WEDNESDAY, February 11th, #832
DAVOS!
Good friend Pierre Arbour had just returned from the rarified atmosphere of the Alps and the Conference and will lead the discussion of this event which he tells us was even more interesting than he had expected. Pierre Arbour is the author of "Quebec Inc" and the Temptation of State Capitalism
List: $18.99 Amazon.com
Dr. Hans Black of Interinvest was with us who gave his views of the same Conference. We understand The cost to be at Davos is $35,000 so we got a lot for our one bottle!
David and Diana Nicholson
Wednesday, February 11 was a very special evening for aficionados of Wednesday
evenings at the Nicholsons. This, the eight hundred and thirty-second
consecutive salon represents sixteen years of this exciting event without
pausing for vacation, illness or statutory holidays. The content of this
particular evening was worthy of the event. Guests were representative of
the best of academic, banking, financial, political and intellectual circles,
as well as those representing the vast faceless majority of Canadians.
Although relatively few topics were discussed, the quality of presentations
held the interest of the assembled guests until the very last minute.
The Upcoming Supreme Court Consideration of the Terms of the Separation of
Québec:
There has been a paradigm shift not only in Canada, but Yugoslavia,
Czechoslovakia and India. This shift has been a long time in developing and
has not yet been understood or accepted, but strong evidence indicates its
presence. Canada was founded on the military or church model. During the
nineteenth century, Canadians accepted and respected authority. Over the
years, people have increasingly shown their distrust of their politicians and
are prepared to take more responsibility into their own hands.
Although it seems only reasonable that the Supreme Court be asked to
define the terms of separation without commenting on the notion of separation
itself, the debate rages over whether the act of separation represents a legal
or political issue. There is some evidence that the court itself feels
somewhat uncomfortable at having been placed in this position. Québécois
believe that the decision rests with the people, and whatever politicians say
or do doesn't really matter.
Some guests believe that Claude Ryan and Daniel Johnson, although
possibly right in their conclusion that this issue is a political one, would
have done better to say in effect, "The supreme court should judge, taking
into account the political aspirations of Québec and issue a moral judgment."
It was felt by some that some opposition members of parliament are
playing politics with the issue, courting Québec support at the expense of
votes in other provinces.
The Recent World Economic Forum at Davos, Switzerland:
This very special forum had been attended by two of the guests
present. Both described the experience as fascinating, stimulating and
intellectually challenging. Information was received directly from the news
makers without being filtered by the press. Speakers included Hillary
Clinton, Helmut Kohl and Newt Gingrich.
Hillary Clinton spoke about the changes in the political process in
the world today. In addition to politicians, the voice of the population is
expressed between elections by N.G.O.'s, voluntary associations, churches and
religious groups, as well as other citizens' coalitions. People want to be
masters of their own destiny. The structural society is slowly coming to an end.
The Economy:
The long term Asian problem has been solved.
France and Germany are currently suffering from a high unemployment
rate because of their insistance on moving to a common currency. The United
Kingdom has escaped this trap by withdrawing. In the United States, consumer
debt is extremely high. There is a problem of overproduction. The three
percent predicted increase in Gross Domestic Product is overly optimistic.
Two to two and a half percent would probably be more realistic.
by Herbert Bercovitz
We Talked about
- What Hillary Clinton told the Davos audience Summary: DAVOS, Switzerland DAVOS, Switzerland -- THERE was a predictable buzz in the congress hall last Monday as we waited for Hillary Rodham Clinton to address the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos. Clinton
launched into a brilliantly crafted and passionate speech -- without visible notes or
prompters -- that shamed the efforts of most politicians and CEOs who shared that stage in... a ple for the United States to become a more just society. She took aim at consumer culture, propaganda and news media that stress "short-term gratification." [the rest of the story is worthless!]
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Montreal largely back on line, but think of all those VCRs going
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