Skilled Labour
He must have walked out, I thought as I looked around our department at the warehouse. In the morning the Lead Hand brought a new guy over to our crew…
2012
The Gish Gallop
The Gish Gallop, named after creationist Duane Gish, is the debating technique of drowning the opponent in such a torrent of half-truths, lies, and straw-man arguments that the opponent cannot…
Hacking the border to pieces: technology, poetics, and protest at the speed of dreams – An encounter with Ricardo Dominguez
Ricardo Dominguez (center), with Electronic Disturbance Theater 2.0. (Photo by Kinsee Morlan.) It’s a staging that feels, if not inappropriate, then at least a little unconventional: I’m seated in front…
28 Hours Without Hydro: Thoughts On Thanks And Tainted Meat
Here in Canada it’s Thanksgiving Monday, when we Canucks consume turkey (or tofurkey, depending on preference), mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie a month earlier than our southern neighbours, although they…
Happy Thanksgiving
Be kind to turkey. I have decided to go vegetarian!
Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your Monday reading. – Jim Stanford reviews the effect of NAFTA (and associated corporatist policy choices) on Canada’s economy: Quantity of exports: In the mid-1980s, before Brian…
iPolitics: “Kinsella pulls no punches in Fight The Right”
Liz Thompson: “Fight the Right accomplishes what it sets out to do – provide readers with a glimpse into the kinds of strategies that have made Conservatives successful and lay…
‘Just Stay’ book details couple’s last journey together against cancer.
On this Thanksgiving long weekend, I decided this was a good day to publicize a book that my cousin has just published. It is called “Just Stay”; it details the…
Ministerial Responsibility
Does anyone remember that quaint notion? During the lead-up to the Falkands War, the British Foreign Secretary, Lord Carrignton, and two junior ministers resigned. They took the blame for Britain’s…
We’ve Seen This Movie Before
Tim Harper writes this morning that Gerry Ritz’ handling of the tainted meat mess is part of an established pattern for the Conservative government: Ritz initially denied there was a…
The Odd Nunavut Connection to Thanksgiving In Canada
The history of Thanksgiving in Canada can be traced back to the 1578 voyage of Martin Frobisher from England in search of the Northwest Passage. In this, his third, voyage…
Happy Thanksgiving! – Movie Monday
So, it’s Thanksgiving here in the True North strong and free, which means that it’s a good opportunity to reflect and give thanks for all the wonderful things we have…
Professor Quippy: This Thanksgiving It’s Velociraptor
The dreaded velociraptor is looking less and less like a Spielbergian nightmare, and more like something you could safely serve with cranberries. New research into the fossilized forearm discovered in…
St. Catherine’s Standard Exits The Propertied Class
After sacking a dozen staffers in June, the St. Catherine’s Standard figures they no longer need to own their own building. The decision was facilitated by the fact that most…
Evangelical stardom and the fans who feed it
Herescope: Sacred Cows and Stars The Cult of Evangelical Leadership From the earliest days of the modern evangelical movement the church followed the same sociological patterns as the culture at…
Thanksgiving and the Madness of King Harper
It's Thanksgiving Day in Canada. The day when you realize that summer isn't coming back.And a day when I feel particularly close to our U.S. neighbours. For although they don't…
XL Foods, Tories and a frightened, politicized inspection agency offer a textbook case of brand destruction
“If it ain’t Alberta, it ain’t beef!” Not any more, though, thanks to the efforts of Alberta politicians, companies and the federal food inspection agency. From left to right above:…
Chavez re-elected: called for calm on eve of the vote
Hugo Chavez has won a historic victory in the hotly contested Venezuelan election. With 90% of the ballot tallied Chavez took 54.42% of the vote to 44.97% for opposition candidate,…
Who’s to blame for NHL labour problems? Dumb Canadian fans
We Canadians can be a pretty dense lot at times. Oh we love to complain, to bitch and moan, but then we just roll over, and we never even expect…
Chavez wins again!
Hugo Chavez has once again done one of the things he does best: Win. Once again, we have a deeply progressive president of Venezuela. In your face, neoliberal rich dudes!…