[Montréal, Québec, Canada -2°C] Before the last civil war started in Sudan in 1983, the country’s protected areas, according to the Wildlife Conservaton Society, “supported some of the most spectacular and important wildlife populations in Africa, and hosted the second largest wildlife migration in the world.” According to their website, “During an aerial survey, more [...]
Posts under ‘opinion’
Canada before Copenhagen: Truth versus Mythology
[Montréal, Québec, Canada 8°C] An article in Monday’s Guardian newspaper has the following subtitle: “The tar barons have held the nation to ransom. This thuggish petro-state is today the greatest obstacle to a deal in Copenhagen.” The article’s author, George Monbiot, continues in the first paragraph with:
When you think of Canada, which qualities come to [...]
Berlin Wall is Gone but Separation Walls are a Growth Industry
[Montréal, Québec, Canada 7°C] The celebration of the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall was one week ago today. With that behind us, it is now time to acknowledge that the construction of separation walls throughout the world is on the increase. According to l’Observatoire de géopolitique de la Chaire Raoul-Dandurand at [...]
Berlin, Check Point Charlie, and Giant-Puppet Theatre
[Montréal, Québec, Canada 16°C] Since my first visit to (East and West) Berlin in 1985, the city has never fully escaped my imagination. I remember walking up one of the platforms on the Western side of the wall near Potsdamer Platz to peer over the reinforced concrete barrier to get a glimpse behind the Iron [...]
BurningBillboard Branches Out and Air Traffic Worldwide.
[Montréal, Québec, Canada 18°C] I started this BurningBillboard to gather and disseminate video, audio and written reports about Southern Sudan. The place is at relative peace since signing a peace agreement in 2005. I wanted to know more about Southern Sudan and share what I learned with others interested in the emergence of peace rather [...]
Africa, Canadian Mining Interests, Human Cargo and Re-education
[Montréal, Québec, Canada 18°C] Last night, I watched the five last episodes of the 2004 six-part television series, Human Cargo, directed by Brad Turner. I watched it on DVD borrowed from the well-stocked video library at La Grande Bibliothèque. The winner of seven Gemini Awards, including best director and best miniseries, the series follows parallel [...]
Two Million Southern Sudanese Returned Home Since 2005
[Montréal, Québec, Canada 23°C — même article en français] On June 15, Le Devoir included an Agence France-Presse article: “Sudan: Rebels Attack a Humanitarian Convoy“. The article wrote that Jikany Nuer tribesmen attacked a United Nations World Food Program convoy of 31 barges as it was transporting 700 tons of food aid. The humanitarian aid [...]
