Category Archives: Nation states

Planners from hell – Crack up in Rio

Posted on September 21, 1997 by urbanrenaissanceinst

(September 21, 1997) At 3 a.m. on December 10, 1985, soon after the fall of Brazil’s military regime, government officials arrived at the homes of civil servants across the state of Rio de Janeiro, bundled them into vehicles and set off for a mission so secret that many of the sleepy participants, themselves, were kept in the dark. Continue reading →

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Discussion Group, Our benign dictatorship

Posted on December 21, 1996 by urbanrenaissanceinst

(December 21, 1996) Canadians will be going to the polls this year, with the Liberals seemingly headed for a second majority government. Most political pundits credit the use of clever strategies by the Liberals, saying they’ve moved to the right to rob Reform of the deficit issue while keeping their image as guardians of medicare and defenders of the social safety net. Continue reading →

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On a clear day, you can see past the borders

Posted on September 1, 1995 by urbanrenaissanceinst

(September 1, 1995) Where do I live? Depending on who`s asking and why, I might name my neighborhood. Or I might say “Toronto”. Or “Canada,” if I were visiting a foreign country. Besides being a Torontonian and Canadian, I’m an Ontarian for some purposes (like buying licence plates for my car), a resident of the Western world when our standard of living is compared with that of people in Third World countries, even a member of Planet Earth when reminded of it by a telecast from space or canvasser from Greenpeace. Continue reading →

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