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Views from the Beltline

… a Bill Longstaff blog

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About Bill C-39, democracy and a fair wage About this White Christian Nationalism thing Youth take Carney to account on climate crisis Widdowson 2, universities 0 No, old folks don’t always vote Conservative
Democracy

Sortition—assembling citizens

Aug 23, 2023

A recent essay in The New York Times prompts me once again to write about a favourite topic of mine, namely citizens’ assemblies. The essay,…

United States

An American hero

Aug 21, 2023

The U.S. has come a long way. Any doubt about that was erased last Monday. On that day, a Southern black woman announced that she…

Global warming Industry

Oil industry disappoints (but doesn’t surprise)

Aug 17, 2023

Once upon a time I toiled in the oil patch and it was good to me. I worked for Shell Canada and the royal pectin…

Global warming

The planet is literally in hot water

Aug 9, 2023

According to the dictionary, getting yourself in hot water means getting yourself into trouble for which you risk punishment. Well, we are heating up the…

Alberta Global warming

Alberta pauses the future

Aug 8, 2023

Alberta is Canada’s leader in renewables projects and investments. Of the new solar and wind generation capacity added in Canada in 2022, 75 percent was…

Governance United States

Biden, Trump and the authoritarian urge

Aug 5, 2023

Recent polls show that Donald Trump and Joe Biden are tied in this very early stage of the 2024 presidential race. Each has just over…

Technology United States

A Republican and a Democrat take on big tech

Aug 2, 2023

The headline in The New York Times “Lindsey Graham and Elizabeth Warren: When It Comes to Big Tech, Enough Is Enough” caught my eye for…

Environment

August 2—Earth Overshoot Day

Aug 2, 2023

The Global Footprint Network performs the public service of calculating how rapidly we are devouring the Earth’s natural resources. The Network is a charitable not-for-profit…

Economics United States

The amazing American economy

Jul 29, 2023

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…

Sustainability

Japan—role model for a sustainable future?

Jul 26, 2023

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…

United States

Trump, would-be autocrat

Jul 23, 2023

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…

Alberta Global warming

Alberta sacrifices agriculture for oil

Jul 19, 2023

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…

Posts pagination

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Comments are welcome if they are literate, relevant and respectful. They may be edited.

Featured posts
  • Owning up
    8 August 2026
  • The UN’s contentious motion on slavery
    21 April 2026
  • Sustainability: how two “problems” equal one solution
    25 March 2026
  • About the decline of Western civilization
    11 March 2026
  • Calgary’s water problem and the cost of sprawl
    17 January 2026
  • Where did all the conservatives go?
    15 December 2025
  • The U.S. changes sides, whither Canada?
    15 August 2025
  • Alberta, tribalism, luck and oil
    24 May 2025
  • It’s the cruelty that appals
    16 March 2025
  • The hypocrisy of exporting fossil fuel emissions
    29 November 2024
  • What is the real price of your hamburger?
    23 September 2024
  • Premier Smith and the fascist hatemonger
    27 August 2024
  • Sweden—a model economy
    15 August 2024
  • The most important history lesson
    23 March 2024
  • Terrorism—weapon of the oppressed?
    9 October 2023
  • Conservatives and the CBC
    2 March 2023
  • Dismissing the low taxes myth
    26 February 2023
  • The “racialized” fallacy … or how to (or not to) compare ethnic groups
    9 March 2022

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Views from the Beltline

… a Bill Longstaff blog

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  • Home
  • About the Author
  • About the Beltline
  • Bill’s Books (free downloads)