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Russia diversifies into Canadian dollars

By Peter Garnham

Published: January 20 2010 16:46 | Last updated: January 20 2010 16:46

Russia’s central bank announced on Wednesday that it had started buying Canadian dollars and securities in a bid to diversify its foreign exchange reserves.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/22f1bd26-05db-11df-8c97-00144feabdc0.html

Posted earlier today as well

Kate.

Over the past six months or so I have noticed one thing about SDA that I find discouraging. I find the posters seem to be more interested in slagging each other and people like T rather than commenting on the subject, stating their piece and adding a link. I find myself coming to SDA to see what you have to say, following your links but passing on the comments which I used to enjoy. It also seems that the interesting and knowable comments are becoming fewer and fewer. Is it just me? I am not trying to be a jerk or put anyone down, that’s just my feelings.

The above thread had 36 comments and 32 of those were referring to T. T must enjoy all the attention he is given, he keeps hanging around.

A (mild) warning about the Financial Times link of Revnant Dream's about the Russians diversifying into Canadian (and Australian) dollars... it looks like it allows you to access it once, but if you return to it to re-read it etc., you have to register with the site to re-access the page. I didn't bother registering, so I don't know how intrusive it is.

WC ,

If you don't feed them , they starve ...... I think i've seen that written down around here , some where ...... or words to that effect .

NYT going to start charging for access to articles online. Article states this is the third time they've tried to do that.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/technology/new-york-times-to-erect-pay-wall/article1437461/

I won't pay to read NYT's hard copy, why would I pay to read it on line? At least if I buy the hard copy I can line my budgie's cage.

Re Ray Condo - sort of Jerry Lee Lewis on guitar, and that's high praise indeed.

Hey Kate any updates on the gert wilders case ?

Paul in calgary

Western Canadian: It's up to the commenters here, really. I don't speak for Kate, but it seems to me that short of either a) doing nothing else with her day except babysitting numerous comment threads all day (and all night) long, or b) removing the comments functions, there's nothing Kate can do about it. And even if she did babysit every thread, and then decided which comments to delete, the continuity of the thread would be hooped, because some of the remaining comments might have made passing reference to part of one or several of the deleted comments.

Kate has asked commenters numerous times to not engage in extended debates and/or flamewars, but people flame away; she asks people to not respond to trolls, but large numbers of commenters come out of the woodwork seemingly for the specific purpose of engaging an egregious troll.

What would you suggest Kate do about it? That's not a rhetorical question.

I found it interesting to note that the print edition of the Edmonton Journal today buried the news of the Massachusetts Senate election on page 8. I never buy the journal but there was a copy of it in the place where I went for coffee this afternoon. I guess they didn't consider it worth any special mention. The online site doesn't even carry the story. Metro, the free newspaper, had a small single paragraph buried inside the paper. No wonder nobody takes them seriously.

EDB - you make a strong and valid point. Sites like Kate's do, at the very least, a couple of things. First it creates a forum for free expression - but not in a vacuum. Those who don't agree with what is being said can rebut - and we see a lot of that.

Second it allows for the free flow of ideas and opinions which is in stark contrast to how our society operates vis-a-vis the societies of Castro's and Chavez's totalitarian regimes.

I have little patience for the type of criticism shown in the remarks by Western Canadian at 10;16pm. This forum allows him to counter those comments he or she finds offensive.

Western Canadian I say this to you - be damn thankful that you don't live in a society that does not allow you to criticise those who don't agree with you.

In fact I encourage you to continue to debate those folks but always respect their right to express opinion.

If you don't like that - maybe what you really want is a society that will not allow them to express their opinions while at the same time making your opinion absolutely unnecessary.

Think about that, buddy.

Man tips on how to get out of going shopping.

WHY WOMEN SHOULDN'T TAKE MEN SHOPPING

After I retired, my wife insisted that I accompany her on her trips to
Target. Unfortunately, like most men, I found shopping boring and preferred to get in and get out. Equally unfortunate, my wife is like most women - she loves to browse. Yesterday my dear wife received the following letter from the local Target.

Dear Mrs. Samuel,

Over the past six months, your husband has caused quite a commotion in our store. We cannot tolerate this behavior and have been forced to ban both of you from the store. Our complaints against your husband, Mr. Samuel, are listed below and are documented by our video surveillance cameras.

1. June 15: Took 24 boxes of condoms and randomly put them in other people's carts when they weren't looking.

2. July 2: Set all the alarm clocks in Housewares to go off at 5-minute
intervals.

3. July 7: He made a trail of tomato juice on the floor leading to the
women's restroom.

4. July 19: Walked up to an employee and told her in an official voice, 'Code3 in Housewares. Get on it right away'. This caused the employee to leave her assigned station and receive a reprimand from her Supervisor that in turn resulted with a union grievance, causing management to lose time and costing the company money.

5. August 4: Went to the Service Desk and tried to put a bag of M&Ms on
layaway.

6. August 14: Moved a 'CAUTION - WET FLOOR' sign to a carpeted area.

7. August 15: Set up a tent in the camping department and told the children shoppers he'd invite them in if they would bring pillows and blankets from the bedding department to which twenty children obliged.

8. August 23: When a clerk asked if they could help him he began crying and screamed, 'Why can't you people just leave me alone?' EMTs were called.

9.September 4: Looked right into the security camera and used it as a mirror while he picked his nose.

10. September 10: While handling guns in the hunting department, he asked the clerk where the antidepressants were.

11.October 3: Darted around the store suspiciously while loudly humming the 'Mission Impossible' theme.

12. October 6: In the auto department, he practiced his 'Madonna look' by using different sizes of funnels.

13.October 18: Hid in a clothing rack and when people browsed through,
yelled 'PICK ME! PICK ME!'

14. October 21: When an announcement came over the loud speaker, he assumed a fetal position and screamed 'OH NO! IT'S THOSE VOICES AGAIN!'

And last, but certainly not least:

15. October 23: Went into a fitting room, shut the door, waited awhile, then yelled very loudly, 'Hey! There's no toilet paper in here.' One of the
clerks passed out.

Hey Bernie! Having lots of fun in your retirement I see! Good for you buddy!

Now, how about volunteering your time to a worthy charity.

Quite so, EBD. Also, when one does attempt to moderate a thread, then often enough folks end up debating the moderation instead. Essentially, like most small- community matters, it's up to the participants to know when to disengage ~ to know when to turn off the switch ~ and even the most experienced in these matters err on that call from time to time. We did have a bit of a lengthy discussion of this matter here at Small Dead Animals on June, 23, 2006, in CJunk's How to Talk to a Troll if you Must entry, in which I mentioned a couple of classic resources relevant to the matter of dealing with trolls and other forms of bad social behaviour in communications media like these.

Still, though, it is, I think, at least to a reasonable degree, the nature of the channel. It can be frustrating, but it can also be any of a number of good and positive things, depending on the approach taken by the reader of the blog. After all, as Samuel (Doc) Johnson wrote, "He who has so little knowledge of human nature as to seek happiness by changing anything but his own disposition will waste his life in fruitless efforts".

Yes, trolls are a problem and I do more deleting than most people notice. However, you're right - the people who cannot resist slagging each other and rising to troll bait are by far the worst issue.

So here's some advice, to everyone here: if you want to increase the odds that your comment will actually be read, then post it and shut up. This isn't a forum for debating, and it isn't your personal chat site.

I cannot police every comment, in fact, I sometimes don't read threads at all. There are only so many hours in a day, and blogging already eats up too many of those.

Thanks for the Ray Condo, EBD. I saw him perform at the Marine Club in Vancouver on a number of occasions, and it was always a howling good time. "Whip-crack energy" is an apt description, and also a charming turn of phrase.

Clare M. Lopez:

"Netherlands: the world is watching. Do not lead Europe into a long black night where the light of freedom flickers but fitfully as it does in every place where Shari’a is law. Stand with your forebears who, like William of Orange, fought to keep Dutchmen free, and do not fear the violence of assassins and mobs. Your liberty is our liberty and Wilders’ free speech is our free speech."

Amen.

(btw, exetaz: the Marine Club is where I (mostly) saw Ray too. Great, home-y little enclave. Wonder if it's still there.)

andycanuck
Thanks for mentioning it. Didn't notice.

Chavez: US weapon test caused Haiti earthquake

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9QtZkT8OBQ&feature=player_embedded

Now why would Obama do a crazy thing like that to Haiti? Given the fact that Chavez himself has been claiming for years to being the target of an American assassination plot, wouldn't they have tested the weapon on Venezuela? No wait, Venezuela has oil, forgot that part. Can't damage the oil fields...

Good choice Vit!!! That's genuine rock and roll. Gets your feet tapping and kinda makes you want to jump up and ding the guy at the next table. Yessir!! That's rockin' music. (Oops! Guess my rednecks showing)

There, I'm OK now.

EBD is your DJ tonight, Pat, and I agree, excellent choice, DJ EBD!

Pat: Ray - "Uncle Ray", we used to call him - was a true rock and roller.

I actually posted the video, though, so steer those accolades to me - over here...nope, no, over here, this way - and rub that soothing love-balm on my belly. Yeszz...that's it.

I only get it once a week, on Wednesdays.

Oops, thanks Vitruvius - beat me to it.

Hope I didn't come across as being too needy.

EBD Thanks for your comment and no I do not have any suggestions. I was simply stating my observation and was wondering if anyone else felt or noticed the same. I’m finding it quite annoying reading a lot of trash talk unrelated to the subject. I wish I had an answer as SDA does provide a valuable service and has done some excellent work.

Kate -- So here's some advice ---- post it then shut up. Exactly.

I am here to learn the other side so to speak, not be a part of a debating team.

I am one of your biggest supporters, keep up the good work.

Ray Condo rocked.

Can't help but remember the incomparable Handsome Ned too:

youtube.com/watch?v=YkCwp0u_EWo

Hey, Western Canadian, I didn't take umbrage at your comments because I've noticed the same thing -- and as someone who hardly ever engages the trolls, because I just want them out of my face and know that they get their jollies out of harassing us, I've wondered, like you, why there's so much engagement with the trolls -- all on Kate's dime.

If commenters could just resist the temptation to argue with the trolls -- an exercise that's like trying to negotiate with a terrorist -- the site would clean itself up and the trolls would disappear. Their food is our vitriol towards them: They eat it up. So ...

STARVE. THEM. OUT.

Al Gore's Weather (AGW): Busted, kaput, defunct, dead.
...-

"U.N. abandons Copenhagen deadline – countries not signing on – spokesman says the deadline has gone “soft”
20 01 2010

The COP15 balloon appears to have lost all it’s air. Nobody’s signing up.

Excerpts from reports in the Guardian and the Financial Times

From the Guardian

Copenhagen deal falters as just 20 countries of 192 sign up to declare their global warming strategies

The UN has dropped the 31 January deadline by which time all countries were expected to officially state their emission reduction targets or list the actions they planned to take to counter climate change.

Yvo de Boer, UN climate change chief, today changed the original date set at last month’s fractious Copenhagen climate summit, saying that it was now a “soft” deadline, which countries could sign up to when they chose. “I do not expect everyone to meet the deadline. Countries are not being asked if they want to adhere… but to indicate if they want to be associated [with the Copenhagen accord]."
http://wattsupwiththat.com/

That hissing sound you hear is the air coming out of the COP15 balloon.

U.N. abandons Copenhagen deadline – countries not signing on – spokesman says the deadline has gone “soft”

http://wattsupwiththat.com/2010/01/20/u-n-abandons-copenhagen-deadline-countries-not-signing-on/#more-15465

But fear not:
As Global Warming Movement Collapses, Activists Already 'Test-Marketing' the Next Eco-Fear
http://www.iloveco2.org/2010/01/as-global-warming-movement-collapses.html

Mao Stlong say, tlorrs no goody.

Say hi to Boob Lae, prease. (Bob Rae is Canada's "Liberal leader" and my nephew. Moi's so ploud!)
...-

"China to Scan Text Messages to Spot ‘Unhealthy Content’

BEIJING — As the Chinese government expands what it calls a campaign against pornography, cellular companies in Beijing and Shanghai have been told to suspend text services to cellphone users who are found to have sent messages with “illegal or unhealthy content,” state-run news media reported Tuesday.

China Mobile, one of the nation’s largest cellular providers, reported that text messages would automatically be scanned for “key words” provided by the police, according to China Daily, a state-controlled English-language newspaper. Messages will be deemed “unhealthy” if they violate undisclosed criteria established by the central government, the newspaper said."
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/20/world/20text.html?em

This is interesting. One link is a list of the countries that have given aid to Haiti,and one list is the Islamic countries. http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5gMWHbxESkvhGHn1zjsFEnmBdZEqg -----http://www.oic-oci.org/member_states.asp --- Of course,some of the countries are dirt poor,but some are very wealthy. I gave $20 dollars into an office fund the other day,not much but something. If I had designation as a country,I would be more generous than most Islamic countries.

*
There have been... and will continue to be... frequent humanitarian
disasters worldwide.

Funny how Michael Ignatieff just happens to really, really need one...
right now.

*

Well this is quite interesting: http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2010/01/21/tech-un-climate-glacier.html

UN climate report hurt by errors on glaciers

A Canadian professor has reported five glaring errors in one paragraph of the world's most authoritative report on global warming, forcing the Nobel Prize-winning panel of climate scientists who wrote it to apologize and promise to be more careful.

The errors are in a 2007 report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a UN-affiliated body. All the mistakes appear in a subsection that suggests glaciers in the Himalayas could melt away by the year 2035 — hundreds of years earlier than the data actually indicate.

The year 2350 was erroneously printed as 2035.

New Mandate of JTF Afg

Incoming commander of Joint Task Force Afghanistan, Brigadier-General Daniel Ménard, explains the CF`s mandate in Afghanistan. BGen Ménard explains the way ahead and the CF`s objectives in Kandahar.

The bureaucrat/micro-manager can't help themselves, it's an issue of self-preservation:

Paul Volcker Prevails

By Simon Johnson|Jan 21, 2010, 12:13 AM|Author's Website

Paul Volcker, legendary central banker turned radical reformer of our financial system, has won an important round. The WSJ is now reporting:

President Barack Obama on Thursday is expected to propose new limits on the size and risk taken by the country’s biggest banks, marking the administration’s latest assault on Wall Street in what could mark a return — at least in spirit — to some of the curbs on finance put in place during the Great Depression.

This is an important change of course that, while still far from complete, represents a major victory for Volcker – who has been pushing firmly for exactly this...."

http://wallstreetpit.com/14671-paul-volcker-prevails

The Trial of Geert Wilders: A Symposium

International Free Press Society, Jan 20, 2010

Bat Ye’or, Clare M. Lopez, Daniel Pipes, David B. Harris, David Yerushalmi, Diana West, Mark Steyn, Nidra Poller

It's SH's fault.
...-

"Recovery to pick up, Bank of Canada says

The Bank of Canada has slightly raised its projection for growth in 2011, saying the Canadian economy will benefit from a faster-than-expected recovery in the U.S. this year.

The central bank said Thursday it expects the Canadian economy to grow by 3.5 per cent next year, up from its previous projection of 3.3 per cent."
http://www.cbc.ca/money/story/2010/01/21/monetary-policy.html

http://www.consumersforinternetcompetition.com/default.aspx

Sign the petition to keep unlimited high speed internet service.

Keith Olberman provides his analysis during MSNBC's news coverage of the Massachusetts election:

"In Senator-elect Brown, we have an irresponsible, homophobic, racist, reactionary, sexist, ex-nude model, tea bagging supporter of violence against women and against politicians with whom he disagrees."

Them "progressive"s is broke.
...-

"Air America to Cease Broadcasting Immediately

blogs.nytimes.
Air America, the progressive talk radio network, said Thursday that it would cease broadcasting immediately, bowing to what it called a “very difficult economic environment.”"

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2434306/posts

Down with the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB).
...-

"Ontario Farmer Wins Raw Milk Court Battle

An Ontario farmer tipped back a glass of milk with some of his supporters after being found not guilty of 19 charges linked to selling unpasteurized milk.

In Canada, raw milk is legal to drink, but illegal to sell. Health officials consider it a health hazard.

Michael Schmidt of Durham, Ontario, operates a 150-cow raw milk co-op. He had faced charges of dispensing milk straight from the cow.

Schmidt argued that the charges against him were unconstitutional and infringed on his rights and freedoms. He also argued that the safety of any food cannot be guaranteed.

He says he hopes more people can now enjoy raw milk."
http://www.cfra.com/?cat=3&nid=70775

So now does the Ontario provincial government set up a site where raw-milk drinkers can partake of their habit under medical supervision, for "harm reduction" purposes?