Eugenics in Alberta
Given the province’s rather fanatical conviction that its tarsands projects should be subject to little or no oversight, it might be useful to bear in mind another kind of fanaticism…
Lorne
Ward, I’m Worried About The Beaver
In this complicated world filled with dire threats ranging from rapidly-escalating climatic disasters to unprecedented rates of marital discord to street (and theatre) violence that leaves everyone feeling more vulnerable…
Dalton McGuinty and the Ornge Scandal
As I recently observed in a post, Ontario’s Premier Dalton McGuinty has refused to testify before the legislative committee investigating the Ornge air ambulance scandal. Rather than try to help…
How The Right Deforms Our Attitudes
I have long believed it is not so much the ‘genius’ of the extreme right as it is their financial backing that makes them powerful propagandists. Their domination of the…
Attitudes Toward The Poor
“The more wealth you have, the more focused on your own self and your own needs you become, and the less attuned to the needs of other people you also…
We Have A Responsibility
As we go about our daily lives, the majority of us, I suspect, share a hierarchy of concerns ranging in priority from the health and well-being of our loved ones,…
Harper’s Lack of Vision and Corporate Timidity
Canada is cursed with a Prime Minister who pretends to be an economist, one apparently intent on returning us to an era when the country was primarily a hewer of…
That Man Behind the Curtain
While I strongly believe in being critical of unions when their behaviour warrants it, I am steadfast in my belief that they serve a vital role for the working person,…
Unfettered Capitalism Redux
Ah yes, the joys of the marketplace. Recommend this Post
One May Smile And Smile And Be A Villain
The above title, a quotation from my favorite Shakespearean play, Hamlet, is, I suppose, something of a truism in today’s age of cynical politics. Yet it was the line that…
Irish President Rips Into American Extreme Right
I’m happy to make this video my first post since ending my technological hiatus. Enjoy. You can read the accompanying story here. Recommend this Post
Time for a Hiatus
Time for a late-summer technology hiatus. See you soon. Recommend this Post
CETA – Part Four – Trust No One
Ultimately, the critical thinker has an obligation to educate him/herself. To simply accept government ‘assurances’ that all is well is to surrender the responsibilities inherent in being a citizen in…
CETA – Trust No One – Part Three
Here are two more CETA myths being perpetuated by the Harper regime, according to the Council of Canadians, that we should be aware of: HARPER SAYS: Free trade deals like…
Police Surveillance
Funny, isn’t it, that while the police generally favour video surveillance cameras as a way to prevent crime, they are not nearly as sanguine when the cameras are turned on…
What Canadian Media Outlets Need
What they need is people like CNN’s Soledad O’Brien, who refuses to be cowed by right-wing bullies like John Sununu. Peter Mansbridge, are you listening? H/t Roger Ebert See also…
Language Unbefitting a Govenment
As a retired high school teacher, I follow educational developments within Ontario but only occasionally write about them, my bias making most such posts rather predictable. That being said, however,…
CETA – Trust No One – Part Two
As reported in today’s Star, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, after meeting with Stephen Harper, has promised to push for early completion of the gruelling negotiations for a Canada-European Union free…
CETA – Trust No One – Part One
As I get older, I sometimes feel like a character from the X-Files, one of the recurring motifs of which was “Trust No One.’ I think I have lived long…