I set Sympatico as my browser homepage and they have Michael Jackson as a featured image. I get scared just looking at him.

China just spent approximately $1 billion U.S. dollars on electrical equipment from Germany. So apparently, the only car industry that isn't completely flopping is Germany's. :P

Republicans Radical conservatives have taken the plunge and started directing unnecessary accusations against Obama and his interview on 60 Minutes. I agree, his off-hand derogatory (though, not really) comment about the Special Olympics was a fairly bad misstep. But to accuse him of belittleling the current economic crisis simply because he laughed a little, is really just immaturity on their part. Given the difficult situation he's in as President, should he not be allowed a few luxuries, such as making a few jokes here and there?

I also hate that it gives Sarah Palin more things to talk about. I wish that woman would just shut up and disappear from politics completely.

Today (or yesterday) marked the beginning of the Canadian Seal Hunt. More innocent seal pups are being slaughtered without ever getting the chance to swim for the first time, and more of our taxpayer's dollars are being wasted on subsidizing this ridiculous "tradition". I wish Canadians would just wake up, and realize that what puts food on the fishermen's tables is not the profits of the fur pelts, but the subsidies from a government that still refuses to listen to reason.

Russia has officially banned the seal hunt on newborn, whitecoat seals. Nothing was mentioned about a ban on imported seal fur, but something's finally happening. I know that Canada's annual seal hunt has been postponed temporarily as a result of the decrease in demand as of late, but clearly the government has no plan to ban the tradition for good.

I wonder if the demand for pelts decreasing is as a direct result of the European Union's attempts at banning imported Canadian fur pelts, or if the hunt's merely another victim of the currect economic climate. I suppose it could be a mixture of both. Truthfully, though, the recent resurge of fur in fashion (especially in Europe) has me wondering if the upcoming ban is due to economic, as opposed to ethical, reasons.

Either way, it has no place in Canada. The federal government claims they continue to allow the annual hunt because of economic and cultural reasons. But how wrong they are. Perhaps it was once one of the country's most thriving and economically beneficial industries. Nowadays, though, the Newfoundland fishing industry receives most of their profits from the overpopulation of snow crabs and shellfish. Fishermen who take part in the annual hunt (deemed "sealers") merely do so to gain some extra cash. As a result, only a small percentage of Newfoundlanders actually care to take part in this so-called "tradition". It's no longer a thriving industry; it's a dwindling one, and yet why does Canada persist on allowing it to happen every goddamned year?

China currently being the world's wealthiest nation isn't helping much, either. Even if every nation around the world banned the seal fur trade, there are even more chinchillas, rabbits, and other small, furry creatures being skinned alive to meet consumer demands in Asia and Europe. Yes, Russia has banned sealing and yes, Canada's seal hunt has been postponed indefinitely, but there are literally millions of people out there demanding fur for their despicable vanity.

So what if Gucci banned Canadian fur for "ethical" reasons? So what if Burberry no longer supports China's fur industry? The fact is that there are still many fashion gurus who honestly and whole-heartedly believe that every coat, every stole, is worth killing a life for. The fact that these people exist, and that they're willing to give up hundreds and even thousands of their dollars, is the very reason why this inhumane practice persists all over the world. I don't agree with PETA's methods and I would never go around terrorizing fur coat-owners into submission, but many times have I had a great desire to just scream some sense into them.

"It's not whether or not they can reason; it's whether or not they can suffer."

I think I'm going to use this journal a little more often from now on. I need a place that allows me to unleash some of my thoughts and Facebook doesn't seem very appropriate. For the past couple of years, I've become more involved with animal rights and welfare issues, so anyone who finds themselves reading this and who (for some odd reason or other) will be continuing to read it, will be seeing a lot of animal-cruelty related reports here.

I'm also going to need a place to vent some frustration as I slowly but surely go insane from waiting for JET's response. I applied to the JET Programme this year for the first time and although I walked out of my interview with confidence, the wait is driving me insane and I'm no longer as confident as I was before. These next few weeks are going to be torture.

A man in Montreal was accused not too ago of leaving his 12-year-old Miniature Poodle in his car, unattended and without food and water, for 19 days. Here in Canada, we care so little for the well being of animals that the man was fined a mere $100. Shortly before that, a middle-aged woman in Nova Scotia was fined $5 for drowning two new-born kittens.

I don't know what upsets and angers me more; the fact that there are two human beings in this country who could even think of doing such heinous acts, or that the government doesn't think them serious enough crimes to give them any more than a slap on their wrists. Both fines combined were less than the standard $150 fine if you're caught not paying your bus fare. What this country needs is a huge wake-up call.

On another note, a man in Toronto died this morning in an attempt to rescue his two dogs. Some people may read this and wonder what sort of man would risk his own life for mere dogs. To me, this man was nothing short of brave. I'm saddened that he was even in that sort of dangerous situation, but what he did was something to be admired.