Yesterday I had a big serving of humble pie and revealed to much of the local running community just how much of a jerk I really am. Some of the businesses in town ran a mother's day cure for cancer race (entry fee plus money raised all goes to cancer research) so I figured I'd do it because I love to run, good cause and all that. I'm really not a competitive person.... I run just because I truly love it and 99% of the time I'm the nicest guy you'll meet o...

This last week, one of my good friends and co-workers had a brush with his own mortality and thankfully it looks like he's gonna be okay. From here on out though, his life is going to be drastically different. For the sake of this article, we'll say this fellow's name is Jack. First though, a disclaimer-

I love junk food. I love wolfing down a greaseball double-bacon cheeseburger and fries then topping it off with some ice-cream or deep-fried cheesecake. On certain occasions when I'...

A time of great change is upon us. In the last few weeks there were riots in the streets of Egypt, Somalia, Haiti, Morocco, Madagascar, Thailand and Mauritania. And this is just the beginning. Here in Canada, Filipinos are buying up rice and shipping it back home to the Philippinnes, another country that may soon see rioting.

The people in these nations were not rioting over politics or ideology. They were not rioting because of religion or human rights abuses by thei...

Many folks like to harp against the evils of big government and how all it does is create a stumbling block for industrious private business with endless reams of red tape, taxes and laws. In some regards, these complaints are entirely valid. But government organizations play a crucial role in our society. They exist to ensure the protection and best interest of the public, both physically and financially.

This necessity exists for a simple reason- someone's gotta be the traffic cop and ...

There is indeed no oil shortage, nor is there a food shortage. Global demand for both food and energy has been regularly outpaced by the supply but prices on both commodities have skyrocketed. Despite political rhetoric about needing to produce more oil and build more refineries domestically, that will not change the price, nor will any refineries come online anytime soon. All of those "solutions" will take years and cost a lot of money. Besides, here in Canada we're reg...

Excerpt from an article on the current state of the Union-

http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/14046

“By virtually any measure, the United States is the least progressive nation in the developed world. It trails most of Western Europe in poverty rates, life expectancy, health care, child care, infant mortality, maternity leaves, paid vacations, public infrastructure, incarceration rates, and environmental laws. The wealth gap in the US has not been so wide since 1929. The Wal-Mart fo...

Is the Surge really working?

Although I am an unabashed liberal, I would like to ask the fine folks here to consider this article without political bias. I could care less whether a republican or democratic president was responsible for giving the order to go into Iraq. History does have a habit of repeating itself- so with that in mind I'm going to go ahead and ask if the surge is really working, considering previous occupations and how they ended... first, a little history.

Back in janua...

Bush and Cheney have been chomping at the bit to go after Iran for a long time. Back in 2003, shortly after the proclamation that major combat operations had ended in Iraq, there was the widespread belief that most U.S forces would be out of the country within 6 months and available to continue the grand ol' march of freedom. One administration official pontificated that with the speedy fall of Hussein's regime in Iraq it was time to topple other undesirables in the...

Sooner or later the war in Iraq is going to end. I think everyone from all political persuasions can at least agree that at some point, the majority of U.S service personnel will leave the country and come back home. The reasons for coming home however may turn out to be far different than many folks think.

When the troops come home, it will not be because of political or military victory. If those do occur it will be counted as an additional bonus and if victory hasn't be...

It's been 19 years since the Exxon Valdez struck the Bligh Reef and spilled over 11 million gallons of crude oil into Prince William Sound. This devastated the marine ecology in the area, killed many local fisheries industries, and caused a disruption in the foodchain that many estimate will still take decades to recover in some areas. 

In 1994 a federal court ordered Exxon to pay approx 5 billion in damages to 30,000 fishermen, natives and local businesses that suffered&n...

With all this talk of faux-environmentalism (carbon credits being one of the worst offenders) Here's a step in the right direction- the Tesla Roadster. 100% electric, 0-60 in 4 seconds, approx 220 miles per charge, zero emmisions. Doesn't look half bad either. Unfortunately it's a tad expensive for someone of my modest means ( $ 98,000.0!) But what's important is that the technology is there. It is feasible, and it is marketable. Admittedly not too many people will be able to afford a 98K c...

Did you know that Ipods and most cell phones are designed to break down from normal wear and tear within 2-3 years of manufacture? Engineers, business managers and bean counters sat down and figured out that they could make the most money for their companies if the products they sell you fall apart so you will have to buy new ones. Same goes for most other consumer goods. When something breaks, throw it away and buy the next generation model. All hail the mighty Gods of consumption! From a busin...

"Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it"

-Winston Churchill, George Santayana among many others-

There is an economic catastrophe that is coming our way. We are facing a depression, and those in the halls of power and the media are either too scared, too incompetent, or too selfish to let the people really know about it until it's too late. Yes, this problem is in part caused by the subprime housing bust but only in part and it goes much deeper than that.&...

I've come across an excellent article written by Albert Einstein in 1949- his thoughts on socialism, and the evil of modern-day capitalism. For a guy who's considered one of the brightest minds of the 20th century it is certainly worth the read!!

http://www.monthlyreview.org/598einst.htm

For the past 7 years, the Bush Administration has been pursuing tax cuts and government outsourcing with dogmatic fervor. We have heard plenty about the benefits of these tax cuts; acting as a stimulus for the economy, giving business large and small extra capital to invest or expand their operations (hopefully) hiring more workers in-country. Giving extra money back to the little guy so he can afford to buy more goods and services, thereby acting as another primer for t...