Many political journalists have a warmer regard for the elite personalities they cover than the public they presume to serve
Halloween has come early this year in the form of dark mutterings of a midnight plot by the Parliamentary Press Gallery. It’s the spooky spectre of a Liberal Media Conspiracy. Never has conspiracy talk gained such currency amongst rational people. Theorists believe Liberals remain in power with the aid of journalists. Media are led by […]
Lobbyists want government to break log-jam in procurement
Ottawa lobbyists and government suppliers says the aftershocks of public outrage over perceived corruption within the contracting process are having a profound effect on the procurement process. Ottawa lobbyists and government suppliers says the aftershocks of public outrage over perceived corruption within the contracting process is having a profound effect on the procurement process, where […]
Disagree with ‘puff piece’ on new Grit Sen. Campbell
Re: the puff piece on Senator Larry Campbell (“Look out for new Liberal Senator Larry Campbell,”(The Hill Times, Sept. 19), it’s my view as a journalist in B.C. that you would be rendering your readers a disservice by leaving them with the impression, as writer Jonathan Ross did, that Larry Campbell is going to be […]
Advice to Harper: tell your MPs to get with the program buddy, straighten up and fly right
Canadian voters are willing to look for an alternative, but for some reason the federal Conservatives refuse to give them one. TORONTO – Canadians want a change. But the change implies two steps. First, you must be convinced that what you have, in this case, a Liberal government, is not good, and I believe you […]
Bolan pulls no punches in book on 1985 Air India bombing [Loss of Faith: How the Air India Bombers Got Away With Murder]
Vancouver Sun reporter Kim Bolan, who has received death threats and now has RCMP protection because of her stories on the Air India bombing, says there’s no way she would ever stop writing about it. So she wrote a book about it. High above the North Atlantic, just off the coast of Ireland on the […]
Cue the Jaws movie theme music: Frank Magazine is back, online
Michael Bate and the Frank team are clearly ready to take on Ottawa, but is Ottawa ready – or willing – to take Frank back? Cue the Jaws theme music: Frank Magazine, the notorious satirical newsweekly, is back. Last week marked the debut of efrank.ca, the online version of the magazine that provided nightmare fodder […]
Recently Released Books
War Law: Understanding International Law and Armed Conflict by Michael Byers. Douglas and McIntyre Publishing Group, 214 pages, $35. Blurb from the back cover: “How should we respond to ‘the tension between a world that still wants a fair and sustainable international legal system and a superpower that hardly seems to care?’ That is the […]
Senate shuts down, has nothing to do
The Senate shut down last week and won’t be back until Oct. 18 because it has no bills to scrutinize. The Senate shut down last week for two weeks and won’t be back until Oct. 18 because it has nothing to do and no bills to scrutinize, after sitting an extra month in the summer. […]
The Prime Minister did good [Governor-General’s appointment]
What is remarkable is that it was an appointment by Prime Minister Paul Martin, based on his gut instinct, something he should evidently do more of. No? Michaelle Jean’s selection for the post of Governor General was greeted with surprise, but reasonably good press back in early August. And then her separatist friends struck and […]
Michaelle Jean steps out
Last week’s newspaper headlines said it all. Michaelle Jean was a hit.The 48- year-old refugee from Haiti and former Quebec journalist dazzled the crowd on and off the Hill.The Ottawa establishment and the Prime Minister’s Office were pleased. Not bad, considering all the earlier reviews from the monarchy abolitionists, conservative talk radio hosts, some newspaper […]
