Another milestone has passed... unnoticed!

The Canadian government spent millions of dollars to commemorate the War of 1812.  They spent millions more on the 70th anniversary of D-Day.  Did anyone noticed how much effort they put towards the 71st anniversary of Operation Husky?

The government's response is probably the same as yours:   "What the hell is Operation Husky?"

Before answering that question let me make a comment on the strategy of warfare.  Any competent analyst will tell you that one of the the worst strategies in war is to fight on more than one front.  To understand that, let's look at pro-wrestling, which is essentially staged war.  A one-on-one fight is essentially fair, but what happens when two teamed wrestlers get in the ring against one opponent?  The opponent is held by one guy while his partner grabs a chair to brain the opponent.  Fairness goes out the window. What would happen if you had three guys on one?

During the second world war, the Germans made the mistake of trying to defend against the invasion of Europe, through France, by the allies while at the same time fighting the Russians three thousand miles away.  Two on one.  But what if the Germans had to fight on a third front?  Enter Operation Husky.

You will be able to read more on Operation Husky on Mysteriesofcanada.com pretty soon but suffice to say that the allies, including the largest contingent of Canadians, came ashore in Sicily and fought the Italians and Germans all the way north into Italy and on to Rome. The Italians were the first Axis country to fall and when they did the Germans had to move a large number of their forces out of France and into Italy to stop the Allies.  Three on one!

The Italian campaign was a crucial part of the war.  It helped draw German troops away from France and enabled a successful Normandy campaign.  So why is it ignored by our government, our historians and in our literature.

My father always said that he landed in Sicily in 1943 and walked all the way to Holland before coming home in 1945.  He did not talk much about the Italian campaign. It was not a cake walk as described by many historians and I guaranty that I will do everything in my power to make sure that it is not just forgotten at least in Canada.

I am back!

I have been sidelined from this blog for a bit.  I have been working on my Private Investigator licence program and have been heavily involved in a missing persons case (in fact there are six missing teens) from 1995.

I have a bit of advice for the police here in Ontario.  It probably applies across the country but I am working these cases here in Ontario.  The advice is not to go turtle when someone asks a question.  It makes you seem incompetent or complicit in the investigation being carried out.  It is especially galling when your indifference is directed toward the families of the missing persons.

The next time someone asks for your help to gain closure, don't just pile the request in the ignore bin.  Think of it this way: "What if the missing person was your son or brother?"  Then act accordingly.

I also have some advice for the Ontario Coroner.  If you have Unidentified Remains in your fridge, then accept all assistance to clear the case.  Sometime what you think can be altered by new, even circumstantial, evidence.

Thanks for the education, Steve. Now can you look into some drinking water?

The First Nations peoples just got a gift from the government of Canada.  Beginning in 2016 they will receive some $2 billion spread out over 5 years for education.  Great news... thanks Mr. Harper.

Mind you the improved education will probably disproportionally benefit reserves in the south.  In the north, the problem is not primarily education.  IT IS CLEAN WATER!

There are about 75 reserves living with water problems in 2014; some of the advisories are decades old.

This means that thousands of Canadians do not have access to potable water.  So what do we give them?  Education so that they can move off the reserve?

It is also estimated that 60% of water operators are not even certified.  How about education for them?

The problems of First Nations are many.  Chief Atleo is allowing the government to cherry pick which problem they want to address.  And what are they choosing?

The problems that will win them the most votes, of course.

Will Canada replace the Maple Leaf with the Red Ensign?

So what's next?  Will Canada replace the Maple Leaf with the Red Ensign?  Forward to the past.  That appears to be the focus of this government.

They seem to like the old days when Canada was a colony to the Mother Country.  Must be because they are turning our armed forces into a colonial entity again.

Case in point... The Canadian Forces has become the RCAF again, the RN again and the Canadian Army.  I guess they forgot about the army when they did that retro-change.  But don't be afeared my gun-toting friends.   What used to be a private in the army will go back to being called a trooper, bombardier, rifleman, fusilier or a guardsman depending on which unit you are in.  What happened to the Sappers and the Miners, or the Gunners and the Wheelers, my honourable friends.  Did you overlook them?

Even the flags on our ships are being repositioned to mimic the British Royal Navy.

Now the familiar maple leaf rank designations for officers is about to be changed to British pips... you know, those diamond shapes that are more recognizable than the Maple Leaf.

I wonder when the Minister of Finance will be renamed to the Chancellor of the Exchequer?

Trains, Planes and Negligence

Here we go again. I have said it before and I say it again - safety self-regulation by industry will ONLY work if a safety mindset is in place within the industry. 

Safety Management System, which was instituted to off-load the bother of inspections by Transport Canada, has been a massive failure in the train and air travel industries. Just ask Dave Winter what he thinks of SMS.  He quit his job as a federal aviation inspector over the issue.  (http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2011/11/08/airline-safety-system-flights.html)

For those who do not understand SMS, let me offer you a simple explanation.  It is a voluntary program whereby train and aircraft operators do their own safety inspections and then submit paper work to that end to Transport Canada.  As long as you file the paper work, regardless of whether you actually did the inspection or fixed problems, then you are SMS compliant.  It is a bit like asking criminal to turn themselves in rather than having police actually solve crimes.

The most recent interviews I have seen of MP Olivia Chow concerning this have been spot on. Neither the Cons nor the Libs have a clue or the cahones to tell the truth. 

The basics of the disaster in Lac Megantic are to be found in Transport Safety Board reports going back as far as 1994. 

Single hulled tanker cars that have been called defective designs... a decision to allow a 77 car train with multiple engines to be attended (or not) by one engineer... driving trains over tracks that were not designed for the current weight of cars and materials... and on and on.  These are the causes of Lac Megantic.  One does not have to wait 6 months until a formal report is released in order to act on these issues.

How many more Canadians need to be slaughtered before action is taken?

The Unknown Heroes

I write quite a lot about heroes on the my web site.  They include a teenage girl who fought off a cougar to save her brother, a dog that helped save 92 persons in a shipwreck and Canadian Victoria Cross recipients, amongst others  What I do not write often enough about is the persons around the heroes who were heroes in their own right... just not lauded publicly.

Sgt. Navigator James Scott was one such unknown hero.

James Scott was a Canadian navigator/pilot on a Beaufort torpedo bomber flying with the RAF in WW2.  One of the first graduates of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP), Scott had been flying since 1940.  In 1941, he was merely 19 years old.


On April 5, 1941, Scott's plane, commanded by Pilot Officer Kenneth Campbell, was ordered into the skies over the the fiords of Norway in search of the German battleship Gneisenau. They found it and attacked with their unguided torpedoes.  In order to ensure the torpedoes ran straight and true, Campbell made his run approximately 50 feet above the fiord.  I am sure that Campbell had a discussion with his crew, including Scott, explaining to them that the attack he proposed could be their last.  Any number of issues could arise that could doom the plane and its crew.  They all agreed that the risk to their lives was outweighed by the benefits to the war effort.  Indeed, to that point, the Gneisenau had sunk thousands of tons of allied merchant and military shipping and caused the death of thousands of allied sailors.

You can read about the fated raid that won Kenneth Campbell the Victoria Cross and put the Gneisenau out of action for a portion of the war, on my web site.  Suffice to say that you will not find the name of nineteen year old James Scott or any of his comrades in the records.  For the record the other crew members were Sgt. William Mulliss and Fl Sgt. Ralph Hillman.

They, unlike Campbell, were the unknown heroes.

It's a local story but it is an example of larger problems.

The Strandherd-Armstrong bridge is being built in suburban Ottawa.  It links the southern neighbourhoods of Barrhaven and Riverside South across the Rideau River.  About four years ago, I sat on a citizens committee that reviewed the bridge designs.  At the end of the session, we were asked which design we preferred.  The choices were a plain-jane six-driving-lane- (plus bike and walking) flat slab or a fancy six-lane (with bike and walking) slab with arches attached to it to make it look good.

The committee was almost unanimous for the fancy arches; only one person dissented... that would be me.

I argued against the arches for two reasons.  In a climate of ice and snow for many months of the year, accumulation on the arches could fall on vehicles or pedestrians, which would not be a good thing.   My second objection was the cost and time it would require to build the arches.

Hate to say I told you so, but the bridge which was to be open in early 2013... then delayed to fall 2013... is now delayed to fall 2014.  Why the latest delay?  Welds on the arches.   The slab is finished... in fact it has been for almost 6 months.  The crossing could be finished by now.  It is the arches that are causing the delay.

Even our exalted local Con MP, Pierre Poilievre, is not talking about the bridge anymore.  He was a big booster of it, going as far as to claim that, without him, the project would have be dead.

When desire triumphs over practicality, whether it be a bridge or a stealth fighter, citizens are not well served.   

When you are a Con you can argue that a tax is not a tax... and actually believe it.

The Harper Government removed special tariff rates for countries such as China and Brazil.  This raised the rates up.  It is the importers that pay the tariff, so they, the importers, raised their prices to distributors to cover their higher costs and the distributors, in turn, raised prices to consumers.   (And don't forget that the higher prices means more GST for the government.)

So where do the increased tariffs paid by the importers go? 
It goes in to the pockets of the Harper government, of course.  To the tune of $335 million per year.

When the Canadian government collects more money from Canadians, in any form, it is a tax.  To call it anything else or deny that it exists is dishonest.

Bicycles, tricycles and wagons; children's toys; cancer-victim's wigs... almost 1,300 products from 72 countries; these are not luxury items afforded by the rich.  These are all-class items purchased by Canadians.

It is a pretty sad day for Canadians.

Hey Susan... they are going to build that pipeline

Warn your friends that the feds are brewing their message to force the Gateway pipeline through.

The latest salvo is that they are blaming the drop in pricing that Canada charges for oil exports on the fact that we sell primarily to the US.  Read here that Canada needs to expand to markets in Asia... thus the Northern Gateway Pipeline must be built.  The reality though is that the price we receive is falling because oil sands bitumen is heavy oil and costs more to ship and refine than does light or medium crude.

Just prior to that, came the message that the economy is slipping based on lower petrochemical royalties.  Unless the royalties go back up (How?  Expanding to the Asian market!  See above.) then the balanced budget promised for 2015 will have to be pushed back again.  The reality is that the structural budget deficit created by the 2% point drop in the GST is what is causing them the problem.  Combine that with the poor stewardship of the economy and the Canadian dollar, and there you go.  So much for the fiscally conservative and wise Cons!

I wrote in an earlier blog entry that the so-called Dutch Disease, where petrodollars currency inflation killed manufacturing in the Netherlands, was not the only issue with so-called Dutch Disease.  Dutch Disease also led the government to focus their effort on the petrochemical industries while ignoring other industries, such as manufacturing.  When was the last time the Cons talked about manufacturing?

The Cons are cagey.  They will eat away at the pipeline debate without ever mentioning it by name.  It is up to Canadians to stay alert, because this government does not seem to want to represent Canadians.

This government is a joke!!!

So the MPs come back to work for a few days and Harper welcomes his caucus with a speech that outlines his priorities for this session.  Law and order... no surprise.  Fiscal prudence... par for the course.  And few minor things.

But what was most important was what was missing from his priority list.  There was no mention, even casually, of aboriginal issues!!!!

The Idle No More movement is ignored.  The blockades and AFN leaders statements are ignored.  Even the commitments made to Chief Atleo are ignored.  After all, thinks Harper, he is just a little man in a funny hat?

The whole of the First Nations issues are swept out of sight!

Shameful!!

I get a warm feeling from this one!

There was an interesting headline in the Montreal Gazette last week.  It read "Can terrorists be rehabilitated?"  (http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/terrorists+rehabilitated/7875211/story.html)  The more interesting part was the article which described the conditions under which convicted extremists are being housed in the prison in Ste-Anne-de-Plaines, Quebec.

These terrorists are being segregated from the general population (not a bad idea) but they are given no treatment or rehabilitation whatsoever.  They are left with nothing except to plan what to do upon their release.  And guess what?  Once released the government or the police have no way to know where they go or with whom they associate.

So we take terrorists and throw them into a festering hole until their time is up; then we release them into the country.  Sounds like a great plan.

Canada's First Nations Shame

Chief Theresa Spence from Attawapiskat has been on a hunger strike for 4 weeks.  She ends it today.  What did she want and what did she achieve?

What she wanted was decency for her people and for all First Nations Peoples.  She wanted to meet with the Prime Minister (Remember him?  He is the one that meets with foreign dignitaries and goes to hockey games in New York but can't spare a day for his fellow country-persons!) and the Governor General... the representative of the Queen of Canada.

Why did she want to meet with the GG?  The answer is in Treaty Number 9 (the James Bay Treaty) that was signed in 1906.  It was an agreement between the First Nations of the region and... wait for it... His Most Gracious Majesty the King of Great Britain and Ireland - The King of the colony of Canada.

The opening paragraph of the Treaty reads as follows:

ARTICLES OF A TREATY made and concluded at the several dates mentioned therein, in the year of Our Lord one thousand and nine hundred and five, between His Most Gracious Majesty the King of Great Britain and Ireland, by His Commissioners, Duncan Campbell Scott, of Ottawa, Ontario, Esquire, and Samuel Stewart, of Ottawa, Ontario, Esquire; and Daniel George MacMartin, of Perth, Ontario, Esquire, representing the province of Ontario, of the one part; and the Ojibeway, Cree and other Indians, inhabitants of the territory within the limits hereinafter defined and described, by their chiefs, and headmen hereunto subscribed, of the other part: --

And paragraph seven states:

To have and to hold the same to His Majesty the King and His successors for ever.

I think that it is clear that she had a right to ask for the meeting with the GG, as the representation of a successor to the King) as well as the PM.

She got neither, so what did she achieve?

The first thing she achieved was that she got the attention of the government.  The Cabinet Minister as well as the PM were sleeping with their heads on the First Nations file until Spence woke them up.

The second achievement was that she shook up the AFN who were sitting around waiting for the government to notice them rather than advocating for their members.

The third achievement was to galvanize the First Nations People to set up the Idle No More movement.  Whether or not the movement continues is irrelevant to the fact that they woke up Canadians to the continuing issues of First Nations.

 Theresa Spence is Canada's Nelson Mandella.  Warts and all.

Betting on the F35 and Harper

A couple of friends and I have a running bet.  The bet has three parts.  I have won the first part.

The bet is:
1) when the Cons will back away from the F35;
2) when Harper will leave politics; and
3) when the Cons will announce that, after "extensive and unbiased" analysis of needs and capabilities, Canada, not the Cons, will buy the F35?

For the record my timing is as follows:
1) before end of year 2012 (I won);
2) in October 2013; and
3) three minutes to midnight on the Friday of a long weekend in September 2013.

So far my winnings amount to an "Atta boy".  If I win the second part, I am upgraded to "You da' man!"

If I get all three, I win the ultimate prize - Benevolent Dictator of Canada for four years; during which I can make all the decisions and implement all the policies I ever cared about, without regard for either Canadians or the Constitution... just like Harper does!

You note that there is no bet on when Elmer McKay's little boy gets the bump from Cabinet... that would have been too easy.

Stay tuned.

What's up with Justin?

On the heels of his latest apology Justin Trudeau is about to step in it again.  On December 22 he is addressing the Reviving the Islamic Spirit get-together in Toronto.  Sounds quite inclusive on the face of it, but when you look at the sponsors and co-speakers at the event, another word comes to mind - NUTS.

RIS is sponsored by Islamic Relief Canada, the Canadian branch of Islamic Relief, a UK-based charity.  Amongst all the good works carried out by Islamic Relief is a serious belief that they are also a front for Islamic fundamentalism and funders of Hamas, a group on Canada's terrorist list.  In November 2012 the Swiss bank UBS closed Islamic Relief accounts and blocked donations (called zakat) to IR due to "counter terrorism" concerns.

On a hidden page (and I mean you have to know that it is there to see it - www.islamicreliefcanada.org/?p=1596) on the IRC website there is a list of who benefits from Zakat.  Line item 3 refers to the people who collect and distribute it - the administrative overhead; and line item 7 refers to "Those struggling in the path of Allah."  That is what is used to describe Jihadists.

I encourage everyone to check out www.pointedebasculecanada.com, educate themselves on the IRC, then contact Trudeau's campaign to warn him off the visit.

While you are at it, ask co-speaker John Ralston Sauls, what part of Sharia Law he wants for Canadians.  Many senior members of Islamic Relief Canada tried to get it on the books in Ontario a few years back.

The Law of Unintended Consequences

Years ago I made up a term called The Law of Unintended Consequences.  In essence it means that there are consequences to every decision you make.

Let's say that you decide to use the scenic route to drive work, the consequence is that it will take longer to get where you are going.  The unintended consequence is that you will be late for work or you have to get up earlier in the day (thus losing sleep).  Your intention was not to be late for work or to lose sleep... those were unintended consequences.

A week or so ago, Toronto Mayor Rob Ford was found guilty in a conflict of interest case.  The judge slapped him with the loss of his job.  True, the case did not involve huge sums of money or influence pedaling, i.e. Montreal area mayors, but he was guilty none-the-less.

Well his friends on the right side of the political spectrum went ballistic.  There was gnashing of teeth and foaming mouths and cries of left-wing political motivation on behalf of the judge.  "The punishment does not fit the crime," they screamed from their corporate board rooms.  The right wing press joined in the frey and kept the issue alive even past the time that Ford decided to be contrite in accepting his punishment (all the while saying he was innocent).

While I agree that the punishment was severe considering that Ford did not make money or break any criminal law, I have to agree that the judge was right.  After all there was no allowance in the law for discretion on behalf of the judge.  The penalty was prescribed in the law. This is an example of Mandatory Minimum Sentencing (MMS). 

Does that term ring a bell?  It should, because the same rabble that decry the penalty handed out to Ford, support the Fed-Con government's push for mandatory minimum sentences for a whole array of petty, and not-so-petty, crimes.  Non-supporters of MMS say that it abrogates judicial discretion.  Tough noogies, say the Feds.

If the right sees MMS as democratic then they have no basis to attack the penalty that was handed out to Ford... because that was MMS also.

Unintended Consequences.  You cannot have it both ways, my friends.

Provincial "squabbles"? Don't listen to me!

I would love to work for a Think Tank. 

According to a definition from McGill University: "Think tanks are organizations, institutes or groups involved in research and advocacy in a range of fields including social policy, political strategy, economy, science and technology, industry, business and national defense. Many think tanks are non-profit organizations; their funding may come from governments, businesses or private advocacy groups, or from consulting and research work they engage in. (http://www.mcgill.ca/files/caps/CanadianThinkTanks.pdf)

There are so many of them in Canada that you would think that I could find one that would hire me or at least listen to my rantings.  I thought that I found one in the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, but no.  Unless you are a lawyer, an economist or an accredited journalist they, like the rest, could care less what you think.  You would think that with people of those exalted qualifications every utterance they make would be a gem of logic.  But no.

In a recent report from the MLI entitled Sustaining the Crude Economy, authors Laura Dawson and Stefania Bartucci tackle the issue a National Energy Policy for Canada under the guise of "Global Energy Competitiveness".

What first struck me was the way MLI introduced the paper; "Provincial squabbles threaten future energy exports, study says".  The term squabble is used when a pushing argument breaks out on a playground.  The "squabble" they are talking about is the one between Alberta and B.C. over the Northern Gateway Pipeline.  Squabble?  Are you kidding me?

When papers like this (you can read it at http://www.macdonaldlaurier.ca/provincial-squabbles-threaten-future-energy-exports-study-says/) tackle a complex issue such as inter-provincial disputes, it would be worthwhile if they took a stab at being more inclusive with the issue, rather than picking and choosing their study points.

The issue of the pipeline is not one of only getting Alberta raw materials to the coast to be sent to Asia to be processed.  It is a far more reaching issue of who pays when the process fails... when the pipeline springs a leak or when a tanker runs aground.  Think these things can't happen?  B.C. sits on an active fault line.  One good jolt and the rigid pipe could break.  Who's going to pay to clean that up?  And before you say that nature will take care of it over time, remember that this is not oil in the pipe... it is bitumen (upgraded or not) and bitumen does not break down in nature like oil.  Same goes for the shipping.  Unlike the pretty cartoons that the oilsands folks use to describe the shipping route, the channel from Kitimat is narrow and winding.

So let's take a minute to break down this "squabble".  The oil industry wants to ship a volatile and dangerous substance across pristine land to a port on the west coast, load it on boats the size of small countries and ship it to other countries to be refined and used (and in some cases ship it back to Canada in some finished goods, like plastics).  The Alberta government and their friends at the federal level are all for it... after all they stand to make a lot of money in royalties and excise taxes.  The government of B.C. are potentially going to be left holding the bag if any fault occurs anywhere along the process.  Is B.C.'s concern shared by the federal government?  Pigs will fly first.

So is this a squabble?  Are two kids arguing in a playground?  And what about the people?  Remember them?  They are the ones who elect the politicians (who subsidize Think Tanks) and pay their salaries.  You think, just maybe, they should ask our opinion instead of just reading yet another burp from a Think Tank?

(Bet you that just cost me a job prospect!)
 

What legacy are we leaving behind?

The birth of a new grandchild has left me thinking about the world that she will know when she grows up.

When I was born the world was between World War 2 and the Korean conflict.  When I turned 12, two seemingly intransigent foes almost came to nuclear blows.  By 20 years I was protesting Vietnam.  And on it went.  I am now 60+ and I write about our soldiers killed in Afghanistan.  Is that want I want for little Tegan?

Back in the 70's a movie was released called "Suppose they gave a war and nobody came?"  The title came from a "hippy-culture" anti-war slogan from the 60's.  The movie was a comedic drama which explored the reactions of WW2 veterans to the contemporary U.S. Army.  It might be fun to do a update to the movie exploring the reactions of former Canadian Peacekeepers, during the days that we had such a beast, to the contemporary Canadian military.

But back to the topic at hand... Tegan's world as she grows up.

Is it fair for her to live under the veil of terrorism?  Should her food have to be genetically modified in order to be plentiful?  Should her playground need to be a 5 x 5 foot green and brown space in the middle of a rapidly "densifying" city?  Should she have to witness genocide on the TV (or a super-smart phone in her case) news?  Should she have to decide her vote on which candidate will not go to war?

Nobody's grandchild should have to live that way.

Suppose we gave a peace and everybody came?

Something to think about in the CNOOC takeover

I have been closely following the proposed takeover of NEXEN by CNOOC.  In all the rhetoric and verse that has been penned in past six months there appears to be a couple of items that have been overlooked.

If the Chinese spend $15.5 billion for an oil exploration company, with holdings in the Alberta oil sands, doesn't it follow that they may want to use some of the oil in China?  Yes?  So how will they get it from Ft McMurray to Shanghai.  The Northern Gateway Pipeline?

You may notice that the Harper government has been pretty quiet on the pipeline as of late.  Is it because they are talking with the Chinese about it?

Secondly, you can't help but applaud the speech given by John Baird at the UN this week.  Since we have no trade or relations with Syria and we do not seem to care about the UN, talk is what we do best.

But... where is the resistance at the UN over Syria coming from?  Primarily the Russians, we are told, but also from the Chinese.  So what are we going to do about that?  Nothing.  We will continue to trade with Russia and China wants NEXEN. 

Trade trumps human rights yet again.

The Percent for Art program & Jan Harder

The following letter to the Editor of the Ottawa Citizen was send shortly after Councillor Jan Harder decided that the Percent for Art program in the city was not serving her ambitions at this time so it should be cut or eliminated.  It is interesting to note that Councillor Harder's own "householders" have advertised on numerous occasions that a call for submissions for Public Art was open for projects in her ward.

September 17, 2012

Letter to the Ottawa Citizen,

One fact about the City of Ottawa is that if you wait a bit you will have the opportunity to fight old battles again.  So it is with the Percent for Art program.  As a two term member of the Arts, Heritage and Culture Advisory Committee of the city (one of the few to be retained by the city), in 2003 I fought to ensure that the Percent for Art program was adhered to by city managers.  Although it was instituted before amalgamation, the program had been largely ignored by city managers.  Indeed, I remember when I asked for a copy of the directive for the program; the best the city could offer was a photocopy of a fax.  It had never even been retyped into the city policy files.

Now, in 2012, the fight begins again.  Councillor Jan Harder wants to cut the program in half or even eliminate it, all because her own project-of-the-week needs more money.

The purpose of the Percent for Art program is to spruce up facilities around the city, make the city more visually appealing and to the support the arts.  I may not agree with some of the art selected under the program but I will be the first to defend the need for it.

Let me offer Councillor Harder a bit of advice.  Instead of chopping at a program like Percent for Art, why not learn to work with it.  Why not find a way to incorporate art as an integral part of the project… let’s say a sculpture of a person on a bench, that also serves as a bench.  That would save the cost of a bench in the project.  If you need some help with that idea, check out what they did at the new City Archives building where architectural art complements what was already a stunning building.

Of course the Citizen decided not to print the letter.  I wonder why?

Having it both ways?

I am reading a book describing a conspiracy surrounding the disaster in New York on 9/11.  The critics of the book call the author, and a huge number of persons that believe it, Conspiracy Theorists.  They call the people who critically analyze such events as Pearl Harbour and the JFK, RFK and MLK assassinations - Conspiracy Theorists.  This moniker is designed to tar the analysts as nuts or at least delusional, blowing them off rather than addressing the issues they raise.

Let me say right here that I am not a Conspiracy Theorist, as defined by the right-leaning pundits.  I believe in empirical research and the right to pursue the truth.  However, if I am proved wrong by facts, not innuendo, then so be it.  But you cannot prove me wrong by just lumping me into a pile labeled "Conspiracy Theorists".

But let's look at the other side of the coin.  In November, Fred Litwin and his so called Free Thinkers are showing a movie that labels the Occupy movement in the US and, I assume by association, those in Canada as conspiracies by militant groups who want to destroy democracy, or at least destroy capitalism.  I am not naive enough to think that there are no radical elements in the "Occupy" camps, but the fact that conservatives tout this as a conspiracy seems to me to be a stretch.

But regardless of who is right and who is wrong, the makers of this film, a conservative non-profit organization whose goal, strangely, is citizen-action, and those who blindly believe it must be, by their own definition, Conspiracy Theorists.