What are they Thinking?

A 10 year old boy, held prisoner at Guantanamo Bay, has finally been found innocent after TWO YEARS of INTERROGATION and TORTURE.

Question ... what is wrong with the American government, who obviously at some level ordered and sanctioned the interrogation and torture of a 10 year old boy?

Bigger question ... why has this not been a major story in American mainstream media?

Even bigger Question ... what has happened to the American people? Why is there no hue and cry? Why are they not holding the wingnuts responsible for this action to account?

Just thought I'd ask.

My Definitive Election Prediction

Speculation about the timing of the next Federal Election still remains the "activity du jour" in Ottawa. On somedays the speculation is more rampant than on others, especially when poll results are released ... but the guessing game continues to bubble away in the cauldron of "informed prognostication."

The concensus from the ink stained wretches, pollsters, bloggers, broadcasters, et al; seems to be that the election will be this spring; unless of course it is moved to this fall; but the Ontario Provincial elections might squeeze it to next spring; which of course may not be possible if Mr. Harper experiences a dip in the poles.

Then of course everything could change in a New York minute if Dionmania were to suddenly sweep Canada; or Duceppe suddenly becomes a Monarchist or Jack Layton crosses the floor to become a member of the Green Party ... but there is one thing which everyone agrees upon, and that is that the election may or may not happen in 2008.

So let me clear up all of this confusion by giving you my definitive election prediction. If you understand the next two facts, then you will also know the election date.

1. Sheep mate in the fall and they are sheared in the spring.
2. The year of the next election will have two zeros in it

I'm glad that I was able to clear this up for you.

Put this in your Pipe and Smoke it!

For those of you who still believe in the fairy-tale of bringing "democracy" to the middle east might want to put this in your pipes and smoke it!

The Iraqi government's draft of a new Iraqi oil law puts decisions concerning oil into the hands of a new organization known as the Federal Oil and Gas Council, whose panel of experts come from inside and outside Iraq ... predominately though, composed of big UK and US oil executives ... holy Iraqi oil wealth pillaging Batman!

Production Sharing Agreements (PSA's) is their recommendation for democratic Iraqi privatization and they are designed to produce a paltry 75% profit for the UK and US oil industries ... oh my! In Iraq, 65 of 80 oil fields are about to go up for bid. Would anyone like to make a wager on just who winds up owning them? Could it possibly start with a U and end with a K and an S? I know, I'm just another one of those wild-eyed conspiracy theorists.

Could this be another reason why you will never see the Axis of Good Guys willingly leave the area?

Thought you might like to also know that some of the folks involved in the drafting of this "new law" was the IMF, Paul Wolfowitz and something called US AID. Have to get my intrepid partner Deep Nose looking into this organization. Wonder what he'll find when he turns over the rock?

By the way, this oil costs $1.00 per barrel to extract. How much are we currently paying at the pumps? Ching, ching, bling, bling. Happy motoring Canada!

Thank-you

I would like to take this opportunity to thank each and everyone who has E-mailed me to ask "where have you been hiding?" I can think of hundreds of one-liners but none would be appropriate.

I would also like to thank the hundreds and hundreds of readers who have visited my blog, and especially the high number of return visitors. My stat-counter has been working overtime on some days. That having been said, let me update you.

My silence in the Blogosphere has been directly related to a serious health challenge which my wife Patricia is overcoming. She has suffered from Chron's disease for close to 20 years. Recently she underwent her third major surgery in the past decade and a bit. My three daughters and I are all hoping and praying that this time around she will be able to achieve relief from this very nasty and debilitating disease. She's had a rough go of it. Let's face it, at age 63 major surgery of any kind is not something which you easily bounce back from.

Kudos to Dr. Jason Wong, a brilliant young surgeon and his team. God bless you all!

As Arnold Schwarzenagger (did I spell that correctly?) so non-eloquently states..."I'll be back" even if its ever so slowly.

Thanks once again,
Robert

PS: If you should happen to have some loose change (well you should, because the Liberals are not in power) I'm sure that the Chron's and Colitis folks would love to hear from you. Just a thought

A Random Thought

BelinDUH Stronach DUHlton McGuinty The LiberUHls

Stephane DiYAWN

3 out of 4 ain't bad. You have to admit there is a nice symmetry here.

Okay, Okay, Okay .... I have way too much time on my hands.

Good Night Y'all!

Sometimes you Hold your Nose

Ombudsman Andre Marin has stated that "unscrupulous" lottery-ticket retailers in Ontario have collected at least $100 million in fraudulent claims since 1999, under the "watchful eye" (what happened to the other eye) of the OLG which allowed the practice to persist.

Marin said that lottery officials who raised concerns about suspect claims by retailers in 2003 and 2004 - including on $12.5 million prize - were told by Brown: "Sometimes you hold your nose."

Wrong Duncan!!!!! You hold YOUR BROWN NOSE, probably as a result of walking too close behind your masters when they suddenly stopped ..... I'M KICKING BUTT!!!!

Let's go through some of Andre Marin's findings:

1. There have been at least $100 million in fraudulent claims. - Question: how many of these "unscrupulous" lottery-ticket retailers have been criminally charged? How many have been convicted and are currently serving time with big hairy men who would like to dance the mambo in one of our fine correctional facilities? Let me guess ...none...nada...zilch...WHY?
2. The OLG is "hopelessly conflicted." - Question: Conflicted about what? To steal or not to steal? Oh the dilema of multiplke choice!
3. Marin said the OLG ignored allegations of fraud because it was "fixated on profit rather than public service." Question: How many of these "fixated" public service trolls will now be dismissed? Or will Duncan Brown be the only one to walk the plank, because his high profile dismissal might mitigate some of the damage suffered by DUHlton McGuinty and the crew of The Black Pearl? Oh by the way, it didn't happen to be you DUHlton who was the prime fixator was it? Now was it DUHlton...comon, was it?
4. Customers who complained were rarely taken seriously, said Morin, who called the corporation's customer complaints department "rude and inept" when dealing with them ...not surprising Mes Amis....have you had to deal with the boys at Queens Park lately? Like government - like government agency!
5. There was too much hanky panky between retailers and the OLG. The question still stands ... how many folks at the OLG have been shown the front door and how many retailers have been criminally charged?

The Cantankerous One has a few additional questions, namely: Why does David Caplan, the minister responsible for the OLG still hold that porfolio? Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character give him power. Caplan was given power and voila ....behold his character.

Why does OLG Chairman Michael Gough still hold his position? He shows all the backbone of a chocolate eclair. In the midst of a scandal, Gough thumps his chest with pride, as he announces that despite the fact that some unscrupulous vendors stole money out of our pockets lottery ticket sales are in fact up. How stupid of me to not understand that sales increases make theft allright.

Gough goes on to say "that's a ...reflection of Ontarian's basic trust in this corporation." As usual Mr. Gough, you have mastered many things, but common sense is not one of them. Where would I go if I wanted to play big-payout lotteries which are not controlled by the government? I guess one does not deal much in facts when one is contemplating saving ones butt.

Let's go back to David Caplan for a moment. Here's the Caplan Clincher. He said that the government and OLG would try to find people who had their legitimate lottery winnings stolen by someone else and pay them the jackpot they were entitled to have. There was no mention of cleaning out the complicit vipers nests within OLG who knew what was going on and looked the other way ... can these people be criminally charged for aiding and abetting the facilitation of a crime? ...no mention of criminally charging all of those retailers involved in theft ... no mention of forcing these thieves to pay restitution ... no mention of pulling OLG kiosks from retailers directly involved with these thefts.

We need to arrange for a quick Cat Scan of Mr. Caplan's cranium to ensure that there is something of substance inside, instead of as it appears now, a resting place for his hair follicles.

Meanwhile back at the ranch, DUHlton McGuinty defended Caplan and accused the opposition parties of playing political games by demanding Caplan's resignation.

Hold the fort Martha...we need to order up another one of them there Cat Scans for that DUHlton fella. OOps forgot. With the health care system being what it is, we'll probably have to wait untill after the next election to get an appointment.

MEMO: To Lois Brown re: Pain

Lois,

One of the greatest pains to human nature is the pain of a new idea!

To date, your political "career" seems to have been literally pain free. Hopefully, you will feel a pinch now and then on your way to the shoot-out at the Magna compound come election time.

It sure would be nice for a change. Giddy-up!