If Someone Dedicated a Bench to Me

If someone dedicated a bench to me I would like it to be located in a North Vancouver park. It doesn’t matter which park it is really, but it would be preferred if it was close to where I grew up.  It would be a part of the park where people would walk by it everyday and find out a little about how I enjoyed my life.  Near the edge of the park my bench would stand and people will always stop to sit and enjoy nature.  My inscription would say Jonathan Craib, a man of few words that provided more love and appreciation than many.  This basically is saying that a person can provide much love without making promises.  The inscription in my opinion fits my personality quite well.  It won’t be up to me it will be up to my family to dedicate a bench to me as I would not ask this of my family.  I will try to be the best person I can be my entire life and a bench would show appreciation to that way of life I will always have.  The fact anyone dedicated me a bench would be an honour even if it is dedicated to me after I die.  They would know that if I were still alive I would be as happy as can be.

From My Bench

From the bench I see two people with a passionate love for the sea enjoying themselves and treasuring the moments they have with each other.  I see a family loved and cared for by the two people.  I feel calm and relaxed with no worries and I feel enjoyment while I look at the view from the bench and realize why the bench was put in the place it was.  I feel happy and satisfied and think of how much life I have left before I die.  I think about life and death and how everything is shaped around it.  Benches to me are expressions of the love people feel towards a person.  The inscription on it allows anyone who sees the bench understand the feelings people had for their love one and the sadness they experienced when this person had passed on.  From the bench I think what I want and what I want which in general to have a great life and to experience love.   I read the inscription it tells me that this couple had a great life and were loved by there family very much.  I think if I do what I want and love, that life will be much more enjoyable and worthwhile.   I feel a lot of things and think of life in a different light from this bench.  You may not be able to enjoy the bench as much as the person who made it, but you can understand the passion behind it being dedicated.

My Bench

I chose my bench in Ambelside Park and the bench just short of Ambelside beach which is part of the park itself.  The bench is east of a point where a totem pole stands and to the west is the Lions gate bridge.  From the bench you have a view of Stanley park and can see UBC in the distance. The inscription reads Pat and Bill Thomas, Sharing your love of the sea, your family.  I chose this bench because of its location as well as the meaning behind the inscription.  The inscription suggests peoples love for something in this case it’s the sea can live on even after their death if the person’s family shares this love.  When people of significance to you dies to get through it you need to remember the great times you had with them and sharing of a love for something whatever it might be allows a person to accept it because the love you shared with person in a way can’t die.  When you experience this love after the person has passed on it almost seems that the person is still alive.   The location was another major reason as I chose the bench partially because of the view from it was very beautiful there were so many things you could see and it allowed you to understand why a person would put the bench in the place it was.  Coincidentally I was there at the beginning of a sunset when was I choosing it and it looked truly superb.  This just emphasized my reason for choosing the bench because of its location. 

The 2010 Olympics are still making news

Despite the fact that the Vancouver Olympics have been over for 10 months it still has managed to make news.  It has been hidden from the public eye for a while, but apparently the amount French spoken at the opening ceremony in Victoria that was held before the games had started was below the minimum established in 1988.  This minimum amount was established to keep Quebec from separating from the rest of Canada.  Vanoc did not mention a word about the criticism of there being very little French spoken at the ceremony.

My response to this story is that it is very surprising as you would think that this ceremony would have been able to at least match the minimum amount of French needed to be spoken.  It seems that people thought that just because it was in Victoria that meant that they could ignore it.  The last thing Canada wants is to be separated from Quebec and what occurred in this pre-ceremony suggests that Canada wants the opposite.  In my opinion it’s our duty as Canadians to meet up to the standards of holding a bilingual country.  This is not a small issue and here we thought that news about the Olympics were done and over with.  I am amazed that VANOC failed to realize that the ceremony didn’t meet up to standards that keep this country together.  You’d think with the money tax payers poured into the Olympics that VANOC would have planned the ceremony out better obviously not.

    

Source

News Source:  The Vancouver Sun

Title:  Wake up Call: Vancouver 2010 Olympics continue to make news

Date:  Dec 16

Author:  Cam Cole, Vancouver Sun 

http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/2010wintergames/Wake+Call+Vancouver+2010+Olympics+continue+make+news/3987193/story.html

Sacramento mother sues Macdonald’s for marketing happy meals to children

The Sacramento mother and Center for Science in the Public Interest together filed the law suit on Wednesday alleging MacDonald’s deception of young children by giving them toys with children meals.  The organization involved with the lawsuit had previously threatened to sue MacDonald’s since last summer claiming that they have a method of opposing parental control and encouraging unhealthy eating and added that it was false advertising. 

My response to this story is a somewhat frustrated one as I think it is one of the most ridiculous law suits I have heard of in a while.  My reason is because I think that MacDonald’s should not be accountable for children going to MacDonald’s more often.  It’s up to the parents to say no to there children and to not take them there just because they want to.  So what if the advertisement of toys makes the children want to go MacDonald’s more often the parents have the power to tell there children no were not going to MacDonald’s you have had enough of it this month.  It is up to the parents, they are responsible for what their children put in their bodies not the fast food’s franchise.  You are not being a good parent if you can’t say no to your children you are blaming someone else when you should be blaming yourself.  The people who filed this law suit should be ashamed of themselves.

Source

News Source:  LA Times

Title:  McDonald's sued for marketing Happy Meals to children

Date:  Dec 15

Author:  Emily Bryson York

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-mcdonalds-lawsuit-20101215,0,396761.story?track=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+latimes%2Fmostviewed+%28L.A.+Times+-+Most+Viewed+Stories%29

Iran accuses US, Britain, Israel of horrible suicide bomb attack

On Wednesday Dec 15 Iran accused US, Britain, and Israel of a suicide bomb attack that occurred in front of the Imam Hussein mosque in the southeastern port city of Chabahar.  39 people were killed in the attack while 50 others were wounded.  The attack occurred during a Shiite ceremony called Tasua in which they commemorate the death of the grandson of the prophet Mohammed according to one source.  The Pakistan-based Sunni rebel group Jundallah (God' s soldiers) has claimed responsibility for the deadly attack according to the media.  Chief of Iran's Parliament National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Alaeddin Boroujerdi accused the United States and Britain of being involved in the attack as well as other government officials have made a similar statement. 

My response to this story is that it is terrible that such a horrible attack has occurred in Iran, but I am somewhat surprised by the accusation Iran has made. In my opinion this accusation is lacking the appropriate support to back it up, but at the same time I think it is possible that the countries mentioned are in some way involved with this horrible attack.  It wouldn’t be extremely unlikely that the countries mentioned are involved with this suicide bombing.  This whole accusation just has me thinking of what the US, Britain and Israel has against Iran. All I can think of is oil, but this seems like a strange first tactic to bomb a religious ceremony.  It seems unlikely, but an accusation has been made so it is possible.

Source

News Source:  Xinhua News
Title:  Iran accuses US, Britain, Israel of deadly suicide bomb attack
Date:  Dec 16

Author:  N/A

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2010-12/16/c_13650701.htm

Liberals say Harper Government was full of mediocrity in 2010

 According to the liberals parliament was filled with wasteful spending under the conservative government this past year and the liberals are confident that they will be a compelling alternative in the next election.  According to deputy leader Ralph Goodale and house leader David Mcguinty the conservative government has ignored the priorities of Canadians.  The Liberals criticized the Conservatives over their economic record referring to the conservative government as the biggest borrowing, biggest spending, and most indebted government in Canadian history.  Goodale was quoted as saying “on all these fronts 2010 was a year of grinding mediocrity from the Harper government.”  Also criticized was the conservative’s lack of new legislation saying that most legislation was previously killed, but then re-introduced.  

My response to this story is that there definitely is a bias to the liberal’s criticism of the conservative government.  However I have little support for the conservative government as I am liberal and I would rather the liberals be in charge currently, but I think the conservatives done somewhat better than the liberals are implying.  I would not call the parliament of 2010 mediocre, but I would say that there is room for improvement and I think the liberals could fulfill the improvements that are necessary.  Particularly the over spending as I think overspending can have a very negative effect on the economy as it puts the government more in debt than they need to be.  I am a person that thinks that there needs to be a change in the government as I think there has been minority government for too long.  The conservatives are losing support and I think it’s about time the liberals should take office.

Source

News Source:  Montreal Gazette

Title:  Liberals say 2010 filled with 'grinding mediocrity' from Harper government
Date:  Dec 15

Author:  Meagan Fitzpatrick

http://www.montrealgazette.com/business/Liberals+2010+filled+with+grinding+mediocrity+from+Harper+government/3983642/story.html