A noble Nobel winner
How satisfying to see a battler for democracy win the Nobel Peace Prize. This year’s... The post A noble Nobel winner first appeared on Views from the Beltline.
democracy
What Is True Democracy
If your idea of democracy stops at majority rule it is not true democracy. If your idea of democracy allows the majority to oppress minorities it is not true democracy.…
Democracy is fragile
Former world chess champion Garry Kasparov wrote this and more in The Atlantic. Donald Trump likes to say he doesn’t actually lose elections–only the “rigged” ones. Such comments are not…
Thank you editorial cartoonists
How long before editorial cartoonists are banned in the USA?
Sometimes “the people” are wrong
Donald J. Trump represents the worst of his country—the archetype of the ugly American. I... The post Sometimes “the people” are wrong first appeared on Views from the Beltline.
Save Your Mind, Save Your Freedom, And Save The World – Slow Down
As Chogyam Trungpa said, “The first thing to do is cut the speed.” Slow down. Unplug from all media and electronics. Make time for stillness, silence and solitude. Reflect. Read,…
The Biggest Drug Cartels Of All – Big Pharma & The CIA
The amazing hypocrisy and deceit from the US oligarchy, government and media continues. (re: Bondi & Maduro) The leading trafficker of cocaine and heroine globally for decades has been the…
Nihilism – The Scourge of the Modern World
(My response to the talk below and to the question of nihilism… To a general audience, as (virtually) always, speaking to the general public.) * Nihilism is the scourge of…
Global Geopolitics 2025 – Assessing Russia, & Surviving The 21st Century
Assessing Russia: Reality & Basic Sanity vs Propaganda & Delusion A snapshot, arial perspective and overview of Russia in 2025, within the broader global and historical context, in a rapidly…
Globe and Mail Letter
Please see my letter to the editor, published in today’s Globe and Mail, in which I support lowering the voting age in Canada: What’s in a number? Re “Lower the…
Democracy, protect it, or lose it
The concept of collective policy-making has existed for a long time, but democracy, which allows most adults to vote, has a relatively short history...
The populist right’s favourite country is a failing state
U.S. President Donald Trump is a great admirer of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. Indeed,... The post The populist right’s favourite country is a failing state first appeared on Views…
Unleashing the economy on the environment
Reading about the Liberals’ One Canadian Economy Act, or Bill C-5, and the rush to... The post Unleashing the economy on the environment first appeared on Views from the Beltline.
Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material to start your week.- Paul Krugman writes that the combination of anti-fascism protests and Donald Trump's crackdown on them could be crucial in determining whether the U.S. sees…
AM I OPTIMISTIC AND, IF SO, HOW IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE? (PART 1)
I just had a piece published by Alberta Views here on hope and optimism and their opposites. As happens with magazine pieces, much changed between writing and publication: the frightening…
The Next Four Years: An Opportunity for the New Democratic Party
The last election may have been an electoral disaster for the NDP but it is also an opportunity that should not be passed by. Indeed the NDP should not be…
The Next Four Years: An Opportunity for the New Democratic Party
The last election may have been an electoral disaster for the NDP but it is also an opportunity that should not be passed by. Indeed the NDP should not be…
Tuesday Morning Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading.- Tim Dickinson interviews Naomi Klein about the oligarchy's escalating war against the general public, while the Guardian's editorial board points out that warehouse…
Facebook censorship
Minutes after I placed a link on Facebook to the IN-SIGHTS article Road to Dictatorship, the post was removed. Facebook labelled it spam, which is typically defined as irrelevant or…
Road to dictatorship
According to a democracy research project based at Sweden's University of Gothenburg, 27 countries have transitioned from democracies to autocracies since 2005. Nations controlled by strongmen now outnumber those where…