Royal Dutch Shell chief executive Peter Voser earned more than $15-million in pay and bonuses in 2011, more than double his remuneration for 2010. Last year also saw Shell increase its oil spills to 207, substantially more than the previous year. The two are not related of course, but the
Continue readingAuthor: Bill Longstaff
The Alberta Advantage—for men only?
It seems the famous Alberta Advantage doesn’t apply to women. Alberta lags all other provinces except Newfoundland and Labrador in women’s wage parity with men. According to a report issued by the Parkland Institute and the Alberta College of Social Workers, in Canada as a whole women’s wages for full-year,
Continue readingRare earth metals—the plot thickens
In my post of March 12th about peak everything, I mentioned that China, which produces 97 per cent of the rare earth metals, elements critical to the production of many hi-tech products, is becoming increasingly skittish about exporting these valuable commodities. Yesterday the CBC reported that the United States, the
Continue readingPeak oil? How about peak everything?
We are all familiar with the concept of peak oil. Oil is a non-renewable resource therefore at some point global production will reach its maximum capacity and then decline, creating an urgent need for alternate energy sources. Peak oil has already occurred in the United States, in 1970 in fact,
Continue readingHappy birthday, Douglas Adams
Today is Douglas Adams’ 60th birthday. Or it would be if he hadn’t been thoughtless enough to die in May of 2001, thereby depriving us of yet more of his insanely eccentric humour. I owe Doug a quite considerable debt. For his TV series “The Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy,”
Continue readingIran under siege … for 2,500 years
David Cameron hoisted himself onto the world stage once again, as he is wont to do, and declared Iran an international threat. This is rich coming from a British PM. The Brits have been harassing Iran since the days of the Great Game. They invaded the country in the 1940s
Continue readingWomen win one, lose one … and so it goes
The good news is that the European Union is considering mandatory quotas to get more women on corporate boards. They have tried the voluntary approach and, as is so often the case, it hasn’t worked. Currently only one in seven board members at Europe’s biggest companies are women despite the
Continue readingConservative war on truth escalates
The Conservative government made another assault on the gathering of facts with its announcement that it is closing the Polar Environment Atmospheric Research Lab (PEARL) in Canada’s High Arctic. Its timing was impeccable. A climate scientist, Dr. Richard Peltier, has just been announced this year’s winner of the Gerhard Herzberg
Continue readingBaroness Tonge, Israel and the pain of political correctness
Of all the various catalysts of political correctness, perhaps Israel is the most powerful. Anyone who seriously criticizes Israel or seriously supports the Palestinians is seriously in danger of being accused of such wickedness he or she must be dismissed from public discourse. Such was the fate of Jenny Tonge,
Continue readingAmericans prefer small government … or do they?
It is a practically a cliche that Americans prefer small government. A recent survey by the Pew Research Center would seem to confirm this. When asked if government regulation did more harm than good, 52 per cent of Americans agreed while only 40 per cent felt regulation was necessary for
Continue readingAre political donations and Alberta’s persistent condo problems related?
Justice should not only be done, but should manifestly and undoubtedly be seen to be done. — Lord Hewart, Seventh Lord Chief Justice of England The same might be said about governing. Governing parties should not only govern justly but should be seen to be governing justly. That is difficult
Continue readingHow Wall Street buys Washington
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 readingAl 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
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