Ninety-nine young environmental activists achieved their goal on Parliament Hill on Monday by carrying out acts of civil disobedience. The boisterous group climbed over restricted-area police barricades near the Peace Tower. 

"Climate Leaders Don't Build Pipelines," said a giant banner.

Protesting the possible construction of the Alberta-to-B.C. Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline, the 99 were arrested and taken to a police station. They were issued citations and told not to appear on Parliament Hill for three months.

None of those arrested saw the dark and damp insides of a jail cell. They will not have criminal records.

The latest watercooler chat among many Canadians this week is speculation about who will replace Peter Mansbridge as host of The National. Mansbridge announced earlier this week that after 30 years as host of CBC-TV's flagship news program he will step down next year on Canada Day.

Now CBC executives say they are going to usher in "the next phase" of The National.

Like this article? rabble is reader-supported journalism. Chip in to keep stories like these coming.

The annual gathering of the World Social Forum (WSF) -- the left's response to the elitist annual Davos World Economic Forum -- is in session in Montreal starting today until Sunday, August 14 with several thousand people from dozens of countries attending.

Like this article? rabble is reader-supported journalism. Chip in to keep stories like these coming.

About three years ago I decided to devote a lot of time to writing about the threat of climate change. I felt then -- and feel now -- that the planet is going to be in one hell of a worse mess in a few years unless we take action on a scale never seen before concerning any other threat in history.