(Advance apologies for the length of this post - I even shortened it a fair bit! - but I need to get stuff off of my chest.)
Hello reader, would you believe I started the first draft of this post over a year ago? This is, in fact, the 3rd 4th 5th 6th attempt I've made since my "woke" post to sort and gather my thoughts. First, a long draft last June (with lots of links), then an even longer draft in November with even MORE links. Had planned to post in December, but the dismal grey weather matched my mood too perfectly, so I put if off. Also didn't want to post at the beginning of 2024, because why start the year off on a less-than-optimistic note? Then world affairs continued to get worse, and of late things have been happening so quickly it's almost impossible to keep up!
So here it is, finally, and if I thought things were topsy-turvy enough before, I'm not even sure how to describe it now. Other than to say that to me almost everything, but the political landscape especially, feels upside down, inside out, and wrong side up. (Thus the reference to Alice in Wonderland in the post title.) It's left me bewildered, anxious, ANGRY, and feeling like this is the most exhausting and dangerous time my (boomer) generation has known. Hyperbolic? Perhaps, but I do believe we are living in an age of accelerating chaos, from which the wrong people will benefit.
But before I continue, let me ask: is there ANYTHING Canadians are not currently divided on? (Not that polarization isn't an increasing problem almost everywhere.) For example:
- our record-setting wildfire season last year (not a problem, likely arson vs. evidence of increasing climate change)
- climate change (manufactured hoax vs. real crisis)
- vaccine mandates (authoritarian assault on freedom vs. the right collective thing to do to protect everyone)
- The Emergencies Act (draconian & unconstitutional vs. unfortunately necessary)
- Tamara Lich and Chris Barber (national heroes vs. criminal grifters)
- Justin Trudeau (dictator of a broken Canada vs. leader holding Canada together relatively well)
- CBC (liberal mouthpiece that should be defunded vs. national institution worth preserving - though some on the left are now starting to view the CBC as more of a conservative mouthpiece...)
- MAID (cruel eugenics experiment vs. compassionate medical care)
- gender-affirming care (genital mutilation vs. life-saving care)
- DEI (racist anti-white ideology vs. attempt to address systemic racism)
- Ukraine (stop funding vs. continue to help)
- Gaza, possibly the most heated/explosive dividing issue of late (Israel has the right to defend itself vs. yes, and we DO condemn Hamas unequivocally, but no, that DOESN'T excuse civilian genocide, and no, saying so ISN'T anti-Semitic)
The other odd thing going on right now are how some of the same accusations are being levelled by opposing parties or supporters (whether Canadian or American), with the "every accusation is a confession" being lobbed back and forth by all:
- Division - which leader is being divisive?
- Distraction - which leader is distracting voters with wedge issues?
- Authoritarianism, if not fascism - which party is flirting with this?
- Cancel Culture - which side is trying to do this?
- Truth - why can't they distinguish between truth and lies, facts vs. fiction?
- Science - whether it's gender-affirming care or climate change or... all sides will claim to BE on the side of science
- Protecting kids - again, both sides of the gender identity culture war believe that that's EXACTLY what they're doing, with each side claiming the other is obsessed with body parts and gender identity
Which brings me back to the reaction to PRIDE month last June, when in my opinion the current cultural shitshow REALLY took off. Besides the wildfire season which had many of us inhaling smoke, the firestorm around Pride last year is one that I've never seen in my many decades of supporting the LGBTQ+ community. Holy crapola! (Don't know if it was as bad this year as I actually tried not to be on social media as much.)
With the American election coming up in less than 100 days, how is it even possible for a twice-impeached seditionist found guilty of 34 felony counts to run for president again, and worse, still have a real chance of winning? It boggles the mind. In what fiction writer's mind (other than M. Atwood perhaps) would it even be considered a potential plot? It erodes all sense of decency, justice, plausibility and normality. (Go, Harris-Walz, Go!)
Given recent SCOTUS rulings (presidential immunity, legalizing machine guns, criminalizing homelessness, and deciding that bribes aren't bribes if they're received after rather than before), you can't blame Americans for their record-level low trust in the Court. It would seem then that the aim of the justice system is no longer justice, just as the aim of too many politicians is no longer serving constituents or country, but winning elections and gaining power.
Now before Canadians get too smug, our country is no longer immune to political mayhem either. I mean, how could so many be gullible enough to fall for Pierre Poilievre's fake populist playbook, or be swayed by the Conservative Premiers of New Brunswick, Saskatchewan and Alberta willing to use the Notwithstanding Clause in order to take advantage of anti-trans sentiment to get more support?
While I personally blame Stephen Harper nationally and Mike Harris provincially for starting the process of loosening Canadian social safety networks if not democracy itself, I believe that the '16 election of Trump in the US, the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, the resistance to health measures and mandates, and the Freedom Convoy movement here in Canada helped to accelerate the Alice-in-Wonderland world we're now in.
Sadly, Pierre Poilievre lying (love how lie is literally part of his last name) about how Canada is broken and continually blaming Trudeau for everything is something he's learned from the best: keep repeating lies no matter how absurd, because enough people will come to believe them. Have to wonder though; what will Conservatives do when they can no longer blame everything on Trudeau or the carbon tax?
Here, as in the US and other parts of the world, we can't even seem to agree anymore on the meaning of certain words: left, right, freedom, fascism, antisemitism, genocide, racism, truth, woke, etc., while phrases like "bodily autonomy" is used more to indicate being against vaccines than being in favour of reproductive rights. Speaking of which, did you know that back in 2021 Texas tried to pass a bill that would punish those who got an abortion with the death penalty? (Yes, take a moment to let that sink in.)
Doesn't sound very "pro-life" to me. And while that didn't happen, Google Project 2025 to see what policies concerning education, DEI and abortion some Republicans are eager to implement. Democrats in this instance aren't blameless either. The Biden administration could have codified Roe in the last four years, but instead are using abortion rights as a voting issue.
Freedom of speech and freedom of expression? Depends. Those who clamour the most for the right to free speech seem to be the same folks who would like to squash certain books (book ban attempts in the US hit an all-time high last year, and oh, Canada's own Margaret Atwood's Oryx and Crake, along with 12 other books, has now been officially outlawed in Utah's classrooms and libraries in a first statewide ban), sex education in schools around orientation and gender identity, and a kid's right to choose their pronouns in school.
Those crying for smaller government don't seem to have an issue with the prolific US anti-trans legislation* (initially said to be about protecting kids, but quickly morphing into removing rights for adults as well) either. And not surprisingly, "parental rights" do NOT appear to include the rights of parents with trans kids to decide for themselves (in conjunction with medical professionals) the best care plans and treatments for their kids. (*638 US bills, with 75 at the federal level, have been introduced in '24 so far, already surpassing the 604 introduced last year.)
Freedom of speech or expression for whom? You do have to wonder when a new US law defines criticism of Israel as antisemitism. You do have to wonder when so many consider the protest of the disproportionate killing of Palestinian citizens in Gaza to be antisemitic.
You do have to wonder when Amazon permanently removes my ability to leave reviews (and deleted ALL my previous ones) after warning me that a critical review (see View this photo below) of a bestselling racist book violated their community guidelines, even though the book itself and its positive glowing reviews reiterating some of its racism did not. Photo below is of deleted review.
Why the eagerness to suppress speech of protesters by so many who complain of "cancel culture" in too many other instances? Free speech for me but not for thee?
Protesting itself will be viewed (and punished) differently depending on what is being protested. You'll have noticed that occupants of the so-called Freedom Convoy two years back were treated quite differently than Indigenous or environmental activists. Calling to overthrow the government is one thing, but protesting pipelines, fossil fuel industries or factory farming is apparently quite another.
Just recently, 5 UK Just Stop Oil participants were sentenced to four and five years in jail based on evidence gathered during a Zoom call. Yes, a Zoom call. Five years. Equally unfathomable to me is that the judge decided evidence related to climate breakdown (the reason they were protesting in the first place) was irrelevant and inadmissible, which reminded me of the 'Excelsior 4' case in BC, Canada. Here too the judge ruled that evidence related to animal cruelty (why protesters were protesting) was irrelevant and inadmissible, and the protesters were sentenced to 30 days in jail - the only known jail sentence in Canada for peaceful civic disobedience.
In January the BC Court of Appeal upheld their convictions, and while they overturned the jail sentences in June giving them 120 days of house arrest and a year of probation instead, these two cases have set a too dangerous precedent for those protesting whatever interferes with corporate and industrial moneymaking. All the while, climate-damaging and animal-harming industries themselves go unpunished, and certainly never get jail time even in cases of egregious animal cruelty.
Speaking of animal cruelty, Ontario has reinstated the blood sport of penned hunting, Alberta sneaks in a grizzly bear hunt, and "Everybody Hates Marineland" has reopened this season after hopeful rumours of its demise. Oh, and notice how during Canada's wildfires media will discount injured, killed or displaced wildlife when stating there were no fatalities or casualties? Also, while much of Ontario's ag-gag law was defeated (woohoo!), Canada's federal ag-gag Bill C-275 is unfortunately getting close to being law.
I mentioned earlier some of the words we have difficulty agreeing upon. Facts, too. Facts like who won the last US election. Amazingly, I came across a stat recently that said up to 40% of US citizens thought it was Trump. What kind of world do we live in? (Apparently one filled with misinformation and disinformation, one where facts and "alternative facts" duel it out, and where appearance and perception trumps truth.)
What kind of world do we live in when we can't even agree on what is actually happening? Whether in terms of climate change, crime statistics, causes of high inflation and housing, the scapegoating of immigrants and transgender folk, where do we go from here if we can't agree on what is real and what is causing our problems? How do we move forward?
So it's not surprising that this absurdist and increasingly frightening world of ours (we ARE in deep doodoo) is driving so many of us around the bend. And because it's hard to know how to deal with this and how to respond effectively, some of us are opting to check out politically, which I completely understand. It's tempting to just say, "You know what, if the human species is so incredibly dense and arrogant and murderous, then fine, bring on climate disasters, bring on war. Deny what's happening if you want, but don't whine and wail when it comes to your own doorstep."
It's easier to throw your hands up in the air, and I wouldn't blame anyone for doing so. In fact, my own post could just as easily have finished on this note:
I duly give up, so let me end by quoting the Cheshire Cat from a book I've never read, but is a line which somehow makes sense to me:
Never let anyone drive you crazy; it is nearby anyway and the walk is good for you.
But no, just as vegans keep trying to make lasting change when it comes to animal use/abuse, so we have to do the least we can do when it comes to the interconnected social injustices that our world seems to spit out faster and more furiously by the day. We need to, at the very least, be aware of what's going on, speak up and be on record with our voices for the atrocities we're witness to, even if we don't have the power to personally change anything. Saying, "This is wrong" may be the only thing we CAN do, but it's the least that needs to be done. If we can do more, with our conversations, our votes, our wallets, all the better still.
I'm hoping too that knowing you're not the only one feeling unmoored, unsettled, concerned, frustrated, and upset at the calamities that seem to hurtle at us so fast we can't even fully grasp what's going on before the next one strikes, is of some comfort. Please know you're not alone. And even though that's not a solution to any of the atrocities, if enough of us realize that others are just as appalled as we are at the state of the world, maybe we can band together.
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If helpful, here are some Canadian and American publications and authors I read or follow:
Canadian
1) Naomi Klein, author of No Logo, The Shock Doctrine, and the excellent Doppelganger, which I highly recommend. Interview with The Breach about her book: Naomi Klein: The right has put the left’s ideas in a bonkers blender
2) Astra Taylor, (vegan, woot!) author of The Age of Insecurity: Coming Together as Things Fall Apart (which I'm currently reading), who also happens to be the sister of Sunaura Taylor, vegan author of Beasts of Burden: Animal and Disability Liberation (own, but haven't read yet)
3) David Moscrop, author of Too Dumb for Democracy? Why We Make Bad Political Decisions and How We Can Make Better Ones, and from his Substack: Saying True Things Out Loud and What Does Collapse Look Like?
5) The Tyee, one of my favourite independent Canadian media websites:
Democracy Is Under Siege Globally,
Stepping into the Big Weird 'Anti-Woke' Tent,
Pay Attention, Canada, to Europe's Hard Right Parties, and
Wildfires, Grief and Paralysis
4) The Breach (mentioned up above), another recommended independent media website
American
Some of the main US Substacks I follow include:
1) Judd Legum at Popular Information
2) Joshua P. Hill at New Means
3) Robert Reich
4) Sarah Kendzior at Sarah Kendzior's Newsletter, and
5) Erin Reed at Erin In The Morning: THE best source for news on trans legislation
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Whew!
If you made it this far, THANK YOU for reading, and for trying to help make our world less of an Alice-in-Wonderland one. It's hard, I know, but we have to persevere!
Where do I begin? I have strong opinions about these things too and even though I'm all the way over in the EU, seeing what's going on back home is sad, but it's not better here. Many US Americans say that (and this has been for decades) "if "X" wins the election, I'm leaving the country", but having moved to a country that people who don't live here have a certain opinion of that is not at all what it's like to actually live here...leaving won't help. I'm sure there's someplace in the world that things are better (there has to be, right?), but it seems very, very far out of control at this point.
There's simply too many people on the planet. The one species that is the most destructive toward each other, other creatures and the planet itself and our population is wildly out of control, but THAT is a very unpopular thing to say, although it is the truth.
There are good people and there are people who are making a difference on a huge scale and people making a difference on a small scale, but it's so difficult to maintain any kind of hope when we're basically witnessing the movie "Idiocracy" coming to life.
Animals are always a low priority for governments and just with the public in general and of course things for them whether they are farmed animals, wildlife, research victims, captives or those stuck in miserable "pet" situations just gets worse. It's kind of like how, when I was in HS in the South (US, Arkansas) and my black friends were stunned that my parents "let me" have black friends and my white friends excused it because "you don't know better, you're from the North" - how much progress had been made and now that's being eroded on both sides. As much as I'm happy to have the internet, it's a huge part of the problem. And as much as I think AI is "cool" what it can do, it's now being used to dupe people and also used by those that know it's a lie to back up their agendas....it's just too far out of control.
I didn't even touch on the ways that we are horrible to each other (mistreating gay people, the war on Palestine, etc.) yet. But it all comes back to the one thing. There are too many human beings on this planet. And that's true FOR the planet as well. There are only so many natural resources. We are in a dangerous time and being steered further and further in the wrong direction.
Sorry for the downer comment - again. Oh, because Nick tells me things he sees online and he does follow the US elections very closely, I'll say that I'm sorry for you normal, decent Canadians that you have folks who are actually carrying Tr*mp signs around. Wth??? That says it all.
And our right to speak up IS censored like what you experience on Amazon because when I've left comments on YouTube (and I'm careful to avoid certain words so it IS a censoring of ideas) they get ghosted (don't show up publicly, but if I'm logged in it would lead me to think they were published). Anything pro-animal rights or that there's too many people never shows up.
Thanks for speaking up and speaking out! You'd know better than I do if there's a publication you can submit this post to as an article, but I know that wasn't what you had in mind when you wrote it. Anything to widen the audience though. And I just about kept on rambling here, but I'll go ahead and post this now. Sorry it's so scattered. I'm already so late seeing this and if I try to sit down and do a point by point reply I'll never get this done. Like how you've been working on this so long, that would be my comment time. Snort!
As I sit here trying to type a coherent reply, but with a brain fried from living through yet another horrible heat wave/dome (and our poor router, laptops, etc. also trying to pull through), I had to "laugh" about that climate change deniers not getting it about climate refugees. I think most likely they don't think most of the people in places like that will be able to afford to get out - and they're probably right.
Here in Germany, sadly, crime actually is on the rise and that is the sole thing driving the AFD wins. When we first moved here, I was safe to walk around even at night if I had to (like coming home from the shelter when I got home late) and there were very specific places in Berlin and not very many where it wasn't safe and even then that was at night. Now, that's gone. It's definitely way worse than ever here, but Berlin isn't maybe a good example because this city is an extreme example. And that leads to, in places that aren't already worse, the fear of "ending up like in Berlin" is a driving force that makes people vote for whoever they believe will do something to make it safer.
Speaking of neoliberalism...and this is taking kind of a big leap, but I've always felt like there's not a true difference in the US between Republicans and Democrats when push comes to shove. It's rich v. poor more than anything. Most of those guys that are opponents are friends behind the scenes, although that probably started going on the way out back when George W. and John Kerry were vying against each other. Now, there does seem to be true hatred between opponents and most likely no friendship behind the scenes. And now I forgot my point. HA. And snort. It's the heat...I can't think. Hm, well I still don't think that there's a huge difference between Republicans and Democrats other than in the words they say. In politics. I know that in real life, there is a big difference, but the politicians seem to preach to their respective choirs and then nothing changes no matter who is in office. Although Tr*mp did manage to get an invasion of the Capital to happen so he sure did something new.
Yeah, you definitely don't want to move over here to the Netherlands or anywhere. It definitely is a worldwide situation going on and animals, gay folks and women will take the brunt of the worsening disaster. And I'm about to be a broken record for the -nth time, but it's because of world overpopulation.
Ok this is out there, but while writing this comment it occurred to me I "should" watch the movie Soylent Green again. The US is becoming Idiocracy come to life and Soylent Green is looking more and more like it was a prophetic movie/book.
At least you are doing something by using your writing talent to express your opinions and put them out there. You'll never know how many people you affect because most won't say anything, but you plant seeds. And that's exactly why you get censored by corporations like Amazon or have a hard time to get published, although....congratulations on getting another long letter to the editor published..did they censor this one? (I've had a ton of email problems and didn't see an email from you so if you already sent it, please re-send it).
Well, my brain is melting and spinning in my head from the heat so I didn't make any of my points the best I could have and I can't think clearly.
OH! I hadn't heard of Project 2025 so I opened another tab and did a search and I'll look into that now. Probably will end up with apoplexy from the sounds of it. 😳
Keep speaking up and speaking out. That's all we can do, although if they go after this forest near here that got protected status and then the city government said "screw you, it's getting razed anyway"...I don't know what I'll do if they start moving on that and it's so close by. Nick's worried I might get arrested. ... On that happy note. Keep on writing! 👍
P.S. I mean most people won't say anything in the comments, but you will have caused them to change and so that's a big deal and a plus. 👍
Before I forget...I have a book you might like to read. Nick got it at the English secondhand bookstore. It's by a Canadian named John Reilly and I think you probably know about him and maybe even about this book. It's called Bad Medicine and it's about his experience trying to change the judicial system and the way it deals with First Nations people that break the law. You might like it.
And yes if you get a chance watch Idiocracy. It is hard to describe but it's funny and at the same time heartbreaking and in a way that, really...i can't describe. And I saw it like over 20 years ago for the first time. Watching Tr*mp turn everything into a circus has actually been like seeing that movie come to life although the ending is at least somewhat optimistic, but not unrealistic. Soylent Green I've only seen once and remember it being intense. I am a little offended - oh, never mind because if you watch or read it I don't want to make a spoiler. There's a part though that as a vegan is offensive to me. 😁
The crime rate is a tough one because everyone I know back in the US that lives in the places I've lived in has definitely seen an increase in crime, but one (our old Brooklyn neighborhood) kicked off because of gentrification. Other, smaller places don't have gentrification, but still have an increase in many different kinds of crimes. It seems to me that too many people in Canada take things in the US too seriously and I don't know how that happened. Like, am I wrong or did it generally used to be that a lot of folks in Canada didn't think too highly of how things are in the US? And now...there's Canadians walking around carrying Vote For Tr*mp signs. Wth???
The climate crisis deniers are.... I mean I think maybe some of them are sincere and while they have to be a little slow to not notice how much worse the summers are, they are the puppets that follow their party-line and listen to the climate denier politicians. I am completely disgusted the way Berlin city government poses like they are so climate conscious and progressive about taking measures to control climate change and then turn around and bulldoze half the trees in the city and put up asphalt and metal jungles. I will shut up because if I don't I will truly write the equivalent of at least 6 pages about the campaign of terror against the trees in Berlin not to mention all the forests in Germany. These politicians should ALL be ashamed because it's happening with their blessing. OH! But before I move along, "immigrants for the lack of and cost of housing instead of landlords and provincial governments" THAT...that is 100% what the city of Berlin has done. They are selling out another PROTECTED STATUS FOREST to a wealthy developer and claim that there's not enough housing, but then when you see how much they are going to charge for the apartments...no immigrant is going to be able to afford that. There have been examples of existing buildings being converted into apartments that no one can afford (happened in our first neighborhood) and the luxury loft apartments sat empty for so many years that Berlin was going to force the landlord to rent them to certain people and then - big surprise - that fell apart. But we have a housing shortage. Ha. Sorry...I didn't shut up or move on. So....
Thank you for the links. I'll check those out too. I saw that Project 2025 and that's one that I look at and think "pfft" and don't take seriously and then realize that some people DO take it seriously and it is pretty scary. Nick is convinced that a lot of that is being done by Russia and while I know Russia DOES do stuff around the globe, I just don't think they're behind everything and I don't think they do as much as he thinks they do. Like, I'd have to ask him, but he'd most likely think Putin's government is behind Project 2025.
Even though the paper took out a few paragraphs and what sounds like to me a lot of words, I can tell by your attitude that it was still good and you still were able to make your point. This Sunday is the last day we have our current WiFi before the big upgrade so in a couple days, if there's any problems with email, it will be that. I didn't see any email from you with the letter to the editor yet, but I need to check my gmail.
In the big picture of all of this, what's really sad is that there had been progress made on some fronts and that's backsliding. And it's sad to see. And as always, it's the animals and all the various vulnerable groups of human beings that take the brunt. I'm sorry your blog doesn't have a wider readership. So it IS good that you can at least get published in the letters to the editor. Planting seeds. 😊
With the US elections going on, and I'd never have thought I'd have to write this sentence, with the US elections going on, I hope you don't suffer too much from that and that people who love Tr*mp so much will - eh, never mind. I was going to say that somehow they'd realize how ridiculous that looks. It's a bad look on US Americans. It's a bad look and extremely foolish on everyone else. He may have supporters in other countries and I don't realize it, but so far as I know, it's only those particular Canadians. Sorry you have to be around that. ... Don't forget to email the letter to the editor. I'll check email again at latest tomorrow morning. 👍
Okay, there's no way I can replicate what I wrote before, but while some of it is still somewhat fresh in my mind I'll just give you some bullet points instead...
* hadn't heard about Bad Medicine, but will look it up
* Idiocracy coming my way from the library next week ;)
* Canadians used to be a bit smug about not being like Americans, but in the last few years American political styles seem to have infected Canada and we now have the same polarization between the two main political parties as in the US and the same nasty rhetoric between politicians and supporters
* lots of support globally for Trump in countries that have taken a right-wing turn, but lots of detractors everywhere too (Australia, UK, Europe etc., are just a few of the places I've seen anti-Trump comments coming from)
* non-American folk very aware of the repercussions of another Trump term, more so than too many Americans it seems
* lots of Russian interference in elections both in US and Canada (probably elsewhere too) in the form of bots, fake accounts and active spreading of misinformation on social media, but the actual authors of Project 2025 are definitely American - The Heritage Foundation (a Christian Nationalist group) in particular and other conservative groups
* many people rightfully very upset about Project 2025 because it really is an authoritarian, if not fascist, takeover of American democracy and too many Americans seem unaware of just how dangerous Project 2025 actually is. Trump is just a vehicle to get it into place, as many of its authors worked in his first administration and will be the ones implementing it if he's elected again. They learned from the last time around which is why they came up with this 900+ tome of actual policies and platforms which they plan to install right from the get-go
* truly cannot emphasize how terrifying Project 2025 is not only in terms of policies, but the fact that it'll be very difficult to undo as part of it changes the rules of how things will work, eg., greatly expanded presidential powers
Lots of info online about what the policies are and that they cover almost everything - from Wikepedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_2025#Background
Click on policies on the left hand side on that page to get info on the following:
Census citizenship question
Christian nationalism
Economy
Education and research
Environment and climate
Expansion of presidential powers
Personnel change
Foreign affairs
Nuclear policy
Healthcare and public health
Immigration reforms
Issues of identity
Journalism
Law enforcement
National security
Pornography and adult content
Transportation infrastructure
Women's reproductive health
* had a bunch of comments about JD Vance, but I'm sure you've heard some of his anti-women, anti-childlessness (he's very worried about falling birth rates so wants more women to have more babies and thinks childless folk shouldn't have the same amount of votes) crap on social media...
* because Trump's possible re-election and its potential impact on other countries has many non-Americans (who can't believe that an incompetent, corrupt, criminal felon is even allowed to run again) very worried, and paying close attention
* unfortunately, a strong anti-immigration stance now in Canada too, with immigrants unfairly blamed for taking housing (which as you rightly said, they can't afford either), jobs, etc. The usual scapegoating. Why can't people ever learn!
* for your own sake, I won't mention trees or forests... ;)
* okay, that's it for now, sorry you didn't get the full version, but hey... Oh, good luck tomorrow with the computer upgrade! Talk again soon!
p.s. after getting over the shock of losing my initial comment I was able to put it into perspective of course, because I mean really, in comparison to all the other shite going on everywhere (and as you said, it's always the animals and vulnerable groups that get the brunt of everything), losing a bit of time is really nothing in the scheme of things, eh?