The debate about the state of Canada’s wireless market is heating up, as recent independent reports confirm that Canadians pay some of the highest prices in the world for cellphone service. There’s also rising concern about whether big telecom companies are using new rules about 2-year contracts as an excuse
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: When Extending Life Becomes Prolonging Death
There was an item recently in the Vancouver Sun about how a lot of the current crop of young people will live 100-years or longer. Wow, one hundred years. If I recall right, as the 19th century came to a close average lifespan was in the 45-50 year range. In
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Oil On The Tracks: The Crude-by-Rail Boom By the Numbers
The tragic oil train explosion earlier this month in Lac-Megantic, Quebec has focused a spotlight on the growing role of rail in the transportation of North American crude. But even after that tragedy, the extent of rail’s expansion in transporting oil is still little understood by the typical driver at the
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: Check out our volunteers at Simon Fraser University’s OpenMedia.ca’s campus club
How awesome are our volunteers at BC’s Simon Fraser University OpenMedia.ca campus club? We also have a campus club at McGill University in Montreal. If you’d like to be a part of one, we’d love to hear from you! Check out volunteer and job opportunities on openmedia.ca/work or get in
Continue readingCowichan Conversations: Whistleblower Sylvie Therrien suspended after leaking Canada’s EI rejection ‘quotas’(VIDEO)
Richard Hub Hughes-Political Blogger Sylvie Therrien did not feel right about kicking people off Employment Insurance to meet an Conservative Government mandated quota. Another insider blows the whistle on government behaviour. Now she has not had to flee the country but she has been suspended and may lose her job
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Privacy Concerns Or Just Plain Secrecy?
I started working on a post the other day about government and institutions’ penchant for claiming ‘privacy concerns’ as an excuse for withholding the kind of information that true democracies are entitled to. However, I haven’t had a lot of energy the past few days, so I think I will
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Obama’s Climate Change Policy a Plot Against Red States
You know, Red States – high unemployment, low education, high crime, shorter lifespans, constantly at the trough for federal handouts – those Red States. Well, according to a “scholar” at the prestigious American Enterprise Institute, president Obama’s climate change policy is a plot to redistribute wealth from dirt poor Red
Continue readingThe World Famous Dan Shields: 6266…Canadian Icon Turns 73 Today
Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek. WFDS
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material to start your week. – Dean Beeby reports on the utter uselessness of the latest set of publicly-funded Con propaganda. But more importantly, John Ibbitson notes that most of the provinces have little use for the lone new announcement – meaning that it’s for the best if Canadians
Continue readingWarren Kinsella: Free Pussy Riot now
Dear Masha and Nadia: As the one-year anniversary of your trial approaches, we are writing to assure you that, around the world, people are both still thinking of you and working for your release. Although you were the most visible of the protesters, we know that there were many other
Continue readingLeDaro: Where did the universe come from?
I don’t have a clue about the beginning of the universe. Veil_Nebula “The Big Bang theory is an attempt to describe the creation and evolution of the universe. The theory appears to match observations, and the theoretical physics appear to hold back through time to within a tiny fraction of a
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Renewable Energy Sources Gaining Market Share
In a positive sign for United States energy consumption, a new report shows that the market share of renewable energy sources grew at a larger pace than fossil fuels for the year 2012. Additionally, the first half of this year has seen an enormous surge in renewable energy infrastructure and
Continue readingMind of Dan: Risk; local vs global
Everything we do carries some element of risk. This much should be obvious. The recent horrific disaster at Lac-Mégantic underscores the fact that many aspects of our energy system such as having a rail line run through the middle of a populated area implies some level of risk. That risk
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Morning ‘Rider Blogging
Needless to say, there isn’t much to question after a performance like the ‘Riders romp over Hamilton yesterday. But I’ll point out a couple of aspects of the ‘Riders’ recent play which may mean far more than the numbers receiving the most attention so far. On that front, while “no
Continue readingThe World Famous Dan Shields: 6265…Don’t Bark At Police
Antonio Morrison got arrested for doing so on the weekend.Who is Antonio Morrison? Glad you asked. Mr. Morrison is a student athlete with the University of Florida Gators football team. Think Gatorade, Tim Tebow and Ottawa’s own Jesse Palmer and you have the picture. The Orlando Sentinel relays the info that
Continue readingLeDaro: Duchess Kate in labour
The crazy bunch! Duchess Kate in labour? So what? I have never understood this obsession with a couple of people, Kate and William, or the rest of the ‘royal’ family. They’re humans like rest of us. What happened to the evolution of civilization? I would think that kings, queens, princes
Continue readingBuckdog: After Confusing Mixed Messages From Premier Wall, Sask NDP Want Him To Bring ‘Abolish Senate’ Action To Premiers Meeting
( “NDP Leader Cam Broten is calling on the premier to commit to a provincial resolution to abolish the Senate and urge the other provinces to do the same while meeting with Canada’s premiers this week. “The NDP has long wanted to abolish the Senate and roll up the red
Continue readingThe Moncton Times@Transcript - Good and Bad: July 22: Wow! Wow! Wow!
George “Skip” Wallin is back in letters to the editor. And, what a thrill! He’s once again been chosen by Letters editor Rod Allen as Letter of the Day. He must really be good. His point this time is similar to his point every time. Doctors know nothing about the
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: When economic action plan advertising fails.
Somebody should get a bill for this. Babel-on-the-Bay has been telling people for free that the Conservative government’s well advertised economic action plan is a crock. Do they listen to us? No. They have to do studies to prove it. Now that it has been proved, where does that leave
Continue readingA BCer in Toronto: What happened to Harper’s cheques for whistleblowers?
In the 2006 election, the Conservatives talked some good talk about whistleblowers. They got a whistleblowing former federal civil servant to run for them as a candidate, and they made protecting whistleblowers a key part of their election platform. Here’s what they promised: They won that election, and several
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