Blind Justice?
Ten years ago it seemed shocking when an American politician complained, “We used to put people in jail because we were afraid of them. Now we put people in jail…
Yappa
Some tips for finding a job
While I hope noone loses their job, it’s not looking good. Here are job hunting tips that worked for me. These might be of general interest but are aimed at…
RIM, BlackBerrys and Waterloo
The Gobe & Mail announced this morning that RIM is planning large layoffs in the next couple of weeks, probably more than 2,000 of its 16,500 worldwide workforce. I got…
Throw the Bum Out!
Okay now. I was willing to let Conrad Black be, on the principle that when someone has served their time they should be left alone to live their life –…
What Makes a Great Superhero Movie?
A few hours ago I plunked myself down in a movie theater, 3D glasses on nose, popcorn and diet coke to hand, ready to watch an action movie that got…
Olga Picasso in Transition
I have long been fascinated by Picasso’s portraits of his first wife, Ballet Russes dancer Olga Kokhlova. Not so much the sculptures and pictures at the end of their relationship,…
Musings on Robocalls
At this point, can we avoid falling into a state where political power is seized rather than awarded by the public? The only way we can maintain good governance is…
Ads on Radio 2? No thank you!
The Globe is reporting that, in response to the $115M funding cut in last week’s federal budget, the CBC will start advertising on CBC Radio 2. (link) Lovers of CBC…
Note to Bob Rae: Get a little tougher
We have been hearing that the Liberals won’t take any more crap from the Conservative attack machine: Rae has said that he is prepared to give as good as he…
Cross-party cooperation
The leader of the NDP is a former Liberal, and the leader of the Liberals is a former New Democrat. Both leaders joined their new parties within the last six…
Rallly against voter suppression by robo-calls
Sunday, March 11, 2-5 Here’s the Toronto rally’s facebook page: http://www2.blogger.com/img/blank.gif (Yonge and Dundas)
Robert Lepage Wrecked the Ring Cycle
He had help. CostumesThroughout, the costumes were an unfortunate distraction. They didn’t enhance the characterization or help to set a tone or place. They were unflattering. Poor Waltraud Meier, who…
Reflections on Activism
People keep saying that 2012 will be the year of protest in North America – the year when ordinary people rise up and demand better treatment from government elites. I’m…
Press Release for Canadian-Americans
Press Release: Isaac Brock Society Posted by Petros — January 10, 2012 Caution to U.S. Citizens and U.S./Canada dual citizens who are residents of Canada about the IRS announcement (IR-2012-5)…
Conflicts of Interest, or: Be Careful What You Wish For
There were a lot of raised eyebrows over conflicts of interest claimed by local politicians in the LRT decision. For example: The driving force behind LRT, Regional Chair Ken Seiling,…
Canada is a Better Place with Pat Martin in Parliament
I’m a Liberal, but there’s a lot about the NDP that I like. Foremost is the straight talking approach of some of their MPs. In the few televised committee hearings…
Pop
I went to see Jian Ghomeshi speak at Kitchener's TheMuseum last night. His topic was pop culture. It seemed a rather contentless talk (at the time the word I was…
Remember When There Wasn’t So Much War
I was listening to the CBC the other day (normally a benign sort of radio experience) and a newscaster was describing, with some enthusiasm, bombs being dropped by Canadians or…
Devolution of the Corner Store?
I'm in San Francisco (for BlackBerry DevCon) (and yes I just felt an earthquake - what a cliche - and yes it freaked me out) and I went into a…
Esperanto is Old School
Wittgenstein described language as a city. Three's the Old Town with its twisted streets and the new suburbs that are neatly organized. The entire city is constantly changing and growing.That's…