frank rantz

On a woman who should NOT care for dogs.

2005-06-22T22:35:00.000-07:00

This clip is a few minutes long, but if you can endure the first couple minutes, you will laugh yourself silly.

I don't even know where to begin to rant about how idiotic this woman is. Too funny! Kinda sucks to be the guy who gets bit by the dog only to be told where else the dog's mouth has been. Ewwwwwww!!!

On Bin Laden's Whereabouts

2005-06-20T17:19:00.000-07:00

If I were a conspiracy theorist, I think I would have a field day with the CIA's contention that it has an excellent idea of Bin Laden's whereabouts. I mean, Bin Laden has served George W and his henchmen very well over the last few years. Having a bogeyman has allowed them to wage war on the decrepit despot in Iraq without much debate in the US. The flipside, of course, is now that we are starting to see some real debate surfacing in the US on that decision, if the US were to actually devote some real resources to capturing Bin Laden, and they succeeded in such a venture, they could tidily wrap up this whole little war on terror, Iraq and all, and claim victory.

We'll see if such a conspiracy theory comes to pass.

On Heaven

2005-06-15T11:19:00.000-07:00

Went and saw Kingdom of Heaven last night. Not a bad movie at all. It had a definite "Gladiator" feel to it, of course, given they're both Ridley Scott works. The muslim leaders were portrayed as quite reasonable actually. I recommend it!

I suppose I should come clean, however. I don't think there is a heaven, or a hell, or god for that matter. There, I said it. Does that really change things a whole lot? I don't think it should. I still think we should all try to be good citizens of the world - not because it will earn us a place in the afterlife, but because it is the right thing to do now.

On one small difference between Canada and the USA

2005-06-14T11:30:00.000-07:00

If ever you thought that Canada and the US were exactly alike, this should forever destroy that misconception.

On the Gerber Grow-up Plan

2005-06-14T11:23:00.000-07:00

What a scam? This TV commercial really pisses me off. They go on and on about how you can protect your baby. What they are really selling is life insurance if your baby dies. That would be a terrible thing, of course, but it doesn't protect your baby in any way. What irks me is that they phrase it in all this colourful language about giving your baby this precious gift that nourishes and protects them. Nothing but shite, I say.

On Jacko

2005-06-13T16:19:00.000-07:00

Not guilty. Fine, whatever. Who cares? I mean, they found OJ not guilty too.

Maybe now the media can report on more important things like:

The crisis in the Congo, Sudan, and Zimbabwe.

The screwed up situation in North Korea.

George W.'s shit sandwich in Iraq, and the recent admission by British Intelligence that the US and UK planned this whole fiasco in advance.

The catastrophic wave of species extinction taking place across the world.

The proliferation of nuclear weapons.

The self-induced health disaster sweeping across fat, lazy North America.

Or, for that matter, anything besides the talk of a some weird little black/white (wo)man who used to be a pop star. I don't want to hear anymore!

On Private Health Care

2005-06-10T11:55:00.000-07:00

Sooooo... the Supreme Court of Canada struck down a law in Quebec outlawing private health care, and now everyone's abuzz that private health care may be about to spread across the land.

I say (hesitantly) good for us.

People already have the option of paying for private healthcare by taking a trip to the US. Why not keep those doctors and patients here in Canada? And, if the concern is for the average Joe Citizen's healthcare needs, surely removing people from the waitlist (by letting them pay for it elsewhere privately) for an operation will only let Joe Citizen have his operation faster?

As for two-tier health in Canada, we are already there in some ways. The rich can afford to buy safer cars, pay for gym memberships, pay for better dental care, eat healthier food etc. than the poor.

And, in general, I like choice. Unless it's hurting somebody else, I don't like the government telling me what I can and can't do.

On the Conservative Party of Canada

2005-06-09T16:08:00.000-07:00

Oh the frustration of it all. Here you are, sitting across from a government with a record full of scandal (pick your poison - the sponsorship scandal, bribing Belinda Stronach, the shady taped negotiations with Gurmant Grewal, the $5 billion purchase of NDP votes to get the budget passed) and Paul Martin seems to have donned the Teflon suit of his predecessor.

What's it going to take for Ontario to see the Conservatives as anything other than the bogeymen from the west? Sure, losing Belinda was a setback for your attempts to put a moderate face on right-wing politics. Of course, we all know that ideologically speaking, Belinda really belonged with the Paul Martin Liberals anyways, or maybe the Joe Clark Tories. The current crop of Tories just seems too frightful for mainstream Canada (or at least that's the message hammered home by the Liberals and the mainstream media).

My advice to you: stick with a message of fiscal responsibility and accountability in government. Drop the far-out social views of some members of your caucus. Canadians also watch the American media and most of us find the hard-right trend in the US to be nothing short of terrifying. Canadians hear about it when Christian nut jobs in the US try to have creationism taught in schools. It's like they're trying to raise a nation of dullards and most Canadians don't want that spread up here.

Be kind to the gay folks. Otherwise, you look like the Christian nut jobs down south. If you are against same-sex marriage, don't marry another fella. If some other fellas want to marry other fellas, don't fight it. They can be just as kind and committed to each other as us straight folks.

Push for a strong military, so Canada can make a positive difference in some very shameful regions of the world.

Focus on your tax cuts - most of us like that.

Push for strong environmental protection - most of us like that too.

I don't know what it's going to take to convince Canadians that you are not a bunch of raving bible-thumping fanatics (you're not, right?). Personally, I was kind of looking forward to a snap election last month with you guys leading a minority government, and the Liberals and NDP providing the balance of power to keep your social conservatives in check. I think you guys would have done a fine job cleaning up the fiscal filth left over from Chrétien and his cronies.

But, that all seems like a pipedream for you guys now, eh?

On Gurmant Grewal

2005-06-08T12:03:00.000-07:00

Oh GG:

Can I call you GG? My how things didn't work out as you had hoped. You thought you could deal a crushing blow to those slippery Liberals. I mean, we all know, or at least should know, that Paul Martin's government is desperate to stay in power and will go to most any length to stay in power. We all know, or ought to know that Belinda got a sweetheart deal for crossing the floor and saving the Liberals by one bought vote. So, you thought to yourself, why not try to entrap Martin's men by approaching them with a similar offer in order to catch them on tape and make yourself the hero?

And it worked! You had them in your grasp! The final nail was being pounded in that Liberal coffin, and you were holding the hammer! You were a hero, in your mind at least. A few little problems however. First, it was a he said / she said tussle of who started the talks in the first place. Sure, that's not really relevant since you did have over four hours of conversation with Paul Martin's chief of staff about how to make a deal without making a deal. But you know those slippery Liberals - they can turn around anything with their slick spin doctoring. The next thing you knew, you looked like the slimy one.

Second, the tapes appeared to be altered. Maybe this was an accident. Maybe you had a defective tape. Maybe you said some things that you didn't want to be heard. Maybe they said some things that you didn't want heard. Who knows. You're saying, forget all that - I still have four hours of taped conversation with high-ranking Liberals saying my betrayal will not go unrewarded. But the point is, it raises a whole bunch more doubt about just how slimy you are, and this gave the slimy Liberals a whole lot more room to manoeuvre out of your trap.

Third, and here is the bizarre bit of icing on the cake for the Liberals - in a frantic rush, you search the airport trying to find someone, anyone, who can deliver these precious tapes to Ottawa and with it your vindication. But we all know you can't ask strangers in an airport to transport packages for us. Either you were out of your mind, or you were still thinking you were the hero. "I'm Gurmant frickin' Grewal, I don't need to obey those silly airport security rules. This is politics - it's more important."

Is it any wonder that Stephen Harper gave you the hook (aka stress leave)? I can just imagine what he said: "Thanks for all your 'help' Gurmant. Now go back home and shut the hell up. Stay away from the media and for God's sake, take the damn train."

On Darfur

2005-06-06T16:09:00.000-07:00

Breaking news: The UN may investigate human rights abuses in the Darfur region of Sudan. Yeah - I'm sure this has the despots in Khartoum shaking in their bloody boots. And no doubt, this will give the Janjaweed bastards a little pause before they kill that next peasant farmer, before they rape his wife and daughters. Yeah right.

Where the hell was the world community two years ago when this all started? Around that time, George W was getting set to go on his Babylonian adventure. Nobody cared about those black Africans back then. Few seem to care now. Where the hell is the George's cavalry? The ones who are supposed to be off spreading freedom and democracy? What about Europe? Surely since the French and the Germans made the wise choice to skip out on Iraq could afford to send some troops on a peacekeeping/making mission to the Sudan? Even Canada, with its tiny military could have done a lot more. Last month our prime minister offered some cash and a couple hundred troops to go to Darfur. What the hell can a couple hundred troops do for millions of displaced civilians on the brink of starvation and disease? That’s a slap in the face to the hundreds of thousands killed, wounded, and raped by the gangs of butchers roaming Darfur.

Why have two years gone and still little or no progress to stop the suffering? I think Terry George summed it up best in his movie Hotel Rwanda: Nobody gives a damn about you. You’re black Africans. You’re not even niggers.