Symbolic win on climate change
One hundred and forty-two years ago the world’s first coal-burning power station went on line... The post Symbolic win on climate change first appeared on Views from the Beltline.
Great Britain
Progressives’ weekend trifecta
It was a good weekend for progressives. First was the massive win for Labour in... The post Progressives’ weekend trifecta first appeared on Views from the Beltline.
Britain stumbles
Britain (and I suppose Canada) will soon celebrate a brand new king. Charles III will bring another new face to eleven centuries of English royalty. The nation, however, needs much…
England no longer a Christian nation
England is having its troubles these days. Economy in recession, a plague of strikes, living standards falling, highest inflation in 40 years, National Health Service on life support, millions can’t…
Spare us the dogma, ladies
Normally, I am pleased to see women emerge as political leaders. We need more women in positions of leadership in our governance. What we do not need are more free-market…
Despite COVID-19, 15,000 people join Fight for Equity rally against racism at Alberta Legislature
A mostly youthful throng estimated at more than 15,000 people braved the coronavirus pandemic yesterday evening to join the Fight for Equity rally against racism at the Alberta Legislature in…
Is the U.S. Returning to Its Imperial Roots?
In 1776, the United States declared its independence of Great Britain. The Americans had had their fill of aristocracy and monarchy. Once they had defeated the British, they wrote a…
Is Andrew Scheer in the closet about Quebec sovereignty?
Not being a conservative, I disagree with most of Andrew Scheer’s pronouncements, but they rarely surprise me. One, however, surprised me very much. Indeed, I was surprised that any Anglophone…
Britain has bullied Iran for centuries
Britain’s imperial designs on Iran go back at least to the Great Game with Russia over control of trade routes through central Asia in the 19th century. Indeed, Iran’s southern…
What’s wrong with our Conservatives?
If this country were any example, one might conclude that Conservatives cannot, or will not, grasp the severity of the global warming threat. In Alberta, for example, the UCP has…
On Putin the poisoner
According to a report by former British High Court judge Robert Owen, the 2006 murder of ex-KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko in London was carried out by Russia's Federal Security Service…
UK MPs vote overwhelmingly to recognize State of Palestine
It was overwhelming. British MPs voted 274 to 12 this week in support of a motion to recognize Palestine as a state. The vote was only symbolic, as it isn’t…
Who is "part of the problem," Mr. Cameron?
Recently British PM David Cameron, even while encouraging Iran to help deal with ISIS, couldn’t resist taking a shot at the country. In his UN speech, he stated superciliously that…
ISIS—a force for peace?
A juxtaposition of two articles in the Guardian this week suggested a very odd development indeed in the Middle East—the barbaric hordes of ISIS currently marauding through Syria and northern…
UK PM claims Britain is a Christian country—it ain’t
British Prime Minister David Cameron has put the cat among the pigeons claiming, perhaps unduly influenced by the Easter season, that Britain is a Christian country. In fact, he suggested…
Tory MPs defy government
No, the above headline most certainly does not refer to Canadian Tory MPs. In the recent vote in the British House of Commons on Prime Minister David Cameron’s motion to…
Starbucks sticks it to the Brits
I always look forward to reading yet another story about how multinational corporations slither out of their tax responsibilities and was, therefore, duly amused by a piece I encountered in…
Ah. Foreign monarchies are so…
… foreign… (5) Trashy, Ottawa, Ontario
Time to disestablish the Church of England
The Anglican Church, as the nation’s officially “established” church, has had a privileged position in England since the Act of Supremacy in 1534. It isn’t called the Church of England…
Why does Britain have nuclear weapons?
There’s a lot of talk these days about the possibility of Iran acquiring nuclear weapons. Britain’s government is one of the voices adamant that it must not be allowed to…