U.S. Representative Jasmine Crockett and Canadian comedian and actor, writer and producer Dave Foley will join as guests on this week’s episode of CNN’s Have I Got News For You, the American version of the long-running UK comedy series.
The current world situation
This is a guest post by Chris Merrick, a school friend who has serious concerns with the state of the world. Most of us can say that in our lifetimes, Canada has never experienced such a direct threat to its continued existence. It is vital to build country-to-country relationships in other parts of the world. The U.S. President is not our only problem because a large number of American politicians and plutocrats are Trump’s fellow travellers.
Canadians will never kiss the gangster ring
Charlie Angus, a longtime Member of Parliament from Northeastern Ontario, published his observations about recent NATO meetings in Brussels. American historian Heather Cox Richardson reinforced some of the concerns expressed by Angus.
Our World in Data
Training in accountancy encourages my reliance on data to improve understanding of various issues. One valuable source of information is Our World in Data. It was founded by Max Roser, Professor of Practice in Global Data Analytics at the University of Oxford. Dr. Roser’s research has focused on large global problems, including poverty, disease, hunger, climate change, existential risks, and war.
Bully the world
Several members of the party expected to form the next government in Ottawa are enthusiastic supporters of Donald Trump and his cohort. Canadian resistance to American hegemony may be negligible.
Canada may cease to exist
If Trump is reelected, millions of Americans think democracy is at risk. If his totalitarian followers seize control of the American government in the next few months, this Canadian thinks Canada may cease to exist.
“You won’t have to vote anymore”
Dan Rather was a star of the news business for years before he left CBS. From the 1980s to the mid-2000s, Peter Jennings, Tom Brokaw, and Dan Rather were the “Big Three” of TV news in the USA. At the peak, about one in five Americans watched them. Today, about one in twenty Americans see flagship news shows of the legacy networks…
Immoral or amoral?
Rutger University professor Wenwen Zhang, wrote a 2018 dissertation that said conceptions of amorality in business literature are diverse and ambiguous. Belief that morality is irrelevant and inapplicable in business results in unethical behaviors, done for the benefit of individuals, organizations and nations. Discarding or downplaying morality is a shortcoming of business education….
Happiness is… (2024 edition)
Overall, Canada ranks 15th in the World Happiness Report, although it is first among nations with populations of more than 30 million. However, when the happiness of citizens under age thirty was ranked, Canada was listed at a miserable 58th, trailing countries like Honduras, Guatemala, and Nicaragua. Some may wonder if those countries will be receptive if youthful Canadian refugees turn up at their borders.
“Never again” must mean never again by anyone, against anyone
A child of an American Jewish and Catholic German couple, Maximilian Hess has had his life shaped by antisemitism. Hess says today’s world seems turned upside down. Comments that are undeniably antisemitic are ignored while legitimate criticisms of Israeli actions in Gaza are labeled as hostility toward all Jews.
Claims of antisemitism used to defend Israel’s atrocities
I understand people who believe that Israel should defend its lands against armed attacks and fervently assert the country has a right to a peaceful existence. But I sympathize with innocent Palestinians whom Israel has displaced, starved, and massacred. I reject the notion that Israel can be excused when the country destroys hospitals, schools, mosques, food and water supplies, and kills or injures more than 100,000 people not responsible for attacks on Israel…
Canada profiting from death and destruction
This country was once known as a peacemaker and peacekeeper. Now it is better known for selling instruments of death and destruction. As occurs in other sectors, profit-seeking arms dealers are either amoral or immoral. In this ProPublica article, Canada is mentioned 26 times…
Dr Gabor Mate – belated respects due
In the 1960s, Gabor Mate was a brave young man standing up to bullies and stating unpopular ideas. Now Dr. Mate, he is still a man of conscience not afraid to speak hard truths.
Seven moral principles
Professor Robert Reich describes meeting with students to discuss tragic events in Gaza and Israel. It was a mixed group, some Jewish, some Palestinian, and some with other backgrounds. They sought common ground as they examined what basic moral principles were at stake. Conclusions the group determined…
Happiness is…
The first World Happiness Report was presented in 2012. This week the 2022 report was published. Perhaps surprisingly, in most nations, average life evaluations have remained “remarkably resilient during COVID-19.” Although, according to report authors, life satisfaction has fallen for the young and increased for people over 60, and levels of stress have risen measurably since pre-pandemic days…
Republican’s genius strategy
History Professor Alfred McCoy produced The Politics of Heroin in Southeast Asia in 1972. The CIA interfered with the book’s publication but its condemnation of American complicity in the drug trade is accepted as accurate and reliable. Dr. McCoy appeared with Jeremy Scahill on the March 7 edition of Intercepted Podcast. I found their wide ranging discussion informative, shocking and alarming…
Alternative view of conflict in Syria
An SDS radical, Dr. Lawrence Davidson took voluntary exile in Canada during the early seventies. Returning home after six years, he became an educator and now writes commentary, often about American responses […]
"Cause I don’t feel like having to shoot people…"
The Trudeau government will alter Canada’s harsh tone on international affairs to emphasize conflict resolution and peacekeeping. The Prime Minister said when deploying our men and women in uniform, the case must […]
Keep the same dance going
Psychologist Dr. Mike Webster writes often about relationships between senior management and the men and women delivering police services in our communities. He knows about moral disengagement, which allows virtuous people to commit inhumane acts and Webster’s words can help us gain understanding…
Mourn all victims
CTV reported late Friday that “the streets of Paris are streaked with blood” and one of its star reporters spoke about “terror acts empty of human purpose.” If Tom Walter’s opinion is […]
in-sights.ca 
In case you’ve been wondering - who supports huge Data Centres? Angus Reid has a poll. https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/bakx-york-ai-data-centres-alberta-solomon-9.7222388 Support 15% across…