The fat lady isn’t singing

I’ve never been too clear on what kind of opera the fiasco was and is. At times it looked like a horse opera, and at other times a soap opera. Regardless like all entertaining operas, there is one trueism that holds true - it ain’t over until the fat lady has sung, and the last sounds coming from stage right from the Friends of Upper Fort Garry via their media mouth piece Gordon Sinclair wasn’t it. Of course it now depends on what the tax payer audience is prepared to accept.

Like most of the local bloggers I provided my opinion, even to the point of sending Sinclair an email, which of course went unanswered. In fact even though it seems the Friends are anxious to turn the whole project over to the Forks Corporation, no one could be bothered even looking at the Forks site as an option for the project.

Of course now it’s out of site out of mind. But I’m still left wondering if the Friends actually ever registered as a fund raising entity, and when and if they will be providing a full accounting of the monies they supposedly raised.

There’s a lot of high profile names that promised a lot of money for the project. Perhaps I’m wrong, but I have a feeling that perhaps there might be token payments, but the full total won’t ever be turned over by the high rollers for the project.

Just as I have a feeling that those in the blogging community that expressed such a passion about the issue won’t be bothered checking to see if the high rollers make good on their public commitments. I doubt if Gordon Sinclair will do it, you see he’s already done his part as cheerleader of public opinion - the details are someone else’s job.

In the end, the taxpayers lose an opportunity to obtain some revenue from development, and the site will end up as nothing more than an extension of the commercial development that is the Forks - business with a historical theme supported by taxpayer money.

Everyone will forget about the empty promises and no one will be held accountable. In a way it’s a fitting tribute to local history, it’s what happened the last time the local natives were restless - and history will once again be allowed to repeat itself.

 

 

Signs of protest

“The lady doth protest too much, methinks.” (Hamlet  - William Shakespeare)

 

And not a drop to drink

Water water everywhere and not a drop to drink. Here’s some photo’s from the flood of ‘97. The next day the water level was to the bottom of the bridges, and it was touch and go for the next five days as there was virtually no longer any control over the floodway flows.

 

 

Build me an Ark

There are a number of versions of the decades old Bill Cosby routine on You Tube, but this is one of the shorter ones, that provides a bit of humour to help get the message across.

The last time where the routine wasn’t quite so funny was 11 years ago, when the threat of massive flood damage to our city, like that that took place in Grand Forks, was a very real possibility - despite ‘Duff’s ditch‘.

At the time many people never realized that the Canadian military along with many pieces of heavy equipment were in place to perform what would have been the last desperate act of protection, the closure and diking of all road and rail crossings over the floodway, in an effort to salvage at least parts of Winnipeg from flooding.

I suppose it was because we came within inches of that happening that focused political attention on the issue, but no doubt the fact the military was no longer going to be city residents played a part in the final decision to spend the millions to widen the floodway.

Sadly like most big dollar projects in Manitoba, this one too attracted the usual amount of petty political posturing and bickering because one special interest group or another figured they didn’t get their share of the trough feeding. But I will never understand what the true motivation was of either the Winnipeg Free Press and/or it’s reporter Aldo Santin, along with City Councillor Russ Wyatt in the original handling of the issue of the replacement of the CPR bridge over the floodway.

I have no doubt that Freep management doesn’t think that they and their reporter manufactured news instead of simply reporting it. Santin still has a job, so far I haven’t seen any sign of Gilroy’s letter to the editor which disputes their erroneous story, nor any apology and/or retraction by the Freep or Santin.

I suppose the lastest installment of the issue by Joe ‘Bow-tie’ Paraskevas - Train-parking decision put into reverse where the man in charge of the Floodway project, Ernie Gilroy is finally quoted about ’something’ is better than nothing, which is exactly the net worth of everything on the subject that came out of the mouth of Councillor Russ Wyatt - nothing.

But, but, but the statement in the story: ‘As a result of the committee’s reversal, the cost of bridge reconstruction  would jump by $19 million because the authority would have to build two detour rail bridges’, does nothing but add insult to injury.

Yes the civic committee did reverse their original decision, and likely the cost will increase by 19 M $$$ because of the alternate plan, but the real fault, if there is any, lays with the Winnipeg Free Press, Aldo Santin, and Russ Wyatt in an attempt to manufacture negative public opinion for their own purposes.

It’s something the Minister of Transport in Ottawa is aware of, along with the area’s elected provincial NDP representatives. I’m sure that politics being what it is, it won’t have a direct impact on the voters when it comes to things like funding for rapid transit, or business development, or even funding for the Upper Fort, but I suspect that it won’t be forgotten either, and there will be a political price to be paid somewhere along the line to work off that completely unnecessary 19 M $$$ that’s been added to the taxpayer - and their peace of mind..

 

 

 

A St. Patricks Day primer

The religious holiday known as St. Patrick’s Day falls on Saturday March 15th this year. It was changed by the Roman Catholic Church to avoid conflict with Holy Monday that falls this year on it’s normal date of March 17th. Of course it’s perfectly in order to celebrate it on March 14, 15, 16, and 17 if you have enough beer, friends, and relatives that like to party, or intend going to the Brier.

Here’s a video primer for some background on St Patrick. 

 

Can you here me now?

Fair is fair - I poked some fun at the Sun’s Broadbeck a while back for it, so it’s only right the Freep’s Hirst be a victim too.  Think maybe Original Pictures Inc. might want to do a co-production with Aaron Spelling Productions Inc. ?

 

Oops, almost forgot

It may not be good news to find out you have dementia, but on the plus side if you do have it you’ll probably soon forget not only the good news and the bad news, but the fact you have dementia. As for the depression, this video may not cure it, but with Easter coming and all, it might help.

 

Just one regret

In a world where we are assaulted with media reports of the tragic death in a fire of three youngster in Northern Manitoba, the mysterious death of a young French Canadian soldier in Afghanistan, the news of three woman dying in a warehouse in Quebec after the snow laden roof collapsed; a story of the passing of a pet might seem trivial.  

But you see he actually wasn’t just a pet, he was also a companion and confident who completely epitomized the sweet-tempered, intelligent, sociable traits of the Himalayan breed. He was a part of my world for eleven years, and now he’s suddenly, and unexpectedly gone, and I feel like I’ve been kicked in the guts, and need some time to grieve.

I’d like to think that he always knew and understood how much he meant to me, because he never hesitated to show how much I meant to him, in so many ways. Thank you my friend. I will miss you, and my one regret is that it was far too soon.

 

An aquired taste in music

Rock Hall of Fame welcomes Leonard Cohen

 

Absolutely priceless lawyer joke

Bar association pulls out of Taman inquiry

The Manitoba Bar Association has pulled out of the upcoming Taman Inquiry because of a lack of money to hire a lawyer, association president Mike Law said today.

The bar association, a volunteer organization that represents all lawyers, won standing at the inquiry but was denied funding by the province to hire a lawyer, Law said.

The result is the association won’t be able to represent the profession when the inquiry begins June 2.

“The public suffers from our lack of input,” Law said. “The public is served by a well-run justice system.”