On things that aren’t like the long gun registry.
The Press ReleaseThere was a press release making the rounds yesterday, allegedly released by th...
politics
A Simple Solution to the Gun Registry
It seems the opposition NDP and Liberals are dancing around each other, both wanting the same result yet shouting at each other about how to get there; and the Conservatives…
On Rob Ford.
IntroductionI'm not worried about Rob Ford becoming mayor of Toronto. And you shouldn't be either. Given what he's presented right now as part of his platform, over at his website,…
UN Confirms: Genocide Committed in Eastern Congo
A draft of a forthcoming UN Panel of Experts report has accused the Rwandan army and its allied rebel groups in the DRC (including the AFDL) of committing genocide against…
Free Votes Are Nice But…Who Do Those MPs Represent?
Ah, the gun registry. I agree with FarAndWide completely on this. The NDP are planning to allow a free vote of all their members on the issue, even though the…
Canadian Immigration, Conservative Xenophobia
In the United States, debate surrounding Arizona’s new harsh immigration policy – the ‘papers please‘ law – moved from arguing the merits, necessity and constitutionality of SB1070, to a nonsensical…
Canadian Immigration, Conservative Xenophobia
In the United States, debate surrounding Arizona’s new harsh immigration policy – the ‘papers please‘ law – moved from arguing the merits, necessity and constitutionality of SB1070, to a nonsensical…
On cooperatives and housing.
I'll get back to my electoral series eventually, I swear. But I had this weird idea today and I wanted to spell it out. It's not an argument; more just…
Vote, Check, Stalemate
Just saw this post about NDP-Liberal Coalitions by Gregory Morrow over on democraticSpace and my comment was getting so long it might as well be a blog post. Greg makes…
A nod is as good as a wink to a blind bat
Another day, another justification for dropping the mandatory long-form census by the Conservative government. Today’s argument comes from Finance Minister Jim Flaherty; he basically argues that because a bunch of…
Beware the Power of the Dark Side
Sometimes, when I see the crazy places some people want to take our country or other countries I wonder to myself, are they serious? Do they really believe that government…
Stockwell Gets Tough on Imaginary Crime
Oh Stockwell, you never let us down do you? Whenever we doubt for a moment that the Conservative government makes all its decisions based on gut instinct, emotion and irrational…
On secrecy and Wikileaks.
IntroductionSo, as everyone and their brother's roommate knows, Wikileaks managed to get their hands on another chunk of material that the powers-that-be would rather the rest of us never saw.…
Spectorvision is Skewed on UK Election Lessons for Canada
I’m not sure what Norman Spector of the Globe and Mail is trying to get at with his recent article about the coalition situation in the UK. He points out…
Lies, Damned Lies, And The Census
“(The Unites States), and particularly your conservative movement, is a light and an inspiration to people in this country and across the world.” – Stephen Harper, 1997 In an astonishing…
Disturbing Censusgate News
Two disturbing articles on the census today: The first collects together a few comments from people who know Harper and his people well about how they hope to use prolonged…
No, wait, I got a dumber one!
I am endlessly surprised by the creativity the Conservative government is putting into explaining why their irrational, scientifically unsound decision to scrap the mandatory long form census is really A-OK.…
On proportional representation (2): the case against
IntroductionLast week, I argued for the claim that proportional representation (PR) is preferable to single-member plurality (SMP) as a system of electing representatives to a democratic assembly. The central reason…
Censusgate Continues
Two comments on the ongoing censusgate saga: The Chief Statistician has resigned his position in light of the dispute: Fantastic, good for him. He should have done it sooner but…
Conflict Minerals Act Will Not Harm the Congolese Economy
Last week, the US Senate passed the Wall Street Reform Bill, embedded wherein lay provisions for the tracing and monitoring of conflict minerals. This provision was prompted by recent media…