August 27 2010 by The Systemic Analyst.

This editorial cartoon ran in the Metro today:

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August 25 2010 by The Systemic Analyst.

While this analogy is likely to anger most Canadians, it will be posted in the hopes that there are some with open minds. Sometimes, when reading the news, I get the impression that Canada is like some sort of national carcass, with vultures encircling to scope the remains for scavenge. You see, we starved, waiting in vain for one of our masters (either Britain or the United States) to re-emerge with enough to feed us as well as themselves. Our belief in these feeders was so great, we weren’t willing to do anything else but wait.

The latest news bite that brought this analogy to the fore, was that of Russian planes edging near “sovereign” Canadian territory. (The same Arctic sovereign territory so remote we can’t prevent boats from entering it.) It is the second time in two years our government has told us that Russian planes have flown very close to Canadian airspace. Each time the image heralded is that of some bygone era, the Cold War.

I think more the question should be for those Canadians squawking about sovereignty when such things happen, why does any other government think so little of us that such actions would ever be commanded? It is doubtful that it has anything to do with our Cold War allegiances, and much more to do with the current state of a affairs in those countries to which we have so consistently tied ourselves. Could it be that the model our young men were encouraged to fight and die for, capitalist democracy, is heaving its last systemic breaths? If yes, planes edging near our shores is a much worse omen than some forgotten past.

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August 20 2010 by The Systemic Analyst.

David Descôteaux has an excellent piece in the Metro News today. It simply must be added to this week’s Friday Fun pile:

“Funny dream last night …

I walk into a dark room. Above the poker table, six faces are lit by a hanging lamp. From left to right: Ms. Economic Crisis, Government, Consumer, Taxpayer, Banker, and a strange creature — farmer’s thighs, artist’s hands, torso of a business CEO and head of a union boss. Let’s call him Pressure Group.

Consumer and Government play like beginners, wasting chips like there’s no tomorrow. After a failed bluff, Consumer loses all his chips. He’s already borrowed from Banker three times to keep playing, and remortgaged his house. “That’s enough!” He gets up and leaves.

I look at Taxpayer. He plays carefully, but loses chips at every turn — because Government plays aggressively. And because Pressure Group, seated beside him, dips into Government’s chips and pesters him constantly, driving up the bidding, Taxpayer just can’t keep up.

Meanwhile, Ms. Economic Crisis scoops up other players’ squandered chips …

The most hated player is Banker. He bets big each turn, whatever his cards. He doesn’t care. He knows that his friend Government will bail him out if he loses everything. The next turn, he makes a risky bet … and is wiped out. Bah! He gets up, winks at Government, and heads off.” Click here to read more.

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August 19 2010 by aliciaw.

Well, if that isn’t inciting the battle of Armageddon, I don’t know what is: several news sources are reporting on the limited time frame, as short now as six days, Israel has to prevent Iran from developing nuclear warheads. By prevention, what is discussed is Israel attacking Iran, which really can’t end well either way - derailed nuclear warhead ambitions or not.

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July 29 2010 by The Systemic Analyst.

If for some reason you have not yet heard, the Government of Canada has scrapped its mandatory long-form census, which one-quarter of the population was compelled by law to complete. In its stead, the Government implemented a voluntary census form that would be sent to one-third of the population. The effects have been monumental in a sleepy provincial country like Canada and included the surprise resignation of Statistics Canada’s head, Munir Sheikh.

The Government’s professed reason for scrapping the census was privacy. And granted, in 2005 the previous government reneged on a promise of confidentiality dating from 1906 that assured Canadians this obligatory collection of information would remain private. While the release of any “individually identifiable information” would have to have dated back 92 years, there is nothing, in theory, stopping a subsequent government from decreasing that time limit at a future date, especially with the precedent for releasing such information already set.

Yet, the replacing of the mandatory census with a voluntary one doesn’t seem to really address the privacy issue of releasing collected information. Why not just renew the promise made in 1906 and again ensure that such information would never be released? Would that not be simpler and less controversial? Why does the information need to be individually identifiable, as in with full names and explicit addresses? Could it not be a little generalised to protect the identity of any given individual?

That’s the interesting thing about the whole issue. Something doesn’t make sense. At least not enough to have a high-ranking bureaucrat take his grievances public and quit around what appears to be a mass of hysteria. Bureaucrats never do that - chiefly, because they spent the last 25 years or so being treated like dirt in a scramble up to the top of the pyramid. Quitting a good paying job with great benefits and a cushy pension that is surely not too far off when you are already at the top of a department or agency - it just isn’t normal.

Moreover, any time the government decides to collect less information as opposed to more - I don’t want to say we should be worried because in some ways that’s refreshing but - it might be cause for consideration. The trend has typically been for governments to collect more information, not less. And indeed, information is crucial to a government’s ability to function properly.

The quality and amount of information a government has at its disposal impacts its rate of efficiency. How can it possibly know what programs to roll out if it doesn’t know the status of the population it professes to represent and govern? Surely, a voluntary census sent to more people will not garner the same amount or quality of information its mandatory predecessor did. In fact, everyone I have talked to about the issue has confirmed that they wouldn’t likely fill out a voluntary census either.

The only viable conclusion I can come to is that the government wants to have less information. Why? Because having less information of poorer quality is far easier to manipulate. That’s the beauty (or detriment, depending on how you look at it) of statistics, they are pretty malleable.  Good quality data isn’t very helpful if it shows that society is heading in a worse direction than it once was - say, in the economy, for example. It could be that things are not as great as we are told, and not having those pesky statistics in the way to prove it could be beneficial to a ruling elite.

It sort of reminds me of a 2006 decision in the United States to scrap public reporting on the M3 money supply. Without the M3 the public has no real idea as to how much liquid money there is in the system. It’s great for hiding issues of inflation or shortages in the money supply. And, other countries who have tried to keep a watch on M3 in the U.S. have begun reporting that the country is experiencing the greatest cash shortage since the Great Depression, Who needs pesky public reporting if the response will be to continue trying to inject money into the system resulting in inflation? Nope, Sheeple are better off living in ignorant consumerist bliss.

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July 23 2010 by The Systemic Analyst.

This week’s Friday Fun is another of Graeme MacKay’s lovely cartoons:

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July 14 2010 by The Systemic Analyst.

The scandals never seem to stop for the beleaguered RCMP. Another member of the force has been brought up on very serious charges. Const. Tarith Sehmbi was charged earlier this week with murdering his wife in their Edmonton home.

It would be interesting to see what the crime statistics are within the RCMP versus those rates in general society. It’s likely that the rate of crime per member is roughly the same or less as that for law abiding citizen. Then again, it is hoped that those policing society are the rare exceptions among a degenerating humanity and as law enforcers are living pristine and crime-free lives. I’m not sure how realistic or healthy a perspective this is, however. Or moreover, what such expectations of law enforcement will have on the psyche of individual officers.

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July 13 2010 by The Systemic Analyst.

Of course, a minority government could not escape the seizure of a golden opportunity to investigate any sort of potential misdeed against Canadian citizens. And so it is with the House of Commons Public Safety Committee, which under the insistence of NDP member, Don Davies, will be returning to the capital for a special meeting on Summit Security by early next week.

Don’t get me wrong, the spending for the twin Circuses that rocked Ontario late last month and the tactics used to pull it off should certainly be reviewed. It’s just that the motives for those pressing for a review are just as revolting as the justifications used by those who held the Summits: it’s all politics and partisanship. Harper wanted to look good on a world stage and the good folk at the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade stopped at no costs to ensure the image was created. And now, the opposition parties want the spotlight turned on them, but in reality, had any of them been hosts of such a lavish and wanton event, the tab would likely have been similar.

The problem is not with any given party or another, it’s with the system. So long as it is acceptable and the status quo for politicians to take turn wining and dining one another at great cost to the tax payer, these events will continue to happen. The real study should be more of a cost analysis, what is really being gained from these types of international meetings other than a photo-op for politicians? And the only way to determine this is to open up the meetings for the entire duration and let a randomly selected jury decide - maybe one comprised of those who actually foot the bill?

As for police tactics, if the Air India reports and findings of the investigation into the death of Robert Dziekanski’s death are any indication, we have wider problems in law enforcement than what happened a couple of weeks ago. Police states seldom develop over night, but incrementally legislation by legislation - a new wiretapping bill here, permits for protesters there, et voilà!

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July 12 2010 by The Systemic Analyst.

The OECD has published a report that indicates migration numbers to once richer countries have fallen during the recent economic crisis. If these numbers continue to drop, the West’s status as the place to go for better opportunities will certainly be in question.

As the study also points out, the average age of workers in OECD member countries increased as a result of this dip in immigration. This could have a significant impact on those people living in affected countries, as with fewer immigrants we become ever-more stretched in funding the baby-boomers’ retirement.

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June 30 2010 by The Systemic Analyst.

It’s difficult to continue taking Human Rights too seriously when every Tom, Dick and Harry file complaints because they don’t like something. Like the umpteenth woman who complained about others being uncomfortable with breastfeeding in public, Ottawa’s latest complaint-to-be isn’t so much one of discrimination but of one group’s demands/rights over an other’s.

A restaurant in Ottawa South attempted to dissuade potential patrons from bringing a three-month old baby into the restaurant at dinner time. From the news coverage, it wasn’t as though the group showed up with an existing reservation and were turned away. The dissuasion took place at the booking stage, giving the family significant warning to find a place that would be more receptive to infants.

And yet, the women who were turned away (and the journalist covering the story) believe there is a strong case to be made at the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario.  But what ever happened to the rights of people who wanted to eat in a restaurant and not listen to a crying baby or a restless toddler? Is it discrimination for restaurateurs to consciously and openly foster a more adult environment?

Of course, some might argue, if you discriminate against children where does it end? It’s only one step away from barring people based on ethnicity or physical and mental challenges.  And sure, children don’t really have a choice about being little people. Unlike ethnicity or a disability, however, the parents who feel their rights are being trampled by having lives impeded in choosing to spawn forget that a child’s very existence comes down to just that - a choice the parents made to bring him or her into this world. Like it or not, choice begets responsibility - or at least it should in a healthy society where people take responsibility for their actions. The social consequences of being a parent are not really the same as being discriminated against because of skin colour.

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