Owen Gray – Page 153 – Progressive Bloggers // Blogues progressistes

January 27, 2015 Owen Gray

Northern Reflections: When He’s Naked, He Looks Ridiculous

http://cupe3902.org/ Yesterday, the opposition parties hammered the Harper government on what was supposed to be its signature issue going into the upcoming election. The

January 26, 2015 Owen Gray

Northern Reflections: Democracy? What Democracy?

http://gagordernetwork.com/ Last week the Harper government awarded a ship building contract to the Irving family. Like the F-35 contract, it was awarded — by a “bureaucrat”

January 25, 2015 Owen Gray

Northern Reflections: Neo-Liberalism: The Undying Monster

http://www.horror-movies.ca/ Neo-Liberalism came to Canada long before Stephen Harper came to Ottawa. It was ushered into public policy by Brian Mulroney, who privatised crown corporations like Air Canada and Petro Canada. Jean Chretien and Paul Martin contributed to its juggernaut by signing NAFTA and by introducing fiscal restraint. But

January 24, 2015 Owen Gray

Northern Reflections: That Grievance Mentality

http://mckennasmagic.weebly.com/ Barack Obama delivered his State of the Union address this week. Here are a few highlights: We still need laws that strengthen rather than weaken unions.” “We still need … a higher minimum wage.” “Free community college is possible.” “Let’s set our sights higher than a single oil

January 23, 2015 Owen Gray

Northern Reflections: Going To War In His Armchair

http://www.zazzle.ca/ Stephen Harper told us that there would be no boots on the ground. It turns out there are, and they’re on

January 22, 2015 Owen Gray

Northern Reflections: Tearing Away At the Nation’s Core

http://www.thewolf.ca/ The Harper government is busy preparing new anti-terror legislation. But, Colin Kenny writes in today’s Toronto Star, we don’t need new legislation, we need adequate funding of the institutions which apply the laws we already have: No less than eight pieces of anti-terrorism legislation have successfully passed through

January 21, 2015 Owen Gray

Northern Reflections: They Didn’t Know What They Were Doing Or . . .

http://www.slideshare.net/ In last Sunday’s New York Times Paul Krugman tried to answer the question, “Why do conservatives hate good government?” His answer was pretty

January 20, 2015 Owen Gray

Northern Reflections: The Rooster’s Mistake

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/ Since coming to office, Alan Freeman writes, Stephen Harper has had an incredible run of good luck: The Liberals had bequeathed the Tories a sound fiscal situation and a string of surpluses, so much so that in its early years, the Harperites could cut taxes and still boost

January 19, 2015 Owen Gray

Northern Reflections: The Poisoned Well Of Information

http://awoiaf.westeros.org/ Will Colonel Sanders get the chickens to vote for him again? That, Michael Harris writes, is the question which the next federal election will turn on. And, given what has happened to the Canadian media, it’s a lot easier to get the chickens to vote:

January 18, 2015 Owen Gray

Northern Reflections: What He Says They Mean

http://www.activityvillage.co.uk Watching the Harper government serve up a pre-election budget has become a drama in the Theatre of the Absurd. That’s because — as Tim Harper wrote last week in the Toronto Star — for Stephen Harper, politics trumps math: The new Conservative math is political math. There’s another

January 17, 2015 Owen Gray

Northern Reflections: Election Law? What Election Law?

There has been lots of speculation recently about whether Stephen Harper will break his own fixed date election law — for the second time. It’s remarkable, Andrew Coyne writes, that a man who insisted on the law should have such little regard for it. What is even more remarkable is

January 16, 2015 Owen Gray

Northern Reflections: To The Showers

http://www.post-gazette.com/ An election is in the offing. And Stephen Harper has come to the plate swinging. But, Michael Harris writes, he already has three strikes against him. Strike One is his record on the environment: They have greedily championed oil and gas while doing nothing to

January 15, 2015 Owen Gray

Northern Reflections: Now Is The Time, Justin

http://theeyeopener.com/ Talk of proportional representation has been around for a long time. Linda McQuaig writes: The most widely-supported version of PR for Canada —

January 14, 2015 Owen Gray

Northern Reflections: The Other Path

http://www.forgetthebox.net/ Like a Puritan obsessed with sin, Stephen Harper is obsessed with austerity. He is not alone in his obsession. Most of Europe’s leaders share it.

January 13, 2015 Owen Gray

Northern Reflections: Counting On Oil

Falling oil prices should stimulate the world’s faltering economy. But they won’t do the Harper government a lot of good. That’s because the Harperites have nailed their political flag to eliminating the deficit. And that has become more difficult than they anticipated. Scott Clark and Peter DeVries write: In other

January 12, 2015 Owen Gray

Northern Reflections: It’s Come Back To Haunt Us

After events such as those in France last week, it’s natural for people to feel anger. But when anger turns to rage, and rage spawns ignorance, we are in dangerous territory. In Europe, the parties of the Far Right are counselling ignorance. Michael Harris writes: The leader of the Front

January 11, 2015 Owen Gray

Northern Reflections: How Does He Get Away With It?

That’s the question Bob Hepburn asked in yesterday’s Toronto Star. The record is stunning: How does Harper get away with dismantling the International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development, which promoted democracy and human rights around the world for 24 years? How does Harper get away with cutting funding

January 10, 2015 Owen Gray

Author: Owen Gray