Righting wrongs, or trolling for votes?

Prime Minister Harper lauded contribution of Chinese Canadians to national development
Prime Minister Harper offers full apology for the Chinese Head Tax
It's about time.
However, I can't help but doubt their true intentions since the Conservatives had voted against addressing this grievance while in opposition, and only changed their song during the 2005 election campaign. They seem prone to attempting to modify history.
Conservatives wrong on head tax
So I wonder, is it only a coincidence, given that that the majority of Chinese Canadians are concentrated in our biggest cities, where the Conservatives didn't get any votes? Because if they truly wanted to right past wrongs (or at least the appeance of addressing measures even if they were lawful at the time), they might want to say something about the deportation of Acadiens too...
Further, if the government accepts liability for past acts that are illegal under today's laws, what impact will that have on the judicial system, where you can only be tried and punished according to the laws that were in effect at the time of the crime?
Anyway, for a more detailed and unbiased account of the historial and global context and purpose of the head tax.

maps of human activity

Informative. See various impacts of our activity on the planet.

Citizenship discrimination and Political hypocrisy

From The Globe and Mail, 061005, page A5:

"To undertake discriminatory employment practices based on nationality is contrary to Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms. [...] Complying with [State Department] requirements to identify dual nationals and using that information for discriminatory purposes is contrary to the Canadian Charter," said a document prepared by Dan Ross, the senior bureaucrat in charge of procurement at the Department of National Defence.

Apparently this is hindering Ottawa's negotiations with the U.S. company Boeing Co. to purchase four giant C-17 cargo planes (at a cost of $3.7-billion) and 16 heavy-lift Chinook helicopters (for $4.7-billion).
The Harper government plans to buy another $9-billion in military equipment, including smaller cargo planes, ships and trucks. Those purchases will also be affected if they are made in the United States.
The document adds that the U.S. government has been enforcing its restrictions more stringently in recent months, hence the current predicament.

No kidding?! Unless an exemption is obtained, the only way to get this equipment is to buy it from the US Government directly, with a 400M USD brokerage fee no less. The Canadian government wants the equipment badly, the American government wants to bolster the appearance of national security (and lining their own pockets is a nice bonus), and there is no incentive for the States to play nice at all: we want this equipment to assert our independence from them (currently we rely on them a lot to move our troops and military equipment around the world), and because our inability to patrol the arctic with their continued presence there gives them a legitimate claim over that territory.
Personally, I believe the American insistence to enforce the "dual-citizenship with proscribed countries" rule is entirely reasonable, and it will come up again and again, especially as Canada seems to want to beef up its sovereignty. After ignoring it during the Israel-Lebanon-Hezbollah conflict, perhaps we could use this situation to revisit the dual-citizenship concept now, in a less culturally-tangled context?
Side note: interesting how Harper speaks nicely to the Americans while beefing up our military to allow us to distance ourselves from them, while attacking the Liberals for bringing up such topics in political circles yet doing nothing to strengthen our military. Doesn't that make Harper look a little hypocritical, or at least expose his american-style attitude? I'm not a gambling man, but I'd put my money on winning a debate rather than a battle...

state secrets, or party secrets?

From the Ottawa Citizen 2006.10.05 page A3:

When in opposition, the Tories made ample use of the access law to obtain information on wrongdoing in the Liberal government. Now that the Tories are in power, some critics argue they've dropped support for the access law and are trying to shut down the system.
"You cannot argue for better accountability, which this government does, unless you have a strong Access to Information Act and have it applied rigorously."

According to Mr. Etienne Allard (Mr. O'Connor's spokesman), it is up to Defence Department bureaucrats to manage the release of such government records to the public through the access to information law. Mr. O'Connor is committed to openness and transparency, but "At the end of the day, department officials make recommendations on severances and as a minister he doesn't interfere in the process."

Perhaps they've forgotten the part in the access to information legislation that details that a minister is responsible for the way the law is managed in his or her department?

one for the money, two for the show...

I already denounced them over this, but I couldn't resist the irony in this one from Ottawa Metro 060929 :

Literacy — it’s all about reading, writing and getting your story straight.
Or so it seemed this week in Ottawa.
On Monday, Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government axed $17.7-million from the Human Resources’ department’s Adult Learning and Literacy Skills Program as part of a massive wave of spending cuts across government.
Yesterday, Harper’s wife Laureen was on the streets of Ottawa, promoting literacy.
Clad in a yellow T-shirt and handing out newspapers in the drizzle as part of a CanWest media company promotion of child literacy, it seemed that perhaps Laureen Harper hadn’t seen the memo about the literacy cuts earlier in the week.
Ditto for Harper’s chief of staff, Ian Brodie, who coughed up a $20 literacy donation when he came across his boss’s wife on the street in front of the Parliament buildings.

Tories downgrade 'Made-in-Canada' Green plan

Note: access to this article was blocked in the firewall at work, so I googlenewsed it. There were only two hits, one from the Calgary Sun and one from CTV.ca. The one from Calgary has since been removed. Before CTV is intimidated into removing theirs (too), here it is:

Tories downgrade 'Made-in-Canada' Green plan
Updated Thu. Oct. 5 2006 7:03 AM ET

Canadian Press

OTTAWA -- After months of promising a comprehensive "Made-in-Canada" environment plan, word from the federal Conservative government is there won't be a formal plan after all.

A senior official in the office of Environment Minister Rona Ambrose said the word "plan" is no longer being used. It's now an "approach."

Mark Cooper confirmed the change in terminology, although he slipped into the old language a few times himself.

"The details of the plan - sorry, I shouldn't say plan, the approach - will be coming some time shortly," he said Wednesday.

Since being elected last winter, the Conservatives have deferred most questions about environmental issues by referring to the coming plan.

Environmentalists say they're not surprised at the shift in terminology.

"We've known for month's there's no plan," said Louise Comeau of the Sage Climate Project. "What they're planning is a series of announcements."

Yet the Tory election platform was explicit. It promised a "'Made-in-Canada' plan focused on ensuring future generations enjoy clean water, clean land and clean energy here in Canada."

Matthew Bramley of the Pembina Institute, an Alberta-based environmental think-tank, said the change in wording raises questions about whether the Conservatives no longer feel they can deliver a comprehensive package.

There had been hopes Ambrose would reveal details of the government's intentions at an appearance before the Commons environment committee Thursday, but Cooper said she would not.

Her purpose in testifying before the committee is to respond to last week's report by Environment Commissioner Johanne Gelinas, he said. That report emphasized the need for a co-ordinated climate plan.

"Looking to the future, the commissioner urges the government to come up with a credible, realistic and clear plan with short-and long-term goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions," said a statement released by Gelinas's office at the time.

In interviews, critics offered several theories about why the government has changed its strategy. One is that officials have failed to come up with a full-scale plan and need more time to work out problems.

Another theory is that the government thinks it can get more favourable coverage by rolling out announcements one at a time.

Help me understand: are they having problems with their enlightened and deliberate dialogue; bringing the worlds of learning, public affairs and business together; or have they simply revised their position based on political expediency; or committed themselves to merely examining the historical background and long-term implications without wanting to do anything about it?
We seem to be living the exact same situation Bush beat Gore with (Gore had a strong environmental platform, and Dubya said "oh yeah, we do too - and it's betterer" then quickly reverse course once in office). That parallel shouldn't be a surprise to anybody.
I just hope the long-term impact of their non-approach will be something Canadians will hold them accountable for come election time.

Woodrow Wilson Award

It seems the Woodrow Wilson Center has decided to bestow their Award for Public Service to none other than Prime Minister Harper. According to their site (emphasis added):

The Woodrow Wilson Award for Public Service is given to individuals who have served with distinction in public office and have shown a special commitment to seeking out informed opinions and thoughtful views. They encourage the free and open exchange of ideas; and rather than basing policies on political expediency, they devote themselves to examining the historical background and long-term implications of important public policy issues.

Recipients share President Wilson's vision of improving our policies and institutions through enlightened and deliberate dialogue and stand as living testaments to what may be accomplished when the worlds of learning, public affairs, and business come together in common interest.

Ironic, isn't it?

Ambrose: "Quebec is not really a concern to me"

From yesterday's Ottawa Metro, page 4:

OOPS! Environment Minister Rona Ambrose, seen here
at the House of Commons in Ottawa yesterday, apologized
for saying that “Quebec is not really a concern to me,” in
developing plans to combat climate change.

Maybe that's the real reason why we haven't seen her in the media lately?

Social (ir)relevance

Interesting how they put this article on the Vatican's reflection of babies in limbo in the "Arts & spectacles" section...

why do spammers keep trying?

What benefit do spammers realize by continually sending out messages promoting "performance enhancing" drugs or "hot" stock tips - are they just trying to create a market need to boost the spam filtering industry, like ex-virus programmers that get hired by anti-virus companies and ex-hackers by the government?
... Or are there really still that many stupid people around that they can take advantage of?

accountability... for what?

Apparently the incumbent city councillor was elected for her platform of "no tax increases" and then later voted FOR a tax increase (to restore basic city services previously cut by the newly amalgamated city). Anyway, that was enough to convince a friend of mine to call her a liar, and cast her vote for somebody with no record at all.

I don't think it's fair to blame our sole city councillor for the overall greater costs since amalgamation. Rather, the blame would lie with Queens Park and their
funding cuts to municipalities. Then again, you could also lay the blame on Ottawa for cutting transfer payments to the provinces, but they did that so that they could save us from paying hundreds of millions of dollars to service the national debt, which essentially arose because baby boomers demanded services that we couldn't afford and didn't want to pay for. So, in the end, if you want to blame anybody, blame previous generations. If on the other hand you need the self-gratification of
punishing somebody over which you DO have some control, I suppose you
could punish the local councillor.
All I ask is that such actions be not be taken lightly, i.e., without awareness of your deeper reasons and the overall/historical context.

I think all the boasting about election promises made/kept is nothing but a distraction from issues that really affect our quality of life. City planning, infrastructure projects, promotion of local arts and businesses, city maintenance and beautification, environmental stewardship, collective transportation, protecton of citizens' rights against abusive or uncooperative corporations, THOSE are the kinds of things that really affect our quality of life, and therefore THOSE are the things that we must hold politicians accountable for!

In that context, do tax increases (or rebates) really have an impact on our quality of life in the long run? Or is it like the 0.5% raise you get that makes you feel a little bit better, but... really doesn't make a difference?

need more roundabouts

Given all the advantages of roundabouts, why does city hall still create traffic-light controlled intersections?

from polls to the next dark age

90% of people polled said the government should rely on polls in making decisions of importance for this country.

Apparently that 90% feels making decisions based on public concerns is more important that professional assessments or scientific studies that actually measure the severity of the real threat and the probability of it occurring.

From that I conclude that the direct economic impact of the fear is more important than the physical and psychological impact on our health and safety (indirect economic impact).

I suppose right-wing nuts would argue the direct economic impact of the fear affects people's ability to buy the things they need to protect and defend themselves. That may be convenient for marketing folk across the country, but given the environmental consequences on our emotions, our society and our planet, doesn't that seem at least a little shortsighted?

Further, doesn't the complacency and conformism created by this over-confidence increase the magnitude of spectacle required for people who desperately want attention to adjust popular attitudes? Like greenhouse gases accelerating global warming and causing more frequent and violent storms, I predict the economic path we are on will lead to a significant increase in frequency and severity of social violence. With the associated increase in fear (spurred on by the media of course), people will sooner or later lose all remaining faith in their governments and turn first to their religious leaders for reassurance, and then to their local warlords to defend what little resources they have left.

We are plunging headfirst into the next dark age but are too obsessed with our ability to make, sell and buy useless toys to know it.

(PS. The sample size of this poll was 0 so is statistically meaningless, as most polls are for things of real importance.)

RE: Thomas Jefferson's Blog

The following disproof of the contents of Thomas Jefferson's blog (and TJ lore in general) ties in rather nicely with a conversation I had with a colleague yesterday regarding the stock market, as (outward) success (get rich/famous/etc) depends on a higher intelligence not easily measured: the ability to predict and manipulate people's emotions despite all the evidence to the contrary.

The bane of us rational hard-working types the world over.

So, how exactly does one subordinate basic facts and inconvenient truths and rise to a position of emotional influence? Is there a noticeable point at which someone's story sheds it's factual skin and become legend?

No need to answer, I'll just watch the news and learn it from Harper.

An interesting diversion.

Some things about Jefferson I have learned never to forget:
Lots of Founding Fathers had slaves, although some freed them while living (e.g., Franklin) and others freed them in their wills (e.g., Washington). Jefferson had them, kept them, and fathered children with them. It's gotta say something about the man's soul.

Jefferson did not write the legendary words ascribed to him, and which place him at the pinnacle of the philosophers who crafted the nation. Specifically, he did NOT write "I hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal... " What he wrote was "I hold these truths to be sacred and inviolatable..." It was Franklin who changed the words (his bold cross-outs on the original draft remain extant, as do his explanations for the changes). First, Franklin recognized that the word "sacred" was too religious for so secular a document, particularly given its pledge to separate church and state. And "inviolatable" struck Dr. Franklin as unnecessarily obtuse and difficult (which it is). So, those words were neither original (they were borrowed from the French philosophes), they were pretty crappy as written by Jefferson (the credit should go to Franklin, the old codger), and they were a lie (as Jefferson personally kept slaves and considered Native Americans less than fully equal).

Jefferson was extraordinarily ill-disciplined, especially with his own money. He was a known wasteful spender -- a flawed character trait noted not only by infamous tight-wads like John Adams, but also by infamous gregarious Benjamin Franklin. (Unlike Jefferson, both Adams and Franklin practiced what they preached, tho they preached very different sermons, indeed). Jefferson was known to buy enormous quanitites of books with money he did not have, and then compounded his excessive spending by dabbling in architecure and landscaping, once again spending enormous sums that he did not have. He would also tinker with designs for columns for his estate instead of working on matters of import for which he was elected.

Jefferson did not obtain the Louisiana Purchase through some great effort or insight or foresight or planning, as is sometimes taught in American schools. Rather, the United States doubled in size because Jefferson had the good fortune of being president at precisely the time Napoleon desperately needed money to raise, equip, train and feed his enormous armies and navies for the wars in Europe -- and because the best way for Napoleon to do that was to sell 1/3 of North America to the Americans at cut-rate prices. True, Jefferson had the intelligence to say "yes" when Napoleon offered to sell the land -- but the offered price was so rediculously low that even George W. Bush could not possibly have screwed that one up.

Jefferson was no military genius, either. In one notorious episode (although one I personally find understandable), he fled just ahead of a superior British force in Virginia during the American Revolution, rather than do the honorable thing like defend himself and his charges. He did not fight in the war. And he later supported the War of 1812, famously announcing that the capture of Canada would be "a mere matter of marching." Thirteen cross-border campaigns later, not one inch of Canada went to the Americans. Last time I checked, Canada is still there.

As a politician, Jefferson was utterly ruthless, backing (even encouraging) some of the worst mud-slinging in the history of the free democratic press anywhere in the world, excoriating rivals such as John Adams in ways that make today's politics seem downright bland.

And although he looks impressive in marble, Jefferson had a high-pitched voice that apparently sounded like his britches were tied too tight. In other words, he would not get elected in today's world -- not manly enough, or so it would seem. In fact, without slaves around anymore, the man worshipped as one of the greatest Founding Fathers might even have trouble getting laid.

another shortfall of democracy

It's a damn shame how we live, work and play in a society in which people do not want to pay for what they need, but will pay anything for what they want.
I think I'll start calling it "Hedonopolis" and read Ayn Rand (apparently objectivism is the opposite of hedonism).

water management

That dumbass TV commercial that asks "why drink toilet water?" pisses me off.
I just hope it backfires on them and makes people reconsider flushing with drinking water instead.
I believe it is essential for the current system of city water supply to continue being used as it is, so that it continue to be carefully managed and maintained. If people don't use it, it sits in the pipes and any bacteria left after purification can flourish, and the municipality would have to increase the concentration of "poisons" it uses to keep them under control. If either happens, people's faith in their water supply will falter and will use it even less, increasing the chances of bacteria occuring at hazardous levels. The whole system would soon collapse, and we'd see an explosion of in-home water filtering stations. Sounds like a great capitalist idea, doesn't it? Soon you'll be bombarded with in-home water filtration system ads (even more than today), there will be a quantum increase in waste (used packaging) heading to city dumps and, worse, in energy consumption (waste from the manufacturing and transportation of consumer-sized filtration systems and supplies, plus lower-efficiency associated with the operation of small scale filtration systems).
Meanwhile, those who cannot afford to buy bottled water will get sick and spread diseases before filling up the hospitals that are already bursting at the seams.
I'm all in favour of paying for city services and encouraging consumption of municipal water supply.
If anything needs to be changed, it should be the local storage and use of rainwater to water native lawns and flowerbeds, but there's no profit margin to be made in that, is there?

art is the lie that tells the truth

If we applied this other quote from Picasso to Canadian politics, I'd have to hand to Harper and his spiel of accountability and things that matter to "Real Canadians" - but I'd worry about what truth it would tell about us.

intelligence vs art

"There are painters who transform the sun to a yellow spot, but there are others who with the help of their art and their intelligence, transform a yellow spot into the sun."
-Pablo Picasso

Question is, how do you find the right canvas to hone your art?

the power of blogging

Blogging is an interesting phenomenon.
At first I thought the net impact would be negligible: any facilitation of coordination would be offset by the opportunity it gave people to get a load off their chest and move on to other things, but then I realized that concept wasn't quite complete, because people who have expressed themselves have taken the opportunity to clearly formulate and take ownership of their positions, and this investment makes them that much more effective at implementing change when they hear the call for action.
Anyway, that's my story and I'm sticking to it (at least for now).

squeeky wheel gets the grease

There is something wrong with a system that encourages noisy segments of the population to dictate how the government can spend its precious little money.
The Chretien-Martin debt-reduction policy of the 1990's forced provincial governments to review their programs and cut their spending. The Quebec legislature decided it would drastically reduce and postpone road maintenance. This resulted in a surge in profits in the auto maintenance/repair industry, particularly the suspension, alignment, rim and tire segments, a requirement for complete overhauls of roads now beyond repair, and the occasional chunk of concrete killing innocent people.
Meanwhile, the only social programmes being restored were those getting airtime because people who were fed up (and either desperate or had nothing much better to do) organized rallies and major protests.
The buying of votes for the appearance of accomplishment and contentment of the mindless masses is exactly why I believe the democratic will is not always a competent decision-making authority and cannot be trusted as sole social custodian.

I wonder if the families of the recently deceased and injured realize they were robbed by all those who still benefit from the extremely low tuition rates in Quebec?

Fwd: FW: A Street Sign In Germany

tee hee, well it's not that funny, well maybe.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Subject: A Street Sign In Germany
I get the feeling that the Germans
don't like King George II either....

Any reason we could NOT have the same sign in the USA???

sad beauty

Manufactured Landscapes looks like another excellent documentary that quietly captures the sad beauty of our self-destruction.

what's the government waiting for?

We need economic incentives in place to get technologies in place to reduce, capture and sequester CO2 emissions, right now.
I don't know how much longer Canada's "new" government can go on critiquing the former government for waffling on the little things, before Canadians start realizing the Tories are waffling on such fundamental big-picture long-term issues as greenhouse gases and social well-being.

dirty party tricks

Ref: La Presse's coverage of the latest government environmental audit
They say a best defence is a good offense...

Les conclusions du rapport [...] seront sûrement reprises par les conservateurs qui utiliseront les passages qui leur plaisent pour justifier leurs actions et attaquer les libéraux.
Ce n'est donc pas une coïncidence si le rapport a fait l'objet de fuites avant son dépôt au Parlement, obligeant les libéraux à se mettre en mode réduction des dégâts dès mercredi.

...but I'm not comfortable with the Conservatives thinking this is all just a game.

«Les changements climatiques sont une réalité et peu importe la façon de voir les choses, les enjeux sont de taille pour le Canada», a déclaré la commissaire qui, sans le nommer, cible son message au gouvernement conservateur. «Il est impératif que le gouvernement adopte un plan réaliste, clair et crédible visant à réduire de façon significative les émissions de gaz à effet de serre», poursuit-elle.

Update: as expected, the tories have jumped on this opportunity like little children desperate to say "I told you so" for anything.

20-foot chasm

Apparently there's this American proverb that says:

It makes no sense to cross a 20-foot chasm with two 10-foot leaps.

In my view, this is exactly what's wrong with Harper's approach to Senate reform.

"Fight for what you have" or "Sell out now" ?

Canada's so-called "new" government has made a number of budget cuts to non-mainstream (read: vote insignificant) sectors, reinforcing my doubts as to their intentions. Below are some of their latest victims and the potential impact:

• Court Challenges Program. Makes it harder for non-mainstream Canadians to fight for language and equality rights.
• Pine Beetle Program. Population is out of control because the winters are warmer due to global warming. First goes the Kyoto commitment, then the efforts to deal with the mess. What`s next?
• Adult literacy and work skill development programs. Right, since when is an educated workforce good for the economy? Rather than helping them, they'll be squeezed onto the Welfare list and have to work under the table for peanuts. But at least they won't appear on the unemployment stats! I suspect this may also be a covert attempt at reintroducing slavery...
• Youth employment program. Right, why give these kids hope and skills for the future when we could be locking them away in a tougher stance on crime!
• Status of Women Canada. Ok, this has been around for a long time and has probably achieved its goals (well, at least by Tory standards who seem to be willing to settle for the 70% solution...)
• 12 fewer cabinet ministers. Right, who needs all this bickering around the table? why should the workload be spread across that many MPs and leave them time to deal with the bothersome needs of their constituents? Besides, too many people involved makes it harder to control any leaks.
• Public Safety also takes a $75M loss - uhm, what about that whole thing about making Canada a safer place to live?

All I see in these announcements and their actions are discrete but effective attempts to erode the social structures that make this country the peaceful, orderly place that it is, while replacing it with a more direct, confrontational and exclusive/divisive attitude typical of the United States. This budget is a well-calculated Trojan Horse that will very likely influence mainstream voters to vote in a majority conservative government so they can unleash the next round of borg-like assimilation.

Which conveniently brings me back to my subject line: In a world that is increasingly polarized, should we be fighting against all odds to preserve the progress (rights and priviledges) that we (and our forefathers) have fought for and earned, acting as a beacon of resistance and hope for future generations and others around the world, or should we give it all up and head full speed down the drain to stake out our place and welcome the rest of the world, since that's where we're all headed anyway?

Bell Sympatico incompetence

Would you believe it took Bell 4 weeks to conclude that my intermittent connection to their high-speed DSL service was due to the faulty new modem that they shipped me?
The whole time I had to endure thinly veiled accusations from their technical support that it was a user error (e.g., filtering the modem line, or not entering the right user ID), or my computer not having the right drivers (even though I've been with them for 6 years and know that no software is required because it was working fine before switching local phone companies), after which they resorted to claiming it must be an internal wiring problem (even after I told them i isolated that line and installed a whole new jack directly at the demarc).

After escalating my calls three times to a Level 2 Technician, somebody (whose mother tongue actually is English) from the Test Centre finally called me back and confirmed the complete line test checked out ok, and we scheduled a service call to my house. After 45 minutes of testing my wiring (which was perfect, no signal loss, cross-over or bleedthrough), the lineman finally had enough of the manager (who had "come along for the ride") insisting it must be the wiring somewhere, went to the truck and got me a new modem. I hooked it up, and voila, connected instantly. They were even surprised I was getting the speeds I could get given I had done my own wiring and had no Access Manager or drivers. They stuck around to make sure I could re-establish the connection through my router, and of course it picked up right away.

What a bunch of (expletives deleted). As soon as I get cable internet up and running reliably, they're history. At least they've confirmed that my wiring was irreproachable. The lineman even asked me what high-tech company I worked for, which brings me to another pet peeve of mine: Why is it people generally arrogantly extend credibility only to someone who has specialized in the subject at hand, whatever it may be? But I'll keep that discussion of educational prejudice for another day.

Anyway, I'm glad to be back online, even if it is with Sympatico.

Affairs of State

The Governor General has made some comments that were less than warmly received by separatists. I have not been able to find a reference article in English, but Radio-Canada.ca covers some of the reactions.

One of the opening comments to the article is that "[She] costs us a fortune."
RDI last night presented an article on the same subject and followed it with a single background-info slide, showing how the GG's budget almost doubled from 1995 to 2005.
This is a recurring complaint, smacks both of ignorance and of desperation to impress Joe Canadian with big numbers, and I feel a little context should be provided.

The GG represents Canada as head of state to the world, maintaining diplomatic and cultural relationships with other heads of state. She just recently welcomed the President of Latvia and will be receiving the king and queen of Sweden next month.
As she represents us to the world, she also represents, in a way, our world image to us. I very much respect the comments she makes and her desire to break the barriers between the "two solitudes." She's fighting self-obsession at the provincial level (she's not only picking on one province) so as to unlock the potential this country has to offer the world.

As for her "expenses": Rideau Hall is managed and maintained (rather shoddily I might add) by Public Works (as they do with all the official government residences), and Foreign Affairs dictates her agenda and organizes her trips. Personally I think its very convenient for this country to have two people to play the very different roles of good cop/bad cop when it comes to international diplomacy, and I see no reason why anybody should reproach her for doing the same with domestic diplomacy.

socially-irresponsible crock

MSN editors recommended an article that says now is the time to buy an SUV.

How can it claim that a $12,643 Durango is "cheaper" than the "more expensive" Honda at $12,000???

Promoting gas-guzzlers so unabashedly leaves me wondering if the author isn't trying to pump his investment portfolio overly heavy on oil and Big 3 stocks. Furthermore, barely skimming the environmental impact is unpardonably irresponsible.

I submitted feedback strongly suggesting the editors reconsider their support for this article. If you feel the way I do, I urge you to do the same; if you feel otherwise, please explain why to me as clearly I'm missing that point.

significant environmental impact

Re: Car-Free day in Qc
More green streets please!

inquiring minds want to know

Two of my colleagues, alerted to the fact I use them as source material for this blog, are on a mission now to find this blog
(insert Mission Impossible theme song here).

dynamic truth

One colleague (BH, exasperated) to another (GL) just a minute ago:

"I get tired listening to you because the truth changes as the minutes tick by."

I'm not so sure the truth itself had changed, but rather the words chosen by GL to express the underlying facts.
This was a good example of why I don't always like talking to people, because I usually don't have the patience to deal with people who blame the speaker (me) after they have clung to certain words and jumped to conclusions about what I meant.

Anyway, our section head has just forayed into this (now rather intense) discussion about the usage and meaning of various terms. (sigh) Too bad language has suppressed our ability to communicate effectively...

measures of awareness

According to EirePreneur:

It seems that intelligence, natural or artificial, is an emergent property of collective communication. Human consciousness itself may be an epiphenomenon of extraordinary processing power. Although experts prefer to avoid simplistic definitions of intelligence, it seems clear that all intelligence involves the rational manipulation of symbolic information.

Somehow this came about during the discussion of human superiority because we (at least most of us) are intelligent because we are self-aware as a result of our complex language skills.
Since our level of self-awareness can only be measured in words (usually) understandable only to us (humans), we are deaf to the expressions of self-awareness of other species and therefore any conclusion that they aren't intelligent strictly based on that argument is invalid.

There are more thoughts/concepts/notions on this floating in my brain that I can't quite put to words just yet. So, should my intelligence be measured on my awareness of them, or my ability to express them in words understandable by (most) others?

Excellent speech to the Economic Club of New York

Just read the speech and found it excellent. It drives home the importance of partnership with the US during a time congress seems ready to sacrifice us as collateral damage in the self-serving "protection" of their own borders. It also drives the point that Canada is an important petroleum producer with a stable democratic climate and whose economy leads the G7. He ends it by downplaying our differences by lightly teasing them about the cultural differences embedded in our constitutions and our sports and then reminds them of our shared fundamental values.
Overall it was a brilliant speech, but the message will have to be repeated over and again before the warmer attitudes translate into more profitable trading, because, unfortunately, it's exactly the kind of message that gets drowned out in their media's obsession with fuelling the shock-and-awe addictions of their (idiot) consumers.

fighting solitude

I was recently given a scenario that spawned a whole set of philosophical questions. You sociology majors will sneer at this probably entrance-level exam question, but it's one that we never looked at in engineering school (so humour me, ok?).

Setting. A kid in high school is always being picked on and he begins to isolate himself.
Scenario 1: You aren`t involved in any way with any of the people involved.
Scenario 2: You personally witness the situation but aren't friends with anybody involved.
Scenario 2: He is a friend and confides in you.
Scenario 3: You are part of the tormenting group and hear warnings from a third party.

Questions for each of the scenarios: (a) Whose fault is that? (b) Who, if anybody, should intervene, with whom, in what manner and when?

Variation1 on the setting: How do your answers change if he has retaliated violently against those that picked on him - is that self-defence?
Variation2 on the setting: How do your answers change if he has retaliated violently against random individuals or society at large?

scope creep

Client recently said 'We need something between "better than nothing" and "while we're at it." '
Classic.

mindboggling

If only the level of customer support could match the technology some companies offer...

double-edged words

On the Prime Minister's news release titled "Afghan President to visit Canada"
dated September 14, 2006:

Guided by our core values of freedom, democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights, Canada is proud - along with our allies - to support President Karzai's legitimate, democratically elected government, said the Prime Minister.

uhm, why so much emphasis on justifying Karzai's government, I wonder?

Technical support nightmares

Battling with Sympatico lately. Switched to a cable-based home phone service and Ma Bell promised to put in a dry loop (naked DSL) right away. Which they eventually did, but forgot to activate the high-speed internet on it. So, after three weeks, twenty-some-odd calls to tech support saying I suspectd my dry loop had no DSL service, waiting endless hours on hold waiting for somebody to answer, hoping in vain my "ticket with the level 2 agents" would be acknowledged within 24h as promised (only to find out later its a 66h response but was ignored anyway), changing my modem because somebody was convinced it was defective, rebooting/disconnecting/resetting it umpteen times and installing new software because somebody else was convinced it was essential for the computer to connect to the service, I FINALLY landed on someone who thought of checking if the service was actually activated on my dry loop. It turns out, big surprise, that they forgot to activate my service during the install. Lovely. Now I have to call back tomorrow during the day to kindly request that they get their heads out of their butts and/or pull them away from their monitoring of people's personal stuff to get them to complete the job they were supposed to THREE WEEKS AGO.
Schadenfreudic bastards.
I'm going to bitch for a credit, over and above the time unavailable, burn that off, then switch to somebody who is actually motivated to help people.

accountability, according to harper

I don't understand what the whole problem is with the whole appointment process anyway, since any appointments to the senate (for example) hangs over the head of the PM at the next election anyway. (Was it Joe Turner's campaign that took a dire turn when he said to Mulroney during the debates "i didn't have a choice" (referring to trudeau's instructions)?.
Harper keeps touting "accountability" to the people - however, he's removing himself (and his party) from that by shutting out the media, having his MPs repeat the same scripted points over and again rather than letting them speak freely, blatantly ignoring calls for by-elections for Emerson and Fortier to "earn" their mandates, and using the results of the last general election as blanket approval for their entire platform. I understand his reasoning is that Canadians will hold them accountable at the next general election, but I hardly believe that this retaliation voting concept is in the best interests of the country. We need some mechanism to exert pressure on their decisions issue by issue, preferably not after swallowing fourteen poison pills.

senate deform

Last week I had the opportunity to watch the PM being questioned during the senate hearings on bill S4 (which would limit newly appointed senators to 8-year terms). Personal mistrust and misgivings toward the current PM aside, I have serious issues with the way this is being done and the potential impact on our parliament, basically because I don't believe Joe Canadian, to whom Harper wants to make the senate accessible to, will ever be interested enough to get involved. It is very easy for high-profile individuals to spout rhetoric about (and for Joe Canadian to believe) how ineffective and expensive the senate is, how senator absenteeism rates are unacceptable, and how senate appointments are undemocratic. I believe the root cause of these issues is the fundamental misunderstanding of the role of the senate, but nobody is taking the time to discuss it. (If you are interested in a quick overview, wikipedia offers pretty good info.)
Without going into a point-by-point rebuttal of the PM's statements, I have grave concerns with the direction the Conservative party is taking with senate reforms. This first-of-many bills intends to limit the term of new senators to 8 years. How does that solve the root-cause? And what happens after the 8 (or 9 or 10 as he said he would be willing to accept) year term? Eligibility for re-appointment creates an incentive for the senators to kiss-up and vote in favour of the government to increase their chances of being re-appointed, violating the "sober second thought" process and making it irrelevant. But if you prevent them from being re-appointed, how would you prevent them from being influenced by external lobbyists, with whom they may wish to seek employment after their term? To make that case even worse, taxpayers wouldn't get any value at all from the growing ranks of retired senators each drawing a fat pension. Either scenario paves the way for the Conservatives to justify eliminating the upper house completely. So how can Bill S4 remain silent on such a critical issue, unless that is their desired end-game?

Another problem is the abuse of the propaganda that "the democratic will is supreme" and all the blabla that only elected representatives have the true mandate to govern, and therefore should be able to do so uninhibited by such troublesome things as laws, ethics, minorities, and even the constitution.
I don't trust the current government, not just because it has oft misappropriated the results of the last election as a carte-blanche by the people to do whatever it is they promised, when many canadians really only wanted to vote the other guys out. The PM even smugly stated with a Trudeau-esque "just-watch-me" smile when he told the senate committee not to force him to use any veto power, appoint new conservative senators (there are currently 8 vacancies), or bypass the upper house to get these bills passed.
Forgive me, I promised I would put personal dislike aside. Right, so limiting the senators' terms will rejuvenate the upper house on a regular basis. Fine. Hey, wouldn't it make sense then for Canadians to elect them? Result on parliament: Joe Canadians will elect the prettiest, dirtiest, most successfully slanderous snake-oil salesmen to the upper house. Don't we already have that in the house of commons? Then why bother with a second house at all?

The senate's role is defender of the constitution, regional rights and minorities. The days of the upper house being the house of lords protecting the interests of the landowners and other uber-rich are over, and any argument that is rooted in such lore is therefore invalid and should be called as such. Senators are being appointed from various social, economic and cultural communities (most having already held prominent government positions) to ensure that rights and freedoms of every piece of the social mosaic aren't abused, while, as one of the senators pointededly stated during the hearing, "the majority can look after itself." As Sir John A. Macdonald observed, it is a body of "sober second thought" that would curb the "democratic excesses" of the elected House of Commons.
Speaking of democratic excesses, Harper seems hellbent to capitalize on society's desire to curb abuses in politics, and is firing a silver(plated) bullet into the senate to "prove" that a democratically elected body as the ultimate authority as a panacea to all ills in politics and restore popular faith. In the short term, this will probably satisfy peoples delusional appetites for change, but I suspect people will very quickly realize what happens when you give somebody absolute power... Compounding the problem is that, like dealing with a schizophrenic who stops taking his meds, it can take a long time before you find a successful cocktail of new meds that will restore the delicate balance.
Bottom line is that this self-assigned democratization mission sounds more and more like the US Republican Party mantra, and the centralization of ("democratic") power is slightly reminiscent of propaganda from that German Socialist Party of the 1930's...

senate reform (2)

Let's say you bought a Lada because it was the lowest-cost vehicle when you needed something motorized with an enclosed cab to pick up the groceries at the corner store, and your friends invited you for a car race. You obviously wouldn't think of putting a Porsche engine in your Lada to join them; because you'd figure it'd burn out the transmission for starters. Then if you upgrade your transmission, you'd burn out your differential. Upgrade that, you'd blow out your tires. Upgrade your tires, you'd have to change the suspension, and so on. You just know it'll waste a lot of resources and cause a lot of downtime trying to get the car to do what it was never meant to do in the first place, and even if it did work, it would cost too much to keep it as a car to run simple errands with.

So what makes Harper think he can reform the senate bit by bit the way he is?

If something isn't efficient, you improve the process, but if it's not effective, you have to re-evaluate your options in achieving your goals. (If you don't agree with the goals, well, buckle up for a national debate.) To do anything less is a dishonest abuse of power, and to mislead the people in such a way is hypocritical to the worst degree.

throwing stones from a glass house

If not a glass house, it seems Harper's parliamentary secretary isn't aware he has very big windows with no curtains...
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060824/kenney_rally_060824/20060824?hub=Canada

Warm News

This is cool, uhm I mean warm:
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060710/montreal_subway_updated_060710/20060710?hub=Canada
yay montreal! I can't wait to try it out, after taking the metro so often for so many years.

PS. Thanks NewQ for the link.

the best canada has to offer?

PM Harper yesterday issued a statement on the passing of Corporal David Braun, saying:
"[...]Our country honours this brave soldier, who exemplifies the best that Canada has to offer. [...]"

Somebody (churchill?) is quoted as something something like: "he who brings an ally on board is twice as valuable as the general who wins an important battle" or something to that effect. I would hope that Harper, beyond the warmth of his important words for cpl Braun's loved ones, does not think that this country does not have anything better to offer than soldiers who can bravely fight a military campaign in an almost forgotten place with little diplomatic 2nd prong.

dialogue, not diatribe revisited

first, note that I have clarified my prev post on this subject.
second, there's obviously a lot of tension without our own society that causes good people to scuttle their careers as a result of the controversy their comments stirred up even among their peers.
(see related story on CBC)

We should all be free to speak our minds and explore the issues that dog us to achieve a state of greater understanding, and feel confident in so doing that we aren't risking our entire careers. Isn't that what democracy is all about? If not, how free really are we?

hope for the human race

http://www.hanniganhole.co.uk/blog/2006/08/technobabble-and-social-engineering.html

dialogue, not diatribe

http://www.cbc.ca/story/world/national/2006/08/21/hezbollah-mps.html
I concur. The global conditions under which the decision was made at the time have evolved; I agree that it's time to reconsider allowing dialogue and resolution of long-standing and complex issues through more peaceful approaches. I don't believe it's realistic to expect negotiating a stable solution when one party has been cut off from the rest of the world by those that want it to be more like them.

its amazing...

... how christianity (also as a microcosm of humanity at large) has survived already this long, seeing as nobody can quite agree on something as apparently important as exactly what happened several centuries before: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nestorianism

poppy seed'll do

So there I was, ordering a breakfast bagel, when the short-order cook asked what kind of bagel I wanted. I asked (knowing they don't have a full selection of real bagels) "what kind do you have?" to which he insisted "what kind do you want?". I told him I wanted an "everything" bagel (I really like the onion-stuff they have) (knowing they don't have that kind) so he replied "oh, a poppy seed bagel." At that point, a dozen smart-ass remarks came to mind but I chose to save the battle against that strange notion of customer service for another day.

precycling

we need more guys like these:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060801/ap_on_re_us/big_dig_house

Photo database

Hyperlinking related photos is a huge idea!

However, I can see this kind of technology being married with facial recognition software, and used by organisations (of legitimate or questionable intent) to track the movement of people in the world, providing an archive of who was where (and with who) at any given time - all thanks to people who innocently post their vacation pictures. So much for privacy! :-S (At least there's a plethora of photo-shopped images to obfuscate such historical records and create a doubt in legitimate courts at least...)

Anyway, we all know this is really being developed for the adult-entertainment industry, the real driving force behind the internet! ;-)

Soldier Sacrifices (editorial)

Try this.

SOLDIER SACRIFICES
The Edmonton Sun 2006.07.26 Editorial/Opinion

The deaths of Cpl. Francisco Gomez, a 44-year-old member of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry in Edmonton, and Quebec City native Cpl. Jason Patrick Warren, 29, of the Black Watch, the Royal Highland Regiment of Canada, in a suicide bombing last weekend in Afghanistan brings the death toll for the dangerous mission to 20: 19 soldiers and one diplomat.
If those numbers make you uncomfortable, good. We hope they do.
Because if people are uneasy with those statistics it means they still care, one way or another. It means they're either gutted by the fact that our soldiers have to pay such a high price in order to try to bring stability to a war torn region as part of the war on terror, or they're outraged at how our soldiers' lives are being sacrificed for a futile cause.
As our readers know, we completely support the Armed Forces' mission in Afghanistan. And it grieves us whenever we at the Sun get the notification that another soldier has died, because we know all too well by now that these aren't automatons programmed to go into the Afghanistan mountains to kill. They're flesh and blood human beings with families back here in Canada - spouses, parents, children - who are suffering the worst kind of grief imaginable.
And with every death, the tentacles of pain, sorrow and despair spread further across the military family and the greater Edmonton community, which has embraced our soldiers with open arms.
We know that not all Canadians share our view of this mission. That's the democratic right we enjoy in this country - to disagree with public policy without fear of reprisals, official or otherwise. And we know that according to some recent polls, Canadians are growing increasingly uneasy about the Afghanistan mission. One poll last week found that 41% of Canadians surveyed believe Canadian troops should be pulled from Afghanistan immediately, while only 34% say they should remain for a limited time of at least two years.
But that's OK. Because it means people are still engaged. They're following what's happening to our soldiers. And they're naturally concerned.
We've gone through that extended period when Canadians were utterly indifferent to our soldiers. We lived through the time not that long ago when the ones who died in so-called peacekeeping duty overseas had their deaths relegated to the back pages of newspapers from coast to coast, if they were even reported at all.
We don't ever want to go back to those days. We don't want Canadians to be
apathetic about our soldiers and the lives that they put on the line in the
blazing Afghan sun - or anywhere else - every single day.
We don't want people to look at a picture of a dead soldier in the paper and
shrug it off as another one.

the wheels may be turning...

Public observation is one of the things I love most about taking public transport.

Yesterday on the bus going to work, I saw this pudgy odd-looking thirty-something guy on the bus going through one of those 101 Mind Puzzles books (you know, the ones insecure brainiacs find amusing).
Anyway, he must have been particularly pre-occupied with his puzzles yesterday morning because he rang the bell to get off, opened his book, turned the page, closed the book again, and pulled the cord a few times to ring the bell again (even though the "stop requested" light was already lit (by himself just 20 seconds earlier)). Plus his wrinkled black polo shirt was on inside out.

So I'm thinking, this guy's wheels may be turning, but they're obviously not touching the ground!

more my kind of warfare

"We have tried to reduce the sound and we are reviewing the songs. I don't mind Barry Manilow, but I'm more of an ABBA and Celine Dion fan."
http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/07/17/australia.manilow.ap/index.html

oh yeah!

Seeds of Wrath; or, Unfortunate Pettiness

"When bombs are going off around you, it doesn't matter whose name is on the label. It's not about politics to those on the ground. It's about trying to stay alive."
-Lisi Tesher, "Relating", Ottawa Metro, 25 July 2005

Today's wars of ideology become tomorrow's wars of revenge. Though I sympathize with Israel for the difficulty they have in fighting their insidious shadow enemy, this is precisely why I disagree with their approach. Israeli strategists must realize that attempting to supplant Hezbollah in Lebanon is like trying to weed a garden downwind of a dandelion field; you cannot avoid seeing the current war as desperate, disproportionate, and ineffective in this light. Furthermore, this violation of a sovereign state (giving Lebanon the benefit of the doubt here) will raise the ire of its citizens, foster further misunderstandings, and add fuel to the underlying tensions between these great civilizations.

(sigh)

It's unfortunate that we have to wait for the next ice age (the one that Al Gore is promising) for humanity to realize it's true place in the world.

Canadians being evacuated

There is some noise about whether the 40,000 or so Canadians being evacuated from Lebanon should actually be considered Canadian - some say these "citizens of convenience" (who maintain their dual citizenship but haven't resided in or paid taxes to Canada in many, many years) do not deserve to be assisted out of their real (by all practical accounts) country.
Hogwash I say. If they are Canadian citizens and hold valid passports, it is our duty to extend whatever resources we can obtain to help them, just as any other citizen. However, one of the lessons we should learn from this situation is that perhaps our citizenship rules need to be revisited in light of the anticipated rise in world conflicts?
Questions we (via our officials) should discuss should include:
Do we want to continue allowing dual citizenship?
If so, with all or some countries?
If only some, which? How often should the list of acceptable countries for dual citizenship be updated? What do we do if we scratch a country off the list - give current passport holders in those cut-off countries 3 months notice then cancel those whose bearers choose not to return?
Do we want to have two classes of people - those who are citizens AND permanent residents of Canada, and a lesser class of citizens who are NOT permament residents of Canada that our embassies would not provide the same level of assistance to? If so, are our leaders prepared to make that discrimination in times of crisis? Finally, are our embassies equipped to handle that distinction in times of crisis?
For the time being, those who were attracted by the priviledges of a Canadian passport, and played by the rules to get one, must be entitled to every measure of protection we would extend to any other Canadian citizen. Personally, I would like to see Canada shoulder it's part of international responsibility by assisting all displaced people in Lebanon, regardless of citizenship. After all, we (the rest of the world) failed to
effetively deal with the causes of these tensions before the situation ever escalated.
That so many Canadians are contented by yet another photo-op for the PM flying to the rescue in his shining Canadian Forces armour is just sick.

more thoughts on taxes

"I'd rather have a dollar to share than none at all."
"I'd rather have half a pie than a risk a full one stolen."
-Me

It's funny cuz it's true ???

During a photo-op in France earlier today, at a ceremony commemmorating the Battle of Vimy Ridge: (source)

Stephen Harper, a servi une raillerie aux médias qui l'accompagnaient ce matin (mardi) à une cérémonie commémorative à Vimy.
Il a dit que dorénavant, l'ennemi ne transportait pas d'armes à feu, mais des caméras de télévision.

Rough translation: The PM joked that "In the future, the ennemy won't be the one carrying fire-arms but television cameras."

In this case, I hope its not true because it certainly isn't funny; I am rather apprehensive toward the prospect that we will be fighting a war of disinformation with the NeoCons, not unlike the grassroots opposition to Nazi party propaganda that was quickly eliminated...

And why is this not reported in the English news I wonder?

peacemaking credibility lost

The world just became a more dangerous place for Canadian soldiers. http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2006/07/18/graham-israel.html
Thanks, mr. prime minister.

malthusian predisposition

Last night I pondered on the thought that "politicians don't have values or a vision for anything other than their re-election/re-appointment" and by extension, will do anything to maintain support of the masses.

Now by coincidence I read that "Terrorists are not acting by their own free will, they are always the brainwashed faithful, out of their minds, controlled by religious and economic priesthoods."

So what state of the world are we in that nurtures this malthusian predisposition of both these groups to whip themselves into a fanatical frenzy and set out to free the world of all the evils they've convinced themselves exist?

Meanwhile, the bulk of the population is more concerned with the goings on of a few teen celebrities who've inherited their fortunes than with actual factual and meaningful news, adding further pressure on professional journalists to cave in to the greedy stakeholders desires to cash in on the infotainment approach to the news. How little we've learned from the middle ages...

disproportionate response

so... a labelled terrorist organization kidnaps a coupla israeli soldiers, and israel attacks civilians and civilian infrastructure in response, knowing full well that escalation would be inevitable. Meanwhile, Harper and Dubya (both self-proclaimed defenders of democracy but with neo-fascist tendencies) sit back and say, well, the other guys started it so they should learn their lesson and return the soldiers they kidnapped. That's not how my parents settled the fights between me and my younger sibling, let me assure you.

Anyway, I've spent time with the military, and I'm not sure I'd want Canada to start bombing and killing citizens of another country if I was ever kidnapped. I would rather suffer in the hands of my captors for peace and the greater good, than allow my government to use me as an excuse for military rampage. Military personnel are usually sworn to protect their "King and Country" - not just the King, especially if he (or whatever governing body) is acting illegally or irrationally. In most circumstances, I would rather die a traitor to the imposed governing body than live despite the principles I believe in, much like Churchill's Baker Street Irregulars just before the outbreak of WWII.

why I don't believe in the stock market

As Ed Deak writes (ref.):

Corporatism is fascism, as it doesn't recognize the " one person one vote system", but relies on the voting power of the artificial entities of corporate shares.
Therefore, any political ideology, or economic system, based on the decision making, voting power of artificial entities, controlled by a power elite, is a form of fascism.

Mind you, it has has provided the financial means necessary to a few well-intentioned forward-thinking individuals to ease political resistance and develop/implement technologies that would prove to benefit millions of people through employment, improved safety/creature comforts, and relative stability.

It's not a bad thing - it just needs the right checks and balances.

Manipulation

"It's not the people who vote that count; it's the people who count the votes."
- Joseph Stalin

Same thing could be said about people who make the news vs. people who report it...
I'm slightly concerned (though not conspirational) about the seeming trend toward "The New Fascism," defined here as:

(a) the rule of private corporations (b) the elevation to power of people adhering to The New Fascism (c) the wholesale use of press and media to lie to the population about the meaning of democracy (d) the destruction of health and safety codes, of limits upon police action, and of all publicly owned services and institutions (e) and total subservience to the USA in order to end Canadian sovereignty.

Every time Canadian media chains are allow themselves to be tempted by the lucrative "infotainment" formula in lieu of proud and professional journalism, proponents of "The New Fascism" faces one less hurdle.

Appealing to Americansa and American-wanna-bees

ahh- following in the footsteps of former (slightly overweight) president Bill Clinton I see!

From the Prime Minister's Web Site
Public events for Prime Minister Stephen Harper for Tuesday, July 11th are:
10:00 a.m. - Prime Minister Stephen Harper will attend the Hull Home Pancake Breakfast.
7:00 p.m. - Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Mrs. Harper will attend the Calgary Southwest BBQ.

Slinkies

Here's an amusing quote:
Some people are like Slinkies,
They don't really have a purpose,
But they still bring a smile to your face
When you push them down the stairs.

POTUS on foreign relations

http://www.forbes.com/technology/feeds/ap/2006/07/14/ap2878966.html

Looks like President G.W.Bush wants to have his pork...

But it is Bush's fierce support for Israel that puts him at odds with some of the other G-8 nations.

...and eat it too:

Bush finished his German visit by joining Chancellor Angela Merkel for a wild boar barbecue feast.[...] "Let's go eat," he said.

ecological footprint = shift the tax to where it belongs

I'm really glad to see that awareness of the "net energy balance" of various types of alternative fuels is starting to take root.
I would like to apply the same idea to consumer goods in terms of net ecological footprint: the product would be taxed based on not just the energy required to produce, package and ship it, but also to recycle the packaging and the product itself at the end of its useful life. Those costs would inevitably be flowed-through to the consumers (easing pressure off municipal taxpayers).
No doubt a political hot potato, I think something like that might actually reward earth-conscious consumers (rather than have to pay a premium for thinking green as is the current practice).
And maybe, just maybe, it just might get manufacturers to improve their product and packaging designs.
And maybe, (now I'm really stretching it) maybe the higher costs will get some people to rethink their habits of not looking after what they've got, because it's more ecological than replacing it even if it's oh-SO-last-week. That would ease a bit of the pressure on the already overstuffed landfill sites and like I said earlier would reduce the homeowner's tax burden a bit.
Not to mention, we would all breathe a little easier too, and our kids just might get to enjoy the same planet we grew up with.
This will probably take a few more years and somebody younger, smarter, more telegenic and more eloquent than yours truly (yeah I acknowledge it's a pretty low standard), so just remember you heard it from me first.

FW: Quiz: who said it? Ann Coulter or H

One of my friends commented on a quiz going around that asks people to guess whether the source of various quotes is Ann Coulter or Hitler. (I did it but found it rather useless, so I will only provide you with the link if you ask for it.) She said "I can't believe than Ann Coulter has a following."

I've concluded that people will follow ANYbody that distances themself from the pack: some out of sheer curiosity; some to gleefully support the stirring of the pot; some to create a story, be part of history and get their 15 minutes of fame; some who study the movement of the "enemy" to better oppose it; and others because they thoroughly believe it is good for mankind.

As dangerous and misguided as the latter group may seem, change invariably creates strife, strife challenges complacency, and these kinds of disturbances force about a Darwinian selection of emerging ideologies. As individuals we learn to better relate to ourselves and to others, and we as a race learn to adapt. So, in the end, conflict is good for mankind as long as one party is not in a position so strong as to obliterate the other(s); the continous ideological tug-of-war is necessary to keep humanity flexible.

You've often heard me say "Equilibrium must be maintained." My point is that universal equilibrium will be maintained, with or without us. It's up to humanity to stay flexible and adapt to the changing world or be overwhelmed by a massive malthusian check (like the looming disasters related to CO2 emissons).

Anyway, in response to those that believe that "Equilibrium can be maintained without the dangerous filth that spouts from Ann Coulter, a one-woman threat to everything democracy stands for," I partly agree, but want to add that she still might serve a higher-level purpose by fighting complacency: sometimes the silent majority needs a shot of the ridiculous to wake up and defend what they know is right. Otherwise, like Canadians lulled into a false sense of confidence with the Conservative government (and who will certainly elect them into a majority) you get what you deserve. I'm just not ready to accept that we deserve that kind of fate.

Precision

I think "love of the ideals we enjoy in this country" is probably more accurate than "love of country" in his speech on June 3, 2006 (exerpt below). Other than that, kudos for the fine text:

Prime Minister Stephen Harper issued the following statement on the occasion of the 5th annual Canadian Forces Day, June 4, 2006.

"Canadian Forces personnel have served our country with pride and honour in times of war and in times of peace. Often, they faced great danger - with some even giving their lives. But through it all, these men and women have shown great bravery, dedication to duty, and love of country.

changements

J'ai eu une discussion intéressante avec un collegue ce matin à propos de la longue fin de semaine qu'on vient d'avoir :
* le peu de temps libre n'a pas permis de prendre de l'avance sur les besognes domestiques;
* la vitesse de rattrapage n'atteint rarement la vitesse de retard, nécessitant occasionnellement des changements quantiques;
* "si tu fais toujours ce que tu as toujours fait, tu auras toujours ce que tu as toujours eu";
* d'où le besoin pour les changements quantiques.
Assez profond pour le premier matin après un long weekend, n'est-ce pas? :)

Harper marks GST reduction

Hmmpf. From http://www.pm.gc.ca/eng/media.asp?id=1230:

"This single tax reduction will mean nine billion more dollars will be kept in the pockets and bank accounts of Canadians over the next two years. [...] The Government is committed to further cutting the GST to five per cent, which will result in more savings for all Canadians. [...] Under Canada's New Government, Canadians are saving more money. In Budget 2006, 29 separate tax cuts were introduced, representing more tax relief than in the four previous federal budgets."

How realistic is it to expect that Canadians will actually keep these nine billion dollars "in their pockets and bank accounts over the next few years"? Rather, I suspect most would prefer to spend this on more goodies they think they need.
You cannot create wealth - if all Canadians had more money, that money will simply be worth less. Sure it will help a lot of people in the short term, but by creating the illusion that they have more, most will buy more (mostly gizmos from offshore) raising consumer prices and accelerating both the productivity decline in Canada and the damage being caused to the planet (exploitation and waste of natural resources, garbage, etc).
Personally, I think it's a brilliant way to win the next election while covertly advancing an agenda that harvests the dumb and further empowers the rich through the inflation that these tax measures will surely bring about.

Great speech

The Recent address by the Prime Minister to the third World Urban Forum on June 19, 2006 in Vancouver, BC, communicates a great vision and generates optimism and confidence in our society.
Except for the recurring erroneous blip about the "violent crime is growing" and the possible inaccuracy about the persistence of biker gang problems in Quebec (there have been massive crackdowns by provincial police in the past few years), this is a beautiful speech.

just can't shake the feeling

... that the current gov't (the self-proclaimed "Canada's New Government") is directed by people who aren't quite clear of the meaning of "dystopia" à la 1984.

For instance, through constant "war", the Party can keep domestic peace; when freedom is brought about, the people are enslaved to it, and the ignorance of the people is the strength of the Party.

Somewhere out west an English teacher needs to be fired.

more on taxes

During my vacation visiting the "summer cottages" built in Newport's Gilded Age got me thinking. These multi-million dollar mansions were built in a time when there were no such things as income tax or labour laws, when most corporations shouldered responsibility and recognized the importance of suporting the communities that provided the workforce for them. Some (probably most) corporations didn't, so the government (being an instrument of popular intention) came along, made that responsibility mandatory thru income tax and imposed themselves as middlemen.
That, plus labour laws and anti-trust laws, supposedly make such incomprehensible personal fortunes impossible today, according to the tour guides. Obviously they aren't aware of Microsoft or Exxon...

FW: Speech / Discours

Le 22 juin, le PM a fait une allocution sur la réparation des torts causés aux immigrants chinois pour la taxe d'entrée qui leur a été imposée.

je me demande pour quand les excuses pour la deportation des acadiens?

Canada boosts security funding

CANADA'S NEW GOVERNMENT TO INVEST $254 MILLION DOLLARS OVER TWO YEARS TO BOLSTER CANADA'S TRANSPORTATION SECURITY INFRASTRUCTURE
http://www.pm.gc.ca/eng/media.asp?category=1&id=1207

Terrorism threatens all free and democratic countries. Canada is not alone. Canada's New Government is tackling terrorism at home and abroad.
"We need to better ensure that Canada does more to prevent terrorism at home," the Prime Minister said. "Although we witnessed how successfully our security and intelligence services work together two weeks ago, we need to do more to protect our people and our institutions."
"Canada can choose to ignore terrorism, but terrorism will not ignore Canada," the Prime Minister concluded. "Our new government is prepared to act and the measures announced today will better secure Canada and help protect the Canadian way of life."

I wonder when they will formally announce the creation of the ministries of Peace, Truth and Love?

Ministry of Love

In a speech delivered to the Federation of Canadian Municipalities on 2 June 2006, I find it interesting that the Conservatives are spending $161 million to hire 1,000 new RCMP officers and federal prosecutors, up to $800 million for affordable housing in the cities (with up to $300 million specifically at improving housing for Aboriginal Canadians who live off-reserve).
Meanwhile, programs aimed at preventing young people from succumbing to crime in the first place only get $50 million.
So, we're paying a little bit to get them active and engaged in our society, which can ultimately lead to their interdependance, and we're paying a lot more to house them and punish them if they go astray. This current direction reinforces my impression of the "daddy-state" the Conservatives are imposing: "I'm paying for the roof over your head so you'd better behave, or else!"
I wonder if this alienating move isn't another deliberate step to recreate a class structure and further disengage society from government, so he can freely pass whatever laws his corporate totalitarian buddies are pressing him for?

fax machine from hell

User-interface people take note:
The stupid fax machine here has only one volume setting "LOUD SO EVERYBODY CAN HEAR IT" and lets you listen while it dials, polls and handshakes with the other fax when it picks up. However, it does not allow you to cancel a job when "The number (beeep) you have dialed is not in service (beeep). Please check (beeep) your number and try your (beeep) call again. Le (beeep) numero composé n'est (beeep) pas en service...." I'm sure you can imagine how annoying (and embarrassing) that can be.
At least I sleep soundly at night knowing it is "Y2K Compliant".

vacation

Just came back from a brief (8day) vacation. Being out of the country (was in the USA) , the exposure to the lifestyles of the rich and famous of Newport's Gilded Age, meeting good friend and their 3day old baby and new grandparents, and travelling with my mother-in-law and our own baby, gave me plenty of things to think about and opportunities to reflect. It goes without saying that I really missed having my blog to braindump into, cuz I've forgotten all the paradigm shifts I had made that would of course have solved the worlds problems (at least from my pov).
On the other hand, it was a good thing for me to have to communicate my thoughts the old fashioned way for a change...

media walkout

tee hee

Global cause

An Inconvenient Truth
(currently playing at the Bytowne Cinema in Ottawa)

Excellent film. Outstanding presentation. Crucial point. Go see it and become part of the solution.

"but he started it!"

Amazing how I'm still affected by stupid arguments that I lost to as a kid. For example, while looking for a unilingual English copy of a DVD for a friend yesterday:
Salesgirl: Personally I think it's dumb [to have bilingual DVD covers].
Me: I actually think it's a good thing.
SG: I'm against anything bilingual in Ottawa.
Me: Oh? Why is that?
SG: Well, when you go to Quebec, all the signs are French.
Me: So?
SG: Well, I can read a bit from school and stuff, but I can't read any of their signs. If they're not bilingual, why should we be forced to be bilingual?

(sigh) Obviously she paid as much attention in Canadian History class as she did in French class.

overheard just a minute ago: "boss, 1st rule of management: you can tell whatever lie you want, and as long as everybody thinks its true, you can't go wrong."

Sounds like the Conservative party is exerting a greater influence than I suspected.

human nature 101

After a rather painfully disillusioning discussion yesterday, I learned the following lessons:
-Manager's role is to "create a positive climate so that people want to come back;"
-Fear and hysteria trump cool logic as tools to influence a decision; and
-When faced with a decision between what's "most pleasant" and "what's best for the cause" the outcome is unfortunately easy to predict.

So I ask myself, why do I keep trying?

"I got mine"

A rather portly man walked by in a T-shirt this morning that read "THERE IS PLENTY OF FOOD FOR ALL OF GOD'S CREATURES - I just choose not to share."

Another feather in the cap of deconstructionist tendencies that I choose to stand against.

The Parent Trap

The Liberal governments under Chretien and Martin (especially aligned with the NDP), were accused of turning Canada into a Nanny State. Now under "Canada's New Government" under Harper, I get the impression they are trying to set up a "Daddy State." Why do I feel like I'm a kid caught in a messy divorce?

a flame still burning in a darkening world

ad wars

There's a storm brewing on the horizon, one that threatens the low-cost structures that we currently have in place and that everybody can afford, and taken to the extreme, undermines the fundamentals of democracy.
GlobalTV is claiming freedom of expression to strike down the laws against pharmaceutical advertising, because they want to put more money in their pockets. But where will that money come from? They don't care, but we should. They want to use our pockets to pad their bottom line, and the insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies, ad agencies and marketing firms will each take a cut in the process. Sure, that may sound like a libertariainism success case, "the way capitalism works", and while it may contribute to short-sighted economic indicators like job creation, it flies in the face of the philosophy of Objectivism because "no one has the right to take what belongs to others by physical force or fraud." Anybody who claims that we each have the right to make pharmaceutical decisions for ourselves is obviously forgetting the reasons why we collectively gave doctors and pharmacists (and all other professional orders) the mandate to do what is best for the public and police themselves accordingly. Devolving that responsibility into the hands of every Tom Dick and Harriet (along with other deconstructionist tendencies currently taking the upper hand) will eventually bring us back into the Dark Ages where people, uneducated and untrusting, can be controlled by unscrupulous leaders through the use of intimidation, emotional blackmail and force.

whole health industry going mental

Now THIS is my kind of rant! Go Vinograd!

PUBLICATION: The Ottawa Citizen
DATE: 2006.06.09
EDITION: Final
SECTION: News
NAME: Letters
PAGE: A13
BYLINE: Caveat emptor.
SOURCE: The Ottawa Citizen

Drug firms keen to gain from mental 'disorders'
Re: Road rage identified as a mental disorder, June 6.

From May to September 1963, I did my first internship at a psychiatric hospital in Weyburn, Saskatchewan. One of my first patients was a young woman who had been hospitalized for many reasons, but whose main symptom was hysterical paralysis of her right arm and hand.
Using hypnosis, I was able to "cure" her "paralysis." When I informed her that I was soon to return to Ottawa to continue my formal training, her "paralysis" recurred.

Today hysterical paralysis is extremely rare. Do not believe for a moment that psychotherapists such as me, through diligent research and practice, have wiped this mighty scourge from the face of the planet. There is not a Jonas Salk among us.

What has happened, it seems, is that hysterical paralysis has fallen out of fashion.

Just this morning I read the latest of the latest: "Road rage identified as a mental disorder." Woe is me: I think I have another mental disorder! If a child has trouble sitting still for periods of time that are unreasonable to expect, he or she has attention-deficit disorder (ADD). If an adult is experiencing major turmoil in his or her marriage, the magic words presented to the psychotherapist are "I am depressed." Instead of probing the antecedents to the marital strife and attempting to resolve them, grab the DSM IV (Diagnostic & Statistical Manual) and pick a label, any label. Then medicate, medicate, medicate!

If the reader concludes that I am poking unnecessary jibes at the DSM IV, the authors of which determine what is and what is not a mental disorder, I draw your attention to the fact that an inordinate number of these scientists have an unusually high rate of direct and indirect connections to pharmaceutical conglomerates. And the remedies they recommend? Drugs and more drug therapy.

In fact, it seems to me that all we know about mental disorders is that some people say other people have them.

Caveat emptor.

Dr. Dov Vinograd,
Ottawa

Death of Senator Forrestall

First, my sympathies to the family and friends of the late Senator Michael Forrestall.

Excerpt from Statement issued by the PMO:

Prime Minister issues statement on the death of Senator Michael Forrestall
June 9, 2006
"I was deeply saddened to learn of Senator Forrestall's passing. For four decades, he served the people of Halifax/Dartmouth and Nova Scotia, first as a Member of Parliament and later as a Senator. Both I and members of my caucus benefited greatly from his advice and support, which was based on his extensive parliamentary experience and his commitment to the people he served."

So... he and his caucus "benefited greatly" from his four decades of service, yet he wants to prevent future senators from achieving such "extensive parliamentary experience" by limiting their terms to 8 years... is it just me or is this incongruent?

time to reign in the radicals

Harsh words in this article but the clarity of thought is refreshing (abbreviated and with minor editorial changes)

SOURCE: The Ottawa Citizen
EDITION: 2006.06.07 Final
PAGE: A1 / Front

The 17 men accused of plotting to bomb sites in Ontario shouldn't be seen as Muslim terrorists, but as idiotic thugs, if the allegations against them are true, says a University of Toronto psychology professor. If charges are true, these men are misguided idiots and to call them terrorists only serves to romanticize their cause, he argues.
"To call them Muslim terrorists in my estimation is a mistake. They're misguided totalitarian cowards and they're out for revenge," said Jordan Peterson, who studies the psychology of terrorism. "It's dumb and cowardly and they're in the same league, in my estimation, as bone-headed skinheads in Eastern Germany."
Mr. Peterson, an associate professor in U of T's Psychology department, said that calling such people terrorists only romanticizes them and gives them the notoriety they are seeking -- potentially leading others to join their cause.
"People like to think that those who are plotting against us are smart, because no one likes to think our society can be attacked by idiots," he said. "(But) they are low-ranked idiots. ... Their lack of intelligence, forethought and courage should be at the forefront."
The 12 men and five youths arrested in last Friday's sweep were allegedly led by 43-year-old Qayyum Abdul Jamal. A volunteer at the al-Rahman Islamic Centre in Toronto, Mr. Jamal had been heard to rail against Canada's involvement in Afghanistan and accuse Canadian soldiers of raping Muslim women, according to Toronto Liberal MP Wajjid Khan.
"I think (Mr. Jamal) is frustrated and vengeful. He sees himself as a victim and justified in attacking the people who victimized him," Mr. Peterson said.
Regarding the young men who allegedly followed Mr. Jamal, Mr. Peterson said it's no surprise. He said most violence in society is committed by men between the ages of 18 and 26, who are hard-wired to be status-seeking and to gravitate toward groups.
"Young men, they're gang creatures," he said. "There's no reason to presume these people are anything other than gang members who picked something contemptible to do because of a sense of victimization."
Mr. Peterson argues that, if the allegations against the men are true, they are more totalitarians than Muslims in their ideology. For someone who benefits from all the advantages of Canadian society, to turn around and attack Canada, is hypocritical.
"He's preying unethically on the suffering of others to make himself into the champion of the oppressed," Mr. Peterson said.
"It's lies and it's cloaked in a sense of adventure."

The article also talks about the effect of the war in Iraq and the recent "Canadian episode as a reflection of [the greater worldwide] trend of second-generation emigres who have sought in Europe and in Canada a better life. While they have found that better life often, what they haven't found is cultural acceptance."
Dr. Post said there is a tension within Islam itself, between those who want to move more in step with the western world and those who want to return to more traditional and fundamentalist values.
"There is a sense of collective identity that's being preached [among the muslims radicalized by society]... concerning an idealized version of what Islam stands for, against this corrupt, secularizing world. These young men see themselves as (being) on the cutting edge of a faith that they have to defend against what they see as western imperialism," he said.

Personally, I think its time for us reasonable non-corrupt and non-imperialist Canadians to retake the stage from the corporate hooligans and fear-mongerers currently running the show, and prove that fundamentally, our humanist values are not that different from those in Islam after all. Moving the wood away from the coals and letting the fire die out by itself exposed and naked is surely a more effective method than burying it with dirt and have it spread underground.

global warming

According to Jay Leno's opening monologue tonight (roughly quoted from memory):

X-Men 3 made 150million this weekend, while during the same time, The Inconvenient Truth made 2million. So, according to the box office, people are more interested in fake people saving a fake Earth than real people saving a real Earth.

It's sad but kinda nice to fantasize about what state the world would be in today if Al Gore had become president...

Toxic Nation report

We cannot let the Canadian government turn its back on the evidence of environmental contamination on humans. Toxic chemicals emitted by industry and released through contact with, or use of, consumer products are measurable in Canadians. To protect people today and safeguard the health of future generations, the Canadian government must set a course to ensure that all citizens, no matter where they live, how old they are or what they do for a living, will not be exposed to toxic substances. Part of this, and it would fit very nicely in the Tory platform, would be to make and hold industry accountable for its chemicals, and regulate toxic chemicals in consumer products.
However, I suspect that the Canadian government is heading towards corporate totalitarianism, and that trend may be irreversible due to public ignorance and apathy. After idly watching Harper renege on our Kyoto commitment and not offer any replacement programs, (dusting off Republican excuses that it would hurt our economy), I doubt we will see any progress at all on this issue. (Side note: economy is derived from ekos, meaning household. Exploiting natural resources without regard for the environment is akin to selling the goose that lays the golden eggs.)
Meanwhile, Canadians should reduce their personal exposure to toxic chemicals wherever possible. Sources of toxic exposure are varied and numerous, and small changes in lifestyle and purchasing habits can make a difference in the level of pollutants each person carries.
If this concerns you, please visit http://www.toxicnation.ca and read the full report. If you aren't concerned, please read the full report and pay attention, because you should be.

commitment to so-called commitments

so... the PM talks about "long-term predictable funding" and projects of national significance, right after quashing long-term funding for a national day-care program, all while preaching accountability?

Canada's new government delivers on commitments to communities
June 2, 2006
Montréal, QC

Prime Minister Stephen Harper today outlined the measures his Government has taken to support Canada's communities and promised to continue reducing the fiscal imbalance between Ottawa and other levels of government.

In an address to delegates at the annual meeting of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities in Montréal, the Prime Minister pointed out that the recent federal budget provides $16.5 billion in new, long-term funding for local governments.

[...]

"The federal role must be defined to deal with projects of national significance," Prime Minister Harper said. "Federal funding must be put on a predictable long-term track and we must ensure accountability to Canadians for infrastructure investments by all levels of government."

capitalist evolution = social devolution

This article describes some of the reasons why I dislike the stock market system so much:

The earlier [capitalist] model said that corporations had a duty to ensure the well-being of employees, and an obligation to the community (chiefly but not exclusively fulfilled through corporate tax payments).

That model has been replaced by one in which corporation managers are responsible for creating short-term "value" for owners, as measured by stock valuation and quarterly dividends.

The practical result has been constant pressure to reduce wages and worker benefits (leading in some cases to theft of pensions and other crimes), and political lobbying and public persuasion to lower the corporate tax contribution to government finance and the public interest.

This evolution offends me to the core (even more than individual self-deresponsibilization): The emphasis on the bottom line has resulted in way too many things being left off the balance sheet, such as all the intangible benefits (e.g. reinvesting in the worker population by paying taxes) and environmental costs (e.g., pave paradise put up a parking lot, and all the packaging for single-serving commodities that ends up in landfills). I could go on...

corporate totalitarianism

This piece is an interesting discussion of how multicultural policies passively advance corporate totalitarianism. I never made the association before, and it will take some time for me to rethink my position on a few issues... Anyway, I think this is an interesting article and the discussion sure is thought-provoking. Not a fast or easy read, but I think it is well worth the time to consider these rather non-mainstream views.