Sunday musings

Well. where to start?
First off, Google has decided  (as is their right as they own the Blogger site rights) to change the layout of my home set up page. That took me a while to figure out. Sometimes change is good and sometimes change is made just for the sake of change and to justify peoples jobs. I will reserve judgement for a while until I get used to this new format.
I was e mailing to my friend the author in Kansas this week (shameless plug for her book - Google "All Things Impossible - Crown of the Realms - well worth purchasing and indeed the whole series is worth purchasing!) complaining about the cool, wet weather we have had this week and she quite matter of factly commented on the day they had 122 tornado warnings! Yikes - that is scary for a flatlander like me. Happily today is turning out to be a gorgeous Spring day - perfect to start the oft delayed yard work.
We had coffee yesterday with an old friend that had moved East over 30 years ago and had time to rekindle the friendship. Once again as with our friends in Calgary, he has difficulties in life to cope with. His partner is suffering  from memory loss and vocalization problems. He is coping with grace and dignity.
It is frustrating and a little scary to see the circle of life we live slowly closing down around us as we age and realize that our own time is growing shorter. No longer is the future our friend and ally, sadly he is turning into our enemy. It only serves to heighten the urgency of some long delayed projects and dreams and the need to do them NOW.
Elections, elections!
In France the President Sarkozy seems in danger of losing his bid for re-election. a rising tide of economic fear, anti Muslim and general fear is sweeping that nation.
In Alberta, Canada, the ruling Conservative party faces defeat at the hands of an even more right leaning fiscal conservative WildRose party who want sto emulate Quebec in creating its own pension plan and police force -scaring eastern media types, the some nobs that accepted the same in Quebec as their special right!
In The United States the gloves are off in the seemingly eternal Presidential race that pundits blame for gutting the political will of the government. Something is really wrong with the American system these days because the role of the politicians has changed from running the affairs of the country for the common good to being in perpetual re-election campaign mode and refusing to pass any legislation that may cast them , their party, their cushy job and perks in jeopardy - can someone  not tell them that they are destroying this once marvelous country please?
American farmers seem to be facing a shortage of corn seed for planting this year - how does this happen?
I see where debris from the tsunami in Japan last year has reached the coast of Alaska, amazing how far it is traveled and how it was able to stay afloat that long at all.
Remember the cruise ship Costa Concordia that ran aground of the coast of Italy with a number of lives lost? Well a couple of things about it, first, somehow underwater thieves eluded a supposedly secure security screen to steal the ships bell for some "property vulture" and now there are reports that an American salvage (always the Yanks - no one else has the skill or the courage it seems!) company plans to re-float and tow the hulk to a salvage yard. As well they will oversee the restoration of the reef and flora and fauna of the waters around the  wreck site.
Good for them.
On the bizarre side some woman in New Zealand died after being on a lifestyle of drinking over 10 litres of Coke a day.One wonders what else was on her diet and how she could afford 10 litres of Coke - it sure as heck is not cheap to buy!
Speaking of birthdays of the greatest villain of all time - Adolph Hitler would have turned 123 this week, thankfully no one cares except for some deluded neo Nazi idiots. That was one life that should never have happened.
In Syria ceasefire observers are spanning through the country. Waste of time. Regime change seems inevitable, but as to when and with what repercussions is the big set of questions. It surely will be long and bloody sadly. And the world will sit by, as usual.
Speaking of useless crap - how about the United Nations?It seems that there is a movement afoot to penalize wealthier nations via excessive impose taxation from without in order to fund governments in poorer regions - mainly those that are run by tin pot despots who do not give a damn about the people but are intent on looting the economy and enriching themselves and a close circle of confidants.
Wonderful.
As if  we really need, another program dreamed up by fat, sleek, overpaid lazy do nothing parasitical political hacks to further punish hard working middle class citizens,while they are safely protected in their opulent lifestyles.
Assholes!
Here in Canada our Charter of Rights and Freedoms celebrate its 30th anniversary. A bill designed to protect the citizen from "big brother" type of governments. Yet this is the same bill that allow a province - Quebec- to officially and legally discriminate against a linguistic group - indeed one of the 2 OFFICIAL languages of Canada, that being English. How twisted is that?
Yet Quebec feels slighted by the rest of Canada and their students are in the tenth week or so of a "strike" against proposed increase in tuition fees that will gasp, continue to ensure that they pay the lowest rates in the whole bloody country - is everyone in that province out of touch with the real world?
Anyway, enough of that, time to get ready to head outside for the earlier mentioned yardwork. Will enjoy this I think - or least I hope so!
Take care out there,
flatlander52