Happy Easter!
I’m not sure how the Hallelujah Chorus became a Christmas song — it’s a much more logical as an Easter celebration. Here is the Hallelujah Chorus by the 5th grade…
April 2014
It’s Time to Drag Redneck Alberta Out of the Closet
If a government wants to trample the rights of its citizens it can do so in two ways. It can violate our fundamental rights by passing legislation that invokes the…
Deepwater Horizon: BP’s Toxic Legacy
It has now been four years since the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded, killing 11 men and leaking an estimated 210 million gallons of crude oil into the Gulf of…
April 20: Just thinking out loud
This may be short; I feel the need of a break. However, there’s an element in the Ukrainian crisis that news media have not touched on. Why should we get…
Sunday Morning Links
This and that for your Sunday reading. – Charles Demers points out the impact Svend Robinson has had on Canadian politics – and suggests that he should be the model…
300km and counting
Yesterday I rode a 130km look to Winchester and back. I must say I’m loving the Ottawa Bicycle Club. Even if you don’t do the group rides there’s years of…
Why does Easter move around in the calendar?
Easter and Christmas are both very important Christian holidays, but while families always gather on Dec. 25 in the winter, the annual spring celebration changes drastically each year on our…
youth books, children’s book edition #10, and the best part of my job
I thought readers’ advisory was the best part of my job, but that was before I began running our library’s teen book club. Once a month, I spend an evening…
They always blame First-Past-the-Post.
They call our Canadian voting system First-Past-the-Post. Some people use more scatological terms for it. Others just castigate the system when it does not work the way they want. It…
Stephen Marois?
On the surface, Stephen Harper and Pauline Marois couldn’t be more different. They have diametrically opposed visions of what is best for this country. But, Haroon Siddiqui writes, they are…
Meaningful Changes or Lipstick on the Pig?
In the unholy rush to jam their Unfair Elections Act through before the majority of Canadians realise just how bad and self-serving piece of legislation it is the Harper regieme…
what i’m reading: eleanor & park, another truly great youth book for readers of all ages
If you enjoy youth novels of the realistic (non-fantasy) variety, Eleanor & Park, by Rainbow Rowell, is just about as good as it gets. Who else might enjoy Eleanor &…
Take Time To Renew Your Spirit
Happy Earth Day Weekend!
Harperland and the Winds of Change
Sometimes I think that getting Canadians to take any kind of political action is like that swan trying to get the wooden ones to follow. Because we must be one…
What Would Jesus Occupy?
13 When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others…
Canada’s Autism Disgrace 2007: 2014 Update
Photo from Ameriquebec.net In December 2007 I wrote Canada’s Autism Disgrace, describing the lack of a real National Autism Strategy in Canada. It is now 2014 and nothing has changed.…
The Ukraine Tipping Point
Ukranian Divide Events in Ukraine are at a tipping point, and can go in one of two directions: towards a resolution that keeps Ukraine as one state, but with substantial…
Ukraine, Through the US Looking Glass
Robert Parry-Consortium News by Robert Parry The acting president of the coup regime in Kiev announces that he is ordering an “anti-terrorist” operation against pro-Russian protesters in eastern Ukraine, while…
No Charges Doesn’t Mean Wright Is Clean
On Friday, we learned that the RCMP will not be laying charges against Nigel Wright for writing a cheque to Mike Duffy in the amount of some $90,000 and change.…