On Brands and Hypocrisy
In this video, Hank Green of the vlogbrothers discusses the overt hypocrisy of brands. He discusses how large corporations establish multiple brands in order to market products to different ideological groups, often diametrically opposed in interest to one another, yet the brands do not actually reflect the values of the corporation. Indeed, corporations in a capitalist society have only one value: make more money.
Ray Boughen: I'm Not Doing Much
Ray Boughen last month, explaining why we shouldn't worry that prorogation will mean that he's taking a vacation:
Although there won’t be any legislation passed until after all politicians head back to Ottawa in March, Boughen said the House is just one aspect of what an MP does on a regular basis.
To infinity and beyond
We are now the Mobius City. I can only assume Regina's last big stimulus project will be to renovate the Ring Road accordingly.
Citizens of Regina: You Have Been Re-Branded
To the left is the new logo and slogan for the City of Regina.
The new logo is a stylized, flowery looking letter "R" and the slogan is "Infinite Horizons" - which I guess means the jokes that you can watch your dog run away for three days has now been incorporated into our cities' marketing strategy.
On misleading impressions
Memo to the Globe and Mail: in discussing a Dimitri Soudas e-mail about avoiding political interference, it's rather important to include the ";-)" and the "ROTFLMAO" for context.
Quick Hit: Foreign Languages
Q: What do you call someone who speaks three languages?
A: Trilingual
Q: What do you call someone who speaks two languages?
A: Bilingual
Q: What do you call someone who speaks one language?
A: American
Winter Biking
Well, I have actually got into the winter biking thing and pedalled over 230 km since December on the winter bike with the studded tires.
The Olympics: A Failure of Legitimacy
Samsung Olympic ad on TD building
There are many levels of debate about the value of Olympics: social, economic, cultural, political, etc. But one level seems to undergird them all: moral legitimacy, in which the Olympics is bankrupt.
Ideology and Weltenschauung. . . .
I have been thinking about my last post and how political analysts like Rex Murphy are shying from ideological discourse. This tendency has been growing for some time now in Western nations, particularly since the end of so-called soviet socialism. This has been a fairly conscious and concerted effort to undermine opposition to capitalism and western power by creating the image that the system we live in is somehow 'natural,' inevitable, unavoidable, and somehow rationally based.
Harper-Proofing Canadian Democracy: Accountability for Information
There's been no lack of talk lately about Canada's federal access to information procedures, and the recommendations of the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics offer at least one set of proposals worthy of action. But there's a more fundamental issue at play which doesn't seem to have been addressed - and I'll suggest that it makes for the most important possible safeguard against the likes of the Cons.
I Swear, Sometimes These Things Just Write Themselves.
Via Foreign Policy, comes this story of Pakistan’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia:
Despite having served for years as a distinguished Pakistani diplomat, Akbar Zeb reportedly cannot receive accreditation as Pakistan’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia. The reason, apparently, has nothing to do with his credentials, and everything to do with his name — which, in Arabic, translates [...]
Woodstock Building Permits Down Two Thirds For 2009
LOCAL CONSTRUCTION COLLAPSED IN 2009 The value of building permits issued by the City of Woodstock plummetted drastically when compared with the totals for 2008 which has resulted in high unemployement for the local construction industry..
Researchers Claim Drinking "pop" leads To Pancreatic Cancer
CANCER LINKED TO DRINKING SODA POP Researchers from the University of Minnesota say that they have discovered a link between pancreatic cancer and the consumption of 2 or more soft drinks per week according to a study that was released this past week. The pancreas is the organ responsible for insulin produciton and researchers say that increased sugar consumption leads to increased insulin production which scientists believe in turn leads to an increase in cancer cell growth. The study was conducted amongst a test group of 60,000 subjects from Singapore who were studied over a
Olympic Threat Mathematics
Almost a year ago I wrote about how VANOC was exploring risks to Olympic corporate sponsors. People don’t like them because they have co-opted the Olympics and are pimping the athletes and glee-seekers for their own exposure, which is now most evident in Olympic logos all over the TV, skyscraper advertising condoms downtown and inane transit ads that merely say that XYZ corporation is proud to sponsor the Olympics.
Saskatchewan Job Numbers: Let The Spin Begin
Source: CBC News: Sask. Politicians Put Spin on Job Numbers
Well, a new year and new figures have come out reporting on how provinces are doing in regards to economic recovery. The Saskatchewan Party Government has come out and released their statistics for Saskatchewan and have begun telling residents why it's good news.
Jim Pankiw? No Thank You
Former Canadian Alliance and Reform Party MP Jim Pankiw is trying to make a political comeback.
A Quote Worth Heeding
" The disposition to admire, and almost to worship, the rich and the powerful, and to despise, or, at least, to neglect persons of poor and mean condition...is...the great and most universal cause of the corruption of our moral sentiments." ---Adam Smith