Valentines Day: Finally, something that reflects my lifestyle!
Shelter Magazines Get Real
Nathalie Atkinson, National Post, Feb. 14
This article concerns anti-lifestye magazines -- as opposed to Martha's lifestyle magazine and television program. Lifestyle is defined as "the relentless acquisitive pursuit of goods by the petite bourgeois masses". I felt that I should contribute to the anti-lifestyle trend with the following for Valentines Day.
Dust if You Must
A house becomes a home when you can write "I love you" on the furniture."
I can't tell you how many countless hours that I have spent CLEANING! I used to spend at least 8 hours every weekend making sure things were just perfect -"in case someone came over". Then I realized one day that no one came over; they were all out living life and having fun!
Now, when people visit, I find no need to explain the "condition" of my home. They are more interested in hearing about the things I've been doing while I was away living life and having fun. If you haven't figured this out yet, please heed this advice.
Life is short. Enjoy it! Dust if you must, but wouldn't it be better to paint a picture or write a letter, bake a cake or plant a seed, ponder the difference between want and need?
Dust if you must, but there's not much time, with rivers to swim and mountains to climb, music to hear and books to read, friends to cherish and life to lead.
Dust if you must, but the world's out there with the sun in your eyes, the wind in your hair, a flutter of snow, a shower of rain. This day will not come around again!
Dust if you must, but bear in mind, old age will come and it's not kind.
And when you go - and go you must - you, yourself will make more dust!
It's not what you gather, but what you scatter that tells what kind of life you have lived.
Thanks to Susan, who may have noticed that much--though not all--of this describes me and my lifestyle-- except for the beginning section about ever spending hours CLEANING. I simply don't notice so much that others see as important. To the good housekeepers who visit, the food is safe; have a glass of home-made plonk, relax, and enjoy. Just turf something away and put your feet up. Happy Valentines Day to the romantics among you. To the rest, have another glass of what has been aged at least a month or two; it's the good stuff, the special stash for guests. NJC
[. . . .] Documents released under the Access to Information Act show that 245 native communities across Canada have run up cumulative deficits of $300.3 million. The highest tally is in Manitoba, where 48 bands owe a total of $94.2 million as of last month. In Atlantic Canada, 20 bands together owe $47.3 million, and 50 in Ontario owe almost $40 million.
[. . . .] "You have a very difficult choice to make," said Stewart Phillip, also head of the B.C. Union of Indian Chiefs, representing 70 leaders.
"Our populations are expanding at an explosive rate, and the needs in our community are dramatically increasing.
[. . . .] Ottawa is "painfully aware" of the rising costs linked to a native population that's growing at twice the rate of non-aboriginals, Phillip said.
"The health costs alone are rising astronomically [. . . .]
[Chief Wilfred King ] scoffed at how fast Canada wrote off $750 million in debt owed by Iraq while the most isolated First Nations are denied access to natural resources on their traditional lands.
[. . . .] About one-quarter of Canada's 700 First Nations, tribal councils and native political groups are under special management because of deficits that exceed eight per cent of their budgets.
Of those, about five per cent have lost control of their finances because of continuing problems.
In Gull Bay, King says an outside manager has been paid almost $500,000 in band funds over the last five years to do little more than write cheques.
My Commentary:
Might I suggest a little common sense -- family planning? -- help yourself a bit more? -- get some initiative, education, and a job? -- pay for building your own houses, as do the rest of Canadians? -- or is that considered politically incorrect? How many generations will the payouts from Canadian taxpayers continue for the traditional treaty agreements along with a taxpayer-funded breeding program--especially since taxpayers seem to have to pay off Quebec, besides, in the service of a dubious unity? How long will it be before Canadians cannot afford to pay for what has been happening--the expanded population, health, education and other needs--despite paying higher and higher taxes? Will the natives then be treated as the rest of Canadians? Will there be any choice? Will the country be able to declare bankruptcy and start over?
I don't feel as though we owe our natives one more red cent in the service of agreements with bands consisting of relatively few people a hundred or more years ago -- agreements now buttressed by having to pay attention to dubious oral histories -- agreement obligations which keep expanding exponentially, rather like the expanding native population -- the fastest growing ethnic group in Canada. What do you think?
Canadian taxpayers are never going to get out from under these endlessly burgeoning obligations -- payments of which which do not ameliorate conditions for natives on reserves nor for those who have moved to the cities -- payments of which seem to be frittered away at the chiefs' and band councils' behest to family and friends.
Natives obviously are not satisfied with anything non-native Canadians have done. The only solution they offer is "send more money" without offering to fulfill fiscal or other responsibilities. Remember what, in that era, was considered a good idea -- to educate the children in residential schools and bring them into the mainstream of Canadian society? I am sure some were abused -- but I find the number of those stories growing with the telling too. Did the religious involved do nothing but abuse native children? Many students were educated and treated very well. Where is the balance in the telling? I am tired of the horror stories and the attempts to make non-natives feel guilt.
It might clear the air to say "Enough already!" and dig in our heels about paying any more -- though the politically correct crowd and the helping professions would disagree. Don't even mention blaming the victim to me! Ordinary Canadians are beginning to feel more and more like victims -- victims of the endless rights and payments demanded by natives and expanded by our appointed judges. NJC
Petition to Stop Bill C-250 to Change the Definition of Marriage
This came from a colleague; it will be of interest to those who feel strongly that they do not want the definition of traditional marriage as including a male and a female changed.
We Were Overwhelmed! Thank You!
Dear Friends,
Thank you so much for your response to this alert we sent out a couple of days ago. We were overwhelmed by your response. Literally!
Your response was so great that our server could not handle the volume after it was climbing over 20,000 e-mails an hour! So we had to interrupt the e-mail-through-to-senators feature and make some changes. As a result, we know that many of you were unable to e-mail through our site.
What would happen if Canadians were asked for input in a referendum? Our Liberal government does not appear to want to know. If you feel strongly about this, link and sign the petition. NJC
What a reward has come Jane's way! Liberal HRDC Minister Jane Stewart presided over the HRDC department's last scandal -- Pierre Pettigrew escaped that one by the skin of his teeth -- and now she is off to perq'ier pastures. Ah, we must make certain "our own" are rewarded before the sh** hits the fan -- to an even greater degree. The appointment process is so useful at times like these -- a managerial Employment Insurance initiative. NJC
Conservative Party Rules Chair[persons] Want to 'Beat Harper'? . . . "a leaked e-mail suggests that members of the Leadership Election Organizing Committee (LEOC) are trying to fix rules to beat Harper".
My Commentary:
This is explosive -- not what a newly merged party needs. Democracy should reign supreme in the Leadership Election Organizing Committee -- but I just came out of the grassroots pea patch, obviously, and people like me don't count to the back room boys and girls, it seems. Drat! D**n! and ****** NJC [expletives re-thought ]
Martin is enraged, a show of force is rquired, and it is said that heads are about to roll. According to sources extremely close to Martin who spoke on condition of anonymity, he is likely to turf . . .
From Feb. 5, this could be another explosive situation for Paul Martin -- Stelco begs
for government assistance to save its 8,300 employees and 11,000 retirees, many of whom work in Hamilton . . . . According to a CP report, "Stelco has said it faces a $1.25-billion shortfall in its pension liabilities and some $918 million in post-retirement pension benefits.
Let's Get Rid of Regulation and Government Funded Ignorance
The Quebec sponsorship scandal is perfect news channel fodder. Why not round up some of Canada's toughest political partisans and savviest commentators for a rousing round of debate? Not at Newsworld, or at least not on prime time when people are actually watching television, and certainly not in competition with The National on the main CBC network. That would be against the rules.
What regulatory manipulation has left Canada with a national television market totally devoid of sharp, intelligent and opinionated debate?
[. . . . ] While Canadians are kept on hold, Americans have an opportunity to plug into a constant stream of discussion. Why don't Canadians? The answer is regulation and government funding. CBC Newsworld, which has a near-exclusive lock on the news-comment format, howls in protest whenever a private channel comes along with a competitive idea. CTV Newsnet, to get on the air, had to cook up a non-competitive format. Other channels have trouble beating the regulatory system.
The result is stifled competition, both for viewers and ideas. One suspects the structure is deliberately set up to prevent debate and protect the governing Liberals, although that's hard to prove. But if last Thursday night's The National, and the limited public affairs debate on all the networks, is any indication, it's certainly the effect.
Many of us agree. Let ideas compete, not be stifled with Canadians' own tax dollars in the service of "telling our own stories" -- rules which are bent as often as not, anyway. NJC
[. . . .] When Mr. Martin was finance minister, he removed himself from discussions concerning CSL and the shipping company's clients, such as Stelco. He did so even though he had placed CSL and his other holdings in a semi-blind trust. (It was later revealed that he received periodic strategic briefings from Howard Wilson, Mr. Chr?tien's ethics counsellor.) [Read more on Howard Wilson below: PM Keeps Wilson For Now -- It is Useless to Dust Off Your Resume]
[. . . . ] Although CSL faces the same rates as other Canadians on taxes it pays in this country, its international affiliates, registered in the tax haven of Barbados, pay almost no tax on their profits. They can then send the money to Canada as tax-free dividends, thanks to tax arrangements confirmed while Mr. Martin was finance minister.
Do link for more information on
***Chretien appointee, Howard Wilson [See article below on Harold Wilson's expense account], Stelco and John Duffy of PMs transition team
***the CSL-federal government contracts -- It involved answering a question in Parliament that involved contract payments of, NOT $137,000, but $161,000,000 -- a minor error, of course. (question from CA MP, Rajotte)
Advertising and patronage have walked hand in hand ever since politicians realized they needed professional help to make them attractive to the public. . . .They set things right by creating a French-Canadian advertising community, when necessary assigning government accounts to companies that possessed nothing at the time except a post office box and a yearning for wealth.
Finance Minister Ralph Goodale, as well as former ministers Alfonso Gagliano, Don Boudria and David Dingwall - now president and CEO of the Royal Canadian Mint - were on the list sent by Auditor General Sheila Fraser to a House of Commons committee.
ADRIENNE: Cdn. Liberal Appointed Royalty Cost Canadians $5.3 MILLION! $4 MILLION OVER BUDGET
Does she cost us more than our Queen?
Link to this post; it gives some idea of what it takes to belong to the GGs entourage on a Polar Tour -- or any other, I suspect -- rewards for those at the top of the Liberal fold. NJC
OTTAWA (CP) - Jean Chretien's friends will strike back with "every conceivable measure" at Prime Minister Paul Martin if he drags their old boss into the sponsorship scandal, Chretien loyalists warned Friday.
Some pockets of the Liberal party are reacting with fury to insinuations that Chretien's inner circle is to blame for a scheme that bilked $100 million from the public purse.
And there were warnings that the lifelong political street-brawler could emerge from retirement to lay a retaliatory uppercut on the chin of his longtime nemesis Paul Martin.
Two longtime Liberals raised the issue of a libel lawsuit against any Martin aide spreading rumours that the former prime minister was to blame for the scheme.
[. . . .] U.S. defence officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Spc. Ryan Anderson, 26, signed onto extremist Internet chat rooms and tried to contact al-Qaida operatives, offering the organization information on U.S. military capabilities and weaponry.
[. . . . ] Anderson, from Everett, Wash., became a Muslim during the last five years, officials said.
Anderson is the second Muslim soldier with Fort Lewis connections to be accused of wrongdoing related to the war on terror.
Capt. James Yee, 35, a former Fort Lewis chaplain, is accused of mishandling classified information from the U.S. prison for suspected terrorists at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Yee ministered to Muslim prisoners there. . . .
Another Alleged Terrorist in Canada Fighting Extradition
Lawyers for an Algerian man wanted in the U.S. on terrorism charges spent most of the day behind closed doors in B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver arguing issues related to his extradition case with a federal prosecutor representing the U.S.
Samir Ait Mohamed, 36, is wanted in the U.S. in relation to the plot involving Ahmed Ressam to bomb the Los Angeles airport on Dec. 31, 1999.
PM Keeps Wilson For Now -- It is Useless to Dust Off Your Resume
OTTAWA - Ethics Counsellor Howard Wilson has spent about $250,000 in the past 10 years attending international conferences as an expert on ethics.
A tally of his expenses, which were released quietly on his own Web site, shows Mr. Wilson spent 456 days out of his Ottawa office during the past decade attending conferences in places such as Hong Kong, Canberra, Brasilia, Prague, Seoul, Beijing and Santiago. As well, he made five trips to Paris, four to London, England and three to Buenos Aires since 1994.
Mr. Wilson was absent from his office an average of about 45 days or six weeks a year despite the fact that Robert Benson, the Deputy Ethics Counsellor, recently testified the Ethics Counsellor has been slow to respond to complaints because office resources are limited.
[. . . .] His salary is between $157,000 and $184,700, and Mr. Wilson has collected annual performance bonuses which could have reached as high as $27,705 while serving Mr. Chretien.
The list of expenses also consist of hospitality charges, including lunches and dinners. Mr. Wilson acknowledged he did occasionally go over the limit of $30.65 for lunch in 2003, the last year he has filed his expenses.
CBC Objectivity on Same Sex Marriage, The Collonettes, Liberal Party Logo
On Sunday, the day after Valentine's Day, the CBC will air an hour-long celebration of same-sex marriage. The likely climax: two guys kissing -- like Madonna and Britney Spears, perhaps? -- at the altar. Eat your heart out, Bette Midler.
Even as Paul Martin sends the issue to the Supreme Court for clarification, the state broadcaster hypes this as the first-ever live broadcast of a homosexual marriage. [. . . .]
This taxpayer-funded stunt is a slap in the face to Christian groups, including the Ontario Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada. They have promoted Valentine's week as a time to proclaim the sanctity of marriage. They complain the CBC is legally mandated to be balanced; yet, they claim, it relentlessly pushes a pro-abortion, pro-homosexual agenda that does not reflect mainstream Canadian opinion.
You doubt this? Then why did CBC "moderator" Carol Off introduce a recent "objective" discussion of same-sex marriages by describing the "beautiful" same-sex wedding ceremony she had just attended?
[. . . .] Paul Martin's beleaguered brain trust wants to get rid of the instantly recognizable Liberal logo -- a clear signal of how far they want to distance the "Martin" Party from the ancien regime of Jean Chretien, a notion members of the Ontario Liberal caucus call dumb and profligate.
[. . . .] In a quid pro quo deal that would make Machiavelli proud, Mr. Collenette [quitting politics] agreed not to run again in Don Valley East, opening the way for Paul Martin's candidate, John Kazanjian, a Harvard-educated lawyer. Then, Penny Collenette, one-time director of patronage appointments in the Chretien PMO, agreed not to challenge Liberal Richard Mahoney (another PM favourite) in Ottawa Centre. In return, sources say, Mrs. Collenette, with hubbie in tow, will be appointed Consul General to Boston after the next election.
As a means of addressing the national aspirations of Quebecers, the programs of the Canada Information Office and its successors were a poor joke -- a doomed blitzkrieg of insolent poppycock. Liberals treated Quebecers' suspicions of central Canadian power, suspicions rooted in centuries of experience, as a mere error of fact that could be corrected by means of -- posters! Murals! Colouring books! Free flags for everybody! It is as if they had said: "Why, we just have to remind these Pepsi retards of all the nice things Ottawa does for them, and how pretty the Maple Leaf flag is, and they'll come around!"
[. . . . ] As a Westerner, I could, of course, add another scandalous component to this list: namely, that fostering national unity seems to involve placating Quebec, and only Quebec, with tax money raised from all Canadians. Even disregarding the element of corruption, this is the sort of thing that gives "national unity" the negative overtones it has in the West. (When a politician says "national unity," check your wallet.) Some, it seems, believe that lawlessness of this sort is wrong if the beneficiaries are Jean Chretien's friends, but right if the beneficiaries are Jean Chretien's ethnic compatriots in general.
