Why I hate BELL Mobility

I have been having issues with Bell over the years with poor to non-existent customer service.  I moved my home phone about a year and half ago and have not regretted it at all.  I had a contract with Bell Mobility that terminated April 30, 2009.  I couldn’t wait to get away from them.  On April 1, I moved to another service provider.  I needed only to pay my last months/final bill which was on pre-authorized credit card.

Bell Mobilty’s solution was to charge me $100 plus GST and PST for terminating my contract, as for the outstanding service amount I can’t say exactly because their pay ahead system is a bit confusing.  I thought that I had paid up to my service date which was around the 22nd of each month and only owed the remaining 8 days.

They proceeded to bill my credit card for the excess amount.  As soon as I was notified of the penalty I was on their case and they said it was a mistake.  I have been trying since then to get my money back.  Their billing system only work once a month.  So this month I get a bill that says that I have a credit of $1113 coming and that it’s pre-authorized but nothing happened.  I called and they said I should get my credit next month – July/August.  This is a reason why I despise this company.  They have now promised to send me a cheque in a couple of weeks, we’ll see.

Since I left Bell for my home phone I have received monthly addressed junk mail from Bell trying to entice me back.  Annoying and a waste of money for them.  When I moved to a new cell provider, I received 3 calls from Bell (I know their number) but no one was there – dead calls.  They deserve to fail.  They have no idea how to take care of their customers.  I could talk about my wasted adventure trying out ISDN from Bell but suffice to say they couldn’t get it to work and didn’t bother telling me while I was waiting for a service response.  Losers!  Then there was the issue of a wiring problem in the house and they wanted an exorbitant fee to even come and address it – found a cheaper and better solution.

My new service supplier isn’t perfect, there was always going to be service issues but it’s how they handle them and to date they have surpassed Bell by a very wide margin.

Bell Sucks.

Intolerance

It is very discouraging to see the growing levels of intolerance in the world.  The latest incident in our country was at the Fete National when people tried to shout down two english acts (presenting bilingual sets) at a concert in Quebec.  Several sponsors of the event also withdrew their support when the acts were announced.  I sense this is an example of what a separate Quebec would be like, intolerance for anything other than french language.  It’s not like these groups were the major component of the entertainment package.  Even now, the language police harass businesses about signs that have multiple languages if the french is not bigger by a certain factor.  There’s protecting a language and then there’s intolerance towards anyone or anything that isn’t french.  If a business chose to have all of it’s signage in chinese, it’s indicating that  it is catering to a specific group and not the population as a whole and really what is wrong with that?

In Iran, we have a deadly form of intolerance.  I heard that in one situation there were 3 million more votes than there were voters, if this was close to the truth then the results of that election can be questioned.  The hard liners are using extreme methods to suppress any opposition because the will not tolerate any change of the status quo.  Iran is a country that was the cradle of civilization and should be a major player in the middle east.  Unfortunately, they could be  a force for good of the world but they seem to be bent on being a force for radical and intolerant views and their actions are destabilizing the area.

Back in Canada, Human Rights commissions were created to protect the rights of the minorities.  They have taken that to an extreme and now they are infringing on our basic freedoms such as free speech and ideas.  This is political correctness taken to the extreme.  It appears that some have found ways of milking this system for profit by filing and wining questionable cases.  The actions put a chill on free speech because it ends up costing the speaker a lot of money defending themselves.

In the words of Rodney King, “Can’t we all just get along”.

Winter 2008-2009 Snowfall for Ottawa, Ont.

Here is a table Showing the past 3 winters by month, using  Environment Canada data for the Ottawa Airport.  There hasn’t been measurable amounts of snow in June in the past 20 years of data.  Data revised as per EC Climate Data Online Monthly Observation Data -June 24, 2009.

Source: Environment Canada Climate Data Online. 

	Snowfall by Month plus YTD Current
		08-09/06-07		08/09-07/08
		Snowfall in mm
	2006-2007	+/-	2007-2008	+/-	2008-2009
Jul	0.0		0.0		0.0
Aug	0.0		0.0		0.0
Sep	0.0		0.0		0.0
Oct	0.2	11.0	0.0	11.2	11.2
Nov	0.6	24.6	59.8	(34.0)	25.8
Dec	27.6	57.6	121.0	(35.8)	85.2
Jan	31.4	49.0	42.4	38.4	80.8
Feb	30.6	(15.8)	89.9	(74.5)	15.4
Mar	31.6	(28.4)	113.4	(110.2)	3.2
Apr	28.4	(24.0)	6.2	(1.8)	4.4
May	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Jun	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Total	150.4	282.3	432.7	(206.7)	226.0

We surrender.

Since 9/11 people in the western world are obsessed with security and in some cases have an irrational fear of terrorist acts.  In the total scheme of things, we tend to get very excited about incidents that are not always that significant.  That is not to say that we don’t need to be on alert but it’s how far should we go and what should we give up to attain that security.

1. Most important was to protect the front line health workers and wash your hands frequently.
2. It’s all done in the name of security so we just let it go.

Crossing the border is also getting harder all the time and the customs authorities have extra ordinary powers that they exercise as well.  There are a lot of stories about abuse here as well.  It’s because of security so anything they do is ok even if there was not just cause for their actions.  Give people absolute power and they will abuse it because they can.

The police are starting to show signs of being above the law since they are part of the administration of the “law”.  We seem to be seeing more and more instance where police are involved with excessive force and are not being held accountable.  It seems that they are able to break laws but they don’t have to face the consequences.  They, in many cases, can’t even be removed from the job.  Their union fights any sort of discipline even when the evidence is overwhelming that they should be dismissed and charged.  They can be violent and just flash they id and badge and they are driven home by a responding officer while they accuse the victim of causing the problem in the first place.  It’s the concept of power corrupting individual and institutions.  They are trampling on individual rights in the name of “National Security”.  Yes they have a tough job but taking away our rights in the name of security is not the answer.

It won’t be long before we will have to face the facts that we live in a police state with no real personal freedoms and we surrendered them without a wimper because we were afraid of something that really wasn’t as bad as the solution.

NHL needs to shake their collective heads.

Gary Bettman, NHL boss, hates Canada.  At least you think that it just might be true.  The league did little to protect the Winnipeg and Quebec fanchises from moving to the U.S. yet they  seem to be fighting every possible move of a bankrupt U.S. team back to Canada.  What are we in Canada supposed to make of this?

How is it that New York can have 3 franchises while southern Ontario cannot have more than one.  This fascination with U.S. cities that have no history nor experience with Hockey having NHL teams while viable markets in Canada are ignored.  The NHL U.S. Strategy hasn’t, doesn’t and will not work.  Bowling on TV will outdraw hockey in most US markets.   It’s barely a niche sport in the US.  Hockey is an important component in many countries in the world besides Canada, for instance Russia and Sweden come to mind.

The league seems to not want to deal with a Canadian who has the money yet it has dealt with a large number of questionable owners in the U.S.

I find it discouraging that the league rolls its eyes if there is a Canadian team in the Stanley Cup playoffs since they can’t sell the TV rights in the States even though there wasn’t any interest in the first place.  Heaven forbid that there is a final between 2 Canadian teams, they might have to outlaw that possibility.  It’s like we are second class in the leagues eyes.

It might give us a complex or maybe we should learn to love bowling and invest our entertainment dollars in that sport instead of Hockey.  The league won’t miss the Canadian fans at all.

Doctor Who – Planet of the Dead

The Easter Special of Doctor Who was a hoot.  If you want to view a synopsis of the story you can go here.  I think these specials are meant to be fun and keep us involved in the Doctor Who franchise.  It’s got a few good lines like “you look human” and the Doctor responds “you look time lord”.    Malcolm was a good bumbling genius sort of what you expect for someone who must think outside the box.  The U.N.I.T. Captain seemed a bit extreme but she did her job.  Lady Christina was a good foil for the Doctor and demonstrated brains and beauty.  Some of the more serious viewers were disapointed by the story but to me it was more interesting than the Christmas special.

 

If you want to follow some Torchwood news you can go here:  http://torchwoodtv.blogspot.com/

Highway of Heroes in Pictures

From a powerpoint presentation making the rounds.

Arrival of first Soldier

Honour Guard claiming the body

Procession Leaves Trenton for Toronto

Trenton pays its respects

Firemen honouring the procession

Police Stop to Honour Heroes

One of 50 Overpasses where people gather to salute Heroes

Greetiing our Heroes

Another overpass, another tribute

Not just on overpasses do people show respect

Oshawa greets the procession

Durham Police honour procession

Ajax says thank you

An individual shows his respect.

The Final Salute in Toronto before arriving at the coroners office.

Highway of Heroes-The people say Thank You!

I recently received a great powerpoint presentation showing how we as Canadians have made the Highway of Heroes an important element in our honouring and paying tribute to our fallen soldiers.  The average Canadian was not fully aware of the sacrifices that our military have made until Afghanistan.  The governments of the day had no use for a military but time and circumstances proved this neglect to be horribly wrong.  I served in the RCHA in the early 70’s and it was a joke, we had a regimental strength of around 176 men when it should have been over 1,100 yet we had the same roles and responsibilities of a full regiment.  We were part of the A.C.E. Mobile Force for Norway and also member of the C.A.S.T. Combat Group which was responsible for re-enforcing ACE.  In other words, we were supposedly replacing ourselves which would have been  a bit difficult since we’d have been dead or wounded to require re-enforcement.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Afghanistan has brought respectability for the Canadian Military and a sense of pride for the people of Canada.  It was public pressure that brought about the designation of the stretch of Highway 401 from Trenton to Toronto to be known as the Highway of Heroes.  For it is along that path that our fallen are repatriated to Canada and transported to the Ontario Coroner prior to being returning the remains to the families.  The people have spoken and speak everytime we lose a combatant.  As of today we have lost 116 service personnel both men and women.  We honour their ultimate sacrifice and pay tribute to the family members who have lost their loved ones.

Members of Fire Station 44 in Barrhaven salute returning fallen soldier Cpl. Kenneth Chad O'Quinn on the Fallowfield-Strandherd Bridge just outside of Barrhaven, Wednesday, March 25, 2009. Viewer photo submitted by: Kellie Jennifer Adams

Ottawa is home to the National Military Cemetery at Beechwood and many families are choosing to bury their fallen loved ones there.  It is a beautiful place for a cemetery.  Now the Ottawa Fire Department has chosen to follow the lead of the Highway of Heroes and they provide firefighters and police officers along 12 overpasses of  Highway 416 and 417 on the route to Beechwood where the soldier will be interred.  District Chief Dave Capstick said firefighters will make the effort to show the respect and solidarity they deserve. 

The U.S. has adopted a similar policy to Canada’s on repatriation and finally make it possible to show the flag draped coffins if the families allow it.  That gives the ordinary people the opportunity to sit up, take notice and show their apprciation and sorry for the fallen.  A recent movie on HBO called “Taking Chance” is based upon  A personal narrative by Lieutenant Colonel Michael R. Strobl (you can read his story here). 

The Highway of Heroes and the actions encountered by LCol Strobl show that the people understand and want to honour the fallen who have made the ultimate sacrifice.

Lest We Forget

I am a soldier far away from home.

My 15 year old grandson Josh wrote this poem:

I am a soldier far away from home.

I wonder if I will live to see tomorrow.

I hear gunfire and explosions.

I see my friends die in front of me.

I want to see my family and live happily.

I am a soldier far away from home.

I pretend that someday peace will come.

I feel horrible because of all of the lives I have taken.

I touch my guns trigger without hesitation.

I worry about my family and how they are doing.

I cry every night from what I’ve seen the previous day.

I am a soldier far away from home.

I understand that what I am doing is for the greater good.

I say what I’m doing is for justice.

I dream of a world where everything is peaceful.

I try to enforce justice and make peace come.

I hope one day peace will prevail. 

I am a soldier far away from home.

Canada’s Contribution To the World

***Revised post!!***

As we closer to remembrance day, I received a version of this story in an Email and thought it was relevant.  It still is but as one comment came in it goes back to the friendly fire incident when we lost the 4 soldiers from the Pats.  So I did as suggested and found the original article.  We’ve been supporting the Afghan mission for almost 7 years pulling more than our weight in NATO – why is it that some countries won’t let their soldiers out of their bases lest they be in harms way.

The country the world forgot – again

By Kevin Myers

Last Updated: 12:01am BST 21/04/2002

UNTIL the deaths last week of four Canadian soldiers accidentally killed by a US warplane in Afghanistan, probably almost no one outside their home country had been aware that Canadian troops were deployed in the region. And as always, Canada will now bury its dead, just as the rest of the world as always will forget its sacrifice, just as it always forgets nearly everything Canada ever does.

It seems that Canada’s historic mission is to come to the selfless aid both of its friends and of complete strangers, and then, once the crisis is over, to be well and truly ignored. Canada is the perpetual wallflower that stands on the edge of the hall, waiting for someone to come and ask her for a dance. A fire breaks out, she risks life and limb to rescue her fellow dance-goers, and suffers serious injuries. But when the hall is repaired and the dancing resumes, there is Canada, the wallflower still, while those she once helped glamorously cavort across the floor, blithely neglecting her yet again.

That is the price which Canada pays for sharing the North American Continent with the US, and for being a selfless friend of Britain in two global conflicts. For much of the 20th century, Canada was torn in two different directions: it seemed to be a part of the old world, yet had an address in the new one, and that divided identity ensured that it never fully got the gratitude it deserved.

Yet its purely voluntary contribution to the cause of freedom in two world wars was perhaps the greatest of any democracy. Almost 10 per cent of Canada’s entire population of seven million people served in the armed forces during the First World War, and nearly 60,000 died. The great Allied victories of 1918 were spearheaded by Canadian troops, perhaps the most capable soldiers in the entire British order of battle.

Canada was repaid for its enormous sacrifice by downright neglect, its unique contribution to victory being absorbed into the popular memory as somehow or other the work of the “British”. The Second World War provided a re-run. The Canadian navy began the war with a half dozen vessels, and ended up policing nearly half of the Atlantic against U-boat attack. More than 120 Canadian warships participated in the Normandy landings, during which 15,000 Canadian soldiers went ashore on D-Day alone. Canada finished the war with the third largest navy and the fourth largest air force in the world.

The world thanked Canada with the same sublime indifference as it had the previous time. Canadian participation in the war was acknowledged in film only if it was necessary to give an American actor a part in a campaign which the US had clearly not participated – a touching scrupulousness which, of course, Hollywood has since abandoned, as it has any notion of a separate Canadian identity.

So it is a general rule that actors and film-makers arriving in Hollywood keep their nationality – unless, that is, they are Canadian. Thus Mary Pickford, Walter Huston, Donald Sutherland, Michael J Fox, William Shatner, Norman Jewison, David Cronenberg and Dan Aykroyd have in the popular perception become American, and Christopher Plummer British. It is as if in the very act of becoming famous, a Canadian ceases to be Canadian, unless she is Margaret Atwood, who is as unshakeably Canadian as a moose, or Celine Dion, for whom Canada has proved quite unable to find any takers.

Moreover, Canada is every bit as querulously alert to the achievements of its sons and daughters as the rest of the world is completely unaware of them. The Canadians proudly say of themselves – and are unheard by anyone else – that 1 per cent of the world’s population has provided 10 per cent of the world’s peace-keeping forces. Canadian soldiers in the past half century have been the greatest peace-keepers on earth – in 39 missions on UN mandates, and six on non-UN peace-keeping duties, from Vietnam to East Timor, from Sinai to Bosnia.

Yet the only foreign engagement which has entered the popular non-Canadian imagination was the sorry affair in Somalia, in which out-of-control paratroopers murdered two Somali infiltrators. Their regiment was then disbanded in disgrace – a uniquely Canadian act of self-abasement for which, naturally, the Canadians received no international credit.

So who today in the US knows about the stoic and selfless friendship its northern neighbour has given it in Afghanistan? Rather like Cyrano de Bergerac, Canada repeatedly does honourable things for honourable motives, but instead of being thanked for it, it remains something of a figure of fun. It is the Canadian way, for which Canadians should be proud, yet such honour comes at a high cost.

This weekend four shrouds, red with blood and maple leaf, head homewards; and four more grieving Canadian families know that cost all too tragically well.

Canada

Lest we forget.

Fox Program Red Eye – The Ugliest Americans

Canada has just suffered the loss of 4 more soldiers in Afghanistan and they will be repatirated today and travel the Highway of Heros.  So we now have to put up with ugly stupid Americans who have demonstrated why they are hated around the world.  The Fox program Red Eye chose to mock Canada’s efforts in Afghanistan not even knowing that we have been there from the beginning of this mission.  We are one of the few countries that answered the call for combat troops who would engage in combat and these idiot Americans have no understanding of their neighbour to the north.  They have no concept of the importance that Canada is to the success and prosperity of America.  After 7 years of conflict, most of the equipment is wearing out, um, I seem to remember reading about the US having equipment problems having a large percentage of its equipment worn out sitting awaiting action in Iraq.

See for yourself:

In this video, these people demonstrate how narrow minded and ill-informed they are about anything outside their borders.  They represent the last 8 years where America damaged its standing in the world.  No longer could America legitimately claim that they believe in freedom, liberty and integrity.  They set up the Guantánamo Bay detention where they were sheltered from their own laws and conducted torture and numerous human rights violations.   There was no due process – so much for the fair minded America.

The current world financial crisis can be laid at the feet of greedy people who ignored what few rules there were and managed to bring down the worlds economies. 

We can hope that theirs is a radical minority viewpoint.  If it is mainstream then America will have to continue to bully the worlds countries and use military force to impose its will.  We all know this works, just look at Iraq.

Their comments are disgusting and they would call for an invasion should someone else say things like that about America, oh wait they did call for an invasion of Canada and those silly Canadians.

We’ve developed our own ways to show respect to troops.

One of the things I look forward to each November 11th is at the end of the ceremony at the National War Memorial.  It is something that was started by we the people and it wasn’t scripted.  What moves me so much is the placing of the individual poppies on the tomb of our unknown soldier.  It has become a tradition that was not a part of the program setup by the organizers of the ceremonies.  It is a heartfelt show of respect for our veterans and war dead and a way of saying “thank you for our freedom”.

People put their poppies on the tomb of the unknown soldier

A new tradition has evolved with the loss of our service personnel in the Afghanistan action.  To date we have lost 97 lives to this war.  Originally, our government tried to keep the repatriation ceremony private similar to what happens in the U.S.  Again, ordinary people wouldn’t accept this.  Through their actions a stretch of the 401 from Trenton (where they arrive home from Afghanistan) to Toronto was renamed the highway of heros.

Signage on the 401 - Highway of Heros

People who live along this stretch of highway now stand on the overpasses and pay their tribute and respect to the hearses bearing the bodies of our fallen soldiers who are transported to Toronto upon their repatriation to Canada before their bodies are returned to the families.

The People Salute a Fallen Hero

This a an action by the people paying their respect for those who paid the ultimate price while serving Canada.

Things have changed a lot since I was in the military.  Back then we were underfunded, undermanned and greatly overworked.  My first unit had 176 active personnel with the same responsibilities of a regiment of 1,100, we were our own re enforcements in the event of NATO/Soviet hostilities.  Some of our equipment was older than the soldiers that used it.   Now we have some of the best equipment available and adequate staffing to carry out their mission.  What’s needed now is for the other NATO countries to step up and do their share to help resolve threat from Afghanistan.  Only then can we resolve the Taliban issue and maybe curtail the drug problems through helping their economy flourish.

What are the long term effects of the current world crisis?

 You can sense that something isn’t right.  Something is changing and not for the better.   If you look at the world today you get snippets of what is happening, but is it a trend? 

 Economic recovery will very much depend upon a positive attitude in the consumers and investors around the world.  Almost everything we hear nowadays is anything but good news.  The Financial Sector in a majority of countries is corrupted and virtually bankrupt.  The leaders of many companies have run their companies into the ground trying to maximize their personal wealth through salary, bonuses and equity.  Their remuneration is obscene and totally unwarranted.  They have not added value to their companies, they have destroyed them and now it is the taxpayers (their former clients) who are being tasked with bailing them out.  It’s too bad that we are rewarding bad performance and not allowing companies that deserve to fail to do just that.

In North America, we have an Automobile Sector that blew it and made all the wrong decisions.  They misread the trends and developments and actually reversed themselves in areas where they were being innovative and getting it right.  The best example is the GM EV1 which was revolutionary and a good start to getting off the carbon trail.  I equate it to the Avro Arrow which was the best fighter bomber of its day never to have been built.  In both cases the products were destroyed to try and move the clock back.  We had quality issues which have for the most part been addressed.  I remember my first Japanese car – it was a piece of junk but then they got it right in subsequent years to where they were tops in quality and it took the big three awhile to finally catch up but we still have the perception that the quality isn’t there.  Recent surveys have shown that many of the vehicles from the North American manufacturers are better than their Japanese counterparts.  The Big 3 screwed up and we are being forced to try and save them – the jury is still out on that front. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

People are angry with having to bail out the financial institutions around the world and they don’t see any change in behaviour or method of operation.  Maybe China’s solution would smarten them up – look at the Milk crisis and the main perpetrators have gone to jail for a long time or have been sentence to death.  Sounds like a deterrent to me.

Robberies and violence seem to be on the upswing.   People are losing hope and are getting desperate and doing what they can to survive or thrive.  Can this be the start of a trend that could lead to anarchy?  A Russian scholar says “There is a high probability that the collapse of the United States will occur by 2010,” Igor Panarin told dozens of students, professors and diplomats Tuesday at the Diplomatic Academy — a lecture the ministry pointedly invited The Associated Press and other foreign media to attend.  Will there be a lot of social unrest?  There was during the Great Depression so it is quite plausible for the same to happen in modern times.  How far it goes will depend upon the levels of hope or despair we get to in the future.

If the ones who helped create this situation don’t change their ways we can expect a push back by the investors and consumers who are needed to right the ship. 

I despair for the lack of will on the part of governments to correct the causes of the problems in concert with their efforts to reverse the effects of the downturn in the economy.  It is just going to get worse but the creators of the problems are sitting pretty with their bonuses and offshore bank accounts.  They won’t even face paying the taxes that will pay the final tab on this problem.

The Financial Crisis

This is a very troubling time.  The biggest question may be, Why? 

The situation the world finds itself in can be traced back to a fundalmental greed.  People found ways of skirting rules, removing rules, or ignoring rules to maximize obscene profits for doing nothing of value.  They will, of course, get away with it.  You don’t hear the United States saying that they created and allowed the environment where “hotshots” made billions off the backs of the investor community with no regard for the risk and impact their actions had on the world economies and people.  It’s too bad that they will be able to keep their ill gotten gains with impunity, seizure of all their assets and a life in prison would be more appropriate for these greedy scum sucking bastards.

So how does the world recover?  We in effect print money and charge next to nothing for borrowing it.  Now we run into a mindset that doesn’t want to take any “risk” and refuses to conduct normal business.  We have all been psyched out of common sense.  Commerce needs to continue but everyone is afraid that the big bad wolf is still at the door and maybe it is.

Bailouts have been provided to business in many cases yet they use this money as if nothing has changed.  Companies are flirting with bankruptcy yet continue the practices that got them there in the first place.  It isn’t business as usual people.  How do we get through to these people that they aren’t exempt from having to deal with less.   I can’t think of any examples of people that deserve “bonuses” because they are the ones that got us there in the first place.

It is going to get a lot worse before it get better.  It may take a “revolution” to set things on the proper path and we can hope that it doesn’t involve violence.

Danny Williams – Canada’s Godfather?

It now appears that Premier Danny Williams is in charge of Canada not just Newfoundland and Labrador.  He dictated that the Conservatives be banished from the island and last election they were.  Now he’s in charge of the Liberal Party and which can only do what Danny wants them to do.

The province isn’t losing transfer funds as was stated by the Liberal Leader, they aren’t going to be getting as big an increase something that the other provinces have had to accept as well.  This from a “have” province with increasing oil wealth still collecting money as if it was a “have not” province.

Not one Premier is happy with the tranfer payments they receive through equalization because they always want more never less.  Danny however wants his cake and to eat it as well.

So much for a strong Liberal leader who is “going to allow a one time dissention” for MP’s from the Rock. Tsk. tks. tsk.

It’s time to find a new system where there is collaboration in trying to arrive at the best solutions and not disagreeing with the Government for the sake of taking the opposing view.  Whatever happened to “the best interests of the people”.