Dispatches
Africa plagued by third term-itis
Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan’s graceful acceptance of his loss this year to incoming President Muhammadu Buhari was a major advance for African democracy, for setting peaceful transition precedents, and for helping to mature political leadership on the continent. But that easy handover to an opponent was exceptional. Equally often, African rulers cling tenaciously to their […]
Environmental protection: Where Canada stands
Canada enjoys an embarrassment of riches that make for a safe and healthy life for most of its citizens. The country prides itself on its health care and social systems, enjoys clean air and water and reaps the benefits of abundant natural resources. Canada’s management of these resources placed it 24th out of 178 countries […]
The greenest countries
Pope Francis practically sounded like Canadian author Naomi Klein this past June when his second encyclical, titled Laudato Si,’ blamed irresponsible capitalism and consumerism for the environmental perils that confront humanity. Linking these problems to global inequality, western political interests and a “throwaway culture” that consumes resources and fetishizes technology, His Holiness warned of “unprecedented […]
Travel security: playing it safe
The thrill of travel far outweighs the risks for most common destinations — given their huge influx of tourists each year. Forget the lure of the safe backyard barbecue and Sunday drives. For the restless, the curious and for the adventurous, there is no substitute for seeing and doing afar and coming home with a […]
Curbing corruption in Africa
Corruption is everywhere — in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, China, Russia and Brazil. It persists in much of the rest of Asia beyond China, and is rampant in the Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa. Of the lowest 50 performers on Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) and the World Bank’s Control of […]
Emphasizing the positive
His first year as U.S. ambassador has just passed. How has former investment banker and Goldman Sachs executive Bruce Heyman adapted to highly public life in his new job? “I guess you just do,” he says. “It’s the Bruce Heyman world of Darwinian thought: It’s not the smartest that survive. It’s not strongest that survive. […]
The trouble with tribalism
For as long as humans have existed, there have been tribes. Indeed, it is our ability to co-operate as members of discrete groups that has allowed for the resounding success of the species as a whole. Yet, in the modern, interconnected and globalized world, tribalism — which, at its base level, represents a separation of […]
Little summer fests that can
No question about it: Bluesfest, Chamberfest, CityFolk (the new name for the Ottawa Folk Festival) are big and fun. Myriad performers, multiple stages, throngs of joyful fans — it’s summer in the city to the max. But more modest festivals, whether spotlighting music, puppets or something else entirely, also abound and offer a different experience. […]
Get outta town: A traveller’s Top 10
Where it began… Two thousand years ago, the Romans, having developed paved roads and the idea of the holiday, were the earliest leisure travellers. Emperor Augustus had suppressed piracy in the Mediterranean region, making it possible to travel in relative safety. Roman emperors, scholars and the wealthy visited historic sites such as the Parthenon and […]
Poland’s resurgence
“In the resigned faces of the people of Tarnopol, I felt a tragic knowledge I could not quite understand, but which touched me deeply. They knew that the Polish state was crushed. More accurately than all the ‘intelligentsia’ of Warsaw, than my friends with connections, than my highly educated fellow officers, they knew what was […]
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