When history delivers its final judgement on Stephen Harper and his porker Cons, its verdict will be harsh.They will be found guilty of so many foul things, from corrupting our democracy, and raping our Canadian values, to helping to torch the planet. But one of their biggest crimes could turn out to be not preparing the country for the Swine flu pandemic.Because they chose to spend FIVE times as much money selling their Porky Action Plan...than they did on ads educating the public. So even as the second wave hits us the result is mass confusion.Does the H1N1 vaccine give you the flu? Will it cause autism or Gulf War syndrome? Is it a cover for a sinister government plan to kill people? Is a plot by big pharma to sell drugs, make money and rule the world?Or madness.With people getting their information from old wives tales like this one.Rather than from doctors like this one.Why do people who would never use Google, or the opinions of friends and colleagues, to decide that they…

The problem with communication ... is the illusion that it has been accomplished.George Bernard ShawI like signs. I take pictures of signs. I find they really help one navigate the world...and not only that they help answer questions or give directions but not all signs are created the same and in many instances there there is never a sign when you need/want one? And more frustrating are the signs that are freakin huge blocking the view...and especially signs that are really really really inappropriateSome you could just plain do without like the one that says here's to the women who like men who like beer! Not only is this for a icky brand of beer but it is discriminating! Hows about the women who like men who drink scotch or the women who like men who like a fine merlot oh how about even the women who don't like men at all no matter what they drink? And I have to ask why put up a sign? society is continually taking women for granted, not…

To expand on earlier discussions of the value of theatrics, the main problem I have with the tactic is that all too often, the signal-to-noise ratio drowns out any point that may be made, and indeed, can often backfire. And nowhere can this be illustrated better than in the latest bit of theatrics engaged by [...]

Seantors Byrd and Kennedy were taken to hospital during todays inauguration luncheon. It appears that Kennedy suffered convulsions. That sound serious. Byrd, perhaps less serious, had a problem eating.. 

I know that for Liberals/Conservatives the term "deranged Socialist" is simply redundant, but what about within Socialist/ Leftist discourse? Is there a place on the Left for a democratic socialist whose politics include not only Marx, but also Christ, Gandhi, Beckett, Levinas, Derrida, Lacan and a healthy splash of Zizek to name a few. From Marx, I take political economy, from Christ and Gandhi I take strength, compassion, radical love, and a praxis where means and ends are inextricably linked such that the magnanimity of a goal never justifies achieving that goal ignobly. From Beckett and Derrida I take a path of interminable openness parodic laughter and intellectual humility. From Levinas and Lacan I take a respect for alterity. And from Zizek, I take the wonderful zeal, intensity, contradiction and brilliance that is Zizek.I know I'm asking a lot, but at this point I'd settle for a home where the Left tolerates debate and doesn't respond with knee-jerk reactionary feeding…

Vic Family Values Toews has rushed to the defence of Rahim Jaffer. No doubt, just what Jaffer was hoping for. Maybe.On the other hand the diatribe circulating from the pen of the 'Peg Family Man just might inflame Jaffer's smoldering political career further. Not to mention the Harper party reputation as defenders of all things family-related.Kady O'Malley thinks Toews doth protest too much in his slagging of Mia Rabson, the Winnipeg Free Press, and David Akin. Setting aside that Kady has the "methinks" at the wrong end of the actual quote, and setting aside the pity that we cannot use another recently revived verb -dost-, the fact is that perhaps Mr. Toews has a past axe to grind with the Free Press.That axe dates back to rumours, in 2008, that he was seeking a Bench appointment of his own. It was duly reported by the FP (and others) at that time. The story was also linked to his personal life by some. Though it seems that Free Presser Ms. Rabson did not get into the "details".…

Okay... Not sure if I got this correct... All the facts, so to speak... Please correct me if I'm wrong:- Jaffer stopped for apparently driving intoxicated, speeding (very much above posted speed), and what was indicated as possession of Cocaine...- It was in the riding of his wife - Helen of Tory...- The judge publicly admits, with a smile, "you got off easy"...- Judge was supposedly appointed by Federal Conservative Justice Minister, when he was Provincial Conservative Attorney General...- People of the same "political feather" tend to flock together, and in a small rural riding there is sure to be some "flocking" going on...Curious... Flocking curious if you ask me... Coin-ki-dink city...I'm assuming the Federal Conservatives are full of $h!t when they pay lip service to being "tough on crime" (you know, maintaining conservative "appearances" and all... keeping the "base" happy, while scaring the $h!t out of average Canadians in an environment of rapidly declining crime…

Barbara O'Brien -- who blogs at Mahablog, and who occasionally writes for Crooks and Liars and Alternet -- reflects the frustration many Americans feel as they watch President Obama attempt to steer a health care bill through Congress. We tend to forget that Tommy Douglas faced many of the same frustrations and distortions in his battle to bring public health care to Saskatchewan. It was his drive and his courage which made Medicare a reality for all Canadians. Like Senator Kennedy, Douglas left a legacy which has long outlived him.The benefits of public health care are myriad. In this guest post, Ms. OBrien touches on just a few:Would Health Care Reform Help You?Many obstacles and stumbling blocks remain in the way of health care reform. The House and Senate bills will have to be merged, and then the House and Senate both will vote on the final bill. We don’t yet know what will be in the final bill, or if the final bill will be passed into law. Passage will be especially…

Small Dead Animals blogger Cyber Junk wonders if we shouldn’t be more concerned about plants than humans. Geraniums and Rhododendrons Launch Protest … for a greater carbon footprint: Plant growth shuts down at 150 ppm, so the Earth was within 30 ppm of disaster. Terrestrial life came close to being wiped out by a [...]

Please join us in Quebec City this May 28-30 for another round of PEF sessions at the Canadian Economics Association meetings. Here is the tentative PEF line-up for the meetings. Friday, 09:00 - 10:30 PEF I: Was Financialization Rational for Capital? Organizer: Robert Chernomas (U. of Manitoba) -Fletcher Baragar, “Why Financialization, Why Now?” -Robert Chernomas, “From Growth Stagnation to [...]

Due to lack of snow, the British Columbia Winter Games, held recently in Terrace, were forced to replace the biathlon event with a "summer biathlon", where competitors run and shoot instead of cross country ski and shoot. The average snowfall in Terrace in February is 30 inches and 16 inches in March.  Terrace is located about 1000 km northwest of Vancouver, where the recent Winter Olympics also faced major issues due to lack of snow. Although they did manage to truck in snow and thereby avoid replacing snowboards with skateboards. The photo shows a typical summer biathlon, although it is not the one held at Terrace during the B.C. Winter Games, which I could not find a photo of. The games were held over a few days last week and this past weekend and were reportedly very well supported in Terrrace. There was plenty of snow in the mountains for downhill skiing, by the way.. The "summer" biathlon is an established sport, and a totally appropriate replacement for biathlon,…

We are sexually active longer than women.Don't take my word for it sports fans; I got this out of today's Ottawa Citizen.They quote research from the University of Chicago that says that ladies tend to fold their pubic tent when they hit 66; men hang on until they are septuagenarians.WFDS

View video on CTV website Hundreds of residents gathered in Belwood on Tuesday night for a public meeting into a proposed wind farm project. Many chose the meeting as an opportunity to protest. Opponents say they’re worried about the landscape as well as the possible health hazards and economic impact of the turbines. Invenergy held the public meeting [...]

Reuters reports that an extensive study at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, USA discovered that ladies who drank one or two drinks a day were less likely to gain weight than those who abstained. That is one or two drinks a day; drinking beaucoup drinks a day, well, that is a different story and I think we all know what that story is and it is not pretty.Still, is cool that a pop or two will keep your weight in check.WFDS

I haven't really been following the story of the attempted demystification of abortion by Angie Jackson, aka Angie the Anti-Theist, the woman who was live-Tweeting her medical abortion and reaped a whirlwind of abuse and threats for it. She has a very odd background. She grew up in a bizarre cult that glorified fertility and childbirth and demonized medical intervention.Twenty-seven years before the YouTube video documenting her home abortion, Jackson was born at home in what her grandmother, a fringe Christian leader named Carol Balizet, called a "Zion home birth," conducted without doctor, nurse, or midwife; without any medicine or medical intervention of any sort; and relying only on prayer and faith in God to get through a safe delivery. Balizet is a Christian author of apocalyptic thrillers who came into her life's work when she started attending the home births of women in her Tampa community as a "spiritual midwife."This practice, which Balizet tried out first on a young…

There is a sad truth in this statement. I had lunch today with someone who discussed his days in Africa and we agreed that Robert Mugabe was a brutal tyrant who destroyed Zimbabwe. We spoke openly and without fear -- because the tyrant is far far away. Remember the old joke?"Rabbi, is there a blessing for the Czar?A blessing for the Czar? You want a blessing for the Czar?Yes Rabbi, I do. In that case, "may G-d bless and keep the Czar ... far away from us". James Morton1100-5255 Yonge StreetToronto, OntarioM2N 6P4416 225 2777www.jmortonmusings.blogspot.com

The passenger was charged.OMG, this is for true. CBC on The Rock reports that "A man sitting in the passenger seat of a car driving down the wrong side of an eastern Newfoundland highway has been charged with impaired driving ."The wrong side. That were the tip off."Police said the 55 year-old Bonavista man was teaching a 21-year-old Upper Island Cove woman how to drive on Thursday when an officer pulled the car over." The man blew three times the legal limit; the woman blew dumb.Wrong way on the freeway, I mean, c'mon darling.Still I am sure a quick call to Rahim Jaffer's lawyer will settle it all for our hero.WFDSRead more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/newfoundland-labrador/story/2010/03/04/nl-impaired-passenger-304.html?ref=rss&loomia_si=t0:a16:g2:r2:c0.0891693:b31346164#ixzz0hnpkxYor

James Morton1100-5255 Yonge StreetToronto, OntarioM2N 6P4416 225 2777www.jmortonmusings.blogspot.com

The conspiracy nuts are at it again. How do a few people with backgrounds in anything but engineering or physics manage to "prove" that 9/11 was a put up job? Some people thought Jack the Ripper was an illegitimate son of Queen Victoria and THIS was a cover up. This and the fact of corruption in the London police led to riots in that city in the 1890s. Conspiracy theories make everyone who is "radical" look like a fool. Maybe that's the idea? Check this out... http://layscience.net/node/124. also http://www.thenation.com/doc/20060925/cockburn. NOW some of these characters are being labelled as "subversives". Is this the modern version of the Reichstag fire? Clowns are being put forward as legitimate enemies of the state and the nuts will bloom like penicillin in a dirty petri dish. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2310BCfoYw

I just read an article in Hill Times, and I was quite surprised at what the journalist did NOT pick up on. There was a big fat quote from Rob Anders that illuminated a potentially major breach of the elections act. Remember the in-and-out scandal? This one ought to be MUCH clearer, and easier to quantify and penalise the CPC candidates who exceeded their spending limits.