Tag Archive: Headlines

We continue our love hate relationship with IT.  I’m sure IT had noble origins; however, there is no denying that IT has already been blamed for everything from employment and unemployment to an increased life expectancy and, in the same breath, an increased likelihood of global destruction.  If that is not example enough, try this on for size:

Try as they will two consumers (we’ll call them Ma & Pa to maintain anonymity), cannot buy a new minivan with manual windows.  Even the Sport Utility Vehicles  (Jeep Cherokee and the Ford Explorer to name only two) of the 4-wheel drive, off-road rough-set don’t list manual windows or locks as options let alone standard features.

Lamenting historically low exchange rates on the Canadian dollar and publicly demanding that the government do something to bolster the perceived value of the Canadian Loonie and our economy on the World stage, Ottawa’s main newspaper decides to raise the price of their daily from 50 to 75 cents (an inflation factor of 50%) on the very week that the most influential financiers from around the world converge on Ottawa for the G20 Finance Summit.

“Dah media” who, in their anticipation (or instigation) of trouble during the above-mentioned summit meetings, sent roughly one media person for every two activists that were expected to travel to Ottawa.

The Minister of Finance, the media and the free world lament the plight of the declining Canadian dollar, a probable return to deficit financing and global recession. Despite public efforts to attribute this, not so sudden, economic turn-around to a guy called Bin Laden, all agree that a more sinister force may be (or,  more likely, may not) be at work here in Ottawa. On a potentially related note, Greggle “Bin LaZy” Scruminski doesn’t work a single hour of over-time for the first time in twenty years.  Coincidence…I think not.

Time magazine votes a relative nobody named John Manley their Canadian of the Year (I’m guessing, because his was the only name their word search found when they entered the word “Man”).  Meanwhile, as all official Canadian political parties have openly questioned their respective leaders’ authority (and/or capacity) to head their party, we now have substantial evidence of what most Canadians have suspected for some time now – politicians really don’t use their heads most of the time.

The Americans cannot decide which presidential candidate is the loser.  Meanwhile, a little further north, Canadians have five losers to choose from.

I vote for the first time…ever.  Fact is, I only went to the voting station to get the brochures of the candidates running in my constituency to prove to colleagues at work that I had the most hurting bunch of reprobates in the city to choose from.  Any one of those guys could have run under the slogan, “Employ the Unemployable – Vote for Me!”  Of course, the vast majority of all candidates from sea to shining sea could probably qualify under that slogan.

Epiphany!!  Throughout the annals of history, Hollywood and literature, the “bad” guys have always aspired to rule the world.  I cannot remember one instance in movies, literature or the funny papers where a “good” guy ever aspired to rule a world, a kingdom or a country.

The Texas Rangers, a professional baseball team, agree to pay someone a quarter of a billion dollars to “play” baseball for four years.

The top-selling album of the year is by the Beatles.  Every old-time musical group or musician with a pulse launches a comeback/reunion tour.