In the salad days of the former Soviet Union, the entity known as Ukraine was not only the breadbasket of the empire in terms of agriculture, but also the arsenal of the empire in terms of weapons production.  That legacy is something that’s beginning to pop up more noticeably on the battlefield and in the enemy’s strategic rear areas.

Much is made of Ukraine’s pleas for additional western weaponry with which to resist Russia.  Or its pleas to use western weaponry already in hand to hit Russian targets deep behind enemy lines.  Those are the items the western public hears most about and rightly so as they’re items of significant importance.  Those entreaties won’t go away and Ukraine will not, can not stop asking.

That said, the Ukrainians have gone ahead and hedged their bets by developing capabilities similar to, and sometimes superior to, western weapons.  It’s these weapons that are now beginning to be really felt.

If this is what the “left,” sounds like, then I guess I’m left. If this is “socialism,” then call me a socialist.

When and where did it ever become a bad thing to care about the welfare of others generally?

Does it help society in any way to have poor children, poorly-educated children, and hungry children? Would it make us better if we had less government-funded / government-subsidized health insurance? Dignity in retirement hurts us how? How does providing dental care to certain individuals knock us back as a nation?

There’s a type of people out there, God bless them, who may not understand the trouble they cause with their attitudes around left vs right and the impact that has on us economically.

These folks might have struggled financially their entire lives, growing up that way as children and continuing as they navigated marriage and child rearing. They worked hard, they worked often, and they had to give up a lot to get to where they are right now. They own their home, the kids have moved along to their own jobs and adult lives, and they carry no debt. And they’re proud as hell of all that, as they should be. In fact, I believe I came from such a family.

But a lot of them, like my dad in his time, are often dead-set against a lot of that “lefty” stuff.

Normally, seeing a place or person displaying a Canadian flag without due respect for the nation’s symbol is something that, at the very least of times annoys me, and at the very worst, angers me.

I’ll spare everyone the rationale that lay behind that.  In fact, if one were to scroll through past posts, there have been plenty of instances where I articulate my position around the flag.  I should also note that my position just happens to be the same as the federal government, regardless of political stripe.

So when I see that my local Metro store is still displaying flags twenty-seven days after Canada Day, normally I’d be upset.

But where does that get me?  You don’t need to think too hard to come up with an answer.

So, instead, what if I were to just go along with the whole flag ignorance/disrespect thing?  You know, embrace it.  Like, really throw my weight behind it.

And so I have.

Canada, it would appear, has been spending less on defence than it promised.

Blah, blah, blah.

Yes, it’s true, Canada has promised to spend 2% of its GDP on defence, just like all other NATO members.  And like several other NATO members, Canada has fallen short.  Canada says it’s spent 1.7% GDP and has a roadmap/timeline to get to the the 2% threshold.  Others will say Canada spends just 1.3% and is taking a free security ride on the shoulders of the United States.

Differences in book-keeping and sophistry.

A situation of sorts is developing in Renfrew at the corner of Stewart and Bruce Streets, a location shared by two fast-food franchises, Tim Hortons and Wendy’s.

At its beginning, things started slowly enough with a green van positioning itself in the Tim’s/Wendy’s parking lot that runs adjacent to Stewart Street as it approaches the intersection with Bruce Street.  The van, displaying at least two Canadian flags, became noteworthy as it was to be found in the same spot, all day, every day.  As the days passed, this vehicle was joined by other vehicles, also sporting Canadian flags in various stages of distress.  Outdoor furniture made an appearance amidst the vehicles and along the space that runs parallel to the sidewalk.  Then a guitar showed up, and before long we had what appeared to be a minor cell of anti-government types encamped right next to the drive-thru of these two businesses.  All that was missing were some jugglers, a sword-swallower and maybe an organ-grinder with his monkey.

Okay, who owns this place?

To call it an eyesore is an insult to eyesores.  It’s been sitting there empty for as long as I can remember.  Ten years?  Fifteen?  Maybe even twenty?

How long must a community endure such a piece of crap sitting along it’s main street, in this case Renfrew’s Raglan Street?

Is it owned by some carpet-bagger absentee landlord who is content to let it sit and rot until somebody comes along and pays big dollars for it?  Is it someone waiting for the Town of Renfrew to step in with their tax-payer dollars?  The town is no stranger to real estate transactions, just not so much with successful ones.  The old post office was unloaded for pennies on the dollar to a private concern who was promising to convert it into a boutique hotel.  But that was several years ago now, and the heritage building sits today exactly as it did many years ago, but probably in even worse condition.  Whoever bought it has become just another in a string of historical absentee landlords who sit on vacant, dilapidated properties in the heart of this Ottawa Valley town’s main business and retail area.