The Greatest Of Them All
In Nov. 2004, Canadians voted Tommy Douglas the Greatest Canadian of all time following a nationwide contest. Over 1.2 million votes were cast.
Our newsletter contains important information
and programs for students, both high school
and elementary, engaged in the study of world
issues through the medium of model United
Nations activities. We trust that you will benefit
from this material and visit our web page.
If you have a suggestion for an addition to this
newsletter, please e-mail us at your convenience.
info@cowac.org
Reproduction of material from this newsletter without written permission is strictly prohibited.
Contents copyright by COWAC and individual authors.
Powered by:
Manitoulin Island Web Design
Suscribe To These Services
|
UN Wire: Daily
Global News
|
|
|
|
Safe Water and Orphan Support
in Southwestern Uganda
by Sophie Watson
The Lake Bunyonyi Development Company (LBDC) was developed in partnership with the Church of Uganda, the Africa Community Technical Service (ACTS), a Canadian non-governmental organization (NGO), and the Lake Bunyonyi community of southwestern Uganda.
see full story
St. Andrews Students Study
Terrorism and Political Violence
by Chris Pang
The events of September 11th changed the way the world viewed terrorism.
In one sense, the attacks have led to a growing public interest in
terrorism as a political phenomenon.
see full story
Canadian Woman Initiates a New Industry in Uganda
by Sophie Watson
What do elephant grass, papyrus, banana, and pineapple fibres and soda
ash make? After a process involving mushing, boiling, stirring, blending,
rinsing, diluting and drying: Poof–beautiful handmade paper.
see full story
COWAC Thanks You For Visiting
Your visits here have helped COWAC surpass one million hits!
Once again - Thanks!
Top of Page
|
Big Brother & Feeding Tubes
by Mike Keenan
I tape The Daily Show with Jon Stewart for several reasons. First, like many others, I’m distrustful of mainstream press and news analyst spin doctors who toil for vested interests. There’s no hope of balanced, objective journalism from those favoured few “imbedded” in the scene. Also, mainstream news is depressing. Its prime focus is to keep us down, threatened, unsure, willing to abandon freedom to bigger brothers who infer that they will keep us safe, provided we play along if they bend the rules. The “you’re either with us or against us” syndrome.
see full article
Judicial Review of Security Council
Chapter VII Decisions:
A New Perspective
by Kelly Keenan
In October 1945, representatives of fifty states gathered to form the United Nations ("U.N."), an institution intended to "save succeeding generations from the scourge of war." To this end, Chapter VII of the U.N. Charter ("Charter") bestowed upon the newly established Security Council ("Council") broad powers to authorize military and non-military action in order to "maintain or restore international peace and security." During the Cold War, disagreement among the permanent members precluded the Council from operating in all but a few instances. In the last fifteen years, however, the Council has dramatically increased the use of its powers and has displayed a willingness to exercise those powers in response to a broad range of circumstances.
see full article
Passing of a Friend
by Mike Keenan
In 1997, I asked my high school friend, Mike Wadsworth to visit Canada from the Notre Dame campus in South Bend and address Niagara high school students on the subject of leadership. I learned that Mike passed away yesterday, April 29, 2004, yet what he had to say is as relevant now as it was then. Mike was an example of a Canadian who made a difference on the world scene.
see full story
Stomping out the World’s Rogues, One Despot at a Time
by Andrew Thomson
The Banqueting House still stands in central London, the only part of Whitehall Palace to survive the fire of 1698. It was here that English kings and queens ruled from 1530 to 1698. On Nov. 19, 2003 it played host to America’s royalty: President George W. Bush, giving a 40-minute address on foreign policy on his state visit to the United Kingdom. Discussing a variety of issues – Anglo-American relations, the United Nations, Iraq – Bush made mention of a "forward strategy of freedom" as being central to United States foreign policy.
see full story
The Hague International Model United Nations
THIMUN 2004
by Sebastian Ragheb
In 2003, I began an exchange to Bremen Germany, and placed in a bilingual (English and German) school. About one month into classes
I found out that my school participated in Model United Nations (MUN) conferences in Europe. I was very excited by the opportunity
to make use of the skills I’d learned at INMUN and other NMUN debates in a European forum.
see full story
Canadian Peacekeeping:
then and now
by Andrew Thomson
In the spring of 2000, Molson began broadcasting a wildly popular beer
commercial featuring a young man named "Joe Canadian," who says during
a 30-second patriotic rant that Canadians "believe in peacekeeping,
not policing." At the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa, where centuries
of military tradition are on display, there is an entire section
devoted to peacekeeping. Nearby, the Peacekeeping Monument stands as
a tribute to Canadians who have served and died in the name of peace,
the only such statue in the world.
see full story
Dispatches from Scotland: Part Three
by Chris Pang
For the record, "I love haggis!" Yes, you read me correctly: I am a
haggis-admirer. You can call me dodgy; you can call me deranged. Hey,
you can even call me "minging" (as the Scottish would say). But I stand
by my haggis, and I write this piece with utmost sincerity and with
a goal in mind, that is to tear down the walls of ignorance and
restore the haggis to its rightful place in the cookbooks and dinner
tables of this world.
Surely, I could talk about the many wonderful experiences I have
had in the last six months at St. Andrews, but more pressing matters
come to the fore. Despite its bad reputation, I put forward the
following: "Haggis is our friend!" Quite recently, all of the Halls
here in St. Andrews lavishly celebrated Robert Burns Day (January 25th).
This day, which dates back hundreds of years, honours the life of
indisputably, Scotland’s greatest poet who produced such famous
works as Bannockburn and Address to a Haggis. To commemorate this
special occasion, the residents of my hall (Hamilton Hall) were
all treated to a traditional "Burns Dinner" consisting of authentic
Scottish cuisine, the highlight of which was our beloved friend,
the haggis!
see full story
Mining and Communities, Poverty Amidst Wealth
by Karyn Keenan
The following link will provide readers with a copy of a paper on
Mining and Communities, Poverty Amidst Wealth by Karyn Keenan and
José de Echave delivered at the International Conference on Natural
Assets, January, 2003 at Tagaygay City, The Philippines. This link
is courtesy of the Political Economy Research Institute
(PERI) - University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
download the pdf file
Peacekeeping: Are there Rules of Engagement?
by Andrew Thomson
Former United Nations Secretary General Dag Hammarskjold once said that
peacekeeping was one of the organization's "Chapter Six-and-a-Half"
functions.
see full story
Respond to Violence: Teach Peace, Not War
by Russell Mokhiber and Robert Weissman
From 1969 to 1997, Colman McCarthy wrote a column for the Washington
Post. He was let go because the column, he was told, wasn't making
enough money for the company. "The market has spoken," was the way
Robert Kaiser, the managing editor at the Post, put it at the time.
see full story
