Barr’s Justice Department
What is going on at the American Department of Justice is deeply troubling. Ruth Marcus writes: It is becoming alarmingly difficult to keep track of all the reasons to worry…
June 2020
In the Wild—West of Toronto.
Who knew? When Barrie’s Patrick Brown, was ejected from Queen’s Park early in 2018, he picked Peel Region for his comeback. Rejected by his fellow conservatives in the legislature, Brown’s…
Referenda are ‘a device for dictators and demagogues’ — but never mind about that, Alberta, or who said it …
Referenda, British prime minister Margaret Thatcher once observed, “are a device for dictators and demagogues.” I mention this in light of of Alberta’s new referendum legislation — Bill 26, the…
Sports will be back, sort of
I think the realities of getting back to sports are becoming clearer as we begin to understand that Corona Virus is not going away any time soon. Yes, we are…
If This is a Dress Rehearsal, We’ve Got a Lot of Work to Do.
Across the West we’re learning how ill-constituted our governments are to handle emergencies. In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, they’ve hummed and hawed, wasted weeks or even months before acting,…
pupdate: prison break, cookie style
I’ve been putting off the recall training. We have equipment, and we have advice, but we don’t have a plan — because we haven’t made it a priority. Honking big…
An Alternate Reality
With a pathological liar as its president, it probably does not come as a shock that many Americans live in an alternate reality. Promoted and cultivated endlessly by Donald Trump,…
Bill 61 is a troubling sign of rising authoritarianism in Québec
Quebec Premier François Legault speaks at a press conference on June 22, 2020. Photo from Twitter. As Québec’s COVID-19 crisis wanes, the government of François Legault pushed forward with its…
Trudeau should withdraw from the Lima Group, rescind sanctions on Venezuela
President Maduro among other Latin American leaders participating in a 2017 ALBA (Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America) gathering. Photo from Wikimedia Commons. On June 17, the Trudeau…
June 24: This blog is a day early….
…because I made such a mess of yesterday’s. I don’t know exactly what happened. I had almost finished yesterday’s when the screen went blank. I don’t know why. I think…
Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Richard Shearmur discusses the risk that employers will use an increase in remote work to extract even more value from workers. And Tara…
Collision: Replacing Plastics with Seaweed
At the last Collision Conference Loliware pitched their eco-conscious business and won. Today Sea Briganti provided an update on the company and the success they’ve had replacing plastic usage with…
State-supported academic research in Alberta should be about more than Making Oil & Gas Great Again
As Alberta launches its 10-year plan for “transformational change” in post-secondary education, a new study suggests the province’s universities and the government agencies that fund them are helping to prolong…
Flynn Walks
The corruption of America’s judiciary proceeds apace. A US appeals court has taken Trump cronie, Michael Flynn, off the hook for the various crimes he confessed to and was convicted…
Sometimes All I Hear is the Sound of Heads Banging into Walls.
I’ve started to think of them as “prescription pieces” and there are plenty of them. These are the articles that pop up daily to repeat warnings of what we must…
My latest: when zero tolerance doesn’t mean zero
Zero tolerance. That’s what he said. Those are the words he used. Justin Trudeau has said, many times, that he and his party have “zero tolerance” for sexual harassment and…
A Future Of No Growth?
People are talking about getting back to “normal.” But, perhaps, normal isn’t such a good idea. Glen Pearson writes: The prosperous nations of the world have spent their entire existence…
Trump, from one who would know
This comes from a Republican, Steve Schmidt. He ran John McCain’s 2008 campaign for president. “Donald Trump has been the worst president this country has ever had. And I don’t…
Agenda for the Global South After COVID-19
In 1974, the United Nations General Assembly passed a New International Economic Order (NIEO), which was driven by the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM). The resolution laid out a clear plan for…