This video is worth every one of the 4:45 minutes it takes to watch it. It is American but translates pretty well to Canada.
Apathy is boring and voting in Canada is even EASIER. BECAUSE you don't have to register to vote in Canada. Here you just have to show up with some ID.
The world is run by those who show up. You get the government you deserve - especially if you don't show up to vote.
To find out where you vote just Google Elections Canada. Advanced polls are Today and Monday...if you can't make it on October 14th.
Saturday, October 04, 2008
Don't Vote
Not a Good Week for Harper
The National Post coverage is continuing in its role as the unofficial house organ for the Harper Conservatives. Here is an election story today saying it was a good week for Stephen Harper’s campaign.
The National Post also uses a 5 day old Nanos poll result to "prove" its point. That makes Harper look like he is doing better than the current Nanos poll evidence would currently indicate.
The National Post’s discriminating framing the facts and being selective sampling of sections of the “truth” is the Harper modus. This political model is a clone of George Bush’s Rovarian cancer campaign tactics. Here is the current Nano poll results showing a very different gap between Harper and Dion.
How can the National Post support this good week conclusion when Harper lost the French debate and dropped dramatically behind the Bloc in polls. Harper trashed is own myth about supporting the Quebec Nation concept as he cut the heart and soul out of the policy pandering with arts and culture cuts at the same time.
Quebec's soft nationalists have decided Harper can't be trusted and they are returning to the Bloc en masse. Pundits are saying Harper has forfeited his hope for a majority with this shunning by Quebec voters because of his MISLEADING them. Ironically Liberal Ontario seems to be coming to Harper’s rescue as of late and B.C. is in play, so a majority is still possible.
As well the Ipsos Reid poll on the English debate shows that Harper won but with a performance rated significantly below expectations. Then there is the post debt shift shown in the running Nanos poll where Dion and May get a bounce and Harper starts to shrink.
The debates may be a game changer but not if Harper will win. Harper will win, barring a personal political disaster, which can always happen in the last 10 days. So presuming Harper will win the ballot question is do we Canadians trust him with the absolute personal power of a majority - or not.
That question will beg the next question. Who will be the best leader of the opposition to take Harper on and keep him honest and on his toes. The answer is obvious. Layton is a mere opportunist without much modesty in spite of the fact he has much to be modest about. May needs to be elected and when she beats Mackay she will humble the Conservatives, who obviously need it. She will be like Jimminy Cricket and the guiding conscious of the House of Commons.
The obvious strategic choice for leader of the opposition is Dion. His record as a parliamentarian has proven he has the best personal understanding and alignment with Canadian values. He also has the right stuff to stand up to the Harper bullying - even when it is personal and vicious.
Dion has a proven personal love and commitment to Canada. He championed the Clarity Act to ensure Canada stays together and the federalism is respected. He is a 21st century leader who can integrate economic, environmental and social policy together. He will ensure that we will not turn more American under Harper's reign. Remember his world leadership on Climate Change in Montreal a couple of years ago where he manged to bring the USA in line with Kyoto principles.
Dion won the French debate which surprised everyone. He was able to come into the Canadian living rooms n the English debate so we could get to know him personally. He was well accepted and connected with people.He showed us he was not the person pilloried in the nasty mean-spirited television attack ads that the Conservatives spent millions and months on to belittle Dion.
The National Post also uses a 5 day old Nanos poll result to "prove" its point. That makes Harper look like he is doing better than the current Nanos poll evidence would currently indicate.
The National Post’s discriminating framing the facts and being selective sampling of sections of the “truth” is the Harper modus. This political model is a clone of George Bush’s Rovarian cancer campaign tactics. Here is the current Nano poll results showing a very different gap between Harper and Dion.
How can the National Post support this good week conclusion when Harper lost the French debate and dropped dramatically behind the Bloc in polls. Harper trashed is own myth about supporting the Quebec Nation concept as he cut the heart and soul out of the policy pandering with arts and culture cuts at the same time.
Quebec's soft nationalists have decided Harper can't be trusted and they are returning to the Bloc en masse. Pundits are saying Harper has forfeited his hope for a majority with this shunning by Quebec voters because of his MISLEADING them. Ironically Liberal Ontario seems to be coming to Harper’s rescue as of late and B.C. is in play, so a majority is still possible.
As well the Ipsos Reid poll on the English debate shows that Harper won but with a performance rated significantly below expectations. Then there is the post debt shift shown in the running Nanos poll where Dion and May get a bounce and Harper starts to shrink.
The debates may be a game changer but not if Harper will win. Harper will win, barring a personal political disaster, which can always happen in the last 10 days. So presuming Harper will win the ballot question is do we Canadians trust him with the absolute personal power of a majority - or not.
That question will beg the next question. Who will be the best leader of the opposition to take Harper on and keep him honest and on his toes. The answer is obvious. Layton is a mere opportunist without much modesty in spite of the fact he has much to be modest about. May needs to be elected and when she beats Mackay she will humble the Conservatives, who obviously need it. She will be like Jimminy Cricket and the guiding conscious of the House of Commons.
The obvious strategic choice for leader of the opposition is Dion. His record as a parliamentarian has proven he has the best personal understanding and alignment with Canadian values. He also has the right stuff to stand up to the Harper bullying - even when it is personal and vicious.
Dion has a proven personal love and commitment to Canada. He championed the Clarity Act to ensure Canada stays together and the federalism is respected. He is a 21st century leader who can integrate economic, environmental and social policy together. He will ensure that we will not turn more American under Harper's reign. Remember his world leadership on Climate Change in Montreal a couple of years ago where he manged to bring the USA in line with Kyoto principles.
Dion won the French debate which surprised everyone. He was able to come into the Canadian living rooms n the English debate so we could get to know him personally. He was well accepted and connected with people.He showed us he was not the person pilloried in the nasty mean-spirited television attack ads that the Conservatives spent millions and months on to belittle Dion.
Friday, October 03, 2008
Dion's Right - the Debate Winner was Canada.
The Canadian leadership debate last night was terrific. Stephane Dion got it right in the post debate scrum when the media asked him who won. He said Canadians won and I could not agree more.
I have to give great kudos to the Moderator Steve Paikin. He was forthright, masterful and adaptable to take advantage of the human moments and ensure fairness for all the leaders. When things got out of hand with everyone talking at the same time he used humour and firmness to take back control.
The roundtable format was a wonderful improvement over the podium because the leaders got to speak to each other in a move conversational manner. And we got to tune in and watch the human interaction not just the shrink wrapped media trained messaging of podium puppets o f past debates.
This was not a television program masquerading as a debate. This was a human exchange around real issues framed by real citizens. The following open discussion added context and differentiated the candidates and their policy proposals. Last night was a great opportunity for us to see the pith and substance of the people who want our trust and our vote and permission to govern us.
I have a new found respect for every candidate because of how they focused on the issues and challenged each other’s position. Sure there were cheap shots, some deserved, some not, but Canadians can tell the difference.
Harper has not answered media or citizen questions for first 24 days of the campaign. Last night he had to answer and admit to mistakes and be accountable under good political scrutiny. He can’t presume Canadians will sleep walk through the campaign and not show up because if Harper has his way, it would be a Seinfeld Campaign – about nothing.
I see the Harper War Room has been the ones to really panic and they are all of a sudden whipping up campaign platform. Harper’s handlers have all of a sudden announced they will release a Conservative campaign platform - next Tuesday the LAST 7 DAYS OF THE CAMPAIGN. That is an insult to Canadian citizens. It will be too little and way too late to be taken seriously.
Harper’s plan for personal power was to win a majority government based on a “mandate” that he does not have to be accountable for. He presumes he can make up any policy he wants as he sees fit AFTER the election. If there is no campaign platform Harper will presume he has absolute power to do whatever he wants - once elected with a majority government. That is the extent of the serious political risk that Canadians are taking by voting for Harper.
Harper was caught last night for taking the Canadian voters for granted…not just the Alberta voters which has been his habit for years. Harper will not release his platform until after the advance polls. Those voters will have to vote and not know where Harper wants to take their country as Prime Minister.
The rushed and reactive Conservative election platform will only leave one week for citizens, the media and other parties to scrutinize it. No wonder Harper did not want May in the debates. The same public pressure that got May and the Green into the debates was about to bite Harper again as citizens wonder what Harper is proposing for the future of Canada. Harper’s reactive last minute damage control with his panicky change of mind to actually prepare and campaign platform is telling.
Harper is obviously nervous for the first time in the campaign. He is afraid that he will have to go beyond his do nothing economic approach that is now so suspect among voters. Thanks to Elizabeth May, Jack Layton, Gilles Duceppe and Stephane Dion in the debate last night we may actually get a glimpse of what the real Stephen Harper is proposing as a Prime Minister.
I have to give great kudos to the Moderator Steve Paikin. He was forthright, masterful and adaptable to take advantage of the human moments and ensure fairness for all the leaders. When things got out of hand with everyone talking at the same time he used humour and firmness to take back control.
The roundtable format was a wonderful improvement over the podium because the leaders got to speak to each other in a move conversational manner. And we got to tune in and watch the human interaction not just the shrink wrapped media trained messaging of podium puppets o f past debates.
This was not a television program masquerading as a debate. This was a human exchange around real issues framed by real citizens. The following open discussion added context and differentiated the candidates and their policy proposals. Last night was a great opportunity for us to see the pith and substance of the people who want our trust and our vote and permission to govern us.
I have a new found respect for every candidate because of how they focused on the issues and challenged each other’s position. Sure there were cheap shots, some deserved, some not, but Canadians can tell the difference.
Harper has not answered media or citizen questions for first 24 days of the campaign. Last night he had to answer and admit to mistakes and be accountable under good political scrutiny. He can’t presume Canadians will sleep walk through the campaign and not show up because if Harper has his way, it would be a Seinfeld Campaign – about nothing.
I see the Harper War Room has been the ones to really panic and they are all of a sudden whipping up campaign platform. Harper’s handlers have all of a sudden announced they will release a Conservative campaign platform - next Tuesday the LAST 7 DAYS OF THE CAMPAIGN. That is an insult to Canadian citizens. It will be too little and way too late to be taken seriously.
Harper’s plan for personal power was to win a majority government based on a “mandate” that he does not have to be accountable for. He presumes he can make up any policy he wants as he sees fit AFTER the election. If there is no campaign platform Harper will presume he has absolute power to do whatever he wants - once elected with a majority government. That is the extent of the serious political risk that Canadians are taking by voting for Harper.
Harper was caught last night for taking the Canadian voters for granted…not just the Alberta voters which has been his habit for years. Harper will not release his platform until after the advance polls. Those voters will have to vote and not know where Harper wants to take their country as Prime Minister.
The rushed and reactive Conservative election platform will only leave one week for citizens, the media and other parties to scrutinize it. No wonder Harper did not want May in the debates. The same public pressure that got May and the Green into the debates was about to bite Harper again as citizens wonder what Harper is proposing for the future of Canada. Harper’s reactive last minute damage control with his panicky change of mind to actually prepare and campaign platform is telling.
Harper is obviously nervous for the first time in the campaign. He is afraid that he will have to go beyond his do nothing economic approach that is now so suspect among voters. Thanks to Elizabeth May, Jack Layton, Gilles Duceppe and Stephane Dion in the debate last night we may actually get a glimpse of what the real Stephen Harper is proposing as a Prime Minister.
Thursday, October 02, 2008
Sustainable Oil Sands Development - An Alberta Challenge
My business partner, Satya Das, has written an op-ed that was published in the Edmonton Journal October 1.
It is on the implications of an economic slowdown on Alberta. Satya says it is importance to use the time for Alberta to catch our collective breath. Then we have to get serious about our stewardship responsibilities around oil sands development.
The responsibility is to the environment as to future generations. Satya says “Unless we urgently and credible address the challenge of making our oil sands sustainable, Alberta may never be allowed to fulfill its economic potential."
Here is the link to the entire piece. http://www.cambridgestrategies.com/Wall%20Street%20meltdown%20gives%20Alberta%20breathing%20room%20for%20the%20oilsands.pdf
It is on the implications of an economic slowdown on Alberta. Satya says it is importance to use the time for Alberta to catch our collective breath. Then we have to get serious about our stewardship responsibilities around oil sands development.
The responsibility is to the environment as to future generations. Satya says “Unless we urgently and credible address the challenge of making our oil sands sustainable, Alberta may never be allowed to fulfill its economic potential."
Here is the link to the entire piece. http://www.cambridgestrategies.com/Wall%20Street%20meltdown%20gives%20Alberta%20breathing%20room%20for%20the%20oilsands.pdf
Business Ethics & Greenwashing
The October issue of Alberta Venture magazine is out. The business ethics column that I help write is called “The Right Call.”
This month it is about Greenwashing.
The perspectives in the column are quite more about the cynicism of this phenomenon. I was interested in Michael Atkin’s statement that hybrid vehicles are a “scam.”
He is an automotive dealer who says “nothing is really being done to really address vehicles and the environment.”
Here is the link: http://www.albertaventure.com/?p=2766&year=2008
This month it is about Greenwashing.
The perspectives in the column are quite more about the cynicism of this phenomenon. I was interested in Michael Atkin’s statement that hybrid vehicles are a “scam.”
He is an automotive dealer who says “nothing is really being done to really address vehicles and the environment.”
Here is the link: http://www.albertaventure.com/?p=2766&year=2008
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