tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8994128920576903902012-01-31T04:26:54.491-05:00Imperfect, but still my, observations on the world of politics, religion, business and entertainment. I just write it as I see it -- I'm not necessarily saying it's the way things ought to be. Comments semi-moderated.BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.comBlogger20051100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-8656213309978931142012-01-30T15:24:00.003-05:002012-01-30T19:47:13.232-05:00

The struggle for equal rights never ends and must never end.    Recent events in two parts of the world, seemingly disconnected but linked by the common element of who the targets are, are a reminder of this. Firstly, the guilty verdicts yesterday in Kingston in the so-called "honour killings" of Zainab, Sahar and Geeti Shafia and Rona Mohammad Amir are not only welcome but perhaps finally

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-18269973625739135352012-01-18T15:08:00.006-05:002012-01-18T19:52:07.899-05:00

This week, the Prime Minister expressed aloud concerns many of us Canadian of all stripes have had either openly or privately – that Iran is a ticking time bomb with its nuclear program which without a shadow of a doubt has only one aim, to create a nuclear bomb that would threaten Israel. Meanwhile, the PM has been critical of “outside interference” in the debate over piping the oil sands

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-41070705370646133172012-01-16T15:02:00.004-05:002012-01-16T15:18:52.155-05:00

Towards the end of last week, news emerged that the Harper Government was taking the position that thousands of same sex marriages in Canada may have never taken place because the institution was not valid in the home countries of the couples who took out marriage licenses here.    Therefore, a gay or lesbian couple who later decides to get a divorce cannot access our courts to dissolve something

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-77416571643703597602012-01-04T14:32:00.002-05:002012-01-04T14:45:54.945-05:00

We learned today that the disgraced Roman Catholic bishop of Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Raymond Lahey, was sentenced to time served for possession of child pornography on his laptop which he was stupid enough to have in his carry-on and not in checked luggage.   Time served. Some may say merely being disgraced in public fashion is punishment enough.    But I have to disagree.    As a member of the

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-60321424656607677222011-12-28T15:12:00.003-05:002011-12-28T15:14:06.501-05:00

Less than a week to go before the Iowa caucuses.  And Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX) has chosen to fan the flames.    First, by associating with the most unscrupulous of televangelists (which I wrote about a few months back).   Now he has come out (pardon the expression) against an entirely predictable but still unwisely chosen target.   Courtesy of Ginny Grimsley's News and Experts site comes this short

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-33672849956336141012011-12-20T10:25:00.001-05:002011-12-20T10:30:59.557-05:00

It's been a little over thirty six hours since North Korea revealed that Kim Jong Il died from an apparent heart attack on Saturday.    It was well known that Kim was in ill health for years but his passing poses a huge risk for the West.   Having dealt with Libya with mostly flying colours and disposing the world of Osama bin Laden, US President Obama now has to figure out how to deal with the

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-42231715849586700622011-12-15T12:11:00.001-05:002011-12-15T12:12:39.642-05:00

Several months ago, back in the spring of this year, Radio Canada ran an investigative report regarding the run-off of chemicals from John Munro International Airport at Mount Hope, the highest point in Hamilton.    This was prompted after a lot of fish and turtles were turning up dead downstream in Chippewa Creek which supplies Lake Niapenco and onward to the Welland River.   This water system

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-82123691444232762562011-12-15T11:11:00.002-05:002011-12-15T11:15:05.120-05:00

I knew it was bound to happen sooner or later.   And it did yesterday when Justin Trudeau, son of Pierre, called Environment Minister Peter Kent "you piece of shit."    At least Justin apologized. Of course there was no excuse for it -- but entirely understandable given that Kent was giving a patronizing answer to an NDP member when he was trying to explain why opposition members weren't invited

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-68949765852977635422011-12-14T10:10:00.005-05:002011-12-14T14:50:33.021-05:00

It's been over a week since my last post.   Too much has been going on but I did want to talk about Peter Kent announcing Canada is pulling out of the Kyoto Protocol, or rather forcing the world to pull out of Canada so we don't get fucked with $14 billion in penalties.    It's not too surprising the Conservatives doing this -- they said all along they would.    And the worldwide reaction is

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-6898337813675719352011-12-06T18:41:00.000-05:002011-12-06T18:41:15.289-05:00

No sooner did a "third party" manager come to take control of the financial affairs of Attawapiskat than he was told to get the hell out of Dodge.   Chief Theresa Spence must have channeled Howard Beale when she said that her band of 2800 Cree were "not going to taking it no more."   Surprised she didn't add, "We're as mad as hell."   Because the events of the last few days have been as

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-1696169577799321702011-12-06T17:59:00.003-05:002011-12-06T18:02:41.024-05:00

Despite the deliberate ballot stuffing and other dirty tricks that Vladimir Putin tried to pull in this week's elections to the Duma, Russia's Parliament, the "United Russia" party fell well way below the two-thirds majority needed to unilaterally change the country's constitution.   In fact it couldn't even muster a simple majority.   Maybe the people of that far-off land woke up and said that

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-114379246268375142011-12-04T13:24:00.001-05:002011-12-04T13:41:18.493-05:00

Yesterday's decision by Herman Cain to drop out of the GOP Presidential stakes (technically, suspending, a legal loophole that allows him to reallocate donations made to him to another candidate or a PAC) really wasn't surprising nor was the timing.    But it was inevitable.    If it was just one woman making sexual harassment complaints it may have raised some eyebrows.   Two, three, four ...

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-43858788001638501962011-12-03T10:10:00.002-05:002011-12-03T10:13:29.854-05:00

Dubya got into a lot of hot water in many circles with his so-called "faith based initiative" (which President Obama has actually continued and broadened to include people of faith who are LGBT) and now Harper appears to want to go down the same path with something called the "Office for Religious Freedom."    Internal memos obtained by the CBC through a FOIA request indicate that Team Harper

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-59083103055329582462011-11-30T10:00:00.001-05:002011-11-30T10:06:05.054-05:00

If this is déjà vu all over again, well it is.   Fearing another crisis like the one in 2008, during the US election no less, those who control the supply of money are again swinging into action.   And once again it's making me ask about our complacency about these things in Canada. In the last hour as I write this, the central banks of Canadam the US, the Eurozone, the UK, Switzerland and Japan

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-23041647259952747112011-11-29T12:12:00.001-05:002011-11-29T12:14:36.646-05:00

It is simply inexcusable that people should have to live in third world conditions in Canada.    Yet that is how people in many First Nations (FN) communities across Canada do live.    And it gotten so bad in Attawapiskat FN, Ontario -- 694 km (432 miles) northeast of Thunder Bay, and which can only be reached by plane from places such as Timmins and Kapuskasing as well as Ottawa -- a reservation

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-61754211221565697452011-11-23T13:28:00.000-05:002011-11-23T13:28:23.296-05:00

The idea behind reinforcing concrete with steel rebar is to ensure the concrete doesn't rip itself out during the expansion and contraction caused by temperature swings. Yet just walk or drive around Hamilton.   You can easily see one or more rebar lines sticking out of light standards, overpasses, tunnels and so forth.   It could just take one bad weather event, or a major spike or crasg of

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-35194883705361520562011-11-21T10:47:00.001-05:002011-11-21T10:51:49.359-05:00

This should really make us all wake up: Someone from Russia (it could have been the government or a private interest, we don't know yet) was able to remotely shut off then back on a second later a pump in Springfield, the capital of the state of Illinois -- and in so doing destroyed it.    While the other pumps kicked in for backup and there was never any real danger that the water in that city

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-6509764083885432342011-11-19T15:04:00.005-05:002011-11-19T15:20:46.708-05:00

In response to some of my recent posts about the tar sands, I got an e-mail the other day in reply that was quite compelling enough that I asked the writer if I could use it here.   He agreed provided I not use his last name.   I am okay with that, so here are some thoughts from Jared: ***** Dear Robert:  I'm a long-time reader, first time contacter of your blog posts. I really enjoy your

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-75914731674278213342011-11-16T11:01:00.002-05:002011-11-16T11:08:23.512-05:00

You'd think that if a bridge carries a railway then it should be the railroad company that pays for repairs and/or replacement.    Not necessarily.   Hamilton has about 400 bridges across the vast city, many of them downloaded to the city years ago.   And there are seven, all of them for the steel wheels, where no one is sure who owns them.    Another, the underpass that carries Centennial

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-84021613969464141482011-11-16T10:12:00.001-05:002011-11-16T10:18:44.566-05:00

No sooner did Dominique Strauss Kahn manage to stave off sexual assault charges in Manhattan than he now faces allegations he has ties to ... a call girl.   In northern France.   For €500 to 1500 -- a night.   (The French newspaper L'Express has much much more in their article published last night -- sorry, it's only in French.   Over 20,000 sent and 10,000 received SMS messages as well.    Even

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-36965590352611610032011-11-15T11:19:00.005-05:002011-11-15T18:27:33.263-05:00

The in-Chapter 11 Hour of Power Ministry is so over its head that it reluctantly decided to sell off its flagship piece of real estate in Garden Grove, California.   The bidding war for the Crystal Cathedral has come down to three candidates, but only two of them are really credible, reports the LA Times:   the Disciples of Christ affiliated Chapman University, which would buy the property (

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-16273091860794699902011-11-14T09:53:00.005-05:002011-11-14T10:09:01.476-05:00

The Brady Law in the States, which is supposed to ensure felons don't have access to guns (they are supposed to be flagged by a background check), has proven to be a joke, the NYT reports today.   In just one state -- the State of Washington -- nearly 3300 convicts have had their "right to bear arms" that they forfeited, restored.   In one case, a man out of jail for just two months shot dead his

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-14839153216654790192011-11-12T10:38:00.001-05:002011-11-12T11:00:22.614-05:00

It was a big surprise but also a delight to hear that Hillary Clinton's State Department has ordered Trans Canada Pipelines to reconsider the proposed route of the Keystone XL project, in particular the section that would have gone through Nebraska's Sandhills.   As a result final approval has been put off until sometime in 2013, a year after the next presidential election; but it also means TCP

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-51184111062745294822011-11-10T11:32:00.001-05:002011-11-10T11:36:03.245-05:00

Last night, Rick Perry, the most bloodthirsty governor in American history (he has permitted 234 legal murders and counting) had a major big time brain freeze when asked what three agencies he would try to cut from the US government (presuming of course Congress agreed).    It's not just how he stalled but what he stalled on.   He named Commerce (which would mean the end of official weather

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-64237318399750979372011-11-09T11:14:00.000-05:002011-11-09T11:14:43.820-05:00

The Tea Party in the States got a huge slap in the face in yesterday's off-year elections in the States.    Among the biggest ones: Voters in Ohio rejected by a huge margin a law that effectively placed public servants in a "right to work state" situation. Maine voters approved same day voting registration, making it a "normal" democracy like Canada (this principle is opposed by Tea Partiers

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-2403371418221688622011-11-09T10:43:00.002-05:002011-11-09T10:48:57.722-05:00

After sticking around what seemed like forever, and beating off one sleaze scandal after another, the world's most powerful womanizer, Silvio Berlusconi, has finally said he's going to resign after bond markets pushed up the yield of Italy's 10 year bonds to 7.25% (according to Bloomberg).   Compare that huge rate with fellow euro traveller Germany with a yield of just 1.7% -- practically giving

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-56893594840890073452011-11-06T13:53:00.001-05:002011-11-06T13:59:50.469-05:00

Among the most commonly held misconceptions about immigrants:   They don't pay taxes, they steal jobs, they are criminals, they're a burden on our social safety net.    All four are demonstrably false -- they do pay taxes at the same rates as the rest of us, they create jobs, they are more law abiding than native-born citizens, they tend overall not to rely on social services.    This past week,

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-91675058283090200652011-11-03T18:45:00.001-04:002011-11-03T18:46:25.318-04:00

It is truly unbelievable the game of chicken we've seen played this week in Europe.   Just one week ago, Greece's PM George Papandreou, was handed the deal of the millennium - a write off of 50% of his country's debts -- and he caused havoc when he wanted to put the sweetheart arrangement to a referendum.   He came dangerously close to being overthrown by an internal putsch just this morning but

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-43119172461077738762011-10-30T13:55:00.002-04:002011-10-30T13:58:55.813-04:00

It is just me, or has the Royal Canadian Legion become a laughing stock for calling in the trademark lawyers to go after -- ready for this -- a group of veteran bikers who raise awareness about the sacrifices the men and uniform make for those of us who don't have the courage to.   Why?  Because of the group's emblem -- a soldier kneeling, rifle in hand, with a helmet on which is emblazoned a

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-36392806962849892862011-10-27T09:17:00.001-04:002011-10-27T09:19:47.835-04:00

Frankly, Rick says it way better than most of us.    The crap that leads 300 students in this country to commit suicide every year because they can't stand the bullying over their being LGBT has got to stop. (Transcript here, thanks Rick for saving a lot of us having to speed transcribe) As much as we should support the "It Gets Better" campaign, it simply isn't enough to say we're against

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-5550387807716086672011-10-26T20:02:00.006-04:002011-10-26T20:18:30.836-04:00

The ongoing between Quebecor Media and the CBC has gotten really intense this week, if the Toronto Star is to be believed.   I agree that the CBC has some issues with transparency and that it would be wise to answer at least some, if not necessarily all, of the Freedom of Information requests that have been filed on how the state broadcaster spends our money.    Short of that I think it may be

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-26585478730053142302011-10-19T11:36:00.001-04:002011-10-19T11:39:59.894-04:00

The Supreme Court of Canada has handed the blog world a big victory.    Writing for a unanimous Court in Crookes v. Newton, Justice Rosalie Abella wrote that merely providing a hyperlink to a definitively or potentially defamatory website does not itself constitute defamation.   She points out that hyperlinks are at one of the hearts of the Internet -- that to provide context to a point one is

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-75283375546339397882011-10-16T13:15:00.000-04:002011-10-16T13:15:37.059-04:00

A week after his half-hearted "apology" Don Cherry tried Take Two.    This time he actually said, "I was wrong."   He also attacked a current player for doing a mocking "nighty-night" pantomine after taking out an opposing player, although also applauding him for quickly admitting showboating was wrong. Is this a new Cherry we're seeing?    Don't make me laugh.    But when a tough guy admits he

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-41502478248474147252011-10-15T10:14:00.001-04:002011-10-15T10:14:42.000-04:00

Finally, after more than a quarter of a century, a Roman Catholic bishop in North America may finally be held to account in the courts -- the legal courts, not the canonical ones. The sex abuse scandal that has plagued the Catholic Church has had a relatively common denominator -- more often than not bishops have played the game of musical chairs, moving an accused priest to another county or

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-67432717280116686082011-10-12T19:54:00.000-04:002011-10-12T19:54:12.133-04:00

It's been a little over 24 hours since the United States announced it had arrested an Iranian operative who was picked up in Mexico for wanting to try to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to the US.    If even half of it is true then it suggests that the country below ours could have averted what would be under international law an act of war, depending on how high up the orders went. Something

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-45703020726403594612011-10-11T09:55:00.001-04:002011-10-11T09:58:08.147-04:00

To follow up on my last post about "Grapes": The three NHL players that Don Cherry criticized last Thursday night -- that three retired NHL players, namely Stu Grimsom, Chris Nilan and Jim Thomson were "pukes," "turncoats," and "hypocrites" for saying the enforcement game in "Le Great Game" has gone overboard --  have decided to fight back.    Mr Grimsom who is now a lawyer has sent a letter

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-7850585454772115172011-10-08T16:28:00.000-04:002011-10-08T16:28:22.972-04:00

Looks like there may be finally trouble in the self-built paradise that Don Cherry has constructed all these years.   At long last the CBC actually disagrees with something he said, openly.    This is in reference to opening night for the NHL two nights ago.   Mr Cherry accused three well known heavy hitters of being "turncoats" for saying they have changed their minds about fighting in hockey

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-84627954729273029742011-10-06T09:52:00.004-04:002011-10-06T11:20:26.241-04:00

Hard to imagine a world without Steve Jobs ... I'll always be a "PC" (personal computer) but I love iTunes ™ -- which made possible the podcast and the ability to download a lot of favourite radio and TV shows as well as discovering new ones, all for free.   NPR and the CBC, among other public broadcasters, have gotten a new lease on life because of the technology and have busted the old ratings

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-52646538371850297052011-10-02T14:56:00.003-04:002011-10-02T14:59:43.925-04:00

Quick whip of two items so let's go: Good on the Supreme Court of Canada for ruling the Insite clinic in Vancouver does not run afoul of drug control policies; more technically that it does but to deny it a "constitutional exemption" would be a far worse outcome than what the needle exchange clinic provides, safe and sterile injection supplies.   Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin, supported by

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-13879907225838913272011-10-02T13:54:00.000-04:002011-10-02T13:54:13.015-04:00

It would be nice if we did it as the States do -- schedule all federal, state and local elections and by-elections such that they all happen on the same day (except in the case of death).    Would save a ton on multiple manual revisions of the voter's list.    But as it is, we're having a busy week for elections in Canada.   Four provinces and two territories are having them -- Manitoba, Ontario,

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-84867958284243647942011-09-25T13:58:00.001-04:002011-09-25T13:59:27.510-04:00

An interesting suggested compromise to the "Palestinian question" came out during the week past.   It would be to recognize the Palestinian state without granting it a seat at the United Nations General Assembly.   The quirk would be that it would have the ability to sit on the UN's agency bodies -- UNESCO, UNICEF, ICAO, IAEA and so forth -- just as the Holy See / Vatican does.   Among the many

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-2583715274800366292011-09-24T11:52:00.000-04:002011-09-24T11:52:31.382-04:00

We're all used to the concept of "shock therapy" when it comes to finances.   Canada went through that process a decade and a half ago in an unpopular but successful attempt to balance the budget and start paying down our debt.   We're running deficits, certainly at a level higher than would be truly prudent but our debt-to-GDP ratio is much lower than it was in years past so it isn't too much of

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-11938843981963705072011-09-20T19:10:00.001-04:002011-09-20T19:11:30.495-04:00

No surprise that the Cons reintroduced, yet again, their "omnibus" crime bill.   And no surprise, again, that the Cons refused to say how much it will cost to implement -- much less if there will be any commensurate transfers to the provinces and territories to offset that cost.   Likely not.   Which means the second order of government will be stuck with an "unfunded mandate." Certainly there

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-54715803687477410112011-09-16T09:48:00.001-04:002011-09-16T09:51:54.658-04:00

Yesterday morning's explosive (pardon the expression) allegations by a former Mountie that the Swiss Air 111 crash in 1998 may have been a terrorist act and not an entertainment system gone haywire is something that absolutely has to be taken seriously, especially if as Sgt Tom Juby claims he was ordered to redact extensive notes he had taken regarding the leads he was following. Many of us are

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-80709918417340314202011-09-14T11:56:00.004-04:002011-09-14T12:01:33.473-04:00

It's taken some time to write this but I can't wait any longer.   It's more than obvious that the Holy See simply doesn't get it when it comes to child abuse. Not that long ago, in July of this year, an independent inquiry in Ireland led by Judge Yvonne Murphy detailed in damning terms the massive collusion that existed between the Bishop of Cloyne and "head office" in Vatican City to ensure

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-11982425360903163182011-09-13T09:31:00.001-04:002011-09-13T09:35:17.936-04:00

Heaven help Hamilton on this one.    Another round of Pan Am chicken. No sooner did it seem we call Red Hat owner Bob Young's bluff and offer to do a renovation of Ivor Wynne than it turns out that the proposal as set was for bleachers and not seats with backs.   So the whole place will have to be torn down and rebuilt (just as well, the lower decks are 80 years old) and rebuilt with fewer seats

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-60531599752741680012011-09-12T09:49:00.002-04:002011-09-12T10:01:35.631-04:00

Dear Leaders: I have made the decision that unless one of you does something so egregious that it merits a comment I will not -- will not --make any running commentary about the current election in Ontario.   Frankly, the platforms are all uninspiring that I wonder why anyone would even bother to vote.   Although of course they should, as will I at some point between now and election day.

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-43326935389384480912011-09-07T09:52:00.000-04:002011-09-07T09:52:15.211-04:00

It's true. It's how the GOP have been able to divide and conquer for most of the last 3 decades in the States, it's worked marvelously well for the Cons in Ottawa and now Tim Hudak, trying to unseat Dalton McGuinty in next month's provincial election, is fuming at the Ontario Liberals' proposal for a $10,000 per head tax credit to hire immigrant workers while Hudak mutes his own proposal for a

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-56902346133961405102011-09-03T09:47:00.002-04:002011-09-03T09:49:03.655-04:00

It may not happen during the current cycle, but I think it is inevitable -- despite the huge gap that exists in a number of policy fields between the Liberals and the New Democrats, some kind of alliance between the two or even an outright merger is bound to happen sooner rather than later.   Unless the Liberals can get a truly strong leader in a strong position to negotiate terms, it could very

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-59906931127416302482011-08-23T20:26:00.000-04:002011-08-23T20:26:25.195-04:00

In probably his most humiliating moment since becoming Manhattan's DA, Cyrus Vance Jr has dropped all seven charges against Dominique Strauss Kahn in the allegation that he raped a hotel worker, now identified as Nafissatou Dialou -- and the courts have also denied Vance's request that a special prosecutor be appointed. Whenever money or an immigration issue is involved, it always seems to be

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com0Hamilton, ON, Canada43.243603 -79.8890749999999943.033356500000004 -80.20463299999999 43.4538495 -79.573517tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-528653099786943602011-08-22T09:15:00.000-04:002011-08-22T09:15:05.851-04:00

Shocking news within the last hour, that Jack Layton, leader of the federal New Democrats, has died. How this shakes down and what it means for Parliament is anyone's guess, but this is no time for a snark attack or schadenfreude. 

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-17798327788219871522011-08-22T09:12:00.000-04:002011-08-22T09:12:00.553-04:00

Looks like the rebels have all but taken control of Tripoli. Adieu, Moammar.  About the only good thing you ever did was dismantle your nuclear weapons (the only other country to have done so to date is South Africa).   Other than that, you'd better have a good explanation for running your country into the ground.

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-75025432979063972552011-08-17T09:57:00.007-04:002011-08-17T10:10:02.749-04:00

The federal Conservative Party ™ can't have it both ways.   It is going after a retired university professor who is using the party's logo within an ad banner on her website asking why it is Canada severely restricts and in the vast majority of cases outright bans the use of asbestos ™ in this country -- while continuing to provide corporate welfare (i.e. tax write-offs) to the asbestos industry

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-9233237238802809672011-08-15T09:59:00.000-04:002011-08-15T09:59:55.324-04:00

Just as former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty -- probably the only guy who's close enough to the centre that he could actually beat Barack Obama in next year's presidential race -- withdrew his candidacy, current Texas governor Rick Perry announced he's running for President.   If you thought Dubya was a nut for believing God actually spoke to him and speaks to him still, fasten your seat belts.

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-48233507063645828762011-08-12T09:20:00.000-04:002011-08-12T09:20:27.337-04:00

It's hard to imagine a world without Wendy Babcock.   She died three days ago at the age of 32.   After a truly horrible life including life on the streets as a sex trade worker, she fought back by getting her GED and then winning admission to York U's Osgoode Hall Law School.   She was getting ready for her third and final year.   I think she would have been a sensational lawyer. I cannot

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-84558593789274119412011-08-10T09:48:00.000-04:002011-08-10T09:48:25.630-04:00

The US Fed dropped its usual pretentiousness and the technocratic language often used in its statements on interest rate decisions and was remarkably clear in yesterday's decision, in which it pledged (by a vote of  7 to 3 with two abstentions) to keep the rate banks charge each other at the previously stated target of 0 to ¼% for at least the next two years.   Short version:  The economy in the

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-55380366842044086072011-08-09T10:01:00.000-04:002011-08-09T10:01:07.992-04:00

While no act of law enforcement, and no austerity measure, can justify the kind of rioting that has happened in the UK the last few days, one cannot help but appreciate the need to vent.   These are not easy times and budget cutbacks can only fuel that frustration.   It also doesn't help when an alleged gang member (and these are only allegations right now) who is also the father of four is the

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-20640490881679112922011-08-08T10:09:00.003-04:002011-08-08T10:14:15.313-04:00

In the absence of any long term prospect for a Free Trade Area of the Americas, Canada has decided to go it alone and try for bilateral agreements.    This started with the Chrétien Liberals but has continued under PMS. To date, we've signed agreements with Chile, Costa Rica, Panama, and Peru.   Of these, Costa Rica was the most ill advised because of its refusal to do anything to stop the child

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-39526030786963561732011-08-06T09:58:00.002-04:002011-08-06T10:01:47.169-04:00

Finally, at least one of the bond rating agencies in the United States has owned up to its hypocrisies -- and slapped down the country's long standing credit rating, from AAA to AA+.    The press release indicates that the agency, Standard and Poors, apparently reconfirmed its decision even after running the numbers a second time at Obama's insistence, this time using the purported $2 trillion in

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-14496147155086557852011-08-03T20:24:00.001-04:002011-08-03T20:26:18.372-04:00

Only in Hamilton.    When Ontario deregulated power in 2002 (huge mistake still, in my opinion) it was left to the local utilities on what to do with the new local power companies which legally had to incorporate separately from the cities they were in.    In our case, the book value was set at $137 million which went into a trust fund.   That fund, appropriately the Hamilton Futures Fund, was

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-84856924410672090282011-07-29T09:53:00.002-04:002011-07-29T10:06:29.542-04:00

While most regions of Canada have imposed moratoriums on "fracking," using jackhammers and / or high pressure water injections to get out natural gas, one province -- British Columbia -- is going, pardon the expression, full steam ahead and allowing our favourite (NOT!) mining company Talisman Energy to draw water from one of the few pure water sources left in the country for the next twenty

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-63924534448242565092011-07-28T09:33:00.001-04:002011-07-28T09:37:42.055-04:00

If what happened last weekend in Norway -- the murders of 70+ people -- were to happen here in Canada, what would our reaction be?   Would we retrench and abandon our decades-old open door policy on immigration and adhere instead to a "Nativist" (i.e. white supremacist) attitude?   Or would we refuse to back down, saying, "Not here, not in our country" with respect to the act alone and keep

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-29257703682534706972011-07-20T09:44:00.002-04:002011-07-20T09:52:22.194-04:00

Now this is interesting ... the "Canadian Transit Company," which sounds like a coalition of the urban public transit providers in Canada but is in fact the Canadian face of the American-owned Ambassador Bridge connecting Windsor, Ontario with Detroit, Michigan, is running a series of ads claiming Premier Dad wants to build a two billion dollar "road to nowhere."   In fact the road would be the

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-21196384691535795062011-07-19T09:52:00.001-04:002011-07-19T09:53:45.484-04:00

Yet another RC bishop has tendered his resignation over the never-ending sex abuse scandal.   This time it's Cardinal Justin Rigali, the archbishop of Philadelphia. One can only hope Joe Ratzinger doesn't take the coward's way out like his predecessor did, and reassigns Rigali to a Vatican job like Bernard Law got, thus granting Law (ironic name isn't it?) diplomatic immunity and therefore no

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-90900759808179694782011-07-18T19:01:00.002-04:002011-07-19T09:16:44.117-04:00

Funny line from the 1999 Simpsons episode "Thirty Minutes Over Tokyo" but it got terribly serious today with one of the whistle blowers being found dead and PM David Cameron cutting short a visit to South Africa (presumably in part to honour Nelson Mandela on his 93rd birthday) so there can be an emergency debate in Parliament on Wednesday regarding all the scandals surrounding Murdoch, Inc.

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-42350035382605502922011-07-15T09:35:00.000-04:002011-07-15T09:35:43.286-04:00

Why was Rebekah Brooks made to fall on her own sword?    What happened to the buck stops here (meaning it's the ownership of the paper, not the editors, who take responsibility)?   Isn't the Murdoch family who should give up News Corporation?    Who's the real pinhead here?

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-49214690166257723322011-07-13T09:34:00.000-04:002011-07-13T09:34:40.694-04:00

The BBC has just reported, as I am writing this, that Rupert Murdoch and his News Corporation is giving up its bid for total control of BSkyB (he presently has a 39% stake in the DTH satellite company and its stable of news and sports channels).   This happened just as the House of Commons was about to vote a motion of censure condemning Mr Murdoch's business tactics and to beg him to give up (it

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-35385723097665413002011-07-12T09:33:00.002-04:002011-07-12T09:42:50.953-04:00

Former British PM Gordon Brown has gone on the offensive against Rupert Murdoch.    He stated today that while both PM as well as Tony Blair's Chancellor, his banking records and e-mails were hacked by the more reputable of Rupert's publications, the Sunday edition of the Times of London.    This is how it was found out, just as one example, that Brown's son has cystic fibrosis long before his

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-39135611656354726742011-07-11T09:32:00.001-04:002011-07-11T09:33:18.699-04:00

I rarely agree with the Harper Government on anything.    But on this one, I do.    We have every right, indeed the duty, to boycott a disarmament conference if the country chairing the meeting is North Korea.   I'm not making this up. How is it possible to trust a country who claims it wants to disarm but has already several warheads in its possession?    They still haven't figured out how to

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-41439012081850663982011-07-09T09:19:00.002-04:002011-07-09T09:30:42.385-04:00

The ever so controversial Sunday paper News of the World, which defies even the vilest of descriptions, is finally folding this weekend after 168 years after it got caught up in even more phone hacking scandals.   The paper has raised eyebrows over the years including "gotcha" conversations with at least two members of "The Firm" -- Sophie Rhys-Jones, wife of Prince Edward; and Sarah Ferguson,

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-70505302564742797242011-07-05T09:32:00.001-04:002011-07-05T09:34:02.481-04:00

Remember the Air Farce joke a few years back about the aftermath of World Youth Day in Toronto in 2002?   How several hundred thousand people decided they needed to go answer the call of nature at the same time and the sewage backed up into the furniture store kitty corner from the air force base where the Mass was held?   The late Roger Abbott said it best, "Talk about Holy Shit!" Well, this

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-49520732379442868802011-07-04T19:12:00.001-04:002011-07-04T19:13:52.020-04:00

Just when when Dominque Strauss-Kahn thought he finally got a lucky break, now a French writer by the name of Tristane Banon has filed a complaint that he raped her in 2003.   DSK in turn has filed a counter-complaint accusing her of filing a false police report. This is definitely a story where all those involved will have way more than fifteen minutes of fame once all the dust settles.   Let

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-18001951112802847912011-07-02T09:38:00.002-04:002011-07-02T13:56:05.914-04:00

The free world was shocked when Dominique Strauss Kahn was charged with sexual assault a few weeks back.   But now, DSK's bail conditions have been significantly relaxed after the Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. (son of Jimmy Carter's Secretary of State) released a letter to DSK's lawyers revealing some disturbing facts about the accusing woman. She has admitting lying about the facts

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-20219984731065764552011-06-29T13:38:00.000-04:002011-06-29T13:38:44.376-04:00

The proposed merger between the Toronto and London Stock exchanges has just been called off -- after a count of the proxy votes determined that there was only a simple majority of stockholders who approved the deal.   The required threshold had been 2/3.   Thank God -- there are some  things Canadian that should stay Canadian period.

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-18656489353581304522011-06-27T19:46:00.002-04:002011-06-27T19:47:59.953-04:00

The US Supreme Court ruled today, 7-2, violent video games are protected by the First Amendment and California had no right to pass a law that banned the sale of such games to people under 18.  The majority judgment was written by that noted sarcastic wordsmith, Antonin "Nino" Scalia, with Sam Alito writing a concurrence.    The dissenters were Clarence Thomas and, in a bit of a surprise, liberal

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-25223142169715773402011-06-27T09:11:00.000-04:002011-06-27T09:11:22.623-04:00

So the postal workers are going back and the mail starts moving tomorrow.   Just as well, but there were much better ways to settle the issue than a forced wage settlement that was even less than what the post office was offering.

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-41956822551582825292011-06-25T09:57:00.000-04:002011-06-25T09:57:42.453-04:00

... going and going ... the debate in Parliament on the back to work legislation for the locked out workers at the Canada Post Corporation, that is.   (Kady O'Malley has a good analysis of exactly what the NDs are up to and how the filibuster is working.)   I have a good friend who works at the sorting plant in Hamilton (and who was also a former letter carrier) so I certainly do empathize with

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-8214260373513403012011-06-24T16:10:00.001-04:002011-06-24T16:24:43.945-04:00

Looks like Lord Conrad Black couldn't catch a break after all.    US Federal Judge Amy St. Eve, who originally sentenced Black to 6½ years in prison on fraud and obstruction of justice, had the case remanded to her after the US Supreme Court narrowed the definition of deprivation of "honest services." Judge St. Eve did make mention of the fact that she received loads of mail from Black's fellow

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-70949702373695530152011-06-21T09:58:00.000-04:002011-06-21T09:58:06.458-04:00

It finally looks like Hamilton is about to get out of the dark ages and allow department stores to be open 24 / 7.   It only makes sense.   Not that I really care for places like WalMart that much -- but why is it that we have to drive to Burlington to buy stuff overnight?   Not everyone works 9 to 5 and there are people who prefer to get their clothes and food in the wee hours of the morning.

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-36858732955373003962011-06-21T09:43:00.000-04:002011-06-21T09:43:27.958-04:00

This fall's election in Ontario is going to be pretty exciting if for no other reason than two of the three candidates for Premier represent Hamilton districts.   Andrea Horwath represents Hamilton Centre (most of downtown and a chunk of the West Escarpment).  Meanwhile Tim Hudak represents Niagara West - Glanbrook.  The "Glanbrook" is that part of Hamilton which is the former town of Glanbrook,

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-29020652324421924382011-06-16T10:24:00.000-04:002011-06-16T10:24:44.126-04:00

I had a feeling that the Boston Bruins were going to win this year's Frederick A. Stanley Cup -- yes, the guy's first name was Fred -- but what happened last night in Vancouver, that is the riots, was inexcusable.   The police knew this was bound to happen.   The game book they used during last year's Winter Olympics simply wasn't going to work.   There's a huge difference between welcoming fans

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-62553617397068047122011-06-14T09:24:00.000-04:002011-06-14T09:24:51.338-04:00

This week the Ontario Court of Appeal is hearing arguments in the case involving three sex trade workers who have asked to have three sections of the Criminal Code, as it is applied to them and others similarly situated, to be declared unconstitutional, upholding an earlier lower court ruling.   It's not really surprising PMS would appeal the decision -- have to cater to his Christianite base

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-41949347528297551692011-06-12T10:01:00.001-04:002011-06-12T10:02:48.530-04:00

My beef this Sunday morning is taxes. I haven't had much time to think about the "revised" federal budget, and there's not much point in tearing it apart, any honest analysis would be as long as the budget paper itself (300 pages plus).     I do give credit for one thing:   I like the fact that the feds will be topping up the Guaranteed Income Supplement by $50 per month for single seniors and

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-18512198954027231222011-06-03T09:15:00.000-04:002011-06-03T09:15:12.313-04:00

Source:   Detroit Free Press.   All I can say is, he put forward an issue many of us don't really want to talk about on the agenda.

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-35435123771391028992011-05-31T09:33:00.001-04:002011-05-31T09:34:09.491-04:00

As reported this morning by the Canadian Press and posted at HuffPo, Québec is serving notice that if Harper continues with his plans to unilaterally "reform" the Senate, it will seek to have such a bill declared unconstitutional.   The province argues that under the current amending formula (which, oddly enough, it has objected to for 29 years) it takes seven provinces with at least fifty

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-21812009193095800662011-05-30T09:45:00.002-04:002011-05-30T09:56:35.273-04:00

Germany's centre-right coalition announced this morning that it is getting out of the nuclear power business entirely.   All seventeen of its plants will be closed by 2022 at the latest.   This has been a long held plank of the "Red-Green" alliance on the left in the FRG although never seriously implemented; but it is a huge relief to those concerned not just with the huge cost overruns of new

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-85896017568060170972011-05-28T09:51:00.002-04:002011-05-30T09:18:21.794-04:00

A very interesting class action lawsuit has been launched here in The Hammer.   It involves students of Redeemer University College and their parents who claim they were ripped off by an enticing "forgiveable loan" scheme to offset the costs of the tuition at the private university.   The "found class" of 500 or so people is demanding $6 million in damages. This is a case I have been reading

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-2190022832549641422011-05-27T09:50:00.002-04:002011-05-27T09:54:45.374-04:00

What a pleasant surprise when I saw the other day that Arianna Huffington launched a Canadian version of the Huffington Post.   I was annoyed, as were other users, that for some reason the US pages were blocked -- fortunately the webmeisters at AOL fixed that problem and you can now "toggle" between the two editions on the "front page" link. With too much right wing media in this country, which

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-2417459597494176652011-05-26T09:16:00.001-04:002011-05-26T09:16:58.458-04:00

The bid of Serbia to join the European Union, perhaps as early as 2014, may finally be on track with today's news that Ratko Mladić has been arrested -- in Serbia.   It's taken far too long, 16 years, but maybe at long last the healing the Balkan region so desperately needs can finally begin.   With EU membership almost guaranteed now, both Serbia and Croatia (due to join most likely at the same

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-84110840860049601462011-05-25T10:25:00.002-04:002011-05-25T10:37:18.217-04:00

A big surprise in last night's by-election in New York 26 -- the north and eastern suburbs of Buffalo, most of the "southern tier" and the western edge of Rochester.   If you live in the Hamilton - Toronto area and therefore get the Buffalo affiliates of the US nets, you couldn't avoid the overly negative commercials.   The surprise -- a district traditionally held by the GOP largely due to the

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-42521637088394695402011-05-24T09:54:00.001-04:002011-05-24T09:55:22.787-04:00

Yesterday, the US Supreme Court said that California is in violation of its own consent decree regarding prison conditions related to overcrowding -- an unfortunate result of the well intentioned but totally misguided three strikes law that applies to even petty thieves -- and ordered the release of 40,000 inmates.   As it is right now, the Golden State incarcerates 148,000 people in spaces for

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-34029653258861811592011-05-20T09:30:00.002-04:002011-05-20T09:36:40.503-04:00

It's quite the provocation in the minds of many, but Barack Obama has done an almost complete reversal of what he said when campaigning in 2008. At a meeting of AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, then Senator Obama said that he supported the Jerusalem Law that Israel's Knesset passed in 1980 that states that the Holy City is "complete and united" -- that is, the eastern half of

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-48611856441904483192011-05-19T09:44:00.001-04:002011-05-19T09:44:58.401-04:00

Several months back, there was a huge storm when PMS cut off funding for Hamilton based SISO, the Settlement and Integration Services Organization effectively forcing it to close down.   At first many felt it was a vendetta that Team Harper had against groups who opposed the Cons' specific immigration policies.   But over the last few months a much darker picture has emerged.   Documents obtained

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-29495934686234451902011-05-17T09:28:00.001-04:002011-05-17T09:29:26.728-04:00

Divorce is never a simple matter.   Especially when it involves Arnold Schwarzenegger and his soon to be ex wife Maria Shriver.   It is just possible if the truth above his love child came out during the 2003 recall, he might have never been elected?   How much better would California be in if someone with real gravitas had been selected?   No, not Arianna Huffington (conscientious but maybe a

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-52827289654262028482011-05-16T09:18:00.001-04:002011-05-16T09:19:19.997-04:00

When I heard the news late Saturday night after work that IMF chief Dominique Strauss Kahn had been arrested for an alleged sexual assault in NYC just as his flight to Paris was getting ready to take off -- presumably, the flight that would take him on the start to his being the almost certain Socialist challenger to Nicolas Sarkozy in next year's French Presidential -- I thought, this is really

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-63383586407673501022011-05-14T11:02:00.001-04:002011-05-14T11:03:37.988-04:00

I suppose desperate times call for desperate measures, hence today's forced flood in rural Manitoba to destroy a hundred or so homes in order to save another 1000 or more.   Still one has to wonder why more preventative measures aren't being taken beforehand.   PMS may continue to deny it but the chances are we're going to continue to have more and more of these "300 year" floods on a much more

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-37397199578273346412011-05-03T15:11:00.001-04:002011-05-03T15:15:38.026-04:00

Results (unofficial): Conservatives 162 NDP 102 Liberals 34 Bloc 4 Green 1 Mr Harper may well have his long sought majority now, but he needs to understand that while he has the power the majority of Canadians who did not vote for him have the pen and the streets.  No more complacency, no more willing submission to que sera sera, we will not be silent.   As long as there is even one lone

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-17260918024161746302011-05-02T15:19:00.003-04:002011-05-02T15:23:32.274-04:00

It's all over but the voting and please make sure you do vote today.   Remember it's "ass-a-hole-as" like Osama Bin Laden who believe that democracy is a sin against God.   More on him in just a second ... but here's my prediction for tonight (remember there are 308 districts so the magic number is 155): Conservatives 130 New Democrats 115 Liberal 46 Bloc Quebecois 17 I'll be so bold as to say

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-65183892997334210292011-04-26T15:07:00.001-04:002011-04-26T15:09:01.362-04:00

Strangely I have had little to say about this year's election in Canada.  I can't understand why since there appears to be an actual race and Jack Layton of the NDP is becoming a viable contender for second place.    (The best I, personally, could hope for is some kind of alliance with the Liberals and NDP that does not need the Bloc.)  But there was something on the news last night that just

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899412892057690390.post-19722004825915865732011-04-05T16:57:00.002-04:002011-04-05T16:58:49.738-04:00

I've been away from this space for a while but I feel I have to speak up about the news that some people were kicked out of Conservative events on the Harper tour because organizers recognized those persons as having been photographed with Michael Ignatieff.   I agree the medium is the message, but that doesn't mean manipulating the medium to make the message.   Most thinking people can see right

BlastFurnacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02561725837264524099noreply@blogger.com0