No Extreme Capitalism Please ...

If you've ever watched the Lang & O'Leary Exchange on CBC it is obvious that Kevin O'Leary is a zealous right wing capitalist.

First as an aside, hats off to the CBC which is accused of being left wing of having such a staunch right wing character on an insightful program.

Now on to business.

Kevin O'Leary is living in a half fictitious world predicated on an ideology that needs to be very closely scrutinized and examined.

Capitalism has failed to live up to it's expectations.

The extreme capitalists would have us believe that unfettered free markets guided by the invisible hand of greed is good will provide everyone with a nice sized house in the suburbs with a white picket fence and two SUVs in the drive way.

OK, so I'm stretching it a bit right? After all, why would a janitor get paid as much as a neurosurgeon?

That has to do with how the free market, and by extension 'we', value labour. But that's another blog post entirely.

Capitalism has failed because it treats everything and everyone like private property.

Enclosing resources like water or wood in a free market vein is lunacy because we are slowly but surely eating ourselves out of house and home.  The market only values short term profits with no foresight into how we will survive in the future.

This mentality is on top of corporations desire to pursue profits relentlessly and has led to a shrinking of wages/salaries for the middle class and poor. Yeah, I'm looking at you Caterpillar! We ought to wring those corporate tax cuts from the CEO of Caterpillar's neck!

I'm calling out Kevin O'Leary specifically because in a very recent episode of the Lang & O'Leary Exchange, O'Leary more or less stated that human activity isn't having ANY impact on the environment.

At least three times he asserted that we shouldn't mess with mother nature while contending as a species  we are not having an impact on the very environment that sustains us.

O'Leary directly contradicted himself in respect to an episode of the Lang & O'Leary exchange from a year or so ago where he was in a tiff with Amanda Lang about the future of the electrical car and asserted that putting more electrical cars on the road would cause more carbon and 'that's just dumb' to paraphrase.

Well O'Leary, given your recent assertions about us having NO impact on the environment what does it matter if we go electrical in the car route and release more carbon?

Cuz the carbon ain't causing any problems right?

A word to wise O'Leary, be aware of what you say one day because you are rife with little contradictions and I and others will call you on it.

I'm not done with this by a long shot.

Lazy Politicians ...

Omnibus Budget Bill = Lazy Politicians

It's lazy because Bill C-45 is not all about the budget and has 60 different changes to legislation in it.

I don't know where the Conservatives get off thinking this is acceptable.

It should be noted that if the Liberals were in power we might very well be seeing the same thing happening. When a party is majority territory, it can basically pass anything it wants without much of a fight unless there is something really amiss, while the official opposition clamors you can't do that and would most likely do more of the same if they are in control.

So methinks that when the next federal election is held I will press every candidate that comes to my door or I run into if they are willing to pass legislation banning omnibus bills.

Canadians need to send a clear message to Ottawa that politicians are elected to preserve democracy by having open debates on reasonable pieces of legislation rather than a ramshackle all-in-one approach.

Democracy and our taxpayer dollars demand it!

Notes on a Human Rights Museum Scandal

McDonald's got a credential in the article 10 epic marketing fails of 2012 on LinkedIn penned by freelance writer Michael Estrin.

It involved a twitter hashtag #McDStories.

It was supposed to garner good feelings about the farmers that McDonald's buys potatoes and beef from but was quickly hijacked by people with not so pleasant gastronomical stories related to eating at McDonald's to animal rights groups and activists lashing out at McDonald's business practices.

Most people proceed with good intentions but in the online world if there is ever any doubt about how something might be construed or interpreted, then you should stop right there.

What does this have to do with the human rights museum slated to open in a couple of years in Winnipeg?

It has to do with the Canadian Museum for Human Rghts posting communications job positions asking for seven years worth of experience and the fact that whoever was in charge of communications and/or management thought it was a good idea to source a garment producer in a country with a poor human rights record.

The country in question is Vietnam and the blowback got national coverage.

I think are you serious?

I don't have several years of communications experience and even I know that if you are constructing a human rights museum which in of itself is subjectively subject to controversy and interpretation that your choice of a vendor for swag is going to be put under a microscope.

Again, nobody was trying to be slave driver, but come on!

It will be a cloud over the museums head if they don't make a PR opportunity of ensuring that all the swag made for the museum is produced in an ethical and even environmentally responsible way regardless of public opinion because it is the smart thing to do.

Startup Winnipeg

I went to Startup Winnipeg Weekend which ran from Friday evening to Sunday evening.

After attending the first Startup Winnipeg, and getting reamed out by the judges, I was a little older and wiser about boiling down 54 frantic hours of work to vet and present an idea in five minutes to judges who are just as ferocious as the investors on Dragons Den.

The team I was on worked well together and I was on the business model side of things trying to make sure the presentation was top notch, and while we didn't make it into the top three, the app idea our team presented is still worth pursuing and who knows where it will go.

In some respects the educational and networking potential of Startup Winnipeg is more important to me then winning any of the top three prizes aside from bragging rights.

Oh, a couple of groups really did get reamed out this time still.

The next Startup Winnipeg might be happening in April.

Time to think of some new biz ideas!

Negotiations ...

Here is my rendition of talks between the NHL players and owners:

Players Union: Give us more of the revenue.

Owners: No.

Players Union: I guess will talk next week then.

Owners: Sure.

End of Act I

Flying Cars Part Deux

I was playing Mass Effect 2 which takes place a couple hundred years from now or so and flying cars are everywhere and much to my horror in relation to my last blog post, flying cars get shot at and nearly crash land!

I realized though that there is a way around the problem of policing the sky.

So, let's say there's a check stop in the sky where police are checking for drunk drivers, or pilots.

If someone freaks out and decides to b-line it any direction because it's the open sky we are talking about, the only way to prevent that is if there is a system in place that keeps the vehicle on the same 'path' and does not allow any deviation.

This would mean that the driver would actually have limited control, and rightly so, because we don't need maniacs doing donuts in the sky and flying cars falling out of the sky in random spots.

Imagine the infrastructure required for that kind of air way system.

In the movie Minority Report, vehicles are extremely slender and go up and down buildings and can be taken over by the police.

Perhaps that scenario is more realistic as a junction between cars on the road and cars in the air.

That's enough for this rant.

What's that in the sky? A flying car!

I realized driving home today that it would be so cool to be able to push a big red button and see my car sprout wings and cold fusion powered rockets to propel me home ...

Then I realized everyone else would want the same thing as me and the sheer logistics of flying cars sobers you up real quick.

It is a chore to manage traffic on the ground, just imagine all the cars on the road flying.

How do you police the air?

Not to mention that gravity makes things fall ... fast.

The flying car has been featured in movies like Bladerunner and the Fifth Element, and I read years ago that the flying car had been tested and works.

Perhaps I shouldn't be so cynical, but I think that the movies is the only place we will be seeing mass use of flying cars until technology has really advanced, road rage doesn't convert into air road rage, and the internal combustion engine finally goes the way of the dinosaur on a large scale, no pun intended.

That's all this for rant.

NHL Lockout in Canada

I've started ranting and raving about imposing term limits on municipal, provincial, and federal politicians of up to eight years like in the US.

It is interesting to note that the eight year mark was not some studied and statistically agreed upon number for someone to be president in the US, but that the first US president, George Washington, stepped down after eight years because he didn't want to hold onto the highest position of authority any longer than that.

I digress to say that it is time for Gary Bettman to step down as commissioner of the NHL.

Come on, three work stoppages in the last what, 15 years?

And this last one is befuddling to me.

The NHL is a billion dollar plus a year industry.

The NHLPA wants a bigger cut of that billion plus dollars.

If Sydney Crosby has a multi year contract worth over a $100 million, it would seem that the players are the greedy culprits again, since the last bone of contention was the players association resisting the league imposing a salary cap.

Well, Sydney Crosby's blockbuster contract is the exception and not the rule player salary wise, and yet for the casual fan like me, I can't wrap my head around a couple of things.

1. Why do the players want/need more money?

2. Why do the owners want/need to hold onto their current cut of revenues?

From my perspective, all I see is two sides who aren't in dire financial straits wanting more money then they could individually need for two lifetimes.

It has nothing to do with stability, safety, or fairness.

Sure there have been other strikes and lockouts in other professional leagues from basketball to football, but the NHL seems plagued by playground territorialisim.

That's enough ranting for now ...

Precious Little Life

A heart wrenching story out of Calgary deals with the neglect of a two year old so extreme it left the child brain dead, and an Alberta judge ruling that the child should be taken off of life support.

It seems the legal wrangling has gotten more press than the unfortunate abuse of a child.

As a father, my soul weeps when I hear of children, particularly of babies and toddlers being abused and neglected.

The Phoenix Sinclair inquiry, which is on hiatus because of legal doings reverberates with me much like this recent incident of child abuse and neglect, and all I can think about is why would you treat your child like that?

After my first child was born, I remember seeing a poster in the hall of the hospital that read "I cry for lot's of reasons, but never to make you angry".

Every parent has their patience tested, and depending on the child, who knows how frequently you have to put your hands in your pockets and count to ten.

Clearly the parents in the cases of abuse that I have mentioned have more than just patience issues.

Family background, poverty, racism, addiction, and the abusers having been abused are probably common themes to these sad stories.

The state has no right to come into your home and take your child away until their is a problem.

With that in mind, let's tackle the themes I've mentioned for they are the harbinger of the tragic stories of child neglect and abuse.

Don't want to pay for your gas?

We are addicted to oil.

It dictates so much of our way of life that even I am oblivious 90% of the time to it.

Every now and again though, the oblivious veil lifts and the stark truth about oil surfaces.

Usually it's an oil spill, but this time it's a gas station attendant being hit and dragged by the driver of an SUV who didn't want to pay for a $112 worth of gas.

Incidents of people taking off instead of paying for gas rise in correlation with an increase in the price of gas, which is not surprising.

What is surprising in a recent tragic story coming out of Ontario, is that the management at this particular Shell station holds employees responsible for customers who do not pay for their gas.

I would like to know what measures management has in place to offset such incidents from occurring?

Oh, you don't have such measures in place.

If someone comes in to rob the gas station at gun point, I'm sure employees are told not to try and be Steven Segal, and Kung Fu the robber.

You give the robber the cash and then call the police.

So why should a gas station attendant, who is often being paid minimum wage, risk their life if someone is determined to drive away without paying for gas, which is robbery and the vehicle a potential weapon much like a gun?

Something is wrong if an employer puts their product and/or service before the safety of employees.

I think the federal government needs to step in and pass legislation making pay before you pump mandatory.

Don't worry, the oil industry can afford it, and we are not about to give up our vehicles.

Over one year has passed ...

It has been nearly one and a half years since I finished my last, and I do mean last run in post secondary education and I still have yet to achieve any gainful employment from it.

The closest I came was a little volunteer work which has now come to an end, and even that was difficult to come by.

I realize that there are easily two hundred some odd people applying for the few table scraps of entry level positions that I have applied for.

As the market gets ever so saturated, one has to wonder what the future will hold for university and college graduates.

I can respect some people lauding certain degrees and diplomas for their financial worth, because what's the point of investing time and money if there is no return on your education investment?

Some occupations might be deemed recession proof like certain careers in medicine because people are always being born, getting sick, and getting old.

Right now there is a huge demand for tech graduates in the lucrative app development scene.

So much so that I regret my previous choice of post secondary education.

Should our choices be restricted to what is in demand career wise?

When I was in high school everyone was crazy for accounting, but I was not strong in math and did not desire accounting as a career.

Should there be a guarantee before even starting a college or university that you will get employment within a year after graduating?

I don't think you could realistically police and make such promises, but I will be sure and tell my children to do some research into whatever they want to study beyond high school in the future.

Obvious Observations About The Olympics

Gymnasts short, volleyball players tall .... Cough.

Alright that wasn't very funny but it was pretty obvious.

I thought about diving and that the dive happens so quickly that you have to think that a judge might have blinked, yawned, or just daydreamed in those split seconds and was like 'whoops!' at some point.

To close on the subject of height, suppose two swimmers are exactly the same in ability and strength but one is just an inch shorter ...

With the sensors in the pool walls that inch could make or break a medal win, and under the scenario I am envisioning, has nothing to do with ability or strength.

Lastly, from a PR and tourist point of view, the Olympic committee in London should have considered placing the torch in a space similar to the Winter Olympics in British Columbia.

God, Guns, & Guts ...

The title of this post is derived from a slogan I saw, which if I'm not mistaken, was at a Tea Party rally a couple of years ago in Washington DC.

The slogan actually started out with the words "America is about ... "

George Zimmerman evoked Gods will, presence, or whatever you want to call it the night he shot and killed Trayvon Martin.

Zimmerman basically lost almost all of his credibility after uttering those words as far as I'm concerned.

Why?

By claiming his shooting and killing Trayvon Martin has anything to do with divinity puts him in nearly the same league as Osama Bin Laden, Al Qaeda, or the Taliban, all of which espouse divine reasons for brutalizing women, flying planes into buildings, and setting of bombs on busy streets.

Alright, I'll admit that the circumstances that lead to Zimmerman shooting and killing Martin does not compare with crazy acts of terrorism, except in one way.

Using God as a lightning rod to justify one or a group of persons actions.

I'm sure Zimmerman didn't intend to shoot Martin, but please, don't you dare imply a God of any kind when one person kills another under any circumstances.

Who Wears Short Shorts?

A recent article I came across online via the Associated Press highlights a woman in Abu Dhabi concerned about the attire (or lack thereof) of young women.

It is obvious that the Middle East as a whole tends to be more conservative when it comes to how women not only dress, but what they do. Yes, I'm pointing my finger at you Saudi Arabia who only recently allowed women to participate in the Olympics and hopefully soon drive ... cough, cough.

What I thought about reading this article though, is how it pits feminists against feminists and the colour pink for men.

On one side you have conservative feminists who object to lingerie, beauty pageants, and Brittany Spears doing a strip tease routine with a chair in a video.

On the other side you have liberal feminists who rail against the idea that anyone should tell a woman how she should dress, act, and do what she will with her body.

What about men though?

It has become plain as day to me as a father of a daughter that it is ok for my daughter to wear more 'masculine' clothes rather than if I had a son to wear more 'feminine' clothes.

This 'fashion perception' has it's roots back in the 1960's, and now a woman can wear jeans and a t-shirt and not have it construed as less feminine.

But that bridge doesn't sway over to the male side.

Thankfully I saw an episode of Sesame Street that helps curb the erroneousness of this fashion perception.

In this episode, Baby Bear is ashamed when Telly finds out he has a doll he likes to play with. Baby Bear tells Gordon, who let's Baby Bear know he has nothing to be ashamed about. Gordon points out to Baby Bear that he is wearing a pink shirt because he likes the colour pink and that's all there is to it.

So the fight for equality in the Middle East is of epic proportions for women, while in North America, if we can get to a day where men can wear a pink shirt without it being perceived as either gay, straight, or Australian, I would say we are on our way!

Remove gender perception from the colour pink for men and allow women to drive in Saudi Arabia.

A Blog For Micro Blogging

As the anniversary of Tiananmen Square passes, Chinese authorities still claim that it was in defense that so many pro democracy protester were killed.

What kind of argument does that sound like today?

The Assad regime in Syria.

I always wondered why the people of China, especially in light of the Arab Spring, haven't stood up in massive numbers to demand democratic reforms.

It might have something to do with Pizza Hut, McDonald's and the drive away from the farm to the city condo, and the illusion of freedom that 'Western' ways of life engender.

But can they vote for their leaders?

No.

Sufficed to say it is quite clear that even here in Canada, the assault on democracy takes on small paper cut form, rather than one large sweeping cut.

Bill C-38, or the laughably titled Budget Implementation Act, crams so much down one hole that it's befuddling a democratically elected government would not pass each piece separately so as to ensure that the public gets a clear view of what is being passed through parliament.

Don't get me wrong, if the Liberals were in power federally they might very well be pulling off the same stunt with the Conservatives crying foul.

Here's an idea, in Papua New Guinea, in many villages, no one is really in charge and if you want a decision made, the entire village is consulted.

This is infuriating to outsiders who are not accustomed to that kind of system of discussion and debate.

Oh, what was my original point? Ahh yes, China is now apparently going to be censoring micro blogging.

So the Chinese support a blood soaked regime along with Russia via veto power at the UN while we, including me, right at this very moment with what I am posting on the Internet, still enjoy some level of freedom of expression that the Chinese government refuses to give to their people.

So long as geopolitical and economic considerations trump human life, I will not trust the words of politicians who till the Arab Spring, were more than happy to let businesses do business with regimes so long as the people didn't protest, and after the people started protesting, hypocritically told those regimes they had to go.

There is no such thing as a bad job ...

Well Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, you set yourself up for all sorts of witty remarks with your comments about EI.

I'm not surprised. Only a conservative could conceive of such lunacy as to compare his work experience in college with the lives of millions of other individuals.

I am currently suffering the indignation of sitting on thousands of dollars of debt because I wanted to return to school in the hopes that it would improve my financial future, and instead, a year on I'm floundering with only low paying call centre jobs willing to hire me. The very type of job I left.

Is that ironic or just tragic?

Could I have done more? I suppose I could have been more thorough, but no one wants to admit that finding work is almost like a lottery, and that if you have a clean resume and write a good cover letter, well, you are at the mercy of people and events not under your control otherwise.

So Mr. Flaherty, I suppose I will do what I have to even if it revolts me.

I don't suppose anyone conceives that as the population grows and more people flood the work force that something Malthusian is at play; too many people and never enough work.

Does anyone else find it distasteful when a lawyer is put in charge of a whole economy or an economist is put in charge of law?

I bring this up because I keep running into the minimum two years experience wall when looking for employment related to what I've studied. It has gotten to the point where I want to ask someone who doesn't hire me how they got experience.

Mr. Flaherty, grab a shred of common sense and keep your self serving platitudes to yourself.

To close, I think I will, at the suggestion of others that I would make a great politician, run in an upcoming election.

After all, it seems you can practice law for several years and not need two years of economic experience to run an entire countries economy.

Have and Have Not ... What should you be paid for your skills?

If only I could shoot a puck or hit a golf ball I could be making millions!

That isn't a joke when you look at what some professional athletes with minimal education are getting paid.

Wayne Gretzky didn't finish high school.

OK, so only a percentage of professional athletes have monstrous salaries and endorsement deals.

Still, I have three post secondary credentials to my name and can only anticipate an entry level salary at or just above the poverty line with my most recent course of study.

Is that justified?

The short answer is no, and I suspect the long answer is filled with economic voodoo, sociology, psychology, culture, and plain old human nature.

What constitutes a 'living wage'?

Should we all anticipate a certain level of luxury the more education we have?

The truth is high school drop outs can make millions while people with masters degrees can make minimum wage for a wide variety of reasons.

More to come on this topic.