Meow everyone, If you read the title and are somewhat confused, don’t be. no, I have not been over zealously dipping into the catnip, rather, I have been exploring some rather interesting observations about all of the above.
As always, to see the images in full resolution, simply click onto them
Many will know that recently, Canadian rock legend Neil Young went on a small tour to raise funds for the anti tar sands protests in Canada. Young has been one of these musical artists who has used currant events as a means to either write songs , or to promote something he feels he is close to. many will know one of his most famous songs ” Ohio ” which he wrote over a few hour period that was about the shootings at Kent State university. he performed for other causes such as farm aid. he has a long and storied career not only as a solo artist but also with Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young , and of course Buffalo Springfield . He has ventured into various incarnations to change his sound, with Neil Young and crazy Horse being one of these incarnations.
Originally born in Toronto, he grew up mostly In Winnipeg Manitoba which is also home to some of of Canada’s rock and roll icons such as Burton Cummings and Randy Bachman. Young lived in several places from Florida to California and many other places , along the way to super stardom . His music also seemed to have some political influence around it, as did many of the great artists from his era. As an artist and musician, he is a great one, possibly one of the greatest ever. His voice is very unique so there is never any mistake as to who you are hearing when you hear him sing. As unique as his voice is, his tour bus is also very unique, literally a one of a kind. I will expand on this in detail later in this story .
However, Today, i am hear to talk about his show here in Toronto, and how it appears to be something other than just a fundraiser.
Several hours prior to the show in Toronto, Young held a press conference . This is not uncommon. However, what is very unusual about this one was the persons who were on the stage with him. Not one, not even two but THREE of the most prominent professional paid protesters in Canada, One of them who wears the famous ” Love is the Movement ” tattoo. Here is Eriel Deranger , the wearer of the tattoo :
Deranger is one of these professional protesters who must have about a million air miles ;points , as she flies from one end of the country to the other to protest just about anything there is .Here is Deranger addressing the press conference :
Next on out list of professional protesters present and on stage is our well know protester , Vanessa Gray. Like Deranger, she likely spends more time flying about than she does at home. The protest world is a busy one .
Last, we have the Grand Pubah of the professional protester world , David Suzuki. Suzuki flies all over the world giving wonderful speech after speech , at about $ 75,000.00 per speech. When he is not speaking, you can find him chilling in one of his four multi-million dollar mansions. The life of a professional protester is tough isn’t it? Suzuki has already been exposed as not very well informed about much of what he talks about, as recently proven at a fairly recent science conference in Australia where he was basically told by REAL scientists , that he, ( Suzuki ) has no idea what he talking about ) Here he is in a group shot with the whole bunch :
Here are a few more images of the group :
As I was researching this , I came across something that prompted me to write this story. It appears that Mr. Young , in all his protestations of the tar sands may have an less known motive to protest the tar sands. it appears that Mr. Young has a business interest in the transportation industry that would be a direct competition to tar sands mining.
Ok, so now we have to ask and wonder if Young’s opposition to this mining project is in fact self serving. Well, it appears that in fact, it may very well be.
The Auto Industry holds many car shows around the world each year, with the big three much see shows being the Detroit Auto show, the The auto show in Munich Germany and the SEMA show in Las Vegas. It is the SEMA show where we find Neil Young and his vested interest in the auto industry. Here are the videos of Neil Young at the 2010 SEMA show talking about his car company :
You can read more about Lincvolt here . As you can see from the website, and from the video, his cars DO INDEED use fuel as they are not 100% electric.You can read more about the SEMA show by clicking the link. This is THE must see / must go to show if you are even remotely serious car buff.
Upon researching this story, I have learned that Neil young is quite a car buff. he has a particular fondness for the old Buicks. The image of his tour bus about is a testament to this . The roof domes on his bus are from a Buick, the three portholes on either side of his tour bus ( on the lower front ) are homage to the Buick , and he has a grill of a Buick on the roof of his tour bus :
These tour buses come with very steep prices. they will range from about one and a half million dollars to over three million, depending on what options and equipment they are ordered with. Young’s bus is made by the Silver Eagle bus company out of Texas. These buses run on Diesel fuel and are not know for their fuel economy. On average, a bus of this size will get about six or seven miles per gallon of fuel used. On the plus side, these buses are often time far more comfortable than many people homes …. but you certainly pay for that comfort.
Some years ago, i seriously entertained the idea of buying a used motorcoach for myself to live in. The coast of a new one is astronomical as you can see from the web site of Marathon Luxury Motorcaches , however, one can but used one fairly cheaply . Its the insurance that will kill you . These motorcoaches run at an average price new of around two million dollars . On this tour, Neil Young had FIVE of them on tour with him . My guess is that his claim of being for the environment is directly proportional to the group who funds this tour.
Funding, yes, that was going to pop up here 🙂 , however, since the question of funding is a topic onto itself, i will leave that for part two of this story ………….. stay tuned, this WILL be interesting …..