Bruce Wark, writing from an HRM neighborhood where the ban on overnight parking is not enforced, critiques my critique of the ban: [Y]ou use "reasonable accommodation" as though you have proved it. It is as though you are saying that your assertion in the first paragraph is sufficient to support what you're saying in the second. The rules of logic say that he who asserts must prove. Furthermore, your assertion that "traffic tsar" Ken Reashor "evinces no interest in reasonable accommodation" is a neat, but logically unconvincing way of first, labelling Reashor as a Russian dictator, then glossing over necessary proof...

24 January, 2011

Contrarian reader Ritchie Simpson upbraids me for whining about prime ministerial ivory tickling to the tune of John Lennon's Imagine. If you don't our political system to be reduced to an unending morass of partisan sniping and snide asides where nothing is accomplished because it may benefit the other side, then please refrain from making small minded comments. The shadow of pettiness covers more than just our politicians. if you want our politics raised out of the morass of point scoring then you must judge yourself as you judge others. I hate to sound like some overly pious prig or worse your...

22 December, 2010

Another leader with image problems takes a page from PM Harper's fakebook: Remarkable parallels here — similar image problem, similar soft-soap remedy. At least Putin didn't sully John Lennon's memory....

18 December, 2010

Canadians tend not to think of Prime Minister Stephen Harper as a funny guy, but check out this anecdote from George W. Bush's presidential memoir, recounted in Maureen Dowd's New York Times column this morning: He writes of a visit to Russia, when Putin showed him his black Labrador, Koni. “Bigger, stronger, and faster than Barney,” Putin bragged. Later, when W. recounted this to Stephen Harper, the Canadian prime minister, Harper drolly noted, “You’re lucky he only showed you his dog.”...

07 November, 2010

Growing discomfort with the military commission trial of Canadian child soldier Omar Khadr, the only western national still held in the US detention centre in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, has apparently propelled the US government to seek a plea bargain in the case. The presiding military judge delayed the trial this week in anticipation of a possible deal. Why now? The Toronto Star's Michelle Sheppard reported Thursday that Omar Khadr's pending trial "has caused discomfort among some of Obama’s advisers, who are concerned about the fact that he was 15 at the time of the alleged offence." Friday's edition of the New York Times,...

14 October, 2010

Canadian-born child soldier and torture victim Omar Khadr, the only citizen of a western democracy still held in the US Government detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, went on trial this week in the first war crimes prosecution of a child soldier in US history. Under Stephen Harper, Canada is the only western country not to ask for the release of its nationals from the illegal prison camp. The Harper government has flouted court orders requiring it to take action in support of Khadr's civil rights. The U.N. Special Representative on Children in Armed Conflict warned Monday that the legality of Khadr's...

12 August, 2010

A column in the UK Guardian by BC writer Douglas Haddow predicts trouble for Canada's economy if an upcoming referendum in California succeeds in legalizing pot this November. [Y]ou may have noticed that Canadians have been behaving uncharacteristically uppity of late. This new-found swagger is a result of Canada having the dubious distinction of being the "least-bad-rich-world-economy" – an honour that would be rather unimpressive if the rest of the G8 wasn't so persistently gloom-stricken...

12 August, 2010
Gus Reed really hates the long census questionnaire:
I admit to some disappointment that you have so totally and uncritically capitulated to the Forces of Social Planning on the census issue. Contrarians need to be contrary. Apart from the indisputably careless design of the long form (or the sloppy posting of an unedited version), there are a couple of things that rankle: Many of the questions are sort of inherently interesting, but that doesn't mean they should be asked. What government policy hinges on knowing the birthplace of my parents (#25)? I like this statement attached to the race/ethnicity question: "This information is collected to support programs that promote equal opportunity for everyone to share in the social, cultural and economic life of Canada." It would be good discipline to have such a statement attached to each question, or at least each section. If the statement is not succinct and understandable, then it's a good indication that someone's just fishing: "We want to know where your parents were born because your government is considering a system of preferential immigration based on national origin."
More argument, and Contrarian rebuttal, after the jump - photos included!
29 July, 2010

Tom Flanagan, the University of Calgary political scientist who once served as Stephen Harper's chief of staff and who has a long history in the Reform, Canadian Alliance, and Conservative parties, tells Meagan Fitzpatrick of Postmedia News he is puzzled by the government's decision on the census: It's just never been an issue in the Conservative movement. It just literally comes out of nowhere as far as I can see...

24 July, 2010
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