The Half-Empty FUNGLASS!

AMERICA THE DUTIFUL - The 21st Century War Begins at Home - Thoughts on America

2009-06-20T17:47:00.007-04:00

President Obama recently made a trip to the Middle East in a bid to start healing the long-festering wounds that have been scratched and picked upon for so many decades. I would like to add my 2 cents worth, although its only 2 Canadian cents, and probably not worth much...

In reading online debates and blogs, I find so many Americans think the atypical America-centric thinking.... "If you don't like our politics, then stay the hell out of it". Well, we would love to (I really don't follow the politics, of say, the Netherlands), but the fact is, when the US messes up, it takes the rest of the westernised world down with it. As sad as it is, nations like Canada, the UK, Japan, Australia, etc. must keep an eye on American politics.

I think that a lot of what is going on today is due to an America-centric system of thinking that leaves its children with very little knowledge of the outside world - knowledge which is required when these children become future leaders and make forays into foreign countries that may not require America's lofty presence.

America needs to start healing - not in the future, but today, It needs to heal its relations with the world and begin peaceful dialogue backed up with peaceful actions and reactions. I believe, in President Barak Obama, this sort of thinking is beginning to prevail, and inroads, although still small, are being paved. Also, Americans need to realise that, while they do have a wonderful country and culture worth preserving, they do not need to be involved in every single international dispute.

Consider this. Since WWII, America has invaded over two dozen sovereign countries, a staggering amount by any standards. That number, alone, should cause Americans to strongly think of the future and their foreign policies. Having said this, I must point out that there have been areas where America has taken the lead, and rightly so (Afghanistan comes to mind, as it was a necessary reaction to 9/11 and the introduction of a strong, anti-terrorism stand.) But if America continues on this path, wars with Iran, North Korea, and then Russia and China are all but inevitable. And it will drag the rest of the world down with it. America has a duty to the world to get its ducks in a row before more severe disaster strikes. Believe me, 9/11 will be nothing compared to what is to come if America continues on its previous path.

I think it needs to be said and repeated that America has so much to offer. I love America. I have many American friends, the great majority of whom are very kind, generous and caring, and many who are enlightened and free-thinking. But to sum up, there is serious work needed in the US - reconsideration of its international politics and foreign policies - a lot of which can start right at home by teaching children that America can't just go on simply believing it is the greatest country in the world and does no wrong, but merely part of a network of great countries that offer freedom and individuality and liberty. (There are bad countries, but no one country can claim to be the greatest as it is all subjective).

Learn about other nations, and America's place in the world. Why it is important to respect other's religions and values, however foreign and alien it may seem. America is among the greats in the world, and can become even greater if it began to realise these things and had a little more respect for and understanding of other cultures, for what they value in their own nation so strongly - free speech, liberty, justice for all, and the right for self-determination.

I expect the typical American reaction to this editorial, which is usually "f* off" and insults. A wise man once said violence (and in this case, name calling and profanity) is the last resort of a man with no other means of intelligent discourse, so I expect I will get that reaction to this. (Then again, my blog isn't exactly the New York Times. Instead of read by millions, it's unnoticed by billions!)

Long live a peaceful and enlightened America.

THOUGHTS ON THE HUMAN BODY AND HUMAN RACE

2009-06-11T17:42:00.003-04:00

Do you ever really think about how fragile and demanding the human body is? How much we take for granted without even realising how much maintenance we require? And how, despite all this, the human race continually finds new ways to kill itself?

Ponder this. The human body:

- requires a constant intake of oxygen, about every ten seconds. If it goes 45 seconds without this, the body begins to weaken, and eventually dies.
- Requires, on the average, three intakes of sustenance per day, in the form of protein and calories. Without this, after even a few hours of a missed meal, the body begins to feel weak and uncomfortable. Within days, it starts to shut down, and within a couple of weeks, it dies.
- Requires a constant intake of liquid. Physicians suggest 15 cups of liquid per day. After one day of no liquid, the body becomes dehydrated and will die after approximately one week.
- Is like a giant water balloon. You poke it, it leaks. You scratch it, it bleeds. You puncture it, it has a continuous outflow of its life-giving liquid, and if it is not treated immediately, it dies.
- Requires, in additon to all of the above, approximately THIRTY PERCENT of its lifespan resting and regenerating. After only ONE day of missed rest, the body weakens, becomes more prone to disease, and will eventually shut down on its own.
- Is continually in a state of battle against viral infections, diseases and maladies. Millions of bacterial agents are constantly attacking the body, trying to compromise its system. The body often loses the battle to these invaders, leading to death.
- Breaks, fractures and sprains with the slightest amount of pressure. These injuries often result in infection and if not treated with medicinal agents, can lead to death.
- Contains numerous organs that will likely fail during the course of a body's lifespan, leading to death.
- Needs continuous excercise to stay healthy. Without it, the human body will grow inefficient, become prone to life-taking disease and eventually die.

Considering all this maintenance, upkeep, constant battling of infections, viruses, disease, need for considerable rest, the human body is the most inefficient of all machines. Even if one does ALL the right things - has a great diet, excercise, proper medical treatment, rest, and lives in a clean and safe environment - the body is continually dying, and inevitably will shut down after about eighty years, which in the great scheme of things, is a very short time. Even a tortoise has a longer lifespan than a human. Trees can live to be thousands of years, but the human body rarely makes it to one century.

Why am I pointing this out? Perhaps it is because I watch too much science fiction and I believe that machines will ultimately someday become the predominant life form on Earth as they are so much more efficient. But then again, considering the human nature to kill, kill, kill all that it doesn't understand, we won't likely make it that far.

Yes, this is a pessimistic point of view, but perhaps it is also realistic. Even if there is only a 0.01 percent chance of humans self-destructing, it is STILL going to happen someday. Only if there was a ZERO percent chance would this not be possible.
So, consider the fragility of life, the shortness of life, and the fortune that we all have to be alive. Live each day as it is your last, because it very well could be. The human machine is unpredictable and who knows when it will give out on you.

PHILOSOPHY - I SEE ThE WORLD AS YOU DO - I THINK...

2009-05-16T05:49:00.001-04:00

In this world, when I look in your eyes, I know I can never see the world as you do. You are your own entity. You are your own one against seven billion others that inhabit this planet. I know how whatever spirit or being or whatever it is that possesses this physical form I am in, sees the world, and I suspect that every other being sees the world in a similar way as I do - myself against billions of others that could be games, or fake plastic illusions... that I could be put here on my own against a screen of billions of life forms that don't even exist. The point is - I will never know. I will NEVER know because I can only ever see this world through my eyes. Only through this physical body, that I sometimes have abused, that has put great demands on my mental and spiritual ability, have I seen this world. And I know that, how I see it, as I see it,
you also see it.

This I know. You cannot leave your shell. You cannot leave your body. We all could be illusions in YOUR game, in YOUR fake plastic illusion. But *I* know this is not fact, for *I* see the world through *MY* eyes. In this world, you have chosen to be with ME. Out of the billions you could be with, somehow, for some reason, the spirit, or entity, or whatever the fuck this language others have created and taught me, call it, has chosen ME. And although I see the world as billions of physical beings who will never know or see the world as I do, i DO realise that YOU are just as me. One in a Universe of uncounted infantecimle numbers, who inhabits a physical life-form on this planet others before us have named Earth. And in this existence, however brief in the scheme of the life of the Universe, Galaxy, Planet, or physical body you, at this time inhabit, you choose to spend some of your time with ME.

I realise how random and spontaneous this life is - that any one of a million happenings could have put your lifeforce on another path, and I also know that you may even look upon life as I do. Yourself against seven billion others, who may, or may NOT even be REAL - and that you will NEVER know the truth. But that you choose, in all this confusion and uncertainty, to spend this short existence with me, is greatly dear to the heart of this being I inhabit.

I know you may never understand what I am saying here - or maybe you understand it too well. But in any case, you will never know how to see the world through MY eyes, and you will never know that I truly hurt, feel, see, touch, smell and dream as you do. I will never know either, but wisdom, if it prevails, leads me to believe that you ARE as I am, and that we ARE both individual lifeforces inhabiting physical forms at this current common time and place. And when I see, I see
all others as I see myself. Perhaps I am not just alone in a dream and a game, a test of my spirits strength in a galaxy of pretend forms. Although I will never know that this is NOT the truth, I trust that we all are one against the billions. If I, some year, find out that I was foolish to believe this, that I AM some specimen in a game, a test or a dream, that everyone else IS NOT a sentient and corporeal life form as I am, then I will allow myself today to accept that I will someday be fooled, and I am alright with that.

But today, I choose to believe that I am as you are, and that you choose to spend your existence with me, and that, my sweet spirit friend, is a blessing to me, more than you will ever understand as I do, as you will never see through my eyes. So, all I can do, is thank you, and continue to show you how much I appreciate you as a friend, another life form, another spirit, and send forth your way all the respect and kindness I can, so I can enrich your brief life as you have mine. My friend, my stranger, and one whom I love.

Perhaps you will never understand what I say here, so I will put it out simply. Look unto the world, and see all who have existed and realize that they are all you. I am YOU. I see as YOU do. I am YOU. And I THANK YOU. This is true EMPATHY.

And if I ever run astray or afoul of kindness to the spirit that inhabits your physical body, please, let me know, and I will see the world as YOU do, and do my best, as one of the uncounted numbers in the Universe, to understand how you feel.

Canada's International DISGRACE - The Seal Hunt

2009-05-10T22:19:00.006-04:00

I am hesitant to be drawn into a debate over the seal hunt, because there should BE no debate - it should be simple Canadian wisdom that such a disgrace should not exist.

I speak of the yearly Canadian seal hunt. Good times!!! -- In which thousands of baby seals, innocent and basking in the warm August sun, on what is left of the ice floes, are suddenly and ultra violently clubbed over the head by a scruffy, conscienceless greedy seal hunter.

With the exception of the ancestral Inuit, and perhaps the occasional poverty stricken modern Inuit looking to sustain his family for a meal, there is NO SENSIBLE REASON TO KILL THESE POOR BABY SEALS - unless you consider greed and profit a good reason.

Our government will soon be debating the seal hunt. and considering whether or not it is time to put a ban on it. Is it time? It is WAY past the time to ban the seal hunt. The time WAS A HUNDRED DAMN YEARS AGO! Like the modernisation (subjucation) of the Inuit back in the 1950's , we will come to regret this. Back in the '50s, the Canadian government, in all its keen wisdom, saw fit to move the Inuit away from their traditional style of life and force them into towns, trailers and encampments. The children were educated in English (or French) and in many cases STRICTLY DISCIPLINED by the teachers and authorities should they show any sign of holding onto their old values.

The Canadian Government has done things that at the time seemed reasonable but in a historical context and upon reflection, is ghastly - that history often shows that conventional, modern "wisdom" is very often wrong.

Recently, over 50 years later, Canada finally sent forth an apology (what a joke) to the Aboriginal peoples for the subjugation of their human rights. But at the time it was happening, it was revolutionary and wow, such a great idea.

So when are the Canadian leaders going to realize that their government makes mistakes. In this case, a LOFTY mistake, and end the seal hunt. Not just end it, put forth significant resources to help bring back the population of the seals - and while they are at it they can help the polar bears too - that's another topic.

I was shocked when I voted in an online poll recently asking if Canada should end the seal hunt and I read that over sixty percent said NO. Our leaders (and I use the term loosely) and governments are supposed to be a reflection of society, so I guess in this case, I guess they are being that reflection. But in this reflection, I only see the blood, brains and innards of an innocent, naive and unfortunate baby seal scattered across the shiny, reflective northern ice. As a people, we deserve the government we elect. But these seals have nothing to do with this. And I know in 50 years from now Canadians will look back on the seal hunt with such horror and shame much like we now realize how our treatment of the Inuit was wrong.

At least, I hope we feel this way. We are Canadians, remember? Aren't we supposed to be the peaceful, friendly northerners who love all and welcome all, oppress none and are known as an international example of tolerance and goodwill? We are CANADIAN, GODDAMMIT! Let's show the world that we are NOT evil butchers, with hearts of ice. Let us show the world that the only cold thing about Canada is our climate.

The seals deserve better. Our wilderness deserves better. Nature deserves our respect, not recklessness and gross negligence. Please, fellow Canadians, stand up for the rights of these innocent animals to exist in peace. Stand up and shout "we are Canadian, and we won't stand for this!" Stand up for our true north, strong and free.

Let us again have something of which we can be proud. End the seal hunt. It is Canada's International DISGRACE!

Take action today. It will take you mere seconds to lend your voice to the growing number of those against the annual seal hunt. Please fill out this simple petition and let our leaders know that Canada is not about murder and insensitive, senseless blood for profit.

http://e-activist.com/ea-campaign/clientcampaign.do?ea.client.id=87&ea.campaign.id=2783

The petition simply reads thus: "I am writing to urge you to support Senator Mac Harb's bill to end Canada's commercial seal hunt. As a Canadian, I proudly support this initiative and urge you to be accountable to the vast majority of Canadians by supporting this long-overdue legislation.
Our government has wasted my tax dollars subsidizing and defending this cruel and unsustainable hunt for far too long and as a concerned citizen I trust you will support the "Harb seal bill". "

Also. for more information and facts on the seal hunt, visit http://www.stopthesealhunt.ca/.

Thanking you, in advance, for taking time to add your voice to something about which I feel very passionate.

Unhealth care

2009-05-09T11:50:00.002-04:00

So I am blessed to live in the wonderful Canada, home of the Great White North, the annual bloody seal hunt and a health care system that is supposedly the envy of the world. Then if so, why is it so hard to find decent health care anywhere in this, the second largest country in the world? Signs are popping up all over clinics - one complaint per visit. That is so the doctors can run through the patients as fast as possible and make as much cash on the tax payers dollar. Gone are the days where the doctor knew your name. You are lucky if he even remembers your ailment.

I am in the unfortunate predicament where I need ongoing health maintainence. But the doctor I see has me in and out within 3 minutes. One complaint. Well here is my complaint - stop being so damn greedy and start caring about your patients again. Your patients are losing patience. You took the Hypocratic Oath, not the Hypocritical Boast.

No more family doctors. Just these fast-food clinics where you are lucky to see the same doctor twice over the course of ten visits. This presents a significant problem when dealing with my health care provider, especially when they need forms filled out dealing with my ongoing medical condition. They just love it when they can suspend benefits because some doctor who doesn't know me from the local supermarket cashier, tries to fill out a form describing what has been going on with me health-wise over the past 10 years.

The shame is that we have become so accustomed to second rate health care that even if we paid more in taxes, we still would not get better service. We would get the same service, or worse. Currently, I am on month 9 of waiting for an MRI. It could be another year. Who knows. Even if they bought Ottawa another MRI machine, we would need the staff to operate it. And even if we had the budget, we don't have the manpower. Our MRI machines sit silent while nurses and techs sleep soundly in bed at night. But if you are willing to fork over a grand, you can cross the river and in La Belle Quebec, get an MRI the next day.

We need to raise taxes that go strictly to health care, and have someone seriously revamp the health care on a national level. National standards. Doctors being forced to see the same patients, not patients being forced to see any doctor on call at whatever clinic. Back to the days of family doctors. Folks that know who you are. Who remember that yea, that's John Smith, he has kidney issues, I saw him last week, How is his mother doing? Didn't she have high blood pressure? Maybe I should give her a call and see how her medications are doing.

I guess this is just a dream though, Well, it would be a dream, if i could sleep. See, I have sleep apnea, and I will be damned if I can find a doctor who can remember that they have tried X prescrpition and Y prescription and neither worked. So, as I lie here sleepless, i commiserate. Dreams are a thing of the past. Just like health care. Welcome to clinics. We will hear your one complaint, but you only have 180 seconds - and please, don't give any of your medical hsitory, It takes too much of the doctor's time. he has other people to see he has never met before.

WHY

2009-05-08T01:39:00.001-04:00

Sending thoughts out to a world that will never read them. Why do we do it? Perhaps to kill time? To excecise the author in all of us? A need to feel important and listened to?

Not at all. Every idiot needs their own blog over a self inflated, egotistical state of misguided importance. No one is reading this, and if you are, you probably got here by accident.

Live long and vesper.

World Wide Real Estate Bargains!

2009-01-06T19:07:00.000-05:00

Ideal Vacations!
Cheap Vacations!

I ran into a few great real estate opportunities today. I couldn't find any in the Gaza Strip. but I did find this great spot in Iraq!
I love the selling points... access to a road, running water and hey! 24-hour electricity! I also find it somewhat unsettling that they refer to the new development as "booming"...
Iraq Settlement

For a nice, cheap stay, how about Ho Chi Minh City? For $3 month, how can you go wrong! It's the Vietnam of today!
Gorgeous Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

I thought this was strage... why would Germans want to settle in the Holiest Jewish City in the world? That's a bit odd...
German Settlement in Jerusalem

Cheers,
Jimmy James

Welcome To My Blog!

2009-01-06T18:17:00.001-05:00

Here we go, with the first entry in my blog. I would spend time explaining what I plan to do with this but to be totally honest, I have only a vague idea.

With this blog, I am endeavoring to bring humour and / or insight into the news of the day. I will offer opinions and views on the hottest headlines, pop culture, historical events, the human mind and our behaviours and need to fit into society, or the lack of such need. I'll touch on every subject except the British Monarchy.

Speaking of La Royales, I wish Canada would get over this whole Queen thing. It has been almost 30 years since Prime Minister Trudeau brought the Constitution home from The United Kingdom. I remember being a little boy, watching out over Parliament Hill as Trudeau and the Queen scribed their names on the historical document that gave Canada their so-called Independence from England.

So-called. To this day, our coins and money adorn Her Majesty, and the leader of our Nation, surprise!, isn't even our elected Prime Minister. That's right, the Governal General, an UNLECTED representave of the British Queen in Canada, is at the top of the food chain when it comes to Canadian Leadership. Does the fact that a Nation like Canada has to answer to Britain (albeit, more of just a rummer-stamping type job) not bother anyone? Yes, there are many other issues that we have as Canadians, believe me. But this whole Colonial thing has to go.

I think we should, on our coins and bills, put pictures of good looking, famous and noteworthy Canadians. Like, let's say... Pamela Anderson. Or maybe Elisha Cuthbert! Yes, that's about right. I would definitely get into coin collecting if they adorned the visage of the BC Beauty Become American Sweetheart. Or perhaps more of a modern outlook on our money. Jim Carrey? John Candy? Alanis Morrisette? Or even Stompin' Tom Conners! I think he at least deserves $5 bill.

So, as you can see, this blog will be just a chance for me to ramble on about various topics and events that I have on my mind. Hope you find it enjoyable, or perhaps amusing... at the very least, readable.

Peace and Love from Canada
Jimmy James