Month: June 2022

America Triggered the Ukraine War?

June 23, 2022

I thought I could get a balanced view of news by listening to TV anchors and reading columnists from both the left and the right. I wrote a blog on this a few months ago. That was my thinking until I received an article from my cousin Tamas, who is in Vienna. He sent me an article presenting a scholarly view of the origin of the Ukraine war. The argument floored me.

You thought Russia started the war, right? Russia was massing its military for months on the Ukraine border before attacking. And remember, Russia occupied Crimea in 2014, so this war was a continuation of their aim to gain more territory. But no. Hungarian economist Karoly Lorant explains in an article in the conservative Hungarian daily Magyar Hirlap, that the war started way back in 1998 when the Americans passed a resolution to expand NATO, which President Clinton called a major foreign policy victory.

Going further back, Secretary of State James Baker told Gorbachev that if Germany as a whole could be a member of NATO, “NATO forces would not be extended as much as an inch to the east.” This was at a meeting at the Kremlin on February 9, 1990.

The world situation changed entirely when the Soviet Union disintegrated in 1991, and fifteen independent states emerged. According to Lorant, one result was the Americans had begun to support the expansion of NATO and talked about a unipolar world, with the US being the global force.

Lorant cites events supporting the expansion of NATO via the “Partnership for Peace Program” to cooperate with and encourage the democratization of Eastern European countries (many belonged to the former Soviet Union).

National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski wrote a book “The Gand Chessboard” (1997) in which he explained that Belorussia and Ukraine were an important part of Russia, without which Russia was a weak country. Lorant’s thesis is that, with the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Russia has lost its power, particularly considering the loss of Belorussia and Ukraine. While the Russians were losing ground, the Americans were intent on expanding NATO.

According to Lorant, the Russians have been pushed back since the 1990s and, from their point of view, the situation had become untenable. No surprise that in January 2022, in Geneva, the Russians wanted the Americans to guarantee that Ukraine does not become a member of NATO. The Americans refused the request. So Lorant concludes that the continuous squeezing of Russia since the 1990s has created the condition for the war and the primary culprit is the US.

Although the facts may be true, I do not buy for a minute the conclusions Lorant draws from them. Russia is the transgressor in the Ukraine war; it is an unprovoked war (even Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, the right-wing leader of Hungary called Russia the aggressor in his speech on May 16, 2022). Ukraine did not invite the Russians to come in to help, unlike in the Cuban missile crisis (which, some people think, is comparable to the Ukraine situation), when Fidel Castro invited the Russians. Zelenski, the President of Ukraine, was elected democratically, and he did not invite the Russians to come into the country.

Second, the concept of territorial influence, that Russia has influence by right over Ukraine, or that historically Ukraine belongs to Russia, is not convincing today. That doctrine may have held water in the past, but now independent countries have the right to self-determination. In contrast to the Russian aim to recover lost territories, European countries have not gone back to their colonies trying to recover their lost territories.

Third, I think influence shows through technology and industrialization today and less via military action. The last time we visited Hungary, I expressed my surprise to Tamas at the high level of foreign ownership of grocery stores and banks. He explained foreign countries took over Hungary without a single life being lost by taking ownership of industry after Hungary declared independence in 1989 and the Soviets left the country in 1991.

For example, the spread of the iconic iPhone and Facebook has probably created more sustainable influence in countries where they are used than military action could ever provide. That is why brute military might with tanks appears old-fashioned to me and a losing idea in the long run. I thought that by using their natural resources and closer cooperation with the old Soviet satellite states, Russia could have established a successful industrial block. But, no; instead, they invaded a country with brute force.

And now I gather from Mr. Lorant’s scholarship that it was the US that triggered the war after continuous attempts to promote NATO and squeeze Russia until Russia saw no option but to invade Ukraine to regain its former territory.

So I learned that besides reading the full spectrum of left-to-right opinions in the west, which I thought would give me a balanced view, I should also read pro-Russian views, such as Lorant’s article, (based on excellent scholarship), that may substantially differ from our western view. That does not mean that Mr. Lorant changed my mind; he outlined a historical context that is interesting but irrelevant today. Just my opinion.

Spring Cleanup in the Yard and Thoughts

June 17, 2022

I was cutting grass on our front lawn for the third time in early June after having fertilized the lawn a few weeks before and even planted clover to cover up bald spots when suddenly I thought about how our seasons affect yard work. And, that thought led me to ask: do I enjoy yard work? Do I do enough of it to get the garden I want? Or, am I getting bored with it or perhaps not being able to maintain it? We have four distinct seasons in Ottawa, each with an impact on the work in our yard.

In the winter, there is snow cover, cold temperatures down to the minus twenties centigrade, and short days with six hours of daylight. There is no reason or wish to spend time in our yard beyond clearing the driveway after snow storms.

 It takes a month for the snow to melt in the spring, during which the yard is slushy and dirty from air pollution and the detritus from the fast-food places a block away from us. The yard is ugly in March; the worst month for many people who choose to travel south to avoid it.

But the snowmelt brings in Spring, with a positive, uplifting feeling to it: nature regenerates itself and I look forward to seeing green grass again. And the days are getting longer with temperature breaking through zero centigrade. By the end of March, I get energized seeing bare spots in the snow and get out to rake up the grass from its horizontal position into which the snow pushed it and gather the garbage settled on the lawn after the winter months.

Snow covers our backyard longer than the front. It is in the shade. By shoveling the snow off the deck and breaking up the ice, I feel I hurry the melting process.

By mid-April, the temperature rises into the teens and I do a thorough clean-up of the yard from the garbage, food wrappers, and bottles thrown or blown onto the lawn. Gray dust settles on the lawn once the snow is melted, from air pollution and the winter snow-clearing operation along the street that throws the snow onto the lawn.

By the end of April, I uncover the garden equipment/furniture and the air-conditioner and put the tarps I used to wrap up the lawnmower and chairs and tables in the backyard into a storage box. My positive feelings are reinforced by firing up the BBQ for the first time in the year. It is always fun to cook burgers outdoors for the first time in the season.

My enthusiasm ebbs when the weeds come up. Especially when I fertilize the lawn and, a few weeks later, notice dandelions growing. It is harder to control weeds now since they did away with DDT.

The perennials come back each year with a vengeance, especially the hostas. The planting of annuals belongs to Kathy, and we have the traditional geraniums each year with the spiky plant in the middle in our large pots. I also bring out the hoses from under the deck where I store them each year in the Fall and attach them to various spigots to water the flowers.

Then we have the special tasks: this year Kathy put a fresh coat of oil on the expansive decks I build decades ago. The pressure washer is used to clean the stone patio from the winter dust. It is amazing how white and clean the patio stones shine after a thorough cleaning.

By the end of May, the weather gets hot and a hard day’s work in the yard has its reward of having a cool beer in hand. When combined with a BBQ, the Spring cleanup of the yard becomes memorable.

The summers can be hot, temperatures rising to the mid-thirties centigrade. The good thing is that the yard needs mostly maintenance, such as grass cutting, weeding, and trimming. We don’t get a lot of rain, so we have to sprinkle to maintain the grass and plants. And the flowers suffer when water rationing is introduced.

In the fall, we enjoy the vivid colors in the yard without the bugs, mosquitoes, or bees to bother us. And the annual rotation of work starts again by raking the falling leaves altho grass grows much more slowly not requiring weekly cuts. We end up storing the outdoor equipment and covering up the garden furniture before the first snowfall.

What caused me to think through the work involved in having a garden or a yard is: are we still enjoying and able to do the work involved in having a yard? Because if it is becoming too much or boring, there are two options: hire people to do the work or move into a condo where the outside work is performed by the condo corporation.

Although you could work every day in the yard, we do not. We have a friend who spends a couple of hours each day tending to his small but beautifully coiffed garden. I like the natural look and our yard looks a bit overgrown and I compare it to a jungle sometimes. But I like it bushy. Our yard work is manageable and extends mostly during the spring and the fall. The summer is maintenance and there is nothing to do during the winter except snow-clearing the driveway. Thinking about it, I have concluded the work is enjoyable even if hard sometimes and the “beer in the hand” after a hard day’s work makes up for the trouble of having the yard.

Are Public Consultations Useful?

June 11, 2022

Are Public Consultations Useful?

Responding to an ad in the local community newsletter, I registered for a virtual meeting to discuss the future of Confederation Heights, an Ottawa employment hub for the federal government. The ad caught my attention, having been a city planner. Reading the ad, I realized this was the second meeting on this, aimed at getting public feedback.

The Canada Lands Company (CLC) was the lead on this project and hired consultants to carry out the work.

Before joining the second meeting, I read a detailed report: the consultants prepared a summary of the discussion at the first zoom meeting entitled “Realize the potential”. I describe the “key themes” gleaned from the meeting further down.

I looked forward to the zoom meeting with interest: they built Confederation Heights in the 1950s and it is time to reevaluate the aging buildings and sprawling parklands with an eye for improvements and future development (the Greber plan of 1949 recommended the idea of an employment hub). Several of the original buildings, built in the 1950s, have received heritage designations, on this 640-acre site.

The site today includes two extensive parks managed by the National Capital Commission, a recreation complex run by federal employees, the Headquarters for Canada Post, and several federal office buildings, some empty. Three four-lane thoroughfares cross the site, as well as a CN railway line.

The meeting started with the speaker acknowledging the Algonquin Anishinabe people, for having lived in the area for a millennium, and for their cultural and other contributions to the Ottawa area. I’ll have to do some research to find out what these contributions are. I am not aware of any.

Government agencies in Ottawa start public meetings with this introduction. I have experienced this in the past few months. In my opinion, it is a cruel hoax that raises expectations but is unlikely to result in anything material for the natives. But the artificiality of this hollow gesture pains me.

Since this was a presentation by federal government officials, the meeting had to be bilingual. I knew that from my previous work in the federal bureaucracy. But the interpretation services failed occasionally, and we had to listen to the English and then to the French speeches covering the same subjects.

The consultants began by describing the multi-year process to develop a plan for the next thirty years. I have trouble with long-range plans, which seldom produce the results desired. Many unanticipated events may interfere. Long-range plans should provide broad options, adaptable to future changes. I look forward to seeing the final product in a year.

The consultants also explained the site has many uses that will not change. The parks will stay and the RA Center and its playing fields are likely to stay along with the designated heritage buildings, which may be renovated for new uses.

Major city roads occupying extensive areas, crisscrossing the site with many access ramps, will have to remain. They will also preserve woodlots. Potential new buildings will have to blend into the roadwork, the woodlots, and the heritage buildings, a creative challenge for architects.

So what were the “key themes” derived from the first public engagement exercise that will guide the future development? The first theme was “mix of use, i.e.., shopping, housing, open spaces/parks, community amenities”. But is not mixed-use what you have in all cities, excluding suburbs? This is the reality of most large-scale urban development today.

The second highest priority theme was “sustainability”. What does that mean? Is it related to the woodlots that may house wildlife? Is there more to “sustainability”?

The next theme was “housing affordability and active mobility”. Would you define housing affordability? My interpretation of affordability is that housing prices are too high for the average income earner. But I am not sure urban planning is as suitable to deal with housing affordability, whatever it is, as government subsidy programs. And active mobility refers to bicycle and walking paths; most communities wish to have those.

The next two “themes” were “making public transit a priority” and “high-quality urban design”. Are these unique objectives or are these, really, objectives that should be taken for granted? Some people with cars may not consider public transit a priority. And others may not have an esthetic eye for urban design. But if you asked people and were given the choice, who would want poor public transit and low-quality urban design?

Are these “themes” anything more than motherhood statements? The same ideas propped up at the second meeting in which I took part, hoping to learn more useful information. Instead, I heard more jargon about “vibrant and diverse” communities with “tree-lined streets”, walking/cycling paths, and underground shopping malls to deal with winters in Ottawa (similar to what is in Montreal).

I wondered about the usefulness of these consultations. Have the consultants learned anything that would be useful in their design of the land beyond dreamy visions? But, perhaps, that was the purpose of these public engagements: to hear the public out on their dreams for the development of this site. The concepts which emerged from the public feedback could apply to any large-scale urban development in any city in North America. I cannot recall any comments that specifically relate to Confederation Heights.

The future of this property will depend on economic and population trends, and the resulting demand for commercial and residential properties. Nobody can foresee these trends with any clarity thirty years ahead.

I think the consultants will identify usable development parcels on the site and propose land uses and building envelopes by zoning regulations (highrise, lowrise, commercial, etc.). When economic conditions are ripe, developers will bid on parcels of developable land at Confederation Heights to do what they do best: propose workable projects with public appeal. Was this exercise anything more than checking the box on: “public engagement”? Just my opinion.

A Slice of America, where Tennessee, Georgia and North Carolina Meet

June 2, 2022

Sometimes one drives through a small geographic area and discovers its small towns have a rich history. One such area we encountered is where the states of Tennessee, Georgia, and North Carolina meet. The area experienced the expulsion of the Cherokee Nation from their ancestral lands, the discovery of copper, the development of a company town mining copper, and the destruction of the environment leading to remediation. These have been major historical events. So how did we get there?

My daughter rented a vacation home in Murphy, North Carolina. The area is famous for hiking, walking, rafting, and mountain biking and daughter Megan and family wanted to enjoy these activities. The rental home was so big that we were all invited, though I left rafting and mountain biking for the younger generation. But l discovered other places to visit that interested me: the Cherokee Museum in Murphy, NC, and the Ducktown Copper Museum in Ducktown, TN.

The vacation home we drove to in western North Carolina (on the Tennessee border and a couple of hours from Atlanta, GA), was hugging the hill, almost sliding down, with huge picture windows facing the mountains and trees pruned in front to enhance the view. We took a serpentine road to access the vacation home, which was more like a mansion, with huge rooms and many bathrooms. It was difficult to turn the car around at the entrance to the home. But to go down the driveway, we had to turn around the car: it would have been impossible to back down the steep, curvy, and narrow laneway.

Murphy, NC (population 1600 in 2020), was a few minutes away from our vacation home, and housed the Cherokee County Museum, with panels describing the Trail of Tears, the 800-mile trek the Cherokees took after President Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act in 1830, pushing the Indians out of their ancestral lands onto federal territory (now Oklahoma). Some people called it ethnic cleansing in response to the settlers’ demand to take away the Cherokees’ land for their use. Over 4,000 Cherokees, about a quarter of the Cherokee Nation’s people perished on the trek.

We believe in Canada we were cruel to our native population by taking their children away from their families by force, to educate them in residential schools into our culture. In the US, the government chased them out of their native lands by force and put them into camps until all of them were cleared out of their ancestral territory. 

On leaving the Museum, I asked the receptionist if they employ any Cherokees. I would not have known if she was Cherokee and was simply curious.  She responded obliquely by saying that the Museum sells native crafts made by Cherokees. She may have misunderstood my question. To me, it seemed to make sense that in a museum dedicated to Cherokee history, they would employ people of Cherokee heritage. But then I remembered that the government chased all the natives out of their territory; perhaps there were no Cherokees left in this area. 

Then we saw the Ducktown Copper Museum. Ducktown, TN (population 560 in 2020) was a ten-minute drive from our rent, named after the Cherokee Chief, whose Cherokee name translated to Duck. (called Duck), in their native language. The Ducktown Mining Museum occupies the old headquarters of the Tennessee Copper Company (TCC). Our guide was a white-haired woman, a native of Ducktown – whose husband, brother, and father had all worked in the mines. She said that people started working for TCC as young as thirteen years of age and stayed with the company all their lives. 

TCC had a good reputation for labor relations, and was good to its employees, she said, although I found that there were strikes by the workers demanding higher wages and benefits.  When I asked, she confirmed the strikes but was proud of the company and showed us around explaining how copper was mined at a depth of twenty-five hundred feet. She said that she went down into the tunnels with her husband. I found it surprising to hear from her that the elevator could go down to the bottom of the mine in a couple of minutes; it must have been fast. 

Our guide also described how Ducktown had become the center of mining for copper, after a European American panning for gold in 1943, found copper instead. A copper rush resulted. In a couple of decades, over thirty companies explored and produced copper. Berra Berra Copper Company was the biggest mine at that time headed by a German-born mining engineer, Julius Raht. The company had expanded when roads were built to transport the ore.

During the American Civil War, the Confederates took over the Berra Berra Copper Company, the largest copper mine, and used its production for ninety percent of their needs for copper during the war effort.

But there were environmental impacts. The smelters built to separate the copper from the rock needed fire, and the logging for timber used to fire up the smelters denuded the entire landscape.

The constant burning spewed sulfuric gas into the air which, when mixed with water vapor in the atmosphere, became sulfuric acid and came down as acid rain, ruining all the vegetation and further resulting in topsoil erosion. The acid rain killed aquatic life as well in the Ocoee River. The entire area of sixty square miles had become a moonscape, visible by satellite imagery from the sky. 

But the mines created upwards of 2500 jobs and a booming economy and the environmental degradation had been ignored. To reduce the impact of acid rain, the mining companies erected tall chimneys, hoping for the dispersion of sulfates, only resulting in the dispersion of sulfites in a larger area.

The farmers in close-by Georgia suffered as a consequence of the acid rain and the Government of Georgia, on behalf of the farmers, sued the Tennessee Copper Company (TCC) for damages, in the early twentieth century. The lawsuit ended up with the US Supreme Court, which agreed with the plaintiff and called for an injunction to stop the operation of the mine, which was never enforced because the TCC started collecting the sulfuric acid and selling it as a byproduct of the copper mining process. 

In the early twentieth century, the TCC acquired many of the smaller copper companies and ran a store where the employees purchased all their requirements, and the store deducted the cost of their purchases from their wages. Often, employees developed a large debt that they could not repay and were forced to keep on working for the company. The guide explained that the company provided housing and clothing for the employees as well. I was wondering what life felt like in a company town, where the company ran everything.

With copper prices dropping, all the mines finished operating in 1987. By that time environmental remediation had been going on by the State of Tennessee, the Tennessee Valley Authority, and others. The guide said that although many million trees have already been planted, some moon-like areas were left intact for people to see what the landscape looked like during mining operations. 

I found it interesting to discover that even small places that are drive-throughs for most people, have unique histories, once you scratch the surface. While Murphy was, at one time, the center of the Cherokee Nation, it is now devoid of Cherokee people, except for a Museum dedicated to the Cherokees. And Ducktown, once a booming mining town with thousands of people, has shrunk to a few hundred people, having only a museum commemorating the once huge copper mining operation.