Learning from the French

Apparently it is a serious offense to jeer French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

A regional prefect (similar to a governor) and a local police chief have been removed because they failed to shield the President from the boos and whistles of protesters when he made a speech in Normandy in January.

According to the the Independent here: About 3,000 demonstrators protested. M. Sarkozy was furious that the demonstrators had been allowed to come so near that he could hear them faintly. The official reason for their removal according to the Sarkozy’s Interior Minister is that the officials made “arrangements which failed to meet the importance of a situation”.

Although internationally Sarkozy, who is also the current head of the EU seems more progressive, than say our current leader, opposing the US invasion of Iraq, proposing strong environmental reforms for the EU, and most recently working with Mubarak of Egypt on a ceasefire in Gaza, his party, the UMP is the conservative, right of center party in France.

His reforms to labour, separation of church and state (wanting more religious involement) and selective imigration rules (setting priorities for certain skills) have made him an anathema to the socialists in France and his authoritarian approch to governance, as demonstrated by the removal of these local officials have also earned him criticism from those on the right, including his own party.

Hence the Nicolas Sarkozy Voodoo Manual and doll displayed above that was published last year. Sarkozy filed a suit to ban the sale of the book, “requesting the withdrawal of the voodoo doll by invoking his right to absolute and exclusive use of his image”. A similar move and legal argument made by our own demogogue in power, although in France the suit was quickly dismissed.

Although France often appears like a dysfunctional country, it appears that a socalled, conservative, center of right politician can always make things worse. I like the idea of a Voodoo Doll though, maybe it is something we can start here in Canada, as Harper’s stimulus program starts to fall apart and makes things worse.

JAWL

There is nothing that this Parliament cannot fix when they work together

All parties have agreed to form a coalition to end Ottawa bus strike. 

And they called us Torontonians special when we got the army to shovel our snow.

1981 primitive Internet

Long before anyone had heard of the Internet, early home computer users could read their morning newspapers online ... sort of. Video from Steve Newman's 1981 story was broadcast on KRON San Francisco.

Newnan is a meteorologist with a career in media and private industry that spans more than three decades or so his bio states. He has posted other interestingly dated videos from his personal newscasts here.

JAWL

Half a million Canadians on the dole in November

In November, 506,320 Canadians received regular employment insurance (EI) benefits. The total number of claims increased 58,900 from October to November before seasonal adjustments. The year to year increase was only 57,400 from November 2007 to November 2008. We seem to be picking up some volume here.

Probably not that much celebration, amongst these Canadians over yesterdays budget, but at least the ones that went on the dole at the end of November are now covered through Halloween.


JAWL

Meanwhile we still have right wing ideologues in power

Despite the fact that the Harper government was humming a more conciliatory tune in yesterdays throne speech, we still have his draconian, right wing, social conservative, ideologies to deal with. Like the case of Kim Rivera a US war resister living in Toronto.


Kim served a term in Iraq and then came to Canada because she did not want to be redeployed. She has been living in Ontario with her husband and three children, including a six week old girl who was born in Canada. Well yesterday she lost her appeal to remain in Canada and will be deported next Tuesday. A similar fate to Christopher Teske, living in BC who has just also lost his last appeal.


So what happens to Kim and the other war resisters after they are charged and serve 15 months or so in jail. Are they allowed to renter Canada or does their criminal record bar them from doing so? And if they are allowed to return, what was the point of kicking them out in the first place.


There are more reasons to get rid Harper besides the obfuscation of his economic fiscal mismanagement.








JAWL

Alternative Funeral Songs

The Children’s Society , a UK children's charity has commissioned a survey on the publics changing views about funerals. One of the questions dealt with which song people would like played at their funeral. Here is the top ten from the 764 Britons surveyed.

1. Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life - Eric Idle / Monty Python
   
2. Cabaret - Liza Minnelli
   
3. Wish Me Luck As You Wave Me Goodbye - Gracie Fields
   
4. My Way - Sid Vicious
   
5. They’re Coming To Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa - Napoleon
   
6. Fame! I Want To Live Forever - The cast of Fame
   
7. We’ve Gotta Get Out Of This Place - The Animals
   
8. Going Underground - The Jam
   
9. Spirit In The Sky - Dr and The Medics
   
10. Enjoy Yourself, It’s Later Than You Think - The Specials
    

From the Telegraph UK


JAWL

A positive announcement for my personal drug management

It was announced today that Pfizer Incorporated makers and marketers of Viagra have made a $68 billion offer to acquire Wyeth (or Newell Convers Wyeth) makers and marketers of Advil my favorite fast acting ibuprofen head ache pill. Although Pfizer is doing it to cover off losses to a major $2.3 billion law suit and shore up against future losses when their Lipitor exclusivity, patent expires in 2011, I think they have a winning combination here.

A little blue pill that will not give you a raging, morning after, headache. Perfect.

Just a little tip from JAWL

Stop the bleeding please

Have you heard about for the most important budget ever.

Let me see, we have radio ads in the 905 warning us that the coalition might still be alive, apparently television ads in Quebec linking Ignatieff and Dion. We have a finance minister that has met with every possible group he could gather for a photo op. He even pulled together an ad hoc advisory committee of business leaders and met with them once (Do you think Carol Taylor regrets quitting her day job?) and now after months of consultation, it is time for the most important budget in Canada’s history, ever.

Of course most of the details have already been leaked. So far we know that the budget expenditures will total $34 billion in 2009-10 and $30 billion in 2010-11. With various ministers playing key roles informing us, we have been advised that the budget will include:

• $1.5 billion to help workers acquire new skills
  
• $2 billion to build new housing for lower-income Canadians
  
• $250 million to create a new regional economic development agency for southern Ontario
  
• $160 million boost to cultural spending
  
• $300 million worth of initiatives to boost Canada’s tourism sector
  
• $1-billion fund to help unemployed workers in small and rural communities 

And as for tax cuts, Harper personally informed Canwest News (exclusively, we are told) that some of the tax measures would be permanent, but only a moderate and affordable amount of them though and others will be introduced on a temporary basis to deal with the fiscal crisis.

About the only thing we don’t know is whether Flaherty will make any mention of his foot wear and if as some have rumored that both he and Harper will switch to red ties to symbolize the deficit spending...

and the blood that is pouring from my ears, from listening to all this bullshit.

JAWL

What now Mr President

From Raw Story

Panorama the BBC One documentary show ran a segment this week, entitled What now Mr President, on the dismal state of health care in the United States. The show covers the plight of 45 million uninsured Americans, how the current system is rigged by the pharmaceutical industry and how the insurance industry is planning to scuttle Obamas plan.

We plan on mounting a national campaign," warned health insurance industry lobbyist Angela Hunter, and what we hope to do is to, number one, get some articles in the newspaper explaining what the problems are that we see with the plan. Two: Educate lawmakers, people who are members of our organizations, their clients--to go and lobby members of Congress--call them on the phone, visit them in their offices, and to just do everything that we can possibly do to preserve the freedom of choice for individuals in health care in America.

533 members of Congress, out of 535, have received campaign contributions from within the health sector.

The segment has been uploaded to YouTube in three parts here.








JAWL

Saving our country by getting a bang for our deficit dollar

The media and their corresponding web sites are full of articles this weekend about the forthcoming budget. Most responding to massive conservative public relations campaign detailing the extraordinary efforts that Harper, and Flaherty have gone through to prepare this budget.

Unprecedented details have been purposely leaked about the budget that is expected to contain $25 billion in stimulus spending as well as highly controversial tax cuts.

But I thought, this weekend that I would put my partisan beliefs aside and try to actually understand what the best options are for the trying to stimulate the Canadian economy.

Our economy is measured by the amount of goods and services we as nation both produce and consume and collectively we, both as individuals and corporations are producing and consuming less. Being a resource rich, exporting nation sitting next to the largest consuming population in the world, our production, at least on the corporate level is more affected by the downturn in the US than whether Willy buys a new TV.

But the recession is now here. Manufacturing, retail and distribution are trying to lower their inventories and reduce costs in an effort to maintain cash flow. Some are closing stores or plants, others are just trying to streamline operations. Energy, and construction projects are being postposed because of the decreasing price of commodities and real estate. Some have already filed bankruptcy.

The consumers also known as the workers are loosing their jobs, either through cost cutting layoffs or out right employer closings and those who still have a job are worried about their future employment and are therefore cutting back on expenses to better position themselves for the worst case scenarios.

In other words everybody (individuals and corporations) are hoarding their cash and spending less, resulting the overwhelming consensus of the world’s economists that governments must inject cash into the economy to jump start production and increase consumer spending.

The big battle seems to be about tax cuts. The right being the fiscal conservatives who favor less government intervention in the social web, prefer large reductions in corporate and personal taxes to stimulate the economy. The left being the more social progressive, favor government sponsorship of universal services and direct assistance to the poor and newly unemployed and are willing to fund that support through taxation.

I found the chart that was prepared by Moody’s for the congressional meetings when Paulson first came forth and asked for his $750 billion (his infamous three page financial recovery plan, a idiotic point I can’t seem to forget).

The chart illustrates how much revenue results by the investment of $1.00 of government funding. Strikingly and logically if you give the poorest segment of the population a dollar they will spend it, thus resulting in markup and immediate consumption. Give the richest segment a dollar and they will save it or invest it and therefore result in the lowest return on the investment.

According to this chart the top four stimulus options produce the best return for the investment of our tax dollars. Feed the poor, extend the unemployment benefits (beyond 33 weeks in our case), invest in infrastructure projects, and provide funds to the provinces for their own more localized and specialized disbursements and stimulus.

As for tax cuts, only short term tax breaks produce the required return (one time Tax Holidays or Rebates). Long term cuts do little for immediate stimulus and hurt the governments ability to return to a positive balance sheet due the loss of future revenues and the even cutting of social programs to restore stability.

Although this is the long term wet dream for the fiscal conservatives it is the long term nightmare scenario for social progressives.

The only question in my mind about the forthcoming budget is whether Harper decides to use the stimulus as an excuse to chop the long term tax rates and thus set us up for the eventual transformation from a socially progressive nation to a fiscal conservative free enterprise state or will he actually do was is right for the country, as it exists.


JAWL

25 years ago today the Mac taught the kids to play

This Ridley Scott ad from the 1984 Super Bowl that announced the forthcoming birth of Mac on January 24th, 1984, wasn’t my favorite Mac ad but it is the one that got all the attention is advertising circles.



My favorite was this Lemmings ad with all the suits following each other over a cliff. If everyone else was jumping off a cliff would you jump a cliff too. The add reminded me of my childhood, but it was quickly pulled because of negative corporate feedback. It was apparently considered a negative message against corporations.

Twenty five years ago, give or take a couples days, we received our first 10 skids. The Canadian list price was $3,495 and the only software that ran on it came in the box, MacWrite and MacPaint.

Back then about the only thing people used personal computers for was word processing, spreadsheets and some geeky types doing databases. In other words a replacement for the typewriter and an adding machine (excluding maybe the K to 12 education market that was starting to do some cool stuff with the Apple //e and PETS).

MacWrite was great and probably covered off most of what I actually use Word for today, but MacPaint was unbelievable. You could actually select a pencil or paint brush and draw. Of course most people said why would you ever need to draw or do anything graphical on a computer.

Anyway we had pre-orders for about 45 of the first 100 Macs we received. Of course in typical dealer fashion we called the first twenty customers that had prepaid to come in and then at the assistance of our only professional salesman at the time Mr. George Clarke, we loaded up a van and drove down to a U of T parking lot. After two days and two trips he had sold the balance of the opening order for cash or cheque.

That was a pretty good week.



JAWL

Roland The Headless Thompson Gunner

Mohammed's Radio

Roland The Headless Thompson Gunner

Lawyers Guns & Money

Happy birthday Warren Zevon

JAWL

Bring on the clowns

Our governor of the Bank of Canada Mark Carney, not be confused with carney, a person who works in a carnival or amusement show, was out in public yesterday spreading the good news about the economy prior to the long awaited return of parliament next week and the release of the conservatives stimulus spending budget.

In an update to his October Monetary Policy Report, Carney said the country was in a worse recession than previously thought, but its duration would be shorter and its recovery process faster than the past two downturns with economic growth expecting to resume in the second half of this year, and rebound to 3.8% in 2010.

This upbeat announcement by the conservative appointed governor of the bank is surprisingly positive in comparison to the bleak announcements made by Kevin Page, parliament’s budget officer two days ago. Page announced that the government could rack up to $105 billion in deficits over the next five years before they even spend dollar one of the stimulus budget.

However unlike the wide agreement amongst third party economists to the parliament’s budget officer’s projections, Carney’s pronouncements are not receiving the same support and agreement amongst the country’s economists.

For some economists, the Bank of Canada's predictions appear overly optimistic.

There's significant room for the Bank of Canada to be disappointed by the coming data, which may yet prompt further monetary policy easing.

In our view, the recovery in the Canadian economy is likely to be more protracted and the growth rebound will not likely be quite as robust in 2010.

It seems more appropriate to believe that the conservatives Carney is just out front hawking some positive news in order to obviate the realization that Harper and Flaherty have mismanaged the economy over the past two years in advance of parliament's return.

Mr. Carney said the quick recovery was expected because Canada entered the recession with lower unemployment and a stronger fiscal position than in previous years

That’s right citizens, ignore the fact that this government had increased it’s spending and cut it’s revenues in a two year effort to buy our votes, vanquishing all surpluses at a time when they knew the economy was about to enter a recession, because it is their stalwart fiscal management that will allow the country to suffer for a shorter period of time than it did in the past.

Is that the best line that they’ve got? I can’t wait for the return of parliament. Bring on the clowns.




JAWL

Reference Financial Post here.

What should happen to a women who has an illegal abortion

Imagine going out every week to stand on the side of the road and wave your horrific images at innocent people passing by and at no time have you ever considered what the ramifications of making abortions illegal would be on the woman who choose to have one.

Apparently the fundamentalist, anti-choicers in this video, who have been protesting for the abolishment of a woman’s right to terminate a pregnancy for the last two years, have never taken the time to consider what the punishment should be to a woman who gets caught having an illegal abortion.

It never crossed their collective minds, they just never thought about it. Give me a break these born again fundamentalists are walking robots incapable of independent thought. What a waste of time, cardboard and in their case two births.



JAWL

100 billion to buy a neocon wet dream

Parliament's budget officer Kevin Page says the federal government will rack up between $46 billion and $105 billion in new debt over the next five years, even without new stimulus spending in Tuesday's budget.

To repeat, before the Harper government spends dollar one on the planned auto bail out, before the government even proposes their forthcoming recovery budget in Parliament next week, the conservatives are heading towards a 100 billion dollar deficit.

As pointed out by the CNEWS article that basically wipes out all the payments made over the last 11 years by the preceding Liberal governments to reduce our national debt. Of course during the election Harper and Flaherty told us that the that government would avoid a deficit and in fact produce a $100 million surplus by March end.

So how did the conservatives turn Canada’s fortunes around so quickly...

The government hastily added the second 1% reduction to the GST (basically a 16% reduction in sales tax revenues) and then spent money like drunken sailors (no offense to our navy, Willy supports the troops and alcoholics) trying to buy votes in the various regions of Canada.

For example, look at the expenditures here for the month of May of this year. The Harper government spent, granted, promised and gave away over a billion dollars to various regions of Canada in May alone. This happened every month in varying degrees right up to and in fact even during the last election. And all the while Harper and Flaherty knew that Canada was about the follow the US into a recession in 2009.

So why do it...

Well in the short tern Harper could of got his majority government in his hastily called election, but in the long term he could finally eliminate the dreaded socialist state.

A bankrupt federal government would have to sell off it’s assets like the CBC and remove itself from nuclear power generation. A bankrupt country would have to reduce the social security net, further cutting funding to the socialist interests groups, women’s rights, the arts, the unemployed, the homeless. A bankrupt Canada could no longer afford to support universal healthcare.
If four short years of unabated financial mismanagement, Harper could transform Canada into his version of the northern neoconservative wet dream.

And so where do we sit now...

This same government who has spent the last three months pretending to act surprised about the impeding downturn and lamenting about how they regret having to spend more money is about to continue with their plan to transform Canada into their version of a free market state.

What we are going to do is what we've been asked to do by Canadians from coast-to-coast. We are going to address Canada's needs at a time of global recession. Canada needs some spending on the stimulus side... and that will result in a substantial deficit, Flaherty said.

This is not the government that Canadians should rely on to manage the recovery. This government needs to be replaced, before they can do more damage to our country.

As one economist reported in the article, “the economy will show growth in the last quarter of 2009, but won’t return to full capacity until 2013. Can you imagine what Canada under Harper will look like by then?



JAWL

When history repeats itself

NBS Nightly News with Ted Philips, March 11th 1970

This excerpt from a 1970 edition of NBS Nightly News (anchored by NBS stalwart Ted Philips) features a special report from co-anchor Jim Sizemore looking back at first ten years of Dr Manhattan.

Well who was Doctor Manhattan..

After an experimental accident, scientist, Jon Osterman was transformed into something rather non-human and over a short four years he became increasingly detached from humanity as a whole. Eventually he disavowed any interest in human affairs and rejected the validity of any notion of morality. He even gradually abandoned clothes.

His ability to see the world outside of time led him to embrace determinism. Doctor Manhattan had been identified as something of a God-figure even dying once and then resurrecting himself, he gained near omniscient knowledge and almost omnipotent powers, and in his final moments with us walked on water and then left to create human life somewhere else.

For all his god-like power though, he was as flawed and human as the rest of us, having his own difficulties with his personal relationships. In some ways he personified intellect over emotion. His existence, to no small extent, shaped the entire history and society of the world since he was brought into existence. However, because of his aloofness and somewhat nihilist philosophy, he was also vilified by many, which in the end erased him from the known history and our collective memories.

Unfortunately in too many ways the overwhelming adoration that has been bestowed upon Obama, over the last two weeks, sadly reminds me of the early days of the now departed doctor.



JAWL

Video from The New Frontiersman 

Harper appoints head of listeriosis coverup probe

From the Globe and Mail here, we learn that the new head of the toothless inquiry will not have the power to call witnesses, nor compel them to testimony.

She will get information based on the good will of the participants who may or may not tell her the full story, said Bob Kingston, union president for the meat inspectors.

In other words the inquiry will not investigate how the deregulated changes that were secretly implemented by the Harper government at the Maple Leaf meat processing plant may have played a role in allowing the listeria to go undetected for so long. Nor will it look at the governments decreased role at the western slaughterhouses to inspect for BSE (mad cow). Nor will it look into how this broad based deregulation is increasing the risk to Canadian lives in other industries such as pre-flight air plane inspections. Now performed by the cash strapped airlines, not government inspectors. Nope, I don't think the inquiry is going to look into that aspect.

To all the Harper apologists out there, if you think I am over reacting, hop on a Canadian airline and eat a processed beef sandwich.




JAWL

Shortest review of the inauguration

From Krugman ...

We the people... have a new duly elected president.

That's no small thing, given recent history.

Canada sends its oil salesman to the inauguration

Jim Prentice was in Washington today to explain his perverted, environment equals energy pitch to the new Obama administration.

To say the least, there is lots to discuss and then later to do," Prentice said. "And hopefully, one of the many points of agreement for action will be commencing a co-operative, bilateral approach to the environment and energy, in ways that spur on economic recovery and renewal. 

Prentice who is supposed to be our Minister of the Environment, hopes that supplying oil to the US could be part of bilateral plans that would also seek to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and create cleaner fuel.

He said the two countries also need to discuss concrete action plans to reduce not only greenhouse gas emission levels, but North American dependence on foreign oil. 

In other words our Environmental Minister either can’t, won't or is not allowed to say the word environment without saying the word energy, in the same sentence.

The fear of course is that the new US administration will actually try to do something about pollution and that Canada’s reputation as a purveyor of dirty oil will only escalate. Defending Alberta’s oil tar sands production, Prentice noted that that the tar sands is a reality that is not going away and the US will find that oil from Alberta is important to its future.

Don’t worry Jim, I think the Americans fully comprehend the priorities of Harpers Canada. The only confusing part might be the fact that it is our National Environment Minister that is down there, hawking Alberta's dirty oil.

This government is truly embarrassing.




Oh yeah, Happy Obama Day. JAWL

Learning about Afghanistan from Americans

John Kerry, the new Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee reveals more about Afghanistan in interviewing Hillary Clinton at her confirmation hearing, for Secretary of State, than our government has told us in the last four years.

Politicians, though they may be, they sound like adults in discussing the plans for going forward. A couple of my favorite lines include Kerry’s description of Iraq and Afghanistan:

Iraq is government without a country and Afghanistan is a country without a government.

The other line is from Hillary when talking about setting the objectives for success:

Our expectations need to be set with a large dose of humility.

Humility, a word we have not heard from an American government since Carter’s term and certainly not one that is in our neoconservative government's vocabulary. I’m starting to get excited about this new American government.


The video was posted by Brave New Films.



JAWL

Just 24 more hours of Bush

From The Brad Blog ...

September 21, 2001

January 15, 2009

And if you think he looks bad, imagine how our country looks. Thanks to him, unfortunately, thousands of Americans won't get to take that look. And no, he didn't "keep us safe," no matter how many times they keep repeating it...



Worth repeating...

JAWL

Harper, a new reason for strong unions

The CFIA (Canadian Food Inspection Agency) will be voting on a new contract today. The union for the agency whose purpose it is to protect our sources of food, has played a leading role as whistle blower about the Harper government’s secretive deregulation of Canadian safety standards.

The offer averaging under 2% a year, over four years was negotiated directly by the PMO (Prime Minister’s Office) in November just prior to the return of parliament.

"The bargaining process was controlled directly from the Prime Minister's Office. We were told we had until 12 noon on the Wednesday to accept the agreement, otherwise when the prime minister's economic statement came down, it was going to be legislated anyway," said Paynter.

"Of course we all know now in hindsight what happened. The prime minister dissolved Parliament and the threats that were made, aren't in fact implemented."

Apparently in Harpers Canada, if you upset the Prime Minister's plans, his office will directly try to screw you.


JAWL


References: CBC about vote here and Globe about deregulation here.

Pinning the tail on the donkey

In a speech before his caucus meeting today, Ignatieff has rightly tried to place the blame for the deficit on Harper.

This deficit is squarely Mr. Harper's responsibility. He spent us down to the red line in the good times and so we face the hard times as citizens of a great country with the cupboard bare.

To anyone that can read a profit and loss statement it is obvious that the conservatives under Deficit Jim have spent their way into a deficit even before the bail out of the banks and the auto industry. And before the forthcoming stimulus expenditures of a revised budget.

The last accurate numbers received from this government were for March 31, 2008, the end of the fiscal year 2007/2008. They were released this fall on September 30th.

Revenue only increased 2.7 year over year, with the glaring decrease being the decline in GST revenues. As you may recall at the time, opposition parties led by Dion objected to the 1% cut to the GST that the conservatives threw in at the last minute. They preferred decreasing income tax. Well it came back to bite the Conservatives big time as pointed out by their own Parliamentary budget officer Kevin Page in November here.

Meanwhile the expenses for the same period went up 4.8% with the two big items being the escalating costs of the Afghan war and a $2 billion, 8.2% increase in the government’s operating expenses (that's interesting). In any case, the revenue barely exceeded the expenses and we started April 2008 in a new fiscal year with the surplus gone and heading into a downturn.

So with car sales and other large ticket purchases already in decline and the then sudden freeze on consumer spending in September (the dreaded lack of consumer confidence going into the golden quarter) you know the numbers for December 31st (3/4 year mark) are well into the red.

Of course Harper apologists claim that it is the world wide recession that has caused these woes. But the truth is that the governments own forecasting arms, like the EDC were predicting the downturn as early as a year ago this month here .

The Harper government knowing of the expected downturn, with 2009 being a recessive year and knowing that they were already going to be running a deficit called their October election in one last effort to get a majority.

Ignatieff is right this is Harper’s deficit.

Unfortunately that will all be hidden from the Canadian public, if Harper and Flaherty get their supposed stimulus budget passed. When you are talking about spending $40 billion dollars, it is very easy to hide the fact that you are already $10 billion in the hole.

You do not have to be an economist and it should be no surprise that if you spend more than you bring in you are in a deficit.

The only surprise here is that a large number of Canadians still believe that the conservatives are the best ones to handle the economy.

I don't know. I might have to paste up the Coalition banner again. I liked the conditions that Ignatieff laid out today for his acceptance of the conservatives budget on the 27th.

The budget must protect the most vulnerable, save jobs, as well as create the jobs of tomorrow.

Somehow I do not think these are the priorities that Harper has. He is just trying to hide his incompetence and remain in power.



Reference: CTV article and Government links. JAWL

14 days in a hole, I should of taken more drugs

Been incognito for the last two weeks, diligently, diseased, while working my ass off, on a road trip. Willy is still a salesman after all. At sixty, the trade show talk flows too naturally, but the wear and tear on your body, with the food, the drink and constantly being on, starts to take its toll, especially when mixed with a cold and accompanying fever.

After two weeks of not reading headlines, I feel out of touch (going to have to spend all weekend reading impolitical , as well as everyone else on the side bar), but the one thing I have noticed after returning to Canada as a non blogging citizen is that Harper seems to be smiling a lot more.

The airport magazines feature a smiling Harper as a newsmaker of the year and this picture with Flaherty taken at the first ministers seems to say: Hey we did it, I think we get to keep our jobs.

Little news, just political posturing and confirming alliances from the meeting with premiers, at least according to this extensive CNEWS synopsis .

Flaherty’s planned deficit has grown 10 billion since I’ve been gone, now promised to be $40 billion. I think we are in for more fiscal surprises and probably closer to a $100 billion deficit, by the time they roll the mortgage buyouts from last fall, into the year end balance sheet. Look for finger pointing and excuses in April.

Obviously Alberta and Saskatchewan are backing their boy, with Campbell jumping on board. He obviously needs some big federal bucks to cover the increasing burden of the Olympics. Their message en masse: the country can’t afford an election, it is time for nonpartisanship.

Progressively speaking the only positive news from the conference seems to be that Charest and hopefully all of Quebec still remain anti-Harper, with McGuinty still riding the fence.

Meanwhile Ignatieff seems to be ready to avoid the risk of an election, at least by this article. I'll have to check with the Liberal guys Steve V and Scott to find out where the party is at.

In any case Harper seems to be enjoying this recession more than anyone else that I have met in the last two weeks.

Speaking of recessions, this one seems to be moving at a hastened pace and has already moved into the marketing phase. In the US, they are advertising new car sales with the added option that if you loose your source of revenue, in the next two years you can walk away from the lease.

In Canada, Galen Weston is rehashing an old Dave Nichols ad from the nineties and is telling us to buy the yellow packaged groceries with no name on them.

And the government wonders why the consumer has lost confidence.

That's all I got for now. It is going to take a couple days to get caught up and start building enough anger so I can sarcastically attack my wind mills.  I will be posting at least once a day.


Cough, cough, wheeze...



JAWL

For your viewing pleasure

WHO CUT THE CAKE is a comedy series, set inside the fictional Cooper/Johnson wedding and its surrounding events. Driven by its characters and story, Who Cut the Cake begins with the rehearsal dinner and ultimately ends wherever we see fit. The series blazes a trail yet unseen on the Internet: it is not sketch comedy, no one speaks into the camera, and there is no mention of "blogging".

Episode 1: Who the fuck
Dave and Lizzie, the bride and groom, would've bet the house that they, of course, knew everyone who was invited. They would've lost.

Episode 2: Thanks for coming

Episode 3: Mr. Cooper and Your Mom

Episode 4: Matt Lauer and the Tossed Salad

Episode 5: Two Girls One Cup Size

Created by Scott Foley.

Who Cut the Cake is a 60Frames original series.

I'm on a plane (all day) on my way to the end of the world of Mac show. Posting will be intermittent, so I thought I would post a soap opera for your viewing pleasure.


JAWL

Andy Warhol Interviews Steven Spielberg

Andy Warhol Interviews Steven Spielberg - Strange

JAWL:

An animated evening

Procrastination by John Kelly



Notebook by Evelien Lohbeck



The Seed by John Kelly



Insemination by Evelien Lohbeck



Balloon Catch by Evelien Lohbeck

What will change everything

One of the best things about blogging, besides being able to anonymously vent, my five minutes of partisan hate over some transparently ideological Harper press release, at 5:00 am in morning is the weekends.

On the weekends you have time to search for something else to blog about and you end up searching through articles and websites and every now and then you find something like this.

The Edge World Question Center

The Edge Foundation, Inc., was established in 1988 as an outgrowth of a group known as The Reality Club. Its informal membership includes of some of the most interesting minds in the world. The mandate of Edge Foundation is to promote inquiry into and discussion of intellectual, philosophical, artistic, and literary issues, as well as to work for the intellectual and social achievement of society

Each year the Edge asks their members, artisans, scientists, thinkers and the like, to respond to a question and this year’s question is:

WHAT WILL CHANGE EVERYTHING? 

What game-changing scientific ideas and developments do you expect to live to see?

Some of the presenters you will recognize, some you will not, but they also include interesting bios. Here’s an example from Brian Eno, a musician and producer entitled:

The end of optimism


Human development thus far has been fuelled and guided by the feeling that things could be, and are probably going to be, better. But suppose the feeling changes ... Humans fragment into tighter, more selfish bands ... Long term projects are abandoned–their payoffs are too remote. Global projects are abandoned–not enough trust to make them work. Resources that are already scarce will be rapidly exhausted as everybody tries to grab the last precious bits ... Survivalism rules. Might will be right.

Well they are not all positive prophesies.

Happy reading.



JAWL

Here’s the reason we have no confidence.

Flaherty is now considering a tax cut as a way to boost our confidence.

However as reported back in November by their own Parliamentary Budget Officer it was Harpers and Flaherty’s tax cuts to the GST a year ago that has moved Canada into it’s current recession, not the planned stimulus programs they are working on.

Parliamentary budget officer Kevin Page told MPs yesterday that Canada's deficit next year could be as high as $13 billion and that Conservative government decisions to cut the GST and raise government spending are to blame, not global economic events.

Now Flaherty says he's reviewing options for more tax cuts because we, the consumers are growing pessimistic.

Corporate tax cuts and the new tax-free savings accounts that came into effect on Jan. 1 will help stimulate the economy, Mr. Flaherty said Friday, but added he's considering other measures for the Jan. 27 budget.

Well not really Jim, they will only be positive a year and half from now, if you don't loose your job this year and a corporation actually makes a profit in 2009.

Your ideological, fiscal bullshit is the reason we are loosing confidence Jim.

At a time when we are being told to have more confidence and continue spending money on purchases, this government tries to spin the introduction of their new savings program as a solution.

It is important is that it was important to improve Canadians' capacity to save for future spending. Flaherty explained.

A savings in interest that even at it’s maximum level would be negated with the increase in unemployment contributions staring January.

Harper and Flaherty have no idea how to handle this mess they are creating other than rehashing their ideological play book, only this time for the opposite reasons.

We're screwed.



JAWL

There was a time, you know, when I had my sight...

There was a time or at least the story goes... before the born again followers became organized as fetus focussed, homophobic, racists, in search of a Rockwellian lifestyle. A time before the now grayed or balding, well aged cynics, ranted at the demons from their past in an effort to push for progress in the future.

A time that spawned both groups from the same innocent seeds of self discovery.

The summer of 68 was such a time, trapped in history between the birth of all things psychedelic and the death of Meredith Hunter at a California speedway.

As a recently departed room service elevator operator, I spent the middle of 68 traveling back and forth between Banff and Vancouver.

It was a time of contrasting visions, as I moved from hand painted flats with moving walls on the coast, to pup tents on Rundle, where at night you could discover your true place in the universe.

Speed had not yet hit the street or become part of the cut, while acid and shrooms were still legal to possess.

As an army of the wide eyed pushed further with their self focussed purpose, there were the expected casualties and deserters. Some died, some withdrew and hid and others formed a new perverted strain in an effort to explain, what they had experienced and or gained.

One such group were the so called Jesus freaks, who having suffered bad trips and misunderstood hallucinations believed that they had died and been reborn in the presence of a God. A religious counter culture if you will, that similar to the ancient established religions, grew from plain fear and paranoia.

Because paranoia was rampant in 68 and no more so, than amongst the terrified citizenry. A citizenry whose media demanded action from it’s government and policing forces.

But how do you arrest the giggling, dancers, speaking a language of their own, with the ability to see through lies and deception, while perceiving threats and danger by auras and vibrations alone.

Well in summer of 68 the RCMP rounded up the youngest of their recruits and shipped them off to a mountain getaway to learn how from the more experienced FBI and form Canada’s first undercover narcotics police force.

The word was, that the four week indoctrination course, would eventually lead to a live graduation ceremony in Banff which was expected to repeat as a centralized hub for marijuana smoking youth. After all possession of the evil weed was illegal in Canada.

Controlling your fear, hiding your disgust and mastering a new language could be taught, but how could you get a large number of clean cut, shorter haired officers blended into the expected of dope smoking youth. The answer was the Jesus Freaks.

The plan became to release the graduating class into Banff as born again christians on a mission to save souls.

So as the gift shop owners sold used centennial quarters for a dollar to naive American tourists, and the dancers flipped burgers and washed dishes, 40 or so born agains hit the streets of the quiet mountain town.

Of course there was no weed in Banff by mid summer, the only smoke on Rundle was from camp fires. The only drugs being sold were those sold at the Harmony Drug Store (which I always thought was a nice name for a drug store) and the only high was the tingling of 30 or so ephedrine if you faked an asthmatic attack.

The biggest past time became seeing how long you could keep the clean cut, cool talking, inquisitors, with shiny shoes talking about god. After all they didn’t spend four weeks studying theology.

No busts were made, no souls were saved, the inquisitors moved on and the dishwasher continued on his route back to Van.

For Beijing and JJ


JAWL

Happy New Year

JAWL: