Owen Gray – Page 156 – Progressive Bloggers // Blogues progressistes

November 24, 2014 Owen Gray

Northern Reflections: Taking His Cue From Goering

Naomi Klein coined the phrase “disaster capitalism.” Taking his cue from Klein, Michael Harris writes that “disaster democracy” is alive and well in Canada. It’s not a new phenomenon. Herman Goering explained how it worked when he was on trial at Nuremberg: “Voice or no voice, the people can always

November 23, 2014 Owen Gray

Northern Reflections: Nowhere Man

http://www.musicstack.com/ Yesterday, I wrote that Stephen Harper’s refusal to deal with Kathleen Wynne could have significant electoral consequences. Martin Regg Cohn writes that those consequences are being felt now with the alliance which Wynne has established with Quebec premier Philippe Couillard: There’s a reason the Quebec-Ontario summit

November 22, 2014 Owen Gray

Northern Reflections: Ontario Is Ground Zero

http://thelasource.com/ Stephen Harper won his majority by convincing enough Ontarians to vote for him. But those same Ontarians now have a premier who is not

November 21, 2014 Owen Gray

Northern Reflections: The Meaning Of Silence

http://markcoakley.wordpress.com/ There has been nary a word from the Conservative Party since Michael Sona’s sentencing. What are we to make of that? Michael den Tandt writes: Keep in

November 20, 2014 Owen Gray

Northern Reflections: Yesterday’s Man — Again

http://news.nationalpost.com/ There is a lot of florid rhetoric coming from supporters of the Keystone Pipeline these days — both north and south of the border. But, Tom Walkom writes, Keystone isn’t as important as its shills claim it is: The truth is that even if Keystone fails, a pipeline

November 19, 2014 Owen Gray

Northern Reflections: Coming Home To Roost

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca The Canadian Press reported yesterday that former Conservative MP Bill Casey wants to run for the Liberals in his old riding: Former Conservative and Independent MP

November 18, 2014 Owen Gray

Northern Reflections: Change Is In The Air

http://www.threehundredeight.com/ The Harperites won both by-elections yesterday. But it’s instructive to focus on the number of eligible voters who tramped to the polls. In Oshawa-Whity, only 30% of those who could vote bothered to vote. But in Yellowhead — that Tory stronghold — only 15% of eligible voters bothered

November 17, 2014 Owen Gray

Northern Reflections: Time For a Walk In The Snow?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/ Conrad Black observed last week that the Harper government had “run out of steam.” And Stephen Mahar suggested that Jason Kenny was ready and willing to fill

November 16, 2014 Owen Gray

Northern Reflections: The Consequences Of His Inaction

http://www.spiritscienceandmetaphysics.com/ There are some who believe that the deal which the United States and China reached on greenhouse gas emissions will force Stephen Harper to act on climate change. But Jeffrey Simpson warns that such optimism is misplaced. To begin with, the Republican dominated congress will

November 15, 2014 Owen Gray

Northern Reflections: On the QT

https://www.policyalternatives.ca/ Canadians like to think that income inequality is an American problem. But, Linda McQuaig writes, on that meme, Canada is a close second behind the United States: It’s true that the U.S. has the most extreme inequality, but a recent OECD report noted that Canada has the second-largest

November 14, 2014 Owen Gray

Northern Reflections: Their Real Enemy

From the very beginning, Stephen Harper has claimed that he stands for and with the troops. But, Michael Harris writes, the men and women who have actually been in battle have declared war on the Harperites: In fact, the veterans are here not to praise Caesar but to bury him.

November 13, 2014 Owen Gray

Northern Reflections: The Pushback Against Dictatorship Continues

Michael Harris’ book Party of One details how Stephen Harper has corrupted Canadian democracy. Now you can add John Ralston Saul to Harper’s enemies list. Saul’s latest book, The Comeback, focuses on the harm Harper has done to Canada’s First Nations and the environment. Saul is particularly critical of the

November 12, 2014 Owen Gray

Northern Reflections: The Phony Warrior

http://www.ctvnews.ca / Now that Remembrance Day is over, Thomas Walkom reminds his readers that a day that was set aside to honour the sacrifices of many is now being used by one man to pave his way back into office: Patriotism is powerful tonic. The

November 11, 2014 Owen Gray

Northern Reflections: Remembrance Day 2014

http://veteransday-pictures.com/ We have become mesmerized by bad behaviour. Michael den Tandt writes that honour is is short supply these days: Honour is AWOL, missing without leave, in the case of the famous Toronto radio host now accused of serially assaulting at least nine women. Jian Ghomeshi has denied wrongdoing

November 10, 2014 Owen Gray

Northern Reflections: The F-35 By Any Means

http://leaksource.info/ We learned late last week the the Harper government has ordered four F-35’s. Michael Harris writes: According to a Canadian Press story by Murray Brewster based on a Pentagon leak, the Harper government plans to buy four F-35s and slip the acquisition into the current fiscal year. In

November 9, 2014 Owen Gray

Northern Reflections: It’s Going To Be A Very Nasty Election

http://powellriverpersuader.blogspot.ca/ On Friday, the Canadian Press reported that The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada has voted to abandon its traditional neutrality during federal elections: Members of the

November 8, 2014 Owen Gray

Northern Reflections: Becoming Our Burden

http://www.sunnewsnetwork.ca/ As EKOS reports that the Harperites are making political hay from the fear of terrorism, Paul Adams argues that there is a good case to be made for doing almost nothing about it: It’s never going to be easy to catch lone-wolf terrorists before they strike. None of

November 7, 2014 Owen Gray

Northern Reflections: Use Your Eyes

http://www.psaonline.org/ George Shultz is a Republican with a PhD in economics form MIT and a long record of public service. Jeffrey Simpson writes: Mr. Shultz will turn 94 next month, but his interest in public issues persists. His latest interest is climate change. He’s bought an electric car, placed

November 6, 2014 Owen Gray

Northern Reflections: They Claim He’s a Smart Man

http://dyn.com/ The Conservative “Family Tax Cut” is straight out of the fifties. Linda McQuaig considers three families, each earning

November 5, 2014 Owen Gray

Northern Reflections: What’s New?

http://lawofwork.ca/ As the details of Stephen Harper’s income splitting plan are made public, it becomes clear how grotesque his “family friendly” policy is. Carol Goar writes that a small minority of Canadians will give income splitting enthusiastic support: For about 15 per cent of the population, the answer is