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“Ever dreamed of subscribing to a cultural magazine that doesn’t seem to be eating out of the hand of half a dozen media magnates? Something pluricultural and unassuming but nonetheless covering everything worth seeing, reading, doing or listening to for a season? Well, it exists, and in Canada to boot!”

“There is no on-line version or web site, which either makes John a dinosaur or a man of character. (I opt for the second, since the editorial team occasionally has a kind word for me.)”

John Howe — Canadian artist and co-conceptual designer on all three “The Lord of the Rings” motion pictures.

* Editor’s Note: The age of the dinosaurs has at last come to an end — with the arrival of this website!

Presidential Politics 2016: The Riddle of the Skittles

On October 24, 2016

A few weeks ago, Donald Trump’s son used a confectionary parable to illustrate his father’s concerns about the danger that a real or potential extremist might get into the United States along with throngs of refugees from such war-torn places as Syria, Iraq, or Afghanistan. Imagine, he […]

“In the Land of the Lotus Eaters: The Sorry Spectacle of People Addicted to Gadgets”

On July 30, 2016

Artsforum Coins a Phrase: Behold the ‘Hand-Held Self-Affirmation Device’

Our (negative) review of the new movie “Nerve” coins a phrase for

those ubiquitous telecom devices into which so many faces intently […]

Unfit to Govern in America

On June 19, 2016

Those who seek to keep the truth from the people are unfit to govern that people. In an egregious abuse of process, the Espionage Act is being used to prosecute whistleblowers in the United States. Under the Obama Administration, there have been nine prosecutions under that Act […]

Unfit to Govern in Canada

On June 19, 2016

No one wants to be harmed by a terrorist attack, but there’s a greater chance of being struck by lightning than being the victim of a terrorist. Of course, we all sympathize with (and grieve for) the tragic victims of extremist violence; and of course we should […]

Where Liberty is and where it is not

On June 19, 2016

Here are words worth repeating – particularly in a time and place where our precious legacy of liberty is being daily eroded by complacency (and by fear of real or imagined dangers), subverted by the self-interest of the powerful, and perilously neglected by its ordinary citizens (and by their once vigilant […]

The Big Lie that is Globalization: When a political and economic system benefits the very few at the grievous expense of the many

On February 23, 2016

Vaclav Havel said, “Systems are there to serve people, not the other way around.” Well, the truth is that our political and economic systems no longer serve the interest of ‘the 99 percent.’ For years now, we’ve heard the mantra of the system’s new idols: Out-sourcing, down-sizing, […]

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Editor’s Notebook

Presidential Politics 2016: The Riddle of the Skittles

“In the Land of the Lotus Eaters: The Sorry Spectacle of People Addicted to Gadgets”

Unfit to Govern in America

Unfit to Govern in Canada

Where Liberty is and where it is not

The Big Lie that is Globalization: When a political and economic system benefits the very few at the grievous expense of the many