Bank of Canada plays politics

Hogwash. Seen this before. Bank of Canada deliberately suppressing interest rates to protect the incumbent government. Canada's economy needs a moderate transitional rise in interest rates. Reasons: prevents a further rise in private and commercial indebtedness, which are at record highs. Supports, and or slows the slide of, the Canadian currency.
... Low interest rates encourages the government to print money to artificially mitigate its budgetary deficits and trade deficit. All these skirt the inevitable inflation due to more costly imports. 
... Now it doesn't mean that the rates should spiral upwards, simply adjusted. Delaying a needed rise in interest rates means that when the inevitable interest rates rise, the increase will be far greater and more likely to cause out of control spiralling inflation very similar to the period in the early eighties.
... It seems the Conservatives are using the bank of Canada to protect their political butts at the price of jeopardizing the longer term Canadian economic health. Put the prime interest rates higher now to prevent catastrophic inflation two years from now. 

Time for pinky swears

What can be done? A change is needed..

The next great reform to the Elections Act? After years of angst and agony imposed on the voting citizen, a change is needed. To reduce the quantity of unrealistic promises by candidates, the solution is simple. Pinky swear.

Every candidate's promises and speeches must be made under sworn oath. Lies and broken promises then can be litigated as perjury. This oath period begins once the writ is dropped, or when the official election campaign begins. Candidate's are bound to complain. Yet voters have the right to expect those successful candidates to keep their promises and political affiliation.

A political campaign is much like an employment resume and application. Those segments are conducted and signed by the applicant as being legally true. The average successful new employee is legally expected to tell the truth on that application. If its a lie. They are fired.

Then to protect joe average citizen, all politicians promises and speeches must now have legal force. Everything they say or promise is made under sworn oath.

Trump's short term success

Astounding. Universal Medical Care (UMC) is not necessarily a right or left wing social program. The creation of Ontario UMC or OHIP was enthusiastically created by Conservatives. You know why? It made Ontario economically competitive. Here is a basic economic reality. A healthy population is a happy population. A happy population is a productive population. Duh.
... Thousands of people(of every political background) back then were losing their homes or facing a lifetime of crushing debt, if they or a family member encountered a health crisis by accidental injury or unexpected chronic illness. However, it was not designed to cover normal childbirth nor abortion. It was not meant to cover plastic surgery. It was not meant to cover the pseudo-therapies like those foisted on gullible people by chiropractor quacks.
... Further to this point, a the year of 2008 of all the G-8 industrial nations, the ONLY one that did not have UMC or an affordable health insurance plan was the United States. The nation with the highest health (costs both in direct or GDP calculation) was the United States. UMC or an affordable national health plans work as a social program both for public and private commercial interests. The ONLY political group globally who fanatically opposes UMC are the Yankee Republicans. You wanna know why? They aren't Conservatives, they are morons.
... Here's a current surprise whether you fixate on being considered right or left wing. One of the two remaining social issues funded through government in Canada is a Guaranteed Annual Income, [GAI]. GAI program is a social program designed provide a better more consistent social support than the present day balkan Welfare, Workfare or Disability Support programs. The biggest Canadian advocate for a GAI is not Liberal nor NDP. In fact those two alleged liberal parties, aren't very good at structuring social programs in a way to maximize social support delivery and minimizing the fiscal impact on taxation. The biggest voice is former Conservative Senator Hugh Segal.
... Trust me. Segal is in every sense a Conservative. But he is a Conservative who understands that not all social programs or public ownership commitments are bad. Global economic success depends on effective social programs designed to support weaknesses in the socio-economic matrix. In other words, an effectively run social support system is not the province of right or left wing ideologies. It is however the possession of those politicians able to envision the benefits of a social program to benefit the national interest.
... Idolizing the US Republicans as representative of a sound Conservative thought, is plain stupid. They are not true Conservatives but human troglodytes harping back to the times of the laissez faire, the economic environment of Imperial France of the Sun King; and then apply Darwinian Theory (a botanical matrix) to economics. There are many claiming to be Conservatives without ever making an effort to exactly understand what a true Conservative political ideology is. They are not Conservatives they are ignorant. The politicians of the United States Republican Party lack any intellectual dynamic with regard to comprehending the nature of the global economic matrix.
... So when it comes to Trump's support of UMC isn't surprising. UMC properly structured is taxation well spent. UMC is always good for business. John Robarts and William Davis both Conservative Premiers of Ontario introduced OHIP not because of political ideology but because it was in the best economic interest of Ontario.
... Trump unfortunately lacks political skill. And there are, in various emerging political dilemmas, that political parties whether claiming right or left wing allegiances that adopt a political promise that makes sound business sense. Paul Martin made for the best Minister of Finance in Canadian history. Compare that with the loathsome sluggish thought processes of Joe Oliver. One a liberal, balanced the budget and created a business environment benefiting the national interest. The latter supported economic theory that tied the Canadian economy to the health of one single resource (big oil) to the exclusion of eastern based industrial and manufacturing and its resulting collapse catapults Canada into another unbalanced budget and imminent catastrophic economic recession. Oliver used to be a banker. He should know better. Harper chose him to replace a more effective Flaherty.
... Trump clumsily insulted Mexicans. Yet he identified (rather badly) a huge immigration problem in the USA. Mexico is doing what Cuba did. And in Canada's case doing what Alberta has done to BC and Ontario for about six decades. The Mexicans are doing exactly what my hometown did when they created a municipal environment so toxic to their own poor citizens that they moved to Thunder Bay, which did exactly the same thing in turn by moving those problems onto Toronto. A lot of governments national, provincial and municipal move problems like paying forward to larger economies. They use government policy to move their social problems to other jurisdictions.
... Trump just tapped into that political reality. Got condemned by the Thought Police of every political stripe. There are serious problems in the United States. Trump is a Conservative, just not imprisoned by it. He articulates a problem like a businessman. He fails in defining it politically. Trump would make a better President than the other politicians of the Republican party. UMC is not just the property of left wing ideologues. Immigration problems belong to all. Civic irresponsibility emerges from political hacks claiming both political ideas. At the moment, that is why Trump is leading in the polls.

Water logged

People in Toronto appear to be suffering from being too waterlogged. New animal species are invading from the north. Which park was this image taken?

Ponds like this are caused by the presence of garbage piles. And attract vermin like this giant antlered water rat.

Dilemma

Well recently I sat inside for a couple of weeks. Outside there was fairly good weather.

Freezing rain keeps pouring down in this endless storm. Which is okay, this is good for the grass. The lawn grass to be more specific. Would hate to spread false imagery.

Anyway, now there is a strong desire to go outside. Yes I know its confusing to me too.

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Onwards and downwards

More age discrimination. About ten months ago after my career ending injury, I looked around for another opportunity. I always wanted to be an Editor.

I applied everywhere. Shut out. Its the old story. Its not who you know, its who you Lewinsky. I've given up trying to find anything in that line of werk.



_

Hair Craft

Oh the cheers.

This morning I took a look at my long hair in the mirror. Its hard finding a part in long hair. Yecch.

I can't afford a haircut. The right one is twenty bucks. The wrong one is free. I used to look good.

Now its getting attached. Hey women just love this stuff. When I kept my hair short I couldn't get close without the look of initial fear. Now. "Oh, Its just an old hippie... cool."

Amazingly I'm in my mid 50's. All my other friends my age have money and can afford a haircut. But are mostly bald. Its indeed a twisted world.

Shorter story

Having an extra loonie around. I ambled passed the corner restaurant. The owners are East Indian likely Pakistani or Islamic Indians. No matter. The lady there makes an excellent tea.

Normally mid-asian foods curry no flavour with me. However... What? That hurt you a lot more than it hurt me. My story. My bad jokes.

On with the tea. Its really good. I don't dare take it a couple of days before a doctor's appointment. The blood pressure soars. Well I drifted in wearing a shirt, no coat, no jacket. Its only minus three or four and the rest of the city dwellers are wrapped like real weinies. I live just across the street. Its not like going to the south pole. No big deal.

Anyway the tea is wonderful. Grade AAA. Spicy. Medium for only a buck.

So this Chinese guy pipes up while I exit the establishment. How tall are you?

"5'2" I said.

"No" he replied laughing.

"Ya true." says I. "I was born before 1970. The government brought in metric. Now I'm shorter."

It doesn't work... unless

It must the day of the soldier. I support our troops. However I do not support the clowns in Ottawa who run the show. Good soldiers obey orders. No matter how stupid those orders may be.

One of the most important lessons of the Viet Nam War was the fact that rotation of active combat troops doesn't work. In that war the rotation for troops was one year duty.

Now on the eve of a Taliban spring offensive General Hillier is rotating out veteran troops and is sending in green or raw troops. Even if those troops have been there before, it takes a bit of work to get back into the non routine of being shot at. This is the critical point in the war. The decisive moment. The Taliban will certainly throw everything they got.

The Taliban now know that the Canadians rotation is coming about. Notice they haven't picked a fight with Canadians in the last couple of months. But last spring when the Royal Canadians showed up for the first time they waited till the Pats went back to the Edmonton barracks.

Most of those 44 Canadian casualties were suffered on a fresh rotation. This is a no brainer. The smart move would be to rotate the Princess Pats back into action sooner than later. Then keep them on station as a regiment until next year in the autumn of 2008. But Hillier is Harper's lap dog now.

An all out attack by the Taliban against fresh raw Canadian troops may cause another 200 casualties under the worst scenario. But keeping the present troops on station then supplementing them with Princess Pat vet volunteers would enable the field commanders in Afghanistan to have the best available human resource for countering the new Taliban offensive.

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Garbage bags

Ever notice that no matter how tough the name of the garbage bag. You know tough names like "Tough," or "Nobust" or "Wall". They still rip.

I once bought a very tough sounding bag that ripped in a wind. There is a lesson in this.

The toughest garbage bag I ever got was non of them names. It had only Professional Garbage Bags 7 mil. I still use them. They don't wear out. They don't rip. I am avoiding buying tough things.