Everything old

Is new again.  When my first marriage ended in 1980, I was on my own with two toddlers and no child support.  I thought making my own bread would save money, so I started.  But man, it was hard to learn how.  Proving the yeast?  What does that mean and how do you do that?  "Kneading"?  What was that?  How many times do you let it rise?  How do you shape the dough to get all the air out? 

Needless to say, I made quite a few unsuccessful batches.  One day, at a flea market, I spotted 'Robin Hood Prize Winning Recipes', a 1947 relic cookbook that solved all my problems and answered all my bread questions.  I grabbed it and suddenly, my bread turned out perfectly.  Back then, with a nanny to feed too, I made six loaves every week.  How I did that with a fulltime demanding job, I have no clue?  Making bread the way I did took four hours, by the time you let it rise three times and baked it.  Still does, but trust me, I will not use a bread maker; that's cheating.   

The other week, I had an urge to make bread.  So I dug out the old Robin Hood book after 35 years and refreshed my memory.  That batch was a bit of a bust, but I got at it again today and achieved the success I knew in my early thirties.  Here are the steps:
 

I needed all these pictures to get the hang of it.  Here is my effort of today:

 

Pretty proud of myself!



 

Last time I checked....

.....Indian Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett wasn't the PM.  So how she thinks she can tell a head of state what to do is beyond me?!  The other day, she -- and about a 100 other people -- was telling the Pope he had to apologize to natives for residential schools.  The Pope is the head of the ecclesiastical Diocese of Rome, or the Holy See, and governs Catholics worldwide. 

He does not answer to Carolyn Bennett -- she of the ultra-Anglican Havergal College.  The problem with apologies is that they are always followed by demands for $$$$$ and the Pope knows this.  What I want to know is, why don't Canadian bishops apologize; afterall, they were the ones turning a blind eye?  There were also Anglican, Baptist and United Church residential schools, but people have conveniently forgotten their misdeeds.

My granddaughter has a foolproof way of determining what is real and what is nonsense.  She asks, "For real life, grandma?"  Yes my dear, this is for "real life". 

  

Climate Barbie gets the finger

Not one province has signed onto to Little Miss Sunshine's carbon-pricing scheme.  In fact, not one has even shown interest or hinted in that direction.  No one is inclined to slap a $20-a-tonne on "pollution" by January 1st.  And every year after that, the tax will be upped $10 a tonne until 2022.  The deadline for the provinces is March 31st.  Last time I checked, that's tomorrow.  Oops!

As long as China and India continue to belch out masses of carbon monoxide (or is it dioxide?) what's the point?  And let's not forget sanctimonious BC's firing up of the old coal smelters.  That province's hypocrisy is about as breathtaking as you can get!  Although the feds have promised any revenues raised will stay in the provinces, we all know what that means.  Won't be happening.

Barbie is trying in vain to meet the 2030 Paris targets of cutting emissions by 200 million tonnes.  That's the equivalent of eliminating 44 million cars per year.  Problem is, Canada only has half that many registered, making it a tad difficult to accomplish.  Here she is, looking like a duck, walking like a duck and talking like a duck -- making her a bonafide "Barbie".

 

Barbie lecturing some group or other



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Watched two excellent documentaries about "Formula One" racing -- one about Ed Williams, of the Williams Team, and the other about Bruce McLaren, of McLaren Racing.  Williams cracked up racing to an airport after a race and has been a quadriplegic ever since; McLaren killed himself on a curve during a race at 32.

I used to go to Mosport and St. Jovite with a bunch of friends for weekends to watch these guys try to defy death.  Back then, you could tent on the grounds, next to the track, drink beer and see if the same people rounded the hill.  Sometimes, someone wouldn't and the thrill was wondering if they had crashed, or headed into the pits.  It was all great fun.

The great Jackie Stewart summed it up in the McLaren documentary nicely.  "Speed only happens when you have an accident.  You've actually got plenty of time to change direction or brake," he pointed out.  If anyone knew how to ride the edge between winning and dying it was Jackie Stewart. 
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Just wanted to point out something that caught my eye in 'The Herald' today.  Apparently, turban-wearing Sikhs are now exempt from Alberta's motorcycle helmet laws; BC and Manitoba have granted similar exemptions.  The Sikh Motorcycle Club of Edmonton hailed it as a "milestone and memorable day in Alberta's history.  It gives us a platform to share our values and our beliefs with other communities in Alberta," said Parmeet Singh Boparai, president.

Really?  I don't care what your beliefs are, all motorcyclists need to wear a helmet.  That's what the separation between "church and state" is all about.         

Too bad

The province of Alberta identified the 50 top opioid-dispensing doctors and pulled the licence of one for life.  I think that's sad because maybe that doctor was giving his patients these drugs to keep them off the streets and out of criminal activity.  Maybe he was trying to enable them to be productive parents or workers?  Maybe he was trying to protect society from those who would do anything for a fix?  Maybe he was actually acting for society's greater good by prescribing safe levels of drugs that would not kill people?  I don't know, but now the people for whom he prescribed opioids will be scouring the streets and breaking into our homes to get the money they need to "fix". 

With Canada about to post 4,000 fentanyl deaths in 2017, a few thoughts occur.  Why is everyone running around in public libraries and schools with narcan kits?  To what end?  So these people can be revived to OD again?  Even if they enter a treatment centre, odds are they will actually overdose there.  I have an extended family member who works with some of these people now and then and the stories I hear do not paint an optimistic rehabilitation picture.  I also have a firefighter son-in-law who must treat overdoses.  Last time I checked, ODing was not a fire, but as first-responders, firefighters are on the front lines -- often putting their own lives in jeopardy. 

To me, it's a form of suicide -- especially for those in costly treatment centres.  It's ironic that society now allows assisted dying, but won't allow addicts to OD of their own volition.  Many summits and meetings have taken place, all to no avail.  Addicts are addicts and no amount of hand-wringing will change the behaviour of those who can't -- or won't -- stop.
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A word about the status Indian (under the definition of the act) who again reacted angrily to my perspective on Trudeau's exoneration of six war chiefs hanged in 1864 for warring on the Crown.  Here's the thing, like it or not, the land they raided was Crown and the people they killed occupants.

As to "Divine Right", good point.  I know what "Divine Right" means within a constitutional context, but what does it mean to the natives?  Do natives have a "Divine Right" to the entire country?  Apparently, they believe so.  Is the"Great Spirit" or "Mother Earth" the divinity which gives them title to Canada? 

As to the Royal Proclamation of 1763, it is open to vast interpretation and has been argued a number of ways by scholars more qualified and learned than I.  So, nothing in stone there.  Let' face it, all colonialism -- be it French, English, Spanish or Portuguese -- is, and always has been, about real estate.  Look at Israel today.  Same thing.

No peoples are "indigenous" to Canada.  We have all come from somewhere else, a fact proven by genetics beyond the shadow of a doubt.  Sadly, this gentleman is dead-set against reconciliation, calling on his daughters and grandchildren to keep up the fight, which he obviously intends to pass on to them.  In fact, he boasted that his little granddaughter's "sense of justice is well in tact."  We know what that means and it will not help future generations with reconciliation.  The problem will remain baked in, unless progress is made in good faith. 

And as to natives being "nations"?  Regardless of what Perry Bellegarde claims, nations have to be able to defend and finance themselves.  But those working within the native "industry" will not be swayed by facts.  It is in their interest to continue the fight -- just as it is in the interest of those in the cancer industry to keep cancer going. 

Canada is no longer unified.  We are a bunch of self-interested provinces without a strong federal leader to hold us together.  Mr. Happy Socks is just not up to the task. 
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p.s.  It's "thou", not "though", as in "holier".       

Ignorance doesn't help reconcilation

It appears many Canadians are ignorant of the facts surrounding the Chilcotin War of 1864.  In fact, many are unaware of how the country was governed in 1864, hence the vilification by some of my comments on the inappropriateness of Trudeau's apologia to BC natives in the House yesterday. 

One native called me spiteful, hateful and ignorant for questioning why a Canadian prime minister would apologize for something which had happened before Canada was even a country and BC a province.  At the time of the hangings, "Canada" did not exist; the territory was a colony of England.  If anyone should apologize (which in my view they should not), it would be the prime minister of Britain.

Crown Land began with the reign of George III in 1760 and continues to this day in Canada and many other countries around the world -- although the ownership and administration of the land now lie with the federal government.  The war chiefs who attacked the British were attempting to raid Crown Land and take back what they had lost.  This, however, does not negate the fact that the land was in the hands of the Crown at the time.

Calling the executions "wrongful", Trudeau said, "We recognize that these six chiefs were leaders of a nation, that they acted in accordance with their laws and traditions and that they are well-regarded as heroes of their people."  Trouble is, the land at the time was in the possession of the Crown and so they were illegally trying to claim it.  Crucially, the natives did not deny they had killed whites, but maintained it was an act of war.  Precisely, which is why they were hanged.   

That was the law of the time and colonial governor Frederick Seymour agreed their actions had constituted open war.  Trudeau now wants to revise all history -- from the names of buildings to the law of the land.  Who does he think he is?  At the very least, he needs a constitutional expert in the PMO who can fill him in on annoying details -- such as reality. 

To this day, 94% of all land in BC is provincial Crown Land.  That's just a fact, conveniently ignored by natives, politicians, journalists and many ignorant Canadians who spout bromides instead of truth.  To point out historical and constitutional accuracy does not make one ignorant, hateful or spiteful.  It just makes one correct.   

Huh??

How can the Prime Minister of Canada exonerate people executed before Canada was a country?  This event for which natives are being pardoned happened in 1864; Canada became a country in 1867.  Trudeau must be delusional!  And his advisors should be fired.  No one has a clue in the PMO.

But what I really want to talk about is facebook and the hullaballoo about the release of information.  What am I missing?  We put that information out there, we dump it into the ether ourselves and then we are outraged when someone uses it?  A while ago, I was being stalked so I re-did all my privacy settings so no one, other than "friends", can now see it.  Oh sure, I know fb knows I sometimes take ridiculous quizzes and search restaurants and directions, but who cares?  Why can't people restrict their settings?  Every time I open fb, I get a "sharing/privacy" warning; if people choose to ignore it, hit that keyboard at your peril.

Unless you are searching kiddie porn sites, why the outrage?  Oh, maybe these people are searching illegal sites and don't want to be caught?  I also know people whose real lives are so effed up and dysfunctional, they invent a new one, made up of complete lies, and put it in its entirety on fb -- every meal they eat, every party they attend, every place they go, every pic, pic, pic, pic.  So how can they be upset when this data is mined for whatever use?

Anyway, as I said, I am probably missing something about the gravity of the fb info.  But then, I only have 18 "friends", so how much damage can I do? 

 

Could not watch

The Junos.  Against my better judgement, thought I'd give it a chance, but when I watched the first number with 'Arcade Fire' and saw all the drumming and native stuff, I packed it in.  A few minutes later I switched back, hoping that act had departed, but was confronted by some guy who won something and kissed 100 people before taking the stage. 

That was it.  I knew it would have all been downhill from there, so I tuned in a Titanic movie marathon instead.  What I truly dreaded, however, was the veneration of Gord Downey -- which I knew was to come.  Can they not let the guy rest in peace?  Guess not, too much money to be made off of his cadaver.  And apparently, there is a whole lot of unreleased Downey music that lies in wait for his adoring fans.  So, it will never end.

This has been -- and continues to be -- happening with all kinds of dead people.  'Vanity Fair' had a huge ad featuring Marilyn Monroe advertising cameras.  The poor woman's been dead since 1962 -- that's 56 years!  It's all so sleazy.    

Every now and then.....

....I post something that has a bit to do with the title of this blog.  Today's 'Globe and Mail' featured some of the most hideous fashion statements on record.  Recently, I blogged about the peerless Oscar de la Renta; these "fashions" should not even be mentioned in the same sentence.  Here goes:

 

How can anyone leave the house looking like this?

From the ridiculous feather clunker shoes to the baggy top, this is a complete miss.

A giraffe print with no point.

Absolutely nothing needs saying in this monstrosity, featuring slippers to boot!

What are these shoes trying to say?  I have a few ugly chains in my costume box?

Baggy squared.

Would anyone go out with this man?  Cary Grant he is not.  Gawd, he's not even Gomer Pyle!

These earrings are from Chanel.  Imagine how much they cost?  No price, but let's hazard about $2,000 minimum:

 

 

I bought these in the eighties at Holt Renfrew and think I paid about $30.  I think they trump the Chanel's.  And I still wear them:

 





 









Tickled pink

That describes Rachel Notley and her clueless finance minister, Joe Ceci, when they tabled Alberta's latest budget.  "I know, let's put a social worker in as finance minister!" went the logic in Ceci's bizarre appointment.  Well, it is the NDP, so I guess if you want to give billions away and cripple the province, why not?!  Here is the happy couple -- the premier actually wearing pink for emphasis -- tabling the scariest budget Canada has ever seen:

 

Don't they look thrilled and deliriously pleased with themselves!  They have just tabled a budget with a mammoth $96 billion debt and a deficit $8.8 billion -- and no plan to pay it off!  In addition, the province will pay $2 billion in annual interest on the debt, estimated to be $54 billion in the new budget year.  I mean, we're a dinky, little province of only 4 million.  How did it get this far??!!

So, the government is borrowing money to pay interest on money it has already borrowed!  Seriously!  Deficits apparently will continue through to 2022-2023.  But the province also projects a spectacular $18.4 billion increase in annual revenue -- up to $66.3 billion in 2023-24  And how is the province going to do that?  Why, with Kinder Morgan -- you know, that pipeline.  Which will never be built (my prediction, along with other realists). 

And it also all depends on the NDP's being in power after 2019.  Pardon me while I choke. 

Jason Kenney will put a stop to it all in a year, when the NDP is unceremoniously dumped by the hobbled citizens of Alberta. 

Speaking of another inappropriate choice for a cabinet minister, here is our minister of "health', Sara Hoffmann.  If you want to be that overweight go for it, but if you are the minister of health, it renders you not credible.  I mean, I'm not exactly Vogue-thin myself, but you can't talk about how you are working for the health of Albertans and be in this shape. 

     





So classic, so chic

The great Oscar de la Renta may have died in 2014, but his clothes continue to be magnificent.  His brand is the only haute couture one would actually wear in public.  Everything else is designed by megalomaniacal  (usually) men, who couldn't give two figs for how women look. 

De la Renta obviously loved women and his dresses were proof.  This ad was in 'Vanity Fair' the other day and I simply loved the dress.  It's beautiful and I am happy to see his collection remains the way he styled it. 

How  positively fabulous!
 

 

This is the reality of what happened...

This is an article by Brian Giesbrecht, a retired provincial judge and senior fellow with The Frontier Centre for Public Policy:

February 16, 2018

"A jury’s acquittal of a white man for the killing of an Indigenous man has highlighted some of the deep divisions in this country.

"One of those divisions is between people living on reserves, and the farmers and townspeople living in the vicinity of those reserves. The Red Pheasant First Nation, where Colten Boushie lived with his mother, Debbie Baptiste and her family, from the reports I have read, sounds like most of the reserves on the prairies that I am familiar with; communities of chronic unemployment, where welfare dependency and alcohol abuse have become a way of life.

 "The residents of these communities are often held hostage by corrupt administrations, and can only watch as their young people descend into a destructive lifestyle. And these bored young people have little to do except party, with liquor and drugs as the constant. That heavy drinking and drug taking often leads to violence and other criminal activity that erupts on reserve communities first, and sometimes spills over into adjoining communities, in the form of theft and break and enters. The Red Pheasant First Nation is also typical of these communities, in that it has a long history of corrupt and incompetent administrations.

"There are such places near where I live. Not all Indigenous communities. One reserve to the southeast of my farm is noted for its progressive and peaceful lifestyle. However, most of the First Nations communities would more closely resemble the picture painted of the Red Pheasant First Nation. One such community to the northeast of my home is notorious for groups of mainly young people trespassing on private property, and stealing, and destroying property – sometimes brazenly.

 "Anyone attending a provincial court sitting in a town or city close to such a First Nation community will immediately notice the disproportionate number of Indigenous people charged with criminal offences. This disproportion exists not because police lay too many charges, but because so many offences are being committed by Indigenous people from these lawless places.

"The farmers and townspeople living close to these dysfunctional communities, as well as many of the residents of those First Nations, feel trapped and almost under siege. They are afraid, not only for their property, but for the safety of their families, as some of these theft situations have involved violence. Many live in dread of often intoxicated young people invading their property, and committing crimes.

"And that is what happened on Gerald Stanley’s farm the day Colten Boushie died.

"The five people clearly entered his property intending to steal a vehicle. The suggestion that these young people were only seeking help to fix a flat tire – endlessly repeated on CBC, even after it had definitively proven to be false – was an obvious lie.

"The group had attempted to steal a vehicle from a nearby farm, smashing the window of the vehicle with a rifle they had with them in a botched theft attempt. (The neighbor, Mrs. Fouhy, testified at the trial. She had clearly been traumatized by the incident.) The rifle – damaged, but loaded and operational – was with the five when they trespassed on the Stanley property, with theft on their minds. In fact, it was found beside the body of Colten Boushie in the SUV he had been driving.

"As soon as they entered onto the property, one of the group jumped into a truck that Stanley had been fixing for one of his neighbours. He exited that truck and got onto one of Stanley’s ATVs and attempted to start it. Meanwhile Stanley’s son, Sheldon, smashed the windshield of the 2003 Ford Escape Boushie was almost certainly driving, in an attempt to stop the brazen theft that was in progress. The driver of the Escape, promptly smashed it into a vehicle that belonged to Stanley’s wife.

 "The situation was clearly out of control and made even more dangerous by the fact that the group had been drinking heavily. One of the five testified that he had consumed thirty shots of liquor that day. Colten Boushie’s blood alcohol was over .3. That is very high; four times the legal driving limit. It was in that alcohol-fueled, and highly volatile atmosphere that Boushie was killed.

"Anyone in the immediate vicinity of that chaos could just as easily have been killed that day.

 "And we are only now finding out disturbing details about the criminal records of members of this group.

"So, a question we should ask ourselves is: How would any of us behave in a life and death situation like this?

"The experts tell us that in unpredictable life and death situations, our primitive brains take over. There is an adrenaline rush, and it is fight or flight. Our basic instincts kick into gear and we are solely focused on saving our lives, and the lives of our kin..

"We see this phenomenon clearly in police high speed chase situations, where a police officer’s life has been in jeopardy.. Often the officer is accused of over reacting when he forcefully subdues the offender. What is not as well understood is that the officer is still in a primitive response mode when this occurs. His heart is racing, the adrenaline is coursing through his brain, and he has not yet reverted to his calmer, more rational self.

"That is the mode the Stanley family would have been in when their peace was violently shattered that day. They found themselves in a highly unpredictable, fast- moving, and terrifying situation. Anything can happen in such circumstances – and the results are all too often tragic.

"How would we react if we were forced into such a situation?  Hopefully, we will never have to find out.

" And for farmers like Gerald Stanley, it seems that break-ins and theft from residents for the Red Pheasant First Nation were not an uncommon situation. They lived with the daily fear that this could happen to them.

 "These were the circumstances leading up to the tragic death of Colten Boushie, and the RCMP’s visit to Colten’s mother, Debbie Baptiste, with the sad news of her son’s death.

"Violence was not usually involved with the thefts, but it is not uncommon. In fact, twenty years ago another Baptiste – Colin – took part in the murders of two Saskatchewan farmers a very short distance from the Stanley farm. The Court of Appeal dealt with his appeal, and said this:

“(Baptiste and Caldwell) while armed, decided to steal gas from a farm residence. The co-accused, Caldwell, held the two residents of the house (Tetarenko and Kipp) at gunpoint while the respondent searched for other weapons. Before leaving the house the co-accused discharged the rifle killing Kipp. He then shot Tetarenko and the two men left the house, stole fuel, the respondent shot the farm dog, and they left together”.

 "This case is well known to the farmers in the vicinity of the Red Pheasant First Nation. That is not the comfortable world of  secure neighbourhoods in the city – but it is the world the Stanley family lives in.

"What happened at the Stanley farm that day is the rural equivalent of a violent home invasion. The only real difference between a city and a rural home invasion, is that in the country, the next farm might be miles away. – and the police may be hours away. You are alone.

 "Those are the bare bones of the case the jury heard in much more detail. The trial judge gave a superb charge to the jury. The jury deliberated for about 12 hours, and acquitted Stanley. We don’t know at this time if there will be an appeal.

 "But, here’s the thing:

"No charges have been laid against the group of young people who carried out this farm invasion. This is astounding! It is clear that a whole raft of possible charges – some extremely serious – have been committed, but to date there are no charges at all. What is going on?  A “Get Out of Jail Free” card for home invaders? A new, and very disturbing, racially-based charging policy?

"Could it have something to do with the fact that our Prime Minister, and his Justice Minister, have jumped into the fray – not only criticizing the judge and jury, but baldly stating that too many Indigenous people are being taken into the criminal justice system? Even a high profile senator weighed in – claiming that the jury’s verdict represented a “dark day for Canada”. How much influence is their irresponsible tweeting having on the administration of justice in this country? Will police and justice officials hesitate to do their job, as they have so far in this case, by not laying charges? Are the Prime Minister and his misguided Justice Minister telling the police that there are to be two distinct sets of rules, depending on one’s race? And will we be able to find juries to deal with highly charged cases like this in the future as a result of these thoughtless tweets?

"The signs are not good. This is a Prime Minister who seems to be committed to adding to the legal differences between Indigenous people and the mainstream, instead of starting to dismantle this destructive system.

"What about the way the media insisted on describing this as a case of young people innocently going onto a farm for help with a flat tire? This was blatantly untrue. This was a case of intoxicated young criminals, armed with a loaded weapon, brazenly entering the property to steal, and daring the shocked property owners to do anything about it. This was in broad daylight. The Stanleys were in plain view, but the thieves did not care. It was an “in your face” home invasion. Yet the CBC and other mainstream papers insisted on repeating the lie that this was a case of a young man who died while trying to get a tire fixed.

 "There is a world of difference between the death of a criminal that occurs during a home invasion, and the death of an innocent person.

"No one deserves to die, but the death of a criminal that occurs during the course of a dangerous criminal offence is much more understandable.

"Why did the CBC and other media mislead the public in this way?

"How much did their misinformation stoke the flames of racial division?

 "And our senior federal politicians and mainstream media are not the only people acting irresponsibly in this case. What about the families and community leaders on the Red Pheasant First Nation? What are they doing to control their young people, or to show a proper example? Why are they not taking responsibility, by acting responsibly themselves? Corrupt leadership makes it next to impossible for the decent families in the community to succeed, and only aggravates the inherent dysfunctionality of the reserve system. Why are the chiefs’ organizations not dealing honestly with this corruption, instead of exploiting the issue to further their financial agenda?

 "Finally, how is it that the federal government continues to fund such a corrupt and broken system, while turning a blind eye to the legitimate safety concerns of law ordinary citizens, and leaving the law-abiding residents of the Red Pheasant First Nation to the tender mercies of their corrupt leaders?

"I suppose that the answers to these questions are – as the poet says – “ blowing in the wind”.

"But it took an Indigenous politician to do the right thing in this unfortunate case.

"Winnipeg MP Robert Falcoln Oullette – recognizing the devastation that had been experienced by both the Boushie-Baptiste  family, and the Stanley family, reached out to both of them. Although he later back tracked a bit, after facing vicious criticism from strident chiefs with an agenda, his initial reaction was the right one.

"In fact, Falcon Oullette did what should have been done by the Prime Minister."

_____________________________________

I know it was a long read, but this is what really happened, what the law is, versus what the press reports, and what goes on in the average reserve.  It's a scandal. 

 

How hard can this be??

The separation between "Church" and "State" literally means there is a wall between religion and secular society.  It was stated by Thomas Jefferson in 1802, who had borrowed the concept from the founder of the Baptist Church in America, Roger Williams, who had first enunciated it in 1644. 

That's why we have churches, synagogues, temples and mosques, so people can exercise their religion as they wish and ensure their beliefs don't spill over into the public thoroughfare.  How can this be so difficult to get?!

Apparently, some religions don't.  Following this logic, this is why the wearing of a turban, niqab, hijab or yarmulke in the public thoroughfare -- where people of all religions congregate as one democratic mass -- is not appropriate.  It is not appropriate because by doing so, you are bringing your religion into secular society where people of all -- or no -- faiths are exposed to it.  This is also why there would be a perception that your religious beliefs might influence the performance of your job.  In the Catholic Church, for instance, many orders have abandoned the traditional nun's habit so these women can work within their communities as part of -- not separate from -- those with whom they work. These religious are called "lay orders".  On the other hand, cloistered nuns and brothers don't mingle in greater society, so they dress according to their specific order.   

This is why there is a separation between "Church" and "State".  It has absolutely nothing to do with freedom of religion; Canada already assures this in its constitution.  But religious and special-interest groups have hijacked this principle and turned it on its head, accusing those who object of being prejudiced and racist.  How can anyone be "racist" when we are all one race:  the human one.   

When I look at our defence minister, I know immediately he is a Muslim.  Do I want to know this?  No because I don't care what his personal, religious beliefs are.  To take this to its ultimately logical point (a trait with which I am constantly burdened), what if someone said, "My religion says I have to wear different shoes than the prescribed military footwear, so I am going to wear other shoes."  Or if someone said, "My religion stipulates that I have to wear a different uniform jacket, so I am not going to wear the army attire issued."   

It could go on and on.  And does!  When I see a woman in a burka, I immediately know she does not share Canadian principles, as prescribed in The Constitution Act of 1982.  I immediately know she is under the control of her father or husband -- something I find offensive.  And can you imagine if a native leader walked into the office wearing a headdress and beads?  It's all so ludicrous. 

It's not about religion, it's about how we govern ourselves in a secular society.      

 

Happy again

When we moved here six years ago, we couldn't get a land line for a while, so B went out and bought our first cellphone.  It was an original Blackberry and I loved it.  Sadly, about a year-and-a-half ago, it gave up the ghost and I had to get a replacement. 

But the Koodo dealer I used no longer carried them.  Instead, he sold me an LG.  I hated it -- mainly because I don't like the phantom keyboard!  I loved my Blackberry keyboard, but I muddled on, trying to use the "fake" one, hitting incorrect key after incorrect key and being annoyingly given suggestions about words I might be trying to type.  Please!  Don't "help" me!

A couple of days ago I went back to Koodo because my LG was misfiring and posting icons I wanted gone.  "I wish I could get a Blackberry," I lamented.  "You can, they're back," said the agent.  Yay!  I bought one on the spot. 

Now I am happy with my "real" keyboard again.    

It has to be said

Just heard an elder from the Athabaska Chipewyan Reserve saying he will not permit oil drilling near his land.  Here's a bulletin for him:  Your reserve receives $250 million a year from five oil companies (see "All yap, no facts", 12/01/17)

Yep, you read it correctly, Suncor, Syncrude, Husky, Cenovus and Esso hand that band $250 million a year to extract oil from "its" land.  Here's another bulletin:  It's Crown Land, not your band's, given for its use -- but not "to" -- via The Indian Act.

Just after I first posted this, I heard an interview on CBC in which an indigenous law professor from UVic was talking about changing The Indian Act.  "I have interviewed Indian Affairs minister after Indian Affairs minister after Indian Affairs minister and they all told me vehemently they were going to revise the act.  Never happens," said Michael Enright.  She replied, "Well it's got to be done in a parallel way with indigenous laws." 

And that's the problem.  We can't have two legal systems in this country, but guess what, we'd have 400 because each band would demand its own -- something that professor inadvertently alluded to in her non-answer.  Next we'd have to have Sharia law and G-d knows what else?!

But the real problem remains, guess what?  Money.  Native leaders do not really want to revise the act because that's the way the money flows and always has.  How many times have I lamented the fact the reason these leaders keep people on desperate reserves is because of money.    

It's all so sad and outrageous.   

 

Not by its cover

Was reminded of that today at lunch.  We have discovered a great little sandwich shop in Bowness called 'The Lazy Loaf and Kettle' and today I watched a group of six medical students sitting at a corner table, going over case studies with great enthusiasm.  Next to them was what I thought a bum. 

Fat and disheveled, he was eating and reading a newspaper.  Suddenly, he stood up, went over to the group and said, "I gather you are med students from Foothills."  "Yes," they answered.  He then put a couple of diagnostic questions to them.  Silence ensued.  "I have no idea," said one.  "Neither do I," said another.  Dr. ? then gave them the answer.  "Wow, I would never have got that," they all admitted.  They were amazed.  Dr. ? laughed and left. 

It was very cool and showed me I had judged someone incorrectly -- which I admit I do all the time.  I said to B, "These are the people who will be looking after us very soon."

We all learned something today.       

Irrelevant cubed

Waaaay back in the day, the federal NDP was "sort of" irrelevant.  But after it elected this woman and that as leader, it became completely irrelevant.  Now, however, it has committed suicide by electing a committed Sikh and has become "irrelevant cubed".

Thank God.

Just heard Jagmeet Singh interviewed on 'Power Play' and his words sealed the deal.  My late mother is turning over in her grave.  She gave money to every sad cause because she cared about Canada.  Listening to Singh, it was clear to me this guy does not and does not even identify as "Canadian".  He's a Sikh.  Period, the end.  He identifies as Sikh, not as Canadian.  And let's get one thing straight, the Air India crash was not a "Canadian" act of terrorism, it was a Sikh act of terrorism.  That the plane happened to have taken off from Vancouver does not make it a "Canadian" act. 

Not only has Singh participated in a number of Sikh conferences, where violence was promoted for some kind of homeland for some kind of Sikh province, he dodged every question Don Martin posed.  He did not categorically deny being against violence because he said, "It's a complex issue." No it's not, buddy.  Born in Canada, the guy claims to have suffered persecution because he was a Sikh.  He went on and on about people being killed...but not in Canada, buddy. 

Be a "Canadian", for Gawd's sake!  We don't care about independence for Khalistan....or whatever.  This is Canada.  Last time I checked, Khalistan was not in Canada, so don't bring that sh-t into this country.  How can the NDP have elected as leader a guy whose priority is to promote one religion and culture whose base is in another country??!! 

Thankfully, they will never form a government.  See ya later.    

    

A bit of a charlatan

Frankly, that's what I thought Stephen Hawking, who has just died.  A world-renowned theoretical physicist, he waxed on about everything -- which is why the movie they made of his life was entitled 'The Theory of Everything'.  Most of it, it seemed to me, was just stuff made up on the fly.  I mean, how can one person be right about theories on everything?  I guess if you call them all "theories", you can get away with anything.

Theories are notions; theorems require proof.  The emphasis for Hawking needs to be put on the "theoretical" part of his title.   

Most people have one area of expertise -- except for Einstein, who proved his theories mathematically.  My late father, as head of the NRC's rubber lab for instance, was a pioneer in the development of synthetic rubber -- a huge achievement for the entire world and one he developed with numbers and equations.  But Hawking "blue-skied" it on tangents about....well....everything.  Nevertheless, people worshipped him.  And he loved it.  The guy had quite the ego.  It always seemed to me his devotees were as much in awe of his physical limitations and computer speech gadget as his musings.  Someone on TV just said, "He enchanted the world."  Yep, but not much else. 

The movie showed his egomania to some extent, but interviews with various wives and women he'd thrown over revealed him to be a fairly mean and heartless guy, who demanded reverence on all levels. 

Anyway, what do I know?  This may be just what I think, but one thing I know for sure:  I am a very astute judge of character.  And that includes bullsh-t.     

Looked like.....

....he had just rolled out of bed.  I'm talking about Preston Manning, into whom we ran at our favourite sandwich shop, "The Lazy Loaf and Kettle' in Bowness.  It's a great little spot serving fantastic food where one can buy half-price, day-old bread, baked on the premises.  But there was Preston, standing in line, hair disheveled, waiting for his lunch.  B and I went up and had a chat.  He was as phony as you know he is.  Fake smile and all the trimmings.

Reminded me of Joe Clark, with whom I had chatted on Commonwealth Day (which funnily enough is today) in the Railway Committee Room on The Hill a few years ago.  Stuffing my face with goodies and wine, I said to Joe, "So, here we are at the trough!"  The man actually took offence, telling me what important work he was doing....blah....blah.....blah!  That's how seriously "Joe Who" takes himself!  What!?!?!?!?!?  

Trying to find a hook upon which to hang my coat, I was blocked by someone's phone cord.  Turned out, this loser was the fat woman sitting next to us, charging her phone on the shop's dime and blocking access to the coat hanger.  I just pushed through and hung my coat over her line.  Then, trying to buy bread, I was blocked by a baby stroller and car seat stuffed into the racks; couldn't see to make a choice.  Turned out, the culprit was sitting right there watching me stretch over her baby seat, but didn't move a muscle to accommodate me -- someone who actually wanted to spend money.

Don't ya just hate new hippie parents. 

Give it up

Christine Elliott needs to concede.  Challenging Doug Ford's victory in court makes her look small and shrill -- which she probably is, given this is the third time she has run for the leadership and lost.  I wonder what the late, classy Jim Flanagan, her husband, would have thought?  All she is accomplishing is proving she puts her interests ahead of the party's. 

Watching coverage, I saw old footage of Kathleen Wynn strolling around with her "wife" in tow.  Frankly, I found it jarring.  No one elected her "wife", but there the wife was smiling and shaking hands.  I know, I know, men do it, but to me it just looked ridiculous and focussed my mind on her personal life, instead of her politics.

Not sure how I feel about Ford, but anyone HAS to be better than Wynn and the 15-year mess the Liberals have made of that once-mighty province.  Remember Dalton McGinty and his musings on the introduction of Sharia Law to Ontario!?!?  Remember the privatization of Ontario Hydro?  Who privatizes an essential service?  Seriously, who?!  I think of my son, who lives in Toronto, freezing under blankets with plastic taped to all his windows to keep the hydro down.

Remember The Big Blue Machine, under The Rainmaker, Keith Davey?  I used to meet friends for drinks in the renowned bar in the Park Plaza in Toronto, when John Robarts was premier, and every night Robarts would be holding court in a corner voice booming.  Always "over-refreshed" he was nonetheless fascinating and very, very powerful.  Then came Bland Bill Davis, who ruled using a combination of mild and unopinionated.  Nevermind, it worked. 

What's next is anyone's guess. 

How does he think these up?

Fairly regularly, B comes up with some brilliant expressions.  A few years ago, we were driving up Carling Ave. in Ottawa, talking about some b-llsh-t or other, and he said, "If you could just separate the crap from the crap."  Indeed.

"Life is composed of small victories and mediocre defeats," was another, said while his ex was in the process of hosing him financially.  Speaking of his ex, shortly before the courts had decided who was to get what, we were driving along the street on which she lived and noticed she was selling many of B's family's items in a garage sale.  When he parked and went over to ask why, she said, "Get off my street."  "Really?  I didn't know you'd bought the whole street," he noted.

When she bought a Honda Accord, B said, "There goes D in her Honda Discord." 

Calling him into his office one day, B's ex-military boss threatened, "I'd like you to know I'm a trained killer."  "Really?  I'm a born killer," B replied. 

"Get in the race, or hand me a water bottle," he said to yet another critic.  While at the PCO, one of his bosses tried to insult him by mentioning that B had only come second in the Rhodes Scholarship process.  "At least I was in the race," retorted B.  (Note:  It was in the era of Quebec's Quiet Revolution, when mailboxes were bombed and politicians killed.  B lost to Marcel Masse, a francophone who definitely ticked the political boxes at the time, but no other.)

Talking to him about something, Michael Kirby, B's boss in FPRO, said, "Boy I wouldn't want to run into you in a dark alley."  B was changing his shirt at the time.

There are some real gems there; feel free to use them.
__________________________________________

Just a word about the recent "gender bender" budget.  All puffery and nonsense, the budget's stated aim was to get more women into the workforce -- at least half, according to Morneau.  The salient point here is that neither Trudeau's nor Morneau's wives work outside the home.  How does that jive?  It doesn't.  And both have ample means to do so; Morneau's wife is a multi-millionaire and Trudeau's has two fulltime, paid-for-by-you-and-me nannies to let her get to an office every day.  I had to pay for my nannies myself and support nine people -- B's two kids, my two, his ex, my deadbeat ex and the nanny.  With B and me, that's nine.

Time to get serious here.    



 

Hair flippers

Sorry to crap on women on International Women's Day, but it's just another day to me and I call it as I see it.  There was Chrystia Freeland holding a press conference about what a great job she's doing, all the while flipping her hair to keep it out of her eyes and face.  So unprofessional.  Hey, ever heard of bobby pins or elastics? 

And those pearls!  She wears them all the time.  Not a good look. 

A couple of days ago, Don Martin had Sophie Trudeau on and she didn't answer a single question.  Just put her hand over her heart and earnestly blabbed on and on.  About what I could not make out?  She also flipped her hair around. 

Why do women have to be represented by such women?

Looking one's age

I have blogged about this several times, but people are catching up.  I'm talking about hair.  As I always say, we are our hair.  If you dye it blonde you morph into a "dyed blonde".  Your personality actually changes -- crazy I know, but true.  Think about all the women you know who dye their hair blonde and you will see it.  Obviously, they're not content with the hair God gave them, so they dye it.

London's 'Daily Telegraph' ran a piece on this phenomenon, but they talked about "Looking the part in the workplace".  The woman who penned it said, "A month after I turned 27, I cut my hair.  Falling past my shoulders, it was that clichéd signifier of femininity and, I realized, youth.  With long hair, I was the one asked to make tea," the author wrote.  "As Melanie Griffith realized in the 1988 film 'Working Girl', 'You wanna be taken seriously, you need serious hair.'"

So true.

"Grey hair will be the status symbol of the nineties," my hairdresser had said when I had decided to go natural.  I was 45 and standing in front of the mirror, with the bottle of dye in my hand, when I said, "What the eff are you doing?  You've earned every single hair, so stop it."  It took about six months to get rid of it all, but the day the last strands finally hit the floor, I felt so liberated!  However, some cultures seem to dictate the dyeing of hair, such as the Asian, Filipino and East Indian.  How many times have you seen these women with harsh, black hair and white roots.  What an ugly look.  And by the way, the men do it too?!??

"The new bob looked smarter -- made me look smarter and older.  I was offered two new jobs in the next two months," says the columnist.  "I was promoted and I don't rule out my hair as one of the reasons."  I would agree -- so would Melanie Griffith.

I also believe that letting your hair go allows for more wardrobe flair.  Instead of being seen as some old broad who dyes her hair and tries to look young, you're seen as a mature woman with grey hair who can still pull off a pair of pink high heels.  I prefer the pink heels to the dyed-hair-with-grey-roots look. 

You're not kidding anyone, ladies.  Here's IMF director Christine Lagarde with a very cool pink jacket, statement earrings and a grey bob.  Love it all.

 

   

Say again!!??

"This critical appointment for Western calls for a visionary, strategic and imaginative leader -- someone who is energized by the opportunity to deliver on the mandate of the Student Experience portfolio," reads the ad in 'The Globe and Mail' yesterday. 

Yes, that's right.  Western is looking for....wait for it....sit down.....hydrate, an "Associate Vice-president of Student Experience".  I am not kidding!  "Western's vision is to be a destination of choice for the world's brightest minds seeking the best learning experience at a leading Canadian research university," it goes on.  Whew, nearly ran out of breath reading that too-long sentence! 

Boy, even though accepted, I'm glad I didn't go there, couldn't afford it.  Are you telling me that now university students have to have their hands held by a VP of Student Experience?!?!  How pathetic.  I went to good, ole' Carleton, where I got plenty of experience in many things -- drinking at the Chaud, the Rendevous, the Standish Hall, the Ottawa House and other down-at-the-heel dives in Hull, smoking, partying, dating crazy British professors with whom we played strip-poker and yes, going to class, studying and graduating. 

I loved it all!

But now kids have to be molleycoddled even when having fun!  OMG!  What's the person going to do?  Hang around the bars orchestrating "fun"?  I can't believe Amit Chakma, the president of Western, let this go to print; he must be delusional.  Maybe it's something that has to be regulated in other countries, but here in Canada, university is supposed to be a wide-ranging experience.  Some people played bridge all day, others gambled, others played chess and others flunked out....you name it, we did it all -- and by ourselves. 

Sad.     

More money than brains

Humans are not supposed to be up there.  I'm talking about Mount Everest and K 2 -- the highest mountains in the world.  Watched 'Everest' and 'The Summit' back-to-back yesterday; the first a movie, the second a documentary.  Both show rich people doing insane things and paying the ultimate and almost-ultimate price.

Heck, Sir Edmund Hilary did it in sneakers with an ice pick, but these people have very expensive gear up the ying-yang -- all to no avail in the end.   

Surely to God, you'd know disaster lay at the end of such missions.  Both movies were exactly the same:  people stumbling around in the snow and risking the lives of the poor Sherpa-saps who practically have to carry them up.  In both movies, people either die, or lose hands, feet, toes, fingers and noses.  For what?!  The selfishness is breathtaking.  The dead are left, frozen forever while their families mourn back home thinking of them cast in ice for eternity. 

Before they venture to disaster, they party hard at base camp-- which seems very bizarre.  Throughout the documentary, shots are shown of the dead as they succumb, their birth and death dates printed under their faces.  Why would anyone do this?  I have to admit we actually know one such fool who will soon go on another trek to Everest.  Rich, he will leave to worry his kids and grandkids, but he couldn't give a sh-t.  It's all about him.

In the case of K 2, 11 people died on the descent, which is apparently when most disasters happen.  To this day, no one -- not even the survivors -- seem to know what happened.  I guess that's because when you are that high up, your brain ceases to function.  Frankly, the minute they decided to climb, their brains ceased to function. 

It's all such narcissistic nonsense. 

Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory

Some are experts at this.  They seem to have it all, but eff it up thanks to hubris and narcissism.  I am thinking of a cousin of B's; we'll call her "F".  Time to "out" another relative.

This woman put her husband through medical school, had four kids and then decided -- when he became a wealthy surgeon -- that she was "liberated" and left him.  He got on with making money, re-married and she....well, became a pot-smoking n'er do well.  From having it all, F now lives on the subsidized public dime.  Lucky for her, the inept Trudeau is legalizing marijuana, so her habit will now be "medical".  Ya, right.   

That's what I mean by "snatching defeat from the jaws of victory".  Another "defeat snatcher" is B's ex, but you know all about that.  She went from sitting on her a-s as a kept woman in the living room playing bridge to schlepping over a keyboard in a legal sweat shop.  Another "libber", B's ex read 'The Women's Room', declared herself a feminist, told him she no longer wanted to be "Mrs. Marley-Clarke", kicked him to the curb (he moved into the YMCA), collected a lot of money from him, but then had the nerve to keep his unique name?!  I am glad we no longer live in the same city because I was sick of telling people we were not related. 

But back to B's cousin.  If you check it, you'll find that she claims to have been born in London, but she was actually born in Tundla, India.  Why is that something about which to be ashamed?  B and all his cousins, save one, were born in India. 

Where was I?  Oh ya, after driving her all over town a few years ago to fill in all the forms for her various pensions, B received one of the most vicious emails I have ever read -- telling him she had always hated him, denigrating their grandfather, his father and her own, etc., etc., etc.  And this was after we had also taken her to an expensive lunch at The Royal Ottawa Golf Club!

There are some people to whom one has to give a very wide berth.       

Women messing up

Can we not have one day for International Women's Day that focuses on women in general?  Now it's all about Tina Fontaine.  The justice minister should be fired for weighing in on the verdict.  How outrageous for a minister of justice to question the verdict of a jury!!  In fact, it's illegal.   

As I have blogged 'ad nauseam', the jury has spoken and the justice minister should accept it and shut up.  But she can't because she's a native.  What a poor choice.  Television broadcasts today are full of huge gatherings and marches about this case.  It makes me angry that the rule of law is besmirched by a bunch of placard-carrying yahoos. 

Another woman messing up is the leader of the Bloc Quebecois, Martine Ouellette.  All but three of her caucus have checked out and still she refuses to resign.  "Don't confuse me with the facts, my mind's made up," seems to be her motto.  The Bloc is finished because the demographics no longer support separatism.  That's over.  It reminds me of the Monty Python movie, 'Life of Brian', wherein the knight still rages uselessly on, after having had all his limbs removed. 

So ridiculous.  As I have said time and time again, women are their own worst enemy.