WELL......WTF

This should make you drop a f—— stitch or two. Laff!!!

Begin forwarded message:

     Correct use of

the "F » 

     word..

There are only eleven times in history where the 

     "F" word has been considered acceptable for

use.

They are as 

     follows:

11. "What the @#$% do you mean, we are sinking?"

-- 

     Capt.. E.J. Smith of RMS Titanic, 1912

10. "What the @#$% was 

     that?"

-- Mayor Of Hiroshima , 1945

9. "Where did all those 

     @#$%ing Indians come from?"

-- Custer, 

1877

     8. "Any @#$%ing idiot could

understand 

     that."

-- Einstein, 1938

     7. "It does so @#$%ing look like 

     her!"

-- Picasso, 1926

6. "How the @#$% did you work 

     that out?"

-- Pythagoras, 126 BC

     5. "You want WHAT on the @#$%ing

ceiling?"

-- 

     Michelangelo, 1566

4. "Where the @#$% are we?"

-- Amelia 

     Earhart, 1937

3. "Scattered @#$%ing showers, my ass!"

-- 

     Noah, 4314 BC

     2. "Aw c'mon. Who the @#$% is

going to find 

     out?"

-- Bill Clinton, 1998

     1. "Geez, I didn't think

they'd get this @%#*^ing 

     mad."

-- Stephen Harper, Oct 20, 

2015

WEIRD STUFF HAPPENING

From time to time,I've  felt inclined to comment on the difference between volunteers and conscripted military.  I  forebore from doing so as not to cause more hurt to families who lost sons and brothers and husbands in current conflicts. 

Families  comfort themselves with the same thought. "He was doing what he wanted to do"

A Week or so ago I watched an interview with a young soldier who affirmed that sentiment. He had already served a tour of duty and looked forward to a second. 

He said he signed on when he was seventeen and couldn't wait to get to the conflict and use the skills he had acquired in training. 

He made no reference to wife or children. 

This week-end a new charity was advertising on T.V.  Funds are being solicited for scholarships for  children who have lost fathers in the theatre of war 

It struck me as odd. First that the government would not provide for the children. 

Second, that the fathers of the children were not thinking about their children when they volunteered to put their lives at risk in the first place .

It's the difference between conscription and volunteering.

When a country is at war, every able-bodied man is compelled to do his part.Trying to escape active duty is a heinous crime in wartime. Absence from the family can be years. Life  cannot be picked up again as if nothing has intervened. It's never the same again. 

Post traumatic stress is not a new concept. It was always there. Just didn't have a fancy name. 

In the States,young women leave infants to go off and fight alongside men.

Something about that doesn't seem right either. 

If a person has a family , his/her first responsibility is to take care of their own. 

There's nothing noble about abandonment. 

Also, there's something odd about that fund-raising scheme for scholarships. 

JUSTICE ALWAYS TRIUMPHS..... NOT BY THE HAIR ON YOUR CHINNY-CHIN-CHIN

Dave has left a new comment on your post "UNFORTUNATELY ........WHAT WE SEE IS WHAT WE GET": 

I agree we should do more for our homeless on our home front.

However, our people fight hunger and the elements.

The refugees flee bombs and gunfire, as well as brutality and tortur 

Posted by Dave to  Our Town and Its Business at 28 November 2015 at 08:15

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Oh ....our people fight more than that. Cruelty, brutality and indifference to suffering is all around us. 

Freedom is far more apparent than real. 

As well, there is no question about the generosity of Canadians.

The main concern raised in this conversation has Ben the competence of  our politicians or lack thereof. 

Re-settling refugees has been done before. The outstanding question may be ...has it been done well?

Etobicoke might  be a good place to look.The Borough was forefront in the news last year. 

How well were Ethiopians assimilated in the borough in the thirty years since their arrival?

I don't raise the question as a reason not to rescue Syrian refugees or to slow Canada' s response to the  tragedy. 

I just worry the obvious solution is not always as simple or obvious as first appears. I remember a feature  in the Star Weekend Magazine about the government re-settling Ethiopians in a condo building and impact on non- Ethiopian condo owners in the same building. It wasn't pretty. 

It's been years since I have had newspapers delivered to my home. i got tired of the bulk and crises content in places that I could do nothing about. 

I dread week-ends and faces of heart-broken mothers in Toronto whose sons are stabbed or shot to death on city streets and even by stray bullets going through the wall of a home into the bedroom of a small child.

Years go by and the situation does not improve. Now we have videos  added of police brutality to horrify our senses. 

Last year, the police used  a helicopter to tail the  City's Mayor. Charges were laid against the Mayor's  companion. They were dismissed recently. 

They videos the Mayur peeing  against a tree and putting empty liquor bottles  in the trash. 

Tom Friedan,an award winning  New York journalist has been writing about Asia for years. Last  week he was a guest of Charlie Rose, talking about the logic of home-grown terrorists being responsible for the Paris atrocities. 

He pointed out the high percentage of Muslims in France and limited opportunities for the young. 

They have many of the benefits of western upbringing and none of the rewards. They are without employment or hope for a future and represent an easy target for recruitment to ISIS .Who train them, pay them, provide them with wives, a purpose in life and rewards in paradise in the certain event of their death,

More young women are joining  than before. 

Of course , I don't know these things in my own right. I am obliged to listen to a man who has made

a career of peering jnder rocks and into the nooks and crannies of Asian lifestyle, as varied as that is. 

But I am inclined to believe everyone needs to feel they belong where they live.Whether at home with family, in the classroom, the playground, the work place, in a place of worship and in the world around them. They need to feel hope.

With evidence at hand, I'm not sure we've done  or can do a particularly good job of that assurance. 

Simplistic solutions of the past solved the immediate problem and created a different one down the road.

And it was not for the want of good intentions. 

UNFORTUNATELY ........WHAT WE SEE IS WHAT WE GET

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "BE CAREFUL WHAT IS PROMISED ...FREEDOM ?.....TO DO...": 

You must think members of the new Canadian cabinet, while inexperienced in that role, are a bunch of idiots otherwise.
This denigrating attitude gives no credit for the real desire to help.
Maybe the Scottish people were so negative to the Hungarians that the latter returned to their homeland.
This is a delicate and fragile human story and the callousness of the press complaining because every little detail has not been fully worked out is just an expression of its ignorance. 
So give a B+ for trying, more than many countries are 
Posted by Anonymous to  Our Town and Its Business at 27 November 2015 at 09:07

******************************************

The criticism above is not acknowledged. The refugee crisis described as a "delicate and fragile human story" being most ridiculous. 

Millions driven by fear and desperation to risk their children's lives migrating from a homeland to the unknown is human tragedy of catastrophic proportions. 

Empty political  imagery is all that's at work here. 

The slightest sense of how we are governed indicates towns and cities must be involved in planning settlement for 25,000 people within any period, let alone five short weeks with Christmas included. 

 

That no less than two cabinet ministers conveyed such abject ignorance in a press conference is

positively  electrifying.  

No comfort in the fact that  within days, the two had to eat their own braggadocio and admit they could  not accomplish what they previously insisted they could.Only after the Prime  Minister's conference with the Premiers was there acknowledgement.

Even since, the boss is abroad boasting to European media that political rivals had to eat his dust

in the recent campaign. 

Generosity  of spirit inherent in the government's willingness to immediately absorb twenty -five thousand souls in desperate need  is indeed impressive.

If it is to be believed.

I would be impressed by half that level of concern for Canadians in desperate need. 

Aboriginal children  living in squalor without basic necessities, in an environment filled with drugs and alcohol. 

Students in our education system, identified by grade 5 with a future in jail  because they leave school without basic skills. 

Food  banks because  government social assistance is insufficient to provide for food and shelter  for Canadian children, while public sector wages are 22%  higher than private sector and the gap in Ontario continues to grow. 

A Manulife survey just this week shows 38% of Canadians unable to cover household expenses  in 2014. 

If governments at their many levels recognized the problems under their noses   I would easily be convinced  of their sincerity. 

As it is, I will take them as I find them and say so accordingly. 

BE CAREFUL WHAT IS PROMISED ...FREEDOM ?.....TO DO WHAT?

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "SO MANY TROUBLING QUESTIONS": 

Given that the source of that snarl was our own nasty bit of business, I think it important to note that he/shedoes not like anything much. Freeland is going to be very helpful to the new government, Not only does shehave a flexibility with languages to deal with other countries , she has spent time studying the subjects thatmust all come together to develop our economy.
She may not live up to the high expectations. But she is out there trying, not chipping away on a blog.

Posted by Anonymous to  Our Town and Its Business at 26 November 2015 at 09:50

************************

Chipping away or commenting to a blog may be the only part of our so-called freedom still available.

There are days and circumstances when it's not  apparent.  

The Minister's academic background is an assurance of intelligence. The requirement for her new responsibilities however, is judgement. Not the same thing. By any measurement, better to be slow and sure than make mistakes and have to spend time recouping loss. 

The new government has been given a shot by the electorate at improvement and there's plenty of room for that. For our own sake, probably most of us have a vestige of hope. 

Mistakes are cumulative. Sometimes it only takes one to sink a career. Politics and academics are not the same. Truism has never been more true.

The refugee crisis was the first test. It wasn't contrived by opposition parties. It was real

Schwashbuckling  swagger was absolutely the wrong approach. They did it anyway.

Then they talked to the  Provinces and discovered they didn't know what they didn't know.There were  partners who needed to be consulted. 

I wonder if the Feds know about food banks and how many Canadians, including seniors, are relying on them and food drives and hostels and homeless shelters. 

Perhaps more to the point, do the refugees know about food  banks, lack of affordable housing and opportunities for young people in Canada to make a living.  

The Honorable Eric Hoskings reminded me of the Hungarian Rebellion sixty years  ago when he proposed de-commissioned hospitals for refugee housing. 

In 1956, Hungarian borders opened for a brief period and thousands made good on an exit. 

Some found their way to Scotland. 

They  were housed in hostels. 

Fed typical Scottish fare of porridge  and mutton broth with barley .Healthy but ever so humble. 

Hospital orderly jobs were available to them. 

Behind the iron curtain, people tended to be  educated. 

As opposed to capitalists,socialists think of skill training and education a sound investment of public 

resources.

Anyway, Hungarian refugees who landed in Scotland didn't take long to decide they were better off at home in Hungary.

They returned forthwith.

A headline going across the screen today notes a Manulife survey found 38% of Canadians in 2014

did not have enough to cover household expenses. 

SO MANY TROUBLING QUESTIONS

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "EVERYTHING YOU NEEDED TO KNOW": 

@ 13:15 you definitely have your facts wrong
Freeland's education is in Russian and Slavic studies.
Her business background revolves around writing about it.
Makes her well qualified to get business to come to Canada
No wonder Maher exposed her as nothing but an idealist with no grounding in pragmatism.  

Posted by Anonymous to  Our Town and Its Business at 25 November 2015 at 19:02

**************.    ******************

This comment provokes.

Maybe  because I just sat with eyes closed listening to a discussion on PBS about Einstein's Theory  of Relativity. My eyes needed a rest.

So.. Now we know the Honorable Ms Freeland was educated in " Russian and Slavic studies" 

For the benefit of the great unwashed, does that mean politics, geography ,economy, religion,history 

societal issues  or all of the foregoing?

If so .... does writing make it a business or an occupation?

By what stretch of imagination is the Honorable Member equipped to entice Russian and Slavic business  to locate in Canada ?

 How much does she know about Canadian studies?

If there is  logic in the comment ...how does it equate to Bill Maher exposing an idealist rather than a pragmatist? 

Does  pragmatism reside  in anything but character ? 

Is Bill Maher staging comedic entertainment  or what?  

Is the sole and principal objective of the brand new youthful and diverse Liberal government to celebrate wrapping over substance?

Is power andauthority a concept beyond their competence and experience?     

Do they even know what they don't know ?

Certainly  it's the first impression and it didn't take long to create it. 

Power and authority are not entry level positions. Learning on the job is not an option.Too much is at stake.  

 It's not what was  advocated. 

It will not be accepted . 

EVERYTHING YOU NEEDED TO KNOW

Christopher Watts has left a new comment on your post "MESSAGE RECEIVED AND UNDERSTOOD": 

If you bothered to check 13:58 I never claimed Maher was "awarded" I wrote he was the recipent of.

The Hollywood Walk of Fame is indeed on wikipedia here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollywood_Walk_of_Fame

The nomination process outlined there states that 20 recipients are selected from 200 by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce Walk of Fame Selection Committee. Maher recieved his 5 years ago.

I read that a $30,000 fee is usually paid by the nominating organization, which may be a fan club, or a film studio, record company, broadcaster, or other sponsor involved with the prospective honoree.

Nowhere do I read that stars are "purchased and maintained by the recipient". If you have evidence that Maher received his star this way then share your source.

Maher is not just a comedian, he is a writer, producer, political commentator, actor, media critic, and television host. With respect to his television gig on HBO ratings from late September are 4 million.

I fail to see how he is a "character trying to keep his relevance" simply because his live standup comedy tour includes casinos. There are 140 reviews of his comedy show on Ticketmaster, some as recent as last month, with an average rating of 4.2/5: http://www.ticketmaster.ca/Bill-Maher-tickets/artist/821441

To recap in the last 5 years this "something of a failure" has produced 3 television specials, appeared as himself in multiple television shows and films, hosted his own well received television show and a schedule of live comedy stand-up accross the US and Canada has done nothing lately as a comedian.

Furthermore the star he received on the Hollywood walk of fame was soley because he needed an ego boost, where John Gallo represented the Province of Ontario at the Remembrance Day wreath-laying ceremony at the cenotaph because he has done so much for the Province 

Posted by Christopher Watts to  Our Town and Its Business at 24 November 2015 at 09:10

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Well ..that's  interesting.

 

 I'm trying to re-call why Mr Maher's name came forward on the blog.

Ah yes ...I remember it  now.

Canada's brand new Minister of Industry appeared on a show called "Real Time "to discuss the merits of diversity with the artist 

As a result ,we know more about Bill Maher than  Canada's Minister of Industry.

Diversity itself is taking a beating on the world stage.

It seems some cultures blend better than others.

LOGICAL QUESTIONS

To the last comment:

It's true the Member of the Legislative Assembly represents two towns. And Remembrance Day Services are held at the same time in both. Also true , the Riding Assistant is logical replacement when  MLA is not available.Failing  that, the Town's Mayor may also represent the Province in official capacity. 

It's not petty, it's protocol. The question is legitimate.

Everything that happens has happened before.

Stuff that happened  in the UK in the second war comes back to mind as we talk about current hostilities. 

 

UK government immediately  formed a coalition. For all intents and purposes, politics were suspended.

Propaganda  went into high gear.  

 Under  no circumstances could  national security ever be subject to political exploitation.

Treason became a word familiar. 

All  that kept German tanks from rolling into the U.K. as in every other European country, was the English Channel .

Tanks were not amphibious. Amphibious vehicles were developed for invasion of Europe five years later, along with Bailey bridges. 

The Irish were not conflicted. England was not their mother country. German u-boats found 

harbour in South Ireland. Irish nationals were not considered aliens..Ireland did not declare Itself  to be part of the axis. 

Everyone had an identity card...... ration books..... gas masks. 

Windows  had to have blackout curtains. Air raid wardens patrolled the streets and shouted obscenities that could likely be heard in Berlin, at the slightest chink of light.

Children were punished for failure to carry the gas mask at all times. 

Except for the obvious, certainly most of what happened during the war was written about after. 

Government  lied if it had to, or to be precise, withheld the truth. 

" Walls have ears"  "Loose lips sink ships" were warnings on walls. 

People had to believe the government knew what it was doing at all times.

 No matter how long it took, defeat was never contemplated which is bloody amazing. 

I can't believe the business discussed by important government officials on talk show TV these days. 

The American President , arguably Leader of the Free World , is undermined a hundred times an hour every day of the week. 

Everybody knows better than he does how to protect the American people.

My God, they have private militias organized in Oregon ,ready to take over the government if need be. 

We learned about them during the O.J.Simpson trial , along with "planted"evidence.

The cop who retired and went where good old boys go, to prepare to protect the homeland from the government. 

My  experience in the second world war  is maybe what made me a skeptic. 

I have trouble believing Dr Ben Carson is or was a brilliant brain surgeon. I find myself speculating why he iretired. 

As for  Donald Trump... Dear Lord,  who needs enemies with friends like that and so many others who believe the Donald would make a good Commander -in -Chief. 

MESSAGE RECEIVED AND UNDERSTOOD

Television offered a kaleidoscope of images this Sunday morning.

Eagles of Death Heavy Metal Band had an emotional interview about slaughter at their Mataclan concert in Paris. 

Canada's Minister of Industry debated  "Diversity" with Bill Maher, an American comedian on "Real Time " I don't know what that is.

 A perfectly beautiful fairy sprite in filmy white costume, elevated herself in flight, in figure-skating competition .

Except for heavily-armed men in military uniforms, streets and squares in Belgian cities are silent and foreboding ,while people hide at home in fear of further atrocities. 

Canada's Prime Minister was greeted by squealing teen-agers as the newest heart-throb. 

In the snippet of the interview I saw, a small one to be sure, the question was not heard about the meaning of the band's name; Eagles of Death Heavy Metal Band. Think of the impression of our times when history records that terrible event. 

Music is culture and a creative exercise . If culture influences ,what effect is intended on the fertile imagination of the young by naming a band "The Eagles Of Death. "

Can we talk?

Bill Maher makes a living out of shock. He is the jock of shock. He says something outrageous and his body language conveys the impression of looking back to see if Satan is gonna get  him. Furtive comedy best describes him. His sparkle sputters. He's never sure what he can pull off in the name of humor. 

Why did  Canada's Minister of Industry risk an encounter with risk-inclined  Maher on Real Time T.V. 

This new and youthful government of ours has yet to establish an image of substance.

Yesterday's supporters will be four years older and Americans will still not be voting in our next election. 

Does it matter for the world to take Canada seriously? Never more so.  

It's not at all certain a teen-age heart-throb image is an asset to Canada's Prime Minister on the world stage either. In age, our nation is on par with the U.S. In terms of maturity, the record is spotty

at best. We are different but we should be equal. 

I recall a moment early in his late father's career. His age had been given out as forty-eight years. Turned out to be fifty-two. His political image suffered no injury but the playboy persona was ever so slightly impacted. 

Upon such trivial wherewithal, images are chiseled .....and sink like stone. 

A wraith-like figure elevated and pirouetting on ice in filmy white gauze and heavily armed military personnel with masked faces, guarding subway station entrances in Belgian cities heretofore known for chocolate and lace and a King who chose to wear with Jews an armband with the Emblem of David, Nazi -ordered in war-time occupied Belgium, in stark contrast, they compete for our attention.

Outside, snow has begun to fall. 

Grass is green and lush. 

Yesterday, the first brilliant red Cardinal strutted around the bird feeder on the round table on the deck outside my window, in appreciation of an expressly intended invitation.