(Provincial) election week in Canada
It would be nice if we did it as the States do -- schedule all federal, state and local elections and by-elections such that they all happen on the same…
BlastFurnace
Non-member status for Palestine a non-starter
An interesting suggested compromise to the "Palestinian question" came out during the week past. It would be to recognize the Palestinian state without granting it a seat at the United…
Carney: €1 trillion to bail out Europe
We're all used to the concept of "shock therapy" when it comes to finances. Canada went through that process a decade and a half ago in an unpopular but successful…
Unfunded mandate galore, courtesy the Fed Cons
No surprise that the Cons reintroduced, yet again, their "omnibus" crime bill. And no surprise, again, that the Cons refused to say how much it will cost to implement --…
Reopen Swiss Air 111
Yesterday morning's explosive (pardon the expression) allegations by a former Mountie that the Swiss Air 111 crash in 1998 may have been a terrorist act and not an entertainment system…
It’s not obstetrics, it’s obstruction
It's taken some time to write this but I can't wait any longer. It's more than obvious that the Holy See simply doesn't get it when it comes to child…
Legacy of sports or legacy of debts?
Heaven help Hamilton on this one. Another round of Pan Am chicken.No sooner did it seem we call Red Hat owner Bob Young's bluff and offer to do a renovation…
Real questions for less than real Ontario leaders
Dear Leaders:I have made the decision that unless one of you does something so egregious that it merits a comment I will not -- will not --make any running commentary…
If you want to win votes, play the ethnic card
It's true.It's how the GOP have been able to divide and conquer for most of the last 3 decades in the States, it's worked marvelously well for the Cons in…
Who to lead the progressive torch (es) ?
It may not happen during the current cycle, but I think it is inevitable -- despite the huge gap that exists in a number of policy fields between the Liberals…
DSK walks
In probably his most humiliating moment since becoming Manhattan's DA, Cyrus Vance Jr has dropped all seven charges against Dominique Strauss Kahn in the allegation that he raped a hotel…
RIP Jack Layton
Shocking news within the last hour, that Jack Layton, leader of the federal New Democrats, has died.How this shakes down and what it means for Parliament is anyone's guess, but…
So long, Ka-Taffy!
Looks like the rebels have all but taken control of Tripoli.Adieu, Moammar. About the only good thing you ever did was dismantle your nuclear weapons (the only other country to…
Trademark this ™ (part 473)
The federal Conservative Party ™ can't have it both ways. It is going after a retired university professor who is using the party's logo within an ad banner on her…
Enter stage right — WAY right — Rick Perry
Just as former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty -- probably the only guy who's close enough to the centre that he could actually beat Barack Obama in next year's presidential race…
Adieu, Wendy
It's hard to imagine a world without Wendy Babcock. She died three days ago at the age of 32. After a truly horrible life including life on the streets as…
Latest Fed decision, and de Tocqueville on bombastic simpletons
The US Fed dropped its usual pretentiousness and the technocratic language often used in its statements on interest rate decisions and was remarkably clear in yesterday's decision, in which it…
UK lights up — is Canada next?
While no act of law enforcement, and no austerity measure, can justify the kind of rioting that has happened in the UK the last few days, one cannot help but…
When "Free Trade" ain’t free
In the absence of any long term prospect for a Free Trade Area of the Americas, Canada has decided to go it alone and try for bilateral agreements. This started…
The other shoe drops in the States
Finally, at least one of the bond rating agencies in the United States has owned up to its hypocrisies -- and slapped down the country's long standing credit rating, from…