maplesyrup

I have a lot of trouble with generalizations. For example the term "Western' alienation, does it necessarily mean the West, or does it mean a group of people primarily in the Calgary area, and eminating from the U of Calgary? Also do we chose to be alienated, or is that something that is out of our control? I live in the West and I don't feel alienated. BTW for those of you interested in PR, there have been some recent links to some helpful articles in the PR thread.

Martin's Liberals are limping in B.C.

Tough times in the civil service

CEOs fight curbs despite Enron lesson

Quebecers pay price for `firewall' You reap what you sow!

They shoot, they score (for now) It sure sounds like Charest has gone into freefall at the polls, and needs to be replaced, similiarly Campbell in British Columbia. Why do Canadians keep on electiong these right wing governments when they don't really want their policies? It seems like a large part of the problem is that the quality of our political options are not satifying the voting public. Is it time for a federalist left-of-centre provincial party in Quebec? And if so, how is that going to come about?

Reports of PR's perils are greatly exaggerated Does anyone else get the impression that pressure is mounting on Ottawa to address Canada's real democratic deficit?

We have a variety of opinions in Canada similiar to any other country I'm sure, which is why there is a demand for several parties. The New Democrats represent the left-of-centre vote, the Liberals at least with Martin as leader the centre-right vote, and the Conservatives right-of-centre. The key to winning seems to be the mushy middle which the Liberals usually manage to hold onto. Now as the Conservatives are supposedly moving more to the centre, including dumping some of their so-con ideas, the so-cons will need a political avenue to express their point of view. What better party to do that than the Christian Heritage Party? Likewise as the New Democrats move more to the centre under Jack Layton will a more left wing party emege to their left? It appears thas it is going to get busier and busier in the middle, at least for appearances sake, to get the votes. What happens after the election is a whole different ballgame, and probably the main reason why more and more Canadians are completely tuning out the electoral process. Unfortunately though, not the right wingers.

New Zealand system a `qualified success'

August1991........that's fine for you to say when the party you support gets loads of support from the mainstream press whether it be radio tv, or print media. The reality is the media represents business interests and so any party which is not going to cut business taxes to the bone, gets short shrift in the media. And to suggest that the media doesn't pump right wing parties is wrong. And to suggest it has no effect is wrong as well, otherwise why do they do it? They do it obviously because the media influences. A good example was the recent Cons leadership race - the publicity they received was overwhelming. Chretien helped to level the playing field with his election financing legislation. Too bad the Cons want to abolish it so the right wing can control the agenda even more than they already do.

Death toll for U.S.-led coalition in Iraq tops 1,000 Bush dropped the ball and everyone knows it. If he had focused on bin Laden, who was resonsible for 9/11 he probably would have him by now. But no, he went to Iraq and blew it. We all know Saddam was a bad dude. What does that have to do with anything? So is the N Korean leader and what is the US doing about him? All these young people dying for America's addiction to oil. Tragic. And to anyone who supports the war in Iraq - get your butt over there and walk the talk, eh!

Journalism's Chronic Illness Good article.

The Mother of All Anti-War Forces This "Dude, Where's My Country?"author Michael Moore's movie Fahrenheit 9/11 must be having a big imact on Canadians as well as Americans. Will it carry over until the next national elections in Canada? I think it just might.

What Was That All About? The CHP take on the election. I think the CHP will receive much more support now that the so-cons are going to be relegated to the back burners of the Cons party as the Cons try to appear MODERATE.

MIRRORS OF STONE The Battle for the Adams Mine Well, we have a whole new edition, the 2004 edition of MPs in Ottawa, some old, some new. Something tells me this new face is going to have a positive impact.

Better to tune out CIA, tune in Al-Jazeera Any if we think we have problems in Canada with our mainstream media, well........

Martin tells U.S. ambassador decision on missile defence pending Does anyone really believe a word that is coming out of their mouths for one second?

ELECTION ROUNDUP: THE SPILLS, THRILLS AND CHILLS... There are a multitude of ways to obtain election coverage if you are like me and get tired of the same old, same old, boring, reinforcing the status quo, mainstream media outlets like CTV, Global, John Ibbitson, Jeffery Simpson, Andrew Coyne, etc. that don't seem to have a creative bone in their collective bodies. Some of the best coverage these days comes from places like the Tyee in BC, Paul Wells' and Warren Kinsella's weblogs, and alternative weekies such as the Georgia Straight, and Now. Hopefully Moe Sihota will resurface somewhere.

July 11, 2004 For those of you who have seen the movie, what do you think?

Canada: Why not vote for the Conservatives? A bit dated perhaps (June 14th), but lots of pertinent information here. Interesting that the sponsorship scandal kinda disappeared during the last 10 days of the campaign. Do you think now with a minority government the opposition will stir things up again? What about Sheila Fraser - what is she up to next? And isn't the sponsorship inquiry due to begin soon?

Blackberrys So does anyone here have one, or is someone here thinking about getting one? Why are you getting one?What has your experience been like? Are they costly?

Prime Minister can learn some lessons from Mulroney

Bakunin.....bienvenue au Mapleleafweb/Webfeud'arable. Merci pour vos postes. I have heard talk that Duceppe will take over from Laundry as leader of le Parti Quebecois. Is that pretty much a done deal? Also I am curious about your comments concerning le NPD. You say Layton understands, and I agree with you, so why didn't more Quebeckers support le NPD in the last election? And what can le NPD do to win seats au Quebec in the next election? And if le NPD were to make inroads in the future in Quebec, where abouts would that be? Rural or urban? Francophone, allophone or anglophone areas? What about Pierre Ducaisse? Did he have any impact in the last election? Is he the right guy to lead le NPD au Quebec?

Ummmmm, correction, Alberta already has pretty high standards against polution. We can do more of course but the ball has started rolling. You could also say that Alberta has already paid for it's share of the pollution problem through the NEP of the 80's. Consider it an advance payment. And you know caesar, the air in Alberta is a heck of a lot better than the air of the lower mainland, Okanagan or the Kootenays. You can't even see 1 mile anymore on a calm day on the lower mainland . What about all the crud that washes up on the beach at White Rock? Kids can't even go barefoot down there anymore. Clean your own outhouse before you start complaining about your neighbours please. Oh really! Killing Fields

What would the ROC be like without Quebec? Who would we pick on then, eh? And speaking of Canada, Quebeckers might lay claim to the name Canada because they used it first, Les Canadiens, and I am not talking about the hockey team. What would we be called: Rest of Canada? How embarassing!