Open Sources Show Notes for Thursday May 26, 2016

It’s a week of big returns on Open Sources Guelph! First of all, Scotty will be back on the show to talk about the issues of the day. As for those topics, we will revisit that contentious vote in Great Britain with the strange name, the political fallout from the worst terrorist attack in U.S. history still being felt 15 years later, and a certain MP that they used to call PM. All this, and we will try to have a reasonable explanation about the virtue and demerits of paying taxes, as we plan for another epic edition of the show albeit with post-long weekend fatigue. Continue reading “Open Sources Show Notes for Thursday May 26, 2016” →

Open Sources Show Notes for Thursday May 19, 2016

We’re going into the first long weekend of the summer, but that doesn’t mean that we’re slowing down on Open Sources Guelph. This week’s show will tackle issues of leadership, and issues of justice; the complexities of hosting a party when your own house is on fire, and the complexities of local energy strategies. Before letting it all hang out on the patio, we’re going to cram it all back into our thinking caps as we deal with another busy week in politics, and political issues. Continue reading “Open Sources Show Notes for Thursday May 19, 2016” →

Open Sources Show Notes for Thursday May 12, 2016

This week on Open Sources Guelph, we tackle three tough issues with no easy answer, and one easy topic that’s tough to wrap your head around. The latter refers to the unexpected outcome of the American presidential primary, one half of which was firmly resolved last week with the reality TV star clinching the win. The other three topics cover international finance, the growing spectre of environmental catastrophe (and whether it’s right to politicize that), and the public transit system in the Royal City. Continue reading “Open Sources Show Notes for Thursday May 12, 2016” →

Open Sources Show Notes for Thursday May 5, 2016

This week on Open Sources Guelph, the general theme is dysfunction. In Quebec, some chaos has been created in the provincial legislature with the sudden resignation of a major party leader. In Ottawa, mystery was created as a suddenly unsullied senator returns to work still under a cloud of uncertainty. And here in Guelph, one of the persons mentioned in the kerfuffle last week at council will try to get back on track in doing the good work for the city. This week, we’ll do what we can to overcome internal strife and talk the issues. Continue reading “Open Sources Show Notes for Thursday May 5, 2016” →

The Weekender: Why So Serious?

There’s a lot to love about Superman: The Movie, Richard Donner’s still seminal big screen adaptation of the Man of Steel from 1978. Christopher Reeve, who at that point mostly known as a New York theatre actor, was plucked from obscurity to play the hero, who as soon as he reveals himself as Superman saves both Lois Lane from a crashing helicopter, and a little girl’s cat who’s stuck in a tree. In the end Superman saves the world, takes Lex Luthor to jail and says, “Don’t thank me, Warden. We’re all part of the same team.” That’s modesty. But 40 years later, it’s not enough for heroes to just save the world and fly away, they have to beat each other to bloody pulps now. Continue reading “The Weekender: Why So Serious?” →

Open Sources Show Notes for Thursday April 28, 2016

It’s a gong show! It’s a circus! They’re acting like children! No, that’s not the U.S. Presidential race that people were talking about this week, but yeah, we’ll get to that. On this week’s Open Sources Guelph we’ll tackle Guelph city council’s tackling of leaks and the hour-and-a-half rake out that happened at the meeting Monday. We’ll also catch up with that election south of the border and all its colourful characters, and catch-up with our local Member of Parliament to get all the latest scoop from Ottawa. Continue reading “Open Sources Show Notes for Thursday April 28, 2016” →

The Weekender: Sharing Should Be Caring at City Hall

This Monday at city council, the integrity commissioner will do something he hasn’t to do in a while, give council a report on a complaint that was filed against several its members. Unfortunately, I can’t comment on this thing at arm’s length because Guelph Politico is right deep into it; the complaint involves two people, one identified and one not, who talking to me. The charge was that these people broke the seal of confidentiality of the closed meeting, and while Robert Swayze found that on most counts the complaints are unfounded. But I think this whole episode misses the real problem: we’re having too much discussion in closed meetings. Continue reading “The Weekender: Sharing Should Be Caring at City Hall” →