Fashion trends that ‘gotta go’

Calgary is not the fashion capital of Canada, possibly Toronto and Montreal. It surprised me when Calgary came up with a list of fashion trends that "gotta go" which made it to the Calgary Herald and then to Canwest News Service. Here are some highlights along with some personal comments:

• Track suits are out and even Jennifer Lopez must not be seen in them. A track suit is a track suit and is better seen in the gym.

• Color-tinted glasses are definitely out, even if you’re a pop star. Big, black shades that Jackie "O" popularized are back. Sophia Loren has been using them for ages.

• Mini-skirts, a skirt measuring eight inches is not the best look for women these days. So the likes of Britney Spears must change their wardrobe now that they are getting older and should cover their thighs unless they persist in looking like a hooker.

• Too much skin is "out" and fashion trend makers now consider it unflattering. Maybe the mystery and mystique in properly covered-up women is on its way back. Christina Aguillera types look like massage girls from Bangkok and Manila.

• Other items listed that must "go" include satin cargo pants and hippie belts. The retro look has been in for a long time and it is about time to be replaced with something new.

A new study revealed that Canadian parents tend to be more tolerant and less punitive than their counterparts in Italy and France. The study showed the major differences in child-rearing between nations.

Italian parents appear to be emotionally closer and more likely to clash with their children. French mothers and fathers are more distant from their offspring and supervised them less stringently. Meanwhile, Canadians set themselves apart by treating boys and girls more or less equally. The study reflected a sea of change in middle-class North American parenting that has developed over the last 50 years and has not been paralleled by old-world Europe.

Toronto and Ontario suffered much from the recent electrical blackout, but things are back to normal.

We now live in violent times. Nobody is safe anymore. Take Canada for example. It has a well-deserved reputation as being a relatively peaceful and stable country but is still a potential target of terrorism, as proven by a recent evidence that Osama bin Laden’s al-Queda terrorist network is attempting to recruit Muslim-Canadians to its cause.

According to the Global Terrorism Index, Canada was rated the 79th most-likely country to be attacked out of 186 nations surveyed. Canada was ranked a more likely target than turbulent states like Iran and Morocco. Canada tied with Gambia, Argentina and Armenia. Canada rated well in the prevention and risk category and got a top mark for its intelligence and counter intelligence. But Canada did not rate well when it came to ranking the terrorist presence in Canada. Ottawa did worst in the most important categories which rank the motivation and ability of terrorists to attack.

Though Canada is at a low to medium risk of a terrorist attack, there is still the unknown risk factor.

On an optimistic tone, Global Insight, an international economic think tank reported that the vast majority of low income Canadians enjoy a higher standard of living than their American counterparts and explained why nearly 90 percent of Canadians think that they are better-off than Americans. For a start, Canada taxes its high-income earners more and redistributes that money to lower income residents to a greater extent than the Americans. This particular policy in the long run contributes to the brain drain and in turn lower income residents to a greater extent than the Americans. This particular policy in the long run contributes to the brain drain and in turn lower productivity, which will eventually erode over-all living standards.

But it is nice to know that 90 percent of Canadians say the quality of life here is greater than in the US, suggesting that there’s more than money to their measurement of their living standards such as peace, lower pollution problems, great outdoors, less violence and greater access to health care and their security from crime.

Canadians are grateful that they do not have the "gun culture" and related crime like in the US though that’s changing a bit. And America will always claim that they have the best quality of life in the world.