I can see Russia on my TV

Maybe I can be VP...if you have a vacancy (soon).

John, call me...
;)

PK

$700 Billion Wall Street bailout

The US Congress is currently discussing whether or not to authorize a $700 Billion bailout of Wall Street banks due to a crisis caused by the banks' own greed (and stupidity).

This crisis (as I understand it) was caused by the banks lending money to people to buy houses that they couldn't afford; which drove up house prices; which enabled these same people to borrow more money against that equity (on top of the loans they already couldn't afford).

During this time of lunacy, the managers and officers of these banks were getting bonuses based on how many loans they could make.

And now that housing prices have gone down in most parts of the US, these loans are all going bad...with people defaulting on the loans because the amount they owe on a house is substantially more than the house is worth (and besides, they can't afford to pay the monthly payments anyway).

And now Wall Street is asking the US Government to help fix this mess; but the managers and officers of the banks are not being asked to give back their bonuses. Gordon Gekko would be proud.

There is some urgency to this bailout, so President Bush is asking Congress to authorize it with no debate. But Congress is nervous about that, because $700-Billion is a lot of money.

$700-Billion is approximately 5 times the amount Canada spent on Health Care in 2006. It is about 65% of Canada's 2006 GDP. It is about 50% more than the 2007 US Defense budget.

And it could buy (get ready for this) 1-Trillion Fancy Feasts...which is about 250-Billion pounds of Fancy Feast (which would weigh the same as 12,500 Eiffel Towers). That is a lot.

PK

Middle Cat needs a new hobby

My Middle-Cat and I are enjoying a nice evening... just us girls. Know what would make it even better? If my Middle-Cat stopped reading Petfinder.

I think she may have a problem because she keeps reading the stories, even though the Big-Cat tells her not to. Some of the pet stories are very, very sad and they sometimes make the Middle-Cat weepy.

So... I am trying my darndest to distract her this evening. So far, I have meowed at her a lot, attacked her crinkly Globe & Mail and spilled Fancy Feast on the kitchen floor. (That last one was an accident on my part -- I would never spill FF on purpose.)

PK

Chantal Petitclerc

Yesterday, Chantal Petitclerc won her 5th Gold medal (and third World Record) of the 2008 Bejing Paralympic Games.

During her career, she has won a total of 21 Paralympic medals; 15 of which have been gold.

It's too bad that the TV coverage of the Paralympic Games has been so spotty that most people in Canada haven't had the ability to see her race in Beijing this year.

I hope she will finally be recognised by Canada this year by winning either (or both) the Lou Marsh Trophy (awarded annually to Canada's top athlete) or the Bobbie Rosenfeld Award (annual award given to Canada's best female athlete).

She has been nominated for both awards in the past but has not won either. I wonder how many times she would have won if she had the same level of dominance as a hockey player.

If she doesn't win this year, I'm sending her a Fancy Feast.

PK

One novel way to get at the birdies

This is one smart kitty. He has managed to hollow out a tree in order to get high up in it and get some birdies.

I've always had to wait for an older, slow birdie come down to the ground (near where I am laying in wait) in order to catch them.

I wish I had a tree like that; I'd never have to beg for a Fancy Feast again.
PK

The Great Outdoors

Tonight I nagged my big-cats into giving me a Fancy Feast. A couple hours later I found myself locked outside of the house when the Middle-Cat "accidentally" closed the patio door while I was outside.

Eventually the big-cats saw me jumping up and down against the outside of the patio door and let me in.

All I can say is that the Great Outdoors is a big, scary place.
PK

Oscar Pistorius

Oscar Pistorius of South Africa is today's Olympian on my blog.

His legs were amputated when he was 11 months old but he didn't let that stop him from becoming a world class athete.

He holds the world record in the 100m for T44 amputees (10.91 seconds) and he just won the Gold medal in the 2008 Beijing Paralympics.

To put his world record in perspective, it is exactly one second slower than the bronze medal winner in the men's 100m race in the 2008 Olympics; and Oscar would have won the silver medal if he raced in the Women's 100m race in the 2008 Olympics.

Oscar almost qualified for South Africa's 2008 Olympics 400m team (he missed it by 0.7 seconds).

You can see Oscar run at the end of Nike's "Courage" commercial
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ae3tFI8wXE

Betty needs some friends

The Middle-Cat has a putter named Betty. Betty lives at home with us. Currently, Betty is an only child.

The big-cats' friends, Stacy and Darin (the big-dogs of my friend Gus) think that Betty needs to have some friends come live with her...this makes a lot of sense once you see the Middle-Cat play golf. She's a natural.
PK

PS Here is a picture of my friend Gus.

Saint Josie?

My Big-Cat recently took this picture with a special camera that can see inside a person's soul. I think the halo over the Middle-Cat is a pretty accurate depiction of her.

My big-cats refused to show me a picture of the Big-Cat taken with the same camera; so I'm suspicious about what they are hiding.....
PK

Buffalo Mozzarella Cheese

The big-cats were away this last weekend and so I had a nice a weekend alone where I caught up on my sleep.

The big-cats stayed at Fairburn Farm and had a great time. Their host (Mara) is a wonderful cook and a very nice lady.

While they were at the farm, the big-cats saw some of the water buffalo calves. Each one had a nice human name (these two are Harry and Nellie).

Hopefully soon, Nellie will be producing milk to make into buffalo mozzarella cheese while Harry will be making more calves.

Mmmm, cheese.
PK