Hey, how'd ya like the baseball All-Star Game last night?
You didn't watch it? Forgot it was on? Don't give a flying fig regardless?
Join the club.
While I can't quote any statistics, and indeed this may be all in my mind, it seems that this is a game that is becoming more irrelevant by the year, if not less. Don't forget, a few years back this thing ended due to lack of interest - and relief players. So Bud Selig (anyone who was at the Expos' last game will remember the chant going around - "f#$% you Selig!), in his infinite wisdom decided the game would henceforth decide who had home field advantage in the world serious, er, series (not like it's becoming any more popular itself).
I don't know if it's working.
But I know I haven't watched the game since I can't remember when. And I don't miss it.
Sure, I enjoy reading about Canadians doing well (take a bow home run king Justin Morneau, not to mention Ryan Dempster and Russ Martin), or Blue Jays (a scoreless inning for Roy Halliday). But aside from that I don't care. I really can't, not since Selig, Jeffrey Loria and company stuck their knives in the back of the Expos (et tu, Bud?).
So now I sometimes check the scores, see what's in the sports section of the paper or on one of the sports networks. I like to see the Jays do well, and think it's great to have Cito back. I want J.P. Ricciardi to go away, and take his copy of Moneyball with him. I may go see a game or two this season (Belleville is two hours from Toronto).
But the reality is, when I check my feeds from TSN and Sportsnet, I'm looking forward to hockey and football news.
authentic. intelligent. conservative.
Wednesday, 16 July 2008
Tuesday, 15 July 2008
Friday, 11 November 2005
Remembrance Day
As I write this, it is now early in the morning, November 12, 2005. Yesterday was Remembrance Day. I went to the service at the Cenitaph, the place where the war dead of Belleville and the rural area that surrounds our city are commemorated. My father was there, to lay a wreath in memory of my grandfather, Harry Phieffer, a veteran who passed away almost fifteen years ago, and the other members of our extended family who served our nation in time of war. My youngest sister and her husband were there, with my 2-year old niece Madison. Around me were veterans of all the services and the Merchant Marine, serving members of the armed forces, cadets, Scouts, police and firefighters, and a large number of us ordinary citizens.
As I watched and listened, the idea of such a sacrifice passed back and forth through my mind - what it meant, and what it must have meant to those who made it. I wish I could say I understand, but I don't.
I have studdied the matter as an amateur historian, as a student, etc. But how can I understand the pain of a veteran breaking down as he remembers killing an enemy soldier on Christmas Day of 1943 in Italy. How can I understand boys, yes boys, barely out of high school, dying by the hundreds during some battles. How can I understand the pain of those left behind, who bore the pain of losing someone they loved.
I intend to come back to this, because today I cannot do the matter it's full justice, and because this is not a matter to be dredged up on one day each year. Remembrance is our responsibility every day. So today I will remember. On another day I will try once again to comprehend.
As I watched and listened, the idea of such a sacrifice passed back and forth through my mind - what it meant, and what it must have meant to those who made it. I wish I could say I understand, but I don't.
I have studdied the matter as an amateur historian, as a student, etc. But how can I understand the pain of a veteran breaking down as he remembers killing an enemy soldier on Christmas Day of 1943 in Italy. How can I understand boys, yes boys, barely out of high school, dying by the hundreds during some battles. How can I understand the pain of those left behind, who bore the pain of losing someone they loved.
I intend to come back to this, because today I cannot do the matter it's full justice, and because this is not a matter to be dredged up on one day each year. Remembrance is our responsibility every day. So today I will remember. On another day I will try once again to comprehend.
Thursday, 12 May 2005
Dust (Edmonton industrial area in spring)
Dust is everywhere, gravel and sand
Remnants of the winter, like it they hang on too long.
Potholes and ruts, souvenirs of frost and
Reminders of maintenance put off.
The magpies are here
Grass competing with small remainders of snow
Always the dust
The familiar rattle of a diesel, the whine of a turbocharger
Rattles from truck and trailer as they pass over the ubiquitous rail lines
The trees are still bare
Rail engines call out in the distance
The grey roads are brown with dust
Trucks are everywhere
Pick-ups and ‘hot shots’
The big pickers and oilfield trucks, massive with their cranes and
Heavy front axles
Tractors with every possible type of trailer, especially flatbeds
Yards are still wet, and mud is still the order of the day.
Equipment overflows, as material waits for the ground to firm up enough
To support the weight of the great trucks.
Spring in the gateway to Alberta’s oil country,
A sunny day, as I sit in my truck on the side of 66th Avenue.
And so much dust.
-Edmonton, Alberta
April 23, 2003
Remnants of the winter, like it they hang on too long.
Potholes and ruts, souvenirs of frost and
Reminders of maintenance put off.
The magpies are here
Grass competing with small remainders of snow
Always the dust
The familiar rattle of a diesel, the whine of a turbocharger
Rattles from truck and trailer as they pass over the ubiquitous rail lines
The trees are still bare
Rail engines call out in the distance
The grey roads are brown with dust
Trucks are everywhere
Pick-ups and ‘hot shots’
The big pickers and oilfield trucks, massive with their cranes and
Heavy front axles
Tractors with every possible type of trailer, especially flatbeds
Yards are still wet, and mud is still the order of the day.
Equipment overflows, as material waits for the ground to firm up enough
To support the weight of the great trucks.
Spring in the gateway to Alberta’s oil country,
A sunny day, as I sit in my truck on the side of 66th Avenue.
And so much dust.
-Edmonton, Alberta
April 23, 2003
Wednesday, 11 May 2005
Birch
Common in transition areas from
coniferous to deciduous
noted for bark
birch bark canoes
birch bark pants
etc
bark like paper
leaves moving in the breeze
the entire tree moves
more like a branch,
its trunk so thin
a walking stick for a giant
Edmonton, May 24, 2003
coniferous to deciduous
noted for bark
birch bark canoes
birch bark pants
etc
bark like paper
leaves moving in the breeze
the entire tree moves
more like a branch,
its trunk so thin
a walking stick for a giant
Edmonton, May 24, 2003
Monday, 9 May 2005
Walking Through West Edmonton Mall
Efficiently designed
To take away your money.
A “Gourmet World” sign
Over the fast food court
And two of everything
To take away your money.
A “Gourmet World” sign
Over the fast food court
And two of everything
Saturday, 7 May 2005
60 Years ago today
As I contemplate the meaning of V-E Day, some thoughts.
Sixty years ago today, Grand -Admiral Karl Doenitz, interim leader of the remains of Nazi Germany, surrendered to the Allies, marking the end of hostilities in Europe. It was declared by Winston Churchill, British Prime Minister, that the next day, May 8th, would be celebrated as Victory in Europe, or VE, day. Amongst the armies was one not often heard of today, the First Canadian Army, which accepted the surrender of Nazi forces in the Netherlands and north-western Germany.
While the war continued in the Pacific, the Canadian government began the process of demobilizing a massive part of the Canadian forces in Europe. The ground forces included two corps, five divisions, two of them armoured, and independent armoured brigades. The Royal Canadian Air Forces (RCAF) in Europe included #6 Bomber Group, part of the Commonwealth's Bomber Command, and numerous squadrons of fighter and ground attack aircraft, all state of the art for their time (at the end of the war, the fourth largest air force in the world). The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) included four-hundred warships and auxiliary vessels, more than today's United States Navy, amongst them aircraft carriers, cruisers, powerful Tribal class as well as other destroyers, and literally hundreds of frigates, corvettes, and other escort vessels (the third largest navy in the world, at wars end).
The war wasn't over in the Pacific, and so the government of the day made the decision to allow for the demobilization of any personnel conscripted during the previous years, and make the force to be sent to the Pacific theatre an all-volunteer force. But this force would still be huge by modern standards. Some reports indicate the plan was for a Commonwealth force, under the codename Tiger, to include Canadian, British, Australian, New Zealander, and Indian forces. The air contingents biggest part was to be Canadian, while Canada's ground contingent would amount to an armoured corps. The RCN contribution was to be sixty vessels, essentially the most modern and powerful part of the navy, including two or more fleet aircraft-carriers, two or more cruisers, twenty-plus destroyers, and the balance consisting of escort frigates and support ships. My grandfather was to be part of it, except they found out he was underage before he shipped out, and by then the nuclear bomb had melted the delusional hopes of Japan's leadership, ending the war all together. My other grandfather came home, after almost six years in Europe, in 1945.
As we celebrate the sixtieth anniversary of VE Day tomorrow, let us not forget the magnitude of the effort, and sacrifice, of Canadians during the Second World War. As powerful as our British, American and Russian allies were, Canada, a nation of 11 million people, was at wars end, the fourth greatest military power in the world.
To our veterans, and to those who didn't return, thank you.
And to my fellow Canadians today, we must always strive to live up to the gift they have given to us.
Happy 60th V-E Day.
Sincerely,
James P
Sixty years ago today, Grand -Admiral Karl Doenitz, interim leader of the remains of Nazi Germany, surrendered to the Allies, marking the end of hostilities in Europe. It was declared by Winston Churchill, British Prime Minister, that the next day, May 8th, would be celebrated as Victory in Europe, or VE, day. Amongst the armies was one not often heard of today, the First Canadian Army, which accepted the surrender of Nazi forces in the Netherlands and north-western Germany.
While the war continued in the Pacific, the Canadian government began the process of demobilizing a massive part of the Canadian forces in Europe. The ground forces included two corps, five divisions, two of them armoured, and independent armoured brigades. The Royal Canadian Air Forces (RCAF) in Europe included #6 Bomber Group, part of the Commonwealth's Bomber Command, and numerous squadrons of fighter and ground attack aircraft, all state of the art for their time (at the end of the war, the fourth largest air force in the world). The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) included four-hundred warships and auxiliary vessels, more than today's United States Navy, amongst them aircraft carriers, cruisers, powerful Tribal class as well as other destroyers, and literally hundreds of frigates, corvettes, and other escort vessels (the third largest navy in the world, at wars end).
The war wasn't over in the Pacific, and so the government of the day made the decision to allow for the demobilization of any personnel conscripted during the previous years, and make the force to be sent to the Pacific theatre an all-volunteer force. But this force would still be huge by modern standards. Some reports indicate the plan was for a Commonwealth force, under the codename Tiger, to include Canadian, British, Australian, New Zealander, and Indian forces. The air contingents biggest part was to be Canadian, while Canada's ground contingent would amount to an armoured corps. The RCN contribution was to be sixty vessels, essentially the most modern and powerful part of the navy, including two or more fleet aircraft-carriers, two or more cruisers, twenty-plus destroyers, and the balance consisting of escort frigates and support ships. My grandfather was to be part of it, except they found out he was underage before he shipped out, and by then the nuclear bomb had melted the delusional hopes of Japan's leadership, ending the war all together. My other grandfather came home, after almost six years in Europe, in 1945.
As we celebrate the sixtieth anniversary of VE Day tomorrow, let us not forget the magnitude of the effort, and sacrifice, of Canadians during the Second World War. As powerful as our British, American and Russian allies were, Canada, a nation of 11 million people, was at wars end, the fourth greatest military power in the world.
To our veterans, and to those who didn't return, thank you.
And to my fellow Canadians today, we must always strive to live up to the gift they have given to us.
Happy 60th V-E Day.
Sincerely,
James P
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I posted this article, along with the following comment on Facebook.
My reasons for supporting this court decision I could not adequately explain here. If you're curious, please ask.
Since I was asked, here's my response:
I believe it makes sense for a few reasons. First, the man had joined the US Army voluntarily. He at no point expressed concern as a concientious objector, at least until he was to go to Iraq. While soldiers are free to hold whatever beliefs they wish on the nature and validity of various conflicts, enlistment means they have agreed to go where the government orders when, whether you are talking about the US, Canadian or British armies, to mention just a few all volunteer forces. It is all well and good to excuse such actions based on public attitude regarding this conflict, but to allow it would be to allow soldiers to pick and choose when they fight, and that is a job reserved in our system for the democratically elected government. Effectively, the choice to fight or not is made when the soldier enlists, and at no other time. For this reason, under US or Canadian law, the man is a deserter and, if he believes that strongly in his position, should be willing to stand in the shoes of Socrates and accept such punishment as the state has deemed appropriate, as opposed to fleeing.
Secondly, in regards to the specific court decision, to claim refugee status when fleeing from a dictatorship or other non-democratic government which ignores basic human rights is entirely reasonable. But the US, contrary to the silliness being spouted by some, is a democratic nation which strongly adheres to a Bill of Rights. No one forced this man to enlist, no threat has been made. He is seeking, rather, to avoid the lawful punishment merited by his breaking of the law in the United States. If he is allowed to stay to protect him from whatever punishment the US legal system may administer, precedent would be set to allow any person fleeing punishment for breaking the law to claim refugee status, and even if they were to eventually fail (no guarantees there, as precedent would be set, for any defense lawyer willing to use it), the process would be a waste for an immigration system which has precious little free time to deal with legitimate refugees.
Those are my basic reasons, if that answers the question.