I describe my own family’s move onto the property ladder many years ago. The costs are updated to 2024 dollars to demonstrate how out of control the housing industry has become. The only solution is strict regulation.
Pat Mccutcheon is running for the BC Greens in Surrey Cloverdale. He recently pointed me to this video and said: “Probably the most powerful & disturbing video I have ever seen on climate change. Renowned climate scientist, Johan Rockstrom, lays it all out in this July 2024 TED Talk.
A reader who communicates regularly sent several interesting quotations that are perhaps relevant in today’s world. Some are repeated here…
Researchers have proven, scientifically, that humans are all one people. The colour of our ancestor’s skin and ultimately my skin and your skin is a consequence of ulta-violet light, of latitude and climate…
Kevin Falcon returned to politics from his job with one of BC’s largest real estate developers. Falcon was a guy who lied about BC Rail being bankrupt and therefore a good choice had been made when it was offloaded to a BC Liberal donor. The tool of big business took on a new name: BC United Party, sometimes referred to BCUP.
J.D. Blackburn is focused on Pierre Poilievre, but lies and demagoguery are part of the right-wing, conservative playbook. With less than ten weeks before BC’s provincial election, expect to see numerous examples on display. I quote from Blackburn’s article…
More than a few people enter politics with a hope of exercising power or advancing their careers. For some, the choice is an economic one. They expect rewards by way of salaries, allowances, expense accounts and pensions. However, some politicians see wrongs and want to make them right. BC Green Party Leader Sonia Furstenau is one of those…
Marc Lee writes that we live in a petrostate. He examined Cedar LNG. That $5.5 billion project promises 100 permanent positions, which is $55 million for each job. The project also represents a capital expenditure of $3.25 million for each one of the 1,700 Haisla Nation members. The Haisla are borrowing all the funding for its half-share of the project…
BC Conservatives left a flyer at my door promoting their candidate in a North Vancouver constituency. Were the BC Conservatives to form government, British Columbia would be far different. Not better, but definitely different. Here I comment on their policy proposals:
In the 1960’s, tax expert Kenneth Carter headed a Royal Commission that examined Canada’s income tax system. Among many other things, Carter’s group was asked to report on “changes that may be made to achieve greater clarity, simplicity and effectiveness in the tax laws and their administration.” When material changes were implemented in the Income Tax Act, I was a young person working in public accounting. We laughed at the idea that government and its consultants — typically lawyers and accountants — aimed to simplify tax laws. After changes made following the Carter Commission, many taxpayers needed professional accountants more than they ever did.
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…
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….
My encounter with British Columbia’s brilliant medical practitioners, people who operate with urgent demand for services from young and old, helped by countless support workers who make lives better for us all.
Conventional wisdom says that economic disparities lead to political violence, or mildly violent collective actions. Yet few politicians anywhere are willing to address root causes of social difficulties. It is so much easier to accuse disaffected people of being indolent, abusive, drug-ridden lawbreakers. Those positions gain political success in many places. The Australian Institute of International Affairs noted confusion about the level of American support for Trump and the political party he captured and dominates:
Pierre Poilievre and other conservatives promise to be tough on crime. “Jail, not bail,” says the man who aspires to be Canada’s next Prime Minister. The John Howard Society is a non-profit that offers a more balanced and less political view of crime than Poilievre. In 2023, the agency wrote about major media claims that violent crimes had increased to a level not seen since the days Stephen Harper’s Conservatives held power.
I have been reading about the history of British Columbia’s forest industry. I lack thorough expertise, but I think it is fair to say that short-term thinking by self-interested industrialists and politicians has caused serious damage to public assets that were vital building blocks of this province…
Wife and I stopped for food after attending a grandson’s Little League baseball game. She ordered a coffee with cream, but the only stirring utensil presented was a large soup spoon. A phrase from a 1928 song by James Stevens came to mind. I suggested Gwen could stir the coffee with her thumb. Alas, she had not been a logger. It’s not a great song, but the lyrics might bring a smile…
New research shows that the brain is more like a muscle – it changes and gets stronger when you use it. Scientists have been able to show how the brain grows and gets stronger when you learn. Most people don’t know that when they practice and learn new things, parts of their brain change and get larger just like muscles. This is true even for adults. So, it’s not true that some people “just can’t learn”. You can improve your abilities as long as you practice and use good strategies.
World Marks Full Year of Average Temperatures Above 1.5C Target
Frank Graves says we live in an era which sees a crisis of both trust and truth… Disinformation is polarizing our society in ways that we have never seen… But Graves is optimistic about the future. find it difficult to share his hopefulness and confidence in the future.
Milestones usually provoke self reflection, and the closer we get to the ultimate milestone, the more there is to reflect…
Regular reader of insights here. I seldom comment but will try to do that more in the future. I'm glad…
Thanks, I appreciate this follow-up.
Thanks for the suggestion. I didn't show a link to the study initially because it was on a site that…
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I very much appreciate your writing with IN SIGHTS Norm. I get too much to read on my computer and…