What a week, wait that should be, WHAT A WEEK! Last week was one of those weeks where you would wake up, turn on the radio and wonder what the frig was going on to happen today? What more could possibly happen today? But there was always one more breaking news story. I was thinking of just making a list and rating the issues on a 1 to 10 scale but decided that might be a bit pretentious. Friends, let’s roll up our sleeves and dig in, there is a lot to get through.
Je Suis Brussels Aussi
I need to start by writing about Brussels, I don’t want to, but how can anyone not acknowledge what happened. As I sit here writing there are 31 people dead and 271 injured from attacks that happened in the Brussels airport and metro last week. I will be completely honest with you, that is about all I can write about this. I do not understand this kind of violence. My mind cannot fully comprehend what would make a person do something like this. And it is tragedies like this that bring out the very best and the very worst in people. Everyone is now going to have an opinion on what can be done, what should have been done, what will be done. At the end of the day there are 31 families who will not have their fathers, mothers, sons and daughters coming home tonight. Our thoughts are with you Brussels.
Brazilian Waxed
Hot on the heels of the news of what happened in Brussels we find out that Brazil is cutting 30 percent of its security budget for the upcoming Olympics. Let’s call apples apples here people, if half of what we read is true, that whole situation has been a “shit show from the get go.” I remember reading that because of the economic situation in Brazil the athletes would not have TVs in their rooms. Let me repeat, things are so bad that the country of Brazil cannot spring for TVs. I am not going to go into the “pathogenic sewage” problem they had, or the fact that their anti-doping system barely beat the regulation deadline. But I think when you start skrimping on things like security, there might be a problem. Just saying.
Choose Your Own Verdit
Demonstrator at Ghomeshi decision removed by police pic.twitter.com/PiwHPovbCN
— Trevor Dunn (@trevorjdunn) March 24, 2016
Jian Ghomeshi, not guilty on all charges. Saying anything about this story is like tip toeing through a field of landmines. It doesn’t matter what you say, guaranteed it is going to blow up in your face. If you are reading this, you already know about the trial. Was the verdict right? Was the verdict wrong? Hey who am I to say? I will say that this is one freaky dude. I am not saying he is Bill Cosby, I am just saying they might be riding the same bus. Know what I am sayin’? We know some weird shit happened, there is no question there, and he got away with it. What exactly he got away with, well only him and the women who accused him know that. When everything is said and done, a topless young woman comes running out screaming insanities. The whole thing just became surreal to me.
Cell Phone Vigilantes
This story is definitely not on the same scale but it struck my funny bone. Have you seen the video of the young lady coming out of Tim Hortons and being accosted by a guy with his cell phone because she has parked in a handicapped parking space? If not, go and look at it, then come back.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=hm9cE8egT7I
So the person filming, Ryan Favro, asks this young woman who is coming out of a Tim Hortons in Toronto if she is handy capped. She says ‘No’ and he continues to badger her about being parked in a handicapped parking space. Truth be told, the guy seems like a bit of an arsehole, but that is beside the point. This is where it gets good. This young lady’s reaction to being asked why she parked in a handicapped parking space is to throw scalding hot coffee at the person who asked her, not once but TWICE! OMG I could not come up with this stuff if I tried. Now I want you to imagine being married to this young lady. You are sitting in the living room watching TV, minding your own business. She walks into the room and asks “Did you leave the toilet seat up??” AAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!
Follow the Money 2016
If you live in Canada, have a radio, TV (smartphone, PC, tablet, etc.) or have spoken to anyone in the last week, you probably know that our government presented its first budget. Now, now, don’t go anywhere, I know that budgets are about as exciting as cutting the grass, but this is important stuff. I will be quick and stick to the big ticket items.
*The biggie is the deficit, instead of the 10 billion dollar deficit that Justin Trudeau’s Liberals promised in the election we are looking at 29.4 billion.
*A new tax free child benefit starting July 1st. Depending on income families could see as much as $6400 bucks a year for kids under 6 years old.
*The Libs are following up on their plan to spend 120 billion on new and existing infrastructure over 10 years. Trudeau admitted this was necessary but ‘unsexy’. Oh Justin you scoundrel (that’s right I said scoundrel).
*8.4 billion over 5 years for Canada’s indigenous people.
The list goes on, 500 million for this, 2 billion for that, 600 million for the other. Over all is looks fantastic, seems like we are in the roaring ‘20s again. Where the fuck is all this money coming from? I don’t want to be a ‘Debbie Downer’ but everyone does realize that we have to pay this money back eventually, don’t they? Don’t they?
The Round Up:
Marine Le Penn, the leader of the Front National Party in France, a right wing – anti immigrant party, visited Quebec last week. She was shunned so bad you would have thought she had the Ebola virus. The one person who wanted to meet with her… Amir Khadir from the Quebec Solidaire, of course he did.
You know what I am sick of, and I mean really sick of, Bombardier. Last week the Globe and Mail reported that Bombardier wants to move more assembly work to China, and this would cost Canada another 200 jobs. This is at the same time it is asking our Federal Government for a billion dollar investment. Then we are told we don’t understand how business works, well you’re right there cause I don’t get it. Feels to me like I just had a date with Jian Ghomeshi (was that to much? Did I cross a line there?)
Here is the best headline of last week – Quebec man says dog saved his life after sensing heart attack. Last February, Richard Maltais, a man from Ste-Anne-de-Beaupre, was feeling dizzy and went to lie down but Max, his dog, would not leave him alone. He called his brother who took him to the hospital where he suffered a heart attack. Look, I don’t want to be a jerk, and I like a good story as much as the next guy, but ……maybe Max just needed to pee. Just saying.
The Capper:
This one made my stomach turn, and I realize it is probably a guy thing. A doctor, Dr. Raymond Rezaie, been fined $20 thousand bucks and suspended for one month for messing up 31 circumcisions. The CJAD news article reported that ‘the operations took place between 2010 and 2013 at the Alpha Medical Clinic on Guy Street, while the corrective surgeries took place at the Montreal Children’s and Ste. Justine’s Hospitals.” What? How can a doctor mess a circumcision up so bad you need corrective surgery? The Quebec Collage of Physicians says Dr. Rezaie will no longer be allowed to perform circumcisions. Well I should hope not! The whole thing makes me shudder.
