Tag: Barack Obama

The TPP is a Done Deal, But Now What?

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After years of careful negotiating, and a weekend of touch-and-go final detailing, 12 Pacific Rim countries agreed in principle this morning to the makings of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the largest free trade agreement in global history knocking down trade barriers for 800 million people and about 40 per cent of the world’s economy. Conservative leader Stephen Harper was pleased with the deal saying, “This deal is, without any doubt whatsoever, in the best interests of the Canadian economy.” Great! So what’s in it? Nobody outside the governments that negotiated it know. Continue reading “The TPP is a Done Deal, But Now What?” →

VIDEO – Obama Marks ‘Independence Day’

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It’s been almost 20 years since Independence Day hit theatres everywhere. A winning combination of War of the Worlds, 70s disaster flicks and state-of-the-art effects, it was a smash hit when it came out in 1996, and has remained a fixture on TV ever since (including an all-day marathon yesterday on AMC). If there’s one scene that sticks above all others, after the one where the White House blows up of course, it’s the famous “rally the troops” speech by Bill Pullman’s President Whitmore. Well some industrious person on the internet thought that if Pullman could deliver that speech so good, then what about one of the best orators in current American politics: President Barack Obama. Continue reading “VIDEO – Obama Marks ‘Independence Day’” →

Open Sources Show Notes for Thursday July 2, 2015

Happy Canada Day, boys and girls! Let’s talk about Greece, and the United States. This week’s episode of Open Sources Guelph will take you abroad to sunny Greece, home of democracy and home to the first developed country to ever default on its IMF loans. Then we’ll go back to the U.S. of A. to bask in a rainbow of openness and [some] bigotry. Back here in Canada, we’ll look into the merits of making the wallets of those earning minimum wage thicker, and we’ll check in on what’s turning into the election that will never end (and it hasn’t even really started yet). Our present for Canada’s 148th birthday? The best of topical political discussion. Continue reading “Open Sources Show Notes for Thursday July 2, 2015” →

Open Sources Show Notes for Thursday June 25, 2015

On this week’s episode of Open Sources Guelph, we have concerns. Can the House of Commons be reformed into something a little bit more functional? Have race relations in the United States reached a breaking point? Will a corporation be held responsible for its own short-sightedness? Will Greece survive (financially)? And is there a new threat by money to our democracy, one that will be very familiar by fans of The Colbert Report? Those are the questions, but will we have any good answers? The answer is ‘Yes.’ At least there’s a good chance…. Continue reading “Open Sources Show Notes for Thursday June 25, 2015” →

Ted Cruz First to Officially Launch 2016 Presidential Bid

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Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) became the first candidate to officially enter the 2016 U.S. Presidential race today, announcing his candidacy in a speech at Liberty University. The Canadian-born Cruz, long a Tea Party darling and a paragon for ultra-conservative politics in the United States, launched his bid to be America’s 45th President before an audience at the Christian school founded by Jerry Falwell. Continue reading “Ted Cruz First to Officially Launch 2016 Presidential Bid” →

Obama Takes “Mean Tweets” With Good Humour

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A U.S. President gets no shortage of criticism, but the new era of social media makes a lot of that criticism immediate, unsolicited, and uncensored. Last night on Jimmy Kimmel Live though, Barack Obama decided that turnabout is fair play by taking part in the semi-regular Kimmel bit “Mean Tweets” where the subject of the mean tweets reads them on air. At least the President has a sense of humour about it all. Continue reading “Obama Takes “Mean Tweets” With Good Humour” →