Resisting the “Lesser Evils”…Part 3
Summary:The only way that the War on Terror will ever be won is if governments in the West recognize that its opponents have rights too.
Last week was a bad week for human rights in the War on Terror. At
the beginning of the week Michael Mukasey, who during Senate
confirmation hearings had indicated that he was unsure if
waterboarding – an interrogation technique in which prisoners are
made to believe they are drowning – constituted torture, was sworn
in as the new Attorney General. Later in the week, the
Globe and Mail reported that there were thousands of pages
of documents that had recently been released by court [...]
The Folly of Linking Aid and “Enlightened Self-Interest”
Summary:In the world of development assistance, “enlightened self-interest” is a pitiable, but necessary, rationale for aiding the poor.
Donor governments in the developed world are often in the
unenviable position of having to justify foreign aid expenditures
to a sceptical electorate. Although there is considerable evidence
to suggest that aid programs have been instruments for furthering
the interests of those who are writing the cheques (and not those
who are cashing the cheques), there is a school of thought that
believes that development assistance is money that could be spent
on more useful domestic endeavours. One [...]
A Massacre, a Movie, and our Military
Summary:The new movie Shake Hands with the Devil is a powerful film, one that all Canadians would benefit from seeing, in part, because it forces us to think long and hard about the type of military that we as Canadians would like to have, and our responsibility to help bring an end to genocides and mass atrocies.
This last weekend Shake Hands with
the Devil, the movie based on General Romeo Dallaire’s best-selling
memoirs, opened its commercial run. It is, to say the least, a
powerful film. If you haven’t already had a chance to see it, I
would encourage you to do so. For those who are unfamiliar with
Dallaire’s story, he was in charge of the UN mission in Rwanda
during the 1994 genocide. He courageously tried to stop the
killings, but for a whole host of reasons, his political superiors
at the UN [...]
The Discrediting of Neo-Conservatism
Summary:There is one thing the Bush administration has done very well over the course of the last seven years: it has completely discredited neo-conservatism as a doctrine for conducting foreign policy.
In
the world of international relations theory, schools of thought, to
paraphrase General Douglas MacArthur, “never die…they just fade
away.” Throughout the 20th century, a number of theories went in
and out of fashion, particularly in the United States. The
Wilsonian internationalist tradition (named after U.S. President
Woodrow Wilson) – which advocated a liberal, rules-based
international order dedicated to protecting international peace and
stability through multilateralism, collective [...]
In Ontario, Should Economic Rights include the Right to Daycare?
Summary:All governments in the industrialized world, including the Government of Ontario, are confronted with the question of how best to help those on low incomes get ahead; subsidized daycare is one solution.
Next
week, Ontarians will decide whether a change of government at
Queen’s Park is necessary. The intent of this posting is not to
provide editorial commentary on whom I think should win. Rather,
the intent is to reflect on on the wealth in this province, and,
more specifically, what can be done to ensure that it is
distributed in such a way that all Ontarians are able to share in
the spoils.
Economic rights are often described as “aspirational rights.” Unlike political and civil rights, which, [...]
Economic rights are often described as “aspirational rights.” Unlike political and civil rights, which, [...]
