Hands-free exemptions in cell-phone driving laws are nonsensical. That much has been obvious to me and a lot of other people for years. The problem with phoning while driving isn’t just that your hands and eyes are busy with the phone, it’s because your BRAIN is busy in a remote
Continue readingwmtc: wmtc now without threaded comments!
No go on the threaded comments. First of all, it only indents once. That’s a good space-saver, but kind of defeats the purpose of using the threaded format. Second, as Allan points out, threading makes it more difficult to scan through a comment thread to read only the newest comments.
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Cleary on the Move #nlpoli #cdnpoli
Noob Bloc NDP member of parliament Ryan Cleary is on the move. Backwards. In the most recent seating plan for the House of Commons, Cleary’s seat goes all the way down the opposition side of the House down to the seats right next to the Tories, up in the back
Continue reading350 or bust: Gerald Amos Of Haisla First Nation To Stephen Harper and Joe Oliver: No Apology Forthcoming
This letter is reprinted from the Terrace Daily, where it was first published on January 8th, and then republished last week: Recently there has been a lot of criticism by supporters of the tar sands, and oil industry front groups, of Canadian non-profit organizations who have concerns regarding the proposed
Continue readingOccupy Ottawa: Occupy Ottawa to protest Crime Bill C-10 on Parliament Hill
Hundreds of activists are expected on Parliament Hill at noon on Tuesday, January 31, to protest the Harper Conservative government’s widely condemned omnibus crime Bill C-10. The protest is being organized by the Political Action …Read More
Continue readingBlunt Objects: CAQ Momentum Falling?
While it’s not a totally established trend yet, it appears that the Coalition pour l’Avenir du Québec and it’s leader François Legault are facing an increasing downward trend in Quebec’s provincial polling: Three polls out in January all give he CAQ below 33% of the vote, with the Parti libéral
Continue readingHarpie’s Bad Move and the Wrath of Elders
It was a little like finding out your spouse is running around on you from someone in the cashout lineup at the grocery store. Indeed, it was absolutely doubleplus-awesome of Harpie to save for a hectoring speech he delivered in luxo-lux Davos last week the fact that Canadian Seniors are
Continue readingSlap Upside The Head: Battle of Service
While legislators in New Hampshire consider a bill that would make it legal for business owners in the public sector to deny services to any gay person getting married, an owner of an upscale bistro in Tennessee is doing almost the opposite—refusing service to homophobic lawmakers. (Ah, the sting of their own discrimination…
Continue readingMorton's Musings: Evidence given on voir dire not thereby trial evidence
R. v. Chaing, 2012 ONCA 59 deals with a case where there was confusion about evidence given on a voir dire and actual testimony. Evidence given on a voir dire is not thereby evidence given in a trial. The distinction is critical to remember; with some many blended voir dire cases special care
Continue readingRedBedHead: Shafia Becomes An Excuse For Anti-Muslim Racism
Of course the horror of the multiple murders of three young girls and their mother by the father, son and second wife ought to be condemned. It ought to be the focus for a public discussion about the plight of women who are too often the focus for familial violence.But
Continue readingThe World Famous Dan Shields: 4166…Cannes Advertising Festival
It is an annual affair, the best of adverts from around the world. It is on at the ByTowne Cinema in Ottawa, the one on Rideau Street near the big ass Loblaws, later this week and next week. I would tell you to go if only for this reason and
Continue readingBlast Furnace Canada Blog: Guilty verdicts in Kingston — a turning point in the war against women?
The struggle for equal rights never ends and must never end. Recent events in two parts of the world, seemingly disconnected but linked by the common element of who the targets are, are a reminder of this. Firstly, the guilty verdicts yesterday in Kingston in the so-called “honour killings” of
Continue readingTHE FIFTH COLUMN: A Non-Satirical Look at Ottawa’s PIN Messaging "Scandal"
Is Ottawa’s PIN scandal really a tempest in a teapot. You cannot legislate or regulate integrity. The only thing that can ensure someone’s integrity is their integrity. As it stands now there is a possibility for Ottawa City staff members to discuss public policy matters without there being a record
Continue readingCanadian Dimension Feed: The Global Economic Crisis—Part 3
CD: The financial sector has been remarkably successful in shifting the debt burden into the public sector which also bears much of the cost of “recapitalizing” the banks. But what problems persist in the financial sector? Sam Gindin: Before answering any of the questions, it’s important to clarify the role
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: Cuts: This time it’s personal by Susan Delacourt
Columnist questions whether it is possible for the Conservative government to make cuts without first demonizing the target of them.
Continue readingNorthern Insights / Perceptivity: What happened to Canada?
Corporations Have No Use for Borders, Chris Hedges, Truthdig “What happened to Canada? It used to be the country we would flee to if life in the United States became unpalatable. No nuclear weapons. No huge military-industrial complex. Universal health care. Funding for the arts. A good record on the
Continue readingLaw is Cool: Toronto Mayor Rob Ford Lacked Legal Authority to Cancel Transit City
Cavalluzzo Hayes Shilton McIntyre & Cornish released a legal opinion today concluding that Toronto Mayor Rob Ford did not have legal authority to cancel Transit City. The opinion concludes that the mayor does not have independent power to bind the city, and only exercises power delegated by council or specific
Continue readingThe Equivocator: Newark Mayor Cory Booker on Marriage Equality
Via The Daily Dish. Filed under: United States Politics Tagged: Cory Booker, LGBTQ, marriage-equality, Minority rights
Continue readingNorthern Insights / Perceptivity: Downstream, from Babelgum
The first original production by and for Babelgum, Downstream focuses on the controversy surrounding the development of Alberta’s oil sands. This beautifully photographed documentary is an eye-opening investigation into one of the world’s most polluting oil operations. It includes interviews with ecologists, Canadian politicians, local residents and a very dedicated
Continue readingNote To The Birdman…
. ….Prove It. “He’s been workin’ real hard trying to make his hands clean….” (almost)Bruce Buried deep beneath the lede of J. Fowlie’s blockbuster in the VSun today… …On the long-standing, drawn-out 19 month effort by his government to keep the shredded $800,000 IPad-assisted ‘HST-Booster’ pamphlet from public view, the
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