Pierre Poilievre and the Politics of Brutalization
“The word ‘brutalize’ is now employed quite wrongly to mean harsh or cruel treatment meted out by the strong to the weak…but in fact it means something subtler, namely the…
george orwell
The clocks are striking thirteen and there’s something in the air – Albertans seem to be reading George Orwell’s 1984 again
Here are the lists of the top 10 fiction and non-fiction titles sold by independent booksellers in Alberta during the week ended Sunday, May 23, 2021. The lists are compiled…
Corrupt language corrupts minds: Police are civilians, under control of civilians
One of the bees in my bonnet has long been the misuse of the term civilian to describe people who are not sworn police officers. I wrote the post below…
Words, Words, And More Words
I haven’t been writing much these days, in part due to a stubborn bug I’ve been battling, and in part because I often wonder if there really is much more…
Patriot Games
“Patriot: the person who can holler the loudest without knowing what he is hollering about.” Mark Twain Last week Mr Kenney joined the patriot squad. On August 4 and August…
Corporate Mapping Project names top fossil-fuel emitters, enablers and legitimators, unlocks online database
“The fossil fuel industry … is the biggest obstacle to real action on climate change today,” says the co-director of the Corporate Mapping Project, which this morning published an eye-opening…
Alberta Separatism Rears its Goofy Head
Ms Soapbox was thinking about the fog of words when she received a mass mailout letter from someone she’ll call Mr X urging her to join him and thousands of…
Political Discourse in Alberta: Seen through Orwell’s Lens
“Political language is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.”—George Orwell It was fascinating to consider Jason Kenney’s…
Pipeline politics in Canada circa 2018: Destroying the rule of law in order to save it
Obviously, we have to destroy the rule of law in order to save it! With Kinder Morgan Inc.’s do-or-drop-it deadline set to arrive on Thursday, that seems to be the…
A Political Shakespeare?
Looking back at the pleasure I always took in teaching Shakespeare’s tragedies, I realize my attraction to The Bard had a great deal to do with his eerily penetrating insights…
Deconstructing political discourse in Alberta: Doublethink is alive and well in recessionary Wild Rose Country
PHOTOS: Parson Manning spreads the Gospel of Market Fundamentalism in his days as leader of the Reform Party of Alberta. The actual neoliberal preacher-men of Confederation may not appear exactly…
On Our Diversions
This is one of those days when I haven’t felt like writing anything. And George Orwell said just about everything better, anyway. H/t Mint Press News Recommend this Post
Ten Questions about the Harper Government’s embrace of war with ISIS-ISIL-IS
Ready, Aye, Ready! Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird whips up the War Party in the House of Commons. Below: Stephen Harper, the prime minister, and Edmonton Centre MP Laurie Hawn.…
Message From Orwell: "I Warned You" – A Mound Of Sound Guest Post
You don’t have to dig very deep to get a pretty clear picture of the decline of today’s global civilization. The good times are gone, over, finished. We’re out of…
More Food For Thought
I am still working on my flooring, and as someone to whom the term handyman has little application, I am working very slowly. Therefore, in lieu of a post, I…
The Progressive Conservatives Prepare for War–Really!
“Our organization cannot lose the grassroots donation battle to our opposition if we hope to win the war in 2016.”—Ron Renaud, PC Chief Financial Officer Win the war in 2016???…
A Saturday Evening Thought
Recommend this Post
Big Brother’s power is building, warns George Orwell biographer
Mankind, like the proverbial lobster in the pot, is becoming conditioned to losing rights and freedoms at an alarming rate. ‘Orwell wrote 1984 as a warning. He felt that if…