sâmbătă, 8 iunie 2013

Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis

Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis


Emails From French and Canadian Readers on "Preserving Culture" and the "Language Police"

Posted: 08 Jun 2013 11:04 AM PDT

I received still more emails from French and Canadian readers on preserving culture. Since it's a slow news day, let's take a look at them.

Olivier writes "Wouldn't a true conservative pay at least some respect to local cultural norms instead of trying to impose some economic diktat from on down?"

Talk about getting things ass backwards. It is the social police attempting to impose cultural and economic diktats to preserve the local bookstore and the local farm to the point of absolute absurdity.

Email From Canada

Reader Mike from Canada writes ...
Hi Mish,

I totally agree with the ridiculousness of bureaucrats and their attempts "to preserve" culture.  The very meaning of the verb "to preserve" implies that the object being preserved is dead.  One preserves fruits after they are picked, and bodies after they are dead.  One cannot preserve a living thing.

A culture must continually adapt and grow to keep living, not be preserved.

I live in the province of Quebec, and unfortunately I can provide numerous examples on the government's inane attempts to preserve local French culture.  Recently, the Quebec Language police made headlines when they tried to outlaw the use of the word "pasta" in Italian restaurants because it is not a French word.  After the international hilarity that ensued and embarrassed them, the nannycrats backed down.

A great example of tax dollars being wasted.

Thanks for your posts,

Mike B
Montreal

Language Police

The above story sounds preposterous but is true. Please consider Is 'pasta' French enough for Quebec?
Quebec's language watchdog is backtracking after demanding a chic Montreal Italian restaurant change its menu because Italian words such as "pasta" were too predominant.

Massimo Lecas, owner of Buonanotte said he was contacted by the Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF) on Valentine's Day.

He said he was told the menu contains too much Italian.

He said he was also instructed to translate the Italian words for meatball and calamari into French, even though the descriptions for each of those menu items are already in French.

Earlier in the day, Martin Bergeron, a spokesman for the OQLF, said the language watchdog is not splitting hairs.

While he said he cannot discuss the specifics of the case, Bergeron said the law is clear.

"Other languages can be on the menu," he said. "The thing is they must not be predominant over French."

Battle over fish and chips

Brit & Chips, a fish and chip restaurant in the Côte-des-Neiges neighbourhood, also received a letter asking it to comply with the language police's guidelines.

The OQLF demanded that the owner, Toby Lyle, add the word "restaurant" predominantly above the eatery's name.

Lyle said he takes issue with the OQLF's order to translate the restaurant's main dish to "poisson frit et frites."

He said removing "fish and chips" from the window will push customers away.
Collision Course

Unfortunately it's not just France that suffers from such stupidity, it is all of Europe. Every year France blocks changes in agricultural subsidies that exist solely to prop up inefficient French farms. As a result everyone in Europe pays higher prices for produce and other farm goods.

Tariffs raise costs and restrain trade. Problems do not stop with agriculture and restaurants.

Inane work rules also designed to "preserve the French way of life" have put France and Germany are on a collision course over numerous issues including heated exchanges regarding productivity and trade with China.

For Further Reading


Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com 

Weekly Address: Time to Pass Commonsense Immigration Reform

Here's What's Happening Here at the White House
 
 
 
 
 
 
  Featured 

Weekly Address: Time to Pass Commonsense Immigration Reform

In this week’s address, President Obama says that the United States Senate will soon take action to fix our broken immigration system with a commonsense bill, and urges lawmakers to act quickly to pass this bill so that we can continue to live up to our traditions as a nation of laws, and also a nation of immigrants.

Watch this week's Weekly Address.

Watch this week's Weekly Address

 
 
  Top Stories

Brazil: Last Friday, the Vice President and Dr. Biden made the final stop in their three-country trip in Brazil. While in Rio de Janeiro, Vice President Biden delivered a speech about the strong ties between the United States and Brazil.

“The United States and Brazil represent two of the largest, most innovative, dynamic economies in the world today. It is true both of us can continue to prosper whether or not we deepen our economic relations. But imagine, just imagine what these two dynamic economies could do with greater trade and investment for our people, for the hemisphere, for the world.”

#DontDoubleMyRate: Students gathered in the Rose Garden last Friday to hear President Obama echo his sentiment from last year and call on Congress to prevent federal student loan rates from doubling on July 1. President Obama asked the young people to speak out in favor of action on college affordability, as they did last summer.

"You made something bipartisan happen in this town that is -- that's a powerful thing. You guys were able to get Democrats and Republicans to vote for something that was important. So this year, if it looks like your representatives have changed their minds, you're going to have to call them up again or email them again or Tweet them again and ask them what happened, what changed?"

Mental Health Conference: Health care experts, psychologists, faith leaders, advocates for veterans, and administration officials joined President Obama at the White House on Monday for the National Conference on Mental Health.

The conference was just one part of the Obama Administration’s effort to combat this problem and focused on ways we can reduce the stigma and help the millions of Americans struggling with mental health problems recognize the importance of reaching out for assistance.

President Obama said:

“Too many Americans who struggle with mental health illnesses are still suffering in silence rather than seeking help, and we need to see it that men and women who would never hesitate to go see a doctor if they had a broken arm or came down with the flu, that they have that same attitude when it comes to their mental health.”

Meeting with the President of Chile: President Piñera of Chile met with President Obama on Tuesday for a bilateral meeting. The two leaders affirmed their commitment to economic growth, job creation, transparency, human rights, and the rule of law.

“Chile has been on a remarkable growth trajectory over several decades, and the progress that it’s made in terms of strengthening its economy, pulling people out of poverty, establishing a strong manufacturing and industrial and service base, its strong exports sector are all proof of the talents of the Chilean people but also Chile’s embrace of democracy and human rights and a market economy. And as a consequence, Chile has become not only a leader in the hemisphere but also a leader in the world.”

Ravens Visit the White House: On Wednesday, President Obama congratulated the 2013 Super Bowl Champion Baltimore Ravens at the White House. The President spoke of the struggles the team faced throughout the season and how they recovered and brought the Lombardi Trophy back to Baltimore. He also praised the team’s commitment to giving back to their city.

“This year, Baltimore won’t just be seeing the Ravens on Sundays or Monday night or Thursday night…You’ll see players spending their Tuesdays – normally their only day off during the season – visiting hospitals and senior centers, and day after day, you’ll see a team that loves Baltimore as much as Baltimore loves the Ravens.”

During their visit, the Ravens also shared some of their favorite ways to stay healthy with Let’s Move!

National Security Team: On Wednesday, President Obama announced the departure of Tom Donilon, former National Security Advisor, and appointed Ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice as his replacement. To replace Ambassador Rice in New York, the President nominated Samantha Power. 

ConnectEd: The President boarded Air Force One on Thursday and flew to North Carolina where he visited Mooresville Middle School. After touring the school, the President announced ConnectEd, a new initiative that will connect 99% of America’s students to high-speed internet within 5 years.

Following his announcement, the White House invited students from schools in Wisconsin, South Carolina, and Pennsylvania to join the National “Show and Tell” Google+ Hangout. Students and administrators from these schools demonstrated how they are using the internet and technology in their classrooms.

 

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Seth's Blog : America's Favorite Mushroom

 

America's Favorite Mushroom

That's what it said on the side of the semi roaring down the highway.

Does America even have a favorite mushroom? As in, "no, I don't want those mushrooms on my pizza... they're not my favorite brand."

Empty slogans, carefully constructed brags, assertions that don't matter—this is not effective marketing.

MidamericaThere's no question that people respond to safety and mass acceptance. The #1 seller often stays number one merely because it's already number one. But no, you don't need to add emotion when there is none, because to do so, you often have to sacrifice trust.

     

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