Father’s Day

Father’s Day is a day to pay our respects and to  honor the man who helped us during our growing years. He’s the man whom we turn to in both good and bad times. He would always be there to give us his all-out support and unconditional love.

Father’s Day which is celebrated every 3rd Sunday of June not only honors biological fathers but also those who are stepfathers ,adoptive fathers, foster fathers and father figures who play big roles in parenting.

Take advantage of every opportunity to honor our fathers not only today but everyday of their lives. They’ll appreciate it very much–the gift of your time and love more than your material gifts(of course, they’ll love those too!)

Happy Father’s Day,Gentlemen!

Josie

Edward Snowden–The Man of the Hour

Edward Snowden, a contract employee with the NSA(National Security Agency) is currently on the run from the US federal government for leaking highly sensitive and classified information which pertains to the ongoing domestic surveillance of both phone and internet records of the general citizenry by the US federal government. I had mentioned about this  topic on my last blog–6-8-13–regarding Domestic Surveillance/Data Mining.

After Mr. Snowden’s face came up yesterday in all TV sets around the world, the way his life events had occurred looks like it came out from the pages of a spy thriller. Friend or traitor? Patriot or Spy?

He used to live in a nice condo apt in Hawaii with a gorgeous girlfriend who’s also on the run herself. He earns a good salary from the NSA. Giving up all of these so as to pursue a cause of exposing alleged violations of communication privacy takes a lot of guts and fortitude and not just on impulse/knee-jerk reaction.

Eventually,we’ll learn more about him especially if he’s given sanctuary elsewhere or gets caught by US federal agents.

I smell the makings of a movie here. The one actor who could play him is Ryan Gosling in my opinion and I’m not saying that just because Mr. Gosling is Canadian like me. With a little makeup and a haircut and some spectacles, the resemblance can be striking.

It can’t be denied that the saga of Edward Snowden–the man of the hour– the NSA whistleblower is intriguing.

Josie

Domestic Surveillance/Data Mining– The Right to Privacy Already Gone??

US President Barack Obama yesterday addressed the media regarding the hulabaloo of ongoing domestic surveillance/data mining by the NSA(National Security Agency) on the general public.’s phone and internet records/data. I personally call it spying on a great,wide scale,mon ami.

President Obama said that this is a ‘modest’ encroachment of privacy in the name of national security. He insisted that “nobody is listening to phone calls” and for that to happen, it would require a federal judge to sign off on it for approval. He wants such limits to be implemented because he’s fully aware that he too will become vulnerable to such data scrutiny once he leaves office as a private citizen.

He said that Internet surveillance doesn’t apply to US citizens nor people living in the U.S. Wait a minute! Does that mean that even me a Canuck will be  subjected to such scrutiny? And I thought that the World Wide Web is available worldwide( barring censorship ) and doesn’t discriminate on citizenship nor ethnicity. Does this mean that the US gov’t. can have access with all international phone and internet records in the name of national security?

President Obama said that such domestic surveillance was already in place during George W. Bush’s administration eversince the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Upon entering office,President Obama had evaluated the Bush scrutiny program,and to paraphrase his words, had scrubbed it thoroughly and expanded some of the oversight,even increasing some of its safeguards.

Understandably, with the reality of the threat of terror over us now ever since 9/11, there’s no longer a 100% given  right to  privacy nor 100% safety.

Yet I can’t help but think that constant discussion,surveillance and soundboarding should continue so that nothing crosses the line in terms of civil liberties,in this case for ex.,the right to privacy.

Giving the government such blanket approval and free reign in such case could lead to abuse if not monitored.

Josie

Adjusting In A New Home

As I had mentioned in my earlier blogs, I was busy apartment hunting,packing and eventually moving into my new home. Even though it’s still within the same neighborhood, I still have to orient myself as to my new location within the vicinity as well as how both my new apt and the rest of the new building are in terms of the physical setup, rules and regulations,etc.

Eventually, my usual routine comes finally in, amidst my new home settings.

In my opinion, a home is what you make of it. It’s also a product of one’s state of mind as to what you perceive is your place of belonging and solace after a long day and where you rest and recharge your energies during the evening and night. In this way, one will be ready to face another day again.

As the sayings go, “Home is where the heart is ” as well as “ There’s no place like home.”

Josie

Victoria Day and Memorial Day, A Comparison

During the month of May,there are 2 national holidays worth noting .

In Canada, every 3rd  Monday of May, we observe Victoria Day(for Queen Victoria’s birthday since Canada is still part of the British Commonwealth).

In the United States, every 4th Monday of May, we observe Memorial Day(for remembering all the deceased).

Both holidays may have different purposes in observance but they both have one similarity in light of the fact that since both holidays occur in May in the North American continent.Around this time, the spring season will gradually come to a close especially when the month of June is just around the corner.

The similarity,mon ami, is that both holidays signify the unofficial start of summer,meaning warmer weather is starting to come around us at this time of year and after the doldrums of both winter and spring, such holidays afford us the chance to take a break from the cold and enjoy the heat in terms of traveling around more and enjoying summer activities that we couldn’t do during the cold season. Firing up the grill is also a given since it’s starting to become too warm to cook inside the kitchen and besides, it’s nice to eat al fresco outdoors whether in your backyard or out at the park. If not barbecuing or preparing lighter fare, improvising your own picnic adventure is highly recommended since it’ll be a wonderful experience, Great for the soul. Same too when heading out to the beach or hiking up the trails.

Another similarity too for both holidays is that it gives everybody an extra day off especially since it becomes an extended weekend with the preceding Saturdays and Sundays attached to both of them respectively.

Whatever, enjoy these respective holidays wherever your neck of the woods may be! You, me and everybody else deserve it!!!

Bonjour!

Josie

A Good Reputation Is Priceless

With the recent poltical turmoils in Washington regarding Benghazi,IRS probing of conservative political parties and the  Justice Dept.”s raid on the Associated Press’ records coming out like a nonstop leaking faucet, political reputations and legacies are at stake amidst a lot of political posturing. Very complicated indeed. We’ll just have to see how US President Obama handles this .

As to the recent Cleveland abduction case of  3 women who were now rescued, personal reputations are at stake too for both the abductor and his blood relatives. For the abductor, his defense lawyers have to come up with a very convincing defense on his behalf so as to at least spare him the death penalty for committing unlawful abortions on 1 of his kidnap victims and at best, let him free with his reputation intact. I find this as a very tall order for his lawyers due to the henious nature of his crimes.

For the abductor’s blood relatives, they have practically and verbally said in public that they have  already disowned him because of his crimes and of what they have to psychologically deal with for the rest of their lives in terms of anger,shame and hurt. Not only that but they still have to exist in the outside world and be forever worried if their own reputations have already been tarnished by association with him as their blood relative.

As I had said time and time again, it takes a long time, even years to build up a good reputation and only a few seconds to destroy it. Rebuilding one’s reputation will take a lot of effort and wouldn’t necessarily guarantee that it will return to its original state. It may possibly become a do-over or makeover from that original state . Just think of some celebrities who previously had public meltdowns  but only afterwards, were able to get back on top of their entertainment career by obviously making over their current personal situations.

Personal redemption and perception of one’s self and from others are just among the variables involved with attaining a certain reputation—good or bad. We’e not even talking about slander or libel here but these also affect another’s reputation but in a  more deliberate way ,often times, out of malice.

Just remember,folks! A good reputation is priceless. You’ll go far with it because you’ll come out as trustworthy ,reliable and smart enough to stay out of trouble.

Josie

The Cleveland Abduction Case on Seymour Avenue– My 2 Cents on This

Ever since the abduction case at Seymour Avenue in Cleveland,Ohio of the 3 women who have been in captivity within a period of 10+ years and this time,able  to escape from their captor in Hollywood-like fashion had been brought to light by the press, all the sordid and gruesome details had come to light for which I don’t need to mention anymore.

As the story still continues to enfold as we speak not only now but surely in the coming days, I  find it incredulous that the 3 women who were  abducted in their teen years,that they were unable to escape all that time. Whether due to unavailable physical access or intense psychological brainwashing inflicted on them, time will tell. Naturally, fingerpointing and Monday  quarterbacking will start between the citizens of Cleveland and the police force as to how such henious circumstances appeared to be out of visual range.

The 3 women definitely will need emotional and mental support/healing to get through. For the child born in captivity, I hope for her sake that she will have a normal childhood in spite of how she came into this world.

And as for the captor, I was gobsmacked as to how a man with a prior history of severe domestic violence could even get a job as a school bus driver! His actions are so despicable that in my opinion, he should be in solitary confinement. He will not live long if he mingles with the general prison population because I’m damn sure that even among prisoners, they will look at him as inhuman and dispose of him quickly out of existence.

Some folks had recommended the death penalty,others say torture him the same way as he did those 3 women and then get the death penalty,etc.etc.

One thing’s for sure. He’ll never be a free man. I extremely doubt that he can even get away with an insanity defense. If he ever goes out in the streets,he’ll be mauled by vigilant fanatics. He’s really in a no-win situation. He sows what he reaps.

I hope that due to this ongoing story that any missing child/person case will be given as much importance by everyone. Any tip no matter how trivial can break any case. Having the press involved helps too. It’s being neighborly,that’s all.

Josie