Ukraine—a hard power lesson for Iran … and others
In December, 1991, as the Soviet Union crumbled into dust, Ukrainians voted overwhelmingly for independence. Thus was created something of a nuclear problem. The new country was the world’s third…
Iran
The Iranian Pseudo-election
Last week, Iran held an election for members of its Islamic Consultative Assembly, the country’s Parliament or Majlis. The Majlis is something less than a ruling body. To begin with,…
Sunday Morning Links
This and that for your Sunday reading. – Gary Younge writes about the need to respond to a bleak reality with the dedication to imagine and create something better. And…
Canadians want answers about tragic Iran air crash, but Canada has little influence with no embassy in Tehran
In the wake of yesterday’s air tragedy in Iran that took the lives of at least 63 Canadians, nearly half of them from Edmonton, and many others bound for Canada,…
Hmmmm ……
Just sayin’. Recommend this Post
Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material to start your week. – Rick Smith offers some reasons for hope in 2020 even in the face of a grim start to a new year. And Cory…
Donald Trump and the Road to World War III
I was so happy to get back to Canada just in time to see the last sunset of 2019. And I was looking forward to enjoying a slightly more peaceful…
Hope Lies In The Streets
The decay and rupture of the social bonds that once held our societies together have unleashed the dark pathologies of opioid, alcohol and gambling addictions and led to an explosion…
Perfidious America
Early in 2018, U.S. President Donald J. Trump withdrew the United States from the Iran nuclear deal, a deal largely negotiated by and signed off on by his own country.…
Britain has bullied Iran for centuries
Britain’s imperial designs on Iran go back at least to the Great Game with Russia over control of trade routes through central Asia in the 19th century. Indeed, Iran’s southern…
How much crap should Iran be expected to take from the U.S.?
Iran under the Ayatollahs is hardly a model nation. Domestically, it is repressive and, due largely to sanctions imposed by the United States, impoverished. Its foreign policy is aggressive. It…
Prince Reza Pahlavi Addresses a Meeting of Phoenix Project Supporters in Toronto
Prince Reza Pahlavi Earlier this month Prince Reza Pahlavi, claimant to the throne of Iran, addressed a meeting of international academics, scientists,strategists, researchers, artists,authors, entrepreneurs, and otherintellectuals gathered in the…
Trump, Bolton Are Beating the Drums of War
It has been clear for well over a year that Trump is a pathological liar, a cheat, a sneak and an incomparable threat to not only the US but the…
What’s the appropriate response to Riyadh’s diplomatic hysterics? How about reopening our embassy in Tehran?
Is there an appropriate response by Canada to the bizarre events of the last few hours on the diplomatic circuit? It’s not just that Canada’s ambassador has been kicked out…
Will Saudi Arabia’s diplomatic tantrum provoke a moment of cognitive dissonance for Canada’s ‘ethical oil’ crowd?
Saudi Arabia has given the Canadian ambassador 24 hours to pack his bags and go home because, the Saudi Foreign Ministry complains, Canada is meddling in the internal affairs of…
So, Let’s Get this Straight.
Trump, despite the advice and warnings of America’s security/intelligence agencies and his country’s major allies, gives in to Netanyahu’s propaganda campaign against Iran, and walks away from the Iran nuclear…
A Matter Of Trust
I doubt there are many who would deny how precipitously the reputation of the United States has fallen since Donald Trump ascended to the White House. Each day seems to…
Oil Oil Everywhere, and not a Barrel to Burn
There has been a lot of hand-wringing over the recent crash in crude oil prices. Ironically, both environmentalists who want people to stop buying oil and many of the producers…