Goin' to meet its maker

Back in to early 90s, I bought a 1986 Chev Astro van (the big V6, 5-spd manual tranny, air-con, 4ch CD/MP3 stereo, and a CB radio!) from my neighbour Harald. He had converted it for camping and never drove it in the winter. I was also able to avoid using it in the winter and had many years of fun with the old beast.

Today, I sold it back to Harald, who will take it on as a restoration project (the original paint has finally just worn off in places). I'm glad to see the two re-united and hope that he's able to get another 24 years out of it before things start to go wrong.

Thanks to Anna for the picture.

More about Omar Khadr's situation

For those interested in the actual legal issues which are involved in Canada's forsaking of one of its child citizens, I can suggest this article:

http://www.fff.org/comment/com1008e.asp

Will my country ever recover from this horrific allegiance to the American view of humanity?

Oil Defence? ... ??

Here's an article that posits a disturbing idea about the connection between our wars and why we fight them:


http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/08/05/the_ministry_of_oil_defense?sms_ss=email

It seems to be saying that our military has been created and is being used as the corporate security department for a bunch of businesses that operate offshore! IE, our taxes are paying for a large part of what can only be considered the normal cost of doing business if you choose to leave Canada for your operations. Whyzat?!! Last I heard, we certainly don't get to share in the profits for these businesses!

And if you consider recent history, it doesn't seem that the wizards running these companies know very much about how to deal with the citizens of the countries in which they choose to operate. When they don't get their way, they just call in our army to thump the locals into submission, and taxpayers end up footing the bill (including veteran's care costs).

If this business model was applied within Canada, it could only be called armed robbery. ( I know, I know, these sorts of things are handled via expropriation within Canada).

Hmmm ... .... ? Somethings strange here ...

Check it out. What's goin' on here?

Crumbling country characteristics

I hope this doesn't start happening in Canada, but I suspect it will unless we convert Harper and his government to the path of wisdom and logic. Thanks to Glenn Greenwald again:

http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2010/08/06/collapse/index.html

A New Hampshire voyage

Bought a new MP3 player, complete with a van to carry it in, last April.



We checked out the new van as a camping implement last week and were pleasantly surprised by its utility, comfort and convenience.



We saw many awesome natural vistas ...


... and some awfully tacky tourist traps like Clark's Trading Post.

Bruce Fein's article in instructive

Consider these ideas, if you will:

http://www.campaignforliberty.com/article.php?view=836

I was struck by how far our governments have gone in repudiating the values and ethics that resulted from WWII and the Nuremberg trials. It seems to make all those deaths back in the thirties and forties a total waste of time. If we are so enamoured of Nazi-like actions now, why didn't we just let them roll over us back then? Surely they would have allowed us to speak english if they had taken over, n'est-çe pas?