Britain officially in deep recession

POLITICS - The British economy has officially sunk into recession, government statistics showed Friday, with output falling 1.5% in the fourth quarter of last year as the financial credit crisis ravaged banks, retail and manufacturing. Following the 0.6% decline recorded in the third quarter, Britain is now officially in recession – the standard definition of a recession is two quarters of economic shrinkage. A deep recession is any recession that has a combined bi-quarterly loss of 2% or more.

Britain joins the United States, Canada and several other countries now officially in a recession or depression. (A depression is any recession that lasts 2 years or more.)

Britain's economic slump is the biggest economic decline since the early days of Margaret Thatcher's government in 1980 and caused the British pound to slump to a new 23-1/2 year low against the U.S. dollar of $1.3503 and headed back towards parity against the Euro.

For 2008 as a whole, Britain's GDP rose by 0.7%, down on the 3% growth in 2007, and the lowest level of growth since 1992's 0.1%.

A sudden spike in suicide rates in Britain and North Ireland has caused the British government to set up free suicide prevention/stress related hotlines so people can talk about their woes.

In related news... Irish real-estate tycoon Patrick Rocca was found shot dead at his home in a suburb of Dublin in an apparent suicide.

Oscars snubs proves Oscars are just elitist crap

ENTERTAINMENT - The Dark Knight has been snubbed by the Academy Awards. But will the Joker have the last laugh as the Oscars slide deeper into irrelevancy?

It's more than just stupid to exclude The Dark Knight from Best Picture and other top categories, save the obligatory Best Supporting Actor nod for Heath Ledger – all announced yesterday morning in L.A. It's downright suicidal from a business standpoint.

Ratings for last year's Oscars were at an all-time low and devoted Hollywood fans are getting pissed off that the Oscars is catering to artsy films (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Milk, Frost/Nixon and The Reader) and foreign films (Slumdog Millionaire). More and more people are rejecting the Oscars as prizes go to films most people wouldn't even pay to see.

The Academy claimed last year they were going to try and fix this, but apparently they've missed the point.

Now that The Dark Knight, the No. 2 film of all time, has been shut out of major contention where does that leave us? Crappy artsy/foreign films like Slumdog Millionaire which has WAAAAY too much hype?

I wouldn't even pay to see Slumdog Millionaire. Saw the previews. Yawn. Boring!

The Oscars also snubbed The Wrestler, Revolutionary Road and Gran Torino. WTF? That just proves what I've been saying for years. The Oscars is for elitist artsy films and and according to an online poll 78% of North Americans now believe the Oscars are irrelevant and meaningless.

"I predict: Worst. Oscars. Ever." - Comic Book Guy from The Simpsons.

Ontario wind power gets $1.3 billion

CANADA/ENVIRONMENT - The Ontario government announced today another $1.3 billion worth of renewable-energy projects, most of it wind, as part of its ongoing effort to "green" up the province's power mix and get rid of coal-based generation.

Ontario's coal-powered generators are getting old and either need to be replaced (at a cost of billions of tax dollars) or phased out while the province upgrades its renewable energy sources.

The Ontario Power Authority, will reveal this morning the results of a bidding process that began in October and aims to add at least another 500 megawatts of renewable electricity to the grid.

Winners chosen to invest in and develop the projects get a long-term power purchase agreement with the province.

The power authority was directed back in August 2007 to secure 2,000 megawatts of renewable supply, part of the government's goal of doubling renewable power in the province to 15,700 megawatts by 2025 (enough for 6 million homes) and bringing on 2,700 megawatts of that by 2010 (enough for over 1 million homes).

The previous two bidding rounds have resulted in seven wind farms capable of contributing 900 megawatts of power, though some projects remain in development.

Ontario expects to have 1,200 megawatts of wind power capacity in operation this summer.

The newest addition will likely be the 200-megawatt Wolf Island Wind Project near Kingston which, at a cost of $450 million, is expected to generate enough electricity over a year to power the equivalent of 75,000 homes.

Obama keeps his BlackBerry

POLITICS/TECHNOLOGY - The White House confirmed yesterday Obama will be able to keep his beloved BlackBerry and will become the first sitting U.S. president to use email – a decision that no doubt represents a marketing windfall for Waterloo Canada based Research In Motion Ltd., which makes the popular wireless device.

It's a key victory for the tech-savvy Obama, who fought to stay connected once he entered the White House despite concerns voiced by the U.S. government's security machine.

But there are some caveats.

For one thing, the president will only be able to use his BlackBerry – reportedly an aging "World Edition" model – for personal communication with "senior staff and a small group of personal friends." Obama is therefore unlikely to be transmitting state secrets via his BlackBerry.

Obama's BlackBerry will apparently also need to undergo additional security "enhancements" to ensure his communications remain protected.

RIM has already created a special Network Operations Centre, the equivalent of a central post office for BlackBerry email, for the U.S. government so that official email does not have to go through RIM's main centre in Waterloo.

Obama's BlackBerry has been a constant companion during the campaign and transition.

Previous presidents have chosen not to use email because it can be subpoenaed by Congress and courts and may be subject to public records laws. Obama says he's "Okay" with that, insisting that as president he should be expected to behave responsibly. The Bush Administration in contrast was notoriously secretive.

While it's not surprising that extra steps may need to be taken to make the president's BlackBerry as bullet-proof as possible, many consider the BlackBerry wireless email platform to be among the most secure on the market, which is why it is used extensively by corporations and governments around the world.

In fact, RIM already counts the United States government as its single largest customer and has had its technology vetted for use by a broad range of departments, including the FBI, Department of Defence, Congress and the White House.

It's not clear whether the president will simply have his existing BlackBerry model upgraded, or will outfitted with a newer, specially designed ObamaBerry.