December 9^th 2008

ONCE SILVER.........NOW STEEL!

Recently the Royal Canadian Mint took the next step in the continuing debasement of Canada's currency which began in 1922. Since 1998 the majority of our coins have been minted in steel with copper or nickel plating. Who cares? You ask. Well, in the days when was currency was valuable rather than token, the folks who owned it were rich because the hard currency itself in the form of high carat gold or silver held its value in the tangible asset, not in the promise of purchasing power and backed by the government of the day. Today if you have a million dollars in hand it will be worth less tomorrow than today due to inflation. If you keep it under your mattress it will be worthless in a few years. If our money was still valuable, wealth would be in the hands of citizens rather than governments. The mint would be forced to purchase precious metal from the mines and related industries instead of just making base metal tokens. Actual wealth would be placed in the hands of the people instead of virtually worthless paper and steel tokens and it would hold its value!...workers could save money without being forced to invest it. Governments couldn't print money to pay debts because it would have to buy gold and silver to do it.........Accountability would be required.

As demoralizing as this sounds, Canadians still own one of the world's great mints! The Royal Canadian Mint continues to mint legal tender coins in precious metal. In recent years, a full spectrum of coins made of the world's finest gold and silver have been offered with low premiums and entirely tax free! Silver dollars are once again offered in sterling (.925) silver after more than 70 years and the full line of Maple Leaf coins are minted with a finess of .9999.

Most citizens in most parts of the world have very limited access if any, to this form of gold and silver. Here in Canada, at the time of this writing, a one ounce Gold Maple Leaf can be had for less than an ordinary worker's pay for one week. And a one ounce Silver Maple Leaf costs about one hour's pay. In times when workers were paid in gold and silver, an ounce of gold would have fed an entire family for a year and an ounce of silver would have done the same for a month! Silver particularly is incredibly cheap by historical standards.

Julian suggests, next time and every time you get paid in paper or electronically, go to your local coin dealer such as( J & M Coin and Stamp) and exchange some of it for Gold and Silver Maple Leaf Coins with the knowledge that this is REAL Canadian money. Let's put the wealth in the hands of the people who earn it!

JulianOnePlanet Publications

copyright 2008

LINUX, THE LITTLE OPERATING SYSTEM THAT COULD

If you are using a computer with Microsoft Windows installed and you've never heard of Linux, then this is a very important article for you. In my humble opinion, from a security perspective, for financial reasons, for good computer technology reasons and for philosophical reasons it makes sense to change to Linux.

Please forward this to any of your Windows using friends.....better cut and paste tho' 'cause they'll likely be afraid to open an attachment!

In 1998 a virus killed my Windows 98 OS and hard drive. Like many, at the time, I didn't know of any alternatives to Microsoft. My Toshiba computer came with Windows installed. It was vulnerable to security breaches and I accepted the risks...but then I got lucky. My friend and neighbour is a computer scientist and when I told him my tale of woe he said "I don't use Microsoft, I use Linux".
When Dan (Starfish Systems ) introduced me to Linux, my personal computing environment changed forever.
I began to use a computer that is largely unaffected by viruses, spyware, malware and its operating system is free.
Yes FREE. Not only free to acquire, as in free beer, but free to distribute or modify, as in free speech.
In addition Linux is a lean and efficient operating system that doesn't necessarily require hardware upgrades each time a new version is released (I'm composing this message on my old 1998 NEC Versa LX, 366mhz, 256 RAM, 40gHD. I don't think I could run Vista at all on this old laptop on which I'm still running Linux RedHat 9.0. )
The processer, at 366mhz, is borderline obsolete, but the O/S , while old, is still very relevant for today, (it's five years old). This is not to say that updating isn't due. I also have 2.8ghz Acer Travelmate with a gig of Ram. Since I bought it used on Ebay, it came with XP installed but Ubuntu 8.04 partitioned my hard drive and I'm able to keep XP safely on the other side in it's cage. Of course my next move is to buy a new hard drive and get Windows off my computer altogether.

Here's a couple of links to two of the most well known operating systems that are based on the linux kernel.
Unbuntu is free because African billionaire, philanthropist and technologist Mark Shuttleworth is doing the world a big favour.
RedHat is almost free because it makes its money by offering support services. There are also many other versions of Linux that are available on line for nothing more than the price of a cd.
And the source code for Linux will always be free by the nature of its GNU license (thanks Richard Stahlman.)
It's exactly the opposite of the Microsoft/Apple ways of doing business. (Mac computers are great, no doubt about it. But Mac/Apple is not the subject of this article.) Linux is open source, community share ware. The former are proprietary products sold to maximize shareholder profits (the Bill and Melinda Foundation aside.)
Linux has been growing in popularity by leaps and bounds over the years and now counts its users in the millions worldwide. Servers, laptops, desktops and hand held devices all run Linux very well. Most popular software is available for Linux and major hardware manufacturers are offering machines with Linux as a native install. My most recent computer acquisition was a Nokia N8OO internet tablet that runs Linux.

Over the years my rage towards Microsoft subsided since my Redhat computer was unaffected by viruses and the like. And after a couple of years I finally got over the fear of opening attachments. And since XP came with a built in firewall that dampened the flames of the attackers somewhat I didn't hear about viruses so much from my friends and in the news. But then last month, a close friend told me that her XP computer had contracted many viruses and crashed her hard drive...OVER A DECADE SINCE IT HAPPENED TO ME!..
And guess what? my friend thinks it's her fault and that she should have been more careful. And now, two weeks later and down a day's pay, she's back up and running XP again with a clean install. And my sister recently bought a Vista laptop..she has a friend back east who's a Microsoft pro and she was up 'till late installing all the latest and required security and antivirus software.....that will likely be going on for a long time.

As I write this I'm listening to a news article on CKNW about the latest virus that is spread by Facebook...."the more things change the more they remain the same."

I think my computer should protect me not the other way round. After all this if you need three good reasons to switch to Linux, here they are.
1. Security
2. Security
3. Security

The following link is to one of the most important computer articles I've EVER read.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2003/10/06/linux_vs_windows_viruses/

The narrow path is often steeper as well. And of the many people that I've talked to about my Linux computer over the years I can only think of one who's switched from Windows. So why do I bother? I dunno....just tryin' to help.
Cheers,
JulianOnePlanet Publications copyright 2008

for those who understand, no explanation is necessary, for those who cannot understand, no explanation is possible.

THERE'S NOTHING NEW UNDER THE SUN ... INCLUDING THE ELECTRIC CAR

Who Killed the Electric Car? is a buzz phrase that conspiracy theorists just love to repeat. Debunking urban myths is great fun...can we do it here?
A recent TV ad run by reeling, multi-national automaker General Motors contained a clip read by a young woman saying “ I want a car I can plug in” People should be careful what they wish for. Let's look at what that would mean.

First of all, let's take trip to the Okanagan. Considering today's electric car technology, we'd make it there but not back (500km round trip) so we'll need a place to “plug it in” . How long will it take to charge and where will we charge it? Even a Tesla currently takes 3.5 hours to charge. And that's the very best currently available electric car

And this assumes that we have a place to fully trickle charge the battery before we leave. “Just plug it in at home” you say.

A recent analysis of parking places for cars in the USA showed that there are only 54 million garages for the 247 million registered cars in the US, and the rest were on the street or elsewhere. In San Francisco, only 16% of cars are parked in garages.

“But herein lies the conspiracy" the theorists shout! "What about having electric charging stations on street corners like gas stations?"

This site explains the massive amount of power required to charge a car battery quickly, meaning ten or fifteen minutes. In short, the amount of electricity that the average entire office building consumes would be needed for just four fueling lines.

Can you imagine how much power it would take to replace even a tiny fraction of the gas stations that currently form our infrastructure? And, where would that power come from?

First of all, if a customer waiting to charge his battery had a couple of cars in front of him, he could easily find himself spending thirty to sixty minutes getting his car charged. And that would only take him about a hundred kilometers or so and he'd be back in line.

All this is assuming that only SOME of the necessary power would be available.

Well it might be inconvenient in terms of range and fueling hassles, but we'd be "green" at least wouldn't we?...Not so fast my tree hugging friend. It's true that in certain locales some of the cars on the road could be charged with hydro electricity but in most locations, the over whelming majority of the power IS and WOULD BE supplied by thermal electric power stations burning natural gas, oil, coal and by nuclear power generating stations.

What about wind. What about solar energy. These systems are great for HELPING our current energy needs. And todays windmills are better than the picturesque ones we see on Dutch post cards aren't they? Yes they are but not nearly better enough to charge all our cars. And solar panels are great too when the sun shines and when we have countless millions of them. And we should have them. But I don't think we'll be charging our cars with solar panels any time soon.

In Germany where oil is as scarce as hen's teeth, massive amounts of public money has been spent to reduce that country's overall dependency on oil. Not only has this government subsidized program spawned an entire alternative energy industry, but it has actually been successful in exceeding the oil use reduction targets originally set out.

In Denmark massive wind farms help keep the lights on and in France, nuclear power takes the chill off the winter to the tune of much of France's power needs. But none of these systems are running nor could they run all the cars on the road.

This not about doom and gloom, this is about debunking myths!

Hey, in the distant future, when we actually have run out of oil worldwide, if mankind survives, we'll likely be thrilled with our solar power and other systems. But I don't agree with those who think an electric car is a reasonable alternative to a Honda Civic or a diesel Jetta or a Freightliner truck that currently moves most of our consumer goods.

The thing about batteries is that they always need charging. That might be alright for a suburban homeowner with a garage charger wanting to bump over to the grocery store once in a while, but a family, a commuter, a business person, and a host of other drivers that utilize our current fossil fuel burning cars' infrastructure would find the the electric car to be very limiting by comparison.

And making and recycling batteries IS NOT A “GREEN INDUSTRY”.

Dead batteries litter the landfills world wide. A recent CBC Marketplace production of a community “battery drive” showed how easy it was to get a FULL SIZED PICKUP TRUCK FULL of dead batteries in just a few days in a small Ontario town. Rechargeable or not, they die. I've purchased tool batteries, car batteries, solar power system batteries, mobile phone batteries, computer batteries, watch batteries, flashlight batteries and the list goes on and so has everyone else no doubt.

NEWS FLASH! It takes a lot of oil to make electric cars and to keep them running.

The current gas burning cars on the road are highly evolved, ergonomic, fuel frugal machines that are not going to be displaced by small, complicated, expensive, range limited, hard to fuel electric cars any time soon and I say hooray for that.

This doesn't mean that I'm not “green” my faithful reader. Yes I drive a diesel car, yes I ride a bicycle to work, yes I recycle my beer cans.....hey I'm so damn green I'm glowing green and it's not a recent fad, this is how I live.

Hybrid electric cars have proven themselves helpful in reducing fuel consumption. Modern diesels are also very good. And despite these success stories these excellent vehicles comprise only a minuscule fraction of overall auto sales.

Who Killed the Electric Car? The movie isn't "truth" even though certain things did actually occur. And Al Gore and his “An Inconvenient Truth” scenario, as entertaining as it is, isn't truth either.

The future is uncertain and predicting it is fun and sometimes useful, but it is, at best, an inexact science. Doom and gloom sells but I'm not buyin' … I'm not drinking the Koolaid. Nothing is what it seems. Things are complex. The point is that the electric car is not a reasonable alternative to a regular car except in specific applications as an "alternative" vehicle even though it's a popular idea.

One of the best conspiracy theories being thrown around is the idea that evil, multi-national oil companies in concert with the devil incarnate auto makers have scuttled the electric car and its panacea technology to maintain current sales and to keep us addicted to the black gold.

Look every major car company in the world is working to produce all electric or plug-in hybrids and they'll form part of our transportation needs in the future... it's all part of the green shaft and this is a fun area of R&D as well

Well I suppose anything's possible. And a one of the things that makes a great conspiracy theory great is that it can't ultimately be totally dis-proven. The grassy knoll and recent Elvis sightings being cases in point.

JulianOnePlanet Publications copyright 2008

PET FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Julian Price

The pet food aisle at my local grocery store is eighty-five feet long with both sides full. Needless to say, pet food is big business, very big business, eleven billion dollars a year and growing! The debate rages on about raw food versus dry food versus canned food. And whether name brands are superior to generic brands. Of course beyond the majority of pet owners who want to feed their pets the appropriate food we have pet owners who want their pets to have the same likes and dislikes and they do such as vegan owners who have their pets on vegan diets.

It's reasonable to seek the advice of professionals when faced with a myriad of choices so we surveyed the opinions of vets and other industry experts to help us decide what to feed our pets.

Pet food manufacturers say that modern manufactured pet food contains all the nutrients necessary to sustain our cats and dogs. And they say our pets like the taste as well! Extensive research and a lot of money is spent to further this end. According to industry consultant Dave Geier of Highlands Ranch Co. the R&D budget of the pet food industry exceeds one hundred million dollars per annum! So with all this money and effort going into providing the best food for pets, why is it so difficult to be certain that our pets are getting everything they need and want in their diets.

According to Dr T J. Dunn Jr. DVM (The Pet Center) protein source is a key factor. He says meat based pet food, specifically those brands that list meat products as the first ingredient on the package, are the best ones for pets. Those brands that list cereal grains as the first ingredients are cheaper but don't provide the best source of protein. This basic guideline is studied in great detail on the website

Raw food is a popular pet food diet in recent years but based on this example of a dry dog food package label it would have to be a dedicated owner indeed to include all these ingredients in the dog dish!

Chicken Meal, Turkey Meal, Brown Rice, White Rice, Lamb Meal, Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols, Rosemary Extract), Herring Meal, Flax Seed, Sun Cured Alfalfa Meal, Sunflower Oil, Chicken, Lecithin, Monocalcium Phosphate, Potassium Chloride, Choline Chloride, Linoleic Acid, Rosemary Extract, Sage Extract, Yeast Culture, Dried Enterococcus Faecium, Dried Lactobacillus Acidophilus Fermentation Product, Dried Aspergillus Oryzae Fermentation Extract, Dried Bacillus Subtilis Fermentation Extract, Inulin (from Chicory root), Saccharomyces Cerevisiae Fermentation Solubles, Yucca Schidigera Extract Mixed Tocopherols (source of Vitamin E), Zinc Amino Acid Chelate, Manganese Amino Acid Chelate, Iron Amino Acid Chelate, Copper Amino Acid Chelate, Cobalt Amino Acid Chelate, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Ascorbic Acid (source of Vitamin C), Niacin, Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Riboflavin (source of B2), Beta Carotene, Calcium Pantothenate, Pyridoxine hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Calcium Iodate, Folic Acid, D-Biotin, Sodium Selenite, Dried Papaya, Vitamin B12 Supplement

In addition to offering a completely balanced meal for dogs and cats, dry food is convenient, has good shelf life, is widely available and reasonably priced, but dry pet food is heavily processed, having usually been cooked, canned, rendered, frozen, dehydrated, extruded, preserved and pelleted! Although the manufacturers show pictures of fresh colourful ingredients in their advertising the bagged result doesn't make for appetizing pictures. And people don't like the idea that food for pets or people is highly processed in factories in far away places. So what is the solution. Some experts say that at the very least, bulk dry pet food is more nutritious, more affordable and has longer shelf life than it did twenty-five years ago....but we'd like to ask Spot and Fluffy the question we all ask each other all the time...”does it taste good?”

JulianOnePlanet Publications 2008 first published in The Metro Pet Gazette in Vancouver

JULIAN'S LITTLE N8OO TABLET TOUR

NOKIA N8OO- OUT OF THE BOX IT'S A COOL UNIT BUT...TO MAKE IT A FULLY FUNCTIONING SUB-NOTEBOOK IT NEEDS SOME ACCESSORIES. TAKE JULIAN'S LITTLE TABLET TOUR TO SEE HOW I CREATED MY BUNDLE.

The one thing that the N8OO lacks is a full blown office suite and this kind of installation is beyond me. But because I'm among the many tableteers who would like to have better office tools I keep looking around to see if any company has developed a nice little program that will work on the tablet and is easy to install but it hasn't happened yet as far as I can find out...there's nothing at all on the Maemo office/business downloads site. All I can find is individual developers who are working on this.

Of course OpenOffice would be my first choice and this site even has a video showing how it looks on the tablet along with some details of his installation...but..... :-\

http://n800-as-a-professional-tool.blogspot.com/2008/05/openofficeorg-and-abiword-work-in.html

I'm more disappointed that a better office program isn't available because since I got the Nokia SU-8W bluetooth keyboard recently, I'm really in a position to use such a program.

As the Nokia N8OO internet tablet arrives, it's useful and fun right out of the box but I spent a lot of time and money adding software, files and accessories to make it much more so.

So I first upgraded the O/S to OS2008. The newest version is the one on Nokia's website . Then I configured Gmail . Then I set up a Skype account and a Rhapsody one as well.

Then I installed , Pidgin Messenger, Chess, Mahjong and Sketch ...and Gizmo ...And X Terminal, Streamtuner Mplayer and MaemoPad, Xjournal and MaemoSDKTablet....and a few other programs that are free downloads on Maemo...so now.....my battery's dead.

The N8OO only came with one battery that's good for only about 1.5 hrs of surfing ( longer off line) I have five batteries now. (don't even think of ordering a spare Nokia brand battery unless you have a spare $65.00 ) I bought after market batteries on Ebay for about $5.00 each but they don't hold a charge as well as the Nokia battery.

And the only way to charge a battery is when it's inside the tablet. This is a change I'd make...it should charge from the the USB port... but I did find a a USB cable with interchangeable plugs that included the 1.5mm size that fits the N8OO. So now I can charge the device from my desktop with the USB data cable connected at the same time. In addition, I bought a desktop battery charger. Now I always come home to a fully charged battery. These accessories are very cheap. A dollar or two only. Of course Nokia doesn't recommend the use of them but Nokia doesn't sell them either so what are the choices?

I recommend powering down the device after each session because it drains the battery even on stand-by. Sometimes I just lock the touch screen to avoid rebooting but my experience is that each day of standby will drain the battery as much as 20%.

For good measure I bought a 1.5 mm pin adapter plug, 12v charger AND a cable to connect to my car stereo. Now I have an MP3 player for the car that will play tunes all the way to Calgary! (Not that I'm a Flames fan)

Speaking of music, the headphones that came with the unit are great for Skype but not very good for listening to AC/DC so of course I had to get nice bass responsive Nagaoka headphones.....

And of course the superfine Nokia su-8w keyboard...There are other, cheaper folding bluetooth keyboards available but nothing that folds as small and matches the N800 as well as the SU-8W...but...it's not available in Canada....$CND150.00. I got mine from Expansys and it shipped from Illinois....katching!

So then I needed a proper case since the useless fabric sleeve that was supplied doesn't have any room for these accessories anyway. I finally found an expensive Case Logic, PHDC-1 clamshell, polyester, hard drive case at Office Depot ( $30.00 )that carries all this stuff just about perfectly.

And course, these things NEVER come with enough memory, so....a few $$$/8 gigs to upgrade the ridiculous 128 MB SD card that Nokia supplied plus one for the external card slot....whew...hooray for Ebay!

Finally I've spent about $500.00 (ouch) on my N8OO and now it is a very mobile, versatile and unbelievably compact computer system......I think it's unlikely that anyone else in Canada has a N8OO system as complete as mine...cool eh! )

I recommend the N8OO even though in the couple of years since it came out other handheld devices have come out with built in WiFi. Recently, the newest generation of the tablet, the N810 was launched with WiMax installed.
One more change I'd make if I was Nokia. I'd put the sliding cover back on that was on the N770.

Oh and one more thing, it's a pet peeve of mine with many portable electronic devices...the buttons should be recessed into the cabinet, not proud of it. Then they are less likely to be pressed inadvertently.

Regards,

Julian.

Does Your Pet Have a Computer?

Does Your Pet Have a Computer?

Computer technology has infiltrated virtually every facet of modern day life. Our pets currently seem blissfully unaware of it all. But pets aren't unaffected by computers, they just don't use them...or do they?

Austrian scientists in Vienna have used touch screen technology to allow dogs to interact with computers. In an effort to test the cognitive ability of the four dogs involved in the study, the dogs were shown a landscape picture beside another landscape picture with a dog in it. When the dog "nose selected" the picture with the dog in it he received a treat. Then the researchers flashed different pictures with and without dogs in them. Each time, the dog involved in the study selected the dog pictures showing that, according to the authors, the dogs could form the concept of a dog.
http://www.livescience.com/animals/071128-computer-canines.html

This might not mean that Fido will be begging for a new laptop anytime soon but here are some more examples of how computers and pets are getting together in the 21st century.

Israeli prison guards have employed computer software to interpret the barks of their guard dogs. Noam Tavor, head of the Israel Prisons Service canine unit, said the program is designed to overcome mistakes in which guards have either not heard dogs sounding an alarm or failed to speedily identify its significance."It collects the dogs' barks through microphones...and sorts and grades them," Tavor told Army Radio. "It relays only the barks that are significant in terms of security barks that reveal stress or aggression in the dog."
The system has been developed by Bio-Sense, a high-tech company headquartered near Tel Aviv.

Computer software can benefit pets in everyday ways as well. Veterinary practice management software such as Vetpoint, Spellex Veterinary Spell Checker, PremVet5 and RoboVet3 from Vet Solutions and many others have been helping veterinarians to save time, keep and access records and stay up to date on new information.
Municipalities use software to maintain databases for dog licenses and related statistics.
A company called Zoombak.com offers software to track the location of your pet wearing the appropriate tag via GPS. The system sends the owner an email if the pet leaves a specified "safe zone" essentially ending the heartbreak of lost dogs and cats.

Recently, the hatching of a brood of eaglets on the west coast and the subsequent fledge was broadcast via webcam to computers worldwide and adults and school children alike watched constantly as the eaglets grew before our very eyes.
Here in Vancouver, the recent birth of a beluga whale and the activities of mother and newborn have been available via belugacam from the Vancouver Aquarium's website. Check out seaottercam as well to view these delightful creatures on a round the clock basis.

So if you have a computer but can't keep a pet just now, how about a virtual pet?
PF.Magic, a San Francisco company, offers Dogz and Catz online for adoption. You choose your pet(s) from a virtual litter, name them and choose toys such as a ball or a shoe. Then you can play with your pet(s) on your desktop, watch them grow and develop a personality while you form a relationship with them. The program is distributed from the website.....not sure if you need a virtual plastic bag or not.

If a virtual dog or cat seems like too much responsibility, consider a virtual hamster. http://www.maniform.com/stuff/hamster.htm

Or how about a robot dog?

Eungsang Park is a South Korean inventor who has designed a robot dog that he says is actually similar to a real dog. The “dog” Arin has life like eyes and it can run! It has an internal computer and an LCD screen on it’s back on which you can check email and surf the net. Below it’s tail it has a slot where you can insert DVD discs and watch movies on the screen. Its tail is a joystick for playing games. Arin can sense touch and also function as a mobile phone...it seems that when you're out with Arin for a walk you can make a call on your dog!

http://www.ditii.com/2006/03/18/korean-robotic-dog-all-set-to-replace-aibo/

If you have concerns that your cat might have your password and is using your computer at night, check your outbox for messages sent to addresses such as fluffy@scratchingpost.com

Also check your mouse for teethmarks.

Bill Gates now has pets (one dog two cats and one bird) but I'm not sure what kind of pet software he uses.
He was keeping details to himself during a visit with Jon Stewart on The Daily Show last year.

Jon: What's your password?

Bill:

Jon: You don't have to answer that. Is it 'Gates'?

Bill: I'll tell you later.

Jon: Hey, do you have pets?

Bill: Well actually, we keep putting off having pets. Our kids put on a lot of pressure.

Jon: Did you ever have a pet when you were younger?

Bill: Sure I had a dog.

Jon: What was the pet's name?

Bill: That's not my password.

You can watch the interviews on Soapbox beta: Part 1 and Part II

Okay so it doesn't seem that our real pets are actually using computers very much yet but the accelerating rate of computer technology probably puts the day when they will in the foreseeable future.

Perhaps Miss Mews or Spot will nose touch a computer screen to dispense food and by doing so, tell the computer to order more food on line. In the meantime we humans will have to perform all the regular functions in the regular way.

copyright JulianOnePlanet Publications
November 19th 2008

first published in Vancouver in THE METRO PET GAZETTE

http://metropetgazette.ca/

SHOULD GM BE ALLOWED TO GO BROKE?

So after all these years, some would say decades, General Motors is so close to filing for chapter eleven in the US that the Fed is rumored to be planning a twenty seven BILLION dollar bailout package for the giant failing automaker. Perhaps the buzz phrase "GM's too big to fail" will become a self fulfilling prophesy. Needless to say, the ramifications of GM actually going bankrupt would be wide reaching, no doubt touching deep into the hearts of communities far and wide and affecting millions of people who in one way or another make a living or who's incomes are supported by the manufacturing of automobiles.
The water cooler, on line, talk radio and tavern talk runs the gamut from comments like "it's only because of the global economic slowdown that GM has run into tough times". And, " GM has shot itself in the foot by building huge, lousy cars that use too much fuel and that nobody wants to buy. These are urban myths.
Of course, the real reasons why GM is going broke are complex and GM has been going broke for a long time. Some of the reasons are the result of bad management decisions, like buying Hummer for example, but many are the result of market conditions that are and have been out of control of even a market player as big as GM. For example, the fact that the import/export market has been a one way street for a long, long time. Japanese cars go to America, American cars don't go to Japan. And to complicate matters further, there's GMAC. A subject that is so big in itself that I'll have to leave it for another day. Even though GMAC is a critically important player on GM"s stage.
For an eye opening account of just how long GM has been bleeding to death I urge you to read Porter Stansbury's articles "Letters from the Chairman of GM". Reading these articles will crystallize just how dire GM's situation is and how the current situation is NOT a result of the most recent and dramatic economic conditions.

http://www.growthstockwire.com/archive/2008/sep/2008_sep_20.asp

http://www.dailywealth.com/archive/2007/nov/2007_nov_10.asp

Mr Stansbury's ( http://www.stansberryresearch.com/ ) letters were controversial at the time of his writings because so many people were unaware or disbelieving of just how dire the situation was and is at GM and based on my observations, THEY STILL ARE.

So given this long preamble about how GM came to find itself at the "end of the world as we know it" I must ask the following questions, " should GM be allowed to fail" and " can GM really be saved anyway. Well my answers are yes to the former and no to the latter.
Here's why. I'm philosophically opposed to pumping taxpayers' money into specific companies.
That only amounts to a subsidy for a failing company that gives it an edge over its competitors.
It's far better to let those affected by changing conditions in the market take advantage of social support systems already in place as they need them. As examples, employee pensions are insured, unemployment insurance is there for displaced workers.
And GM as a viable business cannot be saved anyway. Because GM itself with all of the tools and resources available to it for the last twenty years has not been able to turn a profit. Providing a massive bailout package for a huge, long failing company simply postpones the inevitable at taxpayer's expense and in a very inequitable way.
The elephant has been shot a hundred times already...it just hasn't fallen down yet. GM should be allowed to fail in the normal course of business and its assets and debts absorbed by the remaining investors in the marketplace
Regards,
Julian.

Copyright JulianOnePlanet Publications 2008

SILVER, PAPER AND THE STATE OF THE WORLD

SILVER,...NOW YOU SEE IT...NOW YOU DON'T
copyright JulianOnePlanet Publications Nov. 17th 2008


The spot price of silver has been falling steadily in recent months along with everything else and now we see silver under $10.00 per oz.right?.....WRONG.

 You won't hear this on the news.  THE PRICE IS GOING UP NOT DOWN!  Paper purchase contracts (futures) aren't being filled.  The supply is being more than absorbed.  J&M is COMPLETELY SOLD OUT OF ALL BULLION (no bullion at all...no gold, silver, platinum nor even paladium) for the first time in many, many years..  Retail prices for silver bullion on the street and on line are in the $CND 25.OO RANGE.

 The mints aren't shipping, they don't have the blanks.  The RCM is taking orders for March 2009. Coin dealers around the world are sold out.
 Where do we go from here?.    Most investors are holding their positions.  Those seeking to add tangible assets in the form of precious metals are paying the street price when supplies can be located.
 Virtually all investment advisors recommend holding 5 to 10% of an investment portfolio in precious metal but many people have forgotten that silver is precious metal.
 Futures expire, SILVER NEVER DOES.  Silver does not represent wealth...SILVER IS WEALTH!


 Cash is king at the order desk now.  Payment is being asked for in full to hold orders for future delivery.
 It might be best to pay the street price for Silver Maple Leafs if one needs some when they can be found.  The longterm trend is higher and even the large dealers like J&M have standing orders that have not been filled for months.  And theirs will be filled first when they are.
 The annual silver deficit has been in evidence for nearly twenty years and the recent rush to tangible assets has crystalized the situation this year.
 The US fed has sold all of its SIX BILLION OUNCES.  Unlike gold, the central banks don't have the reserves to sell to  hold the price down. That's why the US mint can't mint eagles...there's no silver left.
 A mini position in the futures market may be the only way to get quality silver at close to spot price.  However it may take several months for delivery...a distressing situation for someone keen to hold "weight in the hand" rather than paper during turbulent times.
 In addition for reasons inexplicable as well there is disparity in the currency markets as well.  The Canadian dollar is down over 20% this year further complicating matters.  I'll have a lot more to write on this and related subjects in the months to come.
 My advice is to buy a few ounces when you find them.
 Regards,
 Julian.