It is a miserable state of mind to have few things to desire and many things to fear... Sir Francis Bacon, Essays, Essay XIX, Of Empire
As a politician, you know the future does not bode well when the "corruption allegations" part of your Wikipedia article takes up over 60% of the whole article! Such is the case of the 'Harper Government's present Minister of Industry, otherwise known as Christian "Yvette" Paradis. For a guy of a mere 38 years and a very good education you really got to wonder where this is all going to end up. I am sure the Universities of Sherbrooke and Laval are very proud of that Wikipedia article of one of their most illustrious alumni. Perhaps that ethics thing is not such an English thing after all...
"The Front Row" - Left to Right: Baird, Clement, Paradis, Harper
And the fact that this little Maurice Duplessis clone sits at the right hand of Steve of the 'Harper Government' certainly sends information to this humble blogger! Why the little greasy shit even looks like Duplessis! Check it out, it is freaking eerie! And he has a very thin skin also. If you watch Question Period of November 28th, 2012, you will soon learn what the Oracle of Ottawa means. I believe it was Charlie Angus that really flustered him when he worked into a question that the Prime Minister lets him play minister while he designates some youngster from Calgary in the PMO to make the real decisions! The Oracle of Ottawa caught that! "Yvette" was livid in little pepsi rage. Go NDP!
This little Jean - Guy is in so far over his head it is utterly painful, but not un-enjoyable, to watch. When he stands to his seat to answer a question he assumes the hand posture that he learned in 'Harper Government' boot camp media training. He looks like a house wife peddling cheap Chinese cookware in a mall in Gaspe!
And then there is that Corruption Commission going on in Montreal right now that is really digging in, in the Province of Quebec at this present time. Names are coming up, that one would have never suspected, and they are being arrested and detained. Hold on my fellow Leftie Canadians, anything could happen, and no doubt probably will.
"Yvette" can't seem to keep his hands out of the cookie jar...Note; the Minister also has his own sleeping bag, food and pop gun if you would like to invite him to your place to a talk "business"...
Seek the good of other men, but be not in bondage to their faces or fancies; for that is but facility or softness; which taketh an honest mind prisoner. Sir Francis Bacon, Essays, Essay XIII, Of Goodness, And Goodness Of Nature.
The one good thing about blogging is that you can't run out of paper! The Oracle of Ottawa first heard the news just before lunchtime his time. The Oracle, was to say the least, totally agog. The Oracle of Ottawa did not not have to refer to Wikipedia or any other reference source to know that Mark Carney would be the first foreigner in the Bank of England's history. Now, the Oracle of Ottawa had no idea how bad things must be in England, that they had to recruit an obscure colonial from the deepest back woods of Canada, ten times more remote than Duck's Ass, Alberta! But all those rumors of the Bilderberg Group, the Illuminatti and/or the New World Order are and have been surely incorrect? Haven't they?
Mark Carney - Relax! It ain't gonna' happen...
Now the Oracle of Ottawa will not be unhappy in the least to see the back of Mark Carney receding away from the presence of the Oracle of Ottawa and Canada. What ever he is, he is not a Central Banker. Central Bankers are seldom seen and never, never, heard. Yes he is smart and he is pretty. He is the idiot savant of noughts and ciphers. The ethics thing I am afraid to report, is still a work in progress, so to speak. For those that know of such things, Mark Carney climbed very high, very fast, in the employ of Goldman Sachs the monster predator bank of the world. Why it was once rumored and reported that he was one of the last to make "partner" in the bank just before the Initial Public Offering, when the bank reverted from the old partnership ownership structure, to its present corporate structure. Mark Carney must be worth g'zillions!
Yet when he was appointed as Governor of The Bank of Canada, there was no report that the Oracle of Ottawa could find about how much those shares and options were cashed out for. And the reason that there was no report was that the shares and ownership in said bank are still being retained and in fact the said individual is ipso-facto, still an owner and employee(?) of afore mentioned bank. This to the Oracle of Ottawa was and is and will always be totally unacceptable! And the taxpayers of the United Kingdom certainly, under no circumstances, should accept it either.
Lord Black - Totally knows the ropes...
This was all bad enough, but a ways in to his term as Bank of Canada Governor, he just decides to accept another job as head of the International Financial Stability Board! The Oracle of Ottawa strongly made many noises that this move was in direct contravention of the Bank of Canada Act! And the other fact that the Oracle of Ottawa's tax dollars are to pay for his central banker, not to have his central banker taking care of all the other central banks (for Goldman Sachs?). The Oracle of Ottawa is more than glad to see the back of this so called "rock star". Mark Carney is certainly no John Maynard Keynes!
The greatest tragedy and irony of this situation is the facts. England was the birth place of capitalism and economics as we know it. Adam Smith, David Ricardo, Karl Marx(!), William Stanley Jevons, Alfred Marshall and John Maynard Keynes were all from or life time residents of England! How is that that the birthplace of capitalism and economics can not today have one candidate for the position of the Central Banker of the Bank of England! How bad are things in England really? How poor is the present right wing wacko government, and how bankrupt is it that they cannot find an Englishman to run their own Central Bank, the second oldest one in the world, and the eighth oldest bank in existence today? And the Oracle of Ottawa thought Canada had problems, but nothing in the league of the present British distress apparently.
Now the Oracle of Ottawa will not just bitch and whine. The Oracle of Ottawa will provide the old home country with a candidate perfect for the seamy greasy world of today. And yes he is a British citizen, and as luck would just so have it, a present member of the House of Lords! Now this suggestion is in the long tradition of putting a fox in charge of the hen house so to speak. There are great examples from the past. Joe Kennedy, and Timothy Geitner to name but a few. And my candidate knows how it all works, the dirty seamy underside, and has even been abandoned by these nefarious elements of once such good friends. My candidate? Why none other than the The Lord Black of Crossharbour...He is quite free at the present time, someone should ring him.
The Oracle of Ottawa can certainly feel for this gentleman. He has it all figured out and the rest of the United Kingdom should sit back and think it out, and you will at some point come to the same conclusion! Again how can the land that gave birth to capitalism as we know it and the art and science of economics not find a suitable candidate of and in the fair green Isles?
If anyone had said to me then that the whole thing would be lost in my lifetime, I would have said that it is not possible to lose so much so quickly without an atomic catastrophe, at least. But lose it we have. Gore Vidal, At Home, Essays 1982-1988, The National Security State, p. 124
Well, it is all in and done. The nutters are all back in the box. President Obama has been returned for a second term. A competent, decent man provided to the world and the United States of America by a merciful and divine Providence. The victory was decisive and final. All the swing states and the popular vote. Upon scanning the less than brilliant moments of several Republican candidates on the miracle of You-Tube, the Oracle of Ottawa wonders at the ability of the great Republic to carry on.
Gore Vidal - So early and so correct...
The Oracle of Ottawas ongoing "Thinking About Thinking" project continues. And recent directions have brought the Oracle to the works of the great Gore Vidal. Described by many of lesser ability as the last American Imperialist. The Oracle of Ottawa is greatly enjoying the discovery of this great American man of belle letters. How can someone have been so consistently right so early is beyond the comprehension of the Oracle of Ottawa.
It was all brought home to the Oracle of Ottawa in the essay "The National Security State" written by Gore Vidal for the Nation, June 4, 1988. Where upon he describes, how at the death of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the assumption of the presidency by Harry Truman the permanent state of war was enabled in the United States with the introduction of the National Security Act of 1947, enacted in 1950. Known as NSC-68, it is still in force even at this very moment. It requires, as Gore Vidal so clearly describes, up to two thirds of all tax revenues to keep in place. And the described effects upon the social fabric of the Republic have continued in the same direction that Gore Vidal fist observed in the 1980's.
But relief may be at hand. President Obama has this interesting situation that he has inherited called in the media, the "fiscal cliff", the Oracle of Ottawa has provided a link to fill in the details. The right wing wack ball Republicans are hell bent on raising the defense budgets ever higher at the expense of what is left of the social safety net. It seems that the military industrial complex will be fed even if it means total financial and economic ruin.
It appears to the Oracle of Ottawa that a great opportunity has been inadvertently handed to President Obama in his second term, that if acted on will leave him a place in history as lofty as Lincoln freeing the slaves in the time of the Civil War. Why upon further dangerous reflection, the Oracle of Ottawa has come to realize that we are all slaves to the existing military industrial complex and its constant war readiness. President Lincoln freed the slaves, and President Obama could free the whole world of the slavery of fear and raw corporate, mindless, destructive unpredictable military power, and its constant search for new foes
All the President has to do is let that date come and pass. The excessive talk of another recession is to the Oracle of Ottawa somewhat premature, methinks. What the economists are predicting will probably not even come close to happening. Of course if there is a recession, it will certainly be the Republicans fault won't it? A perfect gift of God to the whole world. A chance to drive a wooden stake into the heart of the accursed conservatives, once and for all, forever.
The Oracle of Ottawa is certainly no expert on America, so I have included this clip where upon Gore Vidal himself explains all the details. It is of course most illuminating...
You may have my number, You can take my name, But you'll never have my heart... Adele, Skyfall lyrics, released October 5, 2012
It is not the habit of the Oracle of Ottawa to comment much on contemporary culture. Especially contemporary pop music. Compared to when the Oracle of Ottawa was fab, present day pop music is a very dry desert. It has reached a point in the last few years that the Oracle of Ottawa has shunned pop music listening completely. But at times just to make an attempt to be optimistic the Oracle of Ottawa makes an effort to salvage something of today's culture and its music only to be sickened and shunned when I hear the first bars of the latest Justin Beiber "hit". The Oracle of Ottawa as a native born Canadian apologizes on behalf of Canada and my lost countrymen.
Really...There is only one James Bond
It was a week ago today, a Sunday night, when after enjoying a wonderful three square dinner in a small Ontario town, that I first heard the song Skyfall as performed by Adele. It was playing out on to the street from the restaurant I had just left. It sounded so James Bond of the sixties, that it literally stopped me in my tracks! And the lyrics were just brilliant, pure poetry, the hardest kind; small words with less than two syllables. The Oracle of Ottawa doesn't stop for just any set of words.
But, as they say in Hollywood: the shit gets deeper. I experienced that very rare, what I have come to call, the full neuronal rush. I was a kid again back in the sixties in Pembroke Ontario. I could smell that smell. The smell of air conditioned air mixed with the smell of popcorn and the real butter that you used to be able to get standard. All of you readers that lived at that time know that early air conditioning was pretty leaky and had that distinctive odor that is just no longer in existence. Not to mention independent flashy theaters with names like the "Centre", with the huge extravagant lithographed posters that beckoned you into the world of your deepest imagination, with every guaranty of total satisfaction.
I remembered my parents as they looked then; young and beautiful. And for my mother especially, a new James Bond movie was an event. You didn't go to see it in jeans and running shoes. You made every attempt to dress and look like a woman that James would find alluring and attractive. Now mixing this in with the mundane task of arranging a baby sitter for the Oracle of Ottawa and his four siblings it was all quiet a feat of logistics. The Oracle of Ottawa longed for the day when he would be able to take a drop dead gorgeous woman to a James Bond movie. But into the seventies and eighties old school class withered away fast like it never existed...
What is the magic of James Bond? What does he symbolize? Well the Oracle of Ottawa doesn't have to reflect long on this question. James Bond is archtype. James Bond is the modern knight errant, and unlike the character of Cervantes, one that has not been overcome by the world but rather the sole protector of it. The one lone force that stands between anarchy, chaos and all that is true and good of what we know as Western Civilization. Our protector against all forces and evil deadly.
It appears that Adele has touched a deep chord in modern culture. She has done a great job and has created a new "standard" which is quiet a feat for a woman of only twenty four years. And it appears to be catching...(Thank God)
Canada isn't doing well right now because it is Albertans who control our community and socio-democratic agenda. It doesn't work. Justin Trudeau, French Media Interview, November 2010
The F9 monkeys, in the beanie hats and shorts, must have been damn busy last week in the Prime Ministers Office! They had to watch every Justin Trudeau media tape back two years! All to actually find a piece where he was certainly telling the truth. Who knew that Calgary by-election was going to be so close? Not that any one will even talk to pollsters especially from the Conservative Party of Canada, so no one really knows how bad it will be for the 'Harper Government'.
Justin Trudeau - Telling the truth?
The Oracle of Ottawa certainly can not disagree with the younger Trudeau. As a matter of fact I whole heartedly agree with him and was somewhat bummed out when he apologized for actually telling the bare naked truth. The Oracle of Ottawa feels the same way about David McGuinty in telling the right wing knuckle draggers to go back to Alberta!
The 'Harper Government' has been and continues to be an absolute disaster for Canada. Look at any and all of the metrics that compare nations to each other and we have lost ground most every where. You would think that poor old Steve of the 'Harper Government' is racing the Americans yo the bottom! And the way it is going he will probably win.
How could Canadians complain about the Alberta knuckle draggers? Why lets take a look at a great and up and coming Conservative in the form of Jim Hillyer! Now that is future cabinet material if the Oracle of Ottawa knows anything at all. And after that he might even become fully literate! That is he might be able, in the future, to read his own talking points, without practicing the night before.
Canada is in good hands with the 'Harper Government', only the best and the brightest.... For an even more brilliant display of this actors political acumen see Question Period for November 23, 2012 at time 30:27 on the CPAC tape. And it seems that leukemia thing is in total remission. No doubt a miracle...
We aimed far and high, but we did not miss the mark. Pierre Elliot Trudeau, Memoirs (1993), p. 340
The Oracle of Ottawa has to admit, that he didn't think David McGuinty had it in him to finally let loose on the heathen mouth breathing knuckle dragging western hicks of Alberta! And contrary to the announcement of the Ottawa - South Liberal Riding Association, ole Dave's comments in committee recently certainly reflect this constituents feelings exactly! Thank you very much.
David McGuinty - Liberal Party travel agent, now booking..
It is a great pleasure to the Oracle of Ottawa to see his member of Parliament stirring the pot. Why ole Dave made the CBC news website way up at the top. That is what the Oracle of Ottawa likes to see. And the Oracle of Ottawa loves to see the minions of the 'Harper Government' nearly shitting in rage at the utter truth of David McGuinty's marching orders to the western hicks. Question Period today was a hoot! A raw nerve has been discovered, and the right person to massage that raw nerve. We now know what the greatest fear is of the 'Harper Government'. The Oracle of Ottawa only hopes that the operatives of what is left of Canada's ruling party, can come to their senses and make use of this newly discovered weapon.
The Oracle of Ottawa is sick to his soul at the 24/7 propaganda of all the shit we have in the ground in Canada. The Oracle of Ottawa is sick to his soul of the lowlife sub human western hicks that would sell the souls and future of Canada to the even lower human life of buck toothed Chinese communist peasants for a mere thirty pieces of silver. I am right in my description of the conservative western hicks. Even the basest animal in nature will not shit in its on nest! But the Conservative Party of Canada has no qualms about it at all, and they have demonstrated this more then once. Am I right or am I wrong?
Ole David McGuinty is probably a little bummed out (or not) at this time, but he must realize that it is not the beginning of the end of his political career, but rather the end of the beginning. The Oracle of Ottawa predicts that the next federal election will be held much sooner than 2015. And if David McGuinty decides to run, the Oracle of Ottawa will stand to his ballot box and vote for ole David McGuinty yet again. The Oracle of Ottawa is proud as hell of his Member Of Parliament! You dust yourself off boy and get back into that house of jackals and give them the utter bone crushing nuts!
Canada will not be crucified on a Cross of tar!
David McGuinty - A Great Canadian!
It was simply astounding to the Oracle of Ottawa how big a role Ayn Rand played in the last American election. It was even more astounding to the Oracle of Ottawa how many dead head Americans of the raving right wing actually live by this insanity. But to the relief of reason and the world, sanity and a wicked Democrat ground campaign, (that was not outsourced), won out.
Ayn Rand and Objectivism - Where they belong...
The Oracle of Ottawa remembers well as a younger man reading Atlas Shrugged. It was the first thousand pager that the Oracle ever read. It was followed by most all of the other titles. The Oracle of Ottawa still has a mint copy of Atlas Shrugged in first edition hardcover, with a mint dust jacket, as a monument to the gullibility of youth. Yes the Oracle of Ottawa was quiet a fan. But it did not spur an interest in economics, that was down by the 2008 financial meltdown and Karl Marx. That really got me interested in economics...
For old times sake the Oracle of Ottawa recently hit up Ayn Rands article on Wikipedia and was amazed at how deep the content was, and the fact that it is fully cited! You could not imagine the Oracle of Ottawas shock when he came upon the cited fact that the woman who cursed and campaigned all her life against government and all forms of welfare that is paid for by the taxpayer, discovered much to his surprise that Ayn Rand collected Social Security and Medicaid!! And that fact is cited and referenced!
How is that possible? As of 2007 the woman had sold over 25 million copies! How was it at all possible that she was busted skint at the end of her life? Only in America, one can guess. Where were all her rich and adoring fans? And you would think that with all that money she must have made from the fruits of capitalism that she must have had a killer portfolio of common stocks. But alas no. Come to think of it now, Ayn Rand didn't have a clue how a real company operates in the real world. Do you ever remember any of her characters in any of her "novels" ever referring to the stockholders? Hell no, the main characters acted like it was there personal company. How many railways bigger than a spur line were ever held privately in the last century? It was all so totally insane. But to a sociopath it is all in a days work...
Another myth that was often propounded and repeated many times in the last campaign by Ron Paul among others was that Atlas Shrugged is the greatest novel next to the bible!! But alas the Oracle of Ottawa must disavow my unlearned American friends of this lie also. Check out the List of best selling fiction authors on Wikipedia... Ayn Rand is no where to be found, and never was, or ever will be world class.
An economy is an entity consisting of groups with conflicting interests held together by rules of the game. Joan Robinson, The Accumulation Of Capital, p. 16
It is deep into another sleepless night, and the Wee Finance Minister reaches for the warmest cold fry that is left. Under the pile of fast food wrappers he searches for some more medicine, but alas it is all gone. Talk about running out of runway! Soon he must face the rabid pack of jackals in the House of Commons. Wee Jimmy wonders what has gone wrong. Every thing is in place. There is a strong majority Conservative government from coast to coast to coast. Yet the economy lags. The numbers are nowhere near being ever met.
Atlas? Let the bastard shrug...
All the methods of the right wing guru's are in place. The "Big Lie" propaganda ads and TV spots run 24/7 leading to feel good but dead end websites... Yet, the more these policies are implemented, the worse the economy gets. Wee Jimmy has done everything right. Yet when he speaks to the vulgar media when the Toronto stock exchange is open it starts to plummet as soon as he opens his mouth. The blarney has abandoned him completely and utterly. It is hard for a man of Wee Jimmy's age and political ideological bent to admit that everything he has believed in all his life is in reality nothing but a lie.
The Wee Jimmy cant understand it. He has fired most all of the fat cat civil servants in Ottawa, and is stunned when the Alberta contractors tell him that they will not do their old jobs for the minimum wage offered by the new (temporary) contractors! Why that is just about subversive. The grounds have been cleared of red tape, and according to the objectivist theory, wild entre - pen - whore capitalism should be breaking out all over the place by now. But, alas, the field remains empty. No one has stepped forward. John Galt can't seem to be lured out of hiding or retirement.
And then there are those three by-elections that are to held at the end of November. If these three seats are lost, the strong majority government could be in real trouble. What with the back benchers in near open revolt about all the innocent babies, anything could happen if the ratios get real close. The Wee Jimmy realizes that he is in for another sleepless night. Then the realization that the 'Harper Governments' little helpers in the United States have gotten there little micro-dicks handed to them yet again on a platter, another hit to the brilliant utterly inescapable logic of Ayn Rand. Wee Jimmy feels the walls come closer to him from all directions at once.
It is just about dawn now, and the Wee Jimmy realizes that he has to try and get some sleep. He closes the window and pulls out the first edition copy of Atlas Shrugged with dust jacket, that has been holding the window open and throws it to the floor into the mess of fast food wrappers. There is the sound of breaking glass...
Stick to the speaking points - you are not smart enough to go solo on your own! It the China mans fault, they aren't buying from us. It is the Americans fault, because they aren't buying from the China men. It is the European Unions fault because they borrowed money to buy too much stuff from the China men!! Of course Canada is perfect and with out fault. And all we have to do is cut services until no one can afford to buy anything from any one!
Whatever is the cause of taxes to a nation, becomes also the means of revenue to a government. Thomas Paine, Rights Of Man, p. 165
It was with great shock that the Oracle of Ottawa learned from his CBC supper hour news that the gutting of TV Ontario has commenced. The Oracle of Ottawa finds it riddling strange that the three most popular programs are to axed! The three shows are: Saturday Night At The Movies, Big Ideas, and Allan Gregg In Conversation! Why those are the only shows that the Oracle of Ottawa never misses! What the hell is going on here?
Save TV Ontario!!
The brass at TVO are out to save a crummy two million bucks. Didn't they raise more than that on last years membership drives? Haven't they just shut down 114 old analog transmitters? Why the scrap value there is worth over two million dollars. And do you think that TV Ontario was renting the land for all these transmitters? Hell no! So there is another twenty million at least! And how much was received in bequests and wills in the last ten years? Hmmm, do you dear reader smell a rat? Let the Oracle of Ottawa explain....
It appears to the Oracle of Ottawa that all the cut shows are the favorites of those of left political leanings. What is at work here? Have the corporate over-whores forced their hand through the marketing department or was it through the Prime Ministers Office? Yes sir, it certainly sounds and looks like the F9 monkeys in beanie hats and short pants are at it again.
The greatest brand that TV Ontario has is the interview archive that was assembled by Elwy Yost over his lifetime career at TVO! One hundred years from now people will still be watching those interviews! How much budget does it cost to run stuff you already own? Not much. Not even Hollywood has anything to match it! Yes Saturday Night at The Movies has to go! Cinema is the opiate of the political left, isn't it?
And that show called Big Ideas certainly has to go! We can't have people like Northrop Frye , Noam Chomsky, and Chris Hedges telling the masses the utter and absolute truth can we? It really clashes with the talking points, propaganda and Agenda of a certain middle eastern ethnic group that at present has an insane hold on the Prime Ministers Office. Is The Oracle of Ottawa right or is he right? And heh! Right after Big Ideas the Oracle of Ottawa always gives Allan Gregg his eyeballs most every Saturday night. These three shows are the Saturday nights of countless Ontarians! And have been for decades....
Fire and cut this piece of ____!!!
But the Oracle of Ottawa will not just bitch into the cloud. The Oracle of Ottawa is constructive and has thought of a much better solution of cuts totaling three shows presently on TV Ontario. First cut Mere Cat Manor. Then cut that sickening Time Team, that phony reality show crap trying to be connected to the science and art of archeology! God! The Oracle of Ottawa hates that limey low life bastard that hosts that show... Now for the real money saver! Why just cutting this one show will no doubt save TV Ontario more than two million dollars. Her goes.. Fire that piece of shit, closet neo-con, conservative Steve Paikin! And cancel his bullshit posing show called the Agenda! Public television is no place for "flagship" current affairs, that is the job of the mainline media outlets such as the "state broadcaster", the good old CBC!
So, with the absence of the Agenda, the blogs, the pretentious set and the bullshit guests, that somehow strangely seem to be mostly from one small micro-state in the middle east, TVO should have saved more than two million dollars a year. Then to fill in the time bring me something with real class and substance like Charlie Rose or the old style couch and interview show that we all enjoyed before the Agenda! Now the Oracle of Ottawa is not a vindictive blogger. Steve Paikin should receive a generous severance package and a presentation shot gun set, with matching shower stall, he will know what to do with it, won't he?
Cut this piece of ____ propagandist and his right wing entourage and save TV Ontario!!!
I'm always struck by people who think, "well, it must be because I was
just so smart." There are a lot of smart people out there. "It must be
because I worked harder than everybody else." Let me tell you something —
there are a whole bunch of hardworking people out there. President Obama, Campaign Speech, Roanoke, Virginia, 2012-07-13
It strikes the Oracle of Ottawa wonderous ironic, looking from the outside in. That the country that gave birth to unregulated free for all capitalism is the same country were it is soon going to die, and be shoved once and for all back into the box! It was with great relief to the Oracle of Ottawa and most everyone around the whole freaking world that the second term is secured. But, as the Oracle of Ottawa mentioned in a much earlier post, at the event of the sudden demise of a certain bin Laden the second term would be a lock. And although I damn near gave birth to kittens in the early hours of the returns I was proven totally right.
President Obama (two termer)
Stands in front of the next President...
Well to tell the truth, the Oracle of Ottawa didn't expect that every swing state would be won along with the popular vote. Total Victory. While watching GPS on CNN this morning the Oracle of Ottawa learned that Rommney outsourced his "big data" functions! Talk about falling on your sword! Dying by your own bullshit, scum-bucket practices, is just, well, priceless!
And the right wing, defeated, just carried on the next day like nothing happened. Did you notice all the world Conservative Finance Ministers starting to talk at nearly the same time about the so called "financial cliff" ? Just like they all had the same speaking points handed to them at the same time! The Oracle of Ottawa found all that very scary and weird. The prayer circles around the world can't shut down yet. There are rosarys that have the dye worn right off of them! And they are going to be a little lighter still during this term.
As far as the "financial cliff" thing, the President has the right wing by the nuts (both hands...) and just hoping they will jump! If the Republicans play hardball, the President I am sure will just let the taxes kick in after the date. And he will be able to blame the "recession" on the "unflexible" right wing, Just like Pascals Wager, the President just can't lose this one. People all around the world knows what he has to deal with and it is scary powerful, but it must be brought to heel once and for all.
As the Oracle of Ottawa watched the images of the stubborn long lines of voters in Florida he kept thinking of the Great Doctor - Hunter S. Thompson, and wondered how he would have covered the event? Perhaps with a Coleman cooler of six packs and a tape recorder, but that is the subject of another post...or not.
Since all right wingers are visually oriented, the Oracle of Ottawa has included their near future marching orders in a video clip. Chop, chop off you go...
There seems to be something in humanity which will not bow meekly to the insolence of power. Terry Eagleton, Why Marx Was Right, p. 100
The Oracle of Ottawa just doesn't understand it. It all started out so well. He was a big Avast! fan. It worked so well back then, so well, that the Oracle of Ottawa paid for the professional version. Then there was that very shaky release of the last most recent version. But it all went really to hell at renewal time. Two months before my subscription expired, the Avast! program was really starting to pester me to renew. So, being really busy at the time, I thought I would renew promptly and be done with it. So I purchased another year, and then I would have 14 months until the sucker started up again. Well no, the bastards ripped me off for two months! So the yearly subscription was in actuality a 10 month subscription!
Microsoft - Like Chevrolet - Like a Rock...
The Oracle of Ottawa was not amused, and neither should you be! There is a very good and free solution. Never, ever pay for anti-virus protection for a computer. There are many solutions, and the Oracle of Ottawa did a little asking around to people who know a lot about such things and they recommended Microsoft Security Essentials, which they swear by and is to be had for the best price - FREE -, like air and beer! The Oracle of Ottawa immediately "signed up" and became a user of the latest release. And sure enough, it is what the Oracle of Ottawa considers a masterpiece of real "old school" software. Very small in size, does not use up a ton of CPU, and very little overhead of your available RAM. Microsoft must be becoming soft in their old age, but they are still sharp as hell. To use the MSE you must have a valid copy of a Microsoft operating system on your computer!
Well, no problem with the Oracle of Ottawa! Windows XP Professional forever! Been a user right from the start, and the Oracle of Ottawa hopes that MS will reconsider the present decision about the end date. Xp was probably the greatest software engineering next to DOS! And by the way, if you really like MSE you might also want to try Process Explorer, it has the good price also - FREE - and you will learn a ton about what is going on in your box. And it will help you to identify problems, why like Avast!, and other things that can bring your online experience down.... If you are youngster it is also a very good introduction into how complex and important a well designed and supported operating system really is.
After all, if you do not resist the apparently inevitable, you will never know how inevitable the inevitable was. Terry Eagleton, Why Marx Was Right, p. 6
It is wondrous strange how the lackey's and minions of the 'Harper Government' can fly a whole plane load of armored luxury vehicles over half way across the earth to India and have them arrive right on time, and yet in Canada the minions and lackey's of the 'Harper Government' can't seem to process an Unemployment Insurance application in less then eight weeks! Or the paper work for a senior citizen's first Canada Pension check, so that it will start right on time from the seasoned citizens birthday!
NOT Air Force One!
The Oracle of Ottawa is pondering that if your name is in the Conservative Information Management System otherwise known as CIMS, as a supporter instead of a non supporter, if things would go any faster? But one can suppose it is always better to take your own vehicles to India if one can, it is impossible to get the smell of India out of a suit. But what in heavens name do we in Canada want anything to do with India? Granted India is nominally the largest democracy on Earth, but it is still a real shit hole, and any business deal with an east Indian is a real pain in the ass!
Shiny cars - incoming!
The Oracle of Ottawa has it all down as a back door attack on India by the Peoples Republic of China, otherwise known as the 'Harper Governments' boss. I mean really, showing up in India with your own armored cars is like volunteering at the local food bank dressed in Prada or Armani! And the head towel head (lol) appeared to be really bent about something, and if you know east Indians, you will never figure it out. It all looks like another train wreck in the making. I mean, really, what does India have that we in Canada need or even want?
Meanwhile back at the home front. Question Period was an absolute slaughter for the 'Harper Government'! It was just wild. The erstwhile minister of veteran affairs got totally clobbered! And that guest worker from Labrador, did he ever take a shit kicking. The 'Harper' of the 'Harper Government' but hurry his ass home before it all goes completely off the rails...
Do the Denial Tango, It is really catching on in Ottawa...
The future often seems improbable until it happens. William Greider, One World, Ready Or Not, p.91
One of the most important requirements for Western Civilization is a source of cheap power. The biggest problem today is that we have maxed out all the available old sources. We really need a new super source of cheap, clean, unlimited electrical power. In another moment of dangerous reflection the Oracle of Ottawa was pondering that time long ago when he first attempted to become a digital man. Yes, with my first notebook and a dial-up internet connection, the Oracle of Ottawa explored the brave new world that lay before him. One of the fun things that the Oracle of Ottawa used to love to do for a hearty laugh was go to You-Tube and watch the free energy videos. It was insane and just pathetic. At this time the Oracle of Ottawa was a very cynical young man, who knew that there was and never will be such a thing or break through...
Thomas Edison - Method! What Method?
In this same recent moment of dangerous self reflection, the Oracle of Ottawa had a realization that several of the most important developments that we enjoy today were not discovered by the correct use of the scientific method and an extensive knowledge of the theory that was actually at work. They were discovered by accident! There are now even books that catalog these serendipity discoveries! And it is not as thin a book as you would think! Two of these greatest inventions (accidents?) are Viagra and the light bulb!
The Oracle of Ottawa has always found the story of the light bulb the most interesting. The first practical light bulb was "invented" by Thomas Edison. The company that he founded still exists today, it is called General Electric! Now Thomas Edison had all of three months of formal education! Why even Jethro Bodine got to the dizzy heights of the sixth grade! Thomas Edison never even heard of the scientific method, let alone used it. Thomas Edison was the proponent of the simple brute force method of discovery. My favorite story is that while working on the light bulb he got stumped by what kind of wire or filament, that thing that glows inside the bulb, to use. He simply made up a very long list of all the available candidates and tried every one of them and there combinations until he found the one that worked! The tungsten filament. The rest is just history now... You can still see that actual list that he used and made up. I think it is in the Smithsonian or the Edison Museum.
The nut of the matter is that science doesn't always work the best in all situations. The Oracle of Ottawa now realizes that in certain kinds of problems that the You-Tube development lab method of seeing what the other guy is doing and then adding to it or taking some part of it away is very powerful indeed. Why the Oracle of Ottawa predicts that the next big energy breakthrough will happen and be developed by some guy, some where on Earth in a garage or a bedroom will be the next to launch tomorrows power technology. Now the Oracle of Ottawa knows that there are certain laws of physics that cannot be broken, but thinking about all the great inventions of the past, the idea is how to bend these laws, to get to the required goal....
Zero unity power, free power, unlimited power. That is all crazy talk, isn't it?
In the end, we can't outsource more than 100 per cent of manufacturing, we can't transport goods with zero energy, and we can't enlist the efforts of workers and count on their buying our products while paying them nothing. Richard Heinberg, The End Of Growth - Adapting To Our New Economic Realty, p. 12
Yes, the Oracle of Ottawa has been tardy as of late, but he has hit a very rich patch, yet again, with the ongoing "Thinking About Thinking" project. This one has been very productive, and is being pursued on several fronts all at once. William Greiders "Globalization - One World Ready Or Not", Anthony Kenny's "A New History Of Western Philosophy", Hans Kung, "Does God Exist?" and Rene Descarte, "The Meditations", in a most excellent and full translation. Arthur Schopenhauer; "The World As Will And Idea". And, oh yeah, David Hume, "A Treatise Of Human Nature", now that sucker was tough! But the Oracle of Ottawa is deep into volume three of the unabridged edition, which was a real bitch to find, you believe me!
Rosa Luxemberg
Yet even though the Oracle of Ottawa was off his usual prodigious amount of pensive missives, last month was an all time record month in the "hits" department! Ye Gods! Perhaps less is more after all! But the Muse is rising again just as the scum always rises...and the Oracle of Ottawa is feeling up to explaining how the dreaded age of Globalization will actually come to an rather abrupt and ugly end. Also the Oracle of Ottawa will share some possible investment tips that you might want to consider in the ongoing future, which will soon belong to the people that created it in the first place.
It was Rosa Luxemburg that originally figured out how globalization would end, way back, in the early 20th century! Why, it can, and still could be argued that she even predicted globalization! She saw some things much further out than Marx himself did. She correctly predicted the future algorithm of big capital in the far future with an uncanny accuracy that makes the Oracle of Ottawa shudder with envy and awe. She predicted that as big capital grew larger and larger it would fan out farther and farther on the face of the Earth in search of new Surplus Labour. Farther into the future, she predicted that since the resources of the Earth are at the end of the day finite, big capital, or otherwise known today as Multinational Corporations (MNE's), could literally run out of new surplus labour, that it would underpay for and then ship the product to the "developed" world for the same price as if it was made in the first world! Got that? Now we all know it is that kind of thinking that will eventually get you dead at the age of forty seven. And that is what happened to Rosa Luxemberg.
Well, it dawned on the Oracle of Ottawa recently that we are very near to that time. Now a lot a very real weird things will seem to happen all at once. And if you don't understand the game plan, it will all appear as chaos and anarchy. As the past endless supply of surplus labour dries up, and the MNE's have no other next cheap country to open up in, costs will start to rise. The Oracle of Ottawa suspects that around this time, the Chinese peasants will make their move. And like the Boxer Rebellion it will all rise up at many places all at once, and when it gets going it will all be very interesting CNN coverage. Party officials of whole areas hanging off of freeway light standards and overpasses will continue for months, possibly years.
Of course this will cause a massive shortage of stock for the dollar stores of the Western World. Not to mention all the other more valuable manufactured goods. So the moral of this story is that if you still have that huge milling machine and drop forge press, you might want to put it some place in the back room so to speak. There may be a very big demand for such tools again in the near future...
Chris Hedges explains the collapse of globalization....
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