The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
The above topics are really not related, but with at least one exception are relevant in today's' upside-down world. The current flood, mainly but not totally in southern Manitoba, is providing the media with lots to speak of and write about. There is also plenty of indication that westerners helping each other is a strength in fighting the floods Ð schools closed down so students can sandbag, businesses providing free foods, rescuers being right on the job to rescue those who did not evacuate, and so on. Of course this is not unusual for people in the west. The flood danger actually caught forecasters by surprise, as expectations were that Manitobans would not be massively affected, but the huge piles of ice and the massive run-off changed the equation. Even areas of Winnipeg were/are affected in spite of "Duff's Ditch" and the $600-million-plus improvements made to the floodway. Progressive Conservative leader Hugh McFadyen's question of Gary Doer as to why the floodway gates cannot be opened more to help Winnipeggers was answered by the premier insisting that further opening of the floodway backs up water to the south, affecting these communities. This is very strange indeed and was certainly not mentioned to taxpayers when the expansion was justified. In any case, the flood is certainly the flood of this century, even if it is not as bad as the 1997 flood or the brutal one of 1950. People on the floodplain must be getting very tired of the constant flooding, and are demanding that more be done to protect the vulnerable. But is it possible? Certainly Highway 75, which is always shut down south of Morris, can be raised and changed to keep it in operation, but will it happen? Displaced By the way, the people displaced and forced to leave their homes have their hotel accommodations paid for by the province, and those whose homes are destroyed are eligible for money from the National Disaster Relief fund, with 90 per cent paid for by the federal government. Pirates, anyone? There are really pirates in today's world, and they are from Somalia, a lawless state on the coast of Africa where there is lots of ship traffic. The pirates use small speedboats to capture vessels then charge ransom to release the crew. They have done very well, making over $100 million last year and living in luxury, at least until they attacked an American ship. Don't expect them to do well now as the Americans never pay ransom and will hunt down the criminals and make them pay. In a recent one-on-one interview with CBC's Peter Mansbridge, Angus Konstam, an expert on pirates, gave a different perspective on the problem. Konstam, author of Pirates: Terror on the High Seas, noted that there has been piracy since shipping began, and it's a continuous problem, especially in areas off Africa such as the Gulf of Aden. Crews are held for ransom that is often paid by shipping companies who may consider it a cost of doing business, rather than paying for armed security, which many countries do not allow in their ports. The pirates are young, jobless and poorly educated but are making plenty of money for these criminal acts. With a weak Somalian government, lawlessness prevails and Konstam advocates dealing with the government. Unfortunately this has been tried before with no success, and instead of sympathizing with the criminals, governments should use the only thing pirates understand, which is force. They are finally getting it, as Canada, the United States and France have warships in the area and are scaring away the criminals. France has already captured a number of pirates and is taking them back to try them in court. Some say this and the use of force is the only way to solve the problem. What about Alvin and who is/was he? He was the second most popular federal politician from Saskatchewan, and the most popular agriculture minister ever, and he deserves more space, so watch for that in a future column, readers! Roger's Right Corner runs Wednesdays.
