Shwa

Are you critiquing the media for such a wishy-washy portrayal of the issue or inventing such a view yourself? If the former, then this is the right place for this post; if the latter then perhaps it should be moved to Ontario politics. You didn't intend to misrepresent what was written or re-arrange the words in such a way as to remove specificity in favour of an opinion of a general condition? Fair enough. At least the G&M have editors. I am not trying to parse anything. I am trying to point out to you that it appears - from the content of the article and subsequent follow-up from the OHQC website - that the Ontario government is in the midst of applying modern management practices to health care in Ontario. If anyone is trying to parse something, it will be the government in the health care sector with the implementation of performance indicators. But I do. I have taken myself, my family and friends to Ontario hospitals for anything from minor sports injuries to major surgeries and the quality of care has been very good, the staff always efficient and care-ful and the service excellent. Is it perfect? No. Can it be improved? Of course. Just like anything else in any of our institutions. This new report tells you why. This is a two-parter. You say that those inside the system cannot see "objectively" and so the same likely holds true for those outside of the system because they are not aware of all the details, the plans, the statistics, etc. So we have two silos operating on different perspectives. The problem with this view is that you give no evidence for those "inside the system" no being able to see things objectively. Do you have a cite for this or reports that you can back this vie wup with? Because from what I see of the OHQC, they seem to understand aspects of the problem enough to apply performance management principles, which are generally seen as "'objective.' Who said that it is necessarily going to be more complex? When sound management principles are applied in an effort to achieve standards, this usually results in less complex processes. We are talking about checklists, knowledge retention, data management, automation etc. How will the process for efficiency make things more complex? And of course there will be some front loading of costs, but in the long run when inefficiencies are repaired that results in savings that can be utilized elsewhere, usually in underfunded or underserviced areas. My big beef with such management practices is that they trend towards a lower standard overall to address disparate standards in various regions. Such that the 97% efficiency rate at North York General can go down if lowering it means the efficiency rate at Toronto East General or Centenary in Ajax wil be raised. That is a "change" that demanding people rarely expect.

Wow. This appears to be treated as a key performance indicator that can be used for performance measurement, yet in your "Key words and phrases" you state: Exactly how did you get from such specificity to making such a general and completely fabricated statement? Can you point out in the article where it says that "half of Ontario patients don't get required care" please? Did you miss the line in the article that says: So the government quotes another report that basically states the requirements for an Act that has already passed it's final reading. More from the Ontario Health Quality Council: REPORT FINDS PROGRESS, IDENTIFIES WHERE MORE IS NEEDED This is a common refrain from every manager and above regarding her/his organization. It is a flag for change which, according to the government and it's new Act, is on its way. However, pick most any other institution or national/international organization and you will find lack of service and inefficiencies. I am confident when I go to my local hospital, but not so much when I call Bell or Rogers to resolve a problem. And I pay each of them roughly $75.00 per month for their services. Gosh, Michael, did you actually read the article or are you stumping on a headline or brief from the Globe and Mail? If you would have read the article and followed the path over to OHQC and read what they have to say and realize that their whole purpose is to apply performance measurement and reporting, I am sure they are saying what you are advocating for. There is one thing to be aware of though - if you want improved services and efficiencies, get ready to pay for it because bureaucratic performance systems cost money. If you think a doc makes big bucks, wait until you see the bill for the management consultants.

So I take it you are the spokesman for the un-PC right?

Interesting article in the Star about James Earl Ray who returned to Toronto after murdering Martin Luther King Jr. Why assassin James Earl Ray returned to Toronto

Good villains! With hats off to Dennis Hopper, Frank Booth in Blue Velvet. A total over the top unstable psycho who gives off a sense of familiarity. Creepy. Then there is Anthony Perkins playing Norman Bates in the 1960 version of Psycho. Based on Ed Gein? Brrrr.... The Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lector in Silence of the Lambs. Buffalo Bill was simply nuts, but Hannibal was psycho with an incredible intelligence and wit. And good taste apparently. And finally, how about Gaear Grimsrud in Fargo? You could also give honours to Grimsrud's partner Carl Showalter, but he ends up being more pathetic in the end, especially the final disposition of his earthly remains by Gaear - being shot out of a wood chipper on to the lake ice.

That is not what I was referring to. I prefer Mary or Maryanne because their command of the English language is helpful in my enquiries. Ideological, but hardly practical when you are trying to troubleshoot a modem issue. Yes, but be careful about giving out your credit card information.

I'd gladly take Mary from PEI! (and help her supplement the potato farming). I recently had a frustrating experience with a Bell telephone "technician" from India complete with scripted answers in terribly broken English. When the call ended up at a Canadian call centre, the staffer there said that we can request to speak to someone in Canada at any time and they will flip you over to one of the call centres in Canada. The staffer said that they prefer people go this route since they are very aware of the frustration. I prefer Mary from PEI or Maryanne from Arkansas. I also recall at one time US call centres were being 'outsourced' to US prisons. Apparently they still are.

But seriously - Belleville?? You have Picton just across the Bay. I mean Belleville, the small town with some big city traffic at 4 PM.

But is it ethical? We know about the disparity here in the West, but how often do we hear about that gap as applied to overseas companies? Of course "poverty remains relative" but moving a manufacturing plant from Canada/US to Mexico/China/India to save money, drive up profits and gain the CEO more millions more certainly has moral implications; to the consumer at least, especially in the form of the quality of goods and services. Otherwise why "Buy Canadian" or "Buy American?" And when Ravi from Mumbai calls about your credit card bill, well just smile.

Not so extreme when you consider the subject of the thread. We can devolve into a have/have-not argument at any time, but why bother? In looking at the income disparity between the CEO and his/her workers is interesting in that this disparity has exploded over the past 50 or so years. We know that money talks and can open some doors that are normally close for the less-monied. I mean born-with-a-spoon-in-their-mouth wasn't just made up out of the blue. The other side of this question is the prolofic use of workers in foreign manufacturing such as the Nike example, foreign owned Chinese plants and even GM creating assembly plants in Mexico. We always hear the phrase about 'cheap labour' but if you are making 47 million a year, well that ain't cheap!

Artful dodging and nothing more. And a little bit dishonest. Why bother with reality when you can lose yourself in semantics eh Pliny? Your bushman reference is nothing more than a brutal attempt at red herring. If you are incapable of rationally answering the question, then say so. At least that would be an honest answer. Your choice of examples has nothing to do with whether I "seem to like" them or not. You raised the examples not I. Besides, they have nothing to do with the question on hand. No one is talking about sports or entertainment industry, although if you would like to compare the relative availability of a standard of living of the owner of the Dallas Cowboys to one his ticket takers or garbage men, we can do so. That might be a little more apt. No one is sitting around and complaining except you. I merely asked a fairly straight forward question that you have miraculously changed into a stump. To each his own. Of course education and nutrition don't factor into this individualist view do they? This is an interesting statement. Can you back it up with some sort of factual data? From the numbers I have seen higher education and incomes are more of a determinant than apathy. But if you have some other sources you can refer us to, please do.

But one would think that environment would have something to do with it - food, accomodations, transportation, etc. and that factors into happenstance. For instance, how about the opportunities afforded the factory worker in China or India compared to the distant Western CEO's of those companies. Didn't NIKE have to answer for all the opportunities they "made" in their Asian sweatshops? Or is your universal simply limted to North America? Why the use of the sports and entertainment industry "millions" as your exemplar? One would think that you would refer to the workers in sweatshops, underpaid subcontracting manufacturers, the service industry in Canada and so on. I get your ideology, but what you don't get is the actual question. You may try again if you like. Access to the same tools and resources to 'make' that opportunity happen. Does a child of a sweatshop labourer have equal opportunity as the child of that company's CEO? Certainly when you say "People like yourself" you are not referring to me personally. Of course, especially those that are caught up in the generational welfare phenomenon because they know nothing else. They tend to resent the most I think. Of course the counter argument is that it is the middle class who is impoverishing the middle class by demanding more services from the government who has no choice to raise taxes to supply those services and remain in power. But let's not blame the middle class for anything, since that is like walking on eggshells.

Comparing WASP middle class votes for the NDP to Jews voting for the Nazi Party is a wee bit over the top don't you think? Why would you - or someone like you - vote for a party that advocates primarily - according to you - for the poor and minorities? I dunno, because you care about the poor and minorities?

What would you have it be at this moment, other than a place to source emergency response time stats? What other datasets would you like to see opened up?

So do the children of labourers have the same "equality of opportunity" as the children of rich CEO's or the like?

Could you cite your source on the "30 thousand murders due to organized crime" please? Here's an interesting statistic commentary based on statistics from NationMaster: And I can't help but wonder, how many US deaths have been caused by and over the trade in illegal drugs of Mexican origin and how many have been wounded and how many have been incarcerated? It seems the "civil war" in Mexico is merely some unfriendly competition over market shares - old school capitalism. It will likely peter out once most everyone is dead.

All they need to do is look at the weather. Will it snow in June? That is one factor I'd be weighing. I mean, no wonder they have cheap energy prices - they have to heat the place in late spring!

This is interesting because I believe the non-voting block is quite large and could easily sway an election. However, would you venture a guess as to the political leanings of said block? Not true: Dominic Leblanc, whom I believe will restore credibility to the Liberal if party when they elect him leader. IF they elect him leader...

That is interesting. However, if you review the wiki page, it shows quite a few non-Christian religions having double the growth rates of non-affiliates. And remember, non-affiliates could also mean agnostic as well as atheist (and new agers, wiccans, pagans...) I think your date for religion being a non-factor in Canadian politics in 2050 is quite optimistic.

No religion or sex in politics; no politics and sex in religion; no religion and politics in sex. (Although, with the latter, 'religion in sex' might be simply saying, "Oh Gawd, I'm coming.") Yeah, that does sound somewhat Borg-like. Or British, take your pick. But either way VERY boring! But seriously, if you want to get a grassroots movement underway, and I don't mean a poop in a field, check the stats first to gauge the potential of keeping religion out of Canadian politics or anything else. Demographics of Canada - Religion Doesn't look good for this millenium. Perhaps in another thousand years we might give it a shot?

And interesting article in CNN here about the 20 biggest CEO earners after the all the bailout brouhaha. Some very interesting facts contained therein: 20 biggest CEO pay windfalls And of course a brief about the growing disparity between CEO & worker pay, even though the gap is being ever so slightly closed. CEO, worker pay gap widening Is this gap ethical?

I thought they were going to try and blast some disco from those sound cannons and get all the protesters dancing in the streets in one big gigantic party and then use the profits from beer sales to subsidize the costs.

While I am sure that some forms of psyops are carried out under the guise of 'public relations' I don't think that all public relations is psyops even IF they use the same methods to communicate and their goals appear to be similiar. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. Unless you are President Clinton of course.

This is what I would like to know as well. The good news is that the money has been 'budgetted' or 'earmarked' but not yet spent. The bad news is that government contracts usually overrun by 25-50%. Kimmy, when you were doing your calculations on person hours required, you forgot to factor in the food-tasters.

Catching up with Government 2.0 at Mesh I have used both the geo data from GeoGratis (very cool!) and Environment Canada's historical weather data (very cool!) and I regularly use the National Archives, Libraries, Images Canada, etc. One of the main obstacles to Gov 2.0 in the Canadian federal government is due to aging or poor computing and communications infrastructure. I believe that several key departments are now working on a multi-billion dollar upgrade to their voice and data systems with Gov 2.0 in mind.