Hamilton Spectator

Yemen is an arms bazaar, but has far fewer firearms than the U.S., with its almost one gun per person.

As obesity becomes an issue in developing nations, I ask you this: Will you go hungry with me?

You don't want to raise a generation that cares about others, do you?

Let's hope any pursuit of justice takes the highest road possible.

The booby prize given by the U.K.-based Plain English Campaign for funniest remark last year by a public figure goes to U.S Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

Christmas doesn't ask, Who is Jesus? It asks, Who are we?

In the Middle East there s as big a debate over the media as there is here. Some back Al-Jazeera and some CNN. And some read independent papers.

Call me a dreamer, but ever wonder how things would look if John F. Kennedy was involved in today's so-called war of civilizations?

Liberal democracies almost never fight each other. They'd rather have the good things.

Iraq. Can it be saved? Six months after its liberation, Iraqis are still short on power, electrical and otherwise. The Yanks are still being greeted with grenades as much as with flowers and hugs. And how did those weapons of mass destruction disappear?

This country is one of contrasts. Red-dirt roads cross lush- green landscapes. People familiar with war smile easily and greet you genuinely. Beauty meets ugliness, plenty meets want, and life meets death here. Uganda may be, as Winston Churchill said, the Pearl of Africa. But, if so, it's a tarnished jewel.

Today, Jean and I, with our bright-eyed bambino, Elizabeth, are on a jet plane flying back to Yemen. Our condo in Ancaster is again a speck that has disappeared over the horizon.

You don't need to be a flaming, bleeding-heart liberal or a limp- wristed lefty to see that it's a man's world when it comes to some basic privileges in life.

(The Hamilton Spectator - Friday, June 20, 2003) Nobody knew. Prior to the birth of our first child, two weeks ago today at St. Joseph’s Hospital here in Hamilton, Jean and I kept her name, Elizabeth top-secret from absolutely everyone. “It’s from the Bible and it’s not Dorcas,” is all I would reveal, before adding, “If and when we have a boy, we have a biblical name for him too. And it’s not Nimrod.” So imagine the confirmation we felt when, prior to our return to Canada for the delivery, some western friends in Yemen said good-bye to us by reading the biblical story of Elizabeth.

Dr. David Livingstone, celebrated explorer and missionary to Africa, was once asked by a group back in England, "Have you found a good road to where you are? We want to send others to join you." "If you have men who will come only if they know there is a good road, I don't want them," he replied. "I want men who will come even if there is no road at all."