England no longer a Christian nation
England is having its troubles these days. Economy in recession, a plague of strikes, living standards falling, highest inflation in 40 years, National Health Service on life support, millions can’t…
Bill Longstaff
Et tu, AMLO?
I have often despaired at the way in which seemingly progressive leaders in Latin and South America show great initial promise and then drift into an autocracy not unlike their…
Homo sapiens—a hierarchical species
Observing the recent political shenanigans in Alberta one notes an intriguing pattern of human behaviour. During the recent competition for leader of the UCP, and therefore for premier of the…
Jason Kenney, a moderate?
During Jason Kenney’s reign over our province, I never thought of him as a particularly nice man. Actions like de-indexing the Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped program from inflation…
Queen Danielle and the separatist coup
When Danielle Smith first proposed her sovereignty act, I assumed, naively, that she meant the sovereignty of Alberta. Now, after the act has been presented and has seen the light…
Xi puts women in their place
When President Xi Jinping introduced his Politburo Standing Committee at the 20th Communist party congress in Beijing, one thing stood out. Of the seven, none were women. Furthermore, of the…
The Earth groans
Tuesday, according to the United Nations, was eight billion day, i.e. the world’s population was projected to reach eight billion souls on November 15th. Even if you like people, and…
Gain Danielle Smith, lose Deena Hinshaw—not a fair exchange
On Monday Deena Hinshaw, Alberta’s chief medical officer of health, was in effect fired. Thus our new premier, Danielle Smith, kept a campaign promise. We get Danielle Smith, a conspiracy-spouting…
And after Putin?
Russian President Vladimir Putin is not happy in the modern world. A child of Soviet Communism and of that particular enthusiasm bred by service in the KGB, he prefers government…
U.S. voters (and conservatives) trash Trump
The Democrats are quite pleased with their showing in the U.S midterm elections. From where I sit, it doesn’t look quite that cheerful—they lost the House of Representatives and may…
Time to friend-shore?
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen recently introduced a concept she referred to as “friend-shoring.” In her words, “Friend-shoring is the idea that countries that espouse a common set of values…
Notwithstanding politicians, the Charter prevails
“The government blinked,” read the CBC headline. The Ontario Minister of Education Stephen Lecce confirmed that his government will repeal Bill 28 “in its entirety.” He was referring of course…
How fares the emperor?
Xi Jinping has it all: general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, chairman of the Central Military Commission, commander-in-chief of the People’s Liberation Army, and the Politburo Standing Committee filled…
Alberta’s very own tax cut fiasco
A recent tax cut for the rich managed to achieve international notoriety. Former British Prime Minster Liz Truss, a neo-liberal zealot à la her idol Margaret Thatcher, ushered in her…
Whew! That was close—too close
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva won Brazil’s election on Sunday in a squeaker, defeating incumbent Jair Bolsonaro by a mere two points. It was a victory for more than Lula.…
Have conservatives all gone mad?
As a social democrat I may be prone to seeing the virtues in progressives and the vices in conservatives. But I challenge any objective observer to deny that a streak…
A great teacher retires
No one has taught Canadians more about nature and science generally than Dr. David Suzuki. He has now announced that, after 44 years at the helm, he is retiring from…
Who should choose?
We have recently seen a number of government leaders assume power elected not by the people but by their parties only, and the results have been less than satisfying. The…
Why I support Collin May’s lawsuit
In May of this year, lawyer Collin May was appointed by cabinet order as chief of the Alberta Human Rights Commission after serving on the commission for three years. Then…
Should we teach history in the schools?
I confess to being a history buff. I am a member of Canada’s History Society who avidly reads each issue of the society’s journal, Canada’s History (formerly The Beaver) and…