It's a game of win and lose

Recently a Wal-Mart employee was involved in an accident wherein he was hit by a truck and suffered brain damage.  Wal-Mart's insurance carrier paid out $470,000 for his treatment and care.  WIN for Wal-Mart.

The relatives of the employee sued the trucking company for pain and suffering and lost future wages and won a settlement of $417,000. WIN for employee.

On news of that settlement, Wal-Mart sued the employee for the return of the $470,000 they paid out for the treatment and care.  WIN for Wal-Mart.

On the news of suing the employee, Wal-Mart's share value dropped by millions of dollars, due to the bad publicity.  LOSE for Wal-Mart.

Seeming not to bother taking notice of Wal-Mart's mean and petty attitude towards their employees, shopper's continued to flood the store with dollars, thus shoving Wal-Marts market cap back up.  WIN for Wal-Mart and MAJOR LOSE for DECENCY.

Would you flee over $10,000?

You have to chuckle at Bozo the Clown on CBCs Lang and O'Leary Exchange.  And I am not referring to Amanda Lang.

Kevin O'Leary, a man who loves money, money and only money, burped up a big one recently that made him look silly and petty. 

O'Leary claims that corporate executives in Ontario will be bailing from the province in droves because of the 2% surtax being placed on income over $500,000.  That takes the effective rate of tax on the wealthy from 16% to 18% - a whopping $10,000 on an income of $500,000 or more.

Think about it, Kevin.  How much would it cost to make the move out of Ontario?  Would you have to give up your job and lose your benefits?  And where would you go?  Alberta has lower taxes but higher housing costs... no savings there.  How about to the US, Kevin?  How much will it cost you to replace OHIP in the US?  I bet it will be more than $10,000.

Get the picture, Kevin?  No rational executive will panic at a 2% surtax unless they are... named O'Leary?

Consequences?

Seems that our politicians can't figure out right from wrong.  Between helicopter rides out of convenience, sleepovers at fishing camps and thousand dollar hotel rooms at a conference dealing with poverty, you would think that at some point in time, someone would say, No More!  But you would be wrong.

Governments rise and fall based on three main factors: their record of success; their record of failure; or their record on ethics.

Maybe our leaders should begin to pay attention.

Is Titanic more sacred than Indian Burial Grounds?

I am growing a bit weary of hearing and reading that the relatives of victims of the Titanic are upset that the graves of their forebearers are being pillaged by treasure hunters.

Seems that they believe that the Titanic wreck is more sacred than Egyptian tombs or sacred Indian burial grounds.

Historica? All the history the government wants you to know?

 Historica-dominion Institute is the self-proclaimed preeminent Canadian history organization that has told Mysteriesofcanada.com, on any number of occasions, that we are like a flea on their back and other than the occasional itch, they do not even care if we exist.  I always wondered if their arrogance had some sort of underlying feature - and now it comes out.

Seems that the official-charity-case-known-as-Historica (Historica for short) also has an number of connections to the Harper government, which by the way provides it with $7.8 million (equivalent to 780 FTE civil service jobs) in subsidies each year.

Connection number one is the privately-owned telephone fundraising company they use,  The company, Responsive Marketing Group (RMG), not only is the company used by Harper to raise funds, but it also uses that Conservatives own fundraising database, developed by the party at taxpayers expense.  You may remember RMG was in the news in March of this year in connection to the Robocall Scandal Misunderstanding.

How deep is Historica into the pocket of RMG?  Seems that Historica raised $1.2 million and for that paid $600,000.  You think that is a good rate for a charity?

Connection number two is Micheal Levine, a senior executive at Historica, who also happens to be the lawyer who is negotiating for publishing rites, including big advance payments, for his client, Stephen Harper, who wrote a book about hockey.

Seems that Historica has a bit of a history itself when it comes to conservative fundraising.  In addition to RMG, they have also used Target Outreach, a US based company that raises money for conservative causes and the Republican Party.

Just have to wonder if Historica can claim to be an independent interpreter of Canada's past.

Why was it that we needed the F35s again?

The direct use of force is such a poor solution to any problem.  It is generally employed by only small children and large nations.- David Freidman

In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex.  The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.  We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted.  Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together. - General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Commander of European forces during WWII and former President of the United States.