Supporting the Guardian
I usually start my day taking a look around the world to see what’s going on. The look includes perusing three websites, the CBC, the Guardian and Al Jazeera, and…
media
How the everyday use of militaristic jargon makes us more combative
The language of warfare and violence dominates public discourse in the United States and around the world, even when war isn’t part of the conversation. Nan Levinson, a writer, teacher,…
A Shift in Values
Further to my last post about the current values and the boundaries of the social imaginary that prevent us from making any significant and necessary changes in the world, George…
A Shift in Values
Further to my last post about the current values and the boundaries of the social imaginary that prevent us from making any significant and necessary changes in the world, George…
Godless – The Truth Beyond Belief
“Godless – The Truth Beyond Belief” investigates one of the last frontiers in civil liberties and human rights: Atheism. So reads the opening sentence on the website of a new…
Nazis Don’t Get Twitter Accounts. Sorry.
It’s a classic #SorryNotSorry. But sorry, Twitter, Nazis don’t get Twitter accounts. Especially since Twitter is so eager to promote the Rebel Alliance against the tyrannical Darth Vader. In real…
Cardboard cutout
I’ve heard a lot of stupid things in my time. Hell, I’ve probably said more stupid things than a really large number of people who’ve said stupid things, combined with…
Stop Fact-Checking Christy Clark
We’ve learned a few things. But we need to pick up the pace of wisdom. As we pivot to a new world that is suffering from deeper entrenched tendencies of…
Rafe: Gary Mason, quit lecturing Vancouverites for opposing pipelines
Recent Kinder Morgan protest in Vancouver (Photo: Lu Iz/Facebook) I simply couldn’t believe Gary Mason in Friday’s Globe and Mail In his article entitled “Sorry Vancouver: The rest of Canada…
Monday Afternoon Links
Miscellaneous material to start your week. – Miles Corak asks how we should see the growing concentration of income at the top of the spectrum, and concludes that we should…
Self-Care Tips As Trump’s Inauguration Approaches
It’s all about self care. Care for yourself with more sleep, more time walking in nature, less time in elevators and more time on stairs. Eat healthier, simpler foods. Spend…
More on Critical Thinking
Owen at Northern Reflections wrote about Crawford Kilian‘s recent article in the Tyee about the need for critical thinking in schools, which referenced Jeet Heer‘s twitter essay on Sartre where…
More on Critical Thinking
Owen at Northern Reflections wrote about Crawford Kilian‘s recent article in the Tyee about the need for critical thinking in schools, which referenced Jeet Heer‘s twitter essay on Sartre where…
New column day
Here, on how the Wall government has Saskatchewan on the road to the same post-truth politics that laid the groundwork for the spread of fictitious “news” and Donald Trump’s election.…
Smoke-Free Alberta asks: Why hasn’t all of the Smoking Reduction Act been enacted?
PHOTOS: Water pipes and flavoured tobacco … Why has Alberta legislation outlawing them not been enacted? There are no secret political messages in this picture, by the way. Below: Alberta…
Trump, Hypocrisy and Fascism
My Canada…my WORLD…involves people with integrity. The new American president spent months attacking people with racist, xenophobic and sexist venom. But when people satirize him, or criticize him, he cowers…
Trading press barons for social media behemoths: not an improvement for people who want news
PHOTOS: The Calgary Herald newsroom, back in the day. (Photo grabbed from Facebook, of course.) It’s quieter, nowadays. Below: Brodie Fenlon, managing editor of CBCNews.ca, and Gillian Steward, former managing…
Is This the Sixth Estate?
The “Fourth Estate” is an antiquated term for unofficial social and political forces, primarily the media. Use of the term recognized, over two centuries ago, that the media affect social…
Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Kevin Connor reports that the more Ontario voters are exposed to the realities of public-private partnerships, the more they’re turning against the idea…
Do Not Conform!
Do not conform. Do not give in. Do not let the soul within you be molded or driven cold by circumstances, geopolitics, megalomania and division, or desperate people flinging their…