Features
Former Winnipegger Mira Sucharov bares her soul in new memoir
Reviewed by BERNIE BELLAN
There’s something strangely compelling about reading the memoir of a talented individual who has decided to lay it all out for total strangers to discover some of her innermost secrets.
A few years back I reviewed a memoir by Henriette Ivanans, who happens to now be living in Winnipeg (married to Kevin McIntyre, about whom we have written many times in this paper). In her memoir, titled “In Pillness and in Health: A memoir” Henriette revealed her long and arduous struggle with addiction to a panoply of different types of medications. She was so searing in her self-criticism that it was almost painful reading her amazing story of survival against all odds.
Now, in a different way, well known academic and commentator Mira Sucharov discusses her own long-held emotional struggles, first triggered by the divorce of her parents when she was five, in her memoir, titled “Borders and Belonging: A Memoir”.
I have to admit that I have only a passing acquaintance with Mira’s career – which might help me to be more objective in discussing her memoir. I hadn’t ever read anything else she has ever written – which would probably come as a surprise to her, since I am well aware that she is a prolific writer with a reputation as a Middle East expert.
It’s not that I’ve shied away from reading anything by Mira Sucharov – it’s just that I’ve never enjoyed reading academic articles about the Middle East, even though I myself have a background in Political Studies – as she does. Ever since I finished university – which was ages ago, I’ve preferred to distance myself from anything that’s footnoted.
But “Borders and Belonging” is no academic treatise. Mira Sucharov is a talented writer who certainly knows how to tell a story; in this case the story is one of anxiety and elation as she forged a deeply held love for Israel from a very young age. Yet, as much as her interest in Israel has been a central focus of her life, her determination to view Israel in as objective a manner as possible has taken its toll.
Her opening chapter relates a story that reveals the extent to which she’s been ostracized by a very good portion of the Canadian Jewish community for daring to question Israel’s behaviour vis-à-vis the Palestinians. During her career as an academic, for which she’s received multiple awards (not that she discusses any of those in her book; any Google search will readily disclose how well respected Mira is as a professor and a commentator), she’s received scorn from both the right and the left for daring to attempt to be even handed in her assessment of Israel and the Palestinians.
No doubt what many members of the Winnipeg Jewish community will find particularly interesting though are Mira’s recollections of growing up here, where she attended Jewish day schools and, more significantly for readers of this paper, where she attended a summer camp that had a Labour Zionist orientation (which, interestingly, she never refers to by its name: Camp Massad).
For anyone who’s attended Camp Massad, reading Mira’s reminiscences about camp life would be reason enough to want to read the book, as her descriptions of that camp are as well drawn as one could find anywhere in reading about a summer camp.
But, it’s in Mira’s painful discussion of the traumas she’s endured in her life – which is not really all that long yet, since she must either just be 50 or close to it, based on certain references she makes that she provides some of the most jarring passages. I’ve already referenced her parents’ divorce which, as she describes it, occurred without any rancor between her parents and was as civil a breakup as one could hope to have. For Mira, however, it was a life-shattering experience and reading about how that break-up still reverberate with her offers a salutary lesson in how a marital break-up, no matter how well behaved the parents may be toward one another at the time of the break-up, can be so devastating for children all through their lives.
One other chapter that hits home like a ton of bricks is when Mira recounts reading a newspaper article about skin moles and takes a more careful look at a mole on her arm. Lucky for Mira, her mother didn’t procrastinate for one moment and, as it turned out, the mole was cancerous and likely would have led to an early death had it not been caught in time.
Later, Mira discusses allergies she has developed to certain foods and her frequent bouts with overwhelming anxiety. When she describes the often extremely stressful situations which she doesn’t avoid as an academic who is not afraid to take unpopular stands, it’s easy to understand the psychological toll that the career path she’s taken has had on her.
The memoir is not written in chronological fashion; it flits back and forth between episodes that occurred at various times in Mira’s life. Of all her experiences, however, in addition to her love of Camp Massad, it is the many times that Mira has visited and lived in Israel about which she writes most evocatively.
Her first visit to Israel was in 1983 with her bobe, Marian Margolis. That visit led to such a deep affection for Israel that Mira was motivated to return over and over again where, at various times, she was a student, a resident of a kibbutz (also while she was a student), and an academic.
And although a search of her online biography reveals that Mira received her MA from the University of Toronto and her PhD from Georgetown, in her memoir she writes only about her time spent at McGill, from where she obtained her BA. She admits that she was drawn to McGill because that was the school her father attended and she wanted to emulate his experience as much as possible. While her mother is also referred to in very loving terms, it is Mira’s relationship with her father that resonates throughout this memoir.
Another episode though that will probably upset more traditional readers is when Mira describes her love affair with an Arab student at McGill. While she is hardly graphic in her description, she is certainly far more candid in what she writes than anything she has to say about her husband who, for all intents and purposes, comes across as a nice Jewish boy who would certainly meet with the approval of most bobes.
Toward the end of the book Mira summarizes the conflicting forces that have shaped her life in a paragraph that both offers a glimpse of the emotional currents that are still swirling within her, it also gives you an idea just how gifted she is as a wordsmith:
“Panic. It’s like being a child of divorce all over again as I try to pull the pieces together: safety and danger, reality and fear, swinging between houses with different carpets, between marriages and separations, between my real home and my dad’s home and the home-away-from-home that is summer camp, between the reality of the present and my nostalgia for the past, between Israel as a lived reality and my image of the place, between political poles, between parts of my community and between my community and that of others—as I try to locate a single, coherent, authentic narrative that is safe and secure and true.”
It’s not always easy reading a memoir where the author dissects her life in such an open and candid manner, and I’m not sure how many of the individuals whose paths have crossed Mira’s would be aware of the emotional angst which is so pervasive throughout this book, but it takes a very brave individual to have written such an open and, at times, quite raw, recounting of a life.
“Borders and Belonging: A Memoir”
By Mira Sucharov
Published by Palgrave Macmillan, September 2020
Features
Exchange Rate Factors: What Global Events Mean for Savvy Investors
When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, it created ripples in all financial markets, including currency markets. The Euro weakened while the dollar surged and emerging market currencies wobbled. Global factors can quickly affect financial markets and shake established trends. Apart from such rare events, currencies tend to change their price because of interest rates, inflation, and overall investor confidence. For investors managing money abroad, understanding these movements is critical to avoid losses and mitigate risks.
Below, we will break down how global political, economic, and cultural events influence exchange rates, with insights for savvy investors.
Economic factors
There are several key exchange rate factors with a consistent history of shaking financial markets. These factors include inflation, interest rates, trade balances, employment rates, and so on. Since economic factors are shaping markets almost daily, we start with those.
Inflation and interest rates
Inflation and interest rates are closely connected as one can easily affect the other. When inflation rises, central banks step in and raise interest rates to reduce inflation, and when inflation is lower, central banks can lower interest rates to make borrowing money cheaper. As a result, investors closely monitor these two metrics to anticipate changes in interest rates. Higher inflation makes currencies weaker, and whenever banks change the rates, the changes are immediately reflected in global currency rates. In the United States, the Federal Reserve is the central bank that sets interest rates in the country.
Trade balances and economic growth
A country that exports more than it imports has a stronger demand for its currency. More demand equals a stronger currency. However, the Japanese yen was always weaker against the dollar because the BOJ of Japan tends to have super low rates near 0 to support its exporters. Economic growth also increases demand for local currency as more investors try to invest in the country’s economy. Long-term investors often track this data to detect early signs of any changes in currency strength.
Political and geopolitical factors
Elections, sanctions, and overall political stability are also crucial factors. If the country gets under sanctions, its economy crumbles and its currency becomes inflationary, losing its value quickly. Elections are also crucial for a currency’s strength. Geopolitical events can have a serious impact on the currency as well. The most obvious example is the 2016 Brexit events that made GBP lose its value rapidly and violently. Global conflicts, such as wars, can seriously impact global financial assets, especially currency markets. When tensions are high, safe-haven currencies like USD and CHF (Swiss Franc) become very popular among investors as they seek a safe place to protect their capital.
Cultural and social factors
People like tourists, workers, and diaspora communities can shape currencies as well. Tourism usually drives seasonal demand, and countries that are popular destinations during certain seasons experience their currency appreciation as demand spikes. The perception matters as countries seen as safe and opportunity-rich tend to attract more investors, solidifying their currency strength.
Technology and innovation
Technology is seriously affecting everything, especially the financial sector. Digital payment systems, blockchain technology, and fintech startups have made it easy and swift to move money around. Cryptos and stablecoins enable investors to protect their capital using stablecoins during volatile times. The latest trend among banks is to work on CBDCs, which signals a new era where national currencies are blended with technology and blockchain. Despite this, currencies, even in their crypto form, will continue to be influenced by all major factors mentioned above, and knowing how these factors impact your currency is key to keeping your capital safe from risks.
Practical lessons for savvy investors
So, what do all these factors teach us about global currency rates and investing strategies? The key lies in proper preparations and anticipation. Monitoring macro trends, policy announcements, and major geopolitical and political developments is critical.
Diversify
The number one method which is used by professional investors is diversification. This simply means to spread your risks across a basket of assets. By not investing all your capital in one instrument, you can mitigate risks. If one asset experiences a loss, other ones will counter it with returns. Building a diversified portfolio is key to properly diversifying. For example: divide your capital to buy stocks, commodities, currencies, and cryptos so that if one fails to perform, others will counter it. This ensures a stable income without unnecessary losses in the long run.
Hedge
Forex options and ETFs are great hedging assets. Forex options let investors lock in an exchange rate for a future date, which is very useful if you expect volatility but want stability. Currency ETFs, on the other hand, track specific currencies or a basket of currencies and allow easy trading or protection without trading forex directly, but they are still risky.
Monitor the economic calendar
Economic calendar is a free online tool that aggregates important macroeconomic news data such as interest rate decisions, CPI, inflation, employment rates, central bank announcements and speeches, and other crucial information. By monitoring them, investors can always know when important news data will be released, and they can postpone their investment decisions to avoid volatile times and only invest after the main trend is determined.
Features
The Canadian Dollar is on a slow decline. Should you save in euros or US dollars instead?
The Canadian dollar has been losing its value against the dollar this year. For Canadians, this raises a simple question: if your CAD is losing ground, is it better to move savings into euros or U.S. dollars, especially bonds, stocks, or a carry-trade strategy? Carry-trade strategy in this context means to borrow in CAD and invest it in the USA or the EU zone. This is a complex matter, and to understand where the CAD is, how attractive other currencies might be, we need to analyze these currencies more deeply. Below, we will walk you through the data, practical costs, and risks so you can reach a usable conclusion after reading this guide.
Quick snapshot – What the markets say right now
Recently, the Canadian dollar has hit multi-month lows due to weaker oil prices and a post-Fed (U.S. Federal Reserve) market reaction (which raised the rates, making the CAD weaker against the dollar). Canada’s central bank has cut its policy rate to 2.25%, while the Fed’s fund rate remains notably higher at about 3.75-4%. The ECB (European Central Bank) main interest rates are lower than the Fed’s and near the low-to-mid 2% range. While the Euro currency to USD rates remain mostly predictable, due to higher US bond yield rates, the EUR remains stronger, still. The U.S. 10-year Treasuries are around 4.1%, Canada’s 10-year near 3.2%, and Germany’s 10-year around 2.7%, meaning that today the USD-denominated bonds have the highest nominal yield among the three. As a result, the dollar seems much more attractive when it comes to bond yields and stocks.
Bonds – Which currency is the best for fixed income?
The short answer is: USD bonds. When it comes to nominal yield alone, US bonds beat almost all other competitors. U.S. government bond yields (10-year) are noticeably higher than Canadian and German/Eurozone bond yields right now. As a result, US bond buyers have more income potential than Canada and the EU. Euro-area core yields are lower, meaning they are paying less than the USA.
However, nominal yield does not mean it is guaranteed real return, and metrics like inflation, currency rates, and hedging costs can impact potential returns directly. If you buy USD bonds but the dollar falls against the CAD, currency losses will most likely wipe out the higher yield rate. If the Fed lowers its rates, it will make the dollar weaker against the CAD and EUR.
Another challenge is that, if you live and spend in Canada, you are using CAD, and when exchanging it for dollars, you get exposed to foreign currency rate risks, which must not be underestimated.
Stocks – Euro or dollar?
Both the EUR and USD have their advantages. USD has strong liquidity and strong long-term performance, while EUR equities offer valuation opportunities and recent relative strength.
Why USD?
The U.S. market remains the most liquid stock market with strong earnings for many tech and large companies. This makes USD stocks very attractive for long-term-oriented investors. S&P has been rising historically, and even after crashes, it often recovers its value relatively quickly.
Why EUR?
European indexes have performed well this year and in many cases cost less than their U.S. counterparts. While cheaper does not always mean better, these indexes still have some growth potential. Some major banks in the EU zone, together with industries, have recovered strongly with a recent focus on military manufacturing, making many EU stocks very attractive, together with local indexes.
However, here is a caveat: if you are using CAD daily and it loses its value against the euro, the returns from euro holdings might shrink, exposing you to greater currency risks.
Carry-trade analysis – Is it viable to borrow CAD and invest it in USD or EUR?
The basic promise of carry-trade is simple yet powerful: you borrow cheaper currency and invest it in currencies with higher yields. In our case, is it lucrative to borrow in CAD and invest in either EUR or USD? To answer this question, we need to look at numbers. BoC policy rate is 2.25%, Fed funds from 3.75%, U.S 10-yr is 4.1%, Canada 10-yr is 3.2%. If we deduct Canadian rates from the U.S. rates, we get around 1.8% positive before costs. So, in theory, it could be lucrative to invest CAD in USD assets using a carry trade. Since the ECB has around 2%, it is not profitable to use a carry-trade strategy for the euro.
The bottom line
While the CAD has been weakening lately, it is still not cheap enough to naively invest in USD or EUR. However, if you want a pure yield and can tolerate foreign exchange rate risks, USD bonds are more attractive today. When it comes to stocks, USD equities provide stable and liquid markets. If you want valuation potential and diversification, then euro equities have become more attractive this year. When it comes to carry-trade strategies, the USD remains more lucrative than the euro, but on paper, traders and investors should evaluate all the risks and costs before investing in any currency.
In the end, Canadians who have CAD for their daily costs should be careful when trying to get exposure to other markets. US bonds, US stocks, US carry-trade, and EU stocks remain attractive choices for experienced investors.
Features
Why Reading Online Reviews Matters Before Making a Purchase
People usually pause before purchasing to read reviews from other customers. It’s become part of everyday online life, a quick way to see how something really performs before making a decision. According to the Pew Research Center, most internet users read reviews to get a better idea of what they’re buying. The feedback from actual users becomes more reliable than marketing statements because it comes from everyday consumers instead of sales-oriented corporate messages.
Reading reviews also helps spot patterns. If the same comment, good or bad, appears again and again, it usually means there’s truth to it. People now use this collective feedback as their main method to evaluate online products and services for quality and reliability.
When There Are Too Many Options, Reviews Narrow the Field
Shopping online can be overwhelming and a bit of an adventure. There are always more options than anyone needs, hundreds of gadgets, countless household tools, endless entertainment subscriptions. All listings present themselves as excellent value propositions with operational excellence, yet it remains a bit of a challenge when it comes to verifying which ones deliver actual results.
Reviews become useful at this point. Real users provide information about product details, which marketing content fails to show, by sharing their experiences about delivery speed and setup ease and product durability after several months of use. The product details show its operational behavior when used in regular business activities.
Users tend to begin with reviews. For instance, a tech product might have amazing packaging but fall short on battery life or integration. Maybe a new game or casino platform might sound promising, and reviews on trusted choices can confirm whether it includes flexible payment options, a wide content library, and responsive support. When feedback keeps mentioning strong points like clear instructions or helpful customer service, it shows consistency. The product or service delivers its expected results because customers have personally seen its performance.
Reviews Build Faith Through Shared Experience
Reviews gain their strength from the emotional bonds which readers find with each other. Reading about someone else’s experience feels familiar, even if you don’t know them. It’s basic word-of-mouth marketing, like receiving recommendations from a neighbor who has already purchased the item you are considering.
This shared experience has built an informal community of online voices. People rely less on what a brand claims and more on what other users notice. When different reviewers mention similar strengths or small frustrations, it adds authenticity. The story becomes more believable.
Reviews show what other users have experienced, but they do not offer any guidance about what to do. This type of his collective info turns into an important part of how people build trust online. It’s a small thing, but it makes a big difference in how confident we feel about the choices we make.
Balanced Feedback Feels More Honest
A perfect score does not prove that something lacks any imperfections. A combination of positive and less-than-perfect feedback creates a more authentic impression. Small complaints about packaging or delivery delays make glowing reviews sound real. A recent study showed that participants answered honestly instead of trying to make their responses attractive to others.
Most readers know that nothing works flawlessly all the time. People look for reviews which provide both positive and negative aspects because they want to find balanced opinions. Customers can establish realistic purchase expectations through combined information which they can apply before buying. Review systems maintain their value because reviewers maintain honesty in their assessments.
Why Recency and Volume Matter
The best reviews and product ratings are the ones written recently. They reflect how a product or service performs right now, not how it worked a year ago. Things change, materials, delivery services, and even the way companies handle support.
A steady flow of new reviews suggests consistency. When lots of people share their experiences over time, patterns appear. Those patterns tell readers what’s typical, not just what’s possible. It’s the difference between one person’s lucky experience and a reliable average that others can count on.
Quantity matters too. Ten balanced reviews from this month will usually tell more than a single five-star comment from last summer. Together, recency and volume create a clear picture of reliability and quality without relying on assumptions.
Recognising Genuine Reviews
Not every review online is authentic, real, and written by a consumer. Some are written by automated accounts or people hired to post positive comments. Real feedback tends to sound natural and personal. It might mention something specific like the texture of a fabric, how easy the setup was, or whether support staff replied quickly.
Authentic reviews vary in tone and detail. Some are short, others long, some are full of small observations. That mix of styles feels human. On the other hand, copied or fake reviews usually repeat the same phrases or sound overly polished.
Many websites now try to identify and label suspicious posts, but readers can also help by paying attention to repetition, timing, and tone. A quick scan across different platforms usually reveals what’s genuine and what’s not.
Reading Smarter in the Online Marketplace
Reviews have become a solid foundation for how people make decisions online. They give an honest view of how something performs beyond what’s written on the label. Every comment, short or long, adds another piece to the puzzle.
More than that, reviews show how businesses handle problems, how quickly they respond, and whether they follow through on promises. They offer accountability in a world where shoppers and sellers rarely meet face to face.
Reading a handful of reviews won’t guarantee a perfect experience, but it provides helpful context. It shows what’s typical and helps people make choices with more confidence. In an online world full of noise, reviews remain one of the easiest and most reliable ways to learn from others.