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Gender Failure: Highly readable, highly recommended

I got an advance copy of Gender Failure, by Ivan E. Coyote and Rae Spoon. It’s not quite available in the stores yet, but it’s coming soon and I urge you to get yourself a copy. It’s an extraordinary book.

I loved the show Gender Failure so I knew before reading it that I’d love the […]

Mayor Rob Ford: Way worse than Larry O'Brien

I’ve been riveted by the Rob Ford debacle, but I am conflicted about it. On the one hand, Rob Ford is – and always has been – a repugnant, pugnacious, pig-headed, hypocritical, right-wing bully, so there’s something kind of appealing about watching him self-destruct in such a spectacular way. I just want to grab some […]

Scandals within scandals!

This has been a crazy week for news in Canada! Scandals within scandals!

Between the scandal about the prime minister’s office covering up Conservative Senator Mike Duffy’s expense scandal, the sanitized Senate audit scandal, and the scandalous video of the Mayor of Toronto smoking crack, I’ve been riveted to my Twitter feed.

Key players […]

When words turn bad

The other day I was on a conference call and we were discussing which tags and keywords should be included in a collaborative online database.

The terms “substance use” and “harm reduction” were both on the list. I suggested we add “addiction.”

Some other people on the call said that we don’t use that term anymore, […]

Larry O'Brien's Book Lunch

This was a present from GC. He took advantage of the special offer on Larry’s publisher’s website:

SHIPPING FEE WAVED (sic) FOR THOSE WISHING TO PICK UP AT THE OTTAWA LUNCH (sic).

My visit to the seamy underbelly

At the harbour, outside my hotel

So…I went to Vancouver for a whirlwind business trip. I arrived Wednesday afternoon and left Friday morning. I was working most of the time, but I did have two more-or-less free evenings, so I did what I could to cram Vancouver in.

I hadn’t been there in 30-odd years, and […]

I agree, somewhat, with Tom Flanagan

I have what I know will be a very unpopular opinion about a highly volatile subject. I should probably keep it to myself, but I feel compelled to share it.

It’s about Tom Flanagan’s remarks about child pornography. The remarks for which he was roundly lambasted, fired as a CBC commentator, denounced by the Prime Minister’s […]

A day in the life

This is what my day looks like so far:

9:00-12:00 – all-staff meeting at work to do a SWOT analysis of the organization (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats)

2:00-3:30 – Conference Call

3:30 – meeting with funder

5:30-6:30 – House of Commons to watch Bill C-279 being debated. That’s the private member’s bill to amend the […]

I was wrong

I’m outraged that Rona Ambrose, Minister of State for the Status of Women in Canada, voted to re-open the abortion debate. The legal right to choose if and when to have children is absolutely fundamental to women’s rights, and I find it appalling  that there’s an anti-feminist in charge at Status of Women. Doesn’t the […]

Happy Canada Day Stephen Harper. Here's 59 cents.

 

It’s hard to look at yourself objectively, but rightly or wrongly, I’ve always thought of Canadians as  peaceful, fair, decent, thoughtful and compassionate people who respect diversity, care about social justice and try to do the right thing. Oh sure, there are plenty of exceptions, and we’ve had our share of collective ugliness too.  Overall, […]