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THE NEW TANNERTHURSDAY, MARCH 19, 2009 7 GRAPEVINE with Mike OLeary The Way I See It A minor irritation for me has always been Canadian TV sta- tions who pirate, steal actually, the signals from American TV so they can run Canadian ad- vertising commercials in place of American ones. I dont know how they get away with it and normally I just make a fridge run during those times. Im a loyal viewer of 60 Minutes, Sundays at 7pm. 60 Minutes is simulcast in this area by SUN TV. Its certainly incongruous to be watching a serious interview, like the one last Sunday with U.S. Federal Chairman Ben Bernanke, one minute only to have Russell Oliver, A.K.A. The Loan Ar- ranger, howling at you the next. God, But I despise that man. Oliver, not Bernanke, that is. It used to annoy me that we couldnt see the much touted American commercials during the Super Bowl but now not so much. I seldom watch the Super Bowl from start to finish any more. Likewise, when I worked for Hallmark and, I think it was CTV who pirated the Hallmark Hall of Fame tele- cast only to insert Canadian Commercials. Obviously I was vitally interested in the Hall- mark commercials. I lived in fear that one of my American counterparts would ask me a question as to the latest Hall- mark effort. I believe the company first tried to settle the matter by in- voking copyright regulations, and after some money may have changed hands. In the end Hallmark simply stopped selling the Canadian rights to Canadian media companies. To this day its only seen locally on a Buffalo station. Perhaps Im being un-Can- adian by choosing to tune into an American channel. Perhaps the C.R.T.C. is only protecting my Canadian culture by per- mitting this piracy. But Russell Oliver in a crum- my cowboy costume. Thanks, but no thanks. **** Speaking of the interview with Federal Reserve Chairman Bernacke, I found it very inter- esting and not just because one seldom sees him outside con- gressional hearings. Bernacke sees the current economic re- cession starting to end in the last quarter of this year with recovery starting in the first quarter of 2010. All of that is depended upon the U.S. bank- ing system having stabilized by that time. Thats certainly good news for Canadians since our econ- omy is a mirror image of theirs, albeit usually three months behind. This announcement verifies what the Toronto Do- minion chief Financial Analyst has been forcasting for some months now. The market responded posi- tively last Monday carrying on the growth trend of the previous week. Not that Im suggesting in any way that the stock market has bottomed out and everyone should rush back in. My crystal ball is as flawed as everyone elses. Bernacke also broadly hinted at forthcoming regulations for American banks. One assumes he has in mind similar restric- tions that Canadian banks have learned to operate under be- cause they obviously work. For instance, the T.D. Bank was the fifteenth largest bank in the world last year. This year theyre in the top 5. Thats not because theyve grown through these difficult economic times worldwide. Another interesting point Bernacke made was that he was angry at the way insurance giant American International Group (A.I.G) was distribut- ing bonus money to managers and, in some cases, those same mortgage brokers who sold the high risk mortgages to A.I.G. President Obama and the Governor of New York State are also angry. Both are promis- ing to put a halt to this insanity. Theres probably not much they can do however since the cheques have already gone out. Over $167 million of U.S. tax- payers money paid out to these greedy so and sos. The only defence A.I.G. has put out so far is that they are bound by employment con- tracts to pay this money. The other lame excuse A.I.G. gave was that without paying out bonus money A.I.G. would not be able to keep or attract the talented individuals they need. One would assume these are the same talented individuals that drove the once mighty A.I.G. to its knees so they had to go beg- ging to the federal reserve. Id give them a bonus alright. Severance Pay!!! Campaign kick-off Kick-off dinner for the Acton branch of the Canadian Cancer Societys annual fund raising campaign is on Tuesday, March 31 at 6:30pm at Knox Presbyter- ian Church at the corner of Main St. N. and Knox Ave. All canvass- ers, volunteers, including drivers, knitters, daffodil salespeople are invited to attend the dinner, meet some local councillors who have been invited to attend. Door priz- es and entertainment are part of the fun. Anyone wishing to join in as a volunteer can call Elaine Thomas at 905-702-8564. Food drive soon Dont forget the annual food drive by the Scouts, Guides, and Calvinist Cadets is coming on Saturday, April 4. Residents are being asked to place their non-perishable food donations in plastic bags at their front door by 8:30am on April 4. Needed is canned meat, fish, fruit, stew, vegetables, tomatoes, pasta sauce, peanut butter, jam, ketchup, rice, macaroni and cheese, cereal, side dishes and snacks suitable for school children. New GO Trains Commuters who use the Mil- ton GO Train service will be glad to know GO Transit will soon be adding two new weekday trains on the Milton line. One train will be added in the morning, arriv- ing at Union Station shortly after 9am. The second train will be added in the evening, departing Union Station just after 5:30pm. The new trips will be in service as early as June, Regional Chair Gary Carr reports. Quilters meet Halton Hills Quilters Guild is meeting at the Halton Hills Cultural Centre, 9 Church St. (at Main), Georgetown on Mon- day, March 23 at 7:15pm. Its vendor might and Sew Sisters will have product demonstra- tions and Grantham Books. New members are welcome. Contact Marion Baldaeoff, President at 905-702-1162. Singing Seniors Inspired by the movie, Young at Heart, in which a group of feisty seniors belt out rock and roll tunes, Enid Acton has been busily rounding up other local music lovers to form Erins own singing seniors. Shes inviting everyone to come out to the kick- off meeting in the Wellington Room, Centre 2000, March 23, at 10:30am to chat about Erins newest singing seniors. Local singer, Kim Pearson has signed on to lead the group and help them hit the right notes as they learn pop tunes from the 50s, 60s and 70s --- all with an em- phasis on having fun. Call Enid Acton at 519-853-0301. Community Brunch Sunday, March 22 is the date for the next Community Brunch at the Acton Community Centre Arena from 9:30am to 1pm for an all-you-can-eat buffet for $6.00. Pre-schoolers are free. The monthly buffets are sponsored by the Kinette Club of Acton to promote community spirit and help raise funds for local service groups, schools and clubs. Wants comment Regional Chair Gary Carr wants Halton residents to com- ment on whether they agree or disagree on a tax freeze for the Regions 2010 budget, as he has proposed. More on www.halton. ca. Looney Tunes on TV In Hills novel, Diallo appears set to end her days in London and is writing her memoirs, primarily because she must the world has to know that the slave has a name and to aid abolitionist benefactors who have brought her from Free- town, Sierra Leone; existence in Nova Scotia proved a marginal, brutal betrayal for the Black Loyal- ists, and ten years later 1200 of them writes Hill, From the shores of Halifax the first major back to Africa exodus in the History of the Americas, sailing to found the colony of Freetown in Sierra Leone. Lawrence Hill discovered the fictional Aminata in a work on the Black Loyalists by University of Waterloo history professor Dr. James Walker, containing the names of the returnees. She emerged from the list as a woman, born in Afri- ca. What were her thoughts? What was her voice like? Had she loved someone? Did she have children? Hill said slave narratives (he read many during five years research and writing), were the first form of literature to emerge from the Africans American and Canadian experiences. Nowadays, he said, Any enterprising 15-year-old could find the Book of Negroes online within five minutes; he hopes for a day when high-school students will be following his own path, begun over three dec- ades ago in the Don Mills home of a father, Daniel, himself des- cended from slaves and mother Donna, a white U.S. civil-rights activist. Having dared much with this work, Hill is reaping a corres- ponding reward. What is more, his timely emergence as an au- thoritative and popular Canadian accomplished in both literature and academia, is as healthy a boost to genuine Canadian cul- ture as weve seen for many years and bodes well for the ongoing history wars. (Acton resident Charles Tysoe was an early manuscript reviewer for the novel, The Book of Ne- groes.) Author fascinates... Continued from Page 7 SPACE CRAFTS: Laek and Kylie Swain, Mitchell and Shauna Gardner and Alyssa Dowling came out to take part in the fun and crafts held at the Acton Branch of the Halton Hills Public Library on Tuesday afternoon. The theme this year is Outer Space. Crafts will also be held on Thursday afternoon between 2 and 4pm and the Munch to the Movies is being held on Friday at noon. Bring your lunch and popcorn and enjoy the movie Wall - E - Traci Gardner photo.