Simon Vodrey

South Carolina is an American state whose reputation for political trench warfare precedes itself. Inside a crowded North Charleston auditorium as he stumped for his brother, Jeb, in South Carolina, former president George W. Bush reminded his audience that, while “There seems to be a lot of name calling [...]

In 1934, two decades after the outbreak of the First World War and five years before the onset of the Second, a prescient former British soldier and politician named Winston Churchill spoke about the threat posed to England by air warfare. Churchill remarked that, “The flying peril is not a peril from [...]

Jules Bianchi in his Marussia formula F1 car. This month, after a 21-year hiatus, an unwelcome guest returned to Formula One racing. Jules Bianchi's crash at the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix. At the rain-soaked 2014 Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday, October 5, Marussia F1 driver, 25-year-old Jules Bianchi, [...]

Popular wisdom has it that the only certainty in life is death and taxes. Until a few short months ago, most economists, politicians, political pundits and journalists would have added to that short list a perpetual increase in the price of oil. But, in today’s interconnected world, much can happen [...]

Nineteen eighty-nine was by all accounts a banner year, one of fundamental change. In February of 1989, convoys of Soviet tanks, artillery and armored personnel carriers lumbered across the Afghan-Uzbek Bridge and back into the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic, thereby signaling the Soviets’ abandonment [...]

A sea change in automotive design is upon us. The systemic shift in engineering has led to the regrettable fact that most automobiles today come equipped with just two pedals; the clutch, that all-important third pedal, is missing. And, much to the dismay of driving enthusiasts, the automatic has overtaken [...]

Horace Greeley, the nineteenth-century politician, author and proprietor of the then extremely influential New York Tribune newspaper, famously offered this sage advice: “Go west, young man.” One could argue that Greeley’s reasoning could also apply to the quest for gourmet pizza. Why you may ask? [...]

Just over a week ago, the picturesque Quebec town of Lac-Mégantic entered the public lexicon for all the wrong reasons. On Saturday, July 6, at 1:14 a.m., an unmanned runaway freight train belonging to the Montreal, Maine & Atlantic (MMA) Railway Ltd. derailed in the heart of the town. But this [...]

In our continuing series on the Canadian Coast Guard we look at some rescues and learn some valuable lessons about the power of the sea. “Never turn your back on the ocean” is an old Hawaiian saying. It is sage advice for any mariner. Most sailors are aware that the ocean is a dangerous and unforgiving [...]

In Oliver Stone’s 1987 film Wall Street, Gordon Gekko, the ruthless corporate raider played by Michael Douglas, explains that when picking stocks, “the most valuable commodity I know of is information.” This same mantra should apply when it comes to the serious business of making health care decisions [...]