Just Horsin’ Around? Federal Liberal Leadership Race RORY CONROY COLUMNIST I know. I know. Politics is boring at best and a leadership race in this country is as exciting as watching lawn_ bowling. However, and let's be perfectly clear about this, the next leader of the Liberal Party will be Prime Minister. Why? Because the Grits are “Canada’s natural governing party. Therefore we (you) should be prepared for the worst. The bad news is that there are nine can- didates in the running. The good news is that there are two bunches; one at a trot and one at a gallop! I'll start with those nags in the backfield. [ ] indicates the approximate support the candidates have in the Liberal caucus and Senate. [0] means not yet elected. Martha Hall-Findlay [0] — Lawyer, Business women, Gave up her candi- dacy to allow ex-Tory, Belinda Stronach to run after crossing the floor. A social conservative, she purports, “Principles are my compass.’ A dark-dark horse. From her perspective in the race she has a great view of all of those assholes ahead of her. Hedy Fry [1] — Physician — was Sec- retary of State for Multiculturalism & Status of Women, and Parliamentary Secretary for Citizenship & Immigra- tion. Noted for anti-Americanism, fem- inism and gay rights. “The crossés are burning on the lawns of Prince George as we speak.’ What more can I say other than she has stepped in it more than once. Hopefully she will be put out to pasture. Thankfully shes too old to breed ! Joe Volpe [5] — Educator, Ontario politician and minister. Was federal Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development. Cited by the Aud- itor General, Sheila Fraser for accepting donations contrary to the Elections Act. (taking money from children) Recipient of the Canadian Taxpayer Federation's “Teddy” award for most excessive meal expense claims in 2005. Joe Who ! A Rocking Horse, he won't win by a nose or any other body part! Ken Dryden [10] — Lawyet, hockey legend, author. Was Social Develop- ment Minister. Dryden’ policy paper is ponderously entitled a Big Canada. Big Deal !! Watch 2nd and 3rd ballot and who he backs for leader. A future Sen- ator, hell organize scrub-games with Jean Beliveau. Put him out to stud ! Gerard Kennedy [20] ~ Ontario Liberal politician (Minister of Educa- tion). Resigned to enter the leadership race, “It's time to reevaluate NATO's strategy in Afghanistan, The current strategy is a long-term losing one.’ Po- tential dark horse with substantial sup- port among the non-aligned liberal MPs and Senators, but has no profile outside of Ontario. Watch 2nd and 3rd ballot manoeuvres. Stumbled into the wrong race and is surprised to be in the run- ning. Look Ma no hands !! Gerry - face the front !! Stephane Dion [12] — Professor of Political Science, author, senior research fellow. Was Queens Privy Council, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, Minister of Environment. From the Chretien camp and supporter of the Clarity Act, Dion was dumped by the Martin government until he was needed to help win seats in Quebec. A federal- ist, Dion is credited with playing a major role in prevailing over the proponents of sovereignty in previous Quebec referen- da, “Identity, rather than the division of powers, that is at the source of our unity problem.’ Has horse sense but no legs. Scott Brison [10] — Businessman, investment counselor. Ex-Tory crossed the floor to the Liberals in 2003, Held many important positions in govern- ment. Brison, in direct opposition to Ig- natieff, “Feels that --- Canada can build on the Pearsonian legacy to develop a foreign policy based on our values of human tights, equality and diversity” and “Canada should become an environ- mental leader through the preservation and stewardship of the environment.’ He further insists than now is the time for, “a new generation of ideas.’“I'm not a gay politician. I'm a politician who happens to be gay.’ The world’s first gay Prime Minister ? Not ! You won't win this race sitting side-saddle ! newspaper, like the Globe and Mail or Michael Ignatieff [44] -— Scholar, author, journalist, political commenta- tor, film-maker, Held professorships at Cambridge, Oxford, Harvard. Supports | Bush & Harper's wars in Iraq and Af- ghanistan (he's not losing any, sleep over a few deaths in Lebanon), the US Mis- sile Defence Shield, and the Lesser Evil Approach which advocates a degree of diminishment of human and civil rights for the greater good of western society. As Conor Gearty, professor of human rights law at the London School of Ecoriomics, suggests, “[ ] intellectuals like Ignatieff (are) apologists for human rights abuses.’ Ignatieff suggests that, “Canada is well past the era of Pearson- | ian peacekeeping.’ He further advocates that Canada should also focus on the multinational aspects of Canadian so- ciety, that is, constitutional reform that recognizes the “nations” within Canada, | thereby avoiding , in his words, “a civil | war’ !, Don't expect this carpetbagger to be happy if he is not first at the finish line, Running on a “campaign left — gov- ern right” agenda, Ignatieff will likely do an Emerson if he's not in the winner's | circle. From High Horse to Trojan Horse ! Bob Rae [16] - Lawyer, academic, so- cial advocate, Trudeau liberal supporter, - NDP Member of Parliament, NDP Premier of Ontario. Rae's government policies of wage freeze, rollbacks and bailouts angered labour and business alike resulting in his government's even- tual defeat. Bob Rae became Chancellor of Wilfred Laurier and was awarded the Order of Canada, the Order of Ontario and chaired the Air India Inquiry, Some- what delusional, Rae seems to think that perhaps no one will remember that he was the NDP Premier who blanketed Ontario in debt. Speaking of blanket, throw one on him ! So that wraps it up. Ignatieff will be anointed unless Bob Rae can bring Brison and Kennedy onside. I cannot imagine that those teams are enamoured by Ignatieff's take on foreign affairs and human rights. Ignatieff is difficult to read; he is intellectually honest to a fault, may tend to hubris and is not politically savvy. A Trudeau campaign worker, Ig- natieff is steeped in social ideologies but a progressive aura just does not shine through. A skittish mount. Just in — Carolyn Bennett, 4 term MP for St. Paul, has trotted into the Bob Rae stables ! My little pony !! wanted, but it was still all quite credible OVER THE EDGE NEWSPAPER. SEPTEMBER 27, 2006 iThe Rumbling Echo | | CODY WILLETT COLUMNIST Oh boy am I excited! This will be the first installment of my regular fea- ture article in Over the Edge. Now, I wont lie to you, I'm no journalist, and my writing skills are merely those of an opinionated and engaged fourth year Political Science major. That said, however, you and I should both look forward to the uncensored and pro- vocative content of this column. Before I jump right into the issues at hand, I should deal out a little back story on what this project is, Last year I was approached about writing a small piece for OTE from ‘the BC Liberal perspective’ owing to my in- volvement in the youth wing of that party. Well, over the summer my per- spectives have broadened to the point where I have enough to say on issues both local and worldly, that I feel the defining envelope of a political party commentary is far too limiting. We, the Echo Generation, stand at the cusp of a new world order whether we choose to recognize it or not. We see rampant greed, corruption and col- lusion from the highest halls of power. Politics and the forces that shape it are currently dominated by Neo- Con born-again Christian ideologues bent on advancing agendas that are arrogantly out of touch with the gen- eral will of the people who put them in government. So without further adieu, I'll start tossing out ideas and opinions that I hope spark dialogue and discussion not only within and among us, but also beyond the halls of academia, such that we as a thought- ful generation of Canadians stand up and demand our voices of reason and tolerance be heard and listened to throughout the world. Ok, now that we have an ambitious game plan, its time to say something new. So I’m coming out right now and saying that most things that main- stream media tells us are bunk. It’s either bunk or it's so watered down with bias and myopic perspective, we might as well take it to be illegitimate by default. Mark Twain once said that “if you dont read the newspaper, you're un- informed; if you do read the news- paper, you're misinformed.” Thank you, Mr. Twain. I say this: if you regularly check in to mainstream news, do so only to find out what the story is and then reseatch it independently, Remember that the newsroom is truly ensconced. in the mentality that “if it bleeds, it leads’. So lighten it up by surfing the net and finding good news stories (other than celebrity-related blather- ing) to keep you sane. _I realize that it’s so easy to get our fix for current affairs from the eas- ily digestible world of big-media, but think of it like constantly eating fast food: it's easily obtained, tastes agree- able, makes you fat and costs you more than it’s really worth. By extracting the simile, we find fast media is easy to find, sounds agreeable, mushes your mind, and costs you your sensitiv- ity and creativity by bombarding you with bland universal culture. Reminds me of Groupthink, so lets not be sheep. Go cook up your own information buffet- it's very satisfying for the little extra work you have to put into it. If you think best with a little music in the background, try listening to the album ‘Animals’-by Pink Floyd. Not only is it musically and lyrically powerful, it fits nicely with the theme of this piece. Ps,Ifyoudoneed to eat out for your news fix, try something new and foreign: Another perspective! I hear Al Jazeera makes for a great entrée. Bon Appetit , these 816 deaths werent all Montreal Shootings How The Media Blew It TYLER CLARKE PRODUCTION COORDINATOR ‘There is no point in giving you the de- tails of the Montreal Shootings. If you don’t know them already, you should get out more. Put down this fine newspaper, go to a newsstand and buy a National the National Post, so you're more up to date on national happenings. If you dont like reading, watch CBC news. Peter Mansbridge is quite the hunk...as I've heard the ladies say... Alright, now you're ready for commen- tary of a potentially offensive manner. First off, I'd like to send a shout out to Canadian, and world news. You've earned the Stale Marshmallow Award for outstanding stupidity. Again. Initially, the news coverage was appro- priate. Students and teachers recounted their experiences on the CBC. This was, and is, news. It’s debatable whether or not the name of the shooter should have been released, giving him exactly what he news. When the “Goth’-fear mongering began, they were milking an impotent bull. It was reminiscent of the Colum- bine shootings, which produced years of media coverage about school bullying and depression. If it were a gay man who shot up Dawson College, would the media im- pose such a stigma on homosexuality? I can picture the headlines now; “Violence Among Gay Men Up In Recent Years.’ “Homosexuals - Their Secret Hatred of Women.” The shooter didn't go on a rampage because he was a Goth, or even because he was a member of vampirefreaks.com. - It was because he was cracked-out in the ead. He was one of those rare excep- tions. He could have just as easily been a Bible-thumping Scout leader. If every one of the 600,000 members of vam- pirefreaks.com suddenly decided to go on homicidal rampages, I would start worrying. But one? You're more likely to be hit by a nun driving a hearse, at 10 kilometers an hour than by a member of vampirefreaks.com. 816 people died of firearms-related injuries in Canada in 2002. I don't mean to belittle the death of Anastasia De Sousa, It was, needless to say, a tragedy, but werent every one of the 816 deaths in 2002 tragedies, as well? How many of them were reported in the news to the extent of the Montreal shootings? murders, but isn't a death a death? It doesnt matter if it was an accident or a murder, the end result is the same. There is still a life ended before it was ready to be over. The reason the Montreal shootings gained so much attention was because the media knows what the audience want to see. They know what sells, and what doesn't. Fear sells. If someone ac- cidentally shoots him/herself in the face with a shotgun, news of the death won't go further than a local obituary, yet the end result is the same as if a gothic guy shot him/her. Fear guns, not Goths.