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The Organization of American States has issued a report on global drugs policy that, some believe, could lead to the end of blanket prohibition. Publication of the Organisation of American States (OAS) review, commissioned at last year’s Cartagena Summit of the Americas attended by Barack Obama, reflects growing dissatisfaction among Latin American countries with the current global policy on illicit drugs. It spells out the effects of the policy on many countries and examines what the global drugs trade will look like if the status quo continues. It notes how rapidly countries’ unilateral drugs policies are evolving, while at (Read more…) The Associated Press has a touching story out of mid America. Madison, Wisconsin’s Marine Sgt. Ross Gundlach served as a dog handler in Afghanistan and like many of us he both bonded with and talked to his puppy. “He told the explosives-detecting yellow Labrador retriever that was his constant companion that he would look her up when he returned home.” That he did. He found out that Casey had finished her commitment in Afghanistan and upon returning to the States she had been sent to the Iowa State Fire Marshal’s Office, where she was being used to detect (Read more…) We at OpenMedia.ca have been working hard to ensure your voices are heard as the CRTC works to develop national rules to protect cell phone users. If we’re successful this Code of Conduct could play a big role in increasing cell phone providers’ transparency, curbing certain price-gouging practices, and dialing back the all-too-common punitive long-term cell phone service contracts. As only three large companies continue to control 94% of Canada’s wireless market, the CRTC rules could read more …and Port Moody-Westwood MP James Moore is stepping up, is here. PS. That suit makes him look thinnish. He is not. Might be an issue. You see him at televised sports events sometimes and its like he never stops eating. Popcorn buckets, hot-dogs, whatever. Richard ‘Hub’ Hughes- Political Blogger This is as good a time to take a step forward and ban political polls beginning 30 days before voting day. We have all seen the results in three successive provincial elections in Ontario, Alberta and of course right here in BC. Considering the veil of secrecy and mystique that masks the pretty basic techniques used I think it is time to call BULLSHIT! On each occasion these pollsters act bewildered, concerned and yet nothing changes and the big bucks just keep on rolling in. Some polls are perhaps more reasonable than others, 19 times (Read more…) It can hardly come as a surprise to anyone that governments – like corporations – employ spin to portray their actions in the best possible light (and to cast their opponents in the worst possible light). Nor is it news that many corporations – and the PR companies they employ – operate a revolving door for helpful politicians. So, should it come as any surprise to learn, as Joyce Nelson reveals in the current issue of Watershed Sentinel, that Peter Kent was appointed as a senior lobbyist by PR giant Hill & Knowlton while he was running as a Conservative (Read more…) Nigel Wright and Adrian Dix are both people that I have written about, in a generally critical vein. But neither of them are people who I expected to flame out spectacularly in the ways that they did during this past week. Never heard of Nigel Wright? I first wrote about him in an article that I did for The Mark News back in September 2010. (An abridged version of that article also appeared here, on this blog. ) That he represents a conduit between Stephen Harper and Gerry Schwartz was, and is, of utmost significance. While some people may think that (Read more…) We have seen many happy, well-cared-for dogs on this trip, dogs of all shapes and sizes, all obviously loved. We have seen no street dogs. There are some feral cats living in the Alhambra. That is always sad to see. But the street dogs that have broken our hearts in Mexico and Peru and elsewhere do not seem to be in Spain, at least not where we have been. * * * * On the drive from Barcelona to Granada, I realized that we brought no music with us. We never even thought of it. I blipped through radio stations, (Read more…) We changed our plans, then changed them again. Originally, we had pencilled in a drive to the very southern tip of Spain, where on a clear day you can see Morocco, and where there is a supposedly wonderfully intact set of Roman ruins, Baelo Claudio. From the start, I was skeptical that we could do this and still do everything else on our wish-list. I think Allan had forgotten how everything takes longer than you think it’s going to, and how sleeping in a different town every night can mean not seeing anything very well. In Granada, it was time (Read more…) When it comes to making the seas rise, our glaciers are kicking ass!The new research found that all glacial regions lost mass from 2003 to 2009, with the biggest ice losses occurring in Arctic Canada, Alaska, coastal Greenland, the southern Andes and the Himalayas. The glaciers outside of the Greenland and Antarctic sheets lost an average of roughly 260 billion metric tons of ice annually during the study period, causing the oceans to rise 0.03 inches, or about 0.7 millimeters per year.Nice to know this country is doing something. It’s time Canada called for the resignation of Stephen Harper. Anything less would be a failure of democracy. I can only hope that the growing public cynicism evident in these Star letters translates into a deep and abiding anger that lasts until at least 2015. Here is a sampling: Beyond money, audit reveals a bigger problem for Duffy, May 15 This column described Mike Duffy’s problem but the Senate-appointed auditors might have used terminology that was more fitting of the crime, instead of “inappropriately claimed” expenses it might have said “fraudulently claimed.” After all, Duffy’s problem is not much different from that of Harold Ballard when the latter did time for fraudulently using funds from Maple Leaf (Read more…) This might be why Alberta isn’t too crazy about refining Athabasca bitumen on site and why British Columbia should reject the proposal to refine it in Kitimat. “This” is a 3-storey high, city block sized pile of bitumen coke steadily growing ever larger across the Detroit River from Windsor’s waterfront Assumption Park. The stuff belongs to Koch Carbon, one of David and Charlie’s operations of course. In terms of emissions, even Alberta won’t touch it. That’s why Koch Carbon looks to peddle the stuff overseas. How does all this garbage get from Athabasca to Detroit? You (Read more…) I suppose if you have already broken this rule and that rule and that other rule one more time doesn’t matter eh? Huffington Post says that Sun News is denying a report that scandal-plagued Senator Mike Duffy inappropriately pressured the CRTC into approving its bid to be a mandatory part of cable and satellite TV. ’Senator Duffy does not, nor has he ever, been employed as a lobbyist for Sun News/Sun Media. Nor have we asked Senator Duffy act as an agent on our behalf,’ network vice-president Kory Teneycke said in a statement published by Sun Media national (Read more…) May as well have been talking about Senator Pam Wallin. Nick Masciantonio “Yes we do invade people’s lives. But people who run for public office forfeit their right to complain about that. They sign a blank cheque when they embark on public life.”Sen. Pamela Wallin about getting personal with John Turner in 1988in Scrum Wars: The Prime Ministers and the Media By Allan Levine (pg 346) From Facebook. WFDS . . . → Read More: The World Famous Dan Shields: 6014…Pam Wallin Talk Show Host The following email was sent by Senator Pam Wallin to Postmedia News on April 15, 2011: I am in Saskatchewan supporting our MP’s who are seeking re-election. The NDP opposes the existence of the Senate so any comments or criticism they might have must be looked at in that light. They would not likely support or agree with anything we do as they deny our constitutional role as an integral party of our parliamentary system. Pamela Pure Conservative snark. When questioned (gently) by the MSM, she used the usual Conservative tactic and attacked the NDP – even while she (Read more…) Seriously. He took the esteemed Senator Mike Duffy, Kanata-PEI, off the front pages. And we have cheaper beer in Ottawa than Toronto. Win, win. WFDS What is democracy about these days? Looking to the North American model to the south of Canada, one begins to worry that idea of responsible, accountable government is a sadly antiquated notion. Bill Moyers and his guests detail what is happening in Washington. Revolving doors, “dark” money, influence peddling – a veritable laundry list of bad ethical practice is the norm, and the public good is but a memory. Take the time, gain some insight and arm yourself with the knowledge of what is happening in what was once a great democratic nation. Filed under: Politics Tagged: (Read more…) Today’s Faith Page came as a pleasant surprise. It didn’t take on the rich and powerful – as the Pope’s letter did. But it did break away from the mindless and pointless bilge that usually appears in the sermonette. It’s about sex. (No, don’t go ripping through the pages hoping for pictures or some mention of LGBT sex. It’s a lot tamer than that.) But it does at least go further than the usual and cutesy spiritual pablum we get (God answers knee mail. etc.). ________________________________________________________________________________Newtoday, p. D3, has a story from the Associated Press that will (and (Read more…) Breath-taking beauty of the nature. The giant accounting firm, Deloitte, was retained to conduct a forensic audit of the expenses claimed by specific senators. In three cases there were questions of whether the individuals were in fact entitled to the extra housing allowance the senate provides to members not from Ottawa and environs. And then, because her travel expenses seemed out of line, they also looked into the spending/reiumbursement of senator Pam Wallin of Wadena, Saskatchewan. Something happened yesterday that raises new questions – this time concerning the auditor, Deloitte, in its audit of Pam Wallin. It began when Pam Wallin announced she was (Read more…) Assorted content for your weekend reading. - Not surprisingly, plenty of commentators have weighed in on the latest set of Senate scandals engulfing Mike Duffy, Pamela Wallin, Nigel Wright and Stephen Harper among others. Diane Francis takes the opportunity to point out that the Senate is an institutional anachronism (a point with which I of course agree). Murray Mandryk notes that the Cons’ story involves the belief that their clan can do no wrong, Chantal Hebert sees the Cons having simply changed the party name in the Liberal culture of entitlement they once claimed to despise, while Andrew Coyne (Read more…) Here is Rex Murphy holding forth on the current ‘troubles’ in Ottawa: Recommend this Post Bourassa in 2011 Recently, as everyone plugged in should be aware, Bourassa MP Denis Coderre has pretty much stated his intention to resign in order to focus on his run for the mayoralty of Montréal, a position he is in very strong standing to win despite a somewhat shaky start involving protests. That leaves open his seat on the north end of the Island of Montréal, setting up a very interesting race for the coming months ahead between the two big players in Montréal – the Liberals and NDP, both under close-by Montréal MPs. The Bloc, while there, isn’t considered (Read more…) . . . → Read More: Blunt Objects Blog: A Look at Bourassa |
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