Whenever the “West” does something good and noble in the name of freedom and democracy my stomach gets queasy.  Selfish is a word that comfortably describes our society here in the Euro-American world.  So it is very difficult for me to believe the syrupy platitudes dripping from the mouths of Western leaders.  We have imposed [...]

Continue reading...

While the governing body of Canada’s broadcasting industry considers slackening the restrictions on truth in the media, I can’t help but reflect on the response of a friend:  “What would be different?”   The simple truth of that statement was reinforced with the reports on the congressional intelligence hearings in the United States.  A news reader [...]

Continue reading...

Lest we forget.  Every year I have heard those words for as far back as I remember.  Lest we forget.  And yet it seems we never did remember.  Flowery speeches and poems waft through the autumn air each year and yet the killing goes on.  This is the first year of my life that I [...]

Continue reading...

Toronto is a major film producing city yet the production values at the G20 summit left much to be desired.  First the placing of the police cruisers to be fired was too static.  The director failed to convey any sense of motivation for their presence;  they stood awkwardly at center stage like a nervous young [...]

Continue reading...

Families of nine Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan were shown on the news yesterday visiting Kandahar and the memorial to the Canadians who have fallen in that conflict.  It was a touching moment.  Emotions played on the faces of the family members as they stood before the stone etchings of their son or daughter.  The [...]

Continue reading...

An old saw says that the first casualty of war is the truth but reality might be a close second.  It is not just that our governments lie to us it is how they tell us the truth.  Outright lies are often easy to uncover, sending official sources into a frenzy of just straight out [...]

Continue reading...

When is a lie most effective?  Answer:  when most people want to believe it to be true.  Wouldn’t it be great if the world was black and white.  We could always tell the good guys from the bad guys.  But that is not reality.  The world is a grey place.  Shadows of truth swirl in [...]

Continue reading...

As I write this safe and sound in my nice little suburban home, having just signed another online petition calling for an end to the horror in Gaza, I begin to question what I have accomplished in over 40 years of calling for peace and understanding among the peoples of the world.  Who besides me [...]

Continue reading...

This will be remembered as the year of the big story.  The Democratic primary fight pitting the first female candidate with a chance of being nominated by a major party against the first Black candidate; leading, as expected, to one of them winning the White House.  The presidential election culminated in the first Black man [...]

Continue reading...

  Remembrance Day is fast approaching.  On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 the guns fell silent across Europe.  The Great War was over.  Later it would be known as the War to End all War and finally after we did it again as just plain World War One.  [...]

Continue reading...