I participate in an historic event
For my first posting in seven months, I can hardly do better than comment on my participation in a truly historic event. I not only observed but became a fully-fledged,…
Bill Longstaff
Hiatus for health reasons
For those of my readers who have wondered why I haven’t posted since early December, let me assure you I haven’t greatly extended my holiday season nor have I run…
Starbucks sticks it to the Brits
I always look forward to reading yet another story about how multinational corporations slither out of their tax responsibilities and was, therefore, duly amused by a piece I encountered in…
The free trade bust
Judging by the editorial hype in the corporate press and among Conservative politicians, the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement was the greatest boon to this country since the fur trade. When…
Canada’s shameful vote against Palestinian statehood
Yesterday marked a shameful moment in the history of this country’s foreign policy. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas asked the UN General Assembly to recognize Palestine as an observer state ……
Wildrose has this one right
To say I rarely agree with the Wildrose Party would be an understatement. Yet they have recently stated a policy which I heartily support and have heartily supported for a…
Canadian democracy—always good for a laugh
Headline: Conservative Joan Crockatt wins Calgary Centre by-election with 37 per cent of the vote. So … I will now have an MP most of my fellow constituents don’t want…
Here’s a headline I’d rather not see
Checking The Guardian on my morning round of news websites, I encountered the following headline: “Canada, the surprise “pariah” of the Kyoto protocol.” The subhead went on to add, “Some…
Sun suckers the rest of the media … again
As the NDP rapidly and somewhat surprisingly closed in on the Conservatives during the last federal election campaign, Sun Media dug deep into Jack Layton’s past to find something to…
Time to disestablish the Church of England
The Anglican Church, as the nation’s officially “established” church, has had a privileged position in England since the Act of Supremacy in 1534. It isn’t called the Church of England…
Why can’t we be more like Norway?
Canada and Norway are a lot alike. We are both prosperous, free-market democracies. But as Bruce Campbell points out in his series of articles in the CCPA Monitor, there are…
Federal environment minister joins the real world
When I worked in the oil industry many years ago, we used to refer to those politicians, academics, media people, etc. who didn’t fully appreciate our interests as not living…
The corporate counterrevolution rolls on
In the 1960s, a phrase was being bandied about that included the two words that most terrify corporate executives: consume less. A substantial number of people, particularly young people, were…
New leaders face challenge as U.S. and China mistrust grows
With Xi Jinping assuming leadership of the Chinese Communist Party, China and the United States have both now chosen their leaders for the near future. They both face considerable challenges,…
Climate predictions are getting better … and hotter
Arguably, the biggest winner on election night in the U.S. wasn’t Barack Obama, but the nerdy Nate Silver. Silver is of course the statistician who fed reams of polling data…
Is the U.S. right rigging elections?
After reading an article in the November 2012 issue of Harper’s (“How to Rig an Election” by Victoria Collier), I’m not as surprised that Barack Obama won the recent presidential…
Why does Britain have nuclear weapons?
There’s a lot of talk these days about the possibility of Iran acquiring nuclear weapons. Britain’s government is one of the voices adamant that it must not be allowed to…
The CBC—a very good deal
The Friends of Canadian Broadcasting recently sent me an email summarizing a few pertinent facts about the CBC, our national broadcaster and the only national medium not owned and controlled…
Sorry for Romney? Save some pity for Adelson.
If you think Mitt Romney lost big on Tuesday night, give a thought to poor old Sheldon Adelson. The casino mogul is one of those very rich Americans trying to…