Fort Hood Shooting

My thoughts go out to the victims of the Fort Hood shooting.

From the pieces of the puzzle that are slowly coming together, it appears not the act of a soldier who, after too many deployments, blew a gasket, but rather a calculated act of terrorism by a fanatic. This is a frightening idea.

I suggest heading over to Bubbleheads', CDR Salamander's, or Neptunus Lex's blogs for more discussion.

HHT Redux

So, I'm flying out to Victoria to find an apartment. Again.

Last time didn't turn out so well, as some of you might remember. This time, however, short of the outbreak of WW3 there should be no major issue.

Flying out at 6am did mean I had to be up at around 4, which is a hassle, but what can you do? Hopefully the flying will go smoothly--I'm not a huge fan of it, and I think I caught whatever's going around, so I'm not feeling terribly awesome right now.

Ah well, I'm still looking forward to being in Victoria; the hotel I booked even has free valet parking!

The only bad thing is that I thought I was going to trade in cold Kingston weather for rainy but warm-ish Victoria weather... but it turns out Kingston weather will get progressively warmer until it almost hits 20C at the end of the week. With my luck, however, by the time I get back there will be a snow storm.

So, if any of you readers are in Victoria and want to go for lunch/supper this week, let me know on my RMC address at: s 24318 at rmc dot ca. (I'll edit this post to remove my e-mail address mid-week.)

See you on BC time!

Novelty

So I finally got officially and formally promoted yesterday. Finally.

And it took about 24 hours to get over the novelty of getting saluted. Although some *coughmanycough* people at RMC seem to have forgotten that you have to salute all commissionned officers, and not just Captains/Lt(N) (Squadron Commanders), I still have to work in an environment where I outrank about 95% of people I run into, which means I still get saluted a lot. Now I know why Squadron Commanders disappear for about half an hour after parades: too hard to get around without having to constantly keep your arm raised to return salutes.

Now if they could only fix my pay...

Queen is our head of state, Prime Minister reminds G-G

From the National Post.

Stephen Harper has sent a clear message to Michaelle Jean, the Governor-General, that she should not call herself head of state.

"Queen Elizabeth II is Queen of Canada and Head of State," the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement issued to Canwest News Service yesterday. "The Governor-General represents the Crown in Canada."

The extraordinary reminder from the country's head of government to its top viceregal representative follows an uproar over Ms. Jean's use of the phrase "head of state" when referring to herself during a speech in Paris on Monday.

Twice during the Governor-General's address at an executive meeting of UNESCO she called herself Canada's head of state. Her speech focused on promoting cultural diversity to help achieve international harmony:

"I, a francophone from the Americas, born in Haiti, who carries in her the history of the slave trade and the emancipation of blacks, at once Quebecoise and Canadian, and today before you, Canada's head of state, proudly represents the promises and possibilities of that ideal of society."

Later in the speech, discussing the importance of education, Ms. Jean described meeting "remarkable young people" in the many places "that I have travelled as head of state."

But the "head of state" position -- as surprised constitutional experts and perturbed officials with the Monarchist League of Canada quickly Pointed Out To Canwest News Service --is held exclusively by the Queen.

The PMO statement struck one expert -- constitutional expert and University of Saskatchewan emeritus professor David Smith -- as history-making.

"I can't recall that ever happening before," said Prof. Smith, now at the University of Regina and co-editor of the forthcoming Oxford Handbook of Canadian Politics.

He said it was a welcome move by the PMO because "there seems to be a misunderstanding on the part of Rideau Hall as to the constitutional position of the Governor-General under our system."

Monarchist League chairman Robert Finch also applauded Mr. Harper for promptly and directly addressing the issue. " It is refreshing to see the Prime Minister of Canada, the Governor-General's principal advisor, make such a clear statement," Mr. Finch said.

Obama wins Nobel Peace Prize

...wait, what? Seriously?

I guess they're now giving the Nobel for attempted chemistry, too.

Not saying Obama's not a good guy; he just has done absolutely nothing worthy of a Nobel Peace Prize so far.

Would he have gotten there at some point? Maybe. Probably.

Is he there now? No way.

As if he needed a bigger ego...

Pirates hit Navy ship 'in error'

From the BBC

A group of Somali pirates has been captured after attacking a French navy ship by mistake, apparently thinking it was a harmless cargo vessel.

French military spokesman Admiral Christophe Prazuck said the pirates attacked in skiffs late at night some 500km (310 miles) off the Somali coast.

But the command and supply ship, the Somme, repelled the attack and chased the pirates, capturing five of them.

Dozens of international warships fight piracy in Somalia's lawless waters.

Admiral Prazuck told French TV station La Chaine Info the pirates seemed to be surprised that the navy ship fought back.The country has had no effective central government since 1991, leading to a complete breakdown of law and order, and pirates operate off the coast almost with impunity.

"Once they realised they were facing a ship that was responding and was heading towards them, they stopped shooting and attempted to flee," he said.

About two dozen ships from European Union nations, including Britain, France, Germany and Italy, patrol the waters off Somalia - an area of about two million square miles."The Somme gave chase and intercepted one of the pirates' boats. All the weapons had apparently been tossed into the sea and the suspected pirates are now being held on board the Somme."

Although the international naval forces have stepped up patrols in the Gulf of Aden this year, relatively few of the pirates detained have faced trial because of the legal complexities involved.

Sounds like it should be on Mr. Kennedy's blog, The Stupid Shall Be Punished...

Also makes me wish I was on patrol out there. It sure sounds like fun!

The real importance of Junior Officers

True story.

"Do you have a pen?
-Uh, let me check... no.
-An officer without a pen?!
-Well, uh... you don't have one, either.
-That's why we have junior officers as staff!"

Levelling Up

I received my posting message this morning. I am officially on my way to BC, and I am being loaded on the next available MARS IV course. I am also an Acting Sub-Lieutenant as of 17 September but I don't know when the actual promotion parade (or something like that, I forget what it's called) is going to be so I'm still stuck wearing my NCdt rank for the time being. I am moving sometime in mid-to-late-october, I'm not sure yet when as I need to arrange things here, as well as figure out when my course actually is. I'll try and find a place to rent, but I think I'll have to live on base for a while. No big deal.