4th place finishers Olympics: Canada

Well, the Olympics are done. The pomp and circumstance was justifiably muted. I was worried about what could happen, but it all seemed to go well. Of course we laud the medal winners, but it all seems so expensive, environmentally unfriendly, and the corruption merciless. 

Currently, all the medal winners are appearing in various TV shows or radio, for interviews. 

🚲Our men's cyclist, Hugo Barrette, was in a cycling keirin race and thought to medal. In the heats, two cyclists behind him fell, and they redid the heat. This time he fell, being rather tired, and was eliminated. 

I've noticed 4th place finishers abound from Canada, I don't know about your country. These statistics are pretty much buried. I wonder about the top ten, as well. I read that it was arbitrary that there are medals for the top three – since 1904. 

"We all swam the best we could so that's all you can really ask for. You can't be disappointed with a Canadian record." – Penny Oleksiak (Canadian swimmer, 7 medals) 

Going all the way back in Olympic history, medals weren't given out in ancient Greece; the winners received an olive wreath. At the first two modern Olympic Games, in 1896 and 1900, first-place winners received a silver medal, a diploma and an olive branch. Second-place finishers got a bronze medal. Nada for third.

• 🏃Fourth-place finish 4x400m track relay, Canadian women were 60/100ths of a second behind bronze medallist Jamaica and 63/100ths shy of matching the national record.
• 🏃Melissa Bishop came 4th in the 800m but broke her national record by 0.41 seconds.
• 🏃Mo Ahmed was 4th in the 5000m, after a disqualification.
• 🚲Canada falls to the United States 4th in the women's team pursuit (cycling) bronze medal race at Tokyo 2020.
• Canada's Ellie Black falls just shy of podium with 4th-place finish in women's balance beam. First place was 14.6333, while Black earned 13.866. So close. She sprained her ankle a month ago. She lost to Simone Biles, so not a surprise.
• 🚴Canadian Rosie MacLennan's Olympic reign ends with 4th ... despite an injured ankle.
• Judoka Shady El-Nahas, who lost 1-0 in one of two men’s judo 100-kg bronze-medal matches, his fifth match of the day;
• 🚣Conlin McCabe and Kai Langerfeld in men’s rowing pairs, finishing fourth in the final and missing out on a bronze by only 0.55 seconds.
• 🏊Swimmers: McIntosh, Smith, Sanchez and Oleksiak, set a new Canadian record in the women’s 4×200 freestyle relay — in seven minutes, 43.77 seconds — but finished behind three teams (China, U.S., Australia) that all broke the pre-existing world-record time.
• 🏊McIntosh, the 14-year-old swimming up-and-comer from Toronto, in the women’s 400-metre freestyle.
• 🏊The men’s swimming, 4×100 freestyle relay, missing out on bronze by 6/10ths of a second.

The times are so close in the top 8 or 10. 

Not bad for a large country, with relatively few people.

Denmark's standard of living

The Other 98% 

This inaccurate graphic has been making the rounds on Facebook. As ever, the facts are either wrong or misleading. About 180,000 people have shared this on Facebook, without checking the facts. "THE OTHER 98%" is generating much web traffic and attention for it.

 This is both misleading and wrong. Yes, this country, with a population of 5.6 million is a different story than Canada, with a population of 35 million, or the US's 319 million.

However:

Danes face the world's highest tax burden

Denmark is the most taxed country in the world with nearly half of its GDP raised through taxes, giving it a tax-to-GDP ratio that towers over the other OECD countries.

Denmark has a VAT of 25%.

Forbes: 

By basically every measure, Denmark taxes its residents more than most countries – filling its state coffers with higher revenues from taxes on income, profits and capital gains than the OECD average. In fact, the income that Denmark raises by taxing income, profits and capital gains accounts for 62 percent of its total tax revenues, nearly double the OECD average of 34 percent.

 The Danes do not have a minimum wage. The average minimum wage for all private and public sector collective bargaining agreements is approximately DKK 110 ($20) per hour, exclusive of pension benefits. The Danish “minimum wage” of $20 or $21 is actually an average of all minimum wages across a variety of sectors.

There's 180% tax on cars. (25% sales tax on everything else)

Dental care is only free for children, as an adult you gotta pay crazy amounts of money for dental care that it's scares me everytime my tooth aches a little bit

Plus we can't even get dental insurance! Many of us go to Hungary for dental work (higher standards yet cheaper costs).

Copyright laws and live performances

Annie Dalton, graphic artist,
created this poster for us.

I loathe the theft of intellectual property. There is much of it in the churches of the land. Choirs are rife with those who choose to make bootleg copies of music for practice purposes.

For example, we are singing Missa Gaia this month. Floating around are illegal copies of the CD. Some say that they had to since there are two groups doing this piece in southeastern Ontario, and Amazon ran out of copies. This is so wrong.

Musicians, of all people, do not have pension plans. They rely on royalties.
It is difficult earning a living in Canada as a musician. We just don't have the population or the venues. Many church organists have a 'day' job! Churches are in decline, as well, and many are having to close their doors.

Royalties won't make musicians rich, despite the millions of us who enjoy liturgical music. We have many Canadians who do write music. We must respect them.

 In my case, I received a royalty from my book sales this month. I think it is for the last 6 months. It was $22.50.



Copyright fees depend upon the size of the church.

Christian Copyright Licensing Inc. (CCLI)
Web:   www.ccli.com

The Christian Copyright Licensing Inc. (CCLI) was created to help churches comply with the copyright law and to compensate copyright owners fairly for such compliance. The CCLI issues licences to reproduce songs in bulletins, liturgies and congregational songsheets; make slides and transparencies of songs; print songs in customized songbooks; make customized arrangements of songs and record worship services for tape ministry.

The CCLI Church Streaming and Podcast License allows you to stream or podcast your live-recorded worship music on your church's website or other streaming service.

SOCAN

The Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada is a not-for-profit organization that represents the Canadian performing rights of millions of Canadian and international music creators and publishers. 

The performing right that SOCAN administers on behalf of creators of musical works and their publishers is a right granted under Canada's Copyright Act. The Copyright Board of Canada certifies SOCAN's tariffs.

What is Public Domain Music?

In Canada, a musical work enters the public domain 50 years after the year of the death of the last surviving composer/author of the work. No fees are typically due if all the works in a performance are public domain. You are responsible for submitting a program to SOCAN for final determination. Please contact SOCAN at 1-866-944-6226 or licence@socan.ca.

US and Canadian law is pretty much the same:

Copyright and the Church

This is specifically allowed in copyright law. But, if you are performing music in a concert setting you would need permission. 

“My church makes audio/video recordings of worship for shut-ins.  Must I obtain permission?”

Unfortunately the answer is yes.  Many churches violate copyright law when they record their worship services and provide copies to members, visitors, shut-ins, etc.  If you do not have permission, you are in violation of copyright law and you are exposing your church to potentially large fines.   

“My church produces instant DVDs of worship.  We need permission, right?”

Yes, churches producing “instant DVDs” of their worship services and handing them out within a few moments of the end of worship need to obtain permission for each copyrighted work included.  This not only applies to songs, but copyrighted readings, film clips, etc.  It does not matter if you sell them or give them away.

“When is it necessary to seek permission to use a copyrighted work?”

The simple answer is: always.  Whenever a copyrighted work is reproduced in any form, permission must be obtained: print, projection, recording, web-based uses.   This applies to bulletins, song books, handouts, projections, recordings for shut-ins, an “extra” copy for the accompanist, videos of worship services and  musicals, children’s Christmas programs, etc.

http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/C-42/ 
www.ucc.org/music-arts/

Copyright Board of Canada

http://www.cb-cda.gc.ca/societies-societes/index-e.html
http://www.socan.ca/licensees/faq-licensing 

Bats in Canada are on the endangered list

Bats are on the endangered list

A report was released last month by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC).  It is due to the Whitenose syndrome. Such a shame.

A disease that's already killed a million bats in eastern North America has been found in a colony hibernating near Mattawa.

White nose syndrome, which isn't considered dangerous to humans, was found on five sample bats taken from the Purdy Mine Site in Mattawan Township, says the North Bay District Office of Ministry of Natural Resources.

The disease is a fungus that grows and is white on their nose. It causes them to wake from hibernation early and they can be seen in the daytime, and starve since the insects are dormant.


Bat killer moves into Ontario (Tor Star)
Mysterious fungus decimated U.S. bat populations
A lethal fungus that decimated populations of the winged critters in the Northeastern U.S. was discovered in Ontario last month, and researchers fear it will have the same devastating effect here.
 25,000 Indiana bats dead
400,000 dead bats in the US
The fungus gives them the appearance of a white nose, and wakes them early from hibernation. Of course, the bats cannot find the moths, fireflies, mosquitoes upon which they depend. They become dehydrated, underweight, fly about in daytime, trying to drink the snow, in extremely cold temperatures. It is very sad to watch.

Bat, Tri-colored  |  Perimyotis subflavus

Details

Status: Endangered
Last Examination and Change: February 2012 (New)
Canadian Occurrence: ON, QC, NB, NS

Other names previously used by COSEWIC or synonyms:

Other names (common name): Eastern Pipistrelle

---

Myotis, Little Brown  |  Myotis lucifugus

Details

Status: Endangered
Last Examination and Change: February 2012 (New)
Canadian Occurrence: YT, NT, BC, AB, SK, MB, ON, QC, NB, PE, NS, NL

Other names previously used by COSEWIC or synonyms:

Other names (common name): Little Brown Bat

---

Myotis, Northern  |  Myotis septentrionalis

Details

Status: Endangered
Last Examination and Change: February 2012 (New)
Canadian Occurrence: YT, NT, BC, AB, SK, MB, ON, QC, NB, PE, NS, NL

Other names previously used by COSEWIC or synonyms:

Other names (common name): Nothern Long-eared Bat

Who sits where?

Voter turnout amazing, I think. 

• 65% our riding (LFLA)
• 75% Elizabeth May's riding, Saanich-Gulf Islands. A brand new Green Party MP.
• 61.4% nationwide turnout

The secret tweets have stopped. Although some were redacted! (One cannot tell the west coast how the east coast did, before the polls close. According to ancient legislation!)

The previous election result (2008)

We have some new Members of Parliament. 

Not, as yet, appointed.

The Prime Minister Stephen Harper (PM) went off to the Governor General to ask to form the government today. He said, yes. (Surprise!) I remember how ticked we all were when he asked them to prorogue parliament. Now he is happy. A majority. I was explaining all this to a young friend. How he has the majority of seats. Any MP can table a bill within the guidelines, but most will vote according to the party leader's direction. It will be smooth sailing for a year. Maybe.

Photo: Wiki user:
Makaristos

The PM now has to create a cabinet, with various members responsible for portfolios: foreign affairs, health, justice, treasury board, etc.

They all have assigned seats. How do they determine that? Hubby set off to his computer after dishes. It took a bit of digging!

We discussed this at dinner. Two choices: protocol and precedence, or some law somewhere handed down from the great kings and queens of England. In fact, they sit opposite one another, with the seats being three sword lengths apart. They sit on cushy chairs, with translation apparatus, quite cushy. In England they have benches. To discourage long speechifying?!

The governing party sits to the right of the Speaker. You can see the lovely throne and the gallery above in the photo.

With 308 seats, I asked, presumably there are 154 per side, 167 Conservatives, 102 NDP, 34 Liberals, and 4 BLOC MPs, it won't work out!

Never fear.

The party whip assigns seats, mostly based on protocol. The Prime Minister sits either in the 11th or 13th seat from the Speaker. (This was confusing and had both versions!)

His Cabinet is on either side of the PM. Front row for all.

The rest are placed according to seniority.
Then it is alphabetical, if they were elected in the same year. The newbies are in the back rows! Remember, we have these MPs on TV, and all must be placed to look their best!

Peace Tower
(My photo!)

However, it is like the Grammys. When MPs are away, they like to fill the seats. You'll notice that there are several women and minorities in the camera view behind the PM! The famous, 'dress in ethnic clothes' party demand.

WIKIPEDIA

Now, you might ask, what happens with the NDP? They are the Official Opposition.

The Opposition Leader (Jack Layton) sits directly opposite the Prime Minister. This helps when they are generally doing their ranting and supplementary questions.

The Opposition Leader's shadow cabinet sits on either side. Shadow Cabinet is an alternative cabinet to the government who shadows and provides critical opposition on policy matters to the government's position, e.g., foreign affairs, energy, health, finances, small business.

Here is the Green Party's list. This list will likely not change, which is why I place it here. In the government's case, and the official opposition, there are many who have either lost or gained seats in parliament, and changes are in the offing for both the CPC and the NDP!

The seal hunt in Canada

There is some discussion regarding protesters during out Vancouver Winter Olympics. While I am not a hunter, I have found some interesting conversations around this issue on Bill Anderson's site.

He wrote, in part...

If You’re Against Seal Hunting…


After all, I am Canadian and I am not against the seal hunt.
The article shares the thoughts of an anti-seal hunting organization by interviewing a key figure in that organization. In the article, I read the following line,

"The majority of Canadians across the country may want the hunt banned, but because of key marginal seats in fishing constituencies in the east, it would take a brave politician to stand up and call for an end to it. Entire Article Here"

In case, in the slimmest of hopes, there is some credibility to this outrageous claim, I would like to remind the public that those against the seal hunt are against the following:

And Bill goes on to cite those who eat beef, poultry, wear leather... you know the story. The press continues around this issue, but I wonder about it all.

Aboriginal hunters have not hunted white seals since 1987. It is interesting hearing the animal lovers who protest.

Randy Jenkins, Director, Enforcement, Fisheries and Oceans Canada – The hunting of harp seal pups known as white coats, or blue backs (the hooded seal pups), is illegal in Canada and has been since 1987. No person shall commercially hunt these animals and the Marine Mammal Regulations prohibit to buy, sell, trade or barter of these pelts.



Phil Jenkins, Spokesperson, Fisheries and Oceans Canada – For the sealers that take part in the seal hunt it's a very important activity for them. Some sealers reports that they can make up to 25 to 30 per cent of their annual income just from the seal hunt. At the same time, those sealers will go on later in the season to fish for groundfish, shrimp, crab. So all together, all these activities, including sealing, are very important to the sealers. And you know for people who want to remain in their coastal communities in Canada, some of which are very remote, and where there isn't much other economic opportunity, it's, sealing is very important for them. And the products that they, that come from sealing are everything from fur, to leather to oil. Seal oil capsules are becoming a health, a very popular health supplement. And so, there's a wide range of products, including these of course, that help contribute to the economies of these coastal communities.


Yes, Indian Culture is rich. Respect for the slain animal, in a prayer, honours the sacrifice. The cycle of life complete. The ceremony with our Governor General countered a lot of critical talk when she participated and eat the heart of a seal.

• Gov. Gen. eats slice of slaughtered seal's raw heart to show support for hunt
  
The Canadian Press, May 26, 2009 
• The harp seal population is healthy and abundant
• Seals are not skinned alive
• Seals can only be killed using a regulated instrument approved by the Marine Mammal Regulations   Any other methods of killing the animal are illegal.
• Canadian Government Make Slight Changes to Seal Hunt Regulations
• Seal Product Ban: Passes EU Panel
• Canada To Protest Seal Product Ban

CBC News - Canada - FAQs: The Atlantic seal hunt

27 Jul 2009 ... There are few issues more controversial in Canada and around the world than the annual seal hunt that takes place in the waters and on the

Canada's 2009 Seal Hunt

“We have made representations at all levels of the EU to inform them that the Canadian seal hunt is sustainable, humane and closely monitored,” said the Honourable Gail Shea, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans. “Our government will continue to counter the misinformation campaign by the anti-seal hunt lobby groups, and we will continue to defend the interests and livelihoods of Canadian sealers.”

• Canada Requests WTO Consultations on EU Seal Products Ban
  November 2, 2009 (Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada)
  
• Political animals
  The Economist, May 14, 2009
  
• True lies about the seal hunt
  The Telegram, Brian Jones, May 8, 2009

Canadian Statistics for our military

	WW I	WW II
% population of Canada serving	4%	9%

Visit My Muskoka for Remembrance Day post coverage.
This graph shows the percentage of troops who served in various wars, and the percent of those troops that died, were wounded, or became POWs.

WW I (1914 - 1918)

One veteran remains from WW I, out of an army of 328,736.

WW II (1939 - 1945)

As of March 1st, there were 163,500 veterans of WW II alive, of the 1, 031,902 who served

44,927 died and 53,145 were wounded, (including 19 women), 8,271 POWs.

In 2005 they were dying at 300 per week.

By 2009 they are dying, 400 a week, of natural causes. In all, 155,000 remain alive as of Nov. 11, 2009.

In WW II, a little over 50% of all males 18 - 40, served in the army, except from Quebec, which was about 25%.

Average age is 86. The youngest would be 82.

Korean War (1950 - 1953)

In the Korean War, 26,781 served, 516 died, 1558 wounded, 33 POWs.

There are 12, 500 still alive.

Since 1947, excluding Korea, 121 Canadians have been killed in peacekeeping operations (Cypress, Africa, Bosnia, Middle East).

Since 1947, there are approximately,  550,000 veterans, whose average age is 54.

Including the Cold War, and peacekeeping, 590,000 veterans were created including all of these services.

The ones killed in action we have gathered to honour, but many serve and continue to serve.

Gulf War (1990 - 1991)

Afghanistan (2002 - present)

Canada's Wounded Vets Wage New Battle on the Home Front (2007)
To date, more than 300 Canadian soldiers have been wounded in Afghanistan - some in battle, some by accident. Nearly half - 136 - were so badly hurt they needed to be flown back to Canada. Few have returned to work. Most, including Barnewall, have settled into a daily routine of physiotherapy and uncertainty. For them, the war on terror proved to be much more than a six-month tour.

 Canadians wounded in Afghanistan top 360...CBC News
28 Dec 2008 ... Canadians wounded in Afghanistan top 360 in past 3 years

CANADIAN WOUNDED AND INJURED IN AFGHANISTAN AT ALMOST 1000
2 Apr 2009 ... Ottawa Citizen;

Canadians in Afghanistan

Canadians in Afghanistan. Canada has been America's ally in Afghanistan from 2002.

Canada Day, July 1st

Happy July 4th, to my American friends!

Entertaining our family (daughter/granddaughter this week, son & friend the last) has kept me busy and I am belated in posting our Canada Day - Gravenhurst Market photos.

It has been wet, cool and rainy. We have had some house issues, too. The eavestrophe has leaked; we have wall damage where we have had ants take advantage of the wet wood, and the refrigerator crashed. Praise the Lord for our wonderful 'peeps' who will fix us all up shortly. If we must support the local economy this way I feel satisfaction that they are all good folks and deserve our business!

The Gravenhurst Market had a prize for the best costumed proprietors. It was so much fun.

Here is Barb, at her empty bake table. Barb handed out 200 Canada Day pencils with her baked goods. It was a busy day.


Karla (left) was dressed to the nines. She came 2nd in the contest.

Then I caught one fellow (the sausage man has the water gun) using Barb's gun.


Then there was and a fellow who was trying to avoid being arrested. He has his hands up. The police were in line beside him.

It was a very busy day. Parking was tricky. Some of the tourists dressed for the day, too!



This lady had a terrific Birthday Cake Hat.

This couple had Canada Day caps, and he had a bright red t-shirt.


Lots of fun had by young and old.

MTM - Rick Mercer in Gravenhurst

For MTM aficionados, I post two videos. The first shows our famous Gravenhurst steamships.
The second is about Canada, for the US MTM readers - to give a better understanding of our fair country! (Tongue in cheek!)

Who could resist that funny man, Rick Mercer?! Gravenhurst is a couple of hours north of Toronto, a half hour south from our place. I go back in time, when the water was open and warm. We had a dinner cruise for our August Anniversary (our 6th!). A cute young thing picked up my husband - I am glad to share! But, here is the CBC Rick Mercer Report video- who knew you could wakeboard behind a steamship?




And just for fun, here Rick explains what Canada is all about. He is a hoot.