Contrarian readers who are near a radio or a computer between 12:20 and 1:00 p.m. today can hear the grumpy optimist himself on the Maritime Noon phone-in, where he will be discussing The Wark Principle and other matters with Mike Bradfield and Costas Halavrezos....
Arts policy gadfly and longtime Contrarian friend Andrew Terris commends to our attention a new US study on community attachment, also reported in this morning's Globe and Mail. The Soul of Community study found that money and jobs are not what binds people to place; rather, it's matters of the heart—things like like aesthetics, openness, and ease of social gatherings. Money quotes: After interviewing close to 28,000 people in 26 communities over two years, the study has found that three main qualities bind people to place: social offerings such as entertainment venues and places to meet – the top factor in...
Steve Murphy responds enigmatically to Contrarian's post on Michael Enright's introduction of Jane Taber: I do find that "bias," like beauty, often resides in the eye (or ear) of the beholder (listener). UPDATE, in response to a query: Murphy's comment is not enigmatic in the don't-know-what-he-means sense; only in the wonder-who-he's-thinking-of sense. Hmmm....
A few weeks ago, I posted a critique of an opinion piece in the August 25 edition of AllNovaScotia.com [subscription required] by Prof. Larry Hughes of the Dalhouse University's Computer Engineering Department. Hughes is currently toiling as a visiting professor of Global Energy Systems at Uppsala University in Sweden. Shockingly, Contrarian is not yet daily reading in that particular corner of Scandinavia, so he only recently learned of my comments. Hughes writes: Contrary to what you have written, [my article in AllNovaScotia.com] has nothing to with NSP's existing 2010 or 2013 requirements. The article is about NSP's new 25% renewables...
My old pal Bruce Wark endorses the NDP subsidy for dirty, coal-fired electricity with some knee-jerk left-wing cant contrary-minded views: You're forgetting about an important and well-established principle. Governments should not tax necessities. Sales taxes on electricity and home heating fuels fall most heavily on the poorest Nova Scotians and are therefore regressive. Under NDP pressure, the Tories removed the provincial sales taxes on all home heating fuels. But later, they restored the tax on electricity. The NDP is being consistent in removing the provincial portion of the HST on electricity. Right now, there are thousands of Nova Scotians who are behind...
For years, North River fiddlemaker Otis Tomas had his eye on a giant sugar maple that grew on a hillside near his home. Finally one day, he cut it down. At a Celtic Colours concert in Sydney Mines October 12, musicians from Cape Breton, Vermont, Scotland, and Ireland will play two fiddles, a guitar, a cello, and a harp, all built by Tomas using wood from the fiddle tree....
The provincial budget introduced this week fulfilled the Dexter Government's campaign promise to bribe support middle class consumers with $30 million in annual subsidies for greenhouse gas production. The cynical gambit election promise will rebate provincial HST on residential electricity, an energy source fueled by filthy, health-degrading, planet-destroying coal. It will save consumers about $10 per month. Writing at Rabble.ca, Christine Saulnier, Nova Scotia director of the Canadian Center for Policy Alternative, gives the plan a drubbing. Money quote: This is not a significant saving for those who are struggling to pay their bills. It is, however, a significant loss of revenue...
Buried in a Herald story about Dave Carroll's testimony before a passenger rights organization-sponsored hearing in Washington, lies this little nugget: Last week, for the first time since his YouTube hit went Stage 6 pandemic, Carroll inadvertently flew United Airlines—a long booked connecting flight to a gig in Chicago. As the flight prepared for takeoff, a United attendant, apparently oblivious to Carroll's musical history with the airline, chastised him for not placing his (Taylor?) guitar in an overhead bin. A nearby passenger watched in amusement. "Oh, he’s going to write a song about you," she said....
A Dartmouth manufacturer has come to the aid of a rhinoceros suffering from dry itchy skin in a Georgia zoo. Dr. Hayley Murphy, director of veterinary services for Zoo Atlanta, thought the "dry, flaky, skin [with] some ulcerations" exhibited by Boma, the zoo's black rhino, likely reflected broader health problems. When she met reps from Dartmouth-based Ascenta Health Ltd., at a trade show earlier this year, she decided to try an omega-3 dietary supplement Ascenta markets for horses. An Ascenta news release says Equine Omega-3 produced a dramatic improvement in Boma's skin problems after three months of use. Ascenta also makes human health...
Nothing stirs up readers like English usage. Several have responded to my earlier post about a habit many interviewees have recently developed: beginning their answers with, "So...