The View Ahead for 2008

Post on: Your Money and YOU
The year almost past has been turbulent to say the least. In the Canadian province of Ontario that I live in, thousands have lost or will soon be losing their jobs due to a slowing economy. Factors outside the province have contributed to this. The rising Canadian dollar against the weakness of the American dollar, the collapse of the subprime market in the US which is setting off alarm bells around the world. Economic forecasts for 2008 is that credit markets around the world will tighten. Some more than others. -- read more

Who Killed Bhutto?

Posted on: Out of the Shadows
Much of Pakistan remains restive today, three days after the death of Benazir Bhutto. The government of Pakistan has pointed the finger of blame at Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud, a 34 year old pro-Taliban militant reported to have thousands of foot soldiers at his command as well as trained suicide bombers. The government claims to have intercepted a call between Mehsud and Maulvi Sahib aka Mr Cleric in which the two discuss and congratulate each other on the assassination. -- read more

What Motivates You?

Posted on: It's About Motivation
Being three days before New Year 2008 it seems fitting that this is the first post to a new blog. This blog will be about motivation and its various aspects. What drives you? What stirs up motivation, passion, desire to succeed or to change in some way? Self understanding is often the first step towards changing, growing, evolving.

This is an appropriate year for me to start this blog. The year 2008 contains the birthday for me that marks my first half century of wandering around in this life. It seems to me that I need to turn it into the year when I decide what I want to do when I grow up and then seriously work in that direction.. -- read more

Learning to Appreciate My Computer

Posted on: Ides of May
It’s human nature to not truly appreciate the value of something until we’re denied either in part or in full it’s presence in our lives. The last couple of weeks, I’ve been learning that about my computer. It is easy to be complacent about the use of it, the instant access it gives me to the internet and the data I store on it. I could even say I was somewhat smug about the fact that I had a desktop sitting idle while I used my laptop as my primary system. I wouldn’t be without my computer, one way or the other. -- read more

Was Bhutto A Democratic Champion?

Posted on: Out of the Shadows
As Benazir Bhutto’s body is buried in Sindh, her home province, it appears her spirit has gone on a rampage across Pakistan. People across the country have lashed out violently at the loss of one they placed their hopes of democracy in. Bhutto was seen by her supporters as someone who could lead Pakistan to become a full democracy, as an effective opposition to the increasing anarchy under Musharraf. -- read more

Bhutto Reported Assassinated

Posted on: Out of the Shadows
Having escaped injury or death in a suicide bombing attack in October on a parade celebrating her return to Pakistan from exile Benazir Bhutto, has been assassinated. Reports from Pakistan indicate that Bhutto was shot in the chest and neck as the entered a vehicle following a rally in Rawalpindi. The attacker then blew himself up killing up to 20 others. Bhutto died a short time later at a local hospital.

Twice Prime Minister of Pakistan, she was the first female elected to lead a post-colonial Muslim state. Both of her tenures were ended by the Pakistani President of the time on charges of corruption. In 1998 she went into exile in Dubai until her return to Pakistan in October. She was running in the Pakistani elections due to be held January 8th. -- read more

Christmas Day

Posted on: Ides of May
Well, it is Christmas today. For the most part it is not a day I particularly care for but, like the other 364 days in the year, it will roll around regardless of my opinion of it. So, well others are busy doing their thing and making whatever merry they want, I’m cocooning into my house, listening to the quiet as I tinker at bits and pieces of house work, updating some badly neglected blogs, including this one and maybe even reading some of that email archived in my inbox. -- read more

Oscar Peterson RIP

Posted on: Out of the Shadows
A legend of jazz music, Canadian Oscar Peterson, has died at the age of 82. Peterson was born in Montreal on August 15, 1925 to immigrant parents. He started his musical life at the age of 5 playing the trumpet and the piano. After his lungs became damaged due to tuberculosis he focused on playing piano. His friends and fellow musicians include jazz greats like Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, Nat King Cole, Louis Armstrong and Charlie Parker. -- read more

Are Tasers Dangerous?

Posted on: Out of the Shadows
After several high profile deaths following being tasered, questions about the taser’s role in the death continue to be debated. Originally tasers were meant to be an alternative to lethal force. Those situations where either the suspect or others were in imminent danger of death or injury yet police couldn’t readily move in to subdue the person. -- read more

Schreiber Talks to Committee

Posted on: Out of the Shadows
One of the most difficult things to determine when Karlheinz Schreiber opens is his mouth is the question -- is he hoodwinking us into letting him stay in this country or ripping the lid off the seedier side of Mulroney’s days in office? My suspicion is that we’re getting a bit of both.

Schreiber is a showman, that is pretty clear. However, so is Mulroney which really leaves this whole developing soap opera worthy of several seasons worth of juicy material before it goes into reruns... oops... this isn’t a soap opera, it’s happening in real time. -- read more

Drunk Faces Dangerous Offender Designation

Posted on: Out of the Shadows
An Alberta man is facing becoming a dangerous offender, for chronic drunk driving. If the Crown is successful, he will become the first in Canada to be so designated. The man had three previous drunk driving convictions prior to stealing a pickup truck in 2006 and slamming head on into a vehicle containing a mother and three children, all of who died. He was driving while under suspension at the time and just prior to the collision police had tried to stop him. He sped away from police, lost control and slammed into his victim’s vehicle. -- read more

Dion Talking Election

Posted on: Out of the Shadows
After weeks of abstaining from votes in the House of Commons and being the butt of derision from the Conservatives Liberal leader Stephane Dion is now indicating a federal election could come as soon as February. Something must have happened that I totally missed, not that it takes much for me to miss things.

A month or so ago, Dion was willing to take one for the team of the Canadian public knowing that we just didn’t another election so soon. This was a really good thing for several reasons, not the least of them being, Dion couldn’t look much higher than his toes and really was clueless as to what would make Canadians vote for him. Maybe he found his knees to contemplate. -- read more

Cabinet Minister at Public Trough

Posted on: Out of the Shadows
The Labour Minister Jean-Pierre Blackburn has been using a private jet to travel from Ottawa to his riding of Jonquiere-Alma in Quebec. In order to hide his largesse, he’s been billing the flights to the Economic Development Agency of Canada which comes under his area of responsibility. The 14 flights he took between April and August 2006 cost a total of $68,000. Several of the flights originated in Ottawa on Friday and returned on Monday. -- read more

Canadian Woman First to Serve at Afghan Police Substation

Posted on: Out of the Shadows
Increasingly the Taliban have taken to dressing up as women or forcing women to carry weapons for them through police checkpoints in Afghanistan. Afghani police, who are male, on the checkpoints are prohibited from searching women. The search would go against their cultural norms. Women are still largely clothed in burkas which hides their identities and are baggy enough that arms and explosives can be hidden underneath.This situation allows the Taliban free movement past checkpoints. -- read more

Growing Concerns Over Tasers

Posted on: Out of the Shadows
On October 14th RCMP in British Columbia hit a man twice with tasers to subdue him and instead killed him. Video of the incident showed the last 10 minutes of the man’s life. The man had spent several hours in a secured area of the airport, growing increasingly agitated. Four officers arrived on the scene and within moments of approaching him tasered him twice. -- read more

Mulroney Gets His Probe

Posted on: Out of the Shadows
Prime Minister Harper has done what he really has been left with little choice to do, he’s called a full public inquiry into Mulroney, the Airbus affair and Schreiber’s dealings with him. It isn’t that Harper had any suggested involvement in the affair that likely led him to initially try to avoid any inquiry at all.

Harper isn’t stupid, he realizes the optics of a public inquiry into a Conservative Prime Minister is not going to strengthen his position as "Mr Clean". Even though Paul Martin was exonerated by Gomery of any involvement in the Liberal scandals, Harper rode the optics of a ‘corrupt party’ in government to gain himself a minority government. -- read more

Lying Brian Surfaces Again

Posted on: Out of the Shadows
Brian Mulroney was probably one of the least popular Prime Ministers this country has ever had. Many of his critics, and there were many, referred to him as ‘lying Brian’. My late father, a to the core Conservative, was among those who reviled Mulroney. He would often say that the only time Mulroney told the truth was when his mouth was shut. During his final days in office and to this day questions have swirled about his honesty and integrity. -- read more

Dion Needs to Aim Higher Than His Foot

Posted on: Out of the Shadows
On Tuesday, Flaherty, the Minister of Finance announced some tax measure in what amounted to a mini-budget. He announced tax cuts, some of which we would have already been enjoying if the Liberals had been elected. He implemented the tax cut for lower income Canadians that the Liberals had set and the Conservatives canceled when they came to power. Flaherty also announced another 1% cut to the GST which fulfills a campaign promise the Conservatives had made and the measure where Dion is shooting himself in the foot. -- read more

Votes at Risk in Rural Canada

Posted on: Out of the Shadows
There are about 1 million Canadians who use a post office box as their primary mailing address. I happen to be one of them. Under the changes to the Elections Act passed last summer I have to either show up at the poll with photo ID or two pieces of identification, one of which shows my civic address. A post office box is not acceptable. -- read more

Afghan Poll Shows Foreign Troops Welcome

Posted on: Out of the Shadows
A public opinion poll was carried out in Afghanistan in September. Now, that is a pretty run of the mill matter in Canada, we get inundated with phone calls for polls for one thing or another on a regular basis. In Afghanistan there are no large scale databases to randomly survey the population and often no phones or lines to call people on if there was. Then there are the cultural issues, like women need to talk to women and men to men. One tribe wont always respond to another and so on. -- read more

The Truth About Canada’s Mission in Afghanistan

Posted on: Out of the Shadows
A column in today’s Edmonton Sun is one of the best ones I’ve read about Afghanistan and Canada’s role there. The writer, Michael den Tandt, explores the non-combat roles that the combat forces enable in Afghanistan as well as why the Canadian public is not more aware of those roles. -- read more

Chretien Attacks Martin in His Book

Posted on: Out of the Shadows
Former Prime Minister Jean Chretien has come out swinging at former Prime Minister Paul Martin in his newly released book, "My Years as Prime Minister". The two men at one time appeared to form a powerful pair in Ottawa during Chretien’s time in office. Martin as finance minister won international respect for making hard decisions which brought Canada’s soaring deficit under control and in recent years has produced surpluses. Chretien as Prime Minister backed his finance minister’s moves. -- read more

Harper Appoints Afghanistan Panel

Posted on: Out of the Shadows
In a shrewd, albeit calculating, move on Friday Harper appointed a five person panel to explore our future role in Afghanistan at the end of the current February 2009 mission mandate. The panel is to be headed up by John Manley, former deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs during Jean Chretien’s time in office. While not officially in political life anymore, Manley remains a staunch Liberal. -- read more

Ontario Elects Liberal Majority - MMP Defeated

Posted at: Out of the Shadows
Ontario has voted and returned the Liberals led by McGuinty to the Ontario Legislature. John Tory of the Conservatives went down to defeat not only from the position of Premier of the Province but failed to win in his own riding. One of the lowest voter turnout in Ontario’s history voted down the MMP referendum which I’m happy to see go down. I just wish that more Ontarians had felt the need to add their voice to the referendum. -- read more

Aid & Combat Interconnected in Afghanistan

Posted at: Out of the Shadows
In Afghanistan’s volatile south, where Canadian troops operate, aid and reconstruction can’t take place without the area being secured by troops who need to flush out and engage the Taliban. Ongoing security has to be provided before any aid groups can operate in these areas. The Taliban will infiltrate back to an area thought to be cleared and undertake a campaign of threats and harassment of aid workers, especially Afghani’s. -- read more

Afghanistan Debate

Posted at: Out of the Shadows
I’m going to say right at the outset here. I support our troops and their mission in Afghanistan. I grow weary and increasingly disgusted by the politicalization of the mission. Politicians hunting for votes and talking points to oppose another party rather than truly hunting down what is the right thing to do. -- read more

We Will Remember Him

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:

Cpl. Nathan Hornburg -- Afghanistan September 25, 2007

Always Caring -- Always Canadian -- Never Defeated

Support Our Troops -- Wear Red on Fridays

Ontario’s Election is Rapidly Approaching

Posted at: Out of the Shadows
In roughly 10 days Ontario will vote. We’ll either retain McGuinty for the Liberals as Premier or give someone like Tory for the Progressive Conservatives or Hampton of the NDP a shot at the helm. The polls at this point seem to be unsure if we’re looking at a majority or minority government. -- read more

Crackdown in Burma

Posted on: Out of the Shadows
The world the last few days has been focusing some attention onto the protests going on in Burma (officially known as Myanmar). The protests started back in August after the military junta which rules the country excessively hiked gas prices. They gained momentum during the last two weeks as Buddhist monks have marched peacefully through the streets. The monks came out into the streets after security forces fired towards a group of monks and then refused to apologize.

As the monks turned out on the streets in growing numbers over several days civilians became emboldened and started to join them. The Economist has written an excellent backgrounder on the country and what has led up to the current situation. Inexplicably, security forces made no move in the early days of the monks marching to inhibit their movement. There is some speculation that parts of the military were sympathetic towards the monks. -- read more

Japanese Journalist’s Death in Burma

Swastika Like Barracks to Get Makeover - Video

Tory Getting Rough Ride on School Funding

Posted on: Out of the Shadows
The Canadian Civil Liberties Association is the latest group to come out against Provincial Conservative John Tory’s pledge to fully fund all religious schools if he is elected Premier on October 10th. The Association calls for an end to the funding of Catholic separate schools. The move, if any politician was brave enough to back it, would be gutsy but likely political suicide. -- read more

I Oppose Mixed Member Proportional Voting

Posted on: Out of the Shadows
On October 10th Ontarians will be asked not only to elect their government for the next four years but to vote on whether to change our current first past the post system of elections to one called mixed member proportional. We will have two votes that day, one for each.

I’ve spent some time reading a range of websites on the subject of the referendum. One of the frustrations I’ve had with the first past the post system has been that my one vote determines both local candidate and premier. In many cases the local is preferred but the leader isn’t or vice versa. Election day means determining which is my stronger preference. -- read more

French Soldier Killed in Afghanistan

Bin Laden Threatens Shiite Muslims

Questions Raised Over Northern Rock

UN Extends NATO’s Afghan Mandate

Bin Laden Declares War on Pakistan

Archbishop of Canterbury to Meet with US Church

Bank of England Stands Ground

Harper & Bush Meet

Anti-Taliban Operation Underway

Suicide Bomber Kills 8 in Afghanistan

We Will Remember Him

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:

Maj. Raymond Ruckpaul -- Afghanistan August 29, 2007

Always Caring -- Always Canadian -- Never Defeated

Support Our Troops -- Wear Red on Fridays

We Will Remember Them

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 Canadians:

Mst WO Mario Mercier -- Afghanistan August 22, 2007
Mst Cpl Christian Duschesne -- Afghanistan August 22, 2007

Always Caring -- Always Canadian -- Never Defeated

Support Our Troops -- Wear Red on Fridays

We Will Remember Him

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:

Pte. Simon Longtin -- Afghanistan August 19, 2007

Always Caring -- Always Canadian -- Never Defeated

Support Our Troops -- Wear Red on Fridays

O’Connor Heading for the Door?

Posted at: Out of the Shadows
Rumour has it that Gordon O’Connor, the lameduck Canadian Defence Minister is due to be shuffled out the door. That move is long overdue. How the guy made it to Brigadier-General during his days in the military is beyond me. Although, I suspect that his biggest gaffe as Minister of Defence is that he forgets he doesn’t command the troops and has failed to consult with the Chief of Defence General Rick Hillier. He likely needs to remember that ego doesn’t a minister make. ...read post

Controversy Over Doc’s Article

Posted at: Out of the Shadows
The July/August edition of Mother Jones, an independent publication, carried a piece by Dr. Kevin Patterson entitled "Talk to Me Like My Father: Frontline Medicine in Afghanistan". It is a 7,000 word piece about the time he spent serving in the base hospital in Kandahar, a Canadian civilian doctor on contract to the military. ....read post

Tightfisted Canucks Need Tipping Etiquette

Posted on: Your Money & YOU!
A recent study by the Bank of Montreal claims that Canadians tend to be tightfisted when it comes to tipping. The study seems to indicate that the problem is more a lack of understanding of who to tip and how much than truly being tightfisted with their money.

I generally tip in restaurants and when I get my hair cut but never would think of tipping in other situations. The site, The Original Tipping Page, carries a list of situations and common guidelines on how to determine tips. ... read more

Archbishop of York Speaks Out

Posted at: Ides of May
In a flurry of huffing and puffing following the distribution of invitations to the 2008 Lambeth conference in May, some bishops, particularly those in the so called Global South have declared they will not be accepting their invitations if some of their allies weren’t invited. I’ve watched this childishness going on and wondered when it would dawn on the stuffed shirts that if they remain outside the Anglican Communion tent they claim ownership to that they loose their voice in their efforts to push others out of the tent. ...read post

US Military Might be Catching a Clue

Post at: Out of the Shadows
One of the problems with have a strong level of confidence of who you are is that instead of carrying that awareness with humility there can be a tendency to want to carry a big stick to make sure that no one dares to challenge your confidence. So it has been with the US for a long time. They have consistently blundered into situations with an attitude of ‘we are the superpower and we will be obeyed’ which only serves to seriously blur the line between being confident and being arrogant bullies. ...read post

Watch Those Kids Online!

The Toronto Star today reports that the popular website Myspace has revealed that they have 29,000 registered sex offenders as registered users on the site. You really want to be keeping an eye on who your kids are ‘chatting’ with.

Dangerous Pedophile Gets Life

Post on: Out of the Shadows
Peter Whitmore, a man (and I use that term loosely) with a long history of sexual offenses against young children has been allowed to accept a deal where he accepts a life sentence in return for the Crown not pursuing a dangerous offender designation. Under the designation it would be 25 years before Whitmore could apply for parole -- with a life sentence, he can apply in 7 years.

His most recent victims are 10 and 14 years of age. His depraved attacks on them after abducting them from their families last year has left the boys and their families deeply emotionally wounded. One only needs to read their impact statements to give a glimmer of how deeply. ...read post

Black and the Order of Canada

Post on: Out of the Shadows
As it stands right now, Conrad Black has been convicted of four of the thirteen charges the American government brought against him. The most serious charge being obstruction of justice. He could spend up to thirty years in prison on those charges. Most of the attention on this case has been because Black is a big name which has been brought down by his own sense of entitlement and arrogance, his sense of being an untouchable. read post..

VanDoos Begin Deployment to Afghanistan

Post on: Out of the Shadows
Members of the famed VanDoos, the Royal 22nd Regiment, based in Valcartier, Quebec have begun their deployment to Afghanistan. It is the regiment’s turn to take up Canada’s mission in Afghanistan. The men deploying there have all volunteered, by all accounts they are looking forward to taking part in this mission.

They also hail from the province where opposition to the mission in Afghanistan is the highest in the country. This is nothing new for Quebecors, they have been loath to take part in any war that Canada has been engaged in. I can’t say that this ongoing attitude in that province particularly endears them to me. ... read post

Flying the Red Ensign

Posted on: Out of the Shadows
A couple of days ago, Senator Romeo Dallaire spoke out decrying the flying of the Red Ensign on a regular basis at the Vimy Memorial. Back in March when the discussion about the flying of the Red Ensign at the commemoration ceremonies for the Battle of Vimy Ridge, I agreed that the Red Ensign should fly during that time. It was a time to honour those who fought the battle, those who died and those who survived. They had served under the Red Ensign and honour should be rendered to them with that flag flying. ...more

Along the Highway of Heroes

Post on: Out of the Shadows
Last night, hundreds if not thousands of Canadians from Trenton to Toronto along Highway 401 put aside any differences they might have about Canada’s mission in Afghanistan to turn out in honour of our fallen heroes. Every young Canadian who has returned home in a casket since the mission started in 2002 has taken this same route, landing at CFB Trenton to be received by their family and their comrades in arms and then taken by motorcade with their family to Toronto ....more

We Will Remember Them

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:

Capt. Matthew Dawe -- Afghanistan July 4, 2007
Master Cpl. Colin Bason -- Afghanistan July 4, 2007
Cpl. Cole Bartsch -- Afghanistan July 4, 2007
Pte. Lane Watkins -- Afghanistan July 4, 2007
Cpl. Jordan Anderson -- Afghanistan July 4, 2007
Capt. Jefferson Francis -- Afghanistan July 4, 2007

Always Caring -- Always Canadian -- Never Defeated

Support Our Troops -- Wear Red on Fridays

Respect For Our Fallen — Not Political Gamesmanship

Posted on: Out of the Shadows
This last week has made me extremely glad I am not a resident of the City of Toronto. As three young Canadians, including one from Scarborough, were giving their lives in service to this country the boys and girls who are supposed to be in service to the people of Toronto were voting on whether to leave the ribbon decals on the emergency vehicles or not.

Sunday night, when those three young men were returned to Canada, firefighters were called off the bridges in Toronto just in time to stop them from paying their respects. Fire Chief Bill Stewart calls the decision a matter of ‘public safety’. That is a crock of the highest odour available. ...more

We Will Remember Them

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:

Cpl. Stephen Bouzane -- Afghanistan June 20, 2007
Pte. Joel Wiebe -- Afghanistan June 20, 2007
Sgt. Christos Karigiannis -- Afghanistan June 20, 2007

Always Caring -- Always Canadian -- Never Defeated

Support Our Troops -- Wear Red on Fridays

Deaths in Afghanistan

Posted on: Out of the Shadows
On the day that their comrade in arms, Trooper Darryl Caswell, was being laid to rest in Bowmanville, Ontario three more young Canadians have met their deaths in Afghanistan. Three more caskets will make their solemn way onto a transport plane for the journey to Trenton, Ontario, just east of me. Three more families will wait heartbroken on the tarmac in Trenton as their fallen family member is returned home. ....more

We Will Remember Him

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:

Tpr Darryl Caswell -- Afghanistan June 11, 2007

Always Caring -- Always Canadian -- Never Defeated

Support Our Troops -- Wear Red on Fridays

Smog Has a Hundred Year Old History

Post on: Out of the Shadows
Most Canadians would think of smog and smog days as something that originated in the late 20th century. In fact, the term ’smog’ was coined back in 1905. Back then Dr. Henry Antoine Des Voeux delivered a paper to the Public Health Congress in London, England about the air in London. He noted there was a health threat inherent in urban living due to the pervasive presence of a "smokey fog" or "smog"

Canadian Passport System to be Simplified

Post on: Out of the Shadows
Now that our American neighbours have decreed that Canadians will be required to have passports to enter the US likely by 2008 (air passengers into the US are required to have them now) the Canadian government is experiencing a backlog of passport applications. The response is to ’streamline’ the system by changing the requirements to make the process easier.

Mosque Rigidity

Posted on: Out of the Shadows
Sadia Zaman, award winning journalist and broadcaster currently Director of In House Productions for Vision TV, has written an interesting piece in the Toronto Star today. We need articles like hers to remind us occasionally that not withstanding the awareness of Muslims which we see on our TV screens, usually via the media, there is a diversity of beliefs and views within their faith.

Don’t Expect Spam to Change

Posted on: Out of the Shadows
US authorities are busy high fiving themselves over the arrest of Robert Alan Soloway who is reportedly one of the world’s top spammers. A federal grand jury last week returned a 35-count indictment against Soloway, charging him with mail fraud, wire fraud, e-mail fraud, aggravated identity theft and money laundering.

We Will Remember Him

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:

Master Cpl Darrell Priede -- Afghanistan May 30, 2007

Always Caring -- Always Canadian -- Never Defeated

Support Our Troops -- Wear Red on Fridays

We Will Remember Him

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:

Cpl Matthew McCully --Afghanistan May 25, 2007

Always Caring — Always Canadian — Never Defeated

Support Our Troops — Wear Red on Fridays

Full Posts on Front Page

Posted on: Out of the Shadows
I just spent a couple of hours going back through my archives and discovering that March 2007 and later postings have been mostly truncated where I had inserted the break on the front page of the blog. When you put a lot of thought into the articles you write it is disheartening to discover that a lot of them have been truncated.

Biggest Ottawa Vacancy

Posted on: Out of the Shadows
I happened to take some time to do some wandering into corners of the Toronto Star website I don’t normally explore today and found this little gem. It is on their Political Notebook page. The writer notes that as busy as the pundits and political strategists have been over the problems of Stephane Dion’s leadership they have missed the root issue, I quote from the piece:

Progress in Afghanistan

Posted on: Out of the Shadows
In a media that is often pessimistic about the war in Afghanistan, it is refreshing to read some material which talks about some of the progress being made in that country. Rosie Dimanno is a Toronto Star reporter currently embedded with our troops in Afghanistan. In her column today she talks about the lack of support the Taliban have and how the security situation is improving.

Creating a Successful Site Review Blog

Posted on: It's All About Money
Many People write blogs specifically to make money off of their content with ppc ads all optimized and such around their blog. Don’t get me wrong, this kind of thing works, and probably will not stop working for as long as the internet exists. Now there seems to be a new way to make money blogging.

Traitor Wins Flip-Flop Crown!

Posted on: Out of the Shadows
Well, just as I was nicely celebrating the exit from Ottawa of one of the band of traitors taking up space in our House of Commons, the door didn’t have time to close on his rump before Duceppe about faced and ran back. Fleeing preliminary polls in his home province which indicated low support for him as leader of the Parti Quebecois, the provincial version of the federal band of traitors.

Making Profits With Forums

Posted on: It's All About Money
You just have to type in "forums" on your favorite search engine and see the result for yourself. It would give you some idea of the popularity of online forums. And it is not just about any specific forum. You type in "Business Forums", "Marketing Forums", "Network Marketing Forums" or any other variation and see thousands of results being displayed.

Van Doos Prepare for Afghanistan

Posted on: Out of the Shadows
The famous Royal 22nd Regiment based in Valcartier, Quebec are undergoing final training and preparations for deployment to Afghanistan this summer for the next rotation of Canadian troops. While the regiment is prepared and looking forward to taking a turn on the mission which has seen the first Canadian combat deaths in over 50 years, the political mills are abuzz.

One Less Traitor in Ottawa

Posted on: Out of the Shadows
Gille Duceppe, leader of the Bloc Quebecois in the House of Commons aka the Gang of Traitors has decided to resign as leader in order to run for leadership of the sovereignist Parti Quebecois, the Quebec provincial party bent on taking that province out of Canada. Duceppe is an excellent politician and if not a traitor to the country, he would have made true leadership material for this country, something we are badly in need of.

The Top 77 Blog Newbie Mistakes

Posted at: It's All About Money
Josh over at Time for Blogging has an interesting post on the Top 77 Mistakes New Bloggers Make. He’s compiled them from his experience and observations. Most of them are pretty self evident while some I’ve never really thought about. Of course, that is the easiest way of making mistakes, not thinking through your actions.

State Funeral Unlikely

Posted at: Out of the Shadows
The family of Dwight Wilson has appealed for privacy as they prepare to bury their patriarch who was one of two remaining Canadian veterans of World War One. His death yesterday leaves one survivor, John Babcock of Spokane, Washington, who has been an American citizen for 60 years. Mr Wilson will have a private family funeral with military honours which pretty much eliminates a state funeral for the last surviving WW1 veteran.

Why You’re Ebay Business Is Doomed If You Only Focus On The Lowest Price

Posted on: It's All About Money
If you really want to become a successful eBay seller, meaning that you want eBay to be a real business for you instead of just a hobby or a way for you to clean the clutter out of your house, you’re going to need to make a shift in the way you sell on eBay.

Most people will sell anything on eBay that they can find as long it can make them money (and sometimes even if it won’t).

Then there was ONE - Canadian WW1 Veteran Dwight Wilson Dies

Posted on: Out of the Shadows
Dwight Wilson, one of two remaining Canadian World War 1 veterans, died today at the age of 106. The other WW1 Canadian veteran has resided in the US since the 40’s. There is no word yet if the Canadian government is going to hold a state funeral for Mr Wilson.

Making Copywriting And Seo Coexist

Posted on: It's All About Money
When it comes to making sales on the Internet, it seems that copywriters and search engine optimization experts are always at odds with each other.

You see, one group wants the sales letter to be absolutely perfect to make maximum sales, and the other group wants the page to be optimized perfectly for the search engines to send free traffic their way.

Canadian "Spy" Coin Uncovered

Posted on: Out of the Shadows
Last fall American Defense contractors dealing with highly sensitive material while traveling in Canada proved themselves to be extremely alert to the potential diabolical ability of Canadians to commit espionage.

Finding Your Marketing Niche

Posted on: It's All About Money
I got an email from a customer recently with this comment:

“I can’t make any progress with my marketing until I know what my marketing niche is. Until I know who my ideal clients are going to be, I can’t start with my marketing, so I really can’t get any of your products until I’m clear about this.”

How To Make Money With Affiliate Marketing Starting Without Any Money

Posted on: It's All About Money
A lot of beginners who want to start making money on the Internet have limited resources.

Since I’ve been there too, I want to give you a quick guide to making money with affiliate marketing with almost no money. You could do this with nothing, but if you can come up with $20 (check couch cushions – or ask friends), then you can make money faster and set yourself up to succeed long term.

Your Article Resource Box | An Easy Money Making Idea

Posted on: It's All About Money
If you know what article marketing is, then you know your article resource box is the place to make money. The catch is that you only have a small amount of space in which to entice the reader into further action. You must also abide by the submission guidelines of the article directory where you are submitting your article as you entice readers into action. There’s more than one easy money making idea to be taken advantage of with your article resource box.

How To Use Article Marketing To Increase Web Site Traffic For Free

Posted on: It's All About Money
There are many ways to get traffic to your website, but if you know how to use article marketing to increase web site traffic for free then you should be on to a winner in the website traffic stakes.

You only have to consider what article marketing can do for you and it becomes a no brainer. It is such an obvious way to get traffic to your website that even if you cannot write for yourself, then you should employ an article ghostwriter. Just consider what even one article can do for your website, let alone dozens. Let’s have a look at what is involved in writing an article, and what benefits it can give you.

Stacked Felines

Posted on: Ides of May
I have two cats, a thirteen year old half siamese tabby named Cookie and a seven month old part maine coon kitten named Dawn. Part of the siamese half that Cookie acquired is their penchant for being vocal. For several weeks, Cookie has been relatively quiet for her and more demanding of attention than is her norm.

Yesterday, the vocal side of Cookie (seen on the right) returned with avengence. Normally Cookie would take possession of my bed once I vacate it in the morning, burying herself into the covers and sleeping most of the day.

Ontario Opposition 'flicking' Mad

Posted on: Out of the Shadows
The Ontario government’s decision to run an environmental awareness ad aimed at young people playing on their all to often use of the phrase “f*ck off” or “go f*ck yourself” has angered the opposition parties. Personally, I think if that is the worse they can come up with, it’s going to be a really boring election this fall.

Harper is Really Going to Blow It

Posted on: Out of the Shadows
The longer this detainee issue goes on, the worse Harper’s handling of it gets. His unwillingness to admit any error on his part is really making this drag on a lot longer than it needs to. At minimum the Minster of Defense needs to go. Some are hollering for Hillier’s head, well the agreement he worked out initially was not a good agreement, the question is, what was the Chief of Defense doing being authorized to do what should have been handled by either the Minister of Defense of Foreign Affairs?

Tim Horton's For Our Troops

Posted on: Ides of May
Have you been facebooked? That has become an actual term these days, just like googling meaning to search. I’ve been on Facebook.com for a while now, still learning about it. One of the features there is the ability to join groups, there are thousands of them. I came across some today which are support groups for our forces serving Canada in Afghanistan.

Canada and Afghanistan Detainees

Posted on: Out of the Shadows
A month ago I was willing to cut Defense Minister Gordon O’Connor some slack in regards to the treatment of detainees after being turned over to Afghan authorities. I’m not now.

After misleading parliament either deliberately or through sheer ignorance of his own portfolio he traveled to Afghanistan and worked out an agreement with the head of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission, that they would inform Canada of any reports of torture of detainees handed over by Canadian troops.

Afghanistan Update

Posted on: Out of the Shadows
I’ve been back to the ISAF Press Releases page and found the following from April 21-23:

50 women graduate from computer training classes
Fifty young women recently graduated from a 10-month long computer training program held at the Department of Womens’ Affairs. Donations from the HELP Non-Government Organization including teacher’s salaries, fuel, and computer maintenance as well as donations of computers by the Farah Provincial Reconstruction Team made the training possible with no cost to the students.

Resell Rights For Affiliate Marketers

Posted on: It's All About Money
New and intermediate affiliate marketers! Here is something for you! You are free to sell popular software ebooks and video ebooks on the net!

There are many individuals online looking for products, information, software or ebooks to sell. Many are starting home businesses in order to bring in extra income. Often folks join affiliate programs expecting to make extra money, but they begin to realize that they do not control the product or income.

Dion Open to Electoral Reform

Posted on: Out of the Shadows
Apparently as part of Dion’s agreement with Elizabeth May the leader of the Green Party he’s indicated an openness to looking at electoral reform. There isn’t anything wrong with looking at our voting system periodically to consider if the system is fair. Assuming that something needs to be changed is not good though.

Afghanistan Stories We Don't See on the News

Posted on: Out of the Shadows
I started to write an entry here to rail against the Liberals stupidity in demanding a hard deadline on our troops being in the forwarding operational (aka combat) areas in Afghanistan. My anger that they can’t seem to get it that no war is fought on a timetable and without security no rebuilding can happen. Then I went hunting to find out just what has the troops so committed to this mission that politicians are playing partisan politics over when it is the troops who are in harms way.

Walking Challenge - Thursday

Posted on: Ides of May
Well, it is about 3pm on Thursday and at this point in the day, I have only 9k steps for the day. I should be able to easily pass the 10k point but that falls a tad short of the 13-14k I’d like to be at. I’ve spent about 60 minutes in walk in place today.Been working on writing for my blogs today so haven’t been up and moving around some. That is when I get appreciative of doing this walk in place. Without it, I likely would not have even broke 500 steps.

Virginia Tech - My Thoughts

Posted on: Out of the Shadows

Angels descending, bring from above echoes of mercy, whispers of love.
– Blessed Assurance, Fanny Crosby, 1873

Three days have passed since the murders of 32 people at Virginia Tech. Several times I have sought to put fingers to keyboard to share some thoughts about that awful day and several times I have moved on to other things unsure what I wanted to share. This morning, as I was preparing Sunday’s service bulletin, the words above start to shape my thoughts into some sense of order.

We Will Remember Him

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 Canadians:

Anthony Klumpenhower - special forces member --Afghanistan Apr 19, 2007

Always Caring — Always Canadian — Never Defeated

Support Our Troops — Wear Red on Fridays

Walking Challenge - Weekend & Monday

Posted on: Ides of May
Saturday I was able to go for my weekly walk with my friend so by the time the day was over I had 11,106 steps. I was also feeling rather stiff so I gave myself some break time yesterday. Well, it is 1:30 on Monday and I’ve just broke 10,000 steps or 5.4km. I should be able to hit the 12k steps mark today. I would like to hit 15,000 steps by next Saturday.

Ontario Electoral Reform?

Posted on: Out of the Shadows
Well, as often happens things either change or potential for change happens. In Ontario for the last several months 103 Ontarians have been looking at ways of tinkering with how we elect our provincial parliament. Some call it electoral reform, I tend to look at it more as electoral tinkering and I can’t say I’m leaning towards supporting those changes which thankfully, I will have opportunity to vote on it in October.

10 Tips To Getting Started With Google Adwords

Posted on: It's All About Money
Online Advertising has rapidly grown into a multi-billion dollar industry, with Google’s recent $900 million deal to advertise on MySpace an example of it’s huge demand and popularity.

Pay per click (PPC) advertising is the most cost-effective form of advertising so it’s vitally important that all aspects of advertising campaigns are managed to achieve maximum return on investment (ROI). Google AdWords is the most popular method of PPC and is an excellent way of increasing targeted website traffic, providing the advertising costs can be justified by ensuring the clicks turn into sales.

My Walk Challenge -- Friday

Posted to: Ides of May
This entry will be updated over the course of the day. I posted yesterday that I have been working on getting my activity level up through walk in place walking. While not a lot of people left comments, the entry had over 300 reads in less than 12 hours. I suspect I’m not alone in my need to get up and get moving no matter how large I am. In order to attain success, you need to declare the intent. So, I’m declaring.

Liberal Turmoil?

Post at: Out of the Shadows
In the last several weeks fifteen Liberal MPs have announced their intentions not to seek re-election, some of them high profile MPs like Paul Martin, Belinda Stronach, Jean Lapierre, Lucienne Robillard, Andy Scott and Jim Peterson. Their intended departure raises questions about what is going on within the party. Is there discontent with Liberal leader Stephanne Dion already? He says no.

Get Off Your Butt Patti!

Posted on: Ides of May
Since Tuesday I’ve been out of the house only briefly that day to pick up mail from town but I have walked 10.5km. I think I’ve done pretty good for not leaving the house. The last couple of weeks or so I’ve been wearing a pedometer pretty well steady. When I first started wearing it, I was barely breaking 1000 steps in a day, not good considering the average for a somewhat sedentary person is 5,000 a day.

Why Are Our Troops in Afghanistan

Posted at: Out of the Shadows
Anyone reading this blog would know pretty quickly, I’m not a fan of Stephen Harper as Prime Minister of this country. The ONE thing that I can give him his due for is that he inherited a war and has proceeded to do what is needed to make sure our troops can get the job done. Travers at the Toronto Star can’t seem to get the picture clearly, this war started when we signed on to take part in 2002.

We Will Remember Them

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 Canadians:

Mst Cpl Allan Stewart --Afghanistan Apr 11, 2007
Tpr Patrick Pentland --Afghanistan Apr 11, 2007

Always Caring — Always Canadian — Never Defeated

Support Our Troops — Wear Red on Fridays

Canadians Need to be Careful About Their SIN

Posted on: Your Money and YOU!
This story in last weekends Toronto Star is a prime example why Canadians need to be wary of giving out personal identification, especially your SIN (Social Insurance Number). Private corporations get away with asking you for your SIN but the fact is that rarely is there a legal requirement for you to give it to them.

Afghanistan and Vimy Overlap

Posted to: Out of the Shadows
This past weekend has been a bit of a rollercoaster. The commemorations of the Battle of Vimy Ridge took place in France on a piece of soil deeded to Canada in 1922 as Canadian soil in perpetuity. On it stands one of the largest, and in my opinion, powerful memorials in the world.

As Canada prepared for the main ceremonies which took place yesterday, I opened one of our news sites online on Sunday afternoon and was stunned to learn six Canadian soldiers had been killed in Afghanistan. In comparison to the 3600 killed at Vimy Ridge, six doesn’t seem to be a lot however when it is six in one day out of a force of 2500 deploying some of the strongest armaments possible it is every bit as big and real.

Reviews Connect With Prospects

Posted at: It's All About Money
Todd Wasserman over at Brandweek has an interesting piece today on a January survey by iProspect and Jupiter Research who polled 2223 respondents as a measure of social networking sites which they defined as sites where users post their own content.

We Will Remember Them

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 Canadians:

Sgt Donald Lucas --Afghanistan Apr 8, 2007
Pvt Kevin Kennedy --Afghanistan Apr 8, 2007
Cpl Aaron E. Williams --Afghanistan Apr 8, 2007
Pvt David R. Geenslade --Afghanistan Apr 8, 2007
Cpl Christopher P Stannix --Afghanistan Apr 8, 2007
Cpl Brent Poland --Afghanistan Apr 8, 2007

Always Caring — Always Canadian — Never Defeated

Support Our Troops — Wear Red on Fridays

British Sailors Heard From

Posted at: Out of the Shadows
The British service people released from Iranian captivity on Wednesday have provided their version of events at a press conference yesterday. As was speculated on during their captivity, the men confirmed that they had been subjected to coercion which resulted in their apologies on Iranian TV for straying into Iranian waters which resulted in their capture.

They Are the Dead

Posted at: Out of the Shadows
This entry is about 30,000 dead Canadians, actually it is about 1.5million dead Canadians, my grandfather was among them, but I’m only going to talk about 30,000 of them. Ninety years ago this weekend, these 30,000 Canadians, four divisions of soldiers, were mustering around a ridge in France called Vimy where over 150,000 Allied soldiers of other countries had already died trying to dislodge the well dug in Germans.

British Sailors Freed

Posted to: Out of the Shadows
The crisis involving the detention of 15 British service people has ended in a rather surprising move on the part of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Seemingly out of the blue, he announced that the service people would be released and ‘forgiven’ as an Easter gift to the people of Britain. His announcement followed the presentation of a medal to the coast guard commander who detained the Britons.

It's All In the Response

Posted on: It's All About Money
A recent email exchange I had has illustrated to me just how badly some firms deal with email correspondence. In my offline life I do some volunteer work. I’m currently serving as 1st Vice at the local Royal Canadian Legion. I emailed an area firm to ask some initial questions about the feasibility of changing the heating/cooling system from the present two systems into a unified system using geothermal energy.

Harper as An Illusionist

Posted to: Out of the Shadows
The boy Stephen Harper is trying to convince the public that HE doesn’t want an election, it is the Liberals who are threatening to cause an election. RIGHT, it is the Liberals who have constructed a 17,000 square foot war room for election readiness, it is the Liberals who having been running attack ads on the Conservatives and it’s the Liberals who has been passing out tax payers money like it was candy to try to buy a majority government.

Toronto Principal Gets Away With Flying Crap

Posted at: Out of the Shadows
A Toronto principal charged with two counts of assault and a subsequent charge of breaching a non-contact order has been given an absolute discharge on one charge while the other assault charge and the breach charges have been withdrawn. The judge ruled that Maria Pantalone had suffered enough from the charges and should be rewarded with no criminal record for throwing excrement at two youngsters last June. Pantalone is the sister of Toronto’s Deputy Mayor Joe Pantalone.

Iranian / British Crisis Could be Resolvable

Posted at: Out of the Shadows
There is a glimmer of hope coming out of Tehran today as the Iranians backed away from continuing to parade the captured British service people in front of their state run television cameras with admissions of fault that few people believe were given freely.

Spring has Indeed Sprung

Posted at: Ides of May
I was into Whitby yesterday for lunch with a good friend. On the way back I decided to roll off the 401 and along the lakeshore from Newtonville east. It was a bright sunny day but rather chilly. I took my time along the road which is not heavily traveled as I was looking for photo subjects to my camera at. Sort of figured it was about time for me to stop using Dawn and Cookie as my main photo subjects and start finding a few others.

The Prime Minister That Isn't

Posted on: Out of the Shadows
Earlier this month I posted on some of the boy Harper’s smears and lies that I really didn’t think would leave him room to go much lower. Well, I’m not too big to admit when I’m wrong, I was wrong. The boy found room to go lower.

Red Ensign at Vimy Commemoration

Posted at: Out of the Shadows
None of the men who fought the Battle of Vimy Ridge are around to speak for themselves but veterans groups have been lobbying the government to fly the Red Ensign at the 90th Anniversary ceremonies at the Vimy Memorial in France in April. Seen here on a WW1 recruiting poster.

Canadian Federal Budget -- Bloc Supports It -- Election Unlikely

The new budget has been presented in the House, I've got initial response to it over on Out of the Shadows. Doesn't look like the government will fall right at this point.

Unlawful Death? Whose Law?

Over at Out of the Shadows I've had, I hope, a bit of a sober look at the British inquiry's findings that the US killing of a British soldier at the beginning of the Iraq war was unlawful. It doesn't seem to be so much the Yanks protecting their own as much as a difference in the standards of order and good discipline.

Cowards Charged in Attack

On Out of the Shadows I have posted an update on the report of the cowardly attack on a decorated Canadian Soldier, Master Cpl Collin Fitzgerald, in a Morrisburg bar last Friday night. Three of four reported to have taken part in the attack have now been charged. I also had a look at some of the postings on other blogs on the subject.

Canadian Hero Attacked by Cowards

I had to reign in some anger while writing this post at Out of the Shadows today. For me it just defies any rhyme or reason that a person would attack another person without provocation. To attack him because he's a hero just mind boggles.

Soldier Charged and Khan on the Move

The military has charged a soldier with manslaughter in the death of a fellow soldier in Afghanistan last August. I talk about that on Out of The Shadows. Also, Wajid Khan is wandering around again on the public purse.

We Will Remember Him

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:

Cpl Ronald Megeney --Afghanistan Mar. 07, 2007

Always Caring — Always Canadian — Never Defeated

Support Our Troops — Wear Red on Fridays

Ombudsman Launches Investigation

Yesterday I noticed an article in the Globe & Mail about the province and the feds feuding while children of our Canadian soldiers went without much needed mental health services that the province was refusing to pay for even though it is the province is responsible for the delivery of health care services. As I do at times, I waited a day to see if anything else developed. It did and I write about that at Out of the Shadows today.

PMs Lies Become More Blatent

It is no secret that Harper and his gang of bullies has used lies and distortions when the truth doesn't work to slander and smear the Liberals. His dirty game of the worst of politics went to a new level yesterday in the House of Commons. I talk about it on Out of the Shadows.

Harper's High Road Bites His Ass

Ah don't we just love it when the high and mighty get knocked down a peg or two? Harper loved to attack the Liberals from the opposition benches and portray them as sucking from the public trough. Now he's the one at the trough and guess what, he sucks from it as much as anyone else. I have a look at that over at Out of the Shadows.

It's Rare But I Agreed With Travers

I take a look at James Traver's column into today's Toronto Star over at Out of the Shadows. It's rare I agree with him but he's spot on in regards to both Harper and Dion's behaviour.

Clauses Ride Into the Sunset

After a heated and often acrimonious debate in Parliament two very controversial clauses in the Anti-Terrorism act of 2001 have been voted down and allowed to expire as of midnight tonight. I take a look at the final vote over at Out of the Shadows.

Soccer or Headscarf?

Over on Out of the Shadows I've had a look at the issue that arose at a soccer tournament in Quebec last weekend when an eleven year old girl was forced to choose between playing soccer or wearing her hijab. She chose the hijab and her team walked off with her.

Gas in Ontario

On a lot of Ontarians minds today is the supply of gas for their vehicles in the province. A fire at Imperial Oil's Nanticoke oil refinery two weeks ago and a strike by CN Rail has sparked a shortage of gas in some areas that is growing. I'm talking about that over at Out of the Shadows.