Read About W-N NP story on W-N Contact W-N and Map Invite to Wed1292 Wednesday Night Salon #1292 6 Dec 2006 Page 2 (chroniques/budgetseguin ) Introduction The crowded room was pervaded by an atmosphere of genial good humour in contrast to the proposed discussion of the 'dismal science'. Using the presence of Peter Trent as the perfect segue, Diana mentioned that during the first week of January, Infinitheatre will perform"Prescription for murder" set in Westmount and cleverly featuring cameo appearances by four individuals - of whom she is one - in the role of Mayor of Westmount. Robert Galbraith is the official photographer for this unprecedented event. a class="b2" style="color:green" href="http://www.infinitebooks.ca" onmouseover="return overlib('infinirebooks', LEFT);" onmouseout="return nd();" target="_"> MacKay Smith presented his newly published book "Montreal's Sherbrooke Street the Spine of the City", a wonderful history of the street and our city, which is available at all major bookstores and sales are brisk. The Liberal Leadership Convention (see Robert Galbraith's photo coverage at Lib party or Lib Convention ) Money, power and influence can be powerful currencies in determining the path of nations and individuals. However, the recent Liberal Party of Canada leadership convention demonstrated the enormous value of the trading stamp as a currency to act as a counterbalance to money, power, influence and charisma. Stéphane Dion emerged as leader of that party, much to the surprise of his opponents whose trading stamps appeared to be used as much for personal gain as for the good of the country. Of course, it would be naïve to believe that there were no votes traded for the fulfillment of personal ambitions, but for the present at least, the influence and power of the traditional party elite appears to have been broken thanks, in part, to a renewed interest in politics by a generation of youths that had previously shunned mainstream politics. M. Dion appears to be listening. [Editor's note: Breaking with our usual format, we include here a number of quotes to give the full flavour of the animated exchange. The members took the party away from the party elite – party insiders were angry and stunned The quality of all the candidates - their credentials - was outstanding, far better than anything we see south of the border I believe that the real kingmaker was David Orchard; he [Dion] would have been such a distant fourth without them [the delegates Orchard personally brought to Dion] I saw something that was wonderful, the enormous amount of enthusiasm on the part of the informed young people that we have not seen for a long time – there was an electric quality to the campaign and to the Convention Every campaign is run by youth because they are the only ones who have the energy [or the time!] … the opportunity to come together with [delegates from all over the country] over things that you believe really matter I was looking around the room seeing a group of about 25 people, all under the age of 30, essentially running this man's policy and communications I think it has been a great renewal that belongs to all of us, not to one particular candidate I saw these guys at work, young people, a new league coming out in Canada, not the old- boy system As an outsider, I wonder if we didn’t trade one political elite for another How should leaders be elected – let me count the ways Some Wednesday Nighters believed that all party members should elect a leader directly, others that the delegates should be committed to vote for the candidate selected at the riding level. The problem with the former is that the number of members at any one time, is a function of the ability of a particular candidate or interest group to sell temporary memberships, while the latter prevents the delegate from listening, representing and making intelligent choices, thus frequently being forced by the rules to support an unelectable candidate as has, at times, happened in the United States. The direct telephone vote by all members has recently led to the election of André Boisclair as Parti Québécois leader, a choice not considered wise by many electors of various political stripes. The Québec government and the physicians – when will patients count? The current dispute between Québec Physicians and Surgeons and the government is not to be taken lightly. The myth of Francophone practitioners being held hostage here because of language is rapidly being exploded. For some years now, the Université de Montréal medical school has been ranked number one in Canada and its graduates are in demand across the country and around the world. If at all possible, it will take many years to re-establish the physician/patient balance here, especially in an increasingly aging population. Although currently in the news, this dispute is a microcosm of problems that exist throughout publicly funded networks such as education, health and transportation. Some countries get it (managing the economy) right Norway’s policy on its newly found affluence in the form of North Sea oil is being regarded by many as evidence of impressive Nordic wisdom. Certainly, that country’s policy of investing the proceeds worldwide in a public portfolio is prudent and will serve to enrich that country in the foreseeable future. This is similar to what Albert a has done, but Norway has the advantage of the state owning the oil and can distribute the revenue evenly across all inhabitants of the country, does not have to share with the European Union, and that it has a stable government not likely to change its policies. Other countries with no oil resources have succeeded in a similar manner. Eire, while not an affluent country, is becoming more affluent at an impressive rate by becoming a haven for head offices of companies not necessarily operating in that country. Switzerland has succeeded for years in earning money with few resources. Slovakia attempted to emulate Eire but did not succeed because while it did indeed attract foreign investors, the benefits were disproportionately concentrated around Bratislava and the area close to the Austrian border, with none to the outlying regions. Come the next election, a new government was elected. Thus, the key to the success enjoyed by Eire lies in the stability of its government and policies. The market The stock market continues to reflect a healthy economy. There could be a problem in December because of possible profit taking into January. We are minutes away from 13,000 in the U.S. by the end of the year and we are heading for 14,000 before it reaches its peak. The markets look a bit stretched, but it does not look as though 2007 will be problematic for the U.S. The rest of the world is doing quite well economically. There are some pretty good opportunities and things should move generally higher. The energy sector and financials are attractive. The Canadian (mining) story is well known across the world and should continue to do pretty well. Singapore is benefiting from the increasing pollution in Hong Kong; some of the expat community is moving to Singapore. It is noteworthy that pollution in China is a problem now recognized by the government ( TomFriedman.asp has been writing about this); if China does not start to address its environmental problems its growth will be slowed. Asia is booming, most compelling for long-term investment. People are looking to countries like Vietnam and Mongolia. Global warming At the recent Climate Change Conference in Nairobi, a number of extremely important development issues were sidelined by the very open split between the Group of 77 plus China and the U.S.-Canada-Australia coalition. The Millennium Development Goals are a unifying point for all of the parties, however there are conflicting views on how to reach the goals two of which are advocated by Jeffrey Sachs and William Easterly, formerly of the World Bank (for more on this debate, please see Why Hayek Was Wrong: Sachs Responds to Easterly) A highly recommended new book is Heat: How to Stop the Planet From Burning by George Monbiot of The Guardian. Of particular interest is the Foreword to the Canadian edition. He notes how poorly Canada is performing in emission control. He almost presciently forecasts the hopelessly inadequate "Made in Canada Solution" introduced by the Conservative government whose "solution" will require that government to be elected to power eleven times before the provisions come into effect. Albert will be an interesting place to watch, with the change in government philosophy in that province and the looming problem of lowering the water table in order to pump oil out of the oil sands Of all the leadership candidates, it is Gerard Kennedy who has taken the strongest position on the flaws of Canadian immigration policy, citing the immigrant success gap immigrantsuccessplatform_EN.pdf and pointing his finger at the oft-discussed [at Wednesday Night] problem that Canada makes every effort to attract the best and the brightest but then doesn't make use of their skills and talents. One cause for optimism is that the Quebec government is beginning to introduce equivalency programs, allowing talented professionals to earn their equivalency relatively quickly and painlessly. _limits_to_growth_30_year_update With the Liberal Party leadership race on our mind, we sometimes try to predict the outcome of the concurrent mid-term elections in our neighbour to the south, where despite the evidence of a great deal of disaffection with the current Republican Congress this may possibly dissipate when the votes are cast, or expressed by refraining from voting. Will the Republicans' ability to raise campaign funds overcome the public's disenchantment with the Party, whether over the war in Iraq, or over morality issues like the Foley case? The days/months ahead will certainly be of interest to all. What will happen to the price of oil? Real estate Bulletin Board www.flickr.com More of davidnicholson's photos tagged with Wed1292 Wed 1292 slide show Canadian dollar is expected to decline against its U.S. counterpart. The economy See also JACQUES CLEMENT: REPORT ON THE ECONOMY Existing home sales were off almost thirteen percent in October and new home sales down 3.2% (-25% year to date). The manufacturing sector is eroding with durable goods orders (very volatile), aeronautical sector declining nearly 8.5% after a similar gain in September, the largest decline in six years. Industrial production showed a net decline in September-October, with auto production down for the second consecutive month. The Fed Chairman sees “the core inflation (2.7%, near a ten year high) as uncomfortably high and the economy moderating to below potential in the near term.” Nevertheless, core producer prices declined nearly 1% in October for the largest one month fall in thirteen years and total P.P.I. was down almost 3% (September-October) at the record lowest pace in five years. Corporate earnings were up 19% in the third quarter and 9% - 9½ % gains are expected for the following two quarters, creating a liquidity glut (+40% year /year), leading to record stock buybacks, $170 billion record of world buyouts, private equity financing of $600 billion against $241 billion in 2005 and mergers and acquisitions of $1.1 trillion. The Dow Jones off 263 points since its record of mid-November, is related to the significant decline of the U.S. dollar against the Euro (a twenty month low at $1.3162 U.S.) against the U.K. (a two year low) and the Japanese Yen. The Fed meets December 12 and will remain unchanged at 5¼% for the fourth consecutive meeting. Notes by Herb Bercovitz OWN Editor: Diana Thébaud Nicholson OWN Radio, the long-lasting treasure intro Wed1292 | Wed1292 slide show Oil DTN OWN more Louise | DTN Diana Nicholson OWN slides | hands | all | & Louise 3-M slides | albums | all Jacques Clément OWN slides Gerald Ratzer OWN Note Wednesday-Night creates charts and follows stocks, including timely related financial news items, in which Wednesday Nighters are interested and in order to demonstrate a service that could eventually be developed and marketed. Wednesday Nighters are invited to participate and help to test the service. see Wednesday-Night.com Flip charts QUOTES of the EVENING from recent Wednesday Nights 2006 From #1292 Westmount [mons occidentalis] is hereby declared to be a nation, but only in the sociological sense; cleverly the new petition refers only to Westmounters – not Ouestmontais – thus excluding 20% of the citizens, thus eliminating any suggestion that Westmount should become a state Most people aren't active and don't think about politics except on election day; politicians cannot be representative because they think about politics all the time What was difficult was when the delegates were freed, it was not (then) the vote of the people who elected the delegates This (the current Canadian system) is the way the U.S. used to do it like this. It gave you the chance to go with the flow. In the U.S. with the primary process you often can be stuck with a candidate that can’t possibly win Once one has elected a delegate (at the riding level), I think that it’s good that the selected delegate can assess the situation and move with the flow. … You have to have someone in situ who listens What I think is hurting politics is the party system which creates IOUs Investors are looking for the next INCO Emerging markets are doing very well yet, very few pension funds are invested in emerging markets Abu Dhabi is down fifty percent. Is this the canary in the coal mine? From #1291 A strategy of fear will not make winners. I think that the way to live is to earn the trust of somebody else Taking out Saddam has created a power vacuum The U.S. administration created the myth of weapons of mass destruction and went in, but it had no plan More Quotes Short | Full List Let's not forget that the best speech given at the 1968 Liberal Convention was delivered by Monday Oct 2, 2006 Hungary's Nixon They're off! Hungary's eight million-plus registered voters are at the polls. The elections are municipal; the implications national. In the country that in the 1980s used to be described as "the happiest barrack" of the Soviet camp, voters are deciding whether or not to punish their government of ex-communists for lying. J.J. Greene [www.agr.gc.ca/bios/] Voice radio was invented by Reginald Fessenden a Quebecker from Knowlton [Editor's note: if you don't believe it, see: 03d_supp_002_e.htm] www.flickr.com This is a Flickr badge showing public photos from davidnicholson tagged with diananicholson. Make your own badge here. Diana Nicholson Past Quotes Best or All Mouse bio see Diana show hands | RJG | Album Herb Bercovitz OWN Galbraith imges his page See slides | Album and Art slides | Album W-N Links for #1292 a NewYorker Cartoon every 30 sec. see w-n Right Menu => Harper's | Home nyt Audio Clips: (mp3) • 'Blue Rondo à la Turk' by Dave Brubeck • 'Now's the Time' by Charlie Parker • 'Dedication' by Andrew Hill • 'Tired Trade' by Andrew Hill 2006 Notes for #1292 Rex Murphy's Point of View index Margaret Lefebvre Became Member OWN Westmount City Won the Ward and COUCHICHING the Council of Canadian Academies then Income Trusts and now Friday Nov 3, 2006 Margaret Lefebvre Appointed to the National Research Council of Canada Menu to mitworld.mit.edu/ on-demand videos of significant public events at MIT. in RealPlayer Ex Thomas L. Friedman. While you were Seeping The World IS Flat Video length is 1:15:04. Stephen S. Poloz VP EDC Economics Weekly Commentary Two Sides to the Trade Success Story - December 6, 2006 Everybody knows that emerging economies grow faster than major economies. That’s why success at exporting is often measured by success at penetrating emerging markets. And on this front, Canada is seen by some commentators as falling behind other major economies. Past issues | his WN page Wednesday-Night.com on Privacy Canadian dollar vs euro | Dow 30 w-n chart | TSX Paul Martin | Stevie Harper see also Wednesday-Night.com MedicalNotes Would you like to the Computer Box Click Here To Add Wed1292page2.asp To Your Favorites More Info About... Read Cookie for Site Please click here to see new/updated pages since last visit www.iedm.org/ coming Events Peter Perkins Wed1292 6 Dec 2006 with Peter Perkins1292 and Dr. Antal Tony Deutsch OWN [page] also Dr. Andre Pasternac and Dr. Mark Roper OWN O.W.N. in photos and the return of David Mitchell OWN, and Germain Bourgeois then , John Curtin and from infinitheatre Me Me John Mavridis Udo Stundner OWN, our Swiss Banker and danny van Gelder on camera then John Curtin Jan Davis on the Segway at the cnention and Catherine Gillbert Angelina Fournier and Jaime Webbe with Bertrand Revenaz Gerald Ratzer OWN and Stephen Kingsman then Louise des Trois Maisons , Diana slides on Wed1292 Notes by Herb Bercovitz and click for Wed1292Report | Wed1292 photos slides | Wed1291 report Wed1292 invite Wed1293 page2 The views above are neither those of the authors nor the owner of the website, but merely reflect discussions that took place on this evening