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Britain’s tortuous road to “hard” Brexit

JONATHAN MANTHORPE: International Affairs December 17, 2016 Day by day it is becoming clearer just how wrenching a process it will be for Britain to leave the European Union (EU). It is now beyond doubt that Britain is headed for a “hard” Brexit, or “clean” break with the EU, as supporters prefer to call it. Any fudged response to June’s vote by a majority of Britons to quit the EU — such as continued economic and commercial integration, but with London having greater control of immigration – is not on the cards. Britain’s Prime Minister, Theresa May, wants a “hard”

Battle Ends, Bloody Syrian War Grinds On

By Laila Bassam, Angus McDowall and Stephanie Nebehay  Rebel resistance in the Syrian city of Aleppo ended on Tuesday after years of fighting and months of bitter siege and bombardment that culminated in a bloody retreat, as insurgents agreed to withdraw in a ceasefire. The battle of Aleppo, one of the worst of a civil war that has drawn in global and regional powers, has ended with victory for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his military coalition of Russia, Iran and regional Shi’ite militias…. However, the war will still be far from over, with insurgents retaining major strongholds elsewhere in

Fake News and Our Happiness Disorder

DEBORAH JONES: FREE RANGE December, 2016 How do we “know” what we “know?” Nope, this isn’t a trick question on an epistemology course. It’s the key to our lives, from the mundane (is that food safe to eat?) to social (can I trust that person?) to the most technical of calculations (how do I design a sound airplane?). Our world is built on evidence-based decision-making. In democracies, we depend on having enough citizens who know about enough stuff to make enough smart decisions — based on the best evidence available — to keep us alive. We depend on having enough citizens willing  to confront problems and fix them. And if there’s anybody left who doubts that our democracies are in crisis, the events of 2016

Red Kettles, Fake News, Corruption: Facts and Opinions this week

Viola Desmond the choice for portrait on Canada’s next $10 bill  Our journalism boutique lineup this week features an essay by Jeremy Hainsworth, weighing discrimination against the good done by the Salvation Army in saving lives. We focus on corruption with three pieces: Jonathan Manthorpe’s column on Transparency International’s latest findings; India’s secretive war against corruption, and how America welcomes foreign high-rollers suspected of corruption at home. Fake News is on our horizon, too, with Tom Regan’s Déjà vu  perspective and thoughts in the Notebook section below. But first, give a minute of your time to the video of Viola Desmond, and don’t miss our brief story about her, below. Salvation Army’s

Canada, Fraudster’s Nirvana

  JONATHAN MANTHORPE: International Affairs December 9, 2016 There is a fine line between thinking the best of people, and being a sucker for every con artist, fraudster and runaway crook who comes along. Canada all too often crosses that line without realising it. There is a blithe strain in Canadian culture that believes corruption is a foreign problem and that venal instincts magically vanish when exposed to Canadian values. There was a fine example of this naivety on Friday when Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Dion issued a statement to mark International Anti-Corruption Day. That it was the foreign affairs

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