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Amongst some of my friends I'm known to hate Corporations (aka. "The Man"), an assumption that is very far from the truth. Corporations are not fundamentally evil by any standards: they exist to provide us with valuable goods and services, build equity for shareholders and employ people. All of these are great things. However, the downfall of corporations is that they are not hardwired to look at the big picture of overall stability, well-being and efficiency of nations. Racing after the elusive consumer dollar has led to these unfortunate realities such as pollution, sweatshops, obscene levels of ads and unfair political sanctions against small countries.

I agree with this article that the current situation of corporate regulation is not working. Business' are much better with pursuing innovation (and money) than doing things by the book:

We, like Sisyphus, are caught forever pushing the damn rock up the hill and that really sucks. When we finally decide to get out of this losing situation, we will work on changing the economic logic so that corporations pursue a different kind of profit while better respecting natural capital.

In response to this article

This is an awesome article detailing the falsity that Hi-rises are bad for the environment. Just the opposite is true: Urban sprawl leads to more driving, more highways, more resource use and higher house prices to boot. As you will find with this article and the others is that I am a bit of a pragmatic progressive. In my heart of hearts I know that I am a big, greedy capitalist. However, in most cases I think that progressive solutions to core issues saves money and resources in the long term which increases wealth and productivity for all. I liked this point in particular:

Not only are worse commutes bad for their own sake, but also bad for the economy and for family life. Longer times behind the wheel mean billions of man-hours in lost economic output, as well as lost time spent with family or doing other activities.

Prime Minister Harper. Harper, PM, Canada's leader, Steven Harper. Steven Harper, leader of government…

This is going to take a while to get used to - the TV news just wont be the same. I can barely remember the days when Canada did not have a Liberal government. I was 10 during the years of Kim Campbell and you can bet that I didn’t understand or care who was in power. How things change!

While any friend of mine knows full well how much I dislike Harper and the Conservatives, I am actually quite happy with the results. Harper ran a great campaign against the tired old horse of Paul Martin; 13 years in power, 4 election wins in a row and scandals to boot. If there was any reasonable option for change, the party should have won a landslide victory last night, yet the Liberals still have over 100 seats, a strong minority.

The election is two weeks away, so I think that it is time to start spouting off my viewpoints, as I've been following everything daily. As I'm sure you've gathered from the title of the post, I do plan to vote Liberal. Yes, you read that right Liberal!

Most of you know that I lean left, so why not vote for the NDP? While their social and environmental policies are indeed the best out of an party running and represent my viewpoints ideologically, I can't help but think they wouldn't be the best party to govern the country.

While I am socially progressive, I am actually a conservative fiscally. I do not believe in gutting the social support system in Canada or lessening income re-distribution (just the opposite!). I do however believe in sound fiscal management, starting with running predictable surplus budgets. The excess money that is gained from lower interest payments and a healthy economy should then be poured back into Canada's social system, which will then continue to help our country fiscally.

I think this place needs a little lightening up. I think that photo says it all! Check out the site!

"MORE AND BETTER AID. TRADE JUSTICE. CANCEL THE DEBT. END CHILD POVERTY IN CANADA."

It is pretty simple in my mind. Watching Live 8 today, I think that basically everything that can be said on the topic has been is already said. Check Technorati if you don't believe me on that one!

I'm guessing that everyone who happens to read this has already signed onto the Live 8 campain. However, if you haven't already, go and voice your support on the Live 8 and Make Povery History websites and with everyone that you know and meet. I like Manifestos, so below is Make Poverty History Canada's take on the situation: