The Black Rod

There's something fishy going on with the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, and we can't put our finger on what it is. Let's start with the bogus "news" story in the Winnipeg Free Press, the propaganda arm of the CMHR, that Canadian realtors "have come up with a $2 million donation." There's no byline so we don't know who wrote the story, but whoever it was,  he or she had to struggle mightily with the facts to devise a story that implies something false without lying outright. Someone with only a cursory interest in the CMHR would read the story and come away thinking the Canadian Real Estate Association had raised $2 million and donated it to the still-unopened museum.  That's what the Free Press wants you to think. But reading a little closer you see that the realtors' fundraising campaign started in 2008. In truth, then, it took them six years to raise $2 million. And their donation is not new money . I...

The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra headed for a concert at New York's Carnegie Hall with all the hype and hoopla of the Titanic leaving port on its maiden voyage. Bon voyage! The WSO was one of six North American orchestras invited to perform at this year's  Spring For Music festival.  Here's how the event pitches itself: Spring For Music provides an idealized laboratory, free of the normal marketing and financial constraints, for an orchestra to be truly creative with programs that are interesting, provocative and stimulating, and that reflect its beliefs, its standards, and vision. Spring For Music believes that an orchestra’s fundamental obligation is to lead and not follow taste. Okay. Whatever. We're in. On Saturday, the Winnipeg Free Press devoted a full page and a bit to recap the WSO's May 8 appearance in The Big Apple.  As we peeled away layer after layer of hometown hooey, we thought can it get any sadder than this? Reporter ...

Brian Bowman is a true son of his generation. Without a lick of experience at City Hall, this Gen X-er believes he should start at the top, as Mayor. To compensate for knowing nothing about the job he wants, he says he will provide the city with "leadership."   Now, ordinarily this would be greeted with oohs and ahhs from an electorate that's seen the city reel from one scandal to another under Mayor Sam Katz and those councillors who blindly support him on executive policy committee. But seeing as how all the mayoral candidates will likely play the leadership card, how does Bowman stand out? Tuesday morning, before filing his papers to run for mayor, 42-year-old Bowman, a lawyer, showed up on Charles Adler's morning talk show where he expanded on his idea of leadership.  One word. Vision. Yep, Bowman is running on the vision thing.   'Vision' is the code word among the Ivory Tower elite for the rich man's burde...

We're baaaaaaack. Where were we?    We went where no reporters have gone before -- back in time. And we returned with the scoop -- the truth behind the real causes of climate change and the cause of the climactic havoc that's engulfed the world. "Freak storms, massive droughts, killer hurricanes..." "What's causing this crazy weather?" we asked, and so did Maclean's magazine.    In its New Year's '66  issue.    The one with the cover story Naming the Outstanding Canadians of 1965. Sixty-five had been bad. Real bad. Ten inches of snow on Sydney, Nova Scotia (when they still had inches). Rainmakers called in to help the parched Ottawa Valley. New York City banning the "unnecessary" flushing of toilets to preserve water. But so much rain on Quebec that housewives, (when they still had housewives) formed societies against artificial rainmaking. Ontario set all-time low temperatures in August. C...