Canadian senators to receive expert NGO briefing on TPNW The historic Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), popularly called the Ban Treaty, will enter into force on January 22nd as we noted in last week’s blog. We are …
Democrats regain the Senate fueling hopes of an America that is no longer our biggest problem
The worst and the best of the USA — on the same day A dark but sadly predictable day for Trump’s America On January 6th, 2021 the world witnessed “jaw-dropping images” of pro-Trump rioters breaching the U.S. Capitol building for …
Saudi humiliation, Iranian torment, the war in Nagorno-Karabakh and weaning Canada off its arms dealer addiction
Important victory for Human Rights Council with non-election of Saudi Arabia Let’s start with some good news — the failure of Saudi Arabia, despite all its money and power, to secure a seat on the UN Human Rights Council, even …
Enduring Values of the United Nations recalled on UN Day
24 October was UN Day Just prior to UN Day on 24 October UN Secretary-General António Guterres released a video recalling the enduring values of the United Nations Charter. Among his statements therein: Our founding mission is more critical …
Dicey trade agreements, the economics of nukes, Turkish drones and Canadian gun control
Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement bypasses international law Peter Larson in a recent blog examines the latest report of the UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, Michael Lynk, a Canadian law professor. For the full blog, including …
A sneak peek at what foreign policy changes a Biden presidency might bring
At 11:25 am on Saturday 7 November, NBC called the election for Joe Biden. As of 10:00 am on Monday 9 November, Biden had received 75,588,439 votes to Trump’s 71,205, 293 votes or 50.6 % of the popular vote to …
Aid versus arms, Palestinian rights, DND disinformation update and more
World Children’s Day World Children’s Day is celebrated on 20 November each year — the day that the UN General Assembly in 1959 adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child. It is also the date in 1989 when …
Defence Minister Sajjan cancels military plan targeting Canadians for deception operations
Over the past month Canadians may have been shocked to see headlines like: Forged letter warning about wolves on the loose part of Canadian Forces propaganda campaign that went awry (ottawacitizen.com, 14 October 2020) and Canadian military wants to establish …
We really need a global human security reset
What is “The Great Reset” and why does it matter? As Rachel Gilmore explains in a recent quite comprehensive Global news article entitled: ‘Playing with fire’: How politicians can perpetuate baseless conspiracy theories, the World Economic Forum (WEF) announced (in …
UN Sec Gen: We have to stop the war on our planet
The environment and climate security First the good news. Early in the week the BBC reported that a new analysis by the Climate Action Tracker suggests the goals of the UN Paris climate agreement are “within reach” due in large …
Canada-US relations, arms trade scrutiny and the CBC Tandem outrage
Can we re-engage with the USA in pursuit of global security? During the Trump administration, there has been no real possibility of American allies engaging in meaningful dialogue on much of anything, let alone on the subject of profoundly reorienting …
Reflections on 2020 and a look ahead
Dear Friends, As 2020 staggers to a close, let me wish each of you the warmth of family and friends over the holiday period, in whatever covid-safe manner you have planned! Since the lockdown began in March of this year, …
