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Posts tagged with "Canada"

Several likelihoods

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It looks like I am going to use Firefox as my main browser for a while. I'll continue to use Opera but will substantially increase Firefox use, especially when I need to compose. I like the readily available spell check there. Presently some music files that work in Opera do not work in Firefox. I'll investigate later.

The US government is very likely to bail out the US auto industry. If so, Canada will have no choice but follow suit. I hope the US Congress will make it very difficult to set a precedent. After all, this is not the same as saving the financial system, on which the capitalist societies depend to function. Bailing out one industry but not another is very tricky and need to be well thought out and justified. At the moment, the most convincing argument for government intervention is employment. It is not good enough for me.

Remembrance Day

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For our king and our country, and the promise of glory
We came from Kingston and Brighton to fight on the front lines
Just lads from the farms and boys from the cities
Not meant to be soldiers, we lay in the trenches
We'd face the fighting with a smile ... or so we said
If only we had known what danger lay ahead

The sky turned to grey as we went into battle
On the fields of Europe young men were fallin'
I'll be back for you someday - it won't be long
If I can just hold on `til the bloody war is over

The guns will be silent - on Remembrance Day
There'll be no more fighting - on Remembrance Day

By October of `18 Cambrai had fallen
Soon the war would be over and we'd be returning
Don't forget me while I'm gone far away
Well, it won't be long `til I'm back there in your arms again

The guns will be silent - on Remembrance Day
There'll be no more fighting - on Remembrance Day

One day soon I don't know when
You know we'll all be free and the bells of peace will ring again
The time will come for you and me
We'll be going home when this bloody war has ended

The guns will be silent - on Remembrance Day
We'll all say a prayer - on Remembrance Day

... on Remembrance Day ...
... say a little prayer ...
... on Remembrance Day ...

Well, the guns will be silent
There'll be no more fighting
We'll lay down our weapons
On Remembrance Day

... on Remembrance Day ...

Canadian delight

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This morning I went to the post office and was delighted to discover that Canada Post had issued a set of new stamps for the Christmas season on the very same day (November 3, 2008). Instead of the all too common Jesus Christ and Modonna and Child variety, Canadians can now send the simple childhood joys of the holiday season to their loved ones around the world with three charming stamps showcasing popular winter activities of Canada.

The stamps are sold separately in packs. One for domestic mails (top right), one for mails destined to the USA (top left), and one for other overseas locations. I bought a six pack of international rate (left). I considered getting the other packs too but eventually decided to wait a bit. I have too many unused stamps at home.

Voting dilemma

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So tomorrow is election day and I just found out where to vote. Took me about half an hour on the Internet, because I did not want to move my ass to where my purse was to check my zip code.

Last time I cast a ballot, I resided in a neighbouring town. The zip code, however, is the same! No wonder I got confused and doubted my memory for a moment. After I obtained the address of the polling station, which is a church, I located it on Yahoo map. Luckily it is not far from where I live.

As to who to vote for, what a headache! I have been trying to make a decision for weeks and am still undecided! Such thing never happened to me before; I always knew who I was going to vote for, because I normally vote for the right party. But this time around the leaders of the major political parties are all weird one way or another. The only non-weird one is a newcomer, leader of the Green Party, who is never going to win anything but a strenghened image of her party.

The incumbent MP in my riding is an effective MP but serves in the wrong party. His party may be the most effective in dealing with the economy but is wrong in many other ways. More importantly, the leader of his party is bad for Canada. He is leading the country down a dangerous path destroying Canada's international image along the way. He is also untrustworthy and I want him down.

His biggest contestant, a decent man, gets many of the important things right but is doubtable in his ability to handle the economy. He, moreover, carries a poor image of leadership, which is not going to improve any time soon. Poor guy does not even speak English well. He keeps speaking too fast, even though his speech specialist has advised him to go slower. When he gets excited, he speaks fast. When he speaks fast, he looks like a monkey under siege.

I know many Canadians think the same although they may not have made the monkey connection.

Weird holiday

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So we are having the Thanksgiving long weekend here in Canada. The arrival of this holiday always surprises me. It is a full month earlier than the American one and since I went to school in the US, I am used to having Thanksgiving in November. I also do not feel much holiday atmosphere here.

On Friday when I saw the sign on the library door announcing closing for two days, I wondered what occasion it was. I soon figured it was that weird holiday again. I never tried to remember the date.

In Canada, I celebrate similar occasion in September, on the Mid-Autumn Festival, since this is distinctly a multicultural society. In the melting pot USA, I celebrated it with the Americans. In USA, festive atmosphere can be felt days ahead, as the holiday kicks off the US Christmas shopping season.

On a good note, someone conveyed to me earlier that he had much to thank for having met me. :D