Category Politics
The Great Turkish Forgery
A Turkish court has confirmed the government can convert Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia from a museum to a mosque. Not an unexpected decision given Turkey’s political climate. I’m sure the folks at UNESCO are not happy, given that they weren’t consulted on this change to a world heritage site. It really is Turkey’s decision tough, but… […]
Do Ethics Matter?
Canada’s Prime Minister is once again being investigated for alleged ethical violations. Does anyone care? I won’t go into the details. It is too depressing that someone who has twice been censured by the Ethics Commissioner would once again break the rules so flagrantly. What is worse, to me, is that Justin Trudeau doesn’t seem […]
American Amateur Hour
Somehow it seems appropriate that he made the announcement on Twitter. Rapper Kanye West says he is running for president of the US. I can’t take this seriously. Given the way the American electoral system is set up, his chances of even being on the ballot are slim. He has no experience, but that didn’t […]
Turkish Politics and You
With the world concentrating on COVID-19, you may have missed Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan’s latest not so subtle move to reshape his country. He wants to turn a museum into a mosque. Not just any museum though, but a UNESCO world heritage building, the Hagia Sophia. This is a popular move in a country where […]
Highly Debatable
The four contenders for the leadership of Canada’s Conservative party square off in an English-language debate tonight, as they did in French last night. Why should you care? If you are a Canadian you should be interested; one of these four will be the next leader of the Official Opposition, and possibly Prime Minister […]
Instructional Video for the President
I avoid YouTube. It can suck up so much of your time. Some of my friends send me links to YouTube videos on a regular basis. There are political commentaries and music videos and some stuff that is just fun. Usually I don’t watch them. It isn’t that I don’t want to. But there are […]
Democracy In Action – Your Turn
Today is an important day for Canadian democracy, though my guess is most people in Canada are unaware of it. Not surprising given the usual level of political awareness and engagement. In a presidential system the leader of the country is elected directly by the people. In the Westminster parliamentary tradition the Prime Minister is […]
Virtually Marching For Life
Canada’s federal politicians are ecstatic Parliament is not meeting in Ottawa today. The second Thursday of May is the day they most dread. In ordinary times the annual March For Life would wind through Ottawa’s streets to Parliament Hill this afternoon. There would be at least 20,000 people calling politicians to account on Canada’s lack […]
Guns, Guns, Guns!
When the Prime Minister of Canada announced the immediate banning of 1,500 different types of assault weapons I was shocked. Did you know there were so many different types of guns? I didn’t. I’ve never owned a gun, pistol, rifle or assault weapon. Don’t expect to ever need one. I’m a city dweller (when I […]
Leading By Example? Sadly Yes.
“Stay at home! This means you!” How many times have you heard those words from politicians in the past month? Self isolation, social distancing, no unnecessary travel. No exceptions. Except it turns out there are. In Canada anyway. The Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition don’t think the rules that apply to others […]
random thoughts from lorne 
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