“Political language is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind. ” ― George Orwell It is very easy, in the majority of cases, to become quickly inured to the world’s suffering. Whether it be earthquakes and crime in
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Accidental Deliberations: Tuesday Morning Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Cordell Jacks writes about the need for an economic model which evolves beyond the short-term exploitation of people and the planet. And Jessica McKenzie interviews Charlotte Kukowski about the importance of reprioritizing in the context of readily-apparent feedback loops between inequality and the
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Thursday Afternoon Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – Adele Waters writes about the large numbers of UK doctors who are suffering from long COVID as a result of their efforts to care for patients – but who have been abandoned to financial ruin as a result. Elizabeth Cooney examines the
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Stephen Harper – he haunts us still!
Stephen Harper is having a bit of a moment lately, thanks to his instantly notorious selfie last week with Hungarian neofascist Viktor Orbán, which both of them proudly tweeted about. Justin Trudeau – the anti-Harper (Photo: Justin Trudeau/Flickr). Mr. Harper is the former Conservative prime minister of Canada who is
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Harper’s Handshake
Recently former prime minister Stephen Harper tweeted about the “importance of centre-right parties strengthening their collaboration” The tweet was accompanied by a photo of Harper shaking hands with the Hungarian prime minister, Viktor Orbán, The “centre-right” party Harper was referring to was Orbán’s Fidesz. Think about that for a moment.
Continue readingAlberta Politics: No predictions today, but the stakes are high, maybe existential, so just go vote!
One of the dirty little secrets of Canadian politics at the end of the beginning of the 21st Century is that a lot of political professionals have come to recognize the awesome power of fear. Former Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper (Photo: Screenshot of UCP video). And nothing instills fear
Continue readingPaul S. Graham: The continuing relevance of George Galloway
Over the years I’ve recorded many events that Peace Alliance Winnipeg (PAW) has organized and/or co-sponsored. I’ve begun to put copies of these on the Peace Alliance Winnipeg YouTube Channel, which I encourage you to visit and to share. Back in 2010, PAW hosted a huge public meeting with British
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Tales from the Crypt: UCP unearths Stephen Harper whose bloodless video ‘endorsement’ falls somewhere short of inspiring
How do you make a political endorsement without making a political endorsement? Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, who was not mentioned in Mr. Harper’s “endorsement” of her political party, which he also didn’t name (Photo: Alberta Newsroom/Flickr). Canada’s former Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper has offered us a lesson! Yesterday, Alberta’s
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Kenney’s New Modus Operandi: Goodbye Peter Lougheed; Hello Donald Trump
There was a time when Jason Kenney pretended to be the modern-day manifestation of Peter Lougheed, notwithstanding his conviction that Lougheed’s programs were akin to “neo-Stalinist make-work projects.” He’s since dropped the charade. He no longer pretends to be anything other than what he is. A Trump admirer. Recently he’s
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Former Conservative PM Stephen Harper reported planning ‘activist fund’ with protégé of ‘Evil Captain Kirk’
Stephen Harper, the former Canadian Conservative Prime Minister, plans to team up with a protégé of Carl Icahn, the notorious vulture capitalist and destroyer of American jobs. Mr. Harper and Courtney Mather will launch an “activist fund,” Bloomberg News reported yesterday, based on information from an unidentified person said to
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Afternoon Links
This and that for your Sunday reading. – Ed Yong discusses how the field of public health has been marginalized by the false assumption that the task of keeping people healthy shouldn’t play a role in our political choices. – Nadeem Badshah reports on Greta Thunberg’s message to countries participating
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: On false tax freedoms
The past few Canadian election cycles have seen plenty of discussion of the realities of tax-free savings accounts. And for the most part, their critics have been proven right: a scheme pitched at enabling savings by lower-income individuals has instead served mostly as a means of redirecting more free money
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: On history repeating
With the Libs floundering in an election campaign where they considered themselves entitled to waltz into power and the NDP making a push toward the top of the party standings, commentators haven’t been able to avoid some comparison to 2011. But that’s always come with a caveat – that Justin
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Kenney’s (Bombastic) Response to Biden Cancelling KXL’s Permit
On January 20 when the rest of the world was congratulating President Biden on his inauguration, Jason Kenney was attacking Biden’s character and threatening trade wars because Biden revoked Trump’s executive order approving KXL. Not satisfied that he’d made his point, Kenney appeared on Fox TV and other media outlets
Continue readingThe Daveberta Podcast: Episode 66: Aloha! Flying into Alberta politics in 2021
What lies ahead for Alberta politics in 2021? Dr. Jared Wesley joins Dave Cournoyer on the Daveberta Podcast to discuss Jason Kenney’s leadership of the United Conservative Party, Rachel Notley’s focus on health care during the pandemic, the Alberta Party and Wildrose Independence Party leadership races, and the equalization referendum
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Why did China’s government pluck the Two Michaels from among 300,000 Canadians in China?
Soon after Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou was arrested by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Vancouver two years ago at the behest of U.S. authorities, Chinese state security officers arrested two Canadian men, Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor. It was clear from the get-go the arrest on Dec.
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Gary Mar on Keystone XL: Likely the only guy who can save Jason Kenney’s Keystone XL pipe-dream is Justin Trudeau
It may not quite be impossible for Jason Kenney to see his dream of completing the Keystone XL Pipeline to the U.S. Gulf Coast on his watch come true, but it will be almighty difficult with Democrat Joe Biden in the White House. What’s more, if the project is to
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Canada’s progressive politicians need to pay attention to Erin O’Toole’s pivot to unions
If Erin O’Toole was sincere when he surprised everyone last month by bemoaning the decline of unions, you’d think he’d publicly rebuke Premier Jason Kenney for his ongoing campaign to turn Alberta into a right-to-work state. So far, though, the new Conservative Party of Canada leader has had nothing to
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Evidence suggests U.S. conservatives have given up on democracy — can Canada’s Cons be far behind?
Yesterday was Martinstag in Germany. I suppose if you think about it, it’s St. Martin’s Day here in Canada, too. Armistice Day 1918, how the end of World War I was told to Canadians. The occasion is said to be quite popular with children, with lots of colourful lanterns, costumes
Continue readingAlberta Politics: How propaganda became memory: Pierre Trudeau, Alberta and the National Energy Program
On this day 40 years ago, prime minister Pierre Trudeau’s finance minister and deputy PM, Allan MacEachen, rose in Parliament to introduce a new national budget. Warning that Canada could become increasingly dependent on foreign supplies of oil and subject to the vagaries of the world oil market, Mr. MacEachen
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