Southern Ontario Skins: A Cast of Stooges Part V
It's been a month and a bit since our last post in the "Stooges" series, but that isn't for lack of content. For example, Brodie Walsh has proven to be…
July 2014
Former Enbridge Lobbyist Named New Head of B.C. Government Communications Branch
Richard Hughes-Political Blogger During the Dog Days of Summer few are paying attention to the political scene, but that is often when they sneak through programs, reports and in this…
Good News for British Columbia, indeed.
By Rick Hiebert. All Rights Reserved. Used by Permission. In the run-up to the B.C. Day long weekend, a bit of obscure history related to sharing the Gospel in the…
Swimmers Warned to Avoid Ottawa River After It Rains Due to Sewage Overflows
Never swim in the Ottawa River if it has rained during the previous 48 hours, recommends Meredith Brown, the executive director of Ottawa Riverkeeper. The non-profit group is raising public…
Social media cause and effect
It seemed like the obvious response to Steve’s tweet. .
I Felt A Chill As I Read This
A week ago came the report of a giant crater in the Siberian permafrost discovered by a Russian helicopter crew. Russian scientists concluded the crater, about 80-metres across, was not…
Peace Valley farmland, ecosystems worth $8 Billion a year: study
The Peace River Valley is one of Canada’s most fertile regions (Damien Gillis) Keeping the Peace Valley’s farmland and ecosystems intact would be worth $7.9 billion to $8.6 billion a…
Is r>g in Canada?
Here is a little bit of rainy day economic doodling that may be of interest. Piketty famously argues that there is a tendency for r – the rate of return…
Beyond Free ‑ Open Learning in a Networked World
by Stephen Downes Thank you, I have way too much fun with these talks. It shouldn’t be allowed. Thank you very much; it’s a pleasure to be here. This is…
Russia and the war in eastern Ukraine
This piece was originally published on A Socialist in Canada. The following article was written in the days before I departed Moscow on July 17, 2014 following a two week…
If All You Had Were Useless Rockets, Would You Be Firing Them?
A timely and invaluable reminder of what it means to be a Palestinian in Gaza under the yoke of the Israeli military. This is a report of a calculated and…
What you said about free expression online
This past month, citizens of the Internet took to the web to speak out against the destructive censorship measures in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), using our Internet voice tool. At…
Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Trish Garner highlights the futility of trying to answer poverty, equality and other social issues with the empty promise of low-paying “jobs! jobs!…
Important Challenges to Investor-State Dispute-Settlement
In my many years documenting and critiquing the overblown claims of free trade proponents about the supposedly self-regulating efficiency-promoting mutually-benefiting effects of globalization, I’ve encountered some real doozies. (My Ph.D.…
Let’s all ruin Russia. Join the Boycott Russian Vodka movement!
The Russia of 2014 isn’t really a whole lot different than the USSR of 1964. In some ways, it’s worse. In the bad old days, the Communist Party leaders had…
Forum Research PollTrudeau’s Liberals Open Up Wide Lead Over Conservatives-NDP Trail
Richard Hughes-Political Blogger This is encouraging news for Justin Trudeau and his Liberals. They have stretched their lead over the Conservatives and the trailing NDP. It is still a long…
The purpose of the Indian Act and the intention of Parliament.
Tyendinaga Mohawk Council v. Brant, 2014 ONCA 565: There are two legal principles that underpin the assessment of the purpose of the Indian Act and the intention of Parliament. First,…