The "chicken-hawks" (the ones who are now war-hawks, after using various nefarious means to avoid being sent to Vietnam...Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz etc.), are coming out of the shadows, to blame Obama for the mess they created in Iraq, with their lies about Weapons of Mass Destruction). They are directly responsible for the deaths of close to 5,000 Americans, tens of thousands of Iraqis, as well as over 32,000 Americans badly wounded and also countless Iraqis and millions displaced, infrastructure destroyed and a country beset with violence and a breeding ground for terrorism. They undermined the American Constitution, lied to the American people and caused a conflagration which now threaten to consume the Middle East and drag the world back into this cauldron of death and destruction. Now they have the gall to blame Obama for this disaster that they created. Wolfowitz was the one who told Congress in 2003, that Saddam has WMD; that there will be no Sunni/Shia violence and that oil profits will pay for the war and for after-war reconstruction. All have benn proven to be false. 
     Bush's lap-dog, Tony Blair has been yapping also. He was complicit in all that Bush did, going along with the lies and even adding to them ( telling the world that we are only "minutes" away from Saddam's weapons. He even lied/ hid the fact that he was Catholic, from the British people, while he was Prime Minister). Now he and Cheney and Wolfowitz and their cronies, some whom benefitted from contracts they got for the rebuilding of Iraq ( first you destroy it and then you make money, billions, rebuilding it), are once again lying and blame-placing. 
     The recent success of ISIL and the continuing civil war in Syria is raising the spectre of a conflagration in the region, fanned by Sunni/Shia enmity. 60% of the population of Iraq are Shia; Assad's Alewite, an off-shoot of Shia is in power in Syria and both are supported by the Iranians, who are also Shia ( and so is Hizballah in Lebanon). Saudi Arabia is leading the Sunni support for the rebels in Syria and have been pushing for American intervention, but so far Obama has resisted. Now however the dynamics have changed with the success of ISIL. Now there is pressure on Obama to intervene on the side of the Shias in Iraq, to stop ISIL, but this is fraught  with danger, especially for American "boots " on the ground. It will stir up a hornets nest and incite terrorist attacks from not just from al Qaeda, but others associated and sympathetic to the Sunni cause. Of course, drone attacks can be used, but it will be very difficult to pinpoint ISIL and its leadership due to their not being concentrated in one place and the lack of human intelligence on the ground.
     There is another option, but one that will face fierce opposition from the Republicans, (especially blowhards like McCain and his "buddy" Graham. Don't you love the way they echo each other, in lock-step?), Saudi Srabia and Israel. This option is to work with Iran. Iran will supply the ground forces and the USA and whatever allies, it can muster, can supply the air strikes and satellite surveillance. al Maliki has asked for American help and Iran is quite willing to stop ISIL, which has made it clear that Iran is its next target. The Iranians can also help with Assad of Syria and Hizallah. It, Iran is the only stable country in the region and its power and influence can and should  be used by Obama. Teher is no other alternative.   

     It was time. I can no longer postpone the inevitable. It was after all the reason I came to Guyana. My parents are buried side by side at Babu John, Port Mourant, the place where our dead,other than the Christians,( who are buried at their respective churchyards), are buried and where the great leader of the country, Dr. Cheddi Jagan is buried, a few hundred yards from ny parents ( they knew each other very well, as they grew up about a quarter mile away from each other in the village of Ankerville, he and his many siblings, called my parents Musa/uncle and Musie/ aunt).
     My father used to tease my mother and tell her that she should be buried at his feet, so that each morning when he awakens, she would be the first thing he sees. She would smile but insisted that, when she was buried, nothing must be placed on her chest, that is, no concrete on top of her. His wish was not carried out, for we felt that they should, as in life, be buried side by side. Her wish was honored and there is nothing on "her chest". 
     On the  third day, we rented a car and drove to the gravesite. I was shocked to see the condition it was in. All grown over with bushes and the grill, quite rusted. We, my brother Krish and I stood silently, lost in our own thoughts. We did a bit of cleaning, but it needs a lot of work. We stayed for about a half- hour and we tried to find also,  my in-laws graves, but was not successful. We left, deciding to find someone to clean, repair the graves and plant some flowers. We would return later. It was for me, a very sad visit, my first since we buried my mother in 1989. I will be back.
     We drove on to the house, which is less than a mile away, and I started to pay more attention to the surrounding area. There were no recognizable landmarks, except the Port Mourant Hospital and the cricket ground that had nurtured so many of our top criciketers. Everything else was new, even the Roopmahal cinema, where I had spent so much time, watching the latest Indian movies......Mother India, Dulari, Dil deke dekho, Nagin etc. The trains that  used to take the workers to the fields were no more. The tracks have been ripped up and a road was built over it. The houses are all new or newly painted and where there used to be rice-fields, there are now houses. The trench, with its cool, black water, where we used to swim and catch fish is no more than a cesspool of garbage and pollutants. What a sad sight and all the beautiful memories I had of the years of frolicking in it, I will cherish even more, because that is all there is. My old primary school, St. Joseph Anglican is still there but the open air market has been replaced by a large coverd one that sold everything from fish, meat, fruits, vegetables, clothes, jewelry and so on.  Corentyne Comprehensive, the High School, of which I was the founding principal in 1962, was still there and I will pay a visit later.
     We went up to the house and spent a few hours. We sat on the wide verandah, on the only chair and rocking chair, and we talked about the past. The panoramic view of ricefields, fruit trees, and a few scattered house, were no more. It's all crowded out with houses and their yards full, of all manner of trees, coconuts, mangos, bananas, with music blaring in the hot sun. The wide spaces where we used to play, fly our kites and the ponds, where we used to fish are no more. But the verandah was still cool, with the cool Atlantic breeze. This was the verandah where we spent so much time, relaxing, reading, eating, entertaining and at times, stretched our hands and pick large, ripe papayas from the loaded trees. This was the verandah, from which we surveyed the yard, with its plentiful fruits, mangos, papayas, coconuts, limes, bananas, star apples and vegetables.....beans/boras. pumpkins, squash, peppers, eggplants/baigans, okras, bhaijis.... The verandah is still here, in need of some repairs, and we have our memories of the halcyon days of our youth. We will cherish and appreciate, those memories even more........        The Last Days.......
     The mood has started to improve, so we decided to see more and have some fun. We were invited by a friend, Buddy, to visit him at Crabwood Creek. This was located about 30 miles away and close to Suriname, separated by the Corentyne river, which flowed all the way to the Amazon. We rented a van and invited a few friends to come along. We drove past Tain, past the school where my wife Juliet had taught for nine years and where a campus of the University of Guyana was located ( in a place where there used to be rice fields). We went through Bloomfield, Letterkenny, Whim, No. 63 ( which has a lovely beach) and many other villages, and quickly noted that all the old haunts were no more ( back in the sixties, we used to ride our bycycles, up and down this area, stopping for "drinks" and sometimes a meal, at the local "rum shops"). The houses, the rice mills and other familiar spots were changed and unrecognizable. The road was clogged with cars, vans, donkey carts and people riding bycycles. There were vendors selling all manner of things and in some places, paddy (rice in its husks), was spread on the side of the road to dry. People dressed very colorfully, were also walking along the road ( there is one main road, stretching all the way to Crabwood Creek). 
     We arrived at our destination after about an hour and was greeted with hugs and much needed cold drinks. Soon after we were invited to a table laden with food and more drinks ( we had been asked what we wanted for lunch and we had replied "fish. We were offered "bush/wild meat" but declined. The fish was cuffum, mullet, sardine and bangamerry, some curried, some fried and some minced. It was a most enjoyable meal. Afterwards, we were taken to see a sawmill at work. It was owned by our host and he gave us the tour. We saw the huge logs that was being prepared for export to China ( while we were there they were loading a ship, for China). Our host has a "grant" ( a logging camp, where he and his workers would stay for weeks, felling the trees and cutting the logs which was then  brought down to the sawmill for final preparation), and he wanted to take us there, but it was miles away, by speed boat and we declined but said that we would take up his offer the next time we were in Guyana. Most of Guyana is forest and water ( most of the people live on the coast of the Atlantic. The hinterlands are peopled by the native aborigines and gold and diamond workers, and those who work in the bauxite and manganese industries. There are some small towns like Linden, Bartica and Parika also).
     We had a great time at Crabwood Creek. I would definitely return for a longer visit, but it was time to make the return jpurney. 
     The next few days was spent with "new" freinds who invited us to their homes and one, we especially enjoyed was with the Walter family, where we met some of Guyana test cricketers ( Bishoo and Permaul) and up and coming players, one colorfully called Kunta Kinte. The evenings was spent at my sister's, with some friends and neighbors. It was quite communal and enjoyable, some music but no radio or television, though everyone had them. We decided to have a party for all of them, to show our appreciation and that was done on Wednesday. We also held a party at the house at Miss Phoebe, for our friends there. It was Sunday. A big pot of "all-in one" ( everything was cooked together, the rice, the potato, the bhaji, the fish, the chicken, the sardine, the corned mutton etc.). It was prepared by Dinesh and his wife Indira ( these were two remarkable people, who did so much for us and made us welcome in their home, feeding us and making sure that we had a great time. I am so grateful to them).  It was delicious and was chased down with beer and vodka for the adults and soft drinks for the children. There was music and some dancing by the children and the "old house" came alive and that was the purpose. We wanted to bring back some music, some laughter and some jollity, and we did. 
     There was one more thing I wanted to do and that was to visit the school, that I had taught for eight years and where I was the founding principal. My new freiend, Bishoo, the test cricketer, drove me there on Thursday,  May 8th. I could recognise nothing or no one. The old buildings were gone, replaced by new ones ( that is to be expected after 46 years). I was welcomed by the principal Ms. Somwaru and given a tour. It was an eerie feeling. This was the place that I had helped to create and when I left it, it had about 1100 students, was doing quite well academically ( many of those students have migrated to Canada, USA and eleswhere and have been very successful in many professions ). The school, Corentyne Comprehensive, had also produced some very good cricketers, table tennis and volleyball players, for the country. I was told that there was now 900 students, that they were doing well in sports, but had slipped academically. I had a brief conversation with some of the staff, wished them well and left, somewhat saddened.
     My journey was now at an end. It had started out slowly and pensively. It took me a few days to get into the mood of things and then, I started to enjoy myself. I met a lot of happy, friendly and helpful people and I will miss them, but it is time to leave. We rented a van and filled it with some friends and some childrfen ( Indira prepared food for the journey and we had an enjoyable last meal together at the airport). We said our goodbyes, some tears were shed and we left. We boarded the plane at 1.55 pm and after about six hours, landed at Pearson. We cleared Customs very quickly ( I was very concerned, because we had brought a little bit of Guyana, with us, which is only obtainable in Guyana). 
     I am glad i made that trip. It was for me a time of healing. I felt quite alive, while I was there and even my aches and pains were eased . I hope that this feeling, this joy will last until I return again to that wonderful place that is still my home.  
   
        
                

     I am still running on Guyana time. I went to bed at 9 pm and am fully awake and rested at 5 am. My thoughts are roiling and so I have decided to continue writing about "the trip" and today, I will focus on the House and the Yard.
     The house was built around 1932, by my father. on land bought from a lady named Bakserie, for $25. He and his young bride, Sonia, 16 yrs (he was 19 yrs), would live there for the rest of their lives and would raise eight children, who thankfully, are all alive today, but none of us are in Guyana anymore. The first two children, two boys died in infancy. My eldest suster Betty ( we all have "pet" names, which I will be using), was born in Dec. 1937, followed by Baba in June 1940, me, in July 1942, my brother Cecil in Jan. 1944, followed by Prame in Aug. 1945, Baby in Dec.1946, Kesh in May 1948 and lastly Krish in Dec. 1952. We were a healthy, happy brood and quite a handful for my mother, who stayed home to take care of us, with love and a firm hand. She would tell us stories, that would become lessons in life ( I have told those stories to my children and to my grandchildren).
     It was and continues to be a  three bedroom, house, with a large living room upstairs and a bedroom and a prayer room ( all Hindus have a prayer room in their homes, no need for temples), and a large kitchen and an open, well tended "bottom house' with a hammock (my mother loved to swing in it, singing and telling stories while putting us to sleep when we were babies), two benches for visitors and there were many. ( That "bottom house was swept many times a day, kept spotlessly clean, daubed with a special mud every other day and as one neighbor recounted to me  on my visit, " you could eat off of it").
     The house would be rebuilt and enlarged three times, the last was in 1963. The best wood was chosen, mostly hard woods, like greenheart, wallaba, cedar etc. because it was bulit to last and so it did, even with the past 25 years of neglect. It was built on eight feet high posts, with a red-painted zinc roof. It was centrally located in the large yard , surrounded bt fruit tress. My father planted clumps of three mango trees, one in the east, one north and the other south. Later he would add other mango trees, coconut trees,  star apple, sapidalla, banana, lime, carmanga and papaya trees etc. My mother planted her garden with peppers (various kinds), pumpkin, squash, beans/boras, bhaijis ( great for iron, especially the saijan ), jhingi, egg plants/baigan and many more. She loved flowers and she had a special place for them, especially the hibiscus ( In 1976, when she came to visit us in Montreal, she brought a few stems, which she planted and which my wife, Juliet, has cut and replanted many times over the years, we have about six large ones in pots in our home , she would put them outside in the summer and bring them back in the fall, and she has succeeded in getting some flowers from time to time),  used for prayers, tulsie, chamaillee, ferns (orchids grew wild, all ove rthe place, especially on the bird droppings on the mango trees.) and so many more. Oh the color, the smell and the beauty.
     The house has a spacious verandah, from which we could see the large expanse of rice fields, the fruit trees of our neighbors and especially the train that took the workers each day for work in the cane-fields. Port Mourant of which Miss Phoebe is a sub-section was the most productive of the many sugar estates owned and ran by the British firm, Bookers, until it was closed down in the late fifties for political reasons ( the country was demanding independence from Britain, and the leader of the movement Dr. Cheddi Jagan was from here and his most loyal supporters were from here and the sugar workers were always in the fore front of the struggle, refusing to work, going on strikes and generally sabotaging the economy and so in retaliation Bookers closed the  factory, fired/laid off many workers, seized their land and rice-fields and moved operations to the nearby Albion estate, which continue to operate  today as the largest and most successful sugar factory in the country, but now run by Guysuco...the Guyana Sugar Company). In the mornings. it was quite a sight to see the over-loaded trains, bristling with cutasses, shining in the glaring sunlight. It was a wonder that, those very sharp cutlasses did not wound/ cut many of those workers, jammed in, on the lurching, swayimg trains.
     We woud wake up in the morning ( about 6 am) with the songs of the many birds, the kiskadee, the dove, the blue saki , the yellow bird, the humming bird, the "old witches", the wrens, sometimes parakeets and parrots flying overhead, the red-breasted cardinals, but it would begin with the roosters. We would swim in the trench, with its clean, cool black water, that ran next to the house and then have a hot breakfast and prepare for school, which was about a half-mile away, a nice walk in the morning sun. The day has dawned and there would be so much to see and do as it progressed.
       More later, because it is now 6.30 and time to watch cricket.    
  

                                                The Start....25th April.
     My brother Krish and I decided to drive down to Toronto and take Caribbean Airline and its direct flight to Guyana. It left on time, checking and boarding was speedy, and we reached Cheddi Jagan Inernational Airport at Timheri, Guyana, at 4.45 am, a few minutes early.
     We cleared Customs and Immigration very quickly, the agents were polite and courteous and I appreciated that, after the long, overnight journney. It took some time to retrieve our baggage and joined our waiting taxi, that would take us directly to Albion, where my sister, Baba and her husband, Seenauth were waitng. The journey was about 2 1/2 hrs.   
     It was quite a revealing, captivating journey, good roads, superb scenes...the miles of sea-wall ( built by the Dutch, when they occupied this part of Guyana, other parts were occupied by the Spanish and French, until it was ceded to England in 1713, Treaty of Utrecht, that ended the Spanish Succession War), protecting us from the Atlantic ocean, the beautiful houses with their resplendant gardens of breath-taking flowers and fruit trees. It was a veritable garden of delights, with all kinds of flowers, red, white, pink, black, blue, yellow, short, tall, round and bushy and so much more, and the fruit trees in every yard..coconuts, guavas, bananas, mangoes, genips, sapadillas, star, sugar and monkey apples, soursops catahers, jamoons, cherries, even sugar canes and many, many more.
     The long, winding but smooth roads took us by thess homes and over canals and rivers. Guyana is called the "land of many water", and there are many large rivers dividing the land and enriching its soil.....we drove by the majestic Demarara, crossed the Mahaica, the Mahaicony, the Abary and finally the wide, Berbice rivers. There is a pontoon bridge across the Berbice and this has not only replaced the ferry, but has reduced the amount of time of travel by a couple of hours. We by-pass the Canje river and New Amsterdam, the second largest city in Guyana, and drove through, No. 2, Sheet Anchor, No19, Bolham, Fryish to Guava Bush, Albion, to my sisters home. There was a warm welcome and a hot meal, chased down with some Guyana-made vodka with coconut water. Oh, the delight.
     It was a hot but very breezy day. We sat in the shady bottom, verandah of the house ( my sister and her husband now lives in New York, but return to their refurbished home each year for a few ennervating/ healing months). There is something about the place and the weather, the food and the fruits, the breeze and the heat, the people and their energy, that seem to work in a healing way ( I suffer from a lot of aches and pains, coughing and sneezing, eyes watering and nose clogging, but after a few days in Guyana, I feel so alive, even not taking my medications, and feeling very hale and hearty) . I will come more often.
     The days and nights are equally divided ( Guyana is close to the equator, so there is equal hours of daylight and darkness). People go to bed early and rise early and we did that too. Each night, after about 6pm., neighbors would come over to my sister's, where they will sit and tell stories or converse. I was used to a different regimen....dinner, T.v. news, joepardy, some show or the other, or a movie, a bit of reading and bed at around 11pm. I found the first couple of nights to be strange and then I got into the rhythm and thoroughly enjoyed the communalism and comraderie. I, who used to read a newspaper, magazines, do my facebook, read e-mail, blog and Tweet, watch cricket or other sports, each day, went almost two weeks without these things and did not miss them. Not only was my body rested and healing, but my mind/brain had a much needed furlough and it was most enjoyable and ennervating. I must do this more often and for the past week, since my return, I have done less, read less, watch less and feel great, that I do not have the world's problems/depressions, to worry about.
    There is a different pace to life in Guyana. People wake up early, some to go to their workplace, whether office or fields or factories or stores. Hot breakfast is prepared each day, children are fed and sent off to school; adults feed themselves and go off to work and housewives, the most important cog in the wheel of the family, the very soul of the family, do their chores...cooking, sweeping, dusting, washing and marketing. They go the market each day ( there are two markets, an open air one in Rose Hall and a covered on in Port Mourant, and there is an abundance of everything, the noise, the hustle an bustle,...fresh salt-water fish from the ocean and sweet-water fish from the inland canals and rivers, crabs, shrimps and so much more), to buy fresh fish , fruits and vegetables, which is then prepared into lunches ( most children come home for lunch and so too some adults ), and dinners, a family affair.( During my two weeks stay in Guyana, I tried to eat a variety of fish, fruits and vegetables, and I enjoyed them thoroughly. I had only three meals of chicken, duck and lamb and did not miss, meat. I shall try to do this, when I return to Brossard). Afterwards, there is playing time with the children, homework, a small snack and after a while, bed. We soon got into the swing of things.
                                                  Day 2 and the Visit
     After a hot, delicious breakfast of fish, bhaji and roti with tea, we set off for the familial home in Miss Phoebe, a place I had not visited in twenty-five years. My mother died in November 1979 ( my father three years earlier), and even though I knew I had to return, I kept postponing it and now I am here and it was devastating. The once beautiful/ beloved/ busy and bountiful place that I grew up in, with its resplendant, colorful, abundant fruit trees and flowers was a neglected, soul-wrenching, shockingly empty shell. Here, where eight children and many grandchildren were born and where their navel-string were buried ( chooked), here where there was constant laughter and children running, here where there was so much life and happiness, where birds sang cheerily while feeding on the ripening fruits, here, where there were 16 mango trees, papayas, bananas, coconuts, sapadillas, cherries, sugar, star, monkey apples, limes, carmanga, catahars, sewmootoo, peppers, pumpkins, squashes, beans, saijan and other bhajis and so much more, now stand emptiness...there is one mango tree, one sapadilla and one star apple with a clump of banana trees. That's it. Our fertile, verdant garden of wonders is a vast neglected wasteland. I was moved to tears; tears of neglect; tears of life long gone; tears of longing; tears of joy mixed with sorrow; tears of what might have been.
     I will continue this later...............  
          
     

      The Parti Quebecois called the election because their in-house polls agreed with others that were conducted by polling firms, that their Cultural Values proposal was very popular and not only with their base, but overall. These polls indicated that they will win a majority if an election was called, and so Pauline Marois gambled ( like Paul Martin did federally in 1984), and called an election when none was  needed and which went against their own law on "fixed-date election". Now she is about to suffer the same fate as Martin, whose Liberal Party was crushed almost into oblivion, by Brian Mulroney's Conservatives, which won 211 seats.
     The campaign statred out serenely, with a confident Marois, a concerned Couillard and a desperate Legault. Now it is a confident Couillard, an energised Legault and a very desperate Marois. What went wrong for the PQ and what has caused the Liberal upsurge and the CAQ's revival? Campaign gaffes by the PQ who could not control the agenda; a revealing first debate that showed a premier-like Couillard and a second debate performance  by a "charged up" Legault.
     The PQ started to unravel when their star candidate, Pierre Peladeau, pumped his fist in the air and stated that he was in the election to create a country for his chilgren. The sovereignty/ referendum bogeyman was out of the bag and in the open and nothing was going to put it back in. Marois had built her entire campaign on the Charter of Values. Now all hell broke loose and try as she did, she could not get away from the R & S words. It has dominated the campaign. It did not help that she also added to her problems by talking aout borders and passports. In the second debate she tried again and again to state that only when Quebecers are ready, will there be a referendum, and this further muddied the waters. Lisee, did not help when said that a referendum will be held in a year. Others also got caught up in the referendum conundrum, like her female "Jewish" candidate.     Then her "Values Charter" became a problem, when some of her candidates statred to defend it by stating that anyone who loses their jobs, will be helped to get a new one in the private sector, while others like Drainville (minister responsible for the Charter) repeated that there will be no changes and that those who do not obey it when it became law will lose their jobs. Then came the fantasy of Janette and her " rich Muslims from Mcgill" tgaking over her swimming pool. 
     In the meantime, the Liberals had the steady and calm hand of Couillard guiding them, even when he was pressured on his connection to Porter, his job in Saudi Arabia and his off-shore bank account. Nothing stuck to him. He is the "teflon" man. He was cool under attack and while he did not perform too well in the second debate, where he was put under "the gun" by Legault, he still held his own and after the debate he immediately returned the focus on the PQ and the referendum.
      Legault went for broke in the second debate and would seem to have saved his party from losing most of their seats, but it may still happen, if he is caught between the Liberals and PQ. If ( and it seems like it) the PQ loses support, it may well go to the CAQ, but if the CAQ loses support, especially in the Quebec City area, it will go to the Liberals.
     At this point, the Liberal are about 7-10 points ahead of the PQ. If this holds true, the Liberals will form a majority government. There is no coming back for the PQ.
     Here is my prediction.....Liberals 71; PQ 36; CAQ 15; QS 3.
      8th April.......   Well the verdict is in and the Liberals have emerged as the big winner with 70 seats. The CAQ made progress, better than expected with 22 seats, even though thsy lost their base in Quebec City, which returned to the Liberals. The CAQ did well in the 450 region with their economic message. The PQ was devastated, with their worst showing since 1989. Marois lost her seat but Lisee, Drainville and the "fistmsn" Peladeau won and now they are elbowing each other for the vacant leadership.
     The PQ are a generational party and now they have to broaden their base or sufferr a slow death. The language issue has run its course. Quebecoises are gaining in confidence and the new electronic world has drawn them into the larger world. As Couillard, the biG winner stated bilingualism on the factory floor is a benefit. 
     it's now time to enjoy 4 years of social peace, economic growth and stability. Cheers.

     That Pauline Marois, such a prankster, the puppet mistress, laughingly pulling the strings of the "minorities", using them as sacrificial "ewes", placing them in unwinnable constituencies, while giving a safe one to the "pur laine" Martine Desjardins. Two Algerian Muslims, Yasmina Chouakri and Leila Mahiout and one Moroccan Jewess, Evelyne Abitbol, who have allowed themselves to be used as "show monkeys" , in Marois' circus. Pathetic.
     In a democracy you have choice. You are free to choose which political party you want to support, who you vote for, what you believe in, your values and beliefs. However to allow yourself to be used to promote wedge issues, under the guise of secularism, is ignorance masquerading as choice.
      The so-called "values charter" is a PQ stalking horse, clearly meant to appeal to and consolidate the Quebecois(e) base, to drive a wedge between cultural communities. This takes away from the real issues of jobs (25,000 lost last month) and the economy (stagnant and declining), as a whole. 
     If Marois was serious about getting support from the " cultural communities", she would have placed these candidates in safe ridings. Instead she is using them and sacrificing them in unwinnable ones. This is a slap in their face. This is blatant insult. This is " i AM GOING TO USE YOU TO COVER ME AGAINST CHARGES THAT i AM IGNORING THESE CVOMMUNITIES, THAT i AM ISOLATING THEM." Such gall and these " sacrificial ewes" are oblivious.
     "It's the  economy stupid'
     Now that Peladeau has joined the PQ, the party has moved to the right, with a corporatist agenda. They have shafted the labour movement which has been the backbone of the PQ and has had many bruising battles with Peladeau, calling him the " worst employer in Quebec's history".
     Peladeau has made it very clear that he joined the PQ in order to bring about an independent Quebec " a country for his children". He has hogged the limelight, calling himself the " negotiator" and making himself the co-leader of the PQ ( shades of Parizeau and Bouchard, 1995).
     The e3ntire PQ campaign will now be centered on separation and referendum. They continue to mislead the people on the issue of common currency and passport with open borders with Canada. First they dismember and then they want to benefit from a Canadian passport and monetray policy. They are either stupid, confused or both. But that has always been the split personality of the PQ....ON THE ONE HAND SOCIALIST AND ON THE NATIONALIST. Now they have added Corporatist. 
    March 25 and all is not well in the PQ camp. They are now accusing out-of town students studying and living here of trying to steal the elct6ion. The law is clear. To vote you have to be over 18, a Canadian citizen and must have lived in Quebec for more tan 6 months. This new bogeyman to rall the troops will not fly.
     The Liberals have an edge and they have to be careful and build on it. So far Couillard has performed well. He is articulate and unruffled, even when his integrity is questioned. At this point the Liberals are solid in 49 ridings and tghe PQ in 43 with Caq in 3 and QS in 2. The fight is in the other 28 ridings and the next two weeks will be frenzied.

      Russia will do what is in its interest and that is take control of the Crimea and the warm water port of Sevastopol, where the Russian Black Sea fleet has been anchored over the years. This is Russia's only warm water port and its access to the Mediteranean and the Middle East. There is no way that Russia will give this up.
     The fall of the corrupt and incompetent Viktor Yanukovych, after bloody riots and demonstrations has forced Putin to act, and act, he will, irrespective of the sound and fury coming from the West and especially, the USA. This is all puffery, because Obama can do very little and the feckless British and French, together with Canada are simply inconsequential. They may threaten sanctions and embargo and send "strong" messages, wag their fingers or even visit, as Harper, "he of little consequence" has done, but it is to no avail. Putin will do whatever is in the interest of Russia. He is no Yeltsin and he is brimming with confidence what with the success of Sochi and the bounty of oil and gas.
     Nikita Khrushchev, who was Ukrainian and had imbibed too much vodka, had given Crimea to Ukraine in 1954, but had retained control of Sevastopol for the use of the Black Sea fleet. Ethnic Russians dominate East Ukraine and the Crimea and they will not accept to be ruled from Kiev. Already they have taken certain actions, like occupying the parliament, raising the Russian flag and even set up local militias There is also the Tatars, who have had a very hostile relation with Russia.. Only Putin can prevent a bloody civil war ( there is a lot of animosity on both sides...the Russians remember that some Ukrainians had sided with Hitler and the Nazis and Western Ukrainian have chafed under the control of Russia. The Tatars remember their forced settlement.
     The USA and  Britain cannot talk with any credibilty about intervention, given their recent history in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya. The French and Canada less so also, given their actions in Libya and in the case of France, its forner colonies. So what is there to do? Diplomacy is the only way. Not threats. They are meaningless. No one in the West, is going to go to war for the Ukraine. Ukraine will either be split violently or some arrangement with Russia will have to be made and the Russians wiil dictate the terms.
      So stop with the blusters and get down to talks with Russia. This is their backyard and it is their national interests that are at stake. 
       Russia has taken the Crimea without firing a shot. The locals have welcomed the Russians as saviours. The newly appointed head of the Ukrainian navy has joined the Russians. The West led by the United States continue to fulminate and threaten, but can do little. They do not want an economic war with Russia which sits on the second laggest reserves of oil and gas. So they should try to limit what the Russians do, with diplomacy. That would mean recognising Russia's concerns about its security, especially with regards to the Crimea and Eastern Ukraine. The Americans and the rest of the West have played the "game of national interests" when they attacked Iraq and Afghanistan and Libya. They failed and created a greater disaster, same as the Russians in Afghanistan, but there, they, the Russians, were confronted with military weapons, especially shoulder-fired missiles which wreaked havoc on Russian helicopters, given to them by the USA. They will not do this in the Ukraine. 
     The Crimea had been a part of Russia for over 300 years. The Russians had sacrificed much blood over the years, against the British the Turks and the Germans. 60% of the population are ethnic Russians; 25% ethnic Ukrainians and the rest are Tatars and others. The port of Sevastopol is crucial  Russia's national security and economic interests and important pipelines run through Ukraine taking Russian oil and gas to Europe. 40% of Germany's oil come from Russiaa and 30% of Europe's gas. Germany and Britain has many trade and financial deal with Russia and will not support strong economic measures. The 28 members of NATO
are divided. So the USA has to focus on building a workable coalition. It can only be diplomatic. 
     Russia's concerns have to respected. The USA and the WEST have been pushing to the Russian border with NATO expansion. Russia has historically suffered with the fear of invasion ( Napolean and Hiler) and they feel threatened with NATO expansion, which started with Clinton in 1996 and a weak/drunken Yeltsin. Now Putin is pushing back
     The invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan and the attack on Libya has taken away the high ground from the USA and the WEST. The French military  involvement in their former African colonies exposes their hypocrisy also and the continued occupation of the West Bank and the gradual siezure of land by Israel, while the USA welcomes Netanyahu to the White House has put a lie to the contention of " territorial integrity". Double standards expose and weakens and that is   why the USA and the WEST have little or no credibility. They are judged by their own actions and are found wanting.                   

 


5 %  

     John Kerry is persistent, but as long as Netanyahu is Prime Minister, there will be no peace. He is more interested in remaining  in power, and thus is held hostage to the demands of the religious right/ colonizers, who continue to seize more and more land, this time in the Jordan Valley. It was a direct slap at Kerry, by this group, led by a senior cabinet minister and a dozen or so legislators, most from Likud.

     The Jordan Valley settlements were created as a buffer against possible Arab attack from the east, though Israel security experts say that long range missiles, are a greater threats than tanks. This however has not stopped the expansion, a clear provocation, which may well jeopardise the peace treaty with Jordan. The event to expand Gitit, a community of 70 families was staged by the Land of Israel, a pro-settler lobby of 39 of the Israeli parliament 120 legislators  

     The Palestinians want to establish their state on the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem, lands that Israel seized in 1967 and where more than 600,000 settlers have moved in and carved " osaes", subsidised and protected by the state of Israel at huge costs, which has to a great extent beggared the country, jacked the cost of living and deprived the other Israelis of much needed services.

     In the past, Israel had depended on the politics of the USA and the guilt of Europe to defend its policy of building settlements on security grounds, but gradually this policy has been exposed as nothing more than a land grab and especially to deny the Palestinian people a country of their own in the land that had belonged to them.

     The times are-a -changing and there is less willingness to turn a blind eye to this continued encroachment. Tough talk ( even comparisons to " apartheid" ) are beginning to percolate in Europe and America ( the Harper Govt continues in lockstep with Israel), and by three score and ten years ( after 1948), 2018, hopes will be replaced by reality. The Israeli "tail" wagging the "world" dog, will come to an end and the Palestinian people will have their country and not an open-air prison, to live in.

    As of Jan.9, Lieberman, recently cleared of fraud charges announce his support for the Kerry plan. This will take some pressure from Netanyahu. Also on Jan.11, Ariel Sharon, one of the chief architect of settlements, a man adored by the Israeli as a hero-warrior but reviled by Palestinians as a murderer, the man who blasted people from their homes in Qibya, in which 42 houses were detonated killing 67 men, women and children; who built the security fence; who allowed the slaughter at Sabra and Shatilla and who turned Gaza into an open air prison, died.   

       In eight hours, it will be 2014.

       Africa, most importantly Northern Africa is in turmoil. Southern Africa, seems to be moving ahead, led by South Africa and  by the spirit of Nelson Mandela. Hopes spring eternal, but with out it, it is mere   despair. Central Africa, looks to France, its colonial master for reprieve, but this diminished, former colonial force is spent, both of ideas and influence, and so it sells its soul to the Wahhabis of Saudi Arabia, thinking that it can like De Gaulle in the early 60's,  it can carve out a place with the "big boys".. USA and the USSR., by "sticking out its tongue" at the US. Not to be, however. The times, they are a-changing.

     Africa, thy soul has been ripped apart by your richness. The beauty, that lies dormant could have been and may yet be, the guide to the enrichment of us all. " The child is the father of the man"