12:35 PM

Thought I may as well get in act and post my own stormy picture.

Tetchy but Cogitative.

Seems the weather and the welcome of the Curling gold medalists [men’s] are all the talk last few days.
The weather sure is strange, we do not get the coverage that other ‘modern’ towns and cities do, guess it says a lot about the different attitudes and philosophy towards the land and environment.
We too have been the recipient of the unusual weather patterns that are playing havoc from St. John’s to the high arctic, thankfully we do not have to put up with conditions like that shown on the evening news from St.John’s, or the radio reports of massive thawing and pot holes in Iqaluit. We did have a brief thaw for a day, but still plenty of snow all over. I do continue to wonder when people are going to start demanding that the corptocracy and their government minions clean up their act and start reversing this global trend to very very unstable environmental conditions.

Okalakatiget Society, the Inuit run news organization, has updated their web site http://www.oksociety.com/ Hopefully the overworked staff can find time to post regular news items and such, I know people outside OK’s broadcast area are really keen to be kept informed of what goes on back home. It is also a great forum for others to see what goes on in a remote part of the country.


The Provincial Minister for Transportation, Mr. Trevor Taylor, announced a new nine member Advisory Committee on Labrador Transportation yesterday in Happy Valley-Goose Bay.


http://www.releases.gov.nl.ca/releases/2006/tw/0227n06.htm
The committee will not be doing another study, but will review three studies already done, then report to the minister their findings and Labradors priorities.
The two members from the North Coast will have their work cut out if you go by past consultations; I wish them all the best and god speed. I will be keeping a close oculus on the progress, or lack off same, over next while. The reconfiguration of road, water, air transport is vital for the whole area, but in my opinion extremely vital for Northern Labrador. It is imperative that we have a strong voice/voices talking to a listening and caring ear/ears.

Bloody beauty tourism add.

Now here is an add that gets ones attention. http://www.wherethebloodyhellareyou.com/#


Way more thought put into this than the latest incipient attempts by the NL tourism folk. Show the diverseness’ and color of the province, not some half crazed reject on the edge of a cliff, or yellow gloves flapping in the wind. Unless of course your target market is just the artsy fartsy community, not that there is anything wrong with them.

I’m on a roll this morning; it’s dark and still blowing outside. Incessant wind tends to bring out the croustyness in me.

The above link is via this bloke http://www.cablog.com.au/, he is one of my regular look sees in the blog world.

Blow Out

Spent part of yesterday in a very February Canadian way; Like in front of the TV with a raging swirling blizzard out side. Could not see a thing out the large picture window, it did make for better viewing of the screen though.
The Canadian representatives in the Curling competition were amazing; you could see the team gel and mature through out the round robin and into the play offs. It all came together for the final, what a great win.
I emphasize Canadian and team above because that is what they are, a team representing Canada. Some reasonably sane people seem to be going off their rockers claiming ‘the team’ as Newfies or Newfoundlanders, and how it shows what a great bunch and how superior Newfoundlanders are. What a load of horse shit.

My one wish now is that Broadway Danny can constrain himself and let the ‘team’ receive all the accolades on there return to Newfoundland and Labrador. Danny Boy has had his two and a half minutes of fame; let these blokes have their ten minutes without the prancing and preening Danny show.

Still here, eh!

Thank you ‘table Mountains’ for your inquiry of my well being.
Lots on the go, what with Olympics, some hours in my advisory capacity [read $’s], enjoying the good days on the hills with wife and youngest grandson, digging out, with same grandson, after blizzards. Being on tenterhooks during a ten hour power outage yesterday in minus 28 c did not help ones mental state, but thanks to ‘who ever’ that it was sunny and calm.

I have been in a quandary of what direction I should go with postings. I would love to go all positive and try to promote this area for tourism. It has so much to offer. But being conscious of local feelings I’m some what hesitant yet. Tourism is really in its infancy here, sure there have been rugged individualists climbing, hiking, kayaking, and sailing for decades. These folk usually do not drop a lot of money as they are self sufficient. Now we have the Torngat National Park Reserve. Some planning and strategy sessions are under way. I have not been involved in these, but I hear that “outside interests are starting to come out of the wood work” as the saying goes. It is looking like the same old same old; there is always someone with none or limited experience of the area and its people ready to tell folks what is best for them.

I may have to revert to my past life as a lobbyist for improved services. I think some people may have had different words to describe my efforts, but that’s OK, you should hear the words I use to describe them, not for publication sure. I feel this way as our Hydro service and Marine Shipping is again in regression.
We still pay the highest taxes on the highest heating, gas, postal rates, food and other goods and services. I understand that our geography plays a roll, but I am also convinced that efficiencies and looking outside the box can reduce some of these costs; we just need the will to insist that these are looked at.
Then there is the Voisey’s Bay mine, boy what a web over there. Some tiger of an investigative reporter could make their name with stuff that goes on there. Mind you it is locked down tighter than an American “prisoner of war” camp, but then that could add to the challenge.

This has gone on longer than I intended, will have to go limber up my back as we are in early stages of another Blizzard……… where’s me shovel? I have muver nature to take on.

With friends like this:

Guess one could put all sorts of captions to old tricky Dick given his foreign policy philosophy.

http://www.cbc.ca/story/world/national/2006/02/12/cheney-hunt.html

But less said the better by look of this;


http://www.abqtrib.com/albq/nw_national/article/0,2564,ALBQ_19860_4459567,00.html

As we all know, party principals have been absent from politics for some time, it’s been a mystery to all us grunt tax payers as to their whereabouts.
Yesterday being such a nice day, only one of many, I decided to check out Nain Hill to see if party principals had decided to do some snow sports.
As you can see by picture one that they have been through this way, but on extensive searches, even at higher elevations, I did not sight them.

On descending I came across these tracks on picture two, looks to me like Bucky Harper hopped away to hide in the spruce trees.
I know party principals must be here some place, after all why would they be in some place like St. John’s with their constant crappy weather.

Back to the ugly real world

Looking at, and listening to, the volumes being said about the new [not so] government in Ottawa, this guy makes the most sense to me. http://www.garth.ca/weblog/

If only 51% of the rest of his caucus, as well as the Liberal caucus had the same belief in principals then I think this country would have a chance moving forward. Always wanted to use that term ‘moving forward’, be the last time too.

Nothern labrador Transportation

Five hours this way to Hopedale, give or
take and snow conditions permitting.




One and a half hours this way to Goose Bay.
Two minutes this way to a nice brew up and warm room

Back yard blues:

Got’a do something about this view from our kitchen window. Perhaps a road, oil derrick, nickel mine…………………Nah boy, just kidding.

Meet the New Libranos:

Christ, that was a brief flirt with, accountability, transparency, democratic deficit wasn’t it. No money wasted on any silly thing like a honey moon with the unwashed proletariat either. It was political re engineering at its most cynical.

Then the pious poofs try and justify all by saying “we desperately need representation from the three largest cities in the country”. Well if the electorate in the cities wanted their representatives in the Conservative cabinet they would have voted for them. In the case of Montreal they did not even get a chance to vote for the instant senator/cab min.

Is Harper out of his freak’n mind?, after all that has gone on in last couple years over the Public Works scandal he goes and appoints another insider to head up PW. One who will not have to answer to the elected house for his actions.

I’m just blown away. This is just dirty rotten down and out cynical politics as usual. So who wants to be appointed to cabinet to represent the Labrador ridding? Or that’s right……we are only one seat with a paltry 30 thousand frozen souls.

Entitlements:

I have long held the opinion that society is regressing in the area of “what’s right and what’s wrong” to put it in layman’s terms. An article in the MSM highlights my hypothesis, and it adds to the “entitlements” scenario that is still being talked about, and should be talked about until something is done about it.

This story goes something like this; Joe E is a consultant of 40 something vintage, has worked on Provincial files that total in the billions[not NL], thinks he has something to offer the new crowd in Ottawa, has even been offered a position, but it would mean he has to relocate. His better half told him he would be on his own if he does relocate, so Joe E has decided to stay put.

But Joe E is not letting it rest there. Maybe Joe E has other reasons for staying put with his better half.
Joe E is mussing about the fact he is worried about the Harper plan to bring in legislation to ban former ministers, their staff, and senior public servants from lobbying government for 5 years-up from the current 1 year cooling off period. Joe E thinks this is unfair, that it would prevent him from earning a living after he leaves the public pay roll, he could not use his vast knowledge in betterment of the world.

What a load of rubbish. Since when does society owe Joe E a living, particularly in his chosen profession? It’s seems obvious that Joe E is more worried about his bank balance than any pie in the ski ideology, like what’s good for his better half, or the country.

I say 5 years is the minimum cooling off period that should be introduced. There should be strong enforceable guide lines and an oversight department independent of PM, MP offices too.

I quit.

I see where an arbiter has given Mr. Entitlements his entitlements [400 grand and change] plus his entitled pension.
I remember Mr. Entitlements saying publicly that he resigned from his post for the good of the Mint.
Lawyers slash politicians eh?

Snowy memories

Seems we missed the storm again. We have been in either sun or partly cloudy all the while the latest has hit Maritimes and into St.John’s. Looking at the videos of the carnage winter storms create in modern city’s it makes me glad I’m up here. We just let the snow build up and walk or drive over it. Mind you, the council these past couple of years has been using a bulldozer, dragging a small trail groomer behind, to flatten out the bumps that snow mobiles create. This is a catch 22 situation though. It is great for easier walking and way way easier on aging backs when riding machines. Alas the folks with a few knives short in the cutlery draw use the smooth roads for speedways. These new large ski doos are becoming very dangerous with there larger weight and engine capacity.

Watching the storms in the south reminds me of my first, and only, driving experience in a Canadian snow storm. T’was back in 78/79, I was over in Wakefield Q with a friends old Bronco, I was doing some work for him on a new house. Early evening it started to snow so I headed off back to Ottawa. Part way back there was a nice little road house, so I stopped to wash the dust down. On leaving the road house I notice the storm has picked up, both in volumes of snow and intensity of the wind. I pulled out of car park and drove about a mile before caution overcame valor and I turned around to head back to the road house. I called my friends from there asking them to come out get me. By the time they arrived the dust in my throat had well and truly settled, the storm had become way worse, so we hung around a bit longer making doubly sure of the dust problem. Don’t remember much of the ride back to Ottawa the night, but we all had lots of laughs for a time after about the tough Ozzy being chicken of a bit of snow.

Vindication is sweet.

Just had to get this off my chest.
One of my big bug a boos over past years has been the transportation issue to the coast of Labrador.
CBC has just issued a report from the Provincial Auditor General stating that the 340 millions bucks that was given to the Province by the Feds FOR UP GRADING MARINE TRANSPORT has been used unwisely in BUILDING ROADS. Roads like the TLH and the southern section of same. Certain people tried to sell this miss direction of funds on the hypothesis that it would reduce the cost of goods into the area. The AE says it has had the reverse effect; costs have gone way up for goods still being shipped in by ship.