By: Jeff Helsdon  Ontario Out of Doors Proposals for hundreds of wind turbines in the Great Lakes have raised concerns among wildlife biologists. Dr. Scott Petrie, executive director of Long Point Waterfowl, who examined a map of proposed wind farms in Lakes Ontario, Erie, and St. Clair, said the numbers will “boggle your mind.” South [...]
In case there was any doubt, Simon Enoch explains why the Fraser Institute has been so eager to trash the long-form census:One might wonder how the Fraser Institute can possible defend the evisceration of social statistics that it also depends upon for its research.That is until you realize that the Fraser Institute has been painfully allergic to evidence-based research since its inception. What does accurate data matter when you can simply manipulate it to suit your desired ends? Whether it's flawed content analysis, grossly inflated tax numbers, disregard for socio-economic indicators, misrepresenting the HST, rigged hospital and school "report cards," or bogus "Tax Freedom" days, the Fraser has always been "fact-averse." The Fraser institute has never cared about the validity of social statistics before, so why should it start now?With a voluntary long-form almost guaranteed to bias in favour of the affluent, the Fraser can end evidence of poverty, discrimination, and all the other ...
Gail Lethbridge:I give Canadians more credit than Stephen Harper does.Which makes sense, because the amount of credit Stephen Harper gives Canadians is too small to be measured by the science Harper abhors so much.
Today, Kory's Kapers, formally know as the Toronto Sun newspaper, has a picture of a jet and a headline, Ruskies Sent Packing and then an article asking Are we prepared to defend the north? This piece of political propaganda is nothing more than an imaginary argument to justify the $9 billion, F-35 purchase and ramp up the so called Tim Hortons crowd who believe the crap that governments and in particular this government puts out.
Regardless of whether Russia plants a flag at the bottom of the arctic ocean or DenMark opens a weather station in the arctic or Harper moves the elite forces of the Van Doos north to surround Santa's village, the decision on which country owns which part of the arctic and more importantly the possibly resource rich Lomonosov ridge will be decided by the proposals put forth to the UN by each country making a claim.
Of course none of that is explained in Kory's Kapers.
The good thing about blogging is that you end up reading a lot of articles and so...
I cannot believe THIS is just a coincidence! I mean, what are the odds of something like this going down just at the time where there is increasing attention on the Cons’ sole source purchase of brand new fighter jets at a cost to the Canadian taxpayer of 23 gazillion dollars? Pretty long, eh? I’m [...]
Related posts:I love graphics
Could a spill happen in Canada’s north? You betcha!
Hitchin’ the Grit wagon to the right tractor
Phyllis Schlafly: still shrieeeky and strident after all these years. "Unmarried women, 70 percent of unmarried women, voted for Obama, and this is because when you kick your husband out, you've got to have big brother government to be your provider." On Thursday, in an interview with Talking Points Memo, Schlafly repeated her link of single women, Obama and welfare, and added. "Yes, I said that. It's true too. All welfare goes to unmarried moms. They are trying to line up their constituency for Obama and Democrats against Republican candidates."And by the way, what exactly is that baked-solid entity stuck on Schlafly's head? I've cleaned up dog poop on the sidewalk that was more attractive than that.If you enjoyed this post, our blog archives have many more.
"Having a journalist around is like having a pet bear. Most of the time it's really cool, but once in a while it'll bite your hand off." - Michael Hastings, the Rolling Stone writer whose reporting compelled the White House to fire Gen. Stanley McChrystal as commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistansdnxry5z7g
Friday, July 30, 2010
If you’re paying attention to efforts to tackle climate change through emissions trading, or “Cap and Trade”, systems, then there have been a number of recent developments worthy of note.
read more
A few weeks ago, the news came out that the last remaining independent bookstore in Saskatchewan is closing its doors on Saturday. (I know McNally Robinson in Saskatoon still considers itself an independent, but I’m talking about the small-format, cozy bookstore. More on that later.) The Book and Brier Patch has been in operation in [...]
For 107 countries, the use, production and stockpiling of cluster bombs is officially banned beginning Sunday, August 1st. From AlterNet:Dropped from aircraft or fired from artillery or rockets, the weapons scatter bomblets over a wide area, but have limited military impact today as they were designed to attack tanks on an open battlefield, an increasingly rare scenario, they said. Cluster bombs often fail to detonate immediately and can explode years after a conflict, killing or maiming civilians in Laos, Kosovo and Lebanon, according to humanitarian groups. "These weapons are a relic of the Cold War. They are a legacy that has to be eliminated because they increasingly won't work," Peter Herby, an arms expert at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), told a news conference. Support is growing for the Convention on Cluster Bombs, adopted in May 2008 and ratified by 37 states including Britain, France, Germany and Japan, which all have significant stocks. But the Un...
BMXers foil downtown purse snatchingTheir first instinct was to give chase. In the moments after the suspect grabbed the woman's purse, the five teens quickly took to their bikes and began a short but fevered pursuit. The group of young BMXers even had the presence of mind to alert police to the crime.Read the good story here http://tiny.cc/u6ugy
Watch Super Amigos, the Mexican political super heroes doc for free on line.
Michael Ignatieff was in Burlington this morning, giving a rousing and firm stump speech to a crowd of over 200 (somewhere between 200-250 is the estimate), including bigwigs like Oakville Mayor Rob Burton, former Senator Betty Kennedy, federal Liberal candidate Deb Gillis, and several Burlington and Milton candidates for city council, including Mark Carr and Marianne Meed Ward, and Cory Judson.All in all, it was an event to remember. Maybe not as noisy and crazy like Conservative events, but Ignatieff certainly deserves accolades for his push with the Liberal Express. Never been more proud to donate to this wonderful party, and see the results in action. And, as a Victory Fund member, I may be entitled to one of those nifty hats!Best of all, while I wasn't able to talk to Iggy, I did get the chance to thank former Ontario Education Minister Gerard Kennedy for allowing me to get a first-rate education, after growing up under the Mike Harris cuts.Here are some poor-quality BlackBerry ph...
The Canadian Bar Association has called upon federal Industry Minister Tony Clement to drop plans to scrap Canada's mandatory long-form census. CTV reports:OTTAWA — The group representing Canada's lawyers says changes to the census will make it tougher for people who suffer serious personal injuries to get proper compensation.In a letter to Industry Minister Tony Clement, the Canadian Bar Association calls for the return of the mandatory long-form census, saying lawyers and judges use the information to help determine how much injured clients should claim in court.The association says the ditching of the mandatory form will especially hurt women, children, the disabled and others without a regular work history.- Garry J. Wise, Toronto Visit our Toronto Law Firm website: www.wiselaw.net EMPLOYMENT LAW • CIVIL LITIGATION • WILLS AND ESTATES • FAMILY LAW & DIVORCEORIGINALLY POSTED AT WISE LAW BLOG • SUBSCRIBE TO WISE LAW BLOG
I’ve been avoiding going over the council race but I said that I would (and have been recently reminded that I said that I would) so I might as well get it over with.
First, before I get into things, I’m disappointed in the rather small number of people who are seeking a councilor-at-large position. Had I known that there were so few people running I would have likely thrown my hat in the ring. I’m not the only one who feels this way as I’ve heard similar sentiments from Greens in the Ottawa area. We have 7 choices for 5 positions.
Anyway there’s nothing we can do about that this time around. I might as well get into the options. I think I know who my first three choices will be, it’s the last two that I’m not really sure about. I’m not going to rank candidates but rather just let you know who I know I’ll be supporting, who I’m not sure about.
read more
R. v. Cornell 2010 SCC 31 was released today. It permitted a search of a residence made without prior announcement but in so doing set out the customary process. The Court held: [18] Except in exigent circumstances, police officers must make an announcement before forcing entry into a dwelling house. In the ordinary case, they should give: "(i) notice of presence by knocking or ringing the door bell; (ii) notice of authority, by identifying themselves as law enforcement officers and (iii) notice of purpose, by stating a lawful reason for entry: Eccles v. Bourque, [1975] 2 S.C.R. 739, at p. 747. [19] Neither the wisdom nor the vitality of the knock and announce principle is in issue on this appeal. Experience has shown that it not only protects the dignity and privacy interests of the occupants of dwellings, but it may also enhance the safety of the police and the public: Commission of Inquiry into Policing in British Columbia, Closing the Gap: Policing ...
For those of you who enjoy some of my non-insane work — okay, just partially insane — I’ve got a new short story posted in the short fiction section. It was originally published in Flash Me, an online flash fiction magazine, in 2003, and I’ve reprinted it online here: “The rush of heaven downward“. I’ve [...]
How would you feel if you were arrested on fake charges, and when you show up in court to defend yourself, you find the state pretending that you were never charged? This happened in Canada over the last month. Most Canadians couldn’t imagine this sort of state corruption happening here, and now it is. It’s [...]
Okay, so the book pages of newspapers are practically non-existent any more: what can a writer or a publisher do to get the word out about a new novel? It would seem that some, at least, are turning to You Tube with the idea that a slick, cinema-quality trailer will attract readers.I became aware of this a few months ago when I stumbled on VĂ©hicule Press's promotional video for Avi Friedman's book A Place in Mind - The Search for Authenticity, but clearly it's an idea that is making the rounds. This morning I got an email from Cormorant Press with a taste of what is coming from them this season. While messing around with the links, I stumbled across some of the trailers the house has prepared to promote its list. Below you'll find two of the more interesting.Doing this must cost a fair bit: the videos look fully professional, and my guess is they cost about as much as the advance the novelists in question received. I suppose this is money well spent, if they sell a lot of books,...
"CALGARY — China’s influence over Western politicians runs deeper than controversial claims made by the head of Canada’s spy agency, Tory MP Rob Anders is alleging. In a recent interview with Epoch Times, an international newspaper founded by Falun Gong supporters, Mr. Anders suggested politicians and government officials from Canada and other countries are being wooed with extravagant gifts, beautiful young women and too-good-to-be-true business deals. “The reach is deep, and it’s very unfortunate,” Mr. Anders told the newspaper. “I would argue that I’ve seen things happen on a federal level as well in our own government. And so I think there’s a lot more than he has even mentioned,” the Calgary MP added, referring to Canadian Security Intelligence Service director Richard Fadden.“I think that Mr. Fadden only gingerly scratched the surface. I feel for him that he was dragged before an investigative committee with Parliament to have to explain, and I think that th...
