The Middle East has been an ugly place for some time. It has become humanity’s favourite region for killing each other although Vladimir Putin is attempting to return that honour to Europe. It was good news therefore to hear that two of the region’s major belligerents have decided to kiss
Continue readingTag: Saudi Arabia
Views from the Beltline: Iran and Saudi Arabia make nice
The Middle East has been an ugly place for some time. It has become humanity’s favourite region for killing each other although Vladimir Putin is attempting to return that honour to Europe. It was good news therefore to hear that two of the region’s major belligerents have decided to kiss
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Islam—is the fear justified?
When it comes to religion, I am not a believer nor am I a student of theology. I am but a mere observer, much more inclined to fact than faith. I don’t have a high regard for any religion but there are things about most that I appreciate. Buddhism, for
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: What about the atheists?
We hear a great deal about religious bigotry these days. Islamophobia so concerns the federal government that it recently appointed an anti-Islamophobia representative—Amira Elghawaby. (Ms. Elghawaby immediately got into hot water herself and had to apologize to Quebeckers for uncharitable remarks she had made about the good people of that
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Oil, guns and ethics
Promoters of the Alberta tar sands suggest customers for the product almost have a moral obligation to buy it. Their term is “ethical oil.” We hear the refrain from an assortment of politicians, journalists and business executives, chief among them Alberta premier Jason Kenney. The oil of many of our
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Afternoon Links
This and that for your Sunday reading. – Ed Yong discusses how the field of public health has been marginalized by the false assumption that the task of keeping people healthy shouldn’t play a role in our political choices. – Nadeem Badshah reports on Greta Thunberg’s message to countries participating
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Lauren Pelley reports on the certainty that Canada is facing a fourth major wave of COVID-19 even as right-wing governments try to proclaim the pandemic over. Natalie Grover reports on the Oxford Vaccine Group’s conclusion that any hope of herd immunity is “mythical”
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Tuesday Morning Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Apoorva Mandavilli reports on the CDC’s return to recommending that people wear masks indoors to try to avoid another COVID wave. Matt Elliott asks why nobody is taking the lead on proof of vaccinations when it represents another necessary step to control
Continue readingAlberta Politics: No press release, but Kenney Government quietly moves to help Alberta’s friends in the Saudi Arabian government
The Kenney Government has quietly moved to ensure that Alberta’s friends and business partners in the government of Saudi Arabia are free from the complications of inconvenient foreign land ownership rules. Now, many readers are doubtless thinking, “Say what?” After all, isn’t the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia the land of
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: All hands on deck to rig the oil market
The oil industry and the free market are not well acquainted. The price of oil has long been manipulated more by cartels than by free markets. Since the 1970s, the manipulator in chief has been the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its collaborators (OPEC+). The recent collapse in
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Sovereign killers and the “Khashoggi ban”
So, according to U.S. intelligence, Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman whacked journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Confirmation of something we already knew. The crown prince is a cold-blooded killer. Regardless of the evidence, he will walk of course. Dictators of various sorts, from the crown prince to Russia’s Putin to
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Tuesday Morning Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Yaryna Serkez highlights how COVID-19 has both exploited and exacerbated the U.S.’ existing inequalities. And Alexander Panetta writes about the perpetuation of racial inequality in the U.S. for upwards of five decades after civil rights legislation was supposed to establish a nominally
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Thursday Afternoon Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – Annie Lowrey writes about the long-term effects of the millennial generation facing a second economic shock in the years which would normally serve as the base for personal stability and growth. – Polly Toynbee weighs in on the holes exposed in social
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Tuesday Morning Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Miles Corak weighs in on how COVID-19 is revealing and exacerbating existing inequality rather than serving as any leveling force. – Jessica Yun reports on how the ability to work from home reflects existing privilege, while Sara Mojtehedzadeh notes that already-vulnerable migrant
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Canadians want answers about tragic Iran air crash, but Canada has little influence with no embassy in Tehran
In the wake of yesterday’s air tragedy in Iran that took the lives of at least 63 Canadians, nearly half of them from Edmonton, and many others bound for Canada, all Canadians want and deserve answers to what caused Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS 752 to crash. Likewise, it is
Continue readingCowichan Conversations: If Saudi Arabia is in trouble, the rest of the oil-producing world should probably start to panic.
Governments Need to Face Reality — the Fossil Fuel Industry Is Collapsing Government still subsidizes the oil and gas industry, even as the Bank of Canada warns of investment risks. Photo Read more…
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Thursday Morning Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – Guy Dauncey makes the case that it’s entirely possible – even if daunting – to meet the challenge posed by the climate crisis. But we need first to come to terms with the reality that emissions are still rising even as the
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Thursday Morning Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – Lily Patchelder and David Kamin study the policy options available to increase public revenue by focusing on the wealthy, and find that there are multiple viable options: The U.S. will need to raise more revenues in order to reduce these disparities, finance
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Morning Links
This and that for your Sunday reading. – Larry Elliott writes that a corporate-centred model of globalization is unlikely to survive the Trump regime. And Jeff Spross proposes an alternative which allows for people to be free and capital to be controlled, rather than the other way around. – But
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Morning Links
Assorted content to end your week. – Larry Elliott reports on another of UK Labour’s proposals to democratize the economy, this time by giving consumers some say in executive pay. – Alex Paterson comments on the relationship between the housing market and the investments of many pension plans – though
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