maplesyrup

kimmy.......good questions, quite perceptive of you. Chretien's raison d'etre though was to keep Canada together, everything else was secondary for him. Don't you remember having heard about his cryin' at a cabinet meeting when he thought Canada would come apart? Yes he was arrogant, but I really don't think he is was in politics to enrich himself. That just comes with the territory. and yes, Queckers are astute policitians, perhaps the most astute in the land, but Quebec politics is very vicious, with a no holds barred mentaliity. Trudeau and Chretien were tried to be made out as traitors to their Quebecois community by the French separatists.

I am sure you will all be interested in the next International BUY NOTHING DAY coming up in November. This is one event I would to see turned into a week's duration.

Canada Dollar Eases From High, Bonds Up With Oil Good time to buy canuk dolla!

You outta know, you are one of them. you and Bliss, and Bercuson, etc. Our country is doing just fine, thank you. and yes we will sort out the submarine problem, and any other problems that come our way. We don't need more BS brain-dead ideas from South of the border. Canada's biggest problems come from South of the border. We are not Americans, we don't like their values, and we don't want to be part of them. What's it going to take to get these neo-cons to realize that?

IMR......the reality is the world does not miss reagan they are just glad we surrivred his idiotic terms in power. You just don't get it, that's all.

The reality of course is quite the opposite. In 1976 the world went to shit with the election of ronald reagan some kind of a religious crackpot with a Looney Tunes wife, and we have gone downhill ever since. Hopefully this DARK AGE is about to finally pass with the defeat of Bush in 3 weeks. Why is Canada full of Americans who are working and earning their livings here, eh?

Anonymous letters in The Globe and Mail Here is a solid article on what editorials do and don't do, probably including good reasons why they should be banned. People need to sign their articles - I want to know the source, don't you?

Interestingly enough in BC, where it is basically a one company newspaper town, people are turning to The Tyee, an online newpaper source, as an alternative to CanWest Global. Headlines get e-mailed to you on a daily or weekly basis, and they are hoping to have readership of 10,000 soon. Is it news, comment, opinion, editiorial, propaganda, political or business spin? What's the difference and who can say for sure?

Linda McQuaig's article, similar to most of her other material is brilliant, and Canada would do well to have many more journalists cut from the same cloth. This pandering to the US has got to stop. Let's take the Economist magazine for what it is - a business rag. Canada is a huge inspiration for many people in the world.

Third right wing political party nominates candidate for Surrey Panarama Ridge, BC by-election on October 28th. Starting to get crowded over there on the right, just the way us lefties want it. In the right corner, wearing a blue skirt is anti-gay Liberal candidate Mary Polak. Again in the right corner, wearing a green jumper is Green Party Leader Adrienne Carr. And again in the right corner, wearing a red smock is Shirley the Reform BC Party candidate. Versus the David In this David and Golliath story, in the middle of the ring, wearing blue and gold, the John Travolta lookalike entrenneur East Indian New Democratic candidate Jagrup Brar.

I am also thankful for the sun that warms us, for the forests that house us, for the oceans and the prairie lands that feed us, and the moon that moves the tides. I appreciate the many customs and traditions of our aboriginal societies, and that they have shared so much with us. I trust we will continue to support our First Nation peoples, so that they can stay on the road to healing their communities. I have a very warm feeling on this Thanksgiving Day, a privileged visitor on this planet Earth.

The wayward press: Special guest blogger Stéphane Dion (sort of) An excellent analysis of Canada's political journalists and why when you go to a political event rarely do find any similarity when you read about it the next day in the press. There is no question Dion is fearless and brilliant, and for these very reasons, he is in the current, as well as previous Canadian cabinets. I don't think a lot of Canadians realize what courage Dion is exhibiting by opposing the cult-like, one-sided thinking that for way too long has been the political atmosphere or climate in Quebec. Similar to Trudeau he is has been labelled a traitor yet his ideas do more for the Quebec people than the all the rest of the French nationalists.

Canadian self-haters grow shrill I wonder what it is in a person's psyche that leads them to dislike or hate their own country and its values. I think McQuaig has touched a nerve here with her perceptive article. We have a lot of freedom these days, so I don't understand these people who seriously dislike their own country canada, but yet don't move to some other society where they would more obviously fit in. Maybe it is time to call the moving company for these disgruntled Canadians.

Climate fear as carbon levels soar [/URL] So for the non-renewable energy business community global warming is not an issue, eh! Does anyone know how to spell: "L-E-M-M-I-N-G-S" ? I don't care what those idiots think, but isn't it about time we put our future existence in more capable hands?

Is drug watchdog on duty for us?[/URL] This is what happens when you give the business community carte blanche to run your governments. Time to wake up Canadians, time to take government out of the hands of big business, and protect your children. :angry:

N.S. woman crusades against Sunday shopping Where are all you so-called Christian business people on this issue, eh? We have had a good kick at the can with Sunday shopping. Businesses have tried to maximize their returns by using their space every minute of every waking day. Guess what. Life went on before Sunday shopping, life is going on now with Sunday shopping, and life will continue to go with the demise of Sunday shopping. I am sure that all the proponents of Sunday shopping just like the proponents of low minimum wages, do not work on Sundays or collect minimum wages. They jsat want what's good for others, eh! Hypocrites is what they are, plain and simple. :angry:

caesar.....I don't think you have to worry about any one political party forming the government by themselves in the next election in BC. From what I am hearing, there will be at least four 77 candidate political parties in the next election so hopefully we will get a minority government, and combined with the Citizen's Asembly referendum on proportional representation, this Campbell Liberal government may be our last majority government for a very long time in BC. In other words these polarizing groups are going to be forced to work together by the BC citizens.

caesar....to a certain extent I agree with you, but here there are clear abuses by employers which is well documented in the report. I do believe though that all this focusing on some poor guy who justs can't seem to get his act together is a waste of time, money and government resources, while most of the really big crooks at the top are getting away scottfree.

Don't mind Neil. He is a bit of a Christian homophobe.

Bull market in oil poised for correction What is they say about investing? The Bears make a little. The Bulls make a little. The Pigs make nothing. Are we about to see a repeat in this famous, well used and accurate expression? If the price of oil does crash, or correct itself, what impact will this have on our Canadian economy? What precautions if any can Canadians take to weather what appears to be this gathering storm?

Reality bites. and the reality is the Conservatives have gone to bed with the Bloc, and the New Democrats have chosen the Liberals as the lessor of three evils. In the scoring on keeping the Liberals propped up, after the first period: Liberals & NDP: One Cons & Bloc: Zero The second period is about to begin!

Perhaps Canada needs to address the issue on whether or not we are a pacificist nation. Maybe we could have a plebisite on the issue. I wouldn't begin to suggest I speak for all Canadians but personally I support a neutral Canada, keeping a low amount of military personnel for peacekeeeping missions via the UN and for any civil strife, like when Albertans start acting out (joke).

Actually it's the body bag count stupid!

Race for president back in balance Ha! Ha! Ha! I can't belive my eyes, less than a month to go before the US election, and do my eyes deceive me, or are Americans finally coming to their senses, and are going to reject giving Big Oil Cheney's puppet Bush, a second term? Only in America! Truly amazin'

Not true. If for some inexplicable reason we were attacked externally, Canadians would rise to the occassion just like they did in the first two World Wars. Or are you suggesting Canada didn't contribute in the first two World Wars? We weren't prepared ahead of time then, and we survived, so why should we be now? Until then our military will have to make do, as more Canadians would prefer to pay down the debt. One thing Canada's military might want to look at is more involvement under the auspices of the United Nations, where several countries go as a team effort, that is a way of helping to reduce the costs. Anyway the more clout the UN has, the safer world we will be. Better for sure than having some terrorist nation like the US riding around the planet, taking the law into their own hands, with some kind of vigilanty justice. And we could look at our overblown military bureaucracy, and maybe take out a paring knife there, so that our crack troops on the ground, ocean, & air, have the best equipment avaialble.