Thats why I dont go running

My feet have been in the wars recently.. I was trying to get healthy but it seems that the opposite has happened to me and I have got a inflammation condition effecting my feet... it seems that a fair number of people like Luke over on Healthbad I know who are in their twenties like me are ending up getting pf.. we are all going out running now that winters finished and over doing it resulting in tearing and inflaming the plantar fascia.. ti would be funny if it didn't hurt so much. Well this has set me back a little bit because I wanted to get healthy for summer  and found some time out of my busy schedule to go cross country running but I guess that will have to wait.. I think that next time I am going to have to work on my technique and make it better than it is as at the moment I am quite honestly running like a madman and according to some sites I have been reading arch support insoles are the way to go so I have added them to my shopping list. Ill try not to let this put me off running because it really is a refreshing experience.

Talking about getting healthy I gotta add that it aint easy being healthy in the capitalist world.... The only cheap food that you can buy is junk food, working long hours just to survive and the stress to go with doesnt make for a healthy human being now does it? And if you look at the rich they can afford the best of everything... al though they are so greedy they tend to be obese.

Hi guys!

I think I will start off my new blog "jakoom" by saying hello. You may already know my other blogs that I write for example Dorothy dog.. where I just blog I about sports and everyday life... come to think of it I will probably be doing just the same here.. I guess I just dont like putting all my eggs in one basket and like having multiple blogs to blog on! You might have noticed that I am using blogpot... I know its a bit annoying to have .blogspot.com domain but I guess you cant complain when its free.... and the hosting is pretty fast being on google and all.. and I am pretty sure that this blog wont disappear because google goes out of business... regardless as to how much some people want that to happen google being a monopoly and all that. Anyway I hope you will enjoy my blog and Il keep things updated but remember I have quite a few blogs to keep updated so dont blame me if this one gets lost and forgotten :)

Freedom of the press is limited to those who own one

I actually thought I’d written the last entry for this blog back in June … guess I was wrong.

I’ve been following the blogging world very infrequently over the last few months, mainly because there wasn’t a lot there to interest me and because I didn’t have time. As I told a fellow blogger awhile back, I refused to let this become a “job” where I had to post something every day or every week. It will not become the beast that needs to be fed.

Having said that, two issues collided for me this week. The collision brought me back here, at least temporarily.

The first is the story about Ken Langdon, the former publisher of the Bugle-Observer weeklies in Woodstock. The story is that he resigned a couple of weeks ago with the intention of starting another newspaper in Carleton County and the Irvings, who own the papers, proceeded to get a search warrant to search his home and property for any Brunswick News (the Irving company that actually owns the papers) materials. The rarely used court order allows a private search as part of a civil action as means of seizing evidence without prior warning to prevent the destruction of incriminating evidence. The order is generally issued in cases of alleged trademark, copyright or patent infringements. (Link)

The reports say that a few things were found including cash flow breakdowns, advertising rate analysis, income statements, flyer routes and a resumé were among the items seized. (Link)

On the surface, one might say “a-ha, the smoking gun,” but it also would be reasonable for a publisher, in effect a general manager, of the papers to have that sort of stuff with him, wherever he might be.

What was even more interesting was Langdon’s retelling of his conversations with one of the head honchos at Brunswick News. Apparently this guy, Victor Mlodecki, vice-president of Brunswick News Inc., was so concerned about other companies that distribute flyers in the Upper Valley that he was determined to put them out of business and it appears from the Langdon account that money was not to be an issue.

In his resignation letter, which he has filed with the court, Langdon cited harassment by Mlodecki and disillusionment with company management practices that included orders to drive Irving's competitors out of business as key factors in his decision to step away from the company where he had worked for more than a decade. (Link)

In the business world, the stories about the Irving’s ruthlessness in dealing with competition, real or imagined, are legendary. It is not a coincidence that Irving gas stations often used to spring up next to, or, across the street from mom & pop operations which didn’t last for long after the diamond moved in. Bottom line is that the Irvings don’t want just part of the market share, they want it all.

Langdon was one of the pioneers in the “free” paper marketplace in New Brunswick. A number of years ago, Langdon started the Carleton Victoria Advertiser in the building he owns on Queen Street in Woodstock. It became a huge success, offering free classified ads and selling the rest of the space to businesses. The C-V Advertiser is now part of the Brunswick News organization.

Langdon says he was resigning from Brunswick News to start another paper, the Carleton Free Press, which will be in direct competition with the Irving papers in Woodstock. Clearly, he looked at the market and determined that it could support another paper and plans are in place to launch that paper in November.

The Irvings took him to court originally to get a judge to order that the new paper not be allowed to operate; when they realized they couldn’t win that battle, they tried the non-competition angle – Langdon being a former senior manager with Brunswick News shouldn’t be allowed to start a competing business nor be allowed to approach Brunswick News advertisers. Nice deal if you can get it approved, but reminiscent of the battle over David Letterman’s jump from NBC to CBS lo those many years ago.

The real tragedy here is the hypocrisy of the Irving family. They will be the first ones to argue for free enterprise when it’s their agenda that’s being promoted. Turn the tables and they will be the first ones to cry for limitation on the exercise of that free enterprise. That’s what happening in this case. It’s a rather vivid example of that quote from Henry Mencken with which I opened this item, "freedom of the press is limited to those who own one."

The second issue that prompted me to write today is the news that a couple of New Brunswick’s better known political bloggers are joining the ranks of the Irvings via the Canada East online pages. Both of these writers will contribute to the Canada East website on a regular basis, presumably with the same material that appears in their own blogs, unless those are to be closed as they become part of the Irving organization.

I was fairly neutral about the whole thing until I read this comment from the manager of the Irving website when referring to another blog author who had joined the Irving fold, “Our bloggers are unpaid UNTIL they can show that they can bring in a set audience number per month on a regular basis. Being Steve is well on track to doing that BTW.” (Link)

So, the bottom line here is that the bloggers are there to attract readers to the Irving website. If they attract ENOUGH readers and do it on a consistent basis, they will be paid for their efforts. Nothing wrong with that but what it does is create a beast that needs to be fed. And, not only needs to be fed, but is also subject to editorial control. While some may argue that they are free to criticize the Irving empire, some will learn fairly early on if the royalty cheques start coming in that such criticism is neither appreciated nor tolerated in the long term.

I have nothing against the Irvings. They are merely a huge diversified corporation that has made huge profits in New Brunswick and continues to do so. True, they employ probably thousands of New Brunswickers but that employment is a fair exchange of labour for wage – it is not an altruistic exercise. They are the masters of corporate vertical integration – I just hate to see independent voices become part of their integration model.

Kudos to Ken Langdon for declaring his own independence day!

Let’s watch this one with interest.

here is an intresting comment made by spinks

"Personally I am not getting paid...ever, regardless of the number of visitors. The price you pay for anonymity I suppose. They can't send a check to an anonymous person and I don't want one anyway. The blogs at CanadaEast will be duplicates or virtual duplicates of select blogs at Spink About It and there's no committment to blog daily, weekly or monthly for that matter. If it's a political issue I blog, I'll pop it up there as well. I just view it as another site running my blog such as Opinions Canada, the Blogging Alliance of Non-Partisan Canadians and David Jonah's Local in the Know. I have no problem writing a blog there that criticizes the Irvings, CanadaEast or anyone else if it's fair and warranted. I've been told that's not a problem, so we'll see. As I wrote at my blog, I think they're taking the bigger chance on me than the other way around so some credit their way for opening themselves up. Regardless I'll still have my little corner of the net with or without them." 

Do we have a "perennial fissure" in Canadian life too?

Thanks to those who have offered comments about my recent posting on the abuse of handicapped parking spots over on one of my other blogs. I certainly agree with Spinks and Marg that there are people who look able-bodied who have specific physical needs that limit their ability to be as mobile as the rest of us and are entitled to one of those handicapped parking placards. I also think it’s fair to say that most people would realize I was not addressing my comments to people in that category. We all realize there are exceptions. I do appreciate the input though and let it stand on its own merit.

If you’ve been following the discussion around the New York radio announcer Don Imus, you’ll know that although he was fired by CBS and MSNBC, the debate continues in the states about whether justice was served.

Probably one of the best discussions I’ve seen about it is in the current online edition of Newsweek magazine.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18110453/site/newsweek/

Have a good week.

A disturbing story from Fredericton.

There’s a Fredericton blog that I read every so often called “freddybeach cabby”. It’s an interesting look at the world through the eyes of a Fredericton taxi driver.

The most recent entry on his blog is very disturbing. IF it is true (and I have no reason to believe otherwise) then it demands an investigation by the internal affairs department at the Fredericton Police Department.

The entry, entitled “Ten Feet Tall and Bulletproof,” was posted on Thursday of this week. It details very inappropriate behaviour by a man who identified himself to the cab driver as a police officer but who refused to provide any identification while verbally abusing the driver and ultimately committing an assault upon his person by slamming a door on the cab driver's leg.

The story is further complicated by the reported actions of the police officers who were called to the scene to investigate.

You can read the details yourself by clicking on either of the above links.

Disturbing is about the gentlest word I can think of to describe the incident and follow-up. For the sake of most police officers out there who are good and decent people, I hope it’s resolved and quickly without further abuse of authority.


(Iv had to remove the link as I HAVE SPOTTED THAT THE BLOG HAS BEEN DELETED, ONLY FOR A SPAMMER TO RE REGISTER IT AND USE IT AS A SPAM BLOG.)