Dispatches From North Of The Border

As we are gripped in cold and snow Black Walnut Lane Farm was tweeting about the farm being in the middle of the spring lambing season. It made me feel that spring really is not that far away. We are still in for more winter but soon all of us will be in the middle of April showers and then May flowers.

If you are looking for locally grown foods then I would suggest that you get yourself out to Black Walnut Lane Farm in Millgrove, Ontario and start enjoying and supporting locally grown produce.

Black Walnut Lane Farm

Local Farm Food Worth The Premium

Words have consequences! This is an understatement.

The shooting of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and the death of six other innocent individuals in Tucson, Arizona on Jan 8, 2011 must give rise to change in the United States of America. The youngest person shot and killed was Christina Taylor Green, age 9, who was ther e to witness democracy in action. There are also an unconfirmed number of others shot. Reports have numbers as high as 19 persons wounded or dead.

I would urge everyone regardless of where they live in our world to embrace Gary Hart's statement on words having consequences. The United States of America has been wounded and the fix is not more rhetoric.

Gary Hart

Scholar in Residence at the University of Colorado

Posted: January 8, 2011 04:52 PM

Words Have Consequences

Over time, political rhetoric used by politicians and the media has become more inflamatory. The degree to which violent words and phrases are considered commonplace is striking. Candidates are "targeted". An opponent is "in the crosshairs". Liberals have to be "eliminated". Opponents are "enemies". This kind of language eminates largely from those who claim to defend American democracy against those who would destroy it, who are evil, and who want to "take away our freedoms".

Today we have seen the results of this rhetoric. Those with a megaphone, whether provided by public office or a media outlet, have responsibilities. They cannot avoid the consequences of their blatant efforts to inflame, anger, and outrage. We all know that there are unstable and potentially dangerous people among us. To repeatedly appeal to their basest instincts is to invite and welcome their predictable violence.

So long as we all tolerate this kind of irresponsible and dangerous rhetoric or, in the case of some commentators, treat it with delight, reward it, and consider it cute, so long will we place all those in public life, whom the provocateurs dislike, in the crosshairs of danger.

This is carried out, and often rewarded, in the name of the Constitution, democratic rights and liberties, and patriotism is a mockery of all this nation claims to believe and almost all of us continue to struggle to preserve. America is better than this

The following was written as a response to an Oakville.com article Decision on Skateboard Park Solves Nothing

The recent Town of Oakville skateboard park relocation decision is anti-community! It flies in the face of a community with people, meeting the needs of all people as their first priority.

The Town of Oakville has become the real life setting for "The Truman Show". Beautiful, and controlled, but not for all the people of the Town. Through its governing decisions and by-laws it is attempting to sanitize our community under the mistaken catch phrase of becoming a "Livable Oakville".

Every issue that comes before this misguided council involves the sloganeering about making Oakville "livable". This is jingoism or "sloganism" at its worst. This is social engineering being done badly.

Historically, the Town, in 2008, passed the following: "Livable Oakville is the Town's new Official Plan" What is Livable Oakville?

"The Livable Oakville Plan is the first step in fleshing out the vision 'To be the most livable town in Canada'. The new plan ensures that Oakville develops into a complete community that includes:

- a full mixture of housing types to meet the changing demographics of the Town over time, including opportunities for more affordable housing types

- a broad range of employment opportunities, including office and industrial use and a variety of forms of retail uses, including historic main streets, malls and large-format stores

- an array of health and educational facilities and other institutional uses that serve the entire population

- protection of the environment and an appropriate mixture of public park and trail networks that promote active living

- a transportation system that connects Oakville to the broader region and accommodates automobiles but also promotes the use of other modes of travel including transit, cycling and walking"

Residents should see in the documents related to planning a livable Oakville, that what is missing is "people".

People don't exist in this Councils' plans or thinking and decisions made are NOT people friendly unless they are trying to please a vocal community group, or street or a ratepayer with property. These decisions are one-off people friendly decisions. The key to Councils misguided decions are property.

This Council is only interested in decisions that can procure votes from the most vocal, who are always the property owner. You cannot build a “livable community” by creating a new by-law for only the most vocal, when they demand it. Pandering to a small group creates greater community inequities and does not meet the needs of a long-term, viable and inclusive community.

My oversight of this Council (somebody needs to be some what objective) finds that more and more people and a lively community are NOT part of the planning process. This is about bricks and mortar and not about people. Decisions made are not about a lively community on the streets, people being out and active in our community, twenty-four seven. This Council is about money and power to those already empowered.

The skateboard decision is the perfect example of decisions cloaked in bureaucracy and it is anti-people. It is anti-children. It is anti-play unless you go to the outer limits of the Town. This was the case with the anti-lights policy on school playing fields. They preached NIMBYISM at every meeting.

This Council's real motto is “Sanitize Oakville” and they hide this under the guise of a "Livable Oakville".

If it moves regulate it. If people want to use parks deny them or regulate them. If businesses make good economic decisions the Council doesn't like, go to war with them. If school boards don't adhere to their thinking call them arrogant and pass more by-laws. Yet ask them to clean up goose guano from parks so people can actually use them and nothing happens.

In this case, skateboard rules are being invented as good governance. They are willing to metaphorically "euthanize" noisy children by moving them to the “nether-lands”. God forbid we should have children in our parks. God forbid we should have field lighting in our many play parks. Children and play are being banned in Oakville.

This Council continues to show the world that we are anti-business and anti-people by creating impulsive and arrogant, nonsense by-laws which will denude Oakville of any industry that is not lily white. Now they are embarked on a denuding Oakville of people on the streets and in the community.

The Town of Oakville attacks our largest employers and industries because they dare to think for themselves and not in unison with the Council under the misstated "Livable Community" philosophy. Council has in the past two years attacked Ford, the Halton Catholic District School Board and others because they have mandates different than the Truman Show agenda of the Town of Oakville.

The Council vision of the best community is one that is pure and out of site and rocks no boats. What should become apparent to thinking people is that this new philosophy is strongly anti-people.

Communities that are viable in the long term are vibrant and alive. Cettainly we are no New York City and neither is Toronto, but one just has to go to New York City and you will see neighbourhood and corner parks with playgrounds that have made the city livable again. Basketball and bocce ball till midnight or later on many corners. Places where people can go without being overly regulated.

This “sanitize and call it livable“ planning philosophy is setting the future for an unsafe and overly controlled Oakville. Planners and architects know this is counter to Jane Jacobs thinking because PEOPLE are the community.

A community is not the bricks, the streets and the by-laws and laws A community is the PEOPLE, all the people.

Out of sight is not out of mind. Council needs to change this anti-people philosophy. There are consultations but these are street theatre because Council has directed staff to make changes before second meetings. This was the case in the skateboard park decision.

Change this pandering to the whining and wealthy! This is not a philosophy it is choice.

It is a choice that in future years all the citizens of Oakville will pay a heavy price for, in our community, where people are not welcome and businesses are driven from our midst.

Massive Beijing Subway expansion plans

The Beijing Subway is one of the largest in the world. It carries over 5 million people every day, and hundreds of trains run on 228kms of track and service 147 stations. It is a feat of engineering, planning and coordination every single day. It is a network that Beijing commuters should be proud of, it represents the forward-thinking and development of the city.

Yet even the current nine lines, and the rapid expansion that took place for the 2008 Olympics, is not enough for the city’s growing needs. Local government in Beijing recently announced to Beijing news providers that the Beijing Subway would be further expanded, with an extra ten lines and an additional 333km of track.

This is a monumental undertaking, which government has slated for completion by 2015. That’s four years from now, which may seem a long time, but consider the challenges and effort that has had to be channelled into the building of the subway so far, and this has been done over the last few decades, since 1971.

It’s taken since then to create the current 228km of track, which puts in perspective the challenge the government has set itself. Essentially, the plan is to do 60% more in four years, than what was done in almost 40 years.

Much of this is possible because of new technology in construction, which has vastly improved since the 1960s (when construction on the first subway line began), as well as new finances which are available to the city of Beijing, which has grown considerably in the last few decades, in terms of both size and economic activity.

For example, the expansion of the Beijing Subway for the 2008 Olympics cost around $8 billion, which is a significant amount, but not so much when one considers the city’s financial revenues, or local GDP, which is around $100 billion. This was not the case a few decades ago, when the city was struggling through low-growth periods when revenues were as low as $10 billion.

The expansion of the subway, in a sense then, correlates to the expansion of the city, the two can’t be separated, and it’s difficult to say whether one has caused the other. In most cases though, the growth of Beijing has had to be matched by the subway, the local government is playing a constant game of catching up with the city.

By 2015, when all fifteen lines are operational, and an additional $29 billion has been spent, it is likely that the needs of the subway will still need to be readjusted. Work is unrelenting and never stops, new stations are always under construction, and new lines are always being planned and mapped out, moved to accommodate national landmarks, and then moved again to increase efficiency.

The construction of the subway has not had a solely financial cost. Thousands of construction workers are always working in the massive expansion plans, and as it is heavy mechanical work, which is often carried out underground, the dangers are real and close at hand.

There have been far too many work-related deaths in the history of the subway’s construction. Several fires have occurred at stations under construction in recent years, killing workers and badly injuring others, and while safety conditions and procedures have improved, there’s no doubt that, like the mines, the conditions in the subway’s construction need to be improved further.

This is because while the subway represents the growth of Beijing, it is also a source of national pride. It is one of the most efficient, and one of the biggest. In times of need it can also be used for national defence purposes, for the mass movement of troops and people.

The various lines of the subway, in a sense, are the arteries of the city, along with the major highways and roads. The subway carries 4.9 million people each day, while the city has a population of around 11 million, it is therefore the most utilized transport system in the country, making the price paid in terms of human and financial resources heavy, but worth it for the future of the capital city.

via Beijing.News.net http://www.beijingnews.net/digest.php

The following was sent to the Mayor of Oakville following a Planning Committee Meeting May 12, 20010.

Over regulation and planning based on vocally intense groups is not the way to build a better long Oakville. The drive-thru issue is endemic of a new need to regulate everything that "moves" in Oakville. I was very disappointed in the Planning Committee decision concerning drive-thrus today. Too many councillors are unwilling to see real needs of of an inclusive Oakville and look at a longer term need for Oakville.

In my opinion, the planning staff and their responses to questioning were callous in their comments and it appears they are not committed to a big picture Oakville. They take the direction from the council flavour of the day. It's attitude Monday afternoon was anti-business, anti-special needs and is anti-ageing .. all of these are also huge parts of our population.

Oakville is becoming a very negative place for these groups and anyone without a voice to the top.

At some point businesses, large and small will not consider locating here because Oakville blows with whatever the direction of the wind is blowing. Who can plan a long term business plan here because the Council just changes the rules to the flavour of the group that complains the most.

Oakville Council claims to speak and to plan for "stable neighbourhoods" but they do this at the expense of others as they trample their ability to be in a caring Town of Oakville by ignoring the many groups groups such as persons with disabilities, who make up a complete and caring Oakville.

Oakville needs to be a caring and supportive community not a community of special interest property owners. Stable neighbourhoods is code word for special interest groups with money and voices.

The future of Oakville is being planned now and ignoring the majority of the population will produce more fractures in the future in not building a cohesive and caring community as a whole.

I would urge you to look deeper inside and see a better and more inclusive and caring Oakville for all citizens of Oakville.