Toronto needs a mayor: how can you tell when Rob Ford is lying?
…his lips are moving. Old joke, but – in his case – it fits. Read, for example, this hot-off-the-presses evisceration of Ford’s Big Budget Bullshit. It’s good: There are many…
November 2013
Made in Canada Scam Plan #cdnpoli
Conservatives are stalling, as they have been for nearly 8 years on both Senate reform and climate change action. .@mikedesouza Only 7 years ago the Made In Canada plan for…
Harris had to stop hospital cuts after two years – what about Wynne?
When Health Minister Deb Matthews spoke at the closing of this year’s Ontario Hospital Association (OHA) HealthAchieve, the hall was two-thirds empty. Only two days before there was standing room…
Black Friday, Indeed
Richard Hughes over at Cowichan Conversations has posted a piece, “Ditch Capitalism and Save the Planet.” What follows is a ‘train of thought’ response I attempted to leave as a…
Toronto LGBT theatre’s Rhubarb Festival inexplicably loses funding from the Harper government
After many years of support from the federal Department of Canadian Heritage for the annual Rhubarb Festival, which will celebrate its 35th year in February, Buddies in Bad Times Theatre…
Thou shalt not have an economy of exclusion and inequality
I am no fan of the Roman Catholic Church, nor can I avoid cringing at some of Pope Francis’s views, particularly on women, but occasionally I do have to applaud…
Nov. 28: back, trying a different computer.
A strange story on p.1 “TandT tours the Big Apple”. It seems we have an airline that connects Moncton to New York. And that gave TandT editors the idea of…
From the Calgary punk rock archives
As I recall, this Social Blemishes/Snot gig was in 1978. I don’t know who the Famous Brothers were. ‘Cause we all know who became super, er, famous, don’t we?
You know what I’m not looking forward to?
It’s about ten weeks until the Olympics begin. And in that time, there will be ten thousand stories about how poorly prepared Russia is to host these games. To be…
Save the Planet and Ditch Capitalism
Richard Hughes-Political Blogger OMG December is coming and with it the hype and holler of consuming. For too many it is a time for loading up your credit cards to…
Trudeau inspired by Layton
When Jack Latyon was battling cancer he wrote a letter that was to be released in the event of his death. This letter was addressed to all Canadians. In it,…
The Hanging Gardens of Singapore
The Hanging Gardens of Ancient Babylon was known for it’s amazing vertical garden and to this day it’s not clear how the gardens functioned (or how it was built). That…
Your Daily Digital Digest for Thursday, November 28, 2013
Your news links for today: New Snowden docs show U.S. spied during G20 in Toronto (CBC) Privacy watchdog backs cyberbullying bill’s ‘lawful access’ powers (Globe and Mail) Why Peter MacKay…
The Ford Nation, Perils of Populism and Public Choice
Watching Rob Ford in the recent weeks reminds me of what John Ralston Saul once wrote of Benito Mussolini and his contemporary reincarnation in Silvio Berlusconi: “He was the nascent…
There’s Another Forum Poll Out
But I’m not going to link to it or even tell you what its about. Because why bother? I will just say that the one media outlet that’s picked it…
Much To Hide
This morning the CBC reports that, during the G8 and G20 summits three years ago, the Harper government was a “partner” with the National Security Agency. Together, they spied on…
The economic answers in Ontario.
It was right there opposite the editorial in the Toronto Star today. It was the answers to all our economic questions. The bold headline read: Keys to unlocking the full…
140 Law – Legal Headlines for Thursday, November 28, 2013
Here are the leading legal headlines from Wise Law on Twitter for Thursday, November 28, 2013: Court backs firing of Muslim woman for wearing head scarf at private nursery in…
New column day
Here, on how this week’s federal by-elections seem to confirm that another minority Parliament is a real possibility in 2015 – even as the main parties all rule out any…
Liberals: The Next Generation
The Liberal Party is old. I’m not talking about its history, but about the faces it puts before Canadians. The average age of Liberal MPs in Ottawa is 56, with…