How Ridiculous...

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Excessive force much?

I'm not sure what this guy said or did to these security guards at Chinook Mall, but based on their reaction, it must have been pretty bad. Oh wait, he was sitting on a broken escalator - but that can't be it! I also heard he talked back to them - hmm, that doesn't sound right either. He does have some neck tattoos - nope, still doesn't explain it. Whatever he did, did it actually warrant having 5 security guards at one point holding him down? Did what he said deserve getting punched repeatedly while he was being held down? Did what he said to them mean he should have cuts and bruises? I'm not sure it did...

Now, I will admit that I haven't heard all sides of the story, and if this man was physically threatening or harmful in some way, I will take back my comments, but based on what the victim and eye-witness said and what I saw on the YouTube video, a few people were wrong here, and it doesn't seem like the victim was one of them. Thankfully, this ridiculous, excessive behaviour has caused at least one security guard to lose his job, and Chinook Mall and the Police are investigating the altercation further, so at least there's that...I think.

Take a look at the video and judge for yourself.

Saturday, March 2, 2013

Greedy jerks!

I recently bought a ticket to a music festival, but my friend missed out on getting a ticket because it sold out in 2 hours! Now, because I'm a good friend (and I really want her to come with me), I've been scouring the Internet looking for tickets for sale on her behalf, and I find myself frustrated and discouraged - not because there aren't tickets for sale, but because most people are selfishly trying to sell their tickets for hundreds of dollars more than they are worth. The tickets are already $350 which is not cheap, and to take advantage of a fellow music lover, who just wants the chance to see an amazing show is not only ridiculous, but greedy as well. If you paid $350, then you should sell them for $350. I just saw an ad that was selling a pair of tickets for $1000. That's a $300 profit for nothing. Sure, that person had to go to the trouble of purchasing their tickets on ticketmaster which we all know is exhausting, and then they had to make a Kijiji ad which I'm sure was also quite laborious as well, so of course they deserve $300 for those few minutes they spent on the entire endeavour. To this person, and all others who try to make money on the unlucky, you should be ashamed of yourselves!

I urge all of you music lovers to not give in to the selfishness of these scalpers. Wait it out until these people are desperate to get rid of their tickets and then buy them for less than they're worth. Maybe next time, they'll come to their senses and sell their tickets at a fair price.

For some tips on how to deal with scalpers in person, read this.

Thursday, February 28, 2013

Think before you speak!

It almost seems too obvious to write about how ridiculous Tom Flanagan's comments about child pornography were yesterday in Lethbridge, Alberta. In response to a question about a statement he made about that subject in 2009, he responded by saying "I certainly have no sympathy for child molesters, but I do have some grave doubts about putting people in jail because of their taste in pictures." He then went on to say "it is a real issue of personal liberty, to what extent we put people in jail for doing something in which they do not harm another person." I guess I define personal liberty different than Tom. Oh wait, so does the rest of the world! According to Webster, personal liberty is defined as "the freedom of the individual to to as he pleases limited only by the authority of politically organized society to regulate his actions to secure the public health, safety, or morals of other recognized social interests." To me, that means to abet child pornagraphers by looking at their pictures, means that you are not securing that child's health or safety and therefore, should be punished!

Sadly, this isn't the only idiotic thing Tom Flanagan has said. In 2010, he advocated the assassination of WikLeaks founder Julian Assange. To make matters worse, this man used to advise our Prime Minister, and ran the campaign of the Wild Rose party in the last Alberta election and has been responsible for teaching young minds at the University of Calgary as a political science professor. Flanagan has since apologized, and the PMO, Wildrose Party and University of Calgary have all issued statements denouncing his remarks. That said, I'm still not sure anybody should be listening to or learning from Tom Flanagan...

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

And the debate begins again...

With the most recent mass shooting in the States, there has been more and more talk of firmer gun control - and the debate begins again. Before I begin, I'd like to state that I am obviously biased in this discussion as I don't own a gun, will probably never own a gun, don't believe that the average person should have a gun and am Canadian. I'm not going to bore everyone with all of the same old statistics that we've all heard before, for those, you can go watch "Bowling for Columbine" or read a newspaper or watch the news these days and you'll come across plenty of reasons why gun control is important, in fact, Neil Macdonald summed it all up very well on CBC news the other day (read it here). All I'm going to say is this, if you think you "have the right to bear arms", go right ahead and keep your shotgun in your basement, but if you want to argue with me that you should own a gun that is designed solely for the purpose of killing people, quickly and efficiently, then you are ridiculous. The gun used in that shooting in Connecticut was not designed for self defense or hunting dear, it was designed to kill. What gives anyone the right to do that?

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Who's "undemocratic" now Mr. Harper?

It feels like just yesterday that the Conservative's pushed through a monstrous Omnibus bill totalling over 400 pages...oh wait, it was only 3 months ago! Now they're at it again with a budget bill that is expected to be even larger than the bill in the spring. I know our current government is not the first to do this and probably won't be the last, but what I find funny is that Harper once described Omnibus bills as undemocratic and a "contradiction to the conventions and practices of the House." Does that mean that Stephan Harper thinks of himself as undemocratic? Doubtful! I guess when the Liberals do it, it's undemocratic, but when the Conservatives do it, it's justice. Personally, I think it's ridiculous and so does Rick Mercer!

Check out Mercer's latest rant. Or to read more about what Ralph Goodale, Deputy Liberal Leader, has to say, click here. Or, if you're interested in doing your part to help prevent more of these bills in the future, you can sign the Liberal's petition.

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

WAKE UP CANADA!

I'm not an economist or a politician or an expert on budgets, but I still knew that Bill C-38, which aims to change over 70 laws in one omnibus bill, was bad for many Canadians...and boy, was I right! After doing some reading, from sources all over the place, it is clear that the Conservative Government is trying to pull one over on us and we should be ashamed for how little we all seem to care!

Now, while there are some positive changes in the bill, there are also many, many negative ones - too many for me to list. It is important to note that these many issues include negative changes to laws concerning the environment, charities, fisheries, equal rights for women and minorities, pensions and so much more.

Unfortunately, this bill is likely going to pass this week, but this goes to show that the time for apathy needs to be over! Our Government is sneaking sweeping changes in right before our eyes and as many have pointed out, no one seems to care. WAKE UP CANADA!

For a more robust list, read Linda Leon's letter to her MP. Or, to read more about this bill, check out the following:

Friday, May 4, 2012

Are you a serial killer?

Do you believe climate change is happening? Do you believe that we might have just a little something to do with it? If so, you just may be a serial killer, mass murderer or terrorist according the Chicago-based Heartland Institute! The US think tank launched a poster campaign that compares people like the Unabomber and Osama Bin Laden to people concerned about global warming. According to the Guardian, it is "quite possibly one of the most ill-judged poster campaigns in the history of ill judged poster campaigns."

Here are a few highlights from their own justification for their actions:

Because what these murderers and madmen have said differs very little from what spokespersons for the United Nations, journalists for the “mainstream” media, and liberal politicians say about global warming.
Still believing in man-made global warming – after all the scientific discoveries and revelations that point against this theory – is more than a little nutty. In fact, some really crazy people use it to justify immoral and frightening behavior.
The people who still believe in man-made global warming are mostly on the radical fringe of society. This is why the most prominent advocates of global warming aren’t scientists. They are murderers, tyrants, and madmen.

This campaign is so utterly ridiculous and unbelievable that I can't even find the words...

To read Bill McKibben's (350.org) open letter to the Heartland Institute, click here. Or, to hear what others have to say about this utterly ridiculous campaign, check out the following articles: