One of my favorite things about living and being Canadian is its acceptance of other cultures, religions, languages and the people of the world. We are a very multicultural country and are better for it. Once in a while people in Canada are affected by the events that are occurring in the country their families have called home. While I completely agree with their right to ask for support from our government, and I would expect our government to extend any positive pressure it can on the international community.
But for me, there has been a line crossed this past week.
For a quick background story in case your reading this and have limited international knowledge. In the country of
Sri Lanka (20 million people), which is off the coast of India, there is a civil war that has been going on since 1983 in which the government of
Sri Lanka is fighting the militant group called the Tamil Tigers (no connection to the Detroit Tigers). This group is fighting the government to gain an independent section of the island for their people. This group has been designated a 'Terrorist group' by 32 countries which include Canada. This group has stated that there is a genocide of its people by the
Sri Lankan government and wants the Canadian government to put political pressure on the government to end the war.
A couple quick things... 1) I do not support terrorism in any other way than picking on my sister. 2) No government should be allowed to treat anybody living peacefully inside its borders poorly.
Now back to how this directly affects me. As I said above, Tamil Canadians have recently protested this civil war in Toronto, but these protests have recently made their way up to the nations capital, Ottawa. This city is no stranger to protests, and another great Canadian thing is the ability to peacefully show your displeasure on the steps of our government buildings. But these people have decided that the status
quo is not good enough. Instead of pr
otesting on the grounds, they have taken to the streets. For the last three days, they have blocked streets in the downtown core of Ottawa making traffic crazy. Not only are they blocking two of the major roads, they also blocked the
Transitway (one way streets through the core that are for buses only) creating massive delays as these buses now have to travel in the congested streets.
Why is it that these people think making morning and evening rush hour insane and delaying people up to three hours in their commute will gain them public support? If our government sides with people who have no respect for the common citizen of OUR country, I will be severely disappointed. While if the statements they have made about the genocide are correct, I support their wishes for help from our government, I can not understand why they think causing disruptions to about 1 million peoples daily lives will help their cause. Just act peacefully and ask for support from the masses. Our country is different and we will help those in need. We will not side with a terrorist organization, but if people are being hurt, killed or
victimized, our government WILL help.
On a side note, the man in the picture talking is a Member of Parliament and has attacked in the House of Commons later that day for "participating in a terrorist rally".
GO HOME, WRITE LETTERS TO YOUR GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS. I HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH A DEMONSTRATION IN A NON-DISRUPTIVE WAY!!! ENOUGH OF THE DISRUPTIONS
jealousy started. Well it is now the end of April and I FINALLY got a hold of the set. I just started watching it (3 hour session) and my amazement has not subsided. 
s ever done. This thing is serious. The box set includes approximately 40 hous, yes two complete days, of high definition filmed specticals that will repeatidly make you say "whoa", or "oh my god", or nothing at all as you watch in amazement.
t amazing until you view this. With six DVD's in the initial Planet Earth, and three "episodes" on each DVD it may seem long. But done in one hour segments, you will find yourself reaching back into the box for another disc as you notice your day just went by. 
