The current issues of the New Yorker and Vanity Fair both have good features on the end of Iceland’s short tenure as finance superpower. Both are worth reading, but if you only have time for one, Vanity Fair‘s piece, by Liar’s Poker author Michael Lewis, better captures the insanity that took hold: I spoke tocontinue reading
Current Events Archives
Patronize your charming neighbourhood coffee shops while ye may
What neighbourhood is this? The neighborhood of 35,000 or so has attracted screenwriters and composers, Web designers and animators, who labor on their laptops in cafes, discuss film projects at Friday night wine tastings, and let their children play with the handmade wooden toys in a Scandinavian-style coffee shop, Swork. No, not Leslieville — it’scontinue reading
The kids are alright
Another day, another study showing that, all things considered, the kids are OK. Guess what? When kids play around with each other at school, they occasionally get hurt. Amazing, according to researcher Alison MacPherson: “When a mom or a dad sends their child off to school in the morning, they kind of expect them tocontinue reading
No place to hide
Public servants south of the border have more to fear than Rae Days. In Kansas, their pay cheques may be delayed; in California, they may not get a pay cheque at all as Governor Terminator does what he does best: Governor prepares to lay off 10,000 There’s a fair bit of obliviousness among civil servantscontinue reading
When localization fails
I got a little excited when I saw this month’s Atlantic Monthly on the newsstand. “The suburbs lose. The sun belt fades. Toronto wins. How the crash will reshape America,” touts the cover over a nighttime shot of Toronto seen from the lake. A little strange, granted, since Toronto is in Canada and there iscontinue reading
Bob Rae passes the torch
And does so with great glee. Bob Rae penned this note-perfect letter to Harper, published yesterday in the National Post. Highlights: You have learned that deficits are not the product of the devil incarnate, but happen when there are recessions. You will regret that your every prior thought is in print. Your old copies ofcontinue reading
Steady hand on the tiller
From CBC News’ fun new quiz on the economic wisdom of Stephen Harper: 4. On Sept. 26, 2008, Harper said, ‘The only way there is going to be a recession is if they (the Liberals) are elected and that’s why they’re not going to be elected.’ o Myth o Fact Consistency is your friend whencontinue reading
Whatever happened to adulthood?
Somehow, the Canadian Association of Retired People — CARP — has moved from being, well, an association of retired people, to “50-plus”, to — wait for it — 45 and over. 45 and over? At a time when Freedom 55 is stretching to Freedom 65 and there is debate about moving out the qualifying agecontinue reading
Let’s hope they’re more selfless down south, or this will be a one-term presidency
Actual Facebook status: Bob Rae is listening to President Obama “the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose a job” and shouting “Rae Days”!8 hours ago (H/t Beyond The Commons)
Divide and conquer
For the sake of the tens of thousands of students who are the hostages in the York strike, let’s hope that the government-mandated vote on the university’s offer doesn’t go the way the executive of CUPE 3903 believe it will. It’s possible that there are enough strikers at this point who simply can’t afford tocontinue reading