Can You Explain?

   A late-term abortion can be performed at a time in the pregnancy when the baby could survive a premature birth. If, however, the adults involved decide that this baby is not to be given a chance at life, they can choose to have it aborted. The way it is done is by injecting potassium chloride into the heart of the fetus, which would then be delivered dead. If the baby were to be born alive, administering that same injection would then be viewed as an act of murder, and prosecuted in the courts.
   I am not one who would say all abortion should be outlawed. I know there are times when it is a heartbreaking choice that needs to be made by the mother, but I also know there are times when a fetus is aborted simply because the "mother" would find it too inconvenient to take on the responsibility of a child. They fail to take on the responsibility of birth control, and then calm their consciences by debating the moment at which a fetus "becomes a person". How much easier to sleep at night when you can tell yourself that you merely "evacuated a mass of foetal tissue".
   Exactly when does the mass of tissue become a person? Exactly when does abortion become murder? Can you explain it to me?


   On a related theme, a doctor and his assistant have been jailed for two years in New Delhi for using ultrasound scans to facilitate gender-based abortions. Doctor Anil Sabsani was caught in a sting operation and earned the dubious honour of being the first in India to be jailed for the practice. Doctor Vinay Agarwal, president of the Indian Medical Association praised the convictions and said that the medical establishment in India is doing all it can to fight this backward practice.
   The abortions are today's technology-assisted version of female infanticide that has been practised in India (and other places, as well) for centuries. It's led to the enlargement of our vocabulary by one very sad word - foeticide. Perhaps the bewildering part of all this is that female foeticide is most prevalent among India's affluent, urban and educated populace. Yes, they have the money to make access to the technology easy, but don't they also have the education and modernization to make this technology unwanted?
   If this isn't yet one more sad indication of a much needed turn-around in societal evaluation of a female's worth, then I do not know what it is.
   Can you explain this one to me?

   The first comment left on the entry below links to the story of Maoua Diomande, a woman from the Ivory Coast who has sought sanctuary in the church of l'Eglise du Sacre-Coeur, in Ottawa. She came to Canada and set up a small business to support herself. She began immediately to contribute to her new country, and the authorities are seeking her deportation. They are refusing to listen to appeals and unwilling to consider "new" evidence. They've got everything in place for her to be sent back the second she steps outside that church.
   In stark contrast to her cace is that of the creep I blogged about yesterday. He was finally escorted out of the country hard on the heels of Jeyaseelam Thuraisingam, another of his ilk who had come here from Sri Lanka in 1989 and within months had himself arrested for a violent crime. How can anyone explain what happened with this piece of shit before they finally deported him. The authorities "struggled" to secure his deportation while he continued to involve himself in violent crime and was arrested repeatedly on such charges. For years, he openly led a gang of thugs here in Toronto, and the gang warfare they conducted cost multiple lives. How was it that they had to struggle to have him deported? He cried wolf, claiming he would face "mistreatment" at the hands of Sri Lankan police if he were returned, and it was enough to buy him years here in Canada. Years in which he robbed our society left, right and centre, while Maoua quietly worked at fitting peacefully into society. Follow the link to Maoua's story, learn what she faces if she is deported and then ask yourself, where is the sense in it?

   The air in Toronto just got a little cleaner. Tamil gang leader Kaileshan Thanabalasingham was deported late Monday night to Sri Lanka. He led a gang here whose battles with rival thugs claimed the lives of more than a dozen young people during the late 1990's. One of their battles even led to a midday shooting in the middle of a highway. The Canadian Border Services Agency, in calling for the deportation, identified him as a danger to the public. The Federal Court accepted that and upheld the move to clean the air. There have been over 100 Sri Lankans involved in crime and terrorism deported so far, and the Conservatives are promising to clear up the backlog of deportation orders. As far as bettering the air quality, that ranks right up there with the Kyoto Accord.

Buyer Beware!

   I love Tim Horton's coffee. Let me say that first, 'cause the next thing I want to do is dump all over another of their offerings, namely their "Hot Smoothees". The product is pitched as a caffeine-free hot beverage, and is available in four "delicious" flavours. (Of course, they're always delicious flavours ... ever seen an ad trying to sell a mediocre flavour? "try our new crud-flavoured tasty treat!") Anyway, if someone tries to tell you they're actually good for you, because they are made with skim milk powder, fix them with a steely eye and demand to know the rest of the ingredients before you imbibe.
   Since those in the know probably wouldn't be in too much of a hurry to share this info, I'll fill you in. The good-for-you skim milk powder is mixed in with hydrogenated coconut oil, glucose solids, sodium caseinate, potassium phosphate dibasic, artificial flavouring, silicon dioxide, salt, mono and diglycerides, cellulose gum, xanthan gum, soya lecithin and FD&C Yellow#5 in the base. For the so-called raspberry, for instance, the base is then mixed with propylene glycol, glycerine, water, FD&C Red #40 and FD&C Blue #1. If you order the who's-kidding-whom hazelnut, they'll take the base and substitute caramel colour and triacetin for the red and blue food colourings. Yum, yum.
   The kicker (if you need anything else after all that) is the sugar and calorie content. In a small you'll be treating yourself to 190 calories and five teaspoons of sugar, but if you're really thirsty and you go for an extra large, be prepared for the 450 calories and 12 teaspoons of sugar loaded in there.
   To put this into some kind of perspective, just picture yourself ordering a coffee, even an extra large, and asking the server behind the counter to make it a double-double-double-double-double-double. I'm not even going to mention the saturated fat content. The Tim Horton's Nutrition Guide doesn't give you the goods on that one, but if you really want to know, check out the April issue of Centre for Science in the Public Interest April issue Health Letter.

Advil and an Olive Branch

   A couple of weeks ago, a Canadian convoy vehicle got off the road near Ghani Kalachah, an Afghanistan village of approximately 5,000 souls, and some of the villagers helped the troops get it back on the road. This week, the troops went back to say thanks. A team of Canadian army medics set up a temporary clinic in the village. The physician in charge was Navy Lieutenant Ian Beck, a former GP from London, Ontario, who left his private practice three years ago to join the Forces.
   Among the treatments performed by the medics were the cleaning of infected cuts, and the dispensing of Advil. A dentist on the team pulled out some rotten teeth and handed out toothpaste and toothbrushes. There is no clinic in the area, so the temporary quarters were quickly overrun by those in need of medical aid. Said Beck, in an interview quoted in the Toronto Sun, Saturday March 25, "It was Band-Aid treatment (that will ) go a long way to showing that we're here to help as Canadians and as Westerners".
   Romanian troops that had guarded the medics as they worked, helped to unload a sea container full of humanitarian supplies such as cooking pots, diapers and rice, as the clinic was shutting down. The supplies were left to the village elders to distribute. Hopefully, this diplomatic healthcare effort will be seen as the olive branch it is by some who may otherwise hate all westerners. If this little clinic helps to change the mindset of even one hatefilled individual, like the one who wielded his axe on March 4th, it will have healed so much more than anything the doctors could cover with a bandaid.

I.A. Continued

   On January 24, 2004, Jim Whitehouse was fired. Before you start feeling sorry for him, you should hear why he got that pink slip.
   Whitehouse was a stockbroker in the employ of RBC, in Calgary. He describes himself as "being within the top 10% of RBC's investment advisers". Seems he was working late on that January night when he got himself "all likkered up" and went out to solicit a prostitute. Where did he take her to conduct their transaction? The irresponsible imbecile decided the office was just the right place to take his lady of negotiable virtue. After whatever transpired there, the dimwit then took himself off of the premises and left her behind.
   Think client confidentiality and security. Those are concerns cited by the RBC when they terminated his employment. Not to be trifled with, this tower of intellect is now suing his former employer for wrongful dismissal.
    Duh.

Taking Out the Drudgery

   OK, so the winter is over and you're not likely to need this until next winter, but it's something I just found out about and I had to share it with you. It's called the "Wovel" and it's the "very newest in snow removal". It combines a shovel with a wheel and is supposed to take the drudgery out of shovelling your driveway.
   Its design multiplies mechanical force to allow the user to throw snow three times faster than they could with a traditional shovel. Why bother? Now that we have snow blowers, that would seem to be a valid question, except for the further claims made by the purveyors of the Wovel. They boldly state that it outperforms single stage snow blowers and handles slush. which many blowers won't do. It also adjusts to user height, something else many blowers won't do.. It even breaks down for storage during Canada's second season - "construction".
   Has it caught your interest yet? At the moment it will cost you approximately $138. to be the first on your block with one of these babies. .If you can get some buddies to buy too, you'll get a $15. credit for every one they purchase. Get 9 friends together on this and you can split the savings. Go take a look at their website anyway, just to see their little portrayal of an ecstatic user pursuing fun and fitness with a Wovel.
    In spite of the funky design on the wheel, I'm betting this gadget is not going to be on the market for very long, so you might want to place your order quickly.

Yup!

   A faithful reader has asked if that is a flax plant pictured in the entry below. Yes, o faithful one, that is indeed flax. If you positioned your cursor over the picture and were patient for just one itty bitty moment, you would see the caption appear that tells you it is in fact a scarlet flax in bloom.

All We Are Saying, Is Give Flax a Chance!

   I have previously written an entry about flax, so check it out if you want a recipe that uses this little powerhouse of goodies, but if you're wanting more info about just what those goodies might be, read on MacDuff!
    The goodies we're looking at when we're looking at flax are alpha-linolenic acid and lignans, both of which seem to be useful in the battle against heart attacks, breast and colon cancers arthritis, severe menstrual cramps and depression. Lignans are also being investigated for anti-viral and anti-bacterial properties. The thing is that while these substances are available from a range of sources, they are packed more densely into flax than they are almost anywhere else.
   Flaxseed has at least 75 times more lignans than any other source. For instance, to get the lignans available in 1/4 cup of ground flaxseed, you'd need to eat 60 cups of fresh broccoli or 100 slices of whole wheat bread. To get the fiber from the same amount of flaxseed, you'd need to chow down on 1& 1/2 cups of cooked oatmeal. To obtain the alpha-linolenic acid (plant version omega-3) that is available in 1/4 cup of ground flaxseed, you would need to gum your way through 25 cups of peanut butter. This is great news, of course, for vegetarians who might be concerned about how to get enough omega-3's without murdering any fish.
   Is flax safe? While, humans have been adding it to their diets since the Stone Age, so it seems a pretty safe bet. Very few people experience allergic reaction to it, but if you want to be cautious, start by using just 1/2 teaspoon a day and work your way up.
   Why bother? According to Stephen Cunnane, Canada Research Chair, "There's nobody who won't benefit from adding flaxseed to his or her diet." Research has proven that when flaxseed is added to the diet, levels of LDL, the "bad" cholesterol, drop. This effect is likely due to the increase in fiber represented by an increase in flax intake. Since most north Americans average less than 15 grams of fiber daily of the recommended 25 to 30 grams, flax can be a very positive addition to your diet. For suggestions on how to add it your meals, follow the above link to my previous post.
   How did flax come to anyone's attention as such a great source of lignans? Kenneth Setchell of Cincinnati's Children's Hospital Medical Center tells the story that while he and his colleagues were conducting a study, they encountered a patient who had lignan levels several hundred times higher than had ever been detected before. It was, apparently, this patient's wont to bake their own bread and add flaxseed to every loaf. Thus began the first flaxseed studies.
   Last question --- what does this stuff taste like? My family, who aren't quite the health food fans that I am, joke sometimes about the taste of things like flaxseed being every bit as good as fresh sawdust, but when I add flaxseed to my baking, it flies off the shelf just as quickly as the things I make without it. According to "Prevention" magazine, in a blind test among 90 college students, muffins and cookies baked with ground flaxseed in the recipe won hands down over the same products made without flaxseed, on ratings of flavour and tenderness.
   Give it a try. What have you got to lose, besides maybe some of that high cholesterol count?

Throw the Garbage Out

   Mahmoud Jaballah has been fighting deportation from Canada back to Egypt. He's been under detention here in solitary confinement, while Ottawa has sought his escorted departure from our soil. Jaballah is being held on a national security certificate still before the courts. If upheld, the certificate would become a removal order that can not be appealed. Jaballah is accused of being a terrorist and of having al-Qaida ties.
   There are some who are crying the blues on Jaballah's behalf and saying he might face torture if he is deported. I say, who cares? When it's time to take out the garbage, no-one makes a fuss about what people do with the refuse. Anyone with ties to terrorism deserves everything he might get.
   Federal Court Judge Andrew MacKay took the right first step when he ruled that Jaballah is not entitled to protection from deportation. Now let's take the right next step, and throw the garbage out.

More I.A. Files

   Two more idiots have stepped forward to join the ranks.
    39-year-old Torontonian William Bowden has been charged with mischief, theft and possession of stolen property after he broke into a parked vehicle and stole the stereo. He then attempted to "sell" the hot item, but it turned out the man he approached was the owner of the car and the stolen stereo.
   In Prince George, British Columbia, some brilliant type decided to steal the video cameras in a museum there. I do hope he smiled for the cameras as it was recording his actions. With several beautiful mug-shots available, it was a cakewalk for the local RCMP to get their man.
   Duh!

Golden Athletes

   Canada's sledge hockey team is bringing home the gold, something the pampered NHL-ers couldn't manage to do when they were on the ice at Torino's Esposizioni. Maybe that's because these men were truly playing for the love of the game. Canada also took the gold in curling. We stand currently at a total of 12 medals. Our team had gone off to Turin hoping to bring home ten medals, so they've surpassed their own goal. Flag-waving, anthem-singing kudos to you, our Paralympians!

Why Isn't Everyone Watching?

   March 10 to March 19, those are the dates. Do you know what those dates are? If you don't, you're in the company of countless others, but I'm not going to say, "so don't worry about it." The lack of publicity surrounding this event is anything but laudable, even if it is predictable. Those dates, you see, are for the Paralympics, currently running in Turin. These are the ninth Paralympic games, and they have brought over 1,000 awesome athletes to the slopes and arenas vacated a couple of weeks ago by the first round of competitors.
   Although the Olympics may not be everyone's cup of tea, there are few who would laugh to scorn any of the "able-bodied" athletes who come to strut their stuff. Just one look at some of the "differently-abled" athletes, however, would be enough to set off the derisive comments from those so minded. I would be interested to see any of those small-minded detractors compete against any of these athletes. How well would they fare, I wonder?
   You see, the athletes currently competing in Turin are pitting themselves against circumstances that would declare"three strikes, you're out" to many of us. While the amputation of a limb or the loss of vision would mean game over to many an individual, it means just another adjustment to be made on their way to the top for these determined athletes.
   There are five competitions underway: alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, biathlon, ice sledge hockey and wheelchair curling. Looking into the "how" of any of these sports for the differently-abled is looking into a wonderworld of technology and human spirit combined.
   "Tech-liners" have been developed to ease the friction between skin and a prothesis to facilitate downhill skiers who make their way on one leg. Because of the painful friction possible, some amputees ski without their prosthetics. To help them, firms like LaCome Inc. have been busy, developing the Flipski, which is a crutch ski that can also flip up into a pole to use over icy parts of the course. The back of the ski is equipped with metal claws to help stop a skier unable to stop the conventional snowplow way. For skiers who sit during their descent of the course, there is the Radventure Inc. monoski, a titanium leg-mounted single ski, on which the intrepid adventurer sits.
   The skiers who evoke the most sense of awed admiration from me are those who are visually impaired. While some of them are partially blind, others are completely so, and still they brave the mountainside. How do they get down safely? Some of them have sighted guides who call out to them from the sidelines, using a megaphone, while others have a sighted guide ski down in front of them, calling out to them with details of what lies ahead. I can not imagine myself in this world or the next tackling such a challenge. My ski cap's off to them, I tell you.
   Those who compete in the biathlon may be visually impaired as well. To facilitate their taking part, technology steps to the fore again. These people follow their guide to the shooting range where they use air rifles equipped with an electronic acoustic device that shoots light and sound beams that are bounced back to the shooter's headset. Increasing pitch directs them closer to the target, helping them refine their aim until they hit that bullseye.
   On the hockey ice, the players use sledges equipped with two skate blades that allow the puck to pass between them. The teams carry two double-sided sticks that have a spike at one end for pushing off the ice, and a blade at the other for taking those shots on net. This adaptation of the game originated in Sweden in the 1960's and became an official event in the Paralympics in 1994. The first set of international rules for the game were drafted from Canadian rules of play for ice hockey, and there is very little difference. Minor penalties run 1.5 minutes rather than 2 and "teeing" or intentionally contacting another player with the front of a sledge is cause for such a penalty. Teeing is pretty much the only real difference between the two games, so if someone enjoys watching ice hockey, they should have no trouble following a game of sledge hockey.
   The only question is: Where are all the spectators? Why does most of the media circus disperse at the end of the "regular" Olympics? Why isn't there constant coverage on the TV so that we can watch our athletes and cheer for them when they excel? There is the site www.paralympicsport.tv, but when I went there I had to deal with annoyance of "please wait ... loading", an already small screen size being subdivided to show several sections, and computer glitches that kept interfering with the continuity of what I was hoping to watch. While the first games played out at Torino, all I had to deal with when I turned on my TV was making the choice of which channel to tune in and when to make some popcorn.
   You know what? This fucking stinks. The hype for any of our athletes should be the hype for ALL of our athletes. The corporate sponsors should be vying for the chance to support the Paralympics as much as they do the Olympics. The special ads should still be showing, and the audiences should still be sneaking some time off work to watch their favourites go for gold. What is the problem here, anyway? Is there some factor at play here like that mumbo-jumbo fear that keeps some people from making out a will, in case it brings about their demise? Are people afraid that they'll "catch" something from watching these events? Do they think if they cheer for an amputee, they'll lose a limb tomorrow? Are the corporate sponsors ashamed to have the "disabled" promoting their wares? Do they fear it will reduce the price they can ask for their gear if it's worn in public by the Paralympians?
   Someone explain it all to me, please. Why isn't everyone watching?

You're Right, Suzanne!

   In a March 14 article in the Toronto Daily Star, Ryerson professor of journalism, Suzanne Kelman, is one of those interviewed concerning the cohort's passage through the universities and colleges. She talks about being asked by one parent to take her son's temperature, because she was worried that he was sick. She talks too about the shock that so many of the students experience when they begin their first year. It's the shock of meeting reality head-on and it has nothing to do with their being younger. It comes when they start receiving their marks for papers and tests. Says Kelman, "The schools around Toronto or Ontario have wildly inflated their marks." Exactly, Professor Kelman.
   I've been there. I've seen it done over and over and over again. I've fought against it and found myself damn near drowned in the flood of protest and complaint that follows hard on the heels of some kid and/or their parents being asked to acknowledge the shoddy results of their lacklustre academic efforts.
   Again, to quote Kelman, "You want an example?" In my last year of teaching, there was an individual in the classroom who was far more concerned with tyrannizing their classmates and stealing things from anyone who had an item they wanted than they were with doing anything even vaguely resembling school work. Time came for report cards and I began averaging marks and recording the achievements of the students. I recorded this student's achievement as well, which meant that after being as generous as I possibly give, they still had an average of less than twenty in several subject areas. When the principal saw the report, the shit hit the fan. "They have to apply to a high school," I was told. "Give them a passing mark."
   It didn't seem to matter that in some areas I had seen not one completed assignment all term. In some, I had not even seen one that was started, let alone finished. I had struggled with this individual all term, trying to control their incredibly disruptive influence in the classroom. That was all they had spent their time on, as far as I could discern. There was rarely any time given to academics, and yet I was supposed to give them a passing mark. I refused to do it. I refused to fabricate marks. I refused to put my name to a lie.
    Other staff members advised me to give the marks. They said that if the student had done anything at all, and the work was "sort of coherent" I should give the pass based on that. "Why make problems for yourself?" I was asked. Too many of my colleagues marked their students on exactly those criteria - "sort of" and the "no problem" easy way out. It certainly makes them look like good teachers, when all the kids in their classes are getting top marks. The problem with that is that sooner or later, reality is going to come crashing down on somebody's head. It's usually the teachers of the older grades and the students themselves left to face the reality check when it arrives.
   You're right, Suzanne. The schools are "wildly" inflating their marks. You have to wonder how we're ever going to manage to get those involved to face reality. Parents who don't have the time, or are unwilling to impose rules find it wonderfully easy to have a son or daughter who does no homework and still aces schoolwork. What status to have a genius in the family!Teachers who are more interested in "not making problems" can be best buddies with their classes and just pass on the mess to the first one the kids encounter who has moral standards. It's all so nice and easy. I don't know how it's going to be fixed, Suzanne, but until that one is figured out, you and your colleagues will have to continue doing things like instituting mandatory grammar exams.
   A grammar exam to get into second-year journalism? That's only one of the payments we'll all be forced to make before our schools, and society itself gets back in touch with reality.

Beowulf and Grendel

My hunny-bunny and I went to see "Beowulf and Grendel" yesterday. If you're looking for a shoot-em-up thriller or the latest special effects, don't go. If you're ready to be entertained and maybe even challenged a little while that happens, buy a ticket. I would suggest you do it quickly though, because I can't see this one lasting a long time in the theatres. It's a little too calm by today's standards. Even the "monster" is portrayed by an actor with no benefit of CG
The movie is based on the heroic epic poem "Beowulf", in which a hero of the Geats, a tribe of southern Sweden, travels to Denmark to help free King Hrothgar and his people from the murderous attention of the monster Grendel. In the ancient tale, Beowulf meets Grendel on the first night in King Hrothgar's hall and does battle with him. Knowing that the monster is protected against the power of swords by magic, Beowulf wrestles with the creature instead. They wrestle until Beowulf rips Grendel's arm from his shoulder and the beast runs home to die. The next night he is forced to deal with Grendel's mother who comes seeking revenge for his death. Beowulf follows the mother to her lair where he prevails again, taking Grendel's head from his corpse to present to the Danish king.
The director keeps his characters crude and down-to-earth, as were the people they portray, and the poem the movie is drawn from. The movies stays fairly close to the original story, but does add a couple of twists to the plot line. One is the witch Selma, not an original character, who is portrayed by Sarah Polley. Selma refuses to add the Geats in their quest to end the monster's life, and reveals to Beowulf that she has borne Grendel a son, also a character absent from the original tale. The boy adds a little pathos to the unfortunate Grendel's demise, but the witch, as played by Polley does nothing more than take up space on the screen. Polley's acting is totally flat and one-dimensional. In fact, rather than paying Polley, the producers could have used a paper cutout and gotten just as much, or even more, for their money.
The other twist added to this tellling of the ancient tale is to be found in the hero himself. In the original story, he is nothing more than a weapon wielding superhero with little character development. In the movie, he is presented as a man unusual for his time, a man who seeks to understand Grendel's motivation and see things from his point of view. He begins to wonder why the monster kills only the warriors and harms not the women or the children. He realizes that Grendel at first foregoes the harming of any Geats, and limits his killing to the Danes. He questions Hrothgar as to how Grendel may have been wronged in the past, and even seeks to offer the monster a peaceful end to the situation.
Toronto-based director Sturla Gunnarsson ventures far from the black and white of the ancient epic into the shifting grays of today's morality. His film challenges its viewers to ponder the question of what exactly makes a hero and what makes a villain. He hopes his audience will understand that in today's world, it is no longer easy to dismiss anyone as the "bad guy".
Set against cliffs and fjords, the incredible scenery of Gunnarsson's birthplace, Iceland, "Beowulf and Grendel" makes for an entertaining watch on the big screen, but I think it will suffer in the transition to DVD. Get to the theatre to see it with a friend so that you can go to a pub afterward to discuss it over a draught of mead big enough to satisfy even the mighty Beowulf.

The Lights Will Stay On

   I've waxed enthusiastic before about wind turbines being used to produce alternative energy, here in Toronto. I mentioned the government's plan to restructure the Ontario energy market and set targets for alternative energy to contribute to Ontario's power grid. Those targets are to generate 5% of Ontario's electricity capacity through renewable generation by 2007, and 10% of it by 2010.
   I hadn't come across anything further until today when I saw that the Melancthon l Wind Farm has begun pumping power. Located just north of Orangeville, Ontario, this first phase of the project is designed to provide 67.5 megawatts, enough for about 20,000 homes a year. The wind farm employs 45 turbines that have been placed over approximately 2,500 acres of land.
   The second phase of the project will see the use of 88 turbines that will generate an additional 132 megawatts, enough power to supply 40,000 homes a year. This phase is expected to be ready for commercial operation by the spring of 2007. The Melancthon project is one of several across the province. Another near Goderich has 21 of its planned 22 turbines in place and six of them are producing power. The Erie Shores Wind Farm has erected 27 of that project's 66 turbines.
   Just two years ago, Ontario had a mere 15 megawatts of windpower, but the McGuinity government has committed to providing over 1,300 megawatts by the end of 2008. As Energy Minister Donna Cansfield says, the government is making sure "the lights will stay on in Ontario."

Why?

   Here's one for you ... apparently, when a man gets involved with a woman for any length of time, his facial hair grows more quickly than it did before.

What's That Astronaut Wearing?

   The space program continues to forge ahead, and the general public is getting accustomed to the idea of astronauts being out there for longer and longer periods of time. We line up to watch movies that show us Hollywood's take on the whole thing, ranging from the campy "Fifth Element" to the realistic "Apollo 13". The only thing is, if you've ever noticed, these movies all showcase "he-men" who you could well imagine striding off into that newly discovered world where they could start the man's job of populating it with new little earthlings. What isn't being added into the general awareness made available is the fact that the longer the space voyage takes, the less likely we are to be able to produce any new wee colonists. Italian researchers (as reported in "Discover" magazine April 2006) have found that testosterone levels drop in male astronauts, as does sexual desire. At the moment, they declare the drop to be a temporary one, but that's based on stays that really have not been that long. Who knows where the crossover point may come? The longer the space trek, perhaps the more chance that when the capsule finally lands, the astronauts will all be trooping out attired in outfits reminiscent of the "M*A*S*H" character, Klinger.
   Unless we can actually figure out transporter-type travel, drag queens might turn out to be the best candidates for future astronauts. Hollywood will adjust, I'm sure. After all, look what they just did to the cowboy movie.

A Little Taste of Home

   A very important trailer is expected soon in Afghanistan. It will have take-out windows and will be set up on the base in Kandahar to serve Tim Horton's coffee and doughnuts to the Canadian forces stationed there. TimBit deliveries will be made by military transport to keep the trailer supplied. Retired Major General Cam Ross said he thinks it's a perfect idea and cites his frequent use of Tim Hortons products to lift a group's mood during his two years as UN force commander in the Middle East. Frank Cley-son, director of the Canadian Forces Personnel Support for the Afghanistan mission has been part of the group pressuring the previously reluctant chain to set up shop in Kandahar. General Rick Hillier added his voice, saying it would be a big morale boost to have the Canadian icon there for his troops. On Tuesday, the chain announced their readiness to go ahead with the move. They are now planning logistics for the set-up. The company sees the value in bringing "a little laste of home to those serving overseas."

More GuluWalk

GULUWALK CO-FOUNDERS OFF TO NORTHERN UGANDA TODAY, FOLLOW THE TOURS BLOG AND DAILY PHOTOS AT GULUWALK.COM

On Thursday, March 9, Adrian Bradbury and Kieran Hayward, co-founders of GuluWalk are embarking on their first-ever visit to northern Uganda.As noted in a previous release, Bradbury and Hayward have plans to meet with local officials, NGOs and youth and community groups in Gulu, with the two-week visit also including overnight stays in night commuter shelters and internally displaced persons camps. Not only do the children continue to night commute in northern Uganda, but over 1.7-million displaced persons have been forced into abhorrent conditions in camps where over 1,000 people are dying every week because of a lack of clean water, food and medical care.Bradbury and Hayward plan to document their journey and post a daily web blog, including photos, at www.guluwalk.com.Their self-funded trip is already grabbing headlines in Uganda with feature stories running in both of Kampalas daily newspapers, the New Vision and the Daily Monitor.

   Happy Women's day to my two daughters, and to all my sisters, all around the world. May you be blessed today with a day of peace and happiness. May the sun shine warm upon you and the breeze caress your face with gentle touches. May you be surrounded by those whom you love and may you be loved in return. Blessings be on each and every one of you this day.

Canadian Tire Money

   The term has taken on new meaning with an announcement made by Wayne Sales, Canadian Tire's CEO, on March 1st. The retail chain is "evaluating new products and services within Canadian Tire Financial Services to include things like mortgages," and other financial products for its customers. For those of you familiar with Canadian Tire Money, just think of all the coupons you could get if you took out your mortgage with the retail chain!
   It started in 1923 when two Torontonians, the Billes brothers, opened their first store under the name Canadian Tire Corporation, and has grown since then to the chain that currently operates about 1,100 stores, car washes and gas stations across Canada. Their "money", an interesting phenomenon, has made its presence felt world-wide. Each new series of 'money" is catalogued, tracked and collected by people around the globe. Rare bills are considered to be quite valuable among these collectors, such as those who belong to the Canadian Tire Coupon Collectors Club.
   Introduced in 1958 as a customer-loyalty reward, the coupons were first redeemable only at gas bars, but now they can be used in the retail stores as well. Hoarders save them until they have enough to pay the entire price of some big ticket items. Beginning in 1961 the coupons were printed om genuine bank note paper by the British American Bank Note Company, with the same rag content and spot marks as real paper currency. This gives them the feeling of authenticity that makes so many unwilling to throw them away. It confuses many as well, like our neighbours to the south, who can't quite seem to understand the difference between our actual currency and the store's coupons, and spend a lot of time making fun of them. No matter. The coupons are taken seriously enough here in Canada, where they are produced using the latest anti-counterfeiting technology. Special watermarked paper, raised lettering on the face of the bill and anti-copier tints are used. There's even a latent image of a maple leaf that can be seen only by tilting the bill at eye level.
   I think that if these people begin offering mortgages, there will be many who will take their business to them. After all, who could doubt the trustworthiness of the originators of a Canadian icon?

WGARA?

   Apparently Pope Benny is dropping one of his official titles. Yup! you heard me, the illustrious in-his-own-eyes little man is no longer going to be called "Patriarch of the West". Now there's a giant contribution to world peace if I ever saw one! According to a Vatican aide, omitting this title from the list is meant to help heal the schism between the Orthodox churches of the east and the Roman Catholic church, a split which dates back to 1054.
   I can't help but getting a giggle out of this. I mean, in the greater scheme of things, you know, today's context of terrorism and children dying in Afrcia in their thousands, who gives a rat's ass what names he decides to call himself? As long as he or any of the other popes forget the most important title, they are little more than potty old fools playing at dress-up in their bejewelled robes. The title I refer to is "Servant of the Servants of God".
   This should be the one that tells him he is no better than the least of his flock, the one that exhorts him to daily efforts on behalf of the aforementioned unfortunate. This should be the one that has him scurrying from sunup to sundown in order to try and accomplish all the potential contribution to world peace that his position offers. He could start with a humble apology to every one of his flock that go to bed hungry each night for the inexcusable excess of richness in which he dwells. The very next morning he could follow that up with the immediate sale of many of the vatican's "treasures" . The money raised could be used to empower local groups in so many of the underdeveloped countries where catholicism has a presence.
   Invest that dough in women's groups, Benny, like Muhammad Yunus is doing off in Bangladesh. "They are the most likely to be concerned with the welfare of their family and therefore the most highly motivated" to use the money well. Of course, one hell of a good step for ol' Ben to take would be a step forward from the Dark Ages and into this century. He could do that by giving the green light to the use of condoms. That would facilitate the women remaining healthy and able to help lift their families up from grinding poverty and deprivation.
   Then Benendict the Umpteenth could sit himself down with the biographies of Mahatma Gandhi and Mother Teresa and study them hard, real hard. He might gradually begin to understand the meaning of the title that he and the others who wear the white zucchetto choose to ignore. "Servant of the Servants of God" is perhaps the most meaningful title of the office, a title that the pope should immediately begin to personify, before he presumes to issue one more dictate on how to live to those who dwell in hardship he can't even imagine.

I Still Have Some Naivete

   Lieutenant Trevor Greene, a Vancouverite serving in the Canadian Forces' CIMIC unit, was attacked yesterday as he sat talking with village leaders in a remote village northeast of Kandahar, Afghanistan. He sat bareheaded and unarmed to drink tea and discuss local needs with the elders through the aid of an interpreter. He was just asking if the village had a school when his assailant came forward. He came up behind Greene, shouted "Allahu Akbar" and then swung an axe downward at Greene's head. Then he just stood there. Canadian soldiers reacted immediately, pumping 14 shots into his body. When examined later, it was found that the corpse bore no identification.
   As the brave murderer stood there over his prone victim, he was probably picturing the voluptuous houris who are supposed to await him in paradise, to fuck him every night of eternity. He was giving no thought to anyone else. He didn't care about Greene, although he should have. He didn't care about the people of that village or any of the others to which Greene had paid a visit. He was thinking only with what he had between his legs, the closest he came to brains.
   Greene came to the military after being a journalist in Africa and Asia. He came with ideas of bringing aid to Afghanistan, through an independent aid organization that he wanted to establish after he left the forces. In the past week Greene had visited a dozen villages to take notes about what was needed in each one of them. His intent was to take that info back to friends in the Canadian west, people who he said were "on the same wavelength" as he was. He knew of millionaires in the oil business in Canada's west who wanted to "start an organization that can really get to the core needs of Afghanistan". (quotes from the March 5 article in the Toronto Daily Star) Greene wanted to "get the aid where it is needed". Instead, he lies now in a hospital bed in Germany, where a team of neurologists are assessing the brain damage he suffered in the attack. He did survive the attack. He is breathing on his own. But what level of ability he will return to is anyone's guess at the moment. In cutting down Greene, that village idiot may have cut down so much more than just one Canadian soldier. Not long before the attack, Greene had spoken to Star reporters who were there with his troop and tried to explain why he wanted to involve himself in the work to get humanitarian aid to the region. "I still have some naivete that hasn't been beaten out of me," he said.
   I wonder if there is any naivete left now. I wonder just how much brain function survived the axe-wielding murderer who pretended belief in God. I do not wonder about the divine reaction to the murderer's actions. I firmly believe that the Almighty, no matter what name any of us might invoke, is sickened by such actions. I believe s/he turns away in disgust when such an individual defiles their name by screaming it out in moments of senseless violence. I believe the pipe dream of a smiling houri is just that, nothing more. The almighty would not award such barbarism with anything other than a denial of the assailant's existence. If there is an Almighty waiting to greet the souls of the departed, I am sure s/he would hold the gates of paradise open jut long enough for the damned to feel the wind when the gates are slammed shut in their face.
    Perhaps that is the moment when beautiful maidens actually do appear. Perhaps they peek out and giggle while the wind from the slamming gates wafts the idiot's soul away to nothingness.

I Know What You Mean, Dr. John

   I found a comment on my blog this morning from one "Dr. John" so I followed the link back to him. I like to visit those who visit me. The only problem was I found myself looking at the title "Kill Bambi! Please Kill Bambi!" Wondering what kind of individual this was to advocate such violent treatment of everyone's favourite little fawn, I steeled myself to give him a chance and read on. I didn't like the man's idea of shooting Bambi. That one's hard for me to get around, but I did find myself in sympathy with his expression of woe concerning hungry wildlife invading his garden. I understood exactly where he was coming from as far as supposed deterrents to chow time in one's garden.
   I grew flowers every year on our balcony - impatiens, petunias, marigolds and more - and every year was a fingernail-gnawing experience, waiting to see if the flowers would make it to maturity before the squirrels arrived to help themselves to snacks. They never did. I tried everything from cedar-shaving mulch to moth balls to stop the salad-bar grazing ways of the neighbourhood nibblers. One year I went to a local garden centre desperately seeking help and was told I had come to just the right spot. "You've seen your last squirrel!" declared Mr. Know-It-All. I carefully followed his instructions on quantities to use when mixing cayenne pepper into the water in a spray bottle and using just a few drops of olive oil to help it adhere to the leaves. With a satisfied smile of anticipation, I sprayed every leaf, stem and bud out there that very afternoon. I went to sleep that night, secure in my trust of this miracle deterrent to ravaging rodents.
    Next morning, when I stepped outside, there was a forlorn scene of destruction awaiting me. Planters were knocked sideways, earth was spilled everywhere and most of the plants had been used as a salad. I could imagine the pesky rodents arriving at my balcony, sniffing delicately at the plants, and happily declaring loudly "Alright! Tex-Mex!" as they started chowing down
   Since that year I limit my balcony planting to geraniums because it's the only plant that seems unsuited to their tastebuds. I know what the man means about murderous instincts when it comes to the local fauna and one's flora.

Put Down The Potato Chips!

   Can you eat just one? I can. I'm not a big fan at all of the paper thin, fried spud slices. Yes, they are a double threat to your health with their fried-in-fat and saturated-with-salt empty calories, but I just never liked the the taste that much. For those of you who can't eat just one, I've got some tuber tales to share with you. You might look differently at the snacks after this little read.
   They were first concocted in a fit of spite, by chef George Crum, who was employed in 1853 at Moon Lake Lodge, a resort in Sarasota Springs, New York. He was serving up a batch of the popular french-fried potatoes, first brought to the country by Thomas Jefferson after he served as ambassador to France. One picky guest sent the order back, complaining they were too thick.Chef Crum made another, thinner-sliced batch. The guest sent those back, too. Finally annoyed past the point of good grace, Crum decided to get even by making the slices too thin to be readily pierced by a fork. His plan backfired, however, when Mr. Hard-to-Please loved the crispy offering. In no time, Crum found himself busy making the new house specialty "Saratoga Chips" every day. Crum was soon able to open his own eatery, featuring the crispy slices. At that time, they were all peeled and sliced by hand, and even though some were being packaged for sale, it needed the invention of a mechanical potato peeler which came in the 1920's, for potato chips to become the ubiquitous snack they are today.
   Today, the process of getting those little slices of salty spuds to your fingertips is a long cry from the one used by Crum. Potatoes are peeled by machines now that use high-speed water jets and caustic soda. Yup, sodium hydroxide, also used for everything from bleaching paper to part of the process for making household bleach and disinfectants, is used to help peel those tubers. Yum. Next, they're sliced by other machines and fried before they have artificial flavour, artificial colour and preservatives added in. By the time all this is finished, what started out as a 99.9% fat free food (according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture) has become a product that is approximately 30% oil. The price of the chips also rises to nearly 500% of the cost of the ingredients, because of the processing.
   There are various diets now that eschew the lowly potato as the carbohydrate villain of the piece. I think they are like many other foods - you need only use a little moderation when you reach for the serving spoon. They are a source of vitamins B & C and various minerals that we all need. Who knows? Maybe they are even the aphrodisiac that New Englanders of old used to think they are. Those good souls used the potato mostly to feed their swine, since it was thought that consumption of the foodstuff would lead to behaviour that they felt was life-shortening. Of course, for it to have that effect, you have to wonder exactly how much of that "behaviour" they thought indulging in potatoes would precipitate. It could be fun finding out, but remember, the cautious folk of New England believed that spuds would spur you on to greater heights only if eaten in their unadulterated form. So put down that bag of potato chips!