Traffic anarchy
November 1, 2011 | 2 Comments
Today I drove from the south end of Ottawa to the north end. It took longer than it should have- traffic and such. But I experienced no collisions, no near misses, no mishaps. This is because I- and the vast majority of other drivers- abided by the rule of law governing the roads. We stopped [...]
Conflict emerges at Occupy Ottawa site
October 30, 2011 | 7 Comments
Uh oh. Things aren’t going so well at the Occupy Ottawa site downtown. This is not especially shocking; regardless of how human beings organize themselves politically, conflict is timeless and ubiquitous. But the conflict is escalating such that safety concerns are now arising after a blanket soaked with bodily fluids was thrown about in the [...]
Maybe I was wearing too many symbols of corporate greed?
October 16, 2011 | 5 Comments
It is cool and blustery here in Ottawa. A perfect day for a runner, not so much for the Occupiers. So, with my reporters’ curiosity getting the best of me, I decided a run down to the Occupy Ottawa protest was in order. On the second day of the demonstration, I headed towards Confederation Park in downtown [...]
“What if no one votes?”
October 11, 2011 | No Comments
Last week, I was a poll clerk in Ottawa South for the provincial election. I thought I would write about this experience and people would be riveted. But then I thought a little more and realized that if nobody is voting, then no one would really care to read about the actual process. However, a [...]
If you’re in Ontario, there’s only one thing to do today
October 6, 2011 | 1 Comment
Canadians might feel lately as though they are stuck in an politics-themed Groundhog Day. With four federal elections in the past five years and several provincial elections this year, we cannot escape. Everyone is promising us something and warning us that the other guy will ban chocolate, kittens and holidays. So the fatigue we feel is [...]
Ballot declined
September 29, 2011 | 1 Comment
On Oct. 6, Ontario residents will go to the polls. Actually, only about half of us will, based on past turnout rates. Would more people show up if they knew that they had the option of declining their ballot? Democracy Watch is currently investigating the possibility of a court challenge to the “continuing negligence in failing to correct [...]
Irshad Manji: From anger to aspiration
September 22, 2011 | 1 Comment
Humbled by her body’s protests against a punishing schedule and sounding inspired by President Obama’s now-tarnished message of hope, pluralism and empathy, Canadian activist Irshad Manji’s mood has mellowed, although her message has not. Manji discussed her book at the Ottawa International Writer’s Festival on Wednesday night, and while she characterized her transformation from “anger [...]
Slow news days
July 22, 2011 | No Comments
I feel fear. You may too if you are tuned into any radio or television broadcast or social media stream, or reading a newspaper, since pretty much every 15 minutes, we are being warned that it is hot and humid outside. We are also being asked to watch for thunderstorms, but then sometimes we are instead warned that [...]
It’s just not exciting enough
July 13, 2011 | No Comments
What is of interest to you? What do you choose to spend your precious free time doing? I doubt anyone would cite voting as an activity that sparks their passions. And a recent survey by Statistics Canada confirms this rather obvious news. The survey, which posed an open-ended question to people who sat out the [...]
Thoughts from inside then outside the bubble
June 14, 2011 | 2 Comments
When I first heard of a security breach during the Speech From the Throne, it was over Twitter, so naturally, I was concerned and alarmed. Then, the story of the ”rogue page,” and Brigitte DePape’s ’Stop Harper’ sign emerged and my reaction was downgraded to underwhelmed. To take a risk of such proportion (in the worst case scenario, DePape could have been [...]