Not many surprises in the budget today for military spending. While Finance Minister Jim Flaherty did not announce any new spending increases, the budget did include a shifting of $175 million from 2009-10 to be spent much sooner this year (2007-08). Here is what the today’s budget said about defence: Implementing the Canada First Defence Plan […]
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The Space Security Index group meets in Montreal
As the war rages on in Iraq and Afghanistan, another disaster is unfolding slowly with almost no coverage in the media at all: the world is slowly sliding toward a new arms race – this time in space. One of the best tools available to us to monitor developments in space is called the Space Security […]
War Museum and Nuclear Weapons – No Excuse for This Much Ignorance
Steve Staples notes below that a sign in the War Museum explains that the massive nuclear “overkill” during the Cold War was due “in part to the decades of military and scientific miscalculation about the effects of nuclear explosions” It’s difficult to imagine a statement more erroneous or misleading. The precise effects of nuclear weapons were well understood by […]
Afghanistan's Frozen Children
Almost without exception, the North American media have portrayed the NATO soldiers in Afghanistan as saviours, welcomed by the population, and grateful for their deliverance from the Taliban religious fanatics. But a recent article in the German newsmagazine Der Spiegel explodes this myth. It portrays a confused and deadly mêlée that pits trigger – happy NATO soldiers and pilots against […]
RightOnCanada.ca launched in Ottawa
This afternoon we held a luncheon for human rights groups in the Ottawa area to come and hear about the Rideau Institute’s newest project, RightOnCanada.ca. The featured speaker was RightOnCanada.ca founder and Rideau Institute senior advisor Kathleen Ruff. Kathleen has a long history in the human rights field, including serving as the head of the […]
Rideau Institute opening reception photos
I just wanted to thank everyone who attended our little office launch of the new Rideau Institute on International Affairs in February. My special thanks to Senator Douglas Roche who gave a very generous and rousing speech about the work ahead and why a new policy and advocacy instutute is needed in Ottawa. I have to […]