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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JONATHAN MANTHORPEPublished: August 30, 2013 An unintended consequence of July’s coup by the Egyptian army is that it has averted a threatened war with Ethiopia, over control of the waters of the Nile River on which Egypt has depended since the dawn of
DEBORAH JONES: FREE RANGEPublished August 30, 2013 The death of Irish poet Seamus Heaney is a reminder of the luminous souls amongst us, whose work will reverberate long after today’s transient thugs and loud charlatans have passed through the news cycle.
JONATHAN MANTHORPE Published: August 28, 2013 An American-led attack on military assets of the Syrian regime of Bashar Assad, in retaliation for a nerve gas attack on civilians last week, now appears inevitable. Only the timing is in doubt. But it is
Honey bees have always faced threats and perils from the natural world, such as Nosema, viruses, fungii, Varroa mites, predatory wax moths, and hive beetles. Attacks or infestations from these threats, or simple winter die-off, have caused massive losses before. But now
For decades, the southern shoreline of Vancouver Island was the idyllic home to social misfits, free spirits and unreconstructed hippies. And then the government started sending eviction notices. By Deborah JonesSombrio Beach, British Columbia, Canada 1997 WHEN Mike Callaway arrived on this remote
“Fracking:” could the fossil energy industry have chosen a more loaded term for the process of sending a long hard pipe down a deep hole and violently exploding liquid from the end to stimulate the release of precious gas? By CHRIS
JONATHAN MANTHORPE Published: August 23, 2013 By allowing the election to Iran’s presidency of moderate Hassan Rouhani, the country’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has tacitly admitted his own past blunders and shown a desire for better relations with Washington and Europe. But although
Making the journey west with Newfoundland’s migrant workers. By Greg Locke Fort McMurray, Alberta. Contrary to what mainland North Americans may think of us, a plane-full of Newfoundlanders heading to well-paying jobs in Alberta’s oil sands was never going to be
DEBORAH JONES: FREE RANGE Published: April 3, 2006, Time Magazine On March 29, 2006, in a firefight with Taliban insurgents, Private Robert Costall became the 12th Canadian killed in the Afghanistan mission. When the news slammed home, tears filled my eyes, and I
By Deborah JonesVANCOUVER, Canada, 1995 In the war between germs and antibiotics, this much is no longer in doubt: eventually, bacteria win every battle. The only question is: how long can the cavalry keep arriving with new drugs? Forget plague in India. Forget,