My isp is doing upgrades this weekend, making access difficult. I have stuff to do anyway – a yard full of tree prunings that need hauling to the dump, for one thing.
You can share your finds in the comments
Later!
My isp is doing upgrades this weekend, making access difficult. I have stuff to do anyway – a yard full of tree prunings that need hauling to the dump, for one thing.
You can share your finds in the comments
Later!
Da Librano$ are divvying up the loot/stash. Location unknown; be sure, it’s not the local Lions’ Den. Check the sub-basement at Mama Teresa’s Ristorante. Meanwhile, a Gag order/fatwa has been issued by Librano$ HQ; keep da mouse shut. Signed, ______ _______ >>>>
Liberals plan Gomery defence
OTTAWA (CP) – The Liberal party is preparing to return bags of cash purloined from the public purse. Prime Minister Paul Martin is preparing a late-night huddle with a small circle of advisers on Parliament Hill on Monday >>>>>>>>>
http://www.rapp.org/url/?FDAROU7O
cnews
No need to move Kashechewan after all. The water treatment system was fine, just badly managed by the native operators (cf. Walkerton). And millions of dollars to be spent as knee-jerk crisis reaction.
Also as the Globe editorial points out today, “Moving Kashechewan”, the unemployment rate on the reserve is 87%. How can there ever be a future for such isolated reserves when the simply is no real economy to support them?
“Expert tests water on reserve
It’s safe to drink: Officials link scare to poor management, lack of training”, Ottawa Citizen, Oct.29
http://www.canada.com/ottawa/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=92418f3b-a4b7-428b-bf0a-5111ab965802
Excerpts:
‘Tap water at a remote Northern Ontario native community in the grips of an emergency evacuation is good enough to drink, according to the technician sent in to take over management of the Kashe-chewan water treatment plant.
Chris LeBlanc, a process expert with Northern Waterworks Inc., said he is drinking and showering in the troubled community’s water.
Mr. LeBlanc also disputed native leaders’ claims that the tap water was brown as recently as Thursday…
Mr. LeBlanc’s comments suggest the tainted water crisis in Kashechewan is a man-made problem created by poor management and training.
That claim is supported by government officials, who yesterday said the people running the Kashechewan water treatment plant were not certified to do so until the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs flew in trained personnel this week…
Fully 61 per cent of people running water treatment facilities on native reserves are not certified, according to the federal government…
The situation in Kashechewan “is identical to Walkerton, a malfunction in the chlorination system … and the back-up system didn’t work because it had never been hooked up,” Mr. LeBlanc said in a previous report…
In a letter written to the CBC the last week, Mr. LeBlanc expressed his frustration with media reporting on the issue.
“If you want to tie scabies and impetigo to environmental conditions, concentrate on crowded living environments (which promotes person-to-person transmission) and an elevated rate of diabetes (which increases risk of infection). Please do not tie these diseases to chlorine levels and the community’s drinking water supply.
“My concern is that you are scaring individuals in other First Nation communities about the harmful effects of chlorine. These individuals may then put pressure on local operators to reduce chlorine levels in the community’s water supply.”
If that happens, he says, there will be outbreaks of water-borne disease…’
Mark
Ottawa
This morning I listened to CBC radio for a couple of hours… one of the newscasters referred to their water system being “ten years old”… as though that were an indictment of the state of the technology.
Say what?
The dept’ of Indian Affairs, or whatever it’s called now, is one of the best examples of bloated and inept beaurocracy this country has ever seen. Who out there can fix this problem?
The kind of military sole-sourcing that drives one nuts (hint: Quebec):
“Army to Acquire New Multi-Mission Vehicle
NR�05.077 – September 22, 2005”
http://www.forces.gc.ca/site/newsroom/view_news_e.asp?id=1766
Excerpts:
‘The Canadian Forces is increasing the capability of their wheeled light armoured vehicle fleet with the new Multi-Mission Effects Vehicle (MMEV). The Minister of National Defence today announced the Government�s intent to undertake a project, potentially valued at up to $750 million, to design, develop, and deliver 33 MMEVs for the Army. The Government is entering into negotiations with Oerlikon Contraves Canada, of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, for the prime contract for the $100 million first phase�design and development� of the MMEV project…
�This contract will build economic strength in the region,� said Quebec Regional Development Minister Jacques Saada. �The MMEV project demonstrates that Quebec industry has a depth of knowledge and skill that is second to none.�..
Following the successful completion of the first phase of the MMEV project �design and development� the Department intends to proceed with subsequent development, testing and initial production phases. These follow-on phases will provide the Army with three prototypes and an initial fleet of six vehicles, including ammunition, communications and information management systems, and interim logistics support. The full production of the MMEV fleet is expected to begin in 2010.’..
And only five years (maybe) until operational.
Mark
Ottawa
Jacky Layton demands equal time: The “Jacky & Paul Show”. And now a word from our sponsors: Canadian taxpayers, sucker$$$$$$$. >>>>
Prime minister takes to airwaves in face of daunting challenges
OTTAWA (CP) – Faced with a daunting list of challenges, Prime Minister Paul Martin is taking a tip from his U.S. counterpart by delivering a weekly radio address to the country starting Sunday. >>>>
cnews
They might be better advised to go with the UAV ( urban assault vehicle), which was designed and built for the movie with Dan Akroyd and Bill Murray and the late great John Candy.
Hey Stubblejumper,
How about we establish some Human Obligations Tribunals to offset the (sometimes) toxic effects of Human Rights Tribunals? People who whine about being victims instead of thinking about how they can contribute to the general welfare need to have the error of their ways impressed upon them.
SKelly-what are you talking about?
And the LAV III chassis that will be used for the MMEV is produced in London, Ontario, by General Dynamics Land Systems – Canada (based on a Swiss Mowag design)–and will also I am sure be sole-sourced.
Mark
Ottawa
I’ve done some new postings recently on the Liberals’ granting tax money to bigoted left-wing extremist groups and arrogantly refusing to stop. These stories weren’t picked up by the MSM, and as it’s your money we’re talking about, I recommend y’all mosey on over to:
http://thecanadiansentinel.blogspot.com
There’s also a post with a funny pic of CBC head Rabinovitch on his butt on the floor just begging for funny captions.
I wonder if Earnst & Young should not be severely penalized. They did an audit in 1996 that could have stopped Adscam then, but toned down the final executive report so it would slide smoothly by, unoticed. The meat of it at:
http://BendGovt.blog.ca
or the whole 3 page article in today’s Oct. 29/05 Ottawa Citizen. TG
PS. Old gem cutter at:
http:// BendGovernment.blogspot.com
Whoa! All this talk about the needs of DND and auditors. sole-sourcing etc etc and the BIG story is lost.
Kate wrote:”This morning I listened to CBC radio for a couple of hours… one of the newscasters referred to……technology”.
You have some ‘splainin’ to do Kate and you can start by ‘splainin’ to us how you could possibly stand it for 2 hours. As the kid said to Shoeless Joe Jackson, “Say it ain’t so, Joe (Kate)”
Stubblejumper,
You said:
The dept’ of Indian Affairs, or whatever it’s called now, is one of the best examples of bloated and inept beaurocracy this country has ever seen. Who out there can fix this problem?
I am suggesting the problem could at least be addressed, if not fixed, by people looking after their own problems, rather than saying, I’m just a victim of tragic circumstances, so it’s YOUR job to look after me.
In the example of the water treatment system in Kashechewan, it turns out the system is fine, just ineptly managed by untrained people (as is explained in Mark’s post above). Now we’re going to be spending who knows how many gazillions of dollars “fixing” a problem that could have been solved by one person saying, say, this water treatment plant isn’t that old. How come the water’s brown? I’m going to get somebody out here to look at it. And then it would have been discovered that the technicians running it aren’t properly trained. Which raises a whole nother bunch of questions, all of which wouldn’t even arise, if people would just take the intitiative once in a while, and accept their responsibilities.
That’s where the obligation part comes in. We have had it made abundantly clear to us that we all have “rights,” but since religion (which has been the traditional inculcator of the idea of “obligation” in Western culture) has been sidelined in the public discourse in this country, there is no acceptance of the idea that we also have obligations.
Thus my little joke about our needing Human Obligaton Tribunals.
The MSM is having a difficult time keeping up with the downplaying of, the suppression of all this ongoing corruption coming to light..
I believe that is the impetus for PMPM wanting weekly air time…He wants to keep the cracks of light through which the rays of corruption as small rays and not bright beams..This guy likes his job,craves the power and you know liberals…
They just cant pack enough new Canadian city dwellers onto buses for their”coaching” at election time..
Dingwall wrote the rules at the mint.. Most CEO s have that clout. How the hell could he not be exonnerated of not falling within the guidelines of his very liberal(humungus latitude) guidelines.
God, what a boring country.
The great issues are travel expenses, untrained people where there is no capacity, white collar political crime and endless commissions and reports.
Can anyone give us meaning, purpose, a national race to at least be more than mediocre?
“Can anyone give us meaning, purpose, a national race to at least be more than mediocre?”
Fraid not Steve. Any history buff,and that of course excludes all socialists,know that in 1864,a conference was held to get the colonies of Canada to unite as one. The result? After 6 days,they decided they needed another “study”. And so it has been,for ever and ever, in Canuckistan. After all,studies show you are doing something,when in fact you are doing nothing. It is the penultimate shell game,and governments play it the best.
Our look at the “gang strategy” of the Manitoba Justice minister.
http://blackrod.blogspot.com/2005/10/fighting-gangs-with-photo-ops.html
The Terrible Slow Sword
heather said…
And in all this confusion, people who anchor themselves in pre 1989 are quite simply, going crazy. And by crazy, I mean that in the reality of a resurgent Islam throughout the world, they want to have meetings at the UN. eg, Scowcroft. eg, the “elite” universities, all the “elites” who established their “eliteness” pre 1989. (I had not understood, by the way, that these “elites” are running things in India and Bengladesh, as well as the US.)
By the way, one symptom, noted by David Brooks, is the truly weird response of the Democrats to the Fitzgerald grand jury. I mean, they have slavered with hate, a hate that is way over the horizon from simple anger into paranoia.
And, up in the boring North, apparently, the Saskatchewan government is sitting down to supper with the devil: it is making a deal with China to develop its oil deposits: from: http://www.smalldeadanimals.com/
“Via China E_Lobby, who seem to have a better handle on the important developments in this province than the entire editorial staff of the Star Phoenix and Leader Post combined.
Woe Canada! Saskatchewan Premier looking for Communist oil investors: Lorne Calver, Premier of Saskatchewan, has gone to Beijing and opened up his province’s oil and uranium fields to Communist Chinese “investment.” He even gushed that the cadres “floated some ideas for the actual purchase of [oil field] properties that they would develop themselves”. >>>> more
belmont club
http://www.rapp.org/url/?L3VKC2GY
This is worth reading:
http://www.damianpenny.com/
‘October 29, 2005
Where pigs run free
Michael Totten, blogging from Lebanon, in response to anti-Piglet insanity in Britain:
http://www.michaeltotten.com/archives/000982.html
Look. I�m in Lebanon. Somewhere around 35 or 40 percent of the people who live here are Christian. Except for around 60 Jews, the rest are Muslims. This is a Muslim-majority country. Muslims outnumber Christians approximately two to one. And yet pork � pork � is all over this place. I had a pizza for lunch today. My pizza had ham on it. Not fake halal �ham,� but actual pig meat. The restaurant that served me this pizza is on the Muslim side of the city.
I have sliced ham in my refridgerator. Guess where I bought it? I bought it at a regular grocery store on the Muslim side of the city.
I guess it�s possible that religious Muslims are offended that Christians, liberal Muslims, and atheist �Muslims� eat pork. Some vegetarians are offended. Some Jews probably are too. So? Onions offend me. That�s my problem, not your problem. So I don�t eat them. End of problem.
I wonder how many Muslims are actually offended by the fact that I can buy pork in restaurants and stores in the Muslim parts of Beirut. Not enough to make any difference, apparently, because pig meat is and has been readily available.
Don�t tell me �oh, that�s just Beirut.� It�s not just Beirut. I also saw plenty of pork in Tunisia. I�m not just talking about the hotels either. Tunisia is 99 percent Sunni Muslim Arab. And if you want pork in Tunisia, just go to a French restaurant. They are everywhere in that country. French food is that nation�s second cuisine. And it has pork in it. Big deal. Somehow Tunisian society manages to hold itself together without tearing itself to pieces over some imaginary �pork problem.�
If Muslims in Muslim-majority countries in the Middle East can handle pig meat, I think Muslims in Britain can handle plastic piggy banks and The Three Little Pigs. If they can�t handle those things they need to learn how to handle those things. Tolerance is not only for the majority.
Totten proposes a new rule: “anyone who is in a position of power and who will make policies relating to Muslims is first required to visit Muslim countries.” Good idea. Thanks to Saudi oil money, far too many “moderate” Muslim groups in the West are fronts for austere, medieval Wahabbi Islam, and it’s about time we stopped assuming they speak for all Muslims.’
Mark
Ottawa
Good line for Gomery to use when he presents his report:
“I have come here to chew bubble gum and kick ass . . . and I’m all out of bubble gum.”
RE:Kashechewan Water “Crisis”
There are too many unanswered questions. Is the sewage lagoon OUTFALL really upstream of the water intake? This would be bizzare regardless of which was built first. Good engineering practice would NEVER have the water intake put in jeopardy by a sewage outfall. (BTW the fact that the design consultant was from out of town is irrelevant – where else would they come from?) Sewage lagoons typically have more than one cell and the effluent is sometimes disinfected. If the sewage is being discharged into the Albany, this would be the case. Secondly, the treatment plant looks pretty sophisiticted from the pictures. It appears to be a full treatment facility complete with disinfection, which I understand, was not maintained. As to its size — physical size does not determine adequacy. Thirdly, there has been in place a training program funded by INAC for at least the past fifteen years that includes on-site training of Band maint. personnel. It is the BAND’s responsibility to avial themselves of this opportunity. The training is done by a fly-in qualified trainer at NO COST to the Band. (It’s called the Circuit Rider Training Program – why hasn’t the minister mentioned this?) The Band must provide a suitable trainee(s). If they don’t, then you wind up with this kind of situation as there is only so much that a trainer can do on each visit. How about some detiails on these points — are you listening CBC/CTV & press? I don’t doubt that there is much poverty and slovenly conditions on the reserve, however keep in mind that the First Nations are funded to at least 80% for maintenenance of ALL infrastructure. With this kind of money (INAC costs what — $7-8 billion/year?), the local Band administations must take much of the responsibility, and thererfore, much of the blame.