Demand Better
Whenever the opposition tried to raise “the democracy thing” during last spring’s campaign, the electorate responded with a shrug. Contempt of parliament, the in-and-out scandal, Bev Oda’s “not” problem…meh. People…
February 2012
When Will Alberta Stop Giving Away its Oil?
The Alberta government’s new budget is laudable for its commitment to providing stability to education and health care funding, and for its reinvestments in some areas of social services, notably…
CHCH viewers eager to add input over CRTC funding issue by Meredith MacLeod
CHCH has launched a public campaign to urge the federal broadcast regulator to preserve a fund that shores up small and medium TV markets, including Hamilton.
Want to Improve Science Communication? Start with Bad PowerPoint Habits
bad powerpoint.jpg In the past three months, I’ve spoken on panels at two scientific mega-conferences—the American Geophysical Union’s Fall Meeting in San Francisco, which draws tens of thousands of scientists,…
TV Series Hot
Gob-smacklingly stupid or hip advertising? I’m leaning towards the former. Via CBC: A Stockholm hospital that published an online ad looking to fill a summer position with a nurse who…
Why are we so Shocked to Learn that the Conservatives Stole the Election?
During the G20 in Toronto, when Canadian citizens were being arrested, beaten and shot with rubber bulletts, simply for engaging in their democratic right to protest, at Charles McVety’s Christian…
Another Defeat in the Information Wars? Alain Saulnier Gets the Ax at Radio Canada
This story is not likely to get much play in English Canada, but it ought to. Alain Saulnier, the head of information services (radio, TV, internet) at Radio Canada, was…
On battlegrounds
Paul Wells has a theory about the political playing field developing for Canada’s 2015 federal election. And his laments that a new NDP leader won’t get to take a three-year…
May 2011 Federal Election Cheaters? I Want A Re-Call.
I want a recall of the May 2011 Federal Election and I want the UN to supervise election activity when we finally get a chance to go to the polls…
Release the budget now! #nlpoli
Headline on a news release issued on Wednesday by the provincial government: Budget 2012 Investments Will … And in the first paragraph, you get this line: Budget 2012 will allocate…
So when can expect Peter MacKay’s resignation from cabinet?
This isn’t the first time I’ve asked that question. On the previous occasion it was because he had been shown to have lied to parliament, which ought to be reason…
What happened to Dan Gardner? The only reasonable man in the room is riding off the rails.
I had the greatest respect for Dan Gardner. He wrote such compelling newspaper columns that I, Mr. Short Attention Span, attempted to read his book Future Babble. I actually understood…
The Case of the Cons and the Demon-Dialers
Golly Sherlock, I see the bizarre case of the Cons and the Demon-Dialers has taken another strange turn. It seems that the Harper mob is trying to shop one if…
Harper’s Canada: military/government
Minister of National Defence Peter MacKay used Canada’s military to try to help him out of a jam during the fishing camp air-taxi scandal. The attempt to defuse the Opposition…
This Is "Freedom"
Modern conservatives like to say that they stand for individual liberty. But, Lawrence Martin writes, in both Canada and the United States, the conservative parties are now controlled by virulent…
140 Law – Legal Headlines for Friday, February 24, 2012
Here are the leading legal headlines from Wise Law on Twitter for Friday, February 24, 2012: An interesting interview with a plaintiff and her attorney in the “law school scam”…
New column day
Here, on the open questions as to whether Nathan Cullen’s plan for pre-electoral cooperation would serve any useful purpose. For further reading expanding on the points in the column:– I’ve…
You Conservatives Better Listen Up … The CDN Public Is NOT Going To Swallow Your Internet Surveillance Bill
(Click on graphic to enlarge ….) PARLIAMENT HILL—”The government’s controversial Bill C-30, which would give police and security agents new surveillance powers over the internet and compel web service providers…