thinglets: Postcards of Hometown Past

Several years ago I found these postcards among my parents' stuff in the house I grew up in. The postcards easily pre-date my parents, so they were probably passed down through my grandmother. I know that if you've never visited my hometown of Hamilton, Ontario you probably won't much care. I will, however, point out a couple of interesting things about the pics:

1) The Armory stills stands and is home of the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry Heritage Museum.
2) The TH&B Depot was a stop for the defunct Toronto, Hamilton, and Buffalo Railway.
3) Looking at the shot of King Street East, I wouldn't notice the lack of wires but for the existence of the one or two that are there.
4) The public schools of the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board now stand at 114 (96 Elementary, 18 Secondary).
5) Market Day in Hamilton is subtitled "Garden of Canada". I think that name was forgotten when the mills took over the skyline.

thinglets: Hamilton Senior Captured By US Homeland Security

Here's an example out of the US that is a prime example of why the legal system there is so messed up. A woman from my hometown of Hamilton, Ontario has been detained by US border guards:

Hamilton woman, 74, arrested at border on decades-old drug charge

The Canadian Press 

TORONTO; U.S. Customs and Border Protection says a 74-year-old Hamilton woman has been arrested on a drug warrant issued nearly 30 years ago in New York. 

CBP says officers arrested Homenella Cole on Tuesday as she arrived at the Lewiston-Queenston border crossing in Lewiston, N.Y. 

Officials say Cole was at the bridge to apply for a criminal waiver that would allow her to enter the U.S. as a visitor. 

A warrant was issued on April 1, 1980, by the New York City Police Department charging Cole with possession with the intent to distribute marijuana. 

Cole was arrested on the outstanding warrant and is in the custody of the New York State Police pending extradition to New York City.

Beyond your personal beliefs on marijuana, and beyond your beliefs on whether age should have played a part in pardoning this woman, how can a country in deficit justify paying the cost of a) incarcerating this woman, b) providing transportation to New York City, c) providing a public defender, d) holding a trial on a 30 year old charge of possession with intent?

This is so messed up. I can only guess that a government that is so pre-occupied with prosecuting international terrorists will certainly publish a banner headline about their capture and lockup of this international "terrorist". You know she was up to causing trouble as she promptly reported to immigration, without trying to sneak across, and apply for a pardon.

"How many condemnations I have witnessed more criminal than the crime!" - Michel de Montaigne