Tom Flanagan

In February, 2013, Tom Flanagan questioned whether the possession of child pornography should automatically lead to a prison sentence. This was done in the context of a lecture at the University of Lethbridge. His remarks were immediately posted on-line, without his knowledge, and out of context. He was portrayed as seeing child pornography as a victimless crime. As a result, he lost several contracts and was publicly demonized by many prominent Canadians. This is his story of that event. Being an academic, Mr. Flanagan puts his story in a framework of academic freedom, and of the way technology is changing the media. He also discusses Criminal Code provisions dealing with child pornography.

This is an interesting book, written in an engaging style. It made me think about fundamental issues of free speech and privacy in our digital times.… (plus d'informations)

Flanagan's solutions to our national Indian policy may not be for everyone, but what we are doing now is not working. We just had another crisis on a reserve recently in the Abwatiscatt debacle. Flanagan is a political science professor at the University of Calgary who has done mountains of research if his bibliography is any indication.
If you are concerned about the terrible conditions on some of Canada's Indian Reserves and the huge amounts of money that is thrown at the problem without much improvement, read this book. He says living a hunter and gathering life style today is no longer feasible and the sooner Indians become part of mainstream Canadian society by getting an education and a job off the reserve the more satisfying their life will be. If a citizen never has to pay taxes or cannot own one's own home, there is no incentive to take care of the home or be concerned about how the community one lives in is run. This is a very readable volume about a major social and political issue in Canada.… (plus d'informations)