A target of harassment
Tim Rourke is a rather meanspirited person who has been engaging in online harassment me and a number of other people for several years now. This image of me is…
December 2015
at CKLN
Andy Lehrer at CKLN
Ten New Year’s Resolutions for 2016
2015 saw some significant changes at the Park Board table. The atmosphere of hostility and showmanship decreased appreciably. However, with the NPA majority on the Board, some things have reverted…
One Argument for Bringing Back "la Terreur"
I never used to have fond thoughts of the Reign of Terror, those days in 1784 when radical revolutionaries escorted more than 16,000 of their French betters to the 'National…
In "Holy Crap" News
I just strolled through my morning Google Alerts and they're almost enough to make you jump in a bunker and slam the hatch shut over your head. And so, we…
Is Christ Christian? Reflections on the niqab debate.
Pondering the late unlamented election debate about the niqab, I took to wondering just what a religion is. Not the dictionary definition or what theologians say it is, but how…
Concalls: Duffy Trial Revelations
The Duffy Trial has been a bit of an expose on how the Harper Cons’ PMO operated. It’s not pretty. The comments made about Sona and Finely are nothing to…
You’ll Know They’re Serious When It Hurts
Think of it this way. When the bank manager calls to tell you that he's giving you until Friday to clear off your overdraft, the next day or two could…
Tuesday Morning Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading.- Matthew Yglesias writes that The Big Short and other stories focused on the financial aspects of the 2008 economic meltdown miss by far…
The New Canada and the Two Justins
As I try to remember all the things that happened in this wild and crazy year that was both our nightmare and our salvation, two things keep jumping out at…
PE5: Corel’s Wrong Direction
Way back in 1990, a program called Fractal Painter was published by Fractal Design. It offered a “natural media” approach to digital art: mimicking real world art tools and media…
In ‘Silly Bugger’ News
10,000 Aussies swarmed a botanical garden outside Adelaide to experience a rare plant that can replicate the stench of a rotting corpse. The Titan arum, also called the 'corpse flower,'…
A Tale Of Two Canadas
That is the title of a very interesting piece by Michael Valpy in today's Star that is well-worth reading. His thesis offers something of a challenge to a post I…
The measure of Mr. Mulcair.
Like a motorist who has driven into a snow drift, New Democrat Leader Thomas Mulcair is standing at the side of the road hoping people will offer him a push.…
Why We Don’t Need A Referendum on Electoral Reform
There's nothing that scares the Cons as much as electoral reform, and Justin Trudeau's plan to scrap the so called first past the post system.They know that it would cripple…
Do election signs work? #nlpoli
Apparently, they do.In four randomised field experiments, researchers at Columbia University found that lawn signs increased vote share by about 1.7%. They published results of their research online on Christmas…
This week’s Troy Media column: 2015′s political winners and losers
Typing up lists of the year’s political winners and losers is usually a pretty straightforward proposition: simply declare the winners of elections are godlike geniuses, and dismiss the losers as…
Rob Douglas–Municipal Politics in the Cowichan Region: Year in Review
Rob Douglas Last Fall you elected me to North Cowichan Council from a ballot that featured a multitude of strong candidates. I was overwhelmed by your support in granting me…
New Year’s resolutions: Time for Alberta’s conservative leaders to speak out against violent and misogynistic political speech
ILLUSTRATIONS: Counting down to New Year’s. Three days to go is plenty of time for the leaders of Alberta’s conservatives to resolve to speak out in the New Year against…