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Jerry West grew up on a farm in California and is currently Editor and Publisher of THE RECORD newspaper in Gold River, BC. Graduate with Honors and graduate school, UC Berkeley. Member, Phi Beta Kappa. Vietnam veteran and Former Sgt. USMC
SHARE Monday, April 27, 2009 There Is No Cornucopia
Does anyone actually believe that society can expand indefinitely and never run out of the resources necessary to sustain it? Such a belief ranks right up there with belief in Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy and a flat Earth.
SHARE Friday, January 29, 2010 The New Feudalism
The future will depend on whether the trend of increasing corporate wealth and power is allowed to continue. If it does, the ideals of freedom and democracy will be replaced with ones emphasizing compliance and loyalty to corporate will. Reversing the trend will require public pressure, a lot of it, to reduce corporate power and increase the power of the individual.
(3 comments) SHARE Tuesday, December 22, 2009 Who Put Christ In The Solstice?
The season that we are celebrating now has deep roots in the history and culture of our species.
(3 comments) SHARE Friday, September 17, 2010 Books Are Not Sacred
Life is sacred, but books and beliefs are not. For rational people in such matters tolerance is the civilized approach.
(5 comments) SHARE Tuesday, September 15, 2009 Tea-baggers Are A Riot
It has been a riot watching the Tea-baggers on the news, and reading stories about them. Tea-baggers, those are the people showing up at the so called tea parties all over the US. They remind me of the Brown Shirts and other manipulated fools in history who got sucked in to doing the dirty work for people who use them, but also look down on them with contempt.
(17 comments) SHARE Wednesday, November 19, 2008 Why The Republicans Lost
The dust hadn't settled on election night before the Republican Party began trying to find someone to blame for their loss.
(8 comments) SHARE Tuesday, December 2, 2008 Who Are The Pirates?
Looking at it from a Somali point of view, who really are the pirates here....
(5 comments) SHARE Tuesday, February 8, 2011 US Extremism Not Surprising
It is plain to all but the most naive that the course of political discourse in the US over the past few years was going to lead to something insane like this shooting, and may still lead to even more.
(3 comments) SHARE Wednesday, February 25, 2009 A Budget For The Rich
The purpose of government is to direct society's wealth. A socially responsible, progressive government directs it to serve the greatest benefit. A conservative government, by nature, directs it to enrich those who already have it.
(2 comments) SHARE Wednesday, September 8, 2010 What Did Tony Blair Expect?
What is worth getting in a fight over is honest government. Being lied to and misled into needless wars and other questionable adventures is not something we should have to accept. Some people do not, as Tony Blair is witnessing first hand.
(5 comments) SHARE Wednesday, January 28, 2009 A Healthy Environment Requires New Economic Model
The governments, their leaders, many economists and commentators who repeat the growth mantra don't get it. The world is in a mess because of too much growth.
(14 comments) SHARE Tuesday, April 6, 2010 Teabaggers: Go Figure
In the US the neo-conservatives are being taken over by what has become known as the Teabaggers, those who are part of Dick Armey's Tea Party. These Teabaggers do not like way the government in DC operates. They do not like lobbyists. Of course Dick Armey, the retired House Majority Leader, is now a lobbyist. Go figure.
(2 comments) SHARE Friday, October 23, 2009 A Society Beyond The Limit
The bio-diversity of our environment which supports us is being destroyed to accommodate our increasing population and fixation on growth. Our food supply has been industrialized and no longer produces the same healthy food that our ancestors ate.... And the economic pattern that has emerged is putting most of us at the mercy of a few wealthy interests who control the production of food and manufactured goods.
SHARE Sunday, November 22, 2009 A Fish Story
What remains to be seen is if the government has the ability to follow science and do the right thing, or if it will play politics with our fishery to protect the interests of those who profit from over exploiting it.
(1 comments) SHARE Sunday, November 15, 2009 The Propaganda of War
What we should remember most of all on November 11 every year is the terrible waste of life that wars bring, and our failure to avoid them.
(2 comments) SHARE Saturday, July 7, 2007 Global Sustainability Requires Balance
Our ecological predicament, including waning agriculture and climate change, is one caused by too much demand on our system. We are beyond the limits of sustainability and need to regroup. Adopting improved technologies and more efficient practices will help some, but it won't be enough in the long run.
(1 comments) SHARE Saturday, April 23, 2011 Taxes - Choosing How To Be Gored
The HST referendum is the interesting one as the public gets to make a direct decision on something, rather than pick which bag of promises looks better. Unfortunately the decision is limited, and the public only gets to choose between which kind of goring it would prefer.
(1 comments) SHARE Wednesday, February 10, 2010 Entertainment Will Not Save Us
The planet that we live on has evolved an intricate web of life forms that make existence as we know it possible. That web depends on a wide diversity of biological organisms to function the way that it does. As the mix of flora and fauna that comprises the web changes, every thing is affected, including humans. There is nothing more important to us than protecting that web, yet we constantly fail to do it.
SHARE Thursday, November 4, 2010 Solving The Problem of Biodiversity
First and foremost building a sustainable society means developing new systems based on the fact that resources are limited and unlimited growth is a cancer.
SHARE Sunday, September 19, 2010 Political Smoke and Mirrors
We have real problems being evaded by smoke and mirrors for political purposes. Sadly many are taken in by the illusions presented.
(3 comments) SHARE Tuesday, February 10, 2009 It Is Time To Abandon Growth
We have no choice if we wish to solve the problems that now face us, other than to abandon the idea of growth and reduce our demands on the environment until we reach a point that can be sustainably maintained.
(3 comments) SHARE Saturday, January 12, 2008 Haves and Have Nots
Given the trend in economic development the past thirty years it is no wonder that people are starting to question the power of corporations. A wide gap is opening between the few who control the world with their accumulated wealth and the vast majority of us who are losing ground.
(1 comments) SHARE Thursday, May 6, 2010 Climate Change Smoke And Mirrors
The climate problem is not the main problem. It is only a symptom of a much more serious one.
(3 comments) SHARE Wednesday, March 11, 2009 Soldiers Deserve More Than Condolences
This is not a war being well fought, nor one that serves Canada's best interest. Canadians who are dying there are doing so in vain, and they deserve better than condolent press releases.
SHARE Wednesday, September 5, 2007 The Global Warming Farce
What is the farce here is the response to the problem. Global warming, corporate profits and our extravagant modern lifestyle all go hand in hand.
SHARE Saturday, December 19, 2009 Copenhagen Climate Circus
The aim of the conference is allegedly to deal with global climate change, the aim of the protestors is to demand that this be done effectively. In the bigger scheme of things they are all wasting their time.
(4 comments) SHARE Sunday, November 9, 2008 Lest We Forget
As we observe this Remembrance Day no doubt we will hear messages telling us to support the troops. We should do that, and we should also remember that supporting the troops is not the same as supporting a war. In fact the two are usually opposed to one another.
(3 comments) SHARE Tuesday, January 13, 2009 Will Obama Change Much?
The coming Obama era gives many Americans hope for something better. However, if he sticks with outmoded economic thinking and clings to the country's imperialist policies, the real needed changes will not be forthcoming.
SHARE Wednesday, July 28, 2010 Sustainability Means Consume Less
The conditions that have supported humans historically are dependent upon a loop of sustainability that provides a certain amount renewable resources through a widely bio-diverse web. When over consumption degrades those resources and bio-diversity shrinks, their provision is not sustainable and the conditions are changed, and if changed enough, they cease to support certain forms of life.
SHARE Thursday, May 7, 2009 Path To A Better Future
The truth is that we can not continue to expand, increasing our numbers and our collective demands on the system, and hope to make things better. A better future requires that we shift from a mind set of growth to one of reversal of growth. Anything else is futile.
SHARE Wednesday, June 30, 2010 Needed: A Just Accommodation
Unlike the old world, however, if the things that were fought for in World War Two, and put into charters and conventions thereafter, mean anything, the people who have been terrorized and displaced by Israel deserve justice just as much as Israel deserves to survive. They do not deserve what is happening to them.
SHARE Thursday, January 11, 2007 Justice Denied
Comment on Saddam execution with historical background on US involvement with Saddam from 1958.
(4 comments) SHARE Tuesday, June 24, 2008 Carbon Shell Game
The new BC carbon tax takes effect July 1.... The question to be asking here is why employ a tax to solve this problem in the first place?
SHARE Wednesday, March 17, 2010 A Decent Future Requires Balance
There is no escaping the fact that if we do not bring back balance to the planet's ecosystem the grandchildren of our grandchildren will have a world that no sane person would wish on anyone, if they have a world at all.
(1 comments) SHARE Thursday, August 30, 2007 Elvis Fruitcakes, NASCAR Nuts and Creationist Crazies
Elvis fruitcakes, NASCAR nuts and creationist crazies, if nothing else, provide a rich fodder for social commentators. Too bad that they also vote. It may help explain why we get such bad governments.
SHARE Wednesday, October 22, 2008 Elections North and South
The Canadian election drew one of its smallest turnouts in history. Meanwhile, south of the border the election soap opera continues.
SHARE Friday, January 22, 2010 Looking Forward
Looking at the year past there are two things that dominate and show us where the future is most likely headed. Those things are the problems with the environment and the so called War On Terror, or whatever they are renaming it now.
SHARE Tuesday, May 27, 2008 A System Controlled By Profits
So, what do acid oceans, pending doom for krill, the BC Chamber of Commerce, and the BC government have in common?
SHARE Monday, May 19, 2008 Focusing On A Symptom Instead of The Problem
If we are to maintain our civilization as we have developed it over the past ten thousand years, we need to change our thinking about economics and population
SHARE Saturday, December 1, 2007 Pretending To Address The Environment
Perhaps getting government and industry to publicly recognize that growth is a cause of the problem is the first step.
SHARE Saturday, February 27, 2010 Outdated Thinking Imperils Our Future
Everyone needs to be supported, but convincing people to
destroy the future of their descendants to get that support is
not a sensible way to do it.
SHARE Wednesday, July 18, 2007 Squandering Resources on War
The record of western powers invading and occupying Afghanistan has been one of one western defeat after another. It is probably a pipe dream to imagine that this occupation will turn out any better.
SHARE Saturday, December 1, 2007 Climate Change A Cost of Doing Business
One must ask, do the governing parties see climbing death rates and the possible collapse of society as we know it as just a cost of doing business?
(2 comments) SHARE Thursday, February 21, 2008 Carbon Tax Charade
Environmental organizations, for the most part, understand what the problem is, but don't have the guts to push for real solutions. A case in point is the government's proposal for a carbon tax.
SHARE Wednesday, February 13, 2008 Use Foreign Policy To Advance International Law
Canada is party to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Geneva Convention, and the International Criminal Court. These are important documents that set the parameters for a fairer and more humane world. Canadians should be asking their MPs and other officials why we do not adhere strictly to these agreements, and why do we ally with and support countries that either refuse to sign them or sign, then ignore them?