Water, water every where

In a recently declassified document, the Canadian government has determined that even Canada is not safe from the kinds of water shortages that have plagued Australia, the Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa. Incredible that a nation covered by fresh-water lakes and glaciers should be susceptible to such problems.

Perhaps it is time to cast of the proverbial albatross from around our neck.

Thankfully and finally, our own city council here in London has banned the sales of water bottles in municipal buildings. I haven't harped on this one since my rant with Ethos water bottles at Starbucks, but maybe it's time to open up old wounds. If our government is tackling this situation in the worst possible way. First, water should not be a commodity at all. Unlike many other things on the planet (read: oil), we all must drink clean water to survive. Our government feels it is OK for soft drink manufacturers to take water from our streams--even our municipal water supply!--and then package and resell it back to us for a profit. Second, if the government is foolish enough to allow this scam to occur (which it is), the least they could do is turn some kind of profit, a kickback for allowing our natural resources to be stolen from under our noses! Makes me glad that I switched back in high school (eons ago) to drinking tap water in a bottle. (I have graduated from using old Gatorade bottles to Nalgene, and how again to stainless steel - thanks Klean Kanteen! Hopefully all of the estrogen has worked it's way out of my system...:S)

Water, water, every where,
And all the boards did shrink;
Water, water, every where,
Nor any drop to drink.
- Samuel Taylor Coleridge, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

An Ominous Silence

Visiting a friend of mine who is involved in law enforcement, the conversation drifted toward the recent attack in London of two beat cops who were swarmed when they responded to a call on the east side. At this point there was an ominous silence.... Apparently, beating on cops trying to help out a situation doesn't go over well with the other cops.

The locals are complaining of police brutality, and it may be a fair assessment that the officers involved overreacted a bit, however swarming the officers and beating him over the head with his own baton obviously does not constitute a reasonable level of response. This isn't a ghetto, it's not the 'hood. These people wouldn't last a minute if they were dumped into Compton/Watts (LA), Queensbridge (NYC), or Detroit south of 8 mile. (BTW, 8 mile is where the crime STARTS in detroit. If Marshall Mathers had been from 7 mile, there would be no Eminem, Slim Shady, or 8 mile film -- well 7 mile film, I suppose....)

I find it a little disturbing that people are trying to bring ghetto culture here, or to any fairly safe city. The culture is usually a natural (but unfortunate and sad) outgrowth of the demographics. The situation is not that bad there, don't go bringing trouble to our town.

I do recognize a few of the names involved in the situation here. It only goes to show the failure of this culture to take care of all the the various people and ethnicities that make up our city and country. I hope we can start learning to treat each other with respect. Some day....