Archive for Politics

What Are You Selling?

// October 28th, 2009 // 3 Comments » // Glenn

A recent ad on the radio tells of a “Canadian Cancer Society Lottery” where funds go to cancer research.  There are millions of dollars in prizes and a “1 in 5″ chance of winning.  Sounds like I would be stupid NOT to enter.  But then I wonder how much funds could possibly be available for cancer research after they give out so many prizes?  (their website offers no details)  And although “1 in 5″ odds sounds very good, lotteries don’t lose money, so nobody should ever confuse a lottery with an investment.  Needless to say, I find this ad to be very annoying due to its misleading nature.  But of course, it is not alone in the world of advertisement.

I’ve created 3 categories to differentiate the ways I see people try to sell things 1) Obvious 2) Diversionary and 3) Secretive/Accidental.  I’ll list a few examples of each and we’ll decide what we like best.

1.  Obvious

  • When you see or hear a car commercial, you know somebody wants you to buy their car.  Depending on the vehicle, its strengths are stressed loudest hoping to say what you want to hear like this is the safest car, the best price, has won the most awards, has the most power, is the biggest, is the most fuel efficient, is the most fun, the most beautiful, most noticeable, most practical etc.
  • Restaurants also declare what makes them better than the rest, whether it be that they have the tastiest food, the best prices, the best atmosphere, the healthiest, the fastest or whatever but there is no question what is being sold here.
  • Electronics sales are also very straightforward.  The ads simply try to differentiate by convincing you they have the best quality, best price, most prestigious, most useful or some other defining factor.

2.  Diversionary

  • Health Clubs and diet plans only ever say how they want to help you be healthier and happier.  They say they are working for YOUR benefit only, they only want to help you, they often offer no-obligation free trials, tell you that you will be beautiful, you’ll live longer, be healthier and have more energy.  But we do know that they are making money from our eventual membership fees and we would be rude to ask how many members at their club are paying but not using.
  • Banks say they want to help YOU save YOUR money, help you retire early and help you buy whatever your heart desires.  Just don’t ask about their billions of dollars of annual profits.
  • How about supporting your local sports team?  Show your city spirit, support “your” team.  They often make it seem as though their only motivation is for your enjoyment.  But think about how many salaries and other income is being made.

3.  Secretive/Accidental

  • Charities, foreign aid and churches almost never start out as a way for somebody to get rich.  They are usually started by some great people that see a need and want to help.  But over time, those that are successful invariably end up spending more and more of their funds on infrastructure and administration until it gets to the point that obscene amounts of money never get to the “the cause”.  Remember that a “non-profit” organization can simply raise salaries to deal with the “problem” of having too much money and remain “non-profit”.  The most recent and troubling headline in this category is the former president of the SickKids Foundation who received a $2.7 million payout after quitting his job before his contract was due.  Feel free to browse the financial reports of Canadian charities at http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/charities/ and you can see where the money that you donate to your favourite charity is really going.
  • Political campaigns always appear completely selfless also.  These people running for office say they just want to help and improve your situation.  How many would still be so giving if the salaries, pensions, business expenses and other perks weren’t quite so generous?
  • Consider the commercials which advertise the news.  They say that they are “committed” to getting you the accurate news quickly and how you can depend on them and trust them.  You’re not supposed to think about the fact that the person saying these things is just reading a script and they aren’t even their own ideas, or think about the fact that it’s simply a business trying to make money like everything else.

So what do we like best?  I’m not sure that I like any, but I realize advertisements are necessary for the economy, but I suppose I would choose the straightforward obvious ads as my favourite.  I don’t appreciate being tricked or “guilted” into spending money.  It seems to me that every good product should be able to survive without hiding facts.

Terrorism

// April 22nd, 2009 // 1 Comment » // Glenn

Is Terrorism the Next Step in the Evolution of Warfare?

The first caveman fights were probably lacking in strategy. I imagine they mainly involved somebody getting angry and attacking another with fists, teeth, clubs and whatever was nearby. As humans evolved into more complex societies, more strategies were developed to ensure victory in each conflict. The first individuals to plan their attacks would have a distinct advantage.

Fast forward to medieval times, and we see that war was waged mainly with heroes (knights in shining armour) who were strong and athletic. Many people wish that war was still fought like this, but the invention of guns changed everything, as strength isn’t necessary to pull a trigger.

Thinking about European wars in the 1800’s, a typical battle consisted of 2 groups of men with colourful uniforms, meeting in a field, and proceeding to load and fire their rifles as fast as possible to shoot the opposing force before they got shot themselves. Eventually, the smaller force figured out that wearing camouflaged clothing and attacking from a hiding place was much more effective.

This is currently how most major fighting forces in the world work. Being able to shoot at the enemy from hiding (ships and bomber planes fire from miles away and nuclear missiles can travel the entire globe) or from highly manoeuvrable vehicles (fighter jets etc.) is very effective. Eventually, the smaller force figured out that hiding behind innocent civilians is a better shield than any armour.

What we currently label as “terrorism” is the latest attempt of a smaller fighting force to beat a larger one. By giving guns to women and children, the larger force is unable to quickly identify enemy combatants. If the larger force misidentifies an enemy and kills an innocent civilian, this strengthens the resolve of the smaller force and weakens the resolve of the larger one. The suicide bomber is also an effective way for a single person from the smaller force to attack a large number of people from the opposition. The small force often draws the large one to their home turf by performing “terrorist acts” such as suicide bombing at its enemy’s homeland. Once lured to their home turf, they have many advantages and are able to equal the fight to a great extent. Keeping in mind, that this type of fighting is often done by small groups of individuals that is not a government strategy.

What will be the next step in warfare?

America: Home of the Swindled

// September 11th, 2007 // No Comments » // Chris

In an upcoming post, I will talk about the common logical flaws and mistakes made during debate. One of those is “generalization” in which a person takes a collection of items (Americans in this case) that possess a known common attribute (geography in this case) and applies another attribute (lack of intelligence in this case) to the entire group. So before I begin this rant, let me just preface with the fact that I do understand that the USA is made up of people, not all to whom this applies (Yes, I have American friends, at least prior to this post). The premise here is that the attribute I will imbue on the Americans seems to be abnormally prevalent when compared to other countries citizens.

This post was almost called “America: Home of the retarded” but I thought that was a little harsh, and “Swindled” fit my thought process more accurately in the sense that even though in general Americans seem to more retarded then most (and there is sufficient information to back this claim, see previous post “America is #1!”) they have been programmatically taught/brainwashed to be this way for so long now that at an individual level they can not really take full responsibility.

Let’s get into some details.

The most prevalent attribute (and this is public policy in the states) is simply that an American life is somehow intrinsically more valuable then the life of any other non-American citizen in the world. Some day, and I believe it will be sooner rather than later, this is really going to come back and bite Americans in the ass. This also applies at many levels; War, environmental policies, inclusion, education, economic, etc. All of the policy decisions in these areas become much more coherent when taken in context that an American life is more valuable than any other.

Ignorance. In today’s first world nations the availability of information is so wide spread that it really offends me when the average American can still not pick North America out on a globe. Here is another personal example:

Years ago soon after my wife had given birth to our second shortie, we had an American lady (university educated in the USA) up for a visit which included several meals. We had served milk on the table, in the standard 3 per 4 Litre (oh, to Americans that is about a 1/4 of a gallon you backwards imperial freaks) bag. The comment from our American friend was this: Is that breast milk? (I couldn’t make this up)

Breast milk? Seriously, we have to digest all the ignorance here. To not know that in some parts of the world milk is served in bags (I know it is served in jugs in the states), or that my wife could possibly produce that much breast milk, or that we would be serving it to guests to add to their coffee? Wow, wow, this is just stupid.
Or the classic (I get this all the time when visiting the states):

Do you have roads in Canada?

To all you Americans reading this: Nope, just dog sled trails over the Tundra. Friggn’ idiots. The most southern tip of Ontario is further south then the northern edge of California. It’s called an atlas you ignoramus.

The leadership in the states leaves something to be desired, and Americans now, and in the next 10 or so generations will pay for it, but I can’t feel that bad about them because rigged elections or not (did you know that the US REFUSES to allow foreign election officials in to validate election results as is standard for every other country in the world?) Americans elect the same moron, sorry did I say moron? I meant RETARD into the white house for a second term?!? I said it after watching the 2004 election, “Americans deserve what the get”, and globally they are getting kicked in the ass right now. Considering this beating, are they concerned? I would say no, they aren’t they are Americans and God is on their side right? Tell that to Osama, he’s in custody now right?

You can tell a lot about a people from their leader, so I will leave you with some of my favourite Bush quotes:

And let me say in conclusion, thanks for the kids. I learned an awful lot about bathtub toys – about how to work the telephone. One guy knows – several of them know their own phone numbers – preparation to go to the dentist. A lot of things I’d forgotten. So it’s been a good day.

You work three jobs? Uniquely American, isn’t it? I mean, that is fantastic that you’re doing that.

If they pre-decease or die early, there’s an asset base to be able to pass on to a loved one. [on Social Security]

I hope you leave here and walk out and say, ‘What did he say?’

Let me put it to you bluntly. In a changing world, we want more people to have control over your own life.

There’s an old saying in Tennessee – I know it’s in Texas, probably in Tennessee – that says, fool me once, shame on – shame on you. Fool me – you can’t get fooled again.

If this were a dictatorship, it’d be a heck of a lot easier, just so long as I’m the dictator.

I just want you to know that, when we talk about war, we’re really talking about peace.

The most important thing is for us to find Osama bin Laden. It is our number one priority and we will not rest until we find him.
SIX MONTHS LATER…
I don’t know where bin Laden is. I have no idea and really don’t care. It’s not that important. It’s not our priority.

The really rich people figure out how to dodge taxes anyway.

I know what I believe. I will continue to articulate what I believe and what I believe �” I believe what I believe is right.

See, in my line of work you got to keep repeating things over and over and over again for the truth to sink in, to kind of catapult the propaganda.

Money, money, money, money

// January 9th, 2007 // No Comments » // Glenn

Originally written January 9, 2007.

Most of us have heard the saying that 10% of the population own 90% of the wealth, well, for the first time, we actually have some numbers to see if it’s true.

According to the World Institute for Development Economics Research of the UN University, the richest 10% of the world actually own 85% of the world’s wealth. But I was shocked when I discovered that the the poorer half of the population (50%) own only 1% of the world’s wealth. I made a pretty pie graph to demonstrate.

money distribution Money, money, money, money

Also, the news reported recently that the average of the top 100 CEO’s in Canada make an average of $9 million. Compare that with the average salary in Canada of $38 thousand. They threw in some interesting stats like the fact that the average CEO makes $38 thousand by 9:46 am on January 2nd – or the average CEO makes 238 times the salary of the average Canadian. The highest paid CEO at $72 million makes 1969 times more than the average. OK, I’ll give that most CEO’s are smart people, but 1969 times smarter than average – yeah, and monkeys might fly out of my butt.

Anyways, check this out.

money salary Money, money, money, money

So why do I mention this stuff? If you ever meet a CEO, are you in awe of him? I’m not, I’m sickened. But you can’t blame it all on him, I mean, I’ll take the money if you offer it to me, it’s the idiots on the board of directors and whoever else decides these salaries – not very bright people.