Happy Canada Day Everyone...
Canada Day Festivities at Temiskaming Shores
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Sam George, the brother of slain aboriginal protester Dudley George is calling on the Ontario government to make a commitment in the next few days to return Ipperwash Provincial Park to the Stoney Point First Nation people. Sam George led a tireless campaign that eventually resulted in a public inquiry into the death of his brother, who was shot by an Ontario Provincial Police sniper in September 1995 as police moved in on about 30 unarmed First Nations protesters occupying the park. Sam George, brother of Dudley George, says educating Canadians about the history of land claims such as Ipperwash can lead to peace. "Can we agree, in the next week or so, to commit that those 109 acres [about 269 hectares] be returned to native people?" George asked reporters Friday at the Ontario legislature in Toronto. "I think such a commitment would be a strong signal to people across the country, native and non-native, and that we could increase the trust and honour between us. "He also warned the government could spark more occupations the longer it waits to act on recommendations by the inquiry into his brother's death. "The longer they go on, that's when the blockades and protests start, because nobody's paying attention," George said. Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty said it is too early to decide whether the province can give back the land. McGuinty said he understands the symbolism George is attaching to the land, but he wants more time to review the report of the Ipperwash inquiry. He added the government may be able to act on the request for the land "sooner rather than later." George's call comes a day after the final report on the inquiry found the government of former Ontario premier Mike Harris, Ottawa and the OPP all bore responsibility for events that led to George's death. Commissioner Sidney Linden called for the disputed land to be returned immediately to the First Nations community, which he said should also receive compensation for the decades of neglect in settling the claim. Linden also recommended Ontario establish a permanent, independent and impartial agency to facilitate and oversee the settling of land and treaty claims. Day of action to 'educate' Canadians on land claims David Ramsay, Ontario's aboriginal affairs minister, said he's developing a plan to implement Linden's recommendations. Ramsay also apologized to George's family on behalf of the province, but said the government must first consult with aboriginal leaders. But Ontario NDP Leader Howard Hampton said he thinks the government has to move faster to head off demonstrations and blockades that native groups are threatening for next month. The land at Ipperwash was expropriated for military use during the Second World War, with the pledge it would be returned. In the more than 60 years following the action, the Stoney Point band tried to get the land back, claiming it contained a burial ground destroyed when the military camp was built.George also said a planned First Nations day of action on June 29 can serve as a chance to build peace by educating Canadians about the history of land claims across Canada, including the one his brother died trying to protect. "They'll see that there were land agreements and they were agreed to by both parties," he said.
Update from my personal notes; When Dudley George was shot by an OPP officer at Ipperwash Provincial Park on Sept. 6, 1995, a group of more than 200 OPP officers had assembled to remove 30 unarmed native activists from the park. I also came to understand that the Federal Government had sold the land in question to the Provincial Government, despite the fact that the land had belonged to the Kettle and Stony Point First Nation people. A piece of land which was "rented" to the Federal Government for use as an army base. Canadian history has revealed once again, how the Federal Government had sold land which did not belong to them. There seem to be some critical evidence in the Ipperwash inquiry report which reveals there had been deeply-ingrained racism within the Mike Harris Tory Government which only confirms that there had never been any intention on the part of Mike Harris or his Ministers to come to a peaceful resolution with the Ipperwash protesters. That Mike Harris’ former executive assistant, Debbie Hutton, during her testimony on November 22nd, had denied any previous knowledge on the validity of the Stoney Point Natives’ claim that Ipperwash Provincial Park was built upon a sacred burial ground. Despite evidence that a provincial civil servant had recovered documents supporting the Aboriginal claim as far back as 1975. It is strange that Debbie Hutton and others had memory lapses while testifying at the Ipperwash inquiry. All this points to how much these people who are suppose to uphold the laws of this land were willing to lie or omitted the facts, in order to cover up in essence the truth. Had this Ipperwash inquiry not been held, Canadians would not have known what went on behind the scene, away from the public view. It is indeed a sad commentary that all the lying, the deceit and dishonesty, the breaking of treaties had been brought about by people we had placed our trust in. A very, very sad commentary indeed.
While land claims is a major issue which has to be delt with, there are other very important issues which need to be looked at and resolved. Such as employment opportunities on Indian reserves which are restricted to seasonal or community work. Many other First nations communities have 75 to 90 per cent unemployment. As many as 20 people are living in a two or three bedroom home, and as many as 50 per cent of the children are regularly going hungry. Children are also lagging three to four years behind in their education. The physical and mental health problems that are exacerbated by the housing and economic problems are also contributing to the First Nations people overall problems which also have to be resolved.
June 29th/2007; Soon, Canada will be celebrating its
140th birthday. On July 1, 1867, the British government (under Queen Victoria) approved Canada
to become an independent country with its own government. This new nation, which remained loyal
to Britain, was called the Dominion of Canada. At that time, Canada had only four provinces
which were Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. There are now 10 provinces and 3
territories which make up the nation of Canada. I spent time thinking what Canada Day means to
most Canadians today. After giving it much thought, I summed it all up with this short poem.
On this auspicious day, Canadians are singing along
With a smile, a hug, even a kiss and a happy song
We are bound together with common goals and a common national cause
Hopefully to build a brighter future, by redressing our flaws.
Happy Canada Day Everyone...
Canada Day Festivities at Temiskaming Shores
There will be much to do and see this Canada Day Weekend. The Biker's annual reunion will take part in the 2007 Summerfest celebrations. Admission is FREE. There will also be nightly entertainment starting Friday night beginning with the "Legends of London" and many local bands. Yamaha will have bike demos, along with the fastest woman in the world, Trillium Muir will be on hand with her bike (motorcycle). There will also be the annual strongman competition. Vendor ally is where people can walk down memory lane and view photos of past bikers reunions. There will be stage entertainment such as, The Ben Show, Stilt Character, Kid's Games, Tae Kwon Doe, Pipe Band, Highland Dancers and the Royal Bank BBQ on the corner where the Royal Bank is. There will be Helicopter rides and rock wall climbing at cost. Canada Day (July 1st.) will end with the annual fireworks display. Check with The Temiskaming Speaker newspaper to get all the information on the time and dates on the various festivities. There will be FREE bus for people traveling within the Tri-Towns (Haileybury/North Cobalt - New Liskeard and Dymond) on Canada Day. This Free bus service is being provided by Stock Transportation which operates the Tri-Town transit system. The buses will run from 10 AM to midnight on July 1st. Use the bus and don't drink and drive. Have fun and be safe.
July 3rd. 2007; Yesterday I had bought a used riding lawn mower to tow my canoe around. I do not have a driver's license and I could not afford the high insurance cost for a vehicle. So I had to find something to tow my canoe around that do not require a driver's license. The solution I cam up with was to get a little riding lawn mower. It has the power to tow my canoe and speed is not important to me. It had taken me three years to save the four hundred dollars to buy it.
July 9th. 2007; The current marathon of music from seven continents united in a 29-hour global call for action on climate change yesterday was interesting to watch. Personally, I have nothing against trying to cut down on pollution, be it in the air, water or upon the land, or recycling material when it is possible, or to use energy wisely or trying to preserve the natural environment for future generations, but to think that we can manipulate or take any action to effect what is happening with the change of our global climate, this call for global action on climate change is really a red herring. Especially when this change to our global climate is a natural phenomena which our planet alters between its warming or cooling cycle in which we have little control over it. Presently, the earth's climate is progressing on its natural warming cycle. We are presently at a time when the planet Earth is in its warming cycle and there is nothing we can do about it except to adapt as best we can to this climate change. In a few thousand years from now, if humanity should ever survive that long and still exist, which is another matter to consider, the planet will be on its cooling cycle when people at that time will have to deal with and adapt to a global ice age. Throughout this 29-hour marathon global call for action on climate change and listening to all the hype people were making about it, I could not help reflect upon how easily people are manipulated to accept and regurgitate false assumptions about this whole business on climate change. As if we can manipulate or take some kind of action to effect what is happening with the change of our global climate rather than to rely upon using critical thinking in matters such as this. Frankly, this type of global mind manipulation is not that much different than what religions like Christianity or Islam had been using upon humanity for the past centuries. Giving people false assumptions about GOD, and the majority of people tend to blindly accept those false assumptions without question instead of using the GOD given gift and ability of using critical thinking in order to effect change or deal with things we have no control over, like the warming or cooling cycle of our planet.
July 17th/2007; During the time when it was not raining, I
worked on the canoe carrige. I had to replace the wooden tow bar with a metal pipe I got from
Dan because it was too week for the job. The wooden tow bar had broken when I was trying it out
for the first time with a load. I had also installed a red lamp at the rear of the tractor and
now have a slow moving vehical reflecting traffic sign to attach at the rear of the tractor or
the stern of the canoe when I an towing it. I also took a great deal of time to practice to move
the towing rig backwards for I would have to do that when launching the canoe from the boat
launching ramp. I became pretty good at towing the rig backwards. So far, I have done everything
to make the lawn tractor road safty, so I am now ready to go on that week-long canoe trip. As
soon as we get a good dry spell. It has been raining every other day for the past weeks. After all
this rain we have been getting, I do hope that the weather will change and have days without
rain. I do not want to be stuck in a little dome tent all day and Buddy soaked as a dish rag.
I have found out that I have cataracts in both eyes, though the left eye is more laden with
cataract than the right eye after I had an eye examinition. I had my eyes checked by an eye
doctor after I became aware that by looking though my left eye only, it was like looking at
things though a fog and everything was blurred through that eye.I had known for the past few
years that something was not quite right. But I was seeing things ok so I made nothing of it at
the time. I do not like bothering doctors because they are so busy with patients with far greater
health problems than I. Frankly; I had not made an issue of this because my right eye must have
been working overtime to compensate for the left eye. I really noticed it when I had been waiting
for the bus after having been shopping at the Temiskcaming Mall. I remember that I had placed my
hand over my right eye and though I could see through my left eye, everything was blurred and it
was like seeing everything through dense fog. I then blocked my left eye and I saw everything very
well. So I decided to have my eyes checked out being that the last time I had it done was 30 years
ago. My eye doctor (ophthalmologist) had informed me that both of my eyes have cataracts. The left eye being greatly effected, while my right eye has cararact
blotches scattered about. A cataract is a clouding of the lens in the eye that affects vision.
Most cataracts are related to aging. Cataracts are very common in older people. By age 60, more
than half of all people either have a cataract or have had cataract surgery. A cataract can occur
in either or both eyes. It cannot spread from one eye to the other. Cataract accounts for 50% of
blindness globally and remains the leading cause of visual impairment in all regions of the world.
This number is expected to rise due to an aging population and increase in life expectancy.
Although cataracts are not preventable, their surgical treatment is one of the most cost-effective
interventions in healthcare. Surgery for cataracts is the most common option. It involves removing
the cloudy lens and replacing it with an artificial lens. The lens is a clear part of the eye that helps to focus light, or an image,
on the retina. The retina is the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye. In a normal eye,
light passes through the transparent lens to the retina. Once it reaches the retina, light is
changed into nerve signals that are sent to the brain. The lens must be clear for the retina to
receive a sharp image. If the lens is cloudy from a cataract, the image you see will be blurred.
Cataract removal is one of the most common operations performed. It also is
also one of the safest and most effective types of surgery. In about 90 percent of the cases,
people who have cataract surgery have better vision afterward. Wearing sunglasses and a hat with
a brim to block ultraviolet sunlight may help to delay cataracts. I think this is how my eyes
had developed cataracts. By the prolonged exposure to strong sunlight. I had never used sunglasses while
canoeing or when I had walked across Canada. After this surgery I will always be wearing sunglasses
and a wide brim hat to block the ultraviolet sunlight.
By the way; You will notice that I have moved the religious comments I had
made in; The Mystery of Muskoka and Pope Benedict reaffirming claim on the primacy of Christianity,
in My Little Haileybury Journal, to page 13 on the "GOD, Religion and the
Bible" web page. I do not want to spoil the purity of my Journal web page, with that Christian
trash.
Friday, July 27th/2007; Negotiations to free 22 South Korean Christian hostages in Afghanistan
have proved to be quite difficult. Taliban gunmen have threatened to kill a group of 22
South Korean Christians unless Seoul pulls out its 200 troops from Afghanistan. South Korea has
about 200 troops serving with the 8000-strong US-led coalition. They were due to be pulled out
at the end of the year. When that failed to materialize, the Taliban extended the deadline with
a new demand for the Afghanistan government to release Taliban prisoners. When the Afghanistan
government had not responded positively to this new demand, they killed the Pastor Bae Hyung-kyu,
of that South Korean Christian group. Bae Hyung-kyu, was a 42-year-old pastor who was the leader
and was travelling with the group. They are members of the Saemmul Community Church in Bundang,
south of the South Korean capital, Seoul. They had entered Afghanistan on July 13 for volunteer
work and were then planning to return home. The pastor of this christian group was killed after
negotiations to free the Taliban captives had stalled. South Korea has sent a top envoy to
Afghanistan to negotiate for the release of the remaining hostages, a day after the body of
Bae Hyung-kyu was found riddled with bullets. Marajudin Pathan, the governor of Ghazni province,
has said the militants gave a list of eight Taliban prisoners they wanted to be released in
exchange for eight of the South Korean Christian hostages. That demand fell by the wayside
because Afghan President Hamid Karzai refuses to negociate for the release of the Christian
hostages. A year ago, hundreds of South Korean Christians were ordered to leave Afghanistan,
amid strong rumours that they were proselytising in the deeply conservative Islamic nation. A
member of that group promised they would return to the country in smaller groups. The Christian
group denied that they were spreading Christianity in Afghanistan. The latest and final
deadline had passed at 3:30 a.m. today, two days after the Taliban killed the leader of the
Christian group. Bae Hyung-kyu, a 42-year-old pastor, was found slain with multiple gunshots
on Wednesday. The lead Afghan negotiator has said everything was being done to win the safe
release of the South Koreans, but the negotiations are reportedly chaotic. There are conflicting
reports as to just how much progress was being made. Outmatched by foreign troops, the Taliban
often resorts to kidnapping civilians on treacherous roads, particularly in the country's south,
where the insurgency is raging. The Taliban tactic hurts Mr Karzai's Government by discouraging
foreigners to be involved with the reconstruction projects from venturing to remote areas where
the help is most needed.
July 28th/2007: I went with Jack to give him
a hand to feed some cattle feed of grain at the ranch he is helping out, on Monday, July 23rd/2007.
The tractor which carried the big feed bag had ran out of deasel fuel. So Jack asked me to take
a five gallon tank of fuel to the tractor. I had to lay the fuel tank on the running board of
the ATV and had to straddle the tank with my led in order to hold it in its place. While
driving through the tall grass as I crossed the range, a loop of old rusty barb wire that was
hidden in the tall grass had caught my foot and wrenched it back before I had time to stop the
machine. I had changed my moccasins before I had left home and at the time, was wearing my
leather boots. If I had not done so, the rusty barb wire would have torn my ankle to shreds.
As it were, I only felt a deep pain running up my led, nothing else. I got the fuel can to the
tractor and Jack and I continued to spread seed grain in little piles for the cattle to eat. I
had noticed that there were a lot of old discarded barb wire fencing that was scattered around
the various fields. When we were doing some fence mending, we came across a lot of old discarded
barb wire and tripped over some of them. One time, a piece of heavy gauge wire, the kind used to
re-enforce concrete, had pierced the big tractor tire. It had entered on the very top of the
deep thread so no damage was done. By the time we got back to Haileybury, my ankle had started
to swell and began to pain a great deal. By the time Jack dropped me off back to my place, I
could barley walk on that injured ankle. I got barley up a few stairs when I began to feel like
I was about to pass out from the pain. I managed to shake it off and continued up the long
flight of stairs. When I reached the kitchen, I felt a wave of nauseating and managed to reach a
chair and sit on it. The feeling like I was about to pass out and the next thing I knew, I had
woke up and found myself lying on the floor, with the chair tipped over. I must have passed out.
I reached the bed as that nauseating feeling swept over me. After a couple of hours, I
managed to sit up to remove my boots while the feeling of passing out swept over me again. I
was sweating that much that drops of sweat was falling from my forehead. I laid back down after
I had gotten my boots off. I spent the rest of the night and next day in bed. I had to go to town
the next day for an appointment I dare not miss, so Irene, my landlord loaned me a pair of crutches
she had at her second-hand store. Bless her little heart. I ended up chafing my inner arms on
those crutches because I did not know how to use them correctly. When I got back home, I stayed
in bed for the rest of the day, resting my leg. Since Jack and I had been going out to the ranch,
we noticed a lot of black bears around the place. One calf got killed by a bear and a cow had
scratch marks on its flank. The bears we see around here do not seem to be afraid of humans. I
feel uneasy going about the fields and woods without a rifle. There had been a lot of bear sightings
around the town of Haileybury. In fact, Jack told me that the caretaker of the local cemetery,
a bear had approached him from behind while he was drinking a cup of coffee. He managed to get away
in time, though he was shaken up. When wild bears are no longer afraid of humans, that spells
trouble. Something had better be done about the bears before someone gets hurt or killed.
Today, I can walk again and there is less pain than I had experienced before. I am fortunate
that I heal fairly quickly. Tomorrow, I should be able to walk normally again.
July 30th. 2007; Latest news is that the Taliban has extended the deadline for two more
days after the latest deadline had passed two days ago.
Sunday, August 5, 2007 / Today I hear that an American
member of Al-Qaida is threatening foreign diplomats and embassies across the Islamic world. He
presented this threat on a video cassett which was released today. The 1 hour, 17 minute video,
according to the CTV news media, show's Adam Gadahn, an American citizen, who hails from
California, USA and is known as Azzan al-Amriki, stated that foreign embassies are "spy dens".
Adam Gadahn claims this is where many of the attacks against Afghanistan and Iraq are being
plotted. I personally have not seen the video tape, but according to CTV news media, the video
is suppose to featured a computer-animated recreation of the March 2006 suicide attack which had
killed U.S. diplomat David Foy in Karachi, Pakistan. It also shows the man who claimed to be the
bomber. The American, Adam Gadahn, is charged with treason in the United States and has been
wanted by the FBI, since 2004. There is a 1 million dollar reward for information leading to
his arrest or conviction. Adam Gadahn last appeared in a video in May, threatening the United
States with an attack worse than that of 9/11, 2001. The video featured the logo of al-Qaida's
media production house, as-Sahab so the tape must be genuine. All this killing by Al-Qaida is
giving the religion of Islam a bad name in the sight of GOD and throughout the world. Ever since 9/11,
2001, it is only a matter of time when that Moslem terrorist group, Al-Qaida, will hold true to
their threat to attack the United States again. Frankly; I would not want to be a Moslem in the
USA, if that should ever happen.
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