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Roger Segalin - advised members that, if they have photos of businesses for the auction, to please email them to photos@rotarytvauction.ca
Dave Stevenson - advised that the first Rotary fellowship event of the year would be the 32 nd annual Bill Ford Curling Bonspiel, to be held November 22. Contact Dave if you are interested in participating. If you are a curler, he has your number , and will contact you if you don't contact him! Rock 'n Roll Sam Walters, as chair of this year's TV Auction Canvass, made his final appearance to give us a pep talk today. He seemed to be talking very loudly, but told us he is very happy. He is hoping that today's haul will take us over the top, and as of this morning our total value was just over $120,000. If you still have items to bring, they can be taken to Walters' Jewelers on St. Paul Street. Sam then invited Oraine DeRosa to the front to draw the Early Bird Special prize. Tickets were given for items brought in, with earlier donations getting progressively more tickets. The first week, Rick Evans earned 65 tickets, so it was only fitting that his ticket was drawn for the grand prize, a $100 gift certificate to the Keg, donated by Copperlen. Second prize went to Janet Johnston.
Sam then thanked Ron Sloan, the intake table manager, for his fine job of coordinating the volunteers, who did a great job sorting and cataloguing the donations. Sam then, in keeping with the "break every record" theme, provided a musical interlude of "My Way" ...and now, the end is near.... Sign up sheets for the jobs at the auction will be available next week. We need lots and lots of volunteers, particularly manning the phones, and family members are welcome. President Rick thanked Sam for his leadership, providing motivation and fun during the canvass.
Rick also noted that this is Last Call for the upcoming Rotary Foundation Dinner, to be held at Salvatore's Restaurant in Buffalo on November 3. Call Rick if you want to attend.
HAPPY DOLLARS
Graham Kennedy carried the basket, noting that he was an odd choice for Happy $ as his usual job of shepherding sinners doesn't generally promote happiness, and he revealed that he has never stood up to offer a happy dollar in all his years in Rotary! He noted that he now has two Mercedes, much to the chagrin of his parishioners, however one is for sale. Someone suggested he donate it to the TV Auction! Rick Vanderkuip was happy to announce that the Rotary am club is having their annual wine tasting and Silent Auction this Saturday, and our Icewine is being featured. Larry Iggulden was happy the the Police Services Board had reached a mediated settlement, and marveled at the ease of the process when they were spending $700 per hour for the mediator. He was also happy to finally be going on vacation to celebrate his 25 th wedding anniversary last May! Apparently his lawyer told him it was cheaper than a divorce. Pat Rooney paid $2, the first to thank Sam for a fine job on the auction canvass, and the second to say she was happy to have Ted Usick as her guest, even though she forgot to pay for his lunch! Oraine De Rosa was happy to report that she and Mary Margaret Murphy, as new Rotarians, supported each other on a canvassing trip along St. Paul St. Apparently the guy at Walters' Jewellers said "NO"...go figure. One merchant made a second donation! Rob Reid was happy that he and his wife went to Roy Thompson Hall the night before where their son was singing. Unfortunately, he is a little heftier than his dad was at that age, and the tux pants were a writeoff! Harold Nash was happy for having spent three weeks in Italy, even surviving great speeds on the Autostade. He is also happy to be home. George Park told a fish story about how to get the mercury out of salmon. We didn't throw him out... President Rick made one final announcement, concerning the recent passing of Don Shaw's granddaughter. 50/50 Draw: Angus Adams had the right ticket but drew the Ace of Hearts, and so the pot, currently at $630, continues to grow.
GUEST SPEAKER
Tom Arkell introduced today's speaker, Paul Hamilton, Assistant Professor of Political Science at Brock University. He was educated at Brock, McMaster, and the University of Alberta. Professor Hamilton gave a very interesting talk about Iraq. He pointed out that for a while in 2003, Iraq was front and centre in most people's minds, however we have become numb, and now take it for granted. He described Iraq as a "faulted" country, difficult to govern by democratic means. He started with some history. In 1921 the League of Nations took three former provinces of the Ottoman Empire, "drew borders and hoped for the best". In 1932, Iraq became an independent state, however the King was a Saudi - King Faisal. In 1968, the Baath party staged a coup, and over time attempted to modernize, while at the same time maintaining a prominent military. Saddam Hussein, a "ruthless gangster" rose to the top of the party and became president in 1979.
Dr. Hamilton believes that Iraq is a disaster, precisely because of Saddam. He basically squandered the oil money on wars, invading Iran in 1981 and Kuwait in 1990. In addition, he oversaw atrocities at home, such as the ongoing harassment of the Kurds in the north. All these things culminated in the American Invasion of Iraq in 2003. The problem is, what happens now? Professor Hamilton postulated three scenarios:
There are several problems with this, however:
In other words, this conflict is impossible to sustain
• U.S. sanctions were killing and hurting people, particularly starving children • The Oil for Food deal was a fiasco, fraught with kickbacks and corruption • The Fundamentalist opposition was strengthening, which in turned hardened the Baathist regime. • To some degree, the U.S and the UN "owned" the problem, as they had assisted in funding the war with Iran! • There was a question of succession after Saddam, since it was unlikely that democratic elections would take place...Uday or Qusay? • The Baathists wrecked Iraq from 1981 onward, the economy was ruined, there was genocide, mass graves and torture. • Neighbouring states in the "bad neighbourhood", Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Israel, Kuwait, were beginning to eye Iraq's oil reserves. According to Professor Hamilton, therefore, removing Saddam was a good idea.
• Concede defeat? Unlikely • Send in international peacekeepers? They would have to be from Muslim states • Partition Iraq into three states? A Shia State, a Sunni State, and Kurdistan? The only problem is that 50% of the population lives in only four cities, all of which have several ethnic groups. All of these are risky, as Iraq has a very weak civil society. The political culture is undemocratic. The people are alienated. Militias could try to seize power, and chaos could encourage intervention by neighbours, and discourage investment. The bottom line: Dr. Hamilton is very pessimistic. One question was raised: "What would happen if the U.S. pulled out tomorrow?" The answer: All out war, violence, gang fighting etc. And the Kurds would declare their own state. Janet Johnston thanked Professor Hamilton for his presentation, noting that we learned a great deal, and while there are no easy answers, we now have some perspective.
Next Week - Brenda Coleman and Mike McCallion on Mental Health 10 Day Notice - Ted Usick - Proposed by Patricia Rooney. Classification is 'Financial Advisor'. He is a Financial Consultant with Investors Group since 1995 and is Manager of his son's travel soccer team. Change of Venue effective October 18, 2006 |
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