Usa Hockey Travel Permit: Fill & Download for Free

I’ve often said that after hockey, snapping at each other is the favorite pastime of Canadians. Whether we care to admit it, Canada is actually quite divided in linguistic, geographic and ideological terms. In view of the SNC-Lavalin affair, one could assert that Trudeau has succeeded in rekindling enmity toward Quebec in the rest of confederation, and divided the country as much as Harper did a decade ago. While Quebec is arguably the prime target of animus at present, ten years ago many in Ontario and Quebec spoke bitterly of Alberta’s ill gotten wealth.Numerous divisions within the Canadian polity emanate from and are indicative of parochialism. While travel can indeed broaden the mind, this activity is greatly inhibited in Canada by two factors: Canada’s vast geography and sparse population; exorbitant travel costs, with particular reference to domestic airfare. When I lived in Vancouver, I met a few denizens of said city who informed me that their furthest travels east within Canada was Harrison Hot Springs or Hope, BC. What’s more, they weren’t the least bit ashamed of their provincialism, given how they lived in the utopia of Lotusland. Still, their ignorance of the country beyond the lower mainland didn’t prevent them from directing diatribes toward arrogant Torontonians, greedy Albertans and ignorant rubes from Saskatchewan.As mentioned above, travel could alleviate such insular and pernicious attitudes; however, why bother exploring and learning about Canada when flying to the cultural mecca of Las Vegas is cheaper than to Montreal or even Toronto? One would expect more parochial attitudes in federal and provincial capitals such as Ottawa and Edmonton, than in Canada’s largest port on the pacific rim—and for the record, I find that Edmonton and Ottawa exude an insular vibe. This is an unfortunate aspect of Canadian life.The problem I have with questions like is that they often elicit facile and glib comparisons with our southern neighbor. Similarly, they also provide an excuse to express the worst of Canadian character traits: smugness. Is America more polarized than Canada? The answer is obviously yes, but so what? I’ve written here before that while Canada accepts multiculturalism as a manifestation of modernity, the USA views it as an unintended consequence of something else—but again, so what? The most egregious aspect of this type of question, is that it sanctions a dearth of introspection upon Canada’s character; it permits us to harbor illusions about multiculturalism in our nation, without reflecting on what this social reality really is.If I’ve pissed on someone’s parade, so be it. We seriously must stop entertaining fictions about ourselves already.

The short answer is never. There has been a lot of political pandering in the last 8 years. Part of that pandering has involved throwing around the topic of secession as if it is actually a possibility. The fires are once again being fueled in the current election cycle.Those who fuel these fires in political speeches and on talk programs know or should know that there is no possibility that Texas will leave the Union while the USA remains a nation. Texas couldn't survive declaring war on the rest of the nation. If somehow enough shortsighted or mentally unstable people managed to be elected to high positions in Texas state government to fuel an actual attempt at secession, the full might of the US could be brought to bear faster than people imagine.Texas has multiple large military installations within its borders from Sheppard Air Force Base in the north, Ft. Hood (Army) in Killeen, more large bases in San Antonio, more Army near El Paso and the multiple naval bases in the southern end of the state. These are only the places that I can name quickly off the top of my head, so there are likely more. These are not National Guard facilities where the service members might be presumed to be Texans and possibly sympathetic on some level to secessionist nonsense. Additionally, there is another large Army facility just across the state border in Lawton, Oklahoma and a huge base with Air Force and Navy personnel in central Oklahoma and yet another air base a short flight away in Missouri with advanced aircraft that no established nation outside of the US can rival, let alone some wobbly weakling of a new nation with no real military.What could the governor of Texas hope to muster to challenge the military might and the will of the other 49 states united (where presumably those in power have not lost their minds)? Even if in some bizarre scenario Texas was told to go forth and be independent (which for strategic reasons could never be allowed), what would happen to the economy of the new "nation" when in advance of the split the US federal government removed all of those aforementioned military facilities with their personnel, equipment, jobs and families? It would be the equivalent of ripping large cities up by the roots including the families of the uniformed service members and all of the civilians who work in federal positions and want to stay employed and eventually receive their retirement benefits. There would be huge numbers involved. The potential impact on local businesses, schools and housing markets would be devastating. This is why congressional delegations fight tooth and nail to prevent the closure of even one small military base in their states.There is also the issue of the many thousands of people who work for federal agencies all over the state. They support the local economies, housing, religious institutions and schools with their federal salaries. Why would those people throw away their careers and future retirement benefits to stay in an unstable, weak foreign country that could offer them nothing in return but a collapsing housing market and economy? Don't forget the impact on Texans who will no longer be entitled to food stamps, Medicare/Medicaid or any entitlements, federally backed college and small business loans, FDIC guarantees to protect deposits in banks, CDC assistance in managing contagious diseases like Ebola or the new mosquito borne virus that is just reaching Texas this year. There will be no more money to maintain the interstate highway system which Pres. Eisenhower had built to aid in troop movements to defend the US not to make travel between the widely separated major cities in Texas easier than it was using the much smaller US and state highways.Think about Texas suddenly losing all federal law enforcement resources like Treasury agents, FBI, Border Patrol, Drug Enforcement or Customs. There would be no access to the law enforcement tools maintained by the federal government of the US like the FBI academy which provides advanced training for local law enforcement, the FBI lab or fingerprint records and their computers which track criminals, stolen vehicles and more.Would passports be voided for any who chose to remain in Texas because their US citizenship was stripped? A new country would have no treaties or agreements with other nations, so would the remaining Texans suddenly be isolated from the rest of the world and vulnerable to hostile takeover? (This last issue is all that the US would need for it to never allow secession to occur by the way.)Travel across the new international borders would be problematic. There would be no more Customs personnel or TSA at any Texas airport even if they could find qualified air traffic controllers to replace those federal employees. Texas would need to set up systems to use outside of the US systems for numerous things like air traffic control, crash investigations, Border and airport security to name just a few. The loss of those officers and agents and the computer systems they use would mean scrambling to set up an independent security system that would be sufficiently good for other nations including the US to permit any commercial flights from Texas to land in their countries. Otherwise terrorists could declare open season on Texas and use it to attack others.Of course smaller airfields and the surrounding businesses would be affected in addition to the major airports with the sudden loss of business. Private pilots, flight schools and small regional airline would have to deal with new international issues unless they wanted to confine themselves to Texas. The more likely scenario would be that carriers currently flying only domestically in the US would simply pull their businesses out of Texas.Southwest Airlines and other companies of all kinds headquartered in Texas or doing business in Texas would have to consider whether relocating or ceasing operations in advance of secession would be to their advantage. What would all of the professional sports franchises decide? Having hockey or baseball inside Canada which is an ally is one thing but inside a hostile former state? I can only imagine the deals that would come for relocation from other states to all major businesses including the sport franchises like the extremely lucrative Dallas Cowboys football empire. The franchise owners like Jerry Jones and Mark Cuban didn't get as rich as they are by being foolish about protecting their interests. Wouldn't states struggling from the loss of manufacturing jobs over the past few decades love to grab the technology and other lucrative businesses from Texas?This response is in no way meant to be comprehensive. In fact if I wasn't at home fighting the flu, I would not have taken the time to respond. However, I'm extremely weary of this ridiculous notion of secession being thrown around, and I hope that I have provided some food for thought that might cause at least a few people to question the source the next time they hear someone throw secession out as if there is a tiny sliver of reasonableness to the notion.

1980’s - a period of change start in my view.First things - Delhi, Bombay not Mumbai, Calcutta not Kolkatta, Madras not Chennai and many such names were different! Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi and Congress ruled and there was more or less no opposition!India was a developing and third world country with poverty, unemployment, outdated technology, education system, medical system and everything was not enough for the country of our size and population!Let us start with common things and needs - roti kapda makaan or food, cloth and housing.Food - there were no supermarkets but local vegetable markets and stalls. Government supply stores and horticultural department stores. Ration shops only supplied kerosene against ration card or special permit to use as fuel to cook. LPG was still not available and applications meant 1 year for approval.Mixer, grinders were not in vogue and flour or mills were the main dependency and home grinders with muscle power.Bakeries and restaurants were practically a handful local teashops and dhaba type were also very few. Paan, lime juice, small snacks etc shops were the vogue. Local savories, Halwa, banana or jack fruit chips were the big things.Sometimes there will be exhibitions from other parts of India with food varieties and it used to be a big hit!Ice creams were barely a handful of competition and no sundaes or cold coffees. No junk food, hardly any fast food or pasta or pizza or burger! Very few bottled drinks I remember Rasna, Rooh afza, Kissan squash, Trinka, the big thing was Thumbs Up, Gold Spot, Limca and local brand like Bovonto.No mineral water, no branded soda, No coca cola or pepsi. NO lays or potato chips and such. No things like French Fries or fryums or such.The big thing were juices and sip up and milk shakes! Milk curd etc were not in packets but in bottles! Glass bottles not plastic !!Chocolates the favorite and easy were the nutrine, parrys 10 paise 25 paise ones. Then the costlier eclairs, double decker, 5 star were special treats. I do remember when some relatives returned from Singapore or Germany or UK or Middle East, they visited elders and gave small packets of ‘foreign’ chocolates to little kids.Foreign or International cuisines or multi-cuisines were non - existent. Punjabi or Chinese were the big thing! Functions were arranged from traditional cooking parties and not catering or hotel orders. Parties were rare and clubs also rare.Cloth - Handloom was easier but costly. Cotton and polyester was the vogue. Festivals were the big purchase, school openings next. Dhotis were still in use more and lungis were more fashion than Bermudas :)Foreign clothes from Taiwan, Mali, Middle East were in demand and costly. Silk was a rarity and silk clothes and linen clothes were exclusive in big shops in cities. Very few garments and tailors and it was no big fashions.Amitabh Bachhan or Rajni or Jayan or Mammootty or Mohanlal dress style was fashion! Readymade was rare and not cheap! T-shirts and such were rare! Skirts, jeans etc were non existent in Kerala! Things like Disney or FIFA or WWF franchisees merchandises are missing.The easily available Gujarat, Bengal, Chanderi , Kalamkari etc sarees or fabrics were not even known. Some costly stores had it and it was not for the common man.Curtain fabrics, towels, bedsheets etc were not so fancy and there were barely few companies known. Suitings were rare and people only knew Bombay Dyeing, Mafatlal barely.House - Houses were easy as property and cost was not so high per square foot. Loans were available at low rate of interest from several government and public sector.Italian marble or ceramic tiles were rare. Rajasthan tiles, Cuddapah stones were the big deal. Cement was costly and it needed permit and it was approved as per the plan and had heavy waiting time to get it. White cement was a big thing.Paints and decoration and other decor items were rare. Electrical fittings were luxury like fans etc. Heaters were rare AC almost non-existent. Weather was so pleasant no one needed AC in most parts of Kerala.Wood decor was easy and cheap as forest and wood was available and no one had environmental concerns. Well water was the thing and no borewells. There were in large compounds there were small ponds or streams. IN most villages there were small lakes or streams.Tiled houses, thatched houses and few terraces were there. House construction were all local contractors, supervisors and employees. Workers stayed in the compound, cooked, worked and finished and left. Old houses had wood roof and tiles the wood were sometimes teak, ebony etc!Houses were not crammed and localities were not crowded. Each house had space to walk or plant a few trees even. Children had empty lots to play around! No trespassing threat boards it was all open space. Houses in Kerala were build to handle rains than heat!Houses were sturdy and build to live not rent and they were made with care and love to last a family!Media and EntertainmentThere was no TV then came Black and White and that was a luxury then mid 80’s color came and that was luxury. Then late 90’s more than one channel came. Until then it was Doordarshan.I remember the radio as the main entertainment with Geetmala, running commentary for football, cricket and news to listen for election and international details. Radio had just stopped taking tax / license and aerials were kept in villages.Ceylon, BBC, Radio Australia were big things. Movies were like local and few Hindi and English. The movie ads were big hoardings or small hoardings and then cabs or rickshaws used to announce movies and even threw the color notices and even small song book of the movies.Movies were not multiplexes or theatre complexes. Balcony or airconditioner was rare. Fans and power failure breaking the movie show up and refund or next day tickets or extra shows were common. News reel, documentary and all were watched with eagerness.Barely a handful of magazines/ periodicals in English. Barely handful or bookstores with English books. Few libraries. National dailies were barely 2–3. NO cable TV or web series or internet.TV’s needed antenna and if it moves no picture or sound :)2 movies a week one regional language one in Hindi! There were no CD or DVD or Blu ray. There were VHS cassettes and Video cassette players called VCP and VCR Video cassette recorders.The cassettes were rare first then came video cassette libraries where there were cassettes to rent at Rs. 5 per day etc. O boy I remember we used to put our pocket money and we gave a small fortune to those looters!!James Bond and Bruce Lee were the only names people knew. Even Hindi not many names were known in Kerala. Dev Anand or Dharmendra were barely recognized.Children had barely few comics like Amar Chitra Katha, Indrajal comics, Chandamama. Local were few like Balarama, Poompatta etc in Kerala. Sportstar was the only sports magazine.These cost barely 1 rupee in those days :) Local small libraries had such books for those who could not afford it. Then came lending libraries which charged an arm and leg for reading almost 10% of cost.There were no video games or such and festivals saw competition of traditional sports like kabaddi or gilli danda etc Cricket bats or badminton rackets were rarity and luxury. Chess and carroms were only for teens and above.Festivals had orchestra and sometimes dance drama or ballet or film show and assured full house! Dances and traditional dance forms were still popular like Kathakali etc1983 world cup very few saw it live, 1985 WCC few saw it. 1987 Reliance World Cup the first big event and India was slowly climbing up in cricket. Nehru cup football, Asiad and Olympics hockey and PT Usha were big names. Vishwanathan Anand was a young prodigy and Ramesh Krishnan also!Kapil Dev, Gavaskar, Shastri , Vengsarkar were the heart throbs in the 80’s.Advertisements were mostly less on TV and more on hoardings, newspapers and magazines. Movies also had advertisements in between breaks! Notices in papers or distribution at roadside were the big ones. There were not many visual media agencies and TV serials were like 20 episodes etc non like the year long ones of today!The longest ones were Ramayana by Ramanand Sagar and Mahabharatha by Chopras and had a sort of cult following in 80’s.Awards had a place of pride and there were not many except the government instituted on partly sponsored ones! Today every channel and media house and Tom, Dick and Harry sponsors awards! Studios or movie houses were few and prestigious! Today there are so many one barely knows a quarter of them even!Electronics, electric items and phonesThere was hardly mobiles and phone connection took at least 6 months. Electronics like LCD, LED etc not even imagined. No washing machine or refrigerator. Even fans were barely 2–3 brands. Phillips was a big name.Tubelights were a big thing and because of low and fluctuating voltage a rarity. Table lamps were good gifts and torches were rare! None of the neon or LCD lights were there.Serial lights were big thing for festivals at home! Gramaphone was giving way to tape recorders. Cassette shops were making a mint with many varieties. English and Hindi were rare and few only knew hit movies. Bonney M was popular so was ABBA and Micheal Jackson was barely known!Intercoms were rarity and cordless phones were also rarity. VCR, VCP with remote were rare and costly. National, Panasonic, Akai and Sony were getting into the market. Sharp was considered costlyPersonal and Mini / Micro computers were coming up. Siva PC, Spectrum PC etc were names barely known. Computers were appearing in schools and very few places like Railway, airlines etc and definitely not in Kerala government offices.doorbells with different music were a craze and car reverse horns were another!Education, hospitals and jobsEducation - the deluge of private universities and colleges were not there. Government schools and some of the religious mission schools/ colleges were the main stay. Nepotism and shady admission and job practices were rampant.Instead of merit the contacts mattered! Fees were not exorbitant and government gave more grants and scholarships! Tuition and coaching privately was the norm for government and private teachers.Colleges especially professional courses were almost non-existent. Engineering and medical courses were only government mostly. Most people never even heard about MCA or MBA till late 80’s and most were first batches in Kerala in 80’s. Most of them got course outline, books, classes all ad hoc and not well structured!Most jobs were with government sector and lowly paid. Work was also so lowly that any government office was a red tape yard! Hospitals never had medicines, offices never had stationery, under staffed, power was never there, equipment were missing or not working the list was endless.Hospitals were mostly free or nominal fees at government and private never had that much facilities or if they had it was corporate big hospitals like Appollo etc Top notch doctors were always going abroad to Middle East!Private jobs were mostly with companies which were in finance sector and all wanted to get into Government Banks. IAS, IPS, IFS were considered the best options. Telecom and Banks were having some private presence by late 80’s and saw people entering private sector.ITC, Godrej, Tata etc were considered respectable jobs. Middle East or Europe or USA jobs were considered the safest. Job market was so bad every job opening in banks and government were literally hard fought! The soap companies as everyone called were into marketing and sales hard!Pharma segment and Insurance corporation had sales based jobs and those in retail consumer segments also were employing on commission basis! Even that saw so much competition and bribing!Tourism, airlines, hotelsTourism was big and cheap! The main airlines was Air India and Indian airlines. A few international carriers like Singapore or Gulf Air were flying to Kerala. International flights were mostly from Metros only!Tourists came to India and was a good source of revenue for a lot of people. Paying guests, lodging and home food which needed not much registration those days were the norm.The guides and conveyance guys were a network of unscrupulous lot in those days and government cracked down with license and tourism department and police investigating others and taking legal action.Airlines were costly and people used to dream of flying as it was a rarity and costly affair. Air India used to give gifts of suit cases with its logo Maharaja for frequent flyers!Hotels were few and mostly barely 2 star. 3 and 5 were rare and mostly the Tatas or Government had them! Maintaining a 5 star was not easy with the government red tapes! It was difficult to maintain good standards and hotel management training courses and colleges were rare!Transportation, goods movement and vehiclesTransportation in those days were bus and train for long distance travel of common man and autorickshaw, local bus and private buses and some places taxis or cabs!In the 80’s travel became faster, still long distance like Delhi or Calcutta or Bombay were like big journeys and delays like 12 hours 24 hours were common! Taxis were luxury and there were few of them available!local buses were so infrequent that late night was almost non existent in some routes. Cycles were more the conveyance of the common man. Scooters barely there and Bajaj, TVS, Lambretta etc were the few.Cars were luxury and Ambassador ruled the roost, Premier, Fiat, Contessa were the only ones in India. Maruti entered with the low end ones and that changed the automobile story in India!! Buying a car was like waiting minimum 6 months!Sedans were luxuries and buses in private sector were limited! Imagine today Sabarimala travel is possible to go by evening and return by next evening. In those days it was a minimum 36 hours!Couriers or transporters were non existent. One engaged lorries and hoped for the best! The railways was another option and definitely the most prone to damage, pilferage and worse. Postal parcels were safe but not reliable at all for timely delivery or safety!People used to parcel with known people who traveled! Those days there were more trust and faith in fellow humans! Tickets for trains and flight were long lines and frustrating with corruption!Waiting areas, stations etc were so badly off some never even had electric power or any means of conveyance! Goods movement was used to corner and black market etcThere were so many more to say and I am running out of patience not points! So I will edit as I remember more and add for the time being here is my first lot of answers.