Shut Your Pie Hole and Go Home

I tried to apply for a job once.  I was told that since I didn't speak Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean, Punjabi, or a Filipino dialect, I need not apply.  I wasn't going to be an "asset to the team."  This job was in Canada.  I am a fifth generation Canadian, and I can't apply for jobs in my own country because I speak our official languages.  I've seen a massive increase in signs around my city that are written in a language I don't understand.  I've been treated poorly in retail stores that were not meant for English speaking Caucasians to shop at. I'm all for equality and diversity and fairness.  I really am.  I have no trouble with people coming to our country to have a better life.  But why, why, why can these same people not take the time to learn the language and customs of their new country.  I wouldn't dream of trying to move to China/India/France/Russia/Germany, etc without being able to passably speak their language.  I woul...

CBC News - Consumer Life - Calgary family negotiates homework ban Interesting article. I have half a mind to agree with the parents in this article. Homework has become just a thing to do, and it does seem sometimes like the teachers are giving it just because. However, I think that class time should be used to teach. My tax dollars aren't being well spent if my child is just in a classroom working by themselves. I expect that my child is being taught, talked to, nurtured. I think that some of their actual schoolwork should be sent home. And parents should be letting them do it. Helping is one thing, doing it for them is another. I've seen far too many educated kids go out into the real world having no idea how to self-motivate. They are waiting for someone to tell them exactly what to do, and how to do it. I think that homework is an integral part of building this ability in kids. So parents - make your kids do their homework. Help them if they need it, but they...

I just read an article on CBC.com that opens: "Candidates running for office in northern Saskatchewan's municipalities might soon have to reveal their criminal records to the public under a bill introduced by the government on Monday."  See http://www.cbc.ca/canada/saskatchewan/story/2009/11/16/sask-crim-records.html. Ya think? I am actually speechless, which is not a common occurrence. There was a day - I think - when Canadians looked to their government as an example of fairness, integrity, and a sense of do-the-right-thing-for-our-country.  Granted, there always have been those politicians who are in it for the power, and perhaps looking for an avenue for some shady business dealings, but for the most part these are supposed to be men and women we look up to.  People we trust. But we have to draw the line somewhere. I must admit that I got more than a little bothered when this article went on to say that a candidate with a criminal record would not be disqual...

I know that we've been going on and on about H1N1 and the Olympics, but since that's pretty much all that's in the news these days, there has been little choice.  (Help us out Canada and complain about something new so we can tell you what we really think about it.)  I was mighty pleased, though, when I read the following: "I despise Campbell, but the money's been spent and the debt's incurred. The only way we cut the debt is with a successful Olympics. They're not going to go away. Wishing for failure is the stupidest, blindest, partisan politics imagineable. Failure will just cost the province more." That's fine if you don't want the Olympics, but at least this person has accepted the inevitable with dignity.  However, I do wonder where the fuel for this comment came from as it was discovered under an article about the storms presently battering southern British Columbia...  (thinking... thinking...)  Perhaps some intelligence has be...

CBC News - Canada - Canadians think H1N1 risks exaggerated: poll Although the media has made this H1N1 thing out to be the plague, apparently most Canadians agree with me that it's not as bad as they're making it out to be. I read an article on www.foxnews.com this morning as well that said there have been 22,000,000 cases of H1N1 in the USA alone since April. And how many deaths? Not so many. I don't know about you, but I am pretty sick of the media blowing things out of proportion. Is the virus dangerous? Yes, I won't argue that point. Is it going to be the end of mankind? I don't think so, but many media outlets are giving that impression. I wish that the media would start reporting more good news for a change, instead of making bad news into worse news. In recent weeks, the old question of "how are you today?" has been replaced with "are you getting the shot?" It makes me want to scream! No one asked me last year if I was gettin...

Hats off to Justina - a member of the security team at the Calgary International Airport.  I had the privilege of meeting her this week, and I must say that she made pretty darn sure she followed every single rule in the book, and then some, when it was my turn to pass through her little kingdom. Too bad other security officers don't do the same. Justina confiscated my half-used tube of expensive hand cream, and my nearly empty jar of Vicks Vapo Rub.  When I indicated my ticked-offedness, she proceeded to search my carry-on bag and my purse as if she were looking for gold.  She was rude, unprofessional, refused to answer my questions, and I think she was disappointed that she did not find anything in my bags other than the usual female stuff. I felt totally violated. Now don't misunderstand.  I am not in disagreement with Transport Canada's rules and regulations when it comes to what can or cannot be taken on board an aircraft.  But, I have traveled throug...

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2009/11/10/bc-long-range-accoustic-device-vancouver-police.html Here we go again, yet ANOTHER Olympic related article.  I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, but Canada, you never cease to amaze me. The Vancouver police have  new little toy.  One that can be used as a non-lethal weapon if need be.  Who cares?  They pack guns on a daily basis.  Now THOSE are lethal.  It's not like they're all going to be carrying around this 40 kilogram piece of equipment all the time.  And really, should a crowd merrit the use of this thing, people, you deserve what you get.  Or perhaps you'd rather have a canister of tear gas tossed into a mass of angry citizens? Or wait, I thought of another option - Shut Your Pie Hole and Go Home! Problem solved, the police will not need to use their shiny new toy (even though I think I would find it amusing to watch the all idiot, self-serving protesters squirm for a whi...