Your religion is different than mine - Week 217 - June 15-22

I believe firmly in Tim Uppal's right to wear his turban wherever he pleases.  I admire the hypocrisy of him asking Muslim women to remove their niqab's.  I'm saddened by the Harper government trotting Tim Uppal out to sell this for them.

Stephen Harper is a master.  He can cut bait with the best of them.  But how long before one of his terrible appointments brings him down?  Don Meredith shows that he's not just a spender of taxpayer money, he's also a horrible human being.

Steve is going hard on Russia.  Vladimir doesn't seem to care all that much.  It's sad when you get called out as an American puppet.

James Moore joins the growing list of Conservative MP's not running in the next election.

I bet these same assholes are all on board with the pope when he speaks out against abortion.  Climate change though?  Too political!

A pretty great Tom the Dancing Bug on the TPP.

All those Stephen Harper court case losses?  They're adding up.  Almost $7 million spent defending unconstitutional laws.

Our top military man shows again that they just don't get it.  Sexual assaults are a result of biological wiring.  There's not anything they can do about it.  Even the Cons can't defend this.

A story of how Stephen Harper single handedly overrode a team of experts recommendations for Northern territory limits and the repercussions of that decision.

Rachel Notley is awesome.  She gets the shipping unprocessed bitumen to Texas via the Keystone pipeline sells the province short.  Which is logical and amazing.  Some try to explain that the US won't buy our refined products.  But if that's all that is available to them, I'm not so sure.

People seem really freaked out about the cost of the Senate audit.  The Auditor General breaks it down, somewhat, here.

The destruction of the long gun registry records might start to get a bit contentious.

More details on driverless trucks on the Oil Patch.  Normally, I can understand automated technology.  But this is different.  This is a natural resource that belongs to the people.  This is a company being allowed to do what it does based on the promise of jobs.  Jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs is all we are ever told as justification for this stuff.  We are allowed to challenge this automation.

Tonnes of stuff - Week 201 & 202 - Mar 2-16

Stepping away from a computer for a few weeks is illuminating.  You come back, and the same people are talking about the exact same things.  And the majority of people don't care at all.  I was out at trivia the other night, and a question came up about Bill C-51.  The question being, "A recent anti-terror bill has been announced.  The name of that bill is Bill C *blank*."  Please name the bill.  And people were shocked when I got it!  Like...what the fuck?

Onwards we roll.

Ha ha ha.  Refugees are claiming more Canadian income than millionaire, line jumping, investor immigrants.

Another oil train derailment.  And no, this is no an argument for pipelines.  This is an argument for rail safety.

Brian Williams gets some stories wrong 15 years ago.  Total shitstorm.  Canadian government makes up confrontations in the Black Sea with Russia.  Nothing.  Jason Kenney said the Russian jets "buzzed" the Canadian frigate..  NATO officials say it was 128 kilometers away.  He's also a bit confused about viral images on the Internet though, too.

More TFW awfulness.  Facebook, who are supposedly in Vancouver because of all of our computer talent, ended up hiring a bunch of TFW's to fill Software Engineer positions.  So, it seems like their office here is really just about skirting US labour law.  Ant the Parliamentary Budget Officer suggests that there is no accurate information on TFW's, that the numbers have gone up substantially and we really have no idea what this means for Canadian workers.

And then...fuck...and then...a Conservative MP says it makes no sense to pay "whities" to stay home while giving their jobs to "brown people".  This has somehow not generated a massive controversy.

A Canadian soldier has been killed...but we're somehow still not in a combat mission in Iraq.

For some reason, a bunch of white dudes hell bent on creating race war aren't as scary as Muslim terrorists.  CSIS internally highlights the threat of white supremacists over Muslim terrorism, but that's not what we end up hearing about, is it?  Meanwhile, Conservatives are definitely trying to stoke up fear of Muslims, doing lots of work publicizing threats by terrorists (and perhaps violating their own law in the process?).  And another MP is creating some "with us or against us" type rhetoric in his mailouts.

Michael Geist talks Bill C-51.  Surprisingly, not a fan.

Trudeau admits that they're supporting C-51 so that the Cons won't yell at them.  This is pretty terrible.

Even Christy thinks C-51 might be a bad idea.  But she's more of a "give money to corporations" kind of Conservative than a "control your citizens" kind of Conservative.

Our Privacy Watchdog won't be allowed to speak during the C-51 hearings.  Because it's about terror, not privacy, right?  I guess they already know he's not a fan.

The former Security Information Review Committee chair suggests we're in for a Constitutional mess with C-51.

A Conservative MP ignores the facts during a C-51 hearing, throws out a lot of general Muslim fear mongering and guilt by (perhaps non-existent) association.

Meanwhile, 300 criminal investigations have been sidetracked by terror investigations, according to the RCMP.

We're going to have police guard the soldiers at the National War Memorial.  But who is going to guard them?

We're letting FBI agents testify under pseudonyms in terror trials.

Our good buddy Vic Toews is back in the news.  He's been accused of inappropriately lobbying, and his wife may have received a huge chunk of money from a First Nation in the deal as well.

Another Conservative Minister, Diane Finley, committed a conflict of interest, awarding her own riding $1 Million in funding that she shouldn't have.  Brazeau suggests she's been up to other things too, pulling funding from ridings after NDP wins.

Stephen Harper thinks that guns in the hands of citizens play an important role in keeping people safe in rural communities.  Because....well...just because.

Maclean's looked at the potential impact on greenhouse gas reduction policies on Oil Sands profitability.  Surprisingly...the impact would be fairly low.  Meanwhile, Obama hasn't bought in to the Oil Sands greenwashing.

Several people have pointed out that forcing women to not wear a niqab is hardly a form of liberation.  And then he runs around claiming he has the support of moderate muslims?  Based on?  And he claims the overwhelming majority are with him too.

After years of battling it, the Cons are going to provide a bit more support for disabled veterans, just in time for the eleciton!

Conservative MP thinks he's a member of the tea party.  Argues against the "theory of evolution" with the time worn "It's just a theory" argument.

We're cutting funding to a program to treat sex criminals and prevent them from re-offending.  Because somehow, cutting off your sexual predator to spite your citizens makes sense.

The Mike Duffy trial witness list is pretty juicy.

Pamela Wallin's expenses are going to receive even more scrutiny.

The Internet will break you - Nov 12-17 - Week 185

I did a stupid thing the other day.  But I was honestly confused.  Momentarily.  So I typed into the Google machine "Why do Republicans want Keystone XL".  I had momentarily forgotten that oil money bankrolls half their campaigns and was honestly curious as to why they were killing themselves to allow Canadian oil production to expand.  And it took me here.  This is a terrible place that makes me fear for the United States.  Pretty much every comment contains a reference to "American Exceptionalism, suggestion that Obama is a secret muslim or born in Kenya, and support for the idea that Obama hates America and is trying to destroy it.  There is no hope for these people.

Steve continues to be a hard man against Russia.  With tough talk in the handshake line of a summit.

Somebody better than me has taken a plunge into the ridiculous Conservative bill names.  Great stuff.  Man.  So pumped on this!

Canada's reputation is terrible in countries where our mining companies are destroying things.

The US and China seem to have agreed to some real emissions targets.  Will Canada follow suit?

CSEC gets a $385 Million budget increase.  The watchdog gets a budget cut.

This is interesting.  A detailed evaluation with a simple money shot.  $1 Billion in public spending cuts eliminates 18,000 direct and indirect jobs and sucks $2 Billion out of the economy.  $1 Billion in corporate tax cuts generates 6,000 jobs and adds $1.3 Billion to the economy.  Which is a net loss, if you need to do the math.  I would imagine that this analysis breaks down at some point, but it is telling.  Right now, every time we cut corporate taxes to starve the public sector we're harming the economy.  i.e. Stimulus spending works.  Throw declining oil revenues into the mix, and we might be fucked.

The Americans insist that we've made a secret deal to purchase 4 F-35's in a fighter jet trojan horse deal.  The Cons insist that we haven't.

Interesting take.  According to Conservatives, the science is crystal clear that marijuana is harmful.  But there isn't enough science to support medical marijuana.  I guess you could have different science.  Nobody seems to be fans of the new anti-pot ads.

An American story on Rehtaeh Parsons and how Canadian journalists can no longer speak her name.  This is so fucked up, all the way around.

The Cons are going to erect monuments of Light Armoured Vehicles across the country as tribute to Afghan war veterans.  This is the funniest thing.  How can you ignore a group of people while erecting a monument to celebrate them?  Angry Veterans against Harper is gaining some momentum.

The Cons seem to be trumpeting their "surplus" loud and hard.  Even though it hasn't happened yet.  And has been seriously eroded.

The Parliament Hill shooter did reconn the week before his attack.  Which seems like some pretty great information to rile people up about shutting down Parliament Hill to the public.

Access to Information is out of reach of the average Canadian.  Thousands of dollars.  Weeks of effort.

The Cons promised to follow the court ruling to offer health care to all refugees.  But they might not actually be doing so?

Trapped in the Closet - Week 183 - Oct 27 - Nov 3

Stephen Harper feels bad that he hid in the closet.  I actually don't blame him for that.  

We're officially arguing over the semantics of the word "terrorism".  Mulcair thinks that because the man was mentally ill, it might not be terrorism.  Russell Brand points out that when a white guy shoots 3 cops, that's not terrorism.  Which makes me a bit sad.  This isn't even his country.  How does he come up with these amazingly relevant things to say?

The Information and Privacy Commissioners are encouraging us to not over-react with draconian laws in the wake of last weeks incidents.

I love that we're using domestic attacks by Canadian citizens who never left the country to justify a global spying enterprise.  Among other things.

I always root for the underdog.  I have no idea why.  I can't remember the last time that a team that I cheered for won a major championship.  Hell, half the time I'll switch allegiances if my underdog team starts winning.  So,today we'll talk about Dean Del Mastro.  Don't get me wrong, this man deserves no sympathy.  But I can't help but feel a bit sorry for him as all his buddies skitter away and leave him holding the bag.  How does Steve not get tarnished by all the buffoons that he has surrounded himself with?

How badly does the RCMP suck?  In Stephen Harper's Canada, the RCMP thinks that environmentalists are a greater threat than "religiously inspired terrorists".  That must have been some argument, trying to sort out which Boogieman is scarier.  As well, the RCMP have kept no records of their warrantless requests to snoop on Canadians, so have no idea how often it happened or if it breached privacy.  Lastly, it looks like up to 4 RCMP officers slept with witnesses over the course of the Surrey Six investigation and trial, throwing the verdict into question.  Four!

Canada won't be granting visas to people from "Ebola ridden countries".  Many people point out that this won't stop the disease from spreading.

Because it's nearly impossible to achieve one legally, women in New Brunswick are inducing their own abortions.

We don't have the budget to build all the arctic ships we are expecting to.

Income Tax Splitting could be really, really messy.  A dream for accountants.  We know that income splitting favours people that have high incomes.  So limiting the tax credit to $2000 is a step in the right direction.  But why is it limited to people with kids?

This is really embarrassing.  We've started photoshopping logos onto the Canadarm.

The overall best selling car.  In all of Norway.  Is the Tesla Model S.  Some people point out that it is hypocritical of Norway to make buying a Tesla cheap through funding provided by their Oil industry.  But I think that's awesome.  If Canada decided to jack oil and gas royalties and use it to fund clean energy programs, that would be a good thing, no?

An opposition Commander in Syria points out that 6 fighter jets isn't going to accomplish much against ISIS.  Biased opinion?  Sure.  Mysterious source?  Of course.

You know who doesn't have confusion about whether or not to buy in to an overly expensive, unproven fighter jet program?  Russia.  That's who.

Buried way, way in the back of an already long bill are some provisions to control working conditions within the CBC.

Hooray for Canada?  A student staged a fake act of racism and filmed it as a social experiment.  Somebody sucker punched the fake racist.  Somebody else pointed out that Islam isn't a race.

It's official.  Communication from Revenue Canada makes no sense.

This is a really great cartoon that explains Obamacare and what is wrong with US Healthcare.

Every once in a while, an issue comes along that is so confusing, you're not even sure which side you are on.  #Gamergate is just such a thing.  If you use that hashtag are you a sexist?  Against sexism?  What if you're criticizing #Gamergate?  Are you allowed to use the hashtag then?  Who the fuck knows.  Anyhow, this post is beautiful.  Not just for #Gamergate, for life.  Read it.

Who to believe? - Week 174 - Aug 25 - Sep 2

I try to keep the swearing to a minimum on this little blog.  Something about "expanding the audience"...but what the fuck?  This is amazing!  Last year, Employment and Social Development Canada put together a report that suggested the Canadian middle class has seen wage stagnation.  Finance Canada is angry because this  "appears to conflict with the general message in Budget 2014 and previous internal briefings", so they put together a new report that says the opposite.  Man.  What the fuck are these guys up to?  How the fuck can we take these guys seriously?  Fuck!

Steve's fancy "We Hate Communists" memorial?  He has appropriated the land from a project for a new Federal Court building.  The name of that unbuilt building/project?  The Pierre Elliot Trudeau Judicial Building.  And they're spending a pile to make it happen.

Oh man...can you imagine saying this shit with a straight face?  CRA is auditing a left leaning think tank because of "bias"...They're aware of the Fraser Institute, right?

The Globe lays out the insane number of "tough on crime" bills that are being introduced (and passed) without anybody really noticing.  Except for this one.  This one was noticed.  There was a massive clerical error made with one of the Cons tough-on-crime bills.  They sent the wrong version to the Senate for review.  Could their own cuts have derailed their plans?

What the fuck is wrong with these stupid anti-science, Conservative zealots?  The PC leader in New Brunswick is arguing that Justin Trudeau is wrong to push for more research into fracking.  Which is a fucking stupid position to take.  This argument that "fracking is safe and has been going on for 50 years" is imbecilic.  The process and scale now is way, way different than it was.  To argue that we shouldn't look into the effects of massive fracking projects is stupid.  Hope this imbecile doesn't get elected.

What does Stephen Harper hope to accomplish with all his tough talk on Russia?  We have nothing to back this up.  Even if we did, what do we want?  World War III?  You're supposed to talk trash behind doors, not to the newspapers.  Only a psychopath would deny the existence of global warming and then suggest that it's effects are an opportunity (the Arctic) and stoke fears that the Russians are coming.  As well, I know one thing an International crisis doesn't need: An official Canadian delegation tweeting snarky comments at the Russians.

Peter McKay posed for a photo in a shirt supporting a gun rights group that supports an end to firearm regulation in Canada.  Take the craziest shit the NRA wants and they want that here.  "No Compromise".  And then...Is Peter MacKay delusional?  Only an imbecile would argue that sex workers are not stakeholders in new prostitution legislation.

More bad deeds with temporary foreign workers.  A Saskatchewan company laid off Canadian workers and brought in TFW's.  And there are some safety issues related to language skills and qualifications in a big Oil Sands construction project.

Veterans groups are questioning why the government is spending millions to commemorate old wars while shafting current veterans.  This is a good question.

Somebody is trying to rally Conservative staffers against their evil oppressors - Conservative MP's.  They point out two interesting things: 1) Of course, the Conservative majority approved raises for MP's, but cut money for office staff, and 2) Libs and NDP pay their office staff better.

"Traditional Family Values".  "Tough-on-crime approach".  "Safe and sensible firearms policy".  Who can argue with that?  What happened to a "steady hand on the tiller".  The article also notes that the Tea Party is about "traditional family values".

Our financially responsible government wanted to mothball a bunch of private jets that the Liberals bought because they were "excessive".  But then kept them, because they used them so much.

The government spent $24M promoting the Keystone pipeline in the US.  It had little impact.

The Tyee speculates that our days of "easy oil" are well and truly gone.  Oil company profits prove it.

The Harper Government hasn't filled a post to oversee the mining industry.  It's been vacant for over a year.

The Conservatives are upset that "the media" dares to not like them...asks for money from supporters.

This is a really...funny?...interesting?...article on how Canadians get off on punishing people.

This article tears Stephen Harper's "not a sociological phenomenon" comment apart.  Some info on why a public inquiry might be called for.

The Harper Government is telling civil servants to delete their e-mails.

A Conservative Senator has to apologize for hiring his girlfriend.

Canada has the most business friendly tax policy in the world.

This isn't even vulture capitalism.  It's like super aggressive alien invasion capitalism.  Funding for Robert Mugabe's brutal genocide can be traced directly back to American hedge funds.

Great news!  An LNG train derailed.  And it didn't explode!  We're making progress, people.

Fat - Week 161 - May 26-June 2

Canada.  Getting fatter.

The NDP points out that the new Privacy Watchdog is supposed to be protecting Canadians from the very laws that he created...which might be a bit of a conflict.

Fuck these guys.  "We have worker shortages because we don't pay very well and we treat people badly so we need to bring people in from outside of the country to flip burgers."  And we need a special meeting with the PM to talk about it.

A report suggests the obvious - with terrible data on jobs and employment, the Government has no idea whether or not there are labour shortages and Temporary Foreign Workers are required.  Also, bringing in people at minimum wage deflates wage growth.  Coincidentally, this article tracks the decline of StatsCan.

I agree that political parties should not be sending partisan mailouts using government resources.  But it seems like the Conservatives do this all the time.  Maybe what the NDP did is worse, and that's why they have to pay this back (maybe)?  But it seems like a bit of a double standard witch hunt.

Russia has a paid army of internet commenters, ensuring a pro-Putin comment isn't too far away in Western news articles about the Ukraine.

The US (finally) appears to be making some stabs at reducing this whole "Climate Change" thing we've been hearing about lately.  Canada, of course, isn't impressed.  And doesn't feel the need to do anything similar.

This seems too crazy to be true.  Former Liberal MP Sheila Copps found a Nato briefing binder in an airport lounge that was left behind by a Conservative MP.  And then she spilled all the gory details in her column for the Hill Times.  Of course, the Conservatives don't respond to the allegations...they question the messenger.

This is kind of interesting...but knowing a bit about procurement, a company can't just enter midstream and say "We can do this way cheaper" and expect the government to respond to this.  Did they put a bid in during the required time period?  If not, they need to just go away.

A Canadian Muslim group is suing the PM for libel.

A Tyee article on the impact of the Russia/China Natural Gas deal on BC's plans.  The short story: not good.  I'm sure Christy will figure out a way to make us "get to Yes!" though.  Notice how official pipeline dudes are saying the same phrase now?

Scaring Russia - Week 155 - April 14-21

Really?  We're sending six CF-18's to Eastern Europe scare big old Russia?

Nigel Wright appears to be let off the hook.

This whole temporary foreign workers thing is a disaster.  Another story out of Saskatchewan where  a bunch of waitresses have been displaced by temporary foreign workers.  This is starting to stoke some crazy racism and anti-immigrant rhetoric.

Conservatives don't like the answers that they're getting on Economic Action Plan Ad questions.  So they're not going to ask the people of Canada what they think any more.  In other survey news, Canadians aren't convinced that pipelines are the answer.

I tend to not put too much stock into these "Conservative insider" reports.  But really...who would be shocked that Conservatives think Pierre Poilievre is a douchebag?  Where has this cartoon been all my life?  From the Tyee article here.  Another summary of the terribleness of the "Fair Elections" Act.

This is an interesting theory.  As Conservative incumbents flock to safer ridings, who is going to fight the tougher battles?  This could impact their numbers at the next election.

My argument against owning Real Estate in Vancouver has long been this - the carrying costs for the average home are far higher than the average annual household income.  If the average person can't come close to affording the average home, how can that be sustainable.  Garth summarizes this nicely.

If the Conservatives love mailing things so much, why the hate for Canada Post? - Week 152 - Mar 24-31

We'll start with a joke.  What is a Conservative?  Somebody that cares a lot about taxpayers money until they get elected.  Eve Adams uses taxpayer funded mailouts to ease her transition into a new riding.

Oh my goodness.  "Sleepy Time" Rod Anders...If he's not making misleading phone calls, he's banking on a non-endorsement from the PM and threatening to sue his opponent.  And seems to be unaware that more than one person can have the same name.  His own party has told him to cut it out.

Of course we have Russia.  Now that Russia has responded with travel bans for our politicians, it's all a giant joke.  So let me ask this question: If we think Russia's travel bans are a joke, than why do we expect people to take ours seriously?  That, and Irwin Cotler claims Russia poisoned him.

10,853 of 10,855 scientific papers published last year (that dealt with global warming type topics) concluded that global warming is very real.  So...it sounds like science has made up its mind, no?  Or are they just making things up to get at those fat stacks of research grants worth thousands?


Somebody else isn't buying into the governments labour shortage argument.  The Parliamentary Budget Officer calls bunk.  Which leads to my favourite headline of the week.  "Tories defend use of Kijiji data in face of opposition ridicule".  Because of course they cherrypick data to suit their policies.


There's a plebiscite in Kitimat on the Northern Gateway Pipeline?  How is that not bigger news?  Enbridge certainly thinks this is big news.  They've sent all kinds of people in to make sure the vote goes their way.  Gizmodo reminds us how terrible oil spills are and how we're not really ready for the next one.


The Conservatives are once again moving to cut off debate on a piece of legislation.  This one contains elements of added Internet surveillance.

Joe Oliver is promising "tax relief".  Great.  Took us years to get back to a "balanced budget", better start cuttin'.  I wonder when his "You're either for these tax cuts or you're a radical tax terrorist" speech is scheduled?

Stephen Harper has a crew of roughly 4 employees working on 24-7 videos highlighting his amazing accomplishments.  For the Jan 23-39 episode, 100 people watched it in English and 19 watched it in French.  Man...I don't feel so badly about nobody reading this blog.


We have a second MP who all of a sudden realized that there was all kinds of election fraud going on a few years ago.  Elections Canada doesn't think much of Laurie Hawn's voter registration fraud story.

Another Conservative spending scandal.  How thick do you have to be to break spending rules the way things are going right now?  Don Meredith expensed a trip to Washington for some kind of prayer meeting.  After it was specifically not approved.  Business Class.  With his wife.  Yeezus H. Chris.  Three MP's went along as well.  Elizabeth May did the whole trip for $980 though...less than what Don Meredith claimed for hotel and food.

The F-35 is delayed again.  This time due to software.  I'd imagine this means costs will go up as well.  Time to jump aboard the gravy train!

It's odd how far out of their way the Conservatives go to block harm reduction strategies, scientific drug use, etc.  Not only here, but on the world stage.  They can't stop harm reduction here, so why not stop it elsewhere?  Insane.

The modus operandi of the Conservatives seems to be push as hard as you can until people freak out enough.  I guess the freak out was enough...they've backed away from their gag order requirements for House of Commons staff.

Seems to be some appetite for a crackdown on temporary foreign worker abuse, in the way of fines.  How did this take so long?

Peter McKay seems to be ready to double down on stupidity, defending the Marc Nadon appointment and thinking about trying it again.

Be interesting to see what happens with the Conservative private members bill on assisted suicide.

This New Yorker/Malcolm Gladwell essay will change the way you think of the FBI and the Branch Davidians.  Crazy, sad stuff.

If individuals are proud of being banned by Russia, what does that say about our own sanctions against them?

I've been struggling to figure out why I'm so troubled by this whole "badge of honour" thing over Russia banning certain Canadian politicians from traveling to Russia.  John Baird here.  Irwin Cotler here.  Everybody else here.  There are just so many reasons why this is an insane thing to do.

I think first and foremost, our politicians actions have shown us how ridiculously useless our own sanctions on Russia are.  We ban you and you make jokes so you ban us and we make jokes.  Nobel Peace prizes for everybody.

Next, everybody hates childish name calling.  Worse, everybody hates childish name calling from politicians.  Now have politicians throw down childish name calling while there's a real international crisis going on and it's just a gigantically ridiculous enterprise.  I expect these jackasses to take things seriously and this doesn't give the impression that they are.

Third, and last...don't poke the fucking bear, you know?  You're...literally...poking a bear.  We're Canada.  Our fighter jets saw action in WWII.  We can't afford to poke a bear.

Legally Challenged - Week 151 - March 17-24

How many court challenges did the Conservatives lose this week?

#1 - Marc Nadon's appointment to the Supreme Court is overturned.  By the Supreme Court.
#2 - A BC judge grants a reprieve for previously legal, home grown, medical marijuana.
#3 - They aren't allowed to retroactively eliminate early parole.


The Conservatives refuse to release the information that Pierre Poilievre used to come up with his election reform laws.

Remember all those ads over the last few months about cheaper cell phone rates?  That we spent millions of dollars on?  Ya...cellphones are getting more expensive.

Russia laughs at our sanctions.  "Sleepy Time" Rob Anders thinks we should go to war.

Flaherty is out and Joe Oliver gets a promotion.  Every time I think of Joe Oliver I can't help but think of drunk Joe Namath.  This article points out that Joe Oliver's riding is linked to the robocalls scandal.  This article points out that he's a bit of a dinosaur.

It's funny when the Conservatives launch an attack ad, and it makes you think "Hey, that's actually a pretty good idea!"  Somehow, I think the Conservatives spending a lot of money to convince us that Justin Trudeau will legalize marijuana might backfire.

Yet another reason to legalize pot.  Illegal outdoor grows are destroying forests in California.

An article about Stephen Harper's obsession with the original Trudeau.  Clouding his judgement perhaps?

I don't know why this never came to me before.  It took wolf killings to do it.  Christy Clark is the Canadian Sarah Palin (this is good news!  I actually tried to put the "h" in the last name, not the first.  Things are good when you can't remember how to spell "Sarah Palin").  Now, I know this is a pretty unfair comparison to make to any human being.  But hear me out.  The simplistic folksy sayings.  The love of natural resources.  The unexpected rise to power.  Quitting politics to become a political pundit.  A distrust of science.  Killing wolves.  It all fits.

I know StatsCan can get things wrong.  But I like that they're so directly contradicting the Conservatives "lack of skilled workers" claims.  I wonder how temporary foreign workers fall into this though?

Military supply companies are sensing blood in the water.  A French conglomerate is pitching fighter jets, and jobs, for Canadians.


A Conservative Senate Staffer has been accused of fraud and breach of trust, after promising influence over contracts.

This article highlights how much funding has been cut for Cities from the Feds and Provinces.

I haven't read an article on Quebec in quite some time that makes me feel good about that place.  They seem to be making it difficult for students to vote in the upcoming election.  Perhaps I'm a closet Conservative?  But then again...now they're talking about banning burkas.  This must really be a tough one for the Conservatives to figure out which side they are on.

This is what happens when you ignore science.  Wait.  No.  This is what happens when you use some science to create a frankenstein monster and then ignore warnings that science presents with you.  Big Agriculture made a rootworm "proof" corn and it turned out badly.  There was another way, though.  There's always another way.

I like articles that cut through the noise about corporate taxes and how corporations game the system.  This Salon article highlights how tech companies transfer patents to offshore holding companies and use that to siphon profits in to low tax countries.  It's not a fair system.  It doesn't create jobs when a company skirts tax law.

Back at it - Week 119 - Aug 6-12

Well I've been away the last week.  Has the coverage suffered at all?  I think not, dear readers.  Okay, on with the show.

I'm expecting the Pamela Wallin reveal to be a calamitous shitshow.  Should be awesome!

Canada has decided that Russia warrants criticism for harbouring Edward Snowden.

More "John Baird pissed off at Russia" news...John Baird is angry about Russia's anti-gay laws.

A Conservative women's group is angry at John Baird for his anti-Russian, pro-gay stance.  I'm sure they would all be treated very well over in Russia.  The women, that is.

John Baird basically tells them to fuck off.

Mac Harb.  Oy.  Mac Harb.  Last I saw, the "loan" was up to $230k.  Gotta pay back those expenses somehow, I guess.

Capitalism in action!  The rail company that caused the Lac Megantic disaster has filed for bankruptcy.  Caused a giant explosion that killed dozens of people and levelled a small town?  Don't worry about it!  We got all kinds of legal protection to make sure you don't have to pay.

An interesting story on Stephen Harper's refusal to vacate 24 Sussex Drive to complete renovations.

BC has a veto on Senate Reform?

Elections Canada has found quite a few instances of illegal corporate donations during the last election.

The Pirate Party is coming to Canada!

Okay.  It suffered a bit.  Sorry.

International Futility - Week 4 - May 25-30

It's easy to look at US failures to respond to natural disasters and cast all sorts of judgement. They just always seem to get it wrong. Perhaps our sparse population makes it somewhat easier to respond to disasters? When's the last time a major Canadian city was hit by a disaster? We also don't seem to have the giant areas jammed full of the poor and disenfranchised. But I read this story about the initial reluctance to send in extra help to aid in Quebec floods (via boingboing) and I worry. This doesn't sound very Canadian. And just to put this in to perspective, an interesting take on what might happen when the big one hits (hint - we're kind of screwed).

Speaking of not sounding Canadian...when did we become the rightest of the Israel supporting hawks? Aren't we supposed to be the source of reason and sanity in the worlds conflicts? Apparently Stephen Harper is...actually, I'm not even going to suggest that he's holding things up, because the rest of the G8 probably isn't listening to him... Stephen Harper is crafting his own policy on Israel and the Middle East. As an added bonus, here is a Salon article about the image that Israel has crafted. Oh...wait...he is actually holding things up now.

And speaking of right wing posturing...A "Russian Diplomat" speaks out about Canada' overly paranoid hang-up on Russian expansion into the arctic. Key quote - "It could come out of a lack of knowledge of reality". Indeed, my Russian friend, indeed.

And lastly, this final story represents the complete lack of accountability in the Conservative government. Long story short - Jason Kenney's office sends out fundraising information on House of Commons Letterhead. Jason Kenney says it's an honest mistake, but scapegoats member of staff. Jason Kenney rehires said member of staff, several months later. So not only are they accepting no responsibility for the mistake, but they're not even holding their scapegoat accountible. The shocking thing is that they don't seem to care and that it doesn't seem to matter. At least hire him in a different ministry. It's insulting that they can't even get a tiny bit creative about this.