George Radwanski, my Arch Nemesis

When I was in my early twenties, I ran for a position on the Peterborough County Board of Education. I was prompted by a desire to have a young voice on the Board, and by my friend Simon calling me the day the nominations closed to alert me that there weren’t enough candidates for the number of positions, so if I hurried up, I could get acclaimed (in the end, this word reached others, and I was one of 13 candidates for 9 positions).

One of the issues on the table that year was the recently-released Radwanski Report, the result of a committee headed by George Radwanski. To be honest, I have no idea what was said in the Radwanski Report, for I never read it. But I was repeatedly asked, on the campaign trail (such as it was), questions like “what is your reaction tot he recommendations in the Radwanski Report.”

For a kid like me, who was running on a platform of student autonomy, I couldn’t care less about the Radwanski Report. It was like asking an aetheist his reaction to the recommendations of the Bible.

So now the chickens are coming home to roost, and my arch nemesis Radwanski is feeling the heat. Poor guy.

Comments

Chris Corrigan's picture
Chris Corrigan on June 24, 2003 - 01:22 Permalink

Oh yeah Simon…the proprieter of the CIA min Peterborough…The Community Information Agency. Can’t think of his last name at the moment, but he may will have been the first anarchist I ever met, leving me with an undying admiration for community activists who just get down to it.

He used to keep a listing of Who’s Who in Peterborough on a Commodore 64 (I think). He combed through newspapers and wrote down details of everyone who was mentioned. Slum landlords came in for special attention. Anyone looking for information on anyone else could just head up to his third floor shared office space on George Street and look it up on the Commodore.

On second thought, his last name might have been “Google.” He was a man far ahead of his time…

What happened to him Peter?

Alan's picture
Alan on June 24, 2003 - 23:35 Permalink

I love the Federal Privacy Commission, its mandate and its possibilities for making our future less scary. George lost it by pretending to be the czar in a czarless society. He lost it in a sea of lunchtime French sauces. What a loser.