BRIAN BRENNAN: BRIEF ENCOUNTERS June, 2015 At age 18, Debbie Lori Kaye became the youngest performer in history to have her own variety special on CBC TV. A tiny singer with a big voice, her star had been rising steadily
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By Deborah JonesVANCOUVER, Canada, October 29, 2013 Three young entrepreneurs opened an automated teller in this Western Canadian city, calling it the world’s first ATM able to exchange bitcoins for any official currency. The machine, delivered to Vancouver by Robocoin, an American
JONATHAN MANTHORPEMarch 12, 2014 One of the more unfortunate pronouncements by United States President Barack Obama in this Ukraine embroglio was that his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, had put himself “on the wrong side of history.” Obama was not explicit, but his
JONATHAN MANTHORPEMarch 7, 2014 Today’s conviction of Malaysia’s opposition leader, Anwar Ibrahim, for sodomy in a clearly politically motivated trial, may well backfire on the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition and bring its downfall in the next elections. A Court of Appeal in
CHRIS WOOD: NATURAL SECURITYPublished March 8, 2014 I was never a big fan of the American sit-com starring John Ritter as an amiable single father, Eight Simple Rules (for Dating my Teenage Daughter). But lately I’ve found its title rather inspirational. Allow
JONATHAN MANTHORPEMarch 5, 2014 One has to wonder if American Secretary of State John Kerry, Canada’s Foreign Minister John Baird and all the preened diplomats of the European Union know a colonial, expansionist power when they see one. The sound and fury
CHRIS WOOD: NATURAL SECURITYPublished February 22, 2014 Ronald Reagan, in a lucid moment, famously characterized his approach to nuclear negotiations with the Soviet Union as: “Trust — and verify.” Much the same, it turns out, might be said for the green boasts
JONATHAN MANTHORPEFebruary 21, 2014 European leaders should not congratulate themselves too heartily for mediating the compromise agreement that, with luck, will end the demonstrations and appalling violence on the streets of Ukraine’s capital Kiev and other major cities. It is, after all,
JONATHAN MANTHORPEFebruary 19, 2014 By emphasizing China’s complicity in the unparalleled atrocities by the North Korean regime of its people, United Nations investigators have doubtless ensured Beijing will use its Security Council veto to block further action. Beijing has reacted angrily
Red Riding Hood and the Three Little Pigs have a lot to answer for: thanks partly to fairy tales, wolves have a ghastly and global reputation as big and bad, terrorists of young girls and small pigs, good for nothing but their
By Brian BrennanPublished February 15, 2014 We came to Berlin, a city politically divided, to talk about theatre criticism. We were 140 writers from 40 countries and for the better part of a week we wrangled like arms control negotiators. It was