The Recruiting Sargeant

In time for Remembrance Day

 

Canada Remembers on Youtube

Now has their own channel.

Go here

The Republic of Canada

Since Prince Charles and Camilla touched down the debate is open. Is Canada ready to be a Republic? Australia tried to push it through but it failed. The big argument is that we might do away with our Westminster System of Government and have something that is more proportionate and more people would vote.

As a nation we should look to our cousins down under. New Zealand still has the Queen and PR and they're happy. Australia did try to become a Republic and it didn't work out, but they also force people to vote and they're happy as well. Shouldn't we try something like that?

The Monarchy costs per capita a $1.53 a year, not much, don't you think? Now imagine becoming a Republic and untangling ourselves from hundreds of years of tradition. Canadians don't seem to realize how deep those ties go in our society.  One thing people don't realize is that all government agreements, documents and treaties are made between the parties and the Crown. No monarchy, no legal agreements? I work with government agreements and I can tell you the bureaucracy involved in switching just my department over would cost a hell of a lot more then $1.53 a year.

The Best Game Out There

 Next to hockey. Since I started playing in July I've had whiplash, sprained fingers, a pulled shoulder and numerous cuts and bruises. And I get to do it all again on Saturday. 

H1N1 aka The Swine Flu

I thought it was about time I wrote about H1N1. I should be at work today but I'm home sick, not with Swine Flu but with another epidemic and widespread viral illness, the common cold. Now this common cold is a highly contagious virus for which there is no vaccine or cure for. Symptoms include cough, sore throat, congestion, fatigue, aches and headaches. Complications can include croup, bronchitis, pneumonia and strep throat. Sounds scary, right?

That is how I feel about H1N1. Not that I don't think it can turn serious in those rare cases or those who have some underlying condition. I've been going back and forth on whether to get the vaccine or not and I still haven't decided. I've heard differing opinions on the vaccine from medical professionals so I don't know who to believe.

It also seems that everyone has forgotten the seasonal flu, which kills 500,000 people a year. How many people has H1N1 killed? 12 in BC? Another killer with no vaccine, Malaria, kills 2 people a minute. There are worse things out there.

Update, see CBC's news story

Crosbie welcomes royals in sealskin

I'm happy to see our leaders aren't falling over themselves with anti-seal hunt ridiculousness.

John Crosbie, the Lieutenant-Governor of Newfoundland, greeted Britain's royal couple today in a sealskin coat, a move that could spark new controversy among Europeans already upset over a rabbit stole sported earlier by Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall.
Prince Charles and his wife were in Newfoundland early in the day as part of an 11-day royal tour, the first official visit by Camilla. They left for Toronto in the late morning after attending a series of events. The first was the planting of two oak trees at Government House, where they were welcomed by Mr. Crosbie wearing his sealskin coat.
Mr. Crosbie swapped it for a sombre blue overcoat by the next event, but photos of the sealskin garment will likely be a sore point with those who see the hunt as an antiquated and barbaric ritual.
It was a rare moment on an otherwise meticulously organized royal tour, which to date has been marked more by ambivalence than criticism. At many venues there have been small crowds and even the British press have noted the “chilly reception.”
Mr Crosbie called the coat a statement of support for the seal hunt, saying derisively that some Canadians seem to think meat is manufactured in the back of a supermarket. Speaking to reporters shortly after the royals left, Mr Crobie said that they had taken the garment in stride.

Hedy Watch

She's at it again! This time she wants the Hill to have their own H1N1 vaccination clinic. I saw wait like the rest of us common folk!

I'm Taking 2 Minutes

And so should you

November 1939

29 October-4 November 1939

Church parade on Sunday to St. Andrews. I am not sure that all this long parading on Sunday is making enthusiastic Presbyterians. Wednesday the unit parades for an inspection by Major-General A.G.L McNaughton who we were told was the Commander of the Canadian Forces and would be taking us overseas. I had never heard of him until now. Companies are out practicing digging trenches this week- that is something we in the band have not had to do. The Royal Cecil Hotel on Jarvis Street was placed out of bounds but that does not worry me as I never frequent the place.

5-11 November 1939

Sunday parade canceled. Dental inspection of the unit started on Monday. During the week, in addition to duties around the barracks I was detailed to play Last Post and Reveille at my old school, Jarvis Collegiate, on Friday 10 November. I got a fine reception there especially from my old French teacher, Mr Brockenshire, who used to be an officer in the 15th Battalion (48th Highlanders) in the Great War. I also played, that same night, for the 123rd Battalion CEF Association, my Father's old unit from the Great War. At the civic service at the cenotaph on 11 November. Corporal Cam Fraser led us as we sounded the Last Post and Reveille. The buglers were myself, Bill Elms, Ted Ralph, Al Bond and Stan Seggie. A detachment of 200 men from the Battalion paraded as well. The weather was cold and wet.

12-18 November 1939

The Regiment paraded on Sunday to the 48th Highlanders Memorial at Queen's Park together with the veterans of the 15th, 92nd and 134th Battalions of the old Canadian Expeditionary Force. Bands from the C.A.S.F. and N.P.A.M were in attendance. Same buglers sounded Last Post and Reveille as sounded the calls at the City Hall on Saturday. Monday we all had pictures taken individually by a photographer from the Toronto Newspapers. One Officer and three Sergeants left for a course in England this week. Route march this week to the Royal York Golf course where a tactical exercise took place. Band played to and from the training area. A second medical examination was started for all ranks at the Fort York armouries. It was not a very rigorous examination and seemed only to confirm the medical category that I was originally assigned to us in September.

19-25 November 1939

Church parade this Sunday at St. Pauls Anglican Church on Bloor Street. I suspect that we went to this church as our new CO Lt-Col E.W. Haldenby is an Anglican and a big wheel at St. Paul's. Our new Brigadier, Brigadier Armand Smith, took the salute at the march past after church. Remainder of the day free. Ever since we have come to the Horse Palace the Band has beaten Retreat outside the main entrance to the Horse Palace, at least twice per week. As there has been a surplus of drummers in the band I have not been on everyone. In fact I have missed more of them than I have taken part in.

26-November-2 December 1939

The Battalion paraded on the campus south of the Fort York Armouries for an inspection by Lord Tweedsmuir the Governor General of Canada. He toured the ranks and afterwards we had a march past. Third series of inoculations started this week. Training slowed down. Unit concentrating on gas training and the issuance of battle dress. Had to go through the gas chamber to test our respirators.

A Soldier First

All right, I'm biased as I really like Rick Hillier and I can't tell you how excited I was when I picked up his book. "A Soldier First: Bullets, Bureaucrats and the Politics of War" is General Hillier's memoir of his service in the Canadian Forces from ROTP to being the Chief of Defense Staff. Now whether you like/agree with General Hillier or not I recommend reading this book as it is an amazing memoir of the what it was like being an Officer in the ever changing Canadian Forces during the Cold War, the mission in Balkans and finally Afghanistan. 

Outspoken, controversial, unpopular with the Liberals and Tories but popular with soldiers, General Hillier is credited with improving the public perception of the Canadian Forces as well as reversing some of the funding cuts prevalent in the 90's (or the Decade of Darkness.) "A Soldier First" is as blunt and hard hitting as the man himself and it leaves no love for senior bureaucrats in Ottawa.

Major G.D. Walker

The mystery of the medal

Very interesting indeed! I decided to look into this a bit myself. Since Canadian records have been checked I decided to look in other Commonwealth records. British records show no more then 60 G. Walkers!

Commoners need not apply

To the 2010 Olympics

From the National Post, Raphael Alexander:

Premier Gordon Campbell was doing some furious backpedaling during a media scrum when he was asked whether he would keep his word to invite a Mi’kmaq children’s choir to perform during the opening ceremonies. Saying he doesn’t have control over such things, the Premier refused to acknowledge he had previously indicated the children would perform.
The Liberal government seems to be rather tight with the purse strings when it comes to availing the public with Olympic tickets, even as they scoop up 3,000 prime time tickets for themselves and their “business partners”. When a reporter asked Gordon Campbell whether he might consider donating some of the 3,000 tickets to women like Barbara Wagner, a gold medalist for Canada in figure skating in 1960, the man laughed.
He actually turned and laughed.
But what’s interesting about the Liberals pondering whether they can find time for aged Olympians or Mi’kmaq children’s choirs, is that the government has splashed out for nearly half-a-million dollars to host those famous “business leaders” and foreign dignitaries we’re hearing so much about lately. In a sole source contract, the Liberals have rented a private club in Vancouver for the duration of the 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, which could cost as much as $650,000. The government has already paid $135,000 for meeting room rentals and $315,000 for food and beverages.

Perez Hilton's New Look

Yes!

Spoiled brat separatists dishonour Van doos

A great commentary from the Calgary Herald

Les enfants terribles in Quebec are at it again. The Supreme Court of Canada has shot down a regressive, and repressive, language law in Quebec and the separatists have retaliated by muttering about sovereignty.
The law, known as Bill 104, prevented children who attended English private schools not subsidized by the government from qualifying for admission to English public schools. Immigrant parents whose children, under the province's Bill 101, were supposed to attend French schools instead were using the unsubsidized schools as a way of circumventing the law, since their kids would then be eligible to attend English public schools if most of their schooling had been in English.
It was completely lost on the irate sovereigntists that the judges' unanimous decision, which found Bill 104 in violation of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, was written by Justice Louis LeBel, who is a Quebecer.
First off the block and foaming at the mouth was Parti Quebecois leader Pauline Marois, who introduced an emergency motion in the Quebec legislature denouncing the court's decision. The court rules that your law violates human rights, and you denounce the decision, thus showing you favour human rights violations over the law of the land? What would you be, then, if you got into power, some tinpot tyranny unworthy of the title "democracy"?
Marois was followed closely by Bloc Quebecois leader Gilles Duceppe, who said: "It's the Supreme Court of another nation --the Canadian nation. We need to draw lessons from this. For as long as we belong to Canada, there will always be situations like this." Could someone please explain what this man is doing sitting in Canada's Parliament if he considers Canada to be another nation?Why not find some other nation whose government you could sit in, Gilles? Will any old nation do? How about the U.S.? Would that work? Go to Washington and take a seat in Congress. It would make about as much sense as having your members warm the backbenches in Ottawa. Go--and good riddance to you and your party. If you don't love Canada, you have no business taking a seat in its Parliament, and you never did.
Another nation, indeed. But certainly one whose federal funding, including transfer payments from other provinces, you are quite happy to accept. Not to mention a nation whose money you like using, whose postal service suits you just fine, whose investments are always welcome and whose military keeps you safe. And shame on Marois, Duceppe and Mario Beaulieu, head of the St. Jean Baptiste Society, who said "it is unacceptable that the future of French in Quebec should be at the mercy of federal institutions controlled by English Canada, like the Supreme Court." Why shame on them? Because the Royal 22nd Regiment from Quebec, the Van Doos, are at this moment fighting in Afghanistan. They're fighting for Canada, and a number of them have lost their lives over there.

With Company Like This.........

I might turn against the seal hunt...

Pamela Anderson cuddled a seal mascot Friday and used her iconic Barbie-like assets to draw attention to what she called the "shameful practice" of seal hunting in her homeland.
Anderson told a gathering outside Ontario's legislature that she wanted to save Canada from further international embarrassment over a "barbaric massacre."
"When I travel all over the world, the Canadian seal hunt is a huge issue that people talk to me about," she said. "So I'm trying to save some embarrassment."
Anderson, 42, braved blustering winds and a bone-chilling damp while clad in a one shoulder sheath and strappy heels. Her handlers ensured not a drop of rain reached her primped hair and makeup.
After posing with the mascot and a picture of her air-brushed self wearing a "Save the Seals" T-shirt, the former "Baywatch" star took time to answer gossip questions.
"No," she replied when asked if she's selling her Malibu home.
"Don't believe any of that crap," she said, adding, "I have a home in Canada too.
"Being Canadian, I feel I am hopefully a good voice here," she said while shutters snapped around her.
Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Gail Shea called Anderson's remarks disappointing and suggested she spend time with East Coast sealers to understand the hunt's importance.
"Hollywood celebrities are not going to dictate policy in Canada because we make decisions that are based on science and consultation with Canadians," Shea said in a telephone interview.
Anderson, a B.C. native, was in Toronto to launch her new animal-friendly clothing line at Fashion Week.
The actress and activist is one of several celebrities, including Kelly Osborne and Perez Hilton, who are part of the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals campaign calling for an end to the annual seal hunt.
PETA says the ads will appear in entertainment magazines and on blogs and will be tweeted in many languages starting this fall. The aim is to keep pressure on the government year-round instead of just during the spring when protests are expected.
Anderson said baby seals are bludgeoned in front of their mothers before they have their first swim, but Shea said the killing of baby seals hasn't been practised in Canada since the early '80s. Activists focus on it because it tugs at the heart strings, Shea said.

Misguided Olympic protesters have nothing to teach natives

From the Globe and Mail

No one has to tell Tewanee Joseph about the grim plight of Canada's aboriginal people.
Mr. Joseph, who grew up on the Downtown Eastside, rhymed off a litany of his people's woes during a speech this week at a banquet celebrating aboriginal business achievements.
Among them: twice the national unemployment level, five times the youth suicide rate of non-aboriginal Canadians, two-thirds of kids on reserves failing to graduate from high school, male life expectancy 7.4 years less than other Canadians.
Not news, of course. What is new is that Mr. Joseph has finally had it up to here with anti-Olympic protesters, many of them self-styled “native warriors,” and their so-called “direct action” tactics to disrupt Games events.
Mr. Joseph, it should be pointed out, is head of the Four Host First Nations, on whose traditional territory the Olympics take place and whose leaders strongly support the Games. But there were no more of the polite comments he's made in the past about the right to protest.
In an ironic counterpoint to the protesters' rallying cry, “No Olympics on Stolen Native Land,” Mr. Joseph accused them of not understanding aboriginal people's own respect for each other's territory. “They would never barge onto their land and hold a protest.”
Then, contending that the Games are providing aboriginals with jobs, economic opportunities and a chance to showcase their rich culture to the world, he really got rolling.
“What precisely do these non-aboriginal naysayers have to teach aboriginal people? How are smashed windows, military fatigues and balaclavas helping to address Canada's long-standing Indian problem?
“Do these protesters really want us to remain forever the Dime Store Indian, the lone figure at the end of a gravel road, trapped in the isolation of an inner-city nightmare?”

Israel to form committee to fight U.N. Gaza report

The prospect Israeli officials could face war crimes trials abroad led the Israeli government on Tuesday to form a committee to deal with the international legal consequences of a U.N. report on the Gaza war.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who promised a lengthy battle to "delegitimise" the findings by a U.N. commission, also instructed government officials to draft proposals for changing international laws of war.

The U.N. Human Rights Council singled out Israel for censure in a resolution on Friday, while endorsing the report by South African jurist Richard Goldstone which condemned both Israeli and Hamas actions in the war last December and January.

In response to this Robert Bernstein, the founder of Human Rights Watch, quits in protest to what he called the group's "anti-Israel bias." Here is his op-ed from the NY Times:

AS the founder of Human Rights Watch, its active chairman for 20 years and now founding chairman emeritus, I must do something that I never anticipated: I must publicly join the group’s critics. Human Rights Watch had as its original mission to pry open closed societies, advocate basic freedoms and support dissenters. But recently it has been issuing reports on the Israeli-Arab conflict that are helping those who wish to turn Israel into a pariah state.

At Human Rights Watch, we always recognized that open, democratic societies have faults and commit abuses. But we saw that they have the ability to correct them — through vigorous public debate, an adversarial press and many other mechanisms that encourage reform.

That is why we sought to draw a sharp line between the democratic and nondemocratic worlds, in an effort to create clarity in human rights. We wanted to prevent the Soviet Union and its followers from playing a moral equivalence game with the West and to encourage liberalization by drawing attention to dissidents like Andrei Sakharov, Natan Sharansky and those in the Soviet gulag — and the millions in China’s laogai, or labor camps.
When I stepped aside in 1998, Human Rights Watch was active in 70 countries, most of them closed societies. Now the organization, with increasing frequency, casts aside its important distinction between open and closed societies.
Nowhere is this more evident than in its work in the Middle East. The region is populated by authoritarian regimes with appalling human rights records. Yet in recent years Human Rights Watch has written far more condemnations of Israel for violations of international law than of any other country in the region.
Israel, with a population of 7.4 million, is home to at least 80 human rights organizations, a vibrant free press, a democratically elected government, a judiciary that frequently rules against the government, a politically active academia, multiple political parties and, judging by the amount of news coverage, probably more journalists per capita than any other country in the world — many of whom are there expressly to cover the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Meanwhile, the Arab and Iranian regimes rule over some 350 million people, and most remain brutal, closed and autocratic, permitting little or no internal dissent. The plight of their citizens who would most benefit from the kind of attention a large and well-financed international human rights organization can provide is being ignored as Human Rights Watch’s Middle East division prepares report after report on Israel.
Human Rights Watch has lost critical perspective on a conflict in which Israel has been repeatedly attacked by Hamas and Hezbollah, organizations that go after Israeli citizens and use their own people as human shields. These groups are supported by the government of Iran, which has openly declared its intention not just to destroy Israel but to murder Jews everywhere. This incitement to genocide is a violation of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
Leaders of Human Rights Watch know that Hamas and Hezbollah chose to wage war from densely populated areas, deliberately transforming neighborhoods into battlefields. They know that more and better arms are flowing into both Gaza and Lebanon and are poised to strike again. And they know that this militancy continues to deprive Palestinians of any chance for the peaceful and productive life they deserve. Yet Israel, the repeated victim of aggression, faces the brunt of Human Rights Watch’s criticism.
The organization is expressly concerned mainly with how wars are fought, not with motivations. To be sure, even victims of aggression are bound by the laws of war and must do their utmost to minimize civilian casualties. Nevertheless, there is a difference between wrongs committed in self-defense and those perpetrated intentionally.
But how does Human Rights Watch know that these laws have been violated? In Gaza and elsewhere where there is no access to the battlefield or to the military and political leaders who make strategic decisions, it is extremely difficult to make definitive judgments about war crimes. Reporting often relies on witnesses whose stories cannot be verified and who may testify for political advantage or because they fear retaliation from their own rulers. Significantly, Col. Richard Kemp, the former commander of British forces in Afghanistan and an expert on warfare, has said that the Israel Defense Forces in Gaza “did more to safeguard the rights of civilians in a combat zone than any other army in the history of warfare.”
Only by returning to its founding mission and the spirit of humility that animated it can Human Rights Watch resurrect itself as a moral force in the Middle East and throughout the world. If it fails to do that, its credibility will be seriously undermined and its important role in the world significantly diminished.