The election is neigh! The people are ready! RICK MERCER IS BLOGGING!
Michael Ignatieff is already a member of my heart's parliament but that special place will change owners real quick if Vijay Sappani ever decides to run. His blog is great, some posts are crossed at that hi-so cocktail party called IntentBlog.
Another read I've been digging due to some wicked analysis and a really cute name is Pample the Moose. It was only a few days ago that I noticed where and what the author is, a post-doc fellow in Canadian studies at Mount Allison University. Hark the marshes call from afar. HOLLA! Yes, I really hope he follows his stats back to the 'holla'.
Finally, I like Politics Watch. I lurve me an election, y'all.
Michael Ignatieff is already a member of my heart's parliament but that special place will change owners real quick if Vijay Sappani ever decides to run. His blog is great, some posts are crossed at that hi-so cocktail party called IntentBlog.
Another read I've been digging due to some wicked analysis and a really cute name is Pample the Moose. It was only a few days ago that I noticed where and what the author is, a post-doc fellow in Canadian studies at Mount Allison University. Hark the marshes call from afar. HOLLA! Yes, I really hope he follows his stats back to the 'holla'.
Finally, I like Politics Watch. I lurve me an election, y'all.
28 Comments:
Eech. I dunno. i can barely take the politicians let alone people who enjoy the politics.
Curiously enough I am going to bring up two interesting topics at hand.
-Childcare
-Fisheries
Childcare is not being dealt with by either party accordingly.
Conservatives are offering far too little money to an industry that is charging far too much, Liberals are being too vague in their discription and the NDP hasnt even tried at this one yet.
Fisheries have been touched on by the NDP and the Conservatives and I agree with both parties (even more so the conservatives, frighteningly enough) on their stances. Liberals better get a backbone quickly and start defending our coasts and investigating our losses.
Im still voting green. Fuckin stupid hippies they are. Eech.
I appreciate the Green, they have a solid vision that isn't as one-dimensional as it would appear. They are going to be hurt again by being unable to participate in the debates.
Questions for anyone who can answer them... Who lords over the inclusion of participants? Is it the tv networks that air them? Shouldn't it be Elections Canada or something?
For me the green have a reasonable social stance as well. Not so much socialist as it is that we should be able to do what we please within reason (i.e. as long as noone gets hurt directly or indirectly).
Also they are very fiscally conservative, not to the point that they are cutting costs, only that they consider it a priviledge to handle the publics money, which you so rarely see within political groups these days.
As for who decides which participants are included in tv debates, im not sure, I know this was an issue last time as well because of the fact that the green party were a blip on the board. I believe it is an issue that is to be decided by both parties (elections canada and the networks). Fuck,if the bloody PQ and BQ are allowed to be on tv why shouldnt the Greens??
Fact!
Anyhoo, Im totally pissed with the liberals for this handgun bullshit. Talk about smoke and mirrors, how about tackling a real topic? I could understand if Canadas laws were lax with regards to handguns but its not like that at all. Fucking nonsense. God forbid they actually do anything for the better.
the lemon party didn't get half a million votes in the last election. there should be some other criteria instead of seats, like over a certain percentage of votes. if they're sitting on a cool million in fed money then i want to hear them speak.
besides, does the bloc really need a seat in the english debates? kam aaan.
damn crooked liberals. the only green riding near us is trinity - spadina. they needs more contenders. PHD, Cee Pee I think you two should really give some thought to running next year when the govt falls apart again.
i read somewhere that the green party got their highest vote % in alberta. that's insane. fucking ontario and fucking liberals.
I agree with all of the above. Also we can actually vote green cuz its in our area, hey PHD. As for us running, we've already decided that we want our candidates to argue on the streets that way we the people get to really understand and see our candidates. Ironically they are going to be doing this arguing on soapboxes.
I am one step ahead of you neha. I became a member of the Green Party last night. My intention is to run during the next campaign. I appreciate your support and I will hope to gather more support before it's time to run during the next election. In the meantime I committed myself to 2 hours a week of volunteer work for the party. Hopefully, this experience will lead to greater involvement with the overall direction of the party. I encourage you to become members and to visit their website if you would like to know more about their policies.
On another note, I don't think it would be a good idea to grant them a spot in the debates because it would involve switching the policy in order to accomodate their unique situation. Yes, in theory, I feel that if you have over 500000 votes you should be able to participate in the debates, but we can't just change the rule during an election campaign to accomodate one party. This is something they should correct for the next election. Doing it now would open a can of worms. In the meantime, they should focus on other ways to communicate with the people: blogging, visiting universities, hospitals, community centers, city hall meetings, and connecting with the business community. They could do this at the grassroots level as they are still a grassroots party. It is critical that they convey the message that they are a business friendly party with an environmental conscience. They need to show Canadians that they are not the NDP and you don't have to be the NDP to have a respect for the environment and a commitment to social justice.
Just wrote an email to the Green Party for a specific outline of their policies. This is going to be the deal breaker (tho ill prob vote for them anyways but...).
I wanna know quite a few things, one thing i forgot to mention was how are they going to deal with the 5 Billion owed to us by the US? Will they turn off the trade tap??
what about the population of the world they owe in USD to the UN? pft, that's not a trade tap, it's a big assed bunch of tantalus grapes dude.
oh shoot i almost choked on my chicken wing - ha, s
let us know if you get emailed back, cee pee. i'm especially interested in their healthcare policies. personally i don't really mind private clinics as long as public funds aren't used to set them up.
still reeling from reading the papers this morn. fucking martin and his fucking gun ban. gun bans and tougher penalties do not reduce gun violence and there is no damn need to put extra millions into law enforcement.
we have bigger problems expecially in TO. like poor immigrants and refugees who can't find work and end up living in ghettos where their kids ultimately get in with bad company and you know what comes next...
Neha - sorta agree with you on the gun ban issue. Gun violence has to be tackled at the municipal level.
Healthcare - worst thing they (political parties) could have done is to politicize the issue!
On the high percentage of Green in Alberta - not surprising. There are Green Party signs on lawns all over the NoseHill area near the Univ. I met the Green candidate for this riding last month and she confirmed that they have a strong support base. When you look at the numbers, Tory votes account for only 3 out of every five in Albert as a whole (probably slightly higher in Calgary)
S- Not worried bout the others, thats their problem, Im only worried about Canada. 5 Billion by some standards isnt that much however, its more than 0 as a result Id love to see that cash a flowing into our economy and into our country.
I would have to say that we do have a tap rather than grapes as we do the majority of our trade with them and vicey versey.
Neha-
Totally agree with you on the healthcare bit, I dont think its realistic anymore for us to have universal healthcare, especially when youve got 7 year olds that need brainscans and have to wait for 2 years before they can get them. Provided that its well watched over and we regulate the fuck out of what the american companies can do up here, i dont think its a bad thing. People like my parents can skip the line and make room for those who cant afford it (like me, HA).
The gun thing is total fucking nonsense, it was put best today in the globe (by John Ibbitson) to paraphrase as either "well meaning and misguided or as a cynical ruse". Either way they need to get down to the grassroots level and stop placating to the masses.
Unfortunately I think the Liberals are at a point now where they have lost touch with the common man, as have the conservatives (alliance got swallowed up, they were grassroots for the west to a certain extent) and the NDP are still lost as per usual.
That ends that rant for now...
PS
I meant that I agree with a two tier health care system. NOT ONE. Deuce. Deuce for the spruce goose.
Seems to work fine in Europe, Australia and Quebec (possibly Alberta, dunno yet).
PPS
If the green party is smart they will push to diversify trade with several countries ie China, India, Brazil etc etc, rather than just the States...
thanks, jay, for those badmash stats! 3/5 is a surprise.
interesting point you bring up about the tories' grass roots origins, cee pee. reform from what i understood was all about giving power back to the people, taking it away from the federal grip of death. doesn't sound half bad right now if you don't think about them fag-hating, hood-wearing crazies. just kidding...
i read a snappy description of the gun ban too "great politics, terrible policy". ain't it the truth. jay's right, such issues need to be settled municipally. i'm somewhat appalled at the blanket promises being made by the libs and tors. it shows poor understanding and obvious desperation.
ugh, like the Mount A pub at closing time! "i'll love you always, baby, just take me home this one time" ha, we've all heard that one before.
i think trade will have to veer east regardless of govt. but not before some battling. especially between u.s. and china over the tar sands.
PHD, i'm glad you're getting involved. seriously, i think you should offer your 2 hours to blog for them...the future is HERE. :-P
hey, lets take a moment to think about Kilgour. 10 bucks says he is g.o.n.e.
If Kilgour loses, I promise God that I will fast for one day a year. Anyways, if you want to know more about where the greens stand on health care and other most salient issues you should visit their website and click on the 'policies' tab. Their health care policies among others are clearly delineated on that page.
Regardless, I havent thoroughly analyzed their healthcare policies-but I was thinking-how bout a system that is universal for youth (under age 18) and elderly (over 65) and two-tier for people who are of working age. Right now, many large corporations employ people and offer many medical benefits that gives them double coverage. This could somehow be reworked. I haven't really thought much about it though, I'd have to do more research to have a better informed opinion on the matter. I like the Greens mostly because they are saying that to believe in social justice, a clean environment, and 3rd world development-you dont have to be the NDP. You don't have to become a tax nazi. Ya neha. I will document the work that I'm doing with them.
in case you wanna know where they stand on health matters:
http://lp.greenparty.ca/tiki-index.php?page=Health+subcommittee
all other issues:
http://www.greenparty.ca/livingplatform.html~&MMN_position=21:19.html
-Phd-Pretentious
Thanks PHD.
I read some other bit and it wasnt terribly informative, ill give this one a go.
Cp- about diversifying trade with other countries including brazil – this thought is really just spawned by the thought of pushing trade in the americas… I am just curious how you mean. I imagine by abolishing or easing tariffs and trade restrictions writ large, or do you mean also by hype “advertising” HARDON on the economy in terms of industry avenues? I’m just thinking, I mean with ftaa and all, since the more developed nations are interested in pushing the services, developing nations are often more concerned with agriculture… some problems that could arise since Canada does significant ag, is domestic backlash for import incentives – like for example when bush abolished steel tarrifs last year and the Midwest got pissed because the homegrown steel spread was gonna hurt hurt hurt cause they had to lower their prices to compete cutting deep into their profits. bush got a lot of flack over the steel tariffs, I think it would be bad pr for the greens to fuck with Canadian industry in the raw mat realm. Especially since wood is big on both sides. It’s scary too cuz we’re so reliant on the trade we do with the US. Fuck, the border restrictions are enough to hurt the economy…Cheap materials would help the manufacturers, but hurt the raw mat guys. Hmmm… bay street or the bread basket? What did you have in mind?
By trade tap more like tantalus grapes I just meant to say the trade we do with the us, we are so dependent upon it, and yet we don’t really benefit so much after border restrictions and crazy tariffs and other trade regulations they’ve slapped on our ass under every guise, biggest one of course being homeland security. The FDA, US customs, it’s fucking scary business these days, they kinda got us by the pits. Arbitrary new fines and permits required, etc.etc.etc.. flat out refusals of export even with everything in order, talk bout trade restrictions, ouch that shit hurts! How the hell do you just turn off the taps? We are well and good their bitch. Although a party to stand up to a little intimidation would be sweeeet even if it meant ten more years of recession and the grunge music. The times WOULD be exciting…until the liberals got back in and started sucking dick for money again. I was just saying the Us doesn’t give a fuck who it owes money too because it damn well doesn’t have to pay it, using the Un as an example of large outstanding debts astoundingly overdue.
Me no analytical ability. Me put foot in mouth. I kid I kid! Me eat ho-ho’s instead. Superpowers my a-hole.
c-ya! s
ps - how would the 5 bil get into canadians pockets? we've already had a surplus two years running and seen nothin back! it aint the money honey, it's the power! fight the powers that be!
I'm voting Green too, i'm surprised so many people here are... maybe there's hope for them yet
Policy-wise the Liberals say (but dont fully do) what's closest to what I believe... but I think they really need a time-out. I don't blame the party for the sponsorship scandal but Martin hasn't led like i wanted him to lead since... it seems like he's done everything to maintain power without really leading us anywhere. A few years in opposition might force them back to being active leaders rather than just placeholders.
It would be good to get another party in, especially one so focused on the environment, even the NDP has to divide its loyalties (too bad buzz abandoned them)
The greens get additional funding for each vote (its only a few dollars per) but the larger the % of the pop.vote they get the harder it'll be to ignore them. They're running a full slate of candidates this time too, so you can vote for them no matter where you live.
About the debates, as far as I can figure it's all decided on by the 4 major parties and TV networks involved, no government involvement. The Greens want elections canada to take over.
And yeah, their support is highest in the west... some recent polls have them nearing 10% in BC/AB/Prairies, good shit.
well said, ananthan. although the thought of a liberal opposition right now would just mean a tory govt. and i'm not sure i want that so much.
i do, however, want to see some green in my riding but can't find a candidate. guys, when i said there is a trinity-spadina candidate i was wrong. have a look at this. i'm in that riding too, doesn't look like we have a green candidate. correct me if i'm wrong pls...it is currently looking like another Chow vs. Ianno race here. booo.
you know what's driving me insane? the conservative tv ads! notice the car-honk at the end of every ad? why? they make steve look more plastic than he is. pfft.
Neha, over 20 comments! You need to blog about politics more often. It is obvious that this affects peoples corals and jewels the same way that it does mine. ;) Canadian politics seems so much more polite than politics down here.
S- I totally see your argument and understand the complexeties of trades with south america, especially with regards to agricultural trade. I think in this situation that we do not need to focus on one particular industry as we have (for the most part) with the US.
For instance Im not saying that we need to do 30% trade with Brazil persay, however, Im sure that our pharmaceutical industries would not turn down the opportunity to deal with the world's 8th biggest market place.
In Sept 2003, Lula (the Pres) allowed for the importation of generic drugs as to why we didnt jump on it, I do not know.
It is very true that alot of these developing nations are trying to shun importation (quite understandably), but we do have to keep knocking and keep letting them know we are available and more than happy to trade. Its detremental that we look not for loopholes but for openings that we can accomodate.
China and India do not have the natural resources available that Brazil does, this is why China is looking more and more towards Canada/US. A great example of how this has affected us already is the fact that Vancouvers shipping yards have built one of the worlds biggest cranes and are considering widening the mouth of the harbour. We however have shyed away from this, such as when we didnt sell an oil company out west to the chinese government. There are details im sure im looking over. I am aware that we constantly buy and sell companies out west with the americans and its at such a steady rate that we usually own half of the actual companies out there. Why not half are ours, then 25% are Chinas, 10% Indias, etc etc.
With regards to material vs raw. Once again id have to say split it down the middle, or even let them compete (slightly dangerous idea). People would obviously be upset by it but frankly if they want to keep eating food they can afford, then its a reality. We have to stop thinking in the short term.
The only issues that might arise with regards to trading with these countries is the whole human rights thing.
With regards to the US, the fact that they are so indebt to everyone else (including us) is a great reason to start to look elsewhere, other wise when the ship sinks we are going down with it.
If we do not stand up for ourselves now we will continue to be manipulated and pushed about. We dont have to totally turn off the taps but perhaps clog them a bit. We could start to import certain bits and pieces from other countries (such as fruit) rather than from the states. We could also stop sending them our energy (ie water and electricity) at regular prices (if at all).
Last but not least Im not expecting the 5 billion to go directly back into our pockets by anymeans, I simply think it could be reinvested back into our communities and into areas of long neglect.
I hope I responded accordingly, its hard at this time in the morning with this big a hang over.
eech.
cp - i bow to you, respectfully, in that foreign-y way. i know who is student and who is master. and i'll placate with my snotty nose over brunch apparently in five.
hee hee!
:)-s
Yes Neha, I Plan to run in a few years. Public life requires a lot of compromise on private life and I'm currently commited to several education and empowerment projects in India. Maybe 4-5 years from now. Ignatieff is a great guy. I'm campaigning for him. If you live in teh GTA, I'm happy to arrange a meeting for you with him. I ahvent blogged in a while on canadian stuff, but plan to do so soon. Campaigning is keep me busy.
Damn, the toronto star lied to me, they said they were running in every riding. Though they are running in most of them, but not mine... I guess i'll be voting in Waterloo.
I don't like Ignatieff... I want to, but I really cant stand the sense of entitlement surrounding him in this election. Dude lives elsewhere for 30 years then shows up weeks before and says he'll represent a place he's probably never even been before... irritating.
ananthan,
Walk into our campaign office at Kipling/queensway, talk to Ignatieff, then tell me if youstill agree with your statement. It's a great honor to have someone with his knowledge and caliber to run for politics. I ahve not come across many intelligent wellinformed people like him in politics and he will be good for the party and the country.
Cheers
VJ
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