The Canadian dollar is hitting parity…again.

The revival that was experienced in the U.S. the last time the Canadian dollar was knocked down has come and gone.

Will another wave take place?

Things are still getting worse for the U.S. so don’t count on it.

However, the faith in the U.S. is not going to fade away easily.

In the meantime, enjoy shopping in the U.S.

“My Heart, My Choice”

These were the words he chose to describe his trip to the United States for surgery…

Shocking.

Why are politicians against the sorts of reforms that could make Canada’s system better? They obviously make those choices when the option is available to them by flying to the U.S.

Why not provide those options in Canada?

Look at how his actions are being perceived in the U.S.

Danny Williams, the premier of the Canadian province of Newfoundland, traveled to the United States earlier this month to undergo heart valve surgery at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami. With his trip, Williams joined a long list of Canadians who have decided that they prefer American medicine to their own country’s government-run health system when their lives are on the line.

But just as American hospitals are becoming popular vacation destinations for about 40,000 Canadians a year, California’s Senate is pressing ahead with its effort to make the state’s health care system more like the one in the Great White North. The Senate recently approved a bill sponsored by Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, that would install a government-run, single-payer health system in the Golden State. The Assembly will soon consider the measure.

Lawmakers should take Williams’ case to heart….
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/02/24/EDVV1C6HTS.DTL

Dalton McGuinty, the Premier of Ontario has prorogued the legislature.

Did you know that?

It hasn’t been mentioned much, so I would guess the answer is no.

But why?

Why aren’t people in Ontario up in arms about this afront to democracy?

Here’s a great article showing Canada’s left wing media bias….
Take 2003, for example. During the year, there were 84 articles that referred to “prorogue.”

Curious indeed. Hello? Nobody was alerted to any crisis of governance or democratic deficit or constitutional crisis in 2003. It was merely reported as an adjournment of Parliament.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/westview/prorogue-coverage-appears-biased-this-time-84096517.html

Jobs numbers came out today.

More losses.

But the media is spinning this as positive because the unemployment number is down.

Why is the unemployment number down while the jobless numbers are up?

Because people have given up looking for work and are no longer counted in the unemployment stats.

….um…

Hurray!!!

The recession is over!!!!

Total U.S. debt versus GDP is the worst it has ever been…

check out this link…

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_qA8QmxrSIpk/S2c8lAaVLeI/AAAAAAAAAR0/_nDiBr-Zl1I/s1600-h/USdebttoGDP2009

Stephen Harper wants to help poor women and children around the world. He wants it to be a G8 goal.

Fantastic, but fraught with problems.

Nevertheless, it’s better than farting around with Global Warming or some kind of Communist intiative involving taxes or tariffs.

What is Iggy’s response?

He desperately wants mass abortion included in the provisions for fighting poverty. Mass abortion for non-white poor women. Mass abortion to prevent poor non-white babies from coming into the world.

The Liberal solution to poverty is to kill the poor.

Sad part is…he wasn’t pulling a Jonathan Swift…he was serious and attempting to score political points.

I am interested to see how the Tories will respond to this…since even some pro-Liberals in Iggy’s own party are disgusted.

Here’s the link…http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/759427–include-aid-for-abortions-ignatieff-says?bn=1

On Parliment Hill 3,500 people showed up to protest…

http://www.montrealgazette.com/technology/Thousands+turn+rallies+protest+proroguing+Parliament/2477360/story.html

Compare that to the March for Life rally that was held on Parliment Hill last year, at 12,000…

http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/jun/09060100.html

More than 3 times as many people turned out for a pro-life rally as did the people protest prorogue.

Did the Mainstream Media give the same amount of attention to both?

Of course not.

Here’s the link…http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/centralamericaandthecaribbean/haiti/7020908/US-accused-of-occupying-Haiti-as-troops-flood-in.html

In my opinion…?

Why DON’T they go in a take over? Lay down the law and bring order and peace to the place.

Turn it into a state even.

Would that really be a bad thing for the people of Haiti?

Maybe the French should take a few million refugee’s back to Paris while they’re at it. They’re hands aren’t clean on the situation either.

History repeating itself? President Obama has been accused by some economists of making the same mistakes policymakers in the US made in the Great Depression, which followed the Wall Street crash of 1929, pictured Photo: AP

The labour force contracted by 661,000. This did not show up in the headline jobless rate because so many Americans dropped out of the system. The broad U6 category of unemployment rose to 17.3pc. That is the one that matters.

Wall Street rallied. Bulls hope that weak jobs data will postpone monetary tightening: a silver lining in every catastrophe, or perhaps a further exhibit of market infantilism.

The Tories are saying they have a plan to slay the deficit that they themselves created.

They aren’t saying what that is of couse…probably just saving that little notice for the throne speech in March.

You know…just before the election.

Anyway…

Structural deficits are probably here to stay.

This is why…

http://www.cihr-irsc.gc.ca/images/population_pyramid_e.gif

This is  a graphic of Canada’s population pyramid…remember those?

Back when I was in school, population pyramids were demonstations of population growth. If everyone had a few kids, the young base would slowly narrow to the top, where people died off.

It was a given that population dynamics worked this way.

Here’s the problem…

Does that chart look like a fucking pyramid to you?

Exactly.

2010 marks the last year in which we will see zero baby boomers under the age of 65.

From here on out, the retirements begin.

Our economic potential has peaked…and the challenge of the future will be adequately managing the decline.

Do we hear this from our leaders?

Of course not. Partly because they are unaware that any such thing matters, and partly because it falls outside the 2 year election cycle.

We have a massive looming crisis on our hands, (a real crisis…not a “media” type crisis like H1N1) and nobody is even aware that it’s happening.

People are still talking about OVER-population. It’s precisely those over-populated countries that will be building the future…you know why? Because they haven’t given up on life…and if they eventually do get over populated…maybe they can just move here…it’s not like we’re running out of space.

P.S. – Check out the 1966 line on that chart. Notice how it goes in a little bit for people who were in their 30′s? Do the math. People pulled back from having children during THE GREAT DEPRESSION.

What’s truly a shocking statement about our culture’s values is that the indentation inwards IS STILL GREATER THAN TODAY!

When Canada had less than half as many people…during an economic meltdown in which people were literally starving…Canadians still felt that life was valuable enough to carry on.

Now, when we have more than twice as many people…and infinitely more wealth…people are all about not having kids.

I refer you to this post…http://canadashrugged.freeblogit.com/2009/04/03/exclusive-interview-with-robin-brace/

Facebook is going bananas with people who already hate Harper, hating him more by trying to turn proroguing into an issue.

With Haiti, it looks like proroguing is already yesterday’s news.

The polls have Harper’s Tories at about a tie with the Libs…30%.

Pundits think this matters.

Here’s what I think will happen.

The poll numbers will pick up due to Haiti response.

The Olympics will happen and the cheap seats will feel patroitic. Tories tend to veer more towards patroitism.

The budget comes down like two days after the Olympics.

Watch for some kind of atom bomb-like inclusion that will rally the base and make people talk.

It will probably piss of the opposition by being centre-right in some way.

The Lib’s will back track on the no election thing saying, “This is too extreme to allow!”

We will then be heading to the polls in April.

There will be some better job numbers and whatnot by that time…

Tories will win another minority, while losing 20 seats in the process.

http://www.peaceriversafetytraining.com/wildrose.jpg - courtesy image

One of the bleakest articles ever.

Not only is it a testament to the modern financial hardships of home “ownership” in the 21st century…it is also a reflection on the lameness of the modern man.

Alan Berks the homeowner lost an entire day rearranging the living room furniture. “I did find a spot for the couch that made me happy,” he said. “I was proud of myself. But where the couch is — that’s how I’m going to measure my happiness from now on? I remember thinking: ‘This is how people live? Why am I doing this?’ ”

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/07/garden/07men.html?pagewanted=1&source=patrick.net

The City of Calgary launched their own really cool website today.

It will incorporate social networking and press releases and city info and blogs….basically everything anyone with interest needs when it comes to anything related to municpal affairs.

So when it snows a lot and t.v. media do a story about the snow and show shots of the snow and then interview some random guy who says, “This is outrageous! The streets need to be cleaned!”

Then the reporter talks about updates the City is providing and info about street cleaning.

Well…now…YOU can be the complaining guy! Just send a tweet to roads and complain along with other citizens. Then recieve a direct repsonse! You can take and send a picture if need be. They can send one back.

But what about the tv news?

Oh it’ll still be around…and people will watch it. I mean…people still buy C.D.’s because they like reading the liner notes right?

Check out the site…sign up for updates…join their twitter or facebook sites…read their blog…watch their videos…this is how everything will be done in the future boys and girls.

Get the news…straight from the source.

http://newsroom.calgary.ca/pr/calgary/default.aspx

Meant to write this a while ago.

I heard on Rutherford the other day, David Swann saying that in order to stop global warming, Albertans should lower their standard of living 1-2% for years on end.

Cut the GDP, cut energy usuage, cut carbon emissions, cut global warming.

That’s the thinking.

At least he has the balls to admit it.

The party is an absolute disgraceful joke because of it, but props nonetheless.

Here’s a clip…

What is “local television”?

Besides, what exactly are we saving when we talk about saving local television anyway? There is no local television production besides the newcasts anymore, at least not in Montreal. Where once you could count on your local station to carry the Christmas or St. Patrick’s Day parades live, now they produce five-minute packages for the evening news. Current affairs, entertainment, consumer affairs and other programming has been merged into mid-day and weekend newscasts on shoestring budgets. Even local sports teams can’t get their games televised on local TV. They have to hope they can get a spot on the schedule of TSN, RDS or Rogers SportsNet.

So when we’re talking about “local television”, what we’re really talking about is “local newscasts.” That’s not necessarily so bad. Local newscasts are the most important part of local television, and it’s what people care about the most.

But what exactly do we get on local newscasts? We get:

• two-minute package reports about issues that were reported in the morning newspapers
• briefs about road accidents they could scramble a cameraman to get B-roll for
• softball interviews with newsmakers, activists and politicians
• whatever sounds good on a press release and can provide good visuals
• reports on criminal court proceedings (reporter stands in front of courthouse cut with B-roll of lawyers and family members walking down hallways)
• 20-second anchor voice-overs with B-roll from community events they didn’t want to send a reporter to
• recaps of sports games with footage taken from other networks
• entertainment listings
• a weather presenter (usually female) showing us the latest fashions and waving her hands over forecast maps
• silly banter between anchors to fill time
• packaged reports taken from the national network, other regional stations or international sources like CNN.

This isn’t to bash CFCF, which produces the best of Montreal’s three anglo newscasts (and has the ratings to show for it). But they want us to pay for this in addition to seeing all the advertising?

http://blog.fagstein.com/2009/05/16/ctv-save-local-tv-campaign/

A lot of people look upon American media “stars” as jokes. Too much anger, and hyperbole.

You know what though?

People watch, and the journalists do their jobs.

Check out this link…

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/the_daily_politics/8443687.stm

The BBC has excellent hosts, presenters and journalists.

Are they biased?

Sure…more or less, but they cover the spectrum, (as this interview demonstrates) and they provide interviews like the above.

Anyone see Peter Mansbridge interviewing Harper the other night.

HE sat there with his smirk and his, “check it out…I’m interviewing the Prime Minister” smugness and lobbed soft ball question after soft ball question.

Watch below…

http://www.cbc.ca/thenational/indepthanalysis/story/2010/01/05/national-stephenharperinterview.html

One of the reason Canadian media is dying is that the institution of journalism is meant to investigate and ask hard questions.

Canadian journalists don’t do this.

Why?

Part of it is our culture.

Prominent people simply wouldn’t stand for aggressive, accussatory treatment. They’d simply refuse to appear and then you’ve got nothing for your show or article.

In the U.S. or the U.K. they don’t let this stop them. They turn the fact they won’t appear into a story.

Canadians are too passive and friendly and this is great for some industries, but not the news biz.

Secondly, our media masters don’t seem to have confidence in the on-air people to do jobs like this anymore. Today’s corporate attitude is…”get something on the air” so we can maintain our license to keep broadcasting episodes of Lost.

picture courtesy of Calgary Herald.

Ted Morton was a candidate in the Progressive Conservative leadership race back in 2006.

I supported him as my first choice on both the first and second ballots.

In fact…at the time I didn’t have a car and had to walk through brutally freezing cold Calgary, to find the absurd voting station in Chinatown…but nevertheless…I went.

Ted Morton of couse lost and at the time he was seen as the hardcore right winger that needed to be kept out of a modern progressive political party in the new modern progressive Alberta.

What a difference a recession makes.

With the Wildrose Alliance moving up the political spectrum like a rocket, many people now look upon Morton as the guy who probably could’ve stopped what Rod Love feared…a RIGHT flank.

There are some rumours as well that Morton will get a heftier cabinet postion in order to play to the Wildrose Alliance’s base.

Morton recently appeared on Rutherford and said he basically agreed with everything the Wildrose Alliance stood for, but that people should simply vote Tory so as not to split the vote.

(I’m doing a Reader’s Digest version of events here…)

Okay, so the question we need to ask now is…do we believe Morton?

Since he lost the leadership race, he was appointed Minister of Sustainable Resource Development(????) and all I can remember from him in the past two years is some outrage amongst liberals when he said that more people should hunt.

I think he also announced something to do with parks or something. Can’t remember.

Anyway, Ted Morton used to be a great thinker and player in conservative circles. He famously wrote the firewall letter with Stephen Harper, asserting Alberta’s separation without separation.

He has legit credentials.

Problem?

He’s in his 60′s now and he’s making a fortune as a minister entrenched with the Tories. Ed needs to recapture the base and Morton can play those cards.

Does the average voter listen to Morton and stick with the Tories because Morton is a conservative guy who knows more than we do and we should follow his lead?

Or…

Is Morton aiming for his cash and pension? Is he “playing the game” so he can be sitting on a beach somewhere five years from now, sipping a corona and thanking God for “hicks from the sticks”?

I’m voting for the Wildrose Alliance.

Here is a chart showing the Dow Jones Average adjusted for inflation.

Basically, if you take inflation into account…your annual return is about 1%.

If you buy and hold and look for the greater returns at the higher swing of a stock, then…of course you can eventually make more money…assuming the stock doesn’t just go down forever and then get delisted.

All these folks handing over their savings to some fucktard at a bank and expecting an 8% return every year are suckers.

In fact…if you add the extra 1-2% management fee for these services you are making less than nothing by investing long term in the market.

I guess the hope is that you make the right pick…or find the right manager.

Maybe.

But the averages speak volumes.

I think I’m done with “investing” in the stock market.