20151126: CHARITABLE DONATIONS ON THE PHONE

Someone representing the Canadian Police Association (CPA) called and asked whether I would like to support their anti-bullying campaign.

The CPA caller was polite and not pushy, but I couldn't take the chance. "Sorry I don't accept phone solicitation." I said. He thanked me and hung up.

Back in June, the Ottawa Police put out a scam alert but then had to quickly withdraw it because the Police Association of Ontario (PAO) was actually campaigning. False alarm and communications, they said.

But with so many scammers out there, the best is to quickly disengage and to make direct donations to the charities of your choice under your own terms and conditions.

Related links:

*   CBC, June 9, 2015 article:  http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/ontario-police-association-fundraising-mistaken-for-phone-scam-1.3106595

*   The Telegram, Feb 5, 2014 article:   http://www.thetelegram.com/section/2014-02-05/article-3604661/Legit-campaign-resembles-anti-bullying-scam/1

多雲和涼爽的一天: 密其湖 白蘭芝海灘 / A Cloudy and Cool Day at Blanchet Beach, Meech Lake

Photo credit: Lotusandcedar 20140717

 

After my run around the 8K Wolf Trail loop (狼徑), I went down to Blanchet Beach (白蘭芝海灘) and took this photo of Meech Lake (密其湖). 

With 14 geese calling Blanchet home, the place was not exactly clean and I didn't bother to go swimming.

母語(第一語言)減退 / Mother Tongue (First Language Attrition)

20140716: 有關母語減退的個人感受

Although I currently think and dream in English, I have never completely lost my mother tongue (which is Cantonese). Yes, there are times when I have to use Google Translate to re-learn a Chinese character, but overall, I am still proficient enough to communicate with my Chinese relatives and bloggers in HK. The big question is: Should I fall prey to Alzheimer like my Mom, which language will go first? Will I start yakking to my family in Cantonese (which is what my Mom is doing to everyone at her senior home), or will I retain my current operating language?

Related links:

(1)   Language Attrition 母語減退: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_attrition

(2)   Mother Tongue (First Language) 母語(第一語言): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother_tongue

".... 母語，或第一語言，有三種解釋。一者為：一個人出生以後，最早接觸、學習、並掌握的一種或幾種語言。母語一般是自幼即開始接觸、並持續運用到青少年或之後；並且，一個人所受的家庭或正式教育中，尤其是早期，有相當部分是通過母語傳授的；母語另一個解釋則是一個人的民族語，並不一定是一個人最早接觸、學習、並掌握的「語言」，例如「母島」、「母國」等，僅僅表示「根源」的意思，母語不僅僅表示為母親對某個人說的語言，而是他認定的民族語。為了避免對多母語者的母語定義產生歧義，產生出的第三種解釋為不借用其他語言進行（如翻譯等方式）學習而學會的語言。（如嬰幼兒看圖片學習名詞及為母語學習）...."

1951年，聯合國教科文組織在巴黎召開了一個有關母語的會議，並對母語作出了如下定義：「母語是指一個人自幼習得的語言，通常是其思維與交流的自然工具。」

(3)  母語(第一語言)減退 20個例子 / 20 BBC readers who lost fluency in their language:
BBC News Magazine 13 July 2014:

Share this page

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Continue reading the main story

In today's Magazine

• The virus detective who discovered Ebola
• The street photos of a 1950s nanny
• The godfather of internet jihad?
• The young 'barefooters' making bowls cool

".... For many of us, the thought of ever forgetting how to speak our native language would seem preposterous. But for some readers, it became a reality.

During a five-year captivity in Afghanistan, US soldier Bowe Bergdahl apparently lost some of his language capabilities. This prompted the Magazine to ask under what circumstances a person could lose their native or first language. In response, readers wrote in to tell their own stories of language loss or confusion. Here's a selection. ...."  

Click here to read more:  http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-28022790

Élection générale québécoise 7 avril 2014 / Quebec General Election April 7, 2014 / 魁北克大選2014年4月7日

Majority Liberal is a certainty in the Quebec provincial election. Who would have predicted !!

Some comments from the peanut gallery:

* According to CBC Evan Solomon's Power and Politics discussion, Prime Minister Harper was never warm to ex-Premier Jean Charest. Will our PM and Premier Couillard use this opportunity to re-build the fed-prov relation?

* It is interesting to note that Mr. Lucien Bouchard and Mr. Jean Charest were federal Ministers of the Environment, and Thomas Mulcair was Quebec Minister of Sustainable Development, Environment and Parks under Charest. Maybe PM Harper should pay more attention to Quebec politicians with environment as part of their political portfolio, just saying.

* It's too bad Fatima Houda-Pepin was on the Parti Québécois' side of the Charter of Values debate. She has potential and I hope Couillard will find ways to make use of her talents.

* Pierre-Karl Péladeau thanked Couillard as if he were the opposition party leader. Yes, the PQ is not known to be kind to party leaders who lost, but so soon already Mr. PKP?

* Is the "concrete lady" Pauline Marois (who served at age 32 as Minister for the Status of Women under René Lévesque) the last of her generation in the Mouvement souverainiste du Québec? Is there going to be a changing of the guards and of generational vision on Québécois nationalism?

* I look forward to seeing a renewed fed-prov-terr relations and knowing how the Canadian House of Commons will re-address the 2006 motion recognizing that "Québécois form a nation within a united Canada / La Chambre reconnaît la nation québécoise".

Related link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quebec_general_election,_2014

Photo credit: Wikipedia (photo above) / Env Canada (photo below)
I choose the Biosphere photo to reflect on the "nation within a nation" motion passed by the House of Commons. — at Biosphère.

101st Canadian Football League CFL Grey Cup Final in Regina, Saskatchewan Nov 24, 2013

101st CFL GREY CUP FINAL NOV 24, 2013: 
(Saskatchewan Roughriders 45 - Hamilton Tiger-Cats 23)

OMG, the Saskatchewan Roughriders' Darian Durant and Kory Sheets are just unstoppable !!!

The last time I cheered for the Riders was when Ronald "Ron" Lancaster (October 14, 1938 – September 18, 2008) was their quarterback.

I was living in Flin Flon then, working for the mining & smelting company there.

GREAT PERFORMANCE RIDERS !!!!!!

AND KORY SHEETS SETS A GREY CUP RECORD TODAY !!!!!!!

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Related article: The Toronto Sun

Grey Cup 2013: Ron Lancaster should be here

Here, in the place he made football famous.

The sun is trying to shine. The winds are blowing. The temperature is biting. And in a Grey Cup Week unlike any other, the most famous of all Roughriders didn’t live long enough to experience all this.

To see a growing and wealthy Saskatchewan as host city for a Grey Cup at old Taylor Field with these young Roughriders as healthy favourites: How much would Lancaster love this?

How much does the memory of him of linger this week — and when I mention that to others — somehow the sentiment is shared, they just knowingly smile.

This is a week of football celebration in Canada Ron Lancaster didn’t live long enough to see all the growth. He coached the last Grey Cup Hamilton team and the coached the Ticats when they were all but bankrupt. He coached the Roughriders before he was ready to in two of their worst seasons. “Regina, he once told me, “there’s a town that takes some getting used to.”

More then than now. Wonder what Lancaster, gone five years and two months ago, would think about all this today.

Links:

* The Toronto Sun:  http://www.torontosun.com/2013/11/23/grey-cup-2013-simmons-says

Photo Credit:

* Wikipedia:  Saskatchewan Roughriders & 101st Grey Cup
* Canadian Football League: Photo of the two quarterbacks  www.cfl.ca
* Facebook: T-shirt in support of the Riders https://www.facebook.com/groups/SSKRiderFansInOttawa/
* The Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan:  Ron Lancaster

Mr. Justin Trudeau at Ladies Night: Admiration for China's Dictatorship?!

Justin Trudeau has just given the Canadian Prime Minister and the Conservative Party exactly what they want to characterize the young politician: 

LACKING JUDGMENT TO BECOME PRIME MINISTER OF CANADA.

While we all know Prime Minister Harper gave China the cold shoulder when he first became Prime Minister, he quickly learnt that the world's most populated and fast-growing country is important to the future of our resource-based economy. As a seasoned politician, he turned around, changed his tune and even visited China to promote bilateral trade and try his best to improve and warm up the relationship.

But as much as the Prime Minister praises the economic achievement of China, he is always careful not to endorse the one-party political system of the PRC.

On the other hand, Mr. Justin Trudeau has inadvertently shown off the "fluffy" side of his personality in more than one occasion, mouthing off abt smoking pot (which of course is being quoted ad nauseum by Ford Nation supporters to justify the Toronto mayor's smoking crack cocaine), hosting a "Ladies Night" (which was blasted quite articulately by Conservative MP Michelle Rempel as unacceptable and disrespectful to women), and then the statement abt his apparent admiration for China dictatorship (which he later had to clarify and do damage-control).

So, as much as I want to give Mr. Trudeau the benefit of the doubt, I really have to say Prime Minister Harper is definitely the more seasoned politician based on what I have seen so far, not to mention the Hon. Thomas Mulcair who performs well in his role as the Leader of the Opposition. 

The young Trudeau has two years to convince voters like myself that he has the "right stuff" to potentially become Prime Minister. Now you don't have to take my words for it. Below are two articles that you should also read.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Justin Trudeau’s recent gaffes undermine his political strengths

National Post  | 10/11/13 | Last Updated: 10/11/13 6:02 PM 

"......   Thursday there was the strangely juvenile promotion, advertising a “ladies night” with “Justin Unplugged,” whereby Liberal women could contribute $250 apiece for the privilege of “really” getting to know “the future prime minister,” complete with soft-focus dreamboat shots of him ......

..... More problematic was the event itself, during which Trudeau said the following, in answer to an audience member’s question about which country’s government, other than Canada, he most admires:   “You know, there’s a level of admiration I actually have for China because their basic dictatorship is allowing them to actually turn their economy around on a dime and say ‘we need to go green fastest. . . we need to start investing in solar.’ I mean there is a flexibility that I know Stephen Harper must dream about of having a dictatorship that he can do everything he wanted that I find quite interesting.” 

.... The promotion and the China remark together are the worst kind of unforced, bone-headed error — the equivalent of Stephen Harper kicking a chair in public, or Tom Mulcair bellowing “Viva Che Guevara!” on the steps of the Centre Block.

.....  They go directly to his weakness — a lack of experience and, occasionally, judgment — and undermine his strengths...."

(Source:  http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2013/11/10/michael-den-tandt-justin-trudeaus-recent-gaffes-undermine-his-political-strengths/)

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Justin Trudeau's 'Foolish' China Remarks Spark Anger

CBC  |  Posted: 11/09/2013 7:16 pm EST  |  Updated: 11/09/2013 8:48 pm EST

Members of the Asian-Canadian community are demanding an apology from Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau, following his comments on Thursday expressing admiration for China's "basic dictatorship."

A round table of people from China, Taiwan, Tibet and Korea — all of whom say they suffered at the hands of China's dictatorship — said they were insulted by Trudeau's remarks, made on Thursday at a women's event.

The Liberal leader was asked which nation he admired most. He responded: ""There's a level of admiration I actually have for China. Their basic dictatorship is actually allowing them to turn their economy around on a dime."

That statement was upsetting for people who say they were wrongly imprisoned or tortured by the Chinese government for speaking out for democracy.

"Can I use the word 'foolish'"? said one member of the Federation for a Democratic China, characterizing Trudeau's words. The political group advocates for the democratization of China.

'A bit silly'

"It seems to be that he's not well-informed," another member of the round table said of Trudeau.

Federal NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair also reacted with surprise to the Liberal leader's words, calling it "a bit silly" to laud China rather than to praise democratic values.

At a press conference on Saturday in Quebec, Trudeau said his comment was a reflection on a growing economy.

Canadian members of the Federation for a Democratic China say that along with an apology from the Liberal leader, they also want an opportunity to meet face-to-face so he can listen to some of their personal stories of persecution at the hands of the Chinese government.

(Source:  http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/11/09/justin-trudeau-china-remarks_n_4247991.html)

OTTAWA INTERNATIONAL WRITERS FESTIVAL: Denise Chong 鄭霭玲

OTTAWA INTERNATIONAL WRITERS FESTIVAL

20131029: I am really glad I was able get a ticket to the Writers Festival this evening to hear what my favourite Ottawa writer had to say abt "Living History".

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"Living History" with Denise Chong and Charlotte Gray
Hosted by CBC’s Lucy van Oldenbarneveld
Knox Presbyterian Church, Oct 29, 2013 18h30

Bio: Denise Chong is the author of the family memoir The Concubine's Children; The Girl in the Picture, a story of the napalm girl from the Vietnam War; and Egg on Mao, a portrayal of human rights in China. She lives with her family in Ottawa.

"..... International bestselling author of The Concubine's Children, Denise Chong returns to the subject of her most beloved book, the lives and times of Canada's early Chinese families. In 2011, Denise set out to collect the history of the earliest Chinese settlers in and around Ottawa, who made their homes far from any major Chinatown. This generation of immigrants lived at the intersection of the Exclusion Act in Canada, which divided families between here and China, and two momentous upheavals in China: the Japanese invasion and war-time occupation; and the victory of the Communists. Her new book, Lives of the Family: Stories of Fate and Circumstance, explores the trajectory of a universal immigrant experience, one of looking in the rear view mirror while at the same time, travelling toward an uncertain future...."

Photo/text Credit:

* Writers Festival: http://www.writersfestival.org/events/fall-2013/living-history

 Related links:
* Wikipedia: Denise Chong

* Knox Presbyterian Church Ottawa.

* Wikipedia: The Concubine's Children

Below is my favourite Denise Chong book "The Concubine's Children". Twenty years after its first publication, it has recently been translated to simplified Chinese for the PRC readers.

2013 Halloween in Canada: Scary Pumpkin Carving - PMO !!??

As Ottawa is embroiled in heated debates concerning alleged transactions among the three Senators that Prime Minister Harper wants to suspend, the PM's ex-Chief of Staff and others in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), the Conservative members of the Senates and others in the Red Chamber, some members and associates of the Conservative Party, etc, somebody in the Twitter world posted this photo which has been quickly re-tweeted across the country.

While I do not necessarily agree/disagree with the sentiment of the photographer, I do find it funny. Only in Ottawa you say, eh? Pity!!

‏Photo Credit:
* Twitter photo: @tidridge #senca (with thanks!!)

Related links:
* CBC News - The National Oct 29, 2010 (http://www.cbc.ca/thenational/watch/)
* The Ottawa Sun - http://www.ottawasun.com/2013/10/28/sen-mike-duffy-claims-there-were-two-cheques
* The Toronto Star - http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2013/10/28/senate_scandal_vote_on_suspensions_still_up_in_the_air.html

Speech from the Throne (Part B): SFT was delivered by the Governor General Oct 16, 2013

Here is a news article from the National Post a few minutes ago .....

Tories vow to freeze budget, shrink government and ‘defend’ consumers in 2013 throne speech

OTTAWA – Canadian families and consumers, take heart: Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s governing Conservatives have declared they are your best friend.

And for those Canadians unhappy with how the Tories put the country deep into deficit in recent years, Harper has a pledge.

He will introduce balanced-budget legislation that requires governments to stay in the black during “normal economic times,” and “concrete timelines” for eliminating a deficit after an “economic crisis.”

The messages came Wednesday in the throne speech, read in Parliament by Gov. Gen. David Johnston.

Full text of the Speech from the Throne, Oct. 16, 2013

READ THE FULL TEXT OF THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL’S SPEECH FROM THE THRONE

After nearly eight years in power, Harper’s Tories now promise a range of actions, including: letting cable TV customers pick the channel of their choice to pay for; slashing roaming costs for cellphone customers; forbidding companies from making customers pay extra for paper bills instead of electronic ones; and even amending the law to allow Canadians to taker beer and spirits across provincial boundaries for their own use.

“Canadian families work hard to make ends meet, and every dollar counts. While companies will look out for their bottom line, our Government is looking out for everyday Canadians,” says the speech.

“When Canadians make decisions about how to spend their money, they must be assured of a voice, a choice, and fair treatment.

“Although Canadians are among the most digitally connected in the world, we also pay some of the highest wireless rates in the developed world. As families know – especially families with teenagers – the monthly bills add up.”

The throne speech comes midway through the government’s majority mandate and after months of bad publicity, such as the Senate expense scandal that reached right into the prime minister’s office.

........ (to be continued) Speech from the Throne (Part C)

Photo credit: Government of Canada / Speech from the Throne Oct 16, 2013

Source of news article: National Post

Speech from the Throne (Part A): Canadian Parliamentary Cycle + Process leading up to the Throne Speech

Knock, knock, knock ....
Who goes there?
It's me, the Usher of the Black Rod!
OK, let him in, so instructed the Speaker.

Thus begins the Speech from the Throne SFT that will be delivered by the Governor General of Canada, His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, who is to open the second session of the 41st Parliament.


On the day of the Speech from the Throne (SFT), I have done some research and would like to describe briefly in layman language the process leading up to the SFT and what follow.

(Disclaimer: The info presented in this blog article are oversimplified, do not represent the official Government of Canada positions, and may contain omissions and errors.)

1. The Parliamentary Cycle

According to the Parliament of Canada website: "Opening of a Parliament or a Session: After a general election, Parliament is summoned in the Queen's name by the Governor General. .... He/she acknowledges the election and confirms the traditional rights and privileges of the House. This is followed immediately by the Speech from the Throne in the Senate Chamber. Subsequent sessions of the same Parliament will open with a summons to the Senate Chamber followed immediately by the Speech from the Throne. ...."

Essentially, the Prime Minister wants to re-set and/or reaffirm the government agenda/priorities for the second half of its mandate and to set up the stage leading up to a general election to take place in abt two years.

2. Speech from the Throne

Again from the Parliament website: "The Speech from the Throne: At the opening of every new Parliament, and at the beginning of each session within a Parliament, the Governor General reads a speech, prepared by the Prime Minister in consultation with his or her cabinet. The speech is read in the Senate Chamber before the assembled Members of both the Senate and the House of Commons. Traditionally, the Speech from the Throne reveals the reasons for summoning Parliament. It begins with an assessment of social and economic conditions in the country. It then declares the Government's goals and intentions, and outlines its policies and legislative agenda ...."

What many Canadians don't know is that the SFT is not written secretly by the Prime Minister and the ruling Conservative Party. Many months before the Throne Speech, the policy shops of departments/agencies will have already prepared numerous Briefing Notes (Briefing Book in the case of a new Minister), Memoranda to Cabinet (MC), Aide Memories, and other types of classified documents for the Deputy Heads and the Ministers responsible.

Since the Federal Public Service (which is part of the Machinery of Government) is a non-partisan institution that serves the democratically elected government, bureaucrats are supposed to "speak truth to power" and to provide professional advice/recommendations to their political masters even if those are not what the latter like to hear. In reality, the Deputy Head is held responsible to manage the interface btwn the bureaucratic and political regimes, to work horizontally with his/her deputy colleagues, and to report to the Clerk of the Privy Council, who is the Prime Minister's Deputy Minister and the boss of all Deputy Heads (except those who report directly to Parliament, such as the Auditor General).

Once the signed-off recommendations are in the political regime, a Minister may choose to agree or disagree with his/her department's recommendations. (Previous CIDA President Bev Oda caused an uproar when she had allegedly changed the recommendation of the Agency to suit her own view. She could have just exercised her ministerial prerogative.) Armed with the knowledge provided by his/her department, a Minister then works with his/her cabinet colleagues to establish a coherent, strategic theme and agenda for the second half of the government's mandate. Thus, what goes into the Speech from the Throne is a cumulation of strategic policy advice/recommendations from federal public servants and well thought-out political calculations from politicians.


....... (to be continued) Speech from the Throne (Part B)

Related links:

* Wikipedia:Usher of the Black Rod
* Parliament of Canada: House Compendium/Parliamentary Cycle
* Parliament of Canada: House Compendium/Speech Throne

2003年美加大停電 / The 2003 Big Blackout in Northeast America

On August 14, 2003, a cascade failure of the power grid along the northeastern seaboard of America plunged many US and Canadian cities into darkness and complete chaos. Our household was among the 55 million people affected by the power outage.

I remember driving my family to Gatineau across the Ottawa River looking for food because Hydro Quebec was not affected by the power outage. After supper, while crossing the Champlain Bridge, I was suddenly struck by the darkness that was once the City of Ottawa. There were no street lights. Whole neighbourhood was submerged in darkness. I had difficulties finding my own street as all the familiar landmarks disappeared. Except the occasional flickering of flashlight through some windows, every house looked almost the same and I had no idea where home was.

Eventually we managed to find our way back to where we live and spent the night under the faint glow of some candles I had found in the basement. Within the next few days, electricity in the national capital region was mostly restored and we were back to an electricity-dependent civilization.

Photo Credit: Wikipedia ".... Ottawa-Gatineau is a special case in that it is divided by a provincial boundary and the Ontario and Quebec grids are not synchronously connected. Gatineau had power. One may have seen the drastic cutoff of areas still having power when they were crossing the Portage Bridge between Gatineau and Ottawa – the cutoff was at the provincial line. Street lights on the bridge were still lit on the Quebec side of the structure ...."

Related Link: The 2013 Big Blackout in Northeast America

起因

俄亥俄州的一家電力公司沒有及時修剪樹木，導致在用電高峰期，高壓電纜下垂，觸到樹枝而短路。隨後，俄亥俄的一家發電廠因此下線，骨牌效應因而產生。

過程

2003年美加大停電是指2003年8月14日美國東北部部分地區以及加拿大東部地區出現的大範圍停電。這是北美歷史上最大範圍的停電，受影響的人估計在加拿大有1000萬（三分之一的人口）在美國有4000萬。美國8個州以及加拿大的安大略省的電力中斷。

美國東部時間2003年8月14日下午4:12到4:15，首先在克利夫蘭、托萊多、紐約市、奧爾巴尼、底特律以及新澤西州的部分地區報告發生停電，然後蔓延到紐約市的五個區以及長島與威契斯特郡、新澤西州、佛蒙特州以及康涅狄格州的部分地區，安大略省南部的大部分地區，包括多倫多、漢米爾頓以及溫索爾。估計受影響地區大約有24,000平方公里（9,300平方英里）。至少有21間發電廠在停電間關閉。

在很多地區，大部分必要的服務仍然持續運行，雖然在一些城市後備服務不能馬上供應。電話系統在很多地區仍然保持暢通，但是由於大量的人向家裡打電話，使得很多線路超負荷運轉。手機服務業一度因為服務上用完了後備電源而中斷。電視和電台在備用電源的支持下仍正常運作。在直到黃昏還沒有恢複電力的地區，人們可以以肉眼看到銀河和人造衛星，由於城市的光污染，這些在未停電時是不可能看到的。

2013 International Triathlon Union (ITU) Duathlon World Championships in Ottawa August 8-10: Team Canada

I took this video on Sparks Street, Ottawa during the Opening Ceremonies of the 2013 International Triathlon Union (ITU) Duathlon World Championships that is being hosted by Canada August 8-10. The video showed Team Canada members marching in the Parade of Nations on August 8, 2013.

I will be running the "Sens Shuffle" part of the event !!!

YouTube link: http://youtu.be/e3_XnNozM-E

The Blue-Black List: Are You Friends or Enemies of the Government ?

I am not shocked but just surprised that someone working in the PMO seems to have ignored some golden rules of political communications, among them:

(1) The Globe and Mail test: Never say/write anything that you don't want to see later on the front-page of a major news paper or media (whether the statement was made on or off the record)

(2) Ownership of information: Never assume that info being shared at teleconf or face-to-face meetings with more than 2 ppl will remain behind close doors (I am not talking abt the Access to Information Act/ATIP, or the public's right to know).

While many political operatives are good at playing "sword/shield" games 24/7 in a fast-pace, adrenaline-filled political hockey arena, they seem to have got drunk on Parliament Hill's fountain of power.

When the Prime Minister announced his mid-term Cabinet shuffle, I was looking forward to a new Throne Speech that will shift public attention from robocalls, $90,000 cheaque, and the likes to issues and priorities that are important to Canadians.

Unfortunately, the governance of this country is once again overshadowed by another incident emanating from the PMO.

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PMO asked staff to supply 'enemy' lists to new ministers

Information was to be part of transition binders, leaked email says

Prime Minister Stephen Harper's office asked staff to include a list of "friend and enemy stakeholders" in their transition binders for new ministers appointed in Monday's cabinet shuffle, according to a leaked email.

The email, obtained by CBC News and several other media outlets, was sent July 4 by Erica Furtado in the Prime Minister's Office and shows a checklist for what should be in the transition binders.

"Who to avoid: bureaucrats that can't take no (or yes) for an answer" is on the list, as well as "Who to engage or avoid: friend and enemy stakeholders."

The request for a list of problematic bureaucrats was subsequently dropped, according to another email sent a few hours later on July 4.

The person who leaked the emails said that when some staff balked at the idea of coming up with the blacklists, they were cut off from further communications about the matter.

The person also said staff were given examples of stakeholders that could go on the "enemies list" and they included environmental groups, non-profit organizations, and civic and industry associations with views different than the government's.

• Readers blast 'paranoid' PMO 'enemy' list

Transition books and briefing notes for new ministers would normally include names of key people on issues, but dividing them into "friend and enemy" categories isn't common.

The other items on the checklist were:

• What to say in question period.
• What to expect soon, hot issues, legal actions, complaints.
• What to expect later, longer-term forecast.
• What to do, status of mandate items, off-mandate items.
• What to avoid: pet bureaucratic projects.
• What to attend: upcoming events, meetings and FPTs.
• Who to appoint: outstanding GiCs and hot prospects.
• Private member's bills, lines and caucus packages.

FPTs refers to federal/provincial/territorial meetings and GiCs refers to Governor in Council appointments, people who sit on agencies, boards and commissions.

"While we don't comment on internal communications, we are collaborating with our ministers, especially new ministers, to ensure they are fully briefed so they can continue their work on behalf of Canadian taxpayers," said PMO spokesman Carl Vallée in an emailed response to a request for comment.

Harper appointed eight new MPs to his cabinet on Monday and shifted multiple ministers around to new portfolios.

PMO acting 'paranoid'

The NDP's deputy leader Megan Leslie said the instructions to provide an "enemy" list show the PMO is "paranoid" and trying to exercise control over ministers.

"But they also have this 'for you or against you' kind of attitude where unless you are toeing their line and marching to the beat of their drum you are an enemy," she said.

Leslie said it's useful for ministers to share information with each other but classifying people as enemies crosses a line.

John Bennett, executive director of the environmental group Sierra Club Canada, said based on his past experience with some ministers he likely would have wound up on the enemy list.

"I wasn't surprised but I continue to be disappointed that stakeholders like environmentalists are considered enemies rather than stakeholders who are trying to pursue important issues," he said in an interview with CBC's Rosemary Barton.

He said if some ministers were more "mature" they would understand how democracy really works and that all perspectives should be considered when making decisions.

"They don't believe in democracy the way we do, which is it's an exchange of ideas and debate and try to come up with reasonable solutions. They believe in forcing ideology and if you're forcing ideology on the Canadian public then you see people like me as an enemy and that's unfortunate," said Bennett.  

Source:  http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/story/2013/07/16/pol-cabinet-shuffle-enemy-lists.html

Related link: http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/07/16/harper-asked-tory-staffers-for-list-of-enemy-lobbyists-bureaucrats-and-reporters-documents/

渥太華河畔不列顛尼亞沙灘 / Ottawa River's Britannia Beach

夏日近35度的熱浪迫人，渥太華河畔是公众避暑勝地。

I took this photo while strolling with my Mom at the Britannia Beach (不列顛尼亞沙灘) next to the Ottawa River.

Canada's Tundra Landscape near the Arctic Circle. I took this photo on July 4 while flying over Baffin Island. In the distance, you can see Frobisher Bay.

北國情懷 / Go North Young Man

K just helped S move his mattress and stuff out of the apartment.

His adventure up north will start tomorrow May 1, 2013.

Be safe, have fun, & keep in touch.

We shall miss you :)

Here are some songs from singer Sissel Kyrkjebø's album Northern Lights



Reference: Wikipedia / Sissel Kyrkjebo

Sissel Kyrkjebø (Norwegian pronunciation: [ˈsɪsəl ˈçʏʁçəˌbʷøː], /ˈsisel ˈçyrçeˌbø/; born 24 June 1969 in Bergen), also simply known as Sissel, is a Norwegian soprano. The first name 'Sissel' is a Norwegian variant of 'Cecilia'. This is a popular first name from Saint Cecilia, the patron saint of church music.

Sissel is considered one of the world's top crossover sopranos. Sissel's musical style runs the gamut from pop recordings and folk songs, to classical vocals and operatic arias.

She possesses a "crystalline" voice and wide vocal range, sweeping down from mezzo-soprano notes, in arias such as Mon cœur s'ouvre à ta voix from Saint-Saëns's opera Samson et Dalila, to the F natural above soprano C.

加拿大的反恐政策: 治標不治本? / Is finding ‘root causes’ of terrorism the core of Canadian policy?

加拿大自由黨新領袖杜魯多認為: 明白恐怖份子的動机根源，是反恐政策之基本第一步。但執政的保守黨哈珀總理卻揶揄杜魯多的幼稚無知，反駁國家當前需要的不是學術研討，而是强硬的軍法行動，用以打擊恐怖份子。

不過，多倫多世界郵報評論指出，硬打硬殺，以毒攻毒是会大快人心，但那只是治標不治本的短視藥方，明白動机根源才是良好政策之基礎。

From The Globe and Mail:

Finding ‘root causes’ of terrorism is the core of Canadian policy
The Globe and Mail
Published Tuesday, Apr. 23 2013, 9:57 AM EDT
Last updated Tuesday, Apr. 23 2013, 12:13 PM EDT

Justin Trudeau’s comments on the “root causes” of terrorism have sparked considerable debate in the media. The discussion has focused on narrow political point-scoring at the expense of deeper understanding of the issues at stake.

Mr. Trudeau’s observations were badly timed, spoken when Canadians, like their American neighbours, felt raw, exposed, and vulnerable. Still there is a valuable role for political leaders who provide that stabilizing viewpoint; seizing control of the narrative, rather than surrendering to it.

In contrast, Prime Minister Harper’s comments, with his calls for harsh punishment without any hope of more general understanding are unhelpful. They tap into and assuage that feeling of helpless rage, but offer nothing beyond vengeance as a solution.

Those who dismiss the “root causes” argument misunderstand both the scope of Canadian policy and the underlying causes of terrorism. Dealing with root causes is the stated policy of the government of Canada, as expressed in the words of former foreign minister Lawrence Cannon, and in Public Safety Canada’s (PSC) approach to counter violent extremism.

In fact, the Harper government has been spending billions of dollars on a task force in Afghanistan, working with G8 countries on African governance and poverty and pushing legislation at home to strengthen Public Safety’s efforts to engage Canadians through its Kanishka program. All are initiatives intended to tackle terrorism’s root causes.

Indeed, the so called “Global War on Terror” was partly focused on fixing failed states whose ungoverned spaces provided the right conditions for terrorism to flourish. John Baird’s efforts to restore democracy to Mali are a more recent example. Former U.S. secretary of state Hillary Clinton was a strong proponent of a “root causes” strategy recognizing that military force was insufficient in fixing the complex problems fundamental to states that served as safe havens for terrorist activity.

James Wolfensohn, formerly of the World Bank, echoed Ms. Clinton, when he spoke of the need for a global strategy designed to address “the root causes of terrorism: those of economic exclusion, poverty and under-development.” Global players such as the World Bank and USAID, are using their immense resources to foster development and governance in the Western Sahara, the Arab Peninsula, North East Africa and throughout Central and Southwestern Asia for exactly the same reasons.

The events of September 11, 2001, fundamentally altered Western states’ approach to terrorism by reinforcing the point that securing failed states would lead to improved security for all. After the Boston attacks, disengagement from this agenda is not an option because the motivations for these bombings link back to Chechnya and even Kyrgyzstan, places ravaged by war and underdevelopment.

The fact that the roots of terrorist activity may be found internationally makes it even more important that our policy makers understand what it takes to counteract them. We live in a globalized world, and for a government to assume that we need not prepare for challenges arising beyond our shores is quite simply ill advised.

Studies on those Canadians involved in international terrorism show that a sense of exclusion, marginalization and political grievance are often key facets of “home grown” terrorist behaviour. Typically, the integration of Canadians socially, economically and politically increases their capacity to participate positively in society. But that is not always the case, as one recently released study from CSIS shows a more complex set of issues are at play. Even well-integrated Canadian citizens, mostly young males, are susceptible to extremism.

In brief, the Canadian government must tread carefully and not turn its back on the need to understand root causes, especially when those involved are our own citizens and the consequences of neglect are severe. With more research we can understand why some people resort to terrorism, and we can work to diminish its consequences through comprehensive and well-grounded security policies. An important first step in preventing terrorism is to understand its causes, both here and abroad. Unfortunately that is a step that critics of Justin Trudeau seem uninterested in taking.

David Carment is editor of Canadian Foreign Policy Journal at Carleton University and a CDFAI fellow. Stewart Prest is a doctoral candidate at the University of British Columbia. They are the authors along with Teddy Samy of Security, Development and the Fragile State: Bridging the Gap between Theory and Policy (2009).

++++++++++++++++++++++

References:

* Wikipedia: 賈斯汀·皮耶·占士·杜魯多（Justin Pierre James Trudeau，1971年12月25日－），加拿大政治人物，現任加拿大自由黨黨魁及加拿大國會下議院帕皮諾選區議員，並曾任該黨的青年、專上教育及業餘體育事務評議員。他是已故前加拿大總理皮埃尔·特鲁多的長子。

* The Globe and Mail: Finding 'root causes' of terrorism is the core of Canadian policy

BlackBerry Q10 with REAL Keyboard

I am still struggling w my Sony's virtual screen & am looking at the new BlackBerry Q10 that comes with a REAL keyboard !! If anyone has any experience with the Q10, please leave your comments.

Photo Credit: (Previously RIM Research In Motion) BlackBerry website http://ca.BlackBerry.com/Smart Phones/BlackBerry Q10

忘年夜泊虛幻船 擇日扶居安老院

上篇:   忘年夜泊虛幻船

高齡人仕骨頭脆弱，一跌受傷要入医院施手術，那就是麻煩事的開始。我母親兩年前下巴士時站穩，摔斷了左腿骨(left femur)，在医院和療養院(rehab) 住了4個月左右，她傷口復原回了家之後,，身心健康都打了個大折扣，腦智也從此走下坡。

看見她漸入困境旳情況，我做兒子的也實在很憂心。上星期幫助她的社區服務姑娘對我說，渥太華區的老人院供應求，我們要預早計劃，替她報名排隊，切不可等到發生事故才臨急臨忙找地方搬。

老媽子現在住的單位離唐人亍不遠，交通購物都非常方面，她和我過了身的父親在那住處相依為命多年，小小單位旳每個角落都是充滿了愛痕和回憶。無夸，母親已漸漸進入忘年境界，記憶很多時是模糊不清，和現實脫節，我就昰擔心她的日常起居飲食、人身安全，她遲早都是要放棄那單位。

無法了，人生旅程到了某一個地步，就像楓橋夜泊，夜半鐘聲是真是假，有沒有虛幻客船到埗，都還是未知之數。

第二篇:   擇日扶居安老院

世事無常，閣筆不久，母親又在家摔了一交受傷，之後社區姑娘替我打911，叫十字車送她入医院。我和K在emergency room ER/observation病房陪伴她11小時多，医院又和她驗血，做CT-scan及X-ray等。

翌日，她被移往acute monitoring吊鹽水，整天睡在床上。

晚飯時刻，在暮日与初夜青黃不接那一剎那間，她腦海潮退，時光倒流，回到做女時代，以為自己在酒店吃餐，嚷着要回娘家。『我要快d返屋企，阿細媽要埋舖鎖門，我d細佬等緊我㗎!!』我解釋無效，終於医生給了她一方鎮靜劑，讓她進入朦朧睡鄉，和已過世的細媽、弟弟等親戚重聚。

護士今天說: "I have to be honest with you. Many seniors who had bad falls often go downhill quickly. We can only hope your Mom will bounce back." 她不是黑心，只是打開天窗說亮話，希望我有一個心理準備，趕快計劃替老媽找24/7服務，擇日扶助她進入安老院。

攝影圖片:   暮冬的大風雪

刑事罪行 網絡欺凌？ / Possible Criminal Offence or Cyber Bullying?

"In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends." - Rehtaeh Parsons

"Everyone turned their backs on her." - Rehtaeh Parsons's mother

 (Source: Globe and Mail 20130410)

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
UPDATED 20130412

The following is from Facebook (source: The New HOT 89.9 FM )

This is heart breaking.
Rehtaeh Parsons father has issued a statement about his daughter.
The 17-year old Nova Scotia teen took her own life this past weekend after allegedly being gang raped by 4 boys when she was just 15. The photos of the rape were circulated on the internet.
Her father wrote:

"My daughter was three years old when we went to watch Babe: Pig in the City. There’s a part in the movie when Babe knocks over a goldfish bowl and the fish falls onto the floor and starts flopping around. When this happened Rae suddenly stood up on her chair in the movie theatre and started screaming for someone to help the fish. She cried for it as I tried to reassure her Babe would help (thank God he did) and that the fish would be alright.
That was the nature of my daughter Rehtaeh. She was like that her whole life. I couldn’t go for a walk in Halifax with her without her asking me for change to give to someone in need. She was always looking out for people or animals that needed help. She called Animal Control Services on our neighbours because they left their dog outside too long. Her room and her life was always full of little creatures.
Sometimes her heart was too big, sometimes it scared me.
They say parents need to teach their children. Instead, it was Rehtaeh who was my teacher. My precious gift. She was the absolute best part of my life.
There’s a wooden box in my house that holds all the memories I have of my beautiful little girl. The outfit she wore home from the hospital, a hand print in clay, art, school cards and drawings, mementoes of her life. Even a newspaper dated December 9th, 1995, the day she came into this world.
I tried to keep it all for her, to have someday when she grew up and had her own family. That day will never come.
Rehtaeh died April 7th at 11:15 PM. She was 17 years old.
She died struggling to live, much as she spent the last 18 months. She hung on right to the very end, when the nurses were telling us if she couldn't be declared brain dead soon they couldn't use her as an organ donor. We couldn't wait any longer. She couldn't live any longer. And right at the last moment there was a change in her blood pressure as the last part of her brain gave away. She knew she had to leave. It was time to let go and find peace.
It was so like her to hang on right up until the very last second. To give us all a chance to hold her hand, wipe her tears away, and kiss her beautiful face for the last time.
I tried my best to save my daughter’s life. I believe that in my heart.
I asked her repeatedly what I could do, was I doing enough, what did she want from me? She said she just wanted me to be her dad. To make her laugh. To do everything possible to keep a part of her life normal. She said it helped more than I could ever know.
I prayed for the best while I prepared her for the worst. We went to counseling together. Sometimes I was the drive, sometimes the father, sometimes the counselor.
The worst nightmare of my life has just begun. I loved my beautiful baby with all my heart. She meant everything to me. I felt her heart beating in my soul from the moment she was born until the moment she died. We were a team. We were best pals. We often sat on my couch and laughed until we could hardly speak. When we weren’t together she would call me or text me every single day, just to say hi, to say she loved me. The life I had with my daughter was a rare thing. It was wonderful, it consumed me. I was defined by it. It made my life rich and beautiful.
She was amazing.
Yesterday I looked at another wooden box. It will hold her ashes. I hate it.
I had to write something about this. I don’t want her life to defined by a Google search about suicide or death or rape. I want it to be about the giving heart she had. Her smile. Her love of life and the beautiful way in which she lived it.
I found out this afternoon my daughter saved the life of a young woman with her heart. How fitting.
She also gave someone a new liver, a kidney, a new breath, and a new chance to love. She saved the lives of four people with her final gift of life. She was that wonderful.
Someone out there is going to look at the world with my daughter’s eyes. The most beautiful eyes I have ever seen.
To the Justice Minister of Nova Scotia
Rehtaeh Parsons thought the worst outcome for her case would be no charges against the men who raped her but we all know better. The worst thing that could happen would be charges. That they would be found guilty, and that Rehtaeh would sit on a court bench and listen in utter disbelief as they were given parole, or a suspended sentence, or community service. All for completely destroying her life while they laughed.
Why is it they didn’t just think they would get away with it; they knew they would get away with it. They took photos of it. They posted it on their Facebook walls. They emailed it to God knows who. They shared it with the world as if it was a funny animation.
How is it possible for someone to leave a digital trail like that yet the RCMP don’t have evidence of a crime? What were they looking for if photos and bragging weren’t enough?
Why was this treated like a minor incident of bullying rather than a rape? Isn’t the production and distribution of child porn a crime in this country? Numerous people were emailed that photo. The police have that information (or at least they told us they did). When someone claims they were raped is it normal to wait months before talking to the accused?
You have the opportunity here to do something good and lets face it; the court system in Nova Scotia was just going to rape her all over again with indifference to her suffering and the damage this did to her.
My daughter wasn’t bullied to death, she was disappointed to death. Disappointed in people she thought she could trust, her school, and the police.
She was my daughter, but she was your daughter too.
For the love of God do something.
***I’ve been contacted from media outlets from all over the world and as a past member of the media I understand why you all want to speak with me. You have all been very courteous, professional, and respectful. Please know, however, this is the only statement I am able to make. I’m too devastated.***
I feel like I’m dead inside.

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Below is my original blog post dated 20130411:

After the police had decided not to lay charges against the alleged rapists, Rahtaeh Parsons attempted suicide. Her parents took her off life-support last Sunday.

Canadians are outraged by the apparently lack of actions and slowness of the federal and provincial police/justice system to address the accountability and other issues surrounding the death of Rahtaeh Parsons of Nova Scotia.

Now that the news has attracted national and international attention, some provincial politicians are trying to do damage-control by promising that the case will be reviewed again.

Meanwhile, some of Rahtaeh's former classmates are speaking out.

And Prime Minister Harper also spoke out publicly, indicating criminal offence should not be confused with cyber bullying.

I agree !!

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Latest from the media on the case of Rehtaeh Parsons who had been a victim of cyber bullying and died of an attempted suicide last week in Nova Scotia.

Here is a report from the CBC:

Rehtaeh Parsons vigil draws hundreds - Family pleads for people not to respond with vigilante justice

Posted: Apr 11, 2013 10:33 PM AT 

Last Updated: Apr 11, 2013 10:29 PM Atlantic Time

Hundreds gathered in downtown Halifax Thursday evening in memory of Rehtaeh Parsons, a teen girl who was taken off life support Sunday following a suicide attempt after she was allegedly bullied for months.

Hundreds of people gathered in Halifax's Victoria Park. (Jean Laroche/CBC)

The gathering began as a march that started on the Halifax waterfront at 6 p.m. and wound its way to Victoria Park at the corner of Spring Garden and South Park Street where a vigil was held.

Rehtaeh’s cousin, Angela Parsons, spoke to the crowd on behalf of the Parsons’ family. She made an emotional plea saying, “Bullying needs to stop.”

“There is a culture of violence against women, nationally and internationally,” she said.

“My family asks that everyone, that they not respond in violence or aggression to this terrible tragedy. Our family values the values that I was brought up with and the values that Rehtaeh lived by that all of us try our very best to live by and include love, respect and compassion,” pleaded Parsons.

The vigil was held to honour Rehtaeh and bring awareness to the issue of bullying.

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Other links:

http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/04/10/anonymous-threatens-to-out-boys-involved-in-alleged-gang-rape-of-n-s-teen-who-committed-suicide-unless-rcmp-charges-them/

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/story/2013/04/10/ns-rehtaeh-suicide-reaction-todd.html