Last night, I participated in a panel discussion on “the changing nature of power”, at the Rencontres Internationales du Documentaire de Montreal, a documentary film festival. After a screening of a new documentary called “The Fourth World War“, four panelists sat up at the front, talked about the film and, then took questions from the […] More »
Okay, actually this question was inspired by a review I read of The Rebel Sell, in Vancouver-based website The Tyee (I haven’t started reading the book… yet): When I see those trucks whose sole purpose is to drive around city streets with massive billboards on the back, I want to scream. According to the Tyee […] More »
What do you get when you mix federal Immigration Minister Judy Sgro, a Romanian exotic dancer, and an opposition party comprised almost entirely of sexually repressed men? The worst headline pun yet from The Globe & Mail: Minister greased rails for stripper, Tories insist. The visual imagery alone is too disturbing. So let’s see if […] More »
Chapter 4 of The Rebel Sell, “I Hate Myself and Want to Buy,” really starts to get into the meat of the argument. I love the stat Heath and Potter quote, that past $10,000 per capita GDP, one observes no measurable gains in ‘happiness’ among the richer populations of the world – happiness being, apparently, […] More »
Anyone been to the Rheostatics’ current stand at the Horseshoe? I was at Night 2 of their 4th annual “Fall Nationals” on Friday, and it was a truly great show. I haven’t bought 2067 yet, but I plan to More »
Greetings all. Apologies for the problems with the site this week. Our sister site, marryanamerican.ca, is getting a touch more traffic than we expected. I gather something of note ocurred in the republic to the south. Anyway, comments are functioning again. Feel free to delurk as necessary. More »
According to the CBC website, Conservative justice critic Vic Toews thinks that “Forcing Manitoba’s marriage commissioners to perform same-sex weddings is against the law” because it forces them to choose between their jobs and their faith. Hence, he thinks it is discriminatory, and — get this — he thinks that forcing commissioners to resign if […] More »
The age of trumpets is passed, the banners hang like dead crows, battered and black, rotting into nothingness on cathedral wall. In the crypt of St. Paul’s I had all the wrong thoughts, wondered if there was anything left of Nelson or Wellington, and even wished I could pry open their tombs and look, then […] More »
Despite the recent resignation of John Ashcroft, staunch defender of civil liberties , from the Bush cabinet, lovers of freedom south of the border can’t relax just yet. No less than eight US reporters are facing time in the big house for refusing to reveal sources. Nicholas Kristof spells it all out in his NYTimes […] More »