David Milton McGowan

Here is a story I wrote several years ago concerning Alexander Mackenzie's trip through to the west coast. In his diary he remarked on how friendly the Bella Coola people where and how warlike the Bella Bella acted. My immediate reaction was, "How friendly are these people, really? Even though there are parts and pieces of French, English, trade languages (Chinook) through which they can exchange information, did each group actually know what the other meant?" I had also thought that the two groups as differentiated by Mackenzie where of the same people ... or thought I had read that somewhere ... so I looked into that. Yes, apparently they are Heiltsuk but some villages or clans could be more warlike than others. The Bella Bella had good reason to be a little violent. Apparently some European traders had tried to lure them on to a ship and then capture them. This had resulted in some deaths and injury on both sides. There was a later incident where three Europeans whe...

I posted this first in December of 2014 because I thought it was entertaining although, sadly true. We've had some shake-ups in the political world since then in many countries and this is still entertaining and true. We aren't getting what we pay for and paying for a great deal that the majority do not want. It can still be a good day if you manage to have a laugh. I must state that I did not write this. I must then admit that I don't know who did or where it came from. I was scrolling through some things from long ago and there it was. Whoever wrote it, I thought it was funny, brilliant and, sadly, accurate. Scientists at CERN in   Geneva   have announced the discovery of the heaviest element yet known to science. The new   –   element Governmentium (Gv). It has one neutron, 25 assistant neutrons, 88 deputy neutrons and 198 assistant deputy neutrons giving it an atomic mass of 312. These 312 particles are held together by forces coiled morons which are...