Ht-Logo-gigapixel-icon
Search
Close this search box.
Ht-Logo-gigapixel-icon
Search
Close this search box.
Saturday, December 28, 2024
Canada’s Politics and Government News Source Since 1989
Latest Paper
Saturday, December 28, 2024 | Latest Paper
Subscribe Now

TRENDING:

Lisa Van Dusen

The civilizing effect (touch wood) of lockdown on social media

  • For all the incalculable personal tragedy and economic disruption the COVID-19 pandemic has produced, there have been, if not entirely countervailing positives, at least
Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | November 18, 2020
Casual consumption indicates that New Zealand actor Sam Neill isn’t the only one using his Twitter feed as a pandemic palliative, writes Lisa Van Dusen. Photograph courtesy of Twitter/TwoPaddocks

The civilizing effect (touch wood) of lockdown on social media

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | November 18, 2020
  • For all the incalculable personal tragedy and economic disruption the COVID-19 pandemic has produced, there have been, if not entirely countervailing positives, at least

The civilizing effect (touch wood) of lockdown on social media

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | November 18, 2020
  • For all the incalculable personal tragedy and economic disruption the COVID-19 pandemic has produced, there have been, if not entirely countervailing positives, at least
Casual consumption indicates that New Zealand actor Sam Neill isn’t the only one using his Twitter feed as a pandemic palliative, writes Lisa Van Dusen. Photograph courtesy of Twitter/TwoPaddocks

The Joe and Kamala cavalry

  • As the world heaved a sigh of relief on Saturday with Joe Biden and Kamala Harris declared the projected president and vice-president-elect of the
Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | November 8, 2020
In their Nov. 7 speeches in Wilmington, Del., U.S. Vice-president-elect Kamala Harris and President-elect Joe Biden presented an end to rambling belligerence and a return to world-reassuring, principled coherence, writes Lisa Van Dusen. Screenshot courtesy of YouTube/PBS NewsHour

The Joe and Kamala cavalry

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | November 8, 2020
  • As the world heaved a sigh of relief on Saturday with Joe Biden and Kamala Harris declared the projected president and vice-president-elect of the

The Joe and Kamala cavalry

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | November 8, 2020
  • As the world heaved a sigh of relief on Saturday with Joe Biden and Kamala Harris declared the projected president and vice-president-elect of the
In their Nov. 7 speeches in Wilmington, Del., U.S. Vice-president-elect Kamala Harris and President-elect Joe Biden presented an end to rambling belligerence and a return to world-reassuring, principled coherence, writes Lisa Van Dusen. Screenshot courtesy of YouTube/PBS NewsHour

Performative politics and the redundancy of Borat

  • The buffoonish hamming, the slapstick vulgarity, the imbecilic racism, the bunko set pieces, the cartoonish misogyny, the elaborate dupery, the unseemly honeytraps … with
Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | October 28, 2020
Sacha Baron Cohen’s Borat character hinges on the premise that it’s much easier to con people playing an imbecile than playing a genius, writes Lisa Van Dusen. Screenshot courtesy of YouTube/Amazon Prime Video

Performative politics and the redundancy of Borat

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | October 28, 2020
  • The buffoonish hamming, the slapstick vulgarity, the imbecilic racism, the bunko set pieces, the cartoonish misogyny, the elaborate dupery, the unseemly honeytraps … with

Performative politics and the redundancy of Borat

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | October 28, 2020
  • The buffoonish hamming, the slapstick vulgarity, the imbecilic racism, the bunko set pieces, the cartoonish misogyny, the elaborate dupery, the unseemly honeytraps … with
Sacha Baron Cohen’s Borat character hinges on the premise that it’s much easier to con people playing an imbecile than playing a genius, writes Lisa Van Dusen. Screenshot courtesy of YouTube/Amazon Prime Video

The morning-after elephant: whom will Canada be sleeping (or not) next to for the next four years?

  • There is no cliché about Canada’s relationship with the United States more over-flogged than the famous Pierre Trudeau quote about how living next to
Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | October 21, 2020
The reason there’s no sane debate to be had about which elephant Canada would be better off waking up next to on Nov. 4 is that Donald Trump himself has settled the question, writes Lisa Van Dusen. Flickr image by DonkeyHotey

The morning-after elephant: whom will Canada be sleeping (or not) next to for the next four years?

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | October 21, 2020
  • There is no cliché about Canada’s relationship with the United States more over-flogged than the famous Pierre Trudeau quote about how living next to

The morning-after elephant: whom will Canada be sleeping (or not) next to for the next four years?

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | October 21, 2020
  • There is no cliché about Canada’s relationship with the United States more over-flogged than the famous Pierre Trudeau quote about how living next to
The reason there’s no sane debate to be had about which elephant Canada would be better off waking up next to on Nov. 4 is that Donald Trump himself has settled the question, writes Lisa Van Dusen. Flickr image by DonkeyHotey

Economic inequality, COVID-19, and the butterfly effect

  • Back in 2013, when Beyoncé was Drunk in Love, Justin Bieber was breaking up with his pet monkey, and Donald Trump was still tweeting about Barack
Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | October 14, 2020
The unprecedented factor in this recovery effort as opposed to 2009—domestically and internationally—is the exponential, inhibiting, and exploitable power of uncertainty, writes Lisa Van Dusen. Capital in the Twenty-First Century screenshot via Netflix

Economic inequality, COVID-19, and the butterfly effect

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | October 14, 2020
  • Back in 2013, when Beyoncé was Drunk in Love, Justin Bieber was breaking up with his pet monkey, and Donald Trump was still tweeting about Barack

Economic inequality, COVID-19, and the butterfly effect

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | October 14, 2020
  • Back in 2013, when Beyoncé was Drunk in Love, Justin Bieber was breaking up with his pet monkey, and Donald Trump was still tweeting about Barack
The unprecedented factor in this recovery effort as opposed to 2009—domestically and internationally—is the exponential, inhibiting, and exploitable power of uncertainty, writes Lisa Van Dusen. Capital in the Twenty-First Century screenshot via Netflix

Donald Trump, power tool of the new barbarians

  • During the last two major global clashes between democracy and totalitarianism—unleashed by the rise of fascism that produced the Second World War and of
Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | October 7, 2020
U.S. President Donald Trump is pictured at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Oct. 3. The political, geopolitical, and intelligence interests currently using Trump, among other tools, to undermine and discredit democracy care about one thing: power, writes Lisa Van Dusen. White House photograph by Joyce N. Boghosian

Donald Trump, power tool of the new barbarians

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | October 7, 2020
  • During the last two major global clashes between democracy and totalitarianism—unleashed by the rise of fascism that produced the Second World War and of

Donald Trump, power tool of the new barbarians

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | October 7, 2020
  • During the last two major global clashes between democracy and totalitarianism—unleashed by the rise of fascism that produced the Second World War and of
U.S. President Donald Trump is pictured at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Oct. 3. The political, geopolitical, and intelligence interests currently using Trump, among other tools, to undermine and discredit democracy care about one thing: power, writes Lisa Van Dusen. White House photograph by Joyce N. Boghosian

Schitt’s Creek II: The Roses of Rideau Hall is the reality show the world needs

  • As much of the world takes up a new form of foxhole God-bargaining in which the divine intervention deliverable is ending the reality show
Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | September 23, 2020
Canadian comedy Schitt's Creek won big at the Emmy's on Sept. 20, the show stars and creators Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara, Dan Levy, and Annie Murphy are pictured. Maybe when Governor General Julie Payette’s term is up in 2022, the questions of both successorship and the demand for more of Schitt's Creek could be solved by appointing Eugene Levy as Canada’s first Jewish governor general, writes Lisa Van Dusen. Photograph courtesy of Schitt's Creek's Twitter

Schitt’s Creek II: The Roses of Rideau Hall is the reality show the world needs

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | September 23, 2020
  • As much of the world takes up a new form of foxhole God-bargaining in which the divine intervention deliverable is ending the reality show

Schitt’s Creek II: The Roses of Rideau Hall is the reality show the world needs

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | September 23, 2020
  • As much of the world takes up a new form of foxhole God-bargaining in which the divine intervention deliverable is ending the reality show
Canadian comedy Schitt's Creek won big at the Emmy's on Sept. 20, the show stars and creators Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara, Dan Levy, and Annie Murphy are pictured. Maybe when Governor General Julie Payette’s term is up in 2022, the questions of both successorship and the demand for more of Schitt's Creek could be solved by appointing Eugene Levy as Canada’s first Jewish governor general, writes Lisa Van Dusen. Photograph courtesy of Schitt's Creek's Twitter

In any normal election campaign

  • To lead with an exotic platitude in a time of perpetual hyperbole: election campaigns contain surprises. Twelve years ago this week, on Sept. 15,
Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | September 16, 2020
U.S. President Donald Trump, pictured during an indoor campaign rally in Las Vegas, Nevada on Sept. 13. As the 2020 U.S. presidential campaign enters its crucial final weeks, it’s hard to imagine what could upend this race, given the pre-existing horror show, writes Lisa Van Dusen. Screenshot courtesy of C-Span

In any normal election campaign

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | September 16, 2020
  • To lead with an exotic platitude in a time of perpetual hyperbole: election campaigns contain surprises. Twelve years ago this week, on Sept. 15,

In any normal election campaign

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | September 16, 2020
  • To lead with an exotic platitude in a time of perpetual hyperbole: election campaigns contain surprises. Twelve years ago this week, on Sept. 15,
U.S. President Donald Trump, pictured during an indoor campaign rally in Las Vegas, Nevada on Sept. 13. As the 2020 U.S. presidential campaign enters its crucial final weeks, it’s hard to imagine what could upend this race, given the pre-existing horror show, writes Lisa Van Dusen. Screenshot courtesy of C-Span

The day the banality of evil died

  • Nineteen years ago this week, two passenger jets loaded with hostages to history, self-styled martyrs, and weaponized jet fuel hit the World Trade Center
Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | September 9, 2020
Aside from the enormous geopolitical and security consequences unleashed on that Tuesday morning, 9/11 was different from most terrorism because the logistics of the attack repurposed the element of surprise for maximum suffering, writes Lisa Van Dusen. Flickr photograph by Robert J. Fisch

The day the banality of evil died

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | September 9, 2020
  • Nineteen years ago this week, two passenger jets loaded with hostages to history, self-styled martyrs, and weaponized jet fuel hit the World Trade Center

The day the banality of evil died

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | September 9, 2020
  • Nineteen years ago this week, two passenger jets loaded with hostages to history, self-styled martyrs, and weaponized jet fuel hit the World Trade Center
Aside from the enormous geopolitical and security consequences unleashed on that Tuesday morning, 9/11 was different from most terrorism because the logistics of the attack repurposed the element of surprise for maximum suffering, writes Lisa Van Dusen. Flickr photograph by Robert J. Fisch

It’s the economics, stupid: corruption, greed, and the war on democracy

  • In “The 300,000-year case for the 15-hour work week,” a major essay in the Financial Times recently, anthropologist James Suzman soothingly offered an evolutionary rationale for a re-think
Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | September 2, 2020
U.S. President Donald Trump gives his nomination acceptance speech at the White House during the Republican National Convention on Aug. 27. YouTube screenshot via PBS NewsHour

It’s the economics, stupid: corruption, greed, and the war on democracy

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | September 2, 2020
  • In “The 300,000-year case for the 15-hour work week,” a major essay in the Financial Times recently, anthropologist James Suzman soothingly offered an evolutionary rationale for a re-think

It’s the economics, stupid: corruption, greed, and the war on democracy

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | September 2, 2020
  • In “The 300,000-year case for the 15-hour work week,” a major essay in the Financial Times recently, anthropologist James Suzman soothingly offered an evolutionary rationale for a re-think
U.S. President Donald Trump gives his nomination acceptance speech at the White House during the Republican National Convention on Aug. 27. YouTube screenshot via PBS NewsHour

Saudade for sanity: missing the rebels in an echo chamber of nonsense

  • Watching Anthony Bourdain lope his way around Lisbon the other night as a way of reconnecting with a mask-less, unrestricted, pre-pandemic reality, reminded me of
Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | August 26, 2020
Former U.S. President Barack Obama shares a meal with the late Anthony Bourdain in Vietnam in 2016. White House photograph by Pete Souza

Saudade for sanity: missing the rebels in an echo chamber of nonsense

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | August 26, 2020
  • Watching Anthony Bourdain lope his way around Lisbon the other night as a way of reconnecting with a mask-less, unrestricted, pre-pandemic reality, reminded me of

Saudade for sanity: missing the rebels in an echo chamber of nonsense

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | August 26, 2020
  • Watching Anthony Bourdain lope his way around Lisbon the other night as a way of reconnecting with a mask-less, unrestricted, pre-pandemic reality, reminded me of
Former U.S. President Barack Obama shares a meal with the late Anthony Bourdain in Vietnam in 2016. White House photograph by Pete Souza

No time like the present: America’s unprecedented election

  • If you’re a columnist writing regularly about U.S. politics, one of your lazy, go-to tropes is the Schoolhouse Rock song I’m Just a Bill (on
Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | August 19, 2020
Clockwise from top left, U.S. President Donald Trump, Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, Democratic vice-president pick Kamala Harris, and Vice-President Mike Pence. Flickr photographs by Gage Skidmore

No time like the present: America’s unprecedented election

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | August 19, 2020
  • If you’re a columnist writing regularly about U.S. politics, one of your lazy, go-to tropes is the Schoolhouse Rock song I’m Just a Bill (on

No time like the present: America’s unprecedented election

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | August 19, 2020
  • If you’re a columnist writing regularly about U.S. politics, one of your lazy, go-to tropes is the Schoolhouse Rock song I’m Just a Bill (on
Clockwise from top left, U.S. President Donald Trump, Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, Democratic vice-president pick Kamala Harris, and Vice-President Mike Pence. Flickr photographs by Gage Skidmore

The swindled and the vile: America’s bomb-less Blitz

  • Years ago, when I first lived in Washington, D.C., the city was so paralyzed by snow one January Saturday that friends who came for
Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | August 12, 2020
After years of subterfuge and chicanery, today’s world war has now produced the perfect-storm crescendo of a transformation-rationalizing pandemic and a transformation-rationalizing American president in the process of staging a coup against his own country, writes Lisa Van Dusen. White House photograph by Tia Dufour

The swindled and the vile: America’s bomb-less Blitz

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | August 12, 2020
  • Years ago, when I first lived in Washington, D.C., the city was so paralyzed by snow one January Saturday that friends who came for

The swindled and the vile: America’s bomb-less Blitz

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | August 12, 2020
  • Years ago, when I first lived in Washington, D.C., the city was so paralyzed by snow one January Saturday that friends who came for
After years of subterfuge and chicanery, today’s world war has now produced the perfect-storm crescendo of a transformation-rationalizing pandemic and a transformation-rationalizing American president in the process of staging a coup against his own country, writes Lisa Van Dusen. White House photograph by Tia Dufour

Welcome to the new McCarthyism

  • If Godwin’s law has been among the many casualties of reality-show fascism, it is quickly being replaced by the rule that, in any debate about China,
Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | August 5, 2020
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, pictured with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Ottawa in June 2016. Mr. Wang recently compared American policies towards China as McCarthy-style paranoia, but today’s tension between the world’s democracies and Beijing over China’s totalitarian bullying isn’t about communism, writes Lisa Van Dusen. PMO photograph by Adam Scotti

Welcome to the new McCarthyism

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | August 5, 2020
  • If Godwin’s law has been among the many casualties of reality-show fascism, it is quickly being replaced by the rule that, in any debate about China,

Welcome to the new McCarthyism

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | August 5, 2020
  • If Godwin’s law has been among the many casualties of reality-show fascism, it is quickly being replaced by the rule that, in any debate about China,
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, pictured with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Ottawa in June 2016. Mr. Wang recently compared American policies towards China as McCarthy-style paranoia, but today’s tension between the world’s democracies and Beijing over China’s totalitarian bullying isn’t about communism, writes Lisa Van Dusen. PMO photograph by Adam Scotti

Pining for outside during an indoor summer

  • One of the many ironies of life in this pandemic is that, while nature is probably the safest place for us, our default retreat
Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | July 29, 2020
As anyone who grew up in the country knows, you never quite lose the hankering to climb a tree if it’s been too long, writes Lisa Van Dusen. Photograph courtesy of Pixabay

Pining for outside during an indoor summer

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | July 29, 2020
  • One of the many ironies of life in this pandemic is that, while nature is probably the safest place for us, our default retreat

Pining for outside during an indoor summer

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | July 29, 2020
  • One of the many ironies of life in this pandemic is that, while nature is probably the safest place for us, our default retreat
As anyone who grew up in the country knows, you never quite lose the hankering to climb a tree if it’s been too long, writes Lisa Van Dusen. Photograph courtesy of Pixabay

Good trouble: Lewis, Mandela, and authentic power

  • John Lewis, whose scarred, unbreakable skull was a luminous monument to the “good trouble” he so passionately advocated, did not die on Mandela Day. But by the time
Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | July 22, 2020
The late U.S. Congressman and civil rights leader John Lewis, pictured in June 2017, followed a different path to the same beliefs about nonviolent resistance than fellow icon Nelson Mandela, but their legacies are fittingly intertwined, writes Lisa Van Dusen. Flickr photograph by Mobilus In Mobili

Good trouble: Lewis, Mandela, and authentic power

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | July 22, 2020
  • John Lewis, whose scarred, unbreakable skull was a luminous monument to the “good trouble” he so passionately advocated, did not die on Mandela Day. But by the time

Good trouble: Lewis, Mandela, and authentic power

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | July 22, 2020
  • John Lewis, whose scarred, unbreakable skull was a luminous monument to the “good trouble” he so passionately advocated, did not die on Mandela Day. But by the time
The late U.S. Congressman and civil rights leader John Lewis, pictured in June 2017, followed a different path to the same beliefs about nonviolent resistance than fellow icon Nelson Mandela, but their legacies are fittingly intertwined, writes Lisa Van Dusen. Flickr photograph by Mobilus In Mobili

The great escape: Vol de Nuit and the summer of our discontent

  • Sometimes, during the first two decades of this Jeremy Bentham-meets-Elmore Leonard century, I’ve feared that reality has spoiled me for fiction. That living in
Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | July 8, 2020
Vol de Nuit, the 1931 work by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, pictured near Montreal in 1942, stands out in COVID-19 quarantine as a paean to outside and for its empathy, writes Lisa Van Dusen. Wikimedia Commons image

The great escape: Vol de Nuit and the summer of our discontent

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | July 8, 2020
  • Sometimes, during the first two decades of this Jeremy Bentham-meets-Elmore Leonard century, I’ve feared that reality has spoiled me for fiction. That living in

The great escape: Vol de Nuit and the summer of our discontent

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | July 8, 2020
  • Sometimes, during the first two decades of this Jeremy Bentham-meets-Elmore Leonard century, I’ve feared that reality has spoiled me for fiction. That living in
Vol de Nuit, the 1931 work by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, pictured near Montreal in 1942, stands out in COVID-19 quarantine as a paean to outside and for its empathy, writes Lisa Van Dusen. Wikimedia Commons image

Happy Canada Day! Pass the vodka cooler and thank God we’re a middle power

  • It’s tempting, at a time like this—not that there’s ever been, let’s face it, a time like this—to say that this is the weirdest
Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | July 1, 2020
Justin Trudeau’s rule-of-law orthodoxy in response to Beijing’s norm-obliterating hostage diplomacy has isolated him in a way that says far more about China’s role in our current global unpleasantness than it does about Trudeau’s entirely normal position, writes Lisa Van Dusen. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade, Flickr photograph by Janne Wittoeck

Happy Canada Day! Pass the vodka cooler and thank God we’re a middle power

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | July 1, 2020
  • It’s tempting, at a time like this—not that there’s ever been, let’s face it, a time like this—to say that this is the weirdest

Happy Canada Day! Pass the vodka cooler and thank God we’re a middle power

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | July 1, 2020
  • It’s tempting, at a time like this—not that there’s ever been, let’s face it, a time like this—to say that this is the weirdest
Justin Trudeau’s rule-of-law orthodoxy in response to Beijing’s norm-obliterating hostage diplomacy has isolated him in a way that says far more about China’s role in our current global unpleasantness than it does about Trudeau’s entirely normal position, writes Lisa Van Dusen. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade, Flickr photograph by Janne Wittoeck

Trump’s fake Cold War: the pre-election spin on China

  • Because Donald Trump has transformed the American presidency into less of a global leadership role than an anti-democracy propaganda vehicle, it was going to
Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | June 24, 2020
The notion that the United States and China are now engaged in a classic great-power rivalry and new Cold War situates the dynamic between President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping within a conventional geopolitical context rather than the unconventional one in which it exists, writes Lisa Van Dusen. White House photograph by Shealah Craighead

Trump’s fake Cold War: the pre-election spin on China

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | June 24, 2020
  • Because Donald Trump has transformed the American presidency into less of a global leadership role than an anti-democracy propaganda vehicle, it was going to

Trump’s fake Cold War: the pre-election spin on China

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | June 24, 2020
  • Because Donald Trump has transformed the American presidency into less of a global leadership role than an anti-democracy propaganda vehicle, it was going to
The notion that the United States and China are now engaged in a classic great-power rivalry and new Cold War situates the dynamic between President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping within a conventional geopolitical context rather than the unconventional one in which it exists, writes Lisa Van Dusen. White House photograph by Shealah Craighead

Bully versus pulpit

  • If Donald Trump were not worried about the supernatural status of some of his most potent opposition these days, surely he wouldn’t have stood
Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | June 17, 2020
At Washington National Cathedral, which overlooks the city as America’s unofficial church, ‘Black Lives Matter’ nightly illuminates the neo-Gothic façade of the landmark, in stark contrast to a president who goes around wagging a bible like some kind of medicine show huckster, writes Lisa Van Dusen. Flickr photograph by Victoria Pickering

Bully versus pulpit

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | June 17, 2020
  • If Donald Trump were not worried about the supernatural status of some of his most potent opposition these days, surely he wouldn’t have stood

Bully versus pulpit

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | June 17, 2020
  • If Donald Trump were not worried about the supernatural status of some of his most potent opposition these days, surely he wouldn’t have stood
At Washington National Cathedral, which overlooks the city as America’s unofficial church, ‘Black Lives Matter’ nightly illuminates the neo-Gothic façade of the landmark, in stark contrast to a president who goes around wagging a bible like some kind of medicine show huckster, writes Lisa Van Dusen. Flickr photograph by Victoria Pickering

America’s reality show election: Trump versus anarchy?

  • Like many journalists, some of my earliest professional experiences involved dealing with the police. As a radio reporter working the late shift in Vancouver,
Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | June 10, 2020
In Washington, an impeached reality-show president in a White House surrounded by perimeter fencing and rent-a-cops makes the 2020 election a choice between a performative authoritarian coup and Joe Biden stopping this lunacy, writes Lisa Van Dusen. White House photograph by Shealah Craighead

America’s reality show election: Trump versus anarchy?

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | June 10, 2020
  • Like many journalists, some of my earliest professional experiences involved dealing with the police. As a radio reporter working the late shift in Vancouver,

America’s reality show election: Trump versus anarchy?

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | June 10, 2020
  • Like many journalists, some of my earliest professional experiences involved dealing with the police. As a radio reporter working the late shift in Vancouver,
In Washington, an impeached reality-show president in a White House surrounded by perimeter fencing and rent-a-cops makes the 2020 election a choice between a performative authoritarian coup and Joe Biden stopping this lunacy, writes Lisa Van Dusen. White House photograph by Shealah Craighead

‘I have a nightmare’: Donald Trump’s racist whirlwind

  • As Donald Trump tweeted from his Pennsylvania Avenue lair last Saturday night about setting “vicious dogs” on protesters outraged over George Floyd’s murder, it
Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | June 3, 2020
Protesters participate in a Black Lives Matter rally in Seattle, Wash., on May 30. The asymmetry of the power, disproportion of the force, and shamelessness of the racism on display during George Floyd’s murder explain the outrage being expressed across America, writes Lisa Van Dusen. Flickr photograph by Kelly Kline

‘I have a nightmare’: Donald Trump’s racist whirlwind

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | June 3, 2020
  • As Donald Trump tweeted from his Pennsylvania Avenue lair last Saturday night about setting “vicious dogs” on protesters outraged over George Floyd’s murder, it

‘I have a nightmare’: Donald Trump’s racist whirlwind

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | June 3, 2020
  • As Donald Trump tweeted from his Pennsylvania Avenue lair last Saturday night about setting “vicious dogs” on protesters outraged over George Floyd’s murder, it
Protesters participate in a Black Lives Matter rally in Seattle, Wash., on May 30. The asymmetry of the power, disproportion of the force, and shamelessness of the racism on display during George Floyd’s murder explain the outrage being expressed across America, writes Lisa Van Dusen. Flickr photograph by Kelly Kline

The year of the fait accompli

  • Of all the trends in politics and governance being led by democracy-degrading actors this year—in addition to the usual lying, bullying, and careening shamelessness—the
Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | May 27, 2020
Wang Yi, China’s foreign minister, delivered a classic fait accompli message on Sunday, intended to expedite a new status quo through Beijing’s plan to install its national security agencies in Hong Kong under the new Basic Law. Photograph courtesy of the U.S. State Department

The year of the fait accompli

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | May 27, 2020
  • Of all the trends in politics and governance being led by democracy-degrading actors this year—in addition to the usual lying, bullying, and careening shamelessness—the

The year of the fait accompli

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | May 27, 2020
  • Of all the trends in politics and governance being led by democracy-degrading actors this year—in addition to the usual lying, bullying, and careening shamelessness—the
Wang Yi, China’s foreign minister, delivered a classic fait accompli message on Sunday, intended to expedite a new status quo through Beijing’s plan to install its national security agencies in Hong Kong under the new Basic Law. Photograph courtesy of the U.S. State Department

Can the intelligence community save democracy?

  • Among the questions that loomed after September 11, 2001, was how intelligence agencies would handle the power they’d acquired through a confluence of unprecedented
Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | May 20, 2020
U.S. President Donald Trump and Vice-President Mike Pence pictured April 16 during a COVID-19 task force briefing. With a global pandemic being leveraged and a presidential election under attack by not just Russia and other usual suspects, but also by the incumbent himself, can the intelligence community marshal its formidable outcome-curating powers to thwart corruption, restore sanity, and save democracy? Photograph courtesy of The White House's Flickr/Joyce N. Boghosian

Can the intelligence community save democracy?

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | May 20, 2020
  • Among the questions that loomed after September 11, 2001, was how intelligence agencies would handle the power they’d acquired through a confluence of unprecedented

Can the intelligence community save democracy?

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | May 20, 2020
  • Among the questions that loomed after September 11, 2001, was how intelligence agencies would handle the power they’d acquired through a confluence of unprecedented
U.S. President Donald Trump and Vice-President Mike Pence pictured April 16 during a COVID-19 task force briefing. With a global pandemic being leveraged and a presidential election under attack by not just Russia and other usual suspects, but also by the incumbent himself, can the intelligence community marshal its formidable outcome-curating powers to thwart corruption, restore sanity, and save democracy? Photograph courtesy of The White House's Flickr/Joyce N. Boghosian

Cinema Quarantena: what to watch (and not) in isolation

  • After so many weeks of Isolation Nation quarantine that snow is now as discombobulated as the rest of us about which season it is,
Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | May 13, 2020
There is an entire genre of pandemic movies and shows out there, but watching a pandemic movie during an actual pandemic strikes Lisa Van Dusen as an act of karmic provocation comparable to licking every doorknob within 20-square blocks of the couch. Screenshot via Netflix

Cinema Quarantena: what to watch (and not) in isolation

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | May 13, 2020
  • After so many weeks of Isolation Nation quarantine that snow is now as discombobulated as the rest of us about which season it is,

Cinema Quarantena: what to watch (and not) in isolation

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | May 13, 2020
  • After so many weeks of Isolation Nation quarantine that snow is now as discombobulated as the rest of us about which season it is,
There is an entire genre of pandemic movies and shows out there, but watching a pandemic movie during an actual pandemic strikes Lisa Van Dusen as an act of karmic provocation comparable to licking every doorknob within 20-square blocks of the couch. Screenshot via Netflix

Isolation tips: coping with long, annoying commercials

  • In this latest of my series of intermittent public service columns on how to cope with life in pandemic isolation, we’ll tackle the conundrum
Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | May 6, 2020
Now that the world is one big captive audience trapped with the nightly COVID-19 advisory stylings of a man touting the anti-viral benefits of Clorox ingestion, it’s time to adapt, by becoming the master of your mute, writes Lisa Van Dusen. Photograph courtesy of Pixabay

Isolation tips: coping with long, annoying commercials

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | May 6, 2020
  • In this latest of my series of intermittent public service columns on how to cope with life in pandemic isolation, we’ll tackle the conundrum

Isolation tips: coping with long, annoying commercials

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | May 6, 2020
  • In this latest of my series of intermittent public service columns on how to cope with life in pandemic isolation, we’ll tackle the conundrum
Now that the world is one big captive audience trapped with the nightly COVID-19 advisory stylings of a man touting the anti-viral benefits of Clorox ingestion, it’s time to adapt, by becoming the master of your mute, writes Lisa Van Dusen. Photograph courtesy of Pixabay

Israel/Palestine and the Pottery Barn rule of toponymy

  • As the infinity-loop melodrama of Israel’s political corruption capture careens on amid an amplifying pandemic crisis, it might be a good time to consider creative solutions
Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | April 29, 2020
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, pictured in Ottawa in 2012, is likely one of many who would balk, but the binomial nomenclature of ‘Israel/Palestine’ is the only truly accurate and appropriate name for the conjoined entity that he now presides over, writes Lisa Van Dusen. The Hill Times photograph by Sam Garcia

Israel/Palestine and the Pottery Barn rule of toponymy

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | April 29, 2020
  • As the infinity-loop melodrama of Israel’s political corruption capture careens on amid an amplifying pandemic crisis, it might be a good time to consider creative solutions

Israel/Palestine and the Pottery Barn rule of toponymy

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | April 29, 2020
  • As the infinity-loop melodrama of Israel’s political corruption capture careens on amid an amplifying pandemic crisis, it might be a good time to consider creative solutions
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, pictured in Ottawa in 2012, is likely one of many who would balk, but the binomial nomenclature of ‘Israel/Palestine’ is the only truly accurate and appropriate name for the conjoined entity that he now presides over, writes Lisa Van Dusen. The Hill Times photograph by Sam Garcia
More Stories

The evolution of impeachment, or this time we’ll be pining for a sticky Gap dress

  • On the morning of Wednesday, Jan. 21, 1998, I did what I’d been doing every morning since I’d started just weeks earlier on the
Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | June 19, 2019
The word ‘impeachment’ is back in circulation for obvious reason,. and Lisa Van Dusen writes that you can’t help but wonder if maybe Nancy Pelosi is right when she says President Donald Trump is actually trying to get removed from office. Photograph courtesy of Gage Skidmore

The evolution of impeachment, or this time we’ll be pining for a sticky Gap dress

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | June 19, 2019
  • On the morning of Wednesday, Jan. 21, 1998, I did what I’d been doing every morning since I’d started just weeks earlier on the

The evolution of impeachment, or this time we’ll be pining for a sticky Gap dress

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | June 19, 2019
  • On the morning of Wednesday, Jan. 21, 1998, I did what I’d been doing every morning since I’d started just weeks earlier on the
The word ‘impeachment’ is back in circulation for obvious reason,. and Lisa Van Dusen writes that you can’t help but wonder if maybe Nancy Pelosi is right when she says President Donald Trump is actually trying to get removed from office. Photograph courtesy of Gage Skidmore

The Democrats and Democracy: 2020 is about values, not ideology

  • There is nothing Donald Trump—and the interests who have an existential stake in his unlikely political longevity—would enjoy more than watching the Democrats devour
Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | June 12, 2019
Among the 24 people vying for the Democratic presidential nomination are Elizabeth Warren, Pete Buttigieg, Kamala Harris and Joe Biden. The Democrats can beat Donald Trump by offering a combination of the solutions of the future and the best of their own party, writes Lisa Van Dusen. Flickr photographs by Tim Pierce, Marc Nozell, Gage Skidmore, and The Hill Times file photograph

The Democrats and Democracy: 2020 is about values, not ideology

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | June 12, 2019
  • There is nothing Donald Trump—and the interests who have an existential stake in his unlikely political longevity—would enjoy more than watching the Democrats devour

The Democrats and Democracy: 2020 is about values, not ideology

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | June 12, 2019
  • There is nothing Donald Trump—and the interests who have an existential stake in his unlikely political longevity—would enjoy more than watching the Democrats devour
Among the 24 people vying for the Democratic presidential nomination are Elizabeth Warren, Pete Buttigieg, Kamala Harris and Joe Biden. The Democrats can beat Donald Trump by offering a combination of the solutions of the future and the best of their own party, writes Lisa Van Dusen. Flickr photographs by Tim Pierce, Marc Nozell, Gage Skidmore, and The Hill Times file photograph

Tiananmen, D-Day, and the new world war

  • This column posts one day after the 30th anniversary of the suppression by massacre of thousands of pro-democracy protesters in Tiananmen Square, and a day before
Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | June 5, 2019
An unidentified man stares down a line of tanks in China’s Tiananmen Square on June 5, 1989. The issue with the image for a regime that thinks technology has solved its democracy problem isn’t about the image itself, it’s about the stakes and the example, writes Lisa Van Dusen. Screenshot courtesy of CNN

Tiananmen, D-Day, and the new world war

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | June 5, 2019
  • This column posts one day after the 30th anniversary of the suppression by massacre of thousands of pro-democracy protesters in Tiananmen Square, and a day before

Tiananmen, D-Day, and the new world war

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | June 5, 2019
  • This column posts one day after the 30th anniversary of the suppression by massacre of thousands of pro-democracy protesters in Tiananmen Square, and a day before
An unidentified man stares down a line of tanks in China’s Tiananmen Square on June 5, 1989. The issue with the image for a regime that thinks technology has solved its democracy problem isn’t about the image itself, it’s about the stakes and the example, writes Lisa Van Dusen. Screenshot courtesy of CNN

Bull in a china shop: Richard Holbrooke, belligerent peacemaker

  • During the years I worked in the United States, I only ever participated in one tactical operation involving the late diplomat Richard Holbrooke. It
Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | May 29, 2019
Then-U.S. assistant secretary of state Richard Holbrooke, left, and Carl Bildt, right, speak before heading to Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, for peace talks in 1995. Charlie Parshley photograph via Wikimedia Commons

Bull in a china shop: Richard Holbrooke, belligerent peacemaker

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | May 29, 2019
  • During the years I worked in the United States, I only ever participated in one tactical operation involving the late diplomat Richard Holbrooke. It

Bull in a china shop: Richard Holbrooke, belligerent peacemaker

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | May 29, 2019
  • During the years I worked in the United States, I only ever participated in one tactical operation involving the late diplomat Richard Holbrooke. It
Then-U.S. assistant secretary of state Richard Holbrooke, left, and Carl Bildt, right, speak before heading to Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, for peace talks in 1995. Charlie Parshley photograph via Wikimedia Commons

Brexit, the EU election, and nostalgia for Obama’s don’t-do-stupid-stuff motto

  • While it may not be the most sensational story about what exiting presidents have left the White House with, Barack Obama sauntering out with
Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | May 22, 2019
Brexit Party Leader Nigel Farage, pictured in 2018, is campaigning ahead of European parliamentary elections this week. Polls show his party has been outpacing its competitors. Photograph courtesy of Gage Skidmore

Brexit, the EU election, and nostalgia for Obama’s don’t-do-stupid-stuff motto

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | May 22, 2019
  • While it may not be the most sensational story about what exiting presidents have left the White House with, Barack Obama sauntering out with

Brexit, the EU election, and nostalgia for Obama’s don’t-do-stupid-stuff motto

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | May 22, 2019
  • While it may not be the most sensational story about what exiting presidents have left the White House with, Barack Obama sauntering out with
Brexit Party Leader Nigel Farage, pictured in 2018, is campaigning ahead of European parliamentary elections this week. Polls show his party has been outpacing its competitors. Photograph courtesy of Gage Skidmore

Abridging the freedom: Trump and the media

  • As cockeyed as the organizational chart of Washington’s power distribution is these days, perhaps the most altered relationship is the one between the president
Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | May 15, 2019
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One on April 5, 2018. D. Myles Cullen photograph courtesy of the White House

Abridging the freedom: Trump and the media

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | May 15, 2019
  • As cockeyed as the organizational chart of Washington’s power distribution is these days, perhaps the most altered relationship is the one between the president

Abridging the freedom: Trump and the media

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | May 15, 2019
  • As cockeyed as the organizational chart of Washington’s power distribution is these days, perhaps the most altered relationship is the one between the president
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One on April 5, 2018. D. Myles Cullen photograph courtesy of the White House

The case for Joe Biden

  • In the spring of 2008, I was asked in an email whom I thought Barack Obama should pick as his running mate. I had
Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | May 1, 2019
U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden is seen during an official visit to Ottawa in December 2016, just before he finished his job as vice-president. The Hill Times file photograph

The case for Joe Biden

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | May 1, 2019
  • In the spring of 2008, I was asked in an email whom I thought Barack Obama should pick as his running mate. I had

The case for Joe Biden

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | May 1, 2019
  • In the spring of 2008, I was asked in an email whom I thought Barack Obama should pick as his running mate. I had
U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden is seen during an official visit to Ottawa in December 2016, just before he finished his job as vice-president. The Hill Times file photograph

Democrats should fight Trump in the trenches, not in Congress

  • Aside from all the other takeaways we all took away from last week’s publication of the redacted version of the report by special counsel
Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | April 24, 2019
Robert Mueller’s long-awaited redacted report on Russian interference in the 2016 United States election was released last week, which columnist Lisa Van Dusen says was a scathing indictment of Donald Trump, pictured, without an actual indictment. Photograph courtesy of Gage Skidmore

Democrats should fight Trump in the trenches, not in Congress

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | April 24, 2019
  • Aside from all the other takeaways we all took away from last week’s publication of the redacted version of the report by special counsel

Democrats should fight Trump in the trenches, not in Congress

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | April 24, 2019
  • Aside from all the other takeaways we all took away from last week’s publication of the redacted version of the report by special counsel
Robert Mueller’s long-awaited redacted report on Russian interference in the 2016 United States election was released last week, which columnist Lisa Van Dusen says was a scathing indictment of Donald Trump, pictured, without an actual indictment. Photograph courtesy of Gage Skidmore

The Sahel Spring: who will own the future in Sudan, Algeria?

  • The protests had gone on for weeks—so long that life in the capital was now divided into before and after. Viral villains and heroes
Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | April 17, 2019
Protesters gather near the Sudanese Army headquarters in the country’s capital, Khartoum, on April 8. Photograph courtesy of M. Saleh

The Sahel Spring: who will own the future in Sudan, Algeria?

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | April 17, 2019
  • The protests had gone on for weeks—so long that life in the capital was now divided into before and after. Viral villains and heroes

The Sahel Spring: who will own the future in Sudan, Algeria?

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | April 17, 2019
  • The protests had gone on for weeks—so long that life in the capital was now divided into before and after. Viral villains and heroes
Protesters gather near the Sudanese Army headquarters in the country’s capital, Khartoum, on April 8. Photograph courtesy of M. Saleh

Volodymyr Zelenskiy and the evolution of political comedy

  • If there were any residual doubt, anywhere, about the blurring of the line between fiction and non-fiction in public life, the victory of Volodymyr Zelenskiy in
Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | April 3, 2019
Actor Volodymyr Zelenskiy played the president of Ukraine in a Netflix series and on March 31 won the first round of Ukraine’s actual presidential election. Photograph courtesy of Yaroslav Burdovitsyn

Volodymyr Zelenskiy and the evolution of political comedy

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | April 3, 2019
  • If there were any residual doubt, anywhere, about the blurring of the line between fiction and non-fiction in public life, the victory of Volodymyr Zelenskiy in

Volodymyr Zelenskiy and the evolution of political comedy

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | April 3, 2019
  • If there were any residual doubt, anywhere, about the blurring of the line between fiction and non-fiction in public life, the victory of Volodymyr Zelenskiy in
Actor Volodymyr Zelenskiy played the president of Ukraine in a Netflix series and on March 31 won the first round of Ukraine’s actual presidential election. Photograph courtesy of Yaroslav Burdovitsyn

The Kenney campaign con and the new meaning of narrative

  • The word “narrative” as a political term of art is by no means new. The concept has been around since long before the days
Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | March 27, 2019
United Conservative Party Leader Jason Kenney, pictured speaking to reporters in Ottawa on May 7, 2018, has been accused of recruiting former Wildrose Party president Jeff Callaway to do his dirty work against rival Brian Jean in the 2017 UCP leadership contest as a ‘kamikaze candidate.’ Both Mr. Callaway and Mr. Kenney, though, deny they planned a fake leadership bid. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

The Kenney campaign con and the new meaning of narrative

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | March 27, 2019
  • The word “narrative” as a political term of art is by no means new. The concept has been around since long before the days

The Kenney campaign con and the new meaning of narrative

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | March 27, 2019
  • The word “narrative” as a political term of art is by no means new. The concept has been around since long before the days
United Conservative Party Leader Jason Kenney, pictured speaking to reporters in Ottawa on May 7, 2018, has been accused of recruiting former Wildrose Party president Jeff Callaway to do his dirty work against rival Brian Jean in the 2017 UCP leadership contest as a ‘kamikaze candidate.’ Both Mr. Callaway and Mr. Kenney, though, deny they planned a fake leadership bid. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Is Beto O’Rourke the rebound dude for a post-Trump America?

  • If the conventional wisdom about United States presidential succession being a relay of opposites is true—notwithstanding the rumoured demise of conventional wisdom—then Beto O’Rourke
Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | March 20, 2019
Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke was once a hacker whose online handle was Psychedelic Warlord. After two years of Donald Trump, a real psychedelic warlord, Lisa Van Dusen asks: who among us could judge such a hairpin rebound? Flickr photograph courtesy of crockodile

Is Beto O’Rourke the rebound dude for a post-Trump America?

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | March 20, 2019
  • If the conventional wisdom about United States presidential succession being a relay of opposites is true—notwithstanding the rumoured demise of conventional wisdom—then Beto O’Rourke

Is Beto O’Rourke the rebound dude for a post-Trump America?

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | March 20, 2019
  • If the conventional wisdom about United States presidential succession being a relay of opposites is true—notwithstanding the rumoured demise of conventional wisdom—then Beto O’Rourke
Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke was once a hacker whose online handle was Psychedelic Warlord. After two years of Donald Trump, a real psychedelic warlord, Lisa Van Dusen asks: who among us could judge such a hairpin rebound? Flickr photograph courtesy of crockodile

Can Israeli democracy survive with Netanyahu?

  • Israel’s democracy, existing as it has as an island surrounded by non-democracies, has a reputation for being that beautiful euphemism for an array of
Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | March 13, 2019
Benjamin Netanyahu
Benjamin Netanyahu
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, pictured in Ottawa in 2012, seems to have made his choice between Israel being a Jewish state and a democratic one, writes Lisa Van Dusen. The Hill Times photograph by Sam Garcia

Can Israeli democracy survive with Netanyahu?

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | March 13, 2019
  • Israel’s democracy, existing as it has as an island surrounded by non-democracies, has a reputation for being that beautiful euphemism for an array of

Can Israeli democracy survive with Netanyahu?

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | March 13, 2019
  • Israel’s democracy, existing as it has as an island surrounded by non-democracies, has a reputation for being that beautiful euphemism for an array of
Benjamin Netanyahu
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, pictured in Ottawa in 2012, seems to have made his choice between Israel being a Jewish state and a democratic one, writes Lisa Van Dusen. The Hill Times photograph by Sam Garcia

Some walls really are beautiful: Hockney, Van Gogh and our fractured politics

  • At any other moment in history, a two-man show of paintings by David Hockney and Vincent Van Gogh might not feel subversive. But in
Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | March 6, 2019
America is besieged by a daily deluge of diversionary gibberish from its own commander in chief Donald Trump; Europe is preoccupied by the manufactured crisis of one of its major unifying powers, led by U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May; and China has become the testing ground for all the ways digital innovations can be harnessed to turn human life into an Orwellian nightmare under President Xi Jinping, writes Lisa Van Dusen. White House photograph by Shealah Craighead, photograph courtesy of the U.K. government, and courtesy of the Kremlin

Some walls really are beautiful: Hockney, Van Gogh and our fractured politics

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | March 6, 2019
  • At any other moment in history, a two-man show of paintings by David Hockney and Vincent Van Gogh might not feel subversive. But in

Some walls really are beautiful: Hockney, Van Gogh and our fractured politics

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | March 6, 2019
  • At any other moment in history, a two-man show of paintings by David Hockney and Vincent Van Gogh might not feel subversive. But in
America is besieged by a daily deluge of diversionary gibberish from its own commander in chief Donald Trump; Europe is preoccupied by the manufactured crisis of one of its major unifying powers, led by U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May; and China has become the testing ground for all the ways digital innovations can be harnessed to turn human life into an Orwellian nightmare under President Xi Jinping, writes Lisa Van Dusen. White House photograph by Shealah Craighead, photograph courtesy of the U.K. government, and courtesy of the Kremlin

On Brexit, Ms. May, the truth just might set you free

  • The first time I visited London in the ’80s as an embryonic politico, nothing really worked. Not the pay phones, not the heating, not
Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | February 27, 2019
United Kingdom Prime Minister Theresa May should ‘fess up and tell the people of Britain that Brexit can’t be done without enormous economic, social, political, and geopolitical costs, writes Lisa Van Dusen. Photograph courtesy of the office of the U.K. prime minister

On Brexit, Ms. May, the truth just might set you free

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | February 27, 2019
  • The first time I visited London in the ’80s as an embryonic politico, nothing really worked. Not the pay phones, not the heating, not

On Brexit, Ms. May, the truth just might set you free

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | February 27, 2019
  • The first time I visited London in the ’80s as an embryonic politico, nothing really worked. Not the pay phones, not the heating, not
United Kingdom Prime Minister Theresa May should ‘fess up and tell the people of Britain that Brexit can’t be done without enormous economic, social, political, and geopolitical costs, writes Lisa Van Dusen. Photograph courtesy of the office of the U.K. prime minister

Closing the imagination gap

  • There have been moments in modern history when innovation has overtaken our ability to interpret events; when, because we’ve never before seen anything like
Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | February 20, 2019
Facebook head Mark Zuckerberg testifies before a congressional committee in the United States on April 11 about Cambridge Analytica’s use of millions of Facebook users’ data without their consent. Facebook has gone from a self-proclaimed force for good to ‘digital gangsters,’ in the words of a report this week from British MPs, writes Lisa Van Dusen. Screenshot courtesy of CNBC

Closing the imagination gap

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | February 20, 2019
  • There have been moments in modern history when innovation has overtaken our ability to interpret events; when, because we’ve never before seen anything like

Closing the imagination gap

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | February 20, 2019
  • There have been moments in modern history when innovation has overtaken our ability to interpret events; when, because we’ve never before seen anything like
Facebook head Mark Zuckerberg testifies before a congressional committee in the United States on April 11 about Cambridge Analytica’s use of millions of Facebook users’ data without their consent. Facebook has gone from a self-proclaimed force for good to ‘digital gangsters,’ in the words of a report this week from British MPs, writes Lisa Van Dusen. Screenshot courtesy of CNBC

The great brain robbery: Looking up from the content glut

  • The New York Times has a weekly feature in its Book Review called By the Book, in which writers answer questions about their relationship with books and reading, one
Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | February 13, 2019
When we’re looking down at our devices, we’re not looking up at the transformations taking place in the tangible world, writes Lisa Van Dusen. Photograph courtesy of Pexels

The great brain robbery: Looking up from the content glut

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | February 13, 2019
  • The New York Times has a weekly feature in its Book Review called By the Book, in which writers answer questions about their relationship with books and reading, one

The great brain robbery: Looking up from the content glut

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | February 13, 2019
  • The New York Times has a weekly feature in its Book Review called By the Book, in which writers answer questions about their relationship with books and reading, one
When we’re looking down at our devices, we’re not looking up at the transformations taking place in the tangible world, writes Lisa Van Dusen. Photograph courtesy of Pexels

While America…seriously?

  • A few years ago, within 24 hours of the publication of a column I’d written about human rights and China, I clicked on a
Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | February 6, 2019
U.S. intelligence officials testify on Jan. 29 before the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee. They include, from left: FBI director Christopher Wray, CIA director Gina Haspel, national intelligence director Dan Coats, Defense Intelligence Agency director general Robert Ashley, National Security Agency director general Paul Nakasone, and National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency director Robert Cardillo. Screenshot courtesy of the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee

While America…seriously?

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | February 6, 2019
  • A few years ago, within 24 hours of the publication of a column I’d written about human rights and China, I clicked on a

While America…seriously?

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | February 6, 2019
  • A few years ago, within 24 hours of the publication of a column I’d written about human rights and China, I clicked on a
U.S. intelligence officials testify on Jan. 29 before the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee. They include, from left: FBI director Christopher Wray, CIA director Gina Haspel, national intelligence director Dan Coats, Defense Intelligence Agency director general Robert Ashley, National Security Agency director general Paul Nakasone, and National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency director Robert Cardillo. Screenshot courtesy of the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee

Women, Trump, and the redefinition of power

  • Whether it’s happening because so many of the most powerful men in the world have careened beyond reliable competence into an uncharted realm of
Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | January 30, 2019
Women who’ve expressed an interest in running for president as a Democrat include, from left: California Senator Kamala Harris, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar, and Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii. Photographs courtesy of the U.S. Congress

Women, Trump, and the redefinition of power

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | January 30, 2019
  • Whether it’s happening because so many of the most powerful men in the world have careened beyond reliable competence into an uncharted realm of

Women, Trump, and the redefinition of power

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | January 30, 2019
  • Whether it’s happening because so many of the most powerful men in the world have careened beyond reliable competence into an uncharted realm of
Women who’ve expressed an interest in running for president as a Democrat include, from left: California Senator Kamala Harris, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar, and Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii. Photographs courtesy of the U.S. Congress

The sublime distraction of Moose Jaw’s moose war

  • The bad news is that we live in an age of political disruption so preposterous that Donald Trump is president of the United States,
Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | January 23, 2019
Moose Jaw, home of Saskatchewan’s Mac the Moose—who held the Guinness World Record for world’s largest moose statue at 10 metres tall for three decades—is irate at having been usurped by a statue 30 centimetres taller in Norway. Wikimedia photograph courtesy of Johnnyw3

The sublime distraction of Moose Jaw’s moose war

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | January 23, 2019
  • The bad news is that we live in an age of political disruption so preposterous that Donald Trump is president of the United States,

The sublime distraction of Moose Jaw’s moose war

Opinion | BY LISA VAN DUSEN | January 23, 2019
  • The bad news is that we live in an age of political disruption so preposterous that Donald Trump is president of the United States,
Moose Jaw, home of Saskatchewan’s Mac the Moose—who held the Guinness World Record for world’s largest moose statue at 10 metres tall for three decades—is irate at having been usurped by a statue 30 centimetres taller in Norway. Wikimedia photograph courtesy of Johnnyw3

News

Get free news updates

Opinion

Submit a guest opinion article

resources

Follow us

Advertise

get help

Subscribe
CloseMenu