Blog Update

Thought maybe it was time to make some changes.

The Telegram RSS feed hasn’t updated for a long time, so I deleted it from the blog. Also took out some of the features that only occupy space and don’t serve much of a purpose. They’re neat “gadgets” in Blogger’s menu, but that’s about it.

Added a few things at the bottom of the page that you might want to check out – more RSS feeds. Three (Globe & Mail, New York Times and Al Jazeera English) provide news headlines of the big stories they’re covering. The other six deal with health & fitness stuff. It’s an area of interest for me although like way too many others, I read a lot about it, but don’t DO much about it.

That’s going to be changing soon. A lot of people have talked to me about Tai Chi and I saw a show about it on TV earlier today while eating lunch. I hope to get started on a Tai Chi class in the fall. Same for overall fitness. I’ve visited a few of the gyms around town and have been most impressed with New World Fitness on Topsail Rd. Their prices are very reasonable and they don’t expect you to sign up for lengthy contracts.

So, some new stuff going on.

$35 computers

Funny how when you get über busy and are trying to get stuff done around chez-nous, a blog seems to fade away into the distance in terms of priorities – as it should be. Plus the fact that over the last couple of weeks, the news seems to be more of the same old, same old. An Associated Press story caught my attention today, headlined “India unveils prototype of $35 tablet computer”. It goes on to describe how after MIT said they would produce a $100 computer, India's Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal turned to the experts in his country and asked them to come up with a similar product. They did. The basic touchscreen tablet can be used for functions like word processing, web browsing and video-conferencing and with the ability to operate on solar power. Certainly, it will have drawbacks and limitations and there are questions about what deals will need to be worked to get the prototype into manufacture, but the fact is that they produced it in the first place along with the 100,000 rupee ($2,208) compact Nano car, the 749 rupees ($16) water purifier and the $2,000 open-heart surgery. We would do well to keep a close eye on technology developments in India, the second most populous country in the world, with over 1.18 billion people and apparently the will to produce affordable technology.

Newfoundland's Protestant holiday

It’s Orangemen’s Day today in Newfoundland – a provincial holiday when services such as garbage collection are suspended, but stores are open. I was surprised to learn that a day that has such strong Christian denominational overtones would be celebrated as a holiday. After all, Orangemen's Day commemorates the 1690 Protestant victory over Roman Catholic forces in the Battle of the Boyne in Ireland. King William III of Orange, the Protestant King of England, defeated former King James II, a Catholic. The Orange Order was established a century after the Battle of the Boyne and steadily grew in the 19th century as a patriotic bulwark against what many Protestants saw as treasonous Catholicism. The Orangemen's parades, especially in the north of Ireland are always filled with tension.  Whether or not the Newfoundland government realizes it, that’s what it’s celebrating on this day – not some glorious affirmation of belief in Protestantism. For many people, it’s just another reason for a holiday of which there seem to be a lot on this rock. Guess it’s hard to let go of the things that divide us – Catholic/Protestant; English/French; Tory/Grit.

Poverty Elimination Bill Introduced

On Thursday, June 17, NDP MP Tony Martin tabled private member’s Bill C-545, An Act to Eliminate Poverty in Canada. Not only does this bill speak to a tremendous need in this country, it also reflects significant civil society consultation and multi-party collaboration. Congratulations to Mr. Martin, and thanks to MPs Mike Savage (Liberal) and Yves Lessard (Bloc) for their support of this legislative initiative.

Built on a strong human rights framework, the bill emphasizes income security, housing and social inclusion as core priorities. “The purpose of this Act is to impose on the federal government the obligation to eliminate poverty and promote social inclusion by establishing and implementing a strategy for poverty elimination in consultation with the provincial, territorial, municipal and Aboriginal governments and with civil society organizations.”

The introduction of Bill C-545 marks a significant step towards fulfilling the second goal of the Dignity Campaign (a federal poverty elimination act). The campaign and all of its supporters now have the summer to begin rallying public awareness of and support for the Bill, prior to its reading in the fall legislative session.

The poverty elimination strategy outlined in the legislation includes:

•Core priorities of income security, housing and social inclusion;

•a strong human rights framework;

•Picking a poverty measurement, as having no official definition has impeded action;

•Gender-based analysis, different urban and rural responses and dealing with specific factors that put some at greater risk, like aboriginal status, child rearing and single parenthood, low wage, immigration or refugee status, low education, and prolonged illness and disability.

•Leadership by the entire government with health and income security ministers taking the lead;

•An independent Poverty Elimination Commissioner to monitor and hold the government accountable, and a stronger, renewed National Council of Welfare to be called the National Council on Poverty and Social Inclusion.

DfA support continues to grow. 350 groups and over 5500 individual Canadians have endorsed the campaign. Among these supporters are 57 MPs and 12 Senators, representing 17% of all Parliamentarians. Special thanks to Alderman Joe Ceci and the City of Calgary for leading the effort to secure the recent endorsement of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities!

On behalf of the DfA campaign, have a wonderful summer! Please take some time to spread the word about Bill C-545 (Poverty Elimination) and make sure your MP is ready to get behind Bill C-304 (Housing) in the fall.

Don’t blame the cops for G20 mess

Here’s an excerpt from a recent column by Toronto writer Peter Worthington. He has a fine reputation as an editor, reporter and columnist. While there may be those in the blogosphere who are beating the civil rights drum, Peter puts it in the proper perspective. If you’d like to read the rest of his piece, click here.

"If anything is more misguided and unnecessary than the recent G20 Summit itself, it’s the decision to hold an independent inquiry into police actions that weekend.

A thousand arrests, 263 charged, no one seriously hurt, no police brutality, a serene citizenry, vandalism but no violence. Forget about it.

Oh, the civil liberties activists have their shorts in a knot, but they always do. Ignore them. As for “violence” and “rioting” on Toronto streets during the G20, that’s hyperbole and wishful thinking.

What was loose in Toronto that weekend was some hooliganism and mischief. No blood on the streets, no casualties, no real violence. The Black Bloc agitators smashed and grabbed, but they weren’t after blood. No Tehran here.

As for the occasional journalist being rounded up, into the temporary detention centre — that’s a hazard of the trade. Sure, they bellyache but their editors were probably pleased to have a staff member on the “inside” to report first-hand the horrors faced — like stale cheese sandwiches and insufficient drinking water.

To suggest there was police brutality is again wishful thinking by those who yearn for substance to malign the cops. Yes, some cops over-reacted, or questioned people unnecessarily. Or searched the wrong bag. Or questioned identities. But the city was on high alert for trouble."

Uhhhh, is that really what you meant?

I love language.  Sometimes I don't use it as properly or appropriately as I should, but I love it.  I especially love translations that offer a different perspective.  This headline on the Chinese People's Daily online news caught my attention this morning: Chinese Masturbate Over "The Bombing of American Aircraft Carrier"  Not up to me to judge what is aphrodisiacal for anyone but it was a bit surprising.  You can read the story by clicking here, this is a little excerpt.

The rumor of the "bombing of the aircraft carrier USS George Washington" was a case of masturbation by some Chinese netizens. But we should be wary about whether this kind of masturbation helps to advance the talk of the "Chinese threat."  Recently there was a popular Internet forum post entitled . This post claimed: "According to the latest news from CNN at local American time 21:19 (Beijing time 16:18), an incident took place to the shock of the world. The American nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Washington was cruising in open waters when it was hit by an unidentified cruise missile.

 Methinks the writer may have meant "celebrate" but I suppose it's whatever turns your crank.  Happy Friday.  :-)

Those without children have rights too

If you go out for an evening, do you want to have to put up with a screaming baby sitting next to you? For me and an increasing number of people, the answer is no. The National Post reports online that at least one Ottawa-area restaurant has advised customers to leave their babies at home and I think it’s a good idea. Not everyone does. A family has filed a human rights complaint against a trendy wine bar that turned away a dinner party because it included a three-month-old baby. How many times have you been in a restaurant for a quiet meal when a family comes in and the kids are either caterwauling or standing on the seat and making a nuisance of themselves? I think it’s fine for a restaurant owner to advise groups with babies or other small children to make another choice for dining. There are plenty of family-friendly restaurants around and we have to realize that in this day and age families and individuals without children have rights too.

Eastern Health lab problems persist

You would have thought after all the problems with the Eastern Health labs over the last months it would have been the tightest ship in the fleet … not the case. A friend of mine was in to see his doctor this week and when the doctor went to look up some recent test results, the computer showed in brilliant red: Specimen discarded before tests were completed. Doesn’t that speak of pretty considerable sloppiness, especially when there has been so much negative news about the Eastern Health labs? Clearly, someone in the lab didn’t do his/her job properly but rather than call my friend back, explain the situation and ask him to come back in, they just made a note on the computer screen and left it to the doctor to find it. From what I understand, not even the doctor was notified of the error. Obviously there are still some serious problems with that operation. To me, this sounds like some members of the front line troops shouldn’t be there.  If they don't care enough about professionalism in thier work, get people who do.

54 hot dogs in 10 minutes!

Whoever would have thought that hot dog eating would become an international competition? Well, turns out that it’s a mighty big crass commercialism deal at least for one company. An outfit called “Major League Eating” organized a big hot dog eating contest in New York - Nathan's Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest - over the weekend. The current world champion, a Japanese dude by name of Takeru Kobayashi wasn’t allowed to join the competition because he hadn’t signed some sort of contract with Major League Eating … but when his fans shouted out for him (undoubtedly pre-arranged, say wot), he tried to get on stage and ended up getting carted away by the police. The 32-year-old has been charged with resisting arrest, trespass and obstructing governmental administration. All for friggin’ hot dogs! In case you’re wondering, the winner, Joey "Jaws" Chestnut of California won by downing 54 hot dogs in 10 minutes. (Resisting the urge here to talk about gluttony but I had a problem finishing a two-piece Chess' fish & chips last night without the gravy & dressing)  Bring on the Pepto!

In other weird news, they dug up Bobby Fischer's body the other day in a paternity trial.

We need doctors, but at what price?

There’s an important debate going on the UK at the moment about the quality of health care and more importantly, the quality of the physicians delivering that health care. The issue is poorly trained doctors who cannot speak good English. There is a danger when facing a shortage of physicians to turn to developing countries for international medical graduates who may not have the same calibre of training as our Canadian-trained doctors. A case in point, there are a number of medical schools in the Caribbean where students who fail to make the grade in Canadian medical schools can basically “buy” their education at exorbitant tuition rates but the catch is they must do their practical training or “clinical clerkship” in American and Canadian hospitals because the Caribbean schools do not have the facilities. Saba University even says this on their website: “Your clinical education at Saba University consists of 72 weeks of clinical clerkships at teaching hospitals in the United States and Canada.” These places are medical degree factories.

So, there are two questions here: how does the Newfoundland government and the College of Physicians & Surgeons deal with quality of training issues and how do they deal with service delivery when the patients, especially the elderly, can’t effectively communicate with their foreign-born physician? The other question of course is cultural differences. Some of the incoming physicians truly do not understand our culture and the way they treat the allied health professionals who work with them is a clear example of that.

Bottom line: we need the doctors, but at what price?

Wrong is wrong

Somewhere along the way, the education system on this rock let down a lot of people. I’m thinking of those who believe the incorrect grammar they use is ok. Consider for example, “Is you going there today? You has to go there today because we has to pick up something.” I hear those kinds of conversations every day, from people who work in clerical positions in the education system. I’ve been told that it’s a difference between whether you were educated in town or in the bays but I don’t understand why these people could graduate from high school with those sorts of language skills intact. The odd time now when I try to correct someone’s grammar in this context, I’m told that I’m “picking on” them. Some people consider it to be quaint but that doesn’t cut it. Bottom line: wrong is wrong.

Men's Age as Determined by a Trip to Home Depot

You are in the middle of some kind of project around the house - mowing the lawn, putting in a new fence, painting the living room, or whatever. You are hot and sweaty, covered in dirt or paint. You have your old work clothes on. You know the outfit - shorts with the hole in the crotch, old T-shirt with a stain from who knows what, and an old pair of tennis shoes.

Right in the middle of this great home improvement project you realize you need to run to Home Depot to get something to help complete the job.

Depending on your age you might do the following:
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In your 20's

Stop what you are doing. Shave, take a shower, blow dry your hair, brush your teeth, floss, and put on clean clothes. Check yourself in the mirror and flex. Add a dab of your favourite cologne because you never know, you just might meet some hot chick while standing in the checkout lane. And you went to school with the pretty girl running the register.

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In your 30's
Stop what you are doing, put on clean shorts and shirt. Change shoes. You married the hot chick so no need for much else. Wash your hands and comb your hair. Check yourself in the mirror. Still got it. Add a shot of your favourite cologne to cover the smell. The cute girl running the register is the kid sister to someone you went to school with.
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In your 40's
Stop what you are doing. Put on a sweatshirt that is long enough to cover the hole in the crotch of your shorts. Put on different shoes and a hat. Wash your hands. Your bottle of Brute Cologne is almost empty so you don't want to waste any of it on a trip to Home Depot. Check yourself in the mirror and do more sucking in than flexing. The spicy young thing running the register is your daughter's age and you feel weird thinking she is spicy.
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In your 50's
Stop what you are doing. Put a hat on, wipe the dirt off your hands onto your shirt. Change shoes because you don't want to get dog doo-doo in your new sports car. Check yourself in the mirror and you swear not to wear that shirt anymore because it makes you look fat. The Cutie running the register smiles when she sees you coming and you think you still have it. Then you remember the hat you have on is from Buddy's Bait & Beer Bar and it says, 'I Got Worms.'
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In your 60's
Stop what you are doing. No need for a hat anymore. Hose the dog doo-doo off your shoes. The mirror was shattered when you were in your 50's. You hope you have underwear on so nothing hangs out the hole in your pants. The girl running the register may be cute, but you don't have your glasses on so you are not sure.
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In your 70's
Stop what you are doing. Wait to go to Home Depot until the drug store has your prescriptions ready, too. Don't even notice the dog doo-doo on your shoes. The young thing at the register smiles at you because you remind her of her grandfather.
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In your 80's
Stop what you are doing. Start again. Then stop again. Now you remember you needed to go to Home Depot. Go to Wal-Mart instead and wander around trying to think what it is you are looking for. Fart out loud and you think someone called out your name. You went to school with the old lady who greeted you at the front door.
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In your 90's & beyond:
What's a home deep hoe? Something for my garden? Where am I? Who am I? Why am I reading this? Did I send it? Did you? Who farted?

Happy Canada Day!

Dancing in the rain ...

There once was a woman who woke up one morning, looked in the mirror,

and noticed she had only three hairs on her head.

'Well,' she said, 'I think I'll braid my hair today.'

So she did and she had a wonderful day.

The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror

and saw that she had only two hairs on her head.

'H-M-M,' she said, 'I think I'll part my hair down the middle today.'

So she did and she had a grand day.

The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and noticed

that she had only one hair on her head.

'Well,' she said, 'today I'm going to wear my hair in a pony tail.'

So she did, and she had a fun, fun day.

The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and

noticed that there wasn't a single hair on her head.

'YAY!' she exclaimed. 'I don't have to fix my hair today!'

Attitude is everything.

Be kinder than necessary,

for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.

Live simply,

Love generously,

Care deeply,
Speak kindly,
and pray continually.
Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass...

It's about learning to dance in the rain.

It's not what you gather, but what you scatter that tells what kind of life you have lived.