We’ve packed up and moved

Look for Stage Left at our new home – please update your bookmarks

Lack of Activity

So much to BLOG but my right hand is almost numb.

Had to take a couple of days off the keyboard – CTS in right wrist started acting up again, it’s the new computer desk I got a while back that is a shade higher than my old one which means my chair was a bit too low. The mouse is now moved to the left side of the keyboard and switched to a lefty style mouse (sort of fitting I believe) and I’ve acquired new (higher) chair so I should be ready to go again by tomorrow.

90031104

Riders Journal

I came across this interesting web journal while reading an article at SFGate.com this evening.

Don’t political phrases like “Care not Cash” just warm your heart all to pieces?

89986450

Why does Bush push to silence free speech?

(Toronto Star) — President’s obsession threatens stability around the world

A good article that asks some interesting questions.

89984761

Wolf Blitzer Reports

I will watch with interest how Blitzer deals with the discussion of anti-war protestors and treason. Have things gone so far that the right and current U.S. Administration may even consider that protesting government policy or action is treason?

89984213

US dirty tricks to win vote on Iraq war

(Guardian Unlimited) — Secret document details American plan to bug phones and emails of key Security Council members.

The United States is conducting a secret ‘dirty tricks’ campaign against UN Security Council delegations in New York as part of its battle to win votes in favour of war against Iraq.

Details of the aggressive surveillance operation, which involves interception of the home and office telephones and the emails of UN delegates in New York, are revealed in a document leaked to The Observer.

The text of the memo can be read here.

I keep asking exactly how far the current U.S. Administration is willing to go in alienating itself from the rest of the world, and every day they manage to go just a little bit further – at what point will they come to the conclusion that they have botched this whole thing and start the work of mending the bridges they have so quickly kicked down over the last couple of months.

89983179

Well, we know what Howard thinks now (But do we care?)

New BLOGger on the scene takes offence to one Canadian politicians comments.

(ORACULATIONS) — You Canadians are just sucker fish who swim along side the U.S. whale. Your sole utility is to feed off the barnacles growing on our skin. You mean nothing to us. You’re just there. Every Canadian politician can call us whatever they want and quite frankly it will have all the effect of a pop corn fart at a war.

You need us. We don’t need you. Sell your lumber to Panama, Haiti, or Cuba for rubles or something. Dump your canola oil to Angola. Sell your oil to the Saudis. One day we will pass a law banning your union busting labor practices in the movie business, and then there will be nobody but Hollywood Liberal Producers and movie stars to mourn for you.

Your country imorts Nazi War Ciminals, terrorists, and other scum, all of whom wish they could figure out a way to get into a decent country like the U.S.A. Now you support a genocidal thug in the Mid-East, killer of at least 150,000 of his own people, a user of WMD, and a channel for terrorist attacks on the U.S. You hope they do another 9/11 on us.
It’s the Republicans who are bastards. Me and Hill just want to keep on looking good

No comments feature on the site yet (or even an email link for that matter so I can’t even tell him I’ve linked to his site), hope he figues out how to do it soon – this sort of thing is way to good not to say something about. He needs to be reminded that the U.S. is quite heavily dependent on Canadian energy right now, is more than likely going to be very heavily dependent on our water one day soon, and needs the protection of our flag on a regular basis for vacation purposes.

89981179

Turkish Parliament rejects U.S. troop deal

(The Globe & Mail) — In a serious blow to U.S. war plans, the speaker of Turkey’s Parliament nullified a legislative vote Saturday that would have allowed deployment of 62,000 U.S. combat troops in Turkey to open a northern front against Iraq.

Obviously a major set back for U.S. Administration, I wonder how many days it will be until we hear about how the U.S. will chooses to punish this particular nation who wouldn’t bow to their wishes?

More Related news

(News24.com) Washington – The United States appeared stunned by the Turkish parliament’s refusal on Saturday to allow the deployment of US troops for a possible war with Iraq.

US officials, who had been prepared to hail the parliament’s approval of the deployment based on initial reports that the vote had succeeded, expressed consternation when told that it had in fact been defeated.

“They did what?” blurted one State Department official.

How is it that when the U.S. Administration sets sail on a course that they determine is in their best interests they get all worked up if another nation does the same?

89979872

Holocaust denier acceptable to the United States

This article via Little Green Footballs on the appointment of Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) as Palestinian Prime Minister.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 28 (UPI) — U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said Friday that senior Palestinian official Mahmud Abbas, also known as Abu Mazin, would be acceptable to the United States as a replacement for Yasser Arafat.

Frontpage Magazine.com however remembers Abbas as a holocaust denier.

Is this a case of the U.S. Administration thinking this sort of thing just doesn’t matter to the world at large? Or maybe more of their faulty (although much touted) intelligence work?

89977040

Public spat mars Arab summit

(BBC News) — A public slanging match between the Libyan and Saudi leaders dominated the Arab League summit on Iraq.

The de factor ruler of Saudi Arabia, Prince Abdullah Bin Abdel Aziz, stormed out of the meeting after Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi berated him for seeking US protection in the 1991 Gulf War.

A small taste of the regional problems that the U.S. led war on Iraq will create unless they have the backing of the United Nations. My thoughts are that this consideration is not exactly high on their list of things to worry about though, a fractured Middle East may provide them with more opportunities than a united one.