Ordinary Canadians are assumed to be criminals while the Harper government turns a blind eye to Senate corruption. Sylvie Therrien, a federal fraud investigator, has been suspended without pay after she leaked documents showing that investigators had to cut people off their employment insurance benefits in order to meet quotas.
Continue readingB.C. Policy Perspectives: Lac Megantic was a Disaster Waiting To Happen
About 8 years ago I was between teaching contracts, so I decided to work for a few months as a labourer on a railway track maintenance and repair crew in the Williams Lake and 100 Mile House area. I learned how heavy a railway tie is, and how heavy the
Continue readingMind of Dan: Are YOU on Stephen Harper’s #EnemyList?
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has given his new ministers an “enemy” list to ensure they don’t fall prey to anyone who might disagree with the government’s policies. People like artist Franke James are on it. In fact the government has amassed over 2,100 Access-to-Information documents from 4 different federal
Continue readingWarren Kinsella: In Sunday’s Sun: it’s a lot of fun until someone breaks a law
The revelation that the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has maintained an enemies list isn’t much of a revelation, is it? I mean, if there has ever been a Canadian administration that is positively Nixonian in its style and approach, it is Stephen Harper’s. Now, that’s not to suggest the PMO
Continue readingLA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Analysis And Comment: Climate Change and Super Bugs
It appears that climate change/global warming is causing an outbreak of opportunistic infectious diseases from microbes, bacteria and fungi. Traveling with the dust clouds raised by desertification and air pollution, they rain down on us and begin to take up residence in our built environment.. The dangers of these infectious
Continue readingwmtc: helen thomas, 1920-2013
A journalist, a pioneer, a feminist. An asker of questions. New York Times obituary here.
Continue readingMind of Dan: DC Court affirms Michael Mann’s right to proceed in defamation lawsuit against National Review and CEI
From Climate Science Watch: Two decisions handed down July 19 in DC Superior Court affirmed climate scientist Michael Mann’s right to proceed in his defamation lawsuit against the Competitive Enterprise Institute and the National Review Online for their statements accusing him of data manipulation and fraud. The Court is not
Continue readingLA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Analysis And Comment: My Return To Blogging
I have updated the look of the blog thanks to the new template designs that are now available, one of the reasons I have not been updating my blog, was the clumsy design I made years ago and had to live with. So now that I am home with tales
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: On double standards
Simon Enoch, Paul Dechene and Stephen Whitworth have already weighed in on the City of Regina’s choice to blow its nose on a petition that reflects citizen engagement in action. But I’m surprised nobody’s yet pointed out the vastly different treatment between two different aspects of the petition. As Dechene
Continue readingwmtc: brandon toy: i have come to believe that the true insanity is doing nothing
Brandon Toy, writing in Common Dreams. I hereby resign in protest effective immediately. I have served the post-911 Military Industrial complex for 10 years, first as a soldier in Baghdad, and now as a defense contractor. At the time of my enlistment, I believed in the cause. I was ignorant,
Continue readingRecreating Eden: Saturday Photo: Gardening Where You Might Not Expect It
I’ve been delighted to follow the increasing number of people who seem to be finding corners of the city to garden in. These two photos were taken in les Champs de possible, a formerly abandoned maintenance yard owned by the city of Montreal. The word “formerly” is used advisedly because
Continue readingImpolitical: Tory expense fun, it’s not just for the Senate
Ahoy Tory riding associations! Canadian Press follows the dollar trail to show us how political donation limits are playing out in Canada: “Eye-popping Tory riding war chests raise eyebrows.” This is something we have known for a bit but it’s nice to see reporting on it today in the wake
Continue readingImpolitical: Tory expense fun, it’s not just for the Senate
Ahoy Tory riding associations! Canadian Press follows the dollar trail to show us how political donation limits are playing out in Canada: “Eye-popping Tory riding war chests raise eyebrows.” This is something we have known for a bit but it’s nice to s…
Continue readingImpolitical: Tory expense fun, it’s not just for the Senate
Ahoy Tory riding associations! Canadian Press follows the dollar trail to show us how political donation limits are playing out in Canada: “Eye-popping Tory riding war chests raise eyebrows.” This is something we have known for a bit but it’s nice to see reporting on it today in the wake
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Enbridge to delay required pipeline safety fix for three more years
Enbridge “will delay required crude oil pipeline safety fix for three more years”, according to a document received by the Council of Canadians via an access to information request. The post Enbridge to delay required pipeline safety fix for three more years appeared first on The Canadian Progressive.
Continue readingTerahertz: Canadian Atheism Panel
Tomorrow morning (9am out here), I will be joining Ian Cromwell, Jesse Brydle from Halifax, Donna Harris from Winnipeg, and Veronica Abbas from Peterborough for a panel on Freethought in Canada as part of FtBConscience. You can find full details here and watch it live online. I’ll be doing my
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics: #yegvote Google Hangout #2
TweetFollowing out successful first #yegvote Google Hangout a few weeks ago, Mack Male, Ryan Hastman, and I gathered online for the second #yegvote Google Hangout focusing on this October’s municipal elections in Edmonton. In this week’s hangout, we chatted about everything from the strategies of the three main mayoral candidates,
Continue readingwmtc: what i’m reading: two youth novels
There is so much truly excellent youth fiction out these days, and it’s not all vampires and zombies. Here are two wonderful teen novels in two totally different veins. There Is No Dog, Meg Rossoff, 2011 Like many excellent novels, Meg Rosoff’s There Is No Dog defies easy classification. It’s
Continue readingMorton's Musings: In 1960 Detroit had the highest per capita income in America
And a population of two million. Now with 700,000, half functionally illiterate, the city is bankrupt. But the suburbs are fine. Troy is fantastically wealthy and Auburn Hills is nice. But if you live in Troy you don't go to Detroit. What happened was the city died and the donut
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