The federal NDP leadership contest has been decided, and I’m delighted to say that the winner is Avi Lewis. As the contest was reaching its conclusion, it was clear that the winner in all likelihood would be one of the two front runners – either social activist Lewis or the establishment-backed Member of Parliament from…
Is Zionism Itself Antisemitic? A Question We Can’t Ignore
Many defenders of Israel’s barbaric behaviour accuse those who criticize Israel of being antisemitic. Rarely is this fair or accurate. Most who criticize and sometimes even condemn Israel, myself included, are not antisemitic in any way, shape, or form. I recently became aware of a school of thought, put forward by some Jews who are…
The Brink: How Close Are We to Nuclear War?
Are we on the brink of nuclear war? By all reports, Iran is winning the war with the United States and Israel. Things are not going as planned for Trump and Netanyahu. Both were confident that a devastating and lightening fast surprise attack on Iran would quickly bring about capitulation and regime change. However, Iran…
Donald Trump is a War Criminal
There is no doubt that the Iranian regime is a repressive and violent one, but there has never been any proven risk that they would develop a nuclear bomb. In 2015, Iran and then American President Barak Obama had signed the historic Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which limited Iranian nuclear development in return for…
Ken Sim’s Christmas Allegation Comes Back to Haunt Him
On Friday, February 6th, Vancouver mayor Ken Sim alleged in a briefing to Chinese-speaking media that COPE city councillor Sean Orr had handed out illegal drugs to people in the street on Christmas Day. This allegation was only brought to public attention on February 24th when repeated on WeChat by Councillor Lenny Zhou. Within two…
Enough Already: Time to give the Downtown Waterfront to the People
Back in 2014, a former highly respected City of Vancouver Planning Director, Ray Spaxman alerted us all to a proposal by Toronto-based developer, Cadillac Fairview. The developer proposed to jam an odd-shaped, bulky office tower on their Waterfront Station site. Thankfully Cadillac Fairview was stopped in January 2015, in the face of widespread public criticism….
Unity by Ultimatum
Ken Sim has become an increasingly unpopular mayor. Unfortunately, he stands a good chance of being re-elected. How can this be? Division among progressive forces. To have any chance of success, Vancouver’s three progressive political parties – COPE, Vancouver Greens, and OneCity — must all get behind one mayoral candidate. To do otherwise will split…