KISS - Keep It Simple Silly!

Christmas debris

On Christmas Eve, we had an informal get-together of family and friends at our home in London. This year we broke with tradition and plan to have the turkey dinner later in the week. Wendy's close friend Patricia brought Greg and "Circle" friend Pat. Daughter Erin brought Jake. Arriving later was Erin's friend Cathy from B.C. and Jake's friend Andrew. 

Wendy; in spite of her resolution to keep things simpler this year, as usual, prepared a spread of snacks that would impress a commercial caterer. Crackers and biscuits, dips and sauces... shrimp and cheese and cakes and cookies. There was even pulled-pork on a bun and baked beans. Dessert was a "Death By Chocolate" dish that Wendy whipped up from a recipe by condo friend Fern in Point Edward.  For beverage we had imported beer and wines, liqueur, liquor of various types with mix, and eggnog with rum. 

Erin and Jake stayed over and we exchanged gifts this morning, toasting with mimosas and snacking again until their departure after the Queen's address at noon. 

 I don't know about you but I'm snacked out... for now.

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Gone!

"It appears Tuesday’s massive, day-long fire at a marine storage facility in Port Lambton was caused by an electrical fault.  The Ontario Fire Marshall’s investigation is ongoing.  St. Clair Township Fire Chief Roy Dewhirst says investigators have finished digging through the rubble at St. Clair Boating and Marine." http://foxfm.com/marina-fire-close-to-cause/

75 boats and antique cars were destroyed.  Losses are estimated at 40-million dollars.

Investigators search boat fire rubble for clues

By BOB BOUGHNER QMI Agency

PORT LAMBTON – A newly-married Michigan couple find it hard to fathom that the pleasure boat they used for their honeymoon in September is now history.

In fact, the 41-foot "La Dolce Vita'' is among an estimated 70 pleasure craft destroyed in Tuesday's  multi-million dollar blaze at St. Clair Boathouse on Old River Road, south of Port Lambton.

"I guess I don't have to worry about polishing the boat next spring,'' said owner Nat Pulizzi of Troy, Mich. "Instead, I'll likely be sweeping up what's left over in a dust pan.''

Seventy firefighters responded to the scene at of the burning storage shed, which witnesses said exploded before going up in smoke that could be seen for miles around on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border.

"We are very fortunate that not a single firefighter was injured,'' said St. Clair Township Fire Chief Roy Dewhirst.

Local firefighters were augmented by five volunteers from Algonac, Mich., directly across the St. Clair River. A fire boat and a ladder truck were also dispatched by the Clay Township Fire Department in Algonac.

Dewhirst described the blaze as a "once in a career fire.''

The fire chief said his volunteer staff wore breathing apparatus to protect themselves from the thick, billowing smoke and fumes from the burning fiberglass and wooden boats.

A handful of firefighters were back at the scene Wednesday morning dousing hot spots in the former 300-by -100 metal storage building.

Paul Dow, lead investigator with the Ontario Fire Marshal's Office, said it will likely take a few days to determine the cause of the fire.

"I'm here to conduct an investigation into the cause and circumstances of the fire,'' he said. "The plan is to dismantle the ruins in an attempt to determine a cause.''

A shelter in place order, issued for residents in the areas as well as across the St. Clair River in Michigan because of environmental concerns, was lifted at 9 p.m.

Residents were asked to stay indoors and turn off any air intake or ventilation systems they might be using.

No injuries were reported and although a damage estimate is not yet available officials said property damage will be in the millions.

The huge storage facility destroyed was one of two built side by side. A fire wall and efforts of dozens of firefighters saved the adjacent building, which also contained dozens of boats.

Veteran boater Harvey Schilke of London said his 41-foot boat was reduced to rubble in the fire.

"I will likely try and replace it but it took me more than a year to find this one,'' he said.

Schilke and his wife, Mary, along with a number of other boat owners at the scene, voiced their concern for marina owner Steve Coopman.

Michael Dale, of London, who lost his 35-foot boat in the fire, said there is nothing worse than a fire involving gasoline, diesel fuel and fiberglass.

Ron Wade, owner of Done Rite Restoration, which is housed in a large  building across the street from the fire scene, spotted the smoke on the way to work early Tuesday morning.

"I was hoping it wasn't coming from my building,'' said the Wallaceburg resident, who restores antique boats.

Wade praised firefighters at the scene.

"They did a great job,'' he said.

The fire was reminiscent of a $1-million blaze that destroyed the world-renowned Abbott Boat Works in Sarnia in the summer of 2006. It too sent huge volumes of smoke billowing into the air, some of which may have been laced with toxic chemicals from burnt plastic.

The Phoenix Is Burning

My Phoenix  Falls Into The Ashes

Today the heated storage barn where we kept the Phoenix burned to the ground in a spectacular fire that destroyed as many as 75 yachts and some antique cars.

Marina fire engulfs 75 boats, antique cars

Blaze near Sarnia, Ont., causes damage 'in the millions of dollars'

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CBC NEWS "A large storage facility that houses as many as 75 boats and several antique and collectible cars has burned at a marina near Sarnia, Ont.

"The damage will be in the millions of dollars," Lambton OPP Const. Chrystal Jones said.

The fire began around 7 a.m. ET in Port Lambton. At least three fire detachments responded to the call on Old River Road, just south of St. Clair Parkway.

Residents living near the property reported hearing explosions from inside or near the building.

"I heard a couple of pops but a friend of mine lives pretty well across the street there and he said that's what woke him up [Tuesday] morning was an explosion," said Mike Walton, who lives near the scene. "So, he looked out the window and he said the one door on the far end of the building was already gone."

By 10 a.m. flames had engulfed the entire structure and efforts to battle the blaze involved every available firefighter in St. Clair Township.

Residents told to stay clear of the area

Thick black smoke is still billowing from the building on the shores of the St. Clair River and blowing across the water toward Michigan, but a number of homes in Port Lambton are directly in its path.

Emergency officials have told Port Lambton residents to stay inside with their windows and doors shut to avoid exposure to smoke.

"Apparently, the fibreglass that's burning is causing some toxic fumes. We're asking people to stay clear of the area and to keep an eye on the smoke, to stay indoors and to stay out of the path of that because it could cause you respiratory or lung problems," Jones said.

Police at the scene told CBC News they are not yet evacuating people from the area. However, officers have gone door to door to notify them they could be asked to leave at a moment's notice.

The Ministry of the Environment is monitoring the situation."

The Phoenix is just a memory now.  I'll miss her.  I'm just so thankful no one was injured.

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Stay White? It Might!

One week to Christmas and it's snowing lightly this morning with 4 cm on the ground. Will we have a white Christmas? Maybe, says the weather man.

This Year

Last Year

This is Accuweather's Probability Map and it looks like we are right on the border of "probable" and "doubtful". Hmmmm!

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FIVE Years Blogging!

Some things don't change much.

On December 6th 2006, five years ago, I started this blog. Back then I wrote:

"I figured this would be a great way for Wendy and I to share some of our events, news, pictures and travels with our closest friends. Rather than email that clogs up your mailbox, this blog allows you to visit, post replies, or do nothing. I still plan to use email to send specific notes or more private communications where applicable. I have elected not to make this blog public, but available to those who have the address. I hope this mild exclusivity will encourage more personally interesting interaction since the content and your responses are not broadcast to a worldwide audience. Stay tuned for updates."

Well, 635 blog entries later and the foregoing is still correct. Some things don't change much. I think I weigh more though. I hope I can keep everything going for another five years. If you want, you can go back to the beginning by using the "Time Machine" at the left or CLICK HERE.
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I wish every politician would read this:

There's Hope! At Least One American Sees It Right:

Mike Connell: Mr. Obama, tear down this wall

I know some Americans will find this hard to believe, but Canada is not North Korea.
It's not Afghanistan either. Or Iran. Or even Mexico. It is neither an Evil Empire nor a cog in the Axis of Evil.
It's just old Canada, a country that looks an awful lot like ours would if we pumped gas by the liter and set speed limits in kilometers per hour.
Those of us who live near the border get this. Canadians don't scare us much, except maybe when a white plate suddenly decides to swerve across three lanes of traffic to pull into a Tim Horton's.
Mostly though, we think of Canadians as good neighbors. Heck, they almost talk American, eh?
«« »»
CANADA MUST LOOK far more menacing if viewed from Kentucky or Kansas or, especially, the District of Columbia.
How else do you explain American foreign policy of the past decade? In the years since Sept. 11, 2001, we've been treating Canada as if it were the pulsating heart of darkness.
It doesn't help that so many pundits and politicians are in a competition to see who can be the most paranoid. If an elected official speaks of securing the borders, you can be sure the loyal opposition will one-up them with a call for 20-foot walls topped with concertina wire and sniper towers.
Gar Pardy, a retired Canadian diplomat, broached the topic in a commentary published last week by The Ottawa Citizen.
"Throughout the 10 years since 9/11," he wrote, "there has been a drum roll of comments by American leaders that Canada represents an existential threat -- a threat that needed to be countered by tough American measures including the arming and hardening of the border."
«« »»
OLD-TIMERS IN OUR AREA remember a time when they could cross the Blue Water Bridge on their lunch break for fish and chips at the Bridge Tavern in Point Edward or a pizza with the works at Firenze's in Sarnia.
Good luck with that today, assuming you don't get three hours for lunch.
Crossing the border falls somewhere between a hassle and an ordeal. It's serious business. Handing your passport to a customs agent and awaiting a verdict is roughly as comfortable as getting pulled over for speeding on the expressway.
Coincidentally, even as the United States was hardening its 5,525-mile border with Canada, a softening of borders was taking place in much of Europe.
Five years ago, the European Union issued a directive
on crossing borders without a passport. The policy calls on EU nations to "remove all obstacles to fluid traffic flow at road crossing-points at internal borders."
Today, motorists can navigate the 2,500 miles from Portugal to Estonia, crossing a half-dozen or so national borders, without showing a passport or visa.
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THE EUROPEAN UNION can allow this because member nations have accepted a common set of security rules.
Where a traveler from abroad enters the EU shouldn't matter. If they're arriving on a ship at Marseilles, an airliner at Geneva or an automobile at Jalowka, the regulations are the same.
This means the EU can concentrate on securing its outer perimeter without policing most of its internal borders.
Canada and the United States once shared the world's softest border. In theory, they should be able to develop a similar working arrangement. With a common set of rules, terrorists arriving on a ship at Halifax or a jetliner at Montreal would face the same scrutiny as they would at New Orleans or New York.
With a secured outer perimeter, there would be no good reason to throw money and energy at policing the internal border. To give just one example, the rationale for spending $300 million on a customs plaza at Port Huron goes away.
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COMMON SENSE, as far as I can tell, is not regarded as a particular virtue on Capitol Hill. An alliance with Canada on border security might seem logical and reasonable, but why would Congress worry itself with logic or reason?
Money, on the other hand, does matter in Washington. And when it comes to the border, we're talking big money.
America's No. 1 trading partner is Canada. Cross-border commerce generates at least $525 billion a year. As many as 10 million jobs depend on the free flow of goods between provinces and states.
Border issues, ranging from traffic snarls to paperwork thickets, cost businesses an estimated $16 billion a year. Soften the border, and most of those costs go away.
With this in mind, President Barack Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper met on the 70th anniversary of Pearl Harbor and unveiled their long-anticipated Beyond the Border deal.
"Last year, more than 100 million people crossed our shared border, including lots of Canadians who, I'd note, spend more money in America than any other visitors," Obama told the White House press corps. "Well, I'll make a pitch -- we want even more Canadians visiting and spending even more money here."
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HARPER AND OBAMA embrace the concept of perimeter security, at least in theory. They're looking to unleash the movement of people and goods on the internal border even as they guard the outer perimeter with more vigilance.
Beginning next year, Canada and the U.S. will share more information on travelers.
When a Sarnia resident crosses the Blue Water Bridge and clears U.S. Customs, for example, this exit information will be shared with Canadian authorities. The same will be done for Americans crossing into Canada.
It is not a minor detail. It would help identify people who have overstayed their visas, or roughly four of every 10 illegal immigrants in the U.S.
Sounds good, and yet not everyone is pleased.
Generally speaking, Canadians hold their right to privacy much more dearly than Americans do. Canada even has a privacy czar -- Jennifer Stoddart -- and she seems wary of providing U.S. Customs and Border Protection with personal information on millions of her fellow Canadians.
"There is a vast difference when it comes to privacy oversight between our two countries," she said. "Law enforcement and national security authorities in the U.S. simply do not operate under the privacy oversight structure that exists in Canada."
Americans might be soft on privacy, but we're tough on crime. As part of the deal, Canada is agreeing to adopt our hard-nosed rules for identifying and red-flagging foreign visitors who are deemed "high risk" for crime in general and terrorism in particular.
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ON PAPER, THE DEAL between Harper and Obama has potential. Just remember, it is mostly talk at this point.
Many of its provisions will be rolled out as pilot projects. It could be years before the border truly begins to soften, if it ever does.
In an editorial, the Toronto Star described Beyond the Border as "a plan to come up with a plan."
"Down in the weeds," the editorial continued, "the deal looks ... more like a cautious work in progress that will be figured out, fought over and rolled out in pilot projects for years to come."
Given Canada's concern for individual privacy, and America's demand for unblinking vigilance, a cautious approach would seem justifiable and unavoidable.
«« »»
OUR REPRESENTATIVE in Congress -- Candice Miller, R-Harrison Township -- leads the House Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security. It gives her a strong voice on what happens along the border.
She hailed the Obama-Harper deal, describing it as "the best news we have had for the Blue Water Bridge during my time in Congress."
Miller, who is wrapping up her ninth year on Capitol Hill, noted Port Huron is the second-busiest commercial crossing on the northern border. She described it as the "perfect artery" to run many of the pilot programs.
Obama identified agriculture and automobiles as priorities for enhanced trade, and as Miller observed, both industries rely enormously on the Port Huron border crossing.
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THE ODDS OF RESTORING a soft border might be bolstered by Obama's friendship with Harper.
At first blush, they seem unlikely pals. Harper is a buttoned-down conservative while Obama is a rolled-sleeves liberal.
L. Ian MacDonald, writing in the Sudbury Star, said the two men became fast friends while working together on the GM and Chrysler bailouts of 2009.
"Harper at 52 and Obama at 50 belong to the same cohort and grew up listening to the same music," MacDonald wrote. "And they became partners, on top of being neighbors, with the ... deal that saved the North American auto industry."
Another Canadian journalist, John Ibbitson of the Globe and Mail, agreed the friendship brightens the prospects for the border deal.
"Geopolitically, such an agreement is in both countries' interest," he wrote. "But it helps that the two men call each other Stephen and Barack."
«« »»
MAYBE IT'S A PIPE DREAM, but let's hope the day comes when Port Huron residents can visit Sarnia as freely as St. Paul residents go to Minneapolis. No passports, no questions, no hassles.
Google Maps insists it's a five-minute drive from the Pine Grove Avenue entrance of the Blue Water Bridge to Firenze's Pizza on Colborne Road.
That's not true in the real world, of course, but perhaps it's prophecy.

Mike Connell is a freelance writer. Contact him at 

fortgratiot@gmail.com or visit

his website at www.abbeyrow.com.

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Dave's Moustache One Month Later

I promised to post Dave's moustache so here it is in a shot by the elevator with Wendy. Not bad for a month if I do say so. To review the "Before" picture CLICK HERE.
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The Tree

As usual Wendy did a great job at decorating the 'perfect tree'.  She even hid the green rope with the star and some bows I cut from the bottom. This tree isn't as wide as the one last year but it is very nicely shaped. Wendy says it's so perfect it looks artificial.  The main difference is the wonderful pine aroma. The phony ones don't have a smell - yet. From Rona $25 and all the way from Tacoma WA. How do they do it?
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We Wish You A Merry Christmas!

I installed a hook in the ceiling last Christmas after the tree toppled over as soon as we finished decorating it. I don't know why we didn't do this ages ago. This year the installation took less than 30 seconds after pre-measuring the rope out in the garage, before bringing the tree into the house. (An upside-down tree would be easy to do but difficult to water properly.) We even found some Martha Stewartesque green rope. In the traditional position a stainless steel mixing bowl is all we need to quench the tree's thirst.

With the tree hanging a centimeter off the floor, you can rotate it easily for the best view. As long as your hook is well anchored to the ceiling, the tree can never tip over. Am I brilliant or what?

The ultimate test of one's patience is the annual ritual of untangling the lights. Do you know it takes sixty times longer to untangle the lights than it took the Chinamen to make them in the first place? And this goes on EVERY YEAR!  You'll notice I'm in another room and believe me I want no part of this task.

I do get involved in the placement  of coathanger wire "S" hooks and the hanging of the lights in the higher spots where Wendy can't reach well.

Cue the snow! Timing is everything. A dusting of new snow arrives just in time.

You're right Wendy, I'm not sure about this ladder spot. I'll think about it. Maybe a long pole would be safer.

I'll post a few night shots of the results later. Hum along with me: "We wish you a Merry Christmas, we wish you a Merry Christmas, we wish you a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year."

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Circle of Friends Christmas Party

Tom, Barb, Barry, Anne. Wendy, Tim, Tricia, Greg, Murray, Joyce, Joan, and Peter.

If you've been reading this blog over the years you will recall that the 'Circle of Friends' is a group of ex-London Life ladies that, quite a few years ago, invited Wendy to be part of the circle. Well, she did have a London Life policy maybe. The ladies invite us men for some special events and Christmas is one of them. The people missing from the picture were Pat who was ill and Bud and Mary-Helen in Florida. Click to enlarge.

This year the party was held in the atrium of the Marienbad Restaurant downtown.  What a lovely spot for a private get-together. I had Goulash Soup and the Weiner-Schnitzel. The restaurant is connected to a pub and also features 75 different beers from all over the world. Greg and I chose the Czech beer Kozel. The three hour dinner allowed a lot of good conversation and quite a bit of beer. We ended this very nice evening with a ride back home with our son Tim who graciously came to pick us up.

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My Latest Plan To Make Some Fun Money!

Sorry, I haven't had too much time to update the blog lately. I've been working on an idea that might serve to fill some more of my time.  I enjoy photography and working with Photoshop so I watched eBay and bought some equipment that I can use to monetize my artistic endeavors. I like doing it anyway so why not try to make a buck? Let me explain:

Basically the idea involves, as I said, photography and Photoshop, but with all this modern technology available to everyone, I figure if you want to actually make some money you have to come up with a twist. There are as everybody knows, a gizzilion or more beautiful pictures everywhere you look. As I showed on my last post there are thousands of gripping and amazing images out of copyright on the internet and the new digital cameras give more people than ever the ability to express themselves with great pictures than ever before possible. I don't think you can compete with China in selling say a picture of a daisy in a beautiful frame.

Now, I was thinking, one of the few things the Chinese can't or won't likely do is produce art that reflects local, specialized subject material. After all, they focus on huge volumes and local art by definition is lower volume stuff. If all you want is a beautiful framed picture of a flower or the Eiffel tower, you can go to Homesense or WalMart and take your pick.  Volume is cheap.

So how do you sell digital media as I call it?

My idea (and I'm sure I'm not the only one who's working on this) is to actually create 'local' art. This can be marketed to "quaint", small businesses and may include feature(s) of the targeted business actually represented in the art pieces. Google street view and Google earth could even be used to stake out visual features as well as internet pictorial descriptions of the business or town/village etc. Everybody likes to see their own town in a picture. The more targeted the art, the more unique the product. There is a ton of art for sale out there but my guess is the 'local' art sells the best and commands a higher price.

Most of you are probably not old enough to remember the aerial shots of farmhouses they sold years ago. A pilot would photograph a farmhouse and the picture would be sold to the owner. These unique pictures were popular when aerial views were scarce and air travel was novel.  They commanded top dollar because they were very personal and individual. The trouble with this they were too individual. 

Nowadays I suppose you could try to sell pictures of people's million dollar houses but the problem is there is no room to sell multiples. I needed something that is local but not too individual. Quaint local shops have good, receptive customers and I think local art focused on local scenes could work. Pictures transformed into art. Images showing local tourist attractions or picturesque, identifiable scenes. There could be enough volume to make it worth doing. If my first attempt works out, then I'll add more locales and quaint shops until it grows to the point I want.  What do you think?

Check back and I'll show you around my new 'set up' in my basement specifically designed to produce mounted, saleable art. I even bought some basic shrink wrap equipment to package my art for sale. My mini production factory is nearly ready to roll. In my next post I'll show you some of my targeted sales venues (I'm starting with Sarnia area stuff) and some actual pictures of my 'digital media'. This is an exciting thing for me. I've been looking for something I can do that I enjoy and don't need employees. Maybe it will work, maybe it won't, but I've got little invested, so if all else fails my walls will be full of 'digital media'.  If I can't make any money at it, I'll re-sell all the stuff back on eBay and try to think of something else. Anyway the fun so far was getting it all set up.

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Fun with Photoshop - Poverty Sucks!

Click picture to enlarge

Here's a 'before and after' taken near the end of the Great Depression before USA entered WWII. The photograph is dated July 1940. "Arkansas farmer now picking fruit in Berrien County, Michigan." He is wearing Tuf-Nut overalls. Photo by John Vachon for the FSA. These old pictures are not in copyright because they were property of the US government and by law are in the Public Domain. This means you can use them for any purpose and change them as you wish. You can then copyright them as your own. Neat eh? 

You can see the stress in this man's face and the wistfulness in the boy's expression. (Imagine; if the kid standing on the far side running board is still alive, he'd be around eighty now.)  I colored the car green for the purpose of the exercise but it could have been any color. Notice how items show up when they are colored. See the pipe on the seat, the newspaper, the eyeglasses in the worker's hand, and the rusted metal exposed by the peeling paint on the car body. The picture takes on a 'Rockwell-like' look don't you think? Below; just for the fun of it, I made the car dark blue or black and colored the shirts green:

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There Is NO PLACE TO HIDE!

The Orwellian looking "All Seeing Eye" on back of the US Buck

Every Breath You Take, Every Move You Make – 14 New Ways That the Government Is Watching You

End of the American Dream

If you live in the United States today, you need to understand that your privacy is being constantly eroded.  

Our world is going crazy, government paranoia is off the charts and law enforcement authorities have become absolutely obsessed with watching us, listening to us, tracking us, recording us, compiling information on all of us and getting us all to spy on one another. If you doubt that we are rapidly getting to the point where the government will monitor every breath you take and every move you make, just read the rest of this article. The truth is that the government is watching you more closely than ever, and they are spending billions upon billions of dollars to enhance their surveillance capabilities even further. If our society stays on this current path, we will eventually have zero privacy left. At this point, it is not too hard to imagine a society where we will not be able to say anything, buy anything, sell anything, assemble with others or even leave our homes without government permission. We truly are descending into a dystopian nightmare and the American people had better wake up.

Sadly, most people living in the United States and in Europe do not realize what is happening. Most of them think that everything is just fine. The "Big Brother control grid" that is being constructed all over the western world squeezes all of us just a little bit tighter every single day, and most people don't even feel it.

But when you step back and take a look at the big picture, it truly is horrifying.

The following are 14 new ways that the government is watching you....

#1 In many areas of the United States today, you will be arrested if you do not produce proper identification for the police. In the old days, "your papers please" was a phrase that we used to use to mock the tyranny of Nazi Germany. But now all of us are being required to be able to produce "our papers" for law enforcement authorities at any time. For example, a 21-year-old college student named Samantha Zucker was recently arrested and put in a New York City jail for 36 hours just because she could not produce any identification for police.

#2 The federal government has decided that what you and I share with one another on Facebook and on Twitter could be a threat to national security. According to a recent Associated Press article, the Department of Homeland Security will soon be "gleaning information from sites such as Twitter and Facebook for law enforcement purposes".

Other law enforcement agencies are getting into the act as well. For example, the NYPD recently created a special "social media" unit dedicated to looking for criminals on social media networks such as Facebook and Twitter.

#3 New high-tech street lights that are being funded by the federal government and that are being installed all over the nation can also be used as surveillance cameras, can be used by the DHS to make "security announcements" and can even be used to record personal conversations. The following is from a recent article by Paul Joseph Watson for Infowars.com....

Federally-funded high-tech street lights now being installed in American cities are not only set to aid the DHS in making “security announcements” and acting as talking surveillance cameras, they are also capable of “recording conversations,” bringing the potential privacy threat posed by ‘Intellistreets’ to a whole new level.

#4 More than a million hotel television sets all over America are now broadcasting propaganda messages from the Department of Homeland Security promoting the "See Something, Say Something" campaign. In essence, the federal government wants all of us to become "informants" and to start spying on one another constantly. The following comes from an article posted by USA Today....

Starting today, the welcome screens on 1.2 million hotel television sets in Marriott, Hilton, Sheraton, Holiday Inn and other hotels in the USA will show a short public service announcement from DHS. The 15-second spot encourages viewers to be vigilant and call law enforcement if they witness something suspicious during their travels.

#5 The FBI is now admittedly recording Internet talk radio programs all over the United States. The following comes from a recent article by Mark Weaver of WMAL.com....

If you call a radio talk show and get on the air, you might be recorded by the FBI.
The FBI has awarded a $524,927 contract to a Virginia company to record as much radio news and talk programming as it can find on the Internet.
The FBI says it is not playing big brother by policing the airwaves, but rather seeking access to what airs as potential evidence.

Potential evidence of what?

This is very creepy. Why is the FBI so interested in what is being said during Internet talk radio programs?

#6 TSA VIPR teams are now conducting random inspections at bus stations and on interstate highways all over the United States. For example, the following comes from a local news report down in Tennessee....

You're probably used to seeing TSA's signature blue uniforms at the airport, but now agents are hitting the interstates to fight terrorism with Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response (VIPR).
"Where is a terrorist more apt to be found? Not these days on an airplane more likely on the interstate," said Tennessee Department of Safety & Homeland Security Commissioner Bill Gibbons.
Tuesday Tennessee was first to deploy VIPR simultaneously at five weigh stations and two bus stations across the state.

#7 Thermal imaging face scanners are becoming much more sophisticated. Law enforcement authorities in the western world are getting very excited about "pre-crime" tools such as this that will enable them to "prevent crimes" before they happen. The following is from a recent BBC News article....

A sophisticated new camera system can detect lies just by watching our faces as we talk, experts say.
The computerised system uses a simple video camera, a high-resolution thermal imaging sensor and a suite of algorithms.
Researchers say the system could be a powerful aid to security services.

But face scanners are not just a tool that will be used in the future. The truth is that face scanners are being used all over the United States right now. The following comes from an article posted on Singularity Hub....

Law enforcement continues to adopt new technologies in an effort to make their jobs easier and keep us safer. The latest gizmo attaches to officers’ iPhones and turns them into biometric face scanners. The scanners have already been street tested in Massachusetts. Pretty soon cops all across the US will be using them to ID suspects.

Before long, technology like this will be all over America. In fact, the FBI has announced that it will be activating a "nationwide facial recognition service" in January.

#8 Another "pre-crime" technology currently being tested by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is The Future Attribute Screening Technology (FAST) program. The following description of this new program comes from an article in the London Telegraph....

Using cameras and sensors the "pre-crime" system measures and tracks changes in a person's body movements, the pitch of their voice and the rhythm of their speech.

It also monitors breathing patterns, eye movements, blink rate and alterations in body heat, which are used to assess an individual's likelihood to commit a crime.

The Future Attribute Screening Technology (FAST) programme is already being tested on a group of government employees who volunteered to act as guinea pigs.

Do you want government officials to pull you aside and interrogate you just because you are feeling a little bit nervous one particular day?

#9 Sadly, "pre-crime" technology is even being used on our children. The Florida State Department of Juvenile Justice has announced that it will begin using analysis software to predict crime by young delinquents and will place "potential offenders" in specific prevention and education programs.

How soon will it be before this type of things is applied to adults?

#10 Our children are being programmed to accept the fact that they will be watched and monitored constantly. For example, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is spending large amounts of money to install surveillance cameras in the cafeterias of public schools all across the nation so that government control freaks can closely monitor what our children are eating.

#11 The U.S. government is also increasingly using "polls" and "surveys" as tools to gather information about all of us. In previous articles, I have noted how government authorities seems particularly interested in our children. According to Mike Adams of Natural News, the CDC is starting to call parents all over the U.S. to question them about the vaccination status of their children....

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control, which has been comprehensively exposed as a vaccine propaganda organization promoting the interests of drug companies, is now engaged in a household surveillance program that involves calling U.S. households and intimidating parents into producing child immunization records. As part of what it deems a National Immunization Survey(NIS), the CDC is sending letters to U.S. households, alerting them that they will be called by "NORC at the University of Chicago" and that households should "have your child's immunization records handy when answering our questions."

You can see a copy of the letter that the CDC has been sending out to selected parents right here.

#12 As I have written about previously, a very disturbing document that Oath Keepers has obtained shows that the FBI is now instructing store owners to report many new forms of "suspicious activity" to them. According to the document, "suspicious activity" now includes the following....

• paying with cash
• missing a hand or fingers
• "strange odors"
• making "extreme religious statements"
• "radical theology"
• purchasing weatherproofed ammunition or match containers
• purchasing meals ready to eat
• purchasing night vision devices, night flashlights or gas masks

Do any of those "signs of suspicious activity" apply to you?

According to a report on WorldNetDaily, this document is part of a "series of brochures" that will be distributed "to farm supply stores, gun shops, military surplus stores and even hotels and motels."

#13 In some areas of the country, law enforcement authorities are pulling data out of cell phones for no reason whatsoever. According to the ACLU, state police in Michigan are now using "extraction devices" to download data from the cell phones of motorists that they pull over. This is taking happening even if the motorists that are pulled over are not accused of doing anything wrong.

The following is how a recent article on CNET News described the capabilities of these "extraction devices"....

The devices, sold by a company called Cellebrite, can download text messages, photos, video, and even GPS data from most brands of cell phones. The handheld machines have various interfaces to work with different models and can even bypass security passwords and access some information.

#14 The government can spy on us and record our conversations seemingly without any limitation, but in many areas of the country it has become illegal to watch them or record them in public. For example, one 21-year-old man down in Florida was recently arrested for trying to document a confrontation that he was having with police on his iPhone. But if we can't record them, how can we prove our side of the story in court?

America is becoming a much different place.

Our privacy is being eroded in thousands of different ways.

National governments and big corporations know far more about you than you probably ever would imagine.

Yes, there will always be "security threats", but we should not have to throw away any of our rights in order to be "safe".

America is supposed to be about liberty and freedom.

America is supposed to be the land of the free and the home of the brave.

If given the choice between living in "1984" and living in "1776", I know what my choice would be.

I would choose 1776.

I would choose liberty and freedom even if it meant that the world around me was a little bit less "safe".

What about you?

What would you choose?

 

Reprinted with permission from End of the American Dream.

We should all remember and heed this quote by Thomas Jefferson: 

'Those who surrender freedom for security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one.' 

Tim 
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Eight Years Coming Up - CANCER FREE!

You may not know that I am a survivor of prostate cancer having had a prostatectomy in December of 2003. Next month will mark NINE years cancer-free! Fortunately the operation went well and it would appear they got everything as my PSA remains negligible.  Dr. Brock at St Joes in London did a miraculous job without robotics working within a millimeter or two from important nerves.

I have been a big booster of the annual PSA Test for any man over 50 since I was only 53 when my doctor suspected the cancer at an annual check-up. It's anybody's guess how long I had it before I was diagnosed but it was right out to the edge and was ready to jump across. I can't stress enough how important it is to detect this terrible disease early and get your PSA test every year. Prostate cancer has a good cure rate but you need to catch it early.

I never feel like I HAVE to win the lottery, in fact I rarely buy a ticket, since I have ALREADY WON big time! A friend of mine is raising funds for Prostate Cancer Research by growing a moustache. You can see his campaign at the link in his email which I have included below:

Tim:

My friend Dave M before the Mo. I'll show the AFTER next month.

I am participating in Movember to raise funds for prostate cancer research. As a survivor and a person living with prostate cancer, I know firsthand how important these $$$ for research really are.  I have joined the movement and I am donating my upper lip to the cause for 30 days. My Mo will spark conversations, and no doubt generate some laughs; all in the name of raising vital awareness and funds for prostate cancer.

You can help support this activity by making a donation using your credit card.  It is very easy to do.  Simply click on the link, PROSTATE CANCER DONATION  to visit my personal web page in support of Movember.

You can even go old school and write a cheque payable to “Movember Canada”, reference my name and Registration Number 1862490 and send it to: Movember Canada, 119 Spadina Avenue, PO Box 65, Toronto, ON M5T 2T2... All donations are tax deductible.

This might clearly be the most personal donation you ever make. It may well help, a member of your family, a co-worker, or who knows, it may be $$$ used to help you. We have only a month to grow MOS and raise awareness and funds so please come along for the ride.

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