Revolution offers the opportunity to rethink the largest questions and, in fact, compels people to reexamine what they have always taken for granted. William Greider, One World, Ready Or Not, p. 44
It all started with the early retirement. Now there was time to read all those books that I had promised myself. First I started with Adam Smith and the unabridged Wealth Of Nations. It was so good and I got through it so surprisingly fast that I figured I would continue with Das Kapital by Karl Marx! Well that just blew my head wide open! I continued with Capital Volumes II and III! Then it all got out of hand... I decided to read all the "name" economists of the classical and near modern periods! Say, Keynes, Ricardo, you name it, Amazon Canada was really busy for a while!
State sanctioned capitalists of the future at work...
Then of course, with my head totally remoulded and rewired, a great truth occurred to the Oracle of Ottawa. This period we are now living in, the last days of "high capitalism", are soon to end. And the world of tomorrow will be a much different and I am pretty certain a much better place. The Oracle of Ottawa will not get into the details of the new world coming in this post, but he will give you a hint or two.
There will still be private property, and all that. But the focus of society will shift from the monetary enrichment of the individual to a focus of the full realization of the individual. There will still be a market based "capitalism", but it will fulfill a clean-up role in the new society. The market based economy will never be allowed to exceed more than 25% of the sanctioned economic activity. The Oracle of Ottawa has provided a picture and a movie of the capitalists of the future in their new role.....
Future capitalists at work in their new clean up role... A lot like the old capitalists??
A you know dear reader, the Oracle of Ottawa truly believes that there are some things that are too important to be left to a mere business to run. And I am quickly coming to the realization that one of these things is CPAC, the Canadian Public Affairs Channel. Is it the Oracle of Ottawa that is the only observer to notice that whenever there is a really hot Question Period on any given day that there seems to be a lag of posting that certain day to the video play list right away as per usual of all the boring non-eventful days?
Give it back to the CBC?
This also seems to be the case of really hot committee hearings. Do you remember that crazy Quebec media lord and his lawyer? I believe it was the freedom to access of information committee, whereby the said media lord and his awesome attorney crashed and burned, to such an extent that even Sun News cut off the live coverage! It seemed to be weeks before that particular committee segment, in its entirety, finally got on the rotation. The Oracle of Ottawa must come to the conclusion that a little social engineering is in order.
A public affairs radio station? Perfect!!
A little research will prove that the original plan for CPAC was the correct one. And the original plan was that CPAC was run and the sole franchise of the eminent and awesome "state broadcaster" the good old mother CBC! It appears to the Oracle of Ottawa that the CBC should be given a large budget increase, and the return of the CPAC channel. It is quite probable that the present Minister of Canadian Heritage James Moore, could do this at the same time as poking Sun News TV in both eyes! And to help pay the bills, the CBC could be granted the sole and exclusive right to advertise, but only for the CBC and its various entities. The Oracle of Ottawa is quiet sure that all the right wing media outlets will find this perfectly fair and equitable.
We all knew that the prisoner advocate lobby is very strong in Canada. But who knew that they were strong enough to get to Charles Adler? There is the John Howard Society, the Elizabeth Fry Society, and the Canadian Bar Association. To only name a very few. Why, the present Minister of Public Safety, Vic Toews would be very upset to find out that Charles Adler has fallen in with the "criminal lovers"!
Socrates had the right to die...
But that is what appears to have happened folks. Why the Oracle of Ottawa saw it on Sun News TV, so it has to be true! That segment where Charles argues for the right to die for Canadian prisoners serving very long sentences. Isn't it weird that as soon as Charles got to the big lights of media, he has converted into a leftie? As the Oracle of Ottawa as always said, Canada just happens to you eventually! And it seems to be no different with Charles Adler.
Who knew that one of the most requested human rights, the right to die at the time of our choosing, would be provided by the gap toothed, mouth breathing, knuckle dragging Social Darwinists of the 'Harper Government' of Steve Harper? Why with there strong majority Conservative government, they could ram through the right to die for Canadian prisoners serving long and / or life sentences. Then it would only be a matter of a very short time before a Constitutional challenge was launched by the Right To Die lobby and before you know it, ipso facto, it will be a done deal. As far as the far right Christians, fuck them, they can get there own lobby!
Perhaps the 'Harper Government' has accidentally found its legacy project after all! I mean after all, for crying out loud, Socrates himself, when condemned to death for violating piety and corrupting the youth of Athens was given the choice of drinking the hemlock or suffering the traditional death penalty! Gee! Who knew that Charles Adler ever read Plato? Well the Oracle of Ottawa has got to bring this little missive to a close. I have to get one of my people over to the office of James Moore so that he can get in Charles Adlers recommendation for the Order of Canada in to the PMO, before he is forced to sit as the first Independent Liberal, which by all accounts is going to happen very soon.
Basically every killer should have the right to commit suicide...and therefore so should all other Canadians! Thanks to the 'Harper Government' and Sun News TV, Canadians may soon have the right of legalized euthanasia!
It is important to realize that the market economy, though it is associated historically with the rise of modern private capitalism, is as a mechanism not necessarily limited to that system. Daniel Bell, The Cultural Contradictions of Capitalism, p. 223
The Oracle of Ottawa as per good form should not like to say "I told you so", but I do so much love it! All the people who during the last federal election reassured you that there was such thing as the Harper "hidden agenda" are all now firmly ensconed in the Senate, and other boards and tribunals where they are now free to achieve their highest levels of incompetence.
The pigeons of the 'Harper Government' come home to roost!
We have all learned in school that the main responsibility of the Government of Canada is to its citizens. Over the years we have refined that quite a lot, just to make sure that the government of the day stays on the rails. As per earlier posts, the Oracle of Ottawa has schooled his dear readers on the fact and reality that corporations cannot vote. They can no longer buy a government, like in the old days. So you have to wonder why the 'Harper Government' goes so far out of its way to ensure that an entity, that legally can in no way aid or support a government, gets everything it desires as a class! You should be asking yourself, what is in it for the minions of the 'Harper Government' to ensure such good service?
Now everyone that knows about such things of government, knows that to protect our social systems all we have to do is bring back the old corporate tax rates. Yes, some companies will leave Canada, but it will be the ones that we want gone anyway. When the old corporate tax rates are implemented there should be a clause that states; if you want to leave, you are gone forever. If you wish to re-enter and conduct business in Canada in the future you will have to pay a tax of 10% of total assets at the time of originally leaving Canada! It is all too easy!
Old woman wise to the 'Harper Government'...
In Canada we have a wonderful thing called OAS or old age security. It is above and beyond the Canada Pension Plan, but in Canada if you are well off and don't require a pension, you could end up with no government pension at all. It will be "clawed back" completely if your income is over $110,000. All in it is probably the fairest system in the world, next to some exceptions in the European Union.
But the Oracle of Ottawa got a peek into the Tory secret play book, that explains the real reason for the attack on OAS and eventually all other pensions, that will eventually be lowered and if possible, eliminated... In Canada the normal retirement age for a working man is 65 years. A man in Canada has a life expectancy of 78.3 years. The man can expect a retirement of 13.3 years. Now, and this is where it gets very interesting, your blessed Mother who stayed home as a homemaker, can start to get a small pension at the age of 60! Now, the life expectancy of a woman in Canada is 82.9 years! She can look out to a retirement of 22.9 years! Now simply divide 22.9 by 13.3 and you get an answer of 1.72. That is, it costs the 'Harper Government' 1.72 times more to pay a pension to a woman as it does for a man!
Now everyone knows that here in Canada, the greatest gender of poor senior citizens that receive OAS are women! Women do not vote for the Conservatives! So, as far as the 'Harper Government' is concerned, it is a "financial decision". Fuck'em!
Diane "The Fly" Finley learns that a nine man majority, is not really a majority at all...
Corporations now govern society, perhaps more than governments themselves do; yet ironically, it is their very power, much of which they have gained through economic globalization, that makes them vulnerable. Joel Bakan, The Corporation, p. 25
The Oracle of Ottawas Thinking About Thinking Project continues. And upon another period of very dangerous reflection I fear that I have made yet another very important breakthrough! I am again totally shocked at the yield of this little thought experiment project and am very nearly at the point of having to vigorously disagree with the great man, Stephen Hawking, over his announcement of the death of philosophy.
Your interests as a Citizen are superseded
by more "urgent" interests...
The subject of the latest breakthrough concerns the utter stall out of social progress in Canada. Pondering my childhood in the 1960's and the veritable wave of social reforms that seemed to happen all at once and that have proved their worth by still existing, I can't for the life of me understand why it is that we can't get to at least the same level as Norway and the host of European nations that enjoy wonderful social programs that allow each and every citizen to realize his/her maximum potential. Where did it all go wrong?
Spend less..Live better??
I figured by now we would all have a guaranteed income at a healthy rate above the Statistics Canada poverty line.That government run Day Care would be a breeze and of course free education to the doctorate level would have been old hat by now, among other important programs. But alas, we seem in reality that we are regressing to the time of the "factory day" as per the lifetime of Karl Marx! It is all very depressing, and one wonders how this has all come about. It certainly isn't because Canada is a poor country and can't afford it! Then it all dawned on me....
Want fries with your wasted life??
It is all because of the Canadian Conservative Party and the federally registered lobbyists! For example, the reason we don't have coast to coast free daycare is that all children would get, among other things, proper toilet training. Why just ponder the effects! In about two decades we would essentially eliminate all citizens of the anally retentive kind. The effect of this would be very dire indeed! Who would be left to vote Conservative?
Sorry, some things are more important than social programs!
And the reason, I fear, that we do not have free education to the doctorate level is simply that there would be no one left, willing or otherwise, to work in the lowlife jobs! Such as flipping burgers or stocking shelves at the local Mega-Low Mart for minimum wage. Quite simply your interests are not as important to those in power as the interests that the whore federally registered lobbyists represent! What? You don't feel loved? Back to work you lowlife prole!!
Since there is a God...Why do you have to lobby for Him and/or Her?
