The way Michael Kalmanovitch sees it, he had no choice but to raise a ruckus inside the Chamber of the Alberta Legislature moments after Monday’s Throne Speech. The world is afire with climate change, he said, and governments are doing nothing – or, even worse, like Alberta’s, actually working hard to make things worse in … Read more
Israel’s weeks-long bombardment of Gaza and recently-launched ground invasion has killed over 9,000 Palestinians, among them 3,700 children, with full U.S. government support. Global demands for a ceasefire go unheeded. This week, one senior United Nations human rights official had enough. “I write at a moment of great anguish for the world, including for many … Read more
Well, it looks as if the United Conservative Party’s (UCP) extremist Take Back Alberta (TBA) faction now controls all the seats on the party’s board. Some guy named Rob Smith who you’ve likely never heard of if you don’t happen to live in Olds or Didsbury is now the party president. Rick Orman, who was … Read more
Massive fires, floods, and heat waves are making the climate and biodiversity crises ever more evident, and the need for economic transition ever more urgent. Andrew Nikiforuk, in I Warned Against the Green Energy ‘Boom.’ It Sparked Debate, argues for degrowth. Despite huge resistance among policy makers, degrowth in the transportation sector is essential and … Read more
In the summer of 2022, Edmonton video game workers made history by becoming the first Canadian video game workers to unionize. Represented by the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) these workers have fought for a fair first contract until September 2023, when they were laid off. The laid-off UFCW members were employed by Keywords … Read more
Sometimes the old time-worn cliché’s convey hard truths. For example, the view that reality under advanced capitalism has outpaced both irony and satire is sometimes conveyed in the phrases “no future for satire” and “You can’t make this stuff up. “ This view was famously adopted by the brilliant song writer and mathematician Tom Lehrer … Read more
In 2017, journalist Samantha Cole discovered someone on Reddit who was using open-source artificial intelligence (AI) technology to create homemade, non-consensual pornography and sexual images using the faces of celebrities. This person called themselves, “deepfake.” Early deepfakes were easy to spot because they were glitchy and looked unrealistic. However, this technology has become so sophisticated … Read more
Health care in Alberta is moving confidently into the 1990s! The United Conservative Party (UCP) government led by Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is about to bring the province’s health care system back to the future with a massive infusion of new red tape, just like the old red tape. It’ll be so much like the … Read more
Climate change shouldn’t be political. The evidence is there for all to see, and people everywhere are feeling the effects. Government leaders from every nation and ideology have signed agreements to address the crisis, and reputable organizations from the International Energy Agency to the World Bank have analyzed the necessity and benefits of acting quickly. … Read more
By Rod Mickleburgh At long last, a formal apology has been delivered in the House of Commons for Canada’s racist behaviour in its shameful treatment of Sikh passengers aboard the Komagata Maru, who had the effrontery to seek immigration to the West Coast more than a hundred years ago. Not only were they denied entry, they … Read more