March 31, 2005
Vancouver’s Future?
Doug Saunders wrote a nice piece in Saturday’s Globe (I’d link to it, but it’s only accessible with subscription) about problems in Athens related to the Olympics. To wit: the venues were built in a rushed manner, using poor materials and methods and done over budget to make deadlines, and now they are virtually useless — abandoned and shut down, waiting for saviours who can afford... [More >>]
March 31, 2005
All aboard the sissyfied, pontificating nerd bandwagon
From the new edition of the American Prospect: The spirit of ‘68 still lives on in some quarters of the left. Too bad — there are much more effective ways to be an opposition party than by reliving the past. [More >>]
March 30, 2005
Up Next: Death Rays
Three years ago, I wrote a piece for This Magazine entitled “Death Rays.” It was a short, fun little thing pointing out that American scientists seemed to be devoting a great deal of energy to building Death Rays. But you can never to be too playful. My piece was reprinted in the Ottawa Citizen (back before I got stuck on some Ottawa Citizen do-not-publish list), and was picked up in exactly... [More >>]
March 30, 2005
Untitled
CBC radio host Paul Kennedy is launching a campaign to get Leonard Cohen nominated for a Nobel Prize. The campaign begins, with help from George Elliott Clarke, Michel Garneau, Edward Palumbo and Karen Young, on Saturday, April 2 at 20h30, at Blue Metropolis in Montreal. Does Leonard Cohen deserve a Nobel prize? Is it the sort of thing a seventy-something buddhist would want? Is it the sort of thing... [More >>]
March 28, 2005
My new band is called “The Hobbesian Monists”
Hobbesian nuts like Heath and Potter (and the late philosopher John Rawls) not-so-secretly pine for an all-powerful social contract that would create permanent cultural and political synthesis. So you see, kids, it’s your inborn duty to rebel. Otherwise the future development of human history will be a thing of the past. Heath and Potter have a hard-on for Hobbes, which means they hate Freud. Convinced... [More >>]
March 28, 2005
Next—they admit they have no idea who killed JFK
The New York Times has thrown a heavyweight editorial into the creators’ corner in the ongoing struggle over copyright in this crazy, mixed up digital world. Here’s a bit: Both the court and Congress should be sensitive to evolving technologies. But they should not let technology evolve in a way that deprives people who create of the ability to be paid for their work. Happy am I. That’s... [More >>]
March 28, 2005
The National Post’s Potemkin Parliament
Imagine the following scenario: In a bid to make Parliament more “democratic”, the government decides that it will no longer independently debate policy, draft and introduce legislation, submit a budget, or make executive decisions without the explicit say-so of “the people”. All proposals would have to come from “the citizens” and would be subject to ratification... [More >>]
March 24, 2005
Oh, damn, where is Pierre Trudeau when you really need him?
from The Toronto Star “In a brief appearance before reporters at the Prairie Chapel Ranch yesterday, as the three leaders walked along with Barney, the president’s Scottish terrier, a casually dressed Martin joked that the big difference between Bush’s farm and his own in Quebec’s Eastern townships was the lack of snow. Deputy Prime Minister Anne McLellan, a dog lover, reportedly... [More >>]
March 24, 2005
what’s the principle, Paul?
This hasn’t been widely reported by the eastern-bastard media, but Saskatchewan’s bid to get energy revenues excluded from the equalization formula has hit a bit of a snag. The House of Commons defeated a Conservative motion to that effect yesterday. The bid was defeated by a vote of 182-105 with the Bloc Quebecois siding with the minority Liberal government. 1. Since the Headwaiter didn’t... [More >>]
March 24, 2005
Blame Rammestein. Blame Homestar.
It would appear that wannabe trenchcoat mafioso Jeff Weise left a handful of clues to his murderous intentions. Apparently his favourite bands included Korn, Marilyn Manson, Rammstein, and John “happpiness is a warm gun” Lennon. But more interesting is the bit of flash animation he posted online. Called “Target Practice,” the bit shows a character killing three civilians and... [More >>]
