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Well, Jesse related his personal experience and you related yours and I have no reason to question either yours or his. My experience is closer to Jesse's - the only person I know who has ever expressed an interest in moving to the US is my nephew - and he was heady with the freedom of having graduated with a degree in pharmacy at the time and that headiness has since expressed itself as an interest in spending some time in Australia. And I certainly don't see someone wanting to move to another country as some kind of betrayal.
For the record - mine is closer to yours and Jesse's as well
I think the media are really, really frustrated with the Conservatives. The lack of access, the run around , the vetted questions etc, that I'm surprised more of them don't lose it.
Again, today on a radio show about pipelines, they had the NDP, Liberal and Green party candidates. No Conservative. His office said he was busy. They offered to do a pre-taped piece on his opinion of the Kinder Morgan pipeline in Burnaby. No, wouldn't do that either. No access, once again.
Even the voters don't have access. You can count on one hand how many Con candidates have shown up at all candidates meetings.
For me, it simply thumbing your nose at our democratic process, which INCLUDES communication through the press and being able to stand there and take questions from the people who put you power.
If it's any consolation I think a lot of us conservatives of convenience feel the same way. I'm not "staunch" and have voted for both alternatives in the past but this time voting for an arrogant micro-manager is really getting my panties in a bunch.
Interesting you say that...as an immigrant, I did choose Canada because of Canada not as substitute for the US (but I admit I did not know much about Canada back then, it was more the "idea" of Canada)....at that time my choices were either Canada or Australia, the US never entered the picture.
After few years I moved to the US for family reason (I got married) and I quickly understood why an immigrant would choose the US over Canada.....not that Canada is bad but.....
No country is going to prove desirable to every human being.. Why is that, because every human being is different, has different desires, values, preferences etc... Its fine that you state your preference is for the U.S and that is a fair comment for you to make for yourself but yourself only. Its the same within two countries as large as Canada and the U.S, there are people in each who would prefer living in parts of both more than other parts of both.
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Originally Posted by botticelli
fail to see how this is "back to the prices". One meal on the roadside proves what?
Its been my experience too though.. I've stopped at roadside restaurants/diners in the U.S and I didn't find much of a difference either.. What Greg is saying is just in support of what some others are saying in here and that is in terms of food prices they aren't really noticing an earth shattering difference.
If it's any consolation I think a lot of us conservatives of convenience feel the same way. I'm not "staunch" and have voted for both alternatives in the past but this time voting for an arrogant micro-manager is really getting my panties in a bunch.
I just think that in a open democracy, you should play by, well if not rules, the tradition of being accountable, approachable, and engaged with your constituents, ESPECIALLY during an election.
I think they will pay a price for this. Their silence is deafening.
You are correct I'd say. Canadian cities today aren't really strikingly cleaner than American cities (except for specific ghetto areas of course).
It was more of a truism in the 80s if I recall. (This was the time when I started travelling to the U.S. more.)
I do recall Americans frequently making comments about it. Particularly about Toronto. (I was working in tourism in Ontario at the time.)
I think that two things have changed since then.
First of all, Canadian cities have become less prim and proper since then IMO. It's most striking to me in Ontario. Quebec was always a bit grottier than Ontario but has remained about the same. Not that Ontario cities are dumps (far from it) but it's obvious there has been less public investments in upkeep in the past couple of decades.
Also, American cities have greatly improved during this time. Many truly were dumps in the 70s and 80s and into the 90s. Not all of them have turned the corner, but in the vast majority there is a very noticeable improvement.
I was too young in the 80's to travel to the U.S but i'll digress to your experience and it does make sense. I remember people used to say NYC was a lot trashier if you will back then but after a few Mayors since (Guiliani, Bloomberg etc) its really 'cleaned' up.. Some say more of the interesting aspects of the city were also 'cleaned' up too and it doesn't have quite the same character.. I'm not really sure, just things I've heard.
Otherwise I would agree with you.. In T.O's case and in particular Old Toronto- aside from condo development the gritty flesh and bones are still there.. Lots of homes that could use some upkeep (some that are truly beautiful but just need some TLC) but not exactly a super clean and well kept up place as much as it could be.. Lots of graffiti and just areas that could use some sprucing. I'm not complaining too much, I kind of like these areas.. I'm not thrilled with places like Hooker Harveys or Homewood ave where the Tranny's are walking up and down it wearing the sidewalks out with their high heals looking for a rendezvous, but well - a city with just condo's and burbs and boring clone people wouldn't exactly stir the soul either lol.
I was too young in the 80's to travel to the U.S but i'll digress to your experience and it does make sense. I remember people used to say NYC was a lot trashier if you will back then but after a few Mayors since (Guiliani, Bloomberg etc) its really 'cleaned' up.. Some say more of the interesting aspects of the city were also 'cleaned' up too and it doesn't have quite the same character.. I'm not really sure, just things I've heard.
Otherwise I would agree with you.. In T.O's case and in particular Old Toronto- aside from condo development the gritty flesh and bones are still there.. Lots of homes that could use some upkeep (some that are truly beautiful but just need some TLC) but not exactly a super clean and well kept up place as much as it could be.. Lots of graffiti and just areas that could use some sprucing. I'm not complaining too much, I kind of like these areas.. I'm not thrilled with places like Hooker Harveys or Homewood ave where the Tranny's are walking up and down it wearing the sidewalks out with their high heals looking for a rendezvous, but well - a city with just condo's and burbs and boring clone people wouldn't exactly stir the soul either lol.
From what my fading memory tells me, the statement about US cities being dirtier back then was true....depending what part of town you were in.
It's also true, that Canadian cities don't seem as " sparkling " clean as they used to be. People may laugh, but I remember some UK friends visiting Vancouver in the early 1990's commenting on how clean it was. My response was " not that clean, look at the paper by the curb ". They though I was nuts. One piece of paper. However it stood out back then. Today....not so much, even though Vancouver is still a clean city....except for a few blocks of the Downtown Eastside.
What was different, and still is to an extent, is that in some US cities it's the no go areas that we saw in the media that gave the impression that US cities were dirty. Also the " white flight " from their centres made their downtowns look rougher.
I remember NYC in 1992 when Times Square was pretty down and full of Porn Houses and the like. It scared me.
Now? It's freakin' Disneyland.
Since then a lot of US cities have picked up their game. Old Pasadena is charming. South Pasadena is as spotless as Singapore ( I haven't been to Singapore, but you get my point LOL )
Now San Francisco...yes it's not as nice as it used to be. It's transit doesn't feel clean, a stark contrast to transit in Vancouver and Toronto.
You guys are kidding yourselves if you think you beat me to this. The reporter is based in New York and has been working there since 2005. Der Spiegel didn't fly him from Berlin or Munich just to report a possible snowstorm, something CTV did.
I have to say that despite the comments to the contrary (the French, the Swiss, the Germans, the British do it too!), the attention to American news by the private networks in English Canada is on a whole other level. It's basically treated like domestic news.
I have access here at home to a French all news channel, a British all news channel, Euronews, plus the nightly national news broadcasts from France, Belgium and Switzerland. I also have Latin American news channels. Mentions of the U.S. do happen, but it's not a routine everyday thing unless there is something big going on stateside like the wind-up to a presidential election.
In all honesty, Canada doesn't have that many headline-grabbing news stories to begin with. It's a more peaceful country with a tiny population. The media is just that, they are out there trying to make money and generate viewership, so they'll go wherever in order to achieve that objective.
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I think it's mostly just corporate laziness. Often you'll, say, have a big storm that comes up the east coast of North America that hits the NE US and the Maritimes. On CTV or Global you'll get a report from an American network on the storm in the NE US, and after that the anchor in Toronto will come back on and make a passing mention of the storm's impact in the Maritimes, often with no report and no visuals. It should actually be the other way around.
I have to say that despite the comments to the contrary (the French, the Swiss, the Germans, the British do it too!), the attention to American news by the private networks in English Canada is on a whole other level. It's basically treated like domestic news.
I have access here at home to a French all news channel, a British all news channel, Euronews, plus the nightly national news broadcasts from France, Belgium and Switzerland. I also have Latin American news channels. Mentions of the U.S. do happen, but it's not a routine everyday thing unless there is something big going on stateside like the wind-up to a presidential election.
CTV and Global are horrible. I don't watch either anymore, got rid of cable. Sky News from the UK has about 40 percent US news, if not more some days..also a horrible news agency.
I get my news from the CBC, bits from BBC and online sources.
The downfall of English language newscasts in Canada started about 10 years ago or less...when they started to treat the news as entertainment.
This is why the CBC is so important. We will have no one left to tell our stories if they go. Harper will be happy.
I have to say that despite the comments to the contrary (the French, the Swiss, the Germans, the British do it too!), the attention to American news by the private networks in English Canada is on a whole other level. It's basically treated like domestic news.
That does not mean anything...the Seattle Times treat news happening in BC as local news....
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