The latest bailout of Greece by the European is likely to fail. The cuts to pensions and the minimum wages have caused the citizens to rise up in the worst rioting years.
The situation is ridiculous. Let's put this in perspective....Greece has agreed to not repay 53% of the money that they have borrowed from private lenders. In return, Greece will receive additional loans of 130 billion euros. Where can i get a deal like that?
The bailout cannot succeed without the cooperation of the Greek people. In order for the ship to be righted, the Greek people must go to work, earn money and (most importantly) pay their taxes. Without that tax revenue, these additional loans will go into default like before.
The politicians can all agree (as they mostly have) that Greece has no choice but to accept the terms of the bailout....but the citizens seem to disagree. Large numbers of the citizenry are not going to work....they are going on strike and protesting. Neither of these actions does anything other than reduce the tax base. Greek newspapers have published photos of German Chancellor Angela Merkel dressed up as a Nazi. This is beyond the pale....unless the Nazis made a habit of paying the credit card bills of nations that spent too much (if they did, history did not record this benevolence)...such caricatures trivialize the Third Reich.
You can only lead a horse to water. The Greek government has mismanaged their finances and the Greek people are blocking a resolution. This is the lay of the land. With this background, a messy default, exit from the Euro and a chaotic depression is the likely result. This is what the people have chosen and this is why the bailout is likely to fail.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Same Sex Marriage Foolishness
On Jan 12th the Globe and Mail reported that the same sex marriages performed in Canada (in accordance with the laws of Canada) were only valid if they were valid in the country in which the couple actually reside. This came to light when a non-Canadian same sex couple (who were never resident in Canada) attempted to get a divorce in Canada and were told that they weren't legally married.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/same-sex-marriage-confusion-has-couples-wary-of-what-happens-next/article2301014/
This was widely reported as an "about face" by the Harper government and a threat to Canada's legal position permitting same sex marriage.
The Harper government announced that they had no intention of reopening that debate and moved to close this apparent "loophole."
Now the same newspaper is reporting that by fixing this apparent "loophole", there are now two different sets of rules for divorces for same sex vs heterosexual couples.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/bill-to-close-loophole-in-same-sex-marriages-creates-double-standard/article2342275/
The truth is that there was no double standard and that a whole lot of ink was spilt and politicans stood on their soapboxes over a non-issue.
The new legislation will indeed make it possible for a foreign same sex couple who got married in Canada to get a divorce in Canada....but it will leave financial and children's custody issues to the jurisdiction in which the couple live. In short, the only thing this will accomplish is to dissolve a marriage that does not exist legally in the country in which the same sex couple live....all of the contentious issues around a divorce at left untouched.
The truth is that the law should not have been amended. There was no loophole. In fact, the law regarding Canadian recognition of same sex marriage was the same as the law for a marriage between a man and a woman.
Canadian laws do not apply in other jurisdictions. Does anybody honestly think that they should? It's too silly to even contemplate since that would mean that foreign laws would have force in Canada.
Now I understand why a same sex couple would want their union to be legally sanctioned in a form similar to traditional marriage. I'm sure it's very emotionally uplifting for them. I'm not sure I understand why a divorcing couple would want Canada to issue a piece of paper stating that their marriage no longer exists. It would seem easier just to agree that it didn't exist since their country didn't recognize it in the first place.
However I come back to a larger issue. Why is the Government in the business of defining what is a valid marriage? We have long since passed the day when a traditional family unit was assumed to be essential to the rearing of children. Children come into this world in the absence of marriage all the time. Sometimes people even raise children in a home together as a family without ever getting a government document that approves of their status. Unmarried people even live together and sometimes don't have children!!!!!!
Government should get out of the business of defining marriage and leave that to religious authorities to define for their followers. Communions aren't any less meaningful because no level of government in Canada has defined who is eligible for a communion or not.
Financial disputes and custody battles happen in the absence of marriage and the laws should address the resolution of these matters.
Why Canada is crafting laws that have no practical effect is really beyond me. However, if i was an advisor to Stephen Harper, I would be all for it. It's a chance for a politician to not do anything but get credit for it anyways. What politician wouldn't jump at that chance?
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/same-sex-marriage-confusion-has-couples-wary-of-what-happens-next/article2301014/
This was widely reported as an "about face" by the Harper government and a threat to Canada's legal position permitting same sex marriage.
The Harper government announced that they had no intention of reopening that debate and moved to close this apparent "loophole."
Now the same newspaper is reporting that by fixing this apparent "loophole", there are now two different sets of rules for divorces for same sex vs heterosexual couples.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/bill-to-close-loophole-in-same-sex-marriages-creates-double-standard/article2342275/
The truth is that there was no double standard and that a whole lot of ink was spilt and politicans stood on their soapboxes over a non-issue.
The new legislation will indeed make it possible for a foreign same sex couple who got married in Canada to get a divorce in Canada....but it will leave financial and children's custody issues to the jurisdiction in which the couple live. In short, the only thing this will accomplish is to dissolve a marriage that does not exist legally in the country in which the same sex couple live....all of the contentious issues around a divorce at left untouched.
The truth is that the law should not have been amended. There was no loophole. In fact, the law regarding Canadian recognition of same sex marriage was the same as the law for a marriage between a man and a woman.
Canadian laws do not apply in other jurisdictions. Does anybody honestly think that they should? It's too silly to even contemplate since that would mean that foreign laws would have force in Canada.
Now I understand why a same sex couple would want their union to be legally sanctioned in a form similar to traditional marriage. I'm sure it's very emotionally uplifting for them. I'm not sure I understand why a divorcing couple would want Canada to issue a piece of paper stating that their marriage no longer exists. It would seem easier just to agree that it didn't exist since their country didn't recognize it in the first place.
However I come back to a larger issue. Why is the Government in the business of defining what is a valid marriage? We have long since passed the day when a traditional family unit was assumed to be essential to the rearing of children. Children come into this world in the absence of marriage all the time. Sometimes people even raise children in a home together as a family without ever getting a government document that approves of their status. Unmarried people even live together and sometimes don't have children!!!!!!
Government should get out of the business of defining marriage and leave that to religious authorities to define for their followers. Communions aren't any less meaningful because no level of government in Canada has defined who is eligible for a communion or not.
Financial disputes and custody battles happen in the absence of marriage and the laws should address the resolution of these matters.
Why Canada is crafting laws that have no practical effect is really beyond me. However, if i was an advisor to Stephen Harper, I would be all for it. It's a chance for a politician to not do anything but get credit for it anyways. What politician wouldn't jump at that chance?
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Stalking 'Boston'
So after Huntington Beach I feel that I can openly talk about stalking this girl named Boston. She might be out of my league and I might be fooling myself but i can't stop thinking about her. She keeps moving the goal posts on me....3:20, then 3:15. She says i'm not good enough but if I can run about a mile faster than I did, then she might let me in. She might be teasing me but I have to try!!!
Truth is that i've been aiming for Boston ever since my first race (4:50 at Niagara Falls 2010) but I fully deserved the rolling eyes I would have gotten if I had spoken about it out loud. It was sheer foolishness at that point.....a quality that I am well known for.
As the times got faster, (3:54 at Mississauga, May 2011), it only seemed further away. 3:36 at Montreal seemed like a breakthrough but that still meant that I had to knock off 21 minutes...or to put it in perspective...finish about 4 km ahead of where i finished. Hamilton got me down to 3:27 which is "only" 12 minutes away...but that is still over 2km faster and Hamilton had a big downhill.
3:22 at Surf City (on a flat course) is still 7 minutes away (1.5km) and my last 12km have actually gotten worse over the last 4 marathons. I've gotten faster overall but faded worse at the end.
So now I'll set myself up for failure and embarrassment (two things which I thrive on, weird I know!!!).
I'm going for Boston at the Toronto Goodlife Marathon on May 7th. I will probably fall short and that will be devastating...but then again I might not. Either way, I'll give it a go.
Only thing i know for sure is that i will be booking some physio and massages for the week after. These marathons really really hurt...a lot!!!!!
Truth is that i've been aiming for Boston ever since my first race (4:50 at Niagara Falls 2010) but I fully deserved the rolling eyes I would have gotten if I had spoken about it out loud. It was sheer foolishness at that point.....a quality that I am well known for.
As the times got faster, (3:54 at Mississauga, May 2011), it only seemed further away. 3:36 at Montreal seemed like a breakthrough but that still meant that I had to knock off 21 minutes...or to put it in perspective...finish about 4 km ahead of where i finished. Hamilton got me down to 3:27 which is "only" 12 minutes away...but that is still over 2km faster and Hamilton had a big downhill.
3:22 at Surf City (on a flat course) is still 7 minutes away (1.5km) and my last 12km have actually gotten worse over the last 4 marathons. I've gotten faster overall but faded worse at the end.
So now I'll set myself up for failure and embarrassment (two things which I thrive on, weird I know!!!).
I'm going for Boston at the Toronto Goodlife Marathon on May 7th. I will probably fall short and that will be devastating...but then again I might not. Either way, I'll give it a go.
Only thing i know for sure is that i will be booking some physio and massages for the week after. These marathons really really hurt...a lot!!!!!
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Marathon Review - Surf City Marathon (Huntington Beach, Feb 5,2012)
This past Sunday I had the pleasure of running the Surf City Marathon in Huntington Beach California.
I chose this particular race mainly because I couldn't run the LA Marathon as it conflicted with Around the Bay (in Hamilton, Ontario). Also the February date was great because there is a long gap from the Hamilton marathon of last November and the Toronto Goodlife in May of 2012. Basically, it was the one race that fit best on the calendar.
I wanted to do a race in California so that I could share the experience with my family who live in sunny California. My brother, sister in law, niece, nephew and my parents made the drive down to see me race.
I was worried about how they would find a good spot near the finish line with a 3 and 5 year old in tow. As I approached the finish line, I saw the little munchkins about 5 yards from the finish line with their noses right up against the fence.....what a moment!!!!
Personally, that made my race experience great no matter what else happened. However, I'd like to share some other thoughts.
1) Aid stations - Excellent! I couldn't believe how frequent they were. I always carry a water belt during races. For the first time, I wondered why I was carrying the extra weight. I heard some aid stations ran out of cups near the busiest part of the half marathon. That's unfortunate but the organizers have taken note and that should be an easy fix for next year. Nothing is every perfect when you have 20,000 runners barrelling through.
2) Start time was 6:30 AM. At first I was worried that this was too early, however the sight of the sun rising over the horizon as we started was pretty damn cool!!
3) Crowd Support was very good. This isn't a big deal to me since I much prefer the support of familiar faces to well meaning strangers reading the name off my bib yelling "Way to go Chuck!!!" Still this is a plus.
4) The Course was very nice. My only small complaint is the number of turnarounds. I hate turnarounds as I feel that I lose momentum and retrace my steps. I'd prefer a big circle but it did give us lots of time on the PCH with the views of the ocean. One of the runners yelled out that he saw some dolphins jumping....I missed it but that would have been pretty damn cool!!!
5) The weather was picture perfect at the start.....cool and dry. At the half way mark, I found myself running along the PCH without any shade and a fierce sun. Well that sucks but the weather is the weather. I suppose if it had rained people would have complained about that.
6) The expo was superior to any of the 5 prior expos I've been to (all in Canada). Lots of freebies and reasonably priced stuff for sale.
I had a good race with my familiar fade at the end. I was on pace to qualify for Boston with tie to spare after 30km (18.6 miles). As has happened at so many of my recent races, I faded into the finish. Still I recorded a personal best at 3:22. (5 minutes better than the prior race). Since it was a flat course, if there was a handicap system in marathons, this would be a zero handicap....ie a good benchmark. I am newly inspired to work on qualifying at my next attempt in May. I need to shave off 7 minutes...doable but tough.
Overall, I give the Surf City Marathon top marks. Their staff have been very active in seeking the opinions of participants on facebook after the race. I'm sure the race experience will be even better next year!!
I chose this particular race mainly because I couldn't run the LA Marathon as it conflicted with Around the Bay (in Hamilton, Ontario). Also the February date was great because there is a long gap from the Hamilton marathon of last November and the Toronto Goodlife in May of 2012. Basically, it was the one race that fit best on the calendar.
I wanted to do a race in California so that I could share the experience with my family who live in sunny California. My brother, sister in law, niece, nephew and my parents made the drive down to see me race.
I was worried about how they would find a good spot near the finish line with a 3 and 5 year old in tow. As I approached the finish line, I saw the little munchkins about 5 yards from the finish line with their noses right up against the fence.....what a moment!!!!
Personally, that made my race experience great no matter what else happened. However, I'd like to share some other thoughts.
1) Aid stations - Excellent! I couldn't believe how frequent they were. I always carry a water belt during races. For the first time, I wondered why I was carrying the extra weight. I heard some aid stations ran out of cups near the busiest part of the half marathon. That's unfortunate but the organizers have taken note and that should be an easy fix for next year. Nothing is every perfect when you have 20,000 runners barrelling through.
2) Start time was 6:30 AM. At first I was worried that this was too early, however the sight of the sun rising over the horizon as we started was pretty damn cool!!
3) Crowd Support was very good. This isn't a big deal to me since I much prefer the support of familiar faces to well meaning strangers reading the name off my bib yelling "Way to go Chuck!!!" Still this is a plus.
4) The Course was very nice. My only small complaint is the number of turnarounds. I hate turnarounds as I feel that I lose momentum and retrace my steps. I'd prefer a big circle but it did give us lots of time on the PCH with the views of the ocean. One of the runners yelled out that he saw some dolphins jumping....I missed it but that would have been pretty damn cool!!!
5) The weather was picture perfect at the start.....cool and dry. At the half way mark, I found myself running along the PCH without any shade and a fierce sun. Well that sucks but the weather is the weather. I suppose if it had rained people would have complained about that.
6) The expo was superior to any of the 5 prior expos I've been to (all in Canada). Lots of freebies and reasonably priced stuff for sale.
I had a good race with my familiar fade at the end. I was on pace to qualify for Boston with tie to spare after 30km (18.6 miles). As has happened at so many of my recent races, I faded into the finish. Still I recorded a personal best at 3:22. (5 minutes better than the prior race). Since it was a flat course, if there was a handicap system in marathons, this would be a zero handicap....ie a good benchmark. I am newly inspired to work on qualifying at my next attempt in May. I need to shave off 7 minutes...doable but tough.
Overall, I give the Surf City Marathon top marks. Their staff have been very active in seeking the opinions of participants on facebook after the race. I'm sure the race experience will be even better next year!!
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