Reasons I Like the Marijuana Party

1.They are all about the 'ja, and pround of it.
2.They have no platform other than "Free the Herb, Free the People".
3.There is a Marijuana Party in Nunuvut.
4.They'll pitch for pizza. Anytime. No questions asked.
5.They can lay down some dope beats.
6.Every joke you tell is freakin' hilarious.
7.Had proportional representation been in in BC, they would have one BC MLA. But really...it's BC.

I know I promised Marxist-Leninist...but they're so boring...if you want to see their website it is http://www.mlpc.ca/

Reasons I like the Green Party

Here is the first of a many part series on reasons I like various fringe parties. Some Greens will object to my labelling of the Green Party as "fringe". And to you I say "Balls. Win a seat, then we'll talk".
1-I like their social platform.
2-They don't exhude the "I'm better than you" that the other parties seem to.
3-They're not the Bloc Quebecois
4-Something about cheering for the underdog who has no chance to win and has Green as the primary colour...
5-They support proportional representation.
6-They're small enough that if you did join, you would know every other member in a two province radius.
7-They think they're a real party...that's so cute.
8-They really believe in what they're doing.

Next week: The Marxist-Leninist party of Canada (if I can find anything, otherwise the Communist Party of Canada is always good for a laugh).

Softwood Lumber Update

Canada has pulled out of softwood lumber negotiations with the U.S. in protest of American refusal to comply with the NAFTA ruling. Finance Minister Ralph Goodale stating that Washington must realise that Ottawa is taking this "very, very seriously". NDP leader Jack Layton, shamelessly stealing ideas from Boney B. himself, has gone on record as stating that Ottawa needs to play "hardball" by taxing oil and gas exports across the border. God I love when I'm right. It is interesting how the whole softwood lumber dispute really blows to shreds the American, and Canadian right's view that Government participation in commerce/industry is a terrible thing. In the U.S., softwood lumber is harvested off private property and the fees charged to harvest the lumber are done on open auction. In Canada softwood lumber is generally harvested off of crown land and a "stumpage fee" is charged. The Canadian way leads to lower prices for lumber harvesters, and this savings goes all the way up the production ladder to the consumer. Yup, lower prices for the consumer is a terrible thing. Mike Moffat has a nice, quick, non-partisan article about this dispute.
Now, I'm not saying that all areas of industry need government participation, just that public participation in industry is not necessarily a negative thing, just as it is not always positive.

Canadian Blood Services lowers wait times

Canadian blood services has announced a reduction in wait times for certain people to give blood. Also they have lifted the ban on giving blood for persons who had lived three or more months in Britan or France since 1997. I like this. I had lived ten months in France in 1998-1999 and I always heard about how blood is needed, and that there is a huge shortage of blood products so "we need more blood", but, when I went to give blood, I was rejected. Story of my life. Anyways, now I can feel less like a leper and have my blood accepted.
Suckers.

CBC locks out

Canada's best (I know, I know...that statement will get me in trouble) media corporation is locked out. According to the CBC's website, "the CBC will continue to broadcast CFL football and NHL hockey games – but possibly without any play-by-play commentary or colour analysis. Local radio morning shows will be replaced by a single national broadcast. TV newscasts will be pared down, and there will be more acquired programming and movies". As of 12:40 a.m. on Aug 15th, 2005, attempts to access CBC's local websites (i.e. CBC Saskatchewan, CBC Toronto, etc.) were met with a screen saying that local coverage is unavailable due to labour unrest. In an open letterCanadian Media Guild (CMG) president Lise Lareau stated that the CBC's actions are "unthinkable, unnecessary, [and] wasteful" adding that "[it] is an aggressive move". Lareau also accuses the CBC's bargaining committee of demanding unrealistic concessions. The CBC counters with it's own website devoted to the lockout in which the CBC describes their own offers as "fair, competitive, and realistic". Also the CBC's accuses the union leadership of not having any urgency in the dealing with the CBC". All in all it looks to be a long, nasty fight. I truely hope that this is resolved soon. I am a news junkie, and I rely on the CBC for the majority of my news. Without the CBC I am left with the Asper family media juggernaut, which usuall just makes me angry with it's blatent (although I do give them credit, it is also admitted) right-wing skew, or CTV and it's nightly news anchor the Dark Lord Skeletor...I mean Lloyd Robertson. Locally I my options are the Leader Post, part of the Asper fold, Newstalk CJME (right skewed), and the Prarie Dog magazine, a weekly so far left that Tommy Douglas would blush. Sigh...it's tough being stuck in the middle with no news.

What the Hell is wrong with those Damn Yankees?

OK, So what's the deal with the Bush administration in the good ol' US of A? Forever (it seems like) they have been blatently ignoring judgments by the NAFTA governing body about softwood lumber. All this while moaning and bitching about how the European Union is "protectionist" and the the Canadian Wheat Board is "unfair" (forgetting about all the subsidies that Uncle Sam provides to American farmers. Enough is enough! If Ottawa slapped a $10 tariff on every Canadian barrel of oil that goes to the states, and charged a "handling fee" for every barrel of Alaska oil that flows through B.C., ol' Dubya would sit up and take notice. On top of that we could slow down the electricity exports that we send south. A week or two of brownouts along both coasts might get the attention of the White House. Of course it could all backfire. If we endangered precious oil and power, "Operation Free the Hoser" couldn't be far behind. For Boney B. Buckethead, ESQ, I'm Boney B.

Political Compass

Where do you land? Fill out a quick questionnaire and see. I'm close to the Dalai Lama...Zen Buddhism anyone?

Oh how I hate Ann Coulter

God this woman infuriates me. However, I can't stop reading her radical right-wing rantings. Ol' Annie's always good for a laugh. This woman makes Stephen Harper look like a communist.

I'm not dead...really

Well, its been a hectic three months, and I have one more week to work out at camp. When you work at camp, you have no idea/perceptions about the outside world, so I don't have much to say, other than I do plan on resuming blogging once I get back into the loop. Also I have added in my links section another blog of a friend of mine. Check it out. "What the F___ Man", the spelling and grammar leave much to be desired, but his hilarious commentaries on life make me realise how...actually nothing, but it's a fun way to spend a half hour.