COMMENT: Blind mercy
Just out of Jericho, Bartimaeus sits by the road. Hearing Jesus and the crowd he cries, “Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me. ”Many in the crowd tell him to shut up, but he raises his voice and Jesus, standing still, says: “Call him here.” Changing their tone, the voices in the crowd tell Bartimaeus to “Take heart; get up,...
COMMENT: Our veterans deserve the best of benefits
There is a fair amount of debate today about Canada's role in the world and the role that our military continues to play. Many feel that Canada should be returning to a peacekeeping role, while others feel that the current direction is more appropriate in today's world. Regardless of how we feel about this issue, I firmly...
OP/ED: War and what it’s good for. Remembrance Day strategies for protestors
Every Remembrance Day for the past six years I have gone to the Nelson Cenotaph at city hall and stood with anti-war protest placards, and been the target of much anger and some abuse. Last year, a threat too came my way. I will go there again this year and upset many in attendance. But […]
OP/ED: Give us back our money, tax cheats!
There is a class of people and corporations in this country whose illicit financial practices have an enormous negative impact on the country and its citizens. Yet the law and order regime of Stephen Harper barely plays lip service to the issue of tax evasion through tax havens. While Harper cuts billions from government...
OP/ED: Halloween become a whole new kind of scary
It’s almost Halloween! Yay! I have always been a Halloween fan; I love the decorations, the pumpkin carving, and the plethora of bite-sized chocolates, but there is one thing that really gets my goat when it comes to this spooky season – it is impossible to find a women’s costume that isn’t oozing with sex. […]
COMMENT: The great Canadian sell-out
It couldn’t have been clearer in a recent interview for Maclean’s magazine, that International Trade Minister Ed Fast viewed maintaining sovereign control over our public services, investments, intellectual property, environmental protection, government procurement and labour mobility as completely irrelevant in sweeping...
Scars
Often, when reviewing my scars, I wonder why I have them at all. If cells replicate every seven years or so, where do scars come from? Shouldn't they disappear with the next round of shedding? Maybe it's good they don't. Good to see that patch of skin burned white by molten zinc - remember to tuck the gloves in next time....
COMMENT: Conservative ominous omnibus bills – The art of stealing power from democracy
Alex Atamanenko, MP (BC Southern Interior) is slamming the Conservative government’s second mammoth Omnibus Budget Bill this year which amends over 40 separate Acts, guts a series of commissions that protect the public interest and concentrates even more power in Ministers’ hands. The BC MP denounced the government’s measures...
OPINION: Economist predictions and mortgage terms
By: Rob McLister, Canada Mortgage Trends No one truly knows where interest rates are headed. Yet, despite vast margins of error, all major financial institutions regularly publish rate predictions. If only we could assume that these economists were right - or even half right - it would be far easier to determine the lowest-cost...
Frodo lives: Middle Earth, Evil, and the decline of religion in the West.
At Christmas this year we will be treated once again to a film adaptation of a fantasy by Tolkien, this time The Hobbit. I am gratified because this author and his works form one foundation of the kind of person I have become, insofar as a book of fiction is fundamental to how one understands the world. What is it about Tolkien...