When Ziggy says our Prime Minister, Chretien, "has practically turned it into a dictatorship" he is commenting on the power of a democratically elected leader of a political party with a majority of representatives in the house.

Sort of like GWB would be if the Republicans controlled the Senate and the House of Representatives.

But that wouldn't make the USA a dictatorship. Canada and the USA are constitutional democracies. Powerful elected leaders can't change that, whatever their popularity is while holding office.

Any fear of slipping into a dictatorship in Canada and the USA can be cured with a little understanding of the political systems. The great thing about the Internet, is that access to information is free to all of us, who are obviously already online.

Hollywood North
 

Mayor Mel Lastman will today announce a $200 million deal to build 1 million square feet of movie studios on the derelict port lands, at the site of the proposed broadcast centre for the failed Olympic bid.

The waterfront deal brings to the city one of the largest movie studios in the world. It should net Toronto 3,000 new jobs and cement its reputation as Hollywood North, a status that faced challenges from Montreal and Vancouver. :cool:

Have you ever seen "The Cube"?

I hadn't heard of The Cube until you mentioned it.

Let the Games begin ...
 

http://www.saltlake2002.com/c/0/55/7...6topten_08.jpg

Mario Lemieux, the 2002 captain of Team Canada, is one of the greatest players in the history of ice hockey.

I'm following Canada's participation at the Winter Games.

Point being, it sucked. Don't go watch it. :)

i don't know why people liked the cube so much.. i thought it was horrible as well.

re: dictatorship... maybe i'm naive, but i figure that if citizens within a electoral region vote for a particular candidate based on their merits then those elected officials should represent those peoples in the national forum that is parliament... instead, they're all a part of these parties which don't really have different agendas and rarely put any kind of focus on regional-specific issues... thats fine - i figure the whole game of politics is this interaction between elected officials battling over things for the good of the various levels of government - municipal, provincial, federal... the problem seems to arise when there are issues in parliament and the members of the majority party are forced to stifle their own dissent if there were any. if politician X from city Y is faced with a piece of legislature that would negatively impact the interests of the citizens of his riding then shouldn't he vote nay? but it seems to me that such things aren't allowed in canadian politics in the current climate. much news is made about the process of government instead of what the government is actually doing. before 9/11 there was a great deal of attention being pointed towards the slack attendance of the majority party members, and the self-assured arrogance exhibited by the leaders of that party that rather mock the political system as a whole. its gotten to the point where the leader often just barks things at people should they make a murmur not totally in line with party ideology [which is loosely based - just don't piss off the top dog]. the government is in a state of stagnation - despite having 3 terms i don't think chretian is going to be remembered as doing anything particularly noteworthy. there is little active debate about many issues surrounding the pseudodemocratic processes we have been witness to in parliament...

Any of the Canadians 'ere see the pairs skating last night? I missed it but the buzz is the fix was in and the Canadian pair paid for it.

Sale and Pelletier strike gold!
 

Canada's Jamie Sale and David Pelletier will get a gold medal in the Olympics pairs figure skating, the presidents of the IOC and the ISU announced this afternoon. The French judge at the centre of the controversy has been suspended for improper conduct.

Toronto Welcomes Simpsons
 

http://www.canoe.ca/TVImagesS/simpsonsto_160.jpg

But Homer Simpson will not be allowed near our Pickering nuclear station, says Provincial Premier Mike Harris.

"It's great news for tourism in Toronto and Ontario when a family of the stature of TV's The Simpsons comes to town." said our Premier.

Our Mayor Mel, who runs his own comedy act at Melville City Hall, refused to participate personally in the visit, or to officially declare today to be Simpsons Day in Toronto and give Homer the keys to the City. D'oh!

Television's dysfunctional but enduring American family will pay a visit to Toronto in this Sunday's episode.

Show your ROOTS
 

http://rootscom.cybernomics.net/CAN-...es/COAlogo.gif

Whether you're rooting for Team USA or Team Canada, their fashion statements both have roots in Toronto clothing company Roots.

Says Roots co-founder Michael Budman: ''The Olympics give athletes, and countries, credibility.'' Anytime a country receives the kind of worldwide exposure that Canada has received over the past week, it boosts the overall business community, he says.

http://a740.g.akamai.net/f/740/606/1...katers0216.jpg

Roots is ramping up its global expansion plans after becoming the product hit of the Games, Budman says. The privately held, 29-year-old Toronto company will expand its offerings through 131 Nordstrom stores in the USA and with QVC. It is arranging outfitting deals with U.S. and Canadian Olympic teams through 2006. It's expanding in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. And it will open its first stores in China this fall. ''The key is that America has been shown what the Roots brand is all about,'' says the U.S.-born Budman, 56.

Roots' Team USA beret is the must-have souvenir of the Games.

http://rootscom.cybernomics.net/USA/...b/usaBaret.jpg

Fans were lined up at 4 a.m. Sunday to buy Olympic gear at Roots stores in Salt Lake City. The demand for the company's gear is ''unprecedented,'' Budman says.

http://rootscom.cybernomics.net/USA/...thumb/logo.gif

http://www.canada.com/sports/olympic...1902faces2.jpg
Doug: Those Czech Republicans are real losers, eh? Go Team Canada.
Bob: Oh, I gotta take a leak so bad I can taste it!

Speaking of Canadian beer, Sleeman is one of the best local brews.

*cheers* to sleemanj:beer:

Sleeman
 

My sister-in-law brought me a mixed case of Sleemans products last time she went home. Very tastey.

Golden Girls
 

http://www.canada.com/sports/olympic...02mainpic3.gif

From Toronto:

Gold Medal Winner - Cassie Campbell
Gold Medal Winner - Cherie Piper
Gold Medal Winner - Vicky Sunohara

Congratulations!