On or off the horse are we?

9:56 PM, Sunday 26 June 2005

So the latest in the news has the Conservatives giving the Liberals shit for doing deals with the Bloc now. What is funny is that the Conservatives were the first party to make deals with the Bloc, I guess it is OK for them but not the Liberals. I think the Cons are on their way out now, which is good if a lot of their supports shift NDP. Layton has really started to pick his battles lately and has shown he can be a viable person in Ottawa. At the start he was getting a bit annoying always being opposed to anything the government would do, now at least he is picking his battles a little more.

Was at a barbecue yesterday talking about the whole Live 8 thing and some of the bad press it has been getting. The topic slowly came around to foreign aid and how much each countries were doing. Someone said well you know at least we are doing better than the States. I objected to this comment, for two reasons. One we are not doing better than the US and two we really shouldn’t take solace in the fact we are simply a little better than the US when both countries records are pretty piss poor. Anyway someone else responded saying that they are happy with the way Canada is taking their approach and that being so close to the US it is the only way for us to do it. He concluded that for use to have to hit the 0.7% that is recommended the money would have to come from somewhere, be it more taxation or government cuts to programs. Anyway what is your take on foreign aid and the whole Live 8 thing?

On the message board you asked about the LRA in Uganda. I had no experience with them as they were based largely in the North. While Uganda is a very small country it seemed quite large (probably due to not having a good road infrastructure), and you wouldn’t know for a second living in Kampala that Uganda was fighting a war in the North if it wasn’t in the papers or on the radio. As for Kony and his rebels, they are a bad bunch. Most of what is on that website is pretty truthful. These guys are ruthless, they capture children when they are young, brainwash them, then get them to fight and perform gruesome acts on the people they capture (such as cutting off jaws, feeding body parts to people etc). The women they capture are made into sex slaves and other terrible things. The word on the street about them is that they could have been stopped early on when they began fighting. However from what I hear fighting was prolonged with them to suck more foreign aid out of the western countries. The longer the war went on the more the LRA turned into the monster it is now, something that the government cannot control. I guess you can say the governments plans somewhat backfired. Granted it is a lot easier to rule when your people are in constant fear, and as it looks Museveni will get re-elected once again, even despite him vowing last election that no person should rule as long as he has/will.

Stefan

9:28 AM Monday 27 June 2005

Everyone in Canadian politics (or politics anywhere, really) is a complete hypocrite on some level. The Cons are the lamest of them all so it makes no surprise they’d say something like that. Of course, I’d like to believe the public at large has a memry span of longer than a week, in which case they will see right through it. I think a lot of that western protest vote may go; I don’t think that the Prairies are necessarily left or right as they are anti-Ottawa (like every non-southern Ontario part of Canada).

I think it’s pretty fucking pathetic that we have a surplus this big and still only spend 0.7% on foreign aid. Between Canada, the US and the EU, we can wipe out third world debt for about $200 a piece. I say just put a fifty dollar levy on every working person in the first world for the next ten years or so and boom! Then we’d only be in debt to each other and a few oil countries. It’s a pretty petty sacrifice in the big picture. Of course, as a whole we are so wrapped up in our own self-interest it’s scary. As for Live 8 I think most of the public are looking at it like they did the Tibetan Freedom Concerts: ‘Wow, there’s a lot of good bands playing!’. They could care less about debt relief. Despite the good intentions involved, it’ll be out of the news the day after it’s over. the donations might get a week’s supply of food to a remote region of some country and that’ll be it.

LRA look like some scary dudes. And the worst thing is nobody knows or cares this is happening (or Darfur, Sierra Leone, Congo, Zimbabwe, Burma, Nepal, Liberia, etc.). They’re too busy watching ‘Dancing With The Stars’ and round-the-clock coverage of the Runaway Bride story. Oh, inverted world.

Kyle

10:01 PM, Monday 27 June 2005

What is sad is that we don’t even spend 0.7 %… 0.7 percent was the number set out by Pearson that if every 1st world country would contribute could end world poverty. Sadly Canada contributes little more than 0.25 per cent. How fucking sad is that? I read an article today that said for $1.23 per person per year we could save 6 million children from death just by providing the proper health and medicine as they are growing up. 90 percent of children deaths (under 5 years old) happen in 42 countries. Of the 90 percent about half of them happen in like 6 countries. Yikes… I like your idea, 50 bucks a person, not a lot of money to most people…

To switch off a bit, I just watched a documentary called Dig! which basically followed The Dandy Warhols and the Brian Jonestown Massacre around. I guess these two bands became friends and started a sort of rivalry. Anyway the Dandy’s took the corporate route and got a big record deal etc. While the BJM were lead by Anton Newcombe who hated everything about big business and the big evil music industry decided to do things his way. In some parts of the movie it makes Anton look to be the most brilliant person in rock, other times (and more often) they really paint his character to be a fucked up drugged out psycho. Anyway Anton has put out an insane amount of music, I think he made something like 5 records one year. People have compared the BJM as being the Velvet Underground of the 90’s. Anyway what is cool is that Anton still lives to his word, if you goto their website you can download every single album of theirs, which is pretty damn cool. While most of the band members of the BJM are no longer with the band I guess the soul behind the band is Anton, and I guess they (more like he and whoever will play with him) are still touring and making albums.

Stefan

10:53 AM Monday 27 June 2005

Yay! I’m sicker than fuck right now; it hit me like a brick just after noon today and I’m going through toilet paper like I had seventeen assholes. I also have to breathe out of my mouth, which sucks because now my throat’s all dry and scratchy. I also have to somehow get two interviews transcribed between now and noon Wednesday, which is just going to be lame. But on the bright side, it means not having to go to school tomorrow, which means I can do all of my work all day sitting awkwardly upon the laundry tub I use for a chair in between vomiting. I hope I’m alright by Wednesday afternoon so I don’t wind up emptying the morning’s oatmeal all over my interview subject. “So, what community facilities were present in Sinclair Mills while you were- BLEHHHHHHHHHHHHHHCCCCHHH”

Bush and Rummy keep talking about their heroic ‘freedom fighters’. If crime fighters fight crime, and fire fighters fight fire, what do freedom fighters fight?

And this just in: Tom Cruise is a complete fucking nutjob. Seriously, this time next year he’ll be parading naked through downtown Los Angeles…

Debt relief is ONE part of the solution, but most African countries are still be ruled by dictatorship or corrupt one-party states left over since the collapse of colonialism. Those regimes will also have to fall. But how? We can’t just run in and invade/depose; that would defeat the whole point of self-determination.

BJM has had something like 40 band members in 15 years. But they’ve picked up a big following. I can see the VU comparison as they have been likened to many of the early-90’s shoegazing bands. And, of course, just from the name, a big stones influence as well.

Well, I wanted to pull an all-nighter but I’m having trouble making it through this email. Time to pull an Elvis and die on the toilet. Hopefully I will be reborn sometime before tomorrow night’s email.

Kyle

8:08 PM, Tuesday 28 June 2005

Kusch sorry to hear your so sick, a stomach flu going around at school or something? Who is this your interviewing?

Dictators are not all bad. My boss always likes to say, the best leader is a benevolent dictator. In a lot of ways he is right, I mean a dictator has free reign to do what he wants and if he truly loves his people he will help them do well. Granted the far opposite approach also works, look at the state of Kerala in India where they often elect a communist government and are very very active in their community. It has paid off to… What generally is the problem with removing dictators is that the people often don’t want it to happen, or they do but they know when it happens it usually means war and a lot of death. Look at Uganda, most (not all) people would be happy if Museveni would stay in power, why? because they fear what happens when leaders change. They all lived through the war and the terrible acts the last time it happened, and now they have someone who is doing a relatively decent job and they don’t want to fuck that up…

I think I am going to download a bunch of BJM and give them a solid listen. I seem to remember downloading some stuff a while back and I had this strange thought that they were really metal, aparently I was totally off after I heard a few songs last night.

Same sex passed today, so no more chances to overthrow our government… will be interesting to see what happens in the fall. Actually I am interested to see what happens after the Gomery report is completed, and if Martin will actually call an election…

Have you heard about the new “integration” plans between Canada/US/Mexico? A nice 40 point plan to further turn Mexico and Canada into the US’s bitches… Anytime our government is taking advice from the Council of Chief Executives you know there is trouble.

Stefan

9:23 AM Tuesday 28 June 2005

Nah, it’s just a mild case of the flu. I feel a lot better today although my nose is quite plugged. Hopefully will be fine. As for who I’m interviewing? My research involves looking at the major factors influencing migration in the Upper Fraser, so I am talking to various former residents over the summer and getting their input. Hopefully I can get about 30 interviews or so before the end of summer.

Dictatorships can only work when the vast majority of residents are supportive; if they aren’t then it simply becomes oppressive. Hell, a dictator can have total support and still be oppressive. Baby steps, I guess.

Gouk will not be running again for MP next time around; hopefully this opens the door wide open for Alex Atamanenko who only lost by 600 votes last time (remember, he would have won last time had they not fucked around with the boundaries and threw Princeton of all places in with the West Kootenay and removed Nakusp).

Integration isn’t really integration when you have the world’s largest economy dominating the agreement. This is assimilation. I can only hope enough people throw enough hissy fits to ward this off.

What is a neo-liberal? Sounds like a free market advocate that glows in the dark, doesn’t it?

Kyle

9:54 PM, Wednesday 29 June 2005

So how do you find people who have migrated from the Upper Fraser?

Sounds like Larry Campbell could possibly quit as Mayor of Vancouver. I think he has been the most popular leader this city has had in years. He says it is a health thing but most people speculate it is because of all the internal fighting. I wonder if he will then make the jump to federal politics. Granted I don’t know what party he would fall under, mainly because he is the type of guy you would want as the leader of your party.

2.6 billion dollar surplus announced for BC. It is pretty easy to do when it comes in transfer payments from the federal government. That is not the way it will be put I am sure…

I don’t have anything else to say… I want to write more but have nothing more to write. Sorry Kyle, for my lack of enthusiasm, but I am really drawing blanks here. Maybe tomorrow will bread more thought.

Stefan

8:24 AM Thursday 30 June 2005

So how do I find people from the Upper Fraser? I find them to be very nice, ha ha ha. Seriously, we have a list dating from 2000-01 of people previously interviewed; I’m interviewing those people again but focusing the interviews more closely on migration and ethnicity. The way those original names were found was by finding a couple of people you know from the area and getting them to give you names of people who can find you more people and so on. This is called the snowball technique (as opposed to the type of ’snowball’ you’re used to, ha ha ha. Seriously though, I don’t judge. And I should stop making gay jokes; they’re too cheap and easy. And, no, I’m not going to make a ‘cheap and easy’ joke).

Speaking of Vancouver civic politics, looks like they voted down Wal-Mart 8-2 with only Campbell and the NPA supporting. I think this is good, of course; what do you think? I imagine you agree with the decision. The one councillor wants to pass an amendment getting banning all big box stores, which is fine by me.

Of course the surplus didn’t from transfer payments! It came from the healthy investment climate created by the BC Liberal government! Sillyhead! Okay, and maybe the boom in Chinese resource demand had a little to do with it…

I sure hope tomorrow will ‘bread’ more thought. Maybe it can crouton more thought, too; that way the thought won’t get so soggy in salad dressing.

Kyle

10:59 PM, Thursday 30 June 2005

I am sorry to do this Kyle but I can’t keep this up. At least not a daily thing. With the summer coming I don’t have the time to put the thought into writing decent replies as you have likely noticed by this week. I know you’re busy too, and you have made an effort, but I really don’t want to do this if it is going to be half assed.

Stefan

12:15 AM Friday 1 July 2005

Well, Klopp, I can’t say I’m not dissapointed. As conversation on Glasnost frequently grinds to a halt with talk of computers and music bands I half-like, this thing with you was basically the one thing keeping me in real touch with my old friends from home, and, as usual, I am the one left holding the bag while all of our old relationships and friendships fall away one-by-one until we all wind up like Joern. It’s kind of sad that you can’t spare the ten nimutes a night (or every other night, even) to say a few words to your old friend Kyle. What a sad, sad day for us all. With all of the ‘effort’ we’ve all been putting into our mutual relationships over the past couple of years, I think it’s pretty obvious that our circle of friends has dissipated to the point where we’re just uninterested with each other. Good for a beer or two once or twice a year but not much more. We’ve grown up, moved on (well, some of us) and made new friends, new acquaintances, new lives. We’ve all left our little ‘Hinterland Oblivion’ of the West Kootenay behind. How fitting that it all goes out with a whimper and a couple of terse paragraphs. And the sad thing? I don’t think any of us will really notice. Or care.

Kyle