Seventy-five years ago yesterday, at 8:15 in the morning, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima. The fireball charred every human being within two kilometre of the blast. Seventy-one thousand people died instantly. Ultimately, another 70,000 would follow them. Three days later, a second bomb
Continue readingAuthor: Bill Longstaff
Views from the Beltline: The sun sets on Hong Kong
Once an enterprise Canadians went to war for, the British Empire is now in disgrace. And no wonder. It owns many sins. The Atlantic slave trade, the Kenyan gulag, the theft of aboriginal lands, the list is long. And dark. But the history of civilization is the history of empires
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: The truth about history
What is historical truth? To get at the truth of history, we must know it and we must understand it, and these are two very different things. We can know history by simply accessing a balanced set of facts, but to understand history, we must understand the people who made
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Everything isn’t racism
When RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki was asked if her force was systemically racist, she replied that she believed unconscious bias existed in the force but struggled with systemic racism. How do you define it, she queried. After a meeting with Public Safety Minister Bill Blair, who apparently schooled her in
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: An Optimist No More
I am a very lucky human being. I was born into the greatest period for a member of Homo sapiens to be alive, the peak of human civilization—the period following WWII. Never before in human history has an ordinary person such as I been able to enjoy such an exceptional
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Glen and the Greens
I first took note of Glen Murray when he was mayor of Winnipeg. I was active in my community in inner city Calgary and Murray seemed to share my sense of what cities can and should be. Now he aspires to lead the Green Party of Canada and this strikes
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: An Honourable Executive
Amazon is a corporation famous for a number of things: revolutionizing retail, making its founder and CEO the world’s richest man, and creating workplaces that resemble 19th century sweatshops. All these features are on display at the moment. With millions of people on lockdown, online shopping becomes mandatory and money
Continue readingGlen and the Greens
I first took note of Glen Murray when he was mayor of Winnipeg. I was active in my community in inner city Calgary and Murray seemed to share my sense of what cities can and should be. Now he aspires to lead the Green Party of Canada and this strikes
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: An Optimist No More
I am a very lucky human being. I was born into the greatest period for a member of Homo sapiens to be alive, the peak of human civilization—the period following WWII. Never before in human history has an ordinary person such as I been able to enjoy such an exceptional
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Imagine a World Without Us
Since a large slice of humanity went into hibernation to dodge the coronavirus, the world outside our habitats has changed. There is much less noise. Birdsong can be heard. The air is cleaner, more breathable. The skies are bluer. It is as if by sequestering us, the world is being
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Conservatives Struggle with Science
When conservatives talk about “the elites,” and they talk about them a lot, it isn’t always clear who they are talking about. They certainly aren’t referring to the rich, who many of us think of as the elites, because conservatives are the party of the rich, the party of privilege.
Continue readingWill the "Red Menace" Work in the 21st Century?
During the Cold War, conservative politicians could always be relied on to trot out the “red menace,” accusing opponents of being soft on communism. It was usually good for a few votes—in the U.S. for many votes. It was, of course, just a version of one of the oldest and
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Albertans Want off the Oil Train … Eventually
A common opinion about Albertans is that when it comes to energy they are about oil and nothing but oil. Like most generalizations this contains some truth, but also like most generalizations it isn’t quite true. A CBC News poll, taken just before the pandemic changed everything, reported that 79
Continue readingDemocracy Amid COVID
As COVID-19 advances around the world, political opportunism is not far behind. This is to be expected. The pandemic, like all crises, presents a combination of circumstances that is ripe for exploitation. As fear escalates, people look for leaders to bring calm and maintain order. And with publics constrained by
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Oil Industry Disses the Free Market
The free market, who needs it. Not the oil industry obviously. Not the industry nor the governments that depend on its largesse for royalties and taxes. We just had a taste of it and it horrified all parties concerned. OPEC and its erstwhile collaborators recently fell out and instead of
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: The Vatican’s Lady Problem
The Vatican just doesn’t seem able to get past its misogyny. Once again it is debating whether or not to allow women some role in the Church hierarchy. The Pope has created a commission of experts to examine whether women can be deacons, the bottom rung of the ecclesiastical ladder.
Continue readingSo Long Bernie, It’s Been Good to Know Ya
So Bernie Sanders has packed it in. As someone whose views commonly fall within the ambit of social democracy, I could have easily voted for Bernie—if I was a citizen of his formerly great nation. The U.S. is desperately in need of some of his views, especially on growing inequality
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: I’m Becoming an Oil Baron
For those who complain there’s nothing in the news but COVID these days, try the Alberta section. Lots going on. For example, our government just laid off 26,000 school support staff while shelling out $1.5 billion, plus a $6-billion loan guarantee, to buy us a piece of the Keystone XL
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: How Do You Wash Your Hands When There’s No Water?
Handwashing is a lifesaver. As we are being reminded constantly in these days of pandemic, thorough handwashing with soap and water is one of the most effective barriers to the spread of disease. Unfortunately, according to the UN, 40 percent of humanity are without basic handwashing facilities, i.e. soap and
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Back to the 30s?
“We are facing a period of profound adversity unlike any we have since the 1930s,” Alberta Premier Jason Kenney said last week. The premier was referring to the province’s economy which has, like the rest of the country, indeed like the rest of the world, been hit hard by the
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