The Canadian Political Blogosphere Search Page

Wondering what bloggers in the Canadian political area are saying about the news of the day? New to Angry in the Great White North is the Canadian Political Blogosphere Search Page, a collection of customized Google search engines that will search the blogs (as defined by the appropriate blogrolls) for the search terms you specify. I hope the search engines will become a means of driving traffic to those blogs, regardless of their political persuasion, that are not getting the traffic they deserve.

Try it out, and hopefully you'll find them useful.

And though I appreciate the traffic, you don't have to return to Angry in the Great White North for every search. Click the "Add to Google" button and the corresponding search engine will be added to your personalized Google homepage.

The murder of Alexander Litvinenko, social media, and Wikipedia

Wikipedia is a remarkable tool. By allowing the masses to create entries for an encyclopedia, a hugely important online research source has been constructed in record time.

The news that the former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko by means of a dose of polonium-210 is a great example of how the Wikipedia plays out. Is it self-correcting? Sure seems to be.

Catholic Carnival #95

The 95th Edition of the Catholic Carnival is up at phatcatholic apologetics.

The Carnival of True Crime Blogs

The Carnival of True Cime Blogs LII is up at The Trenchcoat Chronicles. A mix of reporting on crimes being perpetrated as we speak, recent crimes and their resolutions, and a look back at some famous crimes of yesteryear, it makes for great reading.

London North Centre: NDP loses an election, a lot of credibility, but earns a new label

The London North Centre by-election in Ontario is over. No surprise that the Liberal Party held on to the seat that has been a safe one for a decade and longer. The story in this by-election is the rising fortune of the Green Party, almost entirely at the expense of the NDP.

In fact, the Green Party crushed the NDP.

So who's the "wasted vote" now?

The Pink Book: First comes work, then comes pay equity for women

The Liberal Party Women's Caucus has released the Pink Book. In it, it makes an interesting point about pay equity.

To me, though, if you are going to advance the cause of women's rights in the workplace by providing equal pay for work of equal value, you first need to find a woman to do the work.

Michael Richards: The Responsibility Game and Personal Character

Even Michael Richards continues to apologize for his racist tirade caught on video at the Laugh Factory comedy club, the "victims" are demanding cash. And so begins the game of moving responsibility around. The rules are simple. Responsibility cannot be shared, it can only be assigned entirely to one person. Whoever ends up with the responsibility loses and has to pay the other players money.

The funny thing about the responsibility game is that, when you think about it, the winners are actually the losers. At least you would think so if you valued personal character over money.

Who wants to buy some C-4 explosive online?

Why would someone from the UK be be looking for C‑4 explosive online?

Rowan Williams: Blogs play a role in Anglican battles between the left and the right

It is fascinating to see where blogs crop up, and just how seriously the content is taken. In this case, the former and current Archbishops of Cantebury, George Carey and Rowan Williams, respectively, are engaged in some serious fighting over the direction the Anglican Church is taking. One of the tools in that fight is a blog maintained by George Carey's son, Andrew. Other Anglican blogs are playing equally significant roles in the fight.

Just as we've seen in the secular political arena, blogs seem to be used more effectively by conservatives to keep up pressure on liberals holding the reins of power.

Limiting Federal Spending Powers: The real means for democratic renewal

In Canada, we forget what federalism means. Powers are not shared between the provinces and the federal government. They are divided. But the federal government in decades past has been encroaching on and collecting provincial powers, as depicted in this cartoon from Australia, another nation organized around federalism.

Finally, that state of affairs has been recognized by the only person that matters -- the Prime Minister. Prime Minister Stephen Harper is rumoured to be planning to limit federal spending in areas of provincial jurisdiction, but not only that, amend the Constitution to that effect.

A minority government, and he's going to amend the Constitution. Wow!

What people think this is about money. It is, of course, but it also a means of democratic renewal. Perhaps the only way that matters.

Charles Leblanc acquitted -- Blogging is a trade in Canada

Canadian bloggers have scored a victory. Charles LeBlanc, who runs a blog known to the police in New Brunswick, was arrested by those police in June 2006 when he took pictures of a demonstration of which he was not a participant, but to post on his blog. Those charges have been dismissed, and the judge decided the LeBlanc was legally engaged in "plying his trade".

Blogging is a trade? Not bad. But ideally, blogging could be considered a profession one day, not unlike journalism. But for that to happen, bloggers will have to establish some ground rules.

Abotech: A major law firm shows interest

I spotted an interesting search while reviewing my traffic log. Someone at the law firm of Heenan Blaikie has been researching elements of the Abotech story.

Toronto Police Grow-Op Video

Check out this video taken by Toronto police officers after a major bust of a marijuana grow-op on Jane Street:

Michael Ignatieff snatches Stephane Dion organizers

Liberal leadership candidate and acknowledged front-runner Michael Ignatieff has received the support of three organizers for the Stephane Dion campaign. These defections seem significant, but then I'm not familiar with the inner workings of the Dion organization.

The only reaction from the Dion camp seems to be to eliminate references to these traitors.

How to improve your Google ranking (and Yahoo...and MSN)

Such a little thing has the potential of having such an impact -- your sitemap. I don't mean your navigation bar or a web page listing your pages. I mean that XML file you generate every time you re-index your blog. You are generating an XML sitemap, right? And submitting it to the major search engines -- Google, Yahoo!, and MSN?

If not, read on.

Stephane Dion aka The Trouble Fixer!

National Newswatch is reporting on an interview given by Stephane Dion to Tom Young, a New Brunswick radio host. In it, Stephane Dion calls himself the "trouble fixer".

Somehow, I doubt Stephane Dion wore a cape and flew into the room to announce in a baritone to the PM and his staff, "Eet is I, zee Trahhble Feexur!"

In fact, based on what people have been telling me, the truth is much more pedestrian. But no less signficant. I just don't see why Stephane Dion feels the need to embellish.

Stephen Harper constantly surprises everyone -- because they keep judging him by old standards

Prime Minister Stephen Harper shocked Ottawa by taling a motion, to be voted on next Monday, to recognize Quebec's national character -- in particular, though, it is a recognition of Quebeckers, not the province of Quebec. The move preempts a similar motion put forward by the Bloc Quebecois that would have been voted on next Tuesday (a motion that, of course, omitted any mention of Canada). More importantly, it provides an opportunity for the 10 Tories MPs from Quebec to vote for a resolution in supporting of Quebec's "nationality" without the dangers inherent in the separatist version of the sentiment. The Conservative Party as a whole can campaign in Quebec without the Bloc or the Liberals sniping at the candidates for having voted against a "nationality" resolution.

All in all a brilliant move, if a gutsy and risky one.

What's strange, though, is the amount of ink being used to describe just what a surprise this was. How many times does Stephen Harper have to surprise people before people stop being surprised?

Weird stuff going on with the Pajamas Media Netflix ads [Updated]

As part of the site upgrade, I've been testing all the links, including the ads running on the right rail provided by Pajamas Media. That's when I noticed it. I have never been able to get to Netflix. The same problem is happening on the Pajamas Media page, so I know it wasn't something I did.

What is disturbing though, is that the Netflix ads are taking me to spyware sites and pyramid schemes. Something rotten has infected Netflix, and I'm afraid it is using Pajamas Media and my site to direct people to these unsavoury corners of the web.

Update: Maybe it is redirecting me because my IP address is in Canada? But I'm still disgusted at the stand-in sites being called up.

The Google Search Box and AdSense Precision Matches

The Google search box has be successfully integrated into the new blog structure. Because of my rewrite of the blog into discrete pages, I can do things I couldn't do before, and I hope it turns out to be a profitable change.

Income-splitting will give same-sex couples something to think about

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty is rumoured to be ready to introduce some form of income splitting for all Canadians in a legally recognized marriage.

Will this plan bring gays in larger numbers over to the Conservatives?

Technorati, Tags, and Sitefeeds

A little nugget of knowledge I've recently come across that dramatically altered my understanding of the way Technorati works, and so changed the way I do things on the blog.

Apologies versus Contrition

Michael Richards, the actor who played Kramer on Seinfeld, has been in the news because he was caught on video angrily hurling racist insults at a heckler during a stand-up comedy performance. Of course, he has already embarked on the apology circuit. People have been debating about the quality and sincerity of his apology, and it got me thinking on the actual difference between being apologetic and being contrite.

Have the Liberals conceded ethnic minorities to the Conservatives?

One of the interesting things that came out of the last election in Canada, and since then, is the shift of the ethnic vote away from the Liberals and to the Conservatives. This has happened for a number of reasons. The Jewish community is of course very appreciative of Stephen Harper's unwavering support for Israel. Other ethnic communities, typically socially conservative, feel uncomfortable with same-sex marriage and other socially progressive policies pushed by the Liberals and their friends in certain special interest groups. Of course, no one likes to be taken for granted, and the Liberals have always taken the ethnic vote for granted, and that is itself plenty of reason to take your vote elsewhere.

I bring this up because it would appear that the Liberals are dropping a major initiative aimed at helping minorities. If the Liberal Party no longer perceives minority groups to be pro-Liberal, then I suppose it makes sense to drop them and their interests like a dirty tissue.

Income tax splitting coming to Canada?

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty is reported to be planning to introduce income splitting in Canada. The effects on the taxes of Canadians, especially those with larger families, is potentially very dramatic. In a remarkable bit of precognitive news reporting, the Toronto Star is already listing the groups that are going to hate the idea -- the details of which are not yet known. The paper predicts these groups will claim that the idea is not "progressive". Some quick calculations suggest otherwise.

Catholic Carnival #94

Catholic Carnival #94 is up.

Michael Richards: Career-ending accident or bizarre attempt to start again

Michael Richards' vile outburst at a comedy club has done something that his acting has not done -- gotten him noticed.

The New Look at Angry in the Great White North

Angry in the Great White North has a new look and new functionality. Leave your comments and suggestions here.

Update: I've noticed that IE6 is having problems rendering the margins and line spacing values that define the title and tabs. Nothing that breaks the functionality, but it does look off. I'll work on that.

This is, of course, the problem with browsers. Variations in the quality of interpretation of HTML and CSS directives means that cross-platform funtionality is still problematic. On the other hand, when I was a teen, I could choose from a TI-99/4A, a TRS-80, a Commodore Pet, an Amiga, an Atari-ST, and half a dozen more completely incompatible computing platforms. Cross-platform compatibility? I'll be happy if all I have to do is work on some minor spacing issues. With the migration of applications to online implementations based on AJAX, we'll have the best of both worlds -- multiple hardware platforms all running the same sets of applcations. Now if only someone would create a web-based version of Tunnels of Doom.

Elton John's dream of a religion-free earthly paradise

Elton John expressed his desire to see all organized religion banned, musings quite widely reported. At the time I wanted to criticize his dangerous words, but I decided to wait, because I wanted to hear the reaction of the gay community. The reaction is...varied.

Four out of five anarchists are washing their hair (and other great excuses)

I wonder just what excuse anarchists are giving for taking a pass on the G20 meeting in Melbourne.

mesh meetup

On Wednesday, I had the opportunity to attend a mesh meetup at the Irish Embassy Pub in downtown Toronto.

Is this the coolest job in the world or what?

Here is a picture of me with the new Playstation 3 that just showed up in our office:

Yes, the PS3 of which only 40,000 have been made available in Canada.

Hah!

I'll let you know what it's like after I take it for a test drive.

Conservative government: Hands off VOIP phones

And apparently the Conservatives trust Canadian consumers too. Why else would Industry Minister Maxime Bernier tell the Canadian Radio-Television Commission to not regulate Voice-over-IP telephony?

You mean, the companies can offer VOIP at whatever price they think they can make a profit on? And I can choose a VOIP service based on a balance of features and cost?

And the CRTC won't tell me I'm wrong?

How refreshing!

Bill Graham: Trade with China is worth more than babies

Opposition leader Bill Graham is taking Prime Minister Stephen Harper to task over the issue of the on-off-on-again meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao. The meeting, requested by the Chinese authorities and scheduled to occur during the APEC summit in Vietnam, was cancelled by the Chinese as a way of showing displeasure at Stephen Harper's criticism of China's miserable human rights record.

The Liberals are trying to spin this as an example of how unsophisticated Stephen Harper is hurting Canada's economic interests. I suppose Bill Graham has a thing or two to teach Stephen Harper about how to be sophisticated in the face of the most vile human rights violations when there is something as important as money in the balance.

The Ontario Bar Association increases the pressure on the government

The Ontario Bar Association is demanding to see the legal opinion used by the authors of Bill 151, the omnibus bill in front of the Ontario legislature that undermines solicitor-client privilege by increasing the power of the Canadian Public Accountability Board, that justifies those powers. This could put Dalton McGuinty's government in a tricky situation, especially if it turns out Attorney General Michael Bryant did not deliver any such opinion to Finance Minister Greg Sorbara or Minister of Government Services Gerry Phillips. This flies in the face of the efforts of the Ontario Securities Commission to increase its powers. There is a showdown shaping up.

Setting the record straight on StopIggy.com and Thunderline

One of the threads in the story behind the ankle-biting website StopIggy.com devoted to defeating Michael Ignatieff's bid to lead the Liberal Party of Canada was the role of Thunderline in its creation. Until it was revealed that Marsha Akman, a Liberal Party member from Montreal, was the author of the site, the focus was on David James of Thunderline.

David has contacted me, hoping to provide extra details and to set the record straight. I'm posting his email as is (minus a few technical comments about my site).

Catholic Carnival #93 is up

For those with a hankering for something a bit deeper than the latest on Britney and K-Fed, the Catholic Carnival is up at Just Another Day of Catholic Pondering.

Bob Rae and his real family

Is Liberal Party leadership candidate Bob Rae really a Liberal? Or is he still an Dipper at heart, but having tasted during his disastrous spell as premier of Ontario, has decided to use the Liberal Party to vaunt himself back into relevancy?

That's a question a lot of Liberals are struggling with, and since it is likely that no one will win the leadership on the first ballot, a lot of Liberal Party delegates are going to be asking themselves this question when faced with a decision of where to cast their second and third ballots.

If you are struggling with that question, maybe this video will help you come to an answer.

Katharine Jefferts Schori, the Anglican Church, and Irenicism

Is Katharine Jefferts Schori, recently invested in the position of Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church (the Anglican Church in the US), up to dealing with such subtle theological questions facing her faithful such as irenicism?

Irenicism? Until I started this piece, I had never heard of the word. The worrisome thing is that I wonder whether Jefferts Schori has ever heard of the word either.

Another accusation that Canadian market regulators are out of control

On the heals of the story in Canadian Business of financial regulators in Saskatchewan persecuting Brian Mallard, Terence Corcoran at the National Post writes about a similar case involving the Ontario Securities Commission, and comes to a similar conclusion.

Vic Toews taking heat for attempting to fix a broken system for judicial appointments

Justice Minister Vic Toews wants to make some changes to how judges are selected. In particular, he would like a representative of the police to sit on the committee that vets nominees. For that he is being labelled as the biggest threat to the judicial nomination system since, well, ever! Given that the system seems to be broken, that's probably a good thing. To put things into perspective, let's compare two lawyers, Bonnie Croll and Mary Eberts. Both were in the running for a judicial appointment, but only one was appointed. One has had an active career arguing landmark cases, the other worked part-time and never actually argued a case. Did that factor into the decision, or the fact that only one of them was a close relative of a famous Liberal Party senator?

Howard Dean to scream at...er...speak at the Liberal Party convention

The Liberal Party has announced a coup. Howard Dean, the Chairman of the Democratic Party, will be delivering the keynote address at the upcoming Liberal Party convention. Howard Dean? Screaming Howard Dean?

Opposition crosses the line with plan to follow Rona Ambrose

A story that opposition members are planning to bad mouth Rona Ambrose at a environmental conference crosses the line from loyal opposition to something quite disloyal, and frankly dangerous.

Green Party's Elizabeth May off to a rocky start

Elizabeth May might do well to throttle back on the conspiracy theories and stick to the pros and cons of green policy. Making wild allegations only to see them shot down in flames is hardly going to win her any friends, and if the Green Party wants to affect change, they will need allies who will take them seriously.

Advisors versus Regulators versus the Courts: The cautionary tale of Brian Mallard

In the world of mutual funds, regulators are supposed to be vigilant in making sure advisors follow the rules in order to make sure clients are getting fair advice. In this month's issue of Canadian Business, there is a long and detailed story about just how that system is simply not working because regulators assume every is cheating, and that any act justifies proving that allegation true.

Eva Ho and the murder of Philip Ho Sing Sit

Recently, I've been posting on the disappearance of Eva Ho, known to her friends as Eve. One of the remarkable things about the web is the way information can be brought together. This story is one of those examples. Eve has been missing since August, and the police only just issued a bulletin. In it, Eve is listed as missing, and little else.

But according to her friends, there is a lot the police are not talking about.

Angry on a Segway

I got to try a Segway today, and I have to say, it was very cool.

Eva Ho missing with Kevin Lim and Jackie Li

Recall Eva Ho, the 17-year-old girl who was last seen in August. Two months later, Toronto Police issued a notice requesting help to find her.

I have more details, including the names and pictures of the two young men who went missing at the same time, and are still missing. The police have not asked for the assistance in finding these young men, nor had they announced that finding them might lead to discovering Eva's whereabouts.

Tim Hudak highlights the CPAB changes during debate

Tim Hudak, the MPP for Erie-Lincoln, and the finance critic for the Progressive Conservatives at Queen's Park in Ontario, has focused in on the changes being proposed to expand the powers of the Canadian Public Accountability Board. The CPAB is a creation of the Ontario Securities Commission (in concert with other provincial securities commissions), and in Bill 151, Dalton McGuinty's Liberals propose to require accountants to provide all material used to prepare audits to the CPAB for inspection, including material that is considered privileged.

Interruption in Service

Sorry for the lack of posts over the last few days, but I've been transitioning jobs and dealing with move-related issues, so I haven't been able to devote time to the blog. I expect things will pick up now.

Geosign's new Blogmaster

If I can indulge in a bit of personal news, I'd like to mention that I'll be starting a new job on Monday.

It is a departure for me, career-wise, and might be of interest to some of you.

Banned toy is not on the shelves, Health Canada inspector reports

Remember that yo-yo ball toy, banned in Canada and Australia, that I found was being advertised by a Montreal distributer? Health Canada has given the all clear.

Sad news for a fellow blogger

Let's all extend our condolences to Dr Dawg for his loss.

Joe Volpe and his personal injury lawyers win one

Liberal Party leadership candidate Joe Volpe was fined $20,000 by the Liberal Party for irregularities in signing up new members. Volpe appealed, and has won. The $20,000 fine was tossed out and replaced with the $1,000 fine originally recommended. But when Volpe and his crack team of personal injury lawyers asked for relief from a gag rule in order to use his victory to get his campaign going again, the Permament Appeal Committee said no. I'm curious why.

More evidence that the Ontario Securities Commission pulls the government's strings

In 2005, the Ontario Securities Commission loses a case involving solicitor-client privilege extended to accountants. In 2006, the Ontario government tables legislation that changes the rules so that the protections that the court determined existed are explicitly eliminated.

Coincidence?

Hugh Segal Interview

Stephen Taylor snags an interview with Hugh Segal, discussing topics "ranging from parliamentary obstructionism, Senate reform, Garth Turner and the 2006 General Election."

Garth Turner is against the use of staff for partisan purposes...except his own

Garth Turner is accusing his former colleagues in the Conservative Party of misusing their Hill staffers to help fight a by-election. The fact is, though, that Hill staffers are partisan workers and are expected to help the Conservative Party. But what is really galling is that Garth Turner's own executive assistant, Esther Shaye, is also engaged in some serious partisan work for the Conservative Party, and Garth Turner never complained about that before.

Ontario Bar Association: Bring court oversight to the OSC

The Ontario Bar Association has written a letter to Ontario's Liberal Finance Minister Greg Sorbara concerning Bill 151. In it, the OBA expresses its deep concern over the erosion of solicitor-client privilege and recommends that the courts, not the Ontario Securities Commission or the Canadian Public Accountability Board, be the arbiter of when that privilege is to be breached.

Angry in the Great White North by Steve Janke is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Canada License. Based on a work at stevejanke.com.