Happy Dominion Canada Day

Finally got the Red Ensign up in front of the house. Just took a bit longer than I'd planned (like too many other projects around the house, now that I think about it).

Latest Red Ensign recruit

At Home in Hespeler has just joined the Red Ensign Brigade. Welcome aboard!

Latest addition to the Red Ensign Brigade

Please welcome Akaash Maharaj, the newest member of the Red Ensign Brigade. He's been blogging recently about his adventures in 19th-century cavalry exercises . . . tent pegging.

I was roused for competition just after half-past five in the morning, by a mullah belting out prayers from a minaret facing my hotel room. Somehow, the world equestrian skill-at-arms championships just keep getting more surreal.

The hotel lobby was a sartorial riot of anachronism and multiculturalism: riders from around the world; sporting breeches and polished spurs; variously adorned with circlets, gilt armbands, and theatric turbans; carrying swords, sabres, and lances. Well, Willow, I don't think we're in Parkdale anymore...

The first day was given over to individual competition with the lance. In the morning, each horse and rider pair would attempt to skewer a course of ground targets, which dwindled in width from 6cm to 3cm. In the afternoon, we would also attempt to thread our weapons through elevated targets, rings of 6cm diameters suspended at the height of a man's eye.

This came as a complete surprise to me . . .

Damian Brooks sent along the URL to this Globe and Mail editorial:

Of course the Canadian Red Ensign should fly at the April 9 commemorations of the Battle of Vimy Ridge, alongside the Royal Standard of Canada, the Maple Leaf, the Union Jack and the French tricouleur. And of course the Red Ensign should fly in perpetuity at the Canadian National Vimy Memorial. The Maple Leaf is not the battle flag of a Canadian revolution. When Canada adopted the 1965 flag, Canadians did not abrogate their history.

The Red Ensign, along with the Union Jack, was the flag Canadians fought under during the First World War, and indeed the Second World War, and it deserves a place of continuing honour in this country and on its historic battlefields. To do otherwise would serve only, as the Dominion Institute's Rudyard Griffiths aptly put it, to "airbrush our history." The 1965 flag is in a sense a product of the heroic Battle of Vimy Ridge in 1917, since the sacrifices of Canadian soldiers during the Great War were integral to the full achievement of Canadian independence, codified in the Statute of Westminster, 1931.

Is it a bad sign that I automatically assumed that the G&M would be against flying the Red Ensign?

Knock me down with a feather.

Red Ensign to fly at Vimy

Thanks go to the prime minister for indicating his desire that the Red Ensign will indeed be flown at the ceremonies at Vimy Ridge:

Mr. Harper told his cabinet ministers yesterday that he wanted both the Red Ensign and the Maple Leaf hoisted in Vimy, France, at the 90th anniversary of the First World War battle, sources close to the Prime Minister said.

"He said, 'The Red Ensign of 1917 will fly over Vimy,' " one source told The Globe.

The decision was hailed as a victory by veterans' groups and advocates, who have been lobbying Ottawa to have the historical ensign displayed over the Canadian National Vimy Memorial.

H/T to Taylor & Company for the Globe link.

A Red Ensign call to battle!

This is a cause I fully support:

It's the flag the Canadians carried into battle when they captured Vimy Ridge in 1917. And it's the flag that should be flying when thousands assemble at the Canadian National Vimy Memorial next month for the unveiling of the restored monument to mark the 90th anniversary of the battle, say members of a campaign to get the Red Ensign to Vimy Ridge for the ceremony.

The Red Ensign was there in 1936 when the monument was unveiled for the first time.

Ottawa resident John Heyes, a retired public servant, has been lobbying to have a version of the historic flag taken to France for the April 9 ceremony.

Mr. Heyes and Bill Bishop, a maintenance worker in Maple Ridge, B.C., who has written hundreds of letters advocating a stronger presence for the old flag, don't expect the Maple Leaf, which Canada adopted as its flag 42 years ago, to take a back seat to the Red Ensign — they think both should be flown.

Call me naive, but I'd always assumed that the Red Ensign would be flown at the ceremony . . . but respect for history has never been a strong point for Canadian governments before.

H/T to Damian for bringing it to my attention.

Update 22 March: Thank you, Stephen Harper.

"A good life, well lived."

John Donovan, castellan of Castle Argghhh posts some very sad news.

New blog joins the Red Ensign Brigade

I'd like to extend a welcome to OfficiallyScrewed, the latest blog to join the Red Ensign Brigade.

New aggregator for the Red Ensign Brigade

Ed Minchau has set up a new blog aggregator for the Red Ensign Brigade: http://redensign.blogspot.com/. It's only got a few recent posts up right now, but it will pick up new posts from all the members of the Brigade going forward.

Thanks Ed!

New Red Ensign Standard now up

Temujin has published the latest Red Ensign Standard over at West Coast Chaos. Go and see what the rest of the Red Ensign Brigade has been posting about recently.

Remember, if you're interested in joining the Red Ensign Brigade, you can contact me or any of the bloggers in the unit.

Red Ensign Standard 44

This is the 44th Raising of the Red Ensign. This issue is by submission only, and not all bloggers in the Brigade have submitted items for this round-up. The Standard is a biweekly (except during the summer months) round-up of interesting posts from the members of the Red Ensign Brigade. If you are interested in joining the Brigade, leave a comment on this post or send an email to "Quotulatiousness AT gmail dot com".

The next Red Ensign Standard will be hosted at Gen X at 40.

The Red Ensign Brigade

First up are the good folks down at The London Fog, who have a few items to call to your attention. First, an article called And the ration lines grow longer still, Bigotry and Hatred in Action, Approved by the Ministry of Fairness, and Trudeau Becomes Prime Minister (in that last post, does anyone else see similarities between Trudeau and Putin?).

Next up, Temujin, of West Coast Chaos offers these links: A nice place to visit . . ., contrasting the Beirut of a few weeks ago and now, and The Spirit of Northern British Columbia, some images of the rare Kermode, or Spirit, bear.

The Phantom Observer was busy, with postings including The Fall of the Harper Minority, Fisking Belinda's Obvious Blather, The Liberal Blogosphere Opportunity, and The Notoriously D.L.Z..

Over at [Castle] Argghhh!!!, John D. offers this link: Some people are just obtuse b@st@rds. In my opinion, John is being too kind to Major "Major Moron" Davies here:

As if, in the cosmic scheme of things, the "Public" truly gives a flying flip in this regard. My guess is, Major Davies, if you were to poll the public as they filter through the doors, they'd be aghast at your attitude.

I am.

I'm sure there are rules and regulations to be followed. I have no doubt of that. I used to be a US Army paid military historian with staff responsibility for what amounts to a regimental museum here in the US.

And I would have found a way to get that Medal back to the guy whose name is on the back of it. I might have had to do a little fundraising to go to the extreme of actually sending someone with it, to bring it back, but I would have moved heaven and earth to get that Medal (in this case, a Victoria Cross awarded to a Gurkha soldier) back to its named recipient.

It's a shame that horsewhipping blackguards is no longer socially acceptable.

Ed (the "Robot Guy") offers a few select aerospace links for this edition: blowed up real good, third time's the charm, and battery powered airplane.

Ruth, at Rootleweb, was busy posting about the situation in Lebanon and the repercussions here in Canada: Anti-Israeli Media and Harper Bashing, Anti-Israeli Media: More Proof, CAF Issues 'Statement', Harper's Plane, and Lebanese Canadians Thank Harper.

Alan at Gen X at 40 sent these links: Make Your Own Cause, Another Constitutional Thing for Steve, All Star, and Mongolian Blue Bums (that last link should probably carry a warning for those of weak constitutions).

Alan has also foolishly nobly offered to host the next Red Ensign Standard.

Here, I've been busy with a new puppy, and playing around with a new camera. Also a reminder of my only-occasionally-updated blog on Ontario wine.

This Standard is linked at the TTLB Ubercarnival, and at the Blog Carnival.

The Red Ensign Brigade Reserve (blogs temporarily inactive or did not submit postings)

• A Chick Named Marzi (no posts since May)
• Absinthe & Cookies
• Angry in the Great White North
• Anthroblogy.
• bound by gravity
• BumfOnline
• canadiancomment (no posts since March)
• Canadianna's Place
• Conservative Canadien
• Conservative Hipster
• ESR's Musings
• Grandinite
• Italics Mine
• John Murney's Blog
• John the Mad (no postings since June)
• Just Between Us Girls (no postings since June)
• mkbraaten.com
• The Monarchist
• Musing
• Raging Kraut
• The Raging Ranter
• Ravishing Light (no postings since February)
• Rhetoricking with Myself (no postings since February)
• Rightjab (no postings since June)
• Shiny Happy Gulag (no postings since April)
• Stephen Taylor - CPC
• Striving Against Opposition (no postings since February)
• Taylor and Company
• Tipperography (no postings since March)
• Toronto Tory (no postings since June)

Previous Red Ensign Standards

Previous standards have been hosted at the following blogs (thanks to Shane at The High Places for doing the legwork):

1. Castle Argghhh
2. Raging Kraut
3. The Last Amazon
4. Bumfonline
5. Tiger in Winter (now blogging at Tiger in Exile)
6. Taylor and Company (no longer online)
7. Myrick
8. Bound By Gravity
9. Dust My Broom
10. Ravishing Light
11. Babbling Brooks
12. Musing
13. Freeway to Serfdom
14. Nathan's Updates From Seoul
15. Striving Against Opposition
16. The Phantom Observer
17. Abraca-Pocus!
18. Tipperography
19. Turning 30 and a half
20. Canadian Comment
21. London Fog
22. The Monarchist
23. West Coast Chaos
24. A Chick Named Marzi
25. Raging Kraut
26. Robot Guy
27. The High Places
28. The Last Amazon
29. Robot Guy
30. Quotulatiousness
31. RootleWeb
32. Gen X at 40
33. Quotulatiousness
34. The High Places (no longer online)
35. Rootleweb
36. The Phantom Observer
37. West Coast Chaos
38. Minority of One
39. Dust My Broom
40. Taylor & Company
41. Raging Kraut
42. Rootleweb
43. Just Between Us Girls

Call for posts

I'll be posting the next edition of the Red Ensign Standard later this weekend, so if you have anything you'd like me to highlight, send me the URL.

Red Ensign Standard raised again

Glenda hosts the most recent version of the Red Ensign Standard, this being the 43rd edition. Glenda is interested in genealogy, so several of the highlighted posts in this collection deal with things genealogical.

Life, the Universe, and Standard #42

The latest and greatest posts of the last two weeks (at least of blogs within the Red Ensign Brigade) have been collected together as Red Ensign Standard 42.

What are you waiting here for? Go see what else the Brigade has been writing about!

The Red Ensign is Raised Again

Ray, the Raging Kraut, has once again taken on the task of raising the Red Ensign Standard. This is his third time (someone else should be carrying some of the weight, wouldn't you say?), and a fine job he's done. Go see what the other bloggers in the Brigade have been writing about over the last couple of weeks.

Red Ensign raised at Taylor & Company

Chris Taylor hosts this edition of the Red Ensign Standard:

Welcome to the fortieth edition of the Red Ensign Standard. When this group was founded back in June of 2004, the enterprise seemed more than a little quixotic. Canada’s collective memory of her rich heritage and worthy deeds had grown ever more distant and neglected by successive governments. The Liberal Party was lethargic master of the land for eleven years, and seemingly redefined Canadian identity in a pastiche of tired old clichés: medicare, beer-commercial jingoism and ritual observation of a thirty-two-year old hockey game. Our founder and former member inspired us to look beyond that — to see our country’s epic history, full of industry, courage and triumph.

Go and investigate what the rest of the Brigade has been posting about for the past couple of weeks.

39th Raising of the Red Ensign

The Red Ensign Standard, mark 39, has been posted at Dust My Broom. Go see what the rest of the Brigade has been busy writing about during the past two weeks.

For all your Haka needs

I think the Red Ensign Brigade could do with its own version of the Haka (Flash required).

Red Ensign raised again

Keith has posted the 38th Red Ensign Standard at Minority of One. Go see what the brigade has been posting about during my absence.

New Red Ensign Standard Raised

The latest round-up of activity within the Brigade has been posted at West Coast Chaos. Go see what has been occupying the other members of the unit over the last two weeks.

Anybody got a stake?

Apparently "dead" doesn't really mean dead . . . sometimes they're just resting.

"Welcome back to the fight," Rick Ray. "This time, I'm sure our side will" win draw score carry on uh, do something noble.

The latest raising of the Red Ensign

The Standard has been raised at the Phantom Observer. Go see what the members of the Brigade have been writing about over the last few weeks.

I can't believe that I forgot . . .

. . . to link to the latest Red Ensign Standard!

What kind of brigade commander am I, that I can miss posting a link to the main roundup of Red Ensign Brigade activities?

Red Ensign Election Predictions

Darcey is asking the other member of the Red Ensign Brigade what their predictions are for the federal election. I'd already posted my guess, but I thought it'd be interesting to gather up the predictions and keep them near the top of the page until the final returns are in, purely to add to the embarrassment factor when we all turn out to have missed the obvious NDP sweep to a majority:

I'll add to the list as other Red Ensign bloggers post or email their own predictions.

Update 22 January: Keith, Shane, and Alan all provided predictions for tomorrow's election.

Update 23 January: I've added in Damian Penny's, Mark Steyn's and Andrew Coyne's predictions.

Red Ensign raised again

The latest version of the Red Ensign Standard has been raised at The High Places. See what the rest of the Brigade has been blogging about since Standard 33 was raised.

Red Ensign Standard 33

This is the thirty-third Raising of the Red Ensign. Unlike previous Standards, this issue is by submission only, and not all bloggers in the Brigade have submitted items for this round-up. It's still early running in the federal election, and several Red Ensign bloggers are doing local reporting in their ridings. Most of us, however, are not paying as much attention to the political scene (in this we're like most Canadians: let the electioneering get seriously underway in January!)

The next Red Ensign Standard will be hosted at The High Places on January 7th, with the following Standard to be raised at RootleWeb on the 21st (dates are approximate).

The Red Ensign Brigade

Ith, at Absinthe & Cookies, is enjoying the briny deep.

Angry in the Great White North posted on many topics, including the "necessity" for judicial activism and Canada's "preventative" approach to gun crime.

Damian, of Babbling Brooks, thought his best post recently was this one. He also posted a few comments on military affairs. He was also shocked, shocked, to find himself on the receiving end of a CBC-lanche.

bound by gravity had gone dark, but then (perhaps energized by winning the "Best Conservative Blog" in the Canadian Blog Awards) is coming back to life.

Canadianna's Place asks why Paul doesn't trust us and delineates the difference between promises and announcements.

Castle Argghhh! has, as always, been a hotbed of discussion, including the proposed handgun ban. We can see what happens when Alan (of GenX@40) engineers some thread drift, and also have some fun. John also asks for your aid in getting the vote out for the weblog awards.

Alan, at Gen X at 40, takes full advantage of the malaise to grab as much attention for himself as possible, including posts on the softwood war, a "Bizarre Central Euro Xmas thingie", and the non-issue issue — the debt. He also submits a final link on speculations from an asymmetrical world.

Shane, at The High Places, has some thoughts on the separation of Union and State (or lack thereof), the Liberal party's moves to institutionalize our children, and on the "conservative" resistance to supporting families with children.

Glenda, at Just Between Us Girls, posted two links about the closure of the Domtar mill in Cornwall and the PM's visit to the riding. She also points out that Stephen Harper's same-sex marriage announcement was not off message.

The Phantom Observer offers these links: Librano poker night fun, picking the blogs from the "flogs", and comparing the opposing "official" blogs. The CBC campaign blog also paid notice.

Here at Quotulatiousness, I've been persuaded to move my wine postings to a new blog on Ontario wine.

Ed, at robot guy, goes off his medication encourages Canadians, in particular those that live in Ontario, to vote for the Liberal party. Yes, you read that correctly. Ed has also been monitoring the private space development arena (an area near and dear to my heart), including some positive developments. Orbital Recovery signed their first contract for a satellite-servicing mission, and Virgin Galactic has chosen the spaceport in La Cruces, New Mexico, as the launch site for their suborbital-joyride passenger service. He points out the financial trouble for NASA posed by the Vision for Space Exploration, and presents a solution that will save money, hopefully prevent the loss of more shuttles, save the Vision for Space Exploration, and perhaps ultimately save NASA from itself.

Ruth, at RootleWeb, discussed the whole notion of family, examined sexual politics and criminality, asked the relevant question "what is a billion?", and a series of posts examining what are the parameters of acceptable violence.

Tipper, at Tipperography, has found real life too busy for blogging and has decided to leave the unit (at least temporarily).

Temujin, at West Coast Chaos offers the thoughts of his occasional co-blogger, Pei Yusei, who came out of the woodwork to discuss the blockbuster hockey trade that occured . . . but not the 'blockbuster' you may be thinking of.

This Standard is linked at the TTLB Ubercarnival.

The Red Ensign Brigade Reserve (blogs temporarily inactive or did not submit postings)

• A Chick Named Marzi
• Albion's Seedlings
• All Agitprop, all the Time
• Anthroblogy.
• asiapundit.
• bluetory.ca
• Candepundit
• BumfOnline
• canadiancomment
• ChrisCam
• Conservative Canadienne
• Conservative Hipster
• Doxology
• Dust My Broom
• ESR's Musings
• Freeway to Serfdom
• Grandinite
• Green Baron
• Hammer Into Anvil
• Italics Mine
• John the Mad
• John Murney's Blog
• King's Perspective
• The London Fog
• The Meatriarchy
• Minority of One
• mkbraaten.com
• The Monarchist
• Musing
• Musings of a Cdn Slacker
• Myrick
• The Raging Ranter
• Ravishing Light
• Rhetoricking with Myself
• Rightjab
• Shiny Happy Gulag
• Skeet Skeet Skeet
• Stephen Taylor - CPC
• Striving Against Opposition
• Taylor and Company
• Toronto Tory

Previous Red Ensign Standards

Previous standards have been hosted at the following blogs (thanks to Shane at The High Places for doing the legwork):

1. Castle Argghhh
2. Raging Kraut
3. The Last Amazon
4. Bumfonline
5. Tiger in Winter (now blogging at Tiger in Exile)
6. Taylor and Company (no longer online)
7. Myrick
8. Bound By Gravity
9. Dust My Broom
10. Ravishing Light
11. Babbling Brooks
12. Musing
13. Freeway to Serfdom
14. Nathan's Updates From Seoul
15. Striving Against Opposition
16. The Phantom Observer
17. Abraca-Pocus!
18. Tipperography
19. Turning 30 and a half
20. Canadian Comment
21. London Fog
22. The Monarchist
23. West Coast Chaos
24. A Chick Named Marzi
25. Raging Kraut
26. Robot Guy
27. The High Places
28. The Last Amazon
29. Robot Guy
30. Quotulatiousness
31. RootleWeb
32. Gen X at 40

The Red Ensign is hoisted at GenX at 40

Alan has posted the latest Red Ensign Standard at Gen X at 40. Go see what the Brigade has been posting about this past couple of weeks.

Gold braid, pomp, and circumstance

I just realized that I forgot to mention that I'd succeeded to the command of the Red Ensign Brigade, following Ray, the Raging Kraut, and Nick "Ghost of a Flea" Packwood, the founder of the Brigade. Unfortunately, I didn't get the cool uniform to match the new rank, so I'm having to make do with online images for the moment:

This is the modern shoulder-flap insignia of a Canadian Brigadier General.	This is the older insignia, based on the British Army's insignia for a Brigadier (the older title didn't include the word "General"). As a traditionalist, I'm more partial to the historical version.

Of course, I'll also have to get the little flag-holders attached to the front and rear bumper of the Quotemobile, to fly the appropriate flags . . .

Red Ensign Standard raised at Rootleweb

Ruth has raised the 31st edition of the Red Ensign Standard. Go and read what the other members of the Brigade have been writing about for the past few weeks.

Previous Red Ensign Standards

Previous Red Ensign Standards

Previous standards have been hosted at the following blogs (thanks to Shane at The High Places for doing the legwork):

1. Castle Argghhh
2. Raging Kraut
3. The Last Amazon
4. Bumfonline
5. Tiger in Winter (now blogging at Tiger in Exile)
6. Taylor and Company (no longer online)
7. Myrick
8. Bound By Gravity
9. Dust My Broom
10. Ravishing Light
11. Babbling Brooks
12. Musing
13. Freeway to Serfdom
14. Nathan's Updates From Seoul
15. Striving Against Opposition
16. The Phantom Observer
17. Abraca-Pocus!
18. Tipperography
19. Turning 30 and a half
20. Canadian Comment
21. London Fog
22. The Monarchist
23. West Coast Chaos
24. A Chick Named Marzi
25. Raging Kraut
26. Robot Guy
27. The High Places
28. The Last Amazon
29. Robot Guy
30. Quotulatiousness
31. Will be hosted at RootleWeb.

Red Ensign Standard, Mark XXX

This is the thirtieth Raising of the Red Ensign. I am honoured and humbled to be part of this fine group of bloggers. I was not an original member of the Brigade, but I certainly thought it was high time that it was created. Our founder, Nick Packwood, is no longer active in the unit, but I like to think that we're still true to his original idea.

Unlike most of the members, I'm not a conservative, although we certainly have plenty of common ground. I'm one of the libertarians within the Brigade, so some of the things that get most of our membership agitated are of marginal interest to me and some of the things that get me angry are similarly of only marginal concern to the rest of the Brigade. We get along okay, in spite of that.

The Red Ensign was Canada's unofficial flag until the adoption of the Maple Leaf as the official Canadian National flag. The flag debate was bitter, as the unofficial flag was especially disliked in Quebec (then, as for much of Canadian history, a power base of the Liberal party) and strongly supported in Ontario's rural heartland (at that time, strongly Conservative). Rather than trusting the decision to a referendum (as proposed by Conservative leader John Diefenbaker), Prime Minister Lester Pearson formed a parliamentary committee to decide the issue. The committee unanimously endorsed the Maple Leaf flag, which was derived in part from the traditional flag of the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario. It became the offical flag of Canada by parliamentary act and Royal Assent, and was officially flown for the first time on 15 February, 1965.

The land the Maple Leaf first flew over was, in many ways, a much freer and more democratic society than the Canada of today. Canadians in those days did not automatically turn to the government to solve problems in every sphere of life. Government had its place, and that place was generally agreed to be the defence of the realm, maintaining the peace, running the judicial system, and international affairs. The vast increase in the size and power of the federal government started in the same period as the new flag was adopted, so that modern Canadians seem to feel that the government should be — and always has been — fully involved in every activity of life in Canada. The Federal government, for all its faults, was (especially compared to today) squeaky clean: ministers would resign at the mere hint of mismanagement within their departments . . . unlike today, where the RCMP has to be in the aisle waving handcuffs before a tainted minister even considers stepping down from office.

The Canada of the Red Ensign was far from perfect: plenty of social and economic injustices existed, but generally the situation was good for most Canadians. The economy was relatively unencumbered with government controls, the judicial system was widely believed to be working well, and the country was a magnet for immigration. I take the liberty of quoting our founder:

I am proud to say this is one of a handful of countries in the whole world where you can arrive, work hard and send your kids to school in the hope of a better life. No matter your accent or appearance you will be Canadian.

Somewhere along the way, Canada has lost some of the attributes that helped to make it a great country. Red Ensign bloggers hope we can get back that essence. Sometimes the past is worth fighting for, too.

With no further blathering from me, here is the round-up of the last two weeks of Brigade posts.

The Red Ensign Brigade

905 Tory recently announced his retirement from blogging.

Rue, at Abraca-Pocus!, finally got out to see a movie and re-discovered the power of scent. She's also decided to take the plunge and apply for Canadian citizenship.

Ith, at Absinthe & Cookies has been having a slow blogging week, although she provides some useful tips for people who call her co-workers and has a Serenity quiz to help pass the time.

Angry in the Great White North (which won 3 top-of-category awards at the SDA Blog Awards) may be one of the most prolific bloggers around: he always has something new on the blog. He takes side in the Newfoundland flag debate, tries to decipher the gruesome reality of Canadian healthcare, and tries to game the search engines with his entry on Orgies at teen proms!

Dirtcrashr at Anthroblogy talks about the negative results of Socialist Redistribution and does his best to rename Hollywood as Tinselgrad (gotta love it).

Our foreign correspondant in China, asiapundit, offers some insight into the Benjamin Joffe-Walt case and a round-up of other links on the situation. He also provides an interesting discussion of possible changes in China's economic policies.

Sadly, Damian, of Babbling Brooks, has also decided to close up shop and pay more attention to life outside his blog . . . but he did briefly post to clear up any misunderstanding over l'affaire Kinsella.

In a refreshing change from the usual story, bluetory.ca has just come back to active blogging. He reports on labour negotiations, machinations within the NDP caucus, and a bit of Alberta-boosting from south of the border.

Andrew, at bound by gravity, is another blogger who posts plenty of content (he recently won the coveted "Best Blogging Tory" category of the Small Dead Blog Awards. He's looked at Canada's DART unit, was the first to note the return to blogging of Occam's Carbuncle, and Canada's slide down the corruption tables. Bill, a guest blogger, took some time to argue against allowing Intelligent Design to be taught in the schools.

Huck, at BumfOnline, when he's not obsessing about hockey, had some reflections on Einstein, and a few thoughts on funding post-secondary education.

Dana and Bob post at canadiancomment, including some thoughts on the merits of the Nobel Prize.

Canadianna's Place has been quiet lately, although she did post some thoughts on school "lockdowns".

I can always get my fix of military affairs and gun pron at Castle Argghhh!. But the folks at the Castle don't feel limited by those narrow categories. Recent posts have included a caption contest, poetry, amusing quotations (a topic near and dear to my heart), and the burden of teaching.

ChrisCam says goodbye to Gerhard Schroeder and the historic vote in Iraq.

Conservative Hipster is now a proud father. Blogging output will likely be very slim for the next few weeks or months.

Doxology sends a Newsflash to the Culture of Death, takes note of a personal milestone, and confirms once again that celebrities are not good role models.

Selecting a few representative posts from Dust My Broom is quite a challenge: it's a high-frequency blog. Among the many posts were: fact checking, addressing economic illiteracy, an adventure with a canoe, and government provision of unsafe drinking water.

ESR's Musings include a bit of NFL post-game thoughts, poking a bit of fun at Mugabe and Chavez, and a bit of prom suppression.

Jay, at Freeway to Serfdom, appreciated Thanksgiving, but had a tougher work week as a result. He also scooped the prestigious Silly Libertarian Award.

Alan, at Gen X at 40, has concerns about Big Brother warrant in Britain, condemns "guesstification", and wants Web 2.0 to be properly named Bubble 2.0.

Grandinite links to the Great Canadian Blog Survey (and is called on to defend the methodology thereof), finds an interesting-looking economics book, helps out with another book.

James, at Hammer Into Anvil, despairs of his fellow Canadians' toleration of corrupt officials (especially David Dingwall), but finds some consolation in the fact that science has finally delivered on the promise of stink-proof underwear.

Shane, at High Place, has some fun with 1950's stereotypes, comments on blog survey results, and tries to get bloggers more politically involved (I wouldn't have thought that last idea was necessary, given how political bloggers can get).

One of the most recent members of the Brigade is Blair, at Italics Mine. He'll be happy to know that even though he "pinched a nerve practicing the secret handshake" and was therefore "unable to attend the fundraiser", we've changed the date so he can attend. Aren't we nice? Blair also found that 124% of Columbians agree that Hillary should be the next President.

John the Mad takes issue with a Joey Slinger column, attempts to console the poor voters of Vancouver Centre, and finds the new Governor-General's loyalty to be suspect.

Glenda, at Just Between Us Girls, tracks early reactions to the Gomery Report leak and considers writing as a sideline.

Ryan, at King's Perspective, is hopeful about the recent German election results, discusses a recent call to action from Quebec, and passed along his best wishes to former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

Kate, at The Last Amazon, provides some insight into Toronto's schizophrenic addiction policies, takes aim at a monstrous breakdown of government responsibility, looks at the effects of the Bambi cult, and feels somehow cramped by an overly protective family.

The group blog called The London Fog specializes in pointing out the stupidities of the municipal, provincial, and (like shooting fish in a barrel) federal governments. Talk about picking a blogging area that will never lack for material! Of course, there's always room for specific London, Ontario posts too.

The Meatriarchy attended a special sooper-sekrit VRWC blogger gathering (with photo evidence), does a bit of hockey analysis, and links to some photos from the Iraqi elections.

Keith, at Minority of One, is looking forward to watching the race for the insanity vote in 2008, and ponders a bit of political history.

mkbraaten.com is facing the challenge of keeping track of all the current scandals, passes judgement on Edmonton's latest tornado-damaged building, and reads the signs on the wall on the Gomery Report.

The Monarchist discusses the decline of loyalty, points out that the Queen should not be referred to as the Queen of England, and welcomes the first female blogger to join their group blog.

Jason, at Musing, was out of town at a conference at which he managed to pick up a souvenir flu bug, which kept him away from blogging pretty much all of last week. He did manage to find time since then to post about the Toledo riots and inequality before the law for the "elites" and the rest of us.

Myrick has a Dead Milkmen moment, but otherwise directs your attention to asiapundit, where he posts more serious matters.

Curt, at North Western Winds, has a long post on evolution, virtue, and game theory, revels in his self-confessed status as a Archaic Relic, and takes time to find some religious humour.

The Phantom Observer bids an unfond farewell to Carolyn Parrish, does a bit of NDP caucus calculus, and tosses a few stones at David "Bubble Gum is Deductible!" Dingwall.

The current Brigade commander, Ray at Raging Kraut, had some good news to announce and views with alarm the reactivation of the Smurf Collective.

The Raging Ranter first meets the Young Liberals, and then has some fun "interviewing" them.

Paul, at Ravishing Light, has found that blogging time has been overtaken by study time. Get your priorities straight there, lad!

Ed, at robot guy, talks about the unseen genocide, contemplates Albertan separatism, and posts some cool Cassini images. He's also tracking Hurricane Wilma.

The other most recent member of the Brigade is RootleWeb, and sets a fine example by volunteering to host the next Standard. Recently, she's discussed changing Dutch attitudes, the Dingwall affair, and Saddam Hussein's trial.

Stephen Taylor - CPC is hopeful that the Tories are starting to address real issues, does a bit of poll analysis, and runs a caption contest.

Chris, at Striving Against Opposition, has been occupied with external-to-blogging issues, but still managed to post some thoughts on the Supreme Court of Canada.

Chris, at Taylor and Company, chronicles the rise and decline of the Smurfovik Collective, discovers that, in the music world, time still marches on, and offers some key hints to a contingent of slobbering fanboys.

Tipper, at Tipperography, does some fine analysis on why one- or two-dimensional political quizes cannot capture the fine distinctions between individuals' real-world philosophies. This was one of my favourite posts in the Brigade over the last couple of weeks. Tipper does a very good job of illustrating why "either/or" questions work well for computers, but poorly for human beings. She also had some good news which will unfortunately have the side-effect of reducing her time to blog.

Sue, at Turning 30 and a half, has taken some steps towards being recompensed for dental problems, copes with a valium-addicted dog, and experiments with Photoshop.

Temujin, at West Coast Chaos, scored a patriotic prize and pokes a bit of fun at sunken cheese.

Update, 25 October: Now listed at the TTLB ÜberCarnival.

The Red Ensign Brigade Reserve (blogs temporarily inactive)

• A Chick Named Marzi has been on a brief hiatus.
• All Agitprop, all the Time has been on a longer break . . . no new posts since June.
• Candepundit has been inactive for quite some time — last post was September 2004. It may be time to move to the Retired list.
• The Green Baron posted from Tupelo, Mississippi at the end of August, reassuring us that he was still alive. It's not surprising that he hasn't had chance to post since then.
• Musings of a Cdn Slacker has been quiet since May.
• Rhetoricking with Myself has been quiet since early September.
• Rightjab has not posted anything since June.
• Shiny Happy Gulag has been quiet since early September.
• Skeet Skeet Skeet has been inactive since early June.
• Toronto Tory has been too busy to blog for the last two weeks.
• Trudeaupia is still on hiatus.

Previous Red Ensign Standards

Previous standards have been hosted at the following blogs (thanks to Shane at The High Places for doing the legwork):

1. Castle Argghhh
2. Raging Kraut
3. The Last Amazon
4. Bumfonline
5. Tiger in Winter (now blogging at Tiger in Exile)
6. Taylor and Company (no longer online)
7. Myrick
8. Bound By Gravity
9. Dust My Broom
10. Ravishing Light
11. Babbling Brooks
12. Musing
13. Freeway to Serfdom
14. Nathan's Updates From Seoul
15. Striving Against Opposition
16. The Phantom Observer
17. Abraca-Pocus!
18. Tipperography
19. Turning 30 and a half
20. Canadian Comment
21. London Fog
22. The Monarchist
23. West Coast Chaos
24. A Chick Named Marzi
25. Raging Kraut
26. Robot Guy
27. The High Places
28. The Last Amazon
29. Robot Guy
30. Quotulatiousness
31. Will be hosted at RootleWeb.

Robot Guy raises the Red Ensign

The 29th edition of the Raising of the Red Ensign is now up at Robot Guy. Go see what interesting posts you've been missing on the other Red Ensign Brigade blogs over the last few weeks.

The 30th edition will be here, if'n the crick don't rise, on the 24th of October.

Brigade reinforcements arrive

I'd like to extend a welcome to the two newest members of the Red Ensign Brigade, Rootleweb and Italics Mine.

The Babbler goes quiet

I'm very sorry to see that Damian "Babbling" Brooks has decided to shutter his blog, at least for the time being. Damian has been one of the staunchest members of the Red Ensign Brigade, and was certainly one of the most interesting characters in the unit. I can understand blog-fatigue (it gets most of us in the end), but as Chris Taylor recently proved . . . it can be beaten.

I'm definitely going to miss Damian's writing, his sense of humour, and his total inability to hold his drink. (There, see if that last jab won't bring him out of the woodwork again!)

The Last Amazon raises the Red Ensign Standard

Kate at The Last Amazon has raised the 28th edition of the Red Ensign Standard. Go see what the other members of the Brigade have been up to lately.

Belated photos from Friday's VRWC gathering

After receiving further orders from Karl Rove, I can now publish a few more photos from the VRWC blogstravaganza on Friday.

Actually, my preference for taking non-flash photos is the real problem: the Nikon Coolpix 4300 just doesn't have enough light-sensitivity to take hand-held shots without a flash in low-light conditions. I strongly prefer taking non-flash shots because I don't want people to have to interrupt their conversations (or heated arguments) either to pose for a shot or to recover from the unexpected burst of light.

Brenda Tipper (of Tipperography and Kateland (of The Last Amazon), with Brian Mertens (Free Advice) in the background.

David Warren (who is actively avoiding opening a blog) and Mike Brock (On the Attack). Mike is busy live-blogging the gathering on his Blackberry. Or Blueberry. Some sort of fruity electronic device, anyway. Either way, apparently, I was "disturbing" him.

Commandante Bob, showing the same mysterious hand gesture which appears in almost every photo of him. On the right (how appropriate), Paul Tuns looks at one of Greg Staples' photos of the event. Greg will live to post again, as he graciously did not post the eye-searingly scary photo of me. Good call, Greg!

Kathy Shaidle won the prize for the best T-shirt of the evening. And again on the right, Greg Staples, "Commandante Hand Gesture", and Paul Tuns get further Rovian instructions.

My apologies to the folks whose images I don't identify . . . I am perhaps the worst person in the world for remembering names correctly. No slight is intended, and I'm happy to make corrections as needed!

Last night's VRWC gathering

Just a few shots, before I crawl off to detox:

Victor (The Phantom Observer) and Damian (The Feckless Sidekick), early arrivers.

Some, but not all of the participants at the Bishop and Belcher. Apparently this will be the last time that the VRWC will be able to use the old B&B . . . the pub will be closing next month, according to scuttlebut around the bar. I think we'll miss the old place . . .

Update 29 August: More photos (and links) here.

VRWC to gather tonight in Toronto

The VRWC will be holding a secret meeting tonight at the Bishop and the Belcher. I plan to infiltrate this nefarious gathering and I'll try to publish any incriminating photos I may manage to take.

Commandante "Bob" and his Sub-CommandanteFeckless Sidekick "Damian" appear to be the ringleaders.

Update: "Damian"'s title changed at his huffy request.

Yet another VRWC Blogger bash in T.O.

Damian "Babbling" Brooks is looking for suggestions for the next VRWC pub crawl:

Anyhow, once we'd gotten past catching up, talking work, shaking our heads in unison over the latest transgressions of The Grope and Flail and Pravda Canada, and dispassionately discussing the artistic merits of Jessica Simpson's These Boots video, the topic of a beer-up was raised. And Nicholas, it doesn't matter if you're swilling wine, it's still called a beer-up — but I digress.

Yes, he does digress . . . but we must forgive him.

As usual, I'll do my best to infiltrate any VRWC gathering and bring back photographic evidence. Name a place and time!

The Raising of the Red Ensign, mark XXVI

Robot Guy hosts the latest raising of the Red Ensign. Go see what other member of the Red Ensign Brigade have been writing about for the past two weeks.

905 Tory joins the Red Ensign Brigade

Two days into the new week, two new members of the Brigade: today's new member is 905 Tory.

Welcome to the unit, soldier!

Left Handed Right joins the Red Ensign Brigade

I'd like to extend a warm welcome to the latest member of the Red Ensign Brigade, Left Handed Right. Shane has already posted his "why I joined the Brigade" explanation that many brigade members save until it's their turn to host the bi-weekly Red Ensign Standard.

QotD: Freedom

Go about. [The Queen] uses that phrase in Christmas messages — being pleased to see people going about their business and, if I took note of it at all, I would have thought it aloof.

But I just came in from the bank and the bakery at noon in crowds going about. I like going about. Much of what I write here is about my going about, either travels of my mind or on my feet. When, however, the Nazis flattened great-grannie's home by shovelling parachute bombs from Henkels for 72 hours straight over her Scottish city, they were really saying "don't go about". When those teens I taught in Poland after the fall of the Wall were under martial law in the 80s when they were in elementary school, they were being taught "don't think you can just go about." These few jerks today in London said the same thing.

I am far madder now than I thought I would be. I still plan to have a holiday in the States, be in public every day, not hide or even pray to be saved from such events. I am going to go about. So today, you go about, too.

Alan McLeod, "Go About", Gen X at 40, 2005-07-07

25th Raising of the Red Ensign

The twenty-fifth Raising of the Red Ensign is being hosted by our current fearless leader, Raging Kraut. Go see what other Red Ensign Brigade bloggers have been up to for the last two weeks.

The Red Ensign Standard no. 24

A Chick Named Marzi has hoisted the 24th edition of the Red Ensign Standard. Go read what other members of the unit have been writing about for the last couple of weeks: I assure you there are many worthwhile posts to be discovered there.

Welcome to the latest member of the Red Ensign Brigade

Please welcome our newest Brigade member, Conservative Hipster.

The latest Brigade recruit: mkbraaten.com

Another day, another new Red Ensign Brigade member. Today's newest member is mkbraaten.com. Welcome to the finest unit in the Canadian blogosphere!

The Robot Guy hoists the Red Ensign

Please welcome the newest member of the Red Ensign Brigade, Robot Guy.

He has some interesting thoughts on the book tag thing. He nearly scared me off by including some formulae in the post, but fortunately the words started up soon afterwards, so I think it's safe to read that post.

The Babbler bares his soul

Damian Brooks marks the anniversary of the D-Day landings with some personal insights:

I went to school and came away different, but they went to war. I lost classmates to training accidents, to car accidents, to suicide. They lost comrades to bullets, bombs, and shrapnel, in terrible numbers, day in and day out, for months on end. The stresses my classmates and I endured engendered a lasting camaraderie. How much greater the stresses placed on our veterans, and how much deeper the currents of uncommon experience that draw them together, even now.

After 13 weeks of recruit training, I cried when I saw my family again. Our Normandy veterans left family, country, and safety behind for years; they crossed an ocean; they killed and faced death. They liberated a continent, and in so doing, they changed the course of history. One wonders how they adjusted to some of the inescapably mundane elements of civilian life so shortly after engaging in such a momentous military undertaking.

When you've been forced to decide what is worth dying for at age 21, how do