James Laxer

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-306177542009-11-10T10:51:37.037-05:00James LaxerJames Laxerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16581079200019338423noreply@blogger.comBlogger267125JamesLaxerhttp://feedburner.google.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30617754.post-53450532338315682522009-11-08T21:35:00.000-05:002009-11-08T21:37:04.711-05:00Twenty Years Later: The Opening of the Berlin WallJames Laxerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11177908948911314714noreply@blogger.com2 (This post is Chapter 1 of my book Inventing Europe: The Rise of a New World Power, published by Lester Publishing in 1991. The chapter on the opening of the Berlin Wall was written at the time.) BERLIN Berlin is a phoenix. A city of ashes and ruins at the end of history’s greatest war, its destruction was brought on itself by a regime that planned conquests, <div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?a=vc0cCoNyvfM:ATq27QMRJeE:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?a=vc0cCoNyvfM:ATq27QMRJeE:63t7Ie-LG7Y"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"></img></a> </div>http://www.jameslaxer.com/2009/11/twenty-years-later-opening-of-berlin.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30617754.post-77674475796238713912009-10-23T08:39:00.000-04:002009-10-23T08:40:47.763-04:00Does Toronto Have to be a Mean City?James Laxerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11177908948911314714noreply@blogger.com5 The best case you can make for a bourgeoisie is that from time to time its members take the lead in launching major developments that benefit a society over the long term. They do it for profits, of course, but on those occasions when people with imagination understand the shape the future could take, their innovations can bestow rewards on themselves and <div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?a=83KOVZYT5rg:Y_ubst8zuMI:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?a=83KOVZYT5rg:Y_ubst8zuMI:63t7Ie-LG7Y"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"></img></a> </div>http://www.jameslaxer.com/2009/10/does-toronto-have-to-be-mean-city.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30617754.post-52400709637865599012009-09-19T16:43:00.000-04:002009-09-19T16:47:42.373-04:00Why did the NDP concede the high ground to the Liberals?James Laxerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11177908948911314714noreply@blogger.com22 For three quarters of a century Canadian social democrats have been working to make their movement and party into a major political force in Canada, a force that can actually compete effectively for power in Ottawa. Never have the conditions for the NDP to move to major party status been more favourable than they are today. (Don’t quote <div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?a=8Mh92jw_RDc:zqmimNdkMdU:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?a=8Mh92jw_RDc:zqmimNdkMdU:63t7Ie-LG7Y"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"></img></a> </div>http://www.jameslaxer.com/2009/09/why-did-ndp-concede-high-ground-to.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30617754.post-62886248261229513062009-09-18T11:33:00.000-04:002009-09-18T11:38:44.749-04:00Jack and Gilles Went up the HillJames Laxerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11177908948911314714noreply@blogger.com11 Anyone who has regard for the Canadian political tradition or the great things we have done together in the past as a nation should avert his or her glance today as the NDP and the Bloc vote to keep the Harper government in office on a confidence motion. There is no glory on this day for anyone. All four parties in the House gain and lose from what is <div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?a=Ai5vVxm_LiU:p8JveWAl4cg:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?a=Ai5vVxm_LiU:p8JveWAl4cg:63t7Ie-LG7Y"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"></img></a> </div>http://www.jameslaxer.com/2009/09/jack-and-gilles-went-up-hill.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30617754.post-70836866014785748022009-09-14T16:20:00.000-04:002009-09-14T16:23:04.132-04:00One Year Into The Financial MaelstromJames Laxerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11177908948911314714noreply@blogger.com4 (Today, U.S. President Barack Obama went to Wall Street to make the case for regulatory reform to govern the operations of the U.S. financial system. This post deals with the financial crisis and its role in the general economic malaise. It is an excerpt from my upcoming book, Beyond the Bubble: Imagining a New Canadian Economy, to be published in a few weeks by Between <div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?a=3y9an8SSiCg:PSD-mmylMx4:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?a=3y9an8SSiCg:PSD-mmylMx4:63t7Ie-LG7Y"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"></img></a> </div>http://www.jameslaxer.com/2009/09/one-year-into-financial-maelstrom_14.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30617754.post-69837719108027321972009-09-13T12:15:00.000-04:002009-09-13T12:20:00.452-04:00The NDP: On the Eve of the CampaignJames Laxerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11177908948911314714noreply@blogger.com9 Jack Layton could be forgiven for thinking that leading a federal political party is all about fighting election campaigns and recovering from them. He is about to lead the NDP into its fourth election in just over five years. Over this difficult half decade, Layton has shown himself to be a formidable political leader, improving the standing of his party in each election,<div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?a=VdypumIFTbs:UJbS3aIHPts:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?a=VdypumIFTbs:UJbS3aIHPts:63t7Ie-LG7Y"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"></img></a> </div>http://www.jameslaxer.com/2009/09/ndp-on-eve-of-campaign.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30617754.post-16340255295220107582009-09-12T09:27:00.000-04:002009-09-12T09:31:22.921-04:00Michael Ignatieff is Mackenzie KingJames Laxerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11177908948911314714noreply@blogger.com8 William Lyon Mackenzie King, the politician who served as prime minister for longer than any other mortal, over 21 years, has returned to offer his services to Canadians once again, this time in the guise of Michael Ignatieff. Perhaps the word “mortal” is ill chosen. WLMK believed in reincarnation and never did anything without consulting a sooth-sayer. He would only <div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?a=s9pUmiKvuHs:DTF05Sexu18:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?a=s9pUmiKvuHs:DTF05Sexu18:63t7Ie-LG7Y"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"></img></a> </div>http://www.jameslaxer.com/2009/09/michael-ignatieff-is-mackenzie-king.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30617754.post-70172169205419628752009-09-11T14:10:00.000-04:002009-09-11T14:12:14.194-04:00Why Stephen Harper is Going to Lose the Upcoming ElectionJames Laxerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11177908948911314714noreply@blogger.com1 Stephen Harper’s Conservative government will go down to defeat in the election that is almost certain to take place this fall for one very solid reason, his party is going to lose too many seats in Ontario and Quebec for it to hang on to power. Whatever pretty pictures the prime minister and his ministers are trying to paint about the economy, Ontario is <div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?a=-nvERpLtiJw:fO3B_SHdOOk:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?a=-nvERpLtiJw:fO3B_SHdOOk:63t7Ie-LG7Y"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"></img></a> </div>http://www.jameslaxer.com/2009/09/why-stephen-harper-is-going-to-lose.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30617754.post-28768336587592439402009-09-10T07:53:00.000-04:002009-09-10T07:59:07.786-04:00In Afghanistan: The War Grinds OnJames Laxerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11177908948911314714noreply@blogger.com8 Seventy years ago today, September 10, 1939, Canada declared war on Nazi Germany. The declaration issued out of a special session of parliament nine days after the Nazi invasion of Poland and one week after Britain and France declared war on Germany. Later during the Second World War, there were further declarations of war against Fascist Italy and Japan. Those <div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?a=zuUW07WIxvE:cmJTIqJfp64:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?a=zuUW07WIxvE:cmJTIqJfp64:63t7Ie-LG7Y"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"></img></a> </div>http://www.jameslaxer.com/2009/09/in-afghanistan-war-grinds-on.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30617754.post-13492284837100975572009-09-09T13:22:00.000-04:002009-09-09T13:24:08.283-04:00The "Health" of the American EmpireJames Laxerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11177908948911314714noreply@blogger.com3 As Barack Obama struggles against the forces of reaction and corporate greed to reform the American health care system, he is not merely seeking improved health care for tens of millions of Americans, he is fighting to make the American Empire affordable. It made seem odd to juxtapose health care and the fate of the American Empire, but the two <div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?a=00tUNjmuCxQ:pE-hAyeshkw:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?a=00tUNjmuCxQ:pE-hAyeshkw:63t7Ie-LG7Y"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"></img></a> </div>http://www.jameslaxer.com/2009/09/health-of-american-empire.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30617754.post-39310499712363584712009-08-10T18:01:00.000-04:002009-08-10T18:02:00.814-04:00The NDP: What’s in a name?James Laxerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11177908948911314714noreply@blogger.com22Once again, there is agitation among some members of the NDP to consider changing the name of the party. At the party’s federal convention in Halifax, August 14-16, delegates will consider dropping the word “new” from the party’s moniker to have it renamed the Democratic Party. Brian Masse, the NDP MP for Windsor West, favours the name change on the ground that the current name is <div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?a=UXbRmGoCuFI:c5BRjAkQc0Y:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?a=UXbRmGoCuFI:c5BRjAkQc0Y:63t7Ie-LG7Y"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"></img></a> </div>http://www.jameslaxer.com/2009/08/ndp-whats-in-name.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30617754.post-32862579834325877472009-07-06T21:22:00.000-04:002009-07-06T21:24:04.693-04:00On the Toronto Civic Workers StrikeJames Laxerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11177908948911314714noreply@blogger.com15It's odd how the strike by 24,000 Toronto civic workers has turned the attitudes of the upper middle classes, business executives, small business lobbyists and conservative politicians upside down. These are the sorts of people who pay civic workers little heed when the garbage is being collected and the daycare centres are operating. They take garbage collection for granted, rarely wondering <div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?a=QG3jCMTj-aQ:iCNmofpLRK8:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?a=QG3jCMTj-aQ:iCNmofpLRK8:63t7Ie-LG7Y"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"></img></a> </div>http://www.jameslaxer.com/2009/07/on-toronto-civic-workers-strike.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30617754.post-65241996595411570612009-06-30T07:22:00.001-04:002009-06-30T07:28:32.922-04:00A Farewell to Atkinson CollegeJames Laxerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11177908948911314714noreply@blogger.com5A great experiment in part-time, adult education is coming to an end tomorrow. Atkinson College at York University, now called the Atkinson Faculty of Liberal and Professional Studies, opened its doors in 1962. While the name Atkinson---after Joseph E. Atkinson, the founder of the Toronto Star---will survive in the form of the Atkinson Centre for Mature and Part-time students (an advocacy body on<div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?a=YVCE94uJyXw:2MugTbQQWr8:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?a=YVCE94uJyXw:2MugTbQQWr8:63t7Ie-LG7Y"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"></img></a> </div>http://www.jameslaxer.com/2009/06/farewell-to-atkinson-college.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30617754.post-33097512091311972112009-06-18T13:16:00.001-04:002009-06-18T13:20:25.151-04:00This Hawk (Michael Ignatieff) Stays TetheredJames Laxerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11177908948911314714noreply@blogger.com9Michael Ignatieff has real trouble distinguishing between rhetoric and reality. At his press outing yesterday, where he explained the deal he had reached with Stephen Harper, he was asked how the unemployed would benefit from the decision of the Liberals and Conservatives to set up a Blue Ribbon panel to study qualifications for Employment Insurance. The panel will report in late September. On <div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?a=yyXw-GjEW1o:pljVz7aS1vE:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?a=yyXw-GjEW1o:pljVz7aS1vE:63t7Ie-LG7Y"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"></img></a> </div>http://www.jameslaxer.com/2009/06/this-hawk-michael-ignatieff-stays.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30617754.post-62411390217265474962009-06-11T10:02:00.000-04:002009-06-11T10:03:47.166-04:00The Future of DemocracyJames Laxerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11177908948911314714noreply@blogger.com1(This is an excerpt from my new book Democracy, published earlier this spring by Groundwood Books.)The appetite for democracy arises not from political theory, but from the tangible needs of millions of people. Above all, democracy is advanced by the success of political movements whose goal is to improve the lives of the majority of the population in a myriad of ways. Democracy establishes the<div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?a=RTdRxfRPPHA:DtOtjlK8PKk:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?a=RTdRxfRPPHA:DtOtjlK8PKk:63t7Ie-LG7Y"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"></img></a> </div>http://www.jameslaxer.com/2009/06/future-of-democracy.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30617754.post-65387136362153758212009-05-07T10:48:00.000-04:002009-05-07T10:51:29.469-04:00On Michael IgnatieffJames Laxerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11177908948911314714noreply@blogger.com7Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff would like Canadians to see him as the next Pierre Trudeau, a man of wisdom and learning who has returned to his native land after decades abroad to play the role of the Lawgiver, the Lycurgus, or the Solon of our age. The day Ignatieff announced that his party would vote in favour of the Harper government’s budget in January, he cut his ties with the <div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?a=iow-Y3EnBio:ocL81C5OTpE:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?a=iow-Y3EnBio:ocL81C5OTpE:63t7Ie-LG7Y"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"></img></a> </div>http://www.jameslaxer.com/2009/05/on-michael-ignatieff.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30617754.post-30410489959380103712009-04-25T09:31:00.000-04:002009-04-25T09:37:21.273-04:00McCain, Napolitano and the myth that the 9/11 terrorists entered the U.S. from CanadaJames Laxerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11177908948911314714noreply@blogger.com8Janet Napolitano, the U.S. Homeland Security Secretary recently informed a CBC interviewer that some of the terrorist-hijackers who carried out the attacks on September 11, 2001 entered the United States from Canada. This week Senator John McCain told Fox News: “Well, some of the 9/11 hijackers did come through Canada as you know.”Canadians, including government officials, journalists and <div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?a=2XNLVOoSke8:oSh-3lkQBwE:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?a=2XNLVOoSke8:oSh-3lkQBwE:63t7Ie-LG7Y"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"></img></a> </div>http://www.jameslaxer.com/2009/04/mccain-napolitano-and-myth-that-911.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30617754.post-54231378422855242262009-04-17T17:40:00.001-04:002009-04-17T17:42:54.870-04:00Canada's Vital Auto Industry: Past, Present and FutureJames Laxerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11177908948911314714noreply@blogger.com6For half a century, the risk of catastrophe has loomed over the auto industry in Canada, those who work in the plants, their families and the communities where they live. Though it was not possible to predict when and in what precise form a transforming crisis would strike, the calamity that has befallen the industry and that threatens its future has been entirely predictable. The critical <div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?a=ABFWOkOA9n0:FHL_VG4Fa70:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?a=ABFWOkOA9n0:FHL_VG4Fa70:63t7Ie-LG7Y"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"></img></a> </div>http://www.jameslaxer.com/2009/04/canadas-vital-auto-industry-past.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30617754.post-40300011218713075652009-04-07T20:38:00.003-04:002009-04-07T20:39:49.578-04:00CBC Television: Where they save the bathwater and throw out the babyJames Laxerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11177908948911314714noreply@blogger.com8I just discovered that CBC television is going to cancel CBC News: Sunday. Damnit! It’s the best public affairs show on the network. Evan Soloman and Carole MacNeil are superb interviewers and broadcasters. They bring freshness and excitement to the big questions that face the country and the world. I look forward to Sunday mornings to watch their documentaries and interviews that re-cast <div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?a=VHaN7kh-dAc:BdbtDRddgV0:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?a=VHaN7kh-dAc:BdbtDRddgV0:63t7Ie-LG7Y"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"></img></a> </div>http://www.jameslaxer.com/2009/04/cbc-television-where-they-save.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30617754.post-57026984122596891212009-04-03T15:05:00.000-04:002009-04-03T15:06:20.687-04:00On Afghanistan: Spare Us the HypocrisyJames Laxerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11177908948911314714noreply@blogger.com6Since the United States launched its invasion of Afghanistan in the aftermath of the terror attacks on New York and Washington D.C. on September 11, 2001, the West has dispatched thousands of soldiers and has spent tens of billions of dollars to secure that unfortunate country. In addition to the young men and women in uniform and the tax dollars, the West has provided an oily propaganda screed <div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?a=VP4WW1roTZM:8fTey38yBkc:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?a=VP4WW1roTZM:8fTey38yBkc:63t7Ie-LG7Y"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"></img></a> </div>http://www.jameslaxer.com/2009/04/on-afghanistan-spare-us-hypocrisy.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30617754.post-23865009274517681792009-03-30T16:13:00.002-04:002009-03-30T16:26:35.287-04:00Is Barack Obama the Bob Rae of the United States?James Laxerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11177908948911314714noreply@blogger.com7It may seem a preposterous proposition but the political perils in the path of Barack Obama are remarkably similar to the hazards that Bob Rae confronted during his years as an NDP premier of Ontario. Obama is in power during a period of deep economic crisis just as Bob Rae was in the early 1990s. Both leaders were swept into office by electorates that wanted to be rid of the old ways<div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?a=fmDL-khsVz8:Sifk8FDQK2U:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?a=fmDL-khsVz8:Sifk8FDQK2U:63t7Ie-LG7Y"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"></img></a> </div>http://www.jameslaxer.com/2009/03/is-barack-obama-bob-rae-of-united.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30617754.post-55997520224383696302009-03-27T14:53:00.001-04:002009-03-27T14:55:55.989-04:00Australia: Canada’s Antipodean TwinJames Laxerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11177908948911314714noreply@blogger.com3Canada’s twin---the two were parted at birth---is Australia. Like all permanently separated twins, living very far apart, the differences between them are enormous. In Australia’s night sky, you see the Southern Cross, which Canadians never see, while Canadians look up at the Great Dipper and the North Star, which is never visible to Australians. In Australia, the sun always moves to the left <div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?a=w2gJCWUjt_o:UxBYdBMI-ak:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?a=w2gJCWUjt_o:UxBYdBMI-ak:63t7Ie-LG7Y"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"></img></a> </div>http://www.jameslaxer.com/2009/03/australia-canadas-antipodean-twin.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30617754.post-23610636241116136542009-03-10T09:48:00.001-04:002009-03-10T09:50:01.994-04:00After the Crash: A Time for New BearingsJames Laxerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11177908948911314714noreply@blogger.com20A world age ended with the Great Crash in the autumn of 2008. We live in a time when technology and science have given people in the rich countries the sense that, serious crises aside, things will go on as before, and life may even improve if technology, science and common sense are permitted to have their way. For Canadians, who last saw their world torn apart, and paid in blood with tens of <div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?a=ieG3ivcNP60:_8xHa4-PFk0:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?a=ieG3ivcNP60:_8xHa4-PFk0:63t7Ie-LG7Y"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"></img></a> </div>http://www.jameslaxer.com/2009/03/after-crash-time-for-new-bearings.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30617754.post-31620422829485717862009-02-07T12:48:00.003-05:002009-02-07T12:51:35.901-05:00New Jobless Numbers Expose the Utter Inadequacy of the Harper BudgetJames Laxerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11177908948911314714noreply@blogger.com8When the terrible Canadian job loss numbers for January came out yesterday, the horror of the economic crisis hit home as it had not before. The Canadian figures were worse than those in the United States. Canada lost 129,000 jobs last month, compared to 598,000 jobs south of the border. Ontario was hit with the loss of another 71,000 jobs. The manufacturing sector is not simply being hit. <div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?a=c19GnrfMc9U:L7rnkyGI2bI:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?a=c19GnrfMc9U:L7rnkyGI2bI:63t7Ie-LG7Y"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"></img></a> </div>http://www.jameslaxer.com/2009/02/new-jobless-numbers-expose-utter.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30617754.post-86067347171160362712009-01-29T16:15:00.001-05:002009-01-29T16:17:03.177-05:00The Liberals and the Road Not TakenJames Laxerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11177908948911314714noreply@blogger.com22In this life, there are times when you have to make fundamental choices. You go one way or you go the other. The Liberal Party had such a choice to make: between the formation of a progressive coalition government with the NDP, or propping up the Harper government. The first choice would have allowed for the presentation of a budget to parliament that really would have offered hope to <div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?a=l1emU2VYbM4:faQG6mtMY2g:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?a=l1emU2VYbM4:faQG6mtMY2g:63t7Ie-LG7Y"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JamesLaxer?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"></img></a> </div>http://www.jameslaxer.com/2009/01/liberals-and-road-not-taken.html