The European electoral system is based on Proportional Representation (PR) with multiple parties while the American electoral system is based on the First Past The Post (also known as Single…
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Stephanie Desmon interviews Ziyad Al-Aly about the reality that anybody infected with COVID-19 faces a substantial risk of heart problems as a…
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Tracey Harrington McCoy reports on still more research showing significant brain changes caused by long COVID. Joseph Oliver writes that sick kids…
Parliament – Etymology The English term is derived from Anglo-Norman and dates to the 14th century, coming from the 11th century Old French parlement, “discussion, discourse”, from parler, meaning “to…
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Gary Mason writes that Saskatchewan and Alberta are tragically showing the rest of the country what a COVID-19 disaster looks like. CBC…
Assorted content to end your week. – John Michael McGrath makes the case for optimism about our potential to avoid further waves of COVID as long as COVID-19 vaccinations overtake…
This and that for your Sunday reading. – Alex Hunsberger writes that the CERB may be a flashpoint in determining whether the cost of the coronavirus pandemic will be borne…
Miscellaneous material to start your week. – Rick Smith offers some reasons for hope in 2020 even in the face of a grim start to a new year. And Cory…
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Annie Lowrey highlights how low-income households are bearing the brunt of unequal inflation, as prices are increasing more quickly for their needs than…
THE NDP NEVER DID EXPLAIN… WHAT IS WRONG W/ RANKED BALLOT?! In case you forgot, the House of Commons Special Committee on Electoral Reform, AKA ERRE, was an all-party Parliamentary…
With just over a week to go before the (Read more…) NDP leader Jagmeet Singh has made a rookie mistake and reduced his party to the tail trying to wag…
Here’s an irony. I’m forced to vote Liberal (again) because Justin Trudeau betrayed me. No, it doesn’t make any sense and, furthermore, it pisses me off. But that’s just the…
This and that for your Sunday reading. – Noah Smith comments that while we shouldn’t necessarily try to adjust GDP for other necessary elements of individual and social well-being, we…
The New York Times headline reads, “‘We’re in the Last Hour’: Democracy Itself Is on Trial in Brexit, Britons Say.” As I’m going through the article, over on LBC radio,…
This and that for your weekend reading. – Kate Aronoff interviews Mariana Mazzucato about The Value of Everything, including some important discussion about the relationship between governments and markets: Aronoff:…
On Democracy What a better way to restart The Fifth Column than by a treatise on how to make our democracy actually democratic. Hopefully this will be the first posting…
Voters in the province of British Columbia are faced with a dilemma: Does morality require them to vote for political reform because they owe their family, friends and neighbours a…
Voters in BC are being given the chance to vote for a dramatic change in the way in which their representatives in the provincial government are chosen, as this article…
This and that for your Sunday reading. – Katie Dangerfield reports on new research showing that carbon pricing can be an economic benefit, while unrestrained climate change would be disastrous.…
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Andrew O’Hehir talks to Yanis Varoufakis about the impossibility of building shared prosperity on a foundation of consumer debt and financialization. And…
