Will it looks like another year is over and this New Years Eve we will be working once again. My wife and i work with adults who are developmentally delayed and tonight like many other nights they will be staying with us. Were workers in the Home Care Sector of NL and like many other home care workers we hope in 2007 to become part of NAPE. It might sound a bit cynical but this year like others in our field we won't be holding our breath waiting for it to happen. We have felt disappointed every year hoping it would happen. Like our clients we can only dream that next day will be better.
Of course things could be worst! Some will never see the New Year and its new wonders. Some fell from grace and swung from a rope in Iraq like Saddam. Others closer to home like poor ol Ed got axed from the executioner. I know,I know, im being cynical again! Will, the next big holiday after New Years is Easter and who knows by then some of the dead might be resurected. Small fry like myself will just try to survive and hope to survive another year without being part of the out-migration. So many of our family and friends have already headed west and at times we actualy feel a bit guilty about it all. Hell, rumor has it that this guy might be heading up to Ottawa in Canada to try and better himself sometime in 2007.
I know,I know! Will,Happy New Year from some small fry in Cape Ray NL and thank you all who viewed my blog and responded in 2006.

While reading the VOCM News today and i saw an article on the British passengers stranded after making an emergency landing in St. John's over Christmas. Some of the passengers reported to the Daily Mail that their Christmas dinner at the Fairmont Hotel consisted of leftovers and the hotel was sub-standard! That made me chuckle and i decided to check out the Daily Mail story to blog about it. Scanning quickly through the Daily Mail i came upon this little story {Three-year-old blogger's inspiring chemotherapy diary} and that made me reconsider the whole thing. Samantha the three year old child has a blog and i hope all who view my blog the next few days can also use the link to view hers.
The story really touched me because just a few short weeks ago our community lost a four year old child to cancer. The family kept our community informed of the little boys progress and his setbacks. In a community of just 300 people we pretty well know much about everybody. That family half a world away is no different then the family in my community,Cape Ray. Derby, England has a quarter of million living there and i doubt if a fraction knows of the little girls condition. I dare say those that do, care. For the folks on the stranded flight during Christmas,cheer up. Life could be worst. Be thankful your not in the situation like the young family in Derby or endure several years of hardship like the young couple in my community. Today i'll even practice what I preach. Im thankful also. Best wishes little Samantha Hughes from a place called Cape Ray,NL.

Movie Plot: A star appears on the Eastern Avalon during Christmas 2006. Yadda.....yadda.....yadda, the liberal prophecy foretold this event back in Yadda.....Yadda...Yadda. No wisemen are available at the time because they're on Christmas break shining up their gold rings,Yadda.....Yadda....Yadda. The people of the southern shore of Newfoundland seek out frankincense and myrrh knowing the re-born already has gold,Yadda...Yadda....Yadda. ...............................

Movie Review: Fellow from Cape Ray: Looked more like a sequel! found it boring and a waste of time. I kept cheering for King Herod and hoped he would slay him during the first 5 minutes of the movie. Rather give the movie a finger then a thumbs up.



FROM VOCM:
John Efford says he'd like to get back at being involved in provincial poltics in some capacity. Efford says he's taken the last year off due to his diabetes and now that it's back under control his political juices are flowing again. He says how he'll be involved will depend on his health.

Efford says he has talked with two individuals about his possible return to politics.

Efford says he's spoken with Liberal Party President danny Dumaresques and more recently with Leader Gerry Reid.

I don't know who will be named newsmaker of the year for Newfoundland & Labrador in 2006. If i had to pick someone newsworthy or in this case noseworthy. It would have to be our Auditor General,John Noseworthy. The mission statement of his office states.

The Office of the Auditor General serves the House of Assembly by providing independent examinations of government and its entities.

As legislative auditors, we audit financial statements and other accountability documents, evaluate management practices and control systems, and determine compliance with legislative and other authorities.

Our purpose is to promote accountability and encourage positive change in the stewardship, management and use of public resources.

Mr. Noseworthy is doing just as he was appointed to do so. So far Noseworthy's audits have found that an unauthorized $1,586,573 was paid to five politicians Liberal Percy Barrett, Tory Ed Byrne, Liberal Wally Andersen, New Democrat Randy Collins and former Liberal MHA Jim Walsh between 1998 and 2006.

His reports have also found that about $2.8 million was paid to four companies for trivial things such as fridge magnets, pins, gold rings and so called keepsakes.

One of the companies was controlled by Bill Murray, who was suspended this summer as director of financial operations at the house of assembly. I myself make trivial things such as fridge magnets and so called keepsakes to sell every summer in local craftshops around my area. I do it to help supplement my income. The wages of a home support worker in this province is not that great and anytime i can earn a few more dollars it helps us pay the bills.We do not receive Gold Rings in our line of work and if we have travel expenses we have to submit the proper paper work before any money is given out.Home Support workers in my area receive 22.5 cents per kilometer when taking a client to work,hospitals,appointments,etc. In 2006 this barely covers the fuel expenses. We have tried to be unionized under NAPE for over a decade but our government refuses to recognize us. Maybe if the Auditor General continues to dig deeper and complete his mission statement and promote the so called accountability he seeks then the positive change in the stewardship, management and use of public resources might go to help groups like the Home Support Workers.The buying of Gold rings and trinkets is at least on hold for now. Yes Mr. Auditor General,you are indeed newsmaker of the year for a lot of us who have no say in the matters of NL.

It's not looking like a white Christmas in my nick of the woods with the latest 5 day forecast.I might seem a bit like Scrooge but i say that's darn great! My wife and i spend quite a bit of time driving on the Trans Canada Highway and poor weather conditions cause each of us to worry about the other when were out there. It's 20 kilometers to the work place and less than 15 minutes driving in ideal conditions. In less than ideal we just might have to spend a night stranded somewhere in between the work place and home,in the car. We have been more then lucky with just one winter accident in hundreds of thousands of kilometers driving over the years. That accident spoiled our driving record and caused our insurance premiums to stay high for six years. The damage to the car was less than $2,500.oo and im sure in those six years we more than payed for it. That's my little rant for today.

Our provincial Auditor General John Noseworthy has released another financial report this morning. One more of our MHA's name has made it to the list.
This makes five on the list,four current and one former member of the house. Ed Byrne's total has been increased to $467 thousand, Randy Collins to $358 thousand, Wally Anderson $344 thousand and former cabinet minister Jim Walsh $298 thousand. In Percy Barrett's case the amount is $117 thousand. The sum total so far is $1,586,000.oo and im sure if Noseworthy keeps digging it'll climb much higher. With a provincial election less then a year away and for the first time since i became eligible to vote in an election im wondering why i should even take the time to do so. My wife and i are home support workers and the pass few months have been seriously thinking of leaving to find a better living in Alberta. We looked forward to each provincial budget day wondering if we would actually gain a small raise to help us survive another year on this island. Most years were disappointed and try to cut back on our expenses. The price of fuel,insurances and electrical power increases all to soon while our wages stay the same. We see our tax dollars wasted by those we elect and just shake our head in disbelief! For the pass 17 years i have worked in the home support system of NL.My work week is usually 72 hours at several different jobs and my wife picks up extra work when she can. We find the time outside that work to volunteer in our small community while watching it fade into oblivion much like our tax dollars. I just can't see us walking into a polling booth in NL next fall and casting a vote. In the pass we voted (for different candidates at times) for those we thought would represent our interests the best. When the day comes for us to vote for the one we less suspect to steal our hard earned tax dollars we contribute to our province then i'll just drive pass the polling station. Maybe the next MHA to represent our interests will be in another Canadian Province.

Had my surgery back on the 23rd and today seems like the first day i can actually say i have little or no pain. I got out of the operating room around 5:pm on the 23rd and several hours later i was home in Cape Ray. They call it a day surgery here and practically kick you out the minute you wake from the surgery. The next morning my wife drove me 200 kilometers back to the hospital to see the doctor. I then found out i was not nearly as tough as i thought i was . The doctor had some sort of object embedded in my eye socket and removed it. He had to grip it and tug real hard and the minute it came out, i passed out for a few seconds. I also blacked out later in the hospital lobby but luckily my son was there to catch me from hitting the floor. Few days ago i returned to see the doctor and he inserted a conformer in my eye and it'll remain there until i get fitted for the artificial eye. I'll be seeing the doctor again next week for a check-up and have a surgical bandage removed from my hip. They grafted some fat from my hip in the eye socket The hip incision lies beneath the underwear or bathing suit area. The fat is trimmed and implanted into the sunken appearing upper lid (sulcus) making a 1-inch long eyelid skin crease incision. A pocket is made for the fat graft, which is then implanted followed by skin closure. If everything goes well,i should have an artificial eye in place by late January.

I have not blogged much lately and i doubt if i'll be doing much more of it during November. Next week im going for surgery to have an eye removed. Lost vision in it at an early age and the pass few years it has really been bothering me to the point that i have to get it removed because of the daily pain. I have not been blogging but i have recently read a few good books and would like to recomend this one to everyone out there in the province of NL.

If we did it
By O. J. & Byrne

The title of this complex yet completely absorbing novel co authored by two people accused of crimes really griped my attention. The minute i began until the minute i finished, i was intrigued by every page and turn in the stories. Both authors so far apart in walks of life but so close and with the same goals in mind, to catch the real culprits and get their life back. Both so revered by the people who put them on pedestals and deserted them when they fell. If you read one book this year! Read "If we did it!"

Lest we forget.

Ekklesia ,a group i only heard of recently says that the white poppy has a universalism which the red one lacks for some people – it is not used in Germany, and it is not understood by many Muslims, for example. The problem of war, the think tank says, is now a global issue and needs to be symbolised in that way - recognising also the suffering of civilians and the work of nonviolent peacemakers.
Looks like the beginning of the end for a 85 year old tradition of wearing the Red Poppy to honour those that fought to preserve our freedom. White poppies have existed as a secular, pacifist alternative symbol since 1933 some say. I never heard of that until i googled a few results today. That's just fine i say,let those who want to wear one do so! I'll wear the red one that symbolizes Flanders Fields. Going to elementary school in Port Aux Basques,NL in the early sixties we came to know that the eleventh hour of the eleventh day in the eleventh month was a special time set aside to remember those that died so we could be educated there. Our teachers taught us the way their teachers taught them. We came to know of a Canadian, Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918)who probably wrote the most memorable war poem ever written. We recited the words and came to know the meaning well. At our school assembly we saw the veterans of several world wars and back at class i remember my teacher Ann Gillam tell us why the old veterans hands shook when he sat there with his old uniform on and red poppy in his lapel. As i progressed through school the old men from the great war who sat in chairs trembling at our rememberance day assemblies gradually grew smaller in numbers. I'll remember them through the Red Poppy and the Ekklesia think tank can go about their business promoting the white ones. They can do that because those old men with trembling hands gave them the freedom and right to do so.

First Snow


The first snowfall of the season has arrived here. It was just a few centimeters but it made the Table Mountains look great. On the way to work i shot a few pics of the beauty and also witnessed the negative side. Several vehicles had gone off the road but luckily,no injuries. The day before the snowfall i took a few hours off work to take my oldest granddaughter for one last walk this season. We have made many since early May and i explained this would be our last one of the season. She's just four and wants her own camera for next years little excursions. I have shown her how to take a few shots with mine and the results are pretty good so far. It's great to live in rural NL at times. On our little walks and ATV rides this year we hardly saw another person out and around. We did meet one couple from the mainland who have purchased a summer home here and seem to enjoy the outdoors as much as we do. I wonder at times why more from my community don't take advantage of the miles of beaches and trails here.Yet when they move away from home they always claim to miss it.

Borat


Sacha Baron Cohen seems to be taking the comedy world by storm. For those who don't know him by that name, try "Borat." I have not seen him appear outside of the character he portrays and somehow he seems to remind me of the late Andy Kaufman. So far just 800 theaters are planning to show his film but will eventually expand to 2,200 theaters by next weekend. I have a feeling he's going to be around for quite sometime and not just for his 15 minutes of fame.

Danny has the bomb







Glorious leader Danny Williams has the bomb and rumors are he will be testing it somewhere along the new Trans Labrador Highway. A special edition of Land & Sea will carry the detonation along with the timeline it took to build the bomb and where the funds came from to develop such a weapon. Interviews with Chris Montague will also be shown where Montague asks why was there no enviromental assessment and consultation with the Metis before ground zero was decided on. The program will be carried on CBC ,Tuesday,7pm on the island and 7:30 in Labrador if it's still there.

Blame Canada,Blame Loyola !




Finally a chance to make a difference! A Newfoundlander born in the tiny fishing village of Renews,NL gets the job as Federal Fisheries Minister and can finally make a difference! Hearn is asked to support a moratorium on high-seas bottom trawling. No more bulldozing the ocean bottom! We all wait and Loyola speaks out,will not exactly but he mutters,"Real solutions must be practical, enforceable and fair."
What would be more practical then putting a stop to raping the ocean floor and a by-catch of other species. For years we blamed others for the failure of our fishery but if were not part of this moratorium then we have no one else to blame but Canada and a jellyfish with no backbone called loyola Hearn.
an online petition here for anyone who wants to sign.

Mom can't afford treatment to save her kids

This one hits close to home. To have a child with a disease is terrible but to have two children with a rare disease must be unbearable. Lori Keeping & Sheldon Huelin originally from small communitys (Burnt Islands,NL)(Isle Aux Mort,NL) near my hometown has two children with Batten disease. Their 5-year-old daughter, Jamie, and their 2 -year-old son, Carson, both may have a short time to live.Their only hope may lie in series of stem cell procedures in China which the parents cannot afford.More on the story here........

Stem cells have the remarkable potential to develop into many different cell types in the body. Serving as a sort of repair system for the body, they can theoretically divide without limit to replenish other cells as long as the person or animal is still alive. When a stem cell divides, each new cell has the potential to either remain a stem cell or become another type of cell with a more specialized function, such as a muscle cell, a red blood cell, or a brain cell.

The controversy mostly surrounding stem cell research are obtained from embryos, the concerns are similar to those surrounding abortion. Most opponents of legal abortions also oppose this research. In addition, the possibility that cell lines could be developed from cloned embryos raises ethical concerns associated with propriety of human cloning.

Some politicians support funding of this new technology for medical research purposes and recently 45 year old Michael J. Fox who suffers from Parkinson's Disease, is lending his support to US Congressional candidates who advocate stem cell research.
see below video.


Right now Lori & Sheldon do not care about the politics behind it all.They want a cure for the children and hopefully they'll get it! This little child did,Click here.

It all makes perfect sense now !

I didn't think such a small thing would have any affect on me but the lost of internet service through the night has set be back a bit today. Starting to think im to dependant on technology.

Services Restored After Electrical Fire
October 21, 2006

We found out last night what it was like living without modern telecommunications. A fire at the Aliant substation on Allandale Road in St.John's knocked out just about every communication device we have. Over 100,000 customers in the greater St.John's area were affected...that includes cell phones, land lines, bank machines, interac, long distance. The breakdown had varying effects on services across the island. Internet was down across the province.

All 9-1-1 emergency services rang busy during the outage. The St.John's Regional Fire Department maintained communications and the Coast Guard set up satellite phones in addition to backup from Halifax.

Things went berserk just after 10:00 last night and didn't return to normal until six hours later. Aliant's Brenda Reid says the fire damaged their DC Power Supply system.

St. John's resident Nick Eisnor says it's ``kind of scary'' that a single cable fire could do so much damage to the island's communication system. Aliant is investigating the incident.

Halloween



Driving through the community this morning i see that a lot of the residents have their Halloween decorations up. I remember when my son use to go out on Halloween night and we would expect about 75 kids show up on our doorstep. The pass few years with our decline in population we see about 25.

New Health Line launched.
This week residents of Newfoundland & Labrador will receive a fridge magnet in the mail compliments of our government. A new Health Line has been launched and a toll-free line is suppose to give the province residents access to health information 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, no matter where you live.Looking at the site and the info there my opinion is that it's a great service! Now if only the government could give us another good service allowing NL residents the option to call 911 wherever they live!

PETA WORLD,ALF,SEA SHEEPHERDER SOCIETY and others exposed.
see where your donations go and how kids learn to make molotov cocktails.

Sinikka Crosland is president of The Responsible Animal Care Society,AKA (TRACS), an animal-protection group based in British Columbia. Crosland is part of a group that would be the envy of Al-Qaeda and could probably even show them a thing or two in deceit. Crosland acknowledged this week that her e-mail address was used as a contact point for technical inquiries with a controversial Internet portal which portrays all the people of my province as barbarians and tries to have viewers send e-mails to tourism-related businesses in Newfoundland and Labrador. Crosland says she was approached by the group and asked to be the Technical liaison.The group she says,don't want to be revealed because they have families and jobs. "They just don’t want to be out there in the limelight” she said. Im sure all Newfoundlanders and Labradorians on that fake site never asked to be in the limelight either but they had no choice in the matter.I for one suspect that Sinikka Crosland is part of ALF,considered by The Department of Homeland Security,U.S.A. a domestic terrorist threat.Anyone that would lie like this and not worry who they hurt would have to be. It would be great to have some recent photos of Crosland and her family posted on a few sites so we would know who were dealing with.We have learned from Al-Qaeda tactics what people are capable of doing for a cause.

Just one for today.

Looks like this one's over before the fat lady sings! Free speech is once again loosing ground in the the Western world or in my opinion the civilized world.

A leading German opera house has canceled performances of a Mozart opera because of security fears stirred by a scene that depicts the severed head of the Prophet
Muhammad, prompting a storm of protest here about what many see as the surrender of artistic freedom. The Deutsche Oper Berlin said Tuesday that it had pulled “Idomeneo” from its fall schedule after the police warned of an “incalculable risk” to the performers and the audience. The company’s director, Kirsten Harms, said she regretted the decision but felt she had no choice. She said she was told in August that the police had received an anonymous threat,but she acted only after extensive deliberations.
The Religion of Peace is slowly telling us what art is permissible,what we are able to write,draw and perform. I'll visit several Muslim blogs again today and i dare say i won't find one thought from one of them on this matter.I'll find the same as always about the love and peace of the phrophet and how tight to wear your hijab when the infidel walks by.

Unlikely!

Reading the online news today and two stories caught my attention. First one was that Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones has finally given up drugs. Richards claims they are too weak to give him a high.The 62-year-old former heroin addict told The Sun that modern drugs such as ecstasy "mess with the brain". No shit Keith!! Maybe it's just called tolerance and after a while even the ecstasy won't mess up your brain half as much. My suggestion Keith is to try something new like Anthrax. That fall out of the tree recently really screwed your brain up and you can't get no satisfaction.

Second story was that Mr.Osama Bin Laden has passed away. He was reported to of died last month in Pakistan of typhoid.I guess that means no more great video's but just in case it's true maybe Osama might be a great spokesman for that disease. Maybe the Islamic world can have a telethon to raise money to irradicate that disease from their part of the world. Hell we done it here a century ago! If Cat Stevens don't do the telethon,maybe Keith Richards would!... but i think that's unlikely.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad smiled and talked of his peaceful intentions at the UN about how his great country Iran would not be a nuclear threat. Back home in his great nation a young woman (Malak Ghorbany) accused of adultery under Shariah law waits to be stoned to death. Adultery in the Muslim world means (intimate relationship between a girl/woman and a man to whom she is not permanently or temporarily married. Such a relationship does not necessarily mean a sexual relationship.Charges of adultery are routinely issued to women/girls who have been raped,That's considered a crime in the Muslim World.(Maybe the pope should of recently bought that up instead of quoting a 14th century emperor.) Stoning is a great Muslim tradition in which the whole community gets to take part.Her hands will be tied behind her back as she becomes covered from head to toe in winding sheets and is placed seated in a pit. The pit is then filled up to her chest with dirt and the dirt is tamped down. At that point, members of the community are invited to murder her by hurling rocks at her. To ensure that the person condemned to stoning receives the absolute maximum amount of pain and torture, the Iranian government has even mandated the size of the stones that are to be used in this barbaric act of public execution. By law, no stone should be thrown that would kill Ms. Ghorbany with the first or second blow, or so small as a pebble to do no injury to her body. The religion of peace set no specific scheduled dates for such killings and i guess that's to stop the civilized world from trying to spoil their fun. So i ask any civilized person who reads my blog to go sign this petition and see if we can stop this barbaric act.

Below is a documentary of how they murdered a 16 year old child in a public square in Neka,Iran.Her death sentence was for crimes against chastity.Hopefully all those who are converting to Islam so they can get to wear cute headgear can take time to watch.

A few days ago we took our granddaughter to a place called Windsor Point near our community Cape Ray. Windsor Point also know as Osmond's Point was the birthplace of my father and my wifes mother plus many other family relatives. No one lives there anymore but our families still have summer cabins there. That September evening my granddaughter played along the shoreline and collected a few seashells. As i watched my thoughts went back to a few years ago when a group called (WERAC)..Wilderness and Ecological Reserves Advisory Council came to our area to try and make the point and rest of the area a preserve. This group of people with no ties to the area came several times and each time the locals told them they wanted no part of it. In the end they slacked off and so far have not made the attempt to interfere with the lives of the local people. If the WERAC council suceeded at that time with their wishes a child would not of been allowed to carry a seashell from that area. The locals would of not been able to pick a berry,dig a clam or catch a trout there. Someone with no ties to the area,who knew no local history or never even walked through the old family cemetery there would of made decisions on a place they knew absolutely nothing about. Sometimes it's great to live in NL,especially when you can exercise your rights to stop those who know nothing other then what they think is best for someone else.

To run a marathon requires determination and the athlete knows it'll be over in a few hours.The athlete has prepared for months and know that at some time during those few hours of running he will have to manage pain.They say the first marathon took place over 2,500 years ago when Philippides of Greece ran 22 miles from the battlefield by the town of Marathon to Athens to announce the Greek victory over Persia in the Battle of Marathon.Philippides was to of said the word "victory" before he died.
In St. John’s, Newfoundland,Canada on April 12, 1980 a young man who had lost his right leg to cancer started his marathon.His was called "The Marathon of Hope." His name was Terry Fox and he ran a marathon every day and his goal was to run across our nation raising money for cancer research. The marathon came to a halt on September 1st,1980. After 143 days and 5,373 kilometres or(3,339 miles), Terry was forced to stop running outside of Thunder Bay, Ontario because cancer had returned to his lungs.He hoped to once again recover and finish that marathon but on June 28th,1981,one month before his 23rd birthday,Terry Fox died.On that day his legacy was just beginning.The people of Canada continued the Marathon of Hope and now 26 years later,Terry Fox's dream is still alive and has become a worldwide Marathon of Hope.Over 50 countries now participate in the annual run and it grows in numbers each year.

been using some new software lately, photovista panorama 3.0 and i find it very user friendly. I use it mainly to stitch a series of photos together to make pan shots for my websites. Before i had this program i would do it in Adobe photoshop. That was always time consuming but now i can add up to ten photos at a time and the program stitches them. Few examples of panshots here that i done using the Photovista software.

OH NO! Another day of blogging against the religion of peace!

It's a slur on Islam says cleric Sheik Mohammed Omran, Melbourne, Australia. Apparently Ayten Ahmet a 16 year old girl wants to win the Miss Teen Australia Beauty pageant and be normal like most other young girls her age.The young lady who plans to combine modelling with an accounting degree, said the criticism was disappointing and unnecessary.(look,she even has a mind of her own,this must really infuriate the cult!)Victorian Islamic leader Yasser Soliman said the contest did not conform with the teachings of the Koran.(no shit!)
"I thought it would be good experience and an opportunity to have a bit of fun," Ms. Ahmet said. "The cameras are something I love." (fun and Islam,an oxymoron for sure!)
Mean while half a world away the first Muslim Miss England,Hammasa Kohistani,19,has accused Prime Minister Tony Blair of stereotyping the Islamic community in Britain after the terrorist attacks there.This young womans family came to England when they fled the Taleban in Afghanistan.The family should of stayed there and fought the Taliban, maybe then they could exercise that same fredom of speech in Afghanistan. Maybe then a family in my province,the family of Richard Francis Nolan who died in Afghanistan yesterday would not be in so much sorrow today.


The youths of the Western world will die to preserve the freedom of all who want to live in democracy in our part of the world. Some will respect that but certain others will not.

Looks like another job opening in Iraq.Hamed Juma Faris al-Suaidi also known as abdul and abu was just captured.Ol Hamed,or what ever you want to call him,was the second most important al-Qaida in Iraq leader after Abu Ayyub al masri.If i remember correctly Al Masri only recently got his job as number one when Abu Musab al Zarqaw showed up for work one morning without a hard hat. That abu got smacked on the head by two American bombs. Terrorism supervisors must have very stressful days and no wonder there are always job openings!I don't know the going rate of pay for the jobs but i heard the retirement package has 72 virgins and little else. From what else i gather i hear they're non unionized and work for some guy called allah. No union rules just a book called a koran. No coffee breaks but four prayer breaks daily.No wonder so many job openings so often! Rumor is that they'll soon run out of males and they're converting females from other world religions to fill the void. Some are probably in it just for the virgins and others because they get to wear a neat little head gear called a hijab.Some are not old enough yet to take up the cause and you can see them training here while the rest are waiting for job openings.

Here's what the war on terror is all about.

Driving home this morning i was listening to Willie Nelson on the radio singing "mammas don't Let your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys." The song was still stuck in my head as i surfed through CNN news on the web. I ran across an article on Jill Carroll who was abducted and held hostage by the religion of peace. That article told of a 5 year old kid already being indoctrinated by terrorists and how he was to become one of them calling himself a "Mujahid," a holy warrior. So i started to wonder what mothers hoped their babies would grow up to be over in the Middle East? From what i can read on internet blogs and see on the news it looks like a lot of mothers don't want their kids to grow up but receive their 42 virgins as early as possible. Mothers are content on letting kids become human shields and suicide bombers.
Those mothers are the same ones that recently let Hizbollah terrorists launch rockets into Israel among civilians using them as human shields. When Israel returned fire they screamed and cried that Israel was murdering them. Here's a terrorist group dedicated to the destruction of another country operating freely in Lebanon expecting them not to retaliate but sit back and receive casualties. Strange mothers ! I wonder if Willie could write them a song? I doubt it! I doubt if Cat Stevens could even do it.

News Article from the VOCM website:
Portnoy Lawyers Meet Today August 14, 2006 Angela Portnoy has a new baby. The nine pound baby boy was born Saturday afternoon, according to spokesperson Joanne Mallay-Jones. Mallay-Jones says both Angela and the baby are doing fine. Meantime, the deadline to leave the country is fast approaching. Officials had lifted the arrest warrant until August 18th. Mallay-Jones says the lawyers involved are scheduled to meet today and they are expecting to know more about the status of the Humanitarian and Compassionate Plea after the meeting. Angela is begging the Canadian government to favorably review the Humanitarian & Compassionate Application that is presently in the hands of the Canadian Immigration Department. She says they have suffered so much and again asks they be allowed to remain in Canada and resume living together as a family. Angela's husband, Alexi, is in Mexico hoping Canadian authorities will ultimately grant him permission to come to Canada, and for his family to remain here. Sam Synard, co-chair of the Portnoy Committee, says given the current situation in Israel, it would be hard to accept that the Canadian Government would deport a family that has lived here for over ten years , especially when there are now three Canadian children involved.

Portnoy family website: click here

San Synard makes a good point after what we just saw there. Our government has sent ships to evacuate Canadian citizens in that region and yet they want to deport Canadian citizens along with the rest of their family there. Some will argue once again that the Portnoys should of never been here i the first place. Maybe that's a good point but who let them in Canada in the first place? Our government! Who can let them stay and finally give them a place to call home? Our government! I've made a rant about this case before and hopefully the next time it'll be one much more favourable to many of us who believe in compassion.

Another ATV Rant.

Another news article on ATV use in NL .

A longtime advocate for all-terrain vehicle drivers in Newfoundland and Labrador says the province needs to better educate people about the laws governing ATV use instead of just enforcing them.

Oswald Fudge, of the ATV Federation recently made this statement and did end it with saying that not all the provinces 40,000 ATV users are breaking the laws. Thank you for that part Mr. Fudge! My suggestion would be to go to the so called cabin country and make one big sunday crack down. Any given Sunday in my area you can stop and seize at least a dozen ATV's with kids as young as ten years old operating them with two or more passengers hanging on them and not one of them wearing a helmet or any protective gear. Most wear shorts and the so called flip flops on their feet and know that he who drives the fastest gets the right of way. I dare say the only law not broken on most of the machines is the vehicle registration one. Im sure the majority of those ATV 's are registered and the kids i say are driving the best machines mom and pop can buy.
Mr. Fudge quote""""There's no education whatsoever being done by the province." Will my opinion on that is for the RCMP to start an education program some fine sunday evening. Seize a few of those machines all across the province and videotape the kids travelling at mach1 for mom and dad to view at home on the evening news. Im sure the majority of ATV users know the law but some simply don't care because it's not enforced.

It's been a while since i blogged but hope to start regular ones again soon. The war on CNN captures my spare time recently. (That's how i describe the latest conflict in the middle east.) CNN seems to of made a blogger pretty popular and here's the page to Beezer. You might not agree with his comments but you will find it most interesting.

Enucleation, not a familiar word to most and im sure a lot never heard of it until now. It's a word that i just added to my vocabulary. Recommending an enucleation is one of the most difficult therapeutic decisions in ophthalmology and it was just recommended to me. No other choices are available. I lost an eye around age eight and it didn't become noticeable until i became older. It has been no big deal to me and never slowed me down until recently when i started feeling pain and the vision of my good eye that was always above normal seemed to be not as well lately. looks like in the next month or so i'll be having that Enucleation( weird word) and then i 'll decide if i go for an artificial one or wear a patch. It was recommended a while back that i should be wearing one but like most advice a lot just go by the wayside. I'll at least have something to blog about later and start wearing a patch most days up until that time.

Today i read a news article on the VOCM News site
[Is the Ode out of Mode?
June 10, 2006
Some debate going on over how the members of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment will conduct themselves when the 'Ode to Newfoundland' is played over the French battlefieds when the regiment returns to Beaumont Hamel and area next month. Lieutenent Colonel Kevin Hutchings says it's an honour to have all the members of the first and second batallions present for the 90th anniversay of the July 1st massacre. But he notes it is not permitted for Canadian Forces members to salute a, what is now, provincial anthem.]

For many outside the province who know little about our military history of WWI, here it is in a nutshell.
At that time Newfoundland was a dominion and we played a small but distinguished part in that great war. Five thousand Newfoundlanders served in the Royal Newfoundland Regiment,another thousand in the Royal Navy and still more in the forestry brigades. The royal Newfoundland Regiment took 16 Battle Honours.
GALLIPOLI, 1915-16
Egypt, 1915-16
YPRES, 1917,'18
LANGEMARCK, 1917
France and Flanders, 1916-18
POELCAPELLE
ALBERT (BEAUMONT HAMEL), 1916
CAMBRAT, 1917
Somme, 1916
LYS
LE TRANSLOY
BAILLEUL
Arras, 1917
Kemmel
Scarpe,1917
COURTRAI

One of the most tragic events to hit our island nation happened on July 1/1916.It was called the battle of Beaumont Hamel and took place on the opening day of the Battle of the Somme. 790 men went over the top to advance towards the German linesthat morning. Out of these 710 were killed, wounded, or missing. Only 68 men answered the roll call the following day. Major General D.E. Cayley, Commander of the 88th. Brigade stated "It was a magnificent display of trained and disciplined valour and only failed because dead men can advance no further."
That July morning in France probably changed the history of our island. Young future leaders never got a chance to return. No community on our island escaped the consequences of the regiment's attempt that day to advance and help end a war. We have a memorial in France to honour our dead and July 1 was always a sacred day for Newfoundlanders but since confederation with Canada we now celebrate Canada Day and the Battle of Beaumont Hamel is going out of memory.
Would it be so wrong for The Royal Newfoundland Regiment to salute when the "Ode to Newfoundland"is played at Beaumont hamel on that day? I don't think so! I also don't think we have heard the last of this.

Wildlife biologist from Newfoundland & Labrador might have recently found the cause of many dead seals washing up on our coastline recently. A leading Newfoundland scientist, a Dr. N. Confusus has determined the deaths to be from Sexually transmitted diseases. He was quoted as saying after conducting autopsies on the marine mammals they all had some forms of STD's ranging from gonnorreha, Genital Herpes Syphillis and a recently discovered one he has named Ladyofheather. It now appears the seals became infected this pass spring when the STD's hit the pristine ice floes off our province when an ex porn star dropped by to molest them. More on the story can be found by clicking here.

After viewing todays news in the sun the lyrics from a song (New Age Girl) by "Dead Eye Dick" comes to mind.
Mary Moon, she's a vegetarian
(Mary Moon, Mary Moon, Mary Moon)
Mary Moon will outlive all the septaugenarians
(Mary Moon, Mary Moon, Mary Moon)
Oh she loves me so, she hates to be alone
She don't eat meat but she sure like the bone

That photo was taken back in 88 and those breasts don't look that great to me. Hopefully with all her new found wealth and $$$$$ from her divorce settlement she can pump them up a bit.

Seventeen Canadian residents are in custody Saturday on terrorism- related charges, including plots to use explosives in attacks on Canadian soil. 12 male adults involved and five youth whose names can't be released because they're underage and the laws of our great country just won't allow that. The adults names are : 1. Fahim Ahmad, 21, Toronto;2. Zakaria Amara, 20, Mississauga, Ont.; 3. Asad Ansari, 21, Mississauga;4. Shareef Abdelhaleen, 30, Mississauga;5. Qayyum Abdul Jamal, 43, Mississauga;6. Mohammed Dirie, 22, Kingston, Ont.;7. Yasim Abdi Mohamed, 24, Kingston;8. Jahmaal James, 23, Toronto;9. Amin Mohamed Durrani, 19, Toronto;10. Steven Vikash Chand alias Abdul Shakur, 25, Toronto;11. Ahmad Mustafa Ghany, 21, Mississauga;12. Saad Khalid, 19, of Eclipse Avenue, Mississauga.
Im sure the kids names are similiar, a mohamed or abdul. Lawyers for the accused, asked that their clients be provided with a Koran, and in one case prescription eyewear. Of course that was granted immediately because we wouldn't want to offend the Muslim world now,would we? The news goes on to say all were inspired by al-Qaeda. Here are some Canadian born kids who have never sat foot outside of Canada and are inspired byMuslim extremists. The kids here are not the so called poor,uneducated ones who the press say are suicide bombers or terrorist in the middle eastern world.They are sons of wealthy and educated Canadians who could care less about this country and proved Saturday that we are not immune to the threat of terrorism.

here's a quote from one of their relatives that i particulary liked..
Alvin Chand, brother of Toronto suspect Steven Vikash Chand, scoffed at the charges outside the courthouse.
“He’s not a terrorist, come on, he’s a Canadian citizen” Mr. Chand said of his brother. “The people that were arrested are good people. They go to the mosque. They go to school, go to college.”

It's going to be a long drawn out court case and those terrorist will have it relatively easy compared to the rest of their brotherly scum held by the Americans in Guantanamo Bay. Im sure more of their brothers in other terrorist cells are hard at work here in Canada being good Canadian citizens and going to Mosque and being inspired by Al Qadea daily. Even during the days after 9 - 11 i felt terrible ,hoping no one would judge all Muslims as terrorist. I know of very few here in rural Newfoundland but when i do see one from now on, i'll look at him differently.We are different!! So different!

I've been crying all day so please forgive me if my blog today seems more emotional then usual. News like this always breaks me up. Here's the article from a news source in my province.
A Hard Day's Night for the McCartneysMay 17, 2006

Former Beatle Paul McCartney and his wife of four years, Heather Mills McCartney, are calling it quits. The couple upset many Newfoundlanders and Labradorians when they came to Atlantic Canada this spring to protest the seal hunt. In a statement issued today, the couple said they found it hard to keep a normal relationship with the constant pressure from the media. McCartney married Mills in June 2002, four years after his former wife, Linda McCartney, died of breast cancer. They have a two year old daughter, Beatrice. Sir Paul was knighted by the Queen in 1997.
Yes, it must be hard to keep a normal relationship with pressure from the media. Especially if you seek them out to help with your crusades to save the planet. So here's my advice to the parting couple. Paul go seek another blonde! I heard Anna Nicole Smith is available and she loves rich old guys. Heather,you also go seek Anna Nicole and ask her for some advice. Ask her how to take old guys for all they're worth and leave that Beatle dirt poor. If you don't make it back to our ice floes next spring,we'll understand. We also suffer the constant pressure from the media.

His name is Jim Bennett and he came to save the liberal party of NL. Unfortunenately the party passed away before poor ol Jim could make the trip from Canada to the province. Seems ol Jim decided after 3 months that the job couldn't be done and stepped aside. Suggestions have been made to put every man,woman and childs name in a hat and no other then the premier,Danny Williams himself would draw it. The winner would then be the new Liberal leader of NL. The pay is great and there's not much to do except sit and watch the Tories lead us down the road to a better future. As long as no fork appears in the road we may be ok for the time being and the road has no curves. Today Jim,i was thinking of playing a special song on my blog just for you. Candle in the wind would of been so appropriate but like your fellow buddies in the liberal ranks i just can't take the time to upload it or fool with you.Enjoy your life Jim. Reflect back at times and smile like your doing in the photo. (by the way Jim,that's the only photo i can find of you. I searched google,yahoo and a few more search engines and ended up swiping it from the VOCM news page.You kind of remind me of Red Green when i saw you at first.....sorry Jim. Now im starting to insult you and i apologise. If not i wouldn't be no more of a man then you could find in that deceased party you wanted to lead.

Justices side with Anna Nicole Smith !
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled today that one-time stripper and Playboy Playmate Anna Nicole Smith could pursue part of her late husband's oil fortune. Anna's guy croaked after marrying her for a while. J. Howard Marshall II,the lucky SOB had an estate estimated at as much as $1.6 billion. He was 89 and little Anna just 26 at the time and im sure he had heaven on earth for a while because with 1.6 billion you can buy viagra by the warehouse load. Marshall's youngest son, E. Pierce Marshall has been trying to keep Anna away from daddys cash and still might be able to do so even after the Supremes today gave dear Anna the option to pursue her case.

How can anyone look at a photo like that and say it's not love? If you look close enough you can see old rigor mortis's viagra kicking in. I just hope when it's all said and done Anna takes it all. Hell, if ol junior was a bit smart he might cut himself a deal like daddy and with luck get a few extra years out of that little sports car more then daddy did.

Been a while since my last post, so maybe, just maybe,a lot of this one could be fabricated. The seal hunt has all but left the headlines and the celebrities have all returned home until next year. Rumors are circulating that some rich white dude just back from Dubai has petitioned to buy all of next years Whitecoat seals and move them to his Neverland ranch in the Santa Ynez Valley, California. Sir Paul Mccartney & Lady Heather have already jumped on the bandwagon and have contacted Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to help with proceedings to adopt all of next years newborns. Hollywood itself has come out in full force and styrofoam ice pieces can be seen already being prepared for shipment to the ranch. Captain Paul Watson when interviewed by the National Enquirer on the matter seemed a bit nervous about the whole idea saying if such a thing happened his animal rights organization would stand to loose a lot of donations from the public who would probably send money to the Whacko Jacko Adopt a Seal Foundation instead. California Vegans are already preparing vegan meals in advance for the million or so seals that would be coming next spring. PETA has raised questions on how the seals would be rounded up on the floes off Eastern Canada and delivered across the continent. Two Hollywood cowboys who recently starred in Brokeback Mountain have suggested an overland route saying they already have experience rounding up sheep and whitecoat seals looks similiar from a distance. It's going to be an interesting year and Larry King already has next weeks shows booked with celebrities who are jumping on the Seal Exodus bandwagon. Meanwhile back at Neverland Michael is setting up his petting zoo for the seals and kids are in line waiting.Rumour has it the petting has already started.

I have not found much time lately to update or even visit the blogs i frequented all along.I got involved on a community committee and spend quite a bit of my spare time helping out with a forum we recently made. I'll get back on track soon.............

The seals have another advocate this year! Porn star Pamela Anderson hosted the Junos last night in Halifax and made the comment that her favorite artists were not able to make it to the Junos this year. She said "Seal didn't attend in fear of being clubbed". Pam tossed out a few more remarks about blood and ice but im ashamed to say i didn't catch them all. I, like a lot more was to infatuated with Pams big fake tits and was thinking to myself, if this girl gets on the floes and holds a baby seal in the nude,our whole friggin sealing industry is gone. Im willing to bet, that one poster like that could raise more money in one year then Paul Watson sucked out of morons in the pass decade. So here's to you today Pamela, enjoy your moment in the sun because a Bardot you soon will be also.( I hope they don't sag in your old age!)

The Newfoundland & Labrador 2006 - 2007 Hunting and Trapping guide has arrived! On the island this year we have 26,255 moose licences available. A decrease of 205 from last year. For the Caribou hunt,there are 4,635 available and that's a decrease of 907 from last season. This year for the first time we'll see Sunday hunting beginning on November 5 and continuing until the closing of the season. Area 10,Port Aux Basques,my hunting area, has 375 either sex licences and 275 bul only,or calf licences available.(no change from last year) The moose and caribou permits are $52.00 plus the HST for Premier Danny. Anyone wanting to know more about our wildlife and plant species in the province ,can click here to find out more.

Checking out the blogs today and visited whiskersadies journal. I ran across this pic and here's an article from the National Inuit Youth Council on the above poster. I think Murray Angus who created the poster sums it up well with just two words, "cultural arrogance !"

This is taken from the VOCM News site.

Seal Hunt UnderwayMarch 25, 2006
Canada's East Coast seal hunt is officially under way on unusually thin ice in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.A mild winter and warmer-than-normal water temperatures will make it more difficult this year for hunters to find and kill the 91,000 seals they are allowed to take in the Gulf hunt.There is no ice in the southern part of the Gulf, around Prince Edward Island, so hunters and protesters alike are heading north into the Cabot Strait and the Strait of Belle Isle off Newfoundland and Labrador.Tensions are higher than usual this year thanks to an aggressive, anti-hunt campaign launched by animal rights groups such as the Humane Society of the United States.The society has enlisted the support of such high-profile celebrities as Paul McCartney to appeal for an end to the annual slaughter.Fed up sealers on the Iles de la Madeleine are trying to get their own boycott going against the protesters. They're urging suppliers to stop providing protesters with boats, fuel and helicopters.
Fisheries Minister Tom Rideout says some thought is being given as to the best way of getting out the truth.
Fisheries and Oceans Minister Loyola Hearn says an animal rights campaign targeting the seal hunt, that claims to have cut into Canadian seafood exports, is clearly bogus. Hearn says during a recent trip to the Boston Seafood show his department did some checking among companies that have reportedly joined the boycott. Hearn says they discovered the true picture.
Cheryl Fink of the International Fund for Animal Welfare says there are poor ice conditions in the Gulf this year and there aren't a lot of seals around. Fink says they are concerned about the changing climate and its impact on the breeding habitat of seals. She says the seal hunt is cruel and they want it shut down completely.
Fink says each year they continue to document and report on violations of the marine mammal regulations and instances of unacceptable cruelty to animals. She says there is more enforcement in the Gulf this year, but time will tell what comes of that.

Just read a bit of info on Bridget Bardot and she ain't no Bono! Apparently the old sex kitten loves furry critters much more then her fellow human beings. She seems much like our Vanessa in my March 17/06 blog. Would rather see harm come to a human then an animal. Strange critters those animal rights activists. She seems to oppose so many things besides the seal hunt those days. Bridget opposes interracial marriage and also presents Muslims as barbaric and cruel invaders, responsible for terrorist acts and eager to dominate the French to the extent of wanting to exterminate them. Bridget has been fined several times over the pass few years for her attacks on gays, immigrants and the jobless. She also dislikes the idea of women in government! Im happy the PM Stephen Harper didn't give her the time of day and wonder what the hell even an asshole like Paul Watson would want her to come to multicultural Canada for. I know some reading my blog lately must think "what the hell is that guy picking on poor Bridget for?" Well,thinking back to my youth, all those day dreams, nights of nocturnal emissions,and after all that dreaming of her,i expected better.

World's greatest tool. No it's not me!I didn't even place in the top 20. Forbes.com compiled its list of the 20 most important tools of all time and it looks like Duct Tape has made it to the top. Red Green must be smiling today. Anyone who hung around with me knows of my love for this great invention.It's my Mastercard, i don't leave home without it. It's in the trunk of my car, aboard my ATV and found in several places around my house. For some reason i caught on real early to the value of this product and always had a few handy.

On February 10, 2003, with government intelligence agencies indicating a high risk of terrorist attacks, the Department of Homeland Security advised Americans to prepare by keeping emergency supplies on hand. The requisites included food and water, a first-aid kit, and, in case of a biological or chemical attack, plastic sheeting and duct tape. Now i know being far away from the good ol U.S. of A. should of made me feel safe, but the same day a Canadian Tire Flyer came out with a sale on Duct Tape. On the way home from work that day i picked up a 24 pack of Duct Tape just to be on the safe side. I printed off the article by the American Government agency and Duct Taped it to the refrigerator so my wife could read it. She still whined more then a cruise missle homing in on target but im sure i'll convince her this evening the importance of Duct Tape. I printed off the Forbes article and Duct Taped that to the fridge also. Sleep good tonight Red Green wherever you are!

**Warning to Canadian Sealers**

If sealing on the floes this spring and approached by this creature,do not panic!


This is just another over the hill star and now closely resembles an old Harp seal. Once so long ago it resembled another little creature called a White Coat Seal. Back then it could be used for photo ops by animal rights groups. Today however with its coat shedding and body decaying, it is wothless.* Please do not even mercy club it ,if approached by it. Just give the creature her final moments in the sun and remember it for what it was.

Here's a gal who wants to club Newfoundlanders. So sweet! Deletes any comments from people who don't agree with her.

http://vanessa-vy.livejournal.com/41115.html#comments

Vanessa loves German Videos so i guess that tells a lot about her wanting to bash a humans head in.

CBC NEWS ARTICLE:
Senator fires back at U.S. family upset with seal hunt
A Liberal senator has replied to a family in Minnesota upset about Canada's seal hunt with a letter denouncing the United States for executing prisoners at home and killing people in Iraq.


The McLellan family had written to Canadian senators to say they cancelled a vacation in Canada because of the hunt, which they called "horrible" and "inhumane," Montreal's La Presse reports.
In her response, Senator Céline Hervieux-Payette said that what she finds horrible is "the daily massacre of innocent people in Iraq, the execution of prisoners - mainly blacks - in American prisons, the massive sale of handguns to Americans, the destabilization of the entire world by the American government's aggressive foreign policy, etc."

She said Americans are not in a position to criticize others. "They must start to look at their own behaviour, the permanent heightening of the planet's insecurity since the election of Bush," she told La Presse.
"All senators received the letter from the McLellans and I was the only one to respond," she said.
The family "did not choose a good cause," she added.
In their letter, the McLellans said they love Canada and have Canadian ancestors but cancelled a trip to Canada last year because of the seal hunt and will scrap plans for one this year if the spring hunt goes ahead, La Presse said.

Hervieux-Payette, a lawyer and former Liberal MP, was appointed to the Senate in 1995 by then prime minister Jean Chrétien. She last drew public attention with a private member's bill in 2004 to outlaw spanking of children.

In defending the seal hunt, she called it a centuries-old practice and part of the livelihood of coastal residents both native and white.
She invited the McLellans to come to Canada to see a humane society that lives in safety and respects the traditions of its native people.
It is not clear whether she might pay a penalty for remarks that could be seen as anti-American. Once appointed, senators have a job until retirement at 75.

Senator Celine Hervieux-Payette,Thank you! Within the next few weeks our annual seal hunt will take place and im sure this is just the tip of the iceberg. More backlash to come im sure from both sides of the ice floes.

The fog burns away the snow on the Twin Mountains this morning overlooking the community. Below in the community the residents go about their daily lives and it's just another day not unlike the previous one. Each morning school children and residents travel this road and return at days end. It's a great place to live and its all worth the daily commute to have the comfort of living in a small community. Spring is just a day on the calendar here and we know that the date is just that. Spring has to claw and fight its way in and summer seems to come and go all to fast. They say climatically, Newfoundland is the most maritime of the Atlantic Provinces, and this is evident in all seasons, but especially in spring and summer, which are quite cool by Canadian standards. Were not noted for our sunshine here and many days we see the fog forming on the Twin Mountains as in todays photo. Statistics Canada,who i always like to quote says our total number of hours of bright sunshine for the island is usually less than 1600 hours a year.We experience an average of 187 hours of sunshine a month, about 42% of the total possible. The least sunshine is experienced in December, when the average daily duration is about 2 hours. To some that might sound a bit depressing today.To me that sounds ok about now because im ready for that few days ahead we call summer and so are the residents of that little community below those Twin Mountains.

According to statistics Canada ,the population of my community Cape Ray fell - 19.7 percent from 1996 to 2001. The population in 1996 according to statistics Canada was 928 and down to 745 in 2001. ( i actually think those numbers are to high! I suspect a typo by the census there.) A few weeks ago we decided to start a Come Home Year event for July of 2007 and a head count held at that time showed just 288 people still in our community. That account was accurate and done by a lady who has worked for Census Canada in the past and also on our local service district. It looks like the downturn of the fishery and the governments decision to close the local school a few years back has sealed the fate of Cape Ray. Im wondering by 2007 how much more that number will drop? Each year in June we see a few more families leave,seeking employment elsewhere and at times their homes simply placed in mothballs because they're next to impossible to sell. Each year we see an American or two come, buy up the houses and land at a ridicously low price and speak of how wonderful it is to live in Newfoundland. 2007 will be our first attempt at a Come Home Year event and were the last community on the Southwest coast of the island to have one. I appreciate being a part of a committee to try and organize such an event and know it will be a success. I also wonder will this be the first and last Come Home Year for Cape Ray? What will the future hold for my community? Will it just be a retirement village for some of us who decide to stay and the occasional American who makes it his home? Only time will yield the answers.

Contrary to popular beliefs, this image is of a seal! A lot outside of Newfoundland and Labrador are probably saying "it can't be, it's not cute and cuddly!"Sorry to burst your bubble but it's true. I shot this photo New Years Day in Cape Ray at the seashore here. I dared not get closer because Mr. Contrary Face wanted to be left alone to bask in the January sun . I snapped a few pics and kept my distance knowing he would take a piece of me if i approached to close. This big ugly son of a bitch would never make a poster child for some animal rights group and i doubt if Sir Paul and ladyHeather Mills would want to adopt it. I would give my full years salary to see Lady Heather go and pet it.


Photos of this type will never show on sites seeking donations nor did they show up on last nights peace talks on CNN. A great deal of that show was taken up showing images of seals been clubbed and it's not a pretty site for anyone who has not seen a culling of animals. Im sure if they showed images of cattle, hogs and chickens been processed it would have the same effect on some as those images of the seals.
The McCartney couple said they came for information and i doubt if they got anymore then the mis-information they already brought with them. The premier did give them a Geography lesson when McCartney claimed to be in Newfoundland and was informed that he was actually in Prince Edward Island. I guess the lingering effects of LSD use takes decades to wear off. To me the highlight of the show was this statement by Danny Williams:

WILLIAMS: The other thing that's very relevant here, Larry, is that -- and I don't attribute this to the McCartneys, but this is where I think this is where they're being used. These organizations, the IFAW, Green Peace, PETA raise significant amounts of money. There are hundreds of millions of dollars that are being raised by these organizations. And let me tell you the FBI right now have a file opened in their terrorism division investigating organizations like this, including the PETA organization, from a terrorism perspective. So there are some huge issues here that if we had a couple of hours to go into, I would love to deal with. But what I would like to do...

hopefully we'll hear more of this part in the future and those that rob money from the bleeding hearts who don't know what actually goes on in my province get jail time. After last night im more proud to be from Newfoundland and Labrador then i have ever been before. Looking forward to later in the month or early April for my Seal Flipper meal more then ever!

** Here's an interesting blog on the subject... http://ctcthoughts.blogspot.com/ check it out.