HBC Unveils [ UGLY ] Beijing 2008 Clothing

Wow... some of it's okay, but some of it is awful! There's been many comments that the gear or at least the signature sport-camo pieces literally look like pajamas!

Thankfully we haven't yet seen what the Canadian Athletes will be wearing for the ceremonies in Beijing. Fingers crossed that they won't be wearing those pants. Yikes!

Anyways, check more out here.

Great Canadians

Canada.com is the easy online source I use for most of my daily Canada-related news. They had a little more credibility a few years ago but lately have been a little more tabloidy, but every once in a while they redeem themselves.

Right now they have a special feature section on Great Canadians. The great thing about this article is that it's not just highlighting the John A. MacDonald's and Terry Fox's of the world, although they were great. The feature highlights all sorts of great Canadians including some regular people who are doing great things.

Some highlights include the Asian business tycoon, Allan Zeman, affectionately known as the Mouse Killer, Alan Bean, a pastor working in Jena, LA., and Laura Louie who refuses to stand by and instead rolls up her sleeves in Mae On, Thailand where she started a clinic that is now self-sustaining.

Sierra Leone :: Part 2 :: The Reason

So why the heck did I go to Sierra Leone?! And why didn't many people know anything about the trip?

Well, it was a bit of a quickly planned trip, actually there was barely enough time to get the necessary shots. As for why, it was a visioning trip to help determine the needs of a children's home. My travel partner was Nolan Watson of Nation's Cry. I acted as the second pair of eyes as we attempted to determine the needs of International D.O.V.E. on behalf of Nation's Cry.

D.O.V.E. has been operating in Sierra Leone for nearly 20 years enduring the entire period including the various wars and coups that the country experienced. D.O.V.E.'s initial operations consisted of a foster program "Up Country" Sierra Leone. Working with the S.L. Ministry of Social Welfare D.O.V.E. cares for 44 children who have been placed with foster parents and those with the greatest need have been brought to the Village of Hope. D.O.V.E.'s Village of Hope is situated near the town of Regent on the outskirts of Sierra Leone's capital city of Freetown. The village is situated on a 12 acre plot of land which includes numerous fruits and vegatables. The village currently houses 23 children and as increased funding permits that number may grow.

At D.O.V.E.'s Village of Hope the children "have these things provided for them: Food, clothing, medicine, education, and all their practical needs. The goal is to provide them with a warm, loving home and family so that they become well educated, well adjusted young adults who can further their education and eventually become an asset to their own country by using their skills and training to bring better living conditions for their own people. We know that not all the children will return to help their country but DOVE's goal is to give each of them a chance at life that they would not have had otherwise."

Despite these noble goals, D.O.V.E. International has remained quite underfunded. This is especially surprising given the fact that Nolan Watson, CA, CFA, has gone through every Canadian Charity registered with the CRA to determine which had the least amount of administrative waste. D.O.V.E. was that charity.

SL Update :: Part 1

The Front Lines

Whether you agree with the foreign policy decisions that eventually led to the current wars in Afghanistan & Iraq the fact is that the wars were started, power vaccuums created and now peace keeping and simply completion of the initial missions is crucial as to not create complete and utter chaos in the region.

That being said most, if not all, Western reporting on the subject is viewed from a negative viewpoint and rarely is anything other than the latest fatality reported.

Michael Yon is a self-funded, independent journalist who has been embedded with several units from both the United States and British forces within the region. Michael has been with several units during ambushes and fire fights with unwanted results. To get a new perspective check out Michael's website. (Unfortunately he hasn't yet embedded himself with the Canadian Forces... I imagine there's not enough donations from our little country to support his projects.)

I really enjoyed the Death or Glory series: Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV.