Wednesday-Night

31 January 2007
REMINDER TO ALL: ON WEDNESDAY, MARCH 7 WE WILL CELEBRATE 25 YEARS OF WEDNESDAY NIGHTS. MARK THIS IN YOUR CALENDAR NOW.
Last week we were treated to an exceptionally thorough briefing on the Alberta Tar Sands and we commend the write-up with additional links to any and all who wish to know more about […]

Dear far-flung friends of Wednesday Night,
On March 7, 2007, we will celebrate 25 years of Wednesday Nights in appropriate gala fashion.
We wish that you could be with us and truly hope that some of you may surprise us. Should the surprise mode be your choice, please let Gerald Ratzer (Gerald.Ratzer@McGill.ca) know as he is coordinating […]

24 January 2007
The Report
Introduction
In addition to the welcome presence of Wednesday Night’s favorite geologist and resident expert on aviation and the environment, Judith Patterson, we were joined by John Herity, the Director of IUCN-Canada and former head of the Biodiversity Convention Office of Environment Canada. John’s distinguished career in the Environment field includes over 30 […]

17 January 2007
Tonight we are in local mode: contemplating the two-month-late onslaught of winter and awaiting the results of the Toponomy Commission hearing on the Park Avenue du Parc name change. Marie Griffiths, Leader of the [opposition] Pack has promised to join us and will no doubt recount today’s events with her usual flair. […]

10 January 2007
We are still basking in the reflected glory of last week’s stimulating discussion on the economy, innovation and related topics.
Not quite sure what we will do for an encore, however George W. Bush (now there’s an unlikely Wednesday Nighter) has stepped into the breach and will provide fodder to all the […]

January 10, 2008
First-ever Oil Sands Mine Environmental Report Card Reveals Weak Environmental Performance
Today, Pembina Institute and WWF-Canada released Under-Mining The Environment, The Oil Sands Report Card - the most comprehensive comparative assessment of 10 of Alberta’s operating, approved or applied for oil sands mines. The mines, for the most part, get a failing grade.
Key findings […]

January 8, 2008
Truly, a week is an eternity in politics.
Obama’s Surge Deflates Forum and Talk of a Bloomberg Run
By RAYMOND HERNANDEZ and NICHOLAS CONFESSOREThe momentum of Barack Obama’s campaign seemed to steal energy from an event that had the potential to be a big moment for Michael Bloomberg’s potential presidential bid.
Mr. Obama has […]

3 Jamuary 2007
The Report (and photos)
The first Wednesday of the year that will see the celebration of 25 years of Wednesday Nights was in many ways a return to the origins of the institution albeit with a special ambiance fueled by Hans Black’s magnificent 1993 Ermitage “Le Pavillon”. The topic, spurred by the doggerel invitation […]

ROB TV and Paul Kangas’ reviews,
Fred Langan and Ron on Business News,
Erudite Rex and Revue politique,
Sometimes witty, sometimes oblique
Lou Rukeyser did it for so many years
In formal dress to allay all our fears.
NPR’s “Memorable Moments” are not quite the same
The lack of Lou’s puns must be to blame.
Forbes magazine, Newsweek, AP and Time,
UPI, and […]

02 January 2007
Hong Kong democracy campaigners Monday protested against upcoming leadership polls that they say are unrepresentative. Dozens of activists rode their cycles to the downtown government offices  to show their opposition to the March polls. That’s when an 800-member election committee filled mostly with pro-Beijing elites will select the next chief executive for Hong […]