To Protect and Serve

No system of government has done more for the welfare of its people than democracy, but now modern day free market capitalism is threatening a new age of feudalism. The “New Deal” of the 1930’s brought unimaginable prosperity to the industrialized world; the greatest generation was given decent working hours, good wages, social security, and eventually Medicare & welfare, etc. These middle class citizens in good turn passed it down to their kids; the baby boomers, who over the last thirty years have decided to keep it all for themselves.

Everyone’s A Crazy Critic

Hard times usually bring out the crazy in people, whether it’s economic hardship in the United States or political adversity in the Middle East (or vice versa). Religious radicals tend to thrive in these environments, but as this past week has shown, the misapplication of the freedom of speech is all that is required to demonstrate the ugliness of our societies.

#QC2012: Not the headline we were expecting

It was a tense election, but I didn’t think it would end this way. In the alley, behind Metropolis, one person on the ground, held there by cops making his gun visible to the cameras, another dead and another injured. PQ leader Pauline Marois, newly minted PM elect rushed off stage by security mid-speech. She had just won a minority government…

America, fuck no

I’m terrified to open my computer. Whenever I do, my anxiety rises. I become edgy, frustrated, and sad. All hope for a bright future dissipates as I scroll my news feed for the umpteenth time. The root cause of this despair? America…

The Passion of the Pussy Riot

Pussy Riot knew full well what the consequences of their Cathedral protest might be given Putin’s reputation, but they did it anyway. This band of activists has a passion for the wellbeing of their country, a deep desire to make it better. What they did took guts, something sorely missing in western democracies.

Peter Sergakis: His war on homelessness

Peter Sergakis, owner of dozens of bars and restaurants in Montreal, has been accused of “waging war on the homeless” since expressing his desire to get pan-handlers and thieves away from his downtown businesses. FTB’s Emily Campbell sits down with Sergakis and Dans la rue’s Aki Tchitacov for this video interview…

Chick-fil-A comes out of the closet

Mr. Cathy’s public stance against gay marriage has managed to combine business with religion and politics, three different institutions that should remain separate at all times. Business mixed with politics can lead to fascism, religion mixed with politics can lead to fundamentalism and unless you’re a preacher; business doesn’t mix with religion at all. I won’t remind anyone of what all three can lead to.

Gun Control: The Essential Step No One Wants to Talk About

Last Friday, America woke up to the news of another mass shooting in Colorado. A man dressed in black body armour, helmet and gas mask open fired in a packed movie theatre in the Denver suburb of Aurora. The perpetrator lobbed smoke canisters into the crowd before open firing with an AR-15 assault rifle with a high-capacity drum clip, a twelve-gauge shot gun and two pistols. The end result…

Tories deserve praise for scrapping “human rights” law

I never expected to say this, but for the first time during Stephen Harper’s reign, I’m happy he has a majority. You see, last week, while we were all focused on Harper’s undemocratic budget bill, the Conservatives were busy strengthening our democracy. Conservatives voted unanimously to repeal section 13 of the Canadian Human Rights Act with no help from the opposition, save one Liberal…