Morsi’s brave initiative
Egypt and Iran have barely been on speaking terms for some time. An Egyptian leader hasn’t visited Tehran since the Islamic revolution in 1979. But new president Mohamed Morsi intends…
Bill Longstaff
Muslim clerics rally to protect Christian girl
Pakistan is so saturated with Muslim fanaticism that hearing about a host of clerics joining hands with leaders of other faiths to strike a blow for justice is refreshing indeed.…
What would Huck Finn have said?
My favourite book in childhood, and I was an avid reader, was Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Rafting down the mighty Mississippi from adventure to adventure was as romantic…
Dying for your country in anonymity
According to Wikipedia, 158 Canadian Forces personnel have been killed in the Afghan war since 2002. Their ultimate sacrifice has been widely recognized, honoured and commemorated—individually and collectively—and will continue…
Is our federal government anti-worker?
Among other unwarranted assaults, the 2012 federal budget took a shot at working people. It introduced rules which will require most EI claimants to accept jobs at much lower wages…
Funny picture of the day—Julian Assange’s personal patrol
Below is a Sang Tan/Associated Press photo of policemen hanging out at the Ecuadorian embassy in London. The occasion is Julian Assange’s presence within. As the whole world knows, Ecuador…
Europe’s shrinking economy—bad news or good?
Once again the news of a shrinking economy leaves me with mixed feelings. According to the CBC, the economy of the European Union shrank by 0.2 per cent in the…
Good news on climate change … I think
A new survey indicates that Canadians are increasingly acknowledging the reality of climate change while recognizing that we are the culprit. An Insightrix Research, Inc. poll reported that 98 per…
Are the feds backing off Northern Gateway?
The federal government has, up until very recently, been a major cheerleader for the Northern Gateway pipeline project. After all, the pipeline is intended to carry Mr. Harper’s favourite energy…
Mexicans solving U.S. immigraton dilemma
Mexican immigration has been a hot political issue in the U.S. for some time resulting in, among other unpleasant phenomena, Arizona’s controversial Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act…
France embraces Robin Hood tax
On August 1st, France introduced its long-promised Financial Transactions Tax (FTT). Popularly referred to as a Robin Hood Tax, or Tobin Tax, the 0.2 per cent levy will apply to…
Drought, ethanol and the looming food crisis
That the drought in the U.S. will cause a rise in food prices is hardly news. However, scientists at the New England Complex Systems Institute are warning that the potential…
Unintended consequences—Bangladesh suffers from Iran sanctions
The Bangladeshis are entirely innocent of any real or imagined transgressions on the part of Iran, yet they are being punished nonetheless. Their sin is a heavy reliance on the…
Is Omar Khadr an untermensch?
I have thought long and hard on why so many Canadians hold such a callous attitude toward Omar Khadr. Here is a young man who has spent his whole life…
The Tea Party outperforms the Occupy Movement
The financial and economic collapse of 2008 in the United States precipitated two “revolutionary” movements: one on the right, the Tea Party, and one on the left, the Occupy Movement.…
The revolution and the reality—why Egypt elected Islamists
No small amount of surprise was generated by the recent elections in Egypt when Islamist parties swept the parliamentary elections and the Muslim Brotherhood candidate won the presidential election. Coming…
The amusing story of JPMorgan Chase
Reading about the latest foibles of JPMorgan Chase, the largest bank in the United States, one cannot help but chuckle. CEO Jamie Dimon initially reported a trading blunder had cost…
Call for international solidarity with Canadian scientists
As the federal government’s assault on science encounters increased resistance from Canadian scientists, the international community increasingly takes notice. In a recent column in The Guardian, science writer Alice Bell…
Australia’s Girl Guides drop the Queen … and God
Having posted recently about an attempt to purge swearing allegiance to the Queen from the Canadian Oath of Citizenship, I couldn’t help but notice an article in The Guardian about…
Fukushima—Japan’s remarkable mea culpa
There are mea culpas and there are mea culpas. The report by an independent commission on the nuclear disaster at Japan’s Fukushima nuclear plant is a dandy. In the preface…