The United Nations will host dozens of governments, corporations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) during a one-day Climate Summit 2014 in New York on September 23rd but, alas, according to scientists and environmentalists, the meeting will deal mainly with only one limited way of fighting climate change. In recent years the
Continue readingAuthor: Nick Fillmore
A Different Point of View....: Canadian group not dealing with major free expression issues
Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE), a non-profit organization I worked with for 14 years, is one of dozens of groups from around the world that celebrated the importance of an unencumbered media on World Press Freedom Day May 3. CJFE has an almost 30 year history of carrying out vital press
Continue readingA Different Point of View....: Flaherty’s Legacy: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly
The unexpected, shocking death of Jim Flaherty, the Conservative Party of Canada’s only finance minister until his retirement less than a month ago, has resulted in hundreds of tributes for his commitment to public life and praise from those in business and conservative circles who approved of his financial and
Continue readingA Different Point of View....: Flaherty’s Legacy – The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
The unexpected, shocking death of Jim Flaherty, the Conservative Party’s only Finance Minister until his retirement less than a month ago, has resulted in hundreds of warm tributes for his commitment to public life and praise from those in business and conservative circles who approved of his financial and economic
Continue readingA Different Point of View....: Guest Blog By Murray Dobbin
From Nick Fillmore: This week I am re-printing a “must read” column by Murray Dobbin, a leading journalist and social activist for the past 40 years. This excellent article gets to the bottom of what the NDP needs to do to be an effective, progressive force in this country. Here’s a Big Idea:Transform
Continue readingA Different Point of View....: ‘One Big World Campaign’ needed to challenge power of right wing
(Note from Nick of One Big Campaign: Please take a couple of minutes to read about this new global initiative and give us your feedback. Is it time for massive international campaigns to take on greedy corporations and right-wing governments? We would like Canadians to be involved. By the way,
Continue readingA Different Point of View....: Avoiding the next financial train wreck
(Part 6 in a series)Back in 2006, into 2007, too-big-to-fail superbanks, complacent governments and boosterish business media ignored the few economists who predicted there would be a financial crisis. Today, governments lack the will or the legal weapons to control the greed endemic to elite bank culture. Given the persistence of
Continue readingA Different Point of View....: Should Account-holders pay for High-Flying Bankers’ Misdeeds?
When the next big financial crisis hits the world economy, and Canadian banks are in distress — as they were during the 2008 financial crisis — the bank-using public will have plenty to worry about. As we saw earlier in this series, it’s hard to trust banks to protect our
Continue readingA Different Point of View....: How banks play Russian Roulette with our financial security
(Part 4 of a series)The next major threat to Canadian and international financial systems is very likely to come from reckless investors gambling with derivatives, the dangerous betting vehicles that contributed to the 2008 collapse of financial services firm Lehman Brothers and the start of the Great Recession. Used properly,
Continue readingCanadian Dimension | Articles: Are our banks really safe?
The world banking system could come crashing down around our heads again – even worse than in 2008. Giant banks apparently learned very little from the earlier collapse. Many of them are carrying on the same overly risky and even illegal activities that led to the earlier crisis. (Part 1
Continue readingA Different Point of View....: GREED & FRAUD… setting us up for another crash
(Part 3 of a series)Are you ready for the Western world’s economy to crash — again? More banks will go under. Many tens of thousands of people will again be thrown out of work. Billions of dollars in “investments” will disappear into thin air. I believe it’s not a question
Continue readingA Different Point of View....: Out-of-control banks challenge governments for power & economic mite
Giant banks are the most powerful institutions in in the world – in many ways as powerful economically and politically as the biggest governments. Unfortunately, the banks frequently use their power in ways that damage the economy and hurt folks living around the world. Two prominent research projects carried out
Continue readingA Different Point of View....: Are our banks really safe?
The world banking system could come crashing down around our heads again – even worse than in 2008. Giant banks apparently learned very little from the earlier collapse. Many of them are carrying on the same overly risky and even illegal activities that led to the earlier crisis. If Canada’s
Continue readingA Different Point of View....: Globe’s Barrie McKenna Would Win Special Award!
McKenna – My sacrificial lamb. Journalist Barrie McKenna, writing in the main hyped-up article in the Globe’s Focus section on November 9.13, talks about how the gap in income between the rich and the rest of us is a serious problem that will hurt Canada for generations to come. True.
Continue readingA Different Point of View....: Article touches on sensitive union issues
Should union members give up some of their seniority rights to make the movement more appealing to a critical public? This is one of the controversial points touched on by an Ontario union rep, Glenn Wheeler, in an article in The Toronto Star. Wheeler also questions whether unions are spending
Continue readingA Different Point of View....: Austerity chokes Canada’s down-and-out as Harper, Flaherty look the other way
The exceedingly aggressive austerity cuts carried out by Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Finance Minister Jim Flaherty over the past seven years have come home to roost as millions of Canadians, depressed and without hope, are succumbing to its worst consequences. Program cuts and tax reductions for corporations and the
Continue readingA Different Point of View....: Conservatives exploit Afghan deaths, but treat vets like 2nd class citizens
A travelling tribute to the men and women who lost their lives in Afghanistan will arrive in your province or territory during the next year or two. The memorial, featuring plaques of the 161 Canadians killed, will be welcomed by their families and friends, but some of us will react
Continue readingA Different Point of View....: Corporate money preventing all-outcampaign to stop global warming
Highly-regarded former Toronto Mayor David Miller says he is “very excited” about becoming the new President and CEO of the World Wildlife Fund-Canada in September. “They’ve made such a difference,” Miller told The Toronto Star, “and to be part of an organization that knows how to make real change is
Continue readingA Different Point of View....: Just winning next election not enough for Liberals or NDP
With the next federal election a little more than two years away, it is time we started asking the Liberals and New Democrats what kind of government they will deliver if either one could bounce the Conservatives from power. It would be unwise to underestimate the Conservatives’ devious political smarts,
Continue readingA Different Point of View....: Action needed to stop ‘climate deniers’ from winning the information war
Note: This appeal is written particularly for the attention of environmental groups and activists throughout Canada and the U.S., suggesting they set up a co-operative system to bring a halt to the huge amount of disinformation about global warming that appears in mainstream media. The global warming deniers are at
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