You either pay attention or pay through the nose. I would rather pay attention.
I snapped a photo of the TV screen tonight while watching Adler on Sun TV just because it made me laugh.
As many of you know I have blogged about the (in)famous Papandreou family of socialist Greek Prime Ministers before which is why I wanted to post this photo. Hopefully it gives you a laugh too.
I had no idea who Nigel Farage was until an hour ago. Now I am thinking this man needs to be listened to. Click the image below to watch him rip the E.U. a new one (and rightfully so).
Are Europeans being screwed by the PIGS? (Portugal, Ireland, Greece, Spain)?
h/t to Glenn Beck
It is clear that Canada truly makes its’ mark on the world in subtle ways.
U.S. Aid to Pakistan – $150 Million (about 50 cents per capita)
27 Member states of European Union Aid to Pakistan – $90 Million (about 18 cents per capita)
China Aid to Pakistan (note China says Pakistan is their closest ally) – $0 ($0 per capita)
Canada Aid to Pakistan – $33 Million (about $1 per capita)
I remember living in Toronto and watching The Wall at The Wall during a lightning storm back in the summer of 1990. The song was so representative of the Berlin Wall that had fallen some 8 months earlier. But since the day Reagan told Gorbachev to tear down the wall, it has also come to symbolize freedom and breaking free of political bonds. And in 2010 it is once again turning into an anthem thanks to the sons of Iranian immigrants living in Canada.
Blurred Vision is their name and below is a link to a song that is quickly gaining an underground cult following. According to FoxNews, Roger Waters has given this song his full blessing as he has been an outspoken critic of Iran’s human rights policies.
Bizarro world collided with NeverNeverLand this past week for me. On Tuesday June 29th I received a very unexpected and very welcome invitation from the PMO to attend a special dinner in the presence of Her Majesty and His Royal Highness at the Royal York Hotel in Toronto. At first I thought I was on an episode of Punk’d or that my kids had submitted something to Pranked. But as I quickly realized this was simply reality. So in a whirlwind I made sure I was black tied and Monday morning I hit the road for Toronto.
Arrival at the Royal York was a zoo with the power outage in that part of the city. Of more concern to me was the potential for a lack of air conditioning. Being a big man, I overheat quite easily. The cocktail room was quite spectacular and while mingling, I quickly ran into a couple of familiar faces. Three of them being past or present Blogging Tories. Matt from A Step To The Right, Dr. Roy from Dr. Roy’s Blog and Sean from The Politic.
The crowd was prepped on how the introductions to HM and HRH would go down. It still all seems a bit surreal to me but real enough none the less. As the crowd waited for the introductions the power came on (thank Goodness!!). We slowly made our way behind the white curtain to meet the Royals.
When my turn came up, the greeter was dressed in his finest military and as he checked my invitation card I thanked him for his service. He seemed pleasantly taken aback at my remark but seemed to appreciate it. The announcer confirmed the pronounciation of my name and proceeded to announce me to Her Majesty and His Royal Highness. I stepped forward first towards the Prime Minister who smiled and greeted me with a firm handshake. He said it was nice that I could make it . I then took a step to my right and Her Majesty held her gloved hand out, so as I took it, I bowed and greeted her as well. Similarly, the Duke of Edinburgh extended a hand to me. I was quite honoured to receive this formal of a greeting. Then in her usual friendly self, Mrs. Harper greeted me last and said it was a pleasure to see me again. The whole process seemed to be a blur to me but it was clear enough for me to know I was in the presence of a truly magnificent institution and heritage and one of the most magnificent monarchs our race will ever know.
Then as Her Majesty entered the whole group joined the singing of God Save The Queen. It was quite moving. The speeches and dinner were delightful and the unveiling of a new Hockey Hall of Fame exhibit was interesting to say the least.
As coffee and dessert were served, the group was serenaded by the Four Canadian Tenors who are world renowned already. I was especially moved by the second song which was not fully understood as it was mostly in French but I know it was about Victor Hugo’s Hunchback of Notre Dame and La Esmerelda.
Then shortly after this, the Four Tenors sang the National Anthem and once again the crowd joined in. After this the Royals left the dinner and the crowd mingled quite a bit taking photos in front of the exhibit. I snuck a couple of the roses from the table and am drying them for the shadowbox.
I did get a few moments to speak with Minister Jason Kenney about inroads into the Greek community, congratulate Minister Flaherty on holding the world at bay on a bank tax, and I got to let Senator Duffy know that a friend of ours is running for Ottawa City Council. I also got a chance to see Lois Brown again and I met Peter Kent for the first time. He was very charming. As was Michael Chong and his wife.
Some photos/items from the evening. (more to come I am sure)
Cost of the G8/G20 summits? $1.2 Billion
Outcome of G8/G20 summits? 7 of the 8 G8 nations are cutting their deficit by 50% and cutting their debt to GDP ratio. i.e. they are cutting spending by billions upon billions over the next few years. It’s as simple as that.
My message to those who criticize the cost of the event is this. It was a massive world stage with over 80% of the world’s population represented including hundreds if not thousands of reporters who will go home and tell their populations that spending is getting cut. This means that the commitment to cut spending was, in essence, made in front of over 4 billion people on the planet. This creates a massive pressure on the leaders to meet that commitment.
And cutting spending is a conservative trait.
Think of the billions that will not be spent now that this commitment is made. PM Stephen Harper may be criticized for the event cost. His government might get raked over the coals. But as a fiscal conservative I am ecstatic at what the long term benefit of these summits is.
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
No this is not a breakdown of the cost of the G8/G20 summits taking place in Huntsville and The Big Smoke this year. This is my analysis of the whole “G8/G20 Cost” debate.
Question: Did it need to be over a Billion dollars?
OfficiallyScrewed.com Answer: It wasn’t over a billion dollars. Sure, maybe it was earmarked as G8/G20 spending but realistically it is also a chance for the government to beef up permanent security needs for a major urban area. ex. London, England already had 10,254 security cameras scattered around the city when they held the summit. The Big Smoke did not. So realistically all permanent infrastructure that will be in place for the benefit of Muskoka and The Big Smoke should really be eliminated from the bottom line when analyzing the cost. And I am pretty sure that over half the cost can be assigned to this category. So in effect it becomes stimulus money for the local economy.
And speaking of the local economy, I wonder what The Big Smoke tourism board thinks of all this. With some entourages numbering in the 4 digit area, we can safely assume over 10,000 guests to The Big Smoke. That’s a hell of a lot of hotel rooms and meals. And think of the shops in Yorkville or along Queen St. The VISA and Mastercard machines will be humming and alot of this spending will be subject to GST and PST reducing the total cost even further.
Question: Will jobs be created out of this?
OfficiallyScrewed.com Answer: Damn straight. Security alone will be huge but there will also be paramedics, fire, police, food services, waste disposal, preparation, (and yes Nellie, even the arts get some money. (Do you think some suit put together the fake lake? No, I bet it was some artsy fartsy person taking their turn at the trough too.) I am not sure about how many jobs are being created even temporarily but I can be sure that the paychecks for those jobs are subject to……ding ding ding…federal and provincial income tax further reducing the cost.
Question: Will we come out ahead?
OfficiallyScrewed.com Answer: Probably not. But there is other inherent values to hosting the G8/G20. Long term tourism dollars are the least of my concern. You see in the old days in many countries a group of three people meeting could be considered conspiracy and you could be charged. The paranoia ran deep in governments but it was also a symbol to them that the few at the top controlled everything. This is not the case in a western style democracy. Perhaps from a mile high view this is the case but realistically if taxes go up, jobs go down, that government will get tossed out on it’s ear.
So to me, having these nations get around a table and talk is important. It shows leaders like Ahmedinejad and Chavez, and groups like Hamas and Hizbollah and Al Quaeda that we can sit and talk peacefully about how we should best address problems the world is having so we can all best move forward wherever our free will takes us. We do NOT need to be pushed back in the shadows to meet under cover of the night or teleconference or in small groups. We can do it openly…under their noses and in front of their faces. And hopefully in front of the faces of their citizens too.
Because the bottom line is that as long as we are talking, we are not fighting.
When I was a young man still in University I was offered my first credit card. It was a GM VISA with a $500 spending limit. Considering I didn’t have $500 to my name and summer was coming I was ecstatic that I would be able to load up my tackle box and pick up a carton or two of smokes. Although not necessities to the average person, they seemed like they were necessities to me.
So I cautiously ran up a bit of a tab on the card. Then the inevitable bill came. Sure it showed me a minimum payment which was a bit of reassurance. I wouldn’t have to pay the whole thing off at once. But little did I realize that that small monthly payment was coming right off the top of my income. Why? Because I chose to spend something I didn’t have.
Well governments around the world are doing it now. Forget extreme hyperbole such as “spending like drunken sailors”. Expressions like this make it sound like we are just exaggerating. Well the truth is they are spending like unsure, unaware teenagers with their first credit cards. They don’t realize that pulling more out of the taxpayers is like that teenager trying to find a job in a down economy. The potential to pay back that debt is there, but the economic conditions to allow that to happen are just not there. And the more we run up the debt the harder it will be to dig ourselves out.
That’s it. I don’t have any links on this. Just the anology and the request that everyone out there contact the politicians representing them at all levels of government and simply ask them to spend within their means. Do NOT extend their means to accommodate how much they want to spend.
In the news today, Sylvester the Cat was elected to sit on the panel responsible with determining the safety guidelines and regulations on bird cages. He made it clear that he feels the tensile strength regulations on bird cages are too stringent and that cost reductions can be realized if a thinner material was used for the wireframes. He also felt that all bird cages should be within three feet of the ground for better viewing by children. The panel will be releasing their final report soon.
In a similar story, Homer Simpson was elected to sit on the Board of Directors for the Vegan Society of America. He overcame setbacks such as his past quote “If God didn’t want us to eat meat, he wouldn’t have made it taste so good.” and “MMmmmmm….Porkchops….” He SAYS he’s reformed and the Board felt he was being genuine in his denouncement of the statements.
And additionally, Iran has been elected to the United Nations Commission on Women’s Rights. Mahmoud Ahmadinnerjacket made it clear that the Iranian policy to stone women who have a tan is simply an effort to minimize skin cancer rates in the hot middle eastern country. Three women were not found to refute his testimony on this fact so it must be true.
Talk about being OfficiallyScrewed.
I’m Canadian but I am also a first generation Greek Canadian. My parents immigrated to Canada in the mid 1960’s and the past few months I have been seething about what is going on in Greece. You see I often joke about the woprldwide recession not affecting Greece because Greece has been in a depression for 100 years.
I guess I was wrong. They CAN sink lower.
The name Papandreou is pretty much dirt to me now. It was dirt to my father when it was Andreas Papandreou and now it is just as distasteful when it is George Papandreou. Their socialist parties have built (or better termed) torn down a nation full of people who now would rather suckle the European teat than to pull their bootstraps up and get to work. Three Generations of Papendreou’s have systematically turned Greece into a 3rd world nation.
When more than 50% of citizens pay no taxes a nation will fail.
When the government spends 13% more than it takes in every day a nation will fail.
And now Greeks won’t let their government cut programs to balance the books.
They expect the EU to bail them out.
I say let them eat lokoumades.
When my parents immigrated they brought with them a sense of national pride. They brought with them a sense of values and a work ethic we see in so many that have immigrated to Canada for a better life.
That sense of pride is now gone. Greeks would rather go begging to the EU with hat in hand. For shame.
I know my father wold roll over in his grave if he knew how low his mother country had sunk.