Poll

Dec

Potash and the Canadian corporate elite

So the Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan drama is about to come to a head Wednesday with the Harper government’s decision on whether or not to approve the takeover bid by Australia’s mega corporation BHP Billiton.  Most are predicting that Harper will cave under the pressure from Brad Wall, Saskatchewan Party premier and...

QUNFUZ: Things that happened while I was there

Editor's note: the following is a list of things that took place during the author's trip to Palestine a couple of weeks ago.A large demonstration was held in central Nablus calling for the release of the thousands of prisoners held in the Israeli gulag.Israeli forces shelled Gaza.The Palestinian Authority arrested 53 men in...

Sex toys and referendums and school closures, oh my!

 So, today I'm posting a story about sex toys as adult stocking stuffers, and I know I'm going to get a lot of grief over it. First, let me suggest to those who are up-in-arms and furious – get some perspective, would you please? There's lots in life worth being angry over ... school closures or the whittling away of our local...

TECH TALK: You think you've got a virus, so now what?

 So you've looked at some of the warning signs I talked about last week and now you're pretty sure you have a virus. Now what? The most important message I want to get across is that you have to DO SOMETHING. I frequently get told, "I don't have any data to protect, so I'm not worried."   This is a terrible misconception for...

BC Liberals inked 'hidden toll' into Sea-to-Sky deal--and we'll all be paying for the next 25 years

For years, I have often wondered why, in such  ’tough economic times’, the very expensive  Sea to Sky highway was not tolled. I’ve called for it, many of you have called for it, and last year,  even Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson called for it as an avenue for revenue to solve Translinks money woes.   What […]

Atamanenko: CRTC

New Democrats are asking tough questions about foreign ownership in light of the revelation that the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has no research on the impact of foreign ownership in Canada’s broadcast and telecom industries. Speaking to the issue in late July, New Democrat Culture Critic Charlie Angus said the Harper government’s decision […]

The Potash contradiction: Cracks in neo-liberal ideology?

 I have argued that ideology makes you stupid and if you have power it makes you dangerous. One of the best examples is the idiocy of more and more tax cuts with the supposed goal of making Canadian business internationally “competitive.” First, tax rates regularly come about sixth or seventh down the list of factors that […]

Improved criminal records checks will not lead to better outcomes for children in care

The BC Ministry of Children and Family Development has announced that it will require more frequent criminal records checks for foster parents and caregivers of children in care – every three years instead of every five. The ministry will have access to databases from police, the courts and corrections. “BC’s programs for children at risk […]

TECH TALK: It's flu season ... is your computer infected?

  The computer version of the flu is called 'malware'. Malware is a global term for computer viruses, trojans, spyware, keyloggers and other bad software. There are so many different categories, and so many specific examples that don't comfortably fit within just one category, that it's easier just to call all of them "malware"....

The Green Party...of small business?

 When asked recently what she thought of Jack Layton’s proposal to increase the payout of the Canada Pension Plan (by gradually increasing premiums paid by workers and employers) Elizabeth May, the leader of the Green Party replied:“I’m not sure why Jack would propose that. I think that’s a very poor idea. It would constitute...