Sunday, April 10, 2011

Sunday musings

Well another week in the national election campaign is now over and what have we learned? First off the Prime Minister continues to sit within his protective bubble away from the questioning media. That the opposition Liberals have yet to find a topic that will ignite the voters. That the support for the left wing New Democratic Party seems to have plateaued and may even be dropping. And the separatist Bloc Quebecois remains isolated and really never has, and never will promote anything remotely like a platform of ideas but rather prefers to mount a campaign of blackmail towards the rest of the country with the promise of separation of some sort - not really a true new country but rather a common union approach as in Europe. The one where they can have all the pluses - currency, stability, international recognition, social benefits without the costs involved.
One of the least mentioned stories is that of the conflicting polls issue. It seems that every day day there are polls issued that wildly contradict themselves from the days preceeding. First there will be a Conservative majority, there there will not be. The Liberals surge, then retreat. Is it me or do you get a sense that the media at times is more intent on making the news than reporting on it?
On the international front it appears that the rebellion in Libya may possibly be either winding down or turning into an ugly long drawn out civil war. This seems to be a great example of how the politicians in Europe can ruin an opportunity by their indecision - or as some may call - cowardice. When the Americans were on the leading edge of the armed forces there was no hesitation on armed intervention at all. The tide was turning towards the rebels and they were appreciative of the Americans aid. Now that NATO has taken over, you can see the opposite happening. There can be a lag time of up to 8 hours on target attack. There have been instances where NATO has attacked rebels tanks and supporters. Now the forces of the dictator seem to be gaining the upper hand and if they prevail, you can expect horrific retribution to follow.
And the terrible irony of this is that in all likelihood the Americans will be blamed rather than the weakneed Europeans who have twice in the last 100 years had to rely on the Yanks (as well as the Canadians) to solve their struggles in the 2 world wars.
What did we ever do without the mighty computer?
This machine has done more to change the course of history than almost any other device that I can think of. I would suggest that in most North American homes the per centage of those without one would be very small.In fact I would think that a large number would have at least 2 of these machines. The new machine that will dominate the market will be and already is the tablet. Apple has cornered this market to date but this year will be the year of the Android competitor I believe. Another competitor will be RIM's Playbook which will be embraced by the business community due to its' security protocols and business applications. This is a machine that I will look into purchasing this fall.
It look like spring is finally here to stay. However you may look at it, for the last number of years the weather patterns just do not seem to be the way they once were. There are wild swings in temperature from the plus 30C. to Zero within days, extremely high winds are more the norm rather than the exception. Even the harbingers of Spring - birds, seem to be conspicuous by their absence this year. In Canada flooding of low lying areas is higher than normal as well.
Yet........... you gotta feel better about things in general now that Spring has come. Plans for the yard and garden are devised. Possible vacation trips are now discussed in terms of when and not if. One looks at the yard tools with pleasure and not with the relief that is felt felt in Fall when putting them away for the Winter.
That is it for another week, so take care out there.....
flatlander52

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