Over the past few months I have talked to people who have experienced difficulties at the US border.  Often this involves having to leave one’s vehicle and being subjected to intense interrogation.  What has, in the past, been a routine “friendly” crossing has turned into a “negative” interrogation by abusive American border guards. There appear […]

Tony Blair, with the blood of Iraq, Lebanon and Palestine dripping from his fingers, says Egyptian dictator Husni Mubarak is “immensely courageous and a force for good.” The opinion is based on working “with him on the Middle East peace process.” Mubarak’s record on the pacification process involves helping the Palestinian Authority transform itself into a […]

The focus of politics has shifted over the past two to three decades from issues to personalities. Media reports refer to Conservative or Liberal governments or to Harper or Campbell governments, as if federal and provincial governments were owned by political parties or their leaders. Such references are indications that our parliamentary democracies have become […]

I hate to be jaded and cynical, but limits of my credulity can only be stretched so far.You probably know that the B.C. Liberals are shopping for a new leader. You probably also know that they have six contenders, one of whom will soon become B.C.'s newest premier. What many people don't know is that they are voting, on Feb.12,...

 Dear Editor, There has been some discussion in your paper about the Canada European Free Trade Agreement (CETA).  The Centre for Civic Governance (CCG) last year commissioned the law firm of Sack Goldblatt Mitchell LLP to provide a legal opinion of this agreement.  Mr. Steven Shrybman, a lawyer with the firm, submitted a 22 page […]

Parliament resumed yesterday and Canadians could be forgiven if they decided they would rather stick pins in their arms than watch another round of Stephen Harper’s cynical manipulation compete with Michael Ignatieff’s inept political meandering. I haven’t seen a recent poll on whether or not people want an election, but it wouldn’t surprise me if […]

Dear Editor, As most people will recall, the NDP sent out a cartoonish flyer last fall, which discussed the Canada-European Union: Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, also known simply as CETA.  Since then, there has been much discussion about the issue and recently, our current MP has spent time criticizing both local constituents and the […]

The day the revolution started. In this second film Waseem Wagdi, an Egyptian protesting outside the embassy in London, says it all, beautifully. Robin Yassin-Kassab is a UK-based writer and journalist. This piece originally appeared in his blog, Qunfuz. Reprinted with the author’s kind permission.

My past experience talking to Egyptians, in Egypt and around the world, is that 95% of them hate Husni Mubarak and the humiliation he’s brought upon their once great country. When I ask of their hopes for change, they answer with the bitter resignation common to all Arabs: “Nothing will change. His son will come […]

The photographs are as stunning as they are inspiring. The world is now totally focused on the democratic rebellion in Egypt. President Hosni Mubarak, the dictator who Israel relies on for its current unassailable position, sends out the army to deal with demonstrators and what happens? The soldiers, including officers, joined with them, hugging them, kissing […]