First, the Good News.
A Pew Research survey of 38 nations found that three quarters of respondents support representative democracy. Two-thirds even back direct democracy. That’s the good news. We’re still keen on representative…
The Mound of Sound
How to F#@k Up a Town. A Core Demographic is Bailing Out.
Vancouver may wind up the poster boy for what happens when incompetence and greed become the guiding principles of governments, municipal, provincial and federal. Vancouver has sky high real estate…
We’ve Got to Shed the 20th Century, But How?
George Monbiot reminds us how much of the 20th century still clings to us and why we have to shed that skin if we’re to survive the 21st. We are…
He Said WHAT?
We still have difficulty grasping the undercurrent that lurks in the shadows of the independence movement in Catalan, headquartered in Barcelona, and the Spanish government rooted in Madrid. For some…
Scholars Gather to Lament the Decline of American Democracy. Relax Guys, That Horse Left the Barn Years Ago.
Last week 20 of America’s top political scientists gathered at Yale to take the pulse of American democracy. Their conclusion? American democracy is declining socially, culturally and politically. Going, going,…
Just Who Is Joshua Boyle?
I don’t get it. A guy takes his wife, pregnant with their first child, backpacking through a Taliban controlled part of Afghanistan. They were on a mission, he says, to…
How Ottawa and Victoria Fed Vancouver to the Wolves.
Vancouver is reeling. The first house I bought in Vancouver, 30+ years ago, illustrates the decay. It was a nice neighbourhood of 40s vintage, ‘neat as a pin’ bungalows in…
My Take on the Assassination of John Kennedy
I remember the day when we were sent home from school early after John F. Kennedy was shot in Dallas. A few of us were hanging out in the front…
When Professor Walt Looks at Trump He Sees – ?
When Harvard prof, Stephen Walt, looks at Donald Trump he sees – Silvio Berlusconi perhaps? Close but no cigar. Trump is frequently compared to former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi,…
And This is Why I Despise the Liberals
The first line in the Globe article sums it up: Canada’s transition to a low-carbon future must include new pipelines to expand oil exports to a diverse global marketplace, federal…
Trump Won’t Be Happy Until America’s Word Is Worth As Little As His Own
Donald Trump’s life story can be reduced to one word. He’s a “grifter.” He’s a con artist, a veteran swindler, who has left a wake of bankruptcies, unpaid creditors and…
You’re Entitled to Feel Exhausted
It’s no wonder we’re always so goddamned tired. I had one of those fitness bracelets that tells you how many steps you’ve walked in a day. That got me wondering…
How the West is Getting Whipsawed by Climate Change.
The current western phobia is wildfire. From Mexico to Alaska wildfires have swept the Pacific region this year. Somehow this island was spared although the fires far inland were so…
Okay. Brace Yourself.
Down in Louisiana they’ve got a “plain spoken” sheriff by the name of Steve Prator. One of sheriff Steve’s pet peeves is the early release policy in the state’s jails…
The International Monetary Fund Says – Eat the Rich.
In another blazing flash of economic sanity, the IMF, which lately has denounced neoliberalism as the wrecker of national economies, has prescribed levying higher taxes on the rich as the…
It’s Not Terrorism in TrumpLand If the Bomber Is a White Guy
A guy dressed in black with a black hat walks into the Asheville Regional Airport in North Carolina shortly after midnight last Friday. He’s carrying a black bag. A short…
Is Trump Unraveling?
Has Donald Trump become the White House Captain Queeg?
Is Trump’s #MAGA Doomed?
Donald Trump has boasted he’s the man to Make America Great Again. Instead he may wind up presiding over America’s decline. Economist Carl Weinberg has told CNBC that China is…
Trump’s State Visit to Britain Called Off?
British newspapers are reporting that Donald Trump’s visit to the UK early next year has been downgraded from a state visit to a working visit. That means the Queen won’t…
Relax, Creating This Sort of Artificial Intelligence is a Long Way Off.
Quantum mechanics and string theory are difficult concepts for the layman to grasp at even a superficial level. I’ve done it twice but each time it took a good bit…