I Prefer The Term Heathen

But if Manitoba PC leader Brian Pallister wants to wish "infidel atheists" a happy Xmas than I'm OK with it.  Remember, his bunch used to burn our bunch in pyres and throw us in rivers to see if we'd float.  So...definite progress.

Great New Game For Holiday Shopping Season!

Waiting in Line 3D!  Jump up and down!   Look from left to right!  Punch yourself in the face to stay awake (or when you think to yourself "I could be watching football right now!").  A stunning recreation of the holiday shopping experience.

Help Me, I'm Trapped At Tim Horton's

...while the wife fights for scraps at a Black Friday sale.

I don't frequent Tim's, ever since our repressive Conservative government made them a symbol in the Canadian culture wars. Basically, every cup you drink is like voting for Hitler.

And I remember its being on the bitter side; this stuff is not 100% awful.  Although I hear the '36 Olympics were pretty fab too.

Socialism: Your' Spelling It Wrong

From the envelope of an NDP fundraising letter:

You know, when the NDP became official opposition they raided their provincial and municipal machines to staff their federal office.  So this is the work of their best and brightest.  Probably got approved personally by Mulcair.

And they call Justin Trudeau dumb.

Buddies In Bad Times Denied Federal Funding

The Department of Canadian Heritage has decided to stiff  'em

This is not the first time that Canadian Heritage has withheld support from us. It happened once before. However, when this occurred, we received specific indications from the department on where our application fell short. What is troubling this time is that we have not been given any clear indication as to why we no longer meet their criteria. This has left us surprised and confused. Why do we no longer meet the program’s objective? We did not propose any significant shifts to the festival in our application. There has been no announced change in policy or priorities. The only source of new priorities that we can see at Canadian Heritage is the appointment of the new Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages, the Honourable Shelly Glover.

This will become news, but hasn't yet.  Just for fun, here's another thing I wrote about the relationship between Harper's Tories and the LGBT community.  It's"tortured", to say the least, though in using that metaphor I certainly wouldn't wish to offend any S&M fetishist who might want to vote LPC.  My apologies in advance.

H/t

There's Another Forum Poll Out

But I'm not going to link to it or even tell you what its about.  Because why bother?  I will just say that the one media outlet that's picked it up seems ashamed of the fact.  At least, they're not promoting it anywhere.

JRAN On Canada's Refugee Policy

In the resurrected Canadian Jewish News:

On Dec. 1, the Jewish National Fund will be holding an event to raise funds for the Stephen J. Harper Hula Valley Bird Sanctuary Visitor and Education Centre in Israel. The facility itself sounds like a wonderful place to visit and an important and safe refuge for migrating birds. Yet it is ironic that a prime minister who is responsible for making it more difficult for families to find protection in Canada would have this facility named for him. 

Read the whole letter through the link.  Coincidentally, Canada the day this letter was published, The Harvard Immigration and Refugee Clinic (HIRC) released  Bordering on Failure: Canada-U.S. Border Policy and the Politics of Refugee Exclusion.  From the executive summary:

...this report finds that

1.Canada'is'systematically'closing'its'borders'to'asylum'seekers'and'avoiding' its'refugee'protection'obligations'under'domestic'and'international'law;''

2. Through' the' Safe' Third' Country' Agreement,' Canada' jeopardizes' asylum' seekers’'ability'to'obtain'fundamental'legal'protections'by'returning'them' to'the'United'States'despite'clear'deficiencies'in'the'U.S.'asylum'system;''

3. The'Safe'Third'Country'Agreement'has'prompted'a'rise'in'human'smuggling' across' the' CanadaFU.S.' border,' making' the' border' more' dangerous' and'disorderly,'and'raising'security'concerns'for'Canada'and'the'United'States.!!'

So there you have it.

Giant Sloth: Its What's For Dinner

From The Archaeology News:

Most scientists agree that humans began arriving in the Americas between 13,000 and 15,000 years ago, and the Clovis people of North and Central America are generally considered the "first Americans." But new fossil evidence from a streambed in southern Uruguay could challenge such theories.

Results published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B suggest the presence at the site of human hunters who may have killed giant sloths and other megafauna. That itself isn't odd, but the site, called Arroyo del Vizcaino, has been radiocarbon dated to between 29,000 and 30,000 years old—thousands of years before people were thought to be there.

My favorite bit of the article is this:

The date of Arroyo del Vizcaino may make some archaeologists cringe: South America's earliest human settlement at Monte Verde in Chile dates to only 14,000 years ago. 

Because this ignores the fact that a deeper layor at the MV site was dated to 33,000 BP.  But Tom Dillehay, who has done most of the work at Monte Verde, had so much trouble getting the earlier dates accepted that he never really pushed the apparently older material.

In any case, here's what the folks at Arroyo del Vizcaino actually found:

(c) Surface modification of bones

No carnivore tooth marks were identified. Nearly 59% of the bones collected show modifications with features identifiable as trampling marks [26], with over one-third of the bones exhibiting trampling abrasion on more than 25% of their surface area (see electronic supplementary material, figure S7). Furthermore, 40 elements (nearly 5% of the identified specimens, a percentage similar to the proportion in human sites [23]) show marks that have macroscopical features consistent with human agency (figure 4; electronic supplementary material, figures S8–S13). Ten of the bones that showed little or no trampling abrasion in the studied area of the anthropogenic-style marks were examined under greater magnifications. A total of 15 marks were analysed from the selected bones. Congruent with previous preliminary findings [27], most of these marks show microscopical features described in cuts made by human stone tools, such as shoulder effects, Herzian cones and even microstriations [12] (figure 4a–e; electronic supplementary material, table S6), the latter being very rarely preserved in prehistoric material [11,26]. 

Turns out I've written about Giant Sloths on previous occasions.  Here, for example.

BREAKING NEWS: By-Election Results Offer No Compelling Narrative!!!

Status Quo.  Close in Brandon.  Whumped 'em in T.O. Center and Bourassa  LPC increased its vote share, so that's nice but no big thng.  Didn't I tell you so?  I did!

PS.  Dear Forum Research, your crappy polls were only off by like 30 percent in Brandon.  You officially suck.

Darrell Bricker, CEO of Ipsos Public Affair, On Recent Forum Polls

The occasion is this story in the Winnipeg Free Press:

Forum released its latest round of polling late Sunday night following calls into the riding during the day. The survey has a relatively small sample size but suggests Liberal Rolf Dinsdale enjoys 59 per cent support, a commanding lead over Conservative Larry Maguire’s 30 per cent.

But, several Brandon-Souris residents report being polled multiple times throughout the campaign as Forum conducted several waves of polling using random, automated robocalls, where voters indicate their candidate preference using their touch-tone phone.

Brandon resident Anne Ross has received six calls from Forum since the campaign began, raising questions about the poll’s reach and its randomness. Ross was called for each of the five polls released so far, including the latest one. She also received a call on Saturday as part of a poll that has not been released.

"I don’t know why I would keep getting called," said Ross, a Liberal.

Ross is the mother of Free Press opinion columnist Deveryn Ross, who said he has been called by Forum Research six times during the campaign, including three times since Friday night.

Two other voters who spoke to the Free Press Sunday, including one Conservative, said they also received multiple calls from Forum Research.

There are 62,000 registered voters in the riding.

Forum president Lorne Bozinoff calls interactive voice-response polls "amazingly accurate." He said while it’s unusual someone might get called six times in a random poll, he doesn’t believe that undermines the poll’s results.

This inspired a series of skeptical tweets from Bricker:

Anybody else receive multiple calls from these guys? In "random" survey this would be almost impossible. http://t.co/tKNln2G1XF
— Darrell Bricker (@darrellbricker) November 25, 2013

And:

REALLY? Somebody was hit 6 times randomly? Twice, maybe, but 6 times? And multiple people multiple times? http://t.co/tKNln2G1XF
— Darrell Bricker (@darrellbricker) November 25, 2013

And especially:

Journos here's the question to ask - are you empaneling respondents and calling them multiple times? http://t.co/tKNln2G1XF
— Darrell Bricker (@darrellbricker) November 25, 2013

I think what he's getting at is easy enough to follow, but here's a definition of "empaneling". I assume he's wondering if they are not recalling the same list and tracking how voting intentions change during the run-up to the by-election.  Not that doing it this way would make the polls wrong, but presumably you would evaluate them differently from a random truly sample.

If that's what Forum is doing.  Nobody knows what they're doing.  Just that this kind of thing shouldn't happen.

@Bigcitylib2 Saying that responsible pollsters clearly communicate how they do their polls. They wouldn't leave anyone confused like this.
— Darrell Bricker (@darrellbricker) November 25, 2013

By-Election Prediction

No seats change hands and everyone spins the status quo.  With a small chance that Rolf wins out in Brandon, which would be a real victory, and a true sign.  Otherwise wake me when the pontificating dies down.

The Plot To Overthrow Stephen Harper

"I'm saying status quo is always in jeopardy. Ambitions rise as problems mount. And right now Mount Duffy has become insurmountable, The PM is throwing everyone under the bus. It is time for self-preservation. Time to pick sides. Time to look to the future."

Sometimes I think Bourque imagines these encounters, but this one seems downright hallucinatory, so maybe there's something to it.

Group of 7 In The News

Apparently, Canada is getting back the so-called "Arthur Lismer Collection", comprising hundreds of personal items accumulated during the life of this obscure Group of 7 artist.  So obscure in fact that I haven't even heard of  him, and as you might know, I study these guys.

So lets analyze one of his pics, shall we?

Yeah...*SIGH*...with the Group of 7 its always rocks and trees time.  Tree (center left)?  Check!  Rocks (beneath tree)?  Check!  There's water, which in this case is green, and I imagine counts as a minor formal innovation in the 7's oeuvre,  because mostly they painted water  its traditional blue colour.  And the wind appears to be blowing from right to left.  Or Lismer painted the thing at an angle.  A lot of these guys drank, you know.

In any case, that's really all there is to it.  Of the Group of 7, this guy finishes a distant 7th.

On The Arrival Of Target In Canada

Or Tar Ssshay, as the richy-rich 1%er  types like to pronounce it.  

Basically, the stores I've been to look like an abandoned Walmart.  No product on the shelves, no staff in sight.  Babies crying.  Although you get that last bit at Walmart too.  So, nothing that would make you switch from shopping at Walmart. 

Tory Candidate In Provencher Talks Anti-Gay Bullying: Maybe They're Faking It

Steinbach Regional Secondary School student Evan Wiens attracted national attention as he stepped forward, identifying himself as a gay student, and advocating for gay-straight alliances. In a television interview, as the debate over the bill grew, Wiens was interviewed in front of the high school as other students walked past lobbing verbal abuse at him. While [Tom] Falk acknowledged homosexuals do face bullying, he also suggested that particular incident may have been manufactured.

"Whether that was staged we don’t know," Falk said.

Asked if he meant the teens had staged the scene, Falk agreed.

"By the organizers, yeah," he said.

Hate Speech in C-13

Indeed, the Protecting Canadians from Online Crime Act does contain several "tweeks" to Canada's hate speech laws.

(4) In this section, “identifiable group” means any section of the public distinguished by colour, race, religion, national or ethnic origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, or mental or physical disability.

To me the only noticable change I can see is the addition of "national origin" to the list of identifiable groups. This is a holdover from when the bill was called the  Investigative Powers for the 21st Century Act, and had no pretence to being cyber bullying legislation.  I once wrote about that particular change being somewhat sinister, but was told to chill

There is also this:

320.1 (1) If a judge is satisfied by information on oath that there are reasonable grounds to believe that there is material that is hate propaganda within the meaning of subsection 320(8) or computer data within the meaning of subsection 342.1(2) that makes hate propaganda available, that is stored on and made available to the public through a computer system within the meaning of subsection 342.1(2) that is within the jurisdiction of the court, the judge may order the custodian of the computer system to [delete the material]

...which looks like a rehash of Clause 5 in Investigate Powers, which would mean that linking to hate speech becomes a crime.  Although how that would be workable post Crookes would be an interesting question.

Well, IANAL so that's the best I can do with it.  A real lawyer discusses the various issues raised by the new bill here.

Update: Laura in the comments notes that

The addition of age, sex, and mental or physical disability is also new. The inclusion of "sex" is particularly significant; women face gendered hate speech all the time, particularly online, and since the hate speech provisions of the Canadian Human Rights Act were removed earlier this year, there's been nothing in law to address this.

Trudeau "Gaffes" Killing Party In Quebec

The same stability marks the federal level. The Liberal Party of Canada (DFC) Justin Trudeau won five percentage points in a month, the New Democratic Party (NDP) Thomas Mulcair has lost three, but the two parties are tied among Francophones, where the majority of seats in Ottawa.

Depending CROP during general elections, the PLC has obtained 36% of the votes in Quebec, followed by the NDP (28%). The Bloc Quebecois Daniel Paille will attract 16% of voters, and the Conservative Party of Canada Stephen Harper would have closed the way with 13%.

Tee hee.  Just kidding.

PS.  Original is in French and this is an auto-translation, but you get the point.

Kory Teneycke Talks Ford Nation Cancellation: The Secret Draft Statement

The verdict is in!  Ford Nation sucked monkeys!  Kory Teneycke has made an official public statement, but I have been given a secret recording, which I believe to be genuine, of what is purported to be  a dictation of the first draft of this statement.  As you can see, it is quite different from the amended version.

The Fords are "great TV but not necessarily great TV hosts," [Sun News vice-president Kory] Teneycke said.  "Also, Canadian "Crappy" Tire just told me if their ads were associated with this pile of chicken shit they would send in their lawyers pronto.  I am so fucked.  Just...so...totally.  Mom and dad, out there in Theodore Sask where I grew up and tried so hard to get out of...where cow-tipping is not an urban myth.  It looks like I'm coming home and if you need me to sleep out in the barn, than I'm OK with that.

You read it here first.

Wind And Health: A New Study?

From Garth Manning,  Chairman of the County Coalition for Safe and Appropriate Green Energy (CCSAGE), Prince Edward County, Ontario, writing in the T.O. Sun:

Toronto human rights lawyer Julian Falconer argues that the GEA and the government’s approval of wind projects “implicates their right to security of the person” as guaranteed by the Canadian Charter of Rights, in view of potential health impacts.

These health impacts were noted on Oct. 17, 2013 when the Ontario government’s Research Chair for Renewable Energy Technologies and Health at the University of Waterloo reported a statistically significant correlation between proximity to industrial wind turbines and sleep deprivation, tinnitus and vertigo.

What he's talking about is this.  Some of the short-comings are discussed here in The Chatham Daily News.  I'll just summarize from that piece with a few notes of my own.

1) As you can see from the link title, Wind Turbine Noise, Sleep Quality, and Symptoms of 
Inner Ear Problems is a poster, not a paper, and it was presented at a symposium by grad students (Each event will include brief presentations, Q&A, speed mentoring sessions, poster presentations by graduate students, and a cocktail to mingle with the experts and decision-makers.  It may or may not ever make it into the literature.

2)  But of course grad students are capable of fine work.  Unfortunately, in this case they had very few responses to the survey which served as their study's basis:

...the overall response rate of under 10% is "very problematic and we recognize the opportunity for bias that would invalidate the findings."

In fact they mailed out 4,876 surveys, and were able to use 396 of the 412  questionnaires returned.

Surveys on the health effects of wind turbines are at best difficult to conduct.  It's almost impossible to keep the purpose of the questionnaire secret, which is needed to ensure that answers are not preconditioned by what the subjects may have heard in the news or read on-line re such topics as Wind Turbine Syndrome (WTN).  Perhaps a healthy response rate might have eliminated this problem, but with under 400 replies the scientists at Waterloo are likely hearing from those particularly motivated to answer in a negative fashion.  And it is indeed the case that readers of the anti-wind NIMBY site Ontario Wind Resistance knew about the survey  well in advance of its distribution. They were even offering advice on how to field the questions contained in it.  So the project might have been doomed to start with.

It's worth noting how stringent the Health Canada study of the same issue (not yet released) is trying to be.  Their questionnaire work will be supplemented with extensive on-site testing. Participants have been asked to wear an  actimeter and give hair samples to be tested for signs of chronic stress.  No such precautions were in place with the research from Waterloo.

Former Head Of CHRC Jennifer Lynch Passes

Something I didn't know about her:

As the last President of the National P.C. Women's Caucus, Jennifer was an advocate for the involvement and advancement of women in politics. She was proud to serve as Chief of Staff to the Right Honourable Joe Clark, then P.C. Party Leader. 

Pity.  The woman took alot of crap from MSM journalists who should have known better but who, their jobs become thankless drudgery before inevitable lay-offs, chose to atack Canada's human rights apparatus in a rawly self-interested attempt to make their profession  even less accountable.

In any case, Rest In Peace Ms. Lynch.

Free Dominion Refuses Honourable Exit

....from the defamation case they lost to Richard Warman:

Latest:

Update – None of the defendants chose to provide even the courtesy of a response to the offer to donate all damages after legal fees to children’s charities. As a result, rather than benefitting children, they’ve chosen to continue throwing good money after bad. (see musical selection below)



Some more background here.

Uh Oh

Rob and Doug Ford took me to the projects. And then things got weird. Can't wait to show you on @CNN Monday. pic.twitter.com/BwnqTAAYfb
— Bill Weir (@BillWeirCNN) November 17, 2013

Will our long municipal darkness never end?

Oh, and by the way, dickhead crashed the Argos game today.  They lost.  Draw your own conclusions.

More #RobFord in my section at #Argos game. #topoli pic.twitter.com/nZgT21kVhW
— Jeff Jedras (@jeffjedras) November 17, 2013

On The Idea Of John Tory As Mayor Of Toronto

Apparently, his nascent bid for mayor is "building steam".  Some might note that steam is all you ever get out of the guy, but that would be mean.  And of course there is this from Chris Stockwell, former Ontario minister and House Leader under Mike Harris

@KTBrushett @kinsellawarren Tory is a gentleman & if you are looking for political advice ask him & do exactly the opposite of what he says
— Chris Stockwell (@_cstockwell) November 16, 2013

As for me, there's no way I'll vote for John Tory if RoFo is also running.  We need an anti-Ford candidate that can score enough votes out in the suburbs to put a stake through that fat bastard.  And Olivia Chow looks to be the one.

But if Rob Ford were to go away tomorrow, or any time before next October, what then?  The possibility is not unlikely.   Some Liberals I know will for Chow reluctantly because the specter of a second Ford term gives them the shakes.  But in his absence,  a red Tory, a businessman with a conscience, might seem a compelling option.

And, as an aside, I think Ford Nation is ready to surrender. I'm a Scarborough resident, and I frequent many bars where working men go when they need to chill out after a crack binge.  The mood has changed over the past week or so, from "I don't care, he's my mayor!" to  jokes about cunnilingus.  The guy's a stiff.  But if a 1,000 people run he can still win with 20% of the vote.   So that's how things stand today.

Brandon-Souris...It's Only A Forum Poll

Well fuck me!  Look at this:

The biggest upset may be in the Tory stronghold of Brandon-Souris, where a new Forum poll has Liberal Rolf Dinsdale leading Conservative Larry Maguire 44 per cent to 36 per cent. That lead has grown slightly over the last month, in a riding once held by Mr. Dinsdale’s father, a Progressive Conservative, for 31 years. The NDP’s Cory Szczepanski was the pick of 9 per cent of respondents. The results, gathered by interactive voice response (IVR) telephone polling, are considered accurate within four points, 19 times out of 20.

But its only Forum, who are known more for the quantity of their polling rather than the quality.  So what this will most likely translate into is a healthy 2nd place finish.  It will be awkward for me if Rolf wins.  I've watched him play guitar in Kinsella's band on several occasions, but always figured my path to a Senate appointment lay through WK himself.  Turns out I might have been sucking up to the wrong gauche punk rocker.  D'you know these people spit in public???  In any case, and just in case:  Rolf, baby, your playing was gawdamn INCENDIARY!!!  Slip me your email and I can send you a CV.

PS.  I'm sorry about all the times I've referred to Manitoba as boring.  And when I've claimed that "Winnipeg" is an old First Nation's term meaning "Nothing but skeeters", that may not have been entirely accurate either.

T.O. Bus Drivers Talk Ford Scandal

Got a friendly bus driver last evening.  He apologized profusely, on behalf of the City of Toronto and the TTC itself, for the fact that no less than three (3) buses on route #___ had suffered breakdowns. And could we all please move back.  He kept it up with the friendly banter, greeting passengers individually as they got on.  Later, as we travelled West, he said: "We're coming up on McCowan Road now.  Not the McCowan Road.  That McCowan Road ends near Lawrence. But another McCowan road that starts just South of the first one.  You have to wonder how the folks down at City Hall let the street names get all mixed up like that.  It's as though somebody down there is smoking crack."

As The Fords Rise, Does The Ez Decline?

Skip the stuff about how its all appalling and etc.  The interesting thing is they're horning-in on Ezra Levant's Monday night time-slot (8 pm ET).  Is somebody's star on the descendant?

Rob Ford Can't Win

And Olivia Chow beats John "Hamlet On The Don" Tory.  And this is before the campaign starts.  Before RoFo tries to run without any funds but those brought in by bobble-head sales, no Kouvalis to talk sense into him, and reporters following him around to see if they can get a shot of him drinking vodka while peeing on a tree.  Very hard climb.

And as for John Tory, well--story of the guy's life--he hasn't decided yet.   The guy reminds me of Schrödinger's cat.  It's time to be or not to be, John.  Quit fooling around.

The New OLP Ad

If the theme isn't obvious, Greg Sorbara offers a little exegesis:

In this bold new ad, we see a woman who's truly fit to lead.

No matter how rough the road, no matter how great the challenge, Kathleen won't stop until she's reached her goal –  a brighter future for people in every corner of this province.

It's probably significant that Wynne, a T.O. pol if there's ever been one, is seen jogging along a road somewhere in rural Ontario.  Along with taking on the role of Argiculture Minister and showing up at every cattle show South of Oil Springs, this is meant to symbolize the fact that, for her, Ontario extends past the boundaries of the GTA.  

Its interesting too that the ad focuses on Kathleen rather than OLP policies.  That means that the party, as well as the pollsters, have realized that her personals stack up well against those of her rivals. Think of the same ad with Tim Hudak in it.  He'd stop after 1 K to kick a hippy.

So, in the end, do I like it?   Meh.  But Ontario does have some pretty scenery.

Denier Down: Lindzen Retires

Climate change skeptic Richard Lindzen, most famous perhaps for arguing that global warming would be naturally offset by the Earth's adaptive infrared iris ( a theory which has been pretty thoroughly discredited over the years) , has officially retired.  Perhaps, and hopefully, he will step away from various odd theories, but who knows he might take this as an opportunity to pursue the right-wing talking-head circuit with renewed vigor. His work passed long ago from the realm of science to propaganda.

When Tom Met Rob And Lisa

From here.

Tim Hortons And The Gay Coffee, Part VII: Timmys Rolls Out Its Sleeves

Something, as the article notes, that Starbucks did years ago.

And so Tim Hortons slowly adopts the manner of the gay, city coffee.  Because when I was a lad no man would think to use a sleeve with their morning Timmy's. The blistered fingers were part of the rustic, every-guy charm.  Also, the pain distracted you from how crap the stuff really  tasted.  So I don't know how sales will do now that people will notice the flavor.

But whatever, Things are changing fast these days and not all change is good change.  That's the point of the story.

Trudeau On China: Finally Someone States The Obvious

"He's kind of really talking about efficiency, how do you get things done and get them done quickly. Sometimes an overly participatory democratic process becomes messy and delays you from taking action that is necessary," said the University of Ottawa history professor, adding that Trudeau's reference to Harper could have been a dig at the prime minister's "strong man" style of politics.

Re this thing.

Is Justin Trudeau Smarter Than Twitter? (Redux)

The guy raised $25,000 at a Friday night ladies night event, invoked a little Tom Friedman in the process, and this afternoon dropped a wee bit o' policy:

.@MJGismondi I (and the Liberal party) trust the Judiciary to do their jobs well, so yes.
— Justin Trudeau, MP (@JustinTrudeau) November 10, 2013

Progressive, evidence-based, eminently defensible, and will cause splits within conservative ranks.  It will be spoken of tomorrow in the morning papers, and getting word out cost nothing.  Yet the pundits will smirk at a politician who spends part of his Sunday doing retail politics on-line.

I'm surprised Mulcair doesn't do more of this.  Of course he might be inclined to fly off the handle and just start yelling at people in ALL CAPS.

Update:  It's a rethink, not so much a commitment.  Same applies as above.

Bernie Farber On Injustice And The Jewish Community

There is an ancient Jewish folktale which tells of a man visiting hell and being amazed to find its inhabitants all seated at long tables with fancy tablecloths, beautiful silverware and delicious food in front of them. Yet no one was eating. They were all wailing. On closer examination the visitor saw that none of them could bend their elbows. So while they could touch their food no one could bring the food to their mouths.

The visitor then went to heaven where the scene was identical: Long tables, fancy tablecloths, beautiful silverware and delicious food. And here too people could not bend their elbows.

But here no one was wailing – because each person was serving his neighbour.

The concept of human rights within the Jewish tradition is derived from such ancient Jewish folktales. Our tradition is replete with our sages reminding us of our duty to be the guardians of the world through the concept of “Tikun Olam”, the commandment that directs us to leave this world a better place.

I like Bernie.  He's an old school Liberal. Not many left anymore.

Justin Trudeau...Too Smart For Twitter?

So, Justin raised 25 large at that unplugged event last night.  He also fielded questions.  One was:

Q. Which country’s government does the “future prime minister” most admire?

A.  You know,  there’s a level of of admiration I actually have for China because their basic dictatorship is allowing them to actually turn their economy around on a dime and say ‘we need to go green  fastest…we need to start investing in solar.’ I mean there is a flexibility that I know Stephen Harper must dream about of having a dictatorship that he can do everything he wanted that I find quite interesting.

But if I were to reach out and say which…which kind of administration I most admire, I think there’s something to be said right here in Canada for the way our territories are run. Nunavut, Northwest Territories, and the Yukon are done without political parties around consensus. And are much more like a municipal government. And I think there’s a lot to be said for people pulling together to try and solve issues rather than to score points off of each other. And I think we need a little more of that.

A fairly coherent argument can be pulled from this 1) China, being a dictatorship, can move quickly to tackle issues of national importance, like growing their economy or becoming a leader in green tech.  And there is nothing remotely controversial about such views.  People on both left and right have expressed admiration for this aspect of the Chinese state.  But then 2) While the ability to move the state along faster to good ends would be "quite interesting", someone like Stephen Harper dreams of having such powers, and would only use them for Evil.  Again, nothing controversial.  While the temptation is there, checks and balances are needed, etc. etc.

 That's the first paragraph.  Paragraph two is lovey talk about building consensus, which according to Justin is what we really should have more of,  and yada yada.  I find it uninteresting, so I'll ignore it.

In any case, paragraph one is what has sent the twittersphere into a rage this morning.  The eye rolling is particular unfortunate in the case of  Dan Gardner:

@acourtroom Yes, I get. But this is the political equivalent of taping a “kick me” sign to yourself. It’s unbelievably dumb.
— Dan Gardner (@dgardner) November 8, 2013

Because Dan is constantly lamenting the state of political discourse in the country, and  then when he sees something that strives to be a little better than moronic, he shits.

Because after all, the argument we're talking about is pitched at about the couple-beers-in-a-college-pub after-poli sci-class level.  I got drunk and argued the limits of democracy thing many times, back in the day..  But apparently, even that kind of argument is too hard for twitter.  Again, Dan's response is representative in its weird two-sideness.  On the one hand, he says Justin is being dumb because he is allowing the dumb people who watch Sun News to cry commie!, on the other hand, its dumb because its positively Friedmanesque:

@univrsle @acoyne @davidakin @JustinTrudeau It’s straight Thomas Friedman. He’s written that column a bunch of times.
— Dan Gardner (@dgardner) November 8, 2013

...and Dan's disagrees (strongly!!) with Friedman on such issues.

But wait!  A Justin Trudeau answer at a ladies night event makes Friedman momentarily relevant to Canadian politics. Just the kind of thing Deep Dan has been crying for from politicians.  And then he sees it, and retreats into the kind of  glib one-liners that Twitter encourages.  (It apparently makes people dumb the same way powerpoint does.)  Not that he's the only offender.  @acoyne has spent the morning cracking what I'm sure he thinks are very clever jokes rather than actually talk some policy talk when given the opportunity by a Canadian politician.  But, as far as I'm concerned, the punditocracy cannot ask for intelligence from their politicians if they are only going to turn around and, en masse, play silly bugger when they hear some.

Our Gal (Kathleen Wynne) Is Lookin' Good!

If an election were held tomorrow, Premier Wynne’s Liberal party would receive 34% of the vote among decided voters, unchanged since May. Support for Time Hudak’s Progressive Conservatives has eased to 31% (down 3 points), while Andrea Horwath’s NDP have made serious gains and also sit at 31% of the vote (up 5 points). One in twenty (5%) Ontarians would vote for some other party (unchanged).

I would guess this result makes a Spring election more likely.  The Ontario NDP are in a fight for official opposition status which, while not government, is certainly better than 3rd party.

I'm Getting Bad Vibes

Not so much because of the invite/event itself:

...although it does strike me as a bit silly.  Your "favorite virtue"?  What?  Is this some kind of virgins only event?  But because it reminds me too much of this:

And we all know what happened last time the LPC invoked Andy Warhol.

Toronto Teens Talk Mayoral Scandal

Overheard on the bus yesterday:

Teenager #1: So...The Mayor...smokin' Crack!  Guess that means if I do it's OK.

Teenager  #2: Heh...Heh...Heh...

Jran Website Launches

JRAN is a national organization that brings together individuals from diverse backgrounds who are deeply concerned about the changes made in 2012 to Canada's refugee determination system and refugee health care coverage. These changes place refugees at risk and disrupt Canada's humanitarian values and traditions. JRAN is a Jewish initiative that invites multi-faith and multi-cultural support and welcomes the involvement of individuals throughout Canada. Our mission is to advocate for change through the political process, education, public-speaking, and the media.

More On The Rob Ford Tapes

Team Ford hired a hacker to try and destroy the first one and, yeah, the second one may actually be a sex-tape.  Oh yuk.

The Things CIJA Must Do

CIJA is the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, an advocacy group for the Canada's Jewish community.  Arguably, there are things they have to do.  Arguably, they have to go shmoozing at wing-dings  thrown by the government of the day.

Arguably, they do NOT have to swap drinks with the likes of Ezra Levant, whose media career has been a series of brushes with the hate crimes unit, and the CBSC, the CBSC, and the CBSC again, for spreading hate the Roma, Indians, and others too numerous to count.

Show a little class, CIJA.

23 Seconds Of Truth

...on the tar-sands, from Alberta's Municipal Affairs Minister Doug Griffiths.  Kooky boy thinks this will get the minister in trouble.  I don't pretend to know the politics out there well enough to say.  But stay tuned for possible recantations.

Update: A warm-up to a recantation?  Will his career implode, or will he be forced to grovel before an angry mob of tar miners?

Ethical Oil's Troubled Relaunch Runs Afoul Of Fatboy Slim

Slowly, slowly, after many months of inactivity, tar-sands promoting lobbying thingy EthicalOil.org has been trying to reboot. Amanda Achtman has become their media contact, and they've attempted a few (guest) posts  on their website.  Furthermore, last month Amanda put together a  "Social Oil" youtube video, which was announced to some fan-fare.  But then after that one media hit...nothing.  And if you follow the links at EO you see:

Curious, I contacted Amanda to find out what was up.  Turns out EO had originally used this song by Fatboy Slim as soundtrack, and given the video's controversial nature, Fatboy's record company (note the blog name) had lowered the boom on them.  A slightly different version can be found here, not that I am recommending you watch it.

So, for some reason, Ethical Oil is back.  We shall see if they regain the level of influence they once, briefly, possessed.

Connecting Some Dots

From Christina Blizzard's Saturday column:

And while some people were trying to connect the dots between Holyday and Ford last week, the fact is that Holyday has such a solid track record and sound reputation that it was laughable.

While, I know of nobody that was connecting any dots between these two men.  Which is a pity, because there are a few lines worth drawing.  For example:

On 7/31, police observed "unknown male" selling drugs. He and Lisi visited "the Animal Eye Clinic" and "the Doug Holyday campaign office."
— Chris Selley (@cselley) October 31, 2013

So lets just repeat this for clarity.  On July 31 of this year, a couple days before the by-election that made Doug Holyday an MPP, a drug dealer sells some drugs, meets fellow drug dealer and Ford confidante Alexander Lisi, and together they wander over to the Holyday campaign office...to do WHAT?  We know Ford lent Holyday some of his campaign team during that time period.  Was Lisi working for Holyday in some capacity?  If so, what?  Could somebody please ask Mr. Holyday this simple question?

Rob Ford: The 2nd Tape

From DiManno's column:

But wait. There are two videos, Blair revealed at his shocking press conference.

What’s on the other one? Are we not to know? Because a few reporters have already been told by sources what its contents might be.

If true, believe me, you ain’t seen nothing yet.

I'm betting, praying, and yet dreading that its a sex tape.

Was "Ian From Etobicoke" Rob Ford?

WK thinks so, it sure sounds like it to me and, most importantly, Bill Carroll thought so when "Ian from Etobicoke" called his show last night arguing that Rob Ford didn't know he was being filmed in that tape and anyway you can't fire anyone in a union for personal problems.  About five minutes  in, Bill asks "This is you, isn't it Rob Ford?"

Rob Ford's Crisis

...is really all about Sue-Ann Levy.  I admit I never really considered what strain she must have been under. Poor sweet Sue-Ann Levy.   Its so hard being you.