Here, I present perhaps a macabre viewpoint to the proposed Enbridge pipeline and since Halloween is around the doorstep it may be a fitting case. I have read and understood the many viewpoints from all the media sources, whether local, regional or national and can understand the arguments presented by all sides, whether from First Nations, the Environmental Groups or caring residents of the region.

Personally, since I live at the final destination and have become a member of the unemployed I could be a little bias towards having the proposal go through. Now that just sounds completely self serving, although it would help me feed my family and retain my life in an area which I adore.

Nonetheless, I consider that my father was an avid fisherman and had introduced me to another completely different sport that I still embrace every day and they both happen to pertain to the back country outdoor lifestyle.

My father has since passed on, and I can't say whether our viewpoints would necessarily be in agreement or not.

What does however remain an issue is the fact that the world population is growing exponentially, and the demands or energy sources are depleting. This obviously won't be resolved by forest products or public awareness. For those of you think that the environmentally friendly route is an option at all, obviously still have your head in the Dark Ages or perhaps would prefer it that way. Wind, solar or tidal power will not meet our demands as consumers in this country or any other for that matter without resorting to a Dark Ages mentality. If you are reading this post you are already a part of the problem.

As it stands we have been warned so to speak and collectively it appears that it is just hearsay or rather denial amongst the general public.

In reality since the invention of the combustion engine and electricity, it will take humanity at least three times that to even consider removing it's alliance from it, that is before an alternative is developed.

The resources, of whichever kind can end abruptly or immediately. Example, locally look at what effect the Pine Beetle has created. Just a minuscule dent in reality, worse for others, yet we move on and adapt or try to.

The more I look around, the more I see that regardless of the environment the same good natured environmentalists who go and protest with placards in hand is as much as a problem as your neighbor is.

As we speak, more environmentally progressive countries are opting to meet the electrical needs of their countries by relying on a more devastating power source. I happened to stumble on a website while attempting to find a more good natured source of entertainment, and it turned out to be be a very sobering, yet captivating experience that needed to be shared.

So you will later perhaps wonder what this has to do with oil. Not much perhaps, but the Enbridge line has facilitated so much discussion about the repercussions of a line leak. Oil comes from the ground, and as a result of biology and chemistry it becomes a valuable resource for now in our daily existence, whether you realize or not it's multitude of everyday applications. While others will progressively refer to Disasters to Ecosystems resultant of the Valdez or Gulf oil spills, returning there only proves nature, biology and environment adapt over time, not immediately but eventually.

I now provide the link to a pictorial essay with a warning, eventually you will encounter graphic material, not gory just graphic. The article is a terse reminder of the risk of our alternative energy resource, in relative comparison to an oil spill and it's possible consequences.

This Blog brought me to tears in the middle of the afternoon today. I do invite feedback and encourage it, however the proper thing to do do is to supply you with my home address for mail, but since you are reading this that would be akin to cheating.

This is the link. Again I will warn you of material that may be disturbing, if you refer to the site map and wish to avoid it the heading is "mutations"

Please view the whole blog before offering a response!

http://www.angelfire.com/extreme4/kiddofspeed/index.html

I apologize to those that may have found that to be too much. However, let me ask you which event do you remember more or can you remember, a few oil spills or Chernobyl. How long will it be before you forget the Alumina Spill in Hungary?

Excessive Speeders Being Caught in P.G.

In an earlier story published by Opinion 250 this week it was stated that since the new excessive driving legislation took effect on the 20th of September, between 15 and 20 vehicles have been impounded in Prince George.

This is GREAT news and I am loving this new law.

Kinda makes me wanna drive the maximum allowable speed limit in the left lane more than ever now. And when those impatient, reckless, excessive speeding tail-gaters are on my butt I'll move over, let them ZONE ON BY and hope that the law intercepts them.

This happened one day while going up Peden Hill and after I pulled into the right hand lane the guy "tore" past me like a bat outa hell!

I smiled REAL BIG as I drove by the guy who just 30 seconds earlier would have beat me to a pulp if I hadn't of pulled over. I swear he was trying to push my car with his BIG TOUGH truck.

Ya gotta love these laws eh?

Anyone seen a Pea lately?

I love the new speeding laws and drinking and drivng laws as well.
I would love to see the penalties much harsher, but for now it is a good start.
Now if they could add the agressive driver into this mix, things would get a lot better.

Have a good and safe long weekend all.

Whatever gets the slow moes out of the way is good!

The double edge of the law. Protecting the weak while slowing the strong.

Driving is inherently dangerous at any speed. Who decided that a certain speed was the safe speed? Murder is wrong. Rape is wrong. Hurling a ton of steel down a certain road at 52km/hour is wrong while some moron with no cordination is allowed to try to light up in a 1972 POS at 99 km per hour on another road but thats okay? Did someone smart make this decision? If it was a slow moe that made this decision did they at least conduct a study first?

Dont people have a right to be in a hurry? Same right that someone has to be a slow moe. We cant run someone off the road because they are afraid to change lanes and they are turning left in 6 km. Because running someone off the road is wrong.

Mutual respect is the key. I respect slow moes right to exist. How about some respect for my right to go a little bit faster. Im not saying 150 km, just a little faster.

I believe that oil and gas is the key to the people of western Canada sustaining our quality of life a little longer.

I believe that the Kitimat river is one of the greatest places in Canada. No power boats. Very few places where you see houses or roads. 5 species of salmon.

There are very few easy answers.

Born in BC asked "How about some respect for my right to go a little bit faster" and "Dont people have a right to be in a hurry?" If by this you are saying that you have a right to exceed the posted speed limit then I say no, you don't have that right. In my opinion, no one has the right to break the law, any law, whether you agree with the law or not

After the last council meeting (thank you, Councilor Munoz) I visited the Enbridge Gateway Alliance website.

Sure enough, there are pictures of our present mayor and the one before him prominently featured as poster people who are in favour and supportive of the project as long as environmental reviews are done properly and give it the green light.

There are more pictures of other promoters.

Enbridge uses them to promote and persuade others to do the same.

new cop shop??40mill .I would think not the building they are in should last em ....time to start thinking about our own police force and send the horsemen packing.
Baffin Isle is what I was think'n,where they can watch for Russians!

BCRacer & whatthe

YES! Great comments the two of you have posted.

Why not mandatory jail time for 10km/h over the limit? That would be awesome. $10,000 dollar fines for smoking in public? Sweet! Lose your house for a backyard fire? Yippee! What a great time to be alive.

Here is an interesting item I came across. The Insurance Institute in the states has found that banning cell phone use while driving has not reduced accidents. In fact the accident rate increased 0ne to nine percent depending on the state.

What was found people are still using the phones but holding them down out of sight thus having their heads down while using the phone, being more distracted than when holding the phone up.

To the guy in the red jeep with the fancy roof rack and flag - thank you for playing wanna be cop on the Hart Highway by driving side by side with the green Explorer for the entire length of the road. I am sure it was much safer with the 50 cars you had backed up getting impatient and swerving from lane to lane trying to get by you. By impeding the flow of traffic you saved alot of lives I am sure! Since you spent more time watching your mirror than actually watching the road I can only assume this was intentional. You should be given some kind of reward! Does crimestoppers pay out for this kind of bravery? I know I personally felt alot safer sitting in the middle of that backed up pack of upset people! Thanks again!

I don't think the new cop shop would even be an issue if it weren't for the countless times city council has stuck their hands in out pockets recently without asking a single person who pays their wages or sends them to china for holidays.

zyblxteu wrote: "new cop shop??40mill .I would think not the building they are in should last em"

I read the article and saw a couple of pictures from inside the current police station today.

Seeing those, I came to the realization that we have just another case of total disregard for maintaining our built assets in this city. I do not know when they began to figure that they would be building a new building and as a result stopped maintaining the current one. From the images, it sure looks like that was some 10 to 15 and even 20 years ago.

For instance, I was involved with a project to upgrade holding cells in RCMP buildings across this province some 10 or so years ago. The local cells were not upgraded at that time for some unknown reasons. From major cities to little villages with RCMP stations haveing 2 cells, they were all brought up to standard, including removing the old style opne barred doors and replacing them with solid doors and view panels.

I just do not understand it. It looks to me as if we are living in some hick third world country.

When we fix that problem and build some sort of new facility, it needs to come with an eduction program of "how to use and maintain" .... which needs to have some instruction of the kind of money that needs to be set aside to do that every year that is not left up to the discretion of Council or even senior administrators as an option.

"Remember Preventative Maintenace" needs to be tattooed across their foreheads. It is our money that is being wasted.

Ha ha ha ha...

Hey weaksauce... now you're just talking gibberish!

Such a ridiculous attempt to justify speeding.

Gus:
It blew me away as well when I saw these cells 10 years ago and there were no upgrades. Perhaps the thinking at the time was why waste money when we're moving. But it takes 10 years just to get the ball rolling on a project like this.
Over 10 years ago, Gibsons cells were upgraded, now the buildings empty. With high occupancy locally, youda thunk it would have been done, but nope, gotta love government.
Probably the Superintendent at the time and the city didn't wanna spend money.

Am I? Why should this type of heavy handed enforcement stop with traffic laws? Just because it happens to apply to one of your pet peeves?

This BS isn't going to stop anyone from speeding. Much like the war on drugs hasn't reduced drug use & prohibition didn't stop people drinking. It's a cash grab plain & simple.

Has anyone heard anything about the Bella Coola road slides in the last week or so? I am noticing that there is nothing on the news about how the community is doing and what actions are being taken to fix the roads.

An odd black hole of information about the situation in Bella Coola don't you think??

intersting blog from kelowna ... seems that many communities have people hitting he blogs like opinion 250.

http://forums.castanet.net/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=27525

At least Castanet is designed properly.

This is what upgraded cells (in new and existing buildings) look like.

Surrey
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/_WXhIm_aIIHoX512KYZdWg

Kamloops
http://www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/RCMP+staff+including+senior+officer+accused+watching+prisoners+acts/3465725/story.html

Do people not realize their vehicles come equiped with signal lights? How many times I have had to slam on my breaks because some idiot decides to come in my lane without their signal on. Or decides to turn onto another road wihtout signaling and just about causes people to rear end eachother since we all have to slam on the breaks. Oh, and to the dizzy broad at the 4 way downtown, you had your signal to turn left and decided to go straight. Next time pay attention to what your car is doing instead of your big mouth and your unecessary finger jestures. It just showed your low mentality and ignorace. Try taking your drivers test again since we are trying to keep our roads safe from idiot drivers.

Do people not realize their vehicles come equiped with signal lights? How many times I have had to slam on my breaks because some idiot decides to come in my lane without their signal on. Or decides to turn onto another road wihtout signaling and just about causes people to rear end eachother since we all have to slam on the breaks. Oh, and to the dizzy broad at the 4 way downtown, you had your signal to turn left and decided to go straight. Next time pay attention to what your car is doing instead of your big mouth and your unecessary finger jestures. It just showed your low mentality and ignorace. Try taking your drivers test again since we are trying to keep our roads safe from idiot drivers.

Do people not realize their vehicles come equiped with signal lights? How many times I have had to slam on my breaks because some idiot decides to come in my lane without their signal on. Or decides to turn onto another road wihtout signaling and just about causes people to rear end eachother since we all have to slam on the breaks. Oh, and to the dizzy broad at the 4 way downtown, you had your signal to turn left and decided to go straight. Next time pay attention to what your car is doing instead of your big mouth and your unecessary finger jestures. It just showed your low mentality and ignorace. Try taking your drivers test again since we are trying to keep our roads safe from idiot drivers.

As for the old cop shop being in bad shape:

Has everybody forgotten Bob Vila? He would put that building back in shape, better than new, in no time at all and at less than half the cost of a new station!

Could the decider give him a call, please?

Hey PG:
The problem ain't fixin it. It won't hold the staff.
Remember, the courtroom, crown office used to be in there too. Now its all office space.
We used to have fewer officers and civilian staff. Buildings just too small. I just wish someone would get their collective heads on straight and put it right next to North District.

weaksauce

I don't have a pet peeve. YOU DO!

And you're pet peeve is that you don't want to obey the law, plain and simple.

I'm starting to think you're upset cause you're tired of getting speeding tickets. (At least I hope this is the case.)

Wow... is this what your life has come to? Meagre attempts to justify breaking the law just because other people have moral standards and adhere to them?

One day hopefully when you get older and your own body begins to slow down you'll understand that your current mindset is indeed flawed.

Until that time... make sure you're vehicle liability insurance is maxed out because it is probable that you may need it one day in the future to offset any lawsuits.

okay......

Newtech:
Well said.

Really??? An incoherent, rambling personal attack is your idea of a good post?

I'm starting to understand why you guys are so pleased with this quasi police state stuff. Disent will not be tolerated.

I think everyone should go to Iloilo and area in the Philippines. I found there the most considerate cooperative drivers I have ever seen. Maybe we should all learn to drive over there. Very few driving laws and yet people have figured it out for themselves. For the number of vehicles on the roads and the reasonable speeds they drive they have very, very few accidents.
It was a little hard to get used to. Very few people use signal lights, they use eye contact and good perception. Oh the idiots do get pulled over but you see very little of that too. Where else can you come out from underground parking and need to cross four lanes of traffic in a half a block to turn left during rush hour and have people cooperate and let you through? People pay close attention to their driving there. A bus may pass you on a highway when you are doing 80 KpH and then stop a quarter mile up ahead to load or unload with no brakes lights operating. They don't pull over either they stop right in the lane which is only eight feet wide. They don't get rearended because people are paying attention! There, drivers anticipate what others are going to do ahead and all around them. They really pay attention. Where else do drivers on the main highway slow down to let people accessing the highway enter it? Did I mention that the highway lanes are only eight feet wide? People have to pay attention to what they are doing to stay in that area. Trucks and buses are eight feet wide too. Many towns have houses and business that are only three feet away from the paved lanes. Many of their vehicles are hand built from used parts so they take care of them. They don't want to bang them up. In the city there are no lane markings for the most part. They cooperate and will put as many vehicles abreast as the road can handle, sometimes with scant inches between them. They very seldom even rub up against each other because they pay attention! I found driving there very stressful but very gratifying because everyone gets along so well at it. Buses and other traffic may be doing between 80 and 110 on a curvey hilly mountain highway and have a caribaw or a goat run out on the road. Do they hit them? No. they are always anticipating what might be on the road ahead of them. It is quite an experience there and makes one quite annoyed with the ME FIRST attitudes we find here.

Gus I agree with you on the maintenance.There are a lot of building in this town of the same vintage and seem quite fine. PGSS, royal bank building on Victoria, Inn Of the North. The issues on the news seem more from lack of maintenance.

"Hey PG:
The problem ain't fixin it. It won't hold the staff. Remember, the courtroom, crown office used to be in there too. Now its all office space."

Hey Slim:
Ever heard of adding another floor to a building? Apparently this one was built with that eventuality in mind!

Bet you that building, once empty and deserted will turn quickly into a mouldy smelly ruin while waiting for somebody with bucks to spare to buy it really, really cheap, like 5 cents on the dollar!

I agree with everyone with regards to maintenance. Built in 1972 brick building so it is only it is only 38 years old and it is falling apart, my house is older than that and well maintained. If the city (we the taxpayers) are responsible for a new building is the city then also not responsible for the upkeep of the excisting building? If so, why wasn't it done. Another waste by todays and yesterdays mayors and councils. They will just continue to dig into our pockets over and over again. I am moving to the Okanagan next year and yes the taxes are cheaper there, I checked.

It seems I am always behind the person who is afraid to turn left onto Ferry to go to the Stupidstore. If this is you or some one you know tell them for me it is NOT against the law to turn left on a green light. At least get into the intersection. What arrow? I din't even see the Indian. Ninny drivers.

I really can't help but too notice the recent posts regarding the excessive speeding and DUI related posts. Particularly the new regulations regarding DWI fines and impoundment options being considered as a cash cow.

These are most certainly a step in the right direction and we have to rely on the onus of the enforcing officer to make the appropriate and correct judgment here. Perhaps the judge, jury and executioner theme is the cause of dissent. However this option allows those that threaten our safety to be immediately removed from our roadways, this to me is a definite plus.

In the speeding scenario, the drivers being punished are the dangerously excessive speeders and is meant to target a specific age group of offenders that likely pose the most risk, in generalization that being a group much younger than the regular posters. If you aren't driving 40KM/H over the posted limit, there is no issue other than a regular speeding violation.

With the alcohol scenario, again I believe intended to make a significant impact in regards to young offenders who claim to not know better or just choose to push the matter. In reality both prove to be a significant stance in improving road safety for everyone!

Mundane arguments such as why .05 as opposed to .08 are truly the comments of chronic drunken offenders. I drink, and plenty enough to be able to understand the variations and tolerances that ones' body endures or cannot, depending on a variety of variables. Therefore I walk, take a cab or call someone for a ride. You can tell yourself otherwise and believe your myth. There are days that I shouldn't drive sober!

As for the breaking the law complaint in regards to speeding, hit and miss on that one. Slightly speeding is not CRIMINAL, however it is punishable by fines. I spend more time on the highways on a motorcycle and regularly speed, not as a matter of thrill seeking but more as survival. For one, I will immediately pass any semi or vehicle that is hauling anything, this is for my safety. Secondly, whether on a motorcycle or in a car I do not watch the speedo often as it is more dangerous to remove your eyes from the roadway. For my antics I have been fortunate enough to avoid detection, but have had some indiscreet warnings. I believe in these instances the officer clearly recognized my speeding, however realized I was not a menace.

As for courtesy on the road, passing lane hogging etc. All I can say is if you are attempting to pass someone at the posted limit and have not done so within 20 seconds, you should have never even bothered. There is more to driving our roadways than breakable laws, it has to coincide with common sense and courtesy for others.

The speed limits are too slow dilemma, another Killer concept. I wince on the speed limit topic, however it is all encompassing and based on data that proves that most drivers are idiots.

I have seen vehicles, family full, attempt to pull off the most asinine maneuvers known to man, fortunately that day someone was watching over them.

I run with one rule, Never Ever Put Someone Other Than Yourself In Danger.

Interceptor - you're bang on!
I too live up the Hart.
These dudley-do-rights that make it their mission in life to bottle-neck traffic by matching pace with the slow lane are a menace. It takes the car in the slow lane to realize the problem, speed up, so the rest of us can go around in the slow lane.
So Mr "I'm doing the speed limit" you are a problem.

I could hardly wait until this opened up today.

Hedy Fry!!!

Now she's saying that Vancouver International Airport should be renamed Terry Fox Airport.

As near as I can remember, the last time we heard from her was when she told Parliament that "crosses are being burning on the lawns in Prince George as we speak".

Remember that?

I know her suggestion got short shrift in the news media but she is an MP,entitled to the cushiest pension the world has ever seen and she's an idiot!

The Province announced funding of $500,000 to help fund an upcoming bus tour for the Cure in 2011. I think this is a lot to spend on a gas gusling bus to spread awareness of Breast Cancer,most women even Aboriginal women are aware. If this Bus was also doing screening I could see it but I do not think it is. What about awareness of Prostate Cancer in men?? I think this Bus should have more on its to do list.

PP:'
Excellent post.

As 4 Hedy [The] fry,look at where it's coming from.
Up and Down the Hart,now thats is a good one,BrainDead is the word!
Ones that kill me the most are the ones that drive beside the Rigs,they never seen a tire come a part on those not pretty if you are in the line of fire,may come thru your window-windsheild.
As for the goofball playing road hog!! I saw a guy get smacked in the head when we stopped at the lites there by chevron,he deserved it.can't fix StOpId.....

More Campbell/Liberal BS!!!
Who do these @#$%&%$@# think they are?

http://www.thecanadian.org/k2-video/item/284-betty-harriet-video

"I believe in these instances the officer clearly recognized my speeding, however realized I was not a menace"

You have got to be kidding me!

Way to many people falling off the turnip truck lately.

"I believe in these instances the officer clearly recognized my speeding, however realized I was not a menace"

You have got to be kidding me!

Way to many people falling off the turnip truck lately.

Pisspulper wroter: "Mundane arguments such as why .05 as opposed to .08 are truly the comments of chronic drunken offenders."

Boy, that's some biased statement, isn't it!!!?

Re Jj...

Your reasoning worries me, quite a bit. You put others in danger and then you try to justify your illegal actions.

So let's get to the point here!

Obviously you want to speed. That’s you’re choice. Apparently you're either in a hurry all the time or you just like to drive fast. So I just have to ask you.

Why is it that you want to speed? What’s the deal?

I’m quite interested in knowing why this is something you’re hell-bent on doing. So tell me... why must you speed all the time?

Earlier you said that "doing the speed limit" is the problem. Is this your honest opinion?

You are so far off base with this thought process that I worry for your safety. But more importantly I worry more for other people’s safety than I do for yours. Those people are the innocent victims that are killed EACH DAY from people who think just like you do. Innocent people like a childhood friend of mine (Peter) who was killed at the intersection of 5th avenue and the bypass.

Peter was a young man, just 18 years of age, who was returning home from a nightshift when a speeder killed him. Why was this particular individual speeding? It was late at night and he thought it was a safe time to speed. There were hardly any cars on the road (back in the late 70’s) and he truly felt that he wasn’t a danger to anyone. He felt as though he had picked the BEST POSSIBLE TIME to speed, and so that made it ok in his mind. But sadly it only took ONE CAR on that stretch of road that night, Peters car, to change all that.

Peter died that Friday night and the speeder lived. Obviously I’ve never had the joy of spending so much as another minute with him. That is truly, truly sad.

I’m sorry but you can’t just make up your own rules as you go along. That’s the way it is and I know you KNOW this. And YES, I agree that there are a lot of laws out there that we don't always agree with but we don’t get to over-rule them when we feel like it.

Just because you disagree with a law doesn’t mean you don’t have to abide by it, because you do. That’s the law!

It doesn’t matter what approach you try to use to justify speeding you’re still wrong. There are speed MAXIMUMS in place on our roads and we ALL have to adhere to them whether we agree with them or not. That’s the law!

Just because you disagree with our driving laws doesn’t mean you can make up your own rules as you go along, because you can’t. That’s the law!

YOU CAN’T IGNORE A LAW JUST BECAUSE YOU DISAGREE WITH IT. That’s just the way it is.

Stop rebelling against the laws you don’t like. It’s not doing you any good. It’s only making you an angry driver.

In the case of our driving laws, at least you’ll live longer if you slow down. And in the probable possibility that you continue to speed and don’t live longer, I just hope that you don’t take another “Peter” along with you.

Man I miss that guy!

Accidents happen... don't blame the rest of us for it and try to justify taking away our rights because of it. Its a slippery slope the fools ignore at their own future peril. You should read the book The Great Terror' to realize how slippery that slope can become... look at Carol James comments the other day... gezzz some people

I'd like to thank today the janitor at the Spruceland Scotia bank for finding my visa card I left behind today and alerting the proper people so I could get it back... huge relief and I'm very thankful to know there are still good people like that out there.

Who says its all about speeding... we have rights to our personal property with due process... thats what the issue is... clouding it in horrific stories will not change that.