Diplomacy
State or not, Palestinians simply don't have a partner at the negotiating table
The opposition of both Barack Obama and Stephen Harper to the Palestinian Authority’s bid for statehood at the United Nations on the grounds that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict needs to be solved by bilateral negotiations is based on a false premise: that Israel’s leaders are or have been serious about such negotiations. The point here is… More »
Why are Egypt evacuees being charged $400? Ask the "Canadians of Convenience"
As the world spent the last two weeks watching the pro-democracy movement swell in Egypt, occasional outbursts of violence prompted many governments to advise their citizens to avoid travelling there. Some are also arranging to get people out. Multiple governments of varying prosperity have organized charter flights to evacuate citizens. Even the Iraqi government has procured flights, despite the… More »
5 important things to know about the Afghan endgame
Irving Howe (the New York socialist) once wrote “Blessed New York Times! What would radical journalism in America do without it?” The newspaper was, to be sure, a tool of the bourgeois but a tool that reported the news with unequalled comprehensiveness. Read it and, ideology aside, you became the possessor of a full range… More »
Canada loses out in bid for Security Council seat, Conservatives blame Ignatieff
Before yesterday’s vote by the General Assembly of the United Nations, the message from Canadian government officials was one of cautious optimism. There might be tense moments and flustered diplomats, but Canada had not lost a vote for a Security Council seat in 60 years. Prime Minister Stephen Harper made two big speeches to the… More »
EcoChamber in Copenhagen: "This conference will probably be wrecked."
COPENHAGEN, DENMARK — The thread is being pulled on the climate talks here in Copenhagen, and the whole show is beginning to unravel. There are really several different conferences happening, and the cracks are showing. The developing world has been so outraged by the proceedings in Copenhagen that the G77 leader, Lumumba Stanislaus Di-Aping, walked… More »
EcoChamber in Copenhagen: Are we signing a global suicide pact?
[Editor's note: Emily Hunter is in Copenhagen, Denmark for the next two weeks covering the Copenhagen Climate Summit, and will be sending us updates about what's going on. Check back daily for her updates.] COPENHAGEN, DENMARK — The negotiations have begun over our climate future here in Copenhagen. Global leaders may decide in the next… More »
EcoChamber #19: World War Three is already here. It's called climate change
It’s as if we’re in a car that is blazing along. We are on cruise control as we hit a crossroads. We desperately need to make a turn. But instead of slowing down or making shifts in the wheel, we’re full-speed ahead. It’s a diverse group of us in the car but all we’re doing… More »
Wednesday WTF: G77 walkout adds fuel to the "Blame Canada" fire
Canada’s delegation to the latest round of global climate agreement negotiations put on quite the show a few days ago, suggesting that perhaps it’s time to scrap the Kyoto Accord and start over. The reviews are in, and the critics didn’t like it. In fact, they walked out just after the opening number. The Canadian… More »
A world-changing consensus emerging at the UNESCO Youth Forum in Paris
Over the past four years I have had the great fortune of being able to live and travel in different places around the world. As I made it my job to spend time talking with youth from these different countries—primarily Uganda, Kenya, Canada, Denmark and Kosovo—I quickly discovered that we have one common and highly… More »
EcoChamber #17: Stephen Harper's donut diplomacy
Make way, Homer Simpson—there’s a new Donut King in town: Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Choosing donuts over climate change deserves the title of King. King not only of donuts (as one critic called Harper) but the King of climate deniers. Last week, our Prime Minister skipped a day at the UN Climate Summit in New… More »
