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.

Ramblings on Insomnia

It looks like it is going to be another one of those nights: a night filled with insomnia and restlessness, a desert of darkness devoid of sleep and dreams.

I should be tired. I have not slept well since Thursday night, and I have studiously avoided taking any naps. I long for a good night's sleep, but it is after midnight and I am not even tired. Yet I am too tired to read and since I don't have cable there is no point in even turning on the television.

In the past, I would have grabbed my camera and gone for a drive, looking for the hidden beauty that only us night owls see. In the past I would have, but tonight I am too tired to get dressed and, truth be told, I lack the creative drive. I have taken my photographs of gas stations and street lamps. There is nothing new to be seen on the streets of Newmarket.

Last night as I lay in bed waiting for sleep to banish the day's reality, I longed to be in outer space, taking photographs of gorgeous nebulae. The night before, I went to the imaginary world inhabited by the characters of stories and screenplays that I just can't seem to finish. The night before that I just listened to music -- Madredeus and some Brazilian acoustic music -- and watched the colours float in front of my closed eyes. Tonight, I blog.

Happy Independence Day, Moldava!

Independent from the USSR since 1991.

Now if only the Russian army would get out.

End of an Era

So I see that US Steel is buying Hamilton's Stelco Limited for over $1 billion (US). The sale marks the end of an era, for Stelco was the last major Canadian-owned steelmaker. The other three majorss -- Dofasco, Ipsco, and Algoma Steel -- have already been purchased by foreign firms.

Not that it really matters any more.

Once upon a time, you could identify firms as being Canadian, American, or British, but I don't think that is the case anymore. Executives at firms think in terms of what is best for the company, not what is best for the country. Just ask any of the millions of Canadian, American, and British workers whose high-paying jobs have been outsourced to areas with less employee protection and considerably lower wages. I suppose it is just another side effect of globalization.

Another Sleepless Night

I don't know why, but I seem to have trouble falling asleep these days.

Or, to be more accurate, I fall asleep easily enough but then I wake up and cannot fall back to sleep.

At least I have music to listen to as I lay in bed and stare at the ceiling.

First Things First

It's nice to know that lawmakers in the United States have their priorities right. City Councilman C. T. Martin of Atlanta, Georgia has proposed an amendment to the city code that takes on one of the greatest threats facing American culture today -- visible underwear.

The ordinance would ban baggy pants that show boxer shorts, low-cut jeans that show thongs, visible bras, and other "indecent exposure of undergarments". Presumably, accidental displays of bra straps would result is a warning rather than a fine, but the news reports are not clear.

The American Civil Liberties Union has come out against the proposed ban. The Plumbers' Union has not yet commented.

The More Things Change ...

Yesterday (August 19th) was the 65th anniversary of the raid on Dieppe. The battle was the second major land engagement of Canadian soldiers in the Second World War. It was a complete catastrophe for the Allied raiding party. 913 Canadians died and over 2,000 were captured. Despite a positive spin put on the raid by some historians -- it taught the Allies valuable lessons that could be applied to the invasion of Europe at a later date -- most Canadians feel it was a screw up.

Significantly, the first major land engagement of Canadian soldiers in the Second World War was also a screw up that led to the annihilation of the force involved. Two battalions of Canadian infantry had been lost in Hong Kong the previous December. Those who did not die were captured by the Japanese.

It is rather ironic that these defeats are well-known in Canada, but our victories are generally ignored. It is true that Canadian assault on Juno beach on D-Day had a lot of press over the past few years thanks to the 60th anniversary celebrations, but most people know little of the invasion of Sicily, the battle of Ortona, or the liberation of the Netherlands.

This is a shame, because it underplays a key element of Canadian history and it distorts the true nature of Canada's experience in the world. While it is true that Canada has a tradition of UN peace-keeping -- a tradition which has not really been kept up over the past ten years -- we also have a tradition of fighting when we feel the fight is necessary.

I mention this because yet another Canadian soldier died in Afghanistan. Private Simon Longtin of Canada's famed Royal 22e Regiment was killed by a roadside bomb, making him the 67th Canadian soldier to die over there. Predictably, there are voices clamouring for Canadian troops to either withdraw from Afghanistan or to be reassigned to less aggressive tasks such as provincial reconstruction. (I can understand the former, but I find the latter suggestion particularly dishonourable because it says that Canadian lives are too valuable to risk, unlike the lives of our allies' troopers.)

I am not going to suggest that Canada's current involvement in Afghanistan is the equivalent to our involvement in World War Two. I am not even going to suggest that it is the equivalent of our involvement in Korea. I am, however, going to suggest that critics of the mission should judge it in similar terms.

Another Day of Nothing

Yesterday I recounted all the things I didn't do because I was too tired. Today I did even less.

I am having a run of insomnia and I did not fall asleep until after six this morning. While this did permit me to watch the sunrise, it also meant that my normal rhythms are a bit off, since I woke up around eleven. I suppose I could have gone back to bed, but who knows when I would fall asleep tonight.

Things I Didn't Do Today

I did not go to the Chinese Lantern Festival at Ontario Place this evening. I was going to. That is to say, I had planned on doing so. However, I did not go. I was just too tired. Even with a 90 minute nap in the afternoon, I lacked the energy to drive all the way down to the lake shore.

I did not go to the Canadian National Exhibition today either. I had considered doing so, although my plans for the CNE were nowhere as firm as my plans for the Lantern Festival were. The Ex only opened yesterday, so there is still plenty of time to see it. Besides, it is the first weekend the CNE was open, and I didn't feel like being part of the crowd.

Nor, surprisingly enough, did I go see Superbad, the coming-of-age comedy that has been advertised for the past month as the "sleeper hit" of the summer. Once again, I lacked the intestinal fortitude to deal with the crowds.

And last, but not least, I did not work on a novel, a play, a script, or any other form of literature.

I wonder what I won't do tomorrow.

Church of the Living King

The news reports have been filled with stories about Elvis Presley. He died thirty years ago, yet his star continues to shine big and bright. He has legions of fans. He continues to sell records and memorabilia, making him one of the top earning dead celebrities ever. He has thousands of imitators and "tribute artists", including a minister in my community who goes by the stage name of "Elvis Priestly". The latter is particularly apt, I think, because the love expressed by many of the fans interviewed on the news reports verges on a religious devotion to the life, times, music, and films of the King.

I sometimes find the whole Elvis phenomenon confusing. I guess I just don't have that visceral, deep-in-the-gut appreciation for the King's body of work that his die hard fans have. Maybe that is because I prefer singer/songwriters to singers who interpret other people's works. Maybe it is because I prefer good actors. Maybe it is because I am too young or, at least, too post-1950s in my ways . Maybe it is just that my soul is not tuned to the mystical attachment that true believers have with the King. In any event, you won't find me participating in ceremonies at the Church of the Living King.

Of Tears and Flying Cats

I know I have bitched about the quality of television in past postings, but I have to admit that sometimes it is a very powerful, worthwhile medium. I finished watching a documentary called After Maeve on TVO (Television Ontario, the provincially funded public broadcaster).

At the risk of over-simplifying, the documentary was about how two parents dealt with the death of their ten year old daughter. Maeve, the daughter, was a lively child who created a rich imaginary world called Planet Creature, a world that she and her friends played in. In addition to a city of cats called Bumbletown, Planet Creature is home to a flying cat ambulance brigade, a hospital for terminally ill ants, and leaves used to transport creatures from one place to another.

You may noticed that I said Planet Creature "is" home and not "was" home to the ambulance brigade. That is because Planet Creature lives on, in the memories of Maeve's friends and family -- and also on the Internet. I really don't have the words to describe this world, but you can see it for yourself at http://www.planetcreature.com. It is definitely worth checking out.

Also worth checking out is the documentary itself. If you ever see After Maeve in your local television listings, make a point of watching it. You might spent a lot of time with tears in your eyes -- trust me, it happens -- but you will also be taken to a very magical world inhabited by a very magical young lady.

Am I My Brother's Killer?

I have been thinking a lot lately about responsibility. Specifically, two recent events have got me to thinking about the point where individual responsibilty ends and corporate responsibility begins.

Last week, a funeral was held in Newmarket for Constable Robert Plunkett, a York Region Police officer who was killed in the line of duty. He was in the process of apprehending a young man who was stealing an air bag out of a stolen vehicle when the thief panicked and accidentally killed him.

A day later, two people were killed and six were wounded when gunfire raked a Vancouver restaurant. Vancouver police have said the shooting was gang-related, and that several of the victims were known to them.

So how do these events get how thinking about corporate responsibility?

It should be apparent to everyone that the thief who killed Constable Plunkett and the gunmen who shot the restaurant patrons are responsible for their actions. They are responsible for the actual acts that caused death and they are responsible for choosing to take part in criminal activities. Possibly, the two dead Vancouver men are also responsible for their own fate, if they were in fact criminals and if the act was in fact part of a gang war. That is the easy part.

The corporate responsibility lies in the people who provide the rationale for the crimes. The car thief was specifically attempting to steal the vehicle's airbag, which he would then resell to a disreputable mechanic, who would then install it into a vehicle requiring a new airbag. The mechanic might charge full price and pocket the difference between the cost of an airbag purchased from a dealer and the reduced price of a stolen airbag purchased from a thief. In some cases, the mechanic might pass a bit of a savings on to a customer who was not terribly concerned if the air bag was stolen.

Undoubtedly, the gangs in Vancouver are involved in a number of criminal enterprises, including the sale of drugs and the smuggling of illegal immigrants. If the drug business is lucrative enough to warrant murder, it is because the users are buying the merchandise. If people smuggling earns enough warrant to justify early morning hits in restaurants, it is because employers are willing to hire cheap illegal labour 'off the books' and because people are willing to patronize firms that employ these modern day serfs.

Obviously, there are degrees of responsibility. Should a mechanic who purchased a stolen airbag be sent to jail for participating in the death of Constable Plunkett? Should an occasional marijuana smoker be held accountable for the deaths of the two men in Vancouver? If not, what should -- or can -- be done to get people to understand that there is no such thing as a 'victimless' crime?

Summer Shower

This weekend observers in North America will be able to enjoy the Persied meteor showers. That is, they will be able to enjoy the Persied meteor showers as long as they are not living in a light-polluted city.

The annual light show is the result of debris from the comet Swift-Tuttle entering into the Earth's atmosphere. According to astronomers, at the peak of the meteor shower observers should be able to see up to sixty meteors an hour.

I know what I am doing at four AM.

The Truth North Stronger and Freer

It's about bloody time!

After decades of neglect, the federal government is finally taking steps to assert Canada's sovereignty in the Arctic. The move, believe it or not, is yet the latest ramifaction of the effects of global warming -- as the polar ice melts, the mineral-rich seabeds of the Arctic become more accessible and the North-West Passage moves closer to becoming a reality.

Successive Canadian governments have taken the cheap way out of staking Canada's claim. After Perrin Beatty's nuclear submarine program was scrapped in the Mulroney years, nothing much was done to increase our presence in the North. That is about to change.

This week, Prime Minister Harper announced that Canada would be taking three steps to beef up our claim to northern lands and waters:

• a new deep sea ocean militar port will be built at Nanisavik;
• a new Arctic warfare training centre will be constructed at Resolute Bay;
• the Arctic Rangers will be increased from 4,100 to 5,000 men.

This, of course, is in addition to the previously announced plans to build six to eight "naval icebreakers", the so-called "Arctic/Offshore Patrol Vessels".

These moves will make Canada's position as custodian of the North-West Passage a little more secure, but there is more that could be done:

• rechamber the Arctic Rangers' Lee Enfield .303 rifles to take the NATO 7.62 mm round and replace the heavy wooden stock with a lighter, fiberglass moulded stock;
• lengthen existing Arctic runways and maintain one Aurora patrol aircraft and a flight of CF-18s at all times;
• station a small para-rescue detatchment in the North (and, as an added bonus, thereby provide faster response times in the event of an aircraft crash);
• station a small unit of paratroop-trained infantrymen in the North at all times.

Canadian Prime Ministers have been talking about the importance of the North since at least Diefenbaker's times, but apart from the Canadian Rangers and the RCMP, little has been done to assert our sovereignty. It is time that the Canadian government, and by extension the Canadian people, take concrete steps to make sovereignty a reality, because if we don't, the Russians and Danes and Americans will.

T

I'd Rather Be Swimming

A Hypocrite Clan From Nantucket ...

It appears that the biggest impediment to sustainable energy sources in the United States is neither technology nor "big oil" but rather our old friend NIMBY ("not in my back yard"), at least if the recent events in Massachusetts are any indication.

A company has proposed creating America's largest windfarm by installing 130 400-foot tall wind turbines in the waters off of Nantucket. The windfarm would be located off-shore and would be spread out over 24 square miles. Cape Wind, the corporation proposing to build the giantic windfarm, claims that it would produce 420 megawatts of clean energy, enough to supply 75% of the surrounding area's needs.

The wind farm may not, however, ever be built. Opponents of the project argue against it on a number of grounds ranging from "it will be an eyesore" (even though it will barely be seen from shore) to it is a questionable move by a corporation taking advantage of a loophole in the law (even though many of the people whose views will be spoiled have probably benefited from such corporate shenanigans in the past) to it will interfere with U.S. missile defence (even though the Air Force denies that claim). The most common argument seems to be that it is an imposition on an otherwise pristine natural wilderness which is in and of itself an important "natural resource".

There are two rather surprising aspects of this story. The first is that members of the Kennedy family, including that erstwhile supporter of renewal energy sources Senator Edward Kennedy, have come out on record as opposing the development. The second is that this story, which has been developing since 2001, only came to my attention today -- and that was thanks to a clip on The Daily Show. I don't know which aspects is worse.

By the way, I am in favour of the idea of the wind farm. I personally like the wind turbine on the lake shore in Toronto and I was very impressed with all the huge wind turbines that I saw along the waterways of Rotterdam as I flew into Amsterdam airport. Perhaps if there were more wind farms, the United States would not be such a hostage to the oil-producing nations of the world. But what is enhanced energy security when the oligarchy's views are being spoiled?

Book Review: How to Cure a Fanatic

My preferred strategy for selecting books from the library is to go to the "new arrivals" shelf in the non-fiction department and peruse the current selection. It is a great way to find books that I would otherwise never even think of looking for on a variety of topics I would otherwise never consider reading about.

All of which brings me to How to Cure a Fanatic by Israeli novelist Amos Oz. This short (95 page) book consists of two essays that were originally delivered as lectures in 2002, as well as an interview with the author conducted by a representative of the book's publisher. Oz is not only a novelist -- he has been actively involved in the Israeli peace movement for some 40 years. This does not, as he points out, make him a pacifist. A veteran of the 1967 and 1973 wars, he states in one of the essays that there are still a few things that he would personally go to war for.

The first essay has the thought-provoking title "Between Right and Right" and is a rumination on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Oz examines the on-going conflict by stating a few obvious facts:

• Palestinians have a legitimate, deep-seated attachment to Palestine/Israel;
• Israelis have a legitimate, deep-seated attachment to Israel/Palestine;
• there is no possibility of a lasting peace until each side recognizes that the other side has a legitimate, deep-seated attachment to the disputed land;
• there is no possibility of a lasting peace until both sides are willing to make painful compromises.

The essay's title comes from the author's assertion that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not one of "good guys versus bad guys" but rather one of "good guys versus good guys". Both sides were ill-treated by the colonial powers, both sides were ill-treated by the other side, and both sides ill-treated the other side. That is what makes compromise so difficult and painful, and that is what makes compromise so necessary.

The second essay, "How to Cure a Fanatic", offers an interesting examination of the nature of fanaticism and what can be done about it. A self-described "expert on comparative fanaticisim," Oz confesses that as a child he was "a brainwashed little fanatic all the way. Self-righteous, chauvinistic, deaf and blind to any view that differed from the powerful Jewish, Zionist narrative of the time." Perhaps it is this background that permits Oz to go on to describe the fanatic as "a great altruist" because he "wants to save your soul, he wants to redeem you, he wants to liberate you from sin, from error, from smoking, from your faith or from your faithlessness, he wants to improve your eating habits, or to cure you of your drinking or voting habits." Fanatics, he argues, wish to incorporate everyone into their "mainland", when in fact cultures are "penninsulas". In the case of the Palestinians and the Israelis, he argues the penninsulas "should be related and at the same time they should be left on their own."

Oz offers suggestions, if not exactly concrete solutions. Because the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is, at its heart, "a real estate conflict", he argues that the solution is an arrangement that would return to the pre-1967 borders. And how is one to cure a fanatic? He concludes the second essay by stating, "A sense of humor, the ability to imagine the other, the capacity to recognize the penninsular quality of every one of us may be at least a partial defense against the fanatic gene that we all contain." Perhaps his most concrete suggestion can be found in the transcript of the interview that is the book's third and final section. In it, Oz argues that the time is ripe for a new "Marshall Plan" to help solve the economic inequalities that sustain the on-going tension in the Middle East.

Oz's book will not be for everyone. It is just as likely to offend staunch supporters of Israel as it is to anger advocates of a meaningful Palestinian state. But if it does, Amos Oz is unlikely to be surprised. After all, he is the fellow who is arguing that peace will only come when both sides are willing to make painful compromises, and perhaps the first painful compromise will be for each side to recognize that the other side is making some valid points.

How to Cure A Fanatic by Amos Oz

Princeton University Press, 2006

ISBN: 9-780691-126692

One Thousand Cranes

Over a quarter of a million people died because of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. Perhaps the best known of them was a young girl named Sadako Sasaki.

Sadako was two years old when the "Little Boy" atomic bomb exploded over Hiroshima on August 5, 1945. Although she was only a mile from ground zero, she survived the initial attack with no apparent ill effects. In late 1954, however, lumps developed on her neck and spots began to appear on her body. Taken to the hospital for testing in February of 1955, she was diagnosed with a particularly aggressive case of leukemia and was admitted to the hospital for treatment. Doctors told her parents that she had at most a year to live.

In August, Sadako began creating origami paper cranes, inspired by the Japanese legend that anyone who folded a thousand cranes would be granted a wish. Lacking the necessary paper to create this many cranes, she became an expert at scrounging paper, using packaging from medicine and wrapping from other patients' get-well presents.

Sadako's condition deteriorated and she died on October 25, 1955. Some people say she had folded over 1,300 origami cranes before she passed away. Other people say she only completed 644, and that her friends finished the other 356 cranes for her. In any event, Sadako Sasaki has become the human face of the victims of Hiroshima and the origami crane has become a symbol of the anti-nuclear weapons movement.

In Memorium: Hiroshima

62 years ago today, the United States dropped the first atomic bomb used in combat on the city of Hiroshima.


Although Hiroshima was a communications and logistics base for the Japanese army, its main attractiveness was that it had been deliberately untouched by previous bombing campaigns in order to allow Air Corps analysts to measure the damage caused by an atomic explosion. At the time of the attack the population was approximately 250,000, down from nearly 400,000 earlier in the war.

A small flight of three B-29s left Tinian early in the morning of August 6th, 1945. One ("Enola Gay") carried the bomb, another ("The Great Artiste") carried instrumentation, and the third ("Necessary Evil") carried photographic equipment. The flight was observed by Japanese radar and air raid warnings were sounded. At 8:00 AM, Japanese officials lifted the warning, assuming from the small number of aircraft that it was simply a reconnaissance sortie. 15 minutes later, the bomb was released.

When the bomb exploded, it did so with the equivalent of 13 kilotons of TNT, creating a circle of total destruction with a one-mile radius. Soon fires were consuming nearly four-and-a-half square miles of the city. Within hours, 90% of the cities buildings were damaged or destroyed.

The cost in human lives was just as high. Some 70,000 people are believed to have died on the day of the explosion, with another 70,000 dying by the end of the year. Victims continued to die of their injuries or radiation poisoning or cancer for decades to come.

The bombing of Hiroshima, and the bombing of Nagasaki three days later, remain controversial to this day. Proponents claim that the bombings demonstrated the hopelessness of continuing the war and strengthened the hands of the peace faction within the Japanese government, allowing them to overcome the previous dominance of the war faction. Hundreds of thousands of Allied casualties (mainly Americans) were thereby saved, along with the lives of countless Japanese soldiers and sailors and perhaps tens of millions of civilians throughout Asia.

Opponents of the bombings argue they were not only unethical -- they were also militarily unnecessary because the Japanese were already defeated. Surprisingly, the latter view was held by a number of senior American officers incluging Generals Eisenhower, MacArthur, and Spaatz and Admirals Leahy, King, and Nimitz.

Today is not a day for thinking about what could have been or what should have been. It is a day to remember the dead and to commit ourselves to ensuring that 62 years from now we are not remembering another horrific bombing.

Great Debate: Flag Flying Flap in Truro

Unlike two neighbouring communities, Truro, Nova Scotia will not be flying the rainbow flag to support gay pride celebrations. Town council voted 6 to 1 against the request, stating it came in too late for debate. The mayor, Bill Mills, has been quoted as saying that he cannot support the request because he is a Christian and the Bible clearly condemns homosexuality. According to one news story, Mills said, "God says I'm not in favour of that and I have to look at it and say, I guess I'm not either." He also allegedly said that he doesn't know what the gay community is fighting for since they already have equal opportunities as well as work and pension benefits, and that raising the rainbow flag might lead to requests from other people such as pedophiles.


There is something to be said for living up to one's beliefs, but when do one person's beliefs trump the rights of someone else? Put it down to those six formative years I spent living in the United States if you must, but I am a big fan of the separation of church and state. While I think the Truro town council has every right to reject a request to fly the rainbow flag, they do not have the right to refuse it on religious grounds.


I know that many Christians in North America feel embattled. For several decades, they have heard populist Christian leaders rail on against the evil axis of hedonistic Hollywood liberals, hate-filled Muslim fundamentalists, radical environmentalist lunatics, and sleazy peddlars of an aggressive "gay agenda". They feel the effects of globalization and robber baron capitalism on job security and standards of living, and they seek to find an answer. They feel as if the world they live in is no longer their world, and some of them are aggressively defending what they think of as their communities' "real culture". I don't agree with this interpretation, but I understand what they are feeling.


The reality, however, is that neither Truro nor Canada are theocracies. Community leaders are entitled to their beliefs, but they are not entitled to dictate choices that are based solely on their religious beliefs. Imagine how the mayor of Truro would feel if a Jewish mayor banned the sale of pork in Truro because it is forbidden in her religion, or if a Muslim mayor declared that no woman is permitted to go out on the streets without adequately covering her face because that is part of his religious beliefs. What is the likelihood that Mr. Mills would meekly accept the ruling and turn the other cheek?


Perhaps the group requesting the flag raising were too late to have their application heard. If that is the case, fine. If the normal policy of Truro town council is to vote against requests that arrive too late, be consistent and refuse this request. However, if special consideration has been given to other groups, there had better be a good reason for denying this request -- a better reason than what St. Paul says in the book of Romans. Until such time as Canada is a theocracy, politicians must realize that if they cannot justify a decision without justifying it by quoting their version of Holy Scriptures, then they had better rethink their decisions.

One more thing:


Next year, the people organizing gay pride activities in Truro should show the Truro town council the consideration that other groups do, and make their request in time. After all, equal treatment means following the same rules as everyone else. In the meantime, the griot will fly the flag for the gays and lesbians of Truro.

I Guess I'm Back in Canada

At the risk of sounding like a rather famous "redneck" philosopher, I realized that I was back in Canada when:

• I found myself standing in line at Tim Horton's for a hot coffee on scorching day;
• I wore closed-toe shoes instead of sandals for the first time in 10 weeks;
• I wore a suit and tie to an interview even though the temperature was nearly 40 degrees Celsius with the humidex;
• I used the word "humidex" in a sentence;
• I headed to the liquor store to pick up beer for the long weekend;
• I had an elevator conversation about the Maple Leafs -- in early August!!!

Tonight's Playlist

I've had it with crappy television! I'm sitting in front of my computer, reading a short story I'll probably never finish and listing to an eclectic selection of music while the air conditioner works overtime to bring the air temperature back down to tepid.

One of the great things about the computer age is the fact that I can program the music that I like. Here's what I am listening to this evening:

• Run On by Moby
• God's Gonna Cut You Down by Johnny Cash
• Natural Blues by Moby
• Siasi by O-Shen
• Sang D'Encre by Jean Le Loup
• Soldier by Dub Chairman
• Escape (the English version) by Enrique Iglesius
• Ciranda by Marcio Faraco
• A Andorinha de Primavera by Madreus
• Edgar by Jean Le Loup
• Iuliana by Te Vaka
• You Killing Me by Dimitri Pronin
• Chan Chan by Eliades Ochos
• The Girl from Ipanema by Astrud Gilberto
• Kuch Kuch Hota Hai by Udit Narayan and Alka Yagmir

If I could only find a station that played this kind of mix I would listen to the radio a lot more.