Speaking of people who voted for the conservatives, how about the good people who sent Nina Grewal back to Ottawa? I came across the following bizzaro article in the Globe and Mail on her:

 

 

Apparently she did a handstand in her office just to show the reporter that she could. And of course she knew nothing about her husband telling Ujjal Dosanjh that he and Nina could be bought for a price, taping the conversation, editing it, translating it inaccurately and then releasing to the media.

 

Why of course, she only sleeps with the guy, why would she know anything about that?!

 

Interestingly, the federal ethics commissioner cleared Dosanjh of any wrongdoing, and stated that Gurmant Grewal either genuinely sought an inducement to change his vote or just acted the part in an attempt to entrap Dosanjh. Either way, few strokes short of a man with integrity. Few strokes short of a man, really.

 

 

This was what Nina had to say about her husband (see Globe and Mail article):

Either Nina was really clueless as to what the man whom she shares a bed with every night is up to, or she was outright lying. Even if we are to give her the benefit of the doubt and attribute her statement to the former reason, is a person with such low level of intelligence someone you want to represent you in Parliament?

 

And she also said she would "smack" her opponent, Liberal candidate Brenda Locke, if she dared bringing up her husband's sins. Her exact words were:

Here's to the good job by the people of Fleetwood-Port Kells (Surrey) who sent such an intelligent, clear-minded and totally non-violent individual to represent you in Parliament.

 

 

The thought that Stephen Harper is going to be our PM continues to send shudders down my spine. Pushing that repugnant thought aside, here's an obvious question: who's to blame?

 

There are a variety of choices:

But the most of all, I blame Peter MacKay and the Progressive Conservative Party (R.I.P.) members for allowing a right-wing extremist party to takeover the conservative banner and use it to dress up as a legitimate choice for Canadians. No doubt, some people in the former P.C. thought that the merger / takeover was necessary for the survival or success of conservatism in Canada. How short-sighted. The P.C. was so demoralized by years of Liberal success and their own incompetence that they failed to see any light at the end of the tunnel. So they turned to the devil. Sounds like the plot of some weekly late-night movie.

 

I like to ask those "what-if" questions, and I've got one right now. If the P.C. still existed at this past election, my guess is that many more people would have abandoned the Liberals and voted for them than people who dumped the Liberals for the Conservatives. The P.C. would be forming the next government - and who knows, it might have been a majority instead of a minority. And the Reform Party would have been put in its correct place, at the fringe of Canadian politics.

 

Instead, Stephen Harper is going to be our PM.

 

Peter MacKay, you could have been Prime Minister-elect today if you had not sold out your party and your colleagues for nothing. Belinda did not leave you because she was evil (as your friends no doubt tell you); she simply realized that you have even fewer brain cells than Harper.

I watched the Golden Globes tonight night. A few of the actors I like won (yay to Mary Louise Parker beating out the desperate housewives). But the anxious moment of the evening came when Leonardo DiCaprio was about to announce the winner for Best Actress in a Drama (or something like that). I was thinking, "Please, let it NOT be Zhang Ziyi!" The thought of having to endure any more of her embarassingly bad English - displayed in all its scripted glory on stage in front of live television, no less - had me reaching for the remote so that I can switch channels should the unfortunate happen. To my relief, Felicity Huffman was the winner. So my ears and my face were saved from having to hear her and then blushing in embarassment on her behalf.

 

Moments earlier when the camera was pointed at Ms. Zhang, she broke into a school-girlish giggle, which is less than classy but I suppose a lot of men like that. And then she did the unthinkable: she gave the "V" victory sign. AAAAAAAAhhhh! Whoever is coaching her should be fired, along with her English teacher. I guess I should not be too severe on Ms. Zhang. Afterall, I have been known to do the "V" sign -- WHEN I WAS 15!!!

 

 

 

 

So, the 72-year-old tree-killer received an absolute discharge for poisoning several trees in front of her condo that were blocking her million-dollar view of the English Bay. I don't know how I feel about that.

 

On one hand, I think she should have been made to pay the fine. She deliberately planned and carry out a murder of several living things that had existed much longer than her - than all of us, really. This is a person who did her research, travelled to the states to buy the poison because it was not available / banned in Canada, and was "smart" enough to transfer the poison out of its original container into another before going through Customs. She destroyed public property because, for the 6 months of the year when the trees had leaves, her view was blocked.

 

On the other hand, it sounds like she's suffered more than the law can do to her - she's paid $50,000 to the Parks Board in compensation, had stuff thrown at her balcony, received angry emails, and ultimately sold her place because she couldn't put up with the public outrage. Plus, she's 72. We're all into giving the old folks a break, right?

 

But still, on balance I find it impossible to feel sorry for her. I know that money isn't everything and doesn't buy happiness yada yada, but she sold her condo for just under $1.7 million. So I'm sure that she can buy another place with an unblocked view easily. And I don't see how "public approbation" can be mitigating circumstances.

One cloudy day in Vancouver, on a westbound 41 bus, two middle-aged Chinese ladies got onto the bus with their respective babies in strollers. Lady #2 had problems with the ridiculous bus tickets (it can only be validated by the machine if inserted exactly the right way). Meanwhile, an able-bodied white guy in his 20s sat in a seat meant for the handicapped, the aged, the pregnant, and people with small kids etc. near the front door. He did not offer help. Not that he is obliged to. But read on.

 

Ticket was finally validated, and Chinese lady #2 strugged to push the stroller down the narrow aisle. She did not get far. Another passenger belatedly decided to get off the bus via the front door. The aisle is narrow. Chinese lady #2 did her best to get out of the way. At this point, white guy in his 20s decided to scream at Chinese lady #2: "People are trying to get off!" Chinese lady #2 ignored the idiot and continued to maneuver the stroller, with little success as aisle is narrow and the bus is crowded. The two ladies decided that the fastest way of getting the stroller out of the way was to lift it, with the baby inside it, off the ground, over Chinese lady #1's stroller, into a vacant space in a corner that cannot be otherwise accessed. They did so without incident. White guy in his 20s then yelled: "You people are so ignorant. Don't you know anything about child safety?"

 

Chinese lady #2 countered: "Child is safe. Why do you yell at me?"

 

White guy in his 20s, perhaps stunned at her ability to understand and respond to his attack in English, said: "FOOK YOU." (Stupid MSN won't let me publish the entry w/ the expletive spelled correctly)

 

A number of passengers were visibly upset and a couple were getting up to confront white guy in his 20s. But that was not necessary. For Chinese lady #2 could took care of herself. "FOOK me? FOOK YOURSELF! FOOK YOU! You have no right to yell at me. Now shut up."

 

White guy in his 20s was by now completely wordless and shrank in his handicapped seat. He fled a couple of stops later.

 

Final note: although all this went down not five feet away from the bus driver, he did not see fit to lift a finger to assist the lady. He could have: (a) help move the stroller, (b) ask the other passenger to exist via the back door, which afterall is what it is for, (c) told white guy in his 20s to shut up. But I guess it wasn't in his job description.

 

But Chinese lady #2 was more than capable of taking care of things. Good on her.

 

Don't mess with women. If you are stupid enough to do so please, do yourself a favour and don't involve their kids in your insults or otherwise attack their parenting skills.