Sunday mourning humor and phone communications

Due to the lack of any comedy shows on Sunday mornings, the Fox News planked some thoughtless, self absorbed fool, to anchor their Sunday morning programming. They are egregiously pro-Republican neo-Conservative. And they highlight just how screwed up modern right wing Conservatives are. Its a feel good program. They are so stupid anything and everything they say makes me look spectacularly intelligent.

Observation
This segment of the political spectrum are gung-ho about applying blanket unfocused electronic surveillance to deter terrorism. The Conservatives are all for the spending of money on trying to do that. It looks good on paper. Just how cost effective it is, can be and should be questioned.

It makes intelligence agencies lazy, however that's a sidebar issue. Every time that there is a large failure of intelligence gathering, there has been a previous period where that particular intelligence service has lived a period wholly dependent on electronic fact gathering. Everything owns some sort of side bar.

Paradoxically, the Conservative types also dive into an Olympic sized pool of liquid apoplexy when they find out that blanket includes them. They are outraged. In the future, Conservatives should change the law determining the coverage of the blanket. Anyone who voted Conservative should be exempt from that blanket coverage because it is an invasion of the privacy of the good.

Black - update

Conrad Black is appearing more upbeat this week as the prosecution founders. Indeed the prosecutors are having a hard time proving Black's criminality to this point. Even Black's journalistic buddies like Peter Worthington are trumpeting sure triumph for the defense.

No one including Worthington appears to be questioning the ethics of his business actions. Indeed the greedy maneuver of noncompete fees had to be kept quiet according to the lawyers involved. Black's actions were molded by others according to his defense team.

Regardless the ethics of such actions retain the allegorical shade of very gray. Black was legally in the right. Applied law is a question of legalities not ethics nor morality. A judge and jury can only deal with a legality based on written law in the case of the American format of justice.

Black may not need Canadian citizenship. Knowing the present Harperite Conservative government's penchant for sliding bad decisions under the door sill, Black already may have been reinstated citizen with true Conservative honors. Despite the decade old very public bashing of Canada on his exit to Lordshipdom the regaining of citizenship can be shielded as a private issue and not held in the public optic. Is he now a citizen? Without a conviction, we we'll never know for sure.

This is a belief but he, or the she, has been on the record as alleging Canadian penal institutions as being the least penalizing in the developed world. According to the expressed viewpoint of the time American prisons and justice had it right. Of this conjecture he will never know. He won't be going to jail. No need for a Canadian jail aka Club Kingston "the Resort". If he is found not guilty, he'll have no need of the burden of Canadian citizenship.

Another illegal drug that causes no ill effects

Oh what have we here. People enjoying themselves? Canadian culture is woefully Puritan or Calvinist. A drug from our trading partner in NAFTA makes what appears to be a healthy form of hallucinigenic.

Apparently to this moment unlike LSD or other forms of mind bending drugs this one has no latent effects. And it is a natural product.

To date there is so few users that no deleterious health effects have been found to make it officially illegal. Never mind that state run booze sales cause the deaths and alcoholic dependencies in about 1 out of every 10 users, a single death or mishap will cause the banning of the following product. This story is enterred on the record for the education and


from Canadian Press

OTTAWA -- A freely available herb that packs a powerful psychedelic punch has some federal health officials recommending strict controls.

But Health Canada says it can't regulate the use of salvia divinorum until there's more evidence of its dangers.

Department documents obtained by The Canadian Press under Access to Information law say salvia is being used by adolescents and young adults for its hallucinogenic properties.

Salvia divinorum is difficult to grow outside of its native habitat in southern Mexico, but the plant's leaves and extracts of salvia's active ingredient in pill form are sold in Canada.

A December 2005 report by the marketed health products directorate, an arm of Health Canada, recommends that salvia be placed under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.

Department spokesman Jason Bouzanis said salvia has been known to cause hallucinations, out-of-body experiences, unconsciousness and short-term memory loss. But that's not enough to declare it illegal.

"We can't make any recommendations to place salvia under the Controlled Drug and Substances Act schedules until we have sufficient scientific and empirical data that concludes it has the potential for misuse and abuse," Bouzanis said.

Australia is one of few countries that has made it illegal to possess, distribute and consume salvia, also known as Sally D, the diviner's sage, or the sage of seers. It is a species of sage, which belongs to the mint family, and is most commonly found in Mexico, where indigenous Mazatec shamans have used it for centuries for spiritual journeys.

Salvia leaves are most commonly dried and smoked. Extracts of salvinorin-A, salvia's active ingredient, are available in tablet form. Pill prices can range anywhere from $30 to $80 in Canada depending on the potency desired. Most online sellers of salvia advertise the herb as a natural health product.