Month: January 2010

Canada, Ethics, Government, Politics, RightsLeave a comment

“No-Fly” Zone

Podritske

In my retrospective article on the last decade (The “Aught” Knot), I indicated in an aside that the various government security precautions being imposed on all air travellers will not work. I will now try to explain why. Beginning with the September 11, 2001 terror attack on the United States by Islamic-inspired terrorists, there have been three incidents (about which we have been extensively informed) in which the various governments’ costly and expanding security apparatus has failed to screen out a viable threat. The  horror of September 11, 2001, orchestrated by men armed only with simple weapons, was of course the … Continue reading “No-Fly” Zone

Canada, Ethics, Foreign Policy, Immigration, Politics2 Comments

Free Haiti!

Podritske

The catastrophic earthquake centered in Haiti on January 12 directly affected tens or hundreds of thousands of people and indirectly affects humanity in the millions. Regardless of the actual numbers of casualties and fatalities to be more accurately settled as the rescue, relief and recovery efforts continue, this emergency, like all others, has the effect of bringing out the best, and the worst among us, domestically in Haiti but internationally as well. There is a particular poignancy to this tragedy because the Haitian diaspora extends throughout North America. Canada, for example, has a significant population of Haitian expatriates including its … Continue reading Free Haiti!

Canada, Economics, Political Economy, Politics2 Comments

Going Prorogue

Podritske

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has been subjected to a great deal of criticism for exercising a strategic prerogative to suspend the current Parliamentary session. Parliament would normally resume in January following the Christmas holiday recess, but will now open in early March. This suspension, initiated by the Prime Minister, is a legacy of British style Parliamentary systems and is formally known as proroguing. There are certain procedural consequences associated with proroguing, such as the suspension of Parliamentary Bills in process, or those waiting to be considered by the Senate. Such proposed legislation will need to be reintroduced and debated … Continue reading Going Prorogue

Canada, Foreign Policy, Political Economy2 Comments

The “Aught” Knot

Podritske

The decade of the “aught”—as the years 2000 to 2009 have been referred to by many Canadian journalists—has invited much comment, ranging from the banality of various “top ten” lists to more serious analysis by such luminaries as Conrad Black, who derogates the aforementioned years as that “rather dismal decade”. I think the “aught” decade may be even more seriously characterized by a fundamental political sea change, particularly in the West, which sets an ominous trend for the remainder of the twenty-first century. I am an advocate of rights and individual liberty. In historical terms, these values have been under … Continue reading The “Aught” Knot