The Quebec Language Nazis Strike Again

by Jes

When you walk into an Irish Pub, what do you expect? Low lighting, a pint of Guinness or Harp, perhaps a few TVs with the game on, perhaps some folk music, dancing, and probably lots of Irish paraphernalia.

Certainly, you don't expect Poutine, Ambrée aux piments forts, et Pot au feu.

Of course, that doesn't stop the Quebec Language Nazis from going to work, claiming an Irish Pub to be an enemy of the Republic.

The Office de la langue francaise (OLF) issued the order to McKibbins Irish Pub on Feb. 6, informing the tavern it was violating Quebec's language charter by displaying the imported vintage posters.

The wall hangings include vintage advertisements for Guinness and St. James Gate Dublin, imported from Ireland.

McKibbins owner Rick Fon told CBC News he will not take the posters down because they serve as decoration, not to advertise beer.

Once again, we see a great load of hypocrisy from the Language Nazis.

Aren't the Francophones hell-bent on preserving their 'culture'? Why, then, must be enforce their culture and language on others? Certainly, you are not going to see and hear a lot of FRENCH in a genuine Irish Pub.

Much like most religions around the world, The Quebec Language Nazis play the persecution card, but have no problem persecuting others and trying to assimilate the 'heathens' into their mindless collective.

I hope the pub fights this idiocy and I hope the pub goers get behind their little watering hole.

Of course, they are up against a bunch of whackos that think the captain of Montreal's hockey team should be forced to learn and speak French.

Super Tuesday Smatterings

by Jes

I know, I know, another off-topic bunch of ramblings. I'll get back on topic in my next post. I'm just in the middle of a case of the Hockey Blahs.




So, we had Super Sunday, and now Super Tuesday. Poor Monday was just 'regular', which is fine only if you are an old man who doesn't eat prunes.

Why do Amerikans have to draw out the electoral process for an entire year? Why not just have a Super Week of these primaries and get it over with? That way, we can see people vote for their favourite candidate, and not just the one with the momentum.

One reason why the Amerikan economy is in the tank: TOO MUCH SPENDING! The gov't spends way too much money on a silly occupation, and ye olde typical Amerikan spends way too much money they don't have on crap they don't need. The level of gov't and individual debt in the USA is already starting to have a major effect. Couldn't you all see it coming? How can Amerikans keep increasing their debt load?

Meanwhile, how many of the candidates have actually had some concrete ideas on stimulating the economy?

*crickets chirping*

No, it's all SPEND SPEND SPEND!!! Until politicians realize that debt is BAD, the Amerikan economy will continue to tank it like the pre-Mario Lemieux Pittsburgh Penguins.

Speaking of spending, the amount that each candidate spends on simply wanting to be the damn Presidential candidate is sickening. Over $100mil per major candidate? That's all SOFT money that could be much better spent on something more important. Instead of, you know, putting homeless people into shelters or trying to develop cleaner sources of power, you get these assholes spending millions on TV advertisements. Yay for helping people.

Don’t expect any real change. Sure, Hilary or Obama winning it all would be a major coup in terms of getting someone other than a rich white man as the President, but it's not going to CHANGE ANYTHING.

Remember what happened with the last political dynasty? Exactly.

Does Obama ever take a hard stand on any topic? No. Strip away the gloss and glamour, and you get somebody who really doesn't bring much to the table. What would he do, really, that is so much different than any other president?

Do you really think any of these candidates won't be a slave to corporate interests? Puh-lease. Once any of these guys (or girl) gets in the Oval Office, they will be the puppet of the masters that got them there.

The candidates with a real mind for change (Edwards, Kuchinich) were promptly disposed because ye olde Amerikan people can't handle change.

One thing that never changes: People prefer style over substance. Hilary sheds some crocodile tears, and suddenly people vote for her? WTF? Are people that easily bought off by false emotion?

The average IQ of a Mike Huckabee voter? Probably 69. Anyone who votes for a Baptist minister who doesn't believe in EVOLUTION isn't fully qualified to be a member of the 21st century. What makes the average Huckabee voter different than an Islamic goat herder from Afghanistan? Skin colour, and not much else. I guess it's no surprise that WEST VIRGINIA voted for the guy, given that the state still thinks The Civil War will be re-fought within the next 20 years.

The fact is, none of the candidates seems truly equipped to deal with the truly most important issues facing Amerikans today: The Economy, the Environment, and Britney Spears' mental health.

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Wayne's World! Party Time! EXCELLENT!

Our Southern Correspondent chimes in with his Super Bowl thoughts.

1. I don't get the fuss over whether Bill ("Mr. Warmth") Belichick left the field too early on Sunday; if you look at a replay, the clock had originally hit 0:00, until a second was put back on the clock...Anyway, he did shake Coughlin's hand, so what's the BFD?

2. Do we really need a flyover of Air Force jets over a domed stadium? Come to think of it, do we need a flyover AT ALL?

3. Normally, I would've been rooting for the Giants, but I was pulling for the Patriots just to shut up those bitter old bastards down in Miami...I can't tell you the hatred I've had for the Dolphins for the past 36 years (it's a long story)... (Jes: I agree)

4. It's been 50 years since there were two teams in New York called the Giants; can we (especially The Worldwide Leader) stop using the damn term "New York FOOTBALL Giants"?

5. I know it's glamorous to give the game MVP to a QB, but I would've given it to Jason (?) Tuck for the Giants, or the entire Giants D; Strahan played like Tom Brady was his ex-wife's divorce lawyer...

6. Remember the old joke about the definition of "mixed feelings" was seeing your mother-in-law drive off a cliff in your new car? Think how Giant fan feels today, when he came THIS close to getting rid of Tom Coughlin...

Is "Canadian" a Racial Slur?

by Jes

While the Southeastern United States lies on the same continent, it might as well be half way around the world. The customs, attitudes, and language of that region are just so vastly different then ours in Vancouver that if I ever happened to travel to Atlanta, I'd feel like I'd landed on a new planet.

Wayne, our Southern Correspondant, passes on a very strange tidbit about how the word 'Canadian' seems to have been adopted by some Southerners as a racial slur.

O RLY?

Last August, a blogger in Cincinnati going by the name CincyBlurg reported that a black friend from the southeastern U.S. had recently discovered that she was being called a Canadian. "She told me a story of when she was working in a shop in the South and she overheard some of her customers complaining that they were always waited on by a Canadian at that place. She didn't understand what they were talking about and assumed they must be talking about someone else," the blogger wrote.

"After this happened several times with different patrons, she mentioned it to one of her co-workers. He told her that ‘Canadian' was the new derogatory term that racist Southerners were using to describe persons they would have previously referred to [with the N-word.]"

Yeesh, how sad.

I don't even get it, either. Like our favourite 4-letter word, racial slurs tends to be short, forceful and direct, like a punch in the guy.

I find it very hard to say the word Canadian and sound all that nasty. It's like people who use FIDDLESTICKS in lieu of a real curse word. It just doesn't quite work.

To any black people who might end up being called 'Canadian', turn the tide on these suckas and proclaim that you are proud of such a designation.

"Damn right I am Canadian, eh! We have free health care, low crime, and better looking women!"

Human Environmental Impact: It's no Myth

Allow me to get on a non-hockey rant as I go off on the topic of the environment. Inspired by a conversation with Wayne, our Southern correspondent.

The NHLPA recently signed an agreement with David Suzuki to go 'carbon neutral'. While I think carbon credits are merely a sham that allow people to feel guilt-free while polluting at the same time, it's definitely a good first step. It's about time that sports leagues starting noticing that the extensive travel comes at an environmental cost.

Now, there are those who claim that 'Global Warming' is a myth, CO2 is not a pollutant, and that humans really haven't damaged the environment all that much.

Sounds silly, doesn't it? Unfortunately, too many people seem to think this way, and that needs to change.

In the spirit of Glenn Beck (ugh), here is what I do know.

Yes, global warming and cooling is a naturally-occurring phenomenon, and this allows the 'deniers' to jump up and down and say, "See, it's not OUR fault". This is akin to saying breast implants aren't fake, because silicon is a natural element of our planet. Uh-huh.

So, stop using Global Warming, which is a very generic term, and think of terms of the overall pollution that humans generate. Oil spills and fish farms don't contribute to global warming, per se, but they certainly damage the environment painfully. (On another note, do NOT buy BC-grown farmed salmon. Kthx)

Do a little research and find out about the authors of these 'denier' studies. You will notice who funds their research. The Cato Institute is a big sponsor of such studies, and the oil companies are a BIG sponsor of the Cato Institute. None of the scientists who is a climate change denier is doing this on their lonesome because of 'good science'.

The fact is that we should NOT be using old technology for our automobiles. Why is that we can have cell phones that allow you to watch movies, and we've had exponential growth of technology in the computer industry, but we still use a combustible engine that was invented decades before we were born? Simply put, the gov't (taxes), oil companies, and car companies don't want us to switch. If somebody invents a cleaner technology, and many have, the cartel buys it up and locks it in a vault.

Occasionally, the cartel will let some new tech out of the bag, but won't put any effort into marketing the product, and wait for it to fail. Then, they can justify that 'nobody wants it', even though people do.

The movie Who Killed the Electric Car? has a great example of how people in California weren't even allowed to KEEP their new-tech vehicles because the car company wouldn't allow it.

Due to the taxes, capital cost, and high revenues, the Triad does not want us to have cleaner-burning fuels. All of their 'efforts' are simply PR bullshit that allows them to keep raping our environment while making huge profits. They'll hold out as long as possible as long as the general public remains apathetic and disinterested. People are too lazy to change their lifestyles, including YOU.

Let's face it, humans are a wasteful species, and create a lot of waste from their lifestyles. North Americans, especially, are the worst of the lot (I'm no exception). Think about what you consume and do on an average day. Think of how much packaging is required for your food and drink?

Fossil fuels? Plastic wrapping? eating food? Yes, those things require a lot of energy and resources, and then you have a lot of garbage left over. Think of the fuel that is needed to transport your milk, oranges, meats, and so on. The fact that anyone could claim that humans aren't environmentally damaging in their everyday lines is absolutely insane and delusional.

The worst argument is when the governments claims that being environmentally friendly will 'hurt the economy'. So, money, simply a tool for trade, is more important than having an inhabitable planet? Are humans really that greedy that they'll sacrifice the health of their environment for money? We know the answer, and it speaks to the human race's downfall. Just watch as your government does all it can to support the oil/car companies and stop any environmentally-friendly bills from being passed. Yet, all people talk about is the war in Iraq. Kinda shows you our priorities, eh?

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Oh, kiddies, don't worry about the planet. Mother Nature will be just fine. It's been here millions of years before humans, and will be here millions of years after humans. It will adapt and survive.

No, you should be worried about humanity. Eventually, our species will help make the planet so unlivable that we'll eventually go extinct. The planet will simply watch as new life forms evolve, and probably be happy that it won't have to deal with being fucked around with all the time.