you walk around anywhere, in the ttc, in the malls, in stores, and you see the same goddamn thing

i’m talking about those girls, all of them who look the exact same, you can tell they’re in high school — perhaps even junior high — and they might as well have come off an assembly line

first the hair, the shiny hair that looks like it’s been ironed down to the skull
then the same stupid arrogant glare that each one of them has with the make-up over-applied to the eyes
the skimpy tops covered by some odd wind-breaker type clothing
or those fleece sweaters or hoodies from gap
and the same types of jackets, either a white columbia jacket — always worn the same way, or a white tight bubble jacket but with a hood that is lined with fur
the same small stocky black purses (or colours that match the jacket or other clothing items)
and the tight jeans that bell out slightly (not too much) near the bottom

and the number one thing, the singular thing that unites them all is the goddamn shoes
the same goddamn shoes
either the air force ones or stupid look-alikes
with the tongues out, over the tight jeans
and the laces loose or undone
and if there’s a velcro strap which there often is it’s undone and off to the side
and the goddamn shoes are always white, or some other pretty ass colour to match perhaps the purse or the jacket or some other crap

what the hell is going on there

it’s pissing me off

it’s as if they all go to some dumbass factory and step into a machine where they select from a pre-screened selection of colours and come out all looking the goddamn same with minor differences in colour

bloody hell

and let’s not forget the guys, all the guys who act as if they’re tough and crap with their horrendously long shirts and their pants hanging around well below their asses restricting their movements and forcing them to walk with a side-to-side shift as if they’re goddamn penguins, and the same baseball hat over bandana look — very original
and the goddamn air force ones, the same god damned air force ones and lookalikes worn the same goddamn way as the girls, with the tongue out, the laces loose or undone and the velcro strap off to the side
hey but some of them do get original what with the rolling up one of their pant legs for some goddamn inexplicable reason

it’s grand

like a mass production of non-thinking drones

so i went to a typical desi party and as usual the males gathered in one room to discuss international politics, as usual
more often than not i don’t dip my foot into these forays as the uncles believe they can solve the problems of the world in their living rooms
but today, i decided i’d step into the fray because, well, it’s been a while since i had a debate

many muslims have this paranoia about zionist jews, that everything the united states does is because of the zionist desire to establish the true eretz israel (or the true land of israel — some call it greater israel) which extends really really far and takes a massive chunk out of the rest of the middle east
interpretations vary, some renditions go north into syria and iraq, west into egypt, some go … well, a lot more than just that

and so many muslims believe that the only reason america is waging a war in iraq is for the territorial expansion of israel, saying that those who believe the war is being waged for the entrepreneurial expansion of corporations are being blinded by a zionist agenda

well that’s fine and dandy, but that doesn’t explain american involvement in virtually all of south america and the far east (vietnam, korea), and so on so forth
because, hey, eretz israel doesn’t stretch that far — unless for some odd reason you think eretz israel stretches from venezuela to vietnam

which, to say the least, is a load of crap, i don’t think even the hardliners at ahavat israel are pining for that sort of territory

and i’m not saying that capitalism does not serve the purposes of zionism or vice-versa, because there is a massive israeli lobby in washington
and the fact is, the war also benefited israel because iraq has tangibly attacked israel before (with scuds) and was financing suicide bombers — or their families anyway, and so israelis wanted saddam out of the picture

but hey, get real

american involvement in all these areas, and yes even iraq (especially iraq), is particularly for the benefit of the corporate interests that grow richer and richer as the poor grow poorer

stephen bechtel: “We are not in the construction and engineering business. We are in the business of making money.”
(bechtel‘s is one of the companies contracted for the reconstruction of iraq)

if you have the will-power, please do read this article from zmag to understand what i’m talking about:

reconstruction’s bottom line

The problem is, as evidenced most clearly by the case of Bechtel and KBR, the job is not even getting half-done. Profit-maximization has not resulted in the most efficient restoration of power and oil production possible. On the contrary, it gets in the way of doing things right. The power plants will eventually be built and the oil refineries will run again, but not after unnecessary deprivation on the part of Iraqis and not after Bechtel has made the most of the opportunity.

This war to liberate Iraq was never about liberating the Iraqis.

you see, there’s a religion that neo-con’s and right-wingers practice, forget judaism, christianity, islam — capitalism

corporations worship the almighty dollar

have you or a friend ever worked at mcdonald’s and felt oppressed by it’s fat cat capitalist owners making money off your hard work and sweat that goes into every burger and fry that you shell out?

well if you’re tired of it and want to strike back at the corporate world, and you work at mcdonald’s, then this web page is for you:

mcdonald’s workers resistance on stealing

There is plenty that is of value- happy meal toys make nice presents for young relatives. We used to know someone who swapped hash browns for hash, you can keep friends and family supplied with tea bags, household equipment, sauces, etc. Get stuck into the black economy. McDonalds owes us, we could be robbing them blind for years and not get back half of what they�ve stolen from us.

this is one of the funniest, and most confusing, web pages i’ve come across recently

mind you they have a disclaimer too: “We hope you enjoyed this humorous, just for entertainment article. Please remember that theft is a criminal offence.”

viva la revolution

yes, my first post in ages

i don’t really know what to blog, because everything i have to say somehow gets funneled into one friend or outlet or another — rather than my blog

many days ago i spoke of a documentary by some irish folks about an attempted coup in venezuela, it’s called the revolution will not be televised
a grand documentary, it’s making its rounds in theaters around the united states
(i saw it on cbc a long time ago)

for some reason i find myself very interested in venezuelan politics, lapping up all the news — currently hugo chavez (the leftist president of venezuela) is facing the possibility of a recall election … a referendum on his presidency (to be replaced by his vice-president) … won’t know whether or not the referendum will be held until sometime in january

what’s interesting is the history of latin america and how right-wingers and conservatives have held the power so tightly, leading to massive polarizations of society — in venezuela for instance, 80% of the population is poor, 20% is above middle class

i was reading an article about lord of the rings (yes, i take a course on lord of the rings in university … and yes it’s easy and i’m acing it, i deserve a break so shut up) — at any rate the author of the article was speaking of how many parts of the world have evolved from the typical pyramid structure, with the elite rich at the top grading down to the majority of the population being in the lower class at the bottom, and how we’ve evolved into a diamond type of structure, with a small population being rich, a large population middle class, and a small population being lower class

assuming even such a structure is acceptable (i don’t see anyone proudly waving, i support the diamond structure!), that’s certainly not how it is in many parts of latin america, venezuela for instance
hugo chavez came into power with the promise of making things better for the poor — from nearly the first day though he faced a stiff opposition from these rich elitists and so he’s really been able to do little economically for the poor — but it makes really no difference to them
it has made a difference to the middle class, as they see their spending power decrease because of the crappation of the economy because of the opposition (union leaders and business interests close factories and disallow workers from working, and then say this is a “general strike” — some workers at a pepsi factory apparently took over it and started working forcefully, though)

but chavez has introduced progams such as mission robinson — so far having educated over half a million people to read and write
this is no easy feat, coming from the east, countries such as afghanistan (with a 99% illiteracy rate) and pakistan and india, where the majority of people are so illiterate it’s appalling, this is immense

venezuela has over 20 million people, i think around 23 million, and considering eighty percent are poor (and therefore, logically, more likely to be illiterate), that means around 18 million people live in poverty — educating over half a million out of these is not a slim task, and the way it is being done is quite fine too

certainly chavez has his faults, and it’s not for me as an outsider who was admittedly spurred to take a look at this country because of a pro-chavez documentary to judge who’s fit to rule venezuela … i’ve never been there and chances are slim i will be there any time soon

but it’s interesting how there seems to be a pattern here, take a look at chile and the not so well known 9-11, september 11, 1973 when the popular and democratically elected government of salvador allende was overthrown by the now notorious, though previously unheard of, augusto pinochet (among others, for that matter) and the CIA of course

of course in the end this is a matter for the people of venezuela to decide, and hopefully it will go well for the people of venezuela (and not its business firms and interests)

note that opinions are very polarized in venezuela, there’s either overwhelming pro-chavez sentiment or vociferously anti-chavez sentiment
it’s very hard to find a voice that’s in between — that doesn’t mean people don’t feel that way, it’s just hard to find these voices

that’s my venezuela rant of the day

they stood outside the math class handing out red pieces of paper
he took one and read it, ah yes, operation christmas child, fill a shoebox with candies, condiments, and items of personal hygiene — treats for kids who usually wouldn’t get something like this — in “third world” countries
“ah, and then you’ll slip in a pamphlet about jesus won’t you” he said
“that would be the best part!” one of the girls said
“right — receiving a pamphlet about jesus would just make my day” he retorted as he walked into math class

the fire alarm went off, he paused, “well,” he said to himself

he walked out, “you see this is what happens when you pass out red pieces of paper”
“no,” she replied, “this is what happens when you make fun of jesus”
“really? hey jesus, if you have a problem with me, why don’t you strike me down right now” he said, assuming a crucifix position and half-expecting the ceiling to fall on him
“you shouldn’t do that”
“naw, i don’t think jesus minds — i think jesus has a sense of humour”

they exited the building

a comment i made on degrouchyowl’s web site a while ago was brought into question by someone
so let me now explain it

someone stated:
How patently strange that you people think a western woman exercising her right to choose is oppressed and a muslim woman under a dress code is free–very odd � very pathetic.

and to it i replied:
multi-culturalism is the way to go

go canada

what i mean is this, a common muslim argument to defend an islamic state where hijab would be mandatory is “but western women are oppressed by the popular culture and media to conform to rigid standards”
i don’t deny that pop culture has an immense influence upon the standards of dressing of women
however, it is not law
a girl who dons the hijab in canada or america is, by defintion, a western woman
but she has not been forced by the culture or the law to throw away the hijab and adopt the ‘western’ way of dress
on the contrary, her choice is (more often than not) respected by law
[this is not taking into account states like turkey, or france or the province of quebec, where hijab is in many cases not allowed — i’m talking about canada, as my post says — and even in france and quebec, the hijabi can take her case to court]

on the other hand, if we go to this ‘islamic state,’ women would be forced to wear the hijab, by law (e.g., taliban’s afghanistan)
they would not have the choice to remove it if they willed, and they would not be able to take their case to court

there are, here, two types of oppression, if that is a proper word to use
in the west, its media influence
in the case of the ‘islamic state,’ it’s a binding law that makes it illegal to choose or refuse the hijab

that’s the point i’m making

but let’s say you have a patriarchical family who’s moved to the west
and the father makes his daughters or wife wear the hijab
here, once again, is oppression

say you have a western family who move to pakistan or something
and the father disallows his daughters or wife from wearing the hijab
then yes, that, too is oppression

but the latter doesn’t happen much too often

of course, there are families where the parents disallow their daughters from wearing the hijab, for whatever reason
that, too, is oppression

i use the word broadly, there’s much to the issue of oppression

anyway, that was my point

irshad manji’s book — the trouble with islam — arrived in the mail today, along with a media package containing several articles about irshad manji (and one by her)

manji, whose site was last updated october 7, hasn’t yet responded to my request for an interview — but at least i got the book

i’ve started reading it, i already found a spelling mistake (boo hoo)

the complete review will be in the varsity newspaper … eventually

music of the moment:
pixies – where is my mind
save ferris – come on, eileen
sam roberts – don’t walk away, eileen

so the liberals got an overwhelming majority government
let’s hope they don’t mess it up

good to know the conservatives lost

however, it is disappointing to see that the NDP gained 5% of the popular vote, but lost two seats — losing official party status

that really sucks

the liberals are essentially conservatives in red coats
the lesser of two evils, so to speak

toora loora toora loorayaaaay

i just sent off an e-mail to random house canada requesting a review copy of irshad manji’s book
i am now waiting for a response

i figure an affiliation with a newspaper is a convenient way to get free copies of books (if, indeed, this works) — all i have to do is write a critique of the book after i read it and voil� — free book!

i wonder how many books i can get through

but anyway, no response from manji herself yet

she’s in ottawa or something

(strange her book tour doesn’t seem to take her anywhere in toronto … or the UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO where she wrote her book and blocked out all student publications — that makes me more sour than anything else…)

… and so the pronunciation of “the cacophony” might sound something like “the cocaphony” or “the cock is phony.” This, naturally, would not faze several English speakers who would simply ask, “Well, what’s wrong with pointing out fake roosters?” But for several other anglophones the word would be scandalous and reprehensible. Its exclusion from the vernacular would be vigorously pursued. (Ironically, some might even vigorously pursue the exclusion of “vigorous.”) Soon, English will be reduced to a completely inoffensive language. Hence, words such as “gay” would be removed to appease heterosexuals and words such as “straight” would be removed to appease homosexuals. Not only that, words such as “homosexual” would be removed to appease sraights and words such as “heterosexual” would be removed to appease gays. Naturally dairy producers would stop calling homogenous milk homogeneous, as this could potentially provoke images of intelligent gays. Ban “provoke,” too.