Arya's Blog

To respond to the question present on the Group Blog by Mr. Coady Bustin, should the voting age be lowered?

I say no. Simply why? I think it takes time to fully understand oneself and the type of individual one truly is. Now while anyone can change their mind I find, one of the biggest experiences to any individual, is starting to work or going to school, both of these events will leave a permanent mark on an individual in terms of how he thinks and what role he believes the gov't should take. For this I would be much happier to see the voting age be at a level where most people have either gone through this change or will soon. These happen around the age of 18, and even if it is a bit early for these changes to reconcile with previous thinking, I would rather they vote under their older mentality for a year or two rather than say 4 if the age was 16.

Plus then it would open the loophole that how can one vote but not be a legal adult? I think the age is good as it is. If anything 2-3 years older would be appropriate but to such an infinitesimal degree that it wouldn't be worth changing it.

Plus what would I give an 18 yr old on his bday? Cigarettes, alcohol, and a voting card are just a perfect combination.

So I brought my bike out of storage last week because it was +5 for two days. Whoo!! Personally I love riding a bike. I also love large cities. I don't like driving and like much more being able to walk everywhere or take metro/bus. However I always wondered why cities weren't made more appropriate for bikes. They seem to be part of this odd 3rd group, not pedestrians and not drivers. None, to little formal infrastructure for them. Can't take most bridges, most roads, no buses, metro only during certain hours and they don't make it easy. I just wonder if we could make it a bit easier for bikes would more people be interested in forgoing their cars completely. I know in Montreal we have a phenomenal mass transit system, if I could take my bike with me like my backpack, I don't think I'd ever see a need for a car again. Suddenly with a bike, that 10 minutes to the bus stop seem like nothing or that 15 min. to a easier route becomes peanuts. I know bikes aren't given the attention they deserve but I merely wonder if we made the transit system and the city a bit more bike friendly what would be the possibilities?

Not to mention trading GHG emissions for calorie burning is an optimal way to improve the state of our healthcare and environment in one shot. I'll have to think of some way to lobby in the summer for this. Although I do have to commend the Ville de Montreal for bringing out Bixi, the taxi-bike that can be rented and returned in any locale. I have to see how it works out in the coming weeks, expect a full evaluation and discussion hither on its merits and cons. But still a small step from my utopian vision of a netherland like nexus of biking capability coupled with the superb Montreal STM system and possibly some high-speed trains to get us to place to place a la France?

Ah a man can dream.....

Just a random note,
from a guy without a hat

So as I earlier said, I will rant on here. And this is one of those, albeit a more legitimate, educated rant. So what's he talking about?

I was watching Lord of War today, a great movie for after a late evening. I love this movie and would suggest to anyone who likes guns, drugs, and Nicholas cage.

Now to get to the point, this movie is about a guy who smuggles arms to, shit he smuggles arms to everyone, everywhere around the world, Liberia, Afghanistan, Lebanon... but regardless, the movie ends with a very ominous conclusion. It goes:

"This movie is based on actual events"
"While people smuggle guns everyday, the biggest arms suppliers remain US, Britain, France, Russia, and China."
"These are also the members of the 5 permeant seats on the security council"

Now I'm not one to jump onto conspiracy theories, although this isn't really much of a secret, I blame it more to merely being the largest countries with the biggest armies than anything. But nonetheless this brings me up to my real aggravating point, France. Now France, along with Germany as they seemed to work in lockstep on this, surprisingly are the largest per capita pushers of guns, arms, and anything nuclear. I mean I don't know how a nation who hates to go to war can have so much equipment to sell. But it really annoys me because I may disagree with people, many people, and I can understand if someone has a different viewpoint of me. If we disagree about moral issues, I try not to be ethnocentric by imposing completely my morals on to them, obviously this only works to an extent but we'll get into that argument another night.

Anyways, my point. I disagree with people. To their face, and we argue. But I hate people who say one thing and do another. Like France and Germany. While the people champion and campaign for peace, non-interventionism, and ending conflicts, France goes around selling arms to some of the worst people. German manufacturing prowess is used to create chemical and biological weapons of warfare Most of Saddam Hussein's chemical weapons came from France and Germany. The basis of Iran's nuclear programme is French Technology. They have their hand everywhere from Southern Africa to Eastern Asia. Its quite amazing really the extent this country, of a mere 65 million only double Canada or about, can cause so much death, destruction, and pain.

I mean the thing that stinks me the most is how they'll say one thing and then go around all along pushing others. 52% of Chemical weapons were of German origin. France sold Iraq 72 kg of 93% pure Uranium. The UK paid for a Chlorine factory that was used to make Mustard Gas. Conspicuous use of dual technology? Give me a break and a half.

I mean come on you want to see something obvious:
France builds Iraq's first nuclear reactor in Osirak.
Israel complains about Iraq having nuclear weapons and bombs it.
France builds another reactor.

I mean France helped build Israel's nuclear programme with England helping import hundreds of secret shipments of illegal material in the 50s and 60s. Who's bloody side are they on?

It's quite similar to the movie where Nicholas Cage is told by the more elder gun-runner that you have to pick sides, which Cage refuses to do and goes on to blockbuster success with. It seems these gov'ts have no morality, they don't mind selling Mustard Gas to one side and Rockets to the other, Iran-Iraq War. I mean tens of thousands of innocent people, children even, were killed due to these gov't illegally peddling smut. SMUT I SAY.

It aggravates me greatly and not because it goes on, when there is a demand, someone will supply it. But for these gov't to go around shunning countries for not ratifying this or that, for not being peaceful, for their people to complain America is an aggressor when their hands create just as much chaos and destruction is revulting. I mean like Cage says in the movie, he's a necessary evil but he admits it. Why won't these countries just admit it? People don't like feeling all sad that their doctors and social welfare systems were founded by the mass slaughter of Iranians/Iraqis just to name ONE CONFLICT. If they can feel they have a clean conscious so be it. But that just makes me dislike them even more.

This concludes my first rant. I hope it was semi-readable.

Welcome to my blog. For those who don't know me, I am Arya Sajedi. I go to McGill University where I am working to get my B. Eng in Chemical Eng. I was born in Montreal, I am a founding member of the Pro Populus Party, I like Hockey, Jazz, and Politics, particularly economic debates (random enough?). This blog will be open as a more personal side to me, to see me when I'm not in a tie and suit so to speak. It will consist of my rants and raves about news from around the world, and I mean all over the place, suggestions and opinions on the Canadian Youth Assembly, and the more normal stuff like Hockey, Music, and school. I warn you when I start ranting my grammar goes out the window and my paragraphs fumble into crazy run-on sentences with phrases shooting off in completely tangent directions like leaves falling from a tree on a stormy New England day, you see what I mean? I hope to keep it interesting and hope you enjoy reading.

Sincerely yours,
the guy without a hat.