Fireweed

Fireweed, Rose Bay Willow Herb, same thing. First Nations people used to eat the roots and it's one of the first plants to reappear after a fire.

'The threat from terrorism is real and enduring.' Yes, it bloody well is, lest we forget, lest we become complacent.
The bomb discovered in London yesterday, may be the work of Al-Quaeda, but this is horrific and well-trodden territory for Britain.

Yesterday, the training room where the course was held, had a whole wall of windows, outside the windows, a balcony with a view out over the City. I had my back to the bank of windows, I was almost leaning back against them, but I caught a movement out of the corner of my eye. A boom. A film crew were out on the balcony interviewing David Suzuki. And I had forgotten that.

First Aid hadn't changed very much since we did lifesaving at school, blew up the chests of Rescusiannies, counted how many times we hit the poor, plastic chests in ratio to blowing into the lifeless mouths. Except that now it's more hygienic, there are special masks to put over the torso's mouth. And here in Canada there is an additional risk to health from breathing someone else's air, they are not routinely vaccinated against TB as every school child is in Britain. This was Fireman Dave's main reason for wanting to use the mask.

According to 'It must be true I read it in the tabloids' in The Week, in 1994, researchers in the US Air Force asked for $7.5 million in order to develop an interesting twist on chemical warfare. The plan was to release a high performance air born aphrodisiac which would be dropped behind enemy lines and would ensure they all made peace and not war, in short, a Gay Bomb, the idea being that they would all be attracted to each other.
Worthies at the Pentagon must be kicking themselves that they didn't see the project through to fruition now, it would be the most perfect weapon against the Taliban and Al-Quaeda.

I have often complained about the low standard of journalism in our local freesheets. Yesterday, a piece of reporting plummeted to a new depth.
Two local heroes rescued two young women from an overturned car, this is how the story started, accompanied by a picture of the two heroes smiling.
The article then went on to say how the vehicle that the 'heroes' had been driving had 'broadsided' the vehicle the two women were travelling in.
SO at this point I went 'huh? que?' Already mentally composing my scathing letter to the paper in which I point out that people who ram into other people's cars and then feel overcome by remorse and so rescue them are not heroes.
But wait, there is more.
Lastly we learn that in fact the young women were trying to find their friend's address while driving instead of watching the road and pulled out illegally and with no warning in front of the heroes' car.
Surely those infamous Shakespeare producing monkeys are writing this stuff.
The journo or journos don't get the use of emotive language. They use language, but not meaningfully.
Another example of this which had me staring at the paper a short while ago was when they used the expression 'crawled out of the woodwork' not for evil or unpleasant people, but for some story where Good Samaritans or other helpers had appeared when needed.

The Observer wrote to me for no apparent reason.
It must be global warming.
Thank goodness for fireweed.