Category Archives: Citizenship challenges

What day is it today?

Posted on August 6, 2017 by donald

Today is August 6. Three “days” connect with the date of August 6: in the traditional Christian calendar with the Feast of the Transfiguration of Christ (there are some contemporary commemorations at other times of the year); with Hiroshima Day; … Continue reading →

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Objections to Omar’s award

Posted on July 5, 2017 by donald

Predictably, the “nattering nabobs of negativism” (thank you, Spiro Agnew) have crawled out from under their rocks to criticize the (in my view, none too generous) award of $10.5 million to Omar Khadr in recompense for his years of torture … Continue reading →

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The national apology to Omar Khadr

Posted on July 4, 2017 by donald

A glorious moment! The government has acknowledged that Canada did not do right by its young citizen, Omar Khadr, and will compensate him and his lawyer, Dennis Edney, with $10,000,000. Is this a lot of money? Given that Omar was … Continue reading →

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Temporary and not so temporary . . .

Posted on June 9, 2017 by donald

In my last blog, I offered a parallel between the short reign of the Emperor Julian (361-63 CE) and what many of us hope will be the short occupancy of the American presidency by Donald Trump. Julian’s reign was a … Continue reading →

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Trumpus Temporarius

Posted on June 7, 2017 by donald

In the year 313 of our era, the Roman Emperor Constantine legalized Christianity, previously a prohibited religion, and launched the first Christian imperial dynasty. All the emperors who succeeded him were Christians, until the accession of the Emperor Julian in … Continue reading →

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The gates of Hell

Posted on April 21, 2017 by donald

Sometime in the nineties I took a group of SFU students down to the Ground Zero peace centre in Poulsbo, Washington. GZ was started in the eighties by Jim and Shelley Douglass, longtime peace activists–Jim was a friend of Thomas … Continue reading →

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Shrove Bloody Tuesday

Posted on February 28, 2017 by donald

Decided to add the “bloody,” because I have been watching, indeed inhaling, the BBC series, “Sherlock”–Sherlock Holmes updated to the 21st century: just wanted to get your attention [ ]. So yes, today is Shrove Tuesday. My evening minder has … Continue reading →

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Gandhi’s birthday today, October 2

Posted on October 2, 2016 by donald

Today is Gandhi’s birthday.  He was born in 1869, 147 years ago and two years after Canadian confederation. Environmentalist Bill McKibben has made this interesting comment about him: that he is the only great political figure of the 20th century … Continue reading →

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Guest blog: Brexit III

Posted on August 9, 2016 by donald

This guest blog comes from my friend Ryan Munn, now living in Bristol, in the UK. He is a finance and economy writer, a Canadian expat with a global outlook. He says that he loves to tell stories about how … Continue reading →

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Brexit revisited

Posted on July 24, 2016 by donald

On June 23, the UK voted by a narrow margin (52% to 48%) to leave the EU. On June 25, I wrote a blogpost about this, which I have just re-read. I received substantial support for what I said, and … Continue reading →

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