The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Different types of terror There is no doubt that world-wide terrorists saw 9-11 as a success in their ability to wreak destruction on the world's most powerful nation, along with the follow-up bombings in Spain which caused Spain to exit the Iraq war, and the capture and murder of civilians ?the purpose of which is to have the various civilians' countries get out of Iraq. This terror tactic doesn't work with the U.S. which has a policy of killing terrorists not negotiating with them. One Canadian wit claims Canada's immigration laws are a joke in that terrorists can easily enter the country and stay for years without being kicked out. The writer contrasts this with the Blockbuster approach, saying that if you rent a movie from them and are late in returning it, you will be harassed and terrorized until it is returned. He claims the best approach would be to turn Canadian Immigration over to Blockbuster who would eliminate the long stays of the bad guys. The Rightcorner article - "Freedom And Terror", dealt mainly with traditional types of terror and terrorists past and present. There are other types of terror, which deserve at least a few comments. This past summer, nothing could have been more terrifying than the multiple hurricanes which devastated many Caribbean islands and much of Florida. Haiti, a poor and savage island with a history of violence and turmoil, became more savage after being ravaged by Jeanne, which killed more than 2,000 and left 250,000 homeless. Although aid was rushed to Haiti, mainly from the U.S., aid workers were terrorized by starving people fighting over food. It is hard for us to imagine the destruction, confusion and utter devastation that a storm could bring. For the first time in decades, Florida was attacked by multiple hurricanes, with one in five homes damaged or destroyed and thousands left homeless. Some mobile home parks (trailers are the most dangerous places to live in such storms and hundreds of thousands of residences in the Sunshine State are mobile homes) were evacuated three or four times. News network CNN gave a lot of coverage but seemed to make light of the destruction, but better reports were from those actually affected by the damage. Two reports were received by "The Corner" from Illinois friend Larry who winters in Florida. His daughter Brett and family had moved to Pensacola from Tampa. Here are a few of Brett's observations: The first was September 19th. "We are and did evacuate ?the storm was horrible ? where we are is in bad shape and the closer you get to our area things get much worse. Our house is okay with minimal damage along with the rest of our street. On the street over from us there are homes with extreme damage ?roofs off and some still have three feet of water in them. There are hundreds of old trees down everywhere, and so much debris that you have a hard time seeing the roads. We have no water, electricity or phone as the main power station was destroyed, and the word is we will be without power for 6-8 weeks. Everyone I know is accounted for but many have just lost everything. We know our school is out indefinitely, but I have heard it will be for three weeks." Then on October 5th, Brett sent another report on the school where she teaches and more about Pensacola's devastation: "We will go back to school on October 11th and will make up those days in June. The school I am at received minimal damage but we have four faculty members who have lost their homes. Many people are staying in motor homes or campers parked on their property or on store parking lots. What you see on the golf course is just mind boggling. There are shoes and TVs, spice bottles, cabinets, mattresses with sheets still on them, boats, refrigerators ? in fact one fridge still had a half gallon of milk in it. It is just mounds of a mess and the smell is terrible. The course won't reopen for 8 months. There is a great website to look at to get a better picture of the destruction here. Check it out at www.pensacolanewsjournal.com None of us living in the North can really appreciate the power and damage of these tropical storms. Many in the South retain their sense of humor, and hurricane jokes abound. Here's one from a Republican point of view (sent before the election of course.) ALERT!! The National Weather Service has issued a warning for yet another catastrophic hurricane following on the heels of Charley, Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne. The path of this hurricane zigs and zags and is therefore highly unpredictable. Experts predict that this one will cause the most damage to the United States than we have experienced in four years. They are naming this one Hurricane Kerry. Be advised, the only way for citizens to protect themselves is by getting behind a Bush. It was certainly a different type of terror, the terror that 7-footer Todd MacCulloch created for other teams on the basketball court, beginning in Winnipeg with Tuxedo - Shaftsbury High School in the early 90s, taking his otherwise very ordinary team to two Provincial Championships. Starting in grade 10, Todd was a sight on the court, a co-ordinated giant who couldn't be stopped. Todd went on to star at the U. of Washington, and for two teams in the NBA plus Canada's Olympic team in 2000. After a five year NBA career, "Big Mac" announced his retirement due to a continuing foot ailment, ending his career at the age of 26. Mac is a class act ? friendly, articulate, humble, and well paid. They won't have to hold any tag days for Todd who will receive the $20 million remaining on his 6 year contract. He will also start a new career doing color commentary on radio and TV basketball games. Recently Todd was inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame. He is the only Manitoban to play and star in the NBA and one of the nicest people you would ever want to meet.
