Are We Feeling Any Outrage Yet?
If we care a scintilla about privacy or any measure of aversion to government snooping into our private business, we damn well should be. As I wrote in yesterday’s post,…
May 2014
Eight years ago today!
I know nothing else is happening, at all, but I thought I would bring this to your attention. Smartest move I ever made. Names of the departed have been smudged…
Forget addiction issues; audio reveals window into Rob Ford’s twisted heart
It seems Toronto’s crack mayor Rob Ford has been living up to that moniker, despite claiming his crack cocaine smoking caught on video last year was an “isolated incident.” Clearly…
Bring back firing squads?
From The Plague, by Albert Camus: “Have you ever seen a man shot by a firing squad? No, of course not; the spectators are hand-picked and it’s like a private…
Labour Racketeering
There has been a lot of sound and fury of late about the Temporary Foreign Workers Program. Terry Glavin writes that the program was set up in 1974 to ease…
In other news, there is no other news
You can be forgiven for wondering if there’s a provincial budget today. Or anything else. .
Proportional Representation (true voting) in a nutshell
Proportional Representation is a complicated name for a simple idea: that parties should get the same percent of seats they got in votes. In the last election, under First-Past-the-Post, Harper…
The Zen of the gambler.
Casino gambling is an excellent aid in the attainment of enlightenment. If you do not obtain direct insight into the teachings of the Buddha at least you gain some respect…
what i’m reading: what’s a dog for by john homans
John Homans’ What’s a Dog For? The Surprising History, Science, Philosophy, and Politics of Man’s Best Friend is my kind of dog book. I don’t care for memoirs of heartwarming…
Gas Plants Redux…But With Torys And Wind Farms
From PCPO MPP Todd Smith: Prince Edward County, ON — Responding to a request for clarification by CCSAGE Naturally Green regarding the PC Party’s position on wind projects currently “in…
Muskrat costs at $7.4 billion … and climbing #nlpoli
After 13 days, Nalcor boss Ed martin finally responded to a simple request from the Telegram’s James McLeod for an explanation of what impact a delay in construction might have…
Stephen Harper and the Big Brother Cons
We know he seeks total control. We know he would be our very own Big Brother.We know he's out of his mind, but would make us pay to make him…
Occupy Vancouver Reboots Tonight!
Occupy Vancouver reboots tonight to join the worldwide #WaveOfAction that began on April 4 and runs to July 4, 2014. We will meet in Grandview Park on Commercial Drive in…
Two senior planners resign from the City of Vancouver: Analysis and questions
Originally posted on CityHallWatch: Tools to engage in Vancouver city decisions:Matt Shillito Scot Hein News spread quickly on twitter about the departure of two senior planners from the City…
Rob Ford and the Downfall of the Moron Nation
Well I suppose it was inevitable. But it sure took long enough. And the damage he did to Toronto and Canada's reputation was incalculable.He's a bully, a bigot, a beast.But…
Explosive Virginia Train Carried Fracked Bakken Oil, Headed to Potential Export Facility
Platts has confirmed CSX Corporation’s “bomb train” that exploded in Lynchburg, Virginia was carrying sweet crude obtained via hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) in North Dakota’s Bakken Shale basin. CSX CEO Michael…
Israel gets a plug: Don Sterling cites Israeli racism in justifying his racist views
Above right: Don Sterling and V. Stiviano / Beneath: Israelis protesting against African asylum seekers Affirmation of Israeli racism can surface in the most unlikely of places. In the taped…