The Cosmopolitan Blog

I have lived in Canada for nearly five years now, and in that time, I’ve seen THREE general elections. This is great, because it shows that the will of the people is alive and well (as opposed to other countries where too many elections is a symbol of instability). Why? Because the structure of the Canadian Government is simple, and it works. If, for some reason, it starts looking like it doesn’t work, then the people can question it, and another election is called.

Since i’ve been writing about American politics for so long, i figured, for those who read my blog, that i would force upon you a quick lesson on Canadian politics.

• 2 main parties: Conservatives and Liberals
• The leader of the winning party becomes Prime Minister (head of the Canadian government)
• There is no President, the official head of the country is the Queen of England, but She has no official power
• Anyone who wants to form a party can do so (for example, in Montreal there is the New Rhinoceros Party, a federal joke party that promised “not to keep any of its promises if elected”)

As a voter, you are part of an electoral region in your province (province = state for US readers), each region is small, never more than 10,000 people). You vote for any party available in your regions, and therefore for that party’s representative. The winner of each region (the one with the most votes) gets a seat in the House of Commons.

It’s that simple. You vote. The winning representative of your small area gets to go the Parliament and represent you. It’s as close to a “government of the people for the people” as one gets.

Since there are 308 regions in Canada, if a single party wins over 165 of them, they have a majority. If they win with less seats, they have a minority government, which means that the party with the second highest number of votes has a huge say in government, which, generally is seen as a good thing for Canadians: the leading party can’t enforce strong party bills and compromise is required. This is what happened today.

In 2006, Harper, the leader of the Conservatives, became the head of a minority government. A month ago, the liberals (the 2nd largest party) claimed “a loss of confidence” in the government (a way to keep the leading party on it’s toes) and called for general election. Today, Canadians voted well: they ensured that the minority government remained. 1 disappointment though: lowest turnout at the polling stations in Canadian History, only 59%, anything under 60% is considered poor turnout. Still, congrats Canada, you make it seem simple, and it should be.

I guess i believe in taking pride in what you do. And i realize that, for an actor, a commercial is probably not something that you’re super proud of. And yet still, sometimes, there’s a performance that just strikes you, because the actor really nails it.

See my post earlier about the commercial with the little girl who drinks her brother’s Cool Quencher, gives him those big eyes and says “I love you” so perfectly.

And then there’s this guy in this Honda commercial. When he says “But, does it come in blue” and the lines that follow are just priceless. How the “car salesman” kept a straight-face, i really don’t know.

As you know, i’m a strong supporter of Oprah. I think she’s a smart, independent woman who has risen from a very difficult start, to a very influential person in today’s world. Am i proud of her because she’s a woman? Sure, woman are very “patriotic” that way, we stand together because many, many women in our history have fought real hard to give us the standing we can enjoy in most of the Western world today. Seeing the situation of women in the Middle East and Africa makes this fact even more obvious. BUT, at the same time, i would respect anyone with a story like Oprah’s, somehow who started from an unprivileged background to become one of the most successful people in their field.

So why does everyone always come down so hard on Oprah? I’m sure she doesn’t need me defending her, but seriously, do we really enjoy criticizing people who do well? You ask some people, and all they know of Oprah is some chat show host you went through her whole life having weight issues. NEWSFLASH! We haven’t discussed Oprah’s weight issues for years now, instead, her politics, her thoughts, her books, her charities, her movies… all of these things have been a lot more in the forefront than her weight issues in the 90s. So don’t give me the “well that’s all people talk about”, no they don’t! It’s what you choose to remember.

Now, the poor woman makes a choice and stands by a political candidate, and she gets grief for too?For one, if she didn’t make a choice, she would be criticized for not having the guts to take a stand. So, in case some of you hadn’t noticed, Oprah is a black woman. Turns out, 1 democratic candidate is a woman, the other is black. So how illogical is it for women across the country to criticize her for supporting Barack Obama and being unfaithful to women? Um, hello? So if she supported Hillary, we’d criticize her for supporting a white candidate??? So, let me get this right. She doesn’t express her opinion, she gets shot down. She DOES express her opinion, she gets shot down… man, sux to be a prominent figurehead.

For one, i think she is an amazing role model. She teaches us not to follow her blindly, instead, she gives us the tools to empower yourselves, as women, as citizens of the world, as human beings. If you could put aside your sarcasm and opinionated mindset, you might find that you can relate to a few things that Oprah has to say. Don’t vote for Barack Obama because Oprah supports him. Don’t vote for Hillary because she’s a woman like you. For Pete’s sake, women voters! Do what you do best. Combine your logic and your intuition and LISTEN to both messages. Then find which one rings truer to your situation and your heart. Judge them not for their gender or the color of their skin, we’ve evolved, we’re smart human beings, we are better judges of character than that… and stop judging Oprah for her choices and weight issues.

I’ll stop preaching now…

The Lost Season 4 premiere is on TV tonight, and so, i’ve spent some time watching recaps online (no, not spoilers, recaps)! It’s interesting what you realize when you watch a summarized version of the show. For example, on youtube, there’s an 8-minute video that summarizes Seasons 1-3, it’s awesome for someone who has actually seen the show to remind you of certain events.

One thing that transpires is the dedication with which Ben has been trying, all this time to block the signal to the island. The 1st time the signal was released was during the crazy event when the hatch blew up after Desmond chose not to turn the key. So, for a few minutes, the island was visible to the outside world, and that’s why Season 2 ended with us seeing those scientists/researchers up North somewhere, and their board lights up pinpointing the location of the island.

The ext time is when Charlie releases the signal just before dying, and so now, it is possible for them to use Neomi’s phone. And when Ben sees that, he becomes terrified, like we’ve never seen him before. Let’s not forget, Ben was a child when his dad was working for the Dharma initiative, and somehow, i think, something he saw there made him want to eliminate everyone from the Dharma initiative (and they all ended up in that mass grave in which he threw Locke).

Seeing Ben by the tower, litterally begging Jack not to make that call, telling him that The Others are actually the good people (although, um, that was pushing it, we do remember what they did to the Losties, don’t we?). But think about it. Locke suddenly sees Walt standing over him in the grave, and Walt obviously lets him in on something really important, telling him there’s work to do, and hours later, he’s hunted his group down and is threatening them if they make that call.

And now we also see that, in the future, Jack is obviously regretting his decision to leave the island, and even left me with the impression that maybe not everyone got off? Confused. Anyway, my thoughts are that Ben is in the casket, and he died, and now Jack realizes that Ben was right all along and he should ahve listened to him. When the funeral director asked him “friend or family” and he said “Neither”, it can only mean that it was someone that he hated (otherwise, why else would he be so upset), but that someone, he felt compelled to go visit, someone who was maybe not liked by many people (no one showed up), someone who maybe doesn’t have any family (again, no one showing up)… um, hello? Can you say BEN?

anway, your thoughts on who is in the casket please. VOTE NOW on the poll on the right hand side of this blog.as

Well Lost is back tomorrow, finally, and seeing that everything else on tv is not even worth the effort of hitting the ON button on your remote control, i have really high hopes for this return. If for some reason, you haven’t started watching lost, or, like a few people i know, you’re one season behind because you’d rather watch the full season on DVD, well, then… tough luck… i’m gonna be discussing what’s going on, so if you don’t want to know, STOP READING NOW!

ok, well, i’d love to hear from you. What’s going on? Why is Jack so upset that they left the island? How quickly did you get that this was a flash forward and not a flashback? Who is in the coffin? Who is Neomi and who does she work for? Who did they get rescued by? Who is Jacob? What convinced Locke not to leave the island? Were you sad to see Charlie die? Where is Walt, how did he suddenly appear to Locke? And for the love of all that’s unholy, what is Ben’s problem??? He’s soooo creepy, with his little beady eyes…

I have to say, this story is reeeeally complicated, and i’m actually thankful for the refresher we saw today. Actually, i’m gonna put a poll up for Lost viewers… i want your opinions on who you think is in the coffin. If none of the options you want are in the poll, feel free to reply to this post.

Well, that’s it, i’m just excited and can’t wait for tomorrow, only thing is, i might just record it, because if it’s anything like today, there was a commercial break every 7 minutes!!! Cheers ABC! Can’t you just pay your writers and give them what they want, so that we can get quality tv back and you don’t feel you have to triple on the advertising you feed us?

My mom is french, so French is my mother tongue. But I grew up in London, so by the age of 4, i knew both languages, my parents had made sure of it. For many years after that, I was told how lucky I was to fluently speak 2 languages, and how it’s an advantage because it helps in a child’s development and in her abiliity to learn more languages more quickly later on in life. So do Montrealers know how lucky they are? By its very history and location, Montreal is a fully bilingual city.

For those of you who don’t know, Canada has 2 official languages, English and French. English is predominent in most of the provinces in the West, all the way to East to Ontario. Quebec province is mainly french, but, Montreal, even though it’s in Quebec, is also a few kms away from Ontario, so both languages are common.

Sure, the city has a french side and an english side, but you can speak either language in either side and you will be understood. What’s amazing (my friends in the States and in Toronto still don’t believe me on this one), is that you can live in Montreal very comfortably even if you only know one of the 2 languages. All shopowners, taxi and bus drivers, business owners, everyone is bilingual. All products, restaurant menus, official paperwork, everything is written in both languages. There are parts of NDG and Westmount (areas of Montreal), where you have to search to find the french speaker, and there are still areas in Old Montreal and in the East where a shop owner will answer you in french even if you spoke to him in English, for sure, but that’s not the norm.

So, seriously, do they know how lucky they are? I don’t think so. The fact that my friends who live 3 states away in Massachussets or even those who live in the same country (in Toronto, in the neighboring province!) don’t know this, to me, means that Montreal, in it’s advertising, reputation and history does not count this as an advantage, or something to brag about. Unfortunately, I feel that language is this city is always used as a political argument or weapon (long story, i won’t get into the politics in this post), it’s always like a competition, it’s always a cause for controversy (such as deciding which school you can go to depending on the main language of your parents or where you were born).

Somehow, in Montreal, you’re constantly having to pick sides, you’re either an Anglophone or a Francophone… WHY??? I mean, sure, assert your identity and claim your preferred method of communication. Absolutely. But once you’re done with that, be proud of living in a city where there is a 2nd important language, embrace your differences!

Did no one every explain to you that 1+1=2 (and even sometimes 3: the concept of synergy, that together 2 things can have a greater effect that if they were separate, i.e. where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts)?

I don’t care how separatist you feel, surely no one can deny that having 2 languages (and thus 2 cultures) is a benefit. No, it doesn’t not mean that one will swallow the other, if you play it smart, if you value each other, your differences and your similarities. It was a benefit to me to learn 2 languages as a child, it’s a benefit today still to have Montrealer kids learn both languages, it’s a skill that will help them in their lives later on. Learning to live with someone who doesn’t speak the same language, that doesn’t have the same culture, learning this without having to leave your own city, that is priceless.

So, Montrealers, do you know how good you have it????

Part of the cosmopolitanism philosophy is the acceptance that no nation, culture or political model is better than another, that there are pros and cons for each, but that they each have a reason for existence. After all, each culture, nation and regime exists because it grew from a need for this ideology. If no one agreed with it, no one would adhere to it. There aren’t enough people in this world that can be mass-coerced to adhere. So should we be looking at the tribal way of life in countries like Afghanistan and Iraq (I mention them because they’re on our daily news, so I figure everyone knows where these countries are) and feel sorry for their backward way of life? I’m not sure.

Don’t get me wrong, I think the world is a better place without Saddam Hussein. I think that the tyrant deserved to be held accountable for his crimes. Should we show social responsibility by sticking around once we remove a dictator to ensure that the country will fall back on its feet? Possibly. But the very least we owe the citizens of that country is to see the world through their eyes. How did they get to this point? What motivated them to remain / accept this regime? Are you telling me that 25K+ Iraqi citizens have been sitting there praying for the brave westerners to rescue them? Really? Convince me, I dare you!

But we’re there now. So let’s see the world through their eyes for one moment. Can we honestly claim that democracy is a better regime that the country should aspire to establish? Why? Because it allows individuals to have their own rights and create their own wealth? Sure, that sounds like a good reason, and apparently, in the West, we believe it is, that’s why most western countries have adopted it. But why would be so arrogant as to believe that it will work best all over the world? Why do we think we’re doing other countries a favor by encouraging democracy?

It’s like criticizing woman in Islamic societies for wearing the hijab. Have you tried speaking to one of them and suggesting that they should be independant and non-submissive? Good luck with that! Yes, there will be a large number of them who will allow themselves to dream for a couple of seconds, and imaging the independant life they could be living, with their own goals and careers. And then they will submissively resign themselves to the current state of things. But! But, there’s a huge number of them will defend their choice and their way of life. They respect it and want it that way… It’s the way they’ve been brought out, to take care of the house and the family, and to think of the community before they think of their individual desires… And this is less noble than a career-minded western woman because….?????

I’m struggling to understand all of this… I should probably not think of the state of the world at 2am… *sigh*