It looks like bloggers have been dealt a blow in their quest to have the same rights as journalists. A judge in sunny California has tentatively ruled that three bloggers must reveal their anonymous sources to Apple (in the States journalists are protected by shield laws that allow them to keep their sources secret). Apple […] More »

The Washington “Nationals” repatriating America’s “national” pasttime from Canada’s team of 1967 (the year of Canada’s greatest pride in itself—you know, the kind of pride that doesn’t take scandalous ad exec sleaze to produce), right in the middle of a number of muscle moves by Ottawa to show they can take the Americans if they […] More »

Remember how after the Quebec Nordiques became the Colorado Avalanche they picked up Montreal’s goalie and won the Stanley Cup? Yeah, here’s some more of that—The new Washington Nationals have won their first game ever. They have a perfect record! Will the humiliation never end for Quebec? More »

As Bad as a Mile Watching the shied core Striking the basket, skidding across the floor, Shows less and less of luck, and more and more Of failure spreading back up the arm Earlier and earlier, the unraised hand calm, The apple unbitten in the palm. – Philip Larkin More »

Weird, isn’t it, how federal cabinet ministers from Quebec don’t have a problem ceding federal power, authority, and money, to their home province? Paul Martin loves asymmetric federalism backed with side deals and massive transfers for Quebec. Liza Frulla has no problem with Quebec’s Culture Minister speaking on Canada’s behalf at international conferences. Lucienne Robillard, […] More »

Remember after last fall’s Historic Health Accord, when Paul Martin fixed health care for a generation? And a few of us (Spector, Coyne, Gwynn) pointed out that the health accord was actually a new constitutional regime that implemented substantial elements of the Meech Lake Accord? And Team Martin was celebrating a new era of “asymmetric […] More »

CBC TV sucks. The Sports department is continuing its losing streak, dumping Chris Cuthbert in what is one of the most-boneheaded moves since the Flames traded Doug Gilmour for Gary Leeman. Meanwhile, Da Vinci is gone, replaced by some combination of This is Wonderland and The Newsroom. Wonderland is so-so, but the Newsroom stinks. It […] More »

It is with mixed feelings that I note that Marc-Boris St-Maurice, my former leader, has quit as leader of the Marijuana Party and joined the Liberals. Under Marc-Boris’ energetic leadership, I was convinced in 2000 to run in the Toronto riding of St-Paul’s, against the incumbent, Carolyn Bennett. While I managed to take 514 votes, […] More »

No disrespect to the man who holds my ticket out of the second circle of hell, but I am beginning to question the public relations savvy of Dr. Rowan Williams, aka The Archbishop of Canterbury. At a time when all flavours of Christianity around the world are dealing with various internal intolerances, abuses and squabbles […] More »

It kills me to say this, but Liza Frulla has a lot to be pleased about. She did a good job keeping culture away from major budget cuts. Of course, I’m still waiting for stable funding for the CBC, which Chretien promised, oh, 12 years ago now. More »

Reading up on a bit of Quebec history a while ago, I came across an interesting comment by an old-school hard-line separatist named Pierre Bourgault. He denounced most Quebecers, including most of his fellow PQ supporters, as being not really committed to sovereignty for Quebec, despite an apparent rise in support for sovereignty. “I don’t […] More »