Top 25 censored stories of 2007

Courtesy of a friend, here are the top 25 censored stories of 2007.

A good read as always.#1 is net neutrality, which many are probably familair with, but a lot aren't. I know Charlie Angus has raised this issue quite a lot and its something that we should all be paying a lot of attention towards.

#5 is an issue i'm just beginning to learn about, coltan, used for our cellphones everywhere, is kind of like the present sequal to blood diamond in Africa, where most of the world's supply is found. Though, I read that a coltan-free cellphone is available, since Leonardo Dicapro is mad pimping it. Besides that, a lot of stuff that is getting some coverage but not enough. Mostly concerning the severe problems with the environment and how much Dick Cheney truly is, well a really big dick.

#26 on this list should be Turks and Caicos. Seriously, we should let them join Canada, since that would be awesome.

BC NDP calls for $10 minimum wage, prosperity gap campaign also sweet

This just in, the BC NDP has joined the campaign to raise the minimum wage to $10, following the lead of the federal and Ontario NDP as well. Certainly, different provinces have different needs, and I think democraticspace's idea of regional minimum wages is also pretty interesting. Nonetheless, the living costs of BC are freakin' huge, and our current minimum wage along with a host of other poverty fighting policies just don't cut it.

The BC Liberals have made some better calls this term than last, and stabilizing some of the housing in the downtown eastside by buying some of the single occupancy room hotels where the poorest in the city live, was a good call. Definitely could use more housing announcements like that, such as actually creating new social housing. Since the BC Liberals have been trying to appear more centrist as of late after losing 30 seats in the last provincial election, I do hope some planned increases in the minimum wage will also be a part of that dash to the centre. We'll have to wait and see until next year's budget, since there wasn't any increase this year.

I also must point out, that i'm really like some of the policies the NDP has coming out regarding the growing prosperity gap in Canada. Closing tax loopholes of skyrocketing CEO salaries as well as a host of other issues the party has been focusing on have been things i've been hoping they would be championing. In a time where the gap between the wealthiest and poorest in our society continues to worsen, focusing on policies that attempt to close this gap in a meaningful way, as opposed to a trickle down economics method, are exactly the kind of policies that a lot of people could find appealing.

Time to increase the minimum wage in BC

This weekend, I helped out the BC Federation of Labour's Young Workers Committee 'hit the streets' with their campaign to raise the minimum wage in BC to $10 an hour. Got a pretty good response as well, most people were definitely receptive to that idea and more than happy to sign the petition (which y'all should do as well).

Its definitely about time, been many years since an increase, and BC ain't getting any cheapr to live in with the rising cost of living. The issue has recieved a lot of attention federally and in Ontario, the government just announced in their budget last week that the minimum wage will rise to $10.25 an hour in a few years. This ofcourse after some well done pressure from the Ontario NDP.

I'm sure the BC NDP will eventually endorse this position as well, and who knows, maybe even the Liberals. They have been trying to act more progressive lately with all that sudden interest for the environment. An increase in the minimum wage is just the start ofcourse, but it seems to have perked a lot of peoples interests in poverty issues, and that could be a great beach-head in trying to adress wider issues surrounding poverty in our country.

So, the NDP is not as weak as we were led to believe

About everyone in the entire blogosphere is talking about the latest SES poll and what it means for the Liberals and Conservatives. So I thought I would just jump in there with some additional commentaries about the smaller parties.

I think it says a lot about how the NDP support is much more solid than many have said in recent months. I can't count how many articles I have been reading predicting the demise of the NDP and how a merger on the left is inevitable. That stuff seemed a little crazy in December and it still does.

Just because the Liberals and Greens elected new leaders who enjoyed some post leadership convention buzz doesn't mean the NDP no longer exists. To be sure I think the Greens are in a good position to make some gains though I would figure they are largely incremental than through the roof. And although Dion is going through some tough growing pains, he may still beat Harper in that next election whenever it is.

But now at least all that writing off the NDP business can stop, since my gut, and SES, is telling me that new democrat support is stable in comparison to the last two elections and is still in a good position to even make substantial gains. Ofcourse much will depend on what happens in the coming months, but i'm at least assured that there is some solid support there.

The real party to write off in the next election is the Bloc. Dion and Harper are putting the squeeze on their support, and the poor position of the PQ right now isn't helping. Teh Bloc is probably going to win the most seats in the next federal election most definitely, but i'm starting to imagine that it may very well be a worse outcome than their lowmarks in 1997 and 2000. But ofcourse that also depends on certain outcomes like that Quebec provincial election.

That is where the bza's Canadian junkie crystal poll ball looks like for the moment anyways...

p.s. I would wager that whichever party comes in second place after the Bloc wins the next election.

Whoops.

I sort of screwed up the html of my blog and had to delete it. O'well, I only had about 50 posts re-posted elsewhere on the internets and had an audience of about 5.

So, back to square one, and perhaps a new an approved blog? Only time will tell!