Boudrias

I won't argue your numbers but my concern would be the impact on campaigning when parties fund media campaigns to influence voters. Grassroots are not important anymore. I was involved with the CPC up until the Harper 2nd term. At that point the messaging became top down and the constituency was not strong enough to fight it. Harper used his residual goodwill to narrowing the messaging to the PMO and cabinet. Media was using any outburst by a CPC member to hurt the party. It was incumbent of the CPC to develop an effective communication with members but they never did. To my knowledge the Liberals and NDP have done the same. Top down with limited grassroots input. I guess the surveys and polls are what pass as grassroots input. I don't like it no matter what party does it.

Even prior to the new American aid package the AFU have been attacking Crimea on a constant basis. Now with the aid in place they seem to be adding to it. It makes me wonder if the next offensive comes from the south, Kherson? If Ukraine could retake Crimea it would change the strategic positioning of Russia.

World economies have been fighting the deflationary trend resulting for demographics for some time. Few politicians ever attempt to warn people. To a degree perhaps confirming the reality that much of their spending and forecasts are based on an ever increasing GDP to pay for their spending. Reality is GDP is flatlining and inflation is likely 3.5% or higher. How will Canada deal with a massive debt problem at all levels of government and with consumers. It does not take a genius to understand there is a problem when I drive down my mainstreet on the Friday of a long weekend and it is largely empty. I get written off on these pages for my concern over debt but it is real and is increasing. When will people realize that inflation is a indirect tax on their standard of living? FOrgot to add that AI is seen as a possible counter to lost productivity. It might help Canada.

Canucks in the Final Four playing Dallas. Let's hope so. Watching the Stars last night I started to wonder if the old dogs on that team were running out of gas? Their young players are scary good.

I like Gadzic. He has been on Kipper & Borne quite a bit and is even handed. Jen toes the SN line pretty hard. Has been a Oiler fan from the get go. Freidman is such a BS'er that I have trouble listening to him. Never played the game and has a insider shtick that sells. KB3 couldn't stand the guy when he started but has got the word to ease up. Bieksa revs up the panel as a more nuanced version of Don Cherry. Quite frankly I PVR the games and often fast forward between periods. They lost me when MacLean used his seat to try an kill Burrows career and then throw Cherry under the bus. Can you imagine Cherry and Bieksa chewing the game over. It would be classic stuff. Nothing classy or classic for what we get now. Seriously Eliot Freidman and Jen Botterill? Even the TSN and ESPN panels have better.

One of the Preds games was a very solid Canuck effort. Can't remember which one. That said the Thursday game was a standout at both ends of the ice. Every Canuck was committed and showed it on the ice. I am still somewhat shocked at the Oiler lineup that did not make much of an effort to establish a physical game. Critical Game 5 and their effort was questionable. First goal is more important to the Oilers than the Canucks. If they put Skinner back in and the Canucks score early it will be a tough sled for the Oilers. My son is an Oilers fan back to Gretzky and he is beside himself. Says he will cheer for the Nucks if they win. It was that or no X-Mass dinner for him. Canuck fans have long memories.

Cole was gassed on one of the Oiler goals. If they sit him out for Game #6 Juulsen can come in. I like Cole's experience. Both of them will play in the 3rd Round and giving Juulsen some TOI will pay off over the long run. What amazes me is how few hits the Oilers completed last night. Yes, sometimes the puck doesn't go in and the Oilers have experienced that. If the offense isn't producing a team has to play the physical game. They knew how important that game was and did not step up. It strikes me that there are divisions in that roster that the public doesn't know about. When you compare the Canuck bottom 6 against the Oiler bottom 6 there is a serious gap in quality and effort. I think the Oilers are being out coached even tho I like their new coach over the one they fired. The Bouchard bungle and PDG resulting goal was a back breaker. Soucy's wrister off the point might have been screened but there were 2 Oiler d-men standing in front of the net. Miller's goal was classic Canuck's. Lindstrom off the half wall, Petey deflecting and Miller putting it in. Oilers might question some of these goals but that ignores all the serious good looks the Canucks didn't score on. If the Canucks score first on Saturday it could be a Canuck blowout in the making. IMHO Tocchet goes with the same lineup other than Juulsen coming in for Cole.

Not that I disagree with you, it is a lost decade IMHO. My disappointment with the CPC is not making hard numbers on the nations economic performance more of a measure that people could see. It might require some education but repeated use would refine the process. If the CPC is to be the party of fiscal responsibility then they should be fleshing this out.

My son planted trees during university. Incredibly hard work but he was good at it and made good money.

Full credit to the players but Tocchet has been equally good. Shuffles the lineup and it pays off. Look at the TOI spread. Another shocker is to see how little physical play came from the Oiler roster. Canucks out muscled them plain and simple. Two ways to win a game, muscle and finesse, Canucks did both. Cap off to the fans. The Petey chant was classy and the JT Miller chant a salute to the leader of this playoff. No disrespect to Huggy.

JT Miller is leading this team to the 3rd round. One huge game after another.

I didn't know that Lui was in the arena last night?

Maybe his girlfriend left him.

If that was the case why would Toccett be calling Petey out?

I am reading more about Ukrainian morale hitting new lows, both civilian and military. This might be a reaction to poor international support over the past 4 months. AFU now taking prisoners into the military as over 500,000 Ukrainian men are avoiding military service. I suspect there could be some Russian agents feeding the negative news. If the AFU can counterattack in Donetz with success it will counter Russian successes to date.

Put him on a 3rd line but still give him PP time. Take the pressure off and have him play 15 - 17 minutes. I agree with you that we won't know what is going on till after playoffs. Funny how his contract generates a lot of negative comment when fans could look at Hronek's playoffs and wonder why his game has fallen off.

Put Petey on a reconstituted 3rd line. Perhaps Hogs-Petey-Karlsson. Cut his TOI back except for the PP. We have to think that the Sedins are talking to him. Reduce the expectation somewhat and maybe he can rebuild from there.

I like his speed and his basic defense but sitting for a game has to be an option. Petey has set him up a number of times and he cannot score. I would put Hogs back in and keep Karlsson on the line. Joshua-Lindholm-Corolla play 2nd line TOI. Some fans have been calling for Juulsen as a winger which I didn't like but now warming up to the idea. Maybe his foot speed is slower but he is a smart player who plays a defensive game with physicality.

Juulsen hasn't played in weeks. He will play the right side behind Hronek and Meyers. Is Meyers nursing an injury? My point being is that the Oilers will likely target Juulsen's side. Media is roasting the Oiler bottom 6 so they will come out hitting. Juulsen should not be head hunting but just play his strong d-side game. He is good in front of the net but the Oilers like to dance around so it will be tough. On the bright side if the Oiler bottom six go physical the Canucks might get lots of PP time. Canuck PP has looked very strong.

Friedman couldn't wait to call out the Soucy crosscheck with no mention of the McDavid slash on SN650. He is so full of BS I have no idea how KB3 can sit through it. Even if Soucy only gets 1 game it is to much. If it costs Van a game it could cost them the series. It was McDavid who instigated the whole incident. The game as a whole was well reffed. Was Soucy supposed to let McDavid slash him 2X before he retaliated? Lets be clear going into #4.

AFter the missed call on the McDavid high stick on Hughes I didn't think any discipline would amount to much on the crosscheck by Zad. It would not have been missed that McDavid started the whole business with a slash. Besides that he was on his feet quickly. Boeser, Suter, Miller and Lindholm had outstanding games. Honorable mention to Aman and Karlsson. The fact that they were on the ice late in the 3rd speaks volumes about their play and the type of coach Tocchet is. How the TOI was spread was great as well. Oddity: I had to smile as the game progressed and the talking pinheads adjusted their take on the Canucks. Almost a universal take goin into the series that the Oilers would make quick work of the Canucks. For many this is a desperate attempt to stay relevant in the media world. Now they are jumping ship to give Arty full credit for the 2 - 1 Canuck lead. Yes, Arty is a fun story but again, he is not the sole reason for the lead. But to have some fun I could not help having Dominator Hasek vibes as the game went on last night. Arty was all over the crease and his reach back to pull the sure goal out was classic Hasek.

Thanks for this.

I think Canada is already a world leader in drone tech, both, military and civil. Military tactics have been upended by drone warfare in Ukraine. Much equipment will be outdated.

I don't know how we can make that happen? It is almost like there is a thought process that we will have years to upgrade our military as it was prior to WW2. If nothing else the war in Ukraine should be a serious wake up call. Many European countries are now hitting and even exceeding their 2% spending.

You are so anxious to defend the Liberals that you won't even acknowledge the serious national security issue posed by an extremely weak Canadian military. Whether it is Leslie or any number of military people and CSIS the concern is widespread. The standard refrain is that this situation predated Trudeau and it did. That said this administration has had over 8 years to make a difference and has not. I don't understand the thinking. At one point Anan was told to cut $1 billion from the current military budget and a few weeks later there is a news article of a $4 billion military spend. A nice thought of where we might be in 10 - 20 years but Canada is currently at 1.22% of GDP. As a Canadian I am not comfortable with this. The country's security should be a apolitical exercise in securing our self defense. If the CPC forms government I am not sure if they will be any better. Politically parties have been more willing to buy votes and military sending doesn't sell well. It is a serious weakness in the Canadian public's view of the world. There is a willingness to have Big Daddy down south take care of our security. A country that hands off this vital aspect of national identity allows others to make decisions on our behalf. It is happening already. We know that American interest in Canada is qualified.