Nowhere is the difference between the Harper Conservatives and the Progressive Conservatives more apparent than in the area of foreign policy. Consider what former prime minister -- and foreign affairs minister -- Joe Clark wrote over the weekend:The critical talents, in [our] world, are the ability to respect and bridge conflicting identities — and different values — and patiently seek enough common ground to build trust and respect and, then, collaboration. No country in the world is better at that than Canada. And our capacity increases as our population diversifies, making us more …
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I think Tamino is right: Some have criticized Microsoft for “supporting” the so-called “Heartland Institute.” The basis of this is that Microsoft provides free software because the so-called “Heartland Institute” is, at present, legally classified as a nonprofit organization. There have even been suggestions to pressure Microsoft no longer to allow the so-called “Heartland Institute” free software access, because of their global warming denial. I disagree. Fervently. Microsoft provides free software to non-profit organizations. I think that’s a wonderful service. They don’t …
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By now the news is stale, but on Friday Heartland pulled down the highly offensive billboards comparing the acceptance of mainstream climate science with such despicable people as the Unabomber. They, however, refuse to apologize: We do not apologize for running the ad, and we will continue to experiment with ways to communicate the ‘realist’ message on the climate. Which lead to this humorous tweet from Robin Hickman: following Heartland example, now if ever I do something offensive I shall say it was an “experiment” and refuse to apologise Related posts (randomly …
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More to the point, boys ‘n’ girls,  Greeks and French, as well as other Europeans have basically rejected austerity imposed by the Eurozone. They have started to see what economists like Paul Krugman and Joseph Stiglitz have known all along: austerity just doesn’t work.  After all this time, where is that confidence fairy? . . . → Read More: Greeks & French Throw the Bums Out! …
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#elxnfraud #Cdnpoli -  Zorpheous has done a great job of squeezing out the technical aspects of the Guelph Conservative election fraud scandal. If you haven't read it, go now. If you're in a rush, here's something very important: [I]gnoring the other 199 ridings that are being investigated, there is the very important point I made at the beginning of the article.  Someone with …
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You've always wanted to play the blues, you know you have. Everyone should be able to make a little music, it's good for the soul.  There are a few three-chord wonders among the Inkstained Wretches and several more among our blogging fellow travellers who will testify to benefits of being able to carry a tune at least a short distance. Well, we at the Galloping Beaver are here to help you …
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#Cdnpoli - This is utter bullshit. Not because the idea is wrong-headed ... The Harper government is throwing its weight behind a private members' bill that would give police the power to arrest anyone hiding their identity during a riot or unlawful assembly. Conservative backbencher Blake Richards is proposing penalties of up to five years in prison or a fine of up to $5,000 for …
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Alex Himelfarb's lament for the loss of Canada in the recent Harper budget includes a quote from Monte Solberg in the Sun: For 40 years “progressives” called the shots in Canada, and their influence affected and infected everything. They left big bruises on the economy, social policy, immigration, the armed forces, law, foreign affairs, cultural policy and, of course, the Constitution. Much …
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WSPA-TV photo of airplane banner: Its time for transparency--Do Right BJU. Notably, WSPA is in Spartanburg. There has been no local coverage of this event in Greenville, as can be expected. I missed the cool banner, which flew around Greenville for two whole hours on Friday, May 4th. Here is the accompanying press release from the formidable folks at Do Right BJU:May 4, 2012, Greenville, SC -- Over the past four years, a growing group of Bob Jones University alumni have connected through social media, combining efforts to call on their alma mater to “do right.” In 2008 under …
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I doubt that Stephen Harper reads anything that Robert Reich writes. But, as a trained economist, the prime minister might take a look at Reich's latest blogpost. Reich writes that the most recent American job numbers signal that the American economy has stalled:Most of the job gains in April were in lower-wage industries – retail stores, restaurants, and temporary-help. That means average wages continue to drop, adjusted for inflation – continuing their long-term decline. Most of the new jobs that have been added to the U.S. economy during this recovery have paid less than the jobs …
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Autism Advocate Ari Ne'eman Speaking At the National Press Club My  son's severe Autistic Disorder is not the same  autism disorder as Mr. Ne'eman's. The DSM5  autism do-over, the New Autism Spectrum Disorder, will come into effect in 2013.  There is a further opportunity to offer public comment about the radical changes being forced upon the public but the DSM5 committees who have shaped the New ASD in the image of their own research biases have shown no inclination to acknowledge the merits of any of the many criticisms of their handiwork. It does not matter whether …
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When a democratically elected government opens fire on the people they were elected to serve, everything else pales. Everything.  There is nothing democratic about gunning down your own citizens because you don't like their voice. But, if I am forced to frame the discussion, that is exactly what conservatives will do to keep their grip on power. They've d already proved it. Now, it's time …
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The bloggers at DAMMIT JANET! pull another plum out of the pie. Honest. Go there an follow the link. Now. It would not be right to go down this path without one of the finest pieces of writing ... ever. My friend and accomplice at The Woodshed discovered it and it is, beyond the shadow of any doubt, excellent.  Here it is. Dear Tiny White Man In My Underpants, Hey! How’s it going today? …
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It's been a tough week for blogging. But at least I saw another antique Chevy when I went out to grab a bite earlier in the week! I am grateful I woke up this morning without any notifications of direct threats, as I did last Saturday. It is not a day I am likely to forget. Five people sent me messages as soon as I signed on, several making sure I TOOK THE SCREEN SHOTS. I obediently did as they told me to do, but I did not visit the hate-page after I initially took the shot, because I found it too unnerving. I have spent the last week decompressing from disaster, even though I …
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MIT'S TECHNOLOGY REVIEW is a wonderful site for looking at what's coming down the pike at ya. John Pollock has a great article, worthy of your perusal, "People Power 2.0  How civilians helped win the Libyan information war." Information is power: How ad-hoc nets helped off Daffy Duck. After weeks of skirmishes in the Nafusa Mountains southwest of Tripoli, Sifaw Twawa and his brigade of …
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PEOPLE BELIEVE IN ALL SORTS OF THINGS — talking snakes, angels, free markets, Trickle-Down Theory, 72 virgins, you name it. Well, the universe we have measured and observed from the minute Planck Length to the Hubble Deep Field pictures offers a real alternative to man's illusions. Cary and Michael Huang have built a delightful site, The Scale of the Universe 2. Simple to use, slide the …
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Mark Richardson: The Beastie Boys turned curiosity into a form of art. They wanted to know more about what was around them and learn everything they could about what wasn’t. Forget about Kurt Cobain for a second: For kids like me, the Beastie Boys invented the 90s. Technology was changing fast and the world was shrinking rapidly. Between their music and label/magazine Grand Royal, the Beasties showed how to reach out and scoop up all the best parts. New York hip-hop and punk rock, Japanese pop, Jamaican dub– all of it could be gathered and re-assembled into something that …
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The Harper government is intent on passing its 421 page Budget Implementation Bill in seven days. If Stephen Harper were the Leader of the Opposition, he would be up in arms. In fact, as Leader of the Opposition, he was. "In the interest of democracy," he fumed,I ask how can members represent their constituents on these various areas when they are forced to vote on a block of such legislation?”But that was then. This is now. And now Harper knows that his program runs so deeply against Canada's core values that he must accomplish his mission by stealth. Tom Walkom outlines the significant …
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Eric Clapton started the Crossroads Guitar Festival series both to showcase guitar players and to benefit a drug treatment center called the Crossroads Centre. All three of tonight's clips are from the most recent festival in 2010. The first tune may stir some memories for you if you're around my age. Comin' Home was released as a single by Delaney and Bonnie Bramlett in 1969. This is Susan Tedeschi, Derek Trucks and Warren Haynes. This is the first performance by Gary Clark Jr. I've posted here. It may not be the last. He's all of 28 and may be around for a while yet. This is Bright …
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A Republican operative convicted of perpetrating election phone fraud for the Republican National Committee told interviewer Stephen Maher that "fraudulent calls in the last Canadian election are likely an American import" and a "fairly sophisticated operation".Allen Raymond wrote a book about his stint as a GOP dirty trickster called How to Rig an Election in which he explains the use of tactics like phone jamming political opponents - hey, did Elections Canada ever investigate the over 10,000 phone jamming calls used to disrupt the NDP's online leadership vote this …
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This absurd and extreme guilt by association that Heartland is pushing should be countered by making it abundantly just clear how absolutely absurd it really is. And while we are at it why not make people laugh a little. (image via Dan Johnson on Facebook) UPDATE: Let the meme begin: Nine out of 10 psychos agree: Heartland’s bonkers climate billboards need company! UPDATE 2: More funny heartland billboard spoofs:   This one turns the whole idea on its head: Related posts (randomly generated) Prawngate: Monckton tries to censor critics The EPA’s tailspin Christian …
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TransCanada applies for Keystone XL pipeline permit: TransCanada Corp has asked the U.S. government for approval to build the $7.6 billion Keystone XL oil pipeline which has been put on hold due to environmental concerns. Is anyone surprised? Related posts (randomly generated) About those radical foreign interests opposed to the latest tar-sand pipeline [UPDATED] We’ll deal with Canadian consumers’ copyright concerns later …
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Update: I guess I should have waited to do Friday afternoon Robocon blogging. Courtesy of The Sixth Estate, here are new reports from Postmedia (via the Ottawa Citizen) and the Globe and Mail. Short version: In not entirely surprising news, the connection between Pierre Poutine and the Conservative campaign in Guelph has been confirmed. The original post follows... According to someone who knows a bit about using telephones to suppress the vote, what happened in last year's federal election campaign was "a fairly sophisticated operation" that was likely based on lessons learned in American …
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Kate Heartfield has an interesting column on trade negotiations between Canada and the EU and specifically on the possible consequences for the cost of pharmaceuticals. The EU is insisting on changes to Canada's intellectual property laws and there's some dispute about what that will mean for Canadian consumers. You can follow the link for more but I wanted to draw attention to this, from Heartfield's closing paragraph. ...the whole point of free trade is to allow consumers access to the best goods at the best price. I'm afraid that's only true in some imaginary land where so-called "free …
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On the thirtieth anniversary of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Harper government made no mention of the event -- other than to point out that the germ of the Charter was contained in John Diefenbaker's Bill of Rights.The Harper version of history is highly selective. It ignores the Charter and celebrates the War of 1812. The canonization of Diefenbaker apes the Harperites' Republican cousins. Jeffrey Simpson writes in today's Globe and Mail:In reaching back for Mr. Diefenbaker, Canadian Conservatives are contorting themselves as U.S. Republicans do.For them, the two Bush presidencies …
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Rückblick auf erfolgreiche Aktionen in Bruchköbel und FrankfurtDie diesjährigen Ostermärsche sprachen sich deutlich gegen Waffenhandel aus. Ich konnte am Karfreitag in Bruchköbel und am Ostermontag in Frankfurt dazu beitragen, dass die Aktion Aufschrei – Stoppt den Waffenhandel bis in die Tagesschau sehr gut sichtbar war. Am Karfreitag sprach ich vor etwa 250 Friedensbewegten für pax christi Limburg auf der Ostermarsch-Kundgebung in Bruchköbel bei Hanau. Mein Redebeitrag gegen Rüstungsexporte ist hier nachlesbar. Während der ganzen Veranstaltung protestierten Aktive …
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Strange isn't it? (Emphasis all mine) The management and board of directors of SNC-Lavalin faced tough questions from shareholders Thursday as a probe into unauthorized payments at the company's North African operations widened. Chair Gwyn Morgan, interim CEO Ian Bourne and others discussed the company's results at SNC-Lavalin's annual general meeting in Toronto. But investors most wanted …
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In the logo used by the Canadian Institute for Legislative Action, Canada, geographically, figures less prominently than the other parts of the Americas. That seems to fit with the fact that they get a lot of help from foreigners. And yes, Americans belonging to the National Rifle Association are foreigners. Documents and correspondence obtained by the CBC show the NRA has provided logistical …
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LGen Deschamps, should please just. stop. talking. He does not seem to get just how stupid and corrupted he and his mates are making the RCAF look. Lt-Gen. André Deschamps, who on Tuesday said the air force is preparing to acquire F-35s, told MPs that when DND was analysing options for new planes it looked at what technology is needed to respond to future threats. He said those threats …
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Harper's chief of staff Nigel Wright, they tell us, is a boyscout who dutifully steps out of discussions about the F-35 because of an ethical wall. What F-35? You mean the one presently in an unrecoverable political flatspin that is causing the Harper regime no end of grief as its dirty laundry spilled on committee tables? These people wouldn't know an ethical wall if it collapsed on them. …
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