A Happy New Year for the American military
Santa was good to the U.S. armed forces. On December 27th President Biden signed a defence bill for nearly $770-billion. This was $24-billion more than he had asked for, but…
United States
Joe Biden’s Summit for Democracy—a timely effort
As a passionate believer in democracy, I feel compelled to comment on the recent democracy summit called to order by President Biden. Cynicism about the summit is thick on the…
American jurisprudence—a puzzle
Two recent criminal trials in the U.S. caught international attention. I refer to the Kyle Rittenhouse case in Wisconsin and the Ahmaud Arbery case in Georgia, the first known best…
Compared to Americans, Canadians are happy campers
A recent survey by the Pew Research Center revealed striking differences in Americans’ and Canadians’ attitudes toward their political, economic and health systems. The Pew survey of 17 advanced countries…
Refunding the police
How quickly the tide turns. Hardly a year has passed since the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer triggered protests that pressured cities across the U.S. to…
Big climate promises at the UN … but
The United States and China, rivals on the world stage and also the two biggest economies and the two biggest emitters of greenhouse gases made some big climate promises at…
This is not a setback, it’s a rout – the war in Afghanistan is all but over and the Taliban insurgency has won
Suddenly, the provincial capitals of Afghanistan are falling like bowling pins to the Taliban. As of yesterday, the New York Times reported, only four major cities remained in the hands…
How Dick Cheney’s daughter became a hero
The Prince of darkness. Thus was Dick Cheney, one of the most unpopular figures in the history of American politics, known when he was George W. Bush’s vice-president. Cheney oversaw…
The U.S. jerks capitalism’s leash
The United States is the world’s leading free market nation and it has always seemed to me that they take its basic principles very seriously. While greatly encouraging capitalism, they…
Survey of Western powers points toward citizens’ assemblies
A recent survey by the Pew Research Center of the four major Western powers turned up some interesting if not altogether surprising results. The goal of the study was to…
Biden-led U.S. to power global economy
According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Covid shrunk the global economy by 3.3 percent in 2020, the worst downturn since 1980. Almost 100 million people slipped into severe poverty.…
Biden admin getting it right on taxes
For some time, corporations have had things their way. With globalization, which was largely designed by and for them, they were able to slip the leashes that nation states had…
Kim struts his stuff
Nuclear technology does more than make powerful weapons. It also makes for powerful politics. It allows Kim Jong-un, ruler of a sordid little dictatorship, possibly the most backward nation on…
“U.S. democracy is in urgent need of repair”—Freedom House
“After experiencing a gradual decline in respect for political rights and civil liberties over the past decade, the United States is now facing an acute crisis for democracy.” So says…
Do we have a prime minister or a mouse? Canada doesn’t need U.S. permission to call China and bring the Two Michaels home
It appears China has thrown Canada an unexpected lifeline, offering us a chance to redeem our relationship with the world’s No. 2 economy and save the Two Michaels. Is Justin…
Make America fair again?
The United States is the most unequal of the advanced countries. By far. And it’s getting worse. The ratio of the average income of the richest 10 percent to the…
Joe Biden—union man
During Joe Biden’s election campaign, he promised he would be “the most pro-union president you’ve ever seen.” This may be the most important promise he made, at least on the…
Lula—Brazil’s Biden?
Brazil and the United States have at least one thing in common in their recent political histories. Both had popular progressive presidents replaced by fascists: Donald Trump replacing Barack Obama…
The difference between a Democrat and a Republican
One of the brightest lights to appear recently on the stage of American politics is the absolutely delightful Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Bright, charming, compassionate and—I have to say it—gorgeous, the Democratic…
Joe Biden—a Teddy or an FDR?
Many progressives are hoping for great things from Joe Biden. The United States faces huge problems aside from the pandemic and its economic fallout. There is an opportunity here for…