Environmental destruction—more than a war crime?
The UN’s International Law Commission currently has on its agenda an item concerned with protecting the environment in times of war. The commission has drawn up 28 draft principles, the…
Bill Longstaff
Calgary and the hockey barons
On November 18th of last year, Calgary held a plebiscite which attracted an impressive 305,000 voters. The question on the ballot was whether or not the city would host the…
A tar sands story
Canadian Natural Resources, Canada’s largest oil and gas producer, has set an ambitious goal regarding greenhouse gas emissions. It has announced that by applying advanced technology, including carbon capture and…
Religious Tolerance on the Decline
Quebec’s Bill 21 which bans public teachers, police officers, government lawyers and other authority figures from wearing religious symbols at work has met vigorous criticism. Its critics claim it violates…
Britain has bullied Iran for centuries
Britain’s imperial designs on Iran go back at least to the Great Game with Russia over control of trade routes through central Asia in the 19th century. Indeed, Iran’s southern…
Democracy Needs Gatekeepers
When the Internet arrived and then computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee unleashed the world wide web, a paradise of communication loomed. Now everyone could have access to all the world’s knowledge.…
The ungrateful species
I consider myself fortunate beyond words for my opportunity to experience life on this planet. I am here for a mere moment in the vast expanse of both time and…
Alberta isn’t immune to global warming
Living in Alberta one often gets the impression that when it comes to energy and the environment, promoting the oil industry is top priority while dealing with global warming is…
A Platform for Tax Fairness
“Taxes are the price we pay for a civilized society.” This quote by Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. is the motto of Canadians for Tax Fairness, an organization that “advocates for…
Well-being as National Security
When the term “national security” crops up, our thoughts usually turn to things military. Indeed the dictionary on my Mac defines national security as “the safety of a nation against…
Canada finally accedes to Arms Trade Treaty
Ottawa has finally announced that Canada will become a party to the UN Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) later this year. The government has introduced Bill C-47 which amends the Export…
Is Democracy Unnatural?
Today is an exceptional time for democracy—the first time in history that most nations in the world may be called democratic (assuming we are generous with our definition). Democracy has,…
Canada: relatively equal in an unequal world
The world is a very unequal place. As can be seen graphically on the figure to the right. The world’s lowest ten per cent of income earners average $266 US…
Whither Sudan?
The prospects for Sudan brightened considerably last Friday. The military and pro-democracy forces reached a power-sharing agreement that should end a three-month political crisis that has paralyzed the country and…
The irony of Italy’s immigration policy
Italy has a baby problem. Apparently Italians aren’t making enough of them. The country’s birth rate is the lowest it’s been since Italy itself was born in 1861. With deaths…
Do People Really Want to Hear the Truth?
One of the most common myths about politics and politicians is that people just want to be told the truth. Unfortunately, that isn’t the truth. Donald Trump was elected president…
How much crap should Iran be expected to take from the U.S.?
Iran under the Ayatollahs is hardly a model nation. Domestically, it is repressive and, due largely to sanctions imposed by the United States, impoverished. Its foreign policy is aggressive. It…
The Democrats Reinvigorate Their Party and American Democracy
While there is much to despair about American democracy these days, there are also rays of hope, at least in the Democratic Party. If I had been an American during…
Are we capable of creating a sustainable future?
Reading an intriguing book the other day, I was reminded of our species’ inability to restrain our use of technology. The book is Bison and People on the North American…
I Am a Democrat … and an Elitist
There is much talk about populism these days. The term has a variety of definitions, but the general idea is that society is separated into two groups at odds with…