Americans turn on the Tea Party
A recent Pew Research Center survey indicates that Americans, or at least those who have an opinion on the matter, are turning against the Tea Party. A year ago, as…
Bill Longstaff
Elizabeth May, Tuvalu and honest representation
I was intrigued by Green Party Leader Elizabeth May’s attempt to join the Tuvalu delegation at the Durban Climate Change Conference. As she explained, “If my government, the Government of…
Lest we forget: today is The International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People
The International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, a United Nations sponsored event, has been observed every year on November 29th since 1977, 30 years to the day after…
South Africa on slippery slope?
Normally, I’m wary of slippery slope arguments but when an African government acts to limit freedom of speech, I suspect such an argument may be valid. Unfortunately, South Africa has…
Why 338 constituencies? Why not 150? Or 100?
The Liberals have suggested an approach to achieving fairer regional representation in the House of Commons, and they should be listened to. Their solution is certainly better than that of…
Ehud Barak sympathizes with Iran’s alleged nuclear aspirations
Whether or not Iran is developing nuclear weapons, it appears that Israeli defence minister Ehud Barak appreciates why they would. In an interview with PBS’s Charlie Rose, when he was…
Say goodbye to the frogs
Frogs are delightful little buggers. Look at this little rascal in the photo, a red-eyed tree frog. With his goofy expression and padded toes, you can’t help but love him…
APEC—Environment one, Keystone zero
Despite Stephen Harper's 25-minute walk in the garden with Barack Obama during the recent APEC forum, the president was not dissuaded from his decision to conduct a thorough review of…
Obama’s sartorial slip
"I was persuaded by our team to perhaps break tradition, and so we have not required you to wear your aloha shirts." Thus President Obama broke the 20-year tradition of…
Canada’s climate change policy—drinking the Kool-Aid
The warnings continue. And they are ominous. In its annual World Energy Outlook released November 9th, the International Energy Agency (IEA) reported that the world will lose the chance to…
Did former Israeli security chiefs rat out Netanyahu?
Meir Dagan, former head of Mossad, Israel's foreign intelligence service, is no admirer of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He has accused Netanyahu of being "irresponsible and reckless" and feels…
The UNESCO vote and the decline of American influence
Following the vote Monday to admit Palestine into UNESCO, Hamas official Ahmed Yousef said it "shows that Israel and America are not dictating politics to the world anymore." Hamas's view…
Congratulations to the Palestinians … and UNESCO
Allow me to add my cheer to those that went up at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) 36th General Conference after delegates approved Palestinian membership. The…
Six more MPs for Alberta—not good news for this Albertan
I admit to ambivalence about the government's announcement that under the proposed Fair Representation Act the country will gain 30 more MPs. It is a good thing, of course, to…
The "climate change caucus"—good news on two fronts
An initiative championed by Liberal MP Kirsty Duncan has borne fruit in the House of Commons. Dr. Duncan proposed a "climate change caucus" consisting of members of all parties, and…
Capitalists really do run the world—science says so
Science, it seems, is confirming the Occupy movement's concerns about capitalists running the world. A trio of complex systems theorists at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology combined the mathematics…
The Pope suppots a Tobin tax
In 1972, Nobel Prize-winning economist James Tobin suggested his now famous currency transaction tax as a way to manage the volatility of exchange rates. He believed that governments were not…
Measuring social progress—the Canadian Index of Wellbeing
Released last Thursday, the Canadian Index of Wellbeing (CIW) illustrates yet again the folly of using the GDP as a measure of social progress. The GDP is, after all, simply…
Public transit blossoms in Calgary
When Calgary's GoPlan, the blueprint for the city's transportation development for the next 30 years, was created in the mid-1990s, it predicted that by 2024, 50 per cent of commuters…
Welcome to the new Supremes
Finally, the Prime Minister has filled the gaps in the Supreme Court and seemingly with good choices: Justice Andromache Karakatsanis and Justice Michael Moldaver, both from the Ontario Court of…