Off for a few days…
Returning Tuesday July 25. In the meantime follow me on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest…
Wednesday April 12, 2017
Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday April 12, 2017
Twitter skewers United with #NewUnitedAirlinesMotto
A day after viral videos of a bloodied man being dragged off an overbooked United flight at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport by aviation security fueled criticism of the airline, Twitter users poked fun at the airline’s tactics.
September 22, 2015
“We overbooked but you pay the price,” ”We Put The Hospital In Hospitality” and “We’ll drag you all over the world” were among the faux slogans being offered up on social media under #NewUnitedAirlinesMottos.
Others posted memes imagining Negan, the bat-wielding villain from “The Walking Dead,” patrolling the plane’s aisle. Another meme repurposed Monday’s viral image of a Florida sheriff denouncing drug dealers while surrounded by menacing officers by making the group appear to be standing in front of a United customer service counter.
September 17, 2015
United had offered vouchers worth $800 to anyone who would volunteer to give up their seat on the flight Sunday, but found no takers. Merriam-Webster says searches for the definition of “volunteer” in its online dictionary jumped 1,900 percent Monday. Merriam-Webster defines the term as “someone who does something without being forced to do it.”
Jimmy Kimmel quickly reacted to the controversy on his ABC late-night show Monday, with a fake United commercial that showed a flight attendant armed with brass knuckles.
United Airlines’ parent company CEO Oscar Munoz said he’s “upset” by the incident but believes his employees took the right action. (Source: Chicago Tribune)
Thursday January 21, 2016
Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday January 21, 2016
Justin Trudeau distances himself from Harper at World Economic Forum in Davos
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau used his moment on the main stage of the World Economic Forum today in Davos, Switzerland to present Canada as uniquely suited for the transforming global economy.
“If you are looking for a country that has the diversity, the resilience, the positivity and the confidence that will not just manage this change but take advantage of it, there has never been a better time to look to Canada.”
Trudeau spoke to a few hundred attendees inside the main hall at the WEF, attended annually by world leaders and the business elite.
The prime minister and several of his cabinet ministers are there for four days of presentations and meetings. This year’s summit is focused on the idea of the “fourth industrial revolution,” the idea that rapid technological innovation will drive a new era of change in the global economy.
“Today, we are gathered here to contemplate whether we are in the early stages of a fourth industrial revolution. What a breathtaking possibility that is,” Trudeau said. “Steam power changed the world utterly. So did electricity and more recently, computers. And now we may be on the cusp of change equal in magnitude and of a far swifter pace.”
In explaining why and how Canada could lead be at the forefront of this change, Trudeau attempted to differentiate himself from Stephen Harper, who addressed Davos as prime minister in 2012.
“My predecessor wanted you to know Canada for its resources,” he said. “I want you to know Canadians for our resourcefulness.”
The public stage of the WEF’s annual meeting in Switzerland is an obvious showcase for Trudeau and his ministers to be seen before the global elite. But the private meeting rooms of Davos will also be the stage for the unseen wooing of a wealthy audience, with the hope of attracting potential investors to Canada.
Before addressing the forum, Trudeau met privately with Ben van Beurden, chief executive officer of Royal Dutch Shell, the oil giant. He was also scheduled to meet Wednesday with famed financier George Soros, as well as executives from Facebook and Microsoft.
Trudeau’s presence in Davos has been widely touted by the international press and his speech was followed by an onstage interview with American journalist Fareed Zakaria, which was to be later aired on CNN. (Source: CBC News)
Tuesday September 22, 2015
By Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday September 22, 2015
Stephen Harper ‘playing a very divisive game’ with niqabs, Tom Mulcair says
Stephen Harper is “playing a very divisive game” with his government’s effort to impose a ban on niqabs during the citizenship oath, NDP Leader Tom Mulcair said Monday, just days before a French-language debate in Quebec — a province in which identity politics continues to drive a wedge between voters.
“I’m not about the politics of fear and division. Mr. Harper is going to always go after that. If he senses that there’s something there that can divide Canadians one against the other, he’ll do it,” said Mulcair during a morning campaign stop in Nova Scotia.
The Bloc Québécois has also taken up the issue, saying it would go even further than the Tories and impose a ban on face coverings during citizenship ceremonies and in the voting booth.
For his part, Mulcair has had to negotiate a tricky path on the issue. His party needs to retain the hard-won votes it secured in Quebec in 2011, but cannot risk losing support in the diverse suburbs of Toronto and Vancouver, where voters appear to be opposed to the government’s effort to impose a ban.
Part of his approach has been to accuse Harper of dog-whistle politics.
“He talks about ‘old stock Canadians,'” Mulcair said this morning, alluding to a comment Harper made during last week’s leaders’ debate in Calgary.
“That’s a code word. He knows what he’s doing when he does that.”
Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau said earlier this week that the Grits have “always been crystal clear” about their opposition to a ban on niqabs and other veils. (Source: CBC News)
Saskatoo Star Phoenix, September 23, 2015
Thursday September 17, 2015
By Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday September 17, 2015
Chris Austin, Liberal candidate, pulled for views ‘irreconcilable’ with party values
The Liberal Party has removed another Alberta candidate for expressing views that it says don’t conform to the party’s values.
In a statement Wednesday, the party said Chris Austin is no longer a candidate in Sturgeon River-Parkland.
“New information was brought to our attention which led to the revocation of his green light status, ending his candidacy,” the party said.
“Some of Chris Austin`s views, as articulated in past comments, are irreconcilable with the values of the Liberal Party of Canada.”
Facebook posts still visible on Chris Austin’s page include comments made after the Oct. 22 shootings in Ottawa that said “Harper has turned our Nation’s Capital into a War Zone as his thirst for War,” and suggest the RCMP was the “Canadian Gestapo.”
This riding will be the party’s second nomination do-over in this campaign.
- Liberal candidate Chris Brown apologizes for offensive booze-fuelled tweets
- Tim Dutaud 2nd Conservative candidate dropped over embarrassing videos
- Joy Davies resigns as Liberal candidate over pro-pot Facebook post
- NDP candidate Morgan Wheeldon resigns over Israel comments
The Liberal candidate in Calgary–Nose Hill, Ala Buzreba, apologized and resigned earlier in the campaign for things she said on Twitter when she was 16.
A third Alberta candidate fingered for off-colour remarks, Chris Brown in Peace River-Westlock, apologized for making profanity-laced remarks on Twitter, attributing them to booze-fuelled anger over the death of his partner in an accident involving a drunk driver. He remains on the ballot.
All three parties have had similar candidate controversies in recent weeks, in a growing list of social media trip-ups.
The deadline for all parties to nominate their slates of candidates in advance of the Oct. 19 federal election is Sept. 28. (Source: CBC News)
