West Wing Wednesday Night #21

Fresh from our relaxing holiday trip to Providenciales, TCI, (where MacDonald’s has not made it!), we are ready for some stimulating conversation. Judging from the RSVPs, while so many are off either working or on their own trip to a sunny place, there is enough brainpower left here to hold the fort and close off the last salon of 2009. And no, we were not ready for snow to welcome us back, but as good Canadians – we brave all elements with equanimity and gusto!!

So what’s on this month’s menu? With Richard Kurland’s recent trip to China – we’ll need to get his intimate update on that corner of the world (or increasingly center of our world??).

And the subject of the newly renamed section of our world – the Haida Gwaii –   will also be on the table, not at the least linked with the political future of the BC liberals.

Raw materials – and the politics and economics of water, oil, gold, etc – are also on the list – especially the new ‘enviro-guilt’ (and you know how much I love new words!) on water consumption.

That could link us nicely to the Copenhagen summit, or even more interestingly to the sub-Copenhagen summit where mayors and state/provincial leaders are staging a coup of sorts…

At the last session, we did not get to the topic of freeconomy (Over the past decade we have built an economy online where the default price is zero. What is the real price of “free” and is it sustainable? Can businesses really make a business model out of nothing? Who pays the price for the Creative Commons?), so we must delve into that, especially with holiday shopping frenzy kicking into high gear this year.

Also – send me your favorite story or moment of 2009 – this is always a fascinating list that generates a vivid conversation.