Thursday, November 10th, Man on Fire speaks...

1 - Man on Fire asked for it, and the Globe and Mail has delivered. Last post we wondered how two teens getting electocuted at a French power plant could lead to mass rioting in Paris' suberbs. Then we wondered why no one else was wondering the same thing. Thankfully, last Monday the prestigious Globe and Mail provided a timeline and a well written article detailing what had transpired over the past several days. Check it out here. Kudos to the CBC who put there own timeline out the next day.

2 - Now that we know what's going on in Paris we have to admit...we're still stumped. As one Hassen Farsadou noted in 'The Globe's' article, if these boys who riot have never set foot in a mosque, why are they so worked up? Poor immagration policies? No or poor employment opportunities? An intolerant population? We aren't positive, but we think that is bull. The article states that close observers see no political or religious demension to the violence. We get the impression that anyone who tries to justify these riots by bringing up immigration policies or employment has an agenda.

3 - The team here at Man on Fire loves to read other peoples blogs, and we found a sweet post the other day. 'Doxasky' Google searched 'Sylvia needs' just to see what would happen. Finding out what Sylvia needs is guite humorous(ex. Sylvia needs a public projection of her literary talents). M.O.F. laughed out loud, and decided to get in on the action. So we Googled 'Man on Fire needs' and found two results: 'Man on Fire needs to be extinguished', and 'Man on Fire needs to be remembered'. We're thinking either one or the other will happen.

4 - Today's sign of the apocalypse: 'Terrel Owens apologizes.'

5 - Today's other sign of the apocalypse: 'NHL on pace for a dozen or so fifty goal scorers.'

6 - Speaking of the apocalypse, Man on Fire suggests watching 'Apocalypse Now' if you're a war movie person. It's about some crazy mission during the Vietnam War undertaken by an even crazier soldier (Martin Sheen) and his even crazier counterparts (namely Robert Duvall) in an attempt to take down an even crazier renegade Green Beret (Marlon Brando) who has convinced a tribe of natives in Cambodia that he's God. That's about all we can say. Truth be known, we've only seen about half the movie.

7 - Quote of the week, from Billy Bob Thornton in 'The Bad News Bears'...

'Well guys, looks like the game's gonna end in a tie. Now I know what they say about ties... that it's like kissing your sister. But the way we've been playin', it's like kissing your really hot step sister.'

This one will probably find its way to a campus bulletin board.

8 - The most sickening thing we've seen this week is how the federal NDP is going about pushing forward it's inevitable non-confidence motion. If you don't know what we're talking about, then you need to get off your backside and read a newspaper. Federal NDP leader Jack Layton is convinced Canadian voters don't want a Christmas election. Fair enough. What Layton doesn't realize is that the Prime Minister sets the date for an election. So really, if the federal Liberals fall before Christmas, and Paul Martin sets an election date sometime in late December, it's his own fault. Despite all this, we predict Stephen Harper and the Conservatives somehow get blamed. It happens every time.

9 - Speaking of a Christmas election, the crew at M.O.F. was wondering if there's ever a good time for an election. Think about it. If there's one thing we've learned this year it's that summer elections are about as popular north of the border as hockey is south of the border. You could say the same thing about Christmas elections. So what options are left, there's the fall election, but who wants to vote and listen to campaign speeches during Thanksgiving, harvest, and Remebrance Day. There's the spring election, but if we have the choice between watching the Flames and Canucks fight to the death in the NHL
play-offs, or watch a political debate, we'll watch hockey every time. You might wonder about those people who don't like hockey. To that we say 'that's what college basketball's for' (read: March Madness). Spring is bad for baseball fans too. So basically, M.O.F. has come to the conclusion that either a) the majority of Canadians are living in such a pathetic state that civic duty has become a four letter word, or b) the majority of Canadian news agencies do not have a clue what they are talking about. Frankly, we wouldn't be surprised if either were true.

10 - Fear mongering is not something we like to promote, but we have to admit, this article was horrifying. We need to pray for North Korea. On a side note, this is state run day care at it's most extreme, and now Canada wants to get in on the act. Scary.

11 - Name the last time you saw Muslim leaders denounced Islamic Extremists. While the law of averages states that at some point throughout the last ten years some Muslim leader has probably taken a stand and said "terrorism is wrong, and is not compatable with true Muslim teaching", we can't remember such an event ever occuring. That's why it's so encouraging to see this. What's even more encouraging is that the demonstration was actually reported. Rioters in France take note, if you want to make a point, this is how you go about making it.

12 - T.O. jokes aside, if you want an insightful column on Terrell Owens check out Skip Bayless on ESPN.com. Bayless has written an article based on an assumption that no one else has even considered: that Owens is a human being. We have to admit we don't like T.O., but after reading this article we do feel sorry for him.

13 - Man on Fire is not superstitious, so we have no qualms about ending on 'lucky' thirteen. We also have no qualms about blowing our own horn. Just this week the CFL named the two finalists for the Most Outstanding Player Award: Corey Holmes and Damon Allen. Just remember, you heard it here first. We still think Allen will win, and not just because he's the sentimental favorite or the CFL is trying to cator to the every whim of both of Toronto's CFL fans. The fact is, Allen has had a great statistical year, and has been the only spark on a dormant underachieving Argo offense (hello John Avery and Hakim Hill). The point is reinforced by the fact that there were only four Argonauts named to the East Division offensive all-star team. Remember, this is the same division that produced the two most inept offenses in recent memory, courtesy of the Ottawa Renegades and Hamilton Ti-Cats. Even with the Alouette offensive jugernaut, a healthy offense should have produced more all-stars. Now there are some who will say 'hey, it's a team game, all-star awards don't matter'. To that we say, true, however, the point we are trying to make is that as Damon Allen goes, so go the Argos. That's all for now. God Bless.

M.O.F.