jtswebb

Have we lost Our Sense of Decency?

Our government is planning to unload the more than 400% over budget Trans Mountain Pipeline onto the shoulders of First Nations along the route. It wants to SELL it to them. Let’s be honest with ourselves: And that does not even touch on the enormous environmental impact of this pipeline on their children, grandchildren orContinue reading “Have we lost Our Sense of Decency? “

Israel is not the Jewish People – Hamas is not the Palestinian People:

But War Crimes are Crimes Against Humanity Two claims grate against human dignity and human decency. One is that decades of the treatment of Palestinians in the open air concentration camp that has been Gaza justifies the October 7 massacre by Hamas. The other is that the genocidal slaughter of Palestinian babies, children, men andContinue reading “Israel is not the Jewish People – Hamas is not the Palestinian People:”

Israel and Palestinians – Where is there hope?

I write this as someone who has followed Holocaust denial, racism and Israeli/Palestinian relations for more than 30 years. Let me start by saying: Regrettably the Ontario NDP Caucus dismissed MPP Sarah Jama for her description of the resulting crisis and war. That said, Sarah Jama’s statements contain a great deal of truth. Two goodContinue reading “Israel and Palestinians – Where is there hope?”

Time to Play Hard Ball with Fossil Fuel Corporations

“The climate crisis is, in the main, a fossil fuel crisis.” Al Gore, NY Times, 18 July 2023 Earth just had the hottest day, week, and month in 120,000 years. Extreme heat is hitting Europe, the US South West (53C) and the US Mid-West, China (52C), much of the Middle East. Canada has already experiencedContinue reading “Time to Play Hard Ball with Fossil Fuel Corporations”

On Our Failing Economy

As I listened over breakfast to University of Toronto Economist Peter Dungan talk about the ‘grocery payment’ announced in the spring federal budget as a response to inflation in food prices, I cringed. The analysis was out of touch with reality and especially with the reality of 80% of Canadians. Giving money to the poorestContinue reading “On Our Failing Economy”

If The House is on Fire:

Why are We Pouring Gas in the Basement? We desperately need a vastly ramped up response capability for responding to climate disasters. As we watch the wild fires from coast to coast to coast and await the next super storm, killer heat wave, drought and massive floods, we know we are not ready. Having theContinue reading “If The House is on Fire:”

Space: The Distance Between Morality and Inflated Ego

We live in a world whose leaders, economic and political, clearly have lost their moral compass. Our political leaders talk with great excitement about mankind blasting off earth and settling on the moon and Mars and then the universe. Those engaged in space science for a living are awarded the automatic status of the excitedContinue reading “Space: The Distance Between Morality and Inflated Ego”

The Erosion of Democracy: Three Elections

Canada 2021 We live in a quasi-democracy. And it is eroding. The 2021 October 21st Federal unreformed election was simply not fair for at least half of those who voted. The reality: One Liberal MP was elected for every 37,681 votes for the party; One Conservative MP for every 50,873 votes; One NDP MP forContinue reading “The Erosion of Democracy: Three Elections”

The War of the World

Our democratic governments have long been at war with our capitalist economy. One seeks to spread power as widely as possible with each person being equal, having the same rights, freedoms and access to being heard. The other concentrates wealth and power and grants rights and freedoms and access to power based on how muchContinue reading “The War of the World”

Climate Change Wealth and Power

There was a superb interview on Information Morning on CBC with Louise Comeau of the New Brunswick Conservation Council. It covered both what we are learning form the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and environmental groups like the Conservation Council about the magnitude of the climate change threat and initiatives we can take to avoidContinue reading “Climate Change Wealth and Power”