It’s all up and down with democracy these days as right-wing populists, some bordering on fascism, come and go. The most prominent case, of course, was our great neighbour to the south electing Donald Trump and then trading him in for one of the best and most progressive presidents in
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The EU Declares War
I apologize for the alarmist headline. The European Union hasn’t actually declared war, more a case of having recognized a war, a shadow war. Vera Jourova, Vice President of the European Commission for Values and Transparency, claims Russia and China are engaging in a “digital war” with fake news and
Continue readingEastern Europe happy (mostly) with democracy and free markets
In November, 1989, the world’s most infamous wall came down and the “Evil Empire” crumbled away. The communist regimes of Eastern Europe collapsed like dominoes and by 1990 free elections were held, the free market was adopted throughout, and Germany was whole again. And how do the citizens of these
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Why Canadian media won’t call post-Brexit protests ‘pro-democracy demonstrations’
If there are riots in Britain after the hard Brexit Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his Conservative Party cronies have scheduled for Halloween, will mainstream media in Canada describe them as “pro-democracy demonstrations” as they do when similar violent outbursts take place nowadays in Hong Kong or Moscow? On the
Continue readingAlberta Politics: So sorry to see you go so soon, Manning Centre … here’s your hat
Shed a tear for the Calgary-based Manning Centre, which Postmedia’s Cowtown website of record sadly reported yesterday is “stepping back from its advocacy work.” Since polishing up Tiny Tories to make them acceptable for election door-knocking and serving as a launch pad for development-industry-financed attacks on Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Remember when those confident British voters chose ‘hope over fear’ with Brexit? What Would Jason Tweet now?
While much of the world looked on in dismay as the results of the Brexit votes rolled in two years ago last month, Jason Kenney Tweeted his congratulations to the people of Britain for “choosing hope over fear by embracing a confident, sovereign future, open to the world.” How’s that
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: CETA: The devil is in the details.
Tried the other day to reread the Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA) and finally gave up in disgust. Maybe this deal between Canada and the European Union is just too comprehensive for this non-trade expert to comprehend. And when you find the mainly French-speaking Wallonia area of Belgium is the
Continue readingCowichan Conversations: BREXIT THE MOVIE is a feature-length documentary film
This film is absolutely pro Brexit and was released May 12th, 2016 It is well worth a look see as to the drive to leave the EU. Did this film have an effect? Probably. How Read more…
Continue readingCowichan Conversations: Europeans Contest US Anti-Russian Hype
Brexit certainly has focused political minds throughout the world and in spite of the corporate media message of gloom, there may well be some good comes out of it. Originally published in Read more…
Continue readingCowichan Conversations: The Votes Have Been Counted – Will The European Common Market Unravel Further?
The shock will take some time to wear off, especially in Britain or what may be left of Britain as a result of the referendum vote to leave the European Union. Of course, they remain Read more…
Continue readingParchment in the Fire: Germany, not Greece, should say goodbye to the euro | Comment | ekathimerini.com
Germany, not Greece, should say goodbye to the euro | Comment | ekathimerini.com. Filed under: Eurozone crisis Tagged: Euro, European Union, Eurozone Crisis, Germany
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Success – Greece to stay in the Eurozone and the EU
Hands are being wrung; Chancellor Merkel is being cast as a vicious, heartless, and vengeful person; some speak of the French president being brushed aside; and Greeks are dismayed. During a tense, drama-filled weekend, a deal was hammered out and presented to the debtor nation, which now has to pass
Continue readingMichal Rozworski » Political Eh-conomy: The New Europeans: Like the Old on Greece
Poland’s man in Brussels, President of the European Council Donald Tusk, has truly settled into his shoes as a new member of the European elite. On Tuesday, he issued the stern warning: “Our inability to find agreement may lead to the bankruptcy of Greece and the insolvency of its banking
Continue readingPolitical Eh-conomy: The New Europeans: Like the Old on Greece
Poland’s man in Brussels, President of the European Council Donald Tusk, has truly settled into his shoes as a new member of the European elite. On Tuesday, he issued the stern warning: “Our inability to find agreement may lead to the bankruptcy of Greece and the insolvency of its banking
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Greece tables unified set of negotiation principles with EU
The PM of Greece fired his first opening shot in the coming negotiations with the Troika of faceless technocrats and panoply of politicians, by huddling with the opposition parties and then releasing their statement of principles. Employing one of the necessary steps in Harvard U’s Getting to Yes negotiation handbook
Continue readingAlberta Politics: The effort to engineer regime change in Greece could lead to a much bigger disaster
PHOTOS: Leaders of the Greek military government of 1967 to 1974. Is something similar waiting in the wings if the eurozone leadership’s effort to terrorize the Greeks into voting Yes to never-ending austerity fails today? Below: Greek Prime Minister Alex Tsipras, former Canadian prime minister Jean Chretien and Nobel-Prize-winning American
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Greece & The Euro: Some words of wisdom from a Swiss Ambassador
Dr Daniel Woker In an article headed Greece and the Nattering Nabobs of the Anglosphere in Real Clear World, Dr. Daniel Woker has some timely advice to the chattering classes: Cool it, you just don’t get it. A former Swiss Ambassador to Singapore and Australia, and now a lecturer at
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Politics, CETA, and the fishery #nlpoli
The European trade deal came up in the House of Assembly on Monday. Everyone kept to the same lines they’ve been kicking around for months. Believe it if you want, but if you want to find out what is really going on, check out the interview your humble e-scribbler did
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: And So It Begins
It’s an idea that’s been kicked around for quite a while – the use of military force to thwart climate change migration. To some it’s a matter of doing what’s necessary to keep the barbarian horde at bay. Underlying it is this element of self-defence, self-preservation – necessity. The European
Continue readingParchment in the Fire: Contesting Capitalism in the Eurozone
In light of the new Syriza government’s difficult struggle against the German dominated institutions of the Eurozone, I’ve revisited a little known book published ten years ago by political scientist Richard Dunphy called Contesting Capitalism? Left Parties and European Integration (Manchester University Press, 2004). In the book, Dunphy charts out the
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