March 04, 2006

Wash your eyes out ...

A quotation: "vile beyond anything I have ever seen published" I find it difficult to believe that anyone would publish this; the chickens have come home to roost at a university near you. My advice is to read the whole page, particularly the list of sponsors. Also check this article and comments -- a quotation: "ahhh students, smart enough to figure out which morality is "correct" "

Now, it is time to cleanse my mind with music -- a long-term favourite which I recommended to the parents of the four young RCMP officers killed in Mayerthorpe a year ago. Music is how I rid myself of thoughts of this emanating from what is euphemistically termed a higher education.

Bud Talkinghorn &

The coming of the psychopath--juvenile division

The National Post published an article on the trashing of a house by (tens of? hundreds of?) grade 8 students. The daughter had invited them when her father was away. When the police were first called they found the girl suffering from alcohol poisoning. They cleared the house and took the girl to the hospital. The rough police assessment of the damage at that point was $6,000. Later some teens returned and caused an additional $64,000 worth of damage--computer monitor heaved through front window, a glass fireplace destroyed, the large screen TV kicked out. In short, a blitzkrieg of mindless destruction.

What were these vicious little thugs thinking? Ransacking an impersonal building like a store is one degree of anti-social activity, but to destroy the house of a friend is another. The fact, that even after police intervention, some would come back to totally wreck the place displays a fearlessness of consequences that should concern us all. Such behaviour in my teens would simply be unthinkable. Should such an aberration have occurred, reform school would be a given. These home demolitions are not an aberration today. Of course mass murder in schools by kids is not uncommon today. There have been reports of kids deliberately burning down party homes in the U.S.. When you follow many of these rampages, there is rarely any punishment above a fine and conditional release. The lax juvenile delinquint sentences must be toughened. Granted, in most cases you give a first offender a chance to straighten out; however, some teens are simply too psychopathic in their make-up to ever rehabiliatate. The quintessential trait of the psychopath is the lack of empathy for their victims. Lack of impulse control is another characteristic. Still, what possessed so many kids to go berserk? All were not psychopathic, but the ones who returned to really destroy the home showed a number of signs. They must be found and dealt with harshly. While the psychopath will never accept responsibility for his actions, jail time gives him time to think about the consequences of these actions.

I have met my share of psychopaths. This is not a mental illness that springs full blown in adulthood. Analysis of even some young children's action would show the signs. They may even have been there since birth. It is a brain that gets hard-wired early. They are the scariest people you ever want to met. While some never venture into outright criminality, all of them will manipulate you in some fashion. As a group they are consummate liars. Even when caught red-handed they invent elaborate rationales for their behaviour. In their book "High Risk--Children without a conscience", Dr. Ken Magid and Carole McKelvey give you the Hare list of psychopathic behaviours. Besides the traits I've mentioned Dr. R.D. Hare lists 16 others. Some such as promiscuous sexual behaviour, lack of realistic long term plans, shallow affect, parasitic livestyle and glibness are fairly easy to spot. Oh yes, and the torturing of animals. Watch that one. This is just practice until they get to humans.

Why are these juvenile outrages occurring with such frequency is the question? Is it like the skyrocketing rates of autism, a bafflement? Medical research shows that these psychopaths had low levels of seretonin, which might account for their daredevil actions. Dr. Hare also showed they have little fear of pain or other consequences of their actions. Or is it that we always had psychopathic children when we grew up, but society's tolerance for criminal behaviour was small, that the criminal psychopaths were more or less warehoused. They would have loved to be marauding amongst us, but the parole boards were a bit harsher then.

The experts in the field suggest that an early abusive childhood might hold part of the key. Then there are the huge societal changes that have marked the last half century. The advent of the working mother and the reliance on impersonal daycare centers might break the mother-child bond. Divorce rates have zoomed upwards, as have children born out of wedlock. Perhaps these factors help create this growing psychopathy. Whatever the reasons, the numbers of these affected kids is increasing. The authors of "High Risk" have sounded a clarion call to combat this rise. They state: "But everything has changed ... the ramifications of these changes can be positive or negative depending on how we respond to that change." If we don't acknowledge this profound shift--nearly half of all middle schoolers having sex--we will pay down the line. The "trust bandits" as Magid calls them, are coming and in ever larger numbers. We should be prepared.

A final thought I have on this increased wilding behaviour falls into the realm of general parental permissiveness. The stories I keep hearing from friends and acquaintances about their completely irresponsible children. Some educated but in their 20s (even 30s) still adrift in life and always relying on family handouts. I always give the wailing parents the same advice: practice some tough love. They rarely do, so these totally spoiled child-adults never have to take responsibility for their failures in life. What will their children be like?

For an excellent review of this mental problem consult Dr. R.D. Hare, the recognized Canadian expert on these psychopaths. If memory serves, his book was called "Without Conscience". He also wrote an article called "Unmasking the Psychopath". Believe me, you want to come fully armed when you confront these people.

© Bud Talkinghorn


The upcoming Iraqi civil war

It no longer seems to be a question of if, but rather when. The only question is whether it will be a low level guerrilla affair or a pitched battle between Sunnis and Shi'ites. The latter is prercisely al-Qaeda's plan. The Sunnis' endless attacks on Shi'ites and an open admission that they should be eradicated have caused the Shi'ites to lose their patience. The bombing of the Golden-domed mosque--one of the most sacred--was the final straw. The ensuing slaughter would so destabilize Iraq that al-Qaeda could operate openly, That is the Sunni hope anyway. It may turn out to be their death wish instead. If Iran and Syria become engaged then we are looking at a regional catastrophe. There is nothing the Americans can do if it reaches this stage. Call it the "noble experiment that failed", and step aside. Maybe the Middle East has to wait another century for Western-style democracy. Bush's idea was good, but the execution was deeply flawed. In hindsight we can see a litany of mistakes--begining with disbanding the entire Iraqi army. A massively unemployed military, plus tons of secreted weapons, is a recipe for disaster.

On the plus side, if a civil war breaks out, there will be tens of thousands of radical Sunnis and Shi'ites--all calling out, "Allah akbar!" and wasting each other. Fewer fanatics that the West will have to worry about. As the Shi'ites, backed by their brethern in Iran will probably win, al-Zarkawi and his fanatics will be systematically eliminated. The victor will inherit a scorched earth. The remaining wasteland will be Afghanistan replicated. With an exhausted, demoralized populous, the U.S. can start over.

It is fallacious to compare the defeat of Germany and Japan with the situation in Iraq. Crazed by nationalism they might have been; nevertheless, these countries were culturally and religiously unified before defeat. Also, they were completely destroyed. This is not the case in Iraq, a country artificially constructed by imperialist considerations. While small areas were damaged, the majority of the country escaped direct destruction. Only a tyrant like Saddam could keep a semblance of cohesion between the various ethnic tribes and religious groupings. If, with his iron fist gone, the whole place goes to hell, then the Americans can only withdraw to watch the show. When they return, cries of "welcome" may rend the air with genuine fervour.

© Bud Talkinghorn


Pakistan on the edge

Born in the blood of partition, Pakistan stands on the banks of a river of blood. If the 1948 partition pitted Hindu and against Muslim, this battle is primarily an internecine one. The fanaticism of the Sunni branch has targeted the country's Shi'ites. As well, there has been endless strife between the sectarian branches of the country. There has been lingering hatred against those Muslims who flooded into Pakistan from all over India. Riots and urban massacres are fairly common. Then there are the separatist movements in the south-west provinces. The North-west areas have been effectively a "no-go" area for decades. This is Bin Laden land. These monumentally primitive people are staunchly fundamentalist in thought and action. Sharia law is the only functioning law.

All these portents of doom are increased because the government that is supposed to promote some sense of progress is heavily infiltrated by Islamists. President Mussharif is continuously surrounded by traitors and a number of assassination attempts have been made on his life, which were traced back to his own security forces. Al-Qaeda wants to destabilize Pakistan as it is doing in Iraq. The supposed fury over the Danish cartoons soon degenerated into anti-Americanism, egged on by radical mullahs. Therefore it is potentially another Talibanesque nightmare state--with nuclear weapons. The enemies of freedom and tolerance are growing rapidly. We must concern ourselves with containing this growing menace.

© Bud Talkinghorn




A final warning about Canadian security

Martin Collacott, a former Canadian diplomat, has issued a blueprint for stopping the growing threat to Canada from a failed IRB system and its misguided multicultural policy. When Trudeau, the eternal naif, envisioned a mosaic Canada, he had not counted on an immigrant cohort who actively, or silently, despised the very tolerant culture which had adopted them. However, almost 40 years after his ascendance, we now harbour people who want to destroy our way of life. Through fanaticism and intimidation, these Muslim immigrants have tried to insert their own primitive beliefs for the rest of us. It is multiculturalism run amok. That tolerance was supposed to allow peoples to maintain their cultural attitudes, while subscribing to the common norms of Canada. For the most part it has worked, however we are slowly discovering that certain groups are not signing up to those values. Rather, they find Canadian values decadent and worthy of destruction.

The National Post's editorial ( March, 3, A-10) lists Collocott's major concerns, as revealed by The Fraser Institute's report. This report is particularily concerned with the influx of the undocumented, queque-jumping refugees, who are nothing but economic "refugees", or worse, criminals and terrorist sleeper cells. Think Ressam and his Algerian gang of terrorists, who existed on welfare and credit card fraud. Even when Ressam and et al were exposed they still roamed freely. The report shows how the IRB is mainly staffed with left-wing "useful idiots" and immigrant activists. In the worst cases it is the fox guarding the hen house. Equally unacceptable is the Liberal government's past blind eye to the Tamil Tigers presence here. This terrorist organization has been shaking down, door-by-door, our Tamil citizens. Despite massive efforts by the Toronto police, there are still major leaders of this group allowed to remain here, despite racking up numerous convictions. How this is possible can only be explained by the Liberals' excessive need to placate the urban immigrant vote. Plus, of course, their NDP coalition partner, who never met a bad immigrant. I believe both parties have their fingers perpetually crossed that a massive terrorist act doesn't occur here. As well, a Canadian-based terrorist act against our southern neighbour would trigger enormous economic reprecussions. The Americans' belief that we are weak sisters on the terrorist front would be vindicated.

Mr. Collacott wants immigrants to take an oath of fealty to Canadian values. If they renege and support any violent ideas to overthrow these values, they should have their citizenships revoked and should be deported. And I don't feel that he is talking about the absurd deportation orders that allow 36,000 deportees to vanish into our ghettos. Europe has awakened from its liberal fantasy of universal understanding of values. They have seen the dark side of their tolerance toward the intolerant--train bombings, murder of critics of Islamist fanaticism, and acceptance of open seditious speeches. While Canada has avoided the worst of these afflictions, we still have the extremist imams. Their detrimental effects are a timebomb in our midst. They should be immediately deported to their home countries, where their extremism would be dealt with promptly. But that would be against our Charter of rights and freedoms wouldn't it? So we must keep them close to our bosom.

Ironically, it would be to the advantage of most immigrant groups to support these recommendations. They are the ones who bear the growing backlash against immigration and the acceptance of legitimate refugees. The Fraser report is singling out only those who are self-admitted renegades. By their words and actions, ye shall know them. Now cloaked in their scrupulous reading of the Charter, they feel safe to be treasonous. This must change, or we have committed cultural suicide. The report is long overdue and we now have (hopefully) a government that will act accordingly.

© Bud Talkinghorn




Windbag Bud's short questions

Where is the RCMP investigation into the sponsorship scandal? Why has it taken over two years to bring that rogue IRB judge to trial over his selling refugee status to dodgey claimants?

[ Note: I posted this link yesterday. NJC
The IRB & the Judge

Waiter sought refugees' bribes -- refugee claimants, Liu Wai Keung, Woon Lam (Bill) Wong former president of Montreal's Chinese Chamber of Commerce, Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) appeals division judge Yves Bourbonnais
]

Is any Muslim leader reminding their populations that their semi-failed states are propped up by Western (primarily American) aid packages?

Have Canadians yet made the connection between the cities' adherence to "Liberal values" and the Liberals' ultra-generous immigration and refugee policies?

As we remember the four fallen Mounties, does anyone still think that the gun registry could have prevented this tragedy? Or that enforcing draconian laws against marijuana would have stopped this man's motiveless malignancy?

Don't you feel relieved that the UN reformed its rules for admitance to The Human Rights Commission, so that Sudan, Cuba, and Syria--those shining exemplars of tolerance--can control the agenda?

What do you suppose would be Fidel Castro's audience for his eight hour harangues if he allowed open emigration to the West? 1,000 or 1,000,000?

Did you know that the NDP has set up a database to catch fat cats trying to avoid our marvellous health care system? The passports of those trying to access a two-tier American operation will be confiscated. OK, I'm making that one up.

© Bud Talkinghorn



My question is for Minister Emerson:

Do you now have some idea of how the Liberals operate? Why Canada may be unfixable? Among many gifts that will keep on giving, the Liberals have left Ethics Commissioner, Mr. Shapiro to act in loco parentis -- Mr. Shapiro, who seems to have found no serious ethical problems with his Liberal government but is in a position to investigate a Conservative floor croser and the PM over ethics ... ethics which are, of course completely different from the ethics of those who brought Belinda Stronach and Scott Brison to ministerial positions after crossing the floor ... but then they became Liberals so that was fine. Remember the hatchet job done on PM Brian Mulroney? Then there is the matter of how CSL could ... was it mis-type the amount Canadian taxpayers granted to Paul Martin's company ($161-MILLION became something like $37,000), finding no-oone ethically responsible in government for the sponsorship scandal and various other shenanigans ... ah, the list could go on. Mr. Emerson, do you understand now? Your mistake was in moving from the Liberals to the Conservatives, not in crossing the floor. There is a monumental difference in Canada. What is good for the Liberal goose is not good for the Conservative gander.

By the way, I suspect Mr. Emerson's problem has more to do with the business related to the 2010 Olympics or to rail, pipelines, oil and LNG, than to any real ethical consideration. I have suggested people look into this before; IMHO, it might prove fruitful. NJC



Book with a great title

Author Dave Dunseath: Self-harm Book: Aim low, quit often, expect the worst, and other good advice
Publisher: Rutledge Hill

He's a session drummer for Dolly Parton and others.
For the title alone, this is worth checking. NJC

March 03, 2006

In Memoriam: RCMP Officers Mayerthorpe

Bumped up; new posts are below.


No death makes sense to those left to mourn. We remember; that is all we can do.

Death

Nor dread nor hope attend
A dying animal;
A man awaits his end
Dreading and hoping all;
Mny times he died,
Many times rose again.
A great man in his pride
Confronting murderous men
Casts derision upon
Supersession of breath;
He knows death to the bone--
Man has created death.
W. B. Yeats

Departure in the Dark

Nothing so sharply reminds a man he is mortal
As leaving a place
In a winter morning's dark, the air on his face
Unkind as the touch of sweating metal:
Simple goodbyes to children or friends become
A felon's numb
Farewell, and love that was a warm, a meeting place-
Love is the suicide's grave under the nettles. . . .
C. Day Lewis



For the families of those four young men, sons, brothers, fathers, husbands, I tried to find some music that might be uplifting. After listening to several versions, I thought this was the most stirring. This is the closest I could come to something that might touch your hearts and help heal your sense of loss and emptiness.

Musica Criolla: Choral Gems from Argentina

Product Details
Composer: Oscar Sixto Bareilles, Ariel Ramirez
Conductor: Conjunto Nuevo Mundo
Performer: Conjunto Nuevo Mundo, Coro Hispano de San Francisco, Juan Pedro Gaffney

Label: Pro Musica
Audio CD (May 1, 2000)
Number of Discs: 1
ASIN: B00005BHRZ
Average Customer Review: *****

You may scroll down the page to find a link so you may listen to the samples. I find it uplifting; I hope you do too. NJC



Statement by the Prime Minister on the anniversary of the murder of four RCMP constables near Mayerthorpe, Alberta
March 3, 2006
Ottawa, Ontario

Prime Minister Stephen Harper today issued the following statement on the anniversary of the murder of four RCMP constables near Mayerthorpe, Alberta on March 23, 2005.

“Today, on behalf of the Canadians, I wish to pay tribute to four brave law enforcement officers, who were brutally slain in the line on duty one year ago today.

RCMP Constables Anthony Gordon, Lionide Johnston, Brock Myrol and Peter Schiemann died while protecting the people of their community. All Canadians, no matter where they live, expressed their shock and sadness at these senseless killings. Now, one year later, we pause to remember their sacrifice and to reflect on the dangers faced by all law enforcement officers in Canada.

Our Government is committed to ensuring the safety of Canada’s communities. Specifically, that means making sure that those who break the law will face the appropriate punishment, and providing law enforcement agencies with the legislative tools and financial resources they need to protect Canadians. We will do our best to ensure that tragedies similar to the one which unfolded near Mayerthorpe last year will never happen again.

To the families and friends of the four police officers involved, I wish to express, on behalf of the people of Canada, our sincere condolences on your loss.”

The more things change ...

Man with HIV jailed 15 years for unsafe sex -- The moral of the story is ......... ?

This story included three or four women, one or more children created and utter stupidity on the part of the women involved. Can't they read about AIDS? Or have they been indoctrinated with political correctness? Remember the Canadian blood scandal?




This webpage led to the article that follows the link.

Equality or sameness with several comments by caspar34, salamat, foxers, etc.

Equity Choice Capacity and Culture -- Transcript of Speech by Rt Hon John Reid, Secretary of State New Health Network Conference, 7 November 2003


Today in developing my theme of equity of access to health care I want to look at one simple question:

"How we can best place real power - the power of making real choices about health treatment and exerting real influence over those choices - in the hands of the many in this country inside the NHS, rather than the minority?" In its premise that question contains in itself a few provocative and interesting questions.

[....] Give patients more power and they will make sure they, all of them, get the health service they deserve.





The IRB & the Judge

Waiter sought refugees' bribes -- refugee claimants, Liu Wai Keung, Woon Lam (Bill) Wong former president of Montreal's Chinese Chamber of Commerce, Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) appeals division judge Yves Bourbonnais



Former ambassador Martin Collacott: Canada's Inadequate Response to Terrorism: The Need for Policy Reform Fraser Institute


Executive Summary: Failure to exercise adequate control over the entry and the departure of non-Canadians on our territory has been a significant factor in making Canada a destination for terrorists. [. . . . ]
There is much more, including a .pdf. See also the article below on "Ports and Security"


Is racial discrimination widespread in the Canadian labour market? "The CLC's colourful claims" Martin Loney, ImmigrationWatchCanada.org

Martin Loney is the author of The Pursuit of Division: Race, Gender and Preferential Hiring in Canada (McGill-Queen's)


[. . . . ] Canada has a thriving race industry and a plethora of individuals who gain a living in the employment equity and diversity training fields. Claims of pervasive discrimination are grist to the mill, for if, as many economists have long argued, the market penalises employers who discriminate and rewards those who recruit on merit there is little need for their efforts. The Canadian data are very clear. When those born-in-Canada are compared visible minorities do as well as other Canadians. It was true in 1986, when the federal government introduced its burdensome employment equity legislation, and its is true today. This might surprise those familiar with the cacophony of claims of victim status. Who has not heard that visible minority women are “doubly disadvantaged”?

Sociologist Monica Boyd, a feminist and supporter of preferential hiring, examined 1986 census data in search of support for this claim. Unfortunately, at least for preferential hiring advocates, Canadian-born visible minority women actually earned more than their counterparts, a full 13 per cent more. Adjusting for age, education, area of residence, marital status and a host of other factors Professor Boyd was still left with a slight advantage for visible minority women. Rather than rejecting the need for preferential hiring legislation Boyd turned to the experience of immigrant women, where the comparison of apples and oranges offered greater scope to those looking for proof of the bigotry of their fellow citizens. [. . . . ]




Related: What is the rationale for immigration numbers and is it justified?


Canada's federal government has never provided a rational answer to this question. At different times, it has claimed that it is bringing in large numbers of people to stimulate Canada's economy, to stop an alleged population decline, or to prevent problems created by an aging population.

However, the federal government's own research has told it that immigration consumes 99% of the economic benefits it produces. With regard to population decline, in 1990, when Canada had a population of 26+ million, Health and Welfare Canada demographic research told the federal government that Canada's population would continue growing for 20+ years, so population decline should not have been an issue to be looked at in 1990. The same Health and Welfare study concluded that Made-In-Canada alternatives are superior to immigration in dealing with a larger number of older people in Canada.

In other words, its research contradicts what it is doing. (See highlights of the major federally-sponsored studies entitled "Charting Canada's Future" and New Faces In the Crowd" in the "Research" section of this web site.) [. . . . ]




Who Are We and Why Have We Organized? -- "Immigration Watch Canada is an organization of Canadians advocating major reform to Canada's immigration policies."




Federal justice department employees have played fast and loose with travel and hospitality rules and cost taxpayers a bundle, an internal audit reveals.

The report, completed in March 2005 but just released publicly
on the department's website last week, uncovered sweeping problems, including shoddy documentation, mixing personal and business trips, and flying business class instead of economy in violation of the rules. Weak control measures have left the department vulnerable to unauthorized spending, non-compliance to the rules, unjustified or fraudulent claims and excessive expenses, the report found.



Related: DFO broke spending guidelines, audit says -- $160m doled out for Mi’kmaq gear after Marshall decision without proper record-keeping Stephen Maher, Ottawa [ http://www.herald.ca/Front/486832.html ]


[. . . . ] The audit shows that the department hurriedly spent millions buying boats and gear, sometimes relying on the same boat brokers to set prices and negotiate purchases.

After Ottawa started its shopping spree, the price of Yarmouth-area lobster licences rose from about $300,000 in 1999 to $850,000 now, industry sources say.

The entire section of the audit having to do with the purchase of equipment is blacked out. Some of the vessels were in terrible shape, said Mr. Paul."In one case I know of a story where the vessel sank," he said. Sometimes, DFO did not even end up legally owning the vessels it paid for because bureaucrats failed to follow proper title-transfer procedures. [. . . . ]





Justice and Parliamentary Hearing

This came to me from a friend. It is from a press release.

NGO in SPECIAL consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations
P R E S S R E L E A S E
For immediate release February 22, 2006
Ottawa, Ontario


[. . . . ] When recently retired Chief Justice of Nova Scotia’s Court of Appeal, The Hon. Madam Justice Constance Glube appeared as a witness on November 15, 2005 before the House of Commons Justice Committee which was reviewing the judicial appointments system, she acknowledged in her testimony that the judicial appointment system must be changed because the appointments were based not on merit, but rather on political considerations. This marked the first time that a chief justice in Canada has publicly challenged the appointment system of judges.

On December 1, 2005, Chief Justice McLachlin stated in a speech given to the law students at the University of Wellington, New Zealand that judges may render their opinions based on ‘unwritten’ Constitutional norms, even in the face of clearly enacted laws or hostile public opinion. She defined unwritten norms as those ‘essential to a nation’s history, identity, values and legal systems.’ Such norms, according to Judge McLachlin, could be properly understood and interpreted by appointed judges.

Under these circumstances, the introduction of public hearings of proposed Supreme Court of Canada judges is not only a reasonable procedure, but a necessary one in view of the authority and power now assumed by the Supreme Court of Canada over the lives of ordinary Canadians.





Canada Begins Judicial Reform Under PM Harper Paul Jackson, March 2nd, 2006


Most assessments were there was not a single conservative voice on the court since Alberta’s John Major retired in December. Conservative MPs have charged the Liberal government had purposely appointed activist judges to put in place policies that may be unpatable to many Canadians and that Liberal politicians dared not institute themselves for fear of a voter backlash.[. . . . ]

Almost certain to come before the Supreme Court in the near future will be the question of legalizing polygamy as a religious right guaranteed under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. There are some offshoots of radical Mormon sects in Canada – one in British Columbia openly practices polygamy – and it is thought to quietly exist in certain immigrant communities.

Rothstein, who made his reputation as an expert on commercial law, continuously made it clear the federal Parliament and provincial Legislatures are the supreme law-making bodies in the nation. [....]


Veteran Conservative MP Diane Ablonczy said after the hearing she believed Rothstein had “a strong respect for the democratic role of Legislatures” in the nation. Alternatively, Real Menard, a member of the separatist and left-leaning Bloc Quebecois party, said he preferred to see activist judges on the bench. The Bloc Quebecois has also criticized the appointment because Rothstein does not speak French and is not familiar with the Quebec Civil Code.


Francophones have been so used to using bilingualism as a way to award the best-remunerated and powerful positions to Francophones, as well as to keep Anglophones out of power positions, that how this plays out should prove interesting. I believe there is a problem with the Francophone concept of fairness. It will be interesting to see if there will be any fairness accepted or instituted. It is unconscionable that ability to speak a minority language can prevent a majority of Canadians from working for their own government. Whatever the Red Tories, Liberals and the CBC have been telling us for years about equality of languages, what has been occurring is demonstrably unfair, since most of the country is not francophone and does not need to operate in French--except to satisfy a never satisfied minority language group. It might be wise to develop other linguistic abilities for trade and other good reasons -- Spanish, Arabic, whatever Chinese language is currently most useful if it is not Mandarin, etc.

People have told me I'm not supposed to mention this unfairness -- all in the interests of maintaining peace, I assume. People will always be happier if they get their own way, if everyone caves in to them *. Well, why not? That has been the problem with Canada. Only minority groups are given license to demand ... whatever and the rest are supposed to give in. Why should any noisy group get all the attention and funding, as well as the jobs? The rest of us have heritages and some Canadians have other languages that they believe deserve attention ... through the education system, for example. What the eternally unsatisfied group does not yet realize is that they have built up a residue of ill will. They fail to understand that they cannot force people who form a majority of the population and not expect them to react negatively eventually.

(* Caving in is always pleasing to those who try to force their will upon us, as we are learning from the Muslim extremists who cow people with their statements about how the West's journalists and bloggers are 'dissing' their religion with a bunch of cartoons. Actually, mostly Islamists kill each other ... any excuse for a rumble, it seems, so the cartooons are not the cause, simply an excuse.)




Ports and Security

Exclusive: Dubai ports firm enforces Israel boycott Michael Freund, Feb. 28, 2006 2:55 Updated Mar. 1, 2006 13:24


The parent company of a Dubai-based firm at the center of a political storm in the US over the purchase of American ports participates in the Arab boycott against Israel, The Jerusalem Post has learned.

The firm, Dubai Ports World, is seeking control over six major US ports, including those in New York, Miami, Philadelphia and Baltimore. It is entirely owned by the Government of Dubai via a holding company called the Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation (PCZC), which consists of the Dubai Port Authority, the Dubai Customs Department and the Jebel Ali Free Zone Area.

"Yes, of course the boycott is still in place and is still enforced," Muhammad Rashid a-Din, a staff member of the Dubai Customs Department's Office for the Boycott of Israel, told the Post in a telephone interview.

"If a product contained even some components that were made in Israel, and you wanted to import it to Dubai, it would be a problem," he said.
[. . . . ]




'Koran permit, must acquit' Mark Steyn, Feb. 28, 2006


[. . . . ] Mr. Fitzgerald opened the case for the defense by arguing, according to The Daily Telegraph, that "Hamza was urging his followers not to murder British people but to fight in holy wars where Muslims were being killed in Afghanistan, Algeria, Bosnia, Kosovo and Palestine." Asked if he had ever intended to urge or incite murder, Hamza replied: "In the context of murder, no. In the context of fighting, yes."

Hmm. Mr. Hamza wants to see a caliph installed in Downing Street and to have Muslims "control the whole Earth." [. . . . ]

Nick Griffin, leader of the highly non-multicultural British National Party, is also on trial, "accused of using words or behavior likely to stir up racial hatred" - and, unlike Mr. Hamza, he's unable to avail himself of the but-I-got-it-straight-from-the-Koran defense. [. . . . ]




Perspective -- John Thompson: Mackenzie Institute: The Cartoon Jihad



The uproar over some political cartoons in a Danish newspaper is a coordinated and deliberate assault on one of the most fundamental and hard-won rights in the Western World. After years of seeing freedom of speech being defended by the likes of pedophiles, pornographers and Neo-Nazis, it is a welcome relief to speak up for editorial cartoonists against the two-faced demagogues of the Islamic World.

The seeming outrage is only expressed by a tiny minority within the Islamic world, and could be characterized as the work of rabble-rousers and professional activists from the Jihadist movement. To acknowledge their point and adjust our behavior in any way only rewards this group and invites their next act of carefully coordinated 'spontaneous' outrage. Their concerns neither merit serious consideration nor our respect.

Those from Western societies who miss these points are making a grave mistake if they believe that refraining from publishing 'offensive' cartoons about Islam (let alone making any sort of intellectual inquiries) will solve the problem. Frankly, any concessions at this point is like tossing meat to a misbehaving canine… you are only rewarding bad behavior and can expect more of the same in the future. Try a rolled up newspaper and some firm language instead. [. . . . ]

“Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at its testing point, which means at the point of highest reality. A chastity or honesty, or mercy, which yields to danger will be chaste or honest or merciful only on conditions.”
-- C.S. Lewis

“We have a tradition of freedom, personal freedom, scientific freedom. That freedom isn't kept alive by caution and an unwillingness to take risks.”-- Robert Heinlein [. . . . ]


Thompson is always worth reading.


There have been several links about the ports situation in the US on newsbeat1 (see link in menu), so there is not much point in my repeating them. There is one article on ports and security which affects Canada and therefore, it might interest readers.

"The United States is concerned about the Chinese billionaire's growing influence .... helping the Chinese military


"....has compelling financial reasons to maintain a good relationship with China's leadership," ...

.... could threaten to shift some business from Panama to its facilities in the Bahamas, thus giving the company additional leverage over the Panamanian government."

"... containerized shipping facilities in the Panama Canal, as well as the Bahamas, could provide a conduit for illegal shipments of technology or prohibited items from the west to the PRC, or facilitate the movement of arms and other prohibited items into the Americas," concluded the U.S. military intelligence report.

Missiles Sent Airmail; Arming American Gangs

... helped found China International Trust Investment Co. (CITIC) with the direct approval of Beijing. CITIC later would set up the Chinese army's front company .... has sold billions of dollars of Chinese arms around the world with financing provided by ....


Since there are connections between some of Canada's first families, this immigrant to Canada, and CITIC, I think it is important for Canadians to be aware.



Memory Lane

An eagle feather presentation ceremony will recognize 21 graduating Aboriginal students -- Husky Energy, United Way Program -- a mark of pride for CBE aboriginal students


The Aboriginal Pride Program at Jack James is designed to increase the graduation rate of Aboriginal youth by enhancing their awareness of their own heritage and culture and by providing them academic and social support within the school. The goal is to positively influence students’ self-esteem, pride in their culture and sense of identity, motivating them for success in many endeavours, including the completion of high school.

[....] "Husky Energy is proud to support the Aboriginal Pride Program because of the important work it is doing at Jack James High School to increase the graduation rate of Aboriginal students and to promote greater understanding and awareness of Aboriginal culture." [....]


If you want to come to Canada and do business in the North .... Why, it's almost as if this kind of thing were programmed by Liberal governments. Mouth the mantras; get onside. Follow the money.

March 01, 2006

Book: Gomery, Global Taxes, Cuba, China-Nuclear, Etc.

Update:

My Misa Criolla was a gift from an old friend, the folk version, hauntingly beautiful. I play it over and over so I wanted to see if it were available online. The Philips original version is no more. The one I linked to this morning is different. The two links do not lead to music having the same effect as the Philips original, the folk version which is so evocative, but they are, in their own way, enjoyable.

Ariel Ramirez: Misa Criolla; Navidad en Verano; Navidad Nuestra with Jose Carreras

Product Details
Composer: Ariel Ramirez
Conductor: Damian Sanchez, Jose Luis Ocejo
Performer: Grupo Huancara, Lalo Gutierrez, et al.
Label: Philips
Catalog Number: 20955
Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
ASIN: B000009IAZ ....

1. Misa Criolla: Kyrie (vidala-babuala) [Vidala Baguala is the name on mine.]
2. Misa Criolla: Gloria (carnavalito - yaravi)
3. Misa Criolla: Credo (chacarera trunca)
4. Misa Criolla: Sanctus (carnaval cochabambino)
5. Misa Criolla: Agnus Dei (estilo pampeano)
6. Navidad en Verano
7. Navidad Nuestra: La Anunciacion (chamame)
8. Navidad Nuestra: La Peregrinacion (huella pampeana)
9. Navidad Nuestra: El Nacimiento (vidala catamarquena)
10. Navidad Nuestra: Los Pastores (chaya riojana)
11. Navidad Nuestra: Los Reyes Magos (takirari)
12. Navidad Nuestra: La Huida (vidala tucumana)


Some people who heard the original folk version do not like the Carreras version (I do); however, one reviewer said: "The cost of this album is a small price to pay to restore your inner peace. If you need a "refuel" buy it asap!"

Another: "The charm and strength of this music is its folk roots, and the feature that made my old LP so incredible was the raw energy and momentum of the performance. The soloists became the music, fitting in beautifully with no attempts to raise themselves to a position of greater glory. The energy and drive of the entire production was infectious; it was impossible to sit still while listening to it."

For me, the CD (link above) has more of what was on my original than the CD mentioned below. I loved my original. I have played it three times today; that must say something about its power. Isn't it a pity when music you love can no longer be found? You do not have to be Roman Catholic to enjoy this music. Mine came from a Jewish friend and as soon as I hear it, I think of her. What a thoughtful gift, for it evokes memories I don't want to lose.



Traditional Music From The Andes: Misa Criolla -- Various Artists - Intl. - So. & Central America - General -- Catalog Number: 995292 ASIN: B000000GF1

Recommended: I am listening to this now. I love the Misa Criolla / Kyrie and Misa Criolla / Gloria, as well as Sikureada, Rin Del Angelito, actually several pieces on this CD. Of course, I enjoy the flute music of the Andes, music which has a haunting quality.




Book

Gomery spokesman launches tell-all book -- "questioned Finkelstein's handling of Martin" Rollande Parent, cP, Mar. 1, 06


Francois Perreault questions the tenacity of one of the commission's counsels and looks at the strategy used by the Privy Council Office to try and derail the inquiry. .... council clerk Alex Himelfarb , the costs of the commission ....commission counsel Neil Finkelstein [. . . . ]




Gomery aide set to reveal inside story -- Book on inquiry hits shelves today `Will expose the nasty underbelly' Les Whittington, Feb. 28, 06


[. . . . ] Gomery concluded Chrétien bore responsibility for the administrative failures of the now-defunct and discredited federal sponsorship program.

[. . . . ] Perreault is also expected to unveil details of Gomery's battle with Alex Himelfarb, the top federal public servant in the Privy Council Office while Paul Martin was prime minister, over the release to the commission of secret cabinet documents.

In his final news conference on Feb. 1, Gomery complained there was a deeply entrenched tendency in Himelfarb's office to withhold documents Gomery wanted for the inquiry. [. . . . ]





Report is 'foolish,' says expert whose work was cast aside -- Justice John Gomery's recommendations to limit the role of Canada's top bureaucrat and right-hand to the prime minister is coming under fire by the academic whose work inspired the controversial proposals Kathryn May, The Ottawa Citizen, Feb. 28, 06




[....] Overall, Judge Gomery's 19 recommendations are aimed at sharper lines of accountability in government by taking the politics out of decision-making. The concern revolves around a handful of controversial reforms that would dilute the power of the prime minister while boosting the independence and influence of bureaucrats. [....]

Gomery's idea of making the public service independent of ministers is truly revolutionary." [....]


This is lengthy with various people's comments. Change scares some people and maybe there are arguments worth reading.



Definitely worth reading

Are global taxes the best way to end poverty? -- Chirac -- guilt geld -- UN NatPost, Mar. 1, 06


Daughter's party sets Dad's home back $70G -- 13 year old, party, separated parents, alcohol, trashing the place ... and what will be done about those who trashed it? NatPost, Mar. 1, 06


Radical cleric's son eyes career as terror rapper -- The Hook's son born in Britain ... and this is what they get? NatPost, Mar. 1, 06

It is time for this: Study calls for values oath for immigrants NatPost, Mar. 1, 06



Excellent

Andrew Coyne: Show trial in reverse -- Why should justices not be questioned about their rulings? NatPost, Mar. 1, 06



Islamism the new fascism, Rushdie says NatPost, Mar. 1, 06


Terence Corcoran: That wasn't the 'real' Cuba -- another point of view from Ms. Zak's as in her articles in the NatPost lately"


[. . . . ] According to Ms. Zak, "People ask me, 'if it's so terrible in Cuba, why haven't the people staged another revolution yet?'"

Her naive answer is that there is no unity of opposition to the regime. Rather, it is because one of the first things Fidel did after the revolution was to confiscate private firearms and install a police state in which any trace of opposition led to death or jail. [. . . . ]




Gulf War veteran upset Canada has not given out Kuwaiti medals NatPost, Mar. 1, 06




Ontario: more equal? CP, posted on CNEWS Forum by caspar34


Toronto — Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty is suggesting that his province should have a stronger voice than the other provinces and territories in national debates. [....]

Ontario might claw back federal child-care cash

Ontario's poorest families might never receive a monthly child-care allowance proposed by the new federal government because the province might claw it back, poverty advocates warn.

[....] Prime Minister Stephen Harper has promised to introduce a bill that would give parents $1,200 a year for each child under age six, meant to help pay for child care.

However, the Ontario government has refused to rule out the possibility that it might deduct the federal funding from social assistance funds for the poor or disabled.

[....] http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/
2006/02/28/ontario-child-060228.html




China goes nuclear as economy booms Benjamin Robertson, Beijing


CHINA will build 32 nuclear power plants over the next 15 years [....]

After studying designs from France, Russia and the United States the first reactor using so-called "pebble-bed" technology will begin construction this year in the coastal Shandong province, and is expected to start producing electricity by 2010.

Initially a German technology experimented with during the Cold War, "pebble-bed" is promoted as being both meltdown and proliferation proof.





Cyberthieves Silently Copy Your Passwords as You Type Tom Zeller, Jr. February 27, 2006


[....] According to data compiled by computer security companies in 2005, the use of "crimeware" like keyloggers to steal user names and passwords — and ultimately cash — has soared. The crimes often cross international borders, and they put Internet users everywhere at risk. [....]

In some countries, like Brazil, it has been eclipsed by an even more virulent form of electronic con — the use of keylogging programs that silently copy the keystrokes of computer users and send that information to the crooks. These programs are often hidden inside other software and then infect the machine, putting them in the category of malicious programs known as Trojan horses, or just Trojans. [....]

In a closely watched case, Joe Lopez, the owner of a small computer supply company in Miami, sued Bank of America after cybercrooks were able to use a keylogging Trojan planted on his business computers to swipe bank account information and transfer $90,000 to Latvia. [. . . . ]


Search: RATSystems.org, which is well-known among traders at online swap meets like theftservices.com



Bush to Press: "You're Assuming That You Represent the Public. I Don't Accept That." -- "In our system, the press has the role of..." Generations of journalists spoke confident sentences like that. The press is a vital check on power. It's quasi-Constitutional. Bush, head of government, rejects this idea. That theory has gone down, he says. And you guys don't have that kind of muscle anymore.


[....] Whoever can speak to the whole nation becomes a power. There is still a reporters gallery, and it is still speaking the language of a Fourth Estate. But perhaps its weakness is in speaking a language Americans recognize as theirs. Bush is challenging the press: you don’t speak to the nation, or for it, or with it. (See Hagan on this point.)

He cannot sustain this challenge all the time—thus, the April 13 press conference, thus the embeds—but it is a serious argument. Intellectually, it’s almost a de-certification move against the press corps. There’s a constituency for this, and it picks up on long-term trends that have weakened the national press, including a disconnect between Big Journalism and many Americans, and the rise of alternative media systems.[. . . . ]

Bud: Bombardier's TV ad bombs -&- Kurds winning the war

Bombardier's TV ad bombs

Rarely have I been so infuriated by an advertising campaign. Supposedly, we Canadians are to believe that we are "owners" of this Quebec airplane and railway giant. Well, either directly or indirectly, we suspect that Jean Chretien and Paul Martin are part owners, certainly of the good will that results from sluicing other people's money to it; the hoi polloi get nothing but paying for it. When you look up corporate welfare, there is a picture of Bombardier. The total taxpayers have pumped into a business with such (dubious) political connections, is astronomical.

If there were ever a case for charging a company with fraudulent advertising, this is it. My favourite Bombardier ad is where the guy gets out of the safari truck to point to a plane flying overhead. He enthusiastically informs the other passengers that this is "his plane". Meanwhile he is being stalked by two lions. My fantasy runs along the lines of him being pounced upon and eaten with relish--while the other passengers watch the plume trails of "his" plane, and say, "Do you suppose we are owners too?".

© Bud Talkinghorn--I'm still waiting for my dividend cheque from Bombardier. Received yours yet?

These ads simply enrage me. Where do they get off trying to pull this (feel good?) schtick? Canadians pay while Bombardier and friends win, along with politicians buying votes for the usual suspects in Quebec. Gimme a break! NJC



The Kurds are winning the war

This could be taken two ways. First, they are the main auxilliary strike force for attacking the insurgents in their strongholds. The Americans are turning over more and more of the fighting in the north and north-west to Kurdish Peshmerga divisions. Unlike the Sunni and Shi'ite soldiers, they cannot be infiltrated by al-Qaeda or the Baathist no-hopers. When the Americans turned to the Iraqis for help in the first battle of Falluja, they got a Sunni General and his forces. These actually ended up deserting to the insurgents' side when the battle commenced. Therefore, in the second battle for Falluja, the Yanks depended mainly on Kurdish troops. When the defeated insurgents moved up into Mosul, it was the Kurdish forces that suppressed them.

The second sense of "winning" is that the Kurds have no intention of paying allegiance to their former oppressors. They want to set up an independent state of Kurdistan. If it comes to blows with the Sunnis or Shi'ites, they are expecting a pay-back in loyalty from the U.S. army. That favour may be called on soon. Even if they have to go it alone, their excellent training with the Americans and their major inroads into the Iraqi defense command will be lead them to victory.

© Bud Talkinghorn

Mexico, Corruption & Canada

Mexican justice

There is an unbroken chain of criminality that runs throughout Mexico. The movie "Traffic" was no exaggeration. When you have the Mexican National Narcotics czar arrested for massive cocaine shipments, you know you have lost the war on drugs. Years ago, when I was visiting a friend in San Diego, I saw on the news that an investigation of locally stolen cars showed that the Tijuana police were driving 17 of them. Drug gangs have grown so brazen that they simply gun down the few honest cops. Over 300 young women have been raped and murdered in Cuidad Juarez; yet no arrests have been made.

Now the Mexican police want to pin the grisly murders of the Canadian couple on two Canadian women. Television reports the prime "suspects" are two soccer moms from Thunder Bay. The Mexican authorities claim they "fled" back to Canada. Sheer nonsense, as they were on a tour that happened to leave that morning. This false accusation by the Mexican cops is a complete fabrication, presumably to spin the story for their tourist industry.

Their entire investigation was pure Keystone Kops. Statements were issued that contradicted earlier ones. The crime scene was never properly secured. The top cop cancelled his news conference. Wisely, as the absurd accusations were backed by no hard evidence. The Canadian authorities would be equally absurd if they forced anyone to be extradited to Mexico. People can languish for years in prison before their trials are even held. Torture to extract "confessions" is rather commonplace as well. Haven't we seen this travesty of justice before with William Sampson in Saudi Arabia? Meanwhile, some multiple murderer is probably still roaming around the resort areas. Initial reports mentioned a bloody knife, which was similar to that used in the resort's kitchen. That evidence suddenly went into a black hole. Makes you think twice about calling room service.

Personally, my experience travelling in Mexico was one of unrelieved chicanery. The first day in Mexico City I was scammed in a 3-star (not first class, but still it was unexpected) restuarant. Nibblies and drinks that were never ordered inflated the bill. Half an hour later it was reduced to its proper value, but that was a taste of what was to come. Attempts at rip off's continued and only stopped when I left the country. I never thought I would see a country to equal the rampant corruption of India, but Mexico was its blood brother.


© Bud Talkinghorn


Now, Bud, I believe with the infusion of drugs, drug cartels and the concomitant corruption, it is worse. NJC



Here are comments from another visitor to Mexico

I hope Canada's government and the RCMP will help in some way to clear the women targeted for blame -- accused so that Mexico may keep the tourists coming, in my opinion.

In my own experience, visiting Mexico and travelling overland for a few weeks, I learned enough that I would never go again. Lest you think I was ensconced in lovely hotels or at resorts on beaches, no, I experienced a bit more which I mention in order to give an indication of why I think as I do about Mexico. I travelled on a hot bus (another story about buses and promises broken), stopping at local hotels overnight, driving overland from Mexico City and the pyramids nearby, to Taxco (silver shops and superb setting), Oaxaca, Veracruz and Olmec ruins, Tehuantepec, Palenque ruins, Merida, Chichen Itza and other temples in the area, Carmen Island, and on to the border town of San Christobal de las Casas--the most pleasant people I met--and into Guatemala. I think that gives me enough experience over a large area to be able to conclude that it was a very dishonest country--or I have a penchant for meeting the crooked ones; anyway, I would never return. Every day there was some incident--outrageously padded hotel or restaurant bills--the kind of thing that ruins the beginning of the day (missing a bus) or its end and to which I had to respond either by arguing about it or paying. While the ruins were superb, especially in the early morning light, I would not return, even to the Mayan Riviera and beach hotels. If a visitor stays at a posh resort, perhaps nothing untoward will happen, but if that person travels around the country, particularly if help is needed, who can one trust?

I have learned even more since then about the dangers around the border area with the US. Think of the drug business in the area and rumours of police and/or government involvement. Once I actually drove with friends from California into Mexico. The town was one of the saddest border towns I have seen, plenty of bars with the usual habitues, and not much else that would please, other than being a watering hole for those who waited for nightfall to make a run into the US toward San Diego and north, illegals. Yet, if I were to suggest that Mexico (and Cuba -- See NatPost, Zak and Corcoran on Cuba, for a start) are not places I would visit, no-one wants to hear it. (Remember Paul Martin intending to make some agreement with Mexico about Mexicans coming to Canada?) Life has been so good that people don't want to know.



Canadians have been fortunate, living in peace and they just cannot conceive of how corrupt some countries can be, nor how close their own is to tipping over the precipice. Canadians have learned something about corruption after the various scandals already uncovered--Gomery, income trusts possibly, more to be revealed; yet, even more must be done to stop it. Mexico is a lesson for us. If Canada doesn't change soon, if our new government does not take steps to change the system so this does not occur in Canada, particularly the corruption that has occurred in government, where those who want to fight this corruption are unprotected, then Canadians will be unable to stop it.

As a start, effective whistleblower legislation must be passed -- not the euphemistically-termed whistleblower legislation of Paul Martin's government, but whistleblower legislation that will reward those who put all on the line to protect our democracy and our country from going down the same road as many countries of the world.

Additionally, there are issues related to Canadians' security, foreign espionage and criminal gang members reportedly already here, along with Islamic extremists who have come to Canada, if we are to preserve or return to what used to be our relatively secure way of life.

February 28, 2006

UN, Scandal, Aid, Gov. Control, Christians-Muslims

UN-usual:

An UNwelcome scandal -- Fresh off the oil-for-food fiasco, the world body finds itself mired in another apparent multimillion-dollar fraud Nathanial Gronewald, Feb. 27, 06, Western Standard

Search: Office of Internal Oversight Services , Deptartment of Peacekeeping Operations and the Department of Management , bribes



Daimnation: Why are faith-based politics wrong for Christians yet fine for Muslims? via Shotgun, Feb. 9, 06 -- trackback


Our punditocracy and many politicians condemn "faith-based politics" as illegitimate when some Christians try to shape public policy in accordance with their religion (abortion, same-sex marriage). Yet when Muslims do the same thing (demands not to publish images of Mohammed, Sharia law) we are urged to pay respectful attention to their wishes--and to feel their pain at times.

Why not just say to members of all religions: faith and public policy are not a good mix? Or is there an exemption for non-Christians? [. . . . ]



Good questions. Memo to governments, politically correct spokespeople, self-selected elites and mainstream media, it doesn't work. We are not going to fall into line ... particularly in this madness.



Aid

Do-good goals, do-bad outcomes Peter Foster, Financial Post, February 15, 2006



These issues are the subject of devastating analysis by Professor William Easterly of New York University in a forthcoming book from Penguin Press: The White Man's Burden: Why the West's Efforts to Aid the Rest Have Done So Much Ill and So Little Good.


"[A]id," he notes, "shifts money from being spent by the best governments in the world to being spent by the worst. What are the chances that these billions are going to reach poor people?"

The policy focus of Prof. Easterly's critique is the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the massive do-good package unloaded on to the world by the United Nations in 2000.

The MDGs represent the top-down planning ideal that theoretically collapsed with the fall of the Berlin Wall.

[. . . . ] So what's Prof. Easterly's answer? Stop "coddling the warlords and kleptocrats." Top-down Planners must be ejected in favour of on-the-ground "Searchers" who concentrate on specific, quantifiable goals for which they can be held responsible via external auditors. Get donor countries more interested in what happens after the fat cheques are cut. Ask poor people -- not their governments -- whether their lives are improving. Above all, notes the professor, since the whole aid sector is in a hole, it should stop digging. Canadians, meanwhile, should stop paying for the shovels.


A reader wrote a response to Professor Easterly to which he responded. Note the UN-SPEAK. It's another chuckle for the day.

Related: Letter: UN 'fantasies' won't feed poor



[.... ] "These estimates cover hundreds of interventions ...that need to be provided to meet the Goals. ...The second stage of the planning process will be for each country to develop a long-term (10-12 year) framework for action for achieving the MDGs, building upon the results of the MDG needs assessment. ...This MDG framework should include a policy and public sector management framework to scale up public spending and services, as well as a broadly defined financing strategy to underpin the plan. The third stage of the planning process will be for each country to construct its medium term (3-5 year) poverty reduction strategy (PRS) and, where appropriate, its Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) based on the long term MDG plan ... and should be attached to a Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) ... Fourth, both the 10-year framework and three-year PRS should include a public sector management strategy... Bringing together a wide variety of inputs from expert resources, the Millennium Project secretariat has been co-ordinating a multi-step process to develop a methodology for country-level MDG needs assessments."

If this is not a top-down Big Plan, it could definitely play one on TV. [....]

Alas, the United Nations planning fantasies hold nobody accountable for anything, and thus do nothing to immunize a single child or get clean water to a single adult. Such good things will only happen when individual officials and aid agencies are held responsible for delivering the goods, to help the world's destitute help themselves.

William Easterly, professor of economics, New York University,
New York






Related to government control and planning: Chairman of Quebec liquor board resigns as pricing scandals grow



QUEBEC (CP) - Raymond Boucher, the chairman of Quebec's liquor commission, resigned Friday as controversy surrounding the Crown corporation's policies grew.

The SAQ (Societe des Alcools du Quebec) ... inflating the price of certain products.

... revelations of a wine-pricing scandal at the liquor board that saw the departure of two vice-presidents
and price reductions involving several European wines.

... the province asked the auditor general ...

The Parti Quebecois is also calling for Toutant, another Charest appointee, to step down.


Why was Boucher allowed to resign if he were involved? But, of course, business as usual ...

When governments control a monopoly, even to who gets to work for it, there is scope for corruption. This applies to all areas. Get government out of it and much else! Let the market into play.




Terence Corcoran: Hewers of wood, drawers of subsidy Financial Post, February 25, 2006


Thousands of Canadians and their companies run into headwinds of one kind or another every year. They survive through innovation and by adapting to new circumstances. Those that don't or can't adapt move on to other opportunities. Many forest sector communities have already made adjustments, even to the point of ceasing to exist. Confronting change has been as much a part of life in Canada as the forest industry.


Corcoran's had an eye-opening list of the groups and organizations formed to agitate for "investments" and "initiatives" which really means "give us more taxpayer money". This is a thought-provoking article, worth reading.


Now, would someone write and publish an article on some of the other subsidized industries -- auto sector, planes, liquor and wines, Bombardier, et cetera. How much help does SNC Lavalin get? What rules and regulations are in play that skew the marketplace? Get government out of the business of promoting one business over another using other people's and other businesses' tax money. While we're at it, the feds should get out of gerrymandering and involving itself in what are provincial matters , education, health, et cetera.

Let public (run by those who teach it) and private schools proliferate; let teachers be tested for knowledge of their subject matter and demonstrate some basic skills for how to handle a class. Then let them teach and let parents vote by removing their children if they wish. That would separate the sheep from the goats, over time. Let teachers advertise whether their philosophy lends itself to the child's feeling successful no matter what--self-esteem building in hope that the child will learn (not necessarily completely negative, either) or academic rigour (which may not feel as good to the student, since failure is part of it, though, in the long run, it should be positive if the child works harder to achieve) ... or whatever. Let the market decide, not a bunch of "experts" who may have little experience of the current situation in classrooms which teachers say privately is becoming too unpleasant -- that they cannot cope with all the demands made of them, are expected to ameliorate the woes of the world in one classroom, face rude and bullying children and are expected to be "positive" about progress when children are simply not doing very much to help themselves, et cetera.

Let parents look after their own or send their children out for care if and where they wish. Let all parents be given a stipend or tax break which they may put toward whatever they need for their children. It might help if we stopped funding the ill-educated and ill-prepared who thoughtlessly reproduce if we want not to have so many young single mothers who need daycare. Children deserve two caring parents and funding the opposite gives us just that, single parenthood and children raised with one parent.

There is health care where innovation is required and provinces need freedom to innovate.

You have your own get-government-out-of-our-lives ideas. There are several articles at the following link and links to others.


[http://choiceforchildcare.blogspot.com/Goldhawk live on Sunday CPAC,, childcare debate but no parents with small children!!! ]

Government(s) have had too much opportunity to stomp down the best, the most innovative, anything that would stick its head up, above the rest, in the interest of preserving and expanding its power. Bring on the power of private citizens and private enterprise ... or has government run everything and dispensed favours for so long that Canadians have no initiative left?



This came from a friend -- thanks.


The Hill Times, February 27th, 2006
By F. Abbas Rana, Kate Malloy, and Mike De Souza

Tories poised for a two-way street fight with Bloc in Quebec ridings

Conservatives are 'scaring the hell' out of the Bloc Québécois, says Tory organizer as Conservatives set their sights on winning 30 seats in the next federal election in Quebec.

[....] Sen. Rivest said that Mr. Harper's decision to appoint Michael Fortier to the Senate and to the Cabinet was a "good decision" as it would give a voice to the voters of Montreal where the party failed to elect any MP. He said that unlike the rest of Canada, Quebecers are not concerned about the inclusion of Michael Fortier into the Cabinet and Senate.

But Sen. Rivest said he's not surprised that the Bloc is suddenly interested in supporting the Conservatives because the Bloc does not want another election before the next election in Quebec. Premier Charest has until 2008 to call the next provincial election, but another federal election in the near future could be tricky for sovereigntists to handle, both politically and financially, he explained.





Book: Rod Dreher: Crunchy Cons



How Birkenstocked Burkeans, gun-loving organic gardeners, evangelical free-range farmers, hip homeschooling mamas, right-wing nature lovers, and their diverse ....

Political Science
[ISBN ] 978-1-4000-5064-2 (1-4000-5064-2)

About This Book [.... ]

Crunchy Cons is both a useful primer to living the crunchy con way and a passionate affirmation of those things that give our lives weight and measure. In chapters dedicated to food, religion, consumerism, education, and the environment, Dreher shows how to live in a way that preserves what Kirk called “the permanent things,” among them faith, family, community, and a legacy of ancient truths. This, says Dreher, is the kind of roots conservatism that more and more Americans want to practice. And in Crunchy Cons, he lets them know how far they are from being alone. [. . . . ]

Rest in peace, Bob MacDonald

Memo to Mainstream Media: read this

Thane Burnett: Bob MacDonald was more than just words

[. . . . ] "Since we would have no home delivery, we had to break stories day after day, to grab the attention of readers and keep them coming back," he wrote of the birth of a paper.

To do this, [Bob MacDonald] used the reporter's best resource -- amazing contacts he had built up in 18 years with the Tely and the Toronto Star.

For the first day of the rising Sun, the first contact he called on was Max Henderson, the auditor-general of Canada. The result was a front-page story of a "$10-million Goof" -- how Pierre Trudeau's Liberal government had wasted a mint by selling Argentina jet fighters the feds had declared surplus. But the Canadian government soon realized they needed the planes and had to order new ones. [. . . . ]

China & Spying, Lobbyists, Security Min. Day, "Peacekeeping"

Terry O'Neill: The trouble with lobbyists

Search: Dingwall, US, Jack Abramoff, Paul Martin, David Dingwall, Kim Doran (gun registry), 2149 in-house lobbyists for 366 non-profit organizations ... , 1622 lobbyists, 244 corporations, "599 consultants representing 2085 projects or interests", Democracy Watch, Deb Gray, Sarmite Bulte, Lisa Frulla, Ottawa law professor Michael Geist, five-year "cooling off" period, John Chenier, Lobby Monitor


The conclusion is not exactly what you might expect.


Who's scary again?

[. . . . ] Espionage: Just this past summer, Hao Fengjun, the former official in the anti-Falun Gong 610 office who defected to Australia, revealed a Communist spy network in the Great White North that "he estimated as numbering 1000 agents" (Epoch Times). A former Canadian intelligence official estimated the economic damage to Canada at nearly $1 billion a month (CTV). However, another critical part of the espionage operation is to conduct chilling surveillance [. . . . ]


Subheadings

Infiltration into Canadian resources:
Forced repatriation of at least one Falun Gong practitioner to Communist China:
Taiwan:
Head tax money goes to Communist-sympathizing group:




Our Minister for Public Security

Minister Stockwell Day has his head screwed on right; in fact, he's been a good MP though the mainstream media, particularly CBC, would never admit it -- too busy politicking for Liberals (Watch for Paul Martin to pop out of the woodwork again -- if only they would ask.). What a joke for a news organization CBC is!

Canadian MP Speaks at the Future of Communism in China Conference Held at the University of Toronto, May 20, 2005, Stockwell Day, M.P, May 25, 05

[....] Incidentally: while so many of our businessmen are wringing their hands at the thought that we could alienate the government of China by raising the matter of human rights and other matters that should concern us (the use of slave labour, for instance)—that being "provocative" in this way would somehow cause the PRC to take up its marbles and go home—the best-informed economists are sketching an opposite scenario: namely, that we have offered far too many hostages to the rhetoric of the ever-booming economy. Chinese official statistics (there are no other kind) should not be trusted, any more than the facts and figures offered by such earlier command economies (the Soviet Union, for example) ought to have been trusted. If, as the advocates of trade with China suggest, we cannot risk raising human rights issues for fear of seeing our share of this Cinderella economy diminish, then, maybe, as I see it, we are doing the business community a kindness by reminding them that in the long haul our efforts to provoke China in the direction of democracy and limited government and free enterprise and respect for human liberties will contribute to the soundness of the Chinese economy.

* * *

I am a firm believer in freedom of trade. I also believe in freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom to own property, and the freedom to be enterprising.

When we stand up and speak up for human rights and individual freedoms we advance the hopes for a prosperous future of all people.

When we remain silent in the face of tyranny and repression we prolong poverty and human misery.

The courageous former leader of the Czech Republic, Vaclav Havel, said: "It is suicidal to draw on… the idea that evil must be appeased and that the best way to achieve peace is through indifference to the freedom of others. Just the opposite is true."

Ladies and gentlemen, you have my pledge that I will never be indifferent to the freedom of others, whether in China or anywhere.


I will work with you in advancing the great cause of freedom and democracy everywhere.




Americans make war, Canadians keep the peace -- with comments Feb. 28, 06, Darcey, Shotgun -- trackback

Read also all of the comment from ET:

[. . . . ] Canada has to move itself out of Trudeau's Fictional World...


Indeed.



Get some perspective on life -- thanks to a friend for this -- keep 'em coming.

Kyoto, "Student", Fiscal Imbalance, Media, Security, Memory Lane Pathways

The Marshall Rothstein pages via SmallDeadAnimals -- and Please sir, may I have more? -- A Question, Mr. Justice, Feb. 25, 06



Memory Lane:

Would the Ad Hoc Committee to Review a Nominee for the Supreme Court of Canada please read and comment on this.


Update: We Do Not Have Judge-Made Law

In the words of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, the Honourable Beverley McLachlan:

In a pluralistic constitutional democracy, majorities are not permitted to impose their moral values, their conception of the good life, at the expense of those who do not control political life. . . . This activity of interpretation is more than simply deciding what these and those words mean . . . Rather, it involves assigning meaning where it is unclear, applying straightforward laws to complex situations, harmonizing laws that appear to be in conflict, and determining whether challenged laws are constitutional. All this is high level, specialized, intellectual work. (The National Post, June 18, A1, 2003)



So, judges do not impose values, they just "assign meaning where it is unclear"? Can we have meaning without expressing values? Does this sound like some sort of Orwellian Doublespeak?

Throughout the ages, marriage has involved a male and a female as the social unit most suited to ensuring the best start for the next generation and, with it, civilization's continuance. What is not clear? Only with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms did that clarity become a problem -- necessitating judicial expertise -- much judgely cogitation and expense. The problem with values is that if the majority must not impose theirs, yet, by judicial fiat the values of a minority are imposed upon this majority -- in the choice of children's textbooks or in accepting--even touting--a "lifestyle" in the schools and in our taxpayer-funded CBC, to give but two examples -- then it seems logical to conclude that it is the minority who are imposing their moral values on the majority. Was a Roman Catholic school not ordered recently to reinstate an openly practising homosexual teacher (the Vriend case), despite his obvious flouting of Roman Catholic teaching--flouting his employer's own value system--that practising homosexuality is a sin, although being homosexual is not? Is the imposition of minority values superior? Or is this reading too simplistic on my part? NJC




The Freshman -- Talib in Luce Hall Chip Brown, Feb. 26, 06, The NY Times.com via Small Dead Animals





Worth reading from the Financial Post, Feb. 28, 2006

Paul Boothe: Fiscal imbalance is about accountability -- Re: Defining and discussing vertical imbalance and horizontal imbalance

http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=4cadebb7-8fb9-4335-846c-8b90f6161256

Terence Corcoran: Harper looking green over Kyoto

http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=8e3c66e5-6c95-450e-bccc-7485d521d773

Ian Murray: The Kyoto bubble -- Energy companies benefit from Kyoto, energy consumers lose. It's no time for government to get involved.

http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=cf361c8d-c416-4633-a958-ad9b8fbf7680




Sean Silcoff: Lavalin stock: up a bridge too far? The engineering giant touched $100 yesterday Financial Post, February 28, 2006

Stock price not too high according to SNC president and chief executive Jacques Lamarre

[. . . . ] SNC is not one of those companies that makes a lot of front-page headlines, but the 95-year-old firm has delivered steady returns, particularly with the recent boom in industrial construction projects, driven by high commodity prices, including oil and gas. The company, which has projects in 100 countries, increased its backlog to $8.1-billion worth of business at the end of 2005, up 29% year over year, after winning contracts to build steam generators, power systems and cooling plants in Ontario, Poland and the Middle East. Canada accounted for just over half its $3.8-billion in revenue last year. International revenue was diversified, with Africa accounting for more (13% of the total) than the United States or Europe (10% and 8%, respectively).

Net income in the fourth quarter rose 43% over the previous year, to $43.9-million. The latest dividend increase puts its 84 cents-per-share annual payout (before a 3-for-1 stock split announced Friday) at almost twice the 2003 level. [. . . . ]


Africa? Where would the money come from for construction? Isn't Africa too poor to afford medicines to ameliorate the affects of illnesses? I thought Stephen Lewis was out begging for money for Africa and AIDS. What were the plans for Africa that the ex-PM and his global governance gang kept talking about, anyway?



Mainstream Media

Note use of "Steely-eyed". How would Jean Chretien, Paul Martin, Pierre Trudeau have been described if they were not feeding the media maw? Of course, they or their MP's always did -- through the back channels, if nothing else.

Reporters strike war-footing with PMO, but Harper won't be dictated by national media -- Steely-eyed Prime Minister Stephen Harper doesn't seem to care that the honeymoon is so over with the media. Bea Vongdouangchanh, February 27th, 2006

Members of the national media may already be on a war-footing with Stephen Harper and his staff over regular access to the centre of Canadian political power, but the new Prime Minister doesn't care.

Some newspaper columnists and reporters are flummoxed by the steely-eyed Prime Minister Harper (Calgary Southwest, Alta.) who is holding imperial pressers in the Commons foyer, who fired his director of communications in a snap last week and who won't be dictated to by the national media. [. . . . ]


Might I suggest the mainstream media look through Memory Lane and do a bit of digging for information that they chose not to investigate adequately in the past. [Perhaps it would have hurt their friends? relatives? ... someone important to their careers and perqs? ]Then there are items under the iceberg's surface that they should be digging into.

Memo to CBC's Julie Van Dusen: Your face doesn't have to show onscreen for your tone to be revealing ... it tells all about your personal views, imho. What are your networks or is it relative(s) or boyfriend(s) or just plain malice that makes your hatred of Conservatives and Stephen Harper so naked?

Memo to Keith Boag: Trying to paint Stephen Harper as an introvert on the National News last night? Actually, Stephen Harper is working, not talking, I suspect.

Tonight, find a new topic; try using your rusty journalistic skills to research Kyoto, for example ... or border security (CEUDA report, among others), corruption (military procurement) ... and other items which you now have time for now that PM & Team are not at the bottom of the stairs in the House to feed you your Pravda "story" and its slant for the day.




Try, for example, looking into some areas that might prove interesting in the following.

Memory Lane:

Kyoto items

Resignations fly over Kyoto Bueckert, CNEWS, July 20, 05 -- under the main heading: "Tunnel Update-Drug Route, Canada Excels! Marijuana Quality, Monitoring Everything? Kyoto Setback, Prostitution Korea & Canada"

Climate Experts Speak Out in New Video - Science underlying Kyoto Protocol seriously flawed -- or "Climate Catastrophe Cancelled: What You're Not Being Told About the Science of Climate Change" April 13 / CNW Telbec

Videos:
Part 1 (9.11MB) 4:20 minutes
Part 2 (16.3MB) 6:21 minutes
Part 3 (7.82MB) 3:26 minutes
Part 4 (12.4MB) 5:10 minutes
Part 5 (9.55MB) 5:16 minutes



Re: AgustaWestland lawsuit, the military and .....

OTTAWA - Reg Alcock, the Treasury Board president, says he is reviewing a new ... Chopper cutoff RAISES risk of LAWSUIT -- Lockheed Martin disqualified, ...

Military Aircraft Collection :: View topic - Ottawa delays signing ...... That's when preliminary motions from the lawsuit are scheduled to be ... this and they did," said Gord Cameron, an Ottawa lawyer acting for AgustaWestland. ...

www.militaryaircraftcollection.info/Forum/ viewtopic.php?p=789&sid=4334ebf748b6d8e1fee2e0f2474ae2a6



Security

Canada's plan for a super spy in the sky -- $20M experiment aimed at detecting, tracking moving objects as small as a truck David Pugliese, July 20, 05

This strikes me as too important not to bring to people's notice, given the fact that immigrant Chinese have been allowed to work for Canada's research establishment. In fact one was fired? / de-hired? within the last couple of months, was she not? Perhaps she was with something else, but I distinctly remember posting on one immigrant's removal. (a Leung? Yeung? You'll have to search.) Have you not thought about the security aspect of allowing relatively recent immigrants from China to work on scientific or security related projects? Are any with the NSERC, for example, or does it not matter?

The federal government could have a means of monitoring everything from traffic gridlock to suspicious vessels approaching Canada if an experiment being conducted by Ottawa defence scientists is a success.

The $20-million project, to be carried on board the Radarsat 2 satellite scheduled for launch next year, will determine whether the movement of objects on the Earth's surface can be detected from space.

Ultimately the Canadian Forces wants to use satellites to keep tabs on something the size of an enemy armoured personnel carrier or truck, a capability that only exists at this point in the fertile imagination of Hollywood screenwriters. [. . . . ]



Propaganda & Security

There has been the entry of much money into Canada, into Canadian businesses and now, China's propaganda network is coming to television: see FHTR: Feb. 25, 06, "Hello, Comrades, this is your Rogers cable program". There is more on FHTR on that date "Not Politicized: Justice, IRB, China-CRTC-Rogers TV, Cuba, Ports, Cartoons, Etc"

FHTR: Feb. 22, 06 -- "More on ports: Hong Kong tycoon, ports, control of shipping, Panama, et cetera" -- There are several articles from that date on security and ports that are important both to the US and Canada -- plenty of scope for research by the mainstream media.

How China's Propaganda Machine Works
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2003/7/3/134334.shtml

China Controls the People by Keeping Them Ignorant
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2003/7/7/133353.shtml

How China's Propaganda Machine Tries to Fool the World
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2003/7/8/133729.shtml




Then there are the 2010 Olympics and Distinguished Citizens -- from comments on Small Dead Animals by maz2 (one of the commments in this post, The Other Culture Of Entitlement)

Press Release: (COMB) Canadian Olympic Marketing Board Award for the most vacuous, a*s-kissing, sycophantic prose ever published in a Canadian MSM(?) rag: ["Press" amended from "pess" by ed.]


If you are in the right mood, this could be a hoot -- from the comments by maz2, characterized as "barf alert". Forewarned is ... By the way, where are Maurice Strong and Paul Martin today? Also, what is Jean Chretien doing?

Gilles Patry, rector of the University of Ottawa, best explained the purpose of the awards in his opening remarks:“As Canada’s university, we feel an obligation to recognize and celebrate Canadians who have demonstrated national and world leadership, and few Canadians have had more impact on their nation and the world than those we honour tonight.” [....]

The inaugural leadership awards were graced by the presence of prime-minister-in-waiting Paul Martin ....

[....] The inaugural recipients of the leadership awards: Maurice Strong, Hilary Weston and Stephen Lewis and the recipient of the Meritas-Tabaret Award, Paul Tellier, are individuals who, to a great extent, define leadership in Canada. Each one has developed clear goals and values. Each one has uncompromising adherence to principle. Each one exemplifies integrity and confidence. Each one has a vision for a more decent, humane and civilized community. They have taken that vision and transformed it into action. And in so doing, they have shaped the definition of leadership in this country.

Although individual Canadians have been honoured for their accomplishments or their commitment, not many are honoured for their leadership. It seemed only fitting that Canada’s university should celebrate Canadian leadership in a formal and enduring way. Institutions of higher learning, by their very nature, mould the people that will become the leaders of tomorrow. The University of Ottawa, in the heart of Canada’s capital, is strategically placed to recognize leadership and shape the leaders of the future.

http://www.gazette.uottawa.ca/archivearticle_e_87.html





Memory Lane & Related

Multiculturalism, IRB, Vietnamese Immigration via Philippines, Vietnamese Asian & Other Criminal Gangs in Canada

I read this week that Canada needs truckers; one part of this concerns importing truckers from Vietnam.


Another popular skunk at the garden party If you thought there might be an alternative to the Irving Press or CBC and Liberal/leftist propaganda, think again. Even our seats of learning are biased, it appears. The Maritimes have been key to keeping Liberals/leftists in power, imho, with media control well in hand. See what you think after reading this trip down a December 05 Memory Hole.



Bud Talkinghorn

Let us now praise moderate Muslims


The letter to the editor from Amir Sanizadeh (National Post, Feb. 25) was refreshing. I can only hope that in his acceptance of Canadian values he represents the vast majority of Islamic-Canadians. Enough, he says of the radical imams, the jihadi-inspired and the whinings of Muhammed Elmasri. He reminds his co-relgionists that they came here for not only economic success, but also for the freedoms afforded by Canada. Be they Sunnis or Shi'ites, they don't have to worry about being blown away while attending mosque. The silence from the Islamic community about their appreciation for being allowed to settle here has been worrisome. Instead, we keep getting demands for sharia law or anti-semitic rhetoric from the Canadian Islamic Congress, child of and led by Muhammed Elmasri. Even if the average Canadian Muslim criticized Canada for doing so little to save their black brethern in Darfur, that would be a welcome step. This genocide is being committed by an Arab Sudanese government. Surely, the message of peaceful Islam is being defamed by this slaughter. Anyway, a tip of my hat to Mr. Sanizadeh for his stance.

© Bud Talkinghorn



Strange doings in the Conservatives' policy department

Lorne Gunter in The National Post (Feb. 29 A-12) questions what is transpiring on various Conservative election pledges. Notwithstanding their minority status, the Conservatives seem to be reneging on some key promises. Now they are going along with the Kyoto Accord and picking a judge from Cotler's list. Another left-leaning judge is not needed in the Supreme Court. But perhaps the greatest disappointment is the back-sliding on abolishing the absurd gun registry. Gunter reports that Harper has elevated Maryantonette Flumian to a high post in the civil service. Flumian was responsible for allowing the gun registry to balloon into the billions when she was in charge. Equally distasteful was Stockwell Day's decision to take on Scott Newark as senior policy advisor for the gun registry. Newark, once an executive director of the Canadian Police Association, supposedly got the CPA to back the gun registry in exchange for Alan Rock's promise to do away with the "faint hope" clause for murderers. As well, Rock promised to set up a national database for DNA. When Rock reneged on those promises, Newark still remained an apologist for the gun registry. A strange pick by Day in an attempt to abolish this white elephant. If the Conservatives can't keep this one promise, will they keep any others? Stay tuned.

© Bud Talkinghorn