As companies fell one by one, they tried all kinds of bonehead tactics, including suing themselves for damages. The once proud Citigroup self-destructed. Ultimately employees bore the brunt of the economic damage. Greed managed to prevail, of course, as Canada’s capital was held ransom by its transit union in the middle of winter, putting even more of the city’s lowest earners out of work.

Even countries failed. However, it appeared no one told Sweden there was an economic crisis (maybe fueled by the success of the Pirate Party?) while Latvia folded. Eventually the DOW recovered a bit – joy!

Technology may be speeding up our sharing of information, but we still like our embattled old newspapers. Not that it matters, since the only news agency worth following is the BBC, anyway.

Remember Illinois Governer Blagojevich? Let’s not even go there. Blackberry got a presidential endorsement worth over $50 million when President-elect Obama refused to part ways with his cherished device – forcing the CIA to build him a specially-secured unit.

Your privacy remains under siege, but no one seems to worry about the implications of airing their private life on the Internet. The prevailing view is that nothing is your fault anyway – in a particularly gross turn of events, an Ohio teen claimed he shot his parents because they took away his video game.

Facebook is constantly in the news. Your friends are worth less than whopper sandwiches – maybe we would value them more if they weren’t all illiterate.

A bunch of unlikely events happened this year. An African-American man became the 44th President of the United States (and he had his job cut out for him right away), and the Arizona Cardinals made it to the superbowl (although Pittsburgh won it, so all is well in the world). Even the Oscars were weak. While we were otherwise occupied, the monkeys tried to take over.

Not news anymore: The world continues to teeter at the edge of an energy abyss and the powers that be continue to squawk about the merits of the data used to arrive at climate change conclusions when we would be all better off if we started to explore green alternatives. We didn’t even trouble ourselves to write an article about Copenhagen – why bother wasting our breath. Even wind turbines are under seige. California is taking the lead in reducing automobile emissions – time will tell whether they are successful in guiding the rest of the world. I help out by cutting my own firewood from trees that are already dead; I’m a light-weight – real environmentalists use only the finest organic wood(!?). In the end it’s not about technology or one-off changes – creating a sustainable world is going to be hard work – we should start sooner rather than later. Look out for the resource land rush.

At least the spirit of discovery was strong. Using the omniscient Google Earth, scientists were not only able to find the garden of Eden, they were able to find the Lost City of Atlantis! (Although, they lost it again with some haste) Never doubt free information, and never question the wisdom of Wikipedia. Not only is Google leading the way in discovery, they’re leading the way in environmental stewardship by switching their lawn care to goats rather than gas-wasting lawnmowers.

The world continues to resist the magnificent western culture; India made waves once again for its anti-kissing stance… why don’t they want to be hyper-sexualized like us? I wonder if their teenagers spend most of their online time lookup up cosmetic surgery. Maybe they just hate long DVD introductions?

The golden age of Hollywood may be over, but Apple’s is just beginning as video gaming’s Renaissance continues. Sony wasn’t doing so well, and found itself trying to explain why we should care about its PlayStation console. The brave new world has us playing against each other online rather than in the same room.

Back to Obama – the man had some great ideas for improving world security and saving lots of money, and was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize for his idealism. We’re hoping 2010 is the year he finally gains traction. How long will Obama cause jubilation everywhere he travels?

With all the coverage in sports, talk of respect and restructuring of the NHL points system (which must have cost Montreal the cup), no one noticed that Cuba’s government shuffled or that the United Kingdom was thinking about letting Catholics reign as monarchs. Wait a minute stop the presses – Michael Jackson died, nothing else matters!

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photo credit: Bryson Gilbert

While the ATU were out waving their fists on the streets of Ottawa for the better part of two months, the people of the city must have wished they lived in Toronto, where apparently the powers that be have a sense of humour.

A rap video called I Get On (The TTC) created by performers from Scarborough made the rounds in December 2008 garnered attention from city hall and earned the duo free metro passes.

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1- The Inauguration of President Obama – Barack Obama became the 44th President of the United States of America On Jan 20, 2009.  He was the first African-American man to be elected to that position.  Obama’s Presidency also marks the return to office of the Democratic Party after eight years of Republican management under President Bush.  Early into his term, Obama has so far closed all foreign CIA detention centres and urged economic action in dealing with the financial crisis.

2. The Financial Crisis Continues – We’ve heard about partnerships forming between Chrysler and Fiat, major government bailouts, talk of government nationalization of British Banks such as Northern Rock, economic stimulus packages, etc.  The moral of the story: maintain your savings and try not to get yourself in debt.  We’ll all see the end of this eventually.  As mentioned, President Obama has promised economic action – and since the Americans are the ones dragging down the world economy they’d better get out there and fix it.

3. Palestinian – Israeli Gaza Conflict: This began in January where Israel invaded Gaza in retaliation for recurring rocket attacks (70 a day) launched at them by Hamas from the Gaza strip.  After a ceasefire was declared, an Israeli frontier patrol was attacked on Jan 27 prompted the Israelis to use jet attacks on Palestinian tunnels to Egypt.

4. Unions – We’ve commented on Unions a few times this month, so I thought it deserves a mention here.  In Ottawa, a bus strike has continued for almost two months now.  We’ve heard about similar problems in California.  Unions have become an especially important issue in light of the economic crisis – I’ve heard unions blamed for a number of problems in the American automotive industry for example.

5. Sports – Arizona and Pittsburgh both advanced to the NFL Superbowl; the NHL all-star game was a financial success; the NHL’s Phoenix Coyotes have entered dire economic straits and I’ve heard talks about possibilities of moving the team, new ownership, or even a dispersal draft; one player was killed in a hockey fight and another one was recently hospitalized in an American Hockey League game.

These are of course only a sample of things that have happened this month – I could have also included earthquakes, crimes; or even positive things for that matter.  These are simply the broadest spanning issues that Ignorant Mouth looked into in January 2009.

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It’s encouraging to see the man working so quickly on achieving his election promises – there is a lot of pressure and hopes placed on him and I feel that if he is able to make some early strides on just a couple issues he will earn moral credibility that will give him the time and flexibility to work on the difficult issues.  I said on his Inaugeration Day that I suspect he’ll be an efficient President, and so far he is living up to that.

It’s been an interesting week to follow American news, and I’m looking forward to what happens next week.  I’m really intersted to see what his foreign policy initiatives are – espcially with regards to the ongoing issues regarding Gaza.

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I flipped to CNN so I could write this and offer my immediate thoughts as they come to me.  My first thought was not directly related to President Obama.  I wondered, why is a political leader being sworn in so exciting to Americans?  Not just Obama, but any leader.  To the best of my knowledge, no other country makes such a spectacle out of a simple swearing-in ceremony, atleast to the extent  Americans do.  I mean – this isn’t the Queen we’re talking about.  I guess it’s an American thing.  The United States President does hold a kind of cultural role outside of politics, and within politics he is the most powerful man in the world.  I guess that the majority of people probably can’t remember who their Senator or Congressman is, but everybody knows who the President is.  It’s nice that people recognize their leaders like that.

My second thought is more of a plea: the word ‘history’ is being thrown around too much.  Yes, Obama is the first Africa-American man to become President of the United States, and yes he is the first man too young to fight in Vietnam to become President.  Beyond that, wait and see.  History books aren’t written for years after the event for a reason – history requires analysis from all perspectives with the gift of time.  Who knows what will become of the Obama president?  Great things maybe, terrible things perhaps, but let them happen.

One thing that I do find interesting is that Barack Obama is classic American story, achieving the American dream - the son of an immigrant that becomes President.  Granted, his parents weren’t exactly your Mom and Pop’s Dinner sort of people.  But the idea that the son of an immigrant can become President speaks highly of the United States – aynone can make something of themselves.  It works to dispell the idea that only ‘rich white men’ can do well and hold influence.

I must say though, I like Mr. Obama.  I don’t think he’s going to achieve any kind of ‘great change’ or be an exceptional leader – I think people are expecting incredible and unrealistic things.  Nevertheless, I think he will be a reliable leader and be able to achieve foreign diplomatic measure through personal diplomacy (FDR style) because of his great charisma.  I predict he’ll be an effective President.

As far as President Bush’s legacy: give it time.  The man is no longer President.  I suggest his critics leave him alone now, and wait a few years to see what results from his policies before judging him.  History, as I mentioned, takes time to study and learn from.

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Blagojevich appointed Roland Burris legally to the Senate using his powers as as governor of the State.  However, the Governor himself is under investigation for corruption  (specifically for attempting to sell that very same appointment).  Although Mr. Burris is not under any investigation himself, the appointment has been tainted under the circumstances of which it was given.  The Illinois Governor, however, has not yet been empeached and even though he has lost his federal security clearances he is still the legal authority.

Therefore, Roland Burris is techically the Senator from Illinois and probably has a right to be recognized as such.  That is the ETHICAL thing to do.  But it is not the moral thing to do – he is an unelected man (he has actually ran and lost before) appointed under questionable circumstances and really can’t make a legitimate claim to the position.  He doesn’t have a moral ground to stand on – the issue of ethics versus morality plays into this.  The Senate has taken the moral ground here, good on them, but has not taking the legal and proffesional ethics ground.

Let me explain what I mean: ethically the Senate is responsible to maintain the rule of the law – they make it after all – and to maintain the respectability of the institution.  Just as a priest must keep crimes confessed to him confidential, so to is the Senate required to follow the law and until a court rules the appointment illegitimate, Roland Burris should be allowed into the Senate.

However, morally, as I’ve explained, Burris does not belong in the Senate right now, at least until the conditions under which he arrived there are corrected.  Although technically legitimate, Burris cannot really claim to maintain the respectability of the position or institution by taking a seat.

The correct solution would have been for Roland Burris to step down himself, taking the moral ground, and seek an election.  If I was in his position I would not want to strongarm my way in on a technicality anyway – he probably would not last long and would not carry the respect of his fellow Senators.  Somehow I do not think we will see Burris win an election now after the way this situation has been handled.

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I’m not really sure what to say on this – this was wrong and these people should have known better.  I give them credit for standing up for their believes, but this people is not how you do it.  If you have believe in someone, do what you can to get your voice out there.  Write letters, a blog, put up fliers, make a face book group – don’t harass or threaten people.  It’s that simple.  Threatening a truck driver, bugging peoples’ homes and businesses – these are not the way to express yourself.  They are simply criminal actions.

Its people like this that give entire movements bad names.  Animal Rights.  What does that image conjure in your head?  A noble cause of making sure that animals aren’t suffering in cruel and inhumane ways, or  hooligans from some group scaling buildings to put up banners?

Seriously folks, you’re just making yourselves look like extremist fools.  Work within the system if you want to change it.

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Should a goverment grant early elections when popular will has turned against it?  After all, the public whims can change daily.  Is it better for a government to carry out its mandate that it was orignally elected for, then approach the public with its record?

This is a difficult question as the first can lead to governments that weak and unsuccessful.  The second can lead to governments holding onto power beyond their time.

I have no answer for this, but I do feel that polical parties in any country should make clear what their policies on this kind of situation.

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I will outline my sympathies right away: I am no fan of the Liberal Party, consider the NDP to be an embarrasingly poor imitation of Britain’s Labour Party, and detest the Bloc who are a party that only represents the interests of the seperatists within Quebec and bear no allegience towards either Canada or the Crown.  I am very cynical about this whole experiment.

These kinds of coalitions aren’t without precedent, but they have historically been unsuccessful.  In the late 1700s Britain was managed by the Fox-North coalition which like this coalition was put together by bitter enemies who schemed their way to power and quickly lost and there was a ‘National’ coalition put together during the Great Depression which tore apart the parties and discredited that coalitions leaders.  These are just examples that come to mind, there are of course others – such as the succesful wartime coalitions in both Canada and Britain.  However, it is difficult to compare any of these to the current situation.

Therefore, lets look at the facts.  The Liberals lost their dominance over parliament after a scandal that revealed massive corruption and arguably set up Mr. Paul Martin to go down as a scapegoat.  After scouring the CBC’s message boards, it seems to me that many (not all) Canadians feel that the Liberals are simply making a power grab by allying with the NDP and the Bloc who are traditionally antagonistic to all the parties.  This isn’t an unjustifiable view – the Liberal did a complete about turn on major policy issues such as Afghanistan the second they lost power in order to attack the Conservatives on issues that the Liberals themselves initiated.

The immoral part of the coalition lies in the democratic violation that is occuring.  The Canadians just had an election that brought in a Conservative government for the second time in a row.  Not even six weeks later and the opposition decided that the will of the people is not important.  Now, many will make the arguement that by combining these parties ithey have the support the Conservatives do not (as they constitute a majority) – however this is a misconstruction of results.  The Conservative Party were elected to be the governing party – no coalition participated in the election and the individual parties were specifically NOT chosen.  To suggest that putting the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place runners together makes them the winners over the 1st place guy just doesn’t make sense.  It’s completely inappropriate.

In addition to the immorality of the coalition, it doesn’t make sense for some basic reasons.  The argument as to why the coalition is made is because the current Prime Minister is accused of being unable to handle the economy.  However, scouring the profiles of the different leaders reveals that Stephen Harper has a PhD in economics while the other leaders have no background at all.  Stephen Harper is being challenged because he not taking panicked reactionary measures to an economic crisis being pushed by fear, and his opponents don’t have the economic grounding to understand his approach.

The coalition is probably doomed to failure.  If the NDP, Bloc, and Liberals couldn’t cooperate before, it is unlikely they will suceed when the limelight is on them and they cannot simply sit back and critique.  It is dangerous to allow Separatist such a strong voice in government, but I suspect the coalitions differences will tear them apart sooner than later anyway.

Don’t be surprised if Canadians go back to the polls in early 2009.  I’d predict an election just before the summer – you wouldn’t want the MPs to waste their holidays campaigning, after all.

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For my own part, I first became attuned to Obama’s path after hearing him mentioned in Neil Young’s 2006 Living with War:

Maybe it’s Obama
But he thinks that he’s too young
Maybe it’s Colin Powell
To right what he’s done wrong
America has a leader
But he’s not in the house
He’s walkin’ here among us
And we’ve got to seek him out
-Lookin’ for a Leader, Neil Young

Perhaps it was only my perception but it was around about that time that references to Obama started to crop up everywhere. Even after the saturation of coverage I still don’t fully know this guy. He certainly ran a brilliant campaign, seems to “get it” in regards to technology and youth culture, and quite oddly seems to have very few people to owe for getting him to the white house. Lack of vested interest means (in theory) there will be no special accommodation for Big Oil amongst others.

It worries me that Obama’s media coverage consists largely of his supposed race, his similarity to “regular people”, and his wife’s wardrobe. So I beg you to please forgive me for not jumping on the Obama worshiping bandwagon right away. Let’s see how the man goes about filling the huge shoes of expectation that have been created for him.

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