Austeria
Mad scientist selling his utopian project to the master of Metropolis (Fritz Lang, 1927)
“Austeria”. An informal talk to OMSSA’s 2013 Learning Symposium, held in Ottawa, Ontario from June 16 to 19, 2013.
Le Carnet d’Alexandre- Quels candidats municipaux appuient les Francophones?
- la gouvernance des minorités francophones: de Charlottetown à aujourd’hui
- Élections municipales à Toronto: les enjeux francophones
- Budget et stratégie électorale en Ontario
- L’immigration francophone à Toronto: succès et défis
- Le dilemme d’Andrea Horwath
- Trudeau et la stratégie de l’ambigüité
- Forum de la Francophonie torontoise: le vendredi 22 mars
- Augmenter l’immigration d’expression française à Toronto
- Le défi autochtone: comment aborder un problème social complexe
- Globe & Mail
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- Canadian Dimension
- Why we no longer have confidence in York University’s administration
- The student Intifada rises at Montréal universities
- The West’s double standards on Georgia’s ‘foreign agents’ bill
- Will a landmark war crimes trial usher in an era of corporate accountability?
- First we take Manhattan
- Kagarlitsky the irrepressible
- Elites in the Global North are scared to talk about Palestine
- Budget 2024 is a small step toward a grown-up economy
- Academic freedom for me but not for thee
- Keffiyeh bans and the fragility of apartheid supporters
- CPAC
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- Global Brief
- Atomwaffen für Deutschland?
- Naranja amarga, feudo-partido
- Медийная повестка и новые факторы войны в Украине
- Australia Shapes Beijing’s Tactical Change
- Not so Intelligent About Artificial Intelligence
- Indigenous Canada and Canada’s Adaptation Imperative
- Save the date: July 29 & 30, Toronto, Global Summit Educate All Kids
- Klimapolitik ohne demokratische Legitimation?
- La “Transformación” de México
- Considerations on the Post-Pandemic World – GB Interview with Bilahari Kausikan
- Hill Time
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- Rabble
- Don’t buy-in to climate science denialism
- UCP set to announce plan to bust up AHS
- Deepfakes and gender based violence
- City of Vancouver to lowest paid workers: Let them eat cuts!
- Hundreds of thousands of Quebec public sector workers vow further strike action
- Dual boss battle: video game workers face-off multiple employers at once
- Degrowth, green energy, social equity, and circular economy
- Take Back Alberta completes take over of UCP board
- Saving Palestinian lives will save Israeli lives
- Edmonton activist protests climate crisis with demonstration in AB legislature
- Straight Goods
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- The Mark News
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- The Métropolitain
- Now the state "presumes" to control our deaths
- Tlaib, Omar and their apologists
- Excessive PMO control of caucus not serving Canada well
- Bill 21: A perspective on laity in Quebec
- Trudeau just doesn't get it
- Remembering King....“Courage uncompromised by timidity. Justice not cheapened for expediency…”
- Bernard Landry and the country that never was
- Time for some perspective on laity in Quebec
- What the USMCA means for Canada
- Let's get serious on energy in Quebec
- The Province
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- The Walrus
- This Magazine
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- Winnipeg Free Press
- Bronny James receives medical clearance to play in the NBA, AP source says
- Judge says construction on massive CN Rail hub can continue — for now
- Champions League final between Real Madrid and Dortmund to be refereed by Slavko Vinčić of Slovenia
- Collapsing billboard kills 3 and hurts 59 in heavy rains in Mumbai. Scores might be trapped
- China and US envoys will hold first top-level dialogue on artificial intelligence
- Stock traders go on trial in multibillion dollar collapse of Archegos fund
- Ted Baker, Brooks Brothers and Lucky Brand begin closing sales in Canada and U.S.
- Veteran quarterback Mitchell taking snaps at Hamilton Tiger-Cats camp Monday
- British prime minister warns of ‘axis of authoritarian states’ in pre-election speech
- Indonesian police raid drug lab in Bali villa
- Aaron Wherry
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- Adam Radwanski
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- Ann Lagacé Dowson
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- Chris Selley
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- Dan Gardner
- The Fever Swamps of Harper-Hate
- The Government Is Right To Pay Severance
- A Prime Minister More Powerful Than Any
- History Should Count For Something
- Bloomberg is Right
- The Power of One MP
- Obama, Gay Marriage, and Leadership
- Is He Lying Or Merely Incompetent?
- Why Harper Should Love The Loopy Left
- Abortion and Liberty
- Doug Saunders
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- Irshad Manji
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- Naomi Klein
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- Paul Krugman
- Give Me Laundry Liberty or Give Me Death!
- On News Coverage and Inflation Negativity
- Gov. Ron DeSantis Is Banning Lab-Grown Meat
- The Peculiar Persistence of Trump-stalgia
- Are High Interest Rates Here to Stay?
- Trump Is Flirting With Quack Economics
- Can Biden Revive the Fortunes of American Workers?
- Ukraine Aid in the Light of History
- The U.S. Economy’s Post-Covid Recovery: Were We Just Lucky?
- Good Economy, Negative Vibes: The Story Continues
- Paul Wells
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- Pierre Fortin
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- Rick Salutin
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- Steve Paikin
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- Susan Delacourt
- Accidental Deliberations
- Errol Mendes
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- EthicsCan
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- Equality Trust Blogs
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- George Lakoff
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- Justice with Michael Sandel
- Interview at World Economic Forum, Davos
- Interview, Bloomberg TV
- The Guardian:Themes of 2016: Progressive parties have to address the people’s anger
- Boston Globe: A Hub civics lesson, from vote selling to snow shoveling
- Interview on populist protest, CCTV News
- Handelsblatt (Germany): “Brexit, Trump, and the Populist Backlash”
- Der Tagesspiegel (Germany): Michael Sandel: „Das digitale Zeitalter bedroht die Demokratie“
- New Statesman (UK): Michael Sandel: “The energy of the Brexiteers and Trump is born of the failure of elites”
- Corruption and the ethics of everyday life – Globo TV (Brazil)
- Le Monde (France): “Michael Sandel, passeur de justice”
- Margarita Del Norte
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- Orwell’s Bastard
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- Politiques sociales
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- Progressive Bloggers Canada
- Things Are Good: mRNA Vaccine Used to Fight Brain Tumour
- Wise Law Blog: Wise Law’s Top 10 Law Tweets for the Week of May 13, 2024
- Wise Law Blog: Wise Law’s Legal Headlines for the week of May 13, 2024
- Dead Wild Roses: Life Has to Be Fought For – Douglas Murray
- Cathie from Canada: More writings about the Israel-Hamas War: Biden’s dream, IDF goals, casualty statistics, Israel divestment
- THE FIFTH COLUMN: The Scourge of the Internet
- Warren Kinsella: KINSELLACAST 311: From Israel to Canada – senior Israeli leaders, plus Lilley, Kheiriddin, Belanger – and Against Me, Joyce Manor, Fugazi, Wailers
- Recreating Eden: Saturday Photo: Bleeding Heart for Bleeding Hearts
- Alberta Politics: Were the presidents of Alberta’s two largest universities pushed to call the cops to remove Gaza protesters, or did they jump?
- Northern Reflections: Who He And They Are
- Pundits’ Guide to Canadian Elections
- Minority Math is Hard on the Liberals
- Campaigning in 3D: Six more weeks of the three-way race
- A hat-trick of double-takes on the ballot
- UPDATED: The State of the Slates
- Last-minute, longer election campaign: “Cunning” or just cowardly?
- UPDATED: Why a new Québec-based party is running in the Peterborough by-election, and other unintended consequences of sloppy law-making
- UPDATED: Candidate Drilldown: Vancouver Island Part II
- UPDATED: Candidate Drilldown: Vancouver Island Part I
- Just how many MPs are retiring, anyway?
- Liberals lose four candidates in a month
- The Commons
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- ResPublica
- The Future of Higher Technical Education in England: Expanding Opportunity for All
- Report Launch – The Future of Higher Technical Education
- The Right Response: Conservative ideas to tackle perennial poverty
- Closing the Enforcement Gap
- Making LSIPs Work
- Evidence Session | Pathways to lifelong learning
- In conversation with Minister Luke Hall
- Events
- Higher Skills for Strategic Industries
- In Conversation with Danny Kruger MP; “Covenant”
- Three Hundred Eight
Alex's Blog 
Song: Evidently chicken town Writer: John Cooper Clark
The bloody cops are bloody keen
To bloody keep it bloody clean
The bloody chief’s a bloody swine
Who bloody draws a bloody line
At bloody fun and bloody games
The bloody kids he bloody blames
Are nowhere to be bloody found
Anywhere in chicken town
The bloody scene is bloody sad
The bloody news is bloody bad
The bloody weed is bloody turf
The bloody speed is bloody surf
The bloody folks are bloody daft
Don’t make me bloody laugh
It bloody hurts to look around
Everywhere in chicken town
The bloody train is bloody late
You bloody wait you bloody wait
You’re bloody lost and bloody found
Stuck in fucking chicken town
The bloody view is bloody vile
For bloody miles and bloody miles
The bloody babies bloody cry
The bloody flowers bloody die
The bloody food is bloody muck
The bloody drains are bloody fucked
The colour scheme is bloody brown
Everywhere in chicken town
The bloody pubs are bloody dull
The bloody clubs are bloody full
Of bloody girls and bloody guys
With bloody murder in their eyes
A bloody bloke is bloody stabbed
Waiting for a bloody cab
You bloody stay at bloody home
The bloody neighbors bloody moan
Keep the bloody racket down
This is bloody chicken town
The bloody pies are bloody old
The bloody chips are bloody cold
The bloody beer is bloody flat
The bloody flats have bloody rats
The bloody clocks are bloody wrong
The bloody days are bloody long
It bloody gets you bloody down
Evidently chicken town
The bloody train is bloody late
You bloody wait you bloody wait
You’re bloody lost and bloody found
Stuck in fucking chicken town
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Everybody has become timid
They now fear the small white mice
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Oh, yeah.
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That was an excellent presentation. I’m hoping those in the audience, probably many members of the civil service and maybe government in waiting MPs, took notes.
Other than recent economic jargon, cuts are considered a very negative thing. A gardener will prune a failing tree or plant to avoid cutting and killing it.
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Thanks BY. “Avoid cutting and killing” is a pretty good motto.
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Great speech, Alex. I agree, movements are beginning to coalesce, and ‘Enough Already’ would be as good a rallying cry as any. Please continue.
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Thanks Ian!
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Hi Alex,
Just now, I read Paul Krugman’s take on the U.S. situation of all actors not allowing ‘the system’ to work in the way that it is supposed to work:
I am reminded of the anger I felt recently in watching yet another comedian interview a politician and discuss public policy.
IMHO, while Jon Stewart asks some very good questions, he is not a trained journalist. I expect more public benefit if Neil MacDonald or John Dickerson, trained journalists, were conducting interviews! Yet, these events are hailed as examples of ‘open and transparent’ government…
Am I alone in believing that the system is breaking down around us!?!?
While this article doesn’t address directly the elephant in the room, perhaps it may help us unpack some of the issues stored in its trunk!!!
Thanks,
Lynn
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Thanks for the link, and no, you are not alone.
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Hi Alex,
Not sure if you have read this yet, but the idea of scarcity consuming ‘bandwidth’, poverty itself impacting one’s capacity for decision making, is remarkable.
Perhaps these research findings can assist in the development of more effective social programs.
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/09/25/escaping-the-cycle-of-scarcity/?hp&_r=0
Thanks,
Lynn
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Lynn, thanks so much. Read the one on bandwith, the other new to me and both very useful, Thanks again
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Gee Alex, I have an opportunity to share with you two articles of interest in a single day!
This recent OECD speech addresses the importance of ‘trust in government’ – a theme central to so many of your blog posts.
http://www.oecd.org/governance/recovering-trust-as-a-key-to-effective-public-policy.htm
Thanks,
Lynn
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