Category: government

Canadian health system DOOMED

On By Rick McIn economics, government, health & fitness1 Comment

News reporter Don Braid took his wife to the emergency room in Calgary, Canada.

It was bloody AWFUL.

Click through to read the horror story – Welcome to Hospital Hell: 14 hours in the emergency ward

CAL1014-mkHospital4

Dr. Brian Mason’s comments:

Ten days ago, Don Braid, local columnist for The Calgary Herald, blogged about the abysmal care that his wife received at the emergency.

It’s something we all know about, it’s something we all wring our hands about, and it was nice to see it written about. Sparked a bit of an outroar, but nothing will happen.

Our politician’s pretend all is good, except that we need to cut back on health care. What a difference from the States. We just returned from San Francisco, where we observed bus ads for local emergency departments that guaranteed patients would be seen within a half hour after arrival. It was shocking not just to compare that half hour guarantee with Don Braid’s wife’s nine hours of intense pain before seeing a doctor but even more basically to imagine a health care system where you are seen as an opportunity (to make money, to be sure) instead of a burden.

So we are lied to already, and now we are lied to again, this time with English beaches standing in for Alberta beaches. I want to be here when Albertans get sick of the lies.

Certainly private Health Care is the only model that stands a chance, long term. But it isn’t working yet in the USA. Once Obama gets through with reforms it will be further muddled.

The Canadian model is too expensive as well as inefficient and impersonal.

My advice … DON’T GET SICK. In either the USA or Canada.

For the record, when I dislocated my finger last Fall, my emergency care in Calgary was very good.

Alberta mocked for ad that used England as stand-in for province

On By Rick McIn government, humour, travel5 Comments

Boy, is my face red.

My Provincial government paid $25 million for a tourism rebranding campaign.

Might be a good idea. … If a sharp-eyed guy on the internet had not discovered that this promo photo came not from Alberta but “from Bamburgh Beach in Northumberland – home of the castle of the mythical round-tabling knight Lancelot.”

visit-alberta-er-uk

Canadian Press – Alberta mocked across Britain for ad that used England as stand-in for province

Peter Bailey, the sleuth that discovered the phoney photo, “badgered the provincial government with emails for weeks” until they finally admitted the beach was not in Alberta.

“It just brings more attention to our area, so that’s great.”

– Sheelagh Caygill of Northumberland Tourism.

Thanks Garth.

stop spending our future

On By Rick McIn bad news, economics, governmentLeave a comment

Our economy is in crisis, and our government says that bold action is required. So we’re diving in head first to get things back on track. But… what are we diving into exactly? Take a closer look at the government response to our current economic crisis with narrator Nick Gillespie of ReasonTV. And please visit http://stopspendingourfuture.org for more information and to find out what you can do to help!

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Thanks John Fedak.

misplaced anger – AIG bonus outrage

On By Rick McIn economics, government, humourLeave a comment

The best commentary I’ve seen was by Stephen Colbert.

colbert_thumb

People can work up a good anger at CEO bonus payments, corporate jets.

Understanding the REAL big picture is too complicated. Too boring. The real problem is far worse than fat cat executives cashing in. A quarter of a billion dollars is chump change in this crisis.

“A single death is a tragedy; a million deaths is a statistic.”
— Joseph Stalin

impressed by Ben Bernanke

On By Rick McIn economics, government2 Comments

The US economy is screwed.

News gets worse and worse:

… the Congressional Budget Office’s new projection that, under the current economic rescue plan, annual deficits will force the federal government to borrow fully a third more than the administration had earlier forecast. …

Slate

One bit of good news is this guy, Ben Bernanke. I was very impressed in this 60 Minutes TV interview on YouTube.

Bernanke Fed Chairman Discusses Recession, Financial Rescues And Recovery In Wide-Ranging 60 Minutes Interview by Scott Pelley.

You might say it’s partly his fault for not regulating the banking system SOONER.

But if not Bernanke, who instead should be saving the US economy?

One guy created a viral video sensation singing about wanting Alan Greenspan’s FED Chair job. A job that George Bush gave to Ben Bernanke instead. Watch that parody based on the Police hit: Every Breath You Take on YouTube.

It might take your mind off the economy.

George Bush relocating to Calgary, Canada?

On By Rick McIn economics, governmentLeave a comment

He loves it here. And the economy is so much better than his own country.

Sounds like he’s looking for work:

… Bush, who left office with one of the lowest approval ratings of any president in history, chose the safe haven of Calgary, perhaps second only to Houston or Dallas in terms of friendly territory, to test-drive his new speaking career.

His praise of free trade and free markets played well to a crowd of nearly 2,000 business and oil executives who paid a minimum $400 a plate to hear him speak.

“This is my maiden voyage,” a folksy Bush said of his first public speaking engagement. “I can’t think of a better place to give it than Calgary, Canada.” …

Bush’s first speech as ex-president well received in Calgary

Bush Gets Warm Reception As Protests Rage Outside

Calgary Herald

The locals welcomed him …

bushwelcomedincagif

ledaro

bailouts do not work – AIG backlash

On By Rick McIn economics, government5 Comments

AIG plans to pay millions in worker bonuses, a move that has angered lawmakers who have given the insurer bailout billions. Lawmakers weigh the options in dealing with AIG.

PBS News Hour

Watch the first few minutes of the video broadcast – Obama, Congress Blast AIG Plans for Employee Bonuses

Tip of the iceberg.

As soon as you hand out “free” money, the system is broken.

via <a href="http://cravensworld.wordpress.com/2008/09/18/aig-bailout/">cravens world</a>
via cravens world

Better to have let this insurance company go into bankruptcy. Only the banks should have been propped up.

Or should they?

The Canadian banks are OK.

Royal Bank, Canada’s biggest bank by assets, is now seventh-largest in North America after tripling assets in the past decade, according to data compiled by Bloomberg from company filings. …

Toronto-Dominion, Scotiabank and Bank of Montreal rank eight, ninth and 10th.

Canadian banks have remained profitable, outperforming their peers, because of tighter government restrictions on lending and capital requirements. The country’s six biggest lenders reported less than $20-billion in debt-related writedowns since the credit crisis began in 2007, about 2% of the US$887.1-billion recorded by banks and brokerages worldwide. …

While New York-based Citigroup Inc. lost US$17.3-billion in the fourth quarter, San Francisco-based Wells Fargo & Co. had a net loss of US$2.55-billion and Bank of America Corp., the biggest by assets, lost US$1.79-billion, Canada’s six largest banks were profitable in the quarter ended Jan. 31, and each beat analyst estimates.

Canada’s performance has been noticed. U.S. President Barack Obama said in a February interview with Canadian Broadcasting Corp. that Canada has been “a pretty good manager of the financial system and the economy.” In October, the World Economic Forum ranked Canada as the soundest financial system.

Financial Post

Oliver North warned of bin Laden in 1987

On By Rick McIn bad news, government1 Comment

What a hero!

If only we had listened to this patriot?

OLIVER NORTH

Dana got a copy of the viral email with these details:

  
  
  
 
It was 1987 and Lt.Col.Oliver North was testifying at the ‘ Iran contra hearings’ during the Reagan Administration. 

There was Ollie in front of God and country getting the third degree, but what he said was stunning! 

He was being drilled by a senator: ‘Did you not recently spend close to $60,000 for a home security system?’ 

Ollie replied, ‘Yes, I did, Sir.’ 

The senator continued, trying to get a laugh out of the audience, ‘Isn’t that just a little excessive?’ 

‘No, sir,’ continued Ollie. 

‘No? And why not?’ the senator asked. 

‘Because the lives of my family and I were threatened, sir.’ 

‘Threatened? By whom?’ the senator questioned. 

‘By a terrorist, sir’ Ollie answered.. 

‘Terrorist? What terrorist could possibly scare you that much?’ 

‘His name is Osama bin Laden, sir’ Ollie replied. 

… By the way, that senator was Al Gore! 

Does that sound like right-wing alarmist turd slinging?

It is.

North himself debunked this email and laid out the facts in 2001:

  • it was $16,000, not $60k
  • it was lawyer John Nields, not Al Gore
  • the terrorist was Abu Nidal, not bin Laden (who was on the US paycheque at the time)

    • Snopes