The Islamic State—should we be helping to clean up the Americans’ mess?
In early 2003, there were no Islamic extremists in Iraq, or at least none that dared raise their heads above ground. Then the Americans and their “coalition of the willing”…
Bill Longstaff
Hamas popularity surges
Whatever damage Israel did to Hamas during the recent war, it didn’t harm the group’s standing among the Palestinian people. Quite the contrary. According to a survey by the Palestinian…
Sister Simone for pope
What you may ask is a non-Catholic, indeed a non-Christian, doing recommending someone for pope. Well, it’s partly tongue-in-cheek, of course, even if American Sister Simone Campbell might very well…
Putin leads Russia from Communism to Fascism
Russian president Vladimir Putin is on record as saying that the collapse of the Soviet Union was one of the 20th century’s major geopolitical disasters. Some might say this suggests…
Evidence for Democracy
Our current federal government’s aversion to facts is now, unfortunately, well-established as a fact itself. Examples are legion, but I will just mention one. Health Minister Rona Ambrose has assured…
Calling the bluff on "we must compete in the global marketplace"
The soul-numbing mantra “we must compete in the global marketplace” is much heard these days. Conservative politicians and business groups toss it out tirelessly as an argument to reduce taxes,…
Who would you believe—Stephen Harper or Willie Nelson?
Apparently the $24-million of our tax money the federal government spent on an ad campaign to promote Canadian oil and the Keystone XL pipeline in Washington has gone down the…
RIP—and thanks for the beer, Ed
The inventor of my favourite beer died this week. Ed McNally, former lawyer and barley farmer, who founded Big Rock Breweries in 1985 and introduced Traditional Ale (Trad to us…
Hillary Clinton—a very dangerous lady
During the Democratic nomination race for the 2008 U.S. presidential election, my preference was torn between a woman president or a black president. I was leaning toward the woman, Hillary…
Why is Purolator tackling hunger?
I confess that one of my minor pleasures is watching CFL games on TSN. Among the endless game interruptions is an ad/public service announcement in which genial Chris Schultz, member…
What keeps Canada together?
The above is the title of a survey commissioned by the Association for Canadian Studies and carried out by Leger Marketing earlier this year. The answer to what unites the…
PR tops journalism in U.S.
If Americans often seem uninformed or misinformed about current affairs, it may be because they get more propaganda than news. There are now five times as many public relations experts…
Harper—not a man for our time
Vladimir Putin is a corrupt bully and I don’t like the guy. Nor do I like the mischief he’s up to in Ukraine. Nonetheless, I am not impressed by Stephen…
Libya—another dictator replaced with chaos
Political use of the term “blowback” first appeared in the CIA’s internal history of the 1953 Iranian coup. Orchestrated by Britain and the U.S., the coup replaced the democratically-elected Mosaddegh…
Israel vs. Hamas or Likud vs. Gaza—framing the issue
A major goal in a propaganda war is to frame the issue on your terms. For example, in labour disputes, businesses (and their political and media allies) often claim the…
Frank’s 10 happiness tips
Pope Francis may still be immersed in a certain amount of traditional Catholic misogyny, but he is nonetheless a breath of fresh air for the church, and for that matter,…
Why a lifelong Dipper is disappointed with Thomas Mulcair
Born and raised in Saskatchewan, I’ve been a supporter of the CCF/NDP since before Thomas Mulcair was born. The major reason is simply that Canada’s social democratic party has always…
Canada Revenue Agency snubs Parliamentary Budget Officer
It may be hard to believe, but Canadians don’t know the difference between what the government is owed in taxes and what it collects. And we aren’t going to find…
Germany stands up for democracy
Finally, someone has said enough to the erosion of democracy brought about by “trade” agreements. From NAFTA to the proposed Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between Canada and the…
NHL is worried about global warming—listen up, Mr. Harper
Surprising perhaps, but the National Hockey League now produces a sustainability report. And it’s worried about global warming. According to League Commissioner Gary Bettman, “Our sport can trace its roots…