Another fine read from Robert Reich
Why the Republican Crackup is Bad For America “Two weeks before the Iowa caucuses, the Republican crackup threatens the future of the Grand Old Party more profoundly than at any…
Norman Farrell
Never in Canada, right?
Abramoff Regrets Paying Writers For “Placed” Columns, by Joe Strupp, Media Matters, Dec. 8, 2011 “…During a recent interview with Media Matters while promoting his new book, Capitol Punishment: The…
Culture Shock
Culture Shock by John Korn He’s sitting in his armchair with his solar powered light He’s sitting in the desert so the bulb keeps burning bright He’s sitting in his…
More Enbridge mischief exposed
From: guujaaw Sent: Wednesday, December 21, 2011 2:46 PM Subject: Enbridge December 20, 2011 Enbridge Northern Gateway Project Joint Review Panel 444 7th Avenue S.W. Calgary, Alberta T2P 0X8 Attention:…
Lowe’s standards wrong for B.C.
Lowe’s pulls TV ads – and gives a Christmas gift to Target et al, Wajahat Ali, The Guardian: “The decision by Lowe’s, behemoth chain of retail home improvement and appliance…
Would-be skippers on the Ship of Fools
The day before making her official presidential campaign announcement, in Waterloo, Iowa, Michele Bachmann, who was born and grew up in Waterloo before moving to Minnesota, told Fox News, “John…
A wonderful life – Replay from Dec. 2009
Arianna Huffington: At a recent dinner, a group of us began talking about the huge chasm between the record profits of Wall Street banks and America’s struggling Main Street banks…
Jeremy Hardy’s take on Christmas
From The News Quiz on BBC Radio 4, Dec. 23, 2011
America’s turmoil taking it toward disaster
At Truthdig, Joe Conason peels recent layers of “respectability” that hide a reprehensible man who happens to be frontrunner in Iowa presidential caucuses. The Bigots and Billionaires in Ron Paul’s…
Better served by bird brains?
Our friends at the Blog Borg Collective noticed The Province displaying either low-class ignorant journalism or sophisticated and subtle humour. Apparently the newspaper was uncertain if the current session of…
Bad Santa
From Reuters Editor’s Choice
Wish I could write like that department
Roger Ebert, reviewing The Artist, a film by Michel Hazanavicius: “At a sneak preview screening here, a few audience members actually walked out, saying they didn’t like silent films. I…
Few shadows cast in North America
A Moral Giant among Pygmies, By Erich Follath, Spiegel Online International “Since last Sunday, the world has been mourning the death of Vaclav Havel. The Czech leader led a rollercoaster…
Murphy’s laws always apply
har·bin·ger Show IPA noun 1. a person who goes ahead and makes known theapproach of another; herald. 2. anything that foreshadows a future event; omen; sign:Frost is a harbinger of…
Help for the CBC on conflicts of interest
Regular readers will be aware that I filed a complaint with CBC Ombudsman Kirk Lapointe over the conflict involving Legislative Bureau Chief Stephen Smart, husband of Rebecca Scott who holds…
Rewarding incompetence
William Elliott was the first civilian Commissioner of the RCMP. An abject failure while heading Canada’s once esteemed police agency, Elliott departed recently. Like disgraced predecessor Giuliano Zaccardelli, this man…
New pipelines hurt Canadian consumers
Cushing Oklahoma is a price settlement point for West Texas Intermediate (WTI) light crude oil and the town proclaims itself to be the “Pipeline Crossroads of the World,” However, petroleum…
On getting the news
Bill Bailey is an English comedian, musician, actor and TV presenter who often appears on Stephen Fry’s long running panel game show QI, an award winning celebration of the obscure.…
Breaking news from the DFO
Statement from the Federal Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Keith Ashfield, on Negative Infectious Salmon Anaemia Test Results in British Columbia Salmon “After Canada’s reputation has needlessly been put…
Not everyone shocked by Cohen disclosures
From my November 25 piece titled To be different, we must do things differently: “Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, along with Chief Bob Chamberlin and Chief Marilyn Baptiste, executive members of…