· · ·

Is Carney a conservative?

ByDoug Anderson Canada, Government Policy, Personality, Politics

Why would the Ontario NDP Deputy Leader join the federal Liberals?

Doug Anderson

Feb 15, 2026

The media has changed since I was the publisher of the local newspaper – that was in the 1990s before the internet and social media. It used to be that the vast majority of journalists worked for media outlets such a newspapers, radio and TV and while those enterprises may have had a point of view and may have put more emphasis on some stories than others, generally there were standards – truth was important and sources needed to be checked.

But that has changed- newspapers began to consolidate into conglomerates and their owners began to control the tone of their papers – some stories got emphasis, others were suppressed or even eliminated. Many are now exclusively on line where readers can select the stories they want and ignore the rest. In some cases … More

Armchair Generals and War Games

ByDoug Anderson International Relations

… where Netanyahu is the puppet master

Doug Anderson

Mar 03, 2026

Benjamin Netanyahu has once again called on big brother Trump to go beat up the bully that Bibi doesn’t like.

Just last year he called on Trump to fly a bomber all the way from North America to Iran to drop a bunch of bombs on what he said was their uranium enrichment facility. They said it was a phenomenal success – that the facility was ‘obliterated’. Well, was it?

We really don’t know because we are relying on (probably) Israeli intelligence – which can be incredibly accurate at times but is also capable of spinning any scenario they like if it suits their purpose – as we have seen many times in the last few years in Gaza. And right now Israel wants to grind Iran into the ground.

But regardless of the reality, Netanyahu was telling … More

·

The media, Transparency and Bias

ByDoug Anderson Canada, Media, Communications

The truth is out there!

Doug Anderson

Feb 08, 2026

I like old books and many years ago I acquired a rather banged-up copy of “The Story of Louis Riel” published in 1885 which happens to be the year of his second rebellion. It was written somewhat anonymously by a Toronto newspaper writer for the anglophone protestant market and it played into the narrative that they wanted to hear. Tensions were pretty hot in Canada at the time and this volume fanned the flames. The bulk of it was an entirely made up ‘romance’ narrative that Riel and Thomas Scott were both in love with the same girl and having Scott executed … well you get the picture – pure fiction. It went into a 2nd edition within the year.

If you look at media accounts of anything in that period you find blatant bias throughout. Bias is not a … More

· · ·

Our obsession with clean

ByDoug Anderson Evolution, Health, Lateral Thinking, Paradigm Shift

Why it’s making us less healthy

Doug Anderson

Jan 25, 2026

In the 70s and 80s I was a microbiologist and chief lab technologist in the local hospital

Throughout eons of evolution, from the lowly earthworm to the present, we’ve had a close association with dirt – which is home to millions of bacteria, moulds, etc. (Earthworms are essential for turning that dirt into the soil that sustains the plants which feed us.) Up until a few centuries ago, we didn’t know any of this but those microorganisms were and are essential to our existence. As with all animals cleanliness was not something that concerned us.

We didn’t have soap, we didn’t take showers … and we survived and multiplied.

(Archaeological research indicates that some early soaps appeared about 3,000 years ago but there is little evidence that it was in common use until relatively recently.)

We learned that there … More

·

Financing the United Nations

ByDoug Anderson International Relations, Money

Towards a formula which is dependable and politics proof

Doug Anderson

Jan 18, 2026

The United Nations has numerous problems but all have been exacerbated by financial considerations. Every member is supposed to pay its “mandatory assessed contributions” which are calculated by a complicated formula based on the country’s gross national income, population size and external debt, among other factors.

The problem is that not all countries pay up when they should and some withhold their payments as a way of expressing their displeasure with the decisions made and/or actions taken by the UN.

The UN budget for 2025 was $3.72 billion plus peacekeeping which is a separate budget of $5.38 billion. The United States and China have by far the highest dues which together cover more than 40% of the UN budget.

Over the last two years the United States has an accumulated debt of $3.86 billion, China … More

· ·

… like a 10-year old kid with the hottest new Video Game … except this was real

ByDoug Anderson International Relations, Media, Communications, Politics

Who’s next?

Doug Anderson

Jan 04, 2026

I can picture it – a dimly lit room at Mar-a-lago, locked doors, numerous large video screens around the walls, with Trump, his senior generals and other minions watching the invasion of Venezuela with giddy anticipation. The extraction was swift and successful – no Americans lost. (But an estimated 40 Venezuelans killed and a lot of damage to infrastructure).

I’m sure the testosterone was flowing at a fever pitch. Even the perp-walk in New York was staged as a victory lap for the TV networks with motorcades, flashing lights and armoured cars.

But that’s the easy part. Now that he’s in New York, the lawyers will have to prosecute him and that’s hardly a slam dunk. Maduro will claim immunity on a number of grounds all of which will be litigated, quite possibly right up to the Supreme Court. And then there’s the … More

Christmas in Canada

ByDoug Anderson Uncategorized

A time of Joy and Thankfulness

Doug Anderson

Dec 21, 2025

For Christmas, let’s put the world’s problems aside for at least a few days. Here is a brief passage from perhaps the most enduring book ever written in Canada – Anne of Green Gables.

Christmas morning broke on a beautiful white world. It had been a very mild December and people had looked forward to a green Christmas; but just enough snow fell softly in the night to transfigure Avonlea. Anne peeped out from her frosted gable window with delighted eyes. The firs in the Haunted Wood were all feathery and wonderful; the birches and wild cherry trees were outlined in pearl; the plowed fields were stretches of snowy dimples; and there was a crisp tang in the air that was glorious. Anne ran downstairs singing until her voice reechoed through Green Gables.

“Merry Christmas, Marilla! Merry Christmas, Matthew!

… More
· · ·

Imagine a World at peace – without the Security Council Veto

ByDoug Anderson Canada, Government Policy, International Relations, Politics

It could happen – a brave contingent of UN members have launched an effort to implement Article 109

Doug Anderson

Dec 07, 2025

We live in precarious times … not unlike the early 1960s when the cold war was at its peak. The Cuban missile crisis was 1962; The Cold War was at its height and Viet Nam was brewing.

Not unlike today.

In the early 60s while I was in high school, I was president of the World Affairs Club at my school and like 60-70 other high schools in Toronto we were participating in a model United Nations. Each school represented a different country. We met every Sunday to discuss/debate the issues of the day. I still have my copy of the UN charter.

Back then the UN was only a decade and a half old, but already it was clear that the Security Council veto was … More

· · ·

The MOU

ByDoug Anderson Canada, Government Policy, Media, Communications, Politics

The charade and the pipeline

Doug Anderson

Nov 29, 2025

Last week I wrote a piece that said the Carney would avoid saying “NO” to a pipeline – that he would leave the decision to the Major Projects process and that as a result of that review, no pipeline was likely to ever get built. Having read the MOU that Carney signed with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, I stand by that assessment although not too many people agree with me.

As I’ve said before, Carney is an introvert and play the long game. He wanted to get Alberta onside with a number of environmental objectives and this MOU achieves much of that including some specific emission goals and timelines.

The Federal government acknowledges “Alberta’s approach to regulating heavy electricity generation emitters through Alberta’s Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction (TIER) program.” “The TIER system will ramp up to a minimum … More

· ·

Truth matters

ByDoug Anderson Crime & Punishment, Media, Communications, Money

Coping in a post-truth world

Doug Anderson

Nov 08, 2025

Like all of you I get dozens of scam phone calls and emails every day. Very annoying. But, like most of you, I’m pretty good at figuring out what’s real and what’s not. Most of them are phishing for information that they can use later to go after your bank account, max out your credit cards or sell on the dark web.

But we’re not the target of these scams. They’re aimed at the handful of people who for one reason or another are vulnerable – people who aren’t careful, people who are gullible or perhaps the person who’s just had a bad day and isn’t thinking straight. Such people are generally the most financially vulnerable and least able to afford being scammed. In 2021 it was estimated that such scams raked in $50 Billion in the United States. That’s … More