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Thu 4/26/01 In fairness, you should put this up as it expresses my views on the issues
extremely well! But then, I doubt that you will give my side equal time.
Love you,
Mouse
Corporate voice is too strong for a democracy
By:
William Watson and many of your other columnists just don't get it. They
seem to think being anti-FTAA means being anti-trade. It makes one wonder
whether they have been listening or reading to any of the anti-FTAA rhetoric
at all.
Right now, most politicians look to corporate donations to get into power.
Therefore, corporations cannot help but have a strong influence over
politicians. Most media are also dependent on corporate advertising to
finance their activities. This again makes the corporate voice
disproportionately strong and cannot help but skew one of the most important
voices of opposition in a democratic country.
Mihaela Firsirotu
[Mrs. Yvan Allaire]
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Yvan Allaire
Executive V.P.
Bombardier |
Sat 4/21/01 Brazil may be ready for talks
By: KEVIN DOUGHERTY
There is a "weariness" among Brazilians that might bring an end to the aircraft subsidies that have caused a trade war with Canada, says a senior Canadian government official who is closely following the dispute.
Embraer, the Brazilian regional-aircraft manufacturer and archrival of Canada's Bombardier Ltd., "has attained its market objective of 50 per cent of the (regional-jet) market," the official said in a Summit of the Americas trade briefing.
Wed 4/4/01 Bombardier will soon rule rails
By: FRANCOIS SHALOM
Bombardier Inc. will become the world's-largest maker of rail equipment on May 1, in the wake of yesterday's decision by the European Commission to approve the Montreal firm's $1.1-billion bid to acquire money-losing Adtranz, the rail assets of Germany's DaimlerChrysler AG.
The $725-million (U.S.) deal, set to close May 1, will nearly triple Bombardier's rail-transportation division, with a combined $8 billion in annual revenues, 37,000 employees, and between 20 and 25 per cent of the world's rail-equipment and services market. Please see our T-BBD_B Chart and history and our page on Dr. Yvan Allaire Exe. V-P Bombardier & His wife, Dr. Mihaela E. Firsirotu Ph.D. from UQAM, who are our guest on April 25, 2001 #999
Wednesday Night # 999
Wednesday-Night #999 Apr. 15 was a closed evening
Wed 4/4/01 10:39 AM Bombardier will soon rule rails
By: FRANCOIS SHALOM
Bombardier Inc. will become the world's-largest maker of rail equipment on May 1, in the wake of yesterday's decision by the European Commission to approve the Montreal firm's $1.1-billion bid to acquire money-losing Adtranz, the rail assets of Germany's DaimlerChrysler AG.
The $725-million (U.S.) deal, set to close May 1, will nearly triple Bombardier's rail-transportation division, with a combined $8 billion in annual revenues, 37,000 employees, and between 20 and 25 per cent of the world's rail-equipment and services market. Please see our T-BBD_B Chart and history and our page on Dr. Yvan Allaire Exe. V-P Bombardier & His wife, Dr. Mihaela E. Firsirotu Ph.D. from UQAM, who are our guest on May 16th, 2001 #999
QAmerConBadNotes.htm
David and Diana Nicholson
Chris Goodfellow MBA on Gold & Money
click for Nicholson family photos.
Wednesday Night Salon #999
Wednesday Night One thousand minus one
INTRODUCTION
April 25, 2001
BOMBARDIER
From its roots as the Eastern Townships based manufacturer and supplier of the first snowmobiles destined for missionaries in the Arctic, to its growth as a world class supplier of a variety of transportation equipment, including the third largest aircraft manufacturer in the world, Bombardier has attracted acclaim from investors and criticism from abroad. The governments of Canada and Brazil whose relationship is normally quite friendly and cordial, have become involved in a bitter dispute over subsidies to Embraer and Bombardier. On the surface, it appears a misuse of tax money to subsidize foreign corporations who purchase aircraft in a given country, but on closer examination, while the practicalities and practices may vary, subsidies of this nature are universal in the aerospace industry in particular and are generally made available to industries that would become important in the event of invasion or war. In the final analysis, Brazil's conflict is not with Canada but, as the country with the second largest population on the continent, with the United States. Subsidies are likely to continue in the aerospace industry as in agriculture, but exist under a more clearly defined set of rules, probably established by the World Trade Organization.
EDUCATION
The revolution tranquille beheaded the Québec education system in May of 1968, removing all its roots and traditions and most concur that the experiment has not been a particularly successful one.
Are we in Québec falling behind Japan and Europe in our educational system? Should we, as they have done in the past, study their system and emulate them, while improving it? There is some doubt that a longer school year translates into better-educated adults. There are however, noticeable lacunae in our system, the most obvious being the lack of adequate funding, possibly in the pursuit of a balanced budged accompanied by an unwillingness to cut costs that have less impact on the future of our province.
Despite the increasing complexity of educational needs, we tend to lump skills training, job training and education under one system, whereas, each stream really requires a separate approach, a different philosophy. While educators in the fields of Science and Mathematics may appear satisfied with the skills of their students, those at the CEGEP level and in Arts complain that their students lack a number of the primary skills that should have been taught at the elementary and secondary level. Unfortunately, Québec students too often, express dissatisfaction with the system by leaving school before completing their course of studies to the detriment of all of us.
In a political system that stresses universal accessibility, there are few if any barriers to passing time in the education system without acquiring necessary life skills. Some educators believe in universal accessibility, stressing that they are in the education field and do not believe that past academic performance is necessarily a predictor of success in a career. Others believe that the limited resources available should be concentrated on those with proven track records.
For educators, publication has changed to become more a source of revenue than a contribution to the sum of human knowledge. Whereas in the past their objective was to acquire greater knowledge in their field, much of it in the summer months, the current emphasis appears to be on the imparting of previously acquired knowledge. As for the students, they are taught less to learn to think, to compete, to co-operate, spend little or less time in philosophy courses, arts and sports.
The involvement of industry in the University affects the objectives and orientation of the students, undergraduate and post-graduate alike as well as orienting to a large degree the research undertaken.
What is required is the understanding on the part of the government that education constitutes an investment in the future rather than a current expense, and that in addition to setting standards and measuring results, adequate funding should be as important as accessibility.
Perhaps job training should be appended to industry, but in any case should be treated differently by the government. Perhaps the period after work has been completed, that is the early retirement period, should be exploited as a source of philosophy and ideas.
Perhaps more specialized schools should be established for children whose social or monetary circumstances, even such circumstances as two working parents, are such that they do not do well in the rigid school system, but might thrive in a school designed for their needs.
THE SUMMIT OF THE AMERICAS
The Summit of the Americas in Québec has ended, bringing the evening's topic back full circle to the feasibility and acceptability of a free trade concept in an area so greatly dominated by one power. The Québec meeting was not unlike a gigantic seminar, a contradictory, gigantic educational experience, talking about democracy in a fortress-like setting, with former federal cabinet ministers protesting in the streets. Despite the much-publicized violence of a group of spoilers, the earnest, well-informed and sizeable group protesting the Summit and participating in the People's Summit, have underscored the number of unresolved issues including those of Human Rights, the Environment and the applications of the concept of democratic government. The drive towards continentality is not self evident.in the Americas - not even in North America. Europe has worked out the issues far better than North America, partly because of the balance between major economies, medium size economies and emerging economies. The evolution of negotiations should be interesting to follow. see Globalism by André Saumier
Summit: Good, | Bad notes
THE ECONOMY
There is no recession on the horizon in Canada or the United States. The Bank of Canada lowered the discount rate by a quarter percent to be followed by a second quarter percent. The United States is certain to continue to reduce interest rates in the course of the year.
QUOTES OF THE EVENING:
- "The question is what constitutes a subsidy. The World Trade Organization can define it to create a level playing field."
- "The aerospace industry is very important to every country that considers its sovereignty threatened."
- "There is no monopoly on common sense on either side."
- "We don't want a highly trained individual, we want an educated individual."
- "Publishing is remunerative to the detriment of teaching."
- "... the role of the university is not to educate your kids, but to produce new knowledge."
- "Education suffers because it has not been re-defined.."
- "There are two forms of education. The 'guess what's on my mind' form versus there is a subject, there is a point of view for us to develop."
- "Brilliant people will take care of themselves. We have to look after the (merely) bright students and provide opportunities for them."
- "Corporations should possibly have technical schools attached to them."
Notes by Herb Bercovitz
Edited by Diana Thébaud Nicholson
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