At last - our coastline is safe!!

On Monday, the Canadian Government announced a eight step program that will produce a "world class tanker safety system.". Wonderful!! What great news!! Now we no longer have to worry about oil spills on the west coast.

Please forgive my sarcasm but it is hard not to express some sort of anger or outrage at a government who blithely announce that they have found the solutions to everyone's concern about shipping hundreds of thousands of gallons along the inner channel.  A cynic might suggest that some of the suggestions are designed to pacify the B.C. Government and that fairly shortly that government will get on side and become supportive of the plan. Such a cynic would perhaps also wonder what deal has been offered to that government.

Some of the steps are of course reasonable. For example it makes some sense that foreign tankers should be inspected; that there should be a system of escorts that would ensure that the tankers don't go off course and that there be improved navigational aids. However it begs the question as to why those steps are not now in place? Should we not have always had them? More of a concern is the question of how long will the funding last for these new initiatives.

This government has now a reasonably long ( and sad) record of not maintain environmental protections. They have in the past year negated or destroyed some of Canada's long stand environmental laws. They have even suggested that Canadians who want to be active in protecting the environment could be considered terrorists. So to say they will increase  environmental protections by increasing the amount of monitoring does not inspire me to get down on my knees and offer thanks. I would need to trust them first.

However, what I find truly offensive is the government's assumption that I, along with millions of my fellow Canadians, would be so gullible as to believe them. How could they even imagine that we would not see through this newest announcement? When have we ever been so dumb?

Oh yea...... we kind of elected them.  

a tiny complaint

I am sick. Not the spring fever kind of sick but a real head cold with sinuses that are flowing like a broken faucet, a hacking cough that would scare an elephant, a nose that is so red from blowing it that I could be a substitute for Rudolph and a voice so broken that it sounds like a badly scratched record played one speed too slow. I feel as if I look and move like a zombie. I will live - it is just bloody uncomfortable.

Went to the drugstore today to buy supplies. Went up to the checkout and put my box of Kleenex, my cough candies, my cough syrup and my box of antihistamine cold tablets on the counter. The lady says "hello" and I tweak out a "hi" in response. Then she says "and how are you today?"

I looked at her face and then down  at the items she is ringing in and then back up to her eyes. I really needed to know if she was teasing me or if it had not yet registered with her that I felt like crap. I would have like to have responded with "Can you see what I am buying? How the hell do you think I feel?".  But I didn't. I grunted out "fine" or something that came close to that and smiled when she said "have a nice day".

It was not her fault. She sees 100s of people passing by her cash register. The store was busy and there were people behind me waiting to be served. I know she is suppose to say "have a nice day, and that if she doesn't someone in management might get mad at her. But a word to the management - I would really prefer it if people who were serving me either actually thought about what they were saying or said nothing at all.   

A comment such as " if all of that is for you I hope you feel better soon" would have made me feel so much better.

A small complaint.