Here are the leading legal headlines from Wise Law on Twitter for Friday, February 17, 2012: Rick Vaive did not drink and drive, former Leaf teammate testifies Vancouver Stanley Cup rioter gets 17 months in jail Anti-abortion “personhood” bill clears Oklahoma senate (Steve Olafson/Reuters) Supreme Court to rule on Quebec
Continue readingBigCityLib Strikes Back: Return Of The Psychic Hairdresser
Reading this, you have to figure that Michelle Muntean is still on the payroll: OTTAWA – Prime Minister Stephen Harper had already made the decision to kick a controversial cyber crime bill to committee even before Opposition howled because he sensed a public backlash was rolling his way, QMI Agency
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Morning Links
Assorted content to end your week. – Susan Riley brilliantly slams the message that austerity is necessary for everybody but those who already have the most: Is anyone else getting tired of being lectured about austerity by wealthy consultants in expensive suits who charge $1,500 a day for their advice
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Sharing Sacrifice
I wrote yesterday that Premier Dalton McGuinty now faces the difficult task of getting Ontarians to accept the notice of shared sacrifice. This morning, Susan Riley reminds her readers of how the system is tilted in exactly the opposite direction. On the subject of the Harper government’s plan to “save”
Continue readingmark a rayner | scribblings, squibs & sundry monkey joys: Torpor, Ennui, the End of the Universe
That kid just bummed me out. Alltop would love a new bike.
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Inflation and Drummond
Statistics Canada reported today that consumer prices jumped in January (by 0.4% or 0.5% seasonally-adjusted), offsetting the drop in December. As a result, the annual inflation rate is now 2.5% and the Bank of Canada’s core inflation rate is 2.1%. Monetary Policy Both measures are well within the central bank’s
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: The DWR Friday Classic Music Interlude – Mahler Symphony No.2 ‘Auferstehung’
Hey, do you have 90 minutes? I hope so, Mahler’s Second Symphony demands your time. The work in its finished form has five movements: Allegro maestoso Musically, the first movement – written in C minor – though passing through a number of different moods, often resembles a funeral march,
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Tutu Targets Tar Sands
Archbishop Desmond Tutu and seven other Nobel laureates have written British prime minister David Cameron warning that Athabasca Tar Sands bitumen “threatens the health of the planet.” The group is urging the UK to support European moves to classify Athabasca bitumen as highly polluting. Last November, the Guardian revealed that
Continue readingwmtc: dear leadnow: i’m not sure i want to cooperate
Like many Canadian activists, I am currently being bombarded with emails from Leadnow and Avaaz, pushing their “Cooperate for Canada” campaign. We are being urged to join the political party of our choice, then to encourage the parties to “cooperate” in the next election, in order to defeat the Conservatives.
Continue reading350 or bust: Chasing Water: Examining The Human Toll On A River
Chasing Water, follows photojournalist Peter McBride and writer John Waterman (great name, I know!) as they set out to document the flow of the Colorado River from source to sea. A Colorado native, McBride hails from a ranching family that depends on the Colorado for irrigation, and this is the
Continue readingScott's DiaTribes: A timely new story on police and internet
For Vic Toews or the Conservative government and the furore they’ve caused with Bill C-30, the “internet snooping” bill, as I prefer to call it, not the “lawful access” bill, or the law to get child pornographers off the internet bill, or whatever ridiculous name Vic Toews tries to come
Continue readingC. Olsen’s Replacement….Wags’ Tongues Are A Wigglin’
. And if they are right, I reckon it really is, as I suggested tongue-in-cheek last night…. The Boessenkool Effect. To wit: BillTieleman@BillTieleman Following Could Sara MacIntyre – ex-Stephen Harper press secretary – be next Tory into Christy Clark’s office, replacing Chris Olsen? # bcpoli 6RETWEETS 6:31 PM – 16
Continue readingTrashy's World: Another “can someone explain to me?”
This time, why did 8 OCDSB Trustees vote against instructing staff to clarify what is meant by religious accommodation? Religious Practice in Schools “MOTION A” FAILED ON A VOTE OF 8-4 A. THAT staff be directed to prepare a report for the May 2012 Strategic Planning and Priorities Committee meeting
Continue readingMorton's Musings: Good for Justice Minister Rob Nicholson
I often slag the Conservatives. But when they do something right they deserve to be recognized: Government to close legal loophole threatening gay marriage: http://bit.ly/wpm4kv "The Harper government moved quickly to quell the controversy, promising it had no intention of revisiting the debate on the definition of marriage. Justice Minister
Continue readingBigCityLib Strikes Back: Heartlandgate: Update
Finally, the story of The Heartland Institute’s attempt to infiltrate the American school system and teach kids to deny science has reached Canadian news outlets. Meanwhile, two days into scandal, CEO Joe Bast and the other players at HI have had time to write any number of blog posts, and
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: The Joy of Political Giving, By-Elections edition #nlpoli
Official election finance returns for two by-elections in 2010 and 2011 show an interesting pattern of political contributions. The most interesting tidbit is that the Tories had to pull out all the financial stops to ensure Vaughan Granter won Humber West. The party transferred more than $17,000 to his campaign.
Continue readingPaying for privacy invasions
What’s that? Telecoms and ISPs will have to spend lots of money to create spy infrastructure and backdoors for police as part of the Lawful Access bill, and those costs will be passed on to consumers? You don’t say! Meanwhile, here are some “inconvenient truths” about the bill on both sides of
Continue readingNorthern Insights / Perceptivity: Canada too!
Will American Anti-Labor Policies Infect Europe?, Dave Johnson, Campaign for America’s Future The threat is in the air: “Shut up and take the wage cuts or we will move your job to China.” “…Workers in countries like China where people have no say have low wages, terrible working conditions, long
Continue readingNorthern Insights / Perceptivity: Pulses from the twitterverse
Lindsay Kines (Feb 9): Glad to see the jury delivered its Vander Zalm verdict in court instead of on the Bill Good show. Christy Clark appoints NW crime reporters to probe justice system and report back after the 1 o’clock weather. Christy Clark opts for senior bureaucrat, instead of CKNW
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