HOW ABOUT THIS? Vivaldi's "Winter" against the City currently under water and the masks of Carnivale

We are Slowly Growing Up

It is not often that I find reason to praise the policies of Gordon Campbell, but the BC Premier and his Alberta counterpart, Ed Stelmach, deserve full marks for their pushing through a new deal in Canadian working conditions.

By spring of next year, Canadians will have full mobility in terms of working across the country without the onerous and stupid rules that have kept doctors, accountants and many others locked in one province or another.

This is a move that should have happened many years ago. We may be large on the mao, but we are a tiny country of some 35 million people and the barricades that kept people from moving their trades from Halifax to Headly were ridiculous.

Congratulations to Mssrs. Campbell and Stelmach for continuing the drive to make this new Canada a reality.

What me Worry, Part One

Canada is different. Canada is inoculated.

Puleeeze.

Read this morning's job loss story in the NY Times, then check your local rag for similar Canucklehead versions.

O.J.'s going to jail and we're losing jobs in Canada. Get used to it.

Canada - What me, Worry?

Investing Insight from Adrian Mastracci,
"Fee-Only" Portfolio Manager

"US jobs a shocker!"

For Immediate Release

Vancouver, BC (December 05, 2008):

It's a shocker. The numbers are staggering. The US jobs picture is into "ouch land".

You could say, the lights are being turned out. And the prospects are for more darkness.

Nearly 1.9 Million jobs have vanished year-to-date. And this may be an optimistic figure.

Looking at the substantial downward revisions made to the September and October figures leads me to brace for an ugly revision to the 533,000 jobs lost in November.

President elect, Barak Obama has a herculean miracle to perform. No doubt his team is burning the midnight oil trying to figure out what will resuscitate the very sick US economy.

The rest of the world is also affected in similar ways. Canada included.

Brace yourself for central bank interest rate expectations heading toward zero. Wave goodbye to the high yields of yesterday.

However, I fear that we have not learned anything from past lessons on interest rates.

I fear that investors who need income are going to take undue risks in their quest to replenish vanishing yields.

I fear that the number of banks on the FDIC watch list will increase.

I fear that more financial institutions will fail.

We have much work ahead to resuscitate the global economic prospects.

Adrian Mastracci
Portfolio Manager, R.F.P.
KCM Wealth Management Inc.
"Fee-Only" Portfolio Managers & Financial Advisors
Suite 1500, Box 1078, 885 West Georgia Street
Vancouver, BC, Canada V6C 3E8
Tel: (604) 739-4500 Fax: (604) 739-0234
E-mail: kcm@kcmwealth.com Website: www.kcmwealth.com

---

Air India Bombing

As soon as you hear the RCMP declare "There is no credible evidence or basis upon which to support such an outrageous claim.," you know you're in for a bumpy night.

Because the RCMP has been doing such a good job of late in the credibility department.

This latest statement comes in reaction from letters from the Punjab Human Rights Organization, which claims that thee are many people, whose names they provide, who are responsible for the Air India murders and that none will ever be prosecuted.

This PHRO may or may not be legitimate, but in the absence of any other information coming from the official sources, who in 23 years, have failed to tell us or the grieving families ANYTHING, this is at least worth a look.

Especially when the officials tell us to turn our eyes away.

Icky Sticky

You cheat at work. You steal from the company and the public. Your punishment?

You get one third of $825,000 in severance.

Welcome to the topsy-turvey Alice in Repairland known as the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia.

Or ICBC.

Or Icky-Bicky.

The reason you can get this "punishment?"

Well, the Corporation forgot to mention that behaving illegally and immorally on the job was a no-no.

Oops.

Checking it Twice

The BCTF meddles again.

Kids at a school in Nanaimo have been raising money for a childrens' charity.

Oh my god, the charity is "evangelical."

The Nanaimo chapter of the BCTF kvetched in typical form.

What?

You can only help "secular, non-denominational" charities?

Here's the news for the BCTF:

Kids in need are kids in need. Check their passports and bibles later, you clods.

Read the whole disgraceful mess - the height of Clouseauvian political correctness - covered beautifully, as always by the Sun's educational writer Janet Steffenhagen.

Genius at the Controls

Before I forget...

Yesterday, Air Canada gave living proof once again to how it manages to be the flakiest airline aloft.

In a half page spread, they advertised an Air Canada Vacations "special."

The destination?

Bogota or Cartagena.

Hahahaha...

That must be a real travel treat for Mom & Pop Wisconsin or Betty and Bob Oakville.

Come get caught in drug lord crossfire!

No doubt this campaign will now be featured in the first pages of Marketing for Real Dummies.

Brushes with Stardom #396

How's this for One Degree of Separation?

Watching much of "The Way We Were," the 1973 Streisand-Redford hit of 1973, I suddenly realized that I had played in a TV episode with Patrick O'Neal, one of the supporting cast of "The Way We Were."

O'Neal, who was personally chosen by Tennessee Willams to play the original role of Reverend Shannon in "Night of the Iguana" when it first appeared on Broadway, played a high powered and corrupt real estate salesman in an episode of the "J.J. Starbuck," a short lived detective series starring the former movie cowboy, Dale Robertson.

I play a very wealthy client who discovers O'Neal's shenanigans. Not a good move. O'Neal shoots and kills me.

Our scenes were filmed in an extraordinarily flashy mansion in West Vancouver and a fabulous gun cabinet filled with gun treasures was brought in from a private collector in Langley just for the murder scene.

It was great fun.

For the record, when the Streisand-Redford movie first came out, I hated it.

Now, over the years, I confess it has seeped into my bones and I love watching it. Corny, glossy entertainment beautifully done.

Barbra - The Way We Were

News Flash - From a Commentor

Having decided that the Detroit Red Wings technically won the 2008 Stanley Cup, the Pittsburgh Penguins, Philadelphia Flyers and Dallas Stars have formed a coalition demanding a three way ownership of the league title.

Rationale for their decision revolves around their total combined scoring in the 2008 Semi-Finals, their total share of season ticket holders versus the Detroit Red Wings, and their horror at discovering the Detroit Red Wings are using a more cost effective and efficient, but non-union made silver polish, to keep the Stanley Cup gleaming.

The three teams are being assisted in their bid to overturn the traditional results by members of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League who have no real interest in the success of the NHL in general but sense an opportunity to demand Zambonis and other critical equipment be manufactured in Quebec.

Player representatives, team owners and Nike are expected to submit their proposals to Don Cherry in the next few days. Fans and ticket holders are neither being asked or allowed a voice in the final decision.

Leaders of Our Times

Nothing speaks to the incompetence of the Federal Bumbling, Stumbling, Rumbling Liberal party better than this:

"Adding to the discomfort with his leadership was the fact that last night Mr. Dion and his team couldn't even get his televised national address – a speech intended to counter Mr. Harper's appeal – to TV networks on time.

The production values of the tape were also poor, with Mr. Dion out of focus at times. It appeared his head was emerging from the shelf behind him."

The above is taken from a Jane Taber piece in this morning's Globe.

By now, you may have learned that Parliament has been shut down until Jan. 26th.

Here are the opening paragraph's of the Globe's on line news just after noon, eastern time.

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Stephen Harper has obtained Governor-General Michaëlle Jean's consent to temporarily shut down Parliament, a move that allows him to avoid a confidence vote next week that he was expected to lose.

It's a blow for the Liberal-NDP coalition, backed by the separatist Bloc Québécois, that was seeking to replace the minority Conservative goverment.

The development buys time for Mr. Harper to assemble an economic package that he hopes will discourage the multiparty alliance from taking him down at that time.

Have yourself a merry little...

Boo! (We don't really like you.)

It's a classic example of how the politicians and the mandarins attack the good works of someone they don't like, someone who threatens them with her honesty or bad news.

The someone in this instance is BC's children's watchdog, Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond and we have written often on these pages in her praise.

In the latest skirmish, her own government has been questioning her right to rent office space.

She's supposed to invite her staff over to her breakfast nook at home, unplug the toaster and the microwave and light up the notebooks?

These are such old, such tired, such cheap, such transparent tricks, this so-called budget committee should be given the Casper the Ghost Award for Silly Spookdom.

It's the Little Things that Hurt

A tiny little insert in the newspaper this morning caused my shoulders to sag.

A large truck was caught last night at midnight doing wheelies over the lawns and flower beds of Victoria's Beacon Hill Park. The damage is about $10,000.

I've just returned from a wonderful two weeks in Victoria and the house i rented was very near Beacon Hill Park. I walked past it every day along the open ocean front of Dallas Road, in my opinion one of the greatest city walks anywhere in the world.

But aside from my sense of personal connection to this small story, the content says so much about our seemingly total abandonment of respect and community and the social compact.

It's often too ugly out there, boys and girls.

Buy it on Amazon

Tony Bennett, 82 years young, has a new album out.

"A Swinging CHristmas" is recorded with the Count Basie Orchestra.

The man is amazing.

Here's a little preview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDmQlAN3I9g

Closing Time

Gary on Hornby Island has submitted this marvelous Leonard Cohen video for our enjoyment. The piece has been "embedding disabled" so all I can do is give you the URL:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVt6vhRAu3k

It's a beaut.

Thanks, Gary.

Petition

Petition to Members of Parliament



The Liberals and NDP seem poised to form an alternative
government by joining forces in a coalition -- supported by the
separatist Bloc Quebecois. This unholy alliance is saying they simply
want to spend more money to stimulate the economy, but when asked for
details, they don't have an answer. Apparently they're prepared to take
the "ready, shoot, aim" approach to spending and sign blank cheques to
bail out industries in financial trouble without even knowing what will
actually help specific industries, without knowing what Barak Obama has
planned, and without working in concert with the other G-20 countries.
It's a recipe for a fiscal disaster.


More importantly, it's a democratic disaster. During the
campaign, Liberal leader Stephane Dion said he would not and could not
have a coalition with the NDP, because their policies would destroy the
economy. Apparently that principled position has now gone out the
window. Now we have the prospect of the Liberals (with 77 seats)
joining with the NDP (with 37 seats) to unseat the democratically
elected Conservatives (with 143 seats). Of course, the only way to do
that would be with the support of the separatist Bloc Quebecois, who
bring their votes to the table in exchange for their separatist agenda.
The three left-leaning parties in Parliament are willing to risk it all
in order to gain power through the back door, power that was denied to
them in a general election.



An organization called Canadians for Democracy has put
together a petition urging Members of Parliament not to change
governments without an election. Given the speed at which the
Liberal/NDP/ Bloc coalition is moving towards their goal of overthrowing
the duly elected Government of Canada without an election, the petition
should probably be addressed to the Governor General. But the coalition
is moving very quickly and I urge anyone who would oppose the potential
coalition to sign this petition:




The Petition


PETITION TO THE MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT OF CANADA:

WE, THE UNDERSIGNED RESIDENTS OF CANADA, draw the
attention of the House to the following:

THAT in the recent federal election concluded October
14th, 2008 Canadian voters provided the Conservative Party with a clear
and strengthened mandate to lead Canada through the current global
economic crisis.

THAT the opposition are looking to impose an unstable,
unelected Liberal-NDP-separatist coalition that during said election
they promised they would not entertain, with the Liberal leader
expressly rejecting such a move as being bad for the economy.

THAT Canadians have the democratic right to choose who
will govern them and not have a surprise Prime Minister chosen through
an unseemly and undemocratic backroom deal.

THEREFORE your petitioners call upon Members of
Parliament to oppose any political arrangement that would replace Her
Majesty's democratically elected government without first consulting
Canadians in an open and democratic election.



Sign the petition at: http://www.canadians4democracy.ca/
. It takes only a couple of minutes
and may help to save Canadian democracy.








--
Sincerely yours,

BAKER & BAKER

JONATHAN BAKER
www.bakerbaker.ca
jbaker@bakerbaker.ca

Science Update

Thanks to Chris Tibbs and our regular commentator, MURDOCK, for this ditty. Perhaps it will bring a smile to your face.

Governmentium: A New Metal?

Lawrence Livermore Laboratories has discovered the heaviest element yet known to science.
The new element, Governmentium (Gv), has one neutron, 25 ssistant neutrons, 88 deputy neutrons, and 198 assistant deputy neutrons, giving it an atomic mass of 312.

These 312 particles are held together by forces called morons, which are surrounded byvast quantities of lepton-like particles called peons.

Since Governmentium has no electrons, it is inert; however, it can be detected, because it
impedes every reaction with which it comes into contact. A tiny amount of Governmentium can cause a reaction that would normally take less than a second, to take
from 4 days to 4 years to complete.

Governmentium has a normal half-life of 2- 6 years. It does not decay, but instead undergoes a reorganization in which a portion of the assistant neutrons and deputy neutrons exchange places.

In fact, Governmentium's mass will actually increase over time,
since each reorganization will cause more morons to become neutrons, forming isodopes.

This characteristic of morons’ promotion leads some scientists to believe that Governmentium is formed whenever morons reach a critical concentration.

This hypothetical quantity is referred to as critical morass. When catalyzed with money,
Governmentium becomes Administratium, an element that radiates just as much energy
as Governmentium since it has half as many peons but twice as many morons.

Gordon's Party is More Fun Each Day

The Olympic Games are truly here.

Aside from the Who Can Throw the Most Cow Pies the Farthest at the Olympic Village contest, there are now two new events:

Suing the Cops at Sea and Hiring your Best Francophone Friends.

In the first instance, the RCMP have cancelled their deal with the Love Boat people to house 5000 security staff on ships. The cruise company is suing.

In the second instance, Canada's Commissioner of Official Languages (God save us!) has demanded of VANOC that it hire more bi-sexual ...oh, sorry...bi-lingual folk for La Grande Sport.

Only in Canada, you say? Pity

Schreiber Lives On

The Airbus/Mulroney/Schreiber file is alive and well.

It is chronicled it great dripping detail in this morning's Globe.

Read it and cackle.

The foto, right, is of Fred Doucet, Mulroney's long time friend and Chief of Staff, who after claimng he knew nothing about airplanes, will now have to explain all the letters and documents to and from him to the contrary.