Category Society
The Big Give
I’m not really a garage sale sort of person. That’s not to say I don’t appreciate a bargain, but driving from place to place looking for one doesn’t appeal to me. It seems too much like work. I know there are people for whom garage sales are a major hobby. They are up at the […]
The Church
“Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” That line is a paraphrase of a statement popularized by philosopher George Santayana. It was running through my mind a lot this week, with the news that Ottawa’s Northwestern United Church building is being sold to the mosque next door. I assume the reason […]
The Mosque
The first mosque I ever visited was in a Toronto building that started its life as a Presbyterian church. I don’t think that usage was predestined. It was the Summer of 1989 and the mosque visit was part of an orientation session being given before we moved to Africa. I think the idea was that, […]
Harby
I suppose an explanation is in order. Certainly a fellow blogger thought so, sending me an email asking if somehow something had been dropped from my post on stuffed animals. The short answer is no. I just didn’t think to explain myself. And I suppose I really should explain why my son’s stuffed toy rabbit, […]
Unintended Consequences
Anyone with half a brain could have seen it coming. That no-one did is probably because there were politicians involved. A couple of years back the Ontario government decided that sick leave for teachers was costing the province way too much. Change the system, the experts said, and reap the savings. Under the old system […]
The Verdict – II
I was right. In a decision that took 4 ½ hours for the judge to summarize (it is 308 pages after all), Mike Duffy was found not guilty on all counts. No misuse of funds, no accepting a bribe, no breach of trust. Thirty-one charges, 31 charges dismissed. As I said yesterday, I fully expected […]
The Verdict
Today is the day Senator Mike Duffy learns his fate. I have avoided commenting on his criminal proceedings for the past year, but want to get my prediction on the record. The case has held Canadians’ attention since the trial started more than a year ago. Even before that, when the scandal broke surrounding Duffy’s […]
Public Transit
Taking the bus is relatively boring. You get on, you pay your fare, you get off at your destination. One bus looks just like every other bus. It wasn’t like that when we visited Malta. The buses had a uniform colour scheme, but there was room for personalization and individuality. They’ve changed the system since […]
random thoughts from lorne 
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