We'll Keep Trying Until We Get It Right part II

The following is a partial list of U.S. military interventions from 1890 to 2003 compiled by Zoltan Grossman. Things like the DEA overflights of southern BC are not counted. Those of us outside of Amerika remember that Iraq is not unique--it's just part of the same old same old of the Amerikan Empire.

Zoltan Grossman is an Assistant Professor of Geography at the University of Wisconsin- Eau Claire (Box 4004, Eau Claire, WI 54701 USA). His peace writings can be seen at http://www.uwec.edu/grossmzc/peace.html

Zoltan Grossman's 'A Century of American Military Interventions from Wounded Knee to Afghanistan'

South Dacota, 1890-?

Troops: 300 Lakota Indians massacred at Wounded Knee

Argentina, 1890

Troops: Buenos Aires interests protected

Chile, 1891

Troops: Marines clash with nationalist rebels

Haiti, 1891

Troops: Black workers' revolt on US-claimed Navassa Island defeated

Idaho, 1892

Troops: Army supresses silver miners' strike

Hawaii, 1893-?

Naval, troops: Independent kingdom overthrown, annexed

Chicago, 1894

Troops: breaking of rail strike, 34 killed

Nicaragua, 1894

Troops: Month-long occupation of Bluesfields

China, 1894-5

Naval, troops: Marines land in Sino-Japanese War

Korea, 1894-6

Troops: Marines kept in Seoul during war

Panama, 1895

Troops, naval: Marines land in Colombian province

Nicaragua, 1896

Troops: Marines land in port of Corinto

China, 1898-1900

Troops: Boxer Rebellion fought by foreign armies

Phillipines, 1898-1910(-?)

Naval, troops: Siezed from Spain, killed 600,000 Filipinos

Cuba, 1898-1902(-?)

Naval, troops: Siezed from Spain, still hold navy base

Puerto Rico, 1898-?

Naval, troops: Siezed from Spain, occupation continues

Guam, 1898-?

Naval, troops: Siezed from Spain, still used as base

Minnesota, 1898-?

Troops: Army battlers Chippewa at Leech Lake

Nicaragua, 1898

Troops: Marines land at port of San Juan del Sur

Samoa, 1899-?

Troops: Battle over succession to throne

Nicaragua, 1899

Troops: Marines land at port of Bluefields

Idaho, 1899-1901

Troops: Army occupies Couer d'Alene mining region

Oklahoma, 1901

Troops: Army battles Creek Indian revolt

Panama, 1901-14

Naval, troops: Broke off from Colombia 1903, annexed Canal Zone 1914-1999

Honduras, 1903

Troops: Marines intervene in revolution

Dominican Republic, 1903-04

Troops: US interests protected in Revolution

Korea, 1904-05

Troops: Marines land in Russo-Japanese War

Cuba, 1906-09

Troops: marines land in democratic election

Nicaragua, 1907

Troops: 'Dollar Diplomacy' protectorate set up

Honduras, 1907

Troops: Marines land during war with Nicaragua

Panama, 1908

Troops: Marines intervene in election contest

Nicaragua, 1910

Troops: Marines land in Bluefields and Corinto

Honduras, 1911

Troops: US interests protected in civil war

China, 1911-41

Naval, troops: Continuous occupation with flare-ups

Cuba, 1912

Troops: US interests protected in Havana

Panama, 1912

Troops: Marines land during heated election

Honduras, 1912

Troops: Marines protect US economic interests

Nicaragua, 1912-33

Troops, bombing: 20-year occupation , fought with guerrillas

Mexico, 1913

Naval: Americans evacuated during revolution

Dominican Republic, 1914

Naval: Fight with rebels over Santo Domingo

Colorado, 1914

Troops: Breaking of miners' strike by Army

Mexico, 1914-18

Naval, troops: Series of interventions against nationalists

Haiti, 1914-34

Troops, bombing: 19-year occupation after revolts

Dominican Republic, 1916-24

Troops: 8-year marine occupation

Cuba, 1917-33

Troops: Military occupation, economic protectorate

World War I, 1917-1918

Naval, troops: Ships sunk, fought Germany

Russia, 1918-22

Naval, troops: five landings to fight Bolsheviks

Panama, 1918-20

Troops: 'Police duty' during unrest after elections

Yugoslavia, 1919

Troops: Marines intervene for Italy against Serbs in Dalmatia

Honduras, 1919

Troops: Marines land during election campaign

Guatemala, 1920

Troops: 2-week intervention against unionists

West Virginia, 1920-21

Troops, bombing: Army intervenes against mineworkers

Turkey, 1922

Troops: fought nationalists in Smyrna (Izmir)

China, 1922-7

Naval, troops: Deployment during nationalist revolt

Honduras, 1924-5

Troops: Landed twice during election strife

Panama, 1925

Troops: Marines supress general strike

China, 1927-34

Troops: Marines stationed throughout the country

El Salvador, 1932

Naval: Warships sent during Faribundo Marti revolt

Washington, DC, 1932

Troops: Army stops WWI vet bonus protest

World War II, 1941-5

Naval, troops, bombing, nuclear: Fought Axis for 3 years; first nuclear war

Detroit, 1943

Troops: Army puts down Black rebellion

Iran, 1946

Nuclear threat: Soviet troops told to leave north (Iranian Azerbaijan)

Yugoslavia, 1946

Naval: Response to shooting-down of US plane

Uruguay, 1947

Nuclear threat: Bombers deployed as a show of strength

Greece, 1947-9

Command operation: US directs extreme right in civil war

China, 1948-9

Troops: Marines evacuate Americans before Communist victory

Germany, 1948

Nuclear threat: Nuclear-capable bombers guard Berlin airlift

Phillipines, 1948-54

Command operation: CIA directs war against Huk Rebellion

Puerto Rico, 1950

Command operation: Indepentence rebellion crushed in Ponce

Korea, 1950-53

Troops, naval, bombing, nuclear threats: US and South Korea fight China and North Korea to stalemate; A-bomb threat in 1950, and vs. China in 1953. Still have bases

Iran, 1953

Command operation: CIA overthrows democracy, installs Shah

Vietnam, 1954

Nuclear threat: Bombs offered to French to use against siege

Guatemala, 1954

Command operation, bombing, nuclear threat: CIA directs exile invasion after new government nationalizes US company lands; bombers based in Nicaragua

Egypt, 1956

Nuclear threat, troops: Soviets told to keep out of Suez crisis; Marines evacuate foreigners

Lebanon, 1958

Troops, naval: marine occupation against rebels

Iraq, 1958

Nuclear threat: Iraq warned against invading Kuwait

China, 1958

Nuclear threat: China told not to move on Taiwan isles

Panama, 1958

troops: Flag protests erupt into confrontation

Vietnam, 1960-75

Troops, naval, bombing, nuclear threats: Fought South Vietnam revolt and North Vietnam; 1-2 million killed in longest US war; atomic bomb threats in 1968 and 1969

Cuba, 1961

Command operation: CIA-directed exile invasion fails

Germany, 1961

Nuclear threat: Alert during Berlin Wall crisis

Cuba, 1962

Nuclear threat: Naval blockade during missile crisis; near-war with USSR

Laos, 1962

Command operation: Military build-up during guerrilla war

Panama, 1964

Troops: Panamanians shot for urging canal's return

Indonesia, 1965

Command operation: Million killed in CIA-assisted army coup

Dominican Republic, 1965-6

Troops, bombing: Marines land during election campaign

Guatemala, 1966-7

Command operation: Green Berets intervene against rebels

Detroit 1967

Troops: Army battles Blacks, 43 killed

United States 1968

Troops: After King is shot; over 21,000 soldiers in cities

Cambodia, 1969-75

Bombing, troops, naval: Up to 2 million killed in decade of bombing, starvation, and political chaos

Oman, 1970

Command operation: US directs Iranian marine invasion

Laos, 1971-3

Command operation, bombing: US directs South Vietnamese invasion, 'carpet-bombs' countryside

South Dakota 1973

Command operation: Army directs Wounded Knee siege of Lakotas

Middle East, 1973

Nuclear threat: World-wide alert during Middle East War

Chile, 1973

Command operation: CIA-backed coup ousts elected Marxist president

Cambodia, 1975

Troops, bombing, gas: Captured ship, 28 die in helicopter crash

Angola, 1976-92

Command operation: CIA assists South African-backed rebels

Iran, 1980

Troops, nuclear threat, aborted bombing: Raid to rescue Embassy hostages; 8 troops die in helicopter-plane crash. Soviets warned not to get involved in revolution

Libya, 1981

naval jets: Two Libyan jets shot down in manoeuvers

El Salvador, 1981-92

Command operation, troops: Advisors, overflights aid anti-rebel war, soldiers briefly involved in hostage clash

Nicaragua, 1981-90

Command operation, naval: CIA directs exile (Contra) invasions, plants harbour mines against revolution

Lebanon, 1982-4

Naval, bombing, troops: Marines expel PLO and back Phalangists, Navy bombs and shells Muslim and Syrian positions

Hondura, 1983-9

Troops: Manoeuvres help build bases near borders

Grenada, 1983-4

Troops, bombing: Invasion four years after revolution

Iran, 1984

Jets: Two Iranian jets shot down over Persian Gulf

Libya, 1986

Bombing, naval: Air strikes to topple nationalist government

Bolivia, 1986

Troops: Army assists raids on cocaine region

Iran, 1987-8

Naval, bombing: US intervenes on side of Iraq during war

Libya, 1989

Naval jets: Two Libyan jets shot down

Virgin Islands, 1989

Troops: St. Croix Black unrest after storm

Phillipines, 1989

Jets: Air cover provided for government against coup

Panama, 1989-90

Troops, bombing: Nationalist government ousted by 27,000 soldiers, leaders arrested, 2000+ killed

Liberia, 1990

Troops: Foreigners evacuated during civil war

Saudi Arabia. 1990-1

Troops, jets: Iraq countered after invading Kuwait; 540,000 troops also stationed in Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, UAE, Israel

Iraq, 1990-?

Bombing, troops, naval: Blockade of Iraqi and Jordanian ports, air strikes; 200,000+ killed in invasion of Iraq and Kuwait; no-fly zone over Kurdish north, shiite south, large-scale destruction of Iraqi military

Kuwait, 1991

Naval, bombing, troops: Kuwait royal family returned to throne

Los Angeles, 1992

Troops: Army, Marines deployed against anti-police uprising

Somalia, 1992-4

Troops, naval, bombing: US-led United Nations occupation during civil war; raids against one Mogadishu faction

Yugoslavia, 1992-4

naval: NATO blockade of Serbia and Montenegro

Bosnia, 1993-5

Jets, bombing: No-fly zone patrolled in civil war; downed jets, bombed Serbs

Haiti, 1994-6

Troops, naval: Blockade against military government, troops restore President Aristide to office three years after coup

Croatia, 1995

Bombing: Krajina Serb airfields attacked before Croatian offensive

Zaire (Congo), 1996-7

troops: Marines at Rwandan Hutu refugee camps, in area where Congo revolution begins

Liberia, 1997

Troops: Soldiers under fire during evacuation of foreigners

Sudan, 1998

Missiles: Attack on pharmaceutical pland alleged to be 'terrorist' nerve gas plant

Afghanistan, 1998

Milliles: Attack on former CIA training camps used by Islamic fundamentalist groups alleged to have attacked embassies

Iraq, 1998-?

Bombing, missiles: Four days of intensive air strikes after weapons inspectors allege Iraqi obstructions

Yugoslavia, 1999-?

Bombing, missiles: heavy NATO air strikes after Serbia declines to withdraw from Kosovo

Yemen, 2000

Naval: Suicide attack on the USS Cole

Macedonia, 2001

Troops: NATO troops shift and partially disarm Albanian rebels

United States, 2001

Jets, naval: Response to hijacking attacks

Afghanistan, 2001

Massive us mobilization to attack Taliban, bin Laden. War could expand to Iraq, Sudan, and beyond.

Source: http://www.zmag.org/CrisesCurEvts/Interventions.htm

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Left Behind? Apparently Not...

Is there nothing old that cannot be made "new" again? Or rather, any bullshit that can't be used to fleece the sheep one more time? If you've ever wondered who Tim LaHaye was before he authored the Left Behind series, this article from Katherine Yurica (excerpted from her book The New Messiahs) might help.

Katherine Yurica is a news intelligence analyst. She was educated at East
Los Angeles College, the University of Southern California and
the USC school of law. She worked as a consultant for Los Angeles
County and as a news correspondent for Christianity Today
plus as a freelance investigative reporter. She
is the author of Bloodguilty Churches and The Despoiling
of America as well as the unpublished book, The New Messiahs,
which is presently represented by her literary agent, Ken Sherman
(of Ken Sherman Associates). Katherine is also the publisher
of the Yurica Report.

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We'll Keep Trying Until We Get It Right

This came my way courtesy of the print version of Curious Times...
William Blum notes in his book Killing Hope: US Military and CIA Interventions Since World War II that the United States has bombed 23 nations since the end of WWII. The countries bombed include China (1945-6), Korea (1950-3), Vietnam (1961-73), Libya (1983), Panama (1989) and Iraq (1990-present).
Of the 23 countries bombed by the US during this time, exactly zero have formed democratic governments as a result of the bombings.

Mirror, Mirror....

According to this CNN report, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is quoted as saying, "In any country, if you don't have countervailing institutions, the power of any one president is problematic for democratic development."
She added, "I think there is too much concentration of power in the Kremlin. I have told the Russians that. Everybody has doubts about the full independence of the judiciary. There are clearly questions about the independence of the electronic media and there are, I think, questions about the strength of the Duma (the Russian parliament)."
Has she looked in a mirror lately?

Finally, Congress Takes Some [CLASSIFIED] Action

Are you f**king kidding me?

Nikki Finke's Deadline Hollywood reports--in an article titled Warner's Robinov Bitchslaps Film Women; Gloria Allred Calls For Warner's Boycott-- that after the underperforming of two female-lead films this summer (Jodie Foster in The Brave One and Nicole Kidman in The Invasion) "Warner Bros president of production Jeff Robinov has made a new decree
that "We are no longer doing movies with women in the lead"."
I can't help but notice that films with men in the lead are still going to get greenlighted--and the past summer has seen its share of truly awful films with male leads. This isn't about films, this is clearly about something else. A new climate in Amerika apparently, where racism, and misogyny are back in play.

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Is it over?

Or can Amerika be saved from itself? Naomi Wolf is scared blind, and so should be anyone with half a brain. But then, considering the assault on American social and political intelligence since the Sixties put The Fear into the Ruling Class, I don't hold out any hope at all. The goal now is to stop it all from pouring over the border at the hands of Amerikan puppets like Stephen Harper. South of the border, the majority are as likely as the Germans to simply welcome the sounds of breaking glass and jackboots. It's the sound of order, of stability. The creative anarchy that is democracy will simply be swept away under the rising chant of "Amerika über alles!" Around the world, we will all be expected to salute. I expect to use my middle finger.

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If Iran isn't nervous...

...well, they should be. Debra Cagan, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Coalition Affairs to Defence Secretary Robert Gates, said this past week (to a group of British MPs) "In any case, I hate all Iranians." The MPs were, after the meeting, of the opinion that "some in America are looking for an excuse to attack Iran. It was very alarming."

Debra Cagan, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Coalition Affairs to Defence Secretary Robert Gates

The Pentagon denied the statements by Ms Cagan, claiming "She doesn't speak that way." Three MPs at the session confirmed the remarks.

You can read the Daily Mail article here.

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Well, I'm impressed

An articulate and intelligent interview with Naomi Klein about her new book The Shock Doctrine conducted by John Cusak. Yes, that John Cusak.

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How will global climate change affect me?

Well, Alternet carries this article about the top 100 ways climate change will affect us. Not the most comfortable of reading.

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Why I don't hate Americans

...even though I am dead opposed to Amerikan Empire, Amerikan exceptionalism. It's because of people like this, publications like Mother Jones magazine, and Bob Dylan. People are just people. Often a majority of them are amazingly stupid and hate-filled, but when they're good, they're very very good. It's mostly when they're thick that they're horrid. But when the lunatics (the hate-filled right-wingers, the anti-democracy politicians and those who own them, the religious nutbars, the fascist wealthy, etc. etc.) take over the playhouse (as they did very quickly in Amerika, running the show for more than a century now) that things become rage-inducing. But the population, well, they're just like the rest of us; one minute they've picked up torches and headed up the road to burn a witch, the next they're donating time, energy, and money to rebuild someplace they'd never heard of five minutes earlier. We're a weird species, but somehow, in the depths of all this cynicism, I still find hope (yeah, I'm talking to you, Naomi Klein, Gwynne Dyer, and Wal-Mart Watch).

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The Net is SO over...

Seriously, how long did you think that unmediated communication would last? This quote from the International Herald Tribune:

"PARIS:
In the name of counterterrorism, Western countries are moving to erect
online security borders with aggressive proposals to block Web sites
and to unleash Trojan e-mails containing spyware that would monitor
jihadists.

Critics warn that the security measures could lead to censorship and
privacy invasion, but governments are pressing for legislation aimed at
thwarting attacks and walling off Web sites that espouse illegal
activities or are "likely to have the effect of facilitating" crime."

You can read the rest here.

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By The Numbers

Last year, according to this USA Today story, Gen. John Abizaid, then commander of military forces in the region, estimated the Sunni insurgency to be 10,000 to 20,000 fighters. He said the Shiite militia members were in the "low thousands."
Interestingly, there are 25,000 detainees in US military custody in Iraq and the US esitmates that 19,000 militants have been killed in fighting with coalition forces.
In other words, the US has killed or captured at least twice the number of people that it estimates are fighting against US forces.

Must be seen...

...to be believed. The Lego Bible. Yeah, pretty much as insane as you think. Of particular interest is the section "The Law" which tells you when to stone your children, your whole family, and when to marry your sister-in-law.

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In case you thought I was kidding...

...about slavery being back on the table for discussion in the US, check out this piece of writing from Michael Medved. Thankfully, there is a rebuttal by Jillian posted to Alternet.

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Don't argue. The Corporation knows what's good for you

As this article in the NY Times explains, Verizon refused NARAL access to its short code texing service. This would have allowed people to sign up for the receipt of text messages from NARAL (the National Abortion Rights Action League). Verizon claims the denial was based on;

"[An] "internal policy” that “was designed to ward against communications such as anonymous hate messaging and adult materials sent to children.” The policy, Mr. Nelson said, had been developed “before text messaging protections such as spam filters adequately protected customers from unwanted messages.”

Let's be clear. Once again, this was a service that people had to request. Verizon has now changed the policy in regards to NARAL, and claims to have instituted a new policy, but refuses to make that new policy public. But it also needs to be noted that "[T]he company did not retreat from its position that it is entitled to decide what messages to transmit."

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Blackwater

...usually refers to sewage, which is about right. Steve Benen provides an entry point into the whole Blackwater mess in Iraq. Check out also the Washington Post story about the divisions that Blackwater is generating between the State Department and the Pentagon.
The deeper issue, that the US government has now got a private army that is unaccountable to Congress or the Senate (note that the State Department has asserted that information possessed by Blackwater (including the terms of their contract) belongs to the State Department and cannot be disclosed to anyone) isn't discussed. The only thing discussed is how to recover from this "black eye" that Blackwater has given the US forces in Iraq by shooting two dozen unarmed civilians, killing 11. As Naomi Wolf pointed out both in her book The End of America and on The Colbert Report the other evening, this is one of the ten historic signals that a country has descended into fascism. Wolf seems to think that the collapse of Amerika can be reversed. The rest of us under the boot of the Amerikan empire certainly hope so--as our business and political elites have bound us to tightly to the Empire.

Update: As reported on Yahoo News, "Blackwater has argued in court that it is immune to [...] a lawsuit
because the company operates as an extension of the military and cannot
be responsible for deaths in a war zone." Clearly, Blackwater believes it is a private military force above any oversight by anyone except it's own CEO. No laws restricting it, no rules it must follow.

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Everything's Going Good in Iraf

Just a thought

Maybe James Lovelock is right with his Gaia theory. This story on the BBC website points out that these guys,


(image from the BBC website)

Salmonella typhimurium, when flown on the space shuttle in weightless conditions, become three times more virulent, and change the way they express 167 genes.

"Wherever humans go, microbes go; you can't sterilise
humans. Wherever we go, under the oceans or orbiting the Earth, the
microbes go with us, and it's important that we understand... how
they're going to change," Cheryl Nickerson, from the Center for
Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology at Arizona State University, US,
told the Associated Press.

Now this is wild-ass baseless speculation, but maybe Gaia doesn't want this plague of humans spreading through space. Maybe this is one more step in containing the cancer. I realize that I'm just poking at a bruise here, but maybe all that great SF taking place in human colonies on other planets, on generation craft, and the like, maybe the planet, maybe the universe, aren't all that interested in letting us out. This is, after all, just one of the many many microbes we carry around with us. If we hit space and they all start going bugfuck on us, well, then maybe the enviro's are correct. Maybe we have to deal with our life here at home, 'cause Earth might be the only planet we get. Just a thought....

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Finally Revealed: Why the US Invaded Iraq

Finally, someone's come up with the answer, with that someone being Gwynne Dyer:

"I have written tens of thousands of words on the Bush
administration's motives for invading Iraq, but in the end I do not know
why they did it. I suspect that they don't, either. It just seemed like a
neat idea at the time."

What means this "rich"?

An income of at least $89,000 was needed to be in the top five per cent of earners in 2004, Statistics Canada said Monday.

This "five per cent club" earned 25 per cent of the income Canadians
declared in 2004 — up from 21 per cent in 1992. They paid 36 per cent
of the personal taxes collected in 2004.

The country's 1.2 million high-income earners — those among the top
five per cent — were predominantly male (75 per cent), aged 45 to 64
(54 per cent) and married (78 per cent), Statistics Canada said.

That's what rich is--the consumption of an inordinate share of the available resources. 89K means you are in teh top 5% of income earners--and that means you consume 25% of the available pie.

But in Amerika it's different:

In the U.S., an income of at least $165,000 was the requirement to join the "five per cent club."

Statistics Canada said the income differences between the two
countries became even bigger farther up the income distribution ladder.

In Canada, the top .01 per cent of income earners made at least $2.8
million, while in the U.S., you couldn't join that super-elite club
unless you had an income of at least $9.4 million.

Keeping in mind the differences between the two countries, of course.....

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I pretty much knew this

as do many of the people living in Oilberta. But even so, the extent and intensity of the impact the tar sands have on the world environment is huge.

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Hillary Compares Cheney to Vader

Two nights ago while speaking at a fund-raiser, Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton compared "Vice President" Dick Cheney to well-known movie villain Darth Vader.
Clinton said, "Vice President Cheney came up to see the Republicans yesterday. You can always tell when the Republicans are getting restless, because the Vice President’s motorcade pulls into the Capitol, and Darth Vader emerges."
Cheney is not reported to be upset at the comparison. In fact, he's made it himself, once telling CNN in 2006, "I suppose people sometimes look at my demeanor and say, well, he's the Darth Vader of the administration."
However according to B. Oba Fett, a Lucasfilm representatives, The Dark Lord of the Sith was not amused. "Mr. Vader is very upset at this comparison. While Mr. Vader, like Mr. Cheney, has endorsed the use of invasion and torture in the service of an evil and tyrannical Emperor, Mr. Vader feels that his actions were due to a bad childhood, separation anxiety and a life spent suffering from various physical disabilities, whereas Mr. Cheney, who has had a life of riches and privilege, is just a fat and greedy bastard who is giving the Dark Side of the Force a bad name."

Cognitive Dissonance

Okay, first head off to see this video clip from Current TV. It's funny, snide, and quick. Oh, and in the intro, see if you can catch what is on the Office Assistant panel that pops up on the CRT.

Alright, you're back? Good. Now, that the clip really shows off the two Amerikas isn't so suprising or shocking. It just is what it is. What slays me is when Sherri Shepard is asked what she will tell her child when asked if the world is flat. ~"That will mean a trip to the library,"~ she says.
Let's just think about that for a minute; the assumption that very smart people have put the knowledge she might need in books, that's automatic, she doesn't have to think about that. When you need to know something, the information is there. But at the same time, she's quite willing to reject out of hand anything she reads in a book (written by those very smart people who have put the knowledge into the book just for her). The facts may contradict recieved knowledge. Knowledge may contradict superstition. But comfort is more important than reality.
Cognitive dissonace, my friends. Cognitive dissonance.

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midwestteensexshow

Seriously. midwestteensexshow is a terrific flash-powered site that had us laughing. Should be compulsory in schools--but it's probably better if kids find it for themselves, and it spreads virally. Check it out.

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People you don't know about...

...but probably should. In this case, Thomas d'Aquino, president and CEO of the Canadian Council of Chief Executives (CCCE, formerly the BCNI or Business Council on National Issues). No federal budget has been written since the early eighties without being vetted first by Mr. d'Aquino.You might want to know a bit more about him, eh?

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Sure, I feel safer.

From The Guardian:


Russia's military yesterday announced that it had successfully tested a
lethal new air-delivered bomb, which it described as the world's most
powerful non-nuclear weapon.
In what appears to be the Kremlin's latest display of military might,
officials said Moscow had developed a new thermobaric bomb to add to
its already potent nuclear arsenal.
[...]
The development of this latest device appears to be another response to
the Bush administration's plans to site elements of its missile defence
system in central Europe. Mr Putin has denounced the plan, arguing that
it upsets Europe's strategic balance, and has vowed to respond.

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It all depends on who's paying....

From Democracy Now:

Chiquita Execs Won’t Face Charges for Funding Colombia Militia

The Justice Department has announced it won’t seek criminal charges
against any current or former executives of the fruit giant Chiquita
International. Earlier this year Chiquita admitted to making $1.7
million in illegal payments to the United Self-Defense Forces of
Colombia -- considered a terrorist organization by the U.S. government.
Questions are being raised whether the Justice Department decision is
an attempt to avoid scrutiny of whether the Bush administration gave
Chiquita its tacit approval. Last month Chiquita revealed it told
Homeland Security secretary Michael Chertoff of the payments while
Chertoff was at the Justice Department in April 2003. Chertoff promised
a response, but never replied. Chiquita kept making payments for nearly
another year. The United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia has been on
the State Department’s list of terrorist organizations for six years.
It’s blamed for thousands of murders in Colombia.

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Really, this is news?

I mean, didn't you think that the concept of Wikipedia was just too good to survive this world of "truthiness"? Of course corporations are going to edit the content. We saw how the Republican party "swiftboated" John Kerry. Microsoft paying experts to edit entries on Microsoft was new to me, but not unexpected. Everything is image.

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You Say APEC, I Say OPEC....

"President" Bush was in rare form during his speech at the APEC Summit in Australia -- please note, Australia -- this week.
His troubles began before he even appeared as APEC officials moved people out of the balcony down to fill the empty seats in the main orchestra level below which would have been visible on camera, thus delaying his speech by 10 minutes.
When he finally began, he didn't get three sentences into it before his first gaffe when he thanked Australian Prime Minister John Howard "for being such a fine host for the OPEC summit."
Bush corrected himself but quickly referred to Australian troops fighting in Iraq as "Austrian troops." Bush did not correct himself this time, but the official text of the speech released by the White House corrected his statement to "Australian Troops," not the first time the Bush White House has re-written history.
At the end of his speech, Bush strode off the wrong way and almost walked off a steep drop until Howard redirected him to the stairs.
His APEC performance is a highlight in a career of gaffes that include placing Queen Elizabeth II in the 18th century, and greeting former British Minister Tony Blair at the 2006 G8 Summit by calling out, "Yo, Blair."

Just where IS Camp Okutta?

Check out this nnicely made site for Camp Okutta, and then ask yourself, "Why is the Canadian Armed Forces targeting its advertising at 16 and 17 year olds?"

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“No particular reason we chose Canada,”...

Prank rattles Asian summit security reports the Star, as comedians choose to fake up a Canadian motorcade and make it through two checkpoints before being stopped at the APEC summit in Sydney, Australia. My favourite quote?

“No particular reason we chose Canada,” cast member Chris Taylor was
quoted as saying on The Sydney Morning Herald's website. “We just
thought they'd be a country who the cops wouldn't scrutinize too
closely, and who feasibly would only have three cars in their motorcade
— as opposed to the 20 or so gas guzzlers that Bush has brought with
him.”

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NRC = Nobody Really Cares

As this Reuters article points out, the real problem with nuclear power isn't nuclear power (No Karl, I'm not dissing nuclear power. Really.), it's with the class criminals running the plants and the seemingly complete lack of oversight on the part of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Nuclear power isn't safe until the regulations are enforced. Alberta really needs to pay attention to this before the plant gets built. Not that I think they will--Alberta's regulation tends to lag 3 or 4 decades behind problems.
The Alberta government under Ed Stelmach knows they're facing a problem with building a plant in Fort MacMurray--the public doesn't want it. But they also know that can be changed; just tell everyone that "those Eastern bastards don't want us to build one, they want to keep us down!" and then pass the permission as an order in council at the beginning of a new term. That's the easiest way to avoid democratic oversight....
BTW, you might want to check out The Postnormal Times--someone who's trying to get the science right.

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The Great American Moat

The problem with these great faux news stories from The Onion is you just know that some of The Bushies take ideas like this seriously....

In The Know: The U.S. Moat

The Truth is Out There

And all this time I thought it was Karl Rove and tricked-up Diebolt voting machines....

Field Guide to Iraq

Thanks to Lila for passing this one on....

Mr Funky Bunny

I have a warped sense of humour! The name of this stuffed toy pattern is too funny! Then to add to the humour the toy can be made as: Mr Funky Bunny in a dress...

http://cache.lionbrand.com/patterns/FunkyBunny.html

I don't know why this cracks me up...it just does!

Bender Lives

More Music from the UK

My friend, Clive, sent me this Youtube of Lily Allen doing her version of the Kaiser Chiefs OH MY GOD! She's hitting the charts over here and hopefully will have the same success on this side of the pond!

When you point a finger

...there's four pointing back at you. That's what I used to hear as a kid, and it has never seemed more true in Amerika today. Evangelical "Christians" have elected quite possibly the most corrupt and depraved government in the history of Amerika; Republicans caught in sex scandals, the hypocrisy of which even shocks Larry Flynt, the publisher of Hustler magazine.
And frankly, I don't give a damn what people are up to sexually--just don't involve minors--until they start dictating what other people may or may not do. After all, that's what killed Jimmy Swaggart--hypocrisy. And you don't want to get me started on why this is an outgrowth of industrial capitalism.
At the same time that this sex scandal is shaking the tree, there's another one going on as well--this one about that old Washington bugbear, corruption. The website signonsandiego.com has a decent recap of just how filthy these paragons of virtue are in an article titled Imprisoned Cunningham outlines depths of corruption to FBI. $600k in exchange for $80 million in defence work is just one charge in this scandal.(There's a pdf of the FBI transcript here).
But the question is, is anyone on the "Christian" Right even noticing? Or will they continue to hide their heads up their asses while Amerika completes it's plummet into fascism and slavery? (Oh yeah, indentured servitude is back in fashion amongst the upper classes in Amerika).

Cheney v. The Daily Show

As mentioned at In These Times...

"Cheney’s long overdue need for ridicule is why we should be grateful that so many young people get their news from The Daily Show. Cheney’s office made the preposterous assertion that he didn’t have to comply with the Executive Order mandating the annual reports to the National Archives because he wasn’t part of the executive branch. Unfortunately for a dignified correspondent like ABC’s Martha Raddatz, the constraints of her job confined her to reporting, with a straight face, that Cheney has used “the opposite argument in the past, citing executive privilege when asked for information about his travel and visitors to his office.”
Jon Stewart, under no such proscriptions, can provide the level of disbelief that matches the outrageousness of this latest Cheney gambit. What The Daily Show consistently does best is juxtapose video of administration officials making their bogus pronouncements with video clips from the past, showing them saying the exact opposite. So Stewart showed Cheney on tape emphatically asserting executive privilege because he’s in the, er, executive branch. Stewart then looked into the camera to tell Americans that Cheney has always meant “to come up to us personally and say ‘go fuck ourselves.’ “"

Duct Tape

I've come to the realization that duct tape can be used for anything. When I started kayaking it was suggested to carry a roll in the event someone got a hole in their boat. It is a great patching device. Great for wrapping gifts, fixing a tear in a piece of clothing, hemming pants or a skirt...I'm sure someone has created a website of all its uses.Here's something for those times when you're sitting around with a roll of duct tape wondering what you should do to entertain yourself. http://www.instructables.com/id/EYOSKQRKE0EVYDW0CQ/

Hottest. Day. Ever.

While it should be noted that one warm day does not necessarily constitute a global warming trend, last night was the warmest night ever recorded in Victoria (19.6 degrees Celsius), and today, at 36.3 degrees Celsius, was the warmest day ever recorded in Victoria.
The warmest day ever.
Ever.
Mind you, the forecast for Sunday is cool and showers....

Bush is Crazy - The Video

Give it up for Give2Shitz and their musical tribute to George W. Bush, Scooter Libby's new best friend.

Dr. Who on Holiday

How did sci-fi become so popular, so credible - and even so political? asks Gareth MacLean in the Guardian newspaper.

Green leader resigns as party joins Ahern coalition

So the Greens have their hands on the levers of power in Ireland now. The Public wasn't quite willing to give it all over to them, but they are holding the balance of power in parliament. Right then, now it's Elizabeth May's turn....

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Quote of the Day

"It's true that we've had higher CO₂ levels before. But, then, of course we also had dinosaurs."
-- a NOAA scientist

Enjoy Being Canadian While You Can

The Tyee reports on a behind-the-curtains plan to integrate Canada into the US politcal and financial framework. What's scary is how much as already been done without us even knowing about it. Be worried.

"If the machinations going on in this country regarding so-called "deep integration" were instead a communist conspiracy to take over the country (you will, of course, have to try hard to imagine this) the news media would be blaring the story.
Pundits would pontificate, editorialists would erupt, security forces would be unleashed.
Instead, a virtual conspiracy to make the country disappear through assimilation into the U.S. gets barely a mention.
But news of the scheme -- formally called the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America (SPP) -- is finally breaking out of the secret chambers of the ruling elite and the federal government. This is both good news and bad. It's good that ordinary citizens are finally getting a glimpse of the betrayal of their country. The news is bad because it reflects just how much of this scheme is already being implemented.
Given the meetings of CEOs and politicians to advance the scheme politically, as well as all that must go into its actual implementation, there is simply too much activity to keep secret."

This is what a free market looks like (NOT!)

From Alternet:

Wal-mart Subsidy Watch
is new website that came online today to track the millions in
corporate welfare that the notorious chain store sucks up each year --
subsidies that help the store that's done so much to downgrade what it
means to be an American worker continue to reap healthy profits while
keeping its everyday low prices low.

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What's Wrong With Amerika?

This is what's wrong with Amerika. Pretty much everything that's gone wrong is summed up in this post on Alternet.
The death of memory, a compliant, owned, and actively lying media, and the seeming evil in the soul of a country.

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Another Eurovision 2007 entry

Check out Youtube for more of the Eurovision 2007 entries. Clive was correct--the UK entry was appalling...actually, if possible, it was worse than appalling...Here's the entry from Bulgaria. France had, well, ermmm, one really has to see France's entry themselves.

Something for the Women

www.blogher.com

Where the women bloggers are......

It Gets Worse

According to this CBC story, NASA scientists are finding that the Antarctic ice shields are melting much faster than previously thought.

The 2005 melt was extensive enough to create a layer of ice when the water refroze, but was not long enough for the water to flow to the sea ... if enough water from melted snow is created, it could slip through the cracks of the continent's ice sheets and potentially affect their movement.

What this means is that areas like the Ross ice shelf is in more danger of breaking free and sliding into the ocean, and when that happens, the Pacific basin will face a tsunami that will make the 2005 Boxing Day Tsunami look like a splash in a kiddie pool.
But it gets worse.
It seems that the Antarctic Ocean carbon sink, thought to account for 15% of the world's carbon sinks, has already reached its upper limit in its ability to absorb carbon dioxide.

"Ever since observations started in 1981, we see that the sinks have not increased [in their absorption of CO2]," Corinne LeQuere told the BBC's Science in Action programme.
"They have remained the same as they were 24 years ago even though the emissions have risen by 40%."

We may have vastly underestimated the speed at which our environment is falling apart. We're in trouble, and we're not catching any breaks.

Falwell Meets His Maker

I note that Jerry Falwell met his maker yesterday. Of course, Falwell's maker was the guy with the red complexion, the horns, pitchfork, pointed ears and the fire fetish.
It is ironic that Falwell, who blamed the 9/11 terrorist attacks on "pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians," should pass away yesterday, the National Day Against Homophobia.
The Lord works in mysterious ways.

The Long Recovery Week 25

A couple of weeks ago, my physio-therapist washed his hands of me and my course of prescribed therapy ended. This doesn't mean I'm done - I'll be stretching and working shoulder for the rest of my life.
But I'm glad to see my therapy end. As much help and encouragement that Jim was, I'm glad that I don't have to see him anymore. I'm sure he understands. :)
Today was another giant step in my recovery -- I rode to work for the first time since the accident. I didn't push it. I stayed in the middle gears and had a nice slow ride.
It went great. My arm and shoulder survived and were fine. No pain, no soreness.
I can't explain how wonderful it felt to be on my wheels again.
The only disappointment was during my ride home. All day long I thought about what I would do when I encountered the small piece of trail between Burnside Road and Tillicum Road where I came off all those weeks ago. Would I ride it? Or would I just avoid it and alter my route?
I didn't decide until I was riding home. I decided that I was feeling okay and I would ride that bit of trail. I would go slow, I might even stop for a moment of contemplation. I would ride that trail.
But as I approached, the trail was roped off. The municipality was in the middle of beautifying the area, and the trail was closed for the duration of the work. As I got closer, I realized that they had changed the path completely. The little trail that I fell on isn't even there anymore.

The piece of ground where I left my mark is gone now, but the marks it left on me will stay with me. The scar on my shoulder and the metal in my arm will be a constant reminder to me of how close I came.
And how lucky I am.

Surprise! The White House Backs Wolfowitz

According to CNN, "the White House came to the defense of the embattled World Bank president Tuesday, saying his behavior did not amount to 'a firing offense.'"
This shouldn't come as a surprise. Look at the source -- nothing that goes on in the White House amounts to a firing offense!

Closing the border in more ways...

I received an email from Pandora, a streaming website, which allows people to build their own radio stations based on similar music. Considering the radio stations I've built are Sarah Maclachlan, Blue Rodeo, mostly Canadian content, I find this email a bit amusing...especially as it prevents me from accessing Pandora all based on my IP address.

Dear Pandora listener,

Today we have some extremely disappointing news to share with you. Due to international licensing constraints, we are deeply, deeply sorry to say that we must begin proactively preventing access to Pandora's streaming service from Canada. We began blocking access from almost all countries outside the U.S. last week and had originally hoped to maintain access to Canada. However, it has become clear in the last week that we just haven't been able to make enough progress to continue streaming.

It is difficult to convey just how disappointing this is for us. Our vision remains to eventually make Pandora a truly global service, but for the time being, we can no longer continue as we have been. As a small company, the best chance we have of realizing our dream of Pandora all around the world is to grow as the licensing landscape allows.

We show your IP address is xxx xxxx xxx, which indicates you are listening from Canada. If you believe you are seeing this by mistake, we offer our sincere apologies and ask that you please reply to this email.

Delivery of Pandora is based on proper licensing from the people who created the music - we have always believed in honoring the guidelines as determined by legislators and regulators, artists and songwriters, and the labels and publishers they work with. In the U.S. there is a federal statute that provides this license for all the music streamed on Pandora. Unfortunately, there is no equivalent license outside the U.S. and there is no global licensing organization to enable any webcaster to legitimately offer its service around the world. The volume of listening on Pandora makes it a very expensive service to run. Streaming costs are very high, and since our inception, we have been making publishing and performance royalty payments for every song we play.

Until last week, we have not been able to tell where a listener is based, relying only on zip code information provided upon registration. We are now able to recognize a listener's country of origin based on the IP address from which they are accessing the service. Consequently, on May 16th, we will begin blocking access to Pandora to listeners from Canada. We are very sad to have to do this, but there is no other alternative.

We will be posting updates on our blog regarding our ongoing effort to launch in other countries, so please stay in touch. We will keep a record of your existing stations and bookmarked artists and songs, so that when we are able to launch in your country, they will be waiting for you. We deeply share your sense of disappointment and greatly appreciate your understanding.

Eurovision Entry

Clive, my friend from the UK, has sent me another clip from Eurovision. Unfortunately the UK's entry was appalling, according to him. He did send this to me, this was the entry from Georgia on the Baltic coast. I rather like it!!

Majority of Iraqi Lawmakers Reject the Occupation

According to Alternet.org...

...[o]n Tuesday, without note in the U.S. media, more than half of the members of Iraq's parliament rejected the continuing occupation of their country. 144 lawmakers signed onto a legislative petition calling on the United States to set a timetable for withdrawal, according to Nassar Al-Rubaie, a spokesman for the Al Sadr movement, the nationalist Shia group that sponsored the petition.
It's a hugely significant development. Lawmakers demanding an end to the occupation now have the upper hand in the Iraqi legislature for the first time; previous attempts at a similar resolution fell just short of the 138 votes needed to pass (there are 275 members of the Iraqi parliament, but many have fled the country's civil conflict, and at times it's been difficult to arrive at a quorum).
Reached by phone in Baghdad on Tuesday, Al-Rubaie said that he would present the petition, which is nonbinding, to the speaker of the Iraqi parliament and demand that a binding measure be put to a vote. Under Iraqi law, the speaker must present a resolution that's called for by a majority of lawmakers, but there are significant loopholes and what will happen next is unclear.

Will the US ever leave Iraq?
Scarecrow doesn't think so.

"All this reminds us there is something seriously wrong with the Bush/Cheney logic and their strategic assessment. All that rhetoric about “them” “following us home” — what Richard Clarke calls the White House’s “puppy dog theory” — sounds pretty ludicrous, because it’s exactly backwards. Instead of worrying about al-Qaeda in Mesopotamia following us home, American policy should stop breeding wannabe terrorists here by what we’re doing there. We should worry that this Administration has an incoherent, and dangerously delusional understanding of the threat to America that bears no relationship to reality. And that’s the real danger to the country."

According to Think Progress, Condi thinks the US is staying.

In an interview last night on the Charlie Rose Show, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice pointedly said, “[O]ur friends in the [Middle East] need to know and the Iraqis need to know that we are not looking to leave Iraq.” “Ever?” Rose asked. Rice responded, “We are not going to leave an Iraq that is not capable of defending itself and with a foundation for future reconciliation.”
Rose then asked Rice if she believed she’ll have the support of the American people to continue the war. Rice claimed the American people are looking for “progress.” Rose replied, “But nobody can answer the question: If it doesn’t happen, what?” Avoiding discussion of a Plan B, Rice answered, “Charlie, because as the President said to you, we’re focused on having it happen.”
In the interview, Rose also noted that Rice once worked for President George H.W. Bush, who was “famous for insisting there be an exit strategy. [But] no one seems to know what’s the exit strategy [now],” he said. Rice responded that Iraq is “a long-term proposition.”

Richard Clarke is not optimistic, either.

"For as long as I'm alive, there will be Iraqis who hate us," Clarke told about 300 people gathered in the Gaiser Hall Student Center.
In the "battle of ideas" crucial to U.S. success in the Middle East, "We're not only losing, we've never really started," he said.
In fact, al-Qaida terror cells have multiplied much faster since the 9/11 terror attacks and subsequent American offensive in Afghanistan, Clarke said. The United States let al-Qaida "off the ropes" to invade Iraq, he said.
That was one of many failures Clarke listed as he recounted steps before and after the Iraq invasion that have left many Americans numbed and millions of Muslims seething, he said.
"The question is, how quickly can we undo that mistake?" he asked.

Arctic Ice is Melting Three Times Faster Than Thought

According to this CNN story, Arctic ice is melting three times faster than previously believed.
We're screwed.

There Is No Exit Plan...

...because the Bushies don't plan to ever leave.

"The United States maintains 737 military bases in 130 countries across the globe. They exist for the purpose of defending the economic interests of the United States, what is euphemistically called "national security." In order to secure favorable access to Iraq's vast reserves of light crude, the United States is spending billions on the construction of at least five large permanent military bases throughout that country.
A new Iraq oil law, largely written by the Coalition Provisional Authority, is planned for ratification by June. This law cedes control of Iraq's oil to western powers for 30 years. There is major opposition to the proposed law within Iraq, especially among the country's five trade union federations that represent hundreds of thousands of oil workers. The United States is working hard to surmount this opposition by appealing directly to the al-Maliki government in Iraq."

Colbert is The Man

The Long Recovery Week 23

Okay, here we go - the first bike ride in 160 days!

I survived!

The Devil and Kyoto

Let's start with the good news, what little there is, and give the devil his due: at least Harper and the Tories have done something on carbon emissions.
Mind you, it's very little and probably far too late, but at least it's something.
The bad news is that our Kyoto commitments will be not be met, in violation of international law, and there is no guarantee that the Tories' targets will result in emissions being reduced anyway.
By using intensity targets instead of hard caps, it will possible for industries to increase their emissions, yet still meet the Tories emission reduction targets. How's that for having it both ways?
And the ultimate kicker is that industries that can prove that they have no way of reducing their emissions, cement factories for instance, don't have to. That makes a lot of sense. I can prove that my industrial waste emissions, which are killing people and the planet, cannot be reduced in any way, therefore I should be allowed to continue to kill people and the planet with impunity. WTF???
The Tories worry that too much emission reduction will damage the economy. I wonder how much the economy will suffer when ocean levels rise in a couple of decades and Canada has a million former-residents of Vancouver as refugees. Of course, that sort of long-term thinking never enters the thoughts of most politicians.
The ultimate irony is that the Kyoto targets are only a start. They are only a small fraction of what needs to be done. Meeting Kyoto is only the beginning: the real hard cuts are yet to come.
If you hear any politician say that we can continue on our merry way and all we need to do change a few light bulbs and drive a little less and everything will be fine, he is woefully ill-informed. Or he is lying.
Vast societal changes are coming. But the politicians, like the rest of us, have their heads in the sand.

The Long Recovery Week 22

Today was another Doctor appointment. My surgeon wanted another look-see.
After I stretched and move my arm and shoulder around, he said he was very pleased with my recovery. So pleased in fact that he doesn't want to see me again.
He said that I will probably never get full range back, especially when reaching straight up over my head. But the mobility that I have now is more than adequate to be described as functional. And as long as I use it, it will keep getting better, so working and stretching are still the keys.
He said that I had sustained a lot of damage and scarring, but he was quite happy with my recovery.
And so am I, of course. I thanked him, and left the hospital. Five months ago, my arm and shoulder were shattered. Now my arm works. What more can I ask for?

Not Just on Earth Day

I've signed up for the Canadian Living magazine green challenge. Daily tips, so far I'm very impressed with how green I actually am.

Take the challenge....very interesting facts!

http://www.canadianliving.com/canadianliving/client/en/Health/SpecialDetailNews.asp?idNews=237205&idSm=517&special=1

Real Estate Roller Coaster

So It Goes

Kurt Vonnegut picked my birthday yesterday to die.
What a pisser.
He was a literary giant; moreso, he was a literary giant who wrote science fiction.
Most famous for Cat's Cradle and Slaughterhouse-Five, my first Vonnegut was Breakfast of Champions, a funny and sad novel that many of Vonnegut's regular cast of characters wandered through, including Kilgore Trout, a science fiction writer who toils away at his craft making no money and gaining no fame. But it is through Trout that Vonnegut answered that age old question.
It is Trout, while sitting in a men's room stall, who sees the question scrawled on the stall wall:
"Why are we here?"
Trout doesn't hesitate for a moment. He whips out a pen and replies:
"To be the eyes and the ears of the conscience of the universe."
And it is in Slaughterhouse-Five that Vonnegut becomes our conscience, bemoaning the madness of war and lives that spin out of control.
Another moment lost, another giant falls.
So it goes.
Hi ho.


The Works of Kurt Vonnegut
A recent Vonnegut Interview in Rolling Stone
An excerpt from his last book, A Man Without a Country: A Memoir of Life in George W. Bush's America

The Long Recovery Week 20

Despite my prediction in the last installment that it might be at least a month before I'd be back on the water or on my bike, a few days ago my physio-therapist gave me permission to kayak and ride again. So not being a person to let moss grow under my feet, mainly because then they smell icky and turn green, it was time to return to action with a short paddle at Elk Lake.
The Usual Gang showed up: Alison, Paula, Louise, Bernie, and myself. Even the elusive Dennis appeared.

My left arm is still weak, so getting in and out was a bit of a challenge. I tried a couple of times on land and it was doable. So I got into my kayak and Paula pushed me off.

And now, 161 days after my last paddle, I can only paraphrase Bill Murray from the film What About Bob?: I'm paddling! I'm paddling!

Louise soon hit the water, while Dennis decided to wave goodbye and go home. No, just kidding. It was good to have the gang out on the water again.

Bernie headed out.

Dennis decided that I was taking too many pictures of Bernie, so he made sure that Bernie's face was hidden in this picture.

It was busy out on the lake today... the rowing club was having a big celebration this weekend and was using much of the lake, but that was okay. We were just doing a small, short paddle today, because I didn't want to overdo it on my first paddle.

So we paddled gently and watched the races.

My shoulder survived reasonably well. It was sore and stiff, but not overly so. The hardest part was tying down the kayaks onto the van. Holding my arms up while tying off the straps took a lot of effort. But I did it! Or rather, we did it, as everyone was very keen to help. Afterwards, The Gang presented me with a Challenge Trophy, for overcoming a challenge!

Ah, bliss!