LeDaro: Trayvon Martin murder by George Zimmerman
This is one of the saddest stories. Poor young man was shot dead because he was black. I have no doubt about Zimmerman’s motives – he is a racist bastard and so are police officers who let him walk free. It is not for long though. Read more here. The
Continue readingWise Law Blog: 140 Law – Legal Headlines for Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Here are the leading legal headlines from Wise Law on Twitter for Wednesday, March 21, 2012: ACLU files torture complaint against US on behalf of Afghan, Iraqi detainees Air Canada pilots challenge back-to-work law Ontario and New York Bars to hold historic summit Wal-Mart pleads guilty to workplace safety charges
Continue readingMorton's Musings: Police more forgetful after chases or altercations
Important research: http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2012/03/20/cops-more-forgetful-after-chases-or-altercations/?hpt=hp_bn10 Police officers who engage in at least 60 seconds of intense physical energy while involved in a combative encounter may suffer memory loss, according to a newly published study in the journal Psychological Science.
Continue readingThings Are Good: The Growing Industry of Green Cement
Cement is a very popular building material for a lot of good reasons, the problem though is that the process of making it requires a ton of energy. This problem has led to a growing number of people looking into ways to make cement less damaging to the planet. We’ve
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Leadership 2012 Roundup
Another day, another set of NDP leadership campaign stories. – Niki Ashton won the support of the NDP’s Socialist Caucus. – Nathan Cullen expanded on his joint nomination proposal with a far more appealing discussion of co-operation in general: Cullen isn’t shy about what he has in mind. “If the
Continue readingA Different Point of View....: Part Two of Three Part Series: What progressive groups must do to defeat, or stymie the Harper regime
Canada’s progressive community needs to make some significant changes if it hopes to slow down the assault being carried out on the country by Stephen Harper’s Conservatives and their right-wing allies. The observations and suggestions I make in this three-part series are based on what I was able to learn during
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Dan Gardner writes about the Cons’ backup plan of answering their own wrongdoing with criticism of anybody who dares to investigate it – and points out the dangers of that approach: (W)hat happens if Elections Canada delivers a report even a fraction as
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Swiftboating His Opponents
The central problem the opposition parties have with Stephen Harper is that he defines the terms of the debate.He does that, first and foremost, by conducting an eternal campaign. His forces are continually on the attack, defining his opponents as weak, and their policies as un-Canadian. The recently released attack
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: TED speaker looks at the Internet and reimagines government
This is a great video on how the Internet can be used to reimagine the role and process of government so that it’s more open, transparent, engaging and responsive to our needs, rather than the demands of industry lobbyists. Thank you to Andrew William Sampson for posting this on our
Continue readingLeDaro: Senator Rick Santorum race for the Whitehouse
When my kids were very young I used to watch Bugs Bunny Road Runner with them. Poor coyote was never able to catch the Road Runner. Santorum has the same problem as he has no hope in hell to get the Republican nomination. Romney has won Illinois by a double-digit
Continue readingLeaders, leadership and the NDP
My piece in iPolitics: At some point this coming Saturday, all the debates will be over, and the NDP will have a new leader. Disclosure: I’m rooting for Paul Dewar. So read the following through that lens: both on the subject of other folks in the race, and on the
Continue readingTrashy's World: My debate teacher told us that…
… ad hominem attacks were cowardly and used only by those of inferior intellect. And I agree. Yet the CPC doesn’t see it this way. Politics over policy. Attacks over debate. Accusations over cooperation. It’s the Stephen Harper Way. Daniel Veniez penned a good article in iPolitics about the latest
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Toronto Library Strike
As a lifelong user of public libraries (I can still remember the very first book I took out as a child) and one who aspires to practise critical thinking on a regular basis, I feel for the people of Toronto who are now without this invaluable resource. Despite the inability
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: The United States and the Inequality Trap
A double-quick quiz to see if need to read this article or not – Is the following statement true? – Egalitarian societies are in general are more economically, socially and politically sound than those where inequality more pronounced. If you answered false go here and evaluate the evidence for
Continue readingwmtc: david suzuki fights back: he needs our help
If you have not already done so, please take a moment and send a letter to the Canadian Senate, calling on them to tone down their offensive rhetoric, and stop trying to marginalize and demonize Canadians who stand up for the future of the country (and the planet) by opposing
Continue readingBigCityLib Strikes Back: More Sackings At Sun TV?
Their full schedule page shows this: First Look was Neelam Verma; Newswire was Jacqui Delaney. Couple that with this tweet from Lorne Gunter (National Post): …and I think we have some staff rotation.
Continue readingmark a rayner | scribblings, squibs & sundry monkey joys: Peter Pan: Worst Spaceman Ever
Alltop is the lost boy of humor.
Continue readingScott's DiaTribes: Conservative attack ads already? A distraction attempt, I’d say.
Some folks in the media and elsewhere are saying the fact that the Conservatives chose to start running attack ads going after Liberal “still interim” leader Bob Rae means they view him as the de facto next permanent leader and the greater threat then the Opposition NDP’s new leader –
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