okay, so a brief post, posited off a discussion i've been havig over the last few days with various people who continue to bandy about the term 'socialism' in the weird way it started to be used in the last few days of the election campaign."Obama is a socialist""The Democrats want to bring socialism to America!!""Obama and the Democrats want to make America like socialist Europe!!!"Well, let me clarify something. As someone who hails from so-called 'socialist' Canada and who has lived in 'socialist' Europe; can we just, as people with common sense and a dictionary, agree that European countries, Canada, Japan, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and every other advanced economies in the world are, not, in fact, socialist countries?Can we just agree on that?If you want socialism look...
This could have been a major rebuilding event for the Liberal Party, but Michael Ignatieff refuses to allow media coverage of a leadership debate. Bob Rae, therefore, has sent out a press release saying that he would not participate unless Ignatieff withdrew his objections to media access: Liberal Leadership hopeful Bob Rae will not participate in the leadership candidate's forum of the Liberal Party of Canada (Ontario) on Sunday, November 16, 2008 unless the campaign of Michael Ignatieff agrees to withdraw its objection to opening the debate to the media, and its suggestion the debate be cancelled if a...
The people at Suburb magazine asked me to write an article on moving to Canada, so I wrote one. The article as it appeared in the magazine is substantially shorter than the one below. Originally, the editor asked for 250 words which I stretched to 500. The one below is closer to 1000 and can only be found here. I'll post a link to the article as it appeared in Suburb once I get it. Enjoy! -------------- There are many things you need to think about when you are considering a move across the pond. Things like "How do I get a work visa? or "How much does it cost to emigrate to Canada?" or even "Will the Canadians take the piss out my Geordie accent?" Let me just start by saying I’m not going to answer the positively miniscule and trivial things such as...
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Looking at the last fifteen years or so, common sense and Liberal Party are two concepts that don't really go together well. But common sense is what Tom Kent, who served as principal assistant to prime minister Lester Pearson, says the Liberals must find if they don't want to meet the same fate as their counterpart in Britain, which was disbanded: Barack Obama cleverly asked Americans to choose common sense over ideology. The Liberal Party has shown it can sometimes govern with a public purpose driven not by ideology, not by creed or greed, but by common humanity. The...
Warren Kinsella has finally revealed his choice for Liberal leader: I'm back – and I'm supporting Michael Ignatieff. It is Michael, in fact, who has persuaded me to end my years-long "exile" from the Liberal Party of Canada. How does that sit with Kinsella's ongoing defence of Jean Chrétien? It was Ignatieff, after all, who during the leadership campaign in 2006 said that the previous Liberal governments under Paul Martin and Jean Chrétien "didn't get the job done". Also, Ignatieff is a has-been, and certainly not "the next prime minister", as Kinsella now fantasizes. He didn't wow Liberal delegates...
Ontario, which is now a welfare case ("have-not province") with a deficit, is providing fresh evidence that it is the "province of buffoons": The Ontario government is scrambling to overturn legislation that makes it illegal for moms to bring their children's teammates to hockey practice. Whether they were aware of it, Ontarians enter a legal grey zone when they participate in a carpool, according to a new ruling by the Ontario Highway Transportation Board. In this day and age, when everyone talks about reducing car traffic and singing the praises of carpooling, it is illegal for people in Ontario...
This just in via e-mail – Gerard Kennedy will not run for the leadership of the Liberal Party: While I greatly appreciate all of the confidence expressed in me and believe I could have mounted a stronger campaign than last time, I will not be a candidate in this leadership race. Instead, I will focus on acting for Canadians and the people of Parkdale-High Park at a time of particular need, and on working hard in my riding and elsewhere in the country to ensure the Liberal party is renewed the way it must be for these times. Canadians...
Martha Hall Findlay has announced that she won't run for the leadership of the Liberal Party. The MP from the Toronto-area riding of Willowdale made the announcement during an interview on CBC-TV's Politics, saying the decision has nothing to do with new rules that will require candidates to pay almost twice as much to join the race as they did in 2006. "I think the Liberal party made some tough decisions," Hall Findlay said, referring to a weekend decision by the party national executive to raise the entry fee to $90,000, compared with $50,000 in 2006. Is this the...
Blogger Raphael Alexander got himself into the hot and murky waters of the immigration debate – first, with a post on his blog, followed by comments on a leftwing blog, and then by being nailed as a closet xenophobe by Red Tory. Immigration is a delicate issue, one that comes with benefits and problems, both of which must be discussed reasonably. I suppose it depends on how Raphael defines "Canada". To me, it's always been a fiction anyway, because Canada is not a real country, without any real cohesion among provinces, etc. We must also be careful to distinguish...
by Werner Patels Calgarians are seething with anger at their city council. Over the next three years, property taxes will rise by a total of 25 percent, water fees will go up significantly, and transit users will pay a lot more. While the good people of Calgary are pointing to the expensive pet projects and excessive salaries of their aldermen, mayor Dave Bronconnier insists that these increases are necessary to ensure the smooth functioning of the city. It is fair to say that both sides are right. The members of city council and some of their projects could do...
Some blog readers must be shaking in their boots: Dunno why, but the frigging idiot factor is getting huge in this web site's comments section. And it's pissing me off. I'm back as an active Liberal, Conservative commenters. Deal with it. [...] If the idiocy keeps up, comments will be turned off, period. Here are a few questions that immediately present themselves: Shouldn't an active Liberal invite and welcome dissenting comments and defend them vigorously so as to show off his party's advantages and demonstrate the inanity of one's opponents? What is an active Liberal these days, really? The...
Using an Ernst & Young tax calculator, and an annual household income of C$80,000, a family in Alberta would pay a bit over C$20,000 in taxes, with the marginal tax rate at 36%. In Québec, for example, the same family would pay around C$24,000 in taxes with a marginal tax rate of almost 46%. By contrast, an American household making US$80,000 a year would pay a tax of around US$8,000 under Obama's plan – a saving of almost US$1,000 compared to the current system. I have used $80,000 as an example, because at least 80% of Canadians make less...
Québec premier Jean Charest is fed up with heading up a minority government. He wants power, real power, and to get it, he must call an election, which he has done now. Whether they like it or not, Quebeckers will be called to the polls on December 8 – in the middle of an economic crisis and the Christmas season. "I am profoundly convinced that we need political stability in order to foster economic prosperity," [Charest] said. "That's the choice we have." He isn't wrong on that, but does he really have a guarantee of winning a majority? His...
Copyright © 2008 Miss604 - Rebecca Bollwitt. If you are not viewing this post through the Miss604.com feed then this content has been republished without permission. Visit the original article at http://www.miss604.com/2008/11/movember-2008.html.
Photo credit: Kris Krug on Flickr
I first heard about Movember a few years ago thanks to Kris Krug, who at the time I thought just had a thing for growing his facial hair out like wild (and a unique obsession with mutton chops). “So you’ve decided to be awesome,” his post from November 2006 begins.
The point of letting it all grow out is to have fun and raise funds and awareness for men’s health causes. This year the Canadian Movember movement is supporting the Prostate Cancer Research Foundation of Canada. “Movember...
The Liberals have promised to bring down the Conservative government over its get-tough-on-crime bill: Opposition MPs, including Liberals who have worked on justice issues, say they would plunge the country into another federal election before agreeing to a slate of Conservative proposals that would see convicted criminals treated more harshly. The measures, including tougher penalties for young offenders and the reduced use of conditional sentences that allow criminals to serve their time at home, are likely to be among the first tests of Liberal willingness to challenge Stephen Harper's new minority government. The Conservatives are not backing down from...
One has to hand it to Republican presidential candidate John McCain. His concession speech last night was nothing if not phenomenal. If he had shown more of that side of his during the campaign, perhaps, he would not have lost by such a wide margin. It was disturbing to see, however, that whenever he spoke positively about his former opponent, Barack Obama, the (Republican) crowd in attendance would boo and barely stop even after being told by McCain to cut it out. This attitude doesn't bode well for the Republicans. Some of them will probably fail to learn vital...
Ontario should be ashamed of itself. Once Canada's most powerful economic engine, the province is now a "have-not province" – a year or two sooner than originally predicted. For those from outside of Canada who don't know what to make of this term, it means that Ontario is now a welfare case, a "bum province" that will now receive "welfare handouts" to compensate it for its shortcomings. Ontario will qualify for the federal government's equalization program and receive $347 million in transfer payments next year, federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said Monday after a meeting with his provincial and...
A meme from The Electronic Replicant so fitting, I can’t pass it up:
What were you last year for Halloween?
A Luchadore. Often imitated. Often better than yours.
What are you going to be this year?
You Tell Me…
Favorite costume you have ever worn?
For attention, I’ve never got as much as the wrestler. I do remember my sister trying to get me into a Mummy costume and bailing on me when she got half way through. Too many bandages for her attention span.
How do you spend your Halloween?
Lately, on Church Street. I’m a people watcher at heart. But the desire to dress up overtakes that a bit.
Are you or are you not going trick or treating this year?
I hope to trick. Nyuck nyuck.
Did or do you pull Halloween pranks?
I tried to scare my mom once when I was 9 or...
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desire,
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by Werner Patels Last year one little town in Québec became famous the world over for issuing strict rules to immigrants. Hérouxville, which soon came to be known as "Heroville", let it be known that, for example, the stoning of women was considered completely beyond the pale and that newcomers had to bend to the rules of the host country, rather than the other way around. People all over the Western world hailed the brave little town's attempt to go up against the Political Correctness Thoughtpolice, while others, including Québec premier Jean Charest, considered it an affront to anything...
True words: Mr. Obama is not a socialist, he is not a radical, he is a pragmatist, a mainstream Democrat. Let's be crystal-clear about that: anyone who says that Barack Obama's tax plan would create a socialist America is not only full of rubbish, but a liar too. For if Obama is a socialist, what does that make Canada? If Obama were a socialist, Stephen Harper would be one of the top members in the USSR Hall of Fame. Obama will cut taxes for the middle class, i.e., anyone making less than $200,000 a year. Canadians can only dream...
This was the same question I would have asked mahar arrar. Tarek fatah asks this of the three men tortured by the Syrians and Egyptians, why did you not sue your torturers? Why did you not protest against your torturers?What did surprise me and many other Muslim Canadians was the misguided reaction of the three men and the groups backing them, particularly the Canadian Arab Federation, Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations, and the Canadian Muslim Civil Liberties Association.If I had been tortured -- and I have been -- my primary grievance would be against my torturers and their masters. But Messrs El-Maati, Almalki and Nureddin turned their guns on Canada, not Syria and Egypt.Instead of asking for damages from Damascus and Cairo or demanding that Ottawa file an official protest...
When reading something like this, one cannot help but think that Canadians are completely dense and easily attracted to shiny objects, like magpies: He is tall, dark-haired and handsome. He won a seat in the House of Commons on his first try. He's got a famous name. He has a picture-perfect young family. On top of all that, Justin Trudeau is the top pick among Canadians of all political stripes and most age groups as the next leader of the federal Liberal party, according to a new Ipsos Reid poll. Among Liberals, Frank McKenna would be the top choice,...
The convicted jihadi terrorist Momin Khawaja needs to spend eternity in prison. He is a threat to canadaian society and if he is not to be executed, he should never see the light of day again. A strong message must be sent to the jihadis and their apologists that Canada will not tolerate these treasonous and despicable actions. I am never very optimistic when it comes to our judges.OTTAWA -- The prison time Momin Khawaja now faces will likely be calculated to incapacitate him from waging jihad again and to give notice that terrorism won't be tolerated here.Parliament wanted convicted terrorists denounced in the harshest possible terms when it established the Anti-terrorism Act in December, 2001. The rubble of the World Trade Center had barely stopped smouldering and Canada knew it needed...
Great line from Rick Mercer's rant last night: And then of course, there's the dream of the white knight. Will a Frank McKenna just show up out of the blue and save the party? Now this is interesting because usually in most countries when they're talking about dream candidates they throw around adjectives like brilliant, charismatic, dynamic. Whereas in Canada only one adjective counts - bilingual. Yeah, Barak Obama wouldn't cut it up here. Er, Rick, Obama's first name is spelled Barack. Regardless, Rick has it spot-on. Liberals don't want great leaders with enormous talents and skills. Oh well,...
Liberal MP Dominic LeBlanc is the first leadership candidate to officially announce his intentions: Jockeying for support for the Liberal leadership burst open yesterday when New Brunswick's Dominic LeBlanc became the first MP to declare his plans to seek the job and Liberal heavyweight John Manley said he was also gauging support. Arguing that his party has drifted away from the middle class and has disconnected itself from other traditional voting blocks, Mr. LeBlanc said he intends to make a formal announcement after the party decides on the dates and location of the leadership convention, but that his plans...
Outsiders watching Canada must think that Canadians have more elections than holidays. With a federal election (the third in four years) just behind us, Québec premier Jean Charest is now dead set on calling a provincial election for December 8. The CBC's French-language television news service RDI is reporting several highly placed government sources have confirmed Quebec Premier Jean Charest will call a provincial election next week, once the U.S. election is over. Several sources told the network an election announcement will follow a cabinet meeting next week. It would likely mean a Dec. 8 election in Quebec, less...
Frank McKenna is facing pressure to announce his leadership bid, and support for a new McKenna-led Liberal Party is surging. A senior Liberal said Friday that an increasing number of high-ranking party members are ready to throw their weight behind Frank McKenna if the former New Brunswick premier makes a run at the leadership. "Frank's candidacy would be a game-changer,'' the senior MP said, asking to remain anonymous. "It would change the landscape immediately. There is nobody else who has the capacity to win the leadership race, raise the money that we need and turn the party around. "This...