Rob's Ramblings

A recent article by Vancouver writer Chris Spanos revealed that a Canadian company, SNC-Lavalin Group , is supplying bullets to U.S. Occupation forces in Iraq. SNC-Lavalin has offices in Vancouver and is one of the contractors bidding on the RAV rapid transit line being built by translink. A recent report in the Lancet medical journal concludes that there has been an excess of 100,000 civilian deaths in Iraq since the U.S. invasion . The report's author stated that "Most individuals reportedly killed by coalition forces were women and children." It appears that SNC - Lavalin's bullets will be used to continue these blatant violations of international law. Should TransLink be doing business with a company that is complicit in International War Crimes? To become involved in the Vancouver campaign against SNC-Lavalin contact me You can contact SNC-Lavalin at info@snclavalin.com

In a recent article on the Point Grey Road bike lane, a resident of the neighbourhood referred to the "selfish action by... cyclists." I have heard this phrase more than a few times. Many of these "selfish cyclists" sacrifice the comfort of an automobile to commute many kilometers every day. Some days they face cold, wet, miserable weather. Often they risk life and limb avoiding careless motorists. All this so we can all breath cleaner air, our children won't face a future planet drastically altered by global climate change, and there are fewer carcinogens going into our lungs. Meanwhile, motorists hop into their cars to visit the corner store just a few blocks away. They add to air pollution that is estimated to shorten the life of 6,000 Canadians every year. And their nasty habit is subsidized by all of us taxpayers (Pollution Probe estimates that the subsidy is $4.77 billion in Ontario alone). So who is being selfish?