Category Society
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 […]
Two Thoughts For A Wednesday
We start with the wrongful dismissal case, where a fired employee was successful on his suit against his employer. He worked for the RCMP, a clerk for Canada’s national police force. At a social event at a superior’s house he consumed large quantities of alcohol and smoke marijuana. This led to his termination. He sued. […]
Broken Relationships
Ever have one of those days when at the end of the day you looked back and realized you hadn’t accomplished any of the things you wanted to? That was Monday. So I decided to go with a re-run today. I might have anyway even if Monday hadn’t been so hectic. I’ve been thinking about […]
A Bite From The Apple
I was waiting for the next round of the court battle between Apple and the US government to post this piece I wrote a couple of months ago. Given that there is no next round to that fight, now seems as good a time as any. There has been a lot said and written […]
Moral Blindness
O tempora, o mores! (Oh what times! Oh what customs! – Cicero, 63 B.C. Once upon a time there were no rules when it came to politicians and fundraising. As the saying went, the definition of an honest politician was: “one who stays bought.” We have higher standards today. Or do we? There has been […]
The Parable of the Two Daughters – III
I almost missed the news, probably because it didn’t get the publicity of the original court decision. Funny how that happens sometimes. Not that news media would ever show a particular bias… Last year I commented on a court overturning a father’s will. He had disinherited one of his daughters because he disapproved of […]
The Verdict
It isn’t often that I get to say “I told you so,” but I did last Thursday when Canadian broadcaster/musician Jian Ghomeshi was found “not guilty” on all the sexual assault charges he was facing. I didn’t follow the trial closely (I have better things to do with my life), but I had paid enough […]
Remembering Johnny
It’s Easter, and today I miss Johnny Hart. The creator of two popular late 20th century comic strips died in 2007. Neither the Wizard of Id nor B.C. is among my all-time favourite strips. I am more partial to Doonesbury, Dilbert, Calvin and Hobbes and Bloom County. Still, most of the time I would find […]
Considering Mortality
Today’s post was supposed to be a travel piece about the Italian city of Pompeii. Then circumstances changed. I was writing the post in the spot where most of these posts are written, on the bus traveling to my job on Parliament Hill. As we got near to my stop I was reflecting on the […]
There’s A Riot Going On
Conn Smythe used to say “If you can’t beat ’em in the alley, you can’t beat ’em on the ice.” That’s not as pugnacious as it sounds really, he was talking about hockey after all. Smythe was talking about the need for players to have a certain attitude, to bring a combative approach to how […]
random thoughts from lorne 
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