“Anything, Roman Catholicism, Buddhism, LSD, I’m for anything that works,”: Cohen on the means of spiritual seeking.

The new record opens with the title track, “You Want It Darker,” and in the chorus, the singer declares:

Hineni Hineni
I’m ready my Lord.

Leonard Cohen at home in Los Angeles in September, 2016. Photograph by Graeme Mitchell for The New Yorker

Hineni is Hebrew for “Here I am,” Abraham’s answer to the summons of God to sacrifice his son Isaac; the song is clearly an announcement of readiness, a man at the end preparing for his service and devotion. Cohen asked Gideon Zelermyer, the cantor at Shaar Hashomayim, the synagogue of his youth in Montreal, to sing the backing vocals. And yet the man sitting in his medical chair was anything but haunted or defeated.

“I know there’s a spiritual aspect to everybody’s life, whether they want to cop to it or not,” Cohen said. “It’s there, you can feel it in people—there’s some recognition that there is a reality that they cannot penetrate but which influences their mood and activity. So that’s operating. That activity at certain points of your day or night insists on a certain kind of response. Sometimes it’s just like: ‘You are losing too much weight, Leonard. You’re dying, but you don’t have to coöperate enthusiastically with the process.’ Force yourself to have a sandwich.

“What I mean to say is that you hear the Bat Kol.” The divine voice. “You hear this other deep reality singing to you all the time, and much of the time you can’t decipher it. Even when I was healthy, I was sensitive to the process. At this stage of the game, I hear it saying, ‘Leonard, just get on with the things you have to do.’ It’s very compassionate at this stage. More than at any time of my life, I no longer have that voice that says, ‘You’re fucking up.’ That’s a tremendous blessing, really.”

— Leonard Cohen makes it darker, The New Yorker magazine, October 17, 2016

Franchising and the Tyranny of Evil Men

Some money costs too much. It may not nececessarily be up to us to decide what source nurtures or what source poisons.

And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who would attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee..
— Ezekiel 25:17

Tim Hortons’ franchisees fancied themselves above all other franchise systems renters.

Even McDonald’s.

Maybe they never met Ray? Or his loyal Canadian subordinate, George?

 

Boom, Like That

I’m going to San Bernardino ring-a-ding-ding

Milkshake mixers that’s my thing now

These guys bought a heap of my stuff

And I gotta see a good thing sure enough now

 

Oh my name is not Crock, that’s Kroc with a K

Like crocodile but not spelled that way now

It’s dog eat dog, rat eat rat

Kroc-style… Boom! like that

 

Folks line up all down the street

Now I am seeing this girl devour her meat now

And then I get it Wham! as clear as day

My pulse begins to hammer then I hear a voice say:

 

These boys have got this down ought to be one of these in every town

These boys have got the touch It’s clean as a whistle and it don’t cost much

Wham! Bam! You don’t wait long, shake, fries, patty you’re gone

How about that friendly name, heck, every little thing ought to stay the same

 

Or my name is not Crock, that’s Kroc with a K

Like crocodile but not spelled that way now

It’s dog eat dog, rat eat rat

Dog eat dog, rat eat rat now

Oh it’s dog eat dog, rat eat rat

Kroc-style… Boom! like that

 

You gentlemen ought to expand

You’re gonna need a helping hand now

So gentlemen well what about me?

We’ll make a little business history now

 

Oh my name’s not Crock, you can call me Ray

Like crocodile but not spelled that way now

It’s dog eat dog, rat eat rat

Kroc-style… Boom! like that

 

Well we’ll build it up and I buy ’em out

But man they made me grind it out now

They open up a new place flippin’ meat

So I do too, right across the street

 

I got the name but I need the town, sell em’ in the end and it all shuts down

Sometimes you gotta be an S.O.B. you wanna make a dream reality

Competition sent em south, if they’re gonna drown put a hose in their mouth

Do not pass “Go”, go straight to hell

I smell that meat hook smell

 

Oh my name is not Crock, that’s Kroc with a K

Like crocodile but not spelled that way now

Ohh it’s dog eat dog, rat eat rat

It’s dog eat dog, rat eat rat

Ohh it’s dog eat dog, rat eat rat

Kroc-style… Boom! like that

I smell that meat hook smell

 

 

Do the Canadian Franchise Association, Just Desserts and Sweet Jesus recognize any spiritual or family values?

Sweet Jesus is not just another flash-in-the-pan predatory franchise scam, although it most assuredly is that. In spades.

Instructively, it is a recent example in a long line of web of lies-filled schemes that the franchisor-led trade associations spin in Canada and around the world which enables far greater evil to manifest.

Reminds me of the cocaine-fueled Just Desserts situation, before the homicide(s).

Happy Holy Week to all my franchise banker friends, as well.

• Predatory Franchise Lending
• Franchising Opportunism, 2005

Should the 1,100 Canadian Tim Hortons’ franchisees unionize themselves?

Considering the Ontario Labour Relations Board’s ruling (The Ontario Labour Relations Board Opens The Door To Franchisee Unionization In The Canada Bread Certification Case), you’d think it’s worth looking at.

Do you think the Tim Hortons franchisees have understood that they’ll likely be paying 3G Capital for the privilege of exiting their stores?

• ie. that the franchisor, currently, can unilaterally drive a franchisee’s equity into the negative and hide the fact from the market and other with confidentiality agreements.

Do you think the franchisees perceive themselves to be at war?

Canadian franchise bankers have learned a great deal about opportunism (self-interest with deceit) from their franchise bar friends.

Canadian franchise bankers

Franchising Opportunism

Paper to Industry Canada

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1. Modern franchising creates opportunism by separating ownership from control.

2. Economic theory indicates fraud is likely to occur with credence goods or services. Franchise industry system owners, lenders, consultants and lawyers provide credence services.

3. Franchisors sell franchises not only to the public but to their industry peers. A sophisticated fraud model has been developed. Franchisors licence their franchisees’ opportunism to financial institutions and consultants.

4. Fraud requires a tolerant environment.

5. Malfeasance is minimized with a free flow of information regarding material investment risks. The Canadian franchise industry is characterized by high levels of information flow on the all levels with the dramatic exception of the small business investor.

6. The most accurate, independent reputation data is held by those with the greatest barriers of communication.

7. There is sufficient internal and external evidence to warrant halting franchised loan claims and to notify the appropriate federal and provincial agencies for evaluation.

8. Further research is warranted.

There would be no charge for me to create a WordPress weblog for the Tim Hortons franchisees.

Who dislikes my involvement more: the franchisor, franchisee leadership or the franchisee lawyers?

The Canada Bread class action was valued at $350-million.

Gag orders create filthy “settlements”.