When it comes to social (or “public” or “subsidized”) housing, Vienna really seems to have its act together. I am tempted to present this information as though I’ve long been an admirer of the social housing of Vienna, but the truth is, I hadn’t realized it was a claim toRead More

It’s Stockholm, 14 December, 1992, and Russian Foreign Minister Andrei V. Kozyrev has begun to address over 50 of his counterparts at a summit meeting of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE), an institution widely considered instrumental in helping end the Cold War. Just two years afterRead More

“There was no shortage of resources to avoid the tragedy of a Famine. … Instead, the government pursued the objective of economic, social and agrarian reform as a long-term aim, although the price paid for this ultimately elusive goal was privation, disease, emigration, mortality and an enduring legacy of disenchantment.”–Read More

I‘ve been learning about Appalachia (beginning with how to pronounce it) through a variety of means lately and what keeps jumping out at me are the similarities between that region and our own (by which I mean, variously, Cape Breton, the Maritimes and the Atlantic Provinces). These similarities include theRead More

I’ve been meaning to discuss District 1 Councilor Gordon MacDonald’s attempt to get CBRM council to pass a motion in support of paid sick days since he first made it at the February 23 council meeting but I haven’t been able to do the necessary research until this week. MacDonaldRead More

Wen Mr Clevver wuz Big Man…they had evere thing clevver. — Russell Hoban, Riddley Walker    Last month, I explored the potential political impact of a newly-commissioned study by the American National Academies of Sciences on the environmental effects of nuclear war. This month, I turn to a recently-concluded study intoRead More

It’s Tuesday morning as I write and the digital “front page” of our local daily contains the following stories: Cape Breton Regional Police investigating stolen vehicle in Sydney Mines Police investigating two separate property damage incidents at hospice site in Membertou Cape Breton police asking for help in solving NeedsRead More

“We now send greetings and thanks to our eldest Brother, the Sun. Each day without fail he travels the sky from east to west, bringing the light of a new day. He is the source of all the fires of life…” — From Greetings to the Natural World, the ThanksgivingRead More

For thousands of years, the diverse marine life in the southern part of the Gulf of St. Lawrence prospered as the waters of the Atlantic Ocean mixed with those of the Gulf. The ebb and flow of huge volumes of salt water brought food and myriad whales, fish, lobster, crabRead More

If you follow CBRM politics, are on social media or hold local elected office, you probably know the name Rod Gale. The South Bar resident (who has written for this publication in the past) doesn’t hesitate to share his thoughts, especially on matters about which he’s passionate — like poverty.Read More