There was more grim news on the impacts of climate change yesterday.  A new study from the Global Humanitarian Forum (GHF), a group headed by former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, estimates that climate change now kills 315,000 people annually.  This is an increase from a previous World Health Organization estimate of 150,000 deaths per year.     Read more »

Yesterday, the Sri Lankan government celebrated the defeat of the rebel Tamil Tiger group.  Today, it is showing how hollow any hopes for a lasting peace are.     Read more »

Amnesty International Group 164 annual auction
Wednesday 2009 May 6, 5:30 pm
Granite Brewery
245 Eglinton Ave East at Mount Pleasant
416 322-0723
$10, free beer, all proceeds to Amnesty International’s human rights work

My Amnesty International group, which meets on the first Tuesday evening of every month right on the Danforth in St. Barnabas’s Church, is holding its annual auction.  I invite everyone to come.     Read more »

Canada, long considered an important moderating international player, is rapidly becoming an international pariah under PM Harper’s government.  On climate change, we’ve announced that we will be making no effort to meet our Kyoto obligations and we’ve more recently hampered progress during the Bali negotiations.  On indigenous rights we were one of only four nations to oppose the UN’s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (DRIP), negotiated with Canada leading the way under the previous Chretien/Martin governments.  Now, it turns out Canada led the way to defeating a UN resolution to enshrine a universal right to clean water.     Read more »

I find this article about Omar Khadr summarizes my views:

The civilized world condemns the recruitment of child soldiers. Yet Canada sits quietly by as one of its citizens, Omar Khadr, is prosecuted by the United States for war crimes he allegedly committed at age 15 as a member of al-Qaeda.

It is impossible to square. Al-Qaeda’s recruitment of child soldiers is immoral and abusive; consequently, it is immoral and abusive to prosecute as a war criminal a child recruited by al-Qaeda, and punish him accordingly. We can’t have it both ways.     Read more »