The Greatest Canadian

Who is the greatest Canadian?
Many would say Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone.
Others would say Drs. Banting and Best whose discovery of insulin changed the lives of those ill with diabetes.
Perhaps the late great James Doohan who, before fixing mechanical problems on the starship, Enterprise, struck a blow against tyranny on the beaches of Normandy (indeed, such an honour goes out to all soldiers).
Or Lord Stanley, the man whose fondness of hockey created the Stanley Cup to recognise excellence in league hockey.
Paul Henderson whose last minute goal defeated the Soviet Union in the 1971 Summit Series, thus ending our "Cold War".
Tommy Prince, the most decorated Canadian soldier of the Second World War.
But the ultimate unstoppable force of the universe would have to be Superman, created by Joe Shuster of Toronto, Ontario and Jerome Seigal.
So, Superman, this day is for you.

Something Very Wrong

Oh. My. Goodness.

The columnist was wrong. Eighty-one percent is NOT a comfortable majority. The number of people who should not condone pedophilia should be much higher.

Lazy attitudes, stupidity, the complete loss of sanity and things that are right and holy. You pick the pathology. I'm just going to be sick.

The Guilt Meter

Only a few days ago, Canadian authorities thwarted a potential attack on Canadian soil. Seventeen men- twelve adults and five youths- were arrested. They had in their possession three times the ammonium nitrate used to destroy a federal building in Oklahoma City. The suspects had been monitored for months. More arrests are expected.

Many people are breathing sighs of relief that a potentially disastrous attack had been stopped in its tracks before being carried out. Experts are not surprised that such attacks could occur in Canada and encourage caution.

These are the facts as they have been reported.

What is blood-boiling, aside from the plans of murder and destruction, is the inevitable tide of white-washing that is now occurring. The suspects, Canadian citizens who are obviously of Middle Eastern and Islamic extraction, have put family and friends at a loss to explain what is going. It is understandable. No one wants to believe their brother or father is capable of mass murder. Except that the police found ammonium nitrate in their possession and have been monitored for expressiing anti-Western sentiments. A prominent- and controversial- imam, Aly Hindy, from the Salaheddin Islamic Centre near Toronto, made the claim that the authorities are now falsely accusing the suspects. He says:


"It's not terrorism. It could be some criminal activity with a few guys, that's all."

I failed to make myself heard. THREE TIMES THE AMOUNT OF AMMONIUM NITRATE USED TO DESTROY A FEDERAL BUILDING IN OKLAHOMA CITY. Either the imam is incredibly mistaken or is in denial.

We cannot make any more assumptions or say anything definitively untill all the facts are known and the suspects are tried in a court of law, a privelige considering many countries do not afford their accused such a "luxury". That's not what this post is about. This post is about looking at some cold and hard facts, accepting these facts and changing our perspectives about certain people and things. I expect nothing of the sort. I just wish it.

But I digress...

Consider the bomb at the Guildford pub in 1974. "We must hunt down the maniacs and animals who would do this kind of thing," demanded former Minister for Northern Ireland, David Howell. Strong words in response to atrocities committed by the IRA (long before the July 7th attacks in London). The violence of the Troubles turned opinions against Northern Irish Catholics. Where were the apologists for the attacks? Not the obvious deflections from the likes of Gerry Adams but the actual denials and justifications for the crimes of murder and destruction?

Consider the extremist Eric Rudolph, poster-boy for the oft-decried phenomenon of "Christian terrorism". No one in their right minds would defend such a man (though there were some who did defend him please note I justified the preceding statement with the qualifiers "right mind"). Nevertheless, it did not prevent the popular media from painting entire special interest groups as "extremists". Did anyone reach out an olive branch and declare that while a few may be- how shall we say? -"misguided"- others were well-informed and peaceful? Nonsense! It couldn't be!

So why is everyone on the defensive now? What makes this case incredibly different from cases that were similiar? Why was everyone ready to believe that the entirety of this group or that groups was capable of murder and incapable of compassion but not the one in question? There can't be enough white-washing and sugar-coating in the case in Canada. Muslim leaders and groups are called in. Everyone is asked to reach out to their fellow Muslims (that's hard to do if you are not Muslim). Why? No one is accusing all Muslims of anything (but the presence of leaders and groups makes one questions why be so defensive if this is isolated and completely out-of-character for the mainstream).

If someone could tell me why the standards are completely different for one group and not another maybe I wouldn't make such a big deal of it now.

Things That Fry Me

This is just a general list of things that not only get my goat but butcher it, roast it and leave a bonfire mess on my front lawn.

The word, Canuck- the noun is Canadian, as in "I am a Canadian." The adjective is Canadian, as in Canadian literature (HA! I made myself laugh by typing Canadian literature!). If you cannot use the word in either function or even bring yourself to say it, you shouldn't be allowed to speak.

Why is it that every nonactor or some other nonentity who happened to be associated with Canada at some point has to be glorified in the Canadian press (I'm looking right at you, Pamela Anderson, even though I really don't want to)? Who the hell cares? If these celebrities are so proud to be Canadian then why do they live in the US? Oh, that's right! Money- the very reason that drives all the other Canadian talent across the border.

This criticism can be applied to American celebrities who love Canada so much (they obviously haven't lived there) but will not surrender their American citizenship and become tax-paying citizens of Canada. Dinks.

Why does the singer Pink have a career? Is there a market for butchy loudmouths who hate tonality and harmony? Also, the following singers shouldn't have careers as well: Beyonce, Mariah Carey, Brittany Spears and K-Mooch, any rapper, Kelly Clarkson, Barbra Streisand, Michael Jackson, that creepy girly guy on Korean commercials for pomegranate juice (insert skin crawl here).

People who further the careers of the following- George Clooney, Kiera Knightley, Julia Roberts, Tom Cruise, Ben Affleck, Cameron Diaz, Sarah Jessica Parker and Jessica Simpson. Shame on you! What were you thinking?!

Excessive grammatical, spelling and punctuation mistakes. Now, far be it for me to point a finger. I'm sure there are several such mistakes in this post alone, but at least I give a care to fix my mistakes. There are people who do not care to speak or write in their first language (in this case, English) properly. Why? Since when was gutter-speak and poor technical ability ever a sign of intelligence and seriousness?

People who give their kids stupid names like Apple or Brittney or Montana (it's a state, dammit!) or Taylor or Caitlin or some other rubbish trendy name (don't get me started on "African" names). These people obviously don't love their children.

The Da Vinci Code- Michael Coren, a columnist for the Toronto Sun, had it right- no one would make a film denying the Holocaust and then justify it as entertainment. So this rubbish is justified how? Entertainment? Fact? Fiction? Acceptable targeting?

People who walk slowly at subway stations (chiefly because they are on their cell phones or sending text messages) and obstruct others' paths, I'm going to kick you in the back. Fair warning.

China, the world's biggest polluter, violator of human-rights and underhanded aggressor and enabler of aggression (see: IRAN and KOREA, NORTH).

Ditto for people who buy cheap crap from the aforementioned country.

People who have their music up too loud. Yes, that's right- share your music with everyone.

The conflagration of fug. Ruffles, sequins, brown and pinks together, suede boots, cowboy boots, jean shorts, jean shorts with high-heels, leggings, stocking-socks. All of it is BAD BAD BAD.

Thank you for letting me get a few things off my chest.

Aaahhhh, Juuuuunnnne........

I'll return with some anger but first, June.....

This was taken outside of Gyeongbuk Palace, Seoul, South Korea.