Ukraine: Angela Merkel and the Sleepwalkers
With all the huffing and puffing going on around Crimea, Ukraine, and Putin’s metamorphosis into Hitler, it’s a pleasure to read that Germany’s Merkel is trying to learn from the…
March 2014
Why, When We Know So Much, Are We Doing So Little?: Jim Hoggan on the Polluted Environment and the Polluted Public Square
“Speak the truth, but not to punish.” These are the words the famous Zen Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh told DeSmogBlog and DeSmog Canada founder, president and contributor Jim Hoggan…
Strategies and Tactics – April Speaking Event
I’ll be speaking at this roundtable on April 9th in Montreal. Looking forward to it!
One of the greatest, yet underrated, bands in punk rock is…
One of the greatest, yet underrated, bands in punk rock is returning to Canada for the first time in about a decade. Stage Bottles, from Frankfurt, Germany, will be playing…
Ukraine: Some Commensense on Dealing with Russia
Putin’s Push: Reality versus Rhetoric Congratulations to Thomas Graham, a senior fellow at the Jackson Institute, who was the senior director for Russia on the US National Security Council staff…
EQAO, Literacy and Ability
My 9-year-old says that EQAO stands for Evil Questions Attacking Ontario. I think she’s on to something. We just administered the literacy test at our school this week. I’ve always…
Is BC Playing Russian Roulette with our Children?
Patrick SmythGuest Contributor This is one heck of a gamble. Like my Granny said, be wise not to put all your eggs in one basket. I used to do this…
Someone bought my house
Living Room So I kind of got busy there for awhile and didn’t write much about what was going on. Among other things, we fixed up my house and put…
Sunday Morning Links
This and that for your Sunday reading. – Dean Starkman writes about the media’s failure to see and report on the culture of corruption and manipulation that led to the…
March 30: A "must read"
Bernie Sanders is a U.S. senator from Vermont. He is neither Democrat nor Republican. He is an Independent Senator, and he is so popular in Vermont that he has been…
Income-tax burden explodes under Harper
Harper tries to boast he has provided “tax relief” for Canadian families. But the fact is all his boutique tax expenditures, tax-free tax havens and failed corporate tax cuts have…
Feetish or Fettish?
I was surprised to recently read in David Crystal’s book, The Story of English in 100 Words, that fetish – which I pronounce “feh-tesh” – was once pronounced “feetish.” In…
The way you treat others is the way you treat yourself
March is Women’s History Month (in the US). I’m taking this opportunity to write about women who’ve inspired me. There was really little more than native grass and dust in…
Do you wonder why I think the so-called deleted email scandal is a load of bullshit?
Wonder no more. And THINK about it.
Good Reading: Melissa Fong On The Intersection Of Racism and Male Privilege
Melissa Fong offers a fantastic analysis of some online activism being done by @SUEY_PARK, @BLACKGIRLDANGER @THEWAYOFTHEID and @CHEUYA around issues of male privilege and its intersection with racism. Ms. Fong’s…
Good Reading: Melissa Fong On The Intersection Of Racism and Male Privilege
Melissa Fong offers a fantastic analysis of some online activism being done by @SUEY_PARK, @BLACKGIRLDANGER @THEWAYOFTHEID and @CHEUYA around issues of male privilege and its intersection with racism. Ms. Fong’s…
Next On His Hit List
Stephen Harper does not believe in creating a big tent. His political success has been based on wedges. He drives them between people and reassembles the pieces that fit his…
About Those 39 Pieces of I.D. Pierre Poilivre Keeps Talking About
H/t Canadians Rallying To Unseat Stephen Harper To hear Pierre Poilievre speak, one might think that any Canadian who claims that the ‘Fair’ Elections Act could very well disenfranchise up…
“Is no Franche”
We had the great delight to be able to stay in a small apartment in Paris for just a few days, down some maze-like streets a short walk away from…