News!

On a whim - okay, well, because it's Monday and I had heard rumors about updating - I checked e-CAS just a few moments ago and... I almost fell over when I read:

"We started processing your application on June 13, 2005.
We transferred your application to the Detroit office on June 13, 2006. The Detroit office may contact you."

We haven't fallen through the cracks! We've been transferred! Action, movement, news!

Yea!!

15 June and counting...

Well, I've been back in the US for almost 72 hours and most of that time has been spent playing catch-up, making phone calls, completing projects with deadlines of 15 June, trying to catch up on some blog reading, etc. But, it has not escaped me that Tuesday, 13 June, was the one year anniversary of our AOR. Yes, one year.

We've not yet received word that our application has been transferred and we've not yet received our request for medicals. I sent an e-mail to the attorney's office on Tuesday and have not yet received a response. And, of course, e-Client has not changed. No surprise there. And, we've not yet received a response from the FBI. Our cards were sent out in late April so hopefully we'll hear something soon, especially if one or both of us are going to have to have them done again. Oh, the waiting, the anxiety, the anticipation...

Rest assured, when we hear something you'll be among the first to know!

"The Road to Guantanamo"

As you likely know, I’ve been in Amsterdam for almost three weeks now. I’ve been trying to post accounts of our travels to either the class blog (Amsterdam 2006) or my own travel blog (Traveling Without Unraveling). This evening’s activity, however, demands that I post a note here.

My colleague and I, having the weekend off from formal class activities, decided to go see “The Road To Guantanamo.” I knew that it would be depressing and would just generally piss me off. That’s pretty much of an understatement. The first thing I said to my colleague as we were leaving was, “Can I just rip up my passport and stay here?” Even if only a part of the account of activities at “Gitmo” is true - and I’m definitely not saying that’s the case - it would be truly disgusting. There’s a clip of Rumsfeld saying, with regard to Guantanamo, “There is no doubt in my mind that the treatment is humane and appropriate and consistent with the Geneva Convention, for the most part.” For the most part? WTF?

Call it a docudrama or whatever you wish, the fact remains that the disregard that the U.S. has shown for human rights is deplorable. The movie opens in the states on 23 June. Interestingly, the Motion Picture Association of America has banned the original poster, above, advertising the film. Seems they don’t like the idea of people actually seeing a shackled prisoner with a bag over his head. Sex, violence, misogyny? No problem. The truth? Nah.

On a related note, one of our visits here was to the International Criminal Court in Den Haag. We received an overview of the Court and then met with the judge who is currently serving as President of the Pre-Trial Division of the Court. As you may know, the U.S. was initially, under President Clinton, involved in the formation of the Court. Under Bush, we have withdrawn our support. My colleague – a bit more bold than I – asked the judge whether he thought that, perhaps, the U.S. had withdrawn their support out of fear of being hauled before the Court themselves. He was a bit cagey in his response, but did not deny the possibility.

At another meeting with two key faculty at the School for Human Rights Research at Utrecht University, she asked the same question. As academics – rather than judges – they were a little more forthcoming with their opinions. Seems we’re not the only ones thinking that Bush and his cronies are a mite afraid of someday being held accountable. We live and hope…

Greetings from Amsterdam

This is just a quick "hello" and reminder that I'm not posting because I'm in Amsterdam until 12 June. Please check out "Amsterdam 2006" for postings from here. Thanks!

"Mounties get their men - each other"

Yesterday's Halifax ChronicleHerald reported that "on a Friday night in Yarmouth this June, Const. Jason Tree and Const. David Connors will don their scarlet dress uniforms, stand before family, friends and co-workers and wed in the first same-sex marriage in the RCMP’s storied history." And, again, one is prompted to ask - how is it that two nations, that to the rest of the world appear so similar, be so different?

Meanwhile, US Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist has scheduled a vote on the Marriage Protection Amendment (aka the Federal Marriage Amendment) for the week of 5 June. This amendment to the United States Constitution would define marriage as between "one man and one woman."

Here in Minnesota we have about three days before the end of our legislative session. While anything could happen, it looks like we've managed to keep a similarly hateful piece of legislation off November's ballot once again. Keep your fingers crossed!

Off to Amsterdam

On Monday I leave to spend three weeks in Amsterdam. I'm taking twelve undergraduates as part of a sociology course, "Law and Social Policy in the Netherlands." We will all be posting to a class blog, "Amsterdam 2006." For the first eight days my family will also be there so I hope to post to our family travel blog, "Traveling Without Unraveling." Links to both are also on the right hand side of this page. Wish me luck!

It's Over

Yes, our alternative reality no longer exists. Sure, we have five - soon to be six - sets of each season on DVD, but President Bartlet is gone. President Santos was just a flash. If you don't know what I'm talking about, well, you missed one of the best television programs of all time. The West Wing. Last night was the series finale. Wow.

We knew it all along...

From today's New York Times -
Conservative Christians Criticize Republicans
"Some of President Bush's most influential conservative Christian allies are becoming openly critical of the White House and Republicans in Congress, warning that they will withhold their support in the midterm elections unless Congress does more to oppose same-sex marriage, obscenity and abortion. . . . When the group met in the summer of 2004, it resembled a pep rally for Mr. Bush and his allies on Capitol Hill, and one session focused on how to use state initiatives seeking to ban same-sex marriage to help turn out the vote. [bold mine] This year, some participants are complaining that as soon as Mr. Bush was re-elected he stopped expressing his support for a constitutional amendment banning such unions."

So, to those on both sides who claimed that the issue was not a political ploy - yeah, right.

Now Playing at the Minnesota Capitol

From Senator Ellen Anderson's "Week in Review"
"During an otherwise uneventful vote to make the Honeycrisp apple the state fruit, Sen. Warren Limmer (R-Maple Grove) offered the following remark: 'I just want to remind some of the senators here that when we talk about state fruit designation, some of the members might want to excuse themselves from voting.' 'Senator Limmer needs to explain his bizarre comment,' Minnesota DFL [Democratic-Farmer-Labor] Chair Brian Melendez said. 'It appears that he has taken this otherwise fun and harmless occasion to make an ignorant and homophobic remark. If it was simply an ill-timed joke made out of ignorance, he can easily explain himself. Let's hope that Senator Limmer will explain himself and put to rest the notion that his comment was of a more spiteful nature.'

And then there's that pesky business of the NSA tracking phone calls and the Hayden nomination...

Germany: Update

Wow! On Wednesday, 26 April I mailed my application for the Police Good Conduct Certificate to Germany. Today, less than two weeks later, I received it with the notation "Keine Eintragung," or no registration. Yea! If only everything else went as smoothly and quickly! Well, just wanted to share that tiny, but important, update!

George and the Almighty

President Bush: "I based a lot of my foreign policy decisions on some things that I think are true. One, I believe there's an Almighty, and secondly, I believe one of the great gifts of the Almighty is the desire in everybody's soul, regardless of what you look like or where you live, to be free. I believe liberty is universal. I believe people want to be free. And I know that democracies do not war with each other. And I know that the best way to defeat the enemy, the best way to defeat their ability to exploit hopelessness and despair is to give people a chance to live in a free society." If you care to, and can stand it, read this April speech in its entirety here.

Call me crazy, many have, but I would like to think that foreign policy decisions are based on something besides his apparent direct-line connection to the - capital "a" - Almighty.

North American Security and Prosperity?

Excerpt from the Council of Canadians -

MEDIA RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 8, 2006
Council challenges Ambassador Wilkins on continental integration plan
Ottawa - The Council of Canadians has a message for Ambassador David Wilkins who will be speaking today to Canadian businesses involved in the security industry about the North American Security and Prosperity Partnership. The organization plans to present the Ambassador with a letter expressing its strong opposition to the deal negotiated in Cancun by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, President Bush and Vincente Fox.

"The Canadian public was not consulted and there has been no parliamentary debate on this plan developed by our governments behind closed doors," says Brent Patterson, director of organizing at the Council of Canadians. In Cancun, only representatives of large corporations were allowed to sit at the table with the three leaders. "We are taking this opportunity to let the American government know how Canadians outside the big business community feel," says Patterson.

The organization is part of a larger movement of civil society organizations across Canada who have expressed concerns about the harmonization of Canadian domestic and foreign policies with those of the United States. From November 2004 to March 2005, the Council of Canadians toured the country to consult Canadians of all walks of life on the issue of continental integration. A report of their findings was released in October 2005.

"Increasing public disapproval of foreign policy initiatives such as the mission in Afghanistan shows that the majority of Canadians, unlike Stephen Harper, do not want our country engaged in the so-called war on terror," says Patterson. "We do not share Bush’s vision of global security and the Canadian government has failed to represent the interests of the general Canadian public in its meetings with the U.S. government."

The public advocacy group hopes Ambassador Wilkins will take its message to Washington.

********

So close, and yet so far away...

Putting in a plug

As I typed that "title," I couldn't help but think about kayaking... soon, soon! But, thanks to the guys at Moving to Vancouver, what I wanted to post was word of a new book - The Canadian Way: An Immigrant's Guide to Settling in Canada, by Jo Davenport of Nova Scotia. The book is available as an e-book or in print from either Amazon or from eBookstand. Also, check out her web page, The Canadian Way.

More on the budget...

The Globe and Mail has a short piece outlining key aspects of the budget. These include a 1% reduction in GST as well as other tax cuts; moves not supported, thankfully, by the Liberals or the NDP. But, the budget is expected to pass, regardless of their opposition. While I'm not happy about the Conservative move to decrease "sales" taxes while increasing income taxes - figure out who wins there - I do have to confess to being glad at the prospect of saving close to $1000 in landing fees.

In related news, as I write, the Canadian dollar is worth about 1.10 USD. Wow. This means that the 15,563 CAD in settlement funds that we must have will take 14,097 USD. Quite a change from the roughly 12,500 USD it would have taken when we started this process. But, like the advertisements and the entry on Mason and Nick's blog, Priceless, I expect it to be worth every penny!

Budget 2006 - Dateline Ottawa

Budget 2006
The Right of Permanent Residence Fee
"This budget delivers on the Government's commitment to reduce the Right of Permanent Residence Fee to help immigrants and their families with the costs of starting a new life in Canada. The fee will be reduced from its current level of $975 to $490 effective on May 2, 2006. In addition, the Government will provide partial refunds to those who have already paid the $975 fee but have not been granted permanent resident status or have not yet arrived in Canada. The cost of this initiative in foregone revenue is $224 million over two years."

As I understand it, the budget has to be voted on in Parliament, but it is expected to pass.

Stephen Colbert does the White House

Stephen Colbert is absolutely the best! I thought I'd post this here just in case you hadn't heard about it. Enjoy!

Music Genome Project

This has nothing whatsoever to do with immigration, nor Canada - though k.d. lang was the first artist I "tested." And, come to think of it, it was my pal at the post office, as I was mailing our fingerprint cards, who clued me in to this project... Anyway, check out Pandora. I tend to prefer silence when I'm working, but for those who like a little background music while working at the computer, it seems pretty cool.

Fingerprinting

Took a quick trip down to the county law enforcement center for fingerprint cards earlier this afternoon. After a quick stop at the bank for the certified check and on to the post they are on their way to the FBI. That's the good news.

The "bad" news is that I think we may have unacceptable smudges. I don't know. Maybe rejection is a function of whether it interferes with the whorl, etc. I just know that hearing about others' experiences has made me wonder just how many times we'll have to get the darn things done. On the other hand, it's not like we're pressed for time.

So, there you have it. The latest mini-installment in the quest for the holy grail, er, no - wait a minute, I've got that wrong - I meant the quest for PR visas.

Germany

This morning I stopped at my local big bank, hoping to either wire 13 euro to Germany or get an international money order/draft. I discovered that it would cost about US$50 for the wire transfer and about US$25 for the money order/draft. Then, knowing that - while I know this isn't a great idea - they would also accept cash, I asked if they sold euro. Oh, they can get euro in two days, for about US$18 in fees. Um, I can go to the airport and get the same lousy exchange rate without that fee, thank you.

Suddenly, I remember my pal who often has euros lying around. Yes, she says, go to her office and have her assistant let me in. I can scrounge 13 euro from her desk. Then, I visualize my bedroom dresser- is that bill in my drawer Canadian dollars or euro? Hmmm. So, I tell the bank, no thanks and stop by the house. Sure enough, I had 20 euro sitting in my own drawer. After a stop at my friendly notary, I put the application for the Police Certificate of Good Conduct in the mail. Yes, with the cash.

Keep your fingers crossed for me! Will I have crossed the "i"s and dotted the "t"s? Will the cash make it there? But, mostly, will the Germans freak out at receiving more than the exact 13 euro? Inquiring minds want to know, or not.

On to the fingerprinting tomorrow...

Montreal

I'll be in Montreal from 25 -31 July for the 1st World Outgames and International Conference on LGBT Human Rights. I've only been to Montreal once and that was for Expo 67, as in 1967! Although there will be plenty to do with the games and conference, if anyone has any suggestions such as your favorite restaurant, etc., please let me know. Thanks!