Time to head to warmer climes… The blog is on a break until mid January… Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and a Happy New Year to all… Ho The post Blog on Holiday Break first appeared on Keeping it Real ..read more

It doesn’t show up on any Official Holiday calendar, but politicians and staff at Vancouver City Hall will be celebrating their own annual special Secret Festive Season again in December … dreaming of all the extra money about to come their way and how they can spend it. More money in their own pockets, funds for new equipment and furnishings, or maybe to redecorate their old digs, buy new vehicles, travel, take up new projects … and no doubt waste, waste, waste again on some of their old favorites. Of course, they don’t publicly refer to it as their own Secret Festive Season, but it is. And i ..read more

Sadly, since the “the war to end all wars“ [World War I], there have been far too many more: World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Ukraine … and now Gaza. News reports from conflicts have always shown the terrible price paid by civilians: destroyed homes and buildings, dead and injured innocents, destroyed families, mourned by their anguished relatives and friends. Different places, different causes, different combatants, different conclusions, but with one thing in common each war: how the media covers them and shows the world what goes on. Shelling, bombing, strafi ..read more

We should ALL be outraged: Canadian-born university students, many of them third generation citizens, being harassed, intimidated and even spat upon on … just because they are Jewish. Synagogues and community centers have also been attacked, Jewish-owned businesses vandalized and social media has been flooded with anti-Semitic derision and threats. And not just in Canada, but in the US, Britain and Europe as well. Make no mistake about it: this is HATE … pure and simple and, at its root has nothing to do with Israel’s striking back at the Hamas terrorists who attacked/murdered 1,200 Israeli ci ..read more

Count your blessings: we are so fortunate. We live in a free society, where we can elect … and then un-elect … our political leaders and representatives; where we can express our opinions openly and freely; where we can organize demonstrations and protests; where we can practice the faith of our choice; and, where, yes, we can even blog quite regularly about how terrible are so many politicians, government decisions and actions. We are indeed fortunate. But those freedoms, rights and privileges did not come without cost: in World War II alone, Canada lost 45,400 fighters; The United States, 41 ..read more

Three days after the October 7, murderous rampage in Israel, by Hamas terrorists, I was in Normandy… visiting the Canadian war cemetery at Beny-sur-Mer [Juno Beach]. As I walked among the 2,049 graves of the Canadians buried there and placed five poppies I had brought with me on a few of them, I couldn’t help but notice how young so many of them were… 19, 20, 21 years old. A total of 45,400 Canadians died in military service during World War II and 55,000 more were injured… some of them suffering from their wounds and scars for the rest of their lives. But their sacrifices, and those of our al ..read more

Fall is a great time of the year to travel … and since I’m still healthy enough to do … I’m off again! The Blog will be down the month of October … back Nov 6, to once again raise important issues, encourage democratic discussions … and, occasionally, raise hell with our politicians! Enjoy the break. Ho The post Blog on Travel Break… first appeared on Keeping it Real ..read more

Canada is a well-blessed country: ranked third among 87 nations in latest quality of life rankings published by US News and World Report. (Sweden topped the list, followed by Norway.)  Factors weighed in the survey: “access to food, housing, quality education, health care and employment; quality of life also may include intangibles such as job security, political stability, individual freedom and environmental quality.” (You can read the full rankings here: https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/rankings/quality-of-life.) Yes, we still have stresses, problems, shortcomings and even fa ..read more

No doubt Prime Minister Justin Trudeau MUST give more details behind Canada’s allegations that the government of India was involved in the assassination of Sikh Khalistan leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Canadians … and the rest of the world … have a right to see the evidence … not just hear Trudeau’s rhetoric on the blockbuster accusation. But totally apart from this highly divisive Canada-India issue (which Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is trying very hard, for some reason, to magnify into a full fledged crisis), the entire Free World should be very concerned about how democracy in general ..read more

Premier David Eby’s “white hot anger” that alleged multi-victim stabber Blair Evan Donnelly was on a “Day Pass” from BC’s insane asylum should be directed at his own BC NDP government. After all, the British Columbia (Psychiatric) Review Board, appointed by the NDP government,  was in charge when Donnelly was granted unescorted leave! It’s not politicians like Eby who should be loudly proclaiming their “anger”: it’s us … the people … who have increasingly become victims of extreme “progressive” governments, excessive “progressive” policies and their ideologically-programmed “progressive ..read more