Photo Collage:  A few of Canada’s notorious terrorists: The Bacon Brothers (BC), Maurice Bouchard (PQ), Eric Dejaeger (Nunavat), Vito Rizzuto (r)(PQ), Alan Legere (NB), Clifford Olsen (died in prison)(BC), Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka (Karla served 12 years after a plea deal) (ON), Willy Pickton (BC) and Russell Williams (ON).

Note: Just in case a few may think I am a left wing apologist for terrorists, you would be wrong.  Terrorists, whether they be of the criminal type or of the religious type, are despicable scum who deserve to be removed from civil society wherever in the world they may seek to practice their murderous ways. What I do not think we should do is give them a platform on which to spread their vile messages, nor should we re-direct billions in scarce funds away from those things that could make a real difference in reducing crime in whatever form it may present itself.

Introduction

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What if this man choose to die rather than live? Having choose the latter even in the face of a debilitating disease, he went on to became an extremely influential scholar. Every person who reaches such a crossroads in their life deserves the opportunity of reaching out to others before making the final decision to end life.  Wrapping a potentially serious criminal charge around such discussions makes no sense and the Supreme Court of Canada got it right.

To Live or Die: Another choice along the path of life.

On the evening prior to the Supreme Court 9-0 decision overturning the Criminal Code sanction against ‘assisted suicide’, I attended the movie “A Theory of Everything”, a biographical account of the life of Dr. Stephen Hawkings. The movie was adapted from a novel written by Hawking’s first wife, Jane Wilde Hawking, the mother of their three children (family photo in footer).  It was an excellent movie so if you have a chance drop in and enjoy.

As many know Dr. Hawking became a world-renowned mathematician and cosmologist who wrote a number of best sellers including A Brief History of Time which sold over ten million copies. Part of Hawking’s wide popularity was his ability to write about highly technical mathematical and scientific theories in terms a layman could understand.

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 Photo (2015): Richard Rosenthal, Chief Civilian Director of the Office of the Police Complaints Commission.
Since being formed 30 months ago with a staff of 32 investigators and 18 civilians, 22 have either been fired or have resigned. During that period the Government has ordered at least three investigations into the operation and, as well, severance packages totalling $187,000 have been given to some who have departed. Where did it all go wrong?

UPDATE TO THIS ARTICLE:   “Police watchdog Stan Lowe rides a ‘sea of change’ (Times Colonist, February 14, 2015): What a difference an inspired leader can make in an organization.  Check out his article about Stan Lowe who has just completed six years as head of the B.C. Police Complaint Commission (BCPC) and has been appointed to another four year term.  Following is one quote from the TC article:

“The OPCC works separately from the Independent Investigations Office, which was created in September 2012 to investigate police-involved deaths or serious injuries where the officer could face criminal charges. In cases where the Independent Investigations Office finds no criminal wrongdoing, the OPCC can still investigate for misconduct which could result in discipline, ranging from a written reprimand or training courses to more serious sanctions, such as a demotion or discharge.

The OPCC has a budget of just over $3 million and is staffed by 17 people, about half former police officers and half civilians. Lowe has said his staff has worked together “seamlessly.”

That short paragraph says it all and when you compare the operation of the BCPC to that of the OPCC (as outlined in the post below). There is a world of difference.

Harold

Background

Two long articles appeared in the Times Colonist this morning (February 8, 2015) about high turnover and reported administrative dysfunction within the police watchdogs office.  While the turnover is extremely high, it was difficult to discern whether employee complaints were justified or whether there was just a ‘culture clash’ between the civilian leader Richard Rosenthal and ex-police officers and civilians hired to staff the organization.

It was not until near the end of the second article, Morale Went Down Fast (A4), written by Times Colonist reporter Katie DeRosa, I came upon this paragraph:

“Rosenthal kept a plaque in his IIO office that featured a mugshot of a police officer arrested during a corruption case that led to charges against 70 Los Angeles police officers in the Rampart division’s anti-gang section. Rosenthal was deputy district attorney  in Los Angeles at the time and helped expose the corruption.” DeRosa continued:  “Many former police officers with the IIO found that mugshot offensive.”

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2007 (near Vancouver, B.C.)  Premier Gordon Campbell discusses other major construction plans with one of the leading Olympic Contractors.

As the Capital Regional District edges ever closer to spending what will be something in the order of $1,200,000,000 to $2,000,000,000 (yes, that’s 1.2 – 2.0 billion – reference CRD Document on Costs, page 2, para 1) on sewage treatment, there was never a proper assessment of need, no consulting with scientists, no pressing environment issue, just one Premier who got his shorts in a knot when the Washington State Governor (a woman with a strict environmentalist background) told him flat out she would not support the 2010 Olympics unless he pushed for sewage treatment for Victoria (see link in footer).

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Alysha and Sean unroll the gift (more photos below)

Crafting a Gift of Love

Over the past few months, Lynn and Sheri (Mom and Mom) have been working with small squares of fur fabric that Alysha had passed along to Lynn.  It was a challenge to work with – not your usual quilting material.   Over a few weeks they came up with an idea – going all out with a new design.

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Lego For the Oil Patch

Following a series of exchanges with a Facebook friend concerning gender equality, I happened upon this little song written by Thomas Wharton.  Born in Grand Prairie, the young man studied both at the University of Alberta and the University of Calgary where he achieved his Phd. He is currently an Associate Professor of writing and English at the University of Alberta in Edmonton.

An author with several books to this credit, he wrote the following lyrics about the changing attitudes of oil patch man and published in the most recent edition of Albertaviews (page 27). I can’t find a link to magazine article so I typed it below.  I think the song speaks well to the changing’ attitude towards woman in that province, a province which is becoming more Liberal with each passing day.

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“Save our Rats”, “Save our Rats”
The chant is gaining strength outside the Oak Bay Municipal Hall

January18, 2915:  Headline news in the Times Colonist today: “Activists to cast eyes over deer cull in Oak Bay”

An earlier article in the Times Colonist was titled: “Killing deer is not pretty, Metchosin mayor warns.”

The ongoing discussion of whether ”to cull or not to cull” seems to inspire considerable debate. Some have felt the ‘rat’ should be given the same consideration as deer and rabbits. Personally, I would not kill an animal unnecessarily, but will admit I have happily culled a few rats over my time in West Saanich. I have also killed animals for food (Lynn and I ran a small farm for several years). For those who hunt and kill a deer, moose, rabbit or other animal and then put the meat in the freezer, I have no problem, but go out and kill a grizzly, mountain sheep or other animal living in the wilderness just for the thrill of it or to gain trophy, I have a problem.

Close to 100% of people I know, except for a few vegetarians, vegans and others (like our friend Andrew), eat beef, pork, chicken, duck and a hundred other kinds of animal and bird products that cover our grocery store shelves. Those poor animals and birds are often raised and then killed in rather nasty ways, yet we really don’t give a damn as we just want the end product that is nicely wrapped in plastic.

Back on the farm, believe me, we often came to love a cow, pig, sheep, chicken or even an ugly ducking just as you might love your dog, cat or horse, We once had to tell the kids (Jay, Kari, Christine and Sean) we had sold the steer and bought other meat as there was no way they were going to eat “Roast Ghost” for dinner, Ghost being the name we had given to that poor steer now residing on our plates. We had to lie as we didn’t want the kids picketing the driveway with their friends, besides it was to late to save our friend, Ghost.

Photo: University of Victoria Groundskeeper removes rabbit from UVIC woods. The man suggested people have been contributing to the problem by dropping off unwanted rabbits and then overfeeding them as is the case in the one he is carrying away.

In some of the worst cases, we will cull other humans by the hundreds of thousands if we think our cause is just (we cull until one side wins or we reach a stalemate and both sides call it quits). Two World Wars are good examples. We don’t even need consensus to carry out this cull if our Government just decides to jump in as did the US and others in Viet Nam and Iraq. Both those wars ended in a stalemate, but not until tens of thousands of  innocent men, woman and children were killed during the cull. Many were “collateral damage” in these various wars, but that was (is) the price of carrying out a human cull.. Perhaps if we just viewed deer, rabbits and seals as people, we would not feel so squeamish about carrying out the cull.

So let’s not get so uptight about the loss of a few deer or rabbits. If you think they are infringing upon your property rights, just quietly and without fanfare do them in or arrange to have them deported to an animal sanctuary in Texas.

If you disagree, then I ask: “What do you think about rats? Don’t rats have just as much right to your protection as does Bambi, Peter Rabbit and those cuddly, innocent looking, baby seals?”   I bet Sarah MacLaughlin, would never be caught carrying a sign that read “Save our Rats”.

Cheers,

Harold

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The above Euchre hand was accomplished with a very big “IF” that left Lynn McNeill on pins and needles for seven consecutive passes.  In the game, Lynn was dealing, followed by Harold, Garth (her partner) and Esther. Lynn had dealt herself that perfect hand in Diamonds. No, she did not cheat folks, Lynn would never do that in this lifetime. A Club was turned as trump so, of course, Lynn could only count that perfect hand if she had a chance to bid in another suit – that was the big “if”.

The bidding began:

Harold – pass (crap hand)
Garth – pass (crap hand)
Esther – pass  (so, so, but not in Clubs)
Lynn then turned down the initial trump card

Second Round:

Harold – pass (same crap hand)
Garth – pass (same crap hand)
Esther – considered whether she was strong enough to take in another suit, then, after some hesitation, ‘passed’
Lynn erupted (uncharacteristically I might add) by calling Diamonds and throwing down her hand. Lynn never lets us throw down a hand as she wants to play fully play out each round.

Not one of us had ever been close to the perfect hand in either Euchre or Cribbage.

What were the odds of that hand coming up?

A check of Internet sources suggest the odds of getting that hand as something in the order of 1 in 100,000. The fact Lynn was dealing and could not use the trump card significantly decreased her chances as it seemed possible someone might grab the Club (in the first round) or Spades or Hearts in the second.  As it turned out, no one else held a strong hand.

The odds are likely beyond that for the initial hand, as it seems likely they would have increased significantly by having to wait for those seven passes.  If someone picks up on this post and can suggest the final odds, that would be appreciated.

Oh, just to mention, Lynn did go alone with the hand and that resulted in she and her partner, Garth, picking up 4 points to win third set and the three game series.

As congratulations were in order, Garth popped the top on another bottle of Champaign to complete our New Years 2014 Celebration.  Oh well, the 9:00 am ferry will work just as well as the 7:00 am, as we are all on our way to Seattle, then San Francisco to further celebrate the winning hand.

Happy New Year Everyone

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