a fine line

We've watched two film clips recently in my Mass Media class. One was about Hitler's propaganda films and the other was about Coca Cola's international marketing. It was unsettling to me how much these two have in common.

Now, before you start writing angry comments about how I shouldn't compare the horrors of Nazi Germany with something as trivial as soft drinks, let me say that I'm not putting the two on the same level.

But I need to ask why we view Hitler's propaganda war against the mentally and physically frail as a menacing evil, but sit passively as Coca Cola wages cultural warfare across the globe?

Why are persuasive tactics deemed sinister or saintly based on the motives of the speaker? What exactly is the difference between propaganda and public relations?

It keeps moving when I try to put my finger on it.

Home Security

Last week I was doing a bit of research on the local rental market for a newsletter article, and the statistics that I found formed a dreary picture.

By October 2006 the vacancy rate for a 2 bedroom apartment in a multi-unit building was 0.6 percent. That means all the single moms and college students and families new to town who were looking for a place that month had to compete over just 8 apartments.

We have a 3 bedroom townhouse in Edmonton that we rent out and I looked up the going rate in the city. I don't understand how a family is supposed to be able to come up with $1500 a month for rent. A few single roommates could probably come up with it together, but who else? The single income 'family' is a dying breed.