Holocaust Denier Ordered Out of Argentina

Posted on: Out of the Shadows
The government of Argentina has given Bishop Richard Williamson ten days to leave the country or face expulsion. Williamson has been at the centre of an international furor over his denial of the holocaust during WW2. Now he’s not alone in such denials but what has brought his particular hate message to world notice is that he is one of four bishops Pope Benedict has chosen to lift excommunication on.

Argentina accuses Williamson of having lied about his activities, specifically his employment while in the country. They have not shied away from also stating that Williamson’s views have influenced their decision to terminate his welcome in the country. With about 200,000 Jews living in Argentina, the largest Jewish population in Latin America, it is pretty understandable why he would be very unwelcome. -- read more

Obama Arrives in Ottawa Today

Posted on: Out of the Shadows
Barak Obama arrives in Ottawa today for his first foreign visit since taking office in January. Ottawa is the traditional stop for new presidents, although his predecessor chose to visit Mexico first. While the visit is for the most party barely registering on the American media, the Canadian media seems to be going gaga over the arrival.

Obama will be in the nation’s capital a mere 6 hours or so and is not expected to appear in public. Security will be massive, crowds are expected to be large on the hill as people gather in the hope of catching a glimpse of him. -- read more

Intimidation Wins This Battle in Quebec

Posted on: Out of the Shadows
2009 marks the 250th anniversary of the Battle of the Plains of Abraham. This pivotal event ended France’s dominance in North America and set the stage for the strong English presence. The National Battlefield Commission had plans in place and preparations well underway for a re-enactment of the battle on the Plains of Abraham this coming summer.

Historical re-enactments are a wonderful way to bring history to life, not to mention a great tourism draw, something much needed in the current economy. Quebec city would take a step back in time in an effort to portray life as it was at the time of the historic battle. -- read more

Hugging Is Not Your Right

Posted on: Ides of May
As you might have gathered from the headline, I’m heading into a bit of a soapbox rant. Before I do though, got something I want to share with you. As you know this past weekend was Valentines. I’m not a big fan of Valentines Day, mostly as it brings around a couple of bitter sweet anniversaries.

On the good side, on this date twenty-one years ago my nephew Maxwell was born. Hey Max, happy birthday dude. On the flipside, on the fifteenth, twenty-one years ago, my late husband had the heart attack that led to his death some eighteen months later.

Sometimes though, I come across something that I really can appreciate and this year is one of them. I’ve been messing about on the website Twitter for a while now. Two of the people I follow on there have quickly become among the group of people who I really enjoy their ‘tweets’. They are @MichaelHyatt and his wife @GailHyatt, who both write blogs that I’ve come to enjoy reading. -- read more

Zytaruk Needs Help to Sue Conservatives

Posted on: Out of the Shadows
Tom Zytaruk would like to sue the Conservatives for their continuing claims that the tape which launched the Chuck Cadman affair was doctored. The problem is that he would need a lawyer willing to work on a contingency basis or pro bono in order to afford it. So the defamation of this author continues unless that happens.

The court has found the tape was not doctored. There was a break in the tape, Zytaruk turned it off when Harper walked away from the conversation and back on when he returned. Pretty normal move to make. The Conservatives continue to claim as fact that the tape was doctored. Sort of a tell the lie often enough and it might be seen as truth. -- read more

Do You Twitter?

Posted on: It's All About Money
If you have no idea what Twittering is, you probably are either new or you’ve been ignoring a lot going on. Twitter is a very popular microblogging site which allows you to post(tweet) 140 character ’slices’ of what your doing as often as you want. You follow other people who are twittering and people follow you. You can post about the mundane, the insane, the ups and the downs, the pain and the joy, whatever. The idea is to share and enjoy the interaction.

I didn’t get the whole Twitter thing when I first looked at it. Primary because, like Facebook, I couldn’t see how I could find the time to keep refreshing a website so I could see what other people were doing. Then I started to discover some of the Twitter tools that were available and started to understand the draw. -- read more

McGuinty Would Like His Personal Space - So Back UP!

Posted on: Out of the Shadows
Everytime I see one of those press scrums were members of the media not only have their mics pressed just about into the person’s face but are often practically close enough to kiss them, I want to throw up a wall and push the beggars back. See, I’m one of those people who really prefers to have some personal space around her. I hate crowds and especially ones that you can barely move without coming into contact with someone close by.

So, when I read the piece in the Globe & Mail about Premier Dalton McGuinty asking reporters to stand back about five feet from him, I had some empathy. The piece points out that McGuinty has tried to move reporters out of his face in a good natured manner over the years without success. I can understand that. -- read more

Canadian Heroes to Be Honoured Friday

Posted on: Out of the Shadows
Today’s post was originally going to be about the improvement the Liberals under Michael Ignatieff are enjoying in the public opinion polls. I’m happy to see that change but another item caught my attention. Without those who are part of this item and those who went before them, we would not have the democracy we have. Our opinions as citizens wouldn’t really matter.

I live on a section of the Trans Canada Highway 401 which has been officially renamed “the Highway of Heroes”. It is the section of highway stretching from Trenton (20 minutes east of me) to Toronto (90 minutes west of me) which every Canadian killed in service to Canada in Afghanistan has travelled with their families. It is along this stretch that thousands of Canadians turn out in the frigid cold of January, the searing heat of July and all the weather in between to salute our fallen Canadian and express our collective pain at their loss. -- read more

Ignatieff Slams MIA Prime Minister

Posted on: Out of the Shadows
Ignatieff went after the Prime Minister’s absence from both the House and the public scene when it comes to the economy and the value of the economic stimulus contained in the budget. I watched Obama’s press conference last night and found it refreshing to see a politician speaking very frankly about the state of the economy and how he wanted to see it dealt with.

Yes, I know, he was trying to sell a stimulus package which is receiving largely partisan opposition. It was refreshing to hear that opposition being framed not just as partisan game playing but asking the questions and laying out guidelines for what he sees as necessary for the good of the people and the economy and where there is room for bipartisan cooperation and what wont gain traction with him.

The major difference between the leadership of the two countries is that in the US, the leaders recognized and faced the fact that the economy was sliding towards and over the edge while in Canada, the Opposition parties were sounding the alarm while the government was busy telling us that if a recession was going to happen, it would have already taken place.-- read more

Australia Bush Fires Kill Record Number

Posted on: Out of the Shadows
It’s hard to believe the utter devastation that bush fires in the state of Victoria in Australia has wrought. Almost 800 homes have been destroyed, countless vehicles and other structures, animals and upwards of 160 people and rising have lost their lives. Another 80 are in hospital. Almost 1300 square miles destroyed by raging fires that some describe as sounding like 5 or 6 airliners landing at once.

What is even more mind boggling is that it is believed that some of the estimated 400 fires were deliberately set. According to one report I found, at least two suspects are in custody. Between the drought that Australia has suffered with for months and record hot temperatures, it would take someone with a serious lack of gray matter between the ears to even thinking of striking a flame.-- read more

Monday Again Already?

Posted on: Ides of May
Man, it is hard to believe that another week has flown by again. Last week was busy though. The Legion Executive meeting was on Tuesday evening, I just barely made it in from Oshawa to chair that. Thankfully it wasn’t a long meeting.

Wednesday I spent most of the day cooking the meat for Friday night’s Roast Beef dinner at the branch. The roasts were about 25lbs each. I figured about 4 - 4.5 hours to get them done, putting them on at about 9:30 figuring on getting them out around 1pm and having time to slip into Cobourg to do some errands.

At noon the meat thermometer barely moved, so, I headed into Cobourg and did my errands. Back by 3pm, the roasts were done. All of Friday was spent at the branch helping to prepare the rest of the dinner. Back around 6am on Saturday to get breakfast for about 35 people underway. -- read more

Palin Finds Bloggers “Pathetic”

Posted on: Out of the Shadows
Sarah Palin, the failed American Vice-Presidential candidate, rails against “anonymous, pathetic bloggers” in an about to be released interview with Esquire magazine. In general she thinks that the media coverage of her was unfair.

From what I saw of the media coverage, I thought they were being as fair as they could to her. When someone is basically dumb and then produces behaviour to prove it, the media could have had a field day, but for the most part, they were pretty respectful. -- read more

Ignatieff Allows Protest Vote

Posted on: Out of the Shadows
In the first test of his leadership, Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff has allowed a protest vote from six Newfoundland MPs. He’s drawn some criticism for having done so but since some of the sources are hacks like Tom Flanagan, a buddy of Harper, I don’t put a lot of stock in the criticism.

For some, the question is how can this be a one time exception? What happens next time Danny Williams brings pressure to bear?

If Ignatieff wants to set himself out as a reasoned alternative to Harper, he might want to rethink the ‘one time’ concept. He may want to giving some serious consideration to serving notice on Harper that punitive moves on any region of this country will resulting in him allowing protest votes from Liberal MPs in that region. -- read more

Cooler Heads Need to Prevail in Trade Issues

Posted on: Out of the Shadows
OK, so US lawmakers have slipped in some “buy American” provisions into the stimulus bill that President Obama is trying to get passed into law. I expect that the people who had those provisions put into the package had the best of intentions towards the thousands (millions?) of Americans currently seeking work or on the verge of losing jobs.

In many ways the policy makes a lot of sense, when the people closest to you are hurting, why wouldn’t you want to move to give them a hand up? In fact, it is a bit hard to believe that any government wouldn’t have that approach as a first line of purchasing, buying from domestic sources if at all possible or even if it might cost the taxpayer a bit more in the long run. After all those firms don’t only pay taxes, they employ people who pay taxes. -- read more

Making Something New Again

Posted on: Ides of May
Monday was a pretty productive day for me. I was able to spend most of the day finishing off tweaking the new look for this blog and then revamped It’s All About Money for a relaunch. There are still a few tweaks but then doesn’t any blog need a few tweaks. Right now, it is more important for me to get content into it.

While Ides of May (this blog) is where I right more personal material, It’s All About Money is where I share the online experience, specifically about online marketing. I have three other blogs that I’m planning on revamping and relaunching in the coming weeks. Yeah, I know, I have to be nuts -- read more

The Sun Shines Today — finally

Posted on: Ides of May
Well, at the moment, the sun is out shining brightly. That is much nicer than what has been going on for what seems like the last week. Last Wednesday we had about a foot of snow in an all day snow fall.

Thursday we were supposed to get some ‘flurries’ which turned into about another foot of snow. Friday started off with flurries, just long enough to force me to cancel plans to attend a funeral and then settled down. Saturday more flurries brought another 6-7″ of the damn white stuff.

So far this winter, we’re only two months into it, we’ve had more snow than we had all of last winter and that was considered to be a high amount. February is not known for being light on snow. So, we have February and March to get through. -- read more

Conviction for Aiding Mountie Killer

Posted on: Out of the Shadows
The friday headline refers to ‘harsh’ sentences being meted out to two men convicted of aiding James Roszko in the murder of four RCMP officers in Mayerthorpe, Alberta in 2004. I’d hardly call the sentences harsh.

The two men, related by marriage, provided Roszko a gun and a ride that took him back to his farm and allowed him to murder the four RCMP officers who were guarding it. They knew he was a cop hater, they knew he was violent, they claim he bullied them into helping. -- read more

We Shall Remember Sapper Greenfield

They shall grow not old, as we who are left grow old
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn
At the going down of the sun, and in the morning
We will remember them

In memory of our fallen Canadian:

Sapper Sean David Greenfield - Afghanistan January 31, 2009

Always Caring — Always Canadian — Never Defeated

Support Our Troops — Wear Red on Fridays

Actions Mightier Than Military Might

Posted on: Out of the Shadows
Remember earlier last November the savage attack on school girls in Afghanistan as they made their way to school? Men on motorcycles sprayed acid on the girls as they walked to school, seriously hurting one of them. It is believed that the attack was launched by the Taliban in an effort to stop girls from attending school.

Since then eight men have been rounded up and at least one of them has confessed. The attack sparked outrage in Afghanistan and around the world for the viciousness. In the days following the attack attendance at schools, especially for girls fell off. The young girl who was so badly injured spoke out that she was determined to return to school, that the attack was not going to stop her. -- read more

My Canada includes “O Canada”

Posted on: Out of the Shadows
The principal at the Belleisle Elementary School in Springfield, New Brunswick pulled the daily singing of “O Canada” at the start of the 2007 school year. This has recently come to light as the result of a letter to a local paper. Many, if not most of the parents, were unaware of the decision by Erik Millet.

He claims that a couple of parents complained and in the spirit of accommodation and inclusiveness, he cancelled the singing for everyone. They do still sing the anthem at school assemblies. He hasn’t divulged why the alleged parents complained which has led to considerable speculation by people commenting on news stories of the controversy. -- read more

Layton Kills Coalition

Posted on: Out of The Shadows
The coalition between the Liberals and NDP with the support of the Bloc is dead, killed by Layton. Layton’s behaviour leading up to and since the budget was delivered to the House has done nothing except prove what Harper’s Conservatives claimed that he was after, a power grab. For the Liberals to quickly fall in line behind Layton’s desires would be political suicide.

The difference between Ignatieff’s Liberals and Layton’s NDP is that they have and can form a government. Layton can only get there on the backs of the Liberals and he knows it. Had he truly been wanting to do what was right for the Canadian people, he’d have kept his mouth shut prior to the budget and taken a wait and see approach. -- read more

Government Will Survive

Posted on: Out of the Shadows
Well the budget has been read, what hadn’t already been ‘leaked’ is now known. Ignatieff and his caucuse has had time to review it and made the call on if the government will stand, for now.

From what I saw of the tax cuts, they have hit some areas where tax relief should be like low income earners and seniors. The cuts for the middle income people was more about Conservative idealogy and vote buying than any true benefit. While middle income earners will save a bit (and I do mean a bit) on their income taxes each year, that collective ‘bit’ will mean we stay in deficit longer. -- read more

The Gaza Debate

Posted on: Out of the Shadows
You know, I’ve watched this situation in the Gaza strip going on. I can be some what detached from it all as I don’t have any direct connection to either side of the conflict other than it being in the area of the Holy Land which is where the roots of my own faith are.

I don’t even begin to understand all that goes on there other than the emnity and hatred on both sides runs deep. I expect that just as there are those on both sides of the divide who believe the other side is absolutely the agressors there are those of goodwill who mere want to live their lives in peace. -- read more

Parliament Opens, Let the Games Begin

Posted on: Out of the Shadows
Well, parliament has reopened without a lot of pomp and circumstance. The lack of show was more due to the frigid cold than any austerity move. I’ve been in Ottawa and around the Hill this time of year, it is VERY cold there. The throne speech, written by the government and delivered by the Governor General, was relatively brief as throne speeches go.

The big news of the day wasn’t really the throne speech anyways. The bigger news is the budget that will be delivered tomorrow. Many of the details of the budget has been ‘leaked’, although when the leaking gets done by government officials and ministers, that is deliberate. -- read more

New Year, New Look

Posted on: Ides of May
Finally getting around to paying attention to my blogs. You may notice that I’ve just put a new look on this blog using a theme that I found on 50 Beautiful Free WordPress Themes. I found that link from a tweep on Twitter. Are you following me on Twitter yet?

The theme at this point is right out of the box. I have some tweaks I want to do to it yet to make it more ‘me’ but I like the overall look for this blog. This blog is sort of a notebook of my life so the theme just called to me to put it to use. Right now it is more important that I actually put some content into the blog than to just play with the esthetics. -- read more

Budget Time Approaching

Posted on: Out of the Shadows
All eyes will be on Ottawa for the next few days leading up to Tuesday’s budget reading. It’s been a bit of an odd path to this budget. First we had an election that Harper called because he claimed that Parliament had become dysfunctional, which was true but largely because he and his people chose to make it so.

During that election, Harper either was blind to the fact that an economic tsunami was bearing down on the world or was deluded enough to actually believe that it would miraculously wash itself around Canada while engulfing our largest trading partner, the USA. He belittled the opposition when they spoke of the need to take immediate measures to offset the coming storm. He did note however that the stock market meltdown that was underway did provide some excellent buying opportunities. He didn’t seem to notice that those losing their shirt to create those opportunities, included Canadians. -- read more

Prime Minister is Not Directly Elected

Posted on: Out of the Shadows
Next week Parliament will once more resume, the second time since the October 14th election. The first sitting lasted a matter of days before Harper’s lapdog Flaherty aka the Finance Minister made an economic statement that accomplished nothing else except getting the three opposition parties talking to each other in a serious way.

Oh, it also brought about a very swift transition of power for the Liberals as Dion left and Ignatieff was installed as leader. He will have to be confirmed as leader at their convention in May but at the rate things are moving, that will be a rubber stamp. Flaherty’s statement provoked the three opposition parties to put together an agreement to form a coalition government to propose to the Governor-General after they had brought down the government on a vote of non-confidence. -- read more

Obama Takes the Reigns

Posted on: Out of the Shadows
I started this post yesterday but my site went down, then I had to go to work and time shifted by until yesterday’s post is now today’s. c’est la vie!

Well, the world watched as Obama took the oath of office to become the 44th American President. I don’t normally follow American politics beyond the most basic information. The Americans are after all, the next door neighbour to my own country and what happens there has an effect on Canada. Do I hang on their every sneeze, no, as small as our little boys in Ottawa are, they are the ones who truly impact my life.

I watched fascinated and almost unable to believe what I was watching as the first black American took the reigns of power. I’ve said it before in these pages, I never ever thought it would be possible for that to happen in the USA of all places in my life time. This man is a man like no other, of any colour. -- read more

Debt Related Deaths

Posted on: Out of the Shadows
I’ve been watching the reports out of Quebec about the family that parents allegedly formed a suicide pact after killing their three children. While the husband died, the wife survived and is now charged with three counts of murder and one of assisted suicide.

Having experienced depression myself, I can understand someone reaching their breaking point. I have to stop short of understanding what drives a person not to have enough of the will to survive to reach for help but it is not impossible to understand that depth of depression. -- read more