Ryan van der Woning

We’re Bored, Can You Tell?

by Ryan van der Woning
It’s been a little bit quiet around here. Chances are, you have been away from your computer for extended periods—it’s summer after all, and we need to make the most of the 6 good weeks we get, ya know? We’re more than just busy with summer though. Fact of the matter is, PolSpy’s publishers are ... Read More

Just The Facts, Ma’am

by Ryan van der Woning
Ray van der Woning Well, with all the hooplah surrounding the freakshow at Toronto’s Pearson Airport yesterday it was both refreshing and illuminating to watch how Canadian journalism handled the event. Essentially, for most of the day, we saw live feeds of the President of the GTAA suffer the barrage of reporters’ questions, and deal ... Read More

Shitty Election Criteria

by Ryan van der Woning
C’mon guys, I’m carrying PolSpy… The BBC reports that in India, village council candidates in India should be allowed to stand for election only if they have a toilet (to sit on) at home. Apparently “more than 65% of India’s rural population defecated in the open, along roadsides, railway tracks and fields, generating huge amounts ... Read More

Canada Cuts Red Tape, Defence Moves Quicker

by Ryan van der Woning
What they were talking about: Canada overhauls domestic defence. What they said: “[It will] allow us to react more quickly and more effectively to events across Canada, including the North,” — Defence Minister Bill Graham “We are going to simplify that, move very much to a command-centric structure,— Although we have always treated defence and ... Read More

You Say Militant I say Po-tah-toe

by Ryan van der Woning
I took a good-natured heckling over comments I made in yesterday’s piece on Style Over Substance. It was noted that perhaps I completely overlooked that the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades is, in fact, a terrorist group, and should not be referred to as a mere militant organization. To which I responded “ah, but you have miss-interpreted ... Read More

Style Over Substance

by Ryan van der Woning
CBC reports that CanWest Global is in the hot-seat for altering the meaning of reports it obtains from other news agencies. They have evidently been peppering Middle-East news with the word ‘terrorist’ when describing mainly Arab groups. No kidding. As an example, Schlesinger cited a recent Reuters story, in which the original copy read: “…the ... Read More