VW advertisements

I found some more Volkswagen advertisements:

"The Golf TDI. Unbelievable Acceleration."

This one puzzles me. Does Volkswagen really want to say VWs are ugly?



Umm, can't say much about this one for the VW Caddy. Not sure if I want to. :o)


Out of this bunch I like this VW Polo ad the best. In case you're wondering, "Aus Liebe zum Automobil" translates to "For the love of automobiles".


I'm thinking the Volkswagen LT isn't sold in the United States. I could be wrong, but I don't remember seeing one.


This one is pretty funny, too.

I have more VW ads, both R32 and non-R32 related, on my website (VW advertisements). I also have both official and non-official VW commercials and/or videos.

The Kingdom

Tonight I watched The Kingdom. This movie is about a small team of FBI investigators, led by Jamie Foxx, in Saudi Arabia tracking down terrorists who had attacked one of the compounds housing foreign workers and their families.

I would categorize The Kingdom as an action flick. The action sequences during the climax was quite well done; there were several tense and suspenseful moments in the movie where I couldn't make a better than 50/50 guess as to how a scene would turn out.

I thought all the actors' performances were well done. I particularly enjoyed Ashraf Barhom's performance, and both Foxx and Jennifer Garner were good, too.

I'm of mixed mind of the denouement. It was either a case of the director using a sledgehammer to bludgeon his point across to the audience or a case of something that needed to be said to balance the film's message--I can't decide. Don't expect to come out laughing and smiling after the credits roll.

Unfortunately, the many positives of this film were overshadowed by the camera direction. I can understand what the director was trying to achieve--it's just too bad it was done so poorly. I sat through the last three quarters of the movie with a headache because of the camera's quick, jerky movements and extreme closeups. It's not like I was sitting in the first row, either (I did that once, and NEVER again). I was roughly in the middle of the theater; moving further back wouldn't have helped me.

I'd have probably rated this film three and a half stars, but due to the headache-inducing camera direction I'm giving The Kingdom...

1.5 out of 5 stars.

For Whom the Bell Tolls

"No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend's or of thine own were: any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee."

--Devotions upon Emergent Occasions, XVII (1623), by John Donne.

Volkswagen Touareg R50

Wow. Volkswagen is coming out with the 3rd model in their sporty R line-up, following the original 2004 Volkswagen Golf R32, and the Passat R36. The Touareg R50 is to be officially announced in Sydney, Australia, on 11th October.

"In another world premiere for the Australian International Motor Show, Volkswagen has announced it will unveil its new Touareg R50 in Sydney next week (11 October). Developed by a team of specialists at Volkswagen Individual GmbH, the Touareg R50 is one of the most powerful SUVs in the world. While Volkswagen has yet to announce detailed specifications, it promises the R50 boasts "generous" increases on the 230kW of power and 750Nm of torque produced by the current V10 TDi model on which it is based. Bigger wheels and tyres and tweaked suspension complete the high-performance package. Volkswagen Individual GmbH has also designed new exterior and interior features to reflect the R philosophy.

The R50 is the third model to appear under Volkswagen's sporty R label, following in the footsteps of the Golf R32 and the new Passat R36 - which was launched last month at the Frankfurt motor show. All three models have 4MOTION all-wheel drive to guarantee optimal traction."--VWvortex.com

Politics loves a myth

From cbc.ca:

Canada's nasty reputation
October 3, 2007

Charles Schumer is the senior U.S. senator from New York, and one of the most accomplished self-promoters in Washington, which says a great deal about his powers of self-promotion. He's a busy fellow.

When he showed up last week at a televised Senate committee hearing, he wasn't interested in the expert witnesses testifying about security along the Canada-U.S. border. Schumer sat down just long enough to get some face time on the live cameras and to put some remarks on the record.

"It's extremely troubling, extremely troubling," he said. "We have seen, crossing the Buffalo border on occasion, terrorists …"

Congress, said Schumer, must do something about it. His fellow senators nodded gravely, and Senator Max Baucus from Montana started talking about how easy it might be for someone in Canada to build a dirty bomb. Schumer hurried off.

In the audience, a Canadian official jotted down the remark, which was examined from all angles later at the Canadian embassy just down the road from the Capitol.

No one had the faintest idea what Schumer was talking about. Nor did anyone in the Canadian Consulate General in Buffalo, which was quickly brought into the inquiry. Schumer himself hadn't provided any details.

It turned out Schumer didn't know what he was talking about either. After repeated calls to his office, one of his press secretaries told CBC "perhaps the senator misspoke."

Who's toughest?

Perhaps. Or perhaps, as Canadian Senator Jerry Grafstein puts it, there's an election coming in the United States, and "it's above the radar screen because the Democrats are trying to demonstrate they're tougher on terrorists than the Republicans," and don't particularly care who they sideswipe in the process.

Whatever the reason, politics loves a myth, and the myth about Canada that's lodged in the heads of some of America's most powerful politicians is as resistant to truth as a virus is to antibiotics.

According to Canadian officials who track such things, six Washington lawmakers have so far this year stated that Sept. 11 hijackers entered the United States through Canada.

For the record: the hijackers all entered the U.S. directly, most of them on visas granted by the American government, presumably after security checks by the vigilant security services of the U.S. Most of them were also citizens of another close U.S. ally, Saudi Arabia.

But that didn't matter to high officials like Utah Senator Bob Bennett, who made the Sept. 11-hijackers-from-Canada accusation to some visiting Canadian MPs earlier this year.

Or to Democrat Congressman Henry Cuellar of Texas, who said this to a House subcommittee last July: "If you want to look at the 9/11 terrorists, they didn't come from the southern border. They came from the northern part of the border."

Cuellar's fellow Texan, Congressman Al Green, couched it as a broad hint last month. "Much is said about the southern border, but much also should be said about the northern border. The 9/11 hijackers did not come through the southern border…" (Green corrected himself, though not the official record, after calls from CBC).

Look north

Politicians in the United States reinforce the Canada-as-a-terrorist-haven myth for different reasons, says one Canadian official who watches the issue — and the reasons usually have nothing to do with Canada.

Some Republicans "want to stimulate constant fear," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "They depend on people being very scared in order to win office."

He also pointed out that politicians from southern states appear determined to divert attention from the southern border, where many millions of illegal immigrants have crossed into the United States.

"They perceive an elemental racism to the complaints about the southern border, so they are anxious to point out that white folks up north were the source of the 9/11 terrorism," the official said.

The fact that Canada co-operates eagerly with American security officials, as one of the expert witnesses Schumer ignored was trying to explain, is immaterial.

The fact that Canada, in its eagerness, has handed over (sometimes erroneous) information about its own citizens doesn't matter. The fact that Canadian authorities have actually intercepted security targets crossing the border from the U.S. with American guns makes no impression at all.

But these utterances certainly have consequences. Frank McKenna, who spent much of his time as Canadian ambassador to the United States from 2005 to 2006 chasing and dousing the Sept. 11 myth, says Canadian travellers "are paying the price right now."

"It's thickened the border," says McKenna. The longer lines at U.S. Customs, the traffic jams at international bridges in Buffalo and Detroit, the slowing of trade: "It is creating arteriosclerosis in the arteries between our countries."

Canada's Grafstein, who co-chairs a group of Canadian MPs and senators (the Canada-U.S. Interparliamentary Group) that pursues private discussions with their American counterparts, says the "haven for terrorists" myth occupies most of the meetings.

"It's like hitting a stone with water," he says. "I can't deal with the irrationality."

Of course, Grafstein has been in politics for most of his adult life. He probably should have learned about irrationality by now.--Neil MacDonald

Emphasis is mine.

Backpack shield

I thought this (Backpack shield) was pretty depressing, not because some parents may and this company feels there's a need for it per se, but because of the thought they might be right.

"Stronger than a sewn in level II liner, the BACKPACKSHIELD tm is N.I.J. Level IIIA & stops hardened higher velocity 9 mm Full Metal Jacket (copper) and 44 Magnum (SWC) rounds flat in their tracks. The patented DupontTM Kevlar® multilayer ballistic composite BACKPACKSHIELD tm weighs less than a text book, measures 17" high by 12 " wide, is less than 1/2" thick, and fits inside 1000's of standard size (High School & Collegiate) backpacks. It's available in a variety of school colors, optional personalized photo (i.e. favorite athlete, pet, team, mascot etc.)"

I'm not advocating either way for or against armoring children with Kevlar, but I think it's more a matter of when, not if, there's going to be another school shooting. Wangos. There has to be a better way to protect school children.

Visitors in September 2007

The top 5 visitors in September 2007, listed by country, were:

1) United States,
2) Canada,
3) Great Britain,
4) an European country,
5) Australia.

The full list for September 2007.

Visitors in previous months.