Assorted content to end your week. – Rick Salutin highlights the dangers of relying on bulk data collection and algorithmic analysis as a basis to restrict individual rights: The National Post’s Jen Gerson interviewed a U.S. privacy expert. She asked about the PRISM program, by which U.S. agencies spy on
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: A Rare Moment of Praise For The U.S.
Despite being deeply cynical about Amercian poltics in general, and Barack Obama in particular, a rare opportunity to praise both has just arisen. Although relatively modest in scope, in response to the terriblly unsafe working conditions in Bangladesh that have cost so many workers their lives and maimed countless others,
Continue reading350 or bust: Grassroot Activists Gather On Capitol Hill To Lobby For Carbon Tax
* It was no easy feat trying to keep my cool while racing in my high heels between Congressional and Senate offices in the scorching D.C. heat last Tuesday. More than once I wondered about the wisdom of leaving behind the comfortable Red Lake summer to join nearly four
Continue readingWarren Kinsella: Dear Prime Minister Harper
I’ve actually never written you a letter before. I’m doing so now to ask you to intervene in this case: hundreds in thousands in Canadian dollars going to one of the most violent neo-Nazi groups – the one, in fact, who provided the blueprint for the Oklahoma City bombing. The
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Do They Get It?
Andrew Nikiforuk loves his city and his province. Both, he writes, have had a “Manhattan moment:” We thought we were big and powerful and beyond humbling just like New York. But as every true cowboy knows, Mother Nature invariably has the last word. And so Calgarians are now living a
Continue readingThe Progressive Right: Rob Ford on Poverty and Housing #onpoli #topoli
If you lived under a rock or came from another planet, you might be forgiven if you believed the nonsense Toronto Mayor Rob Ford is spouting about how much he cares about the Toronto’s poor and how shocked he is that the Ontario government won’t fund his tax cuts. A
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Duh
Who could have seen this coming? Recommend this Post
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: The DWR Friday Muscial Interlude featuring the CBC Signature Series – A flat major- The Good Woman
The CBC Signature Series hosted by Paolo Pietropaolo forges on with A-flat major. A little bit more on A-flat major from Wikipedia: The A-flat major scale consists of the pitches A♭, B♭, C, D♭, E♭, F, and G. Its key signature has four flats (see below: Scales and keys). Its
Continue readingBigCityLib Strikes Back: Your Daily Nazi: U.S. Nazis Inherit Canuck Gold?
An odd story, this. A Canadian nutter has bequeathed $1,000,000 in ancient gold coins and other valuables to the National Alliance, an American hate/terror group. The Canadian government may be lobbied to stop the transfer. And a few familiar figures are involved. So: one to keep an eye on.
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: The Crucible #nlpoli
If the Conservative Party in Newfoundland and Labrador threw out people who had been a Liberal or a New Democrat before, there wouldn’t be enough people left in it to have a game of cards. Pretty well all the old Tories from the 1970s who rose to any prominence started
Continue readingLeftist Jab: Escorts, Cross-Dressing and Extortion: The Story of Laval Mayor Alexandre Duplessis
Pictured: Alexandre Duplessis in a more demure outfit. Who knew Canadian municipal politics could be this much fun? Meet Alexandre Duplessis, the mayor of Laval who was sworn in last November to take over for the previous mayor, Gilles Vaillancourt, who resigned from his job when charged by police with
Continue readingNorthern Insight: Returning soon, probably
I’ve been absent from the blog world for a few weeks and regular readers deserve an explanation. First, I’ll describe what started this one person blogging effort more than four years ago. In 2008, months after Robert Dziekanski’s death at the hands of RCMP officers, I was outraged by police
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics: The first #yegvote Google Hangout
TweetTonight, I joined Ryan Hastman and Mack Male on Edmonton’s first #yegvote Google Hangout on the topic of this October’s municipal election. Over the course of 50 minutes, we discussed the hotly contested mayoral race, some of the interesting open city council races, and issues that could define this year’s election
Continue readingThe World Famous Dan Shields: 6190…Canada Goes First Overall
NBA Draft 2013, Commissioner David Stern’s last draft, was held tonight in Brooklyn. Canuck Anthony Bennett, a UNLV frosh, became the first Canadian to go first over all in the draft. Next year it is predicted that another Canadian, Andrew Wiggins, will also come out first overall. Both of these
Continue readingMontreal Simon: Stephen Harper and My Fabulous Con Reunion
Well as you know the Con convention in Calgary had to be postponed due to an extreme weather event.And Stephen Harper is terribly depressed because he can't press the reset button on his old and tired government.So I thought I'd try to cheer him up eh?By organizing a smaller convention,
Continue readingSaving for a rainy day
The tragedy of recent historic flooding in Southern Alberta has had a profound impact on us. As an Edmontonian who spends a good deal of time in Calgary, my heart goes out to those who have been affected. Encouragingly, the Alberta spirit lives on and Calgarians will demonstrate resiliency as
Continue readingSaving for a rainy day
The tragedy of recent historic flooding in Southern Alberta has had a profound impact on us. As an Edmontonian who spends a good deal of time in Calgary, my heart goes out to those who have been affected. Encouragingly, the Alberta spirit lives on and Calgarians will demonstrate resiliency as
Continue readingSaving for a rainy day
The tragedy of recent historic flooding in Southern Alberta has had a profound impact on us. As an Edmontonian who spends a good deal of time in Calgary, my heart goes out to those who have been affected. Encouragingly, the Alberta spirit lives on and Calgarians will demonstrate resiliency as the rest of us demonstrate … Continue reading Saving for a rainy day →
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: President Obama showed leadership on climate change: Environmental Defence
President Barack Obama (Photo: Pete Souza) In his much-anticipated speech on climate change and the environment this week, US President Barack didn’t exactly kill TransCanada’s proposed Keystone XL pipeline as environmentalists had hoped. He simply stated that Keystone should only be approved if it doesn’t lead to an increase in
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