Sunday, April 17, 2011

Sunday musings

Well as the saying goes, what a difference a week makes here in the Canadian federal election. Whereas before support for the NDP seemed to have leveled off, now it appears to be picking up steam in the least likeliest places of all - Quebec. This new support seems to be mainly coming at the expense of the Liberal party. There was 2 nights of televised leaders debates - one in English and the other in French. Only in Canada would one be rescheduled to another day as to not conflict with the start of the National Hockey Leagues' playoffs. There was no "gotcha" moment for any Leader but there was at least one moment of true honesty that one must admire from the leader of the separatist party, Bloc Quebecois, who chided the leader of the NDP by saying that they both knew that they would never form the head of the Canadian Government. Such candor almost wishes for such a person to lead a similar party in their own province. After all the goals of the Bloc are focused on what is good for Quebec and it has held the rest of the country  accountable - some would say hostage - to this strategy with great effect.
Remember the saying - think locally, act globally? Well that is what is happening in the province of Saskatchewan at the present and watch out for its effect in the near future. Last summer and fall was one of the wettest in history. Add to that near record levels of snow this winter and you have an occasion of severe flooding happening at this moment. Valuable farmland will be flooded for a long time this year making the possibility of a good harvest slim. The result of that will have a huge impact on the prices in an already stretched food chain. If you thought prices were high last year, wait and see what occurs this year. And like all increases, once the genie is out of the bottle, it is almost impossible to get it back in again. Look at the price of gasoline. It goes up 4 cents a litre and then drops 2 cents. Once a consumer gets used to a new higher price, there it stays.
Have you noticed the latest trend in packaging these days? That is where the price on tinned goods stays the same but the size of the can "shrinks?
Have you noticed that the hamburger you bought at a local drive through seems smaller now?
Well it is.
It looks more and more that civil war is the outcome to the strife in Libya.
The international community had a great opportunity to do the right thing - and they blew it without a doubt. This lack of decisiveness will come back to haunt the international community without any question.
Another topic for discussion soon will be the economic health of the European Union. If you think that this does not have any effect of the rest of the world, you are mistaken.
On the bright side, have you looked into a mirror lately and seen your dad/mom looking back at you?
Remember as a young person how you swore to never be like your parents and make the same silly mistakes they did and now you are?
Or how your complaints about young people seem to have a strange echo to theirs?
Whatever happened to the difference in the world you were going to be and make?
Maybe it is just the natural cycle of life happening.
Or finally the start of some sort of wisdom finally.
There are more and more days now where you can see the other side of a discussion really does have valid points and should be considered.
Then again, just remember that next week is the time when you can be a kid again and look around the house and yard for chocolate Easter eggs and then eat them all in one sitting!
Have a good week and take care out there,
flatlander52

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