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…
Year: 2011
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…
Victory Over the Sun: From Harper to Horton to Ford, is Platonic Montreal the way out?
Have you considered the Tory Omnibus Crime Bill? It’s not exactly light bedtime reading, but it’s worth knowing about. It is above and beyond all else a testament to absurdity. It is absurd yet delivered in such a fashion so as to seem sensible. It is irrational, illogical and yet is designed to seem appropriate. It succeeds because the intended audience is often so incredibly uncritical, of their actions inasmuch as those of government, that they will believe known falsehoods simply because it takes less mental effort than to formulate even a basic critical response…
How Sweet it is: Canadians Reject Harper’s Big Fat Smear on Turmel
In politics smears have a tendency to work. That’s why attack ads and mudslinging are the norm down south, and a growing trend here. It doesn’t really matter if an accusation is true, studies have shown that people are far more likely to pay attention to the original, shocking, smear than to any subsequent correction. With the debut of Fox News North (aka Sun News) and the success of Stephen Harper’s cheap shot politics, it’s fair to wonder if our smug sense of superiority about the gullibility of our neighbors to the south is warranted. Sure…
AA+: The Debt Ceiling Revisited
The other day Standard & Poor’s downgraded America’s credit rating for the first time in its history, knocking it down one level from AAA to AA+. The downgrade happened despite an eleventh hour deal between the Republican controlled House of Representatives and the Democrat controlled Senate to raise the U.S. debt ceiling, the deal was signed by President Barack Obama early last week. The deal brought an end to months of bickering by politicians over spending cuts and tax hikes. The battles that raged in Washington over that period of time came across as a battle of good and evil and not just differences of opinion…
Media rebels strike back at our broken system: Kai Nagata and the Young Turks
With the arrival of Sun News broadcasting in this country, our media seems to increasingly be aping that of our American neighbours to the south. The sensationalistic, overwrought, overhyped, hyper-partisan crap that most of us tend to get indirectly (this stuff can only be digested in small doses, evidently!) from watching the Daily Show satirize it every night, has ,unfortunately, penetrated this country’s media culture in any number of ways. The News Corp formula, if you will, is simple: replace facts and actual news with propaganda and right wing editorials, as much as possible. Sadly, this approach has spread to other news networks, due to the overwhelming ratings edge enjoyed by the Republican Party tools at Fox news (i.e. the O’Reilly factor)…