Double victory for democracy in Turkey
Turkish President Recep Erdogan has just learned a lesson in democracy. And humility. Erdogan, a popular prime minister and the country’s dominant politician since his party swept to power in…
Bill Longstaff
Vancouver Humane Society gives CBC Stampede coverage a thumbs down
Only 26 days to the Calgary Stampede. Yee-haw! This is our premier event of the year—the greatest outdoor show on Earth. Mostly it’s great fun for Calgarians and visitors alike:…
Bill C-51—a chance for the Senate to redeem itself
In the words of Canada’s first Prime Minister, Sir John A. Macdonald, the Senate was created as a place of “sober second thought.” In the eyes of most Canadians today,…
The anti-communist memorial—an outrage to Canadian heritage
I recently wrote the following letter to The Honourable Shelly Glover, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages: Dear Minister: I am writing in regard to the Memorial to the…
Need a job? Saudi Arabia is hiring executioners
The beheading business is brisk in Saudi Arabia. The desert kingdom has decapitated more people so far in 2015 than in all of 2014. As a result there is a…
Finally, a voice Harper may listen to
A carbon tax is an eminently fair and sensible approach to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. And big oil agrees. At least Steve Williams, CEO of Canada’s largest oil and gas…
The Boston bombers and the cycle of vengeancce
The bombing of the Boston Marathon in April 2013 was a heinous crime. Three people died, hundreds were injured, and a policeman was killed in a shootout with the perpetrators.…
Elizabeth Warren takes on Obama and the TPP
If it were up to me, Elizabeth Warren would be the next president of the United States. She is a remarkable woman—United States senator, former Harvard law professor and an…
The failure of the Information Age
It seems only a short while ago, as the Internet and the World Wide Web made their appearance, that prophets talked of a new enlightened age. All the world’s knowledge…
The U.S. military’s war on the environment
One of the American institutions most alert to the threat of global warming is the military. The Pentagon has issued several reports stating that the greatest threat to U.S. national…
Do conservatives believe in democracy?
Watching the Alberta election results on TV, the comments of a pundit representing the Conservative view caught my attention. The lady insisted that if the NDP won, oil companies would…
Can academics serve two masters?
The steady encroaching of the corporate sector into the decision-making processes of our societies is the greatest threat to twenty-first century democracy. This includes encroachment into academia. This troubling development…
The Alberta NDP and proportional representation
I never thought I’d live long enough to see the day, but here it is. The NDP have been elected to the government of Alberta. I am ecstatic. Nonetheless, while…
Why the U.S. can’t solve its race problem
Is the Unites States a racist society? This is a question the nation wrestles with as one young black man after another is killed by the police. But the question…
Calgary Chamber of Commerce not afraid of the socialist hordes
Chambers of Commerce are not the greatest fans of social democratic political parties. And the Calgary chamber is not the greatest fan of the Alberta NDP. But neither is it…
Finally, a political party with the guts to talk tax hikes
The right-wing mantras of no new taxes and tax cuts have become so embedded in political discourse that suggesting a tax increase, regardless of the social good it may do,…
Iran is standing down—will the U.S. and Russia?
Iran has recently agreed, after intense negotiations, to take steps to ensure it cannot produce a nuclear weapon. It claimed it had no intention of doing so anyway, but has…
Chrétien, Putin and Harper—opportunity lost?
Former prime minister Jean Chrétien’s recent chat with Vladimir Putin in Moscow presents an opportunity to our government. Since Mr. Harper has, unlike all the other G7 leaders, refused to…