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!

As we would say in NZ, maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaate
:D

See the Onion's editorial on a trip to Canada.

Toronto does good
 

Well, the Winter Olympics are over, and I'm just recovering from the celebrations.

It's been a zoo here in Toronto. Yonge Street was closed to traffic as it filled up with fans and flags.

Understandably, we are delighted with the Gold Medals in both the men's and women's hockey.

It's a Canadian game, eh?

All the medals won by Toronto area natives were Gold.

Eric Lindros - Men's Ice Hockey
Brendan Shanahan - Men's Ice Hockey
Adam Foote - Men's Ice Hockey
Joe Nieuwendyk - Men's Ice Hockey
Michael Peca - Men's Ice Hockey
Cassie Campbell - Women's Ice Hockey
Cherie Piper - Women's Ice Hockey
Vicky Sunohara - Women's Ice Hockey

Congratulations to these hometown favourites and to all the Canadian athletes who did us proud.

Royal Ontario Museum ... the ROM
 

http://www.thestar.com/images/cci/LI...HVACT0H.1a.jpg Torontonians will have to wait for another time and place for their Frank Ghery moment, as that world-famous Canadian architect has yet to make his mark on Toronto.

Toronto is moose country
 

http://www.city.toronto.on.ca/moose/..._baystreet.jpg

See all the Moose in the City here. This successful promotion
of the past few years boosted tourism and raised money for charities.

Happy St. Patrick's Day
 

http://www.onlinesports.com/images/eff-tsp-26hs.gif

In 1920-1921 the NHL had only four teams:

Toronto St. Patricks
Montreal Canadiens
Hamilton Tigers
Ottawa Senators

and the Senators won the Stanley Cup, playing Toronto in a two game "total goals" playoff series.

The Toronto St. Patricks became the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Today in Maple Leafs History:

March 17, 1934 - A St. Patrick's Day crowd of 11,000 turns out for 'King Clancy Night.' Clancy is pushed to centre ice while seated in a sleigh shaped like a throne. The Irishman unveils his robe to show a green uniform with a large shamrock on the back and he proceeds to wear the uniform for the game. Lester Patrick, coach of the Rangers, complains that his uniform is a distraction and Clancy changes into his regular Maple Leafs uniform.

Play Money
 

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/Photo.../five_done.jpg http://www.theglobeandmail.com/Photo...five2_done.jpg

A new Canadian $5 bill, Children at Play, celebrates winter sports.

The grumpy guy is Sir Wilfred Laurier, Canada's seventh Prime Minister.

Don't you think Canadian currency has the best graphic designs?

Andersen strikes deal with Deloitte in Canada, which saves 1,400 jobs here and makes Deloitte & Touche the largest accounting firm in this country.

Toronto Rockettes
 

Cpl. Ainsworth Dyer of Toronto, among those killed.
 

http://www.globeandmail.com/RTGAM_Ar...ll/0420DVP.JPG

Police cruisers escort the bodies of Canadian soldiers
in four hearses on Toronto's Don Valley Parkway Saturday.
Photo: Aaron Harris/CP

Bruce Kirkby
 

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/Photo...4/kirkby04.jpg

Born and raised in Toronto, Canada, Bruce was introduced to the wilderness at an early age by his parents. Weekend canoeing, camping and hiking trips instilled a love for nature that would forever draw him further away from a 'normal' life.

After graduating from University with a degree in Engineering Physics, Bruce remained at his first office job for less than six months before leaving to pursue an uncertain future in outdoor adventure.

Click on the pic, if you want to see more pics and read about his latest adventure ocean kayaking off the west coast of Canada.

Or, visit his website at: http://www.brucekirkby.com/

Ontario College of Art & Design
 

http://www.thestar.com/images/020508_ocad-expansion.jpg

GO BIG: The Ontario College of Art & Design's $41-million campus expansion will boast an enormous 165-meter-long rectangular building over the college's existing structures. It will be held 10-storeys aloft by a series of thin columns.

Make sure to update when that thing collapses.

It's actually a project for the nearby Ontario College of Demolition Engineering -- the object is to design a demolition plan which collapses the structure evenly and uses the least explosives. All student's projects will be simulated, and the best will be carried out, most likely in the middle of the night.

I was surprised to see such a proposal ... post 9/11.

It's hard to believe that it will actually be built as designed, while real estate industry experts re-examine how structures should be designed to face terrorist threats of the future.

http://realestate.wharton.upenn.edu/...g.spring02.php

9:10 a.m. - 10:10 a.m.

1. How Will 9/11 Affect Real Estate Operations and Development?

Panel Session: How, if at all, should building design change in response to future terrorist attacks? Globally, who has the best practices in this regard? Has demand for high rise office or residential product fallen in response to 9/11? Is there evidence that 9/11 has or will spur further suburbanization of people and jobs? What should be best practice in terms of security for major office, retail, and residential owners? Have tenant demands changed in response to the new security environment?

Moderator:
Joseph Gyourko, Bucksbaum Professor of Real Estate, The Wharton School, U of Penn
Panelists:
Stuart Rothenberg, Partner, Goldman, Sachs & Company;
Witold Rybczynski, Director, Urban Design Program, Graduate School of Fine Arts, U of Penn;
John F. Timoney, CEO, Beau Dietl & Associates; former Commissioner, Phila. Police Dept.;
Richard F. Tomlinson, II, Partner, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP

Sphynx Cat
 

http://www.cfainc.org/breeds/profile...bob/sphynx.jpg

In 1966 a domestic cat gave birth to a
hairless kitten in Toronto, Canada.
It was discovered to be a natural mutation
and the Sphynx cat, as we know it today,
came into existence.

Just so ya know ... go T.O.

Four minutes left in the game tonight and two Leafs were in the Penalty Box.

Damn. Can the Leafs come back from being down 3-1 in the series?

1942 Toronto Maple Leafs 4, Detroit Red Wings 3

Can we do it twice in 60 years? I don't hafta like our chances.

For the Leafs, the golf season has begun.
 

Sorry Nic. :)

Nic...just remember...

World's largest biotech conference opens in Toronto
 

The hotels are full. The bars and restaurants are jammed with out-of-towners chattering about science and finance and all things BIO.

For the love of the game
 

Intercounty Baseball League

Unequivocally, this is the best game of baseball in T.O.

It is really enjoyable to rest on the summer grass
of Christie Pits in Toronto
behind 1st base under the cool shade of a big ol' oak.
on Wednesday evenings or Sunday afternoons
watching a decent game of baseball for free.
You can move around, sprawl out on the grass stands,
or grab a seat behind the chain link backstop.

And it is very good baseball. It's all about the game.

The home team, Toronto Maple Leafs (not the hockey team),
including a couple of former Blue Jays, is leading the league
with 16 wins 1 loss.

If you're in Toronto, check it out. It's the best game in town.

http://www.icbaseball.com/images/toronto.gif

http://www.pridetoronto.com/media/im...ideguide_s.gif

Pride Toronto let's it all hang out.

July 1st is Canada Day
 

http://www.canoe.ca/Jul1/canadaday205.jpg

So you want to be Canadian, eh?

by Tom Regan | csmonitor.com

Last week, the Monitor published the results of a most interesting survey. The survey asked the requisite number of Americans the following question: If you couldn't live in America, what country would you like to live in? The No. 1 country, garnering 28 percent of the vote, was my own home and native land, the Great White North, Canada.

Then, just a few days later, I heard the news that the US mint plans to issue color currency, starting with the $20 bill in the year 2003, in an effort to foil counterfeiters, who've got a lot better since the computer came along. Just like we've had in Canada for years.

I was inclined to believe mint officials' explanations, until I noticed that our travel section this week was about Canada. Hmm. On the one hand, it could all just be a coincidence. On the other hand, it could be the confirmation of something I've suspected for a long time – Americans nurture a deep wish in their hearts to become Canadians.

Now, that's OK, you don't need to pretend to be shocked. You're among fellow Canadaphiles here. While many Americans labor under the notion that being a Canadian is the same as being an American, I'm here to tell you that you are sadly mistaken. Being a Canadian is a truly unique experience.

And in the interest of helping the obvious millions of Americans who want to "cross over" the border and embrace the maple leave, figure skating and well, snow, I've decided to offer up a few tips, in no particular order, that will help make the transition much more enjoyable.

First, Americans have a strong sense of national identity. Americans know who they are, and they're not afraid of telling anybody. As a Canadian, you'll need to completely forget about these qualities.

Instead, you'll need to develop a deep sense of inferiority, while at the same time secretly thinking you're the greatest country on the planet. And you'll need to put aside large quanities of time to watch Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) documentaries about what the heck does it mean to be a Canadian anyway, and still not know the answer when you're finished watching.

Americans love to wave the flag. Canadians are kind of iffy on this one. Oh sure, we'll bring them out on Canada Day, every July 1, and when a Canadian team is playing for a gold medal in either hockey or curling. But the rest of time we tend to leave them folded up in the closet. Except when we wear them on our backpacks while travelling around the world so that no one will think we're American. And you'll need to mumble the words to the national anthem, because you can't remember them all. But you will know all the words to the "I am a Canadian" beverage commercial that was so popular a couple of years ago.

And speaking of hockey and curling, you'll develop an unnatural passion for anything that happens on ice. Especially hockey. You'll find it spine-tingling exciting to watch three hockey games a night during the Stanley Cup playoffs. And you'll learn the nuanced differences between an in-turn and and out-turn draw in curling, and be willing to spend countless hours debating why curling really is a sport and does belong in the Winter Olympics.

You must learn to think of the the majestic beaver, Canada's national symbol, as being way cooler than any eagle.

You will need to memorize the complete list of Canadian celebrities, so at the drop of a hat, you can reel off the names of famous Canadians who people might not know are Canadian. Such as Morley Safer, Monty Hall, Jim Carey, Neil Young, Pamela Anderson, Alex Trebek, and John Roberts, the CBS newscaster who used to be a video jockey in Canada, but can be a newscaster in the US.

Right now, most Americans think of England's Queen Elizabeth as kind of flaky, with a weird taste in strange hats, but an OK doll after all. Canadians think of her this way as well, but she is our Queen too, so we tend to keep it to ourselves, and act very excited when she or one of her innumerable brood come to visit every few months.

You'll have to forget the gun thing, OK? Canadians don't do the gun thing. And you will come to think of the United Nations as a really 'hot' organization, not the secret power behind the trilaterial commission. And don't forget, no more war. Canadians don't do war, we do 'peacekeeping.' Why? Because we invented it. D'uh. Excuse me, I mean, 'Beauty, eh.' And no more bad mouthing 'socialized medicine.'

And you'll have to say 'Eh' at the end of every sentence. And start every conversation with "So..."

Everytime somebody bumps into you, you'll need to say "Excuse me."

There's a lot more to learn, of course, but it will take time for you to absorb it all. So allow me to welcome you to the bosom of a great land, with the greeting that has echoed down the corridors of Canadian history.

How it goin', eh?

Re: July 1st is Canada Day
 

Suckers. ;)

Do you mean, "Canadians don't do war anymore"? :)

http://www.thestar.com/images/20020526_pope.jpg

Apparently the Pope is quite excited
about his visit to Toronto this week.

Caution. Penguins Crossing.
 

http://www.thestar.com/images/020725_nun_crossing.jpg

OK, this isn't Antarctica. It's Toronto in July.
Cute though. Much nicer than I remember in school.

World Youth Daze. ;) The world's largest congregation of
teenage girls away from their parents. Howdy, pilgrim.

I'm sure the Priests are watching over them and making sure they're OK.

No...they're keeping their eyes out for the guys.

(Damn Tony...you seem incredibly spiteful tonight. ;) )

It's a long weekend. People in the city ... it's hot hot hot.

We love American tourist dollars in Toronto! Thanks guys!

We love to bash Bill, but he does good.
 

http://us.news1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com...2281750600.jpg

Microsoft Chairman and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates talks to 10-year-old student Timothy Peters, of Toronto, before the Canadian National Institute of the Blind award ceremony, in Toronto, August 20, 2002.

Gates was awarded the Louis Braille Gold Medal (in background) in recognition of Microsoft Canada's commitment to advancing the rights and freedoms of people who are blind from around the world.

Peters, who is a client of the Institute, showed Gates the CNIB's Children's Discovery Portal that gives blind children equal access to information from anywhere in the world. REUTERS/Jeff Christensen

OK, that's enough being nice to Bill.
 

The world's richest bridge player, Bill Gates, rolled into Toronto this week to headline the much-touted CanWin conference. While innovation, education and other eye-glazing topics were the official agenda, fellow speaker Paul Tellier reportedly quipped about investments with the Microsoft mogul. "I hope you're not going to make any calls to your broker on the way out," joked Mr. Tellier, the chief boxcar keeper at CN Rail. Mr. Gates is CN's second-biggest stakeholder with 10.12 million shares or 5 per cent of the railway's entire float.

It was more of a Can'tWin for Mr. Gates earlier in the day. His big-screen demonstration of the .Net strategy of taking software to the Internet froze like exposed skin on a Winnipeg winter's morn. Every awkward attempt to fish data from the network failed -- complete with the cursed spinning hourglass and error message. It was pure geek tragedy for the thousand-plus restless tech heads who nervously slurped their filtered coffee as a stoic Mr. Gates did what any software billionaire would do: He blamed the Internet connection.

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
 

http://www.thestar.com/images/020825_tower.jpg

A piece of broadcasting history came down today.

The original CBC-TV tower at Jarvis and Carleton Sts. — the "Eiffel on Jarvis" as one newspaper dubbed it — was the site of the first Canadian television signals that went out over the airwaves nearly 50 years ago on Sept. 8, 1952.

Its demise began in 1976, when the CBC moved its signals to the CN Tower.

The 27th Toronto International Film Festival starts today.

Again this year there will be screenings, red carpet premieres and press conferences galore.

We'll be overrun with stars and starlets from September 5th to the 14th. For 10 days, the city will be wall to wall with tuxedos and tits. I live right downtown, so I'll have to be careful not to get run over by a limo.

Some of the 344 films being screened this year are really pushing the limits -- something we like to do here in the Cellar.

There's something of interest for everyone here, so drop by for a visit if you can.

Toronto Skyscrapers

You might be able to find your city's skyscrapers here.

I can't find my cousins silo there anywhere.

Okay...I didn't look at either link yet...I'm gonna try and guess as many as I can.

Starting at left:

1--TransAmerica Building, San Francisco
6--Sears Tower, Chicago
8--John Hancock Tower, Chicago
9--One Liberty Place, Philadelphia
12--CN Tower, Toronto
14--One World Trade Center, NYC
15--Two World Trade Center, NYC
16--Empire State Building, NYC
18--Mellon Bank Building, Philadelphia
19--Eiffel Tower, Paris
23--Building name unknown, Shanghai
28--Petronas Towers, Kuala Lumpur

Alright...that's all I can make out. Now let's see how many I got.

Okay, in looking at the page, I missed 9, 18, and 23 (the bottle opener looking building). Damn, One Liberty Place should have been on there though...it's 37th in the world...and it just looks spiffy. :)

No home depot
 

Toronto's secret ... the plight of the homeless.

We don't like to talk about it.

Super Man
 

http://www.stepuptochange.com/images/jeff1PB_E.jpg

Related Links

CN Tower

Step Up To Change

Nic, I'm sure that you and many Canadiens are ecstatic that Ron MacLean is returning to Hockey Night in Canada.

I must have that jacket.