As good an idea as the crunchy marshmallow, it's...
T H E J U I C E A N D G I N
Thursday, June 29, 2006
Term XLI, Issue 09 (#203)
Weather outlook:
The rain cometh. The rain stayeth.
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* Contents *
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- Editor's Blurb
- Ongoing Events
- Greg's DTK
- Humour
- General Info
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* Editor's Blurb *
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Hey all
Okay, so I'm officially declaring the middle three days of the week
Tuwethursday. And with that, you should expect the Juice and Gin
to be published promptly every Tuwethursday, no matter what. When life
give you lemons, you clone those lemons and make SUPER LEMONS.
Until next time,
What, do you find something funny about the word "tromboner"?
Michael (mailto:nutsinfo$yahoo.ca)
And now, the rest of the story...
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* Ongoing Events *
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[See the Event Calendar on the web site for full descriptions.
--Ed.]
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Pool League
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Mondays
http://nutsevents.topcities.com/events/index.html#Monday
Contact: Dave and Michael (pool$solutionsatsource.com)
View the current players' statistics at:
http://nutsevents.topcities.com/events/pool/index.html
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Indoor Rock Climbing
====================
Thursdays
Contact: Andrew (akpallek$hotmail.com)
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* Greg's Deep Thought Korner *
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The OECD.
The Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development.
It gets a lot of publicity whenever it tries to get governments to do
anything. Presumably it's made up a bunch of business-types who are
either running corporations right now, or have in the past. Regardless
of this bias, however, you can always find the OECD's pronouncements
somewhere near the front page of your local newspaper.
We have to allow banks to merge in order to increase productivity!
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060626.woecdd0626/BNStory/Business/home
We have to lower business taxes, raise sales taxes, sell our telecomms
to international corporations, let the free market regulate our farms
etc. etc.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060626.woecd0626/BNStory/Business/home
The funniest part about that last article is that it mentions that,
among the nations surveyed by the OECD, Canada has the strongest economy
in the world. That's right, even with our "high business taxes",
regulated industries and apparently low sales taxes, we have the
strongest economy. And yet the OECD says that we have to change
ourselves to be more like the other OECD nations.
Other OECD nations? You mean the ones with weaker economies?
This, to me, reeks of dogmatism. They *know*, beyond any logic or fact
reaching them, that the correct thing to do is drop business taxes,
raise sales taxes and let the free market run everything. Regardless of
how many times this has failed, nor how well things work when nations
*don't* do this, the OECD *knows* it's the right answer and they'll push
it on you whether you have a problem or not.
But there's another more crucial factor here. Certain industries such
as banking, agriculture, news agencies, even telcos, have more important
obligations than merely being as "productive" as possible. The
agricultural industry is responsible for providing us with food,
regardless of fluctuations in international markets. The news agencies
are supposed to be providing us with accurate information and analysis.
The banks safeguard our money. I could go on.
If the banks, as the OECD insists, are to become more "productive", they
must be allowed to merge. But is it in the best interest of account
holders and mortgagees that the choices are limited to a small number of
very large, very powerful banks? What if we allow foreign ownership of
our news media? What sort of news does one get from a single, giant
news corporation over the whole world? What if we stop regulating the
price of food and suddenly our farmers can't compete? The farmers go
out of business and we're completely hosed the next time there's a
drought in Haiti. Not acceptable.
These industries all have higher obligations than merely "productivity"
and "efficiency". Much like setting the minimum wage, the lowest price
is not necessarily the best price. That's why we have a government: to
regulate that which needs regulating. What this government will do is
not clear. It never has been, but if they hold true to form we're going
to see lots of deregulation and tax cutting and screw the consequences.
Greg.
[Send responses to DTKs or new Editorials to nutsinfo$yahoo.ca]
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* Humour *
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[Forward any good jokes or interesting web sites you see to
nutsinfo$yahoo.ca]
[Disclaimer: The Humour Section may contain content that includes dirty
words, adult situations and jokes that make fun of politicians. Viewer
discretion is advised. --Ed.]
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Zen Sarcasm
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Thanks to Linda G.'s Eastern Philosophy Emporium
1. Do not walk behind me, for I may not lead. Do not walk ahead of
me, for I may not follow. Do not walk beside me either. Just
pretty much leave me alone.
2. The journey of a thousand miles begins with a broken fan belt and
leaky tire.
3. It's always darkest before dawn. So if you're going to steal your
neighbour's newspaper, that's the time to do it.
4. Don't be irreplaceable. If you can't be replaced, you can't be
promoted.
5. Always remember that you're unique. Just like everyone else.
6. Never test the depth of the water with both feet.
7. If you think nobody cares if you're alive, try missing a couple of
car payments.
8. Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their
shoes. That way, when you criticize them, you're a mile away and
you have their shoes.
9. If at first you don't succeed, skydiving is not for you.
10. Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach him how to fish,
and he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day.
11. If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was
probably worth it.
12. If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything.
13. Some days you're the bug; some days you're the windshield.
14. Everyone seems normal until you get to know them.
15. The quickest way to double your money is to fold it in half and put
it back in your pocket.
16. A closed mouth gathers no foot.
17. Duct tape is like The Force: it has a light side and a dark side,
and it holds the universe together.
18. There are two theories to arguing with women. Neither one works.
19. Generally speaking, you aren't learning much when your lips are
moving.
20. Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.
21. Never miss a good chance to shut up.
22. Never, under any circumstances, take a sleeping pill and a laxative
on the same night.
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* General Info *
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Contact the NUTS Committee:
nutsinfo$yahoo.ca
The NUTS Website is:
http://nutsevents.topcities.com/
http://torpedo.ca.newbridge.com/mirror/ (for people within Alcatel)
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