It seems there are two kilometres of pipeline with oil residue in it running through St. John. It's an Irving line that that went out of use over forty years ago - Irving forgot it was there. There is also no record of it in city files.
When asked if there were more such abandoned pipelines around the province, Irving officials assured reporters they weren't aware of any.
Well, yeah. I mean, they didn't know about this one, so why should they know about any others?
This is quite some display of sloppiness (at best) by both Irving and the city, especially so when Irving assures us it is all eager to develop shale gas all over the province; and, whatever health officers may say, there's no danger at all. Well, that certainly reassures me.
By the way, I got this news report from CBC - yesterday. It didn't make the Moncton Times and Transcript.
__________________________________________________________________________
So far as news in concerned, there is only one, real story in the whole paper - that the forest fires are under control. Since some are near Moncton, that is certainly worth reporting. But there really is nothing else - local, national or foreign.
Locally?
1. The land under Highfield Square, formerly a railway yard is heavily polluted. Such pollution is required, by law, to be reported to the government which then is required to tell the owner to clean it up. So why did the owner not clean it up? And why is the city of Moncton now going to be stuck with the bill? And why have two owners been allowed to virtually rebuild on part of that land with no clean up at all? Presumably, if the land is polluted it is dangerous to human health. Presumably, and no matter how extensive the rebuilting, it still is dangerous. So why was it permitted?
2. When do we get to learn the reason for moving a downtown high school out to the burbs? Exactly where does that fit into the great, ciy plan? In fact, was is the plan?
3. Why was a person with no qualifications whatever given a two and a half million dollar contract to improve literacy within our school system?
In connection with that same story, I apologize to readers offended with my comparison of New Brunswick literacy to that of Cuba, with Cuba coming out way ahead. It's not really a fair comparison because Cuba has an unbeatable advantage over New Brunswick. In Cuba, billionaire-supported right wing think tanks like Atlantic Institute for Marketing Studies and apprentice billionaires are not permitted to stick their noses into the education system, and interfere with it.
Natonally?
1. There hasn't been a word on a very suspicious and even dangerous trade deal with China that Harper is trying to sneak through parliament. The game plan appears to be this - given their damage to the environment, it will almost certainly be impossible to continue selling fossil fuels. Harper and the energy industries are determined to sell as much as they can before the door closes. That's one he recently cut off almost all fresh water protection in Canada.
So Harper intends to sell the fossil fuels fast, even on terms that will do nothing for Canadian employment while doing immense damage to the Canadian environment. That, incidentally, explains his anti-native peoples stance. He wants to destroy the whole concept of native peoples and their rights because they are in the way of his assault. Despite his ads on the subject, he's not racist. He's just looking for the racist vote to help him out. That explains the disgusting circular distributed by the Conservative MP for St. John.
2. Fresh water is also on the block, as are minerals - at whatever cost. The has to be fast, fast, fast, and with almost no rules. That's why, for all the blather, we are not going to see any enforcement of tough, shale gas rules in the province.
Internationally?
1. The TandT is strangely silent on just how bad economic conditions are in Europe. It looks very much like the 1930s - and with some political movements unpleasantly reminiscent of those years. Serious violence is more than likely. But none of this exists in the pages of the TandT.
2. Why are French troops in Mali? It sent them there to bring order to a country afflicted with rebellions. But why should France care? Recently, the UN announced it was deploying 12,000 troops and police to maintain order. But France promptly announced it was keeping troops there, anyway. How thoughtful.
Oh, yeah, Mali was French property for almost a century. It didn't get its freedom until it kicked France out in 1980. But France wasn't ready to go because there are still billions of dollars of resources that haven't been ripped off yet.
France in Mali is just one more piece of the West's reconquest of Africa, though this time with the US in the lead role.
But all the news editors at the TandT can understand is that StatsCan report the number of Jedis in Canada is down, and yet more on the sensationalist but irrelvant story of three young women in Cleveland who were dreadfully abused.
Editorial and op ed pages are quite decent, in fact, the highlights of today's paper. Alec Bruce is in solid form. Norbert continues his column of yesterday on our misuse and abuse of words - and does it very well, indeed.
Rod Allen's topic was lightweight, and doesn't touch on any question of current importance. But, oh my, what an improvement in his writing style! There's no attempt to sound witty. Instead, there is simple and unpretentious language put together very well, indeed. It's an enjoyable read.
Beth Lyons has a good column, too. It's essentially about awards given recently to women in Moncton. Inevitably, that makes it into something close to a list without much of a chance to show how important the work of these women is. But it's still worth a read.
______________________________________________________________________________
And now I realize I have not done the bit I promised on why literacy is poor in New Brunswick. To late now - but I'll just make a start on it.
The problem is not in the schools. Reading in New Brunswick schools is taught very much the way I have seen in taught in other parts of Canada and of the world where literacy is far higher than it is in New Brunswick. The problem is not the schools. The problem is not the intelligence of the students. I have seen no reason to think them in any way inferior to the thousands of students I have taught in other parts of Canada and other countries. The problem is New Brunswick. The problem is lack of respect for any intellectual activity, indeed of fear of any intellectual activity - and reading is an intellecutal activity.
And the cause of that fear?
For now, I'll just say that a publisher of Brunswick News is the last person in the world I would pick to solve the literacy problem in this province.
When asked if there were more such abandoned pipelines around the province, Irving officials assured reporters they weren't aware of any.
Well, yeah. I mean, they didn't know about this one, so why should they know about any others?
This is quite some display of sloppiness (at best) by both Irving and the city, especially so when Irving assures us it is all eager to develop shale gas all over the province; and, whatever health officers may say, there's no danger at all. Well, that certainly reassures me.
By the way, I got this news report from CBC - yesterday. It didn't make the Moncton Times and Transcript.
__________________________________________________________________________
So far as news in concerned, there is only one, real story in the whole paper - that the forest fires are under control. Since some are near Moncton, that is certainly worth reporting. But there really is nothing else - local, national or foreign.
Locally?
1. The land under Highfield Square, formerly a railway yard is heavily polluted. Such pollution is required, by law, to be reported to the government which then is required to tell the owner to clean it up. So why did the owner not clean it up? And why is the city of Moncton now going to be stuck with the bill? And why have two owners been allowed to virtually rebuild on part of that land with no clean up at all? Presumably, if the land is polluted it is dangerous to human health. Presumably, and no matter how extensive the rebuilting, it still is dangerous. So why was it permitted?
2. When do we get to learn the reason for moving a downtown high school out to the burbs? Exactly where does that fit into the great, ciy plan? In fact, was is the plan?
3. Why was a person with no qualifications whatever given a two and a half million dollar contract to improve literacy within our school system?
In connection with that same story, I apologize to readers offended with my comparison of New Brunswick literacy to that of Cuba, with Cuba coming out way ahead. It's not really a fair comparison because Cuba has an unbeatable advantage over New Brunswick. In Cuba, billionaire-supported right wing think tanks like Atlantic Institute for Marketing Studies and apprentice billionaires are not permitted to stick their noses into the education system, and interfere with it.
Natonally?
1. There hasn't been a word on a very suspicious and even dangerous trade deal with China that Harper is trying to sneak through parliament. The game plan appears to be this - given their damage to the environment, it will almost certainly be impossible to continue selling fossil fuels. Harper and the energy industries are determined to sell as much as they can before the door closes. That's one he recently cut off almost all fresh water protection in Canada.
So Harper intends to sell the fossil fuels fast, even on terms that will do nothing for Canadian employment while doing immense damage to the Canadian environment. That, incidentally, explains his anti-native peoples stance. He wants to destroy the whole concept of native peoples and their rights because they are in the way of his assault. Despite his ads on the subject, he's not racist. He's just looking for the racist vote to help him out. That explains the disgusting circular distributed by the Conservative MP for St. John.
2. Fresh water is also on the block, as are minerals - at whatever cost. The has to be fast, fast, fast, and with almost no rules. That's why, for all the blather, we are not going to see any enforcement of tough, shale gas rules in the province.
Internationally?
1. The TandT is strangely silent on just how bad economic conditions are in Europe. It looks very much like the 1930s - and with some political movements unpleasantly reminiscent of those years. Serious violence is more than likely. But none of this exists in the pages of the TandT.
2. Why are French troops in Mali? It sent them there to bring order to a country afflicted with rebellions. But why should France care? Recently, the UN announced it was deploying 12,000 troops and police to maintain order. But France promptly announced it was keeping troops there, anyway. How thoughtful.
Oh, yeah, Mali was French property for almost a century. It didn't get its freedom until it kicked France out in 1980. But France wasn't ready to go because there are still billions of dollars of resources that haven't been ripped off yet.
France in Mali is just one more piece of the West's reconquest of Africa, though this time with the US in the lead role.
But all the news editors at the TandT can understand is that StatsCan report the number of Jedis in Canada is down, and yet more on the sensationalist but irrelvant story of three young women in Cleveland who were dreadfully abused.
Editorial and op ed pages are quite decent, in fact, the highlights of today's paper. Alec Bruce is in solid form. Norbert continues his column of yesterday on our misuse and abuse of words - and does it very well, indeed.
Rod Allen's topic was lightweight, and doesn't touch on any question of current importance. But, oh my, what an improvement in his writing style! There's no attempt to sound witty. Instead, there is simple and unpretentious language put together very well, indeed. It's an enjoyable read.
Beth Lyons has a good column, too. It's essentially about awards given recently to women in Moncton. Inevitably, that makes it into something close to a list without much of a chance to show how important the work of these women is. But it's still worth a read.
______________________________________________________________________________
And now I realize I have not done the bit I promised on why literacy is poor in New Brunswick. To late now - but I'll just make a start on it.
The problem is not in the schools. Reading in New Brunswick schools is taught very much the way I have seen in taught in other parts of Canada and of the world where literacy is far higher than it is in New Brunswick. The problem is not the schools. The problem is not the intelligence of the students. I have seen no reason to think them in any way inferior to the thousands of students I have taught in other parts of Canada and other countries. The problem is New Brunswick. The problem is lack of respect for any intellectual activity, indeed of fear of any intellectual activity - and reading is an intellecutal activity.
And the cause of that fear?
For now, I'll just say that a publisher of Brunswick News is the last person in the world I would pick to solve the literacy problem in this province.
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