Two major "analyses" and reports on world geopolitical events came out last week, one of which produced worldwide controversy, rants and rage, while the other was hardly noticed—but arguably of much greater significance.
Since the Harper government's failure to secure a seat for Canada at the UN Security Council, the blame game seems to have completely missed the real and sustainable impact of this embarrassing result for the country. The failure to properly and dispassionately assess the world's rejection will make the detrimental stakes for the country even greater.
In the brewing titanic battle between BHP Billiton and Potash Corporation, along with other potential giants vying to take over Potash Corp., one simple fact seems to be overlooked: It is the people of Saskatchewan who own the potash and corporations which extract it only rent the resource for profit.
The WikiLeaks exposure of the 91,000 secret military documents present the growing paradox of democratic societies in regards to the interests of national security and the interests of truth in war and democratic accountability.
As leaders from the world's most powerful states in terms of military and economic statistics flood into Toronto for the G20 meetings in the coming days, some may think they are wasting valuable time away from their home turf.
It is astonishing how limited Stephen Harper's world-view is in comparison to other world leaders. That became clear after a speech by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on May 12 to a standing-room-only crowd of diplomats, academics, NGOs, students and interested Canadians in one of Ottawa's largest ballrooms at the Château Laurier hotel.
After the debacle over the hidden ideology of the Harper government's maternal and child health initiative, another potential rift with G8 partners is brewing over the proposed tax on banks and other financial firms in order to build up a rainy-day fund to pay for bank bailouts next time there is a global financial and credit crisis
Last week, Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon was adamant that there would be no family planning initiatives in the government's maternal health proposal for the G8 summit in Huntsville in June.
Late on Feb. 16, just before the first Olympic hockey game by Team Canada, the Harper government responded to the Jan. 29 Supreme Court ruling on Omar Khadr.
Missing in much of the 24-hour media attention paid to the attempt by a baby-faced 23-year-old Nigerian man to bomb a US airplane about to land at Detroit on Christmas day was what had driven this son of a wealthy Nigerian family to commit suicide and attempt to take so many people with him.