Jean is back in Hamilton to put final touches on McMaster University’s Nov. 8 symposium on international women’s health. My wife has left me to fend for myself. But rather than take on our kitchen stove, I’ve decided it’s better to get kidnapped.
Kidnapping is a cultural event Read More »
Dear Osama: We’ve been back several weeks now and Jean and I are settling nicely in this ancient land of your ancestry. But we’re still not sure where the old bin Laden family homestead is. And where, Osama, are you? Somewhere warm?
Get back, Osama, to where you ‘haunt’ Read More »
Folks who lined up to throw pies at the prime minister for his candid suggestion that 9/11 was linked with growing global disparities and Western greed may want to stop reading this. The rest of you may meet my wife, Jean, a woman I thank God for every day.
Hamilton doctor battles deaths during childbirth Read More »
It’s daybreak and we’re again travelling the dusty roads of Sanaa, Yemen’s capital. After two days of travel, Jean and I are nearing home, a ground-level apartment on a street with no name. Thank you U-2.
The world is becoming more of a neighbourhood Read More »
So the poor Tories, $5 billion in the red, say they might clobber Ontario’s smokers with higher taxes to bankroll new spending. An ex- smoker, I can relate to the pain. Too bad there’s not another easy target. Like qat.
Cheeky Yemen is king of Qat stimulant use Read More »
Thank you for your wishes for “peace and quiet” and “safety and peace.” It seems one can’t keep anything secret any more. The Internet shows newspapers from China to Switzerland to Australia have reported the recent racket in Yemen.
It’s tough to find peace anywhere Read More »
Isaiah must have been crazy. The ancient prophet, a Shakespeare of Hebrew literature, predicted that someday the wolf would lay down with the lamb, and men would beat their swords into ploughshares. He wrote that almost 3,000 years ago.
Building a new Middle East Read More »
I’m sitting in a small, dirty room, on the floor, swigging a cola and chatting with a Yemeni I see for Arabic lessons. It’s my first visit to his place, and he’s given the pop — in one of those old, glass bottles from the ’70s — to make me feel welcome.
Give Anees a shot at his dreams Read More »
