In spite of my best intentions, I find myself once again drawn reluctantly into the discussion of the dental students' misbehaviours at Dalhousie University. However my concern is not just with them but with a female columnist at the Globe and Mail who argued that people are perhaps over reacting in terms of consequences for those students. According to Margaret Wente discussing using chloroform to sexually assault a woman is really just a joke and that comments about productive women means that they will become babysitters and housekeepers is nothing but "stupid, juvenile and way out of line". She seems to suggest that it was really a matter of "boys will be boys" and that we should expect young men to respond to women the way the students did. Really??
To argue as did Ms Wente that sexism is not really a problem because there are more and more female dentist being graduated every year is to put it bluntly - silly. IT also demonstrates that she does not understand what sexism means or its consequences.
While I think some of the suggested consequences including expulsion may be a bit harsh and it may even be a bit unfair to punish these young men and not the thousands of men who think and act out the same thoughts, we have to start somewhere. Perhaps if someone would "punish" some men, all men would learn that the attitude as portrayed on the Facebook site is not acceptable. Period.
The consequences for the 13-14 young men would be far more effective if people stopped explaining away or rationalizing their behaviour. Yes it is true that the aspiring dentists have grown up in a culture where men are allowed to say and at the very least think about doing things that we (and they) would not want to happen to their sisters; yes our society is still paternalistic and frequently misogynistic and yes some of their professors and their teachers before them have been at best old fashioned about their views on the best place for women in our society. But these same 13-14 men do live in the 21st century; they have been exposed (one hopes) for all of their lives to the concept of equality of the sexes and they have had ample opportunity to learn. These are bright young men, some of the elite of our educational system. If we don't hold them to the highest standard - who can we?
While I am not a fan of Justice Circles- in this case I think it may be useful to have the young men face the women they talked about and see their anger and hear why they were offended. If men demonstrate some real understanding of what they did and why it was offensive - and if there could be some form of consequence - perhaps some rather intense sensitivity training and then having to go and speak to some first year dental classes, I think that justice would be served. I am just not too sure how one can be sure that they truly understand and that not only would they never do it again but that they would be actively engaged in helping other men to not think the same way.
I would be most curious - if people had a choice - would they prefer to go to a dentist who perhaps struggles with, but tries to be live in a non-sexist world or one who is a clear misogynistic? Who would the office staff or the dental hygienists prefer to work for.
Saturday, January 10, 2015
Thursday, January 8, 2015
Salt Spring Island 2015
I went over to Salt Spring Island to visit an old friend. The connection between the bus from Duncan to Crofton and the ferry is to put it mildly, nonexistent. I had to wait in the small and sometimes smelly village of Crofton for almost two hours before I got on the ferry. The village, depending on which way the wind blows, is permeated by the unpleasant smell of the pulp mill that dominates the bay.
It was cool, and foggy with a general sense of dampness that attached itself to the trees, the grass and my beard. I was glad that I had my three season jacket, beret and cheap dollar store gloves with me.The few people I talked to, all of whom were wearing their jackets unzipped, with no hats or gloves on, said how pleasant it was and how they almost preferred the fog to the sun. I do admire people who always find something positive to say.
When I am travelling, perhaps because of necessity, I become much more relaxed about doing nothing. Staring into nothing and thinking thoughts that I can't remember a few minutes later becomes a viable way of spending my time. In this fashion I passes most of the two hours. Along the way I got to watch some cormorant chicks swim in the shallows of the bay; saw a few harbour seals come to the surface, check out the sky, roll a few times and then to dive perhaps to find some more pleasant skies to play under; and I watched some tug boats maneuver a log boom so that the logs could be loaded into a ship and sent elsewhere. I also had a egg muffin along with a cup of tea at a small restaurant/craft shop near the terminal. They had some weaving done by a local artisan displayed which while not my style, were very well done. I would have like to have talked to the weaver. I miss playing with wool.
Perhaps for the first time in all of my ferry crossings, I sat in the closed-in upper deck of the ferry. Normally I sit outside, at the front of the boat with my large pack. Today the fog was so thick that there was nothing to see and my pack was small enough that carrying it up the steel stairs was not a problem. I did missed however, watching one shore slowly fade and the new one appear.
Once on Salt Spring Island I could have waited for the bus from Vesuvius to Ganges which would have come in another fifteen minutes or so, but I decided to hitchhike. I was glad that I did. I got a ride right into downtown Ganges within three or four minutes; the bus to Fulford Harbour was not going to leave for another hour or so, so I walked to the edge of town and stuck my thumb out. This particular spot is a well known location to hitchhike from. There is even a box of wooden signs with various destinations hand-painted on them that people borrow to show to drivers as they drive by. I got a short ride withing a few minutes of standing there, and at the next spot got a ride equally as quickly right to where I wanted to go. Almost no walking, quick rides and nice drivers. Who could ask for anything more?
It is now sometime after eight in the evening. My friend is sitting at the table with her adult son and two mid-twenties, absolutely charming young women. They are all painting in water colours. It is fascinating to watch this eclectic group of people draw and paint. Their styles are all so remarkably different. Across from me on the couch another friend, who has an wonderful voice and who I last saw sing at Hugh's Place in Toronto for a CD release party. She is singing some of her songs on a old guitar that she has just re-strung.
Again life may get better than this, but I have a hard time imagining how.
It was cool, and foggy with a general sense of dampness that attached itself to the trees, the grass and my beard. I was glad that I had my three season jacket, beret and cheap dollar store gloves with me.The few people I talked to, all of whom were wearing their jackets unzipped, with no hats or gloves on, said how pleasant it was and how they almost preferred the fog to the sun. I do admire people who always find something positive to say.
When I am travelling, perhaps because of necessity, I become much more relaxed about doing nothing. Staring into nothing and thinking thoughts that I can't remember a few minutes later becomes a viable way of spending my time. In this fashion I passes most of the two hours. Along the way I got to watch some cormorant chicks swim in the shallows of the bay; saw a few harbour seals come to the surface, check out the sky, roll a few times and then to dive perhaps to find some more pleasant skies to play under; and I watched some tug boats maneuver a log boom so that the logs could be loaded into a ship and sent elsewhere. I also had a egg muffin along with a cup of tea at a small restaurant/craft shop near the terminal. They had some weaving done by a local artisan displayed which while not my style, were very well done. I would have like to have talked to the weaver. I miss playing with wool.
Perhaps for the first time in all of my ferry crossings, I sat in the closed-in upper deck of the ferry. Normally I sit outside, at the front of the boat with my large pack. Today the fog was so thick that there was nothing to see and my pack was small enough that carrying it up the steel stairs was not a problem. I did missed however, watching one shore slowly fade and the new one appear.
Once on Salt Spring Island I could have waited for the bus from Vesuvius to Ganges which would have come in another fifteen minutes or so, but I decided to hitchhike. I was glad that I did. I got a ride right into downtown Ganges within three or four minutes; the bus to Fulford Harbour was not going to leave for another hour or so, so I walked to the edge of town and stuck my thumb out. This particular spot is a well known location to hitchhike from. There is even a box of wooden signs with various destinations hand-painted on them that people borrow to show to drivers as they drive by. I got a short ride withing a few minutes of standing there, and at the next spot got a ride equally as quickly right to where I wanted to go. Almost no walking, quick rides and nice drivers. Who could ask for anything more?
It is now sometime after eight in the evening. My friend is sitting at the table with her adult son and two mid-twenties, absolutely charming young women. They are all painting in water colours. It is fascinating to watch this eclectic group of people draw and paint. Their styles are all so remarkably different. Across from me on the couch another friend, who has an wonderful voice and who I last saw sing at Hugh's Place in Toronto for a CD release party. She is singing some of her songs on a old guitar that she has just re-strung.
Again life may get better than this, but I have a hard time imagining how.
Tuesday, January 6, 2015
OIl #2
As previously stated - I don't understand very much about oil - I don't understand how someone decides what it is worth or how someone decides to make more available now, but not last year. But what I don't understand the most is why Canada can't figure out how to get off of the boom or bust ride.
Canada's earliest economic roots developed from the sending of a natural resource to be process in another country. The fur traders of the 15th and 16th centuries sent beaver hides to England or France to be processed into hats. There appears to have been little inclination to at least start the felting process in Canada. Later our Eastern, Central and Western forests were denuded to provide lumber for British ships of war. Later still, continuing up to the present, we have dug ore or pumped oil out of the ground and then the sent the raw product elsewhere to be process or refined. Canadians, or at least the people who control our natural resources seldom seem to want to create industries based on our natural resources. This, in part means, that our economy is control by others and that we, as Canadians do not get the full economic benefit of the resources. Even more remarkably, we seem to charge less for our raw resources than do some other countries.
Take for example oil. While West Texas Intermediate Crude was selling for $50 a barrel, our Western Select heavy oil was only worth $33 a barrel (Calgary Herald). Perhaps if we processed it before shipping it, it would be worth more? We sell the stuff as an oil that is harder to refine. No wonder people pay less for it. We are in fact subsidizing companies in other countries to process our oil. I am not a big fan of any part of oil production, but if we are going to pump/dig the stuff out of the ground, surely we should get the maximum benefit from it.
To make matters worse, we don't charge enough to the companies who are pumping/digging it from our soil. According the The Tyee (an online magazine) Canada gets only about 20% of the royalties as does Norway (needs to be stated that Norway's oil is lighter - that is it is easier and cheaper to refine). To put it another way, Norway gets for very barrel of oil - five times as much as does Canada. It boggles the imagination as to what one could do with that much money over the period of a few years. Over a four year period, if Canada collected the same level of royalties as did Norway, there would be an additional $350 billion in our bank account. (Tyee). Because Canada is a federation and provinces are in control of the natural resources, the provinces get the lion's share of royalties. In 2012 Alberta collected approximately $6 billion in royalties from oil producers. If they charged what Norway does, it would have been just over $30 billion. That is a big difference!
Does it matter? Yes!!
The Huffington Post reported just over a year ago that Norway had banked almost a trillion dollars in its oil fund. The interest alone from those investments can pay for all of its social programs. In comparison Alberta's Heritage fund, in spite of the fact that Alberta has sold more oil than Norway, has after 30 years less than $18 billion saved. Canada as a nation has no such oil generated savings plan.
Norway chose to invest the money and not use it to maintain the day to day economy. Residents of Norway still pay income and sales tax. Alberta and Canada spend their royalty checks wooing the voters. When Norway stops producing oil it will have a significant mount of money invested to smooth out any pumps along the way. Alberta and all of the other oil producing provinces will once again just crash.
The bust part of the oil boom or bust cycle is preventable - or at least it was. Both the voters and the politicians lacked the will, the brains and/or the courage to do what was necessary. Now,once again some Canadians will unnecessarily suffer. And complain that it is someone else's fault - in fact it is all our fault.
Resources are not endless- we need to maximize the benefits before it is too late.
Canada's earliest economic roots developed from the sending of a natural resource to be process in another country. The fur traders of the 15th and 16th centuries sent beaver hides to England or France to be processed into hats. There appears to have been little inclination to at least start the felting process in Canada. Later our Eastern, Central and Western forests were denuded to provide lumber for British ships of war. Later still, continuing up to the present, we have dug ore or pumped oil out of the ground and then the sent the raw product elsewhere to be process or refined. Canadians, or at least the people who control our natural resources seldom seem to want to create industries based on our natural resources. This, in part means, that our economy is control by others and that we, as Canadians do not get the full economic benefit of the resources. Even more remarkably, we seem to charge less for our raw resources than do some other countries.
Take for example oil. While West Texas Intermediate Crude was selling for $50 a barrel, our Western Select heavy oil was only worth $33 a barrel (Calgary Herald). Perhaps if we processed it before shipping it, it would be worth more? We sell the stuff as an oil that is harder to refine. No wonder people pay less for it. We are in fact subsidizing companies in other countries to process our oil. I am not a big fan of any part of oil production, but if we are going to pump/dig the stuff out of the ground, surely we should get the maximum benefit from it.
To make matters worse, we don't charge enough to the companies who are pumping/digging it from our soil. According the The Tyee (an online magazine) Canada gets only about 20% of the royalties as does Norway (needs to be stated that Norway's oil is lighter - that is it is easier and cheaper to refine). To put it another way, Norway gets for very barrel of oil - five times as much as does Canada. It boggles the imagination as to what one could do with that much money over the period of a few years. Over a four year period, if Canada collected the same level of royalties as did Norway, there would be an additional $350 billion in our bank account. (Tyee). Because Canada is a federation and provinces are in control of the natural resources, the provinces get the lion's share of royalties. In 2012 Alberta collected approximately $6 billion in royalties from oil producers. If they charged what Norway does, it would have been just over $30 billion. That is a big difference!
Does it matter? Yes!!
The Huffington Post reported just over a year ago that Norway had banked almost a trillion dollars in its oil fund. The interest alone from those investments can pay for all of its social programs. In comparison Alberta's Heritage fund, in spite of the fact that Alberta has sold more oil than Norway, has after 30 years less than $18 billion saved. Canada as a nation has no such oil generated savings plan.
Norway chose to invest the money and not use it to maintain the day to day economy. Residents of Norway still pay income and sales tax. Alberta and Canada spend their royalty checks wooing the voters. When Norway stops producing oil it will have a significant mount of money invested to smooth out any pumps along the way. Alberta and all of the other oil producing provinces will once again just crash.
The bust part of the oil boom or bust cycle is preventable - or at least it was. Both the voters and the politicians lacked the will, the brains and/or the courage to do what was necessary. Now,once again some Canadians will unnecessarily suffer. And complain that it is someone else's fault - in fact it is all our fault.
Resources are not endless- we need to maximize the benefits before it is too late.
Oil
I am confused about the price of oil, or rather I am confused about why the price of oil has dropped so dramatically.
There appear to be so many contradictory bits and pieces of information about the the price of oil, why it is dropping and what it all means for Canada and the rest of the world. Quite frankly none of it make any sense to me. In fact the whole discussion, at least from my limited and uneducated perspective (at least in terms of business) sounds like a bit of silly made up talk designed (poorly) to make the pundits sound as if they know what they are talking about. These meaningless conversations also allow people to avoid dealing with the important issues of whether or not we (meaning the planet) can afford to continue to use fossil fuels.
This time last year the price of oil was high in part (or so we were told) because the demand was so high. This year we are being told that the price of oil is so low because the supply exceeds the demand. Of course the demand this year, if anything, is higher than last year if for no other reason than there are more car drivers on the roads of China and India. If there is a glut upon the market it is because a few countries, most notably Saudi Arabia, have pumped their easy to access and easy to refine oil out of the ground at a rate much higher than normal. The argument as to why the Saudis are doing this is that they want to drive the other countries/companies whose oil is more expensive to produce out of business.
And that is the argument that does not make sense to me. The Saudis are losing $40-$50 a barrel by increasing the available supply of oil. I don't know how much oil is in a barrel but I suspect that they are losing millions of dollars by increasing the supply. It doesn't make any sense. The oil that was being torn from the ground in northern Alberta, while it may rest in the ground a bit longer because of the lower price - will still be there when the Saudi oil is gone and the price is back up to a $100+ a barrel. You can't drive someone out of business when they have something that eventually everyone else will want and will have no choice but to pay what ever they have to to get it. Those companies may produce less income in the short term, but I think oil production is a long term game. The Saudis can not win this game by flooding the market.
It should be noted that in the past Saudi Arabia has be quite willing to manipulate (limit) the availability of oil to raise the price.
There are only two arguments that can explain this apparent mis-management of resources on the part of the Saudis. One is that they have so much oil available to them that they can afford to earn less than anticipated; that they can afford to wait the others out until all other sources are closed down or, two that they are getting some sort of tangible reward for doing what they are doing. What would make them willing to lose national income?
Other than Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, Venezuela, Russia and Iran appear to be the countries most adversely affected by the dramatic drop in the price of oil.
Question - how many of those countries are seen as an enemy of the USA or a threat to those large multi national companies that control the oil business?
There appear to be so many contradictory bits and pieces of information about the the price of oil, why it is dropping and what it all means for Canada and the rest of the world. Quite frankly none of it make any sense to me. In fact the whole discussion, at least from my limited and uneducated perspective (at least in terms of business) sounds like a bit of silly made up talk designed (poorly) to make the pundits sound as if they know what they are talking about. These meaningless conversations also allow people to avoid dealing with the important issues of whether or not we (meaning the planet) can afford to continue to use fossil fuels.
This time last year the price of oil was high in part (or so we were told) because the demand was so high. This year we are being told that the price of oil is so low because the supply exceeds the demand. Of course the demand this year, if anything, is higher than last year if for no other reason than there are more car drivers on the roads of China and India. If there is a glut upon the market it is because a few countries, most notably Saudi Arabia, have pumped their easy to access and easy to refine oil out of the ground at a rate much higher than normal. The argument as to why the Saudis are doing this is that they want to drive the other countries/companies whose oil is more expensive to produce out of business.
And that is the argument that does not make sense to me. The Saudis are losing $40-$50 a barrel by increasing the available supply of oil. I don't know how much oil is in a barrel but I suspect that they are losing millions of dollars by increasing the supply. It doesn't make any sense. The oil that was being torn from the ground in northern Alberta, while it may rest in the ground a bit longer because of the lower price - will still be there when the Saudi oil is gone and the price is back up to a $100+ a barrel. You can't drive someone out of business when they have something that eventually everyone else will want and will have no choice but to pay what ever they have to to get it. Those companies may produce less income in the short term, but I think oil production is a long term game. The Saudis can not win this game by flooding the market.
It should be noted that in the past Saudi Arabia has be quite willing to manipulate (limit) the availability of oil to raise the price.
There are only two arguments that can explain this apparent mis-management of resources on the part of the Saudis. One is that they have so much oil available to them that they can afford to earn less than anticipated; that they can afford to wait the others out until all other sources are closed down or, two that they are getting some sort of tangible reward for doing what they are doing. What would make them willing to lose national income?
Other than Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, Venezuela, Russia and Iran appear to be the countries most adversely affected by the dramatic drop in the price of oil.
Question - how many of those countries are seen as an enemy of the USA or a threat to those large multi national companies that control the oil business?
Monday, January 5, 2015
On the Road (sort of) Again 2014 #6
It was dark by the time we left Jasper and so there was no point heading towards the Dome car for my usual seat. I would have like to see Princess Falls or some of the higher mountains but perhaps next time the train will be on time and I will get some pictures. The car was quiet, the new people quickly settled in and by just after 8:00 the lights were dimmed. I read for an hour or two and then made my "bed " .
Some helpful hints for economy class passengers - a blanket really is a necessity. The temperature on the train is inconsistent. While it was never really cold, there were times that I was glad that I had brought my sleeping bag. A pillow or in my case a rolled up fleece sweater is also a basic requirement. The window and arm rests are just too hard to lean against or to lay one's head against. But the most important thing to do before going to sleep is to put both seats back as far as they can go. This increases the seat space considerably and allows far more room to curl up. Then one arranges the foot stools That is it. On a good night I can get three- four hours of uninterrupted sleep.
The train stopped in Kamloops. It was there for a long time. I am not to sure why except I heard one of the attendants talking about the cars needing servicing. As I saw a septic truck parked by the train and there was certainly a somewhat faint but real aroma of outhouses - I think they were pumping out a tank or two. Why they didn't do it in Jasper is beyond me. However, what was exciting was the fact that in the six hours between Jasper and Kamloops the engineer had made up at least one and a half hours. Perhaps we would not be so late after all.
In fact we got into Vancouver by 11:15ish. Only an hour and half late. I guess, considering the weather and the fact that the train had travelled over 3,000 kilometers, that was not too bad. Although one does wonder why, if the train can make up the time between Jasper and Vancouver, why can't it go faster on other parts of the trip?
In the 10 or so minutes as we were getting ready to leave the train, I learned more about my fellow passengers than I had in the preceding two or three days. The middle aged couple behind me and across the aisle were moving to Vancouver from Toronto. The couple across from me were going to Vancouver and then Victoria. Then they were heading back east again. They had gotten on the train on an impulse! I am sure there were some interesting back stories behind both of these couples..... I wish I/they had been more talkative early in our trip.
I got off the train, made the Skytrain and then the bus connection without a hassle and got to the ferry with ten minutes to spare. The sun was bright and after traveling through the western provinces, it was almost balmy.
I got picked up at the terminal and a hour later I was in Duncan. Time to sleep in a real bed with my legs stretched out straight. It felt like a luxury!!!
Some helpful hints for economy class passengers - a blanket really is a necessity. The temperature on the train is inconsistent. While it was never really cold, there were times that I was glad that I had brought my sleeping bag. A pillow or in my case a rolled up fleece sweater is also a basic requirement. The window and arm rests are just too hard to lean against or to lay one's head against. But the most important thing to do before going to sleep is to put both seats back as far as they can go. This increases the seat space considerably and allows far more room to curl up. Then one arranges the foot stools That is it. On a good night I can get three- four hours of uninterrupted sleep.
The train stopped in Kamloops. It was there for a long time. I am not to sure why except I heard one of the attendants talking about the cars needing servicing. As I saw a septic truck parked by the train and there was certainly a somewhat faint but real aroma of outhouses - I think they were pumping out a tank or two. Why they didn't do it in Jasper is beyond me. However, what was exciting was the fact that in the six hours between Jasper and Kamloops the engineer had made up at least one and a half hours. Perhaps we would not be so late after all.
In fact we got into Vancouver by 11:15ish. Only an hour and half late. I guess, considering the weather and the fact that the train had travelled over 3,000 kilometers, that was not too bad. Although one does wonder why, if the train can make up the time between Jasper and Vancouver, why can't it go faster on other parts of the trip?
In the 10 or so minutes as we were getting ready to leave the train, I learned more about my fellow passengers than I had in the preceding two or three days. The middle aged couple behind me and across the aisle were moving to Vancouver from Toronto. The couple across from me were going to Vancouver and then Victoria. Then they were heading back east again. They had gotten on the train on an impulse! I am sure there were some interesting back stories behind both of these couples..... I wish I/they had been more talkative early in our trip.
I got off the train, made the Skytrain and then the bus connection without a hassle and got to the ferry with ten minutes to spare. The sun was bright and after traveling through the western provinces, it was almost balmy.
I got picked up at the terminal and a hour later I was in Duncan. Time to sleep in a real bed with my legs stretched out straight. It felt like a luxury!!!
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