Michael Moore Go Home!

Doesn't he have enough to do in his own country that he must feel obliged to come to ours and create a little shit? What's with this guy anyway?

Maybe he hopes to change the minds of those Canadians who are willing to vote Conservative? I think the man is an opportunist...

Can Anyone Stop Russia

Is this the beginning of the end for the former Soviet republics? Will they be taken back one by one? Is it starting with Georgia? The Europeans are not making any moves to stop the bombing in south Georgia and if they don't which country will be next...Ukraine, Poland, Chekoslovakia or maybe even Germany? I believe this to be a huge crisis and this time I don't think the Americans can or should do much about it. This is strictly Europe's problem.

Is this the beginning of the third world war? What is the end game?

My Worst Nightmare...

Came true for someone else last night. A woman backing out of her driveway ran her car over her Mother and killed her. The elderly woman was waiting at the end of the driveway and somehow slipped and fell as the daughter was backing up. The daughter is traumatized.

When I say this was my worst nightmare, it truly was. When I went anywhere with my Mom she would walk to the end of the driveway and wait for me to back up. After a couple of times I changed the system. I made her wait at the top of the driveway and after I'd finished backing out I'd go get her. She didn't like it, said it made her feel old, was a constant source of irritation for both of us but I stuck to my guns and insisted.

I'm glad I did, I would not wish to be the daughter in this story today. Always look, look and look again before backing up a car...you never really know what's there.

Honor Killings?

An update to this story comes in todays news. The brother of Aqsa Parvez has now been charged with first degree murder along with his father. The police suspect this may be a case of honor killing. Very sad story...

Back in December a father murdered his daughter. I wrote about it at the time here.

At the time the father was charged with second degree murder. These charges have now been upgraded to first degree murder. At the time Aqsa Parvez was murdered her mother, brother and sister were at home. Why were they not protecting her? She was only 16 years old. I am a mother and I would protect my child with my life, why didn't her mother step in and stop this murder?

I just it all hinges on whether or not he intended to murder his daughter and it seems the police seem to think so. This is the first time in my memory that a young Muslim girl was murdered by her relative in this country and I hope it is not the beginning of a trend.

This is nothing new in other countries with large Muslim populations, most notably Germany, which has had quite a few over the years. It must be incredibly difficult for these young girls who just want to fit in and be Canadian to discover that their families won't allow it. The price of freedom could be death...

U.S. Mayors Call For Boycott Of Alberta Oil?

In the news today, Mayors of major American cities are calling for a boycott of Alberta oil. Are they nuts, do they really think it is better to get it from the middle east? Heck, they don't have to invade us to get it, we sell it willingly under NAFTA. According to this article, it would be difficult to enforce so is it a publicity stunt? To what end?

One would think that getting their oil from a "friendly" nation would be a good thing...then again, maybe it's an election strategy.

Blogging With Risk

There is currently a human rights trial happening in Vancouver, British Columbia with the subject being a hate crime.

Will bloggers who write about these things also end up in front of the tribunal?

I link you to this .

We don't always have to agree with everything that is written but I believe that we must guard against the loss of freedom of speech. The man who is at the centre of this complaint is Mark Steyn who wrote a book, of which an excerpt was printed in Macleans magazine. I don't particularly like this writer but taking away his freedom of speech is wrong.

Will We All Starve?

As the cost of gasoline goes up and more and more farmers corn crops are going for bio fuels instead of food, the price of food also rises. Some stores are rationing rice in America, what will be next? I have personally noticed that flour has doubled in price and the cost of a loaf of bread has risen dramatically. From what I'm reading it can only get worse. Anybody else notice or am I too fixated on this.

I can still afford to buy a bag of flour and rice but some of the poorest people on earth will starve. There are riots in many countries around the globe and it may only get worse. Maybe we need to rethink ethanol, it may be causing more harm than good. Maybe I need to ask the offspring, he's a science kind of guy...

Wal-Mart And Really Bad Publicity!

It's not very often I go to Wal-Mart mostly because it's not a Canadian store (I like to shop Canadian) and most of their stuff comes from China and we all know how I feel about that, but today I really needed something I can only get there.

As I pulled into the parking lot I remembered something I saw on CNN last night on Anderson Cooper (who is not my favourite guy), and decided I really didn't need the article as much as I thought.

Here is the story, read it, it's heartbreaking, enough said...

Political Opportunism?

The case of Brenda Martin who sits in a Mexican jail waiting to be rescued, is getting more convoluted by the day. There are accusations by the Liberal party that the current Conservative government is not doing enough to free her.

What I am still finding interesting with this story, is why did this woman not leave Mexico long before she was arrested, and why did she not hire one of the lawyers that was on the list presented to her by the Canadian Embassy.

When our previous Liberal Prime Minister, the Right Honorable Paul Martin, who last time I checked is still a sitting member of the government went to Mexico to visit her, it was not called a photo op. When Jason Kenney from the Conservative government goes to Mexico to actually try help her, the oppositions calls it a photo op and he is criticized. Brenda Martin is not showing any gratitude, if anything she has become almost belligerent. You can read the full story here.

Just a little reminder that it was the Liberal Government of Canada that allowed a Canadian, William Sampson, to sit in a Saudi Arabia jail for years facing beheading and it was actually the Brits that got him and his 5 co accused out.

And then of course there's the Maher Arar story. He was taken off a plane in New York and shipped to Syria where he spent a year in jail being tortured. If it was not for the strength and determination of his wife he'd probably still be there, or be dead.

Just a little reminder that the Liberals don't have such a good record for helping Canadians in trouble.

Canadian In Mexican Jail - Who Can Help?

It is a real problem when Canadian citizens get themselves in trouble in foreign lands. The laws are quite different and mostly you are guilty until you can prove yourself innocent. Negotiating the legal system in lands where bribes are the order of the day can be difficult and mostly our Charter of Rights means nothing.

Brenda Martin is such a case. She has been in jail in Guadalajara since February 17, 2006. Her crime was working as a cook for a man now serving a prison sentence in the U.S. for perpetuating a 60 million dollar Internet investment fraud. What disturbs me a little about this case is why didn't she get out while the getting was good, after all her boss managed to get himself to the U.S.? She was not arrested right away, she had time. She was also not a tourist, she was living there.

The Prime Minister of Canada has gotten involved in this case but even he admitted on national television that there's not a lot he can do. Mexico has it's own justice system and is it's own country. Predictably the opposition parties are screaming for blood and blame the Conservative government of not moving fast enough to get her out. Short of sending in the troops I'm not sure what else can be done. Boycotts maybe, travel restrictions, or maybe I'll stop buying Mexican tomatoes? Most Canadians seem to favour such boycotts.

But it's never going to happen...Canadians suffering through long cold and snowy winters just love their holidays in Mexico and will never give them up. A year ago a boycott was called for after the murder of a Toronto couple who where there for the daughters wedding. A killer has never been found but two Ontario women were accused by the Mexican government of being the killers. The Mexican government has made no real effort to find the real killer or clear their names.

Government not responding to Canadian citizens caught in other lands fast enough has been in the news before, most notably during the Lebanon crisis. When Canada did finally get them home they weren't particularly grateful if I recall and wrote about it at the time.

Travel is a tricky thing, we all want to visit foreign lands, we think we're immune to anything bad happening to us and when it does we are shocked that our government cant immediately come to our assistance. Should we really be that surprised? It can be a lot of fun out there in the world, but it can also be very very bad...

The Winter Of My Discontent

This is pretty much how I feel today...

And this is the reason why...

This is March for crying out loud and we woke up to 15 cm of snow and it's still falling. I did have two Doctors appointments this morning which have now been cancelled. There is no way I'm going out in that mess. There is another storm predicted for the weekend and unfortunately so far the weather people have been too right. After a record breaking February they are predicting above average snowfall for March.

I'm also feeling pretty tired this morning, I stayed up and watched the results of the battle between Obama and Clinton until the wee hours of the morning. I find American politics quite engrossing. Canadian politics are dry and boring in comparison although I do watch Question Period most days (that's when they get to call each other bad names). Recently though things have heated up in Ottawa with the Liberal opposition accusing our Prime Minister of bribery and the Prime Minister threatening a libel lawsuit. This should make for some entertainment in the next little while.

Interesting times ahead...

Lets Treat Our Seniors With Dignity

One of the things I always promised to my Mother was that she would never have to live in a seniors residence. Fortunately it was promise I was able to keep. Here in Ontario and I'm sure in a lot of other places, unless you have a lot of money and hire private caregivers, the standard of care is pretty poor. One of the very first things they do is put these poor people in diapers, even if they are not incontinent. The reason for this to save time and money. It takes older people longer to negotiate themselves and their walkers and canes to the loo and generally they need assistance to get there. Diapers are easier.

The problem is this; they do not change them very frequently, in fact the standard is that the diaper has to have a minimum of 2000 ml of liquid to qualify for a change. The new ones come with a little blue strip that shows how much liquid has been absorbed. This is friggin bizarre.

This is not only done in nursing homes, it is also as I discovered pretty standard practice in hospitals with senior patients and they did the very same thing to my Mother over my objections. My Mother was not incontinent prior to her what was to be her last hospital stay. When I asked to have her changed and cleaned up I was told she'd have to wait they were busy. They expected her to eat her meals in that condition.

So George Smitherman, the Minister of Health for Ontario is considering wearing one of these diapers and testing them himself to see how uncomfortable they are. I would suggest that he fill them up with water first and see how easy it is to walk around in one without it falling down. I mean, that becomes a pretty heavy diaper. He is making a mockery of this horrible problem and he's been forced to apologize. Doesn't solve the problem though.

He should be doing a lot more than testing diapers, he should be ensuring that our most vulnerable citizens receive proper care and personal support. No one, absolutely no one in our society should be sitting eating their dinner in a dirty diaper. That's not my Ontario and not my Canada.

A very good friend of mine always tells me that when she gets to be that old, she'll just go play in the traffic. Almost seems preferable to a nursing home somehow...

Those Darn Cartoons - In The News Again

Those cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad are in the news again. More rioting and flag burning are happening in Denmark over this issue. The issue seems to be whether or not images of Muhammad can be shown. Since I'm not Muslim I have no idea whether or not that's true, my main issue is and always will be freedom of expression and freedom of the press.

So here through the Sandmonkey's blog and Wikipedia are some interesting opinions on the subject. Seems not all Muslims agree on this one.

Read this stuff if it interests you and please don't send me any hate mail.

Sharia Law - Works For Them

This is old news today but I didn't have internet most of the weekend and was unable to post it.

How do Muslim men get to have more than one wife in a country where polygamy is not legal? Well here might be the way they can manage that little feat. Dial a marriage, the quickie way to get married, sponsor you "wife" to Canada and then she applies for welfare. What do you think, is it possible?

Motorcycle Helmets - A Human Rights Issue?

It was only a matter of time until the laws of the land had to be changed to accommodate (I love that word) citizens of different cultures so here is todays gem.

The law in the Province of Ontario states that anyone riding a motorbike must wear a helmet but Mr. Baljinder Singh Badesha doesn't think that this law should apply to him. Why not you ask? Well it infringes on his religious freedom. The Ontario Human Rights Commission is going to back him on this one. Think he'll win?

In his own words he says "I want to be treated like an ordinary citizen of Ontario". Wear the damn helmet or don't ride the bike. I was always under the impression that a licence to drive either a car or a motorcycle is a privilege and if you don't or can't obey the law, too bad you loose...don't they take the right to drive away from drunks and elderly people? Will this become a human rights issue too someday?

Look What's Back In The News

Police in Denmark arrested five men plotting to kill the cartoonist of the Mohammed cartoon fame. Remember that; that's when the entire Muslim world exploded in fabricated riots and killed people because they couldn't see the humour... Will it ever end?

The World Is Getting Nuttier By The Day

Just when I don't think I have anything to blog along comes this little gem.

I'm just sitting here nursing my sore foot; the one I broke last May and where I suspect the cortisone shot I got in August has worn off and I'm reading all this nonsense in the paper.

Maybe I just need to keep my feet up and take a news break. I don't know how much more trauma I can take before I need some counselling...

Where Does My Tax Money Go?

I just about spewed my morning coffee all over my keyboard as I read this story.

It's no wonder the City of Toronto doesn't have enough money for basic services if this is what they also pay for. I would like my property tax money to go for services like garbage removal, snow removal, road repairs, police and fire services, libraries and parks.

I may have missed one or two important items but supporting polygamous Muslim relationships is not where my property tax money ought to go. This is Canada for goodness sake, when did polygamy become legal?

Who Am I?

On January 31st I posted a picture of this baby girl that was found abandoned in a stairwell of an outside parking garage and left to die.

So far no one has come forward with any information as to her identity and the thought now is that she may actually be American. I'm putting this out there so if anyone knows who this baby might be can call CrimeStoppers or their local police department.

What's Making News Today

Besides the storm that left most of my neighbourhood paralyzed today there was this story in today's paper. Toronto Paramedics say that three people died this week at one hospital due to incredibly long waits in the ER. Why doesn't that surprise me? When my mother was hospitalized last April we too waited in the Emergency over 6 hours for a bed. During that entire time the Paramedics stayed with her and were unable to be out on the road answering other calls. That's insane...

So the weather, well what can I say. I found some photos from the January 13, 1999 snow storm that crippled Toronto and had our Mayor call in the troops. It's almost as bad today and I actually saw a police car have difficulty negotiating our street.

1999



2008



The plows haven't been around and it reminded me of the day a few years ago when I was having breathing difficulty and racing heart beat. My husband panicked and called 911 thinking I was having a heart attack. Of course now we know that it was probably the arrhythmia, which isn't life threatening. In any case the firetruck made it first and the ambulance got stuck in the snow. There was a second ambulance dispatched and one crew had to push the second ambulance to our front door. By the time they finally made it, the arrhythmia had stopped and I was feeling better. Could have turned badly though, couldn't it?

So here are a couple of pictures of 1999 and today. In case you were wondering, it's not the same house. We were actually in the process of moving during the storm.

It was incredibly peaceful out this morning, hardly a sound to be heard. Gorgeous actually, as long as you didn't need to be anywhere...

1999



2008



The rest of the photos are in my Flickr page on the sidebar.