In case you didn’t know - March 20th is now Stephen Colbert Day in the fine (albeit shamed city of Oshawa). If you missed the details pertaining to the holiday check the link below.
http://liberalsemantics.blogspot.com/2007/01/colbert-wins-oshawa-is-forever-shamed.html
Im unsure what im going to do this Stephen Colbert Day, but perhaps some of you can send me some suggestions on how to celebrate this - the least holy of holidays.
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
So, Any big Plans for “Stephen Colbert Day”
Obama Calls for Withdrawal by 2008
A strong stand - This will put alot of pressure on Sen. Clinton to solidify her position on Iraq.
Call my a cynic - but the next election is in 2008 - Perhaps this Iraq Bill has a great deal to do with the fact that Obama doesnt want to deal with an unpopular war if/when he was to run for the White House.
____
Also it appears that this particular vid has been reposted under this blog several times on liblogs. Ignore the other posts, this is post is the real deal.
A Retraction and Apology
Yesterday I posted an article in regards to the Tory Environmental policy along with some comments on the days first Question Period. It was brought to my attention that some of the wording in my post was to be blunt, wrong. This error was brought to my attention by The Prairie Wrangler. Whom in response posted a hilarious article citing my errors. His post was quite funny and to be honest I enjoyed the absurdity of my mistake. But unfortunately, some took it upon themselves to respond to the post with a large amount of anger, which frankly was alarming. So I would like to humbly apologize for that post - and I assure you it's errors were unintentional. Also I would like to thank The Prairie Wrangler for his kind response to this perfect stranger.
To clarify - the exact line in question was “Mr. Dion who was a central architect for the conception of Kyoto!” Now obviously Mr. Dion did not create the Kyoto Protocol, what my intention was to describe Mr. Dion as an ardent supporter of the Kyoto Protocol - but regardless the fault still lies with me.
Perhaps this situation will serve as a lesson to the blogging world that kindness and integrity are virtues of the individual, and have little to do with ones political affiliation. So once more I would like to thank The Prairie Wrangler.
Thank You,
Liberal Semantics
To clarify - the exact line in question was “Mr. Dion who was a central architect for the conception of Kyoto!” Now obviously Mr. Dion did not create the Kyoto Protocol, what my intention was to describe Mr. Dion as an ardent supporter of the Kyoto Protocol - but regardless the fault still lies with me.
Perhaps this situation will serve as a lesson to the blogging world that kindness and integrity are virtues of the individual, and have little to do with ones political affiliation. So once more I would like to thank The Prairie Wrangler.
Thank You,
Liberal Semantics
Monday, January 29, 2007
Tory Attack Ad's, Against the Law??
This was sent to me from a friends blackberry a few minutes ago........
Joan Bryden
Canadian press
OTTAWA
Conservative attack ads fired at Liberal Leader Stephane Dion mayend up sideswiping the ruling party after questions were raised aboutpossible breach of copyright laws.The television ads, which began airing Monday, use footage from last fall'sLiberal leadership debates to deliver the message that the new Grit leaderis weak, indecisive and an environmental failure.But that footage belongs to a consortium of TV networks which pooled theirresources to provide live coverage of the debates. The Cable Public AffairsChannel provided the pool camera for each debate.The networks are now looking into how the Conservatives obtained the debatefootage for their ads.CPAC anchor Peter Van Dusen said Monday that any outside use of debate videowould have to be approved by all pool members. Moreover, he said such videois traditionally never authorized for use by political parties.Van Dusen said he is not aware of any request by the Tory party to buy oruse any portion of the debate videos."It would come through me and I certainly don't remember ever getting arequest," he said, adding that he "would've said no" if he had received arequest.Conservative spokesman Ryan Sparrow refused to say how the party obtainedthe clips. But he stressed that the ads were approved by the TelevisionBureau of Canada before going to air.However TVB president Jim Patterson said his agency - a voluntaryadvertisement-vetting service, created by private broadcasters - has nothingto do with ensuring that ads don't violate copyright laws."We don't rule on copyright. That is not our job," Patterson said.Indeed, Patterson said the TVB always gets advertisers to sign a generalletter of indemnity, specifying that the bureau can not be held liable ifany legal issues arise from an ad. The Conservative party signed such aletter.Given the reliance on debate footage in the ads, Patterson said the TVB hasdrafted a more specific letter of indemnity that it will require the Toriesto sign for any ads in future. The new letter specifies that the TVB cannotbe held liable for any copyright infringements.Without knowing how the Tories came by the debate footage, copyright lawexpert Michael Geist said it's difficult to judge whether there may havebeen an infringement.It's possible one of the networks sold the video to the Conservatives; thenetworks are checking to find out if their marketing or archival units mighthave done so.Alternatively, a party member could conceivably have recorded the debates ona camcorder from a seat in the audience.But if the party simply taped the debates from television, Geist said theads could fall into a grey zone in Canadian copyright law."They might try to argue that they would qualify for some sort of exceptionunder the Copyright Act," said Geist, a University of Ottawa law professor.The most likely exception, he added, would be the "fair dealing exceptionfor criticism."Geist said the use of such video clips in political ads would be entirelyproper in the United States, which applies a broad "fair use doctrine" toits copyright laws. The fact that the Tory ads raise questions herehighlights the shortcomings of Canadian law, he added."Frankly, it should be beyond doubt that they should be able to use shortclips of these kinds of public political events that should fall under afair use doctrine. I think it's unfortunate that under Canadian copyrightlaw there is some level of uncertainty."
Joan Bryden
Canadian press
OTTAWA
Conservative attack ads fired at Liberal Leader Stephane Dion mayend up sideswiping the ruling party after questions were raised aboutpossible breach of copyright laws.The television ads, which began airing Monday, use footage from last fall'sLiberal leadership debates to deliver the message that the new Grit leaderis weak, indecisive and an environmental failure.But that footage belongs to a consortium of TV networks which pooled theirresources to provide live coverage of the debates. The Cable Public AffairsChannel provided the pool camera for each debate.The networks are now looking into how the Conservatives obtained the debatefootage for their ads.CPAC anchor Peter Van Dusen said Monday that any outside use of debate videowould have to be approved by all pool members. Moreover, he said such videois traditionally never authorized for use by political parties.Van Dusen said he is not aware of any request by the Tory party to buy oruse any portion of the debate videos."It would come through me and I certainly don't remember ever getting arequest," he said, adding that he "would've said no" if he had received arequest.Conservative spokesman Ryan Sparrow refused to say how the party obtainedthe clips. But he stressed that the ads were approved by the TelevisionBureau of Canada before going to air.However TVB president Jim Patterson said his agency - a voluntaryadvertisement-vetting service, created by private broadcasters - has nothingto do with ensuring that ads don't violate copyright laws."We don't rule on copyright. That is not our job," Patterson said.Indeed, Patterson said the TVB always gets advertisers to sign a generalletter of indemnity, specifying that the bureau can not be held liable ifany legal issues arise from an ad. The Conservative party signed such aletter.Given the reliance on debate footage in the ads, Patterson said the TVB hasdrafted a more specific letter of indemnity that it will require the Toriesto sign for any ads in future. The new letter specifies that the TVB cannotbe held liable for any copyright infringements.Without knowing how the Tories came by the debate footage, copyright lawexpert Michael Geist said it's difficult to judge whether there may havebeen an infringement.It's possible one of the networks sold the video to the Conservatives; thenetworks are checking to find out if their marketing or archival units mighthave done so.Alternatively, a party member could conceivably have recorded the debates ona camcorder from a seat in the audience.But if the party simply taped the debates from television, Geist said theads could fall into a grey zone in Canadian copyright law."They might try to argue that they would qualify for some sort of exceptionunder the Copyright Act," said Geist, a University of Ottawa law professor.The most likely exception, he added, would be the "fair dealing exceptionfor criticism."Geist said the use of such video clips in political ads would be entirelyproper in the United States, which applies a broad "fair use doctrine" toits copyright laws. The fact that the Tory ads raise questions herehighlights the shortcomings of Canadian law, he added."Frankly, it should be beyond doubt that they should be able to use shortclips of these kinds of public political events that should fall under afair use doctrine. I think it's unfortunate that under Canadian copyrightlaw there is some level of uncertainty."
OYL Unlimited is Pretty Fly
Many of us who work closely with OYL (Ontario Young Liberals) have come to relay on this association for coordination and support throughout the years. OYL is not just a group of young Canadians who gather and discuss politics, this organization has come to be a family of sorts to many of us. What this family shares, is a strong sense of progress in Canada and abroad.
This year a group of some of the leading members of this organization have come forth in the shape of OYL Unlimited. Each of these Liberals bring forth a uniquely individual quality, many of them I have had to work with throughout the years, but the one genuine quality each member of OYL Unlimited share is passion. I don’t mean this with generic sense of praise. If you have the opportunity to meet some of these candidates, I assure you - you will recall this post and realize, "Man, Liberal Semantics was right..". I promise, OYL Unlimited does not disappoint.
I have been a member of the Liberal Party since the age of 15, and in those years I have always worked to make sure that groups like OYL function with firmness and purpose. But I am truly excited to work with a strong and well lead group - many of whom I have worked with for years; and am quite pleased at the prospect that the will head up OYL.
It is my pleasure to place my humble support behind OYL Unlimited. Give'm Hell Guys! and Good Luck!
Sunday, January 28, 2007
George Bush on "Global Warmings"
Hes "deeply, in a deep kind of way" really concerened about Climate Change....
Harper ponders future....
Its a Sunday - thus a slow news day and the blogging world tends to lose its buzz on this day of rest. But alas, Harper may think otherwise from taking a break this Sunday. It appears Harper in a rare move of real transparency into his government feels that an election at this time would not be beneficial for his government.
OTTAWA (CP) - Prime Minister Stephen Harper says he has no incentive to engineer his government's defeat and trigger an election during the spring session of Parliament that starts Monday.
After all, Harper told The Canadian Press, there's little imminent prospect of a Conservative majority government. LINK
Ill be honest, I was taken aback with such a bold statement by Prime Minister Harper. I mean, this is a Prime Minister who has been in Campaign mode since January 23rd, of last year. Perhaps all the dealing to gain votes through "patchwork politics" has failed. Maybe Harper's realized that you don’t win broad support by coaxing opposition MP's and one-trick policies aimed at a particular voting demographic.
So does this mean that Harper has backed himself in a corner? Hardly, but his statements essentially end the 2006 election campaign - This lazy Sunday could very well mark the start of the race for the 40th Canaidan Parliament
Picture Care of REUTERS
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Colbert Wins, Oshawa is Forever Shamed
A kind Thank You to CFSR for the Hat Tip.
But with niceties aside. March 20th appears to be 2 important days for the City of Oshawa with the advent of Mayor John Gray's Birthday....AND.....Stephen Colbert Day. Yesterday night the Oshawa Generals failed Canada's hockey honour by losing 5-4 to the Saginaw Spirt. If your unsure why this game has garnered so much attention check this following link.
But with niceties aside. March 20th appears to be 2 important days for the City of Oshawa with the advent of Mayor John Gray's Birthday....AND.....Stephen Colbert Day. Yesterday night the Oshawa Generals failed Canada's hockey honour by losing 5-4 to the Saginaw Spirt. If your unsure why this game has garnered so much attention check this following link.
Roll out the Red Carpet, Perhaps this loss may lead to a victory for the city of Oshawa. With March just around the corner - perhaps Stephen Colbert will visit Ontario's most famous Blue Collar town.
P.S. Regardless of the loss, Im sure all Canadians will still have a special place in their hearts for both the city of Oshawa and the Generals.
Picture care of Symphoney Space
Friday, January 26, 2007
Is Harper courting Muslim Voters?
Well ill let you setup this series of domino’s, a few weeks prior he courts Former Liberal MP Wajid Khan in the prestigious world of Tory Backbenchdom, Yesterday The CPC offers aid to Lebanon and today a formal apology to Arar along with the sum of $12.5 million dollars. Very interesting…
The one thing we can be certain is that PM Harper is not acting on behalf of all Canadians - far from it - his actions lean towards self benefit in the form of a majority government in the next election. Immigrant voters are an essential backbone for Liberal electorate, these actions act as a means to wedge these traditional Grit voters. Some might argue this is simply smart politics, which one would be hard pressed to rebuttal - but is it the right thing to do for a Prime Minister to orchestrate a belief that the CPC really cares about the rights of minorities in this country?
Lets not forget this is the party of Rondo Thomas.
http://www.trailervision.com/trailer.php?id=166
And more recently the antics of Jim Prentice and First Nations Peoples.
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20070125/mayes_email_070125/20070125?hub=Canada
Oh right - Lets not forget about the plight of Women
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2007/01/10/3279857-cp.html
And to round it all off - the big thorn in the CPC’s side - the LGBT community
http://www.canada.com/topics/news/national/story.html?id=13f68a2e-eb65-45d5-8c49-7746c5197d9e&k=73154
Shall I continue…
Yesterdays aid package to Lebanon (as I wrote) could have been seen as a possible change in Harpers attitude, alas, that was just a dream. This party doesn’t care about minorities, Muslims, Women, the LGBT community, etc. To the CPC your either a nuisance or a possible voter.
The one thing we can be certain is that PM Harper is not acting on behalf of all Canadians - far from it - his actions lean towards self benefit in the form of a majority government in the next election. Immigrant voters are an essential backbone for Liberal electorate, these actions act as a means to wedge these traditional Grit voters. Some might argue this is simply smart politics, which one would be hard pressed to rebuttal - but is it the right thing to do for a Prime Minister to orchestrate a belief that the CPC really cares about the rights of minorities in this country?
Lets not forget this is the party of Rondo Thomas.
http://www.trailervision.com/trailer.php?id=166
And more recently the antics of Jim Prentice and First Nations Peoples.
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20070125/mayes_email_070125/20070125?hub=Canada
Oh right - Lets not forget about the plight of Women
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2007/01/10/3279857-cp.html
And to round it all off - the big thorn in the CPC’s side - the LGBT community
http://www.canada.com/topics/news/national/story.html?id=13f68a2e-eb65-45d5-8c49-7746c5197d9e&k=73154
Shall I continue…
Yesterdays aid package to Lebanon (as I wrote) could have been seen as a possible change in Harpers attitude, alas, that was just a dream. This party doesn’t care about minorities, Muslims, Women, the LGBT community, etc. To the CPC your either a nuisance or a possible voter.
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Rudy's Playbook!
If some of you recall, Presidential "hope"full Rudy Giuliani quite literally lost his handwritten playbook for his 2008 bid for the Presidency. Well the entire document has surfaced! Take a look at The Politico. The link is provided below...Interesting read so far. Giuliani seems/seemed really geared to fight a Giuliani vs. McCain battle for the Republican Nomination.
CPC gives hope to Lebanon, and Canadians
Indeed this blog is written from a liberal-progressive point of view, but what this blog is not designed to be, is a voice for partisan nonsense. As liberals, we all [or at least I hope so] have a vested interest in the notion of social justice, at home and abroad. Today the CPC (Conservative Party of Canada) pledged nearly $50 million to help one of the worlds most war-torn and economically indebted nations with much needed aid.
The CBC reported International co-operation minister, Josée Verner (who is currently in Paris along with International delegates on the matter of Lebanon and Peace) as stating:
"What we will do is to help the government of Lebanon to reinforce their institutional structure so it will be easier for them to give results to the population and to make sure it will be sustainable to ensure security and democracy in the country,"
To which I can only applaud - Yes the United States is pledging nearly $800 million, and the total global donor ship hovers in the realm of the $8 billion. This increase in funding could mean a new direction for the ideological rigid approach to the Harper government. We remember the early parts of 2006 when the Harper ended Humanitarian funding to Palestinians after the free-elections in the country resulted in the rise of Hamas as the ruling government.
Now nobody in their right mind would condone Terrorism, But by depriving people from the ability to live - buy reducing the few international dollars that create a tiny sense of stability; do we not just make a stronger case to the world that the west simply does not care? I’m sure some who may read this may begin to feel a bit of animosity - and you should, peace is a tough subject and require honest debate. Issues like international stability requires us to listen to all sides, and not just one hard line political stance. Embrace difference, don’t fear it.
Mr. Harpers foreign policy has never been the voice of the majority of Canadians - we tend to stay neutral, with a mission to support humanity rather then regimes and political interests in the Middles East. So interestingly enough, the CPC has recommitted to this belief - perhaps it signals a new beginning to Harpers foreign policy.
Liberals follow the stream of hope, and act on behalf of justice - And we show our support to anyone who adheres to these values. Kudos Mr. Harper, there’s no better day then today for a new beginning. In this case a small start, is at least a step in the right direction.
CBC Article - http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2007/01/25/lebanon-aid.html
Picture is from the New York Times - http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2005/02/28/international/28cnd-leba.650.jpg
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Forget Bush - Have a Chuckle With Obama Instead
I’m not going to post something in regards to yesterday's State of the Union Address; Because everyone has already posted extensively on the topic. But in case you really want to get an overdose of State of the Union analysis check out Andrew Sullivan’s thoughts on the matter - http://time.blogs.com/daily_dish/2007/01/bushs_remaining.html
So instead kick back and relax - have a laugh with Senator Obama and Conan O’Brien - Ill report back tomorrow with some more insightful thoughts about, well, everything.
Monday, January 22, 2007
The Only thing Conservatives Recycle - are old Liberal Environmental Initiatives
Yesterday, Natural Resources Minister Gary Lunn began the media circuit to portray a “new” and greener image for the CPC after the political mishandling of the Clean Air Act. The Environment is clearly on the minds of Canadians, so in response the new steps taken forward by the CPC - involve recycling old Liberal environmental policies. Albeit, the premise of the Liberal plan was investment to invigorate the public and private sectors to become cleaner - the CPC plan comes with two major faults.
1) The emphasis of the plan targets homeowners, rather then large business who exceed allotted greenhouse targets without discretion.
2) More importantly, what has fallen under the radar is the fact that in order to qualify for the $5000 grant, the homeowner must first pay for the environmental audit and upgrades before qualifying for the program. Ultimately - many Canadians would be unable to spend upfront on the various upgrades, thus rendering the plan almost useless.
The plan calls for a $300 million dollar investment over four years ($75 million per year - Less the Toronto Blue Jays yearly payroll). Bob Rae really hit the nail on the head in that this new plan “missed the boat completely…[that this is simply the] Baird Minimum” on Environmental Policy.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2007/01/21/conservatives-energy.html
________________
Update - New Poll!
Harper at 54%, the Cabinet is far lower. Bottoming out with Tony Clement's approval rating of 34%.
http://www.angus-reid.com/polls/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewItem&itemID=14457
1) The emphasis of the plan targets homeowners, rather then large business who exceed allotted greenhouse targets without discretion.
2) More importantly, what has fallen under the radar is the fact that in order to qualify for the $5000 grant, the homeowner must first pay for the environmental audit and upgrades before qualifying for the program. Ultimately - many Canadians would be unable to spend upfront on the various upgrades, thus rendering the plan almost useless.
The plan calls for a $300 million dollar investment over four years ($75 million per year - Less the Toronto Blue Jays yearly payroll). Bob Rae really hit the nail on the head in that this new plan “missed the boat completely…[that this is simply the] Baird Minimum” on Environmental Policy.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2007/01/21/conservatives-energy.html
________________
Update - New Poll!
Harper at 54%, the Cabinet is far lower. Bottoming out with Tony Clement's approval rating of 34%.
http://www.angus-reid.com/polls/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewItem&itemID=14457
Sunday, January 21, 2007
A Modest Start
Well after a great deal of thought, I have finally decided to begin this process of sharing my lowly thoughts with those who seek it. Alas, I am in my infancy in terms of my blogging career. But hopefully with time, this blog (along with myself) will be able to spark a sense of understanding on the various topics of discussion; and perhaps we can all find a bit of growth through discourse with one another.
So Welcome!
Liberal Semantics
So Welcome!
Liberal Semantics
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