Sholay

Likely the most famous Bollywood movie scene and dialogue ever. From the legendary film Sholay, a Kurosawa Seven Samurai remake. This scene is with the late Amjad Khan, one of the greatest Bollywood actors of all time. No subtitles. I should be studying.

The Political Insanity We Find Ourselves In

In times as ridiculous as these, often it is the jester that makes the most sense.

We Made Conan

I'm pretty sure that "Gretzky" goes to my gym.

And This Story Gets Even Better...

After facing criticism for:

- Scrapping Alberta's nine regional health boards and establishing one central health board.

- Selecting individuals with only business and law experience - not health care experience - to sit on this new health board (Ms. Bougie, it wouldn't make sense to have a health care board full with health care experts, just like it wouldn't make sense to have a health care board with no health care experts).

- Publicly naming applicants who were rejected (who happened to have health care experience and had been critical of the PC government).

Ron Liepert, Alberta's beloved Health Minister, is being accused of patronage and corruption, after it was revealed that the firm (Boyden Global Executive Search) responsible for selecting the 15 members to sit on Alberta's new, centralized health board was owned by his campaign manager, Brent Shervey.

Ed Stelmach's "governing with integrity and transparency" priority takes another hit.

Ouch.

An Imperfect Journey

Sahil and his imperfect journey.

Lead Researcher: Carbon Capture and Storage Won't Work in Alberta

Rational people shouldn't focus on reducing emissions in the oilsands through carbon capture and storage.
- David Keith, professor of petroleum and chemical engineering at the University of Calgary, 2006 Canadian Environmental Scientist of the Year, and lead scientist on the Canadian & Albertan joint task force on carbon capture and storage.

(h/t: AGRODT, daveberta)

We Had the Biggest Economic Boom in Canadian History, and All I Got Was...

The BOOM is over.

Not like it wasn't expected, or anything. Alberta has experienced times like this before:

high energy prices --> huge profits and investments --> energy prices drop --> shit goes bad

What makes things ironic (and if you are Albertan like me, extremely painful) this time is that we knew that this was going to happen and we did nothing to prepare for it. The last major bust happened only thirty years ago and with the amount of hate Pierre Trudeau and the NEP still get in this province, it is clear that the memories of that era are still present.

The 1980s Bust taught us some important lessons: control public spending, diversify the economy, and save money. Yet, in spite of the fact that the party that was in charge during the 1980s Bust is still in power today, these lessons were not implemented as spending is at record levels, the Alberta economy is still predominately a one-trick-oil-and-gas-pony, and the Heritage Savings Trust Fund sits at a measly 15.8 billion dollars (to put that in perspective, 41% of the total Alberta 2008/09 Budget).

Former Premier Ralph Klein deserves a substantial amount of the blame here, but so to does current Premier Ed Stelmach. Stelmach was part of a clique (the Deep Six) that pushed Klein to put in place the policies that have put us in the position we are today. Furthermore, over the two years that Stelmach has been in power he has ignored recommendations from numerous organizations, ranging from the Canadian Tax Payers Federation to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), to bring down spending, diversify the economy and most importantly, save money.

If you’ve been following me, you know that Alberta’s lack of savings really bothers me. In 1976, following Norway's lead, Alberta set up a fund that would save and invest money generated from its oil royalties. The intent was to save the money generated from boom times, to help during the bust times, and to allow for the diversification of Alberta’s export driven economy. However, while Norway has saved, invested and amassed a current fund value of nearly 2 trillion dollars, Alberta has neglected and spent its fund.

I can’t help but imagine where this province would be if we even saved a quarter of the amount that Norway did: created an Albertan pension fund to help ease the baby boomer debt burden that future generations will face; provided universal Health Care and K-Post Graduate Education; diversified Alberta’s economy; lifted Alberta out of its boom/bust existence, etc. But alas, we did nothing, and today we are screwed (admittedly not 1980s screwed – yet – but still, we’ll face some tough times in the future).

However, this is the perfect time for Albertans to do some soul searching. We were given a tremendous opportunity and have effectively squandered it due to a lack of vision. What legitimacy does the Progressive Conservative Party have within this province when they have failed to adequately manage two huge economic booms? How do we make sure this does not happen again? Were the sacrifices made (environment, education, Fort Chipewyan) worth it in the end?

I think we will be having this discussion over the forthcoming months.

Child Poverty in Edmonton

1 in 6 children in Edmonton live in poverty.

Do something about it.

An Example of How Liepart Has Become My Favourite PC Minister

CBC News: "Cabinet minister crossed the line: failed health board candidate"

All I got to say is, what was Liepart’s criteria are for choosing a 'good' health board candidate.

It is definitely not public health care experience (something Eggen has with his role as executive director of Friends of Medicare), as the current board is stacked with lawyers and business people with no or minimal health care experience.

I’d wager that the Alberta Health Care Board application form would look something like this:

Look's a lot like the Alberta DRO and RO application forms.

I Stand With Fort Chipewyan

Add this banner to your blog if you believe that the people of Fort Chipewyan deserve justice. If ignorant on the issue, read up about it here.

The West Wants In... to the Liberal Party of Canada

I'm still undecided on whom to support in the Federal Liberal Leadership Campaign. To me, the key issue that the next leader must address is increasing the party's competitiveness in Western Canada. So, in an attempt to find out where the candidates (Ignatieff, Rae, LeBlanc) stand on this issue, I will email them the following message and post their responses. Stay tuned, as this discussion is vital to the party’s future.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear ______,

My name is Avnish Nanda and I am a member of the Liberal Party of Canada. I plan to run as a delegate in the next Liberal Leadership Convention, but I am currently undecided on whom to support. My main concern with the party is its irrelevance in Western Canada.

I live in Alberta, a province where the Liberal Party is a non-factor. Although former leaders and party executives have discussed the need to reverse this and make the party competitive in the region, not much has transpired.

This is troubling to me in two ways. First, the economic and political power within this country has migrated to the West, yet the party has not. The Liberal Party abandonment of Western Canada not only hurts the party in terms of giving the Conservatives a solid political and financial base, but by failing to represent and include the voices of Western Canada, we are effectively shutting out the region that is effectively shaping the future of this country.

Secondly, the party’s Western Canadian members have been taken for granted for far too long. There is an old cliché that Western Liberals are true Liberals because despite the abuse and unlikeliest of success, they still remain active and determined to support the party. I could not agree more with this statement. Western Liberals have shown their dedication to this party, and its time the party returns the favour by investing time and resources in the region. The party owes it to them.

So, if elected leader, what specific, concrete measures would you put in place to make the Liberal Party competitive in Western Canada. I stress that your answer should be as specific as possible.

All the Best,

Avnish Nanda

A Homeboy Gots Yo Back Pierre

Glen over at "Pierre Trudeau is My Homeboy" has taken personal offense (for obvious reasons) to the slanderous (and head-scratchingly-illogical) comments made by Premier Ed Stelmach last week regarding Pierre Trudeau. Ed said that Trudeau and the NEP were responsible for Alberta's current financial troubles, rather than issues related to the global economy. Glen has launched a petition to get Justin Trudeau to sue the Premier for libel.

Give him a hand!

In Order to Win My Support for the Leadership...

... expand on this point:

"I understand that we have to set the table and we have to show the respect for Albertans that sometimes seems to be lacking. I say that not defensively at all – I don’t believe there’s anything inherently about the Liberal Party that can’t do this but it does require an attitude shift. We then make some concrete actions about how we compose ourselves, where the leader spends his time, what we do in terms of policy and how we spend our time on the ground – I think that’s how we get back. There’s no other way to lift the yolk – it’s like carrying a 180 pound person on your back when you go door to door; It’s been a generation now and it’s time for the country’s sake to have that lifted.It’s also good for Liberals. We can’t spot the Conservatives 100 seats every time we go into an election. The dynamics of the country have changed and we need to change to."

- Gerard Kennedy in an interview with Calgary Grit (Nov. 20, 2006)

Keith Olbermann's View on Gay Rights

There is a lot of truth here...


(h/t Zain Velji via facebook)

The Greatest Political Attack Ad EVER

Wow.

I think the lesson here is if you aspire for public office, don't get caught on film beating people up.

YES+ at the University of Alberta

This summer, I took the Art of Living YES+ (Youth Empowerment Seminar) course at the University of Alberta. The course is designed to teach youth (18-30) important life skills, such as time management, planning, communication, cooperation, and a host of other leadership skills. In addition to this, the course teaches a unique yoga and meditation method that is designed to help ease stress.

Initially, I was hesitant of paying the $300 course fee - “Yoga and Youth Empowerment” – it sounded like a scam. But I ended up taking the course on the advice of a friend, and it was a great decision – the benefits I received far exceeded the $300 I paid to take the course.

The course provided me with a new experience and perspective that I have never encountered before in my life. It pushed me to my mental and physical limits, and showed me my strengths, limitations and what I need to do to reach my potential. It’s difficult to fully articulate the experience and lessons I learned from the course, but nonetheless, I strongly recommend it to everyone because I can assure you that it will positively affect your life in a way that you cannot imagine.

Check out the Art of Living Alberta website or contact Sim Janjua or Mark Fry for further details.

Throw Some D's in that Bitch...

... is the sentiment that American's expressed today by conferring upon the Democrats huge victories. Although they didn't get their 60 seat threshold in the Senate, it was a huge night for the Democrats as they have an increased majority in the Senate, the House and won the Presidency.

Also, on a personal note, Barack Obama's victory demonstrates to me that anything is possible. Hell, Montana voting for Obama exemplifies that point (hopefully that progressive vote will spill over into Alberta).

And in case you don't get the "Throw Some D's in that Bitch" reference, check the following video.

Warning: It May Offend You.

Mundo Latino

I wanna big up Mundo Latino, an Edmonton based Urban Latino Radio show that airs every Saturday night on 101.7 World FM. Not only do they play some bumpin music - Reggaeton and Latin Hip Hop - but they also expose Edmonton's unique, exciting and growing Latino community.

Be sure to check them out Saturday night's from 9 p.m. to midnight on 101.7 World FM on your F.M dial. Also, check out the facebook group.