Ethel The Frog

  • Weyburn, Saskatchewan, Police Continue To Be Busy

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    February 9th, 2012EthelCanada, Current Affairs
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    If you’ve followed my posts in the past you will recall that, when I visit Canada, I like to report on the “horrible crime problem” in small Saskatchewan towns and cities.

    Below is the police report from the latest edition of The Weyburn Review. (Weyburn is a city of about 10,000 residents, about 35 miles from the North Dakota/Montana border).

    It’s shocking, but you will read that, among other atrocities:

    - Harassing text messags [sic] were sent from one man to another! Thank God the investigation is still ongoing!
    - The police attended several parties . . . (Shouldn’t they have been working, rather than attending parties?)
    - And . . . a chronic problem here . . . a man left a motel without paying! And he is a “serial non-payer”!
    - I like this one: “Police investigated a fraudulent e-mail that requested personal credit card information. The complainant became suspicious and avoided personal loss.” Whew! That was a close one! Can you imagine! A fraudulent email requesting personal information! I’d call the police, immediately, if I ever received such a thing! (If you don’t know what I’m talking about, just send your credit card and bank account information to Ethel@EthelTheFrog.com and I’ll show you how it works).

    Weyburn Review

    Please don’t misunderstand me . . . I’m not making fun of these small town Canada “problems” . . . To the contrary, I’m envious! How would those of us who live in Los Angeles, Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Detroit, Phoenix, San Jose, New York, etc., etc. like to say that our biggest crime problem is a noisy party, the receipt of a “fraudulent e-mail”, or the occasional intoxicated individual outside a bar!

    Yes, it’s a little bit cold and snowy up here . . . but I don’t have to worry about being the victim of a drive-by shooting or a random crack-head murder. Poutine (Google it) is a bigger killer here than guns, drugs or gangs.

    I’m off to sleep soundly.

    Ethel

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    • Saskatchewan Roughriders

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      August 25th, 2011EthelCanada, Sports
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      My favorite football team, the Saskatchewan Roughriders, have had a tough first half of the current season. They have won only one of eight games.

      Some major personnel changes were needed, and have been made (including the sacking of the head coach).

      The team had this weekend off, and I’m confident that when they again hit the field (on September 4th) they will again be the winning Riders that we know and love.

      In the meantime, I am presently visiting the city of Calgary – the home of the Riders arch rivals, the Stampeders. As you might imagine, the Stampeder fans are coming up with plenty of Roughrider jokes.

      For example:

      A seven year old boy was at the centre of a courtroom drama this morning
      when he challenged a court ruling over who should have custody of the
      boy. The boy has a history of being beaten by his parents and the judge
      awarded custody to his aunt.

      The boy confirmed that his aunt beat him more than his parents and
      refused to live there. When the judge suggested that he live with his
      grandparents the boy cried out that they beat him more than anyone. The
      judge dramatically allowed the boy to choose who should have custody of
      him.

      Custody was granted to the Saskatchewan Roughriders this morning as the
      boy firmly believes that they are not capable of beating anyone.

      What’s the difference between the SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS and the
      Taliban?
      A. The Taliban has a running game.

      How do the SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS count to 10?
      A. 0-1, 0-2, 0-3, 0-4, 0-5, 0-6, 0-7, 0-8, 0-9, 0-10.

      What do the SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS and Billy Graham have in common?
      A. They both can make 27,000 people stand up and yell “Jesus Christ”!

      How do you keep a SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDER out of your yard?
      A. Put up goal posts.

      Where do you go in REGINA in case of a tornado?
      A. TAYLOR FIELD – they never get a touchdown there!

      What do you call a ROUGHRIDER with a GREY CUP ring?
      A. A thief.

      What do the SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS and possums have in common?
      A. Both play dead at home and get killed on the road.

      How can you tell when the SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS are going to run the
      football?
      A. The Running Back leaves the huddle with tears in his eyes.

      Ha, ha, ha. We’ll see who has the last laugh at the end of the season!

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      • Saskatchew-where?

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        December 5th, 2010EthelCanada, Current Affairs, History, Politics
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        Map of Saskatchewan

        This is from the San Francisco Examiner:

        San Francisco ExaminerSaskatchewan takes its stereotypes in stride. People here joke that their province is so flat you can watch your dog run away. For days.

        To most Canadians, it’s just a Texas-sized near-rectangle of fly-over country, home to flinty farmers who distrust big business, elected the first socialist government in North America in 1944 and kept it in power for the better part of 66 years.

        “The only stories you ever saw out of Saskatchewan were weather, a drought, a flood or some farmer with a piece of straw in his teeth who found a three-headed turtle,” says Pamela Wallen, a former journalist.

        In short, went the stereotype, this was a great place to be from, but not to be in.

        But hold on; what are Porsches doing on those ruler-straight roads? How come the housing market is booming? What has this land of hockey, howling winds and deep-freeze winters got that is attracting immigrants from the Philippines, China, Ukraine, Iraq, India and South Korea?

        The short answer is an economy driven by a staggering abundance of natural riches — oil, potash, wheat, uranium — and a provincial government eager to create a business-friendly, immigrant-welcoming climate to boost its finances and million-strong population.

        Saskatchewan is probably best known for producing singer Joni Mitchell, hockey great Gordie Howe, and the late Tommy Douglas, the first socialist premier. Douglas also founded health-care-for-all in Canada, was grandfather of actor Kiefer Sutherland and in 2004 was chosen as “The Greatest Canadian” in a contest run by the Canadian Broadcasting Corp.

        These days, however, Saskatchewan is in the news for a more prosaic reason: potash, the mineral that lies under its prairies and fertilizes farms the world over. Premier Brad Wall believes it was a thwarted foreign takeover of Saskatchewan’s biggest potash mines that awakened Canadians to the wealth in their midst.

        “A lot of Canadians were probably shocked,” he told The Associated Press. “Canadians discovered that we’ve got 53 percent of the known reserves of something. Saudi Arabia doesn’t have that percentage of the world’s oil. There isn’t a resource like it in the world in terms of one country having such a dominant position.”

        And not just potash. Saskatchewan has a quarter of the world’s reserves of uranium and Canada’s second biggest oil reserves. “We sell more oil to the U.S. than Kuwait,” Wall said.

        To fend off a $38.6 hostile bid for Potash Corp by BHP Billiton, an Anglo-Australian giant, Wall’s government mounted a vigorous PR campaign to promote potash as a strategic industry and Saskatchewan as a business magnet in its own right.

        This month the federal government agreed the sale was not in the national interest and blocked it.

        The publicity over this clash of corporate titans drew headlines and the result, says Wall, is that “The world is kind of tuned into what Saskatchewan is saying. They are kind of interested in this place that’s hard to spell and pronounce.” (Pronounced Sass-CATCH-who won, the Cree name means “swift-flowing river.”)

        Wall, 45, is a peppy, trendily tailored Canadian, a football lover who keeps a collection of helmets in his office. He exemplifies the changing of the guard in Saskatchewan since his conservative government took office three years ago, as well as a psychological change.

        Many Saskatchewanians carry a folk memory of the 1930s, when the province was devastated by the Depression, says Ralph Goodale, who represents a Saskatchewan district in the national parliament for the opposition Liberals.

        “For the longest while agriculture was the only game in town,” Goodale said. But as the economy has blossomed, “I think that really has put a bounce in the step of Saskatchewan people. They are less pessimistic and more optimistic now than I’ve ever seen them.”

        Canada has largely weathered the global recession, nowhere more strikingly than in Saskatchewan. It has Canada’s lowest jobless rate. It’s famously loyal to the British royal family — a statue of Queen Elizabeth II on a horse stands outside the provincial legislature in Regina, Saskatchewan’s capital — yet is happily diversifying its population.

        Wallen, the ex-journalist, who is now a conservative senator, says many Filipinos have moved to her hometown of Wadena, Saskatchewan, population 1,500.

        “They land from the Philippines into winters where it’s 40 below,” Wallen said. “But they are excited by the adventure. Somebody meets them at the airport with a parka. It’s kind of the spirit of these places.”

        Young people use to flee Saskatchewan in droves, but now the population is growing for the first time in decades, to an all-time high of 1,045,622 people this year, 16,498 more than in 2009.

        House prices have doubled in the last three years. Don Atchison, mayor of Saskatoon, the biggest city, says Saskatchewanians used to drive the oldest cars and trucks in North America, Mexico included. Now he sees new cars everywhere.

        Vaughn Wyant, who opened a Porsche dealership this summer, says mind sets have changed.

        “It was almost a crime around here to be too successful and it’s not that way any more. It’s a right-leaning and business-focused economy,” he said. Wallen likens the old Saskatchewan to East Germany before the fall of the Iron Curtain.

        Dwain Lingenfelter, a Saskatchewan leftist, doesn’t think it’s all roses.

        Lingenfelter, who leads the leftist New Democratic party in the province, says the economy was doing quite well when it was in power.

        “Oil production has actually gone down since Brad Wall was elected. Natural gas production is down by 12 percent, pork production is down by 50 percent, beef production is down,” he said. “The economy was booming with record numbers of oil wells drilled and gas wells in 2007, not in 2010.”

        He said the gap between rich and poor was widening and housing was becoming unaffordable for the less affluent.

        “Some people are seeing rental rates go up by 20 or 30 percent a year and their wages are frozen and these things just don’t add up for working people.”

        But he acknowledges the upside. “It’s exciting times in Saskatchewan,” he told AP. “I don’t want to make it sound like there’s huge problems because there isn’t.”Corner Gas Cast

        Check out these related blogs

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      • Rider Fans Making Their Way to Calgary

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        November 26th, 2009EthelCanada, Sports
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        Here is a photo of Saskatchewan Roughrider fans making their way to Calgary for the big Grey Cup game in Calgary on Sunday:

        Rider Fans

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      • Advice!

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        October 22nd, 2009EthelCurrent Affairs, Health and Wellness, Uncategorized
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        Here is some advice that I picked up via e-mail in the last couple of days:

        1.  How to Avoid the H1N1 (“Swine”) flu:

        Dr. Vinay Goyal is an MBBS,DRM,DNB (Intensivist and Thyroid specialist),
        having clinical experience of over 20 years. He has worked in institutions
        like Hinduja Hospital, Bombay Hospital, Saifee Hospital, Tata Memorial, etc.
        Presently, he is heading our Nuclear Medicine Department and Thyroid clinic
        at Riddhivinayak Cardiac and Critical Centre, Malad (W).
        The following message given by him; I feel it makes a lot of sense and is
        important for all to know
        The only portals of entry are the nostrils and mouth/throat. In a global
        epidemic of this nature, it’s almost impossible not coming into contact with
        H1N1 in spite of all precautions. Contact with H1N1 is not so much of a
        problem as proliferation is.
        While you are still healthy and not showing any symptoms of H1N1 infection,
        in order to prevent proliferation, aggravation of symptoms and development of
        secondary infections, some very simple steps, not fully highlighted in most
        official communications, can be practiced (instead of focusing on how to
        stock N95 or Tamiflu):
        1. Frequent hand-washing (well highlighted in all official communications).
        2. “Hands-off-the-face” approach. Resist all temptations to touch any part of
        face (unless you want to eat, bathe or slap).
        3. *Gargle twice a day with warm salt water (use Listerine if you don’t trust
        salt). *H1N1 takes 2-3 days after initial infection in the throat/nasal
        cavity to proliferate and show characteristic symptoms. Simple gargling
        prevents proliferation. In a way, gargling with salt water has the same
        effect on a healthy individual that Tamiflu has on an infected one. Don’t
        underestimate this simple, inexpensive and powerful preventative method.
        4. Similar to 3 above, *clean your nostrils at least once every day with warm
        salt water. *Not everybody may be good at using a Neti pot, but *blowing the
        nose hard once a day and swabbing both nostrils with cotton swabs dipped in
        warm salt water is very effective in bringing down viral
        population.*
        5. *Boost your natural immunity with foods that are rich in Vitamin C.
        *If you have to supplement with Vitamin C tablets, make sure that it also has
        Zinc to boost absorption.
        6. *Drink as much of warm liquids (tea, coffee, etc) as you can.
        *Drinking warm liquids has the same effect as gargling, but in the reverse
        direction. They wash off proliferating viruses from the throat into the
        stomach where they cannot survive, proliferate or do any harm.
        drDr. Vinay Goyal is an MBBS, DRM, DNB (Intensivist and Thyroid specialist), with over 20 years of clinical experience. He has worked in institutions like Hinduja Hospital, Bombay Hospital, Saifee Hospital, Tata Memorial, etc. Presently, he is heading the Nuclear Medicine Department and Thyroid clinic at Riddhivinayak Cardiac and Critical Centre, Malad.

        (Ethel: Frankly, I don’t know what any of that means).

        The following advice is given by him:

        The only portals of entry are the nostrils and mouth/throat. In a global epidemic of this nature, it’s almost impossible not coming into contact with H1N1 in spite of all precautions. Contact with H1N1 is not so much of a problem as proliferation is.
        While you are still healthy and not showing any symptoms of H1N1 infection, in order to prevent proliferation, aggravation of symptoms and development of secondary infections, some very simple steps, not fully highlighted in most official communications, can be practiced (instead of focusing on how to stock N95 or Tamiflu):
        1.  Frequent hand-washing (well highlighted in all official communications).
        2.  ”Hands-off-the-face” approach. Resist all temptations to touch any part of face (unless you want to eat, bathe or slap).
        3.  Gargle twice a day with warm salt water (use Listerine if you don’t trust salt).  H1N1 takes 2-3 days after initial infection in the throat/nasal cavity to proliferate and show characteristic symptoms. Simple gargling prevents proliferation. In a way, gargling with salt water has the same effect on a healthy individual that Tamiflu has on an infected one. Don’t underestimate this simple, inexpensive and powerful preventative method.
        4.  Similar to 3 above, clean your nostrils at least once every day with warm salt water.  Not everybody may be good at using a Neti pot, but  blowing the nose hard once a day and swabbing both nostrils with cotton swabs dipped in warm salt water is very effective in bringing down viral population.
        5.  Boost your natural immunity with foods that are rich in Vitamin C.  If you have to supplement with Vitamin C tablets, make sure that it also has Zinc to boost absorption.
        6.  Drink as much warm liquids (tea, coffee, etc) as you can.  Drinking warm liquids has the same effect as gargling, but in the reverse direction.  They wash off proliferating viruses from the throat into the stomach where they cannot survive, proliferate or do any harm.

        2.  What To Do If You Get a Traffic Ticket (in the USA).

        This advice was sent by a retired State Farm agent!  This system has been apparently been tried and works in every  state.

        (Ethel:  I have no idea whether it works or not).

        Traffic-Policeman-with-hand-upIf you get a speeding ticket or went through a red light, or whatever the case may be, you’re  going to  get points on your license and a surcharge on your auto insurance.
        This  is a method to insure that you DO NOT get the points. When you get your fine, send in a check to pay for it. If the fine is $79.00 make the check out for $82.00, some small amount over the fine.  The system will then have to send you back a check for the difference.  However, here is the trick:
        DO NOT CASH THE REFUND CHECK!  Throw it away!
        Points are not assessed to your license until all financial transactions are complete.  If you do not cash the check,  then the transactions are NOT complete. The system has  received its money and is satisfied and will no longer bother you.
        This information apparently comes from an unmentionable computer company that sets up the standard databases used  by every state.

        3.  How the US Government Could Save Billions of Dollars.

        When a company falls on difficult times, one of the things that seems to happen is they reduce their staff and workers. The remaining workers must find ways to continue to do a good job or risk that their job would be eliminated as well.

        govmonWall street, and the media normally congratulate the CEO for making this type of “tough decision”, and his board of directors gives him a big bonus.

        The US government should not be immune from similar risks.

        Therefore:

        • Reduce the House of Representatives from the current 435 members to 218 members.
        • Reduce Senate members from 100 to 50 (one per State). Then, reduce their staff by 25%.
        • Accomplish this over the next 8 years (two steps/two elections) and of course this would require some redistricting.

        Some Yearly Monetary Gains Include:

        • $44,108,400 for elimination of base pay for congress. (267 members X $165,200 pay/member/ yr.)
        • $97,175,000 for elimination of their staff. (estimate $1.3 Million in staff per each member of the House, and $3 Million in staff per each member of the Senate every year)
        • $240,294 for the reduction in remaining staff by 25%.
        • $7,500,000,000 reduction in pork barrel ear-marks each year. (For those members whose jobs are gone. Current estimates for total government pork earmarks are at $15 Billion/yr).
        • The remaining representatives would need to work smarter and improve efficiencies. It might even be in their best interests to work together for the good of the country!
        • We may also expect that smaller committees might lead to a more efficient resolution of issues as well. It might even be easier to keep track of what government representative is doing.
        • Congress has more tools available to do their jobs than it had back in 1911 when the current number of representatives was established (e.g., telephones, computers, cell phones . . .  to name a few).

        Note:  Congress did not hesitate to head home when it was a holiday, when the nation needed a real fix to the economic problems.  Also, three senators were not doing their jobs for the 18+ months (on the campaign trail) and still they all have accepted full pay.

        If Congresspersons were required to serve 20, 25 or 30 years (like everyone else) in order to collect retirement benefits, tax payers could save a bundle.  Now they get full retirement after serving only ONE term.

        Summary of opportunity:

        • $ 44,108,400 reduction of congress members.
        • $282,100, 000 for elimination of the reduced house member staff.
        • $150,000,000 for elimination of reduced senate member staff.
        • $59,675,000 for 25% reduction of staff for remaining house members.
        • $37,500,000 for 25% reduction of staff for remaining senate members.
        • $7,500,000,000 reduction in pork added to bills by the reduction of congress members.
        • $8,073,383,400 per year, estimated total savings. (that’s 8-BILLION just to start!)

        Big business does these types of cuts all the time.

        Finally, and possibly most importantly . . .

        4.  Some Advice From An Old Saskatchewan Farmer:

        • farmerYour fences need to be horse-high, pig-tight and bull-strong.
        • Keep skunks and bankers at a distance.
        • Life is simpler when you plow around the stump.
        • A bumble bee is considerably faster than a John Deere tractor.
        • Words that soak into your ears are whispered…not yelled.
        • Meanness don’t jes’ happen overnight.
        • Forgive your enemies. It messes up their heads.
        • Do not corner something that you know is meaner than you.
        • It don’t take a very big person to carry a grudge.
        • You cannot unsay a cruel word.
        • Every path has a few puddles.
        • When you wallow with pigs, expect to get dirty.
        • The best sermons are lived, not preached.
        • Most of the stuff people worry about ain’t never gonna happen anyway.
        • Don’t judge folks by their relatives.
        • Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
        • Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you’ll enjoy it a second time.
        • Don’t interfere with somethin’ that ain’t bothering you none.
        • Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a Rain dance.
        • If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop diggin’.
        • Sometimes you get, and sometimes you get got.
        • The biggest troublemaker you’ll probably ever have to deal with watches you from the mirror every mornin’.
        • Always drink upstream from the herd.
        • Good judgment comes from experience, and a lotta that comes from bad judgment.
        • Lettin’ the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier than puttin’ it back in.
        • If you get to thinkin’ you’re a person of some influence, try orderin’ somebody else’s dog around.
        • Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God.
        • Don’t pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he’ll just kill you.
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      • How To Tell You’re in Canada

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        June 29th, 2009EthelCanada, Travel
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        When you see signs like this outside the public restrooms, you know you’re in Canada:

        noskates

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      • I’m A Celebrity . . . Give Me a Break!

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        June 1st, 2009EthelCosta Rica, Current Affairs
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        Well, the first episode of “I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here – Costa Rica” didn’t fail to live down to my expectations.  It was  horrendous – but it’s like a train wreck . . . I’ll definitely watch the next episode, just to see how much stupider (is that a word?) it can get.  

        gratuitous-bikini-photos

        Gratuitous Bikini Photos of Host Myleene Kllass

        I just don’t know what impression of Costa Rica the show is leaving with people who have never been here.  I’d like to hear your comments.  Costa Rica is not a bug-infested, intolerably humid jungle as portrayed in the show . . . yes, you can definitely find untamed, uninhabited places in Costa Rica . . . but I know you can say the same about Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Alberta, North Dakota, Montana, Minnesota . . . Drop those “celebrities” in the wilderness of northern Saskatchewan for a couple of weeks and they’d wish they were in Costa Rica!

        conanI hope Conan does better with his “Tonight Show” debut, tonight.

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