Iran’s Aerial Snake Oil
A few weeks back I put up a survey of various nations that were getting into the stealth game with either aircraft or UAVs under development or actually in testing.…
The Mound of Sound
U.S. Cardinals Want the Vatican to Come Clean
American Cardinals are demanding that Vatican managers answer allegations of corruption and cronyism at the very top levels of the Roman Catholic church. They say they want those answers before…
Arms Race Update – Giving New Meaning to "Sub-Prime"
Forget mortgage backed derivatives. That’s so 2008. In 2013, “sub-prime” can refer to the burgeoning international market for submarines, underwater warships. We don’t notice it much in Canada but, world…
Let’s Just Call Them Petro-Refugees
“There are a lot of sick people but they don’t have the money to move.” The Tyee’s Andrew Nikiforuk reports on what may become a growing problem, Canadians forced out…
Gaming Medicaid
Republicans, it seems, are willing to support Medicaid expansion, Obamacare as they call it, providing their side gets a hefty cut. Paul Krugman explains how the Right intends to graft…
Biden Joins Bridge Crossing Marchers in Selma
The rightwing stooges who control the U.S. Supreme Court might be willing to imagine away the reality of racial voter suppression in 2013 America but vice president Joe Biden took…
It’s Not Extreme Once It Becomes Normal
Britain’s Environment Agency has warned that the country must prepare for increasingly extreme weather conditions. Last year, flooding was recorded on 20% of days and drought on 25% of days,…
It’s Called "Poor Shaming"
Canadians have not yet shown themselves ready for the jackboot conservatism the British endure under their Cameron government but that doesn’t mean we’re immune to it either. The Observer’s Barbara…
What Is Not an Endangered Species?
What is not an endangered species? Try Billionaires. It seems they’re doing just fine. Forbes reckons the world now sports 1,426 (USD) billionaires. That’s up by 210 over the last…
Because Machines Never Fail, Right?
The debate over “KillBots”, autonomous hunter-killer robots, continues but never quite so quickly as the technology itself. It won’t be long before the more powerful nations field their own legions…
British Columbia’s Tumblin’ Crispy Christy Clark
British Columbia’s unelected, unelectable and outgoing premier, Crispy Christy Clark, was nudged ever closer to the exit today – by her own party members. More than a hundred BC Libs…
Please, Not In Front of The Children
The U.S. Air Force general responsible for the troubled F-35 light attack bomber programme caused a stir with his blunt criticisms of the principal contractors, Lockheed-Martin and Pratt & Whitney.…
Surely There’s Enough of Him to Go Around
Everybody’s got a Mike Duffy problem these days. Prince Edward Island has a Mike Duffy problem. Sideshow Steve Harper has a Mike Duffy problem. The Senate of Canada has a…
The Muddled Mind of Lord Prescott
Back when he was Tony Blair’s deputy prime minister he was for it but now Lord/Baron John Prescott says the Anglo-American war on Iraq “can’t be justified.” Prescott says he…
The Divisive States of America
The future of the United States of America looks anything but united. Government “of the people, by the people, for the people” is being dissolved to nothingness in a corrosive…
Australia Orders Another Two Dozen F-18 Super Hornets
Another apparent setback for the F-35 light attack bomber. The Pentagon has informed Congress of plans to sell twelve more F-18 E/F Super Hornets plus a dozen electronic warfare F-18…
Ugly Problems Loom for F-35 Light Bomber
Australia is becoming nervous about the planned purchase of 100 Lockheed F-35 light strike bombers. The fighter’s soaring costs have produced rising consternation in Australia, with a number of politicians…
This Is Truly Mind Bending
Researchers have found that it’s possible to electronically link the brains of two lab rats even across vast distances. Scientists have wired the brains of two rats together and shown…
Mama, Print Me Up a Gun
The incredible, printed assault rifle. It’s not just good for six rounds any more. Now the whole gun isn’t made through 3D printing. The barrel, for example, is a true,…
Rob Ford is At It Again?
I’m a long way from Toronto, a good long way, and people like mayor Rob Ford make me kind of grateful for that. Distance also let me avoid taking part…