Well, That Was Awkward
The Olympic Torch continues to wend its way to London to open the 2012 Summer Games, sort of. Problems began at the lighting ceremony in Greece where it blew out…
The Mound of Sound
Afghan War "As We Understand It" Ends in 2014
Or at least it does according to president Obama fresh from the NATO leaders summit in Chicago. Gen. John Allen, commander of the NATO forces in Afghanistan, told reporters that…
It’s Hard to Dance Well When You’ve Just Shot Yourself in the Foot
The far-right wing “think tank”, the Heartland Institute, has fallen victim to its own excesses. It crossed a critical line when it put up a billboard tying global warming belief…
Mining Groundwater Triggering Sea Level Rise
Around the world agriculture has boomed due to groundwater irrigation. It’s a major part of how we’ve been keeping our mortally bloated population fed. How much water have we been…
Beelzebub Slammed by Harvard, Smithsonian
Why is Stephen Harper like kryptonite to intelligence? Now scientists from Harvard, the Smithsonian Institute and other top academic institutions are furious with Harper for his decision to shut down…
Dan Rather Slams Corporate Media
They’ve taken over in the States and they’ve done the same thing in Canada. In both countries our democracy is in peril due to the ascendancy of media giants pursuing…
The Petro-Politburo Strikes Again
This time the malevolent hand of Steve Harper is obvious. The entire Department of Fisheries and Oceans contaminants programme is being axed effective April Fool’s Day. In B.C. that means…
Why NATO?
China’s Next Cold Warriors? The North Atlantic Treaty Organization made a lot of sense when it was an alliance of North Atlantic nations to mutually defend the security of North…
Is It Merely Gross Incompetence or Something Truly Sinister?
Just what does Steve Harper have against British Columbia? He’s hell bent on ruining our pristine coasts with bitumen supertanker traffic routed through some of the most treacherous waters in…
Chomsky on Plutonomy and America’s Growing Precariat
Noam Chomsky chronicles the ascent of America’s Plutonomy, the ultra rich and the economic and political power they have sucked out of the American state, and their dependence on a…
In War, There Are Goals and There Are Goals
Germany achieved its war goals on May 7, 1945 when it signed the instruments of surrender at Reims, France. Germany’s goal at that point was to end the war it…
Who Will Become White America’s Sidekick?
It finally happened. For the first time, of all the babies born in America, white babies were a minority. For the year ending July, 2011, white babies tallied just 49.6%…
Steve Mixes Business with Pleasure
The business part is selling bitumen sludge to China, as much and as fast as possible. The pleasure part is playing Commander-in-Chief and sending Canadian forces to distant corners of…
The Humiliation of Canada Continues – Rio+20
Sending foreign affairs minister John Baird as Canada’s frontman to the Rio+20 Earth Summit next month sends the world a pretty clear message – “forget it.” It proclaims that, to…
Cons Shoot the Messenger
They told the truth the Government didn’t want to hear. They had to go. “They” are the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy. The message advocated introduction…
How Many Canadian Soldiers Have Been "Pulped"?
Among soldiers there’s a slang word for it, “pulped.” It’s used to describe the brain injury sustained from exposure to improvised explosive device blasts. Now there’s a medical acronym for…
Is David Frum Making Sense?
I don’t often agree with David Frum’s take on the world but he has his moments. Lately Frum has been taking a critical look at America’s ruling class. While he…
In My Day
Okay, I hope I can put off full-blown geezerdom for another decade, maybe even two, but I’m becoming resigned to one day sharing a park bench with the equally decrepit…
Automakers Tied to Slave Labour, Deforestation
Big names too – Ford, GM, BMW, Mercedes, Nissan. They’re all in the spotlight for buying Brazilian pig iron produced in blast furnaces fueled by illegal logging using slave labour.…
All They Need is a Cup of Fine British Hemlock
Latest Banksy Graffitiin London Where do these rightwingers get their Messianic complexes? Brit Conservative PM David Cameron has a message for his European counterparts, “Follow me.” Cameron says Europe…