Dalton McGuinty, the Ontario Premier who, as I mentioned in previous posts, will not be receiving my support in the October election over his shameless disavowal of any responsibility for the police abuses during last year’s G20 Summit, has often been …
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Politics and its Discontents: How The Harper Government Defines Efficiency At The CBC
While it will likely come as no surprise to many, the Harper Government has within its sights the CBC, the sometimes irksome public broadcaster that the right-wing so often loves to hate. As reported online in today’s Globe, the Heritage Minister, Jam…
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Critical Thinking: Do We Get The Kind Of Political Leadership We Deserve?
In many ways, I suspect that we get exactly the kind of political representation that we deserve. A population that is either largely disengaged from the political process or lacking in fundamental critical thinking skills invites our elected represen…
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Netweeper Inc. – A Canadian Company That Facilitates Internet Censorship Abroad
In an age when regulation of shoddy business practices seems to be rapidly eroding, the ethos today being that anything that inhibits growth is bad, it may not come as a surprise that both the Federal and the Ontario Provincial Governments are complici…
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: The State of Journalism
Thanks to Dr. Dawg for posting this link to an essay by Kai Nagata, who writes about why he recently quit his job as a reporter for CTV. His observations about the current state of television journalism are instructive, and will be of interest to anyon…
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Unions – Part Two
Thanks to fellow-blogger Orwell for providing this link to the Australian version of the video I wrote about yesterday:Recommend this Post
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: What Have Unions Done For Us?
I just came across the following video on You Tube. Although directed toward an American audience, its message is completely applicable to Canada as well. Enjoy!Recommend this Post
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Critical Thinking: The Assault On Reason
The following is a review I wrote about four years ago of Al Gore’s book, The Assault on Reason, a work that addresses many of the problems arising when the populace at large lacks the capacity for critical thought. Although geared to an American audi…
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Is This A Quest For Justice, Or A Thirst For Revenge?
While I doubt that I will ever be accused of being ‘soft on crime,’ agreeing with the view held by many that the Canadian judicial system tends to be too lenient in too many cases, my belief in the deterrent effect of stern sentencing and less liberal …
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: The Real News Commentary on G20 Summit Police Crimes
As always, The Real News offers a refreshing perspective rarely found in the mainstream media. Anything that continues to keep the G20 police abuses of Charter Rights in the public forum can be nothing but good for our democracy.Recommend this Post
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: A New Anti-Hudak Ad
Putting a side for the moment my concern about critical thinking skills, I must confess to deriving considerable pleasure out of the latest ad calling into question Tim Hudak’s plans should he win the October Ontario election. Enjoy!Recommend this Post
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Developing Critical Thinking Skills – Travelling A Road That Never Ends
Even though I consider myself reasonably-well-educated and reasonably well-read, one truth I have come to realize is that the journey toward critical thinking never ends – it is always a work in progress, if I may mix my metaphors. I very much doubt…
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: The Problem And The Power Of Critical Thinking
Fellow blogger Orwell recently wrote a post entitled The capacity for critical thought – how do we build it? In it, he was challenging readers to brainstorm ways in which this vital ability can be inculcated. I posted the following as a comment:While…
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: The Right – Rarely Gracious, Even When In Power
One thing that I have noticed about the far right, and I think this applies both to those in the United States and in Canada, is that they have a winner-take-all attitude that rarely permits them a moment of serenity or grace. For example, even though…
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Toronto Star Readers Speak Out On Police Abuses
I have written before about how much we are enjoying our subscription to The Toronto Star, one of the few newspapers that still seems to be doing the job that the press traditionally performed: keeping the public well-informed and reminding the powers-…
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Exploding the Myth: Conservatives as Able Managers of the Economy
Well, we have confirmation by Thomas Walkom in today’s Star of two facts about Conservatives: a) They are ideologically opposed to government being in the business of businessb) They are inept managers of the economy.Both facts are evident in Walkom: A…
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: To Vote Or Not To Vote
Next to Stephen Harper achieving a majority government, for me the deepest disappointment in the recent federal election was the relatively poor voter turnout. Despite some really creative efforts to mobilize young people to become participants in the…
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Sun News Network – Full of Sound And Fury, Signifying Nothing
When Sun News Network was fast approaching its debut, I had this fantasy whereby I would watch it diligently so that I could make regular complaints to the CRTC for every infraction of broadcast regulations it made. However, after watching about 10 min…
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Judge Excoriates Cops As Thugs, Expresses Content Superiors Who Conceal
Yesterday I posted some of the comments made by Justice Allen upon sentencing two Toronto police officers to a year of house arrest for beating a Cabbagetown man in 2009. Today there are further comments in The Star by the Superior Court Judge, includ…
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: More on Asbestos
The other day I wrote a piece lamenting the ongoing immoral Canadian export of asbestos and the fact that Canada was the sole country that recently prevented it from being listed as a toxic substance under the Rotterdam Convention. I also suggested tha…
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