HUMANITARIAN COALITION: Japan Earthquake and Tsunami: DONATE NOW!

Canadian aid agencies, under the banner of the HUMANITARIAN COALITION, are urging Canadians to support the relief efforts in Japan after a massive 8.9 magnitude earthquake, the largest in the nation’s recorded history, and tsunami has devastated the region. Recent reports suggest that thousands are among the dead after the quake and a resulting tsunami, which reached a height of up to 10 metres in some areas.

The HUMANITARIAN COALITION is working together with our partners in Japan and will provide funds to help where the Japanese government indicates that help is most needed While the Japanese government is extremely well prepared for such situations, we are stepping up to help and urge Canadians to do the same.

To donate to THE HUMANITARIAN COALITION, Canadians can log onto www.together.ca or send donations to THE HUMANITARIAN COALITION, P.O. Box 7023, Ottawa, ON, K1L 5A0.

Are Violent Video Games Preparing Kids For The Apocalypse? (Funny!)

punditman says...

This is hilarious, but sad at the same time. I believe Ronald Reagan once said something to the effect that he liked arcade video games because they prepared young boys to become fighter pilots. It's been downhill ever since. Yep, we've come a long way since Pac-Man.

Punditman would like to see a video game in which the object is to create a better future rather than just blow stuff up. Is that too much to ask of these manufacturers? Punditman has always maintained there's brainwashin' in those darn games. A little sarcasm brings the point home:

Keiser Report: Taste of Freedom

punditman says...Punditman is not surprised to learn that Tony Blair went camping with Gadhafi or that Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi let the despicable dictator and Lockerbie bomb plotter pitch his tent in the heart of Rome or that Libya has invested in Italian companies including Fiat SpA and UniCredit SpA and the Juventus soccer team. Or any other number of crimes committed in West in the name of cheap oil.

Punditman is also not surprised when he overhears redneck ignoramus's down at the coffee shop calling for an attack on Libya. These people don't know jack about what and who has enabled this despot. They just think the US is the world cop who needs to act in the name of "freedom" now and then and go blow up Arabs whenever they want. And they cheer every time. That's because these people read the Toronto Sun. The Sun is not a great Canadian newspaper. It stinks.

You can learn about all the corruption and cronyism behind today's headlines, including the Libyan crisis by listening to this Keiser report. If you are a redneck ignoramus, you may learn something:

Worshipping a deceased Celebrity Prez

punditman says...What's with all this Ronald Reagan post mortem worship? It's been going on for years but I guess a commemorative 100th birthday gives the media another excuse for celebrity worship, even for the deceased. For those who recall his presidency without rose coloured glasses, he certainly didn't enjoy the omnipotent popularity that he's now afforded.  Of course there were and always are those who are naively insulated from the powers that be. The 1980s song by Timbuk 3, The future's so bright, I gotta wear shades, apparently had many at the time believing it was an upbeat ditty instead of a sarcastic anti-nuke song.

It's amazing where hindsight and willful blindness will take you. He didn't screw up as badly as Bush II so he gets God-like status? His crimes were more hidden than others so everyone should ignore them? Punditman wrote about Reagan's actual legacy and how it has seeped into Canadian culture here.

In this piece, Gerry Caplan similarly sums up the Gipper's accomplishments and the price paid for those on the receiving end. Do all Americans really think Ronald Reagan was a demigod? Do they? Do Canadians? Punditman ponders.