FURTHER TO CORRUPT MUNICIPAL RESPONSE TO EXPLOSIVE METHANE

Back on September 15/17 I posted here about the status of two Delegations I had presented to Woolwich Council regarding explosive levels of methane gas in the sub-surface of the Bolender Park Landfill in Elmira, Ontario . The two Delegations were August 1 and August 22/17. I had been advised that on September 19 there would be a "Review" of my second Delegation (Aug. 22/17) presented to Woolwich Council. GHD the new owners of Conestoga Rovers (CRA), who wrote the original ten reports, indeed presented their ten page report to Council. It was a crock. They basically had nothing but deflections, irrelevancies and stickhandling in an attempt to undermine my comments and criticism of the ten CRA landfill reports written between 1983 and 2016.

Think about this carefully. I believe that Woolwich Council indicated that they had spent $6,000 of taxpayers money on a "Review" of my critique of ten CRA reports, by the new owners of CRA. Exactly how likely is that they would either criticize their new colleagues from CRA or criticize their clients (Woolwich Township) for their negligence in not following a couple of very serious recommendations that they made. You guessed it, they did not. They simply huffed and puffed and blew a lot of smoke.

Since then I've had a third and a fourth Delegation and the third listed several published scientific reports in regards to landfill gas methodologies and procedures, all of which CRA appeared unfamiliar with. The fourth was a critique of GHD's "Review" and I focused on their false statements that the gas collection system had been running from 1984 until 2015. This I debunked via direct quotes from CRA reports in 1998 and 2007. Council for whatever reason are in full coverup and denial mode. Let's see if we can discover the reasons why.

SECRET REPORT ABOUT TRUSTEE INFIGHTING

It'a all music to my ears. It tells me that the Waterloo Region District School Board still haven't got their act together. This article was in the K-W Record way back at the start of this month, namely September 2, 2017. It was written by Jeff Outhit and is titled "Secret report exposes trustee feuding". Well I suggest it exposes a lot more than that. Trustee Cindy Watson, from Cambridge and one of the good ones decided to send a little message. She had been kangaroo courted by her fellow trustees back in 2012. her "crime" was in failing to automatically defend a staff member who had been criticized by a parent. Oh boo hoo our overpaid and under accountable teachers need and expect to be defended by their union, their colleagues, trustees and anyone else just because a parent criticizes them? While trustees can't assume anything off the bat they are not there just to be cheerleaders for Board staff. They are there to look at the facts and if criticism is unwarranted to say so and if clearly warranted to try and do something about the problem. Any ridiculous Code of Conduct demanding Trustees automatically back staff needs to be turfed along with each and every idiot who backed that self-serving drivel disguised as a Code of Conduct.

THE VIETNAM WAR DOCUMENTARY CURRENTLY ON PBS

Mass lying and deception by American federal politicians of U.S. citizens. That is a huge part of the takeaway I've gotten while following this lengthy series on Channel 61 (PBS). Another aspect is the propaganda. The propaganda was that the war was all about U.S. values of freedom and democracy versus those dirty, left-wing, anti-democratic, anti-freedom Communist expansionists. Wow! hard to disagree with that if it had been true. The reality is that expansionists is just another word for colonial powers and which countries do you think historically have been the biggest and baddest colonial powers? let's see, how about Britain, France, Spain and you've got it the United States of America. U.S. interventionism has included forays into Cuba, Chile, Grenada, Panama, Nicaurogua, Canada (1812-14), Mexico, Iraq, Vietnam, Afghanistan ... ahh hell you get the picture.

The French vacated Vietnam under duress from Ho Chi Minh and supporters. At first the U.S. and Ho Chi Minh appeared to be of like mind. The Vietnamese had overthrown both the Japanese and the French and all they wanted was to rule thier own country. Democratic elections had been scheduled after a temporary split only of the north from the south. Despite the corruption of the Diem regieme in South Vietnam, the U.S. backed them and went along with cancelling the elections because it was apparent that Ho Chi Minh would win any fair election in Vietnam due to his stature and history of fighting both the Japanese and the French. The U.S. once again backed the wrong horse in so many different ways.

Back in the U.S. it became all about ego and face saving for U.S. presidents and politicians. Yes the "kill ratio" may have been ten to one in favour of the U.S. over the Viet Cong in South Vietnam and the North Vietnamese regular army. That said the north were fighting to preserve and unite their country while the south were fighting for a corrupt, self -serving regieme. Both groups however were cruel and brutal both against their internal opponents and against their own citizens.

It was a mess that never needed nor was improved by the U.S. propping up the South Vietnam government. Rough estimates had 50,000 U.S. soldiers killed, 100,000 South Vietnamese army killed and possibly 200,000-400,000 North Vietnamese and Viet Cong killed. Then there was the "collateral" damage. The civilians on both sides of the border bore the brunt of bombing, strafing and being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Last evening's (Wed. Sept. 27/17) 8th part of the series stated that in total 2,000,000 Vietnamese died, presumably north and south, civilians and fighters.

Throughout it all U.S. politicians never stopped lying to their own citizens. How exactly that preserved American ideals of peace, justice, freedom and democracy is beyond me.

OTHER THAN FOR LEGITIMATE NATIONAL SECURITY REASONS SHOULD POLITICIANS BE PROSCRIBED BY LAW FROM LYING?

For me the answer to the question is obvious. While we might think that lying politicians get found out it's amazing how seldom it actually occurs. There are probably strategies and workshops if not books on how to get away with lying, from little things to billion dollar lies. The only reason our politicians at all levels do it is because they are confident they won't be found out and if they are then simply more lies can be told to put a different spin on things. Finally if there is no getting away from it then a heartfelt or heart wrenching public mea culpa usually puts things to rest. After that it's back to business but just don't repeat the same lies that you did get caught on.

Our municipal Council here in Elmira, Ontario and probably most others have no compunctions against the most brazen lies. The more they tell and get away with, the bolder they get. Even if they get called on them they seem willing to keep pushing the envelope. Part of it is the attitude that truth or falsehood isn't the issue. The issue is whether the majority of citizens believe the liars (the politicians) or whether they believe the whistleblowers. Hence even if 10 to 20 percent of the people believe the whistleblower, most politicians believe they've scored another victory.

Logic and commonsense aren't enough to bring down a lying politician. Neither are facts. For that matter neither is a smoking gun unless some other authority examines the smoking gun and pronounces the guilt of the lying politicians. The other alternative is if the facts do not require scientific or other professional corroboration. The reason is that the bad guys can and do employ their own hired guns. Then you end up with one expert saying this and another saying that.

These above comments are specifically in relation to Woolwich Council's stance on methane problems at the Bolender Park Landfill here in Elmira, Ontario. They are lying and deceiving the general public as well as the residents in close proximity to the landfill. They believe that holding a united front is the best defence against the truth. Often it works that way. We will see.

THE EDUCATION SCAM CONTINUES ON

Oh the power! The control and the ability to bend literally millions of people to your will. That's what politics is all about. Please spare me the shit about "serving" the public. Spare me the shit about doing what's best for the public interest. Politicians are simply egotistical, pathological liars in general. I love the saying that it's not fair to brand all politicians as shits just because 95% of them are exactly that.

Today's Waterloo Region Record carries the following Opinion from Luisa D'Amato: "All-day kindergarten is just more expensive snake oil from Queen's Park". That's pretty a strong opinion considering the costs involved as well as how strongly we cherish our children. Any government action regarding children must always be carefully scrutinized including through the prism that governments are inherently self-serving.

Luisa makes a very strong case based upon the standardized literacy and math examinations given to Grade 3 and Grade 6 students across Ontario. While all day kindergarten started in 2010 in parts of the province, it turns out that those students receiving it have done no better than the ones who did not. Apparently the positive learning effects are short lived and do not last past Grade 2. In other words the $1.5 Billion dollars per year for full day kindergarten has been a complete waste of money.

It was all about branding the Liberals once again as the education government. It was all about cheap day care sooner albeit more expensively for parents. It was all about getting elected again and again regardless of the merit of their programs. Good God.

DOES THIS QUALIFY AS MUNICIPAL CORRUPTION?

Woolwich Township: such a sad history of individuals working for their own interests versus those of the public. The only difference between a democracy and a totalitarian regieme is that politicians in democracies at least have to pretend that they are working in the public interest.

Nearly seven weeks ago I brought my first of three Delegations to Woolwich Council. The first was August 1, the second August 22/17. To date I have not received any formal feedback about my concerns with methane gas intruding into homes or businesses nearby. As is my practice I had done some research prior to my first Delegation. I obtained indirectly ten consultant's reports hired by Woolwich Township concerning methane monitoring and collection in the Bolender Park Landfill. I have since delivered three significantly different written and oral Delegations to Council. My comments and criticisms are clear, specific and documented.

I was advised by Sandy Shantz (alleged mayor) by e-mail that the consultants Conestoga Rovers (GHD) in conjunction with Woolwich Staff have produced a review of my August 22/17 Delegation. It was completed two weeks ago and has been denied to me so far. Sandy advises me that a staff report will be made to Council this Tuesday and allegedly I will receive it today.

Soooo let me get this straight. I have written and spoken about multiple clear and blatant failures of Conestoga Rovers "investigation" and monitoring of the Bolender Park Landfill and what I will be receiving is a Woolwich staff report of a review done by the possibly incompetent consultant and his client (Township) who appear to have no idea what they are doing. Wow! That really is way beyond disappointing. Is that naivety, incompetence or semi-professional political scheming and gamesmanship? If it is the latter, does that qualify as a form of corruption? You the reader decide.

PETTY, BUREAUCRATIC U.S. JUSTICE SYSTEM

On August 25/17 the Waterloo Region Record published the following article titled "U.S. seeking enforcement of judgement against Khadr". Fortunately for Mr. Khadr both the Supreme Court of Canada as well as the Canadian government have publicly stated that Khadr's detention and prosecution in the U.S. offended our most basic values and principles. The military commission which prosecuted him has long been reviled by those knowledgeable in jurisprudence. Similarly his detention as a child soldier for years in inhumane conditions at Guantaunamo Bay (Cuba) prior to his trial also cast disrepute upon the entire legal process. It is to be hoped that the families of two American servicemen wake up, shake their heads and realize that assaults on enemy compounds by Americans during wartime can and does result in injuries and fatalities. It is called war not peace. Enemy combatants, whether Khadr was or wasn't, do not get charged for fighting back while under attack. The entire legal process was ridiculous and simply one more case of the victor writing history after the fact.

GENERAL ELECTRIC EXPOSES THOUSANDS TO TOXIC CHEMICALS THEN ABANDONS PETERBOROUGH FOR SUNNIER ENVIRONMENTAL AND COST CLIMATE

G.E. has been in Peterborough for 125 years. At one time in the 1960s they had 6,500 employees working at the plant. Now they are advising their 358 employees that other than the engineering department they are closing shop and sending production to Mexico. All hail free trade. Free trade means never having to say your sorry for killing off your employees with work place hazards and toxins.

A lengthy report conducted by researchers hired by the union found more than 3,000 chemicals had been used between 1945 and 2000. Employees both retired and still working have long complained of serious health issues including multiple cancers. Many of their diseases have been linked to toxic chemical exposure. The Canadian Press carried this story regarding the plant closing on August 25, 2017.

MORE EDUCATIONAL GAMESMANSHIP

Today's Waterloo Region Record has an absolutely excellent Editorial by the Record. It is titled "Don't gut provincial tests". It puts the failures in our educational system squarely where they should be. Yes the province are in charge of education but they have passed that responsibility down to local school boards throughout the province. They have made a mess of things while taking very good care of all the players in the system except of course the students. Teachers, their unions ,bureaucrats and administrators have done really well by the school system. Unfortunately all that love and attention somehow hasn't trickled down to the most vulnerable and those for whom the system was supposed to have been built. Keep in mind that while the Liberals may own the last fourteen years the problems have been much longer in the making than that.

Now both the governing Liberals and the school boards think they've discovered the problem. It's those damn, pesky tests administered to Grade 3, 6 and 9 students that are the problem. Students en masse are not achieving provincial standards. Math is worse than English although that's not saying much. Among other problems are that math teachers apparently aren't very good in mathematics themselves. Seems as if teaching was a safe location for them. Personally I've seen a couple of pathetic public school English teachers. It's not that they were particularly bad teachers, it's that they were particularly bad in English skills. What a way to run a railroad folks. As I said it took a lot of stupidity and a minimum of common sense to get into this mess. Way to go Waterloo Region District School Board and all the rest of like minded boards across this province.

ONTARIO MATH SCORES IN THE TOILET

What I don't understand is how anybody is surprised by the results of math and english testing in our public schools. Literally for decades governments have kept hands off while teachers, trustees and school boards did their utmost to improve the lot of trustees, taechers and school boards. Do you see any mention of student learning in those previous two sentences. Teachers unions especially at the elementary level, combined with Board bureaucracy have worked hard to keep themselves unaccountable and non-tramsparent. it has worked beautifully - for them that is. Never has so much tax money gone into such mediocre results while keeping parents sucessfully at bay and governments generally looking the other way.

On August 31, 2017 the Waterloo Region Record published the following story titled "Math test scores "disappointing". Mary Reid of the University of Toronto stated that math proficiency tests must be made mandatory for elementary school teachers. This is because these teachers struggle with basic math skills which obviously affects their teaching and thus their students' learning. Oh surprise, surprise! Don't be surprised if the union insisting on layoffs by seniority instead of by either competence or abilities in particular subjects such as math is also a strong factor. Exactly how many teachers kept their jobs teaching math which they themselves furiously dropped as fast as they could when they got to high school? Remember education isn't about common sense. It's about privelege, power, status and authority that most could not get in other fields. Our provincial governments have done little over the decades to improve things.

REGION OF WATERLOO FURTHER ATTEMPTS AT APPEARING GREEN

The August 31, 2017 Waterloo Region Record carried the following Opinion piece by Peter Shawn Taylor titled "Water-softener plan money down the drain?". Well I don't always agree with his opinions I do find that his comments regarding governments' motivations and oftentimes bizarre directions to be educational. Mr. Taylor uses as examples things like the plethora of unnecessary roundabouts, Byzantine outdoor watering restrictions, punitive garbage rules and finally the massive debt and dislocation of the LRT (light rail transit).

There is a new water softening technology called TAC or template assisted crystallization. Mr. Taylor suggests that while there are definite positives to this technology as it would greatly reduce the use of salt and hence help our waterways and groundwater there are also major negatives. He finds that the Region's attempts to persuade or force consumers down a route that they are either not happy with or prepared to follow is one more waste of time and money. He basically suggests that government subsidized directions artificially increase the uses government favours but only until the subsidies end. then consumers will make their own choices and just like electric cars are far more likely to go back to using salt to soften their water. Hence this whole plan is likely to be simply "money down a watery drain.".

THE REALITY ABOUT TRUSTEE INFIGHTING

Luisa D'Amato's Opinion column in today's Waterloo Region Record is titled "Trustees have one last chance to get it right". Luisa has been writing about our local school boards for as long as I can remember. She has been professional but blunt and indeed scathing at times. It appears as if little has changed since my run in with the Waterloo Region District School Board and their majority of lapdogs pretending to be trustees.

I found senior administrative staff at the Board back in the late 90s to be disgusting. They were nothing if not blindly loyal to the teachers and their unions. They were not interested in either the truth or in trying to solve serious problems with bad apple teachers in their employ. Obviously the Ron Archer case was an extreme one but one which shines a spotlight on the internal protectionism and non accountability of teachers, much less the school board itself.

Luisa refers to the Code of conduct as thoroughly undemocratic. She also refers to trustees sitting in judgement of their fellow trustees as a "kangaroo court". She is right on both counts but what is the real reason behind their animosity? At the moment trustees can't hold any staff or teachers accountable when they are liable to censure under the idiotic Code of Conduct just for listening to criticism of staff and then not immediately challenging that criticism. That is nuts. Similarly trustees are not allowed to keep Board staff and administrators on the straight and narrow because trustees are prohibited from criticizing anything they do even when student achievement is in the toilet.

The problem in my opinion isn't trustee infighting. Thank God they are fighting because otherwise the majority of trustees who go along with these asinine Codes of Conduct and asinine rules forcing trustees to always speak glowingly about Board staff and administrators would have absolute free rein to continue the WRDSB's long history of self congratulation, back patting, puffery and putting teachers' unions and staff miles ahead of students' and parents' interests.