tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63991108996318986792024-03-13T08:05:23.852-07:00Will's rantsWilliam Bailiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13067891032813036738noreply@blogger.comBlogger56125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399110899631898679.post-41885152936566888162019-08-05T11:14:00.001-07:002019-08-05T11:14:27.148-07:00Moscow Streets and Boulevards<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />William Bailiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13067891032813036738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399110899631898679.post-79610568334951989942019-07-31T17:50:00.002-07:002019-07-31T17:50:25.594-07:00Transit in Moscow<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Transit in Moscow is very advanced, and includes a wide variety of options for getting around the city.</span><div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The message on the side of this bus says "eta electrobus", or "this is electrobus". Moscow has decided to replace its trolley buses with battery electric buses. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is a charging station for the electrobuses. I don't know how long it takes to charge.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Moscow has lots of trams as well. This one is an old style, 1930s era, kept in service for tourist reasons.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">These are the newer version, low floor trams. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sorry, no photos of the metro. It's the most impressive part of the whole transit system, 15 lines covering the entire metropolitan area (with even more options once you include the intercity rail, which are electric trains to the suburbs).</span></div>
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William Bailiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13067891032813036738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399110899631898679.post-40091491870244999612018-01-01T16:17:00.000-08:002018-01-01T16:17:14.898-08:00Arthur on toboggan<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwjhX4ZWTKrTdff0dQpPuuHup-FZScJR3JHF91lTdtkrQ0grDZ1zyjzaZKMagJF3sGeRFPFdD4PEtoc8mNNZQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />William Bailiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13067891032813036738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399110899631898679.post-2729047974404155122017-12-25T19:44:00.002-08:002017-12-25T19:44:51.909-08:00Erik on swing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here is an experiment: sharing family video by blogger. Hope it works!</span></div>
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William Bailiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13067891032813036738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399110899631898679.post-9583901637409183862015-05-07T22:02:00.003-07:002015-05-07T22:05:30.227-07:00Random thoughts on the Alberta election<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">First off, I'm absolutely thrilled that the NDP has toppled the PC regime. 44 years of one-party rule is far too much, even if it had been a party I liked! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've seen the doom and gloom and apocalyptic predictions from PC and WR supporters. I;m certain those are exaggerated. We're talking Prairie NDP, not Ontario, so Notley's crew should be more like Roy Romanow's Saskatchewan or Gary Doer's Manitoba NDP governments. As has been noted by more observant commentators than I, the Alberta NDP are proposing policies similar to Peter Lougheed's. The chances of Edmonton going completely bolshie are between slim and none.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm hopeful that Notley will be able to implement the sensible policies from her party's platform, including a review of the royalty regime, increasing minimum wage and adjusting the corporate tax rate. None of these are particularly revolutionary. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Royalties: She doesn't want to kill the energy industry in Alberta, rather she wants to see that Alberta gets a fair share. Giving away the resource in exchange for the extraction jobs is not good value - I hope she can avoid being held hostage by the energy industry.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Increasing minimum wage will help the lowest income Albertans, a novel idea as the preferred Tory approach of cutting taxes to the richest hasn't provided benefit to society as a whole. I've read predictions that giving more money to low income earners will help the economy as the extra money will be immediately spent locally, boosting the earnings for local retailers and other businesses. Giving money to the richest doesn't have the same value, as those who are already somewhat comfortable will be inclined to lock the money away into savings or spend it outside the local area (vacations & investments). I'm looking forward to see if this theory is correct.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Increasing the corporate tax rate from the lowest in the country to, well, still the lowest in the country doesn't strike me as harmful to the economy either. Naturally, anyone whose taxes are increased will complain. I would, too. However, business leaders will need to think hard about whether they'll relocate their businesses and where they'll go. Again, thinking positively here, the NDP should keep the corporate tax increases small enough that they don't drive businesses away. The spoiler in all this is, of course, that the economy is already punishing many Alberta businesses. How will we know if a business is failing anyway (i.e, under the current tax regime) and then decides to blame the NDP for the situation they inherited. we'll have to watch critically.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm hopeful that Bob B will get his wish and the NDP will provide agricultural workers the same protections that WCB provides to workers in other industries.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Looking at the vote distributions, it's easy to see where Jim Prentice misjudged calling this election. The combined WR and PC votes come to 52%. As the WR support comes mostly from disaffected tories, it's easy to see that he could have waited to integrate the floor crossers into the PC fold, and shown rural voters that he was rebuilding the PCs that they know and love. His cynical attempt to jump into a campaign when the Liberals and WR were disorganized, and the NDP had a new leader, completely backfired on him. WR was able to capitalize by rallying rural support against the WR floor crossers. Meanwhile, the Alberta Liberals, who've not been much of a force since Lawrence Decore's time, were pretty much invisible. The result was splitting the conservative vote and allowing the progressive vote to coalesce around the NDP. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jim Prentice screwed up, Brian Jean didn't (and kept the most outrageous of the WR candidates from torpedoing themselves), and Rachel Notley ran a flawless campaign. And now Jim P has walked away.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Although I'm pleased with the NDP victory, the results from this election once again show the flaws with the first-past-the-post system. The tories won more votes than the WR, but elected fewer candidates. If Alberta had a PR system, then there'd be more PC MLAs than WR, but even with fewer overall votes, WR gets twice the number of MLAs. However, I thinks it's unlikely that the NDP will seriously look at PR as they would never benefit from it in Alberta.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've heard/read pundits proclaiming the end of the PC party. Don't count them out yet. They won more votes than WR. The PC brass will be studying this election, and my guess is they'll try to rebuild, most likely by talking seriously with WR (and not poaching MLAs like Prentice) to find common ground for combining, as was done with Reform and the federal PCs a dozen years ago. I figure the Alberta Liberals are done, though. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>William Bailiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13067891032813036738noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399110899631898679.post-31612235382813528352015-03-07T22:41:00.001-08:002015-03-07T22:41:21.724-08:00C-51Let me see if I have this straight: the Conservative-led Government of Canada is sponsoring legislation that would, among other things:<br />
"amend the Criminal Code to provide for an offence of knowingly advocating or promoting the commission of terrorism offences in general. It also provides a judge with the power to order the seizure of terrorist propaganda or, if the propaganda is in electronic form, to order the deletion of the propaganda from a computer system."<br />
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Meanwhile, the Conservative Party of Canada's Facebook page has re-posted a message from Al-Shabaab calling for terrorist attacks on shopping malls.<br />
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So, will the CPC be required to take down its message if the legislation passes?William Bailiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13067891032813036738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399110899631898679.post-87501433035964502612015-01-27T17:51:00.001-08:002015-01-27T17:51:09.474-08:00Do terrorists need special treatment?<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16px; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; padding: 0px;">
Do terrorists need special treatment?</div>
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In January, 2015, Shawn Rehn murdered an RCMP constable and injured his partner.</div>
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In October, 2014, Michael Zehaff-Bibeau murdered an army corporal and injured a Parliament Hill security guard.</div>
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Also in October, 2014, Martin Couture-Rouleau murdered an army Warrant Officer and injured another soldier.</div>
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In August, 2013, Justin Bourque murdered three RCMP officers and injured two others.</div>
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In March, 2005, James Roszko murdered four RCMP officers.</div>
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Zehaff-Bibeau and Couture-Rouleau were instantly vilified as terrorists, the other murderers were not. What’s the difference? All were horrific crimes. What makes two of these crimes deserve different treatment from the others?</div>
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Later this week, the Government of Canada will introduce more anti-terror legislation. I don't know what will be in the proposed legislation. They'll talk about Michael Zehaff-Bibeau and how his actions with a stolen museum piece (a Winchester Model 94) spread terror, and how more terror was spread by Martin Couture-Rouleau, whose weapon of choice was an automobile. I doubt there will be any mention of Justin Bourque and how he shut down all of Moncton with his arsenal of a Norinco M305 (legally purchased with a valid FAC), a Mossberg 500 shotgun and a crossbow.</div>
William Bailiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13067891032813036738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399110899631898679.post-18509859120552662562015-01-27T17:37:00.000-08:002015-01-27T17:37:03.183-08:00we'll never get proportional representation<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16px; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; padding: 0px;">
<a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/conservatives-narrowly-edge-liberals-in-seat-count-projection-1.2931627"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/conservatives-narrowly-edge-liberals-in-seat-count-projection-1.2931627</span></a></div>
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In the above article, Eric Grénier has crunched the numbers and estimated the results for a federal election to be held now, based on current polling. The results of his analysis indicate that the Liberals would get the most votes, but the Conservatives would get the most seats. Basically, the Tories are in position to turn 32% of the vote into 40% of the seats. </div>
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Further, the Greens would get 50% more votes than the Bloc Québecois, but both would get the same number of seats (with a potential for more BQ seats than Green). There are further disparities: the Greens are polling roughly 4-6% consistently across Canada, but are likely to get only 2 seats (if they are lucky), which represents around ½ % of the seats in the House of Commons.</div>
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For me, this analysis presents more justification for tossing out “First past the post” (FPTP) voting in favour of some form of proportional representation. Unfortunately, that is not going to happen: we have a system that benefits the top two parties, and without the support of at least one of those two parties no change will be possible. The Liberals and the Conservatives are interested in getting and keeping power, and have no particular interest in sharing: both are quite happy to play an all or nothing game. When in opposition, you may hear a Conservative or Liberal speak about the need for PR (for example,<a href="http://www.macleans.ca/politics/ottawa/what-stephen-harper-was-writing-in-1997/"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.macleans.ca/politics/ottawa/what-stephen-harper-was-writing-in-1997/</span></a> , <a href="http://stephanedion.liberal.ca/en/articles-en/p3-voting-system-canada-2/"><span style="color: blue;">http://stephanedion.liberal.ca/en/articles-en/p3-voting-system-canada-2/</span></a> ) but you can be confident that once they get their hands on power those earlier words will be forgotten.</div>
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So I will continue to waste my vote. I am now back in Tory territory (North Shore of Vancouver), and come the next election, I’ll boldly cast my vote for yet another candidate who speaks for my interests, and will curse again the day after as I learn that I’ll be, yet again, represented by one of Stephen Harper’s puppets.</div>
William Bailiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13067891032813036738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399110899631898679.post-39262361125029204442015-01-17T10:58:00.002-08:002015-01-17T10:58:56.793-08:00What sins will compel us to disregard someone's achievements?Bill Cosby is a significant figure in the media history. His character in the 1960s "I Spy" was one of the first mainstream African-American characters in American entertainment in a leading role, where he was the equal to his European-American partner, played by Robert Culp. His career in standup comedy was even more successful - I never watched "I Spy" but I enjoyed listening to his routines on LP and cassette. His "Fat Albert" stories (and the animated Saturday morning feature) kept me entertained and also presented African-American children in a positive way. "The Cosby Show" was one of the first mainstream presentations of a family of African-American professionals (he played a doctor, his TV wife was a successful lawyer). He earned a PhD in education based on his work to combine entertainment with education for children. And since he has been accused of sexual assault, he has been vilified, bloggers have been demanding justice, and CBS pretends that they have never heard of him.<br />
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Can I still enjoy listening to his standup routine, or would that make me complicit in his alleged crimes?<br />
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Woody Allen has directed more than 40 films (and he also has a great history as a standup comedian). He has been accused of sexual abuse of children. Can I enjoy his films and comedy routines, or would that make me complicit in his alleged crimes?<br />
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Sir John A MacDonald, as every Canadian knows, was our first prime minister. He was one of the "Fathers of Confederation", having worked with leaders from Upper and Lower Canada, from the Maritimes and the West to create the Dominion of Canada. He then went on to be one of the longest serving PMs in history (19 years, plus a term as leader of the opposition). He was certainly flawed - even in his own day he was caricatured for his fondness of alcohol, and he was involved in multiple scandals, especially with his much-favoured CPR project. To celebrate the 200th anniversary of his birth, Huffington Post ran a series of articles laying out MacDonald's crimes for all to see: a virtual campaign of genocide against First Nations (appropriating First Nations lands, starving First Nations peoples unless (and even when) they moved to reserves, implementing the residential schools to destroy First Nations culture), racist policies against immigrants from China and other parts of Asia (head tax, and denying citizenship to non-European immigrants), persecution of Métis and First Nations who rose in armed rebellion against the government (he has been made personally responsible for the execution of Louis Riel). <br />
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Can I live in and celebrate this country that MacDonald worked so hard to create?<br />
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In my opinion, people are complicated. We can continue to celebrate peoples' achievements while holding them responsible for their mistakes. Steve Fonyo completed Terry Fox's run - let's celebrate that, and find support for Steve rather than punish him for his troubles. <br />
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Baby's waking, gotta go!William Bailiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13067891032813036738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399110899631898679.post-41139549818686202032014-11-11T15:03:00.001-08:002014-11-11T15:03:43.201-08:00Remembrance protocol<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was observing the ceremonies today and couldn't quite put my finger on something that was bothering me. Then it occurred to me - it was how the ceremony to remember the sacrifice of our men and women in uniform places more emphasis on our government than on the veterans, seeing members of the military and their families.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">According to the Government of Canada (from <a href="http://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/get-involved/remembrance-day/guide-to-commemorative-services">http://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/get-involved/remembrance-day/guide-to-commemorative-services</a>), the order of precedence for laying wreaths at Remembrance Day ceremonies is as follows:</span><br />
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"Protocol dictates the order in which the wreaths will be laid. According to the Royal Canadian Legion, depending on who is present, the order of precedence is:</div>
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<li style="box-sizing: border-box;">a representative of the Queen (Governor General, Lieutenant Governor)</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box;">a representative of the Government of Canada (highest ranking official present)</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box;">a representative of a provincial government </li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box;">a representative of a municipal government</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box;">a Silver Cross Recipient</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box;">a representative of the Canadian Armed Forces</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box;">a representative of the Royal Canadian Legion</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box;">representatives of other organizations and individuals"</li>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 23px;">This means that the fuckers who send young men and women off to die rank higher in the order of precedence than their parents, surviving comrades and family. So who is the ceremony really for, then?</span></span></div>
William Bailiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13067891032813036738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399110899631898679.post-75720636782881833212014-11-10T14:20:00.000-08:002014-11-10T14:20:15.276-08:00PoppiesAccording to HuffPost, the Legion hopes that they will set a record with 19 million poppies sold this year.<br />
<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/11/07/poppy-shortage-canada_n_6121612.html?utm_hp_ref=canada-alberta&ir=Canada%20Alberta">http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/11/07/poppy-shortage-canada_n_6121612.html?utm_hp_ref=canada-alberta&ir=Canada%20Alberta</a><br />
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What I want to know is, who are the 15 million (+/-) Canadians that are NOT buying poppies each year!?!William Bailiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13067891032813036738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399110899631898679.post-85466131667522736552014-11-09T21:53:00.002-08:002014-11-09T21:53:55.324-08:00CRD AmalgamationI complained earlier that it was difficult to find information about my local municipal election. There's a good reason for that - I live in a community of about 16,000 and no one outside really cares, and if they did, they'd still have little ability to affect the outcome. As a result, media is focused on elections that are newsworthy, and not on who gets to be the <strike>glorified community association president</strike> mayor for Esquimalt.<br />
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However, one issue which is common to all the municipalities in the CRD, and which is present in one form or another for many (but not all) of them, is whether the municipalities should consider amalgamating. With the lack of coordination that I've learnt is par for the course here, no two municipalities are asking their citizens the same question, but the intent, in general, is to initiate a study on amalgamation. To me, the benefits of amalgamation are clear, and include (but are not limited to) coordinated planning across the amalgamated municipalities for land use, transportation and servicing, combined services for fire & police, a more significant voice to higher levels of government (both provincial and federal) when seeking policies or funding, the efficiencies that come from a single, larger municipal budget versus several smaller, uncoordinated budgets. The arguments against amalgamation seem weak to me - there will be no 'loss of identity', and since planning and policies will be made by a single council answerable to the whole of the larger community, there will be no 'bullying' of smaller municipalities, since there won't be smaller municipalities.<br />
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If you live in the CRD, please vote to get the conversation on amalgamation started.<br />
<br />William Bailiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13067891032813036738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399110899631898679.post-85967011413335619542014-10-26T23:06:00.001-07:002014-10-26T23:06:36.265-07:00CBCSo, today the CBC decided to fire Jian Ghomeshi, the successor to Peter Gzowski. Earlier this year, they lost the rights to Hockey Night in Canada, which was the CBC's prize broadcast since the 1930s. CBC has been haemorrhaging staff, both through layoffs and resignations, for months.<br />
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You'd almost think there was a conspiracy afloat to destroy Mother Corp.William Bailiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13067891032813036738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399110899631898679.post-19501898935403342012014-10-22T23:21:00.001-07:002014-10-22T23:21:47.657-07:00OttawaI've been reminiscing about Ottawa after following today's news. The National War Memorial is visible from where I worked in City Hall, and I would often visit it at lunchtime or after work. I'd see the reservists on guard there and wonder what they were thinking. My condolences for Cpl Cirillo and his family, friends and regiment.<br />
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My deepest respect to Sergeant at Arms Kevin Vickers and the rest of the law enforcement, security and other officers on Parliament Hill and elsewhere in the Capital for rising to the occasion and responding appropriately and with superb professionalism. We don't often think of the Sergeant at Arms as anything other than a quaint relic of a bygone era, when we see him parade the mace at the opening of Parliament, but with the actions of Mr Vickers today, and those of René Jalbert at the Quebec National Assembly in 1984, are evidence of the nature of the men recruited to fill those positions of trust and responsibility.<br />
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It was interesting to see twitter feeds from various politicians emerging through the crisis. I'll admit that my first thoughts on reading some of them included rolling my eyes or raising my eyebrows, but on reflection I now realise that my initial reaction was uncharitable. Twitter has become an interesting phenomenon, allowing us to read the first, unfiltered thoughts of the writers. It's interesting to see the information that the twitter writers find most important to share first.<br />
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Keep calm and carry on, eh.William Bailiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13067891032813036738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399110899631898679.post-49803017403361202302014-10-13T15:53:00.000-07:002014-10-13T15:53:26.108-07:00Why bomb the Islamic State?<span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">Last </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="font-size: 12px;">week, my friend Daryl posted the following comment on his Facebook page, along with a link to an editorial from the Sun (the Canadian Sun News Network, not any other Sun). I've decided to share Daryl's question and my response here, and open this conversation up for input from my legion of fans.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="font-size: 12px;">Daryl's original comment:</span></span><br />
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<i><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">I'm curious. I know I have Left wing friends, and I know I have hawkish left wing friends too who are big on law, order, and good government. Why do you suppose this opposition exists here? Are the Liberals and NDP speaking truly on your behalf? And if so, why would you oppose Canada getting involved in the fight against ISIS/ISIL/whatever they are calling themselves this week? On the surface I understand why my dove left wing friends don't want to get involved, it's way </span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="color: #141823; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">over on the other side of the world and why should Canadian soldiers die for a cause that Iraqi, Iranian, and Syrian soldiers should be fighting instead. Sure. Why not. I agree, the weak shouldn't be made to fight, they suck at it. But I don't get my hawkish left wing friends (as I described) being opposed to getting involved.... or is your opposition more of a go big, or don't go at all sort of thing?</span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">I replied as follows:</span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">Hi, Daryl</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">I saw your request for comments on Canada’s plan to bomb IS in Iraq and possibly Syria from ‘left wing’ friends. The whole left wing/right wing or wherever on the political spectrum thingie can be somewhat subjective, but I assume that from your perspective I fall in the left wing category, so I’ll take a stab at offering my thoughts on the matter.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">I originally thought of posting this to your Facebook timeline, but quickly ruled that out. I don’t have time to hang out on fb and respond in a timely way to comments on my comments. I noticed that your commentators were getting belligerent in defending their viewpoints, and it appeared to me that some commentators were deliberately (mis)interpreting comments through the lens of their own biases. </span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">I may have it wrong here, but it seemed that your initial question was based on a bit of a fallacy, and I certain did not agree with Mr McCullough’s opinion piece.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">1. The Liberals and the NDP are not necessarily pacifists. These parties supported sending Canadian warplanes to bomb Muammar Qadafi’s forces in Libya a few years back. I think the opposition to the government’s proposal says much about the government’s heavy handed approach to almost every area of policy since it won a majority of the seats in the House of Commons in 2011. On this particular issue, the NDP proposed an amendment that was categorically rejected by government MPs before the government’s proposal was put to the vote. If the government completely rejects suggestions from across the aisle, why should opposition MPs turn around and support the government? </span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">2. On to specifics. The government has decided to send 6 warplanes to provide aerial support to whoever it is on the ground fighting IS. To me, it appears that this is an attempt by the Government of Canada to show that we are going to “do something”, without regard to what “something” is, or if it is effective or (as I suspect) counterproductive. IS wants Western powers to unite, send in military force which will then kill civilians in their area of control, so they can rant about “crusaders’ coming to get them and create a reason for muslims to rally around the black flag. Dropping bombs WILL kill civilians - just look at what happens when Israel goes after Hamas. Certainly to me it seems that we should not fight IS by doing exactly what they want.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">3. Prior to the debate in Parliament, there were reports of Canadian operatives active on the ground in Iraq. I assume that these operatives were JTF types - and to my mind, JTF, SAS, SEALS, and other special forces are more effective than launching HE munitions from aircraft. They will support the local fighters on the ground directly, provide training, backup and maybe even a bit of spine to the locals when needed. They will be better able to distinguish between friend, foe and local farmer/grandma/other civilian. Better to have SF on the ground than RCAF in the air.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">4. Other than the Kurds and what’s left of the Iraqi army, who is on our side on the ground? Turkey isn’t involved, yet - they’re not about to support Iraqi Kurds in case it encourages Turkish Kurds. We can’t distinguish between good Syrian rebels and bad Syrian rebels, and we’re ought not to be supporting Bashir Al-Assad’s forces after condemning them for the past bunch of years. We’re not ready to make friends with Iran, even though the Iranians are probably more worried about the IS nut bars than we are. We’re too busy shaking our fists at Russia to make an effort to bring them on side. Basically, we need allies on the ground, LOCAL allies, and there are far too few of the ‘goods allies in the area make a difference against IS.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">5. While the Syrian civil war has been raging for years, there has been a massive dislocation of Syrian civilians. There are HUGE numbers of Syrian refugees in Jordan, Turkey, Lebanon, Iraq and elsewhere. We can make a meaningful contribution to their lives by providing support, especially in Jordan. Why not take the money that would otherwise keep 6 CF-18s and 600-odd CF ground and air crew function in their undisclosed location, and use it instead to help these refugees. It would create more goodwill, both with the refugees (who for the most part just want to go home) and with the countries hosting those refugees (who are our potential allies against IS).</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">6. In the meantime, we don’t seem to have a meaningful idea of how we;re going to help the people in West Africa fight Ebola. We should be sending them support so that this outbreak can be contained there before it spreads.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">7. It seems that IS is recruiting Canadians. We can do more by tracking Canadians leaving the country - we don’t even interview people leaving Canada which is common practice in other countries - I’ve been interviewed by Immigration officials when leaving Afghanistan, Australia and other countries. Setting up an exit interview would allow immigration officials to verify that visitors have left the country, and for Canadians leaving, they’d get at least the first destination that potentially radicalized Canadians are visiting, even if these potential jihadis are smart enough not to hand over their entire itineraries. Extra police work at home can help stem the flow of recruits to IS, which again will be a greater benefit to the battle against them than dropping bombs on cities in Iraq and Syria that IS has occupied.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">8. Legally, what is our basis to go and bomb the crap out of another country? We have no treaty obligations (unless IS is foolish enough to attack our NATO ally Turkey). I don’t think that the UN Security Council has addressed this as yet, or even been asked to sanction the activity. Is it just because IS has issued threats? Done horrible things? We’ve ignored horrible behaviour before (Rwanda, Congo, Central African Republic, Uganda, Sierra Leone, etc) so what makes IS different?</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">I could keep going, but it’s late, I’m next up for feeding Erik and I need to get some sleep or i won’t be able to keep up with Arthur in the morning.</span><br /><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">Will</span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">As you can see, I kind of ran out of steam toward the end. If anyone cares, I could expand my opinion on any of the items I've presented above, and would be interested in anyone who wishes to refute them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">Cheers,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">WTB</span>William Bailiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13067891032813036738noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399110899631898679.post-25753923635744967552014-10-13T15:08:00.004-07:002014-10-13T15:08:59.088-07:00Municipal elections grrrBC municipal elections are coming up soon. i'm trying to get information on candidates and positions for my municipality (Esquimalt), but just about the only municipal election I can get any information on is Toronto's. FFS.William Bailiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13067891032813036738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399110899631898679.post-63516365331054686112014-07-18T07:40:00.000-07:002014-07-18T07:40:51.072-07:00No time to rantI've been grumpy about quite a few things lately, but simply haven't been able to find the time to get my thoughts written out. So, here is a truncated list of ranty subjects:<div>
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1. The Government of Canada is wrong to provide unconditional support to the Government of Israel. To my mind, Canada lost all credibility on matters related to Israel when they refused to hold Israel responsible for killing Major Paeta Hess-von Kruedener in 2006. Currently, Canada has been vocal about Israel's 'right to defend itself' by bombing the crap out of Gaza. When I see advanced weapon systems raining down death and destruction on Gaza, I don't see Israel defending itself, I see Israel collectively punishing everyone in Gaza for the actions of Hamas.</div>
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2. The Government of Canada has handed the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration the power to strip Canadian citizenship. Those who are to be stripped of citizenship have no right to a hearing - the Minister may choose to have a hearing, but the legislation makes it clear that the hearing is at the Minister's discretion. This means that a politician gets to decide if a Canadian gets their citizenship removed, not a court, not a judge. Will the Minister this power be used for political advantage?</div>
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3. After the Supreme Court of Canada struck down Canada's prostitution laws, the Government of Canada presented a bill to make all forms of prostitution illegal. The Government's own study indicated that two thirds of respondents felt there should be some legal mechanism for sex workers to exchange their services for money, but the proposed legislation will ban all forms of prostitution. Because we all know that banning prostitution will make it go away. </div>
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4. OK, just got interrupted. More ranting later.</div>
William Bailiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13067891032813036738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399110899631898679.post-6175354535887589762014-03-29T07:21:00.002-07:002014-03-29T07:21:58.316-07:00Attack ads - WTF?I don't own a TV, so I don't watch TV and thus I'm a bit behind the times. However, last night I went to meet a friend in a pub (that's been a very rare occurrence over the past few years as well, BTW). I was a few minutes early, so I watched a bit of TSN on the big screen until he arrived. And lo and behold, there was that infamous Justin Trudeau 'over his head' ad.<br />
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There is no federal election campaign on right now. The next election is over a year away (unless our dear leader decides to change the rules again). So why is the CPC running campaign-style ads attacking the character of a prominent Member of Parliament? This is just wrong.William Bailiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13067891032813036738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399110899631898679.post-67950383960074224912014-02-08T21:56:00.001-08:002014-02-08T21:56:56.177-08:00Temporary Foreign Workers<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri;">I’ve been reading on and off over the past year about Canada’s
Temporary Foreign Workers (TFW) programme.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri;">Everything I learn about the programme makes me question why Canada not
only allows it but encourages employers to use it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">My understanding of the programme is that it allows Canadian
employers to recruit foreigners where Canadian citizens or permanent residents
are not available, for example in the case of situations like agricultural
enterprises, where employers will need a large labour force for a short period
of time in the autumn.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The TFW programme
allows employers to take advantage of an international migrant workforce to
bring in the harvest cheaply.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I also
understand that TFW is used for musicians and other performers to allow them to
get paid for their performances.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All
well and good (if exploitive, in the case of agricultural workers), and limited
to a few weeks employment (that is, temporary).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">However, many of the current TFW employers are recruiting
for positions that are not temporary, such as workers in restaurants
(especially fast-food restaurants) and retail operations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The employers claim that they are unable to
find Canadian workers for the wages that they are prepared to offer, and on
that basis are able to obtain a Labour Market Opinion (LMO) that will allow
them to import workers via TFW.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I guess the argument in favour of the LMOs is that what is good for the employer
is good for the economy, and that overall, Canada will benefit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t see it that way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I see that employers are able to employ
workers for lower wages than are available in the local market.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This allows them to provide downward pressure
on the wages that are offered overall.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Instead of Smith’s so-called invisible hand balancing out the workers’
need for a living wage with the employers’ need for affordable business costs
(wages paid), employers get to choose what they will pay, and effectively get
to tilt the whole balance in their favour as they can go elsewhere for low-cost
workers if local workers don’t bend to their demands.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Participants in the TFW often get lower pay and far fewer
benefits than their Canadian counterparts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They are not motivated to participate in the community, as they are
temporary and will depart as soon as their contracts end.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are instead motivated to conserve as
much income as possible, live as cheaply as possible, and in general minimize the
amount that they spend in the community, whether through rents, purchasing food
or other goods or entertainment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As they
are paid less, their payroll taxes are less.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Generally, they take income out of the community almost as much as if
their work itself was outsourced.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">However, at the same time that the TFW workers are taking
from the community, they are generally living uncomfortable lives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Anecdotal evidence is that living conditions
involve overcrowded living conditions and little access or even understanding
of potential benefits.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On top of this,
the workers are quite vulnerable, as many do not understand their rights, and
even if they do, they may fear to stand up to employers for fear of
termination.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are certainly credible
stories available of widespread abuse of foreign workers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri;">To the powers that be - please stop giving LMOs for permanent positions. If an employer wants workers for his fast food restaurant or to stock the shelves at his retail shop, let him compete for workers - by offering a fair wage to workers already in Canada, not by exporting the work overseas.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri;">And I don't even want to get started on this:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/02/07/oilsands-workers-rehired_n_4748260.html?utm_hp_ref=canada-business&ir=Canada%20Business">http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/02/07/oilsands-workers-rehired_n_4748260.html?utm_hp_ref=canada-business&ir=Canada%20Business</a></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></div>
William Bailiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13067891032813036738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399110899631898679.post-12289104042253596922014-02-08T21:50:00.000-08:002014-02-08T21:50:08.318-08:00Canadian Army new rank insignia revisited<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnFab8_2OtpmzFJRYFbQ1nx22n0XJBXmsfj923w5yxW9vuR24GoPr1zUYGudFQ4gboaa6X_PhzwmL1Fmextz9fIFOEJHwtX2b_C8iA55CbzBJNeVTl4Yx8zObLbmJiiTRqodN6tXj3nO4/s1600/P1010005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnFab8_2OtpmzFJRYFbQ1nx22n0XJBXmsfj923w5yxW9vuR24GoPr1zUYGudFQ4gboaa6X_PhzwmL1Fmextz9fIFOEJHwtX2b_C8iA55CbzBJNeVTl4Yx8zObLbmJiiTRqodN6tXj3nO4/s1600/P1010005.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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I've finally seen an image of what the new/old Canadian Army officers' rank insignia will look like, and I have to admit that I am underwhelmed. The most obviously flaw is that majors and warrant officers will both have the same insignia - except, of course, that the WO will have a LARGER crown. If I were still in, I'd probably start saluting WOs just to stir up trouble (sorry, warrant, I thought you were a major!). They've also eliminated the maple leaves from the general officers insignia. To me that's very disappointing - the maple leaf pips were distinctly Canadian, but left little room for confusion as to general officer grade, even with our allies. </div>
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Oh, well, I guess we're stuck with it. Next up - revert to RAF ranks and insignia for the air force? What ho, jolly squiffing good time, I say there pilot officer, eh? Rather, wing commander, bally Gerry pranged his kite in the how's your father and now squadron leader Biggles bought the farm, what? Progress, ya gotta love it. </div>
William Bailiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13067891032813036738noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399110899631898679.post-20868834592721385312013-12-16T23:25:00.000-08:002013-12-16T23:25:58.914-08:00Re-telling bedtime storiesOne of my favourite activities is reading stories to my toddler. For the most part, his attention span doesn't last through several pages of story, but I still enjoy reading them. However, I've learned that we need to find the original versions of stories!<br />
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There is an unfortunate trend to "re-tell" classic stories, in the dullest and most uninspiring way possible. I love to read Kipling aloud; the words flow from the tongue and inspire the imagination with thoughts of far-away places and magic. T.S. Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats inspires my oratory. But a re-telling of Charles Perrault's Puss in Boots kills any enthusiasm for the resourceful feline.<br />
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I guess with freedom of speech and all that we can't stop people from messing up good stories, but but comparing words that were meant to be read aloud to a mere accounting of events, well, there is no comparison.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000020;"><br /></span>William Bailiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13067891032813036738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399110899631898679.post-71601407683926200502013-12-12T21:35:00.000-08:002013-12-12T21:35:07.608-08:00New Hobbit movie<br />
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The Hobbit is one of my favourite books of all time. I have read and re-read it often, since first discovering it as a child. As a result, it's unlikely that any film would capture my pre-conceived ideas of the story.</div>
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I'm not a Tolkein "scholar". I've never managed to wade through the Sillymarillyon. However, I loved Lord of the Rings, and delved into the appendices, but I can't tell you the difference between the Maiar and the Valar, nor do I particularly care.</div>
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I enjoyed Jackson's Fellowship of the Ring, tolerated his Two Towers and endured his Return of the King. I eventually watched the Unexpected Journey and found some things I liked and others that I didn't. At some point, i'll pick up the extended DVD and delve further. But I don't see PJ's version as canon.</div>
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And now, with the Desolation of Smaug opening tomorrow, I (against my better judgement) read some of the advanced reviews, including those containing spoilers. I guess I should accept that I am certainly no filmmaker. I don't know what would sell. I previously understood that it was necessary to simplify a novel when translating it to film, but from the spoilers, I understand that PJ has taken an opposite tack, and added complicated relationships, events and (darn it all) CHANGES to Tolkien's original story. And not simply adding in things from other sources (eg, the LotR appendices) but putting in distinct differences to the novel that change the actions and motivations of the characters.</div>
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I'm certain I will end up seeing this new film. I'm eager to see what Weta, PJ and Benedict Cumberband have come up with for Smaug. I want to see Stephen Fry's take on the Master of Lake Town. Much of the rest will likely irritate me, but at those moments I will need to remember that 'I am NOT the target audience'.<br />
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It bugs me somewhat that this relatively simple tale needs to be 'improved' by stretching it out over three movies (one skinny book is being given the same screen time that was assigned to the LotR trilogy, each book of which was double the length of the Hobbit!). New characters introduced, back stories invented for existing characters (some of which contradict the novel) and changes to characters and events that go against not only the text of the original, but to some extent the spirit as well. I get that some of the additional story comes from materials such as the LotR appendices, but it seems a lot more is invented just 'cause, well, wouldn't it be KOOL!<br />
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Maybe I should only watch movies for books I haven't read, or at least for books I don't really like.</div>
William Bailiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13067891032813036738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399110899631898679.post-33641601413581158422013-12-04T14:45:00.002-08:002013-12-04T14:45:40.218-08:00I miss my Canada
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I remember
Canada as a land blessed either by fortune, or the Creator, a land rich in
opportunity, and natural splendour.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Canadians
were kind, generous and welcoming.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Surrounded
by the beauty of nature, Canadians recognised the intrinsic value of the
environment and worked to protect it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>When the dangers of acid rain were realised, Canadians worked with their
friends in the United States to eliminate the industrial emissions that caused
sulfuric acid contamination in the rain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>When Canadians found that unsustainable logging practices were resulting
in erosion of the soil needed to give life to the next generation of trees,
they changed forestry practices so that every tree harvested today will be
replaced by a new one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The
Government of Canada valued ALL of its citizens.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Diversity in opinion was valued, whether the
opinion political, religious or otherwise.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The preferred solution to any given situation was a compromise, that
might not have given an absolute victory to one side over the other, but which
gave each party an understanding that their position had been heard, respected,
and addressed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Canadians
looked at their own lives, and saw that many of their own could not access
medical care.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So they introduced a
system that allowed all Canadians to access medical care.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They were still allowed to choose their own
doctor, and even some alternate medical services were covered.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Canadians
valued the work of others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although the
system was imperfect, Canadian employers and unions found a way to negotiate
contracts that shared the fruits of labour with both owners and workers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Strikes occurred, on occasion, and sometimes
the government stepped in to force mediation between both sides, but the most
common result was a contract accepted by all parties.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">When
Canadians looked outside their borders at countries afflicted by poverty and
war, their hearts wept.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Canada sent her
soldiers, wearing the blue berets of the United Nations, to stand between
warring factions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Canada sent her
engineers, doctors, nurses and teachers to provide aid to the afflicted and to
help build or rebuild developing societies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Canada welcomed the refugees of foreign conflicts into her society,
providing a new life to those who previously had known fear.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Canadians
knew that they were more fortunate than others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Canada was a leader in the struggle against apartheid in South Africa.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Canada was a leader in the international
campaign to ban land mines.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Canada
assisted African nations to control HIV/AIDS.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>A Canadian general presided over the peace negotiations between the
British Government and the IRA.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As at
home, Canada sought compromise between factions, to find a middle ground
between factions, recognising that each party to a conflict had valid concerns,
and that these concerns needed to be addressed in order to achieve resolution
to the conflict.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I know I am
maudlin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know I am dreaming of a place
that may never have existed in reality, but it exists in my memories and I want
it back.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I only wish I knew how to get
there.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
William Bailiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13067891032813036738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399110899631898679.post-38125408346120119672013-11-28T21:04:00.002-08:002013-11-28T21:04:16.284-08:00It's official: Canada has abandoned diplomacyCanada once had a proud foreign service. Our diplomats could boast of defusing the Suez crisis, battling apartheid, inventing peacekeeping, creating the Ottawa Landmine Treaty, mediating between warring factions in places as diverse as the Middle East, Vietnam and Northern Ireland. One of our diplomats won a Nobel Peace Prize.<br />
<br />
Not any more. Canada's government decided in 2006 to merge Foreign Affairs and International Trade into a single department. And yesterday, the government announced that henceforth, the primary responsibility for Canadian diplomats is to act as salesmen for Canadian businesses.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canadian-diplomats-to-be-told-to-shift-focus-to-commerce-1.2442029">http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canadian-diplomats-to-be-told-to-shift-focus-to-commerce-1.2442029</a><br />
<br />
I suppose it makes sense. Canada campaigned against international restrictions on trade asbestos, so that our asbestos mines could continue to sell their products to India. Canada campaigns against restrictions on greenhouse gases, in order to protect the interests of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers. Canada no longer has any time for the United Nations - where we were, once upon a time, proud of our level of engagement in working to resolve conflict, relieve suffering, and improve international relations. Canada is quick to criticize Sri Lanka's human rights record, but mentions nothing of the record of our favoured trading partner China. Our foreign minister is "skeptical" of any rapprochement with Iran - how much of his skepticism is related to the impact improved relations would have on the price of a barrel of Ft McMurray bitumen?<br />
<br />
We've shown the world our priorities.William Bailiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13067891032813036738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399110899631898679.post-540388791321875282013-11-26T21:36:00.002-08:002013-11-26T21:36:10.551-08:00I'm not a proper cyclistWe moved to Victoria in February, and left the car behind. We managed to get around by foot and by bus, occasionally resorting to using the Car Share. And finally in July, I started cycling. My sister solved my bike purchasing dilemma by giving me a reconditioned mountain bike (hooray, free bike, and almost as important, hooray, no need to wade through all the confusing research about what type of bike I need!).<br />
<br />
I've been cycling to and from work almost daily ever since, but I don't feel like a proper cyclist. I have a helmet, reflective vest, flashing white light for the front and flashing red light for the rear. Oh, and a bell! But other than that, I'm not invested in the proper cycling look. No skin-tight cycling shorts. No wrap-around sunglasses. And even the Canadian Tire cycling gear that I use would never pass muster with a proper cyclist.<br />
<br />
On the road, and on the cycle path, I am definitely the slowest thing on wheels. I don't think I've passed a single moving bicycle in the 5 months that I've been cycling. I make a point of using my cute little bell when I pass pedestrians - I know that when I'm walking, it's nice to have a warning before the whoosh of a cyclist zipping past. I'm not aware of proper cyclists using bells, however. There's typically no warning of their approach, just the whoosh of their slipstream as they thread a path between pedestrians, slower cyclists (i.e., me) and other obstacles. On rare occasions, you may hear a gruff, "on yer left".<br />
<br />
I confuse pedestrians when I stop to let them cross the street in front of me, or otherwise follow the directions of traffic control devices. If I'm on my bike, I go only when other wheeled traffic can go, and if using a pedestrian crossing I dismount and walk my bike across. I try to avoid sneaking up beside motor vehicles, although if I'm in a bike lane I'll go as far as that allows without feeling guilty.<br />
<br />
I suppose I should just lighten up and not worry about the proper cyclists. William Bailiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13067891032813036738noreply@blogger.com5