Segacs's World I Know

Archive for the ‘Rants’ Category

I’ve been surfing some of the other blogs to see what’s up there about today’s shootings at Dawson, and the comments sections are making my head spin. I realize some of you may be first-time visitors, and I’m sorry for doing this, but I need to rant:

To everyone out there trying to use today’s shooting at Dawson to further their own political agenda, whether it concerns gun registries or separatism or mideast politics or Michael Moore or law enforcement funding or student psychological services or the price of tea in India…

Please, please, can you give it a rest?

We don’t know the motive of the shooter or shooters. We don’t know the condition of the victims. We don’t know what it all means. In all likelihood, this was a senseless tragedy, with no-one to blame but the shooters and no agenda to push besides trying to help everyone cope as best as we can.

When we know more, then you can spin the facts all you like. I might even read it.

But in the meantime, please, everyone, take a breath. Thank you.

Imshin is fed up, and writes why:

I started this blog in 2002 because I was so upset about the lies being told about Israel all the time. Lies being told and being believed.

I don’t care any more. It doesn’t matter. We’ve always had to look out for ourselves. Today is no different.

[ . . . ]

Brave kids are fighting for us in Lebanon, getting wounded, getting killed. Whole families have been sitting underground for weeks, many others are refugees. People are being killed and wounded in their homes, thousands of homes have been destroyed. By an organization described by some foreign media as a ‘resistance movement’. Resistance against what exactly?

Against Israel’s existence. They are quite clear about that.

The situation is that Lebanon has to burn right now if Israel is to survive. I’m sorry for the people on the other side, but that is the way it is. Us or them. In that respect we are not doing nearly enough for the enemy to get the picture. No, for the enemy to cease to be.

So I’m supposed to be bothered about the usual lies being told about us by our enemies, those who wish us to cease to be? Excuse me if I don’t give a $%^&!

Read the whole thing.

• Washing dishes
• Parking space thieves
• How the less people know, the more arrogant they tend to be
• Freezing mist
• Hollywood award shows
• Neighbours who sing off-key in the shower at 6am on Sundays
• Mornings, in general

Just to name a few…

Here’s yet another reason:

For 25 months now, cell-phone users in the United States have been able to change service providers and take their numbers with them. This spares you the laborious process of notifying everyone who has your number that you have a new one now.

[ . . . ]

This week the CRTC has announced, oracularly, that Bell Mobility Inc., Rogers Wireless, and Telus Corp. will have to offer number portability by March 2007 – more than three years after U.S. consumers received this service. This will apply for Quebec, Ontario, B.C. and Alberta; the requirement doesn’t kick in for smaller provinces until six months later.

It’s all part, says the CRTC, of balancing the interests of consumers with the interests of the carriers.

Isn’t it strange how consumers so often come out on the short end of the CRTC’s balancing acts?

All of the cell phone companies in Canada offer overpriced products and horrible customer service. Since Rogers bought out Fido I’ve heard nothing but horror stories from subscribers of both. Telus isn’t any better. Bell Mobility — my phone company — is perhaps the worst offender of all. But because our phones are already locked to our companies, and getting a decent deal on a new phone means locking into another contract, switching is already enough of a hassle. Having the phone number locked into the company is all that much worse.

Local numbers are already portable for landlines; I kept my phone number when I switched my home phone service from Bell to Videotron earlier this year. There’s no doubt the consumer wins when competition is fostered. If the cell phone companies actually had to fight for our loyalty, they might not treat us quite so callously.

The CRTC does little other than “protect the interests” of companies that feed us overpriced crap and prohibit us from getting the stuff we truly want. Any party that promises to immediately scrap it can have my vote in the upcoming election.

The offer’s on the table. Any takers?

I need to rant. (It’s great having a blog for times like these…)

This whole debate about the Christmas/Holidays terminology has gotten way out of hand.

We in North America live in a place where the majority of people are some sort of denomination of Christian. But that’s not why Christmas is so predominant everywhere. We have retail chains and companies desperately seeking to drive in dollars to thank for that. None of which, of course, has anything to do with the “real” (read: religious) meaning of Christmas. I’ve only read the New Testament briefly, but I don’t remember anything in there about Jesus telling people to go get new digital cameras on sale at Best Buy.

So sure, Christmas isn’t our holiday… but I don’t mind if someone wishes me a “Merry Christmas”. I intend to do just that actually. This year, it coincides with Chanukah, and I plan to spend Christmas Day merrily eating potato latkes and lighting a menorah with a bunch of cousins.

Speaking of Chanukah, the holiday definitely has had its importance inflated by the same artificial commercialism that took over Christmas. There’s no doubt about that. An otherwise minor holiday that had little – if anything – to do with presents has suddenly become the second most listed holiday next to Christmas in the generic greeting “Happy Holidays”… which, for some reason, has people all up in arms. Now, having worked in the retail business, I can honestly say I’ve wished many people “Happy Holidays” because it seemed odd for me to be wishing other people (many of whom were probably Jewish, given the area) a “Merry Christmas”.

That said, what’s wrong with appreciating another culture’s holiday even if you don’t celebrate it? I don’t believe in Jesus, of course, but there’s no reason why I can’t think that decorative lights are pretty, or even participate in the parties and celebrations of Christian friends. After all, none of them have a problem with eating my mom’s latkes (and raving about them… and asking me to bring them more… but I digress).

Why are we so threatened by a majority culture when it’s perfectly acceptable or even encouraged to learn about and appreciate other minority cultures? Is it because of our fear of assimilation? If so, we really need to get over it: I’m secure enough with my Jewish identity that Christmas is no more threatening than, well, the Easter Bunny. And for people who aren’t, well, being wished a “Merry Christmas” is a far cry from being converted to Christianity.

Ask most non-Christians and they won’t have a problem with being wished “Merry Christmas”. Ask most Christians and they won’t have a problem with being wished “Happy Holidays”.

But here’s the crux of it: WHO CARES???

With problems like world poverty, Iran about to get nuclear weapons, people in death camps in North Korea, earthquakes in Pakistan, Tsunamis in Asia, hurricanes in the US, and Bono thinking he’s a politician… can’t we re-examine our priorities just a little and stop obsessing over what words people choose to wish each other well?

I mean, a little perspective please: people are actually trying to be nice and friendly to one another. Silly me, I thought that was a good thing.

So whether it’s Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanzaa, New Year’s, a devil worshipping feast, the arrival of winter, the mere fact that many of us get a few precious days off from work, or simply being in a good mood, can’t we just call the whole thing off and return to spending inordinate amounts of money on stuff we don’t really need?

Done ranting now.

Update: Stephen Colbert is launching a campaign against the “Merry Christmas” crowd for trying to deny him his Happy Holy Day. Now that’s the spirit!

Honestly, I should turn this into a regular column, due to the frequency of my rants against Air Canada on this blog. But they just keep on asking for it.

My flight home from New York today was delayed by 3-1/2 hours. That’s for a flight that only takes an hour. The vague description of the cause was something to do with “equipment delays”. The airline kept us waiting in the terminal all that time without offering us so much as a free soda.

Then I got home and saw this:

Air Canada’s efforts to burnish its public image were dealt a blow Sunday when the carrier was forced to cancel some flights because its pilots reached the limit on their flying time for the month.

Oh. So that’s what they mean by “equipment delays”.

Air Canada’s advertisements feature all sorts of promises of fun stuff that’s “coming soon”, like personal entertainment sets on all seats. A word of advice to the management team at Air Canada: the main thing passengers want to be “coming soon” is their flight. You might want to spend a bit less money and effort focusing on useless nonsense, and a bit more on basics like, oh, say, customer service. Just a thought.

While reading online reactions, listening to the radio and hearing people speak today, something kept nagging at me. And that was this:

We can all (well, those of us who aren’t of the terrorist persuasion anyway) agree to be shocked, horrified and sympathetic when something like this happens. As far as that goes, we’re all united for about 10 seconds.

But then the next question is “what now?” And that’s where the divisions start, because that’s where everyone starts telling people that today’s attacks “mean” that… (insert their political viewpoint here).

Some examples:

• Anti-poverty activists are saying that today’s attacks “mean” that the fight to eradicate third-world poverty must be stepped up, because only that can solve terrorism.
• Anti-Americans are saying that today’s attacks “mean” that Bush’s foreign policies, especially in Iraq, are disastrous and responsible for the bombings today, since Blair is an ally of Bush.
• Defenders of the Iraq war are saying that today’s attacks “mean” that going into Iraq was the right thing to do after all, and that the world’s leaders should unite with the US and Britain.
• Socialists are saying that today’s attacks “mean” that the capitalist system is a failure and that only when true social harmony exists under a socialist system will terrorism be eradicated.
• I’m willing to bet that sellers of blue cheese are saying that today’s attacks “mean” that people should eat more blue cheese.

See what I’m saying?

The only thing that today’s bombings in London “mean” is that dozens of people are dead and hundreds more are injured in a cowardly attack. All the rest is just politics.

I can’t help but think that life before electricity must have been so much simpler.

Earlier today, I had to break into my own car when my car alarm inexplicably stopped working. At first, I thought the battery was dead on the clicker. But after trying the spare, I realized it was a problem with the alarm itself. Unlocking the car with the key did not set the alarm off, as it was supposed to, but the car wouldn’t start because there’s an ignition kill switch. In the end I had to disconnect the battery to reset the alarm. And all this for what? Car alarms don’t actually deter theft; they just provide a discount on insurance rates.

Then I got home to see a fire truck outside my apartment building. Minor panic gave way to relief when the firemen told me that the fire was outside on an electric pole and not inside, and that it was perfectly safe to enter. But the power was out for a while. It’s amazing how much an hour-long power outage wreaks havoc with life. The temperature in here is easily over 30 degrees, and without electricity of course my fan doesn’t work. Heating up dinner wasn’t possible, and I was worried that the food in the freezer would defrost and ruin. Just home from the gym I was craving a shower, but of course there was no hot water.

But there’s a flip side. With the power out, nobody could do much of anything, so people from my building and the one across the street just stood out on their balconies or fire escapes and chatted. There was actual evidence of human contact for, oh, about 15 minutes. Then the power came back on and we all went back inside to get back to our daily lives – or, in my case, to blog about it.

So now the car alarm’s working, the power’s on, the food’s in the oven and the fan is cooling down my apartment. And maybe I’ll meet some more neighbours during the next power failure.

David Janes agrees with Jay Currie, who thinks Quebec ought to just separate already and get it over with… and he’s wishing us a good riddance:

For a long time I have thought it would be best for Quebec to just go. Have a referendum on a clear question without the feds violating Quebec election laws and, if the soverigntists win (which they almost certainly will), go.[ . . . ]

Indeed, can anyone provide me with a reason why we should not be encouraging Quebec to stand on her own two feet and moving on?

Gee, thanks a lot guys. So nice to know that you’ll be defending us and leading the federalist fight.

But since you asked so nicely, Jay, here are a few reasons why not to encourage Quebec to separate:

• Most Quebecers want to stay in Canada. We voted that way… twice (even despite the rejected ballot scandal). Even 56% of people who say they would vote yes think so too. They aren’t really sovereigntist… they’re just not too bright.
• Sovereignty wouldn’t work. Idealism aside, even most nationalists recognize that a sovereign Quebec would be a practical and economic disaster.
• We’re Canadian, dammit! I’m a fourth-generation Canadian who is not part of the “Quebec nation” by any means, but is certainly part of the Canadian one. You seem awfully callous about the idea of stripping me of my citizenship.
• Come to Montreal or Quebec City or the Laurentians or even the Gaspé once in a while, visit for a bit, and remember that you’d be giving up some of the nicest places in Canada.
• Relinquishing Quebec is just admitting that Canada’s a failure. Next would be the West, and maybe Newfoundland if it ever gets control of its oil revenues. Hey, I know some of you lament Canada’s problems day in, day out… but at heart, you must recognize how great this country is, and realize that it’s worth fighting for.
• You know you don’t really want to give up poutine.

Really, I’m getting quite tired of trying to convince you guys to want us and to defend our right to stay in our own country. A little Canadian solidarity would be nice now and again, you know?

So instead of pushing us out the door, how about helping out and joining the federalist campaign? We’re feeling awfully lonely and unwanted these days, and we could sure use some support here.

Meryl has the scoop on the 3rd annual International Eat an Animal for PETA day:

In honor PETA’s continuing prevarications, and constant annoyance, we once again urge our readers to do what pisses them off the most: Eat meat on International Eat an Animal for PETA Day, March 15th.

[ . . . ]

Remember, nothing says “Eff you, PETA” like a yummy cow dinner. Mm. Cow.

Of all the self-righteous annoying pains in the world, PETA are some of the worst. I will happily eat some sort of poultry on March 15th (which is a week from Tuesday), and I encourage you to do the same.