Personal appearance has become a common theme in my discussions over the past week, from online debates about teenage style to chats over coffee about what women do to feel beautiful, and it has made me realize how focused we are on self-expression/style/appearance. It all started when I asked my fellow Facebookers what their thoughts […]

How can the public give their input into the budget, as Coun. Fisher suggested, while avoiding the potential for "chaos" that Coun. Spearn feared? I have a suggestion for council: swing a deal with ThoughtStream for a software license for the city, and hire one of their facilitators.   Right now, the idea of "engaging" the ...

Just out of Jericho, Bartimaeus sits by the road. Hearing Jesus and the crowd he cries, “Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me. ”Many in the crowd tell him to shut up, but he raises his voice and Jesus, standing still, says: “Call him here.” Changing their tone, the voices in the crowd tell Bartimaeus to “Take heart; get up,...

There is a fair amount of debate today about Canada's role in the world and the role that our military continues to play.  Many feel that Canada should be returning to a peacekeeping role, while others feel that the current direction is more appropriate in today's world.  Regardless of how we feel about this issue, I firmly...

Every Remembrance Day for the past six years I have gone to the Nelson Cenotaph at city hall and stood with anti-war protest placards, and been the target of much anger and some abuse. Last year, a threat too came my way. I will go there again this year and upset many in attendance. But […]

There is a class of people and corporations in this country whose illicit financial practices have an enormous negative impact on the country and its citizens. Yet the law and order regime of Stephen Harper barely plays lip service to the issue of tax evasion through tax havens. While Harper cuts billions from government...

Myths are powerful things, especially when they feature forces of good (“free enterprise”) and evil (“socialists”), and evoke heroes (BC Liberals), villains (BC Conservatives) and monsters (NDP) to spin a good yarn that is rooted in fear and in distortions of blindly accepted “facts.” Great myths derive their greatest power...

“Who will do the hard thing? ...Those who can.”--- Rabbinic proverb. “You are not promised that you will complete the Work, but you may not refuse it.”                                               --- Rabbi Tarfon, 1st C. BCE What keeps forcing itself on my consciousness lately is really not a new concern; it is new only in...

Victor Kumar, former Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) has left behind a legacy of outrageous salaries for management staff that are going to be very expensive for the taxpayers of Rossland. Through a Freedom of Information request, I’ve obtained copies of the contracts for City management staff and information about salary...

It’s almost Halloween! Yay! I have always been a Halloween fan; I love the decorations, the pumpkin carving, and the plethora of bite-sized chocolates, but there is one thing that really gets my goat when it comes to this spooky season – it is impossible to find a women’s costume that isn’t oozing with sex. […]