Archive for October, 2016

Amnesty International: Working for human rights

| October 4, 2016 | 0 Comments
Amnesty International: Working for human rights

In June 2016, Claudia Medina was one of four women recognized by the Senate of Canada for her work as a human rights defender in Mexico. The following day she spoke at a press conference on Parliament Hill, calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to raise Mexico’s urgent human rights crisis in his talks with […]

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Envoy’s Album – Fall 2016

| October 4, 2016 | 0 Comments
Envoy’s Album – Fall 2016

 

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Strong stateless minorities

| October 4, 2016 | 0 Comments
Strong stateless  minorities

As the First World War drew to its end, U.S. president Woodrow Wilson’s famous Fourteen Points called for a settlement that would permit nations to determine their own fate. While we may question the intellectual consistency of this demand, as the United States itself had recently joined the ranks of imperialist powers with overseas possessions, […]

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Norway invests in its own future

| October 4, 2016 | 0 Comments
Norway invests in its own future

In a period when oil prices were high, Norway has been able to transform oil in the ground into financial wealth. Today, the Government Pension Fund Global is one of the world’s largest sovereign wealth funds. By investing abroad, leaving capital in the fund untouched and limiting annual spending in the national budget to four […]

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China’s troubling foreign policy

| October 4, 2016 | 0 Comments
China’s troubling foreign policy

China’s Marxist-Leninist Communist Party came to power under chairman Mao Zedong on the promise of building a radically equal and just society in China. More broadly, the Chinese Communist Party promised to be the instrument of China’s national revitalization as a great power, drawing on its glorious ancient history as a magnificent civilization. In the […]

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Globalization as a bad word

| October 4, 2016 | 0 Comments
Globalization as a bad word

Globalization — defined as the free movement of goods, services, capital, people, ideas and information, which is supported by the values of neoliberal institutions — is under threat by the forces of virulent nationalism, xenophobia and protectionism. These forces are prevalent everywhere — in Europe, North America, Asia, Latin America and Africa. As countries erect […]

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Organ harvesting in China

| October 4, 2016 | 0 Comments
Organ harvesting in China

A team of doctors, lawyers, journalists and parliamentarians from Canada, the European Parliament and the U.S. House of Representatives has condemned China’s lucrative organ-transplant industry. They added up surgeries at 146 hospitals in China to total between 60,000 and 100,000 per year from 2000 to 2015 — many more than the Chinese yearly official total […]

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A ’fête accompli‘ at the French Embassy

| October 4, 2016 | 0 Comments
A ’fête accompli‘ at the French Embassy

This year’s Fête Champêtre, an annual spring fundraiser for the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra, took place at the striking Art Deco building that houses the embassy of France, overlooking the Ottawa River and next to the prime minister’s official residence at 24 Sussex Drive. The ambassador agreed to host the fête for several reasons, not least […]

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On Ukrainian defence

| October 4, 2016 | 0 Comments
On Ukrainian defence

Diplomat contacted Ukraine’s defence ministry’s military intelligence, press service and public affairs office, which provided these answers in late August. 1. Could you supply up-to-date figures on war deaths and injuries in 2015 and 2016? 2,504 Ukrainian soldiers, within the Ukrainian armed forces, the National Guard, Border Guard and various law enforcement agencies have been […]

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Argentina: More than beef and wine grapes

Argentina: More than beef and wine grapes

Since President Mauricio Macri took office in December 2015, his government has made important changes to stabilize the business environment for local and foreign companies in Argentina. It has corrected macroeconomic imbalances, lifted capital controls, devalued the Argentine peso, reduced import regulations and removed most export taxes. Concurrently, Macri has taken steps to restore the […]

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