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.