March 31, 2006
Canadians in Haiti
Stuart Neatby, Christian Heyne and John Dimond Gibson, a group of Canadian reporters sponsored by the Nova Scotia Public Interest Research Group, have been blogging in recent months from Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Their important work — which seeks to hold Canadian authorities to task for their involvement in perpetuating a democratic deficit in that country — isn’t getting enough attention,... [More >>]
March 30, 2006
Democracy, with some conditions
So nice to see our new federal government taking the lead on a policy of conditional democracy. As in, “Democracy around the world is our aim, unless we don’t like the results of the free and fair elections that are held.” The proof of this policy, of course, is the decision to cut off all contact with, and aid to, the Palestinian government, which is now led by Hamas. What a disgrace.... [More >>]
March 30, 2006
Heavy reading
I don’t really expect any of our readers to go through all these documents, but I think it’s important to post them anyway: They are documents from The Future of Iraq Project, spearheaded by the U.S. State Department in 2001, completed in May, 2003, and then virtually ignored since. Russ Kick from The Memory Hole filed a Freedom of Information request in 2003 to obtain the documents, and... [More >>]
March 28, 2006
Loney’s tale
The story of former Iraq hostage James Loney just gets interestinger and interestinger. Homosexuality and the role of the press are now major issues in the tale, joining pacifism and the role of Canadian authorities in the hostage rescue. Among the details revealed today: Loney’s sexual orientation was kept a secret for fears it would put him at greater risk from his captors — likely adherents... [More >>]
March 27, 2006
Trust is supposed to be earned
Today’s National Post has a special section on income trusts, those tax-evading types of companies that became famous during the federal election campaign. As good a time as any, I think, to point to Ellen Russell’s recent column in This about how wealthy investors in income trusts essentially rob the rest of us from badly needed social infrastructure by taking advantage of a tax loophole. [More >>]
March 17, 2006
Control small arms? Yes, but what about nukes?
Call me a dreamer, but I think Control Arms — a new campaign from Amnesty International, Oxfam and the International Action Network on Small Arms in which people can voice their support for the UN to start putting limits on the trade and transfer of small weapons — is going after the wrong bad guys. It reminds me of environmental campaigns that aim to get individuals to reduce their greenhouse... [More >>]
March 17, 2006
OMG, Conservatives are right — taxes are bad!
Check out this great graphic I noticed on Boing Boing, detailing where the United States budget, as controlled by Congress, goes, exactly. Simple and elegant. The size of the circle represents the amount of money (in billions) devoted to each program and/or weapons system. Let’s apply Stephen Harper’s logic to this graphic. Instead of the US government spending .780 billion on its Trident... [More >>]
March 14, 2006
God bless Canada
So let me get this straight: On Feb. 6, Stephen Harper appointed his Cabinet, a motley crew that notably did not include a deputy prime minister. On March 11, Stephen Harper flew to Afghanistan in a surprise trip. He will remain there for a few days. With no deputy prime minister in the Cabinet, who exactly is in charge if an emergency happens on Canadian soil? God bless Canada indeed. (CP PHOTO/TOM... [More >>]
March 9, 2006
Enduring Curiosity
And another thing. Hats off to Montreal’s Maisonneuve, who celebrate their fourth continuous year of publishing with the issue just arrived via Canada Post. I am looking forward to tucking in to “Set Your Phasers On Stun: The time has come to take William Shatner seriously” among others. And not because I don’t take Shatner seriously already, oh, I do. Because there are a few... [More >>]
March 9, 2006
google=orwell’s napoleon. discuss.
An entry on the Galt Global Review today compares google’s flip-flop on censorship to Orwell’s Animal Farm. The thesis is: Google @ Animal Farm by Peter Meingast Then: “Google does not censor the results for any search term” Now: “It is Google’s policy not to censor search results. However, in response to local laws, regulations or policies, we may do so.” For... [More >>]
