Category: International politics

World politics, world issues; conflicts, governments, types of governance, fanatics and terrorists.

How Marx Presaged Today’s Canada

Canadian Politics / Critical Thinking / International politics / Philosophy / Politics / What I'm Reading NowOne Comment

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“The bourgeoisie has through its exploitation of the world market given a cosmopolitan character to production and consumption in every country,” wrote Karl Marx and Fredrich Engels, in 1848, in the Communist Manifesto. I came across this paragraph in Prof. David Harvey‘s book, A Companion to Marx’s Capital, recently and the quote from the Communist Manifesto struck me as very modern; one that presaged our current internationalism and the changes affecting Canada today. No one on this continent has been unaffected by the rampant, unchecked, … click below for more ↓

The Cold War

History & Biography / International politics / Personal Reminiscences / Politics / War & Military / What I'm Reading NowLeave a comment

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I was reminded by an article on Slate that the (to me) iconic film of the Cold War, Fail Safe, was released fifty years ago this week. And as the article records, more people remember the satirical film, Dr. Strangelove than the more chilling drama, Fail Safe. Perhaps they have forgotten it, as they have the Cold War itself. Forgotten too are the tensions and the fears that pervaded that era; the threats of nuclear war. the suspicions and paranoia about Communism, the McCarthy hearings, … click below for more ↓

The Forgotten Gulag

Books & Reviews / History & Biography / International politics / What I'm Reading Now2 Comments

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In the introduction to Anne Applebaum’s Pulitzer-prize-winning book, Gulag: A History, she ponders why the “crimes of Stalin do not inspire the same visceral reaction to the crimes of Hitler.” Yet Stalin’s actions and policies killed millions more than the Nazis. Maybe it’s because the USSR wrapped itself in as much secrecy as it could muster for so long. Maybe it’s because the Soviet camps were so far removed from sight and never received the pictorial and media coverage the Nazi camps received.* Maybe it’s … click below for more ↓

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