Canada: Fiscally Conservative Model or Debt-ridden Western Consumerist Pig?
Now that the G8 and G20 meetings are over (well, all that is left is for tax-payers to actually pay for the extremely costly events), it was interesting to see this article from the Economist:
I was especially interested to see the graph showing the Debt-to-GDP ratios for many of the world’s “top” economies. Of course, Canada is comparable to many other nations, including those being portrayed as part of the PIIGS (Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece and Spain) or as being quite precarious (U.S., U.K.). But over the last year there have been many (mostly politicians) gloating that Canada is a fiscally conservative and financially responsible nation. Sure, we didn’t need to bail out our financial institutions, but this has not stopped us from doling out bailout money (oh, right, this money isn’t a bailout, it is a “share purchase” or “loan guarantee”… “same diff!” as my childhood friends used to say) or from spending billions in stimulus money and running large deficits.
But when you look at Canada’s numbers, it is more tru to say we are the “least of the worst” or something along those lines. Of course, there are many differences that need to be taken into account. Japan has relatively huge debt levels but a lot of that is held domestically. The U.S. debt is increasingly held abroad but has modest social programs and could (or may have to) cut its massive defense spending which would easily halve its current deficit. With Canada, sure, we are not as debt-ridden as the U.S. or Japan or Greece, but we have higher levels of debt than many other nations and as an exporting nation, we rely on high consumption rates of other countries, and many of those countries have been living beyond their means too are now looking down the barrel of cut-backs and austerity programs. What is more, our levels of consumption rival that of the U.S. and are unsustainable in the long run. This is most evident in our very high levels of household debt.
So, when it comes to being an economic model or a consumerist PIIG, Canada is likely closer to the latter than the former.
By the way, you can see an approximation of Canada’s national debt at http://www.debtclock.ca/ and the U.S.A.’s national debt (and more) at http://www.usdebtclock.org/. (It is my belief that these debt clocks should be front and centre on the main websites of the respective federal governments involved.)
My last question is this: how does a government spend a billion dollars on security for two conferences that take place over a couple of days anyway? It just boggles the mind how that much money can be spent in such a short period of time. Here Canada seems to be taking a page from the U.S. playbook (which is something that is very common with this government): if you spend oodles and oodles of money on the military, police, or security, it is easier to get away with such waste because it is very difficult to argue against money being used for those purposes. Plus, (and this is a ‘big’ plus in the minds of those who lean to the right because it indulges their more aggressive/masculine traits) you can often just label your critics as being soft (on terrorism, on anarchists, on communists, etc.) and sometimes, as we saw a lot of in Toronto over this past weekend, just throw them in jail. At any rate, look for many of the higher-ups in this current federal government getting cushy jobs on boards or as upper management at security- or military-related corporations in the future.
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Summer feels like it is finally here
Ahhh… summer. It feels like it is finally here… and it’s only June. But all the rain that we have received in Southern Alberta has done some good things for local vegetation; including the collection of lilies in my front yard.
I can’t really take any credit for their appearance since, other than weeding, they are almost care-free and seem to do very well where they are placed with lots of intense morning sun.
These plants are derived from some that were given to me by both of my sisters. Alas, the flowers do 
not last very long so in a couple of weeks they will lose much of their colour. Still they are nice while they last.
Enjoy.
Mint, Conky and #!
Before retiring an old computer that I had originally purchased second hand about four or five years ago, I used it an an experimental box to try out different versions of Linux. I kept it until I had my new ‘experimental box’ built. At any rate, I saved some screenshot of the desktop showing the last configuration it before its retirement: Linux Mint 8 and the latest version of #! (or Crunchbang Linux).
I have mentioned Linux Mint before and it has become my main Linux distro for the time being. I like it as much as Ubuntu and will follow its development for some time. Like versions of Ubuntu, it is very much oriented to a broad audience, including those that might be considered as casual users (those that don’t want to fiddle too much with their computer and want things to ‘just work’). In the screen shot, you can also see (in the top, right corner) a little program called Conky. (More on that in a bit… also, just to be clear, I don’t think the background image is from Mint, I think it is one I downloaded from a desktop wallpaper site.)
Installed next to Mint was the current version of Crunchbang… henceforth referred to as #! (just for typographical fun). #! is very different from Mint. #! is a small project that is based on Ubuntu/Debian and so has underlying resemblance to Mint. But as I mentioned previously, it has a sparse and minimal feel. It requires familiarity with using the terminal (command line) and so is intended for consideration by individuals with those skills. I also mentioned that #! is slightly beyond my skills. But I do really like the minimal aesthetic and how fast it is. Therefore, I installed it on my old laptop/netbook because for simple tasks like playing music and accessing the internet, it is both fast and quick. So, while I will not use #! for my main desktop needs (unless I become better at using the command line), I like it for those web-based purposes.
It too features Conky… and it is a default feature. Conky is a little program that can be (relatively) easily modified to sit on the desktop providing system monitoring and other information. I liked it so much when I saw it in #! that I installed/enabled it in my installations of Mint (Conky can run with most versions of Linux I think). While some people have installed scripts that can retrieve local/regional weather, I like using the simple functions like displaying information about your computer. It only took a little while to figure out how to modify the proper files (in Mint, I also had to install a script to get it to run 30 seconds after the system boots so that it would not conflict with the startup of another program). There is a lot of information online, including many excellent examples by other users. (It was in the Mint and Ubuntu forums where I learned about the script workaround just mentioned.) For the record, the modified version of Conky that you see running in the #! screenshot above is one I cobbled together from someone’s example that was shared with others in the #! forums.
I really find it useful to see the system resources being used. I could see that it would help with security (especially in terms of incoming and outgoing network traffic) but I really like it because it shows the usage or system resources like RAM, CPU, and the hard drive(s). I like it so much, I found a similar program for Windows 7 called RainMeter that I might install on my computer at work.
Anyway… when it comes to Mint, Conky and #!… I find all three to be really good open source software.
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Puppy Linux 4.3 on an old Laptop
While I have not had that much time to play with it as of late, I had installed Puppy Linux 4.3 on an old laptop (Dell Latitude 430) after having Moblin 2.1 installed. The first thing I noticed was that the instructions during the installation were exceptionally excessive… there is a lot of text to read. I understand this is provided for clarity but I almost think that it was a little too much as I was confused in one or two places. But, the confusion was short lived as Puppy Linux recognised all hardware, including wireless, and worked without a hitch.
Puppy Linux is described as being incredibly small. In fact, even though I installed it on the hard drive (from an ISO on CD no less), it can be run live (where the OS boots from a CD or by using a flash card or USB drive, and without it being installed on, or otherwise permanently affecting, the hard drive). It takes up little memory and so could be run on very old i386 hardware or used as a diagnosis or recovery system if a computer is having major problems.
It is really good for laptops as the interface/GUI is based on using a single click. For instance, if you wanted to copy or move a file, it is accomplished in both instances by simply dragging the file to a new location… upon which a small menu appears where you can choose to either move it or copy it. It is useful when using a trackpad or some other non-mouse type of input.
It is full featured for a very small distribution and it does have its quirks too. But it also has a sense of humour if I might anthropomorphize for a moment. It does not take itself too seriously and after getting acquainted with it, it is nice to use.
One problem I had was putting the laptop into suspend, standby or sleep mode (where current apps and data are stored in RAM and the rest of the computer powers down). When I would close the laptop while it was still running, it would freeze, forcing me to do a hard shut down, not once but twice to get it to boot properly again. I wasn’t sure what the fix might be and put off investigating for a solution until later. However, after installing Crunchbang Linux side-by-side and using the partition software, I noticed that the swap file that Puppy Linux had created automatically during the initial installation was less than the RAM possessed by the laptop. Since open applications and other data are copied to RAM before the laptop shuts most of itself down, if the swap file is smaller than the amount of RAM, this is likely what is causing the OS to freeze when it tries to enter standby. So, when I have a moment I will try that fix but I am sure that is the source of the problem.
I would like to try Puppy Linux on much older hardware some time in the future but for now I am going to keep it on the Dell and just use it for a while more as a living-room surfing machine. For this purpose, I am really starting to like Puppy Linux 4.3 as it is quick, kinda fun to use, and reveals some interesting features the more you use it.
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Mainstream Media… AKA, the Elite Propaganda Machine
Today, my lunchtime reading included some articles about technical flaws with the new iPhone (and the apologist media like Engadget who dismiss them out of excessive fanboyism… and healthy product placement deals or outright payola) as well as some finaincial news.
I came across an article which confirms (as if it needed any more confirmation) that when it comes to mainstream media (free media, commercial media, or whatever you want to call it), their function is not to provide individuals with information but, instead, simply exist so that powerful interests in society can push propaganda and disinformation on the public. Here is the article and the title pretty well sums it up:
Mike Shedlock, “Inane Thoughts of the Day: CNNMoney Article says ‘Housing Shortage is Coming’; Coldwell Banker CEO says Now is the ‘Absolute Best Time’ to Buy a Home,” June 25, 2010. http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2010/06/inane-thoughts-of-day-cnnmoney-article.html.
The author, Mike Shedlock (or ‘Mish’) does a very good job of picking apart such outright propaganda but I wonder just how many poor saps are sitting in front of CNN and hear this and think they are somehow getting the ‘inside dope.’ (For me, one of the truly confounding effects of mass media is that some people evidently think that the mass mediated messages they hear on, say, radio or television are in some way insider information.)
This process of mass communication is nothing new but surely does explain why we find ourselves in the global mess that we do financially. For the past decade, the mainstream media have been letting loose a constant stream of financial koolaid, filling people’s minds with huge expectations and the belief that money somehow grows on trees (or on the magical equity in houses*). And the questionable reliablility of the mainstream media is something that we should pay moer attention to. If you look at your local news, it is probably filled with people who went to journalism school, are decent human beings, but are probably overworked and oiverly worried about the everyday worries that come with employment (career, office politics, etc.). If they say something like “And this could just be another sign that the global recession is a thing of the past…,” what should we make of it? More often than not, this is not a statement that comes from any empirical analysis or a wealth of knwoeldge or experience. Instead, it is likely one part cliche (repeating what they hear around them, sometimes coming from the ‘experts’ they interview) and another part fear (they don’t want to rock the boat-full of advertisers and elites who depend upon the status quo). Now, if you look at national news, things might be a little different but probably only in that the amount of influence that powerful interests and elites play is that much more prominent. Most newscasters, especially on the mainstream news, are there because they are good looking and because they are willing to play within the rules of the system in order to achieve that position. (Note that this does not mean they are lacking skills as journalists or newscasters.) This explains why those people (and there were many) who warned of bubbles and fraud in the housing/mortgage/finance markets were mocked and belittled by the many journalists/pundits/experts who are attached to mainstream news.
Like so many things in life, if it sounds to good to be true, it probably isn’t. With the media, if it is free, there is a good chance that it is simply to good to be true.
*This reminds me of a commercial from a few years back which depicts two small children, one of whom is on his hands and knees, with a flashlight or magnifying glass in his hands, inspecting the floor. The other kid asks him what he is doing. To which the first child replies: “Wooking for ekwidee… Dad says da howse is full of ekwidee and dat makes us vewee wich.” I have to find that commerical as it pretty well sums up the naivety of the last decade (… or half century for that matter).
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