14 Oct 08 Canadian 2008 Elections : CTV News declares Conservative Minority at 21h49
Hmmm…. kinda early IMHO, but I think CTV News wouldn’t do it without some serious data mining and projection software 
So Lloyd said it… conservative minority government: 21h49 EDT.
14 Oct 08 So I voted for… / J’ai voté pour
I was undecided between 3 parties up until yesterday, and even today I was see-sawing between 2 parties… the conundrum between contributing to the popular vote overall point spread, the local candidates platforms, which one of my local candidates’ web positioning (or lack thereof) appealed to me most…
and of course, the impact on which Federal leader my riding vote would ultimate commit to.
There are, of course, long term (long tail?) strategies involved in voting (keep in mind that tonights election numbers will be used as part of the long tail strategy for the elections in 2009 LOL…)
Anyhow, so today I was caught between two parties… and finally I decided in the last minute based on a blended analysis of metrics from analytics at various levels from a glocal point of view.
The important thing is to vote.
So, for those who follow my updates on Twitter, you already know that my riding polling station experience was most efficient!
That, combined with the lack of DART troop deployment and police escorting voters in and out (remember that happens in many countries)…, made the experience most satisfying.
We’ll see about the end result / endgame. My boys have already started learning about taxation and the reasons behind it.. from yours truly 
….
Tags: Politics
11 Oct 08 CTV W5 Capital Shame : The great decline of Canada’s national Capital – Ottawa caught in huge crack and meth crisis
I just watched a truly disheartening and frightening CTV W-Five episode covering a subject that is often not discussed – far less so by the Federal ministers on Parliament Hill just blocks from one of the worst drug, prostitution and homelessness problems anywhere in the nation. None of them, including Public Security Minister Stockwell Day, accepted to meet with CTV W-5 saying they were “too busy”…
They hounded the Premier of Ontario, but he also brushed off a reporter and hustled into a building…
Personally, I am not surprised by this report. I’ve been to Ottawa many times over the last 20-25 years; my ex-wife and much of her family were from there, as was my late stepfather.
In January 2008 I began a series of about a ½ dozen business trips, one every month or so, to the National Capital Region and usually stayed in hotels in the Downtown, or Byward Market area. The Byward Market is a charming 3-4 square block neighbourhood which, by day is a nice selection of multicultural restaurants and farmer market type stands. It’s next to one of the largest shopping centre’s in the Ottawa metropolitan area; the Rideau Centre Shopping Centre.
Now being a Montrealer, I like to explore a city’s nightlife and evening culture – we have a massive choice of cafés, lounges, showbars and nightclubs in Montreal – around the market.
A few of the times I stayed in hotels (including the Econolodge and Marriott Courtyard Inn) near the Byward Market. Those are both nice hotels; granted the Econo Lodge Downtown at 475 Rideau street is pretty much no-frills motor inn more than hotel with rooms straight onto an inside parking lot that is directly onto Rideau street across from a 7-11 and in the vicinity of churches, residential homes and … well a little pic of the Econolodge :
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Tags: Capital Shame, Crime, CTV W-5, CTV W-Five, drugs, Health, Ottawa, Politics, Television, Travel
11 Oct 08 Beastie Boys launch “Get out and Vote ‘08 Tour” in swing states and support Obama Barack
While driving around in the car with the boys, I started singing the refrain to “Funky Cold Medina” by Tone Loc, who arguably had/has one of the funkiest raspy voices around. Well, since I’m still working on my “acute” bronchitis, my voice was a bit like his (for the wrong reasons)… anyways, the boys giggled and asked me what I was singing. We then broke in to a discussion about funky vs. hip-hop… and then they said they had almost forgotten the Beastie Boys. I reminded them about the robots in the Intergalactic video, and the b-boys rapping as pseudo-teletubbies in the other video… and their eyes lit up and both wanted to watch it here tomorrow….
Always in their casual yet tenacious style, the B-boys want to remind all eligible US voters to get out there and exercise their right. To back it up, they’ve announced a “voter awareness tour” called Get out and Vote ‘08 which kicks off in several so-called swing (critical) states including the following shows which were just announced:
October 28 Richmond, VA at Richmond Coliseum
Beastie Boys along with Sheryl Crow / Jack Johnson / Norah Jones / Santogold
(wow what a line-up)
Nov 1 St. Paul, MN at the Roy Wilkins Auditorium
Beastie Boys / Ben Harper / Tenacious D
(another nice trio of top level artists)
Nov 2 Milwaukee, WI in the U.S. Cellular Arena
Beastie Boys / Ben Harper / Crosby & Nash / Tenacious D
Again C&N with B-Boys ? Wonder if they’ll do an on-stage mashup ?
I love how Adam, Mike and Adam finished off with “we are very excited about obama. hope you all feel the same.”
Here’s the full PR:
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Tags: Beastie Boys, Concerts, hiphop, Music, obama barack, Politics, Tristan, Zachary
10 Oct 08 Sarah Palin found guilty of “abuse of power” in Alaskan firing of Walter Monegan (Alaskan Public Safety Commissioner)
You gotta wonder about the timing… eh ?
The top legislators in Alaska have approved the release of a report that finds Sarah Palin guilty / responsible for the unjust firing of Walter Monegan who was the Public Safety Commissioner in Alaska - essentially the highest ranking law enforcement position.
Apparently, the firing resulted from Mr. Monegan refusing to fire an Alaskan State Trooper (Mike Wooten) who was going through a bitter divorce and custody battle.
Supposedly, the Palins (Sarah and her husband Todd) put intense pressure on Commissioner Monegan to fire Wooten…
The McCain campaign had released its own 21 page report on the incident which concluded
“It is tragic that a false story hatched by a blogger over drinks with Trooper Wooten led the legislature to allocate over $100,000 of public money to be spent in what has become a politically-driven investigation”
Can we say smear campaign..
The sad thing in all this is that it is the (real) family that really suffers…
Info and source: BBC News about Sarah Palin
Tags: Alaska State Trooper, Crime, Mike Wooten, Politics, Sarah Palin, Todd Palin, Walter Monegan
