by Donna Sinclair My book club was discussing Malcolm Gladwell’s David and Goliath. It appears that young David won their famous battle because he understood and exploited his huge opponent’s glaring vulnerabilities. Contrary to centuries of story-telling, David only seemed to be at a disadvantage. In reality, Gladwell tells us, Goliath was just “too big […]

 by Susan McCaslin This posting originally appeared on The Vancouver Sun’s website at http://www.vancouversun.com. There has been much recent public debate about whether provincial law societies should recognize proposed law degrees issued by Trinity Western University, a private evangelical institution in Langley.The issue revolves around what I see asTWU’s clearly discriminatory “community covenant,” which students […]

by Susan McCaslin Some serious teacher bashing is going on in British Columbia right now. Shelly Fralic, a journalist for the Vancouver Sun, recently exploited her personal issue of teachers parking their vehicles on a public street in front of her house as a means of arousing hatred against teachers for their “sense of entitlement.”¹ […]

by Don Murray As we look around the world today, we can easily become depressed with all the dire happenings that degrade and threaten human life and the welfare of the planet. Governments, obsessed with power, disregard the welfare of their people. Corporations, clouded by greed, continue to pollute the environment, poison us with all […]

by Donna Sinclair I was raised, in the 1940s, to be polite. I was a good child, obedient for the most part, and well-mannered. When I tested raising my voice a bit in the late 1950s, my peers suggested I might want to stop being so loud or I would never get a boyfriend. I […]

by Donna Sinclair When the National Energy Board informed me last May that I was not allowed to write them a letter about Enbridge’s Line 9 pipeline, I was shocked.  I shouldn’t have been. According to author Andrew Nikiforuk, “Oil hinders democracy.” And the Board’s refusal to allow me to comment on Enbridge’s plan to […]

by Susan McCaslin Lately I’ve been learning how to see the “enemy” as a potential friend who might not be so “other” as first assumed. I became involved recently in a local grassroots effort to save an endangered mature rainforest near my home in British Columbia – a 25-acre parcel of land filled with western […]

by Donna Sinclair When social justice types run out of new ways to make our voices heard, we can always fall back on writing letters. I like this approach. It gives me a chance to do research and offers the recipient a chance to read and reflect on my argument carefully. Well we could always […]

Each week, we bring you interesting stories from around the web. Here’s what caught our eye this week! WEATHER A New Kind of Cloud? Say Hello to the Undulatus Asperatus The UK-based Cloud Appreciation Society (CAS) has been documenting and showcasing various member-submitted cloud photos online since 2005. Most recently, the CAS is trying to […]

by Donna Sinclair When my friend lowered her teacup and said, off handedly, “Are you coming to the public meeting about a casino?” I sputtered into my own tea. I had heard about the provincial government’s offer of a casino for our city, and I had already made up my mind. I disapproved. But I […]