So Many More Interesting Stories

I have to admit that it is becoming much more difficult. I had a whole bunch of older stories that I wanted to publish so that you could know about my thoughts on them but, unfortunately, I have seen so many new stories these days that I will be writing about them first. 

What this means is that I will publish some of those older stories eventually but I just have to write about the ones that I'm seeing these days. Let me start right now: 

WHAT A STORM 

I must admit that I have not taken a look at a lot of stories about the big storm that we had on Wednesday.  I did not have to do so. Frankly, its intensity stunned me and gave me a great deal of concern. I do believe that it is one of the biggest storms I have ever lived through. While technically it may not have been a "hurricane," nevertheless it was extremely powerful and created a great deal of danger. 

The wind was just so strong and over such a long period of time. The sound of the storm was incredible also. I just could not believe it. 

I was lucky. While in the house, I noticed flickering of our own lights several times. On a couple of locations, the lights went off completely but turned on again a fraction of a second later. In speaking with my daughter, she told me that, at her place in the City of Windsor, she had lost electrical power for several hours. 

Thank goodness, everything seemed to quiet down in my area around 7 PM. Fortunately, it did not seem that anything had gone seriously wrong in my area so I was grateful for that! 

A LOST MARILYN MONROE STORY 

For whatever reason, I did not see this New York Times story published in January until very recently. I have to admit that I do not understand why I did not see it before. Oh well, better late than never. 

Take a look at this: 

"That film image of Ms. Monroe’s skirt rising high in a gust of air? It’s a reshoot of a discarded and more risqué scene seldom seen until now.by Helene Stapinski, January 13, 2017, New York Times…

Though it was around 1 a.m., a large crowd had already gathered, mostly newspaper photographers and curious men waiting to see Marilyn. The movie studio and the director, Billy Wilder, had counted on this, inviting the press and the public to drum up buzz for the new movie, which starred Ms. Monroe as “the Girl Upstairs,” who entices a middle-aged executive, played by Tom Ewell, while his wife is away with the kids for the summer."  

The movie that they are talking about is "The Seven Year Itch."   

I would suggest that you might want to take a look at the news story to see what some the consequences of this movie were for Ms. Monroe. Just take a look at what was posted on the Times story. 

A PARKING GARAGE STORY 

I have to admit that I just don't understand all the ruckus about the City of Windsor garage building downtown. Why so many people talk about it, and on a very tough scale it seems to me, surprises me. 

The issue arose because some people wanted to buy the garage from the City. I must admit that I did not really understand why they should want to "buy it." Why not just "rent it" from the City.  I would not think that there could be a lot of disagreement on a rental because the City would still own it and could use it in the manner it wished in the future. 

Here is what the Windsor Mayor had to say: 

"Just because someone comes forward and says I want to buy your parking garage doesn't mean it’s for sale,” Dilkens said. 

Council will instead move forward with a plan to remove eight ground floor retail sites and install 42 parking spaces.

The mayor calls both parking garages strategic assets the city isn’t willing to part with." (Rich Garton, CTV Windsor, March 6,2017)   

But of course, dear reader, that has to be a lot more going on than what we are reading. Again, here is a lesson that you must learn about reading a newspaper article. Go right to the end of it to find out what is really happening. Here's what the Mayor also said that I found fascinating. The offer really may not have had anything to do with the parking garage if he is right: 

“They played this case out in the media, it's all an optics exercise, and I'm sure 2018 election is next year and this was a big part of their campaign for the election,” he said. He went on to say it’s “fine, they're entitled to do that, but I don't have to play that game." 

Oh, the election in Windsor is going to be so much fun next year. 

WHAT WILL HAPPEN HERE MEDICALLY 

I just hope that we, as patients, do not lose our medical people at all considering all of the difficulties that they have with the Province of Ontario. I just saw this story which frankly is quite scary:

"Ontario Physicians consider job action

Paul Tipple, AM900 CHML, Hamilton News, March 09, 2017 

There is growing frustration with many of Ontario doctors and the ongoing stalemate with the province. 

The doctors have not had a new fee agreement for four years and have been waiting since last summer for talks to resume. 

The members of the OMA have said they will not go back to the bargaining table until the province grants them binding arbitration like every other profession deemed to be an essential service.  The Premier and the Health Minister have indicated they may be willing to consider binding arbitration, but that hasn’t happened yet. 

Dr. Kulvinder Gil, the President of Concerned Ontario Doctors, says the frustration has reached the point that many doctors are considering job action." 

I must admit that I just do not understand why an agreement cannot be reached. Surely, it cannot take 4 years for something like this to be resolved. Just imagine if the doctors and the Government start being extremely aggressive with each other. Unfortunately, the real people at risk are people like you and me, dear reader. After all, we will be the sick people who will be used by both sides in their continuing labour disputes. 

IS WINDSOR DOING WELL NOW ECONOMICALLY 

Of course it is, right! Just look at how well we are doing in the automobile industry and how well that it will just shoot up in growth. Surely, we will see a continuing major reduction in unemployment. 

Unfortunately, that may not be true at all. Take a look at this:

"There’s some areas that we’re below and some areas that we’re above,” he [Windsor-Essex Regional Chamber of Commerce CEO Matt Marchand] says, pointing out the auto sector remains the biggest contributor to economic performance. “The auto sector has had a nice rebound but are we at the peak, or are we going to continue the growth? Probably not.”

He says there’s a lot of uncertainty for the auto sector too; unanswered questions about what renegotiating the North American Free Trade Deal and a possible border adjustment tax will mean." (AdelleLoiselle, BlackburnNews,March 8, 2017) 

What it could mean is that over time the automobile business in Canada could well decline. Perhaps not in the short term but could it get worse later on? 

Here is what bothers me about the industry. Have you seen a story like this before: 

"Fiat Chrysler's chief executive Sergio Marchionne remains interested in seeking a merger with General Motors, saying on Tuesday that such a deal was still attractive after GM's sale of its European operations to PSA Group. 

Marchionne has long advocated more tie-ups in the industry to share the prohibitive costs of making cleaner and more technologically advanced vehicles, but GM has firmly rebuffed his previous advances. 

"I never close any doors. I may shamelessly try and knock again ... on the GM door or any door if I thought it was a good thing for the business. Absolutely, without even blinking," Marchionne told reporters at the Geneva car show. 

"The desirability of GM as a potential merger candidate remains untouched." (Reuters March 07, 2017) 

Does it mean that the industry may still have significant problems?  Is Mr. Marchionne trying hard to eliminate them from his Company by merging with a significant company like GM so that he can have some significant and praiseworthy credit when he leaves the company for which he is working now in a few years.