Rob Ford – Feeding the Gravy Train?
The fact that Ford is going to hike taxes on Torontonians by two-and-a-half percent probably doesn’t strike anyone as surprising, since we knew where all of his populist rhetoric that…
November 2011
More international shame. Canada to pull out of Kyoto.
Oops, wrong Peter Kent Anti-science. Anti-environment. That’s today’s Canada. Well on its way to being a third-world nation because it denies the very existence of actual science. To hammer the…
Leave to appeal in summary conviction cases granted sparingly
R. v. Janusas, 2011 ONCA 742 has a useful summary of when leave to appeal in summary conviction cases will be granted: Before and since the decision of Doherty J.A. in R.…
From the Stephen Harper Colouring Book…
Trashy, Ottawa, Ontario
Oh, Canada? Our Home and Racist Land
Canadians’ racist neglect of our first people’s seems unshakable. We had Davis Inlet, and we didn’t wake up to any systemic problems. That was just a one off? And now…
Putting conspiracy theories to the vote
Inspired by the success of the No HST campaign that saw British Columbians of all stripes push back against a government bent on implementing policies against the popular will of…
Ancient Douglas Fir Grove on the Chopping Block Today
One of the last remaining intact old-growth Douglas Fir groves on Vancouver Island is slated to be logged today, following an injunction last week against protestors who halted an earlier…
COP 17 in Durban – Day 1
Today is the first day of the U.N. climate talks in Durban South Africa. As I wrote earlier, many people’s expectations (including mine) for a meaningful and binding international climate…
Rob Ford will hike taxes 2.5 per cent
In fairness, during the campaign he did say he would raise taxes. This was published in the Sun as part of Ford’s plans for after the election: But Ford said…
Do Developing Nation Journalists Cover Climate Science Better (or at Least Better Than U.S. and U.K. Papers)?
ronaldo-brazil-world-cup-top-scorer.jpg As the European debt crisis scrapes along, there has been talk about the possible need for developing nations, like China and Brazil, to ultimately help bail out some spendthrift…
How to justify a police state, or “This ain’t Canada anymore”
How do you justify police brutality on the level of last year’s G20 summit? And how do you justify turning Canada into a most unCanadian police state? Well, it helps…
Towards a Wage-Led Recovery
A new issue of the International Journal of Labour Research has been published “While a lot of attention has been deservedly given to the financial roots of the current economic…
A Man of Steadiness & Constancy
An amusing summary of Mitt Romney’s reversals on… everything.
Sayed Shah Sharifi – The Toronto Star Continues Championing His Cause
Sayed Shah Sharifi, the brave Afghan interpreter, may have been betrayed by the Harper government and our contemptible Minister of Immigration, Jason Kenney, but he has the support of The…
Dog Whistle Politics and the Return of Old Dance Partners
“Borrowed in part from the legacy of Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher, Canadian neo-conservatism owes much of it’s character to the right-wing populist tradition of the West. “Indeed, Canadians became…
Economics for Dummies (2)
In which David Harvey explains why we should look beyond capitalism if we want to avoid the crises and human misery that are its defining characteristics. Posting this vid may…
How zombie lies are born. And never die.
About a year ago at this time there was an astonishing coincidence. At exactly the same time as Conservative MP Kelly Block was introducing a bill concerning the need for…
Ars Technica: ISPs policing the Internet? European courts say "no way".
In Europe, the courts have decided that it would be a Charter of Rights violation—not to mention “technically unfeasible” and a violation of privacy—if ISPs were forced to police the…
Parliament In Review: October 31, 2011
Monday, October 31 saw a study in contrasts as two matters were debated in the House of Commons: a private member’s bill which understandably saw broad agreement, and an opposition…
Busy Times. Little Time To Post. « All Fired Up In The Big Smoke | #TOpoli #TObudget
via afuitbs.wordpress.com As Cityslikr says, it’s Internet to the rescue. As we buckle down for budget season, I’m reminded of what Val Sears reportedly said as the 1962 federal election…