Does Doug Do Privacy?
Bet you are all set to go with your smart phone and Ontario premier Doug Ford’s vaccine passport. You do realize, I hope, that this passport with its QR code…
2021
Set in Edmonton, Metis author Conor Kerr’s Avenue of Champions leads independent booksellers’ fiction bestseller list
Here are the lists of the top 10 fiction and non-fiction titles sold by independent booksellers in Alberta during the week ended Sunday, Oct. 10, 2021. The lists are compiled…
Musical interlude
The War On Drugs feat. Lucius – I Don’t Live Here Anymore
A Humble Reply
I don’t at all disagree with yesterday’s response to my statement that China’s proclaimed creation of a nation of general ambition for equality. (and forgive me, I have a computer…
Refunding the police
How quickly the tide turns. Hardly a year has passed since the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer triggered protests that pressured cities across the U.S. to…
Statement on the case against Councillor Chu
Today I was made aware of the CBC story about the incumbent Ward 4 councillor, Sean Chu. This is deeply upsetting. Let us focus on the victim – a teenage…
My film “The Big Snore” plays at Seattle Queer Film Festival this weekend…
Still from my short film ‘The Big Snore’ I am thrilled to announce here that my short film, The Big Snore, is programmed to screen at the wonderful Seattle Queer…
"Creeping Normalcy" in the Plague Age
Britain is experiencing a new wave of Covid cases, 40,000 per day. Yet it hasn’t caused much reaction from the public. It sounds like the legendary stiff upper lip, the…
Friday Morning Links
Assorted content to end your week. – Michael Bang Pedersen argues that the COVID pandemic offers a prime example of the importance of telling hard truths to the public –…
A look at Alberta’s referen-dumbs
Election day in Alberta is Monday, Oct. 18. Wait, you may be saying, didn’t we just have an election? Very observant of you. Yes, we did have an election, but…
Legal Tweet of the Day: October 15, 2021
#LegalTweetoftheDay: Texas abortion law to remain in force, federal appeals court says via @CNN – Garry J. Wise, Toronto Visit our Toronto Law Office website: www.wiselaw.net Visit our website: www.wiselaw.net
Things Fall Apart
Can a society that regards books as threats survive? I have my serious doubts, doubts you may share after becoming acquainted with the following story, yet another nail in the…
Boeing 737 Max Test Pilot Indicted for Fraud
A former Boeing 737 Max test pilot has been charged with criminal fraud for allegedly withholding vital safety information about the flawed aircraft. It’s said that pilot Mark Forkner deceived…
The Workers’ Revolt – Paul Krugman
Have American workers said “enough”? Have they had their fill of long hours and low pay in jobs that offer few benefits and no security? Paul Krugman says their pent-up…
Are Secular Nations Happier?
Are less-religious or more secular nations happier than religious ones? Studies suggest yes. Personally, I would certainly be happier in a more secular nation if it meant fewer angry, nasty,…
The Road to Glasgow – the Mess We’re Already In, a Recap
One measure of how critical the climate crisis has become is the early-onset impacts we’re already enduring. Severe storm events of increasing frequency, intensity and duration; unbearable heat waves; wildfires…
On the brink: the scenario the IPCC isn’t modelling
Wildfire smoke casts an orange haze over San Francisco after more than 300,000 acres of forest area burned across the northwestern United States in September 2020. Photo by Patrick Perkins/Unsplash.…
Labour’s Time Has Come
We’re having supply chain problems these days. Paul Krugman writes that, eventually, the bottlenecks will be broken: Earlier in the pandemic, people compensated for the loss of many services by…
The Road to Glasgow – Apparently, "We Are Not Amused."
Queen Elizabeth seems to have had her fill with the yack-yack boys who pass themselves off as world leaders and their empty talk about the climate crisis. The Queen has…
How city-owned developers can confront the crisis of housing affordability
Using a city-owned developer to build out more housing supply is a more durable strategy than other potential solutions to the affordability crisis, writes economist Roshak Momtahen. Photo from Shutterstock.…