Queen Danielle and the separatist coup
When Danielle Smith first proposed her sovereignty act, I assumed, naively, that she meant the sovereignty of Alberta. Now, after the act has been presented…
Xi puts women in their place
When President Xi Jinping introduced his Politburo Standing Committee at the 20th Communist party congress in Beijing, one thing stood out. Of the seven, none…
The Earth groans
Tuesday, according to the United Nations, was eight billion day, i.e. the world’s population was projected to reach eight billion souls on November 15th. Even…
Gain Danielle Smith, lose Deena Hinshaw—not a fair exchange
On Monday Deena Hinshaw, Alberta’s chief medical officer of health, was in effect fired. Thus our new premier, Danielle Smith, kept a campaign promise. We…
And after Putin?
Russian President Vladimir Putin is not happy in the modern world. A child of Soviet Communism and of that particular enthusiasm bred by service in…
U.S. voters (and conservatives) trash Trump
The Democrats are quite pleased with their showing in the U.S midterm elections. From where I sit, it doesn’t look quite that cheerful—they lost the…
Time to friend-shore?
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen recently introduced a concept she referred to as “friend-shoring.” In her words, “Friend-shoring is the idea that countries that espouse…
Notwithstanding politicians, the Charter prevails
“The government blinked,” read the CBC headline. The Ontario Minister of Education Stephen Lecce confirmed that his government will repeal Bill 28 "in its entirety."…
How fares the emperor?
Xi Jinping has it all: general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, chairman of the Central Military Commission, commander-in-chief of the People’s Liberation Army, and…
Alberta’s very own tax cut fiasco
A recent tax cut for the rich managed to achieve international notoriety. Former British Prime Minster Liz Truss, a neo-liberal zealot à la her idol…
Whew! That was close—too close
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva won Brazil’s election on Sunday in a squeaker, defeating incumbent Jair Bolsonaro by a mere two points. It was a victory for…
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…