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Post by rockkid on Apr 30, 2006 10:25:13 GMT -5
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Post by phil on Apr 30, 2006 13:14:19 GMT -5
Candidates whose French is poor are at an obvious disadvantage
(Bennett, Bevilacqua, to some extent Dryden)...
From what I know about the candidates so far,
this is how you could rate them in the bilinguism department ...
- Almost perfectly bilingual : Michael Ignatieff, Bob Rae.
Both are better than SteVen Harper. They can have
a conversation with anybody, anywhere in Québec.
- Functionally bilingual : Stephane Dion, Joe Volpe, Martha Hall Findley.
As bilingual as SteVIE Harper. Could function in a TV debate
but would not stand out. Dion's english is not bad but his accent is atrocious ...
now you know how we feel when we have to endure french massacred by some anglos.
They are somewhat handicapped !!
- Flunked the test : Ken Dryden, Scott Brison, Carolyn Bennett, Maurizio Bevilacqua, Gerard Kennedy.
Looks like Dryden's french has not improved since his stay with Le Canadien de Montréal ...
French lessons will probably be too late for them anyway.
They all had a FEW years to learn it but just didn't bother ...
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Post by Dr. Drum on May 1, 2006 6:18:07 GMT -5
Phil, yeah, in this day and age "functionally bilingual" is a prerequisite for a federal party leader and doubly so in the case of the Liberals. Couldn’t imagine them actually electing someone who couldn’t function at least well enough in both official languages to, for example, take part in a leader's debate.
Dion has a heavy accent but it generally doesn't seem to be an impediment in terms of communication. And while I have occasionally seen him grasping for a word in English, he could hold his own in a debate or an interview.
Haven’t seen that much of Kennedy, in English or French, but I was under the impression that he would qualify as functionally bilingual, too. Not so, eh?
Don’t know much about Volpe’s ability in French either, but I guess he can function in four or five languages, to some degree at least.
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Post by rockkid on May 1, 2006 7:29:06 GMT -5
Well still no responses or anything, at this point I give up on that.
I did note yesterday however the flag at both City Hall & the Marina are at half mast.
One small step at a time. Last burial is Wed so I’ll raise mine Wed night till god forbid the next time.
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Post by rockkid on May 2, 2006 7:11:12 GMT -5
[glow=red,2,300]Ha ha Ha [/glow]
Hackers hit Hogtown bus ads: 'Stephen Harper Eats Babies'
OTTAWA -- Ever wonder what a prime minister eats?
GO Transit riders in and around Toronto may wish they didn't know after pranksters recently hacked into the commuter trains' digital sign system and offered their thoughts on the subject.
"Stephen Harper Eats Babies," five different signs stated.
The first incident happened last Thursday and the last happened yesterday before the signs were shut down across the line and reprogrammed with password security, according to GO spokesman Edmund Shea.
He said the regional transit body in no way endorses the messages that surreptitiously interrupted the purchased LED ads.
It's electronic graffiti, electronic vandalism," Shea said. "We're sorry if anyone's offended by this, including the prime minister."
I'm not offended at all LOL
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Post by riley on May 2, 2006 7:20:26 GMT -5
that's fantastic.
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Post by phil on May 2, 2006 7:56:23 GMT -5
Phil, yeah, in this day and age "functionally bilingual" is a prerequisite for a federal party leader and doubly so in the case of the Liberals. Couldn’t imagine them actually electing someone who couldn’t function at least well enough in both official languages to, for example, take part in a leader's debate.
HÉ ! The Liberals - and the Neo-Cons for that matter - have to know
it will be hard for them to get a majority government
without electing more than a few candidates in Québec ...
Looks like the Liberals have now decided they are the party of Ontario
and the Conservatives had given up on Québec before AND after Brian Mulroney ...
Speaking of Mulroney, do you remember John Crosbie in 1984 ... ??
The guy had everything going for him to become the Conservatives' Big Honcho
but he lost mainly because he couldn't speak a damn word in french !
Now, for the Liberals, only Bob Rae and Michael Ignatief
can step in a restaurant and order a soup
without somebody in their entourage slipping them a small cue card !!
Have you noticed that eight of the ten candidates
for the leadership race are from Toronto ... ?
How's the other Canadian official language doing in T.O. these days ??
Will the Frenchies have to translate the national anthem
to get the R.O.C.'s attention again ... ?
...
OOPS !! Scratch that one ... !
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Post by phil on May 2, 2006 8:14:00 GMT -5
Sorry, I Don't Speak FrenchConfronting the Canadian Crisis That Won't Go Away Written by Graham Fraser  Stephen Harper once famously declared “As a religion, bilingualism is the god that failed. It has led to no fairness, produced no unity, and cost Canadian taxpayers untold millions.” Now that Harper is moving into 24 Sussex Drive, the “Canadian crisis that won’t go away” could once again threaten to tear our country apart. In this hard-hitting examination, Graham Fraser argues that we can no longer afford to see language issues as old news, and warns that unless we can make our language policy work and effectively govern the country in both languages, Canada as we know it will disintegrate. Fraser explores the current state of language relations and discovers that in spite of almost four decades of official bilingualism Canadians keep hoping the next generation will be bilingual, and Canada’s universities still treat French as a foreign language; while business on Parliament Hill is conducted in both official languages, the signs inthe storefronts just a few blocks south are exclusively in English. Showing that official bilingualism is not merely an abstract policy or some future ideal, Fraser explores how language policy affects individual Canadians, from air traffic controllers to journalists, and demonstrates its impact on institutions like the military, not to mention the social life of Montreal and Ottawa. Canada’s language policy is still a red-hot topic; ideals, jobs, and ultimately the country are at stake. "Sorry, I Don’t Speak French" is a wake-up call to all Canadians who have become apathetic about French-English relations, and shows that language lies at the heart of the issue that won’t go away, until we fix it. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Post by phil on May 2, 2006 8:27:19 GMT -5
In other news ...
Canadian Dollar Rises Above 90 Cents for First Time Since 1978
May 2 (Bloomberg) --
Canada's dollar rose above 90 U.S. cents for the first time in 28 years on prospects the Bank of Canada will keep increasing borrowing costs as the economy benefits from a boom in oil and commodity prices.
The currency is at a level last seen in the era of disco music and designer bluejeans as the economy grows at the fastest pace in six years and Canadian exports such as oil and gold trade near record highs. The central bank raised its benchmark interest rate to 4 percent last week and suggested more increases may be needed to stem inflation.
``The Canadian dollar is relentless,'' said Boris Schlossberg, senior currency strategist at Forex Capital Markets LLC in New York. The currency was supported ``by the hawkish posture from the Bank of Canada. You also have very steady economic growth and a strong commodities cycle.''
Canada's dollar rose to 90.24 U.S. cents at 8:33 a.m. in Toronto from 89.82 yesterday. One U.S. dollar buys C$1.1081. The Canadian dollar touched 90.37 U.S. cents today, the highest since Jan. 26, 1978.
The Canadian dollar has increased 4.9 percent against its U.S. counterpart this year, following four straight annual gains. The currency advanced 4.8 percent last month, the most since at least February 1971, the earliest monthly data available on the Bloomberg system.
It is up 45 percent since touching 61.80 U.S. cents in January 2002. The last time the Canadian currency traded at parity with the U.S. dollar was in 1976.
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Post by Dr. Drum on May 2, 2006 8:54:33 GMT -5
Phil, re: the national anthem, years of watching the Montreal Canadiens – from a very young age, I might add – have conditioned me to the point that if I "play" the anthem in my head, it's the Roger Doucet version, in French with the last verse in English. In fact, I'm sure that as a child that was the only version of the words I knew.  As for the Liberals, I'm sure that if they had a Quebecois leadership candidate who was popular and could win in the rest of the country, they'd put him in there in a heartbeat. Failing that, I'm sure that choosing a leader who has the potential of connecting in Quebec and rebuilding the party there is going to be a major concern of this leadership contest. Certainly that is part of whatever allure Bob Rae has in Liberal circles. The Liberals and Conservatives will be focusing on Quebec in the next election. It just doesn't look like the Liberals are going to be very well positioned to make gains there. BTW, Brian Tobin has the same problem learning French that John Crosbie had. Probably one factor in his bowing out of this race. *** Thanks for the Harper piece, rockkid. Fantastic indeed. *** Canadian dollar: Might want to check with our resident banker friend, but it appears to me that we may well be at par with the US $ before the year is out, at the rate things are going. |
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Post by phil on May 2, 2006 9:01:30 GMT -5
Canadian dollar is expected to reach par with the U.S. greenback in early 2007 ... !!
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Post by phil on May 2, 2006 9:05:46 GMT -5
And the Liberal Party will have to wander the political desert in Québec for a few years to atone for the stupid "scandale des commandites" and the stupid feud between Chrétien and Martin ...
Serve those idiots right ... !!
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Post by rockkid on May 2, 2006 21:56:33 GMT -5
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Post by rockkid on May 2, 2006 21:58:30 GMT -5
Hence my letter to the Ed as follows. They better print a correction next week ARgggggggghh
Dear Editor:
While I greatly appreciate the Sun & its staff’s help in getting the story out.
‘Half – masted, whole hearted protest” May 2nd’s edition, there are some statements attributed to me which have been misunderstood.
Firstly, I did not say flags should be lowered regardless of circumstance.
I did however say there is a great difference (though no less tragic a loss) between a death occurring on a training exercise & one occurring in an operational combat environment.
I said this in response to a politician who was trying to use the excuse that there would be no way to differentiate so therefore it shouldn’t be lowered, period.
Needless to say I don’t buy into that as a valid excuse so for the record, I favor lowering for in theater deaths.
Secondly I at no time insinuated the recent deaths were non – combative.
If the government has decreed them as such it’s news to me. I believe roadside/suicide bombs qualify as combat most assuredly.
Thank you for letting me clear this up.
There is a ghastly photo but I'd have to scan the paper.
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Post by rockkid on May 2, 2006 22:02:44 GMT -5
Remind me to run from reporters. Phil cherie I luv the way you spell SteVen  |
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