Hurray! Canada gets rid of the penny!

- We also got rid of 19,200 jobs! (1)
- Increased the retirement age to 67 years old for eligibility to receive pensioners. (2)
- Slashed funding to the elections Canada (on the eve of investigations into election fraud!) /Source.
- Scaled back of youth programs including the elimination of the Katimavik work exchange program.
- The news organization most capable of reporting on government actions and fraud is severely cut. (3)

And, it spite of all the cuts due to overspending, we're still committed to purchasing several F-35 JSF "White Elephants" from war profiteers, Lockheed Martin. Link.
Canadians taxpayers are still paying 31 Billion to serve the INTEREST on outstanding debt to private banks. (4)
Universities continue to be so underfunded that 200,000 students protested in the streets of Montreal last month. (5)


(1) This would be equivalent of Obama suddenly eliminating about 180,000 public servant jobs in the United States if scaled for population.
(2) Except for politicians, who can still begin to receive their pension as early as 55 until after the next election. info!
(3) The CBC takes budget nosedive on the chin. Link.
(4) And who benefits from that interest payment? Surely not the same people who contribute to political campaigns!! Harper unwilling to actually cut spending.
(5) http://videosift.com/video/Montreal-Students-Protest-Timelapse-March-22-2012

But, hey, at least we got rid of the penny!!
Focus on the shiny coin!

Apparently this was around 200,000 people protesting tuition hikes.
Not sure if they all made it to this rally, but that is A LOT of unhappy people.

http://montreal.mediacoop.ca/blog/tim-mcsorley/10286

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/story/2012/03/22/montreal-student-protests.html

Sure he would. This whole video is him speculating that Carolyn Maloney will be the Democratic Party's ranking member in the finance committee, because that's who the banksters want.

And then he spends 5 minutes crowing about how right he is because an article got published in a newspaper that pretty clearly indicated banksters like her. So what? Only crazy Republicans think the newspapers work for the Democratic party.

Plus, every quote he took from the article was sourced to someone on Wall Street's side. Where's a source from, say, someone in the Democratic party who's part of the decision-making process? Nowhere to be found in Cenk's piece. But, in the article he's sourcing all this from, there's this:

“For Nancy Pelosi, Maxine is a three-fer,” said one congressional staffer, noting that it will be Ms. Pelosi who ultimately makes the determination if Democrats retake control. “She is a fellow Californian, she is an African-American woman, and it is her turn.”

And this:

“A lot of folks in the CBC [Congressional Black Caucus] would not look too kindly on an outside challenge,” said one Capitol Hill lobbyist. “They want to go back to the seniority system.”

And this:

For her part, Ms. Waters seems confident her long service will carry her through. “Let me let you in on a secret: I am the senior-most person serving on the Financial Services Committee,” she told the 2012 California State Democratic Convention last month. “Barney Frank is about to retire, and guess who’s shaking in their boots? The too-big-to-fail banks and financial institutions and all of Wall Street because Maxine Waters is going to be the next chair of the Financial Services Committee.”

Oh, so Nancy Pelosi, the CBC, and Maxine herself all think she's a lock? Well, that would kinda undercut Cenk's anti-Democratic spin, so he doesn't mention any of that.

Cenk's whole show seemed to just be a vehicle for bashing Democrats, often for things they aren't actually guilty of doing. Like...this whole thing about Carolyn Maloney, which is 100% speculation!

At this point he honestly seems to me like some sort of Karl Rove creation designed to depress Democratic turnout and liberal activism.

>> ^messenger:

Cenk would only say that Waters had sold out to the banks if it were demonstrably true. He's big on backing up his statements with facts. He would never just speculate that she "must have" sold out.

>> ^zaust:

Never encountered Mr Rogers before and have to say his very disturbing. Beyond creepy, is this a spoof trailer of a horror movie?


Growing up in Canada without cable, I seldom watched Mr. Rogers (we had Mr. Dressup ) so I can understand how his demeanor can seem a little... different than how most people operate on television or in person. I found the way Mr Rogers spoke a little hard to get used to, but over the last few years I've come to appreciate the way the man can speak simply and directly, right through the television screen. His words can be simultaneously piercing and comforting, yet always kind.

Without the sift I'd never have discovered the kind of impact he has had *promoting honesty and good nature over a generation of children and grownups.

These clips are among my favorites:
http://videosift.com/video/Rare-Interview-With-Mister-Rogers-1986
http://videosift.com/video/Mr-Rogers-v-the-GOP-1969
http://videosift.com/video/Fred-Rogers-Accepts-the-Lifetime-Achievement-Award-1997

The Staple Singers formed what became known as the "Soundtrack of the Civil Rights Movement", marching alongside Dr. Marting Luther King, which plants this track securely in the *equality channel. I recently heard Mavis Staples on the CBC radio show "Tapestry". She spent time reminiscing about those days certainly, but her music is still fresh and relevant- her most recent album came out last year, and was produced by Jeff Tweedy of Wilco fame. Check out the interview here.

http://www.cbc.ca/tapestry/episode/2012/02/12/mavis-staples-1/

I was deeply moved by Mavis' spirit- the love that she has for the world, the joy she experiences and projects wherever she finds herself, the tolerance that she exhibits for others, the true and honest forgiveness that she offers those who supported segretation. There is a glow that seems to surround her and her music that is very affecting. Her belief in God and Jesus forms the core of her being and I must say that I personally would be more tolerant of the sins of the Christian faith, both past and present, if there were more like her in the world, rather than those who use their Christian faith as a platform and excuse to project their hate and judgement.

*happy

Tags for this video have been changed from 'Ewan McGregor, Louis CK, man crush' to 'CBC, Strombo, Ewan McGregor, Louis CK, man crush' - edited by calvados

Story :

http://www.cbc.ca/news/offbeat/story/2012/01/25/lego-balloon-space.html

Fun Fact: "On Nov. 24, 2008, Girl Guides of Canada announced that they had finally found a way to reduce the amount of trans fats in their popular chocolate- and vanilla-flavoured cookies. The new cookies — which will contain 90 per cent less trans fat than the old cookies — will be available in the spring of 2009. The organization has been raising money through cookie sales for 81 years. The cookies are made by Dare, which has offered other trans fat-free cookies for several years."
http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/story/2008/07/21/f-transfats.html

>> ^direpickle:

>> ^Sagemind:
He's trans-gendered, by definition, I don't think girls are on his mind.
Oh, and I like cookies!
I also like cookies. But Girl Scout cookies are chock full of trans-fats, and I just can not tolerate that sort of immoral fat-bending.

The CBC provided most of what you just asked for (though they covered sports too) before their budgets were slashed a number of years ago. This forced them to cut back on the number of Canadian programs and air syndicated American reruns


Meh. I've watched 30 years of CBC - it was one of two channels we got when I was growing up, and often the only one that came in clearly. I don't see any big difference in quality over the years - they've always found a few hits and a lot of unambitious, uninteresting misses. Now that people have so many more options about what to watch, the value of that unambitious crap is really low.

We give them $1, and they make "Being Erica" and the "The Ron James Show". Why the hell would I want to give them another dollar? Why should we expect them to change philosophy if they had more budget? I mean, if it was unusual crap or an odd idea that didn't quite work out or a project that was too ambitious for its budget, then that would be one thing - that's the kind of problem you can solve with more money. But their lineup is full of cooking shows, generic sitcoms, and crap. There's no reason for public funding of any of that.

Public television is a great idea. There's all sorts of innovation, education, and general public interests that can be served that aren't served by a for-profit station. CBC needs to focus on those things. Also, hockey. I don't watch hockey - but it's undeniably important and the CBC should go way, way overboard covering things like the World Juniors. It makes people happy and brings the country together.

And I'll also agree with another poster above: CBC Radio is generally really good. It focuses on exactly the kind of stuff a public broadcaster should. It's hits and misses, but it's interesting, valuable hits and misses.

So how does CBC differ from the BBC? I thought BBC was also a public funded television network.

I like the Insecurity show from Canada. Being Erica is OK. I think there was also a show based around a high security science lab that kind of solved problems for other science fields, but I can't recall the name of it at the moment. That was an interesting show as well.

As for UK television I think of Misfits and Dr. Who, most other stuff has been kinda miss.

Although as an American I don't know how the television in either country works, beyond knowing that they were government funded. I think the government owns BBC, not sure on CBC case.

The CBC provided most of what you just asked for (though they covered sports too) before their budgets were slashed a number of years ago. This forced them to cut back on the number of Canadian programs and air syndicated American reruns. The CBC isn't better than it is because we don't give them enough funding to be better.>> ^jmzero:

I think the CBC needs changes. It should produce educational content, children's programming, news and nothing else. There's no reason it should compete to show sports and general entertainment.
Especially the latter.
It has demonstrated a tremendous lack of skill in making the kinds of entertainment programs Canadians want to watch, despite aiming pretty low. Why, as a taxpayer, should I be paying for sub-par sitcoms and reality shows?
A public, independent news network without ads? Good purchase. Rick Mercer? He's great, but I think he'd get the ratings to survive elsewhere.
A few more daytime cooking shows - and still pressure from advertisers? Doesn't sound like a good use of taxpayer money.

What's all that about, eh?
Lately, it seems that our conservatives are becoming more like american republican senators, which is a shame since there are very few people in Canada an MP with an American republican political stance could accurately represent.

I do agree that the TV shows such as Wild Roses, Little Mosque on the Prairie, Insecurity, Republic of Doyle, Being Erica do not deserve public funding. They aren't worth much at all as far as entertainment goes.

I don't think CBC television should be terminated completely; CBC in the past has brought us Kids in the Hall and helped keep SCTV on the air. This Hour has 22 minutes used to be funny, but that was a long time ago, and not much has come since. More recent canadian comedy successes were not a result of CBC, Corner Gas, for one.
I don't think most Canadians would oppose a budget cut to CBC TV, but definitely would to termination of funding full stop.

And don't touch CBC Radio!!!!


>> ^kymbos:

Wow, what happened to Canada? It used to be so progressive!

Mostly with you. I feel CBC TV still needs to present hockey. Not sure why I do, just do. And our comedy heritage is in sketch comedy, and the CBC is the only place supporting that. If there were no CBC TV anymore, I wouldn't actually be upset. It's non-essential, especially considering most of the programming these days is indistinguishable from other channels -- Rick Mercer being one of the exceptions, but captured under sketch comedy.

But man, Canada without CBC Radio would be a whole different country. Just about everything there is a precious gem -- As it Happens, Wiretap, DNTO, Tapestry, Vinyl Cafe, Writers and Company, and old shows like Morningside, Richardson's Roundup (Sad Goat), and The Inside Track. It's also the only source of serious criticism of the government from people who are not just talk radio blowhards.

If for no other reason, Canada needs to have at least one broadcaster less unbalanced than the others towards corporate interests. Without that balance, the other broadcasters have no check.>> ^jmzero:
I think the CBC needs changes. It should produce educational content, children's programming, news and nothing else. There's no reason it should compete to show sports and general entertainment.
Especially the latter.
It has demonstrated a tremendous lack of skill in making the kinds of entertainment programs Canadians want to watch, despite aiming pretty low. Why, as a taxpayer, should I be paying for sub-par sitcoms and reality shows?
A public, independent news network without ads? Good purchase. Rick Mercer? He's great, but I think he'd get the ratings to survive elsewhere.
A few more daytime cooking shows - and still pressure from advertisers? Doesn't sound like a good use of taxpayer money.

I think the CBC needs changes. It should produce educational content, children's programming, news and nothing else. There's no reason it should compete to show sports and general entertainment.

Especially the latter.

It has demonstrated a tremendous lack of skill in making the kinds of entertainment programs Canadians want to watch, despite aiming pretty low. Why, as a taxpayer, should I be paying for sub-par sitcoms and reality shows?

A public, independent news network without ads? Good purchase. Rick Mercer? He's great, but I think he'd get the ratings to survive elsewhere.

A few more daytime cooking shows - and still pressure from advertisers? Doesn't sound like a good use of taxpayer money.

Your video, The CBC has been sold to a US wrestling promotor!*, has made it into the Top 15 New Videos listing. Congratulations on your achievement. For your contribution you have been awarded 1 Power Point.