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Gerry Caplan's blog

Gerald Caplan has an MA in Canadian history and a Ph.D. in African history from the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London. He is an author, teacher, media commentator, and social and political activist with a lifelong commitment to African development. He is preoccupied with genocide and genocide prevention, particularly the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, about which he has frequently written. He has been a consultant on African development issues to many United Nations agencies as well as to the African Union. His latest book is called The Betrayal of Africa. He writes a weekly online column for the Globe and Mail.

Blog - Gerry Caplan's blog September 14
Photo: Andrew Balfour/Federal Court of Canada
In all likelihood, judge who told rape survivor to 'keep her knees together' will return to the bench
Gerry Caplan | Picture the counselling session: "See Judge, here's the thing: it's not really okay for a man to assault and rape a woman. You got that now?"
Blog - Gerry Caplan's blog September 7
Image: PMO/Adam Scotti
Justin Trudeau continues to dodge tough human rights questions
Gerry Caplan | Canadians may not yet have seen through Mr. Trudeau's theatrics. But the shrewd Chinese clearly have.
Blog - Gerry Caplan's blog August 30
Photo: Dave Kalmbach/Wikimedia Commons
Health Minister Jane Philpott should be judged on her work, not 'gotcha' politics
Gerry Caplan | Jane Philpott, a serious conscientious minister, made a small mistake, has repeatedly acknowledged it, and just wants to get back to her files. How about we let her try?
Blog - Gerry Caplan's blog August 24
Image: Flickr/Shreyans Bhansali
With a world in peril, where do our charitable donations have the most clout?
Gerry Caplan | So before summer's over, please shell out a couple of hundred bucks to your favourite NGO. And get angrier about obscene inequality. You won't be sorry.
Blog - Gerry Caplan's blog August 16
Image: Facebook/Green Party of Canada
The case for Elizabeth May as next leader of the NDP
Gerry Caplan | The NDP need a new leader. And Elizabeth May needs a new party. Isn't this a match made in heaven?
Blog - Gerry Caplan's blog August 11
Image: PMO/Adam Scotti
Canada must answer for its war crimes in Afghanistan
Gerry Caplan | We need to know which Canadian officials were aware of the practice of handing detainees to Afghan forces to be tortured, who initiated it and why they failed to stop it.
Blog - Gerry Caplan's blog August 4
Image: Flickr/Disney | ABC Television Group
America is more divided than ever -- and it's about to get a lot worse
Gerry Caplan | The truth was, and remains, that there is very much a Blue and a Red America and there is no such thing as a single united nation called the United States of America.
Blog - Gerry Caplan's blog July 28
Image: Wikimedia Commons
Bush and Blair will forever elude the punishment they deserve for Iraq war crimes
Gerry Caplan | The enormity of their crimes is irrelevant. Just as Wall Street is too big to fail, so they are too big to arrest. For both, impunity is their ultimate entitlement.
Blog - Gerry Caplan's blog July 13
Image: Flickr/thirtyfootscrew
The Liberal record on asbestos so far worse than the Conservatives'
Gerry Caplan | While the Liberals waffle on an asbestos ban, people in Canada and around the world are dying from exposure to fibres. How does the government rationalize that?
Blog - Gerry Caplan's blog July 7
Image: Flickr/Albert Ter Harmsel
Trudeau stalling on ban of biggest killer of workers in Canada
Gerry Caplan | Asbestos threatens ghastly illness and a painful death to all those who come in contact with it, whether as workers or consumers. The Liberals are stalling on banning it. Why?
Blog - Gerry Caplan's blog June 21
Image: Wikimedia Commons
Without Bernie Nation, Hillary will get Trumped
Gerry Caplan | Bernie has considerable leverage here and he must use it. In return for ending his candidacy and endorsing Hillary Clinton, the Democratic Party must formally adopt some of Mr. Sanders's key policies.
Blog - Gerry Caplan's blog June 14
Image: Flickr/Andrew Bates
Canada deserves proportional representation -- and a referendum won't help
Gerry Caplan | The legitimacy of a referendum depends to a substantial extent on the clarity of its language. It must not be too complex or raise issues that most voters will find baffling.
Blog - Gerry Caplan's blog June 7
Image: YouTube
South Africa's firefighters repay Canada for decades-old opposition to apartheid
Gerry Caplan | South Africa has answered the call and is providing aid to Canada. Three hundred of their firefighters have come to help with the Fort McMurray Beast, landing in Edmonton a week ago.
Blog - Gerry Caplan's blog May 31
Image: Flickr/Gage Skidmore
Canada watches in horror as Donald Trump edges ever closer to American presidency
Gerry Caplan | And the more we protest, the stronger he gets.
Blog - Gerry Caplan's blog May 18
Pierre Nkurunziza, President of Burundi.
Burundi threatens to become another Rwanda as world turns away
Gerry Caplan | So far, it seems that Justin Trudeau's government will ignore Burundi. But a proactive role by Canada on the plight of Burundi surely makes good sense as it tries to get back on the Security Council.
Blog - Gerry Caplan's blog May 10
Image: Flickr/Premier of Alberta
In the fight between Rachel Notley and the federal NDP, no one wins.
Gerry Caplan | Least of all Canadians.
Blog - Gerry Caplan's blog May 4
Image: Wikimedia Commons
Climate change, not terrorism, is the world's biggest threat
Gerry Caplan | The stats don't lie. So why don't our policies reflect them?
Blog - Gerry Caplan's blog April 27
Image: Flickr/urbanmixer
The rules of the Senate aren't 'unclear.' Just don't rob the citizens of Canada
Gerry Caplan | If you have the nerve to accept a Senate seat, your duty is clear: treat the position with the greatest possible respect and put in a fair day's work in the public interest.
Blog - Gerry Caplan's blog April 19
Image: Facebook/The Campaign for JUSTICE for Omar Khadr
How long will Omar Khadr have to wait for justice?
Gerry Caplan | The Conservative caucus owes Mr. Khadr his youth. Tom Mulcair owes him, finally, some serious attention. The Liberal government has huge debts to him as well. It's time to pay up.
Blog - Gerry Caplan's blog April 8
Image: Flickr/Laurel L. Russwurm
Cloud of uncertainty over NDP convention puts Mulcair's future at stake
Gerry Caplan | People keep asking me how Tom Mulcair is doing and I forthrightly answer with my own question: How do you think he is doing?
Blog - Gerry Caplan's blog March 30
Image: Flickr/Gage Skidmore
In spite of his dangerous rhetoric, Pro-Israel group gives Donald Trump standing ovation
Gerry Caplan | While much of America is terrified by the prospect of president Donald Trump, prominent Jews, of all people, embrace him. Even for this campaign, it was a surreal and distressing moment.
Blog - Gerry Caplan's blog March 25
Image: Flickr/Michael Vadon
Think Donald Trump can't beat Hillary Clinton to the White House? Think again.
Gerry Caplan | Few candidates have had Clinton's experience, knowledge and competence to be president -- which is also one of the Achilles heels that will bring her down.
Blog - Gerry Caplan's blog March 15
Image: Flickr/T.J. Hawk
The mysteries of the U.S. presidential race still run thick as thieves
Gerry Caplan | Do yourself a favour -- binge on House of Cards instead until it's all over.
Blog - Gerry Caplan's blog March 9
Image: Flickr/PMWebPhotos
Canadian politicians love the Charter of Rights and Freedoms -- except when it involves Israel
Gerry Caplan | Canadian politicians usually embrace the rights established in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. But there are limits, and most of them unaccountably seem to have to do with Israel.
Blog - Gerry Caplan's blog March 1
Image: Flickr/Matt Jiggins
Can Thomas Mulcair make NDP supporters proud of their party again?
Gerry Caplan | Mulcair says he's open to new ideas. To save the NDP, now's the time to prove it.
Blog - Gerry Caplan's blog February 23
Turkish PM Tayyip Erdogan
Canada's military mission against ISIS remains hopelessly baffling
Gerry Caplan | If there's been a less-edifying debate than the one in Parliament last week on Canada's role in the fight against Islamic State, I can't remember it.
Blog - Gerry Caplan's blog February 17
Image: Flickr/Matt Jiggins
Will Tom Mulcair stay on as NDP leader? I don't much care.
Gerry Caplan | I endorsed Thomas Mulcair for NDP leader, but his lacklustre 2015 election campaign has drained me of all enthusiasm.
Blog - Gerry Caplan's blog February 10
Image: Flickr/Gage Skidmore
Bernie Sanders a radical? Only in America.
Gerry Caplan | Yet the excitement he's been generating regularly across the U.S. was never once triggered by the NDP during all those election months last year. New Democrats await their Bernie still.
Blog - Gerry Caplan's blog February 3
Then-NDP MP Paul Dewar can't take Paul Calandra anymore.
Canada's democracy took a hit from Harper, but it's not too late to save it
Gerry Caplan | Parliament's back, and while we can say that it's an advance on the late, unlamented Harper years, it's hardly ready for prime-time parliamentary democracy.
Blog - Gerry Caplan's blog January 26
Image: Flickr/pmwebphotos
Trudeau should be tackling inequality, not taking selfies with the superrich in Davos
Gerry Caplan | Economic inequality remains one of the world's great continuing scandals that absolutely nothing is being done to change. What will it take for Canadians to hit the streets?

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