200 protesters greet Bush in Ottawa?

I mean, 200? This is hardly a show of force for a nation overwhelmingly opposed to Bush's current set of policies. Although Bellydancers Against Bush are out and that's a lobby that you'd hate to go up against. The CBC website is running a good article outlining the many issues that exist between Canada and the US - everything from legalized marijuana, softwood lumber, weapons in space to beef bans and views on same-sex marriage. Astonishing to think that this is Bush's first visit to a country with whom the US has $1B worth of trade per day.

College Football Update

The Virginia Tech Hokies Football team is set to play Miami to determine the ACC Championship. The first year that VT has been in the conference, this could make for an interesting match.

Canadians clear: anti-Bush, not anti-American.

While it is likely that tomorrow's conflict seeking media will make much of the anti-Bush protests during the US President's vist tomorrow, a recent poll identifies the fact that Canadians have strong-pro American sentiments - we just don't approve of the current Government's policies.

A Great Liverpool Weekend

Saturday's Christmas party went off very well and although I ended up working more than I would have liked, it was a very good time. The event was very well attended and the Executive have had nice compliments. And then Liverpool beat Arsenal in spectacular (and unexpected) fashion on Sunday morning! Hooray!

Canadian Icon Leaving?

I am starting to fear that Indie film star and Canadian cultural icon Sarah Polley has moved out of the house across the street.

The Scary House

Here's a recent photo of the Gillespie's new house in PEI.

Changing Faces in Ukraine.

As civil war seems increasingly likely in the highly armed and one-time breadbasket of Russia, the story of Viktor Yushchenko's mystery acne is a frightening sidebar. Note the dramatic changes to Yushchenko's facethat seem to have occurred over the past 4 months.

Well Educated? High Income?

Well if you're a Canadian, this likely means that you've smoked pot at least one in your lifetime according to a study reported by The Globe and Mail today.

The Onion sells out.

As an occasional reader of The Onion, I was very disappointed to see that the site now has no less than three very annoying adds - a premercial on the main page that loads when you navigate to the site, a top column animate gif (which is like 100px high) and a fast animated gif pillar ad. All these ads are very annoying as they are 1) too noisy and 2) too prominent.

Don't think I'll be returning to this once amusing, contra-culture site.

A Battle of Toothless Lions?

Yes, another soccer entry in the blog, but the Champions League fixture of Monaco v Liverpool will be an important match for both sides. Liverpool are, as much discussed on this site, struggling through injury and lacklustre play. Monaco are winless in eight and struggling with their defence. The winner of this match will likely secure their place in the next round of Champions League play and consequently bloster their club's finances. I'll be tuned into the match over the web.

The Liverpool Chrimbo Party

On Saturday night, the Toronto Branch of the Liverpool Supporters Club will be having our Christmas Party. Last year was a good time and we're hoping for a repeat. I'm going to keep the Guinness off my shirt this time! Today is the final day to call for tickets.

Letters from Readers.

One BenHarrison.com reader writes:

Q.
---------- Original Message ----------------------------------
From: "Neal A. Harrison"
Date: Mon, 22 Nov 2004 14:12:41 -0500

Have you ever dreamed what life as a tree would be like? I mean, like an old tree, like an oak or old maple? Can you imagine all the things you'd see?

A.
No, I haven't. Trees are not sentient. Stay off the moonshine.


The same BenHarrison.com reader also asks:
Q.
---------- Original Message ----------------------------------
From: "Neal A. Harrison"
Date: Mon, 22 Nov 2004 14:12:41 -0500

Have your considered changing the "name" of your site to "Ben's Liverpool Report" ?

A.
Although it is true that I often write about Liverpool FC on my site, I do often add other items of personal interest or personal note as well. Just today, I included a congratulations to Itch and Lynne on the news of their engagement. Prior to the US election, my site was fairly political. I have on other occasions included movie reviews and activity reports as well as the occasional topical rant. Admittedly, I don't write as much on what Karina and I are getting up to anymore, and this can be directly attributed to 1) the fact that Karina gets embarassed (Hello K) and 2) I forget.

However, I will endeavour to add more varied content to the site... as an exercise in writing and creating a diary, I'm just lazy and as much has I complain about it, LFC does tend to provide some daily news.

Finally, I would like point out how ironic this question is, seeing that previously I had received complaints that my site was all too static. There really is no pleasing some people.

Congrats to Itch and Lynn

Although some may hear it first from this site, congratulations to
Andrew Head and Lynne Race who yesterday got engaged to be married!

Taking exception to NealHarrison.com

The November 19th entry on the site NealHarrison.com is totally off-base.

For the record: I never tease my Mother. Ever. Well not mean-spirited for sure. Certainly not on her Birthday... intentionally...

Hard Times at Anfield

Saturday's match was a disaster for Liverpool. The team's lack of teeth was all too apparent and again after watching such shoddy coordination I am given to think of the current Liverpool squad as a team of strangers. These are desperate times for the Reds as the combination of injury and overall lack of talent on the pitch do not bode well for the remainder of the campaign. The January transfer window may be crucial, but the unfortunate matter is that the Reds need so much help (DEFENCE! hello!) it seems unlikely they'll be able to stop the bleeding. Expensive follies like Diouf are now all too glaring and much-hyped non-performers like Kewell just frustrate.

Baros out for a Month; Bridget Jone's Diary

Liverpool striker Milan Baros is out for a month with a hamstring injury. This is poor timing as the Club has an important match against Monaco next week as well facing Arsenal on the 28th. The good news is that Steven Gerrard is back in the line-up.

BTW, Bridget Jones' Diary 2 is a train wreck of a movie. Although Hugh Grant's and Colin Firth's performances are good, the writing is abyssmal (with a bizarre trip to a Thai jail and an incredibly lame lesbian crush) and I am still trying to figure out why anyone would want to spend time with the breezy bumbler that is Zellweger's character.

Reds' bench thinning? Fox News coming to Canada.

Some unhappy news for Liverpool today as remaining star striker Milan Baros is possibly out for a few weeks with a hamstring injury. The Reds' top scorer, this latest injury could be a sharp blow to the club as some big games are set in the next few weeks. Should hear later today...

In other news, Fox News channel is soon to come to Canada on digitial cable. If you haven't already had a chance, I strongly suggest you pick up a copy of the documentary Outfoxed.

Spain 1-0 England

An ugly match in Spain as England let a goal in during the early part of the match and tempers grew as the match progressed. AS expected I'm reading the match reports over the Internet. The most distressing news from the match? England failed to get a shot on-target during 90 minutes!

England plays Spain today.

Although I will likely have to miss the match (as someone is coming back to town), the England match today is likely to be pretty important in determing if Sven-Goran Eriksson can call truly call his side the best ever England squad he's coached. Recent years have shown an England side of some skill, but little ability to come through at the crunch (Enter David Beckham).

The Northern States Speak Out.

This Open Letter to the South is hysterical... enjoy!

EBay Success!

My cellphone has been discontinued. This means that when my battery eventually did die, Rogers (my categorically uphelpful cellular provider) only proposed remedy was that I buy a new phone, paying $35 for the privilege. It is now all too clear that Rogers does not value their existing customers. All the same, no one has a battery I can use, so it would seem I'm out of luck.

Enter EBay. A quick search of the online auction house uncovers a supplier of my model's battery at the reasonable price of $12.99 and I can get it in a week. Now I have my phone able to hold a charge and I don't have to pay Rogers their damn fee.

Formula One News

This isn't a new development, but is an interesting turn of events for F1 fans. The Jaguar F1 team has been bought out by Red Bull, the Austrian based drink manufacturer of the same name and the company responsible for considerable personal embarrassment. The head of Red Bull has been a long-time auto-racing fan and supporter. His commitment is to bring more American drivers into the sport. US broadcasts could certainly show those NASCAR Dads what a real pit crew can do!

Colin Powell resigns

In an unsurprising move today, Colin Powell is set to resign as the US Secretary of State. Although we'll probably have to wait for his memoirs, it seemed pretty apparent that Powell was unpopular with the Bush team and that his usefulness was pretty much expended after his infamous speech to the UN. John Ashcroft has also resigned... although claiming his objectives were achieved in securing the nation, it is my opinion that his actions in office have failed to secure the nation and have in fact undermined the core values of American democracy. Let us not forget the suppression of civil rights that is Ashcroft's Patriot Act.

LIverpool win 3-2; Baros scores Hat Trick.

Liverpool won their weekend match against Crystal Palace, with Milan Baros scoring a hat trick - having now seen the highlight reel (the game wasn't televised) he looked very impressive with several storming attacks. If I might fault him for anything, I feel Baros is a little too heads down when he gets the ball and doesn't look for options other than to take the run and shot himself.

Xabi Alonso's passing is amazing... with Steven Gerrard's return pending, I am excited to see what the midfield can produce. The next match for the REDs is again against Middlesborough - I would love to see a Mellor-Baros striker pairing!

The BBC looks at Urban Warfare

This presentation about Urban Warfare is grim but fascinating. The internet is so useful. Who knew?

Liverpool win over Middlesbrough

The youth of Liverpool showed their stuff yesterday, defeating Middlesbrough 2-0. Neil Mellor knocked in both goals and again Igor Biscan came out like a man on fire! The club now advances to the next round of Carling Cup play.

The Russian.

In fairness, I don't know if Vladimir is Russian or not. He was my workout partner last night at boxing and although I may be faster, should he catch me, he'd knock my block off. I should explain - Vladimir is about 6'5", practices karate and although he's lanky he's tremendously strong. His bodyshots strike the heavy bag at my headlevel. We had a really tough workout - and I'm really feeling it today.

CSI Miami Stinks

I really enjoy CSI - it is a well written, well acted and consistently entertaining program. CSI: Miami is not.

Monday's episode of CSI: Miami will be the last episode I'm going to watch. No longer will I subject myself to Caruso's glowering (in lieu of acting) and the series' convenient plot wrap-ups. Monday's show had Horatio inexplicably required to rescue a man from a building set to be demolished in a matter of seconds (with the requisite racing HUMVEE/building imploding effects) which immediately followed his open sea arrest of the villain.

Perhaps it is in Caruso's contract that his character must be a one-man army required to break all the show's cases in the most magical or implausible method with dramatic special effects. Is he trying restart his film career? (anguished NO!) Admittedly this episode is less ridiculous compared to the episode where Horatio must wade through crocodile infested waters for no apparent reason. Well, no more. No More. >Here endeth the rant<

Alonso: Reds robbed by hand-ball!

Oh yes, I so agree Xabi! I'm still frustrated by the fact we recorded a loss in a match in which if not dominating, we certainly appeared the class side.

The Latest Conspiracy.

Yes, the Bush Bulge stories appear to have been killed. But hey, if 51% of Americans can forgive the President for outright lying about WMDs and putting the economy in the toilet, what's a little debate cheating? Nothing! He's a team player, right?

Bed Bugs on the Rise!

This is a grim turn of events... it seems that Bed Bugs have become a priority medical concern in TO with the homeless preferring to avoid shelters that are infested!

Birmingham v Liverpool

Unfortunately another disastrous game where LFC squanders numerous chances and collapses when defending. What on Earth happened that Birmingham had such an easy time with their corner? Why is the team's play so terribly inconsistent?

Democracy? Ha!

So here we go again - or not. In a country of 300 million, where the
race for the Presidency will come down to a few thousands votes in a few
states in a few precincts, you would hope that all the votes would be
counted. As the hanging chad debacle of Florida showed in the last US
election, it is pretty easy to manipulate the vote by strategically
providing faulty voting equipment to areas where it is expected that the
vote won't go the desired way. In Ohio, around
100K votes will not be counted.

The Money of Sport

When one considers that Liverpool is widely regarded as one of the biggest teams in sport, it is interesting to see how the brand converts into pounds and pence. An interesting article as it highlights how the Champions League can make such a huge difference to soccer franchises in Europe.

Bush to 'unite' in second term?

I don't think I'm surprising anyone by saying I'm very disappointed with the results of the American election. I, like many others, was hoping that the Bush presidency was an aberration, not reflective of a wide-held set of values and beliefs. I am so wrong - America is divided, the values of members of the Union diverging. A world of unilateralism is not a place I hoped to be. And I am very concerned that the endorsement of the Bush agenda - ranging from ill-conceived foreign adventures, ill-executed homeland defence actions that void individual rights, dubious economic policy (you ain't seen nothing yet) and the protection of corporation at the expense of the citizen - has set the world on a course that is defined by its divisions. So much for the notion of a Pax Americana. Bush claims that his efforts will now be to unite the US in his second term - forgive me if I am skeptical (there's this little thing called a track record).

Liverpool wins on own Goal.

The Official Match Report for the Liverpool v Deportivo match hits all the details of a match won by Liverpool away on an own goal. Biscan was apparently star of the first quarter! There may be hope for the Croat yet! This was the club's first win in Spain since '83.

> sigh. <

Today is the Day

Well here we are, Election Day 2004. Perhaps by the end of day today, perhaps not, we will discover what kind of world we might expect for the foreseeable future. I was thinking of posting the tale of the the Frog and the Scorpion, but this seemed a little melodramatic... nonetheless I am somewhat anxious as to the outcome of today's voting. The world holds its collective breath...

More terrible news on Cisse Injury

Well thank BBC SPORT for making a mess of my morning. Although reports are inconsistent, apparently Cisse will be out for the season.

Liverpool ties against Blackburn! Cisse breaks leg.

I watched the Blackburn match on Saturday and thought it a disaster. With a few exceptions, the team looked really loose and failed to maintain control against a side they should have walked all over. I think it is time that they considered selling Hyppia. Cisse's injury is a terrible blow although I haven't altogether been impressed with his form in the Premiership to date. Wednesday's match against Deportivo will be interesting - of course now the media is all excited about who will be the Club's new striker signing in the New Year.