Seems Naomi Klein has caused something of a ruckus in the UK with her column in The Guardian on Nov. 26 calling the US government to task for creating a hero out of a soldier photographed for the Los Angeles Times. The column prompted a letter from the American ambassador to the UK demanding a […] More »

“In the year 2014, The New York Times has gone offline. The Fourth Estate’s fortunes have waned. What happened to the news? And what is EPIC?” Evolving Personalized Information Construct More »

Anyone who knows how the federal government perceives its role regarding national unity won’t find this article from the Ottawa Sun surprising. Here’s the lede: The heritage minister is set to scrap or overhaul a federal Canada Day program that has doled out the lion’s share of its cash to Quebec. A breakdown of the […] More »

The smart folks over at the Educational Policy Institute have just released a new study comparing the US and Canada on student assistance. The report looks at absolute and relative levels of cost in each of the 50 US states and 10 Canadian provinces as well as the amount of student assistance provided in each […] More »

From Freepress.net, word that CBS and NBC have refused to air TV spots for the United Church of Christ, citing it’s all-inclusive messaging as “too controversial”. Seems the UCC’s message of brotherly love is extended to all people regardless of race, age, ability, economic circumstance, and, ahem, sexual orientation. This explanation from CBS brass is […] More »

Two interesting developments in the latest challenge to the tradition of confidential sources for Canadian journalists. Hamilton Spectator reporter Ken Peters was yesterday found guilty of contempt of court for refusing to answer a direct question from a judge. Mr. Peters felt his answer would compromise a source to whom he had promised confidentiality, and […] More »

Pierre Berton has died at 84. When I was about 15, I was bored out of my mind one rainy day at the cottage. My mom dug an old copy of The National Dream out of a box of standard-issue cottage books (romances, Hardy Boys, political bios) and told me I’d love it. I sneered. […] More »

Not sure how long this will remain up before Canada.com spots the typo. The hed reads “Bush leaves for overnight trip to Canada in effort to force closer ties”. The opening text: “President George W. Bush left early Tuesday for his first official visit to Canada since he was re-elected in an effort to forge […] More »

How to mark the occasion of George W. Bush’s first ever official visit to Canada? There’s plenty of talk in the mainstream press about protests and security cordones, but that’s not for me. Instead, I want to get to know the man, understand where he comes from and how he does what he does. Of […] More »

It was fun watching them try to stretch a three minute ceremony out to a full hour last night. It hadn’t been terribly well rehearsed, and at one point Sean Majumder came down, kicked three of the celebrity advocates off the stage, and proceeded to kill sixty seconds by rambling incoherently. Anyhoo, some thoughts: 1. […] More »

So Toyota can think of a way to make an environmentally friendly hybrid car so cool and luxurious you need to sit on a waiting list for months before you are overcharged for one, but the makers of KLEENEX® can’t help clean our noses without destroying the planet? A new Greenpeace campaign, featuring a giant […] More »