Archive for January 2012

Is Nathan Cullen the conscience of New Democrat race in Canada?

Jan 30th, 2012 | By | Category: In Brief

Anyone who has been talking even a little to NDP friends and colleagues won’t be surprised to hear that, at the party’s Sunday, January 29 federal leadership debate in Halifax, Nathan Cullen came under some heavy fire, “over his plan to hold joint nomination meetings with other parties in Conservative-held ridings to avoid splitting the […]



The gathering storm down under .. how much longer can Australia’s Labor government last?

Jan 26th, 2012 | By | Category: In Brief

Internal website statistics showing a sudden burst of fresh interest in a blog we did on the last Australian federal election (“You can’t blame Bloc Québécois for no majority government in Land of Oz,”Â  Aug 23rd, 2010) has clued us in to fresh political hi-jinks in the exotic deep southern geography of  billabongs, coolabah trees, […]



Will “hard work” and “opportunity for all” get Ontario Liberals through 2012?

Jan 23rd, 2012 | By | Category: In Brief

[UPDATED JANUARY 24]. Ontario Liberal Premier Dalton McGuinty’s welcoming speech was one of the highlights at the Liberal Party of Canada’s biennial convention in Ottawa, more than a week ago now, on Friday, January 13, 2012. One of its most striking passages, I thought, came somewhat before the middle: “Choosing a new leader is no […]



High-speed rail in USA (and Canada) today – yet another boogie-woogie rumble Of a dream deferred?

Jan 18th, 2012 | By | Category: In Brief

It has me taken a while to get into the latest Stephen Colbert intervention in the real world of US politics (in conjunction with his colleague, Jon Stewart – who recently claimed that both “t”s in his surname are silent, to give “Sewar” when said out loud). But I have now been drawn in by […]



Liberals vote to keep monarchy .. and lose some current and future supporters (present company not excepted)!

Jan 15th, 2012 | By | Category: In Brief

In a number of respects the Liberal Party of Canada biennial convention in Ottawa this weekend has been a surprising success. It was, eg, attended by some 3,200 delegates – considerably more than expected. As Jane Taber has also reported: “The party had wanted to show it can reinvent itself by becoming more open. It […]



Obama may yet prove smarter than all his critics – right AND left!

Jan 13th, 2012 | By | Category: In Brief

Jackson Lears “teaches history at Rutgers University, is the editor of Raritan and author of Rebirth of a Nation: The Making of Modern America, 1877-1920.” In the 5 January 2012 issue of the London Review of Books, he reviews two recent biographies of US President Barack Obama’s father and mother –  The Other Barack by […]



Is Mulcair taking the lead in federal NDP race (and will Crawley be new Liberal Party of Canada President)?

Jan 10th, 2012 | By | Category: In Brief

[UPDATED JANUARY 18]. The main event in Canadian progressive politics this week is the biennial convention of the federal Liberals in Ottawa – Friday, January 13 to Sunday, January 15.  Our first big hope here is that the Grits in their wisdom vote YES for resolution 114 : “Canadian Identity in the 21st Century … […]



Our new year’s resolution 2012 .. keep Zzzzzzzzzzzzz up to date .. more or less!

Jan 8th, 2012 | By | Category: In Brief

By this point we no longer remember how our Zzzzzzzzzzzzz department – on the bar at the top of the page in the Home mode: “Links to recent news for those who really cannot get to sleep” – got started in the first place. But we do know that it has been woefully out of […]



If step-by-step reform is good for the Senate, why not the monarchy too?

Jan 6th, 2012 | By | Category: Canadian Republic

At their biennial convention next weekend the federal Liberals will be debating a policy resolution on the Canadian future of the British monarchy, at the democratic reforming behest of the Young Liberals of Canada.. The resolution is officially known as “114. Canadian Identity in the 21st Century.” Its operative section reads: “BE IT RESOLVED that […]



Will showing the left how to co-operate be Ontario’s new role in confederation?

Jan 5th, 2012 | By | Category: Canadian Provinces

Six recent articles, mostly but not entirely from the Globe and Mail, raise some provocative prospects about Ontario’s changing role in the Canadian confederation: “Ontario Liberals brace for a tumultuous year” (Adam Radwanski) ; “Flaherty’s corporate-tax plan hits stumbling block in Ontario” (Bill Curry) ; “Saving John McCallum’s seat will be true measure of Liberal […]