How to deal with our economic and environmental challenges together
“The economy is a subsidiary of the ecosystem…The only place where the environment and economy are separated is in the human mind.” – Dr. William Rees, UBC Professor, Founder of the ‘Eco-footprint’ concept Perhaps the most foolish and dangerous misconception of our time is that we must somehow choose between the economy and the environment. […]
Why Arizonans can buy guns made in-state free of background checks, and other issues in gun control
By Marian Wang in ProPublica. The shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and more than a dozen of her constituents in Tucson this weekend has sparked criticism of Arizona’s lax gun control laws and renewed calls from some to tighten those restrictions. Six individuals were confirmed dead. Here’s our attempt to briefly break down a few […]
Fox News, US talk radio should have to answer
America is at war with itself. And anyone who watches Fox News or listens to US radio talk shows should not be surprised that another gunman has taken aim at his own government, his own elected officials or his fellow citizens. Being in the midst of what is going on, the American people have […]
ATAMANENKO: A year in review, part one
The past year has been an eventful one. In January the Haiti earthquake hit. My staff and I worked for days with Foreign Affairs, a School District and Mt. Sentinel School of South Slocan to safely locate, press for transportation assistance, and rescue a class of high school students caught in Haiti. In February, […]
Harper’s pipeline nightmare
What kind of year in politics is 2011 going to be? Very likely another year (or at least ten months) of gridlock at the federal level, with no sign of any so-called game changer on the horizon. A spring election is looking less likely as the Conservatives try to make a deal with the […]
Postscript on the new McCarthyism
A year ago I wrote a column reflecting on the activities of the Canadian Parliamentary Coalition to Combat Anti-Semitism (CPCCA), the Canadian branch of the Inter-Parliamentary Coalition for Combating Anti-Semitism. The latter is an international pro-Zionist group whose sole task is to redefine anti-Semitism to mean virtually any criticism of Israel. It developed at the behest of […]
ATAMANENKO: The state of democracy in Canada
One of the hallmarks of a democratic state is its commitment to free, public and political expression. Indeed, no society can call itself truly democratic if it does not guarantee its citizens the inalienable rights to gather, communicate their opinion and demonstrate their support for or against any political position they wish. If these assertions […]
2010 was a busy year for MP Alex Atamanenko
PART I: The past year has been an eventful one. In January the Haiti earthquake hit. My staff and I worked for days with Foreign Affairs, a School District and Mt. Sentinel School of South Slocan to safely locate, press for transportation assistance, and rescue a class of high school students caught in Haiti. […]
STERK: Reminding Christy Clark and Geoff Plant that we don't "elect" our premiers
Christy Clark’s suggestion that the next BC Liberal leader will need to get a “mandate” from BC voters through an early election shows she doesn’t understand our parliamentary system. And former attorney general and author of the fixed election date legislation Geoff Plant’s statement that the legislation did not anticipate the current situation is absurd. […]
Tempers flare and geographic fissures open wide following SD20 decision
The fissures between area communities over what to do with our schools made themselves visible Monday evening at the SD20 School Board meeting. Fiery and emotional rhetoric came from trustees and the public alike as the board voted , 5-3, to delay public meetings in January and re-frame its discussions around educational...