MexAmeriCanada, Version 2013
Welcome to the United States of MexAmeriCanada. Represent! I was just thinking a few days ago how I haven’t used the MexAmeriCanada tag for a while. Did I cause this…
Neo-Conservatism
Why Do They Want Us To Shut Up?
If we were harmless, the riot cops would stay home. It’s Friday. It’s been a long week. Like most weeks. We are taught to fit in and obey. We are…
Class War: US$11.5 Trillion Hidden in Tax Havens
Which tax haven is right for you? Class war is alive and well. I have this rose-coloured, nostalgic dream of history. Once upon a time we emerged from feudalism with…
Canada’s Evolving Soft Fascism
Things are bad under Prime Minister Harper. They’re getting worse, even since the last time I wrote about Harper’s soft fascism. But how do we measure it? It’s so…subjective, unless…
Stephen Harper Visits Lac Megantic
Mourning the senseless tragedy. Today I was very impressed when Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada, broke with his almost long-held position of not visiting Lac Megantic. While he and…
America the Not-So-Beautiful: God Shat His Grace On Thee
Close your eyes, and conjure up a mental image of the stereotype of the Ugly American. Loud. Large. Willfully ignorant of customs and countries that lie beyond the border of…
Stephen Harper’s Glowing Congratulations for Chavez’s Re-Election
Can you smell the indignation? Note the lack of commentary from the prime minister or foreign affairs minister. October 8, 2012 – The Honourable Diane Ablonczy, Minister of State of…
Linda McQuaig on Neo-Conservative Contempt
There are some columnists whose work I am loathe to miss. For example, over at the Globe, unlike some people I could name, Lawrence Martin writes with precision and integrity,…
What Has Changed Since September 11, 2001?
What Has Changed Since September 11, 2001? W2 Media Cafe and Siraat invite you to a public forum on Monday, September 10, 2012, looking at Canada’s racist legacy, as we…
Act of Valor, Redux
“Before my father died, he said the worst thing about growing old was that other men stop seeing you as dangerous….Dangerousness was sacred.” Last night I watched Act of Valor.…
Springtime for Hitler in Ottawa
Last week, our favourite sweatervest hoarding Prime Minister made the world’s laziest Nazi/Hitler invocation during Question Period. This is the latest in a string of Hitler references made by sundry…
A Handmaid’s Tale: Intended as Fiction, Not a Guidebook
I have become very weary of being perpetually assaulted, all day long, and being utterly helpless to defend myself from the onslaught. If it isn’t advertisers shoving things I don’t…
Vic Toews’ Prison Shock Doctrine Recipe
Closing prisons from the 19th century is surely a good idea, but I have no faith that the Conservative Party cares to replace them with anything progressive based on research…
Why I’m Voting for Nathan Cullen
Nathan Cullen has my vote. Let me begin by saying that we are at an historical moment in Canadian history. We are being besieged by an increasingly draconian corporatist, neo-conservative…
Liveblogging Today’s NDP Leaders Debate
Today’s NDP leadership debate lands in Quebec. I’m using 14 criteria to evaluate who I’ll be voting for. Let me know if you have suggestions for improved criteria. 2012.02.12 NDP…
Is It Just Me, or Do These Pork Barrels Reek of Bitumen?
Once in a while, something crosses my desk that makes me cross my eyes and pound my head against the desk in frustration. This is not one of those things.…
My Canada Does Not Include Militarizing Canada Day
I have a great deal of respect for Canadian Forces personnel. I have generally disagreed with virtually every one of their foreign deployments in my lifetime, but that is a…
A Happy Birthday for Haiti
So I’ve just turned 45. What a sweet age! Instead of asking people to only bring a quirky 45rpm record to my party next month, I’d rather give people an…
Harper Snubs UN General Assembly–Why?
What kind of Canada has a prime minister who does not speak at the UN General Assembly? Stephen Harper’s Canada. But why? CBC journalist David Common tweeted yesterday about Harper…
I, for one, would like an HST job – and it might sway my vote.
If you’re registered to vote in BC, and provided that Elections BC hasn’t completely screwed up your voter registration (I have, at times, received three voter information cards for variations…