Three days left to support the Pride Tape kickstarter
1,083 backers have stepped up to donate $70.073 in support the Pride Tape kickstarter campaign since it was started in December 2015. Launched by the Institute for Sexual Minority Studies…
2016
David Suzuki: Paris changed everything, so why are we still talking pipelines?
David Suzuki wonders why Canadian politicians are still contemplating spending billions on new tar sands pipelines after the recent Paris climate summit confirmed that "75 to 80 per cent of…
Down for the count
Ms Soapbox went on a blitz trip to Vancouver Island. She got home late this afternoon and discovered that her brain is capable of nothing more taxing that deciding whether…
They did what?! Reaction to the NDP Royalty Review from across the political spectrum
Here is what energy industry executives, progressive advocates and opposition politicians had to say about the Royalty Review panel report released on Friday, Jan. 29, 2016: “Our new royalty framework…
dispatches from ola 2016, part 1: choosing to walk a path
I attended OLA* for only one day this year, partly because I'm already missing so much work for bargaining and other union business, and partly because one day is often…
Members of Canadian Anti-Muslim Groups Seem Immune to Irony
Incoherent, irrational, misdirected, anger.Back in November we wrote an article comparing the rhetoric found in contemporary anti-Muslim Facebook groups (focusing specifically on PEGIDA Canada) with that of the Nazi propaganda:Not…
what i’m reading: the invention of air by steven johnson
How do we know that the oxygen exists, and that oxygen is different from carbon dioxide? Well, we know it because we've been taught those facts. But how did that…
This Does Not Sound Good
Given that the government of Justin Trudeau is in favour of trade deals such as the TPP, its approval seems a foregone conclusion, despite its many grave potential drawbacks:For a…
The Maoist Enemy: China’s Challenge in 1960s East Germany
This article examines the challenge of Chinese communism in East Germany in the1960s. It shows how the Sino–Soviet Split and the Chinese Cultural Revolution endangered the public transcripts of East…
Alberta Federation of Labour President Gil McGowan assails Notley Government’s royalty ‘mistake’
PHOTOS: Alberta Federation of Labour President Gil McGowan. Below: Mr. McGowan with federal NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair; Calgary Sun columnist Rick Bell. Many progressive Albertans who were shocked and troubled…
Jan. 30: It really doesn’t matter….
…...who wins the U.S. party leaderships. It really doesn't matter who wins the presidency. We should have learned that with Obama. I remember the enthusiasm for Obama at the time…
CERCA Bridge and Log Removal Project
Video produced by Boon Collins and Thomas Shandel for the Cowichan Estuary Restoration and Conservation Association Thomas Shandel Moderator
Energy East flap shows Quebec is still viewed with contempt by many in the rest of Canada
Image by Council of Canadians I sometimes forget the degree to which a large part of English Canada despises Quebec. This week, the reminder was brutal. Ever since the mayors…
Environment Canada officers failed to uphold the law: report
Photo by Mazzali The federal department that enforces Canada’s environmental laws is in such disarray that some officers say they have been ignoring infractions in order to keep in line…
The Davos Blind Eye: How the Rich Eat the Poor and the World
Photo by Marcin Gabruk The just-released Oxfam Davos report An Economy For the 1% which the mass media have ignored arrestingly shows that 62 individuals (388 in 2010) now own…
As the World Burns
When you're roaring toward the cliff edge does it really matter if it's a jackboot or a Gucci loafer smashing the gas pedal into the floorboards? That's kind of how…
Sunday Morning Links
This and that for your Sunday reading.- The Guardian's editorial board comments on the role public entrepreneurship should play in fostering economic development and avoiding bust cycles:The state’s only legitimate…
On delayed rectification
I'll largely echo David Climenhaga's take on Alberta's oil and gas royalty review (PDF). But it's well worth highlighting the difference between the two main interpretations of the review's recommendations…
Demeanour Evidence
R. v. Hemsworth, 2016 ONCA 85:Legal Principles This court has repeatedly cautioned against giving undue weight to demeanour evidence because of its fallibility as a predictor of the accuracy of…