Wednesday digest
- According to this article, the Cuban health care system has two tiers, one for foreigners and Castro's buddies, and a second for regular folks - food, bed sheets and soap not included.I wonder if that's going to make it into "Sicko".
- Speaking of the inspirational Mr. Moore, about 40 people came out to see "Mine Your Own Business" at the Ottawa Public Library last night, which isn't a bad crowd considering we had very little media attention and it was a stunningly beautiful evening.
If all goes according to plan, the Free-Thinking Film Society is going to have its next event in September featuring "Indoctrinate U", a documentary about the narrowness of debate on North American university campuses as we continue to bring alternatives to the "alternative" to Ottawa moviegoers.
- Usually one of the more sensible councillors in Ottawa, Maria McRae has come up with a very stupid suggestion and that's sending the Senators the bill for the cost of increased policing downtown during the Stanley Cup final. How typically Canadian - always finding a way to penalize success. I'd guess that with the increased economic activity in the city of Ottawa because of the Sens' run, the city can afford to cover it. Plus, I don't recall the Senators being the ones who decided to shut down Elgin Street. Besides, why not take the cash from some money-losing festival and use that to pay for it? Lord knows we have plenty of those.
- Yesterday, Hillary Clinton equated the concept of the "ownership society" with an "on your own" society and argued for more "fairness" while suggesting that "we're all in this together".
You know what that means? More and bigger government dipping into your pocket, corresponding to how much a success you make of yourself in life based on the choices and sacrifices you make and the hard work you put into your endeavours. But, for the Democratic front-runner, it seems she's suggesting that you should only get to enjoy the fruits of your labour after the state arbitrarily decides how much it needs to take in the name of coercion, paternalism and redistribution.
It's important to be aware of code words like those Clinton used yesterday and read between the lines, as Thomas Sowell points out here and here.
Meanwhile, a little tutorial on one of the foundations of shared prosperity - free trade, from John Stossel.
- With the deafening silence coming from the "international community", is it any wonder that Hugo Chavez is closing yet another TV station that is critical of his dictatorial Marxist regime?
- We're just a few short weeks away from road trip season. Unfortunately, one I'd really like to take but can't would bring me to Pryor, Oklahoma for Rockfest, a three-day festival including the likes of Ratt, Slaughter, Winger, Skid Row, Faster Pussycat, Great White and LA Guns. All you can eat and drink VIP packages with reserved seating are $275.
Now that is awesome.
- Speaking of my youth, the flagship store of Sam the Record Man in Toronto is about to close. I remember going to the one on King Street in Kitchener back in grade 9, buying tapes like "Alice Cooper's Greatest Hits" that were priced at about $5.99 in sweeping orange writing by some kind of weird pen that only seemed to be used in record stores. I also took buses that were run by Sam's from Kitchener to a couple of shows in Toronto, like the GNR/Metallica/Faith No More tour that hit Exhibition Stadium in September 1992 and the Van Halen/Alice in Chains show at the Skydome in November 1991. The main outlet on Yonge in TO was also a mandatory stop during trips to Toronto for Jays games, shady head shops in search of fake ID or other shows like Motley Crue and Tesla in 1990, KISS in 1992 at Maple Leaf Gardens and Def Leppard at the same venue one month later. This was around the same time that the Tragically Hip's "Fully Completely" album cover was plastered in a huge mural on the side of Sam's facing south, and it wasn't soon after that that the Kingston bar band exploded.
And to think kids today are already nostalgic for Napster.
posted by Road Hammer @ 10:24 AM
9 comments
9 Comments:
Chavez was elected three times in internationally observed elections. Better than Bush can say.
Oh lord... here we go.
Hammer, I understand that the flagship store isn't closing until the end of June.
Leaving aside the small matter of the 22nd Amendment to the US Constitution, you realize that you just implied that Hugo Chavez is more legitimate than W - a laughable claim if there ever was one, but don't just take my word for it.
Let's see what Transparency International says. In 2006, they ranked the US as the 20th least corrupt country in the world, while Venezuela finished 138th. As for political rights and civil liberties, Freedom House this year gave Venezuela a 4/7 on both accounts with a 1 being total freedom and 7 being total repression. The US scored 1 in both categories.
And just for fun, let's look at freedom of the press. In the "Americas" category, the US comes second to only Jamaica, while Venezuela finished second last to Cuba.
Not exactly an environment for free and/or fair elections, but I suppose you'd prefer to live there than in W's Amerikkka, TC?
Just so I don't get tagged as being "TC" - let it be known that I always sign my posts...
While I commend Hugo for nationalizing the oil industry (imagine how cheap gas would be if Canada had the nads to do that - us being a net exporter of oil and all), the crack down on the media is absurd.
That doesn't absolve W from being the biggest ass-clown in history, however.
How would nationalizing Canadian oil make it cheaper?
2 things:
- Rockfest: AWESOME! I would be there in a heartbeat.
- Sam the Record Man: another chapter in Canadian music history is about to close. Although I consider myself a frequent downloader, I do eventually buy CDs that I like. Problem is three-fold: a) Not a lot of good music playing around these days b) people's after-tax $$ no longer to buying music and going to shows, hence driving up those costs c) 5.99, 8.99, 9.99 those were the good prices back then. Now it's difficult to shell out more than 14.99 for a CD.
How would it not make gas prices cheaper?
It would eliminate the need for taxes, prevent the need to buy foreign (US or otherwise) oil thus eliminating the costs of paying profits to big oil, and it would stop the massive flucuations (read increases) in prices attributed to "uncerainty in the middle-east", gulf coast hurricanes, importing costs, etc etc etc.
Of course there is the valid argument that we should be paying 3 times highers costs (or more) like Europe and Japan, who through no major coincidence, have the best vehicle fuel efficiency standards for automobiles in the world - because relying on oil is a losing proposition.
Also for the record, I'm not TC. I always sign. That being said, I have nothing to say.
There's a TCer out there who needs to show themselves. The only anonymous poster allowed here is me, dammit!!!
Nationalizing the oil industry - I don't think people really know what that means - civil servants setting prices and determining where, when, how and what volume to extract? In other words, a completely centrally planned sector of the economy with no market mechanism to speak of?
The presumption that we wouldn't have to import anything should the government buy all the oil would suggest that you think oil companies are keeping a tight lid on supply in order keep prices high, and the government wouldn't be so mean and cruel to all the SUV drivers out there by steadily excavating all that we're sitting on and guaranteeing price stability, would that be right?
Also should note that anyone who is pro-Kyoto should want even HIGHER gas prices so as to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
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