Conservative Hyprocrisy

Republican Senator Larry Craig is resigning from the Senate tomorrow after having been busted for having sex with a man in a stall at a Minnesota airport.

The Senator apologizes to Idahoans and his wife, but I don't think the good people of Idaho will forget his hypocrisy. This was his position on gay marriage:

"I intend to vote in favor of HJR 2, consistent with the longstanding position I have taken in the U.S. Senate that the appropriate definition of marriage is a union between one man and one woman. The misquoted statement only reflects my belief that each State should be allowed to make its own decision on the definition of marriage, instead of being forced to accept another State's definition."

Moral Majority my eye!

So far, caucus messaging couldn't be better

I wonder if the Liberal Party will get a boost from this?

The Deputy Liberal leader compared the party to a bird that hides its excrement. This has got to be part of an elaborate plan to lull the Tories into a false sense of security.

"They put their excrement in one place. They hide their excrement. ... They flap their wings very hard and they work like hell. This seems to me a symbol for what our party should be.'' - Michael Ignatieff.

Pumpernickel Recipe Number 19 - Pumpernickel bread with warm Artichoke dip

Warm Artichoke Dip with Pumpernickel Bread

1 can (400ml) artichoke hearts - drained and coarsely chopped
1 cup sour cream
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup crumbled Feta cheese
1/4 cup grated Asiago (or parmesan) cheese
Pumpernickel bread slices - cut into triangles

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix artichoke hearts, sour cream, mayonnaise, Feta and Asiago in a small baking dish. Bake until heated through, about 20 minutes. Set dish in center of a platter. Arrange bread around dip and serve.

Serves 6-8 as a snack

Human Cannonball injured in Toronto

Why is it surprising to anyone that someone whose "career" is, by definition, getting shot out of a cannon, was injured on the job? somehow this passes for news because...?

Wonders of wonders

Earlier this year the CBC did an online poll seeking out the wonders of Canada.

Not to be outdone, a committee for the "Seven Wonders of Ukraine," contest, which was set up and headed by Verkhovna Rada deputy speaker Mykola Tomenko nine months ago, announced yesterday a list of the seven most attractive places and objects for sightseeing in Ukraine.

The list was compiled based on an Internet poll that involved 75,000 Ukrainians and a "poll among experts."

The list is as follows:
1)the Kamyanets Fortress in Kamyanets-Podilskyy (Khmelnytskyy Oblast);
2)the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra in Kyiv;
3)St. Sofia Cathedral in Kyiv;
4)the Sofiyivka Park in Uman (Cherkasy Oblast);
5)the Khersones Tavriyskyy archeological site in Sevastopol (Crimea);
6)the Khotyn Fortress in Khotyn (Chernivtsi Oblast); and
7)Khortytsya -- an former Cossack base on the Khortytsya Island on the Dnipro River (Zaporizhzhya Oblast).

The Iraq Quagmire

Well, Michael Ignatieff re-canted his support for the Iraqi invasion, and now this video of Dick Cheney describing the quagmire of invading Iraq....

Strange coincidence

US property tycoon Leona Helmsley, who was famously quoted as saying "only the little people pay taxes", and was later jailed for tax evasion, has died at 87.

In a completely unrelated story, former Mulroney era Cabinet minister of Public Works who was forced to leave Cabinet in 1987 when he was charged with accepting a bribe and influence peddling also passed away.

Lifestyles of the Rich and infamous...

Spencer Tunick's career needed a boost

Nearly 600 men and women volunteers have stripped naked to pose for US photographer Spencer Tunick on the slope of a melting Swiss glacier.
The photo shoot on the Aletsch glacier was commissioned by environmental group Greenpeace as part of a campaign to raise awareness about global warming.

The thugs are wearing suits

Viktor Yanukovich and his merry band of henchmen are at it again. This time using dirty tricks to try to steal the Ukrainian Parliamentary elections.

UPDATE: August 15, 2007 - The Kyiv District Administrative Court ordered the Central Election Commission to reconsider no later than today the registration of the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc's (BYuT) list of candidates for early parliamentary elections on September 30, Ukrainian media reported. The BYuT last week was barred from running on the grounds that its candidates had provided incomplete home addresses, provoking a formal complaint. "I believe this will put an end to all provocative actions against our bloc. It is now clear that the election commission was simply wrong," Yulia Tymoshenko said after the court decision.

Murmansk's gorgeous garages

In a beautiful photo essay, the BBC shows that the way to a man's heart is through a heated garage, vodka and some bottles of dill pickles.

An improvement in the quality of public discourse

There are certain people that you know who are bright, hard working and full of integrity. My friend, Prairie Fire, aka Ryan Androsoff is one of those people. I have known Ryan for about four years now and what continues to amaze me is the intellect, commitment to public policy and the determination that this guy has to make things better. He has a work ethic that is second to none and when faced with a difficult task, he just rolls up his sleeves and gets things done.

Therefore, it was a pleasure to read of Ryan's decision to enter public life by seeking the nomination to be the Saskatchewan Liberal Party's candidate in Saskatoon Northwest. I think that Ryan is an inspiration to young people across Canada as he has taken up the challenge of public life and now wants to bring a progressive voice for a new generation to the Saskatchewan legislature.

Good luck Ryan - we know you can do it!

From out of left field

There is speculation in the Ottawa Citizen that Defense Minister Gordon O'Connor's days are numbered. Where could that have come from? Certainly not here, here, here, here or here.

In an unrelated story futures contracts on the Black Knight action figure plumetted.

When will Mulroney explain why he took the bags of cash?

Lawrence Martin says what most of the media have been thinking, but are too yellow to write about "Lyin Brian".

PM Steve bans the media

In his best Vladimir Putin impersonation, PM Steve today had the Mounties deny access to the Hotel where the Tory Caucus was being held. While I wouldn't be surprised if the Cons gag journalists and hold 'em hostage, the media should ask whether they support the Charter of Rights and Freedoms:

Section 2 (b) comes to mind...

2. Everyone has the following fundamental freedoms:
(a) freedom of conscience and religion;
(b) freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication;
(c) freedom of peaceful assembly; and
(d) freedom of association.

Putin Youth: Fornicate for the motherland

Here is a strange story that I came across in the Daily Mail. Kinda creepy.