Forty days of flood, forty days in the wilderness, forty names of God…. In our tradition, 40 is a Big Deal. As a historian, I think our Western tradition is a big deal too. It has created the global cultural matrix wherein all other traditions now mix. I reference Western historical icons of culture in the name of this column,...

Especially with the damp and now the cold weather this year, I’ll be expecting phone calls from parents with sick children (or themselves if they were dipping into the candy too much) about a week after Hallowe’en. I see many colds and flus due to the increased amount of sugar. As I stated in a past article, 1 tsp of sugar ...

I was talking with a friend from out of town the other day, and she was inquiring about ‘smart’ meters.  In her area, smart meters have not been mandatory, but more recently, BC Hydro has produced an ultimatum: either have the smart meter installed, or pay an extra $35 charge each month to keep the analog meter.  This prompted...

BC Southern Interior MP Alex Atamanenko is critical of the latest Budget Implementation Act, Bill C-4. The 300-page bill amends dozens of acts and contains many measures that are not budgetary.  “Once again, the Conservatives are trying to cram through major changes without sufficient study by Parliament.  What is disturbing...

So often, in news coverage, valuable opinion/editorial writing requires focussing on controversy and those issues which divide us (this has been particularly true in The Source of late), so it's a real delight when I get to write about something unreservedly wonderful. On Oct. 9, a reader named Angela Erickson posted this...

 Over the past year we have heard a great deal about various voter-suppression phone calls or “robocalls,” as they have become known, that were made during the last federal election. Six applicants from six federal ridings sought an annulment under the Canada Elections Act of the 2011 election results in those ridings, based...

A recent headline announced that JP Morgan has reached a tentative $13-billion settlement with the US government for the role it played in creating the 2007-8 mess that left many nations, including Canada, in a prolonged state of economic dysphoria. JP Morgan was a central actor in the play that created this mess. How much ...

I write in response to letters penned by Mr. Malcolm, CEO City of Castlegar and Councillors McIntosh and Heaton-Sherstobitoff in regard to written comments made by me in response to what I felt was an over-reactive rebuttal penned by Kyra Hoggan to the letter from Paul Thederen published in the October 3, 2013 edition of the...

Is it too early to talk about skiing? No, I didn’t think so. This is Rossland after all! Skiing is the heart and soul of the Mountain Kingdom for many, and I’m sure I could have written a column about skiing in the height of spring and it would have been well-received. Well, as everyone in town knows, local skiers are in for...

Updated Last July the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resources announced that the province’s wildlife populations are healthy. The Ministry’s statement is a perfect example of what happens when governments turn their back on transparency and accountability. After all, any attempt at due diligence will quickly reveal...