Blog Archives
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On the environment Canada is a rogue state
There are so many areas of conventional democratic governance being challenged or eliminated by the Harper wrecking crew it is hard to keep up. Those searching for a line in the sand that even this government won’t cross still haven’t found it. So far, it seems, there is nothing in the broad field of democratic governance (save the military and prisons) that is sacrosanct.
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The Myth of American resilience
The 21st century will not be an American century as the 19th and 20th centuries were. The United States will, of course, remain a substantial power. It will, however, be subjected to the immense pressures that confront a declining empire.
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Local Food and Co-operatives
An article I wrote for the monthly newsletter of a local organization, but one that I think will have some broader interest – to people interested in local food, to people interested in co-ops, and to people thinking through what we must do differently at the level of the social world in order to have different impacts on the earth.
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Time to Zip John Baird’s Loose Lips
It is hard to credit the latest statements and actions by Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird. On both Iran and Israel Baird seems to almost deliberately seek to humiliate both himself and the country he is supposed to represent on the international stage. Taking an ultra-orthodox rabbi (whose organization opposes any Palestinian state) with him on an official visit to Israel is not just bizarre but dangerous. And suggesting, essentially, that Iran has a first-strike policy against Israel (with non-existent nuclear weapons) while comparing its leader to Hitler, puts Baird firmly in the company of drunks in a bar room exchange of tough talk.
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Fix, don’t scrap, rights panels
Bill Whatcott is a man who doesn’t much like gay men and isn’t shy about saying so. The Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission thought that what he said went beyond dislike, all the way to hate. That ruling went to the Supreme Court, which is now trying to decide whether hate speech should be free speech. In doing so, the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Criminal Code might have to be re-written.
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Review: Exile and Pride
My review of Eli Clare’s wonderful memoir Exile and Pride: Disability, Queerness, and Liberation.
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Black Gold or Fool’s Gold
It was a text-book case of misdirection.
Like snake-oil salesmen of old warming up their marks with a shell game, Prime Minister Harper and Joe Oliver accused radical environmental groups of using “foreign money” to “hijack” Canada’s regulatory process on the Northern Gateway pipeline.
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Stephen Harper’s Majority Government: Not Looking Out for YOU
As we close in on one year of Stephen Harper’s majority, it is evident that this is a very special government. YOU are just not on its list of priorities.
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We have a different understanding
“When they arrived, we had the land and they had the Bible. And they told us to close our eyes to pray. When we opened our eyes, they had the land and we had the Bible.”
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Bow Down Canadians, Corporations Are King
Two recent stories out of Ottawa underline the ongoing political and economic assault on ordinary Canadians. More Canadians are now working for low wages than at any time in decades, continuing a trend that began in the early 1990s, and Stephen Harper has announced major changes to retirement benefits — including delaying Old Age Security (OAS) eligibility to age 67.
