On the Road Again 2016 Winter (Going West) #2

It is just before 1:00 PM and we have just made a brief stop in Gogama - which by my calculations means that we are running about four hours late. I have lost count of the number of freight trains that we have had to stop for - I stopped counting after six trains passed us. It seemed as if many of the car were travelling west empty. While I can understand that loaded freight cars contain more valuable items than do passenger cars but I must confess that I take some insult at being less important than an empty freight car!
The car that I am is full by Via’s standards. That is, in the car that I am in,  at least one seat out of two is filled. While some are getting off in edmonton or Jasper, there are quite of few who are going all of the way the Vancouver.

Just stopped at Foleyet - the good news is that we have not lost any time - we are just about as late as we were two hours ago.

As  have noted on other train trips, entertainers get to travel from Vancouver to Toronto for free if they give three performances a day - one in each of the three types of sleeping cars (or in my case economy which stands for sleeping while sitting up). This trip’s entertainment is a singer songwriter who has some skill with lyrics although his guitar playing is a bit weak. A nice guy who tried to engage the ten or so people who were there - even going to the point of handing out a list of 60 or so songs that he could sing and encouraging us to pick one. Unfortunately there was a woman who maybe had had too many drinks or perhaps she was always loud, rude and obnoxious. She insisted on talking to some young travellers throughout his singing. I think a couple of people left because of her. He wasn’t the best singer I have heard but he would have just fine for a rather dull grey day on the train…..she made it hard for him to perform and hard for those of us who wanted to hear what he had to say - pity.

We finally got to Hornepayne at 7:25. We were suppose to be here by 2:20. We seem to have lost an hour somehow. It is, of course dark, it is snowing and I suspect it is fairly cold outside. I have been here before - I have no need to get out and walk around the parking lot. However for the those who smoke, I think this is the first stop today. I can’t imagine how difficult it must be for those who have a serious addiction to nicotine.

I have spent the day reading a little it, listening to music and napping. I can’t believe how tired I am - but then reading and napping is what the train is well suited for.

At 8:45 AM stopped at Reddit, Ontario….should have been here by 3:30 AM - which means that we are just over five hours late…. That means a very short stop in Winnipeg which means that I won’t have time to shop for food…..pity. But I guess I was getting fat anyway.

If it is a very short stop in Winnipeg, w could make up up to three of those missing hours - which would be nice.

On the Road Again 2016 Winter (Going West)

In what is becoming somewhat of a ritual - here I sit in the Sudbury Junction Via Rail station waiting for a train that is late. I would not mind waiting the  three hours  nearly as much if I and my daughter had not needed to be up so early this morning. The good news is that the train was, at 5:00 going to be two hours and forty-five minutes late. It now looks as if we are only going to be two hours and fifteen minutes late. But then I have another three and a bit days to go - who knows if we are going to make up the time or be really late. As long as we have enough time in Winnipeg and Jasper for em to buy some food, I won’t complain too much.

The station is surprisingly full. Three kids from two different families - all being entertained by various mobile devices, and nine or so adults equally entertained by their mobile devices. While it is subjective - it feels as the place is far more quiet than it was ten years ago. There is no need for us to talk - we can all be entertained by the content on our little screens.

It is cold outside and the footing is treacherous - so no one is waiting outside.  It is uncomfortably warm in here but again no one is going outside….except for those who wait in their vehicles for passengers who are late in their arrival.

On the wall opposite me there is the electronic notice board stating the number of the train (1) the scheduled time of arrival and the actual/anticipated time of arrival. At 7:15 - the revised arrival time was 7:28. Thereafter every time the actual time got within 11 minutes of the anticipated time - that time was moved forward. It was like someone was teasing us...letting us believe that the train’s arrival was imminent and the at the last moment - postponing it for an additional five or so minutes. It was maddening.

The train finally arrived at 8:00 - a minute or two later than I was told when I first arrived. Two hours and forty-five minutes late. To be fair, two freight trains passed by the station heading north and one passed us heading south. The two northern ones looked to be quite long.

However - I am on the train and heading west. While I am sad about leaving the grand kids and my daughter - who takes care of me so well what I am in Sudbury - I am excited to be going home. I have a rather long list of weaving projects I need to get started on. I start going to be selling at the market in two month’s time.

P.s. for the first time in a while I have a reserved seat. The conductor looked for me and gave me the seat number….maybe they do plan on having the long distant passengers having two seats to themselves for at least part of the trip.

Rant on Christmas

 For most Canadians - the annual ritual/gluttony of too much food and too many presents is - thankfully - just about over for another year. Millions of Canadians have spent the last few days visiting friends and relatives, or being visited by them - eating enough food to feed twice perhaps three times as many people and opening truck loads of presents - mostly made up of items they didn’t need. Thousands and thousands of Canadians will be paying off the debt generated by this spurge in spending for months. All of this done in a futile attempt to somehow recreate an image of Christmas that, in fact for most of us, never existed.

The actual amounts of how much people spent this year on Christmas presents will take some months to be tabulate.  However Statistics Canada has published the results from 2014.

• $416.3 million — The value of toys, games and hobby supplies, including electronic games purchased at large retailers in Canada in December 2014, up 185.9% from average monthly sales of $145.6 million for this category in 2014 and up 51.2% from November 2014.
• $364.3 million — The value of computer hardware and software purchased at large retailers in Canada in December 2014, up 80.4% from average monthly sales of $202.0 million for this category in 2014 and up 36.9% from November 2014.
• $255.1 million — The value of small electrical appliances purchased at large retailers in Canada in December 2014, up 91.7% from average monthly sales of $133.1 million for this category in 2014 and up 51.6% from November 2014.
• $166.2 million — The value of cosmetics and fragrances purchased at large retailers in Canada in December 2014, up 78.2% from average monthly sales of $93.3 million for this category in 2014 and up 58.2% from November 2014.
• $192.8 million — The value of sporting goods purchased at large retailers in Canada in December 2014, up 32.7% from average monthly sales of $145.3 million for this category in 2014 and up 81.4% from November 2014.
• $122.8 million — The value of jewellery and watches purchased at large retailers in Canada in December 2014, up 139.7% from average monthly sales of $51.2 million for this category in 2014 and up 113.8% from November 2014.
• $71.1 million — The value of cameras (still and digital) and related photographic equipment and supplies purchased at large retailers in Canada in December 2014, up 122.7% from average monthly sales of $31.9 million for this category in 2014 and up 77.5% from November 2014

While it is of course impossible to know how many of these purchases would have been made even if was not the Christmas season, it is clear that millions of dollars are spent in the month of December on Christmas type presents. The absurdity of spending so much money - money that we may not have should be self evident. Should be …. but clearly it is not.

I struggle with the very thought of Christmas for a number of reasons, but the gluttony, the sheer excesses of food and presents disturbs me the most. We, on social media, publicly grieve for the suffering in Syria or a second destruction of infrastructure through natural causes and human ineptitude in Haiti; but we are comfortable in blaming someone else for these unfortunate events or at the least expecting someone else to fix them. We are comfortable from the safety of our living rooms to bemoan the state of the world - but we are prepared to do little to make the needed changes in our lifestyles that could start to address some of the fundamental questions of inequity that drive some of the wars that cause such destruction.

While a massive infusion of cash could not solve all or even some of the world’s problems, surely the near billion dollars spent in Canada on Christmas related presents would go a long way. If all of the western world did the same thing - who knows what would happen?

Via Rail - I Don’t Understand

I I would think I have travelled between Sudbury and Vancouver Island in the past 15 years more than most people excepting those who travel for work or for business. I have gone by car, bus, train and air.  While the train is slow and its timetable on occasion should be filed under fiction as as opposed to fact, it is by far the most relaxing way to travel. I think more people would travel by train if it were not so damn expensive. Flying is can be cheaper although given my last experience not that much more reliable.

I bought both my Air Canada ticket from Nanaimo to Sudbury and my train ticket from Sudbury to Vancouver in mid October. The cost for my flight for the beginning of December was $370.00 including choosing a more expensive seat to accommodate my long legs. If I wanted to buy a comparable seat to fly a few days after Christmas it would cost somewhere between $1201 and $2000 depending upon which time of day I travelled. My Via Rail ticket cost $406. And if I wanted to buy a ticket for the same train this morning it would cost $883.

I can understand air fare costing more to fly during the Christmas season in that it is a busy travelling season and air seats are in demand. I also understand that there should be a slight increase in cost the closer one gets to the flying time. But I think that a 300% increase in cost probably could be labelled at the very least as an unfair tax on procrastinators or more likely as gouging. However, as I am sure the plane will be fully booked, one can only assume that it is Air Canada’s pricing policies are, if nothing else, good business practice.

It is less easy to understand Via Rail’s business policies. The economy section of the train in my experience (I have taken the train across at least part of the country six or seven times)has never been full. This has meant that I, for most of the nights that I have slept on a train, have had both seats to myself. It has been great. I love having the space and the privacy to spread my stuff out and to move around adjusting my position as I nap, read or listen to music.But the economy section of the train is so empty because it is quite frequently the most expensive way to travel (Christmas time is one of the exceptions to that rule). I don’t understand why Via would double the cost of the ticket  when they can’t sell all the seats at the lower price. Would it not make more sense to keep the tickets cheaper and fill the seats? I realize that I am arguing against what is best for me, but I do fear that the time will come when Via Rail will reduce its service even further with the argument that not enough people are using it.

Canada needs a transcontinental passenger rail services. It should be increasing the number of trains a week not decreasing. While there are a number of  sleeping cars (along with assorted dome, club and dining cars)for those passengers who have lots of money, there are only two economy cars (plus a dome car). If Via Rail kept the price of tickets down, they could fill a third car for very little cost. Lord knows there is not a lot of service provided to “cheap seats” passengers.

Clearly I am not a business person and therefore I am unable to understand how companies work. But it seems to me that it is better to have all the seats full as opposed to have being empty - unless of course Via Rail intentionally keeps half of the seats empty so that people like me can be comfortable….. if you believe that - I know of a bridge for sale.

Looking for the Answers

It may be my imagination - or perhaps I am just feeling old, but it seems to me that there was a time when it was easier to know what was right or wrong - that life was more easily divided into good and bad.  It is not that these dividing lines were always morally correct - for example in Alabama in the 1950s it was “right” or normal that people of different racial backgrounds had to drink out of separate, labeled water fountains or in Canada it was assumed that people of certain ethnic origins should be incarcerated during the various wars of the 20th century. But given the available information and awareness of the times - it was easy to know what was right. It was easy in part because all that people had to do was to believe what their political and religious leaders told them.

Because of postmodernist thinking and globalization in general, life and therefore knowing right from wrong is far more complicated in 2016. There are no easy or obvious solutions to major environmental, economic or political crises - at least for those who think carefully and critically. They know that those who designate themselves as political or religious leaders whether they be on the right or the left are just as likely to be wrong as anyone else. Consequently we are obliged to find our own “right” answers. Most of us are sorely ill prepared to do so.

Example #1:

I have argued elsewhere that one of the ways to stop the apparently endless wars/revolutions/punitive dictatorships it to stop selling (and therefore stop manufacturing) weapons. Simple. Get rid of all the guns and tanks and bombs and at least part of the problem goes away. Canada could start by closing down the factories that make armoured vehicles, bombs and guns (see Ploughshares). However if the Canadian government did that - the thousands of people who worked in those factories or were supported in some fashion by those factories would (1) need other  jobs and (2) be so pissed off that they might vote for a more conservative government and we have already been down that path. Finding well paid jobs, especially for the older workforce is difficult. Do we really want all of those folks to be working at Wal-Mart or the corner store?

Example #2

Clearly the tar sands are terrible for the environment. There is nothing positive one can say about the destruction of the natural environment and the inherent risk to animals and to water sources. The problems only become  exacerbated when one takes that oil, ship it thousands of kilometres to be refined and then it use to heat our houses or transport ourselves and the goods that we we use. Close the damn thing down and tear up the pipelines. Oops - the same problem as the first example - people lose jobs, their houses and can’t feed their children. They get angry and vote for a political party that does not see the environment or climate change as being important. If we cut off the oil and thereby hurt people  and perhaps end up with worse policies four years down the road- who profits by such changes?

Example #3

I think that recycling our broken or out of date electronics is a good thing. I, for a number of years religiously deposited my old computers or printers in large bins labeled for those products. Then I found out that most of that stuff got sent to China where people melt down the plastics, reclaim the metals and in the process pollute the water and air around them. My conscience is clear- I have done the right thing - but in reality all that I have done is pass the problem and the pollution on to someone else. That was not my intention.

It is well past time for the rational people of all political spectrums to stop spouting whatever crap they are told to repeat and to start to think for themselves.  As long as we believe that there are absolute answers to the questions - we will never come close to resolving the issues.

I don’t know what the answers are. Perhaps 2017 will be the year when we collectively, as a country, decide that we need to find out.

Solving The World’s Problems - I Don’t Think So.

As I ready my daily dose of news - that frequently depressing litany of man’s cruelty to man - I am frequently reminded of how incompetent we are as a species at finding solutions to the long standing, often repeated social and economic problems of our shared world. There are days that feels as if not only have we never learned from our mistakes but that we continue to invent new ones. Reading about the disaster that is Syria, it is tempting to rail against western governments, greedy capitalist, overly enthusiastic fundamentalist (of all stripes) and mentally unbalanced dictators. It would be so easy if we could just say “ it is our fault - if my government had done this or not done that, we would not be in this mess” or “if I had given more money to this noble charity or that one, there would be less suffering in that country”. But the mess in the Middle East can not be defined by a simple acts of engagement or disengagement. The original roots of this particular disaster are mired in events of 1500 years ago (BBC). Those events have been agitated by the continual interference for reasons of greed and the assumption of superiority by colonialist western powers for the last 100 years. The cost of the greed, the cost of an adherence to a doctrine that at best is only marginally related to our daily existence and the willingness of some people to take advantage of the chaos is the displacement of millions and the deaths of thousands. And so we sit by in our reasonably warm and comfortable homes and wring our hands at the profound sadness of it all. There are, I suppose some long term solutions. One would be ( as I have written about in other blogs) is to stop the manufacture of all guns and of course bullets. If nothing else, if our means of killing people were less effective - fewer people would die. More affluent countries could open the borders and allow in thousands and thousands of refugees or we could insure that a significant part of our national budget be used to help the people of that war torn, oppressed and almost destroyed country. Or we could do nothing - all of the foreign countries that are now there could just leave. We could let the people of Syria solve their own problems. But neither the option of trying to rescue Syrians and their country or abandoning them to resolve their own issues would solve the problems; neither of those things would ensure that those people living in Syria would have the opportunity to live safe, comfortable lives. The damage is far too profound. The players both on the ground in such cities as Aleppo and in the capitals of other countries are far too immeshed in and benefiting from that particular nightmare. There are just far too many agendas being played out.  It is long past the time when any one person or any one country had either control or or even a modicum of power to effect a quick change. So I sent my money knowing that if sent all of my savings and all of my friends sent all of their savings - it would not come close to being enough to help one tiny village. I would write to my prime minister telling him what he needed to do and post it on Facebook,Youtube and everywhere else - if I only knew what that one thing was. All I can hope for is that someone far smarter than I will tell us what the solution is and in the meantime all that I can do is to pray that we humans start to learn from our mistakes. Lord knows we have made them often enough.

 

Pipelines and Politics #3

The CBC has run a couple of articles in the past few days on the sense of stigmatization some First Nations are experiencing because they are supportive of the Kinder Morgan pipeline expansion or other oil patch activities.

While it is perhaps not surprising that these communities are feeling this way - it is rather sad. Those communities who have chosen to take the opportunity to financially benefit from such activities have the right to do so. We (and by “we” I mean those of us who are not Indigenous) have no right to impose our values upon the people of those nations.  Neither do other First Nations. Amongst other reasons - humans clearly have a terrible track record of knowing what the right thing is to do.

There is a significant amount of pressure on some communities to do what we think is the right thing. While the liberal’s perception of indigenous peoples and their place in modern society has marginally evolved from the days of Tonto, many people including some environmentalist act as if they know what is best for the land and the people who live on it.  It would appear that we expect all Indigenous people to be focused on preserving the land and having idealized values with little regard to self preservation. I think there is still a romantic vision of living in a pristine wilderness, of surviving without work and never shaping/changing the environment  (see history Of Garry Oak meadows) for the communities’ needs.

Perhaps one the best example of the consequences of imposing our values on others was when environmentalist and others convinced European countries to ban the importing of furs. By doing so - those activists ensured that numerous northern communities would lose their only way of earning money. Those self-righteous liberals, by protecting some animals, forced people in northern communities to subsist on and to be totally dependant on government handouts. The fact that I have chosen not to eat meat for over 40 years does not give me the right to tell other people what is right or wrong.

I believe that we need to develop other alternatives to carbon based fuels and that we will never do so until we have no choice. I wish that the First Nation communities near the oil sands and those along the proposed pipeline route were all against it -but it is not my decision to make. If we believe that those communities are in fact nations with the absolute right of self determination - then we need to let them get on with making those decisions without having to deal with our perceptions of what is the right thing to do.

Maybe it is part of the inadequacies of the English language but we seem to be stuck on the concept of giving people the right to….. You can’t give a right - either an individual or a nation has the right or they don’t. If it is within my power to give someone the right to be in control of their life - that means that I can take it away. Rights are not something that you can earn or be given by a generous if paternalistic superior.  First Nations have the right to make their own decisions - not because someone gave them that right but because they were born with the right to do so. It is their right to make a decision without my input or pressure. I do not have the right to condemn those decisions and neither do the environmentalist.

If we we would like those communities to make a different decision - then we must find a way of them participating in our society as full partners which would include those communities having the opportunity to earn money doing meaningful work.