Yes, it may be true that recent emails were hacked showing that Santa supporters have been “cooking the data.” They have been exaggerating the Santa sightings and suppressing any evidence that implicated other causes. They also ridiculed and censored any kids who did not believe that Santa wasn’t “real.”  And some are now calling it “Santa-gate.”...
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With the release of hacked emails from prominent climate scientists, it has become evident that among many of them ideological considerations have trumped any scientific quest for truth. They believe that climate change is taking place and man-made greenhouse gases are causing it. So they set out to find data that supports that conclusion. And they suppress and even destroy data that conflicts with that conclusion. And they belittle, demonize and ultimately censor other scientists who...
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A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a blog about the Montreal municipal election musing on a statement I heard from the French press that because anglos voted for Gerald Tremblay over Louise Harel that we must prefer the mafia to the separatists.I thought it was an amusing idea. But it caused a stir on separatist blogs. Richard Martineau even denounced me as being racist. I was very surprised. A bit offended, too, that they didn’t get the joke. But, to be fair, humour is the last...
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One of the great enjoyments in life is feeling better off than others. I confess that was the way I felt while talking to a neighbour about our kids. He had to transfer his daughter from the school she was already attending to another school many miles away. I said: “Why doesn’t she just go to Beaconsfield High? It’s so close she can walk.” “Oh, no,” he said. “She can’t do that.”“Why not?” I asked, naively. “It’s an English school, and...
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Sarah Palin is about to embark on a book tour. She is avoiding the major urban centres and concentrating on the heartland instead. She should do well. I just came back from the U.S. heartland where I played Milbank, South Dakota. And here are some things I noticed.The capital of South Dakota is Pierre. But they all pronounce it “Peer.” If you point out that it was originally a French name and should be pronounced Pee-air, they just look at you and shrug. They pronounce it...
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As I watched the speeches after the municipal election I noticed that Mayor Tremblay was sporting a poppy, as well as most of the other politicians and journalists. But Louise Harel was not. Neither were any of the twenty or so people around her. Imagine, even though Quebec boys are dying in Afghanistan they couldn’t manage one poppy between them.I also looked for any visible minorities in the crowd. It seemed that among her supporters there wasn’t a single visible ethnic to be...
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There are some West Island residents who have, over the years, collected many haunted house artifacts and annually take it upon themselves to provide that kind of fun for the neighbourhood kids. It’s great to see citizens doing what they enjoy and sharing it with others. I applaud it.Most of us are content to simply keep a bowl of bite-size candy bars next to the door so that when a group of kids ring our bell we do not have to say: “Halloween? What’s that? I’m from...
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Last week, I read two separate articles in the newspaper that made me stop and think.In one, the idea was put forward that the recession was good for us because by being less prosperous we gave off less carbon emissions.The second article quoted the suggestion of an environmental group that we have fewer children to cut down on carbon emissions because every human being is another carbon emitter.In olden days the toast was: “May you prosper and have many children!”...
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It is October and the fall colours are coming out. Like the colour photos of the candidates in the upcoming municipal election all along Beaconsfield Blvd. But enter Beaurepaire Village and you will see who the merchants support. There is nary a Mayor Bob Benedetti poster to be seen. But many of his main challenger: councillor David Pollock. There has been much discord between the mayor and the villagers. They feel they have been harassed by selective enforcement of absurd bylaws for...
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I have recently returned from out West. In the last few years I have spent quite a bit of time there. It is a part of Canada we Easterners should learn to understand better.Here is a case in point:Perhaps you have heard the phrase: “Dirty oil.” I know some of you might think that it is redundant, but for Albertans it is a bit of an insult. Much of their wealth in the last decade has been tied to the tar sands and its “dirty oil.” ...
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