Remembrance Day has come and gone, with the usual discussions about whether it would be better remembered as a holiday and what it really means.  A recent poll showed that about 50% of the population was able to direct their remembrance towards a specific individual, whether it be a grandparent, relative, friend, neighbour... 
     I stopped to observe the obligatory minute of silence, but it felt a little hollow, especially since I’m a member of the other 50%.  What I cherish is that I’ve been lucky enough to be born in a period of time with no world conflict that would force me into a combat role.  There have been plenty of wars in the world, from Korea and Viet Nam to Afghanistan, but they have not sucked my generation into the madness, -at least not here in Canada.
What can I remember?  One of the slogans for Remembrance Day is “Lest we forget.”  Forget what?  Certainly the sacrifices that were made by those warriors who have had to defend our way of life, and still do.  Regardless of whether we agree with the particular wars, regardless of the accused atrocities that are the collateral damage of war, I don’t have anything but respect for those that are willing to serve their country.  If there is a blame for the atrocities or pointlessness of war, it is with the politicians and powerful military industries and high ranking officers who manipulate young men and women into situations where there are no right choices.  Placing young, often naive soldiers in situations where they have to make life and death situations and where there are temptations/pressures to act in abominable ways is NOT their fault.  Most of the time, I can honour their courage.
       But the other slogan, popular after WW1, was “Never Again”.  Later it was used primarily for the Holocaust, but originally it was meant as an anti-war statement after WW1.  It was supposed to be the war that ended all wars.  “Never Again” was the world supposed to consume itself in a madness that would extinguish so many young, innocent lives and mangle others.  To remember is to remember that these soldiers sacrificed themselves so that peace would prevail and so that freedom can be enjoyed.  I therefore choose to remember my commitment to peace and to practice my freedom as my way of honouring their sacrifices. 
Remembrance Day should in no way glorify war or glamorize battle.  War is an atrocity, -a social madness.  Battle is hell.  Rather, it should glorify and promote the things that the soldiers fought for, peace and freedom.  We should remember the horrors with the aim of making sure that no more should have to endure it.  This is not always possible to accomplish, which is why we have Peace Keeping Forces, but we should never lose sight of the fact that must be the ultimate goal. 

     Recently, some people have revived the old custom of wearing white poppies for peace rather than the blood red poppies of death and war.  It was originally done by widows after WW1.  It is ironic that those promoting and controlling red poppies are complaining about copyright infringement and threatening to take action.  Maybe they need to "remember" what the real purpose of this day is.

Star Trek's Mr. Sulu, George Takei, speaks out on gay bullying, teen suicides and Clint McCance.  ..And it's just plain entertaining.

Check it out HERE.

     The news of the week has to be the Republican landslide in the American election.  As much as I'd like to comment on it, I don't think I could ever say it as well as John Scalzi did in his Whatever Blog.  Here it is, quoted from a much longer piece.

     "Dear Democrats: You managed to lose the House in historic proportions to a party whose strategy was to harness the inchoate anger of old white people so stupid that they don’t sense the inherent contradiction of screaming about a smaller government whilst cashing their federal checks. You are morons. Please find someone who can play this game and put them in charge of your electoral strategy, because what you’re doing now isn’t working. Also, henceforth, every time you whine about Fox News and shadowy financiers of the Tea Party, we get to beat you with a hammer. This is the political landscape now. Deal with it."

     Love it.  Same kind of thing might be said to those whining about Ford's win in Toronto.  if we can't find Liberals/Democrats who can play the game with a certain amount of savy, we too will find ourselves by idiots who think that "getting tough" is better than "getting smart". 

     Saw a new word the other day.  Intelliphobia = fear and feeling threatened by people who you think are more intelligent than you. 

     I know there are some Graham Hancock fans out there among my friends.  Hancock has written several historical books outlining his belief in pre-Ice Age civilizations.  His most notable work is Fingerprints of the Gods, a poorly titled but otherwise excellent and scholarly book looking at the cycle of disasters in history.  I say scholarly because in spite of the contentious material and the tendency for his work to be shoved into the New Age section in bookstores, his work has been extremely well documented, footnoted, researched and thought out.  The fact that even with the use of painstaking scholarly authentication, he still is not taken seriously is a problem which pains him greatly. 

     As a result, Hancock figures that if people aren't going to take him seriously anyway, he might as well try his hand at fiction.  Hence the new novel, Entangled.  His article on the Whatever Blog expresses his feelings about the new book and his writing career.  I haven't read it yet, but I'm looking forward to it once I get past the Julian Comstock opus that I'm half way through. (Don't people write novels of less than 500 pages anymore?)

     There's been a lot of exposure given to the case of Russell Williams.  Neighbours and friends are stunned that the polite and dignified commander of Canada's largest military base could hide the fact that he was or turned into a depraved monster.  It's the kind of thing that can't help but breed a type of paranoia, where people contemplate that they can never take things at face value.  And yet, let us not forget that all the experts claim that this is a new and unique breed of monster.  We need not fear all of our neighbours.

     And yet the story is one where one might almost entertain the idea of demonic possession to explain the incongurence of this person's character.

     When reading the reports, I cannot help but notice one glaring coincidence.  There is no doubt that Williams harboured a long present fetish involving fantasies and women's underwear.  Many of the psychologists chiming in on this story have said that this hidden fetish alone is not that uncommon.  What, then, caused this man to abandon all morality and take a gigantic leap into aggressive activity?

     Not meaning to trivialize the situation, or to suggest that Williams does not bear full responsibility for his actions, I can't help but notice William's fondness for his cat.  In fact, it seems that Williams' first steps at breaking and entering into his neighbour's house coincide exactly with the arrival of the new kitten.

     I wonder if anyone thought to test him for Toxoplasm gondii.