State violence against homeless encampments and the refusal to know
Many years ago, I was walking in downtown Hamilton with a friend. As often happens in downtown Hamilton, a woman we walked by asked us for spare change. I no…
2021
Early Soundbite Grading-Part 1
So it’s a few days into **Election 41** and I’m still trying to finish all the grading for my Spring courses. But I can’t help bring out the red grading…
2021 And 1971
In 1971, the United States was preparing to leave Vietnam. Today, that country is leaving Afghanistan. Peter Coy writes that the Afghan withdrawal signals an important change — just as…
Cuba: The single party system confronts the crisis
A man walks past a Cuban revolutionary mural, Havana. Photo by Enrique de la Osa. A political party that governs alone, does not compete with another organization, and does not…
A Startup Wants to Help Predict Floods
For years engineers tried to prevent flooding, then they realized they can’t stop nature. Now instead of trying to stop it, we try to mitigate flooding by creating spaces that…
What Fool O’Toole?
The other day, our comment on conservative leader Erin O’Toole was that “he was a failure to launch.” He had a launch, of sorts, the following day. We watched aghast.…
Independent Ontario MP Derek Sloan, dumped by Conservatives he vied to lead for extremist views, rumoured set to run in Alberta
For heaven’s sake, Ontario, would you stop sending us your right-wing nut-jobs? There was Derek Fildebrandt. Horrible! There was Jason Kenney. Even worse! There are too many more to mention.…
The End of Days
I’ve been following the reality of what is happening in Afghanistan. Our news media are liars. They are reporting ridiculous stories about the American role in that country. That’s not…
My latest: whither goes Nova Scotia, goes the nation
Big waves always start off as small waves. Is the wave that hit Nova Scotia politics this week going to sweep away Justin Trudeau? It could. (It should.) Here’s a…
Forced evictions near and far: Canada’s complicity in the dispossession of Palestinian homes
An aerial view of the Israeli settlement of Tekoa in the occupied West Bank. Photo from Shutterstock. The practice of forced eviction constitutes a gross violation of human rights, in…
Give Sarah the Last Word – the Taliban Takeover Was an Inside Job
Former journalist/Afghan activist/military advisor Sarah Chayes has, for the past 20 years, lived and breathed Afghanistan. Now she reflects on how the Taliban returned to seize control seemingly overnight. No…
A Vote Compass surprise
Being a sucker for surveys, I couldn’t resist the Vote Compass survey on the CBC News website. The survey purports to locate your position on the political landscape relative to…
After 20 Years, What’s With All the Surprise?
If you were an Afghan would you have fought to defend a weak and corrupt central government that, after 20 years was an utter failure? Defend what? For all those…
The Sideshow Heads to Cochrane
In all election campaigns most of the attention is paid to the “main event”; the major national parties, their campaigns and platforms, who’s up and who’s down, all that good…
Jagmeet Singh Fails The Truth Test
I wish I could like Jagmeet Singh like I once did, when he was a fresh face on the political scene. But I can't. He's not the man I thought…
Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Mickey Djuric reports on Saskatchewan’s alarmingly high rate of positive COVID-19 tests as students prepare to return to school. And Heidi Atter reports…
Legal Tweet of the Day: August 18, 2021
#LegalTweetOfTheDay: Los Angeles to Require Masks at Large Outdoor Concerts and Events via Los Angeles Times Read more: https://bit.ly/WiseLawLegalTweet08192021 – Garry J. Wise, Toronto Visit our Toronto Law Office website:…
A Test of the PopTheStackEmail Blogging System
This is a test of the Pop The Stack email blogging system. If this were not a test, you would be reading erudite, or at least, passionate, opinionating on the…
Separated At Birth?
There are more things that unite us than divide us. That is, if you are a raging Christian fundamentalist and the Taliban: Recommend this Post
Stressed? Read This. Amygdala Highjacking – A Few Brief Thoughts
When under great stress, or when in great fear, our biological fight or flight response is triggered strongly, the amygdala is highjacked, which then highjacks our frontal cortex and our…