Numerous Narratives

"Political power intoxicates the best hearts. No man is wise enough, nor good enough, to be trusted with much political power." ~ Hans F. Sennholz "The combination of economic and political power in the same hands is a sure recipe for tyranny." ~ Milton Friedman "Where is the justice of political power if it executes the murderer and jails the plunderer, and then itself marches upon neighboring lands, killing thousands and pillaging the very hills?" ~ Khalil Gibran Political power is the a...

"Another longstanding foreign policy flaw is the degree to which special interests dictate the way in which the "national interest" as a whole is defined and pursued.... America's important historic relationship with Israel has often led foreign policy decision-makers to defer reflexively to Israeli security assessments, and to replicate Israeli tactics, which, as the war in Lebanon last summer demonstrated, can turn out to be counter-productive." ~ Samantha Power The erosion of globalism, on...

HEADLINES The Israeli military has repeatedly attacked medical workers and healthcare facilities in Lebanon. Gaza: Israel’s Northern Offensive Endangering Hundreds of Thousands of Civilians. International Court Rulings Require EU Action on Israel and Palestine; Sanctions, Trade Measures, Support for ICC Crucial to Comply with International Law. Lebanon: Israeli Strikes on Financial Group are War Crimes; Hezbollah-Affiliated Civilian Institutions Not Lawful Military Targets. Lebanon: Israel...

Clausewitz said "war is merely the continuation of politics by other means." In other words, political objectives always drive war, and that strategy should coordinate military actions with political goals. In Ukraine, Russia's actions are shaped by long-term political goals of influence, while Ukraine aligns with Western powers and willing and open to being part of Western Europe and North American sphere of influence. In the Middle East, conflicts reflect deep political, economic resources,...

In the cold shadow of recent crises, Europe stands exposed, confronted by an undeniable truth: it is tragically unprepared. A European war lurks at the borders, pandemics arise like unwelcome spectres, and the earth itself shudders beneath us—yet we linger in a dangerous slumber of complacency. Why did NATO countries keep pushing Ukraine to join as a junior member of NATO on the doorstep of its historic, interlinked big brother, Russia? NATO viewed Ukraine’s potential membership as a...

Moscow’s warning to the United States is a dire one, cloaked in a tone that forewarns the gravity of history’s darkest days. Dmitry Medvedev, once Russia’s president, suggests that America’s leaders are dangerously underestimating Russia's resolve. He invokes Henry Kissinger’s wisdom as a shadow of what is lost, pointing to the West’s lack of insight, and the hubris that blinds them to the true stakes. Medvedev’s words are not mere rhetoric but a declaration of survival—a grim vow that ...

"The predominant yardstick of your government is not human rights but national interests." ~ Breyten Breytenbach "The reputation of those countries which cater to the foreign policy interests of other states at the expense of their own national interests will go down regardless of how they explain their actions." ~ Vladimir Putin "In some cases, in order to protect global issues some sacrifice for national interest is worth it in the long run. Global warming, these things, they suffer everybo...

Intuition is like a gut feeling that tells us what might be true. We rely on intuition when we sense something isn’t right in a certain place, such as the Gaza Strip. It’s a valuable ability that we, as human beings, have, but it’s not always easy to explain or fully understand. The mass starvation happening in Gaza, imposed by the Israeli government and supported by the United States and the European Union, is leading to illness and death among Palestinians of all ages. Yes, war causes starva...

Being called "smart" is usually higher than average intelligence. The individual understands complex ideas and grasps information quickly. "Hard-working" people often achieve long-term goals, even in challenging fields, because of their perseverance and resiliency. "Clever" individuals are often quick problem-solvers and adapt well to new dynamic, unpredictable life situations or creative fields, where adaptability is needed. "Street-smart" people can read people, understand social dynamics,...

"Human dignity is the same for all human beings: when I trample on the dignity of another, I am trampling on my own." ~ Pope Francis "We need to realize that poverty doesn't only consist of being hungry for bread, but rather it is a tremendous hunger for human dignity. We need to love and to be someone for someone else" ~ St. Teresa of Calcutta "No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they ca...

Just thinking... of my younger years... I just noticed my mother’s and father’s reading habits. My parents were extremely voracious readers and connoisseurs of literature. They would read and discuss at least 12 or more nonfiction books and international papers on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. In total, we must have hosted 50 to 100 writers and thinkers—Indigenous and Black intellectuals—at our humble home over a 5-year span. It was amazing how many individuals with so many interesting ideas ...

"Peace is not the absence of conflict, but the ability to cope with it" ~ Mahatma Gandhi "Looked at objectively, it is clear that the overwhelming majority of civilian deaths resulting from political violence are produced by what should be understood as "state terror." Terrorism also serves as an excuse to avoid diplomacy and the peaceful resolution of conflict." ~ Richard A. Falk "We usually speak of the Jewish-Christian civilization - perhaps, the time has come, especially with regard to th...

"Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you as by the attitude you bring to life; not so much by what happens to you as by the way your mind looks at what happens." ~ Khalil Gibran "Nurture your mind with great thoughts" ~ Benjamin Disraeli "Have fun, work hard and money will come. Don't waste time - grab your chances. Have a positive outlook on life. When it's not fun, move on." ~ Richard Branson Life is an ongoing series of challenges, battles, and struggles, and the...

I think the International Criminal Court could be a threat to American security interests, because the prosecutor of the court has enormous discretion in going after war crimes. ~ John Bolton Has the international criminal court avoided opening an investigation into alleged war crimes in Gaza due to political pressure. The answer is an unequivocal “no”. As prosecutor of the ICC, I reject any suggestion of this in the strongest terms. ~ Fatou Bensouda There are arrest warrants for Israeli P...

The world is watching the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu... Unfortunately approved by the USA and UK of war crimes for the past 2 years. Now the world is watching and understanding that the US American government will give Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli government full support for whatever Israeli military does. Multiple times, the American government, specifically the Biden presidency and the White House spokesperson has told the world unequivocally the United States of America ...

"I have offended God and mankind because my work didn't reach the quality it should have." ~ Leonardo da Vinci "Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work." ~ Thomas A. Edison "Work is love made visible." ~ Khalil Gibran Working for people versus working with people is about power, autonomy, and collaboration. When we think about working for a manager for a so-called boss or an owner, we're looking at traditional structures of working roles d...

"Violence does even justice unjustly." ~ Thomas Carlyle "No man has a natural right to commit aggression on the equal rights of another; and this is all from which the laws ought to restrain him." ~ Thomas Jefferson "Man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love." ~ Martin Luther King, Jr. Recognizing our aggressive impulses is somewhat important for understanding human nature. Humans are capable o...

The concept of eternal recurrence is deeply reflected in how history repeats itself... Over the 78 years, an Israeli political cyclical violence is placed upon the Palestinians. Over the 7 decades, Israeli politicians would name or label Israeli military bombings of the Palestinians as, "mowing the lawn" or "mowing the grass." A process of dehumanization of the Palestinian people to commit a cyclical decades long, mass murder of an indigenous people of that region. The continuous cycle of th...

In the vast, often cruel theatre of human affairs, ideologies do not merely obscure reality; they mold it, imprison it within the confines of a simple moral fantasy, one where truth is reduced to the tragic absurdity of “good” against “evil,” or the hollow rhetoric of “security” against “terror.” In the Israeli bombardments of Gaza, an empty comfort that blinds the eye to the suffering of the Palestinians, whose lives are shattered beneath the weight of bombs, burned out buildings, broken glas...

Whenever a country is expanding its borders nationalism is central to any conflict. Whenever there is competing nationalities deeply tied to religious and historical claims to land, the "Storm of Nationalism," competing nationalities tend to compete and conflict and possibly War with each other. Political anarchism that we tend to see on social media news and on traditional news channels can be considered a rejection of traditional authorities or a rejection of the nationalism state structure...

Now military analysts from Europe and North America are coming forward and giving a rough estimate that there are over 200,000 Palestinians that were killed in the Gaza Strip due to Israeli bombing for the past year. Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson and Fmr USMC Captain Matthew Hoh give a very grim assessment, and the rationale for both sides not telling the world, the actual true numbers of individuals that have been murdered by the Israeli bombing. Their assessments based on the amount of bombed ...

September 20th, 2007, was the last time the Canadian dollar hit parity with the USA dollar. Average household income before taxes in USA is close to $74,500 with approximately 12% poverty rate. Average household income before taxes in Canada is slightly above $106,300 with approximately 7.5% poverty rate. Just by looking at three basic simplified ways we Canadians can improve our standard of living... Expand housing affordability in urban areas. Affordable housing will help more people ga...

"Doesn't the world see the suffering of millions of Palestinians who have been living in exile around the world or in refugee camps for the past 60 years? No state, no home, no identity, no right to work. Doesn't the world see this injustice?" ~ Ismail Haniyeh "There is not one single place built in Israel that did not have a former Arab population." ~ Moshe Dayan "Referring to Palestinian refugees: "We must do everything in our power to ensure that they never return." ~ David Ben-Gurion "Fo...

Emerging markets and developing economies will be improving their economies by 4.3% India has amazing growth in all sectors with 7% growth. With China mainland with 5% economic growth. United States and Canada with 2.4% economic growth. With the European economic growth at 1% Israeli economic growth at 0% One of the worst situations that Israel is in due to the constant attacks towards different areas of the Middle Eastern societies, there's a massive reduction in economic activity due ...

As leader of Russia, Vladimir Putin, has warned the world, "Russia will never lose a war, especially a nuclear war." A typical Russian cultural thought process that we have read through many Russian writers such as Dostoevsky and Tolstoy, Russia has always had a very grim War strategy. "You destroy me, I then will destroy you" If the Russian society are close to losing a war, especially a nuclear attack, they have the "dead hand" or Perimeter fail safe system in which all the nuclear weapons...

"The power of Open Source is the power of the people. The people rule." ~ Philippe Kahn "Empowerment of individuals is a key part of what makes open source work, since in the end, innovations tend to come from small groups, not from large, structured efforts." ~ Tim O'Reilly "In open source, we feel strongly that to really do something well, you have to get a lot of people involved." ~ Linus Torvalds "There are many examples of companies and countries that have improved their competitiveness...

Whenever you treat people with dignity and respect, peace happens. Treating others with dignity and respect, fosters and cultivates trust, understanding, harmony, and positive change, leading to a peaceful environment. When we are disrespected, discriminated against, emotionally and physically mistreated like non-citizens, scapegoated, and targeted, it's hard to bring about peace. It is much harder to cultivate peace when, we are disrespected, discriminated, and mistreated. For many individu...

Collective punishment through military bombing of targeted infrastructure of a society as a whole is considered unethical. When civilian populations are specifically targeted such military actions are considered against International law, which was established by the Geneva Convention to protect civilians during times of internal and external conflicts and war. The world has watched for over a year now of the collective punishment dealt out by the Israeli military advised and supported by the U...

The scale of the casualties in the Gaza Strip since October 2023, with approximately 43,000 deaths, mostly women, children, and the elderly is atrocious, an absolute historical mass murder of innocent civilians, victims of "collective punishment" as the Israeli military and government describe their mass murder of the Gazan civilians. 43,000 Palestinians killed out of 2.2 million is a staggering comparison to Canada’s population. If we translate this figure to a proportion of Canada’s 40 milli...

As a new Canadian, starting college can be both exciting and daunting. But with the right support, it's definitely achievable. To make college more accessible, we need to break down barriers and create a more inclusive environment. This means offering programs to help you upgrade your qualifications and meet prerequisites, providing language support, and offering courses to prepare you successfully for academic life. Mentors can guide you through the process, while counselors can offer sup...