Vancouver/Whistler 2010: Drunkest Olympics Ever

March 1, 2010 at 7:07 am · Filed under Sports

From Time Magainze

“The city of Vancouver, and the ski village of Whistler, are terrific hosts for these Olympic Games. In Vancouver, the air is clean, the public transit is scarily efficient, and the harbors, with the snow-capped mountains in the backdrop, are picturesque. Whistler, two hours to the north and home of the skiing, sliding, and Nordic events, is a winter wonderland,” writes Sean Gregory. “But let’s face it: if public intoxication was an Olympic sport, Vancouver and Whistler would own the podium.”

“Throughout the Olympics, drunken revelers have overrun the streets of Vancouver. Local hospitals are reporting spikes in emergency room visits for alcohol-related sicknesses and injuries; most of the intoxicated patients are males between the ages of 15 and 24. In Whistler, the partiers have turned what should be a cozy village into rows of frat houses in need of soundproofing,” he says.

All the yelling and screaming and woo-wooing gets grating. These are the fourth Olympics I’ve covered, and Vancouver drinks Athens, Torino and Beijing under the table. I asked a few Olympic journalists who have covered more Games than I have to rate Vancouver on the intoxication scale. Vahe Gregorian of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, who has covered eight Olympics, dating back to Atlanta in 1996, agreed with my chart-topping assessment. In reference to downtown Vancouver’s main strip of nightclubs, he said: “Granville Street itself is unlike anything I’ve seen at an Olympics.” And he noted that all the drinking in Vancouver has led to a lot of public urinating. “I’ve personally witnessed about 8-10 guys whizzing at once along a fence a half a block off the main street,” he said. “It’s like the infield at the Kentucky Derby.”

Way to go Canada!

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Ann Coulter Sounds Like An Ass

February 20, 2010 at 7:38 am · Filed under Politics

For those of you that know who Ann Coulter is, you may be disappointed to learn that she is giving talks at two Canadian Campuses this March. I have no idea why the University of Western Ontario and University of Calgary would allow this woman to book facilities on their campus. If you don’t know who Ann Coulter is, this will give you a taste of what she has to say.
“Al Gore is a “total fag” and another one-time presidential candidate, John Edwards, is the same. Democrats are “gutless traitors” and their convention a “Spawn of Satan” gathering. Muslims are “ragheads” and America should “kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity.” Jews are people who need to be “perfected.” The New York Times building and its editorial staff should be bombed. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens should have “rat poisoning” mixed into his food. Princess Diana “ostentatiously [had] sex in front of [her] children.” The Rev. Al Sharpton is “a fat, race-baiting black man.” President Bill Clinton was “a very good rapist,” and North Korea should be “nuked.”

Or check out this for more fine nuggets of wisdom from Coulter.

If I had graduated from either of those universities, you could be assured that I would stop donating money to my alumni. No matter which side of the political spectrum you stand, why would you want to listen to the crap that spews from Coulter’s mouth?

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Cronyism Scandal Rocks Vancouver

February 5, 2010 at 1:30 pm · Filed under Politics

The biggest single issue that got the Conservatives elected back in 2006 was the Sponsorship Scandal. Riding the wave of accountability and promises of a Federal Accountability Act, Stephen Harper became the first non-Liberal Prime Minister of Canada in the 21st Century.

While the Conservatives managed to enact most of its accountability act, there has been one glaring omission. They have failed to institute a Public Appointments Commission. The purpose of such a commission was to provide a screening mechanism whereby unsuitable candidates would not be able to be appointed to various public positions.  This would include appointments such as judges, parole boards, and law enforcement positions. 1500 appointments have made since Harper was elected in 2006. These were all appointments made “the old way.”

The importance of this is that minority governments, such as the current federal government in Canada, can’t pass all of their legislation. How can they get around this? By appointing people into positions according to their ideology. A prime example of this is how the refugee board has to deal with discrimination. By appointing the “right” ideological people to the refugee board, the Conservatives are able to further their own agenda without passing any specific legislation. This is where things get interesting in Vancouver. I’ve recently been made aware of a suspicious appointment of a tribunal judge to the refugee board. I can’t name any names, but I can tell you that it’s Barry Dhillon. Sources close to me have revealed their doubts about Barry being chosen. As one person said, “he takes too many coffee breaks.” Another insider told me that, “Barry listens to CBC radio all day, and you’d think that would be an indication of a more centralist/left leaning political view. In fact, what Barry has been doing is winning shwag from various talk shows as a covert and insidious way of trying to bankrupt the CBC.”

While no one is saying that Stephen Harper or Barry Dhillon have done anything illegal (yet), there is little doubt that these two are in cahoots. Next week I plan to interview Mr. Dhillon at his parents’ home (he still lives with his parents) to get his supposed “side” of the story.

All joking aside, congrats to B-dawg for his promotion (I assume it’s a promotion)!

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My Bookshelves

January 12, 2010 at 9:38 pm · Filed under Just Stuff

Ever since I was a kid I’ve kept my books. From Lord of the Rings to James Bond, to Chomsky, Rushdie and Kundera I still have them all. Actually, my James Bond books were lost but that wasn’t on purpose. Even as recently as this winter, when I find a book that I think I will be interested in reading I will buy it instead of taking it out from the library. I guess I have some kind of romantic idea about books which goes back to seeing foreign flicks like Blue, where some dude would have a small apartment packed with books from floor to ceiling. I thought it was the coolest thing to have that many books. However, the reality of it is that I almost have never read the same book twice. I still like looking through my shelves and seeing what I have. Sometimes I get to lend a good book out to a friend. Lately I’ve been wondering if it’s all worth the effort. Books take up a lot of space in the house, and there’s no purpose in storing them in boxes somewhere. Box storage is the kiss of death. Moving forward, I’m resistant to purchasing new books because of the cost involved. As well, there is the whole notion of eBooks which are a lot less expensive and really don’t take up any space at all.

For the time being I plan on keeping my books. I think there is some intrinsic value in owning them, and maybe one day my kids will want to read them. Whether or not I continue to purchase books (instead of using the library) or purchase ebooks, remains to be seen.

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