I have not put my two cents forth with respect to the Stephane Dion and Elizabeth May collaboration. I have kept my comments to my inner circle of friends and family with my views on this change in the political landscape. The reason you ask, well because there has been nothing but bad press for the most part since their announcement. This is unfortunate as I see this collectiveness as a great leap forward.
I have always resisted in joining a political party as some past readers will remember. I recently joined the Green Party of Canada because Elizabeth May is their leader and because I think she will breath life into a venue that is dying.
Politics has gotten nastier and nastier. When I turned 18, the age of voting, I was ecstatic that I could exercise my democratic right to vote. When I first started voting I was a Liberal. I liked that they were socially progressive yet financially conservative. My best friend became a card carrying Liberal member and I resisted the chance to join. I wanted to be sure about my affiliation with a political party. As I started to age and understand the injustices of this country, and world for that matter, my political thought turned more towards that of the NDP. I liked the Ed Broadbent's and Stephen Lewis' of the world. However, with Jack Layton at the helm I could not bring myself to join the NDP either. I voted for the party but it was always a protest vote in a riding that has always seen a Liberal or Conservative. I never voted for the Greens because it was a party I was truly unaware of. However, a year and bit ago I met a man who introduced me to the Greens and what they stand for and I've been hooked ever since. They are a party that speaks to me on more than just protest voting. They get it on so many levels and I'm glad to say that I found a political party worth joining.
I like Elizabeth May for a few reasons. I like her because she is honest. I value this trait the most in all people. Honesty breeds greatness. I also like her because she is a strong woman. Alexa McDonnough, as leader of the NDP, was a nice change but politics wasn't ready for women then. I hate to say that last bit but lets be honest here, it just wasn't ready. Look what it did to Kim Campbell. It ate her alive. Elizabeth May, on the other hand, is strong in more than many ways. Being a highly publicised activist she's got a bit of scrap in her that people have not seen in women of power often enough. I also like her because she has this soft, feminine side to her. This ability to connect with those who need our help the most. However, the thing I like the most about her is that her intellect puts those men in power to shame. She has the ability to go head to head with these men and I think this scares them.
The only male leader who gets her is Stephane Dion. I like him, I like him a lot. However, it's not enough for me to vote for his party. People undermine him because when he first started speaking to the 'English' media his accent was so thick, but if you hear him now his accent is not as strong. His English has improved much more than I suspect Harper's French. He's an intellect and he's a great leader. I think that it scares the crap out of the other parties, that trying to dismantle him in the media is what they are trying to do. What the other parties fail to realize is that while they try to bring him down, Dion is fighting back. He's improving his English, he's making leaps and bounds in the political landscape and his understanding of Canadians is becoming stronger.
When Dion and May made the announcement about not running a candidate in each others riding I couldn't help but feel absolute joy. This move of theirs has been torn down in the media by a bunch of old guards. They are trying to make Dion appear weak and May appear like another political back room dealer. However, the difference is that Dion has told the media that he is doing this out of respect for May as a leader and showing that he is an honest man. Dion had said during the North London by-election that he would not run against May as he did not want to be the one to stop her from entering Rideau Hall. He is keeping his word as leader of the Liberal Party. He is not going to be the one to stop her from entering Rideau. May has also been honest with the media. She told them that she was in talks with the other parties. She has always maintained that for her it was never about partisan politics. She has always maintained she was willing to work with other parties on many things. When Dion showed May respect, May returned the favor. I think showing RESPECT for each other as leaders of a political party is missing from Politics now!! This is what scares the pundits and this is what scares the old guards.
I just hope that the media wakes up to this new realization about the change in political landscape. It's happening in the US and it is definitely happening here in Canada. I see that Susan Riley has woken up in her article to this realization.
Here's to the great May/Dion collaboration!!
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Doggy Doo Doo and other things!
How many of you out there are pet owners. More specifically, how many of you out there are dog owners. Well I am one of those dog owners. If you had asked me a few years ago if I'd be an owner of a dog I would have said no. I'm not a big fan of the responsibility that comes along with a dog. The getting up early to walk to dog, the clean up after they have a nice bowel movement and the grooming was enough to turn me off. I have always owned cats in my own house. This is not to say I did not grow up with dogs. I had 3 dogs in my childhood.
My first dog was Brownie. It was this cute little puppy. I'm not sure what happened to it, I think it was my parents before I was born. I only have a picture of her and very little memory of her. We didn't get another dog until I was in Grade 4 or 5. It was a big dog, but we had a big yard. To be honest I can't remember the dogs name, only that my brother played with him the most. Then we had to give up the dog when we moved into town. My parents felt bad so they gave us a smaller dog. My Dutches was a very loyal and quiet friend. She lived to be the ripe old age of 20 years old and fought till the very end to live. It was only after her inability to control her bladder and walk to go to the washroom outside that the decision to put her to permanent sleep was made. I figured that decision would be made while I was in China so I was able to say goodbye to her before I left. However, during the ownership of these childhood dogs we were rarely responsible for the dogs. My father and mother bought the food, let them out for their daily release of waste and made sure the grooming was completed.
The first animal I owned when I moved out on my own was a cat. I put the food down, changed the kitty litter and pet it but the actual amount of responsibility for cat ownership is low. Along comes my daughter. She loves animals. She was upset when Dutches died. I waited almost a year before getting her a new dog. So I'm now the proud owner of a dog. I mulled over the possibility of ownership but I could no longer deny my daughters desire to have a companion. I can't give her a sibling--not sure I want to go down that path anytime soon--so why not give her the next best thing. A buddy for her to play with, and she does. Angel--the dog--has to tolerate all the 'fun stuff' that she and Bailey engage in. I don't think the dog minds all that much as she does love Bailey. She is very protective of her buddy and will remind you in no uncertain terms that coming within close proximity to Bailey will result in a sharp bark.
Why am I bringing up my stories of my pet ownership--more specifically the dog ownership you ask? Well I read today on the CBC website about a City Counsellor hoping to make it law that dog owners have to take her dog poop home with them instead of dropping them off in the garbage bins that scatter the parks and streets of Toronto.
This does make sense in a round about way. I am guilty of throwing the dog poop bags in the garbage bins around my park and street area of Toronto. I was doing this before I knew about the green bin program with respect to doggy doo doo. I was of the understanding that doggy doo doo couldn't go into the green bin because it's not a 'good' organic for compost purpose. However, this myth was busted while visiting a knowledgeable friend a few weekends ago. I was informed that we could put the dog poop in the green bin so long as it's not wrapped up in the plastic bag. Even if you use a plastic bag for the green bin purpose it's the tightly tied up poop bags that can be problematic. Therefore, you're asked to just put the pooh in the bin, and the bag in the garbage. Or purchase a pooper scooper for the purpose of scooping the poop without the environmental damage of a plastic bag.
If this City Counsellor hopes to pass this law then I think an educational period needs to be put forth. I didn't know about the ability to put dog poop in the green bin, so I suspect that the average Torontonian is unaware of this ability as well.
Now if we could only get on the dog owners who let their dog crap all over the place without cleaning it up!!
My first dog was Brownie. It was this cute little puppy. I'm not sure what happened to it, I think it was my parents before I was born. I only have a picture of her and very little memory of her. We didn't get another dog until I was in Grade 4 or 5. It was a big dog, but we had a big yard. To be honest I can't remember the dogs name, only that my brother played with him the most. Then we had to give up the dog when we moved into town. My parents felt bad so they gave us a smaller dog. My Dutches was a very loyal and quiet friend. She lived to be the ripe old age of 20 years old and fought till the very end to live. It was only after her inability to control her bladder and walk to go to the washroom outside that the decision to put her to permanent sleep was made. I figured that decision would be made while I was in China so I was able to say goodbye to her before I left. However, during the ownership of these childhood dogs we were rarely responsible for the dogs. My father and mother bought the food, let them out for their daily release of waste and made sure the grooming was completed.
The first animal I owned when I moved out on my own was a cat. I put the food down, changed the kitty litter and pet it but the actual amount of responsibility for cat ownership is low. Along comes my daughter. She loves animals. She was upset when Dutches died. I waited almost a year before getting her a new dog. So I'm now the proud owner of a dog. I mulled over the possibility of ownership but I could no longer deny my daughters desire to have a companion. I can't give her a sibling--not sure I want to go down that path anytime soon--so why not give her the next best thing. A buddy for her to play with, and she does. Angel--the dog--has to tolerate all the 'fun stuff' that she and Bailey engage in. I don't think the dog minds all that much as she does love Bailey. She is very protective of her buddy and will remind you in no uncertain terms that coming within close proximity to Bailey will result in a sharp bark.
Why am I bringing up my stories of my pet ownership--more specifically the dog ownership you ask? Well I read today on the CBC website about a City Counsellor hoping to make it law that dog owners have to take her dog poop home with them instead of dropping them off in the garbage bins that scatter the parks and streets of Toronto.
This does make sense in a round about way. I am guilty of throwing the dog poop bags in the garbage bins around my park and street area of Toronto. I was doing this before I knew about the green bin program with respect to doggy doo doo. I was of the understanding that doggy doo doo couldn't go into the green bin because it's not a 'good' organic for compost purpose. However, this myth was busted while visiting a knowledgeable friend a few weekends ago. I was informed that we could put the dog poop in the green bin so long as it's not wrapped up in the plastic bag. Even if you use a plastic bag for the green bin purpose it's the tightly tied up poop bags that can be problematic. Therefore, you're asked to just put the pooh in the bin, and the bag in the garbage. Or purchase a pooper scooper for the purpose of scooping the poop without the environmental damage of a plastic bag.
If this City Counsellor hopes to pass this law then I think an educational period needs to be put forth. I didn't know about the ability to put dog poop in the green bin, so I suspect that the average Torontonian is unaware of this ability as well.
Now if we could only get on the dog owners who let their dog crap all over the place without cleaning it up!!
Thursday, April 05, 2007
The Iran Issue
I have been following the Iran issue lately with some interest. I've recently begun reading a book on Iranian Blogging and I've gotten a bit of insight into the minds of regular Iranians and views of their government. So the news coming out as of late with respect to the "Iranian Crisis" has sparked an interest that I'm usually not prone to. I could care less to be honest what goes on in the middle east. I shouldn't say care less more like confused by it all.
Anywho as anyone knows with the news of today Iran has released the Britons whom they 'captured' in Iranian water. My partner and I have been talking about this issue for some time privately--I haven't written about it because it is such a complicated issue that I don't fully understand. We've both thought that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad 'captured' the sailors to prove a point--and I use capture loosely as we're of the thought they kidnapped with purpose.
We're of the belief that there was some intended message behind the kidnappings. We think that they west in underestimating Iran and the steps it'll go to get it's needs met. We've always thought that it's Iran telling the world how it's done and not the world telling Iran how it's done.
Well today in a Time Magazine article our thoughts were confirmed. Not that I believe everything I read but it's interesting to see that other people believe Iran is sending some very powerful messages.
Time believed it was sending three messages:
The full article can be found here.
It'll be interesting to see how things play out in the next little while.
Anywho as anyone knows with the news of today Iran has released the Britons whom they 'captured' in Iranian water. My partner and I have been talking about this issue for some time privately--I haven't written about it because it is such a complicated issue that I don't fully understand. We've both thought that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad 'captured' the sailors to prove a point--and I use capture loosely as we're of the thought they kidnapped with purpose.
We're of the belief that there was some intended message behind the kidnappings. We think that they west in underestimating Iran and the steps it'll go to get it's needs met. We've always thought that it's Iran telling the world how it's done and not the world telling Iran how it's done.
Well today in a Time Magazine article our thoughts were confirmed. Not that I believe everything I read but it's interesting to see that other people believe Iran is sending some very powerful messages.
Time believed it was sending three messages:
The capture of the Britons seemed designed to send three messages to London, and
more importantly, to Washington:
Don't think about attacking Iran, because
it has the capacity to threaten Western interests in the Gulf and throughout the
Middle East, directly as well as through allies in Iraq, Lebanon and Palestine;Expect Iran to instigate trouble if the West continues to punish Iran for
what it sees simply as exercising as its legal right to nuclear technology; and,Iran will play tit-for-tat if U.S. forces continue arresting Iranian
officials working inside Iraq, as in the Jan. 11 raid on an Iranian consular
facility in Erbil where five Iranians were detained.
The full article can be found here.
It'll be interesting to see how things play out in the next little while.
Toronto drivers are funny people!
So I was walking my daughter to school today. I am able to do this now that I'm a stay home mom. Really who becomes a stay home mom when their child is 9 years of age? I never said I was conventional!!
Anywho, back to the discussion at hand. I was walking my daughter to school this morning and what interesting things I witnessed from our local Toronto drivers. To preface this piece I will say that I learned how to drive in Woodstock, Ontario and if any of the readers out there know it's a snow belt area. We learn at an early age the best way to get around certain weather conditions. We're pretty prepared for anything that comes our way. This is not to say that there are not accidents--actually a high amount of them in our area from our more ill equipped folks--but the majority of seasoned drivers know what needs to be done to ensure a safe journey from point A to point B.
Today was a terrible crappy road conditioned day! Arctic air moved in to freeze the rain on the road and then snow covered it. I live at an intersection with a small slope with a four way stop. This morning before I even left the house I witnessed a slight fender bender at my corner. The joys of living on the corner unit! Nothing major I suppose, just some names and insurance information exchanged. I went about my business getting Bay ready for school. We started our journey with two almost accidents. A car was coming to the stop sign, that is on the hill, and a kid was crossing.....he had to honk to get the kid moving or we'd have witnessed them being run over. Then while Bay and I were crossing, a car was trying to climb the street we were walking up, that has the hill. They had the pedal to the metal hoping that would help them get up. Little do they know that spinning your wheels like that won't get you up the hill. You have to slowly put your foot to the gas and just go up that way. You won't have the slipping and sliding nor the spinning of the wheels this way. Silly Torontonian driver!!
Then I witnessed quite a few farmer stops on the way. The street we take to Bay's school is full of all way stops. However non of the drivers were stopping. They were slowing down and going through because of the sheet of ice under the snow. The ones who did try to stop were sliding and slamming on their breaks. Anyone who has driven in this kind of weather numerous times know that the best way to stop is not slamming on your breaks but pumping them. Don't hold on to the steering wheel either. You need to just go with the flow. It'll work itself out. Silly drivers.
Then I walked home after saying goodbye to my precious little one when I witnessed more spinning of the wheels. I was almost hit twice trying to cross over my corner but I was quick. Once I got to my corner I noticed that there was a 4 car fender bender. I had a slight giggle in my head and went into my house. When I was in my apartment I looked out the window to witness the action--yes I am occasionally a rubber necker!!--when I watched the beauty of an accident happen. Again no one understood the need to go slowly down the slight slop and it slammed into a car already dented up. Only this time it was pretty serious. Instead of a slight fender bender it was a full blown collision. Do you know what this driver did. She slammed on her breaks hoping to stop the car. This only increased the speed instead of pumping the breaks.
Silly drivers I tell you!! Silly drivers!
Speaking of driving, I'm glad that I have given up this task. I was back in Woodstock yesterday to visit my doctor and I had to borrow my parents vehicle to get to my appointment. It's a driving town which is unfortunate. I couldn't help but get angry at the drivers around me. This was my signal that driving and me are not a good mix. I don't want to ever own a car again!
Anywho, back to the discussion at hand. I was walking my daughter to school this morning and what interesting things I witnessed from our local Toronto drivers. To preface this piece I will say that I learned how to drive in Woodstock, Ontario and if any of the readers out there know it's a snow belt area. We learn at an early age the best way to get around certain weather conditions. We're pretty prepared for anything that comes our way. This is not to say that there are not accidents--actually a high amount of them in our area from our more ill equipped folks--but the majority of seasoned drivers know what needs to be done to ensure a safe journey from point A to point B.
Today was a terrible crappy road conditioned day! Arctic air moved in to freeze the rain on the road and then snow covered it. I live at an intersection with a small slope with a four way stop. This morning before I even left the house I witnessed a slight fender bender at my corner. The joys of living on the corner unit! Nothing major I suppose, just some names and insurance information exchanged. I went about my business getting Bay ready for school. We started our journey with two almost accidents. A car was coming to the stop sign, that is on the hill, and a kid was crossing.....he had to honk to get the kid moving or we'd have witnessed them being run over. Then while Bay and I were crossing, a car was trying to climb the street we were walking up, that has the hill. They had the pedal to the metal hoping that would help them get up. Little do they know that spinning your wheels like that won't get you up the hill. You have to slowly put your foot to the gas and just go up that way. You won't have the slipping and sliding nor the spinning of the wheels this way. Silly Torontonian driver!!
Then I witnessed quite a few farmer stops on the way. The street we take to Bay's school is full of all way stops. However non of the drivers were stopping. They were slowing down and going through because of the sheet of ice under the snow. The ones who did try to stop were sliding and slamming on their breaks. Anyone who has driven in this kind of weather numerous times know that the best way to stop is not slamming on your breaks but pumping them. Don't hold on to the steering wheel either. You need to just go with the flow. It'll work itself out. Silly drivers.
Then I walked home after saying goodbye to my precious little one when I witnessed more spinning of the wheels. I was almost hit twice trying to cross over my corner but I was quick. Once I got to my corner I noticed that there was a 4 car fender bender. I had a slight giggle in my head and went into my house. When I was in my apartment I looked out the window to witness the action--yes I am occasionally a rubber necker!!--when I watched the beauty of an accident happen. Again no one understood the need to go slowly down the slight slop and it slammed into a car already dented up. Only this time it was pretty serious. Instead of a slight fender bender it was a full blown collision. Do you know what this driver did. She slammed on her breaks hoping to stop the car. This only increased the speed instead of pumping the breaks.
Silly drivers I tell you!! Silly drivers!
Speaking of driving, I'm glad that I have given up this task. I was back in Woodstock yesterday to visit my doctor and I had to borrow my parents vehicle to get to my appointment. It's a driving town which is unfortunate. I couldn't help but get angry at the drivers around me. This was my signal that driving and me are not a good mix. I don't want to ever own a car again!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
