Category: International

All politics is about real estate

All politics is about real estate. Postmodern politics is essentially a matter of land grabs, on a local as well as a global scale. Whether you think of the question of Palestine, the settlements and the camps, or of the politics of raw materials and extraction; whether you think of ecology (and the rainforests) or the problems of federalism, citizenship, and immigration, or whether it is a question of gentrification in the great cities as well as in the shanty towns and the townships and of course the movement of the landless today everything is about land…

Not everything is broken in our world

World Central Kitchen, founded by Spanish-American chef Jose Andres, is an example of humanitarianism at work. WCK has become one of the world’s leading relief organizations since its 2010 launch following a devastating earthquake in Haiti. Food is essential to life and is vitally important in a crisis. Access to healthy meals during a disaster is a reminder that someone cares. But, of course, not everyone cares. Pierre Poilievre said a Conservative government would cut foreign aid funding. That mimics Trump’s policy of eliminating almost all development and humanitarian help abroad.

The current world situation

This is a guest post by Chris Merrick, a school friend who has serious concerns with the state of the world. Most of us can say that in our lifetimes, Canada has never experienced such a direct threat to its continued existence. It is vital to build country-to-country relationships in other parts of the world. The U.S. President is not our only problem because a large number of American politicians and plutocrats are Trump’s fellow travellers.

Our World in Data

Training in accountancy encourages my reliance on data to improve understanding of various issues. One valuable source of information is Our World in Data. It was founded by Max Roser, Professor of Practice in Global Data Analytics at the University of Oxford. Dr. Roser’s research has focused on large global problems, including poverty, disease, hunger, climate change, existential risks, and war.

“You won’t have to vote anymore”

Dan Rather was a star of the news business for years before he left CBS. From the 1980s to the mid-2000s, Peter Jennings, Tom Brokaw, and Dan Rather were the “Big Three” of TV news in the USA. At the peak, about one in five Americans watched them. Today, about one in twenty Americans see flagship news shows of the legacy networks…

Immoral or amoral?

Rutger University professor Wenwen Zhang, wrote a 2018 dissertation that said conceptions of amorality in business literature are diverse and ambiguous. Belief that morality is irrelevant and inapplicable in business results in unethical behaviors, done for the benefit of individuals, organizations and nations. Discarding or downplaying morality is a shortcoming of business education….

Happiness is… (2024 edition)

Overall, Canada ranks 15th in the World Happiness Report, although it is first among nations with populations of more than 30 million. However, when the happiness of citizens under age thirty was ranked, Canada was listed at a miserable 58th, trailing countries like Honduras, Guatemala, and Nicaragua. Some may wonder if those countries will be receptive if youthful Canadian refugees turn up at their borders.

Claims of antisemitism used to defend Israel’s atrocities

I understand people who believe that Israel should defend its lands against armed attacks and fervently assert the country has a right to a peaceful existence. But I sympathize with innocent Palestinians whom Israel has displaced, starved, and massacred. I reject the notion that Israel can be excused when the country destroys hospitals, schools, mosques, food and water supplies, and kills or injures more than 100,000 people not responsible for attacks on Israel…

Seven moral principles

Professor Robert Reich describes meeting with students to discuss tragic events in Gaza and Israel. It was a mixed group, some Jewish, some Palestinian, and some with other backgrounds. They sought common ground as they examined what basic moral principles were at stake. Conclusions the group determined…

Happiness is…

The first World Happiness Report was presented in 2012. This week the 2022 report was published. Perhaps surprisingly, in most nations, average life evaluations have remained “remarkably resilient during COVID-19.” Although, according to report authors, life satisfaction has fallen for the young and increased for people over 60, and levels of stress have risen measurably since pre-pandemic days…

Republican’s genius strategy

History Professor Alfred McCoy produced The Politics of Heroin in Southeast Asia in 1972. The CIA interfered with the book’s publication but its condemnation of American complicity in the drug trade is accepted as accurate and reliable. Dr. McCoy appeared with Jeremy Scahill on the March 7 edition of Intercepted Podcast. I found their wide ranging discussion informative, shocking and alarming…