What a Waste

What the H-ll we were doing in Afghanistan I have no idea??!!  As could have been predicted, the Taliban have taken over and are now cutting off the fingers of people trying to vote in the most recent election.  It's unconscionable to think that so many young Canadians lost their lives in such a God-forsaken war.  I would like to pay tribute to the dead heroes of that nonsensical war.  May they rest in peace.

Now for something completely different, as the Monty Python gang used to say.  Apparently, Canadians have bizarre heroes.  While I am not surprised Terry Fox is right up there, I am confounded by the fact that Jack Layton is among the top ten.  And who's first?  Pierre Trudeau?!  Take that Alberta.  Others on the list are Lester Pearson, Tommy Douglas, Chris Hadfield, Wayne Gretzky and alas, David Suzuki -- a guy I have absolutely no time for. 

B subscribes to 'The Economist' and receives a pocket book of world figures.  Some fascinating stuff in there.  Here are a few tidbits:

• Obesity:                                                The United States with 44.2%
• Divorce rates:                                       Guam highest, Malta lowest
• Cost of living:                                      Japan highest, Pakistan lowest
• Computer ownership:                          Canada highest per capita, Mauritius lowest
• Daily Newspapers:                              Hong Kong highest, US lowest
• Environmental performance:              Switzerland best, Gabon #39.  The US and Canada don't rank!
• Biggest emitters of carbon dioxide:    China # 1, followed by the US.  So much for the holier-than-thou opposition to the Keystone pipeline.  Canada is 8th. 

There are a ton more stats, but the above hit me.