The vast majority of citizens, particularly those enamored of Trump, have had to deal with difficult bosses, bosses who treat their employees like dirt. And because of those workplace experiences, they have little patience for those who treat their employees with disdain.

Donald Trump is a liar, a criminal, and a danger to all of us. Everyone who is sane knows that. He attacks press freedom. He has used the undocumented workers he maligns. He lies about his wealth, which is why he doesn't release his tax returns. He hires anti-Semites. He steals. He discriminates against blacks in housing.

If only it were so easy. The leader of a war-torn Middle Eastern country commits an atrocity; the West removes him. Problem solved. At least, that's the way Prime Minister Justin Trudeau seems to see the future in Syria. The only problem is that Trudeau has forgotten the many other players who have a stake in what happens in Syria.

His top diplomat offered a similarly grim assessment.

We have a problem, rather, a preoccupation with power. It is human nature to want and crave it, but the ways we get it and keep it are usually inhumane. The simplest, most base feeling of power is that of physical might. The ability to defeat one's foes in combat.

I write this with the crippling cries of a small child playing in my earphones, nerve gas choking him literally to death, his desperate rasping gasps for breath ringing in my ears and unnerving my insides, his agony repeating over and over in the background as a foaming espresso machine steams beside me at the counter.

For Washington and Ottawa, the Ukraine is a proxy to weaken Russia, which blocked western plans to topple the Assad regime in Syria. Where will this lead? A new Cold War against a capitalist Russia? Or a much hotter war involving direct confrontation between Canadian and Russian troops?

Chrystia Freeland is an expert on Russia.

The U.S. won't get a better relationship by ignoring the Kremlin's efforts to run roughshod over the most fundamental institutions in U.S. democracy. Doing so sends one message and one message only: that the American president is weak, inviting further interference in U.S. domestic affairs.

Putin said no U.S. diplomats will be ousted in retaliation.

Image of "Vladimir Putin carrying his buddy Donald Trump" by DonkeyHotey on flickr through Creative Commons It has yet to be proven. What is known, ...

Democracy is underpinned by governing through informed consent of the masses. A strong and independent media is a nation's window into the affairs of the nation. Currently too many westerners cannot tell an opinion piece (like this one) from true investigative journalism. Attention spans are too short for long investigative pieces, and forget taking 2 minutes to check a source!

I've got to tell you, I was positively thunderstruck when I read that Donald Trump had decided to appoint the multi-millionaire dealmaker Rex Tillerson (the CEO of Exxon Mobil) as his Secretary of State. Are you kidding me?

The challenge for Canadian foreign policy is to mitigate the risks of the rebels faltering in Aleppo, with the more long-term strategic challenge of Russia and Iran's vicious play for power. Should Aleppo fall, an even more dystopian region will emerge.

Dion steered clear of weighing in directly on comments Donald Trump made during the U.S. election campaign.

The pressures on Canadian interests abroad will be significant, so long as the United States remains the guarantor of Canadian national security and the major partner in economic prosperity. So what does the U.S. election mean for Canada in the world?