Campaign continues... Weekend coverage
Well it would appear that after all the media blathering about campaign missteps and war-room mis-behaviour this week, not much changed. The polls tell the story, the party with the most hype around their gaffes gained.
Stephen Harper criss-crossed the country this week making stops in mostly non-tory ridings (showing his obvious confidence in his campaign) and it appeared to work according to the countless polls bombarding us daily.
Tories up to 36% poll!
Tory ads working on Canadians poll!
BC loves the tories poll!
Always wondered what an election would be like without polls, poll!
Today Stephen Harper stood in Newfoundland and contended that Canada is becoming more conservative. That is Conservative Canada, not Progressive Conservative! I personally always thought Canada was progressive despite the ideology, the opposite to me would not be moving forward... Am I wrong?
All parties joined in unison today trying to score cheap political points with tiring rhetoric condemning high oil prices and the evil oil companies that charge them. Here is my first election promise and it is a guarantee, nothing will be done about high oil prices.
I will give the Greens and the Liberals a few points for trying to bring some reality into the equation, oil will go up and there ain't much your government can do about that.
Speaking of the Green party Ms May did not end the week well as the blogosphere was a twitter with her so called stupid Canadians statement. A great portion of analysis on the internet is partisan, the thing Ms May did wrong was respond in such a false manner, I'll sue you, they'll sue you, blah blah blah. The thing wasn't even doctored it was just blown up out of context. Spun through the hard partisan campaign machine that certain sections of the internet have become.
Going along with the partisan internet, does anyone else find TV coverage of the online campaign asinine? "Look here is a partisan website, here is another... Ain't that neeto!" Give me a break. Tell me about the possibilities, not what the hacks are up to. I get that, it's in the newspaper everyday.
-M
posted by Mitch MacKay at 4:00 PM
2 Comments:
Well I hear the Tories are down to 36 % from 46 % and the Liberals up to 30 % so who is fiddling with those numbers. Dion sounds great and then quits before he gets aggressive: NO MILITARY STANDARD ISSUE GUNS FOR THE PUBLIC. Why not no guns period unless you need to sign one out.
It goes like this - you go down to the police station and say you want to sign out your gun for the weekend to go hunting ducks! And it is not duck season. Oops so I am taking it out for target practice at the Union Station ......where again!and the craziness goes on!
I like the Liberal and NDP policies can we mix them! We are so lucky about our oil costs and grocery costs we have no idea! Try living in Poland for a year and see if you can survive if you even get close to eating and drinking and heating yourself so well after driving on half decent street! But lets fortify that solid infra structure! And take care of HOME CARE HEALTH AND OUR CHILDREN whether it is daycare or funding secondary edcuation! The children come first : they should not be lacking any essentials! Now debate what are the essentials!
So I thought I would put my mouth closer to my brain with some realities! Local fresh food seems a stretch!Families' shopping list
Six families around the world share their shopping list and tell the BBC how the global rise in food prices has affected their eating habits. We will return to the families in the months ahead to see if prices have changed.
The Rodas family
Guatemala
"The children drink milk once a day"
The Classick family
UK
"We haven't changed our buying habits"
The Mhatre family
India
"We have to spend much more now"
The Wang Jun family
China
"The price rises are frustrating for us"
The Mbiru family
Kenya
"I now buy from a local shop"
The Abdulwahab family
Egypt
"We now eat meat just once a week"
THE RODAS FAMILY, QUETZALTENANGO, GUATEMALA
Evelyn prepared lunch for her dad, her two nephews and her niece
Evelyn: I am an agronomic engineer and my family has six members.
I spend approximately $250 a month buying meat, milk, fruit and vegetables, bread and tortillas, which is around 40% of our income.
The rise in the prices of all the basic food products here is alarming, and it is even worse for the families who live in extreme poverty, because they don't have enough food to live with dignity.
I have noticed the rise as well. We used to eat meat five times a week, and we can only do it twice now. The children don't drink milk three times a day but once for breakfast, and we don't buy some fruits that get too expensive depending on the season.
LOCAL FOOD PRICES
The Rodas family spends 40% of its income on food.
1 kilo of corn tortilla flour: $0.71 (35p)
1 litre of cooking oil: $1.95 (97p)
1 kilo of chicken: $4.28 (£2.12)
1 kilo of potatoes: $ 4.40 (£2.18)
Shop owners have also been affected. My mum owns a shop, and I have seen how there are fewer customers, while the suppliers raise their prices every day.
Basic products like corn tortillas, which are central to the Guatemalan diet, cost US$1 a kilo, and we consume at least two kilos a day, besides bread.
I think the reason behind the high prices is the rise in the price of corn in the international markets, due to its high demand in the production of bio fuels such as ethanol.
Return
THE CLASSICK FAMILY, FELTHAM, UK
Jonathan, Joanne, Reece and Morgan Classick
Joanne: I think we are probably quite average with our food shopping habits.
We try to keep our diets balanced by eating healthy snacks, and having plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables each day.
We spend between £80 to £100 per week on our food shopping, which is about 10% of our weekly income.
I like to cook with fresh ingredients and prepare most of our meals from scratch.
On an average day, we will all have toast or cereal for breakfast with a glass of orange juice. Lunch is usually a home-made sandwich, yoghurt and fruit, and our main meals usually consist of meat with potatoes and two or three vegetables.
LOCAL FOOD PRICES
The Classick family spends 10% of its income on food.
Loaf of bread: $2.50 (£1.23)
1 litre of cooking oil: $1.60 (78p)
1 kilo of carrots: $1.25 (62p)
1 kilo of lamb: $18.60(£9.24)
Probably the most expensive part of our weekly shopping is the fruit and vegetables, and the meat. I haven't really noticed the fruit and vegetable prices rise much lately, but the price of the meat has certainly gone up.
The rises haven't changed our buying habits, as we believe a healthy diet is one of the most essential things we teach our children about, and what you eat does have an effect on how you feel.
We would rather go without other things if necessary.
Return
THE MHATRE FAMILY, MUMBAI, INDIA
The Mhatre family: Poonam, Neil, Shaniya And Tyra
Poonam: I have to feed a family of four here. My weekly food bill comes to more than US$100.
We buy vegetables, meat, cold cuts, eggs, dahl, rice, pulses and cooking oil. Each week we try to eat out about twice.
I have to say we have definitely noticed a lot of price rises in the past two years. I don't think it has really changed our buying habits, but what it has meant is that we have to spend much more. We cannot cut down on food. That is not an option. My family just eats that much. So our weekly budget has gone up.
I think we spend about 20% to 30% of our income on food. Food is very important to us, it is really central to our lives. The children always need their salads and their fruit plates. The children need their cookies and their eggs. There is no way I can compromise. I just have to buy more.
LOCAL FOOD PRICES
The Mhatre family spends 20% to 30% of its income on food.
1 kilo of chapati flour: $0.55 (27p)
1 litre of cooking oil: $2.20 (£1.10)
1 kilo of chicken: $1.40 (70p)
1 kilo of beans: $1.04 (52p)
In India, the majority of the population is below the poverty line. The government really needs to concentrate on getting prices stabilised, particularly the basics, like rice, wheat flour and onions. I have particularly noticed price rises in goods like sugar, milk, pulses and vegetables.
Other people I know complain. Everyone talks about how price rises are just too much, how they are really affecting their budgets.
Return
THE WANG JUN FAMILY, BEIJING, CHINA
Wan Jung lives with his wife and his wife's mother
Wang Jun: I live with my wife and my wife's mother in Beijing. We own a small cleaning place. Food prices have risen in the past few years, especially last year.
We spend a lot on food. Renting the place where we live costs more than $100 and we can't really save much money for our daughter's tuition fees back at our hometown.
We've been tightening our belts to save more money.
Over the past year, the cost of food has risen so quickly that we had to stop eating meat every day to save money.
The pork price just soared madly, and it's now three or four times more expensive than two years ago.
We only eat chopped-up pork two or three times a week, but with vegetables. Eating meat on its own seems too extravagant for us.
LOCAL FOOD PRICES
The Wang Jun family spends 16% of its income on food.
1 kilo of rice: $0.62 (31p)
1 litre cooking oil: $2.50 (£1.25)
1 kilo of pork: $4.22 (£2.10)
1 kilo of lettuce: $0.99 (49p)
Also, to save money, my wife wakes up around at around 6am and cycles for one hour to go to an early market that sells cheap vegetables.
Even though it is less than one yuan cheaper than a nearby market, we can save a lot by doing it every day.
We've been using less cooking oil as well, because the price of oil has trebled over the past few months. Just now, the supermarket was taking down old price tags as the price went up again. It's mad. So we've been eating more vegetables like tomatoes, potatoes, cabbages - locally grown food is just cheaper.
The price rises are frustrating for us, but because I used to be a farmer I also see the farmers' point of view.
If the government controls food prices too much, farmers can't earn any money and life can be very difficult.
Return
THE MBIRU FAMILY, NAIROBI, KENYA
Sheila and Andrew live with their three children outside Nairobi
Sheila: I work as a research scientist and my husband is a businessman. We live around 15km from Nairobi, at the Ridgeways Estate.
I spend an average of $228 a month. This may increase if we entertain guests or if we eat out. That's around 10% of our joint income.
I buy most of the storable stuff like rice, flour and sugar in the supermarket. I have stopped buying fresh food like fruit, vegetables and meat from there, and now buy at a local shop near to where I live, because it's cheaper.
I don't eat beef, because I have an allergy. So we eat fish, chicken and pork. I have noticed an increase since the beginning of year, especially because of the political crisis in our country.
LOCAL FOOD PRICES
The Mbiru family spends 10% of its income on food.
1 kilo of maize flour: $0.40 (20p)
1 litre of cooking oil: $2.34 (£1.16)
1 kilo of chicken: $4.70 (£2.33)
1 kilo of potatoes: $0.55 (27p)
The price of potatoes has increased from 25 shillings per kilo, to 35 shillings per kilo. Roast chicken from the local chip shop has doubled. And this was just last week.
The political situation is a bit better, so maybe prices will go down. But they haven't yet.
We have reduced the amount of meat we eat and increased our vegetables intake because of the increased cost. We used to have meat three times a week, and now do just twice a week.
Return
THE ABDULWAHAB FAMILY, CAIRO, EGYPT
The Abdulwahab extended family of five adults and three children
The Abdulwahab family lives in Imbaba, a poor area of Cairo. Egypt is the world's largest importer of wheat, so they have been hit hard by international prices rises.
Aza Hedar (on the right of the photo wearing a blue scarf), says that instead of three meals a day, the family now eats just two.
"We never thought it would reach this level. The prices of some foods have doubled since the end of last year. One Egyptian pound used to feed the whole household now five Egyptian pounds barely covers it."
Aza shops in the market with her sister-in-law, Aza Abdulwahab (on the left of the photo, in the beige scarf), and together they cook for the extended family of five adults and three children.
"We used to go to the market and buy whatever we laid eyes upon but now we have to think first," the second Aza says.
LOCAL FOOD PRICES
The Abdulwahab family spends 80% of its income on food. Subsidised bread and cooking oil can be bought from government shops, but not in enough quantities to feed the family.
10 unsubsidised loaves of bread: $0.45 (22p)
10 subsidised loaves of bread: $0.09 (4.5p)
1 unsubsidised litre of cooking oil: $2.30 (£1.15)
1 subsidised litre of cooking oil: $1.50 (75p)
1 kilo of lamb: $7.22 (£3.60)
1 kilo tomatoes: $0.37 (18p)
"I buy more fruit and vegetables and we eat meat just once a week instead of every day."
The family is also increasingly reliant on government food subsidies, buying as much sugar, rice, tea and cooking oil as their ration book will allow.
Othman Abdulwahab, a government worker, is the main earner for the household. But salaries have not increased since the dramatic rise in food prices.
He is recovering from a back operation and so cannot endure hours queuing for subsidised bread.
The solution has come from his elderly mother, Nabawia. She uses a recipe from her native home in Aswan to make a simple type of bread made from flour and water - which is cooked on the stove.
"This is what we do in a time of crisis," Othman says.
Post a Comment
<< Home