Let’s talk numbers
By Michael Jessen English speaking humans communicate using at least 250,000 distinct words. By contrast there are only 10 individual numbers – larger numbers being combinations of zero to nine. To put our thoughts into words, we have an unlimited capacity to produce vocabulary. We will coin no new numbers. Language is a highly elaborate […]
NDP to introduce Poverty Reduction Bill
The New Democratic Party of BC has initiated the first step in the creation of a poverty reduction plan that will put children and families first. “Seven other provinces and territories have either committed to or have enacted a poverty reduction strategy, yet despite having the highest poverty rate in Canada, the B.C. Liberals […]
EDITORIAL: Going with the flow
They say there's no surer sign of nothing much to say than talking about the weather. Yet here I am! Living as we do in BC's second highest elevation city, Rosslanders are, or should be, pretty accustomed to unusual weather. This week, however, I found myself the recipient of winter bashing venom on several different occasions...
COMMENT: Reflections on the Israeli-Palestinian 'Peace Process'
First of all, the Israelis created Hamas. But before we explore that issue, let’s start with a more important one. Let’s be honest with ourselves. If we can look at the situation from beyond the confines of current political discourse, and look at the emperor without his “new” clothes, we all know that Israel does […]
Why hockey and Viagra ads don’t mix
It’s been 18 years since I’ve been a serious hockey fan. In 1993, the Montreal Canadiens went to the Stanley Cup – and won against Los Angeles. Back in those days, I was a big time Habs fan–something I got into when I was 14 and bored. And I was into it big time. […]
Harper’s goal: create a new irrational reality
In observing Stephen Harper for the past 20 years, I have often been reminded of the line from Shakespeare: “The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.” Replace lawyers with scientists, and you capture the role that the irrational plays in the politics of the prime minister. It shows up everywhere: Over […]
Out There: Soulful, sunny and serene. Nature's symphony provides the soundtrack to some May 2-4 turns
Victoria Day long weekend. The May two-four. The unofficial start of summer. Cottages are opened, tent trailers are pulled out and RV’s take to the highway. It’s really the first great escape of the year for many Canadians; The first chance to truly shed the shackles of hibernation and re-emerge into the outdoors. A timely...
OP/ED: To fix HST Clark needs to follow Harper's example
By: Gregory Thomas, British Columbia Communications Director, Canadian Taxpayers Federation Premier Christy Clark says she is going to fix the harmonized sales tax (HST) for B.C. families and she says she is going to fix it before the end of May. We can’t wait. And we’re hopeful, if not optimistic, that she won’t screw it up. At […]
The ongoing evil of asbestos exports
The ongoing fight to get this country to ban the export of the world’s deadliest industrial material has finally reached the Comedy Network and Jon Stewart’s The Daily Show. The sheer absurdity of pretending that chrysotile asbestos can be used safely caught the eye of the popular show and they recently did a five minute segment, […]
Schwarzenegger and DSK: when powerful men cross lines
By Tracy Weber in ProPublica. The week’s news about the sexual conduct of politically powerful men gives me a queasy feeling of déjà vu. As the French agonize over whether Dominique Strauss-Kahn’s star power quashed past allegations, I can respond cynically: Yes, that probably happened. But we should not automatically assume that timelier reporting about […]
