A rainy day on a forgotten road

Bassmentbeats (once again) offered a mission: a closed road with a bridge over the Humber River in northwest York Region. This time I flew solo...


At the "end" of Kirby Road, facing east, originally uploaded by Lone Primate.

I arrived at the blocked end of Kirby Road at almost ten on the dot, and parked right at the end. This view looks back in the direction from which I'd come, eastward towards Hwy 27. The road ends at a residential driveway just off to the right, but is, coincidentally, almost exactly half way between Hwy 27 at Huntington Road, where the other blocked end is to be found, and which was my destination.

East end of Kirby Road closure, originally uploaded by Lone Primate.

This is the westward view from about the same spot. The berm of earth closes the road. The sign has a lot of municipal warnings about dumping, but nothing of interest about when or why the road was closed. Beyond the sign, the land is Toronto Conservation Authority land. To enter it, I took the little path there at centre-left, which scoots around the berm and takes you to the old road course.

I don't know when they closed this stretch of the road, but judging from the overgrowth, it must have been at least a decade ago. I have a map from 1990 that suggests it was still open all the way to Huntington Road at that time (but who knows?).

What's the story here?, originally uploaded by Lone Primate.

Not too far in, off the left (south) side of the road course, I happened to notice what looked like sports car parts strewn down the hillside. I can't help wondering if someone just dumped them here, or if someone had a serious crack-up here in the past and no one bothered to haul the wreck away.

Camera focused on the leaves in the foreground. I didn't notice till I got home. I was kind of pissed off when I saw that, but the more time goes by, the more I like it. Seems a little more poignant and understated this way.

The track of Kirby Road, originally uploaded by Lone Primate.

I suspect this was paved once, and deliberately desurfaced to allow nature to reclaim it. I can't really prove it and wouldn't swear to it, but that's my suspicion. You can see that some kind of vehicle still makes use of the clearance, but it's already been largely eaten up by foliage. This was a two-lane road when it was a going concern.

It was drizzling that morning; it didn't stop till about the point where I got to the bottom of the valley and the forest opened up into the flood plain. So, for a variety of reasons — my sandals were wet, they were slippery, and just because I like to — I took off my sandals more or less at this point and hiked the rest of the way down and back barefoot. Hey, it's September... how many more chances will I get this year? :)

Old road, new road, originally uploaded by Lone Primate.

After about ten minutes I came to what looked like a fork in the road. But the way was so much clearer on the right that I decided it must have been the road course (turns out I was wrong; it's the clearing on the left). I was puzzled by the fact that it seemed to cross an old fence line, but as I say, the track was so clear it just seemed obvious to me it was the road course. In fact, it's the new trail blazed by the Humber Valley Heritage Trail folks, I think. On my way back, I followed the old road course along the left through the brush and back to this spot.

Slip 'n slide, originally uploaded by Lone Primate.

This would make a great slide in some water park. It's hard to tell from a two-dimensional view, I know, but this road slopes down somewhere between 30 and 40 degrees. On top of that, in the rain, the clay of the road was soaking and was like walking on butter. I nearly talked myself out of continuing down at about this point, but then I decided, hell, I drove an hour to get here, and for what? To walk fifteen minutes into the woods and turn back at the first sign of a hill? Okay, so I might fall in the mud. So my pants might get dirty. So I might have to put the blanket in the trunk on the driver's seat on the way home. Big deal. I wanted to see the rest. So I kept going.

Looking back, originally uploaded by Lone Primate.

This is a look back up to the turn at the top of the valley.

The off-trail trail, originally uploaded by Lone Primate.

There was this really tortuous curve in the route on the way down that promised a twenty-yard skid down on my ass, so I abandoned the road and cut through the woods to the other side of the curve. Much safer. It was around this point that I started wondering if I'd actually lost the road altogether. The route seemed needlessly twisty for getting up and down a fairly straightforward and uncomplicated hillside, and the trees that hugged it on either side were mature enough that they couldn't have hugged any two-lane road still open to traffic within the past generation or more. But... it was a path; it had to lead somewhere, so I kept on. At this point, I could see light off to the right behind the white tree that suggested I was coming to open ground.

Another look back, originally uploaded by Lone Primate.

That's the curve I didn't risk following; you can see it glistening with slickness. Off to the left is the shortcut I made.

Down in the valley... etc., etc., originally uploaded by Lone Primate.

Here's the bottom of the trail. In the distance you can see the open ground beyond the last of the trees. Incidentally, what looks like t-junction in the middle of the picture is just that. I didn't realize it till later, but that's where the new path I followed down meets up again with the actual course of Kirby Road.

Back on track, originally uploaded by Lone Primate.

This is the course of Kirby Road again, heading westward across the flood plain. The river at this point is a few dozen yards off to the right, through the trees. On the left is a very broad, fairly deep clearance that may once have been someone's farm or at least a homestead of some kind. That's a guess, of course; but somebody cleared it for something. This shot was taken just after emerging from the forest.

Flood plain field, originally uploaded by Lone Primate.

A panoramic look at the open field on the south side of Kirby Road. On the left are the trees I've just emerged from. On the right, the as-yet-unknown...

Outta luck truck, originally uploaded by Lone Primate.

The road parallels the field for about 300 yards, and then begins to pull away to cross the river at a perpendicular angle. As I came around the gentle curve, I could spot something coming out from behind the trees. I thought, what the hell is that? My first inclination was this sinking feeling that someone was down in the valley doing some kind of work. Well... yeah. A couple of decades ago. This truck's been here for a while...

Phone 851-1036 and talk to who?, originally uploaded by Lone Primate.

I tried and tried, but there was no making out the name or business on either door of the truck. But phone number's still clear as day. The truck's recent enough it doesn't have any of those weird two-letter prefixes, but it's ancient enough that it doesn't feature the area code, either. Back when this truck was made, and probably when it was dumped here, the whole of south-central Ontario was 416. Now, only the City of Toronto is 416... but it's also 647. Where this truck sits is now area code 905... and it's also 289. When the truck was in service, no such distinctions were necessary.

I could make out enough on the side of the truck to read that the business was in Nashville, which is a small village about two miles due south of this spot.

...I'm so tempted to try 905-851-1036 and see if anybody answers. :)

"Hello?"

"Hi, I found your truck..." :)

He was probably on a cell phone..., originally uploaded by Lone Primate.

Peeking through the passenger side window, I noticed the truck was standard (there's the clutch) and there was no hint of seatbelts, not even the lap belts I remember as a kid in the early 70s.

I just had a look on Wikipedia to see if I could find out when seatbelts became standard equipment in North American-built cars (this truck is a Ford). No luck... but the article does point out that of the 50 US states, all of them now require the use of seatbelts except New Hampshire. Maybe they should change the state motto to "Live free and die." :) Although "Live free and go through the windshield" has a certain ring to it.

This is me being artsy, originally uploaded by Lone Primate.

As i prepared to push on, unsure of how far ahead the bridge might be, I paused to take a few shots of the front of the truck. I thought it might be affecting to have this shot with the truck off to the side, and the view of the last few yards it ever traveled there behind it. I dunno... might have been reaching. But I think it works. Maybe. Kind of.

Oh... there it is, originally uploaded by Lone Primate.

As it turns out, the bridge was about 40 yards beyond the truck. It was only just out of sight through the spreading bush.

I had no idea what kind of bridge it would be. This is a bowstring arch bridge, of the same type as another favourite abandoned bridge of mine, the Middle Road bridge on (renamed) Sherway Drive over Etobicoke Creek. Closed to traffic in the 1970s, but still used daily by scores of bicyclists and pedestrians, it's been much better maintained than this one.

North side guardrail, originally uploaded by Lone Primate.

This view overlooks the Humber River, looking north, upstream.

Another look upstream, originally uploaded by Lone Primate.

Another look northward upstream, this one from the middle of the bridge.

State of disrepair, originally uploaded by Lone Primate.

Time is stripping the concrete cladding from the steel rebar of the bridge.

Man of steel, originally uploaded by Lone Primate.

For some reason, the bridge's road bed has been rather irregularly covered with several steel plates. The documentation I found online suggests to me that the bridge used to have a gravel road surface. Both are puzzling, because when I later pushed on towards the other end at Huntington Road, I did find evidence along the way of a thick asphalt road surface.

I was carrying two cameras with me at the time. When I started out, I was shooting with the Rebel XT (which you see in my left hand), but I got kind of skittish and tucked it into my jean jacket away from the drizzle and started counting on my S80, which I used for the vast majority of the shots in this set... including, obviously, this one.

Southwest corner of the bridge, originally uploaded by Lone Primate.

You can step off Kirby Road and down into a field which leads to a very pleasant landing under the bridge, with a lovely view of the Humber. This would probably be a great place to fish, if you were so inclined.

Under the span, originally uploaded by Lone Primate.

A slightly closer, panorama view of the approach to the landing under the bridge on the west side of the Humber.

Complete underbridge view, originally uploaded by Lone Primate.

Standing just a few feet from the bridge, essentially beneath it. This is a fairly ambitious panorama made up of ten shots; two rows of five each. I really didn't expect this attempt to succeed, but AutoStitch took it on and did the magic. I think it's a beautiful spot. You can see, though, just how degraded the bridge is getting; concrete is falling away from the sides and underbelly of the span.

"I'll be back... (...maybe)", originally uploaded by Lone Primate.

Someone started a farily elaborate, if somewhat pedestrian, attempt at tagging under the bridge on the western abutment... and ran out of dayglow orange.

Reflections and clarities, originally uploaded by Lone Primate.

I thought the combination of reflections, shadows, and colours here was beautiful, and I'm glad the camera captured it so ably.

Humber River under Kirby Road, originally uploaded by Lone Primate.

A panoramic view of the underside of the bridge and the Humber River as it flows under it, taken from the western bank.

Just after I took the shots that make up this view, I decided to test the water. On Labour Day when P-Doug and I were at Duffy's Lane again, we waded in the Humber but found it too cool for swimming. Oddly enough, when I stepped in Saturday, it was noticably warmer and far more encouraging. So, I figured, what the hell...

Wading in, originally uploaded by Lone Primate.

I decided to wade out to the middle of the river, or waist-deep, whichever came first, and take some shots from mid-stream. This is me, still partially clad, stepping out into the Humber.

In the water, of the water, from the water, originally uploaded by Lone Primate.

"Waist-deep" came pretty quickly. I don't think I made it to the half-way point. If I'd stripped completely, I'd probably have gone deeper. But I really only wanted to get a few shots and emerge again, not spend all day. I had no idea what the weather had up its sleeve and I still had slippery climb back up ahead of me. Knowing what I know now, I probably would have lingered longer. Even so... though it looks sunny at this point, it was overcast again only minutes later.

This view looks northward, upstream.

Finding the medium, originally uploaded by Lone Primate.

There was a weird dynamic going on. I was trying to inch out as far into the river as quasi-nakedness would allow, while trying not to get my shirt and my jacket wet. Honestly, I don't know what I was thinking.

Think "lagoon"..., originally uploaded by Lone Primate.

Doesn't this look almost tropical? Well, this is about as far as I made it, and even then, I was leaning over and holding the camera out at arm's length. Odds are, the river is probably chest-deep at its deepest... and I wasn't (un)dressed for it. :) So this is as good as it gets. But look at that view... it was worth the trip and the whole effort, I think.

View from three feet deep in the Humber, originally uploaded by Lone Primate.

This is another panorama of the Humber passing under the bridge, this one taken from within the river. Like the others, it faces eastward, back in the direction I came from. This view looks through a little over 180 degrees; in fact, at the extreme right, you can see the edge of the bank behind me, which should give you some idea of how far out from the bank I actually got.

Heading ashore, originally uploaded by Lone Primate.

I was in the water for about five minutes. It was just fine; cool but not cold or uncomfortable. I could easily have spend a half hour relaxing in the water there. Maybe next summer.

Primate track :), originally uploaded by Lone Primate.

In the sand under the bridge. Something for the next visitor to ponder.

Kirby Road, closed at Huntington Road, originally uploaded by Lone Primate.

When I left the bridge, again, I wasn't sure how far I had to go to reach the other end. And, once again, I found it was just around the bend. The bridge is about equidistant between the wreck of the truck and this, the other end of the Kirby Road closure.

That's another stretch of Kirby Road beyond the fence, which marks the point where Kirby Road is met by Huntington Road, which itself ends not too far north of here, just across a still-open Humber River bridge. This view looks west, and marks the furthest point of my travels that day. From here on, it's all heading back.

On the bridge, facing west, originally uploaded by Lone Primate.

Returning to the bridge, and crossing back over it, I took this panorama of it. Oddly enough, this view again faces the same way as the previous views — west, towards Huntington around the bend in the distance. I include this shot because of the extremes of the perspective near the edges. I'm surprised this came out as well as it did. North and upstream are on the right, and I'm standing over the abutment that's visible in most of the cross-Humber shots from under the bridge.

Primate at the bridge, originally uploaded by Lone Primate.

Another weird panorama shot that really shouldn't have worked out, because I was leaning over the side and pointing back at the bridge without being able to line up the shots. But there was enough common ground for AutoStitch to make this rather warped single image. This is the north side of the bridge, with the camera facing west, taken almost precisely half an hour after I was standing down there in the water next to that tree, shooting the "lagoon" view upstream.

Circa 1971?, originally uploaded by Lone Primate.

One more crack at the abandoned Ford truck. This sticker on the engine announces, among other things, that the truck is in compliance with emission standards for 1971-model vehicles. That at least ballparks when the truck was built, but doesn't really tell us how long it's been here, or hint at when the road was closed.

This was Kirby Road, originally uploaded by Lone Primate.

Arriving back at the point where I emerged from that long, slippery trail down through the forest, I took a closer look at what looked like an alternate trail, and all at once, it seemed clear to me that this, and not the trail I'd come down, was the course of Kirby Road (and checking the map and aerial shots later confirmed it). This is view up the road, rising from the valley floor. I decided to ascend this way instead of the mudslide!

This'd wake you up on the way down, originally uploaded by Lone Primate.

Part way up there's this gouge so deep in the road that even I, on foot, took it easy so as not to slip. I doubt this was a feature of the road when it was open to traffic, but it only served to confirm to me how much the road's been allowed to deteriorate.

Onward and upward, originally uploaded by Lone Primate.

You can see it was a fairly wide road; it probably easily accommodated two cars passing each other. My feeling is that the hillside on the left has eroded somewhat since then and smothered some of the original road clearance.

You can see light from a clearing at the top. At the time I was making my way up, I was thinking, well, jeez, that was easy... why that stupid, slippery, twisty path through the forest?

Down the hillside, originally uploaded by Lone Primate.

This view looks back down the track of the road towards the valley floor.

Old course of Kirby Road, originally uploaded by Lone Primate.

Panoramic view of the approach to the clearing.

Another look back, originally uploaded by Lone Primate.

It was a little slippery on the way up, but nothing like what I would have faced following the trail I took down into the valley. I though this was a much better route and I couldn't imagine why it had been abandoned.

Then I reached the "clearing" at the "top" of the hill...

The likely reason Kirby Road is closed, originally uploaded by Lone Primate.

"Ohhhh yeaaaah...."

It's not easy to tell, but what you're looking at here is a landslide, running for about 50 feet clear across the road course of Kirby Road. Well, not so much across as out from under. See that little notch of sky at the upper left? That's Kirby Road. So is all that nothing, empty air between that spot and where I'm standing.

Well, this view answered a whole lot of questions, at least potentially. Like "what's that big white spot on the aerial photos?" and "why did they close Kirby Road between Huntington Road and the residences above the valley?" and "what's with that stupid alternate path through the forest anyway?" I really don't know if this landslide occurred before or after they closed the road, but it would sure explain the closure if it happend before, or re-enforce it if it happened after.

This left me with a hard choice. It was slippery and wet, and the trail linking the two discontinuous parts of Kirby Road looked iffy at the best of times. You can't really tell, but that's a hell of a drop I'm standing over. So, it was either trot back down to the valley floor and all the way up mudslide alley again, or... head up into the woods out of frame to the left. The footholds looked good and there were plenty of trees to hold onto, so I opted for the latter.

Looking back to Kirby Road from the hillside, originally uploaded by Lone Primate.

I paused part way up the hillside to shoot back at Kirby Road (it's the grey stuff between the trees at the centre of the shot). Even in two dimensions, I think this view nicely demonstrates how steep a climb this was. In fact, I took this with the XT because it was around my neck, while the S80 was tucked into my pocket out of harm's way.

Evergreen row, originally uploaded by Lone Primate.

The climb up the hillside brought me out near the end of this stand of precisely-planted evergreens, with the new trail running up the middle. I had to come this heading down to the valley, but the shots on the return are superior. Now that I come to think of it, unless this road was cut through the trees, it might provide some rough idea of when the path was forged (based on the age of the trees, I'd guess a decade or two), which hints at when Kirby Road was closed. Merest speculation on my part, of course.

Part of the new trail, originally uploaded by Lone Primate.

Heading back towards the east-end closure. This is not far from where the new trail splits off from the track of Kirby Road, just ahead around the bend. At the time I took this shot, I was about tne minutes away from where I parked.

Standard equipment, easy clean-up :), originally uploaded by Lone Primate.

Last time P-Doug and I were wading in the Humber, we encountered the same problem we always did: you're "clean" till that last step, when you take a pound of Humber River silt and mud out with your last step, without the river water washing it away. He said we ought to bring an old water bottle and fill it with Humber water to wash our feet off. I said, hey, I've got that beat, I keep a spray bottle and a cloth in my car. Well, this is me putting it into effect before taking off. You don't make a hobby of hiking barefoot without picking up a few practical ideas along the way. :)

So, there you go, P-Doug et al. Two hours and at least as many miles trekking barefoot through the forests, rivers, and valleys, and none the worse for wear; clean-up is a breeze. Those Hobbits might be shrimps but they've got the right idea. :)

Nashville, Tenne–err, Ontario, originally uploaded by Lone Primate.

About a week after the previous shots I went back again. This sign is at the corner of Nashville Road and Huntington Road. It announces, as you might guess, the hamlet of Nashville. It's not quite as big as its more famous southern namesake, but... y'know... maybe someday. :)

Abandoned Kirby Road from Huntington Road, originally uploaded by Lone Primate.

This time I parked at the Huntington Road end of Kirby. This view is from just inside the traffic barrier, looking east towards the bridge.

"Yeah, whatta YOU want?", originally uploaded by Lone Primate.

I crossed the bridge and went back to the abandoned Ford truck I found to play a joke. I noticed a lot of hornets had moved into the steelwork I hadn't noticed the week before. This one actually seemed interested in me, but in a way that didn't seem threatening or hostile. Just curious. But it does kind of look like a homeowner opening the door to a salesman. Too bad I didn't have my Fuller Brushes with me.

For sale, originally uploaded by Lone Primate.

My bad. :)

I thought this would be funny, so I drove back out and put a "For Sale" sign on the wrecked truck on abandoned Kirby Road. Call me crazy; I think it's a smile.

Came back 90 minutes later and it was gone. I noticed another car parked by mine while I was exploring. Can you believe this? The first guy who comes along and sees the joke ruins it for everyone else. Sign could have sat their for years, slowly fading, getting funnier and funnier for passers-by, but no... some fuckheaded douchebag has to go and ruin it before a single meal passes. Fuck, that makes me mad. >:(

Kinda wistful, originally uploaded by Lone Primate.

This is McEwen Bridge on Kirby Road in soft focus behind... okay, this crappy stalk was the best I could do. :)

Reflections, originally uploaded by Lone Primate.

Another look at the reflections in the water under the bridge.

Hands... well, limbs... across the water, originally uploaded by Lone Primate.

Standing on the west bank of the Humber River, holding the very end of a limb of that tree on the east bank, clear across. In a few more springs, that tree's going to drop right into the river, I think.

HDR IR Kirby Road, originally uploaded by Lone Primate.

I came back again for a third time the next day, this time with P-Doug. I wanted to show him the bridge. We parked at the Huntington Road end of Kirby Road and this is an infrared HDR shot of the road heading towards the bridge.

HDR IR McEwen Bridge, originally uploaded by Lone Primate.

Heading under McEwen Bridge to the Humber, this time in infrared. While I was under the bridge, I ended up speaking with a passer-by who was of either Russian or Ukranian origin. He told me that four or five years before, he'd been driving on this very road, and found a stray kitten there that he'd taken home and still had. His family had named the cat "Kirby" after the road, but the name had since been Russified into something I don't quite remember now. He told me that the washout at the top of the hill had happened subsequently, so if his memory is correct, the road has only been out of commission for well under a decade.

HDR IR Under the bridge, originally uploaded by Lone Primate.

This is a panorama under the bridge made of two HDR shots, each composed of three infrared AEB spreads.

Denim assprint, originally uploaded by Lone Primate.

Someone had been sitting under the bridge recently. There are a few beer bottles under the bridge; at least one new one that hadn't been there the day before. Saturday night, musta been a party. :)

Because it's there, originally uploaded by Lone Primate.

I figured, what the hell. :)

We were wondering how deep the river was here. And I'm always looking for any excuse. :) So, in I went. It took me about two minutes to make it to the far abutment, but I made it. At one point about a yard further out, the water was even deeper, but at the far side, about four feet, I'd say. This shot was actually taken by P-Doug using his Kodak DC4800, a camera that was previously mine. He's graciously agreed to let me post the shot here.

And yes, when I reached the other side, we both (again) invoked the George Armstrong Custer line, "This is how deep it is, General." :)

Upper hand on the Upper House

I read this morning in The Globe and Mail that Prime Minister Harper is planning to float legislation in Parliament this fall that will enable Canadians to elect their senators. We've been talking about this for decades now, but it always came as part of a "triple-E" package — elected, equal, and effective — that guaranteed it had no wings. Now the PM is suggesting just one of those planks: election (possibly two, but he has no control over how "effective" the joint is or isn't)...

OTTAWA -- Prime Minister Stephen Harper promised yesterday to introduce a bill in the fall allowing Canadians to select representatives to the Senate during provincial or federal elections.

Mr. Harper was the first sitting prime minister to appear before a Senate committee. The hearing, which was sought by him, was mostly cordial.

But the Prime Minister added a stiff warning to the Liberal majority in the Red Chamber, saying the defeat of his step-by-step approach to Senate reform would have "political consequences," including the possibility of an early election.

Liberal Senator Jim Munson said the comment suggested the Conservative Party would like "nothing better than to fight an election on the backs of the Senate."

Mr. Harper's response was curt. "Well, don't give me the opportunity," he said.

...If the Senate kills the proposal, he said, it will create a perception that senators don't want to reform their institution. Given that the status quo is unacceptable to Canadians, he said, the last alternative -- a major constitutional overhaul -- could be fatal for the Senate.

..."Eight years [for term limits] seems to make sense . . . but not so much sense if nothing else changes," said the Liberal Leader in the Senate, Dan Hays. "It begs the question of 'what else?' This is a step towards where, or what further change?"

Currently, senators can sit until the age of 75. In addition to imposing term limits, Mr. Harper said he will introduce legislation in the fall to create an electoral process to select future senators, who would continue representing specific provinces in Ottawa.

...Mr. Harper said he will not seek a constitutional amendment as part of the overhaul, saying he prefers an "interim step in the democratization" of the Senate.

...While the Conservative proposals are aimed at creating an elected and more effective Senate, Mr. Harper did not make any promise on the last element of what has been called the Triple-E Senate, namely the equality of provincial representation. Currently, provinces such as Alberta and British Columbia each have six seats, while provinces with smaller populations, such as New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, each have 10.

Mr. Harper said he will not move immediately on that issue, explaining he does not wish to propose constitutional amendments that are not supported by the veto-wielding provinces.

(I'm not sure what he means by "veto-wielding", unless he means that Ontario and Quebec might both withhold consent to an amendment; since between them they have more than 50% of the population of Canada, effectively, they have a "veto" if they both act against an amendment.)

I have to say, I think this is little short of brilliant on Harper's part. It's hard to see how he can lose. He's right; if the Senate blocks this, people will be in a mood to punish them. It doesn't require a constitutional amendment, since all it does is let the people endorse a candidate that the PM will then appoint to the Senate... how that selection is made or who puts the bug in the PM's ear is not a matter touched on by the Constitution. It gives Alberta something it wants — an elected Senate — but doesn't immediately equalize the number... something I'm sure Quebec would get huffy about. Meanwhile, it looks like something's being done that will put us on the road to an equal Senate, without it being so direct a course that Quebec gets its back up, but positions it as a likely inevitability that Quebec just might grow to accept, however grudgingly. It deftly sidesteps all the obstacles. I really have to hand it to Harper. It's wishy-washy as hell, it gives nobody all they want and still pleases some and protects others. It changes almost nothing, but it opens the door to great change. Someday. Maybe.

My God... it's such a Canadian solution.

yielding summer

Caught in the moment

Took this shot today over my lunch break. I know it's a little nationalistic, but the storm cloud background just took my breath away. I took about thirty shots of this, using the drive setting on my camera... this is the final shot. Nice how that worked out. :)

Israel's pretty mirrors

I have this from an email correspondent, in response to an article by Uri Avnery I sent him yesterday...
--------------------------------
There seems to be increasing discontent over the war with Lebanon in Israel, though one suspects part of the motivation is the lack of success of said war. Had the IDF swept Hezbollah from southern Lebanon and forced the government in Beirut to kowtow, there would probably have been little protest in Tel Aviv.

Still, what really made me feel queasy was something I saw on TV about a week ago. I was watching a local Toronto channel I don't normally tune in to, and saw a paid message from some Jewish NGO. It spoke of the tens of thousands of lives that had been up uprooted by the thousands of rockets launched into Israel by Hezbollah, the terrible destruction, and the urgent need of donations to help an afflicted nation during its desparate struggle. I wanted to throw up. Granted, people have been killed and homes destroyed, but relative to a single Luftwaffe bombing of London circa 1941, the damage is miniscule. Israel may be at war with neighboring commando groups, but the struggle in no way overtaxes its resources, especially considering the billions Israel quietly pockets from the U.S. every year. What of the tens of thousands of homeless Israel has created in Lebanon, or the massive physical destruction of neighborhoods and essential infrastructure there? Well, that doesn't matter I suppose. They are only Arabs, and not the Chosen People. Meanwhile, sources I've read tell me that Israel is the least generous of all developed nations when it comes to aiding the less advantaged of the world. Somehow the Israelis feel no shame whatsoever demanding handouts to maintain their shopping mall existence in the midst of poverty, then turn their backs at the sight of genuine need. Just why should we help these people? Are they not actually rich? Powerful? Competitive in world markets and influential in the forum of nations? Is it just because of Adolf Hitler that we must back Israel, regardless of how it seems dead set on a confrontation that could very well lead to a new holocaust?

But I forget. He who sits in the White House is looking forward to Armageddon. Only when a new Israeli empire arises and converts to Christianity, can the ultimate war between God and Satan come about. Then, when the sane and sensitive decompose in the rubble of civilization destroyed, Little Georgie can float up to heaven like a baloon full of nitrous, and go to his great reward with the millions of other equally vacuous Born Again.

Goin' Green...?

Well, I feel a little better about the state of democracy in the federation this morning. The Green Party has chosen for its leader Elizabeth May, an environmentalist, and an east coast woman who currently lives in Ottawa. May is also an immigrant — from the United States (couldn't help thinking of We Move to Canada's own Laura K. when I read this). She was born and raised in Connecticut, but her parents fell in love with Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia and the family moved there when Elizabeth was 17 or 18. May is in her early 50s, young as life goes for leaders of political parties in Canada, and could be a figure on the scene for quite a while.

I confess, I don't know much about the Green Party, but I'm curious now. I should probably go look them up. I don't like the Conservatives much at all, and while in my heart (like the heart of many or even most Canadians) the Liberals are the so-called "natural governing party of Canada", I think they're also naturally a lot of arrogant bagmen. I don't know why I can't get enthused about the NDP... they just seem so impossible. Why, then, am I suddenly interested in the Greens as an alt? It's probably the attraction of the unknown.

Adventures on the Humber

Over on Flickr, a fellow got interested in my shots of the abandoned stretch of Second Line in Mississauga. He contacted me and asked some questions about some of what I'd seen. In return, he sent me (and ultimately, my buddy P-Doug) on an intriguing expedition last Saturday to what appears to be an abandoned camp site on the Humber River, just the York side of the York-Peel border.



We parked up on Cold Creek Road and trekked down the the narrow gravel road into the valley. The gravel was rounded and at one point P-Doug slipped on it and scraped his left knee and shin. But it didn't seem to hold him back any as we started our explorations...



The first thing we encounted was a large swimming pool. You can see from the trees growing out of it that it's been abandoned now for decades. The side weren't straight; they sloped inwards. P-Doug noticed the pool had no liner, so must have been an early, leaky model inground pool. He also noticed it was trimmed in a colour of sea green popular in the late 50s and early 60s. There was a lifeguard tower dumped into the pool, as well as, of all things, an oven.


We came across a badly ruined car. P-Doug guessed it to be an AMC model of some kind, probably from the 1970s. It was a hideous metallic green — the parts of it that were still painted, that is.


A bridge once crossed the Humber here. It was probably a farmer's bridge, continued in use by the campgrounds (assuming that's what this place was). In this shot, I'm standing on one abutment, looking across at the other.


This is an infrared panorama of the Humber River. The bridge abutments are at centre-right.


We're not quite sure what these are. They're firmly cemented into the ground. P-Doug took a guess that they were the anchors for some sort of cable suspension bridge on the Humber. Given how close it is to the other bridge, I have my doubts, but I'm hard-pressed to guess, just based on this, what they might have been for if not that.


Following along the path, we came to fork. We headed up the left branch. As it turns out, we came back via the right.


At the top of the hill, we found this large wooden structure that had utterly collapsed. It even had pointed palisades. What was this? It reminded us both of The Forest Rangers, a popular show on Canadian TV in the 60s and 70s. As a matter of fact, the show was filmed somewhere quite nearby, just north of Kleinburg, in the Humber River valley.


To the north was a large open field. P-Doug felt pretty sure it had once been a farmer's field, and he felt for the farm family that had to clear it; he remarked that he was glad they weren't around to see nature reclaiming all their hard work.


By the time we were at the farmer's field, we'd been at it about an hour and a half. P-Doug's knee was beginning to scab over, and he indulged me in this sensationalist shot.


Heading back, we found ourselves at the top of a rise. Looking down, we saw this beautiful vision of the Humber below us. That was pretty much we we decided most of the balance of the afternoon would be devoted to soaking in the river. So, we doubled back and crept along the bank, which on our side was cut sharp and deep, till we found a managable approach.


This is a shot of my shadow as I stand in the Humber. Actually, this is well over an hour after we started swimming. I suddenly got the urge to take some shots of the location, though it was risky to the cameras involved. But I'm glad I did!


P-Doug in the distance, sat in the Humber near the bend where we just sat back in the beautiful water, chatting across the river from opposite banks.


Me, standing in the shallows.


Me, standing in the deepest part; came right up to my nipples. P-Doug was wondering how deep it was, so in spite of the fact I was carrying my Rebel XT, I waded in to show him. I quoted George Armstrong Custer, who once rode his horse into a river to answer the same question: "This is how deep it is, general."


The sunbeam marks the spot where I sat chest-deep in the water on smooth rocks for over an hour, feeling the cool water rush by and the warm summer sun on my back.


P-Doug suggested I take a 360-degree panorama and put it together with AutoStitch when I got home. I did, and here it is. I suggest you click on this one to actually see it.


After a bit, I took my XT back to where we'd stripped; I asked P-Doug if he wanted his DC4800. He did, so I brought that back to him. Then I realized I should have brought my G1 too, to take infrared shots. So, back I went for a third time. This is an infrared shot of me about to step back into the Humber from the landing where we left our clothes.


Looking downstream from the landing, taken from a few yards out in the river.


Who will watch the watcher? Well, me. Here's P-Doug in infrared, shooting the north bank in colour.


Looking upstream to the bend; a huge heron came out of the trees and glided along the river earlier, when, unfortunately, I was not armed with my camera. Oddly enough, I believe I accidentally filmed the same bird upstream a couple of hours later with my S80.


Overhanging tree. Looks like a great place to dive from. I didn't try. :)


On our way back, we crossed a little stream where this poor butterfly was upside down. Its wings were damaged. P-Doug lifted it from the water and put it on a tall blade of grass. I don't know what became of it, but hopefully it was better than slowly drowning.


We got in the car and drove a five minutes into Bolton, where we bought something to drink and tried to use what seemed to be the on payphone in town... which was inside the locked door of a closed donut shop. After that, we decided to investigate one more location — a missing bridge at the end of the 11th Concession, which is in a straight line with Cold Creek Road, where we parked earlier and where the trail we took begins. This view looks south where the traffic-accessible part of the 11th Concession ends.


A bit further down and around a curve, you find yourself back at the Humber. Off to our right, we spotted the abutments of an old, now demolished, bridge. I stepped into the river and left P-Doug on the north bank, wading in to get a better look. This is the abutment on the south side.


This is the abutment on the north side, the side from which we'd come. The water here was fairly deep; it was dampening the cuffs of my shorts.


I forded the river and climbed the hill on the south side to the south abutment, where I made this panorama of the view over the south abutment, looking north across the Humber.


Just downstream, east from the abutment, was this abandoned piece of farm equipment.


Crossing back, I stepped into the river and immediately sank about 6" into the mud. I was glad I was barefoot; sneakers would never have come clean, and even my sandals have deep grooves in them that would have drank the silt and been a bugger to clean. As it was, the mud was completely off my skin before I was done fording to the north side.


A 180-degree panorama of the Humber, north at centre, with P-Doug waiting for me on the far side. I was standing a couple of yards out int ot the river when I took this. At this part of the river, the water's only about a foot deep, but it's strewn with rocks.

There are other things I still want to see, and I wouldn't mind setting back in the Humber again here. I hope we'll return.

The Five Factors Personality Test

Your Five Factor Personality Profile

Extroversion: You have medium extroversion. You're not the life of the party, but you do show up for the party. Sometimes you are full of energy and open to new social experiences. But you also need to hibernate and enjoy your "down time." Conscientiousness: You have low conscientiousness. Impulsive and off the wall, you don't take life too seriously. Unfortunately, you sometimes end up regretting your snap decisions. Overall, you tend to lack focus, and it's difficult for you to get important things done. Agreeableness: You have medium agreeableness. You're generally a friendly and trusting person. But you also have a healthy dose of cynicism. You get along well with others, as long as they play fair. Neuroticism: You have medium neuroticism. You're generally cool and collected, but sometimes you do panic. Little worries or problems can consume you, draining your energy. Your life is pretty smooth, but there's a few emotional bumps you'd like to get rid of. Openness to experience: Your openness to new experiences is high. In life, you tend to be an early adopter of all new things and ideas. You'll try almost anything interesting, and you're constantly pushing your own limits. A great connoisseir of art and beauty, you can find the positive side of almost anything.

The Five Factor Personality Test

The Five Factors Values Test

Your Values Profile

Loyalty: You value loyalty a fair amount. You're loyal to your friends... to a point. But if they cross you, you will reconsider your loyalties. Staying true to others is important to you, but you also stay true to yourself. Honesty: You don't really value honesty. You do value getting your way, no matter what. And if a little lying is required to do that, no problem. A few white lies never hurt anyone (at least, that's what you tell yourself!) Generosity: You don't really value generosity. Your needs always come first, no matter what. And you'll possibly help someone else out... But only if it helps you in return. Humility: You value humility a fair amount. You tend to be an easy going, humble person. But occasionally your ego takes over. You have a slight competitive streak - and the need to be the best. Tolerance: You value tolerance highly. Not only do you enjoy the company of those very different from you... You do all that you can to seek it out interesting and unique friends. You think there are many truths in life, and you're open to many of them.

The Five Factor Values Test

What European city do you belong in?

You Belong in Amsterdam

A little old fashioned, a little modern - you're the best of both worlds. And so is Amsterdam. Whether you want to be a squatter graffiti artist or a great novelist, Amsterdam has all that you want in Europe (in one small city).

What European City Do You Belong In?

What kind of American English do you speak?

Your Linguistic Profile:

50% General American English

25% Yankee

15% Upper Midwestern

5% Midwestern

0% Dixie

What Kind of American English Do You Speak?

How American are you?

You Are 33% American

America: You don't love it or want to leave it. But you wouldn't mind giving it an extreme make over. On the 4th of July, you'll fly a freak flag instead... And give Uncle Sam a sucker punch!

How American Are You?

What gender is your brain?

Your Brain is 47% Female, 53% Male

Your brain is a healthy mix of male and female You are both sensitive and savvy Rational and reasonable, you tend to keep level headed But you also tend to wear your heart on your sleeve

What Gender Is Your Brain?

Fill in the blank...

"Our cause is just, and no matter how long it takes, we will defeat the enemies of __________."

a) freedom
b) Allah
c) the Master Race
d) the Holy Father
e) the Party
f) His Majesty the King
g) the Lord Jesus Christ
h) the proletariat
i) Israel
j) Chairman Mao
k) Microsoft
l) Don Corleone

Bring them home

"...It's been eighteen months in a foreign wasteland
Scenes of terror still fresh and ripe
Found a place to come face to face
Like the guttersnipes...
Whether you like it or not, there ain't no end in sight.

For another thousand days,
Will it all be over?
And another thousand nights,
Will the job get done?
For another thousand days,
Will it all make history?
And another thousand nights,
Will the war be won?..."

—Guerilla Soldier, Gowan

What I'm listening to...

What I’m listening to this afternoon is my lost youth. It’s in the form of the song City of the Angels by Larry Gowan. I had to stop and look at the window at the landscape as I sit here at work… just reflecting. The last time I really listened to this song, I was a high school boy, out mowing the lawn with my walkman on; I’d bought it on an LP and transferred it to a cassette tape. Now I’m listening to it on CD… I don’t even know if CDs were available yet when Strange Animal was released. I remember it as being pretty much the last good summer for music for many years. Nothing “new” after that really sparked my interests musically till the mid-90s…

When I think how different my life is from what I wanted it to be, or was afraid it might be, I’m not sure how to feel. I guess I just feel sad that I’m not young anymore; I am what I am, and while things could have turned out worse, it’s hard to realize that all the potential is spent. The road has largely been mapped out and large stretches of it have been paved at this point… maybe more than I realize. I guess I understand now what John Cougar meant when he sang “hang onto sixteen as long as you can”.

Ignorance Is Strength... NOT

According to The Globe and Mail this morning, Liberal MPs Maria Minna and Hedy Fry, possibly speaking for others, take issue with fellow Liberal MP Wajid Khan agreeing to advise Prime Minister Harper on Middle East issues.  They are calling it a conflict of interest and demanding his resignation: either from the post, or the Liberal caucus.

Since when is rising above partisanship in the name of the nation a conflict of interest?

Wajid Khan was judged the best person for the job in a matter of grave importance to our country at this time in our history, and I think the Prime Minister has done well to recognize talent outside his caucus, and Khan to risk the slings and arrows he apparently now has to face for agreeing to help out.

What do Minna and Fry see?  Not someone making an extraordinary gesture that may (thank to the likes of people like them) hobble his political career; no: they see a quisling who is propping up the sagging support of the Harper government.  They would sooner see this nation rudderless than the wrong captain pilot it through the storm.  Their attitude repulses me.  On an issue of substantive import to all Canadians, they selfishly put party before country.  If anyone ought to resign, I suggest they are the ones who’ve demonstrated themselves unworthy of sitting in the House of Commons and conducting the business of Confederation.

I am no fan of the Tory government or party.  I’ve been a fairly consistent Liberal voter all my adult life, who is waiting for some more socially-progressive government to replace the current one.  But were either Maria Minna or Hedy Fry running in my riding, I would have a hard time voting for them.  Their attitudes represent the worst in Canadian partisanship.

PM picks Muslim Liberal MP as adviser on Mideast

From today’s Globe and Mail…

CAMPBELL CLARK

OTTAWA -- Prime Minister Stephen Harper has reached across party lines for foreign-policy help, appointing a Liberal MP as his adviser on the Middle East and Afghanistan.

The sudden appointment of Mississauga Liberal MP Wajid Khan, a Muslim Canadian, to advise the Conservative government on the thorny political issues was made with the last-minute blessing of interim Liberal leader Bill Graham.

Mr. Khan, who served in Pakistan's air force before coming to Canada in 1974, said he will travel to the region as Mr. Harper's envoy and prepare a report for the Prime Minister by Oct. 1, primarily dealing with the Middle East conflict and Canada's role in Afghanistan.

Mr. Harper's advisers said that report will provide an additional perspective to that provided by Canadian diplomats abroad.

Mr. Khan declined to say where he stands on the Middle East, telling a reporter he is heading into his role with an open mind.

He voted against the Conservative government's motion to extend the mission of Canadian troops in Afghanistan past 2007, although he said he supports the mission but believed Mr. Harper's government did not allow enough debate.

Mr. Khan's appointment comes as polls suggest that Mr. Harper's support of Israel in the Mideast conflict may have hurt public support for his Conservative government. However, Mr. Harper's advisers insist that the appointment was not sparked by the current crisis and that Mr. Khan will have a mandate to present his views on a broader region, including South Asia.

"I think the credit goes to the Prime Minister," Mr. Khan said in a telephone interview yesterday. "He has reached across party lines. I think this is a supra-partisan issue, a non-partisan issue, and he realized that I have experience and depth of knowledge of that region, and he's asked me to do some work for him."

Mr. Khan, who is seen as a shrewd political organizer and is prominent in Toronto's Muslim-Canadian community, was first elected in 2004. He said he will remain a Liberal MP and Ontario chair for the campaign of Liberal leadership candidate Joe Volpe. Mr. Khan took the Volpe post after Liberal MP Jim Karygiannis resigned, citing Mr. Volpe's pro-Israeli stance in the Middle East conflict.

The appointment caught Liberals off guard yesterday.

A spokesman for Mr. Graham, the interim Liberal leader, said Mr. Khan told Mr. Graham of the appointment late yesterday, and Mr. Graham gave his approval.

"He came to Bill about an hour ago and said that he was going to undertake this assignment. I think his words were that it superseded partisan politics, and it was an opportunity for him to use his knowledge, skills and contacts in the area to help to work for a lasting peace," Pat Breton said. "Bill had a hard time saying no to that."

A spokesman for Mr. Volpe, Corey Hobbs, said the Liberal leadership hopeful also gave his blessing and that "we're glad to see that Mr. Harper has such confidence in members of Mr. Volpe's campaign."

But some Liberals quietly suggested that Mr. Harper had developed a cunning strategy to use a Liberal to deflect criticism of his own position.

Mr. Harper's parliamentary secretary, Jason Kenney, said that Mr. Khan approached the Conservatives in May about the need to better communicate the goals of Canada's mission in Afghanistan, and that his discussion with the government began before the Middle East conflict broke out.

"We were thinking about doing this before the situation in Lebanon developed," Mr. Kenney said, adding that Mr. Khan "has his own military and intelligence contacts" in the region.

Mr. Khan's Liberal caucus colleagues suggested that Mr. Harper needs to mend political fences in Canada.

"It is unusual. I called to congratulate Mr. Khan on his appointment," said Liberal MP Borys Wrzesnewskyj, who has been critical of Mr. Harper's stand on the Middle East conflict.

"Mr. Harper has taken some significant hits in the polls recently, especially in multicultural communities," he said. "If there was a time for him to make this sort of appointment, it would be now."

Anyone for Haifa?

According to Lorne Gunter in The National Post today:

While there have been a plethora of stories about the 500,000 to 1 million Lebanese displaced by this war, where are the stories about the half million or more Israelis — many of the Arabs — forced to evacuate?  Haifa, a city of nearly 400,000, is mostly deserted, its residents either in hiding or gone.

Really?  Is that right, Lorne?  Well, why don’t you get on the horn and tell the Palestinians?  After all, I’m sure they’d love to move in now that the place has been ‘voluntarily abandoned’, bulldoze a few homes, and declare the place Eretz Palestine.  After all, what’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander (assuming the sauce to be both kosher and halal).

But you know what, kids?  I think the reason we haven’t heard any such stories as Lorne wants us to hear is because… they’re bullshit.  If anything like this were remotely the case, CNN, FOX, and the Klan Praise the Second Coming and Pass the Ammunition Review would have been all over it like flies on a turd, all eager to share the goodness with us.  But they haven’t.  Why?  Because they’re liberally-biased?  Uh, no.  Because it’s bullshit.  There are only about 7 million people in Israel; if nearly every tenth one had had to pull up stakes, trust me… you’d have heard about it by now.

If I’m wrong… fine.  Somebody call Hamas and tell them Israel has a vacancy.

Yeah, why not wear the blood-soaked dress of some little Afghan girl just like "Courtney", folks?

Received in email from my mother this evening. My response follows below.
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Subject: Fw: A MILITARY DAUGHTER - A BEAUTIFUL STORY (and well worth the read)

Subject: Proud to be a Soldier !!!
From the daughter of a Soldier..

Last week I was in Trenton, Ontario. attending a conference. While I was in the airport, returning home, I heard several people behind me beginning to clap and cheer. I immediately turned around and witnessed one of the greatest act's of patriotism I have ever seen.

Moving thru the terminal was a group of soldiers in their camo's, as they began heading to their gate everyone (well almost everyone) was abruptly to their feet with their hands waving and cheering.

When I saw the soldiers, probably 30-40 of them, being applauded and cheered for it hit me. I'm not alone. I'm not the only red blooded Canadian who still loves this country and supports our troops and their families.

Of course I immediately stopped and began clapping for these young unsung heroes
who are putting their lives on the line everyday for us so we can go to school,
work and home without fear or reprisal.

Just when I thought I could not be more proud of my country or of our service men and women a young girl, not more than 6 or 7 years old, ran up to one of the male soldiers. He kneeled down and said "hi," the little girl then she asked him if he would give something to her daddy for her. The young soldier, he didn't look any older than maybe 22 himself, said he would try and what did she want to give to her daddy. Then suddenly the little girl grabbed the neck of this soldier, gave him the biggest hug she could muster and then kissed him on the cheek.

The mother of the little girl, who said her daughters name was Courtney, told the young soldier that her husband was a Corporal and had been in Afghanistan for 11 months now.

As the mom was explaining how much her daughter, Courtney, missed her father, the young soldier began to tear up. When this temporarily single mom was done explaining her situation, all of the soldiers huddled together for a brief second.

Then one of the other servicemen pulled out a military looking walkie-talkie. They started playing with the device and talking back and forth on it. After about 10-15 seconds of this, the young soldier walked back over to Courtney, bent down and said this to her, "I spoke to your daddy and he told me to give this to you." He then hugged this little girl that he had just met and gave her a kiss on the cheek. He finished by saying "your daddy told me to tell you that he loves you more than anything and he is coming home very soon."

The mom at this point was crying almost uncontrollably and as the young soldier stood to his feet he saluted Courtney and her mom. I was standing no more than 6 feet away from this entire event unfolded.

As the soldiers began to leave, heading towards their gate, people resumed their applause. As I stood there applauding and looked around, their were very few dry eyes, including my own. That young soldier in one last act of selflessness, turned around and blew a kiss to Courtney with a tear rolling down his cheek.

We need to remember everyday all of our soldiers and their families and thank God for them and their sacrifices. At the end of the day, it's good to be an Canadian.

Red Friday
Just keeping you "in the loop" so you'll know what's going on in case this takes off.
RED FRIDAYS ----- Very soon, you will see a great many people wearing Red every Friday. The reason? Canadian who support our troops used to be called the "silent majority". We are no longer silent, and are voicing our love for God, country and home in record breaking numbers. We are not organized, boisterous or over-bearing. We get no liberal media coverage on TV, to reflect our message or our opinions. Many Canadians, like you, me and all our friends, simply want to recognize that the vast majority of Canada supports our troops. Our idea of showing solidarity and support for our troops with dignity and respect starts this Friday -and continues each and every Friday until the troops all come home, sending a deafening message that..

Every red-blooded Canadian who supports our men and women afar will wear something red. By word of mouth, press, TV -- let's make the Canada on every Friday a sea of red much like a homecoming football game in the bleachers.
If every one of us who loves this country will share this with acquaintances, co-workers, friends, and family. It will not be long before Canada is covered in RED and it will let our troops know the once "silent" majority is on their side more than ever, certainly more than the media lets on.

The first thing a soldier says when asked "What can we do to make things better for you?" is...We need your support and your prayers. Let's get the word out and lead with class and dignity, by example; and wear something red every Friday.

IF YOU AGREE -- THEN SEND THIS ON..
IF YOU COULD CARE LESS THEN HIT THE DELETE BUTTON..
IT IS YOUR CHOICE.
THEIR BLOOD RUNS RED---- SO WEAR RED! --- Lest we Forget, Lest we Forget. HAVE A GREAT DAY!

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Yeah, Aunt ****** sent me this too. It occurs to me that it's possible to support the troops and national pride without allowing oneself to be sucked into supporting misapplications of those same troops and their lives. I imagine it's possible, for instance, for the average German to be proud of the Wehrmacht without celebrating its invasion of Poland in 1939. I support Canadian troops when they're where they're supposed to be: at home, in Canada, keeping it safe. Not blowing up somebody else's home in Afghanistan. Especially when I'm paying some chunk of my $XX,000 a year for it that could be better spent on cancer research, lower-emission vehicles, or helping people find jobs.

My father spent over 20 years in the military. He never killed anybody. What happened to that Canada?

License to kill

A commenter over at Not the Country Club has, in just a few words, inadvertantly summed up the situation in the Middle East (Not the Country Club: "Palestinian lives are nothing, Israeli lives everything")... he said that "Israel has got a license to kill".

That struck me like thunder. That's exactly what what Israel has. It's been granted by the US, who arms and supports Israel financially and diplomatically, and is seconded by so much of the West for whom any hint of criticism of Israel automatically brings with it the fear of condemnation as anti-Semitism — perhaps the most effective means of pseudo-decapitation since McCarthy started applying the word "Communist" to anyone who championed free thought and inquiry. Yes, we in the West have stamped Israel and everything it does with the double-O seal of approval. Canada's own prime minister is willing to wink at the IDF murders of our civilian citizens and UN soldiers in Lebanon, rather than appear to be hard on Israel. We've granted Israel a license to kill, and the means to use it. And we have the gall to wonder where terrorism comes from.