Johnson, Trump and contrasting ethics
Boris Johnson and Donald Trump are two buffoons who embarrassed two major democracies by their election to national leadership. Both are now gone and much good riddance. Both are also…
united kingdom
Have conservatives all gone mad?
As a social democrat I may be prone to seeing the virtues in progressives and the vices in conservatives. But I challenge any objective observer to deny that a streak…
Survey of Western powers points toward citizens’ assemblies
A recent survey by the Pew Research Center of the four major Western powers turned up some interesting if not altogether surprising results. The goal of the study was to…
It’s almost as if the new coronavirus has evolved to exploit the vulnerabilities of the modern neoliberal state
“The risk to Albertans is still low,” the Government of Alberta’s official website soothingly assured us yesterday afternoon, the day the World Health Organization officially declared the effects of the…
Trans Mountain Pipeline court ruling looks like a win for Alberta — as the world drives away in an electric car
You win some, you lose some. Alberta Premier Jason Kenney won one yesterday with the decision of the Federal Court of Appeal to strike down a challenge by a group…
And when they are down, they are down.
Funny, that nursery rhyme has been running through my head. You know the one: The grand old Duke of York, He had ten thousand men. He marched them up to…
Can Boris Johnson do what some of history’s most notorious villains failed to do – destroy the U.K.?
Is it likely Boris Johnson will accomplish something neither Napoleon nor Hitler could manage – to wit, destruction of the United Kingdom? Perhaps it’s not likely. States like trees, even…
Is Anglosphere Democracy Becoming an International Joke?
Not long ago, if one were asked to name the world’s two leading democracies, the answer would probably have been the United States and the United Kingdom—the United States largely…
Donald Trump and the Baby Trump Balloon
When I was in Scotland last summer, I was thrilled to be able to witness Baby Trump rise the into the sky at a protest in an Edinburgh park.Trump wasn't…
Brexit Redux: Looking back at Jason Kenney’s strange comments when the U.K. shot itself in both feet
Back in June 2016, hours after Britons had narrowly voted to leave the European Union, a lot of Albertans scratched their heads at Jason Kenney’s bizarre Brexit commentary on social…
Remember when those confident British voters chose ‘hope over fear’ with Brexit? What Would Jason Tweet now?
While much of the world looked on in dismay as the results of the Brexit votes rolled in two years ago last month, Jason Kenney Tweeted his congratulations to the…
Mission accomplished in Syria? Don’t bet more than you can afford to lose on that claim!
Mission Accomplished? Donald Trump’s crowing Tweets prove the wisdom of Karl Marx’s dictum: History repeats itself, first as tragedy, then as farce. This fact is a significant blessing, nonetheless, at…
Canadian government publications still don’t belong to the people as Ottawa maintains its iron grip on Crown copyright
PHOTOS: Government documents. Really! (Photo: Libraries and Archives Canada.) Legislators in Ottawa need to get cracking to make Canada’s Crown copyright law responsive to the needs of the citizens of…
A Tale of Two Elections
Two extraordinarily different elections occurred last week in Europe. The first, of course, was the 2017 UK general election, which was nothing short of historic. The second, was the French…
In the politics of vitriol.
The emerging right-wing politics of Europe is spreading like a disease. First we had the self destructive BREXIT from the United Kingdom and now the threatening right in key countries…
It’s official: Departure of oil sands and hockey billionaire Murray Edwards had nothing to do with taxes
ILLUSTRATIONS: Alberta’s terrifying Temple of Tax, found on the media midway. So scary it even frightens billionaires away. Really! Below: Dr. Samuel Johnson, noted wit, N. Murray Edwards, oil sands…
Baked Alaska and the Fraser Institute: what changes, and what doesn’t, when oil prices fall and the money melts
PHOTOS: Alaska Governor Bill Walker illustrates about how much is left in the northern state’s budget now that oil prices have gone south. (Alaska Dispatch News photo.) Below: The wild…