What Were the Republican Presidential Candidates Like in High School?
January 19, 2012 | No Comments
Tonight is the most important Republican presidential debate yet. Two days ahead of the South Carolina primary, this evening’s showdown among the last four standing Republican candidates could help consolidate Newt Gingrich’s recent surge or catapult Mitt Romney back into what was once a seemingly insurmountable lead. It will also be interesting to see how [...]
So is dual citizenship really dangerous?
January 19, 2012 | 5 Comments
The more I think about it, the more the issue of citizenship seems to beg greater discussion than the rhetoric thrown around when political parties want to attack their competitors. (Thanks to everyone for their thoughtful comments on the previous post.) And the debate is unavoidable, since globalization continues to advance it. So Andrew Coyne [...]
I don’t care about helicopter rides or gazebos
December 5, 2011 | 4 Comments
The Tories have gotten some bad press recently for some wasteful activities of some Cabinet Ministers. Tony Clement is getting roasted for a bunch of border security funding being diverted to his home riding in cottage country, and Peter MacKay is catching flak for hopping a military helicopter for a ride back from a fishing [...]
Canada’s morale deficit
November 30, 2011 | 2 Comments
The other day, a run with a friend took me by the Lester B. Pearson building, a bunker-like structure that houses hundreds of Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade staff. The building overlooks the Ottawa River, the Parliament Buildings, the National Gallery. It was late afternoon, so the sunset had coloured the entire sky pink [...]
The Fallacy of ‘Security’ and the Israeli-Palestinian Question…
November 9, 2011 | 14 Comments
Recently UNESCO accepted Mahmoud Abbas’ bid for the recognition of the Palestinian state in the United Nations. The bravery that surrounded the bid, its tactical astuteness and the bravery of the nations that actually voted in favour of Palestinian recognition cannot be overstated ( it resulted in the loss of 28% of UNESCO’s funding with [...]
Ethical Oil and Freedom of Speech
September 22, 2011 | 3 Comments
I’m with the editors of the Ottawa Sun on this: The oil the Arabian sheiks produce for pocketed billions — “conflict oil” as it is rightfully described by critics of the dictatorship — is as dirty as it comes when the kingdom’s many human rights violations are tossed on the scales of judgment. All the [...]
Irshad Manji: From anger to aspiration
September 22, 2011 | 1 Comment
Humbled by her body’s protests against a punishing schedule and sounding inspired by President Obama’s now-tarnished message of hope, pluralism and empathy, Canadian activist Irshad Manji’s mood has mellowed, although her message has not. Manji discussed her book at the Ottawa International Writer’s Festival on Wednesday night, and while she characterized her transformation from “anger [...]
The Devil you should know
September 13, 2011 | 5 Comments
The Arab Spring continues, freedom prevails, and democracy will now take its rightful place on Libya’s throne; the price for such an achievement was a miniscule amount of blood that continues today and the foreseeable future. These ‘freedom starved’ rebels once assumed the other side of the Imperialist’s barrel. They were once Al Kayda (Bush [...]
Parliamentarians and their conduct
September 13, 2011 | 1 Comment
One would think after the scandals of former federal minister of state Helena Guergis assigning a parliamentary e-mail account to her husband and former Congressman sexting various women, people would be careful about e-mail messages. Well, these declarations of admiration in 2010 did not help. Lysiane Gagnon asked an interesting question yesterday in The Globe and Mail. [...]
Republican voters should take a chance on Congressman Ron Paul……
August 12, 2011 | 1 Comment
I am no expert on American politics, I’ll be the first to say so, and I don’t like commenting on things where I may not have the full facts but I am very interested in the upcoming federal election for many reasons and felt unbelievably compelled to write this little piece about Congressman Ron Paul. [...]