G20 Costs VI

I honestly didn't think I would ever write another G20 post. Little did I know, Sheila Fraser had other plans.

However, it should be said that this couldn't have been that surprising to anyone. When a summit costs upwards of 150 times the value of similar summits held recently something was misspent.

The interesting part of this whole affair is that the report was leaked now. I find it hard to understand how this would inflict maximum damage. If I really wanted to hammer the Tories over this I would wait until the day of the debates, thereby ensuring that the Tories are caught off guard.

Yet at the same time, I don't think the opposition will get much play over this issue. The G20 summit happened a long time ago now. The public has well over forgotten.

Moreover, financial scandals have hard time sticking to governments. Just ask Jean Chretien. It has to get really really REALLY bad for people to take notice. One billion dollar boondoggle alone is not enough.

To make matters worse for the opposition, they are unlikely to convince many that they would do a better job. Fiscal responsibility is just not a core winnable issue for the left in general. It would be the equivalent of the Tories criticizing Liberal policy on healthcare. Would Canadians really believe the Tories are the defenders of public healthcare? Regardless if it's true or not - the prevailing bias is what it is.

I believe that the Tories will most likely emerge from this and survive. And (I hope) learning some hard lessons.

G20 Costs V
G20 Costs IV
G20 Costs III
G20 Costs II
G20 Costs I

Blog of the Week : 04/10 - 04/16 2011

The Blog of the Week for the week of April 10th to the 16th, 2011 is 'The Fighting Newfoundlander'; a politically inclined blog from the mind of Shannon Reardon, who is a self professed 'passoinate Newfoundlander'.  With the federal election campaign in full swing, I thought it pertinent to focus on a political blog this week and Shannon's is a delightful one within the bunch. Her passion for our province is indeed quite evident within her frequently updated posts and her knowledge of politics, both federal and provincial, provide a delightful point of view no matter which end of the political spectrum your values lay. So, here's the point where you stop reading and start visiting. Be sure to say hello and perhaps a respectful debate or two may even be welcomed; click the pic and find out!

Newfoundland, Labrador, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, BlogRoll

Categorically Speaking

In further preparation for the coming NL Bloggers Choice Awards, I've decided to simplify things a little more within the categories. As they say, 'less is more' and with that thought in mind I've gone ahead and cut the number of categories from 14 down to 10, combining some logical choices. Each mini blogroll in the sidebar for the new listings have been updated, and if you're curious the final list is below:

• POLITICAL / COMMENTARY
• PHOTOGRAPHY
• MIXED BAG
• PERSONAL / JOURNAL
• SPORT / RECREATION
• ART / CRAFT / FOOD
• ENTERTAINMENT / MEDIA
• SCIENCE / TECHNOLOGY
• EDUCATIONAL / BOOKS
• BUSINESS / TRAVEL

What this now means for the awards, is that we will now be selecting only 10 of the best (as voted by you) blogs found in our community of over 200.

Also, just to keep you in the loop on some of the other items I've been working on; sometime in the near future I'll be launching stand alone pages for each of these new categories. I'm mainly doing this for a better browsing experience within the full site but, this also impacts the choice blogger awards. By that I mean, for each of these categories, the winners will gain a full year of promotion on their corresponding stand alone page: 'ads, links, RSS feeds and whatever else I can think of. Each page will essentially facilitate a new way to promote the choice bloggers and  you gotta love that!

Now... if I could only find the time to get all this done. That's always the struggle but, as I push through it, I'm sure I'll keep you in the know as I always try to do. Stay tuned!

Newfoundland, Labrador, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, BlogRoll

Laytonisms

Layton Speaks!

"If Mr. Harper is in charge of the future of health care in our country then Canadians should be very, very worried..."

(...)

"They don't believe it's a federal issue. They want to leave it to the provinces knowing that the provinces don't have the resources that are necessary and privatization will become the only option."(link)

That's cause it aint a federal issue. That's what tick's off most provinces - especially Quebec. Oh well - Layton will just zap those pesky national unity issues with laser beams from this manly moustache!

Also, Mr Moustache, you're wrong about the Tories. Not wrong in the sense that a lot of Tories would like privatization. Not in the sense that we do believe it isn't a federal issue either.

You're wrong in believing that the Tories will do anything that you wouldn't do on the healthcare front.

The Tories fear one word more than anything (even the "A" word) : healthcare. It's been the beating stick used by their opposition over and over and over... To the Tories, whatever their personal opinions, no one will ever ever touch healthcare. Even worse - if you propose to do anything to healthcare I would be willing to bet that Harper would come out the very next day and say "us too!"

Be wary as we travel into a political parallel universe, with the same party leaders just ideologies switched!

SURREY, B.C. — NDP Leader Jack Layton is promising to get tough on crime, particularly gang violence.

The party's strategy would put an additional 2,500 police officers on streets across the country and double funding for programs that try to keep children from joining gangs.(link)

I bet there's some sort of pro-hippie fine print in that policy - but in the meantime the NDP get kuddos from me on joining the fight.

Blog of the Week : 04/03 - 04/09 2011

The Blog of the Week for the week of April 4th to April 9th, 2011 is the self titled personal blog of 'Elizabeth "Tshaukuesh" Penashue'. This space is one of very few listed on the roll that are from the Big Land, Labrador and the first one from there to be featured in this weekly initiative. Elizabeth is an Innu Elder and passionate activist living in Sheshatshui who has dedicated an abundance of her life to protecting not only the environment, but also the Innu way of life. Her blog takes us on this journey with her as she passes along her passion and knowledge to her children and grandchildren in effort to never lose the Innu identity, culture and lifestyle. All in all, Elizabeth's blog is an incredible perspective and definitely worth a visit... so get goin'; click the pic!

Newfoundland, Labrador, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, BlogRoll