www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall To my Canadian brothers and sisters...

Dear Hritzko,

My point was just that it's just as cold in parts of the US as it is in Canada. I was using your comment about Boston as a springboard.

Sorry for the confusion.

Tammy

Anything below 65 degrees Fahrenheit is absolutely freezing. You'd have to be insane to want to bear that for more than three weeks a year!

Every day last week it was 70 degrees here. Now that's what the dead of winter should be!!

Logos Teen

[/QUOTE]until I moved to America. The whole Canadian political spectrum is left of center relative to the USA. [/QB][/QUOTE]


I know how you feel, I'm a member of the Swedish Liberal Party and here in Europe that's considered to be centre/right-wing...

Christian

Dear Tammy,

It is cold in Toronto right now, but I understand things are much worse in the northeastern part of the U.S.

And I also know what the cold shoulder feels like coming out of Virginia!

Alex

Here's something to make everyone feel warmer:

Mount Washington Observatory
06:25 PM Thu Jan 15, 2004 EST

WINDCHILL!!!
It is difficult to convey just how cold it is outside. Further still, it is in fact hard to fully appreciate the cold with layers of synthetics, down, and wool protecting every square inch of our bodies. There is a simple solution to these problems: Take your gear off and run outside! (we are trained professionals, do not try this at home!) Pete, our summit manager, promptly informed us that this was not in compliance with our 'no skin exposed' policy, but then left the room to check on the furnaces. Upon our return to the building, shivering uncontrollably, we were still baffled as how to explain the severity of the cold. Jason came to the rescue stating, "It is 100F warmer in here than it was out side!". Tim then went one step further by factoring in winds that were gusting to 92MPH. The combination of the air temp of -39F and the wind brought the wind chill to a remarkable -97F. That gave us a grand total difference of indoor and outdoor 'effective' temperatures of 170F!

Today marked the 3rd consecutive day of record breaking cold temperatures, and tonight could well be the main event. There is the possibility, based on some of the model data, that temperatures will fall below our all time low temperature of -47F. This would not only break our record but also the official State of New Hampshire record. All eyes are on the thermometers!

You sound like my ex's mother, who would complain when the temperature went below 65 degrees when she'd visit us from Florida.

And this was as woman who grew up in the Central PA in the mountains.

It's amazing how quickly blood turns to...um...not allowed to say that here...when Yankees move down South.

Mikey,

Yes, my grandmother's brothers and sisters (all hardcore Yankees...There but for the Grace of God...but anyway) all moved from upstate NY to Tampa. They can't handle the cold at all anymore.

Unfortunately, my grandmother, being rather opposed to change as she is, has never gotten used to the extreme heat down here, though she's been here since 1964.

Logos Teen

until I moved to America. The whole Canadian political spectrum is left of center relative to the USA. [/QUOTE]


I know how you feel, I'm a member of the Swedish Liberal Party and here in Europe that's considered to be centre/right-wing...

Christian [/QB][/QUOTE]

Don't get me wrong Christian, even though I think the USA is 'right wing' relative to Canada, I must admit that I know of no other coutry on the face of the earth that is more generous than the USA when it come to monetary help for 'developing' and 'third world' nations. In fact, Ukraine was the third largest benefactor of USA foreign aid for a significant period of time during the 1990's.

Also, no matter what other 'liberal' countries such as Canada and Sweeden say, I agree with 90% of American foreign policy (which makes me more of a Republican than Democrat - but since I can't vote who cares )

Now, back to byzantine issues

I bet you did not know that there is a connection between the flag of Sweeden and of Ukraine where the most Byzantine Catholics live!!

Did you know that your very own King Charles XII of Sweeden was a great friend of the Ruthenian (Ukrainians) Cossaks under Hetman (Cossak Leader) Ivan Mazeppa ?

Your King 'Chuck' (I hope you don't mind my being so informal with his memory ) joined forces in 1709 with our Ruthenian Cossaks to give the Muscovites (Russians) the old proverbial 'boot', 'heave-ho', 'see ya' at Konotop (near Poltava)in what is now Ukraine.

Unfortunately, things did not go as planned. Basically we (Ruthenians / Ukrainians) and you Sweedes lost the battle. The Ruthenian / Ukrainians were resubjugated by the Russian / Muscovite Empire for over 200 years.

Our Ruthenian Byzantine Catholic Church (Orthodox Union of 1596 with Rome) was then forced 'out' of the Russian Empire by Czarist decrees (in incremental steps) to the western Ruthenian (Ukrainian) lands of Galicia, Cholm, Volyn, and Sub-Carpathia.

In 1918 (after 209 years of Muscovite / Russian subjugation) the first Ukrainian National Republic was established. The Ukrainian Repuplic chose the colours of Sweeden for it's flag - yup pastel blue and yellow (blue on top and yellow on the bottom). These Sweedish colours where then chosen again for the second Ukrainian Republic of 1991.

For more information,

There was a recent movie - A PRAYER FOR A HETMAN -about this whole stuggle with Charles XII of Sweeden and Hetman Mazeppa of Ukraine (Ruthenia) against the Muscovites (Russians). There are a variety of internet sites for this movie. WWW.Kodak [www.kodak] is my favorite.

[/QB]I know of no other coutry on the face of the earth that is more generous than the USA when it come to monetary help for 'developing' and 'third world' nations. [/QB][/QUOTE]

The US is the largest contributor of montery aid if you look at the amount of money they donate. But then, the US is also the largest economy in the world, so I don't think this means that the US is the most generous country when it comes to development aid.

In 2001, the US used 0,11 percent of it's BNI for development aid. Sweden used 0,82 percent of it's BNI


[/QB]Also, no matter what other 'liberal' countries such as Canada and Sweeden say, I agree with 90% of American foreign policy [/QB][/QUOTE]

This is the problem, the US doesn't care what the rest of the world thinks of it's foreign policy. If the UN Security Council doesn't follow orders from Washington DC, then according to the Americans, the UN has made itself irrelevant. It is exactely this kind of arrogant attitude which has made the Bush administration so hated all over the world!

Christian

BTW, how do you make quotes in bold letters??

Dear Christian:

Bracket QUOTE bracket bracket b bracket bracket forward slash QUOTE bracket bracket forward slash b bracket.

Back to your regular programming.

Now, how do you substitute a long URL with just go "here?"

AmdG

The US is the largest contributor of montery aid if you look at the amount of money they donate. But then, the US is also the largest economy in the world, so I don't think this means that the US is the most generous country when it comes to development aid.

In 2001, the US used 0,11 percent of it's BNI for development aid. Sweden used 0,82 percent of it's BNI


[/QB]Also, no matter what other 'liberal' countries such as Canada and Sweeden say, I agree with 90% of American foreign policy [/QB][/QUOTE]

This is the problem, the US doesn't care what the rest of the world thinks of it's foreign policy. If the UN Security Council doesn't follow orders from Washington DC, then according to the Americans, the UN has made itself irrelevant. It is exactely this kind of arrogant attitude which has made the Bush administration so hated all over the world!

[/QB][/QUOTE]

Christian,

I'm not sure what BNI is but I suspect you mean what we call GNP in North America. I'm also not sure what the official USA GNP is relavent to foreign aid but let's just say, if you take government economic aid and military assistance (to keep anti-Christian communists out), in combination with private (church included) aid, I find your figures highly suspect.

The Americans have the largest economy in the world because they do a lot of things right (including working harder than Europeans - I lived in France and believe I know . Therefore they should probably have more say in world affairs than say; Syria, North Korea, or Bielorus - right ?

The United States is just that; United States which have formed a strong country with a population approaching 300 million (there is a small territory to the north known as Canada ) There is just as much dissent in the United States concerning the war as their is in your country; the European Union (with a small territory to the north known as Scandinavia ). Just as Spain, the U.K., Italy, and other states in your European Union are highly supportive of the war, there are individuals within the American States who are opposed to it). Not everyone is for the war or against it

One last thought on the subject. Most of the people in the United States originally did not want to fight the NAZI's in the second world war. Are you not glad they did ?

Now - did they teach you in school about the battle of Konotop (near Poltava, Ukraine) ? Our Ruthenian (Ukrainian) Greek Catholic Union heavely suffered after that Many Ukrainian Cossaks fled to Sweeden after this failed battle to keep the Muscovites (Russians) out. Did you get your Orthodox faith from them - they were very attached to it) ?

Reminds me of that commercial:

WIMPY! WIMPY! WIMPY! :p

hal

Oh, sorry, it should be GNI in English. The figures are from the OECD, so I don't think you should regard them with so much suspicion.(www.oecd.org [oecd.org]) The figures show how much your government spent on foreign aid, and I thin they're relevant.

If I have $10 and gives $4 away, and you have $5 and gives $3 way, I gave away more money than you did, but who has been most generous?

And I'm not sure if Americas military campaigns around the world should be seen as "development aid"! It's a good thing in theory to keep Communists out, but what if that means keeping corrupt dictators and Wahabis in??

Well, keep in mind that the US didn't join the WW2 unitl they themselves...

[/QUOTE] Now - did they teach you in school about the battle of Konotop (near Poltava, Ukraine) ? Our Ruthenian (Ukrainian) Greek Catholic Union heavely suffered after that Many Ukrainian Cossaks fled to Sweeden after this failed battle to keep the Muscovites (Russians) out. Did you get your Orthodox faith from them - they were very attached to it) ? [/QB][/QUOTE]

We learn about the battle of Poltava, but I didn't know that any Ukrainian Cossacks fled to Sweden and I don't think I'm realted to any of them.

We do learn about some Swedish soliders who where left in the area after the battle, and there is actual a couple of villages where some elderly people still speak an archaic form of Swedish...

Christian

Now - did they teach you in school about the battle of Konotop (near Poltava, Ukraine) ? Our Ruthenian (Ukrainian) Greek Catholic Union heavely suffered after that Many Ukrainian Cossaks fled to Sweeden after this failed battle to keep the Muscovites (Russians) out. Did you get your Orthodox faith from them - they were very attached to it) ? [/QB][/QUOTE]

We learn about the battle of Poltava, but I didn't know that any Ukrainian Cossacks fled to Sweden and I don't think I'm realted to any of them.

We do learn about some Swedish soliders who where left in the area after the battle, and there is actual a couple of villages where some elderly people still speak an archaic form of Swedish...

Christian [/QB][/QUOTE]

I'm glad that the Sweedish schools teach you about this important battle. The Ukrainians still thank the people of Sweeden for their efforts almost 300 years ago.

Well it's good to hear that the Sweedish soldiers survived. The Ruthenian (Ukrainian) Cossaks were not as fortunate. Immediately after the battle at Konotop (near Poltava)the Muscovites (Russians)first killed all of their prisoners, then whent to the Cossak fortress of Baturyn and massacred every man, woman, and child. The remaining Cossaks got as far away as possible from there, mostly to Rumania, Slovakia (safer on the other side of them Carpathians), and Sweeden. They had to get as far away from the Muscovites (Russians) as possible.

Do you belong to the Sweedish Orthodox Church ?
With whom are you affiliated (ie: who is your Patriarch if you have one) ?
How did you become an Orthodox in Sweeden ?
Are there many Orthodoxs in Sweeden ?
Are you familiar with Byzantine Catholics ?
(hint: We are the Ruthenian / Ukrainian Orthodox Church in union since 1596 with the Catholic Church)

Tammy

None of my Canadian counterparts mentioned Edmonton's severe winter snow worm and arctic mosquito infestations.....and that the MegaMall concept was invented there...and most Albertans say they're bigger than Texas...

www.cic.gc.ca/english/ [cic.gc.ca] is a good start on how to become "legal" in Canada. Our immigration laws and regulations are evolving as a result of 9/11, and that site should steer you to the current requirements. Generally, you have to have "landed immigrant" (our equivalent to the the US Green Card) status to work.

For the last fifty years, Alberta has been the fat cat in Canada's economic engine, because of its oil, and entrepreneurship. Even in recessions, Alberta had a better time of it than the rest of Canada. The "Human Resources Canada" website should give you the most recent demand data for all occupational groups, by city and province.

Central and southern Alberta have strong UGC and Ukrainian Orthodox communities. Even some northern Alberta towns have onion domed churches.

Canada doesn't seem to have as much of a publically distressing history of relations between the rites as perhaps the US's Toth/Ireland debacle showed. There were a few instances of monseigneurs looking askance at married clergy, but nothing has seriously hit the public's attention in recent decades.

Canadians are not that different from Americans. Except for being loyal to the British Crown in 1776 , and invading the United States in the War of 1812-1814 , many Canadians now avidly watch CNN, Fox, and Oprah with just as much verve, panache, and relish, as their American counterparts do.

The only real difference is that our days are shorter in the winter time than yours (they shrink more because of the cold).