The Ontario Government is suing the large tobacco companies for fifty billion dollars.  They want to recoup the costs of healthcare for the past fifty years.  The government has accused the companies of misleading people about the health risks of the product.

Now – first and foremost – I have never been a big fan of smoking.  I can see absolutely no positive benefits of taking up this habit.  It makes people stink.  It’s addictive.  It’s unhealthy.  It’s expensive.  However, in so saying that, I also believe in an individuals right to choose.  If that person chooses to smoke and by doing so is not offending anyone else or subjecting them to any health risk, then by all means light up.

It does seem very hypocritical of the government, however.  They could just ban smoking outright, ridding themselves of the health care costs.  However, they choose to educate the people, restrict advertising, and otherwise legislate the industry.  They also collect taxes from the sale of cigarettes.  They do the same with alcohol, yet there is no lawsuit pending.  Why?  If you go after one industry, then why not all of them?

There is precedent, however.  All fifty U.S. States successfully sued the U.S. tobacco industry and won an out of court settlement for $247 billion dollars.  A significant amount of money, but you have to take into consideration that the United States has ten times the population of Canada.  Ontario represents about a quarter of the Canadian population.  Doing some quick math, Ontario could expect about six billion dollars if the case is settled out of court.

To ease the burden on the health care system, my solution would be to have smokers sign away their right to free health care for any medical issues resulting from their smoking.  As it should be their right to choose whether or not to light a cigarette, it should be our right to choose to not have to pay for the consequences of their actions.

The Liberal Party of Canada is threatening to force an election in Canada, with the vote to be held sometime in the fall.  To hold an election in Canada, it costs the taxpayers somewhere in the neighborhood of 300 million dollars.  Even if the country was not in the midst of a recession, that’s still a lot of money.  Ergo, I wonder – with the outcome likely to be a minority Liberal or Conservative government – is this such a good idea?

This is where governments fail their constituents.  When you look at the population as a whole, most people are moderate.  They have some conservative tendencies, and some liberal ones.  Some people lean towards the Green Party or the NDP.  It’s a very small percentage of the population that are completely right-wing or left-wing.  Ergo, when a government is elected, and they try to implement their policies, they can rarely please the majority of people.  This is even further complicated when the sitting government is a minority one.

When you stand back and watch the constant fighting and bickering between the four major politcal parties, I often ponder if they want power merely to impose their ideas upon Canadians or if they truly think that they can manage the country better than the incumbent?

Personally, I’m not a fan of any party.  Nobody strikes me as wanting to work in the best interest of Canadians and Canada.  They all seem to be interested in the power, or providing for their friends.  I guess the old adage of “power corrupts” is true.  But, you have to scratch the backs of the people who helped get you elected.

Did you know that under Ontario’s Civil Remedies Act, the police can confiscate anything in your possession if they suspect that you are committing a crime?  Most sane people would not have a problem with this…except for one mitigating factor.  They do not have to actually charge you.

This law was recently challenged as unconstitutional and the law was held up by the Supreme Court of Canada.  I understand the reasons as to why, but the application of the law must be handled with great care.  This law was designed with the intention to allow the authorities to dismantle criminal organizations.  However, given the way the law is written, if the perception exists that you are acting in an unlawful manner, the police can sieze your property and you have absolutely no recourse to get it back.

Six other provinces have enacted legislation similar to that in Ontario.  In British Columbia, within two years of being operational, the Civil Forfeiture Office was self funding.  This office is funded by the sale of confiscated goods.

It is frightening to think that the government has put this kind of power into the hands of the police.  Uncle Ben (from Spider-man) once said to Peter Parker, “With great power comes great responsibility.”  We can only be hopeful that the authorities do not abuse this power, as they do in the United States, where it is not uncommon to see law enforcement officials driving around in confiscated cars.

To read a copy of the law, click here.

Fox News is at it again.

President Obama like Dijon mustard on his burgers and they have a problem with this.  What a complete waste of time.  Who give a flying fuck if the mustard is not made in the United States?  It’s mustard!

Already I have wasted far too much precious time and space on this nonsense.

Grow up Fox News.  Constructive criticism please.  Stop wasting valuable newspace on shit like this.

AIG is in a lot of trouble right now.  Despite borrowing billions from the Federal Government (making them 80% Government owned), the company paid out $165 million dollars in bonuses, mostly to employees who were responsible for the collapse of the company.  This is just the tip of the iceberg.  Total bonuses for the financial unit could reach up to $450 million.  The total bonuses for the company itself is projected to be as high as 1.2 billion.

The response of the U.S. Government was swift.  Today they passed legislation taxing 90% of these bonuses to employees making $250,000 per year who work for any company that has received over five billion in bailout money.

While I applaud the action, I do not agree with the methodology used.  Last month, a provision banning all bonuses was stripped out of the stimulus bill by the Democrats.  Why did they do this, then when the public backlash over the AIG bonuses reached their lofty ears they rushed this bill through?  Sadly, this is another example of partisan politics currently being played in the Government.  This economic crisis is the worst since the Great Depression and everyone has to work together for the benefit of the country.

The current CEO of AIG, Edward Liddy, is working at the behest of the Government for $1.00 per year.  This is commendable, but he was brought in to change the corporate culture at AIG as much as to turn the struggling company around.  His credentials are impressive.  He is the former president, CEO and Chairman of Allstate Insurance.  Unfortunately, he is old-school blood and know only how things were done, not necessarily how things should be done.

In October 2008, he defended a $440,000 corporate retreat by stating to Congress that these retreats “are standard practice in our industry.”  He also defended the bonuses prior to asking the recipients to return them by saying that the employees are entilted to them and AIG could face legal reprecussions should they not honor their contractual obligations.  Fair enough, but when a company loses 61.7 billion dollars in a quarter, how do you justify a bonus payment to anybody?

To quote the late Owen Hart, “Enough is enough and it’s time for a change!” 

Canadian politicians are in an uproar.   The U.S. House of Representatives voted Wednesday for a so-called “Buy America” provision that would call on major public works projects to favour U.S. steel over imports.  Liberals, who wouldn’t do anything anyways, are all over the Conservatives for not protesting more.  Now…let us look at this a little more closely.

First and foremost, due to the fact that this is Federal money being used for major public works projects, it automatically falls under the Buy America Act, which clearly requires that the United States government prefer U.S.-made products in its purchases.  This act was passed by Congress in 1933!  It took our politicians 76 years to figure this out?

There are two exceptions to the Buy America Act.  The Act can be waived if the burden of purchasing domestically manufactured products is deemed to be unreasonable.  It can also be waived by the President within the terms of a reciprocal agreement (in this case NAFTA) via the Trade Agreements Act.  There are still a couple of hurdles to clear when selling foreign-made product to the United States Government.

First and foremost, all government contracts in excess of $25,000 are tendered out to bid.  Any company, foreign or domestic, can bid on these tenders.  Foreign-made product is subject to the Trade Agreements Act of 1979.  Certain countries are ineligible to do business directly with the United States Government due to being considered hostile (Iran, North Korea, Cuba), having an oppressive regime (China, Indonesia), or not having a valid trade agreement (Taiwan, Russia).  As it pertains to Canada, we have no such restrictions.

Secondly, it helps if you are a preferred supplier to the United States Government.  To achieve preferred status, you must acquire a contract to sell your products from the General Services Administration (GSA).  All bids and tenders are listed on GSA as well as its sister site FedBizOps.  Obtaining such a contract can involve a number of hurdles, but ones they have been passed, the business opportunities are only limited by the amount of time that you have.

Public Works projects use steel.  Lots of steel.  China currently owns twenty percent of the global steel market.  Companies based in the United States own less than three percent of the global steel market.  Canadian companies have no significant investment in this market (Dofasco is owned by ArcelorMittal and Stelco is owned by U.S. Steel).  Of course, these two companies employ many Canadians, but even if the United States chooses not to purchase the steel manufactured in Canada, the global market is ready, willing, and eager to gobble it up.  Yes…we are in the midst of a global economic downturn (how many times will I have to hear that) but infrastructure projects are always being built.  The steel market has never been healthier.

As a complete aside, 316 is one of the most popular grades of steel.  Interesting.  I always wondered why I was getting many hits from people looking for steel.  Now I know.

As for my own opinion on such matters concerning how the Canadian government should administer the spending of our money, I think that they should take a very close look at how the United States does business.  Canada is extremely inefficient when soliciting tenders, and the system is radically expensive and bass-ackwards.  The U.S. Government – technically the largest business on the planet – is very streamlined.  It costs relatively little to be a participant and viewing all of the tenders is easy and free of charge.  They have reserved bids for small businesses, minorites, veterans, and women.  In short, they make it easy to do business with them compared to Canada.

Simply put, our government needs to stop pissing and moaning and take a look at itself, then at the United States, and then back at itself.  Maybe they would learn something rather than whining about laws that are over 75 years old.

Welcome to the 44th President of The United States.  Black or white, Democrat or Republican, male or female, I think that everyone can agree that Obama has a certain charisma about him that the world needs right now.  He has the ability to inspire people and make them feel good about themselves and what they are doing, which are two traits that a leader (regardless if he is leading the nation or a small company) must have.

It is too early to tell what the effects of the Bush presidential legacy will be.  It would seem that most people would love to blame the outgoing President for many of the world’s problems, and while he does have to bear his share of the responsibility, those who would cast the first stone are mistaken.  You can point to 9/11 as the turning point of the Bush presidency – a time where he has the highest popularity rating of any President in modern history, and where it went from there.

Obama is one of the youngest Presidents of all time.  Only Grant, Roosevelt, Kennedy, and Clinton were younger (though Clinton aged ridiculously while in office.  Monica sucked the life right out of him.).  He is the first born in the 1960’s, the first President of that generation.  He is the first colored President, and the first born in Hawaii.  More importantly, he is the first President to embrace the digital medium of communication.  He sleeps with his BlackBerry, and uses the Internet as a means to interact with the public and to share his ideas, thoughts, and values.  Furthermore, despite his affliation with the Democratic Party, he does not mind crossing party lines in order to get things done.  All of these traits endear him to the people.  Not only in the United States, but around the world as well.

It is my hope that he can begin to fix some of the major problems currently occupying the United States.  A woeful economy, two wars, and crumbling infrastructure.  A nation who had lost faith in its previous leader.  The United States is the only true superpower left in the world.  As they go, the world goes.  If they are prosperous, then likely so shall we be.  As I am Canadian, I know how tightly our two countries are tied and we enevitibly follow, be the times good or bad.

Good luck to President Obama.  He has a lot of work to do.  It would seem that the weight of the world is truly riding on his shoulders.

An interesting bit of news today.  As many know, the digital conversion from analog television is scheduled to take place on February 17th in the United States.  All analog transmissions will be shut down at midnight.

However…there is a problem (because nothing ever goes smoothly).  The NTIA and the Department of Commerce have run into a cash shortage with respect to providing consumers coupons for the digital to analog set top converters, which has created a backlog of approximately 1.1 million customers.  These set top boxes allow analog tv sets to display digital signals, and are necessary due to the fact that once the digital conversion occurs, these televisions will cease to function otherwise.  The coupons offer $40.00 off the price of these boxes, which typically run anywhere from $45.00 to $80.00. 

Furthermore, there is a shortage of the boxes on the market.  People cannot find these units (amusingly enough, they are all manufactured in China), and therefore are unable to purchase them.

As a result, the incoming Obama administration has asked Congress to mandate a law postponing the digital conversion.  Republicans do not want to change the date, and neither do some Democrats.  We shall see what occurs in the next few weeks as the date becomes closer and closer.

It would appear not.

The Israelis and the Palestinians are in deep conflict once again.  I guess there are only so many rocket attacks the Jewish people can take before they get fed up.  One can understand why by looking at the country of Israel.

In 1947, the United Nations approved splitting the country of Palestine into two states, one Jewish and one Arab.  Less than a year later, the Jewish state declared independence (which was recognized immediately by the most powerful nation in the world at the time, the United States).  This plunged them into an immediate war with the Arab state (and their neighbors, who just happen to all be Arab).  Israel won these wars and annexxed even more territory, expanding their borders beyond the initial United Nations partition plan.

This is just recent history, and Israel has fought battles against its neighbors and the Palestinians ever since.  As they receive aid from the United States, as well as access to military technology (and are also extremely resourceful themselves), they have never been defeated.  If they were, Israel would be obliterated off the map by the victors.

The Israelis take no chances.  They are not afraid to go on the offensive, and their spy service and internal security service (the Mossad and Shin Bet, respectively) are the best in the business.  They have effectively and ruthlessly carried out many kidnappings and assassinations.  In fact, they warned the United States about 9/11 long before it took place.

All of this conflict stems from religion.  Despite the obvious reference to the domain name, I do not consider myself religious and I do not understand hating someone because they are of a different faith.  Religion is supposed to preach peace, yet look at all the conflict throughout the world that it inspires.  It is supposed to provide hope and joy, yet millions of people have been killed in the name of religion.  Peace and harmony, faith and understanding…but at what cost?