Putin and Peter—What’s NATO got to do with it?
NATO is frequently brought up in the discussion of the Russian aggression against Ukraine. Some pundits suggest it is a cause, even to some a justification. I would suggest NATO…
International
Britain stumbles
Britain (and I suppose Canada) will soon celebrate a brand new king. Charles III will bring another new face to eleven centuries of English royalty. The nation, however, needs much…
Davos and me (and some Conservatives)
In 1971, German engineer and economist Klaus Schwab founded the World Economic Forum (WEF). The Forum is funded primarily by its corporate members—typically global corporations—with some public subsidies, and guided…
First the U.S., now Israel
2015 was a good year. May brought the “Orange Chinook.” After 44 years of Conservative rule, the longest-serving provincial government in Canadian history, the NDP won a close-fought election. Then…
The noble Nobels
The collapse of the Soviet Union, the “Evil Empire,” was perhaps the most welcome event of the latter part of the 20th century. Almost three hundred million people freed from…
Et tu, AMLO?
I have often despaired at the way in which seemingly progressive leaders in Latin and South America show great initial promise and then drift into an autocracy not unlike their…
Xi puts women in their place
When President Xi Jinping introduced his Politburo Standing Committee at the 20th Communist party congress in Beijing, one thing stood out. Of the seven, none were women. Furthermore, of the…
And after Putin?
Russian President Vladimir Putin is not happy in the modern world. A child of Soviet Communism and of that particular enthusiasm bred by service in the KGB, he prefers government…
Time to friend-shore?
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen recently introduced a concept she referred to as “friend-shoring.” In her words, “Friend-shoring is the idea that countries that espouse a common set of values…
How fares the emperor?
Xi Jinping has it all: general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, chairman of the Central Military Commission, commander-in-chief of the People’s Liberation Army, and the Politburo Standing Committee filled…
Whew! That was close—too close
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva won Brazil’s election on Sunday in a squeaker, defeating incumbent Jair Bolsonaro by a mere two points. It was a victory for more than Lula.…
About Russia and security
Russia has throughout its history been the victim of brutal invasions. From the east across the steppe came the hordes of Genghis Khan in the 13th century, and from the…
Don’t go, Chrystia
As a result of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of the Ukraine, NATO is much more in the news lately. Consequently, the job of heading the organization is attracting attention as the…
Another failure on the nuclear front
Other than the various environmental swords that hang over our heads the greatest threat to the future of human society is nuclear war. In recognition of this overarching threat, global…
Happiness is…
The first World Happiness Report was presented in 2012. This week the 2022 report was published. Perhaps surprisingly, in most nations, average life evaluations have remained “remarkably resilient during COVID-19.”…
Nancy P’s Asian adventure
On first hearing about U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s planned visit to Taiwan it struck me as a rather, shall we say, stupid idea. It would infuriate the…
Putin making Russia great again
Both the two major world powers during the Cold War have had leaders who wanted to “make their nations great again.” Both hark back nostalgically to some imagined golden age.…
There is a Russian opposition
Russian’s new tsar, Vlad the shirtless, is not a man to entertain opposition. People who cross him have been known to be poisoned, shot, imprisoned or, in the case of…
World Environment Day
In the universe are billions of galaxies,In our galaxy are billions of planets,But there is Only One Earth. The above truism is from the UN Environment Program’s website for the…
Will Aussie go green?
Australia shares with Canada and the United States the dubious distinction of being one of the top three per-capita greenhouse gas producers among the industrial countries. The dirty three. Like…