Month: July 2016

Open Sources Show Notes for Thursday July 28, 2016

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After taking a week off, we have a lot of politics to catch up on with this week’s Open Sources Guelph. First, we’ll go to Philly where history was made as the first woman to win a major party nomination accepted with the trepidation of some in her party. It was serious stuff, the kind of stuff that make you want to take a trip to the circus. The Republicans threw one last week in honour of coronating their 2016 nominee, the orange-coloured ego man. Hopefully, this is something that will not be repeated next year when the Federal Conservatives and NDP choose a leader here in Canada. Speaking of circuses, the Canadian senate is hoping to go back to relative anonymity now that its members have all been cleared of criminal charges. It would be a crime to miss this week’s episode.  Continue reading “Open Sources Show Notes for Thursday July 28, 2016” →

GOP Convention Recap Day #1: Countdown to the Purge

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Donald Trump promised that no one could put on a show like he could, and if you were watching the first day of the Republican National Convention live from Cleveland, you had to admit, he was right. From C-list celebrity outrage, to political meltdowns, to outright plagiarism, there was something for everybody at the first full day of #GOPinCLE.  Continue reading “GOP Convention Recap Day #1: Countdown to the Purge” →

Open Sources Show Notes for Thursday July 14, 2016

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For the umpteenth time in the year-and-a-half history of Open Sources Guelph, we’ll tackle another American shooting tragedy driven by racial politics. If we could have a few less of those, that would be great, but as long as it keeps happening, we’ll keep talking about them. Meanwhile, across the pond, the British government is still dealing with tragedies past, and the bitter ghosts of the Iraq War have been dredged up again. So with all that seriousness, after a much needed break, we hope that City Councillor Mark MacKinnon will be able to lighten things up with a pointed conversation about municipal matters (with laughs… Hopefully). Continue reading “Open Sources Show Notes for Thursday July 14, 2016” →

Open Sources Show Notes for Thursday July 7, 2016

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School might be out for summer, and so is Peter Mansbridge, but Open Sources Guelph keeps up its good works all year long and today will be no exception. Summer fun at Toronto Pride was interrupted for some seriousness as one group forced the annual event to get back to where it started from. Others, it seems, will have more time off than they bargained for, as a major crown corporation is looking to force its workers into accepting a new deal. And finally, we’ll talk to one of the few politicians that’s taking the time this summer to work harder… on his musical career. Continue reading “Open Sources Show Notes for Thursday July 7, 2016” →

From Spanner Book: A Home Which May Have Never Existed

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Spannerbook

It’s a completely Canadian thing to possess a perfectly formed alternative national identity that surfaces on occasion. It tends to emerge when there is a soccer tournament or some other international event happening that precipitates putting a small flag of another nation on your vehicle. It’s always a bit more complicated for those of us from the UK because the soccer teams of each nation within the kingdom united compete separately, except in the Olympics. The 2012 Great Britain olympic men’s soccer squad had no Scots or Northern Irish on it. It was pretty much a foreshadowing of the Brexit vote. They got clobbered as well. 

I am continually pressed into service to explain the finer points of the UK and always get the feeling when I’m finished that whoever asked still doesn’t get it or their eyes glaze over when I say things like “…after the Act of Union…

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