All we did was welcome Al Gore to his new home. Why are people so upset?

All we did was welcome Al Gore to his new home. Why are people so upset?

Zoot suit riot

Since I just posted Candyman I thought I would post a music video that talked about the other side of the coin. Racial tensions simmered during the war and occasional broke into violence. White sailors and Latino men fought it out on the streets of Los Angles (some things don’t change much)

Actually WWII was very good for the rights of woman and Blacks in the US. Women were able to enter the workplace in force and prove themselves very capable. Blacks fought well in the Army and also became Aces. The US navy in 1941 didn’t consider Blacks to be good enough for combat duties and used them as cooks and stewards. The US army had somewhat better attitudes and eventually became one of the best employers for blacks in the US and was promoting them to leadership positions long before Corporate America did.

Candyman

Sorry I have not posted for a bit, more computer problems will likely have to change operating systems soon. Anyways a little listening pleasure and a song sure to get your foot tapping. This is a remake by Christina Aguilera of a song first done by the Andrew sisters. Also I have included a link to a interesting mix of Christina and Andrew Sisters. The remake by Christina is interesting because it also pays homage to the “Rosie the riveter” and the various pin up girls of WWII. Kudos to an art director that did their homework. I hope you enjoy both video’s.

Icarus Reborn

In this case flying closer to the sun helps!

While a 24hr flight is impressive, don’t expect a solar powered airliner anytime soon. Mind you if Air Canada had one they would still ding you for a “Fuel Surcharge”.
Future solar aircraft will likely be unmanned and used as flying antennas or as high endurance surveillance UAV’s loitering over battlefields and disaster zones. Like Airships though they will be vulnerable to weather.

The new kinder and cooler IDF

Soldiers on patrol in Hebron show a new technique to reduce tensions. They got in trouble for this when the video went viral. Militaries in democratic countries are struggling with the impact of the new generation and social media. This includes blogs and videos.

One of the issues concerning militaries and social media is “Opsec” short for “Operational Security” Many of the military forums self police in this manner, but once posted it is difficult to erase from the internet. Another issue is “Persec” short for “Personal security” which for the military means protecting serving members and their families from terrorist attacks, intimidation or from attempts to turn holders of sensitive posts into spies. In the Cold war “Persec” was used by both sides to prevent the other from knowing which units were where. Your average teenager and many adults could use a few lessons in “Persec” when it comes to posting stuff online.

Fly Guy

Our cat likes to do this late at night so he can torment us and get the fly or not. It wouldn't be so bad if he could kill the fly right away, but no he like to make the game last.

HST the gift that just keeps taking

Thanks Gordo, your brilliant idea just added .33 cents to my coffee break and .75 cents to my parking. Sounds like peanuts? Assuming a 220 day work year that’s $72.60 extra for coffee and $165.00 extra for parking a year. It should also add $140 to the repair of our hot tub. Man the underside of the table is looking good!

Now just don’t get me started on “Carbon Tax” ARRRRRRGH!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you didn't sign the anti-HST petition then you should be paying double-double!!

UPDATE
Did you know they charge HST on the recycling deposit? Found this out when I got back from Superstore

Allan Rock: Still choosing what you are allowed to think and do

Cartoon courtesy of Simon Fraser University Library


Well Allan Rock certainly is consistent. The latest revelation that he is the one who was behind the e-mail threatening Ann Coulter with criminal charges if she said the wrong thing at a university lecture comes as no surprise to me. Allan rock was the Justice Minister that helped push the current Firearm Act through. An Act that contains sections that may actually be un-constitutional. Not to mention his other past lapses in moral judgements.
Allan Rock said “I came to Ottawa believing that only the army and the police should have guns” Not an exactly neutral position on the subject, not to mentioned such beliefs have not really worked out all that well and puts you into the company of these notable people; Hitler, Mao, Stalin.
So to discover that Allan Rock has issues with free speech by people who disagree with him is no surprise to me.

Big band is where it's at!

Well it's another Friday and nobody's needs to think to hard so I will offer you some old time music. This is Glen Miller's "Tuxedo Junction" I love the big band sound and I hope you will also. find a dance partner or pull up a chair, crack a cold one and get into some foot tapping. Cheers

The ugly Canadian

While we celebrate Canada’s birthday it’s a good time to reflect on what it means being a Canadian. For many people it is enough to be anti-American to consider themselves Canadian. When pressed they say “We not war-like or imperialistic like them”. The sad fact is the beliefs they held are not terribly true. Canadians have been involved pretty heavily in almost every major conflict of the 20th century. As for being imperialistic, I guess the Boers might disagree and ask why Canadians troops were fighting against them in South Africa in the early 1900’s. Not to mention the local First Nations.

These people I call “Ugly Canadians” they ignore our own history or gloss it over, perhaps out of guilt that in reality we not as wonderful as they pretend we are. Instead of being proud of who we are and what have accomplished and learned, they are content to bash our neighbour in order to show how ‘Canadian” they are. Yet Like a parasitic they remain tucked in close to the belly of the beast they despise for warmth and protection. If you disagree with their values they will brand you “un-Canadian” something the Federal Liberal Party likes to do as well, hence their pounding at the polls.

Canada was born in war and by war. First between France and the local First Nations, then France vs England, then England vs the rebels, then Canada/England vs the US. Then the final attempt to defeat us on our own soil was by a bunch of drunken Irishman (typical eh?). The concept of Canada as an independent nation really coalesced during WWI and came of age upon the slopes of Vimy ridge. Even then it took till 1949 for the country to be complete. In WWII Canada put 1 million people in uniform, out of 11 million, an astonishing feat. In the Cold War we helped stare down the USSR and Warsaw pact. We invented peacekeeping and devoloped it as workable concept. Strangely few Canadians can describe it correctly and merely repeat myths about it.
We have continued to prosper and currently we have done well in this current fiscal crisis, impressive for a country so closely tied the US economy.

As a country we depend heavily on immigrants, both to maintain and grow our population and economy. The thing about immigrants is that they can be a double edge sword. Whether they help us or hurt us is entirely up to us. The type of immigrant we need is willing to work hard, adapt to this new land and then give something in return. This does not mean just let in the rich ones, this country was built by poor immigrants who wanted a better life. We don’t need the kind of immigrant that takes as much as they can, gives nothing in return, flout our laws and ignore our culture. I firmly believe that the current version of multi-culturalism that we are pursuing will either destroy the country or harm it greatly.

Some would say I am racist based on the above, well my Malay-Indian wife will disagree with you. I am against destroying our culture to appease a few radicals. With exception of Quebec who are still pissed about the Plains of Abraham and First Nations who got trampled on (it could been worse) this country is a Common law, Commonwealth country with solid English roots. We owe a lot to the English they gave us the tools and knowledge to be who we are today. These traditions, beliefs, laws and our culture are like a giant tree. Upon that tree we can hang the positive bits of the many cultures represented by the people that have come here. I enjoy watching the mix of cultures showing off the best their cultures have. But make no mistake, many of those cultures have a dark side and under no circumstance do we want it repeated here. Our culture is the glue holding all of this together. If you stop or destroy the glue everything falls apart. The loss of Canada as a nation would be a tragedy the world would mourn.