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…
Bill Longstaff
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…
Iran and Israel negotiating nukes—will common sense break out?
Officials from both Iran and Israel attended a nuclear non-proliferation meeting in Brussels this week. The intent of the meeting was to set the stage for a full international conference…
Work is making us crazy
In 1991, Linda Duxbury of Carleton University and Christopher Higgins of the University of Western Ontario conducted the first national study of work-life conflict in Canada to “explore how the…
An Allende returns to Chilean politics
Last Sunday, Maya Fernández Allende was elected mayor of Ñuñoa, a district of Chile’s capital, Santiago. Ms. Allende is a granddaughter of Salvador Allende, the Chilean president who died when…
In Iraq, as in Vietnam, the war never ends for the innocent
The Vietnam war officially ended almost 40 years ago, two generations in time, yet the sacrifice continues. The soldiers have all left the battlefield, but every year thousands of Vietnamese,…
The Canada-China investment treaty—why?
Having read the investment treaty that Prime Minister Harper negotiated with China last September, my concerns about it have not been alleviated. (Honestly, I actually did read it!) To begin…
Has Mr. Katz done Alberta democracy a favour?
Alberta has the laxest election funding rules in the country, rules designed to favour the rich. Toward the end of this spring’s election campaign, billionaire Daryl Katz nicely illustrated this…
Americans and global warming—science bounces back
Earlier in this century, almost 80 per cent of Americans accepted that the Earth was warming and almost half believed we were causing it. Then skepticism increased and those believing…
Israelis endorse apartheid
For those supporters of Israel who gamely continue to insist that Israel is not an apartheid state, a recent poll published in the Haaretz newspaper should offer second thoughts. The…
Mr. Kenny’s arbitrary guidelines
As part of a new bill enhancing the powers of the immigration minister, Jason Kenney has revealed new guidelines he would apply to deny entry to foreign nationals. Currently, visitors…
The swan song of the Round Table on the Environment
As part of its monstrous budget bill earlier this year, the federal government trashed the National Round Table on the Environment. The Round Table, established in 1988, brought together leaders…
U.S. and Russia vie for Iraq arms business
Much has changed in Iraq since the Americans invaded in 2003. Saddam Hussein is gone, replaced by Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki who appears to want to replace Saddam’s one-party…
Kenny’s power play should be opposed
Immigration Minister Jason Kenney is proposing legislation which will give the minister the power to deny visitors entry to Canada even if they don’t have a serious criminal record. Now…
A paean to the Elbow River
Last Friday I attended a ceremony that involved giving thanks that fit nicely with the Thanksgiving weekend. It was, in fact, an offering ceremony, conducted by a Blackfoot elder and…
Malala Yousafzai—heroine
This week the Taliban committed yet another atrocity in the name of religion when they shot 14-year old Malala Yousafzai in the head and neck while she sat with her…
The U.S. squeezes the Palestinians
The Palestinian Authority has announced that before the end of the year (but after the U.S. presidential election) it will press for a vote by the General Assembly for upgraded…
The enemy of my enemy is not a terrorist
It’s a truism: The other guy’s terrorist is my freedom fighter. A recent example of this arbitrary logic in action is the removal of the militant Iranian group the Mujahadeen-e-Khalq…
Weaselling out of the Convention on Cluster Munitions
Cluster bombs are one of the nastier instruments of war. Each bomb can contain hundreds of bomblets, many of which fail to explode on impact and lie unexploded for years…