Like many of us, I have thought a great deal about the issue of the niqab in public life. The recent banning of this garment in public in France set many people thinking and talking about the question and Minister Kenney’s recent banning of the niqab in citizenship ceremonies has
Continue readingExcited Delirium: A Sad Day For The World
Under Barack Obama, the US taken a definitive step into the ugly world of fascism now that the National Defense Authorization Act is now law.
Continue readingDavid Hahn’s Real Gift To The German Shipbuilding Industry…
Duty? WeDon’tNeedNoStinkin’DutyVille Remember those dock-destroying, fuel-guzzling ferries that British Columbians paid the Germans to build to make sure British Columbians didn’t. Build them, I mean. Well. Way back when (i.e. 2005) we talked about the nut-cutting that was required to make the thing work financially: “….the only way that Mr.
Continue readingTrashy's World: I’m dreaming of a…
…greeeeeeen Christmas…
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Andy Revkin Interviews Franke James On Dot Earth: Canada’s Approach To Inconvenient Art
Franke James Banned On The Hill.png Andy Revkin has a great interview with Canadian artist Franke James on his Dot Earth blog at The New York Times. DeSmogBlog previously covered the harrasment and censorship that Franke James says she experienced at the hands of the Harper government, which worked in strangely
Continue readingRed Tory v.3.0.3: So Long, Hitch
Christopher Hitchens died yesterday. His voice will be missed tremendously, maybe even grudgingly by some of those with whom he disagreed so vehemently about many things, not least of which, of course, the non-greatness of God. Just last week, Hitchens spoke at the Freethought Convention in Houston, TX, therefore making
Continue readingArt Threat: Volkswagen bends to critique, pulls sexist ad
Still from the Volkswagen Passat television ad in question. Volkswagen Canada has pulled the 2011 Passat TV ad “It pretty much sells itself” from its official YouTube channel and from TV rotation, including a prominent pre-roll spot on CBC News. Judging from Volkswagen Canada’s official Twitter account, the decision to
Continue readingDemocratic Progress: Kenney’s Religious War
With the news that Jason Kenney is banning veiled women from taking citizenship oaths, I wanted to go on record here. Canadians have the right to religious freedom. Unless there is a demonstrable risk of harm to other people, or to another persons actual rights, that religious freedom should be
Continue readingMontreal Simon: Con Canada and the Dirty Trick Gang
Golly Sherlock can you believe this? The polling company behind those phony calls in Irwin Cotler’s riding is feeling a little heat. A trade association that represents Canadian marketing and polling firms says it is looking into complaints about controversial phone calls into Liberal MP Irwin Cotler’s Montreal riding made
Continue readingBlunt Objects: How to Project Quebec?
I’m coming across a bit of a quandry when attempting to project the province of Quebec’s seats that takes into account a proper, regional balance of the Coalition Avenir du Quebec’s new-found success. My original model followed a basic average of the amount of voter drift between the older parties
Continue readingCrazy Bitches R Us: Is there a precedent for an Attawpiskat win in court?
A few people have asked us if a First Nation has ever successfully used the courts to kick out a Third Party Manager before. The answer is yes. In 2001 a First Nation in Ontario, the Pikangikum First Nation, asked for a judicial review after Indian Affairs refused to provide
Continue readingCrazy Bitches R Us: Is there a precedent for an Attawpiskat win in court?
A few people have asked us if a First Nation has ever successfully used the courts to kick out a Third Party Manager before. The answer is yes. In 2001 a First Nation in Ontario, the Pikangikum First Nation, asked for a judicial review after Indian Affairs refused to provide
Continue readingCrazy Bitches R Us: Is there a precedent for an Attawpiskat win in court?
A few people have asked us if a First Nation has ever successfully used the courts to kick out a Third Party Manager before. The answer is yes. In 2001 a First Nation in Ontario, the Pikangikum First Nation, asked for a judicial review after Indian Aff…
Continue readingEnvironmental Law Alert Blog: The ear of government and the mouths of the oil industry
Friday, December 16, 2011 With French-language CBC reporting that Canadian Environment Minister Peter Kent is meeting far more often with the oil and gas industry than with environmental organizations, we have 2 questions. First, what does that mean for Canada's environmental laws and policies? Second, where is the English-language media
Continue readingknitnut.net: Dog rescue rejects Zoom and GC because of blog post
Yesterday’s blog post, Should we adopt this puppy? has had some completely unexpected and bizarre repercussions. Someone forwarded the post to Kim Knapp, founder of Friendly Giants Dog Rescue, and she hated it. I don’t understand what her problem with it is, as she doesn’t seem to be able to
Continue readingViews from the lake - eh?: What would Peter do?
The Canadian Taxpayers’ Federation has recently been uncovering some rather embarrassing expenses incurred by the Minister of National Defence, including $3,167 for flights to Boston to attend a “seafood show”. (To be fair, Mackay isn’t the only politician to abuse the public purse, he just happens to be the one
Continue readingStrategy sharing from Occupy Portland…
Occupy Portland Outsmarts Police, Creating Blueprint for Other Occupations by Lester Macgurdy The Portland Occupation stumbled upon a tactical innovation regarding occupying public spaces. This evolution in tactics was spontaneous, and went unreported in the media. On December 3rd, we took a park and were driven out of it by
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: Dampier: Internet even more inaccessible in Rural Canada thanks to Rogers
By Phillip Dampier for Stop The Cap Rogers Communications has mailed letters to rural Canadians announcing it will cease operation of its Portable Internet wireless broadband service effective March 1, 2012. The service, which uses the Inukshuk Wireless network, delivers Internet access to over 150 communities across mostly rural-northern Canada,
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics blog: rajey.
Following up on my previous post with the NDP video from the Press Gallery Christmas Party, here is the Liberal Party video shown at the annual party: (thanks to Earl J. Woods for posting it online) Tweet This Post
Continue readingArt Threat: Not a cool time to be Canadian – Friday Film Pick: Everything’s Cool
On Monday the Canadian government officially announced the very unpopular decision to withdraw from Kyoto, furthering Canada’s status as eco-pariah on the international stage while reinforcing the massive chasm that exists between Canada’s citizens and its Conservative government. Stephen Harper’s Conservatives won a majority in last year’s election despite the
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