We Also Serve Who Only Stand To Watch

The world looks on as the people of Syria are slaughtered in various ways. Shootings, bombings, burnings, starvings and gassings. Over 100,000 women and children and soldiers have died so far in a battle that has a dictator apposed by a group of factions which have a variety of goals. The great powers watch but secretly arm  both sides.

Suddenly the use of poison gas was introduced as a weapon against the people of Syria. The USA and others come to life and say that this cannot continue. We must punish the government forces by a means that is yet undetermined. We will not take sides so let the war continue as any punitive measure will not be to rid the country of the dictator but to punish and slap the hand of the man who introduced this new weapon of war.

How ridiculous for the world powers to blow up a few buildings and facilities and then let the war continue.It would be a good way of getting rid of weapons that are probably older and need to be replaced so drop them on Syria as a token response to the problem. We all know about the story of the camel getting his nose in the tent and eventually became the main occupant. This trouble in the Mid-East is a time bomb and is not being addressed properly.

The United Nations is hoping for a solution but in this case we have Syria, Russia, China on one side and The western powers on the other. Both sides are staring the other side down and it could flare up to become the next great conflict to tear world peace apart. Little Israel is very quiet at this time because they sit in fear of an open war in the region as they would be the first to feel the sting of a mid-East conflict.

When will we learn that dictators cause problems and when you have a foreign policy that permits them to act within the civilized world with impunity there will be flare ups when the people under the dictator have had enough and seek freedom. Eventually an international force will have to be involved so get on with the job and save what is left of a once proud civilization but has been reduced to a territory without hope.

Where are our world leaders and what are they doing to end the conflict? Are they also only going to stand and watch?

Martin Luther King Day

We all remember that fateful day fifty years ago when one of the greatest speeches ever delivered in America changed the way we looked at the freedom movement. It elevated the question and opened dialogue which led to massive changes in the American way of life. The million people who witnessed the event left Washington with a resolve of hope and they made a difference.

In  Canada where many of our citizens live a sheltered life in quiet towns and rural areas where prejudice is just another word that has meaning out there became forced to recognize the evil of the situation in America where African Americans had few rights and  were treated like second class citizens. The closest parallel we had in Canada was the treatment of the aboriginal population who are segregated on reserves and are mired in poverty and are treated as second class citizens by our government.

Most everyone now believe in the equality of all people regardless of race, color, or religion. The fact remains that millions of peoples of the world suffer because they live in societies where these truths are not a reality for them. Mr King was not just fighting for the black people of America but everyone who lived under the yolk of discrimination.

I have lived in America and have travelled extensively and can say that although there has been a tremendous change in the last fifty years but there is still room for improvement and it will be slow in coming. The younger generations will be the chief agents of change  as the old guard leave the leadership roles to the youth of tomorrow. How proud we can be of the memory of Martin King and his courageous role he played in making a difference. It tells every person that they to can really make a difference if they only try.

Baking Day

Theresa and I had a very busy day today with several appointments and a visit to the health club. This afternoon we decided to do come baking and it turned out that we enjoyed a successful time.I decided to bake bread from scratch as I have not done this for a while.

I got used to one of those breadmakers when I was up North so I forgot how to have the fun of actually baking bread the old fashioned way. I checked with Fanny Farmer and realized that the book was way out of date as fast acting yeast was not mentioned. A little note on the yeast gave me all the information I needed to get my project under way.

While Theresa was busy with her recipe  for five of anything cookies I had my bread setting  waiting to rise. Rise it did and I had to punch it down to get it under control. I decided to divide the dough and make one loaf and twenty dinner rolls. They rose in a few minutes and as Theresa was taking her cookies out of the oven I was prepare to put mine in.

Fifty minutes later we had a stove top full of bread and cookies. It is fun to bake and cook if you have the time and interest. We have both.

Dancing With The Stars

Theresa and I love to dance and missed this pastime when we returned from Florida where we danced on a regular basis. We had looked around for a place where we might have an opportunity to continue our dancing. We attend our health club many times a week and Theresa dances zumba while I work out on the machines.During one of her breaks she met a couple who dance regularly at a social club in Burlington and invited her to come out and try it last Sunday evening.

It was a dinner and dance and looked like just the right fit for us. We dressed up a little and I wore long pants for the occasion and were surprised when we arrived at the club to enjoy our evening. It was a large dance studio during the rest of the week and had special events like dances on the weekend.

A huge hardwood floor and great lighting gave the room a professional look and we were impressed. Dinner came first and it was quite good  and it was followed by the music to begin the dancing. Semi classical music and graceful trained dancers swirled across the floor and I thought I was watching Dancing With The Stars.

We sat for a while and were lonesome as we were the only people sitting. We finally found some music that we thought we could dance to and found ourselves on this floor surrounded by flowing dresses and graceful dancers. We did our best and mingled with the stars. For a first night it was quite intimidating but we will return and manage a better showing as the year progresses. Theresa wants us to take dancing lessons...can you just imagine that?

Prorogued AGAIN

For the fourth time during this ill faded governments tenure the Prime Minister is about to prorogue Parliament. This means that the House will not sit until the frightened Prime Minister has several months to travel around Canada at taxpayers expense to dispense his election message. He would love to distance himself from the issues of the day back home in Ottawa.

Proroguing parliament was never intended to be used as this prime minister does. Since parliament is not in session then all the elected officials should not be paid and should have their salaries cut according to the time they are sleeping back home. The prime minister on the other hand has been vacationing in the beautiful Arctic with his henchmen and cronies but delivering harsh and untrue election propaganda to the poor aboriginal people who are no more but props for his photo ops.

In the meantime the senate scandal , the transportation mess, the pipeline dilemma  and the economy are left to take care of themselves. The prime minister wishes that all the fuss will be forgotten if he stays away long enough. In my 60 or so years being interested in politics I have never seen a leader show so little respect for parliament and the democratic process. It appears that he looks south to the USA for ideas and then tries to weave them into the matrix of Canada's society.

Case in point is the rush to have the law and order bill passed through parliament along with fifty pages of other important items that never received proper discussion at committee level and debate in the house. Looking to the south he and his tough ministers laid down draconian mandatory sentences for crimes, many of which should be misdemeanors, specially in the field of drugs. The USA under Bush introduced this type of legislation and filled the courts and jails with nearly two million inmates at a cost of $900 billion dollars per year. The USA has now seen the error of their ways and now have reversed their direction just as Steven Harper is not about to admit a mistake, is about to go full steam ahead incarcerating thousands of young people to fill the new jails being built. What a shame that he does not listen to science and facts and get it right.

During the next few months we will be bombarded with right wing propaganda and most of it will be at taxpayers cost. Lets hope that the good people of Canada will see through the shallow thinking of this controlling man and free the parliament at the next election so they may manage the country in a democratic manner.

Olympics and Politics

At one time I was running with an Olympic club in Thunder Bay then Fort William. We had a very dedicated coach sponsored by the Canadian Legion. He was a true Olympian and several times after our practice he would talk of the goals of the Olympics.

One of the main points of view he expressed was the fact that the Olympics was a set of games and contests called every four years so the best athletes of the world could compete for the personal achievement of competing and winning for themselves. There was never the thought of countries becoming engaged in the event and as for politics there was a definite separation of politics, religion and race.

It shocks me that these games are becoming an event where political and social issues are being discussed. Discussed to the point where some people wish a boycott because Russia in its failure to recognize cross gender equality in its own country will not tolerate demonstrations to disrupt the harmony of the games.

My personal feeling is that there are many causes that stand out in my mind that are of greater significance that the one before us. If all the world causes were to be presented it would ruin the games and devastate the athletes who worked so hard to get to these events. I feel that the Russian Government will learn a lesson from these games when the people see the multitude of gay and lesbian athletes on the platform winning medals  and coming from countries who have broken the shackles of prejudice .

These games are going to be one like no other as the social media will bring the issues before the world in a way which will gain greater acceptance than a boycott or walkout or demonstration. Individuals may feel so strongly about this issue that they will act on their own but Russia will have to deal with these problems carefully as the whole world is watching.

So just relax and permit our athletes  to compete and put aside the other distractions and put them in a context worthy of political and social change Let the games begin in the spirit of the founding fathers who designed a powerful event which brings the whole world closer together..

Nice Visit

For the last day and one night we were treated to a visit from our kids from Ottawa. Shawna and her mother and my number two daughter were in Toronto working to get the accommodations ready for school opening.in a couple of weeks. We had time to talk and gossip and to be brought up on the latest plans for the coming year. Shawna is a university student and beginning her second year.

One of the treats they brought with them on their visit was a brown box from Ikea. This box which was quite heavy was a work desk for the apartment. Dar thought it would be a good plan for Shawna and I to put it together.It is just a simple item to put together. Well we all know that there is no such a thing as a simple Ikea construction job.

Regardless we went to the garage and opened the box. Carefully packed were twenty pieces of pre- engineered wood and a bag of over a hundred screws of five sizes. A few other funny looking items made this job a puzzle. I asked Shawna if she could read instructions and she assured me that she could. So far I was spared the embarrassment of having to actually read these plans printed in simple language. I must admit I rarely read any instructions and sacrifice double the time required because I usually get stuck and have to end getting Theresa to help out with the technical words.

Shawna and I did very well and managed to get the desk put together except for the final top piece. I just did not fit nor did the holes match for the screws or dowels. We studied the plan and solved the problem by discovering that the very first thing we did caused us to turn a board upside down. We took the darn thing apart and put it back properly in a few minutes and congratulated ourselves for having gone a whole hour without a sour note and ended up as friends.In fact I found Shawna to be an excellent work partner and I would repeat the process any day as it was a good effort by  a granddaughter and grandfather working together  harmoniously.