Jamas

Virtual Mudslinging

Well it seems that in just under 3 years the federal political parties in Canada have started to pay a lot more attention to their online campaigns.  In 2006 the Conservative Party of Canada pretty much copied the site from the Republican National Committee.

This election has seen a lot more online activity (mudslinging) from most of the parties.  Instead of putting everything on the national party sites there have been a horde of new sites created to showcase one issue or another.  Here is a list of some to check out.

  • sCandalpedia – Features a history of Conservative government scandals since 2006 with lots of focus on Harper.  An impressive list!  (Liberal Party of Canada)
  • Promise Breakers – A list of broken promises of Harper in B.C.  (Liberal Party of Canada)
  • Anything But Conservative – Danny Williams is not happy with the Harper government over some broken promises.  I think the site is interesting in that it is the provincial conservative party picking on its federal counterpart.
  • You Will Be Tricked – Tax, there is no other word that gets conservatives more worked up then this.  This site takes direct aim at the Liberal carbon tax plan.  (Conservative Party of Canada)
  • Not A Leader – This one goes right after Dion’s leadership.  Kind of reminds me of when the Liberals did the same thing to Stockwell Day. Site was made famous by the pooping puffin.  (Conservative Party of Canada)
  • Green Train – Well maybe the Greens are just too nice to get into the mud.  The site tracks May’s train tour of Canada.  (Green Party of Canada)
  • Democratic Debates – Probably one of the most successful sites so far this campaign – trying to get Green Party Leader into the debates.  Seems to have done its job.  (Green Party of Canada)

A second thing I have noticed is that the NDP seems to be buying up Google Adwords for the election.  On this sites’ political posts I have seen several NDP ads pop up.  Would be interesting to find out their return on this advertising expense.

I think it is too bad that the parties have spent so much effort in cutting each other down.  It would be nice to see a more adult debate on platform issues.  For example the Green Tax Shift – two parties have this in their platform – they obviously think that this will work and be good for Canada.  The Conservatives don’t share the same opinion but I have yet to see a detailed analysis on why they are so against it, “You will pay more!” does not cut it!

If you have found some other election related sites that are worth checking out then leave a comment with a link.

Google Maps

Google Maps I believe has constantly set the standard for online mapping sites.  I stopped using all the rest simply because they could not keep up.  Thought I would point out some cool new features.

Street Numbers

When looking at streets in a city (works for Ottawa), once you zoom in enough, you will see the starting and ending house numbers for every block.

Bus Stops

You will also see bus stops displayed on the map (again works for Ottawa).  Clicking on an icon brings up route information and departure times.

Leave The Car Behind

Now when getting directions from Google Maps you can select your mode of transportation: car, walking and public transport.  A few tests on the public transport option showed that it even had updated routes based on road closures.  One thing missing would be a bike option.  If your city has a lot of bike paths then this would be very useful.  Currently if you select walking it does not seem to have information about walking or bike paths and instead sends you marching along the roads.

So This Is Democracy, Eh?

Ok I am officially annoyed. Elizabeth May the Green Party of Canada leader has be blocked from entering the leaders debate for the 2008 general election.

First off let me be fully open, I am a Green Party of Canada member.  So I am biased.  Besides being a GPC member I am strong believer in voting and getting people to make informed decisions when doing so. This is the part of me that is so angry about this decision.

Backroom deals and incumbent political parties blocking another from participating in a debate, reads like the news out of some failed democracy around the world. This fact that this is being mentioned in conjunction with Canada should shame us all.

Every year the broadcast consortium has met behind closed doors to decide who is in and who is out of the debates.  Every year a party has been excluded for some new reason and while others that would have not passed the same test are included.  Every year the rules seem to change at the whim of these titans of our airwaves.

Here is the solution I propose.  The main broadcasters in the country or Elections Canada conducts a poll shortly after the start of the election.  Every party that meets a predefined and consistent threshold is included in the debates.  I don’t really care what threshold is used but only that it is applied the same every election, without exception.  I can suggest that 2% be used which is the same used for parties to receive federal financing. It would give every political party a goal to achieve – while treating them all fairly.

I was shocked to hear that one of the reasons for not allowing May into the debates was because 3 of the other parties refused to show up if she was there.  Maybe they are scared of breaking up the sausage party! In this case I find it hard to believe that the three parties would have dropped out of the debate leaving the Liberals and Greens with 2 hours of free air time!

The refusal of incumbents to show up to debates has also been used at the local riding level.  Last election the Liberal incumbent in my riding said he could not make it to a debate on poverty in the riding.  So the organizers canceled the debate, which played right into the hands of a MP who didn’t want this issue discussed.

Steve and the Conservatives – I guess I am not totally surprised about this one.  For a guy, that ran during the last election on a platform of making government more open and accountable, he has spent a lot of effort at doing the opposite.  The man has shunned the national media, only holding White House style press conferences – predetermined questions from approved reporters.  He refuses to scrum with reporters.  I can only imagine because he is scared of what might slip out!

Gilles and the Bloc Quebecois – I find it hard to believe that a national party would be excluded but a separatist regional party would be allowed to join in.  Crazy!

Jack and the NDP – I think this was the most disappointing of them all.  A party that has proportional representation as part of its platform and claims to fight for the little guys, has got to make you wonder when they pull something like this.  Layton has lost a whole lot of credibility in my book.

If you are still reading this then I ask you to go to the website below to sign the petition. Ask your friends to do the same.  You are not supporting the Green Party but supporting  a fair and open democracy.

Thanks Jamas

Let Elizabeth Speak

Hook It Up

This post has been a long time coming!  Every time I walk into a Future Shop, Best Buy or The Source – I take a little stroll down the cable aisle.  I really should stay away because that little stroll stresses me out – I fly through the emotions of amusement, shock and then anger.  What does this to me is the price of the A/V cables at these various stores.

What a rip off!  A $150 for a 1 meter HDMI cable has to be a misprint.  A quick chat with one of the sales guy confirms that the price is right.  When I express my shock at the price I get the standard sales pitch of “The quality is amazing!” and “You won’t get the same picture from a cheaper cable.”  One sales guy even went so far to suggest that the cable did up converting.  Pretty impressive for a piece of wire – idiot!

What a bunch of crap! Don’t get suckered in.  These expensive cables are all just marketing hype – so do yourself a favour stay away and save your money.  Actually the only cable I have ever had fail on me was a very expensive Monster audio cable.

My background is computer engineering, so I am by no means an expert on signal integrity and such exciting topics.  However, I do work with a whole bunch of these types who share this view.  Debating the theory behind all this would take me way off topic and is better left to A/V sites.

So what should you do when you get that new piece of A/V equipment?  First tell the sales guy to take a hike when he walks you over to the cable aisle, then go home and check out these sites:

  • Mono Price – I have bought a bunch of stuff from this shop.  Prices are almost too low – equivalent HDMI cable to above is less then $5!  They are base in the US. Shipping is usually over a week using USPS so no crazy brokerage fees.  Great customer service.
  • Blue Jeans Cable – I have never purchased from them but I am thinking of giving them my next order.  The reason why is they are sticking it to Monster Cable.  Read more here.

If you really want a laugh then check out this cable from Denon – $500 for a 1.5 meter ethernet cable.  If you bought one of these then get in touch with me because I have a few high quality things to sell you.

Origins – Current Events Through A Historic Perspective

One of my beefs with our current world of instant news is that many of these stories started a long time ago and the current event is only a small chapter in this story. So it is nice to find a site dedicated to looking at these events with a historical perspective.

Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective was originally done in magazine form years ago – it went away much to the lament of its readers – it is now back as a monthly online site.  The site is part of the History Department of The Ohio State University.  It is worth checking out.