Bank Of England - Thanks For The Warning!

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?

The Golden Opportunity of The Fiscal Cliff

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... 

On Adele Song Skyfall

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)
     

Was Justin Trudeau Really Out Of Line?

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...

David McGuinty And The Ghost Of Pierre

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!

Was Ayn Rand A Total Fraud?

A mixture of a lie doth ever add pleasure.
Francis Bacon, Essays, Of Truth

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.

The first American Psycho?

Wee Jimmy Blows Up

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!