Friday Morning Links
Assorted content to end your week. – Jim Stanford writes about the myth of a labour shortage in Canada: In this context of chronic un- and under-employment, it is jarring…
January 2014
A Reliable Stooge
One of the reforms Michael Chong wants to implement is open riding nominations, free from the interference of party leaders. That proposition is currently being tested in Calgary West, where…
Open letter to Ford Nation
Dear Fellas (because you mostly are): Here we go again. Rob Ford comes to work mid-afternoon, or not at all. He raises your taxes, and his fiscal claims are BS.…
Should the LHINs really be the e-Harmony of health care providers?
When the province decided to call its most recent crown agencies Local Health Integration Networks, it was clear where the emphasis lay. Rather than plan a system based on need,…
The War Continues
The Harper cabal’s contempt for the environment, science, transparency, and knowledge in general has become the stuff of dark legend, provoking outrage both at home and beyond our borders. That…
Gee, I wonder if this is a Glen McGregor story?
“Paul Calandra court documents point to family dispute over money, assets.” Has all the elements, doesn’t it? You know: (a) poking through ancient court documents (b) to find personal stuff…
Ask General Kang: If we have love in a time of cholera, what if do we do we have in a time of swine flu?
Interesting question, but I’m not convinced that swine flu is the next killer pandemic, mostly because of Kang’s Corollary. Kang’s Corollary? You know Murphy’s Law, right: “Anything that can go…
Myths of central banking
The Bank of Canada has been in the news lately – or, more precisely, the news has been full of other well-placed people telling our central bankers what to do.…
Real courage
Aitzaz Hasan: Pakistan ‘hero’ recommended for award Aitzaz Hasan was described as a brave and good student Continue reading the main story A Pakistani teenager has been recommended for a…
The Confidence Campaign #nlpoli #darknl
The provincial government started its campaign to gain control of the political agenda on Thursday with its announcement that it would appoint someone to do something sometime in the future.…
What Does Post-Corporate Media Look Like?
I know you’re wondering. But it’s hard to imagine. Kind of like a fish imagining life without water. We’ve known corporate media for generations. Since the advent of psychology and…
Stephen Harper’s Ghastly New Propaganda Movie
Well he's somewhere in the far north, hiding from the media, so he doesn't have to answer any embarrassing questions.Like how many jobs DOES Chuck Strahl need?Or how is that…
Criminal employers are employers too, Alberta government spokesman says, but illegal strikes are still illegal
If feeding your employees to lions is outlawed, then only outlaws would be able to feed their employees to lions! Or is that the other way around? Whatever. In Alberta,…
A dozen Alberta MLAs worth watching in 2014
TweetBecause politics is unpredictable, forecasting the future can be a tricky business for pundits, but here is a list of a dozen Alberta MLAs worth watching in 2014. Manmeet Bhullar…
Keep it to yourself, it’s my life: On solitude, simplicity and trust in yourself
(A rough draft. I don’t usually release any writing that has not been proof-read at least a few times. Even though I rarely edit, I still like to look it…
Security gaps found in destruction of top-secret military data
http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/security-gaps-found-in-destruction-of-top-secret-military-data-1.2490752
National Post: Let’s fight technologies designed to oppress us, with those that have the potential to liberate us
Technology: liberator, oppressor, or both? The National Post’s Jesse Kline looks back at 2013’s shocking revelations about blanket NSA surveillance of law-abiding citizens – and at how citizen movements like…
Authors, Your 84% chance to ensure you write a Bestseller!
Hold your horses, and consider this, you aspiring best-selling author you: Three computer scientists at Stony Brook University in New York think they found some rules through a computer program…