Netflx

From Yahoo Movies:
"Netflix Raises DVD, Streaming Plan Price by 60 Percent"

Netflix Inc will raise by 60 percent the monthly price of a plan that lets subscribers watch unlimited movies and video online and get DVDs by mail. Customers who want both services will pay $7.99 per month to rent one DVD at a time plus $7.99 for unlimited streaming, or a total of $15.98 per month. The previous cost of this plan was $9.99 a month. "We are separating unlimited DVDs by mail and unlimited streaming into separate plans to better reflect the costs of each and to give our members a choice: a streaming only plan, a DVD only plan or the option to subscribe to both," Netflix Vice President of Marketing Jessie Becker wrote in a company blog post. "Given the long life we think DVDs by mail will have, treating DVDs as a $2 add on to our unlimited streaming plan neither makes great financial sense nor satisfies people who just want DVDs," Becker wrote. Netflix announced the new prices on Tuesday. The company did not respond to a request for comment. Unlimited DVD-only plans will cost $7.99 for one at a time or $9.99 for two at a time. The changes take effect immediately for new subscribers, and in September for current customers. The Los Gatos, California-based company started in the United States as a mail-in DVD service. It now offers streaming video on various devices.

^ I know that many people are complaining about this latest move that Netflix has made, but I like what they have done. I live in the mountains and get my Internet through satellite and it doesn't let you watch streamlined movies or TV shows. I watch all my movies from Netflix from DVDs by mail. With this new set of options I will now continue to get the same number of DVDs at a time as before and pay $3 less a month. I hope they don't buckle to those that complain and switch to something else (unless they lower the price people would pay for getting DVDs by mail and through streamlining.) ^

http://blog.movies.yahoo.com/blog/1701-netflix-raises-dvd-streaming-plan-price-by-60-percent

St Basil's: 450th

From Russia Today:
"Red Square's jewel marks 450th anniversary"

One of Moscow’s landmark architectural marvels Saint Basil the Blessed Cathedral, also known as Pokrovsky Cathedral, on Moscow’s Red Square, is celebrating its 450th anniversary on July 12. It was on this day in 1561 that the construction of the church was finally completed. The beautiful building was constructed between 1554 and 1561 by Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible to embody the military victories over the khanates of Kazan and Astrakhan in stone. Historical documents and archives give different accounts of what was there in the southern part of today’s Red Square before St. Basil’s. Some documents say there was a church made of wood while some recall a church of stone. Starting from 1929, during the Soviet period in Russian history, St. Basil’s was no longer operating as a church, but was made a museum as a part of Moscow’s Historical Museum. After the revolution of 1917 the cathedral was among the first architectural monuments to be taken under state security. Divine services were reintroduced within the cathedral’s premises after its complete reconstruction and restoration of its frescos, interior and exterior decoration and ornaments. In 1990, Saint Basil’s Cathedral was included on the UNESCO World Heritage List. To mark the cathedral’s anniversary, GUM shopping mall on Red Square is opening a photo-display.

^ It's pretty cool that St Basil's is 450 years old. I have been to Moscow many times and seen it (only from the outside.) I'm not even sure you are allowed inside or not. Having St Basil's in the background of your picture makes everyone know that you were in Moscow. It is a true landmark of the city that has suffered over the centuries. ^

http://rt.com/art-and-culture/news/saint-basil-blessed-anniversary/

South Sudan

From Yahoo News:
"South Sudan becomes world's newest nation"

South Sudanese citizens, international dignitaries and the world's newest president are convening in the new country capital of Juba to celebrate the birth of a nation. South Sudan became the world's newest country Saturday with a raucous street celebration at midnight. Dignitaries including U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell will watch under a blazing sun as South Sudan President Salva Kiir hosts a noon-hour ceremony. South and north Sudan battled two civil wars over more than five decades, culminating in a 2005 peace deal that led to Saturday's independence declaration. Sudan President Omar al-Bashir, the former leader of the south, is also to attend Saturday's ceremony.

^ I have read that this is now one of the poorest countries in the world. Hopefully now that it is independent it can work towards making itself modern and efficient. ^

http://news.yahoo.com/south-sudan-becomes-worlds-newest-nation-210254919.html

DADT Suspended

From Yahoo News:
"Army to suspend DADT discharges, accept gay recruits"

The Pentagon said today that it will cease processing the discharge of soldiers for being openly gay and that the services will begin to accept gay and lesbian recruits, The Army Times reports. Earlier this week, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered an immediate end to the military's "Don't ask, Don't tell" policy. In its decision, the appellate court found that the policy violates the constitutional rights of gay people to be treated equally under the law. Congress had voted to repeal the military ban in December 2010, but the Pentagon said it needed more time to train troops before the new policy could start. The Defense Department and the Obama administration have yet to officially certify the repeal, and once they do, the new policy would take another 60 days to go into effect. It's unclear if the government plans to appeal that court's ruling to the Supreme Court, which could at least provisionally reinstate the original timeline for ending "Don't ask." Only one servicemember has been discharged under the law since last year's successful repeal vote in Congress. Several Air Force members have voluntarily requested they be discharged under the law.

^ I know many people already think that DADT is suspended in the military, but as you can see it is a very slow process. It is like like when the military was integrated. The policy was made official in 1948, but wasn't really done until the mid 1950s. ^

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/army-suspend-dadt-discharges-accept-gay-recruits-184811496.html

NH Planned Parenthood

From Yahoo News:
"New Hampshire Planned Parenthood stops providing birth control"

Planned Parenthood has stopped providing birth control pills and other contraception in New Hampshire after the state's executive council rejected up to $1.8 million in funding for the group, which also provides privately-funded abortions. The move is expected to affect an average of 120 low-income women each day. Other services provided by Planned Parenthood, including pelvic exams, were also in peril. Under federal law, Planned Parenthood cannot use government funds to provide abortion, and Frizzell said it the group is subject to regular audits to ensure that only private money is used to pay for abortions. State and federal funds from the contract make up about 20 percent of the Planned Parenthood's annual budget in New Hampshire.

^ As long as their are Federal and State agencies that check and double check that their funds aren't being used for abortions then I don't see any problem with continuing funding the other services they offer. ^

http://news.yahoo.com/hampshire-planned-parenthood-stops-providing-birth-control-193313651.html

9/11 Memorial Visits

From USA Today:

"9/11 Memorial free timed tickets available online Monday morning"

In preparation for its opening on the tenth anniversary of the terrorist attacks, free timed tickets to visit the 9/11 Memorial at the site of the World Trade Center will be available online starting Monday . The Memorial design is defined by two reflecting pools, a grove of trees and the names of the victims inscribed in bronze.

The eight-acre memorial, which includes two deep pools replicating the footprint of the twin towers, will be dedicated on Sept. 11 and open to the public the following day. Names of the nearly 3,000 people killed in the attacks will be inscribed on bronze panels around the pools. Signup for the timed-entry passes will be via the memorial's website, 911memorial.org, beginning 9 a.m. Monday. The site will allow times to be reserved up to six months in advance. "The idea is that when people are planning their visits to New York City, we think this is going to be a place everyone is going to want to come down to and pay their respects,'' Joe Daniels, president of the National September 11 Memorial and Museum, said Thursday. "It's a place to sit and contemplate a space the public has not set foot on in 10 years.''

As at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., there will be information on locating individual names on the panels surrounding the two pools. Similarly, visitors will be allowed to leave flowers or other remembrances. "This is a ritual of this country and we're going to observe it,'' Daniels said. Access to the memorial will be limited because it is surrounded by construction on the remainder of the 16-acre trade center site: four office towers, including the 1,776-foot-tall building originally called the Freedom Tower, a transit hub and the 9/11 Museum. Visitors will line up at a plaza being constructed at the southeast corner of the site, then walk to an orientation and security screening center and into the memorial at the southwest corner. Access is expected to remain limited for three years, Daniels said. The entry plaza and pathway to the screening center and memorial entrance are currently under construction. "We're racing, in a very safe way, but racing to get this done for 9/12,'' Daniels said. Security screening will be similar to that at other public sites, such as the Statue of Liberty, he said. "During this period when it's a construction site, it is constrained access, it is a place that has been attacked twice, the feeling was we need to do some screening.'' The cost of the entry plaza, sidewalks and screening center is $16 million but the memorial faces a $3 million shortfall in funds to pay for it, memorial officials say. The memorial foundation, the city and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns the site, are negotiating how to cover the gap, Port Authority spokesman Steve Coleman said. Memorial officials say the site's capacity is about 1,500 people at once and they expect 4 million visitors during the first year. About a quarter of the memorial plaza will remain off-limits to visitors due to continuing construction of the transit hub adjacent to the memorial.Families of those killed in the 9/11 attacks can reserve passes through a dedicated phone line, and 500 families have already done so, said Michael Frazier, memorial spokesman. A private entry and security check in the screening area will be set aside for families. The memorial will also hold special visiting hours for neighborhood residents and for firefighters and police officers who responded to the 9/11 attack. "That's going to be pretty special, to have thousands of men and women paying respects at the memorial that is such a big part of their history,'' Daniels said. Bus tour companies will get allotments of memorial passes at times designed to keep heavy tour bus traffic out of the congested area during peak traffic hours, Frazier said. Although the online signup for passes gives users the ability to make a donation to the memorial and museum, "it is not required and it is not suggested,'' Frazier said; the timed entry passes are free. The September 11 Museum, which is scheduled to open in September 2012, will have an entry fee — either a suggested donation or a set price, which could be as high as $25. The annual cost of operating the memorial and museum is estimated to be $60 million, some of which could be covered by federal funds and private fundraising, Daniels said. "I don't think people will be surprised that to put on these exhibits and teach this history, it requires funding.''

^ It is good that the memorial will be opened and be free, but the museum should have been opened this year as well and should also be free. ^

http://yourlife.usatoday.com/mind-soul/story/2011/07/911-Memorial-free-timed-tickets-available-

Homeward Bound

When we got to Anchorage the train crew made us be the last off. I got our bags and looked for the taxi that should have been there. I didn’t see it and so asked a taxi driver (also from the Yellow Cab Capany) to call for it. He was pretty rude. I then called the taxi company and the woman I spoke to was even nastier. She tried to tell me that just because I reserved the taxi for a certain time didn’t mean I was guaranteed it would be there. Then she hung up on me. That really got me mad and I called back, but by then the taxi came. I told the driver to drive fast to the airport as we were 45 minutes late in being picked up. He drove pretty fast.

We got to the airport and went to the First-Class check-in for Alaska Airlines. It moved very slowly because the old guy was too busy flirting with two 16 year old girls. Then when it was our turn I gave him our IDs and instead of looking it up he asked what flight number we were on. When I told him I didn’t know he asked what time we were going to Seattle. I told him 1 am and he said that couldn’t be as there were no flights then. I showed him my paper from Alaska Airlines that said there was and he got our boarding passes (not sure how since the flight didn't exist according to him.) We then went to wait in the TSA line. They had no people telling us that there was a handicapped lane (as the First-Class lane was closed.) The TSA at Anchorage were beyond unprofessional and one of the worst I have ever seen. They had no lanes open and no one working (just standing around.) We had to wait 20 minutes to get screened and when I asked one of the TSA women who was at the metal detector talking to her friend and not doing her job she started talking to me as though I was dumb. A guy came up to me and said he was head of security. I told him about the lack of organization and how unprofessional his people were. As usual with these people he didn’t care. We finally made it through security and went to the Boardroom (which was pretty run-down.) We stayed for a few minutes and then left for the gate.

We pre-boarded the plane (although they let people with children before us even though they are supposed to wait until after those in wheelchairs.) The chair had to go under the plane again. We had the same seats as we always did (aisle 2.) It a 3 hour flight to Seattle. This time we didn’t have to take a train to another terminal, but the same nasty smell was there and we had to go from Terminal D to C. We saw on the news that the judge give his ruling in the Casey Anthony case and some people around us didn’t like it (I didn’t either.) We then boarded the plane bound for Boston. They served us some quiches which all of us who ate them complained about – they were just plain nasty. When we landed in Boston we got off the plane and waited for the chair to be brought up. The guys kept bringing the strollers and big bags even after we asked them for the wheelchair. I had words with the Delta/Alaska Airlines woman meeting the plane about it. We then got our bags and I called the shuttle for the off-airport parking. We kept seeing the busses for the right company go by us, but not the accessible one. We waited outside (luckily it wasn’t raining) for about 40 minutes until it came. We got our car and with my mom’s directions (which were much better than the GPS ones) we go to I-93 without much trouble. We decided to eat at the same Cracker Barrel that we did when starting the trip – since we don’t get down there much. It was weird to go from 10 days of not driving and having 21 hours of sunlight to driving in the dark, but we made it home and everything was in-tack. I couldn’t sleep last night because of the jet lag and so unpacked. Then early this morning I picked up the dogs from the kennel and got all the held mail – which had some birthday cards and presents for me.

I have to say that despite some issues and problems I had a really good time in Alaska. I credit it mostly to my mom. It seems that whenever we go on a trip together lately we have a good time (just like last December when we went to Germany, Croatia, Bosnia and Montenegro. I would go back to Alaska, but would tweak things. Since I didn’t care for Anchorage I would try to skip it and spend more time in Fairbanks. I would also not stay at the Denali Princess Lodge or take the Kenai Fjords Tour. I would also reconsider taking Alaska Airlines and going anywhere near the Seattle Airport.

Seward

The next day (Monday, July 4th) we ate breakfast and then checked-out. We then took the Park Connection Bus to Seward with a stop in both Anchorage and the Talkeenta Alaskan Lodge (where we had stayed.) The driver was nice (an ex-military guy now a high school band teacher) but he didn’t tell us that it was wheelchair accessible until after we got on. We stopped in Anchorage for 1 ½ hours and were supposed to go to the Anchorage Museum, but instead we got directions to a mall where we ate at Arby’s. When we got back on the bus we had a new driver (a butch-looking woman.) She was not a good driver and kept hitting the strips on the road. Since it was the 4th of July everyone kept saying we would hit lots of crowds, but all the traffic was leaving the peninsula and not going into it like we were.

We arrived at the Seward Windsong Lodge (owned by the same company as the Talkeenta Alaskan Lodge.) I checked(the receptionist was a Polish woman) in and we walked to our building with the hotel guy who had our bags. Our room was on the first floor, but I didn’t see a ramp and when the guy called the front desk they told him where it was. I opened the door to the room and saw right away that there was a problem. The room only had one king-sized bed. I immediately went back to the main Lodge and spoke with the same Polish woman. I told her: “The room only has 1 king-sized bed.” She said “Yes.” I said “ I am with my mother.” She said “Yes.” I then said “I am her son.” She replied “ Yes…….OHHHHHHHHHH!) She finally understood what I was talking about. She got her supervisor who said that I was supposed to have the connecting room with another king-sized bed, but they had messed up and booked it to someone else. In the end they gave us a suite with 2 Queen-sized beds and a ramp. The supervisor had also said that she would have the handicapped accessible shuttle pick us right up at our building the next morning for our tour. We didn’t see or hear fireworks – apparently they have them very late in Alaska because their sun doesn’t set for 21 hours and even then it’s not completely dark. We did hear a large group of Indians (from India) making loud noises directly above us, but that stopped once I called the Polish woman at the Front Desk.

We ate dinner at the Lodge’s restaurant. I had steak which was pretty good. There was a funny incident there. The water woman (who I later learned was from Hungary) was pretty so I kept trying to drink lots of water so she would have to come and refill it. I had 5 glasses of water (on top of everything else) and eventually stopped when another waitress filled my last glass.

The next morning (Tuesday) we had a small breakfast and went back to our building to wait for the shuttle. When it didn’t come we went to the Main Lodge where they told me that they hadn’t received any word about needing the accessible shuttle. Then the supervisor told me it would take 5 minutes and when that passed the manager told me another 5 minutes. I was upset because every time we needed the hotel to do something they messed it up. I let them both know that I wasn’t pleased and couldn’t trust their word since their actions showed otherwise. 15 minutes later the shuttle finally came and took us to the small boat harbor.

We had an 8 ½ hour Kenai Fjords Cruise. The company (Kenai Fjords Cruise Tours) was very bad. They considered their boat to be modern and wheelchair accessible even though there were stairs and you had to leave the chair to get around. The tour was way too long and most of it was boring. I did see seals, porpoises and ice breaking off a glacier. They stopped on an island for a salmon and prime rib dinner, but I was so disgusted with the tour company and their staff that I didn’t have a thing. I made sure we were the first ones off the boat when the tour was over. We got the accessible shuttle back to the Lodge and went to their bar. I had a large pizza (there was only one size) that was alright while my mom had nachos that were well over 2 lbs. and completely burnt. We were getting pretty upset with the Lodge until we got back to the room and saw that the manager had left a letter saying that he was sorry for everything and that we would get a free breakfast the next morning.

On Wednesday (July 6th) we checked our bags at the hotel for the train to Anchorage. We had the whole day to ourselves and so took the shuttle into town with our carry-ons and went to the Sea Life Center (where they take in wounded sea animals.) It was a pretty neat place with lots of seals, birds, puffins, and other animals. We walked down a 30 minute bike path from the Sea Life Center to downtown Seward and had lunch at a local diner and then dessert at an ice cream shop next door. We stayed in a square by the small boat harbor until the winds got so strong and then we walked to the train station and checked-in. We pre-boarded the train and had the worst crew ever. Siting it front of us were some rednecks from Florida who couldn’t get over the fact that each seat had a tray table “Just like them airplanes.” Also in our car not too far from us were 3 very drunk women in their 40s. You could hear them even before they got on the train and when they got to our car they all shouted at the same time “We want beer. Give us beer.” Which the train crew gave them - nothing like cutting them off. Shortly afterwards they went to the outside part of the train where you couldn’t hear them and then came inside and fell asleep. We ate dinner on-board and so the 4 hour trip went by faster.

Denali

That Saturday we took the shuttle to the train station and checked our bags to our hotel (the Denali Princess Lodge.) The train was the same as before. When we got to the station the shuttle to the Lodge was nowhere near the train as the other hotels were. Also the bus was wheelchair accessible, but the driver didn’t tell us that (we found out after we got on.) We were the only ones on the shuttle and the whole ride to the Lodge the driver kept talking to us. I found out later he was giving us wrong information. We checked-in and had to walk outside to our building only to find that they had given us a room on the second floor that had no ramp and 50 stairs. Also the trolley shuttle around the Lodge was not accessible. I went back to the main Lodge and had the same woman who checked us in. I asked her how she expected us to go up stairs with the chair. They had us wait while they found us another room. This time the room was on the bottom floor with a ramp.

After checking-in I also went to the hotel Tour Desk and asked them about where to get the bus tour the next day – since the shuttle driver had told us we had to go a distance from the hotel. It turns out that after the hotel woman called around we finally got the right answer, but were told that the bus tour would not take our chair (as we had been told in writing from them that they would.)I called the bus company to find out about the chair since it was going to be a 13 hour tour. The woman at the tour company was pretty stupid and so I called our company (Alaska Tour and Travel) and had them deal with it even though they wanted me to – I just kept telling them that we had paid them to do all this and so they needed to get it done. We were basically told we wouldn’t know for sure if we could go on the tour until the next day if the chair fit. That is not what you want to hear when you are on vacation. Despite all this bad service in the first hour of arriving at the Lodge we bought tickets to a Dinner Musical Show. The show was ok. They served some kind of fish and ribs for dinner and the show was about the history of climbing the mountains around Denali – with people who had been on Broadway - we kept being told.

The Denali Princess Lodge is owned and operated by the Princess Cruise Line and was such a disappointment. Not only were the staff (as I already mentioned)poor, but also the food – we had lunch at the restaurant – and there were bedbugs in our room. I would not stay there ever again. Even people on tours with us that were with Princess/Holland America said they didn’t like the service or food.

On Sunday we ate breakfast and waited for the bus to come. The bus (Kantishna Tours) came and the guide (who like most people we met in Alaska were ex -hippies from outside the state) had me push the chair into a tight spot in the back of the bus – it just barely made it. So we got to go on the tour. The tour itself was pretty interesting. It was 13 hours long and you had to take the buses as no personal cars are allowed and we saw all sorts of animals (a bear, caribou, sheep, moose, etc.) The one annoying thing at the beginning of the tour into Denali State Park were the 3 doctors from California who kept shouting that they saw animals and they turned out to be rocks - they did that for hours. We made a few rest-stops along the way (the bathrooms there were really clean and nice even though they were outhouses.) At one of the stops we were given drinks, cookies and fruit. We stopped for lunch at the Kantisha Roadhouse which was a remote hotel inside the State Park. The 3 doctors sat at our table and kept trying to flirt with one of the waitresses even though they were in their 60s and she was in her 20s. She told them that she was Russian and I asked her something in Russian and she answered me in English – I don’t think she was really Russian (also her name tag said "Mariane" which isn't a Russian name. After lunch (which was a turkey wrap) we watched a dog sled demonstration. Luckily, the 3 doctors and several other people stayed at the hotel or took a plane back rather than the bus tour. On the way back out of the park the annoying doctors were replaced by a drunk Polish woman who was flirting with a French guy she just met (and everything she saw was an animal even if it wasn’t.) The tour was fun, but we were glad when it was over since it was so long and bumpy. When we got back to the Lodge I walked across the street and got some food at Subway – they don’t have $5 foot longs, but $10 ones.)

Fairbanks

The next day (Wednesday) we took the shuttle back to the train station and checked our bags. Since we were going to Fairbanks we couldn’t check them right to our hotel, but had to pick them up at the train station. The train was the exact same as the first one and we were in the Gold Star car again. The ride to Fairbanks took 4 hours and we had both lunch and dinner on it (which wasn’t that good.) I wrote all my post cards to people on this train and mailed them at the train station in Fairbanks. When we arrived in Fairbanks I got our bags and found the shuttle to our hotel (the River’s Edge Resort.) The shuttle was not wheelchair accessible. I should pause here and say that not only did I have our tour company (Alaska Tour and Travel) tell all the trains, tours, busses, boats and hotels about the wheelchair, but I also personally e-mailed or called the hotels and trains myself and was told that they would be.

We didn’t have to check-in at the hotel since we were given our keys (which were the oldest looking card keys from the 1980s.) I did set up the shuttles for our tours though. Our room – which was a small cottage – was alright.

The next day (Thursday, June 30th - my birthday.) We ate breakfast at the hotel and then took the shuttle to the Discovery Riverboat Cruise. We had no issue boarding with the chair. On the cruise we saw a pilot take off and land on water and went to an Indian Village (they call themselves Indian and not Native Americans.) In my opinion there is no such thing as a Native American since they all crossed over from the Bering Sea and hence aren’t native – they are just earlier immigrants then the rest of us. The best part of the Indian Village was the dog sled team. There was one dog in particular that kept running up to my mom and jumping up to her. I guess she (the dog) thought the chair was a sled. Even people around us kept commenting on the same dog staying with us. I got a lot of good pictures with them. All-in-all the cruise was pretty good.

When we got back to the hotel we ate at the hotel’s restaurant. Since it was my birthday I had the filet mignon. It was cooked just right and tasted great – I haven’t had steak of any kind in a restaurant in the past 2 ½ years because New Hampshire doesn’t know how to make them well-done. The only down side to the meal was the waiter who smelled - it was a mixture of marijuana and bad body odor. I was also able to get birthday wishes from friends and family via e-mail and Facebook which was pretty neat. I had a good birthday even though we were in Fairbanks.

The next day (Friday, July 1st – Canada Day) we ate breakfast at the hotel again and then around 11 am a shuttle came and took us to a part of the Fairbanks Airport for our tour to the Arctic Circle. The tour company people were very nice and helpful. We bought peanut butter and jelly lunches from them to eat on the tour – my mom ate her sandwich, but I didn’t have mine for some reason. We took a small plane an hour and half to Coldfoot . I took a picture of the GPS when we crossed over the Arctic Circle. From there we met our guide and took a van to the village of Wiseman – with a population of 13 families. There we talked to some local guy and saw his house (he has the same Internet satellite we do.) The one good thing is that the guide drove my mom and me around the village since the chair couldn’t go in all the mud and holes. One thing that put me off about the village was that they didn’t have any Indians, but kept talking as though they did. We took the plane back to Fairbanks where the shuttle brought us back to the hotel. We had dinner at the hotel restaurant where this time we had a good waiter, but the kitchen kept messing up our order (I had filet mignon again since everything else was fish or seafood.) Before going to the Arctic Circle tour I called the Alaskan Yellow Cab Company in Anchorage to reserve a wheelchair accessible car to take us from the Anchorage Train Station to the Airport at the end of our trip. The first woman I spoke to (her name was Easter) was beyond stupid. She kept saying I wanted the car at 22:10 and I kept saying that I wanted it for 10:15 pm or 22:15. Then she kept asking me for the address to the train station in Anchorage – which I didn’t know and told her that there was only one and that her company was only in Anchorage and should know it. The last straw was when I asked her how much it would cost and she first said she didn’t know and then said “Let’s say around $20.” I didn’t trust her with the reservation and so asked for a supervisor and after having to yell and shout at her several times she transferred me to another dispatcher and I had the reservation checked with her. The story with this taxi continues later.

I have to say that after going over most of Alaska I found Fairbanks to be the best place both in terms of the tours and the people. I would definitely like to go back there.

Talkeenta

The next day (Tuesday) we had a continental breakfast that was included and then waited for the shuttle to come. It was late and when I asked the receptionist the first time she said he was 5 minutes away. When I went back 10 minutes later she said he was still 5 minutes away. I asked her if we could just walk to the train station and she said we couldn’t (we later found out we could have.) I told her that I did not care for the disorganization of the shuttles to which she tried to act as though I was the one who scheduled and ran them so late. The shuttle did come 15 minutes late and it took 2 to get to the train station. We checked in our bags and they were tagged to our hotel in Talkeenta (the Talkeenta Alaskan Lodge) so we wouldn’t have to get them when we arrived.

There are two classes of travel on the Alaska Railroad: Adventure Class (Economy) and Gold Star (First-Class.) We were in Gold Star. We got our boarding passes and they helped us pre-board. The Gold Star cars have the dining car on the lower level and the passenger seats on the glass-enclosed upper level. There was a small elevator that was very slow so we didn’t have to take the stairs, but we did have to get a crewmember every time we wanted to use it. The Gold Star cars also have their own dinning car separate from the Adventure Class one, but you had to walk down stairs to get to it so we had to sit in the regular dinning car each time. Also the only bathrooms were downstairs. We had to wear little pins saying we were in the Gold Star car and the crew took those very seriously. While we were in the regular dinning car having breakfast (which was really good – we both had stuffed French toast) the conductor came through asking for our tickets – I guess he didn’t see our pins, but once he saw us sitting back in the Gold Star seating area he left us alone. There is one annoying thing that happened to us on every train we took throughout our trip: the crew members would always hang out in the Gold Star car right behind our seat and talk the whole time to each other. I can tell you who is sleeping with whom and who got in trouble for what. I don’t think that was very professional at all, but especially not in the Gold Star cars.

When we got to Talkeenta – after 8 hours - we were met by the hotel (the Talkeenta Alaskan Lodge) shuttle – which was wheelchair accessible - that took us to the Lodge. We got there around noon and couldn’t check-in until after 3 pm so they kept our bags for us and we had lunch and then went on our glacier tour at 3 pm. We were in the lobby of the Lodge and saw a guy walk in look around and leave without saying anything. As he was driving away I saw a sign on his van that said “K 2 Aviation” which is the company we needed. I had the Lodge call the company and they sent someone else for us – you would think that the guy would at least announce why he was there if he was picking people up.

I didn’t care for the people at the K 2 Aviation. They didn’t keep you informed – especially when we were already late leaving. We were scheduled to take a small plane and land on a glacier, but they didn’t let our plane land on the glacier – they said it was because of heavy snow, but the plane that arrived before we left got to do it and I think the one after us did too. I think they didn’t want us personally going on the glacier (they made us prove that we could get in and out of the small plane when they didn’t make anyone else.) It was a big disappointment especially considering that we only went to Talkeenta for one night solely to do the glacier tour. It would have been cool to brag to others that we had walked on a glacier too. We got a slip from the company to get a partial refund from our tour company, but like I said it’s not about the money but the bragging rights.

The Talkeenta Alaskan Lodge was nice. We had a mountain-view room in the main Lodge. The food was good as was our waiter (we had him for both dinner and then breakfast the next day.) The hostess and other restaurant staff were pretty rude several times though. I should mention that throughout our trip I saw many Russians everywhere – it is as though they were leftover from when Russia owned Alaska (which they did up until 1867.)

Alaska Bound

We dropped our two dogs off at the kennel on Sunday (June 26th) and started our trip. We had dinner at Cracker Barrel (in New Hampshire) and then headed to Boston and our hotel. We got stuck in a big traffic jam in Medford, Massachusetts. They are doing construction on I-93 over the summer. Eventually we made it to our off-airport parking center where they were nice enough to drive us to our hotel (the Hilton that is connected to Logan) instead of making us take their shuttle to Terminal A and then a hotel shuttle - the hotel is connected to the airport by two very long covered walkways which we took when we went to Iceland last March and didn’t like. We checked into our room and watched TV.

The next morning (Monday, June 27th) we took the hotel shuttle back to Terminal A and went to check-in with Alaska Airlines. I should mention that I have never flown Alaska Airlines before. I should also mention that I found Alaska Airlines (like other places in Alaska we went to) have their own sense of time. When a flight is supposed to leave at 8 am to a non-Alaskan it means that it will leave sometime between 7 am and 9 am to an Alaskan and you just need to be ready at a moment’s notice. We had First-Class tickets and so stood in the line for First-Class only to find there was no one working there. We had to wait and go into a regular check-in. When it was time to go through security we again looked for either a First-Class or a handicapped lane, but did not find one. I have had issues in the past with the TSA at Logan, but this time they were pretty good. We found our gate and waited for our flight.

They pre-boarded us (which didn’t make much difference since we were in First-Class) and wanted to put the wheelchair under the plane – even though there are closets inside every plane for one chair right in front. We had a few words with the flight attendants and they finally agreed to let the chair on-board. The head flight attendant even had the nerve to say that while we were boarded first we would be taken off last to which both my mother and I replied that that was not going to do especially since we had a connection to make.

The flight itself was pretty bumpy. The food (which was free in First-Class) was not very good or tasty. Their entertainment systems (again free for us) were handheld things that made it hard to watch – they should have been on the back of the seats like most airlines. They had a few current movies, but most were from the 1980s and a few from the 1960s. One good thing is that you could change movies whenever you wanted instead of waiting for all the movies to play before they restarted them. We were able to pay to use Internet on-board though – which was the first time I have ever used the Internet on a plane in the air. The rest of the flight was uneventful.

We landed in Seattle where we made sure to be one of the first off the plane (seating in Aisle 2 helped) with our chair and right away I noticed the disgusting smell, the overcrowding and the filthiness everywhere. We landed in Terminal N (which looks and feels like a shack) and had to take a train that gave the station information in Japanese first and sometimes in English to Terminal C. We had some time to kill before our next flight and we wanted to go to Alaska Airlines’ Boardroom, but found out it was too far away and so then we went to the main food court where there were no tables and lines of 5 people deep. We went to Wendy’s where they messed our order up. We took the food back to the gate to sit and found the food too disgusting to eat. I do not like the Seattle Airport and will not go back there if I can help it. It feels more like being in a Third World Airport than in an American one.

Again we pre-boarded for our flight to Anchorage (with the same random time changes.) The plane was exactly the same as the one we took from Boston with the same movies, bad food, etc. The only difference this time is that we had to put the chair under the plane instead of inside the cabin – I guess someone’s coat was more important because that’s all that was in the closet.

We landed in Anchorage where I first thought the airport was pretty nice (that would change.) Alaska Airlines has a policy that your bags will be delivered to you within 20 minutes – which they kept the whole time – and so I got our bags and went to the hotel phones to call the Comfort Inn only to find it was not listed and so you couldn’t call them since you needed a special hotel number to call them. I went outside to tell my mom right when a Comfort Inn van pulled up. The guy was looking for a group of 3, but took us instead (we never did get that group of 3.) There were 2 other people in the van that were from Connecticut. For the first part of the trip we only met people from New England and then the last part we met only people from the South.

We got to the Comfort Inn (which was close to the train station) only to find it very creepy and smelling of sewage. People were fishing in a very small creek right across the street. We checked-in and made arrangements for our shuttle the next morning to the train station. Since there was no restaurant on-site and we didn’t want to take a taxi to one we called a pizza place and they delivered to us.

That was our trip from New Hampshire to Anchorage. It took us 3 hours to drive to Boston by car, 6 hours to fly to Seattle where we had a 3 hour layover then a 3 ½ hour flight to Anchorage where we were 4 hours behind Eastern Time. It took some getting used to having 21 hours of sunlight too.

Going To Alaska

I am going to Boston tomorrow to start my vacation to Alaska. And no I'm not going by cruise. It is a private tour that will include planes, trains, boats and buses. I don't know when or if I will write while I am gone, but definitely will when I get back in just under 2 weeks. For those wondering I will be celebrating my birthday (a big one) on this trip.

Gilad Shalit: 5 Years On

From Yahoo News:

"Israel marks five years since capture of soldier"

Parents of an Israeli soldier snatched by Palestinians five years ago chained themselves to railings near the home of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Saturday to protest their son's continued captivity. Sergeant Gilad Shalit's parents Noam and Aviva, his brother Yoel and Yoel's girlfriend Yaara Winkler used a length of chain and a padlock to attach themselves to the railings of a building metres (yards) from Netanyahu's official residence. "We are a family already in captivity for five years; we'll stay here as long as necessary," Noam Shalit told journalists. The group was quickly ringed by members of Netanyahu's security detail, but there was no immediate attempt to move them. The action took place close to the pavement protest tent where Shalit's parents and supporters have spent the past year. Earlier Saturday, French Ambassador Christophe Bigot gave Aviva and Noam Shalit a letter from French President Nicolas Sarkozy to Gilad, who also holds French nationality, saying "France will never abandon you." Sarkozy's letter, addressed "Dear Gilad" and seen by AFP, said the French president does not accept "the isolation which your jailers have imposed upon you for five years, in violation of all the norms of international law and the most basic principles of humanity." "You are spending the years of your youth in the most extreme solitude," Sarkozy wrote. "This situation is outrageous. Nothing could justify it." "It is time for those responsible for your captivity to take the decision to cease this endless, unacceptable and revolting imprisonment." Bigot told reporters France was doing everything possible to win Shalit's freedom but that he could not give details.

In Gaza City, Hamas organised a ceremony of its own. Its supporters erected a fake jail cell and had someone dress up as Shalit in an Israeli army uniform. A cake with five flowers, to indicate the five years of his captivity, was placed in front of him. A loudspeaker played a recording of Shalit pleading with Netanyahu to free him. It was taken from a video -- the last proof he was alive -- that was released in October 2009. A banner said: "The Red Cross asked for the release of Shalit, but we are asking the Red Cross if it has heard of the 7,000 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails." On Friday, White House spokesman Jay Carney said "the United States condemns in the strongest possible terms his continued detention, and joins other governments and international organisations around the world in calling on Hamas to release him immediately." UN chief Ban Ki-moon called for Shalit's "immediate release," and asked Hamas "to protect his life, treat him humanely, prove that he is alive and allow the Shalit family to have contact with their son."

^ For anyone who thinks that the Palestinians deserve their own state when the government they elected into power (Hamas) is a terrorist group that kidnaps people they should go and talk to Shalit's family and hear what they have to say. I'm sure that after doing so they will quickly change their mind. ^

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110625/wl_mideast_afp/israelpalestiniansprisonershalitanniversary

NY Allows Marriage

From the BBC:
"New York state approves gay marriage"

New York has become the sixth and most populous US state to allow same-sex marriage.

The Republican-controlled state senate voted 33-29 for a bill that had earlier been approved by the lower house, which has a Democratic majority. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo quickly signed the bill into law. Gay weddings are expected to start within 30 days. It has become a contentious social issue ahead of next year's presidential and congressional elections."New York has finally torn down the barrier that prevented same-sex couples from exercising the freedom to marry and from receiving the fundamental protections that so many couples and families take for granted," Mr Cuomo said in a statement. He kept his promise to sign the bill as soon as he received it after the Senate vote - rather than wait the usual 10 days. Gay rights activists said the approval of the bill was a key victory for them, in what is seen as the birthplace of the US gay rights movement. "It's about time. I want to get married. I want the same rights as anyone else," 36-year-old student Caroline Jaeger told Reuters news agency.

Places where gay marriage is legal in the US:

New York, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont and Washington DC.

^ I think it is good that New York is now the 6th state to allow gay marriage. I only wish the state (along with the other 6 and DC) allowed the voters to decide in each place. I think then it would hold more meaning if the majority of a state's residents vote for gay marriage. It is odd that I have lived in 3 of the 6 states that allow gay marriage. I don't think there is any connection though. ^

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-13914013

Good People In An Evil Time

This book is written by Svelana Broz (the granddaughter of the former leader of Yugoslavia, Josip Broz Tito.) It deals with her interviews during and after the Bosnian War. One aspect that I like about the book is that it has people from all sides (Croats, Serbs and Muslims) and is spread throughout the country of Bosnia. While Svetlana Broz was born in Belgrade (Serbia) and she moved to Sarajevo (Bosnia) you do not get the sense that she is pro-Serbian or pro-Bosnian.

It was a very interesting read and shows how people who did not want the war dealt with it when it came to them. Sometimes they were treated well and other times they were not. One item that I found mentioned throughout the book by the Croats, Serbs and Bosnians is that when a massacre or looting did happen it was mostly done by people from another region and not the locals.

Last December I went to Mostar for the day and was helped several times by the locals. I do not know if I was in the "Croatian" side or the "Bosnian" side. All I know is that we were near the Old Bridge. I also don't know if we were helped my Croats or Muslims or both. Unlike Serbians, Croatians and Bosnians who can tell by the way a person speaks or by their name I can't. Plus I don't really care who helped me. The fact that several different people helped me without me having to ask and without us being able to speak the same language is all I need to know.

People should read this book because it gives an insight on how ordinary people live during wartime. Of course no one really knows how they would act in such a situation it is still thought-provoking.

70 Years: Barbarossa

From Deutsche Welle:

"Germany's WWII offensive against Russia, 70 years later"

June 22 marks the 70th anniversary of the start of Germany's offensive against the Soviet Union in World War II. To examine the historical significance of this, Deutsche Welle spoke with Wolfram Wette, a professor of history at the University of Freiburg.

DW: What was the objective of the military offensive "Operation Barbarossa," which began on June 22, 1941?

Wolfram Wette: The objective was to conquer the Soviet Union, to decimate its population, to exploit the land - in order to colonize the country with Germans in the distant future. So it was a war for the capture of "Lebensraum," or "living space," in the East. They wanted to colonize the Soviet Union up to the Ural Mountains in order to create an self-sufficient, strongly protected Greater German Reich from the Atlantic to the Urals.

Was it then a racially motivated campaign of annihilation?

This aspect belongs directly to that aim, and is inseparably linked with the war in Russia. Hitler was convinced that Russia was dominated by "Jewish-Bolsheviks." And of course you could conquer this area and be able to use it for German purposes once you eliminate this establishment. The plans were made based on a speech by Hitler on March 30, 1941, given before 250 generals commanding the Eastern Army.There he said very clearly that it was a war of annihilation in which no prisoners would be taken. Hitler said the Red Army soldier should not be considered a comrade protected by the rules of war. In practice, this meant that of the 5.7 million captured Red Army soldiers, more than 3 million perished in German camps.

Even decades after the Second World War, Germany has tried very little to talk about these terrible deeds, to push them aside. Why has the invasion of the Soviet Union been such a non-issue for so long?

After 1945, the army elite very systematically spread the legend of the clean and professional Wehrmacht. And in doing that, they placed all of the responsibility for the crimes that took place in the East on the SS. They said they did the dirty work. And we conducted a war in accordance with human rights. This legend of the clean Wehrmacht was very gladly accepted by all who served. Even the small soldier said, "I fought for a clean military, not for a band of criminals." So there was a collective exoneration, a collective excuse that carried on for decades. And it took a long time until the historical research was able to create cracks in the body of the legend.

And how does that look on the Russian side?

Naturally very different. The Soviet Union was a victor in the Second World War. Stalin was exalted by the people at the time of capitulation as someone who mobilized the country, who held together the huge Red Army, who brought weapons production up to speed - which in the end resulted in victory. So everything concentrated positively on the personality of Stalin - with the consequence that all of the crimes of Stalin were repressed. The victory of the Soviet Union at that time was something that welded the country together, that stabilized it and that made it possible for it to become a world power for a half century. In this respect, the German aggression against the USSR turned out to be a stabilizing factor for communist domination - even though it was intended to end Bolshevik rule.

It's quite astounding to see that Russian people today hardly feel any hate toward Germans. No one looks at the other as an enemy. The Germans could not hope for a better situation. A large learning process has taken place in the last few decades in Russia as well.

^ I agree with most of these answers. The one thing I have an issue with is at the very end where he says the Russians and former Soviets do not harbor any ill will towards the Germans. I remember my language school director inviting an old German (a student from eastern Germany) to give a speech on Victory Day - May 9th - it was all a farce and everyone there booed him until he left the stage. He was giving a speech (in fluent Russian) about how far the Russians and Germans have come and how much they can continue to grow. He was too young to have fought in the war and grew up in Soviet occupied East Germany. I don't see why people place blame on those who were either too young or not even born yet when there are still thousands alive today that were 18 or older and are to blame. ^

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,15154398,00.html

Russian City Discriminates

From Moscow Times:

"Disabled Face Escalator Ban in St. Petersburg Metro"

Yevgenia Gurova, a 21-year-old student, is seething after St. Petersburg authorities banned her from entering or exiting metro stations with escalators. That means she is only allowed access to the seven city metro stations with stairs. The other 57 stations are off-limits."If they think that the stairs are safer, they are wrong," Gurova said by telephone Tuesday. Gurova, who was banned from entering the metro in her wheelchair twice late last week, brought the ban into the spotlight over the weekend by complaining to St. Petersburg Governor Valentina Matviyenko. "They should find other, more appropriate ways to deal with the problem," Gurova said. The problem she is referring to is a recent series of accidents in which people in wheelchairs tumbled down the escalators, a metro spokeswoman said by telephone, without elaborating on the accidents. The ban is not new, but metro staff began enforcing it after the accidents for the safety of people in wheelchairs, she said, speaking on customary condition of anonymity. The ban draws new attention to the difficulties encountered by disabled people in Russia, where access to public facilities is limited or nonexistent. Gurova asked Matviyenko to take action on the issue without delay and "cancel the illegal order." Matviyenko has not replied to Gurova's appeal, but her deputy, Yury Molchanov, has ordered St. Petersburg metro head Vladimir Garyugin to initiate a tender for equipment that would allow wheelchair users to safely enter and leave the stations, the city government said in an e-mailed statement. The statement said new stations would be equipped with ramps for wheelchairs, but no mention was made about lifting the ban. City ombudsman Alexei Kozyrev lamented the ban, and Public Chamber member Yelena Nikolayeva called it a "worldwide shame" and "direct violation of federal laws," RIA-Novosti reported.

Federal legislation obliges local authorities to provide the disabled unimpeded access to public facilities. However, failure to do so carries small fines of up to 3,000 rubles ($110) for individual officials and 30,000 rubles for state bodies.

There are 235 escalators in the St. Petersburg metro's 64 stations, but none have elevators for the disabled, according to the metro's web site. Russia's infrastructure for wheelchair users is virtually nonexistent, even in big cities like Moscow and St. Petersburg, which effectively confines many to their homes. But the Moscow metro does not ban people in wheelchairs from using escalators at their own risk, metro spokeswoman Svetlana Tsaryova told The Moscow Times. She refused to comment on how safe it is. Moreover, Moscow metro rules explicitly oblige workers to cater to passengers in wheelchairs — unlike the metro rules in St. Petersburg. That does not mean, however, that traversing the Moscow metro in a wheelchair is easy. Of the 182 stations, only a handful of recently built ones are equipped with elevators and ramps for wheelchairs. The majority of stations, built in Soviet times, do not have such facilities, and their construction does not allow them to be adapted for wheelchair use, Tsaryova said.

^ Saint Petersburg is openly discriminating against the disabled despite Russian laws forbidding it. It is the 2nd largest city in the country and one of the main showcases for foreigners to see Russia. The Federal Russian Government should step in and not only make laws making it illegal to discriminate against the disabled, but also enforce the laws and penalties. They should do what the mayor of Sochi did - he made every public official go around the city in wheelchairs so they can see firsthand how hard it is for the disabled on a daily basis. ^

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/st-pete-metro-turns-away-wheelchairs/439287.html

Airline Dissatisfication

From Yahoo News:
"Airline passengers fed up with service except for Southwest"

Saddled with added fees and higher fares, travelers are fed up with paying more and getting less from major airlines, survey results released on Tuesday showed. With the exception of Southwest, the no-frills airline where bags fly free, major airlines fail to satisfy leisure travelers and disappoint business travelers even more, according to the annual American Customer Satisfaction Index. "There's been a bubbling discontent for airlines for some time, but the situation has worsened slightly from a year ago," said ACSI managing director David VanAmburg. Travelers cited poor service, higher prices and fees for baggage and other services as the main causes of their discontent, it said. Passenger satisfaction with airlines dropped by 1.5 percent to a score of 65 on ACSI's 100 point scale. Scores have generally hovered in the mid-to-low 60s for the last decade. Southwest continues to reap top customer service ratings -- and a score of 81 -- in part because it has not taken anything away from customers and then offered it back for a fee, said VanAmbur "Now it's the Deltas and Uniteds and Americans that have to act like Southwest has for years," said VanAmburg of Southwest's minimalist service model. Behind Southwest, Continental scored 64, American 63, United and US Airways tied at 61 and Delta dropped to 56 on the ACSI scale. Surveys from 2,000 customers put airlines at the bottom of the heap of some four dozen industries tracked by ACSI, alongside newspapers. Business passengers reported being the least satisfied. "We're seeing a greater discontent among business travelers simply because they are putting themselves out there more to be let down by the airlines or an experience," said VanAmburg. Recent mergers, known to have a detrimental affect on satisfaction, pose added pressure, he said. Delta Air Lines plunged to the bottom of all the airlines for customer satisfaction one year after completing its Northwest acquisition, ACSI reported. The fate of United, which absorbed Continental, and Southwest, which acquired AirTran, remained uncertain, it said.

^ This is no surprise to me. I am flying (not on any of these airlines) next week and hope that I can say that the airline I am using for the first time - Alaska Airlines - did a great job. ^

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110621/us_nm/us_airlines_dissatisfaction

NFNS

This week they had to use some kind of chocolate candy in their dish. Jyll won that challenge and got to pick her team for the next one. She choose an all girl team (leaving Penny out.) Then Robert Irvine and Duff came to say they had to make desserts for 150 + people.

The all-girl team were very annoying. Not one of them took charge and their food was nasty. The guy/Penny team was a mess in the kitchen, but their food was the best and they won the challenge.

Alicia was sent home. I am so glad because she was very annoying and always crying. The fact that she messed up on her cupcakes (when she did that for a living) was the icing on the cake.

Canada Post Strike

From The Canada Post Website:

"Lockout at Canada Post – What It Means To Customers"

Mail Deposit and Delivery:

■All mail processing plants and letter carrier depots are closed and all facilities have been secured. No new mail will be accepted. Large volume mailers cannot deposit or receive mail.

■Mail Delivery is suspended to all addresses served by letter carriers represented by the CUPW (Urban). Some mail delivery will continue over the first few days of the lockout to clear mail remaining in the system in suburban and rural areas where delivery employees are represented by a different bargaining unit.

■Street Letter Boxes, mail slots on Community Mail Boxes, and other Canada Post mail-receiving equipment have been cleared and sealed to prevent mail from being deposited.

■Through a previous agreement, Canada Post and CUPW will ensure that a number of socio-economic cheques will be delivered on June 20. Please visit canadapost.ca/cheques for more information.

Post Offices:

■All post offices staffed by CUPW members are closed.

■Post Offices located in suburban and rural areas staffed by members of the Canadian Postmasters and Assistants (CPAA) continue to be open but cannot accept new mail.

■Authorized Dealer Post Offices are also open but cannot accept new mail. Some Dealer Post Offices may be operating at reduced hours.

■Post Offices that remain open offer limited products such as MoneyGram and Money Orders but no new mail will be accepted. Many open Post Offices will also have parcels and other mail items delivered prior to the lockout available for customers to pick up.

Electronic Services:

■Canada Post’s website, canadapost.ca, is fully operational and offers up-to-date information on the labour situation.

■The Electronic Shipping Tools and Online Business Centre are operational, but some functions may be limited.

■epost is fully operational and remains a recommended tool for consumers to use for important communications and to receive statements and effect payments to many financial institutions, utilities, and retailers.

Service Guarantees:

■Effective immediately, all service guarantees are suspended, pending resolution of the labour situation. Check product terms and conditions on canadapost.ca for more information.

Duration:

■Canada Post cannot predict how long the current labour situation will last.

■We apologize to our customers for the inconvenience this situation is causing. We are making every attempt to reach a settlement and resume normal operations as soon as possible.

^ This is completely unprofessional for a government agency (regardless of which country it is in) to do. I really hope the ordinary Canadians show there disgust with Canada Post and the union and send their mail by FedEx, UPS or another company. Then the only thing those strikers would receive is a pink slip. ^

http://clients.infopost.ca/en/

Karol: The Pope, The Man (2006)

This is the sequel to "Karol: A Man Who Became Pope" and tells the story of Pope John Paul 2's reign as the leader of the Catholic Church. This movie is just as good as the first. Piotr Adamczyk did another good job playing the Pope in this film. Everyone should see the first movie and the second so that they can understand what a truly great man Pope John Paul 2 was.

Karol: A Man Who Became Pope (2005)

I watched this movie the other day and really liked it. It tells the story of Karol Wojtyla (who later became Pope John Paul 2) through his experiences during World War 2, becoming a priest and then life in post-war Communist Poland. Piotr Adamczyk plays Karol and did a really good job. It is a good movie that shows people that even before he became Pope Karol Wojtyla was a great man who suffered like everyone else and yet came out even better for it.

The movie came out just after Pope John Paul 2 died (in fact it's release date was moved because of his death.)It is too bad that the Pope couldn't have lived to see the movie and his portrayal. I think he would have liked it.

TNFNS

Last night I watched the show. This week two people were sent home. For the first challenge they had to make a pizza (it was a little annoying how Giada says pizza - she always talks like she is trying way to hard.) Unfortunately, Penny won the challenge. Juba was sent home.

The second challenge they had to make a difficult dish easier for home-cooks. Since Penny won the first challenge she chose the groups for the second one. Not only did they have to cook, but they had to do it in front of Anne Burrell, Scott Conant and Pat and Gina Neely. There were three teams and so three winners: Whitney, Mary Beth and Justin B. Katy was sent home.

Last week the judges said that Penny was trashy rather than sexy (as she claimed) and this week she continued her nastiness. The judges liked her "Middle Eastern Mother" concept. I didn't see that. All I saw was that she continues to be a trashy witch. While I don't have any favorite to win right now I know that I want Penny sent home.

Stupid People

Two weeks ago I got the idea to try and overlook the countless idiots and stupid people I seem to meet on a daily basis. Well, I tried and that failed. While I do not start out being mean or nasty to people (at least before I meet them) I will no longer back-down if they start it. Of course like anything you need to "pick your battles" and while I won't back-down in a challenge I will continue to gauge the intensity of how I deal with idiots and adjust it accordingly.

I should say that I spent 4 summers working at an overnight camp for the mentally and physically disabled and have found them to be some of the smartest and nicest people I have ever met. The stupid people I am referring to here have no medical issue as to why they are idiots - they just are.

Not all situations are life-threatening and here's where the "picking your battles" comes into play. There are those people I have personally dealt with in the medical field and at public institutions that believe they have complete authority and final say over you. Those are the people I will continuously be on guard for and stand up to. In the case of the medical field it can be (and has been in the past) a case of either life or death or quality of life issue. In the case of public institutions it can be (and again has been in the past) a case of discrimination. Both of these are very important and should never be allowed.

There are those people who believe you should have a "positive attitude" and treat everyone nicely and good things will come out of that. While I respect their beliefs and hope it works for them I have found the opposite to be true for me. I have found that when I am ready for a fight (not physically, but mentally) then things usually turn out ok. It is when I go in to a place (especially one I have dealt with before) thinking that nothing bad will happen and it does. That may seem strange for some people, but I have found it to be true - in my case - and have tried it throughout the world.

I am not saying that I don't sometimes over-react to things because I know I do and have. Sometimes a situation or person just gets on my last nerve and I lash verbally out. In those cases I usually think about what happened afterwards and see my mistakes and what I should have done. Sometimes I even ask others how they thought I handled the situation and hear what they say - whether I agree with their assessment or not.

One thing that really gets me is dealing with a hypocrite. Those people tend to be the "holier than thous" that say one thing and do something else - hence the term hypocrite. I know who I am and do not sugar-coat it. People may like me or not, but in the end I usually do as I say and I say as I do. With me you get what you see unlike the many others that bounce all over the place.

In the end there will always be stupid people in the world. By acknowledging that fact people can decide how they want to deal with them. I have acknowledged that fact and, as you can see from above, am working to horn my skills when dealing with them.

Jeep (Update)

Here is an update on the accident that happened over the Easter weekend. The garage in Troy, NY (H and V Collision Center) was the first place that we took the Jeep to. We had to get a rental car and go back to NH. 10 days later the garage said the car was ready and so we drove back to NY. When we looked at the Jeep I noticed the front license plate holder was still missing and told the guy that. At first he said that he didn't know if we lived in a state where you had to have a license plate in both the front and the back. I told him it didn't matter which state I lived in since when we bought the Jeep from a Jeep dealer it had a license plate holder. He then showed me a picture of the holder on his computer and I said that was what we wanted. Since we were going back to NH I asked him to mail the holder to us there.

When we got back home I tried the 4WD and it didn't work. I called my insurance company and told them about it. They gave me the name and address of a garage in Concord, NH that they work with and I brought the Jeep there. We had to get another rental car. The repairs took a week and we picked up the car last Friday. On a side note: the NY garage forgot to mail the license plate holder and I called them. First the guy said that Jeep didn't make them and when I wouldn't accept his excuses he finally found one. The thing they sent to me was just a bar and not the rectangular holder. I called my insurance company again (which was always a hassle since the guy never picked up the phone or get back to me for several days)and he had th 2nd garage put one on.

We took the Jeep home and noticed that the 4WD still didn't work. This time the lever wouldn't go down and was making all sorts of noises. I called the 2nd garage and they said they had a 3rd garage in Concord do the work. We took the car in today and waited about 1 1/2 hours. They gave us the keys back and said they changed a switch (although they didn't say anything about the lever.) We drove home and I tried the 4WD several times and each time everything worked. It has passed the first test and I will continue to check the 4WD off and on over the next few days just to make sure. We live on a mountain road that requires 4WD for 6 months out of the year.

So, after 3 garages over 1 month the Jeep seems to be finally done. Hopefully I can put all this behind me and have nothing new happen.

The Next Food Network Star

Last night the new season started. As of right now I do not have particular favorites. It seems that all the guys look exactly the same. There are a few people who stand out (whether for good or bad.) First there is Howie. He is on the radio and it's clear that he is only on the show to get noticed and move to TV (since he admitted and the judges agreed that he wasn't a good cook.)He also let another person do all his cooking for him - which she was stupid to do since she didn't get her dish done - and then he denied getting any help. Then there is Penny whose concept is bringing sexy back. The judges said that her concept made her trashy. She seems to be the nasty one in the whole group. There's Alicia who is from Missouri and talks with a funny accent. It would be one thing is she just had a bad, thick Southern accent, but she is trying to hide her Southern accent and so it comes out like she is a man acting like a woman (with a really deep voice.)Justin B may be a good cook, but he looks like a gelfling. Then there's Vic who I have seen on the show "Challenge" many times. He wasn't able to plate any of his dishes. Lastly, there is Orchid who won both challenges and is the judges favorite, so far.

Howie is the first person to be sent home. I am really glad that one of the people I do not like is no longer there.

Ambush (1999)

This is a Finnish movie (called "Rukajärven tie" in Finnish) about the Continuation War between Finland and the Soviet Union from 1941-1944. It is about a Finnish soldier (played by Peter Franzén) and his financee (played by his real wife, Irina Björklund.) The soldier believes his fiancee is killed by the Soviets in an ambush and he goes on a special mission with his troops. In the end, his fiancee survives (she was captured by the Soviets and it is alluded to that she was raped) and the two see each other again.

The movie is pretty good. I had learned a little about the Winter War and the Continuation War fought between the Finns and the Soviets, but had never seen a movie about it.

There were a few comical scenes in the film. The main one that the troops ride around the war on their bikes. That is so hysterical to me. I had always heard people make fun of the Poles fighting German tanks on horseback and now I learn the Finns were fighting the Soviets on bikes (I wonder if they were Schwinns.)

US Finally Looking For Dead

From Yahoo News:
US to search for war dead in Philippines

MANILA (AFP) – The United States won permission Friday to search for the remains of American troops who were killed or went missing while fighting Japanese World War II occupation forces in the Philippines. Under the agreement, Joint Prisoner-of-War and Missing-in-Action Accounting Command teams from Hawaii would make short, periodic trips to try, with local help, to find the remains of the fallen, ambassador Harry Thomas said. "Sadly, for over 65 years, many of those Americans who fought alongside Filipinos and gave their lives to liberate the Philippines in World War II have never been accounted for, as their remains have never been found," Thomas said. "Thanks to this new undertaking... we now have an opportunity to address this. We are grateful for this cooperation which will eventually bring closure to so many families," Thomas said in a statement. Neither side explained why it had taken so long to reach an agreement. "The (agreement) honours the shared sacrifices made by the armed forces of both countries that stood together side by side to defend freedom during World War II," the Philippine foreign department said in a statement. The two governments did not say how many US soldiers went missing in the Philippines during the war. The remains of 17,202 other American servicemen, most of whom lost their lives in operations in New Guinea and the Philippines, are interred at a 152-acre (62-hectare) gated cemetery in Manila.

^ There is absolutely no excuse why it has taken 60 + years for this to happen (except for the lack of concern on the part of the two governments.)The US should have done more to find and identify their dead so they could honor them correctly since they died serving their country. The Filipino's should have done more to help since the soldiers died defending them from the Japanese. ^

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110603/pl_afp/philippinesuswwiimia

Sobibor Closed

From Yahoo News:
"Sobibor exhibition hall closed for lack of funds"

WARSAW, Poland – An exhibition hall at the former Nazi death camp of Sobibor has been closed because of a lack of funds, a Polish official said Friday. The memorial site's spokesman, Marek Bem, also said guided tours at the site have been discontinued. Bem said talks are now under way with the Culture Ministry to secure financing that would allow the exhibition hall to reopen next year. He said the problems arise from the fact that Sobibor is funded by the local government rather than the central government, like other Holocaust sites. Experts believe at least 167,000 people were killed at the camp. Sobibor is in a remote part of the country and receives relatively few visitors. Very little remains at Sobibor, which was destroyed by the Nazis. An outdoor memorial mound of ashes, plaques and stone monuments to the victims remain accessible to visitors. John Demjanjuk, a former Ohio autoworker, was convicted May 12 of 28,060 counts of accessory to murder after a Munich court found he served as a guard at Sobibor. He was sentenced to five years in prison, but was immediately released pending his appeal, which could take as much as two years, after the court ruled he was not a flight risk.

^ This is a complete disgrace! Even if there is nothing left of the death camp it is still the site where thousands upon thousands of innocent men, women and children were murdered. It is a historical site that needs to be preserved. I think that Germany should pay to preserve and run all the death and concentration camps as they are the ones who started the war, created the camps and killed millions upon millions of people. It is not enough that they pay the survivors, but if they are truely sorry for what they did (or what their parents or grandparents did) then the least they can do is pay for the preservation of the camps so future generations will know what happened during the war. If I was Poland I would hand Germany the bill. ^

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110603/ap_on_re_eu/eu_poland_holocaust_museum

Red Baron (2008)

I saw this movie yesterday and wasn't really impressed with it. It is a German movie (about the famous World War 1 flying ace, Manfred von Richthofen known as the Red Baron) and yet the whole thing was in English. There is just something off-putting when you hear a group of real German actors talking to each other in what is supposed to be German and yet they all have British accents and say things like "Bloody good." I know that not the whole cast was German, but still it didn't have a good flow to it.

I don't know much about the Red Baron so can't really compare the actor who played him here to the real life one, but in the movie he seems very arrogant.

One aspect of the movie that I found was thrown in the viewer's face several times was the fact that there was a Jewish pilot. His plane had the Star of David on it and at the end the director said that there were many Jewish pilots in the German Air Force in World War 1.

During World War 1 there was no open, official discrimination of Jews in Germany so the fact that the pilot was Jewish would not have mattered. It only came up once the Nazis took control in 1933 and officially discriminated against the Jews (although those Jewish veterans of World War 1 who fought for Germany or the Austro-Hungarian Empire were given special exemptions at the beginning.) It seems the German director was trying too hard to show that the Germans did not always hate the Jews and his attempt was just too much.

I think that had the film been either completely in German or as in the case of several of more current movies (like "Dresden") where those portraying Germans speak German and those portraying the British speak English, etc it would have been more realistic and much, much better.

Sarajevo Siege Museum

From Yahoo News:
"Sarajevo to store memories of Mladic siege in museum"

Twenty years on from the siege of Sarajevo, artists in the Bosnian capital are planning a museum to commemorate the 44-month atrocity for which Ratko Mladic faces a war crimes court this week. Artists groups are putting together an ambitious project to build and open a museum to mark the 20th anniversary of the start of the siege in May next year, and city authorities have donated a vacant lot for that purpose. Since the end of Bosnia's 1992-1995 war the priority has been given over to rebuilding a ruined city, where 10,000 people were killed. Now Bosnian artists say it is time to remember the horrors, but also celebrate Sarajevo's unique spirit. "It will not show the city as a victim, but rather as a place where a spirit defeated terror," said Suada Kapic, one of the artists who launched the project. Dino Mustafic, a theatre director and head of the museum project, said "the Sarajevo siege museum will be a house of survival. "It will be a testimony on the spirit of a town that experienced difficult moments in history, but that managed to miraculously renew itself," he told AFP. Audiovisual exhibits and objects from the dark days of the siege will serve as a reminder. The collection will also include some 1,400 wartime interviews with Sarajevans. Sarajevo's 350,000 inhabitants lived for 44 months under constant shelling and sniper fire from Bosnian Serb forces under Mladic, without water, electricity or heating. An underground tunnel, dug in 1933, enabled some food and arms to be brought into the capital. Some 10,000 civilians, including 1,500 children, died during the siege. When space in the city cemetery ran out people were buried in a neighbouring football field. "For everything I do, I'm inspired by the siege experience since it marked me completely," said artist Sejla Kameric, just 14-year-old when the siege began in April 1992. Now, she is one of the artists involved with setting up the siege museum she refers to as a testament to human resilience. "The siege marked me since I was there for that four years, it is a part of me and most of my works are linked with the war, the wartime experience and experience of a life in a besieged town," Sejla Kameric told AFP. Her latest work in a feature length film about her experiences during the siege called "1395 Days without Red". The arrest and Mladic future trial make the establishment of a siege museum all the more pressing, said Mustafic. "Mladic's arrest is extremely important for the future of this region since it is important that everyone faces the facts from the 1990s," he said. "We live in a difficult time where people try to relativise historical facts." Among the exhibits will be the 1993 Sarajevo Survival Guide, a tongue-in-cheek manual with tips for surviving the dark days of the siege.

"Sleeping is entirely conditioned by the arrival of water and electricity. If they appear at the same time, the shock is complete. The race against time starts -- in order to use both in the best possible way," the guide reads. "We were following the break up of a civilisation and the establishment of a new one," said Kapic, who edited the guide. The siege -- the longest such blockade in post-World War II Europe -- lasted until November 1995. Mladic, now 69, was arrested in Serbia last week and extradited into the custody of the International Criminal Tribunal in The Hague to await trial on charges of genocide and war crimes after almost 16 years on the run. As well as the siege of Sarajevo, he is chiefly accused of masterminding the 1995 Srebrenica massacre of about 8,000 Muslim men and boys, Europe's worst atrocity since World War II.

^ It is a great idea to open a museum on one of the longest sieges in modern history so that people do not forget what happened and to teach those that don't know much about the Bosnian War. I hope that the museum will have things from all sides (the Bosniaks and the Serbs) to give the whole picture. Ever since I went to Croatia, Montenegro and Bosnia (Mostar) last December I have been reading as much as I can about the wars in the former Yugoslavia. I had a basic understanding of what happened, but now have an even better picture from all sides involved. If I ever go to Sarajevo I would like to visit this museum. ^

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110601/lf_afp/bosniawarcrimesmladicsiege

Memorial Day

Today is Memorial Day. Today we remember the men and women who fought and died protecting our country. You would think that because we are currently in two wars and have soldiers dying more people would stop for a minute and pay homage for those that are giving up their lives so we can have carefree moments. Unfortunately, most people only think about going swimming, having BBQs, etc and not those that had to die so we can be free.

Not much was mentioned on the news today (and most days) about the wars and those that are dying. The media tends to only focus on one story until it becomes so annoying that you don't want to hear anything more about it (currently it is all the tornadoes.)

I realize the sacrifice that our soldiers (and their families) make so that I can sit here and write about it without any worries. I only wish others would do the same.

My Canadian Passport

Last Friday I finally got my Canadian Passport in the mail. Passport Canada did the same thing to me that they did my mom when she applied last year. They rejected mine/her application the first time because of the photos. We both got them done at the one and only place here in NH the Canadian Consulate in Boston told us about. Canadian Passport pictures are completely different from American ones and so we wanted the correct ones.

My mom got her passport the second time and so did I. Luckily Passport Canada doesn't charge the fee unless they grant you a passport. I get the feeling the Canadians (or maybe it is just the Quebecois in Gatineau) do this to Canadians living in the US to mess with us. Either that or they reject them simply so they can meet their 20 day turnaround.

At least I now have it and I can use the Canadian Passport when entering Canada and my American Passport when I enter the US. I have to say the picture in my Canadian one looks better than in my American one, but the Canadian one is only valid for 5 years whereas my American one is good for 10 (and they were about the same price.)

I Am Number 4 (2011)

I really liked this movie. It seemed like it was like the movie "Jumper" which I also like. Alex Pettyfer did a good job as did Diane Agron. The film moved pretty quickly, but wasn't too complicated. If the movie had gone slower I probably wouldn't have liked it, but since it was fast-paced and had a lot of cool special effects it was a good movie. I assume they are going to make a sequel - which I would watch.