Tom Flanagan thought audience would smile and nod at his bizarre comments Prof. Tom Flanagan (ret.) may have been thrown over the side of the Good Ship Tory by Capt. Preston Manning and the Motor Vessel Wildrose by First Mate Danielle Smith, but he still inspires warm feelings of solidarity at the Fraser Institute. Leastways, [...]
Federal budget 2013 lowers one tariff, raises another I hope White Rock businesses will forgive me, but our household shops in the USA. We’re not alone. Each day thousands of Canadians troop south of the border because prices are significantly lower. How much lower? In our experience, when gasoline sells for $1.42 per litre locally, [...]
Budget 2013: Ontario, Québec undoing any good Ottawa is managing to do for economy Yesterday was budget day in Ottawa. And, whether you like or dislike the elements of it, find the Harper Conservatives to be nation-destroying tightwads or deplore their lack of fiscal conservatism, there’s one thing you can say about Jim Flaherty’s performance [...]
Manning Centre conference theme included how to decriminalize private health care Preston Manning and his self-titled hothouse for conservative scheming March 7-9 in Ottawa during the Manning Centre conference didn’t really help the credibility of Canadian conservatism by scheduling speakers from the fringiest fringes of their movement. But then, why worry? After all, the mainstream [...]
Damage done in South Coast ridings required BC Liberal to sweep Interior and North Ipsos-Reid is the first polling company to produce a poll since the BC Liberal ‘Ethnicgate’ erupted in British Columbia. Unsurprisingly, it shows an absolute majority of British Columbians are prepared to vote in Adrian Dix and the NDP on May 14. According [...]
Conservatives discussed appearing ‘green’ to voters at Manning Centre conference When they weren’t imaging the end of the world in a fiscal holocaust brought on by Keynesianism or worrying about the political end of the world caused by Liberal Dauphin Justin Trudeau’s political talents or banished neoconservative hero Tom Flanagan’s embarrassing shenanigans, conservative “big thinkers” [...]
Iraq War based on false, exaggerated information It does not seem so long ago that the United States was trying to convince the world that the regime of Saddam Hussein in Iraq had Weapons of Mass Destruction and that he was planning to use them against the Americans or their allies. Alas, after 10 years, [...]
If teenage rapists exist in Steubenville, they exist everywhere Steubenville, Ohio is a long way from White Rock, B.C. but the conviction of two high school boys for raping a 16-year old girl resonates strongly in our little town just as it has across North America. How could two star athletes rape that poor young [...]
Stephen Harper government set to release Canadian budget this week By Kim Moody There is no shortage of speculation what the content for Canadian Budget 2013, to be released March 21, may contain. The views/guesses below are purely mine and I caution you not to rely on this speculation. However: Tax Rates Will the federal government [...]
Canadian vision of Justin Trudeau “no longer relevant” By Nelson Peters Many of my friends are Liberals and, among them, the consensus is that a Justin Trudeau leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada would be unfortunate, not so much for the changes it would bring to the party but rather for the lack [...]
Ron Paul is the Pope of the market fundamentalist church Last weekend, the priests and priestesses of the Canadian branch of the international market fundamentalist religion gathered in Ottawa and called, as they always do, for more human sacrifice. I speak, of course, of the annual networking conference of the inaptly labelled Manning Centre for [...]
Change in Canadian attitude and politics caused by Internet tools, social media etc. Canadians, it seems, never tire of the endless debate on what it means to be Canadian. Are we liberal, socialist or conservative? Are we more enlightened than our neighbours to the south? Is our identity truly framed by our health care system? [...]
Who would really want to be Pope? By Louise McEwan A couple of years ago, Cold Play had a hit song called Viva la Vida. It was a song my family played repeatedly and loudly one Christmas, as we danced around the kitchen doing dishes. The lyrics are difficult to decode, and I’m not quite [...]
Lack of gun control may not be the real issue behind outbursts of violence On December 14, 2012, a young man unexpectedly killed dozens of people at a school. Again. Adam Lanza fatally shot twenty children and six staff members at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. Before driving to the school, Lanza shot [...]
Manning Centre Manchurian Municipal Candidate coming to a local election near you You can’t take an organization too seriously that hires Ron Paul to deliver the keynote address at its annual Big Conservative Ideas blowout, features speeches on “U.K. independence” and presenters who compare medicare to barbed wire and machine guns, and has breakout rooms [...]
Sharkwater director Rob Stewart launches latest film ‘Revolution’
‘Revolution’ documentary is anticipated follow-up to Rob Stewart’s ‘Sharkwater’ Canadian filmmaker Rob Stewart was in Calgary yesterday promoting a follow-up film to his award-winning documentary Sharkwater. Stewart spoke to The Beacon News about his latest film Revolution. Stewart’s mission is simple, if a little ambitious – save humanity. The Canadian conservationist has expanded the scope of his [...]
The Arts must innovate to survive in today’s world
Giving value to the arts and culture By Shawna Stirrett Traditional arts groups such as orchestras, ballets, operas and theatres that neglect to think about how they fit into the broader social context and respond accordingly will fail. This might not happen today or the next day, but the writing is on the wall. While [...]
Historic Barkerville exhibit to tour British Columbia and China
Barkerville exhibit captures Chinese experience during Cariboo Gold Rush An exhibit depicting the lives of Chinese immigrants during the Cariboo Gold Rush will travel to China next year thanks to a $20,000 grant from the B.C. government. The Barkerville exhibit is put together from archives kept in the historic gold rush town, which capture the [...]