Examiner - Turcot Interchange - The reconstruction project

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My article on the Examiner, as a Montreal Politics Examiner.

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Examiner - Turcot Interchange - The reconstruction project

Suite 101 article - The Reality of Human Trafficking in the United States

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There's my second article,

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The Reality of Human Trafficking in the United States

Suite 101 article - Russia's Power and Corruption

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This is my first article on Suite 101 - called Russia's Power and Corruption.

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The Article - Russia's Power and Corruption

Who’s Stephen Harper? (2006)

This is an article I wrote in 2006, for the website CollegePress.com

At January 23rd 2006, a new federal government was elected in Canada, replacing the Liberal government who ruled the country for 12 years. After major fraudaccusations, which have destabilized the government, the Conservative party appears as the perfect alternative. The Bush Administration, which was hostile to the Liberal government, now walks hand-in-hand with the new Conservative government of Stephen Harper. The recent implication of Canada in Afghanistan, the resolution of the controversial US-Canada wood exportation, changes drastically the US-Canada relations. So, who’s Stephen Harper, the new Prime Minister of Canada, who succeeded where the Liberals never succeeded: keeping a good relation with the Bush Administration?

The actual Conservative Party is a fusion of two other right-wing parties: the Progressive-Conservative Party of Stephen Harper and the Canadian Alliance Party of Peter MacKay. In 2003, the two parties tried to unite themselves, to create a single rightwing party, which resurrected the death Conservative Party of Brian Mulroney. In 2005, after a saga of fraud scandals from the Liberal’s high direction, the Conservative Party appears as the only possible alternative to the corrupted Liberals, and formed the new federal government in January 2006.

As a right-wing party, the members of the Conservative Party promote a stronger military force, a more efficient homeland security and an empowerment of the police jurisdiction. A majority of the Conservative members, like Stephen Harper, believes in anti-abortions, anti-gay weddings, and have several controversial positions on the Iraq war, on the ballistic missile shield, on more severe charges towards criminals and on weapons. In difference of the Western Canada, some provinces, like Quebec, have different positions on theses subjects, so Stephen Harper moderated his positions during the elections, reassuring them, to keep a united Canada. However, as he told to the press, if the question arises in the House of Commons, he’ll vote for what he believes. In the question of security, he feels that Canada isn’t safe anymore, and follows the US way. On the other hand, some security procedures he established begin to be severely criticized: from secrecy of some decisions to limiting access to journalists, just to evades unattended question. Visibly, Stephen Harper is a man who wants control over transmission of information.

The Conservative party positions meet the Bush Administration’s way of thinking. A greater implication in Afghanistan: passing from peace-keeping to direct conflict with the Talibans, have been received positively by M. Georges W. Bush. The possibility of joining the controversial ballistic missile shield is good news for the US President. However, in some subjects, the two countries aren’t on the same line. Over the question about the necessity to show the passport to cross the US-Canada border, a tough discussion started between the two countries. Finally, the idea was abandoned by the US government. But, this event didn’t cloud the good relation between Canada and the United States. The same visions about homeland security, anti-gay marriages, antiabortions and military implications, make the two countries closer than in the past six years.

Le continent africain : Bassin de futurs terroristes

Depuis longtemps, la majorité du continent africain a été oublié à son propre sort, les pays occidentaux n'ayant que faire d'un continent sans intérêts économiques. Les « diamants du sang », sont une triste réalité en Afrique, déchirant les populations civiles dans des conflits meurtriers. Des guerres intestines, qui font des milliers de morts, n'apparaissent jamais, ou rarement, à la une des médias occidentaux. Par exemple, la République Démocratique du Congo, est en guerre depuis 1997. Ce conflit a provoqué plusieurs milliers de morts, atteignant parfois 800 victimes pour un seul affrontement.

Plusieurs maladies, dont le SIDA, ravagent le continent depuis des années, laissant des milliers d'enfants orphelins. La pénurie de nourriture et d'eau accable une bonne partie de l'Afrique, mais les gouvernements occidentaux ont commencé à s'intéresser au sujet que depuis peu de temps.

Le gouvernement américain commence à s'intéresser au phénomène africain. L'appel incessant du Libéria pour freiner les affrontements entre civils, a fait réagir le gouvernement américain. La tournée du président Bush du continent africain, est une autre preuve de son intérêt pour ce continent, et pour cause. Les pays abandonnés par l'Occident, qui s'enlisent souvent dans des guerres interminables, deviennent des bassins potentiels de futurs terroristes. Selon le département d'État américain, les groupes terroristes, tel Al-Quaeda, prennent de plus en plus de terrain sur le continent africain, faisant davantage d'adeptes. Les frontières poreuses, la facilité de se procurer des armes, sans compter les conflits incessants et le manque de pouvoir économique sont, selon le département d'État, très favorables pour étendre et renforcer les réseaux de ces derniers.

Les mouvements terroristes se multiplient à travers le monde, comme dans le cas de l'attaque de Bali et de Casablanca. Les gouvernements occidentaux devraient s'intéresser un peu plus au continent africain, car pour un peuple vivant dans la pauvreté et dans la guerre, les mouvements terroristes pourraient être perçus comme des libérateurs. L'attaque de certaines ambassades américaines en Afrique, l'attaque du vaisseau USS Cole, sont des signes précurseurs de cette nouvelle réalité.

Hybrid Technology, the dream waits.

During the 80’s, the environmentalists screamed about the dangers of global warming, caused by numerous factors, as the carbon monoxide (CO), a gas which is released during the consumption of oil. At the beginning of the new millennium, the warning of those early environmentalists starts to take shape over the world. The smog, this dark cloud which is created by several pollutants, like CO, begins to provoke grave effects, like asthma and heart attacks, on the citizens of the major cities in North America.

According to the American Lung Association, kills ten of thousand American citizens every year. Target as a major cause of the release of the major pollutants, the car begins a motor metamorphosis. A new system of propulsion appears on the American market: the hybrid car.

The hybrid cars, ambidextrous creatures of steel, which runs with an oil and an electrical motor, entered the market at the end of the previous century. The hybrid cars, which came from the other side of the ocean, from the Japanese country, weren’t created to stop global warming. Japan, an island with a major oil resource shortage, decided to jump on new technologies, to find an alternative. The hybrid technology was born.

In this new technology, two major names in the car industry appear: Toyota and Honda. However, the technology used isn’t the same for each car. In the case of the Toyota Prius, a “Full hybrid”, its technology is based on an electrical motor, which is helped by an oil motor, and can exclusively run on the electrical motor or the oil motor. On the other hand, the other “Mild hybrid” cars, like the Honda Insight is based on oil motor, which the electrical motor supports the first one; to boost the car’s performance, while the car economizes gas.

The hybrid car has an edge via the other cars: they cut off nearly 50% of the oil consumption, and reduce 80% of the CO emission. The majority of small hybrid cars spend gas as much as normal compact cars like the Toyota Echo. However, the S.U.V. hybrid cars reduce modestly the oil consumption: 7 liters for 100km (1.9 gallons/62.13 miles) for an SUV hybrid car, compared to 10 liters for 100km (2.6 gallons/62.13 miles) for the regular SUV car.

Even if the population is environmentally conscientious, in Canada, the hybrid cars sleep in the dealers. Still, in the United States, the hybrid is a little more popular. According to the BBC, Prius drivers such as Leonardo di Caprio, Billy Crystal, Harrison Ford and Susan Sarandon have given hybrid cars a good reputation; these days everyone wants one.

But even so, the hybrid sells are really low. The hybrid car price can stop people of buying it. The cost of a hybrid is 3 to 10 thousand of dollars more than a regular one. For example, the Toyota Camry hybrid and the regular Camry has a 6000 US$ of difference (25,900$ for the Camry Hybrid, against 19,320$ for the regular Camry).

Finally, the hybrid technology is really the long term solution to replace the conventional car? According to CTV, the hydrogen car, powered by an electric battery, is predicted to be the long term solution to dependence on fossil fuel. However, the hydrogen vehicle will not be on the market before 10 to 20 years.