…or, “Ladies Mags earn the right to be a little self-righteous”. I’ve interviewed a lot of aspiring magazine professionals in my time and thanks to a legacy of This Magazine editors I’ve learned a very effective interview technique to end on a relaxed note: “What magazines do you like to read?” JulieC and I often […] More »

So Prime Minister Stephen Harper can’t find an elected Conservative to run the Ministry of International Trade and picks instead a Liberal. Does that mean all those former Reformers were just not good enough? Looks like it. I’m actually surprised he didn’t talk Belinda back over the line. Now THAT would have been a story. […] More »

By now you’ve all heard that the Iraq war protestor and mother of a soldier killed in Iraq, Cindy Sheehan, was ‘escorted’ from the crowd attending Tuesday’s State of the Union Address in Washington — you know, the one in which American President George W. Bush tried to make a distinction between responsible criticism and […] More »

Wasn’t it just five or so years ago Bush was suggesting the consumption of oil at the expense of all that is good and right with our planet constituted a way of life no-one had the right to begrudge America? Last night, in his “speech to the country” or whatever you want to call it, […] More »

After a full day of sessions on Saturday (most with an eye toward improving the magazine’s web presence), my official IPA convention experience came to a close. I would have posted about the day’s events, but I think it’s safe to say that little of the content from the workshops I attended would be of […] More »

Amy Goodman of Democracy Now! just gave her keynote address at the Independent Press Association convention, and it left many attendees in tears. The event, over lunch here in San Francisco, began with an Indy Media-produced documentary on mass media and its role in promoting war, and her address carried that theme further. It was […] More »

Hello from San Francisco, California, where Day 1 of the Independent Press Association convention ’06 is underway. I’ll be attending a number of sessions today and tomorrow, including targetted workshops and lunchtime addresses by Amy Goodman and Greg Palast. The other part of the event, of course, is networking, and already I’ve met several people […] More »

Anybody see the Bush press conference re: Hamas on The Daily Show last night? Oh, how we laughed. And here’s the best Harper bit I’ve seen yet (thanks to Zerb for this one). More »

Prime Minister-designate Stephen Harper speaking yesterday about U.S. assertions that Canada cannot claim sovereignty over the waters of the Northwest Passage: “…it is the Canadian people we get our mandate from, not the ambassador from the United States.” When, I ask, when will this embarrassing anti-Americanism from the Conservatives and the west cease so we […] More »

My last posting has been criticized for not recognizing the dire straits our democracy has entered. I weary of these politics. We live in a parliamentary democracy with a first past the post electoral system. I’d like to see one of those factors change, but I doubt it will happen anytime soon, despite Stephen Harper’s […] More »

I can think of better results for yesterday’s election, but this one will do. The Liberals needed to go. Martin needed to go. I’ve said before, it would be tough for a Conservative party to NOT beat the Liberals in their current state. Prime Minister-elect Harper seems well aware of the constraints on his power, […] More »