Asia’s Dreadnoughts
Dreadnoughts. The first modern battleship – big guns and steam turbine power. Prior to WWI these new super-warships triggered a major naval arms race between Britain and Germany. Something similar…
The Mound of Sound
The Christian States of America?
What if America became a theocracy? Apparently a survey of Republicans found 57 per cent in favour of making Christianity the official religion of the United States. Younger Republicans in…
Spock is Gone
Leonard Nimoy has died at age 83. His death has been blamed on many years of smoking even though he quit three decades ago. I can think of no finer…
Newsweek’s Obituary for the Athabasca Tar Sands
Is it time for the Barons of Bitumen to wave the white flag? That seems to be the case according to an article from the latest NewsWeek, “Keystone and the…
You May Find This Hard to Believe
Just in from NOAA, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. January, 2015 was the second hottest January on record. I know, I know – the Polar Vortex, all those…
What Stands Between Stephen Harper and a Spring Election Call?
Yesterday, apparently, some Ottawa journos were speculating about Stephen Harper dropping the writ today for a spring election. I was told last week that Harper has already brought in a…
It Ain’t Your Grandfather’s Fascism, But It’s Still Facism – John Pilger
There’s a form of fascism that’s flourishing today and it’s even considered pretty respectable. Then again, old school fascism prior to WWII was also considered respectable in some pretty high…
Remember that Mysterious Crater in Siberia?
It caused a world wide uproar when a helicopter crew in Siberia overflew a massive crater in the permafrost in the summer of 2013. Within a week or two a…
The Video Every Member of Congress Needs to Watch
Thanks to a White House that’s willing to stand up to him, Benjamin Netanyahu is finally being exposed as a manipulative, chronic liar. For starters there’s this clip recorded surreptitiously…
Oh, This Is Rich. Stephen Harper Wants Us to Listen to Scientists.
“get the facts from the …scientific community, and if you’re not a …scientist yourself, listen to the people who are. It’s that simple.” You heard it right, straight from the…
Maybe When Obama is Finished Mauling Netanyahu He Could Give Us a Hand With Harper
It’s widely thought that Barack Obama is working to engineer regime change in Israel. He’s had a snootful of Benjamin Netanyahu and his underhanded ways and, in the process, confirms…
When the Taps Run Dry, Where Do You Go?
Sao Paulo Riots Imagine telling the residents of Toronto that they have to flee the city and travel elsewhere in search of water. Well something along those lines may be…
Netanyahu’s High-Risk Gambit
What? I Stepped In What? With just three weeks to go, Israel’s national election has turned into a real nail-biter. The governing Likud party of Benjamin Netanyahu is in a…
The Germans Get It. When Will We?
Sixty per cent of Germans believe that capitalism is the cause of poverty and hunger and that real democracy can’t be realized under that economic system. It seems they’re not…
Apparently It’s Our Fault. Sorry.
Hey, Nice Car! I won’t tell you about the lovely motorcycle ride along the coast road I enjoyed yesterday. It was great but I won’t get into that. And I’m…
Obama Vetoes Congressional Go Ahead on Keystone XL
It’s said to be Barack Obama’s first veto of any significant legislation since he took office. It comes as no surprise. He said he would do it. It doesn’t decide…
Are We Supposed to Defend Democracy or Just Mourn Its Passing?
There is certainly no shortage of opinion pieces these days bemoaning the steady decline in Western or “liberal” democracy. I’ve penned a few myself. People I speak or correspond with…
To So-Called Liberals Who Slam Trudeau Over His ISIS Policy
Sometimes even I have to stand up for Justin Trudeau. He has been attacked recently for his less than bloodthirsty views on ISIS. Some of these attacks come from self-identified…
Screw Oversight! In HarperLand, We Watch YOU, You Don’t Watch Us.
What’s the point in having domestic spying if it means you’re going to be, oh I don’t know, “accountable?” Canada’s Closet Clausewitz, def min Jason Kenney, says there’ll be no…
John Oliver Rips the Lid Off America’s Corrupt Judiciary
America is the ultimate “transactional democracy.” A look at its “bought and paid for” Congress, the Koch brothers, Sheldon Adelson or ALEC, the American Legislative Exchange Council, shows that democracy…