maplesyrup

-from the Globe's Morning Smile today Q. Who was the greatest female financier in the Bible? A. Pharaoh's daughter. She went down to the bank of the Nile and pulled out a little prophet. I thought this might fit in here.

If companies cannot pay a decent wage to their employees they should leave Canada , or at least get out of the business they are in. We don't need that type of regressive entreprenneur in Canada. It would be great to have an environment leading up to our Olympics in 2010, similiar to the one that created the Sydney Olympics. Unfortunately we will never see that kind of situation with the current union-bashing BC government. Time to throw the bums out!

Try living, or purchasing a home in Vancouver earning $15. or even $20. an hour. These conditions remind one of the Charles Dickens era, where there was absolutely no hope for low wage earners.

What has the minimum wage for new employees in BC been dropped to, with our brilliant Premier Gordon Campbell - is it $6. per hour? What was it under the NDP? $8. or $8.50 an hour? So everything else in the world goes up in price, except wages with Gordo. No wonder he will be turfed soon! So this means that Wal-Mart can get away with paying $6.05 an hour, and claim they are not paying minimum wage. Grotesque.

Link to above eureka....this is definitely a great article and puts to rest a lot of the myths being spun out there by these right wing think tanks who represent companies that are just itching to get their hands on the money being generated by Canada's health care system.

eureka....seeing as you enjoy the Toronto Star: Four more years of Dubya? Oh dear!

Unstoppable gee-gees Wasn't quite sure where to post this but it does or it could involve Canada's disaster planning efforts. I wonder if any surfers have thought about ridin' this big one? Seriously though does it make any sense to plan for this eventuality? And what would be considered useful preparations? Better make sure you insurance premiums are paid up, if you visit New York City, or perhaps anywhere on the East Coast: Volcano could trigger tsunami disaster for New York

Greg....mighty fine effort!

I have to support Cartman's point of view here. It is not rocket science to know that unionized work sites are substantially safer places than non-unionized ones.

Some speciality channels seem to be doing OK or is that a myth? I am thinking of the cooking channel, the history channel, the women's network, etc. Do we need a Canadian PBS? How about a consumer's channel hosted by Ralph Nader after he becomes president? Do we need a truly bilingual channel? Is there much difference between BBC and the CBC? Which has more credibility in their respective societies? One thing we don't need is Fox News. Just kidding, sort of. We at least don't want it as part of the basic package of 30 or so channels one receives. There definitely is a need for a labour or worker's channel. Maybe also a co-op channel, eh?

I saw this bumper sticker on a truck once: "Hug a logger and you will never go back to trees" or something to that effect! I think the vehicle was parked outside that restaurant in Squamish that had a "Spotted Owl Sandwich" on its menu. Where did I ever suggest these benefits are free? I am not sure if you took the time to read Well's comments about tuition fees - you might end up agreeing with him.

The police don't think it is a useless gun registry. I thought the museum plans were cancelled. I think some people have been charged in relation to Adscam, have they not? If not, some have at least lost their jobs, and the judicial inquiry is just about to begin. Where would we be without Don Cherry, eh? Seriously though, have you ever read the CBC's mandate? How come you don't suggest we cancel our new helecopters purchase? That would save money!

Now that's a scary thought. Actualy it seems to PM Martin is setting the groundwork up for a confrontation with Canada's premiers, otherwise he would consider this national pharamcare idea. Now if we could only get them to restore eye examinations coverage, and get them going on the beginning of a national dental care program. Don't get me wrong. I think there has to be some incentive for folks to earn money. It is just that the outrageous gap between what the corporate elite earn, and what the people on minimum wage get has grown way too large It is time to substantially shrink it. BTW I have seen the statistics and these relativley recent vast gaps are obscene.

Paul Wells has been running some articles about tuition fees on his Mcleans' Blog that is challenging me, and some previous assumptions I have had concerning paying for post-secondary education. Has anyone else seen them? What do you think? This is the most recent one: Let me take you higher, ed And also this one: Edjimication And this: Social policy for the rich

There are a few issues that are going to muddy the water a bit: The new Conservative Party has not even had a policy convention yet - I understand it is scheduled for the Spring of 2005. Would PM Martin dare to call an election before that? And could he, or could the GG overrule him, and offer Harper a chance to govern? There are a couple of ridings in Saskatchewan being contested in the courts, and the results may be overturned, creating by-elections which could impact on political coalitions. Le Bloc Quebecois for sure will start acting up over separation as we get closer to the next provincial election in Quebec. The Maher Arar Inquiry. The Adscam Inquiry. Terrorism Health Care Any news on the Speaker of the House decision yet?

The Edges of "Externality" It is obvious that our corporations are in serious trouble. They have become crime-infested, unethical parasites on our society? What can we do to restore some credibility to corporations?

Who's the biggest? Bell/Globe/CTV, etc?

Our Olympics Can Benefit All What a fascinating contrast when we all collaborate. All the more reason why it is imperative to dislodge the Campbell Liberals next May 17.

Transparency Begets Trust in the Ever-Expanding Blogosphere Perhaps part of the answer lies in the above article. Does anyone here Blog? There are even Audioblogs now as well. Ever listened to one? I wonder if other people's experience is similiar to mine on the 'net. Initially I used to go almost exclusively to mainstream newspapers online editions for the news, but now I find I go to certain bloggers' websites that I am familiar with first, and then if I have time, I will persue the mainstream online press.

I am curious about this national pharmacare issue the premiers have raised. First of all there I believe there is already is some sort of a subsidy for low income people for their drugs. So why would the federal government say no to it. They could set it up and provide only the amount of money that is available, they wouldn't have to necessarily increase it right away, would they? But more importantly, who is PM Martin to say NO. He doesn't have a majority government. Does he not have to consult with the other parties and get support for his position before he shoots his mouth off like that?

Yes, I'm aware that Canada has 2 national newspapers. Which is what I was getting at. If Canadians don't like the Asper-owned media outlets, then contrary to what caesar says, they have other options. -kimmy To suggest we in North America don't have a serious problem with the concentration of the media is absurd. Look at all the bullshit that was, and still is, being spewed out in the US thoughout this entire Iraqi conflict. Vancouver is a journalistic quality nightmare with their two local daily English speaking newspapers owned by CanWest. I remember growing up and learning about what was called yellow journalism, stuff like Allo Police, Midnight, etc. The Vancouver Sun and the Province remind me a lot of those rags putting the latest traffic fatality or murder on the front page with screaming headlines. Just pure unadulterated crap.

Giant Mine Trial Seeing as this incident was raised, thought I would do a little reasearch and what did I find. Low and behold, WCB sued management CEO Peggy Whitte, the government, security forces, as well as some union members. Talk about a distortion of what actually took place. Both this incident which killed 9 people, and the Westray disaster which killed 26 people, are tragedies, no question about that.

What do you hope to achieve with your union bashing? It sounds like you must be jealous of the union wages and benefits which can be very understandable. BTW the Westray Mine Disaster killed 26 people over safety issues. The Yellowknife incident killed how many and it sounds like it was a criminal act. No one here is condoning criminal behaviour as far as I know.

How about the Westray Mining Disaster for starters where the safety concerns of the union were ignored? Get real! Of course there is much more safety in a unionized environment. It is just basic common sense. If workers have the power of the union to back them up, they will speak out about safety concerns, if not, they won't say anything for fear of losing their job. One don't need statistics for a basic given. If you want stats go to any WCB in the country and get educated. To ignore safety though, is one of those short term gains, for long term pain issues.

Canada's two national newspapers are the Globe and the Post although I have heard the Post is losing its shirt financially. Public attitudes towards media concentration and freedom of the press in Canada Diversity, Democracy And Access: LOG CABIN CHRONICLES