Does it matter that he's right ?

http://politics.foxnews.mobi/quickPage.html?page=23888&content=49140689&pageNum=-1

The chicken soup is very fresh here !

It has been said that a man's beard will continue to grow for several days after he has been planted in the ground; in this way it might appear to an uninformed observer that these signs of life are encouraging..ie: this man may not be dead. The same could be said of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia..there are what appears to be signs of growth/life, but like a dead man is going no where. A province or state takes far longer to die then a person. What Nova Scotian's might see on a daily basis are the whiskers of the man's beard..still growing, but in a corpse whose future is to be food for the tiny worms and bacteria that feed off it.

Labels: Atlantic, Canada, corpse, dead, East, Eastern, have-not, Maritimes, Nova Scotia, undead

The Canadian province of Alberta is set to change Canada's relationship with the world at large; it's telling when the US President visits Alberta before heading to Ottawa to speak with the Prime-minister. Alberta's growth has also changed it's relationship with the Atlantic provinces from one of: "keep your hands off our oil money !" to one of, "please send us your skilled workers ASAP"...interesting times ahead...

I've recently been re-working a paper I had written for an Organizational Behavior course in University. The case/analysis draws inspiration from the Hell Fire Club of England, and several versions of the club that sprang up in years (and decades) following. This paper includes autobiographical elements from my High School years where I started a group by the same name. Our goals at that time, differed from the original...in part because we didn't have the resources, but a group of 15-17 year olds can come up with some creative solutions. We were a social club more then anything and borrowing from William Golding's, Lord of the Flies, we hosted our parties on a nearby island that would today resemble the TV show Survivor. (This was long before the TV show and I'm still waiting for those residuals)...

 

Cory Doctorow: Salon reviews a fascinating-sounding book called The Wonga Coup, about a gang of rich western thugs who proposed a competition to hire mercenaries and topple the government of Equatorial Guinea and loot its treasuries -- the winner got to …

Source: Western millionaires plotted Equatorial Guinea coup as a game
Originally published on 17/08/2006 11:43 AM by noemail@noemail.org (Cory Doctorow)

Lets say that we have a special interest group or non-profit organization with sufficient funds and motivation to launch it's own series of communication satellites (can be done for $20,000 US a pop), and that these satellites (more then $20,000 but the price is dropping) were capable of providing wireless, unrestricted, internet access anywhere in the world...naturally there are a large number of groups, organizations, businesses, and governments that would do everything in their power to prevent it from happening.

Part of my research leads me to study countries like Iran and North Korea, and their attitude and relationship with the media and internet specifically...in addition to phone and cable companies, organizations like the NSA in the United States, political figures, etc. each with their own agenda and special interest...most with a desire to maintain the status quo..or at least assume some measure of control over it on an on-going basis. I also look to oil and automobile companies and their inter-relationship in keeping the internal-combustion engine alive...in their case for the sake of profit and keeping their share-holders and pension fund holders happy.

On the flip-side: Lets say that you as an individual don't want to complain too loudly as you own stock in a variety of energy companies, including big oil...and like many people you plan to retire someday...so while others whine about the price of gas, you can look at your IRA or RRSP (depending which side of the 49th you live on) and smile. So...how do I reconcile my social conscience (assuming I have one) with my own long term financial needs (assuming I have those) ? I had this debate this morning with a friend who is currently studying law at a Canadian University. She takes a more pragmatic view (as she must)...as single mother with student loans...and must make these choices for herself and presumably for her clients in the near future. It's worth mentioning that we originally met in a first-year philosophy class and after a heated debate that ended with our Professor asking her to leave the room, managed to become and remain friends (she got an A in the course, I got a B). In fairness, she provided the oil company-retirement fund analogy, and with the amount of feedback she's provided I may have to give her a writing credit when the book is published (although she has zero interest in becoming the next John/Jane Grisham).

Feedback and opinions welcomed...