of silence for Super Hockey Mom Phyllis Gretzky, and then Kevin Lowe actually spoke in 'French'! I felt so nervous for him.

They had kids dress up in the players jerseys and walk out as they announced each team, except for Cassie Campbell and Hayley Wickenheiser who wore their jerseys. That was strange. Did anybody else notice any actual player wear the jersey?? I'd hoped we'd see Jovanovski, Bertuzzi, Smyth and Pronger, seeing as they were probably in the building...but no.

So everybody else will be talking about The Men's Canadian National Team, you'll be all, "Oh my god Crosbie didn't make it and holy crap they cut Cujo, and hmmm...I wonder who will play the 44 if both Pronger and Bertuzzi play?"

I would like to bring up the Women's Team . So Delaney Collins made it as an alternate. She used to be a Panda and I thought she would make it. The age difference is interesting: The oldest member born in '66 and the youngest in '87. Does anybody (Jake) know who Meghan Agosta is?
(oh and note the absence of the hyphenated Pie at the end of Ms. Collins' name...I guess we can stop calling her Delicious now that she is single again)

I could rant and rave about the fact that there are 21 members on this team and 3 are from western Canada. I guess you're just screwed if you don't live in Upper or Lower Canada. Whatever. Can these ladies defend the cup? Hells ya, it will be great to watch. With the exceptional athletes in this country it's not only the Men's team that has enough talent to make another contending team the women would have enough depth to do that too.

At this moment though, I can only think about Gilles Duceppe and his vow to create a Quebec National team. Many were shocked by this because it would steal away hockey talent from Team Canada. Maybe if that did happen some of the exceptional talent west of Ontario might get to wear the red and black for this nation.
I'm voting Bloc. Allez Les Duceppes!!

Song Du Jour: In a Little While ~ U2

New Poopers!!!

Auntie Maris and My Cousin Danielle surprised my Uncle with puppies for christmas! Over the last year and a half both our Willy and Bruno passed away and my uncle loved those dogs, well, we all took the loss pretty hard.
They adopted our new wee buddies from The Second Chance Animal Rescue Society. (Theses two boys are litter mates with Junior, Ace and Good-Boy at SCARS) The Brownish puppy we named Murphy (I picked that) and the wee black pup needs a name. Suggestions?

We've already said no to names like:
Milo, Jack ,Zack, Pearson, Champ, Hunter, Cooper, Hudson, Henry, and no we're not naming it Vick...or Luke or Robataille.

so wee....

Rough-housing with Danny...

Happy Birsday to Lina!!!

Song Du Jour: High ~ James Blunt
(I got to listen to his whole cd, Back to Bedlam, last night and it sounds pretty good.)

Most Adorable Oilers Fan

Drooling, eyes filled with tears, yep, you bet, he's an Oilers fan...Don't worry Little Duke, Mac T has to trade a goalie soon enough...

Song Du Jour: Revolution ~ The Beatles

"We calls 'em Moose Knuckles where I come from"

I wonder what they call this um..er...phenomenon, in other countries? Only Canadians call them Moose Knuckles? That can't be right.




Song Du Jour: Lady ~Kenny Rogers

"When you're done the dishes, can you start the laundry, please?"

Merry Christmas, Little Buddy

Mmmmm...

"I would find you wings to fly, and I would catch you, I would catch your fall"

With the release of a new album people are talking about INXS, one of my favorite bands. I just heard Never Tear us Apart and I had forgotten how sweet that song is.
It reminds me of Grade 10 and when I pulled KICK out to listen to it, I never thought I would still know all the words.

Bono contributed vocals to a Michael Hutchence solo album, on the track "Slide Away". The album was incomplete at the time of Hutchence's death, and Bono was approached to finish the song by composing additional lyrics and contributing vocals. Slide Away is one of my all time favorite songs:

Slide Away
Are you gonna wake again?
Are you gonna take it down?
Oh babe, I don't wanna deal it
Oh, make it alright
Gimme some, my love
Away, away, away

I just wanna slide away and come alive again
I just wanna slide away and come alive again
I will see that love again, and find a life again
I just wanna slide away and come alive again

I wanted to let it go
Just couldn't let it go
I wanted to let it go

Just couldn't let you go
I would catch you
(Just couldn't let you go)
I'd catch you as you fall
(Just couldn't let it go)
I would catch you
(Just couldn't let you go)
I'd catch you if I heard your call
But you tore a hole in space
Like a dark star, falls from grace
You burn across the sky
And I would find you wings to fly
And I would catch you
I would catch your fall

I just wanna slide away and come alive again
I just wanna slide away and come alive again
I will see that love again, and find a life again
I just wanna slide away and come alive again

Song Du Jour: Original Sin ~ INXS

"The quiz is a lot of fun, but anybody who thinks it's actually a useful indicator of how you should vote should be shot, or re-educated" - Half-pipe

Well if you have about ten minutes to waste at work or somesuch then I suggest you have a little 'Elexmas' fun with this quiz produced by the CBC.

My results say that I agreed with:
~Stephen Harper on 1 issue (Parliamentary Reform)
~Jack Layton/Gilles Duceppe on 9 issues (I know, shocking!)
~Paul Martin on 8 issues

That's out of the 12 issues they have listed on their quiz...what's really funny is there is some awesome malfunction at the junction because where all the photos of Paul Martin should be on my results, instead there are pictures of Creepy, Smilin' Jack.
I'd love to hear the results of your quizes, especially you far-flung friends.

Half-pipe has already given his opinion on basing your vote on such a quiz over in the comments section of Colin's Blog (where I stole the idea for this blog post).
Good Times.

Song Du Jour: The Boxer ~ Simon and Garfunkle

"he must be mad to speak of giving away countries that do not belong to him" - Atahualpa, On Pope Alexander VI declaring Peru a possession of Spain

My friend Stina went to Peru recently on a mission to fix the teeth of some Peruvians. She went with her boss and the ladies from her office but had a chance to go to Machu Picchu, the ruined ancient Inca city, in the Andes in southern Peru.






Ahhhh, the local beer called 'Pilsen' and she's in her new Peruvian sweater, super cozy...




Hello Llama's!! Is this what Stiner's new cozy sweater is made out of?
Sorry Llama's...

Song Du Jour: Imagine ~ John Lennon

"Let's see...I'll take some fries, a soda, two scorpian's on a stick and one sea horse...on a stick..."

Of course. Why wouldn't you eat those things, they look delicious. *shudder*.
My Cousin Joe apparently didn't have enough Yen to buy one of these...yeah sure Joe, not enough moola...thank God his special lady talked him out of it and, I can only assume, hid his money.
What would it do to your insides?

Song Du Jour: Champagne Supernova ~ Oasis

"If the opportunity presents itself, I'll look at it. But if not, life goes on." - My Cousin Danielle

So there was an article in The Edmonton Journal yesterday about My Cousin Danielle so I thought I post a link here just in case any of you missed it. Imagine my surprise when I opened the sports section and there she was.
It's basically an article about why Danielle is not playing on the Canadian National Team. Sadly the reason she's not has very little to do with her talent and a lot more to do with politics. Stupid Politics. Oh, and the photographer made her bring all those awards and medals up from her room, Auntie Maris doesn't usually have a shrine devoted to Danielle in the living room.

Happy Birthday GT!

Song Du Jour: Bette Davis Eyes ~Kim Carnes

"I went to China, I didn't want to go, and I went to see the Great Wall. You know, you read about it for years. And actually it was great....

...It was really, really, really great." ~ Andy Warhol (1928–1987)

This marks the 4th time in about 6 months I have been sent photos from The Great Wall of China...how cool is that? Looks so, well, great! Just great...


Hi Winnie and Joe!

"You could climb a ladder up to the sun, or write a song nobody has sung or do something that's never been done. "

Howdy!

Have you ever gone to Google Images and typed in your name?
This photo was the best result of my search in my opinion.

One of the images' links actually led me to a book I clearly must read called 'Lady Slings the Booze' by Spider Robinson.

Song Du Jour: Talk ~ Coldplay
"Are you lost or incomplete?
Do you feel like a puzzle you
can't find your missing piece? "

"I took my b*lls out and passed them in the bag to a friend" - Geoffrey Huish

Why?

Wow. Is that a fan? *shudder*

Song Du Jour: Always something there to remind me ~ Naked Eyes

ooooooh....whassat?

Our handsome little buddy has his first tuxedo for Christmas...

"Democracy consists of choosing your dictators, after they've told you what you think it is you want to hear" - Alan Corenk

Anybody else tired of the "threat" of elections? It has turned into a threat now. Oh, and we wouldn't want to go to the polls at Christmas....oh, and not in January...
Why the hell not? Doesn't look like anybody wants to actually accomplish anything or God forbid, govern. Do we really need to wait for the Gomery Report, Part Deux, to drop in February before we (and by 'we' I mean Ontario) re-elect The liberal Party to a minority government?
I am tired of these ejits, already. What pisses me off is that if we go to the polls we have to re-elect the same monkeys. Yay democracy.

Stephen Harper gat caught with his mike on yesterday. He was complaining about the pin on the Rememberance Day Poppy he was wearing. We've all been there...you donate some change get a poppy and its gone in like 5 minutes. I have a tip Mr. Harper; Cut a small peice of eraser off and slide it on the end of the pin, that way you can secure it. Yes, yes, I know, my wisdom *is* impressive. tee hee.

Oh and can somebody please tell me what the "youth groups" burning cars in France actually want? Cleary they are angry about unfair police treatment, and now they have about 9,000 police officers to deal with. I'm not sure that any of the news stations or papers have actually found out what these individuals are hoping to achieve by taking to the streets.

Song Du Jour: Goodbye Yellow Brick Road ~ Elton John

Before trick or treating....

He's so cute...

And after...

Too. Much. Chocolate.
It's his first Halloween and he's going hard. I love the knocked over halloween bucket and the trail of candy wrappers...

"Ranch"

You know that guy who won the big bucks from Wendy's (ranch) when he kicked the field goal for a million bucks on Thursday night? He's been signed to the Blue Bombers' negotiation list.
I kid you not.

I remember when the GM Brendan Tamar put the likes of Donovan Bailey, Kordell Stewart and Deion Sanders on the negotiation list. How funny is that? I know a guy who wanted to win that Wendy's competition....to think he could be property of the Blue Bombers now. sssshudder.

Song Du Jour: Wasted Days And Wasted Nights ~ Freddy Fender
That song has been stuck in my head for 2 days now.

Sports Venting from the Journal: "Were those TSN announcers smiling when they wore their Argo's jackets out of the Rogers centre?"

"the three jesters of love...."

Gay T, OTC and Cal. Hey Cal where is your RCMP hat?
Are you actually trying to mount that girl?

Happy Halloween!

That doesn't look like Winnie The Pooh, OTC. Well this way he's wearing pants...or at least I hope he has pants on...

Golden

The transformation to Cowboy GT seems well underway but he's promised to never be a flamers fan...

"Adam Clayton on MTV Singapore last night said "Discotheque" was not only his favorite U2 song, but also their most important as a band" The Duke

Pop was confusing when it first came out but, I love that album now more than ever.
'The themes are love, desire and faith in crisis - the usual stuff.'~ Edge

I wonder why Adam Clayton thinks Discotheque is the most important to the band? It's not one of my favorites but the album is brilliant. It is so raw. 'Staring at The Sun' is my favorite track off that album. I didn't warm up to Pop right away though, it grew on me over many years. It is very deceptive because you think it will be Pop, which implies a fluffy quality, but this is such a dark album.

Brendan Kennelly in Propaganda wrote:

It is as if Bono had allowed the obscene, destructive energies of our world into his own heart so that he can give shape and authority to his vision of peace and love. Yet this vision is being constantly assaulted, even, at moments, deeply wounded, with the result that many of Pop’s memorable songs are riddled with doubt, ambiguity, a pervasive sense of hurt and a dark sense of loss. Even, or perhaps even especially, a central human relationship, that between man and woman in love, is constantly darkened by an underlying menace which will not go away because violence, in one form or another, thrives at the heart of things.

I wonder if Adam Clayton liked Discotheque because of the big, shiny, mirror-ball lemon they came out in during the Pop Tour? They got stuck in that thing once. ha ha. I know your disdain for live music Willis, but I find that seeing U2 live can be compared to nothing else and Discotheque live is something else! The songs on Pop are all so dynamic and so different it is amazing they all ended up on one album. But I like that...it's like life in the way it is complicated and contradictory all in the same moment as being wondrous and sweet. It's hopeful and hopeless all at the same time. What do you think?

Song Du Jour: If God Will Send His Angels

"Nobody else here baby
No-one else here to blame
No-one to point the finger
It's just you and me and the rain.

Nobody made you do it
No one put words in your mouth.
Nobody here taking orders
When love took a train heading south.
It's the blind leading the blond
It's the stuff, it's the stuff of country songs.

Hey, if God will send his angels
And if God will send a sign
And if God will send his angels
Would everything be alright?

God's got his phone off the hook, babe
Would he even pick up if he could?
It's been a while since we saw that child
Hangin' round this neighbourhood.

See his mother dealing in a doorway
See Father Christmas with a begging bowl.
And Jesus' sister's eyes are a blister
The High Street never looked so low.

It's the blind leading the blond
It's the cops collecting for the cons.
So where is the hope and
Where is the faith and the love?
What's that you say to me
Does love light up your Christmas tree?
The next minute you're blowing a fuse
And the cartoon network turns into the news.

If God will send his angels
And if God will send a sign
Well if God will send his angels
Where do we go?
Where do we go?

Jesus never let me down
You know Jesus used to show me the score.
Then they put Jesus in show business
Now it's hard to get in the door.

It's the stuff, it's the stuff of country songs
But I guess it was something to go on.
Hey, if God will send his angels
I sure could use them here right now
Well, if God will send his angels...

Where do we go?
Where do we go?"

"Like slavery and apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings."- Mandela

I hope you can all make it!!

What? Band Together to Make Child Poverty History in Canada.

How? By forming a Human White Band, the symbol of the international MakePoverty History Campaign. Participants are urged to wear a white shirt.

When and where? Main Quad, University of Alberta Campus, Monday October 17th
from 11:50-12 noon.

Who? Organized by Engineers Without Borders and supported by the StudentGroups for Social Justice including the Edmonton and University of AlbertaChapters of Amnesty International, Oxfam Canada, WUSC, Model UN, AfricanStudents´ Union, Kamit African Carribbean Society, Students Without Borders,Students Against Global Apathy, International Medical Students and
Journalistsfor Human Rights.

Why? In 1989, the House of Commons unanimously resolved to end child poverty in Canada by the year 2000. The most recent figures indicate that 1.2 millionCanadian children, or nearly one
in six, are still poor.Since poor children come from poor families, we hope to put pressure onCanadian politicians to take measures to reduce poverty in Canada. We hope to use this event to bring awareness to poverty issues in Edmonton and in Canada. This event will be running at
campuses all across Canada.The Canadian Make Poverty History Campaign is asking for more and better aid,dropping third world debt, trade justice and ending child poverty in Canada.

There are four days of action in 2005, the first preceded the G8 summit inScotland, the second was before the UN Millennium +5 Summit in New York,Monday October 17th to make child poverty history in Canada and the last preceding the upcoming WTO meetings in Hong Kong in December. This will be a great photo opportunity. We are expecting 50-100 people to
attend.

"Like slavery and apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings."- Nelson Mandela, 2005.

For more information, contact:
Rachel Maser
Engineers Without Borders - University of Alberta Chapter
492-6858
ualberta@ewb.ca

"I think that EVERY chick should come with their own English-chicktalk dictionary"

"That way, men could understand them a little better. Of course, each woman would have their own manual, and they'd all be different because even chix can't understand chix. The real problem is that men wouldn't read the instructions anyway, just like the VCR..."

My friend The OTC and his wisdom...this is a gem, so I had to share it.
Here is a visual for you. Apparently, Winnie The Pooh is very popular in Japan so The Duke and OTC decided OTC should go as Pooh for Halloween.. OTC writes, "I said 'that's a GREAT idea! I'll get a red t-shirt, write POOH across the front, and wear nothing else! NO pants, NO underwear, nothing, just like Pooh-san!' We laughed pretty hard at the image of me showing up at the bar dressed only in a red t-shirt, and what the Japanese people's reactions would be."

Any REAL suggestions for Hallowe'en?
Kirny is having a nerd party...I need to get a pocket protector.

Song Du Jour: The Tide is High ~ Blondie

Raise a reader...

When I saw this I thought of Professor Pooh, my Kiddy Litter prof from last year, and his red wine addiction....I bet he'd like this book, I'll ask him the next time I see him at Scholars.

"If you don't have anything nice to say..."

I have thought about this blog post quite a bit. I could bitch about my life but what's the point in that? Really? I have nothing nice to say right this minute.

Do you ever get a course pack at school and find yourself reading things that are way off topic and wonder why the heck the prof assigned that reading? I have a History of Africa class and I found myself snoring through a reading called, "Metaphors and Representations of Pre-colonial Iron Smelting". I've made the executive decision to skip this reading. That means it will totally be on the Midterm. I'll keep you posted. And I am still waiting for the "lightbulb" moment, the epiphany when I finally get it, in my Philosophy 120 class. The only thing I get in that class is a leg-shaker sitting next to me and a chachi in front of me who is too busy hitting on the chick beside him to notice his constant chatter is causing me to lose what little sanity I have left.

Nope, nothing nice to say at all....

Song Du Jour: "Gold Digger" ~ Kanye West
This song is hilarious...props to Kanye for rhyming TYCO with lipo and Michael with GEICO. I wonder if he's pulling in some endorsement bling?

"He goes to sleep by falling down on his face"

Today was a long day. It was the kind of day you do not plan but the kind of day that just happens all of a sudden.

I ran into JK and he was wearing a suit and tie looking very handsome and he said, "Hey you should come to The Plant tonight"
I said, "I have to work..."
"Then come after," said JK.

So I did, and it was good times. Kyle was dressed like a pimp. I broke the bad news that the Smos lost...to Hamilton!
The Bears lost tonight too, but worse...Calgary won today. The Calgary Dino's logo (on the front of their jersey) in the right moment, looks like it says The Calgary Dinks.
I ended up playing Ms. Pacman at Avenue Pizza. So very Old School. And then they played Johnny Ryall...

Only in Alberta....

"You know what people have always told me? That I'm a trier, not a doer," pouted Therien. "That and 'Next time remember your skates.'"

I always appreciate it when friends email me links to put up on my blog. This link is courtesy of one 'Gallum' MacKendrick and it is from mcsweeneys.net which you may remember from such posts as, An Open Letter to Shrink-Wrap, Embarrassing Things That Might Happen to You While Using a Lightsaber, and Baseball Knowledge Will Not Help You Pick Up Girls. The link is to The Philadelphia Flyers Have a Time Machine, By Dave Johnston, but they are all very funny. However, if you are not procrastinating like me, or you are The Duke with limited time to screw about on the internet from your cushy job, I personally enjoyed the 4th installment the most and recommend you start there.

So the Oilers lost tonight (in the game ending shootout so Dallas won 6-5). I know it is a team sport but I'm blaming it on Conklin. And Reasoner. The crowd wasn't really into it for some reason...maybe it was the 2 Dallas goals in the first minute of play? (The 'music dude' working for the Oilers decided to use U2 songs when the teams take to the ice (All Because of You, Vertigo) and then played Beautiful Day and New Years Day between plays!!) Oh and does anybody know what the penalty is if the goalie plays the puck outside the allotted area behind the goal? This happened tonight but the referee did not do anything about it and that confused me. Shouldn't they whistle down the play and face off?

The Fish also lost this afternoon (7-17 against the Jets), as did the Smos! It's Black Sunday ladies and Gents, Black Sunday indeed. At least the Bears football team put one in the win column (3 TDs in 59 seconds during the 3rd quarter!) for fucks sakes.

On our way home form the game The Dude and I were coming up the escalator in the University LRT station and he made a glib comment (quoting Mulroney) about how, ""[The Meech Lake Accord was] the sweetest deal ever known to man and it was thrown away." We both giggled but the gentleman just ahead of us on the escalator turned around and shot us a rather mean looking glare. This may have been because he was native, or not a Mulroney fan, we are not sure, but The Dude hastily added, "quote, unquote." Am I the only one who finds this fall down funny? So I guess I have a word to the wise: don't quote Mulroney in public.

Song Du Jour: All Because of you ~ U2

"honk, honk, honk, honk, honk, honk, honk, honk, honk...."

Car alarms are really annoying. I think that if one goes off we should be able to shoot at the car with our guns until it goes off.

I am taking Philosophy 120 and I find it rather worrisome that I have absolutely no idea what the hell the prof is talking about in class. I sit there trying to pick out the words I know, but it is like he has strung them together in sentences that are bass ackwards. I have no idea how to take notes. My notes consist of a few hastily scribbled Venn diagrams and the words:

"What the hell?"
"I have no idea what to write down."
"Oh My GOD!"

Song Du Jour: The Gift ~Annie Lennox

"The Return of the Jackass"

So Smith emails me to tell me of his return to blogging and asks me if I will advertise this momentous occasion to you, the masses. Yay...everybody do a cartwheel. What Smith you want a medal? So far his return has been rather unexciting and his topics mostly centre on the U.S. Supreme Court. Although I do not care for the topic he is, as always, hilariously funny and is taking jabs at old councillors which is always entertaining.

I have returned to school (my last year!!) and in my first week I managed to be sober once. Friday was a very difficult day because my hangover seemed matched by the pathetic weather. We went to watch the Esks game in the cold, damp weather and the Esks played like shite. Maybe they were hungover too?

My time has been basically spent going to and from from school, getting hijacked by friends I haven't seen all summer to go and have a few beers, and watching sporting events (you'll notice the general lack of things like studying, buying books, or reviewing notes, which is what I should have been doing). Last night I worked at the Oilers Rookie game Versus the Golden Bears. The Bears won 5-4 in sudden death overtime. It was a good game and the press was all over the place. It was cool to see all the old school Oilers like Lowe, Mac T, Huddy, Simpson, etc.... I was a goal judge which basically meant I had to press a button. I pressed my button 4 times. It's all very complicated as you can well imagine, but I figure this is good practice for when I finally get on Jeopardy and win big money.

Also entertaining are all the new first year students on campus. I call them Grade Niners. I was approached in V-Wing by one very confused grade niner on my first day and she asked me if I knew where 'vwing' was. At first I was like, "vwing?" I thought I heard her wrong but no...I contained my giggles until later but I think she's on to something...V-wing shall now be called vwing, rhymes with swing, until they knock it down.

Song Du Jour: Wake Me Up When September Ends ~ Green Day

"You don't get a lot of Rifraffs down der..." Auntie Maryss

My Auntie Maryss and my Uncle Rick went to Jasper for the weekend. They had a few drinks and hung out by the Athabasca River and had some down time. Wish I was there....

"'Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all" - Alfred Lord Tennyson

When you love someone and it goes to waste...could it be worse?

No matter how hard you try doesn't it seem like you can't love someone just part way? Then you feel like an asshole for having given your whole heart away. But is there any way to avoid it? You try to avoid rejection but you can't stop your heart. Stupid heart.

And holy shit does it hurt when you find out that the other person doesn't share your love. You tell yourself that maybe you misunderstood...perhaps he does have feelings for you, he's just scared, he just needs some time. I wonder if this is just a chick thing? Guys must find themselves on the merry-go-round as well, right? But when you find yourself handcuffed to the merry-go-round and you just can't seem to get off...you get more and more dizzy...and even though it seems like he's sending mixed messages you *know* he's just not that into you. But you can't stop thinking about him. So you cling to the hope that he, deep down, is loving you as much as you love him.

Is it worth it? I think that it is important that you love with all your heart, even if you do get rejected in the end. But I can't imagine controlling love and how exactly does a person manage to save themselves from jumping in with both feet? If you don't love all the way then what is the point? If there is anything I have learned in my short life it is that life is about loss. Those that cope best with loss, and can learn something from it, will have an easier time in the grand battle that is love.
Can love be wasted? Or is it like an investment and sometimes you win and sometimes you lose? Am I just hopefully optomistic?

Love is never easy and I wish I could make the hurt go away but I can't. What do you say to a friend who feels they have wasted their love? The only thing I can think to say is, "I love you."

I love ya, Lady.

Song Du Jour: Fix You ~ Coldplay

"When you're too in love to let it go,
But if you never try you'll never know,
just what your worth..."

"Edmonton Gunners claim women's crown...."

On Saturday night my cousin Danielle and her team,The Gunners, won the National Ball Hockey Championship in Calgary. They upset the number one ranked Vancouver Sharks 4-0 and Danny was the MVP of the tournament and brought home the award for Best Forward. Congratulations to the Gunners!!

awwwwwww!

"Why The Great One is leaving Janet home alone to become leader of the dusty desert dogs." -Andy Juniper

Seeing as I can think of anything to babble about just now I will submit this for your reading pleasure, Blogaholics.

Why The Great One is leaving Janet home alone to become leader of the dusty desert dogs.
As a close personal friend of Wayne Gretzky - Wayne and I spent 53 quality minutes together at a crowded sports banquet back in 1979 - I feel it is my duty to utilize (exploit) my unique positioning as both one of Wayne's bosom buddies and as an intrepid (or, in-tepid) journalist (or gymnast) to shed light on why Wayne has officially retired from being retired to become head coach of those dusty desert dogs, the Phoenix Coyotes.
I know that obsessive hockey fans (a.k.a. Canadians) are dying to know what Wayne was thinking because I heard them yesterday on Sports Talk Radio practically having kittens over the issue. (As an aside, may I respectfully suggest that anyone calling a Sports Talk Radio station on any issue take a deep breath and, perhaps, a handful of valium before going on-air with their opinions).Honestly, fans wondered, why would The Great One put his impeccable career and storybook on-ice exploits in jeopardy by coaching the lowly dogs, a team that even a crossed clone of Scotty Bowman and Harry Houdini would have trouble resurrecting? Surely he doesn't need the money, the untold aggravation, the grief?Further, as a self-proclaimed sports fanatic and historian, Wayne surely knows the pitfalls of the profession, and the landmines that await superstar players who try to become superstar coaches (from The Splendid Splinter to quickly disillusioned Magic).Well, sports fans, although I was unable to actually talk personally with The Great One, I did have a chance to chat at length with his pesky lawyers, and once they finished threatening me with incivilities and legal action too pedantic to be mentioned should I fail to leave my good buddy Wayne alone, I got the inside scoop on why The Great One decided to become the new Leader of the Coyote Pack.
1. Wayne loathed retirement. He quickly tired of counting his money. He wasn't really fond of The Early Bird Special at the local Ramada. And while he was thrilled to finally get to spend some quality time at home with his winsome wife, Janet, and his brood, Janet was apparently always after him with honey-do lists: take out the garbage, weed the gardens, fold the laundry, paint the mudroom, dust your trophies, and when you're done all that I think we should spend some time talking about our relationship!
2. Wayne admittedly missed "the emotion" of the game of hockey. Wayne, after all, is an emotional guy. And, without the hockey outlet -- well, let's just say that Janet got a little tired of finding him in front of the TV, in the fetal position, bawling like a baby, every afternoon during The Young & The Restless.
3. During Monday's press conference, Wayne professed to desiring to be "closer to the game." What he didn't say was why he wants to be closer. Wayne, like the rest of us, is aging. Suffice to say, his eyesight ain't all it once was. Truth be told, unless he's behind-the-bench close to the action - or unless he wears his Jiminy Glick glasses, or the NHL decides to make the puck bigger - he simply can't follow the action. Poor guy hasn't really 'seen' a game in two years!
4. Contrary to popular belief, The Great One is not without coaching experience. By his own admission he's coached his son's baseball team. And isn't coaching Little League baseball practically the same thing as coaching NHL hockey?5. Always up for a challenge, Wayne is now intent on disproving, once and for all, the old adage: Nice guys finish last.You know, there is a whack of cynics out there who believe that The Great One has set himself up for a major fall - that by this time next year, his moniker may well have been downgraded to The Pretty Good One, or The Not So Bad One.
As a close personal friend, I just wish him all the luck in the world. Oh, and on a personal note: Wayne, if Janet needs any help around the house while you're off un-retiring, just let her know that I'm here for you (and her!). Because I'm that kind of friend.

Andy Juniper brings us the lighter side of sports. He can be visited at his Web site, or contacted at ajuniper@strangledeggs.com. Watch for his columns regularly on Sportsnet.ca.

"I see a red door and I want it painted black..."

My Friend GT is on an adventure in Vietnam and I am vicariously living through him so I thought I would post one of his adventures here. I guess I find it funny because GT is a relatively big guy and the thought of him "Shawshanking it" through a tunnel made by the much smaller Viet Cong is actually a pretty funny visual.

We arrived in Saigon aka Ho Chi Min City Wednesday night after a flight delay of 6 hours. Thankfully, our hotel staff in Nha Trang checked the flight schedules before we left and we were able to avoid the wait in the airport. Upon arrival, we were a little bewildered due to the intense traffic and general business of Saigon. We thought the number of scooters in Hanoi was crazy but it was a mere blip onthe screen of motor madness that is Saigon. Of the 8 million people living in Saigon, 3 million own scooters. There are approximately 100 accidents per day resulting in an average of 20 deaths. This is all not surprising when observing a typical intersection in the big city.

Our highlights of greater Saigon took place outside the beehive with trips to the Chu Chi tunnels and the Mekong Delta. For those unfamiliar, the Chu Chi area is home to the infamous network of underground tunnels spanning 250 km. The tunnels had 3 layers delving as deep as 12 m underground and were home to the Viet Cong during the Vietnam War (better known as the American War here). During the tour, we were given a small taste of life underground as we crawled 120 mfrom one entrance to
another. For those, like myself, who are slightly uncomfortable with small sweaty spaces, it was the longest 120 m ever. The tour also included an American War propaganda film circa 1960's that gave an interesting perspective on the US involvement.

The following day was spent touring the Mekong Delta which is the lush, soil rich, southern tip of Vietnam. A nice break from hectic life in Saigon, the Mekong Delta is home to various forms of agriculture and a simpler way of life. The tour started with the Mekong Delta River which, at this time of year, was brown due to the heavy rainfall and runoff between May and October. We took a number of boats from motored to row and visited a coconut/bee farm. We are now in Cambodia seeing the splendor that is Angkor Wat.

"Mike Vick, Vick, Vick, Vick, Vick, Vick....."

So last night I watched the Falcons beat the Colts at the Tokyo Dome. Although superstar QB Mike Vick played most of the first half (and then sat out the rest) it didn't stop the commentators from only talking about Vick. "Mike Vick, Vick, Vick, Vick, Vick." It makes me laugh.

They gave Schaub and "old balls" Detmer a chance to play...See this is why I like the pre-season. You get to see the players who never play actually get out there and show their stuff. Admittedly this means you also get to see those junk players prove why they shouldn't be on the team, but I'll take that just to watch some of the others who are still *good* players but are relegated to the bench for the season because of outstanding players.
It was cool was to watch the fans in Tokyo because they seemed to get right into it. They had their thunder sticks, made lots of noise, and actually stayed until the end of the game.
Am I the only one who is excited for the Oiler exhibition games to get fired up here? If nothing else there are usually a lot of great tilts and you get to see the rookies prove themselves.

Song Du Jour: Putting on The Ritz ~ Taco

The Birsday lady

My cousin Danielle at her Taco party!!!

Congratulations Bennetts!!

Ryan Jaden born at 8:21 pm weighing 5 lbs 13 ounces and his wee brother, Braden Conner, born at 9:08 pm weighing 5 lbs 9 ounces

"What have you gotten me into now Mommy?" -Jacob on his first ride at K-days

"...forever always seems to be around when things begin but forever never seems to be around when things end" - Ben Harper

I flipped over my calendar today to find a picture of the Saddledome staring back at me...ugh. So I promtly ripped it out. Can't have that on my wall....Jesus.
So here it is August. I have been writing a paper about the Potato famine in Ireland for my history course and cursing the beautiful weather. I only have another 12 days of school..yup, then I'll have another 12 credits for this summer but, it is supposed to be +30 today. How unfair is it that I am stuck at my computer? I went for a walk this morning totally forgetting that there is the mayhem of Heritage Days in 'my' park. I've become accustomed to having Hawrelak all to myself. Frick, it is festical city this weekend (Festical...ahahaha! I'd correct that spelling error, but it has such a nice ring to it). On the LRT last night we were packed in like sardines, what with K-days, Taste of Edmonton, Heritage Days, The Eskimos game...all happening at the same time.

Last night I got a bit sunburned at the football game. It was a glorious evening and I am super excited for the Smos to play BC on Friday. I go on vacation until September so I will not see another home game until the Labour Day classic. Next weekend I will also get to see one of the first games of the NFL pre-season as the Millenuim Falcons take on the Titans in Tokyo. I can't tell you how excited I am for the NFL and NHL. It's a bit sad really.
Alright...enough procrastinating...back to the potato famine.

Song Du Jour: Forever ~ Ben Harper

"El Rotten"

"That must be hard to do on the back of a camel" Dr. Kerr commenting on the pop up book she brought to class for our entertainment

Summer school is keeping me super busy but this week I will be finished writing midterms. Woo hoo! The constant flow of friends visiting is also keeping me busy...and drunk.

Last weekend El Rotten went stomping down the Ave to the good ole Thirsty Turtle. Good times...but I was drinking double vodka's and Red Bull and I must say I was the most alert drunk girl ever. All I know is when I got home I was soaking wet and the next day(s) I suffered from the worst hangover EVAR!

This weekend I have big plans for Friday night...yes, a council administration committee (CAC) meeting...oooohhhh...ahhhh! Then Saturday night we will be heading out to see the Eskimos play against Hamilton. Good times. Cherie-pie and Stiner are here visiting and Kirny finally got back from his wee Scottish Holiday. He has his man voice on so he must have had a great time. I look forward to hearing about his adventures!! Stiner, my life partner, and I went to see The Interpreter on Monday with Nicole Kidman and Sean Penn...its a pretty good movie, I would recommend it... especially if you're into the UN and African Politics.

Only two more weeks of summer school and then I am off on vacation to Kelowna!! School should fly by...I have a wicked history prof, highly recommended by the Indian, Dr. Kerr brought in her Kama Sutra pop-up book today....she had to smuggle it into the country...she keeps me laughing and in a history class at 9 a.m. that really is quite a feat. I'm no Miss Mary Sunshine in the morning.

The Oil play against the Av's on October 5th...who wants to get seats together?
Song Du Jour: Fix You ~ Coldplay

Happy First Birthday Caiden!

Cripes they grow fast! I remember when he was sooo wee...

"Oklahoma!"

What a crazy weekend. My friend LAB is 8 months pregnant with twins and they were evacuated to Georgia because Hurricane Emily was bearing down on the Cayman Islands!
She's a tough lady to withstand the stress of this weekend.

It was also Danny's Birthday this weekend which was super fun. Isn't it amazing that you plan a huge event one night and it never fails that the party the night before is always a 1000 times better? That's pretty much the way it went this weekend. The double kegger (with keg stands and all) out in Stalbert was the exact opposite of a sausage party (I was calling it the taco party). It was *all* ladies until my guy friends showed up. It got pretty emotional towards the end...as all chick parties tend to, and at one point the tears started flowing and all the boys looked a little more uncomfortable.

The partying made up for the bloody ridiculous spectacle that was the Smos football game on Friday night. CRIPES! It was excrutiating to watch. Ricky Ray fumbling, lost his confidence, and seemed reluctant to throw in the second half which makes it awfully hard to mount much of an offense. Why they didn't pull him and put Maas in I'll never understand. Jon Ryan was pretty impressive because his punts were about the only offense Winnipeg could muster. The dirty Sanchez was hurt...and I didn't see Ed Hervey after the half..so he must have been injured.
Mike Maurer cost us big time in this game...He's got some 'splaining to do.

Song Du Jour: One Way or Another ~ Blondie

"When you're slapped, you'll take it and like it" - Sam Spade

I'm taking Film Studies and we have been watching the Maltese Falcon from 1941. The dialogue is fall down funny and has us all laughing at parts that I am sure John Huston put in to add to the drama and not for comic relief. It really shows that a lot has changed since then and how, without context, a movie can really lose a lot of its impact. Also...I really don't understand what women saw in Humphrey Bogart...


Song Du Jour: Kemp - Millencolin

"Sim City at the Dollar Store...."

The Communist party of Canada sent me a response to my inguiry about the source of the allegation they made against NATO....Here it is and it is rather interesting (and long) I plan on looking into it more...it would make a cool history paper topic.
ahhh...the more you know....Tories, Fascists and Hidden Agendas, Oh MY! Isn't history/rhetoric fun?

Dear Heather,

This is a response to an email from you forwarded to us regarding NATO's terror network.

There are numerous references and detailed accounts of the terrorist activities committed under NATO command. Operation Gladio spanned from 1957 through to the 1980s, also known as NATO's "Staying Behind" armies or NATO's secret armies. Revelations to that effect were made in 1990 by former commander in chief of NATO General Sir Anthony Farrar-Hockley. Below are a selection of three items on this topic. But numerous others can be found by googling "anthony Farrar-Hockley"+Operation Gladio Or "Staying Behind"armies.

We hope this is useful.

Best wishes,

National Office
Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist)

=====================

1) NATO’s secret armies linked to terrorism? by Daniele Ganser
ISN Security Watch, 15 December 2004
www.globalresearch.ca 17 December 2004
The URL of this article is: http://globalresearch.ca/articles/GAN412A.html


* Dr Daniele Ganser is a Senior Researcher at the Center for Security Studies at the ETH in Zurich. For more information on the topic, compare the research of the Center of Security Studies (CSS) at ETH Zurich.

2) Operation Gladio, a document by Statewatch available at:
http://www.thejohnfleming.com/gladio.html

3) "Staying Behind"
NATO's Terror Network

As the 50th anniversary of the end of the war is celebrated, some unpleasant truths will become further buried beneath the myth of the "triumph of freedom and democracy" over fascism. For if fascism itself was the great evil that had to be stopped at any cost, how are we to explain the total failure of the British,
French and American governments to do anything about the war in Spain from 1936 to 1939, when Franco's fascist forces, openly supported with arms and troops by Hitler and Mussolini, destroyed the "democratically elected" republican government? The answer is not hard to find. For Western capitalism the real enemy was not
fascism but the popular revolution inaugurated by the Spanish working class.
Whilst a great many of those actively engaged in the war against Hitler genuinely fought under an anti-fascist banner, whether in the various official armed forces or the guerilla networks, the war was essentially a diversion from the ongoing concern of the European and American elites. German expansion had to be stopped because it challenged the economic and political interests of those elites. Having been defeated, business as usual could be resumed, specifically the business of preventing any internal threat to the ruling classes in the form of popular
revolution.
This may sound far fetched and, if it does, the reason is that following 1945 the so-called Cold War assumed a dominant position. The Soviet threat to Western "freedom" was to provide the necessary external focus whereby post-war governments could re-consolidate their position as part of the European Alliance.
An essential requirement of this consolidation was that the "left" should not come to power in Western Europe as a result of internal developments.
The reversion to business as usual began even before May 1945. Between 1943 and 1947 Britain and America were involved in a war against those who had fought the Nazi occupation in Greece. By 1943 the Greek National Liberation Front (EAM), the main resistance grouping, and its armed wing ELAS were effectively in control of liberated zones in the country. This organization was certainly dominated by communists, but it had wide support from a populace that did not want a return to the pre-war days of monarchy and dictatorship. However, Churchill was determined that the left should not come to power and that monarchy should be reinstated, despite it being clear that this would lead to civil war.
From 1943, the British and Americans began infiltrating special units into Greece specifically in order to prevent a communist/republican government being established. They worked alongside a right wing resistance group known as EDES which
collaborated with the Nazis. As the Germans withdrew from October 1944, EAM controlled 90% of the country. But the British set about establishing an "interim government", in which EAM were given only 1/3 representation and some insignificant ministerial positions. Meanwhile the Greek king (and his fascist-inclined
wife) showed no intention of renouncing any claim to rule. In November 1944 the Allied forces ordered ELAS to disarm. On December 3rd the gloves came off: police fired on a mass demonstration in Athens and fighting broke out between British
troops and ELAS.
Under the "interim government" the army, police and civil service stayed firmly in right wing hands, with former collaborators often allowed to remain in position whilst left wingers were excluded. The British and Americans did everything
they could to support the right wing and ensure its success in elections held in 1946. British interference subsided, but only because the Americans took virtual control of the country from 1947, pumping in massive economic and military aid. The extent of American control was such that the Greek prime minister's documents had to be counter-signed by the American mission in order to become valid. Meanwhile, in the mountains, US "military advisors" supervised campaigns against ELAS, involving mass arrests; court martials; imprisonments and executions. All leftist activity was banned, and activists who were not killed sent into political "re-education" camps or exiled.
This policy kept the Right in power until the 60s, when there was a resurgence of popular dissent and industrial unrest. The response of the establishment was the military coup of April 21, 1967, leading to seven years of right-wing military
dictatorship. This coup was organised by the CIA, and is believed to have involved members of an armed and trained paramilitary unit, run by the CIA from some time in the 50s and only "officially" disbanded in 1988. This long-term operation was codenamed "Operation Sheepskin". It has been suggested that the period immediately prior to the coup they were involved in applying the tactics of "state of emergency creation": black propaganda, terrorist bombings and other provocations to be
blamed on the Left.
The British and Americans learnt much from the Greek experience about effective ways to combat popular anti-capitalist movements and preserve the free market interests of business in their own backyard. This involved bankrolling the right wing parties, particularly the Christian Democrats; smearing Left candidates and other more unpleasant tactics. Whilst the Christian Democrat governments might have been lukewarm about American domination of Europe, they were desperate to prevent the Left coming to power.
"As part of this effort the Americans and British helped recreate the internal security machines of most European countries. The most willing and experienced people they found were ex-Nazis, Fascists and collaborators. Highly-trained and
fervent anti-communists, these were the people who would use the brutality it was necessary to deploy against the Left ... The Americans in effect planted an intelligence network into the heart of the European countries to ensure the "deal" (the anti- Left / pro-American and pro-capitalist deal) was kept. These forces would ensure that attempts to renege on the deal would be militarily challenged". (Open Eye)
In fact the Greek based "Operation Sheepskin" mentioned in relation to the 1967 coup was but one part of a European wide "Stay Behind" network, established by the British and Americans. Ostensibly this network existed to provide the nucleus of a
guerilla army to fight on after any Soviet invasion, using arms and explosives which had already been planted. However, the evidence leaves little doubt that this network also had the intention of resisting "internal subversion".
The Stay Behind network was conceived by the US Joint Chiefs of Staff and put into operation in 1948 by the National Security Council which set up the Office of Policy Co-ordination to run it, staffed and funded by the CIA. Ultimately, coordination of the network took place under the auspices of NATO. It involved
personnel from the "official" security services in each country and received covert funding from industry and the state. Indeed funding and support of such groups was one of the main tasks of the newly-formed CIA. However, members of the network were mainly recruited from the civilian population, notably "ex-fascists" and
others whose "anti-communist" credentials were unimpeachable, no matter what they'd been up to during the war years.
The existence of the Stay Behind network was not a matter for public knowledge. However, the activities of the Italian branch - codenamed Operation Gladio - was exposed in a series of judicial investigations, particularly between 1990 and 1992.
Operation Gladio was set up in 1958 with help from British Intelligence and the CIA, with funding from the latter. This assistance continued, with Gladio units being trained in Britain in the early 1970s and by US instructors at a military base in the Canary Islands from 1966 to the mid-70s. Gladio was controlled by the Italian secret services from "Office R". It had strong links with P2, a fascist Masonic Lodge composed of most of the top military officers, political leaders, industrialists, bankers and diplomats in Italy. P2 has been described as effectively constituting a right wing parallel government in Italy. In addition, Gladio became a focal point for fascist members of "Marine Star" a veteran's group set up after the
Second World War, and was to make use of other fascist groups in
the 70s and 80s.
From the outset, Gladio's concern was wider than the official anti-Soviet justification. A briefing minute of June 1st, 1959 reveals Gladio's concern with "internal subversion and that it was to play a determining role ... not only in the general policy levels of warfare, but also in the politics of emergency". The "emergency" as far as they were concerned was to come with the growth during the 60s and 70s of the popular anti- capitalist movement, industrial unrest and an apparent shift from centre to left by the ruling Christian Democratic Party.
Those involved in Gladio / P2 began planning a coup 1964, drawing up lists of thousands of politicians, trade unionists and activists to be rounded up. An actual coup attempt was made in 1970 led by the navy commander Prince Valerio Borghese, a
supporter of the main Italian fascist party MSI. The plot came to nothing and Borghese was tried.
In fact Gladio was deeply involved in the so-called "strategy of tension" in the late 60s and 70s. The aim of the strategy, of which the principle tactic was "terrorist outrages" carried out by fascists, was to spread panic and unrest and to directly attack the Left and provoke them into an armed response, which would both justify increased state power under the pretext of a "national emergency" and isolate the Left from popular support. General Gerardo Serravalle, head of "Office R" from 1971-1974, revealed that at a Gladio meeting in 1972 at least half of the upper echelons "had the idea of attacking the communists before an invasion. They were preparing for civil war".
In an early but well known incident, a bomb was exploded in December 1969 in the Banca Nazionale dell' Agricoltura in Milan. Police immediately blamed and arrested anarchists, but the real perpetrators were the fascists Franco Freda and Giovanni Ventura. Ventura was in close contact with Colonel Guido Giannettinni of the SID (part of the secret services), who was a fervent supporter of the MSI. The subsequent trial of the two fascists was obstructed and delayed until 1981, when they were given life sentences, only to be cleared on appeal.
As the fascists embarked on a wave of bombings and shootings, civil rights in Italy began to be severely curtailed, with a 1975 law restricting popular campaigning and radical political discussion. Many people were locked up under "anti-
terrorist" legislation or expelled from the country. As expected, the Left, in the shape of the Red Brigades, resorted to armed struggle to defend themselves against this assault. This simply strengthened Gladio / P2's hand - the Red Brigades were blamed for fascist outrages, systematically infiltrated by the secret services and used to carry out actions which supported the hidden agenda.
The Italian far right claimed responsibility for many of its actions and its members were actively pursued by the Italian police. Some fled to Britain in the aftermath of the August 1980 bomb at the Bologna railway station and were provided with safe- housing by British fascists in the League of St. George.
However, it was the Bologna bomb that led to the unravelling of the link between Italian fascist paramilitaries; P2; the secret services and Gladio. The 1982 testimony of a P2 member in prison in Switzerland, revealed that the outrage was instigated by that organization and involved elements of the secret services. Subsequent investigators revealed that the explosive used probably came from Gladio arsenals.
In effect Gladio had both "official" and "unofficial" wings, with the latter initiating its own "anti-communist" operations but receiving both sanction and funding from the "official" wing. General Pietro Corona head of "Office R" in 1969/70 told a Venice enquiry into a bombing in Peteano that there was an "alternative clandestine network, parallel to Gladio, which knew about the
arms and explosives dumps and had access to them". General Nino Lugarese, head of SIMSI (a branch of the Italian secret service) from 1981-1984, revealed the existence of a "Super Gladio" of 800 members responsible for internal intervention against domestic political targets.
Gladio was "officially disbanded" by the Italian government in December 1990 after the story broke. On January 29th, 1992 it was officially declared to have been a clandestine and illegal "armed band" involved in subversion, by an Italian parliamentary commission on terrorism.
The 1990 revelations in Italy had a wider impact. After all, Gladio was simply the Italian branch of a European wide network. The Belgian, French, Dutch, Greek and German governments all officially acknowledged that they took part in the covert NATO network, with the Belgian prime minister revealing that a Europe wide meeting of the network had been held as recently as October 1990. Of course the respective governments were at pains to deny that the network had been intended for anything other than to enable post-invasion guerilla warfare. Intervention in domestic
politics could only be the work of "uncontrollables" following their own agenda.
The British authorities have refused to comment officially on any similar network in this country. However, General Sir Anthony Farrar-Hockley revealed in November 1990 that a secret arms network had in fact been set up. In the same article other(anonymous) sources also claimed that the organization had a further aim - "combatting the takeover of civil government by militant left wing groups". Yet is there any evidence of destabilisation activities similar to those carried out on the continent?
During the 70s, the same time as the Italian "strategy of tension" was escalating, elements of the right wing establishment in this country perceived a genuine threat to their vested interests. In the midst of economic collapse trade unions seemed to be unstoppable, indeed the miners had effectively destroyed
the Tory government, and Labour under Wilson came to power in 1974. Edward Heath was seen as having betrayed the Tory party, not just by the upper echelons but by the thousands of ordinary supporters defecting to the far right.
Thanks to the testimony of Colin Wallace, an army officer engaged in black propaganda in Northern Ireland, we now know that elements in the security services (specifically MI5) deliberately set out to destabilise the Wilson government. Moreover, leading figures in the military, industrial and political sphere began to
talk in terms of a state emergency and the desirability or need to establish a civilian volunteer force or patriotic groups to help the "maintenance of public order". Thus in 1972-1973 the Tory MPs Winston Churchill; John Biggs Davison and Patrick Wall were all calling for increased military involvement in the growing industrial conflict and even for the creation of a "special anti-terrorist force and mobile squad of motorised troops to counter the forces of red fascism" (Davison). All three were Monday Club members and on the extreme right of the Tory Party.
At the same time George K. Young, deputy head of MI6 until 1961, was working in conjunction with General George Walker to set up a network "to meet the contingency of a total political break down". This network, called the Unison Committee for Action (Unison), was set up in early 1973 and its existence announced to the press in July 1974. This seems to have dissolved into another organization fronted by Walker, known as Civil Assistance. Ross McWhirter was very involved in Walker's activities, and subsequently went on to play a key role in the National Association for Freedom (or Freedom Association as it is now known). At around the same time (May 1974), SAS founder David Stirling, who described Unison as "apparently highly militaristic and very right wing nature", was proposing a broadly similar
group to be called GB75 and was consulting with contacts in the armed forces, industry and the Tory Party.
Colin Wallace says British Intelligence provided covert assistance to Unison; Civil Assistance and GB75. However, the extent and even existence of such "patriotic groups", other than on paper, is a matter of debate. Wallace and others have
described them as psychological operations. By this we understand that talk of such measures channelled through the media was intended to heighten the sense of social breakdown and of the "red" threat, particularly in 1974.
The full story of such concerns in the British establishment during this period has probably yet to emerge. Whether the use of overtly fascist groups in a "strategy of tension" was contemplated is unknown. But clearly, in a period when the Tory
Party was in disarray, under a "weak" leader; with mass industrial unrest and a so-called socialist party coming to power, the extreme right of the Tory Party, together with elements in industry, the military and the secret services, were looking to a non-parliamentary solution to preserve their interests. In the end, however, the election of Mrs. Thatcher to leadership of the Tory Party and the 1979 election victory ensured the success of their aims, probably beyond their expectations, by a different and "legitimate" route.
The most important lesson to be learnt from the Gladio story; the whole Stay Behind network and the situation in Britain during the 70s is that the right-wing establishment will, quite literally, stop at nothing to prevent a popular anti-capitalist movement (or one perceived as such) displacing it from power. In such a context the establishment will happily make use of fascist groups, whether as unwitting dupes (via the secret services), or as direct allies - after all, if the choice is stark enough, classical fascist ideology has more than enough in common with that of the right-wing establishment.

(Source: Fighting Talk - Issue 11 - May 1995)

"....priceless"

To read the fine print click on the photo to enlarge

"Wheeeeeeeee....."

Things I don't understand Part 44:

1. The curious attraction drunks have to a shopping cart or a paper box.

On Friday and Saturday nights I regularly hear the antics of some crazy bunch of boys convincing chicks (that are going home with them) to climb into a Safeway shopping cart so they can push them down my alley at full sprint. What makes me laugh is that at least once you can hear, "Wheeee, wooo Hooooooo!Crash!! ahahahahahaha!"

See the drunky pushing the cart thinks the pavement in the alley is as even as it is in the safeway parking lot, but it is not, so usually drunky ends up launching his special lady from the cart onto the ground when he hits a particularly rough patch of pavement. Last night was particularly bad because said launched special lady clearly wasn't drunk enough because she wailed and wailed whilst drunky tried to console her with his repeated drunken apologies. I bet he didn't get any last night, poor bastard.

These same hooligans often jubilantly knock over the Sun or Journal Box on their way home. Don't get me wrong, I have been witness to many a Sun Box being launched during drunken funtimes (cough...PJ...cough) so I can't say it comes at any surprise but, now that I listen to it twice a weekend, it has become waaaaayyy less entertaining.
I wonder if the 'Steve Smith cart collector dude' who collects the carts on Saturday and Sunday mornings has "rescue toppled paper boxes" actually outlined in his job description?

Song Du Jour: Collide ~ Howie Day

"A love which dangles free, lets watch it swim against the waters flow, in doubt the courage grows with no guarantee" -Badly Drawn Boy

You know sometimes I wish I could swallow whole doctrines in full and not question at least some of the principles and beliefs contained within them. For instance, last night I was watching a CBC show about Muslim fundamentalists and one gentleman believes Islam is the perfect faith and it struck me that I don't fit into a perfect paradigm.

How easy it would be to swallow whole doctrines complete like that! I don't think anything is perfect...and I hate labels. I can't just be labelled socialist, Catholic, activist, etc. Those labels are just too easy. I like to pull the values and beliefs that resonate with me from different sides of the spectrum. I just don't think it can be as simple as; I am an "insert label here" and I think all the things associated with the beliefs outlined by the dude who set up that particular label.

Then today I found this from Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist) and I find that I agree with some of it and totally disagree with other bits (warning: I know it is long but I wanted to copy it in whole):

Statement of Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist)on the London Bombings, July 7, 2005 - www.cpcml.ca

The Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist)condemns the wanton acts of violence in London, England today in which, once again, it is the innocent who are injured and killed. What is the reason for targeting innocent civilians on their way to work? Who perpetrates such wanton crimes and whose interests do they serve?

The leaders of the main imperialist countries meeting at the G8 Summit in Gleneagles, Scotland, especially the war criminals George W. Bush and Tony Blair along with all major imperialist media outlets, were quick to blame "Al Qaeda," "Muslim extremists," "sleeper cells" and the like. Bush and Blair pledged to step up their "war on terror." Far from believing these simplistic accounts, CPC(M-L) holds the imperialist states and their agencies responsible.
CPC(M-L) condemns the imperialists and their news agencies for using the occasion to detract attention from the peoples' united opposition to the imperialist agenda and international state terrorism against the peoples of the world.

Such acts of wanton violence are and alway have been the preferred method used by the imperialists to sabotage the peoples' struggles. At a time the peoples are politically expressing their determination to deal with the serious problems which face their societies and the entire world, the imperialists are creating a climate of anarchy and using state terrorism to cover up their refusal to deal with these problems as the peoples are demanding. The first object is to have people draw the conclusion that whosoever is capable of ending this state of anarchy and confusion should be supported. According to this logic, any measure, including the outright massacre of people, is justified.

Another aim is to create an atmosphere in which every uncalled for act of violence, including cold-blooded killings and mass murder, can take place so that people who exercise no control over their lives become indifferent. Another aim is to create a climate in which it is permissible to target entire communities and under certain circumstances incite people to kill one another on the basis of race, religion, national origin, gender or ideological differences.

Such methods were developed during the 19th century to sabotage the peoples' struggles, especially in France and Czarist Russia. During the 20th century these methods were perfected in the fight against communism and the national liberation struggles. After the Great October Revolution and prior to the Second World War, they were used by the British, French and others in their attempt to egg on Hitler to attack Soviet Russia. These methods were used by Hitler and Mussolini to set up the communists, people of Jewish origin and oppressed peoples and on this basis justify committing atrocities against them.

In Canada, it is proven that violence targeting the people has the hand of the state and its agencies behind it. So too in Ireland; the battle between Irish Catholics and Irish Protestants was the policy of the British imperialists to divert the people and obstruct their unity against British rule and the establishment of a united Ireland under their own rule. In Europe, the political wing of NATO confessed to setting up terrorist groups throughout Europe to carry out bombings, kidnappings and create a general climate of terror against the population. Such events were then used to justify the persecution of progressive forces, as well as the policy of state terror on the part of individual governments and the imperialist powers as a whole. The same is the case in India and all other countries where the state and its agencies act with impunity against the people's forces. The crimes against the peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean through the dirty wars, Plan Condor, the blockade against Cuba, etc. are all exercised in the name of high ideals.

This being the case, why do the media and "experts" remain silent about humanity's experience with the use of such methods? Recalling this experience would assist people to shed light on what is taking place at this time. It clearly shows that the people must pay utmost attention to drawing the warranted conclusions. They must provide themselves with a guide to action which consolidates their political unity in action against the growing fascism and danger of imperialist war.

CPC(M-L) calls on the Canadian working class and people and the peoples of all countries to take their own stands and persist in their opposition to the narrow interests of the imperialists for which the peoples are paying a terrible price. CPC(M-L) hails the successful actions carried out in Scotland against the G8 Summit and its nefarious agenda to increase the plunder of the long suffering African continent and divert attention from the deeds of the imperialists and their henchmen in Iraq, Palestine and other countries of Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as the fascist measures they are taking in their own countries.

CPC(M-L) also opposes all attempts to divert attention from the serious issues facing humankind. We condemn the hypocrisy of the likes of George W. Bush, Tony Blair, Paul Martin and other so-called leaders whose pathetic attempts to promote "pop diplomacy" seek to fool the gullible into believing that their sole aim is to solve the problems of the African peoples for which they and they alone are responsible.

Imperialist Marauders,
Get Out of Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean!
Do Not Permit Wanton Killings to Disrupt the People's Political Unity in Action Against Imperialist Plunder and State Terror!

I like the rhetoric of that last bit about "pop diplomacy"...

There are some pretty strong allegations in there too: "the political
wing of NATO confessed to setting up terrorist groups throughout Europe to carry out bombings, kidnappings and create a general climate of terror against the population"

Really? I'd like the source on that. Ummm...I have a question...who the hell makes up the political wing of NATO? Wouldn't that be the member states?? The State itself? It would be impressive if they could actually prove it. Maybe they can. I'll email them to find out and let you know.

I guess what I am trying to say is the more I learn the more I realize life will never be as simple as all the ridiculous labels we've created for ourselves. And here I thought I would one day figure out exactly what label I am. But so far, no such luck.

Song Du Jour: Pissing in the Wind ~ Badly Drawn Boy

"I'm not surprised, we were told it wasn't a matter of if but only a matter of when..." A witness to the bombings in London on the BBC

Wow, Londoners seem to be coping rather well with this attack on their city. It seems like most people on the news simply expected this. Have attacks like these just become part of our lives now?
Wow.

My friend Bryony, who works at the Old Bailey in London, was fine but shaken, she had just come off the Tube at 8:45. She had a long walk home but at least she is okay. Whew!

Song Du Jour: Calling All Angels~ Jane Siberry

"calling all angels
walk me through this one
don't leave me alone
calling all angels
calling all angels
we're cryin' and we're hurtin'
and we're not sure why...

and every day you gaze upon the sunset
with such love and intensity
it's almost...it's almost as if
if you could only crack the code
then you'd finally understand what this all means"

"African countries should no longer go begging to the West" -Muammar Qaddafi

The Economist has an interesting article on one of the topics we have discussed here. The link to the article is in the title (above):

"So documents like the recent report of the Commission for Africa, set up last year by Britain's Tony Blair to 'take a fresh look at Africa' and how to develop it, burst with enthusiasm for the AU and Nepad. In turn, these two bodies have explicitly promised to uphold human rights and democracy, to fight corruption and promote good governance. And both outfits promise to hold their members to account, to prod them to meet these stringent criteria.

The most explicit mechanism for doing so is Nepad's African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM). The 23 countries who have so far joined this voluntary scheme all offer themselves up for scrutiny by a panel of outside experts. Confidential reports are then handed to the subject governments, and a programme of action for improvements in such things as transparency and democratic accountability is agreed on and made public. At least, that is the plan. Last week, the experts handed their verdicts to the first two guinea pigs, Ghana and Rwanda; final reports and action plans are due out next month.

The implicit deal with rich countries is that if the AU and Nepad can start to enforce western standards of financial transparency and democracy in African countries, then more aid will flow their way to foster the good work."

"And it's a smart way because it's the governments that can alleviate the debts a lot quicker than we can buy, collecting our nickels and dimes."

Randy Winter, one of the older fans in the crowd (At Live 8 in Barrie, Ont.) at 50, said it was refreshing to see a global campaign based on awareness rather than fundraising.

"I think people are probably burned out after Live Aid and Farm Aid and . . . tsunami relief, and this is another way of doing it," he said while relaxing under the shade of a tree.

"And it's a smart way because it's the governments that can alleviate the debts a lot quicker than we can buy, collecting our nickels and dimes."

You rock Randy. See...some people get it.
Oh and the Minister for International Affairs announced there will be no additional aid money this year. I wonder if Paul Martin will make promises he can't keep? This is something that Goodale always hides behind: That Canada can't afford it right now, but we are doing our part and we don't want to make promises we can't keep. They've been promising to contribute more for what...40 years? and now they've found a conscience and they want to stop making promises they can't keep? I think Lester B. Pearson just rolled over in his grave.

If nothing else comes of the G8 meeting I am looking forward to the WTO meeting in China.

Song Du Jour: Mr. Brightside ~ The Killers

"Oh Joanne, there's Dr. Fraser... that Rod Fraser is such a wonderful fellow, he's done so much for the University and you kids..."~Auntie Maris

"Uhhh... I am so glad I decided to wear something under this gown....." My Cousin Danielle noticing the gown only buttons at the top.

"For AIDS in Afghanistan, is it?" - Marty Gradwell

yup..Live 8...It was fricking awesome eh?

So Marty thinks he went to go see a rockin' concert...and that's all he cares about. Good Times. And of course that is who the media shows us: those eejits who have no idea that the continent of Africa is on fire while we stand about admiring the glow.

I have my friends asking me if I think Live 8 will actually help Africa? Did it actually raise awareness to the many Marty's out there who are blissfully ignorant? Yes.

Did Live 8 *directly* effect change in Africa ? No. But that is not what Live 8 was about. Many have said they should have raised money too but Live 8 was a huge publicity rally aimed at applying pressure on the leaders of 8 nations. It's all about earned media. (like a big old tuiton rally) Will it work? Well I'll tell you this....if the G8 summit results in anything less than a bloody miracle there will be a lot of people watching.

Geldolf has managed to get the issues of Debt, trade, and Aids in Africa on the top of the agenda at the G8! That is not an easy feat and I think that is a huge step forward. Leaders won't do a thing if they don't have the will of the people behind them. Now we have to see if the economists will win out...or if these so called leaders can look ahead, be bold, and create a 'marshall plan' for Africa. We need leaders who are ahead of their time...we need new solutions to old problems.I watched some of the coverage and was impressed by the way the event went down in London. With Annie Lennox on message with her song "Why" complete with images of African children with bloated tummies playing on the big screen behind her. Heart wrenching yes....but have we become de-sensitized to these issues? and those images?

Now I await the summit and I hope that we don't get more excuses. I want results.
If you do too then join me and let's Make Poverty History.

Song Du Jour: Waiting for a Miracle ~ Bruce Cockburn

"You pretend you're strong
In the hope that you can be
Like the ones who've cried
Like the ones who've died
Trying to set the angel in us free
While they're waiting for a miracle"

Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien, center, meets with singers Bob Geldof, left, and U2's Bono in Genoa Italy Saturday July 21, 2001

Their private meeting came as police and protesters again battled in the streets of Genoa, marking a summit that may be remembered most for Friday's police shooting death of a young protester". (AP Photo/Prime Minister's Office, Diana Murphy)

"Shut UP! Paul Anka does Nirvana!? You're kidding...." - Me

So here I sit in the Knowledge Common (because my computer at home is shite) and watch all the newbies get shown around some sort of orientation dealy-o I assume. They look so nervous. One of them is taking notes. Very diligent.

Tomorrow is Canada Day and they are actually shutting down Whyte Ave from 109-103 street! Summer is always a treat when you live on Whyte. I would like to thank the poor dude whose job it is to collect all the Safeway carts at 7 a.m. every morning. He makes about as much noise as humanly possible. You rock Brother!
I also forgot how much people like their horns around wedding season. You'd actually be surprised how many weddings there are...and I get to hear almost all of them bleat their way down Whyte.

Kirny and I were driving down the Ave the other night and I noticed the city just invested in crosswalk lights at two intersections...to try to limit the amount of pedestrian carnage on Whyte of course. Silly Pedestrians.
The new lights have been in the news so I was excited to see them in action. As we came westbound on the Ave, even though there were pedestrians at both intersections, the lights didn't actually activate (much to my disappointment). We saw a lady pressing the button but nothing happened. Kirny turned to me and noted, "I guess they won't actually activate the lights until next year's budget...."
Too Funny.

Oh yeah, War of The Worlds...not so good IMHO. Save your money for that pitcher of beer this weekend instead.


Song Du Jour: Smells Like Teen Spirit (Nirvana)~ by Paul Anka

"...it's about the game," Jeremy Roenick

So JR decides to take on the media. Media 1, JR 0. It made me laugh. JR pleading his case, whining about how "the players have sacrificed too...you know..."
Priceless.

"Before I went into my rant, I was talking about the game of hockey, about getting it back on the ice, about what we have to do for the fans and telling people it's not about who wins or loses, it's about the game," Jeremy Roenick

"it is a case where vice - having nothing to lose - has yielded itself to pay homage to virtue." ~ José Saramago

This is the second time one of my favorite authors has come to Edmonton and I find out after they have already been here and gone! Boo. Boo urns I say.

If you have never read Saramago's 1995 book Blindness I highly recommend it. I would have loved to have met with him and sat down and talked to him. You know when people ask you who you'd have dinner with if you could pick five people? José Saramago would be on my list. He's led the most extraordinary life....and he was once the treasurer of his schools' Students' Union.

Tomorrow is my cousin Danielle's convocation and I am looking forward to seeing her in the cap and gown...this may be the one and only time she wears anything even remotely resembling a dress. I am so proud of her and amazed by the incredible person she has become. You know when you have known somebody for their whole life and you've watched them grow and change it is sometimes hard to separate them from the kid they used to be? When I look at Danny now I still see her as the little sister I never had and she will always be 10 years old to me. And tomorrow there she'll be, walkingacrosss that stage..Graduatingg..Beforee me!
Life is really an amazing Journey.

Sadly, I will have to miss the S'mos game tomorrow night..They'ree opening up against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. I'd like to see if Russ Michna is all they make him out to be and I won't be there to throw my beer at poor misguided Bombers fan, Target, when he gets rowdy. I can't wait to see who Maciocia picks for the team...will it be Maas or Ricky Ray? I wonder if Brock Ralph is back from NY Jets camp yet (assuming he doesn't make the team)....gawd...it should be a good game. I have been missing football so much.

Song Du Jour: Sitting, Waiting, Wishing** ~ Jack Johnson
**It's amazing when a song totally sums up exactly how you're feeling at a particular moment, and just when I was dying for some new music to listen to, Jack Johnson rocks.

"How many of us are in each pair?"

Today in drama class we were sitting in the ole sharing circle and the teacher was outlining our final assignment. He starts by telling us a bit about the project and informs us that we will be working in pairs. One of the girls asks, "how many of us in each pair, Sir?"
This comes from a girl seems to always be two steps behind us at all times. A pair is two people Lady.

The best part was when she argued that a pair could be 3 people....

My Drama class is far too entertaining. We performed this morning and I had to play a doctor, a mother, and a young girl in three different scenes. I think we did very well but who knows what kind of mark we will get.
Sadly, we have to get people we know to come watch our final performance (nothing like a captive audience) on June 15th at 10:00 am in FAB. I expect it will be rather hilarious just given the history of this particular class. I didn't get partnered up with the Blind Guy though and I really wanted to work with him on this. So who wants to come watch the drama? Instead of forcing you at gunpoint I figure you're all invited. Should be a gooder....

Song Du Jour: Wrapped Around Your Finger~ The Police