Archive for April, 2010
|Canadian Foreign Policy I Agree With?
Wednesday, April 21st, 2010
It’s not very often these days that I read something in the news about Canada’s Foreign Policy that I agree with. For an example, here’s some of the stuff I tend to disagree with and read about most often:
- Government of Canada refuses to petition the US government for the return of child soldier being held at the Guantanamo Prison.
- Government of Canada may have known their prisoners were subject to torture in Afghanistan
- Government of Canada will not request that the USA return a Canadian Citizen on death row to Canada for imprisonment.
- Government of Canada will not open discussion on family planning while promoting maternal health at the G8 summit.
- Government of Canada leads the charge against a moratorium on hunting and fishing Polar Bears and Bluefin Tuna.
- Government of Canada does not want a legally binding climate change agreement at the Copenhagen summit.
Then today, I find this gem:
“And some nations, including Canada, oppose any new bank taxes.”
It came out of this article http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8633455.stm. Surprisingly enough, in this rare case, I can actually say that I agree with the Government of Canada. The idea of taxing banks to put money away for the next round of bailouts is in my opinion a very poor solution to this problem. First, having this tax will give international banks a feeling that they are insured. Instead of forcing them to operate more soundly and conservatively, they will instinctively feel that they can afford to take extra risks. If things go bad, they will just get their tax dollars back in the form of a bailout, and it will be business as usual. If things go well, they will be making huge profits, and realizing their past extraneously large bonuses.
Second, as long as one country refuses to adopt this tax, there will be a quick move of headquarters of major banks to this new tax free haven. The implications of this could be far reaching, especially if this tax free haven also has lax regulations, allowing banks all the freedom they need to bring about the next global financial crisis.
The way I would deal with this problem is through regulation. By forcing banks to keep a certain portion of their assets in low-risk, cash like investments, regulating risky debt based investment hedging and derivatives, and ensuring the lending criteria on loans are significantly stringent enough to ensure that those likely to default are not eligible for loans in the first place.
All in all, Canada seems to have a good track record of strong banks capable of surviving the economic crisis. Our regulation system should be the standard the world looks to emulate. Or more specifically the actions of our banks should be emulated. Adopting a new, untested tax regime is not the answer.
Tags: news, politics
Posted in politics | 5 Comments »
Gogol Bordello and Darke Hall
Sunday, April 4th, 2010
Gogol Bordello
Heard these guys for the first time as I was leaving the Hawksley Workman concert at Darke Hall on March 19th. I didn’t get a good listen to it, as I was part of the steady stream of traffic headed to the main exit. The lyrics were catchy, and a quick youtube search after I got home was all I needed to find this video. I thought I would pass it on.
I also wanted to pass on my support for the continued use of Darke Hall as a concert venue. It is easily my favourite concert venue in Regina, followed by the Conexus Arts Centre, and then the Exchange. The hall is booked through the Conservatory of Performing arts at the University of Regina.
Here’s their description of the venue from their website.
Darke Hall offers the warm character only a classic property can deliver, plus the seating capacity of up to 610 persons (Main Floor 550, Balcony 60). The stage has an acting area of 24 ft by 24 ft. Details for rental must be finalized at least two weeks prior to your event.
No external food or beverage may be brought in; however, Aramark Food Services may be used as they are the University of Regina’s licensed caterers. Unfortunately the hall is not wheelchair accessible.
Rental rates are dependant on the type of group. All rates include 4 hours of technician services, basement lobby, kitchen facilities, backstage lighting and sound.
That description hardly does the place justice. It’s a large brick building full of atmosphere. At the front is a sizable stage silhouetted with huge pipes from a pipe organ. The building is tall and long, much like a classic church, complete with wood floors, and a balcony at the back. The seating is aged but comfortable folding theatre seats. The roof is lined with acoustic tile. In short, it’s full of atmosphere and more importantly, it has amazing acoustics. The hall easily handles loud rocky tunes keeping the notes clean and crisp just as easily as it handles completely acoustic vocals, guitar, and piano without any electrical amplification whatsoever. Even the wood flooring contributes to an audible foot tapping, a very unique form of crowd interactivity.
You’re probably wondering why I’m giving this hall such a great review and I didn’t spend a lot of time on the concert itself. That’s a good question, for those wondering how the concert was I can say that this was the 3rd time I’ve seen Hawksely Workman live, the second time in this same venue. As always the concert was amazing. If you have not seen Hawksley live I highly recommend it, if you don’t know who he is, go buy some of his albums, they are all great.
Now back to the hall, I want to see more concerts play in Darke Hall. At the Hawksley concert, a comment was made on stage about the hall being difficult to book. They suggested that we inform the Conservatory of Performing Arts how much us concert goers appreciate the venue, so that they keep it available for future public performances.
After a bit of searching on their website, I came across this email address: conserva@uregina.ca. I’m going to send them a quick email expressing my support for keeping the venue available for public concerts in the future. If you have similar feelings, please follow my lead.
Tags: music, reviews
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