Oh, those fickle Wall Street bankers. In 2008, Barack Obama was their man for president. They lavished $71-million on the Democratic candidate, $10-million more than on his Republican rival. Goldman Sachs was Obama’s major contributor. In the current campaign, they are laying out the largesse again, outspending all other special
Continue readingAuthor: Bill Longstaff
Al Jazeera’s Bahrain doc wins another award
For a definitive record of the 2011 protests against the kleptocratic Al Khalifa family, rulers of Bahrain, one cannot do better than the Al Jazeera documentary “Bahrain: Shouting in the Dark.” The courage and spirit of the uprising is well laid out as is the grim and sickening detail of
Continue readingRick Santorum—an Antichrist?
Rick Santorum is a disturbing man. The candidate for Republican nominee for president has said things that if I were an American, I would find offensive if not frightening. For instance, he has suggested that people who don’t live according to what he refers to as “God’s law,” have no
Continue readingSyria and the reluctant alliance between al-Qaeda and the West
Al-Qaeda and Western nations agreeing on a policy of critical importance may seem strange, yet such is the case with Syria. Ayman al-Zawahiri, head of al-Qaeda, has publicly thrown his organization’s support behind the Syrian opposition. Al-Zawahiri called on Muslim fighters from Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey to go to
Continue readingNews flash—country rejects Olympic Games!!!
Hard to believe, but true—a country has rejected the possibility of hosting the Olympics. Rome had intended to bid for the 2020 Summer Games, but the Italian government has nixed the application. Italian Premier Mario Monti said it would be irresponsible to use taxpayer money to fund the Olympics with
Continue reading2012—International Year of Co-operatives
“Cooperatives are a reminder to the international community that it is possible to pursue both economic viability and social responsibility.” — United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon I heartily agree with the Secretary-General. Indeed, I believe that if we are to develop the culture of international co-operation that will be necessary
Continue readingStephen Harper and the triumph of ideology over reason
Why did he do it? Why did Stephen Harper suggest we had a public pension funding problem when we don’t? And why did he proclaim his concern at an international conference of all places? Let’s all repeat slowly: there … is … no … funding … problem … with …
Continue readingOntario shows greatest population growth
Per cents are not people. Per cents don’t hold jobs, buy products or pay taxes. People do. Yet it seems that most of the conversation about the 2011 census report revolves around per cent growth, not people growth. The per cent growth is interesting, and much more simple to illustrate
Continue readingSupreme Court Justice says U.S. constitution is dated
This will set the teeth of right-wing Americans on edge. U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, in an interview on Egyptian television, said she wouldn’t recommend using the U.S. Constitution as a model for Egypt’s new constitution. When asked where the Egyptians should look for a model, she advised
Continue readingAlberta and Saskatchewan vie for pollution title
Alberta is generally considered to be Canada’s pollution champion. And it deserves the honour. With 11 per cent of the country’s population it contributes 34 per cent of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions. Nonetheless, Saskatchewan can also make the claim. It only produces 7 per cent of the country’s emissions,
Continue readingThe real radicals revealed
The word “radical” is being thrown out a lot lately, particularly from the mouths of certain federal ministers. Minister of Natural Resources Joe Oliver garnered a great deal of attention when he published a rant about opposition to the Northern Gateway pipeline in The Globe and Mail. He has backed
Continue readingAnti-American or anti-American empire?
Americans are a militaristic people. That, I suspect, is why President Obama made praise of the military a major theme in his State of the Union address Tuesday night. He began his speech by praising the military and he ended by praising the military. And in between he practically boasted
Continue readingRivers drying up in England?
When trout waved lazy in the clear chalk streams, Glory was in me … So wrote poet John Betjeman about his beloved River Kennet. Sadly, the trout have had trouble waving lazy in the Kennet lately. The river, like many in southern England, ran dry this past winter, a victim
Continue readingBully for you, Minister Baird
John Baird has never been one of my favourite politicians. There is too much of the bully about him. Nonetheless, I applaud him for his speech Monday in the UK in which he criticized other Commonwealth nations for denying fundamental freedoms to homosexuals and others. “Dozens of Commonwealth countries currently
Continue readingOne pipeline down, one to go
So Obama has sunk the Keystone XL pipeline—at least temporarily. He has said Trans Canada can apply again, so perhaps he’s just being an election-year tease. Nonetheless, it’s a victory against the tar sands monolith. And that’s what it’s all about, not just shutting down a pipeline, but shutting down
Continue readingGingrich drives Christ out of the room
During the latest debate by the candidates for the Republican nomination for president, Newt Gingrich declared, “Andrew Jackson had a pretty clear-cut idea about America’s enemies: Kill them.” He got a standing ovation. Andrew Jackson was, of course, the president esponsible for the Trail of Tears, the forced relocation of
Continue readingA premiers’ meeting with a significant feminine presence … finally
The premiers’ meeting this week in Victoria had a new look. Normally an assemblage of men in suits, this one had a definite feminine presence with four of the 13 premiers being women. These include host Christy Clark of B.C., Alison Redford of Alberta, Kathy Dunderdale of Newfoundland and Labrador,
Continue readingHarper—the prime minister of oil
In the paranoid corridors of Harperworld, opponents of tar sands development are radicals. And the most dangerous among the radicals are those who receive funding from foreigners. This is a rather curious accusation coming from Stephen Harper. After all, he faithfully serves the oil industry, much of which is foreign-owned.
Continue readingCorporate chiefs beginning to see the dark side
The world’s capitalists are worried. The World Economic Forum, an organization composed of 1,000 of the world’s most powerful corporations, is concerned that the financial crisis gripping the global economy may be leading us to a “dystopian future.” In its report Global Risks 2012, the Forum warns, “a society that
Continue readingPeacekeeping—"Canada can and should do more"
Sometimes a graph is worth a thousand words. A good example is a graph depicting Canada’s contribution to U.N. peacekeeping that appeared in the December 2011 edition of Mondial, the newsletter of The World Federalist Movement. The graph, attached, shows Canada hovering around number one in the early 90s and
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