Archive for the ‘Politics’ Category
June 21st, 2010 | 
Author: During World War II, all sorts of austerity measures were enacted to maximize resources available to the war effort: all sorts of things (gasoline and meat to name two) were rationed to ensure the supply for the military. I remember rummaging in a cabinet at my Grandparents’ cottage and i found an old change-purse stuffed full of blue cardboard “coins”. I remember Dad telling me that they were meat ration tokens from teh War. His parents were very good about not wasting anything during that period and forever after.
To promote these programs, the propaganda was relentless: posters, newspaper advertisements, billboards, even celebrities in movies made mention of rationing or buying war bonds to help pay for the campaign:
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I’m sure many of you know Rachel Maddow. Some like her, some hate her. That’s what happens when you make a career of shining the harsh light of day on the miscreants that seek public office.
She was disappointed with Pres. Obama’s first White House address last night and made her own as she wished that he’d said it. Can you imagine the outrage if an actual politician, let alone the US President, had the unmitigated gall to speak the truth like this? Yow.
Tony Clement is Canada’s Minister of Industry. He also manages his own twitter account. I’ve been following him for a bit and it’s been quite entertaining of for no other reason than that the PM doesn’t normally allow his Ministers to actually speak to the public without a script and he’s quite obviously been doing so. For instance, I’m glad his daughter’s smartphone was finally activated satisfactorily.
Yesterday, word came out that the Feds have spent upwards of $2 million to “recreate” the experience of Muskoka cottage country at a Toronto convention centre. For the sole purpose of catering to the foreign press corps when they’re here to cover the G8 & G20 summits this month. Including a fake lake, dock and network connections. It sounded pretty ludicrous, so I figured I’d ask him about it:
- @TonyClement_MP Comments? RT @C_Vilela: @unambig Fake Muskoka is real stupid: http://bit.ly/cfNNxq #roft #cdnpoli #g8
Australian political satirists Clark and Dawe shine the harsh light of day on the European debt crisis. You’d better laugh. The only other option is utter hopelessness:
Enough with the end of the world crap! Please!
Philip asked me yesterday when I thought The Apocalypse was going to happen. He hasn’t caught me that off-guard in a long time.
It’s funny. I was going to go into a rant about being 12 and how you shouldn’t have to worry about that kind of thing, but then I remembered that I was Phil’s age in 1981. That’s about when I started paying real attention to the events of the world. Ronald Reagan came to power, vowing to increase military spending and confront the Soviets. I came of age living under the presumed flight path for much of the world’s nuclear weapons. That does something to a kid.
When Phil was born, among a multitude of other things (10 fingers! 10 toes!), I was immediately grateful that he wasn’t going to have to grow up watching a continual pissing match between the world’s two superpowers. Knowing that if they took the gloves off and go toe to toe, we’re gone as well.
Now, almost 13 years later, I find out that he’s thinking about a lot of the same things I did at that age.
If it’s a cheese sandwich and you’re a toddler attending nursery school in Pemberton (near Wigan, Lancashire), England, it had better have a slice of tomato or some lettuce in it. Otherwise, it will be confiscated it for being “unhealthy”.
No, I’m not being silly. The Times Online reports that staff at one nursery took away such a sandwich from a two-year-old pupil recently.
Wigan Council has since confirmed that the straight-up combination of cheese and bread contravenes its healthy eating guidelines — and fully supported the cheese-snatchers. “The centre has a list of recommended healthy food, according to national guidelines, which children are encouraged to eat,” said a spokesman. “A cheese sandwich would not feature on the list.”
What the heck is going on when something so benign as a plain cheese sandwich incurs the wrath of the food police? In a world where Coca-Cola sells 1.5 billion servings each and every day, they take away a kid’s sandwich because it doesn’t have any greenery on it?