Loading...
The Citizen, 1995-07-12, Page 5International Scene ytpo Canon THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, JULY 12, 1995. PAGE 5. Arthur Black World would be a mess without ways to measure It's not very often I can think of anything good to say about the metric system, but I'm glad we've got it. I'm also glad that we still have, officially or otherwise, chains, fathoms, furlongs, angstroms, pennyweights, drams, bolts, bushels, cords, spans and gigajoules. We'd be in a real mess if we didn't have ways to measure things. Of course for several hundred thousand years, mankind was in a real mess. Grok the caveman would run into the cave and announce that he'd just seen a plump mastodon stuck in the mud. "How far away?" his tribesmen would ask in StoneAge-ese. Hintrun. Similarly, Grok would be unable to estimate how tall or how heavy the mastodon was. They didn't have metres or tons. He couldn't even say "Big as a house". They didn't have houses either. Eventually, some deep thinker came along and established common measurements. Twelve inches was adopted as the 'foot' — the My law, your law I have sometimes voiced the opinion that Americans are in favour of something just as long as it does not affect them adversely. I suppose to a certain degree this is true of every country but because of the role which the Americans play on the world stage, what they do is more noticeable than were another country involved. Canada, for example, has to fire a shot across the bow of a Spanish trawler before anybody else takes notice. The Americans only have to frown to get the same effect. When the recent negotiations on GATT and its transition into the World Trade Organization were underway, Washington took a leading role in making sure that the discussions were brought to a successful conclusion. President Clinton went out of his way to hail the signing of the agreement as a victory for liberal trade policies. So far, so good! Only months after the signing the Americans have decided to stick it to the Japanese in the matter of cars. Washington has felt for some time that the Japanese buy far too few American cars and just as far too few car parts. It doesn't matter that Japan buys about $20 billion of such parts each year, which is about a billion dollars above what was agreed on earlier. Washington has decided that it wants a higher total. It also claims that it has started making right hand drive cars for the Japanese market but the dealers there will not take them. In the past the Japanese have backed down at the last minute but not this time. For this reason, Mickey Kantor, who has been known to give Canada a rough time and who is the Americans' chief trade negotiator, announced that, starting the end of May, 13 length of an average man's tootsie. A bushel became the amount of apples required to fill a basket, which inevitably (after a few centuries) got us to the Erg. Which, my physics book assures me, is the amount of energy required to move one gram through one centimetre, with an acceleration of one centimetre per second per second. Whatever the hell that means. It's all very confusing, but it would be utterly bananas if we didn't have various systems of measurements to fall back on. For one thing, all our government statisticians would be on the welfare roles. We wouldn't even be able to measure time because we wouldn't know our nanoseconds from our kalpas. Kalpa? That's the longest measure of time known to man. It combs from the Hindus and is equal to 4,320 million years. A nanosecond is something that disappears faster than a politician's promise. We need our means of measurement — even if we don't always understand the units we throw around. Financiers talk easily of millions, billions and trillions — but do any of them really understand numbers of that magnitude? Just to put it in perspective, it takes 12 full days for a million seconds to tick by. One billion seconds is the equivalent of 31 years. If you looked at the calendar, a trillion seconds ago you would see that the date was roughly 30,000 B.C. of the most expensive Japanese models will be subject to a punitive tariff of no less than 100 per cent. Japan has responded by taking the whole matter to the newly formed World Trade Organization which, as I mentioned above, is the successor to GATT. For the WTO to work properly all the member nations must abide by the rules. By imposing the tariff the United States is breaking two of the organizations basic principles - that all member trading partners should be treated alike and that tariffs should not be increased to levels which are above those previously agreed upon. Then too the U.S. could have submitted the dispute to the WTO's dispute mechanism, instead of trying to solve it by punitive action. As it stands now, if the Japanese do carry through with the expressed desire to have the WTO handle it, Tokyo would almost certainly win, an accomplishment that would make it almost impossible for Washington to back down gracefully. If the Americans defy the WTO, where does that put all the brave talk about liberalization of trade policies which originated in Washington. There is a side-show to all this. It concerns Cuba which, for some reason, has been the Peck's bad boy in Washington's books. It has occurred to some politicians in Washington that all the time the United States has been acting nasty toward Fidel Castro, Canada has been continuing trade and commerce with the Caribbean island. Recently Jesse Helms, a Senator who has the knack, on occasion, of making such historical worthies as Genghis Khan and Attila the Hun look like dedicated radicals, wanted to punish some Canadian firms doing business with Cuba. They are, he intoned, actually breaking U.S. law and should be punished by being forbidden to do any business in the U.S. He seems to have forgotten that the United States is not the United Nations; American laws are undoubtedly being broken all the Except you wouldn't be able to find a calendar. Most of North America was under five miles of ice. And where would we be without percentages? We wouldn't know for example that: • 45 per cent of women wear uncomfort- able shoes because they look good. • Revenue Canada only gets around to checking about one per cent of our income tax returns. • 17 per cent of all doctors still smoke. • 55 per cent of all North Americans wouldn't take a trip into outer space even if NASA let them ride for free. • five per cent of Americans eat at a McDonald's restaurant each and every day. Speaking of McDonald's — for years we've all watched those signs below the Golden Arches bragging about how many burgers they've sold. I remember when they used to read "SIX MILLION SOLD!" and even "ONE BILLION SOLD!" Ever found yourself wondering when the restaurant chain will sell its hundred billionth burger? Stop wondering. You'll never know. An official at McDonald's has confessed the company stopped counting two years ago — with so many McDonald's franchises in virtually every country in the world, it just became too difficult to keep track. So officially, the number is 'NINETY NINE BILLION SOLD!" And not counting. time by other nations. Perhaps it is easier for Mr. Helms to threaten Canada than to take the logical step by allowing American firms to do business with Cuba. If he wants to get rid of Fidel so badly, surely that is the way to go about it. I detect some domestic political machinations. Are a few votes in Michigan that much more important than being branded as something of a hypocrite in the world of international trade? Letter to editor Continued from page 4 I have asked the project co-ordinator on several occasions, for the latest bore hole results, but have yet to see them. Council member Mickle from Clinton, spoke his mind and told Warden Bruce Machan and councillors that council must be more accountable to the ratepayers of Huron. He suggested they follow the lead of the newly elected PC party by cutting down, not only at county level but also at the municipal level. Mickle also suggested that more time be spent discussing issues presented to council. This sparked a wave of applause from the visiting persons. After Mickle spoke his mind there were a number of other councillors who spoke, of which most were in favour of his remarks. This brought more applause. The people of not only Huron, but Bruce and Ontario, have the support of various Huron County council members and should be congratulated for speaking up for the people they represent rather than just being in attendance. The CCAA would like to suggest that you write to your councillor and give the support he or she must have regarding your feelings on this very important issue of dump sites in Huron or your community. If you require more info please call 395- 3520 or 529-3307 or FAX 395-3520. We would appreciate any donations to help cover expenses. Direct them to Chris Hackett, CCAA sec.-treas., RR 3, Lucknow. Richard Payne, RR 3, Lucknow. The Short of it By Bonnie Gropp Just keep moving There's always hope. If there's one thing I've noticed about getting older, it's how easy it is at times to feel it. Generally, I maintain that age is a mind over matter situation. With a brain convinced that it's still housed in the skull of a 16-year-old, I am often able to confuse my body into believing the same. Every once in awhile, however, something happens to give me a reality check and keep me honest. What I've noticed is that that something usually tends to come from the minds and mouths of others. Family members are the ones who seem most compelled to suggest when they think I'm not acting my age. For example an offhand comment this past week about investing in some roller blades, prompted a withering look from one of my offspring, that transmitted the message "Oh, puhleese, Mother," clearly enough to send me back to my rocking chair. Now, honestly, I have become accustomed to my children refusing to accept the fact that I am not as old as they think, but another experience of late had me wondering. After taking a tumble on the ball diamond my mother expressed not concern over my scarred knee, but rather an expostulation over my inability to face facts as she sees them. "You're too old to play ball," she remonstrated. My rejoinder that no one is too old for slow pitch, brought only a snort of disbelief and a patronizing, "Whatever you say." Quite frankly, I was stunned. After all, I thought in the eyes of my parents I was always going to be a baby. Then again, I guess I shouldn't have been so surprised. This is the same woman who asked me on my 37th birthday how it felt to be almost 40. Anyway, needless to say it has been kind of difficult to be immature these days with so many people letting me know they just won't stand for it. I began wondering if perhaps there really are limits, if maybe there really are some things that I have left too late. Lucky for me, there are people out in this wide, wonderful world who know better. That light got a little brighter a couple of weeks ago after I spoke with a 71-year-old woman, whose first play is about to be produced on stage. The interview brought to mind the late Helen Hooven Santmeyer, an author whose gargantuan bestseller ..And Ladies of the Club, was written when she was 80. Then on Sunday, a story in The Toronto Star, confirmed what I have always believed. The five Rabinovitch siblings gathered together to celebrate the youngest one's birthday. The "baby" of the family, Riva, was now 80. "Turning 80 isn't a big deal — we just like a party," she told the reporter. Riva is an artist who has just taken up line dancing. Her 82-year-old sister Mollie, is a boichemist, who plays piano. Leslie at 84 has just lately begun wowing crowds at Yuk Yuk's as a stand up comedian, while 86- year-old Frances, a former dietician, is on her fourth honeymoon. The eldest at 88, Joe, has been a singer, actor and award winning playwright, all after retiring as a lawyer. Their niece says, "I think the lesson to be learned is that you just never stop. I mean they just keep doing new things." Thank you folks for proving what I always thought. You are never too old. You know, I just might get those roller blades after all.