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Can We Afford Liberalism Now? Paul Johnson 10.29.08, 6:00 PM ET Forbes Magazine dated November 17, 2008 The financial crisis, detonated by greed and recklessness on Wall Street and in the City of London, is for the West a deep, self-inflicted wound. The beneficiary won't be Russia, which, with its fragile, energy-based economy, is likely to suffer more than we shall; it will be India and China. They will move into any power vacuum left by the collapse of Western self-confidence. If we seriously wish to repair the damage, we need to accept that this is fundamentally a moral crisis, not a financial one. It is the product of the self-indulgence and complacency born of our ultraliberal societies, which have substituted such pseudo-religions as political correctness and saving the planet for genuine distinctions between right and wrong and the cultivation of real virtues. India and China are progress-loving yet morally old-fashioned societies. They cannot afford liberalism. Their vast populations have only recently begun to emerge from subsistence living. Their strength is in the close, hard-working family unit in which parents train their children to work diligently at school and go to university when possible so they can acquire real and useful qualifications to then go out into the world as professional men and women determined to reach the top. I am impressed at the rapid headway Indians (benefiting from their knowledge of spoken and written English) are making in all the advanced sectors of the global employment market--science, technology, medicine, communications, the law, engineering and mining. They are ousting Westerners from top jobs, and rightly so. They are better qualified, more highly motivated and more reliable and honest. They have the old-style work ethic that we, in many cases, have lost. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was sneered at for stressing the Victorian virtues of industry and thrift. But she was right. These emergent Asian professionals have precisely those virtues, which is why they're moving forward and will eventually conquer the world--not by force but by hard work, intelligence and skill. Equally impressive is the sheer physical power of the Chinese workforce. Anyone who goes to Beijing or Shanghai can't help but notice the astonishing speed at which buildings are rising. There is nothing new in this. It was once the West that taught the world how to change its skylines through fast and furious efforts. One of the first examples was the Eiffel Tower, designed by engineering genius Gustave Eiffel (who also created the Statue of Liberty's internal structure). It was the centerpiece of the Paris Exposition of 1889. Using the principles of prefabrication, the 150 to 300 workers on the site put it up in only 26 months. Another example is the Empire State Building, which officially opened on May 1, 1931. Masterpiece of the firm of Shreve, Lamb & Harmon, the Empire State Building was completed in only one year and 45 days, a testament to business efficiency and the determination of the dedicated workforce. We couldn't match those time frames today, despite the advances in technology, because the advances have been outstripped by an even more rapid growth in complex and idiotic planning procedures, bureaucracy, myopic trade unionism and restrictive legislation. Wake-Up Call In London today, for example, residents are infuriated and visitors horrified by the way in which the main sewer and water lines are being replaced over much of the city. The work is agonizingly slow. Contractors claim they are paralyzed by the laws (especially so-called health and safety regulations) that now govern work practices. Depending on the type of activity, these regulations can lower productivity by 15% to 25%. They don't save lives or prevent injuries; they provide lucrative jobs for bureaucrats and fit in well with the ideas of union officials on how things should be run. They are a typical by-product of a liberal society. In an earlier age New York City would have defied the terrorists who brought down the World Trade Center by speedily rebuilding what they destroyed. What's happened instead is a sad and revealing story. In August China pulled off a propaganda triumph with its staging of the Summer Olympic Games, which involved huge construction projects--all completed on time. London is currently preparing for the 2012 games. All indications, so far, are that this is going to be an embarrassing and hugely expensive fiasco. I don't know whether this year's financial catastrophe will shock the politicians and people of the West into a new seriousness. There's certainly no sign of it yet. I had to laugh when a Chinese visitor recently said to me: "I see you're going back to the windmill in Britain. We Chinese cannot afford that." That comment puts things in a nutshell: We are traveling along the high road to incompetence and poverty, led by a farcical coalition of fashionably liberal academics on the make, assorted eco-crackpots and media wiseacres. This strain of liberalism is highly infectious. The Indians and Chinese have yet to be infected. They're still healthy, hard at work and going places, full speed ahead. Paul Johnson, eminent British historian and author; Lee Kuan Yew, minister mentor of Singapore; Ernesto Zedillo, director, Yale Center for the Study of Globalization, former president of Mexico; and David Malpass, chief economist for Bear Stearns Co., Inc., rotate in writing this column. To see past Current Events columns, visit our Web site at http://www.forbes.com/currentevents.

General Motors - Siège social à vendre? Le Devoir Édition du mercredi 08 octobre 2008 Mots clés : Siège social, Renaissance Center, General motors, Automobile, Économie, États-Unis (pays) Photo: Agence France-Presse General motors pourrait vendre le Renaissance Center, son siège social du centre-ville de Detroit, tout en y demeurant à titre de locataire, si elle ne réussit pas à le refinancer, écrivait le Detroit News hier. Selon le journal, qui cite le directeur général du service de l'immobilier au sein de GM, John Blanchard, le constructeur automobile cherche à emprunter environ 500 millions $US d'un ou de deux régimes de pensions de Detroit pour refinancer son siège social. L'opération permettrait d'injecter des liquidités dans la compagnie aux prises avec d'importantes difficultés financières. M. Blanchard a déclaré au Detroit News qu'en cas d'impossibilité de conclure une ou des ententes à cet effet, le RenCen pourrait faire l'objet d'une transaction de vente-location. GM avait acheté le RenCen -- un complexe de sept tours communicantes qui comprennent un cinéma, plusieurs restaurants et un hôtel -- en 1996, pour 75 millions $US. La compagnie avait par la suite emprunté 500 millions $US pour le restaurer et l'avait loué, pour finalement en redevenir propriétaire à 100 % en contrepartie d'une somme de 626 millions $US. General Motors tente actuellement d'amasser cinq milliards $US en vendant certains actifs et en réalisant des emprunts afin de survivre dans le pire contexte de marché en 15 ans. Le segment des camions Hummer, plusieurs immeubles et usines de montage sont déjà sur la liste des actifs mis en vente. http://www.ledevoir.com/2008/10/08/209656.html (8/10/2008 8H40)

Bye bye les Sonics Seattle Supersonics Les fans des Sonics sont déçus (Reuters) Après 40 ans d’existence, les Sonics de Seattle disparaissent. Kevin Durant et ses partenaires déménagent à Oklahoma City dès cet été. par Guillaume Loisy, le 03-07-2008 Business is business La Key Arena va sonner bien creux cet hiver. Le parquet de la mythique salle de Seattle, construite en 1962 pour l’exposition universelle, vibrera toujours au son du ballon et des «sneakers» du Storm de Seattle (l’équipe WNBA) jusqu’à l’automne, mais les Sonics ne prendront pas le relais. Tel en ont décidé les propriétaires de la franchise et la ville de Seattle mercredi. «Business is business», vous diront les protagonistes de l’affaire. Les pontes des Sonics avec un sourire au coin de la bouche et des dollars dans les yeux, le maire de la ville avec un air de dépit. Car c’est bien pour une question de gros sous que les fans de Seattle sont aujourd’hui orphelins de leur équipe. Cette dernière ne rapportait plus assez d’argent pour Clay Bennett, le patron du Oklahoma City-based Professional Basketball Club, propriétaire des Sonics. Jackpot pour Oklahoma City Depuis sa prise de pouvoir en 2006, le dessein de Bennett était clair : construire à Seattle une nouvelle salle plus moderne selon le modèle d’un Staples Center (Los Angeles) ou d’un AT&T Center (San Antonio), ou déménager la franchise à Oklahoma City. Face à l’incapacité de la ville à financer en partie le projet d’un nouveau building, les propriétaires ont opté pour la seconde option. Contraints de jouer au Ford Center d’Oklahoma City après le passage de l’ouragan Katrina à la Nouvelle Orléans il y a trois ans, les Hornets y avaient rencontré un franc-succès et le bruit de la cash-machine avait alors résonné plus d’une fois dans la tête de Bennett, régulièrement présent lors de ces rencontres. Inutile de dire que prolonger l’aventure Sonics à Seattle n’était pas vraiment sa priorité… De beaux souvenirs Le boss de la franchise devra tout de même verser 45 millions de dollars de dédommagements à la ville qui conserve les droits du nom et des couleurs de l’équipe. Un atout selon David Stern, le commissionnaire de la Ligue, pour qui Seattle reste «une ville de premier plan pour accueillir une autre équipe de NBA.» Pas de quoi rassurer les fans des Sonics qui attendront sans doute longtemps avant de vibrer à nouveau. Kevin Durant et Mickaël Gelebale, eux, doivent rapidement se trouver une maison sur les bords de la mythique Route 66. De ces 40 ans de basket dans Rain City resteront tout de même de beaux souvenirs. Le titre de 1979 face à Washington, le All Star Game 1974 ou encore la formidable saison 1995-96 et la défaite de Shawn Kemp et Gary Payton face aux Bulls de Michael Jordan en finale. C’est sûr, on repensera avec beaucoup plus de nostalgie aux Seattle Supersonics qu’aux Vancouver Grizzlies ou aux Charlotte Hornets, autres victimes de la business rule NBA il y a quelques années. http://www.sport24.com/basket-nba/nba/actualites/bye-bye-les-sonics-168883/

Voici ma vision pour le secteur du bord de l'eau. The situation is simple. We have a high-density area surrounding a transit hub, a good example of transit oriented development... but it is locked in by highways. Furthermore, the "Old Longueuil" area, the real cultural, historical and recreational area of Longueuil is blocked off from this downtown area as a result. Finally, the waterfront is also isolated by autoroute 20. This isn't just some random waterfront either.. this is PRIME space. Just across from Sainte-Helene island and Montreal. There's a reason throngs of people come here to watch the fireworks in the summer! The view is exceptional! Solution : Mettre l'autoroute 20 sous terre ainsi qu'une portion du boulevard Taschereau et réunir le bord de l'eau avec Place Charles-Lemoyne (le "centre ville" de Longueuil) et le secteur du Vieux-Longueuil historique (l'autre "centre ville", et selon moi, le vrai) - Faire de cette région un vrai pole économique, culturel, récréotouristique, etc. Optimistic? Ambitious? Naive? Perhaps... i know this project would be hilariously expensive, but damn, imagine the cohesive and dynamic, livable and exciting Longueuil city center that would emerge! Please give me your feedback... i'm very interseted in hearing what you have to say! Merci beaucoup tout le monde! (Metro Charland named after the Montreal South mayor - Montreal South being the small town originally located on that land, eventually merged into Longueuil. Boul Isidore Hurteau named after the first mayor of Longueuil) AVANT APRES

Le prix de l'essence a eu une influence sur les habitudes de consommation des Américains. C'est ce qu'indique une étude menée par le Consumer Reports National Research Center. Pour en lire plus...

Construction: 2006 (Delayed, started in 2007) Completion: 2007 The actual billboard for the project has "Le Keg Steakhouse", guess they backed out or was just a rendition. Looks like a great complexe, its weird I move out of the West Island and they start building this thing

WARNING: VERY LARGE PICTURES AHEAD also see my Montréal from 75m up + pano thread. I met a friend of a friend who's a security supervisor in the tallest building in Montréal. He heard about my photography so he agreed on bringing me to the roof of 1000 rue de la Gauchètiere. I was so excited that I did not wait, I called him the next day ( i did not want him to forget about it) and showed up. It wasn't a sunny day and i only had a super wide zoom ( i regretted that later because a zoom is much need up there ). It was not easy to take the pictures because its not easy to access the roof all around. So not all the angles are covered... sigh... I couldn't get the northern side where we see the center of the CBD and the mountain. Did i tell you how excited I was? Once back down on earth i realized i had shoot everything in the medium format... i wanted RAW I also decided to include very high res pictures in this thread so you guys can see all the details. The good news is that I will be back there with super zoom on a sunny day to get more more more Anyhow, here goes: it starts here: A view to the west and 1250 René-Lévesque: At the bottom, the Bell Center, and coming right into the heart of the city the Ville Marie 720 highway. Don't look down (no barrier whatsoever): A northwestern view, with the Mountain, the St-Joseph Oratory and for the first time some stuff from the other side of the mountain. Condos condos condos... and St-Henri in the background: The St-Lawrence river in the background with nun's island condos: west cluster: Looks like simcity :koko: Top: Champlain bridge, busiest bridge in Canada I think. Middle: heart of industrial Canada in the 19th century with the Lachine Canal. Bottom: Old industrial buildings being converted into... condos With the Engineering school on the right. Mini pano with the Victoria bridge and the St-Lawrence seaway. Mini pano with the Casino (white and gold buildings) and Habitat 67: Mini pano with St-Helene island, the southshore and the Tour de la Bourse in the foreground. Mini pano with the Jacques-Cartier bridge (with LaRonde amusement park), the old port in the foreground and very further the "new" port, the Longueuil talls are in the middle on the other side of the bridge. Mini pano with the River going as far as the eye can see and the eastern part of Montréal: La tour de la Bourse with parts of Old Montréal: The international quarter, notice the roof-park on the very bottom of the picture: Mini pano, blurry because the camera was held at arms' lenght, we see part of the mountain, place ville marie ... that would be the best angle in my opinion if there was some kind of access... but there's none giving to that part of the city: A last closeup of Old Montréal: Finally the two giant panos. The view to the west: To the east: