Dispatches
Resource Wars
It is an article of faith among large sections of the left-leaning intelligentsia that the United States invaded Iraq in 2003 simply to secure the country’s oil reserves. It’s one thing to hear this line from Noam Chomsky, but another thing to hear it from a figure such as Sir David King, Britain’s former chief […]
Canada, the G8, and a New D10
Following tense discussions on Syria at this past June’s G8 summit, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper remarked: “I don’t think we should fool ourselves. This is the G7 plus one.” Mr. Harper’s comments, directed at Russia’s persistent support of Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad, underscore the very real difficulties that Canada and its allies face in […]
Seven steps to fixing the UN
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, in his 2007 acceptance speech to the General Assembly, noted: “The true measure of the success for the United Nations is not how much we promise, but how much we deliver for those who need us most.” Anyone’s hopes for the UN on key reform issues vary according to the […]
8 cyber-security predictions for 2014
Following an eventful year in the cyber security space, things are only set to get worse. This year, cyber security took centre stage with nation-state attacks, numerous high-profile data breaches and prominent cybercriminal arrests. As a new year nears, cyber-security researchers from Websense Security Labs outline their 2014 industry predictions. 1. Advanced malware volume will decrease […]
Pipelines of Empire
At this juncture in history, the fate of Europe is wound up not in ideas, but in geopolitics. For millennia, eruptions from Asia have determined the fate of Europe, including invasions and migrations by Russians, Turkic tribes and Byzantine Greeks. Central and Eastern Europe, with their geographical proximity to the Asian steppe and the Anatolian […]
Russian Arctic expansion: What does it mean for Canada?
On Sept. 30, 2013, a Russian navy group returned to Severomorsk after a month-long voyage to the New Siberian Islands. The group included the heavy nuclear missile cruiser Peter the Great, landing and support vessels and four nuclear ice-breakers. The highlight of the exercise was a landing practice on the islands. This seems to be […]
Top 10 World Woes: A look at some of the planet’s most troubling problems and how countries can solve (or try to solve) them
U.S. President Barack Obama, Queen Elizabeth II and countless other leaders have sought her insights. Prime Minister Stephen Harper has met with her and the government will grant her honorary Canadian citizenship. She has received multiple prizes, including the precious Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, and she addressed the United Nations on her 16th […]
Solutions for inhumane slaughterhouse practices
The XL Foods E. coli outbreak in the fall of 2012 was a vivid reminder for many Canadians of the reality and risks of industrial slaughter. Accompanying the daily news updates on the outbreak — in total, there were 18 confirmed cases — were glimpses into the scope and speed of modern slaughter plants. XL […]
The (animal) costs of transport
At some point in their lives, virtually all farmed animals are transported. The duration and conditions of transport have a major impact on animal well-being and are especially hard on certain species. Pigs are prone to motion sickness and heatstroke, in part because they don’t sweat. Chickens, meanwhile, are stacked on trucks in such a […]
The hard lives of animals on Canada’s factory farms
Concentrated feeding animal operations — more commonly referred to as factory farms — first began to appear around the 1920s. Industrialization was speeding up everything from transportation to communication, while, at the same time, medical discoveries such as insulin and penicillin were dramatically improving the quality of human and animal health. Farmers realized they could […]
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