Robert Mugabe is going to fix all of the Zimbabwe's economic ills, brought about through no fault of his own, through the strict enforcement of price controls and the nationalization of industry...which was part of the problem I thought... but what the hell..

President Robert Mugabe has said at the opening of parliament that strict price controls will continue as Zimbabwe tries to turn around an ailing economy.

The country, once the bread-basket of the region, is suffering crippling food shortages and rampant inflation.

Mr Mugabe blamed droughts and sanctions for their economic woes and said they faced continued hostility from the UK and her Western allies.

A bill to nationalise foreign firms, including banks and mines, is planned.

Well, it hasn't worked anywhere else in the world, but Zimbabwe/Mugabe are setting the world course for sustainable development so they must know something that we capitalists do not. Of course one way is to cut down on the number of poor is to have them leave the country:

Economic refugees are arriving in neighbouring states like South Africa at a rate of around 3,000 a day.

And, beyond economic controls, a political solution also appears to be in the makes:

Talks between the ruling Zanu-PF and the opposition MDC to find a political solution appear to have stalled, our reporter says.

The MDC wants a new constitution, but the only amendment on the parliamentary agenda could extend the president's term to 2010.

For those of us in Canada and the west in general who look to the UN as some sort of moral foreign policy guide, look again. The UN simply gives legitimacy and cover to tyrants and strongmen.

Zimbabwe Currency: Zimbabwean dollar (ZWD) Inflation rate: 3,714 percent and rising Exchange rate: Officially, 250 ZWD per US$1; unofficially, as high as 750 ZWD to the U.S. dollar

via Instapundit

Follow the links and check out how North Korea's currency is making out ... and Hogo Chavez is running a great socialist paradise.

Canada's top doctor singled out New Democrat leader Jack Layton yesterday for "hypocrisy" for undergoing hernia treatment at a private Toronto medical clinic.

But Brian Day, president-elect of the Canadian Medical Association, was quick to note Layton is in good company.

Former prime ministers Paul Martin, Jean Chretien and Joe Clark also have been treated at private medical clinics, Day told the annual meeting of the Canadian Science Writers' Association.

And he said union leader Buzz Hargrove, president of the Canadian Autoworkers, proved a master at "queue jumping" when he got in for an MRI within 24 hours of injuring his leg.

Read the rest

Justin Trudeau...now there's a deep thinker ... Speaking to "adoring" high school students, he offered this:

Trudeau suggested to the students the capitalist "machine" that sustains modern existence may also become modern civilization's downfall.

The system promotes exploitation of natural resources without accounting for future consequences of consumption, he said.

"Our capitalist model has given us tremendous things," Trudeau said. "But the time has come for us to look at it critically and try to improve on it, given the accelerated pace of change and the fact that we have limited space."

Trudeau said Canada's environmental and social justice record have deteriorated.

"We consume more water per capita than anyone else on the planet. We produce more solid waste than just about anyone else on the planet. In terms of social justice, our treatment of our aboriginal communities are an absolute disgrace."

Tinkering with capitaism by placing state controls on the market have failed worldwide. Sure the civil servants make out like bandits, but the rest of us are left beholden to the state to maintain some sort of passable standard of living. Still, the juvenile question, why can't we all just get along, makes the idea of tinkering for the greater good desirable.

Trudeau seems able to spout his old man's conclusions, but I doubt he's given it much thought. For his information, we have more water than anyone else, per capita or in volume. Are we supposed to stop consuming water just because there is less water in Arizona? Stop Consuming out of guilt? Where is the water going if we don't consume it? I'm not talking about draining the rivers or anything, but water consumption is not exactly a priority for Canadains is it?  More solid waste? Huh? We are 30 million people with, in case you haven't noticed,  plenty of places to put it and the natural resources of Canada are found in alomst all of them. I guess we are going to run out of trees soon ...wait...the tree cover in North America is increasing .... never mind. The Liberal policy of throwing money at aborignals until they are all dead is something that Mr Trudeau can address with his party if and when he gets elected.

We had a client who, while we were representing him on an litigation matter, was paid a sum of money of which he declined to inform us. He was a crack addict. After he had cleaned himself up, we were working the file and asked him why he didn't tell us about the money. He replied, "when you're a crack head and someone gives you ten grand, you don't call anyone." He said the money lasted about a month. The Ontario government is addicted to gambling revenues. It advertises gambling in a manner that it would never allow liquor producers or tobacco companies to so do. They run a fixed game on a monopoly level. Banning smoking in bars was easy. The government changed the laws for horse tracks and slots because revenues were down. Hypocrites? Apparently not. Gambling online, something the government is attempting to shut down, is a fair wager. The odds are set by the game (cards) or by the gamblers (horses & sports). Government gambling is designed for the return to the government. Not enough money coming through the tills, change the odds or the game. The government cannot compete on a level playing field with their ludicrous games. The government was taking some heat for the finding that they were still telling customers they had a chance to win a certain prize after the prize was already won. Now we find that retailers of government lotto tickets have been ripping off their clients and it appears that the government was aware of the problem. Rather than call the cops they spun like crazy. The government has now nixed a public inquiry into the issue. When the government recieves information that will require the outlay of money or may affect their supply, like any addict, they don't call anyone.

The Liberals used their majority to crush a Progressive Conservative vote for a legislative inquiry into the "Lottogate" scandal yesterday, prompting opposition accusations that the government has something to hide.

The Fraser Institute reported yesterday that the average Canadian pays about 45% of their income in taxes. High on the list were the hidden taxes found on such vices liquor and cigarettes. Lotto proceeds are pure taxes. The government maintains a monopoly position, not for the reason claimed that only the benevolent government can regulate our vices, but because vices are a cash cow and the government cannot stand competition. Should there be a public inquiry? Perhaps. More importantly, the government should get out of the vice business and let people keep a little more of their money to spend on other items, vices or not, as they choose. by getting out of the lottery business they cannot guarantee that no one willbe ripped off, but at least the gambler will have a fair shot at the prize.

(cross post @ The London Fog)

Virtual crime , the playing of video games not approved by the benevolent German Government will result in getting a real punishment:

Players and creators of video games could face imprisonment for acts of virtual violence under draft legislation being drawn up by two of Germany's state governments.

Politicians in Bavaria and Lower Saxony have proposed a new offence that will punish "cruel violence on humans or human-looking characters" inside games. Early drafts suggest that infringers should face fines or up to 12 months' jail for promoting or enacting in-game violence.

Apparently one of these school shooter types really liked to play a violent video game. I understand the game was quite popular. I expect there will be a lot more school shooters any day now. The state will abolish virtual violence with the use of real force... you can't make this stuff up. Unfortunately, we too will probably see Ken Dryden, Jason Kenny or some crazy chick from the NDP calling for a similar law any day now. Never mind the last line in the story:

Research has yet to show a link between violence in video games and violent acts in the real world

Why look to research and science when intuitively we know that immediate intuitive based action gives the best political results?

(HT: Instapundit)

(look for this post in The London Fog)

Guys getting killed is the NDP military policy. Layton et al get to make hay when the sun stops shining over some poor kid who was killed in doing his duty. That the Canadian military is stretched to limit in Afghanistan is not a secret. The Government is looking to put in more money to the effort:

The government is seeking Parliament's approval to spend nearly $1 billion to sustain Canada's military through the rest of this fiscal year, including hundreds of millions of dollars to support the mission in Afghanistan and to buy new equipment.

What is the NDP response? To hell with the soldiers:

NDP Treasury Board critic Paul Dewar said one concern is that it's not clear from the estimates how much of the funding for the Afghanistan mission is going toward redevelopment.