Bizarre Anti-Obama Advertisement Frames him as 007

American Crossroads, an association which promotes the election of Republican candidates has released a bizarre video attacking President Obama by framing him as a 'James Bond'-like figure.

The advertisement focuses on Obama's comments to Russian President Medvedev where he said that following the upcoming election he would have more flexibility with regards the implementation of missile defence systems.

The American Crossroads organization has in turn released a video that attacks the President as being a foreign spy, yet at the same time frames him as a "007".

The video looks and sounds like a piece of satire, yet its goal is apparently to discredit the President. Considering that when one thinks of James Bond, they tend to think of a bad-ass, its rather bizarre that they chose to frame Obama as a 007 in an attempt to discredit him. If anything, it would have been more effective to fall back on a 'Manchurian Candidate' style attack.

Event: Why Political Science Professors Make Inept Leaders

Come to Seton 404 at 2PM on Friday, March 30 to hear a lecture from MSVU's Dr. Jeff Macleod and NSCAD's Nick Webb titled, "Why Political Science Professors Make Inept Leaders".

The presentation is expected to last between 30-40 minutes, all are welcome to attend!

For further details, see here.

City Vs. Transit Union

I'd like to present you all with an article written by one of our very own Mount students: Robin Young.

As most (if not all) of you know, Metro Transit recently ended a rather long, drawn out strike. Robin presents some interesting perspectives on the strike as a whole in this article, and takes a look at the tactics used by HRM in order to "win" the negotiations. I won't spoil the whole thing for you, so take a look for yourself.

City Vs. Transit Union

Rick Williams in Attendance at MSVU

Rick Williams, the current Deputy Minister for the Policy & Priorities Office in the Government of Nova Scotia, will be in attendance at Dr. Jeff MacLeod's class; People, Power & Politics in Canada, on Tuesday March 27th. The class is located in room 501 of Seton Academic Centre, and takes place from 1:30 - 2:45 pm.

Dr. MacLeod has graciously opened his door to any and all students who wish to attend this class for this period. This is a phenomenal opportunity, and we would encourage you to attend if you are able.

Take a look at his biography here.

Dalhousie Summer Course Offerings

The Dalhousie Department of Political Science has several very interesting course offerings this summer. Topics include: Freedom & Government, World Politics, Canadian Provincial Politics, Sport & Politics, Structures of Canadian Parliamentary Government, and Corruption in World Politics, to name a few. Take a look if you're interested.

2011 - 2012 Summer Course Offerings
 And
Politics 3810: Corruption in Politics

Internship Opportunity: CFIB Policy Analyst

"The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) is a non-partisan, not-for-profit advocacy group representing the interests of 108,000 small and medium-sized businesses in Canada for more than 40 years. It was born in reaction to a piece of public policy that, at the time, would have been devastating to the Canadian independent business sector.In conjunction with Scotiabank, we are offering a four-month Public Policy and Entrepreneurship Internship in our Halifax office. The position will run from early May to late August."

For more information on this opportunity, click the link below:
http://www.cfib-fcei.ca/cfib-documents/nb1038.pdf

Event: Halifax Roundtable: Current significance of the repatriation of the Canadian constitution in 1982

Dalhousie University will host a round table discussion titled, "Current significance of the repatriation of the Canadian constitution in 1982"on Monday, March 19 from 4 to 6 PM at University Hall, MacDonald Building.

The round table will feature:

Alain-G. Gagnon (Université de Quebec à Montreal)
"From Creative Tensions to Mounting Distrust. Canadian Federalism in its Post-Patriation Era"

Jim Bickerton (St. F.X.)
"A Tarnished Legacy? The Unfinished Agenda of 1982"

Michael MacMillan (Mount Saint Vincent University)
"Entrenching Language Rights in the Charter: Problem or Solution?"

Dianne Pothier (Schulich School of Law, Dalhousie University)
"Muted Legal Impact of Quebec's Non-Acceptance of the Constitution Act, 1982".

[Click for PDF]

CNN is blunt on America's future

Iceland considers the Loonie

Iceland is considering the adoption of the Canadian Dollar as its country's currency as an alternative to the failed Icelandic króna.

The adoption of the currency would provide Iceland with a stable foundation to rebuild its economy which was hammered by the 2008 global recession. The Canadian currency is seen as a more favourable alternative to Icelanders than the U.S. dollar, the Euro, and the Norwegian krone.

One of the problems with the adoption of the Canadian currency for Iceland could be the fact that the value of the dollar strongly correlates with the price of oil. This would be perfectly fine if Iceland were to be a large exporter of oil, but this is not the case.

As we have seen in Canada, the strong value of the Canadian dollar has had negative effects on exports (to the United States), especially manufactured goods which already face small margins. With much of Iceland's trading partners being in the EU, the Euro could be seen as a more attractive alternative for adoption. There is likely much hesitance though due to the current situation of Greece, Ireland, and other fragile economies. Alternatively, the Icelandic government could adopt the Canadian dollar and try to form greater trading ties with Canada and the rest of North America, broadening their current list of trading partners.

The move will take away the ability of the Icelandic central bank being able to control rates, as that duty will remain with the Bank of Canada, but this may be seen by policy makers as a necessary concession to get the economy back on track.