American George Packer of The New Yorker was scorching in his take of the state of his union, talking in Vancouver at a writer’s festival. Writes Rod Mickleburgh: “He drew gasps from the nearly sold-out crowd at the university’s Frederic Wood Theatre, when
The title of author and historian Brian Brennan’s latest Commentary piece is delectable – if you like your history with a frisson of salaciousness. He calls it The Prince and the Prostitute — or, “How a British Royal Hid Out in Canada While his
“Five countries stand in the way of global starvation.” That’s one stark, ugly sentence. It’s from Chris Wood’s latest Natural Security column, and it’s thought-provoking, at least. An excerpt: United Nations demographers forecast that by mid-century — in 37 years — there will be
CHRIS WOOD: NATURAL SECURITYPublished October 29, 2013 United Nations demographers forecast1 that by mid-century — in 37 years — there will be more than nine billion humans on the planet, about two billion more than the roughly seven billion of us now.
The world’s first ATM capable of swapping bitcoins for any official currency started operating this week in a coffee shop in Western Canada. Bitconiacs, a storefront currency exchange owned by three 20-something entrepreneurs, claims to be first in the world to set
This essay in the New York Times, Slaves of the Internet, Unite, is a fine defence of the value of writing, art and, yes, journalism. Tim Kreider, an American writer and cartoonist, quotes Vladamir Nabokov: “Let us not kid ourselves. Let us remember that
Brutal politics and governance in Mozambique are worthy of a Greek tragedy or Game of Thrones-type saga, all on their own. With supporting roles played by a rotating cast of Portugal, Rhodesia/Zimbabwe, South Africa and America’s puritanical Christian Taliban, the country previously descended into
JONATHAN MANTHORPEPublished: October 25, 2013 Threats of a return to one of Africa’s most brutal civil wars came to a head this week when government troops in Mozambique overran the mountain forest base of opposition Renamo rebels. Afonso Dhlakama, 60-year-old leader of
In most of the world polio is a mere bogeyman, a shadow that drifts through our awareness every October 24, the day global health agencies call World Polio Day. Few suffered, or now recall, the polio epidemics that menaced cities from the
Writes International Affairs columnist Jonathan Manthorpe: Piracy and ship hijackings have spawned a worrying boom in largely-unregulated security companies offering armed mercenaries to protect merchant ships plying dangerous waters. However, the perils of having freelance guns-for-hire roaming the high seas have been again
