Thus far the dogs and I have merged together successfully living together in the house. They are used to the house and know the rules. That works very well and we have kept to a strict schedule - better for me as I do not think they care as long as they are fed! They are perfectly bonded so that works very well; you seldom see them in disagreement. The older one is the alpha dog and she is also the biggest. The younger dog feels safe with the older dog but can certainly stand up for herself and does but the friction between the dog two doors up and her seems lessened although time will tell. The younger one is pretty defensive. No barking at 4 a.m. though since the first night.
At 6 a.m. it is minus 8 degrees celsius and we are in for a snowfall which is ongoing - 10 cm down and more to come. I heard the company come to clear my laneway I think or it could be the main road. This is Saturday though so not a rush day for a lot of people.
Our military has mentioned that they are moving up the pace of recruitment and will accept people who were declined previously with things like asthma. The thorough investigations will be ongoing but more will be accepted before completion. This does help to bring us up to 2% of GDP although reaching 5% may be doable under the conservatives which would be a good thing. It does feel like there is more tension in the air today but it will pass I am sure. Europe is definitely re-arming and re-militarizing. We were all used to the United States being the policeman of the world but they shouldn't feel that they have to do it and they will not apparently as they appear to be withdrawing from international commitments. I think our concern over the activities of the FLQ do not have to have a play in today's modern Canada and we can plow ahead and re-militarize Canada in a bigger way. Russia is definitely a threat on our northern water border with them. The early days of the 1990s when the world looked like it was headed for that peaceful uplifted plain has been shattered with Russia's invasion of Ukraine (and their rare earth deposits perhaps along with their nuclear generators (greed is generally the reason for war)) and threats against NATO. NATO has proven itself these three long years to not be an aggressive organization but rather defensive as was the plan at its creation (they will continue supporting Ukraine in their fight for freedom as will we). After all it was Russia that did not leave the Eastern European countries as promised by them at Yalta near the end of WWII and instead created the "Iron Curtain" which enslaved millions of Europeans for another two generations after WWII. NATO was created to make sure that there was no further aggression on the part of what was then the Soviet Union. As that wall came down in Berlin we got to see exactly what had been going on in the enslaved part of Eastern Europe and basically it was nothing. No progress for any of those countries living still as they had at the time of the Second World War. They had been controlled and not permitted to leave. Their industries were in ruins.
Russia remains a problem; their invasion of Afghanistan caused the bankruptcy of the Soviet Union and the collapse of the Iron Curtain. One would say it was a good thing. It is wrong to enslave people for two generations who have done nothing wrong really as they too had been invaded by the Nazis and forced to fight for them in many cases. Where is China in all of this? I have no idea to be absolutely honest (but I suspect they prefer trade over war personally). I listen to my government and proceed accordingly in that regard. But the tariffs to be and which have been imposed or will be presumably by the United States will have a profound effect on the world. Since the hope of the few in the know is to accumulate even more wealth to themselves it is problematic for the remaining millions of Americans mostly I think although we will have to tighten our belts and proceed towards a different future here in Canada breaking down the trading barriers between provinces (it allowed for such things as the dairy products of Wisconsin to be sold to the Prairie Provinces although there is sufficient milk in Ontario and Quebec to do so which instead has gone to feed the poor of the world (always a good thing as the elimination of USAID has left the Rohingyas without that support which was a large part of their sustenance) and finding new customers for our exports. Other than that the day is ahead of us and Canadians are a rather practical people always looking to the best way to handle things that does not involve war if possible but always ready for the fight if we have to. Switching from peace to war back in September of 1939 was apparently a very smooth transition according to my parents. But it is not the preferred way forward for sure. The desire for the natural resources of the world (and Canada is very abundant in such resources) will probably be the story written about this time in the future - anything will be done to have those resources including trying to make Canada a 51st State which would actually turn us into second class citizens of the United States without appropriate representation.
We should not expect the King to say anything about the "strong suggestions" with regard to Canada being a 51st State which is a non-starter (why do people copy Hitler in their language after all he was a Satanist and pretty much destroyed Europe because of his wars but they are recovering rapidly now and they are after all nearly a billion people including the British Isles - one of the biggest problems with wars is that it is great for business unless yours is being destroyed!). But as for a 51st State that is insufficient representation in the Congress of the United States - we are essentially 13 potential States since we are 10 provinces and three territories - we would need to have 26 Senators along with representation by population in the House (the patriot vein runs strong in the blood of descendant Canadians - there are many many descendants of the American patriots in Canada). But as mentioned there are great advantages to our being an independent country and best friend to the United States of America. We always have been these past two hundred years and before that the First Peoples on this continent had many trading relations between them (great swathes of land are owned by the First Nations here). Our support to the United States in times of need has been always there and always will be. The Americans are our friends and neighbours and cousins (on my part). Governments come and go (at least they normally do unless they turn into dictatorships) but the peoples of these two countries have an entwined heritage and friendship that can last forever like the great reservoirs and dams that were built by us to make the life of Americans easier due to flooding by rivers that cross both of our countries with the headwaters here. The St Lawrence Seaway (mostly pleasure craft these days) was built by Canada. We are good neighbours and will stem the flow of fentanyl down to 0% and it is already huddling in that area since it was quite low anyway but any fentanyl is deadly. We have deaths here as well tragically to fentanyl. Too many for sure.
So today I will be sure to do my Latin, French and German Duolingo. The little one has just awoken. I can hear her. Time to think of breakfast.
