The Barron Blog

Monday, 12 February 2007

The Genie Is Out Of The Bottle

"The genie is out of the bottle." Definition: Something has become known.
A genie in mythology and fantasy is a powerful being who can grant three wishes to someone. This type of being bears a resemblance to a wizard and a superbeing of some kind.
If any genie or wizard wanted to help me or mankind, it would be very easy to do so. I have three simple wishes that would help the unfortunate ones of this world. If one has the ability to do something powerful and helpful to the unluckly and downtrodden, I would select these three wishes over millions of others:
Get rid of cancer. This evil seems to ride in the negative subconscious of the medical profession and the sheep-like public. Preferably, this would be getting rid of cancer in spite, not because of the medical profession.
Get rid of AIDS and HIV positives. Innocent women and children are hurt directly or indirectly through this disease.
Get rid of global warming that is causing drought, poverty and destructive weather like hurricanes and tsunamis.
Whether you're a human or a spirit without a body, one can't be immune to these continuous overwhelming problems on Earth. We must focus together our thoughts and powerful creative energies to vanish from this planet the above evils.
Humans can't educate themselves or develop their skills and abilities if they are in danger or afflicted by the above conditions.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genie (History Of Genies)

Posted by qualteam at 11:16 PM EST

Updated: Monday, 12 February 2007 11:20 PM EST

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Sunday, 11 February 2007

Be Careful What You Wish/Pray For
Mood: chillin'

A man has cancer and is successfully fighting it. His daughter has another kind of cancer and the man prays that the cancer will leave his daughter and come into him. A week later, his daughter is free from this cancer but he's dying from the same cancer that afflicted his daughter. He passes on soon after. This is a true story that happened recently in Ontario.
Right up to the middle of January unseasonable mild temperates grip Canada and the Northern States. Many people start worrying about "global warming" and wish/pray that winter will arrive. It does with temperatures that are well below average for the rest of January and into February. There's no end in sight to winter.
The postal union in Canada, CUPW, fought tooth and nail against the Canada Post bonus system (i.e The Corporate Team Incentive). The union wanted a ridiculous raise of 4% a year instead of the CTI. It looked like CUPW and CPC were on a collision course that would end in a strike.
CUPW members like myself wished and prayed that CUPW would accept the CTI program with a decent raise.
A few days ago, Canada Post and CUPW reached a tentative agreement with the CTI program intact and a decent raise.
The moral of these stories is that one should never minimize one's mental/spiritual abilities to impact others or the environment. There could be a positive effect or a negative one.
http://www.singlescafe.net/wish.html (More On Careful and Careless Wishes)

Posted by qualteam at 10:50 PM EST

Updated: Sunday, 11 February 2007 11:01 PM EST

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Friday, 9 February 2007

CUPW Has An Agreement In Principle With CPC
Mood: a-ok

This is another way of saying CUPW Has Reached A Tentative Agreement With Canada Post.
The union had its own good cop, bad cop in these negotiations. The "bad cop" was Chief Negotiator, "Pat Bertrand" and the "good cop" was CUPW President, "Deborah Bourque".
In Deborah Bourque's own words, the wage increase is a good deal:
"The wage increase is above the rate of inflation, above wage increases negotiated by other Canada Post bargaining units and above the average collective agreement being signed in Canada".
The wage increase is two and a half percent for 2007/08, two and three-quarters percent for 2009/10.
From my own research, PSAC and APOC both have a two and a half percent increase for 2007/08. Where's the better deal? These unions will renegotiate their contracts in 2008.
The above is a better deal compared to the U.S postal service which negotiated about a 1.6% wage increase a year for four years.
The "Corporate Team Incentive" remains in the present package and most posties will probably like it.
http://www.cupw.ca/index.cfm/ci_id/8912/la_id/1.htm (The Agreement In Principle)

Posted by qualteam at 3:07 PM EST

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Thursday, 8 February 2007

Movie Review 111: Beyond The Sea
Mood: a-ok

Kevin Spacey, it seems always wanted to do a musical and this project was the closest to one: "Bobby Darin's Story". While the musical numbers were entertaining in themselves, I couldn't find where the actual Bobby Darin wanted to do a musical or fantazied of "life as a musical".
The end product was a biopic/fantasy that worked part of the time and didn't work part of the time. The young Darin narrating the film with the older Darin didn't work. The dance numbers were ok by themselves, but didn't seem related to the main character.
What worked was the romantic and stormy relationship between Dee and Darin. What worked the best was Bobby trying to find himself (in the late 60s) through folk songs, isolation and peace activism. He gets booed off the stage at the Copa, but takes the same songs to Las Vegas where he makes a comeback.
Darin finding himself and accepting the fact that death is approaching (i.e. through the song, "The Curtain Falls") is very moving.
Basically, the theme of Bobby Darin's life and career was that he did and sang whatever he wanted. He did it "His Way". Three Stars.
http://www.bobbydarin.com/ (Bobby Darin's Homepage)
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/beyond_the_sea/ (Critics Review "Beyond The Sea")

Posted by qualteam at 4:07 PM EST

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Wednesday, 7 February 2007

The Green Crusade

I've sent out the blog entry below: "My Top Ten Green Wishes For 2007 And Beyond" to my M.P., Ruby Dhalla, Leader of the Opposition, Stephene Dion, Ontario Premier, Dalton McGuinty, and Ontario Oppostion Leader, John Tory.
I'm trying to do my part on "The Green Crusade". What are you doing?
There's no reason why anyone on the planet should buy a gas-guzzling/fossil fuel spewing automobile like an SUV or a muscle car. People who do so should be taxed heavily for their extravagance. The environment and mankind should come first before impressing one's friends with the lastest North American, polluting idiocy.
All of us on the internet should disseminate the "Green Agenda" to anyone who can move the priorities of the world in a "Green Direction". This includes presidential candidates, automobile CEOs, politicians of any stripe, and wealthly individuals. In this world, you're either part of the problem or part of the solution.
http://www.greenercars.com/indexplus.html (Green Cars And Non Green Cars)
http://www.greenparty.ca/ (The Canadian Green Party)
http://www.gp.org/ (Green Party Of The U.S.A.)

Posted by qualteam at 2:07 PM EST

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Monday, 5 February 2007

My Collection Of Old And Older Rock Videos

I have about 34 music videos on my "YouTube Website". Some of you, probably, have seen them many times before. Others by "Gene Vincent" and "Showaddywaddy" might be unknown gems for you. Check them out and have fun. The videos will continue to grow in number.
The site is at https://www.youtube.com/profile?user=qualteam.

Posted by qualteam at 2:17 PM EST

Updated: Wednesday, 7 February 2007 1:40 PM EST

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Sunday, 4 February 2007

My Top Ten Green Wishes For 2007 And Beyond
Mood: lyrical

I'd like to see powerful spiritual beings controlling the environment more until mankind gets its act together to contain fossil fuel emissions. You're looking at a 25-year time horizon here.
Automobile companies should be encouraged with tax rebates to build plug-in hybrids and consumers should be encouraged with tax rebates to buy plug-in hybrids. Lets get rid of the smog around our cities as quickly as possible.
Research and innovation with regards to alternate energy sources should be encouraged and speeded up as quickly as possible. This includes fuel cell technology, wind technology, solar technology and cold fusion technology.
I like to see powerful solar battery satellites that can collect huge quantities of the sun's energy and relay it to earth.
I'd like to see microorganisms put into the oceans of the world that can absorb the excessive carbon dioxide.
I'd like to see the U.S., China and India brought on board to reduce greenhouse emissions over a certain time period.
I'd like to see oil refineries producing the minimum carbon dioxide emissions possible.
I'd like to see "Green Technology" as a top priority of every major industrialized nation of the world.
There should be a timetable to phase out gasoline engines in the 21st century.
I'd like to see Canada as a leader of Green Technology.
http://www.climatecrisis.net/ (An Inconvenient Truth)
http://www.thestar.com/News/article/177692 (The Time To Act Is Now)
http://www.calcars.org/vehicles.html (Plug-In Hybrids)
http://freeenergynews.com/Directory/ColdFusion/ (Research Into Cold Fusion)

Posted by qualteam at 4:15 PM EST

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Saturday, 3 February 2007

Negotiating A Deal On The Corporate Team Incentive

The following letter was sent to the President of the Canadian Union Of Postal Workers, Deborah Bourque:
"My preferred option on the above issue is the “Opt In or “Opt Out” packages. I don’t know whether this is being considered or not.
Option two would be to drop the whole issue for now until a membership referendum could be held to determine its fate.

Option three is negotiation on every part of the CTI in order to reach an agreement on it. This would include changing the profit ceiling at which it kicks in and the "Employee Engagement" section of it.

Personally, “Employee Engagement” should be changed to “Employee Grievances and Concerns Handled.” It’s good for morale and productivity to handle workplace issues, personal problems and problems with supervisors and management.

The CTI bonus system isn’t some nonnegotiable sacred cow from the Treasury Board. Canada Post is a Crown Corporation and everything is negotiable."

Posted by qualteam at 10:02 AM EST

Updated: Saturday, 3 February 2007 10:08 AM EST

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Friday, 2 February 2007

Why Is Canada Post Offering An Incentive Program To CUPW Members?

Very soon air mail products from and to Canada Post will have to be scanned and delivered on time in order to receive payment. It helps if employees are on board with this operation in order to process air mail parcels quickly.
If employees(i.e. CUPW members), get a bonus for meeting delivery targets, it's highly likely that profits will continue to go up and we'll get part of this "Corporate Team Incentive Bonus" that only management gets now.
If the incentive isn't there, delivery targets could be missed which could cost Canada Post millions or even hundreds of millions of dollars. There would be pressure to cut back on our benefits, wages and full time jobs. Sections of the Post Office could be privatized which would result in job losses and a worse work environment.
With job security, high wages are not an incentive for posties to work hard or even work at all. You get paid just for showing up.
How is management suppose to meet its delivery targets when many posties only care about their pay checks and nothing else?
I've worked at the Post Office for over 30 years and I know what goes on.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada_Post (History Of Canada Post)

Posted by qualteam at 2:24 PM EST

Updated: Friday, 2 February 2007 2:31 PM EST

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Thursday, 1 February 2007

CUPW/CPC Negotiations Go Into Overtime
Mood: chatty

The latest global offer by CPC was turned down by CUPW. There remains about eight outstanding issues including the "Postal CTI Bonus Program."
Lets face reality, we do have a labour dispute here and we have moved closer to a postal strike in Canada.
Copied below is a letter to CUPW President, Deborah Bourque on this issue. Included with the letter is an e-mail from APOC President, John Barrowclough:
"On any issue there are pros and cons. This is certainly true with the CTI program.
It has come to my attention that the NEB didn't avail itself of any of the research accumulated by the other postal unions, APOC and PSAC.
In the letter below APOC President, John Barrowclough, will give this information to CUPW, but you have to ask for it.
I still think, the best way to solve this issue is an agreement to "opt in" or "opt out" of the CDI program. The membership will decide for themselves."
From: John Barrowclough
To: 'David Barron'
Sent: Tuesday, January 30, 2007 9:54 PM
Subject: RE: CUPW's Position On CTI
David,
"My apologies, I did reply on Jan 21, 2007 however it would appear that most if not all of my emails from that date disappeared. I have no sent copies at all. This does sometimes happen when using hotel internet services.
While I would have no trouble sharing this information with Deborah Bourque, it would only be in reply to a request from her. It is not proper protocol for any bargaining unit leader to offer unsolicited advice to another, particularly during a period of negotiations. I can not begin to assume to why the CUPW has chosen the strategy to reject the bonus offer, however I am sure the reasons follow their mandate form the NEB.
I have in the past presented the Association's point of view with respect to the CTI to one of the other bargaining unit's when they made the request, and as I said earlier, would do the same for the CUPW if asked."
regards, John
John Barrowclough
National President
Association of Postal Officials of Canada
28 Concourse Gate Suite 201
Ottawa ON K2E 7T7

I've been through too many bad strikes (some good ones too), and don't want to see this issue in the newspapers or on the floor of Parliament.

Posted by qualteam at 1:14 PM EST

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