Guelph First

2012-02-12T14:10:00.000-05:00

Sir John A dinner 2012

2012-01-19T22:44:00.001-05:00

YOU ARE INVITED TO THE GUELPH EDA’S
2012 SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD DINNER!
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2011
6:00 - 9:00 p.m.
SPECIAL AFTER-DINNER SPEAKER: SENATOR DOUG FINLEY
G
LOCATION: Cutten Fields, 190 College Avenue East, Guelph
(formerly the Cutten Club)
Doors and cash bar open at 6:00 p.m.
Dinner in the Trophy Room at 7:00 p.m. Seating in tables of 8.
FOR TICKETS: contact Laura at sirjohnadinner@guelphcp.ca or 519-362-9691
TICKET PRICES:
$90 per person for Conservative Party members
$110 per person for non-members
$50 per person for students
$675 for a table of 8
Pay by cheque or credit card. Cheques payable to "Conservative Fund Guelph".
Tax receipts will be issued in the ticket amount less dinner costs.

How many jobs have unions created?

2011-12-30T01:23:00.001-05:00

Companies are beholden to the shareholder, be it one super rich SOB or a million ordinary people trying to grow their pensions, companies need to maximise profit. Profit is not a bad word or concept, why else would you open a business, work 80 hours a week, and not see your family, but to make a profit?

Companies will go to and do whatever they have to, to make money. They are not and have never been in it for the workers. Well managed companies will pay and treat their employees well within the industry they are in. I’ve seen both well run companies and companies that I wouldn’t let a rabid dog work in.

Unions did a great deal of good during the 1880s – 1950s, IMO, since then they have become bloated and have lost perspective on their original purpose, which was to look after the worker, and not paying for high priced executives, political lobbying, or fundraising for its own sake. I’ve been a union steward and a plant supervisor, I’ve seen asshole union people who think the company is out to screw them at every turn, and do whatever they can to hurt the company, and are the surprised when the company closes its doors. I’ve also seen union people who are willing to sit down with the company and crunch numbers in order to keep struggling companies viable, sometimes, it works, sometimes it doesn’t, but it’s better than closing up without trying.

Unions don’t and won’t create jobs in a country, that’s a fact. Companies create jobs, and will only create jobs in a country if it is advantageous to them, Note: profitable.

Campaign research and the Guelph Mercury

2011-12-16T14:57:00.002-05:00

Fielded a phone call from Rob O’Flannigan from the Merc today.

He was asking about the work Campaign Research did for the Marty Burke Campaign back during the federal election.

You have a limited amount of resources during a campaign, unlike the Liberal party of Guelph, our purse is in no way bottomless, so we need to allocate our resources to the best of our ability. One needs volunteers and money to run an election, each of which can be in short supply. Instead of running phone banks in Guelph, (I believe the Liberals in Guelph used a phone bank company of the east coast, while the Greens and the NDP had people manning phones in their respective offices), I chose to get our volunteers out on the streets knocking on doors talking to the people of Guelph. For a few days I let CR do the phone calls for us. There is nothing nefarious here, CR is a successful, reputable business, not unlike the companies that manufactured our signs, printed our literature, supplied our internet and the company that supplied us with pizza.

Considering the Speaker ruled CR did nothing wrong and two major newspapers apologised to CR, it seems obvious the Liberals and NDP are throwing yet even more mud, hoping that something will stick.

Sad really.

Letter to the Editor

2011-12-09T18:35:00.001-05:00

In response to Hans Schepers letter regarding the need for high spend trains in Canada.
Having spent six of the last ten weeks in Europe, I can honestly make a few observations.
- The Europeans have a larger, more efficient highway system for automobiles then we do.
- There are many private companies in Europe investing in High speed trains.
- European population density is much greater than ours.
- It is quicker and cheaper to drive to Amsterdam from Ghent then to take the high speed train.
- Cars will always be here, they will most certainly use different fuels then gasoline in the future, but they are here to stay.
- European personal and business taxes are significantly higher than ours.
- Europe is broken, we’re not, why would we follow them down that path?

Ghent, Belgium, Nov 2011

2011-11-27T20:57:00.003-05:00

Battle site of Waterloo

2011-11-19T09:54:00.001-05:00

Lots more ohotos, but these two will do for now!

Letter to the editor

2011-11-11T15:03:00.001-05:00

This is in reference to John Milnes letter dated Nov 11, 2011

Mr. Milne is somewhat mistaken in the information and therefore his interpretation presented in his letter. As he mentions many issues in his letter, I will touch on two specifically.

The Wheat Board is not being eliminated, it is simply becoming a volunteer marketing board whereby Western farmers have the choice, if they wish, to continue to sell their wheat through the Board. No longer is the Western farmer forced to sell his wheat to the CWB. The right of selling grain to whomever they wish is a right Ontario, Quebec and Maritime grain farmers all enjoy, why would we not allow Western farmers the same privilege?

As for foreign ownership in Canada, again Mr. Milne, needs to check his facts and thus his interpretation. Depending on what you are measuring, foreign companies control about 25% of Canadian business. However based on dollars, Canadian companies own and invest more overseas then do foreign companies here. It’s a two way street, if we want Canadian companies and thus Canada, to benefit from strong economies overseas, we need to allow foreign companies here.
Ken Morgan, Guelph

OWS

2011-11-10T23:04:00.003-05:00

Or Toronto, or Montreal, London or Guelph, where ever, whatever.
So at what point do protesters become squatters?
What exactly are the demands again? I don't recall reading the manifesto.
Who did they give their demands to? Providing there was in fact material to give.
Who is the person who can fullfill all the demands? when are negotiations to begin, what time frame is acceptable for both sides?
Funny how most of the people I seen out protesting were in fact also helping the NDP out last eelction....just saying....

Jodo pre grading

2011-11-05T20:21:00.001-04:00

All right, here is the link to me doing a pregrading practice for my 5th dan.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mumQC3jVF4

Nov 2011

2011-11-05T19:56:00.002-04:00

Wow....it's been over a year since I've posted here!!

A great deal has happened since then.

I am now Ken Morgan OCT and MA.

I have graded for and passed my 5th dan in the Martial art of jodo. My 5th in iaido comes up in Dec 2013...THAT will require serious dedication and practice.

I ran, unsuccessfully, the Conservative partys' campaign here in Guelph. Marty and I disagree on some matters of policy, but I can never doubt his commitment to the party, the city or our campaign workers. BTW, even though we lost locally, i have the greatest admiration for our volunteers here in Guelph, they did a fantastic job. It was the perfect campaign team. I was honoured to be a part of it.

The provincial election came and went, I helped out only a little bit, but Greg and Allan both did an amazing job.

I started a new job as I continue to take AQ courses. Work sent me to Belgium in September, where I managed to see Ypres, the Menin gate, Passendale and popped down to France to see Vimy ridge. Heading back over in a week, where I intend to see the battle of Waterloo site, amongst other things.

My plan is to spend more time here, lets see if i can do it!!

Guelph Predictions....

2010-10-24T21:51:00.000-04:00

Mayor: Karen Farbridge.

Ward 1: Bob Bell & Sean Farrelly

Ward 2: Ian Findlay & Ray Ferraro

Ward 3: June Hofland & Maggie Laidlaw

Ward 4: Gloria Kovach & Cam Guthrie

Ward 5: Lise Burcher & Leanne Piper

Ward 6: Karl Wettstein & Todd Dennis

How the Liberal elites lost touch with Canadians

2010-07-07T15:56:00.000-04:00

Lorne Gunter: How the Liberal elites lost touch with Canadians

Read more: http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2010/07/07/lorne-gunter-how-the-liberal-elites-lost-touch-with-canadians/#ixzz0t1owkhzL

I used to be a Liberal — big time.

There, I’ve admitted it.

I handed out campaign pamphlets on a street corner in my hometown when I was 10, was a member of the party’s national youth council while in university and chief of staff to a minister in the last Trudeau cabinet.

Then I smartened up.Part way through my time on Parliament Hill in the early 1980s, it dawned on me the Liberal party I was working for was not the Liberal party I had joined. And although it sounds clichéd, I was convinced the party had left me, rather than the other way around.

Sometime during the Trudeau years, the Liberals ceased to be the party of the individual and became the voice of special interests, the face of elitism.

The transformation began under Lester Pearson, when the Liberals launched huge new social programs — universal medicare and pensions — that were uncharacteristically collectivist for the party. Their central characteristic was the suspension of personal responsibility. Canadians were to be guaranteed health care and retirement income regardless of whether they had made plans and sacrifices during their healthy working years for the time when they became sick or old. They were have-your-cake-and-eat-it-too programs.

Pearson set the Liberals on the road to socialism, but it was the technocrat Pierre Trudeau who turned the party into the elitist family compact it remains to this day.

Trudeau convinced the party that bureaucrats knew better than the public what should be watched on television and listened to on the radio, and so gave the CRTC more power to regulate Canadian content. Trudeau was convinced that politicians could tell, better than businessmen and consumers, which investors were good for our economy (i.e., not foreign ones), and that experts oblivious to market forces could decide the “fair” price of oil. Government could (and should) use massive transfers and equalization payments to manipulate where Canadians live and work. Multiculturalism and mass immigration could help the world and reshape Canada. And public services should reflect the country’s two-language history.

Trudeau completed the transformation of the Liberals, begun by Pearson, from a party that believed in equality of opportunity (classic liberalism) to one that sought equality of outcome (socialism).

In short, the Liberals have become “elitist” — because they no longer trust ordinary people to make the right choices for themselves.

And so it is fascinating for me to read a surprisingly candid series on the future of the Liberal Party of Canada on the blog (glenpearson.ca) of the party’s London North Centre MP, Glen Pearson.

“The essential meaning of liberalism today would be found in the empowerment of the individual,” writes Mr. Pearson, a retired fire captain. “Yet following a history as Canada’s ‘natural governing party,’ today’s Liberal party spends an inordinate amount of time talking about institutional politics and policy as opposed to the key role of the citizen as an agent of progress. One of our key weaknesses as a national party at present is our distance — physical, emotional, empathetic — from the average lives of citizens.”

Unfortunately, he barks up the wrong tree when it comes to putting this observation into practice; he thinks the Liberals need to attract more unionists, social workers, environmentalists, anti-poverty activists and, maybe, small business leaders. Frankly, such advocates for special interests are typically as far removed from ordinary Canadians’ lives as the Liberals themselves. Joining forces with them would only reinforce the Liberals’ aloofness.

What the Liberals need are more supporters such as farmers, entrepreneurs, duck hunters and self-employed tradesmen.
Symptomatic of the Liberals’ remoteness is their demand for universal, government-regulated daycare versus the Conservatives’ policy of giving every family with children under six a tax credit they can use for whatever kind of child care they choose. That’s individual empowerment versus the Liberals’ faith in a big government solution.

It is unlikely the Liberals will ever break with the powerful and fashionable interest groups that control their caucus and drive their policy. But, as Mr. Pearson concludes, unless they somehow can reinvent themselves as the party of the individual, they are doomed “to recurring years in the wilderness.”

National Post
lgunter@shaw.ca

.

Read more: http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2010/07/07/lorne-gunter-how-the-liberal-elites-lost-touch-with-canadians/#ixzz0t1owkhzL

The Queens farewell dinner, July 5, 2010

2010-07-05T23:52:00.004-04:00

Ok.

THIS was a cool event!!!

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2010/07/05/queen-toornto.html

Fantasy artist Frank Frazetta dies

2010-05-12T23:19:00.000-04:00

I loved this man's work when i was in high school....

http://www.cbc.ca/arts/artdesign/story/2010/05/12/frank-frazetta-obit.html

Story, thoughts?

2010-05-01T23:00:00.000-04:00

Le Petit Chaperon Rouge

The early spring rains had pooled below the canopies created by the bows of the towering great maples and oaks that lined the gorge. Torrents of water ebbed and flowed on the forest floor, fighting a losing battle against gravity, and then finally, fatefully, streamed silently over the mossy outcrop and mixed undistinguished with the river below.

The red splash of colour was a bold statement contradictory to the greener so prevailing throughout the forest. The young girl who wore the red oiled cloak, moved lightly and easily amongst the rocks and roots that created a maze of obstacles in her path. She had long, auburn hair, tied up to keep it out of her heart shaped face, large piercing green eyes and delicate lips. The hood of her cloak was pulled up and taunt, trying unfailingly to keep as much of the rain and secondary water from soaking the occupant any more than necessary.

The young girls name was Virginia, she carried a small covered whickered basket over her one shoulder, within which she had lovingly placed fresh home baked bread, strawberry preserves, and a pie, made with the last of the apples from the root cellar. She walked, the half-day walk to her Grandmother’s cottage with purpose, it had been a fortnight since she had last visited and her Grandmother had been out of sorts, but spring planting had kept Virginia’s young life too busy to make the journey. She hurried her step a bit, spurned on by her sudden thoughts of regret and guilt.

The rain had slowed, becoming a fine mist that hung in the air, reminiscent of a fragile spray one might encounter when venturing too close to a thundering waterfall. The leaves had stopped their partnered dance as the dying wind fled back to where it first began, a few fervent birds chirped to their mates as they began to seek out the worms torn so violently from their subterranean homes.

The forest floor, containing the soil, the pooled water, the decaying autumn leaves and the young shoots that strained towards the hidden sun, muffled a rhythmic padding of feet that advanced steadily towards Virginia. The air was still cool as the sun still lay hidden behind the retreating storm clouds, the breath of the beast that disturbed the forest floor, steamed as it was expelled through a lopping grin of primeval jaws.

Virginia abruptly halted in her step. The carpeting of puddles, leaves and twigs beneath her small feet gurgled as her black boots sank into its depths, the rustling of the fabrics of her cloak and dress stopped as she did. She quieted her breathing; her green eyes darted around looking for something out of the ordinary. She tilted her head and listened, her hand reaching into the pocket of her cloak and grasped the handle of the knife held within. Something wasn’t right thought Virginia.

“Young lady, if I may enquire, where is it you are off to?” spoke a malevolent voice directly behind Virginia.

Virginia drew the knife as she spun swiftly on the heels of her boots, loose strands of her hair cascaded over her eyes, distorting her vision for a moment, but she could still recognize what was there before her. Seated nonchalantly on its haunches, as if it was the omnipotent master of all the forest contained, was a large, imposing grey wolf. The wolf’s fur was matted heavily with water, and it trickled in a steady stream from the beast’s throat. Virginia blinked a few times, and tilted her head as she examined the creature before her, “Excuse me?” she asked in a voice stronger then she felt.

Words dripping from its long tongue the wolf smiled and leaned forward, “I said, if I may enquire? Where is it you are off to?”

Virginia adjusted her footing in the water soaked mud beneath her feet, her boots made small sucking sounds as she freed them from the mire, but she had to ensure mobility if the wolf advanced upon her. “Why sir, would you require such information?” She replied.

As if contemplating the inquiry the wolf cocked its head, its large unblinking black eyes locked and never leaving Virginia’s own. His ears twitched as he spoke, “My Love, I consider myself the guardian of these woods, I protect those who walk its paths, that is the duty charged to me by the gods.”

The blade Virginia held before her dripped with rain water, the well worn leather wrapped handle had become soaked with both water and her sweat, but her petite hand never wavered. Delicate fingers, displaying white knuckles held fast. “I question your authority Sir, and I do beg your pardon, however, as such, I decline to answer.”

The black eyes of the wolf narrowed slightly, its leg muscles tensed and quivered, though the beast made no other noticeable movements, it inclined its head slightly, “As you wish, but I would advise you to be vigilant on your travels, these woods contain many dangers.” With those last spoken words, the wolf turned and disappeared along a hidden trail that vanished into the damp underbrush of the forest.

Virginia remained where she was for a moment, watching the back of the wolf as it retreated, and then with a small rustling disturbing the undergrowth as it weaved its way through, it was gone. The forest returned to its normal self. She dried the knife on her cloak, returned it into her pocket, twisted on her heels, and continued her journey to her grandmothers.

It was just short of midday when the trail Virginia followed came upon the clearing where sat her Grandmother’s small well kept limestone cottage. The finely thatched roof steamed as the sun, now visible after a victorious battle with the clouds, streamed down to provide sustenance of both heat and light to the forest. Small wisps of smoke did aerial aerobatics as it was freed from the small chimney, and then when the dance was over, died on the wind.

The rhythmic clicking of Virginia’s boots on the nearly dry flagstone pathway she walked seemed to be carried unencumbered by the air itself, she stopped at a sturdy door, white oak, dark with age and wear, cut and seasoned from the surrounding forest many decades in the past. Virginia took hold of the bronze door knocker, shaped like the old man of the river, decorated with oak leaves and creatures of faire; it was corroded green with age and mystic. She pounded on the door, her hand vibrated through the force, as she felt, more than heard the echo reverberate off the interior stone walls of the cottage.

“Come in”, spoke a voice from within the cottage. Virginia took hold of the handle and clicked the latch open. As expected the door was heavy, but it swung easily inwards, the ancient solid iron hinges were well tended and oiled, they gave no more than a low mournful groan as the door traversed.

Virginia crossed the threshold into a single room. The lighting was imperfect, smoke hung list fully in the air, the two windows were both closed with the drapes drawn tight, the combined smell of multiple herbs were very noticeable, as they hung dry from every conceivable location the ceiling had to offer. To her right was the chimney with a small smoldering fire to take the dampness from the air, to its left an old set of pine shelves lined with last years canning, an odd assortment of tableware and a couple of misbegotten cobwebs. The large Oak table, to the right of the chimney, its grains dark with care, love and age, was dashed haphazardly white with bits of flour, otherwise it stood empty.

Virginia lowered her load onto the table and turned to face the rear of the cottage. It was well organized and reasonably tidy; an imposing yellow painted pine dresser against the one wall was decorated with mass produced stenciled works of flowers, though it was dwarfed by the armoire, butted against it Along the remaining wall sat a simple bed of black iron, covered with an odd assortment of quilts and blankets, the largest part of which had seen much better days. Burrowed beneath the bedding was a solitary figure, though all that was visible was a head covered by a flowered nightcap.

“Good afternoon Gran”, spoke Virginia as she walked to the bedside, “I do hope you’re feeling better, but being in bed this time of the day, makes me question that assumption.”

“Don’t you worry your head little one, I’m fine. Bit of a chill is all”, came the reply.

Her boots scuffing, Virginia stopped short of the bed. She stared intently at the figure before her, with the combined smoke and meager lighting it was extremely difficult to distinguish details, but she did see a pair of exceptionally large black eyes intently looking back at her. “Why Gran, what large eyes you have.” Virginia rebalanced her weight between her feet and causally slipped her hands into her pockets as she spoke.

The figure smiled intensely, “Oh sweetheart, that’s only so I can see you better”.

Virginia’s full lips had gone dry, she swallowed hard, not taking hers eyes from the face in the bed, her tongue licked her lips moist again. “Gran, what rather large ears you have”.

Countless rows of glistening white teeth from yet another smile came from above the quilts, “My dear that is so I can hear you better.”

Virginia purposefully slowed and regulated her breathing, she inched back a small handful of steps away from the bed. “Gran, what large teeth you seem to have”.

When one carelessly drops a glass or falls off a stool, there is a moment in time, where the guiding laws and principles of the universe pause, and for but a brief instant we see the consequences of our actions, though impossible as it may appear, time slows for scarcely a heartbeat or two, then rushes with all its pent-up intensity at us yet again.

The figure in the bed exploded into motion in a burst of ripped quilts and blankets, scores of feathers and patchwork, took flight to the air as the wolf launched itself. Virginia twisted her body hard to the right, claws ripping her cloak as it did and the wolf shot past her. The wolf skidded on the wooden floor, scratching the polish loving applied, and without pause, spun and faced Virginia. It eyed her calculatingly, a bead of saliva hung motionless from its gapping jaws, he panted, “I told you young Miss, these woods are dangerous for the likes of you. You should have listened to me.”

Her heart beating ferociously, sweat forming on her forehead, Virginia held her ground. “You had best leave dear Sir”, she said staring into the wolfs eyes, “You are unwelcome in this household, and I would ask you to please depart.”

The wolf’s response was to propel itself forward once again, claws racking deeply into Virginia’s side this time, as she side stepped aside avoiding the latest attack. Droplets of her blood begin to fall onto the floor, making a shockingly beautiful patterns of colours and designs when mixed with the wood grains. Her eyes flashed with the twin sister’s, pain and fury, as she twisted to stare at the wolf.

The wolf panted deeply, gasping for air, its tongue hung from the corner of its mouth, a trail of saliva dripping onto the floor, bit by bit, its grey fur standing erect on its back, it crept towards Virginia, trying to close the distance between them.

Green eyes never leaving the wolf’s own, her boots clicking rhythmically on the floor, Virginia moved backwards, only to be stopped suddenly and unceremoniously short by the oak table. It didn’t move. Barely audible she spoke softly to the wolf, “Don’t”, was all she said.

The wolf smiled, its jaws well lubricated with its growing accumulation of salvia, a primordial growl of hell coming from somewhere deep within itself rose and escaped from its mouth, “Mine”, he whispered and then hurdled himself for Virginias exposed frail throat, willing himself to tear it apart.

The moment the wolf left the ground Virginia stepped forward, and dropped herself to the floor, while at the same time driving the knife upwards catching the wolf in its exposed underside. The momentum of the wolf drove the knife in, hilt deep, and tore through intestines and organs, spilling the wolfs life blood everywhere. Virginia rolled to her side as the wolf connected with the table and collapsed onto the floor in a crushed heap of flesh, bone and blood. Virginia watched intently as it breathing came in staggered gasps, blood pooling and congealing beneath it, its large black eyes still on her, the life dimmed slowly from them, and then was extinguished.

A loud pounding from the armoire startled Virginia out of her haze; she rose unsteadily to her feet and went to investigate.

95 years ago

2010-04-25T22:16:00.001-04:00

You know I never really knew my Dad's, Dad, I meet him when I was all of six months old, but that being said, I do know what he was doing 95 years ago today.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Cape_Helles

Stan Rogers

2010-04-02T21:54:00.001-04:00

Such Character

2010-03-30T19:50:00.001-04:00

Pat Buchanan

2010-03-28T20:48:00.002-04:00

I'm not his biggest fan, but I read this article over breakfast while in Lewiston NY, and he's got it spot on. What holds true for the USA, also holds true for us here in Canada. We all need to make some changes.

http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=36002

The Disemboweling of America
by Patrick J. Buchanan

03/12/2010

Though Bush 41 and Bush 43 often disagreed, one issue did unite them both with Bill Clinton: protectionism.

Globalists all, they rejected any federal measure to protect America's industrial base, economic independence or the wages of U.S. workers.

Together they rammed through NAFTA, brought America under the World Trade Organization, abolished tariffs and granted Chinese-made goods unrestricted access to the immense U.S. market.

Charles McMillion of MBG Information Services has compiled, in 44 pages of charts and graphs, the results of two decades of this Bush-Clinton experiment in globalization. His compilation might be titled, "Indices of the Industrial Decline and Fall of the United States."

From 2000 to 2009, industrial production declined here for the first time since the 1930s. Gross domestic product also fell, and we actually lost jobs.

In traded goods alone, we ran up $6.2 trillion in deficits -- $3.8 trillion of that in manufactured goods.

Things that we once made in America -- indeed, we made everything -- we now buy from abroad with money that we borrow from abroad.

Over this Lost Decade, 5.8 million manufacturing jobs, one of every three we had in Y2K, disappeared. That unprecedented job loss was partly made up by adding 1.9 million government workers.

The last decade was the first in history where government employed more workers than manufacturing, a stunning development to those of us who remember an America where nearly one-third of the U.S. labor force was producing almost all of our goods and much of the world's, as well.

Not to worry, we hear, the foreign products we buy are toys and low-tech goods. We keep the high-tech jobs here in the U.S.A.

Sorry. U.S. trade surpluses in advanced technology products ended in Bush's first term. The last three years we have run annual trade deficits in ATP of nearly $70 billion with China alone.

About our dependency on Mideast oil we hear endless wailing.

Yet most of our imported oil comes from Canada, Mexico, Venezuela, Nigeria and Angola. And for every dollar we send abroad for oil or gas, we send $4.20 abroad for manufactured goods. Why is a dependency on the Persian Gulf for a fraction of the oil we consume more of a danger than a huge growing dependency on China for the necessities of our national life?

How great is that dependency?

China accounts for 83 percent of the U.S. global trade deficit in manufactures and 84 percent of our global trade deficit in electronics and machinery.

Over the last decade, our total trade deficit with China in manufactured goods was $1.75 trillion, which explains why China, its cash reserves approaching $3 trillion, holds the mortgage on America.

This week came a report that Detroit, forge and furnace of the Arsenal of Democracy in World War II, is considering razing a fourth of the city and turning it into farm and pastureland. Did the $1.2 trillion trade deficit we ran in autos and parts last decade help kill Detroit?

And if our purpose with NAFTA was to assist our neighbor Mexico, consider. Textile and apparel imports from China are now five times the dollar value of those imports from Mexico and Canada combined.

As exports are added to a nation's GDP, and a trade deficit subtracted, the U.S. trade deficits that have averaged $500 billion to $600 billion a year for 10 years represent the single greatest factor pulling the United States down and raising China up into a rival for world power.

Yet, what is as astonishing as these indices of American decline is the indifference, the insouciance of our political class. Do they care?

How can one explain it?

Ignorance of history is surely one explanation. How many know that every modern nation that rose to world power did so by sheltering and nurturing its manufacturing and industrial base -- from Britain under the Acts of Navigation to 1850, to protectionist America from the Civil War to the Roaring Twenties, to Bismarck's Germany before World War I, to Stalin's Russia, to postwar Japan, to China today?

No nation rose to world power on free trade. From Britain after 1860 to America after 1960, free trade has been the policy of powers that put consumption before production and today before tomorrow.

Nations rise on economic nationalism; they descend on free trade.

Ideology is another explanation. Even a (Milton) Friedmanite free-trader should be able to see the disaster all around us and ask: What benefit does America receive from these mountains of imported goods to justify the terrible damage done to our country and countrymen?

Can they not see the correlation between the trade deficits and relative decline?

Republicans seem certain to benefit from the nation's economic crisis this November. But is there any evidence they have learned anything about economics from the disastrous Bush decade?

Do they have any ideas for a wholesale restructuring of U.S. trade and tax policy, for a course correction to prevent America's continuing decline?

Has anyone seen any evidence of it?

Yamani or Your Life

2010-03-08T23:46:00.001-05:00

http://www.slate.com/id/2247256/

Yamani or Your Life

A nasty attempt to coerce Danish newspapers into apologizing for the cartoons of Muhammad.

By Christopher Hitchens

Posted Monday, March 8, 2010, at 5:33 PM ET

I have just finished reading one of the most astoundingly stupid and nasty documents ever to have landed on my desk. It consists of a letter from a law firm in Saudi Arabia, run by a man named Ahmed Zaki Yamani, to a group of newspapers in Scandinavia. I quote directly from its main paragraphs:

the past months my law firm has been contacted by several thousand descendants of the Prophet, who have learned about your newspaper's republication of the drawing, depicting their esteemed ancestor as a terrorist suicide bomber with a bomb in his turban.

As descendants of the Prophet, these individuals feel personally insulted, emotionally distressed and defamed by your newspaper's re-publication of the drawing. They have therefore retained my law firm and instructed me to approach you …

So that's the stupid part—the idea that people who claim descent from a seventh-century warlord and preacher have standing to sue for hurt feelings. The nasty bit comes a few paragraphs later:

[I]t is my belief that your newspaper's fulfillment of the above-mentioned conditions would be perceived as a sign of respect and understanding throughout the Muslim world in general, and your newspaper might thus help resolve the severe conflict, which your re-publication of the drawing has created. As you may be aware, this conflict is still affecting Danish and Arab interests, in particular in the Middle East, where a number of Danish products are still being boycotted.

It is impossible not to notice the element of threat and menace contained in the second extract. It's not difficult to remind Danes of the organized campaign of hysterical retribution, ranging from the burnings of embassies to the mob-killing of civilians, that followed the first publication of some mild caricatures of the prophet Muhammad in 2005. Only a little further backstory is required: In 2008, it was discovered that a cell of eager murderers was planning to kill those who authored the caricatures, and in solidarity a large number of Danish newspapers reprinted the drawings in order to express their support for freedom of speech. Then, on New Year's 2009, a Somali fundamentalist chopped his way into the house of 74-year-old cartoonist Kurt Westergaard, who was having a sleepover with his granddaughter, and very nearly succeeded in axing them both to death. The apology for all this, however, is supposed to be forthcoming not from the aggressors and inciters but from their victims. Late last month, Copenhagen newspaper Politiken agreed to make a public apology on the terms dictated by the Yamani law firm.

Celebrating this abject decision at a triumphant press conference in Beirut last week, Yamani repeated his bizarre claim to be the lawyer for no fewer than 94,923 descendants of the outraged prophet. Again, he made one utterly absurd statement and one extremely sinister one:

In our view, all religious icons of all religions, such as the Virgin Mary, Jesus Christ, Moses, and (not to be compared to prophets and messengers) others who are non-religious icons but have contributed to humanity like Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, the Dalai Lama, and others such as Ibn Sina, Ibn al-Haitham and Albert Einstein all deserve respect and protection from ridicule and defamation.

Cretinism on this historic level is comparatively rare. Apparently, Yamani thinks that Mahatma is a first name rather than a Hindu religious honorific and that the words "Dalai Lama" are a secular title. Moreover (and you have to admit that tossing in a Jewish name is a nice touch), he would protect the stern Spinozist Einstein from being lampooned for the many wrong surmises he made about the Big Bang and quantum theory. But while it is obvious that he knows nothing of such matters, he does know how to unveil a threat:

We wished that all the Danish Newspapers which published the Drawings accepted to enter into a settlement as Politiken did, and published an apology to avoid multiple jurisdictional litigations and costly damages in favor of our clients.

If you ask yourself whether Yamani cares more about the supernatural world or the grossly material one, it will not take very long to come up with an answer. You can detect it in the way that he balances the soft inducement against the hard threat of remembered mayhem: Yamani or your life.

But it is in the material world that newspapers are published and in which laws and constitutions exist that inscribe their right to print material without censorship and intimidation. It is also in the material world that laws protect grandfathers and their granddaughters from homicidal religious maniacs. Are we to surrender these hard-won rights in favor of the hectic emotions of people who claim a distant kinship with a quasi-mythological figure who was uneasy with both reading and writing and preferred to recite? This is without precedent. Are we now to be dogged with lawsuits by those in whose veins the blood of Henry VIII, Mussolini, Columbus, or Ivan the Terrible can be alleged to flourish? (At least—unless you believe Dan Brown—this will not be such a problem in the case of the Virgin Mary.)

The thing would be ridiculous if it were not so hateful and had it not already managed to break the nerve of one Danish newspaper. In Ireland a short while ago, a law against blasphemy was passed, making it a crime to outrage the feelings not just of the country's disgraced and incriminated Roman Catholic Church but of all believers. The same pseudo-ecumenical tendency can be found in the annual attempt by Muslim states to get the United Nations to pass a resolution outlawing all attacks on religion. It's not enough that faith claims to be the solution to all problems. It is now demanded that such a preposterous claim be made immune from any inquiry, any critique, and any ridicule.

This has to stop, and it has to stop right now. All democratic countries and assemblies should be readying legislation along the lines of the First Amendment, guaranteeing the right of open debate on matters of religion and repudiating the blackmail by law firms and individuals whose own true ancestry would not bear too much scrutiny.

Jamie Oliver's TED award speech.

2010-03-08T18:32:00.000-05:00

Who is that? Hmmmm....

2010-03-01T00:40:00.000-05:00

Jack Layton Wants To Make Sure You See Him Celebrating That Goal! from Torontoist on Vimeo.

2010-02-22T13:19:00.001-05:00

Funny cartoon

2010-02-21T17:51:00.002-05:00

Rudyard Kipling

2010-02-20T23:03:00.000-05:00

If

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on";

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son!

CPC gets trashed yet again!!

2010-02-16T17:56:00.000-05:00

An MP is driving by the zoo, when he sees a little girl leaning into the lion’s cage.
Suddenly, the lion grabs the cuff of her jacket sleeve and tries to pull her inside to
slaughter her, under the eyes of her screaming parents.

The MP jumps off his bike, runs to the cage and hits the lion square on the nose with
a powerful punch. Whimpering from the pain the lion jumps back letting go of the girl,
and the MP brings her back to her terrified parents, who thank him endlessly.

A reporter has seen the whole scene, and addressing the MP, says: “Sir, this was the
most gallant and brave thing I saw a man do in my whole life. What do you do for a living?”

“I’m a Member of Parliament. It was nothing, really. I just saw this little kid in danger and
did what I felt right.”

“Well, I’ll make sure this won’t go unnoticed. I’m a journalist, you know, and tomorrow’s
papers will have this on the first page. What party are you with?”

“The Conservative Party of Canada” says the MP.

The journalist leaves. The following morning, the MP buys the paper to see if it indeed
brings news of his actions, and reads, on the front page:

HARPER THUG ASSAULTS AFRICAN IMMIGRANT AND STEALS HIS LUNCH!

National Flag of Canada Day

2010-02-15T14:36:00.003-05:00

Why is it that this particular day doesn't get the press it rightly should?? Happy Flag Day everyone!

February 15, 2010.

Glenrothes

2010-02-14T20:35:00.001-05:00

More Conservative 10%ers!!

2010-01-26T15:51:00.003-05:00

Ohhh wait... I'm wrong. Shock & Horror these are from Jack Layton!! Every Friggn month I and everyone around here get these stupid things. Its funny that I only hear people complain about the CPC ones....

Quote

2010-01-23T23:21:00.002-05:00

The best years of your life are the ones in which you decide your problems are your own. You do not blame them on your mother, father, partner or society. You realize you control your own destiny. Albert Ellis

Painting

2010-01-16T22:49:00.000-05:00

Sir John A Macdonald

2010-01-10T12:13:00.001-05:00

Happy birthday.

Newest painting

2009-12-27T23:32:00.002-05:00

One day I'll complete a painting in more then a few hours. I rush waayy too much.

Time

2009-11-30T12:30:00.002-05:00

http://180mag.ca/180editorblog.html

Men talk of killing time, while time quietly kills them. ~Dion Boucicault

Time goes, you say? Ah no!Alas, Time stays, we go.~Henry Austin Dobson

Who is this woman? She looks a lot like my mother... well she looks a lot like what my mother looked like when she was young, when she was a model.

This woman is perhaps still alive, perhaps a grandmother, perhaps with children who know of this image, perhaps not.

Do her grandchildren like this image? Are they embarassed by it? Would it be a scandal in the community if it were to be revealed at the local church bazaar?

Time! the corrector when our judgments err. ~Lord Byron

Time heals what reason cannot ~ Seneca

If so, in another 40 years that embarassment will be forgotten, that shame wiped clean by the death of all those who gave shame and all those who accepted it.

In the meantime we have this image, this pose, this lovely young girl and the shape of her limbs. It's not a great image, not one of the classics, but it is a photograph of a real person, who lived and, I hope, loved and led a full life doing what she wanted to do.

She met a photographer, perhaps he paid her, perhaps he was a boyfriend or a husband. She may have been shy and took her clothes off in another room, she may have been bold and left a pile consisting of a shirt, pants, socks and on top of it all, panties, perhaps red with a ribbon at the side.

Perhaps she was a student, making some money to pay for her education. A life model for the fine art department of the local college. Maybe she was a math major and went on to have a career as a teacher. This must have been before the internet because she wasn't fired for posing like this. Or at least I hope she was not.

Watches are so named as a reminder - if you don't watch carefully what you do with your time, it will slip away from you. ~Drew Sirtors

I often say that everyone should pose nude while they are young and fit. If they do not they will not have an image like this to share with the grandkids when their kids aren't looking... or just to pull out late at night and say "I used to look like that", then put it away again.

What stops people is shyness about their own bodies, fear of what their families will say, and most upsetting of all, worry that they will be denied a job or hindered somehow in their careers if someone sees the photos and recognizes them. Very rarely do I talk with a potential model who will not pose nude because he or she believes it is wrong, there is always an outside reason. What will other people say about me, about my body?

Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you. ~Carl Sandburg

I have some wood in my shop called bog oak. It fell into a bog about 5000 years ago and lay there getting blacker and blacker until someone hauled it out 5 years ago, dried it and cut it.

Think about that tree, it lived about the time that man invented writing. Cities were still a new idea. Think about the civilization that existed then, kings and judges, religions and gods, dead for thousands of years.

Think about a man sitting under that tree, worried about what the old women in the village would say about him and what he did the night before. What was it? Or perhaps he hadn't done it yet, perhaps he decided that the old women were too terrible to face and so he did what they wanted, and he lived the rest of his life in regret. Perhaps he became a rich man who died owning a lot of land. A rich man who did as he was supposed to do, but never got to do the thing he most wanted to do for fear he wouldn't have that money when he died.

How do you feel about that?

Pick my left pocket of its silver dime, but spare the right - it holds my golden time! ~Oliver Wendell Holmes

Read that quote again, more carefully this time. In the time it takes to make bog oak not only will you and I be forgotten, but our civilization will be at an end with perhaps three or four having come between. Mankind may not even be able to understand this writing... provided the computers it lives on replicate it for that many years. Hideously unlikely

Yet in 5000 years it is just possible that this photograph will still exist, and someone then will look at it and wonder, hope, that the girl had a good life.

Surely we can wish the same for ourselves and stop living for other people. Surely we can start living like we, and the old women in the village, will be forgotten dust in a thousand years.

Love this

2009-11-25T21:58:00.001-05:00

150 years ago

2009-11-25T13:29:00.001-05:00

Cartoon

2009-11-15T18:39:00.000-05:00

November 11, 2009

2009-11-11T10:02:00.002-05:00

I've posted military photos from my family before, so this year I decided to post an older picture of the Canadian War Memorial.

The eleventh hour, of the eleventh day, of the eleventh month.

They are not forgotten....

Buffalo Zoo, November 5, 2009

2009-11-06T18:38:00.002-05:00

what religion should you be??

2009-10-28T23:13:00.000-04:00

Cartoon

2009-08-26T12:14:00.000-04:00

My Political views

2009-08-09T11:05:00.002-04:00

Political quiz, my results.

http://www.gotoquiz.com/politics/political-spectrum-quiz.html

I tried it before a few years ago and got a similar result. Thanks to CC for reminding me of it. http://canadaconservative.blogspot.com/

Creationism

2009-08-06T16:44:00.001-04:00

Don't believe in god?

2009-08-04T16:56:00.002-04:00

Farm for sale

2009-07-30T00:09:00.000-04:00

http://www.gdreb.ca/mls_detail?mls_number=93324#

Homeopathy & Nutritionists vs Real Science!

2009-07-23T12:44:00.001-04:00

http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2009/07/in_the_name_of_balance.php

The folly of pretence, by Daniel Dennett

2009-07-17T14:55:00.002-04:00

We must not preserve the myth of God – it was a useful crutch, but we've outgrown it As I explain in the chapter by that title in Breaking the Spell, "belief in belief" is a common phenomenon not restricted to religions. Economists realise that a sound currency depends on people believing that the currency is sound, and scientists recognise that the actual objectivity of scientific studies on global warming is politically impotent unless people believe in that objectivity, so economists and scientists (among others) take steps to foster and protect such beliefs that they think are benign. That's acting on belief in belief.

Sometimes the maintenance of a belief is deemed so important that impressive systems of propaganda are erected and vigorously defended by people who do not in fact share the belief that they think is so important for society to endorse. For instance, imbecile monarchs have been kept on their thrones by widespread conspiracies of oblivion and deception when it has been deemed too socially disruptive to confirm to the populace what everybody suspects: the king is an idiot.

Religion offers an extreme case of this. Today one of the most insistent forces arrayed in opposition to us vocal atheists is the "I'm an atheist but" crowd, who publicly deplore our "hostility", our "rudeness" (which is actually just candour), while privately admitting that we're right. They don't themselves believe in God, but they certainly do believe in belief in God. It's not always easy to tell who just believes in belief, since the actions motivated by believing in belief (while not actually believing in God) are – with the exception of those rare sotto voce confessions – well-nigh indistinguishable from the actions of genuine believers: say the prayers, sing the hymns, tithe, proclaim one's allegiance, volunteer for church projects, and so on. Sometimes I wonder if even 10% of the people who proclaim their belief in God actually do believe in God. I am particularly unimpressed by those who proclaim the loudest; they demonstrate by their very activism that they fear the effect of any erosion of religion, and they must think that erosion is likely if they don't put their shoulders to the wheel. If they were more confident and secure in their religious convictions, they probably wouldn't waste their time trying to discredit a few atheists. For instance, since they are confident that the moon landings really happened, they don't bother working to discredit the moon-landing sceptics who lurk on the internet, even though those people do pose something of a threat to public confidence in the veracity of the media and the government.

I am confident that those who believe in belief are wrong. That is, we no more need to preserve the myth of God in order to preserve a just and stable society than we needed to cling to the Gold Standard to keep our currency sound. It was a useful crutch, but we've outgrown it. Denmark, according to a recent study, is the sanest, healthiest, happiest, most crime-free nation in the world, and by and large the Danes simply ignore the God issue. We should certainly hope that those who believe in belief are wrong, because belief is waning fast, and the props are beginning to buckle.

A national study by evangelicals in the United States predicted that only 4% of their children would grow up to be "Bible-believing" adults. The Southern Baptists are baptising about as many today as they were in 1950, when the population was half what it is today. At what point should those who just believe in belief throw in the towel and stop trying to get their children and neighbours to cling to what they themselves no longer need? How about now?

Recession and the US $

2009-07-15T23:38:00.001-04:00

I wrote this for something else, but I thought I'd put it up here too.

It’ll go on for a while. No other country has the financial clout yet to take over. They talked about the Yen in the 80’s, and the Euro more recently, but it never happened. The new currency will need political stability, a strong middle class, and lots of foreign investment around the world; again, no one is there yet.

Once the US recovers, seriously recovers and starts cutting spending, increasing taxes, and having surpluses, you will see inflation go up considerably, with the intent of paying off a chuck of the debt with high inflation dollars.

We, the west, US, Europe, Canada, Japan and some others need high paying jobs in bother the service and manufacturing sectors, otherwise we will be debt financing for many more years. We need to create wealth, not borrow it.

Copernicus Had Blue Eyes

2009-07-10T17:40:00.001-04:00

So cool...
http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2009/07/09/copernicus-blue-eyes.html

Video of Girl being flogged

2009-07-03T14:09:00.001-04:00

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/apr/02/taliban-pakistan-justice-women-flogging

Imagine walking down the street with a male, who is not a relative, and being punished this way for it. Barbaric.

Liz May

2009-07-03T14:04:00.001-04:00

Liz May to run in Guelph?

At first I though the papers were kidding, then I read the articles.

So much for representative democracy, out the window it goes.

Maybe I’m old fashioned, but I kinda like the thought of my MP living, working and being a part of my community. Liz moving here to run, would only be politically expedient.

Guelph should not just be an opportune place for Liz to get into Parliament. Guelph should not be whored out and used just so Liz can get to the national stage.

The Baloney Detection Kit

2009-06-25T00:22:00.001-04:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUB4j0n2UDU

A

2009-06-16T00:00:00.002-04:00

For fun!

2009-06-10T23:33:00.001-04:00

www.onemilliongiraffes.com

Christopher Hitchens

2009-06-04T08:42:00.002-04:00

Seen Christopher Hitchens speak at the Royal Ontario museum Tuesday night. Great speaker, enjoyed the evening very much.

Kim Taylor while in Japan

2009-05-26T22:19:00.003-04:00

One of Guelph's best kept little secrets is Kim Taylor and the Sei Do Kai of Guelph. http://www.uoguelph.ca/~iaido/

Kim is a 7th Dan in iaido and a 5th Dan in Jodo. One of only three iaido 7th's in Canada, and the only jodo 5th in Canada.

It amazes me that people in Guelph and the surrounding area's don't take advantage of this man and seek him out to train with.

This weekend in Guelph

2009-05-15T13:14:00.002-04:00

Hey if you're in Guelph this weekend and not doing anything or are interested in the Japanese sword arts, pop over to the AC at the University and give it a try, or just watch.

http://www.uoguelph.ca/~iaido/iai.seminar.html

Time for change.

2009-05-08T21:49:00.002-04:00

Firstly let me say, I love Stephen Harper, in a completely platonic way :o)

I think of the PM as I do Preston Manning, initially a little taken back and unsure of them, kind of a wait and see attitude, Now? I love them both.

I have some significant differences with their politics, but I’ve supported them, defended them, and in the case of the PM I've worked my ass off for him. If you’ve read my comments or articles, it’s about loyalty; it’s about circling the wagons and supporting the leader and the party regardless. I know people who have similar beliefs to me abandon the party because of differences with the PM, not me I stayed and tried to make it better from the inside.

I believe you should support the Leader and the party even if you have serious issue differences, because it is about the end game. It is about the long term view of things, getting most of our policies implemented over the years to come. Changing the country for the better. Party unity.

That being said, I don’t see the PM or the Party winning a majority anytime soon. Yes I know Doug and the girls/boys know their stuff and will pull out all the stops to make it happen. We tell people not to vote LPC/Green/NDP, but why vote for us? Are we really that stale as a party we don’t have any really “cool” ideas/policies? Do we have to keep bashing the LPC for points? I want people to vote for us because of us, not in spite of the LPC. I know its about timing, you don't let everything out know for an election 12 months from now.

Maybe, just maybe, we need some serious soul searching in Ottawa, within the party and caucus to make some changes, in 39 months we are still no closer to majority territory, time to take a close look as to why not.

Principles of being a Conservative

2009-04-14T14:06:00.002-04:00

I’ve had some thoughts on what is or isn’t a Conservative. What can you strip away or add and still be considered a core belief in the movement. Many people believe that if you believe in X, Y or Z you can’t be a true Conservative, to an extent that is true. However I believe that the vast majority of Canadians are middle of the road people, me included.

Below are the 10 core principles of what I consider to be Conservative beliefs. Yes I know, there is more to everything then the few words I’m listing, there are many buts, and what if’s. These core principle though, its the implementation and the meanings that cause us all grief.

1. Lower taxes.
2. Less government.
3. Free market.
4. Strong military.
5. Universal health care.
6. Universal education.
7. Effective social programs.
8. Tough on crime.
9. Free speech.
10. Freedom of religion/freedom from religion.

These are the principles that should unify us, not divide us.

Rant

2009-04-07T14:11:00.004-04:00

I’ve taken a sabbatical this past year from all things political, and it’s been hard. When you read something, hear someone speak, or watch someone on TV say inaccurate or plain stupid comments it’s hard not to pounce on them.

It was very difficult to sit out this last Federal election, but sometimes we need to sit back and regain our perspective on life. It was time to do so. I watched many good friends working their collective asses off, while I did little. It made me feel somewhat guilty, but again, it was past due for some time for me.

The past year given me a newer perspective on a few things political. Hence a bit of a rant.

1. I don’t think we, (The Conservative parties) give the volunteers their due and I’m probably as guilty as the next person in that regard. The vast majority of folks working for the parties are there of their own free will, and are not paid. We need to appreciate them more. Not just the once a year folks but those who sit on the executives and take the daily crap on the local level.

2. We do a terrible job with our public image. The LPC, the NDP and the BQ control the media stories. We have problems getting our messaging out. I don’t understand why. We have so many talented people in the parties, we should be dominating the media. We have years of leftist propaganda to fight.

3. Conservative supporters are very principled. They may agree with you on 190 out of 200 policy issues, but will walk away from you on the differences from the remaining 10. They may be principled, but many are not loyal. The other parties tend to keep their supporters regardless of the issues, they circle the wagons and fight the common foe.

4. The vast majority of Conservative members are middle of the road people. Somewhat left/somewhat right in their beliefs. Getting back to number 2 and 3, that’s why the media focuses on the minority religious right, they scare away the soft middle support. In my last executive, perhaps 4 out of 30 were serious about religion, ask the common folks their opinion, and we where all zealots about to make Canada a Theocracy.

5. It’s not about policy, it’s about getting elected. It’s not about getting elected, it’s about policy.

6. No, It’s about Canada. Period.

7. Do what you think is right, regardless of the consequences. Sometimes you have to break some eggs to make a cake.

8. Always tell the truth.

9. There is way too much deadwood in the party. We all know the folks who talk big and never quite do anything. These are the same ones who only come out to be delegates or candidates and do little else. They refuse to get their hands dirty with the actual running of the party. They like to have their photo’s taken with cabinet Ministers and MP’s, but God forbid they should man a table, make phone calls or organize events. But…..the parties are made up of volunteers, so what are you going to do?

It's about good jobs!!

2009-03-10T15:45:00.002-04:00

I love hearing all the economists and politicians talking about coming out of this recession this quarter or next quarter, or next year. But when really? They all have zero clue as to how long it will last.

I still hold the same opinion as before; this is going to be a long one. Kinda like what Japan has been going through these last two decades.

The high paying manufacturing jobs are gone. Period. They’re not coming back anytime soon, our cost of doing business is too high. Wages, taxes, health care, etc. etc. any business worth its salt is going overseas because it’s cheaper and easier to produce their products.

The jobs started leaving during the recession in the early 1990’s, coincidentally the same time credit started to become easier. You see while people didn’t have the high paying jobs they once did, they still wanted to live the same way, hence credit, and more credit. Governments did the same thing, Reagan and Bush Sr., cut taxes and started debt spending like crazy. In Canada Mulroney realized that we were becoming a service economy and brought in the GST, resulting in a win fall for Jean Chretien. Hell it could have been an NDP government in, and they would have seen a win fall.

Business, specifically car companies talk of freeing up credit, that’s not what we need. What we need are good high paying jobs. What good is credit, if you can’t pay it down?? People making $14 an hour can’t have a house, a car, electronics and vacations somewhere warm, except on extreme credit. Credit that can never be paid down. So unless we really fix the problem of not having good paying jobs we are going to limp along living on new credit, until the bill comes due again.

I don’t have the solution, but I do know that huge government debt spending is not going to solve the problem in the long run. Good paying jobs are what we need.

An old one

2009-03-09T08:55:00.000-04:00

but I love it anyway.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1s0dRcdyizU

Dead like me

2009-02-24T14:13:00.001-05:00

One of my all time favorite TV shows is “Dead Like Me”, it lasted on Showcase for two seasons. A dark comedy with exceptional writing and acting.
http://www.deadlikeme.tv/

Sadly the show never had a third season.

Recently however they have just released to DVD a movie of DLM. If I recall correctly it was made two years ago, why they waited till now to release it, I don’t know. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1079444/

I just finished watching it…I miss Mandy Patinkin as Rube, and Laura Harris as Daisy, but what are you going to do? IMHO The movie started off not so well…..then about halfway through became the DLM I know and love.

Hopefully they’ll give the show another shot on Showcase, but it’s been gone for more than a few years now, so I’m not holding my breath.

If you have yet to watch the show, give it a chance.

You just gotta love what your DNA does...

2009-02-15T00:19:00.001-05:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGI_y-r_WcI&feature=channel

Another sad day to remember...

2009-02-12T00:13:00.003-05:00

Charles M. Schulz

November 26, 1922 – February 12, 2000

Ten Years

2009-02-09T11:08:00.002-05:00

Ten Years
http://ejmas.com/pt/2009pt/ptart_morgan_0902.html

http://www.uoguelph.ca/~iaido/

I realized recently that come this June I’ll have been practicing Iaido and Jodo for ten years. And I still feel like I still have little to no clue as to what I’m doing.

I’m still a student, more then happy to let Sensei run his class as he see’s fit. There will be no Coup, no matter how many times he asks me to overthrow him.

If I were somewhere else in the country or the world, I’d probably be teaching at my own club, but this is Guelph, hence there is no need. Established Clubs need their senior students to teach the newbie’s all the little things Sensei forgets. We’re the Sergeants, Lieutenants and Captain’s of the dojos. Let Sensei deal with the National organization, and the stuff between clubs, we’ll handle the mundane internal club stuff that needs to get done.

Aside from that, I have learned a few other things from iaido and jodo I could never have learned elsewhere.

1. Those of us who have hung around any length of time have the same souls. We all tend to have similar interests outside of the dojo, and as such, can form quite a cohesive unit. You can meet anyone, from any dojo and odds are very good that they will be “good people”. This is one of those places where you meet life-long friends, they gravite here. The people that leave shortly after joining, would never have fit in anyway.

2. Practice, practice, practice.

3. Trust what your body tells you. If you are unsure as to “what’s next” in a kata you haven’t done in a while, trust your body to remember. What it is telling you in all things, is quite probably correct. Sadly we let our minds frequently overrule our bodies.

4. The level of ones character can be measured directly by the perseverance applied.

5. You will never be able to do any kata perfectly. Just like Sisyphus and his rock, you just have to keep going. There is no end to it.

6. Technique is more important then strength.

7. Awareness of your surroundings.

8. Iaido is really boring.

9. If you’re doing it correctly, Iaido and jodo is exhausting. I’m by no means in perfect shape, but I can still run 5k without too much difficultly, I can bench press 300+, squat 400+, I’ve done weight training for 32 years, I’ve competed in bodybuilding shows, I’ve run upwards of 80km a week, I know nutritionally what my body needs to function at peak performance, and iaido and jodo can still drop me on my ass. Sometimes 20 minutes into a two hour practice and I’m looking at the clock. Anyone can go though the motions, anyone can memorize the dance steps, but to actually attempt the kata with the correct physical and mental intensity, that can drop you. That took me years to understand.

10. Practice, practice, practice.

30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965

2009-01-22T12:52:00.002-05:00

One day early to remember one of the Great's.

“You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life.”
Winston Churchill

Sir John Dinner

2009-01-16T09:30:00.000-05:00

http://www.guelphcp.ca/

Sir John A. Macdonald’s Birthday Celebration

Friday, January 30, 2009 Guelph Place Banquet Hall492 Michener Road Guelph

The evening of Friday January 30th is rapidly approaching, so plan on booking your tickets or table for Guelph’s annual Sir John A Dinner now! We’re offering a special rate for this year, just $40 for members ($60 for non-members) for this great event! It’s going to be an exciting week in Canadian politics, certainly one for the history books. So plan on closing off the week of January 30th with fellow Conservatives right here in Guelph over dinner and a thought provoking speaker!For this year’s Sir John A MacDonald dinner, we’re pleased to announce that our speaker will be CFBR Bill Carroll! Known for his no nonsense speaking and interview style, Bill Carroll is one of the best known radio personalities in the GTA. He’s sure to have something interesting to say about the week’s events!

To reserve your tickets, please call Shaylene at 519.822.1337. If you have any questions regarding the event, please feel free to e-mail, to membership@guelphcp.ca. Please also feel free to let fellow Conservative supporters in and around town about this great event!

We look forward to seeing you there!

Happy Birthday Sir John A

2009-01-10T18:11:00.001-05:00

The new Great Depression

2009-01-07T08:26:00.001-05:00

I’ve been thinking recently on the recession we are in and its lasting consequences on Canada.

This is/will be unlike another down turn we’ve ever experienced.

This is the continued deindustrialization of Canada; it is a trend that we will not be coming back from, ever.

All the job loses we are experiencing will stay gone; the manufacturers who have gone to the States, to Mexico, to Brazil, to China or to India are never coming back. Companies are not going to close a plant in China and move production to Canada. Sorry, but it’s just not going to happen.

We are in a situation where any stimulus package will do little to heal our economy. We are treating the symptoms and not the disease. If we do not change the path we are heading down, Canada will be essentially a third world country in the near future. I’m not being overly dramatic.

We are basically irrelevant to the world economy, we are just so small in scale. Many developing countries are blowing right by us in all economic scales.

We need to be more productive, more efficient, create R & D and be willing to take risks, and we are doing none of the above right now.

Welcome to a new great depression.

Canadian Politics

2008-12-17T15:40:00.001-05:00

I was talking to a friend's little girl, and when I asked her what she wanted to do when she grew up, she said she wanted to be Prime Minister some day.

Both of her parents, Social Liberals, were standing there, so I asked her, 'If you were Prime Minister what would be the first thing you would do?' She replied, 'I'd give food and houses to all the homeless people.'

'Wow - what a worthy goal,' I told her.

'You don't have to wait until you're Prime Minister to do that. You can come over to my house and mow the lawn, pull weeds, and sweep my yard, and I'll pay you $50. Then I'll take you over to the grocery store where that homeless guy hangs out, and you can give him the $50 to use toward food or a new house.'

She thought that over for a few seconds because she's only 6. And while her mother glared at me, the little girl looked me straight in the eye and asked, 'Why doesn't the homeless guy come over and do the work and you can just pay him the $50?'

And I said, 'Welcome to the Conservative Party.'

Her folks still aren't talking to me.

Coalition-Coup nonsense

2008-12-07T12:55:00.001-05:00

This whole Coalition-Coup nonsense was going to happen sooner or later. The catalyst just happened to be the PM’s attempt at getting rid of the $1.95 per vote, per party. (Which I agree with, the public should not be in the business of financing political parties.) If it wasn’t the political financing issue, it would have been something else later.

The BQ, the NDP and the LPC needed to be seen as having some type of relevance to the Country and to their membership, for some reason, this was perceived as the only way to do it. Larry, Moe and Shemp's time was up as political Leaders, they needed to do something/anything to stay around.

You can’t keep saying how bad a government is, and then keep supporting them, you look like a fool.

In Canada the tradition has always been a minority government, governs through the support of smaller parties. The Canadian people see it as a training ground for future majority governments, or keeping a short leash on parties they are still unsure of. They see minority governments as sometimes the best governments, as the parties have little choice but to get along. Legislation is generally based on compromise.

Budgets and important pieces of legislation are/can be confidence motions. Even then, there is back room talking and dealing to get a compromise. It’s not strong arm tactics.

A coalition coup is a majority government. Something that no one in the Canadian public wanted. This was not what the people wanted, drop the government in January and lets have another election.

More student garbage

2008-11-28T12:07:00.002-05:00

I guess white people, and males are not as important as everyone else?
Is it any wonder so many of our politicans are stupid? When we have student groups like this as the training ground?
All people are important. White, black, green, plaid. As are both sex's. God....get past race, religion and gender folks, it's not that hard.

Students fire back in CF charity flap
By AEDAN HELMER, SUN MEDIA
The Ottawa Sun

Carleton University student Marissa Hofteizer, center, walks with Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Regional Director, Nadine Imbleau-Redman, right, while participating in a fundraising demonstration on campus one day after the Carleton University Student Association (CUSA) overturned a decision to cancel the Shinerama fundraising campaign which benefits Cystic Fibrosis, Thursday, Nov. 27, 2008.

OTTAWA -- When the Carleton University Students' Association voted to scrap a popular cystic fibrosis fundraiser because the disease "only affect(s) white people, and primarily men," Christine Skobe was shocked.

But the Carleton student, who was diagnosed with the degenerative disease when she was 12, isn't getting mad. She's trying to get even.

Skobe and 25 other students marched through campus yesterday, collecting donations for the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CCFF) in an impromptu fundraiser.

"As a person who has cystic fibrosis, it's unacceptable for my school to be like this," said Skobe.
"I can honestly say that the donations that have come from Shinerama and other CF fundraisers have improved my quality of life, and it's terrible that my school wants to stop supporting that because it's helping me live."

Nadine Imbleau-Redman, regional director with CCFF, said the widespread media coverage "hasn't been all that bad for CF."

"It's given us an opportunity to re-educate the public to allow people to truly understand how devastating a disease it is, how widespread it is and that it is the most common fatal genetic disease among young Canadians," she said.

But as CUSA moves into full damage-control mode, a student coalition is forming on campus to impeach CUSA president Brittany Smyth and councillor Donnie Northrup, the student who wrote the controversial motion to scrap Shinerama in favour of "a new broad-reaching charity."

Coun. Kailey Gervais circulated a petition calling for Smyth and Northrup's resignations, and collected more than 500 signatures in two hours.

According to CUSA policy, 1,250 signatures are needed to impeach Smyth, while 90 science students are required to sign the petition to force Northrup, who represents the faculty of science, from office.

"If the students feel they need to remove two people from office to show the world that we are responsible and that the students can take action and be heard, then that's what needs to be done," said Gervais.

Gervais also wants to reform the political process at council, saying the motion tabled by Northrup allowed "no time for research and no time for consultation."

"Because we did not talk to our constituency, we acted unilaterally at that table and that's incorrect for council," said Gervais.

Do provinces have a right to ill-gotten gains?

2008-11-11T12:16:00.002-05:00

This is such crap. On suspicion only, the government can take your assets????

Do provinces have a right to ill-gotten gains?

KIRK MAKIN
From Saturday's Globe and Mail
November 8, 2008 at 12:06 AM EST

When Toronto police officers pulled over Robin Chatterjee's car on March 27, 2003, they detected the reek of fresh marijuana – but couldn't find a trace of it.

Aside from $29,020 in cash, an exhaust fan and a light ballast, there was a dearth of even circumstantial evidence to link Mr. Chatterjee to a marijuana grow operation. The Carleton University student was freed without charges.

But that was not the end of Mr. Chatterjee's troubles. Provincial prosecutors moved in swiftly and seized the cash and the contents of his car under a controversial forfeiture law that will be tested in the Supreme Court of Canada next week.

Because Mr. Chatterjee could not explain the source of the money, and the equipment was the type frequently used in grow-ops, the law allowed them to be deemed to be connected to crime.
The stakes in the case are enormous: Future forfeitures are expected to bring in tens, if not hundreds, of millions of dollars.

James Diamond, a lawyer for Mr. Chatterjee, said that his client's case is a perfect vehicle “to expose the shortcomings in the legislation. There were absolutely no drugs whatsoever found anywhere. The file was closed, and that was the end of the investigation.”

Yet it is not the Draconian elements of the law that will be under challenge. Instead, the case will focus on whether the provinces have any right to seize the proceeds of unlawful conduct.

Mr. Diamond alleges that Ontario's Civil Remedies Act is criminal legislation that has been cunningly disguised to look as if it pertains to property and civil rights – valid areas of provincial jurisdiction.

“But the act cuts and pastes the entire Criminal Code – along with every other piece of federal legislation which may create offences, from the Customs Act to the Income Tax Act,” Mr. Diamond said in an interview.

Under the Civil Remedies Act, an Ontario Superior Court judge must decide, on “a balance of probabilities,” that an item was obtained by unlawful conduct.

(The provision is entirely distinct from federal criminal forfeiture laws, which are part of the criminal sentencing process, and widely conceded to be constitutional.) Since 2002, Ontario has seized or launched forfeiture proceedings involving almost $16-million in property; 73 per cent of it was from drug-related cases.

B.C. has seized $4.5-million under its own provision since 2006. Alberta, Nova Scotia, Manitoba and Quebec have created forfeiture laws, but have delayed using them until the Supreme Court rules. The remaining provinces are almost sure to pass their own laws should the Supreme Court rule in their favour.

In a brief to the court, Ontario prosecutors Robin Basu and James McKeachie argue that deterring the creation of grow operations is linked directly to civil rights and property because grow-ops consume inordinate amounts of electricity and are potentially dangerous.

They also emphasized that the civil remedies law does not penalize or punish individuals, it merely seeks to retrieve property that did not rightfully belong to the owner.

B.C. prosecutors J. Gareth Morley and Bryant Mackey bolstered that point in their brief, adding: “If a child takes a cookie that she is not allowed to take and is required to return the cookie, she is not ‘punished.' “A bank robber who repays the stolen funds is, likewise, not punished,” they added. “Assuming, as this Court must, that Mr. Chatterjee obtained the $29,020 from the illegal drug trade, it would abuse the English language to say that he has been ‘punished' simply because he can no longer use his ill-gotten gains.”

Mr. Diamond warned that, while the provinces have been careful to restrain their greed pending the court's ruling, the floodgates could quickly open to a court-sanctioned plundering of homes, property and bank accounts based on nothing more than suspicion.

He also warned that potentially innocent third parties are bound to fall prey to forfeitures, such as a pair of Barrie, Ont., landlords he represents whose buildings are being seized because some tenants sold crack cocaine there.

Mr. Diamond noted that the province originally marketed its forfeiture legislation as a method of defeating organized crime while helping victims obtain compensation.

In reality, he said, only about 15 per cent of the seizures have gone to victims, and a great many of those targeted for forfeiture had no organized crime connections.

The Canadian Civil Liberties Association, a legal intervenor in the case, said that the act is so broadly worded that Ontario can plow the proceeds of forfeitures into police budgets.

In a moderate surprise, the federal government has thrown its support behind Ontario: “Forfeiture of the proceeds of crime is an important part of society's response to the various kinds of harm that profit-driven crime visits on individuals and communities at the local, national and international level,” said a federal brief by prosecutor Cheryl Tobias.

Nov 11, 2008

2008-11-11T08:16:00.003-05:00

LPC is not dead!

2008-11-07T16:08:00.001-05:00

Since before the election I’ve been hearing and reading about the demise of the Liberal Dinosaur. Apparently a comet containing financial and moral bankruptcy has lit up the skies over Canada and is about to descend into the ranks of LPC members and supporters, annihilating them all. Perhaps we’ll see them in the museums of the future; little boys and girls will have small plastic LPC figurines on their windowsills. Movies will be made with computer animated LPC members chasing down fleeing explorers in jeeps.

Folks we’ve seen this time and time again in Canada, people getting cocky, for various reasons when their political party dominates other political parties. It’s the ups and downs of a cycle.

And what always happens? Parties get cocky, arrogant, and complacent. Then the other parties walk up and knock them on their asses.

I get the horrible feeling that the CPC will be entering a stage of arrogance, one which may sow the seeds of their own defeat.

The LPC is not dead. They will regroup, reorganize and do whatever is necessary to make a comeback in the later rounds. Do not write them off, do not get complacent.

The CPC needs to stay lean and hungry if the want to dominate politics in Canada for the foreseeable future. Eye of the Tiger man, eye of the tiger.

Cell phone ban

2008-10-29T15:16:00.001-04:00

It never ceases to amaze me how stupid our political leaders are. The coming ban in Ontario against cell phones is just another example of a knee jerk, political law that has little merit.

I agree cell phones should not be used when driving.

But we have laws against careless driving, reckless driving as well as others; these should be strong enough to do something about the problem, assuming there is a problem at all.

I guess its still okay to read a map while driving, eat while driving, drink while driving, look for that CD under the seat, look for a radio station that plays good music, watch DVD’s, shave, put on make-up, threaten the kids in the back seat while driving, get caught up on books on tape or talk radio. There are tonnes of distractions that hamper our driving abilities, but they’re not cool enough to do anything about. Cell phone bans make it look like our Leaders are doing something, when in fact they again, do nothing.

1st battalion, Royal inniskilling Fusiliers part 8

2008-10-19T23:33:00.001-04:00

Recruitment photo 1903.

My grandfather is middle row, 4th from the left.

1st battalion, Royal inniskilling Fusiliers part 7

2008-10-19T23:31:00.003-04:00

As it says, Malta 1908. My grandfather is front row, left.

1st battalion, Royal inniskilling Fusiliers part 6

2008-10-19T23:28:00.002-04:00

Egypt 1915, just before Gallipoli. My grandfather is on the right in the hat. The other two gentleman are Australian. It would be interesting to findout who they were.

1st battalion, Royal inniskilling Fusiliers part 5

2008-10-19T23:25:00.001-04:00

Fifth from the right seated on the ground.

China?

1st battalion, Royal inniskilling Fusiliers part 4

2008-10-19T23:24:00.002-04:00

Unsure...

1st battalion, Royal inniskilling Fusiliers part 3

2008-10-19T23:22:00.001-04:00

My Grandfather..circa 1904

1st battalion, Royal inniskilling Fusiliers part 2

2008-10-19T23:20:00.003-04:00

My grandfather is dead centre...the one with his arms crossed, in the funny hat...

Note the man to his left, his arms are forward, hands upright....must be something to that.

Again, China, i believe.

1st battalion, Royal inniskilling Fusiliers

2008-10-19T23:12:00.003-04:00

I love genealogy, exploring my family tree and such. I'm going to post some photo's of my grandfather from his time in the British army. He joined the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers in 1903 and was discharged in 1918. He was with A company, 1st battalion. As such he seen a great deal of the empire, Crete, Malta, India, China, Egypt, and Gallipoli.

My interest in posting these photo's is just to get them out there, and see if anyone else has any other photo's or even stories to share.

This photo I believe was taken in China, my Grandfather is in the first row, second from the left.

I was right!

2008-10-15T13:34:00.000-04:00

Back on September 22, 2008 I said,

“My prediction.It will be a record low voter turnout. Unlike past low voter turnouts, this one will result in a strong CPC minority government. (Generally low voter turnouts, result in a LPC win, and a CPC loss.)”

And I was right!!

I was wrong about Guelph however, but it was a close race none the less. Eight more people out per poll, and Gloria could have won.

I know Glo would have worked hard for Guelph, I just hope Frank will work harder then his predecessor. I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt until we see what happens.

Election day

2008-10-13T23:13:00.001-04:00

Ok, it is E-day, time to get out and vote for the candidate you think will best represent Guelph.

If you’re reading this you already know that my bias is for Gloria Kovach> she has a proven track record of working hard for Guelph. No offence…but who the hell is everyone else????

I’m familiar with Mike Nagy as he’s run unsuccessfully twice before for MP here, but what has he done for Guelph? Nothing I can think of…

Really who is Tom King? Unless you listen to CBC radio you may never have heard of him before, and again what’s he done for Guelph? Nothing I can think of…

And Frank Valeriote, besides being a very expense, high profile lawyer what has he done for Guelph? I mean besides joining every committee that was looking for members.

Folks, Gloria was working her butt off for Guelph long before any of these guys popped up. I know Glo, she will give it everything she’s got to make Guelph a better place. It’s about time we send someone to Ottawa who’s going to sit in the front benches of the governing party.
Please get out and vote for Gloria Kovach.

The Bear.....

2008-10-02T16:05:00.002-04:00

Not my photo, but a good Guelph photo.

Predictions

2008-09-23T00:02:00.000-04:00

So what if they had an election and nobody showed up?

My prediction.

It will be a record low voter turnout. Unlike past low voter turnouts, this one will result in a strong CPC minority government. (Generally low voter turnouts, result in a LPC win, and a CPC loss.)

There are going to be many LPC supporters not showing up, and there will be/has been a general “whatever” approach to this election among most people.

The LPC, the Greens and the NDP are just not inspiring enough and the people are not falling for the scary CPC stuff anymore. There is just no compelling issue that is grabbing people this time. Hence a CPC victory.

In Guelph? For various reasons I have to give it to Gloria. I just don’t see the numbers falling any other way. (BTW, I am not involved in the CPC or the election at all) So I’m really trying to be non partisan with my thoughts. The numbers just are not there for Frank, Tom or Mike.

Not too fond of this one

2008-09-18T18:48:00.000-04:00

bail outs

2008-09-16T23:31:00.001-04:00

It always amazes me, that in good times business Leaders want nothing to do with governments, while in bad times business almost begs for help, and governments have no choice but to help out. Note this story, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7620127.stm , becoming all too common as of late, and more than likely to become more common place still.

Business can make bad decisions, bad investments, cut tens of thousands of jobs, incur massive financial losses, have CEO’s make absurd salaries, yet governments have to bail them out for the good of the economy.

I understand the situation, the economics, but my God, why do we reward failure so often in our society?

I support business and their right to make money, provided its legal, they pay taxes, and contribute jobs to a society, but I think we’ve gotten to the point in the past thirty years of looking at dividends and stock prices, (for our pension plans, and our other investments), that are the end all and be all of our society. It doesn’t matter just as long as my shares produce.

That is and will bite us in the ass. I’m certainly no economist, but I still think the worst is yet to come. The US has been running an economy on huge debts for over a decade, it has to stop. Who ever is elected President in the fall has some serious economic problems to address, problems that will effect the rest of the world for quite a few years.

Again, the united left.

2008-09-14T11:20:00.002-04:00

Gee this sounds somewhat like my column from the other day.

http://www.thestar.com/FederalElection/article/498604

Layton's flawed strategy

Sep 14, 2008 04:30 AM
Angelo Persichilli

"I'm applying for the job of prime minister," Jack Layton said last Sunday.

It sounds like a joke, but it's not. Layton knows that his supporters have had enough of being members of the fourth party and the NDP being just a parking space for the conscience of the nation. They now want their party in government.

But there's a problem: Layton could only become prime minister as the leader of a coalition supported by all the centre-left electorate. This means that if he wants the job, he has to deal with the Liberals first.

It's highly unlikely that federally we will ever have two left-leaning parties in government and in opposition at the same time. Even when the Conservatives were destroyed in 1993, the NDP didn't succeed in becoming the official opposition.

Layton is doing the right thing in applying for Stephen Harper's job, but I hope he knows that convincing Canadians that the Conservatives are bad is only half the challenge. The most difficult part is convincing the centre-left electorate that his party, not the Liberals, is the alternative.

Unfortunately for him, while Harper is building a centre-right coalition, the centre-left vote is split between the Liberals, NDP and now also the Green party.

The collapse of Brian Mulroney's leadership in the early '90s split the conservative vote into three parts: Quebec nationalists went to the Bloc; the right went to the Reform party, mainly in the West, while moderates stuck with the Progressive Conservatives.

In the last election, Harper brought Canadian Alliance voters and most Progressive Conservatives back into the same tent. In this election, he is trying to recapture the conservative votes in Quebec. At the same time, the centre-left electorate remains fractured.

So who is going to unify the left in Canada? Who is going to lead it into a two-party system?
Considering that the monothematic Green party can mainly be just a temporary shelter for dissatisfied Liberal and NDP voters, the answer is restricted to these two parties and, in a two-party system, one of them will go. Currently, the NDP looks to be that party.

The strategic vote is the first and strongest signal of this trend. Political hatred for the Conservatives is much stronger among some socialist voters than their loyalty to the NDP. If the Tories are strong, NDP support is weakened by strategic votes cast for Liberals in the hope of stopping the right.

This also means that the more the NDP leader attacks the Conservatives and demonizes its leaders, the more his supporters are scared and vote for the Liberals. In fact, the first victim of the political demonization of the Mike Harris Conservatives in Ontario in the late '90s was NDP Leader Howard Hampton, and the NDP lost party status at Queen's Park – twice.

The federal NDP will always be in this unhealthy situation until its leaders solve this dilemma and understand that in a two-party political system, they have to deal with the Liberals first. The best time to do that is when the Liberals are weak, as they are now. It almost happened in the '80s with Ed Broadbent.

In this election, the NDP fight to increase popular support by a few percentage points will only help the Conservatives to remain the governing party. You may or may not agree with Buzz Hargrove's ideological creed, but he has clearly understood that the presence of two parties fishing in the same centre-left pond will weaken both.

Pretty soon Layton will be forced to fish or cut bait.

Cool

2008-09-13T14:41:00.001-04:00

I love this stuff.

http://www.nunatsiaq.com/news/nunavut/80912_1516.html
September 12, 2008

Kimmirut site suggests early European contact
Hare fur yarn, wooden tally sticks may mean visitors arrived 1,000 years ago
JANE GEORGE

Vikings - or perhaps other Europeans - may have set up housekeeping and traded with Inuit 1,000 years ago near today's community of Kimmirut.

That's the picture of the past emerging from ancient artifacts found near Kimmirut, where someone collected Arctic hare fur and spun the fur into yarn and someone else carved notches into a wooden stick to record trading transactions.

Dorset Inuit probably didn't make the yarn and tally sticks because yarn and wood weren't part of Inuit culture at that time, said Patricia Sutherland, an archeologist with the Canadian Museum of Civilization.

Other artifacts from the area, such as a small wooden carving of a mask, missing its nose, also suggest face-to-face contacts with Europeans.

That's because, although the mask is carved in a Dorset Inuit manner, it shows a long and possibly bearded face with straight and heavy eyebrows, wearing what may be Viking headgear.

Analysis on ancient yarn spun from Arctic hare fur, which was found near Pond Inlet, shows the yarn may pre-date the arrival of the Vikings. Similar yarn and cordage has been found near Kimmirut as well as in Greenland.(PHOTO COURTESY OF PATRICIA SUTHERLAND)
To Sutherland, these artifacts all seem to point to prolonged contact in south Baffin between Inuit and Vikings, or some other mariners, from 1000 AD to 1450 AD or even earlier.

The dating of microscopically identified rat droppings found near Kimmirut may hold the key to learning more about the timing and origin of contact with Europeans, Sutherland said.

If there were rats in south Baffin, it shows European ships were also in the area because "rats aren't found in the Arctic."

Further analysis of the rat droppings is expected to provide even more information about exactly where these ships called, Sutherland said.

Many scholars already believe Baffin Island was Helluland, the name the Vikings' sagas gave to the land of rocks and glaciers they found west of Greenland.

But uncertainty about the age and origin of artifacts attributed to Vikings continues to raise questions about the nature of the contact between Inuit and mariners and whether Greenlandic Vikings were the first travelers that Dorset Inuit met.

Dating of some yarn and other artifacts, presumed to be left by Vikings on Baffin Island, have produced an age that predates the Vikings by several hundred years.

So, as Sutherland said, if you believe that spinning was not an indigenous technique that was used in Arctic North America, then you have to consider the possibility that as "remote as it may seem," these finds may represent evidence of contact with Europeans prior to the Vikings' arrival in Greenland.

Artifacts, stored in collections at the Canadian Museum of Civilization, first drew Sutherland to two old sites near Kimmirut in 2000.

When Sutherland learned that yarn, found near Kimmirut during earlier archeological digs, came from Arctic hare, she started to wonder about the nature of the contact between Inuit and Vikings - also known as Norse.

Because if they were weaving local fur, then maybe they were living there.

"Were the Norse spending more time in Arctic Canada than we previously thought?" And could someone have visited Baffin Island before the Vikings?

For the past five summers, Sutherland has conducted new excavations for the CMC's Helluland project on Cape Tanfield, assisted by local youth.

Cape Tanfield has many Dorset Inuit sites, which were occupied over many generations, as well as some "unusual" architecture.

But Sutherland said she not "prepared to say at this time that it's European."

Unlike L'Anse-aux-meadows in Newfoundland where remnants of Viking houses have been found, Kimmirut sites contain a mix of cultures over time, which makes understanding them more challenging, Sutherland says.

If the community wants to promote and preserve its rich heritage, Cape Tanfield could be nominated as a national historic site, Sutherland suggests.

Unite the left?

2008-09-12T15:11:00.001-04:00

With a possible agreement between Dion & May, perhaps all the talk of a“unite the left” movement is not so far fetched after all. Where there’s smoke, there’s fire, as the old saying goes.

Really, when you think about it, it’s got some merit.

The LPC is about to get annihilated in the general election we are now in. They are financially deep in debt and only plunging further down the trail, their campaign in the first week is plain boring, no policy bombshells, no huge grassroots movement underway for change, poor campaign leadership, while the CPC and Harper control the centre of the Board, and outside of a few stupid mistakes seem to be running a very well oiled machine.

The Greens and the NDP will for the foreseeable future always hold 3rd or 4th party status. Canadians just aren’t that far left. The NDP want to take your hard earned money and give it to everyone else, the Greens, regardless of what they say, are still a one issue party. Really? They’re the two friend you had in high school who were always so negative, the doom and gloom parties.

The LPC does not want to be the PC party of 1993. A merger between the three left leaning parties looks very likely to me if the LPC wants to live to fight another day.

economic downturn

2008-09-11T14:43:00.000-04:00

A column from the Sun today, http://www.torontosun.com/money/columnists/linda_leatherdale/2008/09/11/6732271-sun.html

I’ve heard several doom and gloom predictions over the past year very similar to what Linda’s saying, from local businessmen and from economic professionals.
When I was in Northern Ireland and Scotland a few months back, the housing market was dropping like a stone, the economy in general was on its way down. In fact the whole EU is in a down turn cycle.

Canada has 0.5% of the world population, with 2.3% of the worlds GDP, no matter how important we feel we are, we are irrelevant to the vast majority of the world economically. China has cities with a greater population then our entire country.
The credit crunch south of the border is coming to bite us in the rear end very soon. We’re just along for the ride folks.

I don’t care who the PM is, we’re going to get hit hard. Increasing taxes and increasing the price of goods, is not the thing you do in an economic downturn.

Dion can't win

2008-09-09T23:12:00.001-04:00

Alright, I haven’t written anything political in a while. Mostly because I haven’t cared too, but we are in an election so…

Dion and his LPC simply can not win this election. Why?
Because the current LPC strategy is the same strategy they ran unsuccessfully with in 2004 and in 2006. Yes they won a minority in 2004, but they were damn close to losing it until the last two weeks when the Conservatives imploded, giving the Liberals the election.

Constantly compare Harper to Bush. People aren’t buying this load of crap anymore, Canadians have seen Harper in action, and while he is far from perfect he isn’t even close to GB. I can think of a tomato plant in my garden that is closer to Bush then Harper. Bush is an idiot IMHO.
Scare people with the religious right talk, and how these folks dominate the CPC. Really? Well in my experience in the party I can count on one hand that’s short a few fingers, the seriously religious people I’ve met in the party. Most members are normal people, some Atheists, Agnostics, Muslims, Pastafarians, and Hebrew. Funny how we crucify people for being Christian in the party, but ignore comments regarding all other faiths, because then we would seem intolerant. Again Canadians don’t care about the issue. Get over it.
The old hidden agenda card. Yawn. That’s right the CPC is just waiting for that elusive majority government to spring on Canadians their evil plan…..of lowering taxes and being hard on crime.

Stéphane if you want to win this, or at least not bleed your party into oblivion come up with a strategy that produces policies everyone can buy into. They need universal appeal across the spectrum. Raising my taxes and increasing the cost of goods is not going to get my support. I looked, and any income tax savings for me will be as minimal as you can possibly get. How many more manufacturing jobs are going to go over seas because of an added tax burden?

I’m happy with a CPC minority, if the Invisible Pink Unicorn blesses the CPC, and they get a majority, then so be it. It certainly can’t be any worse then the 12 years of a Liberal majority we had to put up with.

another painting

2008-08-08T13:20:00.002-04:00

Just playing around, seeing what happens.

Ontario Iaido Open Seminar in Toronto the other weekend

2008-08-08T13:12:00.002-04:00

Kim Taylor instructing at the iaido seminar. One of Guelph best kept secrets.

http://www.uoguelph.ca/~iaido/

A phone call from the NDP...

2008-08-04T22:48:00.001-04:00

This is a call I received a few days ago.

Me: Hello
Caller: Who is this?
Me: ??? Who am I talking to?
Caller: Who am I talking to?
Me: What number are you trying to call?
Caller: 519 8** ****’
Me: Buddy, the only numbers you got right was the area code. You’re not even close with every other number. What can I do for you?
Caller: Oh, So who is this?
Me: I choose not to tell you. Who am I talking to?
Caller: My name is D**** ******, I’m calling for Jack Layton and Tom King. From the NDP.
Me: Ok. What can I do for you?
Caller: I want to know if the NDP can count on your support?
Me: I do not support your Leader, candidate or party. Sorry.
Caller: Oh okay, thank you.
Me: Bye.

In the conversation I understood that the person on the other end was a volunteer, yes 99.99% of all local workers are volunteers, was elderly and obviously wasn’t trained properly. I wasn’t angry, but I felt embarrassed for the gentleman to be put in that situation.

IDing supporters is meant to focus your energies on those that support you, and get them out to vote. This gentleman did not have my name or my phone number correct, even if I was a supporter, that knowledge would have been useless to him.

I’m not going to rant about NDP volunteers, that wouldn’t be fair. All the parties use volunteers, and some of them just shouldn’t be volunteering, or should be given extra training. Sad.