A rare moment of candour from an unlikely source: Daniel Seaman, director of Israel’s Government Press Office, said opening the Erez crossing would endanger its staff. But Mr. Seaman also asserted the absence of foreign journalists was good for Israel because the Hamas militants who rule Gaza fabricate coverage to make Israel look bad. “Andcontinue reading
Thoughts for thinking…
Engrossing piece from edge.org below (linked in aldaily, where I found it), with a large number of thinkers answering the question “What will change everything?” Interesting for the variety of perspectives as much as the content of some of the answers. Guaranteed to make your brain get bigger, or at least provide some perspective oncontinue reading
Take me to Neverland
Welcome to the TinkerBell economy. If we all believe and clap hard enough, the hope is that it will pull through. – Yves Smith of Naked Capitalism coins a term for the upbeat forecasts that call for an inexplicably quick end to the Great Unwind.
Chianti
Occasionally we actually have practical wine suggestions. Beppi Crosariol recommended Gabbiano Chianti 2007 some months ago in the Globe and Mail as a reliable $14 Chianti, also pointing out that (improbably) the operation was owned by the Australian megawinecorp Beringer Blass, better known for decidedly non-Chianti-like products such as the Wolf Blass line of Aussiecontinue reading
Out with the old, but do we really want the new?
Many people were happy to say goodbye to 2008, which will go down in history as the terrifying year we realized absolutely no one is in control of the economy, anywhere. Personally, I’d rather skip through 2009 to 2010 or beyond, especially living in Canada, where the recession fun has just started. Even the BMOcontinue reading
Drink up!
Even hoppy Dogfish Head beer won’t be enough to get some people through the next bumpy year. And so, the return of Depression-era cocktails: The industry has seen a resurgence of drinks that hark back to the prewar eras of Prohibition and the Great Depression, such as the Sidecar, the Old Fashioned and the Manhattan.continue reading
Lunch
We have become distracted on the way home from singing at SMM on a regular basis by a small bistro on Harbord at Brunswick. Formerly known as Dessert Trends, now they go by DT Bistro. They have excellent sandwiches, quiches and the like for around $10-13. Not to mention desserts…
Rae Days redux
California Republicans borrow a good idea: Dec. 19 (Bloomberg) — California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today ordered all state workers to take two days of unpaid leave each month to conserve money amid a record budget deficit and a legislative impasse over how to fix it. The furloughs will begin in February and will last throughcontinue reading
We do love the weather news
Now, not only can you watch live coverage on CP24 and the Weather Network, check out radar maps on Environment Canada’s website, and look outside your window, but you can also follow the storm through a live blog on the National Post website…
End of year mindless headline extravaganza, day 2
Another helpful headline: TSX expected to reopen after stall Was there any question about that? Gigantic Hound’s recommendation of a year-long prorogation of the market aside, the TSX isn’t really designed to stay shut. Here, by contrast, is an informative headline on the same topic: TSX to resume trading Thursday And for bonus points oncontinue reading