Category: economics

Canada, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?

On By Rick McIn blogs, economics, governmentLeave a comment

Dana tipped me to the blog of “enviro girl” in Sweden.

Hey — it’s none other than Adrianne Begg, one of her former gymnasts and coaches at Marian Gymnastics in Saskatoon.

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Regarding Canada and Kyoto …

I am embarassed and ashamed of Canada’s New Government today. This is bordering on changing the way I feel about being a Canadian… I really never thought that I would say that, not in a million years, but I feel so let down by our government that I feel completely separate from it. The New Canadian Government has been working counter to the best interests of the people in our country on the issues of the Environment and Climate Change in particular. …

It is absolutely appalling that Canada will be the only country to BACK OUT of the Kyoto Protocol. …

I am absolutely shocked at the action taken by the Environment Minister Rona Ambrose at the Kyoto Negotiations in Nairobi. Her statements at the UN meetings have embarrassed Canada, and shown disrespect to the rest of the international community, as well as the Canadian people themselves. …

Canada, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?

Adrianne’s pretty ticked at Rona Ambrose. But who is she? I don’t know the name.

OH NO! She’s a controversial politician from … Alberta.

Yeesh. Another right-wing politician who takes Ayn Rand too seriously. Named Minister of the Environment?

The press looks almost unanimously negative about what she is doing for Canada internationally.

I’d better add Rona Ambrose to my death watch list, along with that crook Bev Oda.

And I’ll subscribe to Adrianne’s blog. She’s following this issue closely.

I don’t know enough about Kyoto vs. alternatives to have formed an opinion myself.

Lastly — I sent this blog post to Rona Ambrose’s office.

Treehugger: Defining Hypocrisy, Canadian Style

On By Rick McIn bad news, economics, government, health & fitnessLeave a comment

Canada does not do very well vis-a-vis our Kyoto commitment.

So here we are in Canada, which along with the States and Australia was laughed out of Nairobi for its attitudes to climate change and Kyoto, and we are off to mail a letter and what is on the current stamp from Crown Corporation Canada Post? Wind turbines. With mountains in the background. Where are the smokestacks for the coal burning power plants? Where are the giant trucks digging up the tarsands?

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Treehugger: Defining Hypocrisy, Canadian Style

new advertising – see Colonel Sanders from space

On By Rick McIn economics, humourLeave a comment

Ad executives everywhere are ripping out hair trying to find new ways not to get fired. Old advertising models are dying.

Those working for KFC did something totally unique and big scale. They built an 87,500 square-foot Colonel Sanders in the desert. It took a team 3,000 hours to create a logo that was big enough to see from space!

(via Amber Mac)

Why?

So guys like me would post it on a blog, spreading good will for deep fried factory chicken. Free viral advertising.

To see a time lapse of the construction click PLAY, or watch it on Google Video.

Note: Google Video really does have a far better feature set than YouTube (which is also now full of trashy advertising). Since Google owns both, it will be interesting to see how they evolve in parallel.

Apple shares hit high

On By Rick McIn Apple, economicsLeave a comment

Doh!

Should have bought Apple stock back when it was tanking.

Apple’s market capital stands at over $73 billion.

Eagle-eye reader Steve points out that both Yahoo and Google say the APPL high is actually 86.40.

TUAW Moneywatch: Apple Shares hit high – The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)

Wells Fargo bank teaches kids online

On By Rick McIn economics, internetLeave a comment

In an innovative new marketing effort, Wells Fargo Bank has launched a pilot of an online multiplayer video game built entirely inside another virtual world: Linden Lab’s “Second Life.”

The pilot project, known as Stagecoach Island, is a digital environment intended to help young people learn financial responsibility. Visitors there can skydive, fly hovercrafts, dance and shop. But woven into the experience, to which Wells Fargo has been inviting groups of people in San Diego and Austin, Texas, is a series of financial messages intended to help them learn something about money management.

Wells Fargo launches game inside ‘Second Life’ | CNET News.com

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most corrupt nations – Transparency International

On By Rick McIn economics, travelLeave a comment

corruption.jpgThe only time I got hit badly for a bribe was at the Caracas airport in Venezuela.

It was blatant. Systematic. Though I pride myself on avoiding these encounters, I paid up that time — US$12 or so I could make a connection. Irked was I, but happily I bumped into a friend and we spent the last of his Venezuelan money in the bar.

Other times I have paid baksheesh, of course, but it was part of the normal course of business in those countries.

We “negotiated” a Park pass in Peru I recall. It was a fee that gringos normally did not pay.

In any case, Haiti is the bottom of the barrel. Finland the least corrupt.

Check the full list — CPI table / CPI 2006 / in focus / news room / home – Transparency International

still shopping for a dentist

On By Rick McIn economics, health & fitness, travelLeave a comment

Hungary is another of the dental vacation destinations. Too far away for me, i reckon.

After 10 days in this small border town, Carothers had much to smile about.

She had visited Budapest and Vienna, sampled some of Hungary’s most popular wines and enjoyed people-watching in neighborhood cafes. When she returned home to suburban Washington, D.C., she brought gifts for friends and a few souvenirs of her own, including eight new crowns.

A trip to the dentist may not be everybody’s idea of a vacation, but it paid off for Carothers. Literally. The tab for her dental work came to $2,900 — about a quarter of the $11,150 she estimates she would have paid had she gone to a preferred dentist in her employer’s insurance plan. In all, she spent just under $4,300 on dental care and travel, including a $45-a-night hotel room and last-minute airfare at a pricey $899.

USATODAY.com – The inciDENTAL tourist

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world’s tallest tower rising in Dubai

On By Rick McIn economics, Islam, travelLeave a comment

I’m assigning my Dubai correspondent Chris to check this out. Rumour is that the tower on the building will eventually be almost 1km high!

With two stories added every week, Burj Dubai is taking shape as the centerpiece of a 20-billion-dollar venture featuring the construction of a new district, “Downtown Burj Dubai,” that will house 30,000 apartments and the world’s largest shopping mall.

Launched in early 2004, the construction of the tower by South Korea’s Samsung should be completed at the end of 2008 and cost one billion dollars, according to Greg Sang, the Emaar official in charge of Burj Dubai.

Burj Dubai already has 79 stories, taking its height to more than 200 meters (656 feet). But even after having gone that far, Emaar is still not revealing the tower’s final height.

BREITBART.COM – World’s tallest tower rising in Dubai

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artists drawing – on Wikipedia

medical / dental tourism

On By Rick McIn economics, health & fitness, travel, travel MexicoLeave a comment

dentist-smile.jpgI’m still shopping for a dentist in a developing country, likely Mexico.

Dental work in Canada is over-priced in my opinion. How many can afford $400 / hour for sitting in a chair?

More than 500,000 Americans traveled out of the country last year for medical or dental work, according to the National Coalition on Health Care. In those numbers are cases of heart bypasses, orthopedic surgeries and expensive dental treatments.

ContraCostaTimes.com | 10/08/2006 | Need care, will travel