Dystopia is our neighbour
The US schools with their own police, Chris McGreal, The Guardian, Jan. 9, 2012 “…Like hundreds of schools in the state , and across large parts of the rest of…
Norman Farrell
Toward amoral petro-state
An Open Reply to Joe Oliver’s Propaganda for the Petro State ENERGY & EQUITY: Nikiforuk joins the fray. Andrew Nikiforuk, The Tyee “Canada’s Natural Resource Minister Joe Oliver has just…
Treading on the public welfare
News Item, January 11, 2012: “Shaw Media announced Wednesday that it has filed an application to the CRTC for a 24/7 regional, all-news channel for the province. “The channel is…
Judging the judge, again
Also read: J. Leask: Questions of perspicacity and impartiality B.C. Appeal Court overturns cocaine conspiracy acquittal…, Neal Hall, Vancouver Sun, Jan. 10, 2012 “VANCOUVER — A three-judge panel of the…
"Mistruths and half-truths" from our government
Stephen Harper’s Northern Gateway pipeline parody, National Affairs Columnist Thomas Walkom, The Star “The federal government’s claim that big-money foreign interests are trying to hijack hearings into a proposed west…
Enbridge’s empty promises
The Michigan Messenger, Enbridge denies responsibility for oil spill “Despite public promises to compensate residents for losses associated with the summer oil spill, in Calhoun county court Enbridge is arguing…
Shoes, ships and sealing-wax, cabbages and kings
Global TV Noon News aired a report on the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline Sunday. It lasted 40-seconds while they allocated 11 minutes to a segment on cooking fish and five…
Disappeared item from The Real Story
Ian Reid’s blog The Real Story published an important article Saturday Jan 7. Noon Sunday, the entire blog was down. This might be a meaningless vagary of the Internet or…
Terry O’Reilly begins new CBC Radio series today
Under the Influence from CBC Radio After The Age of Pursuasion, his award winning series about advertising, I’m certain Terry O’Reilly’s new program will be radio that I will not…
"Ethical Oil" – an argument that make no sense
The Devil in the Tar Sands, Jody Williams and Desmond Tutu, Project Syndicate, 2011 CAPE TOWN – …”Oil from the tar sands of Alberta is the dirtiest in the world,…
Conservatives ready to serve paymasters
Harper warns of ‘hijacked’ hearings on Northern Gateway pipeline, Bob Weber, The Canadian Press: EDMONTON – Prime Minister Stephen Harper says he’s listening to concerns that hearings for the Northern…
Dumb-ass schnooks we are
Replay from May 27, 2011 because the issues have not changed: Too-polite Canadians accept almost any declaration from people in authority. We are naive, complacent schnooks. Dumb, as well; the…
A change of subject
Regular readers might be aware of my family’s interest in KIVA, which describes itself as a: “non-profit organization with a mission to connect people through lending to alleviate poverty. Leveraging…
Oil industry ramps up the pressure
As Ian Reid succinctly observes, the Vancouver Sun “has apparently merged with Encana’s communications department and is now almost desperately spinning the Northern Pipeline on their behalf.” Postmedia, the Sun’s…
Police Squad – from the Encyclopedia of Wildlife
Another replay, recycled from April 2010: Police are an extremely social animal. They exist as a social unit called a squad. Police travel and hunt in a group and perform…
Foreign funding of environmentalists?
In a demonstration of ultimate irony, Ethical Oil, which shills for the international petroleum industry, complains about environmental groups receiving a tiny portion of their funding from outside Canada. Where…
These people don’t believe in ‘ethical oil’
CKNW’s morning show featured Fraser Institute alum Kathryn Mitrow Marshall, who is now labouring for Ethical Oil, an ironically named lobby group with close ties to the Conservative Party of…
"The drugs Canada is peddling"
Dr. David Schindler, University of Alberta “Every year that you can get away with lack of regulation, is a few billion more bucks in your pocket. After 40 years, I’m…
Shilling for dollars
Gordon Hoekstra and the Vancouver Sun present another episode in the ongoing series, Shilling for Corporate Canada: Enbridge is a Canadian success story: “Patrick Daniel, its president and CEO… earned…