As the remnants of Tropical Storm Irene pounded Montreal this past Sunday, I hunkered down in my apartment. Listening to the winds blow and the rain fall, I thought to myself: “I should really close the living room window, my roommate’s XBox is getting wet.” If you were expecting my rainy day thoughts to be something more profound or at the very least profound-ish sounding and dealing with the nature of nature and its relationship to our very unnatural culture, well, that’s not the case here. And why should it be? Yeah, I had been outside earlier in the day. I had felt slightly stronger-than-usual winds press up against me as I ran some errands. I witnessed the closest thing my neighbourhood got to destruction…
Month: August 2011
In All Seriousness, Politics Can Be Funny
Anyone ever notice the only news we get exposed to these days is filled with fear and misery? 50% of the stories are either about people dying (accidents, natural disasters, wars, etc.) or people lying (politicians, businessmen, lawyers, etc.). The other 50% are filled with nonsensical gibberish about some celebrity’s affair or fashion sense. So depressing. Unfortunately Quiet Mike is no exception. As much as I try to get people to wake up, think and question the status quo, I do have a tendency…
Missing the boat: The Nouveau Mouvement pour Québec and changing political tides
As a political junkie I suppose I should be stoked about the potential founding of a new political party in Québec, but I’m really not. The first mistake this group of mutineers in the Nouveau Mouvement pour Québec (NMQ) from various other political outfits is making, is timing. There has never been a time in my life when there has been a more fragmented provincial political scene, especially on the sovereigntist side of the equation. With Québec Solidaire, and, of course, the old war horse that seems bound for the glue factory, Partie Québecois, all competing for the same stagnate segment of hardcore/soft separatists. Blind to this undeniable political reality, NMQ vows to press on with their unpopular agenda…
A true progressive: remembering Jack Layton
The second last time I saw Jack Layton was at a garden party at Stornoway in late June. Speaking under a vast white tent as desultory raindrops punished the exiled mass of smokers, he declared his and Olivia’s new house, the residence of the leader of the official opposition, to be “the people’s house.” Shortly afterwards I caught him on his way out and sheepishly asked for a photo. I can’t say why really, I suppose I was overcome by the emotion of the moment. In seven years…
Corporate Tax Cuts and the Facts
As the American political landscape continues to show no signs of stopping its descent into what can only be described as an increasingly reactionary and carnivalesque sideshow, one begins to wonder if the more measured and sober voices in Washington have finally decided to call it a day. Even on our own side of the border the divisions continue to grow deeper and more virulent with almost no position free from partisan embelishment. However, to those who would suggest that the truth always lies somewhere in the middleoften with rather…
Parc Oxygène: The Small Cause & The Cost of Community
Have you ever seen a really small rally or demonstration? The kind where you instinctively ask yourself whether those gathered may require the services of a new communications director? Or feel compelled to determine exactly which crackpot idea would lead to this small congregation? “What’s so ‘special’ about your special-interest group,” you may ask yourself, for shits and giggles…
Candlelight Vigil for Jack Layton tonight in Montreal
Today we lose a leader, a friend, a family man and great influencer. Jack Layton’s legacy and commitment to changing Canada as we know it will live on for years to come. His dedication to his role as the leader of the NDP shaped and changed the way Canada, North America and the world saw Canadians and themselves. In his final years he motivated a generation that had otherwise been dormant to the political happenings in this country. He moved a province that had been neglected by other parties, and reminded Quebec they should stand and be proud of their French culture and Canada….
Rick Perry: The New Mouth of the South
When Rick Perry announced he was running for the Republican nomination for President of the United States on August 13th, he did so with much publicity and fanfare, he even managed 700+ votes as a write in candidate in the Ames Straw Poll that same weekend. He was instantly dubbed as a man with charisma, a man of action, and a man who isn’t too shy to let his voice be heard, kind of like a George Bush that can speak English. Perry has deep corporate pockets and will be a formidable foe for the other conservatives aspiring for the top job, but…
Wasteful Thinking (online doc premiere)
With the world’s population projected to hit seven billion later this year, a stable supply of food has never been more important.
Recent spikes in food prices have set off riots around the world and have been linked to revolutions in the Middle East and the famine devastating the horn of Africa. Even here at home, rising food prices are making people think more about what they eat and where it comes from…
Ames Straw Poll: Who’s the most conservative of them all?
We are just a mere fifteen months away from the 2012 elections and the answer to the question of whether or not Barack Obama will be a one term president. With the conclusion of the Straw Poll in Ames, Iowa this weekend and the Fox News Debate that preceded it, we still have no idea who Obama will be up against but we do have a good notion of what type of person he or she is likely to be…