Coalition Watch
October 29, 2010 | 9 Comments
As reported by the Globe and Mail, EKOS President Frank Graves seems to think that his company’s latest seat projections for an election held tomorrow, “once again steer us into the uncertain world of coalitions and a stern challenge for our new G[overvor] G[eneral]“. According to EKOS, the projections run as follows, Stephen Harper’s Conservatives [...]
Now We’re Getting Somewhere
October 29, 2010 | 5 Comments
Or maybe not. My title is only half facetious. But it strikes me that Michael Ignatieff’s recent vow to scrap the F35 deal and re-open the process is smart move in terms of offering an alternative to the Conservatives. Of course, Ignatieff and the Liberals have been on the other side of Harper and the [...]
We Seem to Love Vigilantes
October 29, 2010 | 12 Comments
So that shopkeeper that tied up and forcibly confined a shoplifter? Yeah, he’s been found not guilty somehow. Y’all know where I stand on this, but it seems I may not be in the majority in the Canadian blogosphere on the topic. Both Dr. Dawg and Stageleft see this as a victory for justice. The doctor [...]
Have You Heard the One About the Selfish Brat Who Wonders Who Her Father is?
October 29, 2010 | 2 Comments
This column by Angela Campbell and Robert Leckey is tripe. It’s got a lot of wisdom in it; it makes a lot of fair points, but it never addresses in much detail the topic at had: do people born of sperm donations have the right to find out who their biological father is? After going [...]
Bill C-300 Crumbles Like a Third World Factory
October 29, 2010 | 2 Comments
Okay, maybe that’s a little in bad taste. Sorry. Anyhoo, the other day Parliament defeated Bill C-300, An Act Respecting Corporate Accountability for Mining, Oil and Gas Corporations in Developing Countries (or, if you prefer, AARCAFMOAGCIDC). I’m sure I’ll be denounced as callous or glib, but I’m not really that upset about it. For those [...]
We Live to Survive Our Paradoxes
October 28, 2010 | No Comments
By way of a break from the bric-a-brac of our daily political grind, check out the video below of TJ Dawe, a good friend and renowned and award-winning North American fringe festival performer/writer/director (who also happens to write at one of my other projects), ripping apart our national anthem and, indeed, Canadianness itself. (Warning, some [...]
Maybe it’s about Changing the Hearts of Men
October 28, 2010 | No Comments
I’ve much respect for people who punch outside of their weight class. Meaning no insult, this is how it would seem when David Karp takes on the Freakonomics blog. It’s all the more awesome that he’s talking Game Theory and Nash Equilibrium in an analysis of the Bible. Here’s David: But I have been puzzling [...]
It Makes Me Want to Burn Down Queens Park with a Negligently Discarded Cigarette
October 28, 2010 | 13 Comments
Via Stageleft, we see some idiocy at work in Ontario: A recommendation to let landlords ban smoking in rental apartments has been quickly shot down by the Ontario government. The province’s Tobacco Strategy Advisory Group wants Ontario to outlaw smoking in multi-residential rental units, on all restaurant patios and in all parks and playgrounds. Health [...]
Rob Ford = Naheed Nenshi?
October 28, 2010 | No Comments
Sure, that heading seems pretty crazy, but in a very reasonable analysis of the recent mayoral elections in Calgary and Toronto, Mark Crowley at Pop the Stack sees some similarities between the phenomena of Rob Ford and Naheed Nenshi, if not between the men, themselves: Part of the reason Ford won is that there are [...]
Is Protectionism Always Bad?
October 28, 2010 | 1 Comment
Yeah, I know, not all of you share my fondness for economic freedom, so may reject the premise of my question, but let’s put such objections aside, if only for a moment. Over at his obviously-named blog, Ezra Levant suggests that the United Arab Emirates are, essentially, partaking in dumping (selling your goods really cheap [...]