Yesterday in Gutter Politics
This time it’s Peter Kent and Aaron Wherry has the details. Given his long career in journalism I would have thought that more than most Conservatives, Kent would be aware…
pogge
On Iran and the IAEA: what’s really new here?
When Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird indicated last week that Canada would be acting in concert with our allies to punish Iran, he was saying what he was expected to…
Paging Jason Kenney
Regular visitors to this corner of the internet will know that I'm not in favour of our continued military presence in Afghanistan. But if we're going to be there and…
Friday night Blues Brothers blogging
No reason in particular other than that they cheer me up. Welcome to another Friday night. This is "B" Movie Box Car Blues....
While we’re remembering…
A year ago today I was pointing to the words of then Veterans Ombudsman Pat Stogran who described Veterans Affairs Canada as "severely broken." Based on this recent interview with…
Today in Gutter Politics
The Canadian Wheat Board has mounted an advertising campaign to oppose the federal government's legislation to end the board's monopoly on wheat and barley sales in western Canada. Whether or…
I think we’ve seen this movie before
Flight policy change called a risky manoeuvre A new safety approach aimed at getting airlines to police themselves could endanger passengers, particularly those flying with smaller airlines, aviation experts warn.…
Something John Baird should actually get grumpy about
Canadians face two months of incarceration in Israel without trial On Tuesday, Freedom Waves to Gaza activists detained in Israel -- including Canadians David Heap and Ehab Lotayef -- came…
Department of Tiresome Memes
So who else is tired of hearing people talk about Canada punching above its weight? I think I'd like to see the phrase retired. At this point it's just being…
Mostly competent government
Your federal government is focusing like a laser on the economy. They're acutely aware of the fragile nature of the recovery and the troubles lapping at our shores. So of…
Yesterday in Gutter Politics
As reported here at the CBC, a veteran public servant has tendered his resignation in protest. Michel Dorais, a member of the audit committee that oversees the Office of the…
On ads that autoplay
If you've visited the site recently and been subjected to a blaring ad in the sidebar that launched by itself and wouldn't shut up, I apologize sincerely. That's not supposed…
Friday night
This is the Memphis Slim Quartet on Wish Me Well and comes with a shout out to Moose at Classic Blues Videos. Welcome to another Friday night....
Rumours of recovery…
Canada sheds 54,000 jobs in October The Canadian economy unexpectedly shed 54,000 jobs last month, all in full time positions, sending the country's jobless rate up two notches to 7.3…
Today in Gutter Politics
This could be the start of a whole new series. Wouldn't that be fun? I don't think this has been reported in the traditional media channels (yet), but courtesy of…
On entrenching inequality
Yesterday at Accidental Deliberations, Greg Fingas pointed us to this story about our federal finance minister giving out homework assignments to the Commons finance committee: Finance Minister Jim Flaherty has…
Any chance we could have an adult in charge of foreign policy?
Updated below. Baird stops funding for UNESCO after Palestinian decision Canada is putting a stop to future support for UNESCO now that the United Nations agency has accepted the Palestinian…
Mostly competent government
Public Safety Minister Vic Toews has changed his tune. He had previously indicated that the reason for zapping all the gun registry data was to help make it more difficult…
Since ducks are now sporting body armour
Our government thinks it ought to level the playing field by ensuring that hunters have access to the appropriate weaponry. ...under the Conservative bill the Ruger Mini-14, the .50-calibre sniper…
Which part of this was difficult to understand?
This is the lede in a story in The Hill Times this morning: The Conservative government has to come clean on the real reasons behind its plan to destroy more…