Truth and Justice

A few months ago I attended a very interesting talk on depictions of Justicia at various courthouses around the world. The Supreme Court of Canada was included in this talk. As such I was very keen to see the statue of Justicia outside the Supreme Court. I was unaware that there was also a statue of Truth at the Supreme Court as well. Interestingly these statues were originally supposed to be part of a memorial to Edward VII. This memorial was never finished and the statues were forgotten about until 1969. They were then placed outside the Supreme Court in 1970. I was quite taken with them.


Oddly though, Jusiticia is depicted with only her sword and not her scales.

Supreme Court

While in Ottawa I decided that I had better see the main sights of Ottawa. That is to say I decided to go and see Parliament Hill and view the Parliament buildings and the Supreme Court. I did not go on any tours of the buildings but I was able to go inside the Supreme Court building. While inside one of the staff members offered to open up the actual Supreme Court Room. I was amazed by it, as it is technologically up to date. All the judges and lawyers have access to computers and there are television screens for the hearing of testimony from those not present. In addition the podium is adjustable so that a person in a wheelchair, or a seven foot person can comfortably use it.

As the man showing us around said, the Canadian Supreme Court is light years ahead of the American Supreme Court both technologically and in terms of its decisions.

I think this building is the Senate.

Parliament Hill

The Supreme Court Building

Ottawa

Today a group of friends and I set off for Ottawa to watch the Edmonton Oilers take on the Ottawa Senators. Ottawa is the capital of Canada and is about 219 miles from Toronto. This distance in Canadian English translates as five hours. I saw the Sens beat the Oilers 4-2. I also discovered that the Sens are the second hockey team to play in Ottawa with that name. The original Ottawa Senators moved to St Louis in 1934 and then went defunct. Surprisingly the original Senators are considered one of the best hockey teams in the early years of the NHL. A tradition which the current Sens have almost revived.

Temporary Hiatus

I am going to be away for a few days but I will return with lots of new information from my travels!

The Dark Side of Academic Work

Recent events have confirmed to me something that I had already suspected about graduate study. Graduate study can magnify existing mental problems or tendencies and make them quite problematic. I had suspected this was true but I had hoped that I would never have to see a friend go through it. Perhaps the most upsetting thing is knowing that you cannot force a person to get the help that they so desperately need. Apparently it is the lack of structure and the loneliness of graduate work that does it.


That is why support systems are beyond essential.

Che Guevara

It had been a while since I had been to the cinema, so I decided that I should go and see a film. A friend suggested that we go and see "Che", the movie about the Latin American revolutionary, Ernesto "Che" Guevara. The movie was over four hours long and I felt that I learnt a lot about Che. For a start I learnt that he was originally from Argentina, though he was of Basque, Spanish and Irish descent. I also discovered that he was asthmatic, for the movie has him wheezing across Cuba and then Bolivia.

The Nineteenth Day Fast

Today members of the Baha'i faith all around the world begin their Nineteen Day Fast. During this time they will observe a fast from sunrise to sunset. The purpose of the fast is to reinvigorate the soul and bring one closer to God. The fast is binding on all members of the faith from the age of 15 to 70. There are exemptions from fasting if one is ill, pregnant, undertaking heavy labour, or travelling.

Glyndwr University

Seeing as how it is St David's Day today I thought it would be fitting to learn something about Wales today. BBC happily provided me with the news that Wales has just acquired another university, Glyndwr University. The university was formerly the North East Wales Institute, and was granted university status last summer. It is named after Owain Glyndwr, a Welshmen who tried to free Wales from English rule in the fifteenth century.