http://insidetorontoblogs.com/rightangle Dave Barnett writes about life Thu, 21 Jan 2010 16:32:22 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Right now 30,000 striking public workers are holding 2.5 million Torontonians hostage. Is this fair? Are we protecting some sort of minority rights? Are not the actions of the strikers in most cases illegal? Who do these workers work for? Who do they answer to? Why is there so little ... http://insidetorontoblogs.com/rightangle/2009/07/23/do-we-really-live-in-a-democracy/ As I look out the window today, the sun is shining and the clouds are few. Tomorrow, I'm sure the climate will change, we may even have some rain.The G8 countries have apparently agreed to limit global warming (remember that old term?) to 2 degrees Celsius over the next few ... http://insidetorontoblogs.com/rightangle/2009/07/09/climate-change-today-and-tomorrow/ Scanning the headlines today I came upon "Crown urges 10 years for Livent founders" in the Toronto Star. That seems a bit much for a financial fraud, but taking down white-collar criminals is the in thing these days, witness the over-the-top prosecution of Bernie Madoff south of the border and the ... http://insidetorontoblogs.com/rightangle/2009/07/06/justice-do-we-know-what-it-means-anymore/ Well, even Dominion Day, err... I mean Canada Day didn't bring the summer weather we've been hoping for. It's raining as I type but I believe relief is just a day or so away. There's something about the first official summer holiday that manages to kick my brain out of ... http://insidetorontoblogs.com/rightangle/2009/07/03/summertime-in-the-city/ I think a little application of the Golden Rule would work wonders here for our striking neighbours. Let's see if we can't paint a picture of what life would be like in an ideal world: First thing in the morning our friendly striker gets up, in the dark, and discovers that ... http://insidetorontoblogs.com/rightangle/2009/06/23/what-should-we-do-with-the-strikers/ To me, it is apparent that Stephen Harper completely misread the mood of Canadians when his government released last year's economic statement. He thought the population wanted facts. Actually, they wanted feel-good rhetoric of the kind that was galvanizing the country to the south. He thought people would be glad to ... http://insidetorontoblogs.com/rightangle/2009/02/04/dont-confuse-us-with-the-facts/ Do you ever pause to wonder why Israel, a tiny nation of 8 million, commands such attention on the world stage? Millions starve to death or die as war casualties every year all across the globe and yet a fractional number of deaths anywhere in Palestine draws a thousand times ... http://insidetorontoblogs.com/rightangle/2009/01/09/israel-continues-to-amaze-confound-survive/ And so another year goes into the books. The economy is in the tank, the Middle East is in turmoil, I'm fed up with the snow, and the Maple Leafs are out of a playoff spot. Kind of like a lot of other years. I've been thinking about the length of ... http://insidetorontoblogs.com/rightangle/2008/12/31/happy-new-year/ It doesn’t matter what any expert says. No government minister, university professor, business analyst or talking head “expert” can possibly have any idea of the ramifications of letting the Big Three automakers fail (i.e. reap what they have sown). No-one has any clue exactly how many jobs are tied to ... http://insidetorontoblogs.com/rightangle/2008/12/18/why-i-think-gm-ford-and-chrysler-should-be-allowed-to-fail/ Here are some of the funniest things I have heard or read over the past couple of days: "The Governor-General is like a hood ornament - everyone has one but it shouldn't do a darn thing!" "Stephane Dion is like a French "Manuel" from the Tv series Fawlty Towers." "Jack Layton's so puffed ... http://insidetorontoblogs.com/rightangle/2008/12/04/bon-mots-from-our-consitutional-crisis/