The Assault on Democracy .....

So, there seems to be conclusive evidence that a North Korean torpedo sank a South Korean Warship (unless that evil organization Quantum that James Bond is fighting against is behind it).

Immediate rhetoric and condemnation was uttered by both Canadian and American political figures.

What puzzles me, is in the wake of this latest folly between North and South Korea is the on going assault on democracy in Thailand has not nearly received as much political zeal from our elected officials.

Much like Tianemen Square, advocates of democracy are being put down. I don't think a military coup, whether bloody or bloodless, counts as 'democratic'. The Red Shirts have a valid concern that the current government is not legitimate and that immediate elections are the only fair way to settle the differences between the political and social groups struggling for control.

I think the reason that no one is talking about sanctions against the current Thai government is the same reason that Western political powers don't complain about the lack of civil rights in Saudi Arabia.

Oil, minerals, cheap labour, tourism, chances are if a country has an abundance of one or more of these, then foreign policy says to not upset the apple cart.

So clean up the streets current Thai government, the stains of your assault on democracy will be the most visceral part of your legacy.

Attention Rand Paul ....

You do realize the irony of attacking Obama's criticisms of BP as 'un-american' don't you? After all, BP stands for British Petroleum and the original motivation for the Boston Tea Party was to oppose British tariffs on imports such as tea.

Oh wait, drilling for oil is so ...... patriotically American?

And Paul, what if the CEO of a major oil company is of Hispanic, Latino, or Mexican ethnic origin?

Like any good hypocritical politician, you would take the money and run.

Attention Lawrence Cannon ....

Hey Einstein, you were asked about the CSIS report on the vulnerability of universities and government agencies to attacks by hackers.

You were not asked about border security!!

I hope you plan on using those CSIS reports for more then just coasters or toilet paper!

Attention Vic Toews .....

Face it dude, the federal conservative party has had how many years to review the pardon system in Canada and do something about it and you've done what exactly? Nothing!

If Sheldon Kennedy hadn't commented on Graham James pardon and what the pardon entails would we have heard one peep out of any of you mugs?

This happened on your watch!

The law should be stable, but not stand still. Even more important though, the law should not be reactionary, which is all your inflammatory rhetoric is.

Attention Federal Conservative Party of Canada .....

I hope you plan on increasing taxes to help pay to feed, cloth, shelter, and educate all those babies that are going to be born in the future both abroad and here at home ......

Avatar: Blu-Ray Disc Review

Ok, if you have been living in a cave of some sort you might not have heard of a small budget film from an emerging director named James Cameron called Avatar.

When I first heard about the movie I was intrigued, and when I also heard about the enormous budget for the movie I was even more intrigued. Alas, becoming a parent during a full time school schedule meant no goin' out to movies for Mikey.

So I waited till it came out on Blu-Ray disc and picked up a copy.

All you get is the Blu-Ray version of the movie along with a regular DVD version with no extra features. So if you like extras you might want to wait till the apparent beefed up version which will be released I suspect around, wait for it, Christmas! I could be wrong about that though.

So, Avatar got mixed reviews, a few bad reviews and a few excellent reviews. I went into watching the movie with an open mind though I couldn't help compare this movie to some of James Cameron's other action epics like The Abyss and Terminator I and Terminator II. Technically, Avatar surpasses anything that James Cameron has done.

Overall, I felt a little a let down by the end of the movie. Don't get me wrong, as I said previously, technically the movie is near flawless from a direction, editing, sound and cinematography sense. For those reasons alone seeing this movie on a big screen would have been worth it. Where the film loses marks is in not convincing me to buy into what is happening to the characters. Even Terminator II had some really good dramatic moments that I bought into. Can you say Ahhnold!

The acting is fine, I just didn't buy into the motivations of the characters. Is it that they aren't developed enough? Is it that there isn't enough tension and conflict between certain characters? I think it is something along those lines that left me a little disengaged as the movie rolled along.

The theme of the story is a tried and true human journey kind where a character gets involved with another culture with his or her motivations in mind, but then changes as the narrative progresses and sides with the culture he or she is supposed to be working against.

With that in mind I give Avatar 3 stars out of 5 stars overall. Most of those stars go for the effects which were criticized by some as being either cute or fake or some combination of the two, but I found the visual and special effects to be spectacular.

Overall, if you are looking for an original sci-fi adventure flick then Avatar might not be the ticket, but if you want a decent story with top notch effects then Avatar will be right up your alley.

The picture quality of the Blu-Ray disc is second to none with vibrant colors and rich black levels. The sound is engaging with a host of alien sounds filling your speakers on Pandora and the rumble of the subwoofer when there are explosions in the big action sequence at the end of the third act.

Picture: 5 out of 5.

Sound: 4.5 out of 5.

Story: 3 out of 5

The PR of the Black Blood of the Earth

Face it. The world economy to large degrees is driven by oil. With that in mind even the gigantic and catastrophic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is not going to stop people from driving their vehicles, taking business or vacation trips by plane, or ripping that oil based plastic product off that new toy for their child.

Chevron Canada is embarking on the deepest offshore oil drill in Canadian waters. Timing aside, I can't recall Chevron preemptively reassuring Canadians that they are taking every precaution possible to prevent a similar disaster occurring in Canadian Waters.

BP's PR response to the Gulf of Mexico spill gets mixed reviews as far as I am concerned because at first BP seemed very subtle and muted about the initial explosion and possibility of oil leaking. Only when the reality of thousands of liters of oil making its way to the shores of Louisiana and Mississippi became all to apparent did upper management for BP start to appear on TV and make statements to the press.

I'm sure Chevron is watching what is happening the Gulf of Mexico with keen eyes and ears and I would think that crisis management and communications materials are being drafted or at the very least being considered. I would like to see Chevron issuing news releases or statements talking plainly about the safety precautions they are taking to ensure a similar disaster doesn't happen in Canadian waters.

If the spill in the Gulf of Mexico is even more disastrous then the Exxon Valdez spill of 1989, then this is a chance not only for BP but all oil companies to right a PR wrong, and make the oil industry look less draconian and profit mad then I personally think the oil industry is.