What to do with Haiti?

Our hearts go out to the Haitian People on their great loss and tremendous suffering; though things have not gone well for Haiti's people for the last 200 hundred years and more.



From the far right we have Pat Robertson explaining Haiti's troubles away as the result of the Country's Pack with the Devil. And on the far left there is Danny Glover believing that the recent earthquake was caused by the breakdown in negotiations at Copenhagen.


Wackos, the both of them.




But something has certainly gone wrong with Haiti and something sure as hell needs to be done to fix it.



Already commentators are looking at spending more money as a final cure to what ails this tiny country of less than 10 million - not much bigger than a modest sized modern city. That is to say: money on infrastructure; money on schools and hospitals; money for this and money that.

But money alone is not the answer. If money was the cure, Haiti would be one vibrant nation today despite the recent Earthquake.

Even at yesterday's Montreal Conference, you had the President of Haiti stating that another 10 years of international financial help is required.

Hilary Clinton, in turn, spoke about the need to work through the Haitian Government to effect change.

They are both wrong.

First, in regard to an additional 10 years of international funding; it will take at least twice that long to achieve success and only under the conditions I've outlined below.

Second, to see funding funnelled through a Haitian Government, as suggested by Hilary, will only see it dissolve into a sea of corruption and inefficiency. Christopher Dufour, a resident of a homeless camp near (Haiti's) national palace, says it best, "don't give the money to the government (Haitian) because they are going to take it and steal it."

There is a problem greater than even the corrupt Haitian Governments and that relates to the lawlessness rampant in their Society. Sadly, it gets little attention but until it is successfully addressed, real progress will never be made.

This Leads To My Solution:



Marshall Law needs to be imposed as a first step.

It is the only way to address the combined negative issues of lawlessness and corrupt / inefficient governments.


This step should be taken by the United Nations, but given its pathetic track record, will more likely have to be done by the United States, with strong backing from Canada.



Our two Countries are Haiti's most important geographical neighbours, each of us with a long history of providing support for this poor, ignorant and down-trodden nation.



So once its dead are buried and its injured attended to, a concerted effort must be made to address these two major underlying problems.


Only when peace and security have been attained, and good government put in place, can the other essential ingredients of nation building, mentioned above, be achieved.


This work can be done in parallel, but the early emphasis must be on restoring public order. Put the hoodlums to work and those not willing to work - lock them up until they are.



Build a police force that is properly staffed, trained and equipped. (An army for such a tiny nation is not needed).

Educate the children and get them ready to take back the reins of power. This alone will take nearly a generation to achieve.


All the while, North American Military Officials can work with the Haitian people through their councils and various committees, but all the while retaining central control.

You can imagine the howls of indignation this action will create from the near-by dictatorships - the Cuba's and Venezuela's, but those howls will simply confirm that we are on the right track.

One could argue that a generation to effect real change is too long to wait, but for a nation that has already waited for over 200 years., it is but a moment in time.

A few years back my wife and I visited the Dominican Republic. One day we went out on excursion to visit some of the ubiquitous sugar can plantations. There we found Haitians working from sun-up to sun down hacking away at the canes with machetes. Their pay was but a pittance; on a good day they earned but $5.00 US and were paid by the ton cut. Their lifeless eyes told the story.

Sadly, this continues to this very day - modern slavery at its worst.

To sum up, if we here in North America cannot help a tiny nation on our doorstep to achieve a decent life what chance is there for those nations further afield - primarily in Africa?

As I see it...

"Galagher"

We Will Do Our Best...

An olde cub scout motto, but it is also part of a phrase used by the late great Winston Spencer Churchill - my life-long hero.



I will come back to Churchill in a moment, but what has prompted this Blog, is the Christmas Day attempted bombing of Northwest Flight 253 bound for Detroit Michigan.



I have not commented on this before now, since there were enough articles and talk shows that mirrored my thinking - i.e. that the time has come to get tough with the Psalmist Extremists.



Indeed, that time came with the levelling of the Twin Trade Towers in 2001.



But since that attack in 2001 we, in the West, have gone off the rails in our misguided attempt to defeat Terrorism.



This is most visible in the areas of flying and trade in that we have turned legitimate travellers into mere objects to be prodded and probe at will and have thickened our borders to the point where commerce has suffered greatly.



Below the radar, with the new Super Security Departments, our countries are becoming more and more police states.



In all of this, we have turned ourselves inside out and by so doing have allowed the Terrorists to win.



In all of the articles I have read on the subject, one article in particular stood out. This is an article that appeared in the National Post on January 9 under the authorship of George Jonas.



Here are some direct quotations from Mr. Jonas' article entitled 'Our Own Worst Enemy' wherein he focuses on air travel:

• Terrorists don't have to blow up anything to win. They win by reducing travellers to Alcatraz inmates.


• Letting ourselves be body-scanned without profiling passengers' ethnicity, religion, and behaviour is a waste of time.


• Medieval minds - roasting puny penises, in preparation for virgins - are turning our airports in replicas of Devil's Island.


• Fighting terrorists wisely means paying them whatever attention is commensurate with the danger they represent, no more.


• Islamists can bring down a planeload of vacationers - or even an office tower. That's all they can do.


• They cannot endanger us as nations or societies.

Projecting 'Jonas' beyond just what has happened to air travel since 2001 I believe it comes down to this: Like a mosquito, the terrorist can only annoy us, he cannot change us - either as an individual or as a society. We can only do that to ourselves and in fact we have been doing just that in the face of Terrorism.

Sadly, then, since 2001 the Terrorists have been winning.

Now back to Churchill, at a time when his Island was facing nightly attacks by the German Luftwaffe, here is what he had to say:

• We will have no truce or parley with you (Hitler) or the grisly gang who work your wicked will. You do your worst and we will do our best.

Unlike the Obamas of this world, Churchill did not talk about negotiating with the devil and nor did the people of Great Britain. They went into the shelters at night and in the morning came out, buried their dead, dusted themselves off and went to work.

We need to do the same.

The Terrorists cannot defeat us with their bullets - but they can defeat us through instilling fear in our hearts and we are the only ones that can defend against that.

Let them continue to do their worst and we will start doing our best. We'll call them what they are - spineless terrorists who prey on the weak and defenceless.

But we won't cave into fear by turning ourselves and our societies inside out.

That is not to say that we do not defend ourselves against terrorism. Of course we do, but we do it through profiling and through undercover work to the point where we know who and where the terrorists are.

Going back to the airport analogy; we need to nail the Terrorist before he buys his ticket.

The time has now come when we all must march right through the airport without scanning, without prodding and without being made to feel like a criminal.

Terrorist - you do your worst and we'll do our best...

As I see it..

'Galagher'

MAYDAY...AC Flight 246 - "We Have A Terriorist On Board"

Those frightening words were heard earlier today from Air Canada Flight 246 departed London and bound for Toronto.


Immediately two fighter jets were launched from Andrews Air force Base USA and an additional two propeller driven Argus Planes lifted off from Shearwater Nova Scotia.


This was no drill; it was the real McCoy.


Until the Mayday, flight 246 had been an uneventful one. Now some two hours out from the Canadian mainland, panic was setting in amongst the passengers and the North American Air Defence Team.


CNN and Fox News went into immediate action reporting second by second coverage - all the while speculating which American City was the Target. The most likely theories centred around either the White House or the Pentagon in Washington DC.


NORAD Commanders demanded that Canada redirect flight 246 to Goose Bay Newfoundland since, in their words "nothing of value can be hurt there". NORAD stated that it was either that or flight 246 would be shot down over the open Atlantic.


Canadian officials quickly agreed but on condition that our own planes would accompany 246 into Goose Bay. The American Fighters would stay back at a safe distance in case flight 246 tried to make its way back to the American mainland.



The eyes of the world were now fully glued on this breaking story.

Pandemonium broke out in Goose Bay as the Mayor and his Council began planning for their unexpected and unwanted visitors. The Volunteer Fire Department was put on notice. Locals started to stream out of town - there was gridlock on the main road out as a dozen or so cars tried to leave all at once. Sadly, some of their numbers were said to include members of the fire department. An anonymous call even reported to CNN that the Mayor's jeep cherokee was seen in the cavalcade leaving town.


President Obama, on holidays, was unavailable for comment. Prime Minister Harper though made a statement to the effect that Canada's terror alert would be raised immediately from dark to light green and that he would be monitoring the situation carefully in case further spikes in the terror alert were found to be necessary.


Tension was building and as the minutes ticking by like hours.

Finally, Fox News reported that contact had been established with the AC Pilot who had apparently advised that passengers had overcome the Terrorist but that the situation remained very dangerous. Apparently, the package the Terrorist had been holding had spilled out its contents and was now fully exposed to the elements inside the plane. "Fortunately, no one was reported injured or dead" noted Fox.


Fox and CNN affiliates in Goose Bay (CJBT and CXYL) were lined up to meet the plane; i.e. John and Mary with video phones in hand.


The world held its breath.


A CNN report came out confirming that there was more than one Terrorist on board with speculation being that the 'terrorist team' had originated in Yemen. Updates were promised momentarily.


Upon hearing this news, NORAD Commanders made a concerted effort to convince Prime Minister Harper to authorize the shooting down of 246. Reassured that 246 was indeed now bound for Goose Bay and comforted by the earlier assessment that nothing of value could be damaged in Goose Bay, Harper studiously declined the NORAD request.


Back at Goose Bay, the drama was quickly coming to its ultimate climax.

The 'Crowd', now numbering some 5 or 6, could visually see 246's Landing Gear coming down; the big plane was starting its decent.

In minutes, it was rolling down the tarmac at record speed - the affiliates' video phones ever trained on it.

Flight 246 came to a screeching halt - its emergency exits opened and down the slides came its human contents.

Then the main door flew open with the Terrorist being frogged marched out by the Captain and two of his Stewarts. The Terrorist look dazed and the 'Crowd' could not help but notice the severe red bruising above his right eye.

"No Comment' was all the Captain had to say in a stern and professional fashion.

Now what?

A hush descended upon the 'Crowd'.

The eyes of the world looked on, unblinkingly, through the reedy lens of the video cameras.

Most of the passengers had now fled to the safety of the airport with the Terrorist well on route to the local jail.

The big plane stood silent and empty.

When up marched, with ramrod posture, the olde Commissionaire who had stood guard at the outside access gate, for the better part of 20 years.

He mounted the gang plank and went briskly inside the belly of the plane emerging minutes later with an 'Economy Size Bag of Planters Peanuts'.

"Here is the culprit" he said to the world, as he popped a couple into his mouth.

The pictures on CNN and Fox were then interrupted by a hastily called news conference.

The image of Home Land Security Czar, Janet Napolitano appeared, followed by the sound:

"I would like to reasure all Americans, that once again our Security System has stood the test. There is no telling what damage would have occurred had flight 246 been allowed to enter US Air Space".

The World looked on dumbfounded.

As I see it...

"Galagher"

Oops...Missed an important 2010 Prediction

One reader was kind enough to remind me that I had missed an important prediction for this new year.. And she was correct!



"Will Iran be allowed to become a nuclear nation in 2010"?



I guess I did not deal with this issue in my 2010 predictions since this is one area where I just don't know what to expect.



I can tell you though, if it was up to me, I would pound the Iranian Nuclear Installations into smithereens and would continue to blast away at them every time an attempt was made to rebuild.



But alas, it is not up to me.



What I do know, is that the world cannot afford to have any more unstable countries acquire nuclear weapons. It is scary enough with both North Korea and Pakistan having them.



I had thought that George W. Bush would have launched attacks against Iran's facilities in the dying days of his Presidency. I was wrong. Even his VP - Dick Cheney is on record as saying he begged George W to attack - all to no avail.



I suspect Bush's inaction was based on his attempt to preserve some stature in the face of continued and relentless attacks from the Left. He too was wrong to do that.



Accordingly, we are left with a very dangerous situation.



How can the West possibly let Iran have Nukes when their stated goal is to see the obliteration of Israel and indeed all of Jewry. Plus, Iran is the major backer of our common enemy Al Qaeda. Just imagine what would happen if Al Qaeda got its hands on small nukes!!! There goes New York...



And be assured, with Russia and China helping Iran behind the scenes - there are no other measures that can be successfully brought to bear against this rogue country.



So will Obama do what Bush failed to do. Not likely. His Leftist followers would not permit it and besides, I do not see it in his make-up. He will cling stubbornly to diplomacy, long after it has proved senseless.



It falls to Israel to act and yet I am not so sure they are prepared to go it alone. Heretofore they have known that, come what may, the United States would stand behind them but with the Obama Administration - it is no longer a certainty. Quite the opposite.

If nothing is done by either the States or Israel, this year will see Iran enter the Nuclear Age. With its unstable and radical Theocracy it can be assumed that sooner or later use will be made of these mass weapons of destruction. First against Israel and then against the West.

Indeed, I am not so sure that Iran does not already have nuclear capacity and thus it may be too late already.

Regardless, should an attack on their nuclear facilities come about, the World will incur a major economic shock - as oil prices rocket up to the $200 a barrel and stock markets around the Globe swoon.

Israel will be the target of numerous Iranian Missiles - hopefully only conventional ones - but even they will do great damage to such a small country.

So we are damned if we do and damned if we don't.

But far worse, I believe, if we don't; the time has come to take the gloves off with Iran and with Al Qaeda.

Will it happen?

I just don't know.

"Galagher"

THE THREE UNWISE MEN

Barack Obama: Michael Ignatieff: Dalton McGuinty







Free Spenders All.





Obama and McGuinty run deficit budgets; Ignatieff would do the same if given the chance.





All three see salvation in spending even more.





Obama's claim to fame is the Trillion Dollars spent on the US Bailout and a further $ Trillion on Health Care. A Trillion here...a Trillion there.



To add insult to injury, he recently announced an additional $100 Billion to assist the Third World in attaining illusive carbon reduction targets. How much of that money will go towards such an objective and how much will go to line Petty Dictator Pockets? Or worse - to buy arms for use against NATO Forces?



The fact is - America is broke - flat busted. Its annual deficit now exceeds its annual GDP. It has the third highest per-capita debt behind only Japan and Italy for industrialized nations.



Their Dollar is tanking and will continue to do so - while Gold appreciates.



The USA has turned China, its main competitor - both economically and militarily, into their Banker.





McGuinty has not done much better.



For the first time in Canada's history, Ontario has become a 'Have-not' Province.



Since assuming office, he has run consecutive deficits, with this year's expected to top $25 Billion.



Recently, Premier McGuinty rejected the idea of 'Rae Days' (unpaid leave for Provincial Workers) and then turned down the request of the Mayor of Ottawa to see municipal employees wages frozen. The Cities too are going broke.



Does he not understand that Government Workers now receive 40% more in wages and benefits than their private sector counterparts? All the while enjoying job security, while the private sector is decimated through layoffs.

Reduction in public servant wages - without reducing numbers, provides an easy and humane way to begin to tackle the Provincial Debt.





That brings us to Ignatieff.



The only reason he has yet to run a deficit is that he has yet to be elected.



He did though play a large part in seeing Canada's current deficit of nearly $60 Billion come about after years of surplus budgets. Surplus Budgets I might add that were the result of hard work on the part of his own Party during the Chretien / Martin years.



He and his Liberal Colleagues were instrumental in forcing a very reluctant Harper into plunging the nation into a major deficit position.



When asked recently to comment on Conservative Party Plans to reduce spending, Ignatieff was quoted as saying the Deficit was not the problem - rather it was Unemployment and that if Elected, he would spend even more.



Does Ignatieff not realize that it is the Private Sector that creates jobs? Big Business; Small Business; and those in between - collectively represent the life blood of a nation.



Dollars spent by Governments are dollars denied to business and to taxpayers. Dollars that can make a real contribution to economic recovery.



And what happens when Rates Rise - as they surely will. As we well know here in Canada, the cost to fund the Debt will rise exponentially. It makes the cost of money more expensive for businesses and consumers alike and growth thereby suffers.



Finally, let us not forget, that Canada escaped the worst of the Great Recession because our Books were in Balance. I can tell you, we will not be so fortunate the next time if our government spending continues unchecked.

Two thousand years ago, the Wise Men brought valuable gifts for handout to a poor family in Bethleham. Today we see our Unwise men with their hands out, demanding ever more from our poor taxpayers - their children and their childrens' children.

As I see it...

"Galagher"

Some Random Predictions for Next Year (2010)

With Some Trepidation I look back at my predictions for this past year:


In Politics:

Civic - Jim Watson will become the new Mayor of Ottawa. CORRECT

Provincial - McGuinty's popularity will continue to decline and we may well see his resignation prior to year's end. PARTIALLY CORRECT

Federal - There will not be an Election in 2010. Tory popularity will continue to rise and Harper will do his damnedest to force (embarrass) the Opposition Parties into voting non-confidence - but all to no avail. This effort will begin with Harper's March Budget. CORRECT

Obama's popularity will continue to decline and the Republicans will make major gains in both the House and the Senate this coming November. CORRECT


The Economy:

The markets in Canada, the United States and around the world will continue to improve CORRECT

The US $ though will continue to decline, while Gold will continue to rise in value. CORRECT

The Canadian $ will surpass the American buck CORRECT (BY THE SKIN OF A LOONEY'S TEETH)

Interest rates will rise significantly in both Canada and the United States and House prices in Canada will decline significantly. WRONG ON BOTH COUNTS

Oil prices will range between $60 and $80. PARTIALLY CORRECT - BUT VERY RECENTLY PRICES HAVE EXCEEDED $90.

Taxes will rise ...a no brainer. DAH


The Environment:

Will be much less an issue. BANG ON

Copenhagen will soon be forgotten and Al Gore will be increasingly discredited. CORRECT

The Oil Sands will be more widely accepted. CORRECT


Afghanistan and Terrorism:

The American Surge will prove successful and the fight against world terrorism will be stepped up. This will be due primarily to a conversion on the part of President Obama with him beginning to accept that the only way to deal with bad guys is through superior force. CORRECT

Acts of Terrorism will unfortunately be stepped up with some occurring in the United States itself. PARTIALLY CORRECT


On balance I think I did okay - you be the Judge. My Predictions for the coming year (2011) to follow.

As I see it...

Note: if there are any subjects that you believe I overlooked or if you wish reasons for my above predictions please just let me know.

"Galagher"

The Day Santa Blew Into Town...

Or more accurately ...The Day His Parade Blew Out.



In my last Blog, I mentioned George Coling's Station Wagon - with the Loud Speakers on Top and it brought back Memories of Brighton's Santa Claus Parade on a Cold, Windy Saturday in late November in the very early 1960s.



Those were the days, in our small community, when the Parade's music came from sources other than a marching band - hence the need for Station Wagon & Loud Speakers.



In the week's leading up to the grand event, various organizations worked diligently in the preparation of their respective Floats - local Church Organizations, Scouts and Guides, Various Service Groups and others.



As a young teen, I was a full fledged Scout and would be perched on the Scouting Float replete with bunting, paper streamers, a faux campfire and more. All placed on a flatbed farm wagon which was the norm for the Brighton Floats and each pulled by one of the local Farm Tractors.



We were to meet at the Public School Parking Lot, just to the East of Town, at 11 a.m. for final touch-ups and to line up. The Parade itself was schedule to head-out at 10 minutes to 12 in order to ensure that it reached the Town's Main Street sharply at noon.



Even as I walked down to the School Yard, children and their parents were beginning to line-up along the Main Street Route. Since Brighton, at the time was very rural, many of those families had travelled some miles to get there.



I mentioned it was cold, but that was not a big problem - other than for those lining up so early. Indeed, it was usually very cold for the Santa Claus Parade. The savings grace was that it did not take the Parade long to navigate Brighton's rather short Main Street.



No, the Big Problem that Day was the Wind: it was Relentless.



When I reached the school grounds, the Scout Float or what was left of it, was already there. The Bunting and Streamers were long gone though. Most of the Hay flooring had also vanished into the wind. Only the Faux Campfire, made from logs, remained.



As the minutes past, other Floats arrived but most had thrown in the towel in the face of the Gale and had headed back home - never reaching their intended destination. The 6 or so Floats which did brave it to the meeting place had been reduced to the bare boards of the Farm Wagon. The little of their remaining streamers and such, filled the air with an almost circus-like atmosphere.



They, in turn, slowly slunk off to their Winter Barns.



Left was only the Station Wagon and the motorized Santa Sleigh. In those days, The Sleigh was the only 'professional' float in the Parade and as such could withstand the wind.



Since a friend of mine - Allan, and I, had experience riding in the back of the Coling Station Wagon during recent Election Campaigns, we were chosen to operate the hand-cranked Victrola - an olde fashion record player (for those younger it performs the same function as a CD player / IPod); but with somewhat lesser quality.



Our music was even more bizarre - consisting of but 1 olde, scratchy 78 rpm recording of Gene Autry singing 'Rudolfe the Red Nose Reindeer'.



Off we set.

The Station Wagon in front with Santa directly behind holding on to his faux beard with all his might.

Not being held up by slow moving Floats, we travelled quickly along Highway Two - the old Trans Canada Highway which served as our Village's Main Street.

In no time we had reached the Business Section where the crowds had lined both sides - the Children viewing in awe - a jolly but wind blown Saint Nick.

I watched the parents' look of bewilderment - necks craning - in expectation of more. More Parade that is - but it was not happen.

We whistled though Town and ended up at the olde Town Hall where Santa doled out bags of Candy to all of the Excited Children. All of them - oblivious to the fact that they had just witnessed Brighton's shortest Santa Claus Parade ever.

The Parents were altogether another matter. They surrounded the poor Town Mayor and demanded that 'something be done' to avoid this type of embarrassment in the future.

And something was done. No future Parade suffered the ignominy experienced by that one in late November in the early 1960s. Future Parades contained more 'professional' floats.

But when I think back to that day - I can still see the excitement and smiles in the children's eyes.

And I was glad to have played a part in bringing them joy.

As I see it...

"Galagher"