Category World Affairs
They Ate Their Horses
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 that date was over. But not for everyone. Today, as Canada pauses for the traditional two minutes of silence, I will be remembering my mother’s father. He […]
The World Needs Leadership
I have here in the past mentioned, or more accurately lamented, that there seems to be a lack of leaders in our society. There are those we follow due to their celebrity: heroes of Hollywood or stars of the sports world. Shaping and influencing culture does not necessarily make them leaders; they may just be […]
Terror Strikes Home
I got a text from my son: “Are you on the Hill?” “Yes” I replied. After all, I’m on Parliament hill every Wednesday morning. Another text: “There were shots fired. Any idea what is going on?” Outside I heard the sirens. Sirens are as normal in downtown Ottawa as in any urban setting – fire […]
Under Attack!
I had things I wanted to do on Wednesday and decided not to write a blog post. But what you plan and what happens are frequently not the same. What I expected to be an ordinary work day wound up being extraordinary, with an apparent terrorist attack on the Parliament of Canada that left me […]
Tyne Cot Cemetery
On the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website there is a warning: SCHOOL GROUPS: TEACHERS – PLEASE CLOSELY SUPERVISE YOUR STUDENTS, PARTICULARLY AT THE TYNE COT CEMETERY CROSS OF SACRIFICE. I presume the all caps are to emphasize the importance of the message. I’m not sure what exactly is meant by “supervise closely.” When we visited […]
The Brooding Soldier
One of the highlights of the Belgian leg of our tour of Europe was the Brooding Soldier at St. Julien. After Vimy Ridge this may be the biggest, best known, Canadian war memorial in Europe. It is a poignant site, a soldier with head bowed, grieving for his lost comrades. The memorial is located at […]
Solving The Middle East Crisis II
Neil Remington Abramson is filling in for me today with some more thoughts on the Middle East: Truthfully, we must choose who we are and will be, but we generally equivocate. Heartless bastards or followers of Christ – perhaps we should choose and become more effective in what we do. Or perhaps it is a […]
Reading Hanna’s Diary
In a Germany, where Hitler is the Lord God, we and our children have no place. – Hanna Dahlkotter, 1934. My wife’s maternal grandmother, Hanna Dahklkotter, died in 1967, thirteen years before Vivian and I met. I only know her from stories. When we visited Lippstadt, Germany this summer Vivian’s Aunt Eva mentioned that she […]
Solving The Middle East Crisis
My friend Neil Remington Abramson and I frequently engage in discussion and debate, usually on blog written by a mutual friend, Bruce La Rochelle. Neil and I are generally in agreement on most things, and we have a great respect for each others’ point of view. Some of my recent posts on my summer vacation […]
random thoughts from lorne 
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