i sport three badges on my backpack

one says “I AM ANTI-IMPERIALIST”
the other “REDUCE TUITION FEES”
and the one i wear on the left strap of my bag (so that it’s facing a person when i have my bag on, rather than being on the back of the bag) says “EVES SUCKS”

the badge originally just said “EVES” — i got it from conservative campaigners at UofT
but it had this huge gap under the “EVES” and i said, now how could i possibly leave such a canvas un-marked by my artistic abilities
so with utmost care i painted on the “SUCKS” using liquid paper (i didn’t have the white-out pen anywhere, reckon that would be easier)
anyway
it gets the most responses

today alone several people, from SAC reps to students protesting high tuition fees gave me admirable reviews of my badge

once, upon entering the RT station at mccowan, conservative campaigners (along with MPP candidates) were handing out their shiterature
upon seeing the EVES badge that i pointed to, their spirits were lifted in seeing such a youth apparently supporting their party
but then they realized what it truly said, and saw that i didn’t support their shit headed party at all
they were disappointed

people like it, can’t tell that the “SUCKS” part was added on later, they think i got a pre-made “EVES SUCKS” badge … they want to know where they can get one

i am political, i like being political

ralph nader said something like if you’re not onto politics, politics will be on to you

so be political, be active

i can’t even vote yet because of the idiotic arbitrary voting age
but i’m motivated

go NDP
even though you’re not going to win

for shame, for shame

it’s important for the youth to become proactive and study, realize, and understand what is going around them in their immediate surroundings and the world at large

many youth are far too ignorant, and it’s a shame, for the youth are the best to call to clarity injustices and fight against them
it is the youth that brings revolution
but revolution cannot take place in a vacuum with an absence of any real thought

cycles of revolution always continue, like marx implied, when the revolutionaries themselves become the oppressors
it happens
all the time

i’m not a marxist

i’m not a socialist

i am a leftie, but i don’t accept all the baggage that is associated with the title

i don’t like labels, malcolm never liked labels either
because they constrict you into one little category

human beings cannot be categorized into one perfect little box
we were not designed to exist within boxes
we’re design to be dynamic and continually changing
so one day you may be liberal on an issue and two hours later you are conservative on another
no one is completely conservative or completely liberal, or completely anything

some people are completely ignorant, however, and seem to relish ignorance

and why not, it is, after all, bliss, as they say

but that bliss is temporary
when you are ignorant of yourself and your position, soon your bliss becomes your hell, and you find yourself a victim of your own lack of involvement as the system takes over — and you find that it is too late to escape

it’d probably be little different even if you start out with the knowledge

but knowledge, realization, is the first step in solving a problem

that’s why in problem solving they tell you to understand — realize — the problem first
only then can you try to solve it

my rant of the night

i have to complete the second book of lord of the rings by tomorrow, i have some eighty odd pages left

hola

i like chrétien’s recent attitude, when he’s telling everyone to hold on to their horses — he hasn’t retired yet

chrétien’s a millionaire, so is paul martin

how come all the politicans are rich? hmm, is there some sort of correlation between the corporations and the politicians? naah… (does paul martin own a corporation? naah…)

anyway, ride on chrétien, bien fait, whatever you did … whatever it was you did … here’s a cookie

yaser and i visited the varsity office, accompanied by sanjeyan
there we pitched our idea to the editor of the varsity to interview irshad manji and write a review of her new book (the trouble with islam da da da)
the editor was very receptive to the idea (he didn’t even ask us for our writing credentials)

so we went over the hart house, where manji was writer-in-residence until recently, to try and obtain some contact information

let me say it feels really cool to say, “i’m with the varsity” and so on so forth

at any rate, we got a very obvious e-mail address from hart house, one that would take around … eight seconds to guess

manji slighted all the student media at the UofT, none of them were invited to her book-launch — even though she made use of UofT’s resources as writer-in-residence at hart house

i don’t like that

anyway, i sent off an e-mail to her requesting a copy of the book for review and requesting an interview for the varsity

let’s see how it goes

everything is religion
everything is politics
everything
everything is business

i was watching the debate on TV
the one with the three cats, eves, mcguinty, hampton — ontario provincial debates

eves said he sympathizes with parents who have to put their kids through university as he has been the father of two kids who’ve gone through university
but eves has been earning over a hundred thousand dollars a year for several years now … did i say hundred thousand? i meant millions
he’s a goddamn millionaire
how the hell does a goddamn millionaire sympathize with the fact that tuition rates are going sky high
how the hell does a goddamn millionaire symptahize with kids who commute long distances on crowded and stretched-thin public transit
how the hell does a goddamn millionaire sympathize with the average person in ontario?

screwed up shit

there’s a rally tomorrow by the SAC of UofT to bring up the issue of tuition fees in the provincial election
but really, what good does that do
conservatives say they’ll cap tuition raise at 2% (but only for arts and science undergraduate programs, let the professional programs go as goddamn high as they want)
liberals say a freeze (for two years … which is good for two goddamn years then let them rocket up)
NDP says 10% reduction, good luck if you ever get voted in

EVES SUCKS
that’s clear enough
liberals are conservatives in red suits
and NDP is just goddamn never gonna get elected
what a shame

and what’s a real shame is the goddamn masses of mindless adolescents who don’t give a shit about the election
let’s vote liberal cuz mommy says vote liberal
or conservative’s gonna help daddy’s business
what the hell does your mind tell you to do
make your own goddamn decision, that’s the point of a vote

most kids don’t even give a shit about politics, nevermind the voting
because that’s so damn boring and it’s not getting you any more popular nor is it getting you a boyfriend on your tail
what a goddamn shame

i was watching a paul martin interview on cbc newsworld
their bloody ticker is very annoying, it needs to go
anyway, paul martin seems shady to me

go NDP

in the provincial elections, students who are graduating now from high school really need to get voting
we wield immense power for our ridings
consider if there’s three high schools in a riding with an average of 600 students graduating, and only 400 can vote
that’s still 1,200 voters, out of 100,000 people
out of whom only around 60,000 vote
that’s 2%
which is not bad… sometimes 2% is all it takes to make a difference
so students need to get organized, realize their potential, see what suits THEM and THEIR interests — not those of their parents — and get voting

socialism vs. capitalism

i was watching a documentary on hugo chavez, president of venezuela
this dude is tite
anyway, he gets letters from all over the country, every day
he has a few people working on reading each and every letter, no matter how small, and these people highlight the main points and make notes
THAT IS GODDAMN AMAZING!
people want hugo chavez out of power, the rich people in venezuela do, because he’s a socialist and believes in properly distributing the oil wealth of the country
(where 80% of the population lives in poverty, and the rich 20% control the media… go figure)

anyway

i went to the zoo for the interview
he asked me a question and i made a fool of myself
“use four words to describe yourself”
er… :long pause: … intelligent — no, intellectual … er.. outgoing and … um … eloquent?
then a huge pause, like a minute, “i’m at a loss for words” and finally i pipe up “creative!”

yeah okay, well done
how about “conceited, stupid, jerk, slow”

i know they won’t be calling me back anytime soon…

anyway, i want to finish my chemistry model today, and my math homework
i got my styrofoam balls painted at school, with the art department’s paint, lol, liquid tempera
it’s very nice
better than the trashy spraypainting jobs i’ve seen
so hopefully it shall look cool

fun stuff

“people who don’t grow up
think that it’s a grown up thing
to shoot people to get their way.”

– more wisdom from the eternal dragon

bush, saddam, meet the dragon
learn

Kofi Annan on fighting terror and maintaining justice

Just as terrorism must never be excused, so must genuine grievances never be ignored. A cause is tarnished when a few wicked men commit murder in its name. But it does not make it any less urgent that the cause be addressed, the grievance heard, and the wrong put right.

so brittany ballantine won the elections, as predicted
to quote henry: “there’s something seriously wrong with this country”
well, the school for sure
most grade twelves i’ve spoken to voted for brennan
conclusion: morons voted for brittany

i am so mean

+ correction on previous post about elections, cindy liu was running for vice president

she won, too — i think she’s fairly competent, though

oh well