Another One For The Books

Well, it is almost the end of another year -- less than six hours to go where I live. I feel as though I should write something profound, but the reality is that I have nothing to say.

In some ways, this was a very good year for me: I took some time off after working for 15 long, hard years in a very stressful industry; I spent two wonderful months volunteering at an orphanage in Tanzania; I found a new job at a company I like; and I made a lot of friends. I do hope, however, that I won't be hurting 2007's feelings if I say I hope 2008 is even better.

I hope that 2008 is a year of peace and health and prosperity for you and those you love. Come to think of it, I wish the same thing to those you don't love, too. Let's all work together to make 2008 the best year ever.

Remembrance of Oranges Past

I bought a box of Christmas oranges today, which in and of itself is really not terribly noteworthy. However, it got me thinking back to what it was like when I was a kid.

Every year the children of my church put on a Christmas program involving songs and readings and every year we were rewarded for going through the trauma of performing in public with a small paper bag of treats. Most of the bag was filled up with peanuts, but there was always usually a couple of other nuts, including the most prized of all nuts -- the Brazil nut. There was also always a few pieces of sugar candy, a chocolate or two, and a tiny, perfect orange from Japan or China.

Back then we called them Christmas oranges, because they were only available in the stores at Christmas. These days we call them mandarins or clementines, depending on where one lives in Canada. I think our name was better.

After the Storm

We had a major snowstorm in Ontario yesterday. The roads were a mess. The sidewalks were a mess. There were white out conditions and, in the Toronto area, "thunder snow" -- snow fall accompanied by thunder and lightning. If you didn't have to be out, it was kind of pretty.

I walked home from the bus depot earlier this evening and saw just how pretty it had become. The sun had long set, but the sky was clear and the snow that covered the ground sparkled like diamond dust or like stars in a milk white sky.

My Silence is Red Hot

I have not updated this blog much lately. You might think it is because I have nothing to say. The reality is that I just cannot find a way to talk about things calmly. It seems every time I turn on the news or pick up a paper, there is one more thing to get angry about.

I've tried blogging lately -- I really have -- but every time I start, I erase what I've written. This is just a glimpse of the topics that I have not had the heart to blog about:

• the murder of Aqsa Parvez and a society (Canada) that is so afraid of being culturally insensitive that every fucking comment is couched in phrases designed to soften the blow, as if people who condemn the heinous act are condemning Islam;
• the major league baseball steroid scandal and the decline of the only sport that I truly enjoy watching in person;
• the total fucking hypocrisy of the two-faced sons-of-bitches in the Conservative Party and their idiotic, myopic, short-sighted, totally-fucking-out-of-their-heads-insane position on climate change and how they ought to be ashamed for the role they played at sabotaging international discussions at Bali and, earlier, at the Commonwealth meeting;
• how sick and tired I am that Steve Harper constantly announces initiatives like he did in Tanzania recently without actually adding any additional money to the budget, and how he reduced the GST (the only fucking tax that the wealthy in this country can't weasel their way out of paying) instead of using the money to improve the infrastructure of Canadian cities;
• how totally fucked this country is politically because neither Stephane "Deer in the Headlights" Dion nor Jack "70s Porn Star Moustache" Layton have a snowball's hope in hell of ever being anything other than a footnote in Canadian political history, thereby giving the Weasel King Harper a free reign to continue to ride roughshod over the very things that made this country worth living in;
• the entire Robert Willie Pickton case and how long he was able to continue preying on women because nobody gave enough of a damn to look into their disappearances;
• Brittney Spears, Paris Hilton, Angelina Jolie, Amy Winehouse, and any other celebrities who are in the news for anything other than their professional performances;

Wow, I just swore more in this post than I have in the past two weeks, but I can't help it. I feel as if the entire world is out of whack and I don't know what to do to restore balance.

First Response

Robert Willie Pickton was convicted of six counts of second-degree murder the other day. When his lawyer was asked how he took the news, the reply was something to the effect that Pickton was responding the way you would expect when someone has been convicted of six counts of murder.

To be honest, I really have no idea what he meant. How does one respond to such news? No doubt, one's first reaction is shock. Second, one would hope, is a sense of remorse and a sense of regret at the harm one has caused the victim, the victim's families, and others. Of course, if the murderer were like the newly sentenced Lord Conrad Black, one might respond with protestations of innocence, lardered with a strong sense of injustice and a sprinkling of persecution complex. From what I can tell, Pickton did none of these. He just sat, like he did for most of the trial.

Another Species Discovered

It seems more than a little ironic -- the environment is under heavier pressures than ever before, and yet new species continue to be discovered. Take the case of the world's largest cobra, Ashe's spitting cobra (Naja ashei), whose existence as a separate species was recently announced. Previously, the species had been considered a variant of the black-necked cobra, but blood and tissue analysis have determined it to be an entirely new species. One has to wonder what other species are out there waiting to be properly identified.

Confessions of a Nerd

I joined the modern music age today -- I bought some songs on Napster.

I suppose it is typical of me to take so long to purchase music on-line. I mean, I was still buying cassette tapes three years after CD players came out. And when I finally bought a CD player, it had a single tray.

Oh well, better late than never, I suppose. I just hope they don't change the technology on me.

Is It Too Late to Bah Humbug?

I am in the midst of doing Christmas cards right now and I am beginning to wish that I emulated Ebenezer Scrooge. Don't get me wrong, I don't have anything major against the whole Christmas card thing -- its just that I can no longer see the wood of my kitchen table because it is hidden under a mountain of cards and envelopes.

The Opposite of Today in Toronto

Mtumbwi on the beach, Kendwa, Zanzibar Island, Tanzania

The Best Christmas Ever

It is only the 2nd of December and it already feels as if I have been barraged with Christmas for weeks. Two weeks ago, I was put hold by someone at work and I heard Christmas carols as the hold music. Last Tuesday, I watched an episode of Bones in which Santa Claus and Christmas trees played prominent roles. Friday I went to the mall to get some jeans and I was already lost in a sea of Christmas shoppers. I am not even prepared to discuss the November release of the Fred Claus movie.

Judging by comments I have heard, a lot of people are trying to figure out what presents to buy people who already seem to have everything. If you are lucky enough to fall into this category, permit me to make a suggestion: why not help educate an AIDS orphan in Africa?

Having spent two months living at the Olof Palme Orphan Education Centre just outside of Dar Es Salaam, I can tell you that even a small amount of money goes a long way in Africa. $40 is enough to pay for one child's school books for a year. $75 is enough to pay a teacher's salary for a week. $80 will buy school supplies for one class. Even a gift of $10 will help feed the children.

If you are interested in making a donation, simply click on this link: http://vad.aidmatrix.org/vadxml.cfm?driveid=2096. The site accepts donations by Visa, MasterCard, Discovery, Diners Club, or American Express.

You just might make it the best Christmas ever for some very special young ladies.

An Unhappy Anniversary

Today is World AIDS Day. In the19 years since it was first observed, people have continued to get infected with HIV. People have continued to die. Some estimates say that as many as 25 million people have died of the disease. I know that most, if not all, of the girls at Bethsaida had lost close family members to the disease.

I know there has been progress since 1988, but the number of infected people is still growing (as is the number of people claimed by this killer). Maybe one day we will observe World AIDS Day to commemorate its eradication. I just don't know how long it will take.

Hello Quatchi

I just looked at the pictures of the Vancouver Olympics mascots and boy do they ever remind me of the "Hello Kitty" paraphernalia that seems so ubiquitous in the Metrotown area when I lived there. I suspect the mascots will be big hits with the kids. I'm not sure if they will be as popular with the adults, though.

I suppose we should be thankful for small miracles though -- at least the mascots are (loosely) based on living creatures. The living creatures are: Quatchi,asasquatch; Miga, a "sea-bear" (half-orca, half-kermode bear); and Sumi, an animal spirit with the legs of a black bear and wings of a Thunderbird. There is also Mukmuk, a Vancouver Island marmot who is not an official mascot but who does act as their sidekick. (Sounds like a cheap excuse to sell a fourth stuffed doll to me, but tonight I am cynical.)

It could have been a lot worse. They could have made the official mascot an animated version of the inukshuk that serves as the logo for the games.

We Won!

It was not a particularly pretty Grey Cup, but the Saskatchewan Rough Riders won! No doubt they were aided by the fact that I watched the entire game and the half-time show. I reckon I'll be getting a Riders t-shirt in the mail for my valiant contribution.

Go, Green, Go

Tomorrow is the Grey Cup game and my team is playing in it. In fact, the Rough Riders are the favourites to win, although Winnipeg Blue Bomber fans dispute that vehemently.

Now, I am not a huge CFL fan. I watch the occasional game on TV (or rather, I watch parts of the occasional game), but I am not religious about it. Every year I threaten to buy some tickets to watch the Argos play the Riders, but to date the threats have been empty. However, if I were to watch football regularly, the CFL is the brand I would watch.

Anyhow, none of that matters on Grey Cup day. That's the day that once-a-year fans like me can enjoy the game as if we had watched it all season.

Morning Commute

6:51 The sun is beginning to creep up the eastern horizon, the layer of red and yellow and pale blue sky a pastel contrast to the rich, dark blue of the western sky. Five minutes ago the houses and the trees were all solid black silhouettes. Now the features and colours are starting to stand out.

6:53 It is a cold, crisp day, but pleasant none the less. The sharp stinging of wind borne snow was absent as I waited by the bus stop. And the bus arrived on time, unlike yesterday.

6:55 We just passed a Country Style doughnut shop. It reminded me of that painting, Night Hawks, by Edward Hopper. You know the one -- three patrons (one by himself, a man and woman together) sitting at the counter of a cafe while the cook reaches for something under the counter. The doughnut shop was not as dark, not as frightening. The man who read a newspaper while he drank his coffee would not have felt out of place in the painting.

6:57 Someone coughs at the front of the bus. Another person answers further back. The eastern sky is brighter now. The red tinge is gone and a light orange-yellow is smeared against a pale blue blanket. The sun is still low enough that the cell phone tower is silhouetted, looking for all the world like a small, functional Eiffel Tower.

6:59 Richmond Hill is a melange of churches and signs in Farsi. At last someone sits in the seat next to mine, so I close my book and rest my eyes.

Reaction to Winter

It snowed last night.

It snowed this morning.

It snowed this afternoon.

It is still snowing.

I miss Tanzania.

Commuter of the Day

It was raining today when I got out of the subway station. As might be expected, a lot of people opened up umbrellas as soon as they got to street level. One commuter in particular caught my eye -- where all the others had black or grey umbrellas, hers was a light pumpkin colour.

Another Day of Sadness

Yesterday two more Canadians died in Afghanistan. Corpoal Nicolas Beauchamp of the 5e Field Ambulance and Private Michel Levesque of the Royal 22e Regiment were killed by a roadside bomb, along with their Afghan interpreter, becoming the 72nd and 73rd Canadian soldiers killed in that country.

Every fatality we've suffered in Afghanistan has been a small tragedy, but there is something particularly sad about this particular incident. Private Levesque had just become engaged to his pregnant girlfriend. Corporal Beauchamp's wife is a Canadian military medic who is also serving in Afghanistan with him. And there is the unnamed interpreter who died alongside the troops. You can guarantee that he left grieving relatives.

Friday Evening, Dundas Square

Today's Concert Calendar

I almost think that I should rename this blog "The Street Musicians of Toronto", given the fact that I have written so much about buskers lately. Having said that, the most interesting part of my day involved not one but two musical acts.

The first was a group of five young Asian musicians playing near the King Street subway station. They were playing a forgettable medley of schmaltzy pop tunes, but there was something different about them that made me pay attention. Maybe it was the fact that the drummer had a suitcase in front of her snare drum. Maybe it was the languid manner in which the electric guitarist contributed to the melody line. Maybe it was the fact that the dominant instrument was the flute.

The second act -- and the one I actually gave some money to -- was an old black man playing saxophone at Sheppard Station. The upper level of the station is incredibly roomy, and the melancholic sounds expanded to fill the space. He played the most beautiful version of I Had The Craziest Dream that I have ever heard.

I can hardly wait to discover what kind of musicians haunt the streets of Hog Town tomorrow.

Piper at the Gates of Dusk

I was walking down Yonge Street after work heading to the subway station. A man in full highlander regalia was playing the bagpipes in front of the Eaton Centre, a slightly different twist on the traditional busker.

I say "slightly different" because one of the coolest aspects of Toronto life is the international flavour of the buskers. I have heard Caribbean steel drum bands, eastern Europe balalaika players, south Asian sitar musicians, Andean guitar-and-pan-flute ensembles, and reggae musicans on the streets of Toronto. And that is just the musicians who readily come to mind.

Random Beauty

I was getting ready to leave work today when I happened to look out the window towards the west. I am glad I did, because I saw an absolutely beautiful sunset. The blues and purples and pinks of the skies were framed by tall office buildings, and the centre piece of the whole vista was the spire of a church that rose between the towers.

Today's Commuter of Note

One of the things I like about taking public transit is the interesting range of people one sees. For example, I caught the subway at Queen Street station after work today. Although I was lucky enough to get a seat, a young man who got on at Dundas station was not so fortunate. He had to stand until a seat was freed up at York Mills.

If called upon to provide a detailed description the best I would be able to come up with is young guy, probably in his early twenties, dark medium length hair, and a bit shorter than me. No visible scars or tattoos, no distinguishing features, no unique clothing. In many ways he was the sort of anonymous commuter that fills the seats on the subways.

Well, he would have been anonymous except for one small fact -- he was carrying an accordion on his chest. I have no idea why he was carrying the accordion. Perhaps he was a busker. Possibly he was a member of an accordion marching band on his way to practice. Maybe he was on his way to or from accordion lessons. The possibilities seem boundless.

I suppose I could have asked him about the instrument, but in the end it doesn't really matter. It is enough that he was there, sitting on a busy subway car, resting an accordion on his chest. It's a sight you don't see in the suburbs.

New Job, New Perspective

I started a new job three weeks ago. Unlike my previous job, this job is deep in the heart of downtown Toronto. In other words, my ten minute walk to work has been replaced with a commute that is at least 90 minutes. Each way.

Some people might not think I made the right decision taking a job in the city. For a lot of people, the dream is to move out of the suburbs and find a good-paying job close to home. I guess I'm not like most people, though, because I have been dying to move back into the city for years.

I like the hustle and bustle of the city. I like the feel of downtown Toronto. I like the interesting mix of people I see every day. I like taking public transit. I even like being part of the crowd that waits on the subway platform during rush hour.

There is a beauty that is unique to cities. You walk down a street and look up, only to find yourself in a canyon of sky scrapers. You turn a corner and find yourself in a sea of people. You emerge from the subway station and hear the sound of street musicians playing salsa music on the corner.

It is early days still, but I am happy with my decision.

Remembrance Day, 2007

Poem: Veterans

Veterans

One mild November
When I was a child
I watched the old men
Gather in the park.
I talked to the old guy
Who spent Easter morning
At Vimy Ridge.
“What was it like, sir?”
I managed to ask.
“Noisy,” he said
And he went back
To sucking a biscuit.

(c) J S Phillips

The Plagiarist Strike of '07

Hollywood's television writers are on strike at the moment. According to some analysts, this will mean television programs run out of new episodes within weeks. Well, all I can say is that it could not possibly reduce the amount of creativity on the air.

I am watching Numbers right now, and the detectives are involved in tracking a murderous criminal in a simulated reality in cyberspace. Wow, what an original idea! At least, it was when we saw it on CSI: New York and Law and Order. Who knows, if the strike had not happened we might have seen the scenario raise its head on the The Simpsons.

It's Here

It snowed last night. In fact, there was still snow on the ground when I left for work this morning. The warm temperatures of two weeks ago are a thing of the past. Soon the leaves that I photographed will be nothing more than moist, broken fragments on the ground. I guess winter is here.

Priorities

I just started a job in downtown Toronto, which means a rather hefty commute both ways. The net result is that I have gone from having lots of spare time to having very little. This, in turn, has forced me to prioritize how I spend that spare time.

I had considered watching CSI: Miami but I only usually watch it to see how cheesy the acting and writing will be. My days are too short for that, so tonight I am listening to some acoustic Brazilian music and reading a book. I think I made the right choice.

Leave the Poor Guy Alone Already

What is it with King Tutankhamun lately? A few weeks ago he was in the news because a new documentary was claiming to know the real reason of his early death. Today, there is a news story about how his face is now visible for the first time in 3,000 years. That's right, folks, the face of his mummy is now visible behind the glass of a humidity-controlled case. At last we have a mummy for the 21st Century.

The Last Rose of Summer

I came upon this flower as I walked this morning in search of photographs. It is, perhaps, the last blossom we will see before the rains and snows of winter arrive. As I took this photograph I was reminded of the first verse of the Irish poet Thomas Moore's beautiful song:

'Tis the last rose of summer
Left blooming alone;

All her lovely companions

Are faded and gone;

No flower of her kindred,

No rodebud is nigh,

To reflect back her blushes,

To give sigh for sigh.

Today's Playlist

I was in the mood for something different, so tonight I am listening to songs sung in French. Not that I speak French. Having spent most of my high school years in American schools that did not offer French, I have never acquired much beyond "Bon jour", "Merci", and "Tout le fruit". I do, however, like the sound of the language.

Here's what's on the playlist :

• San Franciso - Mouloud
• Si la Photo est Bonne - Barbara
• Pop Art - Rouge Rouge
• Sang d'Encre - Jean Le Loup
• Jungle Man - La Phaze
• Eternelle - Brigitte Fontaine
• L'Ere des Effets Secondaires - Roche, Roche
• Isabelle - Jean Le Loup
• La Boob Oscilator - Stereolab
• Lebanese Blonde (French version) - Thievery Corporation
• L'Amour Est Sans Pitie - Jean Le Loup
• Parisien du Nord - Cheb Mami
• Sympathique - Pink Martini
• Vadzimu - Peace of Ebony
• Valse des Hypocrites - Mathieu Gaudet
• Voulez-Vous? - Arling & Cameron
• Cache Cache - Rouge, Rouge
• Edgar - Jean Le Loup

I know, Parisien du Nord is primarily in Arabic but the rap portion is in French so it made it onto the list. As for Jean Le Loup's repeated appearance on the list, what can I say? The man is fantastic.

Happy Halloween

Everybody's Talking

I have spent the past couple of days in the downtown core. One of the more interesting aspects of being downtown is the large number of people one sees talking to themselves. It can be quite a challenge trying to figure out if the person who is walking down the street holding a conversation with an invisible friend is suffering from mental illness or just on a hands-free cell phone.

It's A Secret

I am reading a book by John Lawrence Reynolds called Shadow People -- Inside History's Most Notorious Secret Societies. It is an examination of a variety of so-called secret societies and their place in history.

The organizations profiled are a very diverse lot. There are the usual suspects: the Knights Templar, the Free Masons, and the Illuminati. There are the criminal: Chinese triads, the mafia, and the yakuza. There are the religious: the Gnostics, the Druids, Kabbalah, and Wicca. There are also secret societies of current notoriety: the Priory of Sion and the Skull and Bones. What all of these organizations have in common is that they are reputed to have great influence and people speculate about their secrets.

Of course, my secret society is not profiled, but that is because it is so secret that nobody knows about it but me. I can only hope things stay that way, or else I will be forced to come up with a detailed pseudo-history involving the Crusades, 1st Century Christianity, at least one royal family, and possibly ancient Egypt and quite frankly I don't have the time for that right now.

Book Review: The Shock Doctrine

We live in a world that loves conspiracy theories. Conspiracy theories were critical to the success of Fox's The X-Files that dominated the television scene back in the 1990s. Conspiracy theories were a critical element of the blockbuster novel The DaVinci Code. Conspiracy theories are at the heart of many accounts of the mysterious events that occurred at Roswell, New Mexico. Detective Munch's belief in conspiracy theories is a recurring element of the Law and Order character's personality. And a conspiracy theory of monumental proportions is at the heart of Naomi Klein's new book The Shock Doctrine, The Rise of Disaster Capitalism.

Conspiracy theories are often discounted as products of overactive imaginations and that, it seems, is the response that some critics in the "serious" business press seem to have taken when reviewing Klein's book. Having just finished the book, though, I think she may be onto something -- and it ain't pretty.

The Shock Doctrine details case after case of situations where governments took advantage of natural and man-made disasters to manipulate the kinds of whole scale economic changes advocated by Milton Friedman and the so-called "Chicago School" of economics. The changes included privatizing state-owned enterprises, reducing controls on capital, reducing wages and eliminating protection for workers, and vastly increasing the ranks of the unemployed. Although Friedman and friends argued that these kinds of economic transformations would lead to a "trickle-down" of wealth as the efficiency of the market took over from the inefficiency of controlled economies, the reality is a world where the Haves have more and the Have Nots have less.

On the whole, I find Klein's arguments that neo-liberal politicians have taken advantage of disasters to further their political and economic agenda to be convincing. I am less comfortable with Klein's assertion that the gross violation of human rights such as torture, institutionalized murder, and "disappearing" regime critics are directly related to the Chicago School's economic theory. Having said that, there is no doubt that the violations which Klein chronicles did occur after attempts to radically restructure the economies of countries as diverse as Chile, Argentina, China, and Iraq.

I must confess that at times I found The Shock Doctrine a bit depressing. Happily, the final chapter provides a glimmer of hope. Unlike many conspiracy theories, the villains in Klein's book do not have to prevail in the end.

The Shock Doctrine, The Rise of Disaster Capitalism
Naomi Klein
Alfred A. Knopf, Toronto, 2007
ISBN: 978-0-676-97800-1

Autumn in Ontario

Cold Case Solved

Over the past ten years there have been a number of television shows devoted to investigators who solve old cases. In what has to be the coldest case yet, a mystery dating back to 1324 BC has finally been solved. Again.

Tutankhamun, or King Tut, is perhaps the best known of the Egyptian pharoahs, thanks to Howard Carter's 1922 discovery of his tomb in the Valley of the Kings. Unlike most of his peers' tombs, Tutankhamun's tomb was not looted and the undisturbed treasure trove dazzled the world. It also made the young king, who died at age 19, an international household name.

The pharoah's cause of death is a mystery that has intrigued people since the tomb was discovered. One popular theory that arose after the mummy was x-rayed in the 1960s argues that Tutankhamun was the victim of foul play, possibly by his advisors. A new film, however, argues that the pharoah was simply the victim of an accident. Noted Egyptologist Zahi Hawass believes that Tutankhamun died of complications from a fall from his hunting chariot.

Hawass will be making his case in a new documentary film Tutankhamun: Secrets of the Boy King that is scheduled to air on Britain's Channel Five at the end of the month. Something tells me, though, that the case will be solved again in the future.

A Zen Poll

If a poll is conducted in Afghanistan but nobody seems to listen, did the poll really exist?

In September, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and Environics conducted a poll of Afghans living in Afghanistan about the state of their country. Questions ranged from their feelings about the country's future to their comfort level with foreign troops. Citizens living in Kandahar province were asked special questions about Canadian troops and Canada's role in Afghanistan.

Overall, the poll results showed that Afghans support their national government and are fairly optimistic about Afghanistan's future, with 79% saying they feel the country is going in the right direction. 73% said that they felt women's lives are better off today than they were under the Taliban government. 86% felt they were better off or the same as they had been in September of 2002.

In Kandahar, 60% of the respondents had a positive opinion of Canadian troops. (17% had no opinion or did not answer and a further 4% were neutral towards them.) Of the 19% who reported negative feelings towards Canadian soldiers, 45% said their negative feelings were because of the deaths of innocent civilians.

This is all interesting, but perhaps the most interesting aspect of the poll is how unimportant the results seem to have been. As can be expected, the CBC reports on the poll they commissioned, but the rest of the Canadian media seem to have left it alone. So did the government, which is somewhat surprising given the fact that Canada's commitment in Afghanistan is perhaps the most debated international issue (after Kyoto and global warming).

If you want to see the full poll results, check out this link: http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/afghanistan/afghan-survey2007.html.

Tilting At Windmills, 21st Century Style

Okay, President Bush, I'm confused. According to the news reports, you suggested that Europe needs to work with the United States to develop a missile defence system to counter the threat of nuclear missile attacks from Iran. This is despite the fact that (a) Iran does not possess nuclear weapons, (b) Iran does not possess missiles with enough range to reach European targets, and (c) anti-missile defence systems are notorious for not being able to do the job for which they are (expensively) purchased, namely shooting down enemy missiles.

The Russians, for one, are not buying W.'s arguments. The Russian Foreign Minister reportedly stated that "North Korea poses a fundamental threat, but Iran does not", so Russia is likely to oppose any plans to build anti-missile defence systems. And who can blame them? Today's defence against a non-existant Iranian threat could easily become a means of protecting US assets from actual Russian missiles.

Personally, I think it is criminally irresponsible for the President to be pushing for unnecessary weapons systems when tens of millions of his citizens lack proper health care, but then again, he is not so much the President of the United States as he is the President of the International Corporatist Agenda. Unfortunately, it is the little people of America who will be on the hook to pay for what is essentially another government gift to the armaments industry.

A Giant Step -- Really?

I am a little sick of people going on what a "giant step for womankind" it is in outer space. It seems the commander on the space shuttle Discovery's next flight and the commander of the International Space Station are both females. As a result, it will be the first time in five decades of manned space flight that two women are in charge of space craft at the same time.

Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against two woman commanding space craft. I do, however, hate the fact that people are treating this as an accomplishment rather than asking themselves what took so long for this milestone to be reached.

Endless Summer?

It got up to 26 degrees Celsius yesterday, and the same today. Not quite the kind of weather one associates with late October. I wonder how late in the year we will have to experience these sorts of temperatures before the Conservative government actually decides to take meaningful action to reduce green house gases.

Summer or Fall?

Despite the orange, red, and yellow leaves on the trees, it is easy to forget that it is fall. Just this afternoon I walked past roses that still had blooms on them. And only a week ago I saw a dragonfly. When it comes, winter is going to hurt.

Suburban Duck

Apart from wood ducks, you don't normally think of ducks as being forest dwellers but you'd be surprised how adaptable they can be. Just check out this male mallard.

Go, Stephen, Go

Faux conservative pundit Stephen Colbert announced that he is running for president. It is a joke, but it makes me a bit jealous that I don't live in the States. Maybe Rick Mercer can run for the leadership of the Liberals when Dion is turfed by his troops.

I Got the Work Man's Blues

Who has the most depressing job in the economy? If the US Government's Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration is to be believed, that dubious distinction goes to people who take care of the sick and the elderly. According to a survey released Saturday, 10.8% of personal care providers experience depression that lasts two or more weeks. The next highest job category, at 10.3%, consisted of people who cook or serve food. Production jobs, which presumably include factory work, reported a 5.9% depression rate.

That information is good to know the next time government spokespeople brag about many new jobs have been created in any given period. Hopefully, the journalists covering the story will dig a bit deeper to find out how many jobs are in production and how many are in the more depressing service sector.

Children of Heaven

Its funny how two different people can go to the same movie and yet see two different films. I learned this when I watched the 1997 Iranian film Children of Heaven. The movie was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film but lost out to Life is Beautiful.

Children of Heaven is a sweet, beautiful tale of two impoverished siblings and the loss of a pair of shoes. When the movie came out it was generally well-received, but there were some critics. For example, critic Dennis Schwartz complained about a lack of dissension with the ruling regime. In fact, he stated that he would have been disappointed with its "simplistic" story if not for the fact that it gave him a chance to see what life in Iran was like. Somehow, though, I doubt that he chastises Hollywood's typical children's fare for failing comment on such pressing social issues as abortion, racism, sexism, militarism, rampant consumerism, bully capitalism, illegal immigration, the destruction of the environment, gay rights, elder rights, stolen elections, or any of the numerous other issues.

Oddly enough, the lack of a political agenda is one of the things that I loved about the movie. The movie felt real because it was rooted in a specific place, but it was a story that anybody could relate to, regardless of where they live. Personally, I loved the realistic interaction between Ali and his sister Zahra. I loved the interaction of the kids and their parents. I loved the fact that the movie wasn't afraid to address issues like poverty and fear and punishment. I just plain loved the fact that people communicated with each other.

So why am I writing about a movie that came out ten years ago? I guess I am nervous about the sounds I keep hearing that indicate the Bush regime wants to take military action against Iran. Now don't get me wrong, I don't want to see an Iranian government with nuclear weapons either, but if bombing and missile attacks were a way to solve anything Iraq and Afghanistan would not be so messed up. I don't care how the legal beagles at the US Justice Department contort international law to put a spin on it -- killing civilians, especially children, is a war crime.

I would love to be able to make all the strategic planners and bomber crewman watch Children of Heaven with their families. Maybe it would help them remember that the children their bombs will murder are not that much different than their own kids. But I suppose that would be a real Hollywood ending, wouldn't it?

Movie Interrupted

Do you ever try watching a movie, only to find that you just can't do it? That's what happened to me tonight. I tried watching Monster -- the CharlizeTheron/Christina Ricci movie about the Florida serial killer -- but I couldn't get past the first 15 minutes.

Actually, I wanted to stop watching it during the earliest scenes where the serial killer is recounting her childhood and her dreams to grow up pretty and rich. Now don't get me wrong -- I understand that the real-life woman on whom the movie is based was a nasty serial killer. Still, there was just something so terribly sad about the situation that I could not watch it.

Promise Made, Promise Kept

After totally humiliating his Progressive Conservative opponents in yesterday's election, Ontario's newly re-elected Liberal premier, Dalton McGuinty, announced today that his government was introducing a new statutory holiday. From now on, the third Monday in February will be celebrated as "Family Day".

That McGuinty is a crafty politician -- I had planned on making today's post "One Day Without A Broken Promise", but he ran a positive campaign against me. I know how John Tory must feel.

(By the way, I realize that the NDP, Green Party, Family Coalition Party, Freedom Party, Communist Party, Libertarian Party, and probably other parties also ran against the Liberals, but the Progressive Conservatives were the only party that had a reasonable chance of defeating the incumbents. Of course, that was before the election began and Tory started talking.)

Signs

It has been sunny and beautiful this past week, with highs in the mid-twenties (Celsius). There are blooms on the rose bushes that I walk past every day, and yestereday I saw a dragonfly flitting about as if it were the middle of August.

And yet, the season cannot be denied. The days grow short. The leaves are changing colours. And today I saw a mob of red-wing blackbird -- literally thousands -- gathering in an open field near the highway.

Yet Another Leaf Nation Update

Bad news for Leaf Nation: Toronto lost the second of its two-game series with the Ottawa Senators last night. That gives them a record of 0 and 2.

On the bright side, the Maple Leafs remain undefeated against American teams.

Leaf Nation Update

The Toronto Maple Leafs remain undefeated in regular time play. (Unfortunately, they lost 4-3 in overtime against the Senators last night.)

And Now, Something for the Kids

Halloween is coming this month, and with it comes pumpkin carving. The World Wildlife Fund is offering ten free wildlife-themed stencils to help you and your little ghosts and goblins as you put knife to pumpkin rind. The images include a gorilla, a coral reef, a polar bear, and a sea turtle. There is even a contest you can enter after you have carved your pumpkin.

Check out the stencils at: http://www.worldwildlife.org/pumpkins/

Thoughts from the Frontiers of Leafs Nation

Tonight is the first night of the 2007-2008 NHL season, which for some people is the start of an eight-month holy season that culminates in the Stanley Cup series. For me, however, it is relatively unimportant because I don't really care for hockey.

It may be because I never played it, but I seem to lack the mystical connection that other Canadians feel for the game. I have been known to watch Hockey Night in Canada on occasion, but I am certainly not the sort of rabid fan who would pay to watch games on cable. Nor am I the sort of fan who would pay the high cost of actually attending a game in person.

No, this year I will be content with reading about the games in the sports section of my local newspaper. And for the time being, I am going to savour the fact that Toronto is undefeated this season. Who knows how long that will last?

The Wild This Week

This fellow was hanging on the wall by the front door to my apartment yesterday. It was the first time I have seen a bat this close.

This shot gives you a better idea of how small the little guy was.

The War of Words is Heating Up

You have to give Iranian legislators credit -- they do seem to have a sense of humour.

Yesterday, the Iranian parliament approved a non-binding resolution that called the US Army and Central Intelligence Agency "terrorist organizations". The move was made in response to a US bill that seeks to impose a similar designation to the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard.

I am sure that most Americans will take the Iranian parliament's move as an affront, but I am not entirely sure that they should. The move is a good indication of how many people view the US, and its a far cry from the approved vision of "land of the free and home of the brave that all good men wish to immigrate to". Just consider some of these events and actions undertaken by the United States:

• invading Iraq under questionable pretences;
• deciding to unilaterally create the new category of "unlawful combatant" as a means of side-stepping key provisions of the Geneva Conventions;
• willful use of torture of individuals captured in Iraq and Afghanistan;
• frequent attacks, including aerial bombardment, which kill an inordinate number of innocent Afghan and Iraqi civilians;
• a reconstruction program that sometimes seems designed more as corporate welfare for companies like Halliburton and Bechtel than as a means of helping improve the lives of the average Iraqi.

Historically, the record is not much better:

• using depleted uranium bullets in Kosovo and in the first Gulf War;
• attacks on Iraqi infrastructure that destroyed hospitals and utilities in the first Gulf War, causing the deaths of innocent civilians;
• support for violent coup against Allende in Chile that resulted in the establishment of one of the nastiest regimes in modern Latin American history;
• numerous attempts to assassinate Fidel Castro;
• creating some of the conditions that encouraged the Soviet Union to invade Afghanistan, and then providing arms and money to anti-Soviet forces (including a certain Osama Bin Laden who would come back to haunt the United States);
• supporting the coup that overthrew Iran's democratically elected leader and replaced him with the Shah;
• and, making the world's first nuclear attacks on Japan.

Unfortunately, several of these points were mentioned by the Iranian parliament, so most Americans are likely to ignore them. After all, if a "terrorist" says it, it must be false, right?

We Have Met the Enemy

The fact that you are reading this blog on a personal computer is evidence of the fact that the information revolution has changed the way we live. Sometimes the technology works the way its inventors intended. Other times ... well, let's just say there are unintended results.




Take the case of the barracks at the US Navy's base at Coronado, California. Four L-shaped building were constructed back in the 60s to house sailors. They've stood for four decades without raising any controversy, but thanks to on-line satellite imagery technology, people have noticed something odd about the barracks:








That's right! The genius who designed the barracks facilities laid out the buildings in the form of a swastika. Now, I realize that it has become commonplace in the West to call anyone who disagrees with you politically a "Nazi". I've always felt that the folks who resort to using that particular N-word were resorting to cheap tactics. Now I am beginning to wonder if some of the US government's critics might know more than I've given them credit for.

Of course, the US Navy denies that the barracks were designed on purpose to resemble a swastika, and I have no doubts that they are telling the truth. Intentional or not, however, they exist and offend the sensibilities of many Jewish Americans and others who suffered at the hands of Nazi Germany.

The Navy, to its credit, plans on spending over half a million dollars on architectural changes and landscaping to obscure the obscenity from the air. Which brings me to the wildest part of this story -- a group called the San Diego Tax Fighters has decried the renovations as being "wasteful". While I understand their argument that the $600,000 could be used to purchase armoured Humvees for US forces in Iraq, I think they are missing the point: symbols matter.

Symbols, especially swastikas, mattered in Nazi Germany just as symbols matter in the United States. If you don't believe me, try to burn a flag at a protest. Or place an ad with a dreadful pun on a top general's last name in a major newspaper. That will show you how much symbols matter to Americans.

I know, I know -- the swastika has an honourable history as a positive symbol that goes back several millenia. I also know it was a traditional good luck symbol. And yes, I am aware that the pre-war cloth unit insignia for the 45th Infantry Division of the Oklahoma National Guard was a yellow swastika on a red diamond.

That is all true -- and its all irrelevant. Despite the positive images that other cultures have put on it, the swastika is not a neutral symbol. Not any more. It is a symbol of hatred and oppression and murder and imperialism.

I've complained in past posts that I fear for the America that I love. I've complained about American policies that seem arrogant and imperialistic. I worry because the American government's current world view seems to mirror the racist cultural bigotry that characterized the country's historical dealings with its native peoples (and the people of Cuba, the rest of Latin America, Hawaii, the Philippines, and so many other areas in the world). The fact that a group of "tax payers" begrudges spending money to assuage the sensibilities of people who lost millions to the legions that served the swastika seems to me to be an indication that the hubris is turning inward.

To paraphrase the cartoonist Walt Kelly, America has met the enemy -- and it is them.

Idiocy in Iraq

If you had any doubts as to America's descent into imperial hubris, a couple of recent stories in the Washington Post should help you change your mind.

It appears that the US Army is running a sniper operation in Iraq in which items that can be used to make IEDs (improvised explosive devices) are left lying around where people can find them. Then, as soon as someone picks up the material, they are shot by snipers. That's right -- picking up a piece of scrap metal is grounds for "termination with extreme prejudice", as they say in the movies.

You may be asking what the big deal is. Well, for one, how the fuck can they tell that the people picking up the materials are TERRORISTS? As the fine folks over at Orbat.com (http://orbat.com/site/news.html) pointed out on September 26th, "Poor people will pick up anything to check if it is useable (sic) or can be sold/exchanged." Since the American invasion gave the Iraqi economy a shit-kicking from which it has yet to recover, there are probably hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people who might look upon wires and usable scrap as a windfall.

If this is how the US Army wins the hearts and minds of the Iraqis, we will be lucky if the entire nation does not become terrorists.

In Memorium: Nathan Hornburg

Canada lost its 71st soldier in Afghanistan this week. Corporal Nathan Hornburg, a reservist with the King's Own Calgary Regiment, died when he came under mortar fire while repairing a Leopard tank. The 24 year old had been in Afghanistan for less than two months.

More Shots from the Chinese Lantern Festival

Pandas Sighted In Toronto

A large troop of pandas has been spotted in Toronto, Ontario.

The pandas, pictured below dancing around a mushroom, are said to wear clothes and eat large glowing green bamboo plants.

They can be seen at Ontario Place every evening until October 4th. (They are part of the Rogers Chinese Lantern Festival.)

Election Time?

You wouldn't know there was a provincial election going on. At least, not if you go by lawn signs.



I went for a rather lengthy walk earlier in the day and all I saw was a measly six signs: three for the Liberals, two for the Progressive Conservatives, and one for the Green Party. Nobody, it appears, is supporting the NDP this time around. In fact, if volume of lawn signs were an accurate method of predicting the next Member of the Provincial Parliament, the winner would come from Sutton Realty.



The situation is quite different from the last federal election, when signs sprouted all over lawns like mushrooms. I am unsure if the dearth of signs indicates a lack of interest in the election or some sort of new "green" commitment to politics in which the parties are trying to reduce their contributions to landfills.

A History of Hamburgers

A team of construction workers is busy renovating a restaurant at the strip mall across from my apartment building. Although I am not exactly the kind of guy who gets his thrills watching construction sites, I am finding the renovations an interesting exercise in social archeology.

Up until just recently, the location was home to a Licks restaurant. For those of you outside of the Greater Toronto Area, Licks is a restaurant burgers and ice cream chain whose specialty is the "homeburger". Personally, I never cared much for eating at Licks -- if I wanted a burger that tasted like it was home cooked I would cook one at home -- but some people like it.

Prior to Licks moving into the location, it held a franchise of the Harveys hamburger chain. I discovered that when the outline of the Harveys sign appeared as the bright yellow of the Licks sign came down.

Interestingly enough, the South Street Burger Co. is destined to be the next burger joint to inhabit that particular piece of real estate. SSBC is a division of the New York Fries organization, so I suppose that the fries will be better than they were when it was a Licks franchise. All the same, I wonder if the third time will be the charm.

Home and Native Land - II

It took a while, but the federal government is finally doing the right thing. After decades, native students who suffered at residential schools are now officially eligible for financial compensation.

The government announced a $2 billion plan to compensate up to 80,000 members of the First Nations community. (Over 150,000 children attended the residential schools, but from what I can see the settlement is limited to those people who actually attended the schools and not to their survivors.) The terms of the payment would provide up to $10,000 for the first year they attended residential schools and a further $3,000 for each year after that. The average payout is expected to be $28,000.

Phil Fontaine, the National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, referred to the plan as a turning point in Canadian history because it is an admission of wrong-doing, but the plan is not without its critics. The Liberal Party demand that the federal government also apologize to those students who had been forced to attend the residential schools. Interestingly enough, the Liberals did not seem so gung ho about apologizing to residential school students in any of the decades in which they held power.

Others seem concerned that receiving a lump sum payment will lead to a spike in drug and alcohol abuse, and may lead to exploitation. These critics would prefer that funds be channeled to the community through other programs. But as Phil Fontaine says, "This money belongs to the survivors. What they do with it is their business." And frankly, thinking that we are better at deciding how to spend the money is just another version of the thought process that led to residential schools in the first place.

Home and Native Land - I

Last Thursday, Canada was one of only four countries to vote against a United Nations declaration on aboriginal rights. The non-binding declaration passed 143 to 4, with 11 countries abstaining. Interestingly enough, the four negative votes were Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States -- all countries with large land claim issues that are either under negotiation or the subject of court cases.

The government defended its decision to vote by citing concerns regarding the wording of the text. In particular, Canada's ambassador to the United Nations, John McNee, mentioned concerns regarding provisions for land claims. Interestingly enough, the four countries that voted against the declaration -- Canada, the United States, New Zealand, and Australia -- all include aboriginal populations who are either negotiating or litigating land claims.

I am not sure I buy the second argument against voting for the declaration -- that its wording is inconsistent with Canada's Constitution, the Charter, and other acts of Parliament. Indian Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl is on record as saying that the portion of the declaration that says laws affecting aboriginals must only be passed with their prior consent would be unworkable because there are 650 First Nations in Canada.

As might be expected, opposition parties strongly criticized the government for voting against the resolution, in part because the declaration is non-binding on any government. According to Jean Crowder, the New Democratic Party's native affairs critic, "It is an aspirational document," New Democratic native affairs critic Jean Crowder is reported as saying. "It wouldn't contravene laws that are in place."

Similarly, a September 6th press release from United Nations officials emphasized that the declaration does not create new rights for aboriginal groups. Which makes one wonder why they spent twenty years coming up with the declaration.

And Today's High Loonie Is Valued At ...

... $.9864 US.

That's right, folks, the Canadian dollar finished the day off 1.36 cents higher than it started. (And at one point in the day, it had even hit the $.9874 mark.) It looks as if the dollar at par might come a little sooner than had been predicted.

I'm Tired of Seeing Dirty Laundry

You have to feel sorry for Britney Spears.

A few years ago, she was a top-selling recording artists with millions of fans who loved her. Today, she has become the queen of tabloid headlines. Just look at how she has been in the news in the past 10 days:

• Her performance at the MTV Video Music Awards show, supposedly a big "come back" event, degenerated into a catastrophic exercise in lethargic dance moves and out-of-time lip syncing.
• Supposedly, the cause of this melt down was a combination of too much partying, too little practice, and too many margaritas in the hours before the show.
• Her former bodyguard has been quoted as fearing for the safety of her children because of her frequent drug and alcohol abuse.
• Because of this drug and alcohol abuse, today a judge ordered that she attend mandatory counseling as a condition for retaining custody of her children.

Now, I am not a big fan of Ms. Spears' music. In fact, it irritates the hell out of me. However, I am getting really tired of seeing her life blasted out as if it were legitimate news. It is sad, no doubt. I would even go so far as to say it has the makings of a real tragedy, a la Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, or Anna Nicole Smith. It is not the sort of thing that people need to see.

I know it will not happen, but I think it would be a great thing for Spears, and a demonstration of true charity, if the media would place a three-month moratorium on any future news stories about her. Let her have 90 days outside of the limelight. If she is serious about getting her act together, it would present a stress-free time to begin the process.

Le peuple a parlé

That's right -- the people have spoken. At least, the people in three federal ridings in Québec have spoken.

The results from today's three by-election are in and the results are rather interesting. The NDP won in Outremont, a Montreal riding that has been held by the Liberals since 1935. The Conservatives won in Roberval-Lac-Saint-Jean, a rural riding in the Saguenay that had previously been held by the Bloc Québécois. And last, but not least, the Bloc held onto the riding of Saint-Hyacinthe-Bagot, just east of Montreal.

The fact that the NDP and Conservatives both won seats is not odd in and of itself. The NDP candidate in Outremont was a form provincial Liberal cabinet minister, and the Conservative candidate won in a riding that voted for the Action Democratique Party in the last provincial election. The results do, however, seem to indicate that the people of Quebec no longer automatically see the Liberal Party as their best option federally and that cannot bode well for party leader Stephan Dion.

A Vote Against

These are tough times for western civilization. In many ways, we in the west face choices similar to those faced by people living in Nazi Germany or the communist USSR. While we may not be in a situation to hide the persecuted or to save them from a savage death, we can fight against the dark forces that make it easy for "intelligence" operatives to torture people for information and that treat "warriors" who target innocent civilians with air strikes and missile attacks as heroes and not war criminals.

This evening I got an e-mail from someone who is very dear to me, a woman who goes to church and thinks of herself as a civilized Christian. She did not write the email herself -- she forwarded it having received it from someone else -- but she obviously agreed with the contents, which attempted to explain "why Muslim terrorists are so quick to kill themselves". This is not the first time I have received e-mails like this, but I have never said anything before.

This time I cannot remain silent -- to do so would be the moral equivalent of watching the smoke bellowing from the crematorium at Auschwitz and pretending nothing was happening. I want the world to know that I am fed up with the hate and the racism. I am fed up with the smug superiority that acts as if the west (especially the US) is in the right and everyone else is in the wrong. Lord knows, I support my country's troops in Afghanistan, but I do not and will not condone the sort of hateful, arrogant ignorance that fuels the fires of conflict.

The brilliant Canadian songwriter Bruce Cockburn once wrote, "You've got to kick at the darkness 'til it bleeds daylight." In that spirit, I am going to give my comments to the content of the e-mail I received. I apologize in advance for quoting the content.

I bet you have been wondering!!!
Everyone seems to be wondering why Muslim terrorists are so quick to commit suicide.
Let's see now ...

• No Jesus (By Jesus, I guess they mean the man who commanded us to love our neighbours as ourselves. The same guy who said it was easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to get into heaven.)
• No Christmas (That's right, no commercialized celebrations of consumer excess, because let's face it -- that's what Christmas has largely become.)
• No cheerleaders (Somehow, cheerleaders don't even make it on my list of 100 reasons to love life and to stay alive.)
• No baseball (If only they had professional athletes who regularly inject themselves with dangerous performance-enhancing drugs to admire. Then the terrorists would think twice about blowing themselves up.)
• No football (Just like baseball, except you can add athletes who commit violent crimes.)
• No hockey (As above, but add gratuitous violence during games and drunk driving in the off-season.)
• No Nascar (As above, but add liquor and a prodigal waste of limited resources and voila, another terrorist puts down the bomb.)
• (By the way, I notice basketball and soccer don't make the list. Is it because they aren't "white" enough for the author of the e-mail? Or does the author feel that they are, in fact, a reason to become a suicide bomber? Hmmm.)
• No tailgate parties (There's nothing like gluttony and public drinking to dispel thoughts of suicide.)
• No Costco or Sam's Club (It is hard to motivate yourself to kill yourself for your faith when you still have half a dozen jars of mustard to use up.)
• No Home Depot or Lowe's (Thank heavens for big box stores. Easy access to consumer goods has all but wiped out suicide in western economies. How can you think of leaving this old world when there are so many projects you can work on?)
• No pork BBQ (I am not sure if the emphasis is on the "pork" or the "barbecue" here. Hmmm, Jews can't eat pork. Does that mean they are tempted to become suicide bombers too?)
• No hot dogs (Come on -- if people knew what went into hot dogs, they would be more likely to kill themselves, not less.)
• No burgers (Yeah, lower cholesterol and lower risk of heart attack is enough to make me want to blow myself up, too.)
• No chocolate chip cookies (I get it -- why live if you can't get diabetes?)
• No lobster (No point in living if you can't eat something that you cook while it's alive.)

Hmmmm.....

• Rags for clothes and towels for hats (Perhaps if we (a) didn't bomb the shit out of people and (b) did advocate an economic system that benefited more than just a narrow elite, people would all be able to wear "decent clothes". Anyhow, turbans are a step up from Von Dutch baseball hats in my estimation, and "rags for clothes" is no worse than hip hugger jeans that show somebody's thong.)
• Constant wailing from the guy in the tower (Yeah, why can't those Muslims invest in a decent set of church bells like Christians?_
• More than one wife (At least, "more than one wife at the same time." Civilized people like us have our multiple wives sequentially, the way the good Lord intended us to do it.)
• You can't shave (Hmmm, if all those guys who currently shave their heads when they start to bald were forbidden from doing so, would they become suicide bombers?)
• Your wives can't shave (We all know how hairy them there Mooslim wimmen are, don't we? Apparently bikini waxing and laser hair removal has a moral dimension that has hitherto been hidden from me.)
• You can't shower to wash off the smell of donkey cooked over burning camel dung (Yes, we all know that Muslims eat donkey cooked over camel dung. And they live in the desert and don't know how to read and live in caves and tents instead of houses.)
• The women have to wear baggy dresses and veils at all times (Don't those Muslims understand that tight t-shirts, short skirts, and visible underwear are signs of a truly moral society?)
• Your bride is picked by someone else (As opposed to here, where you pick your bride ... and your second wife ... and your third wife ...)
• She smells just like your donkey (What is this person's obsession with donkeys?)
• But your donkey has a better disposition (Is the author of this piece just racist, or does he/she have a donkey fetish?)
• Then they tell you that when you die it all gets better! (Yeah, they need a religion like Christianity that doesn't offer a vision of a "better place" in the afterlife. Nope, no one has ever tried to buy the average Christian joe off by telling them the pains of this world are insignificant because things will be better in paradise.)

I mean, really, is there a mystery here? Hello!!!

George W. Bush famously said, "If you are not with us, you're against us." If e-mails like this are any indication of what being "with them" in the war on terror means, I guess I am against them. Don't get me wrong -- I opposed fundamentalism in all of its forms and I am a huge advocate of democracy. It's just that I don't believe that justice and democracy are served by spewing hateful racist and sexist garbage like this. And you shouldn't, either.

I'm Positively Fed Up

There is a provincial election under way in Ontario right now, and television is being swamped with ads from the main political parties. I have to say that the ad campaign run by the Conservatives is particularly negative. All they seem to do is criticize Liberal premier Dalton McGuinty for what he failed to do or for promises he failed to keep.

Call me an optomist or call me naive but I would much rather hear about what people want to do in the future. I don't need the Conservatives to tell me where the existing government has missed the boat -- I need to hear what alternatives the party is offering me.

The Great Ape of Savings

As I was driving home from Toronto this afternoon I saw a large inflatable gorilla on the roof of a car dealership. I suppose the intent of the gorilla was to draw attention to a sale, but I honestly do not understand the connection between King Kong and cars. I mean, I am probably less likely to visit a dealership that employs a cheap gimmick like an inflatable ape than I would be if the dealership resorted to more mainstream advertising. Then again, I am not exactly the sort of guy who likes going shopping for cars, and maybe giant apes do attract car buyers.

Musings

Autumn is coming.

The mornings are much cooler than they were two weeks ago, and the evenings cool down much quicker. The skies are cloudier and it rains a lot more.

I have had to switch from wearing shorts to wearing blue jeans when I walk to the library or to the mall. I still wear my sandals, though.

Today, I saw 17 robins gathered together on someone's front lawn. I suspect they are preparing to travel south.

Summer will soon be history. I wonder where it went.

Up, Up, and Away

The Canadian dollar reach a high of 96.58 cents (US) earlier today, marking a thirty-year high. To be sure, the loonie closed the day at 96.52 (US) but that was still more than half a cent higher than yesterday's close.

The strong dollar is attributed to a number of things: a robust Canadian economy buoyed by record commodity prices and a strong housing market, a widening interest rate gap between Canada and the US, and a sluggish US economy.

It looks like the people who predicted the dollar at par within 18 months may be onto something.

I Got Nothin' to Say

Sometimes words seem to explode out of me in torrents, like floodwaters bursting the walls of a levee. At the moment, though, words escape me.

Cleaning Up - II

I saw a web page the other day that talked about the firms that are profiting the most from the Iraq war. KBR Inc., a division of Halliburton, leads the list with over US $17 billion in war-related revenue in the period between 2003 and 2006. Most of KBR's revenue comes from repairing oil fields and participating in infrastructure projects.

The article limited itself to the top ten American companies, so I don't know how the top 10 Iraqi-owned companies compare, but I somehow suspect that their combined total does not beet KBR's revenue during this period.

To see the entire top ten list, click: http://finance.sympatico.msn.ca/investing/stocks/article.aspx?cp-documentid=5399485

Thought for the Day

You can put a sow in a silk gown, but at the end of the day you still wind up with a pig in a dress.

Cleaning Up - I

For the past couple of days I have been doing a major clean up operation at home. I'm taking advantage of the fact that I have the place to myself while my wife is back home in British Columbia.

So far I have:

• cleaned up old work-related files on my computer;
• cleaned up music files on my computer;
• sorted through (and discarded many) articles I had collected in my previous life as a human resources executive;
• cleaned up my work-related books;
• cleaned up the storage room;
• sorted through (and discarded some) models, miniature soldiers, and hobby paints;
• sorted through my office supplies and discarded the garbage such as dried out pens;
• reorganized and reshelved my CD collection;
• reorganized and reshelved my movie collection.

I feel cleansed.

Cell Phone Killed the Video Star?

Back in the day, when dinosaurs roamed the earth and I was still in high school, a new entertainment format burst onto the scene and transformed the popular music scene. I am sure that MTV executives had no idea how prophetic the video for The Buggles' Video Killed the Radio Star would be.

Okay, maybe I exaggerate. Video didn't exactly kill the radio star, it just changed the emphasis on what was required to be a music star. In the new music world, good looks and fancy dance moves were just as important -- sometimes, more important -- than traditional musical talents. As had been the case with the original rock 'n' rollers, music videos also provided a convenient way of splitting the world into "us" and "them". We watched videos; our parents didn't.

Back in the 1980s and 1990s, video seemed firmly entrenched in popular culture. Budgets were big, production values were high, and MTV was even able to justify holding an annual music video awards show a la the Oscars. According to a report on the CTV website, however, the times they are a-changin', thanks to three newer technological/cultural revolutions.

The first revolution is YouTube, the video sharing site where people can post short video clips. Sometimes people post clips of their favourite shows, but a number of bands have used YouTube as a means of publicizing their music. A video camera, an editing program, and a vision are all that is required to make your own music video. And the masses are lapping it up. Hell, even an old fart like me sometimes checks out YouTube, as you may remember from links in previous posts.

The second revolution is the changing way in which we watch television, movies, and videos. Gone are the days when you gather around the sacred box in the family room. Sure, TV screens are bigger than ever and surround sound makes the audio experience even better than in the past, but the television no longer monopolizes the medium. People watch broadcasts on their computers and on cell phones, both of which have smaller screens than the normal TV.

And of course, the third revolution is the widespread downloading of music files, a practice which has hit the music industry with all the force of a Mack truck rolling down a mountain road. While some artists still do well, gone are the days when an album could sell 50 million copies like Michael Jackson's Thriller. (To be fair, MJ does hold the record for most copies of an album sold, but given the new economy the only way his hold on the record will end is if some future dictator makes an album of his version of Mein Kampf and then "encourages" his followers to buy it.)

And therein lies the cause for the demise of big budget videos. It's a matter of common sense, really. Why both spending a million dollars to create a cinematic work of art when it is going to be watched on a screen the size of a large postage stamp? Why bother with set design and fancy costumes and ornate props when the person watching the video will only see a small amount of what was actually captured?

So perhaps we are returning to the status quo ante video. If production values and looks count for less, perhaps musical ability will count for more. One can hope.

To see the original news story, check out: /www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20070907/music_videos_070907/20070907?hub=Entertainment

The High Price of Talent

There was a news article yesterday about the incredible (growing) gap in salaries between the CEOs of America's biggest companies and the workers. According to the report, top executives at Fortune 500 companies earned an average of US $10.8 million last year, while the average worker made just over $29,500. In other words, the executives made more in one day than the average worker did all year.

I know I sound like an unrepentant socialist who has troubles fitting into the "new world order", but this is just plain wrong. Call me old fashioned, but there is no place in a just or democratic world for inequities like this.

Shilling for Naomi Klein

Yesterday morning I was listening to CBC One and I heard an interview with Naomi Klein, who has just published her third book. The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism is a look at how so-called "neo-liberal" economic policies such as privatization of government services, clear cut social spending, and free trade have been implemented in countries as diverse as Chile, Russia, and Iraq. It is also a look at how neo-liberal policies are tied to deliberate strategies to destabilize the cultures of the economies being transformed.

I have not read the book yet, but I can guess that the neo-liberal (i.e. radical right wing) apologists will complain that Klein's arguments are either too far fetched, too simplistic, or too reminiscent of the paranoid conspiracy theories that drove The X-Files into the ground. That doesn't mean she is necessarily wrong in her argument that proponents of bully capitalism (my phrase, not hers) manufacture and encourage the undermining of foreign social structures and the destruction of national economies.

These arguments are not, of course, entirely new ground for Klein. A few years ago she wrote a very interesting article in Harpers that examined some of the same ground. If you are interested, you can find that article by clicking on the following link: http://www.harpers.org/archive/2004/09/0080197.

Shilling for the Chemical Brothers

I just came across an interesting music video by the Chemical Brothers. The video for the song Salmon Dance provides a lesson on the life cycle of salmon and features singing fish and a beat boxing puffer. You can check out the video by clicking on the following link:

http://video.sympatico.msn.com/v/en-ca/v.htm?g=b4051f54-c248-40d3-98d4-b8629e9219b2,8e9924a3-4614-495f-b7d5-95286119765a,6838e9a8-2702-4a59-8873-14a0aec3a848,6a9f31f3-e30f-41d4-a4fb-6cbc1cf35433&t=c3874&f=37/81&p=ENCAmusic_ENCAmusicvideo_rock&fg=

Back to School

Today is the first day of the new school year, and boy are the kids looking sad. If only they knew how lucky they were.

An Odd Truth(iness)

Last week, the Bush administration had two people leave: Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and White House press secretary Tony Snow. Gonzales has been under pressure to resign for months, while Snow is leaving because of a recurrence of cancer. Still, one has to wonder about the timing of these moves, since they occurred in the same week in which The Daily Show and The Colbert Report went on summer holiday.

I Miss Bethsaida

I have been feeling a bit down for the past while, and I have just come to realize that it is because I really miss the girls and staff at the orphanage.



It is funny how a place like that can get under your skin.

In Memorium: Les Canadiens

Soldiers from 5 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group, based out of Quebec, recently took over as Canada's main combat contribution to NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan. Even though they have been in the field for a relatively short time, they have already suffered three fatalities at the hands of the Taliban.

The dead troops are:

• Private Simon Longtin, Royal 22e Regiment
• Master Corporal Christian Duchensne, 5th Field Ambulance
• Master Warrant Officer Mario Mercier, Royal 22e Regiment

My thoughts are with the families and friends of the men.

Kimchee Eating Surrender Monkeys

In the days before the US began the Second Gulf War (aka the First Invasion of Iraq), it was fashionable in amongst right-wing commentators to criticize the French as "cheese eating surrender monkeys" for their opposition to an armed "solution". I am surprised that these same pundits have not attacked the South Korean government as vigorously for caving in the Taliban terrorists who were holding 19 Korean missionaries captive.

Over the weekend, the government in Seoul agreed to continue with the withdrawal of South Korean troops by the year end in exchange for the captives. They also agreed to end missionary work in Afghanistan and to encourage South Korean aid workers to return home. In other words, they agreed to do what they had already planned on doing along with two other meaningless gestures. (Meaningless, that is, unless the missionary trips are in fact government-sponsored.)

Still, the agreement was could have several serious repercussions. First, and the reason most frequently quoted in the news, the deal provides the Taliban with more credibility. (Apparently, thousands of dead Afghans and hundreds of dead NATO troops did not provide the Taliban with enough credibility in some people's eyes.) Second, the deal undermined the authority of the Afghan government, since the Koreans negotiated directly with the Taliban. Third, it may enourage the Taliban to target civilians from other countries since the tactic worked with the Koreans. Fourth, it may encourage groups in other parts of the world to target South Koreans, since they set a precedent of appeasing kidnappers.

I doubt the deal is enough to make the American government reconsider the wisdom of maintaining 25,000 troops in South Korean, but I do not doubt that the memory of the deal will colour relations between the two governments in the future. I hope that Seoul still feels the price was worth paying when this happens.

Justice Delayed

In a unanimous decision that referred to the original conviction as a "miscarriage of justice", five judges on the Ontario Court of Appeal acquitted Steven Truscott of murdering Lynne Harper in 1959. Even though he has maintained his innocence since his conviction, Truscott is quoted as saying, "I never in my wildest dreams expected in my lifetime for this to come true."

The case is one of the most famous -- and infamous -- in Canadian history. Truscott, who was 14 years old at the time, was tried as an adult. When the jury found him guilty, he became the youngest Canadian to be sentenced to death. (In fairness to the jury, the sentence was automatic in cases of murder and they did recommend clemency.) His death sentence was commuted to life in prison in 1960, and ten years later he was released on parole.

Throughout the past 49 years, Truscott has declared he was not the person who killed Lynne Harper. Although the court was unable to declare him innocent since there was no evidence that conclusively proved that irrefutably, Truscott now joins a number of Canadians whose murder convictions were overturned decades after the fact.

There is an old saying that goes "Justice delayed is justice denied". In this case, I think the operative phrase is "Justice delayed is better than on-going injustice". However, I wonder if Truscott would have ever been vindicated if the government actually went ahead with the execution as planned. Would anyone have cared whether or not the young convicted killer's protests of innocence were true or not?

I am fortunate to live in a country that has abolished the death sentence, but even in Canada the call arises periodically to reintroduce capital punishment. The next time the proponents of tough justice call to reimpose the death sentence, I hope they remember the case of Steven Truscott, a man who waited nearly half a century for the courts to recognize what he already knew.