Kvetching Turds

So there’s a deal. And apparently it’s the same one rejected a year ago, but I’m not sure about the validity of that claim.

In any case, James Laxer seems to hit one of the main veins of criticism on this:

In return for this “concession” from Washington, Ottawa has agreed to pay an unacceptably high price. Under the deal, Canadian provinces and municipalities will permanently give up the right to favour local companies in awarding contracts.

So we’re upset because to get something from them, we’ve had to give the same thing in return?

Then there’s the issue–which James hits on in the title of his post–that parliament isn’t sitting, so there’s no debate on this. And presumably the whole thing’s meaningless until ratified by parliament, though I’m not clear on whether that’s the case.

Um. Canada has better health care because Canada has better health outcomes. Not because it treats rich people better than everyone else.

The Star has an article regarding a video posted to Youtube.

In a tongue-and-cheek video posted by the politician on YouTube, Councillor Adam Giambrone shows himself working out to prove that he has the “years of physical and mental training that it takes to run the city.”

After a brief discussion of the video and some initial reactions (i.e. Youtube commenters, i.e. the worst people in the world), the article concludes with this:

Giambrone is expected to announce his candidacy for mayor on Feb.1.

In what sense has he not already announced it? He was on 102.1 a couple days ago in the morning talking about how he’s not confirming or denying that he’ll be running, but that everyone is invited to Revival on Feb. 1.

At the end of the video, the last thing (and the first serious thing) Giambrone says is “I’m Adam Giambrone, and I’m ready.” The video then invites everyone out to Revival on Feb. 1.

Either he’s running, or he’s being paid by Revival.

He’s running. He just hasn’t filled out the forms.

Do young people vote in municipal elections? Serious question.

Apparently DC is imposing a charge for plastic bags, just like the one here in Toronto.

I think one of the key positive things the tax has accomplished is making it socially acceptable to bring your own bags to the grocery store. The canvas bags now used by most people (and sold by most grocery stores) are far superior to plastic bags. I can carry in two bags what previously would have needed eight. And I don’t have to worry that one of those bags will have its bottom fall out the first time I decide to rush across a busy intersection.

Without making it an everybody thing, it’s awkward to say “Oh, don’t worry, I carry my own bags.” Because people who carry their bags are, you know, bag people.

I was initially sceptical of the “But look at facebook” polling, but given there are 177,000 people in the facebook group for Canadians Against Prorogue, and that 58% (of the 67% who are aware of it) are against prorogue, it’s clear there’s generally large opposition to the motion. It would be nice to think that this could be the kind of event that would politicize a generation, awoken by a cynical act in such a pure anti-democratic spirit. It would be nice to see this play out in a meaningful way, to see the Conservatives branded as the big party that wouldn’t. Given polling on where the parties stand, I’m guessing it will pass with too much effect.

Canada’s good for old people.

The main thing hurting Canada, it seems, is the weather.

The US ranks higher. Because seniors have health care. Of course Canada outranks on the Human Development Index.

See what happens when people get healthcare?

Busy packing/moving for the next week or so, but just saw that everybody in Connecticut thinks Joe Lieberman is a loser, which is exactly what he is and exactly what he deserves, and it’s kind of freaking me out that the right conclusion came out of the right circumstances.

Apparently Walmart is trying to do some good to reduce the material used in overpackaged products.

I actually do own something to make opening packages easier, and I haven’t bled since buying it.

I’m guessing this is less a case of a Walmart board meeting with the agenda “How can we help the environment?” and more the case of a Walmart board meeting with the agenda “What are we already trying to do that happens to help the environment?”

Walmart ships bazillions of cubic whatevers of goods around. If they can cut down on the size of the packaging, they can ship more product in less space.

I’m not saying it’s not good, I’m just saying let’s not kid ourselves about their motivations.

Harper will soon appoint new senators to give the Conservatives a plurality, if not a majority, in the Senate.

The original plan was basically to cap terms as a first step to abolishing the whole thing. Since he couldn’t get that accomplished, Harper said “Fine, y’all can go fuck yourselves” and made a bunch of appointments.

That’s not so much hypocritical as it is highlighting problems by creating those problems yourself.

But Harper could soon have a majority in the Senate. And he could have one in the House, depending on how things go in the next six months. If he gets both, and then doesn’t move on Senate reform, at that point he’d have some serious explaining to do. Though at that point, maybe that means there won’t be enough people caring to demand it.

I never liked Ignatieff. From the beginning I found his statements lacking, from either a political or intellectual perspective. But I knew people who liked him, smart people. And those people no longer like him. It seems Liberal support has settled on the level of people-who-vote-Liberal-no-matter-what. Those who actively require vision have left for NDP or Green. Those who are assholes have left for Conservative.

With a potential election always potentially months away under a minority government, it’s not easy to replace a party leader without seeming to put the party into a position of election unpreparedness. I think the main Liberal strategy right now has to be not about how to take down Harper, but to determine the optimal timing for selecting a new leader. And the whole party had better quickly get behind someone (as they did behind Ignatieff), because any infighting will only hurt.

Despite (or because of?) his unwillingness to govern, I have a feeling we may be seeing Harper for quite a while still.

The CBC image of the prorogation notice was 7:08pm.

The article at canada.com is from 8:06pm.

This blog post from the Prime Minister’s Office is from 4:23pm (according to the timestamp on my Google Reader):

Prime Minister Stephen Harper today announced that the second and final phase of Canada’s Economic Action plan will be launched following the Olympic Games with a new Throne Speech on March 3 and a federal Budget on March 4.

“Our priority in the new session of Parliament will continue to be rapid and effective implementation of Canada’s Economic Action Plan to benefit communities, workers and businesses,” the Prime Minister said. “At the same time, we are already looking ahead to future challenges. These include restoring a balanced budget once our economy is fully recovered and building a strong foundation for our economic future.”

Almost a year ago – in the face of the deepest worldwide recession since the Second World War – the Government of Canada responded to extraordinary times with extraordinary action. It introduced Canada’s Economic Action Plan, which included one of the most comprehensive stimulus packages in the industrialized world.

“While we see tentative, early signs that the economy is emerging from recession, the recovery is still fragile,” Prime Minister Harper said. “Now is no time to change course. In fact, we must press on with the second year of Canada’s Economic Action Plan.

“Our plan remains helping those who need it now, stimulating new job growth, protecting existing jobs and ensuring that our economy emerges from the recession in a stronger position than it entered it.”

The irony of the first two paragraphs is overwhelming.

Well it’s apparently official. Parliament’s been prorogued until March 3, 2010. Two months (and a bit) without governing.

Throughout the day there was no shortage of good reactions to the possibility of prorogation and a few of the potential effects.

Given the notably scarce conservative reaction, it struck me that this whole prorogation thing was just an idea being floated, to see the response, to see how it would play politically. Would it hurt among supporters would be the main question, since the non-supporters aren’t likely to be brought over anyhow. It seems the answer to that would be negative, given the assbackwards conclusion-first reasoning of some of the popular party dullards.

And here we are.

Does this happen elsewhere? Is this a surprisingly common thing in parliamentary democracies? I’m asking seriously, because I don’t know. But what I do know is that wherever it happens, it’s completely fucking ridiculous and seems the kind of thing we should be taking to the Ottawa streets over, though of course those of us who feel that way are also (as I’m sure the Conservatives figured) the people who have a general sense that being governed by nobody at all might be better than being governed by Harper.

Well, mark your calendars, enjoy the Olympics, and remember on March 3rd that Harper has to stop ignoring parliament, stop making us look ridiculous on climate change, and create 265,000 jobs. And that he’s just had a two month vacation and is a douchebag.

This whole underwearman thing is driving me nuts, the reaction to it.

Dibgy quotes Chris Matthews:

You know what when we get on an airplane, we give up all kinds of checks we don’t do by just walking down the street. I think we give up a certain amount of rights just getting on an airplane and I think you’ve got to recognize that your safety is tied up with everyone else on that plane’s safety and anybody else that gets hit on that plane. You don’t own the right to be on that plane because you’re getting on an airplane so you do have to yield some civil rights…

You know, people can do horrible shit in places other than planes.

You know, on a Greyhound bus, someone decapitated someone else and started eating his brain. Maybe before getting on a bus you should have to give up all kinds of rights.

A 737 will have about 150 people on it. In terms of the human toll (the economic toll/disruption would be different), bombing three coach buses (at 50 people apiece) would be about equivalent to bombing one plane. Yet it’s definitely more than three times as easy. Yet it doesn’t happen very often. Because people, generally, aren’t completely fucking insane. People are generally stupid, assholes, and schmucks, but it’s a big step to go from yelling at your kids and their baseball coaches to blowing up tens or hundreds of people.

What about buildings? Maybe before entering a building you should have to give up all kinds of rights. You could blow up a building really easily. In an average apartment building, you could run from top to bottom through the stairwells, dropping a bomb on each floor, without anyone saying anything. Yet it never happens. Because people, generally, aren’t completely fucking insane.

The list goes on.

It’s important to have security. And with good security, sometimes shit will still get blown up. And every time someone dies in such an incident it will be tragic. But it’s important not to lose our shit about it, especially when instead of blowing something up someone just sets his junk on fire.

Of 200 nominations from the Obama white house, 75 were being held up.

A few have gotten through.

One of those finally approved was Miriam Sapiro, who had become the Obama administration’s prime example of stalled nominations since being chosen in April to be a deputy United States trade representative. Senator Jim Bunning, Republican of Kentucky, put a hold on the confirmation of Ms. Sapiro, an Internet policy consultant, to try to pressure the trade representative’s office to file a complaint with the World Trade Organization against Canada over a law that bans cigarettes with candy flavors.

Makes sense to me. Canadian policy seems so obviously backwards on this. How are you supposed to market cigarettes to children without fun mascots and familiar flavours?

An Atlantic article from 2008.

It’s a quick and interesting read.

“Security theater” is the term used to describe airport security, and I like the ring that has.

Good anecdote:

During one secondary inspection, at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago, I was wearing under my shirt a spectacular, only-in-America device called a “Beerbelly,” a neoprene sling that holds a polyurethane bladder and drinking tube. The Beerbelly, designed originally to sneak alcohol—up to 80 ounces—into football games, can quite obviously be used to sneak up to 80 ounces of liquid through airport security. (The company that manufactures the Beerbelly also makes something called a “Winerack,” a bra that holds up to 25 ounces of booze and is recommended, according to the company’s Web site, for PTA meetings.) My Beerbelly, which fit comfortably over my beer belly, contained two cans’ worth of Bud Light at the time of the inspection. It went undetected. The eight-ounce bottle of water in my carry-on bag, however, was seized by the federal government.

I’ll say it once more: The security of the public rests mainly on the general decency of people.

The security theater isn’t just ineffective, it’s also a waste of resources.

I don’t recall anything special about flying out of Schipol a couple weeks ago.

I do recall that flying there (Amsterdam) from Prague was a new experience for me, in that at no point did I go through any real security with my checked or carry-on baggage, and on the way out we just walked right out into the street without having to talk to anybody.

And nobody even set themselves on fire.

First I just have to learn the language and to like the cold.

But the workweek is better.

Is it possible?

Didier Sornette thinks so, and is setting out to prove it. Not to prove necessarily that he can do it any given time, but that it’s possible. “The first hypothesis is that financial (and other) bubbles can be diagnosed in real-time before they end. And the second is that the termination of financial (and other) bubbles can be bracketed using probabilistic forecasts, with a reliability better than chance.”

Three forecasts have been made and sealed, to be unveiled May 1, 2010. I’m not sure how many instances you need to prove better/equal to/worse than chance, but it will at least be interesting to see what comes out of that box.

So it looks like an invasion of Yemen will be called for by our peaceful neighbours to the south.

Given that Republicans/conservatives are the only party that seems to understand how to either keep a story in the news (by continuing to talk about it and make increasingly outrageous claims) or let it die (by just ignoring it), and given that Democrats/liberals have a gut reaction to anything to do with the military of “We’re not pussies, and we don’t want you to think that, so we’ll blow some shit up,” this idea is likely to get some traction.

And yes, there is and has been some crap taking place in Yemen.

The thing is, aside from whether or not an invasion makes sense or not, where are the troops supposed to come from?

Nobody’s going to be happy about a draft based on a single dude lighting his junk on fire.

Apparently in 1975 the CIA had a device that could shoot an undetectable dissolving dart into someone, which would then trigger a heart attack.

As a gadget guy, it makes me wonder what kind of crazy stuff they have now.

As a political guy, it makes me wonder whether the somewhat decreased emphasis on assassination activities has decreased the rate at which such technologies have been developed.

As a paranoid guy, it makes me wonder how many various heart attacks or illnesses have been caused by this device or ones like it.