Progress or Ruin
Monbiot’s recent article sits in my belly like lead: As a child and young adult, I delighted in being able to identify almost any wild plant or animal. And now…
July 2018
Doug Ford appoints far-right, homeschooled, 20-year-old ideologue as “Parliamentary Assistant” to Minister of Education
Undeniably handsome but dangerous Tory Sam Oosterhoff. Doug Ford is showing his hand, offering a little gift to the far-right zealots that make up at least 15% of his party…
What, We’re Running Out of Sand?
Apparently the global demand for construction-grade sand has reached the point where gangs now strip paradise islands of their beaches. Our insatiable appetite for new buildings, roads, coastal defences, glass,…
The Trouble with Relativism
From a comment on a social media post advocating that we stop protesting people with Trump hats: “The trouble with refusing to serve someone because you abhor their views, is…
I’m proud to have worked for a Prime Minister who never once was asked this question
…and who never once needed to give an evasive, equivocating answer. Here.
Thai Cave Kids Found Alive
It’s being reported that Thai rescue crews have found 12 Thai soccer players and their coach alive inside a flooded cave.
Timeline of the original Collus share sale
With the pending yet pointlessly vindictive Saunderson judicial inquiry – a punitive, self-serving exercise expected to cost local taxpayers of between $2 and $6 million (and potentially much more!) –…
Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material to start your week. – James Galbraith reminds us of the danger extreme inequality poses to any social bonds – and the need for political action to counteract…
Relevant poetry
I was standing in a bookstore in downtown Toronto a couple of weeks back, and opened The Essential Ginsberg, a collection of poems, songs and other writing by the late…
It Can Be Done
“Where there’s a will, there’s a way,” my mother always said. The question is,”Does that will exist?” These two videos offer a glimmer of hope: Recommend this Post
Column: he did it
Anonymous. The message landed, as these sorts of things do so often, via Twitter on June 6, 2018. “Hi Warren,” it read. “Do you know about this B.C. community paper…
By Golly, It’s Ford Folly.
After spending some time checking out the line-up of found-ins referred to as the Ontario cabinet, we have an uneasy feeling in the middle of our back. This is supposed…
Wow, I’ll Be Looking For a Star in the East Tonight!
I’m a bit of a buff when it comes to the War of 1812. In my bookshelves sit eight historical volumes, three American, the rest Canadian. I also have an…
Front Patriotique du Québec and III% Militia Also Marching in Montreal
While the La Meute march was being stymied by antifascists, Carl Edward Fleury, formerly associated with the Worldwide Coalition Against Islam in Alberta and past leader of the Canadian Combat…
Happy Canada Day
Made it under the wire, barely. While I’m pretty ambivalent about the whole “Canadian” thing these days my family and most of my friends remain devoted Canuckleheads. And so, in…
What Will Stephen Harper Actually Do At The White House?
It's not hard to figure out why Stephen Harper wants to visit the White House. He's been waiting for an invitation for a very long time.And goodness knows he needs…
Think you know the national anthem? Think again … but this time, in French.
On Friday night, at the Edmonton Eskimos game (my profound apologies to the 14 people in Canada who find the term ‘Eskimo’ offensive), the national anthem singer chose to perform…
Bring On the Trolls!! Historian Timothy Snyder Explains How Collusion Works And Why Trump Is Not Really Colluding with Moscow.
Perhaps you’ve read professor Snyder’s recent book, “On Tyranny, Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century.” Here he explains what underlies Russia’s manipulation of Trump, how the process works and what…
Bread and Circuses
“Panem et Circenses” the old Roman technique of pacifying the public with free food and the spectacle of the circus. This came to mind in reading a thoughtful essay by…
happy canada day: a wish for a pledge
One unfortunate result of the current ascendancy of white supremacy in the US is the increase in Canadians’ nationalism and self-love — the strengthening of Canadians’ conviction that our society…