James Loney: Peace Activist and Former Iraqi Hostage Speaks at Shambhala Music & Performance Hall
The Mir Lecture Series presents James Loney at the Shambhala Music & Performance Hall in Nelson on Friday, February 8th. In November 2005, Loney and three other men were captured by armed gunmen and held hostage in Iraq. Loney was part of a delegate from Christian Peacemaker Teams – an organization that sends activists...
COMMENT: The power of Idle No More's resurgent radicalism
The remarkable Idle No More movement is the biggest and most important national outpouring of grassroots aboriginal anger ever seen in Canada. Not since the late 1960s when Indians (as they then referred to themselves) and Métis confronted governments with demands for justice has such a dramatic and passionate expression of...
Columbia Power's future beyond the Waneta Expansion Project--your input wanted!
Columbia Power wants to hear from you. We have embarked on a consultation project to gather feedback and insight from the public to help in the process of determining what’s next for the corporation. The consultation is intended to tell the Columbia Power story, seek feedback on our proposed strategy, and gather information...
COMMENT: The Department of Peace, part 1
In this column I would like to share part of the speech I gave to those attending the “Open Forum” on a culture of peace and Department of Peace in Canada which took place in Ottawa early in November of 2012. Arms trade is big business – in 2010 total military spending in the world was around $1.6 Trillion. According to the...
New snow needs to settle before extreme sports
After nearly a week of snow storms avalanche potential is considerable in the back country so winter sports enthusiasts need to exercise caution over the coming weekend. “The mountains have hit the reset button and we need to do the same with our expectations of what is safe to ride,” commented Matt Peter, forecaster with the...
COMMENT: For frack’s sake
When Josh Fox received a letter offering him nearly $100,000 for the natural gas extraction rights on his Pennsylvania property, his first reaction was: nice chunk of change. Then he started wondering what was involved in the hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) process proposed. Looking for the answer took him on a road trip...
BC rolls out new card to replace CareCard
Starting Feb. 15, 2013, and over the next five years, eligible British Columbians between the ages of 19 and 74 will be required to replace their CareCard with the new BC Services Card by renewing their enrolment in the Medical Services Plan. The current CareCard was introduced in 1989 and has not been significantly updated...
What's in a light?
What's in a light? The readings on the first Sunday of the new year focus on Epiphany. An epiphany being one of those moments in life when the light comes on. A comic book illustration light bulb radiating lines over the head of the character concerned. The time a concept in physics or math finally came clear. Or understanding...
Human conditions: Socialism’s dream or the machinery of matter?
“Being determines consciousness, not consciousness, being.” “Philosophers have until now merely interpreted the world; the point is to change it.” - Charles Henry Marx “The crisis is not material, physical, or scientific, the crisis is spiritual.” “No one is transformed...
Mass shootings do little to change state gun laws
By: Joaquin Sapien, Propublica Following the mass shooting in Connecticut, the Obama administration and lawmakers around the country have promised to re-examine gun control in America. ProPublica decided to take a look at what's happened legislatively in states where some of the worst shootings in recent U.S. history have...