Sunday, July 10, 2011
Learning Photo Restoration
We had this photo in the Leech family papers. (top) I tinkered with it in Corel Paintshop Photo ProX3 and was rather pleased with the effect I achieved. (bottom)
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Pelicans
Each summer we are pleased to see some white pelicans making use of our little lake here in Sherwood Park. Summer 2011 (if we can use the term "summer" liberally) has been especially rewarding. We have seen up to 15 pelicans at one time, and seeing them swooping in on their huge wings, and then floating across the lake like so many paddle boats, is a real pleasure.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Still a hewer of wood
I once was introduced to Arthur Lower, one of the more prominent Canadian historians of the first half of the 20th Century. He was long retired but meeting him was a moment akin to today's junior hockey player being introduced to, say, Bobby Orr - someone you knew of as a big name but never imagined encountering directly.
One Lower work I admired was Great Britain's Woodyard, which I found an engrossing explication of how the British North American colonies failed to benefit from the sudden emergence of a new major industry - forestry. The boom was precipitated largely by the French Revolutionary, and more particularly, the Napoleonic Wars, in Europe. Britain at the time, still largely in the thrall of mercantilist economic theory, insisted that BNA export only primary product, squared timber for the most part. Proto-Canadians had seasonal jobs in the bush, but capital accumulation occurred in the United Kingdom and the United States. [Americans owned some of the forestry companies.]
So it was a sobering deja vu when I read a recent article about increasing Canadian lumber sales to China. A full two centuries later, and there they were - squared timber and rough logs arriving in China.
How little we have learned. How colonial we remain.
One Lower work I admired was Great Britain's Woodyard, which I found an engrossing explication of how the British North American colonies failed to benefit from the sudden emergence of a new major industry - forestry. The boom was precipitated largely by the French Revolutionary, and more particularly, the Napoleonic Wars, in Europe. Britain at the time, still largely in the thrall of mercantilist economic theory, insisted that BNA export only primary product, squared timber for the most part. Proto-Canadians had seasonal jobs in the bush, but capital accumulation occurred in the United Kingdom and the United States. [Americans owned some of the forestry companies.]
So it was a sobering deja vu when I read a recent article about increasing Canadian lumber sales to China. A full two centuries later, and there they were - squared timber and rough logs arriving in China.
How little we have learned. How colonial we remain.
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Perspective vs Truth
A friend recently commented; "What I am learning in politics is to deal with the truth and not get sidetracked by others perspective." However, in politics, one's perspective is one's truth. Therefore, the politician needs to manage / shape perspectives, not avoid or ignore them.
Sometimes politicians seem tone deaf as to the perspectives they are enabling. For example, in the 2008 Canadian Federal Election campaign, Stephen Harper may well have lost the opportunity for a majority by an unnecessary characterization of those favouring funding for the arts:
"I think when ordinary working people come home, turn on the TV and see a gala of a bunch of people at, you know, a rich gala all subsidized by taxpayers, claiming their subsidies aren't high enough, when they know those subsidies have actually gone up – I'm not sure that's something that resonates with ordinary people," Harper said in Saskatoon, where he was campaigning for the Oct. 14 election." - quoted in Toronto Star, 24 SEP 2008
The strong reaction to this comment fuelled a perspective that saw Harper and the Conservatives as harbouring regressive "red-neck" views. Most pundits opined that the comment was decisive to losing support in Quebec and in urban seats, both areas where the Conservatives needed to gain support. On the other hand, those who may have agreed with Harper's comments were already Conservative supporters.
In the current 2011 campaign, Harper is again ignoring perceptions. His limiting of questions from the media, a symptom of a generally testy attitude toward the media, and to questioning of him in general, can easily be spun to the perception of his being authoritarian and given to political gamesmanship.
This attitude was nicely captured in a comment tweeted by political reporter Kady O'Malley
It hit me earlier today, actually: so far, Stephen Harper isn't so much campaigning as acting like a guy locked out of his office. @kady 31 MAR 2011 Such an attitude will lose Harper an obvious opportunity to finally achieve a majority. The opportunity for such a majority was virtually guaranteed. Canadians have tired of the uncertainties of a minority government. The opposition parties have failed to excite Canadians as providing any fresh alternatives. It was ripe for Harper and the Conservatives to win. And yet, there is a perspective out there that may well deliver to Harper an unwelcome truth - an election that produces another minority.
Sometimes politicians seem tone deaf as to the perspectives they are enabling. For example, in the 2008 Canadian Federal Election campaign, Stephen Harper may well have lost the opportunity for a majority by an unnecessary characterization of those favouring funding for the arts:
"I think when ordinary working people come home, turn on the TV and see a gala of a bunch of people at, you know, a rich gala all subsidized by taxpayers, claiming their subsidies aren't high enough, when they know those subsidies have actually gone up – I'm not sure that's something that resonates with ordinary people," Harper said in Saskatoon, where he was campaigning for the Oct. 14 election." - quoted in Toronto Star, 24 SEP 2008
The strong reaction to this comment fuelled a perspective that saw Harper and the Conservatives as harbouring regressive "red-neck" views. Most pundits opined that the comment was decisive to losing support in Quebec and in urban seats, both areas where the Conservatives needed to gain support. On the other hand, those who may have agreed with Harper's comments were already Conservative supporters.
In the current 2011 campaign, Harper is again ignoring perceptions. His limiting of questions from the media, a symptom of a generally testy attitude toward the media, and to questioning of him in general, can easily be spun to the perception of his being authoritarian and given to political gamesmanship.
This attitude was nicely captured in a comment tweeted by political reporter Kady O'Malley
It hit me earlier today, actually: so far, Stephen Harper isn't so much campaigning as acting like a guy locked out of his office. @kady 31 MAR 2011 Such an attitude will lose Harper an obvious opportunity to finally achieve a majority. The opportunity for such a majority was virtually guaranteed. Canadians have tired of the uncertainties of a minority government. The opposition parties have failed to excite Canadians as providing any fresh alternatives. It was ripe for Harper and the Conservatives to win. And yet, there is a perspective out there that may well deliver to Harper an unwelcome truth - an election that produces another minority.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Democracy Redefined
We need a new definition of "democracy". Around the world today we hear of pro-democracy movements, of a democratic deficit, of promises by political parties to "restore democracy". These uses of "democracy" are varied and tired. However, they all resonate to some degree because of a wide spread hunger for greater respect for the inherent worth of each individual. While the demands are often framed as addressing a need for broader access into the power structures of institutions, organizations and society generally; they are all really saying that all individuals should matter, that no one should be ignored, or dismissed, or treated as though they are only an inconsequential cog in a machine manipulated for the self-satisfaction of some arrogant elite.
Therefore, let the new definition of "democracy" be: "a society which recognizes, celebrates, and protects the inherent value of each individual." In order to achieve such a society, we need revolutionary changes to our political and societal institutions. We need to rethink and reinvent society as a necessary means to free the human spirit and raise the level of both individual and group consciousness.
In discussion some of these themes, Professor Fouad Ajami recently compared the "Arab Revolution of 2011" with The Year of Revolutions in Europe (1848).[1] That outburst contained numerous demands from liberals of that era for greater access to the instruments of power through the adoption of written constitutions and the implementation of parliaments with a broad electorate choosing legislative assemblies that supposedly would control executive branches of government. In large measure, we are still stuck with these mid-19th century institutions. It must be admitted, though, that parliaments are now hollow shells, composed of what former Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau termed “nobodies”, easily outmanoeuvred, when they are not simply ignored, by executives which are increasingly dominated by presidential figures wielding arbitrary power. Examples range from United States’ presidents declaring war without reference to Congress to the vast array of dictators around the world who operate on the premise that their country is their personal fiefdom whose main purpose is to enrich them and their small inner circles.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Taxes or extra overhead
This is an odd situation that happened in 2007. We sent a parcel from Alberta to Nova Scotia and the business we paid to ship it charged us the Nova Scotia HST. This seemed so out of hand that I ran it by an Alberta Finance person who opined that this was not illegal, it was a choice of the business owner. We never used this business again and I still wonder if the taxes we paid ever reached the coffers of Nova Scotia.
PS Part of the reason for the high cost of shipping (the parcel was about the size of a loaf of bread) was that we paid extra for "2 day delivery" - the parcel was actually delivered in 5 days.
We all need to be reminded from time to time that taxes are actually a confiscation of our personal property. This is bad enough, but when it is compounded by the tax collector skimming a margin for himself, it helps to understand why "tax collectors" were such unpopular - not to say reviled - persons in the ancient world. In those days, it was common to farm out tax collection. The way this worked was that a ruler would contract with someone to collect x amount of taxes in a certain area. The "tax farmer" was free (indeed it was expected) to collect more taxes than the amount of his contract (i.e. x + y) The tax collector thus had the incentive to enrich himself by collecting as much (or more) than what the market might bear. This "mark-up" is part of the same approach which irritates so many ordinary people in the world even today. When a driver's license agent in, say, Egypt, insists that a person pay a personal bribe, in addition to the govermental fee then we have this same piggy-backing of personal greed and corruption, on top of the (questionably legitimate) taxes. The "little people" are helpless to change this system and are thus denied justice. However, a thousand small cuts sometimes adds up to a rage that demands the overthrow of the whole system - "tax collector" and "tax perpetrator" included.
We all need to be reminded from time to time that taxes are actually a confiscation of our personal property. This is bad enough, but when it is compounded by the tax collector skimming a margin for himself, it helps to understand why "tax collectors" were such unpopular - not to say reviled - persons in the ancient world. In those days, it was common to farm out tax collection. The way this worked was that a ruler would contract with someone to collect x amount of taxes in a certain area. The "tax farmer" was free (indeed it was expected) to collect more taxes than the amount of his contract (i.e. x + y) The tax collector thus had the incentive to enrich himself by collecting as much (or more) than what the market might bear. This "mark-up" is part of the same approach which irritates so many ordinary people in the world even today. When a driver's license agent in, say, Egypt, insists that a person pay a personal bribe, in addition to the govermental fee then we have this same piggy-backing of personal greed and corruption, on top of the (questionably legitimate) taxes. The "little people" are helpless to change this system and are thus denied justice. However, a thousand small cuts sometimes adds up to a rage that demands the overthrow of the whole system - "tax collector" and "tax perpetrator" included.
Friday, January 21, 2011
Welcome to my Photo and Philosophy Blog
Our "Big Tour" blog became popular - partly for some not so good reasons - i.e. Dorothy's health crisis - but I wanted to leave it intact as having dealt with The Tour as a stand alone adventure.
Some folks were kind enough to indicate they enjoyed some of my photos so I decided to start a separate blog to feature some of them as time went on. I'm also going to add some thoughts that appeal to me and some comments on this and that. [Keeping in mind no one asked for these!]
Some folks were kind enough to indicate they enjoyed some of my photos so I decided to start a separate blog to feature some of them as time went on. I'm also going to add some thoughts that appeal to me and some comments on this and that. [Keeping in mind no one asked for these!]
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