September, 2009
The model of a mediocre secretary general
Two years from now, the international community will be busy choosing the next UN secretary general. We do not know if Ban Ki-moon will seek a second term. His choice three years ago validated the soft bigotry of low expectations with respect to the world organization.
Seeking a fresh start with Moscow
U.S. President Barack Obama’s announcement that he will scrap the existing missile shield program in Europe has triggered an impassioned controversy.
A mixed bag nuclear disarmament resolution
Tomorrow's UN Security Council session will be a significant first. Not only will it be the first time an American president has chaired a session, it will be the first time ever that this panel of international peace and security—and the primary club of the planet's five leading nuclear powers—will address nuclear disarmament.
Recession tests mettle of G20
The third G20 summit – in Pittsburgh Sept. 24-25 – will tell us how much the world has learned about the causes and consequences of the Great Recession. Have we made any progress in pump-priming the world economy and putting in place mechanisms that will prevent similar collapses?
The return of Bernard Coard
Last May, the Point Salines airport in Grenada was renamed the Maurice Bishop International Airport. Two years ago, Bishop's daughter, Nadia, met with Bernard Coard in Richmond Hill prison in a moving moment of reconciliation. The recent release of Coard and his fellow inmates after 26 years in prison is thus a chance for reflection and rapprochement.
Africa comes to terms with global financial crisis
Projections indicate that Africa will be gravely affected by the global financial crisis. The IMF predicts that growth in Sub-Saharan Africa will decline from 5.25 percent in 2008 to a mere 0.25 percent in 2009, increasing financing needs of the region.
It's time for Canada to take a strong stand on Honduras
Smart sanctions” against the de facto Honduran regime are falling into place. On Friday, Washington revoked the diplomatic and tourist visas of Honduran strongman Roberto Micheletti and 17 other top officials; yesterday, the Honduran ambassador was “expelled” from the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva after Latin American countries challenged the legitimacy of the Honduras delegation.
Confronting an evil past
The post-9/11 U.S. torture programme was a collective failure and a mistake because it was wrong. Whenever I found myself at Dulles airport in Washington, DC, between 2002 and 2008 surrounded by the screeching siren sounds of the “orange alert” periods, which made life unbearable for everybody in the splendid Eero Saarinen-designed terminal, I wondered how and why these so-called alerts were triggered. Would there really be any actual evidence of impending terrorist attacks to justify them?
Revisiting the folly of India's nuclear tests
WATERLOO, Ontario — Three recent events reopen the debate on the wisdom of India's nuclear tests in 1998, as judged from within the narrow framework of its own interests. Or rather, they confirm the folly of the tests:
The harsh reality of climate change
In June 2010, Canada will host the G8 summit in Huntsville, Ontario. One of the most contentious issues will be climate change and a possible discussion on concrete targets for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.