Canada’s Energy Future
Pressure mounts in the Media, as Canadian Petroleum Producers bombard us with propaganda to forcefeed the Northern Gateway Pipeline and it’s associated Tanker traffic in the most dangerous and pristine…
January 2012
Hintonburg Hub Update
As reported over in openfile, there may indeed be a new location for the Hintonburg Hub. It was clear that the negotiations with the Salvation Army were going nowhere, and…
Sens fun with Wee G and Local Tourist Ottawa
Happy New Year, Faithful Legion! It’s been a busy holiday season here at the Finishing School. I think the kids are still vibrating from all of the excitement. For a…
2012 Crystal Ball Blog, Part 4: The End of the World
I caught last night’s edition of TVO’s “The Agenda with Steve Paikin”. The topic under discussion was the End of the World, and the panel was fantastic. Paikin kicked things…
The Left and Ron Paul
There is an ongoing debate amoung the left on how to view Ron Paul. Should we like him or hate him, support him or reject him? The fundamental distinction in…
Solving the Common Standards problem in the Open Data Space
Last year during my Open Government Data Camp keynote speech on The State of Open Data 2011 I mentioned how I thought the central challenge for open data was shifting…
The greatest Christmas movie miracle of all time
This originally appeared as a column in the December 22 print and online editions of the North Bay / Nippissing News, the weekly newspaper I’ve been writing for recently. I’ve…
Dumb-ass schnooks we are
Replay from May 27, 2011 because the issues have not changed: Too-polite Canadians accept almost any declaration from people in authority. We are naive, complacent schnooks. Dumb, as well; the…
The Ravenous Ravenous Caterpillar
A picture book by pale Once upon a time, in a far away land under the light of the moon, a very hungry Caterpillar was hatched. On Monday it ate…
The Myth of the Greedy Union Thug
I can’t help but notice how Stephen Harper and his Members of Parliament have been running rough shot over unionized workers lately. There have been several instances of the Federal…
Oh great! Liberals turn to Democrats for advice? Sheeit.
Just as I was basking in the BC Liberals finally getting on the hockey-broadcast attack ad bandwagon a la Harper, along comes this news. Instead of enlisting Republican spinmeisters or…
Montana Judges Stare Down Corporatist US Supreme Court, Reject "Citizens United."
Judges of Montana’s Supreme Court have defied the US Supreme Court and refused to apply the perverse Citizens United decision in their state. The court upheld Montana’s right to regulate…
Canadians Love Chiquita Bananas so Consiga una Vida Levant
Ezra Levant really outdid himself on Fox News North, Stephen Harper’s personal aping station, by telling Chiquita International senior vice-president Manuel Rodriguez, to basically go screw his mother … in…
CBC announces Saskatoon morning radio show
CBC says a new morning show will replace the Morning Edition, which is currently heard throughout the province.
A change of subject
Regular readers might be aware of my family’s interest in KIVA, which describes itself as a: “non-profit organization with a mission to connect people through lending to alleviate poverty. Leveraging…
Why West Coast is fighting Enbridge (it’s not the funding)
Thursday, January 5, 2012 A recent ad campaign linked to a top oil sands firm questions what drives the work of West Coast Environmental Law. Back in the ‘70s when…
Obama disses due process
Another disappointment from U.S. President Barrack Obama. On New Year’s Eve, perhaps a time when he thought his nation was sufficiently distracted, he signed into law the National Defense Authorization…
Less Liberal, Less Canadian
In 2006 Howard Dean spoke at the Liberal Leadership convention. In 2008 many Liberal organizers went to the United States and worked for the Democrats. In that same year many…
Jan. 5: Sorry for today…
After weeks of packing, moving, and unpacking, I find I just can’t write a coherent column today. There’s really nothing in the Moncton TandT on this Jan. 5, anyway except…
The blogs and twitter aren’t always reflective of general trends
Note the following quotation. The truth is the people engaged on-line are atypical — only the truly engaged (who are a small percentage of Party faithful) are on-line all the…