When I was a kid, I was known for throwing hissy fits on just about anything that didn’t go my way. Now a lot of us adults probably were like that in our younger days, too, but we smartened up. In that vein, though, I have to wonder if Eve
Continue readingTag: ethics
Blast Furnace Canada Blog: Two steps forward in America, one step back in Uganda
Another good (and bad) week for common decency. 1) Freedom of religion. That’s the excuse a lot of business owners used well into the 1970s when they refused service to Blacks, Asians and Native Americans. So it was good to hear Gov. Janice Brewer of Arizona veto the so-called “religious
Continue readingBlast Furnace Canada Blog: Finally, the Confederacy gets on board — well, one state does
In a decision that surprised me, a Southern federal judge overturned Virginia’s constitutional ban on same-sex marriage. Judge Arenda L. Wright Allen also ruled that the state also had to start respecting the laws of 17 other states and Washington DC that permit the practice. This marks the first time
Continue readingThe Cracked Crystal Ball II: On Mass Surveillance
The revelation this week that CSEC has the capability to monitor the movements of Canadians simply by gathering some metadata from the traffic that goes by on public networks raises a lot of interesting questions that are worth discussing. In an e-mail conversation on the matter, the following question was
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: DWR Quote of the Day – If You Look at the World…
It is a new year. Some small sliver of optimism remains – If you look at the world and say “Yes, there are enough homes for people, yes, there is enough food for people, but if we give it away for free they won’t have earned it and the economy
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Pretty rich: Manning Centre founder and namesake lectures Ottawa Press Gallery on ethics
The Parliamentary Press Gallery, apparently as seen, sort of, but not quite, by Preston Manning. New ethical guidelines required? Doubtful. Below: The founder and namesake of the Calgary-Based Manning Centre; Senator Mike Duffy. Let me get this straight: the founder and namesake of the Manning Centre presumes to lecture Ottawa’s
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: A Thought on Spanking your Child…
“When I was about 20 years old, I met an old pastor’s wife who told me that when she was young and had her first child, she didn’t believe in striking children, although spanking kids with a switch pulled from a tree was standard punishment at the time. But one
Continue readingThe Cracked Crystal Ball II: Technology Is Opening A New Era Of Ethics
Whether it is the accumulation of data about your life on Facebook, your online professional profile on LinkedIn, or the location tracking features of your cellphone, there has never been more data about you available. Some of it is “public”, some of it is definitely not. The people that operate
Continue readingParliamANT Hill: NDP ethics chair Pat MartinAnt denounces ‘black shroud of secrecy’
Inspired by this headline: http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/12/10/ndp-ethics-chair-pat-mart_n_4421940.html
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Resolving ‘Tobaccogate’ – Caesar’s wife must be above suspicion … but not necessarily in Alberta
Where there’s smoke, ummm…. there’s smoke. Got that? Actual Alberta government tobacco lawyers may not appear exactly as illustrated. Below: Alberta Ethics Commissioner Neil Wilkinson. The astonishing thing about yesterday’s ruling by Alberta’s Ethics Commissioner exonerating Alison Redford in the “Tobaccogate” affair is not that Neil Wilkinson concluded no wrong
Continue readingNorthern Insight: Diane, it’s even worse than you claim
Diane Francis is a writer whose typical view of Canada is about 400 miles wide so its not surprising that in her New York Post expose, she ignores corrupt political acts in western Canada. For example, while the Confederation Bridge to PEI cost $1.3 B ($1.8 B in 2013 dollars)
Continue readingNorthern Insight: Baksheesh, bustarella, schmiergeld, kuroi kiri
What’s in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet. – William Shakespeare Organizations that aim to safeguard assets create effective operational and audit controls. They also respect codes of ethics like that of SCMA, a group of professionals working in procurement,
Continue readingBlast Furnace Canada Blog: "I’ve got more than enough to eat at home," Ford says
You couldn’t get the best scriptwriters in Hollywood or Broadway to come up with this line. Rob Ford, responding this morning to numerous allegations that he hired a call girl to visit his office in Toronto (among other allegations of downing mickeys in one shot and DUI), said they were
Continue readingBlast Furnace Canada Blog: Take a time out already, Rob!
So Rob Ford has actually admitted it. He’s bought illegal drugs during the last two years. Notwithstanding that concession, 30 of 44 councillors on Toronto City Council voted to ask him to take a leave of absence. Naturally, Ford refused. He also said he still has a “coat hanger” in
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: No more excuses
There is no question: this generation will be held responsible for our actions, and even more, for our inaction. Apathy, complacency and denial are morally unacceptable. In fact, at this time in human history, they are nothing less than complicity in the worst of collective atrocities. We must act now.
Continue readingBlast Furnace Canada Blog: As always, it’s the coverup (if that’s what it is)
At this point, I really don’t give a damn if Toronto Mayor Rob Ford did drugs. If he did it certainly hasn’t impaired his performance as a politician. What I do care about are the following: Ford obviously has major issues. Be they mental or substance, or both, he needs
Continue readingBlast Furnace Canada Blog: Harper picks CETA over H of C
I couldn’t believe it when I heard it on the radio this morning. On the first day of the debate regarding the Reply to the Speech from the Throne, Stephen Harper doesn’t face off against Tom Mulcair — by tradition it’s the Opposition Leader that starts the debate. Nope. Harper
Continue readingBlast Furnace Canada Blog: My thoughts on "death with dignity"
The recent passing of Dr. Donald Low, who guided Toronto through the SARS crisis in 2003, unexpectedly sparked a revival of the difficult issue of assisted suicide when his widow, CBC alumna and medical expert Maureen Taylor, released Low’s final home video where he asked Canadians to consider what it
Continue readingNorthern Insight: Broken trust
After shifting his focus in recent months, Alex Tsakumis is blogging again and getting ready to launch yourshow.ca as a 3-hour a day webcast on politics, media and other current affairs. A segment of AGT’s Thursday post caught my eye. He described a moment in the recent Legislative session when
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: Russia: The Westboro Baptist of Nations
Ms.Betty Bowers thoughts on the 2014 Olympics. Filed under: Ethics, Gender Issues, International Affairs Tagged: bigotry, discrimination, Olympics, Russia
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