Riot Crackdown was Cack-handed
You would be forgiven for thinking that 30 years after the last major round of riots in London, the government had learned a thing or two from its (Conservative) predecessor. But you would be wrong. Read More Read More
UK Riots: An English Pantomime
The belated, arthritic response to England’s riots is a tragicomedy whose main players seem to embody long-cherished caricatures of Englishness. Even as windows shattered and buildings blazed, looters formed an orderly British queue to steal from JD Sports – stopping to try on shoes before leaving. Read More Read More
Look, America – That’s Real Democracy in the Making
As America, the world’s loudest democracy disgraces itself with gridlock and obstructionism, it’s ironic we must look to the Middle East to recall the promise of real democracy. It may well take years before it flourishes in the rocky soils of Tunisia and Egypt, but it makes for more interesting viewing than the bizarre showcase of constitutional texts on American television.... Read More
Why Surrender your gun when you can Lobby for More?
The shooting rampage in Tucson, Arizona, in which six people were killed and 13 injured, prompts us in other countries to ask why we don’t kill each other quite as much Americans do. The sheer number of guns in the streets of US cities would seem a good place to begin – but that would be naïve. Read More Read More
Muscular Oratory vs. Christian Cant
At Toronto’s Roy Thompson Hall on Friday, mining tycoon and host Peter Munk’s meandering introduction finally gave way to what was billed a battle of ideas. Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair debated with ardent atheist Christopher Hitchens, over whether religion is a force for good in the world. Read More Read More
CITY STREETS A SIGN OF OUR HUMANITY
As I threaded my motorbike through Johannesburg’s streets at dusk, the clumsy and careless driving that seems integral to city life everywhere, was eclipsed by a single act. I revved the throaty motor to warn wayward pedestrians before charging down the busy street with increasing speed. Read More Read More
G-20 a Missed Chance in the Making
Away from the clashes between police and protesters, looms a battle of a different sort – between Canadians trying to tax, regulate and rein in banks and financial institutions, and those who will do everything in their power to maintain the status quo. There is little appetite in Ottawa these days for brave new ideas. But we don’t have to look too far back for inspiration.... Read More
South Africa: the Fight to take down Apartheid-era Landmarks
Black South Africans are starting to dethrone Apartheid-era leaders, immortalised in statues and street signs. In these reports for CBC Radio and the Toronto Star, I uncover the quiet fight for South Africa’s landmarks. Activists and municipalities are starting to re-name them or take them down altogether. But some white South Africans are angry, and are not letting them... Read More
Streets don’t have to be a battlegound
Toronto Star >> We should not regard the horrific death of a cyclist as a one-off event to be dismissed as the act of a lone motorist. Not only have there been similarly ghastly events in the past – including the driver who, last November, used his vehicle as a weapon to permanently maim a cyclist, costing him his leg – people’s lives are threatened by road rage... Read More
My near-death experience
The Globe and Mail >> Lying dazed on a downtown street, I looked up at the moving clouds. As I began to focus, I saw a vast, empty road with vague figures in the distance. I had been riding my bike to do interviews for a pilot radio show. The roads were dry and the wind was with me. But as I powered ahead, one question kept nagging me: What is this van doing so close to me? It... Read More
