Jim Flaherty; Mikhail Gorbachev; Jim Snow and Frank Miller

1970'S advertisement for Bethune House with an Easter Greeting

For tomorrow's blog; Late 1800's advertisement booklet for Liquid Peptonoids

JIM FLAHERTY WAS A GOOD GUY NOT MATTER WHAT WE THOUGHT OF PARTY LEADERSHIP

     A RATHER UNSUNG, STOIC, RESILIENT, UPSTANDING, COMMUNITY-MINDED CANADIAN POLITICAL FIGURE, HAS DIED TODAY. A FEW MINUTES AGO, I WAS SITTING IN THE CAR, OUT FRONT OF OUR GRAVENHURST SHOP, DRINKING A COLD POP, AND LISTENING TO THE HOURLY NEWS UPDATE. ON 68O NEWS, A BREAKING REPORT, LET LISTENERS KNOW, THAT JIM FLAHERTY, FORMER MINISTER OF FINANCE OF CANADA, AND ONTARIO, HAD JUST PASSED AWAY, CAUSE UNKNOWN.
     AS A PREAMBLE CONFESSION, I AM NOT A LIBERAL, OR FOR THAT MATTER, A MEMBER OF THE NEW DEMOCRATIC PARTY; AND I WOULD DEFINITELY NOT CONSIDER MYSELF A SUPPORTER OF THE CONSERVATIVES. BUT JIM FLAHERTY WAS THE ONE MEMBER OF BOTH THE CONSERVATIVE PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT, OF MIKE HARRIS, AND THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, OF STEPHEN HARPER, WHO I FELT WAS A NO-HOLDS BARRED, STRAIGHT SHOOTER. LIKE IT OR NOT. HE WASN'T A STORY SPINNER. HE DIDN'T TRY TO MAKE THINGS LOOK ROSEY, WHEN TRUTH IS, THEY SUCKED. AT TIMES WHEN OTHERS ROUTINELY FOBBED-OFF RESPONSIBILITY, OR DECLINED TO COMMENT, JIM FLAHERTY STOOD AT THE MICROPHONE, WITHOUT ANY SIGN OF THE CAVALRY, TO BACK HIM UP; AND AS FAR AS I WAS CONCERNED, ANSWERED TOUGH QUESTIONS THE BEST HE COULD. WE DIDN'T ALWAYS LIKE WHAT HE HAD TO SAY, BUT AT LEAST HE DIDN'T RUN OFF TO HIS CAR, TO ESCAPE MEDIA SCRUTINY. HE IMPRESSED ME AS BEING GENUINELY COMMITTED TO OUR WELFARE. HE DIDN'T PURPOSELY RESPOND TO TOUGH QUESTIONS WITH MEANINGLESS RHETORIC, OR DISRESPECT THE RIGHTS OF CANADIANS TO KNOW HOW THE COUNTRY WAS DOING FINANCIALLY. HE WAS WORKING IN A TIGHT SPACE, AND UPHOLDING PARTY POLICY, DIDN'T GIVE HIM A LOT OF WIGGLE ROOM, TO OBJECT EVEN THOUGH HE OFTEN SEEMED AT ODDS WITH HIS CONTEMPORARIES.
    SOMETIMES IT WAS A LITTLE PAINFUL ADMITTING THIS, WHEN YET ANOTHER TAX WAS PRESENTED, OR CUTBACK INITIATED. I ALWAYS THOUGHT HE WAS THE KIND OF BLOKE, WHO WOULD FIGHT FOR US IN BACKROOM NEGOTIATIONS, AND LET A PREMIER OR PRIME MINISTER KNOW, A LINE HAD BEEN CROSSED, AT OUR GENERAL DISADVANTAGE. I'M SATISFIED THIS OCCURRED. WE'VE ALL HEARD STORIES, RECENTLY, ABOUT HIM STANDING UP TO THE PRIME MINISTER, TO PROTECT PROVISIONS AND PROMISES MADE IN A PREVIOUS BUDGET. HE HAD A DEEP COMMITMENT TO HIS PORTFOLIO, BUT A DEEPER COMMITMENT TO CANADIANS, TO KEEP US ECONOMICALLY SOUND. I NEVER FELT HE WAS A RISK TAKER. I THOUGHT OF HIM AS SOMEONE YOU COULD TRUST, WHO WOULD GIVE YOU PERSONAL TIME, AS A CONSTITUENT, TO ADDRESS A REGIONAL PROBLEM OR DIFFICULTY. I TRUSTED HIM TO PRESENT AN ACCURATE PICTURE OF WHAT WE WERE FACING AS A NATION. AND FACING FACTS, JIM FLAHERTY HELPED OUR COUNTRY NAVIGATE ONE OF THE TOUGHEST ECONOMIC PERIODS SINCE THE GREAT DEPRESSION. AS HAPPENS IN POLITICS, HE WAS PAINTED BY THE BROAD STROKE, WE ASSESS GOVERNMENTS IN POWER, AS EITHER BEING GOOD OR BAD. MOST OFTEN THERE IS NOT MIDDLE CONSIDERATION.
    I WAS ROUTINELY IMPRESSED, WITH HIS TOUGH RESOLVE TO GET THE JOB DONE FOR CANADIANS. ON OCCASION, AND BECAUSE THERE ARE NO CONSERVATIVE SUPPORTERS IN OUR HOUSEHOLD, I FOUND MYSELF AT NEWS TIME, QUIETLY, SECRETLY, APPLAUDING THE MAN, FOR HOW HE HANDLED AN IMPOSSIBLY DIFFICULT JOB, OF MANAGING THE BOOKS FOR OUR COUNTRY. I THOUGHT OF HIM AS THE KIND OF CHAP, WHO COULDN'T TURN THE LIGHTS OUT AT NIGHT, KNOWING THERE WAS AN "i" THAT NEEDED DOTTING, A NAGGING, PRECARIOUS LOOSE END, OR FEELING COMPELLED TO GET BACK TO A CONSTITUENT, WITH AN ANSWER TO AN URGENT QUESTION; BECAUSE IT WAS WHAT AN ELECTED REPRESENTATIVE WAS SUPPOSED TO DO AFTERALL. HE WAS A CONTEMPORARY POLITICIAN WITH AN OLD SCHOOL ATTITUDE. WHICH WAS GREAT FOR SOME OF US WHO STILL CLING, IN QUIET DESPERATION, TO THE CHARTER OF OLD SCHOOL VALUES. HE WAS A GENTLE AND CARING MAN AND IT SHOWED THROUGH. THERE WERE CRITICS, OF COURSE, WHO FELT IT WAS A FAULT, AND A PERSONAL CHARACTER FLAW; AN OBSTACLE THAT WOULD GET IN THE WAY, OF BEING A NECESSARILY HARD-ASS MANAGER. TO BE TOO COMPASSIONATE, AND TOO AVAILABLE, WAS A TRAIT BEST REMEMBERED IN HISTORICAL BIOGRAPHIES, OF OLD TIME REPRESENTATION, THAN VOGUE, IN CONTEMPORARY POLITICAL REALITIES.
     I NEVER MET JIM FLAHERTY. YET I FELT AS IF I KNEW HIM WELL. I'VE BEEN AROUND PLENTY OF POLITICIANS, THROUGHOUT MY NEWS REPORTING YEARS, AND HONESTLY, JIM HAD ALWAYS REMINDED ME OF MUSKOKA MPP, AND FORMER PREMIER OF ONTARIO, FRANK MILLER. AS FRANK WOULD INVITE A REPORTER TO HAVE LUNCH WITH HIM, OR SHARE A RIDE, OUT ON THE CONSTITUENCY HUSTINGS, I THINK MR. FLAHERTY WAS AN EQUALLY OBLIGING CHARACTER. I MAY BE WRONG, BUT I DON'T THINK SO. OUR RELATIONSHIP WAS THROUGH THE MEDIA, AND WHILE HE WAS FAMILIAR TO ME, I WAS NOT TO HIM. I WAS ONE OF HIS CONSTITUENTS IN THE BROADEST SENSE. BUT AS I SIT HERE, IN THE BACK ROOM OF OUR SHOP, WRITING OUT THIS LITTLE EDITORIAL TRIBUTE, I THINK I'M RIGHT TO BELIEVE, THAT IF HE HAD EVER MET ME UNDER THESE CIRCUMSTANCES, DEEP IN THE MURKY QUAGMIRE OF A COUNTRY ANTIQUE SHOP, HE WOULD HAVE TAKEN TIME-OUT TO VISIT, RELAX, AND SHARE THE DAILY FARE; POSSIBLY EVEN TAKING A FEW MOMENTS, TO SIT DOWN ON ONE OF THESE COMFORTABLE COUCHES, TO ASK WHAT IT WAS LIKE TO LIVE IN MUSKOKA YEAR ROUND. I WOULDN'T HAVE IMPOSED UPON HIM, MY OPINIONS ABOUT THE CONSERVATIVE GOVERNMENT, OR ASKED HIM ANY POLITICAL QUESTION WHATSOEVER. I BELIEVE, THAT WITH THE RESPECT I HAD FOR HIM, OVER THE YEARS HE REPRESENTED OUR INTERESTS, WITH SUCH COMPETENCE, I WOULD HAVE, FIRST OF ALL, OFFERED HIM A HARDY WELCOME TO MUSKOKA, GRAVENHURST SPECIFICALLY; AND THEN, PROBABLY, THANKED HIM FOR HIS SERVICE TO OUR COUNTRY. I WOULDN'T HAVE FELT POLITICALLY AWKWARD, OR AS IF I WAS SUCKING-UP TO MAKE AN ANTIQUE SALE. IT'S HOW I HAVE ALWAYS FELT ABOUT JIM FLAHERTY. I CAN'T SAY THIS ABOUT A LOT OF POLITICIANS THESE DAYS. CANADA HAS LOST ONE OF ITS STALWART FLAG BEARERS. THAT'S FOR SURE.
     I WISH TO OFFER SINCERE CONDOLENCES TO THE FLAHERTY FAMILY, AT THIS TIME OF GREAT LOSS.  


COLD WAR DISBELIEVERS? TRY THIS ONE ON FOR SIZE -

"MIKHAIL GORBACHEV" - SEVERAL RUSSIAN LAW-MAKERS WANT HIM TRIED, FOR HIS COMPLICITY IN THE BREAK-UP OF THE FORMER USSR - 23 YEARS AGO

     I DON'T CONSIDER MYSELF, BY ANY STRETCH OF THE IMAGINATION, A MILITARY HISTORIAN, OR AUTHORITY CRITIC, WHO MIGHT BE INTERVIEWED BY CNN, TO GET MY PROFOUND INSIGHTS ON THE MATTER; BUT I HAVE READ A LOT ABOUT WAR. I HAVE PAID ATTENTION TO ALL THE NEWS ABOUT THE WARS, THAT HAVE OCCURRED SINCE MY YOUTH; AND I HAVE MADE IT A POINT, TO READ MORE, TO INFORM MYSELF ABOUT WHY THESE CONFLICTS HAVE BEEN ADVANCED BY POLITICAL AGENDAS. I HAVE READ MANY BOOKS ABOUT THE HOLOCAUST, AND ABOUT THE PRISON CAMPS OF THE PERIOD, INCLUDING THE TREATMENT OF ALLIED SOLDIERS IN JAPANESE DETENTION. I WANT TO KNOW. WHETHER IT IS THE KOREAN WAR. VIETNAM. IRAQ. HECK, I'M FASCINATED TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE AMERICAN REVOLUTIONARY WAR, THE CIVIL WAR, AND THE WAR OF 1812. I DON'T WANT TO GO THROUGH LIFE OBLIVIOUS OF IMPORTANT DETAILS, OF HOW WE GOT FROM HERE TO THERE. IT'S MY OWN ONGOING EDUCATION. YET IT DOESN'T QUALIFY ME TO BE ANYTHING MORE THAN AN AVERAGE CITIZEN OF THE WORLD, TRYING TO UNDERSTAND, BY HAPPENSTANCE AND CONSUMPTION OF ALL AVAILABLE NEWS AND EXPERT TESTIMONY, THE PRESENT STRESSES BETWEEN COUNTRIES. IF YOU UNDERSTAND WORLD HISTORY, AND THE CHRONICLE OF PAST CONFLICTS, YOU WOULD APPRECIATE HOW TRULY OMINOUS THE SITUATION IN EUROPE, HAS BECOME, IN THE PAST MONTH. HISTORY IS REPEATING AND EVEN THE RUSSIANS SHOULD BE AWARE, THAT NOTHING GOOD CAN COME FROM THIS LATEST PLAY FOR POWER. THERE ARE BIG GUNS BEING POINTED, AND AS USUAL, THE INNOCENTS ARE VICTIMS AGAIN. SO WHERE IS A SAFE PLACE TO HIDE? THAT'S THE REAL DOWN SIDE.
     IF YOU ARE A RABID NEWS HOUND, LIKE ME, AND HAPPEN TO BE PAYING CLOSE ATTENTION TO THE PRESENT UNREST IN EUROPE, ESPECIALLY AS AFFECTS THE CONTINUING SOVEREIGNTY OF THE UKRAINE, IT SHOULDN'T BE ANY SURPRISE THEN, TO HEAR WHACKY, PROPAGANDA-LADEN REPORTS, FROM RUSSIA, LIKE THE WHOPPING ONE THIS MORNING.      IT SEEMS THAT A NUMBER OF LAW-MAKERS, CLOSE TO THE PRESIDENT, ARE WORKING ON A NEW AND IMPROVED POLITICAL AGENDA. THEY ARE ON A HEAD-HUNTING MISSION, TO PUT FORMER PRESIDENT, MIKHAIL GORBACHEV, ON TRIAL FOR HIS COMPLICITY, IN ALLOWING THE COLLAPSE OF THE FORMER USSR; WHICH, BELIEVE IT OR NOT, OCCURRED MORE THAN TWO DECADES AGO. AS FOR GORBACHEV, THESE DAYS, HE CURRENTLY LIVES IN GERMANY, AND HE'S PRETTY SURE HIS NEW HOME-COUNTRY, WOULDN'T EXTRADITE HIM BACK TO RUSSIA TO FACE PROSECUTION. SO HOW APPROPRIATE, FOR THE CAUSE OF FULFILLING PROPAGANDA, TO HAVE A TRIAL IN ABSTENTIA, TO CONVICT MIKHAIL GORBACHEV OF SIDING WITH THE WEST, IN ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT PERIODS OF WORLD HISTORY. ABSURD AS IT IS, THIS IS THE NEW, BUT OLD FACE, OF RUSSIA IN GLOBAL AFFAIRS. EVEN THE SUGGESTION OF PROSECUTING THIS RUSSIAN LEGEND, WHETHER IT EVER HAPPENS OR NOT, IS PROFOUNDLY DISTURBING TO PEACE LOVERS ON THIS PLANET. WHAT IS THE PRESENT RUSSIAN PRESIDENT'S PLAN? THE SCRIPT IS AN OLD AND FAMILIAR ONE, AND NO ONE OF EXPERIENCE, IS FOOLED BY THIS DABBLING WITH RETROSPECTIVE, RELIVING THE SO-CALLED GLORY DAYS OF SUPER-POWER STATUS. THERE'S A LOT OF DELUSIONAL THINKING, IF RUSSIA TRULY BELIEVES IT CAN ONCE AGAIN, ISOLATE ITSELF, AND SURVIVE ECONOMICALLY. I'M NOT A FINANCIAL GURU EITHER, BUT I DON'T THINK IT TAKES EXTENSIVE QUALIFICATIONS TO FIGURE THIS OUT.
     MR. GORBACHEV BECAME A HERO, NOT JUST IN HIS OWN COUNTRY, BUT THROUGHOUT THE WORLD, AS THE MAN WHO HELPED END THE COLD WAR. REMEMBER THAT FAMOUS STATEMENT FROM UNITED STATES PRESIDENT, RONALD REAGAN? "MR. GORBACHEV, TEAR DOWN THAT WALL." TO US, IN THE DEMOCRATIC WORLD, MIKHAIL GORBACHEV, HAD BECOME ONE OF THE WORLD'S MOST IMPORTANT LEADERS, FOR ALL THE RIGHT REASONS. I DON'T KNOW HOW RUSSIANS IN GENERAL, FEEL ABOUT THEIR FORMER PRESIDENT, BUT I DO KNOW WHAT MANY CANADIANS FELT, DURING HIS PRESIDENCY. THAT WE HAD A LOT LESS TO FEAR OF RUSSIA, AND THEIR MILITARY DISPOSITION. WE LOOKED UPON HIM, AS THE MAN WHO OPENED RUSSIA TO THE REST OF THE WORLD, AND MADE IT AN INTEGRAL PART OF THIS NEW SPREAD OF DEMOCRACY. WHILE I'M DEFINITELY NOT A SCHOLAR IN EUROPEAN HISTORY, AS AN AVERAGE CANADIAN CITIZEN, LIVING IN AN AVERAGE CANADIAN COMMUNITY, I HAD ONE OPINION OF THE NEW RUSSIA UNDER GORBACHEV. RUSSIA HAD SUDDENLY BECOME A PLACE I WANTED TO VISIT. SINCE CHILDHOOD, HAVING LIVED THROUGH THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS, I HAD LONG FEARED THE USSR, AS THE ONE COUNTRY IN THE WORLD, MORE THAN ALL OTHERS, THAT COULD PUNISH US INTO A VAPOR, WITH NUCLEAR WEAPONS. WHAT A CRAPPY WAY TO VIEW THE WORLD. IT'S THE WAY I WAS TAUGHT ABOUT RUSSIA, AT SCHOOL, AND AT HOME, BY PARENTS WHO REALLY DID FEAR RUSSIAN AGGRESSION. MY DAD SERVED IN THE NORTH ATLANTIC SQUADRON, DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR, AND WAS FAMILIAR WITH ALL THE RIGORS OF COMBAT. SO I FIGURED IF HE WAS FEARFUL, ABOUT THE RUSSIANS DURING THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS, I SHOULD BE AS WELL. OUR FEAR WAS FOUNDED ON REALITY. NOT SPECULATION. THE USSR WANTED TO POSITION NUCLEAR WARHEADS IN CUBA. HARD NOT TO GET WORRIED ABOUT SOMETHING LIKE THIS, EVEN AS A KID, QUITE UNAWARE WHAT KIND OF BANG COMES FROM A RUSSIAN MISSILE. THERE WAS A LOT OF INFILLING ABOUT WAR IN GENERAL, PICKED UP FROM THE ADULT TO ADULT CONVERSATIONS, THAT I WAS OVER-HEARING, DURING EUCHRE NIGHTS, AND CASUAL GET-TOGETHERS IN OUR BURLINGTON APARTMENT. IT'S ALSO TRUE, THAT I TOOK THE REALITIES OF THE PERIOD, AND ADDED DIMENSIONS TO THE SITUATION, WITH AN OVER-ACTIVE IMAGINATION. THINK ABOUT IT THOUGH. HOW DOES THE YOUNG MIND REACT, TO BEING INFORMED ABOUT PROCEDURES TO EVACUATE A PUBLIC SCHOOL CLASSROOM, TO TAKE SHELTER IN THE EVENT OF AN ATTACK. WE WEREN'T IN THREAT OF BEING ATTACKED BY THE UNITED STATES OR MEXICO. WE WERE PREPARING FOR AN ESCALATION OF TENSIONS BETWEEN THE U.S. AND RUSSIA. WHEN IT COMES DOWN TO IT TODAY, IT'S PRETTY MUCH THE SAME PAGE, WE'VE READ BEFORE. AND IT WASN'T A PLEASANT STORY.
      SO WHEN GORBACHEV HELPED CHANGE THAT PERCEPTION, AND OPENED UP RUSSIA, TO DEMOCRACY, THOSE OLD FEARS BEGAN TO DISSIPATE. ATTITUDES ADJUSTED, AND WE WANTED TO KNOW MORE ABOUT RUSSIA AND ITS PEOPLE. PRIOR TO THIS, ALL I WANTED TO KNOW, WAS IF THEY WERE PLANNING AN INVASION.
     IT SEEMS TO ME, A PRETTY MUCH AVERAGE BLOKE, ON TIPPY-TOES, PEERING OVER THE FENCE, AT CRITICALLY UNBALANCED WORLD AFFAIRS, THE CURRENT PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA, SEEMS HELL-BENT ON STARTING A FIGHT. THAT'S WHAT HAPPENS THESE DAYS, WHEN ONE COUNTRY STEALS ANOTHER COUNTRY. HARD TO BELIEVE, THAT A FEW MONTHS AGO, THE PRESIDENT WAS CONCERNED ABOUT WINNING FAVORABLE PUBLIC PERCEPTION. OR, AT LEAST, HE WAS, DURING THE WINTER OLYMPICS. I'VE BEEN WONDERING HOW HISTORIANS WILL LOOK BACK ON THE 2014 WINTER OLYMPICS, UNDER THESE NEW CIRCUMSTANCES, OF THE HOST COUNTRY INVADING A NEIGHBOR, MINUTES AFTER THE GAMES HAD CONCLUDED. IT WAS CALLED THE GREATEST OLYMPICS IN HISTORY, TO THE PRESIDENT'S DELIGHT. WHO REALLY BELIEVES THIS?
     TO FACILITATE SUCH A LEGAL BID TO PUNISH MIKHAIL GORBACHEV, IS CLEAR EVIDENCE, OF WHERE THIS IS ALL HEADED. THE GOVERNMENT OF THE DAY WISHES TO GO BACK TO THE COLD WAR DAYS, AND THE FORMER STATURE OF THE USSR. IT EXPLAINS, TO A HISTORY ADDICT LIKE ME, WHY THE RUSSIAN MILITARY WAS DIRECTED TO INVADE THE CRIMEA AREA, OF THE UKRAINE. IT'S THE REASON WHY UPWARDS OF FORTY THOUSAND RUSSIAN TROOPS, ARE CURRENTLY POISED, ALONG THE BORDER OF UKRAINE, AND PRO-RUSSIAN INSTIGATORS ARE AGITATING FROM WITHIN THE COUNTRY, TO CREATE TURMOIL; IN ORDER TO PROVIDE JUSTIFICATION, TO NECESSITATE A SECOND INVASION. THE DIFFERENCE BEING, THAT NATO FORCES ARE EXPECTING THE NEXT MAJOR TROOP MOVEMENT, TO THE POINT, BY SATELLITE SURVEILLANCE, OF ACTUALLY KNOWING, THAT IT WOULD ONLY TAKE AS LITTLE AS TWO HOURS, FOR THE RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT TO MOBILIZE FORCES, TO COMMENCE A FULL INVASION. THE TROOPS ARE NOT THERE FOR MILITARY GAMES. OR FOR A REUNION PICNIC.
     SO TRYING GORBACHEV, FOR SURRENDERING THE FORMER USSR TO DEMOCRACY, AND INITIATING GOVERNANCE REFORMATION, WILL IN SOME WAY, IN THE MINDS OF SOME RUSSIANS, BRING BACK A GLORY-FILLED DICTATORIAL AUTHORITY, TO FORCEFULLY RECLAIM ITS PROUD HERITAGE. THIS HAS BEEN A WORK IN PROGRESS FOR MANY YEARS, AND THE LATEST TURN OF EVENTS, HASN'T SURPRISED WORLD LEADERSHIP. THE BOLDNESS AND RECKLESS ENDANGERMENT HAS BEEN HARD TO FATHOM; PARTICULARLY WHAT THIS IS DOING TO THOSE RUSSIAN CITIZENS, WHO HAVE CELEBRATED DEMOCRACY SINCE THE DAYS OF GORBACHEV. BUT THIS LATEST NEWS OUT OF RUSSIA, IS A CRYSTAL CLEAR EXAMPLE, OF THE LENGTHS THE PRESIDENCY WILL GO TO, IN ORDER TO CREATE JUSTIFICATION, FOR RECLAIMING TERRITORY IT ONCE POSSESSED. WHICH EXPLAINS EXPANSIONARY INTEREST IN THE CRIMEA AND THE UKRAINE. WHERE WILL IT END? I DON'T BELIEVE THERE IS AN END, UNLESS IT IS RE-ESTABLISHING THE FORMER USSR, WHERE A DEMOCRACY HAS EXISTED FOR MORE THAN TWO DECADES.
     I AM BUT ONE OF MILLIONS UPON MILLIONS OF WORLD CITIZENS TODAY, WHO MAINTAIN HIGH PRAISE FOR MIKHAIL GORBACHEV, FOR WHAT HE BROUGHT ABOUT, AS AN OFFICIAL END TO THE COLD WAR; THAT THREATENED WORLD PEACE EVERY DAY OF ITS EXISTENCE. HOW DREADFUL FOR IT TO ALL GO BACK TO SUCH A PRECARIOUS PERIOD, WHERE NO ONE IN EUROPE CAN FEEL ENTIRELY SAFE AND SECURE, FROM THIS LATEST SURGE OF RUSSIAN AGGRESSION. TO KNOW THAT WE COULD BE MERE HOURS FROM THE ONSET OF WAR, IS A PRETTY BIG DOWNER, TO OUR FAITH IN EFFORTS TO MAINTAIN WORLD PEACE, AMONGST THE SUPER POWERS.
     THE CRISIS IN THE UKRAINE, IS A DIRECT RESULT, OF A NEW, DANGEROUS, REGRESSIVE INITIATIVE, OF THE PRESENT RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT, TO RE-VISIT THE POLICIES OF THE PAST. THE STARK REALITIES OF COLD WAR ARE BACK. AND IT MEANS, FOR THE FREE WORLD, A NEW NORMAL, THAT THREATENS FUTURE PEACE ON A GLOBAL SCALE, NOT WITNESSED OR FELT SINCE THE SECOND WORLD WAR. GOING AFTER FORMER PRESIDENT GORBACHEV, IS NOTHING BUT PROPAGANDA THEATRE, FOR THOSE RUSSIANS WHO STILL FEEL IT WAS A SELL-OUT TO ADOPT DEMOCRACY; AND WHO SUPPORT THE RE-ESTABLISHMENT OF THEIR COUNTRY AS A MILITARY JUGGERNAUT. IT'S ONE THING TO DENY DEMOCRACY, AND RE-ANIMATE OLD POLITICAL WAYS, BUT QUITE ANOTHER TO INVADE OTHER COUNTRIES TO FULFILL THAT PORTRAIT OF ABSOLUTE AUTHORITY. WHAT ARE THEY RISKING, FOR THEIR CITIZENRY? DO RUSSIAN CITIZENS DESIRE WAR? DO THEY KNOW HOW CLOSE THIS CRISIS HAS PUT THEIR COUNTRY TO ARMED CONFRONTATION? DO THEY REALLY EXPECT, EUROPE WILL SURRENDER TO THESE ACTS OF AGGRESSION? THEIR POLICIES HAVE ONCE AGAIN ISOLATED THEM FROM THE FREE WORLD. HOW WILL THIS HELP THE COUNTRY? OR HELP THE ECONOMY?
     WHILE WE, WHO FEAR THE RUSSIAN BEAR, WOULD LOVE THIS PRESENT CONFLICT TO RESOLVE, THROUGH NEGOTIATION, AND PEACEFUL RESOLUTION, THERE SEEMS NO WAY TO ACCOMPLISH THIS THROUGH DIPLOMATIC CHANNELS. RUSSIA IS NOT GIVING BACK THE CRIMEA, AND THEY SEEM TO BE ON THE BRINK, OF STEPPING OVER THE BORDER, INTO THE EASTERN REGION OF UKRAINE. HOW FAR WILL THIS AGGRESSION BE TOLERATED, BEFORE NATO INTERVENES, AND SHOTS ARE FIRED? WILL WE HEAR IT AS BREAKING NEWS ON THE CAR RADIO? AN INTERRUPTION OF THE NIGHTLY NEWS? A LINE OF PRINT RUNNING AT THE BOTTOM OF THE TELEVISION SCREEN, TO TELL US WAR HAS BROKEN OUT? WE'VE SEEN IT BEFORE. TREMBLED ABOUT IT, BEFORE? LEARNED TO LIVE WITH IT, BEFORE. HOW WOULD YOU REACT IF YOU LEARNED, THIS MOMENT, THAT NATO FORCES HAD FIRED ON RUSSIAN TROOP AND TANK MOVEMENT INTO THE UKRAINE? OR WILL IT BE ALLOWED TO HAPPEN, BASED ON THOSE CRITICAL REALITIES, THAT ANY OPPOSITION WOULD CREATE A WAR POTENTIAL?      WE'VE GOT A LOT OF QUESTIONS, THE NIGHTLY NEWS DOESN'T OR CAN'T ANSWER. OUR WORLD IS LESS SAFE THAN IT WAS A MONTH AGO, AND HONESTLY, TEN MINUTES AGO. IT'S THE NEXT TEN MINUTES, AND THE TEN AFTER THAT, WHICH MAKE US PONDER WHAT THE WORLD IS COMING TO, IN THIS MODERN AGE; WHEN WE ARE SUPPOSED TO KNOW BETTER, BASED ON THE LESSONS OF HISTORY.
     WELL, I BELIEVE, THAT WHILE MANY CANADIANS HAVE HEARD ABOUT THE PRESENT CONFLICT, FROM VAROUS NEWS SOURCES, MOST OF US ARE MORE WORRIED INSTEAD, ABOUT SPRING FLOODING, THE CHALLENGES OF PERSONAL ECONOMY, JOB SECURITY, AND FAMILY HEALTH; AS WELL AS BEING MINDFULLY PREOCCUPIED BY THE EXTENT OF FROST, AND MOLE DAMAGE, TO OUR FRONT LAWNS. IGNORANCE IS BLISS, SO THEY SAY. I'M WIRED ABOUT THIS, BECAUSE I'M A CAREER HISTORIAN BY PROFESSION. MAYBE IF I'D SPENT MY LIFE, AS A WRITER OF FICTION INSTEAD, I WOULD HAVE KEPT MYSELF OCCUPIED, THIS PAST MONTH, SPINNING OFF FROM THE EXCITEMENT FACTOR OF A MORE DANGEROUS, VOLATILE EXISTENCE. BUT THERE'S NOTHING FICTIONAL ABOUT THE PRESENT SCENE UNFOLDING, AND WHILE I DON'T EXPECT IT IS TIME TO DIG FALL OUT SHELTERS, OR BUILD FOOD RESERVES IN BASEMENT BUNKERS, I DO BELIEVE IT IS ACUTELY NECESSARY TO RECKON WITH THE PRESENT TENSE, AND BONE-UP, ON WHAT THIS CRISIS, IF EXPANDED, WILL MEAN TO THE FUNCTIONING OF OUR DAILY LIVES. THERE WILL BE AN IMPACT. THAT IS FOR SURE.
     SOME OF MY READERS MAY FEEL, (AND I UNDERSTAND THIS), THAT I, BY PERSONAL CONVICTION, LIVE IN CONSTANT FEAR OF THE UNKNOWN; AND THAT IT MUST THEREFORE, TAINT MY OPINION OF ALL ELSE. REFLECTING NEGATIVELY IN THESE BLOGS, AS IF I BELIEVE, IT IS A WORLD FULL OF DOOMSDAY POTENTIALS. I WISH, IN THIS CASE, I COULD CONCUR, THAT THIS CASUAL ASSESSMENT WAS TRUE. I WOULD, OF COURSE, LIKE TO SHED THESE FEARS, BECAUSE THEY ARE MOST DEFINITELY A BURDEN. IT IS THE INTENSE BURDEN FACING A LOT OF KEY INDIVIDUALS, THIS HOUR OF HISTORY, WHO HAVE BEEN ENTRUSTED TO SOLVE THE LATEST CRISIS BY DIPLOMATIC MEANS. THE VALUE OF RECORDED HISTORY, IF ANYTHING AT ALL, IS THAT WE CAN USE IT, AS A FOUNDATION RESOURCE, FROM WHICH TO STEER OURSELVES AWAY FROM CALAMITY; INSTEAD OF PROPELLING OURSELVES, BY RECKLESS MISADVENTURE, BACK INTO ITS ABYSS.

JAMES SNOW GAVE ME A GREAT PHOTOGRAPHIC OPPORTUNITY - AT FRANK MILLER'S EXPENSE

     WHEN I'VE MENTIONED THE PHOTOGRAPH ABOVE, IN PREVIOUS BLOGS, SOME HAVE DOUBTED THE STORY. SO HERE IS THE PHOTOGRAPH. I WAS MOVING SOME BOOKS BEFORE WE HIT THE ROAD THIS MORNING, FOR A LITTLE SIGHTSEEING, ANTIQUE PICKING MOTOR TRIP, AND THE OLD PHOTOGRAPH, FROM THE 1980'S, FELL OUT AND LANDED ON MY FOOT…..FACE UP. I'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR THIS IMAGE FOR THE PAST YEAR. THIS IS HOW IT HAPPENS FOR THIS LESS-THAN-NEAT ARCHIVIST.

     BRIEFLY, I WAS AT THE OFFICIAL OPENING OF A NEW HUNTSVILLE OVERPASS, BACK IN THE 1980'S AND THE RIBBON CUTTING WAS TO BETWEEN THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORTATION, JAMES SNOW, ON THE LEFT, AND MUSKOKA MPP, AND TREASURER OF ONTARIO, FRANK MILLER. JIM CAME UP TO ME A FEW MOMENTS BEFORE THE OFFICIAL RIBBON CUTTING, TO ASK A FAVOR. HE WANTED TO SURPRISE FRANK BY CUTTING OFF HIS TIE, INSTEAD OF THE RIBBON, PULLED TIGHT ACROSS THE ON-RAMP OF THE OVERPASS. HE TOLD ME TO WATCH FOR HIS SIGNAL, AND SNAP THE SHOT. I HAD A MOTORWIND ON THE CAMERA SO I PROBABLY GOT FIVE OR SIX WITHIN A FEW SECONDS, OF JIM SWITCHING FROM THE RIBBON, TO FRANK'S TIE. SO HERE IT IS…..MY FAVORITE AS A NEWS PHOTOGRAPHER. THE ONLY ONE BETTER THAN THIS, WAS A PHOTO OF MUSKOKA MP STAN DARLING, GETTING A HAIR OR SOMETHING IN A HAMBURGER, AT A LOCAL FALL FAIR, AND LOOKING AT THE HALF-EATEN BURGER WITH GREAT CURIOSITY…..AND SOME CONCERN. WE RAN IT. ACTUALLY, WE RAN A SEQUENCE OF THREE IMAGES OF STAN EATING THAT HAMBURGER. AS REPORTERS, WE LOVED TO CATCH SOMETHING DIFFERENT, WITH OUR POLITICAL REPRESENTATIVES, BECAUSE THE USUAL "GRIP AND GRIN" STUFF WAS SO BORING AND PREDICTABLE. SO JIM SNOW DID ME A REAL FAVOR THAT DAY, AND I'VE NEVER FORGOTTEN IT. HE HAD A GREAT SENSE OF HUMOR. FRANK ROLLED WITH IT, AS USUAL. BOTH MEN HAVE SINCE PASSED, BUT I'VE GOT TO TELL YOU, BEING IN THEIR COMPANY MADE REPORTING SEEM SO MUCH MORE EXCITING, THAN THE USUAL DAY TO DAY PHOTO-CALLS, AND FEATURE STORIES WITH NO MEAT ON THE BONES. THEY SUFFERED FROM BOREDOM JUST LIKE US, AND SO, SOMETIMES, WE JUST DIDN'T FOLLOW PROTOCOL. IN THIS CASE, JIM LED THE WAY.