Words can't adequately describe the fury I'm feeling right now.

Three 'leaders' from Quebec have conspired to overthrow our democratically elected government. Their mandate is the same as has always been from the left, the continued theft of Alberta's wealth to appease their voter base in the GTA and Quebec.

Canadians overwhelming rejected Stephane Dion as a candidate for Prime Minister during the last election. In fact the Liberals were sharpening their knives to replace him as leader, with him having had led them to their worst loss in history.

Yet due to a parliamentary technicality he may very well become our next Prime Minister. While this might be legal it is definitely immoral. There is a very good reason this procedure has not been used in almost 100 years.

Now the future of our nation rests in Governor General Michaelle Jean's hands. A person who until a few years ago was a citizen of France not Canada, and who's husband has been well documented as having Quebec separatist sympathies.

Should the coalition come to power the future of our nation will beholden to the whims of the Bloc. A party who's sole purpose is to ensure the breakup of Canada. We are well on our way to being in the same category as any third world banana republic. It is no coincidence that all of the TSX gains of last week, the first real positive signs in the stock market of the past several months, were completely wiped out in one day after news of this impending coup d'état broke out.

The coalition is pretending that all of this is due to Harper not caring enough about the economy. Yet due to a mistakenly placed conference call by the NDP it has been shown that this plot has been in the works for awhile now. The Conservatives could promise Quebec a gajillion dollars and it wouldn't make any difference. The opposition smells victory and they don't give a damn that their power play may irreparably damage Canada forever.

Let me repeat this - the coalition will promise the moon to the GTA and to Quebec - and their promises will be funded by screwing over Albertans. They know this will not hurt them politically as Alberta never has and never will vote for the left. So once again the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan in particular, and the West in general, will be raped to bring the Liberals and their Socialist and Separatist cohorts to power so that they may return to their reign of patronage and sense of entitlement.

The West overwhelmingly voted for the Conservatives to lead Canada last election. Should the government fall in the coming days it will be nothing more than the rest of the country spitting in our faces. Western separation will very much be on the agenda again.

The future of our Country, the future of our province, and indeed our very way of life is at stake. If you at all give a damn about Canada I urge you to get off your ass and do something! I for one have already made a sizeable donation to the Canada West foundation and I will be at the planned rally at Calgary City Hall scheduled for this Saturday at 11am.

On October 14th Canadians will go to the polls to elect the next government of Canada. With the economy collapsing all around us this could very well be the most important vote in years.

While I'm generally not prone to panic there's a very real chance that the coming years could be very grim indeed. Therefore everyone needs to decide what kind of government they want in power to guide us through troubled times. Everyone who knows me knows my political affiliations and I'm not going to preach on here.

I would however ask that come Tuesday you go and exercise your democratic right to vote - a right that many people throughout the world do not have and a right which our forefathers fought and died to protect.

Oh ok, I can't resist a parting shot...check out the following interview of Liberal leader Stephane Dion. Words really can't express how dumb he truly is. This wasn't an impromptu interview, this was a scheduled interview and his handlers vetted (approved) the questions which would be asked ahead of time. It's truly scary that he might become our next Prime Minister.

I continue to find it sad that most Canadians would rather watch the debate down south rather than tune in to see our own leaders debate the future of our country.

It's truly scary that Stephane Dion and the rest of the lying, cheating Liberal thieves have a goal of once again screwing over Western Canada via Carbon Taxes in an attempt to appease the poutine eating, surrender monkeys in Quebec and the latte sipping soccer mom's worried about little Johnnie's future in the GTA.

Ooops! I better start talking about the US election if I want to retain your interest...

Ok, here goes. I heard on the radio yesterday a clip of Obama stating that he's travelled to all 57 US States and that didn't even include Alaska and Hawaii. What shocked me was that this statement was made months ago - and I never heard about it until now!

I realize that all politicians make gaffes, but the American media bias for Obama is truly nauseating. I mean why bother asking the obvious question of how a graduate from Harvard could make such a mistake? Shit, why even mention it in the mainstream press at all? Not when there's much more important stuff to report on such as what songs are on his iPod and just how truly super awesome he really is.

There's a video on YouTube comparing Sarah Palin to the ditzy Miss Teen USA. Well it looks like one brave soul posted an anti-Obama rebuttal - forever risking the wrath of Oprah, Chris Rock and the rest of Obama's fawning worshippers.

I've spent the past week fixated on the recent craziness of the stock market. I've watched with increasing horror as my RRSP savings lost 30% of their value in just over a month's time. Instead of passively accepting whatever may come I've tried to do research and educate myself in an attempt to understand what's been going on.

Recently I talked to my financial advisor who essentially told me the worst was over, not to panic, and that my portfolio was still sound. He also mentioned that "no one could have foreseen this".

That last statement really pissed me off. Five minutes of Googling and I was able to find a plethora of reports from various financial publications warning of this disaster over a year ago!

On Friday the TSX had its biggest gain (850 points) in its history. The official line from the media is that it was a response to George Bush's announcement that the US Federal Government will step in and rescue the Financial System from total collapse. However I suspect it was simply 'shorters' being forced to cover their asses after a halt on shorting was imposed. My money (what's left of it) is that come Monday we'll see yet another 500 point drop.

So what have I learned over the past week?

• Financial advisors do NOT have your best interests at heart. At least not all of them do. There were numerous advisors telling their clients to buy stock in troubled US firms right up to the very day that many of them went bankrupt

• 90 per cent of all managed funds fail to beat Index funds over time. Meaning that instead of paying an advisor to figure out what the next great fund is going to be, you might as well just buy yourself a variety of Index funds and save yourself the management fees

• There is no such thing as geographical diversity anymore. When the Dow (US) is down, the TSX (Canada) is usually down, and when the Dow is really down the rest of the world is usually down as well. So you're better diversifying in terms of what kind of funds you own (bonds, stock etc.) instead of where those funds are located

• Speculators and day traders have turned the stock market into something resembling a casino where a company's stock will perform based on a roll of the dice (the whims of insider manipulators) instead of on sound, underlying financial data

• Canada needs to truly remove our overwhelming trade reliance with our neighbor to the south as they are headed into an economic abyss. In fact, hush-hush talks have been going on for awhile now between Canada and Europe as they attempt to hash out a trade agreement surpassing NAFTA. Some have even suggested our joining the EU. It is expected there will be an official announcement on this after the federal election

• Nothing makes sense anymore. This should be obvious, but how else can you explain the US dollar remaining strong even though their economy is in the toilet, the fact that the US still has a triple 'A' credit rating, that while everyone was losing their shirt that the price of gold kept going down?

And then there's the conspiracy theories...

• On March 13th, 2008 there was a secret meeting of Congress. This was only the 4th time in the history of the United Sates that such a meeting has occurred. What was supposedly discussed was the complete collapse of the US economy in late 2008, anticipation of civil unrest as a result, and the inevitability of the creation of a North American Union consisting of Canada, Mexico, and the US and the issuance of a new currency - The Amero.

Now normally I don't give a lot of credence to conspiracy theories, but I recently watched a film which when combined with what's going on right now leads me to think that there may be something to this after all...

I highly recommend anyone who's been financially affected recently to watch the film. It's broken into three parts - religion, 9/11, and financial manipulation. The first part theorizes that Christianity was created as a method of controlling the masses. If you are religious you might find it interesting, but for me watching the 2nd and 3rd parts was more relevant. Originally I skipped over the 9/11 part as I've had my fill of reminders the past couple weeks, but I did eventually watch it and was glad that I did as it ties into the third part (although the phone conversation which ends that segment is just brutal to listen to). The 9/11 segment can be found 40 minutes in and the financial segment can be found 1 hour, 13 minutes in.

I'm extremely curious to hear what others think about this.

It was with no small concern that I recently sailed towards Russia - considering that they were essentially at war with Georgia and the potential for a military confrontation with NATO and the U.S. loomed large at the time (and still does).

Now that I'm back from that region it is with a great deal of annoyance that I continue to read and hear all the outright lies and falsehoods of the American media regarding this conflict.

According to the propaganda being spewed by our southern neighbors Russia brutally invaded Georgia, a sovereign nation and shining beacon of democracy, in a totally unprovoked fashion.

What nonsense!

• The CIA funded and orchestrated the fraudulent election of Mikheil Saakashvili in the so called Rose Revolution

• The US and Israel then went on to sell all manner of weapons to Georgia and sent advisors to train the Georgian army

• The populations of South Ossetia and Abkhazia are almost entirely ethnic Russians and had previously fought a war with Georgia in the 90's to gain their quasi-independence

• With the world's attention on the Olympics, Saakashvili gambled that he could launch a lightning attack on these regions and be victorious before anyone could protest

• The very night of the Georgian offensive the US state department told him in no uncertain terms not to provoke Russia

Of course Russia had a multitude of forces ready to go, as they've been anticipating such a move for a long time. As soon as Georgia attacked they rolled in their forces and in only a few days destroyed the vaunted Georgian army and all their US and Israeli supplied weaponry.

In geopolitical chess terms, it was a Russian checkmate.

American hubris and hypocrisy never cease to nauseate me. And true to form the usual suspects were soon shaking their fists at Russia and demanding they withdraw and respect Georgia's territorial integrity. Most humorous was US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice stating that “This is not 1968…where Russia can threaten its neighbors, occupy a capital, overthrow it’s government, and get away with it. Things have changed.” How that bitch could keep a straight face while spewing such garbage is beyond me.

Why would the US care about this backwater region on the other side of the globe? Well it just so happens that the Wt the world's second largest oil pipeline through Georgian territory. But no, the US is simply defending 'freedom'.

Why would Russia risk a confrontation with the West over a small population of ethnic Russians? Because for them it was a tit-for-tat payback over NATO's war on Serbia in the 90's and for the West's recent recognition of Kosovo's independence. At the time Russia warned them not to recognize Kosovo as for them it was a 'red line' and Putin told Bush that crossing it would have consequences in the Caucasus region - specifically South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

Oh well, Americans will soon have a new administration that will solve all these problems right?

Well it turns out that John McCain's foreign policy advisor Randy Scheunemann recently received almost a million dollars from the Georgian government. And McCain has pushed for immediate acceptance of Georgia and Ukraine into NATO. He would purposefully admit these nations that we have no business being involved with knowing full well it would likely lead to a military confrontation with Russia - and because Canada is a part of NATO we would end up at war with Russia as well. We would soon be faced with the very real threat of nuclear annihilation once again.

Ah, but according to Oprah and Madonna the American public have had enough of the Republicans and will vote for Obama and the peace loving Democrats right? Yes the same Democrats who illegally attacked Serbia in the 90's and put in motion this entire mess to begin with! The same Democrats who knew about the risk of Osama Bin Laden and several times failed to take him out when the opportunity arose, resulting in the current mess in Afghanistan. The same democrats who gave Bush a blank cheque to invade Iraq. And to top it off, Obama just chose Joseph Biden as his running mate. Biden, the same man who has proven in the past to be even more of a war monger than Bush, Cheney and company are.

NATO ships are pouring into the Black Sea to deliver 'aid' to Georgia, Americans are setting up missile interceptors in Poland, Russia has severed ties with NATO, is looking at re-establishing military bases in Cuba, and has resumed bomber patrols off of North America.

Things are going to get a lot worse from here.

Come election time, it's a crime that Americans won't be able to choose 'Other' on their ballots.

Sitting here listening to the gentle summer rain and the occasional low rumble of thunder has put me in a contemplative mood.

My mind is drawn to comments which recently made their way back to me. A close family member after going through the various articles on the website declared that I'm a very negative person.

Of course that's a given. I'm definitely a glass is half empty kind of guy. I'm not sure why that is, it's simply my nature. Let's blame society as the cause.

That said, I'm going to change things up on here and instead of bitching about the latest thing that's ticked me off or fretting about whatever it is that I might be worried about I'm going to give thanks instead.

I'm thankful for:

• Owning my own home and having a roof over my head

• Having a great job that allows me to live relatively care free

• Being able to take vacations to wondrous and exotic locales

• Having two amazing pets who offer nothing but unconditional love

• Great friends and a wonderful family

• Having a terrific daughter who despite a less than ideal childhood still misses me and still calls me Dad.

• My beautiful wife, for despite my causing her to regularly shake her head at me she's still willing to put up with me after all these years

I think all of us tend to get caught up with trifling daily annoyances and we lose sight of what's really important. Occasionally it's good to step back and just give thanks for all of life's blessings.

There are two things above all else that drive me insane: Censorship and Hypocrisy.

Lately The National Post has been exemplifying both. In my naive understanding of how things are, newspapers should report the news, they should not insidiously control the news so as to put forth their own skewed viewpoint. It is no secret that the former owner of The National Post, Izzy Asper, used his media empire to further his pro-Israeli attitudes. Sadly, even after his death, The National Post continues that legacy.

Israel is celebrating the 60th anniversary of it's founding as a nation. Of course, if you only read The National Post you wouldn't even be aware that it's also the 60th anniversary of the forced expulsion of Palestinians from their homes and the start of a campaign of ethnic cleansing which unfortunately continues to this day.

By handpicking what gets published the editors are actively engaging in censorship. Publish both sides of the story! As Canadians we are smart enough to come to our own conclusions. Otherwise you cease to be an outlet of knowledge and instead simply become a front for propaganda.

This past weekend I finally got annoyed enough to break my out of my lethargy and to write a letter to the editor.

Here is what I wrote:

For those interested, in the 'other' side of the story, the article can be found here.

Our Sad Excuse of a Judicial System

Two events in the past few weeks have sickened me greatly. The first is the four Camrose teens who broke into a house and microwaved a family's cat. Not only was this a premeditated act, but they would have stood around watching for (according to experts) the approximately 5 minutes it would have taken the animal to die. They then wrote all over the house walls taunting the family with 'Here Kitty Kitty'. Even if charged as adults, the maximum penalty under Canadian law is a $5000 fine. But because they were under 18 they'll likely get the sentence that most young offenders get - nothing. Absolutely nothing will happen to them. What's even more frustrating is that the police seemed to be more concerned with protecting these bastards from a wrathful public by threatening people on Facebook who published their names. What is wrong in our society when the penalty for breaking the Young Offenders Act is significantly worse than the penalty for sadistically abusing and torturing to death a helpless animal?

The second is the recent murder and mutilation of a young Calgary mother. She was randomly attacked and mutilated so badly that she could only be identified by her fingerprints. She was killed across from my work on a pathway that I've frequently travelled on in the past. Her killer was someone who was out on bail, not once, but twice for two previous criminal acts. What the fuck is wrong with the people who approve the release of these criminals? Why is there no accountability? Here's a suggestion for those who release someone on bail who then goes on to commit a violent act - at a minimum they should lose their job, but in addition, I think the family of the victim should decide their fate. In this case, perhaps they also should have someone they love taken away forever.

Canadian law protects the criminals and punishes the victims. Until we as a society rise up and take matters into our own hands we will continue to merely be sheep at the mercy of sadistic predators.

Hypocritical Tree Huggers

Frankly I've had it with the plethora of posters in The Globe & Mail forums portraying Albertans as dumb, ignorant, rednecks who are single handedly responsible for destroying the planet and ruining little Johnnie's future. The majority of these posters coming from either Ontario or BC. Here's some interesting tidbits:

- The single largest polluter not only in Canada but in all of North America is the Nanticoke power plant in Ontario

- Victoria is the only major municipality without a waste treatment system. Instead they merely pump their untreated, raw sewage into the nearby ocean.

- Alberta leads the country in the use of wind energy. In fact, Calgary derives more of it's power from the wind than any other major Canadian city.

What really gets my back up is that these same people owe their current lifestyle largely due to the sacrifices and hard work of Albertans, yet they have the nerve to overlook their own provincial faults and failings while they point the finger at us.

Frankly should the day ever come that draconian environmental legislation is forced upon us by the federal government in a gutless attempt to win votes from the latte sipping intelligentsia or Sally Soccer Mom's from the GTA then I think Alberta should leave confederation. The rest of Canada can then enjoy freezing in the dark as they sit around flinging their shit at each other.

The US Presidential Race

I don't understand how some people seem to care more about the politics of another nation then they do their own country. The only reason to give a crap about what happens down south is because of the sad reality that what happens there will eventually affect us to some degree. Here then is my take on the four presidential contenders:

- Hillary Clinton is merely a figurehead for her husband. Also, she is probably more engrained in the politics of corruption than any other candidate due to her being in 'the system' for so long. Worse, she is so deep in the pockets of the Israeli lobby it's sickening. Were she to win watch for continued blind support of Israeli oppression and a foreign policy of double standards resulting in continued upheaval in the Middle East.

- Barak Obama at first glance looks like he might be a breath of fresh air. He definitely seems less institutionalized politically than the others. However he also has shamelessly laid himself prostrate before the Israeli lobby because he knows that they are the key to anyone winning the presidency. Even worse he is protectionist and he has already stated that he would rework the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Canada. I guess the current status quo of the Americans simply ignoring judgments against them in favour of Canada simply isn't good enough for him.

- John McCain is the guy who when asked what 'to do' about Iran broke into song to the tune of the Beach Boys Barbara Ann, 'Bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb Iran'. He's also the war hero having survived being in a POW camp during the Vietnam War. Ah yes, yet another war president. He's already on record as stating that the US will be in many more wars in the near future. Were he to win, look for Iran and Syria to be carpet bombed all to hell as they are taught 'American Democracy'.

- Mitt Romney is, um, er, actually I don't know anything about this guy other than that he has a really stupid name. Seriously, who the hell would name their kid 'Mitt'?

In the end it doesn't really matter. Anyone who thinks that any of these people will somehow make a difference and bring about peace and prosperity to the American people is seriously, seriously deluded. Who knows, four years from now we might even be looking back longingly to when Dubya was in power.

I've always hated Oprah, but over the years I've forgotten exactly why I hated her so much. Thankfully, a recent show of hers on how to be environmentally friendly reminded me why.

In one particular segment she trotted out some 'expert' and they went into how everyone should switch all the light bulbs in their house to compact fluorescent lights (CFL's). She went on to explain that CFL's are better because they are more efficient and they last longer. As the show ended instead of the new car Oprah usually hands out, each audience member was instead given one of these bulbs and they dutifully went off determined to take her advice, save the planet, and make the world a better place for little Johnnie.

Not once did she mention the downsides to using CFL's. Namely that they contain mercury, improperly used can catch on fire, don't operate as well if they are operated upside down, etc. etc. So what is going to happen is that all the soccer moms who watch her show are going to go and likely toss every perfectly good incandescent bulb in their house into the trash, spend 15 times as much on all new CFL's, and when they finally burn out simply toss them in the trash.

Unless you missed it, they all contain mercury! No where on the packaging of these things does it state 'do not dispose of in the garbage'. So in about 5 years time you're going to have a health disaster of epic proportions as neurological problems in children skyrocket due to all the mercury being leeched into the water table!

I don't know why what Oprah says carries so much 'weight' with millions of mindless viewers, but sadly it does. By not actually doing any research on anything before opening her mouth she continues to do more harm than good while further filling her pockets with obscene amounts of money.