This and That

I realize I haven’t posted in awhile, my focus has been off due to a sick doggie. Thankfully he is on the mend and my focus is returning.

I have to say this whole H1N1 chaos is amusing when on the sidelines but also sad and upsetting if this is what our feds consider an effective pandemic plan. Last week they complained that not enough people wanted to get to get the vaccine and this week they complain that too many want it all at once. Well guess what feds, you’ve had since March to come up with a plan and you failed… miserably.
When I look at clinic locations for Montreal (my area of Montreal, which consists of downtown, Westmount, Outremont and Mont Royal) there is NO CLINIC. NOTHING. We’re talking about an area of Montreal that has numerous CEGEPS, Universities and Hospitals, on top of a dense population and not 1 freaking clinic? And then you can’t understand why people are lining up in droves at the very few clinics that are open?

This is how they should have set it up:
Clinics set up at schools so that parents and their kids can go there
Clinics set up across the city (even if they move every few days to different locations) for people who do not have school-age children.

Yes that was hard. So hard. And why weren’t teachers on the priority list? They’re stuck in rooms with kids who do not cover up their sneezes and coughs, nor do they wash their hands on a consistent basis. This was very very poorly planned. As someone who is in the healthy group, I have to wait over 1 month to be eligible for a vaccine. I don’t mind the wait so that other people who are more at risk can get theirs, but I do mind that they started these vaccinations so late into the season, so that we have to go through most of the season without a vaccine.

To be honest, I’m not even sure if I’ll get the vaccine. The day H1N1 broke in March, I was actually sick at home with very, very similar symptoms. Was it H1N1? Most likely not but it was eerie to have the same symptoms. Plus since I reside out of province temporarily, I’m not even sure if they’ll give me one here. One more thing, I’m a bit leery of signing a consent form for a supposedly safe vaccine. If the government and the pharmaceutical company really stand behind this vaccine, why do I have to sign my life away?

I may regret my bitching in a few weeks if I get sick but to be honest, standing in line for 7 hrs with hundreds upon hundreds of people doesn’t seem like a good idea either, if we’re talking about prevention. Hell, I don’t even want to go see some friends’ band tonight because I don’t want to be in tight quarters with people unless necessary.

Yes we should all be taking extra precautions right now, but we shouldn’t be clogging the ER’s and clinics. The pandemic right now, is the culture of fear that has been propagated.

Is there anything more frustrating than an entitled parent? Oh right, their kids.

Ok so yes, I’ve stated on here many times that I’m not a kid person. Highly doubt I’ll ever want to have one of my own, and other than reproducing to replace yourself, I think people should then focus on adopting children if they want more. Population control people, learn it, think it, do it.

There are many, many reasons that I do not want to have children, and right now I’m going to discuss one of those reasons. To put it simply, I do not want to be lumped into a group called “parents”. Specifically, the entitled, whiny, bratty kind. You know the ones I’m talking about. They let their kids run amok in stores, they let their dirty kids touch strangers’ hair (I have long and kids are attracted to it like a moth to a flame). These types of parents think their kids can do no wrong even if they shit on the floor in a grocery store (not a true story). These could be the type that talk about their offspring non-stop on facebook; I mean really, I love my dog a lot but you don’t see me telling others how his shit was today do you?

So today in the Windsor Star comes a highly entertaining story about these entitled parents. The parents attended a track and field meet and were told beforehand that if they parked illegally they would be ticketed. Well la-di-da guess what happened? They parked illegally, along the side of a major road, near a freaking gas plant no less and they got ticketed. Then they got mad. Mad for getting a ticket they deserved.
Here’s their rational:

“I just thought it was pretty crappy — the economy the way it is, people lose their jobs, the big CUPE strike in the summertime. The kids missed half of their community centre events. These kids work hard and parents take time out of their day to come and see their kids run, and then there’s some guy ticketing your vehicle. I think it’s low.”

That’s right people, because there was a strike that ended over 2 months ago, they should be allowed to park illegally. Because we have a shitty economy, they should be able to park illegally. Yup yup. Most likely these fat asses didn’t want to walk an extra 2 min, and trust me, most of them could use some walking. The tickets they were given were around $30 too and they’re complaining. They were warned in advance, the kids were given notes to take home, the newspaper even warned them in an article and yet, not only did they not listen to the warning, they believe that parking illegally is just alright for them. These are probably the same lazy people who need family parking spaces at the mall. Or who will drive around for 40 minutes at the mall just to get a front spot, I mean heaven forbid you walk! I’d love to see these people live in a big city, where walking and taking transit is encouraged!

Yes, entitled parents, you and your offspring are truly an inspiration to society. I cannot wait to see how they grow up.

Grey Tuesday

Sometimes this world really depresses me; maybe it’s the grey cold weather or the fact that I consume too much news either way, it sucks.

I find this feeling occurs more after I’ve had a good night out or I’m feeling lonely, but the main underlining cause remains: I’ll read something in the news (or something similar) and can’t believe what I’m reading (read: can’t believe the world I’m living in).

Case in point: Had a great evening last night with some friends over – great food, great conversation etc… Today it’s grey out, I’m working, listening to the Destroyer show I recently saw (which makes me feel happy) and then bah-da-bum… I read this horrific headline:

U.S. speeds up delivery of big bomb

Wait what? WHAT????
Rewind

What happened to Mr. Nobel Peace Prize? What happened to we hate Iran for having a nuclear program? What happened to we’re a broke country?

Ok now it’s time to read the article, let’s see if there’s anything to dispel these depressive grey thoughts whirling around my brain. Hmm.. well the first paragraph only confirms what I’m feeling:

The Pentagon is speeding up delivery of a colossal bomb designed to destroy hidden weapons bunkers buried underground and shielded by 4,535 kilograms of reinforced concrete.Call it Plan B for dealing with Iran, which recently revealed a long-suspected nuclear site deep inside a mountain near the holy city of Qom.

I’m not sure I can handle reading more. I don’t care if this program is from the Bush years Snr. or Jnr. If Mr. “Yes we can” Obama is truly worthy of a Nobel Peace Prize (please), then this program would have ended. Our current connotations of “peace”, “terrorist”, “fundamentalist”, “Muslim”, “Arabic” etc… are all very twisted and warped. All of a sudden a country building a huge bomb is a peace loving country and yet, anyone else who does it is a terrorist. Well, well, well…what can I say to this besides the obvious (hypocrites).

I do not understand this world at all. I do not understand how I can go from having a nice evening to hating this world. I do not understand how we can live in a world full of hatred where a country preaches peace and proclaims everyone else as “evil” and yet their President can win a freaking Nobel Peace Prize FOR DOING NOTHING. Ooh you inspired hope, big fucking deal. If you got rid of this bomb and worked on changing perceptions, we wouldn’t need to be inspired to feel hope because the world would be a better place (in theory). I can talk the talk too, but can you actually walk the walk? Certainly seems like you cannot Sir.

Screw this, our current connotations for “power”, “money”, “consumption”, “greed”,”business”, “equality”, “humanism”, “socialism”, “conservatism” and “love” are all warped beyond repair. Where do we go from here when the terms I just listed are warped… the negatives ones are seen as positive and the positive as negative. What is this? WHAT IS THIS?

This ain’t no Big Love

I’m on a posting ROLL today bitches! This is what happens when I only do the Tactics of Truth Suppression series and avoid discussing other issues.

OK here’s the thing  – polygamy. I am obsessed with polygamy; reading about it, watching tv shows about it.. No clue why, I’ve probably discussed this in one of my Big Love threads (best show).

So the latest thing is that the case against Blackmore and Oler has been thrown out. As usual.

I am all for freedom of speech and for the most part freedom of religion. But problems arise when people ‘interpret’ religion to further their own psychotic beliefs.  This is a case of that. We have 12 yrs old forced into marrying 80 yr old men. 16 yr olds pregnant with their 4th child. They have little to no education and cannot think for themselves. They have no outside sources or money. They are trapped and the worst part is, is that for the most part, they don’t even know they are trapped in a a living hell.

I actually posted on the ctv.ca news story about this.  I’m not sure if it’ll get posted but here’s what I wrote:

It’s not polygamy that I take issue with. It’s the lack of choice for the women (actually children) forced into it. It’s the lack of education they are given. It’s the lack of a childhood. They are turned into breeding machines and have no options.

There are so many things wrong with this and it’s not polygamy because in theory (like anything in theory) there isn’t anything truly horrible about it. It’s the pathetic manipulative power hungry abusive men who control it that I have an issue with.

Blackmore, Oler, Jeffs etc… you will get yours.  The super religious are always the most hypocritical.

Rape Prevention

Yes I am sick of people telling women how to prevent rape. Here’s an idea. BLAME THE RAPIST. It’s his fault. Why not teach men (and some could say women too) how to act and how to respect people? Blaming the victim and coming up with rape prevention tips doesn’t really do much. I mean sure it’s good to know but what it comes down to is, is that if someone is going to rape, nothing will stop them from doing it. So instead of blaming the victim and teaching the victim how to prevent it, let’s teach the rapist how to prevent it.

Where does this come from? From here:

ONLY RAPISTS CAN PREVENT RAPE

A lot has been said about how to prevent rape. Women should learn self-defense. Women should lock themselves in their houses after dark. Women shouldn’t have long hair and women shouldn’t wear short skirts. Women shouldn’t leave drinks unattended. Fuck, they shouldn’t dare to get drunk at all. Instead of that bullshit, how about:

If a woman is drunk, don’t rape her.
If a woman is walking alone at night, don’t rape her.
If a women is drugged and unconscious, don’t rape her.
If a woman is wearing a short skirt, don’t rape her.
If a woman is jogging in a park at 5 am, don’t rape her.
If a woman looks like your ex-girlfriend you’re still hung up on, don’t rape her.
If a woman is asleep in her bed, don’t rape her.
If a woman is asleep in your bed, don’t rape her.
If a woman is doing her laundry, don’t rape her.
If a woman is in a coma, don’t rape her.
If a woman changes her mind in the middle of or about a particular activity, don’t rape her.
If a woman has repeatedly refused a certain activity, don’t rape her.
If a woman is not yet a woman, but a child, don’t rape her.
If your girlfriend or wife is not in the mood, don’t rape her.
If your step-daughter is watching TV, don’t rape her.
If you break into a house and find a woman there, don’t rape her.
If your friend thinks it’s okay to rape someone, tell him it’s not, and that he’s not your friend.
If your “friend” tells you he raped someone, report him to the police.
If your frat-brother or another guy at the party tells you there’s an unconscious woman upstairs and it’s your turn, don’t rape her, call the police and tell the guy he’s a rapist.
Tell your sons, god-sons, nephews, grandsons, sons of friends it’s not okay to rape someone.
Don’t tell your women friends how to be safe and avoid rape.
Don’t imply that she could have avoided it if she’d only done/not done x.
Don’t imply that it’s in any way her fault.
Don’t let silence imply agreement when someone tells you he “got some” with the drunk girl.
Don’t perpetuate a culture that tells you that you have no control over or responsibility for your actions. You can, too, help yourself.

If you agree, re-post it. It’s that important.

Note:
This goes for any gendered rape, male on female or female on male or female on female or FTM on MTF or non gendered to dual gendered and so on and so forth….

-author unknown

Here’s another take on it.