(Through Rose-Coloured Glasses)

Once upon a time, all species of the Animal Kingdom, gathered every year in a sport meet. They called it the Games. Amateur athletes got together, to compete in all kinds of sport, for fun and friendship. Winners were awarded with medals to commemorate their best effort, well done.

One year, some animals got smart, and started training their athletes all year round, and swept up all the medals. After that, all athletes turned professional. They built their dreams on winning gold. They pushed their physical ability to their limits and perfected their athletic skills. They sacrificed, trained and endured to fulfill their dreams. They broke kingdom records, after records.

They proclaimed the Games spirit,

“The most important thing in the Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well.”

They enjoyed their time together, and looked forward to see each other and the competitions, year after year.

The Games spirit evolved into the national pride and patriotism of all animals of the kingdom. Every year they cheered their teams on, proud and elated in their acheivements, to be part of the Games.

Eventually, all athletes’ physical and skill limits were reached. How were they to break more kingdom records and win medals? To attain new breakthrough, they turned to scientific reserches, to technology advances in designing new sport equipments and facilities, to extend their performances and skills, and break more records. But the unscrupulous ones, turned to cheating, using illegal drugs, steroids, hormones and such to win, at all costs. They also considered to make use of advances in medical science like gene therapy/genetic-manupilation, simply to enhance performances, to win medals.

In the future, will surrogate robotic doubles start appearing in the Games?

Competitions of the Games no longer confined only to the sport events. The opening and closing ceremonies staged by the hosts were getting more and more elaborate and spectacular, they out-did each other, year after year. The events also became photo-ops for politicians.

That’s the end of the Aesop Fable.

Then it happened. The accidental death of an Olympic luger. No matter what its cause is, we know we all are pushing too hard, in the quest of gold. This should be a lightening rod on our head, a warning signal that was long overdued and too late in coming.

We should get back to the root, to the Olympic spirit, winning is not everything. As our past gold medalist Nancy Greene Raine said today in her Toronto Star article, “Ignite a Dream, Create a Winner” :

When the Games are over and we ask “Did we win?”, we shouldn’t measure it simply by the number of medals our athletes take home.

We should ask, “Have we inspired participation in active and healthy lifestyles in people all across Canada? Did we change the way Canadians value excellence in sport? Are more kids interested in pursuing excellence? Did those medals ignite kids to get involved?”

(Through Rose-Coloured Glasses)

You have no choice. You need to come out of your retirement and start working. Every month, you fear to open the envelopes and are reluctant to look at your bank and financial statements. Their values keep going south. You have no choice, you have to come out of your retirement.

You have to start over again.

You look through all the self help retirement guides and articles, but nothing has been specifically written to prepare you for such a sorry state: What to do when forced out of retirement.

You ended up writing your own guideline.

1. Throw away all your pamphlets on vactions, tours and cruises and put your world travel on hold.

2. Say good-bye to all your gym and Tai Chi buddies, and your McDonald morning coffee friends.

3. Decide how much you are short and really need to survive, then decide what type of job: full-time or part-time.

4. Are you going back to your area of expertise or want to explore new career?

5. Re-establish your networking, talk to your friends and old colleagues, hairstylist, barber, shop-keepers, neighbours or anyone who listen.

6. Learn new tools, use the Internet, cell phone, get a Facebook account, gmail address, twitter account.

7. Dye your hair and put on a happy face.

8. Look at those young job-seekers straight in the eyes, yes, your competitors, and don’t feel guilty. We will all survive.

9. Start pouncing the pavement.

10. If nothing works, go back to school. It is never too old to learn new tricks.

(Through Rose-Coloured Glasses)

Prime Minister Stephen Harper makes an address to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in Victoria on Thursday.

How embarrassing, our PM in exile? he can’t even speak from his own parliament in Ottawa any more, and have to travel across the country to speak in the BC parliament instead. He was forced to shutter parliament and got into exile because of rouge parliamentarians.

Mr. Ignatieff and Mr. Layton, please stop harrassing our PM. He is just doing his job.

His speech to the legislature is a “first,” Mr Harper pointed out, saying “no Prime Minister has ever formally addressed this great assembly” since B.C. joined Confederation in 1871.

That’s right. There is nothing to worry about. It happens all the time, government-in-exile, and have to govern from a foreign country; but speaking from the legislature of a friendly province, to communicate with all Canadians, it actually is a “first”.

It reminds me of some of our ancient Chinese emperors throughout Chinese history, in fencing off the attacks and invasions of barbarians, were forced into exile and had to govern in a different part of China, hoping one day would return to reclaim the thrones.

It also reminds me of that time, I forgot my house key and was locked out of my own home. I had to knock on my neighbour’s door, to ask them to let me use their phone to communicate with my office. It was quite ambarrassing. Our PM must felt the same way in BC.

I am calling on all Canadians, to invite our PM into our houses, one day for each family, and let him communicate with the whole country and the world, using our phone, computer, Blackberry and what not, then I am sure he can function without parliament for a long while and doesn’t have to go the perogation route ever again.

(Through Rose-Coloured Glasses)

Mr. Toyoda, please take note.

You must have heard about the crises of Tylenol cyanide poisoning in 1982 and the Exxon oil spilt in 1989, History has already judged them, how good or bad they were managed. Today let us revisit a crisis that happened only over a year ago, here in Canada, the Maple Leaf Foods Listeriosis contamination.

More than 20 deaths and dozens of listeriosis cases were linked to meat produced at a Toronto Maple Leaf Food plant in 2008. Maple Leaf Foods immediately shut down the plant in question and recalled approximately 20 types of meat involved. As investigators uncovered more information, the company took precautionary measures and widened its recall to include 200 additional products.

The company also posted prominently on its website detailed information of all involved products that should be avoided.

The site also was updated constantly with press releases and the public were encouraged to check back frequently to find out what the company was doing to win back customers’ confidence.

A full page letter from CEO Michael McCain quickly appeared in the major Canadian newspapers.

The company also ran ads on TV with all the Canadian channels and on YouTube, featuring a sombre CEO, apologizing to all Canadians and promised to clean up the contamination as fast as they can. The company launched an aggressive ads campaign on steps taken (e.g. new installed equipments, procedures and manpower) to prevent similar problems in the future.

The company then spent the past year working to restore its brand reputation.

The company reached a $27-million settlement with plaintiffs across Canada in February 2009, 6 months after the crisis.

The company also instituted new procedures and testing at its plants, and has largely recovered from the damage of the recall, posting a profit in the third quarter of 2009, and making gains in its prepared meats division just one year after the outbreak.

So what can Toyota learn from this example of crisis management?

First and foremost, Mr. Toyoda, you should be the designated spokeman of the company and get in front of the media at all time, to tell your side of the story and progress made.

You should publicly and sincerely apologize through TV and YouTube. No more damaging comments like ‘everyone can make mistakes’.

Move quickly and proactively in all recalls, as soon as legitimate complaints are registered. Thorough investigations should be done simutaneously, but not as an excuse to delay action. This will demonstrate to customers that Toyota does really care about people’s safety.

Identify and fix the problems quickly and efficently. Although that little gadget may really solve the whole accelerator problem, why not change the whole pedal too; such gesture may make people feel safer that more have been done.

Absorb all the costs of loss and settle the court cases quickly. Its your company’s reputation at stake here, cannot nickel and dime now, nor can you let the court cases drag on for long time. With the reputation ruined, you will lose your money making machine anyway.

Be open, inform the public of your every move and progress made, to build back consumers’ confidence, a step at a time.

Good luck.

(Through Rose-Coloured Glasses)

You heard this during every flight of your air travel.

“Good Morning Ladies and Gentlemen. Welcome aboard Flt 890 with non-stop service, to Your City. In order for the captain to pull away from the gate area, all isles and exit rows must be cleared, at this time you should be comfortable seated, with your seatbelt securely fastened, if you are traveling with any hand luggage please make sure they are securely stowed under the seat or the overhead bin. Your seat back should be in the upright positions, at this time all electronic devices, must be shut off and put away, that includes, cell phone, pagers, video games, iPods, video recorders, laptop computers, and headsets.”

And this during every theatre performance.

“Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to tonight’s performance of our Play. Please note that any recording of this performance, either through video or photograph is strictly prohibited. A reminder that Mobile phones should also be turned off. Thank you and we hope you enjoy tonight’s performance”

And now may be this.

“Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome aboard TTC Bus 123, My name is Tom and I am your driver today. For the safety of all passengers and driver, please turn off your cell phones and other electronic video and sound recording devices, and have them stowed away. Non-compliance will result in being evicted from this bus. BTW, TTC is an equal opportunity corporation, if any passenger has problem holding his/her water, please inform the driver gently, we will stop at the next available washroom. Please, please, don’t harass our staff. Thank you for your attention, and have a nice and safe trip.”

Or this.

“Hi shoppers, welcome to Walmart. Hope you have found everything you want, with our everyday low prices. Just join the line at our checkout counters. We are serving customers in sequence and to our best efficiency. Now please turn off and put away your cell and other recording devices. No video recording is allowed of our staff in the store. Thank you for your co-operation. Have a nice Walmart day.”

Pretty soon, the province will pass a new Video-Free Law that prohibits video recording in public places, without a license,  offender will be fined $9.99 (at rolled-back prices), and mugshot posted on YouTube, but with no demerit points deducted though.

Watch out for the Video-Free police.

(Through Rose-Coloured Glasses)

This appeared in todays newspaper. The wordings of the original letter are in bold, our comments are in italics.

Important update from Toyota Canada. (Good, we do need an update urgently from the horse’s mouth)

There has been a lot of talk about Toyota. (This comes across really cold, it is not the time to be objective, should take the first chance available to apologize, to gain people’s sympathy and respect.)

Here are the facts for our customers. (Yes, the truth, nothing but the truth.)

Your safety remains our number one priority: (point taken, but doesn’t reflect in recent developments.)

          • In the interest of our customers, Toyota has and will continue to thoroughly investigate concerns related to our products and address issues that are identified. (The problem is, how long will that take, e.g. the Prius brake, we know there is a problem, even recall taking place in Japan, but how come this still needed thorough investigations here in North America, and recalls only announced today? Aren’t they the same problem? It gives us the impression that it has to be pushed or cornered before Toyota will act on it, hiding behind the screen of ‘thorugh investigations’.)

          • We will continue to take appropriate measures to remedy any problems, should they arise, and will notify our customers as quickly as possible. (Too little, too late? We are still waiting patiently for the recall of the sticky gas pedal ! So what are we to do in the mean time, just spray it with WD40 ?)

The latest update on the sticking accelerator pedal recall:

          • All Dealers have received repair and Toyota trained technicians have begun to modify affected vehicles. (Yes, we saw that little gadget on TV, is that all we need, then why take so long to come up with that solution? There are expert opinions in the States and England that the gadget may not solve the problem, the sudden acceleration may have something to do with the electronic throttle controls, what are you going to do about that, more thorough investigations?)

          • Our Dealers are here to service your vehicle, many will be working extended hours. (This has nothing to do with the Dealers ! We know they all are doing a fine job, it is their livelihood too that you have affected.)

Toyota vehicles are designed and manufactured with your safety in mind. Our worldwide organization has been mobilized and we are redoubling our efforts to improve and continue to provide our customers with quality products. (We beg to be different with all these problems swirling about. Show us by action, not empty words.)

Since we began selling cars in Canada more than 45 yeas ago, we have been committed to providing you with dependable, quality products. You, in turn, have rewarded us with your loyality and confidence. Our goal is to continue to earn that trust each and every day. (Or continue to earn our car payments 🙂 Again we like to see some concrete remedial examples done to provide quality products.)

For the latest information, please visit our updated website at toyota.ca, contact your Dealer, or our Customer Interaction Centre at 1-888-TOYOTA-8[1-888-869-6828]. (Toyota has the responsibility to provide updates of the situation constantly and regularly, instead of us to call or contact the dealers to find out ourselves. Again providing contact info is not enough with such important issues. Sorry to say, Toyota is not doing a good job in the crisis management.)

TOYOTA

In another news: “I don’t see Toyota as an infallible company that never makes mistakes,” President Akio Toyoda said at a press conference Tuesday in Tokyo. “We will face up to the facts and correct the problem, putting customers’ safety and convenience first.”     (Is this an apology or a condescending response? Is he really taking responsibility here? What do you think? )

All car companies have recalls once in a while, it is understable. But how you weather the storm depends on how you manage the crisis properly.

This may be the beginning of the end of the Toyota Family* !?

*Toyota Family referred to those households where every family member drives a Toyota.

(Through Rose-Coloured Glasses)

After all the hard work done for more than a year, finally we have a deal. A deal with Washington to circumvent the “Buy America” rules that have barred Canadian exporters from bidding on hundreds of millions of dollars in economic stimulus projects south of the border.

Beware, this is a Trojan horse.

It comes with a limited warranty and a condition.

A warranty that gives Canadian firms access to state and local projects funded by Obama’s year-old American Recovery and Reinvestment Act only.

It may be too late now to provide much help for Canadian companies hoping to bid on these urban renewal projects. Of the promised $275 billion (U.S.) in infrastructure projects, contracts worth $200 billion had already been handed out to American companies by the end of December, according to U.S. government reports. So we can only bid on the left over.

And then there is a condition that most Canadian provinces and municipalities have to permanently given up their highly-valued right to use government procurement to spur local economic growth by favouring homegrown goods and suppliers.

The question remains, by hurrying to market, are we giving away much too much to reach a compromise with Washington, and gain an inch by giving away a yard?

But all our political leaders are happy, ready to sign on the dotted line.

Is this the best they can wrestle out of the Obama administration? Unfortunately we are not in any strong economic position to bargain; unlike the Chinese, who can play hardball with the American.

Well, what do you expect from a government that closely follows the coattail of Obama. We were not able to fix our own 2020 carbon emission targets, not until two days after the American announced their objective. It was pointed out by some environmentalists; this would lead to a 2.5 percent increase in Canada’s CO2 emissions from 1990 levels.

Our banking system is more superior than the American, definitely with no cancerous sub-prime problem; and yet when the financial tsunami hit, we were pulled deeply into the rapid current by the American and subsequently drowned in this recession, just the same. Our economy relies too much on our neighbour. We are always the poor cousin of the American. And they show us no respect. BTW, Obama is not coming to the open ceremony of our Winter Olympic game. He is sending his vice president, Joe Biden. What do we expect anyway?

But still we welcome the Trojan horse with open arms. Pretty soon, our whole country, all our big corporations, will become the subsidiaries of the American Empire. Then we don’t even have to worry about the “Buy America” policy, we will be sucked into and become part of that family, after all.

(Through Rose-Coloured Glasses)

The Grinch a bitter, stubborn man, also a catlike control freak with a heart “two sizes too small,” lives on snowy Mount Sussex, a steep, 3,000-foot high mountain in WhoCareville, home of the merry and warm-hearted WhoCares. His only companions are his pack of faithful guard dogs. From his perch high atop Mount Sussex, the Grinch can hear the noisy demands and inquisitions that take place in WhoCareville. Frustrated of the WhoCares’ trouble making demands, he makes plans to close down the town hall, by means of perogation, to deprive them of their democratic rights of voicing their opinions. However, this triggers an uprising, WhoCares take to the street, to the Internet, to the news media to voice their discontent. He learns in the end that despite his success in shutting down WhoCareville from the WhoCares, The Great Inquisition persists just the same. He then realizes that his job is more than just fame and glory, more than just political skills, more than just ratings, it involves responsibility, decency and democracy . He absolutely hates all these. His heart shrinks another size. Instead of apologizing and recalling town hall at once, he cancels the spring break of the WhoCares.

(Through Rose-Coloured Glasses)

The 82nd Academy Award, i.e. the Oscars nominations for motion pictures were announced. The headline proclaimed: Oscars roam from outer space fantasy to earthbound reality with ‘Avatar,’ ‘Hurt Locker’.

Now I am confused, aren’t they all talking about the same war? In that far away planet called Earth, there is a little place called Iraq, with a massive underground treasure of black gold, that caused the big corporation to salivate. Under the disguise of fighting post 9/11 terrorism, with the pre-emptive strike on the illusive weapons of mass destruction (WMD), that “Inglourious Basterd” led us to believe, and plunged into another Vietnam quicksand of deathtraps. It is quite “An Education” for the past 8 years. That’s the “Precious” war that the movies are about, the war that we are pushed and tricked into. That is no “Avatar” fantasy, but all reality.

“A Serious Man” with a single-minded mentality, when his time is “UP”, and vacated the Office, he left everything “Up In the Air”, for others to clean out “The Hurt Locker”. But there are dangerous minefields everywhere, politically and economically. The whole world is in recession. People lost their houses, life savings and their livihood. Hope we won’t ended up in “District 9”-ish ghettos. This is a complete mess that no bomb squads will be able to defuse and clear. We are being “Blind Side”-ed but cannot afford to ignore any longer.

But where is Jake Sully when we needed him?

Oscar Nomination — Best Picture
• “Avatar”
• “The Blind Side”
• “District 9”
• “An Education”
• “The Hurt Locker”
• “Inglourious Basterds”
• “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”
• “A Serious Man”
• “Up”
• “Up in the Air”

(Through Rose-Coloured Glasses)

No cell-phones or text-messaging, while driving. This is the law.

Now with my hands freed up, I felt so empty, so restless, where to put those hands? Tied them to the steerling wheel, but one hand is more than enough; put them on the lap, on the arm rest, lean on the window-sill, or stick them out the window? May be I should hold on to something, a cup, the hand bag, a Kleenex or a cell-phone; no, I am not using it, just felt secure holding one.

I was told, keep my hands busy, while driving.

That I can do. For starter, every morning is a chore. I always run short of time. I have to extend my toiletries into the car. On my way to work, I finish combing my hair, put on make-up, lip-sticks, and eyeliners; sometime I have to curl my hair, or even to polish my nails, and floss my teeth.

If I still have time left, I try to relax with a cigarette (as long as this won’t ruin my health too much).

Sometimes I eat my breakfast or may be lunch in the car, then I am ready to work once I get to my destination.

Holding a cup of hot coffee with one hand and balance it between the legs is an acquired technique and an art of acrobatics. Just don’t get scalded by the hot stuff. Sure I can always sue McDonald. But it is not worth the suffering.

But my hands still feel restless, and I am bored too. Sing along karaoke with the radio, drum the beat on the steerling wheel, or wave my hands in the air like a conductor of an orchestra, these sure will keep them occupied.

If nothing works, do the crossword puzzle or sudoku; or even read a book and newspaper, while driving.

Oh, I am suffering from withdrawl. I joined the Cell/Blackberry Anonymous.