When I Realized David Petraeus Was a Wanker
The former wunderkind of the U.S. Army first came to my notice when he unveiled the American military's new counterinsurgency field manual, FM3-24. Petraeus had commanded a team of the…
The Mound of Sound
Confused About the Petraeus Scandal? Here’s All You Need to Know.
The NYT's Maureen Dowd sums up the David Petraeus furball scandal in just one paragraph.His fall started as Sophocles and turned sophomoric, a mind-boggling mélange of “From Here to Eternity,”…
Please, No More Orca in Toronto
It's bad enough keeping dolphins and belugas in captivity but it's an outrage to incarcerate orca for no other reason than to flog tickets to gawkers.Yet, according to TorStar, Marineland…
Blue Versus Red – a War of the Wealthy
The ever widening gap between Red and Blue America exists mainly among the wealthy.The New York Times reports that a study based on exit polls shows lower-income Americans, whether from…
It’s a Start
I couldn't resist borrowing the Ann Coulter line. A woman in the state that thinks Jan Brewer should be their governor has run down her husband because (a) he didn't…
Could General Petraeus Become Inmate Petraeus?
The United States military takes adultery very seriously. In fact it treats adultery as a criminal offence warranting imprisonment.When CIA director David Petraeus resigned, he pointedly stated that his affair…
It’s Curious How Badly We Don’t Want to Know
The scientific community is warning anyone willing to listen that Hurricane Sandy was just the opening act for even more extreme weather conditions to come. So, what are we doing…
New Jersey’s Dilemma
New Jersey seaside property owners face a dilemma - to rebuild or simply walk away. Faced with increasing sea level rise and predictions of more, potentially destructive storms in the…
The Great One’s Low Rent Progeny
Wayne Gretzky should have stayed on the ice instead of fathering this, his now notorious party-girl daughter, Paulina. Here's Miss Gretzky posing with an Obama puppet on election night. She…
Why No Honest War Memorials?
I've seen many war memorials. A good many of them are topped by some heroic-looking lump of bronze depicting a perfect specimen, with immaculate puttees, a jaw fixed in determination,…
Post-Election Racism Tracked
The re-election of Barack Obama triggered a flood of truly ugly, racist tweets.A group of geography academics calling themselves the "Floating Sheep" scoured Twitter for the racist tweets and tracked…
Adding Insult to Injury – Northern Gateway Style
It seems Harper isn't finished working over British Columbia in preparation for forcing through the Northern Gateway bitumen pipeline-supertanker venture.He's gutted our fisheries regulations, ditto for our marine ecosystem protections.…
America’s Other Civil War – the One Breaking Out Within the GOP
Do moderate Republicans now wish their party had chosen Santorum or Gingrich instead of Romney to take on Obama? Some, weighing up their bitterly divided G.O.P. in the wake of…
America’s Virtual Civil War
Robert Reich sees an America increasingly divided into two distinct camps steadily withdrawing from each other.It’s almost a civil war. I know families in which close relatives are no longer…
America’s Top Scientists Warn America’s Top Generals
America's top scientific research group, the National Research Council, has warned that nation's military and intelligence agencies that global warming will be placing new strains on the way they operate…
Petraeus Quits CIA, Confesses to Affair
Former Pentagon wunderkind and current CIA Director David Petraeus has resigned. In a statement the man once thought a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination admitted to an extra-marital affair.“After…
It’s Easier If You Think of Them as Horses
Remembrance Day is just around the corner. The local guys around here with their warbirds will do a memorial fly-past and we'll have a ceremony at... wherever they hold it…
Manufacturing Grounds for War with Iran
The United States claims that Iran opened fire on a U.S. Predator drone in "international waters." Washington seems intent on casting Iran as belligerent. Examined a little more closely and…
Another Victim of Globalization – Britain’s Trees.
British Columbians were, and remain, incensed that trade agreements prevented our government from blocking the export of raw logs. We wanted the log processing jobs from the sawmills to wood…
Great, Wrong Again.. or, Surprise, Sandy Has Sisters!
The U.S. National Centre for Atmospheric Research reports they, and the larger scientific community, got it wrong. Once again they erred on the conservative side resulting in unduly optimistic projections.Now,…