Tag: politics

SYRIAN REBELS ON THE MARCH WHILE REGIME ALLIES CRUMBLE

It’s a bitch of a day to be a dictator, especially one with any fingers in that toxic pie that we also refer to as Syria.

It appears that rebel forces, a term I use loosely to describe the various opposition forces, not necessarily aligned, that have broken out of their positions and attacked and taken Syria’s second-largest city of Aleppo.  No rebel force has had a foot in the ground in that city since 2016, back when the Russians carpet-bombed them out of the place, while at the same time indiscriminately killing thousands of innocent civilians.  You may know already that the Russians have never been accused of being bleeding-hearts when it comes to civilian deaths, or any deaths for that matter.  That said, their murderous tendencies fit hand-in-glove with those of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, and it was those Russian interventions, along with interventions from Iran and Hezbollah, that kept the slimy sum-bitch in power.  He did, after all, almost lose that power as a result of the more generalized Arab Spring uprisings of 2011, but hung on by the hair of his chinny chin-chin with the help of his benevolent friends.

But things have changed for Assad, and not in the best of ways.

Those three outside interventionists that prop up his regime are all now themselves involved in existential crises of their own making, because all three kept sticking their faces in places where they did’t belong, and are now paying their respective prices for that.

I’ll go Iran first.

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PLACING BETS ON TOWN COUNCIL

I’m not a betting man.  If I was I’d be a poor betting man.

I know betting’s all the rage now, especially with how easy it is, using your phone and, hell, even being able to place in-game bets.  Even Wayne Gretzky is all over it, a guy who is right up there with Tim Hortons and their Roll-Up-The-Rim contest in terms of Canadian identity and popularity.

Money lines, point spreads, over-under, parlay bets, teasers and props, middle, future, and live bets, there’s no shortage of ways to get fabulously rich, or if you’re me, fabulously poor.

Luckily for me, I don’t have the kind of money to engage in this activity.  Losing a single $5 bet would have me in apocalyptic circumstances, so I stay away.  I don’t even buy Lotto 649 anymore because I feel it’s too risky.

That said, I know others absolutely love the action, and are willing to place money on the most trivial of things, mostly in the world of sports.  But sports betting has it’s drawbacks, especially if players, coaches, officials, etc go to the dark side to influence how a game goes, or how much court-time a player gets, or ice-time, or at-bats, or carries, etc.  

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PUTIN ADDS NEW THREATS TO AN ALREADY LENGTHY LIST

Good morning everyone, good to see you.  Hope today is the treasure and blessing that all days ought to be for all people.  I wish you the very best.

I’d like to build today’s opinion piece around this carefully considered, deliberately crafted statement that I feel eases me into today’s topic.

Vladimir Putin, aka Russia’s Potato Head dictator, is a world class, five-star, blue-chip, blue-ribbon, card-carrying asshole.  He’s also a BFB, delicately extended to mean “Big F**king Baby.”  I searched the internet to come up with a Russian phrase that would capture the same sentiment and could only come up with Vladimir Putin, so there you go.  It’s built right into their language.

So if I die of polonium poisoning, or if I’m found thrown to death out of a window of my home, or if I blow up in a plane explosion, you can bet it was the Russians.  For the record, I live in a bungalow and rarely fly, so some small degree of comfort there.

President Joe Biden has finally given Ukraine permission to allow long-range American missiles to be used against targets inside Russia itself.  Before they could only be used to blow up things on Ukrainian soil.  But now the gloves are off, and Vlady’s pissed, again.

Continue reading “PUTIN ADDS NEW THREATS TO AN ALREADY LENGTHY LIST” →

TRANSPARENCY AND STANDARDS: WHO MAKES THE CALL?

At first, I thought it was just me.

I had encountered something that was increasingly frustrating about attempting to get some simple questions answered from anyone associated with Renfrew’s municipal government.  Frustrating, and almost conspiratorial, although that word might be a bit of an over-reach, since my little local conspiracy doesn’t involve pizza shops, the deep state, or the World Economic Forum.  Nevertheless, when you reach out to both political and administrative types within the organization, and you are universally ignored, then it does lend itself to the notion that there is some form of organized obstruction at play.  I’ve now backed off that initial suspicion, mostly because I’ve seen all the actors in action, and now believe that any organized effort in that, or seemingly any other direction, would be simply beyond their scope of capabilities.

When I went over the materials for last Tuesday’s council meeting, I happened upon an item listed under correspondence.  That item featured an email chain of back-and-forth between a local citizen and senior administrative staff.  And it was a carbon copy, albeit featuring different issues, of what I had just witnessed for myself when I had made my own enquiries.  Even the staff responses to the citizen were virtually identical, with a boilerplate response modified to fit the circumstances of the issue and the person requesting the information.

In a small way, I felt better, knowing that it wasn’t personal.   Bad guys would say that in the movies before killing a guy, that it wasn’t personal, it was just business, which to me always seemed like it would be pretty personal for the guy about to get two behind the ear.  Like small comfort there.  As in  hearing that, the guy’s gonna say “Oh, okay.  Completely understand.  What a relief.  Carry on.”

Still, when you are comprehensively ignored, knowing you’re not the only one brings no significant measure of comfort.

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A-REEVE-ADERCI: ELIMINATION OF REEVE POSITION AND IMPACT ON LOCAL GOVERNANCE

Sometimes you have to do the little jobs right in order to get the big jobs.  And then sometimes you don’t.

Peter Emon is off and running as a candidate for the chair of Warden of Renfrew County, a chair he’s sat in several times now, a chair where the memory foam makes it virtually impossible for anyone else to sit there comfortably.

He does this while his chair on Renfrew town council sits idle and vacant, where periodically the roller function is engaged when the cleaners pass through the chamber on their regular rounds.

Normally, I guess I’d feel proud that one of our own — well, tenuously anyway — gets selected to occupy the top spot on the top-tier of local government, that being Renfrew County Council. Never mind the fact that he’s been warden several times over the years, originally as a mayor from Greater Madawaska and now as the reeve of Renfrew.

And there’s the thing right there, that reeve of Renfrew thing.

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RENFREW TOWN COUNCIL MEETING: SCOUTING REPORT

I said it before and I’ll say it again.

Attending a local council meeting can be a marathon of eye-glazing procedural this-and-that, and it can be a real challenge to whatever you drink for coffee, as no level of caffeine can fully protect you from the head-nodding minutiae these affairs can showcase. That said, there is absolutely no substitute for attending in person.

And then being present with your attention.

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MA-TE-WAY LEASE INFORMATION REQUEST MET WITH SILENCE

Initially, I had no reason to be suspicious of anything, nor am I suggesting that there would be anything to be suspicious about.

I was simply asking a question, a question I felt entitled to ask, one that would be of some interest to people who pay their property taxes in Renfrew, Ontario.

It’s like standard journalism, the kind that existed before we were left with empty shells purporting to cover “news” at a local level.  The kind of stuff that goes beyond the old  “cat stuck in tree” slosh.  Something that’s maybe more than a short paragraph in length.

But this isn’t about local journalism, that would be a whole other story in its own right.  This is about a simple request for information that has been met with opposition, deflection, institutional ambiguity, and just good-old-fashioned bewilderment.  It’s like they have no idea how to respond. 

So they won’t.

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“IT DOESN’T MATTER WHAT IT COSTS, IT’S GOTTA BE DONE.”

“It doesn’t matter what it costs, it’s gotta be done.”  

I have to circle back to a comment made by Renfrew councillor Andrew Dick in the most recent council meeting of October 22, 2024.  It concerned the lighting available at Renfrew’s Ma-Te-Way ballfields.

The councillor was reflecting a certain frustration with the lighting situation at Ma-Te-Way, particularly in the face of a Parks and Recreation report that indicated that all underground electrical infrastructure outside at Ma-Te-Way was in a condition of complete failure and degradation.  So much so that contractors have advised that the lights dependant upon the proper functioning of that infrastructure not be turned on until the failed aspects of it be replaced.

Council voted to proceed with an engineering study by engineering consultants JP2G that would culminate in recommendations as to how to proceed.  The only problem with that, and of particular concern to Councillor Dick, was the fact that the engineering review wouldn’t be completed until well after the 2025 baseball season had concluded.  In other words, no lights in 2025.

Continue reading ““IT DOESN’T MATTER WHAT IT COSTS, IT’S GOTTA BE DONE.”” →

NEW COUNCIL FINDS SPOILED SANDWICH IN THE FRIDGE

It’s late October, 2022.

It’s the morning after an election win for five candidates who have successfully been selected as councillors for the Town of Renfrew.  Four of them are new to this, Councillors Dick, Cybulski, Legris, and McDonald.  The fifth, Councillor McWhirter, has served on council in the past, but this morning I’m describing here must still feel pretty good for him too.

There’s nothing quite as exhilarating as standing for office, or any other election-based position, and coming out the other end of it on top.  There’s a bit of a high attached to it.  And excitement.  Perhaps even a little bit of anxiety now that you’ve gone and put your name out there, and then won.  You’re happy, people are happy for you, your family is super happy, and proud on top of that.  It’s a cool experience.

Continue reading “NEW COUNCIL FINDS SPOILED SANDWICH IN THE FRIDGE” →

PART 2: THE APPENDICES

KEY TERMS

APPENDIX:  A document attached to a larger document or publication that contains material-in-depth in support of the broader document.  Additional information related to the topic.  (plural / appendices)

CHANGE ORDER:  A change in the terms of a contract that has already started to be implemented.  Changes contained in an order may impact the scope of the project, the cost of the project, or both.  In short, something came up that was unforeseen after the contract work started that made the terms of the contract untenable for one or both of the parties involved.  A change order will reflect the new reality of the project, and the new cost.

MOBILIZATION:  The gathering of the people and materials necessary to begin and complete a task.  Ideally with a construction project, mobilization occurs once, at the beginning.  Projects extending over two calendar years require additional mobilization, one at the beginning in Year 1, and another to start again in Year 2.  Mobilization of human and material resources costs money.  The need to duplicate it costs even more money.

KEY PEOPLE:  Andrea Bishop

Ms. Bishop is listed on the town’s website as the Manager of Engineering and Asset Management.  Yet the others present at the meeting refer to her as Acting Director, but no indication of Acting Director of what.  It may be the she has taken on the position of Eric Withers, who I believe no longer serves with the town.  If that’s the case, Ms. Bishop would be the Acting-Director of Development, Environment and Infrastructure / Deputy CAO, which admittedly, is a pretty impressive title.  I just wouldn’t want to have to stitch it onto a staff hoody because I’d likely need both sides, front and back. Or two hoodies.

I’m not sure entirely what her title may be, but I do hope to get it right so that the title accurately reflects the position held by Ms. Bishop.  So apologies in advance if I get it wrong. 

APPENDICES A TO D:  Active construction projects in the Town of Renfrew

Continue reading “PART 2: THE APPENDICES” →

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