Equations Will Be Equations

Oh, joy! Today's Globe and Mail reassured us that 92% of Canadian executives think the economy will grow next year..."though most feel the expansion will be moderate."

Are the bonuses of CEOs incorporated in this equation? That could 'moderate' the optimistic view!

                                                                   Gobble, gobble!

Screwed Again!

Not many hours available at this busy time of year but I've had enough - and have to comment!

During the past week I browsed books in Chapters. Our dollar is at par... well, 99 cents, US. The national bestseller, Sailing Alone Around the Room, by Billy Collins was USA $14.95 and CAN $21.00. I have been unable to find any reason or justification for this. Amazon.ca will get it to you for CAN $15.16. Having received an iPad for my birthday, I find that the available books, via iBooks, are largely devoid of ones written and/or printed in Canada.

At the same time, Canada is being pushed around regarding the border which separates us from the USA. It is definitely time to dig in our heels! Our P.M., Stephen Harper, always seems content to be kissing our neighbour...one place or another. We may only be 10% of the population of the USA but we punch above our weight when it comes to resources. We must defend all of those, ferociously - forests, minerals and, especially, water. We were hosed by Uncle Sam re. softwood lumber, starting in 1982, and finally losing outright in 2009, with a 10% surcharge awarded the U.S. So much for free trade (NAFTA) and (WTO)globalization!

That 49th parallel is ours to the north, the American's to the south. Any ill-feeling engendered by border guards seems to occur for those travelling south. The few yards between the two control posts is no-man's land! Let us hold our heads high while we are still the true North, strong - and free?

Boys May be Boys But....

On the one hand, here in Quebec, 30% of male students do not graduate from high school by age 20.

On the other hand, a young male Quebecer just made $8 million playing poker! Is there a message here, even if it is a misguided one?

Compare the demands for jobs in the work force against the professional preferences/career choices of boys in schools as to "what they wish to be," and we have a very real problem. The need for office clerks and sales personnel is plentiful. Rock stars, elite athletes, physicians, lawyers, engineers, etc., are in lesser demand and require much greater innate talent, training or educational qualifications. Eventually, that contrast will lead to much dissatisfaction and disappointment - for both the male students and society.

Who can solve the problem? Why, the schools, of course. Now there's an opportunity for a real "reality show"!

Common wealth Games

Intriguing that the Commonwealth survives when the British Empire is long gone. There are probably economic benefits involved as well as preferences if a citizen of a member country wishes to emigrate/immigrate to another member country.

India is a member and is also, of course, host to The Commonwealth Games at this very moment. I wish the country well in this huge endeavour. However, I was pondering what became of the Untouchables, a name I recall learning about when I was a child in England. My research uncovered a not-too-pretty picture. India's caste system seems to be alive and well. If we think we live in a country of differing wealth, rich-poor and middle-class, and if you've already had breakfast, Google the word Untouchable. You will be shocked!

At least 160 million Indian Untouchables are seen by the rest of the country as less than human. If you consider Untouchable men must find it tough, it is far worse for Untouchable women, who are gang-raped with abandon and the sub-continent's police not only ignore the crime but participate in it!

I was checking Voltaire's whimsical comment about us living in the best of all possible worlds. Whatever way you slice it, we still have a way to go. Whoever decides the credentials required for hosting the next Commonwealth Games should perhaps insist it be a good example for other nations of the world, or at least The Commonwealth. India, I fear, while Untouchables are part of the culture, failed that test.

Back to School

This week heralded another school year and, I confess, I had no pangs of regret that I was not required.

The day's news included alarm that STDs in teenagers is increasing fast. That sex education is no longer a compulsory high school subject is the main reason attributed to this increase.

In addition, university principals are hustling to join Facebook and Twitter, thereby bringing them closer, informally, to their students. How they find time for such trivialities one can only guess at.
Universities were once the keepers and harbingers of truth, research and education.
In Chris Hedges' "Empire of Illusion," (2009) he claims that worldwide revenues from pornography are more than the total of Microsoft, Google, Amazon, e-Bay, and Apple combined. The largest users of Internet porn are between the ages of twelve and seventeen. Is there a message there?!

Where's William?

First, let us commend Munir Sheikh on his integrity for standing by his principles. These days, even finding someone with principles, let alone living them, is rare.

Soon after 1066, the Domesday Book was compiled by William I, in his newly conquered England. It was considered to be a great administrative step forward in the future progress of the U.K. Now, almost a thousand years later, Stephen Harper wants to muffle the practice. His wishes are unclear...

Today, the call is "Can we find a compromise?" What rubbish! There are so many real problems in our country. Denmark has far more information on its citizens and I find Denmark to be one of the most democratic countries in the world.

Amazon.ca, The Musical Heritage Society of Canada, Revenue Canada - and pharmacy Jean Coutu, when I take in film for processing - know far too much about me already! What more can the federal government need to know?

Mr. Harper is, again in the mire and, after slapping his boys, Clement et al,  for insubordination, is trying to extricate himself. How I wish the leader of the Liberal Party would interrupt his, "I'm just one of you guys" BBQ tour and do something useful to help create a real opposition.

Who Benefits?

All evidence suggests Canada is wasting lives and money but achieving nothing for the people of Afghanistan, by having our troops in their country. Our Conservative government's Department of National Defence is about to spend $9-16 billion on 65 "modern" aircraft - like the ones used by the Americans, who also build them!

May we hope that these planes will be more accurate in their aim, so that fewer Afghan civilians will be killed or injured?

What Next?

Just when you are sure you've seen it all - something, even more astonishing - appears.

If, as I do, you watch CBC Newsworld, you will have seen this ad. A grown man (fortunately no women) cheating small children with offers of candy, toys and ice cream he doesn't fulfill. This is in the name of Ally Insurance. It proudly points out that even children can tell when they are being cheated! Frankly, with such a limited sense of purpose, I wouldn't go near Ally Insurance. On the one hand, even if one could see, or condone, how it was going to increase profits, using children, not only the ones in the ads but all those watching others being ripped off by adult shysters, is obscene. Obviously, it has either worked, or the public hasn't reacted yet. It continues, every few minutes, daily. I guess clients are offered a good deal, so who cares what damage it might do to children who already have enough to put up with regarding adult neglect?

Dunkin Donuts Dodge

Call it naivety but I still don't understand. At Montebello's "Three Amigos" protest in 2007, I was present when three policeman, dressed as protesters, wearing bandanas as facecovers, rocks in hand, etc. were revealed to be disguised policemen. This was confirmed by the Surete du Quebec later. (See blog)

The past weekend saw thousands of policemen in the G8/20 Summit in Toronto, with clubs, shields, body armour, guns, tear gas and more, being very aggressive against comparatively few protesters. Inevitably, there was a small anarchist lunatic fringe which brings a bad name to citizen protests.

The view via one's living room television showed quite peaceful activity initially. The law enforcers, however, were very intimidating and even the media seemed determined to show repeatedly the same window being smashed and, at final count, four police cars set alight. I am trying to see how this latter could happen. Police seemed more numerous than activists (residents stayed home). As soon as required, a wall of well-protected police could materialize out of thin air! So, how did these cars get burned? Molotov cocktails? Gas-soaked rags and a match. I really don't think so. Moreover, it was difficult not to notice the absence of fire trucks or even extinguishers. The picture of a flaming police car was in isolation, and constantly reshown on CBC. So, were the police asleep? They seemed awake when cuffing and removing those they were arresting.

Guess, after all, there had to be something to show for that billion bucks paid to protect those G8 members. Odd, too, that no protester that I saw was violating a donut shop! If the law enforcers were not in Tim Horton's, or trying to put out the anticipated fires, where were they? Other than in those huddled masses, apparently looking the other way.?

Does something smell here, other than the smouldering cars?

It's Been Done Before!

Amongst all the rhubarb, spoken and written, about the location chosen for the G20, the commentators, in discussion with the "experts," highlight the danger of clashes between protesters and the police. Why would they hold it in the centre of a major city where mayhem and manhandling by police is highly probable they ask? There was an event in 2001, September 11th, which many believe George W. Bush was aware of beforehand but chose to ignore. The result, apart from the death of innocent people and the destruction of the buildings attacked, was The Patriot Act amongst other controls, which made possible all kinds of repression  impossible before 9/11.
What a gift to the controlling bodies; we are much more malleable when the government is "responding" to left-wing, socialist, anarchist, radical groups who are trying to destroy our democracy!

Meat Logic

A California restaurant, "The Hump," was surreptitiously selling whale meat. The owner apologised and the place may by now have closed. One must ponder why some animals, endangered species, get special treatment. Another species, CEOs, are not endangered, though their ill-earned gains may be, but they get fat bonuses. Seals are prolific to the point of destruction of other species but humans may not earn a living from harvesting their coats. However, slaughter of calves, cows, lambs, et al, is AOK!

Bad Examples

Ottawa's Parliamentary Question Period is a total disgrace. Shrieking, applauding, thumping desks, stabbing the air with bony index fingers and nodding their silly heads in support of their party monologues.  In addition, the so-called pundits, political experts, seem to have followed suit, now diminished to shouting, interrupting one another and showing not a smidgen of courtesy, good taste - or class.

John Baird's recent violent attack on Siobhan Coady in the Government Operations Committee was nothing less than bullying.  Luckily she gave him as good, or better, than he did to her. His award as 'Parliamentarian of the year' will stand in infamy! The award was, of course, made by the extreme right-wing magazine Macleans.What can one say about the whole negative mess? As for me, I will be sure not to subscribe to Macleans and definitely will not vote for any party that allows a thug like John Baird in it.

Little wonder that our children scream at, fight with, and bully each other. They are being trained by our "best".

A Mad, Mad World? Definitely!

Victor Meldrew wouldn't believe it - nor will you., yet it is evidently true. A new "fad," starting in the U.K., is increasing in popularity. People, to get high a tad faster, pour vodka into the eyeball!!!!!!! One can appreciate the motive of keeping parents unaware that a teenager has been boozing by keeping your breath free of odour of alcohol (although I believe vodka is odourless). However, the major motivation is drunker - faster (as one user stated). Ophthalmoligists warn of the dangers but that seems small deterrent.

England, having recently announced the two mascots, Wenlock and Mandeville, for the 2012 Olympics and received some ridicule, is now sure to get some more as the originator of this "habit." British journalists who mocked Vancouver last year for serving cold beer had better brace itself if Canada objects to another odd choice by the former colonists. "They must be bloody mad!!!!!!"

Good Night All

Good night, David...Good night, Chet...Good night, Michael....

Daughter-in-Law From Hell!

When the nickname 'Duchess of Pork' was assigned to Sarah Ferguson some time ago, I fear few of us understood just how accurate it was. She does love the trough. She translated bodyweight-gain into big cash with various corporations, especially Weight-Watchers. Now, poor baby is broke! I am glad at least some of it is owed to law firms but, alas, they will get first crack if mater-in-law decides to bail her out, again. 'Randy Andy' doesn't seem to be hard up but will be unhappy that his already somewhat blemished reputation is smudged by her behaviour. One can bet that our monarch, with a most colourful group of in-laws, sees "Fergie" as the "daughter-in-law from hell!"

Brits are such a curious lot in many ways. Sarah receives an annual allowance, for nothing, something most of them would envy. Yet still, they come running to this woman's aid (although not with a cheque in hand) and suggest that she has not committed fraud and that the Queen should help her. If she accepted $40,000 in cash from someone and, in exchange, promised that person access to Prince Andrew, (although both have admitted that he was not involved) and that ain't fraud, what is? But she is "distantly" related to the royal elite and won't go to jail.

She should certainly have the grace to retire from all those charities she allows to use her name. One has to wonder: how many pay for her patronage? "Noblesse oblige". * Indeed.


(*"Privilege entails responsibility.")

Oink! Oink!

Very little is sacred these days. As Cole Porter would have put it, "Anything goes!" Since the Jaffer affair, lobbying has become a hot topic. Nevertheless, no one appears to object to lobbying, in one form or another. It is baffling! In our democracies, Ottawa's Parliament, the USA's Congress or the British House of Commons and House of Lords, it is not a violation to "persuade" people in power to sway their decisions. Persuasion for profit? Influence peddling? More like bribery - and viewed as criminal - outside politics.

What of party politics? Good? Sound? Honest? The great Winston Churchill changed parties twice. In those good old days a child of the elite went to Eton or Harrow; Oxford or Cambridge; short stint in the Grenadier or Coldstream Guards and then...decided which of the parties offered the best chance of a job! Jean Charest is a Conservative. He ran for the federal Conservative leadership in 1993 and lost to Kim Campbell, who got trounced in her first, and only, election. So, Jean became a provincial Liberal and is now Premier of Quebec with three consecutive minority election wins.

Then there is the matter of how many "jobs" an elected Member of Parliament, etc., can hold/manage. If s/he is a lawyer, it is acceptable to continue to practice. Run a construction company, you do not have to quit that job, or sell the company, to work serving the people!

The last straw happened yesterday. The Auditor-General, Sheila Fraser, courteously made a request to audit the expense accounts of the MPs, et al. The members of all parties, (about to embark on a seven-day sojourn of R and R) ran for the exits to avoid the press, and the reply to the A-G was, "No!" Such arrogance is appalling. Who the hell is in charge in Canada? Does the A-G need to ask? The figures spent by parliamentarians, reported by the CBC, is half a billion...that's right, billion dollars. Surely such a huge sum has to qualify for audit. That the members were reluctant to submit is immediately suspect.

The whole rotten bag-of-tricks needs replacing. I don't mean by electing Michael Ignatieff as P.M. That would be more of the same. We urgently require a national enquiry to determine EXACTLY what the duties of Members of Parliament, and their flunkies, hangers-on, lobbyists, etc., etc. are. What, EXACTLY, are their job descriptions, responsibilities, vacation periods (including periods of proroguing) salaries, extras (especially the extras). It won't happen, you say? You are probably right but until we, the voters, tell them what we will accept, you can bet your breeches the greed element in  them will go unchecked. The oinking 'on the Hill' has become deafening....

Suicide Bomb!

What strong people we Canadians are. We tolerate Stephen H, our Prime Minister, and long for a saviour for our enviable heritage. What do we get? Michael Ignatieff! We have Jack Layton and the wonderful Elizabeth May. But the former is ... "socialist" i.e. Lenin, and too intelligent and sincere for for most of us. Ms. May got a million votes last election but not a sausage in the form of seats. That's not much encouragement to vote Green next time, I fear. Political reform is essential! 

Mr. Ignatieff has announced that the current Governor-General, Michaelle Jean, should have her period of office extended for another term. What is this poor man on? The Governor-General is an honorary position and is none of Mister Ignatieff's business. I read some of his books and they are quite good but he has no knack for politics. His knack is for making odd utterances which just about seal his political fate. By the way, who really cares about a Governor-General. Is one necessary? Not, in the view of most Canadians.

Transparent: Easily Seen Through!

Speaker Milliken is to be applauded for taking the high road in the Afghan torture affair. Alas, his follow-up comment that he hopes a compromise can be found, weakens his resolve and his position as Speaker. If Parliament is supreme, why do we need compromise? The relevant documents must be brought forth, intact and uncensored - and without further delay.
Prime Minister Harper flaunted the word transparent when mesmerizing Canadians during his first election campaign. Ever since, he has been decidedly more opaque (impenetrable to sight). The only thing transparent to Canadian citizens is the fact that Mr. Harper and his government are involved in a cover-up. There is an abundance of evidence that crimes have been committed in Afghanistan which deserve scrutiny. Responsible government is a cornerstone of Canada's independence as a nation.

Misstep!

Well, Mr. Clegg (or Leggover) seems to be doing quite well. However, we have just learned that Mrs. Brown, while attending a Hindu Temple, and removing her shoes, revealed "unattractive" and/or "unsightly" feet. Horrors! Poor woman.

It alarms me that the British media has become as sensationalist as the American. Seems OK to take off most bits of clothing, to the applause of the crowd. Show respect for another religion and you run the risk of being vilified for a physical imperfection. That could set off a violent reaction to many of the physical flaws the three boys and their first ladies, have (or may have) attributed to them. What the devil has that to do with the price of tea...as my mother would have said!

Where D'it Go?

"Stiff hike in EI premiums looming, minister says" (April 17, 2010)
In 2008, Canada had surplus Employment Insurance of 57 billion dollars! Paul Martin was largely reponsible for that. A surplus never lies around for long! Hard to tell how, but today the surplus has diminished? disappeared? been spent? and the account is deeply overdrawn. The government is warning, i.e. preparing, us that the premiums will soon be going UP!
$57 billion! That is 57 with nine zeros after it. A lot of money. ($3,800 per Canadian, every man, woman and child.) It is now, "deeply overdrawn." Where d'it go? Can every cent be accounted for by the last two year's unemployment figures? We will never know. We all paid into it, whether or not we were unfortunate enough to be unemployed. If the government ever wrote to me asking what I would like them to do with my money, I never received the letter. Come to think of it, nor did I receive an IOU. Who's the Minister of Finance - David Copperfield? Okay, now make it reappear!
http://www.montrealgazette.com/business/Stiff+hike+premiums+looming+minister+says/2917700/story.htm

Pilgrim's Progress

What a range! The Vatican is busy covering its...backlog, so to speak, explaining some questionable history of its near and distant past, while over here, to pay for their live-streamed webcast, our Anglicans are flogging pulpit prime space to the rich and wealthy. I guess it was inevitable. The Anglican Church of Canada's national convention this year is fund-raising by offering all sorts of opportunities for hawking goods and giving your corporation or family a boost! Brand logos, signs in meeting places and...wait for it - lunch with the senior Archbishop - are all there for the asking. http://v1.theglobeandmail.com//servlet/story/LAC.20100420.ANGLICANS20ATL/TPStory/National/

For CAN$30,000 (Visionary category) the goodies are too grandiose to mention. Perhaps you can display your family crest above an altar, upon request. A corporation may prefer to be less ostentatious and join the Supporter category (CAN$7,500) with a wall-hanging behind the Chairman of the synod. Coca Cola's slogan "You Can't Beat the Feeling" has a ring to it. The prols are not left out. For CAN$2,500 (Friend category) they may have their names printed in the church's gift guide!

Any assumption that Canada's corporations, which definitely rule our political world, had not entered the world of faith is now dead in the water. Speaking of water, there will be a huge contest for who supplies the baptismal water. The buzz is it could be Evian!

If politics and religion are consigned to the fires of the corporatist world - can the judiciary be far behind? The Anglican Church - i'm lovin' it!

All Clear!

"Let me be clear...;" "It's clear to everyone...;" "There's a clear explanation...;" When anyone in the political world uses the word "clear" what follows they hope, is probably unclear to everyone. "Clear" is a favourite word of Stephen Harper among others. The Liberal Party leader prefers, "It's as simple as that!" Each implies that if we don't find what they say to be "clear" or "simple", we are not too bright. Just like the courtiers in The Emperor's New Clothes?

As they used to say in WWII, is that "All Clear"?

A Comedy of Errors!

Iggy should be laughing a lot as the P.M. gets deeper in the mire with the Jaffer scandal, and Richard Colvin revealing the truth with respect to the Afghan fiction. However, the polls continue to show the Tories rising!

"It's as simple as that," Iggy replies to all or any questions, while never looking at the camera. When will those Liberal back-room boys get the message? OK, they turfed out Stephane Dion and fell over themselves to induct their famous candidate.

This has to be the greatest-ever comedy or spoof in Canadian politics. Unfortunately, the joke's on us!

Steve-o-the-wisp!

After 2000 years, I'm reading Seneca! What he wrote then is as accurate today as it ever was.

To quote one excerpt from his "On the Shortness of Life,"

How many will avoid going out through a hall crowded with dependants, and escape through a secret door - as if it were not even more discourteous to deceive callers than to exclude them.

Sound familiar? How does he remain anonymous? He is an economist and is very economical with his time facing the public. Ducking out back doors to avoid questions is his forte. Seneca would have told him he will have to face the music, eventually!

Smokescreens

Recent decades have seen a welcome reduction in the smoking habit in North America. One reaction of the tobacco industry to this loss was to encourage sales in India and China, etc. A few years ago, tobacco barons, Camel in the U.S., Imperial Tobacco in Canada, introduced SNUS (pronounced snooze) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snus to aid those having difficulty contending with non-smoking restaurants and other public non-smoking areas. The recalcitrant smoker can now chew SNUS, a nicotine derivative, which does not require the user to spit like a baseball player! Some smokers interviewed said they had not given up cigarettes entirely, but were now, when forced into non-smoking areas, using SNUS. This seems to mean that smokers trying to respect non-smoking laws, and trying even harder to quit the addiction, can resort to SNUS. One young man interviewed on 60 Minutes said he still smokes twenty cigarettes a day but fills the time in restricted areas with the comfort of SNUS! It is not hard to see the new addiction will keep the addicted under control, i.e. still controlled by cigarettes - and less likely to quit. This approach, started in Sweden, is called "reducing harm." Reducing - but not eliminating. A controversial idea.

I hope that this news will do two things. First, it will urge people to sue tobacco companies for encouraging their addiction. That is long overdue. Secondly, people with self-induced illness and disease, resulting from tobacco consumption, will be denied public health care. It seems totally unfair to expect other citizens to pay for restoring health to those who have freely invited deadly disease by their own hands. The companies who are encouraging this should also be held equally responsible. http://www.smoke-free.ca/Filtertips-6/snus.htm

Recalibrate!!!!

Joseph T. Hallinan has recently published "Why We Make Miztakes: How we look without seeing, forget things in seconds, and are all pretty sure we are way above average." It is a very good read.

I have carried out my own "scientific" check to confirm his latter claim! It appears we do indeed see ourselves as way above average. Using a  psychological assessment ranking with genius at the top and idiot at the bottom, almost everyone I asked placed themselves at least at the 75% mark. You may recall that the PM and all his associates reassured us at the time of prorogation that his government's purpose was to recalibrate. I have searched the two-volume Shorter Oxford English Dictionary and been unable to find the word. The definition of calibrate, however, includes "skill and judgement". May we assume that recalibrate suggests that the first time, those two qualities were not present in his plans and actions? Perhaps the PM also sees himself as "way above average"? Let's hope he calibrates correctly next time. If there is a next time!

Go Directly to Jail - or Out! (As the Case May Be)

How interesting to observe California's Governor Arnie S, with an overload of criminals in jails, is about to release many to make room for the others. It is difficult not to ponder how this will happen. Will they all draw straws? Will those with minimal sentences get first choice? First in, first out? Canada's P.M. should learn from this. His "tough on crime" policy is already creating heavy debts by building new facilities in preparation for the Apocalypse. However, crimes are diminishing as fear of retribution grips us. Well done Mr. Harper! When do we get our money back?

I is for Ignatieff

Following the Liberal Party's 150 year Brains Trust Conference last weekend, Michael Ignatieff, leader of the Liberal Opposition party, was questioned on CBC yesterday. In his responses, he not only avoided answering the questions, all politicians do that - but he all too often, used "me, myself and I" as his subject. It was embarrassing. There he was emerging from a festival of ideas, implying that the party revolved around him! He should have been pulling the party together with we, us, even all Canadians, not I, me, my. That style may be difficult for one with the aristocratic background he has, not to mention the intellectual monogram he has been weaving for several decades.  If he has such little sensitivity or political acumen, I hope the Libs stop asking me to donate to his cause! The old Liberal Party was more astute - and thus, often in power. Gawd knows what the back-room boys are doing to bring Iggy's attention to his shortcomings. Meanwhile, the P.M. must be smiling all the way to the next election, reassured that his luck has changed after his prorogation drop in popularity.

Come and Go

Seems more Canadians are now supportive of same-sex marriage. That's realistic since it inhibits reproduction in an already overpopulated world. Alas, most religions frown upon birth control of any kind. Indeed, the Roman and Anglican churches are (excuse the pun) proposing a merger to survive; while Libyan president, Colonel Gaddafi, reassures the Moslem world that they can achieve a World Islamic Republic by the power of their loins (that is my interpretation) without another Crusade!

Good old reliable Tom Malthus claimed we reproduce geometrically, while the potential for food production increases only mathematically, i.e. nature will take over and keep the balance with internicine wars, pestilence and several other nasties the Bible foresees. Interestingly, Malthus was an ordained member of the Christian clergy!

What chance does common sense have to prevail against religion and ignorance? I would bet against it.

Esperanto Returning?

Is language as we know, or knew, it disappearing? Will sign language, with those cute stick figures, return?
Acronyms proliferate. Synonyms get twisted. We can e-mail, tweet, twitter, Multiply, Facebook, text (while driving, of course). Who has time to read, or even write, "in the old-fashioned way."

Everything is loaded. Downloaded, uploaded. I was told recently, that they were downloading my update! Who they are remains a mystery but I do hope they know what they're doing. Got any IEDs? Improvised Explosive Device. Goodness, 25 letters. Bomb is only four, so all that fuss to reduce it to three letters, IED. Bomb, of course, is such an ugly word. What about LOL! Take care; it can mean Lots Of Laughs or Lots Of Love. There's a time bomb, sorry an IED, waiting to go off. "Darling Phyllis, I love you. LOL, Fred." If Fred's confession of love ends with Lots of Laughs, be prepared  for the worst, Fred!

Politicians are into everything these days, including bafflegab language. Check the following and find three Stephen Harper wouldn't use to support his government's military actions.
Hero; Support our allies; providing security; insurgency; Canadian forces; NATO air strikes; guerilla warfare; winning; accord; friendly fire; coalition, partners; freedom fighters; Osama Bin Laden.

So, where are we going? Postal services are under threat since snail-mail is dying and the alternatives don't bring any cash to Canada Post. Bank tellers are history. Do-it-yourself banking is great for the shareholders but will increase unemployment. As for our education systems, it was never easy to be a teacher...TBC...(that's "to be continued" for the acronym-challenged among you!)

Teacher - Teacher

Iraq is still having difficulty determining its election results. The USA has, for some years now, been training Iraq how to become democratic. So far they haven't learned a lot - from the USA, at least. Perhaps the Iraqis should be guided by the same principles which decided the outcome of the Bush/Gore election of 2000. They need to nominate an Iraqi Supreme Court! Such a move, along with a decision to allow Iraqi corporations to finance political nominees, would help them emulate their "military advisors".

It's the first day of spring. Keep smiling!

Ooh, La, La!

Aren't the French wonderful? Their slogan in 1789, "Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite" has been sustained to this day.
So many past presidents of France have been a little promiscuous and les citoyens didn't get all excited, as long as he did the job.
Today the world is all agog, even atwitter, as the Sarkozys each enjoy a little slap and tickle with another. France stays calm.
If he doesn't mind and she doesn't mind, it sounds like a good marriage! Vive La France! They are only living up to their revolutionary ideals. Liberty, Equality, Brother (and Sister) hood.

Make Up Your Mind

The contentious issue obliging Muslim women to cover their faces is unending. However, there seems a logical way to resolve this enigmatic dilemma.

Canada has soldiers dying in Afghanistan, partly to allow women to have a choice. Must they wear the hijab, niqab, burqa, etc., if they choose not to? According to the Taliban - yes! Female newcomers to Canada should at least have a similar free choice not to wear these garments. May we assume, therefore, that parents and mullahs will honour that choice? The 2007 death of a 16-year-old Ontario girl (confessed to by her father) for ignoring this demand is not a part of Canadian culture. Nor should it ever become such.
TRIAL SET in PARVEZ KILLING

If immigrant women to Canada do not have this choice, they may as well remain where they are now!

For What It's Worth

Remember 1967? Wonderful Expo '67 in Montreal? Elsewhere in the world, it was quite different. The Vietnam War was raging and civilians, as well as the military, were being slaughtered. War was being preached by politicians of all stripes. Peace was being preached by singing groups. Remember "For What It's Worth" by Buffalo Springfield? Google, read and/or listen to the lyrics. They have a ring to them.
There's something happening here
What it is ain't exactly clear
There's a man with a gun over there
Telling me I got to beware...

There's battle lines being drawn
Nobody's right if everybody's wrong
Young people speaking their minds
Getting so much resistance from behind.

Paranoia strikes deep
Into your life it will creep
It starts when you're always afraid
You step out of line, the man come and take you away....

This song was issued in 1967. The world hasn't changed much. Reading the facts about wars today in Iraq, Afghanistan: their justification, phoney forecasts, who is winning and when it will be over is a duplication of the patter from Washington in that period. It took a while but eventually the people rebelled. The USA withdrew and Vietnam survived. Some neighbours, Cambodia and Laos in particular, had to suffer accordingly.

We, the people, are still subject to the culture of fear with which we are constantly showered. Care to guess where and when the above picture was taken??? I'll post the answer in a couple of days.

Pros and Cons

Prorogation at least relieved us, temporarily, from The Ottawa Circus every weekday afternoon! It's a pretty poor circus, as circuses go - no lions but lots of clowns.

The Ontario ex-Tory who was stopped by a police officer last September and charged with: careless driving, cocaine possession, above legal blood-alcohol level and driving 43 KPH above the speed limit was sentenced to a $500 fine for...careless driving! The other three charges were dropped. His luck held out since his spouse is a minister of Stephen Harper's government. "Good luck!" I say to him. However, if everything was above-board and no hocus-pocus was involved, the Ontario police and legislators must be doing a frightfully poor job.

Hope Springs Eternal

This blog promised critical and "hopeful" notes. Not easy to find tales of hope, these days. However, things are looking up!

Yann Martel, in April, 2007, decided to start a dialogue with Stephen Harper. He promised to send him a letter and a suitable book, of an improving nature, every two weeks while the PM remained in office. That continues...and you can read all about it on this website: http://www.whatisstephenharperreading.ca/

Recently, Martel received compliments on his award-winning book, "Life of Pi", handwritten, from...Barack Obama. Yes, that one! Now, Martel has published a book of his letters which accompanied the books he sent to the Prime Minister. In last Saturday's Globe & Mail, Bruce Meyer's review is worth reading.
Excellent!!!
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/review-what-is-stephen-harper-reading-by-yann-martel/article1491383/

We may hope that Mr. Harper will soon have MORE time to devote to all those gifts. Thank you, Yann.

I was reassured, my hopes refreshed, by Martel's musing, "There will always be more books one would like to read than one will have time to read."
  

Who Needs Parliamentary Reform?

Maybe Canada does! In the 2008 election the Bloc Que. received 1.3 million votes and won 50 Parliamentary seats. The Green Party received close to 1 million votes and won...0 (zero!) seats.

To stress the point, the lists below compare seats received, according to the system of First Past The Post, i.e. "winner takes all fantasyland" with what would happen if "Rep by Pop" (remember that expression in Canadian history?) were used instead.
                             FPTP            Rep by Pop
Conservative          143                 117
Liberal                     76                   81
NDP                          37                  57
Bloc                          50                  28
Greens                       0                   23
Not hard to imagine why voters are hesitant to turn out on election days, is it? Their votes don't count. They are not represented. Why bother? This has to change!

It's All Marketing

In Gore Vidal's 2002 book, "Perpetual War for Perpetual Peace," he has twenty pages where he lists conflicts with U.S. Forces Involved, starting with The Berlin Airlift in 1948 and ending with Determined Force in Kosovo, 1999. The list includes clashes in every part of the globe, including Counterdrug Operations which notes action in a few US states, as well as other countries.

What makes this section fascinating is the extraordinary names assigned to the operations.
Some terms which recur are: Hope, Guard, Guardian, Determined, Decisive and Deliberate. Marketing military attacks requires imagination. Here are just a few examples - some are quite interesting: Operation Tailwind, Laos (1970); Operation Pocket Money, North Vietnam (1972); Eastern Exit (1991) Provide Relief (1992), Restore Hope (1993) all in Somalia. I believe the Pirates won those! Since 2000, Vidal could add quite a few big ones to the list. However, if you wish to read the other 19 pages from Vidal's book, you'll have to visit the library!

Operation Freedom!

Shame Byron died so early. His reputation rests, alas, upon his physical prowess and poetry but he had much to offer us in political guidance, as the following stanza proves:


When a man hath no freedom to fight for at home,
Let him combat for that of his neighbours;
Let him think of the glories of Greece and of Rome,
And get knocked on his head for his labours.


To do good to mankind is the chivalrous plan,
And is always as nobly requited,
Then battle for freedom wherever you can,
And, if not shot or hanged, you'll get knighted.

Smoke Signals

Two short items in this week's press are complementary. The World Health Organization confirmed that 5 million people will die this year from smoking cigarettes. The other item, resulting from extensive research with Israeli soldiers, found that smokers have lower IQs than non-smokers. Am I surprised?

Beer Bashing Canada!

Canada's standing in the world is rising! Not long ago Pat Buchanan, the U.S. presidential candidate who brought a new record to losing, called us "Soviet Canuckistan."

Now, the British journalists at the Olympics are berating us because we sell cold beer. Now, be fair, when I left the UK in 1956, my family did not have a fridge. We had a pantry and I can't remember where the beer was kept because my parents didn't drink and I wasn't old enough. But we must forgive them for finding warm beer drinkable. They came by it naturally!

When there was a British Empire, the Brits were seldom popular. Now it's the Americans' turn. As Canada receives more criticism, it is a good sign. Dislike often includes envy. We are a wonderful country - just listen to "Tom Brokaw Explains Canada to Americans". The whole world would love to live here. Until recently, we were democratic, in spite of Buchanan's implication that we are Communists.

Our present Prime Minister doesn't understand the rules of democracy but he will learn. So let's open up "a cold one", and here's to us, Canada!

Danny's Home is Not Where His Heart Is

The American politicos are having a field day using Danny Williams' heart surgery in the US as evidence that Canada's health care is sub-standard. Someone has to defend our splendid country before the spurious claims down south take hold.

In 1975, I received a quadruple A/C bypass at the Royal Victoria Hospital, Montreal. By 1988, it required an update and a further triple bypass was performed at the Montreal Heart Institute.
Today, at 77, I feel privileged to live in Canada, my health is first-class, even though I could never have afforded First Class private health coverage. Nor a condo in Florida!

Would I trade my life here for residence in the USA? "Not bloomin' likely," as Eliza would have said.

Fantasy Island

Remember Marg Thatcher having her political bacon saved by military action in The Falklands in 1982? The Brits loved it and voted her back in, as they cheered from the quays of Southampton.
Gordon Brown must believe in fairies as he declares protection for the threatened people of the FI and hopes history will repeat itself. There is a Margaret Thatcher Day celebrated there annually now! Can we hope he will summon a British Armada to again prove that Britannia rules the waves? Well, at least ones that have oil under them. The major expense Britain invested, following the "victory" in '82, was a large airfield. Good timing, Gordon. Well done!
Iraq, Afghanistan and now South America. Can the new Empire be far away? Hip, hip........?

Breaking News!

We must not minimize the significance or tragedy of the earthquake in Haiti. We must all strive to help the people recover.

However, if we examine the plight of so many areas of the world suffering through AIDS, violent conflict, sexual ignorance, greed, etc., etc. we realize the media loves to direct our attention to "natural" disasters and can therefore ignore man-made ones.

What's in a Name?

According to the magazine, The Week, Akbar Zib, a Pakistani official, has been rejected as ambassador to Saudi Arabia because his name translates as "Biggest Dick."

Anyone know what Stephen Harper translates to, in Arabic?"

Are You Afraid!

Some might think the "culture of fear," generated by those in control today, is fairly new; e.g. Fear of H1N1 pandemic, bad breath, Iran and/or nuclear attack...

You might think that the use of fear was not as sophisticated centuries ago but reading up on the Inquisition will help dispel that notion. The Roman Catholic church terrified the homefront as much as those in the colonies. Jews (1288), Protestants, Moslems were all included. Not that the Protestants were kindly to RCs! Burning books, as well as adherents, was entertainment. (No TV!) Odd that all major religions have included that tenet about loving our brothers - as you hope they will love you. Not much luck there. Fear remains, today, the greatest force to ensure our obedience.

Is Stephen Harper Desperate?

Recently he wanted to save the poor, the hungry and the devastated homeless of the world. Today he is a different saviour; he must get on that white horse and save us all from Iran.
The USA has thousands of nuclear warheads. Pakistan has fewer but they are, perhaps, less stable. Israel, China, India, the UK, France, et al, have more than enough. It is easy for the 'haves' to tell the 'have-nots': "Pull up the ladder, Jack, I'm on the wall!" That is perfectly normal in the right-wing world. It is hard, however, to justify preventing nations from developing atomic energy that provides services for their people.
Harper has now announced that an attack on Israel will be considered an attack on Canada...oh dear.
Surely he is not hoping to get our minds off him by developing our own nuclear weaponry?
What next can Mr. Harper think of to recover from proroguing Parliament? After all, "Canadians don't care," he said.
His time might be better spent doing the job we pay him for - running a Canadian parliamentary minority government.