Daily Archives: May 4, 2017

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Baseball: Maize takes control of regional seeding with win over ... - Wichita Eagle

By Joanna Smith The Canadian Press

OTTAWA Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised political donors would not get preferential access to his government, and now the Liberals are trying to show they mean it as they revive their high-profile fundraising efforts.

The prime minister will be appearing at the Museum of Fine Arts in Montreal for a federal Liberal party fundraiser Thursday evening, which is unremarkable except for the fact that anyone can go.

Anyone, that is, who has up to $250 to spare for a ticket, wants to give that money to the Liberal Party of Canada, and is not registered to lobby the PMO.

It is a chance for Liberal supporters to get a word or a selfie with the party leader, but it will also be a time when the Liberals can once again rely on their surest bet for topping up the party war chest as they prepare for the next election.

READ MORE:Liberals detail measures to ensure no preferential access at fundraisers

The Liberals brought in a moratorium on fundraising events featuring Trudeau and other ministers earlier this year as they worked to develop new rules in the wake of accusations they were providing preferential access to the prime minister and his cabinet in exchange for dollars from wealthy donors in private homes.

There was a pause on national fundraising events throughout the first quarter while stronger standards for open and transparent fundraising events were being prepared, Liberal party spokesman Braeden Caley said Wednesday.

The new system involves holding fundraisers featuring Trudeau or ministers only in public places, announcing them in advance, allowing the media to attend and disclosing the guest list within the following 45 days.

Some Liberals are pointing to that as one reason for lacklustre fundraising figures in the first three months of this year, when the Conservatives raised nearly twice as much money, from a bigger pool of contributors, even though they are in the midst of a leadership race that could be diverting would-be donations to the party.

READ MORE:Justin Trudeau says he has no problem answering questions from ethics watchdog

Theres a small connection, Caley said when asked whether the lower profile played a role.

According to the latest financial returns the parties filed with Elections Canada, the Liberal party brought in $2.8 million from 31,812 donors in the first quarter of 2017, while the Conservatives received $5.3 million from 42,473 contributors.

The Conservatives also outdid the governing Liberals in the first quarter of 2016, but by a smaller margin, and the red team brought in more than the blue team in the final two quarters of last year.

Caley pointed to the high proportion of donors who gave $200 or less as a sign of a strong grassroots base.

The Liberals are calling on the opposition parties to bring in their own transparency measures.

Soon, they might not have a choice, as the Liberal government promised legislation that would require similar disclosure for events involving party leaders and leadership candidates.

READ MORE:Liberals fundraising indicates a shift from public cynicism: Trudeau

Canadians will know about the events in advance, where they are being held, the cost to attend, and they will know who attended them, Democratic Institutions Minister Karina Gould said in the House of Commons Monday as she revealed she is ready to move on an item in her mandate letter.

John OLeary, her spokesman, said the government aims to introduce the legislation this spring.

One Liberal source said the legislation will be essentially the same as the measures the party brought in, which would prevent the party having to once again change the way they are doing things.

One significant difference, according to two Liberal sources, will likely be the lack of a requirement to open the events up to the media, as there is recognition of the difficulty with any law aimed at governing the press.

The Conservatives and New Democrats say they do not plan on taking any lessons from the Liberals.

The reality is they werent able to follow their own set of rules the first time, said Conservative MP Blaine Calkins.

New Democrat MP Nathan Cullen said his skepticism stems from the way the Liberals abandoned a firm campaign pledge to change the way Canadians cast their ballots in time for the next election.

I have very, very low trust with this government when it comes to democratic reform, he said.

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Justin Trudeau to attend public fundraiser as Liberals resume high-profile events - Globalnews.ca

In a region awash in populist, euroskeptic andanti-immigrant sentiments,theCzech Republic has acted as the last bastion of liberal democracy butthat could soon change.

Although Czech President MilosZeman the self-proclaimed "Czech Donald Trump" is and has been notoriously xenophobic, power has lainprimarily in the hands of pro-EUPrime Minister BohuslavSobotka. Sobotka has beenleading the Czech Republic's coalition government as a memberof the center-left Social DemocraticParty since 2014.

But after ongoing conflict surrounding the taxes ofAndrej Babis,the country's finance minister,Sobotkaannounced his resignation on Tuesday.And he says he's taking parliament with him.

"It is unacceptable for the finance minister not to be able to prove the origins of his property," Sobotka said at a news conference. "Especially since he is a member of a government that has built its program on a fight against tax evasion."

Babis is the country's second-richest man. He founded the centrist, anti-corruption ANO (Czech for "yes") Party in 2011. As finance minister, his stated goal was to shake up a corrupt Czech government, using the managerial skills that made him such a successful businessman. As the BBC's Rob Cameron in Prague put it, Babiswanted to "drain the swamp Czech-style."

"Now Mr. Babisfinds himself at the center of a controversy over his own tax affairs," Cameron says."He'sbeen accused of basically buying 55 million euros of tax-free bonds from his own business empire."

With Sobotka's exit, and the country's lawmakers with him, the future of the Czech government is completely up to President Zeman. And it seems no one is certain what he will do.

"He's an unpredictable character," says Cameron.

Cameron says Zemancould do anythingfrom delay Sobotka's resignation,to appoint a new prime minister and caretaker government. But any government established by Zeman would surely stand in stark contrast to the oneled by Sobotka.

Zeman and Babis are both known for euroskeptic rhetoric, leading some to worry that their leadership will invite the creeping populism now common in surrounding countries like Slovakia, Hungary and Poland.

"Pro-Russian, euroskeptic governments and politicians. Autocratic, anti-liberal democracy," Cameron says. "Some observers do believe that is what is on the way herein the Czech Republic."

The country is due to hold parliamentary elections in less than six months. Cameron saysBabis and the ANO Party are currently polling at 30 percent, while the Social Democrats are polling at 15 percent.

"One thing is certain [President Zeman] will milk this to the full," says Cameron. "This really puts him in the spotlight and it casts him in the light as a 'power broker' and that's a role he will enjoy very much."

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Things just got shaky for the last liberal democracy in Central Europe - PRI

Dear progressive women who think using their sexuality as a weapon in combating sexism: Youre wrong.

Some of you like to be referred to as nasty women as if its a credit to your intellect.

Some of you think that wearing hats that resemble vaginas is a show of solidarity amongst your gender but just because you have a vagina doesnt make you any different from women who usetheir bodies for personal, professional or financial gain, and who are often the verypeople you rail against in secret.

Some of you proudly call yourselves sluts and worse and become offended when others wrongfully agree with you.

Some of you think that feminism entitles you to match the lowest wits of the very men whose actions you lament,lowering yourselves to levels that you claim to abhor.

Heres the thing: Using your sex to fight sexism is meaningless.

Feminism by its very definition is the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes. Its got nothing to do with one-upping a man in a beer-drinking contest. Its got nothing to do with parading your female body parts around for all to see and expect no negative reaction.

When did supporting your fellow woman have to become so vulgar?

Since Donald Trump became president (and before, to be fair; but much more as of late, it would seem), women from all walks of life have been coming out of the woodwork in droves, flaunting their assets and using colorful language to highlight their intellectual superiority as if they think its the way to get on par with men.

Women dont need raunchy sexuality to make a point.And they certainly arent taken seriously by those whose respect theyre demanding when the aforementioned actions are the ones they take to prove theyre bigger, better, smarter, faster, and more apt to get ahead in life.

Never before has there been such a divide between what many women consider female empowerment and what it really is.As a result, the actions that some take are setting the movement back decades. What women today are seeing is a watered-down version of feminism, complete with cheap shots intending the world to know that, somehow, genitals and lewd behavior equal dominance and power.

Many feminists use The Feminine Mystique as their female version of a bro bible. But if more women were looking toward Proverbs 31, their interpretation of what it means to be a strong, empowered woman might change, and thus, the world around them.

Proverbs 31:10-31 reads:

A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies. Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value. She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life.

She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands. She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar. She gets up while it is still night; she provides food for her family and portions for her female servants. She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.

She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks. She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night. In her hand she holds the distaff and grasps the spindle with her fingers. She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy.

When it snows, she has no fear for her household; for all of them are clothed in scarlet. She makes coverings for her bed; she is clothed in fine linen and purple. Her husband is respected at the city gate, where he takes his seat among the elders of the land. She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies the merchants with sashes.

She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue. She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.

Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Honor her for all that her hands have done, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

Isnt that the type of woman youre really aiming to be, despite freeing the nipple, protesting to burn down the White House and organizing things called Slut Walks? Dont you want to be and be seen as noble, hard-working, wise, strong, giving, loving, dignified, beloved and honored? What could be more revered than all of those traits combined?

Heres a newsflash: Many actions of women today are more crass than class, and trying to outdo every action that they despise in order to spite those who do them makes them look foolish and weak.

When women lower themselves to taking the same actions of the dregs of societys opposite sex, theyre not proving Anything you can do, I can do better.

Actually, yes, they are. And is that really the message they want to be sending to their fellow women or the next generation of women wholl inhabit our world?

Hopefully not.

Feminism used to stand for equality, strength, unity and respect.

Somewhere the message got lost in a cloud of crass vulgarities, and it feels like its finally boxed itself into a space where theres no going back.

Excerpt from:

Commentary: Liberal women must stop trying to fight sexism with sexuality - TheBlaze.com