Jeremy Kinsman
Spoiler alert: Brexiteers who now permit themselves to read only positive articles about the project to leave the European Union, should cease reading immediately.
1. Referenda are the nuclear weapons of democracy. In parliamentary systems they are redundant. Seeking a simplistic binary yes/no answer to complex questions, they succumb to emotion and run amok. Their destructive aftermath lasts for generations.
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Divorces after 43 years of marriage are rare, usually severing unions that had been fraught for years.
Earlier this year, British Prime Minister David Cameron called an unnecessary referendum for June 23 on whether the UK would remain in the EU or leave in order to settle for good an abrasive issue in his Conservative Party that has been fueled by a surge of identity-based nationalism in England. It risks backfiring badly.
With only one week before the vote, every indication is that the result is up for grabs.
My bones tell me that in closing days “remain” will rally, as often happens in separation referenda when most undecided voters opt for the less disruptive option.
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Two South American presidents are in danger of going down. Which will be first?
For quite different reasons, Dilma Rousseff of Brazil and Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela are at the brink, teetering on the edge of either impeachment or unconstitutional overthrow.
This is significant and puzzling, because Brazil and Venezuela are, respectively, the most influential, and (potentially) the richest countries on the continent. How has it come to this?
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A WAY AHEAD WITH RUSSIA By Chris Westdal
(Originally appeared on the Canadian Global Affairs Institute website and can be accessed here)
Executive Summary
Canada and Russia are on speaking terms again. Our government has abandoned Stephen Harper’s policy of vocal disdain and the attempted isolation of Russia. We stand against Russian “interference” in Ukraine but, in the words of Global Affairs Minister, Stephane Dion, “the more we disagree, the more we have to discuss.”
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John Lang
A recent press article revealed that Dutch plans for a “Holland House” in Vancouver during the Olympics might have to be shelved. After many months battling Kafkaesque bureaucracy and bolshie unions the Dutch are at the point of pulling the plug.
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The European Union was born as the dream of pragmatic visionaries as a response to and bulwark against the manifest horror of organized evil. Its strengths were evident for decades before two successive calamities— the 2008 financial meltdown and the 2015 refugee crisis—exposed its vulnerabilities. While both have tested the EU’s structural and philosophical soundness, Jeremy Kinsman warns never to bet against Brussels. His full article is here.
Reiner Hollbach
The National Post recently published a letter from Kaslo, B.C. which reads in part as follows:<Nov 30 may be one of the most significant turning points in human history. It marks the opening to the Paris summit on climate change …….. Today we are close to the deadline proposed so many years ago. 2020, the year of no return, the year when stabilization targets must be met. The data show, if no action is taken, our trajectory will lead to a 6C increase in global temperatures by 2100 ……. But there is still time ….. to avert the potentially catastrophic tipping point…>’
A cris de ceur from the grassroots. This letter writer should, however, feel reassured to know that the campaign to head off climate change at the pass counts among its supporters none other than President Obama, the Commander-in-Chief of the world’s most powerful nation.
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Michael Hart
Michael Hart's book "Hubris: The Troubling Science, Economics, and Politics of Climate Change" is available in Ottawa at Books on Beechwood and on Kindle, Kobo, and IBook.
The Canadian International Council’s Ottawa branch featured the book and he was a panellist at its meeting discussing Canada’s stance at the Paris meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Climate Change
For further information, go to http://compleatdesktops.com/hubris-the-troubling-science-economics-and-politics-of-climate-change.
AND, RIGHT NOW - the first chapter of the book is available right here
Paul Durand’s article was published in the 'LATIN AMERICA ADVISOR', Washington, D.C. - October 21, 2015
Note: As this article was written principally for an American audience, it tends to cover terrain already well known to Canadians
The Canadian election of October 19, 2015 produced a stunning result - a massive defeat for Stephen Harper and his Conservative Party, and a convincing victory for Justin Trudeau's Liberals. But observers shouldn't be surprised; the Conservatives' nine-year rule under Harper was simply out of synch with Canadian instincts and values. That it lasted so long is attributable to the split of the progressive vote between the Liberal and New Democratic parties; the Liberals' decisive victory under Justin Trudeau (son of former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau) has put an end to that.
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Geneviève des Rivières
Tous ceux qui séjournent à Paris s'entendent pour dire qu'il s'agit probablement de la plus belle ville au monde. On ne se lasse jamais de ce qu'elle offre au niveau historique, architectural, culturel et intellectuel.
Mais qu'en est-il pour les gens qui y résident?
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