Rich history
Not until you visit a country can you truly appreciate its uniqueness. Portugal, for example, is a country rich in history—with some suggesting that Neanderthals and Homo sapiens might have long ago co-existed in its north. Grapes have been cultivated on the Iberian Peninsula since at least 2,000 BC. When the Phoenicians arrived, they not […]
The Wideman hit
For any of you who have ever worn stripes or called balls and strikes, the behaviour of Dennis Wideman of the Calgary Flames likely upset you. Wideman is a professional hockey player with several years in the NHL, and a reasonably good reputation as a clean player. After being checked in the corner, during the […]
The monumental charm offensive
Did you see that photograph of the big gold statue of Chairman Mao erected in rural China? Here one minute; but gone the next, after the public reaction to it was less than fulsome. And then there’s the news that the proposed Mother Canada monument planned for Cape Breton Highlands National Park is being reevaluated. […]
Purge
In the 1990s, when I decided to go back to school, the Internet was available to the public but it hadn’t gained a reputation as a place to do research for an essay or a thesis. At that time, most family homes and public libraries still had hard copies of encyclopedias on their bookshelves. The […]
When civil discourse fails
Last week, a well-watched trial ended with charges being dismissed, a cliff-hanger ending to what was considered a potential turning point in free speech on the wild west of the Internet. Gregory Elliott was charged with criminal harassment for an online war of words turned ugly. The backstory is convoluted. Elliott was reacting to three […]
Hero complex
After a rocky start in late 2015, the federal government’s promise to bring 25,000 Syrian refugees into Canada is well underway. Though opinions on this effort—along with an understanding of both the definition of refugees and the Syrian conflict—vary, one conclusion seems inevitable: unforeseen problems will emerge. Earlier this week, an article published by CBC […]
Following the young cats—and Mr. Jagr
With only a handful of games remaining before the All-Star break, NHL teams are assessing their expectations for the remainder of the regular season. The break usually comes at the halfway point in the season; however, for a variety of reasons, some teams have played well over half of their games. The Black Hawks played […]
Back in time
While on my way back from research in Portugal, I offer some snippets from previous articles. Starting next week, I’ll report on the results of our investigations. Europe of the 12th century was completely different in national boundaries and political outlook than we know it today. This was about to change radically for two reasons; […]
Charity begins at home
The more I hear about charitable organizations and how uncharitable some of them really are, the more likely I am to avoid donating. Last week, the City of Toronto, the GTA, City of Orillia and the City of Brockville were knocked back on their collective butts when the doors of their Goodwill stores closed. Little […]
Specialists
We have constructed a world that functions on specialization. The complexities of our society require it: from baristas to barristers, from construction workers to cardiologists, we each know how to do one thing that defines our function in society, and we must all rely on other specialists to know their own work, because we cannot […]