R.I.P. Cam Walker - Winnipeg Jan. 28, 2011: A block and a half away he died

Tonight, our little boy's world is a much darker place.
Hurt beyond words, our little boy cried tonight as I told him the news.
Deeply distressed, gasping for air, his little blue eyes cried the kind of tears that no child should ever have to cry. Yet, this is Winnipeg, and lately, across this city, there have been far far too many children like our 10 year old who've been crying tears born of pain, fear, and loss.

The heartfelt tears our boy cried tonight were not for himself. No, his tears were for his friend - his very, very, very best friend. Oh God how he hurt for his friend - it broke my heart. He cried for his best friend because tonight, in South Winnipeg, there is now an 11 year old boy with a heart of gold who must live with the horrifying reality that his big brother was senselessly stabbed to death late Friday night. And this poor vulnerable 11 year old must also live with the horror that his brother, 16 year old Cam Walker, bled out but meters away from his Winnipeg doorstep.

Sixteen year old Cam was stabbed to death by Matt, a 28 year old adult, who was unable, and incapable of, ever grasping the fact that booze, drugs, folly, and rage do not mix. Who, sadly, was too stupid to realize that Winnipeg's seemingly endless grand-tradition of midnight murders via the mediocrity of banal emotions, lost hopes, and empty lives did long ago lose its luster.

Cam was a kid, who like so many others, had his issues - but he was not violent, and he was not mean... he was just a kid, just another Winnipeg kid who didn't deserve to die at sixteen.

So yet again another senseless Winnipeg death has come calling on yet another Winnipeg teen. It saddens me on many levels. It saddens me because tonight our little boy, all of 10 years old, is innocent no more. It saddens me because he now believes he sleeps in a much more frightening and much darker world. And it saddens me even more because, a block and a half from where I write tonight, there sleeps another little boy that I know oh so well, whose true and gifted golden heart has been irrevocably broken by yet another senseless Winnipeg murder. A murder that has taken his big brother away forever. May you rest in peace Cam Walker.

WELCOME to WINNIPEG! Errr... we have Taxis... (barely)

It was reported that the President of one of the two Winnipeg Taxi companies planning to pull ALL THEIR CABS OFF THE ROAD because of a dispute with the Taxi Board really and truly felt "sorry about the plight of the people of Winnipeg". However, he still told his drivers to "go home and relax" because his company was "willing to wait" to get what it wants from a Taxicab Board that, he says, "chose not to (compromise)." Hmmm, I don't know about you, but that didn't really sound all that sorry to me(?)

Can you imagine all the passengers arriving fatigued, cranky, and rushed at Winnipeg's Airport today hoping to hail cab only to be told ... sorry, you're shit out of luck. Fact is, 90% of all Winnipeg cabs were almost unavailable today. On the upside though, with our windchill right now only making it feel like -22 at least the 15 minute wait for the bus wouldn't have been life threatening when compared to last week's -40 windchill! Welcome to Winnipeg - an absurd wee corner of the world like no other!

A town almost without cabs, our new tourism slogan might have read: "Winnipeg - a visit you'll never forget, ... for all the wrong reasons!"

UPDATE: 8:00am - Just heard on CBC news that the Province has stepped in and done something (maybe blown somebody?) to get the Taxi companies to keep their cars on the road. That the situation should have deteriorated to the extent that the Province had to step in is ridiculous. The fact that our archaic Taxicab Board, and the equally archaic and usury Taxi oligopoly (i.e. Duffy's & Unicity) even still exist is a problem that should be dealt with - and dealt with soon. Neither the Board nor the cab companies deserve to continue on as they have. The Board should immediately flood the market with 200 more taxi licenses to break the oligopoly and then it should drop its heavy-handed stance on mandatory cab shields.

Global Warming?

Could not have said this better myself:

"The truth is that climate change is occurring and the planet's oceans and atmosphere is warming. We have ruled out temperature increases as a result of solar cycles, natural cycles, CO2 in the oceans, evil scientists, etc.. Fat people aren't causing it. Cow farts aren't causing it. Water vapor (i.e., clouds) isn't causing it. Volcanoes aren't causing it. The "hot air" from Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck and their fellow travelers isn't causing it.

What's left: increases in greenhouse gases caused by human activity such as carbon emissions from burning coal and oil for energy.

And that my friends is a bigger news story than any other story with which our planet's news media is obsessed at the moment."

Macleans.ca - Relevant? Or an aging faux opnion maker?

Relevance is, relatively speaking, a relative thing. But really, can this direct quote be accurate?

"Based on internet averages, macleans.ca is visited more frequently by users who are in the age range 55-64 and have no children."

A decade younger than the demographic noted above - and a parent of four crazed offspring - should I be reading macleans.ca?

What's next?

Soon somebody will be telling me that the only people who enjoy CBC Radio Two's "Tonic" with Tim Tamashiro are thin, level-headed, non-smoking, Bible-thumping, reflective, abstainers!

Shuffling a Bad Deck - Harpo promotes two Elderly Parrots

Say what you will about Primo Harpo and his new cabinet shuffle - one thing's for sure - you can't accuse the man of either ageism or anti-birdism!

At 67 and 68 respectively, Peter Kent and Julia Fantino are just what the PC doctor ordered: Parrots-par-excellence from the right area code who appeal to an older, crochety, malleable demographic that is essential to Harpo & Co.'s fortunes if they hope to secure a majority.

Between them, these two Yes-Men have probably had so many prostate exams that they will hardly notice when the dark hand of the PMO inserts itself into the appropriate orifice and makes them speak bullshit to the populous.

If a deck of cards is rotten, fixed, and skewed from the beginning no amount of shuffling will ever change it's marked colours. Nice try Harpo - "onward and downward" as usual.


[n.b. Clarification - I have nothing against the beautiful birds pictured above. But I do hold against aper's, mimic's, Yes-Men, and parroting arseholes!]

Balls to Power! Robert Reich speaks truth.

Don't ask why. Just read this article (in its entirety):

"Republicans are telling Americans a Big Lie, and Obama and the Democrats are letting them. The Big Lie is our economic problems are due to a government that’s too large, and therefore the solution is to shrink it.
The truth is our economic problems stem from the biggest concentration of income and wealth at the top since 1928, combined with stagnant incomes for most of the rest of us. The result: Americans no longer have the purchasing power to keep the economy going at full capacity. Since the debt bubble burst, most Americans have had to reduce their spending; they need to repay their debts, can’t borrow as before, and must save for retirement."

Now, think about Canada (always 12-24 months behind the American economic consumerist curve) and ask yourself: "Are Harpo and friggin' Flaherty the one's to see us through this crisis?"

If the answer is NO - then start demanding a better plan from Canada's weak-kneed opposition NOW! We need a plan... and we need it fast! Cause as sure as my name's not "Shirley" - Harpo & Co are about to drop the "Big Lie" on you and me too.

Good Morning My Dear Premier - Happy 2011!

So my Premier, OUR Premier, OUR DEAR Premier,

Were you up all night,
blasted out of your tree
throwing darts
at pics
of Wee-Hughie?

Or were you,
dream fighting
PC demons
in your personal hell;
fearing you couldn't
answer the bell?

Well I hope you slept
cause 2011 is here,
and you need be
in fighting shape
in this,
OUR election year

(ohhh, how exciting!)

Okay, DEAR Premier,
on this frigid morn'
take a look in the mirror
one that isn't forlorn.

A good look I say
this cold New Year's Day
time to take stock
of what you have to say

Hey MY Premier
don't turn away
you need to do this
to do it today!

See those eyes,
see that brow?
NOW
you tell me HOW ...

HOW on earth
are you gonna win
if ya don't get yourself
some better spin?

The time is nigh,
the time is here
Makeover! Makeover!
And greet the New Year!