Warm And Windy

FTLComm - Tisdale - Wednesday, September 26, 2001 to hear this story click arrow

The soft dry winds that have washed over the prairies over these last few days have brought with it record breaking temperatures although today the temperatures will be still above normal they will not be knocking off records as the past two days. The sky indicator of wind is always the wispy cirrus clouds and these were seen last night at sunset. These collections of ice crystals are above thirty-thousand feet and are formed as warm high speed air masses force damp air into the upper atmosphere.

I think that these skies give us a clear indication of conditions down here on earth as we are in an ambiguous time. The murder of close to seven thousand people in savage attacks on September 11 has left the people of this planet stunned and uncertain as to what is about to occur. The American government feeling a responsibility to the citizens of the republic to take some dramatic warlike undertaking needs time to decide what to do and where to do it while the rest of the world shoulders its responsibilities in supporting the United States in the face of such an outrage. We as the United States' closest neighbour and largest trading partner feel the affects of the county's punctuated soul searching.

Our neighbour, not wanting to accept the fact that those who attacked it, did so from within, with the training assistance of its own citizens, is lashing out with concerns about immigration, loose border and a host of other concerns that one may attribute to finger pointing rather than accepting its own responsibility for not protecting its own people, even though sufficient warning had been sounded by its intelligence community and a series of studies by various committees The uncertainty is having a remarkable economic effect as consumer spending is down and layoffs in manufacturing, transportation and perhaps other fields as well, will further erode the economic foundation of not only the US economy, but the world's economy. In actual fact, a shooting war of some kind, would see positive economic activity, but with this conflict, as it is taking shape, it is getting harder and harder to find an enemy to shoot at. Afghanistan is pitiful and the US and its allies realise that toppling the Talaban, though necessary, will do them no honour. Even capturing or killing Osama bin Laden will do little to restore economic confidence, because his organisation is only funded by him, while its direction and activities seem to be independent and self initiating, therefore self perpetuating. Like the wispy clouds in the evening sky the enemy is ill defined, but just as ominous and capable no matter what action the massive military power of the United States takes. All in all we are faced with even more uncertain times.