The Squamidian Report – Apr. 14 / 07
Issue #255
Also in this issue:
The Ontarion
Hi All,
Anyone following Brian Lang’s replies, “From the shores of Lake Huron”, will remember him commenting on the special treatment afforded to the Native North Americans living in his area. In his case, he was referring to some rather bad boating practices. Brian is not alone in his observations. We have similar issues here.
I would seem there are some rather special rules for the Aboriginals. Or at least under the law there are special rules. There is a double standard in place that exempts them from following the rule of law and permits them to ignore the law whenever it is to their advantage. It also lets them enjoy reduced repercussions when facing sentencing under the law. I am not being racist or bigoted, I am simply pointing out some rather disturbing and frustrating examples of how things are done in this country.
For example, here on the Pacific coast there is obviously both commercial fishing and logging. There are two distinct groups doing both. Native and non-native. The non-natives can be and are made up from any of the other cultures and backgrounds that care to work in those industries.
The non-native logging companies must follow very strict and numerous rules and red tape in order to harvest timber from a given area. They are constantly policed by the Department of Forestry. They are required to cleanup and replant once they have done their cutting. Many people think there should be even more rules and tighter controls. That’s another topic that I’m not qualified to get into. On the other hand, the Native logging operations are virtually free to cut as they like, following few rules and leaving as much mess as they want. More profit that way. No one dares to dispute there ‘right’.
Same with fishing. The non-native commercial fishers must adhere to the letter of the law and fish only when and IF they are given clearance from the Fisheries Department. There are fishing seasons where they never even get to leave port. On the other hand, the Native fishing can and does take place when ever and where ever they like. They have no hesitation about totally wiping out a spawning run, it is their ‘right’ and no one dares dispute it.
When faced with punishment for criminal activity, they are again given lesser or more lenient sentencing. A recent example is the prison term handed to a Native youth who while drunk and driving a stolen vehicle, ran over and dragged a gas station attendant to his death. The Supreme Court Of Canada overturned the 9 year sentence, and reduced it to just over 5 years because “the presiding judge didn’t take into account the accused person’s Native background when sentencing”. Tell the parents of the kid who was dragged 7 blocks to his death that it’s not as serious because the killer is a Native.
And then there is the eagle-poaching incident of last year. Dozens of eagle carcasses turned up in and around North Vancouver, their talons, wing feathers and beaks removed. These parts bring a high price on the black market, somewhere around $2000. per bird. Until the guilty person was found, a loud and infuriated cry went out demanding the guilty party be caught and dully punished. Turned out the guilty party is a Native. His punishment was a fine of $1400, just ¾ of what he made from the sale of just one bird. No one has said a word. And the list goes on, and on. Just ask anyone who owns land that is ‘in dispute’.
*
On a much lighter note and I guess more in line with ‘entertainment’ writing, I started thinking back to a radio experience from oh, about 1970 or 71 or so, while I was writing last weeks bit about the Country station out of Calgary.
Several of us guys decided to go camping up at Sauble Beech one hot summer weekend. I think the others drove up in a beat up old car, I think I rode up on my ’69 Enfield. Anyway, we got a camp spot in one of those campgrounds a click of so away form the beach and set up the tent. The campground was full of kids our age so it was a bit noisy to say the least. As evening fell a strange thing happened. There was a radio station across the lake over in Michigan I guess, that everyone was tuned into. It was playing all the latest greatest hits and the biggest hit of them all at the time was by the Bee Gee’s, called ‘Gotta Get A Message To You’. Because it was such a big hit, they seemed to be playing it about every third of fourth song. And because every single radio in the campground was tuned to that station, the campground became one giant radio speaker system.
With each playing of the song, radios were turned up louder and louder. The incredible harmony of that band would ring though the trees and vibrate the tent lines. All the campers would become quiet as they listened. It was probably the coolest camping experience I’ve ever had. Mind you, I’ve only camped about 3 times in my life but you get my drift. One other thing I just remembered about that time. One of the guys, Roger, got so sloshed that he couldn’t get up out of the ditch between the tent and the road so he simply laid there and requested any passerby’s to kindly not step on him. I don’t recall Paul or I rendering him much assistance. That’s just how guys are.
doug
****
****
Hello
everyone!
Well, the
weather isn’t in any hurry to get warmer around these parts. I’m beginning to
wonder if this isn’t what the rest of the summer will be like? Hmmm?
I sure
hope not! LOL! Guess I’ll just have to try to keep my chin up and remain
optimistic. I did get one nice 20+ degree day two weeks ago to ride the
motorcycle around for the afternoon. I guess it’s probably my fault for pushing
the envelope with regards to motorcycling and am likely to blame for jinxing
the onset of summer. LOL! I’m not really superstitious so I can’t and won’t
take the blame for the above mentioned jinxing! Hahahaaa….! The heat will come
and this delay will be a thing of the past soon I’m sure. Speaking of motorcycles,
the semi annual occurrence of the “Biker” day at Port Dover (Done every Friday
13th) still went ahead today to spite the cold weather. Although
they had over 10,000 bikes in town I guess they didn’t have the turnout they
usually have. However the police were still on the roads to Port Dover checking
the ID’s of the riders heading into the Lake Erie town. I think Adam and I will
wait till the 13th of July this summer to make the trek to Dover.
It’ll be our first participation in this event and we’re looking forward to
seeing all the different motorcycles that show up. The other good thing that
comes from a visit to Port Dover is the availability of those famous Perch
dinners they offer in the local eateries. Although it’s almost impossible to
get in to the restaurants when there are that many people in town. We’ll
probably have to stop at McDonald’s on the ride home instead. LOL!
*
Back in
January, for my birthday, Carole gave me a pair of tickets to see the now
famous Il Divo in concert at the John Labbatt Centre in London. The show was
last night and we thoroughly enjoyed it! We left home around 3:30 pm and
arrived in London at 5pm. We decided to park at the Centre and walk to a nearby
restaurant. We finally found an opening at the local Chineese Buffet. Although
they were busy, there were still lots of tables to be had. We enjoyed the meal
and by the time we got back to Labbatt’s Centre it was time to enter and take
our seats. Although we were a fair distance back from the stage in this huge
hockey arena we had perfect seats. They had a huge video screen behind the
stage that showed the 4 Tenor singers with great detail. Our seats were in the
hundred dollar range and those on the floor were considerably more. With 15,000
people in attendance they made a hefty 1.5 million on the gate alone. That’s
only taking $100.00 as an average seat price. I’m sure they pulled in a little
more than that. With a 20 piece orchestra the sound was amazing no matter where
you sat. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Il Divo, they are four guys
in their 30’s I would say, that have amazing tenor voices. They were put
together by music producer Simon Cowel of “American Idol” TV show fame. They
were started in London England about 3 years ago and are now world famous. Even
if you aren’t a fan of classical music, you would be amazed at the voices of
these men. The audience was probably 2/3 women and it was like being back at a
concert when in my teens with all the shrieking and screaming and carrying on
they were doing. The woman beside me was screaming about ever 10 seconds as if
the four guys on stage could hear her and respond. I finally had to turn
slightly her way and give one of my ear busting whistles to kinda get back at
her a little. She still continued her screaming but not quite so often after
she recovered her hearing. I guess when it comes right down to it she paid the
same as I did for her seat so she’s entitled to scream till she’s mute if she
wanted to. It’s just a little annoying when you’re trying to hear the concert.
There were women by the hundreds storming the front of the stage for autographs
and handing these guys flowers and teddy bears. They were like a bunch of
school girls at a 60’s Beatle’s concert. The concert went on from 7:30 pm to
10:30 pm with Il Divo performing for the last two hours steady. The evening was
truly an enjoyable time despite the screaming and it was something you don’t
often get to experience. For those of you who do like that sort of music I
recommend you go hear them if you get a chance. The only criticism we both had
was that very few of the songs they sang were in English. The majority was in
Italian and it would have been nice to understand the words.
With that
under our belts, we’re now looking for another concert to attend in the near
future.
Guess
that’s it for this week. Thanks for tuning in and I look forward to talking to
you all again next time in The Ontarion Report!
Bye for now… GREG.
PS:
Something To Think About>
People
who live in glass houses should undress in the basement.
****
The Family and the Squamidian sites:
http://members.shaw.ca/doug_b/ and http://www.thedougsite.ca
Have a good one..
the
doug
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