December 28, 2006
Great end-of-year chuckle
From Wednesday’s Toronto Star story, “Tories admit breaking rules”: The party has also been forced to send belated 2005 tax receipts to some 3,000 delegates who attended the convention, with instructions on the complicated process required to retroactively claim the tax credit. Oh, sweet karma! The 3,000 Canadians who most hate taxes are forced to deal with a tax credit on their... [More >>]
December 21, 2006
I’m not saying nothing; I’m just saying
From DCist, the Washington DC daily blog — this photo by Duncan Brooks and the following description: If you haven’t been down to Union Station this season, you should go — the Norwegian decorations are lovely, and there’s an exhibit about polar bears! Hooray! But as this photo by Flickr user Duncan Brooks shows, there’s beauty in the everyday details of Union Station... [More >>]
December 20, 2006
Bring the troops home
If you think Canada’s military belongs in Afghanistan, sit up and take notice: The Dominion has a correspondent in Kabul who is finding that even among elected lawmakers, the popular sentiment is that foreign troops are “acting against Islam and they are attacking innocent people,” as Ahmad Shah Khan Achekzai, pictured at right, says. Interviews with MPs from across Afghanistan reveal... [More >>]
December 20, 2006
The ‘Net Needs You
A nifty video stating the case for preserving net neutrality, essentially the principle of equal access for all web publishers to broadband. Without strong laws in the U.S. guaranteeing this, telecommunications companies threaten to set up a pay-for-access internet fast lane. Clearly, the power of the internet as a democratic tool has the powers that be growing nervous. Watch the video, and if it moves... [More >>]
December 19, 2006
Deputy Ignatieff
Former Liberal leadership front-runner and second place ballot-finisher, Michael Ignatieff, is to play deputy leader to party leader Stephane Dion? Act of party solidarity, indeed. With the rampant characterization of Ignatieff being “arrogant” and “entitled” the former Harvard professor is apparently not yet finished with Canadian politics and, in a resounding display of humility,... [More >>]
December 19, 2006
Best albums of 2006
The year two thousand and six was a strange one for music. No real discernable trends, little consensus on the best the year had to offer, and yet some astounding performances from artists across many genres. A panel of This Magazine bloggers and contributors (Calvin, Krisztina, Lisa, Annette, Joyce and myself) have endeavored to make some sense of it all. I asked each person to send me their... [More >>]
December 14, 2006
capital download
It’s my birthday, and as I officially become a middle-aged crank, I wish to marvel at the incredible Dorian Gray act of someone older than me (if it’s even possible to be older than me). Ted Rogers, namesake and honcho over at Rogers Media, has kicked off the shackles of time and age and joined with the cool kids. He’s not only selling our youth MP3 phones — um, so they can... [More >>]
December 12, 2006
keep an eye on that coffin
From The Guardian online: Thousands of mourners queued for hours yesterday to pay their last respects to the former Chilean General, Augusto Pinochet, who died of a heart attack on Sunday. Pinochet, who ruled Chile as military dictator from 1973-1990, was placed in an open coffin, wearing a blue Chilean army uniform and surrounded by a military honour guard as a stream of admirers slowly passed by,... [More >>]
December 6, 2006
December 6 Fund
Micro loans to women attempting to escape abusive homelives. Give generously, today especially. From the website of the December 6 Fund of Toronto: On December 6, 1989 Marc Lepine entered the Ecole Polytechnique, in Montreal, Quebec. He separated the men from the women and declaring his hatred for feminists, killed the following women: Genevieve Bergeron, 21 Helene Colgan, 23 Nathalie Croteau, 23 Barbara... [More >>]
December 5, 2006
grinch time
The Toronto CBC morning radio show, Metro Morning, featured an interview with two women this morning on the topic of “Why are wives and girlfirends so difficult to buy gifts for?” The real subject was “Why are men so bad at buying gifts for women?” One woman told a story about how a former boyfriend drove her from Toronto to New Brunswick so she could spend Christmas with her... [More >>]
