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.