Moldy Peaches

According to the Cheney's, Laura Bush should take a crack at the White House in 2008. Appearing on Larry King Live, Lynne Cheney indicated that all the speculation about Hillary Clinton running in 2008 is moot since Laura Bush would clean her clock. Cheney went onto to say if we want a Bush dynasty, let's get Laura to run.

Now, here is the rub. George W. Bush (not a big fan), regardless of what you think of him, had some political experience. He was the Governor of Texas - which has a GDP larger than many countries. Hillary Clinton, regardless of what you think of her, is a New York Senator and a member of Senate Armed Services Committee.

Laura Bush may have babysat George a few times, but she is by no means ready to lead the world's largest country. And frankly, Americans would be wise to avoid a Bush dynasty at all costs since the current administration isn't exactly setting the world on fire. On second thought, scratch that, they are.

The overreaction of the day is in. An Edmonton-area elementary school is looking at temporarily banning the sale of milk because of the allergies of two students.



The Superintendent of the Catholic board, said the students have potentially fatal dairy allergies and the board recommended stopping the milk program to protect them. The other 400 or so students would still be allowed to bring milk to school, but wouldn't be able to buy it. The school will continue to sell soft drinks and potato chips.

Great let the kids binge on chips, pop and other crap, but prevent them from getting their calcuim. Idiots!

On Monday, the federal government appointed former Supreme Court justice Frank Iacobucci to explore how lump-sum compensation should be paid to former students who were forced to attend the schools throughout much of the 20th century. Now, Regina lawyer Tony Merchant is speaking out against the federal government's decision to pay based on how many years people attended the schools won't help those who suffered the most abuse, because many of them ran away before graduating.

It should be noted that Merchant's firm has handled thousands of Indian residential school lawsuits (sounds like self interest to me) and routinely criticizes Ottawa's moves to resolve the outstanding claims. Ironically, Tony is also a big Liberal in Regina.

This case is a black eye for Canadian society. The sooner the federal government addresses it, the sooner society can begin to heal.

San Diego Padres 2 Milwaukee Brewers 1.

A fantastic ball game at PETCO Park. The Padres are in first in the NL West and may play in the nicest ballpark in the league.

Apparently Gurmant Grewal has another tape from when he was involved in some political shady dealings. Amazingly, he was involved in another event where he felt it necessary to bring along some recording devices.

This guy is some piece of work. The more one reads about the story of the "alleged" bribe by the Liberals on him, the more it appears he instigated it and will have to answer for it. You can only hope that his constiuents punish him accordingly. Canada doesn't need morons like this as MPs.

The National Football League is the new lone solider among the big 4 sports.
The other sports are in turmoil. The National Hockey League ($2 Billion industry) is set to self-destruct. The National Basketball Association is dull, crowds are dwindling and there is a huge marketing problem with today's stars (Ego’s, drugs and more Ego’s). Major League Baseball takes one step forward for every three steps back. Baseball has a see no evil policy on steroids, crowds are sparse and there too many teams that don't start the season with a realistic chance to win it all (no real revenue sharing or salary drag {cap}).

The fact that people are turning away from these sports means that their money and interest is going somewhere else. There may not be a perfect correlation, but NASCAR has seen its popularity skyrocket while the other sports have experienced significant declines. In fact, one could now argue that the big 4 should be changed to the big 2 - The NFL and NASCAR.



NASCAR is red hot in the United States (and Canada). They now sanction more than 1,500 races in 38 states, Canada and Mexico. This is no longer a sport for the redneck. NASCAR has broadened its appeal and now has a fairly affluent fan base. According to a recent study, the average household income for a NASCAR fan was $60,200 (US).

The average income for fans is not the only thing on the rise for NASCAR. The following statistics provide a more complete story of how rapid the growth has been for this perceived "trailer park" sport:

- In 1995, sales of merchandise sat at $600 M per annum now sales are over the $2 B mark per annum.

- Over 5.4 M viewers tune in for each event up for 3 M in 1995.

- The 2.1 B in licensed merchandise is 3rd highest amongst all sports behind only the NFL and MLB. It is, however, over $1 B more than both the NBA and NHL.

This spike in popularity could now have come at a better time for the sport as it is set to award the NASCAR Hall of Fame to an American city. The Hall will be awarded to one of 5 finalists - Atlanta, Charlotte, Daytona Beach, Kansas or Richmond. The early money is on Atlanta.

Atlanta is estimating that over 1 M people per year will pass through the doors of the Hall. If so, that would be 3 times the amount of any other pro Hall. Currently, The Hockey Hall of Fame has the most visitors per year at 325,000.

The city of Seattle has issued their first ever heat advisory. Break out the G and T's.

The Michael Jackson child molestation trial hurtled toward a close Friday as prosecutors showed jurors a video of the accuser being interviewed by police and defence lawyers decided not to put on a rebuttal case. The trial also witnessed other footage from the Neverland ranch.

Tomorrow is referendum day in France and all signs point to a rejection of the new European Union constitution. The majority of the polls indicate that the French are set to shake the continent by rejecting the landmark charter. On Friday, Germany lent its support to the "Yes" campaign by becoming the ninth of the 25 EU nations to ratify the constitution.



Proponents say the constitution will streamline EU operations in the bloc following its enlargement to 25 member states last year and give it a president and foreign minister. But critics say the treaty enshrines economic policies that have failed to stem the flow of jobs to low-wage economies, including countries outside the European Union such as China. They want the constitution to be renegotiated to take more account of social concerns.

The latest opinion survey for Le Figaro newspaper and Europe 1 radio indicated that 55 percent would vote "no" to the treaty, with 45 percent saying "yes."

It is entirely possible that the Netherlands, which holds its own referendum on the constitution on Wednesday, could join France in the rejection circle. Polls there suggest the "no" camp is leading by 60-40 percent.

On Thursday, French President Jacques Chirac made a solemn, last-ditch effort on television to convince the French to vote "yes." If "no" wins, Chirac would suffer the humiliation of becoming only the second leader, after Gen. Charles de Gaulle, to lose a referendum since the founding of the French Fifth Republic in 1958.

The president has said he would not resign if the French vote "no." But he hinted that he might respond to calls to sack his unpopular Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin and make policy changes. "During this debate, Europe has not been the only issue. Concerns and expectations have been expressed. Apparently Raffarin is no Dick Cheney.

This appears to be yet another bump in the road in the European Union expansion long and drawn out expansion plans.

Concerned your wife is cheating? Worried about a promiscuous teen? Forgot-me-not-panties maybe the silver bullet that you were looking for. Panties with GPS!



These panties will monitor the location of your daughter, wife or girlfriend 24 hours a day, and can even monitor their heart rate and body temperature.
Based on pioneering research developed by the U.S. military at DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency), we have brought this revolutionary technology, previously only available to the military, to you!

These "panties" can trace the exact location of your woman and send the information, via satellite, to your cell phone, PDA, and PC simultaneously! Use our patented mapping system, pantyMap®, to find the exact location of your loved one 24 hours a day. The technology is embedded into a piece of fabric so seamlessly she will never know it's there!

The best testimonial comes a nervous father named David:

When my daughter hit puberty I nearly had a heart attack. She started looking like a woman and suddenly she was wearing revealing clothing and staying out late with her friends. Rather than become an over-protective parent , I decided to try forget-me-not panties™.

They work wonderfully. My wife and I bought our Sarah several pairs so we can watch her around the clock, and if we see her temperature rising too high, we intervene by calling her cellphone or just picking her up wherever she is. My only comment is it would be great to have a video camera, maybe you can work that into V.2.


Order Here!!












This is a hoax!!!

A majority of Americans say they are likely to vote for Hillary Rodham Clinton if she runs for president in 2008, according to a new USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll taken last week. Clinton has been leading the field of Democratic presidential contenders (mainly pretenders - a real collection of disco daddy and the has beens) for the 2008 election, still more than three years away. Currently, she is running for a second Senate term next year and has refused to answer questions about whether she'll make a White House bid.


Not all is good news however. The survey still shows that, although the senator broadened her support nationwide over the past two years, she still provokes powerful feelings from those who oppose her.

The key findings are as follows:


•A big gender gap. Six of 10 women but 45% of men were likely to support her.


•Significant differences by age. Two of three voters under 30 were likely to support her, compared with fewer than half of those 50 and older.


•Strongest support from those with the lowest income. Sixty-three percent of those with annual household incomes of $20,000 or less were likely to support her, compared with 49% of those with incomes of $75,000 or higher.


•And big swings by ideology. An overwhelming 80% of liberals were likely to support her, compared with 58% of moderates and 33% of conservatives.

Americans are rationale people. When they are asked if they are better off today than they were under the Clinton years, the majority would have to say NO. Polish that sax Bill.

There are not too many times when free advice should be considered since it is usually worth its price tag, however, this may be the exception. Don Martin had a great article in the Calgary Herald where he offers Stephen Harper and the Conservative Party of Canada a twelve-step process to go forward. The Conservative's would be wise to heed Martin's advice for the good of the country.

The advice is offered to attempt to pull Harper's failing leadership out of its downward spiral and prepare him for another grueling fall session. Providing Harper with an extreme makeover, however, may not be enough to get it done. He would, however, be wise to read learn more about charisma.

According to a new Leger Marketing Poll, the Conservative party platform is what is holding the party back and NOT any individual. The Conservatives have not shown they can be a credible alternative to the Liberals. Despite a full year of minority [Liberal] government, despite the sponsorship scandal, despite the fiery debate over the budget, the Conservatives have not made any inroads across Canada. In fact, they have lost some ground. And the problem isn't Stephen Harper.

This is not good news for Canadians. The country need political alternatives to the Liberals and doesn't benefit from a collection of regional parties. The Conservative's would be wise to look to their American ideological cousins - the Republican's - and start building a base. It is not enough to tell voters that you are not corrupt. It also isn't enough to threaten western seperation (and pout) then blame Ontario when the electorate doesn't share your anger.

It is clear that the current party platform is not in touch with the average Canadian. The Conservative movement needs to continue to take the small steps necessary to move the country's public opinion. This is a slow process and usually requires a great deal of resources (more than just financial). It requires the following:

- Create of think tanks. These policy-generating outfits would maintain and expand the intellectual foundations of fiscal, social, cultural, democratic and constitutional conservatism;
- Establish Conservative communication vehicles (Blogging Tories), from publishing houses and periodicals (Western Standard) to newspapers (National Post), TV programs and websites;
- Build private foundations and other organizations that can influence the electorate. These organizations sole purpose would be to raise political capital and invest it in the development of conservative ideology and support structures.

Preston Manning, Ezra Levant (launching the Western Standard) and others recognize this and have taken some of the necessary steps to ensure that this begins. More needs to be done so voters have a real alternative or at least they perceive it to be real.

What ever happened to Garth or Chris?

There has been a great deal of flap over the new, too hot for television commercial for Carl's Jr. If you haven't seen or heard it, the ad stars Paris Hilton and she is wearing next to nothing and muttering the words "That's hot." The ad will not air in entire US, but the chain is getting more mileage out of not airing it then they would if it did hit television, brilliant.



The 30-second spot debuted nationally on the "Entertainment Tonight," and then went into regular rotation in Western states where Carl's Jr. does business. In late June, the ad will be shown across the midwest to tout a similar sandwich at the company's Hardee's restaurants.

"We're working on trying to make Paris Hilton famous," joked Andrew Puzder, president and chief executive of CKE Restaurants Inc., which owns the two fast food chains. The company is known for its racy television ads, one of which featured a woman eating a burger while riding a mechanical bull. Another starred Playboy magazine founder Hugh Hefner and several playmates. That ad was condemned by televangelist the Rev. Robert Schuller.

The two chains also tout huge, dripping burgers at a time when other fast-food restaurants are offering more healthy alternatives. Puzder said his company's ad agency suggested using Hilton. "She's very appealing to our demographic," which he described as young, hungry guys. "And it turns out she really loved the burger we wanted her to promote," Puzder said. "We did see her eat a couple of them at the shoot."

There is no truth to the rumour that Jack in the Box has hired Gary Coleman to wash cars in his underwear and plug their burgers. Although, he will wash cars since he hates bus drivers.

Canada's smallest province has managed to right a HUGE wrong. The Government of Prince Island has reversed a Tuesday decision to switch the provincial suicide hotline from a 24 hour service to a 9 to 5 operation.

The bad publication relations that were garnered from this short-term decision or FLIP-FLOP will relax in time, but the flap definitely was unnecessary. The Government of PEI was paying a New Brunswick company $30,000 to monitor the line and decided that it couldn't afford the cost.

The irony of the original decision is almost too much. The very time that people most need support - after hours, in the middle of the night - would have been the times when people would have been rerouted to 911 or asked to call back during business hours. However, during the day, there are more supports and lots of other activity.

A $30,000 annual expenditure is embarrassing, even in PEI. The province is running a budget of close to $1.0 B. Good to see the government was quick to admit their mistake since it is clear that a crisis can happen

Political fiction or reality? There are a couple of political computer games that let players select fictional candidates and try to win American elections (Political Machine - currently in rotation on this computer - two geek birds killed with a single stone), however, one of the perceived fictional scenarios may actually play out.

According to CNN, Edward Cox, son-in-law of a former president Richard Nixon, is taking the first formal step to challenge a former first lady, Hillary Clinton, for her U.S. Senate seat. Cox, 58, a Republican lawyer who has never run for office, will file papers with the Federal Election Commission in Washington creating an exploratory committee, Friends of Ed Cox Inc., for the 2006 U.S. Senate race in New York.

Cox married Tricia Nixon, whom he met at a high school dance, in a 1971 White House wedding and traveled extensively around the world with President Nixon during and after his presidency.

His only government experience was serving in the Reagan administration from 1981 to 1983 as general counsel to Synfuels Corp., an alternative energy effort. Cox, a lifelong New Yorker, is a trustee of the state university system, a member of the state commission on judicial nominations, and a director of the Foreign Policy Association. He is also chairman of the State Council of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation and of the New York League of Conservation Voters Education Fund.

Her qualifications speak for themselves.

One of Canada's greatest journalists / authors wrote a fantastic piece in the Post on Saturday. Peter C. Newman is calling on all Order of Canada recipients to start a campaign to force the Order to remove Mr. Ahenakew, like they removed Alan Eagleson in 1998. This is long overdue.

Newman, ironically, got his OCC at the same ceremony that Ahenakew got his at. Barbara Kay and Newman are suggesting that those who have the OCC pin don't worry until Ahenakew is removed and that emails be sent to his account - petercnewman@yahoo.com - he didn’t encourage non-recipients, but it was worth a mention.

The man whose mad the phrase, "They're Grrrrreeeat," famous and gave life to advertising icon 'Tony the Tiger' died at the age of 91 on Sunday. The Frosted Flake pitch man, first heard in 1952, was Nebraska native Thurl Arthur Ravenscroft's most well-known character.



Long live the next ceral icon.

probably getting some coke and hookers.

Sometime early this afternoon, E! Online (infotainment or trash) tried to get the jump on all the other "entertainment news" outlets and reported that Jessica Simpson had filed for divorce. E! Online was forced to retract the statement less than 30 minutes later.



STATEMENT

E! deeply regrets that a draft report from E! Online, which contained some false information regarding the Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson marriage, was accidentally disseminated. The couple has not filed for divorce. E! apologizes to Nick, Jessica, their families and their fans for any distress this may have caused.

Not to be outdone US weekly reveled in their competitor’s misery. EXCLUSIVE BREAKING NEWS: JESSICA SIMPSON DENIES DIVORCE RUMORS Jessica Simpson exclusively tells Us Weekly that a news report claiming she had filed for divorce from husband Nick Lachey on May 24 is untrue. An E! online report that leaked onto the Web Tuesday afternoon had sent celebrity watchers worldwide abuzz with talk of the reality TV couple's apparent split.

'It is completely false and we would sue them if they hadn't taken it down,' a defiant Simpson tells Us. An E! spokesperson couldn't be reached for comment. Simpson's message to those spreading false rumors? She tells Us: 'Karma, baby!' Read the latest on Simpson's marriage -- and her bikini body secrets (thankful for US readers this mystery will be revealed) -- in the next issue of Us.

Where there is smoke there is fire and a boy can dream.

Two Star Wars fans in the United Kingdom suffered horrific burns in a mock battle with home-made lightsabers filled with gas. The two men made the weapons with fluorescent light tubes. They then filled them with fuel and washing-up liquid to act out a Jedi Knight fight scene from new movie Revenge Of The Sith. Next, they lit the liquid to illuminate the makeshift toys. But it exploded — covering them both in the burning mixture.



It gets better, Police were studying a video camera found at the scene. It was thought that a third person was taping the “duel” — who fled in terror when the disaster happened. Authorities would not confirm or deny if the third person was dressed as Yoda.

This is the sign in front of a Baptist church (Danieltown Baptist Church, located at 2361 U.S. 221 south) in North Carolina on one of the most traveled highways in the county. The sign, is well, causing a fair amount of controversy over religious tolerance and first-amendment rights.

The sign in front of reads The Koran needs to be flushed, and Rev. Creighton Lovelace, pastor of the church, is not apologizing for the display.
"I believe that it is a statement supporting the word of God and that the Bible is above all and that any other religious book that does not teach Christ as savior and lord as the 66 books of the Bible teaches it, is wrong," said Lovelace. "I knew that whenever we decided to put that sign up that there would be people who wouldn't agree with it, and there would be some that would, and so we just have to stand up for what's right."

So much for reaching out to other religions and trying to build an inclusive society. It is nice to see that some Americans still haven't figured out that type behaviour is just reinforcing uneasy feelings amongst many Muslims, especially those who have fled Middle Eastern countries for the promise of freedom, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

It is refreshing to see that American politicians are hard at work solving some of the biggest domestic and foreign problems facing the nation. On Tuesday, new legislation was proposed that would put the sports' steroid policies under the White House drug czar. Athletes in the four major North American professional leagues would be subject to two-year bans for a first positive drug test the new rules.



Senator John McCain (who is a respected and hard-working bi-partisan politician) joined House Government Reform Committee chairman Tom Davis and ranking Democrat Henry Waxman of California in introducing the Clean Sports Act of 2005. It's the second recent bill that would establish minimum, standardized steroids policies across the spectrum of North American sports. At a time when the US is facing massive trade deficits, potential unfunded social security has no comprehensive health care and ignore all World trade and court decisions, it only seems fair for legislatures to meddle in professional sport problems.

It brings the current Canadian situation into a little more context. At least our politicians are spending their time on Canadian social and economic priorities, however, unplanned and haphazard.

Fred Durst should retire. Finally, music fans are clueing into what millions have no known for awhile, this man has no talent. Durst is a desperate hack who wants to be important. In the last year, he has released his own porn movie onto the net with no fanfare, claimed to have bedded Britney (even she would turn him down) and auditioned many guitarists for Limp Bizkit.



Now, his trainwreck of a career may be over. In its first week, The Unquestionable Truth - Part 1(the label is likely to ensure that it is the first and fans, or lack there of, will ensure it is the last) sold 37,000 copies. What is even more insulting is that the album is actually a collection of seven songs with a full-length album's price tag.

$10 M is the pricetag to see Teri Hatcher on the pages of the world's most famous magazine.



Hugh - they are real and they are fantastic.

The April 18th issue of Sports Illustrated recently highlighted polling data on homosexuals and sports. The poll was done for NBC/USA Network and was conducted by Penn, Schoen & Berland. The USA Network's movie "Ring of Fire," about a world- class athlete, endured tremendous personal torment and public humiliation over what should have been the most private of subjects -- his sexuality - prompted this poll.

Here are some of the high-level findings:



FYI - The entire polling results can be viewed here

A couple of the more interesting findings center on the perception that gay athletes and coaches, as roles models may influence a child’s sexual preference.

- More than one third of Americans say it is "not appropriate" for gays to work with children in roles such as Little League coaches, referees and umpires.

- One in five Americans believe that positive portrayals of gay athletes in the media may encourage children to become gay.

Finally, these polling results are to be interrupted with extra caution since there has never been an "out" active player in any of the four major North American team sports, and this attests to the fears and uncertainty faced by gay athletes. So at best, these results are based on the hypothetical and opinions would surely change if there were an actual case. However, sadly, it is unclear if the opinions would improve.

CBC is running a great quiz on their site. It tests your knowledge of obscure Canadian hits. Give it a go!

Montreal authorities have arrested a man dressed as comic-book hero Robin ( a frequent tactic with this group) in the superstructure of the Jacques Cartier Bridge. He climbed the structure early Monday morning and unfurled a banner demanding parental equality.

The man said he is a member of Fathers 4 Justice (F4J), which aims to "expose the injustice that the family law industry has become in this country with a series of high-profile stunts and actions."



The group's website says the family courts are biased against fathers and systematically remove the rights of one parent – usually fathers – to be involved in their children's lives after a divorce. The funny thing about the website is when you click on the evidence button - it displays an under construction label. I don't want to judge these guys, but come on shouldn't the evidence of your claims be at your fingertips?

Hypocricy is derived from the Greek word hypokrisis, which meant playing a part on the stage, or putting on a mask to misrepresent reality. In the ancient Greek theater, actors were known as hypocrites, without any negative connotation. In the real world however, being a hypocrite, pretending to be something while actually being something else, was and is definitely viewed as wrong. In matters of religion, it's downright evil.



Craig Chandler, Director of Concerned Christians Canada Inc, is just one many outspoken critics of Belinda Stronach's defection this week.

Chandler, appearing on The Hour, had scathing remarks for Belinda. He managed to call her some less than flattering names and that got me thinking. Why is that the very people who claim to be preaching the word of the Lord and are holier than thou, feel the need to lambaste women as "whores" and "prostitutes" (when the don't agree with them). Or, why do they feel the need to cast judgment on others? - E.g. Bill Clinton - when they have more skeletons in their closet. There is a very good reason for separation between church and state.

Alberta MLA, Reverend Tony Abbott, took it to a new low. He said that Stronach whored herself out for power. Before his MLA career, Abbott served as Senior Pastor of the Faith Evangelical Covenant Church in Breton, Alberta, from 1989 to 2000. A man of the cloth knows better than this. I don't care if he issued an apology the day later, he still made the comments in public (twice).

FYI - Liberal MLA Rick Miller accused Abbott of swearing and charging at him outside the assembly room last week as well. A truly bad week for Abbott.

FYI 2 - Chandler, it should be pointed out has wanted to punt Stronach from the party for sometime. He has never been comfortable with her social views (same goes for Jim Prentice's views).

FYI trois - Stronach's departure made it onto CNN's JUDY WOODRUFF'S INSIDE POLITICS - scroll down near the bottom.

Never was a Mulroney fan, however, it is time to bury the hatchet. Best Wishes and a speedy recovery to the Right Honourable Brian Mulroney.

Mulroney underwent surgery for three hours on Friday night to remove liquid that was accumulating near his pancreas. It sounds painful and the road to recovery is likely long. Take care of him Mila.

Is it any wonder why Canadians are perplexed by the Conservative Party? Conservative Rookie MP Steven Fletcher has once again found himself in hot water. Fletcher, who is as outspoken as they come, referred to to Japanese soldiers as "Japs" and "bastards" at a convention in Winnipeg. He has apologized for his remarks.



Hayden Kent, president of the Army, Navy and Air Force Veterans Unit 283, said he was taken aback by Fletcher's comments at an annual veterans' convention in Winnipeg last weekend. According to Mr. Kent and two other sources, the rookie MP was describing his grandfather's wartime experience when he said "the Japs were bastards."

Earlier, Fletcher had said the comments were made in reference to the past and reflect the historical terminology of the time. "I stand by the fact that the Japanese were ruthless," he said. "If people want to challenge me on that, I look forward to it." Everything with Fletcher is confrontational, the guy is a piece of work.

There is no question that countries have poor military histories (Japan, Germany, etc.), but their is no reason for any elected official to take a public stage and make such assinine comments. Fletcher knows better and should watch himself since you only get so many get out of trouble free cards.

Speaker Dancing Stronach lives it up after the Thursday vote. Suite 34 will never be the same.



There isn't anything wrong with a party to let off some steam, but it does fly in the face of the Prime Minister's comments from earlier that evening. Apparently, the Liberals really are slow-learners. Be gracious in victory and defeat.

Protesting is not for everyone. You need a little whit and intelligence. This was evindent after a PETA Protester was left scratching her head during a perplexing encounter with the Duke of Edinburgh. Dressed in a synthetic bear suit to protest the use of bear skins in the hats of royal guards, Allison Ezell tailed the royal couple all week before coming nose to nose with Prince Philip outside the Canadian Light Source Synchrotron in Saskatoon.



Ezell said she was standing outside holding a sign that read "Bear Skins Are For Bears, Not Guards" when the Duke approached her. "He read that out loud and he smiled, and he came right into my face, my bear face, and said 'What happens when the bear dies?'," she recounted. "And I'm not sure what he meant by that." Welcome to the world of the Dazed and Confused.

Why do I never see these protests?

Natalie Portman- Bald is beautiful.

STAR WARS: EPISODE III - REVENGE OF THE SITH's take for one day. Oh, by the way that is a record.



Movie reviews encouraged. The movie looks, to coin a phrase from Mucky, AWESOME.

Director Richard Linklater, the filmmaker behind Dazed and Confused, Before Sunset and Slacker, is set to make a big-screen version of the Fast Food Nation. This book, by journalist Eric Schlosser, provides insight into how restaurant chains like McDonald's have changed North American culture.



Fast Food Nation has caused a sensation since it was published in 2001, giving ammunition to those who believe that the fast-food industry is responsible for, among other things, increasing the rate of obesity in the U.S.

Schlosser helped Linklater write the script for the big-screen adaptation. It's not known if the film will be a documentary, but the book does not have a traightforward narrative: instead, it is an extended piece of reportage that follows Schlosser as he travels around the U.S. chronicling the history and effects of fast food.

Snake Eyes



Defections



Apparently Conservatives are craftier with Photo Shop!

Conservatives need to suck it up. Belinda can only be your whipping boy for so long.

It might time to examine the real reason that your party doesn't appeal to the majority of Canadians:

(1) A stiff, humourless leader. Harper is a fantastic policy wonk, but has the charisma of jelly. No offence to Green Jell-0. He often projects himself as mad as hell and the venom is going to spew through the televison and hit couches everywhere. He is not a leader.

(2) Conservatives need to articulate a postive message for Canada. We know what Conservatives are against and won't be. What are you for? What is your plan to make Canada strong? A vision or plan is meant to be shared not secret.

(3) Balance the ticket. 4 Social Conservative's are nominated - John Weston, Darrel Reid, Cindy Silver and Marc Dalton(each one of these individuals have strong links to Focus on the Family) -for every (Garth Turner)Progressive Conservative. Those are good odds if you want to win an election in the US, but not in Canada. This country is largely, especially in urban ridings, a secular nation. Religion and politcs don't mix.

(4) Expand the inner circle. Bust up the Calgary crew - they are 0 for the world in federal elections. Bring in some more decision makers from Central and Eastern Canada.



Bumf has some other suggestions that may go along way to making the next election enjoyable and interesting. Belinda was right on one thing during her newser - Canada needs two strong parties and an alternative to the Liberals. Sadly, today's Conservative party are not there yet.

Unlike Al Bundy, Britney can't stop talking about sex in her new show. Chaotic debuted yesterday and was a bomb with viewers and critics alike. Newlyweds with Nick and Jessica was a hit because he has a sense of humour (and his own career) and she is so innocent (stupid to a point). Britney is just dirty and that may sell videos, but it doesn't do it on TV.



The over under on her marriage is 1.2 years.

Man Hands, yikes. Get him a set of mittens!

All politics is local. It now seems that the two Conservative MPs who voted with their party - Loyola Hearn and Norman Doyle - will soon find this out. When an election is called, many local political observers believe the MPs will pay for not supporting their constiuents (and the Atlantic Accord) and instead siding with their party.

The Conservatives voted to support Bill C-43, the main budget bill, which included the Atlantic accord. But they voted en masse against Bill C-48, the NDP amendment to the budget. Defeating the second motion would have toppled the government and delayed the accord.

Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Williams, a Conservative, had tried to convince Hearn and Doyle to allow the accord to pass. In a statement released after the vote, Williams welcomed the final result.

Michael Temelini, a political science professor at Memorial, says there's a lot of history in this province of members of Parliament being punished when they refuse or neglect Newfoundland, and I'm afraid that Norman Doyle and Loyola Hearn may in fact suffer.

A northern Saskatchewan highway, rutted and bumpy from the spring thaw and rain, although this distinction probably doesn't need to be made since the state of some Saskatchewan highways are deplorable, left two drivers at the mercy of nature this week.

Conway Beatty endures the rough ride to Montreal Lake on Highway 969 everyday, but after what happened this week, Beatty says his patience has run out. Earlier this week, he got stuck and after an hour and a half of battling mud, Beatty tried to hike back to his reserve. He says he didn't get more than a couple hundred metres from the van and a bear walked out the bush. That was enough for Beatty, who quickly retreated back to the van. Apparently, he sat there until a friend came along.

Fast forward a few hours, John Beatty, Conway's brother, also gets stuck on the same muddy highway. John says that wolves, not a bear, started moving in when he left for help. What happened next sort of difies logic. He jumped in into the box of his truck and floored his vehicle to get out of there. Not the best thing for a vehicle stuck in the mud.



A Department of Highways spokesperson says Highway 969 is already being fixed, however, he suggests drivers with damaged vehicles (including the cost of a hunting license and ammo) can submit a written claim.

British Scientists have come up with an ingenious way to curb ever-increasing numbers of grey squirrels.Instead of culling the animals - which have threatened Britain's native red squirrel with extinction and caused millions of pounds damage to forests - they have put them on the pill.



The contraceptive is actually a sperm-based vaccine, which is either eaten by or injected into the squirrel. Four weeks later, a blood sample is then tested for pregnancy. The aim is to generate an immune reaction which will make female grey squirrels infertile. The population will therefore begin to die out. Burrow those nuts.

A former Parti Quebecois cabinet minister has made damning allegations about the party's plans to stem the flow of "No" ballots during the 1995 sovereignty referendum. Richard Le Hir, now a Montreal consultant, says the PQ conspired to intimidate federalist voters during the referendum by sending "scrutineer shock troops" to polling stations in anglophone and allophone ridings.



Le Hir says the party targetted those ridings because residents there, including immigrants who were fast-tracked through citizenship court, were more likely to vote against sovereignty.

It was only a matter of time before the other side of the dirty tactics emerged. It will be interesting to see how these allegations play out in Quebec. Apparently Jacques Strap's comments about ethnics and money were actual party policy, who knew.

Do you have a copy of the Lifted Hearts - Break Up Survival Support Guide?

Paul Martin and Stephen Harper addressed their loyal soliders shortly after the slim budget vote in the House. There were a couple of interesting observations.

One, Harper delivered a good speech. He hit all the points he needed to and even managed to target Quebec. The one minor point that I would take issue with is Quebec being the province where people will be the most disappointed by the outcome of the vote. No way, that distinction goes to Alberta. Albertans have been reviving their engines for a vote for weeks and months. Grade A-

Paul Martin was, while, Martinlike. His speech started stale, had an ackward middle, but ending strong. Martin did, however, mention the priorities in the budget - childcare, education, the environment, Aboriginals, cities and that saved him from getting the failing grade. Grade B-

The really appalling thing about the speeches were the visuals. Harper choose to use the Conservative logo on his podium with flags nearby. A classy move. Martin, however, choose the Liberal, hmm, Canadian flag. Paul treating Canada as yours is what got us into this mess. When will Liberals learn?

Winners and Losers

3 Stars




Offside



Penalty Box



TSN Turning Point