‘If you throw a rock into the dark and hear a yelp .. you hit the dog.’Old Sask CCF populist political wisdom(circa 1940’s) Note: for the record … I have no horse in this race. I simply enjoy good old fashioned Canadian politics.
Continue readingA Canadian Lefty in Occupied Land: Review: Warlords
[Tim Cook. Warlords: Borden, Mackenzie King, and Canada’s World Wars. Toronto: Allen Lane, 2012.] On a certain level, I enjoyed reading this book. But it also embodies many ways of relating to history that I find quite objectionable. Written by a well-known Canadian military historian, Warlords tells the story of
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: The Globe and Mail: Head of Senate anti-terror committee unaware of Canada’s secret surveillance program
This is scary: The chair of a parliamentary anti-terrorism committee says he was “unaware of a federal spying program that allows for the collection of Canadians’ data trails.” This secret spying on our private lives could affect anyone, at any time and we can’t even tell if we’re victims of
Continue readingThe World Famous Dan Shields: 6147…The Wire Meets Second City
That is what Chris Hayes of MSNBC calls the Rob Ford affair. WFDS
Continue readingThe World Famous Dan Shields: 6147…Best Family Car Sticker Ever
Yes they are a stupid as the Baby On Board signs. Yes they are everywhere. Including the Antrim Truck Stop, just west of Ottawa in the Valley. Thanks to my real world and Facebook friend John Lindsay. WFDS
Continue readingCathie from Canada: Well, that was ugly
Unrepentant to the end, Quebec soccer is still trying to save face by blaming their racist turban ban on FIFA’s supposed “ambiguities” — the rules of soccer, you know, are just so difficult to clarify for all those hundreds of thousands of people around the world who play this game.
Continue readingLeDaro: How I feel about politics?
Bewildered and lost like this man.
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Afternoon Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading. – Paul Krugman points out that workers are receiving less and less benefit from technological advancements – and offers a simple policy prescription to ensure workers of all skill levels don’t suffer unduly based on forces far beyond their control: I’ve noted before that
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics: Twenty years since Alberta’s epic 1993 election.
TweetToday marks the 20th anniversary of Alberta’s 1993 election, known in Tory political circles as “the miracle on the Prairies” and to others as the election that interrupted the 1993 Stanley Cup Finals (in which the Montreal Canadiens defeated the Wayne Gretzky-led Los Angeles Kings). This election was Alberta’s most
Continue readingMorton's Musings: Is Quebec’s proposal for assisted suicide law legal? Likely not.
I am writing legally. This note does not consider the “morality” of the issue. First, the Criminal Code (Federal law) provides: 241. Every one who(a)counsels a person to commit suicide, or(b) aids or abets a person to commit suicide,whether suicide ensues or not, is guilty of an indictable offence and liable
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Brit DefMin Concedes – Afghanistan Is Our Vietnam
British Defence Secretary, Philip Hammond, says the miserable war in Afghanistan has been his country’s Vietnam. Britain is experiencing a ”Vietnam phenomenon” as the mission draws to a close, the Defence Secretary said in an interview during a trip to Afghanistan. His candid assessment comes as Britain tries to wind
Continue readingBuckdog: Conservatives Heading For A BIG Fall With Harper …. Brad Wall Could Change All Of That …
I know Brad Wall. Not extremely well, but like a neighbour that you wave to as you come and go on your street. He’s friendly. Nice family. The lawn is mowed. I don’t like his politics. He took his political apprenticeship with the disastrous Progressive Conservative administration of Grant Devine …
Continue readingThe World Famous Dan Shields: 5146…Senator Goes To Jail
And not a nice joint either.CBC reports that “Former Liberal senator Raymond Lavigne has been sent to jail for breach of trust and defrauding the Senate of more than $10,000 in phoney travel expense claims. Lavigne was sentenced in 2011 to six months behind bars, and another six months of
Continue readingThe World Famous Dan Shields: 6145…Ranch Dressing Flavoured Pop
OMG. OMFG. What are they thinking at Lester’s Fixins? These are the folks who have brought you hipster pops with flavours like chicken wing, Buffalo style, bacon, peanut butter and jelly. The latest flav in their Rocket Fizz line is Ranch Dressing Soda. According to the review in a Huffington
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Naked Citizens
A short documentary that reveals what lies in store for the innocent when digital, robo-surveillance, gets it wrong.
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Heroes and Villains
There is little doubt in my mind that the economic chaos defining the lives of millions of people is intentional, not just so their labour can be exploited as cheaply as possible, but also because desperate citizens make for compliant and disciplined drones. Historically, it has usually been thus, with
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Exposing the Link between Climate Change and Our Government’s Digital Surveillance of Us All.
Does climate change and the fear of public unrest explain why Western governments have sharply ramped up domestic surveillance of our digital communications? According to The Guardian, that’s precisely what’s going on. Since the 2008 economic crash, security agencies have increasingly spied on political activists, especially environmental groups, on behalf
Continue readingThe Moncton Times@Transcript - Good and Bad: June 15: Going too far…
…that’s the title of today’s editorial. And going too far is exactly what the editorial writer does. The editorial is written, almost certainly deliberately written, to be inflammatory. (I don’t discount the possiblity of crashing supidity on his/her part – but I more strongly suspect deliberate provocation, with stupidity as
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