Courage, charisma and adaptability allowed her son to mingle smoothly with the white world
My previous column told the story of Cynthia Ann Parker. Kidnapped as a nine-year-old in an 1836 Comanche raid, she was assimilated into the tribe, married a war chief with whom she had three children, and was then ‘rescued’ by Texas Rangers in 1860. She died a decade later, miserable and unwilling to reintegrate into…
Anxiety in London, Ottawa and Wellington that their influence is waning
Recently there has been a welcome debate about the extent to which the Five Eyes security partnership between Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States can and should be mobilized for strategic and diplomatic activities outside of its traditional intelligence, military, and law enforcement collaborations. This debate was further fuelled in…
Or are false accusations crowding out the truth?
No other Nobel Peace Prize winner in recent memory has endured the wrath of the international media, the fury of global think tanks, and the scolding of UN, EU, and U.S. officials as much as Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. The Washington Post describes the decision to bestow the Peace Prize on him as “the…
If a huge majority of Americans can't denounce what happened on Jan. 6, 2021, the U.S. has big problems
Imagine a country where football players kneeling on the sideline peacefully protesting inequalities in their country are labelled “unpatriotic,” “treasonous” and “sons of bitches” by the president of the country, while citizens who violently storm the nation’s Capitol and break into the House Chamber in an attempt to stop the certification of a presidential election…
Kidnapped by Commanches then rescued, Cynthia Ann Parker was a victim of cultural genocide twice over
Movie enthusiasts invariably sing the praises of John Ford’s The Searchers. Released in 1956 and starring John Wayne, the film has been described as a masterpiece and shows prominently in critical lists of the best films ever made. It’s inspired by a true story. Or maybe that should be stories in the plural. The Searchers…
A U.S. program to increase competition in meat-packing won’t work
United States President Joe Biden recently introduced a billion-dollar program to lower food inflation by increasing competition in meat-packing. It’s likely ill-fated. A few weeks ago, a damning report out of Washington suggested the top U.S. meat-packing plants have increased profit margins by 300 per cent since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The report,…
At 85 per cent of total output, social media accounted for the largest amount of COVID-19 misinformation
India is the world’s top hot spot for COVID-19 misinformation, accounting for roughly one in six pieces of global output, according to a University of Alberta master’s student who studies world media. Hard on India’s heels are the U.S., Brazil and Spain, said Sayeed Al-Zaman of the U of A’s Department of Media and Technology…
The dip came as a new COVID-19 strain sparked fears of renewed lockdowns and demand destruction
World crude oil markets crashed on Friday by more than 10 per cent. For the first time since late September, West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. crude, tumbled below $70 a barrel, while the global benchmark, Brent, slumped to less than $75 a barrel. This crash wasn’t anticipated. The relief didn’t just come from the co-ordinated…
Given Biden’s age and niggling concerns therein, there’s a non-trivial chance he won’t see full term
Just a year after giving Donald Trump his electoral walking papers, the Democrats are in some degree of disarray in the United States. It’s still early days and things may turn around before the 2024 election, perhaps even in time for the 2022 midterm elections in the U.S. But the Democrats’ jubilant triumph of 2020…
U.S. "commitment" to tackle climate change crumbles in the face of climate poverty
With the possibility of co-ordinated moves by major crude-oil consuming nations, the markets took a hit last week. On Friday, oil prices were down four to six per cent. Strong demand growth and a tight leash on global supplies have driven the oil markets in recent months. New COVID-19 lockdowns in parts of the world…