Those in the know on the soccer front have been well aware of the magnitude of the corruption in their sport at the premier and World Cup levels for some time, but up to now, I was totally unaware of its magnitude.
Apparently those who seriously follow and/or are directly engaged in these worlds look at soccer like we here in North America look at the World Wrestling Entertainment packages. In other words, they still show up to watch the matches for the entertainment value, but the outcomes are pretty well pre-determined. The sense of pure competition is gone at the highest levels in the European and Asian football leagues and anyone who bets on the games without knowing someone who knows someone on the inside, is a fool. In other words, you don't need to worry about the competency of the players, you need to know who the fixers are. The recent revelations regarding the rewarding of World Cup sites only enhances the argument. Apparently the problem begins right at the highest levels of authority and has worked its way down to the rank and file.
The soccer corruption situation makes the Canadian political scenario seem rather minor league in comparison. No wonder Tony "Gazebo" Clement wasn't too worried about exposure. He left no paper trail for his little imbroglios regarding infrastructure projects that included unwanted gazebos and toilets. We understand that he was even bold enough to print his own application forms for the $27 million Huntsville scheme that included a couple of arenas, a swimming pool, research centre, and a seniors' centre. And we were happy to get a few million for an events centre. Boy, I guess we set our sights waaaay too low. How can our other MPs compete with Gazebo Tony? It seems he is the Teflon man in this government.
The explosion at the Regina refinery last week that sent 13 to 15 people to the emergency wards in that city's two hospitals clearly outlined how fragile our acute care system might be. Other ER patients had to be moved or removed in order to accommodate the influx of seven or eight explosion victims who arrived in each hospital. Our question is obvious ... what if the explosion had led to 20 or 30 victims requiring immediate attention? Just wondering.
Also wondering about the Saskatchewan Watershed Authority's recent report that noted the dams that had been inundated with flood waters this past summer withstood the blast. They couldn't accommodate the flood waters, but they weren't seriously damaged in their inability to do so.
A final note at the end of the report indicated that it still wasn't known whether or not the public will be invited to participate in a dam management review.
My response to that note is that, well, the public had quite a role to play last summer when the water destroyed their homes. Maybe they should be invited to participate in this examination. Who knows, somebody might learn something. Yes, there could be angry outbursts, but that's one reason why the bureaucrats get the big bucks. Sometimes people are required to be accountable.
Speaking of learning, I heard on a news report the other day that an athlete had suffered from a "sports hernia" and would be out of action for two weeks or more. Which led me to wonder, how long would he be out if he had suffered a "cultural hernia" or a mere "recreational hernia?"
Again, just wondering out loud here.
