Journalism Redefined
It’s been a disturbing week. Ezra Levant, who swore under oath that he was not a reporter, sued the NDP government for refusing to let him attend (and report, presumably)…
February 2016
Is our policy on ISIS predestined?
No one wants to say unpleasant things about their friends. But what do you do if your friends are engaged in serial misbehaviour and you are getting dragged into it?…
Building More Roads is No Solution to Congestion
At 35%, Ontario’s transportation sector produces more greenhouse gas emissions than any other sector, equalling the combined output of emissions from all electrical generation and industrial activities in the province…
The inequality puzzle
Excerpts from an article by Dambisa Moyo at Project Syndicate. An economist and author who sits on the board of directors of global corporations, she was named by TIME Magazine…
Second Case of Anti-Muslim/Government Vandalism at Calgary School In a Week
Before we get to the meat of things, we thought we would begin with a screenshot taken from the Canadians 4 Canadians since it will explain, in some part, the…
Building More Roads is No Solution to Congestion
At 35%, Ontario’s transportation sector produces more greenhouse gas emissions than any other sector, equalling the combined output of emissions from all electrical generation and industrial activities in the province…
I am a journal-ist
As some of you may know, I have been writing 1,000 words a day since I was eleven years old. I’ve never missed a day. Plath and Nin started at…
NDP Riding Associations Back Leap Manifesto Ahead Of Party Convention
As a previous longtime NDP member, activist and candidate I like many others drifted away finding that the party’s continued conservatism combined with a mostly ‘Brown’ approach to environmental issues…
Feb.21: You may be next….
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/margaret-evans-lesbos-refugees-nobel-peace-prize-1.3456150We glamorize war, even as we mourn the dead, we glamorize it as a kind of show biz. Perhaps the most obvious reminder of that was the most show biz…
Sunday Morning Links
This and that for your Sunday reading.- The Star-Phoenix duly calls out the Wall government's short-sighted slashing of funding for homeless shelters:Regardless of how the government frames the changes, access…
Stuff Still Happens, week 7: Horse racing put down; The Rebel yells
Edmonton Northlands, the so-called ‘agricultural society’ that has been a force in Edmonton since Edmonton was in diapers, announced a sweeping plan to rebuilt the soon-to-be-vacant arena and the area…
The US Economy Has Not Recovered and Will Not Recover
Photo by Dave Center The US economy died when middle class jobs were offshored and when the financial system was deregulated. Jobs offshoring benefitted Wall Street, corporate executives, and shareholders,…
Sanders, American Socialism and the Legacy of the Occupy Movement
Photo by Key Studio Four out of 10 people who went to participate in the Iowa Democratic Caucus told pollsters at the door that they identified themselves as socialists. It…
Could Bernie Sanders’ surge be the end of Tom Mulcair?
Photo by Gage Skidmore This is an odd time for those on the Canadian left who are used to Americans looking longingly north of the border. For now, as long…
The Price We Pay
*WARNING: This is one of those blog posts that is more philosophical than it is political. However, in another sense, it pertains to a worldview that, if more people were…
It’s leadership that builds our future.
This is just an idle thought for a bleak February in Barrie. It is what a difference leadership can make. This comes to mind with the sour grapes announcement by…
Small Town Democracy
This week a number of observers have been focusing on the place and influence that the MSM, in particular print media, have upon our democracy. More particularly our 'need to…
Sentencing and immigration consequences
R. v. Freckleton, 2016 ONCA 130: In sentencing, an offender's individual circumstances must be taken into account. Thus, the fact that the offender faces the collateral consequence of deport...
The Politics of Hope and the Desperation of Rona Ambrose
I can only imagine how Rona Ambrose must be feeling this weekend, but it can't be a pretty picture.For weeks, with the help of the Con media, she has been…