In the 1921 novel We, Yevgeny Zamyatin imagined a future where every building is made of glass so the authorities can see what citizens are doing at all times. Is that the world Big Data will construct? Some pessimists worry that it could. I worry that the pessimists are too optimistic.

In British Columbia, the premier is a woman. In Alberta, the premier is a woman. Both women inherited successful political dynasties. Both are likely to lead their parties to defeat.

Call it the "Kim Campbell Phenomenon." Successful political parties that make women leaders have an unfortunate tendency to lose.

I was born in the middle of generation X. The job market I entered was dismal, so I got nowhere, went back to school, piled up debt, and returned to a slightly less dismal job market. Then I turned 30. And the whole time I envied baby boomers, with their Beaver Cleaver childhoods, their memories of Woodstock and disco, their golden job markets, their yuppiedom, their stocks, real estate, and Club Med vacations. It all came to them on an engraved silver tray.

And now? Of course. For my generation, and the rest of us in third class, the age of eligibility for Old Age Security will be pushed up, but only after the boomers retire and start living off our taxes.

Oh, the generational unfairness of it all.

American presidents who seek re-election when the economy is weak almost always lose. Badly. To buck that trend, the Obama campaign is trying a new and challenging strategy.

So it's agreed then. The NDP split between a stodgy old guard and those willing to move the party to the centre and 24 Sussex Drive. The latter won. Now, Thomas Mulcair will move the NDP to the centre in a bid to take power.

Or so goes the standard narrative. But where did that narrative come from? Spin and repetition, mostly.

With a little help from amnesia.

Should Israel or the United States bomb Iran? In newspapers and magazines, in blogs and tweets, on television pundit panels, the answer is clear and emphatic.

Last week, a physicians' group called on governments to make helmets mandatory for both children and adults on ski slopes. Lots of people support that. They feel that skiers should not be permitted to decide for themselves whether to wear a helmet because skiing without one is too dangerous. Two days later, Sarah Burke, a champion "superpipe" skier, died as a result of injuries sustained in competition. Burke was almost universally praised as a courageous and talented athlete who died doing what she loved.

Does that make sense?

Maybe it does. I don't know. The question isn't rhetorical.

In two recent interviews, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said the government of Iran is attempting to develop nuclear weapons. That's not a controversial claim. But the prime minister also said that if Iran develops nuclear weapons it will use them. That claim is controversial. In fact, it's about the most serious charge one government can level at another. Why it hasn't received far more attention and scrutiny is beyond me.

And while I'm admitting my limitations, let me state that I am not an expert on Iran. Nor do I believe that I can read the minds of Iran's leadership, unlike the prime minister, who is apparently quite sure that he can.

But I do know a little about psychology. And when I hear a leader confidently make such a bold and hostile statement, I am reminded of a concept familiar to all serious practitioners of international relations.

At the beginning of 2011, the United States government's vast and sophisticated intelligence agencies thoroughly analyzed the situation in Egypt. "Our assessment," said Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, "is that the Egyptian government is stable."

Are you an aggrieved Christian? Convinced that you are stigmatized for your faith? Angry at the "war on Christmas"? This column is for you.