Views from the Beltline

Reading a very good book recently I was once again reminded of the irrepressible nature of the American economy. The book is Chip War: The…

There was a time, specifically the late 80s and early 90s, when the land of the rising sun was being touted as the new economic…

There is a common assumption that Adolf Hitler was elected to the position of Chancellor of Germany. That isn’t strictly correct. In 1933, the Nazi…

There is panic on the prairies. The greatest fear of farmers and ranchers alike is stalking the land—drought. Drought has always been a part of…

We are experiencing a truly momentous event. For 11,700 years we have been living in the epoch our geologist kin call the Holocene. Now they…

The United States recently took a step towards civilizing war, if war can be in any way termed civilized. Last Friday the US Defence Department…

Alberta’s UCP government likes to keep a tight rein on labour unions. One of the first pieces of legislation brought in after their election in…

Stephen Harper has recently been promoting closer ties between Canadian conservatives and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government. Harper is chair of the International Democrat…

The US Supreme Court recently struck down race-based affirmative action as a basis for college admissions. Americans are now busy entertaining new ideas about how…

A recent Angus Reid Institute survey of Canadians’ approval (or disapproval) of their provincial governments’ performances was full of surprises while bereft of optimism. Angus…

Today our good neighbours to the south are celebrating their country’s birthday—its 247th. Two hundred and forty seven days of democracy, the longest ever. The…

The economic collapse of the 1930s brought down democracies across Europe unleashing fascism across the continent. Other countries, including Canada and the United States, introduced…