Bank Bailout

      My initial reaction to this article was one of fear, fear that we have so little money yet our government seems so calm and collected about this. I had no idea that the banks were in a 75 billion dollar deficit; our government does a fantastic job of making huge problems seem like nothing, to the point that we aren't aware.

      However, in the time of a recession, we need to realize that nothing is perfect. Our system is going to be flawed, because the banks cannot simply stop what they are doing. People in our society will always need loans - companies especially - at a time when we've been having such trouble economically. We cannot expect that while the rest of the world is dealing with a recession, for the Canadian banks to be doing fine.

       It would be nice for us to be more aware of the trouble that is going on in our government. If you look at this article http://www2.macleans.ca/2011/03/24/selling-canada/ , you will see "The Great Recession has proven a big factor helping forge Canada’s brand. While the country was hit by the economic collapse, it wasn’t hit as hard as the U.S. or Europe. As our banks required no bailouts and our dollar strengthened, other countries looked to Canada’s economic policies for answers. And the more foreigners ask why Canada is different, the more it gives businesses a chance to explain and define Canada as a country and a brand."


      This is clearly a lie, one that gives Canadians a false sense of security. I think the false sense of security we have been given is the scariest part of the bank bailout, because this makes us feel like we can go into any bank in Canada and take out a loan, and we are only adding to a problem that we weren't aware of in the first place. 


      Yes, I believe that the bank bailout was more than necessary, it was unfortunate that we let it get this bad in the first place, but I believe that Canada handled it much better than other countries that also ran into the same issues. . "The federal government's [initial] $25-billion takeover of bank-held mortgages to ease a growing credit crunch faced by the country's financial institutions is not  bailout similar to recent moves made in the United States and other Western countries", conservative Leader Stephen Harper said Friday. This statement shows us how our government is able to much more easily dig itself out of a hole than other countries, as in this bailout there is no chance that we do not have to worry about the loss of this money in the future. It also shows that our government has no reason to lie and say that we weren't in the position we are in, and shows that the government has given us a real sense of security after all.


      It is so easy to focus on the downside, that we have lost so much money and allowed our country to be in such a challenging position. But I believe that we are very lucky, that while other countries are struggling, we are lucky to have a government that (for the most part) has made us feel secure and has managed to think of working with the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation in order to prevent further loss of money and security that we will not lose that money. 
 

G20

      The more I hear about the G20 in Toronto, the more unreal it seems. I was astonished at the reality of the corruption of society and the power that the police have over us. What happened to this 'freedom of speech' idea that was once something we as a country could be so proud of. Somewhere along the way, freedom of speech has turned into 'freedom to do whatever the government wants you to do'.

      Freedom to believe whatever you want, and to have your own opinions was always something that I thought I was so lucky to have living in Canada. Watching videos of the G20, I was astounded by the actions of police officers in regard to people who were protesting peacefully. I find it hard to believe that the policemen had reason to act the way that they did after watching videos on the G20. For example, an older man who was on crutches and had a fake leg was sitting peacefully with his daughter, yet somehow the police saw him as a threat and thought he was dangerous enough to uproot him aggressively and proceed to rip his fake leg right off of him.

      How would you feel, having done nothing wrong, yet still being treated like a criminal? The happenings at the G20 only further instill in me a lack of respect for our government and the laws we are supposed to follow. The G20 is a good example of corruption of our leaders and abuse of power. It scares me that any of us could be accused of anything at any given time, and learning more about the G20 made me want to stay as far away from the law as I can.

      Furthermore, the thing that I think may be the worst about the G20, was the fact that our hard earned tax payers dollars went to the maximum security detail that was in place. There is absolutely no need for the amount of policemen, weaponry, and money that went in to all of that. It was a peaceful event until the police got involved, and it would have remained peaceful had they allowed people to act on their right of freedom. I feel like our money was completely wasted on this event, and there are so many other ways that money could have been spent more productively than that.

       I can honestly say I was shocked by what I learned through researching and learning about the G20 and actions of police officers, and the respect I once had for them is diminishing. I do however realize that this was a selected few police officers, and do not believe that all of them are like this. I have to hope that elsewhere there are people in authority that are fighting for our right of freedom, and I hope that after this disturbing event there will be a realization that our rights shouldn't be taken away like that.

Venezuela vs USA

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=23155

      think that this article is rather one sided. Yes, I do agree with Mike Whitney that Obama has been quite the let down, in consideration with the promises that he has made to the people. There are many great ideas that Obama has, but have they been carried out? You can say anything you want, but your actions are what proves you are a true leader. For example, Obama promised to restore the Great Lakes, yet that bill never passed and he didn't lobby for it like he promised. This is just one example, and there are countless other examples that I'm sure you can think of.

      

       However, look at what Obama has to work with. The government in the USA is so corrupt and was already destroyed before he started his presidency, that he is going to have to build the USA from the ground up. Clearly, that isn't going to happen overnight, and we shouldn't have such high expectations of him. 

      I believe it isn't right to compare Chavez and Obama, as they are rulers of completely different countries with very different needs. However, when looking at Venezuela, I can see why the USA would feel twinges of jealousy as they can see the leader actively taking on a role in society and being a hero to the public.