Why can’t our elections be fun like the one’s in the UK?
“Gentlemen,
This is not a discussion club for like-minded intellectuals!This is a very beginning of a proactive and practical organization that is seriously planning to take power in the United Kingdom.
Some of us are not very liberal, many are not very green. Generally, we are not especially nice and several are outright dangerous. We all have different ideas and beliefs. This is OK (for now). We will sort what is right and what is wrong on the way, but first let get things rolling, pots boiling, sausages sizzling….Let us became a Power, after that we would have plenty of time for intellectual discussions, arguments and bonding.
If you feel being a part of “mp3-generation”, “mp3-community”, join us now !!!
Let kick some shit together!!!
Ruslan G. Fedorovsky (temporary Leader)”
Check out the rest of them here
Well, what an interesting week in Alberta politics.
1) It looks like David Kilgour, MP for Edmonton-Mill Woods-Beaumont, is interested in rejoining the Tories. How many “cross-the-floor” monopoly cards does Mr. Kilgour have?
This contridicts rumours I have been hearing for a couple of months that he was planning on retiring before the next election. Maybe this is his way of distancing himself from the Feds and then retiring with somewhat of a good name? Though he’s a Liberal MP, I have never really considered him to be a liberal, his right leaning views tend to clash with some of the basic principles of Canadian liberalism (he was a PC MP from 1979 to 1993, then crossed to the Libs). This aside, he has served the constituents of southeast Edmonton for 25 years and has obviously gained their respect (and votes!).
2) According to the latest EKOS poll (which has been covered in about 99% of Canadian blogs minus this one) was released recently, here are the numbers.
Canada-wide
Conservative – 36.2%
Liberal – 25%
NDP – 20.5%
Bloc – 12.6%
Green – 5%
The breakdowns has the NDP leading in BC, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, the Tories leading in Alberta (no suprise), Ontario, and the Maritimes, with the Bloc taking a massive lead in Quebec.
This doesn’t look good for the Federal Liberals no matter which way they spin it. Interesting times ahead.
3) The Alberta PC convention rapped up last weekend with internal infighting and political divisions displayed front and centre. Premier Klein told leadership candidates to “cool their jets.” But, I guess if by “cool[ing] their jets” he meant:
-set up campaign websites (such as this one and this one),
-host networking parties (ie: free booze and food),
-take out newspaper Ad’s (a la Mark Norris),
-and print up some buttons,
then the Alberta Tories are one big happy family. Let the entertainment begin! : )
4) The Provincial budget is being released on Wednesday (13 days after the fiscal year began) – as noted earlier, I will be there and will bring you all the good gossip – apparently the government will finally be raising the AISH subsidy (still not even close to living wage though), present the already promised money for education, and won’t be dealing out any tax-cuts. So, it looks pretty lackluster so far.
This is all for now.
D 🙂
Check out Daveberta’s thoughts on the First-Ballot of the Alberta PC leadership race…
(Make sure to check out the updated list of MLA endorsements in the Alberta PC leadership race.)
Well, I promised it, and here it is – some gossip from my ‘source-on-the-floor’ of the Alberta PC Convention at Northlands in Edmonton this weekend.
Apparently, other than the disturbingly large amount of delegates wearing ‘Lyle Oberg for Leader’ buttons, the Tories made some interesting decisions related to their ‘youth’ wing.
In order to address the lack of youth involvement in their party, Alberta PC delegates came up with a truly Alberta Tory solution. They have voted to change the definition of ‘youth’ from 14-25 to 14-35. So, that means, if you were a 35 year old Regular PC member yesterday – today you are now a member of the Progressive Conservative Youth Association…
Oh oh! but it gets even more bizarre – under the new category, ‘youth’ members who are +26 are not voting members of the ‘youth’ association even though they are technically members…. does this seem really weird to anyone else?
And just when you thought there couldn’t be anymore juice!!
The big ‘renewal initiative’ that the Tories undertook after being slapped around in the last election recommended that they hire a staff member to support the youth-wing with organizing, etc. Well, apparently the President of the PC ‘youth’ association got up to the mike and spoke vehemently against this motion – to the chagrin of the ‘youth’ membership which he supposedly represents… the motion was defeated…
Wow, these guys are better than pay-per view TV!
Mornin’
Shannon the Futon Revolutionary has some great posts about the Tory Leadership contenders. It’s a good laugh to start out your day!
Cheers.
D : )
PS. I noticed that since I put the site metre up a month ago – over 830 people have visited. Wow. Thanks!
For those of you interested:
It’s about 1:56am and Pope John Paul II’s funeral is about to begin in a couple of minutes.
They say that there are over 200 Heads of State and Government who have come to the Vatican to pay their respects. Millions of people in Rome and millions watching on television from around the world. Including me.
The Alberta Tory convention is this weekend. Apparently, there are no hospitality suites allowed! Now, say my name was Josiah and I was a Conservative party member who was coming to the convention in Edmonton all the way from Cardston or Cereal or something, and found out that there weren’t going to be any hosptiality suites simply because the ‘illustrious and *benevolent* leader-for-life of my great great great government for the millennia’ Party didn’t want his rivals to shmooze and party it up – I would be very bent up in the wrong direction.
Does anybody else think that it is quite ironic that Premier Klein is the one who doesn’t want the boozefest of hospitality suites to flourish and spread their wings of alcoholic bliss upon the PC Convention?
But alas, I am sooo glad that i’m not in that situation and that I belong to a Party who knows how to party it up with the best of them.
On another PC leadership related note, I thought this was fun and a little ironic. Go to google.com and type in “elect dave hancock’. I was as shocked as you will be…
Ah, and soon to come: my review of Summa Theologica by our good friend, St. Thomas Aquinas.
-Keepin’ it real since 1983-
D : )
According to the Canadian Association of University Teachers, 0.3% of University Professors count themselves as Pagans.
I decided that today I would write a post not about Gomery, corruption, publication bans, or any of those other things that has ticked me off in the past few days. Instead, I’m going to write about a good book.
Last summer, in order to escape what had been some of the 4 most stressful and trying months of my life (I’m not going to elaborate on this), I spent a month doing some solo backpacking across Canada’s Maritimes. I made my way across Gaspesie, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and enjoyed every moment of it. Sleeping in hostels, bus stations, airports, ferry terminals, on ferries, and meeting the most incredible people.
FYI Halifax is an awesome party town: 6 nights partying in Halifax here, here, here, and others that I can’t remember = tonnes of fun, some very wild times, a game of frizbee at 4am on the front lawn of the Lt. Gov’s residence, stealing street name signs – then losing them, and a huge dent in my bank account. And St. John’s NFLD was just as good. George Street was awesome.
But, as much as it was a great time to party, it was also a very spiritual, soul searching time. There’s nothing like meditating on an Atlantic beach (wear a hat, it’s usually windy).
The entire trip was great, but the best part was being on a boat 10 feet away from 3 humpback whales – one of the most incredible experiences of my life. It is an incredibly beautiful part of our country.
While I was in St. John’s, Newfoundland, I stopped at a used book store to find some interesting reading material (I had bought the DaVinci Code in Halifax, and had finished it by then). What I found was one of the best books I can say i’ve ever read. For $1.50 at the Afterwords Bookstore (I still have the receipt in the book) I bought ‘History on the Run: the “Trenchcoat” Memoirs of a Foreign Correspondent‘ by Knowlton Nash, the former National Anchorman for CBC News.
In this book, Nash writes about his time as the top CBC reporter in Washington DC during the turbulent 1960’s. The Kennedy’s (John and Robert), Martin Luther King Jr., Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, and Vietnam. It covers it all. What I found what touched me the most were the personal acounts Nash had with Robert F. Kennedy, including being one of the last reporters to interview him on his last trip to California, where he was shot and killed. It found it to be a very powerful acount of an important point in US history. I also liked Bobby Kennedy alot more after I read this.
So, if you are in the market for a really good book, check out “History on the Run” by Knowlton Nash. You won’t regret it.
Reading: Summa Theologica by St. Thomas Aquinas
Listening: The rest of my life by Sloan
Drinking: Orange Juice (with pulp) by Tropicana
New Favorite Website: Dog Judo
