One of the first pieces I wrote for this space focused on self-talk. The kind of conversation I might have with myself when seeing someone standing or sitting on the street, looking worn down and asking for a contribution from my pocket to his or her hat. Self-talk says a great deal about world-view. I can wonder how that...

A joke has always been a double-edged sword, so to speak. While we all love to laugh, in fact it’s even good for our health, we rarely want the joke to be on us. So when April Fool’s day comes around, lots of people spend the day worried about bearing the brunt of the joke – being the fool. This year, as in the past three...

UPDATE: Since publication of this story this morning, yet another oil spill has come across the wire - a CP Rail spill from a derailment in northern Ontario - raising the total of spills this past week to SIX. It's been another appallingly bad week for proponents of pipeline safety and new oil infrastructure. If the industry's...

“Don’t let another day go by, without the magic touch, embracing you, revealing you…  Change your mind.” – Neil Young. Change your Mind. It has become, almost without my noticing it, basic to my understanding of existence that matter and spirit are antitheses. They are “at war”. The Austrian oracle/ clairvoyant/ mystic, Rudolf...

One of the many things that Hugo Chavez, the charismatic and revolutionary president of Venezuela, contributed to the world was his demonstration for people everywhere the difference between democracy and liberal democracy. Chavez’s hyperbolic style, his tweaking the tail of the Imperial tiger and his willingness to be just...

In my last column we examined the referendum and its role in a democratic local government. When talking about referendum we cannot afford to ignore the importance of the rules that govern the referendum’s application. As with elections, the rules determine the efficacy of the referendum. Efficacy for the purpose of this...

Local NDP MP Alex Atamanenko says that, with the exception of a small business tax credit, the Conservative budget falls short of delivering results for people here in rural B.C. “The government promised to focus on jobs but has not introduced any new measures to create meaningful employment. It is good that skills training is […]

March 22nd is World Water Day – established by the UN as a day to contemplate the importance of access to water for life on earth. On World Water Day nearly 2000 children around the world will die from diarrhoea caused by unsafe water and poor sanitation – just like every other day of the year. It is almost impossible to...

I complained last column about a lack of comments left after my online columns, and behold, I got a critical response on March 11. I have to give this person my full attention. (I also got a comment of support from an acquaintance, but I will make my critic the point of departure for this column.) The critic’s main remark is...

By: Rob McLister, Canada Mortgage Trends On Friday, Manulife Bank posted its lowest rate ever on a 5-year fixed mortgage, 2.89%. It lasted for four days. When our big brothers at the Department of Finance (DoF) caught wind of it, they dialed up Manulife and swayed the bank into raising its rate back to 3.09%. “We don’t want...