RIP—and thanks for the beer, Ed
The inventor of my favourite beer died this week. Ed McNally, former lawyer and barley farmer, who founded Big Rock Breweries in 1985 and introduced Traditional Ale (Trad to us…
Bill Longstaff
Hillary Clinton—a very dangerous lady
During the Democratic nomination race for the 2008 U.S. presidential election, my preference was torn between a woman president or a black president. I was leaning toward the woman, Hillary…
Why is Purolator tackling hunger?
I confess that one of my minor pleasures is watching CFL games on TSN. Among the endless game interruptions is an ad/public service announcement in which genial Chris Schultz, member…
What keeps Canada together?
The above is the title of a survey commissioned by the Association for Canadian Studies and carried out by Leger Marketing earlier this year. The answer to what unites the…
PR tops journalism in U.S.
If Americans often seem uninformed or misinformed about current affairs, it may be because they get more propaganda than news. There are now five times as many public relations experts…
Harper—not a man for our time
Vladimir Putin is a corrupt bully and I don’t like the guy. Nor do I like the mischief he’s up to in Ukraine. Nonetheless, I am not impressed by Stephen…
Libya—another dictator replaced with chaos
Political use of the term “blowback” first appeared in the CIA’s internal history of the 1953 Iranian coup. Orchestrated by Britain and the U.S., the coup replaced the democratically-elected Mosaddegh…
Israel vs. Hamas or Likud vs. Gaza—framing the issue
A major goal in a propaganda war is to frame the issue on your terms. For example, in labour disputes, businesses (and their political and media allies) often claim the…
Frank’s 10 happiness tips
Pope Francis may still be immersed in a certain amount of traditional Catholic misogyny, but he is nonetheless a breath of fresh air for the church, and for that matter,…
Why a lifelong Dipper is disappointed with Thomas Mulcair
Born and raised in Saskatchewan, I’ve been a supporter of the CCF/NDP since before Thomas Mulcair was born. The major reason is simply that Canada’s social democratic party has always…
Canada Revenue Agency snubs Parliamentary Budget Officer
It may be hard to believe, but Canadians don’t know the difference between what the government is owed in taxes and what it collects. And we aren’t going to find…
Germany stands up for democracy
Finally, someone has said enough to the erosion of democracy brought about by “trade” agreements. From NAFTA to the proposed Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between Canada and the…
NHL is worried about global warming—listen up, Mr. Harper
Surprising perhaps, but the National Hockey League now produces a sustainability report. And it’s worried about global warming. According to League Commissioner Gary Bettman, “Our sport can trace its roots…
Hamas more legitimate than Harper’s Conservatives
Discussions on the Palestine issue are usually framed as Hamas vs. Israel. This suggests Hamas is merely an organization when in fact it is the democratically-elected government of Palestine, having…
I’ll answer your question, Mr. Cameron
British Prime Minister David Cameron, like our PM a cheerleader for Israel, posed a rhetorical question this week: how would those criticizing Israel’s actions expect their own government to react…
Who loves the US of A?
The answer to the above question, according to a Pew Research survey of 44 countries, is mostly everybody. Well, outside of the Middle East anyway. Not surprisingly, most Middle Eastern…
Tobacco companies—the biggest, baddest drug dealers pursue our kids
If we conjure up an image of drug cartel bosses, we might imagine swarthy men with gold chains hanging around their necks and voluptuous babes hanging off each arm. This…
Why Canadians must resort to the courts for democracy
Federal Conservatives have been complaining lately about the courts being used, in the words of MP Dan Albas, “to do an end-run around our democratic process.” My immediate reaction to…
Hamas is not a terrorist organization
It seems that the media and politicians can hardly mention Hamas, much in the news these days, without referring to it as a terrorist organization. And indeed a number of…
Settlers killed in Palestine—echoes of another colonialism
The killing of three Jewish teenagers from a West Bank settlement in Palestine brought to mind another colonialism—that of North America. As the Europeans swarmed across the Americas, the Native…