Photo: While everyone attending the Seaside Magazine celebration was a winner, Sue Hodgson, assisted by Editor-in-Chief Allison Smith and Seaside Photographer Jo-Ann Way, drew business cards for several special gifts handed out during the evening. (Link in footer for additional photos of the celebration).

A Seaside Celebration

A wonderful time was had by all last night at the Mary Winspear Centre in Sidney as publisher Sue Hodgson and team members of the Seaside Magazine (formerly the Times) welcomed family, friends and business associates to share in an evening of celebration of their new magazine format.

In the words of Sue Hodgson:

“Think of our publication as an extra dimension of our community space, a place where the West Coast culture is treasured and celebrated. We’re here to give you a glimpse of our people, places and ideas and unleash the vibrant energy that our local paradise has to offer.

To ensure we attain the highest level of excellence in serving our community, we want to stay on top of what’s happening. Please let us know when local events are sprouting up or when any other little seeds of local interest might be germinating. It is truly a pleasure and an honour to publish Seaside, and we would like to thank everyone who has welcomed us into their lives with open arms.  (Quote from the Seaside Web Page)

For those yet to savour the pristine photographic and print qualities of this local publication, take a few minutes to link to the Homepage of Seaside Magazine where you will be treated to a taste of the West Coast Lifestyle. For scenes that will entice you to delve a little deeper – Link Here  

With a sip of complementary local wine and an array of succulent morsels catered by the Spitfire Grill, we were treated to musical arrangements by the Archers – Ethan Caleb, Sandy Hughes, Liam McLaren, Liam Moes and Robert McMullen. 

I only managed to catch three of the five in this photo, but it seems certain these talented young men from Brentwood Bay area are well on their way to producing their first record.  Take a a few moments to link to their Crowd Funding Campaign and lend your support as they challenge for their place alongside the Rolling Stones Cover Band, Sheep Dog, and new young voices such as Kristin Hays, Jared Newton and Craig Strickland.
 
On an environmental note, one of the guest speakers, Dave Allan of Rhino Print Solutions, took a few minutes to acquaint the audience with the rapidly changing world of Print Media which has become, perhaps contrary to a widely held public belief, amongst the most eco friendly of industries. If you have an opportunity to listen to Dave speak about the changing status of Print Media, take a few minutes to do so.  Perhaps we can encourage Dave to prepare a U-Tube presentation!
 
Exhibits were provided by several community business owners and representatives, including our very own Lynn McNeill (Expedia CruiseShipCenters, Sidney),  Alysha Yakimishyn (YakimishynArt), and Lucas J. Copplestone (LJCArt). Another family member, Sean McNeill, was on a business trip to Toronto or he would have been present to display his new line of Burg travel watch/phones, a perfect gift for the frequent traveller. For further details link to Burg Canada.
 
A networking event for professionals, by professionals.  Thank you for a great evening.

Harold McNeill
Victoria, BC

Link Here to the Seaside Magazine celebration photos: Facebook Photos

Other Adventures in Sidney and the Saanich Peninsula

Island View Beach: Camping Close to Home

2012 Canada Day Parade Link

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Photo (Web)  Business as usual. How can this position possibly be justified?
Feb 2017: 330)

The NRA continues to use the Second Amendment as a large part of their justification for maintaining the right of US citizens to own firearms without restriction (reference notes in footer). Their position is summarized in the following quote:

“The Second Amendment is not about hunting, target shooting or self defense. It is about the tyranny of government. It was born from a profound first-hand experience of how the loyal British subjects were betrayed on April 19, 1775, by their government, which sent soldiers to seize guns and ammunition. This is why Americans and in particular the NRA, are adamant in defending and preserving the Second Amendment. They know the tyranny of government.”

As a basic tenet, the NRA suggests it is only by arming the citizenry that government can be held to account. Think now about the nature of government in the US and Canada. What could possibly lead to a state of affairs in which it was deemed necessary for the citizens to pick up firearms and confront government? Our entire societal structure would first have to undergo such profound change that we would be in no different position than are the citizens of countries such as Egypt, Libya, Syria, etc..

With the advanced military-industrial complex that exists within the United States (and to a lesser extent in Canada), it is inconceivable the citizenry could ever mount a successful rebellion such as that taking place in the countries mentioned above. The entire NRA position is, in my opinion, simply a public relations exercise designed to justify the existence of the NRA as a title sponsor of the Republican Party.

If any modern, law-abiding, democratic country has deteriorated to a point where it was deemed necessary that ordinary citizens take up arms to defend themselves against each other or against their government, that country will already have fallen so far as to have become only a shell of it’s former self.

About the only organizations that would fit the NRA definition of being able to ‘fight’ a very limited guerrilla war against government would be fringe groups such as the White Supremcists and Patriots along other organizations such as the Sovereign Citizens in the US and Freemen of the Land in Canada. For various reasons I think the Tea Party has moved closer to becoming one of those groups and it is certainly not on the fringe as are the others.

On a positive note, the majority of citizens in the US and Canada recognize those organizations pose far more danger to our societal well-being than do the majority of ordinary citizens and the governments of our respective countries combined. Even so-called ‘terrorists’ cells do not match up to these fringe groups in their ability to damage our society.

While ‘freedom’ to own a gun is largely a US issue, it is one that also impacts Canada as the United States is our closest friend, neighbor and ally. The recent move by the Federal Conservatives to remove the Long Gun Registry and destroy all the records in spite of the requests by some Provinces to retain the registry, suggests their is an undergound movement to likewise lesson controls on ownership even though over 90% of Canadians support stringent gun ownership restrictions.  Within the United States, public support for greater control of guns is relatively strong, currently holding at over 60%.

As our two countries continue to evolve, it is important to see our futures evolving toward a more peaceful state of being, not nations in which organizations such as the National Rifle Association, White Supremcists, Patriots, Sovereign Citizens, Freemen, Tea Party and others threaten our well-being because of their fear mongering and extremism.

Just say’n…

Harold McNeill
Victoria, BC

Notes:

Former Supreme Court Chief Justice Warren Burger referred to gun lobby propaganda on this issue as “one of the greatest pieces of fraud…on the American public by special interest groups that I have ever seen in my lifetime.”  (Link here for discussion)

Wikipedia provides a short description of the 1939 US Supreme Court Decision (United States vs Miller) which upheld the right of State and Federal governments to place restrictions on gun ownership. (Link Here). Since that time a number of other Federal and State Court decisions across the United States have followed that precedent. That the NRA and others have been able to perpetuate the myth that the right of individuals to own firearms is protected under the Second Amendment ranks right up there with the myth that Christopher Columbas discovered North American in 1492. (Link Here)

Gun Ownership in the United States:  Since 1973 the percentage of individuals in the US owning a gun has fallen from 47% to 36% in 2011. (Link Here).  The number in Canada is estimated at 20%. The number of guns per 100 people in the United States stands at an estmated 88 (the hightest in the world) while in Canada that number stands at 36.

Canadian National Firearms Assocition (Link Here) Not surprisingly, Canada has its own NRA, although it is not as powerful nor as extreme as its US counterpart.

Link here to NRA Attack Ads

The NRA in Canada:  The February 10, 2013 edition of the Fifth Estate provided a very good summary of the NRA position. The report stated that by 2015 in the United States there will be more deaths by gun shots than in car accidents.  In 12 US states, gun shot deaths already exceed vehicle accident deaths.

The NRA opened a branch office in Canada in order to help fight our existing gun laws.  The organization provided considerable support and funding to gain public support for overturning the Long Gun Registry and destroying all the files in order to make it more difficult for the registry to be implemented at some point in the future.

Businesses in the United States are the largest purchasers of handguns produced around the world.

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Photo (from Web). Further comments purported to be made by the NRA President are printed
near the end of this article (Note: I have not included a picture of the NRA ad attack on Obama, preferring
instead to point to the extremist views of the NRA).

Any who may have watched a US TV network over the past week or so, will likely have seen one or more of the dozens of Attack Ads mounted by the National Rifle Association (NRA) against Federal and State government attempts to bring in some form of gun control concerning high powered weaponry that is more suited to war. It is a small step supported by significant majority of citizens in the US.

To overcome this challenge, the NRA has targeted the Presidents daughters suggesting the President is being elitist because he provides his daughters the protection of armed Secret Service Agents both at school and at other locations to which the girls travel.
 
The NRA go on to state in dark, dramatic tones:  “Are the president’s kids more important than yours?” The narrator asks. “Then why is he skeptical about putting armed security guards in our schools when his kids are protected by armed guards at their schools?”

The video continues: “Mr. Obama demands the wealthier pay their fair share of taxes, but he’s just another elitist hypocrite when it comes to a fair share of security.”  The last statement brings in the subject of taxation that is near and dear to the Republican Party.

This is the classic form of an attack ad used so successfully, not only by the NRA, but by the US Republicans and Canadian Conservatives in recent years. Many on the left suggest these ads have crossed the line, but there is no denying the ads are extremely effective in molding public opinion. The more outrageous, the more effective.

Democrats and Liberals have been loath to attack in the same manner preferring instead to use some form of logical, reasonable argument to present their case. However, it has become patently clear this will not work as those dark, vengeful, repugnant and cowardly ads will win hands down every time.

In Canada, pay attention to the ads the Conservatives mount each time something significant is taking place in one of the opposition parties. The attacks were very effectively used against Stephan Dion, Michael Ignateiff, Bob Rae (Link Here) when they were named leaders of the Liberals. Thomas Mulcair, on becoming leader of the opposition NDP, was vicously attacked on several fronts (e.g. economic, not a Canadian, etc.) with the same creepy pictures, ominous dialogue and scary music: (Link Here).  The goal is to define those leaders in the most unflattering way possible.
 
As the Liberals work towards naming a new leader you may have noticed an increasing number of attacks against Justin Trudeau and others. On the day the new leader is named the Conservatives will go wild just as they did with Ignatieff  (Link Here)  and other Liberals before Ignatieff. Hopefully, the new leader to be named later this spring, will be prepared to mount ads to counteract the effect. Ignatieff seemed to think he could take the high road, but by the time he realized he could not defeat those attacks with reason, the game was all but over.

Politics, as played by the NRA, Republicans, Tea Party, Conservatives and others on the right, does not follow the Marquis of Queensbury Rules (of fair play).  The sooner Democrats in the US as well as the Liberals, NDP and Greens in Canada wake up to that fact, the sooner they will be able to neutralize the attacks they know will be coming.

Over the past several years the Stephen Harper, members of his cabinet and the party in general, have provided ample fuel for these ads and in most cases there would be no need to exaggerate the misdeeds and missteps. Take any one of the following:

Moving the economy from surplus to a major deficit (as did Bush over two terms in the US), War in Iraq (calling Canadians who opposed our entry as ‘cowards’), the Omnibus Bill on changes to the Criminal Code, the recent Omnibus Budget Bill, F-35 costs, robocalls, Quebec request to maintain the Gun Registry, sidelining all environmental and climate change discussions, proroguing parliament and the list goes on. 

Just think how easy it would have been to create attack ads involving any of these many items or even an attack on Stephen Harpers personality.  Harper and his cabinet collogues could have been made to look like idiots, yet they walked away free and clear with only a little blathering by the back benchers in Parliament and a few editorials complaining and whining about the Conservative agenda.  It was (and is) painful to watch.
 
Now, back to the NRA and following on the comments in the lead picture, the NRA President might well have gone on to say:

“It is a known fact that guns save lives. The more gun deaths we have in the United States the more people will realize they need to arm themselves. The more children we have killed in schools, the sooner people will come to realize that we need to arm parents, teachers and even older students to protect themselves. In America there could be no better deterrent to gun violence than by ensuring every American carried a gun. We at the NRA cannot fathom why people do not understand the logic. Go out today and buy a gun, it will not only help the economy, it will help the United States to become one of the most peaceful nations on earth.”

What has stopped the Democratic National Committee from creating a series of attack ads on the subject? With very little effort the NRA could be painted as the war mongering, big business serving, agents of the Republican Party they are without even doing any digging. It would not take long to create the conditions in which their attack ads against the President and others would be turned against them. What we get instead is silence and that silence is deafening.

Harold McNeill
Victoria, BC
January, 2013

Link Here to a Discussion of the NRA position on the Second Amendment

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Above: Part of the Crew from New Years: (Guys Left to right) Drew Betts, Pete Patterson, Sean McNeill, Jeremy Nichele,
Joel Sherlock, Daniel Dent, Andrew Dunn
(Girls Left to Right) Jennifer Ann, Fiona Nightingale Harvey, Alysha Yakimishyn, Keira McCreath, Gemma Kyliuk
(More Photos below and in the attached album)

Photo Below: Santa dropped by on Christmas Eve

Well, we caught Santa making his rounds last night on his recently refurbished Harley Davidson (click photo to open). On closer inspection, this guy looked suspiciously like our neighbour Ted, but we could not be sure. In any case, it was very nice of him to stop and spend a few minutes and chat. Seems he was curious as to why we had so many reindeer and elves running around our property among all the Christmas lights.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all
from the McNeill Family

(Link here to 2011 Christmas Story)

Photo Courtesy of Nichele Studios (L to R) Chris, Audrey and Christine LeClair, Lynn McNeill, Kari Walker, Grayson Walker and Harold McNeill, Sean McNeill and Jay McNeill.  Now we challenge you to figure out what is different in this picture from the original?

New Years Comments (From Facebook Post)

It was a great evening of family, friends, fun, food, music and entertainment at the Brentwood Inn as we bid farewell to that wonderful year of 2012 and welcomed with open arms a 2013 that promises to bring just as many new challenges and opportunities as did 2012. You can rest assured we worked very hard to make the transition as lively as possible.

The Staff at the Inn did an amazing job of keeping the crowd well supplied with food and drink while LJC on his non-stop turn-table brought the best of the best in music that kept the dance floor filled. His late evening rap song was a huge hit and demonstrated again just how versatile that young man is.

As added bonuses, Drew thrilled the crowd with his jazzed up Sax and Joel put on a break-dance display that was beyond impossible. Two hours later his friends were still trying to untangle the mass of legs and arms.

It was a great mix of young, the not so young and dozens of inbetweeners who shared in the evening of merriment.

Thanks to Sean and the crew for inviting us.

Happy New Year to All
The McNeill Family

Broadmead Runners Club

 The Broadmead Runners popped by to have their picture taken with Santa and his reindeer.

 Lynn McNeill, Dianne Mcneill, Michel Payeur, Linda and Bjorn Simonsen get up close and personal with Mr. Claus.

Part of our Happy Crew

A friend we have not met since the World Cup 2007, Sinisha Ivaz (far right), family and friends.

More pictures in the attached album

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December 11, 2012.  The above “Christmas Card”, prepared and circulated by the Abbotsford Police Department (Lower Mainland of British Columbia), will no doubt create considerable controversy. Destined to land in the mailboxes of several serial offenders and organized crime figures who have taken up residence in Abbotsford over the past several years, the card was signed by the Chief Constable and two Inspectors. In my view the card is a rather good example of black humour, police style, however, the fact it was circulated to members of the general public is rather unusual.

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December 5, 2012 Photo from Web:  It was only when searching out photos of the Jyllands-Posten that I noticed the sign on the facade of the building (Photo below). Is that the Star of David in the upper right corner and are those crosses on the windows?  If they are, the printing of the caricatures of Mohammad takes on a whole new religious/political aspect that would not have been absent if the magazine was considered to be a secular organization.

A few comments made in the 21st Chromosome Leads to Enlightenment post, provoked some lively discussion regarding Freedom of Speech in a democracy. Did the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, overstep the bounds when it published those caricatures of the Prophet Mohammad? Most would agree they had the right, but the question – did they have an obligation – is at the core? I staked my position by stating the actions were “stupid, petty and mean spirited,” however they did have an absolute right.

Yet, how could a mainstream newspaper editor possibly think that publishing a caricature of the Prophet Mohammad with a bomb in his turban to be more acceptable than publishing a caricature of Jesus Christ holding a blood-covered sword while standing over the dead body of a homosexual? Both caricatures would have an aspect of truth, but, at best, they would be reprehensible vilification of an entire group of people and their chosen religion.

Do you think for a moment any news editor of a mainstream paper, in any country that was 80% Christian, would have permitted the latter caricature to be published? Doing so might not lead to riots, but it seems doubtful the newspaper would remain a mainstream supplier of news and editorials for very long.

In Denmark, the editor stated there was an obligation to publish as pushback against those seeking to limit freedom of speech through implicit (perhaps explicit) threats. A disingenuous defence at best! More likely the editor was scrambling to defend himself, his paper and his country after becoming embroiled in a controversy that rapidly spun out of control around the world.

The Danish Imams and others who carried that message to the Muslim world were equally as guilty. They used the publication to create dissent they knew full well would go beyond peaceful protest, as that is often the outcome of promoting hatred. In addition, both parties were well aware that large portions of the Middle East were a tinderbox as people continued their struggle to gain freedom from vicious dictators, theocrats and extremist Ayatollahs.

Neither is North America, Europe and other democracies free from intolerance, hatred, and violence. Right up to the present day, those caricatures of Mohammad might well be caricatures of any the other cultures or groups represented by the epithets listed in the Chromosome article. That was the point of that post.

Perhaps if the Danish newspaper had published a thoughtful series of editorials about aspects of Islamic intolerance as practiced by some who claim to be Muslims, just as discussing aspects of Christian intolerance as practiced by some who claim to be Christians, would have helped to move things forward in a more reasonable fashion. If that had been the case, open conflict and bloodshed might have been averted and, perhaps, the discussions would have lead to a greater understanding.

Instead, in Demark today, there is likely less freedom of speech (caused by the fear factor) than existed before the publication. Also, there will certainly be more distrust between Danish citizens in the Muslim minority (6%) and those in the Christian majority (80%), than existed before. One only needs to Google “Pictures of Freedom of Speech in Denmark” and scan the attached blogs to get a sense of the rot that festers just below the surface. It would be hard, perhaps impossible, to find any upsides of the decision to publish those caricatures.

Harold McNeill
Victoria, BC
Late November, 2012

Note:  This post begs for further discussion as to how religious intolerance, is responsible for a large portion of the conflict that exists in the world today. That will be the subject of a future post in what it appears will become a series.

Link: 21^st Chromosome Leads to Enlightenment

Link: Culture of Peace Blog

Collage: November 16^th, International Day of Tolerance
(Link Here)

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Community Gardens in Saanich play an important role in helping maintain the rural ambiance of our Municipality. The land is available in Royal Oak along with a group willing to spearhead the initiative.
(The above photo was modified from a copy posted on the Saanich District Web Site)   (Jun 2019, 2810)

June 2019  Read the updates coming from cfair and Saanich.

Article Summary:

The small parcel of land on the east side of the Royal Oak Shopping Centre on West Saanich Road has never been developed beyond the historical building, now called the Fireside Grill, that sits at the north end.

In 1964, John Maltwood gave over the entire property, including a sizeable endowment and valuable art collection, in trust to the University of Victoria. After maintaining the building and art collection into the late 1970s (ten years after the death of John Maltwood) the University began proceedings to divest themselves of house and property.

Photo (September 2012): View of the 2.77-acre parcel looking south from West Saanich Road at the entrance to the Fireside Grill.

After a successful court challenge, the University removed the art collection and sold or gave the remaining property to the Municipality of Saanich. While the details of discussion leading to the transfer is not known, it seems likely the University was anxious to see the property transferred as quickly as possible as they were receiving a great deal of adverse press over their decision to break the Maltwood trust.

After taking possession, Saanich administered the building and property for several years as a lease, with the first lessee opening the popular Chantecler Restaurant. After the Chantecler closed, Saanich sub-divided off a portion of land around the building and through a bid process, sold the building and small parcel of land to the current owners and operators of the Fireside Grill. At some point in time, the entire property was rezoned as C-2 (commercial development).

There is little doubt Saanich realized a sizeable profit on the transaction and at the same was able to retain clear title to the 2.77-acre parcel. The question that remains — what is to become of that 2.77-acre parcel of valuable green space?

Both historically and presently, residents and businesses in the Royal Oak area have expressed a strong preference for keeping the property in the public domain either as green space, parkland, allotment garden or some combination of the three.

The purpose of this article is to provide additional background on the property, of previous attempts to develop a strip mall and of the recent community-based suggestion of turning the property into an allotment garden.  No one in the surrounding residential area or the present business community has either now or in the past, openly expressed interest in seeing the property turned over to commercial development.

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November 11, 2012: Remembrance Day

Edna and Earl Davis (Lynn McNeill’s mother and father) at their Wedding in August 1943.  Earl met Edna while serving in England and they married shortly after. After spending one night together, Earl shipped out for combat in Italy where he spent the rest of his war years fighting in the Italian Campaign. The couple were not reunited until after the war when Earl returned to Canada and Edna joined him shortly after as one of the hundreds of young war brides. Chapter 1 of Black Friday (see notes below) provides more of the history of the Davis Family as they criss crossed the Atlantic.

Remembrance

Nations have always found many reasons to go to war and although worldwide conflict has decreased significantly since the end of World War 2, conflict between nations and ideologies still take far to many lives. Perhaps within this century, a lasting peace will be attained.

November 11^th is set aside as a day too remember the millions of military personnel and civilians (men, woman and children) that have been killed, injured, orphaned, displaced or otherwise had their lives drastically changed as a result of war.

The following articles trace some of the history as well as well as the experience of one soldier, a bomber pilot, Bert Ramsden, now 92 years of age and living in Victoria:

A Pittance of Time (For Video Link Here)

Black Friday in Norway (Link Here)

Chapter 1:   The World at War: Remembering our History includes a bit of the history of Lynn’s Mom, a War Bride from England who came to Canada after the war with her Dad who served in the Italian campaign during the closing years of World War 2.

Chapter 2:   Meeting a World War 2 Veteran, Bert Ramsden

Chapter 3:  In The Early Years Bert traces his path through High School and into the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1941.

Chapter 4:  Basic Training in Alberta and Saskatchewan

Chapter 5:  Off to War with Prime Minister Winston Churchill  (as surprise passenger on the ship that took Bert to England)

Chapter 6: Black Friday (An Attack in Norway)

Chapter 7: Allied Losses on Black Friday

Chapter 8: End Notes

Link to an Amazing Coincidence

Remembering Viet Nam

Photographs (Link Here)

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