We’ve just had a federal election. Forty per cent of Canadians are happy Stephen Harper has his majority. The other 60 per cent are not so happy, but that is the end result of ‘first past the post’ democracy. So we will have to live with the results. No big deal. I’ve personally seen this play several times in the past.
Recently I was listening to progressive radio USA. On the Thom Hartmann show there was a nuclear expert.
He stated that in the last couple of days the radiation at Fukushima had spiked to its highest level yet. Remember Fukushima? Remember the Japanese tsunami? It was further stated that it would take a further six months to a year to pass a crisies point, a disaster that could potentially be worse than Chernobyl.
However like the Gulf of Mexico Deepwater Horizon gusher where the ‘bugs’ ate all the oil in the minds of many the fuel rods at Fukushima have cooled down, the potential meltdown has passed and the terrible events in Japan can now be tucked safely into the recesses of one’s mind.
After all there has also been the royal wedding. Heck, as a once committed republican (not in the US sense) I enjoyed the spectacle – someone would have to convince me that we would be better off without a monarchy. This simply hasn’t been done.
However, elections, royal weddings, the lovely Kate Middleton shouldn’t cover the fact that disaster looms in many forms. (In the Artic sea ice is at its historical thinnest yet).
No amount of silence here is going to make things like Fukushima or the Gulf oil spill go away. Ignoring the whole matter is not good enough.
Dennis Peacock
Clearwater, B.C.
