Not since the time of the Carnegies, Rockefellers and Vanderbilts at the turn of the 20th century was so much owned by so few I’m pretty sure I’ve never spent time with a billionaire. I’ve never had the chance to hear them out, what makes them tick, what troubles them,
Continue readingTag: Unrest
Canadian Trends: UPDATE-1: Chinada
China’s state oil company is offering $15 billion for Calgary’s Nexen. At this point I’ve really lost count of how many Chinese acquisitions have been made in the last few years. The sale will probably be allowed as the looting of Canadian assets continues unabated. Welcome to Chinada, please temporarily
Continue readingCanadian Trends: There is no Canada, only Zuul
Perspective is everything. When a Canadian citizen looks up at their government, they see a democratic institution being stolen from them through deceptive practices. When an international corporation looks down at a government, they see a tool for the implementation of policy. To understand the multi-facted implementation of policy and
Continue readingCanadian Trends: Debt fuelled economy unsustainable? Gee, what a surprise
So, can we finally drop the act? Debt-fuelled economy unsustainable, Carney says. Canada’s relatively healthy economy has been largely based on borrowed money but the situation cannot go on indefinitely, Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney warned Thursday. Relative to the circus currently going on in the EU, or the
Continue readingCanadian Trends: One big idea: Banking Oversight? Please.
Emerging from their resort world leaders have come up with one idea that just might work. Banking Oversight. No seriously, this is what they are spending money coming up with. Click the link, see for yourself. Of course their brand of banking oversight is new. It’s nothing like the banking
Continue readingCanadian Trends: Expensive resorts and lavish dinners, austerity is in the air
The G20 leaders continue to excel at making a credible case for austerity. Hunkered down in a Mexican luxury resort the reality of the world most people live in is no where to be found near them. Between lavish meals economic talk erupts, lots of talk which these leaders insist
Continue readingCanadian Trends: Modern capitalists hate capitalism
You can sum up any current financial news in to a few categories. You’ll either find yourself reading about: A solution proposed by those responsible for the problem that when tried didn’t work. An expensive summit or meeting attended by those responsible for the problem to discuss a solution which won’t work.
Continue readingCanadian Trends: No-gasm: Global economic foreplay isn’t working
Anyone with proper insight in to the global situation has known more Canadian stimulus would be here sooner or later. At the moment it would appear sooner is winning. Coincidentally I don’t remember stimulus in the budget, in fact the whole budget was supposed to be about post-stimulus Canada. Jobs
Continue readingCanadian Trends: Reality Check
Don’t worry! A solution is coming I just can’t tell you what it is. Energy and economics have much in common, in fact economics is just a system to organize the exchange of energy in the form of trade. Today however I discovered another commonality between the two: analysts of
Continue readingCanadian Trends: This presentation is essential reading in understanding what is to come
(If some of the slides are blank either zoom in one level or fullscreen the presentation) The End Game
Continue readingCanadian Trends: Splitting Economic Hairs
Well it looks like you can all relax. It would appear that I had it all wrong. Apparently Canada doesn’t have a debt problem: The agency said a 40 per cent drop in prices or rising interest rates would put pressure on Canadian households, but not have a large impact
Continue readingCanadian Trends: Repression is in the eye of the beholder
When is a person officially “repressed”? Everyone seems to have a different idea of when repression warrants retaliation and revolt. For some, it seems that nothing less of 20 years of dictatorship can do. Unless there are daily disappearances, secret police, and killings – there is no repression. Others see
Continue readingCanadian Trends: Ideas have a habit of spreading like wildfire
Well, it would appear the real battles have begun – this I was anticipating as the obvious response to Charest’s new law. What I didn’t anticipate was an international day of solidarity with them. Wow! That came as a pleasant surprise! Also nationally across Canada several cities joined in. Personally I don’t believe
Continue readingCanadian Trends: The G20 resolution: Another insult to Canadians for your brain to ponder
So, this is it? The great resolution? This is the result that it has taken two years to come up with? This is an insult, and for other reasons than the last one I just wrote about to boot! Just a side-note here, To government: I’m sort of finding it difficult to keep
Continue readingCanadian Trends: The monster in motion is one we’ve all created
In Quebec 300+ have been arrested, fascist laws passed, and the anger builds. At the NATO summit journalists are again being attacked as hundreds of thousands protest the “war on terror”. The anger builds, the violence erupts, and it’s all going to happen again, and again, and again. Today I saw
Continue readingCanadian Trends: Historical ideologues in the new era
The other day I was asked a question on twitter which for the life of me I could not fit an answer in to 140 characters. The question was in relation to the current and coming unrest. Time waits for no one. But what will come first? True reform and
Continue readingCanadian Trends: The real generational time-bomb isn’t in pensions
There is a definite concern world-wide about whether the younger generations can shoulder existing pension fund obligations for retiring baby-boomers and then for themselves. Every other month there are articles on “how much you should save for retirement”, usually with under-estimated numbers has people often misjudge the ‘exponential’ in exponential
Continue readingCanadian Trends: Subserviant Syndrome
Do you know why I supported Occupy amongst all other protests? Because it was doing something different. Protests come and go but Occupy, well that had a real shot at a change deeper than I think really anyone could even imagine. Of course that change was promptly snuffed out, and
Continue readingCanadian Trends: At what point does resistance become terrorism?
There was a lot of topics I wanted to write about today but in the end, I feel I really need to come back around to NATO military occupations around the world. They’ve found another supposed Al-Qaeda “treasure trove” of information, failed attacks, evil plans, etc. It reads like a
Continue readingCanadian Trends: The Great Canadian Divide: our road to failure
Canada is divided, perhaps more than the heyday of the Quebec separatist movement. There’s a divide between generations thanks to the budget and there’s a divide between eastern and western Canada and the economic differences and difficulties each is facing. In many ways Canada is itself a mini-Europe; we are
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