The hysteria of Armageddon, once reserved for apocalyptic super disease, invading aliens, or meteor extinction, has found its way—via the American president—into the debt debate. And with the deal for the American debt ceiling floundering, it seems reasonable to assume … Continue reading →

Life-threatening cancer in Canada’s leader of the opposition; shootings in Norway; starvation of thousands in Somalia. Not exactly the type of week which instills optimism in those who read the news. But newspapers—good newspapers—aren’t really meant to be read by … Continue reading →

Ever since news came out regarding the atrocities perpetrated by Anders Behring Breivik in Norway last Friday, it has proved challenging to publicly describe this man and his motives. Police officer Roger Anderson initially described Breivik as an “ethnic” Norwegian … Continue reading →

Many Canadians are thinking about Jack Layton today; I know I am. The press conference held by the leader of her majesty’s loyal opposition yesterday was jarring—less so from the news itself, than from the visual and audio evidence of … Continue reading →

Last week, critic and former Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky wrote at Slate about two marvelous snarky (and ultimately wrongheaded) takedowns of John Keats by his contemporaries. Part of their problem, he says, is that they ignored entirely the three rules … Continue reading →

Photo: The Independent The space shuttle Atlantis rolled to a stop shortly after 6 am Thursday at the Kennedy Space Centre, closing a chapter on one of the most far-reaching super-power confrontations in human history: the cold war space race. … Continue reading →

If you dislike self-serving arguments, don’t read this. The seed for this piece comes from reading Geoffrey Kurtz’s review essay of George Scialabba’s What are Intellectuals Good For? Sciaballa’s book seems to be a lament regarding the diminished place that … Continue reading →

There are three reasons to forgive media magnate Rupert Murdoch. You may, of course, choose none if you wish, but they are: 1. You’re a sincere Christian who prays daily, or at least weekly, to be forgiven your trespasses as … Continue reading →

One of the great fringe benefits of having children is the amount of time it allows my wife and me to spend in the library. My wife and I order books online from the Ottawa Public Library on the recommendation … Continue reading →

Last week, Jonathan Rauch started blogging—and he started with a diatribe against blogging, which he hates because it comes from the “self-congratulatory smugness of internet culture,” which is inherently hostile to “people who want to read and think.” He tries … Continue reading →