The World Unmasked

There is a natural human tendency to believe that the outcome one hopes for is more likely than the one we deem to be undesirable. This goes for sports fans adamant that their own team’s victory is certain, and to every individual convinced of their own exceptionalism. Everyone believes, not what can be empirically proven, but what they want to be true. This is as much the case with politics as it is with every other facet of life and as a result many of those who wish to see Trump out of office cling to the hope that the allegations around Russia which seem to increase in their potency with each passing day will result in Trumps deposition from the office of the presidency. In all likelihood however this idea that Trumps impeachment is a foregone conclusion is little more than a fantasy. There are three major reasons why Trumps impeachment is highly unlikely. It is not yet confirmed that Trump was directly involved in collusion with Russia The allegations regarding collusion

On July 4th of 1776 a new republic was founded, at the time it was the sole nation in which democracy, a political model that has become near ubiquitous of late, was the ruling ideology. The new republic marked the onset of a new age in which all could be equal, and in which the rule of tyrants would be prevented. In what Francis Fukuyama termed the end of history, It was to be an age of liberty and with the widespread adoption of democracy across the world in the near 250 years following the establishment of the United States it appeared, that this ideal could be at last realized . But in recent years it has seemed that the world is no longer moving towards the “End of History” as regimes around the world seem to slide ever further back towards authoritarianism. The new tyranny however is not one of monarchs and dictators decrying democracy and taking control as the founding fathers might have envisioned. Rather the new tyranny is one in which the citizenry willingly give up their ow

“Will no one Rid me of this meddlesome priest” - Henry the second asking for the murder of the Archbishop of Canterbury In the past few weeks the eyes of Americans have been fixed on observing the ongoing Russia investigation, which as of yet seems to restlessly expand in its scope. The scandal which has so crippled the Trump administration has been the object of much political grandstanding especially among Democrats with many calling for Trumps impeachment as claims of Russian collusion with the Trump campaign seem to infinitely increase in likelihood as the investigation continues. The actions of the Trump campaign in response to this scandal however are in my mind at least, far more concerning than the idea that Russia ( a nation far less powerful than the United States by close to every measure) would be able to retain any significant influence on US government policy.  Rather the patronage that Trump seems to will upon the federal government is both concer

   It is said that knowledge is power. Conversely ignorance results in weakness turning people into little more than intellectual sheep. When one is ignorant, one is more likely to fall for false or otherwise unsound arguments proposed by those who would desire to shape opinion towards a predetermined conclusion. This is buoyed by the natural human tendencies of defensiveness and neophobia (fear of the unknown), both of which can be easily taken to excess. Ignorance creates massive unknowns and there is no lack of people who would desire to mold this ignorance into fear. Once this cycle has begun reversing it is near impossible. Fear inevitably leads to action. Like those of a cornered rat these actions are often fundamentally reactionary and involve the shattering of any illusions of peace and civility in a society. As will be demonstrated in the essay this pattern can cripple anything from individuals to great powers whose effects are far from trivial. This pattern was laid to b

Canada is not a nation known for its military. In fact if you ask Canadians ,we are one of the world's most peaceful of nations. This idea has only grown in the recent year as the election of Trudeau’s liberal government is supposedly a reaffirmation of the ideals which Canada had held for so long which were contrasted with the (at least rhetorically) more hawkish approach of Harper's conservative government. As proven by the recent increase in defense spending however the differences between the Trudeau and Harper governments of national security end with rhetoric as their action prove to be more similar than many Canadians would wish to believe. The Harper government had proudly advertised it hawkishness by publicly supporting an intervention in Iraq, taking a hard stance on Iran and avidly supporting the operations to reinforce NATO in Eastern Europe. The Harper government talked tough, always seeming willing to support whichever intervention was fashioned by the American

Terrorism in the 21st century, has become a powerful word. We all have an image of terrorism, as an act with the intention to kill people or otherwise cause damage in a violent manner for a given ideology. We are more than cognizant of the effects of this violence on people. There is constant coverage of terrorist actions and it has become, since the bombing of the twin towers in 2001, an obsession of the media to fawn over every detail of terrorist attacks. The number of casualties, the motivation of attackers, the dramatic manhunt, the personalities of the attackers and the victims. Following an attack these details are quickly enough revealed. This constant bombardment of information and of even the tiniest details relating to an attack has come to be expected in daily media coverage. Soon after the initial drama has ended, often before the bodies are even cold, there are a horde of experts, pundits and politicians who arrive on screens around the world to speak in panicked tones

Democracy has one prerequisite. One. That the members of the public remain above all else correctly informed about the government which they would elect. When this prerequisite does not exist democracy fails. This is because for a democracy to exist the people of that state must be able to determine for themselves the course that they wish the nation to follow. When knowledge is lacking this leaves them unable to independently form opinions, because on what basis would they plausibly do so if not on the basis of information? This leaves them vulnerable to the manipulation of demagogues and the weak or fallacious arguments proposed by them. For this reason it is tantamount to democracy that the press, or in other words the means of distribution of information, is obligated to inform the public. The problem arises not only when their ability to distribute information is hampered by the state, but also when they themselves chose not to serve but to exploit the public. This is precise

It seems each day that President Trump has a new enemy, this time Canadian dairy production is the new victim of his fury, but is his anger entirely misplaced? The short answer is that it is not misplaced, but "tearing apart NAFTA is not going to help fix the current US dairy glut, in fact it might worsen it. So what exactly is going on with US dairy? The answer is not quite as simple as Canada exporting more milk to the US. In fact Canada has a trade defect with the US for dairy. So what exactly is going on? Well a few days ago the Canadian government passed regulation which was more protectionist of Canadian dairy production. Canada has already had similar policies in place around dairy for some time, it is a system called supply management. It works like this, Canada determines the amount of domestic supply for dairy products and regulates foreign imports based on the degree of domestic demand in order to protect the Canadian dairy industry from foreign competition. The syste