A message that dropped into my in-basket this week provided one of those moments that buoys your hope for humanity. And it was a political message at that. As a member of the Alberta NDP, I have been receiving messages from the various candidates in the current race for leadership
Continue readingAuthor: Bill Longstaff
Views from the Beltline: Rich polluters pay for their sins
Amid the doom and gloom on the climate change front, we are occasionally treated to some good news. That was the case this week with the announcement by Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault that rich countries have finally reached their goal of providing $100 billion US annually to help poorer countries
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: China—to trade or not to trade
It doesn’t seem that long ago that the U.S. and Canadian governments were assuring us that free trade would be the answer to everything from economic prosperity to world peace. This wand of neoliberal magic would bring a new world order of wealth and liberal values enjoyed by all. Lefties
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Neoliberalism’s failure—Americans agree on something
If I should ask what the most prominent single feature of American politics is today, I suspect most would say it’s polarization, perhaps dangerous polarization. I would agree. It was with some pleasure, therefore, that I read in a recent article in The New York Times, “A New Centrism Is
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: The ICC warrants—no equivalence
The decision of Karim Khan, the International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor, to seek arrest warrants for the leaders of Hamas and Israel has caused predictable outrage. Needless to say, Hamas supporters are outraged that, in the terms of one Gazan, the prosecutor was equating “the victim and the slaughterer.” Israeli
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Do we all love bad boys?
Joe Biden is my kind of leader—bright, compassionate, experienced and, of no small importance, he lead’s by consensus. I think he’s one of the better presidents the Americans have had. A great many American voters, however, disagree with me. At the moment he’s barely managing to stay even in the
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: What’s a CEO worth?
Some French lawmakers are pursing a goal that needs to be more widespread. They are seeking to cap pay for corporate executives at 20 times the earnings of a company’s lowest-paid employee. They were inspired in part by the outrage generated by the announcement that French car maker Stellants would
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Danielle Smith’s power grab(s)
Shortly after becoming premier of Alberta, Danielle Smith expressed her intention to pardon violators of health restrictions. (She referred to the Covid unvaccinated as the most discriminated group she had ever seen in her life.) Then someone whispered in her shell-like ear that premiers don’t have that power, and she
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Truth and Reconciliation in Quesnel
Much is heard these days about Canadian history and the truth, particularly regarding the fortunes, or misfortunes, of the Indigenous population. The narrative has been biased against them, we hear, now we want the truth, the whole truth. But do we? Judging by the recent contretemps in Quesnel, B.C. one
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Suppressing free enterprise in Florida
Meat. Steak and hamburgers. Who would have thought a diet staple would become such a controversial subject? Conservatives, as is their wont, have dragged the issue into the culture wars. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has banned cultured meat (grown in a lab from animal cells) from sale in his state.
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Labour’s big Southern win
Employers in the American South have long had a thing about cheap labour. In fact, for the first 90 years of the country’s history they got it for free, and that was worth fighting for. They lost, of course, but that didn’t diminish their passion for peonage. After the Civil
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Budget ’24
Now about my tax dollars. Finance Minister Freeland tabled her 2024 budget Tuesday and, by and large, I approve. The signs are about right: the NDP non-committal and the Conservatives screaming. Some random thoughts on bits that caught my attention: A hefty slice for housing—$8.5 billion in new spending—is much
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Conservatives, party of the poor?
That headline is one I thought I would never write. “Conservatives, the party of the poor”—you must be joking. But that, in fact, is what a recent survey by Angus Reid indicated. And it was clear, as shown in the graph to the right, the poorer the cohort, the greater
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: The problem with democracy
Democracy, it seems, is going through a rough patch. According to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), the world showed a “continuing democratic malaise” in 2023. The number of democratic countries in the world reached an all-time peak earlier in this century, but is now declining. Violent conflict and the growth
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Trump and Hitler: disturbing parallels
Many people think that Hitler was democratically elected chancellor of Germany. He wasn’t. In fact, some highly influential conservatives convinced President von Hindenburg to appoint him to the position. The Nazis never won a majority in German elections. In July, 1932 they won a plurality with 37 percent of the
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: What’s with our unhappy youth?
Why are old Canadians so happy and young Canadians so unhappy? That’s the story the World Happiness Report (WHR) tells us. Every year the report is issued by a partnership including Gallup, the Oxford Wellbeing Research Centre and the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network. The report reflects an interest in
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Happy birthday, NATO!
This month the North Atlantic Treaty Organization celebrates its 75th. And any individual would consider themselves fortunate it they were in as good shape. NATO first saw the light of day on April 4th, 1949, when Canada, the U.S., the UK and nine other European states signed the founding treaty.
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Biden loses Ireland
The U.S. departed almost radically from an habitual practice on a resolution at a United Nations Security Council meeting Monday. It didn’t vote in Israel’s favour. The Council passed a resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza during the remaining weeks of Ramadan. The resolution passed with 14 votes
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: The most important history lesson
Alberta’s pursuit of a new K-12 public school curriculum has been a long slog. An ambitious curriculum re-development project was initiated by a Progressive Conservative government in 2008. The project was continued by the NDP government after it defeated the Conservatives in 2015. With the defeat of the NDP in
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Three strikes and …?
We Albertans have received three powerful, powerful messages from Mother Nature. Plain, undeniable lessons. Well, not quite undeniable. In the face of all reason and common sense, we do in fact deny them. You may not be surprised to know that these messages relate to global warming. The first was
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