Totalitarian societies such as China require conformity and loyalty, not independence of thought
One of the most notable features of Nazi Germany was its anti-intellectualism. While it claimed to be at the forefront of scientific and technical advances, its ideology and totalitarian rule made free enquiry and interchange between scientists and other technical people untenable. Researchers became wary of making bold assertions, even when backed by solid evidence…
Interest rates will rise dramatically to compensate financial institutions with effects lasting for years
It’s not entirely clear whether the Canadian and the global economies are heading for a new inflationary era. It may turn out that inflation is not only elevated from recent negligible levels, but escalates, steadily at first, and then dramatically, as it did in the 1960s until the early 1980s. If it does, the havoc…
The rich put their earnings into new ideas, venture capital funds and angel investments
There has been increasing clamour from some circles to impose a wealth tax upon Canadians. The usual government-expanding social ‘democratic’ pressure and interest groups are especially enthused by the idea. They also claim it’s popular among the public. A one-time tax of three per cent on individuals with wealth above $10 million and five per cent…
Things are changing faster, and for the better, than radical environmentalists recognize or acknowledge
A recent Globe and Mail story about a firm developing garbage-to-biodiesel technology shows how continuing progress makes the global warming extremists’ most hysterically apocalyptic predictions, and their extreme absolutist ‘solutions,’ not only grossly wrong but already likely obsolete. In the case of the company profiled, Cielo Waste Solutions Corp. is able to transform not just…
Big infrastructure plans in Canada, the United States and the European Union place a lot of emphasis on renewable energy displacing coal, gas and petroleum. Yet little attention is given to the one vital element that makes all these ‘green’ energy transition plans for power plants and vehicles viable: practical and affordable energy storage. Solar…
Decoupling will be difficult and costly, but is a necessity
Several factors have induced Western governments and the firms they preside over to find substitute supply chains for the China-dominant ones they depend on. These factors include growing public revulsion at the repressive and persecutory policies the Chinese Communist Party has for its ethnic, religious and other minorities or critics; the increasingly aggressive expansionary moves…
Rising prices may be increasing their allure but there are considerable risks
The value of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum and others recently hit new record highs, in the thousands of dollars per unit. This escalation has attracted more speculators, further boosting prices over the past several months. Much of this is the result of investors fearing they will miss out on a chance to profit. While…
Centerra is being held hostage by Kyrgyzstan but, fortunately, it is no longer part of a Crown corporation so taxpayers aren't on the hook
Centerra, a mid-size Canadian gold-mining company, is engaged in a legal and political dispute with the government of Kyrgyzstan, a former Soviet republic in Central Asia with a chronically unstable and fractious political class and culture. Its main asset, the Kumtor mine, is in that troubled land and the source of roughly half of its…
The regulatory environment in Canada makes foreign expansion not only more attractive but necessary to avoid stagnation or decline
A bidding war erupted recently between Canada’s two mammoth and historic railways, Canadian National (CN) and archrival Canadian Pacific (CP), for the American railroad Kansas City Southern (KCS). KCS ultimately accepted CN’s US$30-billion bid after scrapping CP’s US$33.6-billion offer. This is all about KCS’s mid-American location and its extensive network in Mexico, where there’s considerable…
The observers of these phenomena are sober professionals who seek to understand what it is that has been detected and recorded
The venerable television program 60 Minutes aired a segment recently focused on a topic that has been examined before, but not with the same widespread receptivity and credibility. It had to do with UAPs. And the Pentagon, directed by the United States Congress, recently released its file on UAPs, or unidentified aerial phenomena. These sightings…
One of the most notable features of Nazi Germany was its anti-intellectualism. While it claimed to be at the forefront of scientific and technical advances, its ideology and totalitarian rule made free enquiry and interchange between scientists and other technical people untenable. Researchers became wary of making bold assertions, even when backed by solid evidence…
