PHOTOS: The Calgary Herald newsroom, back in the day. (Photo grabbed from Facebook, of course.) It’s quieter, nowadays. Below: Brodie Fenlon, managing editor of CBCNews.ca, and Gillian Steward, former managing editor of the Herald. I have bad news for you, people: mainstream media in Alberta is a trainwreck! Of course,
Continue readingTag: University of Alberta
Alberta Politics: Mel Hurtig, a great Canadian – and, full of beans, as we used to say
PHOTOS: Mel Hurtig with his Canadian Encyclopedia, without which, once upon a time, no respectable Canadian home was considered complete. I am grateful to Mr. Hurtig for one thing not mentioned in the short commentary below, and that is my accidental i…
Continue readingAlberta Politics: NDP environmental policies: Who’re ya gonna believe? Mark Carney or Rick Strankman?
PHOTOS: Bank of England Governor and Alberta Premier Rachel Notley at yesterday’s brief news conference in the provincial Legislature Building. (CBC Photo) Below: Rick Strankman and Michael Bloomberg. Who’re ya gonna believe, huh? Mark Carney, form…
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: Honouring a great Edmontonian with Michael Phair Park
It was a sunny day and there was a great turnout to honour a great Edmontonian at the dedication ceremony for the new Michael Phair Park on 104 Street north of Jasper Avenue in downtown Edmonton. A strong advocate of urban… Continue Reading →
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: Five CEOs hold a press conference in a penthouse boardroom
It was a case of political friendly fire. With only days left before Election Day, the anti-NDP fear campaign was in full-gear but this shot might have been the final nail in the coffin for Alberta’s 44-year old Progressive Conservative… Continue R…
Continue readingAlberta Politics: There’s nothing ‘independent’ or ‘blue-ribbon’ about the Wildrose Party’s ‘Equalization Fairness Panel’
PHOTOS: How the Frontier Centre views Canada’s Equalization Program. Oh! Wait! That’s a 19th Century temperance poster. Same difference, basically. Below: The Wildrose Party’s four Frontier-Centre-associated “equalization fairness” panelists:…
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Appointment of Michael Phair as chair U of A Board of Governors sends exactly the right message
PHOTOS: Newly appointed University of Alberta Board of Governors Chair Michael Phair, left, with Advanced Education Minister Marlin Schmidt at yesterday’s announcement (photo grabbed from MLA David Shepherd’s Twitter feed). Below: Former U of A Boa…
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta Politics: Will the NDP save or shutter Athabasca University?
Residents of one northern Alberta community want to know what Alberta’s new New Democratic Party government has planned for their local university.
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Lawyer, businessman and long-time Tory Douglas Goss steps aside as U of A board chair
PHOTOS: University of Alberta Board Chair Douglas Goss at the infamous Melcor Five news conference on May 1. Below: New University of Alberta President David Turpin, who took over on July 1, and former U of A provost Carl Amrhein, now the deputy minister of health in the Alberta government.
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Despite his huge unintended favour to the NDP, U of A chair Doug Goss needs to step aside
PHOTOS: Doug Goss chairs the notorious news conference at which five prominent Edmonton businessmen assailed the New Democrats as amateurs and patronized Albertans about their need to start “thinking straight” mere hours before the May 5 election saw the NDP crush the Tories he supported. Below: Construction company CEO John
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: What Happens to the Eloi When the Morlocks Leave Town: A Lesson for Jim Prentice from H.G. Wells
“History is a race between education and catastrophe.” — H G Wells HG Wells may not have had a time machine, but he was certainly prescient. In The Time Machine the narrator, known simply as the Traveller, invents a contraption that takes him to 802,701 AD. There he finds
Continue readingAlberta Diary: CTF bullying and misinformation: just what’s ‘wacky’ about rape prevention research?
Canadian Taxpayers Association Federal Director Gregory Thomas dressed up as a professor, with a man dressed as a pig, at a CTF news conference trashing government support for academic research. A cameraman can be seen at left obligingly filming. Below: Dr. Melanie Beres, unfairly ridiculed by the CTF for her
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics: Cheer for the athletes but don’t be naive: the Olympics are about politics
TweetNational leaders covet the opportunity to host the international event and multi-national corporations invest billions of dollars in advertising to its massive world-wide audience. Competing in glorious national stadiums and sports centres in between commercial breaks, the athletes appear to be little more than commodities. Make no mistake, the Olympic
Continue readingAlberta Diary: U of A counters Redford Government whims by skimming institutes’ donations
Why send guys like these when you can just skim the cash right off the top? Actual employees of the University of Alberta Accounting department may not appear exactly as illustrated. Below: U of A President Indira Samarasekera. Well, I don’t suppose you can accuse the University of Alberta of
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Campus Alberta: Converting Universities into Trade Schools
I like engineers but this is ridiculous (and I’m not talking about Supercow, the U of C engineering mascot). Supercow U of C Engineering Mascot The PC government just invested $142.5 million to expand the Schulich School of Engineering at the University of Calgary while at the same time hacking
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Albertans want election-spending-limit law but are unlikely to get one from Redford PCs
Generous corporate donor drops off cash at Tory headquarters. Actual donors, who may not be exactly as illustrated, will be determined later. Below: Parkland Institute researcher Trevor Harrison and Tory Human Services Minister Dave Hancock. It’s a conundrum! What should Alberta’s Tories do? A study by the University of Alberta’s
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Count on it: Alberta’s doctors got more than the government’s press release indicates
Dr. Michael Giuffre jots down the Alberta Medical Association’s wish list before yesterday’s agreement with the provincial government. Actual AMA negotiators may not appear exactly as illustrated. Below: Alberta Health Minister Fred Horne, Advanced Education Minister Thomas Lukaszuk. It will take a while to sort out what really happened in
Continue readingcalgaryliberal.com: Alberta In Open Revolt
Allison Redford has a problem. Between mayor Mandel unleashing his fury on her government and the University of Alberta’s rage at the province’s letters of expectation progressives across the province are finally coming to see that Redford is simply not on their side. For the Liberals who saw that supporting
Continue readingSlap Upside The Head: Site Counts Homophobic Tweets
Students and researchers at the University of Alberta have created a website that counts homophobic slurs on Twitter in real time. It’s both amazingly awesome and a little depressing, but makes me pretty happy to be a U of A alumni. Check it out.
Continue readingCalgaryLiberal: Alberta Liberal Leadership Survey: Raj Sherman
Two months ago I sent out a leadership survey (other surveys can be found at this link) to the leadership candidates of the Alberta Liberal Party. Raj Sherman has responded with the answers below. None of it has been edited, all of it’s Dr. R…
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