Does this sound familiar? Maybe it is not just the Canadian House of Commons after all. Sounds like it is inherent amongst most politicians throughout the world.
I think there is an urgent need for such a center,"Watching many sessions of question period, maybe a daycare center would be more appropriate?
This is so strange I can't even comment on it. I could not imagine this actually happening to anyone. What kind of church would sell its graveyard to a developer? What developer would want to build anything on one? Yikes!
Today news....
Bob Rae had his liberal leadership race tarnished when ex Canadian finance minister,Ralph Goodale descided to back Rae.
Canada's Auditor General, Sheila Fraser(gotta love her) released another scathing report today. Loaded with plenty of liberal leftoverruns and abuses. Take your pic from many (PDF documents) including:
Chapter 3 — Large Information Technology Projects. Projects over budget and over due!
Chapter 5 — Relocating Members of the Canadian Forces, RCMP, and Federal Public Service. This little number has been in the news before. When the contract was first handed out it was done unfairly so they tried again. Again it went to the same folks and again, so it seems.... unfairly! Not to mention they are making a damn good return on their investments. At the tax payers expence of course.
Chapter 11 — Protection of Public Assets—Office of the Correctional Invesitgator. Ex CFL football star takes tax payers for a Roughride(r).
The Gun registry is back in the news.The Liberals and Bloc Quebecois have joined forces to urge the Conservative government to get tougher on gun control. Their proposals include cancelling plans to scrap the long-gun registry, prohibiting use of semi-automatic weapons, and ending the amnesty for gun owners who don't renew licences or register weapons.
How many law abiding citizens of this country have to pay the price for the criminals? The gun registry will never stop anyone from using a gun to do harm or commit a crime. It will never stop anyone who wants a gun from getting one in the black market. It will never save a single life. The only thing it does do is take money from the law abiding citizen and put in the governments hands. Hell the fee's don't even come close to covering the outragous cost of the thing. Please note... Although I love to go hunting a fishing, the only thing I shoot with is a camera. I do not own any guns. Some say my mouth is a loaded weapon though.
Last but not least;
A study suggests your mother and teachers were all wrong! Don't sit up straight! The safest posture, which put least strain on spinal discs and surrounding muscles and tendons, was the substantially more relaxed 135 degree backward sprawl, the researchers found.
"This may be all that is needed to prevent back pain, rather than trying to cure pain that has occurred over the long term due to bad posture," said Waseem Bashir, a doctor on the study from the University of Alberta, Canada.
It just occured to me that it is much better to be a right(wingnut) than a left(wingnut). Everyone knows, when you turn a wingnut to left, it comes off and can support nothing. On the other hand, when you turn a wingnut to the right, it binds things together. Enough said.
ZeeNews
Yael Nezri, aka, Miss Israel, enlisted in the Israeli army in October, 2006. Yael recently completed basic training and has been given permission by her commanders not to carry her assault rifle because it bruises her legs. She stated the bruises made it difficult for her to model in photo shoots.
Why in the hell did she enlist? Seems modeling is far more important to her than serving her country. Me thinks this is just a recruiting ploy. Myself, if I were an Israeli soldier, I would rather have a well armed, ugly mother f@#$er, watching my back!
Prime Minister Harper today Announced: "Our position is clear. Do the Québécois form a nation within Canada? The answer is yes. Do the Québécois form an independent nation? The answer is no and the answer will always be no,"
Is this yet another can of worms that has been opened over Quebec? I doubt it if for no other reason than the way he chose his words so very carefully. Lets take a look at some definitions regarding nation.
nation
noun
1. The people living in, belonging to, and together forming, a single state.
Thesaurus: country, state, commonwealth, republic, kingdom, principality, dominion, realm, domain, community, society, race, populace, people, body politic.
2. A race of people of common descent, history, language or culture, etc, but not necessarily bound by defined territorial limits of a state.
3. A Native American tribe or federation of tribes.
Derivative: nationhood
noun
Etymology: 13c: French, from Latin natio tribe.
First Nation
n. Canadian.
An organized aboriginal group or community, especially any of the bands officially recognized by the Canadian government.
From wikipedia:
In 2003, there were 633 Native American tribal entities (First Nations, or formally, Indian Bands) recognized by Canada under the Constitution Act, treaties, statutes and court decisions as "self-governing aboriginal nations within Canada." They have formal government-to-government relations with the Crown, enjoy limited internal self-government and administer their territories, the Indian Reserves.
I find this part in particular quite intriguging. Etymology: 13c: French, from Latin natio tribe. Tribe eh? The things you learn while blogging. I'd say that PMSH did his homework on this one. We might as well just add Quebec to the list along with the 633 other nations within Canada. Duceppe can continue to have "formal government-to-government relations with the Crown, enjoy limited internal self-government and administer their territories", Quebec.
Got to love it when a plan comes together. Especially when it is done so quickly and out of the blue. Yes that would be Tory Blue.
I received this one in my email today and just had to pass it onThe following is an actual question given on the University of Washington chemistry mid-term.
The answer by one student was so "profound" that the professor shared it with colleagues, via the Internet, which is, of course, why we now have the pleasure of enjoying it as well:
Bonus Question: Is Hell exothermic (gives off heat) or endothermic (absorbs heat)?
Most of the students wrote proofs of their beliefs using Boyle's Law (gas cools when it expands and heats when it is compressed) or some variant.
One student, however, wrote the following:
First, we need to know how the mass of Hell is changing in time. So we need to know the rate at which souls are moving into Hell and the rate at which they are leaving. I think that we can safely assume the at once a soul gets to Hell it will not leave. Therefore, no souls are leaving. As for how many souls are entering Hell, let's look at the different religions that exist in the world today. Most of these religions state that if you are not a member of their religion, you will go to Hell. Since there is more than one of these religions and since people do not belong to more than one religion, we can project that all souls go to Hell.
With birth and death rates being as they are, we can expect the number of souls in Hell to increase exponentially.
Now, we look at the rate of change of the volume in Hell because Boyle's Law states that in order for the temperature and pressure in Hell to stay the same, the volume of Hell has to expand proportionately as souls are added.
This gives two possibilities:
1. If Hell is expanding at a slower rate than the rate at which souls enter Hell, then the temperature and pressure in Hell will increase until all Hell breaks loose.
2. If Hell is expanding at a rate faster than the increase of Souls in Hell,
then the temperature and pressure will drop until Hell freezes over.
So which is it?
If we accept the postulate given to me by Teresa during my Freshman year that, "It will be a cold day in Hell before I sleep with you," and take into account the fact that I slept with her last night, then number two must be true, and thus I am sure that Hell is exothermic and has already frozen over. The corollary of this theory is that since Hell has frozen over,
it follows that it is not accepting any more souls and is therefore, extinct leaving only Heaven, thereby proving the existence of a divine being which explains why, last night, Teresa kept shouting "Oh my God!"
THE STUDENT RECEIVED THE ONLY "A"
This guy is a genius, the next Einstein or maybe Epstein.
Only in the UK you say... such a pitty. I'm sure the libs and dips here will be drooling over this one. I have no doubt that they will be promoting the same here very quickly. After all, we don't want those poor criminals to be punished for their mis deeds. Thats just cruel.
Prisoners are being given phones in their cells to ring friends and family - and stop them feeling lonely.
Spokesman Mike Clarke insisted the in-cell phones were not a luxury, saying: "Contact with families can help reduce reoffending. Prisoners can ring their child before they go to bed at night. If they are feeling suicidal, they can ring family members late at night and chat to them."
But one Lowdham inmate said: "My cell is actually more luxurious than my first bedsit; clean, modern and with duvets, posters, rugs and a DVD player to make it even more homely."
The Liberal Prime Minister of Canada rushed back to Canada today. He stood on the Corner of Whyte avenue and 105 street in Edmonton to announce that his government will, in light of recent events, be setting up a knife registry. Canadians will be given 6 months or possibly 16 years to register all knives with the exception of those used for: religious purposes, eating, cooking and work, as well as those that have blades less than 8 inches or so. "This program will only cost the tax payers a mere 2 billion or so dollars but will be well worth it" he added.
SCREEEEEEEEEEEEECH!
Ok, them was the old days. Reality has set in and we now have a conservative government that says it is going to get tough on crime. Only problem is, they have a minority government and the opposition is making it hard to do so. Why would they do that? Some will say that crime rates are dropping in this country. I don't think the people of Edmonton would believe such statements at the moment no matter how many stats you throw in our faces. Edmonton has surpassed Winnipeg as the murder capital of Canada. The weapon of choice as of late is the knife. Are those of the pacifist thinking going to suggest, as I sarcastically suggested above, we register our knives now to put an end to this? It did not work for guns and it sure won't work for knives. The only solution is a deterrent. Our current system is not providing any at all. We are letting these vile offenders off with a slap on the wrist at every turn. I and many others have had enough and want our streets back. We want to feel somewhat safe walking our streets. Yes putting these thugs behind bars for a long time will in fact go along way in doing that. I have no sympathy for anyone who chooses to do harm to another, bodily or other wise. We need strong sentences, our current system is not working. The young offenders today, know how the system works and know damn well they will get off with little or no punishment for even the most heinous of crimes, never mind the petty. Criminals of all ages laugh at the laws we have created to protect them, not us. What happened to the rights of the rest of us, you know, us law abiding citizens? The ones who actually contribute in a good way to society. The ones who pay taxes that pay the salaries of politicians and judges.
To all you bleeding hearts, what do you say to your loved one when they are lying in your arms dying, after someone with a rap sheet as long as your arm, has done it again?
A)Ooops
B)Your one in a hundred thousand
C)Odds are, they won't do it again
D)Statistics prove my stance is right
E)Sorry, I was wrong
Is that what it will take for you to stand back and reflect on your stance? Seriously, I really would like to know.
Update.... Link fixed...thanks ABF, for letting me know there was a problem. Guess ABC pulled the story for some reason??????? Found another link that works!
Yes you did read that right!
A man was arrested on suspicion of carrying a concealed weapon after police found him outdoors naked and he told them he had a tool in his rectum, authorities said.
"You can't get much more concealed than that," Horgan said.
I wouldn't mind getting a "peace" of this action. However I don't think that the "peace" they are talking about is the one that will be on most peoples mind's at this particular moment.
We need more people like this to stand up to those who and I quote... "have brought nothing but shame and disaster to your religion and your world". Thank you Dr. Abdullah for your honesty and for taking a stand on this issue.
Two of ABF's favorite people. They appear in his nightmares on a regular basis. Nacy Pelosi and Maurice Strong.
I should have known there was a connection here, but I honestly had no idea.
Queen of the Democrats Nancy Pelosi will deliver the sovereignty of her own country over to the United Nations. In fact, she’s been working on it since 1992.
The global warming movement began at the 1992 U.N. Earth Summit where its director, Maurice Strong, started with the statement "We must therefore transform our attitudes and values, and adopt a renewed respect for the superior laws of divine nature." Strong subsequently passed several worldwide laws in 1997 known as the Kyoto Accord. In 1994, the U.N. commissioned Strong to write the Earth Covenant that was introduced in 2000 as the Earth Charter. The new edict was written on papyrus paper, placed in a replica of the Ark of the Covenant, ceremoniously ushered into the U.N. and called "the new 10 commandments," a "Global Ethic" that will transcend all religions and countries.
A Canadian version of Mr. Soros, the energy tycoon Maurice Strong, who currently operates in China after getting his name dragged into the oil-for-food scandal, also remained influential.
The first Awards will be given on the first World Responsible Tourism Day 2007 following a nominations process organized by eTurbo News and participating industry partners. The judging panel organized by Mondial Global Energy (MGe) will be chaired by Maurice Strong, who was Chair of the Rio Earth Summit and will include José Maria Figueres, former President of Costa Rica; Dawid de Villiers the last UNWTO Deputy Secretary General; Jonathan Tourtellot, Director of Sustainable Destinations, National Geographic Society; and Fiona Jeffrey, Managing Director, World Travel Market.
Had Mr. Traub made serious use of this remarkable access, he might have written a real page-turner on the U.N. in crisis. Instead, he has produced "Best of Intentions: Kofi Annan and the U.N. in the Era of American World Power" (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 442 pages, $26), a paean to Mr. Annan, packed with scenes that mingle hagiography with the lingo of an infatuated schoolgirl. In this tale, Kofi Annan figures as a sort of Hamlet of Turtle Bay, a "benevolent renaissance prince," a "gentle soul," and, above all, a victim not of his own failures, cover-ups, and hypocrisies, but of circumstance and conservative critics. Voilà: Mr. Traub has crafted for Mr. Annan, just in time for his retirement next month, the New Legacy.
Ever wonder why Canada sends China foreign aid? Ask a liberal and you will find Strong reasons. Okay, make that very Strong reasons for all things "liberal". Didn't PM Harper, recently apologize to Chinese Canadians and forked over a ton of cash to them for Canadians mis-deeds of close to a century ago? What was the reason? We mis-treated them by placing a head tax on Chinese immigrants. Not anything in comparison to the abuses in their home land. China does not want to talk about human rights. Too frickin bad! There human rights record is no secret. Canada has contributed over a billion dollars to China over the years and I think that is more than enough reason for our PM to talk about whatever he so chooses when it comes to China. If it is human rights, so be it. Canadians have paid the price of admittance to this show and most have not liked what they have seen. China must clean up its act and I most certainly am not talking about climate change. Again Harper takes the high road and is being slammed by the media and China friendly business's for doing so. Stay the course Harper. You are doing and saying what is right for Canadian and Chinese citizens alike, unlike some past leaders of Canada.
Aint like the other. One of these things just isn't the same. Can you guess which one?
A) Canada's Clean Air Act
B) UK Climate Change Bill
C) Kyoto Protocol
They all mention the dreaded date "2050" that our conservative government took so much heat over. Personally I like baby steps, gives you a chance to learn and evaluate things on your way. Make changes as needed to accomplish the goal. Rushing in head strong and blind usually only gets you a head ache when you hit the wall. Was it not just a few short years ago that all these reputable scientists were screaming about how we were heading for another ice age? The band wagon switched to global warming. Now they call it climate change. Guess this latest name is much safer as if it gets warmer they are right. If it cools off, they are right. What if it just keeps going up and down, fluctuating as it has for as long as man has recorded temperatureand tree rings show? What if their computer driven forecasts are wrong? You know the old saying, garbage in, garbage out. I'm no scientist, but I do know that pollution is a big problem. Climate change on the other hand is at this moment, as far as I am concerned, is still a hypothesis. One that has several holes in it that I as a lay man can see. When I see graphs such as the "hockey stick", which deliberately leave out valuable info, monetary solutions that do nothing to resolve the real problem and lastly, the main stream media spouting about it as gospil on a constant basis, I for one take a step or two back, and wonder why? Something stinks as is often the case when the UN is involved. There is only one thing that I can think of that will drive humans in such a frenzy as this topic seems to have done. MONEY! I am willing to bet that somewhere, some folks in the high up can't wait to see their "retirement funds" in that Swiss bank account set up for them labeled "Kyoto Slush Fund". Now that France has come out bashing Canada, I have even more reservations on this matter. France, in general, is not one to bash anyone on any topic except maybe healthcare, but thats another topic all together. Rona has come out and stated the truth on where Canada is on climate change and some folks don't like it. The truth hurts sometimes. Personally I prefer the truth over lies. I'm afraid that we the poor public have been fed a bunch of lies to the point that we are starting to believe them. Not just on this topic. Does not say much for the human race as a whole. I will as usual, take everything I hear with a .... can someone pass me the salt please? Thanks.....
Old Version:
O Canada!
Our home and native land!
True patriot love in all thy sons command.
With glowing hearts we see thee rise,
The True North strong and free!
From far and wide,
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
God keep our land glorious and free!
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
New Version:
O Canada!
Our homes on native lands!
Tru deau pian love, while under liberal command.
With bleeding hearts, we saw taxes rise,
provinces longing to be free!
The farce was wide,
So amazing, what the Media wants us to believe
Liberals took our guns, set the criminals free!
O Canada, we can't stand on guard for thee.
O Canada, what the hell has happened to thee?
Thank you...thank you very much... Is that a donut I see over there? Be right back....
UPDATE/ retraction of my last post, "More climatic jokes": LOOKS LIKE THE FINE FOLKS AT THE BBC SCREWED THIS ONE UP BIG TIME. After I was notified by The Conservative UAW Guy in the comments section that the number was changed in the article, I checked around a bit and found that the premium paid was in fact $930,000 not the $930 million that was originally reported in the BBC article. Wonder why the BBC did not "note" that they had goofed and the number was corrected. They just simply changed the number. No oops, we are sorry. Nada! Unlike them I admit when I have made a mistake. This is the proof of that.
Ok, Move along folks nothin here. Damn!
UPDATE: The BBC has changed this article to read $930,000.00 for the premium paid. As a result I did some more checking and found the lessor amount to be correct. Thanks BBC for ruining my day and this post! Bastards!
Don't bother reading this as they have changed the article and make no mention of their screw up in the proccess! MSM at it best as usual.
From the BBCThe insurers agreed that below a certain minimum of rainfall, they would pay $7m within a matter of days, to be spent on food aid or payments to farmers. The premium paid was $930m.
As it happened, rainfall stayed above the threshold, and Axa Re kept its money. But WFP's Peter Smerdon believes the project shows how poor communities can gain relief quickly.
How does this "prove" anything other than Axa Re made a whole hell of alot of money for making a promiss. $930 million premium to fork out $7 million within a matter of days? Hell, give me that money and I'll give them $900 million in A DAY! Simply amazing......
One day Mother Nature was playing up in the cornyard when–whack! something hit her upon the head. “Goodness gracious me!” said Mother Nature; "this funny shaped stick fell from the sky and must be a sign! I am getting a little warm, the tempature must be rising; I must go and tell the UN.” Along the way Mother Nature meets up with many of natures creatures who she tells her story to and they follow along blindly to the UN.
So they went along, till they met Foxy-docsy, and Foxy-docsy said to Mother Nature, and the others “Where are you going" “We’re going to tell the UN the tempature is rising.” “Oh! but this is not the way to the UN" says Foxy-docsy; “I know the proper way; shall I show it to you?” “Why certainly, Foxy-docsy,” said Mother Nature, and they went off to tell the UN the tempature is rising. So they went along, till they came to a narrow and dark hole. Now this was the door to Foxy-docsy’s office. But Foxy-docsy said to Mother Nature and the others, “This is a short cut to the UN palace, you’ll soon get there if you follow me. I will go first and you come after, "Why of course, certainly, without doubt, why not?” they all said in a chorus together.
So Foxy-docsy went into his office, and he didn’t go very far and turned around to wait for Mother Nature, and the others. So at last Foxy-docsy had them all right where he wanted them. He gave each of them a quick check up and found that, all the other animals were all indeed sheep in other animals clothing, and suffered from leftosis. Mother Nature on the other hand had only just begun menopause which explains why she thought the tempature was rising. The funny shaped stick was just some crazy Canuks playing hockey in the cornyard, and things got a little out of hand. Foxy-docsy could not do much for the others but was able to treat Mother Nature with Hormone therapy. Some low-dose antidepressants, gabapentin, bisphosphonates, SERMs and major amounts of Clonidine to stop those nasty hot flashes!
The End!
Morale of the story...
Mother nature has reached that age, and we must do what we can to help her out. Spread the word! Hormone therapy is what the world needs now before its too late!
Yup thats right. Nothin'. I can't for the life of me come up with anything to write or even do a silly picture about. Total brain deadness. I know this does not come as a surprize to some of you. Some might even wonder how I manage to do some of my posts at all. Oh well. Tomorrow is another day. Hopefully something will get my attention, piss me off or spark some artistic behavior. Til then, have a great evening.
Thank you to all that served/serve in the forces, whom try to bring peace to the world, past, present and future.
Family Honor Roll:
Arthur Ronald Baker, Sapper, Royal Canadian Engineers, WWII, 1923-2004 (Father)
Stanley John Baker, Sergeant Major, WWII, 1912-2002 (Uncle)
William George Baker, WWII, 1910-1979 (Uncle)
Reuben Trevor Baker, WWII, 1919- Still with us (Uncle)
Rueben David Baker, Royal Fusiliers WWI, 1888-1974 (Grandfather)
Trevor Baker, Born 1883, Killed in Boer War 1901 (Great Uncle)
Edward Stanely Godwin, WWI, Born 1896, Killed at Vimy Ridge 1917 (Great Uncle)
Albert Morrison, Black Watch, Korea, 1932- still with us. (Step Father)
Although I truely wish this was King Ralphs work,"And I wasn't surprised she crossed over - I don't think she ever did have a Conservative bone in her body. Well, except for one. Well, speaking of Peter MacKay."
It turns out that Klien stole the line from none other than Belinda's current male friend, Tie Domi! Explanation is here for your reading enjoyment.
From Canada.com"Liberal MP Belinda Stronach says a sexually charged comment by Alberta Premier Ralph Klein about her past relationship with Peter MacKay is exactly the kind of remark that puts women off entering politics."
It obviously did not put her off from letting Tie enter though. Funny how these things turn about.
H/T to Eternalee for the story line and Dust my Broom for the video link.
Didn't make your bed... stern warning. Came home later than told... No X box for a week. Take the car without permission.... grounded for a month. Went to a party and killed a young man... grounded for two years. What kind of message does this send out. None what so ever that will ever deter anyone else from doing the same. This my friends is a joke, no, a travesty! After court, the trio went to the courthouse cafeteria with their families, then grinned and chatted amongst themselves as they waited to sign papers.
Of course they did, they just got away scott free for committing a irrehensible crime. The Canadian injustice system at its finest.
How one votes seems to me, is based primarily on their social ideology.
The left as they are known:
In general the left, think that everyone, with enough prodding, guidance and funding from the government, are fundamentally good. By being a Nanny state and holding everyone’s hands as they go through life, giving them adequate and equal treatment and or government funded programs, everyone is an equal. Or as equal as they can get without everyone tossing their wages in a pot and dividing it up amonst everyone equally.
Those who choose to support the Green Party are more concerned about the environment than any other issue. I would suspect that they would be more inclined to also support such groups as Green Peace, World Wildlife Foundation, and the likes there of. They are extremists compared to the so-called, average member of society. They go above and beyond, to protect our environment.
Those who choose to support the NDP are very collective minded. They tend to be more in favor of unions and a large government that will take care of all people’s needs rather than relying on the individual to provide for them selves.
Up until more recently in our countries history, the Liberal party was close to centre. I attribute that to their overall success as being the party that has run this country for more years than any other. They supported business, they took care of the poor. They did just enough for each part of society to be a middle of the road party without getting too extreme on any particular issue. They represented most Canadian’s beliefs. They have more recently moved further to the left as years went by. They began introducing more and more social programs to help those, as they saw it, in need. Supplied funding of special interest groups more and more with taxpayer dollars. In short, trying to be everything and to appease everyone to the parties demise.
The right as they are known:
Geared to those individuals that are more independent in thinking. Conservatives believe in very little government interference aka: small government. The less money government takes from their pockets the better, as conservatives think they can invest it to help the country prosper better than any government could. Basically “leave me alone, I will make it or break it on my own” mentality.
The Conservatives, like the Liberals of old were also close to centre at one time. Like the Liberals they too have spent a good chunk of time running this country. The biggest difference between the two was the way each looked at business and how evasive the government should be with social programs. The Conservatives were much more favorable to business and much less likely to support social programs to the extent of the Liberals. They have, in recent years moved further right away from centre, again to their own peril. Although they may be in power now with a minority government, they would have done better had they not moved further to the right.
As I see it, the majority of Canadians vote for the party during any particular election that comes closest to the centre approach. This would explain why we have seen the two major parties go back and forth in power in this country. As one moves to far away to either side, the majority of Canadians will switch their voting to the other party that remains closest to the centre. It is a simple balancing act that the citizens of our great county perform to keep things in check.
Mainstream Canadian’s are, for all intensive purposes, centered in their thinking. Any party that wanders too far to one side or the other will see the results at election time. The closer they can keep to being centrist the better for them. We are not a country of extremists for the most part. Yes there are those who are extreme on both sides of the political spectrum, but overall they do not represent the majority of Canadian’s. The majority of Canadian’s simply want a strong federal government to represent us abroad. We want a government who sees to the needs of the needy, not everyone. We want a government that takes crime seriously. We want a government that will make sure that our health is looked after including healthcare and via the environment. We want a government that does not over tax us to pay for the wastes that always seem to go on in government. We want a government that can deliver a strong economy. We want a government that is fair across the board to all its citizens. Finally, we want a government that stays out of our day to day lives and lets us go on doing what we need to do to make ourselves and our families happy, healthy, wealthy and wise.
If someone should ever manage to form a political party in Canada that managed to stay centrist, uncorrupted and not influenced by special interest groups, I am sure they could and would become the ruling party of this country forever.
I am such a dreamer and a centrist, who currently supports the Conservatives, as I feel they are closer to centre than any other party is.... for the moment.
I was there, were you?
Today Edmonton held it's first Red Friday Rally. It was cold with a bitter wind. I first drove by around 11:30 am and there was already quite a few people there probably around 100. (Picture #1). At about 5 minutes before noon, when I arrived for the show there were a few hundred. (Picture #2). As the clock at the tower of city hall struck 12:00, there were people coming in to Sir Winston Churchill Square from all directions. As the proceedings started, I would guess there was somewhere around 600 to 700 people. (Picture #3). Not as many as I would have liked to have seen though. A group of students from Grades 3 and 5 at Edmonton Garrison’s Guthrie School Started things off by singing O'Canada. (Picture#4). Shawn Hlookoff Brought tears to many eyes when he took the stage and performed "Soldier". (Picture#5). The absolutely most memorable moment was when Master Cpl. Paul Franklin addressed the crowd. (Picture#6). Franklin Lost both his legs when the vehicle he was in was blown up by a suicide bomber."You wear red to help us help you, And I just want to say 'thank you very much. Years ago we didn't have this support. But now when you go on missions you don't even have to think about how Canadians support us. We know, It's a given. After my attack and during my recovery I found it difficult to put on this uniform, but we know as we head out those gates that no matter what, Canadians across this land support what we do. Days like these make me proud to be a soldier"
One comment made amongst the crowd that I can't help but write about. A mother walked by me with three children. One was complaining about being cold(I think). She simply said, "Your father didn't complain when he was in Afghanistan, you should not be complaining here." Silence followed that statement.
One thing that did surprize me as I walked about taking my photo's. There was not one single 'anti war' or 'bring the troops home' sign or protester anywhere to be seen.
Thank you Edmonton for Supporting Our Troops!
For some strange reason, blogger would not allow me to place all the pictures into this post. I did a small work around. Please "click on the images to see a larger version. Sorry for the inconvienence.
