Canada Day, oh Canada!

josiesvoice

Canada Day is on July 1st eversince it became a nation in the year 1867. Yes, Canada  Day is Canada’s birthday. Celebrations consist of picnics,going to the beach,  outdoor barbecue, festivals,firecrackers , parade, concerts, fairs and whatever activity you can think of. There’ll be the usual Canada Day accessories…. mini-flags,face stickers, hats,Canada day cake,cookies,cupcakes and candies(all in Canadian red and white frosting). By the way, mon ami, when we say “Canadian red” here in Canada, we mean bright red. Sometimes,when we describe ” bright red”, we just say” Canadian red” as a shortcut.”Canadian red” and white are the 2 colors seen in our flag ( 1 bold red stripe vertically situated on each side with a red maple leaf in the center amidst a white background).

We treat this day as another chance to unwind and celebrate it as part of a great summer aside from reflecting on the essence of being a…

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The News In A Nutshell

There are times,mon ami, that there would be slow news days and days wherein there would be news overload. I felt that today is such a day for news overload. Some of the news have been around for almost a week and some breaking news only happened today.

Cases in point, the ongoing news for almost a week were the floods at the Alberta province of Canada, the Edward Snowden( aka NSA leaker) saga,former South African President Nelson Mandela’s critical medical condition, actor James Gandolfini’s sudden death from a heart attack,Michael Jackson wrongful death trial and celebrity chef Paula Deen’s fiasco.

Breaking news today was the start of the Trayvon Martin murder case, the arrest of former New England Patriots football player Aaron Hernandez for murder and the US Supreme court decision in support for same sex marriage—revising DOMA(Defense of Marriage Act) and dropping Prop 8 in California.

So many news events going on. If you’re a news junkie, it’s like having so many choices to consider in following up the news details.

The news in a nutshell,indeed!

Who ever said that life’s boring probably hadn’t read the newspaper, gone online ,watched TV nor listening to the radio.

It’s really important to be aware of one’s surroundings.

Life can be unpredictable at times. It’s always good to be aware and prepared for anything.

Knowledge is power. Ignorance isn’t blissful at times.

Just my 2 cents on this matter!

Josie

The Return of the Twinkie (I Told You So!)

On my 11-18-12 blog, I had discussed the near extinction of the Twinkie since it had halted production last year and here in Canada, Twinkies are still being produced as we speak. I also mentioned in that blog that it’s just a matter of time until a new buyer will come in and resume Twinkies production in the U.S.

Well, that reality is coming on July 15,2013  as the return of the Twinkie or in other words, the Second Coming of the Twinkie.

This means that all those online sellers of the Twinkie can just reassess their business situation. No use convincing U.S. prospective buyers to cater to your business since the Twinkie will return on July 15. These online sellers can still survive if their buyers are outside both the U.S. and Canada.

As the new punchline goes, it’s the sweetest comeback ever!

Enjoy!

Josie

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