AND
Really "stupid" articles can qualify for a "STAR-OF-STUPIDITY" award! and now... there is a new EVIL award for actions that are
considered truly EVIL!
(psst.. we ALWAYS try to
credit or acknowledge content written by others - if we fail, please let
us know.)
NEW!Now in ascending
order - current articles first..
This site was "retired" in August 2013. Politics can be interesting/frustrating/exciting.. appealing to many trains of thought and ideals. Lately (2017-2018) in the U.S.A. there is apparently a "movement" underfoot that has the potential to disrupt or damage international trade and political relations, and even worse, through misguided personalities and egotism, is unconsciously encouraging the possibility of conflict regionally or, in the worst case, globally. Society and our value systems are changing rapidly and something has to be done to stop this steamroller before it gets out of hand. This site is back to question what is going on and explore conventional - and unconventional - avenues and actions in a hope to arouse attention in those bodies that have the inclination and power to actually do something! So.. for better or worse..here we go!!
POTUS (TRUMP) does not like NATO - too costly!
Wednesday July 11th 2018 - At today's NATO meeting, "Hisself" chastised Nato members - specifically Germany - because they did not contribute to the cost of supporting NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) proportionately. Previously agreed targets of 2% of each member's GNP had not been met by a number of countries. The US does contribute the largest share - 90% according to Trump (a gross Lie of course, statistics suggest 22% is more realistic!) so Trump wishes their share to lessen and the difference to be picked up by other members. Many suspect that all this is grandstanding by POTUS as a prelude to his upcoming one-on-one meeting with Russia's Putin in Helsinki! Trump has - once again - criticized western and (previously) supportive nations and pressed his reverence to antagonistic nations. He appears to idolize Putin - seeing him as strong and assertive - we would not normally use such descriptions - preferring to use terms such as "cruel and dictatorial"! What comes out of the Trump - Putin closed session should be interesting - stay tuned!!
POTUS (Trump) should carry a fire extinguisher with him at all times! because... Liar, Liar..Pants on fire - HE LIES SO MUCH!
Wednesday July 11th 2018 - Today's latest False Fact according to POTUS - as he sees it....
"Germany is totally controlled by Russia because they will be getting from 60% to 70% of their energy from Russia and a new pipeline," The Truth!Germany relies on Russia for most of its imports of natural gas. But gas makes up less than 20% of Germany's energy mix for power production!
Hey! If we are on the topic of countries controlling others based on their energy exports, then Canada has a significent ownership in the US because Canada provides almost 40% of the oil used in the US. If the trade wars persist, and we have that degree of ownership then can we ("please" - we're "polite") ask the US to build a wall (like the proposed Mexico wall) on the US-Canada border... to keep LIAR-POTUS out of our country!
F.Y.I... Here are some interesting (Factual) figures - POTUS has obviously not done any Fact-Checking! (he never does methinks!!)
Top sources and amounts of U.S. petroleum imports (percent share of total) in 2017 - million barrels/day
Import sources
Gross imports
Total, all countries
10.08
OPEC countries
3.36 (33%)
Persian Gulf countries
1.74 (17%)
Top five countries
Canada
4.02 (40%)
Saudi Arabia
0.95 (9%)
Mexico
0.68 (7%)
Venezuela
0.67 (7%)
Iraq
0.61 (6%)
Is the world really going to Hell or does it just appear that way! (a.k.a. " Do egotistical liars make good U.S. Presidents? )
Sunday July 8th 2018 - Once upon a time... there was a country called The United States of America, a country which adhered to good laws, a common sense of decency, and a lifestyle envied my most countries in the world. This was a country populated over the years by immigrants from many countries regardless of race, culture and colour. A country which offered a decent lifestyle and many opportunities where hard work, simple "smarts" and a bit of old fashioned luck could result in dreams coming true. It was a country with a somewhat complex political system but one where parties adhered to simple rules of order, mutual respect and a display of truth and honesty!
...Times they are a changing!!!... That country is disappearing!
Enter "The Donald"... with an entrepreneurial spirit and some claim to fame thanks to Television programs and some successes in the real estate market. He was seen by many as a "survivor" having experienced a number of bankruptcy ordeals yet bouncing back every time! He decided to run for the Nation's highest office - President - and he won!
So ended the "fairy tale" of the United States described above. "President" Trump has since surrounded himself with like thinking conservative people - "yes men" - and is in the process of rewriting how the U.S. government works - and it is not a good rewriting!! Rather than communicating via representatives and scheduled meetings/press conferences, "POTUS" as he is called by many (President Of The United States) - he communicates via Tweeting on every conceivable subject - usually on an impulse, usually with very little analytical thought being given. His staff, advisors, Congress and the Senate usually learn of his activities or plans via tweets - of course the world learns the same way. POTUS loves doling out statistics and figures, the problem here is that he confuses fact and fiction and if fiction alone does not provide him with results he wants, he simply and openly creates or manipulates facts - which many, including this writer, simply call "Lies"! Yes.. the President of the Unites States lies about anything whenever he wants to spin a conversation to suit his objectives.
So how did "The Donald" become POTUS? Firstly, he started a campaign of misinformation designed to attack the previous (Democrats) presidency under Obama and instituted a smear campaign against his Democratic rival - Hillary Clinton. His thrust was to demean the "Dems", convincing the middle and lower class elements of society that "Big Business" and "the Establishment" were bad and there was a need for change. A lot of fact twisting and imaginary story telling accomplished this! Presently, POTUS is stuffing the Supreme Court - the top judicial body in the land, with judges whose thinking patterns are similar to his own - in effect, potential "Yes People"! He has also created an almost uncontrollable divide between the two US parties - Democrats and Republicans, especially the radical fringe. He instilled an almost unbelievable fanaticism amongst his followers to the point where they believe everything he does and says - and fact checking never never gets a second thought amongst his "Followers"! POTUS listens to no one! POTUS does what he wants to do regardless of facts and truth, and seeks no input on his decisions. Everything he plans and does will "Make America Great" again! What is developing - and this is truly worrisome, is his lack of knowledge about international politics and economics - and an irrational tendency to alienate America's friends and trading partners while at the same time, praising and revering America's antagonists such as Russia, North Korea and China. This is where he is increasingly dangerous! He fails to think before leaping!!
As a recent example of POTUS making bad decisions, his ego convinced him that regardless of his inexperience in world politics and economics, he deemed himself competent to sit down with North Korea's dictator, President Kim Jung UN - one of (if not THE) world's most dangerous dictators and avoider of human rights! POTUS "Demands" North Korea denuclearize and threatens "Fire and Fury" if it does not! As it turns out, North Korea sees through POTUS's bluster and is presently making Trump look like a fool in it's disregard of agreements made when Trump met with Kim. They ALWAYS do this, history tells us! Time will tell us where this confrontation goes - hopefully the system requiring two keys to activate the "nuclear football" will be effective as POTUS has the potential to bypass all his "Yes Men" advisors and "do his own thing", especially if his ego gets bruised!!
Then there are the current and looming Trade Wars! This is a subject that is extremely complex and would take too much time to explain but could be paraphrased by stating that POTUS wants to change the international trade system radically - not by negotiation and working collectively with friendly nations with similar concerns - but by using threats and instituting tariff barriers against friend and foe alike. The proper procedure to correct trade situations would be to join friendly trading partners and collectively take whatever steps to convince the undisciplined trading partners to get back into line. That would be the smart way to work towards a resolution - but as we are seeing, the smart way is not POTUS's way! So... we are at a point where the once-mighty USA has alienated Canada, Mexico, most European countries, Central and South American and Asian countries, especially the largest of all, China - especially China who holds over a trillion dollars of US national debt. China would not call in it's debt all at once. If it did, the demand for the US dollar would plummet like a rock. The dollar collapse would disrupt international markets even more than the 2008 financial crisis and would hurt China as well but, if annoyed enough, and considering they would love to have the Yuan replace the US dollar as the global currancy then they just might consider that move. The trade war is on! "Tit for Tat" tariffs are being implemented as I write and there will be losers all around - and get ready for it my American friends - the US will suffer much more than they realize and you will end up in a recession - as will many opponent countries. Impacted countries will retaliate with their own tariffs and restrictions. Agreements in place can be thrown out - POTUS does this all the time (NAFTA possibility is a good example - with US threats to cancel the arrangement). So.. let's look at the "what-if" factor when considering, let's say, Canada's retaliation potential. "What if" Canada reduces or closes Oil, natural gas or electricity exports to the US? Canada presently exports between 30 and 40% of all oil used in the US and that percentage could increase, mind you Canada is embarking on increased oil export trade with the far east - another reason for the recent approval to expand the western pipeline to BC's export points. Increasing oil export to non-US points will ultimately reduce the flow to the US of course and that will be good for Canada. Then there is Electricity. 15% of all California electricity comes from British Columbia and a significant percentage of East Coast US electricity comes from Quebec and Ontario. The US imports a significant percentage of natural gas from Canada as well. Electricity generation in the US would increase if POTUS has his way - he pledged to reopen many coal fired generators as a promise to Virginia coal miners - but as an offset, many existing power generators (34%) are natural gas fired. Additional nuclear generators (presently 20%) would help of course but it takes a lot of time to build and bring these up-to-speed! Another "What-if"? What if Canada institutes a fee or tariff on marine trade through the St Lawrence seaway system? The Montreal section of the locks as well as Welland section are entirely on Canadian soil so Canada can do whatever it wishes - akin to POTUS's disregard of contracts and treaties? What would the US do? Would the "elephant" try to squash "the mouse"? This may be harder than the Pentagon thinks. Violence is certainly not the answer - rarily is - but sometimes appears to be the only solution. In the meantime... from a Canadian viewpoint - Canadians are P'd off with Trump, radical Republicans with their warped ideas and the USA in general. Almost everyone I talk to is actively avoiding "made in the USA" products, is reconsidering the US as a tourism destination and is advocating and supporting a "get tough" attitude when it comes to dealings with our previously friendly neighbours to the south! We all realize we may feel pain over all this trade war but so will US citizens - more than they can start to realize! Canadians can handle pain if the cause is right! And for the war-mongerers, here is a tidbit of trivia... in WW2 Canada with a population of under 14 million placed over a million men and women in uniform. With a current population of over 35 millions, we could muster around 2.5 million in arms if necessary. Some Canadians in today's world would welcome an opportunity to again burn down the White House as happened in the War of 1812 which the U.S. does not accept as a defeat but technically lost! (as an aside, for anyone supporting such a negative scenario, may I recommend reading Richard Rohmer's 1974 book "Exxoneration" (Publisher: McClelland and Stewart;
ISBN-10: 0771077025, ISBN-13: 978-0771077029 - a fiction novel based on a failed US invasion of Canada.)
Time will tell where all this will go but let me say this; POTUS is alienating the western world and the USA is no longer the desired place to live as in past years. The USA is seen as becoming a badly-governed country with a critical violent crime and drug situation and repressive governing policy based on fear and increasingly racist view with promises to reverse many improved social standards and regulations. POTUS is the "wrong person" to occupy the Presidency at "the Wrong Time" and is the most serious guiding force for impending chaos the world has seen since the second world war!
Finally... for now... this week will be interesting as POTUS is visiting with the Queen of England - courtesy call - before attending a NATO meeting where he is expected to press for decreasing US NATO financial contributions and increased other member contributions. What will be will be on this one! The interesting event will be POTUS having a one-on-one meeting with Putin - another confirmation that POTUS is increasingly "falling in love" with Putin and the West's other opponents, while alienating America's long-time friends and allies. Here is a cartoon (Thanks to TIME) which says it all graphically!
More to come... stay tuned!
Buddies forever??
Syria - Not "If" but "When" and by
"Whom"!
Friday August 30th 2013
The US just released a report explaining it's view that
Bashar al-Assad's Syria is responsible for the gas attack earlier
this month. The report not only provides evidence of Syria's actions
but also updates casualty numbers resulting from the attack - over
1,000 deaths including 400-500 children. Congratulations Bashar
al-Assad, you are now ranked up there with the Nazis and Muslim
terrorists as being sub-human!
Are you going to get away with
your murderous actions? Temporarily maybe, thanks to the likes of
the British parliament, Stephen Harper, some members of the US
Congress and other pacifistic thinking politicians. It's time that
we all start to understand that today we have a "global" world and
the days of thinking "an overseas problem should be handled by an
overseas action(s)" have disappeared. That's 19th century thinking,
not 21st! There is an old saying that " give someone an inch and
they will probably want a foot"! If Syria goes unpunished, the
message to others - especially in the Middle East, will be "do what
you wish" with impunity. There are nations (Syria, Lebanon, Iran,
Iraq, Yemen etc) who still favour a world without Israel and who
have been hesitant to do anything about it due to the threat of
retaliation from the Western powers. If that fear disappears, does
Israel's security diminish? And if they are truly threatened with
extinction, how will Israel retaliate? We all know that answer to
that - Israel's Jericho 3 MIRV missile has a delivery range of up to
3,000+ miles and Israel reputedly has between 100 and 300 nuclear
devices deliverable by ICBM missile (Jericho), cruise missile, bomb,
artillery and even a suitcase bomb (information - "Jane's" as Israel
refuses to acknowledge possession of any nuclear weapons). So.. an
attack on Israel will certainly result in an Israeli retalitiation -
possibly nuclear - there is always that chance if they start to lose
- and that brings in agreements with larger supportive nations (ie:
US supports Israel, Russia supports some middle-east nations as does
China) - so everything could accelerate very quickly with disastrous
results! Letting nations like Syria or Iran "do their own thing" can
have disastrous results so there really is no room to ignore actions
such as those taken by Syria as inaction may prompt other nations to
copy Syria! We may have an ocean between the Middle East and
ourselves but that does not count for too much these days! The old
saying "A stitch in time saves nine" appears to apply here - a small
action now may save the need for a larger action in the future!
Syria - "Libya Revisited" or
worse?
Tuesday August 27th
2013 When the Lybian conflict started, the Lybian Army
consisted of 64,000 Regulars and reservists. The Lybian Air Force
comprised 3,000 personnel with 618 aircraft with most attack
aircraft being somewhat outdated Su-22, J-21, Mi-14, Mi-24, MiG 21
& 23's as well as Mirage F1's. The majority of these machines
were grounded and inoperative. The Syrian Air Force - as of today -
is quite different and is comprised of 60,000 Air Force personnel
(plus 20,000 reserve) and upwards of 1,200 aircraft, many of which
are updated models including MiG-29, MiG 23, MiG 21, Su-24 and Mi 25
and French Gazelle attack helicopters. Syria's standing Army
(including reservists) numbers 500,000. The Syrians are much more
formidable than the Lybians, in manpower, technology and
training.
As of today, there is a lot of "War Talk" flooding
the media as Syria is being accused of a deliberate massacre of it's
own citizens last week. Facts known to date point to a Syrian
involvement in this horrific act and the some nations (predominantly
US, UK, France, Commonwealth countries and many Arab nations) are
advocating (and planning for) military action! At the time of
writing this, the US has 4 missile-launch capable destroyers
stationed in the Mediterranean sea - with other warships joining
them shortly, and a significant number of aircraft and unmanned
drones capable of launching missiles and laser-guided bombs. For
some time now, the "UN" in it's usual impotent and procrastinating
manner has taken a "wishy-washy" view to the bloody conflict in
Syria but with the recent gas attack and numerous collateral damage
and deaths - especially children - the international community has
"had enough" and led by western nations, is planning to embark on a
military action designed with "surgical" targeting in mind, in an
effort to disable the Syrian government's ability to continue it's
atrocious actions.
It appears that a coordinated TomaHawk
Cruise Missile, Predator and manned aircraft strike against
significant military bases, lines of communication, military
airports and specific political structures is imminent! Syria has
been warned this is the case - and the timeframe may be in a few
days - possibly less - depending on when UN inspectors presently in
Syria looking for proof of the gas attack, have left the country.
What may be a worry is recent intelligence that the Syrian regime is
recruiting pilots with radical views who will be prepared to
"martyr" themselves in suicide missions - much like the WW2 Kamikaze
attacks performed by Japanese pilots. The technology used by the
West should be able to overcome these attacks - if they occur - but
war being what it is - no one knows until things start to
materialize! Time will tell - shortly! In the meantime, as usual,
CNN is actively involved in creating visual graphics appropriate for
a conflict of this nature. Oh well!!
Oh Oh! Are the Senator oink'ers
losing their trough??
Friday August 16th 2013
Based on the antics of 4 members of the Federal Senate who
have been/are being charged with numerous offences, it has now been
decided to audit all Senators! It's about time! It would be
incredible if the misdoings of the Senate were restricted to the 4
presently in the news! Considering that Senators appear to enjoy a
culture of "entitlement" and they obviously communicate with each
other, I would be very surprised if no more were identified as
"trough slurpers"!
Now the question is whether they will be
penalized for their misdoings or merely asked to repay some or all
of their ill-gotten gains! These over-fed and arrogant appointees
enjoy things - at the public expense - that you or I do not! I would
not mind owing a second property which added another $22,000 to my
annual income - Hey! - that amount alone would allow me to purchase
a nice country home on a lake somewhere! I would love to
occasionally trip down to Toronto to see a nice concert or show with
someone else picking up the whole tab - which is what some Senators
have done!
The list of misadventures is growing and, again, I
suspect the list of those facing charges is about to grow as well.
Harper, either close the senate (their so-called work is dubious) or
make membership an elected requisite with acceptable rules and
compensation. We can no longer accept the well-trodden trails fron
Senator desks to the Government money trough! Oink Oink!!
Egypt in turmoil - who are the
"Bad Guys"?
Friday August 16th 2013
Army versus the Islamic Brotherhood - both sides using the
preferred tactics of middle-east confrontation - violence! Ousted
Egyptian President Morsi was ousted from power by the people of
Egypt with the help of the Army. Coup? or will of the Egyptian
people? It was not a coup but because Egyptians were increasingly
concerned about where Morsi's policies were heading. Morsi won the
election by a narrow margin during runoff elections. For many
voters, it appeared to be a case of voting for the lesser of evils.
Egyptians had bitter memories of Hosni Mubarak's presidency so
voting for Ahmed Shafiq, Morsi's only opponent and Mubarak's
appointee, seemed entirely out of the question. Morsi earned many of
his votes because he appeared less repressive than Shafiq not
because he was popular. Voters simply chose the candidate whom they
believed would do the least damage.
Morsi started to ignore
the very ideals that put him in to power. Before the June 30
protests, his administration was preparing to order the arrest of a
number of liberal journalists and media personalities, and had
arrested notable opposition activists including Ahmed Douma, who was
held without charges for months, along with satirist Bassem Youssef,
who was charged with " ... insulting Islam, mocking prayers, and
'belittling' Morsi in the eyes of the world and his own people."
Jailed activists were still being tortured in prison - activist
Mohammed El-Gendy was tortured to death while in prison. Morsi also
attempted to strengthen his power by granting himself immunity from
the country's supreme court, making himself unaccountable to
government institutions. Most absurdly, he appointed a member of
Al-Gama'a Al-Islamiyya – the group responsible for perpetrating the
infamous Luxor Islamic terrorist attack that killed 62 people in
1997 and a United States-designated terrorist group – as the mayor
of Luxor. Fears were growing that Morsi's objective was to transform
Egyptian society into an Islamic world - similar to Iran with all
the "usual" oppression to individual and group freedoms, women's
rights, skewed education and general dislike of democrary and the
West. Most Egyptians - Christians and moderate Muslims alike decided
the dangers were growing so he had to go! The armed forces agreed
with this view and assisted in his ouster. The army - always a
notable force in Egyptian politics - promised elections in the near
future and appointed an interm Government and President to preside
pending future election results. Naturally, the Islamic Brotherhood
and radical Muslims did not like this turn of events!
Radical
Muslims are not all terrorists but too many are! The common thread
with moderate Muslims is that they appear to see little or no
problem with certain degrees of oppression and lack of individual
freedoms - as Morsai was introducing and planning. Islam, to many -
especially the radicals - condones any action that results in
Islamic values controlling society, and martyrdom is a cherished
action which by itself promotes violence. The religion is very open
to interpretation and, unfortunately, that interpretation has often
been seen to promote violence against anything and anyone who is not
Muslim! The "Muslim" problem - and there really is a problem - is
that aggression in the name of Islam cannot be controlled yet alone
stopped! Moderate Muslims may shake their heads at times but they
really do not speak out against the radicals or radical actions.
Politically, stragetically and morally, there is no way - apart from
one - which is to limit the growth of Islam and at the same time,
make non-Islamic life more attractive and viable! This is obviously
a tall order and will take a reworking of Western thinking with
regards to the Western world's position. Some nations are starting
to inhibit Muslim emigration to their shores and are also
encouraging Muslim assimilation into their culture (ie: Australia,
France, Holland etc.). This form of action takes time so in the
meantime bullets will fly, bodies will accumulate, Muslim
radicals/terrorists will keep on burning other denomination
churches, bombings will continue and organizations such as the UN
will keep on whining while really doing little or nothing! The
only winner in all this, for the meantime, appears to be CNN!!
Why do Senators get away with
theft??
Wednesday August 14th
2013 Patrick Brazeau, Mike Duffy, Pamela Wallin and former
Liberal senator Mac Harb - names that have been occupying space in
national news for a while have something in common - the ability to
shuffle up to the public (money) trough, stick their piggish noses
in and slurp up a lot of taxpayer's dollars! The biggest mistake
they made - in their minds - is that they GOT CAUGHT!! They can
rationalize to their hearts content but the bottom line is that
doing what they did is not only contrary to Senate (and common
sense) rules, but it is common theft!
Fudging expenses and
'padding' expense accounts is unfortunately common in the business
world, - often overlooked depending on the production capability or
'value' of the employee - but action - if any - taken is strictly a
private matter and the responsibility of the Employer! When you
start dipping into the public purse (aka your and my tax dollars)
then that is another matter alltogether! If you or I knowingly
falsified expense reports and as a result received and kept many
thousands of dollars (in Wallin's case, six-figures of dollars) and
were caught, we would normally be charged and heavily fined -
possibly jailed - and most certainly dismissed from our employment!
BUT if you work for the Government, that may not be the case! Yes
you would have to repay the 'stolen' funds and face public ridicule
but that may be it - you might not face charges and you would
probably not be "fired" from your position! In the case of these
"entitlement" demanding folks - the "3 musketeers plus 1" - above
(Brazeau, Duffy, Wallin, Mac Harb) they are members of the Canadian
Senate which (with a few exceptions) is a collection of aged,
overpaid, underworked and possibly incompetent 'Government-in-power'
appointees with a questionable function supposedly designed to
ensure the House of Commons 'tows the line' with their law
proposals. What we have seen so far is that these Senators have
been/are being pressured to repay all or part of their "borrowed"
trough dollars but no decision has been made to fire anyone. Why?
They may resign of course, but why would they? - they sit on the
Senate, do little work for their substantial compensation which is
virtually guaranteed for life regardless of any change in the
Government! Truly, this is a classic case of "pull up the ladder
Jack.." - Government employees or appointees must adhere to a set of
rules very much different from what we, as taxpayers, must follow!
Maybe some well publicized jail time and job losses might send a
strong message which will stop or lessen these types of abuse
happening again! This extreme form of "entitlement" just has to
stop!! Oink Oink!!
Time to open our
eyes...
OK! I am going to receive some flack on
this one!! Firstly, I am not racist and I respect most religions
regardless of my personal views. Having said that, I fear that the
world as we know it - for better or worse - is on a collision course
where all the freedoms we have earned over the years are slowly
slipping away. Take a moment and give thought to all the major
events over the last few years - from 9-11 in New York, the London
Bus bombings, bombings in Indonesia, India, Pakistan, Spain, France,
Germany - the list is long! The common thread? Islamic
extremists!
Islam is a respected religion - however, no
matter how we try to sugar coat it - this religion is creating
zealots who are creating havoc in the world and, eventually, could
become the major political and controlling source in our children's
lives! Crazy idea? Check out this - a
list of Islamic attacks in the last 30 days around the globe -
and this, statistics on Islamic terror attacks in 2013
Terror
Attacks 310, Suicide Bombings 28, Dead Bodies 1651, Wounded
3048
The vast majority of violent incidents across the world
have been created by terrorists - in the name of Islam. What
concerns this writer is that regardless of the claims that it is
only a small minority of Muslims involved, the numbers of those
doing the harm is actually large (and growing apparently) and
supported by an even larger number of Muslims around the globe.
Unfortunately, little can really be done to suppress these violent
attacks and the world appears impotent when it comes to actually
stopping the insurgency, regardless of claims to the contrary - the
statistics say otherwise!
So ... since most of the
"problems" appear to be in the middle east, far east or Europe, why
should we in North America be too concerned? Well, today's
"concerns" may well become tomorrow's "horrors"! Consider this -
what if Muslim populations in democratic countries increased to the
point where they formed a majority - which means a democratic vote
could result in a ruling Muslim party? You can almost guarantee that
freedoms would be supressed or disappear - womens rights and
education, sharia law imposition, aggression against non-Islamic
religions etc. We have seen this trend time and again - that's
simply what happens when Islam becomes the ruling force in any
country! But an Islamic majority could not really happen in a modern
democratic country, right? Think again!! Let's look at the UK for
example.
Here are some figures, based on recent data
(courtesy/source: thecommentator.com).
In Britain, between 2004 and 2008, the Muslim population of the UK
grew at an annual rate of 6.7 percent, making Muslims 4 percent of
the population in 2008. Extrapolating from those figures would mean
that the Muslim population in 2020 would be 8 percent, 15 percent in
2030, 28 percent in 2040 and finally, by 2050, the Muslim population
of the UK would exceed 50 percent of the total population. The
political and social consequences of all this will be significant.
Britain's traditional foreign policy, particularly regarding the US
and Israel, would very likely change. In fact the US and Israel are
already anticipating the consequences of a majority Muslim Western
Europe.
But closer to home, here in Canada, there are some
interesting/disturbing figures. (National Post data). Using 2006 as
a "base", as of 2011, the percentage of change in the Canadian
population based on religious affiliation is as follows: Muslim:
+72.53, Hindu: +67.68, No religion: +63.68, Sikh: +63.43, Buddhist:
+22.14, Christian Orthodox: +14.82, Jewish: -0.15, Roman Catholic:
-0.5, Anglican: -19.83 and United: -29.29%. In a nutshell, where the
Muslim population increased by 72.53%, Christian and Jewish levels
decreased. Considering the accepted fact that Muslim birth rates are
generally higher than non-Muslim birth rates (As of 2011, it is
predicted that the world's Muslim population will grow twice as fast
as non-Muslims over the next 20 years. By 2030, Muslims will make up
more than a quarter of the global population - "Wikipedia"), the day
could arrive when Muslims might become the majority proportion of
the Canadian Population. I also suggest that the same process could
also take place in the US and elsewhere.
So - what is the
solution? Can we expect a softening of harsh Islamic tendancies over
the coming years? Doubtful, based on recent trends. Will increased
diplomatic pressure on Islamic countries slow things down? No -
resentment alone will increase the Islamic will! Will tough military
action make a difference? No, this has not worked before and will
undoubtedly fail to work in the future. So what can be done? My
thinking is this - and it will be undoubtedly unpopular by many -
that democratic western nations will have to make drastic change to
their immigration policies - from selection by source country to
selection by faith. Admittedly, this does go against base principles
of our democratic beliefs however there may be no other option to
preserve Christianity and our free way of life if any of the above
makes sense and does have a chance of occurring! France, Australia
and some other nations are starting to think this way - and some
have already taken action, initially reducing or curtailing
immigration from primarily Muslim countries - in effect immigration
by religious views - without saying that is what they are actually
doing!
It is time for Canada, the US and other democratic
nations to start thinking this way. It may already be too late for
Britain and some European nations, nevertheless, somthing should be
done now!
Note: To honest and peace loving Muslims, my
views are not intended as a slight against Muslims in general
however facts are facts and if the Muslim community is not capable
of controlling those amongst you with violent and imperialist views
then other actions such as above may have to come into effect. Much
of the "Muslim" problem, in the eyes of the west is not bad people,
but bad ideology. The Qu'ran can be interpreted in too many ways! As
"non Muslims" we are "infidels" and we all know what the Qur'an says
about infidels in the eyes of many so Christian-based nations must
do what they have to do to protect our freedoms.
When destiny catches up...
Canada has voted!
Tuesday May 2nd 2011 -
Well, the Canadian Federal elections are over, thankfully - now the
politicians can get back to earning their pay instead of running
around making promises that may or may not be kept, taking pot-shots
at each other, stretching the truth a bit (or a lot) and inundating
the airwaves with those irritating ads! Personally I like the
outcome! It is as I guessed it would be and of course I like being
right! LOL. The Conservative party under Prime Minister Stephen
Harper increased their seat number, allowing them to finally have a
majority in the house. They may not be the "perfect" party however
their stewardship of the Canadian economy has been very good.
Canada's economic position is one of the strongest in the world
right now and is the strongest of the G8 nations - better than the
USA, UK - even Germany! Our dollar is valued at about 5 cents over
the US dollar - great for purchasing power and, surprisingly, not
hurting exports and industry in general! Their controlling the reins
of power in Ottawa bodes well for the country, very well
indeed!
The official opposition is now the NDP (New
Democratic Party) - a left-wing socialist leaning party targeting
middle-income and working class voters. They did quite well,
especially in the province of Quebec where they almost decimated the
separatist leaning BQ (Block Quebec) party whose numbers reduced to
a paltry 4 seats resulting in the party leader, Gilles Duceppe,
resigning. One more irritation knocked out of the political picture
for the average Canadian. Had the NDP won a majority and become the
Governing party, well.. that would be a different matter and we may
all have "gone to hell in a basket" so to say, what with their
"anti-big-business" and "pro-working class" political attitude. But
that was not the case so I suggest that what we will see is some
acquience to NDP views and compromise by the governing Conservatives
- and that will not be bad for Canadians.
In 3d place, the
Liberal Party of Canada - for a number of years the ruling party,
under the likes of Pierre Trudeau, Paul Martin, Jean Chretien - and
normally a party supported by a strong Quebec base of voters.
Lately, as a result of many accusations of graft and corruption (ie:
Gomery inquiry) plus a history of using patronage and regional
brokerage politics to govern, the Liberal Party has lost the trust
of most Canadians and also their most recent leader, Michael
Ignatieff, a Harvard educated historian, author, university
professor and diplomat. Ignatieff was not a bad leader but
unfortunately for him, his party's strategy was not well thought out
and also Ignatieff really could not "connect" with Canadian voters.
His time spent working in the US made him suspect by many and his
party's negative attitude toward Harper's strengthening the military
and encouraging job creation by providing tax incentives to big
business irked many! The Liberal Party has never dropped so low in
the rankings in it's entire history, right back to Confederation!
Ignatieff has resigned as a result of this dismal performance! As
Pierre Trudeau once said "no doubt the universe is unfolding as it
should"!
The Bloc Quebec? Bye-Bye, and it's about time! Their
platform was simple - threaten separation as leverage to frighten
the rest of Canada into giving Quebec whatever they wanted! For too
long this worked and many other Provinces along with the Federal
government Kow-tow'ed to Quebec and allowed a disproportionate
number of benefits to be directed to Quebec, quite irritating to
non-Quebeckers and anglophones as the province's Francophone
population of just under 7 Millions (census 2010) represents just
under 20% of the 34 Millions Canadian population total. The Quebec
Provincial government looks like it will soon be headed up by the PQ
(Partie Quebecoise) which is an acknowledged separatist-leaning
party but the good news is that all the squabbling and foolish
activities should be limited to the province and not constantly
being thrown in the faces of everyone in the Federal House of
Commons! As I said above, it's about time!
So it's a case of
getting on with business as far as federal politics go in the "Great
White North"! The military will continue to be upgraded and it's
reputation as one of the best trained and effective fighting forces
in the world will continue. (Canada has NEVER lost a war - one of
the few counties in the world to be able to say that {sorry Yanks,
the war of 1812 knocked you out of that category LOL}). The Canadian
economy will continue to be supported and our high standard of
living should be maintained. Also, our precious socialized medical
program (which Americans have never fully understood) will be
improved and supported. Yes, thanks to the election results, "Life
is Good! Now if only someone could solve the global fuel
situation... Hard to accept how Canada, a net oil exporter (20+% of
US oil requirements are met by exported Canadian oil) ends up paying
more for gasoline than countries to whom we sell gas and oil! I
understand the reasoning - just do not like it! Europe is far worse
off so I should shut up, right? Onward!!!
Mr. Ignatieff... Give it a
break!!
Friday April 15th
2011 - I just finished listening to Michael Ignatieff who was
giving one of his election photo-op talks. Now I do not know Mr.
Ignatieff - I have never met him and probably never will so in
evaluating him, I must rely on what I see and what I hear. Based on
that, he and his party, the Liberals, get a failing grade! Mr.
Ignatieff was a Harvard professor and as such, somewhere along the
line, he should have picked up on a basic tenet that every good
salesperson learns early, that extolling the virtues of your own
product is preferable to knocking the competition! People simply do
not react favourably to "dirty politics" and expect truth. Now I am
not saying Mr. Ignatieff lies, I do not believe any major politician
would deliberately do that, but fact can be twisted and manipulated
to the point that what is truly fact becomes almost the opposite.
Mr. Ignatieff harped on an event where an individual who was
photographed with him was asked to leave a Conservative rally
because the photo appeared on Facebook. Well!! In Mr. Ignatieff's
mind, this is a case of, and I quote, "Mr. Harper's manipulating and
controlling Facebook"! Whoops... one "bridge too far" on this one!!
Mr. Ignatieff, please stick to the facts, please do not distort the
truth and please start promoting your party's platform regardless of
the fact that it is a little weak in benefits that would attract
this writer, rather than spending your time knocking the other
parties! You forget that in past years the Liberal party wore the
undisputed crown of corruption and untruths, albeit primarily from
the Quebec support base, so please, avoid being sanctimonious about
a few Conservative blunders that were not really significant
(usually low-level staff) and get on with a proper and truthful
campaign. Focus on what you really can do for the voters as opposed
to the "competition"! That way you may restrict the Conservatives to
again becoming a minority government rather than the majority
government that may very well occur. 'Nuff said!!
Canadians vote May 2nd - which
party to choose???
I watched the Leaders
debate last night. Exciting? NOT! Informative? Not really.
Entertaining? No Way! As expected, Prime Minister Stephen Harper
spoke to the camera and outlined his party's platform in a cool and
collected manner while the Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff almost
avoided addressing his party's platform, choosing instead to berate
Harper on every possible occasion with some use of questionable
"facts". Jack Layton, leader of the socialist/labour supporting NDP
did speak to his party's objectives along with swipes at Harper and
Ignatieff. Layton is probably the most admired of the leaders,
personally, however his party's stance on almost everything would
virtually destroy Canada's economy with it's socialist programs. The
Conservatives (Harper) have led the Country through the recent
global recession in a commendable manner. Canada's economy is
amongst the worlds most stable right now and leads the G8 countries
in economic growth. The Canadian dollar is about 4-5% higher than
the US dollar as a result. Harper is targeting increased social
benefits, enhanced military support, increased support for big and
small business and a balanced budget by 2015 - all this with no or
minimal taxation changes. Ignatieff on the other hand is promising
the decimation of the armed forces, something the liberals have
proven good at doing over the years while in office, along with
reductions in tax benefits provided big business - something
economists suggest may drive business away in this highly
compeetitive global economy. Ignatieff forsees increased personal
taxation to finance his programs. No one is perfect and everyone
makes mistakes, especially politicians who often think with their
mouths rather than their brains. The Conservatives have made errors
and not all MP's are controllable about what they do and say.
However, the Conservatives have done well for the country and have
made Canada's economy and living standard strong. The Liberals on
the other hand are still sweating under the ghost of John Chretien
and his corrupt-ridden party. Many still feel that the ghost of
corruption is still hanging around in the Liberal halls of office.
Ignatieff himself does not come across as a likeable person. Too
much of the staid "Harvard Professor" image still haunts him and
many question his loyalties. The New Democrats? Likeable people but
no possible chance of gaining much ground and no chance of being
anywhere near the top siggesting a vote for them is a wasted vote!
Duceppe and his Bloc party? Forget them - they are openly separatist
and could not give a damn for anyone outside Quebec!
So whom
to vote for? This is really a no-brainer! I would vote for the party
with the proven record and who have created a stable economic
environment and whose promises have something for almost everyone
without bankrupting the country - the Conservatives. They will
surely regain control and with luck, form a majority government so
they can get more work done rather than spend precious time
listening and reacting to the other parties' bickering and wasting
time. If you are a Canadian, it's your vote and your decision but as
you will see above, your choices are limited and in my mind, you do
not really have a "choice".
Boy! Does he say it as it
is!!!...
A radio
announcer gives his views on the apathy of many Muslims when it
comes to terrorist activities perpetrated by muslim radicals, but
become outraged at any criticism of the muslim faith whether written
or cartoon. In response, a caller tries to berate him about this -
and that does it! The announcer 'says it as it is' - citing what
this writer believes is the common belief by most Canadians and
Americans - that most muslims do not condone terrorist activities
however in every muslim there lies a small belief that the
radical element is doing what is right in supporting the faith! If
this was not the case, why is there not more public outrage arising
from the muslim community apart from the random and infrequent
statements of Islamic leaders and Imams? Why no muslim community
outcry? Why the silence? Do they feel that any criticism of
terrorist activities is contra to the spirit or belief of Islam? Are
they afraid? If so, of what? I honestly cannot believe that gangs of
thugs would be running around our streets looking for outspoken
muslims to beat up! The only gangs of thugs they could or should be
afraid of would be gangs of radical muslim activists and terrorists
- and that just helps reinforce my belief in the apparent hypocrisy
of Islam!
You be the judge and you form your own opinion -
you have mine!.
I'M TIRED, REALLY
TIRED...
This is floating around the
internet, written by Robert A. Hall, a Marine Vietnam
veteran who served five terms in the U.S. Massachusetts State
Senate. It is not intended as a racist statement but merely a
critique on modern society and values - it makes you question a few
things! One area of concern to this writer is the growth of Islam in
contrast to the decline in Christianity. According to Religious
Tolerance Christianity is the belief of 2,039 million or 32%
(dropping) of the world's population whereas Islam is the
belief of 1,570 million 22% (growing) of the world's
population. Demographics on birth rates by religion suggest that in
Islamic countries/communities, the birth rate is double - or more -
of Christians. So, in time.... you do the math! Not that it's OUR
problem now, just consider what your view would be if in 50 or 100
years from now, your State or Province had a voting population where
the majority were of the Islamic religion. What does that mean
regarding laws and control? In the last few years, in Ontario
Canada, the (small) Islamic population tried to pressure the
Provincial government to impose "Sharia Law" - a strict
non-progressive Islamic law structure virtually eliminating women's
rights and imposing severe restrictions on daily life. What may have
happened if the Provinces' government had an Islamic majority?
Sharia Law could have been introduced. So.. again.. if in 50 or 100
years your Province or State (or country) had an Islamic
majority..... scary thought!! Here is Robert's article....
"I'm 63.
Except for one semester in college when jobs were scarce and a
six-month period when I was between jobs, but job-hunting every day,
I've worked, hard, since I was 18. Despite some health challenges, I
still put in 50-hour weeks, and haven't called in sick in seven or
eight years. I make a good salary, but I didn't inherit my job or my
income, and I worked to get where I am. Given the economy, there's
no retirement in sight, and I'm tired. Very
tired.
I'm tired of being told that I have to
"spread the wealth" to people who don't have my work ethic. I'm
tired of being told the government will take the money I earned, by
force if necessary, and give it to people too lazy to earn
it.
I'm tired of being told that Islam is a "Religion
of Peace," when every day I can read dozens of stories of Muslim men
killing their sisters, wives and daughters for their family
"honour"; of Muslims rioting over some slight offense; of Muslims
murdering Christian and Jews because they aren't "believers"; of
Muslims burning schools for girls; of Muslims stoning teenage rape
victims to death for "adultery"; of Muslims mutilating the genitals
of little girls; all in the name of Allah, because the Qur'an and
Sharia law tells them to.
I'm tired of being told that
out of "tolerance for other cultures" we must let Saudi Arabia use
our oil money to fund mosques and mandrassa Islamic schools to
preach hate in America and Canada, while no American nor Canadian
group is allowed to fund a church, synagogue or religious school in
Saudi Arabia to teach love and tolerance.
I'm tired of
being told I must lower my living standard to fight global warming,
which no one is allowed to debate.
I'm tired of being
told that drug addicts have a disease, and I must help support and
treat them, and pay for the damage they do. Did a giant germ rush
out of a dark alley, grab them, and stuff white powder up their
noses while they tried to fight it off?
I'm tired of
hearing wealthy athletes, entertainers, and politicians of all
parties talking about innocent mistakes, stupid mistakes, or
youthful mistakes, when we all know they think their only mistake
was getting caught.
I'm tired of people with a sense
of entitlement, rich or poor.
I'm really tired of
people who don't take responsibility for their lives and actions.
I'm tired of hearing them blame the government, or discrimination or
big-whatever for their problems.
Yes, I'm damn tired.
But I'm also glad to be 63.. Because, mostly, I'm not going to have
to see the world these people are making. I'm just really sorry for
my grandchildren."
IS THERE NO LIMIT TO
STUPIDITY? Ottawa
police and RCMP apologize for arresting Muslim terror suspects
during Ramadan.
This is an article that appeared
in today's Ottawa Sun (Thursday January 6th 2011). Reading it made
me wonder if I should scream out or laugh and whether it was a joke
or not! The whole sad episode made me think of the title of an old
movie "Dumb and Dumber". The article speaks for itself.
OMG!
Anthony Furey, Ottawa
Sun, Thursday January 6 2011 - It was announced Wednesday
that a day after three Ottawa Muslim men were arrested last August
on suspicion of terrorism, community outreach officer Cpl. Wayne
Russett ordered emergency meetings, running around the city
“actively engaging the local Muslim communities” to apologize that
the arrests were made during Ramadan.
Is this a joke? And if
not, I hope the senior officers responsible are going to be put on
extended leave without pay while Parliament investigates this intent
at obstruction of justice.
It’s shocking that the apology
sessions were labelled an emergency. The only emergency was the
terror suspects. And we need to arrest them no matter who they are,
where they are and what they are doing lest their suspected plans
come to fruition.
And if that isn’t ludicrous enough, Cpl.
Russett said there would be no food or drink at the meetings “to
show our support to our Muslim brothers and sisters during
Ramadan.” His ‘brothers and sisters’? So he’s either related to
them or he’s one of those whiteys who likes to go up to respectable
black men and say ‘What up, dawg?’ in the hopes of getting down with
the brothers — which is ludicrously demeaning, turning minorities
into TV stereotypes.
What many civil servants don’t seem to
understand is that the whole point of equality before the law is
that we don’t treat people differently based on who or what they
are. Police must respect the rights of everyone equally, which is
why people get rightfully peeved at the injustice of racial
profiling.
But what the RCMP is now telling us is that
Muslims will be treated with kid gloves during Ramadan — which is
for a whole month! So the message is out: If you’re Muslim and
considering committing a crime, do it during the month of
Ramadan.
There should be nothing offensive to a Muslim about
one of their kin being arrested during their religious holidays.
What should be offensive to them is that one of their kin may have
planned a terrorist attack during those holy days.
And why
would some random Muslim be upset if some other random Muslim is
arrested during Ramadan? I don’t care what day the other
non-religious straight white males are arrested on.
If you
think Bob’s committing a crime go and get him on Christmas Day, get
him at his daughter’s high school graduation, get him while he’s
sitting on the can — just go and get him before someone gets
hurt.
It’s shameful that the very people hired to protect us
are the ones who are putting in place protocols that endanger us.
Parliament needs to review RCMP policies to guarantee that political
correctness is not standing in the way of crime
prevention.
What we need is equality. No preferential
treatment. No racial profiling. No turning a blind eye to
religion.
I’m just glad to see prominent Muslims already
speaking out against this, like respected media personality Tarek
Fatah, who said such officers “unwittingly perform the role of
useful idiots” to the gain of terrorists’ plots.
It’s not
law-biding, tax-paying Muslims who understand that religion is what
you do in the private sphere that we have to worry about. It’s
bleeding-heart white men who are so afraid of being labelled
Islamophobic or racist that they indirectly tarnish the reputations
of those good Muslims by giving the bad ones a get-out-of-jail-free
card.
Now this one is a "doozie"! Saw this article in the Sun this
morning - still chuckling at how stupid some idiots in the middle
east can become. (BUT we're talking about the government in Tehran
led by Mahmoud "I'madinnerjacket" Ahmadinejad - undisputed king of
all the global nutbars). The only damper on this comical story is
that this idiot (I'madinnerjacket) is leading his nation into the
nuclear age and that suggests real international problems down the
road! - JMM
DANGER AT EVERY TURN...
- by Earl McRae, Ottawa Sun, Tuesday
December 14th 2010 Canadians' pet beavers, moose out
for Iranian blood and don't forget maple syrup spiked with
arsenic
Iran is warning its people not to visit Canada
because if Canadians find out they’re Iranians, they could wind up
dead. As in murdered. Canadians hate Iranians so much they will stop
nothing short of homicide.
When a natural-born Canadian hears
the word “Iranian,” he becomes Bela Legosi at the sight of blood. We
can’t help it, it’s genetic. Part of being Canadian. God knows how
many undiscovered murdered Iranians there are lying around this
country in shallow graves.
What triggered the Iran advisory
against visiting dangerous Canada was the drugs-related shooting
death last week of a 16-year-old Ottawan named Yazdan Ghiasvand
Ghiasi, a Canadian, but an Iranian-Canadian.
Iran is calling
his murder “an assassination.” Because he had Iranian blood. Iran
mentions two other “assassinations” of Iranian-Canadians in this
country.
Iran is demanding the Canadian government
investigate thoroughly the “assassination” of Yazdan Ghiasvand
Ghiasi, and bring the culprits to justice. Iran did not say that the
“justice” should be death by stoning, but I should be ashamed for
even thinking along such barbaric lines. No civilized country would
ever embrace that.
One can understand why Iran is upset. No
one who visits Iran is ever in danger of anything. Being that Iran
is the world’s finest and most inspiring example of social
enlightenment and human rights, it has always surprised why its
citizens would want to leave that country for, say, murderous,
Persian-hating Canada, as, according to the last figures from
Statistics Canada, some 121,000 of them have done.
Obviously,
121,000 lunatics, each with a death wish.
It’d be nice if
Iran released its own figures on how many hundreds of thousands,
maybe even millions, of born-and-bred Canadians have emigrated to
Iran and become citizens out of a desire to live and prosper in a
country with the world’s finest record of social enlightenment and
human rights.
The last year for which there were figures,
2007, shows that Canada imported $44 million worth of product from
Iran, 75% of it food and carpets. Carpets are not an essential
import for Canada, but there’s a reason why Canada imports carpets
from Iran.
In that Iranians in Canada have a fetish for
genuine Iranian carpets, and Canadians are out to assassinate anyone
in this country of Iranian blood, it makes them more identifiable to
the assassins when they spot them humping along the street with
newly purchased carpets on their shoulders.
The beavers are a
different matter. One of the great dangers in Canada facing Iranians
is dismemberment and death at the teeth of the Canadian beaver
which, for reasons not fully understood since beavers don’t talk,
has a particular hatred of Iranian flesh.
The government in
Tehran is aware of this, but with Iranian-hating Canadians now
disguising their Iranian-hating pet beavers to look like groundhogs
so as to entice unsuspecting Iranians, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his
boys are advising Iranians to stay away from beavers and groundhogs
while visiting or living in Canada.
This, however, overlooks
the Canadian moose which, according to the office of Canada’s
charges d’affaires in Iran, is also on Ahmadinejad’s list as a
threat to the life of anyone with an Iranian passport, or of Iranian
descent, and they are all advised to carry with them mugshots of
moose so they’ll know it’s a moose, not a camel, when they see one
creeping up on them.
Another thing that makes Canada a
dangerous place for Iranians is that national staple maple syrup.
Ahmadinejad claims to have a secret CSIS report in which servers in
Canadian restaurants, when they suspect it’s an Iranian at the table
asking for maple syrup on the pancakes, are to head into the kitchen
and say: “Iranian. Table four. Maple syrup. Arsenic spike.”
My heart goes out to all Iranian visitors and
Iranian-Canadians — for them, a wicked, evil, homicidal, sadistic,
assassinating nation, Canada.
Here's an article that is p......'ing off a lot of Canadians.
Tim Hortons, that bastion of Canadian coffee "wake up'ism" has
screwed up and has decided to create two versions of their holiday
gift and travel mugs. One version for Quebec, the other for Canada.
Hmmm.. Quebec is no longer a part of Canada? To many who are getting
tired of Quebec whining that would be a "wish come true"! The Canada
mug has an image of a maple leaf, the Quebec version has a
snowflake! So much for attempts at national unity! I wonder what
dolt at Tim Hortons thought up this one? Oh! I get it, if it's a
case of supporting Canadian unity and "stand up and be
counted" -vs- kow-towing to the mighty dollar and Quebec
insecurities (delusions of grandeur?) then Canadian unity be
damned!! What's next "je me souviens" on Quebec Kellogs
Cornflakes?? Hmmm... Starbucks anyone? Here is the
article...
Tim Hortons festive mug loses the
maple leaf in Quebec December 2010 -
news.sympatico.ca
Canada
Quebec
Canada
Quebec
Tim Hortons has released its holiday mugs across
Canada, but the Quebec version isn't like the rest. Where a maple leaf appears on mugs in all other provinces,
a snowflake appears in
Quebec.
It's no secret that from Charlottetown clear across
to Victoria, we Canadians take our donut stores pretty seriously.
Donuts and coffee bring us together. They unite us. Like maple syrup
and hockey, they're something we share, no matter what part of the
country we might happen to call home.
And here in Canada, no
single store better embodies that spirit of unity through the
provision of fried bread and iffy coffee better than the venerable
Tim Hortons chain - so much so that its familiar sign seems as
universally Canadian as our national flag.
The so-called
"Pan-Canadian" version features scenery from across the nation: the
Rocky Mountains, the CN Tower, and other regional cliches. Tying it
all together is a graphic featuring a few maple leaves blowing in
the wind. (Which, when you think about it, seems like more of an
autumn image, but never mind.)
The Quebec version, by
contrast, features none of the regional imagery and replaces the
maple leaf with a more generic symbol of Canadian winter, the
snowflake.
Through a spokesperson, the company insists that
the decision was not informed by politics: "Sometimes, direct
translations may not make sense."
Huh? Direct translations?
Explain how that's relevant here, bub. Yes, it's true that languages
can be hard to translate. And yet, isn't that why the mug uses
pictures, rather than words?
To that end, excuse us all if we
don't know the precise French translation of an English line drawing
of the CN Tower. Most of us, philistines that we are, thought it
looked exactly the same as an English translation of a French line
drawing of the CN Tower.
Tim Hortons made a very deliberate
decision to cater to two different markets - and at some levels,
there's surely nothing wrong with that - but then lacked the courage
to back up its decision.
Yes, this is one of those instances
- all too common these days - in which a company's lame press
defense of its decision may be more damaging than the original
decision itself.
"You
gotta love Robin Williams"......This comedy tid-bit was
originally credited to an on-stage comedy bit attributed to
Robin Williams however, since appearing seven years ago, the
actual author has not yet been identified - and certainlty was
not Robin. Nevertheless, the content of this rant reiterates
the need for some plan since other efforts are not working and
the United Nations has now become the podium for a large
number of "irrevelant" countries with their own agendas -
which do not include world peace! (It is time for the UN to go
"bye-bye"!) So, once again, here is the skit content!
Robin Williams' plan...(Hard to argue with this
logic!)
I
see a lot of people yelling for peace but I have not heard of
a plan for peace. So, here's one plan."
1)
"The US will apologize to the world for our "interference"
in their affairs, past & present. You know, Hitler,
Mussolini, Stalin, Tojo, Noriega, Milosevic, Hussein, and the
rest of those "good 'ole' boys", we will never "interfere"
again .
2) We will withdraw our troops
from all over the world, starting with Ge rmany , South Korea
, the Middle East , and the Philippines They don't want us
there. We would station troops at our borders. No one allowed
sneaking through holes in the fence.
3)
All illegal aliens have 90 days to get their affairs
together and leave We'll give them a free trip home. After 90
days the remainder will be gathered up and deported
immediately, regardless of whom or where they are. They're
illegal!!! France will welcome them.
4)
All future visitors will be thoroughly checked and limited
to 90 days unless given a special permit!!!! No one from a
terrorist nation will be allowed in. If you don't like it
there, change it yourself and don't hide here. Asylum would
never be available to anyone. We don't need a ny more cab
drivers or 7-11 cashiers.
5) No foreign
"students" over age 21. The older ones are the bombers. If
they don't attend classes, they get an "F" and it's back home
baby.
6) The US will make a strong
effort to become self-suffici ent energy wise. This will
include developing nonpolluting sources of energy but will
require a temporary drilling of oil in the Alaskan wilderness.
The caribou will have to cope for a while.
7) Offer Saudi Arabia and other oil
producing countries $10 a barrel for their oil. If they don't
like it, we go someplace else. They can go somewhere else to
sell their production. (About a week of the wells filling up
the storage sites would be enough.)
8)
If there is a famine or other natural catastrophe in the
world, we will not "interfere." They can pray to All ah or
whomever, for seeds, rain, cement or whatever they need.
Besides most of what we give them is stolen or given to the
army. The people who need it most get very little, if
anything.
9) Ship the UN Headquarters to
an isolated island someplace. We don't need the spies and fair
weather friends here. Besides, the building woul d make a good
homeless shelter or lockup for illegal
aliens.
10) All American s must go to
charm and beauty school. That way, no one can call us "Ugly
Americans" any longer. The Language we speak is ENGLISH..learn
it...or LEAVE...Now, isn't that a winner of a plan?
"The Statue of Liberty is no longer saying "Give me
your tired, your poor, your huddled masses." She's got a
baseball bat and she's yelling, 'you want a piece of me?'
"
The following has absolutely
nothing to do with Satire; It is merely a "feel good" story
based on an actual incident involving troops en route to
Afghanistan. It has been around for some time. If, after reading
this, there is no glistening in your eyes, then you really should do
some soul searching and should learn to start caring for those in
the past, present and into the future who place their lives on the
line or have sacrificed themselves for us all. As we approach
November 11th I felt it should again be told. - jmm
Snack Lunches November 2010
I put my carry-on in the
luggage compartment and sat down in my assigned seat. It was going
to be a long flight. 'I'm glad I have a good book to read.
Perhaps I will get a short nap,' I thought.
Just before
take-off, a line of soldiers came down the aisle and filled all the
vacant seats, totally surrounding me. I decided to start a
conversation.
'Where are you headed?' I asked the
soldier seated nearest to me.
'Petawawa. We'll be there
for two weeks for special training, and then we're being deployed to
Afghanistan.
After flying for about an hour, an
announcement was made that snack lunches were available for five
dollars. It would be several hours before we reached the east, and I
quickly decided a lunch would help pass the time...
As I
reached for my wallet, I overheard a soldier ask his buddy if he
planned to buy lunch. 'No, that seems like a lot of money for
just a snack lunch. Probably wouldn't be worth five bucks. I'll wait
till we get to base.'
His friend agreed.
I
looked around at the other soldiers. None were buying lunch. I
walked to the back of the plane and handed the flight attendant a
fifty dollar bill. 'Take a lunch to all those soldiers.' She
grabbed my arms and squeezed tightly. Her eyes wet with tears, she
thanked me. 'My son was a soldier in Iraq ; it's almost like you
are doing it for him.'
Picking up ten snacks, she headed
up the aisle to where the soldiers were seated. She stopped at my
seat and asked, 'Which do you like best - beef or chicken?'
'Chicken,' I replied, wondering why she asked. She
turned and went to the front of plane, returning a minute later with
a dinner plate from first class.
'This is your
thanks.'
After we finished eating, I went again to the
back of the plane, heading for the rest room. A man stopped me.
'I saw what you did. I want to be part of it. Here, take
this.' He handed me twenty-five dollars..
Soon after I
returned to my seat, I saw the Flight Captain coming down the aisle,
looking at the aisle numbers as he walked, I hoped he was not
looking for me, but noticed he was looking at the numbers only on my
side of the plane. When he got to my row he stopped, smiled, held
out his hand and said, 'I want to shake your hand.' Quickly
unfastening my seatbelt I stood and took the Captain's hand. With a
booming voice he said, 'I was a soldier and I was a military
pilot. Once, someone bought me a lunch. It was an act of kindness I
never forgot.' I was embarrassed when applause was heard from
all of the passengers.
Later I walked to the front of the
plane so I could stretch my legs. A man who was seated about six
rows in front of me reached out his hand, wanting to shake mine. He
left another twenty-five dollars in my palm.
When we landed
I gathered my belongings and started to deplane. Waiting just inside
the airplane door was a man who stopped me, put something in my
shirt pocket, turned, and walked away without saying a word. Another
twenty-five dollars!
Upon entering the terminal, I saw the
soldiers gathering for their trip to the base.
I walked over
to them and handed them seventy-five dollars. 'It will take you
some time to reach the base. It will be about time for a sandwich.
God Bless You.'
Ten young men left that flight feeling
the love and respect of their fellow travelers.
As I walked
briskly to my car, I whispered a prayer for their safe return. These
soldiers were giving their all for our country.. I could only give
them a couple of meals. It seemed so little...
A veteran is
someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made
payable to ' Canada ' for an amount of 'up to and including my
life.'
That is Honour, and there are way too many people in
this country who no longer understand it.'
What does it take to get the
french to smarten up?? November 2010
In
France, at a fairly large conference, Canadian Prime Minister Steven
Harper was asked by a French cabinet minister if Canadian
involvement in Afghanistan was just an example of "empire building".
Mr. Harper answered by saying, 'Over the years, Canada has sent
many of its fine young men and women into great peril to fight for
freedom beyond our borders. The only amount of land we have ever
asked for in return is enough to bury those that did not
return.'
A
Canadian Admiral was attending a naval conference that included
Admirals from the Canadian, US, English, Australian and French
Navies. At a cocktail reception, he found himself standing with a
large group of officers that included personnel from most of those
countries. Everyone was chatting away in English as they sipped
their drinks, but a French admiral suddenly complained that, whereas
Europeans learn many languages, North Americans generally learn only
English. He then asked, 'Why is it that we always have to speak
English in these conferences rather than speaking
French?' Without hesitating, the Canadian Admiral replied
'Maybe it's because the Brits, Canadians, Aussies and Americans
arranged it so you wouldn't have to speak German.'
When
Robert Whiting, an elderly Canadian gentleman of 83, arrived in
Paris by plane at the French Customs, he took a few minutes to
locate his passport in his carry on. 'You have been to France
before, monsieur?' the customs officer asked sarcastically. Mr.
Whiting admitted that he had been to France previously. The official
replied 'Then you should know enough to have your passport
ready.' The Canadian said, 'The last time I was here, I
didn't have to show it.' 'Impossible, Monsieur. Canadians
always have to show passports on arrival in France!' The
Canadian senior gave the Frenchman a long hard look. Then he quietly
explained, 'Well, when I came ashore on D-Day in 1944 to help
liberate this country, I couldn't find a single Frenchmen to show a
passport to.'
Edit: The above is from an e-mail item circulating
the internet, apparently based on fact!
Liberals vote to ban unilingual
judges - bilingualism gone too far?? August
2010
OK! Enough is enough! For you non-Canadians out
there, Canada is a country with a population of about 34 million of
which 6 million are francophone's living in the province of Quebec.
That means there are about 28 million non-Quebec francophone
citizens. Many of the 6 million would love to have their own
"country" (you know, all the benefits of being a part of Canada
including accepting 'equalization' payments out of the pockets of
mon-quebeckers and calling their own shots) but I do not see why -
they do that now, not just for themselves but for all of Canada!!
The bilingualism issue keeps being thrust down the throats of all
Canadians - to a ridiculous level I must add! I appreciate that
where a significant portion of any community is francophone, all
services should be available in French but where a community has no
francophone citizens at all, why have bilingualism forced upon the
community at large? (for example, the postal clerk issue in
Pakingham Ontario where a long-time and popular english speaking
clerk was dismissed in favour of a bilingual clerk - to service an
entirely anglophone community - stupid bilingualism at work!!).
Canadians have a reputation of being friendly and on many occasions,
somewhat apathetic. They do not like "rocking the boat" on
non-crucial issues, and bilingualism has evolved into a
"non-crucial" issue. The vast majority of Canadians hate
bilingualism - it is not necessary and French as a language is in
decline (sorry, Quebecers and France, that is a fact worldwide!) -
but have begrudgingly accepted it rather than continuing to make an
issue of it! That may start to change soon, if the federal Liberal
Party have their way and english Canadians catch on to what they are
trying to do!
The Liberal Party is the second largest in
Canada's political system. They have always had a large Quebec
representation and as a result have constantly strived to promote
Quebec issues, often to the detriment of other areas. Now they are
promoting fully bilingual Supreme Court judges. Considering that
most Canadians speak English (including a large number of
Quebecers), bilingual judges qualified to sit as a Supreme Court
magistrate could be almost entirely drawn from Quebec - it could
happen! If the Liberals have their way, the Supreme Court could
become a body entirely composed of Quebecers, francophone Quebecers
in fact! This could be dangerous to Canada as a whole. Apart from
the annoyance of, once again, Quebecers dictating to all of Canada,
the issue of separatism, or promoting Quebec issues over others
could once again arise and if it does, the final say in legal
matters would fall into the hands of a unquestionably biased court!
There is an old saying, "you can take Quebecers out of Quebec, but
you cannot take Quebec out of Quebecers"! It's time to draw in the
reins. Time for the horses to again start pulling the cart and not
the cart pulling the horses!! With no more whining and an adherence
to Canadian norms and values, Quebec can be a welcome partner and
contributor to the Canadian scene! However, if they want their own
nation (without all the Canadian benefits they mistakenly think will
exist) then let them "try" to go that route. But in the meantime,
please, let's tell our politicians that the concept of an
all-Quebecer Supreme Court is simply unacceptable! If that means
voting against the Liberal Party, so be it! 'Nuff said!
Here is a woman who should run for
Prime Minister! July 2010
Thought you
might like to read this letter to the editor ~ this is circulating
around the internet! Do you ever notice how some people just seem to
know how to write a letter? This one does! This was allegedly
written by a Canadian woman, a housewife in New Brunswick, to her
local newspaper but oh how it also applies to the U.S., U.K. And
Australia. Here is a woman who should run for Prime Minister!
Are we fighting a war on terror or aren't we? Was it or
was it not started by Islamic people who brought it to our shores on
September 11, 2001 And have continually threatened to do so since?
Were people from all over the world not brutally murdered that day,
in downtown Manhattan, across the Potomac from the capitol of the
USA and in a Field in Pennsylvania? Did nearly three thousand men,
women and children die a horrible, burning or crushing death that
day, or didn't they?
And I'm supposed to care that a few
Taliban were claiming to be tortured by a justice system of the
nation they come from and are fighting against in a brutal
insurgency.
I'll start caring when Osama bin Laden turns
himself in and repents for Incinerating all those innocent people on
9/11. I'll care about the Qur'an (Koran) when the fanatics in
the Middle East start caring about the Holy Bible, the mere belief
of which is a crime punishable by beheading in Afghanistan . I'll
care when these thugs tell the world they are sorry for hacking off
Nick Berg's head while Berg screamed through his gurgling slashed
throat. I'll care when the cowardly so-called 'insurgents' in
Afghanistan come out and fight like men instead of disrespecting
their own religion by hiding in cowardly fashion in Mosques and
behind women and children. I'll care when the mindless zealots
who blow themselves up in search of Nirvana care about the innocent
children within range of their suicide bombs. I'll care when the
Canadian media stops pretending that their freedom of speech on
stories is more important than the lives of the soldiers on the
ground or their families waiting at home to hear about them when
something happens.
In the meantime, when I hear a story
about a CANADIAN soldier roughing up an Insurgent terrorist to
obtain information, know this: I don't care. When I see a wounded terrorist get shot in the head when he is
told not to move because he might be booby-trapped, you can take it
to the bank: I don't care. When I hear that
a prisoner, who was issued a Koran and a prayer mat, and fed
'special' food that is paid for by my tax dollars, is complaining
that his holy book is being 'mishandled,' you can absolutely believe
in your heart of hearts: I really don't care. And oh, by the way, I've noticed that sometimes it's spelled
'Koran' and Other times 'Qu'ran.' Well, Jimmy Crack Corn, you
guessed it; I just really don't give a damn.
Is it just me but did anyone else
get ticked off about the 2010 Olympics opening
ceremony?? February 2010
For the last many
months, the anticipation of the 2010 Olympics starting was building
up in the minds of most people I know, including this writer. Last
Friday, we were there - with the opening ceremonies. It was a
tremendous show and a tribute to VANOC, the Vancouver organizing
committee - BUT -a couple of things irritated a lot of
people!
Firstly, why in the world did all the French language
commentaries precede the English ones? Nothing against our
francophone brethren but lets face it, we are a country with a
population of 34 millions, with about 6-7 million if them french
speaking! That means 27 million Non-french speaking! Hmmm...
politics entering the VANOC world? As I said, nothing overly
significant, just another irritant that we have seen before, guess
some of us are just getting fed up with it - time to speak
out!!
Secondly, Nikki Yanofsky, a talented jazz singer from
Montreal who has a beautiful voice sang the Canadian national anthem
at the opening ceremonies. Nikki is a wonderful singer, so who in
the world put together the interpretation of the national anthem
that we heard? It was slow, dreary and boring and not a very good
image of our anthem. I understand that the version sung was not
Nikki's doing - she was told to sing it that way, by whom remains
the mystery.
Thirdly, is it just me or was there a little
overkill in the aboriginal participation of the ceremony?
Participation is not the right word I suspect, monopolization comes
closer to the truth! Mind you, I loved the "Spirit Bear" entrance.
Each to their own taste I suppose...
Are we all getting just a little
fed up??? November 2009
I don't know about you
but I am getting fed up with the annoying antics of our paid
politicians - you know, those MP's who are handsomely paid with our
tax dollars!!
It would be really nice if they decided to do
some real work rather than focusing on attempts to embarrass or
ridicule other parties for no other reason than to improve their
vote reception position! Let's correct a situation - the opposition
will oppose it... Let's not correct the situation - the opposition
will oppose it! On and On and On!!!
The current 'cause
célèbre' is the handling of detainees in Afghanistan where our
troops round up suspected Taliban or Al-Queda terrorists and hand
them over to Afghani authorities. Allegedly, these detainees are not
always handled with kid gloves - something all the 'bleeding hearts'
would like to see!! We can all debate how they should be treated and
cite the Geneva convention on such matters, but personally, I have
better things to be concerned about! These unfortunate folks are
suspected terrorists and I believe that they were rounded up for
valid reasons. I say 'unfortunate' not because they might be
innocent, but because they got 'caught' doing something! Our troops
are over there for a purpose and annoying 'locals' for no apparent
reason is not one of those purposes! It's nice that our western
culture is based on the premise that "one is presumed innocent until
proven guilty" but, unfortunately, 9-11 and the plethora of
bombings, shootings, beheadings and promise by Al Queda to destroy
anything non-Islamic may have changed all that. Our boys are over
there not to save Afghanistan, but to prevent the terrorists from
expanding their destruction to our shores. It's not about oil or
poppy fields, not about politics or a humanitarian cause - it's
dealing with terrorists over there rather than having to deal with
them in our back yards!
So, to our MP's, please start doing
your work and deal with real matters, not bantering back and forth
about who knew and who did not know about alleged mistreatment of
suspected Afghani terrorists. Torture is a relative word and all the
bleeding hearts and do-gooders should consider what 'mistreatment'
they would accept if gaining information from an uncooperative
suspect would mean the difference between life and death for family
members. Now consider that scenario on a larger scale - like 9-11.
If mistreatment of captives would have prevented 9-11, could that be
rationalized? You betcha!!
New Ontario 'Harmonized"
Sales Tax GRAB!
Hello Ontario
,
This new PST/GST "harmonized " tax is not getting any real
coverage in the news paper/television and I am not sure why. Maybe
we are not aware of the impact !! It is going to be the biggest tax
increase in the history of Ontario. It's like no one wants to inform
us of the facts.
The new tax will be administered by the
Federal Government. It will be based on the GST, that means if the
tax is currently collected on the Goods and Service Tax at 5% it is
going to be increased to 13%, that sounds fine as Ontario's
Provincial Retail Sales Tax is 8%. Add the two together and things
seem fine.
In reality however... BIG problem! Retail
Sales Tax is not collected on everything that Goods and Services Tax
is and the key word here is "Services". Retail Sales Tax is NOT
collected on services. What is going to increase? Here is a small
list of services currently only taxed at 5% going up to 13%.
Natural Gas bill
Internet bill
Water bill
Gas at the pumps- That is about 6 cents per L. (that is a tax
on top of a tax)
Hair cut
Your Tim Hortons Coffee (Starbucks too!)
Your lawyer and accounting fees
Massage therapy, Doctors fees
Condo Maintenance Fees!
Anything that requires labour around your house - plumber,
electrician, painting, grass cutting , auto repairs, dog grooming,
etc.
Electricity bill- This is a good one. Look at your electricity
bill. There is a charge on it for debt retirement charge. That is
a charge for the huge debt the OPC ran up. Only in Ontario would we pay tax on a
debt, and only in Ontario would we increase this
tax. TAXES ON TAXES!!
This is just a small list as there
is so much much more. Let talk about small business for a minute.
Mr. Mcguinty tells us in the budget that this new tax is going to
save small businesses 500 million dollars. I do not know how much it
costs to fill out a six line tax return monthly, but all small
business owners I know do their own. If you are in business you will
know about compensation on your Retail Sales Tax return. This is
when you get to keep 5% of the tax collected up to $1,500.00 per
year to help with your administration costs. That is gone once this
tax is combined. Really it only helps large corporations with
multiple vendor permit numbers, not small businesses.
There
were two places where we thought we were going to see an advantage
in this tax. Good news, I thought. WRONG!! First there is presently
no GST on used cars if bought privately and the provincial tax on
alcohol is between 10% to 12%. That is 2% to 4% higher then our
normal Retail Sales Tax. Good old Mcguinty took care of that
quickly. He is now saying to make it fair between used car lots and
private sellers , that he will collect the Retail Sales Tax on
all used cars. ANOTHER 8% and for what value added ??? Get ready
for this one; he is going to add a levy on alcohol to promote social
responsibility. This man is using the words social
responsibility at the same time as he is raising our taxes,
something he promised NOT to do when he made those worthless
campaign promises, during his last election!!! This man reinforces
the image of "never trust a politician"! Honest and trustworthy
people enter politics and that is where the trust and honesty
usually disappears!!
Forwarding this and letting everyone
know, could save you a lot of money over your lifetime. Please
forward it to everyone in your e-mail contact
list.
Stand up Ontario and tell Dalton we cannot
afford any more McSquinty/McGuinty politics. In the business world
this would be called Theft - in politics it is called
"Government"?????Tell McGuinty to get his
grubby hands out of our pockets!! Stop trying to "CON US" - spell it
out properly and NO MORE OPPORTUNISTIC TAX
GRABS!!!
Edit: This item has
been floating around the internet - worth reading and passing along.
Better still, check this out and have a "chat" with your local MLA.
Time to react!!! - October 2009
The world as we know it may be
changing - for the
worse!
There is a video being shown on
YouTube that provides statistics on national and international birth
rates, and if these statistics are even remotely accurate, the world
is changing and possibly not for the better. I hope that the figures
are indeed wrong, and it is obvious that whomever put this video
together has much bias against certain non-christian groups, but if
the figures are factual, in the future, after you and I have passed
on, there is a liklihood that our grandchildren and their children
may live in an Islamic dominated world. That by itself would not
necessarily be a problem however history has shown that in every
instance radical elements rise to the top and take control over
the apathetic majority. (Note: according to the CIA World
Factbook and supported by www.nationmaster.com, the actual fertility
rates are: France 1.98, England 1.66, Greece 1.36, Germany 1.41,
Italy 1.3, Spain 1.3. Canada 1.57 and USA 2.1). Take a
look at this video and draw your own conclusions!!
There is a banner someone brings to the fence
of Canadian Forces Base Trenton whenever there is a repatriation of
a soldier killed in Afghanistan. It reads: "Stand down, soldier.
Your job is done. You can go home."
People line up along
the fence surrounding CFB Trenton waiting for the aircraft from
Afghanistan to touch down, open its cargo door, and offer up its
burden. Some of the onlookers are civilians, some are retired
service men and women, some are on leave from active service and
dress in uniform for the occasion. Some of them even bring young
children.
There's a large contingent of bikers, the Blue
Knights, wearing distinctive blue vests. One couple is visiting from
Nova Scotia. Another man has just come home from Europe. The
gathering spreads farther and farther along the fence.
Soon,
a drone is heard overhead and the CC-150 Polaris transport plane
comes into view. A hush falls over the people standing at the fence.
The aircraft circles into position near the hangar where a family
stands in the wind and cold to receive their loved one.
The
silhouettes, especially the shoulders, speak of their exquisite
pain. Their eyes are fixed on the wooden box that is now being
hoisted onto strong shoulders and carried in measured steps toward
the hearse.
The only colour in the whole scenario is the
Canadian flag draped in its somber duty like a blanket over the
fallen comrade. It seems to speak the words from the banner:
"Stand down, soldier. Your job is done. You can go home."
After a 20-minute repatriation service, the casket is loaded
into the black hearse. The family members board a limousine. Slowly
the convoy exits the gates of 8 Wing-Canadian Forces Base Trenton.
The black vehicles are escorted front and back by two police
cars as they drive out of Trenton and onto the celebrated Highway of
Heroes. A signal is sent to a police car waiting on the ramp of the
next overpass along the way to Toronto: "Cortege en route. ETA 15
minutes." Messages are radioed to the firefighters and ambulance
workers in commuter parking lots all along the way to Toronto who
have been anticipating the final good-bye. Each firetruck and
ambulance rides to the top of its respective overpass where the
crowd welcomes the shelter from the wind.
The police car
drives down the ramp to block traffic from entering Highway 401. The
crowd on the overpass is watching for that space of several minutes
when there is no traffic in the westbound lanes. Then a whisper is
telegraphed from one person to another: "They're coming. They're
coming." By this time, not one space is left unoccupied along the
railing.
I stand on the side of the hill by the sign that
welcomes drivers to Brighton. I want to be as near as possible to
the cortege. My student will be passing by. His sister, also a
former student at my school, will be sitting in the limo with her
mom and dad behind the dark glass. The last time I saw these
siblings they were sitting innocently in a classroom.
On my
one side is a member of the Legion, a retired Sergeant-major dressed
in khaki. He is the first to sight the cortege and barks
instinctively, "Heads up!" to everyone on the overpass.
I am
frozen in place, steeling myself against an onslaught of emotion,
tears burning behind my glasses. The Sergeant-major snaps a salute
and, even though he is a complete stranger, I feel supported by his
experience and professionalism. Behind me, the people who have come
to the overpass for just this moment wave their flags. The dark
glass of the limo opens and a long arm in a black coat ending in a
black glove answers in silent acknowledgment.
In less than a
moment the cortege is gone. Only now do I notice how many young
people have also been standing vigils at the overpass. They look to
me like students skipping school.
Who are all these other
people? Does each of them have a connection, as I do, to the fallen
soldier? Some of them are relaying messages by cell phone -- to
other overpasses down the line. Are all the on-lookers on all the
overpasses along the Highway of Heroes connected, like a web that
stretches from Trenton to Toronto cradling the casket of the fallen
at its centre?
What a strange experience our presence
creates. A unique made-in-Canada ad hoc ritual that leaves
participants feeling richer, and sadder, and more connected for
having spent this one moment in the wind.
Edit: This
article is passing around the web - and so it should. This writer
and his friends spend much of the summer camping in the Trenton
area. Every time there is a repatriation of a Canadian soldier
killed in Afghanistan, we all drive out to the Trenton base or join
many others on one of the many overpasses that cross Hwy 401 (also
known, approprietly, as "The Highway of Heroes") between
Trenton and Toronto. Everyone is sad! Everyone is proud! Everyone is
thankful for the job these soldiers have done and are doing for
us!
Do you think we should get out of
Afghanistan? and do you think the
US should get out of Iraq?
If you do... then this may change
your mind! (CLICK on photos to
enlarge)
(these
photos were taken at a rally of Islamic radicals held in London
England)
But, you might say, these are expressions by ignorant
and ill-educated students and Islamic radicals and are expressions
not condoned by peace loving Muslims. Well... read this, a
commentary claimed to be by Dr. Emanuel Tanay, a well known and well
respected German psychiatrist. This is a good commentary on the
Muslim terrorist situation - one of the best I have ever read. His
references to past history are accurate and clear. Not long, easy to
understand, and well worth the read.
A German's View
on Islam
A man, whose family was German aristocracy
prior to World War II, owned a number of large industries and
estates. When asked how many German people were true Nazis, the
answer he gave can guide our attitude toward fanaticism. 'Very few
people were true Nazis,' he said, 'but many enjoyed the return of
German pride, and many more were too busy to care. I was one of
those who just thought the Nazis were a bunch of fools. So, the
majority just sat back and let it all happen. Then, before we knew
it, they owned us, and we had lost control, and the end of the world
had come. My family lost everything. I ended up in a concentration
camp and the Allies destroyed my factories.'
We are told
again and again by 'experts' and 'talking heads' that Islam is the
religion of peace, and that the vast majority of Muslims just want
to live in peace. Although this unqualified assertion may be true,
it is entirely irrelevant. It is meaningless fluff, meant to make us
feel better, and meant to somehow diminish the spectre of fanatics
rampaging across the globe in the name of Islam.
The fact is
that the fanatics rule Islam at this moment in history. It is the
fanatics who march. It is the fanatics who wage any one of 50
shooting wars worldwide. It is the fanatics who systematically
slaughter Christian or tribal groups throughout Africa and are
gradually taking over the entire continent in an Islamic wave. It is
the fanatics, who bomb, behead, murder, or honour-kill. It is the
fanatics who take over mosque after mosque.
It is the
fanatics who zealously spread the stoning and hanging of rape
victims and homosexuals. It is the fanatics who teach their young to
kill and to become suicide bombers.
The hard quantifiable
fact is that the peaceful majority, the 'silent majority,' is cowed
and extraneous.
Communist Russia was comprised of Russians
who just wanted to live in peace, yet the Russian Communists were
responsible for the murder of about 20 million people. The peaceful
majority were irrelevant.
China's huge population was
peaceful as well, but Chinese Communists managed to kill a
staggering 70 million people.
The average Japanese
individual prior to World War II was not a warmongering sadist. Yet,
Japan murdered and slaughtered its way across South East Asia in an
orgy of killing that included the systematic murder of 12 million
Chinese civilians; most killed by sword, shovel, and bayonet.
And, who can forget Rwanda, which collapsed into butchery.
Could it not be said that the majority of Rwandans were 'peace
loving'?
History lessons are often incredibly simple and
blunt, yet for all our posers of reason we often miss the most basic
and uncomplicated of points: Peace-loving Muslims have been made
irrelevant by their silence.
Peace-loving Muslims will
become our enemy if they don't speak up, because like my friend from
Germany, they will awaken one day and find that the fanatics own
them, and the end of their world will have begun.
Peace-loving Germans, Japanese, Chinese, Russians, Rwandans,
Serbs, Afghans, Iraqis, Palestinians, Somalis, Nigerians, Algerians,
and many others have died because the peaceful majority did not
speak up until it was too late.
As for us who watch it all
unfold, we must pay attention to the only group that counts; the
fanatics who threaten our way of life.
Lastly, anyone who
doubts that the issue is serious and just ignores this commentary is
contributing to the passiveness that allows the problems to expand.
So, extend yourself a bit and relate this commentary on and on and
on! Let us hope that thousands, worldwide, read this and think about
it, and act on it before it's too
late.
CANADIAN.... Eh !
(Photo credit available - do not know who creator
is)
So, What Do We Canadians Have To
Be Proud Of?
- 1. Smarties
- 2. Crispy Crunch, Coffee Crisp
- 3. The size of our footballs fields, one less down,
and bigger balls.
- 4. Baseball is Canadian - (First game June 4, 1838 -
Ingersoll , Ont)
- 5. Lacrosse is Canadian - created by Canadian
aboriginals
- 6. Hockey is Canadian
- 7. Basketball is Canadian (James Naismith, Almonte Ont
- 1891)
- 8. Apple pie is Canadian (sorry - even before Noah
Swayne who is credited with it's creation)
- 9. Mr. Dress-up beats Mr. Rogers - at least in our
opinion!
- 10. Tim Hortons beats Dunkin' Donuts and Krispy
Creme
- 11. In the war of 1812, started by America , Canadians
pushed the Americans back past their White House'. Then we
burned it, and most of Washington .. We got bored because
they ran away. Then, we came home and partied........ Go
figure.
- 12. Canada has the largest French population that
never surrendered to Germany. (probably the ONLY French
population that never surrendered..)
- 13. We have the largest English population that never
ever surrendered or withdrew during any war to anyone,
anywhere. EVER. (We got clobbered in the odd battle but
prevailed in ALL the wars).
- 14. Our civil war was fought in a bar and lasted a
little over an hour.
- 15. The only person who was arrested in our civil war
was an American mercenary, he slept in and missed the whole
thing. He showed up just in time to get caught.
- 16. A Canadian invented Standard Time.
- 17. The Hudsons Bay Company once owned over 10% of the
earth's surface and is still around as the world's oldest
company.
- 18. The average dog sled team can kill and devour a
full grown human in under 3 minutes. (That's more
information than I need!)
- 19. We know what to do with the parts of a
buffalo.
- 20. We don't marry our kin-folk.
- 21. We invented/discovered ski-doos, jet-skis,
zippers, insulin, penicillin, zambonis and the telephone.
Also short wave radios that save countless lives each
year.
- 22. We ALL have frozen our tongues to something metal
and lived to tell about it.
- 23. A Canadian created Superman (Canadian-born artist
Joe Shuster in 1932).
- 24. We have coloured money - the US is now going that
way as well.
- 25. Space Station's 'Canadarm' robotic arm - name says
it all..
- 26. Our beer advertisements kick butt {More
importantly...so does our beer} BUT MOST
IMPORTANT!...
- 27. The handles on our beer cases are big enough to
fit your hands with mitts on. Oh yeah...
- 28. And our elections only take one day - and of
course, "no chads".
Note: I received the following by E-mail - typical of
many opinions floating around. I was curious whether this article
was legitimate so I did a little digging - and yes, this is a
legitimate item - you can find the original Howard Galganov
interview onwww.galganov.com/editorials.asp?ID=1073
How To Depress A Quebecois
Reporter
Friday, December 05,
2008 Freedom Isn't Free - By Howard Galganov
I received an interview request from a reporter
with the Journal de Montreal Newspaper (December 3, 2008) the day
before Harper’s meeting with the Governor General.
She wanted
to know my reaction to the proposed Coalition between the NDP,
Liberals and the Bloc Quebecois.
For those of you who don’t
know much or anything about the Journal de Montreal, it is a French
language daily that is the closest thing Quebec has to a ‘national
newspaper’.
It is also a VERY racist Quebecois nationalist
rag, to the point of being Quebec’s Separatist cheerleader.
During my QPAC days in Quebec, the Journal de Montreal liked
to refer to me in their headlines as l’Anglohone Juif Galganov. In
translation: Anglo Jew Galganov. Where was the Human Rights
Commission then?
The Journal de Montreal can best be
described as a sensationalist tabloid that mixes gossip, sports and
news. It should also be noted that more than a million French
Quebecers read the Journal de Montreal every day.
The
reporter expected me to answer her question with a degree of outrage
towards this coalition, so imagine her surprise when I told her that
I was all for it?
She asked if I was kidding? How could I
possibly be for a federal political union that includes the Bloc
Quebecois?
She was more surprised with my answer when I told
her that this coalition between Socialists and Separatists will not
last beyond a month or so, and will guarantee two unexpected and
unintended consequences.
The first consequence will be the
end of any hopes for Leftist electoral victories for either the
Liberals or the Socialist NDP for a generation or more to come,
freeing Canada from the type of FREEBIE LEFTIST policies that are
destroying the fabric of our country.
The next consequence
really shook her when I explained that a coalition with the Quebec
Separatist Bloc would hasten the departure of Quebec from
Confederation, allowing Canada to finally grow without the Quebec
anchor around our neck.
The interview became more of a
discussion as she asked me if I thought the rest of Canada would
throw Quebec out. And if they did, why would they do that now and
not before?
My answer stunned her even more. And from the
sound of her voice, she was more than somewhat depressed when I
explained to her that Canada does not need Quebec. More to the
point, Canada will be far better off without Quebec.
It is
Quebec that needs Canada, since Quebec brings nothing to the table
other than threats, costs and complications that hinder the growth
of our country.
I also explained that the rest of Canada
didn’t need our domestic and foreign policies decided upon by a
beggar province. Not to mention that Canada’s official bilingualism
policies are discriminating against more than 97% of the Canadian
population (English speaking) living outside of Quebec.
With
this proposed coalition, the Bloc will win several big concessions
that will include:
MORE MONEY from the rest of Canada - But
the rest of Canada is broke.
Ontario is a HAVE-NOT province.
And if it isn’t yet, it certainly will be soon.
At less than
$50 per barrel, and still falling like a lead balloon, Alberta is
dying with the lack of demand for its petroleum products, and will
not earn enough money to sustain its budgetary goals without cutting
programs, raising taxes, or dipping into its Heritage Fund. All of
which are akin to cancer for Albertans.
Where else will
Quebec expect to get the BILLIONS of dollars their deal with the two
idiots, Stephane Dion and Taliban Jack have promised?
Just
imagine the outrage from the West, when Alberta has to write a check
to a Separatist province that helped wipeout a government Albertans
voted for near unanimously?
Just imagine the added outrage
from the West when six Quebec Separatists are named to Canada’s
Senate as part of the deal?
Just imagine the boiling-over
outrage from the West when Quebec Separatists must first vet all of
Parliaments business before it can be brought to the floor, much
less implemented?
I CAN’T WAIT I TOLD HER!
Then I
reminded her that certain inalienable decisions would be made the
moment Quebec and Canada part company.
By federal law,
Canadian Banks and Insurance Companies must be headquartered within
Canada. There go the banks. By law, airlines cannot pick-up and
deliver passengers from one national location to another national
location unless that airline is headquartered in that nation.
Goodbye Air Canada.
Then there’s the Canada Export and
Development Corporation that underwrites just about all of
Bombardier’s sales abroad. Goodbye Bombardier along with other
federally financed corporations in Quebec.
Goodbye all the
federal government jobs that disproportionately employ French
Quebecers. Especially those who can speak some English.
And
Goodbye official bilingualism.
At this point in our
conversation, her voice was quite subdued when she asked if I think
Canada will push Quebec out the door?
No was my response. I
think Quebec and Canada will separate from each other much like
Czechoslovakia did, when the Czechs and Slovakians both decided to
go their separate ways without any fanfare, great debates,
referendums or anything else.
It just happened, much the way
I see it just happening between Canada and Quebec where there will
be no reason for Quebec to stay within Canada once the financial tap
is closed.
And there will be no reason for Canada to want
Quebec within Confederation when the rest of Canada finally learns
that we will be far better off without Quebec dragging us down.
Even though Harper bought himself and the Conservatives 6
weeks of political peace by suspending Parliament to the end of
January, much of the damage has already been done to the long-term
future between Quebec and Canada by this attempted Putsch by the
Coalition of Idiots.
The rest of Canada really doesn't care
much for what Quebec wants anymore, since the rest of Canada is more
concerned with what it needs to stay afloat.
I explained to
her that I am just one political Blogger out of thousands who are
spreading a similar message by asking pertinent questions while
bringing demographic FACTS to the table.
And in spite of what
the out-of-touch conventional media seems to think, Quebec’s future
within Canada is not looking all that good. And that looks pretty
good for the rest of Canada.
We owe Duceppe, Dion and Taliban
Jack our gratitude for finally pushing the envelope too far.
Best Regards . . . Howard Galganov
NOTE: There is
an associated ‘Radio Broadcast’ (approximately 18 minutes) with this
editorial, which can be heard simply by clicking Here
(on Galganov's site - radio button is located at the top right hand
side of the page.)
The Three (greedy)
Stooges (With apologies to the 3
Stooges)
'Moe' Duceppe,
'Curley' Layton, 'Larry'
Dion recipients of the "First Ever" 'EVIL'
Award..
Coalition government? If it does happen, get used to
it Canadians... this will be the way we are 'governed' from now on!
If opposition parties are allowed to form a coalition to overthrow a
duly-elected minority government, then every minority government
that is elected from this day on stands a real chance of being
overthrown in a "Legal Coup"! Let's face it, regardless of which
party is in 'power', the prime 'cause célèbre of any opposition
party is to topple the government and improve their lot in the
process, whether the ruling party is doing a good job or not!!.
Politicians tend to "learn" quickly and discovering a means of
gaining power through coalition will be too appealing to disregard.
As Lord Acton once said "Power tends to corrupt; absolute power
corrupts absolutely"! Responsible opposition in the halls of
parliament? That is becoming 'history" by the looks of it! The
'proper' process, where there is opposition to any government action
or inaction, is to challenge the ruling party in the House and in
doing so, sway public opinion to put pressure on that party. This is
how our Parliament is designed to work. Our forefathers never
contemplated a situation where opposition parties could
systematically join forces and collectively overthrow the party in
power. The only winner in this present debacle, is the Bloc
Quebecoise party! If the coalition is allowed to form a government,
Gilles Duceppe will be able to virtually dictate his terms -
otherwise he can easily threaten to side with the-then opposition,
the Conservatives, to form another "coalition" to topple the new
regime ... and so on.... It does not matter what paperwork may have
been signed guaranteeing" the coalition union - any party can opt
out at any time!
So we had better get used to turmoil, an
unstable Parliament, and the embarrassment of having Stephan Dion as
our "leader"! I normally vote Liberal - but that stopped when Dion
became leader of the party. He is an academic who is not known for
taking advice, 'knows better' than his caucus and advisors and is so
focused on his "green" policies that he has the potential of
seriously damaging our economy and playing havoc with our armed
forces and let's face it, his public image is lacking and he has
trouble speaking the English language which is somewhat irritating
for most Canadians. In the current unstable world economy, we do not
need this! What we need is stability, not an indecisive and unstable
government led by an almost 'lame duck' Prime Minister facing
elimination, supported by a provincial-based party hell-bent on
splitting up the country! What have Canadians done to deserve this?
We certainly did not vote for this! What an insult to all Canadians
- it is simply outrageous!
You probably missed it in the
local news, but there was a report that someone in Pakistan had
advertised in a newspaper an offer of a reward to anyone who killed
a Canadian - any Canadian.
An Australian dentist wrote the
following editorial to help define what a Canadian is, so they would
know one when they found one.
A Canadian can be English,
or French, or Italian, Irish, German, Spanish, Polish, Russian or
Greek. A Canadian can be Mexican, African, Indian, Chinese,
Japanese, Korean, Australian, Iranian, Asian, Arab, Pakistani or
Afghan.
A Canadian may also be a Cree, Métis, Mohawk,
Blackfoot, Sioux, or one of the many other tribes known as native
Canadians. A Canadian's religious beliefs range from Christian,
Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, Hindu or none. In fact, there are more
Muslims in Canada than in Afghanistan. The key difference is that in
Canada they are free to worship as each of them chooses. Whether
they have a religion or no religion, each Canadian ultimately
answers only to God, not to the government, or to armed thugs
claiming to speak for the government and for God.
A Canadian
lives in one of the most prosperous lands in the history of the
world. The root of that prosperity can be found in the Charter of
Rights and Freedoms which recognize the right of each person to the
pursuit of happiness.
A Canadian is generous and Canadians
have helped out just about every other nation in the world in their
time of need, never asking a thing in return. Canadians welcome the
best of everything, the best products, the best books, the best
music, the best food, the best services and the best minds. But they
also welcome the least - the oppressed, the outcast and the
rejected.
These are the people who built Canada. You can try
to kill a Canadian if you must as other blood-thirsty tyrants in the
world have tried but in doing so you could just be killing a
relative or a neighbour. This is because Canadians are not a
particular people from a particular place. They are the embodiment
of the human spirit of freedom. Everyone who holds to that spirit,
everywhere, can be a Canadian.
I AM
CANADIAN
Have we, as Canadians, been "too nice" for
"too long"?
I am in the minority in Calgary , Vancouver , Toronto
and every casino in this country. I was born in the forties, yet I
am somehow responsible for some First Nations people being screwed
out of their land in the 1700's! I pay import tax on cars made in
Ontario. I am allowed to skydive and smoke, but not allowed to drive
without a seat belt. All the money I make until mid July must go to
paying taxes. I live and work among people who believe Americans are
Ignorant.... These same people cannot name this country's new
territory.
On April 1st, 1999, the map of Canada changed for
the first time in 50 years with the creation of Nunavut Territory.
The Northwest Territories was split and approximately 2 million
square kilometres of the central and eastern arctic became ' Nunavut
'. Although I am sometimes forced to live on hamburgers and don't
have a pot to piss in, I sleep well knowing that my taxes helped
purchase a nice six figure home in Vancouver for some unskilled
refugee. Although many are unpatriotic and constantly try to
separate... Quebeck'ers still provide most of my nation's prime
ministers. 95% of my nation's international conflicts are over fish.
I'm supposed to call black people African Canadians, although I'm
Sure none of them have ever been to Africa for that matter. I am
being told that paying a 200% tax on alcohol is fair. I am also
being told that the same tax on gasoline is also fair. Even if I
have no idea what happened to that old rifle my Grandfather gave me
when I was 14, I will be considered a criminal if I don't register
it. I am being told that spending $15 billion to promote the French
language In the rest of Canada is fair when the province of Quebec
doesn't support or recognize the English language.
I am
being told that paying $1million for "3 Stripes" ('The Voice of Fire
painting in Ottawa ) by the National Art Gallery was a good
purchase, even though 99% of this country didn't want it or will
ever see it.
When I look at my pension and realize that I
take home half of what I actually make, I say "Oh well, at least we
have better health care than the Americans." I must bail out farmers
when their crops are too wet or too dry because I control the rain.
I must bail out big corporations who drive their business into the
ground and say 'yeah that's ok' when they move all their
manufacturing plants and jobs to a third world country and say 'no
problem'.
My National Anthem has versions in both official
languages. Canada is the highest taxed nation in North America, the
biggest military buffer for the United States , and the number one
destination for fleeing terrorists.
I am not an angry white
male. I am an angry taxpayer who is fed up! I am Canadian !!!
YOU WORRY
ME!!!
This pilot 'hit the nail' right on the head in his open
letter.
The paper stated today that some Muslim doctor is
saying we are profiling him because he has been checked three times
while getting on an airplane. The following is an actual letter
received from an airline pilot. This well-spoken man, who is a pilot
with American Airlines, says what is in his heart, beautifully....
Read, absorb and pass this on.
'YOU WORRY ME!'
By
American Airlines Pilot - Captain John Maniscalco
I've
been trying to say this since 911, but you worry me. I wish you
didn't. I wish when I walked down the streets of this country that I
love, that your color and culture still blended with the beautiful
human landscape we enjoy in this country. But you don't blend in
anymore. I notice you, and it worries me.
I notice you
because I can't help it anymore.
People from your homelands,
professing to be Muslims, have been attacking and killing my fellow
citizens and our friends for more than 20 years now. I don't fully
understand their grievances and hate, but I know that nothing can
justify the inhumanity of their attacks.
On September 11,
nineteen ARAB-MUSLIMS hijacked four jetliners in my country.
They cut the throats of women in front of children and
brutally stabbed to death others. They took control of those planes
and crashed them into buildings killing thousands of proud fathers,
loving sons, wise grandparents, elegant daughters, best friends,
favorite coaches, fearless public servants, and children's mothers.
The Palestinians celebrated, the Iraqis were overjoyed as
was most of the Arab world. So, I notice you now. I don't want to be
worried. I don't want to be consumed by the same rage and hate and
prejudice that has destroyed the soul of these terrorists But I need
your help. As a rational American, trying to protect my country and
family in an irrational and unsafe world, I must know how to tell
the difference between you, and the Arab/Muslim terrorist.
How do I differentiate between the true
Arab/Muslim-Americans and the Arab/Muslim terrorists in our
communities who are attending our schools, enjoying our parks, and
living in OUR communities under the protection of OUR constitution,
while they plot the next attack that will slaughter these same good
neighbors and children?
The events of September 11th changed
the answer. It is not my responsibility to determine which of you
embraces our great country, with ALL of its religions, with ALL of
its different citizens, with all of its faults. It is time for every
Arab/Muslim in this country to determine it for me.
I want to
know, I demand to know, and I have a right to know, whether or not
you love America . Do you pledge allegiance to its flag? Do you
proudly display it in front of your house, or on your car? Do you
pray in your many daily prayers that Allah will bless this nation,
that He will protect and prosper it? Or do you pray that Allah with
destroy it in one of your Jihad's? Are you thankful for the freedom
that only this nation affords? A freedom that was paid for by the
blood of hundreds of thousands of patriots who gave their lives for
this country? Are you willing to preserve this freedom by also
paying the ultimate sacrifice? Do you love America ? If this is your
commitment, then I need YOU to start letting ME know about it.
Your Muslim leaders in this nation should be flooding the
media at this time with hard facts on your faith, and what hard
actions you are taking as a community and as a religion to protect
the United States of America . Please, no more benign overtures of
regret for the death of the innocent because I worry about who you
regard as innocent. No more benign overtures of condemnation for the
unprovoked attacks because I worry about what is unprovoked to you.
I am not interested in any more sympathy. I am only interested in
action. What will you do for America - our great country - at this
time of crisis, at this time of war?
I want to see
Arab-Muslims waving the AMERICAN flag in the streets. I want to hear
you chanting 'Allah Bless America ' I want to see young Arab/Muslim
men enlisting in the military. I want to see a commitment of money,
time, and emotion to the victims of this butchering and to this
nation as a whole.
The FBI has a list of over 400 people
they want to talk to regarding the WTC attack. Many of these people
live and socialize right now in Muslim communities. You know them.
You know where they are. Hand them over to us, now! But I have seen
little even approaching this sort of action. Instead I have seen an
already closed and secretive community close even tighter. You have
disappeared from the streets. You have posted armed security guards
at your facilities. You have threatened lawsuits. You have screamed
for protection from reprisals.
The very few Arab/Muslim
representatives that HAVE appeared in the media were defensive and
equivocating. They seemed more concerned with making sure that the
United States proves who was responsible before taking action. They
seemed more concerned with protecting their fellow Muslims from
violence directed towards them in the United States and abroad than
they did with supporting our country and denouncing 'leaders' like
Khadafi, Hussein, Farrakhan, and Arafat.
If the true
teachings of Islam proclaim tolerance and peace and love for all
people, then I want chapter and verse from the Koran and statements
from popular Muslim leaders to back it up. What good is it if the
teachings in the Koran are good, and pure, and true, when your
'leaders' are teaching fanatical interpretations, terrorism, and
intolerance? It matters little how good Islam SHOULD BE if huge
numbers of the world's Muslims interpret the teachings of Mohammed
incorrectly and adhere to a degenerative form of the religion. A
form that has been demonstrated to us over and over again. A form
whose structure is built upon a foundation of violence, death, and
suicide. A form whose members are recruited from the prisons around
the world. A form whose members (some as young as five years old)
are seen day after day, week in and week out, year after year,
marching in the streets around the world, burning effigies of our
presidents, burning the American flag, shooting weapons into the
air. A form whose members convert from a peaceful religion, only to
take up arms against the great United States of America, the country
of their birth. A form whose rules are so twisted, that their
traveling members refuse to show their faces at airport security
checkpoints, in the name of Islam.
We will NEVER allow the
attacks of September 11, or any others for that matter, to take away
that which is so precious to us: Our rights under the greatest
constitution in the world. I want to know where every Arab Muslim in
this country stands and I think it is my right and the right of
every true citizen of this country to demand it. A right paid for by
the blood of thousands of my brothers and sisters who died
protecting the very constitution that is protecting you and your
family.
I am pleading with you to let me know. I want you
here as my brother, my neighbor, my friend, as a fellow American.
But there can be no gray areas or ambivalence regarding your
allegiance, and it is up to YOU, to show ME, where YOU stand. Until
then .
'YOU WORRY ME!'
I personally agree with this sentiment. I hope you
will forget all about the 'political correctness' mandate we've had
rammed down our throats, and see if this doesn't ring true in your
heart and mind. For Canada , with all the multiculturism that we've
been told is so important....why should we not, as Canadians, expect
that the millions of new people immigrating to our country will show
their love for our country, their allegiance to our country, their
willingness to obey the laws of our country, and acceptance that we
are a Christian country? Just because they are able to enjoy
exercising their own religion, they should not expect us to be
ashamed of ours. They knew Canada was a Christian country when they
came here. Why are we erasing Christianity because immigrants who
are unwilling to adopt our way of life expect us to? There is just
too much insanity in the world, and we have to start taking a stand!
If we dont... If we stand back and let this continue, the time will
come when WE are the minority... and when that happens, our
democratic ideals that we, as a nation have shed blood for, will be
used against us... through legitimate and democratic voting,
non-christian views will be inserted into our daily lives as laws.
Think of it!!! Worry about it!!! Worry for your grandchildren!!! If
we do not start dealing with this matter - THEY will have to, and
words may not be enough by then!!
Gotcha !!!!!!!
You bet they never saw it coming..... (video clip below)
Canadian Sniper wiping out Talaban Snipers. In
Afghanistan .. These video shots are not made through the shooter's
telescopic sight... they are made looking through the spotter's
scope. The spotter lies right next to the sniper and helps the
sniper to find and home in on the target.
The sniper is using
a 50 calibre rifle. A 50 cal. round is about 7-8 inches long and the
casing is about an inch in diameter. The bullet itself is one-half
inch in diameter and roughly one and one-half inches
long.
Pay close attention to the beginning of the video. A
Taliban is laying on top of the peak in front of you... when you
hear the shot fired.... watch what happens. The sniper is also about
a half mile away... or more.
A Canadian sniper in Afghanistan
has been confirmed as hitting an enemy soldier at a range of 2,310
meters, the longest recorded and confirmed sniper shot in history.
The previous record of 2,250 meters was set by US Marine sniper
Carlos Hathcock in Vietnam in 1967. The Canadian sniper was at an
altitude of 8,500 feet and the target, across a valley, was at 9,000
feet.
Canadian sniper units are world famous and have often
operated in support of US infantry units, which were grateful for
their help. The record lasted only one day however, until a second
Canadian sniper hit an enemy soldier at 2,400 meters (8,000 feet).
The Canadian snipers use special .50-calibre McMillan tactical
rifles, which are bolt-action weapons with five-round magazines. The
Canadian snipers were the only Canadian troops operating without
helmets or flak jackets as they had too much other equipment to
carry. Each three-man team has one sniper rifle, three standard
rifles (Canadian C7s), one of them with a 203mm grenade
launcher.
Here is the VIDEO
(2.3Mb) - astonishingly impressive... imagine hitting a target at
such a distance!!! WoW! ps... in case you want one of these
MacMillan .50 Cal rifles - you can get a McMillan - TAC-50 Tactical
Rifle, .50 BMG - for only $6,500.00 and a good scope may cost close
to that again - so those pesky groundhogs you are after better be
really big before you go this route!!
Salute To A Brave And Modest
Nation Sunday Telegraph Article From UK
wires: Kevin Myers, The Sunday Telegraph
LONDON - Until the deaths of Canadian
soldiers killed in Afghanistan , probably almost no one outside
their home country had been aware that Canadian troops are deployed
in the region. And as always, Canada will bury its dead, just as the
rest of the world, as always will forget its sacrifice, just as it
always forgets nearly everything Canada ever does.
It seems
that Canada's historic mission is to come to the selfless aid both
of its friends and of complete strangers, and then, once the crisis
is over, to be well and truly ignored.
Canada is the
perpetual wallflower that stands on the edge of the hall, waiting
for someone to come and ask her for a dance. A fire breaks out, she
risks life and limb to rescue her fellow dance-goers, and suffers
serious injuries. But when the hall is repaired and the dancing
resumes, there is Canada, the wallflower still, while those she once
helped glamorously cavort across the floor, blithely neglecting her
yet again.
That is the price Canada pays for sharing the
North American continent with the United States , and for being a
selfless friend of Britain in two global conflicts. For much of the
20th century, Canada was torn in two different directions: It seemed
to be a part of the old world, yet had an address in the new one,
and that divided identity ensured that it never fully got the
gratitude it deserved. Yet its purely voluntary contribution to the
cause of freedom in two world wars was perhaps the greatest of any
democracy.
Almost 10% of Canada 's entire population of
seven million people served in the armed forces during the First
World War, and nearly 60,000 died. The great Allied victories of
1918 were spearheaded by Canadian troops, perhaps the most capable
soldiers in the entire British order of battle.
Canada was
repaid for its enormous sacrifice by downright neglect, it's unique
contribution to victory being absorbed into the popular Memory as
somehow or other the work of the 'British.'
The Second World
War provided a re-run. The Canadian navy began the war with a half
dozen vessels, and ended up policing nearly half of the Atlantic
against U-boat attack. More than 120 Canadian warships participated
in the Normandy landings, during which 15,000 Canadian soldiers went
ashore on D-Day alone. Canada finished the war with the
third-largest navy and the fourth-largest air force in the world.
The world thanked Canada with the same sublime indifference
as it had the previous time. Canadian participation in the war was
acknowledged in film only if it was necessary to give an American
actor a part in a campaign in which the United States had clearly
not participated - a touching scrupulousness which, of course,
Hollywood has since abandoned, as it has any notion of a separate
Canadian identity.
So it is a general rule that actors and
filmmakers arriving in Hollywood keep their nationality - unless,
that is, they are Canadian. Thus Mary Pickford, Walter Huston,
Donald Sutherland, Michael J. Fox, William Shatner, Norman Jewison,
David Cronenberg, Alex Trebek, Art Linkletter and Dan Aykroyd have
in the popular perception become American, and Christopher Plummer,
British.
It is as if, in the very act of becoming famous, a
Canadian ceases to be Canadian, unless she is Margaret Atwood, who
is as unshakably Canadian as a moose, or Celine Dion, for whom
Canada has proved quite unable to find any takers.
Moreover,
Canada is every bit as querulously alert to the achievements of it's
sons and daughters as the rest of the world is completely unaware of
them. The Canadians proudly say of themselves - and are unheard by
anyone else - that 1% of the world's population has provided 10% of
the world's peacekeeping forces. Canadian soldiers in the past half
century have been the greatest peacekeepers on Earth - in 39
missions on UN mandates, and six on non-UN peacekeeping duties, from
Vietnam to East Timor, from Sinai to Bosnia.
Yet the only
foreign engagement that has entered the popular on-Canadian
imagination was the sorry affair in Somalia , in which
out-of-control paratroopers murdered two Somali infiltrators. Their
regiment was then disbanded in disgrace - a uniquely Canadian act of
self-abasement for which, naturally, the Canadians received no
international credit.
So who today in the United States
knows about the stoic and selfless friendship its northern neighbour
has given it in Afghanistan?
Rather like Cyrano de Bergerac,
Canada repeatedly does honourable things for honourable motives, but
instead of being thanked for it, it remains something of a figure of
fun.
It is the Canadian way, for which Canadians should be
proud, yet such honour comes at a high cost. This past year more
grieving Canadian families knew that cost all too tragically well
Crap that politicians spout just
to get elected
Like most of us up here on the "other" side of the
48th parallel, following the US election Primaries runup is both
interesting and quite entertaining at times - especially with the
race between Democrat contenders Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack
Obama. That "competition" has progressed from civility to downright
nasty to "silly". The latest appeal, in an attempt to appease Labour
in some northern states, involves renegotiating the NAFTA (North
American Free Trade) agreement. That agreement, signed in 1992 is
basically as the name implies - tariff-free movement of goods
between the two countries (as well as Mexico who signed the
agreement too). To make a long story short, as far as Canada is
concerned there will be no negotiation and the agreement will remain
intact. The US has some cause to be concerned about the agreement
but in those cases, it invariably involves Mexican trade - where
Mexico's low labour costs undermine the US (and to a degree,
Canadian) labour market. The podium rhetoric coming from Clinton and
Obama suggests that the US will demand change, it's political and
economic clout being the leverage necessary to persuade Canada and
Mexico into change. Well, surprise-time! As far as Canadian trade
under NAFTA is concerned, it simply "ain't gonna happen"! It is a
sad statement but a true one, to suggest that the average American
has no clue about what cessation of the agreement with Canada could
mean to the US. The average US citizen would be flabbergasted to
learn that Canada is, by far, the largest supplier of oil, natural
gas and electricity to the US. Combine that with the proven fact
that the Canadian NAFTA agreement really does not cost American jobs
and you have a scenario that all these promises to "renegotiate"
NAFTA will simply not happen as such renegotiation would only result
in Canada's position being improved - to the detriment of the US. Of
course, that statement will bring the US "Hawks" out of the woodwork
as any "threat" to oil, gas or electricity supply to the US could,
in their minds, be answered with the threat of US military
intervention. Good luck there folks! Canada is not even close to
being a military match to the us - nor does it ever want to be - but
what military strength it can muster could be a real problem to any
US military aggression. Back in 1974, ex-general Richard Rhomer
wrote a book titled "Exxoneration" (Simon & Schuster &
Pocket Books - # 671-80368-9, also published by McLellan &
Stewart 1976) involving Esso Canada buying out Exxon in the US,
and restricting energy flow to the US as a result of a harsh winter
- resulting in hardship south of the border. The US response was to
"bully" and attempt a military invasion. Bad decision - it did not
work militarily and was eventually squashed due to international
involvement. Good reading, even in today's theatre where technology
has improved substantially.
So, Senators Clinton and Obama -
we respect your appeals to the Labour force in an attempt to sway
votes, but be realistic... stop touting "clout" and respect what the
agreement presently does for you - and speaking of a forced
renegotiation is really "hollow words" to those who know what the
true situation is. Never forget that Canada is a small country
compared to the US and has a small military but by all international
standards, probably the best-trained in the world (sorry - but that
is a fact) and back in WW2, although it's population was half of
what it is today, Canada was able to put 1,000,000 men in the field
and by war's end had the thrid largest navy in the world! Not bad
for a small nation!! So please speak with reason and stop the
political rhetoric - just in case some dolt in the US Congress
starts seriously thinking without all the facts.
Americans,
we actually like you and get along fine with you - we are so alike
in many ways - but please get your politicians in line! Silly
statements we can ignore... but if anyone gets serious... different
story! 'nuff said.
Is it Ignorance or just plain
Stupidity? (or just a craving for
attention?)
Many of us have
received an E-Mail message circulating the internet, in support of
coalition forces overseas in Afghanistan and Iraq. Many of the
attached photos are touching and indicative of what our troops are
doing for us, but one of the photos - the one here - really "ticks
me off"! Two mindless women aka idiots, who are not only attempting
to send their" message" - whatever that is - but are also defacing
their country's flag (they appear to be Americans from background
images). Life has not been too bad for them as they look well
(overly?) fed - guess that they just have a problem being
appreciative of the good life living in the West offers them!
Protest is acceptable if there is a just cause and many of us have
differing views on what is going on in Afghanistan or Iraq - but
those opinions should be based on the politics of the matter -
focused on the decision-makers and their decisions - not on the
people asked to carry out those decisions - the troops. There are
many like myself who feel that there is a cause to be in the
conflict zone in the middle east, based on the thinking that there
is a real problem to be solved (Islamic militancy) and better it be
solved over there than in our back yard! The troops are putting
their lives on the line so we can enjoy a free lifestyle - something
these chubby and misguided women have either forgotton or whose
parents neglected to tell them in the first place. Oh! for the
possibility of shoving a burkha over their fat little heads and
shipping them somewhere like Iran, Syria or Saudi-Arabia - to watch
what happens when they try their little protest antics over there!
Wouldn't that be fun?? Grow up girls - get a life/schooling/job -
whatever it takes - you obviously have too much time on your hands
and that excess time allows your feeble little brains to come up
with stupid ideas! 'Nuff said!
HOW ALL GOVERNMENT PHONES IN
CANADA SHOULD BE ANSWERED??
"GOOD MORNING, WELCOME TO CANADA".
"Press '1' for English".
"Press '2' to disconnect
until you learn to speak English."
Have a Very Merry
Christmas..
I hope everyone is having a very merry
Christmas. We just watched the Queen's annual Christmas message. One
thing that immediately struck us all was how she addressed the
"Christmas" issue. What jumped into our minds is what the reaction
might be in Canada as the Queen mentioned only one religion,
Christianity. Of course, the UK culture is Christian-based and
Christmas is a Christian celebration. Stephen Harper, Canadian Prime
Minister, in his Christmas message, went one step farther,
mentioning both the Christian and Jewish religions. What will
invariably happen - and that is truly sad - is that in days to come,
letters will appear in newspapers, written by non-Christian or
non-Jewish parties or representatives, crying about the fact that
the PM, or Queen for that matter, does not treat their religion in
the same manner.
What these groups forget is that Canada, and
England as well, is a "Christian" culture. Canadians are amongst the
world's most tolerant people when it comes to recognizing and
accepting other faiths and beliefs. Our beliefs, our faith, our
day-to-day activities, mores and 'culture' is historically based on
the Christian faith and morality. As the demographics and "face" of
the population changes, the culture changes a little bit of course,
but there will be a "line in the sand" over which any movement away
from a Christian culture cannot be allowed to cross. To become a
"Canadian" means acceptance of our culture, beliefs and way of life.
It does not mean attempting to force another 'culture' on the rest
of the country ( such as the recent situation in Ontario where
attempts to introduce 'Sharia Law' into our legal system were
properly thwarted!!). So, to new Canadians and immigrants wishing to
become Canadians, I say this.. "Welcome, enjoy your life here and be
successful. We will respect your beliefs and faith BUT you will have
to adapt to OUR culture - we will accept and tolerate yours,
but we will NOT adapt to yours."
While on the subject of
Christmas - to all our troops overseas in Afghanistan, and
elsewhere, a very Merry Christmas as well. What you are doing is
'right'. Too many people, normally pacifist-minded types who have
not thought the situation through, suggest we should not have troops
in Afghanistan or anywhere else for that matter. They suggest we
should "turn the other cheek" and allow countries such as
Afghanistan to "do their own thing"! Anyone thinking this way is
naive and misguided if they think that the Taliban and other
terrorist groups will settle down and restrict their activities to a
local area, if the "infidels" or westerners disappear. To them I
suggest that some homework be done... look into what Al Quada and
other Muslim Fundamentalist terror groups say - that their aim is to
eradicate "Infidels", especially Christianity - as tolerating 'false
faiths' is unacceptable to their beliefs (in their minds). The
message these activists are sending is that if they had their
"druthers", all societies would adhere to the faith of Islam and
governments would conform to Islamic rule. So... to the
tree-huggers, do-good'ers and pacifists who are quick to claim that
'turning the other cheek' is the proper response to terror, I ask
that they consider what life would be like in a fundamentalist
world. Restricted freedoms of action and speech, no "Christmas" to
celebrate or any other Christian display of faith, reduced rights
for women, civil law and behaviour regulations that would be
intolerable to most, no freedom of speech, controlled media and
entertainment - in effect, prison life without the walls or barbed
wire. Let me put it this way... if we took every one of these
complainers and put them into a camp somewhere, where life would
emulate what it would really be like in the above fundamentalist
ruled world, then I suggest, we would soon have no more complainers!
So.. regarding Afghanistan, better we "solve" the problem over there
than have to "solve" it over here, in otherwords, "nip it in the
bud"!!
TIME TO 'DRAW THE
LINE" Enough is
Enough...!
This may make me a "redneck" in some minds,
possibly even a "racist" ...... BUT ..... I am sorry but,
after hearing they want to sing the National Anthem in Hindi, -
enough is enough. Nowhere did they sing it in Italian, Japanese,
Polish, Irish (Celtic), German, Portuguese, Greek, or any other
language because of immigration.
It was written in English,
adapted into co-founding French, and should be sung word for word
the way it was written.
The news broadcasts even gave the
Hindi translation -- not even close!
Sorry if this offends
anyone but this is MY COUNTRY - and I am deeply offended by a
group of newcomers trying to change our culture and lifestyle! I am
not against immigration, this country was built on the backs of
valued hard-working immigrants. All we ask of newcomers is just
arrive like everyone else. Get a sponsor; have a place to lay your
head; have a job; pay your taxes, live by the rules AND LEARN THE
LANGUAGE as all other immigrants have done in the past -- and LONG
LIVE CANADA!
DON'T BE PART OF THE PROBLEM:
Think about this: If you don't want to express your
views for fear of offending someone -----YOU ARE! You are offending
all proud Canadians who value their way of life and culture. Yes,
Canada has a 'culture'! It may be a mix of other cukltures but it is
based on an English or French speaking environment where Christian
values and sensibilities are practiced and adhered to. Our laws and
mores are based on this "culture" so if you do not like it or are
unwilling/unable to adapt and adopt - then please go
elsewhere!
Will we still be the Country of Choice and still
be 'CANADA' if we continue to make the changes forced on us by
people from other countries that came to live in CANADA because it
is one of the best countries in the world to live in???????
Think about it!
IMMIGRANTS, NOT CANADIANS, MUST
ADAPT!!
It is time for CANADA to speak up.
Those Poor Poor mistreated
Taliban Prisoners..
AW
MY GAWD!!! Guess what... according to the Canadian media, everyone
is aghast at the possibility that Taliban prisoners might have been
abused after they were turned over to Afghan authorities by our
troops. What a sad thought!! These murdering swine - you know,
roadside bombs and IED's blowing up innocent bystanders and
children, kidnappings and the occasional beheading, promises to
continue the Fatwa against all infidels (non muslims) and to crush
any and all religions apart from Islam. These thugs even terrorize,
maim and kill their own people!
Did nearly three thousand
men, women and children, including a number of Canadians, die a
horrible, burning or crushing death on September 11, 2001 or didn't
they? And was support and encouragement of those terrorists not
traced to the Afghanistan Taliban?
And today I'm supposed to
care that Taliban prisoners might be "mistreated" after capture by
Canadian troops? Not By Canadian troops but AFTER they're turned
over by Canadian troops.
Well, I don't. I don't care at all.
I'll start caring when Osama bin Laden turns himself in and
repents for incinerating all those innocent people on 9/11.
I'll care about the Koran when the idiotic fanatics in the
Middle East start caring about the Holy Bible, the mere possession
of which is a crime in Saudi Arabia.
I'll care when these
cowardly thugs tell the world they are sorry for killing far too
many Canadian kids, pressed into service to rescue Afghan Muslims
from themselves.
I'll care when the cowardly so-called
"insurgents" in Afghanistan come out and fight like men instead of
disrespecting their own religion by hiding in mosques. They are not
soldiers! They are mindless terrorists.
I'll care when the
stupid zealots who blow themselves up in search of nirvana care
about the innocent children within range of their suicide bombs.
I'll care when the Canadian media stops pretending that
international law should prevail in a fight with religious fanatics.
In the meantime, when I hear a story about a Taliban
terrorist getting roughed up to obtain information, know this: I
don't care.
When I see a wounded terrorist get shot in the
head when he is told not to move because he might be booby-trapped,
you can take it to the bank: I don't care.
When I hear that
a prisoner, who was issued a Koran and a prayer Mat, and fed
"special" food that is paid for by my tax dollars, is complaining
that his holy book is being "mishandled," you can absolutely believe
in your heart of hearts: I don't care.
I do care however
about the Liberals and NDP taking up time in Question Period and
making this a cause celebre. I care a whole lot that these bastards
are wasting our tax dollars giving this a moment's thought. I care
that they dare claim this Afghan prisoner bullshit "is a concern of
all Canadians". Here's one Canadian who absolutely, positively
doesn't give a shit.
Consider this... if a loved one, your
spouse, girlfriend/boyfriend, brother or sister, or other
relative/close friend is in danger and their death can only be
stopped by obtaining information from an individual - what lengths
would YOU go to to obtain that info? You bet the issue of "torture"
would not come up. So - if these murderers, who would slit your
throat without blinking an eye fo no reason at all, are roughed up a
bit - do you Really care? Bet you don't if you are honest
with yourself!
The
Plan!.
You gotta love Robin Williams......
Even if he's nuts! Leave it to Robin Williams to come up with the
perfect plan. What we need now is for our UN Ambassador to stand up
and repeat this message. Here is Robin Williams' plan...(Hard to
argue with this logic!)
"I see a lot of people yelling
for peace but I have not heard of a plan for peace. So, here's one
plan."
1) "The US will apologize to the world for our
"interference" in their affairs, past & present. You know,
Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, Tojo, Noriega, Milosevic, Hussein, and
the rest of those "good ole boys", we will never "interfere" again.
2) We will withdraw our troops from all over the world,
starting with Germany , South Korea , the Middle East, and the
Philippines . They don't want us there. We would station troops at
our borders. No one allowed sneaking through holes in the fence.
3) All illegal aliens have 90 days to get their affairs
together and leave.We'll give them a free trip home. After 90 days
the remainder will be gathered up and deported immediately,
regardless of whom or where they are. They're illegal! !! France
will welcome them.
4) All future visitors will be thoroughly
checked and limited to 90 days unless given a special permit!!!! No
one from a terrorist nation will be allowed in. If you don't like it
there, change it yourself and don't hide here. Asylum would never be
available to anyone. We don't need any more cab drivers or 7-11
cashiers.
5) No foreign "students" over age 21. The older
ones are the bombers. If they don't attend classes, they get a "D"
and it's back home baby .
6) The US will make a strong
effort to become self-sufficient energy wise. This will include
developing nonpolluting sources of energy but will require a
temporary drilling of oil in the Alaskan wilderness. The caribou
will have to cope for a while.
7) Offer Saudi Arabia and
other oil producing countries $10 a barrel for their oil. If they
don't like it, we go someplace else(like Canada! or Oklahoma!). They
can go somewhere else to sell their production. (About a week of the
wells filling up the storage sites would be enough.)
8) If
there is a famine or other natural catastrophe in the world, we will
not "interfere." They can pray to Allah or whomever, for seeds,
rain, cement or whatever they need. Besides most of what we give
them is stolen or given to the army. The people who need it most get
very little, if anything.
9) Ship the UN Headquarters to an
isolated island someplace. We don't need the spies and fair weather
friends here. Besides, the building would make a good homeless
shelter or lockup for illegal aliens.
10) All Americans must
go to charm and beauty school. That way , no one can call us "Ugly
Americans" any longer. The Language we speak is ENGLISH...learn
it..or LEAVE...Now, isn't that a winner of a plan?
The
Statue of Liberty is no longer saying "Give me your tired, your
poor, your huddled masses." She's got a baseball bat and she's
yelling, 'you want a piece of me?'
UK Repossesses U.S.A.
A Message from John Cleese to the citizens of the
United States of America:
In light of your
failure to elect a competent President of the USA and thus show that
you can govern yourselves, we hereby give notice of the revocation
of your independence, effective immediately.
- Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will resume
Monarchical duties over all states, Commonwealths, and territories
(excepting Kansas, which She does not fancy).
- Your new prime minister, Tony Blair, will appoint a governor
for America without the need for further elections.
- The Senate will be disbanded (a questionnaire may be
circulated next year to determine whether any of you noticed).
- You will obtain a copy of the Oxford English Dictionary
- 1. Look up aluminium, and check the pronunciation guide.
You will be amazed at just how wrongly you have been pronouncing
it.
- 2. The letter 'U' will be reinstated in words such as
'favour' and 'neighbour.' Likewise, you will learn to spell
'doughnut' without skipping half the letters and the suffix
-size will be replaced by the suffix -is. Generally, you will be
expected to raise your vocabulary to acceptable levels (look up
'vocabulary').
- 3. There is no such thing as US English. We will let
Microsoft know on your behalf. The Microsoft spell-checker will
be adjusted to take account of the reinstated letter 'u' and the
elimination of -size. You will relearn your original national
anthem, God Save The Queen.
- 4. July 4th will no longer be celebrated as a holiday.
- 5. You will learn to resolve personal issues without using
guns, lawyers, or therapists. The fact that you need so many
lawyers and therapists shows that you're not adult enough to be
independent.
- 6. Guns should only be handled by adults. If you're not
adult enough to sort things out without suing someone or
speaking to a therapist then you're not grown up enough to
handle a gun. Therefore, you will no longer be allowed to own or
carry anything more dangerous than a vegetable peeler. A permit
will be required if you wish to carry a vegetable peeler in
public.
- 7. All intersections will be replaced with roundabouts,
and you will start driving on the left with immediate effect. At
the same time, you will go metric with immediate effect and
without the benefit of conversion tables. Both roundabouts and
metrication will help you understand the British sense of
humour.
- 8. The Former USA will adopt UK prices on petrol (which
you have been calling gasoline) -- roughly $6/US gallon. Get
used to it.
- 9. You will learn to make real chips. Those things you
call French fries are not real chips, and those things you
insist on calling potato chips are properly called crisps. Real
chips are thick cut, fried in animal fat, and dressed not with
catsup but with malt vinegar.
- 10. The cold tasteless stuff you insist on calling beer is
not actually beer at all. Henceforth, only proper British Bitter
will be referred to as Beer, and European brews of known and
accepted provenance will be referred to as Lager. American
brands will be referred to as Near-Frozen Gnat's Urine, so that
all can be sold without risk of further confusion.
- 11. Hollywood will be required occasionally to cast
English actors as good guys. Hollywood will also be required to
cast English actors to play English characters. Watching Andie
Macdowell attempt English dialogue in Four Weddings and a
Funeral was an experience akin to having ones ears removed with
a cheese grater.
- 12. You will cease playing American football. There is
only one kind of proper football; you call it soccer. Those of
you brave enough will, in time, be allowed to play rugby (which
has some similarities to American Football, but does not involve
stopping for a rest every twenty seconds or wearing full kevlar
body Armour like a bunch of nancies.
- 13. Further, you will stop playing baseball. It is not
reasonable to host an event called the World Series for a game
which is not played outside of America. Since only 2.1% of you
are aware that there is a world beyond your borders, your error
is understandable. You will learn to play cricket.
- 14. You must tell us who killed JFK. It's been driving us
mad.
- 15. An internal revenue agent (i.e. Tax collector) from
Her Majesty's Government will be with you shortly to ensure the
acquisition of all monies due (backdated to 1776).
- 16. Daily Tea Time begins promptly at 4 pm with proper
cups, never mugs, with high quality biscuits (cookies) and
cakes; strawberries in season.
Regards,
John Cleese
Saddam Hussein Convicted -
gets Death Penalty
( that is if they can catch
him...)
Isn't it time to stop
'pussyfooting'
around??
I
don't know about you, but I'm getting concerned about the new trends
to avoid saying anything that may offend someone - even when it
should be said and especially so when the 'offensive comment'
regards something that is widly known and accepted! Are we turning
into a bunch of gutless wimps, overly concerned about upsetting
someone or some group that needs chastizing??
I think it's
time to "Say it like it is"! To hell with being concerned about
'ruffling feathers'!
A couple of points in question.. (1)
If you watch CTV, CBC or Global news, or happen to look at a
newspaper occasionally, you will see that stories involving crime in
Toronto and some other major cities rarily involve caucasians. This
comment will undoubtedly upset some black Canadians (and others) but
the statistics do suggest that there is a disproportionate ratio of
black, especially Jamacian immigrant, incarcerations regarding
violent criminal incidents in Toronto! We have all seen or heard
about the statement '80% of the crime is perpetrated by 5% of the
population". The police know this and occasionally someone
speaks out but is quickly stomped on by the offended minority group
- you know, outraged news interviews, protest marches to City Hall
etc. Now before I start to receive reams of spam, all this is not
really a racist comment, because I am simply not a racist! It is
strictly an observation based on well-known and documented fact and
statistics. We, as a population, are so wrapped up in avoiding
contraversy that we hide from the problem(s) - and as a result,
impede the possibility of correcting or cleaning up the
problems!
(2) OK! If people are going to yell at me, why not
get it all out!! Let's discuss another 'taboo' area - radical
thinking Islamist extremism! Why is it that virtually all the
world's violent problem areas involve Islamic extremists? (the only
notable exception being North Korea). Think about it! Indonesia, the
Serbian Croat matter, Sri Lanka, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan,
the British bombings, 9/11, the Spanish train bombing, riots in
France, Russia's 'Georgian' problem, the Danish cartoon issue, the
13 Toronto 'terrorists' - on and on... and on! Some countries are
starting to take note of this! France is tightening it's immigration
rules (and so is Britain) when it involves Muslims. ( In effect, the
'welcome mat' is no longer 'out'!) Australia has taken a hard-line
approach and is openly telling immigrants that they should absorb
themselves into the Australian christian culture and if they do not
like this, please stay away or 'go home'!
Now we all
appreciate that the vast majority of followers of Islam are law
abiding and non-violent citizens - at least in this country. It is
commonplace to simply consider the fundamentalists as an aberration
that does not impact all muslims. But is that the case? We read
about and hear stories almost daily about Imam's standing up in
mosques in the free world, refusing to overly chastize extremists
and constantly reminding the muslim community that they are the
chosen ones, christians are infidels or second-rate citizens! What
does all this do to the mind of the average muslim? I do not know, I
am not a psychologist or sociologist but what I think I see is a
'quiet' acceptance of the goals of the fundamentalists albeit with a
slight abhorrance of their violent methods. In otherwords, I
honestly believe that the majority of muslims have a deep-down and
secret hope that one day muslims will 'rule' and that all the
infidels (non-muslim) will disappear or convert to Islam! It is this
inherent thinking that sometimes bubbles to the surface and prompts
otherwise decent individuals to take violent action! The British
subway bombing incidents support this I think!
So, what can
be done? Well, for starters, let's stop entertaining the belief that
Muslims have a right to insert their religious laws and rules into
our culture. Luckily (and I hate to say 'smartly' when it comes to
politicians) the Ontario government 'shot down' Islamic pressure to
have Sharia law accepted as a legal parallel to our civil law in the
province. It was close mind you, there was an element in the
government who may have accepted the approach rather than offend
anyone - and the results would eventually have created a problem. In
case you do not know, Sharia law 1s a set of Islamic religious laws
that is archaic in that it suppresses women's rights, imposes
inhuman punishment for relatively minor offences and in may ways,
stands against many things that we accept as being constitutional or
'normal'! If followers of Islam cannot adopt our mores and standards
then they should not be here! Like Australia, it should be made
clear to would-be immigrants that certain things are expected of
them and if they cannot accept these principles, then do not come
here. Also, we should be more cautious about which immigrants we let
into the country from other cultures. We want responsible citizens
who are willing to work hard and enjoy the fruits of their labour.
We do not want nor will we tolerate immigrants bent on misusing our
social support mechanisms. Our whole immigration policy needs
overhauling. Entering Canada ( or any other modern
christian-cultured country) should be a privilige, not a 'right'
guaranteed by family ties. If you are accepted into the country then
it should not ge a "given" that your whole extended family gets to
come here as well. That is often where the reality of economic
pressures starts resulting in impoverished lifestyles and the
criminal result. We are a tolerant society but 'enough is enough'!
When our social values get threatened and safety, lifestyle and
culture get targeted, then we must act! Time to get the politicians
wakened up and earning their pay, representing our values. If we
leave it too long, we will lose that opportunity as future elected
politicians may not represent 'our' views. Just consider a
parliament heavily weighted in favour of certain minorities or
Muslims - what may be the result! Does not bode well people, not
well at all! Getting nervous?
Time to change the
Rules..
Only
in Canada.
Do not apply for your old age pension.
Apply to be a refugee instead. It is interesting that the federal
government provides a single refugee with a monthly allowance of
$1,890.00 and each can apply to get an additional $580.00 in social
assistance, for a total of up to $2,470.00.
This is in
contrast to a single Canadian pensioner who, after contributing to
the growth and development of Canada for 40 or 50 years, can receive
a monthly maximum of only $1,012.00 in old age pension and
Guaranteed Income Supplement.
Maybe our pensioners should
apply as refugees? Let's send this thought to as many Canadians as
we can and maybe we can get the refugee allowances cut back to
$1,012.00 and the pensions increased up to $2,470.00, so pensioners
can enjoy the money they were forced to submit to the
Canadian government for those 40 to 50 years.
Or here is
another thought, why not increase pensions to $2,470.00 and every
pensioner can send half of the increase of $1,458.00, or $729.00
directly overseas so that the refugees will not have to come here -
that way everyone wins. Potential refugees can improve their
standard of living and remain in the cultural environment they
choose and not have to arrive here with a strong desire to change
ours, and pensioners will receive a significant pension increase and
not have to worry about being subjected to the whims and fancies of
a non-christian increasing minority bent on changing our culture and
way of life to correspond to their beliefs! We value our culture, we
value the equality between men and women, we value our capitalist
economy, we do not want non-christian religious fanatics dictating
our laws and using violence as a social control agent - so as I said
above, it will be a "win-win" situation and as a side effect, Canada
will win accolades from the international community for helping out
citizens of non-Christian countries! Let's go-fer-it!
Time for a new
approach????
If it ain't broke... don't fix
it!! If it works... use it!
- The UN - Stupid or just plain useless? -
August 2006 - Been sort of
quiet over the summer - so much to do, too little time to do it
in... but once in a while something arises that deserves a good
rant! Recent actions by the United Nations certainly deserve
criticism. ('United Nations' - what a misnomer - nothing 'united'
about this body that really rewrites the definition of the word
"useless"!)!
The UN Secretary General Kofi Annan is upset
about the aggression of Israel against the poor innocent Hezbollah
in Lebanon - or that's the way his message appears. The quiet-spoken
and obviously naive UN head wants Israel to pull back and stop
"terrorizing" Lebanon and the Hezbollah. Any mention of Hezbollah
ceasing it's terror tactics against Israel? Nope - nary a word! Talk
about having blinders on! (or is it a case of "UN
stupidity'?)
If anyone exists who has not read a paper,
watched TV or listened to a radio broadcast recently, the story is
simply this: Israel is a small, successful nation of Jews surrounded
by Arab countries (primarily Muslim) and bordered on the west by the
Mediterranean sea. The Arab countries would all like to see Israel
disappear once and for all! Over the years there have been
skirmishes and wars with Israel involving Iran, Syria, Iraq, Egypt,
Jordan - effectively every nation in the area. Not once has Israel
actually "started" the action! Israel does not want additional land,
they have all the sand they need. They are secure in their religious
beliefs and are not concerned what religious beliefs their
neighbours want to follow. They just want to be left alone, in
peace, to pursue their economic and social goals - period! They have
better things to do with their limited resources than maintain a
large and expensive armed force!
On the other side, Muslims
in general consider Israel as a state of Infidels. Radical Muslims
see Israel as a threat?? and enemy who must be opposed, and
Hezbollah (translation, "Party of God" - another misnomer) have
adopted the total destruction of Israel as a primary part of their
doctrine and 'religious' belief.
So - Hezbollah initiate
raids and bombings into Israel, kidnap and murder Israelis - and no
one in the Arab world blinks an eye. Israel finally "has had enough"
and reacts to a kidnapping of soldiers with air raids into Lebanon
to attack Hezbollah strongholds. Hezbollah, apparently from all
accounts, was awaiting (and hoping for) this move and reacts by
indiscriminately firing hundreds of uncontrolled rockets back into
Israel - not aiming for military targets, but aiming for population
centers - and the rockets are designed to kill and maim civilians -
clearly weapons of terror! Israel then decides to create a "buffer
zone" along the Israel/Lebanon border to make it difficult for
Hezbolla to continue to fire these weapons. Clearly then, Hezbollah
is the agressor and Israel is defending itself and taking steps to
protect it's sovereignty and protect it's citizens.
But for
the UN, Israel should accept and disregard these attacks by
Hezbollah and should refrain from air raids and incursions into
Lebanon. As I said - "stupidity" and a total lack of realism
sponsored, primarily, by politically and religiously motivated
member countries.
Part of the problem is that the UN in
general and some sub-committees in particular have become
disproportionately staffed by representatives from Muslim populated
nations. The majority of emerging third world nations have a large
muslim population and despite claims to the contrary, most muslims,
even moderates, would not shed a tear if Israel ceased to exist! So
these countries have naturally adopted an "anti-Israel" and "pro
everyone else" stance. The United States, currently the "great evil"
capitalist and imperialistic war mongering nation in the eyes of
Islamic radicals, is an open supporter of Israel and supplies Israel
with it's war machinery. So even those moderates who might even
quietly sympathize with Israel's plight, cannot say much for fear of
appearing "pro American"! Bottom line is that the UN is hevily
biaised against Israel's interests and it shows every time an issue
arises. On top of that, many western nations love an opportunity to
take political advantage of situations like this, for their own
aims. Iran and Syria supply Hezbollah with weapons - which originate
in Russia and China. Russia and China do not want to disrupt this
lucrative arms trade so they do not openly support Israel as they
should. Other European nations depend on oil supplies from the
middle east that might be impacted if they show open support for
Israel - so they sit close-mouthed!
The UN Security Council
is currently bogged down in a debate about a "Peace Plan" that will
not really work. Hezbollah will never stop attempting to destroy
Israel - as mentioned above, it is part of their belief. No treaty
or agreement can stop them entirely - the only sure means of
limiting their efforts is to make it hard for them to attack from a
distance using rockets and missiles and to ensure this, Israel's
military program is to control a buffer zone along the border! The
UN is leaning towards letting Lebanon control this zone but that
will not work! The Lebanese government is pro-Hezbollah and it's
so-so military proven ineffective so the chances of them actually
controlling Hezbollah within the buffer zone are slim to
nonexistant!
Until someone, probably from within the Arab
world, convinces Hezbollah and other radical muslin organizations to
pull back, Israel will have to continue protecting itself in the
only way history has proven effective - militarily! The
"do-good'ers" and "tree huggers" may mean well but, as usual, they
are naive and ineffective - and the UN is too "political" and
biaised to really do anything constructive.
Oh, did I mention
that the UN Human Rights Council is about to meet to 'investigate'
(condemn) Israel's activities in the conflict? Apparently they will
not criticize Hezbollah for it's obvious terror actions but will
focus on Israel's activities. Lebanon's claims of huge numbers of
casualties are fuelling this attitude of course. One problem is that
Lebanese claims appear largely distorted - for example, Lebanese
Prime Minister Fouad Siniora claimed a raid on Houla killed around
40 civilians. The actual number turns out to be about "one", also at
lease one Lebanese war photographer has been caught "enhancing"
casualty photographs supplied to Reuters! The second problem is that
the representation on the UN Human Rights Council is largely from
Muslim countries - and their bias is indeed showing!
Where
will it all end? Who knows, but rest assured, if Israel is pressed
too much and if she ever reaches the state where her existance is
truly in peril, she will take any step to protect herself and
if she has to resort to using nuclear weapons to survive then she
certainly will - she has nothing to lose at that point and the views
of any other nation will not prevent her acting in her own defence.
Israel has had the "Jericho" nuclear weapon for many years - and she
has many of them as well as other limited yield nuclear weapons. So
radical muslim and arab nations - be careful, be VERY careful, and
tread softly.. that scorched earth and big hole in the ground could
be YOU someday!
Most Political Parties are
filled by basically honest members but include a few
thieves!
The Liberal Party is filled by thieves but includes
a few honest people!
Therein lies the
difference!!
Occasionally a picture cartoon
says it all! This one certainly
does!
cartoon - Ottawa Citizen - Tuesday May 23d 2006
CLICK for larger
image
Am I the only one who thinks the world has gone
nuts?
Just a couple of news items that crossed my desk lately which
made me stop and wonder 'what the heck is going
on...?"
Firstly - and this was in the news last week -
a fellow in Quebec was charged with bilking a religious order out of
over sixteen million dollars. Apparently this fellow encouraged a
relatively unknown order of nuns - the Sisters of Notre Dame du Bon
Conseil, to invest in some bum hotel properties which went belly up,
and he charged them a fee of one million dollars for this nefarious
advice. My question has nothing to do with the crime or other
allegations but more with wondering what the heck a small and
insignificant group of nuns, pledged to a life and poverty who are
supposedly trying to help out the impoverished, are doing with
millions of dollars kicking around? They lost 16 millions - just
wonder what the total amount of their cash "holdings" is? Add in
obvious property values and you have a very money heavy group of
women! Shouldn'y some of those millions be used to do what their
"goal" suggests they be doing - helping out the
poor?
Secondly - who is this 'nutbar' Dyan Adams, the
so-called crusader for Francophone rights in Canada? The military
will be receiving a new armoured vehicle - the "Stryker" - an 8
wheeled vehicle with a lot of armament that is going to be added to
the arsenal of the Strathona Horse Regiment in Edmonton. This is a
fully anglophone armoured regiment - I know as I served with them
eons ago - and the military claims it will save millions of
(taxpayers) dollars by initially accepting the new vehicles with
english-only manuals. But NO, Dyan Adams is insistant that even
though it is dubious if any francophone will ever work in these
vehicles, the manuals must be bilingual! Another case of a
pro-francophone zealot pushing to "francophon'ize" the country
beyond reasonable and necessary levels??
Thirdly -
Premier Putin of Russia has decided to invite the new (elected)
Palistinian leaders - members of Hamas and acknowledged terrorism
supporters determined to push Israel into the sea - to Moscow for a
visit. In addition, he is insisting that they are not terrorists!
Normally this would be an understandible move by the Russians if
they were dealing with a wealthy nation - Russians love selling
zillions of dollars worth of armaments to these countries - but this
is not the case here! And, of course, guess who is also insisting
that Hamas is not a terrorist outfit - France - those cheese eating,
wine swilling surrender monkeys who are always on the lookout for
some opportunity to grandstand or gain brownie points from
anywhere!
Fourth - and finally - there is the upheaval
in the radical muslim world over the Danish cartoons. What is with
these people? Most muslims appear to go about their lives quietly
with respect for other's values and religious views. So why are
these radical nutbars in such a snit? Is it really because some
cartoonist in Copenhagen created a graphic less-than complementary
to Mohammed? I doubt it! That cause-celèbre is only the excuse or
flash-point for the extremists to continue U.S. bashing! Sure they
started out burning Danish flags, burning a few embassies and cars,
the occasional killing here and there - you know, typical radical
muslim radicalism at work ridding the world of infidels - but then
true to style, here we go - reverting back to America-bashing! I
would hate to be a peaceful muslin trying to lead a normal life -
anywhere - with the image these crazies are imbedding in the minds
of everyone - that has to be stressful! But then, wouldn't it be
nice if all these peace loving followers of Islam would take the
time to convince their Imams to speak out against the radical
nutbars? Very few do, unfortunately, and one must wonder why not. Is
it fear of reprisal, or is there some underlying feeling that any
infidel or non-Islamic believer has reduced status and value so
eradication could be a viable option. Hmmm... I hope not! (the
original Danish cartoon issue was not really an issue until a
Copenhagen Imam took the cartoons, added a few more to increase the
inflammatory effect then sent them to a fellow Imam in Egypt who
"started the ball rolling".) So who is really to blame? Ordinary
Muslims who do not speak out or all these Imams who feel a
justifiable Jihad is approaching or the lunatic fringe driven by the
likes of the Al Queda gang bent on world Muslim domination. Fun
times eh? There are simple answers of course, and it is not nice to
think about putting all these radical nutbars in a room full of
diseased birds....! Or is it!
Exercise your right... be sure to
VOTE on the 23d
(this is taken from an actual letter sent by
an Edmontonian.. purportedly written by a Torontonian before the
last election)
I am a Canadian. One voter out of millions of Canadian
voters. Paul Martin is no friend of mine. Liberal governments have
not made my life any better. Liberal governments have made the
future worse for my children. Jean Chretien of the Liberal Party
became Prime Minister many years ago. Guess who was the Liberal
Finance Minister .....Paul Martin...LEST WE FORGET.
Since
1993: (1) My taxes have increased. (2) My family's share
of the national debt has increased. (3) My personal expenses have
increased. (4) My waiting time to see a doctor has
increased. (5) My concerns for my family's safety have
increased. (6) My costs to educate my children have
increased. (7) Government interference in my life has
increased. (8) My personal debt has increased. (9) My income
has stayed more! or less the same. (10) My savings have
decreased. (11) The buying power of my dollar, in Canada, has
decreased. (12) The value of my dollar, in the U.S., has
decreased. (13) My trust of elected officials has
decreased. (14) My trust in the justice system has
decreased. (15 )My trust in the immigration system has
decreased. (16) My hope that a Liberal won't waste my tax dollars
has decreased. (17 )My dreams for a better future for my kids, in
Canada, have disappeared.
That is my story since the
Liberals came to power. I am not voting for Paul Martin's Liberals.
I am voting against Paul Martin and his Liberal Party in January. I
am voting for Stephen Harper and the Conservative Party. Do I like
the Conservatives? Not particularly......I don't really like
Politics. I am not political by nature. I am not passionate about
politics. I am a middle age ! guy (48). I live in a small house on a
fairly quiet street in Edmonton. I have a wife and two children. I
have no pets. I am a middle class man. I don't usually say too much.
Until now. Now I am going to say something!
In 35 of
the past 37 years, Canada has been ruled by: (1) Pierre
Trudeau- a multi-millionaire lawyer from Quebec. (2) Brian
Mulroney - a multi-millionaire lawyer from Quebec. (3) Jean
Chretien - a multi-millionaire lawyer from Quebec. (4) And now we
are going to vote for Paul Martin???? - a multi-millionaire lawyer
from Quebec???
The leader of the Conservative party,
Stephen Harper, is: (1) Not a lawyer. (2) Not a
multi-millionaire. (3) And best of all.. NOT FROM QUEBEC!!!
Stephen Harper says that the Conservative party
will: (1) Reduce my taxes. (2) Pay off the national debt
as fast as they can. (3) Shrink the size and influence of the
federal government.
That's good enough for me. I'm going to
give the Conservative party a chance with my vote. But wait! Paul
Martin is now saying the same thing. My mother told me forty years
ago: "Fool me once - shame on you. Fool me twice - shame on me!" The
Liberals have had 34 years to be financially responsible.Remember,
Jean Chretien was Trudeau's Finance Minister. Remember also, Paul
Martin was Jean Chretien's Finance Minister These people have been
raising my taxes for thirty four years. They have been mis-spending
my tax dollars for 34 years. 34years!!!! And now Paul Martin says
he'll stop taxing and spending. No way!!
Thank you for
reading my story so far! Why am I telling my story to you? Although
I feel alone, I know that I am not alone. Your story may be similar
to mine. And you may also feel alone. One small voter in the midst
of millions of voters. What can you and I do together to change
things? Here is my idea: Lets you and I join up together. Just you
and I, Together. As a small team of two. How can you and I fight a
huge political machine? You and I have two things that we can
use:
(1) Our individual personal connections. (2) The
Internet.
The Internet is supposed to be this globalizing
tool, right? Let's put it to use. I have 27 Canadians in my personal
e-mail address book. I am sending this e-mail to each of them. I'm
asking you to do two things:
(1) Forward this e-mail to every
Canadian in your own address book. (2) Vote against Paul Martin
and the Liberal Party on January 23rd.
Vote for the
Conservative candidate in your riding. I have probably written this
e-mail too late. As I said I am not politically adroit. I feel like
Peter Finch, in the1976 movie "Network", when he shouted: "I'm mad
as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore!"
Please,
forward the e-mail RIGHT NOW!! I hope the Internet is as fast as
some people claim it is. This may not work. This e-mail may "fizzle
out" and go nowhere. But you and I will have tried, won't we have?
My best wishes to you. My best wishes to Canadians
everywhere.
Sometimes one picture
is worth a thousand words...
( Cartoons published in the
Ottawa Citizen as noted )
(CLICK for larger
view)
Ottawa Citizen - Friday January 6th
2006
Citizen - Friday December 30th 2005 &
Caglecartoons.com
In light of the ever-increasing revelations about
Liberal corruption and feelings of entitlement, and the increasing
fortunes of Harper and the Conservatives, I was about to enter into
a substantial "rant" about the "do's" and "dont's" to be considered
on January 23d - until I saw the above cartoons in the Ottawa
Citizen. What else can be said... the above cartoons spell it out
quite clearly and save you, the reader, from an elongated diatripe!!
I am an 'Ontar'ian" and I say to fellow Ontar'ians - let's "smarten
up" and kick out the 'Corruption Party' and give Harper-et-al, a
chance to prove their colours! Remember, old fears about
Conservative "hidden agenda's" and "scarey Harper" originated where?
... from the "corrupt party" of course! Vote Conservative - it's
time!! Enjoy!
" Politics is
supposed to be the second-oldest profession. I have come to
realize that it bears a very close resemblance to the
first." - Ronald Reagan , Former U.S. President
CHOOSE WISELY!
While vacationing on a ranch, Paul Martin gets thrown
from his horse, lands on a rattlesnake, gets bitten and dies because
the emergency room at the nearest hospital is too understaffed to
treat him in time. So his soul arrives in Heaven and he is met by
St. Peter at the Pearly Gates.
"Welcome to Heaven," says St.
Peter. "Before you settle in, it seems there is a problem. We seldom
see a Liberal around these parts, so we're not sure what to do with
you."
"No problem, just let me in; I'm a believer." says
Martin.
"I'd like to just let you in, but I have orders from
the Man Himself. He says you have to spend one day in Hell and one
day in Heaven. Then you must choose where you'll live for eternity."
"But, I've already made up my mind, I want to be in Heaven,"
replied Martin".
I'm sorry, but we have our rules." And with
that, St. Peter escorts him to an elevator and he goes down, down,
down, all the way to Hell.
The doors open and he finds
himself in the middle of a lush golf course; the sun is shining in a
cloudless sky, the temperature a perfect 72 degrees. In the distance
is a beautiful clubhouse. Standing in front of it is his Dad, and
thousands of other Liberals, Conservatives and New Democrats.
Everyone laughing, happy, and casually but expensively dressed. They
run to greet him, hug him, and reminisce about the good times they
had getting rich at the expense of 'suckers and peasants.' They play
a friendly game of golf and then dine on lobster and caviar.
The Devil himself comes up to Martin with a frosty drink,
"Have a Margarita and relax, Paul!"
"Uh, I can't drink
anymore, I took a pledge," says Martin, dejectedly.
"This is
Hell, son. You can drink and eat all you want and not worry, and it
just gets better from there!"
Martin takes the drink and
finds himself liking the Devil, who he thinks is a really very
friendly guy who tells funny jokes like himself, and pulls hilarious
nasty pranks, kind of like they pulled on the GST and Free Trade
promises. They are having such a great time that, before he realizes
it, it's time to go. Everyone gives him a big hug and waves as
Martin steps on the elevator and heads upward.
When the
elevator door reopens, he is in Heaven again and St. Peter is
waiting for him. "Now it's time to visit Heaven," the old man says,
opening the gate. So for 24 hours Martin is made to hang out with a
bunch of honest, good-natured people who enjoy each other's company,
talk about things other than money, and treat each other decently.
Not a nasty prank or frat boy joke among them; no fancy country
clubs and, while the food tastes great, it's not caviar or lobster.
And these people are all poor, he doesn't see anybody he knows, and
he isn't even treated like someone special!
"Whoa," he says
uncomfortably to himself. "Pierre Trudeau never prepared me for
this!"
The day done, St. Peter returns and says, "Well,
you've spent a day in Hell and a day in Heaven. Now choose where you
want to live for eternity."
With the 'Jeopardy' theme
playing softly in the background, Martin reflects for a minute, then
answers: "Well, I would never have thought I'd say this -- I mean,
Heaven has been delightful and all -- but I really think I belong in
Hell with my friends."
So St. Peter escorts him to the
elevator and he goes down, down, down, all the way to Hell. The
doors of the elevator open and he is in the middle of a barren
scorched earth covered with garbage and toxic industrial waste, kind
of like Sudbury. He is horrified to see all of his friends, dressed
in rags and chained together, picking up the trash and putting it in
black bags. They are groaning and moaning in pain, faces and hands
black with grime.
The Devil comes over to Martin and puts an
arm around his shoulder.
"I don't understand," stammers a
shocked Martin, "Yesterday I was here and there was a golf course
and a clubhouse and we ate lobster and caviar, drank booze. We lazed
around and had a great time. Now there's just a wasteland full of
garbage and everybody looks miserable!"
The Devil looks at
him, smiles slyly, and purrs, "Yesterday we were campaigning; today
you voted for us!"
January 23'd - Exercise your right -
VOTE!
Whether YOUR personal choice may
be...
Block(head) Party - for Quebec
separation... Liberal Party - for
corruption, arrogance & entitlement... NDP - for corporate alienation & higher
cost of living... Conservative - for
new blood and less Quebec influence on our
lives...
GET OUT AND
VOTE ON JANUARY 23d
When will the Tail stop Wagging the Dog?
Quebec, that controversial and occasionally irritating
Canadian province, has a population of 7,568,600 (as of Jan 2005) -
of which 1,568,000 are aboriginals, english speaking or third
language speaking peoples. That means there are +/- 6,000,000
franco-Quebeckers. Canada's population is approaching 33,000,000
which means the franco-quebeckers amount to approximately 18% of
Canada's population. Quebec is "the tail"... Canada is "the dog" and
again, the "tail" continues to "wag the dog" - and that is the way
the outgoing and disgraced Liberal government appears to like it!
For example - there has been much criticism lately due to our
"about-to-become-ex" Prime Minister ignoring the recent Commonwealth
Conference and also his foreign affairs minister doing likewise!
This disregard for the ancient anglo Commonwealth association in
favour of increasing franco association is becoming quite
disturbing. Are you aware that last year, only $30 millions was
allocated to the Commonwealth organization while over $50 millions
was devoted to the La Francophonie? Then there is the perpetually
irritating bilingualism issue! Quebec's 6 million francophones,
bolstered by another million+ francophones living outside of Quebec,
have dictated that Canada's bilingualism policy extend everywhere,
not just to areas where francophones reside in numbers! Pure
overkill! This writer has no qualms about francophone concentrations
having the ability to be serviced in their native language -
contrary to what Quebec forces it's resident anglophones to endure.
But's lets be reasonable - the policy is out of control... Quebec
through it's plethora of disproportionate francophone representation
in the federal government and bureaucracy, has, and continues, to
force the french language down our throats! And the cycle is
worsening! In the US there is a population of over 290,000,000 and
of that number, 240,000,000 speak english as a mother tongue and
almost 50 million speak another language including 4 million who
speak french at home. This means that over 20% of the US population
speak non-english, predominantly Spanish, yet not one single US
state has an official bilingualism policy! US boxes of Kellogs Corn
Flakes are in english only, not Spanish and English. Up here in
Canada, the federal civil service has evolved to the point where
most bureaucrats and mandarins are francophone due to the increasing
pressure to be competent in french as well as english. Anglophones
are under no "real" urgency to learn french because, simply stated,
most people do not require that knowledge for day-to-day living! The
world as a whole is gravitating towards useage of english - even the
emerging giants of China and India. No one, but no one, is moving
toward increased useage of french - with the exception of Canada
that is! Even France had to begrudgingly accept the recent changes
where the European Economic Union moved to english from french as
the primary working language and NATO changed the Brussels
Headquarters working langguage policy to english from french as
well. The trend is clear - english is and is increasingly so,
becoming the prime "working language" on earth! But not
Canada!
In Canada there is no true "need" to learn french -
the "need" pursued by our misguided federal government is strictly a
political one in an effort to shore up the Quebec vote! The danger,
as we are now experiencing, is that francophones have become so well
esconced in the federal structure that they, in turn, through hiring
practices they themselves create, are increasing the "need" to be
francophone to get into the federal civil service so - ergo - the
civil service becomes even more disproportionatly francophone - and
so the spiral continues! The common argument is that anglophones
merely need to learn french to join the public service. That is "BS"
unfortunately! In a continent of 265,000,000 anglophones, the need
for french is not there and accordingly the schooling system merely
pays lip service to learning french. Even those dedicated civil
servants, or civil service wanna-be's who attempt learning french,
quickly find out that anglophones without a "proper" sounding french
language pronounciation do not "make the grade" in many cases and
even if hired, do not usually progress within the francophone ranks
as they should! Many anglophones with public service aims are also
discouraged and enraged by the pressures to learn french when the
prime french concentration in Canada, namely Quebec, is blatently
discriminating against anglophones in general and the english
language in particular in that province!
So how do we stop
the "tail" wagging "the dog"? It may already be underway and
ironically, "thanks" to the Block(head) party! The number of
Liberals who will be elected in Quebec in the upcoming national
election will be much fewer thanks to the Gomery scandal. The number
of conservatives who will be elected will be fewer - if any. So...
whichever party, Liberals or Conservatives, form the next
government, will be primarily non-francophone and the dependance on
Quebec will reduce as the new government, likely a minority party,
will be bolstered by the NDP to remain in office. Western
isolationist views combined with Canadian voter disgust at Liberal
corruption and "entitlement" policies, will pressure the government
to start changing their focus and views - and this will invariably
include attitudes towards Quebec and the whole bilingualism issue!
And of course... if Francophone Quebeckers choose to
separate, then the whole bilingualism issue will slowly go away!
Most Canadians consider Quebec a demanding and unreasonable entity
whose influence in our day-to-day affairs is entirely
disproportionate to their numbers and unwanted. If Quebec wants to
separate, then the price will be harsh - not the "take all" attitude
that most separatist empathizers think is the case! There are many,
including this writer, who wish there was a way Quebec could
temporarily separate - much like a marriage trial separation - where
they would quickly learn that being on their own would result in the
"french fact" facing disaster and oblivion. In the meantime, we have
to tolerate Quebec in the expectation that the election results will
produce a federal government less willing to tolerate Quebec
tantrums and less willing to "kiss Quebec butt"! Hopefully they will
"kick" it a bit more instead - it's time! Yes, it's time!
The Ant & The Grasshopper - Canadian
style!!
CLASSIC VERSION:
The ant works hard in
the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up
supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks he's a fool, and
laughs and dances and plays the summer away. Come winter, the ant is
warm and well fed. The shivering grasshopper has no food or shelter,
so he dies out in the cold.
THE END
THE
CANADIAN VERSION: So true it's scary.
The ant works hard
in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying
up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks he's a fool, and
laughs and dances and plays the summer away. Come winter, the ant is
warm and well fed.
The shivering grasshopper calls a press
conference and demands to know why the ant should be allowed to be
warm and well fed while others less fortunate, like him, are cold
and starving.
The CBC shows up to provide live coverage of
the shivering grasshopper; with cuts to a video of the ant in his
comfortable warm home with a table laden with food.
Canadians are stunned that in a country of such wealth, this
poor grasshopper is allowed to suffer so while others have plenty.
The NDP, the CAW and the Coalition Against Poverty
demonstrate in front of the ant's house. The CBC, interrupting an
Inuit cultural festival special from Nunavut with breaking news,
broadcasts them singing "We Shall Overcome" .
Sven Robinson
rants in an interview with Pamela Wallin that the ant has gotten
rich off the backs of grasshoppers, and calls for an immediate tax
hike on the ant to make him pay his "fair share".
In
response to polls, the Liberal Government drafts the Economic Equity
and Grasshopper Anti-Discrimination Act, retroactive to the
beginning of the summer.
The ant's taxes are reassessed, and
he is also fined for failing to hire grasshoppers as helpers.
Without enough money to pay both the fine and his newly
imposed retroactive taxes, the government confiscates his home.
The ant moves to the USA, and starts a successful agribiz
company.
The CBC later shows the now fat grasshopper
finishing up the last of the ant's food, though Spring is still
months away, while the government house he is in, which just happens
to be the ant's old house, crumbles around him because he hasn't
bothered to maintain it.
Inadequate government funding is
blamed, Roy Romanow is appointed to head a commission of enquiry
that will cost $10,000,000.
The grasshopper is soon dead of
a drug overdose, the Toronto Star blames it on the obvious failure
of government to address the root causes of despair arising from
social inequity.
The abandoned house is taken over by a gang
of immigrant spiders, praised by the government for enriching
Canada's multicultural diversity, who promptly set up a marijuana
grow op and terrorize the community.
THE
END
Thanks to an old classmate in NB for this one - no
comments needed - the above says it all!!
... and
now for something delightfully
different!!!
Yours truly was about to delve into a
'rant' about yesterday's election of André Bosclair to chief honcho
of the idiotic Quebec separatist party and the fact that we are
about to get unindated with separatist drivel over the coming
months, also, about how the Quebec police are spending more time
running around checking for illegal "butter coloured" margarine than
being too concerned about cocaine use and trafficking. (Boisclair's
admission of past cocaine use barely raised an eyebrow in Quebec
circles). Would you believe they have established a "Margarine
Police" unit? Now they have "Margarine Police" as well as "Language
Police" to entertain us! Wonder if the Margarine cops will have the
same uniform as the goose-stepping Language cops - complete with
leather jack boots, etc..
Back to my point... I was about to
rant away about the above until a good friend sent the following. We
tend to take our soldiers, sailors, air force and coast guard
members far too much for granted these days. The following story has
probably occurred many times and is well worth reading - we should
NEVER forget those who helped give us the ability to live the lives
we lead.
I sat in my seat of the Air Canada Boeing 767
flight waiting for everyone to hurry and stow their carry-ons and
grab a seat so we could start what I was sure to be a long ,
uneventful flight home. With the huge capacity and slow moving
people taking their time to stuff luggage far too big for the
overhead and never paying much attention to holding up the growing
line behind them, I simply shook my head knowing that this flight
was not starting out very well.
I was anxious to get home to
see my loved ones so I was focused on "my" issues and just felt like
standing up and yelling for some of these clowns to get their act
together. I knew I couldn't say a word so I just thumbed through the
magazine from the seat pocket in front of me. You know it's really
getting rough when you resort to the overpriced and useless sky mall
crap to break the monotony. With everyone finally seated, we just
sat there with the cabin door open and no one in any apparent hurry
to get us going although we were well past the scheduled take off
time.
No wonder the airline industry is in trouble I told
myself. Just then, the attendant came on the intercom to inform us
all that we were being delayed. The entire plane let out a
collective groan. She resumed speaking to say "We are holding the
aircraft for some very special people who are on their way to the
plane and the delay shouldn't be more than 5 minutes. The word came
after waiting six times as long as we were promised that "I" was
finally going to be on my way home.
Why the hoopla over
"these" folks? I was expecting some celebrity or sport figure to be
the reason for the hold up.........Just get their butts in a seat
and lets hit the gas I thought.
The attendant came back on
the speaker to announce in a loud and excited voice that we were
being joined by several Canadian Soldiers returning home from
Afghanistan!!! Just as they walked on board, the entire plane
erupted into applause. The men were a bit taken by surprise by the
340 people cheering for them as they searched for their seats. They
were having their hands shook and touched by almost everyone who was
within an arm's distance of them as they passed down the aisle. One
elderly woman kissed the hand of one of the Soldiers as he passed by
her.
The applause, whistles and cheering didn't stop for a
long time. When we were finally airborne, "I" was not the only
civilian checking his conscience as to the delays in "me" getting
home, finding my easy chair, a cold beverage and the remote in my
hand. These men had done for all of us and I had been complaining
silently about "me" and "my" issues. I took for granted the everyday
freedoms I enjoy and the conveniences of the Canadian way of life I
took for granted! Others had paid the price for my ability to moan
and complain about a few minutes delay to "me" those heroes going
home to their loved ones.
I attempted to get my selfish
outlook back in order and minutes before we landed I suggested to
the attendant that she announce over the speaker a request for
everyone to remain in their seats until our hero's were allowed to
gather their things and be first off the plane. The cheer! s and
applause continued until the last Soldier stepped off and we all
rose to go about our too-often-taken-for-granted everyday
freedoms......... I felt proud of them. I felt it was an honour and
a privilege to be among the first to welcome them home and say
'Thank You' for a job well done. I vowed that I will never forget
that flight nor the lesson learned.
I can't say it enough,
'THANK YOU' to those Veterans and active servicemen and women who
may read this and a prayer for those who cannot because they are no
longer with us.
GOD BLESS!! WELCOME HOME! AND THANKS FOR A
JOB WELL DONE !!!!!
The Good... The Bad... and the somewhat
Ugly!
The Good! Armistice Day,
or more commonly known in the US, Veteran's Day. It was wonderful to
follow the story of the 200 or so WW11 veterans who boarded the
"Armistice Train" in Halifax which took them to Ottawa to attend the
National Remembrance Day services. At every stop and along the way
there was a continuous series of crowds and well-wishers who met at
stations or waved as the train journeyed from the Maritimes to
Ottawa. The number who took the time and made the effort to see the
train and say "Thank You" to those wonderful men and women was
heartwarming. Even more spectacular this year, was that a high
percentage of those well-wishers were youngsters and teens. One of
the greatest fears held by many is that time is eroding the memories
of the 'dark days' - the late 30's and early 40's when almost 50
million humans lost their lives as a result of World War 2, and many
younger people have little or no knowledge, or sadly, interest in
that time. Seeing the younger set acknowledging our war heroes is
magnificent to say the least! Also "Good" is seeing the Ottawa
Citizen contain a section with photos and description of a large
number of area veterans who served in both wars. Many readers,
including this one, undoubtedly took the time to read over every
single item and remember how much we "owe" - that is the least we
can do as a sign of appreciation.
The
Bad! Again, in this morning's Citizen, an article about
our "about-to-become-an-ex" Prime Minister, Paul Martin's decision
not to attend the Commonwealth Health of Government Conference being
held in Malta. All Commonwealth heads of state including Britian's
Tony Blair and Australia's John Howard will attend but our Prime
Minister has plans to attend a local aboriginal meeting. No one is
suggesting that meeting with aboriginal leaders is not important, we
all know their lot in life is lacking and firm action is required -
and soon, but the Commonwealth Conference is one Canada not only
helped form, but has also attended continuously since 1971 for 34
years. Canada is sending a signal that it deems the Conference to
have a somewhat useless or insignificant status. Not the best
message at a time when the world is starting to look at Canada as
less of a leader and more of a disorganized whiner! Smarten up
Martin - the opposition parties have stated that they will not call
an election before the holidays so relax and get back to work! Stop
worrying about what misdeeds and cajoling are necessary to bolster
your vote-getting possibilities! Do the job you and your cronies are
well paid to do! The dynasty is over - I hope!
The Ugly! Once more, thanks to the Ottawa Citizen
this morning, an article that should make every Canadian taxpayer
turn red and every military veteran's stomach turn! It is well known
that the Canadian Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) is simply
stupid, bordering on incompetent with a good measure of meanness and
uncaring thrown in. We are all aware of the recent battle by a
veteran who served and who was refused a military pension for 44
years due to DVA making a mistake and not accepting that they did
just that! This gentlemen, this soldier is well into his later years
and I am sure that over the last 44 he could have used the monies
that were rightfully his. He will be receiving a retroactive
settlement of over $900,000 - to bad he did not have more time to
enjoy the fruits of his efforts! I digress... The issue I started
out to mention is that under the stewardship (or lack of it) of
Belinda Stronach, DVA released figures showing that over the last 2
years, the DVA "Caregiver Program" designed to enable family members
to care for terminally ill veterans, had run up a total expenditure
of almost 70 Million dollars being the "administration cost" of
managing a program which reluctantly doled out only $11 million to
caregivers in the same period! And it's going to get worse of
course! Costs will certainly rise and we are losing veterans at a
high rate so payouts will decrease! That's $70,000,000 dollars to
manage payouts of just $11 million! To make matters more
distasteful. the DVA is apparently taking a "tough approach" to any
claims being made and the number of unwarranted refusals for
whatever reason are high! This is a department intended to serve
veterans and is not designed to be a "profit-center" where claim
refusal fattens the bottom line! Stronach, you may be cute but
unless you smarten up your mean and money-grabbing little
bureaucrats, you will be telling the world that you too are becoming
just another useless and uncaring minister! Or have you already
reached that point!
WoW! What a
week...!!
OK, many readers have suggested that this writer tends
to be a bit "anti-french'! Well.. just to clarify, No, I am not
"anti French" persay, but experience has taught me two things about
SOME Quebec francophones - one, francophone campers, generally, are
loud, boisterous and rude and, two, Quebec politicians are (or are
in the process of trying to be) unexcuseably corrupt!
The
camping thing... I have addressed before and is based not only on
personal experience and observation but also based on the opinion of
"every single non-francophone camper I met over this past
summer"! Now that's credibility unless mass hysteria has set in!
On the Quebec politician and corruption suggestion? Hey! Ever heard
of the Gomery Inquery? Jean Chretien was named as the
responsible party, ten key Liberal party members were evicted from
the Liberal party and the Quebec wing of the Liberal party had it's
ability to independently raise funds taken away! Oh! Did I mention
that all these people were Quebec politicians? This week there was
also an interesting article in the Ottawa citizen, addressing the
fact that Quebec, as a province (hopefully that may change soon...!)
almost always disagreed with any major area of concern expressed by
the rest of Canada. Let's go further... since so many Federal
politicians and bureaucrats & their mandarins are francophone,
they live in a state of fear (or at least extreme concern) that La
Belle Province may separate. Accordingly, there is a tendency to
cow-tow to Quebec wishes. The Citizen article gives some neat
statistics - comparing English Canada's attitudes to Quebec's in
areas of international economic dealings, military preparedness and
international aid! In some instances, the disagreement gap in
opinion polls was as high as 40%! Military-wise, it's the old
situation... the majority of francophone Quebecers could care less
about "overseas" concerns - it's a "Canada problem" - not theirs to
worry about! International aid? With the exception of recent
problems in Haiti, there is a huge gap in per-person average
donations for the Tsunami relief and more recently, the Asian
earthquake, between Francophone Queberers and the rest of Canada.
Haiti was only well funded because of the large contingent of new
Haitian french-speaking immigrants now residing in Montreal - over
300,000 now from what has been reported!
International
trade? Quebeckers in general, and the separatist acedemic nut-bars
in particular are still in "ostrich mode" with their heads sunk up
to the neck in sand! The most recent "crusade of interest" is the
possibility of a separate Quebec having it's own army! Now that's
interesting.. a group of people who embrace pacificism and are
renowned for their ability to turn tail and quickly run away from
any aggression whatsoever are contemplating a military entity? WoW!
Possibly they should forget this possibility and concentrate on
something they would be very good at - may I suggest Olympic
running? Their ability to 'run away fast' should make for many
successes in this area!
This silly-but-dangerous group still
thinks in terms of an independent Quebec using Canadian dollars as a
currency, no repayment of any share of the National Debt (hey..
that's around $17,000 for every man, woman and child at this point),
continuance of all economic relationships and dealings, and world
acceptance of their silly lot! Now they would want Canada to "sell"
them Quebec-based military institutions (or are they going to "take"
them?? PLEASE do try that one!!) Nope! Ain't gonna happen! One day,
Quebeckers in general are going to wake up to reality and it will
become quite clear to them that their options are only three, namely
(1) stop whining and saying "gimme gimme" all the time, and become a
realistic working part of Canada, (2) try separating and have their
standard of living drop so badly as to coin a new phrase
"fourth-world country", or (3) end up being absorbed by the US where
francophone culture will quickly disappear and they will lose their
unilingual stop signs and have to put the dollar sign in front of
currency on all signs and documents! (can you imagine what would
happen if one small US state started demanding separate language,
signeage and special considerations from Congress? It is to
laugh!!
I like the idea of Quebec remaining in Canada
provided the whining stop, we get a more representative federal
government willing to address Canada's interests, not just Quebec's
- and I can even put up with the bilingual Kelloggs Corn Flakes box.
On the otherhand, if the whiners care to pull away (Hmmm.. possibly
Greenland might want to take them - Whoops, Greenland is too smart
for that) then I can live with reduced equalization payments, a
higher Canadian dollar as a result, lower taxes from tremendous
savings in the bureaucracy as a result of disbanding bilingualism
and that most sacred of things - mental peace! I suspect that our
newspapers might reduce in size without daily reportings on Quebec
corruption and silliness (and of course whining) - great benefit for
the tree-hugger set of course! Hey! Even without poutine, Canada
will do well after a split! Being self-sufficient in gas and oil, we
will even be able to sell to Quebec - at an increased price mind
you! And please, no one bring up the James Bay hydro issue, Quebec's
greatest natural hydro resource, or St Lawrence seaway control. Any
separation of Quebec from Canada would also induce a similar
succession of the Northern Cree nation from Quebec - (same game
rules, world courts would allow the Cree same separation rights as
allowed Quebec of course) and the Cree dislike Quebec with a
vengence from all accounts! Their lands include the James Bay hydro
projects. Quebec would lose it's hydro exporting revenues and have
to purchase electricity from the Cree. Interesting, HuH? And if
Quebec tried playing 'hard ball' or disrupting the St Lawrence
seaway in any fashion, then we could sit back and watch the US crush
Quebec, economically or physically!
OK - I'm getting tired
from ranting... stay tuned... always more to come!
Canada has to STOP being "so nice" -
to New Canadians!
This crossed my desk today. I have seen it dozens
of times but having just recently returned from a camping trip where
we encountered some "new Canadians" displaying disgusting habits at
our campground and claiming "this was their way as toilets were not
readily available in their home country"! This writer almost "lost
it" and luckily the offenders were booted out of the park - so when
the article arrived - originally included in a major Toronto
newspaper the e-mail claimed - I decided to "share" it with anyone
who wished to read it! This is not a racist commentary, nor is it
against other cultures or races - merely a cry for Canadians to hold
on to their culture.
Will we still be the Country of
choice and still be 'Canad' if we continue to make the changes
forced on us by the people from other countries that came to live in
Canada because it is the Country of Choice??????
Think
about it!
All we have to say is, when will they do
something about MY RIGHTS?
I celebrate Christmas but because
it isn¹t celebrated by everyone we can no longer say Merry
Christmas. Now it has to be Season¹s Greetings.
It¹s not
Christmas vacation, it¹s Winter Break. Isn¹t it amazing how this
winter break ALWAYS occurs over the Christmas holiday?
We¹ve
gone so far the other way, bent over backwards to not offend anyone,
that we are now being offended. But it seems that no one has a
problem with that.
IMMIGRANTS, - NOT Canadians, SHOULD
ADAPT.
I am tired of this nation worrying about whether we
are offending some individual or their culture. Since the terrorist
attacks on Sept. 11, We have experienced a surge in patriotism by
the majority of Canadians. However...... the dust from the attacks
had barely settled when the "politically correct! " crowd began
complaining about the possibility that our patriotism was offending
others.
I am not against immigration - let's face it, we need
qualified immigrants to "grow" as the natural birth rate has become
very low - nor do I hold a grudge against anyone who is seeking a
better life by coming to Canada. Our population is almost entirely
made up of descendants of immigrants.
However, there are a
few things that those who have recently come to our country, and
apparently some born here, need to understand. This idea of Canada
being a multicultural community has served only to dilute our
sovereignty and our national identity. As Canadians we have our own
culture, our own society, our own language and our own lifestyle.
This unique culture has been developed over centuries of struggles,
trials, and victories by millions of men and women who have sought
freedom.
We speak mainly ENGLISH and to a smaller degree
FRENCH, not Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Russian,
or any other language.
So...., if you wish to become part of
our society, please learn the language!
²We Stand On Guard
For Thee²; is our national motto. This is not some Christian, right
wing, political slogan.. We adopted this motto because Christian men
and women. based on Christian principles founded this nation.....
and this is clearly documented. It is certainly appropriate to
display it on the walls of our schools. If God offends you, then I
suggest you consider another part of the world as your new
home......... because God is part of our culture whether every
citizen believes in him or not!
We are happy with our culture
and have no desire to change, and we really don¹t care how you did
things where you came from. This is OUR COUNTRY, our land, and our
lifestyle.
But once you are done complaining.......
whining...... and griping....... about our flag....... our
pledge...... our national motto........or our way of life....I
highly encourage you to take advantage of one other Great Canadian
Freedom.......
THE RIGHT TO LEAVE.
"Why are politicians so
ignorant???"
"Taxpayer?? You got
"SCREWED!!"
Do you have Microsoft "PowerPoint" on your system? If
so, you will love THIS
Slide Presentation. (Download - 888kb) As they say... a slide
show can be worth a billion er.. thousand
words
Quebec - a "Distinct Society"? - you
Betcha !!
The Gomery Inquiry is starting to reveal some
not-so-surprising results! Public reaction to the sordid revelations
ranges from the polite "WoW!" , the more common "Despicable" to the
most common "Scum!". If what we have seen so far is any indication
of what is to come, it appears we are headed to an early Federal
election, the result being an overwhelming acceptance and support
for the Progressive Conservatives who will form the next government.
I suspect that the public is aghast at the obvious epidemic of graft
and corruption that has eaten into the Liberal political ranks,
almost entirely within the Quebec wing as facts are disclosing! This
writer has made no secret that he is firmly convinced that graft,
corruption and malfeasance is second nature to Quebec based
politicians, regardless of whether they are Federal, Provincial or
Municipal "servants" (and that word is a laugh - "servants"? To
themselves of course!). It really does not give me pleasure to
see my suspicions being confirmed!! It is time, for the sake of
maintaining Canada's good name and it's citizen's good sense of
right-and-wrong, that corruption is removed from the political
scene!
Which brings up another point! I recently participated
in a friendly debate with a friend over the possible outcome of the
Inquiry results as it impacts Quebec residents. There is an almost
certainty that the Separatist and Nationalist entities in that
province will gain from the Gomery revelations. Quebeckers
especially are dismayed, no... disgusted, with what they are
learning. Of course they do not blame the Quebec scoundrels
involved, but rather the Federal system - this is the "Quebec way"!
They are partially correct! Up until now, the Federal "system" (and
I use that word loosely...) has focused on having a disproportionate
Quebec representation in the upper levels of the "government"
(another word used loosely!). Quebec, home of the majority of
Francophones, represents about 20% of the Canadian population but
due to instilled fears of "separation" and the "need" for universal
bilingualism", the "Quebec fact" is represented within government to
the tune of 50-60%. WoW! 20% of the nation are dictating to 80% of
the population! And that 20% tend to produce politicians who accept
and participate in graft and corruption - beyond the normal
political "porkbellying", more in line with acts of skullduggery and
downright illegality!
So... as the debate continued.. is
there a threat of increased "separation" pressure arising in Quebec?
Yes, of course. Quebeckers love to whine it seems - and when a
"cause celèbre" rises - off we go!!! What is becoming apparent
however, is that the threat of "Quebec succeeding from Canada" is no
longer the issue - the issue is becoming increased Anglo thinking of
"Canada separating from Quebec"! If you remove the Quebec
politicians from federal government levels, will the corruption
reduce? This writer suggests "You Betcha"! Can Canada survive
without Quebec? Again - "You Betcha"!
Quebeckers tend to ne
naive about the impact of separation. They see an amicable parting,
sharing of Canadian currency, no impact on the National Debt,
removal of everything "Canada" from their "nation", separate
representation on the world scene, no disruption of economic ties
and alliances and removal of the English language from day-to-day
activities. As I suggested - Naive! In reality, Quebec will suffer
dramatically! They will be financially burdened with having to
accept their portion of the National Debt (current debt estimated at
$600 Billions - Quebec share @ 20% = $120,000,000,000 - that's 120
Billion or per person, assuming Quebec's 7.5 million population
reduces to about 7 million with Anglophone exodus and some returning
of ex-Quebec Francophones living elsewhere, about $17,143 for every
man, woman and child. Quite the debt! Then of course, Quebec
receives almost 5 Billion dollars annually as a result of
equalization payments - that would stop immediately! Quebec would no
longer receive subsidized gas and oil and since they really do not
have any independent sources, Quebeckers would experience a massive
increase in home heating, vehicle fuel and industrial costs as a
result! Quebec Bond ratings would drop into the toilet immediately
as lenders would certainly wait to see what would happen before
allowing any adjustments. Payments on the Quebec and major Quebec
corporation debts would skyrocket! many imports to Qyuebec,
presently subsidized by Federal funds, would return to "natural"
levels and become more expensive. A Quebec currency, fragile at
first, would hold little value and as a result, everything apart
from locally produced and supplied profucts would become very
expensive. Look at what happened in Cuba - previously on a US dollar
base, the Cuban Peso is virtually worthless outside the country. The
Quebec standard of living would decrease quickly, thereby
accelerating a tendancy to "leave" - which creates a "catch 22"
senario. As people leave, the burden on the remaining increases so
more will leave etc.. etc... Down the spiral goes! Then, if all that
were not bad enough, the Aboriginal Cree Nation would certainly want
to be part of Canada, not Quebec, and a case presented to the World
Court would undoubtedly allow their wish to be granted. Quebec's
physical territory would reduce and even worse, they would lose the
Hudson Bay watershed and the Churchill Falls hydro complex - adding
to their woes as there goes the bulk of their low-cost electricity,
again negatively impacting industry. Not a nice scene - but this is
reality! No, Canadians, this writer included, would certainly not
accept and "amicable" separation formula that did not contain
adjustments for all the points mentioned above! Once Quebeckers
start to accept these realities then they will cease any more
mention of the "S" word. Hopefully this will happen before the rest
of Canada starts to think about kicking Quebec out of the fold - and
thanks to the Gomery Inquiry, that could start to happen shortly!
Stay tuned... news at 11, 12, 1 etc...
'Sponsorshipgate' - why am I NOT
surprised.....?
The Gomery Inquiry - we have all seen the news
items... Chretien's feeble attempts to shut it down and to have the
Judge removed due to an alleged bias so any involvement in the
debacle by himself will not be discovered, along with his attempts
to demean the reputation of Judge Gomery through his golf-ball
antics! The whole process is costing a lot of taxpayer dollars and
it will take a lot more! The hue-and-cry is starting with many
questioning if the whole process is worth the cost! That is what the
negatively-involved parties want, people! The politicians,
advertising executives, beaureaucrats and crown corporation types
involved in this whole debacle would like the matter to disappear
and public pressure over escalating costs could cause that to
happen! THE ENQUIRY MUST GO ON! This continued fraud perpetrated on
the Canadian public by Quebec based politicians simply has to stop!
It's bad enough that many Quebecers have developed the tactic of
whining and "gimme-gimme" to a fine art in persuading the uneasy
Federal Government to cater to their whims - all in the fear of
alienating the province - but to go that next step - illegally
"screwing" Canadians out of their hard earned tax dollars by
fraudulent scams and schemes is totally unacceptable!
The
latest?? Jean Lafleur (a good anglo name, right?) - president of a
Quebec based advertising company, while under investigation at the
Gomery Inquery, has suffered an almost total loss of memory
regarding anything that involves Federal funds being given to his
company! This poor fellow - a high ranking executive who must have
'something on the ball' to attain such a position - appears to have
developed an unfortunate lack of remembering! What a crock of Bovine
Scat!! To make matters worse, apparently his office "encouraged"
employees to make donations to the local Liberal Party MP - up to
$1,000 each, and then reimbursed the employee for these "donations"!
("Encouraged" sounds like "... do you like working here..." to me!)
This circumvents Federal donation policy as 'hidden' donations are
illegal of course! Hmmm... could these "hidden" donations totalling
$10,000 plus the $50,000 donated by Lafleur's and his own company,
be some form of "payback" to the Liberals as a "thank you" for the
lucrative ad contracts that came their way? Hopefully Judge Gomery
will discover the truth! Mind you... no one will be surprised if
these allegations are proven, will we? Unfortunately, it is just
another nail in the renown 'Quebec prophensity for fraud and
corruption' coffin - or as most non-francophones like to say
"it's the Quebec way"! When will all this stop - Argggggg......!!!
All of this makes the concept of "Quebec Separation" quite appealing
to many anglo Canadians, this writer included!
Silly tid-bits from this morning's
paper...
( Ottawa Citizen - Thursday January 19 2005
)
In Britian, authorities have discovered a novel way of
countering cocaine use in public toilets. Coke users have been using
toilet seats to make 'lines' of cocaine - the flat smooth surface
has been ideal for their needs. The police stumbled upon the fact
that the good old 'fixer of everything'- WD-40 oil, when sprayed
over the toilet seats in advance, turns cocaine into a gooey mess,
and totally unuseable. Good for cocaine dealers... bad for
coke-heads.
The good old conservative extremists in the
southern USA have taken up a new cause - Sponge Bob Square Pants.
For those of you who are in the dark as to who 'Bob' is... he is a
friendly children's cartoon character who lives at the bottom of the
ocean with friends. It is the friends that are concerning the
religious zealots. Apparently, Sponge Bob Square Pants has a friend,
a pet snail named Gary and (aw my god...) have been seen holding
hands. To make matters worse, 'Bob' and 'Gary' like to sit down
together and watch television, their favourite program being "The
adventures of mermaid man and barnicle boy'! And as a further
indication that these are all gay traits, Sponge Bob Square Pants
has been seen in the company of that purple icon 'Barney' and 'Jimmy
Neutron' two other children's cartoon characters! I guess groups
like 'The American Family Association" and "Focus on the Family",
both 'Dubya' Bush-loving Republican extremists are going to have a
cardiac attack when they discover that ordinary guys like
frequenting bars on a saturday night to watch hockey or football -
now what can be more 'gay' than that?? Thank God those idiots are
way down south in the southern US - hope they stay there!!
In
Australia, the government is a little embarrassed over an incident
where they sent a scolarship cheque to a boy's mother addressed to
"Mrs. Passed Away" - 15 months after her husband died. Needless to
say she was not pleased.
A Toronto Doctor is in deep Kaka-poo
after he placed a photo of himself and a young prostitute engaging
in oral sex, on the web. He found it hard to understand why the
medical association decided to lift his license and why the young
lady, whom he had hired as a medical assistant at the local
hospital, was let go!
Sometimes newspapers are worth
reading......
Pension Income in Canada [mind blowing]
( From the Toronto Star, 18 April 2004
)
I found it interesting that the federal government
provides a single refugee with a monthly allowance of $1,890.00 and
each can also get an additional $580.00 in social assistance for a
total of $2,470.00. This compares very well to a single pensioner
who after contributing to the growth and development of Canada for
40 to 50 years can only receive a monthly maximum of $1,012.00 in
old age pension and Guaranteed Income Supplement.
Maybe our
pensioners should apply as refugees!
Lets send this to all
Canadians, so we can all be pissed off and maybe we can get the
refugees cut back to $1,012.00 and the pensioners up to $2 470.00
and enjoy some of the money we were forced to submit to the
Government over the last 40 or 50 years.
(Ed Note: this is not a criticism or negative comment
about refugees in any way - our country depends on an immigration
influx to maintain population growth - BUT - this is certainly a
criticism of our too-often stupid and not-thought-out government
policies and applications. Feel free to send a copy of this to your
local MPP who, if possible, might take time out from self-serving
interests, to actually read it. Don't expect any results however -
they are too busy spending YOUR money on boondoggles. submarines and
gun registry related items to actually care what pensioners think!
Shame!!! PS.. since this article
appeared, we understand that the Toronto Star published a follow-up
article revising some of it's figures. We have not seen that
revision so are unaware of the impact of the revisions which may
change the apparent benefit to immigrants however surely it will not
change my opinion that our federal government takes the word
"incompetence" to a newly defined level! <;^)-
NOW if you want to SHARE this information with your
local MP - go to this WEB
PAGE on the Govt. of Canada web site which will provide his/her
e-mail address - just 'cut and paste' this article (printable copy
below) and e-mail it off to them with any comments you might wish to
provide (no swearing please!) Ask them for their comments and
'demand' a reply! Should be 'fun' - No? )
OK!
It's been a while... good Christmas and no hangover's at New Years
so... time for another 'Rant'! Canadian apathy has once again
been taken advantage of... the folks in Clarence-Rockland, a small
community east of Ottawa (in ONTARIO, you know... ENGLISH CANADA)
have decided that the french language is under attack and
accordingly, have 'marshalled the forces' and passed a municipal
by-law esconcing the french language by requiring new businesses to
display french on business signs. What is worse, they have followed
the lead of those poutine-munching. wine swilling idiots in Kebec,
and have created a "Language Police" (Gestapo de la lange français),
charged with the responsibility of enforcing this new absurd and
totally unnecessary regulation. Other area communities with a high
francophone resident population have reacted negatively, stating
that their communities do not need this type of gestapo control as
anglo and francophone citizens do tend to get along quite
harmoniously. But the Clarence-Rockland french crowd feel it is
their god-given right to join the whiners who reside across the
river (Kebec) and start moaning about their diminishing quality of
life (ie: reducing importance of the french language in their
lives). How does the old adage go?? "you can take them out of
Kebec but you can't take Kebec out of them??". Kebec supresses
the use of English - that's bad... but for Ontario resident
francophones expecting Ontario to promote the use of french ...
that's worse! Grow up people... you are only going to make matters
worse and do harm to your previously harmonious community. If you do
not like living in an anglo environment, then please drive back
across the river to the 'Great Independent Nation of Kebec' (HaH! -
bunch of losers!) and ...... stay there!
Just another
tid-bit... we have all done our bit to help out the Tsunami disaster
relief situation, making donations and supplying relief materials or
just helping out in one way or another. Canada 'cares' and that
attitude will never cease. We have all seen those terrible photos of
the disaster and the horrible impact on the local population. We
have all heard stories of courageous acts and the dedication of
foreign embassy staff as they do what they can to help out foreign
nationals visiting the area who were caught up in the disaster and
often left with nothing but the clothes on their back. Canada's
Sri-Lanka and Indonesian embassies acted commendably! But not in the
eyes of one french-canadian from (guess where??) Kebec, who was not
only annoyed about having to wait while the Canadian Embassy clerk
assisted a couple in front of him who were standing dressed in only
bathing suits, their total belongings after the disaster, and in
bare feet - sans 'flip-flops' yet! How dare they take so long!! Not
only did he complain about having to wait, but on reaching the
counter, he felt it was his god-given right to complain that he was
not being served in 'la langue français' - in Thailand no less! It
is this type of individual and this type of attitude that makes most
English Canadians look down upon Kebec francophones and consider
them idiots and whining losers and, quite frankly, wish they would
take their sub-culture province, float it away somewhere and
separate out on their own, Franc's, poutine, patates frites and all!
Reasonable and understanding francophones willing to live in a
bicultural atmosphere not intent on shoving french down everyone's
throats are most welcome to stay but french separatistes and radical
francophones - please (a 'takeoff' on Winston Churchill's famous
expression) "KBO" (restated as 'Kindly Bugger Off)! 'Nuff said!!
Russia's Magnificent Snow & Ice
Festival
I appreciate that this is a
"satire" page and the purpose of the site is to allow me to rant and
rave about silly, wierd or downright stupid things or acts, but
every once and a while, something comes along that is worth taking
the time to stop and take a look at. Here is a web site (home.ripway.com/2004-7/151132/ice/russia.htm)that boggles
the mind. For all of you out there for whom winter is an ordeal,
take a look at what magical wonders can be weaved with the help of
ice and snow - absolutely beautiful! The degree of art and absolute
patience in creating such winter wonderland marvels is fantastic!
And as the site states, it really does make you think about
travelling over to Russia to see this first hand. I hope you enjoy
it as much as I did! Merry Christmas everyone!
FRANCOPHONES, THEY ARE
"DIFFERENT" - BUT ONLY SOME ARE
COWARDS!
** Some
historians have suggested that by 1939, Canada's French Canadian
Forces still felt slighted from measures that were taken in the
First World War. In 1914, the Canadian military temporarily
undertook a policy that reorganized traditional French Canadian
battalions, and which prevented francophone volunteers from serving
in separate regiments abroad as they were amalgamated into national
battalions. This policy was soon abandoned because of the tremendous
resentment that it created, but not soon enough. By 1917, when
Canadians were forced to adopt conscription regulations, huge
numbers of French Canadian men who were drafted chose to ignore
their orders and simply disappeared ** - establishing in the minds
of many anglo Canadians and other nations alike, the suspicion that
the French were a cowardly lot, prone to run rather than fight for
their country. (the most common retort to this image is to claim
that Canada was not really their country as they were Quebeckers
first - to this I say "Bull feces"!) NOTE: I can confirm this
tendancy for francophones to run, first hand - from the stories my
Father told me about the early days of WW11 when, after
volunteering, many francophones, following training completion,
decided to reverse their decision and attempt to run away. My Father
and soldiers under his command were given the responsibility of
troop embarkation from Sorel across from Montreal, and were issued
orders to "shoot" any soldier who tried to run. There was more than
one instance when this unfortunate event took place. In time of
war, in the military, there is no room for cowardice - it has to be
that way! At the time, Canadian leaders felt that they were
dangerously close to a French demand for separation (so what's
new??). In 1939, Prime Minister Mackenzie King was still quite
sensitive to this issue. He knew that conscription for foreign
service was not an option, and to encourage French Canadians to
volunteer, (and most Canadians are not aware of this) he delayed the
Canadian declaration of war to emphasize that Canada was joining the
effort autonomously, and not just because of England's request.
(ref: Six Army's in Normandy, John Keegan.
pgs.118-120) ((** some of this material gleaned from articles
discovered on the web))
A little (web) research has
confirmed that more than 71 per cent of people in Quebec voted
against the conscription, while 80 percent of those living
outside Quebec voted for it. It is estimated that in excess
of 80 per cent of Quebecois and other French-speaking people outside
Quebec voted against conscription. To this writer, that says a lot
about the character of the beast!
Ironically, I started
writing this rant and lo-and-behold, in this morning's (Thurs, Nov
10) Citizen, there appeared an article on page 1, by Randy Boswell,
entitled "Canada was too eager to fight Nazis, 24% of Quebecers
say"! Apparently in a poll of 2.027 Canadians conducted by
Environics, respondents from Quebec were about three times as likely
to say that Canada showed too much support for the war effort
against Nazi Germany and it's allies. Hard to believe, right? I
guess that somehow, Nazi atrocities, you know... the internment and
death camps, genocide issues, master race ideology etc.. did not
appear to be "a problem" to these ill informed idiots! I have often
wondered why the French, whether from France, a "colony" or
elsewhere, have been tagged with the behaviourism of being cowardly.
Possibly it is just an inherent quality that has been passed down
from generation to generation? Who knows - and "quite frankly
Scarlet", who gives a damn! Just that if you must rely on someone to
help in a time of crisis and the person you are looking at is a
Quebecker, better to think again, in my opinion!
In another
question posed by Environics, "in the event that another world war
breaks out, which of the following do you believe will be the main
cause?" The options were (a) middle eastern terrorism, (b) American
foreign policy (c) the growth of an asian superpower or (d) third
world poverty. 42% of Quebec respondents chose option (b) American
foreign policy, whilst all other regions ranked terrorism as the
likliest cause!
I do not know about you but all this tells
me that many Quebeckers have their heads screwed on wrong or else
their heads are deeply buried in the sand (or they have gorged on
too much poutine lately!) Now before I receive a ton of blistering
e-mail complaints, I would like to make something clear... I am not
anti-francophone! Militarily, some of the bravest Canadians were
francophones, whether from Quebec or elsewhere across Canada. The
Royal 22nd Regiment - the famous Van-Doos, have a list of battle
honours that can match any other Canadian regiment's claim to fame.
These were brave Canadians and many of them rest peacefully in
gravesites around the world, in France, Holland, Belgium, Germany,
Italy, Hong Kong, Korea and elsewhere. Their names should be
respected and remembered. In the civilian world, there have been
many francophones who have spent their lives as good dedicated
Canadians, doing "their bit" for the nation and humanity as a whole.
These people I respect and I would happily go out of my way to help
or support in any situation. But then there are the "extreme
nationalists" or "separatists"! This ugly and misinformed lot, quite
frankly, do not give a damn about anything or anybody other than
their own self-centered causes. (ie.. the recent debacle involving a
Quebec 'Blockhead' who refused to supply Legion members with a
Canadian flag for their Remembrance day ceremonies). This sorry bevy
of whiners live in an 18th century dreamland where France, the
"mother country" was a world power and "important". They still
adhere to the illusion that the French language is also 'important'
and that English, the language of the world business community, is
or should be a dying means of communication. Talk about avoiding
reality! I have a description of Quebec separatists that brings a
chuckle to listeners every time it is expressed... "many
francophones are a bunch of wine swilling, poutine gobbling, cheese
eating yellow-bellied and cowardly surrender monkeys who would
rather run away than fight for any worthwhile cause"! So
tomorrow, Remembrance day, as we attend ceremonies or just bow our
heads in remembrance of those who gave their all so we may have a
life of freedom, do thank the heroes, regardless of nationality or
language, both passed on and those still here, but also reserve some
contempt and disgust for the Quebec cowards who chose to run and
hide rather than do the right thing for their country! They have to
live with their own shame but it does not hurt to "dig the knife
in a bit further" and not let them forget and hopefully, as
their automobile license plates attest "Je me souviens" -
they will remember their shortcomings!
Politicians - Oink??
November 5th, 2004 - I haven't really ranted
that much lately - storing it up I guess - but after wading through
the newspapers and television news for the last three days, the time
has come! We all know that now we are faced with another four years
of "DuByA'iSm" - four more years of hisself charging off somewhere
to smite everyone and everything who does not adhere to his
christian sense of whatever! Iran - take note! North Korea, better
pay your troops - they may be needed soon! Canadian beef farmers
& west coast lumber people - best keep up the efforts to find
alternative markets, as the "Champion of the World" with
banners flying and rallying of the masses under the cry of "God,
Guns and Gays" is off and running to save mankind! My question,
of course, is who can we count on to save us from Dubya??
Help!!!
On the topic of politicians, here is a question for
you! I have often wondered why politicians are usually stricken with
the "Me Me" virus. You know, that nasty bug that turns normally
decent people into self-serving, constituent-ignoring, money
wasting, arrogant and blood-sucking politicians - all in the name of
'democracy'! Did I also mention "at times stupid"?? I must be old
fashioned - REALLY old fashioned, as I was brought up under the
(misconception) that politicians were supposed to represent the
values and desires of their constituents? Supposedly, when you vote
for a representative, whether municipal, provincial or federal, or
even for the local soccer team, you vote for the person(s) whom you
feel will do the best job based on what you think is required or
beneficial for that "cause"! Alas, once the "X" ink is dry on your
vote, you have added to the impending epidemic (pandemic?) where
your candidate, if successful, becomes a prime target for the "Me
Me" virus to attack! Once in office, what YOU wanted no longer
counts! Your values? Forget it! Your interpretation of what needs to
be done? Who are YOU kidding - YOU are not smart ernough to realize
what REALLY needs to be done! "They" know better (on your behalf of
course)! "You are not a politician so you do not know"
appears to be the elected official credo! OUCH!! Canadians want a
beefed-up military but the politicians keep on cutting finances and
making stupid "on the cheap" decisions! (Hey! If they gave the
military what it needs, there may not be enough left over to pay for
their hefty salary and expense increases!). Canadians want their
valued socialized medical system repaired - the politicians wriggle
and worm around on this one, promising this and that but what really
happens? Not much! Canadians may not like the Bush administration
but it is not going to go away for at least four years so best learn
to live with it - for now. So what do some politicians do? Open
their ignorant mouths and spout off for the sole purpose of getting
press or air time! (Parrish - take note!). Think about the Ontario
Provincial government for a moment - the best example of politicians
doing everything possible to counter what the voting public really
wants, and in contradiction of what was "promised" during the
election process! ("ay, there's the rub" - Shakespeare). I wonder if
we would have had Chretien then Martin as Prime Ministers had their
election campaign promises included; wasting over a billion dollars
on an ineffective and unwarranted gun registry and also another
billion on the HRDC scandal; wasting public funds in the Quebec
promotion scandal, then further wasting of money in an expensive
"investigation" that will be short-shifted on to a back shelf
somewhere in time; being "cheap" and not purchasing proper equipment
for the military (submarines, Iltis jeeps etc - but Chretien somehow
found the money for his unnecessary Challenger jets, right?);
embarassing Canadians by letting our prestige and honour droop on
the world stage through not "pulling our weight" in the UN or NATO,
NORAD etc.; pushing "bilingualism" down the throats of Canadians
where totally unnecessary {to appease Quebec of course, that bastion
of bilingualism where the local (I hesitate to say "provincial")
government mandates french language unilingualism}. Talk about the
"tail wagging the dog"! On the topic of bilingualism, Dyane
Adams, "furher" of the federal language gestapo, er... sorry,
police, goes out of her way to impress upon everyone, the need to
have all Canadians become bilingual (which really means anglophones
learning french - francophones in Quebec get a "bye" on this one!)
As this policy continues, more and more francophones will gain power
in Ottawa to the detriment of anglophone wishes and rights! What's
next? The Canadian national anthem being written to include the
words "Je Me Souviens" (translation: we lost the battle and war
with the silly english but won everything in the end") or the
Canadian maple leaf flag having a 'fleur de lys' added? What's
next... the 'national' food becoming "poutine"??
My views are
well known - Quebec separatists - please pay up your debt to Canada
and leave - go "elsewhere" with your ignorance and pettiness! We
really can well get along without you - honest! French is a dying
language... note the recent turmoil and desperation in France where
government officials are anguished over the demise of the language
in favour of English as the world's language of choice, especially
in business! Even France's ministers are "secretly" learning
english, much to the dismay of 'Emperor' Jacques Chirac! (someone..
please inform him that the French Empire is no longer around!).
Quebec still thinks the "Blue Plague" should spread - time will
ultimately prove them all wrong - thankfully! But in the meantime we
have to put up with the arrogance, ignorance and often rudeness -
and being Canadians, we tend to do just that - not wanting to upset
anyone of course! Now if only a certain "Blockhead" MP from Quebec
would do the right thing and provide Legion veterans with a Canadian
Flag as requested - then that would be a step in the right
direction! Who am I kidding - Fat Chance of that!
One final
comment - say what we might about George Dubya Bush and his cronies,
they would not tolerate a small insignificant section of the USA
trying to cram their idiosyncracies down everyone else's throat like
Kebec is trying (and being allowed) to do here. They would "crush"
the situation, quickly - and for that I give my admiration! Dyane
Adams et al... get a Real job - stop trying to push unneeded
and unwarranted "francophon'ism" down our throats - for a change,
start to appreciate the realities of the matter, "S... or get off
the Pot" - and if necessary, take up the cause of our "real"
forefathers - native aboriginal Canadians who are in dire straits
thanks to our uncaring and ineffective bureaucracy and politicians
who care about nothing else than becoming re-elected and keeping
their "fat" public paid jobs! They too have a 'credo'.. "Our spot
at the public financed feeding trough must be preserved.
*Snort*."
I warned/promised you - it would be a "catch
up" rant - I believe I delivered!!
Aw M'Gosh... Dubya or Kerry - who to
choose??
Summer's over, camping's over -
I'm back so more 'ranting' - Sorry about that!! But here
goes...
One of the best reasons for being a Canadian and not
an American is that we do not have to be serious about the upcoming
US election for President. No offense, south-of-the-border friends,
just that our political system is 'different'! Not necessarily
better at times - we, as you, have our share of idiots and demigods
strolling through the halls of gouvernment ('government' to you US
folks) and as is their nature, they do 'stuff' that varies from dumb
to plain stupid - with the occasional good deed! But as far as the
US election is concerned, I would hate to have to make a decision
about placing an "X" beside the name of either Dubya or Kerry. There
are so many opinions about each.. and the US press and 'spindoctors'
certainly paint each one as ogres or saint - depending which 'camp'
is speaking or which of the biased press services is
reporting!
As a Canadian, my opinion would normally be swayed
by each candidates views on what will be done - or not done -
regarding us northern folk on this side of the border. Dubya and his
cronies want us to get involved in his "Star Wars" (by whatever
name) missile program - but that is an expensive and somewhat
useless (redundant) program. Last time I looked, the terrorist set
really had no ICBM's that would warrant a missile defence shield of
that magnitude! Possible suitcase 'nukes, in the hands of terrorists
courtesy of the old USSR - well that's a different problem - and has
more danger attached - and about which a Star Wars defence program
would do absolutely nothing! On the other side, Kerry appears to be
"protectionist" and would start 'closing the border' to Canadian
goods and services. The US is our largest trading partner and
although Canada is slowly finding other markets, that market is a
necessity to our economic wellbeing. Kerry actually signed on to a
motion to permanently close the trade border to Canadian beef -
citing the "mad cow" issue as a reason! Bull DooDoo! The Mad Cow
(BSA) disease is not the issue - never has been - the true issue is
the US Farm Lobby Group which is having a great time now since they
have been able to increase their market penetration and increase
prices to US consumers as a result of the boycott! Farm Lobby Group
1, US Consumers zero!! In a similar situation, the US western lumber
and paper production lobbies have continued to have prohibitive
trade taxes levied against Canadian wood exporters even though the
World Courts have decreed this an unfair trade practice. It's the
old story, the US wants everyone to play by their rules which they
themselves can change at will!!
I digress!! Back to the US
election. Unless you are a US card-carrying and fanatical Republican
who would rather die than not vote for your Party, I would strongly
suggest seeing Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit
9/11" which raises some really disturbing questions about Bush's
stewardship of the great ship USA! He questions the Saudi Arabian -
Bush family connection and blatently suggests that big money and
overseas interests play a big role in formulating US international
policy!
On a lighter note, there are some humourous
(humorous) sources of US political information. There is a mix of
humour and a couple of serious items to ponder! - The first one
"Pentagon Strike" is scarey!! Remember, this is a "satire" site so
"keep your cool"!!
(CLICK
HERE for a copy of the Ottawa Citizen front page June 6th
1944 {332Kb file})
Why cannot
politicians put aside their political will and greed and appreciate
things for what they really are?? I just finished watching the
Normandy D-Day events held in France. Firstly, and I know I am going
to irritate some with this one... why was Germany represented at the
ceremonies?? I appreciate that some will argue that past is past and
we should forgive and forget, but one should always be careful and
remember the famous quotation by George Santayana "Those who cannot
learn from history are doomed to repeat it" - the world did not
learn much of a lesson from WW1 hence WW11. The total number of
deaths in WW11 exceeded 61
million, over 25,000,000 in the soviet union alone! To place
things in perspective, this amounts to almost double the current
population of Canada. Many of these deaths were the result of
atrocities at the hands of Nazis, primarily the Gestapo and infamous
SS. Forgive?? It is really hard, especially for the families of
those whose members had or have numbers tatooed on their arms.
Forget?? Never! Germany's representation at the ceremonies was an
affront to those brave souls who fought the Nazi scourge. Yes, there
are some who will say that it was the Nazis who committed the
horrible deeds, not ordinary Germans. It is surprising to hear that
before and in the early stages of the war, everyone in Germany was a
Nazi at heart but following the war, no one was or had been a Nazi -
in fact it was hard to find anyone who had ever known a Nazi!!
Convenient! I was priviliged to know a brave officer, no longer with
us, - a fighter pilot who participated in the liberation of one of
the Nazi death camps and who also worked in Germany until the late
1980's. His stories of denial among German citizens following the
war and into the present were enough to make anyone's hair stand on
end!
Then there was France! Firstly, and for the record, many
French men and women acted gallantly during the war and many of them
gave the ultimate sacrifice! These people should be honoured and
never forgotten. But the vast majority of the French population do
not deserve such respect. Their support, in fact "insistance" on the
creation of the Vichy "pro Nazi" government actually collaborated
with the Nazis! At today's ceremonies, and no one should be
surprised at this, it was definitely a "French Show" - with the
glorification of all things French being placed front-and-center
ahead of the meaning of the whole remembrance ceremony! I was
personally surprised that when the Naval guns started booming away
at the ceremonies start up, that all the French spectators did not
jump up and run away! Old habits tend to die slowly! Jacques Chirac
spouted the glories of Charles de Gaulle who actually scuttled many
of the Allied plans regarding the Normandy campaign and was probably
the most arrogant and uncooperative S.O.B. during the invasion.
Allied requests for him to broadcast a message to the French
population prior to the invasion were refused because the plans
called for his address to be made AFTER those of Ike Eisenhower, the
Supreme Commander! De Gaulle's pompous and egotistical character got
in the way - again! De Gaulle was finally appeased as he was
"allowed" to lead the liberation parade into Paris. The Brit's
Montgomery was quite pompous and quite a pain but he got some things
done! Degaulle was pompous and got nothing done! 'Nuff
said!
It was nice that the French Government awarded the
Legion D'Honneur - France's top military award, to representatives
from the Allied nations. It was appropriate and very the least they
could do. Now, on the political scene, if they would only stop
trying to attain their so-called "destiny" of being a significant
world power (a hangover from the days of Napoleon) and play a more
cooperative role on the modern global stage, then possibly the world
may become a better - and safer - place to live in.
To those
brave veterans still with us and those no longer with us - Thank
you!
THE ROBIN WILLIAMS PEACE
PLAN
This may very well be the best
thought out item we have read since 9/11/01. Leave it to Robin
Williams to come up with the perfect plan ... what we need now is
for our UN Ambassador to stand up and repeat this message.
I
see a lot of people yelling for peace but I have not heard of a plan
for peace. So, here's one plan.
1. The US will apologize to
the world for our "interference" in their affairs, past &
present. You know, Hitler, Mussolini, Tojo, Noriega, Milosovich and
the rest of those good ol' boys: We will never "interfere" again.
2. We will withdraw our troops from all over the world,
starting with Germany, South Korea and the Philippines. They don't
want us there. We would station troops at our borders. No one
sneaking through holes in the fence.
3. All illegal aliens
have 90 days to get their affairs together and leave. We'll give
them a free trip home. After 90 days the remainder will be gathered
up and deported immediately, regardless of who or where they are.
France would welcome them.
4. All future visitors will be
thoroughly checked and limited to 90 days unless given a special
permit. No one from a terrorist nation would be allowed in. If you
don't like it there, change it yourself and don't hide here. Asylum
would never be available to anyone. We don't need any more cab
drivers or 7-11 cashiers.
5. No "students" over age 21. The
older ones are the bombers. If they don't attend classes, they get a
"D" (for "deport") and it's back home baby.
6. The US and
Canada will make a strong effort to become self-sufficient energy
wise. This will include developing non-polluting sources of energy
but will require a temporary drilling of oil in the Alaskan
wilderness. The caribou will have to cope for a while.
7.
Offer Saudi Arabia and other oil producing countries $10 a barrel
for their oil. If they don't like it, we go some place else. They
can go somewhere else to sell their production. (About a week of the
wells filling up the storage sites would be enough.)
8. If
there is a famine or other natural catastrophe in the world, we will
not "interfere." They can pray to Allah or whomever for seeds, rain,
cement or whatever they need. Besides, most of what we give them is
stolen or given to the Army. The people who need it most get very
little, if anything.
9. Move the UN Headquarters to an
isolated island some place. We don't need the spies and fair weather
friends here. Besides, the building would make a good homeless
shelter or lockup for illegal aliens.
10. All Americans
(Including Canadians) must go to charm and beauty school. That way
no one can call us "Ugly Americans" any longer. The language we
speak is ENGLISH.....learn it...or LEAVE..!!
Now, ain't that
a winner of a plan. The Statue of Liberty is no longer saying "Give
me your poor, your tired, your huddled masses." She's got a baseball
bat and a Hockey Stick and she's yelling, "You want a piece of me?"
When do Americans and Canadians "Take
a Stand"?
(appeared as an editorial in an unknown US
newspaper)
Will we still be the Countries of "choice"
and still be Canada or the USA if we continue to make the changes
forced on us by the people from other countries that came to live in
Canada or the USA because they are the "Countries of Choice"????????
Think about it........ All I have to say is, when will they do
something about MY RIGHTS? I celebrate Christmas, but because it
isn't celebrated by everyone, we can no longer say "Merry
Christmas", now it has to be "Season's Greetings"! It's no longer
"Christmas vacation", it's "Winter Break". Isn't it amazing how this
winter break ALWAYS occurs over the Christmas holiday?? We've gone
so far the other way, bent over backwards to not offend anyone, that
I am now being offended. But it seems that no one has a problem with
that!!
This says it all! After hearing that the state of
Florida changed its opinion and let a Muslim woman have her picture
on her driver's license with her face covered this is an editorial
written by an American citizen, published in a Tampa newspaper. He
did quite a job, didn't he? Read on, please!
"IMMIGRANTS, NOT
AMERICANS OR CANADIANS, MUST ADAPT. I am tired of our nations
worrying about whether we are offending some individual or their
culture. Since the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, we have
experienced a surge in patriotism by the majority of Americans and
Canadians. However, the dust from the attacks had barely settled
when the "politically correct" crowd began complaining about the
possibility that our patriotism was offending others. I am not
against immigration, nor do I hold a grudge against anyone who is
seeking a better life by coming to our countries. Our population is
almost entirely made up of descendants of immigrants. However, there
are a few things that those who have recently come to our country,
and apparently some born here, need to understand. This idea of our
countries being a multi-cultural community has served only to dilute
our sovereignty and our national identity. As Americans and
Canadians we have developed our own culture, our own society, our
own language and our own lifestyle. This position has been developed
over centuries of struggles, trials, and victories by millions of
men and women who have sought freedom. We speak ENGLISH or French,
not Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, or any
other language. Therefore, if you wish to become part of our
society, learn the language!
"In God We Trust" is our
national motto. This is not some Christian, right wing, political
slogan. We adopted this motto because Christian men and women, on
Christian principles, founded this nation, and this is clearly
documented. It is certainly appropriate to display it on the walls
of our schools. If God offends you, then I suggest you consider
another part of the world as your new home, because God is part of
our culture.
If freedom offends you, or you don't like this
way of life, then you should seriously consider a move to another
part of this planet. We are happy with our cultures and have no
desire to change them, and we really don't care how you did things
where you came from. These are OUR Countries, OUR lands, and OUR
lifestyles. Every citizen has the right to express his opinion and
we will allow you every opportunity to do so. But once you are done
complaining, whining, and griping about our flags, our pledges, our
national mottos, or our way of life, I highly encourage you take
advantage of one other great freedom, THE RIGHT TO LEAVE."
Chrétien is gonzo... but his "Legacy"
still hangs around!!
Been a while since I
added anything to this page - nothing mind-boggling happening, as
Trudeau once said "merely the world unfolding as it should"! Had PET
known that Chrétien would "rule" as he has, he would not have
uttered that phrase!! Before I go off on a rant, I would like to
establish a few ground rules... I like Martin - I suspect he would
like to do "the right thing" wherever possible! This, of course, is
not always the "mark" of a politician however! I dislike Quebec
politicians! Nothing "personal" just that experience has taught me
that in Quebec, graft and corruption is somewhat accepted in
bureaucratic and political ranks - it is simply "a way of life"! I
do not dislike Quebec Francophones - on the whole, they are
patriotic, honest, fun loving Canadians like you or I - it is the
fanatical fringe and small group of narrow-minded and
self-supporting separation promoting idiots that give the rest a bad
name. If not separatist-minded, there is another group whose life
ambition is nothing short of shoving the French language down the
throats of many who will never use it - all in the name of
"protecting" the language from extinction! Well.. if France, Quebec,
Angola, Haiti etc.. are examples of the effects of having a French
culture, then maybe the French language should be allowed to slip
into extinction. Let's face it.. apart from naming cheese and a few
notable wines, and creation of well-known expressions such as
"advance to the rear, vite" and "nous surrenderons" -
the French language has no real value! Anyways, back to Chrétien and
his legacy!
The Federal Liberal Party is having problems.
Chretien's so-called "Legacy" is becoming widly understood - it is a
legacy of misspent public dollars, open graft and corruption, and
self-supporting actions by a small number of Chretien's hand-picked
appointees. That says a lot! Even more appalling is the fact that
almost all the "suspects" are from the Province of Quebec or French
speaking! Guess it is a "cultural" thing - and to a certain degree,
we should not be too hard on the suspects - possibly it is not
totally their "fault" but also the fault of the political system in
Quebec which indoctrinates and often encourages such
behaviour.
What can be done?? There are a couple of steps
that can bring a sense of normalcy back into the federal political
world. First, let's get back to population-based representation in
the house rather than the "decreed" specific representation enjoyed
by Quebec. Secondly, lets slow up or stop the "forced" proliferation
of the French language and it's "being shoved" down the throats of
non-francophones. The federal bureaucracy should be allowed to
self-populate based on expertise and merit, not on mother tongue!
What we have now can be considered by some as almost a "conspiracy"
- force federal bureaucrats to be bilingual (which means francophone
as a mother tongue in most cases) so they will hire other
francophones and - lo and behold - "control" of the country falls
into the hands of a small percentage of Canadian citizens - some of
whom would like to pursue the "separation" route when "appropriate"!
So... let's appoint and hire based on ability not language! Thirdly
- let's send a strong message to the "suspects" and perpetrators
involved in the series of "scandals" and mis-management actions (did
I say illegal too?) - let's avoid "slaps on the wrist" and let's
talk hardtime incarceration!! And, of course, let's take every step
to recover whatever we can from the hidden coffers of these perps -
the message has to be strong! Then we can get back to the old game
of Liberals vs Conservatives vs NDP or whatever - but on a level
playing field, and according to publically accepted "norms"! 'Nuff
said!!
Military
Comparisons..
Nothing serious about this
one folks... merely a visual comparison of the US Navy's Seals -vs-
their Iraqi counterparts! (Please... no letters - it's a JOKE -
honest!)
This one has been getting a bit
of press lately! France's often-not-so-bright numbskull of an
egotistic Président aka "King" aka "Roi" etc.. Jacques Chirac, has
taken it unto himself to invite the German Chancellor Gerhard
Schröder to attend the D-Day ceremonies! WoW! ... because the D-Day
invasion and liberation of Europe from the Nazi scourge started in
France, the idiotic French President has decided that he can invite
whomsoever he chooses and 'history be damned'! Since the latest
"suck-up" job by the cheese eating, wine swilling cowardly French
involves brown-nosing with the Germans (it is well known in French
Government circles that world domination will eventually (hopefully)
be in the hands of a Germanic-Franco er.. sorry..
Franco-Germanic Alliance) it behooves their cause to have the
Germans attend.
Meanwhile... back in the REAL world, anyone
having anything to do with WW11 is aghast at such an affront! It is
not just a case of inviting the "enemy" to the D-Day Celebration
because time heals many things and yesterday's conflicts have to be
put behind us to a certain degree. "They" lost many good men too -
but that is not the issue. The issue is that Germany in World War 2,
went far beyond normalcy in it's search for the elusive Third Reich
and thanks to the sick minds prevailing at the time, undescribable
horrors occurred which cannot, must not ever be forgotten! Having
decendants of that murderous regime participate in the sacred
ceremonies is an affront to every country and citizen who
participated in crushing the Axis alliance. It's bad enough that the
French participate - merely because it is their soil that the
invasion landed on and yes, there were a few courageous French
resistance fighters who deserve our respect and thanks - a very few
mind you - because the French really did little in the war apart
from collaborating with the Nazi's at every possible opportunity!
Mind you, throughout history, the French have mastered the ability
to "advance to the rear" in a quick and expedient
manner!
Apart from appealing to any decency in the minds of
the French Government (HaH!) there is little that can be done. It is
really the fault of the Allies of course. After liberating France,
like idiots and seeing benefit in allowing the French to continue
making their delicious wines, the Allies handed France back over to
the French - big mistake. It's not too dissimilar to the Plains of
Abraham "thing" where the British beat up on the French in Quebec
City but then started giving back control of this 'n that, and see
where that has gotten Canada to date. The vanquished (French) now
want to control the rest of the country (the English) - and OUR
stupid Government is letting them do that under the guise of the
"Bilingualism Policy" (you know, where 25 million Canadians must
learn French while the main French speaking area (7 million -
Quebec) refuses to accept English!)
To place the French way
of thinking in other areas is akin to; allowing Paul Bernardo and
Karla Humolka to attend anniversary ceremonies for the Mahaffy and
French families; Letting Japanese military officials attend Pearl
Harbour ceremonies; Having Clifford Olsen play Santa Claus to the
families of the BC children he murdered; Getting Israel to invite
Hamas and the PLO to address the Knesset during Independence Day
celebrations on May 14th; Letting Michael Jackson set up a
kindegarten school in "Neverland"! I think you get my
point!
Possibly... maybe... hopefully one day, the French
will topple over from eating too much paté and guzzling too much
vino and fall asleep - and with just a little bit of luck - might do
as Rip Van Winkle did - and sleep for a heck of a long time,
allowing the rest of the world to set about doing things that really
count without the interference of the imperialistic, cowardly and
irresponsible French!
The King is dead... Long Live the
King!!
Hisself is finally gonzo! Nothing
personal Mr. Chrétien, just that you lacked ethics and exuded
arrogance during your term(s) in office! You threw around taxpayers
dollars at will, enhanced your own position and the wellbeing of
your friends and supporters at taxpayer expense, ignored the plight
of our once-proud military and focused on your own ego just a little
too much for the average non-Quebecker Canadian to swallow! Bon
chance monsieur Ex-prime ministre - enjoy your retirement!
OK
- now we have Paul Martin! Here is what I HOPE happens soon - and
Martin has gone on record to state that this is what he WILL
do... - repair relations with the US - start supporting the
military - strengthen relations with the provinces - improve
Canada's damaged image around the world - undo many of Chretien's
improper "Legacy" mis-spendings! - re-examine the purpose,
structure and accountability of the (*snore*) Senate - get rid of
the Cabinet "deadwood" and lessen Quebeck, increase Western
representation (and get rid of that nuisance Sheila Copps) -
reduce the federal bureaucracy - eliminate the rediculous and
cost-inappropriate Firearm Registry In otherwords, act as a
Canadian Prime Minister SHOULD act! - it's been too long, far too
long!!
Going.. Going.. Thank God, Almost
GONE!! ( but still time for a couple of
'shots'!)
Canada's 'Primo Embarrassment' and leader of
incompetence, patronage and corruption, aka Jean Chretien, is
finally leaving - the auspicious event scheduled for Friday December
12th 2003 - mark it in your history books people! The new Prime
Minister, Paul Martin, is starting off on the right foot - he is
planning to grab the biggest broom available and 'sweep' almost all
of the deadwood, er.. cabinet, out of office and replace them with
some more forward-thinking and uncorrupted types. I say
'uncorrupted' because they are not yet in office so the PLC
watchdogs and ethics commission people must be on their toes as, we
all appreciate, "power corrupts"! Mind you, rumour has it that the
future cabinet will be comprised of more Westerner's and less
Quebeckers - a positive step as Westerner's tend to be more open and
honest while Quebeckers (at least the political types) tend to
accept corruption and coercion as being 'normal' and like to skulk
around in the background, unanswerable to no one!
Now... a
couple of points relating to the departure of King Jean from the
throne... It appears that the PLC (you know, that body of civil
servants supposedly serving 7 million francophones and 24 million
non-francophones but comprised of a majority of Francophones) has
decreed that, soon, all PLC positions must be filled by fully
bilingual staff and bureaucrats. In otherwords, the francophone
control over the government mandarins will increase. Why this must
be, many people do not know! Why someone responsible for
this-and-that in BC or the west, or Nova Scotia or any other
province except Quebec or New Brunswick, has to have a thorough
knowledge of the french language is beyond me! Remind me again, will
you, who-beat-who at the Plains of Abraham?? All this, especially
when you consider that the main source of francophones is 'La
Province" where use of the english language borders on death by
guilliotine!! Boy, this writer will be happy when that spoiled
problem-child cry-baby of a province? finally leaves and the rest of
the country can get back to normalcy without all the whining and
whimpering!!
And finally (say 'thank you')... this morning's
paper (Ottawa Citizen, Nov 24th) carried an article about the
scheduled decision for the replacement of the decrepit Sea King
helicopters being postponed again. It seems that the specifications
will invariably result in the ideal candidate chosen being the
'Cormorant' helicopter and that news will be an embarrassment
to the outgoing Roi Jean - hence the 'need' to postpone the
announcement until after his departure from the 'throne'! Why you
ask? Well, when the Mulroney government back in 1993 (er.. like 10
years ago) decided that the Cormorant (yes, the same helicopter but
now 10 years older and a heck of a lot more expensive) was the best
suited for the Navy's needs, Chretien-et-al cancelled the deal, not
because it was a bad deal, but rather because 'dose udder guys made
it"! Now, 10 years later, the same helicopter still appears to be
the best candidate - after the Chretien government paid out a
whopping penalty of $400,000,000 to cancel the original deal (and
guess whose money the $400M is - yours and mine of course)! And, Oh,
by-the-way, did I mention that the "new" price for virtually the
same machine will be a lot larger than the original contract?? Well,
King Jean, another copper nail in your 'Legacy' coffin!!
PLEEEEZE... December 12th, come soon so the embarrassment
and unnecessary draining of the tax coffers will finally
cease!!
Is 'Adieu' time getting closer? We hope
so!!!
It's getting closer... all the
'press' we hear these days suggests that our 'King' of
mismanagement and questionable and unethical antics may be
pushing ahead his 'retirement'! Possibly he has decided to bow to
all the pressure from his caucus, his party and even the grassroot
party members and voters who wish that he would just go away! It was
General Douglas MacArthur who coined the phrase "old generals
never die, they just fade away". I suggest that today we should
coin a new phrase "old politicians should not hang around, they
should fade away - quickly"! Current guesstimates suggest that
'hisself' may actually step down before Christmas - WoW! Will that
be a nice Christmas present for Canadians. Possibly the ongoing
stories of corruption and gross incompetence may stop when he
(finally) leaves! Since my last missive, we have learned about the
$5 million given to a small rarily-used airport in Quebec, used only
by the Desjardin (Caisse Depot) family?? And... are you aware that
over the past few years, Shawinigan has received more Federal grants
than the entire western provinces have received in the same period?
Hmmm.. wonder who there is in Ottawa that might have orchestrated
all this?? Hmmm! And this... the National Arts gallery in Ottawa is
finding itself financially strapped and will probably have to cut
exhibits. Why? Because 'someone' in the federal government decided
that the Gallery should set up a "branch" in - ready for it?? =
Shawinigan! Yes, as crazy as it sounds, Shawinigan is now the center
of a new exhibit called "The Body Transformed " - and this only cost
the National Arts Gallery a million dollars to set up - and the cost
will skyrocket to many times that the experts say! Don't believe it?
Check
this out! And you thought that 'hisself' squandering 100 million
dollars on two unnecessary private jets and condoning his cabinet
ministers taking improper "gifts" from the Irvings was as bad as it
was going to get! HaH! This man's arrogance and ability to give
Canadian taxpayers "the finger" is at an all-time high!
Our
greatest hope now - and it probably will happen this way - is that
Paul Martin will force 'King Jean" to abdicate his throne sooner
than later then Martin will sweep all the old deadwood out of the
cabinet and install some new, forward-thinking and relatively honest
members (which means a minimum of Quebec ministers). And if we are
REALLY lucky, Martin might make changes so that the Senate, that
useless body of incompetent patronage appointees, will earn their
seats by public vote and therefore be answerable to somebody other
than their useless selves!
Some day now... soon I hope...
those immortal words shall ring out... "The King is dead... long
live the King" - or something like that!
How do we get rid of this
curse??
What is the mark of a national
leader? France has Jacques Chirac - an egomaniac! The United States
has George Bush - brighter leaders we have seen! Canada has Jean
Chretien - do they come any more ineffective? Ah yes! Jean Chretien,
who insists on "denial" and I do not mean the river! His party wants
him to leave. Voters want him to leave. The international community
and foreign leaders are tired of stifling laughter at his buffoonery
and want him to leave. His wife and family want him to leave. Let's
face it, everyone apart from himself wants him to do the right thing
and let a proper government get back to the country's
business! The man and his patronage-pushing cronies are an
embarrassment and a "joke"! For the last many years I have increased
my disgust with the Ottawa crowd but this morning, Wednesday October
15th, it came to a head. The Ottawa Citizen ran an article about the
damage Mr. Chretien has caused to our once-proud military - and
included a photo of the Bosnia incident where Chretien wore an army
helmet backwards - quite indicative of his non-caring attitude
towards the military. The same paper also ran an article about the
military having to increase rents for on-base military families -
rent for outdated and decrepit accommodations with minimal or
non-existant insulation and bad fixtures. Absolutely disgusting! Of
course, I could mention the government non-support for our brave Korean
vets who had to pay for a decent memorial themselves. Then there
is the current controversy over the useless and aged Iltis jeeps,
decrepit and dangerous Sea King navy helicopters, outdated naval
supply ships, lack of air transportation - the list goes on!
Now in a small way I understand this government's hesitation
to dip into the coffers to update our military. It is not easy to
support a military while plowing billions of taxpayer dollars into
the likes of the gun registry, HRDC boondoggles, various golf club
ventures that I could mention (Shawinagate??), exhorbitant Cabinet
and MP expenditures and other costs relating to corrupt and
inexcusable management practices that we are all aware of!
Please Mr Chretien, the writing has been on the wall for a
long time - it is "time to go"! Not next year but NOW! Put your
personal dislike for Paul Martin aside and let the country get back
to business. Let the new PM clean house and get rid of all the
"deadwood" - Canadians really do need a strong and effective
government with some fresh views. Take John MacCallum with you and
let us have a Defence Minister who knows what to do and is willing
to do it - not an ineffective "yes man" who does not understand nor
care to appreciate the need for a viable military in today's global
world. Forget the legacy issue! Your pension is fat enough! Go home
and write your "memoirs"! Canada BEGS you - please just go!
Rubber duck flotilla set to invade
U.S.
By John Elliot - The Times,
London
An armada of yellow plastic ducks is bearing down
on North America's Atlantic coastline after an epic voyage halfway
around the world. The invasion force is supported by similar numbers
of green frogs, red beavers and blue turtles. The bath toys began
their journey in January 1992, when the container ship on which they
were travelling was hit by a storm in the Pacific. They were thrown
into the ocean and have roamed the globe since, generally remaining
together in large flotillas.
After bobbing along the coast
of Alaska the toys headed for the Bering Strait, which they reached
in 1995. They then crossed the Arctic Ocean. The ducks, frogs,
beavers and turtles were part of a shipment of 29,000 plastic bath
toys from China to Seattle. The toys are thought to have spent about
five years encrusted with snow and ice as they made their way past
polar bears and seals and eventually around the tip of Greenland. By
2001, they had passed Iceland and reached the area of the Atlantic
where the Titanic sank, said Curtis Ebbesmeyer, a retired
oceanographer from Seattle who has been tracking their progress,
using reports of sightings and data on ocean currents. Now; Mr.
Ebbesmeyer says, the ducks and their companions could arrive in New
England at any time. He hopes to hear from anyone who finds one of
the toys.
"Some kept going, some turned and headed for
Europe. By now, hundreds should be dispersed along the New England
coast," he said. Time and the weather have faded the toys, with the
ducks changing from yellow to white. They are stamped with the words
"the first years." When they originally splashed into the Pacific 11
years ago, the toys were in sets of four; wrapped in clear plastic
and cardboard. Shortly after their escape, near the international
dateline on a parallel line with the state of Oregon, salt water
washed away the glue that was holding the wrappings together,
allowing the toys to wander. Mr. Ebbesmeyer has calculated that
while most of the toys set course for the Arctic, a breakaway group
is likely to have made for Hawaii. He first began charting the
movements of the toys after hundreds were washed up in Alaska in
1992 and 1993. He said that the voyage of the toys has shed light on
sea currents. Every year about 10,000 containers fall off ships. Mr.
Ebbesmeyer said that 30 per cent of the rubbish washed up on the
western shores of Britain is from the U.S.,while up to 20 per cent
of the waste strewn along North America's Pacific coast is from
Japan.
Mr. Ebbesmeyer is a guru among beachcombers. He
plotted the progress of 8o,ooo pairs of Nike running shoes after a
spill in tbe northern Pacific in 1990, the journey of 34,000 ice
hockey gloves that went overboard in 1994 and the course of five
million pieces of Lego that were lost off Lands End in
1997.
Seeing is believing...
maybe??
The Ottawa Citizen - Monday
July 14, 2003 - page A5
Yes, the caption is correct... "Prime Minister Jean
Chrétien is looking for office space in which he can write his
political memoirs after his retirement..."
Does this mean he will be around
LONGER???
The story of Noah (as it
would be told today)
The Lord appeared to Noah
in Canada in the year 2003 and said "the Earth is wicked,
overpopulated and has to start anew."
The
Lord then instructed Noah "to build an ark and to save two of every
living thing along with a few good humans." "Here's the blueprint,"
said the Lord. "Hurry. In six months I will start an unending rain;
for 40 days and 40 nights."
Six months later the rain came
down. The Lord looked down and saw Noah weeping in his flooded
yard........... and no ark in sight.
"NOAH," The Lord roared
from above "where's my ark?"
"Forgive me Lord," begged Noah.
''Things have changed."
"I was told I would need a building
permit, and I've been arguing with the inspector about the need for
a sprinkler system. My neighbours claim that I will violate the
zoning laws by building the ark in my yard and that the height
limitation will be exceeded. I had to go to the Development Appeal
Board for a decision who told me I had to go to Transport Canada and
the Department of Highways and Hydro. One wanted a bond posted for
the future costs of moving power, trolley and other overhead
obstructions to clear the passage for the ark's move to the sea. I
argued the sea would be coming to us, but they would hear nothing of
this. Getting the wood I needed was another problem. There's a ban
on cutting local trees in order to save the spotted owl. I tried to
convince the environmentalists that I needed the wood to save the
owls. But no go! I gathered the animals, but then I got sued by an
animal rights group. They insisted I was confining wild animals
against their will. As well, they argued the accommodations would be
too restrictive and it would be cruel and inhumane to put so many
animals in so confined a space. Then when Environment Canada got
wind of the project they decided that I could not build the ark
without filing an environmental impact study on YOUR proposed flood,
and I'm still trying to resolve a complaint with the Human Rights
Commission on how many minorities I'm supposed to hire for my
building crew. The trade unions want me to hire only union trades
people with ark building experience. To make matters worse, Canada
Customs and Revenue Agency seized all my Assets, claiming I'm trying
to leave the country illegally and with endangered species. So
forgive me Lord, but it will take at least 10 years to get the paper
work finished let alone the ark."
Suddenly the skies cleared,
the torential rain subsided and the sun began to shine. A rainbow
stretched across the sky as Noah looked up in wonder.
"You
mean you're not going to destroy the world?" Noah asked.
"No
need to," said the Lord, "your Government already has!"
Name--Position
1. Saddam
Hussein--President of Iraq/CINC of Military 2. Qusay
Hussein--SSO, SRG & RGFC Commander 3. Uday
Hussein--Saddam Fedayeen Commander 4. Abid Hamid Mahmud Al
Tikriti--Presidential Secretary (WMD Release Authority) 5.
Al Hasan Majid--Pres. Advisor, Fmr South Reg Cmdr 6. Izzat
Ibrahim al Duri--Vice Chair of the RCC, North Reg Cmdr 7.
Hani Abd Latif Tilfa al Tikriti--SSO Director 8. Kamal
Mustafa Abdallah Sultan Tikriti--RG Secretary 9. Barzan Abd
Ghafur Sulayman al Tikriti--SRG Commander 10. Muzahim Sa'b Hassan al Tikriti--Air
Defense Force Commander 11. Ibrahim Ahmad Abd al
Sattar Muhammad al Tikriti--Armed Forces Chief of Staff 12.
Sayf al Din Fulayyih Hassan Taha al Rawi--RGFC Chief 13.
Rafi Abd Latif al Tilfah--DGS Director 14. Tahir Jalil
Habbush al Tikriti--IIS Director 15. Hamid Raja Shalah al
Tikriti--Air Force Commander 16. Abd
al Tawab Mullah Huwaysh--OMI Director (WMD
Production) 17. Aziz Salih Numan--BP Regional
Cmdr/Cmdr BP Militia - Reg Cmd 18.
Muhammad Hazmaq al Zubaydi--Central Euphrates Reg
Cmdr 19. Sultan Hashim Ahmad al Tal--Minister of
Defense 20. Ayad Futayyih Khalifa al Rawi--Al Quds Force
Chief of Staff 21. Zuhayr Talib Abd
al Sattar al Naqib--DMI Director 22. Abd al Baqi
abd Karim al Sadun --BP Chmn & Cmdr BP Militia -
Baghdad 23. Muhammad Zimam Abd al-Razzaq al Sadun --BP Chmn
& Cmdr BP Militia - Ta'mim & Ninawa Gov 24. Samir abd al Aziz al Najm --BP Chmn &
Cmdr BP Militia - Diyal Gov. 25. Yahya Abdallah
al Ubaydi --BP Chmn & Cmdr BP Militia - Basrah Gov. 26.
Nayif Shindakh Thamir --BP Chmn & Cmdr BP Militia - Salah
ad Din Gov. 27. Sayfal al Din al Mashhadani --BP Chmn &
Cmdr BP Militia - Muthanna Gov. 28. Fadil Mahmud Gharib
--BP Chmn & Cmdr BP Militia - Babil/Karbala Gov. 29.
Muhsin Khadar al Khafaji --BP Chmn & Cmdr BP Militia -
Qadasiyah Gov. 30. Rashid Taan Kazim --BP Chmn & Cmdr
BP Militia - Anbar Governate 31. Ugla Abid Sighar
al-Kubaysi --BP Chmn & Cmdr BP Militia - Maysan
Governate 32. Ghazi Hamud al Adib --BP Chmn & Cmdr BP
Militia - Wasit Gov. 33. Adil Abdallah Mahdi al Duri al
Tikriti --BP Chmn & Cmdr BP Militia - Dhi Qar
Governate 34. Husayn Al Awawi--BP Chmn & Cmdr BP
Militia - Ninawa Governate 35. Khamis Sirhan al
Muhammad--BP Chmn & Cmdr BP Militia - Karbala
Governate 36. Sad Abd al Majid al-Faysal--BP Chmn &
Cmdr BP Militia - Salah ad Din Gov. 37. Latif Nussayif
Jasim al Dulaymi--Dep Chmn Baath Party 38. Taha Yasin
Ramadan--Vice President 39. Rukan Razuki abd Al Ghaful
Sulayman al Tikriti--Chief of Tribal Affairs 40. Jamal Mustafa Abdallah Sultan al
Tikriti--Deputy Chief of Tribal Affairs 41. Mizban Khidir Hadi--RCC Member, Reg CDR
Central Euphrates Region 42. Taha Muhyl al Din Maruf--Vice President and
RCC Member 43. Tariq
Aziz--Deputy Prime Minister 44. Walid Hamid Tawfiq al-Tikriti--Governor
of Basrah Governate 45.
Hikmat al Azzawi--Dep Prime Minister, Economics & Finance
Min. 46. Mahmud Dhiyab al Ahmad--Minister of the
Interior 47. Amir Rashid Muhammad al
Ubaydi--Former Oil Minister 48. Muhammad Mahdi al-Salih--Minister of
Trade 49. Husam Muhammad
al-Yasin--National Monitoring Director 50.
Sabawi Ibrahim--Baath Party, Saddam Maternal Half
Brother 51. Watban Ibrahim Hasan al
Tikriti--Baath Party, Saddam Half
Brother 52. Barzan
Ibrahim Hasan al Tikriti--Baath Party, Saddam Half
Brother 53. Huda Salih Mahdi Ammash--Party Youth
& Trade Bureau Chairman 54.
Humam Abd al-Khaliq Abd al-Ghafur--Min of Higher Education
& Scientific Research 55. Amir Hamudi Hasan al-Sadi--Presidential
Scientific Adviser/NMD Dir Gen 56. Prime Minister Jean "Roi" Chrétien--always
semi-retired and inefficient king of Canada
I read an article in
this morning's Ottawa Citizen (Monday April, 28th) entitled "The
UN's self-inflicted wound". Basically it is a note to those who
opposed the US intervention in Iraq and who were of the opinion that
only a UN sanctioned involvement in Iraq was necessary and that the
US invasion was undermining the United Nations as an effective
organization. Firstly let me suggest that using the words "United
Nations" and "effective" in the same sentence is a laugh! The UN
has, long ago, turned it'self into an ineffective and unreliable
body! It is destined to go the route of the League of Nations, the
UN's "father" body which went belly-up in the 30's.
The UN
really started to dissolve during the Rawanda massacres. Canada was
involved then and we have all heard how UN dictates or inaction
allowed hundreds of thousands of Rawandans to be killed as the Hutu
and Tutsi tribes competed in the "machete hacking olympics"!
Canadian and other nation UN "peacekeeping" troops had to helplessly
stand by and watch as these warring factions literally practiced
genocide - the UN "did not want to interfere" in a country's private
matters"! The UN's position then was "immoral" and
"uncaring"!
Since the Rawandan affair, the UN has slipped
into a realm of stupidity! It's bad enough that last month the U.N.
named Iraq as the "Chair of the UN's Disarmament Conference" and
shortly thereafter, named Libya as "Chair of the UN Human Rights
Commission! ( see "kidding"
above ). Now, apparently the UN in all it's continuing wisdom,
has decided to name North Korea and Cuba as candidates for election
to it's Human Rights Commission! You read it right - Human Rights
Commission! That's like asking Hitler to chair the Jewish National
Congress, or Japan's Emperorer Hirohito to become Secretary of War
for the US in 1941. Did I say that the UN was becoming useless? Talk
about a self-evident truth! To step further into the world of UN
uselessness, apparently last Friday, April 25th, (Citizen quote)
"... only 31 of 53 member states on the Human Rights Commission
supported a resolution condemning the oppression in Iraq during
Saddam Hussein's rule. Malaysia, Zimbabwe and others called the
resolution 'shameful' and they pushed instead for a condemnation of
US 'occupation'. Zimbabwe?? Aren't they the ones
terrorizing/murdering white farmers in an effort to have whites
leave their farms? The UN did attempt to censure Zimbabwe for these
actions but the effort was blocked by the African Group of member
states! No, there is really no self-serving going on inside the UN!!
Yeah, Sure!!
And some people wonder why the US moved when it
did - there should be no wonder - if they did not "take care" of the
Iraq situation, no one would!
France helped out Iraq during the
war??
For all those who
admired France for opposing the "coalition" assault on Iraq,
consider this: It turns out that France had been supplying Iraq with
strategic intelligence on US plans and meetings held between France
and the US. Not nice! Apart from being a nation of cheese eating,
wine swilling half-drunk surrender monkeys, a title well-earned over
the years, they have now stooped to knifing previous allies in the
back! Well, there will be some form of payback for their cowardly
deeds! France and French companies are apparently owed some
$6-9,000,000,000 (US) (yes, that's Billions) by Iraq - a tidy sum
they stand to lose if the new Iraqi government decides to "wipe out"
all Saddam Hussein Regime debts! The US and Britain are both pushing
for the new government, once installed, to do just that! What's
that? A smile on the face of George Dubya Bush when this topic is
addressed? Could it be?? You betcha!! Gonna be a lot of weeping and
wailing in the lily pond soon!
IRAQI DECK OF CARDS MOST WANTED
LIST there are really 56 not 55
The
newest card addition #56
What a Lousy Government Canada
has!
WoW! The W.H.O. (World Health
Organization) has published a "Travel Advisory" concerning
travel to Toronto due to their perception that the S.A.R.S.
(Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) situation there may be
dangerous to visitors. This appears to be a result of
incorrect information or overzealousness on the part of WHO
underlings who have misread the situation, or, as suggested by
some, a political move to offset the Chinese situation - an
appeasement to divert some attention away from the plight of
Hong Kong and the mainland.
Toronto, actually Canada as
a whole, is somewhat upset about this advisory as it will
indeed be the "kiss of death" to Toronto's tourism industry
for some months, and even if the advisory is lifted shortly,
the damage is done - travel plans for many will have been made
and reservations elsewhere confirmed! This is serious stuff as
the Canadian economy will suffer in the short term - there
have been suggestions that the GNP index may fall from an
anticipated 2.5% to as low as 1% - that's a big drop and
involves big dollars.
So what has our federal
government done about it? Not surprisingly, nothing! Our
illustrious Leader Jean Chrétien has been busy out of the
country - faking a "business trip" to the Dominican Republic
which, in reality was a chance to play more golf! (Baaaad
timing!) He will deny this, of course, but how else do you
explain the rumour concerning an underling's comments that his
planned golf game with Bill Clinton had been arranged well
before the trip? No, once again, the "slowly departing"
unimaginative and self-centered prime minister has put his
worldly pleasures before the concerns of the country! (what's
with this golf "thing" anyway? First "Shawinigate".. now
this??). Chrétien and crew have exhibited absolutely no
leadership in the SARS crisis - and it is a crisis, not
because of the actual outbreak, that will soon subside, but
because of the ramifications of international perception.
Whoops... sorry! I forgot... Chrétien has decided to wrap up
all his cabinet ministers and ship them down to Toronto where
the next Cabinet meeting will be held - to show the world that
there is no danger in visiting Toronto. What a dullard!!
Possibly more (and earlier) support for the hard-pressed
medical community might have been a better move? Possibly more
ministerial concern being provided at the onset of the
outbreak may have helped? There are no money concerns... the
Feds have over seven hundred millions of dollars earmarked for
a new "bilingualism program" (possibly I am "off base" here
but would not that money be better spent on bolstering our
medical system rather than teaching an inuit child somewhere
in the far north to speak "freedom" {whoops.. sorry.. I mean
"french"} or a federal official to learn french when his
position has no need for the language or involvement with the
public?). Possibly Federal insistance, along with provincial
and municipal pressure, on quarantine enforcement might have
helped - it SHOULD be a criminal offense to ignore quarantine
orders in crisis situations - an offense backed up by
incarceration - that might make offenders think twice
about continuing on with normal activities and spreading the
problem! SARS is a "present" problem, and may occur again, but
you can bet on the fact that other similar infections are
lurking around the corner, ready to "pounce" someday. We
should be ready for them! We should consider the SARS outbreak
as a "warning bell" and take steps to ensure that real
controls and procedures are in place.
Now... as far as
Chrétien-et-al having their Cabinet meeting in Toronto... may
I suggest that it be held in the most infectious hospital??
Nothing personal folks, just that there has to be some way of
removing the corrupt scourge that has this country in a
stranglehold - and until the "chief Dino" finally steps aside
next year, Canada will continue to regress in the world's
eyes! (Hey! if things improve, Canada may well be raised to
the status of a third-world nation in the eyes of many!)
Possibly the whole cabinet in quarantine would allow someone
else to take over the reins and really do what Roi Jean and
company have long forgotten to do - properly run our country!!
Ahh... dreams!
Oh Oh! I said it would happen..
Saturday April 12 2003 - It did not
take a genius to forsee that George 'Dubya' Bush would cancel
his intended May visit to Ottawa. What caught most people by
surprise is the excuse given! Most felt he would be
"diplomatic" about cancelling the trip, citing war related
activities as the excuse (although most Canadians would
realize that his being 'ticked off' at Canada's non-support
for the Iraq conflict was the true reason). What Bush did
state, quite blatently, was that Canada's non-support position
was the reason, and his personal dislike for Jean Chrétien
merely confirmed his decision to not visit! Possibly Bush was
also influenced by Chrétien's recent "offer" to send a couple
of RCMP officers to Iraq to help out with the "policing" of
that nation following the conflict? Possibly Bush saw
Chrétien's offer of two troopers, three horses, two musical
ride spears, six bales of hay for the horses and a five day
supply of McDonald gift certificates for the troopers, as
being somewhat inadequate, especially as the US would be asked
to transport them over and back! Ah, Mr Chrétien, in my view
you are a bumbling fool with no sense of diplomacy and tact!
It was a sad day in Canada when you were the voter's choice -
even sadder to realize that that there was no viable
opposition to prevent your "taking over' the throne! Please do
not make any more attempts to rectify the situation with the
US and their (not ours, unfortunately) allies - you
will only make matters worse. Just wait until you leave next
year - that alone will smooth over matters with our next-door
neighbours, presuming we are all still here of course. I
suspect that Canada is becoming more of an irritant to the US
than Iraq was - and we all know where that ended up!
Heads up Canada, "Incoming"!!
Proposed Time Magazine
Releases..
April 21 2003 Time Canada
edition
February 2004 Time Canada
edition
March 2004 Time Canada
edition
April 2004 Time Canada
edition
May 2004 Time Canada
edition
David Letterman's Top Ten reasons
why Canada will not fight in Iraq!
10. Both of Canada's soldiers have no way of
getting there.
9. Canadians are too busy at home
with the Maple Syrup Season.
8. After 136 Years, Canada is still
copying the cowardly French.
7. Saddam's name pronounced backwards
is "MADD ASs". They'll stay away from him THANK YOU.
6. There is only limited potential
for sales of Canadian Bacon in Iraq after the war.
5. Canada's Sea King Helicopter was
damaged and needs more repairs.
4. Celine Dion can't sing to the
troops because she has a contract in Las Vegas
3. The Rivers in Iraq are too shallow
for Canadian War Canoes.
2. CNN doesn't broadcast NHL playoff
games and Canadian TV's won't work in Iraq
1. One of Canada's two soldiers is
needed to protect the Prime Minister on the Caribbean golf
links
Open letter to Jean
Chrétien - Prime Minister
submitted to the Ottawa Citizen
April 11
2003
Congratulations Mr. Prime Minister, you have
finally succeeded! Your long-sought-after "Legacy" is now
etched in stone! Pierre Elliot Trudeau is remembered for
repatriating the Constitution! John Diefenbaker is known for
single-handedly dismembering the Canadian Aerospace industry!
Lester B. Pearson is known for his diplomatic efforts and
Nobel Prize! You, sir, will be long remembered for your
efforts in dividing Canada and alienating our greatest ally
and trading partner, the United States, by not supporting
those nations whose goal was to rid this world of a scourge
that compares to the likes of Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin!
You will be known as the prime minister who ended Canada's
long and proud tradition of supporting "right" and opposing
"evil" by stalling then refusing to support what a majority of
Canadians (58% of English Canadians according to Ipsos-Reid)
consider to be a "just cause" in eliminating the Iraqi threat
and fighting terrorism. In not supporting elimination of the
Iraqi threat you have sent a message to the world that Canada
possibly condones the Iraqi regime - because when considering
terrorism, there is no middle ground - you either support or
oppose!
Your latest move, announcing that the Canadian
Navy, involved in anti-terrorist support work in the middle
east, must not hand over any captured Iraqis to U.S forces, is
an example of illogical and irresponsible thinking! How far
will you go in your efforts to embarrass Canadians and
alienate our allies? Shame on you Mr. Prime Minister! And
shame on those Liberal party members who did not have the
courage to tell you that you were wrong! Yes, you finally have
your "Legacy" but one that I personally would not be too proud
to tell anyone about!
PLEASE FILL UP MY
CAR!!
A plea to US gas
stations..
Ok folks, enough is enough!
Apparently some Canadian travellers in the US are encountering
situations where US gas station attendants are refusing to
provide service because the customer is Canadian - they are
PO'd at Canada's anti-war, anti-USA stance. Please do not hold
all Canadians responsible for the attitude of our mis-directed
politicians and a few pacifist-minded individuals.
Our
present government is one that we are really "stuck" with! As
opposed to the US two-party political system, we have a
multi-party system which at times, unfortunately, can lead to
one party gaining a majority in our parliament. If the "other"
parties have weak leadership or platforms that do not appeal
to the population, then it becomes very difficult to "oust"
the party in power. If the "ruling party", presently the
"Liberal" party under their leader Jean Chrétien, has an
overpowering and self-serving attitude, then they can pretty
well "do what they want" and the "voters be damned"! To
further compound our woes, the prime minister Jean Chrétien
has decided to retire but is postponing such a move until
early 2004 - and the government does not have to call
an election for some time! Canada does not have "empeachment"
options like the US - too bad actually! We are stuck with the
present government until a credible opposition party with a
credible leader comes into view! Not only do Canadians need
you to gas up their cars when requested, they also need your
sympathy for the governmental plight they find themselves
in!
It can be claimed that Canadians voted for this
pacifist quebec cow-tow'ing government therefore they are
responsible and must face the consequences of their action!
The answer is both "yes" and "no"! We voted in this
government, or more properly stated, we did not vote OUT the
government - mainly due to the fact that there was no
alternative! (how does the old saying go .. "the devil you
know is better than the devil you do not know"!
You see, Canada is different from the US in a numnber
of areas, one being that we treated our history different -
well, at least we let it happen differently! When the US took
on Britain during the revolution, you won therefore you told
the British where to go and got on with business! When Canada,
under the-then rule of Britain, beat the French on the Plains
of Abraham in Quebec City, we made the foolish mistake of
letting the vanquished (French) start to dictate matters to
the victors (British)! It has been that way ever since! The
French language province of Quebec has become a master at the
art of whining and using the phrase "gimme..gimme", and our
federal politicians have yet to catch on to the fact that all
the "threats" of separation emanating from that francophone
province are overstated and that they should finally be "put
in their place"! Whoops - sorry about that - I forgot, a
disproportionate number of federal representatives either come
from that province or are sympathetic to it! Through political
blunders in the past, Quebec, with a francophone population of
just over six millions, has been allowed a disproportionate
representation in government circles, in a country of almost
thirty two millions. Francophone Quebeckers represent just
over 18% of Canada's population but through bilingualism
legislation, have gained disproportionate representation
exceeding 50%. Living on a continent of over 330 million
english speaking inhabitants, the average Quebecker
appreciates the need to speak english so most quebeckers are
bilingual. The majority of non-Quebec Canadians have no need
nor inclination to speak French - but nevertheless, our
francophone-loving federal government has total Canadian
bilingualism as a goal and is doing everything in their power
to achieve this goal whether the "rest of us" like it or not!
So.. a "french" thinking attitude exists in our upper
government circles! Such an attitude encompasses a pacifist
(some say cowardly) attitude which has led to the decimation
of our once-proud military and has created an image in the
political minds that the world revolves around Ottawa!
France's attitude says it all - better to run and hide than
stand up for good against evil - or stand up for anything for
that matter! Quebeckers are decendants of the French gene pool
and that says it all, right?
Personalities are
personalities and let's face it, our bumbling prime minister
has gone out of his way to alienate George W Bush - in fact it
is no secret that they hate each other! They rarily speak,
Chrétien is the only western leader not to have been invited
to Bush's ranch and Bush has never visited Ottawa - in fact a
planned visit this coming May will be cancelled - the "war"
being the excuse! Not so - Bush is so ticked off at Chrétien's
non-support that he has virtually "written him off"! The
Washington attitude right now is to forget Canada until such
time as our ineffective leader finally leaves - good
riddance!
So as I said above, please have empathy with
the average Canadian's plight! We love visiting the US - we
like the people and can escape our wintery weather, the
francophone curse and our sometimes-corrupt politicians! Most
Canadians, although they do not state it enough, appreciate
the US and would really like to support the effort in Iraq and
the anti-terrorist campaign. So when you see a nervous
Canadian rolling up to your pumps, please offer a smile of
sympathy and a kind word or two along with the fillup - a
gentle "we understand... we really understand" will do nicely
thank you.
CHRÉTIEN
CHANGES MIND!!
Canadian Parliament
decides to back US/UK stand on
Iraq!!
(April 1 2003) FINALLY... Jean
Chrétien has decided to admit his error in not offering moral
support for the US action to oust Sadaam Hussein and his
murderous regime! In a late night sitting of the House of
Commons yesterday (March 31 2003) he announced that the US
Ambassador had been informed of Canada's change in attitude.
Chrétien stated that "we were being put in a position where
our opposition to the US position was being seen as support
for the Iraqi regime and that certainly is not the case". He
went on.. "The United States recognizes that Canada has very
little to offer in the way of military assistance and in any
event did not want our physical assistance apart from Canadian
service people already working with them through the military
exchange program under the NORAD and NATO agreements".
Chrétien offered an apology to all Americans who felt Canada
had deserted them in their "hour of need" and suggested that
all Canadians, including citizens of Quebec who had, through a
misunderstanding, booed the American Anthem at a sporting
event, fully supported the aims of the Iraqi encounter as they
had also done in Korea and Vietnam. He again apologized for
his not being clearer in his support for Americans during the
events of September 11, when the World Trade terrorist attack
occurred. (It is widly accepted that his view on 9/11 was that
it was "just an attack" and that he did not comprehend the
fact that to most Americans, it was more than a simple attack
- "it was a grave moral issue"!)
And as a final
surprise to most observers, Chrétien also took the opportunity
to send a stern message to his caucus - and all members of the
House and Senate - that regardless of their personal views on
the Iraqi situation, members must keep their opinions to
themselves and not openly criticize the US or it's allies over
their mid-east position. Following his remarks, the House gave
the Prime Minister a standing ovation!
April
Fool!!
There is absolutely no way that
our ineffective Prime Minister would ever admit he was wrong
no matter what the circumstance! He would never apologize for
anything - throughout his forty year membership in government
circles, he has never apologized to anyone about any of the
misdeeds or errors of judgement he is quite famous (infamous?)
for! His now-apparent "Legacy" of mis-management, corruption
and ongoing government waste has earned him a place among the
list of the most notorious and tactless national leaders
anywhere. **( As further confirmation of this fact,
yesterday, March 31st 2003, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation
announced the Prime Minister was a recipient of a "lifetime
achievement "Teddy Award" for government waste. To mark the
anniversary next week of Mr. Chrétien's first election to the
Commons, at it's fifth annual awards ceremony on Parliament
Hill, the conservative lobby group gave him a gold painted
figurine of a sow. Federation president Walter Robinson noted
that federal spending totalled $8.3 billions when Mr. Chrétien
was first elected April 8, 1963 and has steadily grown to over
$180 billions under a succession of primarily Liberal
governments. Mr. Robinson said Mr. Chrétien, as prime
minister, had risked military lives by cancelling a new
helicopter purchase in 1963, balancing the federal books with
nearly a decade of tax increases, and presided over a nearly
ten percent decline in the value of the Canadian dollar
relative to the US dollar. The Federation's "Teddy Awards" are
named in honour of Ted Weatherill, a senior federal public
servant fired in 1998 following a series of newspaper stories
about his lavish spending habits.)
* Ed note: content of awards portion of article
taken from Tim Naumetz's {Can West News Service} article
appearing in the April 1 2003 Ottawa Citizen
WARNING!!
Anglophone survival at
risk!!
This morning's Ottawa
Citizen carried the story... Our "Language czar" Dyane
Adam has "decreed" that the federal public service hiring
policy will no longer accept unilingual anglophone hiring for
"bilingual" Public Service positions. The old policy was to
allow unilingual hiring with a two year window to allow
learning the other language! Effectively, since North America
contains about 330,000,000 english language inhabitants and
about 6,000,000 French speaking inhabitants, primarily located
in Quebec, most Quebeckers speak english and most english
inhabitants do not speak french - in fact in the North
American arena, Spanish is by far the second language! What
this means, for Canada, is that more and more civil service
positions will be filled by francophones!
In today's
global economy, the whole issue of "bilingualism" in Canada is
antiquated, driven only by the political butt-bussing
attitudes of the francophone crowd running the show in Ottawa.
We can thank Pierre Elliot Trudeau for starting all this! In
his attempts to appease the whiners in Quebec, he created the
"Official Languages Act" making french the second official
language of Canada. (*Trudeau's Official Bilingualism Act
remains the biggest sore spot with the non-Quebec provinces.
Because Canada now has two official languages, everything in
Canada must now appear in both French and English. And I mean
everything. Just about every product you can buy in Canada,
from cornflakes to a DVD player will come in a box where every
single bit of text is reproduced in French below the English.
This makes our boxes very crowded with words, and until
recently, Canadian cereal boxes never had those cool games on
the back, because the French translation of everything used up
too much room.*)
This march towards total
bilingualism is an attempt to spread the francophone language
and culture and is a major appeasement to the whiners in
Quebec who constantly moan about their potential to lose
culture. To them I say "Tough"! This is now a global economy
and I would suggest that learning Spanish or Chinese would be
more beneficial to the upcoming generations of Canadians! But
this would be a practical step and we all know that the
lunkheads running this country know nothing of practicality!
But it gets worse...
Not only is there a major
government thrust towards making every man, woman, child, dog,
cat and pet goldfish in Canada fully capable of speaking
french, there are actually steps in the works to eradicate the
english language in Canada! Yes, alas, it is true! You see,
anglophones object to seeing french on their cornflake boxes
and similarily the francophones object to seeing english -
both "sides" preferring to see neat games and contest stuff
instead! And since the francophones are taking control... well
you see what is happening!! I have suspected this for some
time but another article in this morning's Ottawa Citizen
confirmed the trend. The article related to the fact that
since harvesting of seal pups off Newfoundland had been
prohibited, the population was increasing out-of-hand and so a
program of sterilization is in the works. Yes, in an effort to
stop the spread of these creatures, they will be
systematically sterilized until the population becomes
"manageable". This procedure's potential has apparently not
been lost on those advocating total francophone rule in
Canada. I fear that there will be an attempt to slowly
eradicate anglophones - down to a "manageable population", say
2-400 where the gene pool will become so concentrated as to
produce morons which will further justify total elimination of
the species as being useless! (In fact, rumour has it that
this scenario is being examined by a noted Kebec movie-maker
as a possible movie script, financed by a consortium made up
of the federal government. Quebec government and the cowardly
French.)
Yes, sad but true, if left to their own
devices, the federal government will continue to keep on
filling their own ranks from the corrupt and self-serving
Kebec political pool, keep on staffing the public service with
francophones and eventually, embark upon a devious plot to
eliminate the argumentative anglophones who do not seem to
appreciate that french is, by far, superior to english in all
aspects! Hmmm.. wonder where this DeGaull/Chirac'ish attitude
came from?? Let's guess... the cowardly French motherland?
Possibly... possibly!
NewsMax.com is leading the
Boycott France campaign because American lives and security is
at stake.
France has every right to disagree with
America. But France has moved from simple dissent to active
hostility toward America. French President Chirac warned East
European nations that if they side with America, France will
oppose their membership in the European Union.
This
week, William Safire reported in the New York Times that
France has been secretly helping to arm Iraq -- and has
been helping Iraq build long range missiles. These same
missiles may soon be used against American soldiers. Just as
France is exercising its right to disagree, Americans
and Canadians can exercise their right to boycott - and avoid
helping companies and countries that oppose
America.
French Products and Companies to
Boycott
* Air France. Air Liquide. Airbus.
Alcatel. Allegra (allergy medication). Aqualung (including:
Spirotechnique, Technisub, US Divers, and SeaQuest). AXA
Advisors * Bank of the West (owned by BNP Paribas).
Beneteau (boats). BF Goodrich (owned by Michelin). BIC
(razors, pens and lighters). Biotherm (cosmetics). Black Bush.
Bollinger (champagne). * Car & Driver Magazine.
Cartier. Chanel. Chivas Regal (scotch). Christian Dior. Club
Med (vacations). Culligan (owned by Vivendi). * Dannon
(yogurt and dairy foods). DKNY. Dom Perignon. Durand
Crystal * Elle Magazine. Essilor Optical Products.
Evian. * Fina gas stations and Fina Oil (billions invested
in Iraqi oil fields). First Hawaiian Bank. * George
Magazine. Givenchy. Glenlivet (scotch). * Hennessy.
Houghton Mifflin (books). * Jacobs Creek (owned by Pernod
Ricard since 1989). Jameson (whiskey). Jerry Springer (talk
show) * Krups (coffee and cappuccino makers). * Lancome.
Le Creuset (cookware). L'Oreal (health and beauty products).
Louis Vuitton. * Marie Claire. Martel Cognac. Maybelline.
Méphisto (shoes and clothes). Michelin (tires and auto parts).
Mikasa (crystal and glass). Moet (champagne). Motel 6. Motown
Records. MP3.com. Mumms (champagne). * Nissan (cars;
majority owned by Renault). Nivea. Normany Butter. *
Parents Magazine. Peugeot (automobiles). Pierre Cardin.
Playstation Magazine. ProScan (owned by Thomson Electronics,
France). Publicis Group (including Saatchi & Saatchi
Advertising). * RCA (televisions and electronics; owned by
Thomson Electronics). Red Magazine. Red Roof Inns (owned by
Accor group in France). Renault (automobiles). Road &
Track Magazine. Roquefort cheese (all Roquefort cheese is made
in France). Rowenta (toasters, irons, coffee makers, etc.).
* Salomon (skis). Sierra Software and Computer Games.
Smart & Final. Sofitel (hotels, owned by Accor).
Sparkletts (water, owned by Danone). Spencer Gifts. Sundance
Channel. * Taylor Made (golf). Technicolor. T-Fal
(kitchenware). Total gas stations. * UbiSoft (computer
games). Uniroyal. Universal Studios (music, movies and
amusement parks; owned by Vivendi-Universal). USFilter. *
Veritas Group. Veuve Clicquot Champagne. Vittel. Vivendi. *
Wild Turkey (bourbon). Woman's Day Magazine. * Yoplait (The
French company Sodiaal owns a 50 percent stake). Yves Saint
Laurent. * Zodiac Inflatable Boats.
EVERYONE can do their
"bit" to send a message - we do not support
cowardism!
Canada's Prime
Ministers 1867 -
Many of my
American friends read the articles on our Government and (in
my opinion) somewhat useless Kebec-loving Prime Minister Jean
Chrétien and as a result, often query about our government
style and history. Regarding the history issue, for the
edification of Americans and history buffs, here is a listing
of Canada's Prime Ministers from "day one"!
("L" = Liberal, "C" = Conservative. "A" =
Arrogant)
#1- Sir John A. MacDonald,
C. (1867 - 1873, 1878 - 1891), #2- Alexander Mackenzie, L.
(1873 - 1878), #3- John Abbott, #4- John Thompson, #5-
Mackenzie Bowell, #6- Charles Tupper, (all C.) (1891 -
1896), #7- Sir Wilfred Laurier, L. (1896 - 1911)
#8- Sir Robert Borden, C. (1911 - 1920),
#9- Arthur Meighen, C. (1920 - 1921, 1926), #10- William
Lyon Mackenzie King, L. (1921 - 1926, 1926 - 1930, 1935 -
1948), #11- R.B. Bennett, C. (1930 - 1935), #12- Louis St.
Laurent, L. (1948 - 1957), #13- John Diefenbaker, C. (1957 -
1963) , #14- Lester Pearson, L. (1963 - 1968),
#15- Pierre Elliot Trudeau, L. (1968 -
1979, 1980 - 1984), #16- Joe Clark, C. (1979 - 1980), #17-
John Turner, L. (1984), #18- Brian Mulroney, C. (1984 - 1993),
#19- Kim Campbell, C. (1993), #20- Jean Chretien, A. (1993
- 2004, hopefully sooner!)
Chrétien-Bush feud mirrors enmity between
Diefenbaker and J.F.K., CD. Howe Institute
says
( Ottawa Citizen - Tues
March 25, 2003 - By Peter O'Neil )
Prime
Minister Jean Chretien's anti-war foreign policy puts
sentiment and posturing ahead of Canada's self-in- terest?
according to a report to be released today by the C.D. Howe
Institute.
Mr. Chrétien's decision to stay out of the
war in Iraq sends the Canada-U.S. relationship to its lowest
level since the early 1960s, when John F. Kennedy and John
Diefenbaker were feuding over Cold War defence issues, the
think-tank report concludes.
"By refusing to take part
in the Iraq war, Canada removed it's name from the list of
countries that can be counted as reliable partners and
principled allies'," according to authors Michael Hart and
Bill Dymond, both former senior Canadian trade
officials.
The harsh assessment echoes comments made
Sunday by former prime minister Brian Mulroney who said Mr.
Chretien's "juvenile delinquency" on foreign polidy has
betrayed Canada's historic alliance with the U.S., the United
Kingdom, and Australla. In an interview yesterday, Mr. Hart
said long-standing relationships among senior bureaucrats
remain strong.
But any sense of co-operation is
stymied at the political level because 0f enormous hostility
that began when Raymond Chrétien. the prime minister's nephew
and Canada's former ambassador to the U.S,, said before the
2000 election that Canada would be more comfortable with Al
Gore as president. "Day-to-day operations will continue, but
future forward-looking problem-solving is grinding to a halt,
because the benefit of the doubt - and that depends on
relationships - isn't there" he said. "I mean, in the White
House Mr. Chrétien is widely loathed; has been for years.
That's not good."
Mr. Hart and Mr. Dymond argue that
Canada is regularly sending "bizarre" signals on its position
on several issues, reflecting "ad hoc reactions (from the
Chrétien government) to unfolding events without any clear
idea of Canadian interests, priorities or capabilities,"
according to a C.D. Howe news release. The main casualty is
the effort to improve border flows and expand trade in the
post Sept. 11 era, an effort that is "crawling along rather
than moving quickly;" Mr. Hart said.
Natural Resources
Minister Herb Dhaliwal, who last week accused President George
W Bush of lacking statesmanship, continued to argue yesterday
that the Canada-U.S. relationship can withstand the recent
wave of disagreernents and name-calling. In recent months a
top Chretien official called Mr. Bush a "moron" while Liberal
MP Carolyn Parrish said she hated American "bastards"
CanWest News Service
Ed Note: This writer is getting quite tired
hearing about the illogical, indecisive and uncaring attitude
displayed by our not-so-illustrious (some suggest cowardly)
prime minister Jean (like-it-or-lump-it!) Chrétien! In my
opinion, his search for a "Legacy" displays no concern for the
wellbeing for his country and it's people. "H'its my way
or de 'iway" appears to be his directive to parliament. Mr.
prime minister, MOST CANADIANS WANT to support the US and it's
allies! ALL YOU HAD TO DO was to offer moral support, that's
all! The US has superior technological and manpower resources
to get the job done - they DID NOT ASK FOR nor did they really
want Canadian armed support! You have destroyed the military
to the point where any support would be minimal in any event -
you simply made a really BAD DECISION this time and guess
what? YOU will not have to pay the price, retired from
office next year with a really FAT PUBLIC-PROVIDED PENSION and
an opportunity to play golf at the Shawinigate golf course or
any other golf course that your ongoing corruption and deceit
has sponsored! No, It's Canadian tax payers who will have the
"privilige" of dealing with lessened trade with the US, no
longer enjoying "preferred trade status", increased border
crossing hardships, removal of the auto pact, reduction in
NAFTA benefits and the resultant rapidly increased
unemployment! You do tend to "screw up" often and this time,
you have REALLY DONE IT! Shafting your own people! You had
better hide your head in Shame! Oh, but I forgot.. you will
probably "retire" back in "la province" where separation and
pacifist attitudes among many "France-loving" cowards will
probably accept you as a "hero"! I just do not know what
terrible things Canada, as a country, must have done to
deserve an tactless scoundrel such as you!
Disgusting!
letter to the Editor
- Ottawa Citizen March 20,2003
(with apologies to "The
Wiz")
Tinman
Cowardly Lion Chrétien
Scarecrow
Ok,
now I am getting mad! Canada has been embarrassed again thanks
to our "leader"?? Jean Chrétien and his "yes men"! First there
was the series of ongoing faux-pa's, "goofs" and attempts at
obliteration of our once-proud armed forces. Then the issues
of corruption and mis-management (Shawinigate, Gagliano
affair, HRDC Boondoggle, Gun Registry mess...) came to light.
Now, after months of indecisiveness and "flip-flopping", our
not-so-illustrious prime minister has decided, on behalf of
all Canadians, to not support our allies - up to 40 countries
in the "coalition of the willing" at the time of writing - in
their attempts to remove the Iraqi cancer called Sadaam
Hussein. The USA, Britain, Australia, Spain, New Zealand and
others are supplying physical or moral support - but not
Canada and it's wishy-washy Liberal government!
Britain's government acted in a similar manner prior
to the second world war, not wanting to act in a decisive
manner in stopping the Nazi scourge - and look at the results.
Sadly the Chrétien government has not learned from that
lesson. Possibly the government is embarrassed at the decrepit
status of the military, that they have created, and "opting
out" saves further embarrassment? Or is is that Jean Chrétien
really doesn't care what the world community thinks of Canada
and Canadians?
I am sorry, Mr. Prime Minister, I care
and am not proud to wave a Canadian flag right now. The world
accepts France as a nation which often acts in a cowardly
manner - it's almost expected - but for Canada to also act in
a cowardly fashion, well... that is something new and a
surprise to almost everyone. Shame, Mr. Prime Minister, Shame
that you do not feel it necessary to support our neighbours in
a just cause! If the role was reversed, they would not
hesitate - but you do! It's embarrassing and cowardly! You
have finally created your long sought-after "Legacy" - and WE
have to live with it!
(Ed note: the number of supporters of the cause has
increased from 40 to 52 as of Saturday March 22
2003)
SLAM, BAM - GOODBYE
SADAAM!
... and there will be no tears at your departing this
earth - promise!!
Well it's on - and going well!
Why the "protesters" continue to "do their thing" I will never
know! Like, er.. the CWWC (Coalition of the Willing without
Canada) will stop the march to Baghdad beacuse of the
protests, right? Yeah, sure! Now there are apparently 52
nations who have decided to back Madass's ouster. This could
have been 53 but "you-know-who" and his "poultry-feces"
Liberal associates are too busy mouthing off at the US while
dining on escargots and steamed lobster, to bother about silly
things like their Country's reputation. Mind you, once it's
all over, the danger has passed and the conflict part of the
exercise is complete, then possibly JC and his wishy-washy
cronies will wish to "join in" and be part of "the winning
team"! I hope the US and others politely tell them "where to
go"! Canada's reputation as a freedom-loving player in the
world arena has been severely damaged. Hopefully, when the
yellow-bellied Quebec originating jackasses running this
country are removed from office and Paul Martin takes the
helm, then possibly there will be an opportunity for Canada to
regain it's reputation. Until then we have no choice to bear
the humiliation and scorn being sent this way by more
progressive thinking nations, and possibly associate with
other insignificant and cowardly nations, like France and
Nigeria! Mr. Prime Minister - you are embarrassing us!
So how do the
world's nations "stack up" over Iraq?
USA, UK, Spain - let's go and kick
Sadaam's butt! Keyword: courageous
France
- we don't want war 'cause we are a nation of cowards and we
are afraid of everything, even our shadows! Keyword:
gutless yellow-bellies
Germany
- unless it means a fourth reich and world domination for us,
we want no part of your war! Keyword: arrogantly
stupid
Russia - since we sold Iraq all their
outdated weapons, it appears a conflict of interest for us to
participate! Keyword: self-servicing
Canada
- according to their useless Prime Minister, "we choose/do not
choose to not participate/participate in any'ting/nothing dat
hanyone/no-one wishes/does not wish to do or not to do, h'as
long as de Hewnited Nations supports dat move or non-move,
'dat's for sure! 'an don' forget that I 'ave French ancestory
and I scare easily, mon dieu!" Keyword: totally
useless
Israel - Oi-ve! Maybe, at last,
possibly, hopefully - a mushroom cloud over Baghdad! Keyword:
revenge
China - Ha so! - we need a billion troops to kick North
Korea's butt when the time comes so we have none to spare so
we will have to sit this one out folks, but thanks for asking!
Keyword: remember Tianamin Square
Japan -
no sushi bars? count us out!! Keyword:
Sony
La
Guerre!!
which in English means: "Iraq - your butt is
ours!"
And in "true" French means: "Run away - Run
away!"
Rules of Etiquette
for Dealing with Peace Activists
( Thanks to a US friend
for this one)
With all of
this talk of impending war, many of us will encounter
so-called "Peace Activists" who will try to convince us that
we must refrain from retaliating against the ones who
terrorized us all on September 11th, 2001 and from causing any
harm to foreign governments that possess weapons of mass
destruction/terror that may be used against us in the future.
These activists may be alone or in a gathering and
most of us don't/won't know how to react to them. The
following rules of etiquette are to be applied when/if you
come upon one of these people, or one of their rallies. We do
not promote undue violence so the following exercise should be
considered as an guideline for the education of naive and
uninformed protesters to the "realities" of today's modern
world:
01. Listen politely while this person explains
their view(s). Strike up a conversation if necessary and feign
interest in their idea(s). They will tell you how revenge is
immoral, and that by attacking the people/governments that
threaten us, we will only bring more violence against us. They
will probably use many arguments, ranging from political to
religious to humanitarian.
02. In the middle of their
remarks, without any warning, PUNCH THEM IN THE FACE!
03. When the person gets up off the ground (always
punch them sufficiently enough to knock them to the ground),
they will be very angry and may even try to hit you, so be
careful.
04. Very quickly and calmly remind the person
that violence only begets more violence, and remind them of
their own stand on this matter. Tell them that if they are
really committed to a nonviolent approach to undeserved
attacks, they will turn the other cheek and negotiate a
solution. Tell them they must lead by example if they really
believe in what they are saying.
05. Most of them will
think for a moment and then agree that you are correct.
06. As soon as they do this, HIT THEM AGAIN! Only this
time, hit them harder and faster than before. Square in the
face.
07. Repeat steps 4 thru 6 until the desired
results are obtained (the idiot realizes the folly of his/her
argument or he is pummelled into a state of
unconsciousness).
There really is no difference in an
individual attacking an unsuspecting person or a group of
terrorists attacking an unsuspecting nation of people. It is
unacceptable and must be dealt with, perhaps at a high cost.
We owe our military a huge debt of gratitude for what they are
about to do for us and our children. We must support them and
our leaders during times like these. We have no choice. We
either strike back, very hard, or WE will keep getting punched
in the face...
A different kind of
French kiss
- Dave Barry
( Dave Barry is a humour
columnist for the Miami Herald)
OK, if
nobody else will do it, I'm going to patch up this spat
between the United States and France. As you know these two
nations are not getting along, as evidenced by the high-level
meeting in Paris last week during which French President
Jacques Chirac and U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, in
what aides described as a frank exchange of views, bit each
other.
Yes, relations are at an all all-time low. The
French view us as a bunch of fat, simplistic, SUV-driving,
gum-chewing, gun shooting, mall dwelling John Wayne cowboys
who put ketchup on everything we eat, including breath mints.
Whereas we view the French as a bunch of snotty,
hygiene-impaired, pseudo-intellectual, snail-slurping weenies
whose sole military accomplishment in the past 100 years was
inventing the tasselled combat boot.
Sadly - as is so
often the case when people resort to vicious stereotypes -
both sides in this dispute are 100 percent correct. But the
fact that we hate each other, with good reason, does NOT mean
we can't be friends! After all, The United States and France
have a close relationship that dates back to the Revolutionary
War, when we were helped in our struggle for independence by a
French person whose name we will never, ever forget, as long
as we have Internet access to the Encyclopedia
Britannica.
Let's see ... Ladybird, Ladybug,
Ladyfinger ... OK, here it is, Lafayette. Actually, according
to the Encyclopedia Britannica, his full name was - I
am not making this up - Marie Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert
Metier, Marquis de Lafayette. As a result, he had a hellish
childhood. His mother would lean out the kitchen window and
shout: "Marie Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert Metier, Marquis de
Lafayette! You get back in here and finish your snails THIS
INSTANT!" Hearing this, the other French children would tease
Lafayette, calling him "Marie" and threatening to brush his
teeth. So as soon as he could, he left France and came to
America,
I am calling upon you,
my fellow Americans, to "extend the olive jar" to our
French brothers and sisters and yappy little
dogs.
where he joined the army and told everybody his name was Mark.
From that moment on, France and America were close allies. In
1886, as a gift symbolizing more than a century of friendship,
France gave us the Statue of Liberty, in return, we sent the
French 18 tons of jerky, which they claimed was lost in
shipping. And the relationship continues to this very day,
when many of the words that we use all the time, such as
"French fries," "French toast," "French kiss," "French poodle"
and "Chef Boy-Ar-Dee", are, believe it or not, actually of
French origin.
We simply cannot allow a close
relationship like this to be destroyed because of some silly
little dispute over who gets to run the world. That is why
today I am calling upon you, my fellow Americans, to "extend
the olive jar" to our French brothers and sisters and yappy
little dogs. I want you to deliberately approach French people
wherever you can find them - on the street, on the Internet,
in the "Small World" ride at Disney World, in public restrooms
- and make friendly overtures to them in their own language
(French). To help you do this, here is a list of friendly
French phrases:
"Bonjour, personne française!" ("Hello,
French person!") "Je suis un Americain, et, dangue il, je vais
vous donner une grande vieille étreinte!" (I am an American
and, dang it, I am going to give you a big old hug!") "Parole!
Vous ne sentez pas demi aussi de mauvais que j'ai prévu!"
("Say! You do not smell half as bad as I expected!") Qui
s'inquiete qui court darned le monde?" ("Who cares who runs
the darned world?") "Voulez-vous la gomme? Elle ketchup-est
assaisonnée!" ("Do you want gum? It's
ketchup-flavoured!") "Voulez que je vous porte au mail dans
mon SUV?" ("Want me to take you to the mall in my SUV?") "Vous
pouvez vous rendre au garde de sécurité" ("You can surrender
to the security guard!") "Ha ha, je suis badiner juste autour
hors de l"amitié! " ("Ha ha, I am just kidding around out of
friendship!) "Hé, revenez ici!" ("Hey, come back here!") "I1
n'y a aucune cause pour l'alarme! Mon pistolet a une sûreté!"
("There is no cause for alarm! My gun has a
safety!")
Yes, fellow Americans, with a little effort,
we can heal this rift between us and our old friends. Because,
in, the end, we have a lot more in common than we do
separating us! Or, as the French would say, "Je suis un grand
gros menteur" ("I am a big fat liar").
DILEMMA AT UNITED
NATIONS SOLVED...
cartoon courtesy Ottawa Citizen &
syndicam.com
I have
finally figured a way out of the UN debacle regarding Iraq. I
am surprised no one else had figured this out before. It is
very simple and can be wrapped up in very short order, a
couple of months should do it! Here is how it would
work:
The US temporarily forgets about invading Iraq
and instead, teams up with Iraq and Britain and invades
France. Since the French normally capitulate without a fight,
the whole invasion will be over within an hour of the French
daily newspapers hitting the street or "rue"! Now, the next
step will be to gather up all the Palestinians from the middle
east and transport them to France, in effect "give" them the
newly captured territory (previously known as France). The
only difficulty I forsee here is potential conflict between
many Palestinian Imam's who will all want to use the Eiffel
Tower to announce prayer times - as the landmark Tower will
surely be converted into a mosque. In any event, now that the
Palestinians finally have their new "home" and own nation, the
Arab/Israeli conflict should disappear almost overnight! Next,
the new "coalition of the willing, able and past-evil" will
set their sights on North Korea, and with China's help,
quickly defeat North Korea and unify both the north and south.
This will eliminate the need for a continued US presence in
Korea, allowing over 50,000 soldiers to return home. The final
step in this program will be for the US and Britain to "turn"
on their partner Iraq, and remove the Hussein regime and
"terminate" Hussein and his cronies and possibly, at the same
time, continue on and wipe out Iran as well! (Hey, this could
be easily explained as a simple error, in that the names are
similar, the only difference being the last letters in the
names, an "n" and a "q"). The somewhat useless United Nations
could be called upon to take over the reconstruction of Iraq
and Iran - giving the UN something positive to do for once!
So, to recap, Tony Blair's political problem is resolved as is
the George Dubya Bush's! France no longer exists (thanks for
that - just that we will now have to teach the Palestinians
how to make beaujolais!), The Korean threat will have
disappeared and the Koreas are once again unified! The
Palestinian/Israeli conflict is passée, Iraq has been disarmed
with the UN now handling the democraticization of the country,
and Iran no longer remains a credible nuclear threat having
been conquered! With the loss of North Korea, Iraq, Iran and
the Palestinians as harbourers of terrorism, the terrorist
threat should subside or die. The Germans, having seen all
this action, will quickly discard any thoughts of a fourth,
fifth or sixth Reich, in effect invading anyone, and the world
will finally be at peace!
Now, if only there was a way
of convincing Britain and the US to drop by Ottawa and remove
our arrogant and ineffective Prime Minister and his mouthy
underlings, before heading home, then the world would surely
be a better place all round!
COMING LATE MARCH
2003, TO A THEATRE NEAR YOU...
Main Feature
Second Feature
Matinée
VOULEZ VOUS...
( received by e-mail from
the East Coast, Canada )
"My favorite bumper sticker in Washington D.C.
right now is the one that says 'First Iraq, then France'."
-Tom Brokaw
The French
announced today that they would not help us remove Saddam from
Iraq. Well Duh! They didn't even help us remove Hitler from
France." -Jay Leno
"France
said this week they need more evidence to convince them Saddam
is a threat. Yeah, last time France asked for more evidence it
came rolling thru Paris with a German Flag on it." -Dave
Letterman
Why are all
the highways in France lined with trees? So the Germans can
march in the shade!!!
"France has
neither winter nor summer nor morals. Apart from these
drawbacks it is a fine country. France has usually been
governed by prostitutes." - Mark Twain
An old saying: "Raise your right hand if you like
the French.... Raise both hands if you are
French".
"I just love the French. They taste like chicken!" -
Hannibal Lecter
"Going to
war without France is like going deer hunting without an
accordion. All you do is leave behind a lot of noisy baggage."
-unknown
"France has
neither winter, nor summer, nor morals. France is miserable
because it is filled with Frenchmen, and Frenchmen are
miserable because they live in France." -Mark
Twain
"I would rather have a German division in
front of me than a French one behind me." - General George S.
Patton
"As far as I'm concerned, war always means
failure" -Jacques Chirac, President of France. "As far as
France is concerned, you're right." -Rush Limbaugh,
"We can stand here like the French, or we
can do something about it." - Marge Simpson
"Only thing worse than a Frenchman is a Frenchman
who lives in Quebec, Canada." -Ted Nugent
The only way the French are going in with us is if
we tell them we found truffles in Iraq.
War without France would be like ... uh ... World
War II
What do you call 100,000 Frenchmen with
their hands up? The French Army
Q.
How do you stop a french Tank? A. Shoot the guy
pushing.
"The only
time France wants us to go to war is when the German Army is
sitting in Paris sipping coffee." - Regis Philbin
How many Frenchmen does it take to change a light
bulb? One. He holds the bulb and all of Europe revolves around
him.
Q. How many Frenchman does it take
to defend Paris. A. We don't know, it's never been
tried.
"The French are a smallish, monkey-looking
bunch and not dressed any better, on average, than the
citizens of Baltimore. True, you can sit outside in Paris and
drink little cups of coffee, but why this is more stylish than
sitting inside and drinking large glasses of whiskey I don't
know." - P.J O'Rourke (1989)
The best
French bashing line heard over the last week is: "We can count
on the French to be there when they need us."
REPLACEMENTS FOR THE FRENCH NATIONAL
ANTHEM: "Runaway" by Del Shannon, "Walk Right
In" by the Rooftop Singers, "Everybody's Somebody's Fool"
by Connie Francis, "Running Scared" by Roy Orbison,
"I Really Don't Want to Know" by Tommy Edwards,
"Surrender" by Elvis Presley, "Save It For Me" by The
Four Seasons, "Live and Let Die" by Wings, "I'm
Leaving It All Up To You" by Donny and Marie Osmond,
"What a Fool Believes" by the Doobie Brothers, "Don't
Worry, Be Happy" by Bobby McFerrin & "Raise Your Hands" by
Jon Bon Jovi
HOW SOON THEY FORGET... (
this was received today, Mar 11, from a WW2 Vet in the US - I
agree wholeheartedly! - JBoi)
The Eiffel Tower could have been part of
Germany
I HOPE THIS
WILL REACH AND SERVE AS A REMINDER TO ALL THE ARROGANT,
IGNORANT, AND UNGRATEFUL FRENCH CITIZENS. OUR HOPE IS THAT THE
UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT WAKES UP, SHUTS DOWN THE U.N. (FOR
WHICH THEY PAY THE MAJORITY OF COSTS) FOR THOSE WORTHLESS
IDIOTS TO SIT IN NICE HOTELS, DRIVE IN LIMOS AND TALK AND
DEBATE NOTHING OF VALUE. THE E.U. AND N.A.T.O. HAVE OUTLIVED
THEIR USEFULNESS AND HAVE NO PLACE IN TODAY'S WORLD - THEY
SHOULD BE DISBANDED.
I WONDER IF THE EIFFEL TOWER
BECAME A PILE OF RUBBLE ON 9/11, WOULD THE FRENCH STILL WANT
TO PRIDE THEMSELVES ON THEIR ARROGANCE? OR WOULD THEY CRY?
NEVER!! EVERYONE SHOULD DEMAND OF THEIR OWN GOVERNMENT THAT
IMMEDIATE HELP AND ACTION BE TAKEN. DO THE FRENCH REALLY FEEL
THEY ARE SO IMPORTANT AS TO MAKE THE FINAL DECISION AND RELISH
IN THE FACT THEY ARE IN THE MEDIA AS SELF PROCLAIMED "KEY"
MEMBERS? THE ANSWER IS SIMPLY YES! THEY ALL QUICKLY FORGET
THAT IF IT WERE NOT FOR THE USA AND HER ALLIES - WE COULD ALL
VISIT THE "EIFFEL TOWER OF BERLIN" IN AN EXPANDED
GERMANY.
PLEASE CONSIDER THIS AS A REMINDER TO ALL WHO
HAVE FORGOTTEN THE TENS OF THOUSANDS OF GRAVES OF THE BRAVE
MEN AND WOMEN WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES DEFENDING OUR WAY OF LIFE
BACK IN THE DAYS WHEN FRANCE WAS NOT SO ARROGANT AND
SELF-SERVING.
I leave you with a passage from another
great American Hero - (Give him the 'key'
again!)
"In closing, let me urge consideration and
let the exhibition of the Enola Gay accurately reflect the
American spirit and victory of August 1945. Those of us who
gained that victory have nothing to be ashamed of, neither do
we offer any apology. Some suffered, some died. The million or
so of us remaining will die believing that we made the world a
better place as a result of our efforts to secure peace that
has held for almost 50 years. Many of us believe peace will
prevail through the strength and resolve of the United States
of America".
Paul W. Tibbets Command Pilot,
Enola Gay, USAF
France awarded yet
another dubious honour.
New French Flag of
Arrogance
The Geneva
based "Committee for Recognition of International
Arrogance" has just named France as the most arrogant
country. This so-called recognition is awarded annually to the
nation that displays the utmost degree of arrogance. The
committee goes on to say that "France won this recognition
due to it's arrogant attitude towards other nations and recent
stance opposing the US and Britain regarding the Iraq
conflict". The French once had a recognizeable "empire" in
the eighteenth century and long for the "old days" when they
were a recognized world power. They openly resent the
influence and affluence of the United States, and French
statements and actions consistantly reflect their futile
desire to be considered Europe's "leader" and the European
equal to the US. The French are quick to dismiss reminders of
their well-known lack of spirit and almost automatic
capitulation when faced with adversity - one area where they
will cetainly never be able to match the US, who holds a
record of facing adversity with courage and action. France's
recent association with Germany and Russia in opposition to
the UN vote on Iraq and "anything American" merely underlines
their desire to be seen as THE European Leader, as well as
protecting their own vested interests in that they, along with
their two new associates, are prime suppliers of arms and
biological/chemical testing and production equipment to the
Iraqi regime."
For those readers asking where Canada
and the USA placed in the arrogance ratings, the USA placed No
6 in the listings and Canada placed No 36. Rumour has it that
if it were not for Canada's egotistical King and Prime
Minister, "Roi JC 1", Canada's rating would have
dropped to 46, fourth from the bottom of the group of 50
countries included in the award committee's nomination list.
Rumour also has it that if the Canadian province of Quebec
ever attains separate nationhood, it will immediately attain a
position in the top 5, something to look forward to, eh,
Bernard Landry?
Ed Note: No one is suggesting that
all French citizens are cowards, there are certainly a small
number prepared to act courageously when called upon, just
that the actions of the country's politicians and officials as
a whole appear to suggest that "advancing to the rear,
quickly", is a French 'state of mind' brought on by centuries
of practice!
Quiz Time! What
"distinctly stupid" province run by idiots has developed a new
"rip-off" scheme?
If you
answered "Kebeck" you are correct! Those dependably stupid
idiots in Quebec City have just decreed that all Quebec issued
birth certificates are invalid - they use the term "insecure"
- if issued prior to 1994. Any Quebec born person wishing to
obtain a passport or having a need for a birth certificate
copy, and who was born prior to 1994 must re-apply to Quebec
City for a "secure" birth certificate copy! You see, the
idiots running whatever ministry that controls the
certificates, have decided that because of all the concerns
about terrorism, they have to tighten up security, and
reissuing birth certificates is one way to increase control.
Oh, did I not mention that there is a charge for re-issuing
the new "secure" certificates? Not sure what it is but rest
assured they intend to do more than "cover costs"
here!
Now here is "the rub"! To obtain a new "secure"
document, you must fax a copy of your old "insecure"
certificate, and they will send back the same thing but now
classified as "secure"! So in effect, you are getting the same
thing back, the only difference being that your wallet is now
lighter to the tune of whatever they charge!! Ah... La "belle
province" - contrôlé par les idiots!
WE ARE WOMEN
For you ladies out there that are "following" the Bin
Laden and Iraqi situations and have come to the conclusion
that the French, Germans and other self-interest groups
represented at the UN have become totally useless (so what's
new?), and that "someone has to do something - NOW"
then check
this out! Go, girls,
Go!
( Thanks to Patricia in NC
for this one )
I think I have solved
the Navy's "helicopter" problems!
Just
had a brain wave... for years now, we have heard all about the
demoralization of the armed forces and lately, the demise of
the 40 year old and crumbling Navy Sea-King helicopters. We
have also been subjected to embarrassment after embarrassment
at the hands of our egotistical and arrogant prime minister
and his cronies. The most recent episode, and this appeared in
this morning's (Thursday March 6 2003) edition of the Ottawa
Citizen, involved the new 'Table 'd Hote' for King JC's trips
in the government jets. (Remember, we had two completely
capable Challenger private jets at his nib's disposal but that
wasn't good enough for his "image" so his nibs decided to
purchase two more, at taxpayers expense, for over $100,000,000
[lots of zero's, right?] thus bringing his "fleet" up to
four!) The paper itemizes the lunch and dinner fare to be
foisted on 'hisself', consisting of 'typical' airline food
like lobster, scallops, escargots, vintage wines - you know,
typical "Air Canada" type fare (NOT!!). Apparently Cara
operations who supplies food to the major airlines, the food
you and I get on commercial airlines, was not good enough for
our bumbling PM et al. Hey! It's not their money, so
why should they be concerned!
{Ed
Note: I wonder, when "they" are cavorting around in the luxury
jets while dining on escargots, lobster and truffles, washed
down with some chateauneuf-de-pâpe, do they give any thought
to the frequent crashes of the Navy's outdated and
long-overdue-for-replacement Sea King helicopters, and
occasional injury or death to the pilots? Nah... it's the
military's problem, not theirs!! As Marie Antoinette
supposedly said... "Let them eat cake"!}
Anyway..
as I said above, I think I have solved the problem. George
'Dubya" Bush has Airforce One for his lengthy trips but for
"around town" and local trips, he uses a helicopter supplied
by the U S Marine Corps, named "Marine One". Now, here's the
idea... let's get a Sea King helicopter and name it "Chretien
One" and have it at his nibs' disposal! Possibly a few
knuckle-biting trips may bring the idiot to his senses and
knock some common sense into his head. Worth a try? Of course
there is the possibility that 'Roi JC' may like the idea and
arrange for a brand spanking new helicopter for his use, and
{*expletive*} the armed forces!
Open a Bank account -
get a free gun!
This one gets our
first ever "Double-Star-of-Stupidity" award - and it's obvious
why! Even Chretien cannot compete with this unbelievable
scheme. Michael Moore - author of "Bowling for Columbine", a
commentary on America's lax gun law system, said it ... but I
did not believe it.. there is a bank in the US that hands you
the gun of your choice when you open a bank account with them.
You heard it correctly - open an account - get a gun! Michael
states, and I quote "North Country Bank
(with branches throughout Northern Michigan) offers you a wide
choice of guns when you open up a certificate of deposit
account. In effect, they are giving you all of the interest
the account will earn in advance in the form of a gun. The
bank is also an authorized federal arms dealer so they can do
the quick background check right there at the bank. I put
$1,000 in a long-term account, they did the background check,
and, within an hour, walked out with my new Weatherby—just as
you see it in the film. (I did have a choice of getting a pair
of golf clubs or a grandfather clock, but they didn’t have
either of those hanging on the wall like they did those three
rifles). I learned about the bank’s gun offer from an ad in
the local paper that showed a gun across the top with the
heading, “ More Bang for Your Buck” from North Country Bank. I
still have the account and the gun to this day (though I plan
to legally “auction” off the gun for charity, and creatively
have it destroyed—more on that later!)"
Yours truly
appreciates and respects guns, has his share of them and sees
nothing wrong with reliable people owning them for sporting or
collection purposes, but your local bank handing them out for
"free"? Too far folks... too far!
In case someone wants
to come charging back at me waving NRA slogans etc, consider
this, and again, the data comes from Michael's wealth of
statistical information in "Bowling for Columbine": You
might be surprised by how many people are killed by guns each
year. Look at these statistics from Bowling for
Columbine. Germany: 381, United Kingdom: 68, France: 255,
Australia: 65, Canada: 165, Japan: 39, U.S.A.: 11,127
"There are 120 million people in Japan, and 39 gun
murders. The equivalent for us should be about 90 murders a
year, not over 11,000. And those are just the murders! There
are 15,000 gun suicides and 4000 gun accidents. It adds up to
about 30,000 people in America each year killed through gun
violence." — Michael Moore
Makes you wonder, eh?
Technology... ain't it
grand!
Feathered friends were
to be first used as early warning of chemical
attacks
Friday Feb 28
2003 - Ottawa Citizen.. Operation "Field Chicken" has been
shut down, at least for now. The chickens are dead! Just more
than a week after 43 chickens were brought into camp to ride
into battle with the US Marines in Kuwait, all but two have
died. In true military style, most were buried in the soft
sand outside of regimental headquarters. Small wooden
tombstones mark their graves. There's one for Captain Pop-eye,
one for Pfc. King, another for LCpl Pecker and, finally, one
marking the grave of The Unknown Chicken.
The plan was
to use the chickens the way miners once used canaries to warn
them of poisonous gas underground. If the Marines moved into
southern Iraq during a war, the chickens would be an early
signal if Iraq launched biological or chemical weapons. More
likely, the birds would have warned the Marines of false
alarms that could be set off by non-lethal oil fires. Problem
is that the birds started dying the day they arrived and no
one could figure out why.
One person, CWO Ken King, a
city boy from Providence RI has apparently discovered the
reason for the demise of these clucking warriors. Ken is the
only chicken owner with any birds left alive. He figures that
chickens instinctively peck at the ground and since the ground
in Kuwait is sand, the chickens were pecking and picking up
grains of sand which clog up their giblets or nostrils -
whatever. King removed his chickens from the sand and they did
just fine. Semper Fi!
Time to save the
Navy...
Oh Oh! Today's
Citizen carried the story... another of the "aging" 40 year
old and outdated Navy Sea King helicopters decided to stop
flying while about thirty feet above the deck of the Navy's
"Algonquin" DDE Destroyer Escort which was on it's way to the
Gulf as part of Canada's contribution to "the cause"! The
Algonquin, unfortunately, was to be the command center for all
combined Gulf naval activities, taking over from US ships
which would be redirected elsewhere for active involvement in
the Iraq situation. The Algonquin received some deck damage
and has to return to port in Halifax. Talk about "another"
military embarrassment!
Why the Algonquin has to return
to port is beyond me! I have an alternative solution which
would allow the Algonquin to continue it's voyage to the gulf
without interruption. All we have to do is take our somewhat
useless Prime Minister, place a propeller-beanie-cap on his
head, place him on the Algonquin, and off we go! We now have a
"Sea King Jean" helicopter! He will be just as useless as the
decrepit Sea King Helicopters but far more useful in this new
role than the role of Prime Minister. He also would add to his
long-sought-after "Legacy" - surely the world would not pass
up an opportunity to remember such an auspicious event! And..
he would take up less deck space than the Sea King so the deck
could avoid the need for repair, at least as an interim step.
While "Roi J C" was at sea, someone who knew what he was doing
(like Paul Martin) could take over the Federal Government
reins and get on with the job of properly running the
country.
Dear Minister of Defence, the Honourable John
McCallum - are you listening??
If only we could look
into the future...
( following received
anonymously from a reader in the USA )
Anyone remember
this?? It was 1987! At a lecture the other day
they were playing an old news video of Lt.Col. Oliver North
testifying at the Iran-Contra hearings during the Reagan
Administration. There was Ollie in front of God and country
getting the third degree, but what he said was stunning! He
was being drilled by a senator;
"Did you not recently
spend close to $60,000 for a home security
system?"
Ollie replied, "Yes, I did, Sir."
The
senator continued, trying to get a laugh out of the audience,
"Isn't that just a little excessive?"
"No, sir,"
continued Ollie.
"No? And why not?" the senator
asked.
"Because the lives of my family and I were
threatened, sir."
"Threatened? By whom?" the senator
questioned.
"By a terrorist, sir" Ollie
answered.
"Terrorist? What terrorist could possibly
scare you that much?"
"His name is Osama bin Laden,
sir" Ollie replied.
At this point the senator tried to
repeat the name, but couldn't pronounce it, which most people
back then probably couldn't. A couple of people laughed at the
attempt. Then the senator continued. Why are you so afraid of
this man?" the senator asked.
"Because, sir, he is the
most evil person alive that I know of", Ollie
answered.
"And what do you recommend we do about him?"
asked the senator.
"Well, sir, if it was up to me, I
would recommend that an assassin team be formed to eliminate
him and his men from the face of the earth."
The
senator disagreed with this approach, and that was all that
was shown of the clip.
Also:
Terrorist pilot Mohammad Atta blew up a bus in Israel in 1986.
The Israelis captured, tried and imprisoned him. As part of
the Oslo agreement with the Palestinians in 1993, Israel had
to agree to release so-called "political prisoners." However,
the Israelis would not release any with blood on their hands.
The American President at the time, Bill Clinton, and his
Secretary of State, Warren Christopher, "insisted" that all
prisoners be released.
Thus Mohammad Atta was freed and
eventually thanked the US by flying an airplane into Tower One
of the World Trade Center. This was reported by many of the
American TV networks at the time that the terrorists were
first identified. It was censored in the US from all later
reports.
Hmmm...
guess Chretien and his cronies do not have a monopoly on
stupidity!
TidBits of
Dumbness...
Halifax - The
Canadian Press - Jennifer Surrette, a member of the Animal
Rights Coalition, commenting on the release back into the
ocean of an oversize lobster residing in a Halifax grocery
store... "we go to the grocery store and every animal you see
is dead".
A university of
Manitoba professor is contesting his conviction on running a
stop sign, after nine, yes nine, adjournments. His defence? He
is claiming that the word STOP is far too vague!!
Duh!
Kebec's premier
Bernie Landry - for his statement, quoted in the press, saying
poor people should manage to feed their children because even
birds - with their tiny brains - can do it! Double Duh!
Montreal - Wed
Feb 16 2003 - the city of Montreal is appealing the
acquittal of a 16 year old boy who was given a $118 ticket for
making noise by skateboarding downtown. The judge had thrown
the case out of court saying the sound of skateboard wheels
was not noisy. (JBoi - "what's next? Mothers
pushing strollers or prams hauled into court in handcuffs?
Disabled wheelchair users surrounded by SWAT teams? High-speed
pursuit chases involving tots on "Big Wheels"?)
Duh..Duh..Duh!
Jboi comment: Rumour
has it that the Kebec Department of Tourism, following a
program initiated by the French Tourism Authority in Paris
(Maison de la France), will soon publish an advisory to
tourists travelling in that province this summer, suggesting
that visitors refrain from holding up both hands in the air as
doing so usually causes everyone in the area to do the same
thing accompanied with cries of "nous rendons" {"we
surrender"} and as a result, traffic becomes congested, taking
hours to clear up! <;^)-
View of the World:
Ramblings of an Old Man
By Joe Galloway
article contributed by
Patricia in Raleigh
If you aren't
interested in the ramblings of an old man, please delete now.
If you're still there, pull up a chair and listen.
Is
there anyone else out there who's sick and tired of all the
polls being taken in foreign countries as to whether or not
they" like" us? The last time I looked, the word "like" had
nothing to do with foreign policy. I prefer 'respect' or
'fear.' They worked for Rome, which civilized and kept the
peace in the known world a hell of a lot longer than our puny
two centuries-plus.
I see a left-wing German got
elected to office recently by campaigning against the foreign
policy of the United States. Yeah, that's what I want, to be
lectured about war and being a "good neighbor" by a German.
Their head honcho said they wouldn't take part in a war
against Iraq. Kind of nice to see them taking a pass on a war
once in while. Perhaps we needed to have the word "World" in
front of War. I think it's time to bring our boys home from
Germany. Outside of the money we'd save, we'd make the Germans
"like" us a lot more, after they started paying the bills for
their own defense.
Last time I checked, France isn't
too fond of us either. They sort of liked us back on June 6th,
1944, though, didn't they? If you don't think so, see how
nicely they take care of the enormous American cemeteries up
above the Normandy beaches. For those of you who've studied
history, we also have a few cemeteries in places like Belleau
Woods and Chateau Thierry also. For those of you who haven't
studied it, that was from World War One the first time Europe
screwed up, and we bailed out the French. That's where the US
Marines got the title 'Devil Dogs' or, if you still care about
what the Germans think, Teufelhunde." I hope I spelled that
right; sure wouldn't want to offend anyone, least of all a
German.
Come to think of it, when Europe couldn't take
care of their Bosnian problem recently, guess who had to help
out there also. Last time I checked, our kids are still there.
I sort of remember they said they would be out in a year. Gee,
how time flies when you're having fun.
Now we hear
that the South Koreans aren't too happy with us either. They
"liked" us a lot better, of course, in June 1950. It took more
than 50,000 Americans killed in Korea to help give them the
lifestyle they currently enjoy, but then who's counting? I
think it's also time to bring the boys home from there. There
are about 37,000 young Americans on the DMZ separating the
South Koreans from their "brothers" up north. Maybe if we
leave, they can begin to participate in the "good life" that
North Korea currently enjoys. Uh huh. Sure.
I also
understand that a good portion of the Arab/Moslem world now
doesn't "like" us either. Did anyone ever sit down and
determine what we would have to do to get them to like us? Ask
them what they would like us to do. Die? Commit ritual
suicide? Bend over? Maybe we should follow the advice of our
dimwitted, dullest knife in the drawer, Senator Patty Murray,
and build more roads, hospitals, day care centers, and
orphanages like Osama bin Laden does. What with all the
orphans Osama has created, the least he can do is build some
places to put them. Senator Stupid says if we would only
"emulate" Osama, the Arab world would love us.
Sorry
Patty, in addition to the fact that we already do all of those
things around the world and have been doing them for over
sixty years, I don't take public transportation, and I
certainly wouldn't take it with a bomb strapped to the guy
next to me. Don't get me wrong: I'm not in favor of going to
war. Been there, done that. Several times, in fact. But I
think we ought to have some polls in this country about other
countries, and see if we "like" THEM. Problem is, if you
listed the countries, not only wouldn't the average American
know if he liked them or not, he wouldn't be able to find
them. If we're supposed to worry about them, how about them
worrying about us?
We were nice to the North Koreans
in 1994, as we followed the policies of Neville Clinton. And
it seemed to work; they didn't restart nuclear weapons program
for a whole year or so. In the meantime, we fed them when they
were starving, and put oil in their stoves when they were
freezing.
In a recent visit to Norway, I engaged in a
really fun debate with my cousin's son, a student at a
Norwegian University. I was 'lectured' to by this thankless
squirt about the American "Empire," and scolded about dropping
the atomic bomb on the Japanese. I reminded him that empires
usually keep the stuff they take; we don't, and back in 1945
most Norwegians thought dropping ANY kind of bomb on Germany
or Japan was a good idea. I also reminded him that my uncle,
his grandfather, and others in our family spent a significant
time in Sachsenhausen concentration camp, courtesy of the
Germans, and they didn't all survive. I further reminded him
that if it weren't for the "American Empire" he would probably
be speaking German or Russian.
Sorry about the
rambling, but I just took an unofficial poll here at our
house, and we don't seem to like anyone!
(JBoi NOTE: I suspect that the reason that Canada was
not mentioned in this article is due to the fact that many
Americans appreciate what idiots we have 'running' {obvious
misnomer} our country and accordingly sympathize with us and
feel we have enough to contend with
already!!)
Jay Leno said it...
We were watching the Tonight Show last
night, not unexpectedly, Jay Leno had to touch upon the
current UN vs US Iraqi debacle and, again not unexpectedly,
like most disgusted Americans, had to comment on the
back-stabbing attitude displayed by France. Jay noted that the
largest anti-war protests had been held in Paris. (seems like
the French government is good at something - organizing
rallies and demonstrations). his comment was that as the crowd
marched through the arch of the 'Arc de Triomphe', the French
government officials rushed out with their hands in the air,
screaming, "we surrender"! I guess tigers don't change their
stripes! Thanks William
Watson, for the phrase "France is a nation of
cheese-eating surrender monkeys". Says it all, right?
Axis of "just as evil"
formed...
Beijing (SatireWire.com) - Bitter after being
snubbed for membership in the "Axis of Evil," Libya, China,
and Syria today announced they had formed the "Axis of Just as
Evil," which they said would be way eviler than that stupid
Iran-Iraq-North Korea axis President Bush warned of in his
State of the Union address.
Axis of Evil members, however, immediately dismissed the
new axis as having, for starters, a really dumb name. "Right.
They are Just as Evil... in their dreams!" declared
North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. "Everybody knows we're the
best evils... best at being evil... we're the best."
Diplomats from Syria denied they were jealous over being
excluded, although they conceded they did ask if they could
join the Axis of Evil.
"They told us it was full," said Syrian President Bashar
al-Assad.
"An Axis can't have more than three countries," explained
Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. "This is not my rule, it's
tradition. In World War II you had Germany, Italy, and Japan
in the evil Axis. So you can only have three. And a secret
handshake. Ours is wicked cool."
THE AXIS
PANDEMIC
International reaction to Bush's Axis of Evil declaration
was swift, as within minutes, France surrendered.
Elsewhere, peer-conscious nations rushed to gain
triumvirate status in what became a game of geopolitical
chairs. Cuba, Sudan, and Serbia said they had formed the Axis
of Somewhat Evil, forcing Somalia to join with Uganda and
Myanmar in the Axis of Occasionally Evil, while Bulgaria,
Indonesia and Russia established the Axis of Not So Much Evil
Really As Just Generally Disagreeable.
With the criteria suddenly expanded and all the desirable
clubs filling up, Sierra Leone, El Salvador, and Rwanda
applied to be called the Axis of Countries That Aren't the
Worst But Certainly Won't Be Asked to Host the Olympics;
Canada, Mexico, and Australia formed the Axis of Nations That
Are Actually Quite Nice But Secretly Have Nasty Thoughts About
America, while Spain, Scotland, and New Zealand established
the Axis of Countries That Sometimes Ask Sheep to Wear
Lipstick.
"That's not a threat, really, just something we like to
do," said Scottish Executive First Minister Jack McConnell.
NOTE: this article
appeared January 2002 on http://www.satireweb.com/.
It is replacated here in it's entirety - you may have seen it
before but it certainly rates a chuckle or two!
Enjoy...
Let's protect the bad
guys...
The farce continues! Yesterday,
Valentine's day 2003, the
somewhat-useless-becoming-even-more-useless United Nations
"ganged up" on the US regarding the Iraq situation! "Peaceniks
rule - common sense doesn't" would be an eloquent way to
describe the day's events! Iraqis must be "rolling in the
aisles laughing"! Led by France, Germany and Russia, in that
order, and augmented by an obviously politically prompted Hans
Blix et al, the Security Council "slapped down" the US and
it's desire to obtain some degree of UN acceptance of it's
plan to oust the "MadAss" regime by force. What a disgusting
farce! France wants the US out of Europe so it can start to
appear as the "Leader of the Pack" in the European Union and,
at the same time, it's largest biochemical and biotechnical
purchasing customer, Iraq, will keep on buying! Germany, the
second largest supplier of bio-expertise and bio-products to
Iraq, and who also sees itself as another an up-and-coming
contender for "leadership" in the European Union, is also
adamantly opposed to anything US! (ps... watch for the
upcoming pressure for the US to remove it's bases from
Germany). Russia, apart from it's tendancy to oppose almost
anything US, has just negotiated a major oil contract with
Iraq (let's not disrupt that shall we?) and is still THE major
arms supplier to Iraq who, by the way, owes them in excess of
eight Billion dollars, US dollars that is, and I suspect they
would like to get paid, right? Hmmm... wonder why they do not
want an Iraqi conflict? (then, of course, a US trip into Iraq
would undoubtedly unearth all the sophisticated military
"toys" Russia has been selling in violation of recent UN
agreements, unbeknownst to most of the world!)
Here is
the problem! Up until a few years ago, Institutions like the
United Nations, Norad, NATO, SEATO etc.. existed as the
"policing agents" of the world. The UN was respected and was
in a position to flex it's muscle when any threatening
situation arose in the world arena. NATO and SEATO were often
called upon to act as the muscle for the UN, and UN control
was maintained after-the-fact by nation-member provided
peacekeeping activities - an area that Canada was experienced
in and well respected for. That has all changed! Over the last
few years, the UN has been sliding downwards as a reputable
world forum. More and more member nations have started letting
local and selfish politics rule the day rather than making
decisions based on the good of the world order! The United
Nations is dying much like the League of Nations did after the
first world war. To a great degree, most world nations are
starting to follow an apathetic or pacifist road not unlike
the one Britian followed on the eve of the second world war -
and we all know where that attitude led! With the demise of UN
influence and respect, someone had to take over the role of
"world policeman"! Enter the United States who is the only
real "super power" left since the disintegration of Russia
with it's provincial breakup and faltering economy. (This
status of course, runs contrary to the aspirations of the
French whose desire is to revive 16-17th century imperalism
and once again become a truly recognized world power - which
will never happen until their military learns to advance
forward, rather than rapidly advancing to the rear in all
cases of crises!). In times of old, the US, in it's
"policeman role" was tolerated because it's strength kept the
soviet threat at bay! With that threat gone, the "need" has
disappeared!
If 9-11 had occurred downtown Paris or in
Berlin, guess where the situation would be now! France or
Germany would be kneeling at Washington's doorstep, pleading
for military support to combat the evil terrorist threat! The
US would be seen as a "good guy" as it, and it alone, had the
power and inclination to effectively oppose such a threat.
Unfortunately, that is not the case. 9-11 happened in the US
so, in reality, even though there is some degree of empathy on
the part of the likes of France, Germany, Russia etc.., it is
"not their problem" so back to business as usual, and that
means supporting a lucrative trade with Iraq. No way are these
self-centered nations going to support any activity that will
disrupt their own economic enterprises! The sad thing here is
that past European generations appreciated the help the US
gave them when the Nazi thugs were overrunning their lands.
How quickly they forget! Now if only we could convince
Al-Queda to blow up the Eiffel Tower or Brandenburg Gate
rather than make any further strike in the US, then things may
get back to normal and the US presence may again be
appreciated! France, Germany and Russia - you are ungrateful,
self-centered fools! Smarten up!
Does Kebec emulate France over
Iraq, cluck...cluck...cluck?
There should be
no surprise over the fact that this writer is not impressed
with Kebec francophone attitudes towards military action and
crises (see article above) - in fact, it is a time tested fact
that given a crisis situation, the average Kebec francophone
would rather "run" than "fight", following the time honoured
practice of their overseas "motherland"! Bridget Pellerin's
article in the Ottawa Citizen this morning (Thursday February
13th) adds credence to that feeling and suggests to me that I
am not alone in this way of thinking! In her article, Ms Pellerin
quotes Economist William Watson who claims the US media says,
and I quote, "France is a nation of cheese-eating surrender
monkeys"! I love it - so articulate! Mr. Watson disagrees
with that analysis and points out that public opinion in
France is not unanimously anti-war. On the otherhand, Ms
Pellerin states that "This is unfortunately not something
someone can say about francophone Quebec"! Ms Pellerin
aptly puts it by stating "That Quebecers are a pacifist
bunch is no surprise, as any Second World War veteran can tell
you. Pacifism is not in itself a flaw, nor is informed and
articulate opposition to war in Iraq. What's distressing is
the unanimity of francophone Quebecers in the crucial
debate".
From reading the articles, one quickly
comes to the realization that Quebec's attitude can be easily
summed up with a quote from Bernard Landry who questions
"when do we kill people who did not attack us?", in
other words, if it's not an attack on Kebec, who gives a darn!
- and this is a government who wishes one day to become a
sovereign nation in the world community?
Well, Mr
Landry, I suspect that there are a number of francophone
quebeckers who would like to be a part of Canada and who
recognize that evil must be contested! Those are the folks who
fought in the world wars and Korea, and who would gladly help
kick madass Hussien's rear end if given the choice. Alas,
however, the majority of Kebec francophones do feel that
whatever happens outside of the borders of their precious and
isolated "nation", is not really their problem. Sadly, if
Quebec were threatened by anyone, Canada would pull out all
the stops to help defend it! Conversely, if Canada were
threatened, there would be a mass exodus of francophone
quebeckers heading into the woods or running away elsewhere -
if they could! What a cowardly bunch! Nuff said!
CANADIAN
CONFIDENCE...
( don't know the source
of this one - crossed my desk, so here it is...
)
Osama Bin Laden was sitting in his
cave wondering which country to invade next, when his
telephone rang.
"Hallo, Mr. Laden" a heavily
accented voice said. "This is Archie, down 'ere at the Harp
Seal Pub in Badger's Cove, Newfoundland, Canada ey? I am
callin' to tells ya dat we are officially declaring war on you
ey!"
"Well Archie," Osama replied, "This is indeed
important news! How big is your army?"
"Right now,"
said Archie, after a moments calculation "there is myself, me
cousin Harold, me next-door-neighbor Mick, and the whole dart
team from the pub. That makes eight!"
Osama
paused. "I must tell you Archie, that I have one million men
in my army waiting to move on my command."
"Holy
jeez," said Archie. "I'll have ta call ya back!" Sure enough,
the next day, Archie called again. "Mr. Laden, the war is
still on! We have managed to acquire some infantry
equipment!"
"And what equipment would that be
Archie?", Osama asked.
"Well sir, we have two
combines, a bulldozer, and Harry's farm
tractor."
Osama sighed. "I must tell you Archie,
that I have 16,000 tanks and 14,000 armoured personnel
carriers. Also I've increased my army to one and a half
million since we last spoke."
"Lard T'underin'
Jaysus, bye", said Archie, "I'll be getting back to ya." Sure
enough, Archie rang again the next day. "Mr. Laden, the war is
still on! We have managed to git ourselves airborne! We up an'
modified Harrigan's ultra-light wit a couple of shotguns in
the cockpit, and four byes from the Legion have joined us as
well!"
Osama was silent for a minute then cleared
his throat. "I must tell you Archie that I have 10,000 bombers
and 20,000 fighter planes. My military complex is surrounded
by laser-guided, surface-to-air missile sites. And since we
last spoke, I've increased my army to TWO
MILLION!"
"Jeysus, Mary and Joseph," said Archie,
"I'll have ta call youse back." Sure enough, Archie called
again the next day. "Mr. Laden! I am sorry to have to tell you
dat we have had to call off dis 'ere war."
"I'm
sorry to hear that" said Osama. "Why the sudden change of
heart?"
"Well, sir," said Archie, "we've all sat
ourselves down and had a long chat over a bunch of pints, and
come to realize dat dere's no way we can feed two million
prisoners."
CANADIAN CONFIDENCE CANNOT BE
SHAKEN!
YOU'VE GOTTA BE
KIDDING...
I had to see it
to believe it! Tuesday (Feb 4th 2003) morning's Ottawa Citizen
carried an article - apparently the U.N. has named Iraq as the
"Chair of the UN's Disarmament Conference" as of March.
Hmmm... ALSO, two weeks ago the U.N. named Libya as "Chair of
the UN Human Rights Commission! Double Hmmm..! Hey, I see it
all now... Jean Chrétien named Chair of the Anti-Corruption
Commission!! Kebek's Landry named Chair of National
Solidarity!! BC Premier Gordon Campbell appointed Chair of a
Committee to manage the Spotted Owl and reduce forestry
activities and also named as spokesman for M.A.D.D.!
Hmm.....!!
So much for UN credibility!! Now the UN is
following the same path as the defunct League of Nations which
was disbanded as being ineffective following the first world
war! Possibly the US is right, kick butt in Iraq, or North
Korea too for that matter - nothing positive will come out of
the UN and somebody has to "police" matters before these
little war-mongering demi-gods cause some
catastrophe!
The United Nations has reduced it's
effectiveness to that of a forum for whiners, where
unimportant and wimpy nations can "have a say" in global
matters! It's all politics and the general welfare of the
world has long ago been placed on the back burner. Look at
recent events - Russia is against any movement on Iraq,
possibly due to the recent multi-billion dollar deal
concerning purchase of Iraqui oil & it's renowned weapons
sales? Hmmm...! France and Germany have paired up to oppose
any movement on Iraq, possibly as they see themselves the new
"leaders" of the European Union and they want an opportunity
to flex their muscles, especially against the "imperialistic"
US? (plus their vested interest in supplying ALL Iraq's
chemical & biological equipment needs). Hmmm....! Some
"leadership"!!
France - the country with the worlds'
record for capitulation when faced with any adversity
whatsoever - example is the WW2 capitulation and Vichy
government actions (exception being the brave heroics of the
French underground of course). No need to question why the
Kebec separatiste fringe runs rather than confronts when
opposed - it's their heritage! (remember the cowardly military
"volunteers" in Sorel Kebec, 1939, who tried to run away from
serving their country? Remember why conscription did not
happen in Canada during WW2 - Kebec (with the exception of a
few brave and heroic souls) generally "chickened out" and the
Feds felt that an "English Canada-only" conscription would be
political suicide).
Then Germany - two wars started,
two wars lost, they have a lousy "track record" - it's in
their blood - they feel "superior" to anyone else and have to
continuously promote that belief! Even their national anthem -
often called "Deutschland ueber Alles" - has been translated
to reflect ambitions of conquest and enslavement of other
countries! There may be a "circle of life" - hopefully there
is no "circle of politics", at least as far as Der Deutschland
is concerned!
Now all these two primadonnas have to do
is work out whether the "new Europe" will be called
"Gerfrance" or "Fragermany" - decisions... decisions...
decisions!
COUNTDOWN TO
WAR...
Friday Jan 31 2003 - It was announced
today that if Canada's somewhat ineffective and draconian
government can pull itself away from the habit of
fence-sitting, and declare support for an attack on Iraq, then
the Military is ready to contribute to the effort. The RCR
(Royal Canadian Regiment) - 3d Battalion stationed at
Camp Petawawa north-west of Ottawa, has confirmed that it has
been practicing for desert warfare and is now willing and able
to join in the campaign when and if asked! It was confirmed
that the unit had just completed maneuvres in -30C degree
weather and deep snow as a exercise in preparedness to desert
warfare. Hmmm...!! When questioned about the differences
between cold weather and deep snow vs hot weather and sand,
the response was that there is really no difference - an
"ambush" is an "ambush" regardless of the climate and terrain.
Hmmm..!! The military stated that joining the Iraq conflict
would be conditional on a number of items. They would go if
the US or other Allies would supply transportation for troops
and equipment should U-Haul not be able to lend a hand in this
department, and if someone would lend them desert clothing.
The clothing used in the recent maneuvres was white and may
stand out against sand dunes and could be quite ineffective
for nighttime operations. This would not stop the mobilization
of the Battalion however, as one soldier put it "we can do the
same thing we did in Afghanistan, we bleached and re-bleached
our green uniforms to make them lighter - that helped,
especially at nighttime when night-vision goggles makes
everything look light green!"
So it looks that Canada
may be joining the upcoming fray! Now if the cheapskates in
Ottawa will only send the troops the bullets they have been
asking for....
Just saw the latest news on Iraq protests -
OK. Sunday morning (Jan 19, 2003) and I just finished watching
the news concerning all the protests over the impending war in
Iraq. I often wonder how many of these protesters really
understand what they are protesting about. If you discount the
Fascist element, the usual number of hell-raising communist
sympathizers, those Muslim supporters who feel anything
anti-Arabic is heresy, the 'anti-anything-American' crowd,
also the usual group of university and college students who
support
"protesting-against-anything-for-the-sake-of-protesting-against-anything",
then what is left is a group of easily manipulated individuals
who have obviously not taken the time to think matters through
carefully! If there isn't already, there should be a saying
... "Hearts of gold and minds of jelly"! They mean well but
reality has escaped them!!!
OK! What are they
protesting? - the possibility of a unilateral US assault on
Iraq, or for others, any assault on Iraq even with UN
blessings! The "anti-war-regardless" crowd is very prominent
here. No one likes war - it is destructive, results in great
loss of life, destroys families and accomplishes little - but
at times when all reason fails, it may be the only resolve!
What would happen if the protesters had their way and everyone
"backed off" the Iraqi question? Lets take a look at a
hypothetical scenario;
MadAss Hussein and his cronies
would definitely continue striving to enhance their power
within the country, and within the eyes of the Arab world as a
whole, and the best way of doing that would be to increase
their armament capacity - this is what they have always done!
In my opinion, the Arabic world knows one thing and
one-thing-only concerning power and prestige - that is
military might - and always with a view to one day eliminating
the penultimate threat to their "world" - Israel! Everything
"they" do is based on this anticipation! So military might is
power! MadAss Hussien will eventually develop or purchase a
nuclear capacity - that is virtually guaranteed! The Arab
world would be impressed with any Arab state being in the "big
league" and having the "power" to stand up against any
oppressor, especially the American "Infidels"! With nuclear
weapons in his war chest, MadAss Hussein would be revered by
his Arabic brothers - and with his ego, would cherish the
thought of placing Iraq in general, and he in particular, into
the history books as a prominent force within the Arab
world! OK, so he acquires nuclear capability, what
then?
With that man's (MadAss) illogical reasoning
powers, now self-designated as the "saviour" of the Arabic
world, he will start to flex his military power, either
voluntarily or as a result of manipulation by other Arab
leaders! Rest assured, that flexing will be immediately
directed at the State of Israel! He cannot target US interests
in the middle east as that would amount to targeting other
Arab nations! He cannot target the US itself, the distance is
too far and that is simply "out of his league" - he knows
this! The only option, and the one that will be looked upon
favourably by other Arab nations, is to target Israel! So,
with his "nuclear capacity" supporting his actions, he will
one day attack Israel, probabably a pre-emptive strike using
biological or chemical weaponry! A conventional military
action would probably not work as it is well understood that
Israeli forces are far superior in capability and armament,
and coupled with facing annihilation as a country, their
resistance would be fanatical! No, the only assault with any
chance of success would be a massive strike using
non-conventional weapons. Too long a conflict would quickly
draw the USA into the skirmish due to existing treaties with
Israel. A "quick-and-it's-over" assault with an Iraqi victory
and Arab world accolade, may cause the US political world to
pause and rethink any immediate response. So... Iraq attacks
quickly and massively in a chemical or bio attack! That's that
- right?
Wrong! Israel has "the bomb" - their "Jericho
II" rocket (derivative of the Shavit SLV satellite launching
vehicle) can hit anything in the Arab world, and their nuclear
capability also includes limited-yield nuclear field artillery
and "cruise" missile weaponry. If attacked on a massive scale,
their response would be immediate - and nuclear! There is
absolutely no doubt about it, Israel would have no choice! Bye
Bye Bhagdad and Basra! The problem is that this might create a
massive mobilization by the Arab world - and off we go!!! So
much for the middle east oil supply the world depends on - it
could quickly become radioactive and unuseable!
So...
all you protesters out there... best think this one through
again! It is sad to suggest this, but most historians would
probably agree, that if all of you were alive back in early
1939, you would be out protesting western military attitudes
towards Hitler's Germany. Look at the difficulty Winston
Churchill had in persuading the naive British Gouvernment into
starting to think about arming the nation as a prelude to the
forthcoming conflict! You may think there is no parallel here,
but there is! Prior to the war, too many people thought Hitler
was not "dangerous", a little imperalistic yes, but not really
dangerous! MadAss Hussein shares all the traits of the little
moustached Bavarian corporal - let MadAss aquire "the bomb"
and watch out! The Kurds in Northern Iraq that he gassed with
nerve gas know better! This is not Vietnam, the VC were not on
the verge of developing "weapons of mass destruction" - they
were fighting for what they saw as reunification of their
homeland! Ho Chi Min was a capable military strategist and
quite rational! MadAss Hussein is an ego-driven megalomaniac
who is really dangerous! The Iraqi scenario is totally
different and has global catastrophic possibilities!
There are better causes to protest over! MadAss
Hussein is pure evil! He must be stopped before the above
scenario - or worse - becomes a reality! Unless a coup happens
- and with his gestapo-quality internal control that will
probably never occur - the only option is to militarily
destroy his regime! Now is the opportunity - we should take
it! Stop supporting Iraq's ambitions through ill-conceived
protests!
Sometimes a picture says
it all - PLEASE... 2004 come soon!!
(for our American friends
who may ask.. 2004 is the date our idiot P M has
promised to resign!)
OK, I've had it! Like most Canadians, over
the last many years, I have watched in growing dismay (and
embarrassment) at the never-ending antics of our
not-so-beloved Prime Minister Jean (Roi/King) Chretien! Mr.
Chretien, you are searching for your "true legacy". Why? You
have already established it!
Pierre Elliot Trudeau will
be remembered for his panache and repatriating the
Constitution. Lester B Pearson will be remembered for his
diplomacy and the Nobel Prize he was justifiably awarded.
Louis St. Laurent will be remembered for his role in
establishing the St. Lawrence Seaway. William L. M. King
(forget the dog) brought in the Canadian Pension Plan. Mr.
Chretien, you, on the otherhand, have far more to be
remembered for - and little of it for the common good! Let's
see now... under your "guidance" the government has:
- demoralized and degraded the Canadian Forces almost to
the point of ineffectiveness,
- allowed the HRDC $1 billion "boondoggle" to occur (hey,
it's only taxpayers money, right?),
- driven US and Canadian relations to a very low point and
embarrassed Canada in the eyes of the world through your
never-ending faux-pa's, goofs, and indeciseveness! Let's
see... "Washington.. Dino" right?
- indirectly, through reduced Federal funding sharing,
allowed our beloved Health Care system to drift into an almost
ineffective state of disrepair, losing unrecoverable
practitioner expertise during the process.
- then there was the "Shawinigate" affair of course, -
golf anyone?
- structured the Ethics Commissioner's office in such a
way as to keep that office "under the thumb" and ineffective!
- refused to act in a managerial capacity when Cabinet
Ministers or underlings acted in an improper manner (such as
the Francoise Ducros affair and Alfonso Gagliano fiasco) and,
even worse, adopted a policy of "denial" and "rewarding"
wrong-do'ers!
- mismanaged UI premium funding resulting in a surplus of
some $25 Billions then continuously whining about not having
any money for the military or health care.
- attempted to avoid settling a $1.26 billion law suit for
back interest payments being sought by Canadian War Veterans,
- they fought for our country, they died for our country so
they are justified in recovering what is "owed" to them -
period - they should not have to fight for it!
- of course, there is the infamous Challenger jet $100+
million story - the PMO's office "needed" a brand new jet for
esthetic reasons, although existing jets available were more
than adequate (hey! maybe we should be lucky he did not demand
a 747 "Chretien One" similar to George Bush's "Airforce One"!)
- and the final attack on Canadian sensibility - J C's
announcement regarding retirement but hesitation to do so
until 2004, and his continuous program of attacking his
possible successor, Paul Martin! Good God man, time to hit the
pasture - please - get on with it! IT IS TIME TO GO and allow
Canada to regain it's honour and respectability! Nothing
personal, of course, it's just that the PM is less than a good
Prime Minister and the present Government is ineffective and
appears at times to be somewhat corrupted - WE deserve better!
- and then there is the "franconization" issue, and
compulsory "bilingualism" policy that is costing Canadian
business and consumers a fortune, and at the same time,
cow-towing to the whines and childish dictates of the Kebec
séparatistes - but that's another story!
PLEASE, Mr
Chretien - SAY BYE-BYE NOW! Do not waste more of our time and
dollars by hanging on until 2004 - the Country wants
you OUT now, so someone with more political savvy and less
affinity for patronage (ie" Paul Martin) can get on with
rebuilding Canada's prestige and getting down to business. We
cannot afford any more misspent dollars and loss of
international respect!
edit: since the above was
submitted, the Firearm Registry debacle has come to light -
you know, the $2 Million dollar plan to control firearms that
boomed into a Billion dollar boondoggle? What can be said -
"he done did it again"! J.C Rules - Canadians
pay!
PLEASE Canadians - contact your local MPP -
send the word - Chretien has to go!! NOW!
January 2003 - The two US pilots who accidentally bombed
Canadian troops are on trial in Louisiana Well, not really
on trial, but are attending hearings as a prelude to possible
court-martial proceedings - but that is not the issue. The
pilots "goofed" and as a result four soldiers died and a
number of others were injured. It was not deliberate - and the
pilots erred, whether through fatigue, overuse of compulsory
"go" pill amphetamines, lack of activity knowledge or
whatever, they simply made a mistake. In times of military
conflict these things happen. The terminology "friendly fire"
is well known to anyone with a military background.
The
hearings may be valuable in that a sincere examination of
procedures and control systems may prevent this sort of
occurance happening again. Friendly fire killed thousands in
WW11 and almost as many in Vietnam but what makes this event
newsworthy is that coalition (Canadian) troops were involved,
not US troops. This writer, as all Canadians and I suspect
most Americans, regrets the incident and understands that the
two pilots involved must be penalized for an apparent
disregard for procedures -but- possible jail time on murder
charges is not warranted. This is the military and combattants
are placed under unusual stress when in a combat area, and
this stress causes accidents. Yes, such events should not
occur! Yes, procedures should be amended to ensure they do not
reoccur! Yes, the pilots should be punished through demotion
or other reasonable means! NO, they should not face jail time
for making a mistake while serving their country! Nuff said!
And how's the world doing today...? Hmmm... today's
newspaper (June 12 2002) carried quite an assortment of
articles confirming common sense and ethics may be
disappearing! Good old JC hit the news columns again. Just
before the 2000 election, Chretien's government gave the
provinces one billion dollars, intended to improve the health
system by purchasing diagnostic and treatment equipment, you
know, purchase things such as MRI's, dialysis machines etc.
Guess what - over half of this amount was spent on items such
as lawn mowers, sewing machines and photocopiers. So if you
are in hospital, facing major surgery and you see someone
pushing a lawn mower toward you - RUN!
Chretien is up
to his old tricks again. He is getting criticism about
increasing corruption complaints - "'ow dare hanyone criticize
dis government - h'its not propper"! So... he brings in a new
code of ethics, hoping to placate the opposition and
disgruntled backbenchers. Also, (and this may have been
"planned" - 'ya think?) the new code includes conditions
whereby Prime Ministerial would-be's (Hmmm Paul Martin??) may
have to divulge contribution sources - which in turn may scare
away future contributors -or- open such contributors to the
wrath of the government! Chretien... you are one sneaky
B-stard, JC!
While on the topic of King JC and his
"Court" of imbiciles, here are another couple of tid-bits
about his antics: - He sent his grandson to Florida on a
government Challenger jet at public expense - tsk! tsk!! -
JC held a private reception for 1,200 wealthy Liberal
contributors at 24 Sussex Drive - at public expense! Guess
these are acceptable "perks" included with the job, right?
(NOT!)
Then there is the issue of the $330,000 given to
a Kebec sports show company for a show that was cancelled -
guess what? No one asked for the money back!! Boy are WE in
the wrong business - we have to work for our money!
OK!
Enough JC stuff. I wonder to what levels the "bleeding hearts"
of this world will go when considering REAL problem areas. For
example, the "turn the other cheek" crowd, condemning Israel
for it's aggressive stance against the Palestinian terrorists
- why can't Israel back off and "give the Palestinians a
chance" - let them have their own land etc.. Well, dear
do-gooders, time to face reality! A recent poll taken in
Palestine confirmed that over half of all those polled, stated
that no matter what concessions were made by Israel, their
view would not change - they would not rest until Israel was
destroyed and totally eradicated! Fat chance for negotiations
with that attitude methinks!
Then the same bleeding
hearts started whining about poor old Al Muhajir - that poor
Arab-American arrested for attempting to set up a terrorist
detonation of a "dirty" bomb (conventional explosives attached
to radioactive materials) in the USA. The US government has
placed him "incommunicado" as an "enemy combattant"! Hey,
there is no doubt - this potential muderer tried to kill
thousands in the misguided name of Islam - and these
do-gooders want to forgive him? Want him treated "fairly"? I
think I'm going to "throw up"!
Finally - again, from
today's paper, another do-gooder yet to "face reality"!
"Sister Kinsella", allegedly a lady of the cloth, suggested we
all "forgive" Palestinian bombers and terrorists! "They need
our forgiveness and respect"! Hey! the old saying
"..forgive them for they know not what they do" has
it's limitations! These murderers know exactly what they are
doing! They are trained to murder, they want to murder, they
murder, effectively - so let's forget any thoughts of
forgiving them! They should be reviled and punished - they
should have only two options - live peacefully or die -
period! The only good murdering terrorist is a dead terrorist
- keep it simple & dig lots of holes in the cemeteries!
Now we know why Chretien does what he does...
Interesting article in today's (Tues, June 3d 2002) Ottawa
Citizen - headed "How Liberal politics really work in
Quebec" - explains many of good old JC and his "gang"'s
actions - comes down to how they were "taught" the political
game I guess! Here is the article, written by Jack
Aubrey: The crisis that has overtaken Jean Chretien's
government has deflected attention from the ethical debate in
which the recent round of cabinet bloodletting began.In the
fourth part of the National Post-Ottawa Citizen series on
Liberal mismanagement and misdeeds, we look at the grubby
political culture of Quebec. Antonio Genest was a hard
man to find in Shawinigan during the 1972 election campaign,
even though he was the Conservative candidate running against
Jean Chretien. That's because, secretly, he was Mr. Chretien's
friend, and, to help the future prime minister win the
election, he spent most of the campaign virtually hiding out
in his Grand-Mere, Que., hotel rather than stumping. The
deceit worked so well in 1972 - Mr. Chretien won by an
impressive 17,000 votes after almost losing in 1968 - that the
scheming pair did it again in 1974; this time Mr. Genest ran
as the pseudo-candidate for the Socred party. He later said he
did it as payback after Mr. Chretien found his son a job at a
national park. The tactic worked by drawing votes away from
the Liberals' main right-wing opponent, while presenting no
opposition; Mr. Genest did not give a single political speech
during the entire 1974 campaign. Both men confessed to the
skullduggery years later. And, years later, Mr. Genest sat in
his favourite watering hole in Grand-Mere, still awaiting his
reward for his role in making a prime minister. "If you see
him, tell him I'm still waiting for my call," he told an
interviewer. The Genest stalking-horse ploy offers a telling
glimpse into quebec politics. Mr. Chretien may have been
elected prime minister in 1993 on a platform of honesty and
integrity in government, but that is not how the political
game is played in his home province."
ed: - funny how
such a short article spells out the reason for such a large
problem, isn't it!
When 'corrupt' just won't do it, how about slimy, warped,
putrid...It's not often that I see an editorial that I
truly agree with - but here's one, gleaned from the April 30th
2002 Ottawa Citizen, written by Don Martin of the Calgary
Herald - it's a "classic"! The word "corrupt" was fired
at the Liberal front bench three times in the largely deserted
House of commons last week. Clearly, now that the Opposition
has learned the charge irks the Liberal leadership, it will
gleefully use it incessantly. But in any battle of barbs,
creativity counts. So the victory goes to Deputy Prime
Minister John Manley who dismissed the Canadian Alliance as an
"empty hollow bag of wind." Gee, now that hurts. But with so
many alternatives, levelling mere "corruption" accusations at
a government working so hard to smear the political profession
on so many other fronts should be avoided lest it lose its
sting. Besides, as Health Minister Anne McLellan correctly
noted, "If anyone thinks that anything I have done or any
colleague has done is corrupt, they should be going straight
to the police because that's the nature of corruption". So to
assist the Opposition as it casts about for just the right
word, might I suggest the following be referenced as a
dictionary of dirt to define the sort of "corruption" it has
encountered in the last year:
Slippery: Ambassador Alfonso Gagliano,
naturally. The diversion of taxpayer dollars and jobs to
friendly corporations and political allies by this then public
works minister was so rank, even the Liberals couldn't stand
the smell. Which brings us to... Scuzzy: Such is the prime minister's argument
that he's never fired a minister when, in reality, he
should've canned half a dozen and spared taxpayers the cost of
a patronage parachute for landing in foreign service or Senate
clover. Also qualifies as disingenuous. Slimy: Rushing through an untendered
$101-million contract to buy two new jets for the prime
minister and his cabinet out of over-stretched miltary budgets
is slimy. Or insidious. Or depraved. Or unconscionable. Take
your pick! Disrespectful: The feuding
petulant duo of Canadian Alliance MP Jason Kenney and Tory
Elsie Wayne fit this bill - he for denying unanimous consent
to a motion calling for a Canadian Forces Day and she for
taking revenge by denying consent for Kenney's motion calling
for two minutes of silence on Remembrance Day. Shabby: Finance committee chairwoman Sue
Barnes may have gone through the motions of securing legal and
ethical clearance to deal with a beer tax issue despite her
husband's job in a major brewery, but to not declare it openly
and abstain from related decisions was, well, rotten: As in
Den- mark, see ambassador as in Gagliano under slippery above.
Putrid: The still unresolved question
of the $570,000 photocopy of the $550,000 lost report compiled
by Groupaction of Montreal, with a more pungent whiff coming
from the various billing agencies being connected to hefty
Liberal party donations. Sullied: As in
Art Eggleton's reputation, after it took three briefings for
the defence minister to understand that taking prisoners in
Afghanistan is a battlefield development worthy of notifying
the prime minister. Unforgiveable: The
collecting of leadership cash for Finance Minister Paul Martin
by those under contract to advise his Finance Department.
Sorry, Jim Palmer of Calgary; that's you. Warped: The whole "Shawinigate" mess, from
covering the prime minister's riding with pork to passing off
scrawls on napkins as contracts in golf-course sales. There
isn't enough space in this section to detail the twists and
turns of this caper. Fraud: That would
be the federal gun registry; the mother of all monetary
sinkholes, which was set up to cost $85 million and is now
closing in on the $800-million mark for a service riddled with
registration-information errors. Unjust: Letting only two of 235 private
member's bills pass through the preliminary voting stage, only
to be killed by the Liberal majority at committee. Chicanery: The verbal gymnastics of dancing
around the Liberal campaign promise to make the ethics
counsellor accountable to Parliament instead of the prime
minister. Sorry, Jean, it's just not the same. Hypocritical: Why, hello, Allan Rock, the
former health minister who gladly ignored patent laws by
ordering a generic anthrax antibiotic, only to become the
cheerleader for patent protection as the current industry
minister in charge of those laws. Scheming: The U-turn taken by veteran
Alliance MPs who campaigned mightily against the parliamentary
pension, only to buy into the sweetheart deal last year. Yes,
in some cases, the corruption of fundamental principles is
almost corrupt. Don Martin writes for the
Calgary Herald.
(Ed comment) Whoops!
Sorry Don, you missed a 'biggie' ... Plain
old-fashioned STUPID: This one goes to the immigration
department which allows non-Canadian nationals employed in
embassies around the world, to control immigration policy,
like "Duh!... what are the chances of unsavourable types
entering the country as a result?? Hmmm... more on this one
below..!
"The country the world forgot, again" - a
British tribute to Canada's lost soldiers.
( this article appeared in the April
28th 2002 Ottawa Citizen - worth a read -
<;^)-)
Until the deaths
last week of four Canadian soldiers accidentally killed by a
US warplane in Afghanistan, probably almost no one outside
their home country had been aware that Canadian troops were
deployed in the region. As always, Canada will now bury its
dead, just as the rest of the world, as always, will forget
its sacrifice, just as it always forgets nearly everything
Canada ever does.
It seems that Canada's historic
mission is to come to the selfless aid of both of its friends
and of complete strangers, and then, once the crisis is over,
to be well and truly ignored. Canada is the perpetual
wallflower that stands on the edge of the hall, waiting for
someone to come and ask her for a dance. A fire breaks out,
she risks life and liinb to rescue her fellow dance-goers, and
suffers serious injuries. But when the hall is repaired and
the dancing resumes, there is Canada, the wallflower still,
while those she once helped glamorously cavort across the
floor, blithely neglecting her yet again. That is the price
Canada pays for sharing the North American continent with the
United States, and for being a selfless friend of Britain in
two global conflicts. For much of the 20th century; Canada was
torn in two different directions: it seemed to be a part of
the old world, yet had an address in the new one, and that
divided identity ensured that it never fully got the gratitude
it deserved.
Yet its purely voluntary contribution to
the cause of freedom in two World wars was perhaps the
greatest of any democracy. Almost 10 per cent of Canada's
entire population of seven million people served in the armed
forces during the First World War, and nearly 60,000 died. The
great Allied victories of 1918 were spearheaded by Canadian
troops, perhaps the most capable soldiers in the entire order
of battle. Canada was repaid for its enormous sacrifice by
downright neglect, its unique contribution to victory being
absorbed into the popular memory as somehow or other the work
of the "British". The Second World War provided a rerun. The
Canadian navy began the war with a half-dozen vessels, and
ended up policing nearly half of the Atlantic against U-boat
attack. More than 120 Canadian warships participated in the
Normandy landings, during which 15,000 Canadian soldiers went
ashore on D-Day alone. Canada finished the war with the
third-largest navy and the fourth-largest air force in the
world. The world thanked Canada with the same sublime
indifference as it had the previous time.
Canadian
participation in the war was acknowledged in film only if it
was necessary to give an American actor a part in the film,
where the US had clearly not participated - a touching
scrupulousness which, of course, Hollywood has since
abandoned, as it has any notion of a separate Canadian
identity. So it is a general rule that actors and filmmakers
arriving in Hollywood keep their nationality unless, that is,
they are Canadian! Thus Mary Pickford, Donald Sutherland,
Michael J. Fox, Shania Twain, William Shatner, Norman Jewison,
Pamela Anderson, David Cronenbeig and Dan Aykroyd have in the
popular perception become American, and Christopher Plummer
British. It is as if in the very act of becoming famous, a
Canadian ceases to be Canadian, unless she is Margaret Atwood
or Celine Dion.
But Canadians proudly say of
themselves - and are unheard by anyone else - that one per
cent of the world's population has provided 10 per cent of the
world's peacekeeping forces. Yet the only foreign engagement
that has entered the popular non-Canadian imagination was the
sorry affair in Somalia, in which out-of-control paratroopers
killed two Somali infiltrators.
So who in the U.S.
knows about selfless friendship its northern neighbour has
given it in Afghanistan? This past weekend four shrouds, red
with blood and maple leaf, head homewards - and four more
grieving Canadian families know that cost all too tragically
well. This article originally appeared in the April 2st
edition of The London Sunday Telegraph - Kevin Myers.
Israel vs Palestinians - who's right? The debate goes
on!!! The world 'condemns' Israel for invading Palestine
camps. The world also 'condemns' Arafat's
'bomb-toting-kiddies' for blowing up innocent Israeli
citizens! So what is new? A legally created country's
existance is threatened by outside sources and it reacts in
the only language it's assailants recognize - force! War is
not "nice" and war is not "fair" - war is cruel and people get
hurt and die - non-combattants as well! All I hear about on
the 'news' is a growing pressure for Israel to "pull back"
after which the "other guys" will stop murdering innocents
through the latest "martyr & bomb" killing program! Who is
kidding whom? The current struggle has little to do with
Palestinians wanting their own "homeland", it has nothing to
do with Israel wanting to be "imperialistic" - it has
everything to do with an arab desire to have Israel "go away"
- *poof* - disappear! Simply put, the Arab nations "hate"
Israel and her existance! They "hate" the fact that the US
uses Israel as a controlling device to ensure the Arab League
is kept in control and the Muslim Fundamentalists (aka
fanatics) are kept at bay (something to do with oil supply to
the west??)!
If Israel succumbs to the current "world
pressure" and withdraws from the West bank and Gaza, nothing
will happen - the bombings will not cease, on the otherhand,
in true arab style proven through history, the arab nations
will see the withdrawl as a sign of "weakness" and feel world
pressure is "on their side" and, accordingly, you will see
more pressure placed on Israel directly, and the US
indirectly! The only way all this will cease is to create a
palestinian state, move all palestinians there, move all
Israelis back into a defined Israel, and build one heck of a
large wall between the two. Good 'razorwire' border management
combined with modern technology could easily make such a
barrier impenetrable - hey! This might work. It could work
unless the Arab league, especially the "nutbars" in Syria,
Lebanon, Iraq and Iran decide that a "Jehad" or "Holy War" was
feasable in which case Israel would almost certainly defend
itself using tactical weaponry (count on it!). This doomsday
scenario increases as time progresses and the world discovers
more alternative fuel sources, and I suggest that the day the
hydrogen fuel cell becomes commercially feasable will be the
day the US starts to pull back on it's support for Israel -
and when that day comes, Israel's vunerability starts to
increase! There really is no 'answer' until the hatred ceases
and I cannot see diplomacy doing anything constructive in this
regard - so build a wall!!
WHOOPS!! People are 'catching on'! This morning's
paper (Citizen) carried an article(s) regarding recent polls
and our "beloved" (NOT!) Prime Minister's receding popularity.
Apparently poll results suggest almost 70% of respondents felt
that our government(s) were either corrupt or partially
corrupt! Comforting feeling, right? Amost three out of four
citizens queried doubted the Government's credibility and
honesty! WoW! Although the poll addressed politicians in
general, the target of this attitute must be the "Feds". And
guess who the numero-ono honcho there is? Yup! Our illustrious
"non-leader" Jean C.! I guess it must have something to do
with his broken promises - (GST anyone?), flagrant disregard
for proper contract tendering (helicopter mess, two new
'cadillac' jets, - did I hear "golf club"? - and more, and
pure unmitigated arrogance. The man has surrounded himself
with an aura of "power" which is becoming intolerable to the
average citizen, and which is ruining Canada's reputation on
the world stage. To the US, he is a "dinosaur",
backward-thinking one at that! To the Brits, he is a
"nuisance", to the French, merely a little boy desiring a "pat
on the head" (mind you, who really cares what the French
think) - and the list goes on! Ohhh.. Mr Chretien, you are
embarrassing us! The good news in all this, as suggested
above, is that voters are "catching on" and this bodes well
for the country as a whole, as there will be another election
one of these days - and, with luck, we may be "saved" if we
can "dump the dinosaur" - gonzo, bye-bye, au revoir -
whatever, as long AS HE GOES!! - before he ruins everything!!
The Bloc
Quebec - dependably STUPID! One must pause and wonder how
a great country like Canada can be "blessed" with such a
stupid bunch of idiots such as Quebec's "federal" party - the
Bloc Quebec (aka "BlockHeads"
- good fit!). The Canadian Government, like all other
governments around the globe, issued a letter of condolence to
Britain's Royal Family over the passing of the Queen Mother.
Nice move, and simple, right? Nope! - not in the halls of the
Kebec BlockHeads! The letter of condolence referred to
Canadians as "subjects" -SO- (why are we surprised?) the
BlockHeads took umbrage at Kebeckers being included in the
category of "subjects"! (guess they only like being classed as
"subjects" of "King" ... er sorry..."Roi" Landry!) What a
disgusting, classless lot - bet their mothers are embarrassed
they gave birth to them! Even in the hour of another country's
grief, they have to resurrect their little spasms of mindless
petty politics! How do we get rid of these vermin? If anyone
has any ideas, please let me know! In the meantime, I am
thinking of setting up a fund to seek donations so Canadians
can collectively hire a pest-extermination company like PCO to
pop down to Kebec and eliminate this scruffy lot! Either that
or start loading clips!
Disclaimer:I do
not consider myself a bigot or racist! I respect minority groups,
appreciate other cultures and encourage emigration to my country.
BUT I am deeply concerned and offended about growing demands by
minority groups and a careless government immigration attitude that
may, one day, result in my becoming a member of a minority group (if
you live in Toronto, you already know what I mean) - with some
current minority groups, by virtue of numeric superiority, being
able to legally install their foreign culture, anti-Christian values
and moral code, as the 'norm', subjecting all Canadians to
oppressive laws and regulations.
(opinions expressed above are the personal views of
the writer(s) and are intended for private viewing only. Reference
to actual individuals apart from politicians is not intended and
reference to politicians and public figures is really intended if
that reference is of a degrading and critical nature - what the
heck, this is a satire page, right? Also.. we would like to
'promise' that no animals were hurt in the preparation of these
articles - but hopefully, we cannot make the same claim about
politicians, the stupid ones especially!)
Disagree with any of the above? Remember,
it's just my way of letting off steam when I see stupid things being
done by whom I consider to be very stupid or arrogant/ignorant
people! If you have a comment, in support or against any view, feel
free to let me know - E-Mail me if you wish! If
you have something to contribute, well then "fire away"! Any
contributed items will be fully credited of course!
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