The Story – A Chemical Weapons Attack in Syria During the afternoon of April 4, news broke in North America of an apparent chemical agent attack in Idlib, Syria. Within hours, news agencies and social media streamed horrific videos of adults and children gasping for air and being rushed to hospitals for treatment, where they were…
As chance would have it, two weeks ago I began working on a review of the book ISIS: The State of Terror, by Jessica Stern and J.M. Berger. The main theme of my review was that, while the book provided some interesting context on the rise of the Islamic State and the evolution of global terrorism, it…
Ed. Note: With this post, I am introducing a new feature to Pine Tree Republic called “Viewpoints”. This monthly series will present a distinct opinion and set of policy recommendations on a recent political or international relations issue, complementing our “Front Page News” features, which will remain as objective as possible in analyzing the wider…
Ed. Note: Over the past two weeks, we have explored one Syrian refugee’s experience immigrating to Canada. As the refugee crisis has become front page news around the world, Canada’s response to this issue has been the subject of a national conversation and a hot topic in a federal election campaign entering its final month.…
Ed. Note: Last week, we began a three-part series exploring one Syrian’s experience immigrating to Canada. Canada’s role in the refugee crisis has become the subject of a national conversation since the photos of three-year old Alan Kurdi emerged, as it was later revealed that his aunt had attempted to bring the family to Canada.…
Ed. Note: On Wednesday, Sept. 2, the world woke up to a startling image of a three-year old Syrian boy, lying face down and lifeless on the Turkish shore near the town of Bodrum. Over the next day, we learned that Alan Kurdi’s father attempted to bring his family to Greece through a perilous five-kilometer…
Good morning Pine Tree Republic citizens! In our Front Page News features, I share 3-5 of the top news stories from the past week and discuss the broader global context in which they occurred. Each post concludes with questions to follow in the coming days and weeks to better understand how today’s news shapes tomorrow’s world. As always,…
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