The great hunt: for prosperity and terrorists!

You've got to feel a little bit sorry for our "leaders" and "experts". It has to be awfully stressful for them to continue passing bullshit as truth when the facts continue to fly in the face of their predictions, assertions, and forecasts. For instance, did you know?

Rising retirement age can be good for your finances

Especially for my generation right? And the one following mine? Let's rename this: "Rising baby boomer retirement age can be good for baby boomer finances". There, that's better, isn't it? I believe strongly in that headlines should accurately describe what they are trying to say. Of course many baby boomer's are so attached to the current system that they are probably reading this and saying "honey! honey! if I work longer I'll earn more money! If I work to 65 I qualify for my full OAS with no penalties!", etc. Of course, for my generation that number is 67 (it doesn't matter when it actually takes effect as a person can't change when they are either 65 or 67, the future "effective date" is simply a means to hold off backlash and revolt so that it appears "in the future". For me, it is "effective" today).

And hey, remember those "rate hikes" which are just waiting for an "improving economy"? Well those are still on the table apparently. Naturally (as we just finished reading regarding rising retirement ages and "good finances") our economy is doing great, or at least this is what we keep telling ourselves: "Relatively to the other developed nations Canada's economy is strong.. blah blah blah", how many times have we heard this line? No kidding! Resource-rich, sparsely populated Canada is doing "relatively better" than the "developed nations". Of course with the diversity of ecosystems in Canada we should be doing a lot better than "relatively better" (relatively better isn't analogous with "good", it just means we are not - yet - a complete basket case) but our dependence on the global scam-onomy and these "developed nations" that are riddled in debt continues to hold us back. So now, our economic prosperity and central banker announcements relies on these "economies" of which we are "relatively better".

An improvement in the U.S. economy this year would be a boon for Canada — and that could push the central bank to raise interest rates before the end of the year.

How's that going for them?
US consumer debt rises on more car, school loans
U.S. imports point to soft fourth-quarter growth but firmer spending

"Firmer spending", "consumer debt is rising", is it any wonder they call it "stimulation"? Of course none of this translates to real growth anymore, just more bubbles and more debt yet to implode at a future date.

Macklem Says Fading Growth to Accelerate Later This Year

It's the same old shit, based on forecasts which have failed time and time again year after year ever since the "great recession" began. Take note at the differences between what they see coming, and my own forecasts for this year. I do believe there will be a growth acceleration this year but it will only last a few months and then will reverse itself.

I do see trends setting the stage for a strong accelerated growth in protests this year though, already we've seen pretty significant events. Growing protests are going to have ever increasing economic repercussions and you can bet few public forecasts include these effects honestly:

Idle No More protesters set to step up pressure today
Porter strike won't affect flights, company says
Teacher protest: All GTA schools will be open after walkout ruled illegal

By the time 2013 comes to a close, we're going to be dizzy with the number of protests and issues brought to the table. This should really be quite an enlightening year.

War and Terror

The drums of war are beating like crazy:

France Promises Its Military Will Deliver 'A Fatal Blow' To Terrorists In Mali
Japanese PM criticises China's response to protests over islands dispute

However, it's hard to hear them over the echoes of war propaganda. It's a fitting compliment to our Orwellian-styled society that instead of war tribunals and justice we instead get a Hollywood movie depicting the Government's narrated story about the events. It fits the Hollywood-style script the whole Bin Laden death scenario followed. By the way, if you didn't know, in the end the Bin Laden sinks:

---

Click here to recommend this post on progressivebloggers.ca and help other people find this information.

Richard Fantin is a self-taught software developer who has mostly throughout his career focused on financial applications and high frequency trading. He currently works for CenturyLink

Nazayh Zanidean is a Project Coordinator for a mid-sized construction contractor in Calgary, Alberta. He enjoys writing as a hobby on topics that include foreign policy, international human rights, security and systemic media bias.