Egyptian Revolution: A Sign That Democracy is Not Dead

                                     Brilliant 1                                         Photo r.a. kukkee

     Being a relatively peaceful individual and living in relatively peaceful Canada,   I do not like to hear of chaos,  violence,  shootings,  or society on the rampage and out of control anywhere,   but in this ever-changing world,  once again it is happening.  The quiet, dusty world of sleeping mummies and  the Great Pyramids  is being  rudely awakened by violent uprising.
      For several days now there have been massive demonstrations in Egypt. A veritable revolution is being held with  chanting crowds on the rampage, looting, arson and shootings.  Troops are using rubber bullets  and tear gas on demonstrators.  Blood is being spilled.  Thousands of inmates have escaped jails, including Muslim militants.  Police have reportedly disappeared from the streets.
      Deaths and more major confrontations  will most likely continue  in Cairo and other major centers.   Demonstrators will continue to demand the removal of Mubarak's authoritarian dictatorship until that change has been achieved.  Egyptians are voicing angry dissent and unhappiness with the corrupt status quo with much vigour.
   
     Mubarak's reign is supported by the  United States, and Hosni  has   ruled Egypt with an iron fist for over 30 years.  In response to the contemporary  revolution,  he has ordered troops and tanks into the streets to shoot at demonstrators.    
     A 6:00 pm curfew has been established;  citizens are no longer free to stroll  amicably in the streets of  Cairo, shop in the markets,  conduct any assembly of persons,  or wander down the street to visit with momma, poppa  and grandchildren.  
     In an almost unheard of move, the Internet has been shut down, and armed  F16 fighter jets are  flying over downtown Cairo to instill  fear in the population.
Why?
     I wonder what Mr.  Hosni Mubarak  is  so deathly afraid of? Shoppers?  Visiting children?  Political reform?   
No. 
      He is afraid of losing power and control,  but more  likely,  he is afraid of losing  his collected fortunes, his treasures, and any access to his spoiled,  premium, obscenely rich and luxurious lifestyle. 
    Most civilized people know  that power corrupts just surely as wealth is concentrated by greed.  We must conclude  it unlikely Mr. Mubarak  is any different from any other control freak or  greedy opportunist that has held power for a very long term.  In the face of poverty, unemployment and anger in the general populace, he  doesn't want to give it up. 
     The fact is,  as history teaches repetitively,  change must be made willingly, or it will eventually be established by  demonstration, force, or civil war. 
     Should peace-loving  people instead  resign to their fate of oppression and poverty silently?   Is the revolution merely another example  of collective human insanity unleashed,  or is it a genuine sign  that  democracy is not dead?
How is the reader to interpret what is happening?  I think the inevitable  must prevail.  Nothing remains the same. Change is inevitable.   Change WILL happen simply because democracy is not dead.  

Transition to democracy will occur, one way or the other if only for the fact that Mubarak, unless he is totally brain-dead,  must recognize that his  vicious,  iron-fisted response to the demonstrations,  and his subsequent misuse of the military,  abuse of  authority and  suppression of expression of speech  are the  most blatant  condemnations of the rule he has practiced. 
Perhaps  he does not recognize the fact that truth always comes out regardless of how well hidden it may be.  Perhaps he is vicious enough to be certain of  his power and will continue to tighten the grip on Egyptian society for a while, but in doing so  he is  merely offering more proof  that his reign  is  decadent and requires termination.

In  the aggregate opinion of  democratic peoples world wide,  the principle of stifling free speech is unacceptable.   The inexcusable action of  using national troops and armaments viciously  against the citizens of their own country is criminal.
 In spite of the shut-down internet, EGYPT is as visible as any 3D picture of your dusty old  Pyramids.   The world is watching,  so at the very minimum,  surrender your corrupt regime with a modicum of dignity,  Mr. Mubarak.
In the eyes of the world, Egypt is not much different than any other aspiring nation;  so let the people speak, -or  carefully stand aside, for change IS inevitable, and soon. 



  

A Canadian Federal Election "Nobody" Wants......

Parliament Buildings,  Ottawa,  Ontario

 According to my favourite  political guru,  CBC's  Rex Murphy,   nobody wants an election, that's why we're going to have one, and soon.  That sounds logical doesn't it? 
He says,-- and I can only  paraphrase his unique phraseology and chronology, but the gist is as follows:
"The Liberals don't want an election
The Conservatives don't want an election
The Bloc Quebecois doesn't want an election
The New Democrats don't want an election.
 so--we're going to have an election. "


About 85% of Canadians don't want an election either, Rex noted,  but it's more or less guaranteed we WILL have an election -and soon ! 
Rex is probably right. If I have to believe anybody, I'll believe Rex. He's honest. Rex doesn't pull punches. Rex tells it like it is.  
Why ? You may ask:   " Rex  is not a politician"  is the right answer.
Here are some more strange facts:
" We will have an election because 15% of some hereto unidentified fraction of our over-taxed, misinformed population seems to think we NEED an election".  We deny such illogical logic.
  "We will have an election because Canada  actually needs an election".  NO. Canada most certainly does NOT need an expensive election.
  "We will have an election because it is TIME to have an election".  Huh?  Who said so?
How about:  "We will have an election because each and every one of the political leaders are being secretive and actually dishonest about their true desires to seize power, therefore they MUST hold an election."
Could that be the reason?   YES. 
Each of the political leaders also  has their own private and  not-so-secret reason for WANTING an election.  The polls look good.   The conservatives are leading.  Prime Minister Stephen Harper believes he can win a majority, and in response to that happy state of mind,  even though he is out touring the world so that he doesn't have to answer any questions or take responsibility for negative attack-doggy ads,  he must have already authorized his minions to start negative attack-doggy ads on his primary opposition  target,  Michael Ignatieff of the Liberal party. 
 Mr. Ignatieff  is  pictured as shouting "yes yes yes"in one of those ads.  Said to be out of context, no matter. That's what negative attack-doggy ads do, they attack out of context.  That must be  Michael shouting his approval of holding an election, but it is also  reported that Michael seems to be an opportunist Prime Minister wannabe intellectual, who seems to imagine that his vision of the country, when he is IN Canada,  is superior in every way to that of Prime Minister Stephen Harper's vision of the same snow-bound block of real estate.  
What is it Michael  wants ?  Oh, right, the real estate,  he wants to live at 24 Sussex Drive  just because Pierre Trudeau  did.  In doing so, so he  can also tour the world endlessly like Prime Minister Harper is already doing at this time  whilst attempting to pretend he does not want an election.
The Bloc Quebecois leader Gilles Duceppe doesn't want an election, and is even willing to use extortion  and /or  blackmail Ottawa into giving Quebec $5B, failing which he will magically "want" an election,  just so he and his elitist friends can retain comfy seats in the Canadian Parliament whilst resting betwixt feeble attempts to separate Quebec from Canada, but simultaneously multi-tasking and whining and wheedling more money out of Ottawa, trying to milk the cow dry before it  dies.
Mr. Jack Layton is secretly hoping Gilles and the  Bloc Quebecois will NOT succeed at their attempt to  blackmail  $5B  from the feds to support the upcoming federal budget, thereby forcing the election.  Jack is pretty straight forward.   Jack has the best of both worlds.  He doesn't have to stress himself, he knows the NDP isn't likely to win a Federal election anyway, so why worry about it?  With the Liberals not supporting the budget already a promise, however,  Jack is going to be in the driver's seat, and do his best to kill off the excessive Corporate Tax cuts that are promised by the Conservatives.  So.....we're having an election.


Conclusion of the day:   No wonder Canadians do not trust politics OR politicians.   Where have we heard that before?  Hey, Rex, I know....at Incoming BYTES,  of course...

The Bloc: Blackmailing Canada

 Caution:  This post almost contains references to POLITICS 

Now I’ve heard it all.   I do  prefer to use my time  discussing the future of society,  brilliant advances in civilization,   amazing discoveries in science, energy and  technology, explore the unknown, and extrapolate and interpret happenings that may affect the future of world citizens everywhere.  I even hand out kudos to humanity when it shines.
 Today is an exception. Political parties  posturing and  threatening to call an unnecessary Federal election raises the ire and the blood pressure. It always has, and always will. 
Today is  also worse than usual;   I  have to admit that every year since I have been observing politics,  the actions of some  sleazy politicians in Canada  have shown lack common  of sense,  tested Federal-provincial relations, and  blackened the eye of democracy, but some border on criminality . 
Canadians are being blackmailed by the Bloc Québécois, yet again.  
Our leader of the Bloc Québécois, Mr. Gilles Duceppe, Ottawa’s  favourite  political thorn-in-the-side  has now demanded 5 Billion dollars from the Federal government to appease  Quebec,-- once again. 
The huge amount of money is   his “ price tag”  for supporting the minority Conservative government’s upcoming Federal budget.  Duceppe  wants $16Billion,   but he’ll “settle for” $5 Billion and laugh all the way to the bank.   
Will Stephen Harper, our minority Prime Minister  turn both  Gilles’ latest demand and his illusions of grandeur  down, which he  must do if our elected Conservative government has any  spine at all?   He must consider that  Bloc support will  be removed for  his  upcoming federal budget.  A federal election would undoubtedly result.
 Michael Ignatieff’s  Liberals have already made it quite clear they are not going to support the budget, leaving the key to the budget  in the hand of Jack Layton’s NDP if Bloc support is removed. Jack’s agenda floats a different direction,   a direction better debated when the politics of convenience is discussed.   
To the politically-correct mild-mannered Liberal  politicians sitting in luxury in Ottawa, Duceppe’s latest  threat may seem to be “it’s just our weirdo  colleague and  friend Gilles foaming at the mouth” yet again.     To the NDP and independents,  it may be “Gilles  whining about inequalities again and  the raw deal he imagines Quebec has been suffering from, yet again”.
   “Yet again” is the key and common thread......  Enough is enough. 
To the Conservative Party of Canada, this threat has so far only been  labeled as  “hypocritical” by the government's Quebec lieutenant, Natural Resources Minister Christian Paradis .
---Sorry, Christian, accepting this outrageous demand as merely  being “hypocritical” is not good enough. 
To ordinary Canadians, it looks like blackmail. It smells like blackmail.  Let us call it what it seems to be.  Blackmail. Childish political blackmail, to be sure, and   another example of the childish political gamesmanship  we are all so SICK of, but it has all of the appearance  of blackmail by the Bloc.  If not blackmail, it is extortion.  
Canada has NO  need for an election at this point.  Elections cost many millions of dollars, and wasteful,  unnecessary expenditure which overtaxed  Canadian taxpayers do NOT need. or want, political “spin” applied or not.
Therefore, at Incoming BYTES, pointed and not-so-funny questions should  again be asked in the House of Parliament .    The reader can decide what the answer should be, laughable or not:  


Q: Mr. Speaker, since when does the Government of Canada give in to minority political party  blackmail?
A:   Maybe WikiLeaks will give us the official “in camera” answer to that one.  My guess is, if Quebec is involved, pretty much every time.  Does anyone have  Julian’s number handy?  
Q: Mr. Speaker, since the Bloc Québécois does not represent a single  Canadian outside of the Province of Quebec, why is the Bloc Québécois  allowed seats  in the Federal  House of Parliament? 
A:   They would get tired standing all the time.  Also because collectively,  insecure, “politically-correct” politicians past and present  do not have enough spine to do the right thing and  toss the pikers out . Refer to the first question again.
Q:   Mr. Speaker, if the Bloc insists on being  allowed to vacation and rest themselves in the House of Parliament, when will they run candidates and offer representation to the REST of Canadians?

A: Never. Are you dreaming?   The rest of Canadians are not a factor in the prime directive of the Bloc, which is to remove Quebec from Canada after all blackmail requests to drain the Federal treasury are submitted and approved.
Q: Mr. Speaker, how much longer does the rest of Canada have to live under the threat of yet another  referendum for the separation of Quebec?  

A: Not much longer.   Ya’ really mean that?  (laughter)   Canadians will soon grow sick of separation referendums and even more sick of  being blackmailed more than two or three times a year.
Q: Mr. Speaker, does Gilles Duceppe remember that Quebec is divisible if Canada is divided ?  Does he not understand  the concept?

A:   No.  Gilles and his predecessors believe that all Quebecers, including English-speaking and ethnic minorities from the world over will insist on enjoying repressive French-Only signs, French-only schools,  and  “language police” and other similar political  policies of expedience  dreamed up for the mutual enjoyment of Quebec’s  exclusive distinct society of Francophones.
Q:   Mr. Speaker, what does Gilles do with the $8Billion in annual provincial equalization payments he  receives every year?
A:   (laughter)  Out of order, out of order !   Better ask Gilles that one.  Concrete bridges collapse regularly, and Gilles is always demanding more money,  if that helps rephrase the question.
Q:   Mr. Speaker, what is the real  purpose behind the blackmailing of the rest of Canada?  
A:   As always, the stock answer is “  the Bloc Québécois will be standing up for Quebec to ensure Canadians become angry enough at being blackmailed”  so  they will eventually  hold a referendum and  throw Quebec out  of confederation.  Oops,,did I say that?
Q: Mr. Speaker, when will the rest of  Canadians put a stop to this charade and  be offered a referendum to vote Quebec out of Canada?  
A:  You will be able to vote soon after Gilles is finished blackmailing the rest of Canada, and voters awake to the fact they have once again given in to Quebec blackmail. ...oopsie-daisy, I didn’t mean to give away any official secrets.
Q: Mr. Speaker, how much territory do you think a separate Quebec run by King Gilles would end up with ?
A: A couple of square kilometers, probably  some place close to old Quebec City.
Q:   Mr. Speaker, could you explain why?
A:    Because the Bloc Québécois  needs somewhere to display their culture and wear their elegant purple smoking jackets as they complain bitterly  about their feet burning from the salt water flooding their boots.
Q:   Mr. Speaker, .....are we allowed any other questions,   Mr. Speaker?
A:    Just a moment, I’ll ask Mr. Duceppe for permission...

Conclusion of the Day:     No wonder Canadians do not trust politics OR politicians.
##

Australian floods and Australian Hearts

      I'm  always delighted to write about wonderful examples of humanity stretching to full  potential.   Kudos are  well-deserved on those rare occasions that highlight common sense and  the unselfish, generous, and caring  actions of ordinary people.
Because humanity itself shines when  honoured by logic,  kindness and unrequited giving, kudos  must be handed to the extraordinary  people of Australia dealing with the aftermath of horrendous flooding that, in some areas,  remains ongoing at this date.

      In  the terrible  Queensland floods in  Australia’s northeast, perhaps half of Australia has been severely  flooded. Lives have been lost and damage to property is yet undetermined, but property damage will  be in the billions.  It seems that almost everything has seen trial by water,  but  Aussie humanity and determination grows  greater with each raindrop.
 
      With endless rain, a vast area as big as France and Germany combined has been flooded,   with water  remaining in areas including major cities, towns, villages, and vast rural areas. 
Thousands of homes have been damaged or washed away; the livelihood of many individuals has been destroyed, and highways, electrical and other parts of the infrastructure in the gigantic  area has been effectively shut down,-- but get this,   the flooding has NOT deterred  the faith, will, resilience, determination and love for humanity  that exists within the collective, powerfully  beating heart of the Australian  people.

       It seems that many countries should pay attention,  and could learn much  from the fine example that has been set by the people of Australia.   A glaring comparison  to the US response to the Katrina disaster in New Orleans must immediately come to the mind of the reader.   The 2005 Katrina disaster was the worst naturally-occurring event ever in the United States of America and is best remembered for the ill-planned and slow governmental  FEMA response to the disaster. In some areas, emergency food and water supplies were not even made  available to Katrina’s victims for days.  They  became not only victims of nature, but  victims of incompetence and an embarrassing  bureaucratic nightmare. 
The flooding in Australia displayed  a much different attitude and fast response. 

      The words of a friend of mine and correspondent  Crystal Sage, who lives in Australia, described  it best:   
“ Just saw bits of Bush on Oprah.... trying to cover up his disaster of an effort with the Katrina disaster.. If you saw how well our governments and people are working together with the Australian floods.. maybe the Americans can learn something...every resource was used as and when it happened.. food , clothing, first aid.. shelter.. toys for the kids... and as soon as the water levels went down.. thousands of people just walked.. or traveled to the disaster zones with food shovels brooms disinfectant .. rolled up their sleeves and helped with the clean ups.. councils provided skips for the wreckage.. grocers .. bakers gave away free food... people used Facebook and the internet.. to offer homes for those who had lost everything..for the weeks.. months it would take to reestablish themselves.. entertainers went to the evacuation centres to offer free entertainment...there already have been fundraisers.... the government has already provided funding for the homeless.. .. for their immediate needs.. up to $1200 per family initially.. then around $ 850 a week for 10 weeks.. then close to $19000 to repair the flood damages to their homes.. they said if more was needed other funds could be organized.. over 3000 councillors were on line all that time and still to help those in trauma..or shock...thousands of electricians and other builders have been put in place to restore everything as soon as possible....
Just to start....”

      Crystal  generously sent  many other examples of shining humanity, far too many to address individually in this brief format,  but the message relayed by them was clear:  Australia has heart!

      Such fine examples of humanity under stress  demonstrate that  the hearts of Australians are in the right place when  needed.   Individual Australians put themselves out there without delay, without a second thought to help.     The Australian  government responded to the disaster in a responsible and timely manner, as governments are correctly  mandated to do.   Wallets, homes, hearts, and  businesses have all been opened to the homeless, the hurt,  the displaced, and the needy.

       Australians, may God bless and keep you, mates!  Your actions  are not only  to be admired but emulated in any  disaster, large or small.   May the rains cease and waters subside soon so life in Australia  can return to normal. Kudos to you and God bless!
       A special thanks goes out  once again to  Crystal Sage...you’re the best!  G’day !

US Subsidizes Leaf: The Green Dinosaur with Old battery technology

Nissan Leaf

See the picture?  I think this is a nice looking  car,  don't you ? 
Great design, but sadly, the battery technology it uses  is already a dinosaur.  It only goes 100 miles (160km)  between time-consuming battery charges in slow city driving. 
As compensation for new owners with huge expectations,  it does, however, have Satellite radio as standard equipment. 
Wow.  That’s just what every car owner needs,  fluff and techy-toys  on a  fancy vehicle  that lacks  basic  substance and performance ability!
It is nice and shiny, though, it's made by Nissan.  It even  has a “green” name. The Nissan Leaf.  The first one has just been sold in California.  It is inevitable the “Leaf”  will be touted as being  “zero emissions”-- being an “electric car” having a battery and an electric motor instead of a gasoline engine.  It’s green, but make no mistake about it,  it is a pretty green dinosaur.  Why?
In case you were headed out the door to buy one, slam on the brakes for a minute.  At Incoming BYTES not long ago,  ( see  Dec.16/10  North America, rent this idea !)   you will have already discovered there is FAR better electric vehicle  battery technology available.


Since we at Incoming BYTES seem to  be apprised of this new technology,  millions of other people must be similarly aware.  Does  “Corporate-Automotive” North America access the internet?   Of course they do, and they are fully aware of DBM battery technology,  but it looks like they  hope nobody has noticed. 
 If that is the case,  what are the dinosaurs in the boardrooms really doing?  Does  the North American Automotive power structure believe North American consumers are totally gullible?
It is, once again, time to ask pointed questions.
Is the “existing dinosaur battery  technology” -however inefficient it IS,  to be “used up and paid for” by the unsuspecting public  before any “new and better technology"  is allowed into automotive production?
As an aside, there is precedent for that possibility.  Consider the case of  high-tech “LED” lighting which is available, but has conveniently been outrageously overpriced and put aside for less efficient CFLs,  compact florescent light bulbs-- that contain poisonous  mercury.  Why?   CFLs    replaced “inefficient, wasteful  incandescent lighting.”   Maybe it just was the fact that  CFL’s are made in China, made where environmental controls are lax and labour is cheap.  Profitable.  
Regardless, LED technology uses no polluting mercury as compact florescent bulbs do, do not wear out, and are far more efficient lighting than CFLs.   Sadly, once again, we wait for the “conversion of the industry” to a new high-tech LED  standard, the COST being, that now North America is forced to deal with millions upon millions  of polluting CFL bulbs in landfills, or recycle them. 
Is  the unsuspecting public, actually being forced to “use up” and   pay for the “ dirty technology”  of CFL’s before we shall be “allowed” to buy clean, highly efficient  LED lighting?  
Okay, I digress, but you get the point.  Is a similar scenario taking place with the Leaf and  electric car technology?  Logic suggests it, too, is being manipulated.   Far better battery  technology already exists.   The fact that DBM battery technology in Europe  has already proven an electric vehicle can go 375 miles (600km) at highway speed on a six-minute charge without being tweaked  seems to have been conveniently overlooked  in the auto sector of North America.    What are they smoking in automotive board rooms?   Shall we laugh insanely now, or later?
What are the other possibilities with electric vehicles?
Has the long arm of the petroleum industry decided to make the “Leaf” look as  inefficient as possible to prolong the life of the dirty, gasoline-guzzling internal combustion motor?
  Are  lobbyists involved, and bribery?    Is the  industry  holding out to use fuel cells and  natural gas instead of gasoline, nothing less than a similarly  foolish, interim waste of technology  and  time?   How about hydrogen technology -which has been stifled?
 Going straight to electric vehicles, at what cost to the environment will the automotive  industry manufacture and install  millions of inefficient, old-technology automotive batteries when high-performance, high-efficiency lithium metal polymer batteries can be used, offering an astoundingly huge  clear-cut advantage both to the consumer and the environment?
Is the government really  part of the problem here?  The Leaf  “only” costs $33,000 USD retail,   but the happy “Go Green” US government will reportedly subsidize Leaf  buyers a flashy $7500.00   when they purchase the green dinosaur.  
That $7500.00 is about 21% of the cost of the new car !  Quite an “incentive” isn’t it?
Let us interpret what is really happening .  The net result of this subsidy could be merely  another automotive bailout.
That US subsidy will  translate to an estimated 7 or 8 Billion dollar taxpayer subsidy ,  -- and you, the lucky  taxpayers of the United States of America, will pay for it.
 You are, logically, seemingly,  subsidizing the Auto industry yet again  –to pay for  old technology,  old design and old infrastructure. “Let’s use it up, regardless of cost, shall we?” 
It makes no difference if the government gives YOU the big cheque for $7500.00 or if they hand it directly to the automotive giants.    By direct subsidy to the buyer or not, the money clearly ends up in automotive coffers, and you end up with a dinosaur parked in your driveway.  
With planned obsolescence, when “new technology batteries” become available, you can rest assured they will not “fit” the Leaf....for the same  prescribed reason.  We do not have to guess why.   
Will  the Canadian government  be far behind to give Canadian  taxpayer dollars  away in similar subsidies to bribe consumers into buying equally inefficient, low-tech-battery  electric vehicles ? I hope Canadians are smarter than that.
The fact is, regardless of location or country, electricity costs, whether it be from hydro electric, coal-burning generation, nuclear or solar energy- so let us use it wisely in the most efficient automotive electric vehicles possible.  

 A nice-looking  car with “free” Satellite radio or not, this strategy  is unacceptable use of limited resources in our already-strained world.  North America  needs to get off of petroleum, develop a solar strategy for production of electricity, and use mineral resources with restraint.   
Let us cut to the chase and use the best possible electrical battery technology at the lowest environmental cost possible. We encourage the reader to be informed, decide which path is better, and spend your automotive dollars  accordingly–and wisely.

EU Bans Canadian Seal Products but Condones Bullfights, Atrocities and Hypocrisy

Caution:  At Incoming BYTES we recognize that some issues are extremely controversial. Some readers may find the nature of this article upsetting and are advised to read the following *summary:

*In 2010 the European Union legislated a ban on products derived from the annual Canadian seal hunt. Basing the new legislation on claims of cruelty, the legislators seemed to unwittingly condone blatant hypocrisy, ignoring the brutality of bullfighting for sport, the slaughter of the endangered Bluefin Tuna for nothing more than profit, and other atrocities that taint their own macabre history. 

 

A young seal

 

The Ban:  A Ban on Canadian Seal Hunt products has been Approved But Temporarily Delayed

A legislated European Union ban that was to halt the import of seal products from Canada beginning August 20, 2010 was temporarily delayed. The import ban, reportedly based upon unfounded concerns of cruelty in the annual Canadian seal hunt, has been ordered suspended by the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg, pending a requested injunction against the ban by the Canadian Inuit. The Inuit hunters maintain that such a ban would also negatively affect their traditional life and economic base .
The EU ban specifically prohibits the importation of seal products into all European Union countries from Canada, Greenland and Norway, and bans all products other than those specifically produced by the traditional Inuit hunt. Seal products include fresh and canned seal meat, sealskin fur, leather, and derivative oils used for health purposes.

The EU has thoughtlessly ignored the economic necessity of the Canadian seal hunt by traditional native Inuit hunting seal for food and their very survival, and by a few poor commercial fishermen that hunt seals to obtain a large part of their tiny annual income.
The risky and limited, highly controlled seal hunt is carried out on ice floes, and the seals are quickly killed by shooting or by a sharp blow to the head using a traditional tool called a hakapik specifically designed for that purpose. The steel hakapik also conveniently has a spike that is used to move the heavy carcasses and pelts on the ice. It does not take much common sense to recognize the additional necessity of that spiked tool to climb back onto the ice, should a hunter fall into the freezing water . Over-active imaginations however, automatically and erroneously attribute “hunt brutality” and imagery thereof to mis-use of the spike on the hakapik.
Clearly, a reality check is required. To restore reason, the reader must be equally allowed to compare the seal hunt to horrific EU practices that historically were not prohibited, not controlled, and remain unchallenged by  EU legislators.

 

Bullfighting: A Macabre and Brutal Blood Sport

With much hypocrisy, the EU parliament has claimed the high road condemning the historical and necessary seal hunt while completely ignoring the brutal, macabre torture and slaughter of bulls in Spanish, Portuguese and other bullfighting arenas for no reason other than barbaric entertainment. Willfully allowing the torture and vicious killing of bulls as a chilling spectator blood sport is nothing less than bloodthirsty barbarian practice. Let all civilized people be honest enough to call it what it is.

In the bullfighting arena, bulls are ceremoniously, inexcusably and systematically tortured and weakened by picadors, riders mounted on heavily padded horses. Using highly decorated barbed spikes or banderillas which are thrown and plunged deep into the animal’s neck , the picadors ensure the tortured animal will become weakened and angered enough to charge the matador. The spinal cords are intentionally damaged, resulting in the bull dropping his head lower, and making him more vulnerable to further torture and the inevitable, vicious slaughter.
The matador, a highly-decorated, traditionally uniformed “gladiator”, after an arrogant display of “bravery” which involves systematically taunting and avoiding the weakened animal’s impotent charge, taunts and lures the exhausted, injured bull to it's own death. The matador methodically kills the distressed animal using a sword, a javelin, lance, or dagger, depending upon the specific ceremony demanded . The ears of the dead or dying bull may be cut off and awarded to the “hero” if the “skill and display of the contest”enough titillation to the savage mind of attending dignitaries who may arrogantly direct the outcome of the match.
The carcass of the dead or dying bull is then unceremoniously dragged out of the arena leaving a trail of blood in the sand in preparation for the next “heroic” bullfight, - much to the arcane delight of the cheering, bloodthirsty audience. 

The Mediterranean Bluefin Tuna Kill

Equally horrific is the virtually uncontrolled and sickening capture and willful slaughter of a seriously depleted and endangered species, the beautiful Bluefin Tuna, using a system that is far removed from the honorable concept and occupation of clean and traditional “fishing” but is mere entrapment and decimation of a species, with the herding and systematic slaughter of thousands of tuna into long- walled curtain nets that are dropped to the sea floor. The wall of nets ensures there is no escape from the blockage of known, specific and traditional tuna migration and spawning routes.    Elsewhere on the high seas, using modern electronic sonar fish-finding equipment and spotter planes to locate large schools of tuna that may include thousands of individual mature fish, the same barbaric method is is used to slaughter the prized fish.
Once a school of tuna has entered the walled curtain, the nets are closed, the enclosed area is systematically reduced in size , with the factory ships crowding and confining the tuna ever closer together until the sea violently thrashes blood-red as the tuna are sickeningly and systematically stabbed to death, slaughtered to the last one --in a froth of their own blood and seawater. The tuna are hooked savagely with gaffs while still frantically thrashing and hoisted, live onto the deck of the surrounding ships where they are killed , gutted, and refrigerated.

This horrific and revolting scene is not conducted to feed a mere “starving fisherman” and his family; but is systematically repeated on the high seas by Spanish, Italian and French corporate commercial processing ships to greedily “harvest” what remains of a nearly-depleted species. Tuna are fast becoming dangerously close to being extinct. Shiploads of this now highly- endangered species of tuna are shipped to Japan’s insatiable market --for nothing more than greed and profit. A single Bluefin tuna may command a price of $15,000.00 or substantially more to feed an insatiable Japanese market for sushi. 

The EU offers no specific control over illegal and under-reported catches, and ignores the potential extinction of this prized species in the world’s oceans that scientists believe is not only possible, but almost effectively guaranteed.

Other Atrocities

If needlessly torturing and slaughtering bulls for blood sport, or decimating endangered Bluefin tuna stocks in a revolting, inhumane and bloody slaughter is not enough , perhaps the EU parliament might also recall in shame other aspects of it’s own bloody and horrific history in it’s other “uses” of animals in centuries past:

--The famous, and now-popularly-condemned fox hunts of Great Britain
--Europeans needlessly and selfishly decimated a herd of an estimated 20 million buffalo in North America, taking only the hides for the European market. The meat was left to rot. Native North Americans had coexisted with and depended upon the same herds for food and resources for millennia.
--Uncontrolled, European factory ships also contributed substantially to the illegal over-fishing and demise of the once-prolific but now virtually decimated Canadian cod fishery.
-- The Slaughter of Farm animals: Today the population of Europe kills millions of cattle and hundreds of millions of chickens, geese and ducks raised in highly-crowded production facilities and killed for food, leather, and other products.
Shall the world also  politely ignore the force-feeding of geese to ensure their livers become grossly enlarged to ensure a large and profitable industry that produces 'Foi gras' or 'fat goose liver pate’ for the palate of the discriminating, modern barbarian ?
–Cock Fighting, a now supposedly illegal activity, is still conducted underground.
– Dog fighting , also an illegal activity, is still practiced to the delight of the bloodthirsty. 
 

Reality or Hypocrisy? A Choice

Let us be realistic. The fact remains, the use of fish, animals of all types and poultry for food and other uses is traditional in culture, deemed necessary --and has been so since the beginning of time . Clearly the killing of animals and other creatures for the purposes of feeding human beings is distasteful and offensive to many individuals. Modern society is desensitized and isolated from the blood and gore of the slaughter of animals by out-of-sight processing plants and convenient supermarket packaging. Animal-rights groups are becoming more vocal and prevalent, and the message by special interest groups is becoming ever more highly publicized via the internet, --but reason must prevail.
Perhaps the EU legislature should wisely choose to reconsider the blatant hypocrisy in their homelands prior to so quickly condemning and banning the Canadian seal hunt--- which is conducted as humanely as possible under very difficult conditions, and also --most notably, -- controlled with a strict quota to ensure survival of the species.   In fact, the Canadian seal hunt is conducted in a clean, sub-arctic natural environment, where the animals sacrificed of necessity are not killed for blood sport, the titillation of a cheering audience, or killed merely for greed, -but only taken as humanely as possible as a part of a traditional way of life for food and economic necessity –as has been done for centuries. 

EXILE: Is the Revival of an old punishment a Solution to Home-Grown Terrorists?

There is a growing problem the west must face, and soon.
Civilized western countries are sadly discovering“home-grown” terrorists within their borders, radicalized  individuals holding  passports and legal citizenship by being born or naturalized in Canada, the United States, France, Germany or England.
 Some individuals have already been found guilty of  planning terrorist attacks on their respective countries  in spite of the fact they should clearly pledge allegiance  instead of training and planning treasonous, death-dealing  terrorist attacks upon the innocent within their borders.

The Asian Times Online, based in Hong Kong,  citing Taliban sources, has recently reported that as many as a dozen Canadians were being trained “for jihad” in Pakistan by al Quaida.   These recalcitrant individuals  were reportedly being specially trained for attacks within large cities in Canada. (1)
“The Canadian RCMP and their security and intelligence partners” are reportedly investigating the information. The report adds that other westerners from the U.S, Britain, and Germany area also being trained for jihad in North Waziristan, Pakistan, which borders on Afghanistan.  The Canadians reportedly joined Jihad al-Islami, an Egyptian terrorist organization.

Canada is not alone with this problem.  As many as 30 or 40 “hardcore terrorists” from Germany are known to be in the same area of Pakistan.  “A spokeswoman for Germany's Federal Criminal Police office said in October there was "concrete evidence" that 70 German citizens had undergone terror training in Pakistan’s lawless border region and that about a third of the militants had returned to Germany.”(1)

Returned to Germany?  The question must be posed, “Why were they allowed to return to Germany?”    Will the radicalized, terrorist-minded Canadians now also  be allowed to innocently “return” to Canada to carry out their terrorist attacks any time they wish ?
Let us give our heads a shake.  The western world needs to remove the blinders it is now wearing. The concept of treason comes to mind.

Treason  has been known to be punishable by death in times past. The death sentence was usually carried out by “hanging by the neck until dead”. It sounds kind of barbaric, but do fanatic  suicide bombers that kill or maim thousands of people annually care if their own terrorist activities are “barbaric”?  No.
 Regardless, in civilized countries, the concept of  “an eye for an eye” and a death sentence inflicted is considered to be  repulsive to the majority of peace-loving people.  That was not always so. .
I remain unconvinced that modern society retains the stomach for applying the death sentence even to radicalized  individuals who, only a few years ago, might have been quickly hung for treason or murder,  and a few centuries prior to that, may have been disemboweled,  drawn and quartered with their remains “spread to the corners of the kingdom”,  their heads left to dry on tall pike-poles as a deterrent to any new  would-be perpetrators. Some found “less guilty” may have been  chained in dungeons until they became repentant skeletons.
So be it. Times have changed.  What can be done now?

 I fail to see how any civilized society should be required to feed and care for  such evil individuals,  maintained in a nice federal penitentiary, a dark dungeon or otherwise, with  a nice  warm bed, television,  good books,  education, rehabilitation,  and entertainment provided to them even for a day, much less for a lifetime of luxury and enough time to foment other evil, destructive plans.
Modern times demand different solutions.
 Back in the “good old days” as punishment for any number of crimes, such recalcitrant, evil or misguided individuals might also have been exiled,   banned permanently from a village or city, or in the extreme, shipped off to live elsewhere offshore  quite uncomfortably,   never to be allowed to return to their  homes  under any circumstance.  The basic concept was to ship convicted individuals to live where they can ultimately  harm no one but themselves. Great Britain shipped thousands of convicts and criminals to Australia.

Is it time for civilized nations to begin using the same  legal process once more?  Let us evaluate whether complete removal of these individuals from our  society and country will act as a deterrent.  Most Canadians  believe that living in Canada is a privilege, not a God-given right and it involves responsibilities, demands loyalty rather than deception, and most certainly should not permit  treason, terrorist activities, and murderous acts.
“ Sir, do you wish to be a fanatic?  You have been trained for terrorist Jihadist attacks upon Canadians?  You are hereby deemed to have willfully abused and discarded your rights and privileges as a Canadian.  As of today, you  are no longer a Canadian citizen..... Hereafter, within a period of 24 hours,  you shall be shipped off to live elsewhere, in a third-world hole of your choice, and you shall remain there for the rest of your natural life. Do not try to return to Canada under the penalty of death. ...... “ Bye-bye”....   “Next case!”  

Perhaps we really  should revive the concept of permanent exile.    It just might be worth a try.
(1)  http://ca.news.yahoo.com/rcmp-probe-report-saying-canadians-training-al-qaida-20110114-194834-598.html

Tinnitus, the “Tin Ear”

At Incoming BYTES,  I’m happy to  keep my ear to the ground for news that offers hope.    I hear there may be some good news in the near future for anyone that suffers from tinnitus. If you have tinnitus,  you probably know what it is.  It is maddening.
A  common affliction, tinnitus  is a  highly  annoying  noise or multiple noises  heard or generated in one or both ears. Tinnitus is most commonly  described by sufferers as a persistent  high pitched whistle, hiss or  hum, but it may alternatively also be described as a ringing of the ears,  likened to  the sound of ventilation/air conditioning systems, an engine running,  a rumble, roar, or other comparable description of chronic and inescapable  noise.
Hearing loss is  most common in the elderly and often includes tinnitus, but tinnitus can be suffered by individuals of any age if the hearing process is compromised by any number of causes.  It is  generally thought  that  loss of plasticity of the eardrum and associated inner ear structures may be  a contributing factor. Hearing loss is also  known  to be additive and progressively becomes worse if hearing is not protected from extreme noise.
  The generated noise, or noises caused by tinnitus,    if loud enough, may completely interfere with,  or mask other external sounds,  acting as “white noise’,  reducing the level and acuity of any residual hearing the subject may otherwise enjoy.    The distraction and  masking effect is significant and destructive particularly if hearing is already  reduced substantially by other causes such as disease, or if pre-existing  physical conditions caused by  illness, accident, or other causes are a factor. Total deafness can result.

Tinnitus is commonly  experienced by people that may have been subject to one or more of the following conditions:
•    exposure to excessively loud music , such as using headphones  set too loudly,or extreme rock concert music
•    constant use of the telephone, for example,  headset technology used with cell phones
•    long-term high-decibel noise in working environments that involve machinery, loud impact noises generated by jack-hammers,  firearms, explosives and jet engines;
•    nerve or neural damage caused by head or neck trauma, such as whiplash or impact to the head;
•    physical damage to the eardrum or inner ear structure by direct impact or penetration and resulting perforation of the ear drum or scar tissue; 
•    physical changes to the hearing caused by illness which may include interference with nerve pathways, tumors, or benign growths;
•    environmental  damage to the nervous system from exposure to chemicals;
•    High blood pressure
•    Use of prescription drugs may be a contributing factor;
•    Physical exhaustion. Although considered to be permanent, tinnitus is generally worse when an individual is physically tired;
•    Stress:   Tinnitus is exacerbated by stress;
•    Aging.  Tinnitus is very common in the elderly.

Oh yes...the news...maybe  there REALLY IS some good news?    Within a few months, clinical trials on humans  are to begin at the University of Dallas-Texas, where researchers have discovered that stimulation of the Vagus nerve (VNS) with electricity using non-intrusive methods may reverse, or actually eliminate tinnitus. Perhaps even a cure for tinnitus. 
I’m glad to hear that.
That may be the best news we have heard at Incoming BYTES yet.


links:
http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/unfairpark/2011/01/ut-dallas_researchers_potentia.php  


http://www.helium.com/items/2065693-a-potential-cure-for-tinnitus

Time for Civilization to Progress: Convert Oil Madness to Solar Strategy

                                              A Powerful Sunset                                              photo by r.a. kukkee

The world must be changed. The advancement of civilization is stalled, and progress is now blinded with the global obsession for oil.    The environment is repeatedly  poisoned by  catastrophic  events involving oil and will continue to be  until it is recognized that our preoccupation  with oil madness must be addressed and adequately remedied.    Oil madness  is rooted in greed, and humanity must bravely acknowledge that fact.   The obsession with oil is a global detriment and not sustainable in the long term, if only because the use of oil threatens the existence of life itself.

Until greed is better understood and quelled by common sense, necessity, and civility itself,  shall we continue to pretend we are on the right path and allow our beautiful and natural  world environment to be tortured  and blatantly destroyed in the relentless search and extraction of ever more oil wealth by  the greedy, the powerful and arrogant? 

 It is time to advance civilization and make changes for the better. Human beings everywhere have the basic human right to expect the global environment to be respected in it’s entirety and closely protected . We must offer change for the better, we must be part of change, but we  must also demand change. What can be done? 

Clean, viable energy alternatives ARE available, in spite of what a gigantic and powerfully-embedded  oil industry wishes you to believe. Alternatives and technical improvements are creating solutions that are no longer merely considered just an environmentalist’s  dream.
 Wind turbine technology is developing  rapidly and being put into service, which is progress in itself, but  how many readers know that the earth receives more energy from the sun in one HOUR than the whole world uses in one year?
In spite of that amazing fact,  solar energy production combined only accounts for 0.01% or less of the total Global Primary demand for energy . 
The very pointed question must be asked:   Why? 

Perhaps a few years ago photovoltaic cells ( PV, or solar cells)  were “inefficient” at a level of  6%,   but technology now exists to produce solar cells that perform at levels as high as  24.2% efficiency, (Solarbuzz)   reported by SunPower of San Jose, CA, USA.
Using a concentrator, Spectrolab Inc., a subsidiary of Boeing Company has announced a cell that can convert 41.6% of concentrated sunlight into electricity.
For more extensive information on solar technology and developments,  go to
http://www.solarbuzz.com/Technologies.htm

There is no longer any excuse to support dirty, polluting oil technology. Stronger and better plastics can be made from vegetable matter instead of using crude oil.
Automotive battery technology for electric vehicles has advanced rapidly.
 For an eye-opening  revelation on the new DBM battery technology, and it’s application in a vehicle that can run 375 miles (600km) on a 6 minute charge,  go to:   http://www.taranfx.com/long-lasting-battery-electric-car  

Imagine plugging your electric vehicle in at home and driving 600km.  Stop for 6 minutes at any recharging station and continue on your way. Charge your vehicle with electricity from the sun. No gasoline required.
An on-board solar charger could extend your vehicle range even further.  It is now possible.

I believe the time has come for civilization to progress. Let us convert dreams into action and  convert oil madness into solar strategy.

Choices and Environmental Manipulation in Northwestern Ontario: Kakabeka Falls

Kakabeka Falls, Ontario

 
The amazing photographs  of the dry river bed of the mighty Kaministiquia River were taken  just below  Kakabeka Falls near Thunder Bay, Ontario during the summer of 2010.   The river,  normally showing a fabulous cascade of water over the falls  and rapidly-moving water all the way from one tree line to the other in the riverbed further downstream,   is dried up.
There was virtually no water flowing over the popular and beautiful falls.  

Kakabeka Falls Dry   2010

Perhaps the electric turbines, water conduit system and power dams further upstream were closed to build up the water level as a temporary measure,  for an inspection,  or a  repair of some type.   No matter.  
For all intents and purposes, there was virtually no flow in the waterway;  the riverbed was dry.   If a  conduit and turbine  inspection was taking place, was it  necessary to shut off all water flow to the natural riverbed at the dam spillway above the falls?  No.

 What are the tangible consequences of drying out a  riverbed in the heat of summer?  What happens to  molluscs, river clams,  water bugs, crayfish, minnows, perch,  trout, bass,  sturgeon, suckers, walleye, pike and other  fish trapped in small pools that quickly evaporate and  dry up in the heat of the summer?    The answer is not a happy one.   Drying out in the heat of summer is catastrophic to all  life forms in the river.  They die.  What happens to water plants and microscopic  flora and fauna that grow on the rock  in the river bed?    The answer is the same.  If maintained in a dry state too long, all  life dries out and dies.  

Kaministiquia River bed- Dry 2010

The pointed question must be asked:  Why is this deadly manipulation of the river bed allowed?  How is it acceptable to manipulate the environment so blatantly when the effect is so obvious?      
The Kaministiquia  river is also considered to be a navigable waterway used by explorers, trappers and voyageurs  since Canada was first explored, -- and by native populations for many millenia before that.  The river is  clearly not navigable without water. Kakabeka Falls Provincial Park is also far less attractive as a camping or tourist destination with little or no water plunging over the falls.  
The stock answer may be “power is needed”.    Perhaps it is a good idea to sort fact from fiction.  Power generated  at Kakabeka Falls, Ontario is not only used in Northwestern Ontario.  The electricity grid in Northwestern Ontario is arbitrarily  interconnected to both the  Manitoba power grid and the Southern Ontario grid.   The Ontario grid  is additionally  connected to the insatiable  American electrical grid south of the border.   
Why is it necessary to allow the Kaministiquia River to dry out while there is such a huge, interconnected power  grid to draw upon?  
Does the requirement for electrical  power ever justify absolute destruction of an  environment simply because it is in “the remote northwest” , a corner of the province, where bureaucrats and executives of Ontario Power Generation  think  “nobody will notice?”  
I think not. 
Allowing this river bed  to dry out is an unacceptable choice and must not be allowed to continue.   I encourage the reader to ask their  elected members of parliament  to explain why  this travesty is somehow deemed “acceptable" and ask them to ensure such occurrences  are prevented in the future.    

Words of Wisdom: Timeless Advice from Ms. Regina Brett

                                       Hope            photo by WLK Photography

In spite of the constant flow of harsh news, tragedy, and negative stories seen in  the media daily,  at Incoming BYTES  there are also  bright spots noted in the world that should equally  remind us of love,  hope, faith in God,  and the inherent wisdom and advice available to us if we pay attention and listen. 
 
 One of these bright spots is the following  article written by Ms. Regina Brett, who happens to be a 90-year old lady and a columnist for The Plain Dealer, of Cleveland, Ohio.

Ms. Brett wrote the following article, which is  quoted verbatim:   

"To celebrate growing older,  I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most-requested column I've ever written.  My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more: 

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.

8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.

16.. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.

18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.

19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.

24. The most important sex organ is the brain.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?'

27. Always choose life.

28. Forgive everyone everything.

29. What other people think of you is none of your business.

30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

33. Believe in miracles.

34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.

35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood.

38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.

41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

42. The best is yet to come...

43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

44. Yield.

45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift."                        -------

We  thank you, Ms. Regina Brett!    These are well spoken words of wisdom!  
This is advice that should be heeded, treasured, and read regularly by everyone.  Bottom line? There is always hope. 


*Acknowledgements: 
*Copyright of the quoted article content belongs to *Ms. Regina Brett and/or The Plain Dealer, Cleveland, Ohio
I also thank  my good friend Dr. John Carter for forwarding this item to me.

The Annual Corporate Rip-off

                                                             Photo by WLK Photography

It is only a few days into 2011 and at Incoming  BYTES   we have already seen a news story  that must  generate complete distrust of the corporate world.  To wit:   CEO bonuses, the annual corporate rip-off.   As investors and corporate customers, shall we say allow this travesty to continue?  I suggest not.

 According to the latest published  figures, Canadian Chief executive officers received  approximately 155 times the average  $44,000 salary of Canadians. Notice that the term “earned” was not applied.    Hard-working Canadians and Americans fully recognize the difference between “earning” something and just  “getting it” by any means available to them.
 North America is home to some very happy CEO’s.  They “get it” without “earning it”.  There is little reason to believe the practice is any different in the United States of America.

 How do CEO’s  manage to repeat this stunt successfully every year?  Simple.  Perhaps an individual CEO  sits  as Chief Executive Officer  for two or more  large corporations.  Their happy,  cooperative  board members in turn sit on his board.  They routinely and reciprocally   approve mutually beneficial  stock options and other perks. Annually, they  hand  the executive officers  huge cash bonuses that in some cases, add up to many millions of dollars.
 Are there blatant cases of   “You vote for  my multi-million dollar bonus again this year,  and I’ll show up and  help you get yours” ?  The reader is encouraged to think carefully about the intent and convenience of such arrangements.

As what  should such manipulative actions be classified?   What can this process  be except orchestrated, unethical  corporate theft?  Chief executive officers clearly  siphon  the profitability from corporations and millions of  dollars in bonuses. Some individuals bank  as much as 10  million dollars or more  in cash bonuses each year.
How is it possible  this process is considered  legal or justifiable?  How does it go unnoticed?  Is there no governance in force to prevent blatant corporate theft?  Is government willfully blind? Where are the lines of ethical corporate executive  behavior crossed?   It is suggested they have been substantially crossed, and increasingly so, with disdain. 

The economic effects of such bonuses are obvious. Product prices clearly  must be increased to  pay for them. Stock values are lessened.  The public has come to distrust corporate ethics.
Entry-level working people in the same  corporations often get paid minimum wage.  Jobs are being shipped overseas to countries that pay workers  pennies per hour to produce shoddy goods. Cutbacks, downsizing, and lay-offs are common, --yet bonuses are still  paid to executives and CEO’s, in spite losses, bankruptcy, or even financial meltdowns  complete with  taxpayer bailout.  
 
It should not go unmentioned  that patient investors and shareholders holding shares of the same  corporations may get paid NO  annual dividends. For their investment and loyalty,  investors receive little or no increase in stock value, in fact they often end up with   lower share prices, and receive  no interest on their investment dollar.  To make that bad investment  even less attractive, shares are subject to  “ stock consolidations” at corporate whim,  which reduces the number of shares held by an individual  instantaneously.   To make that fact even worse, ultimately, after a “corporate-deemed-appropriate and manipulated interval”,  usually a few weeks  --the ‘consolidated’  price of those remaining consolidated shares held  invariably begins to deteriorate, at times very rapidly.   Where does such corporate value so quickly evaporate to?      It does not take much imagination after reading about annual CEO bonuses.  

                                                            Photo by WLK Photography

What are investors left with?  Chump change.
Think about it.  “ Let us naive, average, and small  investors claim total idiocy while we   happily rush to pay rich  executives millions of dollars in bonuses so our stock certificates can be worth less.”   How predictable. 
    
 If   corporations are raped by greedy CEO’s , and governments blindly refuse to outlaw such practices, by what stretch of the imagination should ordinary investors place their trust and  hard-earned money in jeopardy,  knowing there can be total loss of capital, or at best little or no return to be had --while executives reward themselves with millions of dollars annually?   

How about “managed funds”?    Shall we “leave investment to the professionals”  and buy managed funds as an investment? 
“Managed funds” promise great returns  but too often  report minimal and even  negative results each quarter.   In spite of that aberration,  the same funds manage to pay millions in “management fees” and year-end bonuses  to incompetent,  less than honest fund managers and executives.  Why is this practice allowed?

 What does this mean to the average investor, Canadian or American?
 Given the existing economic  environment, the average investor  must  logically  ask:  Why bother to invest ?  

What about the implied moral contract  to conduct corporate business and internal corporate affairs with ethics,  integrity and honesty?
Unethical  mismanagement, obscene CEO bonuses,  lack of corporate honesty, the absence of  governance, justice and  remediation –are all adding up to one very big  reason not to invest.
 The smell.  Something is rotten  in Corporate North America.