THE TRUMP SLUMP

Statistics from 2017 released last week show the United-States has lost its second place to Spain as the world's most 'visited' country. (France is #1) - Experts blame President Trump's travel ban on some primarily Muslim countries as well as his harsh rhetoric about Hispanics and others for this decline. It's also in part due to the 'Make America Great Again' mantra which has been interpreted by some as code for make America white again...an era when and where the white family patriarch always knew best.

Like so many of us, I grew-up in the years of those popular American television sitcoms, 'Father Knows Best', 'I Love Lucy', 'Leave it to Beaver' and I'd defy anyone to recall when a person of colour, (A Negro as we called them), or an Asian, Hispanic or 'First Nation' American was ever featured, except perhaps as a caricature, though each, as is the case today, then also made-up a substantial percentage of the population of the United-States of America.

For reasons I really do not quite understand 49.6% of eligible voters in the United-States (about 50 million electors) chose to abstain from voting in the November 2016 Presidential election. Be that as it may, the nation that once prided itself as the world's greatest democracy chose a 'Brand' of some dubious background and character as its leader rather than a person of diplomacy and political know-how. 

Most assuredly entrepreneur Donald Trump has set the world on its ear, if not a Twitter, with his silly pronouncements, gross accusations, and blatant untruths.  In the process he's tarnished the country's reputation as the leader of the 'free world,' with little if any noteworthy accomplishments to his administration's credit.

I have no vote in the USA:  If I did, I would hope that unlike so many Americans, I would have chosen to cast my democratic ballot in the fall 'Presidentials' of 2016. Though since that election and as those statistics bear out, I have chosen, along with many others, to vote with my wallet and remain on the Canadian side of the border with the United-States. It's a personal choice, easy to make considering that at the close of markets this weekend the Canadian dollar (The Loonie) was discounted just about 25% of the U.S. dollar....Let alone other expenses such as the cost of travel, lodging and most important medical insurance coverage while outside of Canada. Lest I digress: In December of 2015 my Canadian insurer was billed $21,060 US for the 4 1/2 hours I spent at a Florida hospital with a kidney stone.

I'm prepared to admit, given the frigid winter we endure in this 'Great White North' particularly this year, that my choice to stay-put hasn't been easy. However, In my mind at least it's a choice that defines who I am as a Canadian willing to sacrifice my smallish level of personal comfort rather than enable they who chip away the basic tenets of their democracy.

I acknowledge and accept that others, Canadians like me, see things differently. That for reasons of their own they shop 'cross-border', travel to, and visit frequently for extended periods of time, months really, as Snowbirds spending hard earned discounted Canadian dollars contributing to making America great again. Canadians who seek admission to the United States are for the most part welcomed as visitors, and they become the guests of a foreign country. It's incumbent upon them to behave as respectful visitors. What I do not accept, and I witness it frequently, almost daily, is that they complain and be critical on social media and elsewhere of the politics of their host while on it's soil  - It's impolite, dangerous and akin to biting the hand that's feeding you with your discounted Canadian dollars : If I see and note it - Others too are watching !

ODE TO THE JOY OF FLIGHT

Just about a month ago, Delta Airlines Flt 9721 from Newark, New Jersey was the last scheduled passenger flight of the "Queen Of The Sky," the Boeing 747 anywhere in North America.

 Introduced into passenger service by Pan Am in 1970, of the more than one-thousand in world wide service by 1998, just a handful remain flying passengers mostly in the Middle-East, and a few more have been pressed into cargo service around the world.

I was reminded this week when Canada's second largest air carrier, West Jet, announced the launch of it's no frills airline (Swoop !) next summer,  just how miserably challenging  travelling by air has become in the first decades of the 21st Century. There was a time when getting to one's destination by air was as much fun, perhaps more some time, than the vacation, event, or activity that would be happening at  destination. Air carriers are greedy, the competition cut-throat and passengers are constantly demanding cheaper air fares. Boing has just narrowed the seats on the 747's modern replacement, the 777, by one inch so airlines can fit-in more people.

 I sense passengers in Titanic's steerage class were better treated than tourist class ticket holders on today's air carriers. On Titanic they had meals, fresh air, and space to lie-down - Lest I digress, the voyage most certainly more pleasant than their ultimate destination at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean in April of 1912 - In the case of West Jet's Swoop ! launching June 1,  the lowest fare I've seen advertised is $9.00 (Hamilton - Winnipeg) "Seat Only", there's a charge for everything else...including carry-on and use of the over-seat bin.

Launching a 'no frills' discount airline in Canada is challenging - Others have tried, many have failed : Canada 3000, Can-Jet and New Leaf are three that come instantly to mind. - Problem is the small population (About 1/10th of the USA population) and the shear size of the geography, and all of the extra costs related to operating inside the 2nd largest land mass on the planet, next only to Russia.

In just a week or two, thousands of those same residents of 'The Great White North' will be heading south, family in tow, or if you're college age, with like minded young people, for the annual ritualistic 'Spring Break' pilgrimage to the south coasts of the United-States, or Mexico and/or other destinations in the Caribbean and central America. Guess what ? - Top of mind will be 'how cheap a flight' can they possibly book, boast about, and ultimately suffer through.

 

If you are considering being, or still think you want to be among those travellers, be prepared for the cattle-like herding experience of airport line-ups and security, and the somewhat like above described despicably miserable airline experience.

Consider yourself appropriately advised...

BUILDING WALLS AND BRIDGES....MAYBE !

Tensions along the North American borders, the 'de facto' stalled talks involving Mexico, Canada and the United States over the North American Free Trade Accord (NAFTA), and an increasingly, somewhat hostile, and surely dysfunctional American Administration; add these to a grid-locked Congress and Government, and none augur very favourably to support the construction of new international crossings and / or the infrastructures and facilities which they require and demand.

 Meantime, all of a sudden along the International Border between Northern Maine (USA) and the Province of New Brunswick (Canada) it seems that no one noticed, until recently that is, that the 100 year old 1,500 Ft steel-span bridge over the St. John River was falling apart. (Figures, eh ? - S'tie !)

Politicians are like High School students waiting until last minute to start cramming, in this case 'scrambling' for a quick fix - The Edmundston / Madawaska International Bridge is the life-link which joins the local economy. The American owned Twin Rivers Paper Company operates mills in both countries of the community and the busy bridge links the company's Pulp and Cardboard mills in Canada to its Paper and Packaging Labels manufacturing mills in the USA.  Alas...the international bridge's deteriorating span has forced a 5 Tons weight restriction on vehicles crossing since last October, and the bridge is too old to fix. - Wait ! - There's more : Since 9/11 Canadian Federal authorities have spent multi-millions of dollars to build new and crucial border inspection facilities at the bridge and there is absolutely no appetite to relocate them - In fact that has been made crystal clear to all concerned.  The opposite is true on the American side where the border post dates to near the end of World War 2 and needs to be replaced. Trouble is the current bridge approach on the USA side is way too small to accommodate the mandate from Homeland Security.

 

The "locals" have come-up with a 'made at home' proposal to build a new bridge on the Canadian side where the existing border infrastructure exists, and north up river about 1/2 mile where there would be room to build a new USA Border post. Accordingly the new bridge would be diagonal across the river, and about twice as long as the current 100 year old span...and somehow they expect to be granted authority to proceed and build between 2020 and 2022.  Well, wait until the upper levels of governments and echelons of the bureaucracy on both sides of the 'divide' get hold of this nose stretcher ! - May I digress ?

 

 

It's 14 years since the Government of Canada proposed building a new bridge across the Detroit River to link Ontario and Michigan and (essentially)  replace the (now) 87 year old privately owned 'Ambassador Bridge' over which $2-Billion of trade (The most anywhere in the world) crosses the International Border every day.  It's 6 years since, out of sheer frustration and no doubt hoping to score political capital, the Government of Stephen Harper created the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority to manage the (fiction of the)  'Gordie Howe International Bridge' - So far that corporation has spent close to $ 1/2 Billion (Canadian Dollars) and there ain't no bridge ! - President Obama said OK to the bridge if Canada pays for the USA Border Post in Detroit ($250-Million) - We Canadian have also offered an Interest Free loan of $250-Million to Michigan so they can pay their share...The State Legislature said: Umm... No Thanks !

 

Wait ! There's more : American Billionaire Matty Maroun owns the Ambassador Bridge and he's been offering for at least a dozen years to build a new bridge AT HIS OWN EXPENSE - Guess what ? - Very quietly late last summer, Mr. Maroun's company outmanoeuvred the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority and received a permit from the Trudeau Cabinet to plan and build a new bridge next to the 'Ambassador' as long as the Ambassador Bridge is torn-down within 5 years of the new one becoming operational . There's much speculation now on both sides of the border these days that 'Gordie Howe' will not see the light of day.

 

Perhaps the elected officials of my home town should give Mr. Moroun a call - He's in the Detroit Phone Book.

 

NOTHING GOOD HAPPENS IN OTTAWA AFTER 8 PM

The 'Me Too' movement triggered in the USA among Hollywood's 'star elite' really has little comparison in English Canada which does not have an American style Star system to speak of. (Alas ! They've all moved to the United States to become stars).

Lest I digress, French Canadians, primarily in the Province of Quebec, but in some segments  elsewhere as well, DO have a star system of their own, and (sadly) in the past 6 or so months some of their idols have also 'fallen' in the face of accusations of sexual impropriety of one form or another.

But essentially with the English speaking majority of Canadians, it is our politicians whom we cherish and value as 'stars'. - Which may go some distance in explaining the 'selfie' photo phenomenon, here and abroad, of our current Prime Minister. - To be fair, he didn't start it...His father, then bachelor Prime-Minister, Pierre Elliott Trudeau, was arguably responsible for the 1960's 'mania' which catapulted Canadian politicians to some unusual (almost un-Canadian) form of star struck 'stardom' -

Trudeau 'pere' in fact hung out with his fair share of Hollywood's elite, Barbara Streisand among those who come to top of mind, to advance the image. - He more than anyone else may be responsible for the notion that 'nothing good happens in Ottawa after 8:PM' - In reality, "Nothing" (at all) happened in the National Capital of Canada after 8:00 PM until Mr. Trudeau and his entourage arrived in the mid-1960's.

The concern and resulting upshot now of course is that Canada's Male, primarily English speaking, politicians are being accused, some perhaps tarred, with the same alleged sexual improprieties that America's Movie and Television icons have suffered since film mogul Harvey Weinstein couldn't keep his ... (whatever) ... zipped-up inside his pants.

As with everything else in life, politics, the movies and reality TV, the pendulum swings far and wide before it is to reach reasonable conclusions. Until then everyone may be vulnerable to allegations of one form or another which are far too frequently anonymous and some surely with little if any merit. Though Alas ! In the age of social media fuelled allegations and fake news as some may allege,  instant judgement is frequently rendered whether the allegations are true or false.  Many of those accused...perhaps too many, choose to abandon the noble notion of public service rather than mount a reasonable defence of their sullied reputation....One can only hope that somehow, someway, someday the pendulum does not swing too far not to return to sensibility.

....AND THE ROCKET'S RED GLARE

At this juncture it is still difficult to predict how our American friends and neighbours will ultimately react to plans by the Government of Canada to mark, note and celebrate every aspect of the bicentennial of the "War of 1812" which will be getting underway in earnest shortly after the clock strikes twelve on New Year's Day.

Despite the cutbacks and austerity measures which will kick-in in the immediate aftermath of the Federal Government's early spring budget, Mr. Harper's Government has earmarked millions of tax dollars for celebrations and commemoration of the war between the American States and British North American troops, French Canadian compatriots and First Nations' Aboriginals (who sided with the Empire) and fought-off and won against U.S. aggression between 1812 and 1814.

From the iconic Johnny Horton top 40 tune "The Battle of New Orleans" of the early 1960's all the way back to America's cherished national anthem "The Star Spangled Banner," written by poet Francis Scott Key as he witnessed the British/Canadian assault on Fort McHenry in 1814;  the defeat of the Americans in the War of 1812 strikes at the very "being" of the United States.

Perhaps fortunately for us north of the border, the commemorations about to get underway may be overshadowed by the lead-up to, the debates, the conventions, the campaigns and the confrontations of the crucial November 2012 next election of the President of the United States.

Not exactly as illustrated, but you get the idea!

Regardless, unlike tensions rising elsewhere on the planet,  the United-States has little to fear from the Harper Government's somewhat misguided efforts (American style) to encourage Canadian patriotism over the next 5 years leading to Canada's Sesquicentennial of 2017. On the other side of the world matters of far greater and immediate concern, including Vladimir Putin's campaign for the Russian Presidency; tensions with the rogue states of Iran and North Korea; ongoing irritants with Paskistan over the prosecution of the Afghan War; and the country's accumulating massive debt to China (a significant contributor to America's spiralling economic crisis) - and surely many other things in between, will end-up by default on the next President's agenda.

As with the case of the legendary Laura Secord, the Canadian milk maid of the aforementioned War of 1812, through Mata Hari, the Dutch exotic dancer of the Great War, and the U-2 spy-plane flown by Col. Francis Gary Powers which crashed 'intact' in Russia in 1960 - In matters of human conflict;  access to unprocessed, wholesome and relevant strategic information about your enemy is as important as prosecuting an offensive.  Thus, though publicly low-key, in official Washington there has been some consternation over the loss of the on-board secret technology of the pilot less drone spy-plane which crashed (apparently also intact) in Iran on December 4. - In the relentless campaign to unseat President Barack Obama from the White House next year, some Republican candidates are even advocating early military strikes against the Iranians...I digress!

A prototype of the X-37B after an initial test flight in 2010.

But whether it is in flights over its own borders with Canada and Mexico, or in spy-like missions flying over rogue states like Iran and North Korea; like its U-2 predecessor, America's reliance on the low-flying technology of pilot less drone aircraft is probably close to ending anyway. Behold the X-37B space drone...An ultra-secretive shuttle-like vehicle currently orbiting the planet at 17,000 miles per hour. The United-States Air Force confirmed just a few days ago that its initial 9-months "mission" is being extended. Of course the Air Force will not confirm the objective of the X-37B, but most skeptics think that the vehicle's mission is somehow defence and/or spy-related. In fact, amateur astronomers accidentally detected the orbital pattern of a prototype in May 2010. According to their data the X-37B's orbits included flyovers of, you guessed it: North Korea, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

The manufacturer of the current variant of the X-37B, the Boeing Corporation, confirms that the space plane was launched from the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Florida last March. Coincidentally just last month, NASA turned-over its "Orbiting Processing Facility No.3" to the Boeing Corporation. It's being described in the local press as a..."first-of-a-kind agreement allowing a private company to take over the government property." - Orbiting Processing Facility No.3 was previously used to ready the Space Shuttle for flight. A government austerity program ended the Space Shuttle program this past summer after more than 20 years.

In the spy business, staying just ahead of the competition is a daunting task. As pretty much everyone expected, but hoped against in the aftermath of the launch of "Sputnik" in October 1957, Space (the final frontier) has incrementally changed from an experimental planetary test laboratory to a giant "eye in our sky". We are no longer alone, indeed!

ONE IF BY LAND, TWO IF BY SEA

End of another month; a good time to clear-up accumulated tidbits from under the corners of the desk blotter:

SOMEONE MAY GET IT RIGHT (EVENTUALLY): Investigators poring through the ruins of the lost Mayan civilization of Mexico claim they've uncovered a "second" reference to the Apocalypse predicted for the winter's Solstice next year, December 21, 2012. Experts had previously claimed the existence of just one reference, on a stone tablet uncovered from the ruins of Tortuguero on the Gulf coast. But over the weekend, Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology confirmed the existence of another reference amongst stone carvings at the Mayan ruins of Comalcalco in southern Mexico. - It was just over a month ago that California based evangelical broadcaster Harold Camping scored "0 for 3" when once again the world refused to end as he'd three times before predicted. After his initial "miscalculation" in the 1990's, the Reverend Camping claimed (as God is my witness) that May 21, 2011 would be Judgement Day. - Then, when it did not, he said the actual day of reckoning would be October 21: That day too passed without incident. Someone is bound to score...

ENJOY THAT MIDDLE SEAT IN COACH: First-Class and Business-Class passengers make-up just about 8% of all airline traffic; but they account for almost one-third of revenues for an industry which is once again profitable after languishing for more than a decade. Ten years  which claimed many of the carriers through bankruptcy. Though the airlines still manage to squeeze the very last penny from the vast majority who fly the cheap-seats; after the pilot, the "full-fare" business executive is nowadays the most important person on the plane. Airlines in the United-States have earmarked $2-Billion this year to upgrade amenities for their highest-paying regulars. The airlines are focusing on three specific areas: Giving long-haul passengers a full night's sleep - Stimulating their taste buds at mealtime - Providing "escapes" from the chaos of airport terminals. For the rest of us who's free meals, leg room and blankets were long ago stripped-away; it was always a special place on the other side of "the curtain". Now, it's getting even cushier.

THERE IS AN UPSIDE TO THE ILLEGALS: The Roman-Catholic Church of the United-States is being pulled back from dwindling attendance, closed houses of worship, and a shortage of  worshippers, practitioners and pastors. The continued growth of America's Hispanic population is in the process of changing the U.S. Catholic Church more than any other institution in the country along our southern border.  More than one-third of practicing Catholics in the United-States now claim  Hispanic Heritage, that's more than tripple the 10% reported in a survey conducted in 1987. The majority have a Mexican ancestry and a large number are recent arrivals. The feast of "Santa Maria de Guadalupe," the Blessed Virgin who tradition claims appeared to Aztec peasant Juan Diego in 1531, now ranks with Christmas and Easter as the most popular events at most churches.

MAPLE SYRUP BARBECUE SAUCE: The Bouchard family of Frenchville, Maine along the Northern New Brunswick border has made a name for itself amongst Acadian / 'Cajun' descendants as purveyors of buckwheat flour. The flour is the essential element for the local delicacy known as "Ployes"- a flatbread-like pancake. Another St. John River valley transplant born in nearby Fort Kent, Maine, Pete Morin, is now marketing "Maple Leaf Red Dipping Sauces". Hand-written recipes from a long ago abandoned family restaurant are at the base of the "secret sauce". A new more powerful "Rocket Sauce" is now being developed. Morin told a local journalist recently that the "rocket" will put your (chicken) wings into orbit without shooting flames out your arse! Must be the maple syrup at work.

ADVENTURES FROM THE ROAD...

Heck Y'All (I am in North Carolina), over the years I have posted too many of these road adventures to even recall what "Road Story" post number this is -

NOW, THEY TOO ARE LIKE AIRLINES: The times they are changing and apparently getting tougher: Friends who weekended at an Orlando, Florida hotel recently noted a $20 per day Resort and Amenity fee tacked-on to their bill at check-out. Industry experts claim that is just one significant part of the latest in North American hotel trends: Some have begun adding a $12 housekeeping surcharge, and a fee for storing your luggage in the lobby. And, Beware - The advent of pump dispensers in hotel bathrooms is bad news for guests obsessed with the tiny bottles and individually wrapped soaps that have been their beloved amenities.

ONE SURE THING ABOUT AMERICA'S BAD ECONOMY: Have you seen one too many TV ads about ambulance chasing injury lawyers. Since most Canadian cable TV viewers access U.S. television networks via the Cancom system based in Windsor, Ontario; we get to watch Detroit television stations. The visually challenged Sam Bernstein Family Law Practice is just about as well known north of the U.S. border as any Canadian superstar. Well, it seems that  advertising for "at fault injury lawyers" has been multiplying on U.S. television because the bad economy means bad drivers have been staying off the roads. As America's economy has sputtered motorists curbed their driving. In a published report, one Florida Lawyer was quoted recently: "There's been a little bit of a drop in activity...it's been slow for all lawyers."

RUN FOR THE BORDER: America's Thanksgiving Holiday is celebrated just about 6 weeks after Canadians mark our annual turkey day. Friends along the border with the State of Maine and the Province of New Brunswick claim they are dealing with an altogether new (and surely somewhat) unexpected "issue".
The "right of way" which is being cleared through the boreal forest for a Maritimes and Northeast (electric and natural gas) energy corridor has become a conduit for a new type of U.S. illegal immigrants - The eastern wild turkey. It seems that the gobblers are just in time to avoid the zealous axing of modern day American Pilgrims and the annual food orgy they'll mark once again on November 24, 2011.

11-22-63: Speaking of the State of Maine: Portland native and Bangor resident, icon of the macabre Stephen King, will publish next week the fictional adventure of Jake Epping who travels to Dallas in November of 1963 and somehow manages to prevent the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.  King's book "11-22-63" explores how America might be different had JFK been elected a second term President. Perhaps not quite the fictional "macabre" for which Stephen King is known best. Nonetheless probably an interesting read for students of the "what if?" - King says he's had the scenario in the back of mind since the early 1970's.

LAST AND (THANK GOODNESS) LEAST: A story making the cocktail rounds in Washington D.C. purports that a black Congresswoman from a Houston area district has complained to the Miami based U.S. National Hurricane Center that the names of all tropical storms are too 'Caucasian" sounding. She also notes that during Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, black people had difficulty understanding the seriousness of the situation, and is alleged to have scolded officials, for not broadcasting in a language that "street people" can understand. Waz-Up Wit Dat?

BE AFRAID, VERY AFRAID

It is said that the Evening News is where they begin with - 'Good Evening;' and then proceed to tell you why it is not. As this is written the European Common Market, the "Euro Zone" is at the brink of financial and political collapse after Greece backed-off a pledge to fix its debt crisis, proposing instead to bring the matter before a national referendum. (Beware of Greeks bearing referendums!)

The net result being that the long simmering worldwide deep-Recession, a troublesome Depression for many, which began when banks in the United-States over-extended their own credit in 2008 does not appear to be going anywhere north of the ledger for the foreseeable future. Investors and retirees who squirreled away their nest-eggs 15 years ago in so-called safe instruments saw the value rise until 2001 then flatten-out and stagnate. Check the major stock market indices: They are hovering over the same territory as ten years ago. Little wonder that desperate people have taken to the streets in shiftless and pointless "occupy" protests.

Weather extremes so severe that some regions
may be only "marginally habitable".

Just as the planet's population topped 7-Billion souls earlier in the week,  scientists issued a warning that there are too many of us here..."global warming isn't the sole villain in future climate disasters. An even bigger problem will be the number of people who live in harm's way." - One of two conclusions reached in a yet unpublished report of a Nobel Prize winning panel of experts working for the United-Nations and the World Meteorological Organization. A draft summary of the report was leaked to the Associated Press in the United-States probably because its authors fear their conclusions will be "watered-down" by U.- N. officials, politicians and diplomats after a scheduled meeting to review its content in Uganda near the end of the month.

To digress: Critics of The Bilderberg Group, the highly secretive club of influential business tycoons, financiers and politicians formed in 1954, have accused the "club" of fomenting a plan to reduce the planet's population to a sustainable 500-million to 1-billion people....

The leaked report obtained by the Associated Press says our future together is one of grim floods, more heat waves, more droughts, typhoons, stronger hurricanes and, if the world economy wasn't already bad enough, far greater costs to deal with weather catastrophes.  It warns that extremes occasioned by climate change may eventually grow so severe that some locations become..."increasingly marginal as places to live." (!)

AP says the report claims the world will have more extreme spells of 'heat' peaking as much as 5 degrees (C) hotter by 2050 and as much as 9 degrees by the end of the century. Weather reports being compiled in the United-States show already that 2,703 specific daily high temperature records were set this past summer (2011). According to Weather Underground Meteorology, that makes it the hottest summer in the U.S. since the height of the Great Depression Dust Bowl of 1936. - Maybe there's a noteworthy parallel here!

Perhaps there is a valid reason after all why the mysterious centuries' old "Mayan Calendar" expires in December 2012.

CYBER MORONS

The Conference Board of Canada was plain and clear in a message just a few days ago. It warned that North Americans are exposing themselves to serious unnecessary risks because we don't know enough about the technology we use every day.

The Conference Board says too frequently for most of us, cyber-calamity is just a click away. In a country where one-in-three kids under the age of 10 has a cell phone, while one-in-ten, ten years and under, has a social networking profile and e-mail address; it's perilously obvious that most of the modern technology is relatively easy to learn and to use. In a single phrase: That's the danger! You don't need to have a comprehensive level of knowledge in order to work it. Consider though that the "smart-phone" puts more technology in the palm of its user than all of the computing knowledge used to carry Neil Armstrong and his fellow space travellers to the Moon in 1969 (and bring em' back) and the result, in and of itself, can allow a person to get into cyber areas that are "difficult to manage," to be polite.

I am never at a loss for amusement, amazement and astonishment at the naivety of otherwise experienced, savvy, intelligent and educated contemporaries (as well as members of younger generations) who are victimized by the relative blanket of security we foolishly wrap ourselves with once seated behind the computer screen and keyboard. For instance the virus-like, fortunately harmless, moronic cyber "chain-letter" spread across Facebook less than 10 days ago about the network's plan to start charging a fee to its account holders...."it was even on the news" (So it must be true?) - Or - The more harmful: "Wow! I can't believe who's been viewing my profile." - A hacker application spread over Facebook which hijacks (clickjacks!) your profile and those of your friends to subject everyone to unwanted advertising.

That's just the "fun" stuff, or as someone put it recently: "The problem that exists between the chair and the keyboard." The warning from the Conference Board says our "knowledge gap" needs to close in order to protect individuals, organizations and governments from far more serious ever lurking cybercrimes. They say people use e-mail, social media and other Internet-based applications without taking sufficient time to consider the dangers of on-line crime, personal espionage and sabotage.

As for governments, including Canada's Treasury Board and the Department of Finance, they have been subject to unprecedented cyber attacks from unknown sources in recent months. As part of its national response the Federal Government will begin shortly a television advertising campaign aimed at the problem. Under Public Safety Canada's rubric "getcybersafe.ca" the TV ads and the website will offer a range of tips on security, updated threats and computer viruses and scams. The cause may be honourable, the response lukewarm; because the Conference Board study also found that most people... "ignore cyber safety campaigns."

Ultimately a cheaper and more effective solution may be just to take a break from the Internet and social media from time to time. That's the recommendation last week from Chris Hughes an early developer of Facebook. Hughes, who was among the group of Harvard students who worked with Mark Zuckerberg to develope the medium in 2004, says: "I want to continue to live in a world where people can sit through a meal without looking at a phone. I want to have days when I only spend a little bit of time in front of a screen." - Amen!

TOO CHEAP TO FLY

Everyone is looking for a $99 fare, if they don't get it - they don't fly. How would you like to be an investor in a business that has rarely turned a profit in 80 years?

That's the crazy airline business and Air Canada shares with too many others the dubious distinction of its poster child. The Montreal based International Air Transport Association (IATA) notes that the airline industry has lost a total of $50-Billion since the business took a direct hit in the aftermath of the September 2001 terrorist attacks.

Because of the progressive rise in the cost of jet-fuel even some of the traditional "discount" airlines have found it more difficult to continue to offer low prices. For instance to shave costs, SouthWest in the U.S. has merged with Air Tran, and Ryanair in the United-Kingdom and Europe has grounded about 80 aircraft of its fleet.

Anyone remember "Tango" and "Zip"? A decade ago they were Air Canada's frontline effort to create 'airlines within the airline' to replicate and mimic the look and the feel of its upstart competitors; at that time primarily Calgary based WestJet which copied the successful SouthWest model from the United-States.

Air Canada Express (Sky Regional Airlines) Bombardier DHC-8-402 (Q400) N505LX (msn 4174) YYZ (TMK Photography) (new airline), a photo by Airliners Gallery on Flickr.

Despite the gloomy outlook, or perhaps because of it Canada's legacy flag-carrier claims to be positioning itself to buck the trend. Air Canada announced last spring that it would launch a discount airline that will provide cheap fares to holiday destinations. The surprise announcement seems to figure prominently in the company's labour turmoil which so far has involved customer service agents, flight attendants and which will likely soon also involve the company's pilots.

Speculating about forming a new company may have had more to do with pensions and work rules than lower ticket prices for customers. Which leads some pundits to speculate that the announcement was part of a scheme to advance the corporate agenda to negotiate different work rules, as it has since with the customer service agents where the salary scale for new hires was reduced by 20%; while the Federal Government's back-to-work legislation (which ended their June strike in less than 3 days) sent pension roll-back issues to binding arbitration.

Deep in the throes of its financial agony and bankruptcy reorganization in 2001 Air Canada split-off and downloaded regional operations by creating JAZZ, a company based in Halifax whose 5000 employees are represented by different unions and less lucrative wage scales. JAZZ has just started rebranding itself as "Air Canada Express" (see photo) to streamline operations with Sky Regional Airlines. Sky Regional is a non-unionized operator contracted to compete with Porter Airlines on the lucrative Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal routes operated from Toronto's downtown island airport. Lest I digress...Porter's response has been to open a new crew hub in Halifax leading to speculation that it will increase flights into Atlantic Canada and into the United-States through Boston, New York and Newark.

Following the threat of more back-to-work legislation from the Harper Government, this week's last minute agreement reached with Air Canada's 6000 flight attendants likely involves terms similar to those ordered in June for the customer service reps. It may force (at least strongly encourage) the company's pilots to follow the lead when their turn comes-up most any day now.

With a willing government and back-to-work orders at the ready: If Air Canada can achieve what it wants on labour and pension costs, then you may pretty well forget about their plan to create another discount airline altogether.

@ SUMMER'S END

The end of August and the post Labour Day turnaround surely spell the end of summer. Perhaps this is a good time (as good as any) to clear-out the backlog from my blotter in anticipation of a new start to the fall season of political and economic folly...

TUG O' WAR: Although there is a $10-Million budget already earmarked by the National Capital Commission to upgrade that "handyman special" which now is Canada's Prime-Ministerial residence, the Harpers' aren't on-board with the renovations. Twenty-Four Sussex Drive is 143 years old,  the plumbing and wiring were last overhauled in 1950 when Louis St. Laurent lived in the place; there's no air conditioning and the house is said to be drafty and freezing cold in winter.  Maybe it's that Laureen thinks hangin' the family laundry on Margaret Trudeau's old clothes-line is just fine. Though you can bet Mila never did. But, times are tough...

WATERWORLD: If it's an issue of spending $10-Million of public funds during a time of austerity which bothers the Prime-Minister, a proposal from south of the border may have a solution to appeal both to the Harper's sense of thrift and the Prime Minister's philosophy of government. The founder of "Pay-Pal" is bankrolling the formation of a whole new floating ocean country in international waters on an oil rig (like) platform. Proponents of the plan, the San Francisco based "Seasteading Institute" say the idea is to start a country from scratch and promote policies of..."no welfare, looser building codes, no minimum wage, and few restrictions on weapons." The first full time settlement is to be ready in about 8 years. Which could be about the time the Harper's move-out of 24 Sussex.

THE CLOCK OF THE LONG NOW: More anecdotal evidence why most middle-class Americans endorse proposals to raise income taxes on the nation's filthy rich. Never mind the illusion of creating an artificial floating libertarian world (see above). Another tech titan, the founder of Amazon (Jeff Bezos) announced this summer that he will be building a clock designed to keep ticking for 10,000 years. It will apparently be built inside a mountain in west Texas. Hopefully construction can be completed by the time followers of the "Odd Day" movement are ready to celebrate 11/13/15 in slightly more than four years. Heck it was just this spring that evangelist Harold Camping professed himself "flabbergasted" that the world had failed to end on May 21st. He's now "two-for-two" having previously predicted the 'Rapture" in 1994. Once this "Clock of the Long Now" is in place, at least he won't be running-out of time soon.

LEGO IN DEEPEST SPACE: On October 15, in Winter Haven just south of Disney World, the latest entry into the crowded central Florida "theme park" business will open its gates and unveil the attractions. The multi-million dollar  "Legoland Florida" may already have a promotional "leg up" on the nearby Disney Mouse, Universal's Harry Potter and the various creatures at Seaworld and Bush Gardens.
Just when you may have thought that NASA's clock was ticking-down (Lest I digress: See "clocks" above!) with the demise of the Shuttle Program, the good folks at that other central Florida attraction, Cape Canaveral, loaded-up three Lego figures on board a space probe named Juno for its blast-off earlier this month on a five year mission to the planet Jupiter. When the spacecraft arrives in 2016, the Lego likeness of the Roman God, Jupiter; his sister Juno; and the Italian astronomer Galileo will be there to take in all the sights of our solar system's largest planet. In the last three weeks they've already become the farthest flying toys ever...and children of all ages may track their progress at LegoSpace.com. Guaranteed; a promo campaign sure to keep on giving.

15/08/11

Dog Daze of Summer: I'm taking a short break from regular blog activities. I encourage you to get caught-up on past "posts" you may have missed, or to re-read significant "posts" on specific topics of interest.
All of the topic LABELS are conveniently listed in alphabetical order along the column on the left of this page. Click on any label to access all of the related posts back to October 2007.

I'll be right back!

THIS MAY BE WORTH NOTING

One of those frequently annoying and seemingly endless lists of "things you should know" currently making the rounds of junk e-mails being repeated ad nausea, foretells things which will disappear during our lifetime.

As in mostly every such cases the author is unknown, but of the 9 things listed subject to imminent disappearance - The Post Office, the Cheque, and land-line telephones among them - I think generally everyone would agree that "Privacy" belongs on the endangered list. Alas, the concept of privacy has been gone for a long time anyway. As the anonymous author of "the list" litanizes: There are cameras on the street, in most buildings, and even built into computers and cell phones. From the growing list of Social Media sites, applications and outlets right down to the GPS coordinates emitted by your vehicle (and recorded in its own computer), through to and including Google Street View; someone knows "who" you are and "where" you are. And all that while, the "chip" embedded in your credit card identifies your habits and feeds a billion monitors so that your profile is matched with the advertising from your Internet provider, all to encourage you to buy something else, again and again.

Really the advertisers and sellers, the gossip mongers, the "big brother(s)" who watch and track every movement, action, and purchase; and who somehow along that process have managed to strip modern humanity of every shred of privacy; are (and have been) simply reflecting our own very public appetite for round-the-clock talk and information on and of every type; and most frequently of the most intimate nature. Collectively, over time we've convinced ourselves (fooled ourselves,really) that it all is news of crucial importance to our well being. And in a free, open society, news is an essential element of the principles of a healthy democracy. Ergo: Nothing is sacred nor confidential anymore: Privacy be damn!

Its practices may have been censured; but it was not by accident that the late unlamented London based "News Of The World" was the most read English language newspaper on the face of the planet. Nor for that matter that gossip websites and a multitude of publications and broadcasters engage in bidding wars, giddy deal-making and outrageous payments for "exclusivity" over the attention grabbing antics of personalities in public crack-up mode. As was the case with television personality Charlie Sheen a few months back - or for that matter, just recently about the lurid outcome of the Casey Anthony murder trial down in central Florida and the list goes on.

Some things disappear and some evolve over generations and during every lifetime. That is how we have measured progress since the dawn of civilization. Sometimes the changes are good, sometimes not: Frequently the difference is in how humankind has adapted to them. Perhaps the loss of the privilege of privacy fits into one of those two categories. Though I can't imagine that it would ultimately be seen to have been a "good" change. Perhaps eventually what we will have left that can't be changed are memories...But alas! The onset of old age may eventually also take those away.

...BE RIGHT BACK

Do not despair. Recent travel and other commitments have disrupted the flow of my "regular" blog postings. I'll be right back, with upcoming posts on "Perimeter Security" and "Mr. Harper's new obsession(s)."

Meantime, take a moment or two to review, browse and re-read earlier favourite posts - Your comments are always encouraged and welcomed - You will find all the tools needed to check back into "blog" history along the left hand column of this page. (Psst! while you are there you may also want to check-out the advertising: That's how I get paid.)

Enjoy; and I will be right back at you!

MONDO CANE (A dog's world)

CLEAR-UP THE MESSAGE - Back in the fall of 2008 when Barack Obama won the American Presidential election, the kids got a dog - Named 'Bo' (www.obama-dog.com). Back here, last month after a third try, when Stephen Harper won a clear majority in Parliament; the kids got a cat - Named 'Stanley'. I may need help sorting-out what this says about us.

THE POO-POO THAT YOU DOO-DOO - Spring's arrival in Canada's heavy populated southern regions is generally signaled by the return of obnoxious fumes and odors emitted by the thawing remains of five to seven months of dog droppings. They've been left to freeze to the snow and ice either through carelessness and/or (most likely) by semi-comatose frost bitten pet owners somewhat too anxious to return to the artificial warmth of their own indoors. As the globe's warming melts back the perma-frost of the Arctic tundra perhaps we should fear the stench awaiting from the eons of archaeological droppings which await there.

SNIFF YOUR OWN DAMN BUTT - In the USA, Bloomberg News reports that a dog trained to sniff-out colorectal cancer was almost as accurate as a colonoscopy. The un-named specially trained Labrador-Retriever (no doubt to protect it's identity) was 95% accurate as a colonoscopy when smelling breath samples; and 98% correct with stool samples. Okay! Enough about 'poo' - Still there may be something positive to be said about avoiding an invasive, humiliating and miserable exam where the "sun don't shine".

SCENTS ABILITY - Honest, I'm not making this up. There is a company called "Scents Ability" in Ottawa that hires-out a pooch, this one named "Buck" (doubtless one mean sucker) to sniff-out marijuana; heroin; methamphetamine; and cocaine. At $125 a pop; it's for the parent who has everything except trust in their teen aged kid and what they may hide in their jeans or bedroom. Has the world gone mad? Recent court decisions in Ontario have banned no-warrant searches by police dogs on school premises. Now the publicly funded school board can just call-in this nose for hire instead. Honestly, I'd rather my tax dollars be spent on education. Let's see if any of this stands-up in Court.

HECK! THE "FAT LADY" WAS JUST TUNING-UP

The election's flotsam, jetsam, entrails and campaign signs have yet to be fully picked-through...much less analyzed; but we're just starting. Increasingly in Canada, jurisdictions at all levels have moved to set predictable, stable, fixed election dates.

Of course the Federal Parliament has had a "set" election date since the winter of 2006 - A date which, for as many reasons as you may rattle-off, has been conveniently ignored by the government of the day on three separate occasions in the last 5 years: But I digress.

Provincially, Prince Edward Island and the North West Territories (okay, not a province) will go next (and first) on October 3, 2011; Manitoba the next day, October 4; then followed by Ontario on October 6; Newfoundland and Labrador, October 11; and lastly Saskatchewan on November 7. Yes, it sounds very much like a summer of perpetual electioneering from coast to coast. No doubt good for the print and advertising businesses which struggled through the recession but damned annoying - Nay! Expensive, for taxpayers assailed by the bickering, the partisan attacks, the advertising and the costs we ultimately all share.

Of course that's the very predictable product of fixed election dates: Perpetual campaigning because the politicians know exactly on which date the voters will turn out. There is not a more inauspicious and obvious example than down south of the border where the Presidential elections, coupled with the mid-term Congressional face-off, mean that the campaigning never stops. The next Presidential election is in November of 2012 but the contenders are already lined-up at the trough. Little wonder it's so damned difficult to get anything positive accomplished in the USA.

Clearly it's already started here: Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty is playing down the potentially career shortening consequences of Monday's federal wipe-out of Liberals in Ontario and pretty much everywhere else. Mr. McGuinty told the Ottawa Citizen newspaper that..."No previous election has ever been a perfect predictor of a subsequent election." Though to be safe, in the next few weeks Ontario families will receive the third of the installment cheques, totalling just about $1000, in rebate for last July's HST implementation. A little summer spending booty of our own tax money as the election campaigning ramps up.

Newfoundland and Labrador, like Prince-Edward Island, bucked the trend in the Grits national humiliation. Newfoundland's provincial election follows Ontario on October 11. Though it didn't make much difference on Monday, Premier Kathy Dunderdale who was appointed last December has been much more conciliatory towards Prime Minister Stephen Harper than her predecessor Danny Williams. Williams had famously counselled Newfoundlanders in 2008 to vote A-B-C / Anyone but Conservative! In fact Mrs. Dunderdale's biggest issue may be the implosion of her own Progressive-Conservatives before October's provincial vote. An ominous sign noted when the former Premier, Mr. Williams, refused to attend his own farewell dinner organized by the Dunderdale troops a couple of weeks back.

Westward in Saskatchewan tensions were obvious last fall between Premier Brad Wall's Saskatchewan Party supporters and their Federal Conservative brethren when the Harper Government kiboshed the sale of Potash Corporation to BHP Biliton an Anglo-Australian mining conglomerate. Mr. Wall's government though holds a massive majority in the Regina Legislative Assembly and the November 7 provincial election is unlikely to effect any groundswell change.

As in the case with the Harper Conservative breakthrough of 2008, and made the more succinct in Monday's "Orange Crush" courtesy of the New Democrats; Quebec's next provincial face-off is the most ambiguous. Though the province, like Alberta, doesn't have a "fixed" election date. - The current term of the Charest Government expires in 2012. I've speculated earlier that "Bloc" Leader Gilles Duceppe would jump to provincial politics after Monday's Federal Election. (See: "A Question Of Leadership" April 17/11). That's almost a "done deal" in the aftermath of the BQ's demise on Monday and Mr. Duceppe's sudden resignation. Facing a potential breakthrough of the "Parti Quebecois" with Gilles Duceppe as leader, the unpopular Premier Charest may pull the plug on the National Assembly before the former Federal BQ leader gets any home province traction. The light to illuminate Mr. Charest's ultimate decision could be a lucrative Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) deal with the Harper Government which would see Quebecois get "cheques in the mail" bigger than Ontarians'. Charest's plan B could always be to seek the Leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada. Oh the irony!

Then we can all make way for Alberta in 2012, and British-Columbia on May 14th, 2013...just 750 more days of campaigning left to go before that one.

DOOMED...

...And, it's not just about anticipating the results of next week's Federal Election. It is in the nature of our humankind to seek, develop and nurture progress at each and every evolutionary opportunity.

Alas from the coming of the end of the Agrarian Age, (4000 B.C. to 1700 A.D.) each evolutionary progressive step taken by the species has been a progressive step towards destroying the environment which nurtures our very existence.

For at least the last 400 years we have been embarked on a relentless mission to destroy our life giving and life sustaining planet. I am increasingly convinced that humankind has been thus genetically programmed, and that it is in the nature of our very existence, to wreak the havoc which will ultimately destroy the planet. To digress: Forgive me for being crude - Birds don't shit in their nests; but it seems we do! That train (as it were) has left the station.

DAS ENDE DER WELT IST NAH! (The end is nigh!) - Since we have pretty much pillaged and ravaged most of the planet's finite resources to feed our insatiable and greedy need for power and energy. We are now embarked on using high-technology in a relentless process to change the very way humans interact and, for better or worse, there is no turning back from that either. In this Federal Election ironically much has been said and debated about "Vote Mobs" - A concept which began at the University of Guelph as a student response to a rant by Comedian Rick Mercer; which has been spreading from campus to campus across Canada.

South of the border, our cousins from America have advanced the concept to "Crowd Funding." It too is primarily a phenomenon of the web savvy younger generations and it's aims; some good, some questionable; are to raise money "online" by getting as many visitors as possible to donate to a cause, project or venture. The tools of the social Web are evolving to take advantage of our human need to connect, while raising money.

A Psychology Professor at the University of New Brunswick, Lucia Sullivan, recently identified a third element she describes as "desperate texters" - She says:"People who text heavily are probably people who are more needy for a social connection and are using (it) to self-medicate." I digress...

Alas! There's is a high-tech connect between my theory on humankind's evolution and the "End of Time." - Never mind the Doomsday 2012 scenarios inspired by the mysterious Mayan Calendar which ends abruptly on December 21, 2012; nor the avaricious who sell survival seeds and doomsday bunkers. A small sect, headed by 88-year-old Harold Camping, based in Oakland, California with followers across the United-States says the end of time is next month. Mr. Camping claims to have scrutinized the Bible for almost 70 years and says he's developed a mathematical system to interpret prophesies hidden within the "Good Book." When he crunched the numbers he found that the planet's JUDGEMENT DAY, is May 21, 2011 - And; as per Revelation 9:5 - THE END OF THE WORLD, 5 months later, on October 21, 2011.

Never mind that on September 6, 1994 Mr. Camping's followers awaited Christ's return in vain; apparently a mere mis-crunching of the Biblical numbers. But this time be prepared. Just last week as I left Florida to return to Canada the "converted" (albeit in very small numbers) were gathered on street corners to remind that The End is nigh!

Time is short. How, say you, may we buy happiness in the after-life? Apparently salvation is just a credit card swipe away: "High-Tech Tithing!" In Agrarian times people gave God parts of their livelihood - goats, sheep, wheat and barley. Much later, they began plopping money into collection plates. Now, some churchgoers are swiping their cards at machines that look a bit like ATM's. In recent decades places of worship have provided increasing options for tithing and offerings: Links on websites and automatic deductions from bank accounts. Now comes the new twist: Machines called "Giving Kiosk Units" installed in churches by a Georgia company called "SecureGive". - Sleek silver pedestal machines, complete with LED screen, keypad and magnetic strip reader so far installed at more than 325 churches in the United-States.

As predicted; if the end comes before your credit card balance is due next month...you will be saved, and God may never know you didn't pay.

A PRETTY AMAZING DAY...

I suppose that given time and with enough research amazing things may be discovered about pretty much any date on the calendar. But there is a surprising convergence of events centered on April 12...

WAR IS HELL: In silence before the break of dawn they gathered by the hundreds at Charleston in South Carolina today to mark the solemn occasion of the naval attack on Fort Sumter and the start of the U.S. Civil War, 150 years ago. The confrontation between the Confederacy of southern states and the government of the United-States tore the country apart. Some wounds still fresh. The roll call of more than 800,000 dead echoes still from Gettysburg to Bentonville by way of Antietam, Shiloh, Manassas, Vicksburg, Fredericksburg, Richmond and so many other places.

THE MUSIC DIED: Ninety-nine years ago this day the venerable "RMS Titanic" sailed from Southampton on her faithful maiden voyage. A new book titled "The Band That Played On" is being published this week about the eight man band that played-on as the ship went down until the Atlantic eventually drowned their music into silence. The centennial of the sinking of the doomed ship is just a year away. It's only natural that a new round of stories, anecdotes and tales is beginning to emerge.

...BUT ROCK WAS BORN: Turns out it was also on April 12; in 1954, 57 years ago, that rock and roll was born. Bill Haley and the Comets travelled from Pennsylvania to New York city on their first contract with Decca Records: A rock-a-billy tune titled "Thirteen Women And Only One Man In Town" - But the recording needed a "B" side and the group was offered "Rock Around The Clock". Forty-five Minutes of rehearsal and two-takes later: Rock & Roll had been born. Haley's "Rock Around The Clock" remains the best selling rock single of all time.

MAN ENTERS THE SPACE AGE: It was 50 years ago today that Russian Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin blasted into, and became the first human to orbit the planet in space. Gagarin's April 12, 1961 blast-off and successful three orbit(s) mission just short of 200 miles above the planet prompted the administration of American President John F. Kennedy to commit his country to landing a man "on the moon" before the end of the decade. A mission accomplished in July 1969.

GIVE IT TO MIKEY...HE'LL EAT ANYTHING

I've been reminded of the breakfast cereal commercial - "Give it to Mikey" - on learning that a Canadian General has been handed command of the hot-potato of NATO's commitment in the Libyan civil war.

Doubtless high-five(s) all around at National Defence Headquarters in Ottawa with the announcement that Chicoutimi native, General Charles Bouchard, has been designated by the partners in the North Atlantic Alliance (NATO) to head the campaign to - Let me quote United-Nations Resolution 1973: "...enforce a no-fly zone, prevent the transport of arms and munitions into Libya and protect the country's civilian population from its unpredictable leader."

Let me be clear: On past occasions I have been accused of not supporting our troops. In fact I've lost a couple of FaceBook friends over the matter. - Nothing could be further from the truth. It's the troops' political masters whom I take issue with; in this Libyan case, particularly with what is right; and what is wrong with our foreign war commitment.

In just the past few days the United-States administration of President Barack Obama has come under increasing pressure to limit (if not altogether withdraw from) the aggressive military campaign along Africa's Mediterranean coast; and as Canadian politicians embark on a Federal Election campaign our "mission creep" into Libya is being expanded expeditiously. - Prompting the question at least on the pages of the 'Globe and Mail': What is Canada doing in Libya? The newspaper notes retired Major-General Lewis MacKenzie's concern..."Our troops went on a mission to rescue people in the line of fire, then to deliver aid, then to escort sorties. Now they're dropping bombs."

No doubt that President Obama is happy to have handed deFacto command to his trusted Canadian ally. Somewhat unlike General MacKenzie's rhetoric, increasingly the pointed questions being asked of the military and the administration in the United States is whether the battle for Libya is (as we've been led to believe) the clash of a brutal dictator against a democratic opposition, or is it just fundamentally a tribal civil war in a country where tribes and sects have been held together by a succession of iron fisted dictators.

In the 'New York Times', journalist Thomas Friedman put the issue more succinctly: " It is no accident that the Mideast democracy rebellions began in three of the real countries, Iran, Egypt and Tunisia, where the populations are modern, with big homogeneous majorities that put the nation first before sect or tribe...but as these revolutions have spread to the more tribal/sectarian societies, it becomes difficult to discern where the quest for democracy stops and the desire that my tribe take over from your tribe begins."

So as political unrest seemingly spreads across North Africa and into the Persian Gulf; into Libya, Syria, Jordan, Yemen, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia we may be witnessing a series of moral and even strategic dilemmas whether to intervene in support of emerging serious democratic movements; or simply ignore another outbreak of the traditional tribal conflicts and wars which have tormented the region for centuries.

It's an important debate which is being muted in Canada because there is an election about to get underway which will focus on domestic issues rather than our international commitments. But in the absence of an election in their homeland, and doubtless with gratitude for Canada's decision to take a leadership role in the volatile Libyan civil war, Americans are being far more cautious than their Canadian allies in trying to determine whether the clashes in Libya truly signal an honest democracy movement led by tribes; rather than opposing tribes merely exploiting the language of democracy.

MULTICULTURAL ETHNICITY

The United-States is now the second largest Spanish speaking country in the world; but as the language becomes more widely used and interacts with the more dominant English, the opportunities to mangle it are spreading like a virus.

Gerardo Pina-Rosales who heads the North American Academy of the Spanish Language encouraged educators in Miami just a few days ago to join with an unprecedented hemispheric wide effort to reach out to future generations of Hispanic Americans to embrace bilingualism and multiculturalism.

Of course to Canadians; and the many living or raised in or very near the French speaking province of Quebec; the debate evolving in the United-States sounds somewhat familiar to the issues widely discussed, debated and virtually fought-over by Canadians forty or fifty years ago.

History, and in particular the economic domination of the United-States through much of the 20th Century meant that America's linguistic and multicultural evolution stagnated behind that of its European, Asian and other overseas business partners. And, quite substantially behind that of its continental partner to the north where circumstances of history forced Canadians (perhaps earlier than most) to come to terms with their cultural duality.

While the current confrontations and unrest sweeping over the Middle East and in North Africa may be in large measure fueled by a greater desire for self-determination; they are also being coloured by elements and factions within the various diverse cultures and religious beliefs involved.

The United-States is still caught-up in the depths of the economic crisis and because there are no Constitutional rights to guarantee the teaching of a second language, teachers of Spanish fear that language programs will be the first targeted when State Governments try to reign-in their spiralling expenses and debt. America's emerging debate over bilingualism and multiculturalism is surfacing at a time elsewhere, particularly in western Europe and just recently in Canada when multiculturalism as a national political objective is on the defensive and increasingly opposed and criticized.

There have been charges particularly in modern Europe that embracing multiculturalism has given rise to growing tensions and problems with immigrant arrivals, ironically many of whom immigrate from the Middle-East. The same neo-conservative movement which is sweeping the United-States and to a lesser degree Canada is already entrenched in Europe; and political leaders there; among them right-wing politicians French President Sakozy; German Chancellor Merkel and British Prime-Minister Cameron; have been critical of past practices. President Sarkozy said just last month that France's policies on multiculturalism have failed and that newcomers should..."accept to melt in a single society."

Canada has not been immune from the controversy. In Quebec the Provincial Government was forced to create a commission on "Reasonable Accommodation" in 2008 after several rural communities balked over the arrival of immigrants from cultures different from those of the original European settlers. The problem is exacerbated in Quebec because most new arrivals, somewhat like the Spanish and Latino arrivals to the United-States, choose to learn and to speak English. In fact a group of Quebec intellectuals recently proposed an alternative they described as "Interculturalism" which would take for granted the centrality of the French culture; and from there work to integrate minorities into a common public culture that respects diversity.

The value of being bilingual (or more) in an era of globalization should not be ignored. Though with the issue in the United-States seemingly in its infancy compared to Europe and to Canada; American politicians would be wise to draw valuable lessons from those who have been down this road before.