VANCOUVER, B.C. – Canada’s first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation saw a national outpouring of grief and anger over indigenous residential schools, and the genocide of Canada’s aboriginal peoples. Now that the day’s drums are stilled, the joined voices of lament
It seems that “Gray Thursday” is the new name for the fourth Thursday of November each year in the United States. The name marks the re-purposing of a traditional event — from a communal giving of thanks, to shopping. Shopping for sale
Ferguson, Missouri, burst into flames after a grand jury found no cause to indict police officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of teenager Michael Brown on August 9. Some 700 National Guard troops were immediately summoned, with 2,200 reinforcements added Tuesday, to quell
Facts and Opinions warmly welcomes two new journalists aboard our adventure: Tom Regan, on the eastern seaboard of the United States, and Michael Sasges, on Canada’s West Coast. Michael Sasges is F&O’s new copy editor. He also contributes occasional Verbatim and other reports, and essays. A
In 1996, the year Robert Mugabe married Grace Goreraza, life for the majority of Zimbabweans was probably the best it ever had been, or was to be since, writes International Affairs columnist Jonathan Manthorpe. Many give credit for country’s good times to Mugabe’s
Although musical satirist Tom Lehrer had not been active as a performer and recording artist for 15 years when Arts columnist Brian Brennan met him in 1980, he still had a cult following of enthusiasts who fondly remembered his trenchant observations of 1950s’
American author Ursula K. Le Guin on Wednesday slammed the U.S. publishing industry’s “ignorance and greed,” and issued a cri de coeur. She spoke out for artists in a world where “hard times are coming” and writers will be needed to offer hope
Our schedule at Facts and Opinions in the past week has been packed, with a special series each on the fall of the Berlin Wall and Remembrance/Armistice Day, in addition to our ongoing work. Here’s our stellar lineup, below. Next week, look for new columns
It’s a mistake to think the use of religious vacation breaks in public schools promote tolerance in any way, argues Tom Regan in his new column, Time to end religious holidays in public schools. An excerpt: Recently the Board of Education in the
Natural Security columnist Chris Wood is not impressed with this week’s much-trumpeted deal between China and the United States. He writes: “optimists greeted with hosannas the announcement that the Presidents Obama of the United States and Xi of China had agreed to a
Should the the British Museum or the Louvre in Paris retain collections gathered from all corners of the world, in order to display the entire sweep of human cultural history? Should the great works of humanity be repatriated? International Affairs columnist Jonathan Manthorpe examines