Running an empire is tough. There are always tribesmen out on the fringes who fail to appreciate that you are bringing them civilization. In their lack of gratitude, they act up, and you are forced to send in the legions to bring them to heel. Such has been the case
Continue readingAuthor: Bill Longstaff
CEO pay—how much is too much?
The American Federation of Labor (AFL-CIO) has compiled a list of CEO compensation in 19 developed countries and the results are of considerable interest to Canadians. It turns out that the ratio of our CEO’s pay to that of the average worker is second highest of the group, behind only—no
Continue readingAre we too dumb for democracy?
Hey, the above is not my line. I plagiarized it from a CBC article about a new thesis from the University of B.C. that suggests our brains aren’t up to the rational, autonomous thinking required for democracy. Ph.D. political science candidate David Moscrop says voters across the political spectrum tend
Continue readingWho is "part of the problem," Mr. Cameron?
Recently British PM David Cameron, even while encouraging Iran to help deal with ISIS, couldn’t resist taking a shot at the country. In his UN speech, he stated superciliously that Iran can be “part of the solution, not part of the problem.” Iran’s president, Hassan Rouhani, took umbrage, declaring the
Continue readingIt wll be lonely without the animals
We are a rapacious species. Since we first walked out of Africa we have been decimating our neighbours. Today, according to the World Wildlife Fund’s Living Planet Report 2014, we are annihilating other species on a grand scale. The report claims we have reduced the numbers of other animals in
Continue readingHong Kong—a people who actually care about democracy
North Americans don’t seem to care much about democracy. Canadians don’t, and our good neighbours the Americans don’t. We enjoy considerable freedoms along with our electoral systems of government, but our systems are hardly democratic, and it doesn’t seem to bother us. If it did, we would never tolerate them.
Continue readingGreyer is greener
As I slip slowly into my dotage I have at least one consolation—I’m less of a burden on the planet. A study by the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research in Germany found that per-capita carbon dioxide emissions in Western countries rise steadily as children become adults and as adults
Continue readingNational Post climate change deniers "paranoid"—so says their own editor
The prattling of climate change sceptics/deniers in the National Post has been ridiculed by one of its own editors. In recent comments on the CBC’s The National, Jonathan Kay repeated observations he made in a column some years ago in which he accused deniers of being “a liability to the
Continue readingWill capitalists save us from global warming?
In her latest book This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. the Climate, Naomi Klein argues that if we are to defeat climate change we must defeat capitalism. At this week’s UN climate summit in New York, a number of corporate leaders seemed determined to prove her wrong. For example, a group
Continue readingHomeowners opt out of sprawl
Homeowners, it seems, at least in the Greater Toronto Area, are opting out of sprawl, or they would like to. So says the Royal Bank of Canada, the country’s largest residential mortgage lender, and the Pembina Institute, an environmental NGO, in a new report on the preferences of GTA homeowners.
Continue readingCongratulations, Edward, well-deserved
If I had heroes, Edward Snowden would be among them. Sacrificing his career, accepting exile from his homeland, and risking long years in prison, Snowden revealed to the world the lies behind our intelligence agencies’ claims they did not spy on us, that they did not engage in egregious invasions
Continue readingInstruct your MP to support Bill C-621
When it comes to taxes, corporations can be shifty. For example, some shift profits by setting up a storefront office in an offshore tax haven and then sending large invoices back to the Canadian head office charging “management” or “licensing fees.” Another gimmick is for a company to sell a
Continue readingISIS—a force for peace?
A juxtaposition of two articles in the Guardian this week suggested a very odd development indeed in the Middle East—the barbaric hordes of ISIS currently marauding through Syria and northern Iraq may actually be, in the longer term, a force for peace. The first article referred to a meeting in
Continue readingGood use of the American military
As a frequent critic of how the United States uses its military in the world, I was delighted to hear that President Obama has made a major commitment to use the U.S. Army against the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. Many nations are responding to the crisis—Cuba is sending 165
Continue readingWhy are Americans so frightened?
ISIS has thrown the fear of God into Americans. According to a poll conducted by the Opinion Research Centre, ninety per cent of Americans believe the group is a direct threat to the U.S. with over seventy per cent believing it already has cells inside the country. All of this
Continue readingThe Islamic State—should we be helping to clean up the Americans’ mess?
In early 2003, there were no Islamic extremists in Iraq, or at least none that dared raise their heads above ground. Then the Americans and their “coalition of the willing” invaded. Today, Islamic extremists so vile even al-Qaeda disowns them have taken control of a huge swath of the country
Continue readingHamas popularity surges
Whatever damage Israel did to Hamas during the recent war, it didn’t harm the group’s standing among the Palestinian people. Quite the contrary. According to a survey by the Palestinian Centre for Policy and Survey Research, the popularity of Hamas has surged in both Gaza and the West Bank to
Continue readingSister Simone for pope
What you may ask is a non-Catholic, indeed a non-Christian, doing recommending someone for pope. Well, it’s partly tongue-in-cheek, of course, even if American Sister Simone Campbell might very well make a better pope than anyone else around, including Francis himself. I am quite aware that the Catholic Church, immersed
Continue readingPutin leads Russia from Communism to Fascism
Russian president Vladimir Putin is on record as saying that the collapse of the Soviet Union was one of the 20th century’s major geopolitical disasters. Some might say this suggests he is an unregenerate communist but that, I suspect, is not the case. He was comfortable enough in the USSR,
Continue readingEvidence for Democracy
Our current federal government’s aversion to facts is now, unfortunately, well-established as a fact itself. Examples are legion, but I will just mention one. Health Minister Rona Ambrose has assured Canadians that her government is a firm believer in science-based policy. Unfortunately, in a recent CBC interview she went about
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