As the Occupy Wall Street Movement campaigns against the unfair distribution of wealth in the United States, the “one percent” they hold accountable just keep on raking it in. According to the latest survey, American CEOs enjoyed pay hikes of between 27 and 40 percent last year. Meanwhile, wages for
Continue readingAuthor: Bill Longstaff
Will global civilization avoid collapse?
I consider myself a lucky man. I was born in the right place at the right time to enjoy what may well be the peak period of civilization. Never has human society offered so much to those in a position to take advantage of it—physical luxury not even kings and
Continue readingAmericans and Western Europeans—different breeds
That Americans see the world differently from Europeans is not a surprise, but what may seem surprising to many is just how differently, and how similar Europeans’ views are to each other. For example, a recent Pew Research Centre survey showed that whereas 58 per cent of Americans thought that
Continue readingOffice of Religious Freedom shows it bias
The federal government’s creation of what it terms an Office of Religious Freedom is not off to a good start. Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird, mentor of the new office, has created a panel to help lay out parameters for the proposed office. The panel is in itself hardly representative
Continue readingAlberta values are not Western values
Globe and Mail columnist John Ibbitson recently gave a talk to a standing-room only crowd of Torontonians about how a set of Western values has captured the country. Ibbitson was, I suspect, making a mistake common to Eastern pundits. He was assuming that what might be called Alberta values form
Continue readingTalking to Iran
I am beginning to get the uneasy feeling that we are psyching ourselves up for war with Iran. With the Americans’ two Middle Eastern buddies, Israel and Saudi Arabia, egging their patron on, with the U.K. exchanging unpleasantries with the Iranians, and with Canada’s new militarism offering a “ready, aye,
Continue readingAmericans turn on the Tea Party
A recent Pew Research Center survey indicates that Americans, or at least those who have an opinion on the matter, are turning against the Tea Party. A year ago, as the Republican Party was making sweeping gains in the midterm elections, 24 per cent of Americans said they agreed with
Continue readingElizabeth May, Tuvalu and honest representation
I was intrigued by Green Party Leader Elizabeth May’s attempt to join the Tuvalu delegation at the Durban Climate Change Conference. As she explained, “If my government, the Government of Canada, does not need my help, I offer it to another government, one that works for my children because the
Continue readingLest we forget: today is The International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People
The International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, a United Nations sponsored event, has been observed every year on November 29th since 1977, 30 years to the day after the partition of Palestine. The UN General Assembly has requested that the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights
Continue readingSouth Africa on slippery slope?
Normally, I’m wary of slippery slope arguments but when an African government acts to limit freedom of speech, I suspect such an argument may be valid. Unfortunately, South Africa has done just that. A law, ostensibly to protect state secrets, has been approved by the South African National Assembly. The
Continue readingWhy 338 constituencies? Why not 150? Or 100?
The Liberals have suggested an approach to achieving fairer regional representation in the House of Commons, and they should be listened to. Their solution is certainly better than that of Bill C-20 which will add yet another 30 seats to the House. The Liberals would achieve representation essentially as fair
Continue readingEhud Barak sympathizes with Iran’s alleged nuclear aspirations
Whether or not Iran is developing nuclear weapons, it appears that Israeli defence minister Ehud Barak appreciates why they would. In an interview with PBS’s Charlie Rose, when he was asked if he would want a nuclear weapon were he a member of Iran’s government, he replied, “Probably, probably. I know,
Continue readingSay goodbye to the frogs
Frogs are delightful little buggers. Look at this little rascal in the photo, a red-eyed tree frog. With his goofy expression and padded toes, you can’t help but love him … or her. Too bad, really, that they are doomed. As we humans press on causing the world’s sixth great
Continue readingAPEC—Environment one, Keystone zero
Despite Stephen Harper’s 25-minute walk in the garden with Barack Obama during the recent APEC forum, the president was not dissuaded from his decision to conduct a thorough review of the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline project. Apparently he is unconvinced by our prime minister’s declaration that approval of the pipeline is a "no brainer." Perhaps the president, as Harper suggests, is just
Continue readingObama’s sartorial slip
"I was persuaded by our team to perhaps break tradition, and so we have
not required you to wear your aloha shirts."
Thus President Obama broke the 20-year tradition of having the assembled leaders at an APEC forum ditch their power suits and don the traditional local
dress.
Kind of a shame. After all, they were meeting in Obama’s home state of Hawaii and those aloha shirts are pretty spiffy.
Continue readingCanada’s climate change policy—drinking the Kool-Aid
The warnings continue. And they are ominous. In its annual World Energy Outlook released November 9th, the International Energy Agency (IEA) reported
that the world will lose the chance to limit global warming if it doesn’t act
now. This isn’t news o…
Did former Israeli security chiefs rat out Netanyahu?
Meir Dagan, former head of Mossad, Israel’s foreign intelligence service, is no admirer of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He has accused Netanyahu of being "irresponsible and reckless" and feels that Israel’s security is being mismanaged by the prime minister and Ehud Barak, the defence minister.
According to a story in the Guardian, Netanyahu is now said to believe that Dagan and
Continue readingThe UNESCO vote and the decline of American influence
Following the vote Monday to admit Palestine into UNESCO, Hamas official Ahmed Yousef said it “shows that Israel and America are not dictating politics to the world anymore.” Hamas’s view carries its own bias, nonetheless Mr. Yousef has a point. U.S. o…
Continue readingCongratulations to the Palestinians … and UNESCO
Allow me to add my cheer to those that went up at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) 36th General Conference after delegates approved Palestinian membership. The move was particularly courageous considering th…
Continue readingSix more MPs for Alberta—not good news for this Albertan
I admit to ambivalence about the government’s announcement that under the proposed Fair Representation Act the country will gain 30 more MPs. It is a good thing, of course, to strive for more equitable representation and that’s what this Act attempts t…
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