Maybe I'm starting to show my age, but I'm starting to find music uninspiring and unremarkable, at least the stuff on the radio anyway. I haven't really bothered to explore new music, but turned to CBC radio instead. I've been exploring some of the shows on there. Quirks and Quarks caught my attention initially, along with Ideas. I listened to some episodes on some of my long drives and found them interesting, but not really gripping.
Then I discovered Vinyl Cafe with Stuart McLean and Age of Persuasion with Terry O'Reilly. I'll write more about Vinyl Cafe in a later post, but two episodes from both shows stood out to me given the current federal political climate. Both have to do with political ads and using media in political campaigns.
The first episode is from Mr. McLean commenting on the tastefulness, or lack thereof, of negative advertising. I share his opinion that negative ads are disgraceful and do not contribute to any intelligent debate about the kind of policies that are good for our country. They break down issues into simplistic black and white points of view and are rife with disinformation. Say what you want about Stephane Dion, but his Green Shift plan was a progressive attempt to factor in environmental factors into economic accounting of businesses. It was worth a serious debate by our political leaders and media. Unfortunately, as Mr. McLean illustrates, the negative ads by the Conservative Party pretty much stifled any debate and Mr. Dion eventually lost the election and was summarily deposed by the Liberal Party. Here's an excerpt of the Vinyl Cafe episode (the rest of it involves a song and a letter correspondence).
The second episode is from Mr. O'Reilly explaining how negative political advertising came about and why they work. He breaks down the history of negative advertising and the effect of new media technologies on political campaigns. He also explains why these ads work. You can listen to the episode here.
I think it's safe to say that we'll have another federal election sometime within the next two years. Unfortunately, with that will come the slew of negative ads and over-the-top political spin. Until the general public lashes back against this type of advertising and rewards politicians who take an enlightened approach to campaigning, political parties will continue to take big issues that need enlightened debate and dumb them down with cheap spin tricks and simplistic black and white points of view. We will all continue to be worse off for it.
Showing posts with label Canada Politics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Canada Politics. Show all posts
Monday, March 08, 2010
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Political ads
Some Liberal minds are starting to get it. The person who came up with this idea should be promoted to the federal party level. I'm not really attached to any political party but I do think the current conservative federal government needs to be called out on some of their fiscal decisions and the myth of them being fiscally responsible needs to be debunked.
I originally found it on this blog through progressivbloggers.ca, but here's the video in any case:
I originally found it on this blog through progressivbloggers.ca, but here's the video in any case:
Monday, June 08, 2009
CanadaBrainstorm.ca
Ever since finding about the Brainstorm Ubuntu site, I've had an idea of building a similar website, but for people to exchange ideas on how to improve Canada. I've been watching the news about Canadian politics for a while. I got discouraged at watching elections and how some issues dominate the campaigns. The central campaign issues, like same-sex marriage or public funding for religious schools, have little to do with the national interest of our country, but are really specific. It's a neat marketing/campaign trick by clever strategists to come up with a hot-button issue that everyone has an opinion on and that deals more with belief and cannot really be debated based on logical reasoning. These polarizing issues pretty much divide the voters into for and against sides pulling otherwise undecided voters into one political camp or another. Larger issues such as foreign policy, international competitiveness, inter-provincial trade, and environmental policy get drowned out by the media hype around the single polarizing issue. The end result is that we elect governments based on personal beliefs and ideals rather than a reasoned evaluation of their policies and platforms.
So one way to combat this problem is to define the issues ourselves in some sort of grassroots movement independent of any political party. So during campaigns, when political parties talk about what they think Canadians want, we have some sort of record that contains ideas brainstormed by the population for the kind of country that we want to live in. Political parties can then be evaluated based on how closely they match with the idea repository. These ideas also need not be limited to the realm of public policy. Private industry leaders can also take notice and work to fill a demand in an area that they see an opportunity in.
In any case, looking for a job is a time-consuming process and I need some other way to feel like I accomplished something. So I built CanadaBrainstorm.ca using Drupal and the IdeaTorrent package from the Ubuntu people. The basic premise of the site is as follows:
Great innovative ideas for improving Canada are exchanged between people everyday. However, the majority of these ideas never reach public policy makers and industry executive-level decision makers.
A method for storing and evaluating these ideas is needed so that the best ideas can be accessed by political and industry leaders. These ideas can then be acted upon and brought to reality.
Anyone can create an account, log in, and contribute an idea or vote on one. I'm trying to publicize the site through facebook and personal emails. I'm hoping that some people will be keen on the idea and the site will generate some momentum. I have a section about me with links to my resume and this blog. Hopefully, some sort of job lead will come out of it as well.
I've included a link in the side bar. Please spread the word about the site and get involved!
So one way to combat this problem is to define the issues ourselves in some sort of grassroots movement independent of any political party. So during campaigns, when political parties talk about what they think Canadians want, we have some sort of record that contains ideas brainstormed by the population for the kind of country that we want to live in. Political parties can then be evaluated based on how closely they match with the idea repository. These ideas also need not be limited to the realm of public policy. Private industry leaders can also take notice and work to fill a demand in an area that they see an opportunity in.
In any case, looking for a job is a time-consuming process and I need some other way to feel like I accomplished something. So I built CanadaBrainstorm.ca using Drupal and the IdeaTorrent package from the Ubuntu people. The basic premise of the site is as follows:
Great innovative ideas for improving Canada are exchanged between people everyday. However, the majority of these ideas never reach public policy makers and industry executive-level decision makers.
A method for storing and evaluating these ideas is needed so that the best ideas can be accessed by political and industry leaders. These ideas can then be acted upon and brought to reality.
Anyone can create an account, log in, and contribute an idea or vote on one. I'm trying to publicize the site through facebook and personal emails. I'm hoping that some people will be keen on the idea and the site will generate some momentum. I have a section about me with links to my resume and this blog. Hopefully, some sort of job lead will come out of it as well.
I've included a link in the side bar. Please spread the word about the site and get involved!
Friday, September 19, 2008
Looming election issues
A federal election is happening again here in Canada. I think this is the third in the last decade. Personally, I think it's a sign of a great political divide here in Canada as a whole and an indication of the quality of leadership that we have on the political level. No one leader has emerged to rally the country around a solid vision and goals to achieve as a people.
The Stephen Harper party seem like the default choice because they control their optics very well and seem like the most organized compared to the other parties. Although recent political gaffes highlight their behavioural issues and
The green party has more visibility these days with Elizabeth May as their leader, but they're a long ways from making a significant impact in parliament.
The NDP seems more ballsy this campaign, but I still think they're a little too socialist for my liking. I think they're really good at complaining about the status quo, but I don't have confidence in them to run the country. All talk, no walk. But that's just my impression.
The Bloc Quebecois are irrelevant at the federal level since they're only concerned with what happens in Quebec and will never form a government. They have less punch these days since the separation movement has pretty much died in recent years. They do take away votes from other left parties, especially the liberal party.
The liberal party seem to have a good team, but they're running a weak campaign so far and I don't think Stephane Dion has a strong enough personality to get people over the negative ads by the conservative party. Their initial attempt to focus the election around the environment has not worked and they're shifting their campaign focus to the strength of their team. They should have worked it the other way round.
On leadership
Personally, I think leadership is such a subjective thing that everyone has a different impression of what a good leader is supposed to be. Harper is a strong man that runs a tight ship. However, a leader also has to be measured by the people that follow him, and in that his followers are poor. Putting together a manual on how to obstruct parliament committees isn't displaying leadership at all, rather it shows strength as a political tactician. It seems selfish to me and doesn't have the good of the country at heart. I don't know why the other parties aren't hammering him on that. Tasteless jokes, puffin poo, and poor class also speak to this.
Dion has an impeccable record as a public servant with a great deal of integrity. His seemingly weak persona throws people off and is easy to dismiss. I'm sure he'll be a great prime minister for the country, but I don't think he'll get a chance. The conservative media blitz on him will be too hard to overcome.
Layton...I have a hard time taking him seriously. Likes to hear himself talk too much.
On the environment
Byrne Purchase spoke to us during our course on corporate social responsibility. He's had various positions in government including a stint as an energy minister for the government of Ontario. He shared his candid views on the environmental issue and his prognosis is pretty bleak. It's not something that any one country can fix alone. It's a global phenomenon and it needs a global collaboration to do something about it. Of all the plans that are in place, he favours the Carbon Tax system because the tax revenue infrastructure already exists. The Cap and Trade system may work also, but governments would have to build the system first and that will take a long time. I tend to agree with him. So with that, the liberal green shift plan makes the most sense to me, but again, I don't think the majority of the country will agree. All Harper needs to do, and has been doing, is to scare people into believing that it will be bad for the economy. The liberals also have a hard time breaking the plan into simple bite-sized concepts that average people can absorb.
I know the NDP favours a cap and trade system. The green party has it's own carbon tax system but it's too extreme for people to accept.
It'll be interesting to see what plays out over the coming weeks.
The Stephen Harper party seem like the default choice because they control their optics very well and seem like the most organized compared to the other parties. Although recent political gaffes highlight their behavioural issues and
The green party has more visibility these days with Elizabeth May as their leader, but they're a long ways from making a significant impact in parliament.
The NDP seems more ballsy this campaign, but I still think they're a little too socialist for my liking. I think they're really good at complaining about the status quo, but I don't have confidence in them to run the country. All talk, no walk. But that's just my impression.
The Bloc Quebecois are irrelevant at the federal level since they're only concerned with what happens in Quebec and will never form a government. They have less punch these days since the separation movement has pretty much died in recent years. They do take away votes from other left parties, especially the liberal party.
The liberal party seem to have a good team, but they're running a weak campaign so far and I don't think Stephane Dion has a strong enough personality to get people over the negative ads by the conservative party. Their initial attempt to focus the election around the environment has not worked and they're shifting their campaign focus to the strength of their team. They should have worked it the other way round.
On leadership
Personally, I think leadership is such a subjective thing that everyone has a different impression of what a good leader is supposed to be. Harper is a strong man that runs a tight ship. However, a leader also has to be measured by the people that follow him, and in that his followers are poor. Putting together a manual on how to obstruct parliament committees isn't displaying leadership at all, rather it shows strength as a political tactician. It seems selfish to me and doesn't have the good of the country at heart. I don't know why the other parties aren't hammering him on that. Tasteless jokes, puffin poo, and poor class also speak to this.
Dion has an impeccable record as a public servant with a great deal of integrity. His seemingly weak persona throws people off and is easy to dismiss. I'm sure he'll be a great prime minister for the country, but I don't think he'll get a chance. The conservative media blitz on him will be too hard to overcome.
Layton...I have a hard time taking him seriously. Likes to hear himself talk too much.
On the environment
Byrne Purchase spoke to us during our course on corporate social responsibility. He's had various positions in government including a stint as an energy minister for the government of Ontario. He shared his candid views on the environmental issue and his prognosis is pretty bleak. It's not something that any one country can fix alone. It's a global phenomenon and it needs a global collaboration to do something about it. Of all the plans that are in place, he favours the Carbon Tax system because the tax revenue infrastructure already exists. The Cap and Trade system may work also, but governments would have to build the system first and that will take a long time. I tend to agree with him. So with that, the liberal green shift plan makes the most sense to me, but again, I don't think the majority of the country will agree. All Harper needs to do, and has been doing, is to scare people into believing that it will be bad for the economy. The liberals also have a hard time breaking the plan into simple bite-sized concepts that average people can absorb.
I know the NDP favours a cap and trade system. The green party has it's own carbon tax system but it's too extreme for people to accept.
It'll be interesting to see what plays out over the coming weeks.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
More on politics...
Since I my last post was about politics and I criticized a website making fun of Stephane Dion, I figured it's only fair to post something from the other side...
I came across this site while searching for recent politics news:
www.gettingthejobdone.ca
While the site isn't as bad as the one mentioned in my previous post, it still lacks integrity and class. Considering that no one has taken credit for the site other than a link to an obscure email address, I can only assume that one of the opposition parties put it together.
If you are going to say something bad about someone and publish it online, have the courage to sign it and own up to it. It will be refreshing to get a sense of accountability and integrity from our political leaders...
I came across this site while searching for recent politics news:
www.gettingthejobdone.ca
While the site isn't as bad as the one mentioned in my previous post, it still lacks integrity and class. Considering that no one has taken credit for the site other than a link to an obscure email address, I can only assume that one of the opposition parties put it together.
If you are going to say something bad about someone and publish it online, have the courage to sign it and own up to it. It will be refreshing to get a sense of accountability and integrity from our political leaders...
Sunday, April 13, 2008
In bad taste...
I follow politics fairly closely and I've tried to avoid getting too political on this blog. I recently browsed through the website of the Conservative Party and found this:
notaleader.ca
I find this distasteful, lacking originality, and an example of poor leadership.
Devoting a whole website to criticize and make fun of a person is something that losers do. It also shows poor sportsmanship and lacks class.
Any monkey can criticize (I'm doing it right now). I don't understand how this sort of stuff attracts people to your point of view. Using the same bad picture for Stephane Dion over and over also shows laziness and a lack of creativity. The dog blog isn't even remotely funny.
I agree that Stephane Dion and the Liberal party have been disappointing thus far, but this sort of thing shouldn't be tolerated for very long. Trashing somebody else isn't good leadership. Coming up with a coherent and thoughtful vision for Canada's future and getting the voting public to buy into that vision is true leadership. So far, I don't see any of that in any of our political parties.
notaleader.ca
I find this distasteful, lacking originality, and an example of poor leadership.
Devoting a whole website to criticize and make fun of a person is something that losers do. It also shows poor sportsmanship and lacks class.
Any monkey can criticize (I'm doing it right now). I don't understand how this sort of stuff attracts people to your point of view. Using the same bad picture for Stephane Dion over and over also shows laziness and a lack of creativity. The dog blog isn't even remotely funny.
I agree that Stephane Dion and the Liberal party have been disappointing thus far, but this sort of thing shouldn't be tolerated for very long. Trashing somebody else isn't good leadership. Coming up with a coherent and thoughtful vision for Canada's future and getting the voting public to buy into that vision is true leadership. So far, I don't see any of that in any of our political parties.
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Our Prime Minister
Being set up at the company townhouse for a couple of weeks is great, I have a place to sleep that's close to work and can save money by not eating at restaurants all the time. On the flip side, there's no tv at all and no internet connection. I feel shut out of the world.
It's playoff hockey time and I have to go to a bar to watch some of the games. I suppose I can listen to the games on the radio, but I'd rather watch them.
I'm missing a lot of the news as well. The issues surrounding the government's green plan seem to be picking up, news about the war in Afghanistan, and other interesting tid bits of news.
One issue is Steven Harper's image adviser...read about it here and here.
I don't find it surprising that he needs an image adviser. I don't find it surprising that he doesn't have much of a fashion sense either. I am surprised that he let this issue be a source of contention and the stories about how defensive he gets when asked about it seem weird and juvenile. I couldn't find a news link for it, but I saw the same weirdness his first day in office when he had his entourage drive around the parliament buildings twice just to avoid a single cbc video journalist.
It's playoff hockey time and I have to go to a bar to watch some of the games. I suppose I can listen to the games on the radio, but I'd rather watch them.
I'm missing a lot of the news as well. The issues surrounding the government's green plan seem to be picking up, news about the war in Afghanistan, and other interesting tid bits of news.
One issue is Steven Harper's image adviser...read about it here and here.
I don't find it surprising that he needs an image adviser. I don't find it surprising that he doesn't have much of a fashion sense either. I am surprised that he let this issue be a source of contention and the stories about how defensive he gets when asked about it seem weird and juvenile. I couldn't find a news link for it, but I saw the same weirdness his first day in office when he had his entourage drive around the parliament buildings twice just to avoid a single cbc video journalist.
Monday, November 27, 2006
Quebec as a nation ???
I was flipping through some news sites this morning to discover that the house of commons passed a motion recognizing Quebec as a nation within Canada. I think it's a silly idea. Quebec is unique, but so is everywhere else in Canada. Newfoundland has its own unique culture and heritage...some would argue that it even has its own language that nobody else can understand. You can say the same thing about the praries and the west coast. Toronto by itself is unique as well.
There are some good points about this vote. //a href="http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1164409810997&call_pageid=970599119419" target="blank">Chantal Hebert/a// and //a href="http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1164456970860&call_pageid=968256290204&col=968350116795" target="blank">C.E.S. Frank/a// talk about them.
I still think that Harper and the Cons are a bunch of weenies, but this looks like a very smart political move. It has no practical meaning though, it's pretty much just a play on the definition of the word "nation". Credit has to go to Michael Chong, Ken Dryden, and Gerrard Kennedy for speaking their minds on the topic.
There are some good points about this vote. //a href="http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1164409810997&call_pageid=970599119419" target="blank">Chantal Hebert/a// and //a href="http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1164456970860&call_pageid=968256290204&col=968350116795" target="blank">C.E.S. Frank/a// talk about them.
I still think that Harper and the Cons are a bunch of weenies, but this looks like a very smart political move. It has no practical meaning though, it's pretty much just a play on the definition of the word "nation". Credit has to go to Michael Chong, Ken Dryden, and Gerrard Kennedy for speaking their minds on the topic.
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