Oil companies have been up and down about investing more of their profits in green energy. Having made promises to do just that, recently they have backed off. The reason for the change of heart is simple. They make a lot more money investing in oil than they do in
Continue readingAuthor: Bill Longstaff
Views from the Beltline: How Trump unleashed Iran
In 1953, Iran’s democratic government led by Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddeq was toppled by a military coup backed by the CIA and the British Secret Intelligence Service. Mosaddeq had nationalized the British-controlled Iranian oil industry, and the Americans and the Brits weren’t having any of that. The coup transformed Iran’s
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Who to believe, Pierre Poilievre or 28 Nobel Laureates?
Canadians are being led by the Pied Piper of pollution, Pierre Poilievre, away from the carbon tax. Whether it is indeed the Conservative leader with his “axe the tax” slogan and focus on cost-of-living concerns may be debatable, but Canadians’ support for the tax is flagging, down 11 points since
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Why must the Palestinians beg for a country in their own land?
A seemingly eccentric question, one that shouldn’t have to be asked, yet it does because that is the bizarre situation the Palestinians find themselves in. Indeed, many find themselves refugees in their own land. Their circumstances are a reflection of the disdain that supporters of Israel, particularly its chief enabler
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: The folly of swearing to Charles
Once again this business of swearing an oath to the monarch has popped up in Parliament. It’s one of those issues that never dies but never works up quite enough interest or emotion to generate change. In order to participate in the business of the House of Commons, i.e. in
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Time for a walk in the snow?
I believe Justin Trudeau has made quite a decent prime minister, certainly at least a major improvement over his predecessor. The only important disappointment for me was the betrayal of his promise to end the current electoral system. In any case, his star has faded. He is unpopular with the
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: New Year’s wishes for 2024
Maybe I’m getting too old to change, but rather than making resolutions for the New Year, I decided to do wishes instead. My number one wish, of course, is health and happiness for all my friends and family. And for all other good and decent people. From there I drew
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: 7,000 children, 60 journalists, 130 UN aid workers … enough?
On September 11th, 2001, the Islamist extremist group al-Qaeda carried out one of the most dramatic terrorist attacks in history on the United States. It knocked down two phallic symbols of U.S. capitalism and killed nearly 3,000 innocent people. The Americans could have sought out the perpetrators and brought them
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Alberta is just so damn popular
So many people from the rest of the country are moving to Alberta that the province has cancelled its “Alberta is Calling” program. The program, which boasted of “bigger paycheques” and “smaller rent cheques,” had encouraged Canadians to consider the province as a new home. It turns out a lot
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: The contagious toxicity of Trump
Rudolph Giuliani was once a man of substance. A man of integrity. He served as the U.S. Associate Attorney General from 1981 to 1983 and as the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York from 1983 to 1989. In the latter role, he led the 1980s federal prosecution
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Poland comes in from the cold
It’s all up and down with democracy these days as right-wing populists, some bordering on fascism, come and go. The most prominent case, of course, was our great neighbour to the south electing Donald Trump and then trading him in for one of the best and most progressive presidents in
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: COP28 and the great transition
Maybe it took an oilman to do it. When Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber of the United Arab Emirates was appointed President of the UN Climate Change 2023 Conference (COP28), environmentalists threw up their hands in despair. Al Jaber was also head of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company. And the
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: The morality of tyrants
I have long been intrigued at how men who inflict torture and murder on their fellow human beings can consider themselves moral leaders. History is replete with authoritarians of various hues who fit the mould. One who exemplifies the type at the moment is Russia’s very own Vladimir Putin. One
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: December 10—Human Rights Day
It doesn’t seem to have attracted the attention it deserves but 2023 is the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Declaration “is a milestone document in the history of human rights. Drafted by representatives with different legal and cultural backgrounds from all regions of the world,
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Chinese at the border
Perhaps the most famous border in the world is the one along the Rio Grande that separates Mexico from the United States. It is almost certainly the most popular. U.S. Border Patrol agents encountered over 200,000 migrants attempting to enter the country last November alone. About two-thirds were apprehended and
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: The cost of emissions just went up
With gorgeous blue prairie skies all too often transformed into smoky shrouds, we have just experienced a summer that brought climate change home. We are aware of the fires, the floods, the storms, the droughts, the heat waves, the rising sea levels, the effects on our health, but what’s the
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Why teach history?
Some Republican-led American states are changing how students in their public schools are taught civics. The new standards focus on patriotism, Christianity and anti-communism. Hands-on activities, such as debating current events, are to be discouraged in order to preclude teachers imposing their own ideas. The goal is to instil pride
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Premier of Alberta or premier of the oil industry?
Alberta’s Premier Danielle Smith has made her stand. Her loins girded by her Sovereignty Act, she will strike a blow against the federal government’s proposed Clean Electric Regulations (CER). On Monday her government tabled a resolution in the Alberta legislature that instructs governments and provincial entities to ignore the regulations
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Swedes take on Tesla
The world’s richest man is not amused. Elon Musk, CEO and biggest shareholder of automaker Tesla, is annoyed at a series of strikes against his company. He calls them “insane.” He has simply encountered a culture which takes workplace democracy seriously. When Tesla set up in Sweden, Musk attempted to
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Taming plastics
What would we do without plastics? Perhaps the greatest material humanity ever invented. They are used for everything from furniture to DVDs to heart valves to wind turbines, widely used in practically every sphere of life. One wonders how the medical profession ever functioned without them. Or how you and
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