Gay Pride, Vancouver Edition . . . .

This is the fifth year we've been able to view the Pride Parade in Vancouver. It's also our second Pride Parade of this year, as on our trip to Portland in June we also enjoyed theirs. (More on Portland below.)

The parade included all the usuals:

Political/Civic Figures:
(with the notable exception of the BC LINOs (Liberal in Name Only)
- might have something to do with Premier gordo campbell's
sinking poll numbers due to the unpopular
H(arper)S(ales)T(ax) implementation)

Elizabeth May:

MP Hedy Frye:

BC Civil Liberties Chair David Eby:

Parks Board Chair Aaron Jasper:

Dancing Girls

Buxom Ladies:

Colourful Drag Queens:

Hunky (Yumm!) Hockey Players:

Tall People:

Corporate Sponsors:

And the stephen harper Tribute:

Now for more Gay and happy news: Federal Judge Vaughn R. Walker in California has issued his ruling on Proposition 8 there. He found that California's voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage violates the federal constitutional rights of gay people.

The case will be appealed to the Ninth Circuit of Appeals in Portland (See, I told you there would be more about Portland!) and then on to the Supreme Court. Just happened to snap a couple of pics of the courthouse, as these are typically "The Good Guys" in judicial circles.

Cross your fingers . . . .

Fireworks Finale . . . .

This year's Celebration of Light finished up Saturday night with a "Tribute to China." The show was actually produced by a Canadian firm but there was some confusion as lots of folks thought it was a Chinese production.

The winner of this year's competition was announced before the show began Saturday night, and our favourite of Spain won - One of the few times we've agreed with the judges . . . .

Could be Worse . . . .

Guess there could be worse things than being in Vancouver, BC in the summer. Even though we have a crappy Premier and an even crappier Prime Minister it's still better than being in our former homeland - especially at this time of the year.

Check out this report from our former local area newspaper today and you'll get the picture:

County Sheriff’s Office responded to an argument that led to a food fight at a home Thursday night.

The responding deputy found a 42-year-old woman sitting outside her residence on Grant Avenue crying with food particles in her hair. She told the deputy she and her live-in boyfriend had an argument and he threw a pie at her.

The 57-year-old boyfriend, who was also at the residence, said his girlfriend, who is seven months pregnant, was inconsolable about an argument that happened earlier in the day. At some point, someone threw an apple pie at the other person. The man said he couldn’t remember who threw the pie first, but the other person responded by throwing the rest of the pie.

The deputy noted in his report there were remnants of an apple pie and other food items smeared on the floor and cabinets. Neither had any injuries associated with the argument and report notes both were intoxicated at the time.

There were no charges in the incident.

“While both parties threw pie at each other there was no intent to cause harm,” according to the report.

Hard to tell which is more depressing: The story itself or the fact that it made it to print in the local newspaper.

As "drf" and I tell each other on a regular basis:

"We are blissed . . . . "

Mexico Shines . . . .

Good show by Mexico last night, 2nd only to Spain in our opinion. Lots of big displays, but the whole theme not quite as well executed as Spain's. However, elderly neighbours raved about it and gave them #1 so far.

Different strokes, and all that . . . .

Spain's Turn @ Celebration of Light . . . .

Spain put on a fantastic and original show on Saturday. Although these pics don't do it justice as I was pre-occupied watching with the naked eye, we decided it was one of the top two shows we've witnessed since 2005 . . . .

Celebration of Light, 2010 Edition . . . .

The 20th anniversary of the Celebration of Light on English Bay led off with Team USA on deck Wednesday night. (Spain follows Saturday, then Mexico and China next week.)

General consensus from our group: "Boring!" The first half of the show was a definite yawner. They did have an interesting "fountain" effect for quite some time and had a rather strong finish, but overall not very impressive . . . .

The Road to Armageddon . . . .

This morning I completed "The Armageddon Factor: The Rise of Christian Nationalism in Canada" by Marci McDonald.

Her book is highly recommended as a wake-up call (I hope it's not too late!) for Canadians to avoid the mess religious zealots have ingrained in the US political system. With the short period of time harperco has been in office, the infiltration of "faith-based" radicals is astounding. Some excerpts follow.





On the "Change you can believe in" president:

On both sides of the border, Obama's election was hailed as a tipping point, the moment when a majority of Americans finally revolted against years of overheated piety in favour of an appeal for spiritual tolerance. . . . .

. . . . As it turned out, those elegies were premature. Rather than banishing Bush's faith-based bureaucracy and rhetoric from the White House, Obama has actually outdone him in public religiosity. From the invocation by celebrity pastor Rick Warren at the inauguration to his own address to the Islamic world enunciating his belief in Jesus Christ, he has “embraced faith in a more visible way than any other president in recent memory,” according to Dan Gilgoff, the religion writer for U.S. News & World Report. While Bush was careful, even covert, in his scriptural allusions, Obama opened major presidential rallies with prayers solicited from local pastors, and mentioned Jesus with a frequency his predecessor would never have dared. Instead of scrapping Bush's Office of Faith-Based Initiatives, he expanded its mission and named a new twenty-five-member Faith Advisory Council, prompting Gilgoff, the founder of Beliefnet's “God-o-meter,” to dub him the “faithiest” president in American history.

On the "feel-good" methods of the snake oil salesmen:

Waving their bright flags on the lawns of the Parliament Buildings, extolling the country's Christian roots to a compelling soft-rock beat, they might seem to offer a refreshing recipe for morality and national pride, but their agenda – while outwardly inclusive and multi-racial – is ultimately exclusionary. In their idealized Christian nation, non-believers – atheists, non-Christians and even Christian secularists – have no place, and those in violation of biblical law, notably homosexuals and adulterers, would merit severe punishment and the sort of shunning that once characterized a society where suspected witches were burned. Theirs is a dark and dangerous vision, one that brooks no dissent and requires the dismantling of key democratic institutions. A preview is on display south of the border, where decades of religious-right triumphs have left a nation bitterly splintered along lines of faith and ideology, trapped in the hysteria of overcharged rhetoric and resentment.

In her final words, a warning: (Emphasis mine.)

On a visit to Canada in late 2006, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Chris Hedges was alarmed to discover that, in a country he had always regarded as “a bit saner” than the U.S., Harper was putting out the welcome mat for the religious right. The son of a Presbyterian minister and a; graduate of Harvard Divinity School, Hedges warned Canadians against following the lead of those Americans who “stood sleepily by as Pat Robertson and other religious bigots hijacked the Republican Party and moved into the legislative and executive branches of government.” As he made clear, the growth of the U.S. Christian right was a long and insidious process, but one that could only have happened because the media and political moderates watched in passive disbelief or wishful denial. In tracing the influence of that emergent force in this country, I have attempted to sound a wake-up call, but, in the end, it is up to Canadian voters to write the next chapter. Only they can decide the kind of country in which they want to live.

For lack of a better term, Marci, "amen" . . . .

What the media ignored: 25,000 peacefully demonstrate against G20 policies in Toronto

Spread the word.



Take this viral and maybe the MSM will have to report it . . . .

Don't Worry . . . .

about "turrerists" from the "axis of evil" nations, Gang.

We can accomplish our own undoing.


All in the name of corporate profits.

Check out pale's and Alison's commentary on the topic.

Once again: Corporatists - 1, The Public - 0 . . . .

Matt Weighs In . . . .

Matt Taibbi weighs in on the "Vati-scum" - aka, "bennie and the jerks" - in action.

A sample:

That’s all the church is. They’re a giant for-profit company using predatory salesmanship to sell what they themselves know is a defective, outmoded, basically unnecessary product.

The full article here.

As usual, his writing is on-target and verbiage more than entertaining . . . .

IP Nails It . . . .

Idealistic Pragmatist has the definitive post on the US dems, health care "reform" and the sorry condition of the Excited States here.

Go, read and hope the situation doesn't creep across the 49th . . . .

Six Degrees of . . . .

Quick!

What do george w.bush, stephen harper and tiger woods have in common?



The Universe indeed works in mysterious ways . . . .