I have never thought of myself as a person who obsesses about the Olympics, but Rio's win today was thrilling. It was interesting to see the four films on the bid cities -- Chicago, Tokyo, Madrid and Rio de Janeiro. Chicago's promo film failed to send a strong message about a forward thinking environment. Tokyo's was sort of predictable, but more majestic. Madrid was trying too hard. And then there was Rio. All the IOC had to do was take a look at five seconds of this film and say, "Okay, that's it. We're going to hit this place in 2016. That's where the beauty and the passion lie." Clearly, what happens in Rio won't stay in Rio -- the party will be a grand international affair.
Now, as happy as I am for Rio -- and I am! -- I see us all drifting while the newer world gathers momentum. Aside from gorgeous beaches and mountains, Rio has shown us how wonderful it is to be shiny and new. Brazil has been amazingly successful over the past number of years, even swallowing iconic Inco for a cool $17 billion three years ago.
It is time to reinvent ourselves. How about starting to call all of us -- Mexican, American and Canadian -- North American? How about rethinking and repositioning the brand? I think North American could far outsell American at the moment. North America speaks of unity and diversity and newness. If we are going to proceed and outsell, we are going to have to be the go-to people for ideas. We will require some grandeur and some greatness, nothing tired or broken.
America has too many skeletons -- both old (slavery) and new (Iraq) -- in its closet. Canada is too small to make the difference it should be making, because Canada is a truly extraordinary nation. Mexico would add history and culture, and Mexico could really use the re branding as well. If we could ever sort out the cross border trade squabbles (Buy America) and the passport issues and the clogged borders, we could have enormous advantages having an EU type entity called North America. Republicans like Senator Corker who alledge that Canada has a parasitic relationship with America will need to be convinced, as will TV anchor Lou Dobbs.
Chicago's loss and Rio's win together point to a need for a fresh new entity -- North America just might help.
October 2, 2009
August 22, 2009
Where in the world is Janet Napolitano? And how Canada is suffering from new US border laws
by Diane Wilson
Canada better start beefing up its relationships with Europe and Asia because our biggest trading partner is making it increasingly hard to play ball. The Americans are rightfully concerned with their rising unemployment. The Americans are rightfully concerned with 9/11 and its repercussions. But their concerns have been amplified by a national anger designed to keep outsiders out and Americans in. That kind of thinking is leading to border havoc -- long and costly delays at crossings -- and a steep decline for Canadian business.
The Globe and Mail reports that the new passport rule, enacted June 1, is keeping Americans out of our great country. In fact, according to Statistics Canada, travel to Canada from the United States in June has sunk to its lowest number since the agency started tracking cross border travel in 1972. Last year, Americans accounted for about 70 per cent of Canada's $75-billion tourism industry. The problem is this: only 30% of the American citizenry have passports.
The largest undefended border is now so defended that it saddens the heart. Drones fly south of Saskatchewan. If you happen to be drinking a Tim Horton's coffee as you cross the border into the US, you best declare it as a food item. Forget cheerful memories conjured up by Queenston/Lewiston or Buffalo/Fort Erie. The lovely flow of people and goods has come to a halt, as if Queenston/Lewiston is about to be returned to its 1812 standing.
This is not good news for wee little Canada or the hermetically sealed United States of America. However, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, the former Governor of Arizona, has said repeatedly that the northern border must be brought in line with the southern Mexican border. According to The Economist, Napolitano told reporters she wanted to “change the culture” along the 8,900km border. So she wants a real border despite the $1.8 billion worth of daily trade crossing the border. Napolitano talks heat-detecting sensors, surveillance drones and cameras along the the St. Clair River.
Buy American. Erect a big wall on both borders. Treat 'em the same and show 'em there's a new sheriff in town. Big. Tough. And oh so out of of touch with the reality that is 2009. Rather than partnering with Canada to encourage trade and tourism, the US has decided to go it alone and has essentially isolated itself, hoping that money just keeps pouring in from China et al. But we have only to look at other countries and unions, such as the EU, which are designed to foster a free flow of goods and people from countries with different languages and customs. What they share is a strong belief in progress.
Earlier, I was hopeful that Janet Napolitano might change her thinking about our border, but this issue seems to be much bigger than Ms. Napolitano. She merely echoes a chorus from the culture of Lou Dobbs. It is a sad inward looking United States whose people don't get out much. Then again, when only 30% of the population own a passport, you aren't going anywhere!
Canada better start beefing up its relationships with Europe and Asia because our biggest trading partner is making it increasingly hard to play ball. The Americans are rightfully concerned with their rising unemployment. The Americans are rightfully concerned with 9/11 and its repercussions. But their concerns have been amplified by a national anger designed to keep outsiders out and Americans in. That kind of thinking is leading to border havoc -- long and costly delays at crossings -- and a steep decline for Canadian business.
The Globe and Mail reports that the new passport rule, enacted June 1, is keeping Americans out of our great country. In fact, according to Statistics Canada, travel to Canada from the United States in June has sunk to its lowest number since the agency started tracking cross border travel in 1972. Last year, Americans accounted for about 70 per cent of Canada's $75-billion tourism industry. The problem is this: only 30% of the American citizenry have passports.
The largest undefended border is now so defended that it saddens the heart. Drones fly south of Saskatchewan. If you happen to be drinking a Tim Horton's coffee as you cross the border into the US, you best declare it as a food item. Forget cheerful memories conjured up by Queenston/Lewiston or Buffalo/Fort Erie. The lovely flow of people and goods has come to a halt, as if Queenston/Lewiston is about to be returned to its 1812 standing.
This is not good news for wee little Canada or the hermetically sealed United States of America. However, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, the former Governor of Arizona, has said repeatedly that the northern border must be brought in line with the southern Mexican border. According to The Economist, Napolitano told reporters she wanted to “change the culture” along the 8,900km border. So she wants a real border despite the $1.8 billion worth of daily trade crossing the border. Napolitano talks heat-detecting sensors, surveillance drones and cameras along the the St. Clair River.
Buy American. Erect a big wall on both borders. Treat 'em the same and show 'em there's a new sheriff in town. Big. Tough. And oh so out of of touch with the reality that is 2009. Rather than partnering with Canada to encourage trade and tourism, the US has decided to go it alone and has essentially isolated itself, hoping that money just keeps pouring in from China et al. But we have only to look at other countries and unions, such as the EU, which are designed to foster a free flow of goods and people from countries with different languages and customs. What they share is a strong belief in progress.
Earlier, I was hopeful that Janet Napolitano might change her thinking about our border, but this issue seems to be much bigger than Ms. Napolitano. She merely echoes a chorus from the culture of Lou Dobbs. It is a sad inward looking United States whose people don't get out much. Then again, when only 30% of the population own a passport, you aren't going anywhere!
July 24, 2009
Yes He Can! Obama and Health Care
by Diane Wilson
This week President Obama stood before the American people and made his case for health care. As The Economist reports, reforming health care is perhaps the biggest challenge facing the President. Whether it is or it isn't, this is something that needs doing, as close to 50 million Americans are currently uninsured -- this in a land that is called the wealthiest nation on earth.
In this can-do country that others only seek to emulate, exorbitant health insurance premiums cripple the middle class, and insurance is routinely denied to people with pre-existing conditions. Careers are planned around health benefits. Contract workers lose their jobs, their homes and their health insurance. President Obama pointed out, "If we do not act, 14,000 Americans will continue to lose their health insurance every single day.”
There is one single question that most disturbs opponents of the Obama plan: Who will pay for it? In this what's in it for me moment, the government would be hard pressed to proceed with any initiative that betters life for the citizens. Transportation. Public Buildings. The whole purpose of government is to provide services and protect the public good.
Perhaps the issue has been framed so wrong for so long that people just see red at the mention of public health care. It is possible that people just cannot grasp that we are not talking about some vague issue but rather the health of of their fellow countrymen. America depends on its productivity. That said, productivity and health run hand in hand.
President Obama has said that his health care plan will not add to the deficit and that two-thirds of the program could be paid for by trimming the fat on existing programs. But it is the taxation component that has people riled. It will fall on those most able pay -- the wealthiest -- to shoulder the burden of health care through taxes. This horrific information is offset by the fact that Obama is eager to drive costs down. Given that burgeoning American health care costs are not sustainable, Obama's desire to trim costs should appeal to everybody.
Obama's health care plan will not be popular. His opponents will continue to run ads depicting shoddy medical treatment in Canada. The fear factor will not work because Obama currently has people on his side. He needs to grab the legislators and make health care happen now, or he will miss the opportunity to keep American people -- all American people -- well.
This week President Obama stood before the American people and made his case for health care. As The Economist reports, reforming health care is perhaps the biggest challenge facing the President. Whether it is or it isn't, this is something that needs doing, as close to 50 million Americans are currently uninsured -- this in a land that is called the wealthiest nation on earth.
In this can-do country that others only seek to emulate, exorbitant health insurance premiums cripple the middle class, and insurance is routinely denied to people with pre-existing conditions. Careers are planned around health benefits. Contract workers lose their jobs, their homes and their health insurance. President Obama pointed out, "If we do not act, 14,000 Americans will continue to lose their health insurance every single day.”
There is one single question that most disturbs opponents of the Obama plan: Who will pay for it? In this what's in it for me moment, the government would be hard pressed to proceed with any initiative that betters life for the citizens. Transportation. Public Buildings. The whole purpose of government is to provide services and protect the public good.
Perhaps the issue has been framed so wrong for so long that people just see red at the mention of public health care. It is possible that people just cannot grasp that we are not talking about some vague issue but rather the health of of their fellow countrymen. America depends on its productivity. That said, productivity and health run hand in hand.
President Obama has said that his health care plan will not add to the deficit and that two-thirds of the program could be paid for by trimming the fat on existing programs. But it is the taxation component that has people riled. It will fall on those most able pay -- the wealthiest -- to shoulder the burden of health care through taxes. This horrific information is offset by the fact that Obama is eager to drive costs down. Given that burgeoning American health care costs are not sustainable, Obama's desire to trim costs should appeal to everybody.
Obama's health care plan will not be popular. His opponents will continue to run ads depicting shoddy medical treatment in Canada. The fear factor will not work because Obama currently has people on his side. He needs to grab the legislators and make health care happen now, or he will miss the opportunity to keep American people -- all American people -- well.
July 23, 2009
Toronto: A City in Peril
Garbage and Pandemic Planning
by Diane Wilson
Toronto's month long civic workers strike that has crippled garbage collection has its tentacles in more services than you know. It even affects pandemic planning. In today's The Toronto Star, renowned microbiologist Allison McGeer warns that Toronto may suffer more H1N1 deaths because of the civic workers' strike. I will say that again: Toronto may suffer more H1N1 deaths because of the civic workers strike. McGeer is head of infection control at Mount Sinai Hospital and a noted authority on pandemic planning. She was also the voice of reason during the SARS outbreak.
Apparently, there are about 1,800 unionized employees from the Toronto Public Health Unit on strike. These individuals were supposed to be spending the summer planning for the second wave of the H1N1 virus, which is scheduled to hit North America in September. During the summer, pandemic management advice should have been going out to institutions and plans for vaccination clinics should have been made.
McGeer's comments are in line with the thinking of the World Health Organization, which has declared a level 6 pandemic -- news that should not have been taken lightly. We are told to wash our hands and all that to prevent the spread of germs. But wouldn't our city be cleaner if we took away these towering hills of aging garbage? I worry about the spread of disease through vermin when you have so much uncollected garbage sitting for weeks on end in our neighbourhoods.
Okay, health's not your thing. How about a sagging economy? When the world is sputtering in a global recession and travel dollars are being squeezed like never before, isn't it a crying shame that Toronto has turned off the lights? The ferries to the island are on strike, leaving places like Centreville closed. Public pools are closed. Builders have been unable to collect building permits and have had to lay off employees. Day camps are closed.
Toronto is a city of contradictions. Torontonians are paying five cents a bag at all stores. The idea was that we would use our cloth sacks to bring home the goods and then we would compost and recycle. We are a noble lot of foolish people! We go to all this trouble and expense and now the strike has us throwing all our waste -- compost and not -- into monstrously large green plastic garbage bags, which are tossed next to our neighbours to rot for weeks on end.
Few of us fully understand the reasons these city workers went out on strike, although I bet some of the reasons are very good. Unfortunately, nothing can top the urgency and importance of a global pandemic and a global recession. We have precious few days to get down to serious planning and confront a future in which sick days will be so consumed that prized sick banks will vanish. This strike has run its course. It is time for the mayor and the premier to lead.
by Diane Wilson
Toronto's month long civic workers strike that has crippled garbage collection has its tentacles in more services than you know. It even affects pandemic planning. In today's The Toronto Star, renowned microbiologist Allison McGeer warns that Toronto may suffer more H1N1 deaths because of the civic workers' strike. I will say that again: Toronto may suffer more H1N1 deaths because of the civic workers strike. McGeer is head of infection control at Mount Sinai Hospital and a noted authority on pandemic planning. She was also the voice of reason during the SARS outbreak.
Apparently, there are about 1,800 unionized employees from the Toronto Public Health Unit on strike. These individuals were supposed to be spending the summer planning for the second wave of the H1N1 virus, which is scheduled to hit North America in September. During the summer, pandemic management advice should have been going out to institutions and plans for vaccination clinics should have been made.
McGeer's comments are in line with the thinking of the World Health Organization, which has declared a level 6 pandemic -- news that should not have been taken lightly. We are told to wash our hands and all that to prevent the spread of germs. But wouldn't our city be cleaner if we took away these towering hills of aging garbage? I worry about the spread of disease through vermin when you have so much uncollected garbage sitting for weeks on end in our neighbourhoods.
Okay, health's not your thing. How about a sagging economy? When the world is sputtering in a global recession and travel dollars are being squeezed like never before, isn't it a crying shame that Toronto has turned off the lights? The ferries to the island are on strike, leaving places like Centreville closed. Public pools are closed. Builders have been unable to collect building permits and have had to lay off employees. Day camps are closed.
Toronto is a city of contradictions. Torontonians are paying five cents a bag at all stores. The idea was that we would use our cloth sacks to bring home the goods and then we would compost and recycle. We are a noble lot of foolish people! We go to all this trouble and expense and now the strike has us throwing all our waste -- compost and not -- into monstrously large green plastic garbage bags, which are tossed next to our neighbours to rot for weeks on end.
Few of us fully understand the reasons these city workers went out on strike, although I bet some of the reasons are very good. Unfortunately, nothing can top the urgency and importance of a global pandemic and a global recession. We have precious few days to get down to serious planning and confront a future in which sick days will be so consumed that prized sick banks will vanish. This strike has run its course. It is time for the mayor and the premier to lead.
June 26, 2009
Smart: The 2009 Word that Defines Obama's Call to Action
by Diane Wilson
Earlier this year, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called for the use of smart power, which she said included "the full range of tools at our disposal -- diplomatic, economic, military, political, legal, and cultural... With smart power, diplomacy will be the vanguard of foreign policy," as recorded by ABC News. Not surprisingly, foreign affairs is framed this way.
According to China View, Obama has "displayed his advocacy of the so-called 'smart diplomacy' ever since he took office in January. He has extended an olive branch to Cuba and Venezuela in Latin America, and softened tones on Iran and Syria."
Then there's smart grid investment, which is about to soar as a result of the stimus package. Intelligent grid technologies are projected to top $70 billion by 2013.
President Obama has ushered in a new tone of smart responsiblity, knowledge and language, and it is having an effect. Rapper Jim Jones told The Daily Beast that Obama inspired him to clean up the language of his music. Gone is the word "nigga." The word is now replaced with Obama, as in "Yo, did you see them Obamas last night?”or “Now that’s a real Obama.”
Talk about smart power. From rappers to corporate titans. Look at IBM's latest ads that ask us to buy into smart power Apparently, "smart work is transforming our organizations to take advantage of the capabilities of a smarter planet."
Smart is clearly the word that best defines our response to the urgent needs of 2009 and it is a more than gentle reminder of the dearth of smartness in the preceding eight. The Times reminds of a time when life was much less smart in a recitation of President Bush's top 20 gaffes. While it's nice to finally go in the right direction -- smart, that is -- Bush warms the heart with his downright nuttiness. Then we remember Iraq and all that is ugly about dumb politics, and we thank our lucky stars for the smart, new White House.
Earlier this year, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called for the use of smart power, which she said included "the full range of tools at our disposal -- diplomatic, economic, military, political, legal, and cultural... With smart power, diplomacy will be the vanguard of foreign policy," as recorded by ABC News. Not surprisingly, foreign affairs is framed this way.
According to China View, Obama has "displayed his advocacy of the so-called 'smart diplomacy' ever since he took office in January. He has extended an olive branch to Cuba and Venezuela in Latin America, and softened tones on Iran and Syria."
Then there's smart grid investment, which is about to soar as a result of the stimus package. Intelligent grid technologies are projected to top $70 billion by 2013.
President Obama has ushered in a new tone of smart responsiblity, knowledge and language, and it is having an effect. Rapper Jim Jones told The Daily Beast that Obama inspired him to clean up the language of his music. Gone is the word "nigga." The word is now replaced with Obama, as in "Yo, did you see them Obamas last night?”or “Now that’s a real Obama.”
Talk about smart power. From rappers to corporate titans. Look at IBM's latest ads that ask us to buy into smart power Apparently, "smart work is transforming our organizations to take advantage of the capabilities of a smarter planet."
Smart is clearly the word that best defines our response to the urgent needs of 2009 and it is a more than gentle reminder of the dearth of smartness in the preceding eight. The Times reminds of a time when life was much less smart in a recitation of President Bush's top 20 gaffes. While it's nice to finally go in the right direction -- smart, that is -- Bush warms the heart with his downright nuttiness. Then we remember Iraq and all that is ugly about dumb politics, and we thank our lucky stars for the smart, new White House.
June 25, 2009
Another Republican Hopeful Bites the Dust: AWOL Sanford Confesses
by Diane Wilson
The Republicans always wade knee deep in talk of God and family values at their Convention. Nobody knows more about this type of thing than South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford, who went missing for seven days to visit his mistress, as reported in The Huffington Post. Sanford heads the Republican Governors Association and was said to have been a presidential candidate for 2012.
While he was initially rumoured to have gone hiking, Sanford secretly flew to Argentina for a visit with his honey, and then came home and had a lot of explaining and apologizing to do to his wife and four sons and the country. In a fascinating press conference, Sanford danced around, talking about his love of the Appalachians and his need for faith. He spoke of his wonderful family, none of whom were in attendance. (Mrs. Spitzer showed up for Eliot's mea culpa.)
Sanford is resigning as head of the Governors Association. But Sanford's role these past few months has been particularly noteworthy in his refusal to accept recovery funds for his state, according to the The Washington Times. President Obama actually brought a lovely young girl from South Carolina to the State of the Union to help sell educational funding, but Sanford wanted to use the money to pay down debt.
It was a minor miracle when Sanford joined the other 49 governors in taking federal money to create or save about 3.5 million jobs. But at least we now know why this guy's thinking was so messed up. He had been good to great friends with the lady in Argentina for eight years and then it got romantic, and his wife got wind of it five months ago -- roughly the time frame of the Obama presidency. This guy had other stuff on his mind, and it sure wasn't education.
The Republicans always wade knee deep in talk of God and family values at their Convention. Nobody knows more about this type of thing than South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford, who went missing for seven days to visit his mistress, as reported in The Huffington Post. Sanford heads the Republican Governors Association and was said to have been a presidential candidate for 2012.
While he was initially rumoured to have gone hiking, Sanford secretly flew to Argentina for a visit with his honey, and then came home and had a lot of explaining and apologizing to do to his wife and four sons and the country. In a fascinating press conference, Sanford danced around, talking about his love of the Appalachians and his need for faith. He spoke of his wonderful family, none of whom were in attendance. (Mrs. Spitzer showed up for Eliot's mea culpa.)
Sanford is resigning as head of the Governors Association. But Sanford's role these past few months has been particularly noteworthy in his refusal to accept recovery funds for his state, according to the The Washington Times. President Obama actually brought a lovely young girl from South Carolina to the State of the Union to help sell educational funding, but Sanford wanted to use the money to pay down debt.
It was a minor miracle when Sanford joined the other 49 governors in taking federal money to create or save about 3.5 million jobs. But at least we now know why this guy's thinking was so messed up. He had been good to great friends with the lady in Argentina for eight years and then it got romantic, and his wife got wind of it five months ago -- roughly the time frame of the Obama presidency. This guy had other stuff on his mind, and it sure wasn't education.
June 18, 2009
The Painful Death of Paper Newpapers and Plastic Garbage Bags
by Diane Wilson
This month, Ontario stores started charging five cents per shopping bag, which sounds like no big deal. The shopping bag brouhaha has been happening at the same time as financially challenged newspapers are being faced into oblivion or into cyberspace. Back in March The New York Times showed the sorry faces of the folks at The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, which has become an Internet-only news source -- the largest American newspaper to do so. The paper version was completely ditched.
Don't get me wrong -- I don't want plastic bags in rivers and streams. No! And I am hardly afraid of the Internet. I love The Huffington Post and other online sources. But, the physical read of a good newspaper is different from surfing -- it is reading.
But why couldn't they use recyclable paper that won't be going to newspapers for store bags? As it currently stands, you see foolish looking consumers leaving shops arms full of naked groceries: Mr. Clean, meat, lettuce and a chocolate cake. One shopkeeper tells me that shoplifting is on the rise. We have all purchased the necessary linen sacks to carry our loads, but they will get dirty, and I do not find them ergonomically friendly. And then, if you want to line your compost bin with a plastic bag, you now have to fork out a few dollars for a bunch of plastic bags. That is downright nuts.
Clearly, we are going to have to think longer and harder about what we take away from our way of living and the implications. First, in a time challenged world, we are spending too much of it on weird garbage related matters. And second, newspapers have always been a way of life, a culture. We always knew that if they were good for nothing else, they were good for wrapping food and waste. And so we have come to a new point in time. Should you wish to wrap a piece of fish, simply stick it between the keyboard and the screen and close the laptop.
This month, Ontario stores started charging five cents per shopping bag, which sounds like no big deal. The shopping bag brouhaha has been happening at the same time as financially challenged newspapers are being faced into oblivion or into cyberspace. Back in March The New York Times showed the sorry faces of the folks at The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, which has become an Internet-only news source -- the largest American newspaper to do so. The paper version was completely ditched.
Don't get me wrong -- I don't want plastic bags in rivers and streams. No! And I am hardly afraid of the Internet. I love The Huffington Post and other online sources. But, the physical read of a good newspaper is different from surfing -- it is reading.
But why couldn't they use recyclable paper that won't be going to newspapers for store bags? As it currently stands, you see foolish looking consumers leaving shops arms full of naked groceries: Mr. Clean, meat, lettuce and a chocolate cake. One shopkeeper tells me that shoplifting is on the rise. We have all purchased the necessary linen sacks to carry our loads, but they will get dirty, and I do not find them ergonomically friendly. And then, if you want to line your compost bin with a plastic bag, you now have to fork out a few dollars for a bunch of plastic bags. That is downright nuts.
Clearly, we are going to have to think longer and harder about what we take away from our way of living and the implications. First, in a time challenged world, we are spending too much of it on weird garbage related matters. And second, newspapers have always been a way of life, a culture. We always knew that if they were good for nothing else, they were good for wrapping food and waste. And so we have come to a new point in time. Should you wish to wrap a piece of fish, simply stick it between the keyboard and the screen and close the laptop.
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