The U.S.—India’s favourite major power
With the unwitting collaboration of an idiot “film-maker” in Los Angeles, irresponsible imams in the Middle East and Islamic extremists leading to the besieging of American embassies, the United States…
Bill Longstaff
Social justice in the OECD
Unfortunately, when nations are compared, the yardstick of comparison is usually GDP, a crude measure of a people’s well-being even by economic standards. I am, therefore, always seeking rankings by…
Water—a matter of security
When we think about security in the global sense we tend to focus on terrorism although, according to Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird, Iran is now the most significant threat…
The folly of shunning Iran
“Keep your friends close and your enemies closer,” said the oft-quoted ancient military strategist Sun-tzu. Our government, as militarist as it is, has decided to ignore this advice and cut…
News flash—U.S. corn growers oppose subsidy
American farm policy has been described as “a bi-partisan pork-barrel boondoggle.” Critics claim that massive subsidies reward mainly corporate farms (through 1995 to 2010, the top 10 per cent of…
Carleton makes amends … sort of
Carleton University has finally attempted to atone for accepting what was little better than a bribe and then trying to cover it up. In 2010, the university made a secret…
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…
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…