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Inglourious Basterds

We watched Inglourious Basterds last night, with Hollywood’s ‘throb, Brad Pitt, who, in my opinion, is grossly overrated as an actor.

This isn’t a film review -not even an economical capsule of a review –  but more a statement of what I watched on my television for a smidge less than two and a half hours.  And what I watched I can only describe as a bit like an assault on the brain.

My least favourite part of Quentin Tarantino’s work was Brad Pitt, who might as well have worn a sign that read ‘typical Hollywood stereotype’.  Frankly, I think he ought to have been embarrassed by not only accepting this role, but by the fact he actually accepted money for the part.

On the other hand, Christoph Waltz who took on the role of Colonel Hans Landa, was superb as the slimy, underhanded Nazi intent on hunting every last Jew in France.  Waltz was in terrific company with actresses Melanie Laurent,  (playing Shosanna) a wonderful addition to the cast, and Dietrich-like Diane Kruger who played Bridget von Hammersmark.  These are three actors of whom I would love to see in other movies.

I’m tempted to re-watch Inglourious Basterds, but feel that would be like returning to the scene of a horrific car accident, just to see what I might have missed the first time I drove by.

My Home Town, A great video by Jordan Burnell, Matt Popowich & Westfort Films

Ever wonder where Thunder Bay, Ontario is? Look no further! These kids have put together a brilliant video putting this city in northwestern Ontario on the map without question.

I only lived in Thunder Bay for three years back in the ’70s, but I love this video.  Jordan Burnell, Matt Popowich, and the others at Westfort Films did an amazing job. Our teenager loves it, so it’s already being shared with her friends.

The folks at Thunder Bay tourism should pay attention.

Jack Layton, Prostate Cancer

I have just learned that Jack Layton has been diagnosed with prostate cancer.  I wish him a speedy recovery back to good health.

Jim Bradley, MPP St. Catharines. Bill 132 and Bill 222

I have just this instant finished a telephone call with Liberal MPP Jim Bradley’s office here in St. Catharines.  I did not speak with Mr. Bradley, but with an assistant who I must say, is a definite asset to the Bradley office and a woman who doesn’t reject every comment that goes against the Liberal grain.  In the past, I can tell you, some of his assistants have been downright rude.

Jim and I have not got along well in the past, mainly because I do not agree with all of his policies, especially since he voted FOR Bill 132.  However, after this telephone call I am impressed by his actions… if he follows through, of course.

The assistant had already relayed this week’s previous comments and remarks to Mr. Bradley today by telephone.  As I spoke she typed my concerns, as she has before, and afterwards informed me that Mr. Bradley had asked her to assure me that he will take my concerns, my comments, and information that I provided today (including the Facebook group, the online Petition, the rally February 6th in Brampton, etc.,) to Christopher Bentley, Ontario’s Attorney-General.  In other words, my – our – voice will be heard by Bentley and hopefully things may change in this case.

Bradley may not want to reverse his standing on Bill 132, however, managing to get my MPP to at least get all my concerns to Bentley is – I repeat – if he follows through - (I’m not that naive…) a step in the right direction and further than where I was an hour ago.  Furthermore, I have asked his assistant to relay to him that he ought to consider standing up and admitting that Bill 132 should be reviewed forthwith, that considering the events of late – and including all the previous tragedies of breed-specific-profiling during the last few years – he should make it known to the Ontario government that we, the public, have grave concerns, and that Cheri DiNovo’s Bill 222 ought to be passed immediately.

I am giving Jim Bradley the benefit of the doubt today.  I am taking him at his word, and will do so until I am told he has done nothing of what he has promised.

It’s all I have to go on for the moment.

Tick-tock…

Stop Canine Profiling – STOP BSL

An informative site about Ontario’s breed-specific profiling.

Also a list of Ontario MPPs and how they voted on Bill 132.  How did your MPP vote?

Stop Canine Profiling – STOP BSL.

Facebook and Petition Statistics: Injustice, Brampton Dogs on Death Row – Free Them Now.

As of 1:09 pm. EST, February 5, 2010, here are the current standings:

Facebook Group:  Injustice, Brampton Dogs on Death Row, Free Them Now:  4,883 members

Petition:  Injustice, Brampton Dogs on Death Row, Free Them Now:  6,000 signatures

SUPPORT CHERI DINOVO’S BILL 222 REMOVING ALL ASPECTS OF BSL IN ONTARIO

Click HERE to go to her Facebook page.

“That” Bylaw Officer… Who is that masked crusader?

Good morning:

I have heard through that proverbial grapevine that the Bylaw Officer who seized Rambo and Brittany from their owners – Mrs. Maria Gaspar and the Branco family –  keeps a firm eye out for former Attorney-General Michael Bryant’s banned canines:  dogs who are pit-bulls and any canine who could look just a tad like a pit-bull in the right light.

Apparently, this woman seems to have a bit-o-history where this is concerned, I’m further told.

Who is she?

What are her qualifications?

Why hasn’t she come forward and stepped up to the plate?

Michael Bryant with teeth bared and fist ready.

Should we, the caring citizens of Ontario, demand an inquiry into Brampton’s questionable methods of seizing dogs?   Could there be a pattern to the City’s slobbering adulation of Mr. Bryant’s hate of dogs?

(By the way, does anyone know the trial date for Michael Bryant’s case where he will defend himself against charges of killing Toronto cyclist, Darcy Allan Sheppard?)

In our Ontario, we put to death innocent dogs and keep road-rage tyrants at home in comfort.  God forbid Road-Rage Bryant should ever see the inside of a jail cell.

Who’s the dangerous offender here, I ask you?

Meanwhile, Over on Facebook…

If you are looking for the group at Facebook which now boasts 3,742 members in support of this cause, it’s called

“Injustice, Brampton Dogs on Death Row – Free Them Now.”

I am also pleased to report that this afternoon the Petition to stop the killing of these two dogs, has reached 5,021 signatures at the time of writing.

Susan Fennell, the City of Brampton, and the Mysterious Case of the Secret Veterinarian.

My faith in human nature has been dampened this week.  On the other hand, it’s also been bolstered.

Before I forget, this little clip below from the City of Brampton’s website, informs us that should we steer correspondence to Mayor Susan Fennell, she ought to be referred to as “Your Worship.”  See, ordinarily I would, but in light of the way Susie’s been behaving through this dog mess (no pun intended) “Your Worship” is going to be the last thing I call her.

You can call me "Your Worship."

So, while the City of Brampton plods on in such a foolish manner to insist the two dogs, Rambo and Brittany, are pit-bulls, Her Worship, Mayor Susan Fennell, could put an end to this right away.

Is she and the City so convinced – 100% convinced – that the vet they have on the books is the fastest gun-for-hire with the ability  to simply look at a dog and determine its DNA?  Is Super-Vet willing to come out of hiding and offer his/her wisdom and insight?  I’d offer Super-Vet’s name, but I haven’t heard it bandied about AT ALL through this fiasco, have you?

Susie, give us the name of Super-Vet already!

The other part of this sham is that Fennell, I’m certain, can’t really be so sure of herself that she’s unwilling to perhaps admit that Super-Vet could have been wrong. Would it not be taking the high road to allay the public’s fury over what is currently happening?  Wouldn’t you think Susie would sit in her office with a cup-o-joe, or over a cold one with her cronies and consider her options?  Does she honestly imagine that her voting public is going to forget this crap she’s shovelling when next the election comes ’round?

Sue, call up Super-Vet and have a re-think/conflab  for cryin’ out loud.  Ask the gifted one if he/she is 100% certain, without a shadow of doubt that Mrs. Gaspar’s Rambo and the Branco family’s Brittany are pit-bulls… with enough characteristics, of course, as outlined in McGuilty’s shameless Bill 132 brought about by his government and that nitwit Michael Bryant.

And what about those comments from the Bylaw Officer as written in the Toronto Sun’s article yesterday.  ”She” is going to hunt down every one of those pups??

Gee, there’s a kind-hearted soul if ever I saw one.   Another Nurse Ratched we do not need.

What really pisses me off is that we’d be hard-pressed to find any MPP who voted FOR nitwit Michael Bryant’s Bill who had the foggiest of what the hell they were voting for.  So many of these politicians have characteristics of sheep, of kiss-asses, those sorts of “public servants” that lick the boots of the top-dog (again, no pun intended, or any offence to canines) who want legislation pushed through at all costs.

Unfortunately, Jim Bradley, our MPP, voted FOR this legislation when he hadn’t the faintest clue of ANY characteristics of a pit-bull.  Lord, how we need a fresh face in this city after decades of Bradley’s leadership.

I am, in all seriousness, outraged by the McGuilty government’s lack of insight into the dangers of breed-specific profiling. Other locales have reversed their stance, why can’t Dalton and his sidekicks also realize the damage this profiling does to so many animals and families?

Rambo (I’m speaking of senior citizen Mrs. Gaspar’s dog now, not Dalton or the nitwit) was her companion, for God’s sake!  The Branco family who have hired Mississauga lawyer Megan Burkett – who is, by the way, a classy, intelligent woman – lost their pet, as well, when Nurse Ratched commandeered Brittany.

I feel nothing but disgust for Susan Fennell, The City of Brampton, Dalton McGuinty, Michael Bryant, all the halfwit MPPs, the legal department at the City, the Media Relations people at the City, the Bylaw Officer, and all the other halfwit nitwits who are tap-dancing around this matter.

What the hell ever happened to common sense?

GIVE MARIA GASPAR AND THE BRANCO FAMILY THEIR DOGS.

Toronto Sun reports…Bylaw Officer said, “I’m going to hunt (Tyson’s pups) down, one by one”

Read The Toronto Sun’s February 3rd edition’s story, written by Jenny Yuen, and note the paragraph near the end where the City of Brampton’s Bylaw officer said,

I’m going to hunt (Tyson’s pups) down, one by one.

No-sirree, Bob, no agenda there!

The City of Brampton is an absolute embarrassment to this province.  We can all thank former A-G Michael Bryant and the Dalton McGuilty government for BSL and the “hunting down” of dogs by these by-law officers.

Seized dogs aren’t pit bulls: Owners | Toronto & GTA | News | Toronto Sun.

And the numbers rise.

I am more than happy to report that the online petition to stop the killing of Rambo and Brittany is in excess of 4,000.  It is gratifying to see signatures from all over the world in support of banning BSL in this province.

City of Brampton’s Michael Kralt: Master of the Form Letter

Michael Kralt, Office of the City Manager in Brampton, Ontario, Canada, is now sending out form letters to answer concerned parties’ queries about the two dogs his city seized from Maria Gaspar and the Branco family.

This is how much this man cares about the whole situation:

Here’s his form-letter response:

Thank you for your correspondence with respect to two pit bulls recently impounded by Brampton Animal Services.  This message is to clarify why the animals were impounded, and to correct information reported in the media.  Above all, we want to assure you that the animals are being well cared for.

The dogs (Brittany and Rambo) were impounded from different families under  the Dog Owners’ Liability Act and Brampton Dog By-law 250-2005 because Brampton Animal Services has documentary and veterinary evidence that they are illegal pit bulls.   By provincial law, the City has an obligation not to release the dogs.

Under the Dog Owners’ Liability Act a pit bull includes:

(a) a pit bull terrier

(b) a Staffordshire bull terrier

(c) an American Staffordshire terrier

(d) an American pit bull terrier

(e) a dog that has an appearance and physical characteristics that are substantially similar to those of dogs referred to in any of clauses (a) to (d).

That legislation also states that pit bulls born before November 29, 2005 are legal, but restricted pit bulls; those born after that date are illegal under the provincial law.  Both dogs were born after that date, and based on documentary and veterinary evidence that both are pit bulls, they are illegal in Ontario.

The City gave the families until February 5 to assess their options as outlined in the legislation, including giving the dogs to another home outside of Ontario. The owners have since requested an extension, which the City is granting, appreciating this is a difficult situation.

The City of Brampton is bound by provincial legislation to identify and take action where the health and safety of the community may be impacted by dogs deemed illegal under the provincial law. The City is proceeding with an abundance of caution in this particular case.

The City is continuing its investigation and charges are pending.

Thank you for taking the time to contact us on this issue.

Michael Kralt

Office of the City Manager

City of Brampton

City of Brampton thugs continue to bully Maria Gaspar and the Branco family

While the City of Brampton continues to bully and threaten Mrs. Gaspar and the Branco family, their pets remain in the City’s animal “shelter” awaiting their death.

You will read in between the lines at the end of the Brampton Guardian’s article that Brampton’s legal department is deciding on its charges against the individuals who lost their pets to the backwards-thinking Neanderthals who commandeered the pet dogs.

**Interestingly, in an earlier version of this article, the charges were outlined against Gaspar and Branco, however, I note that the article has been edited since and the descriptions of the actual charges have been removed.

Cowards.

What I see is City Hall bullying a 75 year-old senior lady and the Branco family who owns Brittany.  These thugs in the City of Brampton ought to be ashamed of themselves.

And if anyone ever thought this breed-specific profiling is unjust, this case alone should assuage any doubt whatsoever.  Michael Bryant, the first Liberal goon to insist on Bill 132, followed by Dalton McGuinty, and all the other political cronies who voted FOR this legislation, including our own Liberal MPP Jim Bradley who couldn’t describe to me the characteristics of a Pit Bull if his life depended on it, are embarrassments to this province.

On a more positive note, the petition to stop the City of Brampton from killing these pets is now over 3,000 strong from around the globe.  Brampton is under the microscope, and should return these pets to their owners forthwith.

Those at the City of Brampton who deserve to be questioned are as follows:

Susan Fennell, Mayor,

Gordon Smith, Manager of Media Relations

Mariam Mesbah, Senior Advisor, Issues and Media

Michael Kralt, City Manager (who, incidentally, has the audacity to send out form letters now to concerned parties who wish answers!)

Write to them, PLEASE, at the City of Brampton by clicking here.

And for those of you who own dogs – any dogs – and are sitting on the fence or too lazy or  cowardly to do anything to help these families, wake up!!  Your dog could be seized under BSL and Bill 132.

The Brampton Guardian: Providing Local Community News for Brampton, Ontario 24/7.

Sign the Petition to save these two pet dogs…

Click here to go to the online petition…