maplesyrup

The reason the Liberals want to go to the polls soon Environics Poll Released Thursday, January, 8, 2003 @ 2:30 PM at CBC Newsworld on the Don Newman show 'Politics': The polling for this national survey of voter preferences took place December 11-29, 2003 No of Canadian citizens polled: 1,936 ----------Dec '03-------Oct '03 -------- Percent-------Percent Lib:-----------51------------46 NDP:---------15------------15 Con:---------24-------14+13 Bloc:---------- 8-------------8 Other:--------2--------------4 Total:------100----------100 Atlantic Lib--------55-(52) NDP------16 (17) Con------27 (6+23) Other-----2 (2) Quebec Lib-------48 (47) NDP-----37 (36) NDP------9 (10) Con------5 (4+2) Other----1 (1) Ontario Lib------60 (54) NDP----14 (16) Con----24 (9+17) Other---0 (4) Man Lib-----48 (38) NDP---31 (27) Con---12 (18+15) Sask Lib----40 (24) NDP--20 (27) Con--34 (38+8) Alta Lib---32 (28) NDP--18 (9) Con--49 (42+16) BC Lib---46 (36) NDP-19 (23) Con--30 (26+12) Choice for Prime Minister ----------------------Percent Martin--------------------60 Harper--------------------7 Layton--------------------6 MacKay-------------------4 Duceppe------------------3 The Canadian people have spoken. So what are these results telling us? Who are cthe winners? Who are the losers? What are the ramafications? Will these numbers impact on the Conservative leadership race? If so, in what way? Let's compare these figures to Feb 4, 2001: Lib-----51 (45)------------increase of 6%....change + 13.3% NDP.....15 (8).........------increase of 7%...change + 87.5% Con----24 (23+8)-------decrease of 7%---change - 22.6% Bloc-----8 (8)-------no change If an election were held today, Liberals would win a masssive majority, probably obtaining 200 + seats. It really is a coronation for Martin at the moment. Trends are up for the NDP and down for the Conservatives, but regardless, the Liberals have a huge lead at the moment. How nice it would be to have a proportational representation system. Oh well, wishful thinking right now.

Just saw Belinda Stronach on TV, she looks like she's about to jump into the race. Her Dad said that he would take over the business again. PC4VR....apparently the Tony Clement's people bombarded the Globe poll.

' US deficit threatens world economy - IMF' http://www.businessworld.ie/livenews.htm?a...rollingnews.htm 'The US is running up a foreign debt of such record-breaking proportions that it threatens the financial stability of the global economy, according to a report released today by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). ' ------------------------------- 'I.M.F. Says U.S. Debts Threaten World Economy' By ELIZABETH BECKER and EDMUND L. ANDREWS http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/08/business/08FUND.html 'WASHINGTON, Jan. 7 — With its rising budget deficit and ballooning trade imbalance, the United States is running up a foreign debt of such record-breaking proportions that it threatens the financial stability of the global economy, according to a report released Wednesday by the International Monetary Fund. Prepared by a team of I.M.F. economists, the report sounded a loud alarm about the shaky fiscal foundation of the United States, questioning the wisdom of the Bush administration's tax cuts and warning that large budget deficits pose "significant risks" not just for the United States but for the rest of the world.' This doesn't look good.

Is this serious trouble ahead for the Paul Martin Liberals? MARBELLGATE 'Liberal official: Who paid for memberships?' by Steve Berry, Adrienne Tanner and Keith Fraser The Province http://www.canada.com/vancouver/story.asp?...CC-0F26BC042FB7 'A longtime federal Liberal worker wants an investigation into where all the money has come from to sign up hundreds of thousands of new members across Canada. David R. McCann, former chairman of membership in Vancouver Quadra, said yesterday that large amounts of cash donated to pay for new memberships have not been adequately explained. "It's pretty straightforward -- where did the money come from?" said McCann, adding he was "not surprised" by recent police searches of offices and homes of party insiders. McCann said there has been talk within the party that many new members had their $10 fees paid by unknown people. "You'd hear that they were signing people up and someone else was paying for the memberships." ' I wonder what Canada's Chief Electoral Officer thinks about all this. Hopefully he has already started his own investigation into what is going on here in the back rooms. When can we expect to hear from Mr Jean-Pierre Kingsley? This has been a raging story all across BC since December 28th. Where is the Ottawa Press Gallery, and/or Canada's National media, or do they not want to bite the hand that feeds them?

'Canada should say no to U.S. missile-defence plans, says NDP Leader Layton' National Post Canadian Press http://www.canada.com/national/nationalpos...4e-f6f42b0a2d67 'Layton said the proposed system won't work, would be frighteningly expensive and destabilize the international situation. He said he believes Canada would be on the hook for billions of dollars should it join the plan.' I agree with Mr Layton. Why is Canada's new Defence Minister trying to mislead Canadians about such a serious issue? First of all, let's renogitiate these trade deals which are ripping the guts out of our country. Another shift to the right by Paul Martin, CEO of Canada.

Another shock for the Paul Martin Liberals. The Toronto Star, usually a staunch supporter of the federal Liberals, is begining to waver, may be switching to the NDP, according to John Ivison, a columnist, in the National Post today. Toronto Star Editorial: Sun, Jan 4, 2003 'Change in the air for Toronto area' http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentSe...id=970599119419 'Federally, Prime Minister Paul Martin has also promised change and has repeatedly spoken in favour of a new deal for urban areas. It's too late for federal and provincial politicians to retreat from those promises. If Toronto's hopes are shattered, and trust in change is replaced by a sense of betrayal, politicians who were eagerly supported in the past could be scorned in the future. Electoral support by voters in Toronto and the 905 region shouldn't be taken for granted, especially by politicians who will be running in the federal election expected in April or May. If politicians fail to deliver the new deal they promised, Torontonians might just elect people who will.'

'American anger finds a prophet' by Gordon Barthos http://www.torontostar.com/NASApp/cs/Conte...ol=968350116795 '"His supporters are . . . revitalizing politics, showing a way to escape the grip of big money and to confront the shame of forgetting those in need." To cap it all, Dean appears to be doing strikingly well against Bush among all likely voters, not just among his party faithful. Bush still leads, but not by a huge margin: 51 per cent to 46 per cent.' This is turning into a real David and Goliath story and we all know who God backed in that biblical tale.

There he was folks, Canada's new Defence Minister, David Pratt, announcing today Canada's involvement in this Star Wars scheme with the US. This is the price that Canada is going to have to pay for not sending our troops to Iraq. Another shift to the right for the Paul Martin Liberal government.

Canada should get out of these trade deals, such as free trade which certainly isn't free, and NAFTA. We are being bullied by our American cousins too much over issues such as our softwood lumber, our culture, our cattle industry. and this race to the bottom in wages by the Wal-Marting of Canada. . BC is allowing children 12 years old to work. Has anyone heard of Charles Dickens? It is not in Canada's interest to remain. We should pull out now.

Maybe I should be revising my forecast upward for the NDP in the next federal political opinion poll. Seriously. 'Opposition could get the last laugh Liberals should not be arrogant about election prospects' John Ivison National Post http://www.canada.com/national/nationalpos...b8-d2a15efe8ab9 'In the meantime, the only relief from reliving the past over and over could be the surprising resurgence of the left-wing opposition parties.' 'The same sentiments could be expressed about those who have doggedly stuck with the notion that the NDP and Bloc Quebecois will have a serious impact on the next election. The conventional wisdom in the watering holes of Ottawa has been that the Liberals risked losing seats to a united right, particularly in Ontario, but would more than compensate by cherry-picking NDP seats and obliterating the Bloc. However, there are early signs that things might not quite go according to this plan, largely because the Paul Martin campaign team appears to be so used to fighting the last war against Jean Chretien that it hasn't yet identified the new enemy. NDP leader Jack Layton's emphasis on image over issues has piqued interest in the media and apparently caused confusion in Liberal ranks about how to react. The response has been a number of strategic aberrations that have left campaign veterans of all stripes scratching their heads. Layton has been taking the fight to Paul Martin in a barrage of criticism that has included referring to the Prime Minister as "a practising coal baron" and questioning which flag of convenience his family company ships are flying to avoid Canadian taxes and environmental standards. One Web site segment quotes a Canadian seaman who used to work for the Martin family's Canada Steamship Lines but has since been replaced by a cheaper Filipino worker: "At 54 years old, what am I going to do?" Cheeky, manipulative and not quite in the Corinthian spirit that one might expect from those nice, ragged-trousered philanthropists. As far as the Liberals were concerned, it was so much water off a duck's back -- until this week when they decided to retaliate with their own Web site broadside under the banner: "Say Anything Jack." Calling the NDP leader "the King of Shock," it adopted the NDP's own style of rhetoric, claiming Layton had broken "the land-speed record for most number of fabrications per minute." Now this is all knock-about stuff, the typical fodder of bored young researchers. But its appearance is perhaps a sign that the Liberals are rattled by Layton and unsure how to fight back. "The NDP's biggest enemies are irrelevancy and invisibility. Martin's people have made us relevant and visible," said one NDP source. "It was breathtakingly stupid." More question marks over Liberal strategy were raised yesterday. The Post ran a story in which senior Liberal MPs John McKay, parliamentary secretary to the Finance Minister, and John Godfrey, parliamentary secretary to the Prime Minister, queried the proposal to hand over a portion of federal gas revenues to municipalities as part of Martin's new deal for cities. On the same day, there were reports the government is going to significantly alter the $1-billion gun registry in order to appeal to Western Canada. "Is there a strategy here," asked one veteran Liberal. "I'm not saying there is no strategy or that, if there is, it's not working. It's just I can't figure out what it is." Another Liberal said he was shocked when he saw the gun registry story. "What we are doing is taking a sleeping dog -- gun control -- and giving it a couple of swift kicks. It looks like we're playing retail politics and saying whatever appeals to particular electoral groups. But Canadians are skeptical of this stuff." The obvious beneficiaries of this apparent rightward drift are the NDP and the Bloc. There will be those in the Liberal party, arrogant in their convictions about their own invulnerability, who will merely shrug their shoulders. But if that is the case, they probably do not represent ridings in the Greater Toronto Area. One source said internal Liberal polling shows Dennis Mills, Maria Minna, Tony Ianno and Jean Augustine would all lose their seats to NDP candidates, should an election be held now. It's not often that a Toronto Star editorial can be called thundering but last Sunday, the paper put Paul Martin on notice that he had better act on his new deal promises or he could see the Star switch its support to Layton. "If Toronto's hopes are shattered and trust in change is replaced by a sense of betrayal, politicians who were eagerly supported in the past could be scorned in the future," it wrote. The subsequent backpedalling by the Martin camp is a poor return for Mills, the man who brought the Pope and the Rolling Stones to Canada. But it is not just in Toronto that the Liberals could face increased competition. Former NDP leader Ed Broadbent could expect roughly the same welcome from Liberal insider and prospective MP Richard Mahoney as the two hikers entering the Slaughtered Lamb pub in the film American Werewolf in London, after announcing his candidacy in Ottawa Centre. And there are other urban ridings in Vancouver and Halifax where the NDP has high hopes. In the 2000 election, the Dippers had just $3.5-million to spend and didn't run any major market advertising in the run-up to polling day. This time around, the party is on target to raise $12-million and will spend heavily in Toronto and Ottawa to ensure victory for its star candidates. In Quebec, the Bloc appeared to be heading into footnotoriety last summer, with its polling numbers slipping to 28% in the province. But a Leger Marketing poll last month suggested the party was regaining lost ground, up 10 points at around 38% of the vote. "The Bloc is looking for wedge issues and will use things like gun control to show that the Liberals are out of touch with Quebec and chasing votes from the gun lobby," said one strategist. The pictures of Martin and George Bush cozying up that are likely to emerge from next week's gathering in Mexico will hardly assuage concerns in Quebec that the Liberals are drifting rightward. But if a decision has been taken by the Liberal braintrust to sacrifice Mills and his Toronto colleagues -- calls to find out were not returned by the party -- there is an element of logic to it. Whoever wins the Conservative party leadership will be a serious threat to many marginal Liberal seats across the country. Under Stockwell Day, the Alliance came within 4% of winning 20 Ontario ridings. Joe Jordan, the Liberal MP for Leeds-Granville, won his seat by 55 votes last time and the local provincial member, Bob Runciman, has made noises about running federally this year. "Runciman could win that seat without leaving his house," said one strategist. David Pratt, the new Defence Minister, narrowly won Nepean-Carleton by 2,200 votes over the Alliance, while the Tories polled 9,500. Even if one plus one only equals one and a half, Pratt had better hope his elevated profile is enough to prevent him going tubular. In the final analysis, the opposition parties look to be an election cycle away from posing a serious threat and it will be difficult for Martin not to win a majority. But a loss of 20 seats puts him in a minority government position. And if his team continues to misfire, or if his party doesn't appear hungry enough for victory, 5% of the voters could easily look at their options. If there are signs of slippage when Parliament resumes, Liberals will be hoping that Wiarton Willie, Canada's own groundhog prognosticator, stays in his cage. Ran with fact box "Martin's Search for Clarity" which had been appended to the story. '

Could this possibly be true? Whether it is, or it isn't, Prime Minister Paul Martin has made an error in judgement, by not adhering to NDP leader Jack Layton's request, to suspend his federal Liberal organizers in BC, until the air is cleared, in relation to the RCMP raids on BC legislature on December 28, 2003. My goodness, these people are members of the governing Liberal Party of Canada. 'Membership money is the target: Report TV station says police are looking into funding for 37,000 new Liberals' by Ian Bailey The Province, with a file by Lena Sin http://www.canada.com/vancouver/theprovinc...04-4624ADC78D4B 'The police investigation that led to a raid of the B.C. legislature last month focuses on the origins of money that was used to pay for as many as 37,000 memberships in the federal Liberal Party, an Ottawa TV station said yesterday. CJOH said police are also investigating the free travel of more than 80 Young Liberals to last November's leadership convention in Toronto, where Paul Martin became leader of the party. Also under scrutiny, the station said, are allegations that several workers in the B.C. legislature were offered up to $6,000 each in return for their help boosting party memberships.' -------------------------------------- 'Paul Martin's other deficit problem Ethics' Lawrence Solomon Financial Post http://www.canada.com/national/nationalpos...22-acc3187a0c50 'In the next federal election campaign, as in the last, the ethics of government leaders may again be a issue. In recent years, the public has witnessed a slew of scandals, among them Mr. Chretien's lobbying of the Business Development Bank to favour a constituent, former B.C. Premier Glen Clark's resignation over "Casinogate" and a Toronto scandal over a questionable computer leasing deal. If Mr. Martin is vulnerable on any issue in the coming election campaign, it's on patronage and ethics. He has already been attacked for perceived conflicts of interest over his shipping empire and over his friendships with, and gifts from, recipients of government largesse. During Canada's federal election campaign, the U.S. presidential campaign will also be in full swing. Charges of "cronyism" have emerged as a major issue there, with the Democrats demonizing Vice-President Dick Cheney's past ties to Halliburton. In Canada, both the Conservative and the NDP parties are sure to echo such charges. Mr. Martin would do well to aim for a fresh start by acting to clean out the rot, before an election call. He can do so in any number of ways -- appoint an independent ethics advisor, refuse to do business with companies convicted of criminal wrongdoing, curb the patronage system. The public has waited long enough for integrity in government.'

Stephen Harper accused of exploiting his position! This is a perfect example of what's that expression: 'Plus ca change, plus ca reste la meme chose.' So Stephen Harper is providing himself with special advantages in this race. I thought this new Conservative party is the party of principles and high morals. I don't see any diffewrence between Mr harper's bewhaviour here, and Prime Minister Martin's behaviour in refusing to suspend his party members in BC who have been raided by the RCMP. Conservatives are identical to the Liberals, and this is why Jack Layton's NDP continues to rise in the polls. By GREG KEENAN and BRIAN LAGHI http://www.globeandmail.com/servlet/story/...Story/National/ 'Leadership front-runner Stephen Harper, Leader of the Alliance, faced internal criticism yesterday for not stepping down as Opposition Leader while campaigning for the job. The criticism was over a letter that Mr. Harper's campaign team sent out to people who are members of the Alliance wing of the Conservative Party last month, seeking funds for his run. "The fact that he is mailing these out as caucus leader and official Leader of the Opposition opens himself up — if not for real criticism — then for the perception of a problem," said Jason Hatcher, a spokesperson for candidate Jim Prentice. Mr. Hatcher said Mr. Harper should consider giving up the Opposition Leader job now if he wants to avoid a negative perception. One critic noted that Mr. Harper continues to issue news releases as Leader of the Official Opposition while campaigning, an advantage that other candidates don't have. Mr. Harper will officially announce his candidacy on Monday, although he confirmed last month that he would run. Derek Lucas, a former national councillor for the Canadian Alliance and a supporter of Mr. Strahl, said the move looks cynical to grassroots members, who are wondering whether Mr. Harper might be using his parliamentary staff to help in his campaign. "There is a lot of concern about this," he said.'

Why Stephen Harper will never win. There are many articles in the press today devoted to the Conservative leadership race, but Lawrence Martin of the Globe and Mail has hit the nail on the head with his column. 'The snore of '04 is what's in store' http://www.globeandmail.com/servlet/story/...Story/National/ Either Stephen Harper will not win the leadership race, or if he does win the leadership race, the Conservative party is doomed. And forget about labeling the Globe as anti Conservative, or anti business, because those kind of comments, are just as ludicous, as someone else's comments on another thread, suggesting that Canada is bordering on a totalitarian state because we have the CBC. For example today there are at least 4 (I haven't seen all the articles yet) columns devoted to the Conservatives. The NDP would be delighted to receive that kind of publicity. So even with all this overwhelming support from the mainstream press in Canada, the Conservative party can't get it together, and what it actually shows, is how weak this new Conservative party appeal is, for most Canadians. Some of Lawrence Martin's more salient points include: 1 'Thanks to the inglorious retreat of Bernard Lord, the Hamlet of the Maritimes, the new Prime Minister will face the same type of debilitated opposition the old one did.' 2 'Alas, that is not what is in store. Instead, get ready for the snore of '04. More futility from the right. More public disengagement. More Liberal hegemony.' 3 'Mr. Lord's decision to once again approach the starting line for a run at national leadership, and to once again back off, has driven a dagger into the gut of the new Conservative Party.' 4 'It is a decision of dire significance. With the more moderate Mr. Lord in the Conservative race, the Progressive Conservatives would have been revitalized. His entry would have triggered a leadership fight against the old Reformers that would have attracted intense media coverage. A truly national party, with a foothold in the East, could have been fashioned.' 5 'Now the political right, while formally unified, finds itself in the same dilemma as in the decade past. With no national compromise candidate for leadership in sight, it will remain a party of regional rancour. Just what the Grits want.' 6 'Stephen Harper is competent and shrewd and well-informed, but, as demonstrated by his record since becoming Alliance leader 20 months ago, he has no voter appeal east of Moose Jaw. He is credited with spearheading the merger movement. Well, yes, but he had no choice. His Alliance Party was stationary under him.' 7 'Should he win the Conservative leadership, Canada will again have as its official opposition a branch office of the U.S. Republican Party. As Mr. Harper should know by now, Canadians don't vote Republican.' 8 'It's not to say that everything will be easy for Paul Martin. The reinvigorated NDP under Jack Layton will be a force, and Mr. Harper might be able to hide his true colours and tack to the moderate centre.' Lawrence Martin, the author of this article today has accurately touched all the significant bases, but perhaps the most important one is Number 7. This is Canada and we are different in a lot of ways from our American cousins, and most certainly very different when it comes to politics.

Hi Michael....is this what you wanted? 'Media shakeup expected Canada's broadcasters and publishers look set to head out on the acquisition trail' by Barbara Shecter http://www.canada.com/national/nationalpos...25-4f87c973f469 'The Globe and Mail newspaper and CTV Inc., with specialty channels TSN and Discovery, will possibly come up for grabs in 2004 or early 2005, according to insiders. They are owned by Bell Globemedia, which is 68.5% owned by telecom giant BCE Inc. It was created in late 2000 after BCE bought CTV. The Globe newspaper was folded into Globemedia and its owner, Toronto's Thomson family, became the other significant shareholder.' 'Insiders doubt the government will move on the issue before an expected spring election. But if the restrictions are dropped in 2004, the inducement of cheaper borrowing costs through a larger investment pool could trigger the sale or spinoff of television and radio stations from companies that own those "culture" businesses alongside the cable and phone networks that carry them.' This exemplifies the kind of problems we have with our secret lobbying, behind closed doors, deceiving the Canadian public, style of government. So they will have the election with no hint ahead of time, of what they are really going to do, and then once the election is over, they will have their majority, and then do whatever the big lobbyists want. That's the reality of the Liberals, and no effective opposition.

Does anyone know when the next federal politics poll results are going to be released? There's a lot of hot air blowing out there, and I think it's time for a little reality check, don't you? My hunch is that you will continue to see the Liberals with a substantial lead, and the NDP contnuing to improve in the national standings. My reasoning is that most Canadians prefer the Liberals. The fact that Martin constantly mentioned the NDP during his year-end interviews, and also that the Liberals have put up a link on their website to a silly page, attacking The NDP leader JacK Layton, makes one suspect that the Liberal internal party polling is confirming the NDP rise in strength across the country. The mo9st recent national public scientific surveys of voter preferences in Canada show the following results: ----------------Lib---NDP---Con---Bloc---PC---All---Oth Ekos 21/12/2003--56-----12----25-------9 Ipsos-Reid 14/12/2003--48----14-----21-------9 ----------------4 Ipsos-Reid 06/12/2003--43----15---------------9---14----10 SOM 02/12/2003--58----18-----13------9 My forecast for the next poll is: Lib------55% NDP-----17% Con-----20% Bloc------8% Total--100% What's your guess?

Concentration of the media into a few large groups is one of the biggest threats to our democracy in Canada. Every survey ever undertaken in Canada shows that the overwhelming majority of Canadians are concerned about the ownership of our media falling into fewer and fewer hands. What is our federal government waiting for to address this overriding issue of concern to Canadians?

'Fired aide is of modest means, his lawyer says Co-owner of three Victoria homes uses rental income to help pay mortgage' Jim Beatty and Lori Culbert Vancouver Sun http://www.canada.com/vancouver/news/story...A8-CFBF695D5854 What is going on here? This Paul Martin Liberal organizer who is the subject of police raids at the BC Legislature, is receiving a severance package, of over $50,000. with money that could be going into healthcare or education or to help pay down the debt. Are these people nuts? 'B.C. government aide targeted in police raid accepts severance package' http://www.canada.com/victoria/story.asp?i...50-5A7397F00876 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 'No evidence federal officials linked to drugs or money laundering, PM says Martin promises swift action if police find connection' by Peter O'Neil http://www.canada.com/national/story.asp?i...0B-6CC047C71F06 'One MP bluntly called on Martin to assure Canadians his 2003 leadership campaign wasn't financed partly by drug money, while another called for heads to roll in the Liberal party's West Coast organization.' 'He was also asked if he intended to seek the resignations of Erik Bornman, the party's director of communications, and Bruce Clark, the chief fundraiser. Police executed search warrants at the offices of both men' '"Why, more than a week after this story has broken, are these people still wielding influence in the official capacities they hold in Canada's governing party?" Layton told reporters. "I think propriety would suggest that officials step aside during these investigations."'

Martin recalls Parliament for Feb. 2 http://64.4.36.250/cgi-bin/linkrd?_lang=EN...%2d6CC047C71F06 'Martin said his legislative priorities include creating an independent ethics commissioner, introducing an electoral boundaries bill and passing patent legislation to permit the export of drugs to help fight AIDS in Africa. He also confirmed that a bill to decriminalize marijuana will be reintroduced and dismissed suggestions that the gun registry be scrapped.' ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 'Liberal MPs fight Martin's gas tax plan Revenue for cities: Senior caucus members say Ottawa cannot afford it yet 'Anne Dawson, Chief Political Correspondent, with files from Siri Agrell, National Post' http://www.canada.com/national/nationalpos...4c-8757f1d816a2 'An opposition MP suggested the Liberals' criticism of the gas tax may have been made at the behest of Mr. Martin, looking for a way out of the commitment' 'Jack Layton, the NDP leader and a former Toronto councillor and one-time president of the FCM, has accused Mr. Martin of stalling on his gas tax promise. He said the Prime Minister, who campaigned extensively during the Liberal leadership race on a "new deal" for cities that specifically touted the gas tax, should have been ready to roll out his plan immediately upon his coronation last month.'

Bush is bringing in amnesty for one very simple reson. Conservaties have no where else to go, and he knows it. They will support him no matter how much they dislike what he does. He is laughing all the way to the bank on this one. Bush is not taking any risk at all. It's a win-win situation for him. His mission is to win, that's it. There is nothing else of any consequence on his agenda. --------------------------------------------------------- Bush gets my vote for this one! Si Senor! President Says Changes to Immigration Will Help Millions http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/07/politics...ND-IMMI.html?hp 'While Mr. Bush said again that he opposed amnesty, which he said would only encourage lawbreaking and perpetuate illegal immigration, his proposals would nonetheless effectively grant a measure of amnesty to illegal immigrants with jobs.' Bush is quite the joker.

'White-collar jobs leaving U.S.' by Richard Gwyn http://www.torontostar.com/NASApp/cs/Conte...ist969907618300 '"George W. Bush, despite a booming economy, is the first president since Herbert Hoover to preside over a net loss of jobs during his term in office. A related, but quite different, phenomenon is causing the U.S. to experience what's called a "jobless recovery." ' No thanks folks, the Wal-Marting of society, is not the dream for most Americans, nor Canadians, for that matter.

Chuck Strahl, who I believe is going to win this race, is presently in Toronto. He is assembling his team and the financing required, and will be making it official next week.

KrustyKidd........lots of people don't see much difference between the Democrats and the Republicans, just different elites in society vieing for power. It is the same in Canada where the perception is that there basically is not any significant differences between the Liberals and the Conservatives. One result of this is the low voter turnout in both countries. That is why you will always see a certain amount of support for the NDP or Ralph Nader where there are real contrasts. Chances are they will never take power because they don't have the money that's required to buy elections. It is interesting to note though that Nader got almost 3% of the vote last time around. A reoccuring problem for the Democrats is the threat of another Nader candidacy. He is making noises about running again so it complicates things for the Democrats who will have to take that into consideration when planning their election strategy. Another big problem in both countries, is the concentration of media ownership, so effectively we have a closed media. If you ever want confirmation of that just do a goole search about some current event, and you will see, literally hundreds of media outlets, flogging identical stories.

By not suspending his people that are connected to the RCMP raids on the BC Legislature, Martin contributes to the growing distrust, that Canadian citizens have of their politicians and political parties. No one is suggesting that they did anything wrong, but these people are members of, or involved with, Canada's governing party and as such, when there is even the hint of a scandal, elected politicians, or party officials, need to do the honourable thing, and step aside until the air is cleared. We are not talking about someone taking a chocolate bar from a grocery store here. This is a 20 month major police investigation into organized crime, drugs, money laundering, and now commercial crime.

Belinda Stronach running neck and neck with Stephen Harper for the Conservative party leadership in today's poll in the Globe and Mail. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/Pag...bhub=VoteResult

More good news for the EC. 'Blair: I'll take Britain into euro by 2007' http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/...sp?story=478791 It's about time, what have they been waiting for anyway? That EC is getting to be a powerhouse but North America will still be able to take them in hockey, as long as Canada has our American teammates with us.