April 29 2008 by The Systemic Analyst.

Brenda Martin is happy; she’s coming back to Canada after her ordeal in a Mexican prison. Of course, after all the frenzied media attention which pushed for her return, Martin is able to be concerned about how her mother might feel about seeing her daughter brought back to her native land in handcuffs. Chances are too that Martin won’t even spend any more time in prison upon her arrival considering time served and all that jazz. Yet the acceleration of Martin’s return and the quick media support for it leaves me wondering about the Canadian perspective on judicial systems and personal responsibility.

Leaving aside the systemic issues of our permanent bureaucracy (of which there are many), much of the coverage of Martin’s case focused on either the conditions of her incarceration or her lack of culpability in the alleged crime. It’s a great example of the wider prevailing view in Canada regarding crime and punishment: personal responsibility for one’s actions is directly correlated to one’s guilt ergo if a person didn’t know any better how can they be guilty and suffer consequences for those actions. Furthermore, our aversion to accepting responsibility for our actions renders us intolerant for the ways in which other countries choose to punish offenders under their jurisdictions: we expect that other countries should treat us with the same light-handed punishment our own government would.

There were few questions about the actions of Brenda Martin which might have led to her arrest in the media campaign that pressured the Canadian government to bump her case ahead of the hundreds of other Canadians sitting in foreign jails. For some reason, the media was quick to put blame almost entirely on the Canadian government alone for the fact that Martin had been for some two years held in a Mexican jail without a hearing. The media portrayal of Martin was one of a completely unaware employee caught up in the criminal affairs of her corrupt boss; yet what employee doesn’t know to at least some degree the character of their employer? Sure, she might not have knowingly committed a crime herself, but at what point does a person need to become responsible for themselves and, as a result, take measures to protect their own interests?

The case of Saul Itzhayek, the Montreal businessman held in India for travelling on an expired visa, is yet another such example. The media has been eager to point out the governmental failings leading to the 10-month incarceration of Itzhayek; yet who is ultimately responsible? Although mistakes are made, how difficult is it to make sure that the visa for the country in which you are travelling is up-to-date? Is this a Canadian bureaucratic shortcoming, or the individual’s? The fact of the matter is that other countries have their own laws and punishments. Undoubtedly these punishments will seem extreme compared to our “correctional” system.  If we choose to travel abroad, however, we must educate ourselves as to the culture, customs and laws of those regions, understanding that the consequences of actions (and mistakes), which we might take freely in Canada, are different in other places. In this sense, it is first up to the individual to undertake developing that understanding - an unfeeling bureaucracy should be one’s last resort.

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April 25 2008 by The Systemic Analyst.

In the year 2008, the Lord came unto Noah, who was now living in Canada, and said, ‘Once again, the earth has become wicked and over-populated, and I see the end of all flesh before me.

Build another Ark and save 2 of every living thing along with a few good humans.’

He gave Noah the blueprints, saying, ‘You have 6 months to build the Ark before I will start the unending rain for 40 days and 40 nights.’

Six months later, the Lord looked down and saw Noah weeping in his yard - but no Ark.

‘Noah!’ He roared , ‘I’m about to start the rain! Where is the Ark?’

‘Forgive me, Lord,’ begged Noah, ‘but things have changed. I needed a building permit. I’ve been arguing with the inspector about the need for a sprinkler system. My neighbors claim that I’ve violated the neighborhood zoning laws by building the Ark in my yard and exceeding the height limitations. We had to go to the Development Appeal Board for a decision.

Then Hydro One demanded a bond be posted for the future costs of moving power lines and other overhead obstructions, to clear the passage for the Ark’s move to the sea. I told them that the sea would be coming to us, but they would hear nothing of it.

Getting the wood was another problem. There’s a ban on cutting local trees in order to save the spotted owl. I tried to convince the environmentalists that I needed the wood to save the owls - but no go!

When I started gathering the animals, an animal rights group sued me. They insisted that I was confining wild animals against their will. They argued the accommodation was too restrictive, and it was cruel and inhumane to put so many animals in a confined space.

Then the Ministry of the Environment ruled that I couldn’t build the Ark until they’d conducted an environmental impact study on your proposed flood.

I’m still trying to resolve a complaint with the Human Rights Commission on how many minorities I’m supposed to hire for my building crew.

Immigration and Naturalization are checking the Visa status of most of the people who want to work.

The trades unions say I can’t use my sons. They insist I have to hire only union workers with Ark-building experience.

To make matters worse, Revenue Canada seized all my assets, claiming I’m trying to leave the country illegally with endangered species.

So, forgive me, Lord, but it will take at least 10 years for me to finish this Ark.’

Suddenly the skies cleared, the sun began to shine, and a rainbow stretched across the sky. Noah looked up in wonder and asked, ‘You mean you’re not going to destroy the world?’

‘No,’ said the Lord.

‘The Government beat me to it.’

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April 23 2008 by The Systemic Analyst.

Forget oil prices; shortages of food, and in some places water, are rapidly becoming serious concerns. The bubble that is our Western world often prevents us from seeing the dangers posed by our system; distracted by fears of job loss, unmanageable personal debt and an unending supply of mind-numbing entertainment pumped into our homes through the intravenous that is mass media, we can’t see what difficulties our way come. Step away from immediate and local concerns for a second, scan the international headlines on an internet search and suddenly some alarming trends become apparent: food prices are soaring, the hungry are rioting and some food producing countries are moving towards self-protectionism.

So long as there is processed food across the street in some store’s freezer or selling products in our market is still more lucrative than in the country of origin, why have grounds for concern, right? How long, however, can economics be expected to trump survival; our post-Cold War mentality leaves us still believing in a capitalist system as if it were religion, some divine law of existence that will neither change nor disappear. It’s unthinkable for most people to even conceive that our current system could be any other than what it is. Indeed, just broach the topic with someone and prepare for a touchy backlash of, what else could it be: a dictatorship? communism? what else is there? 

This inability to accept that systems come and systems go leaves us incredibly vulnerable to change. Lacking creativity to even imagine that there should be change renders us incapable of ever preparing for it.  

As an industrialized society we moved en masse to urban centres. We bought into a system - buying food from a network of stores, taking water from a network of pipes, wearing clothes mass produced in distant lands - and in the process became entirely dependent. If suddenly there was a break in the system and we no longer had access to the things that we need, what would happen?

Despite the comparative luxuries some of us have heretofore enjoyed in the West, the time has for us to reconsider the viability of our system. Hopefully, this will occur before the current food shortages, which are only just beginning, truly come to affect us - which inevitably will happen given how connected the system, upon which we as individuals have become so dependent, has become to the wider global network.

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April 18 2008 by The Systemic Analyst.

What’s the point in maintaining a blog if I can’t make a pitch for a cause every now and then?

The Canadian National Conservatory of Music (CNCM) is Canada’s fastest growing national school of music. With a reach of nearly 100,000 Canadian teachers, students and other music professionals from coast to coast, examination centres in 6 provinces, over 10 high-acclaimed publications and host to the seminal piano pedagogy event of the year, CNCM is looking to expand its activities in promoting Canadian music and bringing arts and culture to rural Canada.

Filling a void left by other organizations, CNCM offers a full educational program to teachers and students, with a focus on bringing quality training to all Canadians. The CNCM’s holistic approach blends traditional teaching techniques with innovative, expert-developed methods, encouraging student skill development from performance etiquette to theory. Often, Canadians living in rural areas are not able to access the more traditional music training facilities located in select urban centers; CNCM helps ensure that the same, if not better, level of music education is available to all Canadians without having to relocate.

As part of its 2008-2009 fundraising campaign, CNCM is working to meet a target of $500,000. This money will be used in a variety of ways, including supporting the growing body of Canadian-content focused publications produced by CNCM; a scholarship program fostering and encouraging Canadian talent; educational events, workshops and seminars held throughout the year; and allowing CNCM to hire full-time professionals thus ensuring continued growth of the organization. 

The CNCM Summer Sizzle scholarship program offers a great way for individuals to get involved. Individuals who donate $150 have the option to have a student scholarship named after them. The funds go to covering the costs for a student to attend the three-day event. 

To view a comprehensive sponsorship information package please click here.

For more information on CNCM please visit the official website. 

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April 16 2008 by The Systemic Analyst.

The French government wants to make it illegal to promote “extreme thinness” - with offences punishable by up to 3 years in jail and fines of up to €30,000. They consider pro-anorexia websites and rail-thin models as incitement causing suicide or death. So much for an individual being responsible for themselves.

As with any tragic topic, particularly one which predominately affects youth, eating disorders pluck the heartstrings. Mothers who struggle to keep their daughters alive grace the television screen in well-funded campaigns to stamp out anorexia and bulimia. Advertisers, fashion runways and magazines are regarded as the evil spreaders of negative imaging causing young girls everywhere to die in the pursuit of skinny.  Amidst all the drama and heartache no one ever seems to question the role of individual responsibility.

It’s a tough question; to what degree an individual should be responsible for themselves? Most governments now exist predominately based on a notion that they provide some service to the population which is governed. Like feudal tutelage, under which a ruler promises to protect people in exchange for tithes, modern governments are expected to act in the best interest of the people in exchange for taxes. Since much of the Western world has managed to find peace with itself, the threat of invasion or traditional war is practically non-existent, thus Western governments are increasingly micro-managing their populations. In some ways, absolving individuals of being responsible for themselves, guarantees a role for governments.

Deferring responsibility for ourselves to a higher authority, however, is a slippery slope. Regulating personal preference is a dangerous encroachment into the private realm. If we admit that we can’t manage the most basic aspects of life, such as our own self-preservation, at what point is that authority able to simply make all decisions about our well-being without even consulting us? After all, if we aren’t responsible, how can we be expected to make sound decisions?

The prevalent approach to squarely lay blame upon the fashion and entertainment industries suggests another troubling development in Western society: the diminishing role of the family in providing necessary life skills.  In yet another act of responsibility-absolution, many believe that the television and other media are the root cause of eating disorders. Traditionally, however, children develop patterns of self-image from their parents. So, the issue of parental responsibility should also be questioned: if the media has this great an influence, who is doing the parenting? Of course, this will be the most painful question for parents to answer. No one wants to admit culpability in the troubles plaguing one’s children. Yet in our choice to develop a society which doesn’t just open the doors of equal opportunity for women, it pushes them through without an alternative, children who are not responsible for themselves is but one of the consequences. This is what happens when a system raises our children.  

Banning the grotesquely skinny won’t make eating disorders disappear. If there is demand for the ultra-skinny image, the thin model will continue to be offered. The issue of why we have this problem (which I might add is likely unique to a pampered society that can afford to obsess about such things) is more complex and systemic than grieving parents and lawmakers wish to believe. The most unfortunate aspect of it all is that given the tragic nature of the subject the notion of who is responsible is so entrenched that the issue isn’t something allowed for debate. In this sense, grief and tragedy trump logic and reason.

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April 16 2008 by The Systemic Analyst.

The Ottawa Citizen recently ran an article outing the Canadian government for its lack of a Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) plan. The only way this can be surprising is if one has never had to deal with the government in this country. 

How does a country as advanced and wealthy as Canada find itself without CIP? It’s simple, politics: not the electoral sort; not entirely the partisan party-based sort; but the traditional sort that “involves intrigue or strategy in obtaining any position of power or control” particularly as it relates to “the structure, organization, and administration of the state.” 

It’s a systemic problem that isn’t at first glance so apparent to a person on the outside .

Blinded, we focus our attentions on the elected figures from whom we demand so much accountability. We have notions that an elected official, whether he or she has a background in the subject matter for which the appointed post requires, is ultimately in control of an entire department. Whatever goes wrong is the fault of that elected representative; is he or she not, after all, in control?

Elected officials, however, are focused on what the name suggests: the next election. Regardless of how pristine and accountable we wish them to be, elected officials are in a perpetual race for popularity. (Just watch CPAC; the House of Commons is like a day-care for adults where each one screams louder and more stubbornly than the last in a bid to be heard.) Under constant threat of that next popularity contest, elected officials prefer measures that offer instant results; something tangible to take back to the electorate today; tomorrow isn’t as important; long-term strategy is for the national political martyr. Every measure, every issue is considered by a minister and his or her respective staff through this prism of looming elections. Their jobs are under eternal threat based on the whims and fancies of a widely ignorant electorate. Such is the nature of our system of democracy.

That’s why we built up that permanent mega-bureaucracy! An extensive system of bureaucrats enjoying jobs-for-life, some even unionized. Once inside one never need leave. The government bureaucracy is cushy, safe and a breeding ground for mediocrity. Salaries are determined by seniority of role, which in turn can be measured by how many others are directly under that role in the seemingly unending layers of hierarchy that is government. The permanent bureaucracy is an entity onto itself complete with self-interests and internal divisions as various departments (and individual bureaucrats) compete for “limited” funds in a race for ever-larger fiefs and more seniority. Best of all, the bureaucracy is seldom recognized by the public as distinguishable from the elected body; indeed, when bureaucratic shortcomings are brought to the public attention it is the elected representative “in charge” who is held accountable.

The bureaucracy, far from being always under the control of ministers and other elected officials, has ideas of its own. Bureaucrats, no different than others not-employed by the public sector, have party allegiances. It’s even been claimed that the bureaucracy leans considerably to one side of Canada’s political spectrum with strong ties to Canada’s most-frequently ruling party. This makes for an interesting competition between, say, a Conservative government and the bureaucracy.

Throw in interest groups and lobbyists and it’s a wonder that Canada has plans for anything at all! 

This is not to say that all of government is full of self-interested people; indeed, the government has been taking in some of Canada’s brightest minds. Unfortunately, once inside it’s like facing a giant boulder speeding down the hill in your direction - at best it can be slightly redirected with much effort, but never stopped. Anyone standing in the boulder’s way will simply be crushed.

In some ways it’s a good thing that much of Canada’s critical infrastructure (that is short of those national monuments…) is in private hands. At least given economic interests, we might have some guarantee that communication networks, for example, will still work in an emergency.

Posted in Disasters, Security Measures, Politics | No Comments »

April 11 2008 by The Systemic Analyst.

This week’s Friday Fun comes from Nury Vittachi with an article published in The Island:

The real pandemic shows its face at last

The Centre for Disease Control last night issued an urgent medical alert about a dangerous virus that could have a catastrophic effect on the world economy.

“We’ve seen massive outbreaks in numerous countries,” said a spokesman. “While we’re hoping for the best, this could be the pandemic we’ve been dreading. We urge all member governments to take preventative action immediately.”

Doctors are calling the virus Generally Reductive Economically Enervating Dementia, or GREED. If left untreated, it almost inevitably leads to full-blown economic deficiency syndrome.

Overview: Extraordinarily, the GREED virus avoids children and poor people, and has hit the West far more heavily than Asia. Almost all the victims are upper-middle class or wealthy, and usually male. Scientists are investigating whether some part of the yuppie lifestyle—designer suits, sports cars or first class air tickets—is triggering the disease. Ironically, in the majority of cases it eventually causes a dramatic shrinkage of the bank account and can lead to total cashectomies, which is the reduction of the sufferer’s net worth to zero.

Early symptoms: In the incubation stage, the sufferer starts to make clearly absurd decisions, such as believing he can make money by granting massive home loans to people who cannot possible pay them off. This was first observed in New York’s Wall Street, but spread to banks all over the world, including Asian banks such as HSBC.

Advanced symptoms: As the disease takes hold, the sufferer will choose to make “safe bets” by buying property in cities which are already the most expensive in the world. In the later stages of the disease, he will put the remainder of his cash in hedge funds with names such as the High Risk Probable Asian Disaster Fund. Throughout this period, any attempt to warn him of the inherent dangers in such moves will typically result in an increase in bizarre investments.

Transmission: “Now here’s the really bad news,” said Dieter Boringly, spokesman for the World Health Organization. “We can confirm that we have numerous documented cases of human-to-human transmission.” Certain sufferers have been designated “super-spreaders”, having been observed to spread the disease to the middle classes. Intriguingly, many of these carried business cards bearing the phrase “Financial Planner”.

Contagion: Doctors warn that the condition can be spread in numerous ways. “It seems to be carried by financial newspapers, where it settles on pages with titles such as ‘Your Money’ or ‘Stock Tips,’ said Dr David Daft, a virologist.

High-risk behavior has exacerbated the spread of the condition among people of various classes who make unprotected investments. “Always use protection,” he said. “That’s our advice to everyone, including the Pope.

“Treatment: Doctors says sufferers needs to be isolated—with electric cattle-prods if necessary—from newsstands selling financial papers, screens showing stock market data, and the storefronts of real estate agents.”But prevention is the best cure,” added Mr Boringly of the WHO. “Make sure you eat several portions of fruit and vegetables a day, and above all, never, never, never come into contact with a stockbroker, investment banker or financial planner without washing your hands with powerful anti-bacterial cream.”

Meanwhile, people in “low-class” jobs such as toilet-cleaning and journalism are watching with astonishment as wealthy financial people lose everything. “My heart bleeds for them,” said columnist Nury Vittachi, expressing his deep sympathy by laughing hysterically.

*Sufferers can write to Nury via www.vittachi.com to be sneered at further”

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April 10 2008 by The Systemic Analyst.

Here’s an interesting map for anyone watching the rate of home foreclosures in the U.S. The worst affected areas by the sub-prime mortgage fiasco are to date California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois and Nevada.

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April 10 2008 by The Systemic Analyst.

The Globe and Mail has reported that Industry Canada minister Jim Prentice has decided to block the sale of the satellite Radarsat-2 by Canadian firm MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd.  to the U.S. firm Alliant Techsystems Inc.

The move, hailed as unprecedented, could be a boon to the Conservative party. Widely seen by critics and the media as pandering to the U.S., the Conservative government’s refusal stands in direct contradiction to such negative imaging.

Whatever the political gains, it’s a good thing that Radarsat-2 is to remain Canadian. 

Posted in Security Measures, Politics | No Comments »

April 10 2008 by The Systemic Analyst.

There are some for whom simply ignoring yesterday’s big elephant isn’t enough; they wish the beast would just disappear. Geri Müller, president of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Swiss National Council and Council of State, has been publicly calling for Carla del Ponte’s resignation as Swiss ambassador to Argentina.

Mr. Müller, in interviews with ”Rendez-vous” and Gratiszeitung “News”, said that Ms. del Ponte’s announcement to publish her memoirs of her time as a prosecutor at the International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia (ICTY) is “unacceptable.” Citing “impartiality” as a requirement for her current post, Mr. Müller feels the publication of Ms. del Ponte’s memoirs compromises such objectivity. 

Another source, Ticinolibero, quotes Mr. Müller as saying “we will have a big problem if the department of Micheline Calmy Rey [the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs] does not recall Carla del Ponte from her post as ambassador to Argentina.”

The Regnum Information Agency in Russia reports Mr. Müller hopes Ms. del Ponte will voluntarily resign quoting him as saying:

“if she does not do so on her own, then, in my opinion, the Swiss Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee must consider and decide the matter. I would like to see del Ponte recalled from her post in Argentina. The next meeting of the parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee will be held at the end of April, and I hope that by then it will be clear what she has decided to do.”

Mr. Müller is a member of Switzerland’s Green Party.

Ms. del Ponte’s book, which gave rise to Mr. Müller’s calls for her resignation, describes an Albanian criminal ring that kidnapped Serbians to harvest human organs and how gathering evidence against NATO’s campaign in Serbia was made impossible.

It will be interesting to watch Ms. del Ponte’s reaction to the calls of Mr. Müller. If she feels strongly about the cause which she now appears to have taken up she should be expected to resign in protest. Of course, it would be hard to grudge her continued silence a few more years should she be on the verge of retirement. The inflexibility of bureaucracy has already pushed her from one job and a pension in this unstable world market might be very lucrative indeed.

What’s a couple more years of ignoring the elephant anyway? The West has already precipitated yet another mess in the Balkans with its recognition of Kosovo; the elephant will still be in the middle of this Western room in a few years, it just might be a little bigger, is all.

Posted in Politics | No Comments »