Where to begin? For all the 3000-3500 individuals who attended this biennial convention, you really don’t need much in the way of a re-telling of what happened, what we accomplished, what we lost, and how important it is. And for the 30,000-some-odd people who watched online, and the many more
Continue readingwmtc: the perfect is the enemy and other thoughts on writing
I have a little meta-reflection on writing my recent post about the walled-off internet. These thoughts are not specific to the topic; it could have been anything. As it happens, writing that post brought up some truisms about the writing process – one negative and one positive. Perhaps they are
Continue readingSlap Upside The Head: Unspinning The Same-Sex Marriage Fiasco
On Thursday, an article in the Globe and Mail declared that Stephen Harper’s Conservatives had annulled over five thousand Canadian same-sex marriages issued to non-residents since 2005. Worldwide panic and probably cannibalism ensued, with the government rapidly trying to diffuse the situation, and the media using a mixture of government-fed
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Rebirth for one, and for the other? #nlpoli #cdnpoli
The federal Liberal convention this weekend shows just exactly how out to lunch the overwrought media commentary about the devastated Liberal party has been. Around 3,000 delegates. Some said there were more than that; others said there were fewer. Lots of interested and interesting discussion. And a new president. Keeping
Continue readingBigCityLib Strikes Back: Northern Gateway Proponents Play Dirty!
Since hearings into the Northern Gateway began last week, there have been accusations of misconduct on the part of pipeline/route opponents. These have been shown to be false, as even the folks at Ethical Oil seem to realize (see “update”). However, people on the pro-pipeline side of the issue seem clearly to be
Continue readingThe Scott Ross: A Liberal Spark
A national convention this weekend showed that out the ashes of the Liberal Party there was a spark. That in Ottawa, where once the largest Liberal flame burned, where once it warmed all of a cold Canada, this weekend the city now home to the party’s cinders flared the tiniest
Continue readingA Novelist's Mind: Lilian Nattel Online: Author Interview with Sheila Dalton
Sheila Dalton, the author of The Girl in the Box, has generously given of her time to answer some questions. 1. How would you summarize The Girl in the Box? A mute Mayan girl held captive in the Guatemalan jungle is rescued by a psychoanalyst she later kills. The doctor’s
Continue readingAll Politics Is Local: Hungary and the Death of Democracy in Europe
In October 2006, I took a trip to Budapest for a vacation. Unbeknownst to me at the time, October 2006 was an interesting time to be in the Hungarian capital. In May 2006, Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany’s MSZP party had been re-elected under the shadow of a collapsing economy and
Continue readingAll Politics Is Local: Hungary and the Death of Democracy in Europe
In October 2006, I took a trip to Budapest for a vacation. Unbeknownst to me at the time, October 2006 was an interesting time to be in the Hungarian capital. In May 2006, Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany’s MSZP party had been re-elected under the shadow of a collapsing economy and
Continue readingAll Politics Is Local: Hungary and the Death of Democracy in Europe
In October 2006, I took a trip to Budapest for a vacation. Unbeknownst to me at the time, October 2006 was an interesting time to be in the Hungarian capital. In May 2006, Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany’s MSZP party had been re-elected und…
Continue readingA doorknock dinner. pale’s Mock Won Ton Soup.
There used to be a show on Food Network, Door knock dinners. The premise was that a chef and a camera crew would descend on a house, and cook a meal with what they could find in the kitchen. Consequently, some of my more “creative” meals made with what is
Continue readingTanker Safety
There is much talk these days about the safety of transporting bitumen via tankers in the Douglas Channel and out into Hecate Straight. The proponentspimps of the project insist that technology is just wonderful and there will be the utmost care taken to avoid the unthinkable, a catastrophic spill on
Continue readingGOP Presidential Primary Field: Now 16.6% Less Sane
Or to put it another way, 83.4% Batshit (and the jury’s still out on Ron Paul). Jon Huntsman, the only thing between the GOP Presidential Primary Field and its own category in the DSM-IV, has left run screaming from the building: Jon M. Huntsman Jr. informed his advisers on Sunday
Continue readingIf Corporations Are People, Then….
IAmNotARat WillardVille …Mitt Romney is, according to the SuperPac-ManCorp backing Stephen Colbert, A Serial Killer! That’s funny, we always thought Willard was just a wee bit Psycho. Fa fa fa fa fa fa fa fa fa, fa….Run, run, run, run, run, run run away. Ha! .
Continue readingCalgaryGrit: 2012 Liberal Biennial in Pictures
The drive to Ottawa. Had there been an “annex the Turks & Caicos” policy, it would have passed overwhelmingly, simply on the prospect of a sun destination convention. Munir Sheikh – the Bono of former StatsCan heads – gave a 9 am talk on survey sampling methodology. The voting clickers
Continue readingRed Tory v.3.0.3: Bob Rae Addresses LPC Presidents
To borrow a quote from James Wolcott: “ they’ve seen it all, they’ve said it all; they’re bored; we’re bored, let’s order another round of yawns.” I guess the take-away from this speech (skip ahead to the last five minutes for the good stuff) was that the Liberal Party is
Continue readingWe will not allow foreigners to interfere … | #EthicalOilBullshit #tarsands
Bahrain is us and we are Bahrain, we are the Arabs of the Arabian peninsula, and we should not and will not allow any foreigners interfere in our Arabian Peninsula. — Arabnews.com, Editorial: Helping Bahrain, March 15, 2011 (reader comment) _____________ We are within the laws passed by this Parliament,
Continue readingAnti-Racist Canada: The ARC Collective: Ugh. So Here We Go Again.
After two years of public humiliation, it looks like McKee is taking another kick at the can based upon the image that was sent to us by a reader: We did a bit of editing; we're sure that boneheads who want towill find the contact information themselves, but we don't
Continue readingMerCHEdes? Of atrocities and apologies (still owing) from Mercedes-Benz
Yes, the above is an atrocity, and a gross violation of rights. But not for the reasons the gusanos of Miami claim. Cubadebate explains what’s really horrible about it: The luxury-vehicle company Mercedes-Benz apologized this week for having used the image of Che Guevara in a publicity campaign. Its apology,
Continue reading