Many people dismiss Trump as another flash in the pan like all those Republican poll leaders that came and went during the last primary. I live in Toronto, and I saw the rise of mayor Rob Ford and waited for him to fall. He is similar to Trump in many
Continue readingAuthor: doconnor
264MHz: Did the invasion of Iraq cause the rise of ISIL?
Before 2001 Iraq was a Ba’athist dictatorship dominated by a religious minority. Neighboring Syria was also a Ba’athist dictatorship dominated by a religious minority. In 2002 Iraq was invaded by the United States and the regime overthrown, but Syria was left alone. Now here we ar,e with both Iraq and
Continue reading264MHz: Conservative Million Jobs Plan ads removed from Google Ads
I had been seeing Ontario Conservative’s Million Jobs Plan adds on websites for weeks. Some times I would even click on them knowing it would mean money would be transferred from the Conservatives to the left-wing websites I am reading. I was thinking about what I could do now that
Continue reading264MHz: Ontario Conservatives, Mathematically Irresponsible
It’s been four days since the mathematical failure of the Conservative’s Million Jobs Plan was relieved, yet strangely it isn’t the top story of the election. There have been two articles in The Star, but they are “balanced” in that the give equal time to both sides when, in fact,
Continue reading264MHz: The Power Plant Scandal by the Numbers
The most quoted number for the cost of the Ontario Liberals moving two natural gas power plants away from urban locations in order to win a few more seats is $1.1 billion dollars. If you look at the Auditor General reports that the number is based on you can see
Continue reading264MHz: Submission to the Procedure and House Affairs Committee on Bill C-23, Fair Elections Act
As you consider the Fair Elections Act, your common sense may tell you it is vital to prevent fraudulent or ineligible voters from casting a ballot at any cost. However the mathematical reality is that the effect on an election of a ineligible vote is equal to the effect of
Continue reading264MHz: Ford Nation’s reaction predicted by science
Once someone becomes a leader of the high [Right-Wing Authoritarian Follower’s] in-group, he can lie with impunity about the out-groups, himself, whatever, because he knows the followers will seldom check on what he says, nor will they expose themselves to people who set the record straight. Furthermore they will not
Continue reading264MHz: Rob Ford: Addicted to being Mayor
Rob Ford may not be addicted to crack. It’s even possible he isn’t an alcoholic, just an occasional binge drinker. But I think his is addicted to the adulation he gets from being mayor. He has admitted to smoking crack in one of his drunken stupors, yet still he refused
Continue reading264MHz: Bombing campaing to over Assad the best option for Syria
I believe a bombing campaign with the aim to toppling the Assad regime, similar to the campaign in Libya, is justified. The primary reason is that allowing the civil war to continue would likely cost more lives then a bombing campaign would. If we do not intervene the Syria civil
Continue reading264MHz: In Syria a bombing campaign is the best option
I believe a bombing campaign with the aim to toppling the Assad regime, similar to the campaign in Libya, is justified. The primary reason is that allowing the civil war to continue would likely cost more lives then a bombing campaign would. If we do not intervene the Syria civil
Continue reading264MHz: Mobile friendly rss feeds for The Toronto Star
The Toronto Star website recently underwent another revamping. In the process the mobile version of the articles seems to have been removed, or at least I can’t access them from my smartphone. Using Firefox mobile leads me to a crazy page by page view that I suspect is design for
Continue reading264MHz: Trudeau: Project your beliefs on me
Liberal leadership candidate Marc Garneau has called out Justin Trudeau for not having a platform. Trudeau has said that he is deferring to the Liberal’s policy renewal process. There is no strong tradition of the leaders of political parties in Canada surrendering control of policy. This promise has all the
Continue reading264MHz: Religion tells us about the nature of man, not the nature of the universe
Religion claims to tell us about how the universe works, but most religious belief comes from a time of superstition, ignorance and fear we can only catch a glimpse of when we read stories about fundamentalist cults in undeveloped countries like Nigeria. People believe religion because that is what they
Continue reading264MHz: NDP being deceptive on Conservatives chances in Victoria by-election
Over the past few months I’ve received a steady stream of emails from the Federal NDP email list asking for money. During the recent by-elections they where coming so fast and furious one would think there was a general election going on. I received this one on November 22nd: Friend,
Continue reading264MHz: Rob Ford, not guilty due to stupidity
Toronto mayor Rob Ford is currently facing two trials (there are probably more to come). One over his claim that the renewal of a restaurant deal with Tuggs was corrupt. The other over his conflict of interest during a council debate on reprimanding him over donations gathered for his football
Continue reading264MHz: The significance of the US election result
The result of the US election, which didn’t really end up changing anything, has lead to deep and profound questioning in the Republican Party. People are analyzing the mistakes made and arguing that if only the party had been listening to what they where saying all a long they would
Continue reading264MHz: The Advantages of Winning Because of Your Name
Unfortunately these days those who win elections usually aren’t those who would do the best job of representing the people, but those who are best at winning elections. (Capitalism has a similar problem where those who make the most money aren’t those who are best at making products people want,
Continue reading264MHz: F-35 shows how controlling the message backfires
The Conservative government is in trouble for understating the cost of the F-35 program by 10 billion by only giving out the incremental cost instead of to total cost. Despite years of controversy, it seems they never bothered to point out there was a reasonable explanation for the two different
Continue reading264MHz: Scotiabank thinks they can handle mortgage risks
In a speech to shareholders, Scotiabank head Rick Waugh said, “It’s up to the banks themselves – not government or regulators – to manage our risks and advise our customers appropriately.” It’s hard to call this statement anything but delusional. It was graphically shown in the United States banks frequently
Continue reading264MHz: Conservatives, Libertarians and Progressives
Conservatives believe the first thing that pops into their mind. Jail is bad so they think that if we increase jail time, people will stop committing crimes. They don’t consider that the current sentences is already enough to deter crime and if the criminals where worried about going to jail
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