Category: International

Among my most prized possessions are three finishers medals from the Congress ultra-marathon in South Africa.  I’m lucky now to be able to give back to Comrades as an international volunteer “Ambassador” for Comrades. With our race coming up on June 14, I’d like to share some thoughts. This year, because of the Covid pandemic, the race is canceled.  But, the “Spirit of Comrades” is not forgotten. We’re going to have a virtual “Comrades Legend Race,” on Sunday, June 16th. You can run, walk, or crawl 5km all the way to the Comrades race distance of 90km.  You can do it anywhere, including on a treadmill at home. You’ll get a real medal from South Africa and your results will be published on the official Comrades website. All you need to know about the Comrades Legends race and how you can participate is explained here: www.comrades.com/ The “Spirit of Comrades” is international. I’m proud to say that Cheryl Winn, an American by birth, is the only person to have won the race and now serves as Chairperson of the Comrades Marathon Association.  In 2005, Cheryl and I had a bottle of nice South African wine and dreamed of how great it would…

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When actor-director Ben Affleck held aloft his Oscar “Best Motion Picture” award for the movie, “Argo” and thanked Canada, most Americans applauded. But how are we really thanking Canada, by far our largest trading partner, with $1.8 billion in goods and services crosses our northern border every day? Is our economic relationship being weighted down by a tyranny of small but seemingly endless and consequential border and regulatory barriers? And, are those differences hurting capital formation and job growth in our own backyard? Are we taking the relationship for granted? Sadly, yes. Even though Canada temporary housed scores of airplanes and American citizens grounded by the tragedy of 9-11, our trade and economic relationship with Canada has suffered ever since. Passports are now required to cross the US-Canadian border. Conveyance fees have been established for every shipment of goods from our northern neighbor. The border is thicker with new regulatory enforcement schemes and barriers. That is why both President George Bush in 2005 and President Barack Obama in 2011 launched separate, but important initiatives to knock down those barriers and turn North America into a more powerful global export platform. President Bush launched the Security and Prosperity Partnership for North…

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