Columnists

Gwynne Dyer. File photo

Afghanistan: The recycled wars

Gynne Dyer column

Gwynne Dyer. File photo
Gwynne Dyer. Trail Times file

The conquest of Mexico: Some history is inevitable

Friday, Aug. 13, is the 500th anniversary of the Spanish conquest of…

  • Aug 12, 2021
Gwynne Dyer. Trail Times file
The Red Dress Project aims to honour the memory of Canada’s missing and murdered indigenous women and girls. (Vancouver Island University photo)

COLUMN: Reflections on Indigenous poeples

Submitted by Robert Macrae After the release of the Royal Commission on…

  • Aug 6, 2021
The Red Dress Project aims to honour the memory of Canada’s missing and murdered indigenous women and girls. (Vancouver Island University photo)
(Black Press Media file)

Hard-pressed to acknowledge the truth

Submitted by Robert Macrae I recently read a comment by a wise…

  • Jul 24, 2021
(Black Press Media file)
A motorhome sits amid the burnt debris in the Village of Lytton, B.C. on Friday, July 9, 2021 following a massive wildfire that tore through the town destroying 90 per cent of it. (Jenna Hauck/ Black Press Media)

OPINION: The Village of Lytton turned to ashes in moments

‘We drive by piles of ash and crumbled brick. What used to be there?’ writes Jenna Hauck

A motorhome sits amid the burnt debris in the Village of Lytton, B.C. on Friday, July 9, 2021 following a massive wildfire that tore through the town destroying 90 per cent of it. (Jenna Hauck/ Black Press Media)
A map created by the Ministry of Forests shows the activity of the Bea Fire in Beaverdell, B.C. in 1989, including one house in particular (at bottom right) that was nearly completely surrounded by flames. (Ministry of Forests)

COLUMN: Looking back on historic fire that nearly destroyed a B.C. town

Enormous firefighting effort saved Beaverdell from destruction in 1989

A map created by the Ministry of Forests shows the activity of the Bea Fire in Beaverdell, B.C. in 1989, including one house in particular (at bottom right) that was nearly completely surrounded by flames. (Ministry of Forests)
Gwynne Dyer. Trail Times file

Vaccines for the world: Charity or self-interest?

Gwynne Dyer’s new book is ‘Growing Pains: The Future of Democracy (and Work).’

  • Jun 24, 2021
Gwynne Dyer. Trail Times file
Debris is seen from an Ukrainian plane which crashed as authorities work at the scene in Shahedshahr, southwest of the capital Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, Ebrahim Noroozi

Guest Column: Stay crazy

The question of peace in a world with rising tensions

  • Jun 10, 2021
Debris is seen from an Ukrainian plane which crashed as authorities work at the scene in Shahedshahr, southwest of the capital Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, Ebrahim Noroozi
Smoke from wildfires burning in the U.S. fills the air as the Grouse Mountain tram transports people down the mountain, in North Vancouver, B.C,, on Saturday, September 12, 2020. The World Air Quality Index, a non-profit that tracks air quality from monitoring stations around the world, rated Vancouver’s air quality as the second worst in the world Saturday. Environment Canada has issued a special air quality statement for Metro Vancouver, showing a very high risk to health due to wildfire smoke from Washington and Oregon. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Prepare for the worst: 10 steps to get ready for wildfire smoke

The summer of 2021 has the potential to be worse than any wildfire season before it

Smoke from wildfires burning in the U.S. fills the air as the Grouse Mountain tram transports people down the mountain, in North Vancouver, B.C,, on Saturday, September 12, 2020. The World Air Quality Index, a non-profit that tracks air quality from monitoring stations around the world, rated Vancouver’s air quality as the second worst in the world Saturday. Environment Canada has issued a special air quality statement for Metro Vancouver, showing a very high risk to health due to wildfire smoke from Washington and Oregon. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
A queen bee at Swan Lake Christmas Hill Nature Sanctuary. (Swan Lake Christmas Hill Nature Sanctuary photo)

Bee crazy: Keep nature messy and wild in spring

Think twice about cleaning your yard this year

A queen bee at Swan Lake Christmas Hill Nature Sanctuary. (Swan Lake Christmas Hill Nature Sanctuary photo)
British Columbia Premier John Horgan highlights a paragraph as Finance Minister Selina Robinson tables the budget in a speech in the legislative assembly at the provincial legislature in Victoria, Tuesday, April 20, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito

FINLAYSON: 3 takeaways from the new B.C. budget

‘Perhaps most notable is what’s happened in the labour market since last spring’

  • May 10, 2021
British Columbia Premier John Horgan highlights a paragraph as Finance Minister Selina Robinson tables the budget in a speech in the legislative assembly at the provincial legislature in Victoria, Tuesday, April 20, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito
Medical staff is shown preparing a patient outside a hospital in New Delhi. From the start of the pandemic, there have been 19.9 million cases of COVID-19 reported in India until May 3, 2021. 16.3 million have recovered, and there have been 219,000 deaths. (Photo submitted by Vivek)

Column: Let’s uplift the heroes in India’s battle against COVID-19

India reported over 360,000 infections on Monday, May 3

Medical staff is shown preparing a patient outside a hospital in New Delhi. From the start of the pandemic, there have been 19.9 million cases of COVID-19 reported in India until May 3, 2021. 16.3 million have recovered, and there have been 219,000 deaths. (Photo submitted by Vivek)
Chronicle Editor, Cole Schisler taking part in the ageing senses challenge. (Kara Olson photo)

Schisler: Try actually walking a mile in an elder’s shoes

Workday spent with artificially aged senses a real eye-opener

Chronicle Editor, Cole Schisler taking part in the ageing senses challenge. (Kara Olson photo)
On its sunny summer day in 2016, Scotland generated more electricity from wind than it consumed. (Unsplash photo)

Reminding us of humanity’s social gestalt

It’s only when we behave like wolves, for the common good of the pack, that we flatten the curve, expand bubbles, re-establish communities, relieve mental health and achieve social gestalt.

  • Mar 27, 2021
On its sunny summer day in 2016, Scotland generated more electricity from wind than it consumed. (Unsplash photo)
Gwynne Dyer. File photo

Netanyahu’s endless quest

Submitted by Gwynne Dyer Israelis will vote in their fourth election in…

  • Mar 25, 2021
Gwynne Dyer. File photo
A nurse prepares to vaccinate healthcare workers at a COVID-19 drive-thru immunization site in Coquitlam in this image supplied to the media by Fraser Health on March 8, 2021. (Fraser Health)

OPINION: Helping a 97-year-old man get his COVID vaccination appointment

Call centre inundated with 1.7 million calls while there are just 50,000 folks over 90 in B.C.

A nurse prepares to vaccinate healthcare workers at a COVID-19 drive-thru immunization site in Coquitlam in this image supplied to the media by Fraser Health on March 8, 2021. (Fraser Health)
Pink Shirt Day’s anti-bullying messaging on Feb. 24 should be understood every day of the year. (Contributed)

COLUMN: Millennial’s guide to online trolls, bullies

Messages of Pink Shirt Day should be front of mind all year long, especially online

Pink Shirt Day’s anti-bullying messaging on Feb. 24 should be understood every day of the year. (Contributed)
Gwynne Dyer. Trail Times file

Khashoggi and the gang who couldn’t shoot straight

If Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto ruler of Saudi…

  • Mar 4, 2021
Gwynne Dyer. Trail Times file
FILE - In this Friday, Jan 1, 2021 file photo, a lorry driver's documents are scanned on a phone as he passes a checkpoint for the train through the Eurotunnel link with Europe in Folkestone, England. One month after Britain made a New Year split from the European Union's economic embrace, businesses that once traded freely are getting used to frustrating checks, delays and red tape. Meat exporters say shipments have rotted in trucks awaiting European health checks. Scottish fishermen have protested at Parliament over the catch they can no longer sell to the continent because of byzantine new paperwork. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein, File)

FINLAYSON: Government should focus on strengthening B.C.’s leading export industries

To revive the economy, this piece in the strategy is integral, writes Jock Finlayson

  • Mar 1, 2021
FILE - In this Friday, Jan 1, 2021 file photo, a lorry driver's documents are scanned on a phone as he passes a checkpoint for the train through the Eurotunnel link with Europe in Folkestone, England. One month after Britain made a New Year split from the European Union's economic embrace, businesses that once traded freely are getting used to frustrating checks, delays and red tape. Meat exporters say shipments have rotted in trucks awaiting European health checks. Scottish fishermen have protested at Parliament over the catch they can no longer sell to the continent because of byzantine new paperwork. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein, File)
Robert Macrae, Selkirk College

Biotech: Is it science or sorcery?

Submitted by Robert M. Macrae COVID-19 is a highly contagious viral disease…

  • Feb 25, 2021
Robert Macrae, Selkirk College