September 30, 2004
New Wave, not Punk. Totally different head. Totally.
Warren Kinsella is writing a book about punk? A bunch of us are seeing Franz Ferdinand this Friday – and, yes, Tony Clement will be among us. A former Conservative cabinet minister who I happen to like, guys like Tony are a puzzle to me – as are all punk-loving conservatives. Punk, y’see, is essentially Leftist in its orientation (anti-globalization, anti-corporate, pro-feminist,... [More >>]
September 30, 2004
The Carpenter would like a promotion
It’s official, the last of the original editorial team at The Walrus have left the building. Churn continues at The Walrus. How very sad. [More >>]
September 29, 2004
Why Does Liza Frulla Still Have a Job?
It must be so nice to be a Liberal MP, especially a Liberal MP from Quebec. You’re almost guaranteed a spot in Cabinet, no matter how boneheaded you happen to be. To boot, you get to treat the entire country as your own little sandbox, wherein you can build and destroy sandcastles as the whimsy strikes. One would think that the Liberals might have learned something from the sponsorship scandal,... [More >>]
September 29, 2004
My fighting technique is unstoppable!
Ah, the singular talent of caption writing. Donald Rumsfeld as karate master. I appear to be behind the times, but this is some fine funny stuff. Rumsfeld Fighting Technique Thanks to Christine for sharing this one. [More >>]
September 29, 2004
There’s a Link Between War and Oil? Wha?
American spy-master Alan Furst wrote a very entertaining book called Blood of Victory, about the central importance of Romanian oil reserves in the Nazi war machine. During WWII, oil was literally the lifeblood pumping through the expansionist German corps. With it in large quantities, there’s no telling how far Hitler would have gone. When he ran out of it in 1945, he lost. Determination and... [More >>]
September 29, 2004
Darfur After Dark
This Magazine alum Sheila Heti and Carl Wilson are involved with this worthy event taking place in Toronto tonight. Wednesday September 29, 2004: Gladstone Hotel, Toronto An event to benefit Medecins Sans Frontiers “All the money will go to their work on the ground in Darfur, Sudan. We hope this event will raise money for MSF, and show the Canadian government that its citizens care deeply about... [More >>]
September 28, 2004
Communism on the March
I know, I know, this is a Canadian blog and I’m supposed to talk Canadian politics. Okay, so the Globe reports Chretien knew something about the misspent sponsorship money. Shock and horror! And now, on the international front, it looks like China may be sending their first ever UN peacekeeping force into the Western Hemisphere. 130 of the People’s Armed Police are scheduled to travel... [More >>]
September 27, 2004
Veto this!
While the world awaits a UN decision, expected this week, on deployment of African peacekeeping forces to halt the humanitarian crisis in Sudan, the broader debate at the United Nations is internal democracy—specifically, which nations should have permanent seats and a veto on the Security Council. The 15 seat council has only 5 permanent members, reflecting the post-WWII world – the US,... [More >>]
September 27, 2004
Hitchens Update — it speaks!
Thanks to everyone who slogged through my whine about Christopher Hitchens last week. I feel five pounds lighter. So, what appears recently in Britain’s The Independent? A truly fascinating analysis of the modern Hitchens, much of it in his own words. It explains a great deal, though not the decline of his rhetoric. I particularly like how he separates the right. It’s all about the motives.... [More >>]
September 24, 2004
The National Dream
Update: As we passed Kingston just after 7pm, the conductor announced that we would be arriving in Toronto at 8:59pm, i.e. right on schedule. We pulled in at 9:26. Perfunctory apology. It is worth remarking that we somehow lost almost 30 minutes of time in the last two hours of the trip. That’s a rather astonishing margin of error. OK, in about 90 minutes I’m getting on a VIA train from... [More >>]
