Several commentators have suggested that the ascension of Donald Trump marks the beginning of the Post Truth Era. George Monbiot writes that, in fact, we have been living in the Post Truth Era for some time now. Over the past fifteen years, I have watched as tobacco, coal, oil,
Continue readingAuthor: Owen Gray
Northern Reflections: Californians Know A Con Job When They See One
Around the world, Neo-liberalism is triumphant — but not everywhere. Robert Reich writes that, in the recent American election, California — which used to be a pilot project for Milton Friedman’s economic prescriptions — overwhelming rejected Donald Trump: In sharp contrast to much of the rest of the nation, Californians
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: We May Be Cooked
Surveying what has been happening in Europe and the United States, Jonathan Manthorpe asks, “Is Liberalism dying out?” He writes: Only in Canada (and Portugal) does the seemingly archaic and decidedly retro 20th-century notion of small-L liberalism — or, if you prefer, social democratic centralism — survive unchallenged. Everywhere else
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: He’s Beginning To Stumble
Lawrence Martin writes in today’s Globe that Justin Trudeau is beginning to falter. First, there was the sound and fury over Castro — although much of the noise was the consequence of short historical memory. Beyond that, today’s media is decidedly right-wing. Forty years ago, there was no giant conservative
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Playing The Victim
The present crop of conservatives are a strange lot. They are, Scott Reid writes, nothing like their predecessors: Conservatives used to campaign on rugged individualism and the projection of strength. Those of the modern breed are a whimpering litter of easily wounded weaklings. And they just can’t shut up about
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Fools That We Are
These days, when it comes to public discourse, nuance is nowhere to be found. Michael Harris writes: There is no public discourse, just an ongoing screed between those fighting for the controls. It’s not just sex, lies and videotape that is used to bring the opponent low — but a hearty
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: More Black Days In July
It’s been almost half a century since the assassination of Martin Luther King and the urban infernos that followed his death. That’s two generations, and many people have no memory of that time. But we may be returning to that time. Linda McQuaig writes: I’ve always been amazed at the
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Calling The Kettle Black
We live in the Age of Misplaced Faith. A stunning example of what this means for ordinary people is CETA — the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement. Murray Dobbin writes: The federal government makes its own “reality” by crafting “facts” to fit its policy objectives — no matter how outrageous
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: It’s Later Than We Think
The news on climate change is not good — and it’s getting worse. The mainstream media are beginning to get the message. Ole Hendrickson writes: The headline of a recent Washington Post article says “The North Pole is an insane 36 degrees warmer than normal as winter descends.” Scientists are
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Another One
Crawford Killian voices the frustration that many of us who spent our lives in the classroom feel in the wake of the American election: As a lifelong teacher, this really alarmed me. After all, I’d spent over 40 years trying to teach students to be critical thinkers with well-tuned bullshit
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Which Number?
We live in a digital age — a time when numbers are everywhere. One number — we’ve labelled it GDP — has taken on a mystical quality. It has become the sole measure of our progress — or lack of it. But there are other numbers that give a much
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Can They Do It Without Him?
When George W. Bush was elected president, he withdrew the United States from the Kyoto Protocol. Canada followed suit. Now, sixteen years later, Donald Trump vows to withdraw the United States from the Paris Accord. But this time, Justin Trudeau says that Canada will back the accord. In fact, yesterday
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: A Tall Order
It’s tempting, after Donald Trump’s election, to think magically. If you’re an evangelical, why worry about climate change if you’re convinced that The Rapture is just around the corner? And, if you’re a desperate coal miner or steel worker, why not think magically when Trump promises that he’ll bring your
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: A Lie People Choose To Believe
Mark Zukerberg is embarrassed. Facebook is getting to be known as the Home of the Whopper. John Naughton writes that critics of the last election are focusing on social media: Their baleful glare has fallen upon the internet generally and social media in particular. “For election day influence, Twitter ruled
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: He’s Henry VIII
Roger Cohen has a pretty good handle on Donald Trump. He wrote in the New York Times this week that: It all began as a game, turned into an ego trip and ended in a strange apotheosis. Trump has uncanny instincts but no firm ideas. He knows the frisson authority
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: The Ball Is In The Government’s Court
The NDP has come out in favour of holding a referendum on electoral reform. Given the recent history of such efforts — Brexit and the American election — we’re getting into dangerous territory. The status quo looks more and more like the outcome. Dennis Pilon writes that there are essentially
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Now So More Than Ever
Canadians would be foolish to ignore the ill wind that is blowing from the south. Rather than ignoring it, Clare Boychuk and Mark Dance suggest that Canadians should push back against it: In the wake of Trump’s election, the main lesson for Canadians is that change is coming. We can
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Stupidity Squared
Television made Donald Trump. Television elected him. In retrospect, Neil Postman’s critique of the medium makes Trump’s rise seem almost inevitable. In Amusing Ourselves To Death, Postman argued that the real danger television posed was that it would eventually replace print as our prime medium of communication. George Orwell didn’t
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Hayek In Full Fruition
Donald Trump has admitted that he doesn’t read much. Instead, he pays attention to” the shows.” However, there is one book — even though he’s probably never read it — that Trump carries around in his head. In fact, for the last fifty years, most politicians have been carrying it
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: It’s Going To Take Time
Timothy Garton Ash places Donald Trump’s election victory in an international context. Throughout the world, he writes, right wing populism is fuelling the development of illiberal democracies: In Vladimir Putin’s Russia we have something very close to fascism. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s Turkey is rapidly crossing the line between illiberal democracy
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