BIG Exclusives

In a publicly funded healthcare system already strained by wait times, staffing shortages, and an aging population, the emergent normalization of medical assistance in dying (MAiD) was never going to remain constrained. Once a procedure enters the bureaucratic and budgetary machinery, incentives emerge – quiet, structural, unspoken. And denied. What began as a compassionate response to irremediable suffering becomes entangled with the cold, objective logic of resource allocation. This is the financial reckoning Canadians have...

The preceding essays in this series have mapped the new terrain of conflict: mineral chokeholds that determine what can be built, energy shell games that determine what can be moved, machine-speed systems that compress decision cycles, narrative filters that shape what the public accepts as true, and quiet resource captures that shift the balance of endurance.  The Iranian flashpoint serves as both catalyst and stress test for an emerging order. Principled war strategy begins with the...

Since the war in Iran started in late February, everyone has been anxiously following crude oil prices because energy prices affect every household and business every day. The impact of the war has been significant, as illustrated in the crude oil price chart below. Suddenly, evening news reports provide a daily update on consumer gasoline prices. Figure 1 – Source: Petroleum markets responded to disruptions in the Middle East in the second quarter, EIA The impact of...

The Iranian sky lit up with missiles and drone swarms, but the slower, quieter war continued beneath the surface – in offices, boardrooms, and diplomatic backchannels. The capture of strategic resource regions around the globe is happening in plain sight, yet rarely is it framed as part of the same contest that produced the Twelve-Day War or ongoing proxy activations. This is where narrative filters do their most effective work: encouraging the public to believe...

Are United States stock markets experiencing an “AI bubble” that is about to burst? Or is that theory nothing more than wishful thinking from those who missed the boat?  From late 2022 through 2026, investment in artificial intelligence by U.S. companies has increased substantially. Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, Oracle, and Microsoft have been rapidly increasing their spending, with a combined cumulative investment of $140 billion attributed to AI.Productivity benchmarks continue to rise modestly – 1.9% year...

Artificial intelligence governance is often described in terms of principles. Fairness, accountability, transparency, and safety have become the dominant language through which organizations signal responsible deployment. These principles appear in policy frameworks, regulatory proposals, and corporate commitments across jurisdictions. Yet the operational reality of AI deployment reveals a persistent and widening gap between declared ethics and executed decisions. The central issue is not the absence of ethical frameworks, but the conditions under which those frameworks...

Alzheimer's disease is one of the leading causes of death among adults age 65 and older. While it is widely reported that the Alzheimer’s mortality rates are increasing, less attention is paid to how and why the recorded death rates change over time. This article analyzes Alzheimer’s mortality trends using state-level mortality data obtained from CDC Wonder, with a focus on California, Texas, and Oregon. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia, a...

The Iranian flashpoint did more than test missiles and guidance systems. It accelerated a deeper reconfiguration of global energy flows, where liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the United States has quietly displaced Russian pipeline gas in Europe, oil sanctions have reshaped buyer alliances, and control over both hydrocarbons and critical minerals has become the scaffolding for an emerging order. I suggest this is the largest externality shell game since carbon credits. The public narrative spun...

What a difference a year makes.  The world has woken up to the game-changing effect drones, often now powered by artificial intelligence or advanced software, are having on modern warfare. In my article last year, I postulated that “sensor to sensor” warfare was soon to be the new norm. A major shift from “eye to eye” or human-to-human battlefields, to machines fighting machines, whether on land, sea or in the air.  No longer it is...

Prospective 2036 government-multi-stakeholder press release “Today, Canada celebrates an important milestone – 20 years of compassionate care! Following broad consultation with ethicists, families, clinicians, and equity partners, Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) has been expanded to include mature minors experiencing profound existential distress from anticipated future life frictions, including projected housing insecurity, climate anxiety, and intergenerational economic burden. Parental consent remains encouraged, but is not required where capacity is demonstrated. This extension upholds autonomy, reduces...