tsunami

The horror of the tsunami in Asia hit home today. Although thoughts had been gelling over the course of the previous few days, it finally sunk in while I was watching the six o'clock news, that what happened one day after Christmas off the coast of Indonesia was a horrible, singular event that will likely be remembered not just for years or decades, but for centuries to come. The Black Plague, Krakatoa, the tsunami of '04.

I had a hard time watching the news. Images over and over again of the aftermath of the tsunami that rolled across and around the Indian ocean. It hurt to see the devastation, the death. So many lives lost. So many villages, towns and even cities destroyed. Anthropologists fear that the Onge, a primitive tribe living on an island off the Indian coast, may have been wiped out. So far away, yet thanks to the shrinking of our world so close. The west can't ignore events like this anymore.

I can't ignore them

Earlier in the day I read a letter to the editor in the Globe and Mail. It was a simple challenge from one person to a nation, at least those in the nation that read the Globe, to donate $10 to the aid organization of their choice to assist the survivors of the tsunami. If every man woman and child answered the challenge the amount raised would be about $300 million. That's a lot of dough.

I thought about making a donation. I thought about the Onge. I thought about 100,000 dead. And then I thought about what I was doing at the exact moment that all these lives were being rubbed out: I was getting ready to sit down to Christmas dinner.

Turkey, potatoes mixed with cheese and herbs, carrots and peas, candied sweet potatoes, ham, assorted condiments and of course, stuffing. All being readied for consumption as chaos loomed on the other side of the world.

The quake struck off the coast of Indonesia on December 26, at 7:58 A.M. local time (December 25, 4:58 P.M. PST.) By the time we cleared dishes the tsunami had crushed Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, India, the Maldives and was headed for the east coast of Africa, where it would eventually kill people in Somalia.

I made a donation to the Red Cross. Canadians across the country have been digging deep to send aid. It's the least we can do.

It is with hope that this event will be remembered for the generosity of the haves to the have - nots. Maybe this will be the time when we realize we can do with a little less, give those without a little more, and bring some sanity to the world.

Merry Christmas

In explaining why there were three men riding camels on a church roof I recently told an abreviated Christ the saviour story, with full caveats on the plausibility of it happening that way, to a four year old. That was a challenge. I have no children of my own, but borrow a friend's once a week because I really like hanging out with him, and realized as I entered into the conversation that I was talking my way through a mine-field.

No one blew up and in the end I was advised by the four year old that I should tell the story to his father, because it was a nice story and he thought his dad would like it.

Shopping for a Christmas card this afternoon (last minute options are terribly limited - ugh) and came across an interesting category: Patriotic. The card shown was of a snowman waving an American flag and I damn near went apoplectic with anger.

Of course it would be an American flag because there is no patriotism in Canada. This isn't a bad thing per se, we are quiet nationalists as a people, so I should have guessed before even reaching for the card that it would be American. It felt a little as a slap in the face to see this on a shelf in Vancouver. Does Hallmark have no sense of decency?

Mind you, only in Canada will you find a Canadiana section in bookstores.

Christmas is here once again. Not xmas, but Christmas. I am tired of laziness and seven second sound bites.

Anyway, Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

homicide? suicide? those bastards at FOX

Homicide bomber or Suicide bomber

This is common practice for the folks over at FOX: changing suicide bomber to homicide bomber. I don't really care much for the practice and I realize that FOX viewers, for the most part, are mostly a little dim anyway and watch the channel only to reinforce their already held world views, but I am really bothered that the Associated Press doesn't seem to object to FOX retaining the AP byline beneath the headline.

So what is there to do? In the past I sent a query to AP about this issue and received no response. This in itself I find to be a little ironic, the press not answering questions. Who's watching the watcher?

I think I'll try again, to contact AP that is, and ask them about the bylines until I get an answer.

I suspect that the motive is money. News agencies get their money from selling stories so why would AP want to turn away good money? At the very least I would think that they could have FOX remove the AP byline, it tends to damage the reputation of AP.

We'll see about a response.

Elitist? Moi?

to Brighid:

Regarding your email to me, I have changed my settings to accomodate you. Feel free to comment.

However, I do wonder what it was you wanted to say that needed to be said anonymously. If there is value in what you have to say in comments on my writing, then it would be appropriate to identify yourself. Why should I care what 'anonymous' has to say? 'Anonymous' holds no weight in my world.

john

Damn insurgents are everywhere

And the bullshit continues...

Iraq Base Was Hit By Suicide Attack, U.S. General Says (washingtonpost.com): "Myers, appearing at the news conference with Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, said the attack was 'the responsibility of the insurgents, the same insurgents who attacked on 9/11. The way you prevent this is to win the war on extremism.'"

So the hijackers who flew four planes into the WTC, the Pentagon and a Pennsylvania field were prescient insurgents who saw trouble coming and took the battle to the heart of the occupiers a full year and a half before they were occupied. Nostradamus move over.

Brilliant.

books

I took an English course this past semester that covered poetry, film and the gothic novel. The term got off to a good start with a concise study of poetry. I used to read a fair amount of poetry and the six weeks of study brought me back to those roots. I feel a little revitalized and might pick up a pen again.

Film was interesting. The jargon used in studying film is different from that of literature and posed some problems at first. Talking in class about the techniques used to communicate the director's ideas was awkward in the beginning. It is difficult to discuss a visual medium accurately using only words -- unfamiliar words at that -- and I had a final paper to write comparing and contrasting a novel with a film. Ouch. Fortunately my instructor had a soft spot for me.

The novel. The class covered in rapid succession two novels: Beloved, by Toni Morrison and The Death of Vishnu, by Manil Suri. I started reading Vishnu before Beloved, got halfway through and put it down to focus on other schoolwork. By the time I got back to reading novels I was behind the eight ball and really only scanned through Beloved before getting back to Vishnu.

I have yet to finish Beloved, but I will. The last chapter is looming over me and I suppose I should finish it on general principle. To be fair I think I might find it to be a more enjoyable read the second time through. It won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction and Morrison won a noble prize for literature, how bad can it be?

I really enjoyed the first 2/3 of Vishnu but tired towards the end. The novel is Suri's first and he received a princely sum of an advance for it. His web site says there will be two novels to follow, but I don't think I'll be forking out the money for either: Too many rhetorical questions. I didn't like the overt cleverness of his writing or his message and I'm not going to take the time to re-read it in the hopes of coming to a different conclusion.

So, the point of all this? Stick to poetry.

TeamEllen et al

Last summer, graeme came to visit. While he was here, he talked about golf. Rather, he talked about following golf, not about the game itself. I half sneered at the idea: following golf.

Then I thought about the late nights and early mornings I spent watching F1 racing, Pre-CART Indy series racing, and even NASCAR. The same sort of detached spectator sportsmanship found in race car racing is found in golf. more importantly I was following a sport that many others likely would half sneer at. Why not?

Two weeks ago I received an email from graeme with a link to a website he was following. TeamEllen.com. A british woman sailing solo around the world in a bid to break a speed record. Now, I'm hooked. It's like the golf thing. I might try to explain the game, but I can't, so I'll explain how I follow the game. Teach a man to fish and all.

The Vendee Globe 2004 is being raced right now too. Also an around the world solo sailing competition. the lead sailboats have cleared the southern tip of Australia and will steadily begin to ease north.

Thanks a lot.

The victim has become victimizer

As the weeks and months pass following September 11, 2001 and the time stretches into years, it seems any hope for good to come out of the ashes of the WTC in New York diminishes.

This latest report from the Associated Press is a really sad statement about the defective mentality of the US administration. Clearly, this is a nation that can no longer claim to be morally superior to the terrorits they are at 'war' with.

I can only shake my head in dismay.

Funny stolen story

update on attribution, November 27: Joe Blundo, The Columbus Dispatch

I stole this from Northern Polemics who claims to have no idea where it came from.

Canadian Border Security

The flood of American liberals sneaking across the border into Canada has intensified in the past week, sparking calls for increased patrols to stop the illegal immigration. The re-election of President Bush is prompting the exodus among left-leaning citizens who fear they'll soon be required to hunt, pray and agree with Bill O'Reilly.

Canadian border farmers say it's not uncommon to see dozens of sociology professors, animal-rights activists and Unitarians crossing their fields at night. "I went out to milk the cows the other day, and there was a Hollywood producer huddled in the barn," said Manitoba farmer Red Greenfield, whose acreage borders North Dakota. The producer was cold, exhausted and hungry. "He asked me if I could spare a latte and some free-range chicken. When I said I didn't have any, he left. Didn't even get a chance to show him my screenplay, eh?"

In an effort to stop the illegal aliens, Greenfield erected higher fences, but the liberals scaled them. So he tried installing speakers that blare Rush Limbaugh across the fields. "Not real effective," he said. "The liberals still got through, and Rush annoyed the cows so much they wouldn't give milk."

Officials are particularly concerned about smugglers who meet liberals near the Canadian border, pack them into Volvo station wagons, drive them across the border and leave them to fend for themselves. "A lot of these people are not prepared for rugged conditions," an Ontario border patrolman said. "I found one carload without a drop of drinking water. They did have a nice little Napa Valley cabernet, though."

When liberals are caught, they're sent back across the border, often wailing loudly that they fear retribution from conservatives. Rumours have been circulating about the Bush administration establishing re-education camps in which liberals will be forced to drink domestic beer and watch NASCAR.

In the days since the election, liberals have turned to sometimes-ingenious ways of crossing the border. Some have taken to posing as senior citizens on bus trips to buy cheap Canadian prescription drugs. After catching a half-dozen young vegans disguised in powdered wigs, Canadian immigration authorities began stopping buses and quizzing the supposed senior-citizen passengers. "If they can't identify the accordion player on The Lawrence Welk Show, we get suspicious about their age," an official said.

Canadian citizens have complained that the illegal immigrants are creating and organic-broccoli shortage and renting all the good Susan Sarandon movies. "I feel sorry for American liberals, but the Canadian economy just can't support them," an Ottawa resident said. "How many art-history majors does one country need?"

In an effort to ease tensions between the United States and Canada, Vice President Dick Cheney met with the Canadian ambassador and pledged that the administration would take steps to reassure liberals, a source close to Cheney said. "We're going to have some Peter, Paul & Mary concerts. And we might put some endangered species on postage stamps. The president is determined to reach out."

- Author Unknown

Trouble in Ukraine

In today's G+M and there is more from Mark MacKinnon on the turbulence faced by Ukrainians in the aftermath of last week's flawed election. The headline reads, "East, West meet nose to nose in Ukraine" and MacKinnon provides a couple of examples of divergent Ukrainian views that tell the story of an East-West schism.

I'm not convinced that he, nor any one I have read in main-stream media, goes far enough in explaining the complexity of the issue. At the very least there should be broader analysis of the factors that have led to the present crisis.

More than a decade ago, Samuel P. Huntington pointed to a civilizational fault line that ran down the middle of Ukraine. In an article that appeared in the Summer issue of Foreign Affairs Huntington asserted that this fault line has less to do with political ideology and and geo-political alignment than it has to do with religion.

Further strengthening his contention of a civilizational fault line in Ukraine, Huntington, in his 1996 book The Clash of Civilizations, expanded on the issue. He pointed to the results from Ukraines 1994 presidential elections where the Western portion of the country (predominantly uniate/catholic) voted overwhelmingly in support of Leonid Kravchuk (up to 90 per cent) and the Eastern portion of the country (predominantly orthodox) supported Leonid Kuchma to a similar degree. With 52 per cent of the vote, Kuchma won the presidency of a region that was seriously polarized along religious lines.

This may be an oversimplification and I can't take any credit for the ideas, but I think it is worth considering. Looking over reviews of Huntington's book at the time of its initial release, many reviewers took a dim view of many of his propositions. The events of the past few years in the Middle East and the past few weeks in Eastern Europe have proven Huntington to be quite prescient in his writing.

Ukraine could go be the beginning of the next large scale conflict based along religious lines.