The pervasive lack of critical thinking: the Canadian dollar is up as health and water are being enronized

The pervasive lack of critical thinking:
the Canadian dollar is up as health and water are being enronized

Nipawin - Wednesday, July 10, 2002 - by: Mario deSantis

critical
thinking
Critical thinking, that is the ability to learn and make sense of our past and present relationships, is basically ignored by the present social system; yet in Saskatchewan we have the Department of Education which has been renamed "Learning Department."

common
good
Learning how to run governments like business has caused the bankruptcy of democracy and the take over of the common good.

prudence
I am thinking now of Roy Romanow's commission on health care. Former Premier Roy Romanow downsized Saskatchewan to greatness and now he is preaching the gospel that

"medicare is quintessentially Canadian because it embodies both social justice and fiscal prudence."

USA
On the other hand we have Walter Robinson, Federal Director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, who objects to Roy Romanow's hypocritical defence of medicare and suggests that he refers to examples of better health care achieved in the United States and Europe.

private
government
Behind the hypocrisy shown by both Roy Romanow and Walter Robinson is the fact that governments have been progressively neglecting their commitment to social well being and they have become private contractual deals.

hypocracy
Hypocrisy reigns supreme in our state of affairs.

privatize
North Battleford city officials are wondering how to pay for the city's water infrastructure and are eying the possibility to privatize water and sell it to US Filter Canada, a division of water giant US Filter/Vivendi.

scarce
I remember when clean water was a 'worthless' economic resource since it was abundant, but now that we have achieved a sophisticated technological and industrial economic system water has become polluted and scarce, water has been converted to an economic good and the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is posed to increase while health is posed to become poorer .

free
market
Coca Cola has been appropriating water from Indian villagers; Chilean mining companies have been given nearly all the water rights in that country, free of charge, as they are being busy pushing up water price. We have witnessed the enronization of energy in the United States and we are now taking the further step to enronize our water and sell it to the highest manipulating bidder in the manipulated free market.

US
economic
trouble
Canadian economic gurus have been exalting the Free Market system of the United States, and they have been preaching for either a stronger Canadian dollar or the American dollarization of our economy. These economic gurus got what they wanted today as the Canadian dollar got stronger as Bush's America is in a crisis because of a chronic foreign deficit, budget deficit, corporate pillaging, war on terrorism, militarization of the economy, tax cuts and wealth redistribution for the rich and famous, and you name it.

race to
the
bottom
The economic gurus are telling us that our economy is in good shape, and I ask why? This is the race to the bottom, trying to achieve an economic advantage at the expense of others just like we are playing a game with our lives; game theory and the power of cheating have become the social instruments to win wealth at the expense of others, this is what the gurus call the competition of the Free Market, the competition to enronize our lives and our civility.

References:

Pertinent articles published in Ensign

Memo to Commissioner Roy Romanow:A mind is like a parachute, it works best when it's open Ottawa - Sunday, June 30, 2002 - by: Walter Robinson, Federal Director, Canadian Taxpayers Federation

The North Battleford water inquiry, honourable Robert D. Laing Commissioner: written submission made on behalf of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, local 287, Mitchell Law Firm, Barristers and Solicitors, January 9, 2002 http://www.northbattlefordwaterinquiry.ca/pdf/finalsubmission-CUPE.pdf

U.S. firm pitches private water, by Jason Warick, July 6, 2002, The StaPhoenix, Saskatoon

US Filter Canada, a division of US Filter, a Vivendi Environnement company, a subsidiary of Vivendi Universal (NYSE: V) Corporate Fact Sheet http://www.usfilter.com/water/CorporateInfo.asp?WID=276

Vivendi dives after accounts raid Vivendi Universal's stock fell sharply early on Wednesday after its offices were raided by French stock-market regulators as part of a probe into its accounting, CNN, July 10, 2002 http://www.cnn.com/2002/BUSINESS/07/10/vivendi.probe/index.html

No Water? Drink Coke! By Nityanand Jayaraman, CorpWatch India, May 28, 2002 http://www.corpwatchindia.org/issues/PID.jsp?articleid=1603

The Public Pain Of Private Water An Excerpt From Blue Gold. Maude Barlow is the national volunteer chair of the Council of Canadians, Canada's largest public advocacy organization. http://www.tompaine.com/feature.cfm/ID/5903

Poll says high taxes, low population keep some U.S. investments out of Canada by Dean Beeby The Canadian Press, CBC Canada, Jul 10, 2002 http://cbc.ca/cp/business/020707/b070726.html



The pervasive lack of critical thinking: the Canadian dollar is up as health and water are being enronized

Nipawin - Wednesday, July 10, 2002 - by: Mario deSantis

critical thinking	Critical thinking, that is the ability to learn and make sense of our past and present relationships, is basically ignored by the present social system; yet in Saskatchewan we have the Department of Education which has been renamed "Learning Department."

common good	Learning how to run governments like business has caused the bankruptcy of democracy and the take over of the common good.

prudence	I am thinking now of Roy Romanow's commission on health care. Former Premier Roy Romanow downsized Saskatchewan to greatness and now he is preaching the gospel that
prudence	`"medicare is quintessentially Canadian because it embodies both social justice and fiscal prudence."`

USA	On the other hand we have Walter Robinson, Federal Director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, who objects to Roy Romanow's hypocritical defence of medicare and suggests that he refers to examples of better health care achieved in the United States and Europe.

private government	Behind the hypocrisy shown by both Roy Romanow and Walter Robinson is the fact that governments have been progressively neglecting their commitment to social well being and they have become private contractual deals.

hypocracy	Hypocrisy reigns supreme in our state of affairs.

privatize	North Battleford city officials are wondering how to pay for the city's water infrastructure and are eying the possibility to privatize water and sell it to US Filter Canada, a division of water giant US Filter/Vivendi.

scarce	I remember when clean water was a 'worthless' economic resource since it was abundant, but now that we have achieved a sophisticated technological and industrial economic system water has become polluted and scarce, water has been converted to an economic good and the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is posed to increase while health is posed to become poorer .

free market	Coca Cola has been appropriating water from Indian villagers; Chilean mining companies have been given nearly all the water rights in that country, free of charge, as they are being busy pushing up water price. We have witnessed the enronization of energy in the United States and we are now taking the further step to enronize our water and sell it to the highest manipulating bidder in the manipulated free market.

US economic trouble	Canadian economic gurus have been exalting the Free Market system of the United States, and they have been preaching for either a stronger Canadian dollar or the American dollarization of our economy. These economic gurus got what they wanted today as the Canadian dollar got stronger as Bush's America is in a crisis because of a chronic foreign deficit, budget deficit, corporate pillaging, war on terrorism, militarization of the economy, tax cuts and wealth redistribution for the rich and famous, and you name it.

race to the bottom	The economic gurus are telling us that our economy is in good shape, and I ask why? This is the race to the bottom, trying to achieve an economic advantage at the expense of others just like we are playing a game with our lives; game theory and the power of cheating have become the social instruments to win wealth at the expense of others, this is what the gurus call the competition of the Free Market, the competition to enronize our lives and our civility.

*References:*
	Pertinent articles published in Ensign

	Memo to Commissioner Roy Romanow:A mind is like a parachute, it works best when it's open Ottawa - Sunday, June 30, 2002 - by: Walter Robinson, Federal Director, Canadian Taxpayers Federation

	The North Battleford water inquiry, honourable Robert D. Laing Commissioner: written submission made on behalf of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, local 287, Mitchell Law Firm, Barristers and Solicitors, January 9, 2002 http://www.northbattlefordwaterinquiry.ca/pdf/finalsubmission-CUPE.pdf

	U.S. firm pitches private water, by Jason Warick, July 6, 2002, The StaPhoenix, Saskatoon

	US Filter Canada, a division of US Filter, a Vivendi Environnement company, a subsidiary of Vivendi Universal (NYSE: V) Corporate Fact Sheet http://www.usfilter.com/water/CorporateInfo.asp?WID=276

	Vivendi dives after accounts raid Vivendi Universal's stock fell sharply early on Wednesday after its offices were raided by French stock-market regulators as part of a probe into its accounting, CNN, July 10, 2002 http://www.cnn.com/2002/BUSINESS/07/10/vivendi.probe/index.html

	No Water? Drink Coke! By Nityanand Jayaraman, CorpWatch India, May 28, 2002 http://www.corpwatchindia.org/issues/PID.jsp?articleid=1603

	The Public Pain Of Private Water An Excerpt From Blue Gold. Maude Barlow is the national volunteer chair of the Council of Canadians, Canada's largest public advocacy organization. http://www.tompaine.com/feature.cfm/ID/5903

	Poll says high taxes, low population keep some U.S. investments out of Canada by Dean Beeby The Canadian Press, CBC Canada, Jul 10, 2002 http://cbc.ca/cp/business/020707/b070726.html