Evil Geniuses in a Nutshell

Alrighty then... today, I was introduced to the most offensive website on the internet. Well there are worse, but those are severely illegal. The site is known as God Hates Fags. Alright, you see where this is going. Enter rant... now.


WTF IS WITH THESE PEOPLE. For those of you who haven't seen anything like this on the Internet, go to http://www.godhatesfags.com and tell me it isn't the most offensive site you have seen on the website. I don't even know where to start. The site is a perfect example of anti-gay propaganda. Its based on religious arguments that are based on the Bible. Problem one with that is that the Bible has multiple interpretations which are the subject of much discussion within the Church. Problem two is the translations throughout the years that may have shifted or altered meanings to better suit the author's version of history - as an example, take the epic poem Beowulf. Originally told in the pre-Christian era, over the years Christianity has altered the poem as translators and writers have rewritten it, altering it to include Christian references. Thats is why if you read Beowulf, the pagan and the Christian references seem to clash at times. Problem three is that the Bible was originally written (and rewritten) in times far different in our own. To stick to the traditional solely because of tradition regardless of the changing times is usually not a good idea. Problem four is that belief in Jesus, God and the Bible is purely that... A BELIEF. I am not questioning your right to believe, but I ask that you not to question my right to believe otherwise. Because you believe in the Christian ideals is NOT reason that the rest of us should believe in the Christian ideals. And you can argue the benefits of Christianity until the cows come home - and I'll even agree, Christianity has done some good in the world. But it isn't perfect. I'll point to the Inquisition, the Crusades, all the killing done in the name of the Christian God, etc. Every religion has its fanatics. And usually, the killing is done by the people who cannot accept that other people will believe differently. They are labeled as sinners, pagans, unclean, whatever you want to call them. So, because you believe in the Bible does not make it right for the government to base policy on the Bible, nor does it give you the 'divine right' to impose your beliefs on others. It goes against what the Christian religion preaches anyways, or claims to - community, love thy neighbour, etc. Its why a seperation between State and Religion is essential, because the State sets policy for people of more than one religion. This website is an example of the hate that religious fanaticism can bring in a person and make them forget that a gay person is STILL a person. This sort of thing is completely unacceptable in modern society.

And people ask, why does it frustrate me so? Because if nobody stands against it, if nobody does anything, then nothing changes. Some of us have bigger things to tackle - but I'm pretty much set personally. I'd really like not to be single, but apart from that I'm happy with who I am. And that leaves me thinking about the big issues - the metaphysical and the issues facing society. When I look at what goes on in the world, especially in the States, I am appalled - sure its better than the 60s, but it ain't perfect people. I, as an individual, can't do much... but its better than doing nothing. I have my journal where I detail all the horrible things in the world in an effort to help you see what's going on out there that not all of you encounter. I do work with youth organizations, especially the upcoming presentations to schools that I hope to begin. And arguments like 'Well I'm straight, so gay rights doesn't affect me' are not good ones to take. In fact, they annoy me more than the opponents to gay rights. Everyone (and I will guarentee that this is everyone) knows somebody who is not-straight, if not themselves, be they a family member, friend or coworker. It would be like saying 'Well I'm white, so black rights don't affect me'. As a member of society, shouldn't we be defending the rights of all citizens, not just the ones like us? Isn't that what we say is wrong with people like, say, the terrorists? They can't accept our right to have a different way of life (based on, once again, religion). The terrorists are not right - we have our way of life and they are entitled to theirs... within reason in both cases. But apparently, in the mind of America (or at least the government), its right for THEM to impose a way of life on the American people, while saying its wrong for the terrorists. Its a clear case of its right when its our way, but wrong when its their way. And THAT is a dangerous way of thinking. We here in Canada are on the brink of such a way of thinking with the Harper government in place and the Christian right wing movement lobbying for changes in the system. But lets remember an important message from, of all places, a beer commerical. It caused us to take pride in what we are, but we are beginning to forget that message.

I'd like to direct your attention to the new link catagory on my journal, the political ones, available on the right. Here you can find links to sites that support the same issues I do. For example, there is the site for Equal Marriage there, as well as the other site I mentioned in my last post. More sites will be available as I find appropriate.

Hope you guys enjoy them!

- Dep

I laughed when I saw this on the news. The site is http://www.growupharper.net. They are objecting to Harper's refusal to speak with the national media and ask that you take the time and $$ (I would estimate 5-6$) to send Harper a message - a pacifier.

Harper's second latest atrocity (I'll get to the latest in a moment) is his refusal to speak with the national media, include them in press conferences and then saying its not important to Canadians.

.... ANYONE ELSE SEE A PROBLEM?

Alright, apparently some people don't... damn you Carl. So let the rant begin. The media, despite what you may think about it, does an essential service for us - it provides the dissemination of information on a mass scale. And this is essential in that, without the media, we would have no outside source which reports the going ons - especially in the government. The system isn't perfect but, if you take what they say with a grain of salt, try to find the facts and make your own opinions, it isn't bad. Now Harper... in his 'infinite wisdom' has stopped talking to the national media on the grounds that they are biased against him (as perhaps they should be, but lets leave that alone for the moment). On the positive side, I don't have to listen to him prattle on about his worthless opinions, but on the negative side... this is a negative trend. A government that refuses to talk to the media is a government that looks like it has something to hide. With all the talk that Harper did about accountability and government transparency... isn't it moderately hypocritical that he refuses to take questions from the national media? How, in the blazes of hell, is that transparent? The whole point of the media is to ask questions. Its a fundamental part of democracy in my information. And beyond that, where does he get off on deciding 'the right kind of media' to let into his press conferances? Isn't that government control of the press and of information? Doesn't that go against things like freedom of the press, freedom of information and also against their platform of less government interferance (let alone 'transparency').

Harper just keeps putting nails in his coffin (I mean that in term of his political career :P). So I would encourage all of you to send him a pacifier. The mailing address is on the website. Pacifiers are apparently 2 for a $1 at the dollar store and I have no clue what postage is. And send them a picture. I know I'm going to be. Pacifiers will be wrapped in a rainbow flag and have a free condom and a few other things for things Harper stands against. My little irony :D.

It seems that once a week, Harper just gets more frustrating - and offends more and more people. Is there anyone who still supports this man?

Anyways, I seem to be frustrated beyond all belief at this man, thus I will buy my pacifier for him tomorrow.

Thanks guys!

Later

- Dep

with rants... *glares in direction of odd person*

Ignorance... quite possibly the one thing I hate in people. I was just informed that there will be a complete ban of smoking in public places (enclosed or not) starting wednesday of next week. I laughed. You'd never enforce such a thing, it would be like the Aylmer curfew - ridiculously violated by all. Did a bit of research afterwards and found out that its only enclosed public places. Thats a bit different. We then proceeded to have an argument on whether or not smoking should be banned.

Now, I make a lot of arguments based on people should be free to do as they please. But we have to look at a few facts here.

- Smoking is dangerous for your health. The reason people smoke is the nicotine in it. Its addictive and it relieves stress. But its still dangerous. Therefore, most people shouldn't be smoking in an ideal world. Is it an ideal world? No. But lets keep that in mind.

- Smoking is dangerous for the health of those around you. Second hand smoke is proven to have effects on those around you, leading to cancer. Heck, I'm cutting years off my life here as I'm at a friends place who smokes like you wouldn't believe (my family has a history of cancer too). Therefore, smoking around other people is a bad idea, regardless of how much they protest that they don't mind.

So the logical conclusion? We ban unsafe activities all the time - drinking/driving, shooting people in the head, hard drugs. Why haven't cigarettes been altogether banned? Probably because of the underground market that would spring up overnight - the reverse of all the reasons that marijuana should be legalized. You can argue its peoples choice... but its not is it? Nicotine is among the most addictive drugs, right up their with caffeine (my own little addiction). Therefore, the choice not to smoke once you've already started is much harder to make. But the solution isn't to ban cigarettes outright - its to educate people and try and find ways to help them get off their addiction. Heck, I'd like to see more family doctors recommending treatments for it - the patch, etc. Banning cigarettes in public places though makes complete sense. Letting people smoke inside will drive away customers in a business, it will cause your employees to have health concerns (Heck I'm allergic to smoke), and its generally not good for those who stay anyways. And people have a right to go around and expect a safe environment - well the studies show that that would be a smoke free environment. The argument I got to that was 60% of people smoke, so majority rules. Wrong. Majority rules? Stop giving me this democratic bullshit. Public safety people. (Even those of you who plan mass murder sprees can't argue against this because I suspect most of you don't smoke :P). The government does whats good for ALL people and smoking is good for NO ONE except to reduce your stress - and if you need chemicals to do that, maybe you should look at your lifestyle. Or try caffeine, it just rots your teeth :P. Seriously though - banning smoking in public places can only benefit the public. Anyone who thinks otherwise is being incredibly self centered about this, or possibly just isn't acquainted with the truth. Sure, you'll have public outrage from some people, but if you actually consider pros versus cons, I'm sure taking the extra minute to step outside 10 feet to smoke isn't asking too much. And if it really bothers you... try to quit. I'm sure it will bother you less afterwards.

Speaking of trying to quit, perhaps this will encourage people to quit, if there is extra work involved in going to smoke. And it will help people quit because they won't have the temptation in every public place they go. Expecting people to stay out of the shops which allow smoke and expecting them to put up with it is too much to ask. Go sit on a barbed wire fence, friend of mine who cannot see beyond her nose, and let us ban your smoking to the great outdoors. In the meantime, here's a patch.



And while I'm at it, wtf is with people thinkign their was is the best way. Seriously! Alright, it seems hypocritical after my little rant but there is something extra to consider in there - public safety. There are three levels to every position in my opinion - a personal level, a practical widespread level and a metaphysical level. Take, for example, abortion. On a personal level, I have my own feelings that it should be used as a last resort. On a practical level, you have no choice as a government but to let people have abortions if they think it is right - the alternative is back alley abortions with coat hangers. On a metaphysical level... well I don't care to go there at the moment lol. It would be an interesting question. But look at smoking - personally, I dislike smoke but I put up with it for some of my friends. Practically, the government could never ban smoking completely but should make efforts to curb it, control who has access an help people quit whereever possible as well as protecting the public's health. Metaphysically, nobody should be smoking at all - thats just a nobrainer.

But we can look at more complex issues like BDSM. On a personal level, some people are good with it (at different levels) and some people completely abhor it. Practically, again the government could never ban it and as long as it doesn't reach the level of abuse (its a fine line I know) they shouldn't be prying into my bedroom at night. Metaphysically it never reaches the level of abuse and always takes place between consenting people.

I suppose the levels go like this.

Personal Level - What you individually believe should be a part of your life or not
Practical Level - What the government should or should not allow or what works/doesn't work on a large scale in the real world
Metaphysical Level - What should be happening ideally.

Communism is an excellent example of how they can differ. A person can be for or against communism depending on their position. On a practical level, communism leaves too many opportunities for corruption and doesn't fit well with the more popular democratic capitalist/socialist blended systems. On a metaphysical level though, communism works. It just can't work in the real world lol.

So, take exhibitionism and this is the argument that came up. My own personal views I'll keep to myself ;). But its ok if people have different views - some people can hate it, some people can love it. The practical level - not everyone wants to see your penis and not everyone is ready to be an exhibitionist, so lets keep it behind closed doors... or at least don't get caught as I say :P. The metaphysical level - people should do what suits them best. In a couple, if both people are ok with one (or both) taking off most clothes and showing me pictures of their tattoos on their ass, then send the photos away :P. But if you're not, then don't do it. And if you have a conflict on it, then resolve it - agree to a compromising level that doesn't involve me getting photos :( or perhaps it just isn't going to work. And other couples... STAY THE FUCK OUT OF THEIR BUSINESS! Serious people. It isn't hurting anyone, it isn't hurting their relationship, so fuck off. Like one couple I know - they like threesomes and they're both good with that. I say more power to them. Others would disagree - and on a personal level, I would agree, if I'm in a serious relationship, I don't think threesomes/foursomes are the thing for me (though, experimentation never hurt). But what isn't right for me may be right for them.

Of course, there are levels to this that we need to consider. Abuse, for instance, should never be tolerated in relationships, regardless of people's agreement to the abuse because its a known fact that the abusee can not know that they are being abused. I'm not talking like, they have whips and enjoy whipping on occasion - consensual, non-life threatening BDSM is never a problem. And heck, sometimes joking fun insults go on too - it all depends on the couple, so you have to be careful. But sometimes, you gotta go with your gut instinct about their behaviour and call abuse abuse. Personal level things sometimes need to be overridden - if you, for example, are a rapist, you need to curb that tendancy, not explore it.

Bottom line is hurting other people, whether they realize it or not, is not something that we can allow. Its the general rule and probably the only moral I truly have - first, do no harm (10 points to the person who can tell me where that quote is from lol - leave a comment). My other moral is down with the Christian right-wing conservatives, because Lord knows they do more harm than good nowadays with their antiquidated manner of thinking.

Stephen Harper, banning the media from the return of the bodies of four Canadian military officiers. Reasons given are because of the families grief. Alright, understandable... I think the families of those officiers should have the right to ban the media from the return of the bodies, if they so wish, along with the funeral. But notice that the funerals were covered. Notice also that Stephen Harper did not consult any family members before he took this action. And notice that the media was not banned from the return of the latest casualty. Yes, Harper, this makes sense. Is consistancy in your foolish notions too much to ask?

Everyone my age who pays taxes take note. The budget does nothing but harm young people. First of all, I believe the majority of students who pay taxes do so in the lower tax bracket, if at all. You may take great pride in knowing you will now pay 0.5% more taxes on your money, even if you pay it on less than you would have. Take great pride in knowing that the education budget was cut, meaning your tuitions will rise... and the only new money coming into education is in the form of what... $80 off of your text books? Finally, we're backing out of Kyoto... to hell if we can't meet our goals, does that mean we give up trying? FUCK NO. And peolpe will point to the plan the Americans follow as well as the Australians. The differences between the plans, as I understand them, is that one involves cutting actual greenhouse gas emissions and the other involves better cleaning of the greenhouse gas emissions. Now... these are not mutually exclusive goals. Better filtration technology, combined with slashing emissions? Hell, I say go for both plans. But no... instead, we put money into defence.

Eve says the planet is fucked... I agree. As long as people like Harper and Bush are allowed to run countries, the planet is going nowhere... because they are stuck in the past. They don't focus on modern issues - they can't accept people as people, forget the politics and work together with the rest of the world. And no, I'm not saying let terrorism win. The terrorists have the same problem - they're stuck in their own little world where they're right and America is wrong and they can't let people be people. And neither side seems to want to back down. Its really this simple guys. America - fine, be Catholic. But respect other peoples right (that includes your own citizens who are supposedly members of the most powerful 'free' nation on Earth) to not be Catholic and don't take it as a personal insult. Middle East - same thing, but insert Muslim instead of Catholic. If you both can do that and stop viewing the others customs as an affront to yours, then perhaps we can relax. And I know - it isn't all Americans nor is it all Middle Easterns (I use Middle East because there are numerous countries), its the extremists. The damn Christian right-wingers and the Muslim right-wingers.

Now I don't have a problem with religion - I think most people would consider me religious (or at least, not atheist lol), albeit in my own complex way, as are most things I put the time to think about where I stand on them are. I have a problem with religion extermists. The Christian right wing conservatives, especially the Catholics, who believe everyone who doesn't follow their religion to be a sinner. And we wonder why people don't follow your religion eh? Those who take personal affront to anything that goes against their religious teachings - abortions, homosexuality, condoms even! And the jehovah's witnesses... don't get me started on them. The last thing I need on a Sunday is somebody knocking on my door, telling me how wonderful their religion is and how many eternities I'll be spending in hell (its a lot, I can tell ya that). I swear, I'm going to take to wandering around my house dressed in black satanic robes with a pentacle and a bloody knife. The cops will sympathize, I'm sure lol. Seriously - my favorite of all religion-like teachings that I have bothered to inform myself of is Wicca... solely for the fact that part of their teachings (as I learned them) is that new members are not solicited, nor is there 'one way' to practicing Wicca. It is, instead, a very personal religion. And I like that.

I personally would describe myself as a Wiccan, because my beliefs go down the same general road, though I incorporate science into the theories (not a Scientologist though lol). Instead, I look to science to explain natural phenomena - Wiccan and science are not diametrically opposed as science and religion usually are. I believe, however, that every religion has something valuable - they are all different ways of looking at the spiritual world, everyone a facet on a giant gemstone if you will. And thus, in addition to being Wiccan, I incorporate parts of religions as I find them to be true for myself into my own believes, therefore it is continually evolving as I evolve and learn new things. The whole actual concept is rather lengthy, so I won't get into it tonight - ask me sometime, when I have a better keyboard.

My hand is cramping though, so I'm going to leave you for tonight.

Farewell, my faithful readers and thank you for reading this far!

- Dep

Wow... an entire week since I posted. Sorry guys, it has been busy.

Brief recap of the past week...

I got a call from CGI (its a consulting company in Ottawa) in response to my resume, and my application is going to the next level :) - thus there is a chance (a small chance) that I won't be stuck doing the ever cursed job of tech support (despite the wonderful people there... no seriously, I just hate the stupid people who can't install Java, can't read and can't think beyond 'omg its not working, call tech support!'). What does CGI do? WEB PROGRAMMING! THANK YOU! Finally I get to do something I like. *crosses fingers for the job* If not, the other student for Statistics Canada is a friend of mine from school, so it won't be that bad.

I saw the Da Vinci code earlier this week. It was a good movie - reminded me of National Treasure but replace the American historical references to the Catholic historical references. Speaking of movies, if you still haven't seen V for Vendetta, GO SEE IT NOW! NOW!

Heritage Underground... my massive workload giver for the past couple of weeks. I've spent so much time at meetings, talking to people trying to get them involved and just pounding out code. I'm probably going to be spending every free moment of my time this summer just working on the code. But the project is well worth it - its what got me into CGI, my work experience with this project.

School - Exams are finally complete, as of a week ago. Some marks in - so far I've passed Business, Hardware/Software, French and Gym. I've also already passed web programming, interpersonal relationships and programming without the exams so it just leaves English up in the air - everything rides on the exam lol.

Lets see... June 23rd approaches, its the day that people are coming from Sudbury to see Cirque du Soleil, and I will hopefully be going with them.

Also around that time period should be Vicki's prom to which I may or may not be going to with her (as friends) as I must be considering the costs of such an action.

Can't remember if I mentioned this but I was selected as the student representative on the PAC (Program Advisory Committee) for my college - essentially what they do is they look at what they teach the computer science students at the College and how they can better match it to the skills that the businesses are looking for. Really good way to meet contacts in the field, so I'm glad I got selected.

Recently, I was part of a group discussion on how we can best overcome homophobia. The conclusion was that we need a lot more education to counteract the disinformation (propaganda is more like it) of religion and conservative parents among other parties.

If you think about it, in the past the fights for human rights has had some visible aspect to it. Perhaps a part of the difficulties facing the fight for gay rights is the lack of a visible aspect (flamboyant people aside lol). It adds an element of the unknown into people's thought pattern and perhaps that is why it is harder to overcome - after all, discrimination is usually based on fear and ignorance.

As such, I've decided to begin a new project with the help of several organizations from Ottawa. The project will put together a panel of gay/lesbian/bisexual youth - they will be selected to give as broad of a selection of people as possible (trying to avoid any of the usual stereotypes, but hey - stereotypes are sometimes true lol). The panel will then go to schools and do presentations on gay rights as well as speaking about themselves and their experiences as a rainbow youth. Hopefully we can start to remove some of the taboo-ness that surrounds this topic and help people feel more comfortable with homosexuality in general.

Can't think of too much else going on - tonight I'm going to spend working on redesigning the framework for the website, but feel free to drop me a line if you like.

Later all!

- Dep

Deep on the night side of the life, the world seems cold and dark. You wonder where the light is and what has the veil done to the truth, but never will answers be revealed. Where did the Shadow appear from, how can one afford to fall so far. Does this dark corner of your mind really exist... you try and try to deny that this is you, but the proof is mounting, the events become more defining. Sometimes the fine line between good and evil begins to blur and you wonder which side you're on. And every day you find yourself betraying one more part of yourself, redefining and changing, until you no longer recognize the person who accepts the daily reality. You just want out, want to rebuild, refocus, redefine... but its too late for that now. You're trapped in the swirling vortex of life. What means the word honor... valor... integrity... moral... the words have no meaning now in your head, only shifting lies you speak to the people around to, because they can't know... they can never know how low you've fallen in your life. All the goals, all the feelings... all your honor... tonight it dies, as you take your long walk on the night side of life.

AHAHAHAHAHAHA!

The wonderful job of doing tech support. Here is a song I found (a parody)

(To the tune of "I will Survive")

At first I was afraid I had lost my mind,
The phone would ring, I'd do my thing and get maligned
But then I spent so many months
Helping users dial out
Filled with doubt...
About my ability not to shout
At users who
Can hardly think
I showed them how to click on things
and even pulled them the brink
I shouldhave known they'd never learn
And realized they wouldn't see
If I'd known for just one second
They'd be back to bother me
So here I go
Put them on hold
Just take a nap now
I'm sure they'll wait until they're old
Weren't they the ones who
Tried to say I lost their files
They thought I'd help them
Now I'm rolling in the aisles!

Oh no not I!

(THANK YOU UserFriendly!)
http://ars.userfriendly.org/cartoons/?id=20001029

And my own version of a MasterCard commercial....


------
Bribes to security guard: $100
Copy of exam answers: $200
Pen with secret compartment: $599.99

100% on your final exam?... Priceless

There are some things money can't buy. For everything else, there's Mastercard
------

Ok, enough random goodness. Later

- Dep

Now before I get the screaming shouts of anarchist among other things... I'm not proposing anarchy. I see benefits in having things done at a federal level. I just want to make a point about democracy and why its not all its cracked up to be.

Democracy is built on a single foundation in my mind... the theory that people will generally do the right thing for all people. Now... those of you who know the majority of people are laughing right now. But its true - the whole idea of having elected representatives is that people will vote for what is right for all of Canada (in my case), that what the majority of people think is right for all of Canada is right and that it won't be a popularity contest. But thats exactly what its become. Its a game of who's popular and who's not, who's had the biggest scandal more recently. People aren't voting on what is right for everyone, they're completely self-centered in a way thats near sickening. And I know I'm preaching to the converted... I'm sure, if you're reading this, then you're probably a friend of mine and friends of mine don't think in this way. And when that happens, democracy turns into an instrument for the majority to repress the minority. Look at the States. Perfect example. Because the majority of people don't agree with homosexuality personally, they make it policy that homosexuality is wrong. Does that make homosexuality wrong? If you take one thing from Arthur Miller's 'An Enemy of the People', take that just because the majority believe something, doesn't make it true. Its an extremely common fallacy. And thats why democracy is as easily corrupted as the rest of the political systems.

I don't know if there is a solution. Maybe we're just stuck in a world that will never make sense to me.

My advice to all of you out there... be you a friend, a foe, or a random reader for whatever fucked up reason you want to read this, is this. People are going to believe differently than you. I'm not saying you have to be pro-choice, or pro-homosexuality or pro-whateverelse. I'm saying no matter what, you need to respect other people's rights to disagree with you. If your viewpoint says that other people can't disagree with you, then you're wrong. Catholics who believe all other religions are a sin are wrong. Conservatives who think homosexuals should be shot are wrong. Nobody is going to make you like homosexuals, but seriously - just let them live their life, you live your life and go annoy someone else for a bit.

My own personal problem with this has always been - doesn't this technically mean that I should let other people discriminate and leave them alone? The answer is no, I figure. Discrimination is discrimination is discrimination. Because you're black, doesn't mean you have the right to discriminate against whites (I know people like that). Because you're Catholic doesn't give you the right to discriminate (maybe in your religious ceremonies, but not in public schools, Catholic or not).

So you know what? Fuck the few religious groups that want to ban gay marriages. DEAL WITH IT! Don't perform gay marriages and go cry in the corner. Its that simple. And quit whining on about religious freedom. The laws on gay marriage don't say you HAVE TO perform them, just that you CAN. This is, in fact, giving religions MORE freedom - those that want to, can; those that don't, don't. Its that simple people.

Seriously... its time you people grew some brains. Stop ruining Parliment Hill for me! It looks nicer without priests 'sheparding' the students around.

Puns intended :P

Anyways, I'm out lol.

Laterz!

- Dep

Addition to earlier today:

One of the thoughts I had on the way home was that banning abortions is the wrong approach. Abortions exist for a reason - whatever the reason, people don't (or shouldn't) have them on a whim. Why don't you, instead of staging these massive protests and doing all your stupid nonsense, examine WHY people are having abortions and look at fixing that. Better birth control, more support for young mothers, better education, better day care support from the government, better adoption system... all of these are better solutions. Leave abortion alone, as a last final solution if there's no way they can or want to keep the child. This is what some of us call "doing something useful" instead of being an eyesore and a nuisance.

Man, I don't know whats with me recently. These people just get on my nerves and I wonder why there are so many stupid people. Maybe we are really doomed. Maybe I should just gather the smart people I can find and we can establish our own colony on some island somewhere.

As for your idea of government Eve, it would be better than the Conservatives, I'm sure. lol.

Coming up when I have more time.... why democracy doesn't work... some changes I think our government needs to make. Few other rants.

Anyways I'm gone.

- Rob

But before the news - Eve, you're right, there would be so many parents who would complain about their kids being turned into 'sex fiends'. But at least, they would be sex fiends without children lol. Fuck the parents, teach it to them anyways. Its stuff they need to know. We insist on lessons for driving to make sure they know how to drive, we give them all kinds of mandatory information about health in school, why not sexual health? Its one of those things - sure, maybe it would be better if your kid didn't have sex (I'm not saying it is lol) but if they are...

a) There is nothing, as a parent, you can do to stop them for sure
b) Better they be educated than have no clue what they're doing

On to the bad news. I was downtown yesterday and saw a large number of priests with kids walking around. Later I find out that its because there's an anti-abortion rally going on at Parliment Hill. Please - not this crap again. And thats not against the individuals who are pro-life. If you want to be pro-life, fine. Heck, I don't even know where I stand personally on the issue. But here's the facts...

1) There are health/safety justifications for abortions
2) There are other considerations - consider a 16 year old mother, who may have to drop out of school to take care of her child.
3) Some people don't have a moral problem with it. And it would be an extremely interesting debate on whether or not people should have a moral problem. I'm of the opinion that if your morals prevent it, then don't do it - on the other hand, if they don't, then that's your choice to be making. Not the decision of the government.

Thus, the path of the government should be clear. Giving people the choice to decide for themselves on a highly controversial issue is exactly the right path to take.

Now as for the government funding the abortions (since they are covered under health care I believe, at least they are in Quebec), I see no problem with that at all given the last statement. If there are going to be abortions, you want them done right and you want them to be available to the people who may not have any other options.

Besides, has anyone consider the alternatives? Back in the bad old days, when abortions were illegal, we had the underground abortion clinics that were bombed. We had 'doctors' performing abortions with a COAT HANGER! Anyone want to go back to that? Sure perhaps people's general knowledge now will avoid the coat hanger method... for awhile. But eventually they'll forget, and some people won't be smart enough, especially if you stop education too.

So, for the good of all people, let them have their safe abortions in a safe place, shut the fuck up and quit ruining my view of Parliment and my evening news.

(you're right Eve - the human race is doomed by people like this)

Anyways, the good news, I just aced an exam and the SENS WON! Let the comeback begin!

Alright, anyways I'm off. Later!

- Rob

(Random Title lol)

I'm here at school, an hour before my first exam (and the most difficult... which is good, since I get it out of the way :)). The only exam that has me more worried is the English exam on Monday, since there's the chance the prof will refuse to let me write it as I skipped the last month of classes in protest. But I have the knowledge to pass it if I write it, so fuck him. Tomorrow is an easy exam - Web Programming. I have no worries as I've already passed the class, so all of the exam marks are to boost my average :).

Later today, I'm heading downtown with Shannon (and perhaps Tina), see what there is to see there lol.

I'm interested in your guys opinions on something - mandatory sexual health education. This got into my head last night when we had a debate on whether or not the legal age of consent should be raised from 14 to 16 - I thought better sexual health and anti-sexual predator education would help kids stay safe. Which brought up the topic that sexual health education is fairly poor - its good in some schools, but in mine it was poor and other people have the same complaints. My idea was to make sexual health education mandatory in all public schools (Catholic or not), make it so that parents cannot insist that their kids leave class (because regardless of whether or not the parents think it should be taught in schools, the fact remains that they do not have complete control over what their kids do and its better that they are educated about the dangers, side effects (pregnancy) and how to protect themselves than not) and cover a much broader range of topics - heterosexual intercourse is important, but add anal intercourse, oral sex, proper condom use (the introduction to condoms in my school was WRONG... VERY VERY WRONG), homosexuality in general, even go into the fetishes and how to do them safely, what they are. The curriculum would need to specify roughly how much time is to be spent on each topic, minimum, so that teachers can't just say "Yeah, boys can fuck boys, NEXT TOPIC!". Finally, the curriculum would need to be set at a federal level, which poses problems considering that education is run by the provinces, but I'm sure there is a way around that. Any comments from you guys on this?

(I feel like ranting today - watch out)

Stephen Harper and the Budget

So, we're once again kicking the natives, going back on the promises to help protect the planet and kids are going to have to pay more to be educated. On the positive side, our textbooks will cost $80 less a year and Canada might actually have a military that isn't made fun of on Air Farce every night. Awesome. I am so proud of our government, they do a wonderful job and deserve all the praise in the world. That was sooo sarcasm if you didn't get it. And alright, they cut our taxes. Thats bad. You're going to say why and I'm going to give you the answer. No matter who you are, you benefit from the government's spending. If you're a student, the government pays part of your tuition (hence why its cheaper here in Canada). If you have medical problems, the government pays part of your health care costs. The government cutting money out of the budget (and they're taking it from the environment, education and cultural affairs) means the government does less for you. That's bad. And sure you're going to point to the 10billion dollar surplus. Alright, one - 10billion in proportion to the amount of money the government uses is small. Two - you've done a budget I suppose? I know when I build a budget, I build in a bit of padding around my estimates, just to make sure that if something goes wrong, the money is there. The surpluses could simply mean that the government hasn't been spending the money it put aside in case of emergency. And three - the government has a surplus... how is that bad? We have plenty of ways we could use a surplus - reduce the national debt, transfer it to the provinces, perhaps even refund it to Canadians. Who says that the government can't have a surplus? Finally, the tax cuts... yes the tax cuts. Corporations gets their taxes slashed. Businesses gets their taxes slashed. There is a raise in the amount you don't have to pay taxes on. And the middle two income brackets are raised, not to mention the cut in the GST. All of these are good (Asides from the fact they mean that the government will have less money to play with and thus can do less for us) - but what about the raise in the lowest income bracket by half a percent? What about people who don't pay much GST, considering that basic food and I believe shelter is not taxable. Think about this carefully, not just from your perspective, but from the perspective of society.

People who think fighting for gay rights is a thing of the past.

It isn't. Wake up and take a look south to that wonderful nation... the good old US of A. It doesn't affect you? That's a horrible attitude to have. When considering the rights of people, since when have borders mattered? And even here in Canada... we have a Conservative government (Which, frighteningly, could be a majority government now that they're bribing the public with their own money). That means the potential for reopening the debate on same sex marriage is there (I believe they're planning it for the Fall is what I heard), which would be a major step in the wrong direction for our country. And we still have massive amounts of homophobia, especially in schools. No, the fight for gay rights is far from over.

-----

Rants over, exam is coming up soon, but I just wanted to mention that I know some of you don't think society works and really have a "the world can fuck off" attitude. While I sympathize (I really do, and agree with you most days lol), if some people don't point out what's wrong with society, then society will never change.

Anyways, I'm done... for now.

Later!

- Dep

Sorry, its been hectic. Lets see, what important things have been going on...

Decided long distance relationships aren't a good idea for me after a lot of thinking about what it would really be like and not what I would want it to be like. That was my problem last time and I think its good I didn't slip into the trap of thinking overally idealistically this time around lol.

Installed MSN Plus the other day, its really cool - I can see when people close conversations with me, so I know if you're ignoring what I'm saying or actually not there. My contact list looks cool - I shortened everyone's display name to something basic and then color coded them by gender (I was bored lol). Its fucked up, I swear.

Last day of classes is tomorrow, which is exciting. My french oral is also tomorrow, which is... making me a bit nervous as I haven't prepared but hopefully I will do fine.

First exam on Thursday - I get this Wednesday off :) and I'm going to see if I can get out of my house again with some friends, maybe go downtown.

*runs through list of events* nothing really noticable thats worth posting here... June 23-25th roughly is when Ashley & co. are kidnapping me to see cirque du soleil here in town. June 1st is when I start work I hope - they haven't called me back but they said they're starting the paperwork lol. Trying to make plans for Canada Day, not sure if thats going on or not

Anyways I need to eat before I go to bed, its been a long day.

Later

- Dep