Mars plane: Ignore the "facts" much?

[Rwede]

So, last year CC and gang put out this "factsheet" that told us all how much more economical the small airtankers are at fighting forest fires. Kind of a "50 ways the Fire Boss is better than the Mars" dissertation.

http://news.gov.bc.ca/factsheets/factsh ... I.facebook

Now there are uninformed people in the public saying the Mars should be deployed. Maybe it's romanticism. Maybe it's a popularity contest.

What do Christy do?

http://www.albernivalleynews.com/news/311789601.html

She brings back the Mars despite all the reasons it's not as good as the Air Tractors.

Talk about the tail wagging the dog.

[Jx3]

Are there Air Tractors sitting unused right now? As I understood it this is a case of bringing back the Mars because everything else is already employed, I could be mistaken however.

[pentona]

So, last year CC and gang put out this "factsheet" that told us all how much more economical the small airtankers are at fighting forest fires. Kind of a "50 ways the Fire Boss is better than the Mars" dissertation.

http://news.gov.bc.ca/factsheets/factsh ... I.facebook

Now there are uninformed people in the public saying the Mars should be deployed. Maybe it's romanticism. Maybe it's a popularity contest.

What do Christy do?

http://www.albernivalleynews.com/news/311789601.html

She brings back the Mars despite all the reasons it's not as good as the Air Tractors.

Talk about the tail wagging the dog.

So, are you saying that your supreme being/leader is going to make the wrong choice (and she knows it) due to pressure from uninformed members of the public? Not much of a leader then, if she can't make the right decision, knowing the true facts of what is best.

[maryjane48]

heard it was for flying yoga classes

[flamingfingers]

Christy cares not one spit about 'what the public wants'... What she cares about are $$ donations to her ChristyLiberal war chest. In the past, Coulson donated more to the NDP than to the Liberals, which I suspect is why the Mars contract was not renewed, despite the '50 reasons why'. Maybe Coulson has put something into the pot that has changed Christy's girlish "No" to "yes"?

[Hassel99]

So, last year CC and gang put out this "factsheet" that told us all how much more economical the small airtankers are at fighting forest fires. Kind of a "50 ways the Fire Boss is better than the Mars" dissertation.

http://news.gov.bc.ca/factsheets/factsh ... I.facebook

Now there are uninformed people in the public saying the Mars should be deployed. Maybe it's romanticism. Maybe it's a popularity contest.

What do Christy do?

http://www.albernivalleynews.com/news/311789601.html

She brings back the Mars despite all the reasons it's not as good as the Air Tractors.

Talk about the tail wagging the dog.

But its in addition to the Air Tractors not instead of the Air Tractors.

$25 is not as usefull as $50 for sure. But $75? hell yes.

[steven lloyd]

$25 is not as usefull as $50 for sure. But $75? hell yes.

That's a good point. Seems there is more than just a little bit of a battle going on out there and it may simply
be a matter of firefighters needing anything and everything they can get their hands on for the fight.

[Joe Public]

You have all missed the point.

Yes, the Mars are old and inefficient.

Yes they should have been retired as they can only use 113 lakes in all of BC for reloading.

But the actual problem is that although the BC Liberals retired the Mars, they did not replace the missing capacity with modern equipment, and now that we are in a full blown and accurately predicted fire season, they have no alternatives but to pay double the previous rates for the Mars. Was this a BC Liberal error? Yes.

But if you wish to discuss BC Liberal performance in fire fighting, we should look at the BC forest fire budget, which has already been exceeded. While this year may be a big fire year, and it was predicted to be a big fire year, why did the BC Liberals not present a more accurate budget? How can a government with near limitless resources not accurately predict the upcoming fire season, and assign a more adequate budget relevant to the risk?

BC Liberal MLA's will tell you that they will spend whatever it takes to keep people safe, regardless of the price, and regardless of the budget? So why then, do they intentionally underestimate the firefighting budget and overspend that budget each year?

It all comes down to politics. The grand announcement of a balanced budget is made before the budget is actually spent. So various ministries are presented with unrealistic budgets, knowing that more funding will be required during the year, but the overall effect is that the Premier can state that BC has a balanced budget, knowing full well that the province will not run a balanced budget. Creative bookkeeping at it's best.

That is why the BC Debt continues to grow even when we are told the budget is balanced.

[Hassel99]

Hey joe...

They replaced the Martian mars with 4 air tractors "fire bosses"....

http://www.albernivalleynews.com/news/268335602.html

[logicalview]

Christy cares not one spit about 'what the public wants'... What she cares about are $$ donations to her ChristyLiberal war chest. In the past, Coulson donated more to the NDP than to the Liberals, which I suspect is why the Mars contract was not renewed, despite the '50 reasons why'. Maybe Coulson has put something into the pot that has changed Christy's girlish "No" to "yes"?

According to one of the many leftist bloggers you follow, you have the "facts" (and I use that word loosely) mixed up. It appears that Coulson smelled an NDP victory in the last election and so came out with some anti-Liberal dogma regarding their forestry practices right before the election, to suck up to what he thought would be the new NDP government. He also gave cash to the NDP, yes. It appears that Coulson backed the wrong horse, and now he's paying the political price. Is it right? No, of course not. It's politics in action, and its petty. I wouldn't have expected any difference if Coulson had backed the Liberals, and the NDP had won. It's how things work unfortunately, when you have parties that put politics ahead of what's best for the voters.

Now is the Martin Mars bomber even needed? I don't think so. It's horrendously expensive to run, old, and logistically it's almost impossible nowadays to find a lake big enough to run it in, given most lakes in summer are full of boaters and swimmers in BC. It is an artifact of the past. Time to put the last one in a museum where it belongs. I don't know what changed the government's mind on the Mars, but if it was a stupid petition signed by people who have no clue about logistics and fire-fighting, and just want to see a show with an old World War II relic lumbering over their heads, then shame on them.

[zerograv]

www.alberniweather.ca/fire/MarsRebuttal.pdf

Most of the Liebral governments "facts" have been dis-proven and are nothing more than propaganda.

[maryjane48]

*removed*

[GordonH]

^^^ What does confederate flag have to do with forest fires or anything in Canada.
I think you are on wrong side of border lakevixen.

[maryjane48]

zero to do with forest fires but this in political section is it not?

[GordonH]

zero to do with forest fires but this in political section is it not?

Regional politics, US is outside our region.