Here they are, finally, My Picks For The Best 15 Albums and 40 Songs of 2007. I'm not necessarily claiming these are "The Best" albums and songs of the past year since there were thousands of albums and tens of thousands of songs released over the year and I simply haven't heard them all. What I am claiming, however, is that the selections you'll find below are my favorite tunes and discs from the past 12 months - damn good music, all of it. Enjoy! And let me know anything I've missed.

Here they are, finally, My Picks For The Best Films of 2007. I may be a few days late with this, but, hey, cut me some slack. I mean, you've gotta understand that it's taken me this long to recuperate from all those holiday parties, especially since they've continued right into the New Year.

Hey all you fellow Canadians out there, as Bob Dylan once asked, how does it feel? How does it feel to have a government that is such a disgraceful embarrassment on the international stage? I mean, when your country's only real ally on a major issue is George W. Bush's America you've really got to stop and ask yourself just what the hell went wrong? And the answer, obviously, starts with the election of this Stephen Harper-led right-wing Bush-a-like government of ours two years ago. The only question now seems to be, just how far down do these jokers plan to drag us?

or Iran vs Saudi Arabia in "The Ascendancy of Asininity"

Ok, so two weeks ago you heard about the delightful tale of the 19-year-old woman in Saudi Arabia who, for the crime of being gang-raped, was sentenced to be tortured and permanently disfigured - to call flogging by its real name - followed by 6 months in prison. Well, today we're reminded that, when it comes to full-on barbaric, feudal, Dark Age Mentalities, the Saudis are relatively timid and moderate compared to their brothers in asininity in the Iranian judiciary. I can almost hear the Iranian taunts now: "Hey, Saudis, you call that a sentence? How about death to an 18-year-old for the crime of being raped by her brothers and forced into sex slavery by her parents? Bet you can't beat that, you pansies!"

A.K.A. Bush's Dick - And I Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Cheney

What you've got over there in Pakistan right now is yet another one of those petty power-obsessed pricks doing what petty power-obsessed pricks always seem to do: Usurp power. Like so many other egotistical, megalomaniacal buffoons, this Musharraf idiot sees himself as the savior of his country. And to save it, of course, he must attack anyone and everyone that challenges his right to be Big Boss and Supreme Savior. If that means destroying the judiciary and throwing all the legitimate democratic leaders in jail, well so be it. Like Mugabe, like Kim Jong Mentally-il, like Pinochet, like Gaddafi, like every other Messianic Savior of Nation and People out there, he not only knows that he's right and everyone else is wrong, he also knows that he alone can see the way forward and he alone can save the nation from ruin. A ridiculously pathetic buffoon, straight and simple.

As a heroic fighter against apartheid, South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, now 76 years old, knows bigotry and discrimination when he sees it. And he doesn't mind speaking up, even when he sees it in his own church.

What a lovely country that Saudi Arabia is. Check out this BBC article about a 19-year-old woman who is not only going to prison for being gang-raped, but is also facing 200 lashes.

Yes, 6 months in prison and a good whipping till all the skin has been ripped off her back, all for the crime of being gang-raped.

Anyone who watched the news here in Canada tonight now knows just how the RCMP works. I'm not simply talking about the video that was released today showing exactly what happened to Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski last month at Vancouver International Airport - how four cops killed him without provocation - no, I'm also talking about the web of lies and deceit that goes into the standard RCMP cover-up.