Category World Affairs
Unreal
In North America the ongoing struggle against ISIS in Iraq and Syria is something for the nightly news. It is far away and doesn’t impact us personally. Unless you travel there, in which case it becomes very real. I was given the opportunity to visit a refugee camp in northern Iraq, Yazidi people pushed out […]
Refugees – Cold Hard Facts
He speaks with the authority of someone who has been there. I didn’t think to ask if I could quote him, so I won’t give his name. He’s a relief worker in the middle east. We were having dinner, and the discussion turned to the refugee crisis in Iraq and Syria, not a […]
They Ate Their Horses
I published this post on Remembrance Day last year, but wanted to publish it again because for me it brings the First World War home personally. Today we remember. At the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 the guns fell silent. The bloodiest war in human history to […]
Remembrance Day
Today is Remembrance Day in Canada, the anniversary of the Armistice that ended the First Word War. It is a time for reflection on the nature of war and peace. I mentioned last year that I would be thinking today about my grandfather, who was a First World War veteran. There are ceremonies across Canada […]
Reflections
This post ran one year ago today in the immediate aftermath of the attack on Parliament Hill. The question raised, the striking of a balance between justice (which may at times be more vengeance) and love remains a difficult one. The natural response is to strike back at those who hurt you. The Christian imperative […]
One Year Later
It was one year ago today that a lone terrorist attacked the National War Memorial in Ottawa and then the Parliament Buildings. That day had a profound impact on not just this city but on our country. I wrote three posts on the subject immediately following the incident (including while locked down if you click […]
Refugees and Migrants II – The Logistics
I said yesterday that someone needs to talk about the logistics involved in Canada opening its doors to an increased number of refugees fleeing the war in Syria. It is not enough just to be moved by the pictures, there are practical considerations. Canada took in 40,000 Vietnamese refugees in 1979-1980, a number made possible […]
Refugees and Migrants I – Election Fodder
It suddenly became the biggest issue of the Canadian federal election, sparked by a photograph of a dead Syrian boy whose family had supposedly desired to emigrate Canada. He (and other family members) had drowned trying to get from Turkey to Greece. According to the news media, the family had applied to for refugee status […]
On Church and State in Rowan County
The case was huge on Twitter and Facebook. Depending on your slant, either a Christian was jailed for her faith or a scoff-law was put in her place, when Kim Davis, County Clerk in Rowan County, Kentucky, was jailed for contempt of court (she has since been released). Her crime was to defy a court […]
Elizabeth Regina
When I was first in school, a long time ago now, we started every day by singing God Save The Queen, which at the time was still officially the Canadian national anthem. The present anthem, O Canada, has been around for more than a century, but didn’t become official until 1980. I mention this today […]
random thoughts from lorne 
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