Terrorist Changes Mind

It sounds like a pretty good idea and if it works, maybe all of the inmates in our prisons will give it a try.

For those of you who don’t live in Canada and haven’t heard of the “Toronto 18”, I’ll give you a brief background. A group of 18 mostly young Islamic men decided to form a club. But it wasn’t like the “He-man Woman Haters Club” you might see on a black and white episode of The Little Rascals with Spanky and Alfalfa. They had picnics and camped in the woods and on the surface seemed like a harmless assembly of friends having a good time communing with nature.

However, things are not always as they appear to be and this group actually turned out to be and extremist Islamic terrorist group plotting amongst the evergreens to set off bombs in downtown Toronto, police stations, military bases and on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.

At any rate, the group wasn’t too bright and tried to purchase bomb making materials from the constabulary and eventually the majority of them were found guilty and sent to jail where the only attacks they’d be a part of would take place in the shower.

Now back to the pretty good idea I mentioned earlier. The 24 year old mastermind (I use that term loosely), Zakaria Amara, has now stated that he no longer believes in extremist Islamic ideology and therefore feels his life sentence should be reduced.

Of course to any freedom loving and educated individual who hears this idea, we have a good chuckle and then wish him an enjoyable and long stay at one of our better corrections complexes.

Under the often idiotic and perplexing Canadian legal system, this putz was actually allowed to argue this point in front of an appeals court. Luckily at least one of the three justices forced to listen to this crock of dog droppings took issue with the arguments.

Justice Michael Moldaver asked the most obvious question, “Why should we send a message to society that if you gave remorse we will forgive you? I’m hearing poor Mr. Amara but I’m thinking poor to the thousands of Canadians if his plot had worked.”

Amara’s lawyer is hoping to have the sentence reduced to 18-20 years citing the fact that his client is married, employed, has a child, went to college and is first-time offender. Honestly, does the lawyer really believe someone who appeared to have a pretty good life in this country should be given a break regardless of the fact that he had one moment of poor judgement? I mean come on! It’s not like he actually succeeded in killing thousands of people so he can’t be that bad! Right?

Maybe he has had second thoughts and finally come to realize what he thought was a worthy cause really wasn’t such a good thing and the life he had before having to rent out his body in exchange for cigarettes wasn’t such a bad thing after all.

What kind of precedence would this set if the appeals court falls for this baloney? Pretty soon the courts would be filled with rapists, murderers, pedophiles and every other scumbag behind bars confessing they’ve found God and changed their ways. Or maybe the ruling would only affect those losers who were just too stupid to get the job done. “I wanted to blow up the CN Tower but now I love everybody and know that killing all of those infidels, er, I mean wonderful fellow citizens was wrong.” To that I say, enjoy being the prison bitch you terrorist scum.

Golf Season Winding Down

The leaves on the trees are changing colour and falling to the ground beneath and there’s a chill in the air now that autumn has officially arrived once again. Even as I’m typing this I can hear another flock of Canadian Geese heading to the warmer weather of the south.

With the arrival of fall we mark the end of one of the better summers I can recall in recent memory. Sure it was hot at times but there wasn’t a lot of rain during daylight hours which meant we could enjoy more outdoor activities like barbeques, games, picnics, swimming, camping and sports like my personal favourite, golf.

To be perfectly honest, I suck at golf compared to most amateur swingers. Sure I have my odd good or better than average rounds but most of the time I’m lucky to shoot bogie golf or better. I honestly believe my body type is my main hindrance; mainly the fact that I have more body than most. But I make it work as best I can and while it can be a frustrating game at times; I never get mad or take it too seriously.

What I enjoy most about golf is the social aspect. Just last night I went out with a bunch of guys from the men’s league and we split up into six teams for a 3-man scramble or best ball. Nobody gets serious, and everyone has a good time. I couldn’t make a putt to save my life but it didn’t matter. It was enjoyable to just swing the clubs on a beautiful evening and have some conversation with the guys.

That hasn’t been the case for the most part this season for me though. In fact, I haven’t golfed nearly enough this year and I suppose it’s partly my own fault for not forcing myself to go out. But it’s tough to find people to golf with at the times I’m able to go out. When I first became a member years ago, I had a regular foursome that would hit the course every Sunday morning from the time the course opened until the course closed for the winter. I’d be on the course three times a week. In recent years that group has disappeared and only I remain willing to do that.

There are other good guys I could easily golf with but when you work all week and have to get up early every day, it’s nice to sleep in a bit on the weekend to recharge the batteries. There are advantages to it but getting up at 6am to be on the course for 7am just isn’t a strong enough motivator for me. Sure I could do it provided my work schedule stays the same but I guess I love my bed more than my putter most days.

I certainly didn’t get my monies worth this year but that’s all on me. By my count to this point of the season, I golfed a total of 26 times this year including men’s league. Of those 26 times, eight of them were a full 18 holes while the rest were just rounds of nine holes.

But there’s still time, weather permitting, to play more swing and swear before the snow flies. The weather “experts” say it’s supposed to be a warm autumn season so I could still have plenty of opportunities to lose some balls amongst the leaves before storing the clubs for winter.

Who knows; maybe next year I won’t be feeling as tired and I’ll find more inspiration to swing the clubs. Perhaps I should join the women’s league, that could be instant incentive right there.

Lookout, Here Comes Winter!

I know I’m not the only person left shaking his head wondering where the heck summer went. It seems like just yesterday that I was shedding my spring jacket and pulling my shorts out of storage in anticipation of the warmer weather. But here we are on the verge of another autumn and of course that will quickly be followed by winter.

It just doesn’t seem possible but as I gaze out my window the signs are most definitely there. The leaves are starting to change colour and many are already giving up on life and dropping to the ground. The air is beginning to cool and on many nights already we’ve needed to wear coats to keep warm.

It’s comical how in the spring when the temperature reaches 15 degrees we’re walking around in shorts and t-shirts remarking about how warm it is. Yet at this time of year we struggle to stay comfortable and some will even slip into their winter coats. I guess that’s what they mean by being acclimatized.

When I visit Florida in the winter I see the same thing. I’ll leave temperatures of minus 20 here and arrive there where it’s 40 degrees warmer yet I’ll be walking around in shorts and a tank top while the locals are bundled up from head to toe. I dare say anyone who has never left Florida in their lifetime that really wanted a shock should visit the Great White North in February.

I was asked one time by a Floridian several years ago, “How cold does it get in Canada?” My response was, “Have you ever walked outside and had your snot freeze?” Please pardon the graphic description but my thesaurus didn’t have an alternate suggestion for the word “snot.” Needless to say he was shocked and in disbelief. I actually would have described it to him in a much nicer fashion except he had aggravated the hell out of me prior to that by calling me “hoser” and saying “eh” more than a few times. Of course in most cases that wonderful look is actually caused by our breathing.

Of course I’m not complaining about the summer we had. Sure we had a stretch or two of some very humid conditions where it felt like it was over 100F but it was a much drier summer than last year and for the most part very comfortable.

I was working steady all summer which was a good thing but when I did have some free time, there were a few things that made this past summer quite enjoyable. I can’t speak for other parts of the country or continent but the corn crop this year was spectacular. I went for a drive along some roads next to corn fields and the plants were eight to ten feet high in some spots. And boy did it taste good. I don’t like to make a pig of myself but there’s nothing like fresh corn on the cob to complete a meal.

The water of Lake Ontario was not only the cleanest I’ve seen it in years but warm as well and I managed to slip into my Speedo and dunk my ample physique into the waters a few times while at my parent’s trailer.

Speaking of the trailer, something I’ve done every year since I was born was spend time at the trailer. The relaxation and social aspects are especially agreeable but for me the best part is sitting next to a campfire with family and friends and peering skyward to scan the millions of stars that reveal themselves. You can feel quite insignificant after taking in that view. The International Space Station made several passes as well and there are always satellites to be spotted as they circumnavigate the earth. This summer we were also treated to one of the better meteor showers of recent memory and enjoyed watching these hunks of space rock burn up and leave trails as they raced across the heavens.

It was a good summer with no major storms or tornadoes like last year. I had one bolt of lightning come very close to me at work one afternoon that forced me to change my underwear but beyond that Mother Nature seemed to take pity on our part of the world.

So with summer winding down I now have to start getting prepared for the unknown as winter approaches. Last year we were blessed with only a couple of significant snowfalls as the worst stayed to the south but I’ll have the snow blower tuned up and full of gas in anticipation of the inevitable. Now I just need to go buy some long-johns and dig out my balaclava to truly be prepared.

It's Election Season....Yawn!

The last time I was excited for an election was in 1986 when I was running for President of my high school, which I won by the way. I didn’t make any crazy promises that I knew I wouldn’t be able to keep. Instead I just promised to try and make school a more fun place to be, and I think I accomplished that with more school functions, spirit weeks, pep rallies and dances. Plus we tried to have a positive impact on the community and the world around us.

One of my happier moments came during the Rick Hansen “Man in Motion” tour when we quickly raised several thousand dollars and I was able to present the cheque to Rick as he came rolling by the school. At Christmas I dressed as Santa and visited lots of kids at many of the local Elementary schools. I remember at one point one of “Santa’s” white eyebrows came off revealing my brown one underneath without me knowing. A little girl on my lap asked why I had one brown and one white eyebrow. Thinking as quickly as I could I explained that due to the lack of snow on the ground, the reindeer kicked up some mud when we landed and it I didn’t have time to clean it all off. I think she bought the story.

In recent years I just haven’t cared about elections at any level of government because I figure I’m going to get taxed to death regardless and my opinions really don’t matter to politicians. They just say and do what they want anyway once they’ve been elected.

The upcoming local municipal election which should be of interest to me has nothing interesting to offer and to be quite honest, as someone who always votes, I just don’t see the point this time around.

I actually know many of the candidates personally but when you live in a town where those with money control what “really” happens, it seems pointless to cast my ballot. It’s not that I don’t respect these people. I appreciate that they are serving their community and give their time to sit on committees and council to try and effect change for the betterment of our city.

Honestly, I don’t know what I expect from these people but I certainly don’t expect much. At the local level I suppose as long as the infrastructure like roads and sewers are being upgraded and I can see or know that some positive work is being done, that’s all I can ask for. Of course, the street I live on has been desperately in need of resurfacing and new sewers for many years. I had been told the work would be done this summer but it never happened. I have since been told that it will now be done in 2011. We shall see.

On the Provincial level I don’t have a clue who I’ll vote for next year. One thing is for sure, it won’t be for the Liberals as Dalton “Pinocchio” McGuinty has got to go. I’m ashamed to admit that I actually voted for the Liberals the last time. When McSquinty campaigned and promised to not raise taxes if elected and then once elected the first thing he did was raise taxes…he angered a lot of people.

The guy I feel sorry for is the local MPP (Member of Provincial Parliament) who I actually know and like and would support again but by voting for him I’d be voting for McTaxy and I refuse to do it. So I will be voting in that election but I’ll be casting my vote for anyone but the Liberal party. Sadly the alternatives are limited there.

The alternatives at the Federal level are even more limited. Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the Conservative Party still seem to be the lesser of three evils. I don’t live in Quebec or I’d say four evils with the addition of the Bloc Party.

The Liberal Party is being led by a guy with about as much charisma as a stick. In fact he makes Prime Minister Harper look like a party animal. Add to the fact that he seems shady and untrustworthy and it’s not hard to see why the Conservatives should feel pretty comfy once the next election call takes place. As for the NDP’s, do they even have official party status anymore?

When it comes right down to elections, you’re damned if you do and you’re damned if you don’t vote. I always say, if you don’t vote then you don’t have a right to complain and if there’s one thing I like to do, it’s complain. So you can bet I’ll be grabbing my voter card and heading to the nearest polling station come Election Day and casting my vote for whoever has angered me the least over the last few years.

Driving Is Bad For My Health

I used to love getting into my car and going for a drive. Lately, that hasn’t been the case as I find myself becoming more and more stressed behind the wheel.

Admittedly, I do have a bit of road rage but it’s never been more than just cursing at other drivers or pedestrians. OK…I usually don’t actually curse at them so they can hear me, it’s more to myself, but on the rarest of occasions I will let someone have it with both barrels.

I mean, they deserve it! Bad drivers and people who either don’t know the rules of the road or just refuse to follow them really irritate me. In fact, I would say that every time I travel some place, someone will do something stupid to make me want to force feed them a driver’s handbook.

Now I’m not suggesting that I’m a perfect driver and never do anything wrong but I know how to use my signal and I always drive at least the speed limit and turn into the proper lane.

The examples of how people annoy and frustrate me are endless. Some of the most common annoyances lately include:

- drivers treating stop signs as yields and blowing right through them.
- turning into the wrong lane at multilane intersections.
- Not using a turn signal or waiting until they’re starting to turn before activating it.
- Women drivers in general are the absolute worst in all areas. I’m sure some are OK but most I’ve seen have a lead foot and talk on cell phones.
- Riding the brake. One foot on the gas and the other on the brake so their brake lights are on constantly. How the hell do I know if you’re actually going to make a stop?
- driving 60 km/h in an 80 km/h zone. Just driving too damn slow all together.
- pulling out without looking for oncoming traffic.
- cars flying by you on the highway and then cutting in front to take the exit.
- using the high beam lights but refusing to put them down until you flash your lights. Some still don’t put them down.
- drivers who have high beams on during daylight hours.
- drivers who can't wait for one car to go by before pulling out but would rather cut you off and force you to slow down.
- the list goes on and on.

It’s not just people behind the wheel that stress me out. I don’t know why but lately I’ve noticed more and more people walking on roads and refusing to move over when I approach them in the car. They have the room but I guess they feel as though they are entitled to the road and I should go around them. Of course I do because I don’t want to hit them but they’re putting their lives at risk just to be stubborn. They don’t even move to single file but remain walking two or more side by side out into the road. Sometimes I’ll pull right up to them just to see if they will get over. It’s one thing if there’s no sidewalk or walking / biking lane for them to use but when they’re walking where they shouldn’t be, I just want to pull up behind them and blast the horn to give them a wake-up call.

Speaking of cyclists, when did the law change that states they must ride with traffic? Lately I’ve noticed more and more riders driving on the wrong side of the road heading into oncoming traffic. I’m pretty sure that’s still not allowed.

Oh the things I see every day that annoy me to no end. I don’t like to let it bother me but stupidity and ignorance are two things that really get under my skin and lately they’ve been stressing me out. Maybe I need to see my doctor to get some time off work. Of course I’d have to take a cab and keep my eyes closed the whole way.

Where Were You?

There are events that take place during our lives that impact us in such a way that we remember where we were or what we were doing when they happened.

Perhaps you can distinctly remember in great detail the moment your first child was born, your wedding day or the proposal. More often than not, we tend to remember more tragic occasions such as where you were when you heard U.S. President’s Kennedy or Reagan was shot. If you’re old enough, perhaps you recall Pearl Harbor or when John Lennon was shot or the exact moment when you found out that Elvis Presley died.

Certainly personal tragedies will always be remembered with the passing of loved ones, family or friends. Those moments stay with you until your day comes.

The most recent major event, that I’m sure anyone old enough to remember, happened nine years ago this coming Saturday September 11th. Of course I’m speaking of the terrorist attacks in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania.

I had no personal connection to these events. I didn’t lose a loved one on that day back in 2001 but any freedom loving person had to feel attacked indirectly. Several of my fellow Canadian citizens were killed that day along with people from many other countries so there was a connection in that regard.

Sitting in front of the television last night I watched not one but two documentaries about the events of that day. The myriad of emotions that I felt then came rushing back. Nine years after the attack I’m still as pissed off and shocked as I was when it all unfolded on the television screen I was watching back in 2001.

Watching the second plane go into the other tower as I did years ago felt just as fresh and sickening. Seeing the countless people choosing to plummet to their deaths after jumping from the tops of the buildings with the knowledge that they wouldn’t survive the fall was horrific. How unimaginably bad was it up there? Their fates were sealed when the planes hit but at that time they didn’t know the towers were going to fall. It’s hard to imagine the pain and terror that those people were facing when jumping to your death seemed like the better option.

These and other images from that day are seared into my memory. I often wonder if having memories like these that you can’t erase are similar in any way to the painful memories our war veterans take with them. Many don’t like to talk about them. As horrible as my memories are I think it would be much more painful to have experienced it in person rather than watching it from hundreds of miles away on a screen.

There were happy, heroic and inspiring stories from 9/11 as well. Firefighters found a man perched on top of the rubble sitting above a section of staircase still standing. As the second tower collapsed, he rode it all the way down and somehow survived. There were several firefighters buried in the rubble that were trapped and injured but they were found and pulled out alive. And of course the passengers of United 93 who attempted to regain control of their aircraft over Pennsylvania are heroes. They didn’t survive but they fought back and kept those terrorists from reaching their intended target.

Where were you that day when you heard the news? I was still working as a morning radio announcer at that time and was expecting to be on-air for another hour and a bit when one of the news guys poked his head into the studio and told me about the first plane hitting the World Trade Center. I rushed to the newsroom and the closest television to watch what was happening. I distinctly remember saying, “There’s no way that was an accident. It’s a clear day! They hit it on purpose.” A short time later everyone’s fears were realized as we watched the second plane enter the picture and slam into the other tower erupting into a giant fireball. The only question at that point was how many more had been hijacked and where were they going to hit?

I quickly got back on-air and brought my listeners up to speed on the events unfolding in New York. I found a live ABC news feed on one of the satellite channels and decided to dump all regular programming and broadcast that instead. We stayed with that most of the day.

The world I knew changed that day. Terrorism was always something that happened a long way away on the other side of the planet. Now we live with that fear every day. It reminds me of growing up during the Cold War and wondering every day if this was the day the missiles would fly. Now we wonder if this is the day the terrorists will blow up buildings, subways or vehicles. Most days I try not to think about it, but it’s always in the back of my mind.

So where were you on September 11, 2001 when you heard the news? Please feel free to leave a comment and share your 9/11 memories. I’d be fascinated to hear them.

I can't believe I have to add this but for those of you who are conspiracy theorists, you can keep those thoughts to yourself. I'm not a believer and won't allow those asinine thoughts into my blog.