Monday, May 18, 2009
Sweet sweet long weekend
The rest of the training I was running last weekend up at Blue Mountain ended well! It's always a good feeling to wrap things up without there having been any major calamities, particularly with so many moving parts to the puzzle (Two different batches of people flying up from the states, some people coming up on the Friday, others on the Saturday, sorting out all the restaurant menus, the room lists, the schedule etc, let alone the actual content for the weekend!) Happy to have it all done with for now!
Had a busy week...went to Hooters on Monday with some guys from work, worked late on Tuesday, went out for dinner with Laura and one of her friends on Wednesday (got caught in one of the Tamil Tiger "protests" trying to meet them - more on this later), Thursday went out for dinner to Don Juans with work guys then went to see "Earth" with LT (cineplex mystery shop!). Aside - Earth was really gorgeous, and totally worth seeing on the big screen if you're at all into wildlife documentary kinda shows....really gorgeous photography, including some amazing time-lapse shots.
This weekend we went up to Laura's parents place - did a BBQ and wine tasting last night, then went for a nice hike today on the Seaton Trail for a few hours. Wine tasting candidates: Hillebrand Cab-Sauv, Jackson Triggs Cab-Franc/Cab-Sauv, Pelee Island Cab-Franc, and a red blend from Strewn. Blind taste test winner? Pelee Island, which means 2 of the 4 wines for the wedding will be Pelee Island!
Rant of the week - Tamil protests in Toronto. I've been a bit confused about this whole thing, since there have been BIG protests almost every day for the past few weeks. In a nutshell, Sri Lanka has had an ongoing civil war for the past 20+ years between the two main ethnic groups, one which is in power and one which is fighting for the creation of an independent state( the Tamils). The government has got the tamil rebels pinned in a fairly small area and have been shelling them into submission. The issue is that civilians have been caught in the cross-fire.
Canada is home to the biggest group of Tamil's outside of Sri Lanka, something like 250,000 or so...seemingly many of whom live in TO. The rallies/protests have gotten a lot of attention because literally thousands (like 5000-8000) have shown up, and while they've been peaceful, they've been a big pain closing down major streets for whole days, and even taking over the Gardiner last weekend, and Yonge / College / University this week. The goal is to draw attention to the situation and to try to pressure the government into leaning on the sri lankan government to stop their attacks on the rebels and to give the tamil's an independent state.
Here's the part I don't get. The protesters are all waving Tamil Tiger flags, wearing Tamil Tiger tshirts, and waving picture posters of the leader of the Tamil Tigers. I didn't fully realize until I did some reading, that the Tigers are a recognized terrorist organization according to 32 different countries, including Canada. They've been accused of/blamed for everything from using child soldiers and dressing in civilian garb while fighting, to using suicide bombers, to assisinating political leaders to drug / weapon smuggling, counterfeiting, piracy / hijacking, money laundering. ( Good ol' wikipedia)
On one hand it sounds like things in Sri Lanka have been very difficult, and no doubt many civilians have been negatively impacted by both sides. I'd be all for protests simply trying to draw attention to the situation...but waving the flags of a terrorist organization with an undoubtably sketchy history and track record? Just not sure I really get the whole thing.
Had a busy week...went to Hooters on Monday with some guys from work, worked late on Tuesday, went out for dinner with Laura and one of her friends on Wednesday (got caught in one of the Tamil Tiger "protests" trying to meet them - more on this later), Thursday went out for dinner to Don Juans with work guys then went to see "Earth" with LT (cineplex mystery shop!). Aside - Earth was really gorgeous, and totally worth seeing on the big screen if you're at all into wildlife documentary kinda shows....really gorgeous photography, including some amazing time-lapse shots.
This weekend we went up to Laura's parents place - did a BBQ and wine tasting last night, then went for a nice hike today on the Seaton Trail for a few hours. Wine tasting candidates: Hillebrand Cab-Sauv, Jackson Triggs Cab-Franc/Cab-Sauv, Pelee Island Cab-Franc, and a red blend from Strewn. Blind taste test winner? Pelee Island, which means 2 of the 4 wines for the wedding will be Pelee Island!
Rant of the week - Tamil protests in Toronto. I've been a bit confused about this whole thing, since there have been BIG protests almost every day for the past few weeks. In a nutshell, Sri Lanka has had an ongoing civil war for the past 20+ years between the two main ethnic groups, one which is in power and one which is fighting for the creation of an independent state( the Tamils). The government has got the tamil rebels pinned in a fairly small area and have been shelling them into submission. The issue is that civilians have been caught in the cross-fire.
Canada is home to the biggest group of Tamil's outside of Sri Lanka, something like 250,000 or so...seemingly many of whom live in TO. The rallies/protests have gotten a lot of attention because literally thousands (like 5000-8000) have shown up, and while they've been peaceful, they've been a big pain closing down major streets for whole days, and even taking over the Gardiner last weekend, and Yonge / College / University this week. The goal is to draw attention to the situation and to try to pressure the government into leaning on the sri lankan government to stop their attacks on the rebels and to give the tamil's an independent state.
Here's the part I don't get. The protesters are all waving Tamil Tiger flags, wearing Tamil Tiger tshirts, and waving picture posters of the leader of the Tamil Tigers. I didn't fully realize until I did some reading, that the Tigers are a recognized terrorist organization according to 32 different countries, including Canada. They've been accused of/blamed for everything from using child soldiers and dressing in civilian garb while fighting, to using suicide bombers, to assisinating political leaders to drug / weapon smuggling, counterfeiting, piracy / hijacking, money laundering. ( Good ol' wikipedia)
On one hand it sounds like things in Sri Lanka have been very difficult, and no doubt many civilians have been negatively impacted by both sides. I'd be all for protests simply trying to draw attention to the situation...but waving the flags of a terrorist organization with an undoubtably sketchy history and track record? Just not sure I really get the whole thing.
# posted by Greg @ 7:07 PM 
Comments:
<< Home
I think it is kind of ...incendiary to make your flag a tiger surrounded by bullets. I don't think it really sends a peaceful message.
While I don't support any groups that use suicide bombers etc. to send their message, I don't agree with bombing civilians, denying them access to aid, or bombing temporary hospitals (twice recently). So it's hard to choose a side eh.
Also, was the red blend Rogue's Lot? That's our red!
Post a Comment
While I don't support any groups that use suicide bombers etc. to send their message, I don't agree with bombing civilians, denying them access to aid, or bombing temporary hospitals (twice recently). So it's hard to choose a side eh.
Also, was the red blend Rogue's Lot? That's our red!
# posted by 
: 6:25 AM
: 6:25 AM << Home
