Check this story from Wired out - TorrentFreak has introduced a Firefox add-on that places a “Download 4 Free” button on Amazon.com pages selling music.  This button provides a link to the leading The Pirate Bay torrent for that album, and I can personally say that it works very well.  While the website that originally launched the app, Pirates-of-the-Amazon.com, is a school project website that has removed the offending file due to legal threats from Amazon, the add-on is still available from TorrentFreak.  While it may not be all that useful, this IS slick, and quite funny.  Try it out.

One interesting aspect of Canada’s economy compared to nearly all the other G8 members is that it remains myopically focussed on our extractive primary industries, without pushing that growth into education, research & development and the emerging industries and manufacturing that will help strengthen and broaden the base of our economy and international competitiveness. The US economy, though not based on natural resources to nearly such an extent, has also fallen victim to letting its manufacturing industry and technological dominance languish, ‘growing’ their economy almost solely on the premise of financial markets. While the EU’s sectoral growth in manufacturing has lagged behind those of emerging economies (unavoidably, given the latter’s momentum), growth in many EU countries at least remained positive - and in the case of Sweden, Germany, and Denmark, quite dramatic, based on the strength of wind manufacturing.

While the Canadian government’s emphasis on taking our natural resources for all they’re worth may lead to huge surpluses in boom times, that same emphasis has damaging repercussions in a recession. For instance, in an ironic twist, the $78/bbl of oil that Alberta built their 2008-2009 budget on was considered comically conservative (which led the opposition to question the transparency of a government that expected a ‘hidden’ surplus of $5B+), but with the price of oil now under $50 and still dropping, that same government faces a deficit. By failing to separate our economy from the vagaries of the market for natural resources (a folly we share with such shining examples of economic foresight as Nigeria), it reduces our ability to weather shifts in demand.

Of course, to sound like a broken record, I continue to believe that the strongest move to generate long-term economic growth is a re-emphasis on technology, innovation, and sustainable development and manufacturing that will reap dividends regardless of the economic climate. Of course, oil will rebound back up to $150 and beyond, no doubt, but it seems like it befits a healthy economy to view that as a windfall to be plumbed back into future growth, rather than the sole basis of our economic platform. This notion of “green-collar” manufacturing was one of the soundbites that led me to support Obama early in his campaign, and I can only hope that Canada has the presence of mind to adopt a similar policy.

While my time in Bujumbura, Burundi has not exactly been a mindblowing thrill ride, it has certainly given me plenty of time to chill out and read. Books are hard to come by in much of East Africa, and so I decided that having burned through one of the books I brought already, I would borrow Obama’s latest book from a friend here to see what all the fuss is about.

In a sentence, this book is pretty much exactly what you would expect from an ambitious then-Senator. It’s eminently readable, with an easy, conversational, but intelligent style, and Obama writes with the same charisma that he demonstrates as an orator. Releasing it was immensely politically savvy, giving him an opportunity to describe (only beating us over the head with it a little bit) his character, values, and vision. It’s also cloyingly patriotic, and some of his policy recommendations land somewhere in the category of ‘glittering generality,’ but these, too, are undoubtedly intentional - this is by no means a book for policy wonks, and is a bestseller because of it.

From a policy point of view, many of the suggestions for reform that he makes come across almost as obvious (from a Canadian perspective, anyway), but they are at least thoughtfully constructed, and well-defended, if not overly detailed. In his perspective on the overall political landscape, this wide-angle lens is helpful, as well, and he is apt at providing clear and concise views of the history and context that has shaped the modern political environment in the US. The book held the most interest for me in his descriptions of political behind-the-scenes, and the sorts of situations that turn politicians into politicians (as spat out by the layman, with a roll of the eyes). The campaign process, especially when it comes to fundraising, lobbies, and media, are apparently somewhat poisonous to people with integrity who hope to maintain any sort of real connection with the average person, and his frank descriptions of the mechanism by which that transformation into politicians can occur are interesting. While the writing certainly entails some cringe-worthy language (for cynical, international readers like me), it has definitely given me greater respect for his character - the sense of morality that seems to guide his approach is grounded and nuanced (and while there is an entire section on ‘faith,’ it is by no means a default morality, in his eyes).

Assuming the ruinous environment of the current economy doesn’t completely shatter any attempts at reform, I’m quietly optimistic about the slow turn that the US may be taking. Having cautiously surrounded himself with experienced staff (including Clinton), I think he’s aware that any Change will take time, especially given his inexperience. Despite it, though, as an inspiring leader, I can’t think of many better choices for the country.

And he certainly beats Harper.