It was 99 years ago today that Canada became a nation. At least that is one version of the narrative. Canada became a country on July 1, 1867. It severed legal ties, more or less, with the United Kingdom on December 11, 1931 with the passage of the Statute of Westminster. But military independence came […]

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 […]

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 […]

  I missed it the first time I went looking for it. Which seems strange. How do you miss a facility that holds more than 100,000 people? Turns out it’s not hard when all that’s left is a grassy hill. With the passage of time Rome’s Circus Maximus is long gone. The stands where thousands […]

  I’m writing this on the bus, having had to take off my gloves to do so. It is unseasonably cold, about ten degrees below seasonal norms. And that doesn’t include the wind chill, which yesterday was -20. Or the snow forecast for tomorrow. It doesn’t feel like Spring. We don’t talk about global warming […]

The guidebook says this is the place. Not the birthplace of pizza, but where it was perfected. I guess you could call our visit to Naples a pilgrimage. Antica Pizzeria de la Michelle has moved from its original location, but that doesn’t matter. The recipe is the same, and after all, the move did take […]

On my desk and shelves, in my home office and in my office on Parliament Hill are some objects that have a certain amount of significance in my life but which are otherwise useless. It is not like I need more ornamentation or decorations after all. Each one though has a story attached to it, […]

  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 […]

Unfortunately this one isn’t an April Fool’s joke!

  As the primary season winds down and the general election is about to get underway, it is time to explain why Donald Trump has won my vote and why I think he should be the next President of the United States. There is no doubt in my mind that ‘The Donald” as one of […]