Opinion

Because of a belief that food should go into one’s mouth with a minimum of noise and backsplash, I tried to instil in my children some basic table manners. “What if you had the opportunity to dine with the Queen?” I told them.

The future of authentic democracy in Turkey could very well be at risk on Sunday.

It was clearly a moment of triumph for Premier Christy Clark and her government. The six-week strike at Port Metro Vancouver that only showed signs of getting worse instead came to a peaceful end over the course of Wednesday.

We had a recent shock here in Port Alberni, quite unlike the one that occurred 50 years ago when the great tsunami entered our inlet destroying many homes and businesses, yet sparing all lives.

The quest for the key to immortality takes different forms in every century, but the common element is that it’s said to be always “just around the corner.

The federal government’s recent announcement of new $14-billion Building Canada Fund brings Ottawa’s total 10-year national infrastructure commitment to $70 billion, the largest in Canadian history.

In the last decade, the B.C. government has churned out 180 news releases that refer to earthquakes in some fashion. Some are just peripheral mentions, such as how to donate at liquor stores to quake victims elsewhere in the world.

There is nothing like an election to bring out the optimistic side in people — and some mythmaking.

Update, Sept. 30, 2014: Derek Low uses his airline points (a lot of them) to fly superduper first class on Singapore Airlines, which offers compartments furnished with a double bed. Yes, a double bed. Plus plenty of good food. And many other things.

There's nothing like the Olympic Games to make me power up stairs harder, win sprint faster, lift longer, burpee better, spin stronger, etc. etc. etc.