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Wednesday April 14, 2004
Also, the nightlife sucks
Apologies for the uneven postings this week. I've taken a mini-vacation to follow the Leafs to Ottawa, so this blog has become a minor casualty of the Battle of Ontario. It should return to normal tomorrow.
Speaking of Ottawa, I'm not going to respond to all the Toronto-bashing by ranting about the capital, even if it's sorely tempting. But I will say that I've been reminded once again this week that it's the only city I know of where rush hour is at 3:30 p.m.
During the very brief time I worked in the federal bureaucracy, I discovered how civil servants manage to get off work in mid-afternoon. The trick, and it's a beauty, is to tell your boss and co-workers that you prefer to start early (around 7:30) and leave early. Because nobody actually follows through on the getting there early part, it's impossible for them to realize that you're not there, either. When I went in one day around 8:00 (I preferred to work a normal 9-5:00 day), the place was completely empty.
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More blogging (can you ever have enough?)
If you haven't already checked it out, the Post's editorial board now has its very own blog. I'll have to rein in my more left-leaning tendencies, lest I spent my entire day trying to rebut whatever my colleagues post. It's all been very civil so far, mind you, but I think it's off to a fairly promising start.
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Monday April 12, 2004
Taking Stock...
I don't know how often I'll be saying this, but I agree with Roger Gallaway - Stockwell Day's call to revoke the Khadrs' citizenship is "facile". I find these people as creepy as the next person, and I'd be keen to find a way to prosecute them under Canadian law. But you can't start stripping citizenship every time there's a link to a terrorist organization. Day's reaction has been a classic opposition headline-grabber - a solution that, if he were in government, he'd know was completely unworkable.
By the way, I can't help but point out that Day is a funny guy to be complaining about one of Maha Elsamnah (the Khadr mother)'s more offensive comments - that she doesn't want her kids growing up in Canada, because they'll be exposed to drugs and "homosexuality." After all, doesn't that sorta sound like his impression of this country?
Sorry...cheap shot. But then, I wasn't the one trying to appeal to conservative Muslims in my leadership campaign by pointing out our mutual distaste for gay rights.
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If you think I'm talking about the Austrian duke, skip to the next item...
Franz Ferdinand has announced a North American tour that'll see them hit Toronto on June 14. This is immensely good news, especially since I missed them the first time they came around.
I'd say these guys may soon be the hottest band in the world, but I don't write for NME (to verify my relative lack of hyperbole, you can check out my review of their debut disc.) I do highly recommend picking up tickets, though. Think of the Strokes with a bit of imagination.
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Sunday April 11, 2004
Sheila's quickie
So Sheila Copps is writing a tell-all book? This has potential. Except according to the story, she's "been working on the book for about three weeks and has another three weeks to go to meet her May 1 deadline."
Question: Who the hell writes a "retrospective" of a 20-year political career in six weeks? Even if she has the mother of all ghost writers, it's hard to imagine this is going to be particularly well thought-out. Unless, of course, it's been in the works for a little more than three weeks.
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Friday April 9, 2004
An ad scam (not Adscam)?
So apparently the federal government will be substantially cutting its advertising budget. Instead of spending $120-million annually to promote its "priorities", it'll now be spending just $70-million each of the next two years.
This is good news, I guess. But you have to ask yourself if that's not still $70-million too much. Insofar as it advises us of government services or other useful information, I'm all for spending as much as needs to be spent. But isn't promotional advertising "focused on the Martin government's main themes" something the Liberal Party - not the public purse - should be paying for?
All governments do it, although to their credit the provincial Liberals in Ontario have cut much of the propaganda that their predecessors fell in love with. But $70-million could be put to much better use if it was going toward those "priorities" it's being used to promote.
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Radwanski's Ramblings from April 2-8, 2004
Radwanski's Ramblings from March 26-April 1, 2004
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