Wil's Rant

It had to happen sooner or later. The public is now turning against the war in Iraq. By some remarkable co-incidence there are now reports out that say the Americans are meeting with the dissidents in Iraq. As the cost of George's oil ambitions grow ever higher, it was almost certain that this day would come.

I could have sworn it was only last week that we were assured that there was no chance of any blackouts in Ontatio. It would appear that those denials from Hydro One were a little premature as blackouts are now hitting Eastern Ontario. It's unbelievable, is it even possible? Could they have, you mean they actually did, wait for it, you mean they lied? Can you imagine? A corporation that tells lies to it's customers. Almost seems somewhat governmentish in it's magnitude.

They're admitting it, but saying it was the misconduct of a few bad guys in an otherwise reputable operation. Frankly speaking, that's bull! Once a certain type of problem becomes systemic, one can only conclude that it is with the blessings of the leaders, regardless of the number of denials from the White House.

The debate over Global Warming rages on. Meanwhile the planet continues to mount it's own defenses against what can only be described as the human infestation which has resulted in the current state of affairs. Certainly we humans, having identified some species which is having the same destructive affect as we are, would mount an all out offensive to eradicate that species. Nature has it's own little ways of doing that. Everything from floods in China and Alberta at record high levels to heat waves in Asia, tornadoes in Ontario, flooding in Manitoba, B.C., and Nova Scotia, the list goes on and on. Any basic chemist knows that very small changes can dramatically affect the resulting formula, yet somehow there are those among us who think that the massive changes we have made to the chemistry of our air and planet as a whole will not have an affect.. To me, such thinking is infantile. The truth is all too obvious, the problem is us.

I once went to a doctor an asked him about recurring migraines I was having. He asked me several questions essentially... Do you smoke? How much? Do you drink? How Much, Do you drink coffee? How much? I answered all his questions honestly. His response... Quit Smoking, drinking, and drinking coffee. If you still have the headaches after two weeks come back and see me! A better doctor I have never met! Seems to me we are in the same situation now. We can go to the experts all day and argue why we are having the problems we are having and whether or not it is us and what might be other problems. But as my doctor said all those years ago, stop polluting our air, food and water, if after 100 years we are still having the same problem, come back and see me! Oh , and did I mention that human male fertility continues to decline.

Republican Senators are now joining the call for an inquiry into what is looking very much like administration sanctioned abuses of prisoners pretty much everywhere the Americans are currently fighting. When abuse becomes so systemic as to be considered the rule rather than the exception it must be viewed as a policy as opposed to isolated incidents.

Some of the policies of the U.S. have long been viewed with less than enthusiasm by much of the world for many years now. This does not compare with the new wave of anti-Americanism. Countries who have long been allies and supporters are now finding it hard to gain popular support for the U.S. What is even more astonishing is the fact that China is held more favorably than the U.S. This despite the fact of the thousands of monks killed in Tibet and the destruction of over six thousand shrines and monasteries, not to mention more human rights abuses than could ever be counted. I certainly don't agree with a great deal that the U.S. government has and is doing, but at the same time, I'd sure rather be living in the U.S. where there exists at least the chance of living free than to be living in China where life is held so cheaply.

The real question is who is telling the truth? I suspect both sides may be albeit slanted for their own positional benefit. If in fact the system is so vulnerable, then what can be done to rectify the problem?

I have contended for some time that nature may very well not be able to fix the damage we have done. The cod fisheries in Canada are becoming a great example of just this. We know that we have allowed the cod to be fished to near extinction. A ban was placed on cod fishing in hopes that the stocks would recover. This has proven to not be the case. The Canadian government now blames the seal as the reason that the cod has not recovered. Their solution was to hold one big ass hunt to lower the seal numbers. The ecologists are telling a different story. Nature has in essence rebalanced itself without the cod. The cod will not be able to regain it's former numbers in this new environment. They may in fact not be able to do this for many thousands of years if ever, just as they had to evolve into their previous numbers in balance with the rest of the species in the first place.

The point is we are making changes that can not be undone. No amount of study or action is likely to ever restore the cod. Face it, we just don't know enough to even begin to have any kind of real success. If we try to do anything at this point, it will always come at the cost of something else. Perhaps our goal should be to simply walk with a very soft step when it comes to our planet. The other option is to get used to the idea of living on a planet with very little life other than our own, if that is even, ever possible.

Even as the dissenters continue to argue man's role in the global warming problem, it continues to ravage the worlds eco-systems. The Yukon is blooming much earlier than normal. This goes along nicely with the early thaw in the Hudson's Bay, with the resulting loss of hunting ability for the polar bears. Now some might argue that the early bloom is a good thing which could turn the Yukon into farmland. Ecologists will tell a much different tale of mass extinctions and the release of enormous amounts of greenhouse gases. I guess we should spend a lot more time arguing the reasons for the change instead of facing the reality that natural or not, these changes spell doom for many species, very possibly including our own.

As to the arguments for human responsibility: What type of mentality would conclude that the removal of a significant percentage of the worlds trees would have no affect. That changing the chemistry of our atmosphere and depleting the ozone would have no affect. We're not talking about little changes here but changes on a truly massive scale that have been going on for some time and are not only continuing but growing. Nature has shown many times what happens when a herd gets too large and depletes it's resources. Usually they get sick, or starve, or fight. In the end it's the same, a mass die off which eventually restores the balance The question becomes are we going to do something about it or are we going to wait for nature to do it for us?.

Scientists are predicting more earthquakes for the pacific region already hit by the major tsunami. In fact they are saying that a mega-quake is expected soon.

I'd like to thank the person who posted a comment to a recent post of mine on global warming. His comment gave me reason to consider the problem again. It seems to me more a problem of levels of proof than what we can do about it. In court these levels in Canada are known as " guilt beyond a reasonable doubt" and " balance of probabilities". Reasonable doubt applies to criminal matters and balance of probabilities to civil matters. There are some who will refuse to accept our responsibility for the damage to the Earth and who will only admit to it when standing before god and being asked why they have been part of destroying the greatest gift anyone could receive, our planet. The problem with this level of proof is the fact that most of us will be dead by then. I would think, when it come to the environment, we might instead choose to use the balance of probabilities level of proof, for our own survival. If that is the level of proof we are using to evaluate the evidence in regards to global warming, then the jury is in and we are guilty! We may not be able to restore all that we have already ruined, but we can stop the further damage.

Not long ago we read reports that U.S. Special Forces were making forays into Iran. There appears to be a new wave of bombings in Iran specifically targeting government installations. What a remarkable coincidence.

This one counts as one of the great injustices to have systematically occurred within the U.S. That would be the practice of lynching. I'll say one thing, at least the Americans are taking responsibility for past errors in this matter. Most of the time, current governments refuse to accept their fault in past tragedies. We can't undo the wrongs that have been done by our ancestors. We can recognize those wrongs, and learn to prevent them from happening again. Every nation has similar incidents in their past. The path to healing must start with recognition.

Burma stands out as a shining example of why the western nations attempts to bring democracy to the world have failed so regularly. So long as a country is not communist or Islamic fundamentalist they can expect it to be business as usual regardless of how many human rights abuses the regime is responsible for.

The last of the remaining holdouts in the campaign to at least acknowledge global warming are coming around. That pretty much leaves George standing alone in the world theatre in regard to the issue. As I've said before, accept it or not, the damage from rising temperatures can not be ignored for much longer, even by Bush.

Canada has been chastised by conservationists over our lack of controls regarding salmon farms which is resulting in the decline of wild salmon stocks. Looks like Canadian salmon are about to go the way of our cod stocks. That is to say, that there will not be enough left to fish at all. They sure can't claim that they didn't see it coming this time!

We have already seen their opening of the Alaskan Wildlife Refuge to oil exploration. They are now moving to the Gulf Islands National Seashore. Not to worry, they are going to drill from the sides they say. I feel relieved already!

Remember all those denials from Washington over the prisoner abuses? They're now saying that in fact certain abuses did occur. It's too bad all this guys can't get together to agree on which set of lies they are going to go with this week. Wasn't it only a couple of days ago when they said that no abuses had occurred?

Tom's memorial service was yesterday afternoon. I enjoyed very much having the chance to meet one of his longest friends, Brian. I think Tom would have enjoyed having his family get the chance to meet him. I really can't express strongly enough how lucky I feel I am for having had the opportunity to get to know Tom over these last twelve years, which makes his loss all that more difficult. It was great listening to the stories of Tom's life told by those he was closest to. It was no surprise at all to hear the levels of respect everyone there had for him. He was the kind of man who made everyone feel welcome. You could never find a more interesting person to have a conversation with. When I described him as the man whom I most respect of any that I had ever met, there was a general nodding of heads. It seems that I am not the only one who had this opinion. I know Tom would not approve of this post, simply because he set a standard in writing for himself that very few could match. In short, I found the man to be an absolute delight to spend time with. I am going to miss those times more than I could ever say. Listening to the tales of his exploits filled us all with laughter and tears. He was a man who had touched so many. The other articles in the papers other than his wife's mainly dealt within his professional accomplishments, there were a great many. I wanted to take the time to talk about not just his accolades but more about the incredible example he set for the rest of us. He was a man who knew ethics better than anyone I've ever met. This came naturally to him. He died the way he had lived, and that is with an extraordinary amount of dignity. I will miss his wisdom, his intellect, his compassion, his counsel and his friendship. Canada has lost one of it's true greats, all the more so because of the fact that Tom is the only one who wouldn't think so. I know that I don't have the time in only one life to ever have the chance to reach the state of awareness that Tom already had. I'll keep trying though, wondering what Tom might have said about any given subject. I think those of us that are left behind will spend a lot of time thinking about what he would have counselled in the years to come. That's just the kind of man that Tom was. He was unique, there will never be another.

I met Tom about twelve years ago now. He passed away late Friday Night after a long fight with cancer. The things that struck me most about the man were his vast knowledge and intelligence, not to mention a very strong inclination to social responsibility and compassion. In short, the man was several rungs up the evolutionary ladder than yours truly. I'll miss his advice, I'll miss his humour! He was once described by Frank Magazine as the conscious of the Conservative Party. I think he was much more than that. He could have given some great advice to all Canadians, not just the Conservatives. He was a member a Stanfield's Team way back when, and a Journalist all his life. I'll miss the July 1sts that we've shared these past years, not to mention the Christmas celebrations. He was my father-in-law, he was my friend. I have enjoyed some of the best moments of my life while visiting with him. I was lucky enough to have spent these times in his company. Canada as a whole is a lesser place for having lost this man. He was not an overly religious man, which makes his character all the more extraordinary as the qualities he displayed were developed out of his own sense of ethics rather than due to some externally applied persuasions. I don't know if there is a heaven or not. I do know that if there is, he was there in the blink of an eye following his death.

Homolka is about to get out. She stands as probably the best known example of the problems in the Canadian Legal System not to mention the incompetence of both the police and the prosecutors. One might surmise from the fact that she is about to be set free that the Canadian system feels she has done her time and has to be set free. That part, at least is true. My problem is with how she ever came to receive a twelve year sentence in the first place.