Ok everyone, the Rwandan government has sent out a call for a worldwide minute of silence at 12:00 noon local time on April 7th, 2004. This date is the 10-year anniversary of the start of the genocide that took hundreds of thousands of lives. For a more in depth story, visit here.

I'd like to send a quick props to Merc, who showed me the light. As a result, I've tracked down means to put comments in my own blog. Using the same source Merc does! Funny how that happens. :P

More props to my buddy Colin for his recent dialogue about Microsoft and the asinine behaviour exhibited by the people United States who insist that there should be a severe penalty for being successful. Frankly, this makes me wonder why no one has taken Wal-Mart to court yet. I mean, since Wal-Mart offers it's own Photo department, isn't this taking advantage of their 'monopoly' to drive stores like Blacks out of business? Hell, their electronics department must be unfair as well. Apparently, making a product worse is the highway to a fair market. It sounds like backwards capitalism to me.

Did anyone notice how much money Microsoft is getting taken for by the EU? The fine was over 600-million. (To be distributed among EU member states - what a great way to make some quick cash!)

Anyhow, feel free to leave comments in my brand spankin new comment boxes! Go ahead and go back through past posts as well! I know everyone has had things to say, just not the time to write up an email. Now I've given you the power! Use it wisely.

Just thought I'd inquire, what's everyone think of the new format? Is it preferred to the old one? I put it up mainly because I wanted links, and something different. I realize I could have put links up in my other one with the proper HTML coding. With that in mind, I'm looking to put in some comments as well, I do believe it's quite possible. I know that with some html and php it's possible to put up Moblog boxes, but I'd rather just have my comments. Any suggestions?

Gotta leave for work soon. 68hrs left. Later folks.

Another excerpt from Dallaires book, Shake Hands with the Devil:

Engraved still in my brain is the judgment of a small group of bureaucrats who came to "assess" the situation in the first weeks of the genocide: "We will recommend to our government not to intervene as the risks are high and all that is here are humans."

Once again, we're brought back to the same thing: What is a human life worth?

Look around you, look around the world. Assess the actions of your government, assess your own actions and opinions. How many of us would willingly give our lives to save even one Rwandan (for example)? Is it safe to say that very few would? Perhaps some of us are feeling especially heroic right now. How many would be able to send someone else to sacrifice their live on your order?

That, of course, is based on a simple measure of life for life. Reality doesn't tend to set things out so clearly for us.

It's hard to quantify the worth of a life. If such could be even considered a morally acceptable objective. We're talking about people here, not cars, not houses, certainly not oil.

Yet, when faced with the choice, the choice will inevitably be reduced to a matter of cost-benefit ratio. What will this cost, and how will it benefit us? Or, what price are we willing to pay for an expected result? The United States is willing to spend an awful lot on Iraq. The monetary cost of the war and restructuring efforts has been monumental, and will continue to pile higher. The lives? How many soldiers have died? How many Iraqi soldiers and civilians? In relation to the latter, we only have guesses and estimates. I guarantee the Pentagon can give you the exact number of American deaths in Iraq, though.

When assessing what the motives were for the war in Iraq, the contributing factors towards the decision that the cost-benefit ratio was acceptable, we shall consider these:
1. Protecting American Lives.
2. Saving Iraqi Lives.
3. Possible long term economic gain.
4. Revenge, and an unsettled score.

The first and most publicized reason is rather easily refutable. Consider: More American lives have been lost in Iraq since the start of the war than had been in the previous years since the ending of the Gulf War. I'm sorry, didn't anymore realize that it wasn't Iraq that destroyed the World Trade Centre?

The second would have been the best reason. Saddam has ruthlessly murdered his own people by the thousands over the past years quelling rebellions, including the one Bush Sr encouraged when the Gulf War ended. Saddam himself is more a weapon of mass destruction than any of the chemical weapons Iraq has ever possessed. He's embroiled his country in 3 wars, as well as the aforementioned killings of his own people. The sanctions put on Iraq as a result of the Gulf War sure as hell didn't help. We can conclude that Saddam is bad.

By way of refuting this, I now ask this; (Pay attention, because this is the entire point of all of the previous dialogue.) Why would the United States care?

I gave everyone a direct quote at the start of this entry, "all that is here are humans.". Also, remember another quote from one of my previous blogs, "It would take the deaths of 85,000 Rwandans to justify risking the life of one American soldier." O, how important are we! (Certainly a Canadian soldier is worth just as much!?!?!? But we don't put nearly as much money into our military, so maybe some would disagree).

Why, oh Why, is it that Iraq's people are worth so much more than Rwandas? It must be due to extraneous factors, forgetting for the time being that humans are supposed to be all created equal, and whatnot. So we look at Rwanda as a whole, and Iraq as a whole. Rwanda is a small, overpopulated African nation. Worth little enough to the rest of the world, no major natural resources of interest (Unless you consider 8 or 9 million people a natural resource of interest, again, some would disagree). Iraq has plenty of people, Iraq has a natural resource that everyone wants.

Ah, I understand. A person's worth isn't based upon anything resembling their own humanity. No, I'm afraid the cost-benefit ratio doesn't work that way. A person's worth is only based on what they can produce, or what control of them can produce. Control of Iraq has economic benefits for the United States. (Unfortunately for them, and I'm starting to think that they somehow didn't realize this at the start, getting the control they want isn't turning out to be so easy). Control of Rwanda gains.........A few hundred thousand people thankful that they weren't slaughtered because they're different? (Were the Jewish happy when they were pulled out of the concentration camps?) But that's just more mouths to feed, Rwanda is overpopulated as it is.

Why should anyone here care if 800,000 men, women, children, and babies are ruthlessly hacked apart with machetes. Their mangled remains left to rot in the sun, nothing more than food for maggots and whatever else.

Of course not. It's only humans. It's not as though saving a few lives is worth anything.

I admit, I must sound like a crusader. Like someone becoming obsessed with a cause. But just like everyone else, I change the channel on TV whenever those terribly sad commercials come on asking for just a small donation to save the life of an innocent child. Should I be donating my money to some company on the television that I'm supposed to trust simply because it flashes the same images of poverty we see on Newsworld over and over again? I'm afraid Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker cemented paranoia in the collective consciousness of the consumers in relation to things such as that. I suppose I depend too much on my government to help those helpless children. But I and the rest of us, should remember that a government's first responsibility is (always) it's own people. The government doesn't care, so long as we remain happy. But that's just it, I'm not happy. Not now, not about what was allowed to happen. I think it's disgusting, I think it's terrible, I think it's awful. That's why I'm writing. Maybe I just hope I can evoke some positive change simply by getting the message out there.

This is not acceptable.

It's Saturday woowoo! Had a good long workout today, Frank's over right now we're playing NHL 2004 and FIFA 2004 on his PS2. Daaaaaamn do these games kick a lot of aaaaaaaass.

Peace out folks.

~K

I'm going to post it anyway, for lack of anything else to post. Ok everyone, the following poem is untitled as of yet. That's just a clue to how new it is lol. (Edit: I have come up with a name now, I've added it in at the top of the poem)Don't expect it to stay the same from now and say 2 weeks from now. But hey, at least you all get to see the start of the editing process...that's good, right? Anyhow, Enjoy!


Bundle

Feeling disparate
A mountain peak
Smallest in a range
Of giants
Noted only for
It’s deficiency

Hollow certitude
Playing the role
Of one unspent
A last grasp
At being so
So refined

Ungathered fruit
In redundant error
A foiled sunset
Stop and look
Criticism therein
A descent finalized

Quick come and see
Transparent thought
So patently oblivious
On a pedestal
Held by the inane
What an accomplishment

Lacking wisdom
Courage, Constitution
Exhibit A, please
Welcome to the fold
Such a fine way
To achieve nothing


~K

What did I do today? I was inspired, so I did a little bit of composition. I'll possibly post it on here sometime, but to be honest it's brand new and pretty rough. As a result, I'll refrain from subjecting my readers to it for the time being.

I must admit, I'm feeling curiously out of blogging topics at the moment. But it's not that I lack topics really, it's just that I lack the energy to do justice to those topics. I could easily prattle off more political discourse, but that's time consuming. Nevertheless, don't anyone expect the politics to stop coming, it's just on hold for the moment.

I've been sick for well over a week now, and I'm just feeling a bit worn down. So things will pick up eventually.

Anyhow, I'm out. Peace.

~K

I did more training at work today. Yay. Only 12 more workdays (8.5*12+102hrs) to go. Then release from this hell! WooHoo!

Good Times Await, Good Times Await!

~K

I'd like to encourage everyone interested in hockey to take a look at an article written recently by Greg Wyshynski on his column The Jester's Quart, courtesy of SportsFan Magazine. The entry in question is titled "The Joy of Bashing Hockey Fans". It's a satirical look at the way the mainstream media in the U.S. loves to bash the hell out of our favorite sport.

In other news, I picked up my new book today, as I promised everyone I would yesterday. Looking forward to starting to read it!

More news; Hamas leaders have vowed 'open war' over the recent Israeli assassination of Sheik Ahmed Yassin (Israel decided to make a martyr out of a VERY popular figure because they say he was linked to several bombings). This, of course, can and probably will lead to even more instability in the Israel area. In anticipation of militant retaliation, Israel has banned Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza. A shame, since there's been so much progress made in the last few years. Yet another one of the worlds great tragedy's. :(

~K

The following is an excerpt from Lt.-Gen Romeo Dallaires book Shake Hands with the Devil, a book that I haven't yet read, but fully intend to buy within the next couple days:

My story is not a strictly military account nor a clinical, academic study of the breakdown of Rwanda. It is not a simplistic indictment of the many failures of the UN as a force for peace in the world. It is not a story of heroes and villains, although such a work could easily be written. This book is a cri de coeur for the slaughtered thousands, a tribute to the souls hacked apart by machetes because of their supposed difference from those who sought to hang on to power. . . . This book is the account of a few humans who were entrusted with the role of helping others taste the fruits of peace. Instead, we watched as the devil took control of paradise on earth and fed on the blood of the people we were supposed to protect.

Dallaire was the UN force commander in Rwanda during the genocide in 1994 that resulted in the deaths of more than 800,000 Rwandans in a span of 100 days. It was an immense humanitarian tragedy, one that could have been prevented, had the world cared enough to do so. But, as American Military officer said in response to Dallaires repeated requests for more support, "it would take the deaths of 85,000 Rwandans to justify risking the life of one American soldier".

Quite shameless, I'd say, the way we dole out the worth of anyone's life. As though our rich democratic society justifies an apathetic viewpoint that labels such deaths as little more than a statistic of passing note. Like the U.S. bombing of the Sudan, destroying half the country's pharmaceutical supplies and killing an unknown quantity of people (the U.S. blocked the UN inquiry, and no one around here bothered to take count). Who cares, right? It wasn't anyone important. Only 3rd world lives were lost.

My readers can fully expect me to post more on this subject as I make my way through the book. Hopefully, to the benefit of everyone. I, personally, believe in the vast importance of a knowledge and understanding of what happens in the world - especially the tragic. As Noam Chomsky says; "we have a choice: we may try to understand, or refuse to do so, contributing to the likelihood that much worse lies ahead."

~K

At work, we get very few radio stations. For some reason, 91.5 The Beat comes in clearly though, so it's usually turned there. It's all hip hop shit, and the DJ's are brutal. Thus, I have been inspired to give you:

Recipe for a Top 10 Hip Hop Song

1. Be as generic as possible.
2. Lots of Bass.
3. Singing skills are optional (talking is fine, you don't even have to do that clearly either).
4. Rhyming is important, but you don't have to be good at it. Mangling the proper pronunciation of a word to make it fit a rhyme is more than adequate.
5. Complex chorus' are bad. Make it as simple as possible so drunk people can sing along.
6. Actually, lyrics can be as meaningless as you want, so long as people have a chorus they can sing to.
7. Sing about the opposite sex. Guys playing the Pimp works well.
8. Beats should be simple, something people can dance to. Stealing from other hip hop "artists" is ok.
9. Brief beat pauses are becoming popular. It makes it seem as though you worked harder on the composition.

With these rules in mind (and my own plans to bend some), I've decided to compose some of my own material - any similarity to other works currently popular is purely intentional.

(beat starts, thump thump thump pause for effect, then thumping again and the lyrics start)

ugh, yea, I'm a homie
but you dunno me
I'm from far away
land of the sleigh
it's all cold
no one to hold
gimme yo love
soft like a dove

oh baby, ya, oh baby, ya gimme yo love
gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme yo love

(pause)
SO, NOW
(beat starts again, slightly different now - part 2)

I'm a pimp daddy and I dunno when to stop
I got shot at yesterday when I ran from a cop
Tha fucka tried to jail me but I wore my reebok
I got away real quick and then I played with my cock

I'm a pimp daddy! (Wha?)
Pimp daddy in da house (Yo!)
I'm a, yeah, pimp daddy (Wha?)
Pimp daddy in da house yeah (Yo!)

(pause)
(new beat - part 3)

TONIGHT, I drove my car 'round on a full tank'o gas and it felt real good
BUT THEN, I hit a jaywalker, he smashed my windshield, I got out and stood
STARING, at the mess I dunno what to do I think I'm in trouble
NO WAY, I'll die in jail the dudes will hit my tail cuz I'm so loveable
SO I, took the body and I stuffed it in, my little fucking trunk
DROVE AWAY, to find the river, but damn my liver, wish I wasn't drunk
TOOK A PISS, off in the bush, decided this was good, thought to do it now
DRAGGED OUT, the stupid dead man, but he's hard to carry, heavy as a cow

Diiiiiiiiiig Aaaaaa, Graaaaaave Noooooow
Diiiiiiiiiig Aaaaaa, Graaaaaave Noooooow
Diiiiiiiiiig Aaaaaa, Graaaaaave Noooooow
Diiiiiiiiiig Aaaaaa, Graaaaaave Noooooow

Dig It! Dig It! Dig It! Dig It! Oh Oh! Dig It! Dig It! Dig It! Dig a fucking grave now
Dig It! Dig It! Dig It! Dig It! Oh Oh! Dig It! Dig It! Dig It! Dig that really deep now

(pause)
(part 4 starts - with female backup singing, in italics!)

uh, yea, uh yea
listen to thaaa
bass, ya, gimme bass
gimme more, oh, more
I want a girl, ya

I want to dominate (Touch Me)
I want to incapacitate (Hold Me)
I want to alleviate (Throw Me)
I want to subordinate (Feed Me)
I want to alkjfoiuejinate (Water Me)

Yea, yea, OH, yea, yea, girl, you know me
You know me (Oh, Oh)
You know me (Oh, Oh)
You love me (Oh, No)

(beat pause, then goes fast and hell even throw in some stolen orchestral line from somewhere to give it depth for the final part)

This be my foshizzle!
Ya my fuckin nizzle!
I'm like a crazy gangsta!
With a bigga wangsta!
I got me all my ladies!
Blingin like the eighties!
Got me a fancy car!
Cuz I'm a Hip Hop Star!

HIP is the way I see
HOP is just how it be
SUCKS cuz you jus don't know
SHIT bout how I love to go

HIP is the way I see
HOP is just how it be
SUCKS cuz you jus don't know
SHIT bout how I love to go

HIP is the way I see
HOP is just how it be
SUCKS cuz you jus don't know
SHIT bout how I love to go

(beat fades away, the lyrics fade with it)


There we go! If you ask me, I think I've got some supermegacolossal hits on my hands here. Now you tell me what YOU all think! You know how to reach me.

Peace!

~K

I'd like to introduce everyone to a little game called Defend Your Castle. It's a very entertaining little flash game, liable to keep anyone busy for awhile. The best thing is that it even works well on piece of crap computers, like mine for instance. Even though I have to run at low quality to banish the choppiness. Be sure to read the info at the start though, because it provides you with a lot of useful information you'll really need.

Now, here's some evidence that some people really have way too much time on their hands. It appears to run on a continuous loop, so when you get tired of it, you'll have to stop it on your own.

As if that wasn't enough, here's more! This one's pretty short, but if you keep your eyes open you'll see all kinds of really amusing things.

Have a good one peeps!

~K

Tonight, I'd like to speak briefly about the alliance that everyone forgets about: The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, better known as NATO.

The past 15 years have seen immense changes in the world, and thus for NATO. The fall of Communism and the Soviet bloc challenged the role and purpose of the Atlantic Alliance. The Warsaw Pact was dismantled, leaving NATO without it's most hated/feared foe. In fact, leaving NATO without it's only foe. It was no secret that NATO was created to fight Communism. With the satisfaction of that primary purpose, people were left to wonder, what now?

The remainder of the century saw enormous cutbacks to the NATO budget, a sign of the fading significance of the alliance. Yet in 1999 NATO stormed back onto the scene, fighting and defeating the Ethnic Cleansing in Kosovo with a huge placard reading: "We're Still Here! And We Matter!"

In fact, NATO has managed to keep itself busy over the years, doing anything from clearing munitions in Albania, to the most recent involvement in Afghanistan. Even conducting missile defense exercises with their former hated foes in Russia. Joseph McCarthy must be absolutely thrashing in his grave.

Most recently, the NATO headquarters in Brussels have been expanded to allow for 7 new members. Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia are expected to formally become NATO members by the end of this month.

Now, the NATO faithful can carry placard's reading: "We're Still Here! And We're Growing!"

~K

Hegemony: Leadership; preponderant influence or authority; -- usually applied to the relation of a government or state to its neighbors or confederates.

There are three primary qualities that a nation must satisfy in order to be considered a hegemon. 1. Economic Power, 2. Military Power, 3. Cultural Power. The word "Power" may be replaced with "Dominance" if that forwards the point enough for anyone. Right now, the United States exists as the only true hegemon remaining in the international system today. The US economy dwarfs that of any other nation in the world. The US military is no less far ahead of any other. The culture of America is no less influential. The most recent example of another hegemon is the Soviet Union during the Cold War. It was during that period that the world's two hegemonic powers vied for supremacy. We all know how that ended.

The objective of this particular discourse is to identify the perceived responsibilities and the resulting actions of a hegemon as well as to take a look at the future. Why does the United States do what it does? Why do American politicians feel the need to build those nuclear bunker busters that I so vociferously attacked two evenings ago? What are the driving forces behind these decisions?

First, everyone reading this needs to recognize a VERY important fact. Our international system is inherently anarchic. For a moment, take away everything separating nations in terms of size, alliances, power, and remember this: Any international actor has the right to do anything it wants pertaining to its own affairs. Now think about that, there is no law. Even when signing "binding" agreements, a nation can just as easily decide to back out and forget the whole deal. Does anyone remember Hitler's promises? His signature on so many worthless agreements?

The only true law (if it can be called that) in the system, is force. Sanctions are fine, and they can help, but any nation truly committed to doing as it will would have no problem whatsoever ignoring some pesky sanctions and an international outcry. Only force can bring these nations to heel. But there's a problem with that. If we respect the right of every nation to do as it will in its own affairs, then what right do we have to use our force on them when we think they're doing wrong? In that case, it generally comes out to the majority wins. For example, NATO and the ethnic cleansing in the Balkans.

Unfortunately, neither NATO or the United Nations could manage to stem to flow of blood in Rwanda when 800,000 people were murdered 1994. But that's another story. (Props to James for writing an excellent essay on that topic) That's just an example of the fallability of the current system.

The idea here, is that there needs to be a means of enforcing 'laws' in the world. That's where a hegemon comes in, IE the United States. The position of hegemon means the U.S. has a lot of responsibility on its shoulders. The job of enforcing laws and punishing those the majority claims are doing wrong falls to the hegemon. The United Nations is a good attempt at providing a needed counter to the possibility of a hegemon becoming overpowered, but once again we fall back to the nature of the international system: anarchy. The U.N. couldn't stop the U.S. from invading Iraq now, could it? Of course not. The U.S. can do whatever it wants, that's the system. All the rest of us can do is call it down, argue, try to convince it to use another method. But when it comes down to it: the conflict is between the target, and the attacker. But putting that aside for the moment...

What type of hegemon does everyone want? Do we want a hegemon active in the world, for good or ill? Or an isolationist hegemon that just doesn't care?

It's pretty hard to argue in favour of the isolationist bandwagon. World War 2 quite neatly knocked that idea out of anyone's head. Isolationism was a strategy that only worked when the world was much larger. The isolationists that argue how the U.S. should get its nose out of other people's business should take a look back in history and ask themselves if millions upon millions of lives could have been saved had the nations of the world done something about Hitler before it was too late. Instead of the terrible strategy of appeasement that consequently murdered millions.

The problem people seem to be having with the United States is that they swung from one extreme to the other. From an isolationist nation, to a nation seemingly obsessed with everyone else's business. There have been no shortage of mistakes, no shortage of gross miscalculations. We all know this. At the risk of sounding like an apologist, we could argue that the U.S. was pretty new to the whole hegemon thing, maybe it should be given a break for its mistakes. I think the U.S. got his with a little too much responsibility, a little too fast. As soon as the Second World War was over, suddenly the threat of Communism was upon the world, and the only country that wasn't completely ravaged from the war with any ability to counter the threat was the United States. So for awhile, perhaps we can forgive some overzealousness.

Right now, the U.S. has been comfortable in it's position for a fair while, and without any direct competition for quite a few years. There shouldn't be anymore excuses for mistakes.

But we've reached a situation where the hegemon has become so comfortable in its position, that it can advance its own agenda without fear. Who is there to dispute the 'mighty' United States? There are those who speak of a real alternative in the European Union, and despite of impressive strides in amalgamation, the EU is still a long ways off from providing a real alternative.

For now, U.S. continues to dabble it's hands in the affairs of the world, for good or ill. The Gulf War was seen as a success, in spite of the result. (They freed Kuwait! But then left Hussein as leader on Iraq while telling his people to rise up against him. Even thought there was no intention of supporting them, a byproduct of the ceasefire agreement.) In 1999 the Ethnic Cleansing in the Balkans was stopped as a result of NATO involvement (and how much did the resident hegemon pony up for that?). Then everyone went to fight the Taliban after September 11th. The same Taliban the United States had outfitted with weapons and training only years before. In fact, the same could be said of the Iraqi's the U.S. was fighting in the Gulf War. Now, they're back in Iraq, and it's anyone's guess who's next.

These are only recent examples, as well. The U.S. continues to push it's influence everywhere in the world, because it feels it must. I think that the primary determinant of U.S. policy right now is fear of inaction. In both the first and second world wars the U.S. were latecomers, and have been consistently critisized over the years for taking to long to join in to help the 'good guys'. Then on Sept 11th, 2001 the U.S. was again hit with something where it may have been thinking afterwards: We could have prevented this, had we acted sooner. Thus the continuing war on terrorism.

I honestly believe that a lot of the actions we've seen from the United States are based around a desire to reshape the world into their version of a 'better place'. I believe that they have been provoked just enough to be moved to the point where the rest of the world is now in danger.

The United States, our hegemon, is becoming so focused on fighting terrorism and fighting the good fight, that it is failing to see the problems with it's own buildup. I mentioned the 7 listed potential targets for U.S. weapons 2 days ago. Iraq was one of them, how long before the others come under fire? And nuclear weapons! I shudder to think about it.

Like a weight lifter that somehow fumbled the bar at his last competition, the United States has been engaging in it's own massive buildup. As though building muscles will fix a problem of finesse.

As for the future, it's hard to see what could happen. The possibilities are always endless, the doom are the most talked about because they're the most feared. The chances of an arms race, of a cold war, are very real and very disturbing. At the same time, no less disturbing is a hegemon completely out of hand - in which case, we could be experiencing tyranny on the greatest scale.

There needs to be a balance struck. But how and where can it be found?

I'm open to everyone's opinions on this matter, and I'd really love to hear some comments. If any of the above isn't clear, I apologize and will attempt to clarify anything asked of me. In my own defense, I'm really sick right now, and so tired I can't even see the words I'm typing properly.

So off I go to sleep, and dream.

~K

Some news updates:

Iran has agreed to let UN inspectors back into the country by the end of the month.

Spain's ruling Pro-US party was swept from power in recent elections. Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's Socialists have pledged to pull Spanish troops from Iraq unless the United Nations takes control. This comes on the heels of heated debate about whether the recent terrorist attack in Madrid was fueled by the support for the war in Iraq given by then-Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar.

Next, I recommend everyone go HERE and tell me what they think about this possibility. I personally think it is a wonderful, excellent idea. If you support it, then Spread The Word! Inform people about it! Apathy gets us nowhere.

Last news item of the day: I ate some soup and grilled cheese for lunch, and I beat mom at a game of cribbage. Beat her pretty good too, by about 27 points.

Peace!

~K

I was reading about the banning of UN Nuclear Inspections in Iran, and I was reminded of another story, an old story, but an important one. It makes me think of the hypocrisy prevalent in the government of the United States these days. Allow me to elaborate.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) recently drafted a resolution condemning Iran for not being suitably transparent in its admission of information and not being cooperative enough with the IAEA's demand's. Iran banned inspections, citing displeasure over the resolution.

The resolution was drafted as a result of strong U.S. political pressure. The United States, of course, is vitally concerned with issues of Nuclear Proliferation and the development of Nuclear technology in countries around the world. It would almost seem noble, this concern and demand for accountability among the international community, but for the small issue of nuclear arms within the United States.

Two years ago the U.S. decided to unilaterally (obviously) break away from any and all nuclear non-proliferation/non-nuclear development agreements and come up with their own plan to build nuclear 'bunker busters'. The idea is that enemy bunkers are now too deep and fortified to be destroyed by conventional bunker buster bombs, hence larger and more dangerous bombs are required. An atomic bunker buster could be as much as 5,000 times more powerful than any in the existing arsenal. Not to mention the after-effects of radiation.

Now, unless I'm mistaken, arguing against nuclear development while developing your own nuclear arsenal should be, well, difficult? Using a pyramid analogy: It seems to me that the building blocks put together by Bill Clinton, with the de-commission of American nuclear weapons in the 90's, have been quite neatly bulldozed. Yet George Bush still seeks to stand upon the pinnacle. I'm sorry George, there's nothing left for you to stand on.

Going back to the development of new atomic bombs. Is it possible that anyone in the Pentagon looked beyond their own noses at the possible repurcussions of the program? According to the Charleston Post and Courier, in 2001 a Pentagon document titled the Nuclear Posture Review (a description of Bush administration policy) listed 7 nations listed as possible targets of United States weapons: China, Russia, Iraq, Iran, North Korea, Libya, and Syria. Nations with ample capability to engage in their own nuclear build up. The point here is, with the United States creating new atomic weapons, they are setting the stage for another arms race.

It's pretty hard to miss, really. As one nation builds up it's own weapons, in an attempt to protect itself; others invariably will feel threatened and build up their own weapons. As the build up continues, tensions continue to rise. Soon enough, we find outselves in a state of Cold War. It doesn't necessarily take a leap of logic to see how this position could be reached.

All I can really say here is (Stealing a quote from Zach De La Rocha): Wake Up!

~K

Tonight, I feel the need for a deliberation on the topic of clubs, so please everyone, bear with me. (It may be old news to most, or just pointless news to the rest)

I visited the club Loose Change Louies here in Waterloo. It is in fact just outside the UofW, and close enough to Wilfred Laurier Uni as well. So you can guess the clientele.

It was, to say the least, packed. Not packed like you imagine a shopping mall at christmas, but packed instead like an overstuffed soccer stadium during a riot. Attempting to travel from point A to point B is perhaps one of the more challenging aspects of the club experience. I frequently found myself being pushed and jostled back and forth like a rock withstanding the force (or attempting to) of a broken dam.

But unlike the predictable nature of the flow of water, people here often don't bother finding the path of least resistance. Instead, the more unruly will attempt to blaze their own paths through the wilderness of people, often with detrimental results to the bystanders. (In one particular instance, a woman who had part of her drink spilt on her arm demanded I lick it off. The reactions of these bystanders as well, isn't always predictable.)

Remember, this isn't a riot. It's clubbing.

Another important aspect, I notice, is the complete assault upon one's senses. I think that, because the university students become so numbed during the course of their week, they seek out to become numb in a different fashion (with pleasure? excitement?). How is this occurred? The C&C Music Factory song Gonna Make You Sweat provides a strong analogy of what I'm speaking of in regards to smell. But it's not just the sweat that stifles the nose, but instead the reek of hundreds of colognes and perfumes mixed into the air. Happily, clubs around here have outlawed smoking.

Noise. As if the massive speakers parked around the dance floor don't rumble enough, there's always the consistent buzz of hundreds of voices, raised in an attempt to carry over the music. The speakers themselves though, are quite capable of dulling your ears, with large powered subs capable of pounding out frequencies low enough to burst an aging heart. Not the youth though, instead it gets our hearts racing.

Two senses down, only a few more to go. Alcohol does a lot of work for us here, enough beer will more or less completely muddle up the ability of someone to taste anything properly. While at the same time messing with our balance and clarity (sight) among others. Not that your sight needs to be fuzzed by the alcohol, the general darkness coupled with constantly flashing lights around the dance floor tend to do a fine enough job.

I suppose the point here, is that these factors amount to a basic destruction of coherency within a person, thus do we feel like we've escaped. Taken a 'trip' so to speak, without the hassle of using illegal drugs. Escapism has become quite an art form among human beings. Many people don't feel like they can truly 'let loose' without the culmination of these determinants. Another mystery? Or a reality in a world focused on production? This is, after all, the entire point of the weekend. To find ways to resolve the tension within oneself. (This resolution often goes beyond the club, into the bedroom. Or car. Or parking lot. Wherever works, really.)

So go ahead, go out and 'let loose'. I'm certainly not one to stop you, in fact, I'll even join in from time to time. The Gods know I could use a lessening of my own tensions.


~K

(Oh, as an aside, I just feel the need to mention something else. Perhaps the biggest hit of the night was my Manchester United jersey. I think I was pulled aside by nearly a dozen different people that wanted to A. Congratulate me on wearing a 'kick ass' jersey. B. Talk about Man U and tell me I better watch the game tomorrow. Or, C. Simply shout out "MAN U RULES!". It's great seeing the support soccer has around here.)

First off, I'd like to complain that my friends are all crappy bloggers. That's right. It's all good when they actually write something. Problem is, it happens rarely enough. I figured that among the 9 or 10 bloggers I know, there'd be SOMETHING new in the past week. Boy was I wrong.

Otherwise, I'm actually pretty tired, and have only 50 pages left in my book. As a result, I'm actually feeling rather uninspired with respect to this particular entry. (Still writing something though :P) So I'm headed off to bed to read for the next hour. Peace!

~K

I'd like to send a shout out to my homie Frank, who left for Daytona today. He'll be gone for about 10 days (including 6 work days, the bastard) and will doubtless have an awesome time. Rock hard dude!

In other news, I paid off my plane ticket today and it turned out to be $25 less than I expected. Sweet! The responsibility falls now on James to pick it up in Winnipeg with his and bring it on down.

Turns out Todd Bertuzzi was suspended for the remainder of the season and the playoffs, with more consideration to be given before next season starts. How wonderfully gutless of the NHL on that last bit. Basically, what they're saying is that they'll reevaluate the situation based on the coverage and make a decision then. If the media is still hopped up about it, they'll probably extend the suspension. So, Bertuzzi will be gone for anywhere from 17 to 41 games, depending on the Canucks' playoff run. But I'm sure there's been no shortage of coverage on this for everyone, so I'll leave the topic at that.

For something a little comical/strange, I recommend everyone go here and click on the blue tab (amalloc enter) and view the flash video's.

Anyhow, gettin up early tomorrow to hit the gym again before work. Peace.

~K

I did my TDG training today. That's Transportation of Dangerous Goods, for those of you unfamiliar with the lingo. So now I'm in posession of VITAL skills and knowledge that I will use for approximately 21 more work days. As it happens, TDG training is only valid in relation to the company that gave you the training, it's invalid anywhere else. It wasn't particularly difficult or anything, but it was long - 4.5hours. As a result of that (and other factors, to be spoken of shortly) I was at work for 12 hours today. That in and of itself isn't too bad, hours are fine usually. Especially when 1/3 of the day is spent in training in the board room.

No, the problem with the day was how it ended. Jody and I unloaded 2 trailers of bulbs and other shit. That would be fine on any other day, except today the drivers decided to become absolute bastards. The first trailer was loaded like shit, nothing was grouped by order, all of the bulbs were mixed up. Jody and I had to unload everything onto the floor, and then go through the work orders and reorganize everything. That took forever, then we turned to the next trailer - with only half an hour left in the shift and a memory of the driver saying "Good Luck" before he had left.

Good luck indeed, though not for us. This was apparent when we opened the back door and found kerosene dripping down in our faces. Turns out the idiot had double stacked a whole bunch of drums and pails filled with - you guessed it - kerosene. Along with that a large number of lights, terribly organized of course in wet kerosene soaked boxes. That took well over an hour to empty. Then we poured some floordry all over the trailer to absorb the kerosene, pulled it inside for the night and left it. I really hope those drivers catch some shit tomorrow because those two trailers were bloody brutal.

Ah well, I got home and found an approved MasterCard application and a cheque from the government for my GST refund. Thus, I was happy again. Peace out folks.

~K

Things are looking bad for Todd Bertuzzi.

After the hit on Moore, Bertuzzi has been suspended indefinitely with a hearing on Wednesday. He'll be out for a pretty long time I fear, but with any luck he'll be back in time for the playoffs. Fans shouldn't hold their collective breaths though.

Important to note though is the context. Moore hit Naslund - and it was dirty, I've seen plenty of replays, it was bloody cheap - and gave one of the top stars in the game a concussion. Moore managed to get away without a suspension. Vancouver players have been thirsting for revenge. I fully expected Brookbank to get involved with Moore and dish out a very severe beating. Instead Cooke (small but fiesty) scraps with him, and then Bert takes the fall with the big hit. It does show that everyone on the team was angry, and are fully dedicated to Naslund and sticking up for him, but it's just really unfortunate that a player as important to the team as Bertuzzi made the move that'll hurt the most - both for Moore and Vancouver.

I personally try not to sanction the use of excessive force to injure in the game - because in reality all it does is degenerate the sport. But I am (and others should be) well aware of the physical element, and how things work in the sport (You fuck with our man, you get fucked with). To be honest, I'd have been happy if Brookbank had taken Moore and beaten the hell out of him like he deserved, in a straight up fight. A couple times.

Damnit, Bertuzzi. Vancouver really needs you on the ice, not on the sidelines serving a long suspension. Revenge can't overcome sense.

In other hockey news, Vancouver FINALLY got on the ball and made some (5) trade moves before the deadline. As it turns out, I'm pretty pleased with the results.

First, they obtained Martin Rucinsky from the Rangers for Martin Grenier and R.J. Umberger. Rucinsky has been one of the most consistent players for the Rangers this year, and I think will be a solid fit in Vancouver.

Next, Geoff Sanderson is headed over from the Blue Jackets in return for a third-round pick in the '04 Draft. Sanderson is another good skater that will find a nice spot with Vancouvers high octane offensive game.

Vancouver also added some defense depth, reeling in Marc Bergevin from Pittsburgh for a draft pick.

The other 2 trades dealth with minor league players: Sergei Varlamov for Ryan Ready, and Sylvain Blouin for Rene Vydareny. I have mixed feelings about the Ready trade. I've seen the guy play back in Winnipeg, he was well liked by the fans and was a decent player. Varlamov on the other hand, I really know absolutely nothing about. We'll see how that works out.

So there we go! That's my hockey news for the night. I guess (now that I live right outside of Toronto) I should point out that the Leafs picked up aging verteran Ron Francis. I have all the respect in the world for Francis, he's has a truly excellent career in the NHL, but at 41, he's nearing the end of his days. That said, he'll fit right into the geriatric club in the Maple Leafs locker room.

Until next time folks.

~K

INotD: Smack-diddle.

I was going to write a longer blog entry tonight, but I was seduced by a Quiz that landed in my email. 69 questions later, I've done just about enough talking for one night.

So, I'll speak briefly about tonight's visit to the gym, and the official start for Frank and I on our program. Tonight we focused on the chest area. Tomorrow we focus on umm, somewhere else I don't have the sheet with me. But yeah, it was goodstuff, worked hard, got sore, and bought a protein shake. Ready to go back tomorrow! Work might just be painful, but it always is, so whatever.

Oh, that reminds me. Work pissed me off today. Frank got in shit right at the start of the day for not working fast enough (apparently), and because on Friday he was really eager to get out of there - this is an attitude problem. Here's my problem with this. On Friday, Frank and I had made plans to head to a club after work. Since we work late, we have to get out as fast as possible to get home to change and head to the club, and get there with only an hour and a half until closing. So, then we get FORCED to stay late, and do overtime because of whatever reason of bad time management on the supervisor's behalf. What, pray tell, is the problem with wanting to finish up as soon as possible here? Give me a fucking break. That's worth a warning too.

I can't possibly express how glad I am to be finished with this place in approximately 23 more work days.

~K

INotD: Schlappschwanz = direct translation is something like someone who likes to spank their tail or rather,
someone who can't stop beating off. (pronounced shlaap shvants)

Today I'll start things off with a little humour. I just can't help but laugh at this every time I watch it. It's not cruelty, it's humanitarianism. You may notice the website that particular link is a byproduct of, AlbinoBlackSheep just so happens to be one of my favorite websites. I recommend everyone peruse the great content for plenty of laughs and entertainment.

I'm currently making my way through Guy Gavriel Kay's latest book, The Last Light of the Sun. I'm about midway through, and I'm quite enjoying it. In fact, anyone who ganders at my fairly moderate collection of books will notice that I in fact own every one of Kay's nine novels, the only exception in ownership being the book of poetry published last year entitled Beyond This Dark House. (I'd love to pick it up one day, but at the time I couldn't justify paying $25 for a 120 page book. I'm not a wealthy man.)

One of the things I really, really like about Kay's work is how he elevates his prose to poetic quality. The verbiage he employs tends to pull upon the emotions, perhaps, in a more profound way than most other authors. This, to me, is the mark of a truly gifted writer. Not only does Kay craft for us a wonderful story, but the way it is crafted is what leaves such an impression.

Why I appreciate him so, and why it pains me. For someone such as myself, a (little bit) of an aspiring (wishful) writer, reading Kay is like being uplifted, yet at the same time feeling a constriction around the heart. A constriction brought on by the knowledge that it can't be possible for one such as myself to equal the aforementioned prose in its pure majesty. Punishing thoughts, to say the least, not worthy of anyone who purposes to become a serious author. In reciprocation, I also become inspired. To create my own prose, and if it isn't as poetic as that which it strives towards, then at the least I would have it be engaging.

The reality is that writing, especially in the fantasy genre , is no easy task. Attempting to create a deep and convincing alternate reality is taxing, to say the least. To despair is possibly the first and most base emotion felt by anyone who wishes to write. The determination to overcome that, is much harder to come by.

Yet, that is what I aspire to.

~K

Now that the initial euphoria over the return of my internet has died down, I suppose I should add some legitimate content.

First, I will lay out the course of events that led to the return of my dsl service. It's really quite simple. I was going to call Bell, but instead decided to just randomly plug the modem back in and see if it was working. To my amazement, the little green dsl light turned on - and it stayed on. Hence, I have internet again. Completely unexpectedly too, which makes it that much better.

Now, I'd like to invite everyone to take the computer virus quiz. Below is what I turned out to be, as well as a link to take the test for yourself.

alt="Trojan" border=0 width=200 height=100>

Love the new image, you've come along way since wooden horses, but as popular as ever. Computer virus quiz

Next, I was perusing the Edge website. (102.1 The Edge, that is. A truly great radio station out of Toronto.) I noticed something that I believe my good friend Burton would really appreciate: Dream Theatre is playing at Massey Hall on March 25th. Now go get your ticket B!!

In other (more important?) news, the Federal Court located in Toronto has released the usernames and IP addresses of 29 individuals spread across 5 differnt ISP's. The information, of course, being related to the recent legal actions against users who share too damn many mp3's. According to the court documents CRIA contracted out the data collection to a New York company called MediaSentry Inc. They are the ones who scoured the P2P networks and recorded the info. (By the way, word is I can visit the Federal Court and request all the documents for my own perusal. hmm, I just might do so.)

Apparently, dynamic IP addressing isn't enough to save you either. The CRIA has pointed out that ISP's should have records kept in relation to what IP a user has had at any given time. Whether or not this can actually work can be argued. Let me post the response of one user:

"Say an IP Address is cited as (e.g.) 22.222.22.22 but the ISP only uses that IP address as far as a router? Then the individual who is using that dynamic IP address is connected via an open wireless uplink (e.g. using a commonly used LinkSys or D-Link device). The IP address is then established using Dynamic DHCP from the device and may be like 192.168.1.35. Surely there is no way to connect the IP from the ISP to the end user (who may be a drive-by person using a lap-top looking for a hot-spot). See, it gets more technical, and we are supposed to let legal minds make the decisions?"

What this boils down to, is that simply having a person's IP address, especially on a dynamic IP system, isn't necessarily enough to find them and nail them to the wall. At the same time, are we trying to say here that ISP's themselves can't track their own users by analyzing an IP address? It seems to me that we're trying to argue that ISP's have a serious lack of control over their own networks. But the point is that it isn't easy or even completely trustworthy trying to track down these people with so little information, and that is very important in a legal debate.

Also, the interesting point is that all 29 users are Kazaa users. As it happens, Kazaa is used because companies like MediaSentry are able to set up and download from the big users they're trying to nail, and analyze the data packets to find the information they want. Solution? Use another program. Is there perhaps a reason only Kazaa users are being fingered here and no one from any other P2P networks? Either the others are safer to use, or Kazaa is just being targetted as the largest and most widespread.

Don't get overly worried though, according to the documents, only users sharing in excess of 3000 files were targeted. (Even though a few of the 29 users had considerably less.) So hey, guys like me with only a few files, by-product of a small 20GB hard drive, are quite all right.

Finally, in relation to this whole file sharing issue, I'd like to ask everyone what they think of the violations of their own privacy here. Do any of my esteemed readers feel as though their privacy rights are being disregarded? Or is this what needs to be done to fight piracy? Let me know.

Surprisingly, I think that's just about all I have to say for now. It's great to be back though, I fully expect a quick return to form. Peace.

INotD: Another German entry: Flasche = This one might be lost on non German speakers, but it means bottle. Calling someone a Flasche is like telling them they're as useless as an empty bottle. Not good for anything, not good at anything, and is considered a huge insult. (Pronounced flasha)

~K

HOLY SHIT

My internet is working.

More on this later.