Peter MacKay, known here as "Pinocchio" MacKay, seems to have outlived his usefulness to the Harper gang.
Long considered an inveterate liar and the most Machiavellian of Harper acolytes, at least since the infamous David Orchard double-cross, MacKay was today ordered to resign from cabinet.
His recent demotion out of the Defence file was perhaps the writing on the wall...
What?
Whadyamean I've got the wrong MacKay?
Oh...
Sorry folks, looks like I got the wrong MacKay. It's not Pinocchio MacKay, it's Cardiff manager Malky Mackay over there in the Premier League...
Sorry; my mistake. I just saw that headline and jumped to some obviously unwarranted conclusions. Wishful thinking can do that to you.
Well, nevermind then! Maybe some other time!
Thursday, December 19, 2013
Wednesday, December 18, 2013
Bank of America to outsource banking
Is that not what this story is all about?
Are not "banks" synonymous with handling money?
Not any more. GardaWorld is going to do the banking for the banks.
So what are the banks doing?
Are not "banks" synonymous with handling money?
Not any more. GardaWorld is going to do the banking for the banks.
So what are the banks doing?
Why unlicensed dentists are in the news
The BC College of Dental Surgeons is coming down hard on unlicensed dentists operating in the province.
By "unlicensed" I think they mean the perps haven't been paying their dues to the college.
Reading between the lines, it appears that the perps hail from a particular ethnic community. This particular ethnic community isn't known for being stupid. I'm guessing that folks in this ethnic community gravitate to certain unlicensed dentists because word of mouth recommends them.
If that 's true, I'd hazard a bet that these pirate dentists probably had legit dentist training in a certain country where this particular ethnic community originates. I'd hazard a further bet that for the most part, they are sufficiently competent in their trade that folks recommend them to friends and relations.
And, further to that, I'll go way out on a limb here and hazard a guess that 100% of the ethnic folks favouring these underground dentists are not blessed with dental benefits. When they hear about a David Wu charging fifty bucks for a procedure that a paid-up member of the BC College of Dental Surgeons might charge $500, they know where to go.
When you're a minimum wage immigrant with no dental plan, this is what you do.
The David Wu's are providing an essential service. They should be venerated, not persecuted.
By "unlicensed" I think they mean the perps haven't been paying their dues to the college.
Reading between the lines, it appears that the perps hail from a particular ethnic community. This particular ethnic community isn't known for being stupid. I'm guessing that folks in this ethnic community gravitate to certain unlicensed dentists because word of mouth recommends them.
If that 's true, I'd hazard a bet that these pirate dentists probably had legit dentist training in a certain country where this particular ethnic community originates. I'd hazard a further bet that for the most part, they are sufficiently competent in their trade that folks recommend them to friends and relations.
And, further to that, I'll go way out on a limb here and hazard a guess that 100% of the ethnic folks favouring these underground dentists are not blessed with dental benefits. When they hear about a David Wu charging fifty bucks for a procedure that a paid-up member of the BC College of Dental Surgeons might charge $500, they know where to go.
When you're a minimum wage immigrant with no dental plan, this is what you do.
The David Wu's are providing an essential service. They should be venerated, not persecuted.
Canada Post and the memory hole
The announcement last week that Canada Post was to take itself out of the mail delivery business got me floating down memory lane just bit.
When we moved out here to Falling Downs the Post Office was just doing a review of rural mailbox safety. There had been a mailbox out in front of this place since the invention of the postage stamp, with never a hint that the mailbox might be unsafe. As a society, we are of course more safety conscious than we used to be, so I was not surprised when the safety review concluded that our mailbox had to go.
We've been picking up our mail from Mrs. Wallace at the Kemble PO ever since, so losing home delivery doesn't mean anything around here.
It means a lot to a lot of folks though, which is why the parliamentary transport committee had that emergency meeting today. Canada Post boss Deepak Chopra was called to explain the Canada Post decision to eliminate home mail delivery and double the price of a stamp.
Hilarity ensued.
In reply to concerns that seniors and shut-ins depend on home delivery, Chopra revealed that he has been besieged by seniors and shut-ins clamouring for the opportunity to get more exercise and fresh air by taking their walker or mobility scooter a couple of blocks to a community mail drop.
Isn't that great!
We're eliminating home delivery to give seniors a chance to get more fresh air and exercise!
As I recall, that's hardly the first time Canada Post indulged in egregious Orwell-think.
Must have been back in the 70's or 80's when Canada Post closed the main Guelph post office. The reason? According to the sign posted at the front door, it was to serve the public better! Yes, the public in Guelph would be better served by having their mail channelled to Kitchener fifteen miles away to be sorted.
So a Guelphite sending a letter across town, or to someone on the next block, was better served by having their mail sent to Kitchener for sorting, and then sent back to Guelph for delivery.
Even before that, I remember when Canada Post spent hundreds of millions making sure that French-speaking Canadians could find the nearest post office no matter where they were in the country. It sticks in my memory because I used to make frequent trips to the Suzuki dealer in Bridgeport, which was hard by the Bridgeport Post Office, and also conveniently nearby a well-known strip joint.
You could pick up a few bike parts, a stamp, and enjoy an afternoon of adult entertainment all in one go!
It must have taken a month to change the signage on that post office from "Canada Post" to "Canada Post/ Poste Canada."
At least now the non-English speaking residents of Bridgeport could find the post office. That's "inclusivity", ain't it?
Number of uni-lingual French-speakers in Bridgeport Ontario in 1969? None! And if there were any, I'm guessing those who were not entirely brain-dead might have, entirely on their own, figured out that Canada Post was in fact the same post office as Poste Canada.
The demise of home delivery also calls other serpents out of the memory hole. In that long ago era before e-mail, long distance love affairs used to rely on the postal service to keep connected. Ah, the sweet sorrow of running out to the mailbox every day to see if the beloved has favoured you with a few words!
I remember being hit hard by a bad case of first love. I'd made a trip to the old country and met a girl, Gudrun. Oh ya, that was the real thing!
How I looked forward to the next letter! It always took weeks longer than I thought it should have. But when it finally arrived!... oh the sweet bliss!
That all ended rather painfully with the letter that informed me that her loyalties were henceforth with the drummer of the local Christian rock band.
To this day I harbour a profound skepticism about Christian rock.
But it was Canada Post that facilitated that love, that longing, that long distance relationship, and I still have a soft spot in my heart for the folks who deliver a letter right to your door.
According to the linked article, Dan Kelly, CEO of the Federation of Independent Businesses, claims that the Post Office has run itself onto the rocks by paying 40% higher wages than his members. That's a massive 40% premium over minimum wage in other words. Canada Post must be wound down because it has dug such a deep hole by paying its workers a living wage.
I think what Dan is really getting at is that there's a lot of room for downsizing at Canada Post. Privatize the whole damned operation. Turn those living wage jobs into minimum wage jobs. That's how the rest of the working class lives; what's so special about postal workers?
Not only that, but Canada Post owns a lot of triple A real estate in the downtown core of many cities. Obviously, the highest and best use for all that prime real estate would be office towers and condos. If the Harper gang were to turn all that juicy downtown real estate over to the private sector, they might be able to avoid a tax increase for a year or two!
Meanwhile, whatever skeleton operations a government postal service might retain could be sourced out of private-sector industrial parks on the edge of town.
That's a win-win and win again!
When we moved out here to Falling Downs the Post Office was just doing a review of rural mailbox safety. There had been a mailbox out in front of this place since the invention of the postage stamp, with never a hint that the mailbox might be unsafe. As a society, we are of course more safety conscious than we used to be, so I was not surprised when the safety review concluded that our mailbox had to go.
We've been picking up our mail from Mrs. Wallace at the Kemble PO ever since, so losing home delivery doesn't mean anything around here.
It means a lot to a lot of folks though, which is why the parliamentary transport committee had that emergency meeting today. Canada Post boss Deepak Chopra was called to explain the Canada Post decision to eliminate home mail delivery and double the price of a stamp.
Hilarity ensued.
In reply to concerns that seniors and shut-ins depend on home delivery, Chopra revealed that he has been besieged by seniors and shut-ins clamouring for the opportunity to get more exercise and fresh air by taking their walker or mobility scooter a couple of blocks to a community mail drop.
Isn't that great!
We're eliminating home delivery to give seniors a chance to get more fresh air and exercise!
As I recall, that's hardly the first time Canada Post indulged in egregious Orwell-think.
Must have been back in the 70's or 80's when Canada Post closed the main Guelph post office. The reason? According to the sign posted at the front door, it was to serve the public better! Yes, the public in Guelph would be better served by having their mail channelled to Kitchener fifteen miles away to be sorted.
So a Guelphite sending a letter across town, or to someone on the next block, was better served by having their mail sent to Kitchener for sorting, and then sent back to Guelph for delivery.
Even before that, I remember when Canada Post spent hundreds of millions making sure that French-speaking Canadians could find the nearest post office no matter where they were in the country. It sticks in my memory because I used to make frequent trips to the Suzuki dealer in Bridgeport, which was hard by the Bridgeport Post Office, and also conveniently nearby a well-known strip joint.
You could pick up a few bike parts, a stamp, and enjoy an afternoon of adult entertainment all in one go!
It must have taken a month to change the signage on that post office from "Canada Post" to "Canada Post/ Poste Canada."
At least now the non-English speaking residents of Bridgeport could find the post office. That's "inclusivity", ain't it?
Number of uni-lingual French-speakers in Bridgeport Ontario in 1969? None! And if there were any, I'm guessing those who were not entirely brain-dead might have, entirely on their own, figured out that Canada Post was in fact the same post office as Poste Canada.
The demise of home delivery also calls other serpents out of the memory hole. In that long ago era before e-mail, long distance love affairs used to rely on the postal service to keep connected. Ah, the sweet sorrow of running out to the mailbox every day to see if the beloved has favoured you with a few words!
I remember being hit hard by a bad case of first love. I'd made a trip to the old country and met a girl, Gudrun. Oh ya, that was the real thing!
How I looked forward to the next letter! It always took weeks longer than I thought it should have. But when it finally arrived!... oh the sweet bliss!
That all ended rather painfully with the letter that informed me that her loyalties were henceforth with the drummer of the local Christian rock band.
To this day I harbour a profound skepticism about Christian rock.
But it was Canada Post that facilitated that love, that longing, that long distance relationship, and I still have a soft spot in my heart for the folks who deliver a letter right to your door.
According to the linked article, Dan Kelly, CEO of the Federation of Independent Businesses, claims that the Post Office has run itself onto the rocks by paying 40% higher wages than his members. That's a massive 40% premium over minimum wage in other words. Canada Post must be wound down because it has dug such a deep hole by paying its workers a living wage.
I think what Dan is really getting at is that there's a lot of room for downsizing at Canada Post. Privatize the whole damned operation. Turn those living wage jobs into minimum wage jobs. That's how the rest of the working class lives; what's so special about postal workers?
Not only that, but Canada Post owns a lot of triple A real estate in the downtown core of many cities. Obviously, the highest and best use for all that prime real estate would be office towers and condos. If the Harper gang were to turn all that juicy downtown real estate over to the private sector, they might be able to avoid a tax increase for a year or two!
Meanwhile, whatever skeleton operations a government postal service might retain could be sourced out of private-sector industrial parks on the edge of town.
That's a win-win and win again!
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
FM Baird claims new and improved Foreign Policy "not about jobs"
He is of course referring to the recently formalized strategy of making the "extractive industries" the centrepiece of Canada's so-called "foreign policy".
He's absolutely right; in no way can any aspect of this policy be mistaken for being about jobs for Canadians.
Rather, it is about mining ventures domiciled in Canada using government infrastructure to further their interests around the world.
Our "foreign aid" is to be piggybacked on this, as is our foreign policy.
"Jobs for Canadians" has absolutely nothing to do with it.
He's absolutely right; in no way can any aspect of this policy be mistaken for being about jobs for Canadians.
Rather, it is about mining ventures domiciled in Canada using government infrastructure to further their interests around the world.
Our "foreign aid" is to be piggybacked on this, as is our foreign policy.
"Jobs for Canadians" has absolutely nothing to do with it.
Meet the US policy wonks who invented South Sudan
Here's a lovely tale of first world "we-know-what's-best-for-everybody" paternalism sketching out how America invented South Sudan.
One hell of a feel-good story, ain't it?
Ya gotta love their sense of adventure and intrigue...
The Emperor.
The Spear-carrier.
Here is South Sudan today.
Hundreds dead, tens of thousands displaced, ethnic violence rampant.
Great job, fellas!
One hell of a feel-good story, ain't it?
Ya gotta love their sense of adventure and intrigue...
The Emperor.
The Spear-carrier.
Here is South Sudan today.
Hundreds dead, tens of thousands displaced, ethnic violence rampant.
Great job, fellas!
Monday, December 16, 2013
Canadian delegation drops toxic turds at African mining summit in Mozambique
They had a really really important summit meeting in Mozambique this past week, the third Annual Conference of Ministers Responsible for Mineral Resources Development.
Canada, while being a global leader in providing sanctuary for rogue mining concerns, didn't see fit to send anyone with serious rank to the conference. They got a Parliamentary Secretary to a B list cabinet minister instead.
Not that she didn't have important stuff to say; "creating sustainable economic growth, led by the private sector, is the number one way to break the cycle of poverty."
Sounds good, eh?
Remember, she's in Moputo on behalf of Canadian mining companies. Mining is by definition not sustainable. That's a friggin' no-brainer, ain't it? You get the gold/silver/copper/whatever out of the ground, and then you're outta there.
Nowhere in history has the "extractive sector" ever created sustainable economic growth.
Canada, while being a global leader in providing sanctuary for rogue mining concerns, didn't see fit to send anyone with serious rank to the conference. They got a Parliamentary Secretary to a B list cabinet minister instead.
Not that she didn't have important stuff to say; "creating sustainable economic growth, led by the private sector, is the number one way to break the cycle of poverty."
Sounds good, eh?
Remember, she's in Moputo on behalf of Canadian mining companies. Mining is by definition not sustainable. That's a friggin' no-brainer, ain't it? You get the gold/silver/copper/whatever out of the ground, and then you're outta there.
Nowhere in history has the "extractive sector" ever created sustainable economic growth.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)