His mission was to turn the agency into a modern service provider that treats the unemployed as customers, not as objects to be managed.

ECONOMIST: Fall-out from the sacking of a labour-agency head

Earlier this month, a 52-year-old fisherman on Vancouver Island was badly mauled after a black bear swam over to his boat, scrambled on board and began attacking him, refusing to let go despite being repeatedly struck with a gaff, beaten with a hammer and stabbed with various sharp objects until a rescuer finally managed to slit its throat with a filleting knife.

ECONOMIST: Canada: If you go down to the woods�� | The

Unless you managed to keep your head underwater, to immerse yourself in the endless metonymic shuffling of objects, it would be intolerable.

NEWYORKER: Raj, Bohemian