It's been awhile since the last time I posted a rant on here and for that I apologize. Of course there are reasons behind my procrastination. Spring break, lots of birthdays, school, and work have all thrown their hats at me in recent weeks but now I am back... and better than ever. Today's rant will not have a specific focus other than catching up for both you and I on Canada's and the rest of the world's events. And what a busy couple of weeks it has been. There have been numerous international, national, and provincial headlines that have caused some serious controversy, change, and reaction from all over. So I will not procrastinate any longer and get right into it.
The David Emerson appointment and crossing of the floor still remains to be an issue here in Canada as people have demanded his resignation or a byelection. There was a mock byelection that was supposed to put pressure on Emerson and the Conservatives to give in, which of course failed. Emerson has issued an apology to his constituents for his actions but he stands by them and ignores any suggestion that he should resign or run in a byelection. He also will support "crossing the floor" legislation if it is brought forward. This issue will blow over eventually and I still don't understand why it has been around for this long. I don't remember this much feedback when Scott Brison or Belinda Stronach did the exact same thing.
We have received a new Premier here in Nova Scotia after the PC leadership convention concluded in February. Rodney MacDonald has replaced veteran John Hamm as leader of our province at the ripe old age of 34. A lot of questions remain to be answered following this decision: will he be able to properly govern under a minority government situation as John Hamm did so successfully, will he be the right leader to take the PC party into the next election against the Liberals and the NDP, and will Nova Scotians accept a much younger premier than they're used to and keep him in power? It all remains to be seen.
I posted a small rant on here the day that the Winter Olympic Games began reporting the Canadians competing and their performances. The 2006 Olympic Games have now come and gone and Canada left with an amazing result. Going into the games the Canadian Olympic Committee was aiming for a goal of 25 medals and a top three finish overall in hopes of pointing us towards an outright win in 2010 in Vancouver-Whsitler. We walked away from Torino with 24 medals and that 3rd place finish we were looking for. And that wasn't the most promosing thing about all of this. What gives me the most hope that we will have best ever performance on our own turf in 2010 is all of the 4th and 5th place finishes we received that could easily be turned into some medals next time around.
The Avian bird flu has continued and accelerated its spread around the world and the World Health Organization has labelled this virus as more challenging than AIDS. Now for those of you not too sure what this avian flu is all about let me just enlighten you a bit. There are many strains of the so called bird flu but there is only one (H5N1) strain is causing this whole ruckus. The H5N1 strain is the only strain found so far that has proven to be fatal to humans and able to pass from bird to human. It started in 1997 in Hong Kong and Vietnam and up until the end of 2005 has spread to China, Indonesia, Cambodia, and Malaysia. A lot of people were thinking, and unfortunately still do think, that this virus will have no effect on them because it is concentrated in southeast Asia. A few more people woke up from this assumption when starting in January the virus began to travel westward towards Europe. The virus has vaused the deaths of people in Turkey, Iraq, and Cyprus since then and has been located as the cause of deaths in birds in many more countries. Dead birds infected with the deadly H5N1 virus have been found in Italy, Greece, France, Germany, Egypt, Nigeria, Slovenia, and Thailand. This means that the virus is moving west at an amazing pace and will eventually reach all parts of Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Last week the virus was transmitted to a cat killing it marking the first time a mammal has been infected with the virus in Europe. People need to open their eyes on this issue however I don't think this will happen until we start seeing the virus here in North America. Thankfully, the virus has yet to cross the ocean but I think it will only be a matter of time until this happens.
Oh yes, and I alomost forgot about Sir Paul McCartney and his little intrusion on Canadian soil. McCartney and his wife travelled to Canada to raise awareness and protest the annual seal hunt. This included a photo op where they got up close and personal with some of the seals and in doing so broke some our Canadian laws. Misled by false information the McCartneys launched their plight to stop this "horrendous abuse" of animal rights. This abuse that just happens to be endorsed by the WWF and other animal rights groups. It has been proven that the annual seal hunt is necessary and done so in a humane way and it seems the McCartneys are the only ones against this. There was even an on-air debate between the McCartneys and Newfoundland Premier Danny Williams on Larry King Live where Williams clearly set the record straight and showed just how misled Sir Paul is.
That is all for now. I will leave it at this montage of current events for you to ponder. Pick out what is important and what it means to you and I will be ranting again soon probably with a more focused approach. And I'm sure there will be plenty of material to work with.
- DCM
Comments
I do want to comment on the escapade of Paul McCartney and his wife having photo ops taken with the seal pups. Besides breaking the law by touching these animals they misrepresented the cause by focusing on the pups instead of the issue of how the killings of the adult seals take place. I didn't catch the Larry King live show but I do hope that they educated Sir Paul on this issue. Keep up with your rants but don't go missing classes!!
Mom :-)