Measuring Democracy
One of the concerns that has motivated me throughout the years I have written this blog is public accountability. Far too often, whether examining politics at the federal, provincial or…
May 2016
Beacon Hill Has One Exit
As you may know. Fort McMurray, in Wood Buffalo, Alberta, has one road connecting it to the rest of the world (Highway 63 until the intersection with highway 881). Beacon…
Beacon Hill Has One Exit
As you may know. Fort McMurray, in Wood Buffalo, Alberta, has one road connecting it to the rest of the world (Highway 63 until the intersection with highway 881). Beacon…
Beacon Hill Has One Exit
As you may know. Fort McMurray, in Wood Buffalo, Alberta, has one road connecting it to the rest of the world (Highway 63 until the intersection with highway 881). Beacon…
Beacon Hill Has One Exit
As you may know. Fort McMurray, in Wood Buffalo, Alberta, has one road connecting it to the rest of the world (Highway 63 until the intersection with highway 881). Beacon…
Conservative MPs, you are a disgrace
Disgusting, despicable, detestable: none of those words adequately captures what Conservative MPs did this week. Forget about the fact that the anthem needed to be changed. Forget about the fact that…
Will Trump tramp on NAFTA if he HAS-TA?
Coming from a large family where half the siblings are in the U.S.A. and the other half in Canada, there is no lack of discussions between us of current affairs…
Measuring Thick: business edition #nlpoli
You cannot manage what you cannot measure, says Des Whelan, president of the Board of Trade this year. Des gets a column in the province's largest daily newspaper.Des is right.…
Politics As Air Rage
These days, we hear frequent stories about the passenger on an airplane who loses it and has to be restrained by the flight crew. Mark Kingwell writes that air rage…
The Dying MP and the Cruelty of the Cons
There couldn't have been a more moving scene in the House of Commons.Liberal MP Maurice Belanger, who is dying of ALS, trying to get MPs to approve his bill to…
The Muslim Mayor Of London and the Return of Lynton Crosby
His name is Sadiq Khan, he's just made history, and struck a big blow for decency over bigotry.By being elected as the first Muslim mayor of London.Sadiq Khan has been…
Psst, Justin. Here’s an Idea.
Anything that happens almost every year is not a "disaster." It's a calamity of sorts. When it happens every year and we know it's sure to happen and we do…
Donald Trump and the Great Taco Bowl Stunt
It was the perfect example of why Donald Trump is almost certainly going to lose the Presidential election.For there he was yesterday, trying to reach out to Hispanics who he…
London Has a New Mayor – and He’s a Jihadi
No, he's not. He is, however, a Muslim and to plenty of rednecks that's close enough. Sadiq Khan is the new Lord Mayor of London replacing the ever-boorish mop top…
20 Questions for Film Curators
This past winter I taught a graduate seminar course at Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema (Concordia University) entitled “Curatorial Labour and the Politics of Programming.” It was a fantastic and…
The National Observer Sinks Its Teeth into David Tkachuk – And It Ain’t Letting Go.
Vancouver's own alternative media, The National Observer, strikes again. This time former Crown prosecutor turned journo, Sandy Garossino is calling "bullshit" on senior Tory senator, Dave Tkachuk. On Tuesday Senator…
What? Thomas Ricks Said What???
The headline is a little on the abrupt side: "A stunning profile of Ben Rhodes, the asshole who is the president's foreign policy guru."Byline: Thomas Ricks.Now, if you're not familiar…
Musical interlude
CHVRCHES - Leave A Trace
War Crime, a Term That Has Lost All Meaning
There was a time we were all about "war crimes." We vilified war criminals. They were monsters and not just Nazis either. We wanted nothing more than to see them…