Gingrich drives Christ out of the room
During the latest debate by the candidates for the Republican nomination for president, Newt Gingrich declared, “Andrew Jackson had a pretty clear-cut idea about America’s enemies: Kill them.” He got…
Bill Longstaff
A premiers’ meeting with a significant feminine presence … finally
The premiers’ meeting this week in Victoria had a new look. Normally an assemblage of men in suits, this one had a definite feminine presence with four of the 13…
Harper—the prime minister of oil
In the paranoid corridors of Harperworld, opponents of tar sands development are radicals. And the most dangerous among the radicals are those who receive funding from foreigners. This is a…
Corporate chiefs beginning to see the dark side
The world’s capitalists are worried. The World Economic Forum, an organization composed of 1,000 of the world’s most powerful corporations, is concerned that the financial crisis gripping the global economy…
Peacekeeping—"Canada can and should do more"
Sometimes a graph is worth a thousand words. A good example is a graph depicting Canada’s contribution to U.N. peacekeeping that appeared in the December 2011 edition of Mondial, the…
Slowing Harper’s rush to environmental ruin
The federal government, it appears, is in a hurry. We cannot exploit the tar sands fast enough and bad guys are getting in the way. In an open letter to…
A good day for democracy in Montana
One of the biggest blows against democracy in American history occurred in 2010 when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the Citizens United case that government could not place limits…
Harper’s paranoia reaches a new level … a dangerous level?
Stephen Harper was in full psychic mode on a Calgary call-in show Thursday. He telepathically declared that Iran is “a regime that wants to acquire nuclear weapons … and has…
Obama disses due process
Another disappointment from U.S. President Barrack Obama. On New Year’s Eve, perhaps a time when he thought his nation was sufficiently distracted, he signed into law the National Defense Authorization…
Congrats to Sista P
Not a bad way for the year to end, with the election of another woman as leader of her country. So congratulations to new Jamaican prime minister Portia Simpson Miller,…
Americans OK with taxes but not with the system
I admit to some surprise. Listening to the Republican contenders for the presidential nomination, you might think Americans wanted nothing more than to pay less taxes. In fact, according to…
No-religion most successful "faith" in UK
“Give me the child and I will give you the man,” the Jesuits boast. Indoctrinate a child in a faith and he, or she, will carry that faith for life.…
Chiquita si, tar sands no
Chiquita Brands has caused a bit of a flutter on the Canadian scene by announcing it will avoid using fuel from Alberta’s tar sands. The company says it has joined…
The invisible dead Iraqis
U.S. President Barack Obama has declared the Iraq war over. While he proclaimed what he once termed a “dumb war” a success, he lamented the heavy cost. “Over 30,000 Americans…
The "one percent" win another one as health care CEOs clean up
As the Occupy Wall Street Movement campaigns against the unfair distribution of wealth in the United States, the “one percent” they hold accountable just keep on raking it in. According…
Will global civilization avoid collapse?
I consider myself a lucky man. I was born in the right place at the right time to enjoy what may well be the peak period of civilization. Never has…
Americans and Western Europeans—different breeds
That Americans see the world differently from Europeans is not a surprise, but what may seem surprising to many is just how differently, and how similar Europeans’ views are to…
Office of Religious Freedom shows it bias
The federal government’s creation of what it terms an Office of Religious Freedom is not off to a good start. Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird, mentor of the new office,…
Alberta values are not Western values
Globe and Mail columnist John Ibbitson recently gave a talk to a standing-room only crowd of Torontonians about how a set of Western values has captured the country. Ibbitson was,…
Talking to Iran
I am beginning to get the uneasy feeling that we are psyching ourselves up for war with Iran. With the Americans’ two Middle Eastern buddies, Israel and Saudi Arabia, egging…