DISPATCHES FROM NORTH OF THE BORDER

Don't join the government to get rich - The Economist

2011-02-21T20:19:00.001-05:00

ONE of the memes being thrown around over the past few years by advocates of reducing the power of public-sector unions has been the claim that public-sector workers are overpaid in comparison to their private-sector counterparts. I've always considered this an odd claim to hear, as I've been in the labour market for quite a long time and can't recall ever hearing anyone say they were going to work for a government bureaucracy because they wanted to make a lot of money. At crucial career-making junctures in life, people who want to get rich tend to enter corporate law rather than join the District Attorney's office, to work for internet companies rather than teach math in public high schools, and so forth.

All of this is coming up now because Wisconsin has become the showdown state for the public-sector union controversy, and Scott Walker, the governor, is claiming he needs to destroy the state's public-sector unions' ability to negotiate in order to deal with its budget shortfall. State workers, he says, are paid too much. But the Economic Policy Institute tells us that, in Wisconsin, public-sector workers are not in fact paid more than their private-sector counterparts. They're paid less. You can only make it appear that public-sector workers earn more by ignoring the fact that "both nationally and within Wisconsin, public sector workers are significantly more educated than their private sector counterparts."

Nationally, 54% of full-time state and local public sector workers hold at least a four-year college degree, compared with 35% of full-time private sector workers. In Wisconsin, the difference is even greater: 59% of full-time Wisconsin public sector workers hold at least a four-year college degree, compared with 30% of full-time private sector workers

....Public employees receive substantially lower wages, but much better benefits than their private sector counterparts. Wisconsin state and local governments pay public employees 14.2% lower annual wages than comparable private sector employees. On an hourly basis, they earn 10.7% less in wages. College-educated employees earn on average 28% less in wages and 25% less in total compensation in the public sector than in the private sector.

The EPI study does find there's a class of public-sector workers who earn a bit more than their private-sector counterparts: those without high-school degrees. In other words, district attorneys earn less than corporate lawyers, but janitors at the district attorney's office may earn more than janitors at a corporate law office—provided the government hasn't outsourced its facilities staff to the same private company the law office uses, which it may have, since governments have been targeting low-skilled workers for outsourcing precisely because that's how they can save money.

For most people who work for the government, however, the expectation is that your year-to-year salary will be lower, but your benefits will be better, in particular your pension. It turns out, however, that state governments won't have the money to pay a lot of those pensions. They're likely to renege on their promises, and Republicans in Congress want to allow them to declare bankruptcy in order to do so. (Funnily enough, this may be the one area in which labour unions and Wall Street are in alliance: neither one wants states to be allowed to declare bankruptcy.) In other words, as Ezra Klein points out, the public-sector employees got rooked: they accepted lower pay in exchange for retirement benefits, and now the retirement benefits look unlikely to come through.

Now, how can we explain the fact that public-sector employees are paid less than private-sector employees? After all, public-sector employees are heavily unionised, while private-sector employees aren't. Shouldn't those unions be winning public-sector employees better wages? Well, I don't really know; perhaps the fact that the government is a monopoly employer with staggering market power has something to do with it. But try considering how employees' wage negotiations with the government might look if there were no public-sector unions. In most lines of work, individuals' power to negotiate higher wages with large organisations is very limited. In government employment, individuals' power to negotiate higher wages is utterly non-existent. An individual teacher who bargains with a private school for a higher wage than her peers is going to have a tough negotiation on her hands; an individual teacher who tries to bargain with the City of Milwaukee for a higher wage than her peers is going to be laughed out of the superintendent's office. In his initial post on this subject, my colleague ventured that civil servants would constitute a powerful bloc able to protect their wages even without unions. I'm not really sure what this means. Through what mechanism are civil servants supposed to bargain for wage increases if they don't have unions? Who's supposed to do the bargaining?

Originally posted in The Economist Feb 21st 2011, 14:55 by M.S.

Local Farm Food Worth The Premium

2011-02-05T13:34:00.003-05:00

As we are gripped in cold and snow Black Walnut Lane Farm was tweeting about the farm being in the middle of the spring lambing season. It made me feel that spring really is not that far away. We are still in for more winter but soon all of us will be in the middle of April showers and then May flowers.

If you are looking for locally grown foods then I would suggest that you get yourself out to Black Walnut Lane Farm in Millgrove, Ontario and start enjoying and supporting locally grown produce.

Black Walnut Lane Farm

Local Farm Food Worth The Premium

"Democracy" ... The rhetoric around this word in America needs to be revisited

2011-01-09T11:57:00.001-05:00

Words have consequences! This is an understatement.

The shooting of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and the death of six other innocent individuals in Tucson, Arizona on Jan 8, 2011 must give rise to change in the United States of America. The youngest person shot and killed was Christina Taylor Green, age 9, who was ther e to witness democracy in action. There are also an unconfirmed number of others shot. Reports have numbers as high as 19 persons wounded or dead.

I would urge everyone regardless of where they live in our world to embrace Gary Hart's statement on words having consequences. The United States of America has been wounded and the fix is not more rhetoric.

Gary Hart

Scholar in Residence at the University of Colorado

Posted: January 8, 2011 04:52 PM

Words Have Consequences

Over time, political rhetoric used by politicians and the media has become more inflamatory. The degree to which violent words and phrases are considered commonplace is striking. Candidates are "targeted". An opponent is "in the crosshairs". Liberals have to be"eliminated". Opponents are "enemies". This kind of language eminates largely from those who claim to defend American democracy against those who would destroy it, who are evil, and who want to "take away our freedoms".

Today we have seen the results of this rhetoric. Those with a megaphone, whether provided by public office or a media outlet, have responsibilities. They cannot avoid the consequences of their blatant efforts to inflame, anger, and outrage. We all know that there are unstable and potentially dangerous people among us. To repeatedly appeal to their basest instincts is to invite and welcome their predictable violence.

So long as we all tolerate this kind of irresponsible and dangerous rhetoric or, in the case of some commentators, treat it with delight, reward it, and consider it cute, so long will we place all those in public life, whom the provocateurs dislike, in the crosshairs of danger.

This is carried out, and often rewarded, in the name of the Constitution, democratic rights and liberties, and patriotism is a mockery of all this nation claims to believe and almost all of us continue to struggle to preserve. America is better than this

Town Council of Oakville is anti-community

2010-06-13T12:36:00.003-04:00

The following was written as a response to an Oakville.com article Decision on Skateboard Park Solves Nothing

The recent Town of Oakville skateboard park relocation decision is anti-community! It flies in the face of a community with people, meeting the needs of all people as their first priority.

The Town of Oakville has become the real life setting for "The Truman Show". Beautiful, and controlled, but not for all the people of the Town. Through its governing decisions and by-laws it is attempting to sanitize our community under the mistaken catch phrase of becoming a "Livable Oakville".

Every issue that comes before this misguided council involves the sloganeering about making Oakville "livable". This is jingoism or "sloganism" at its worst. This is social engineering being done badly.

Historically, the Town, in 2008, passed the following: "Livable Oakville is the Town's new Official Plan" What is Livable Oakville?

"The Livable Oakville Plan is the first step in fleshing out the vision 'To be the most livable town in Canada'. The new plan ensures that Oakville develops into a complete community that includes:
- a full mixture of housing types to meet the changing demographics of the Town over time, including opportunities for more affordable housing types
- a broad range of employment opportunities, including office and industrial use and a variety of forms of retail uses, including historic main streets, malls and large-format stores
- an array of health and educational facilities and other institutional uses that serve the entire population
- protection of the environment and an appropriate mixture of public park and trail networks that promote active living
- a transportation system that connects Oakville to the broader region and accommodates automobiles but also promotes the use of other modes of travel including transit, cycling and walking"
Residents should see in the documents related to planning a livable Oakville, that what is missing is "people".
People don't exist in this Councils' plans or thinking and decisions made are NOT people friendly unless they are trying to please a vocal community group, or street or a ratepayer with property. These decisions are one-off people friendly decisions. The key to Councils misguided decions are property.

This Council is only interested in decisions that can procure votes from the most vocal, who are always the property owner. You cannot build a “livable community” by creating a new by-law for only the most vocal, when they demand it. Pandering to a small group creates greater community inequities and does not meet the needs of a long-term, viable and inclusive community.

My oversight of this Council (somebody needs to be some what objective) finds that more and more people and a lively community are NOT part of the planning process. This is about bricks and mortar and not about people. Decisions made are not about a lively community on the streets, people being out and active in our community, twenty-four seven. This Council is about money and power to those already empowered.

The skateboard decision is the perfect example of decisions cloaked in bureaucracy and it is anti-people. It is anti-children. It is anti-play unless you go to the outer limits of the Town. This was the case with the anti-lights policy on school playing fields. They preached NIMBYISM at every meeting.

This Council's real motto is “Sanitize Oakville” and they hide this under the guise of a "Livable Oakville".

If it moves regulate it. If people want to use parks deny them or regulate them. If businesses make good economic decisions the Council doesn't like, go to war with them. If school boards don't adhere to their thinking call them arrogant and pass more by-laws. Yet ask them to clean up goose guano from parks so people can actually use them and nothing happens.

In this case, skateboard rules are being invented as good governance. They are willing to metaphorically "euthanize" noisy children by moving them to the “nether-lands”. God forbid we should have children in our parks. God forbid we should have field lighting in our many play parks. Children and play are being banned in Oakville.

This Council continues to show the world that we are anti-business and anti-people by creating impulsive and arrogant, nonsense by-laws which will denude Oakville of any industry that is not lily white. Now they are embarked on a denuding Oakville of people on the streets and in the community.

The Town of Oakville attacks our largest employers and industries because they dare to think for themselves and not in unison with the Council under the misstated "Livable Community" philosophy. Council has in the past two years attacked Ford, the Halton Catholic District School Board and others because they have mandates different than the Truman Show agenda of the Town of Oakville.

The Council vision of the best community is one that is pure and out of site and rocks no boats. What should become apparent to thinking people is that this new philosophy is strongly anti-people.

Communities that are viable in the long term are vibrant and alive. Cettainly we are no New York City and neither is Toronto, but one just has to go to New York City and you will see neighbourhood and corner parks with playgrounds that have made the city livable again. Basketball and bocce ball till midnight or later on many corners. Places where people can go without being overly regulated.

This “sanitize and call it livable“ planning philosophy is setting the future for an unsafe and overly controlled Oakville. Planners and architects know this is counter to Jane Jacobs thinking because PEOPLE are the community.

A community is not the bricks, the streets and the by-laws and laws A community is the PEOPLE, all the people.

Out of sight is not out of mind. Council needs to change this anti-people philosophy. There are consultations but these are street theatre because Council has directed staff to make changes before second meetings. This was the case in the skateboard park decision.

Change this pandering to the whining and wealthy! This is not a philosophy it is choice.

It is a choice that in future years all the citizens of Oakville will pay a heavy price for, in our community, where people are not welcome and businesses are driven from our midst.

Oh Toronto you are so pathetic! Beijing subway grows 60% in four years from 228km to 561 km

2010-05-23T07:21:00.002-04:00

Massive Beijing Subway expansion plans

The Beijing Subway is one of the largest in the world. It carries over 5 million people every day, and hundreds of trains run on 228kms of track and service 147 stations. It is a feat of engineering, planning and coordination every single day. It is a network that Beijing commuters should be proud of, it represents the forward-thinking and development of the city.

Yet even the current nine lines, and the rapid expansion that took place for the 2008 Olympics, is not enough for the city’s growing needs. Local government in Beijing recently announced to Beijing news providers that the Beijing Subway would be further expanded, with an extra ten lines and an additional 333km of track.

This is a monumental undertaking, which government has slated for completion by 2015. That’s four years from now, which may seem a long time, but consider the challenges and effort that has had to be channelled into the building of the subway so far, and this has been done over the last few decades, since 1971.

It’s taken since then to create the current 228km of track, which puts in perspective the challenge the government has set itself. Essentially, the plan is to do 60% more in four years, than what was done in almost 40 years.

Much of this is possible because of new technology in construction, which has vastly improved since the 1960s (when construction on the first subway line began), as well as new finances which are available to the city of Beijing, which has grown considerably in the last few decades, in terms of both size and economic activity.

For example, the expansion of the Beijing Subway for the 2008 Olympics cost around $8 billion, which is a significant amount, but not so much when one considers the city’s financial revenues, or local GDP, which is around $100 billion. This was not the case a few decades ago, when the city was struggling through low-growth periods when revenues were as low as $10 billion.

The expansion of the subway, in a sense then, correlates to the expansion of the city, the two can’t be separated, and it’s difficult to say whether one has caused the other. In most cases though, the growth of Beijing has had to be matched by the subway, the local government is playing a constant game of catching up with the city.

By 2015, when all fifteen lines are operational, and an additional $29 billion has been spent, it is likely that the needs of the subway will still need to be readjusted. Work is unrelenting and never stops, new stations are always under construction, and new lines are always being planned and mapped out, moved to accommodate national landmarks, and then moved again to increase efficiency.

The construction of the subway has not had a solely financial cost. Thousands of construction workers are always working in the massive expansion plans, and as it is heavy mechanical work, which is often carried out underground, the dangers are real and close at hand.

There have been far too many work-related deaths in the history of the subway’s construction. Several fires have occurred at stations under construction in recent years, killing workers and badly injuring others, and while safety conditions and procedures have improved, there’s no doubt that, like the mines, the conditions in the subway’s construction need to be improved further.

This is because while the subway represents the growth of Beijing, it is also a source of national pride. It is one of the most efficient, and one of the biggest. In times of need it can also be used for national defence purposes, for the mass movement of troops and people.

The various lines of the subway, in a sense, are the arteries of the city, along with the major highways and roads. The subway carries 4.9 million people each day, while the city has a population of around 11 million, it is therefore the most utilized transport system in the country, making the price paid in terms of human and financial resources heavy, but worth it for the future of the capital city.

via Beijing.News.net http://www.beijingnews.net/digest.php

Oakville: The over-regulated Town - a note to the Mayor

2010-05-15T09:13:00.003-04:00

The following was sent to the Mayor of Oakville following a Planning Committee Meeting May 12, 20010.

Over regulation and planning based on vocally intense groups is not the way to build a better long Oakville. The drive-thru issue is endemic of a new need to regulate everything that "moves" in Oakville. I was very disappointed in the Planning Committee decision concerning drive-thrus today. Too many councillors are unwilling to see real needs of of an inclusive Oakville and look at a longer term need for Oakville.

In my opinion, the planning staff and their responses to questioning were callous in their comments and it appears they are not committed to a big picture Oakville. They take the direction from the council flavour of the day. It's attitude Monday afternoon was anti-business, anti-special needs and is anti-ageing .. all of these are also huge parts of our population.

Oakville is becoming a very negative place for these groups and anyone without a voice to the top.

At some point businesses, large and small will not consider locating here because Oakville blows with whatever the direction of the wind is blowing. Who can plan a long term business plan here because the Council just changes the rules to the flavour of the group that complains the most.

Oakville Council claims to speak and to plan for "stable neighbourhoods" but they do this at the expense of others as they trample their ability to be in a caring Town of Oakville by ignoring the many groups groups such as persons with disabilities, who make up a complete and caring Oakville.

Oakville needs to be a caring and supportive community not a community of special interest property owners. Stable neighbourhoods is code word for special interest groups with money and voices.

The future of Oakville is being planned now and ignoring the majority of the population will produce more fractures in the future in not building a cohesive and caring community as a whole.

I would urge you to look deeper inside and see a better and more inclusive and caring Oakville for all citizens of Oakville.

Oakville is in danger of becoming an over-regulated community

2010-05-12T13:02:00.005-04:00

The following was an open letter sent to most of the Town of Oakville elected officials on May 10, 2010 through TwitLongeR. Some councillors did not have digital access that was easily accessible and thus will not have received this pleading.

As drive-thru regulation comes to Council, I would urge you to see the many positive impacts of drive-thrus as well as the many who will be negatively impacted by over regulation, in this case the banning of drive-thrus in some of or all of Oakville. Drive thrus are an extremely important operations and perform an important economic function for many people in the Town of Oakville.

One group that will be particularly impacted by the over-regulating of drive-thrus. Persons with disabilities require them and they have both a physical and economic positive impact for them.

At businesses where drive-thrus are used there is never enough accessible parking where the traffic change over by customers is large and everyone is in a hurry, and only going to be just "a minute". You can't legislate morality but you can think through the implications of user friendly access being banned or over regulated. The abuse of disability parking spots would increase at many more high traffic places.

Disability parking is usually filled with irresponsible users and because small businesses generally are only required to provide one spot based on use or the overall size of a plaza and owners with planning approval them throughout the plaza at inconvenient and unsafe locations. In many places convenience spots for "women with small children", which are not even legally defined spots in Ontario equal or out number disability spots. There are many issues to look at beyond the seeming appeal as a green piece of legislation.

There is much bigger set of issues that changing one item, such as eliminating drive-thrus, puts into play. It is not just traffic or property value it is the value of a our Town and how it serves all members of its city, not just the Property owner. If you do not change the parking access by-laws to provide significantly more accessible parking then as Oakville faces its ageing boomer issues , the town will not be addressing the problems it creates by what seems to be a "green" bylaw but in fact is a discriminatory by-law without all the angles thought about.

It is, in my opinion, the time that council started representing the needs of all citizens not just property owners who claim that their property is some how devalued. Lack of access is a devaluing of a person and their rights which may not be addressed.

PLEASE do not ban drive-thrus now or into future planning or the great function of drive-thrus to all citizens will be lost. The added cost of lost business opportunities and economic development may well impact many businesses and thus the economy of Oakville.

I see a very negative business climate potentially developing here in Oakville as we attempt to regulate everything that moves. I would urge you to see the Oakville Chamber of Commerce response to Councils passing of the particulate bylaw as an example.

Aside: One example of business abuse ( not blaming the owner or the new facility) just the reality of the Town not doing its job, is found at the new Oakville Entertainment Centre at Dundas and Trafalgar.

This new large attendance venue has no disability parking (the new purveyors/owners have blocked off the only disability space). The only option for a person with a disability is to park across the lot and then travel behind parked vehicles where they can not be seen. I know The Entertainment Centre is not a drive-thru but it is an example of a new facility, given a permit but not having to morally or legally comply with the law. Either the town planners did not require changes or the need for a patio seems to trump access and safety.

Regardless, there is a need to think outside the box when passing by-laws/regulation which will affect many others beyond the local neighbourhood.

Oakville is a community, not just a series of lobbying block neighbourhoods, and the interest of ALL citizens and those who come to Oakville should be addressed.

COGECO models Air Canada, customer indifference service model ! !

2010-04-10T12:34:00.005-04:00

Dear COGECO, @COGECO and the world!

The third COGECO modem in a year died Thursday. In twitter e-language - #cogecofail, #cogecoepicfail, #fail.

I went to a COGECO store Friday as directed by CSR, on the telephone, both of which are not what you think they are. Adventures of indifference and apathy and broken customer service follows.

AS directed, I can wait a week for a field technician or I can go to a COGECO store. I opt for the store and use my gas, my time and I bring home a new "faster" modem. Install! No signal. Store has not set up the new modem properly, no MAC id. I still have no internet connectivity.

Next, call COGECO (third time now in less than 12 hours, give name and number and info FOUR times, to four different COGECO support people (See a pattern here?) and finally get to an "internet technician".

COGECO internet technician" on phone is useless. COGECO "technicians" are CSR reps who can read messages on their computer screen confirming what you already know.

Told they would have technical support, inside COGECO, fix and install the correct MAC id and modem would be “provisioned properly” and running Saturday. HAH!

Called Saturday morning about status of technical support on my “order” and told it could take another 24-48 hours. NOT A HAPPY CAMPER but monopoly means no choices.

When calling COGECO Saturday morning, caller (me) has two choices, push 1 if you wish UFC pay TV tonight, push 2 if you need customer support. Can you guess? CORRECT! No access to COGECO customer support by pushing 2 as directed.

So, I reluctantly push 1 and get a pay TV CSR who would be pleased to take my $49.95.

COGECO claims to provide in home telephone service. They can't get their own phone service working as CSR noted they were having troubles. Glad I called to confirm what I knew.

After playing something like “chatroulette” when COGECO transfers you, I am transferred to other silo for CSR support. Notice they don't call this customer help. And they definitely work in narrow vision silos at COGECO.

Well you can guess … after transfer, this also took me the mandatort routine of giving ID and all personal info FOUR times and then I reach a CSR "internet technician". Now ask for someone to help. NOT A HAPPY CAMPER.

After much soul searching by COGECO CSR rep, I am deigned worthy of speaking with a Technical internet supervisor, who is actually technically literate and knows their systems. Supervisor says modem not set up properly and tries to help but RF indicators out of spec. Confirms what I know and called to tell them.

Really upset at this point with indifference of everyone in COGECO, CSR Support and technical support. They should be called CSR No-support reps.

Supervisor finally agrees to send out a technician tomorrow (Sunday) however I would have to remain at home all day. I AGREE to this because I want what I am paying for!

After hanging up, I go back to the start of my home cable connections and unplug everything and re-plug same setup and make sure all my cables are still plugged in and tight, as they were before.

Amazingly, after about 20 minutes, I finally get an internet signal connection through my new high speed modem and voilà, I have THE Internet. YEAH!

Called back to COGECO to see if they wish to save some money and not have a field technician come out because I am now working and have internet connection. (You know the drill, same routine their phone system still not working and usual 4x to give personal info before you can actually speak with someone).

Can you see why they are less profitable, as reported yesterday in their earnings release? Maybe someone in executive management should actually try calling their own support services.

Not deemed significant enough to speak to same supervisor I spoke with fifteen minutes ago, we both agree that maybe there is a signal degrade outside the home, and the technician will still be sent and I need to stay home ALL day Sunday. (better than a work day as to availability for me). COGECO equipment technician will still come out.

So, I will be under “COGECO house arrest” Sunday, all day, because COGECO has poor quality, poor training, poor service and poor customer assitance.

COGECO is fast becoming a Rogers cable clone and they are taking aim at becoming the totally indifferent uncaring business that Air Canada is known for. Customer indifference!

These same cable companies were the same cable companies that spent tens, if not hundreds of millions of share holder equity telling the public and coercing the CRTC that they should keep their monopolies and charge customers MORE for even less support, service, poor quality cable TV, internet services and phone services.

Tomorrow, I am chained to my computer from 8:00 AM Sunday to 7:00 PM (I do this during the week however I get remuneration) wasting more of my time. If it is sunny and warm and I miss a whole day of time, money and living waiting for COGECO … well you know!

So COGECO, I will be cancelling my cable TV Monday. Yes, I know it will take me the four times to connect with a person to cancel my cable TV. But I will endure so I don't have to in the future.

Maybe ongoing loss of revenue will convince COGECO that customers are important to their operation and ultimate survival.

COGECO if I could get another internet provider here in monopoly land I would be totally gone from your indifference and lack of service.

Sneezing and your personal health!

2009-05-19T18:51:00.012-04:00

With the "Swine Flu" (Influenza A(H1N1) renamed for political correctness, moving about the world I wanted to better understand the scientific aspect of a sneeze. The "Swine Flu" has been moving around at least two of our local high schools here in Oakville, Ontario.

Today, I went to the doctor because I was exhibiting many of the symptoms associated with this flu. As a teacher, we are always infected with many illnesses found in our barn, oops sorry I meant school, which are due to the "Herd Syndrome".

Apparently ... in three days, I will know if I am a carrier or just overly concerned. The doctor said being at school was not an issue.

Will I have infected many of my students and/or fellow teachers should I return a positive A(H1N1) flu swab? Hmmm ?

With lots of unexplained personal sneezes and a low-grade fever, plus a few more of the usual cold/flu symptoms, I started reading about sneezing. I know what a fever is but wanted to know more about a SNEEZE!

The following excerpt from "Your Total Health" within iVillage, a subsidiary of NBC best describes the process of a sneeze:

"A sneeze is a reflex which causes a sudden, forceful burst of air through the nose and mouth. Sneezing is an involuntary response to many different physical stimuli or conditions.

The medical term for sneezing is sternutation. It is a way for the body to get rid of something irritating in the upper respiratory tract. It is a normal process and not usually a cause for concern. Many animals sneeze, including dogs and cats – although, unlike humans, animals sneeze only through the nose and not the mouth.

Sneezing is actually a complex physical process that involves the brain, nose, mouth and chest. It is a way for the body to get rid of a foreign object, such as particles of dirt stirred up in a cloud from a passing car. Other reasons to sneeze include exposure to bright light, which is a poorly understood reflex that appears to be an inherited trait. Individuals with this condition are called photic sneezers. Sneezing is also a symptom of allergies, colds, flu and many serious diseases.

The sneeze process begins when the nose encounters certain types of physical stimuli (e.g., dust, smoke, light). This stimulus informs a part of the brain called the sneeze center that something must be expelled from the nose and nasal cavity. The brain then sends a message to several different muscle groups. These muscles must all contract in the correct order for a sneeze to take place. The muscles and their order of contraction include:

Abdominal muscles
Chest muscles
Diaphragm (large muscles beneath the lungs)
Vocal cord muscles
Muscles in the back of the throat
Muscles in the eyelids (the eyes involuntarily close during a sneeze)"

http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=5209267990255594008

I would urge you to go to the "Your Total Health" site and read on about sneezing and your health.

Just so you know, having your nasal cavity swabbed with some form of "semi-painful" swab, ("Naw ... this doesn't hurt!") brought tears to my right eye, the same side as the nasal swab. None to my left eye. Apparently my parasympathetic nerve system in my head still works.

Remember: Be Safe Out There and Stay Healthy!

BusinesstoCRACY

2008-11-29T09:00:00.008-05:00

From alleged democracy to "businesstoCRAZY" to economic ruin!

A smile of "Ahhhhh" and then a giant, sad feeling rolled over me as I read an 18 month old blog by Andy Hobsbawm from 30 April 2007. Hobsbawm was writing in his blog, " Small Is the Next Big Thing " that the world was/is rushing head long toward some type of disaster.

It is November 2008 and the ruling class "giants", the "businesstocracy" including the once might RBS, Merrill Lynch, CitiBank and the worshiped Goldman Sachs and so many more, who had have set about to collect all the marbles in the game of life, may have destroyed the economic game in which they made the rules.

In 2008, we have seen the collapse of RBS, Washington Mutual, CitiBank, Bear Stearns and the all powerful Goldman Sachs. The shell game of who has the money now is over. The difference in this game was one of scope of size in the shell. In this case, three card Monty wasn't for the one dollar a game variety it was for legalized pocket picking of billions of dollars with each play of the the game.

In "collecting things" (called money) they, the "giants", all may have set the world back to the likes of the Great Depression of the 1930s. The extent of the depression may not be seen in the same way as the '30s but for many the effects will be felt in the same way or even worse.

Will the decade of the 2010s be the new Great Depression?

Only time and history will tell, but already, during the last year, the world has seen a world economic collapse which is hundreds of times greater than that of the 1930s and for many the new depression is just beginning.It will not matter what the politicians and "leaders" of the world call it, for many it is already the new depression.

For the real poor of the world, in the undeveloped counties, the new depression will have no immediate effect. They have always been the worlds' neglected and will continue to be.

If the old order ran as a "businesstocracy" the new social and economic world order will require new rules and new leaders.

The question that can be answered rhetorically, "Did the world have any leaders during the last 20-30 years?" INDEED! It was the "businesstocracy"!

If one simply replaces the second letter "c", in businesstocracy, one has the reality of that old ruling class and the games played with other peoples lives: buinesstoCRAZY.

Long live the new order ... what ever that is!

97

2008-11-11T19:07:00.008-05:00

97 >>> the number of Canadian soldiers who have died serving Canada in Afghanistan

November 11, 2008 was the 90th anniversary marking the end of "The War To End All Wars".

90 years later Canada is involved in the war in Afghanistan, our only war involvement since the Korean War. The time spent in the the theatre of war in Afghanistan has been longer than the time Canada was involved in either WWI or WWII.

Canada's Fallen Soldiers - 97 as of 11/11/2008 at 11:00 hours

Sgt Prescott Shipway

Age: 36

Unit: 2nd Battalion Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry Battle Group

Deceased: September 7, 2008

Incident: Improvised explosive device, Panjwayi District, Afghanistan

Corporal Andrew Paul Grenon

Age: 23

Unit: 2nd Battalion Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry Battle Group

Deceased: September 3, 2008

Incident: Insurgent attack, Zharey district, Afghanistan

Corporal Michael James Alexander Seggie

Age: 21

Unit: 2nd Battalion Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry Battle Group

Deceased: September 3, 2008

Incident: Insurgent attack, Zharey district, Afghanistan

Private Chadwick James Horn

Age: 21

Unit: 2nd Battalion Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry Battle Group

Deceased: September 3, 2008

Incident: Insurgent attack, Zharey district, Afghanistan

Sapper Stephan John Stock

Age: 25

Unit: 1 Combat Engineer Regiment (1 CER)

Deceased: August 20, 2008

Incident: Improvised explosive device, Zharey district, Afghanistan

Corporal Dustin Roy Robert Joseph Wasden

Age: 25

Unit: 1 Combat Engineer Regiment (1 CER)

Deceased: August 20, 2008

Incident: Improvised explosive device, Zharey district, Afghanistan

Sergeant Shawn Allen Eades

Age: 33

Unit: 1 Combat Engineer Regiment (1 CER)

Deceased: August 20, 2008

Incident: Improvised explosive device, Zharey district, Afghanistan

Master Cpl Erin Doyle

Age: 32

Unit: 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, Edmonton Alberta

Deceased: August 11, 2008

Incident: Insurgent attack, Panjwayi District, Afghanistan

Master Corporal Joshua Brian Roberts

Unit: 2nd Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, Shilo, Manitoba

Deceased: August 9, 2008

Incident: Insurgent attack, Zharey District, Afghanistan.

Corporal James (Jim) Hayward Arnal

Age: 25

Unit: 2nd Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, Shilo, Manitoba

Deceased: July 18, 2008

Incident: Improvised Explosive Device (IED), Panjwayi District, Afghanistan

Private Colin William Wilmot

Age: 24

Unit: 1 Field Ambulance, Edmonton (Alberta)

Deceased: July 5, 2008

Incident: Improvised Explosive Device (IED), Panjwayi District, Afghanistan

Corporal Brendan Anthony Downey

Age: 37

Unit: Military Police Detachment in Dundurn, Saskatchewan

Deceased: July 4, 2008

Incident: Non combat related

Captain Jonathan (Jon) Sutherland Snyder

Age: 26

Unit: 1st Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, Edmonton, Alberta

Deceased: June 7, 2008

Incident: Accident, Zhari District, Afghanistan

Captain Richard Steven Leary

Age: 32

Unit: 2nd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, Shilo, Manitoba

Deceased: June 3, 2008

Incident: Insurgent attack, Panjwayi District, Afghanistan.

Corporal Michael Starker

Age: 36

Unit: 15 (Edmonton) Field Ambulance, Calgary, Alberta

Deceased: May 6, 2008

Incident: Insurgent attack, Zharey District, Afghanistan.

Private Terry John Street

Age: 24

Unit: 2nd Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, Shilo, Manitoba

Deceased: April 4, 2008

Incident: Improvised explosive device, Panjwayi district, Afghanistan

Sergeant Jason Boyes

Age: 32

Unit: 2nd Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, Shilo, Manitoba

Deceased: March 16, 2008

Incident: Explosive device, Panjwayi district, Afghanistan.

Bombardier Jérémie Ouellet

Age: 22

Unit: 1st Regiment, Royal Canadian Horse Artillery, Shilo, Manitoba

Deceased: March 11, 2008

Incident: Non combat related

Trooper Michael Y. Hayakaze

Age: 25

Unit: Lord Strathcona’s Horse (Royal Canadians), Edmonton, Alberta

Deceased: March 2, 2008

Incident: Improvised explosive device, Panjwayi district, Afghanistan.

Corporal Étienne Gonthier

Age: 21

Home Town:

Unit: 5 Combat Engineer Regiment, Valcartier, Québec

Deceased: January 23, 2008

Incident: Improvised explosive device, Panjwayi district, Afghanistan.

Trooper Richard Renaud

Age: 26

Home Town: Alma, Quebec

Unit: 12e Régiment blindé du Canada, Valcartier, Quebec

Deceased: January 15, 2008

Incident: Improvised explosive device, Arghandab district, Afghanistan.

Warrant Officer Hani Massouh

Age : 41

Unit: 2nd Battalion, Royal 22e Régiment, Valcartier, Quebec

Deceased: January 6, 2008

Incident: Military vehicle rollover, Nalgham, Zhari District, Afghanistan

Corporal Éric Labbé

Age : 31

Home Town: Rimouski, Quebec

Unit: 2nd Battalion, Royal 22e Régiment, Valcartier, Quebec

Deceased: January 6, 2008

Incident: Military vehicle rollover, Nalgham, Zhari District, Afghanistan

Gunner Jonathan Dion

Age: 27

Home Town: Gatineau, Quebec

Unit: 5e Régiment d'artillerie légère du Canada, Valcartier, Quebec

Deceased: December 30, 2007

Incident: Improvised explosive device, Zharey District, Afghanistan

Private Michel Jr. Lévesque

Age: 25

Home Town: Rivière-Rouge, Quebec

Unit: 3 Battalion, Royal 22e Régiment, Valcartier, Quebec

Deceased: November 17, 2007

Incident: Improvised explosive device, near Ma’sum Ghar, Afghanistan

Corporal Nicolas R. Beauchamp

Age: 28

Home Town: Montréal, Quebec

Unit: 5 Field Ambulance, Valcartier, Quebec

Deceased: November 17, 2007

Incident: Improvised explosive device, near Ma’sum Ghar, Afghanistan

Corporal Nathan Hornburg

Age: 24

Home Town: Calgary, Alberta

Unit: The King’s Own Calgary Regiment, Alberta

Deceased: September 24, 2007

Incident: Mortar attack, Panjwayi District, Kandahar Province, Afghanistan

Major Raymond Mark Ruckpaul

Age: 42

Home Town: Hamilton, Ontario

Unit: Armoured Corps, The Royal Canadian Dragoons

Deceased: August 29, 2007

Incident: Non-combat-related death, Kabul, Afghanistan

Master Corporal Christian Duchesne

Age: 34

Home Town: Montreal, Québec

Unit: 5th Field Ambulance, 5 Area Support Group, Valcartier, Québec

Deceased: August 22, 2007

Incident: Landmine, Afghanistan

Master Warrant Officer Mario Mercier

Age: 43

Home Town: Weedon, Québec

Unit: 2nd Battalion, Royal 22e Régiment, Valcartier, Québec

Deceased: August 22, 2007

Incident: Landmine, Afghanistan

Private Simon Longtin

Age: 23

Home Town: Longueuil, Québec

Unit: 3rd Battalion, Royal 22e Régiment, Valcartier, Québec

Deceased: August 19, 2007