A Sordid Tale
I want to tell you a story. It is a story I wish I didn't have to tell, given its sordid nature, and it is one that reflects badly on…
Lorne
On Divine Wrath
Two posts by the Mound of Sound during my absence amply demonstrated the ongoing derangement of the religious right. One suggested that God was not happy with the good folks…
Ah, But Will They?
Were they truly public-spirited citizens, the dozens of people recently appointed by Stephen Harper to government agencies and crown corporations would step aside if so requested by Justin Trudeau.The previous…
Pensee Du Jour
We returned from Cuba yesterday morning around 4:00; without an optimal amount of sleep thus far, complicated by an intestinal bug I probably picked up from the buffet, I have…
Some Downtime
We are heading off for an inexpensive week in Cuba. It really pays to travel before high season kicks in. I'll be back at the computer in about a week.…
Fear And Loathing
I remember very vividly when I was a young fellow how much the police seemed to be a part of the community. When I was in high school, I had…
And Speaking Of Perspective
...along with xenophobia, bigotry and demagoguery, the folks at Fox News would seem to be quite ignorant about their country's own history.Here is a timely festive reminder of that history…
Putting Things Into Perspective
The bigoted backlash against Muslims in light of the recent ISIS attacks is given short shrift by This Hour Has 22 Minutes:Should the time come when we no longer have…
Critical Thinking – Yes. Fear Mongering – No.
Last week I wrote a post critical of Rex Murphy's CBC opinion about how the Syrian refugee situation should be handled by Justin Trudeau. At first blush, his view that…
Star Readers Respond To Toronto Police Thuggery
Whether justice will ever be achieved in the terrible death of Rodrigo Gonsalez or the vicious beating of Santokh Bola remains an open question. However, given some compelling video evidence,…
Chrystia Freeland Challenges Bill Maher’s Islamophobia
While Bill Maher likes to present his views as reasonable and moderate, he clearly fails to recognize the inflammatory nature of his remarks. Chrystia Freeland tries to point out they…
Media Manipulation: Astroturfers And Propagandists
I have frequently written on this blog about the importance of critical thinking; it is truly the only way that we can navigate through the thickets of information with which…
Time To Reject Magical Thinking
Canadians, along with the West in general, have been fed a neoliberal diet of propaganda and policy for so long that far too many have succumbed to magical thinking, the…
Rex Murphy On Canada’s Refugee Plans
While I am hardly dismissive of those who are expressing concerns about the speed with which the Liberal government is planning to bring in Syrian refugees, those concerns, I believe,…
UPDATE: A Police Or An Occupation Force?
Last night, the CBC reported on the case of Rodrigo Gonzalez, the subject of yesterday's post and the latest to die at the hands of Toronto Police. while the report…
A Police Or An Occupation Force?
While I realize there is an element of hyperbole in the title of this post, I cannot help but think that for many vulnerable people, the Toronto Police might be…
“There’s always a context in which these things take place.”
So says Toronto police spokesman and perennial apologist Mark Pugash about the beating administered by the police to Santokh Bola, a victim of what the authorities admit was a ‘mistaken…
On Prudent Spending
Now that the former fiscal masters of the universe, a.k.a. the Harper government, has left us with a structural deficit that will mean $3 billion to $5 billion in each…
They Shame Us All
Canadians like to regard themselves as fair-minded people. It is for precisely that reason that we need to denounce strongly those who attempt to subvert those values by hateful speech…
On Keeping Perspective
With the cacophony of voices calling for Canada to continue to “Bomb, Baby, Bomb.” and Canadian miscreants retaliating against Muslims by setting fires to mosques, it is crucial for voices…