Stuff!

A few little bits of information to let you know that I'm still alive and blogging!

First, this link to a fantastic article by the Globe and Mail's best journalist, Doug Saunders, on the outcome (or lack thereof) of Canada's foreign policy under Harper.

Next, I noticed that CNN is offering an interactive online virtual tour of Port-au-Prince in the wake of last week's earthquake. Their program allows people like you and me to make our way through Port-au-Prince and witness the extent of devastation right on our screens. Although I wasn't around in the 70s, this strikes me as a modern equivalent of the TV footage of the Vietnam War that so turned public opinion against the US military presence. I'd be curious to know what kind of effect this program and its equivalents are having on relief efforts and public concern for this crisis.

We all know how difficult it is to imagine life in a foreign land. Many westerners who would be the first to rush to the aid of their fellow citizens find themselves less moved by the suffering of fellow human beings in countries like Haiti, because places like Haiti feel almost unfathomably distant. Although TV footage helps, this new technology is better. There is a huge difference between watching the news, as it is reported by journalists on TV and other media, and discovering it yourself by wandering through Port-au-Prince on your computer screen. It's never good to speculate, but I think it's fair to hope that this new technology will encourage the development of a more global conscience, and provoke more immediate responses to crises like this one.