Is Putin insane, or does he just want everyone to think he is? The world can't afford to get the answer wrong.
H/t Michael De AdderReflections, Observations, and Analyses Pertaining to the Canadian Political Scene
Monday, March 14, 2022
Thursday, February 17, 2022
Friday, January 28, 2022
Thursday, January 13, 2022
A Viable Alternative?
Given the contentious nature of measures to force the anti-vaxxers into line, perhaps the following is a viable alternative?
H/t Graeme MacKayTuesday, January 11, 2022
How To Deal With Flagrant Stupidity
Unlike viruses that allegedly ultimately 'burn themselves out', stupidity and the flagrant disregard for public health and safety will always be with us. Toronto Star readers have some ideas on how to deal with them:
Time to raise the price for those who still won’t get vaxxed, Jan. 9
I was born January 1940 into a world at war. One of my earliest memories is of the blackout.
People did this for two reason: First, to protect themselves, and second, to protect the neighbourhood. It was not perfect protection; we all know of the thousands that were killed by bombs and it had its danger, such as tripping over things and the people who thought the darkness gave them the opportunity for crime. Even so, the benefits outweighed the danger.
I think the same should apply to vaccinations: you get vaccinated to protect yourself and the people in your neighbourhood. It is the only protection we have. The benefits outweigh the danger, and it should be the law with fines for those who refuse to follow the rules.
Keith Parkinson, Cambridge, Ont.
In a democratic society, majority rules. So why is it our spineless politicians are letting the minority — the anti-vaxxers — rule?
It is time to have the vaccine passport mandated for entry to any type of business.
J. Armour, Mississaug
And finally, a reader offers this about the hapless Erin O'Toole:
Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole said on TV recently something to the effect of: “We just have to realize not everyone will agree to vaccination.”
Isn’t that like saying we are never going to solve homelessness or drug addiction, so Canadians should just suck it up and learn to live with the reality?
What a great strategy — no more funding for those ongoing issues, so why waste money and resources on problems that seem futile?
Is this the Conservative leader’s plan for balancing the books if he ever became prime minister?
Dorothy Low, Richmond Hill
Monday, January 10, 2022
Thursday, January 6, 2022
The Unvarnished Truth
H/t Theo Moudakis
Truth be told, I don't feel much like writing these days. The news is unrelentingly grim, the pandemic soldiers on, and the stupid continue to run around extolling their 'gospel.' My sympathy/empathy for the unvaxxed is non-existent, and given the deaths they are and will be responsible for through cancelled heart and cancer surgeries because their kind are filling the hospitals, I have reached the point that if they do expire from the disease, I really don't care.
Just like I don't care about the planeload of covidiots that chartered a Sunwing plane to Mexico. You have probably already seen the video, but if not, have a look.
I am happy to report that Sunwing, Air Transat and Air Canada are refusing them transport home.
Oh, and one more thing. Thirty of the miscreants have come down with Covid.
My heart does not bleed for them
Tuesday, January 4, 2022
Sunday, November 28, 2021
It's All A Matter Of Perspective, I Guess
Some people are losing good union jobs because of their 'beliefs'. No doubt those being fired from well-paid positions at Toronto's TTC, from various hospitals, etc. see themselves as principled martyrs for refusing vaccine mandates.
Others, however, see them in a different light.
H/t Patrick CorriganIt's all a matter of perspective, I guess.
Saturday, November 20, 2021
Tuesday, November 2, 2021
Business As Usual
I have to confess that I am not following the Cop26 Glasgow Summit very closely. My suspicion is that all the hot air being vented there will only aggravate our climate crisis.
From my cynical perspective, two editorial cartoons by the redoubtable Michael de Adder capture precisely the tenor of the times:
Saturday, October 23, 2021
Just A Reminder
With an election in Ontario next June, Doug Ford has been trying to rebrand himself, somewhat unsuccessfully given his unusual capacity for stepping in it. Nonetheless, a little reminder from Patrick Corrigan serves to highlight Dougie's true nature and the values he really embraces.
Wednesday, October 13, 2021
A Meme For The Times
This particular meme has been around for awhile now. If you haven't seen it, I think you will agree that it is particularly germane to the times in which we live.
Tuesday, September 21, 2021
This And That
Too tired to write after a night spent watching election returns, I opt for an easy way out today: the thoughts of others.
H/t David ParkinsH/t Theo Moudakis
H/t Graeme MacKay
And on a related theme …
Monday, August 30, 2021
Pondering The Imponderables
H/t Greg Perry
… there was nothing of urgency on the Liberal agenda they couldn’t have achieved anyway with the support of the NDP in a minority government... we are in the midst of a pandemic fourth wave that is expected to worsen when students go back to school next week.
There was only a craven grasp for power, majority muscle, mounted on a global plague that the Liberals clearly expected to exploit on their vaccine distribution record, benevolent billions dispersed to those who lost their jobs, their businesses, and Trudeau’s bracing steadiness at the helm.
Perhaps Trudeau's greatest liability, according to DiManno, is the same perceived by many.
… I don’t need pollsters to tell me that Trudeau hasn’t made a cogent case for himself and his party’s apparent God-given right to govern with majority chops.
It didn't have to be this way. Had he not dissolved Parliament, Trudeau could have continued with his agenda, supported by willing opposition members. And if he had fallen on a non-confidence motion? Then an election would have ensued, of course, but the miasma of negativity and cynicism permeating today's march to the ballot box would likely have been minimized.
September 20 is barely three weeks away. The die has been cast, and we await the results.
Tuesday, August 10, 2021
Friday, July 30, 2021
Friday, May 7, 2021
Timely And Relevant
A nice follow-up to yesterday's post:
H/t Theo MoudakisAs well, Bob Coupland of Oakville expresses some timely sentiments:
Ford government’s planning entrenches sprawl at expense of environment
I just heard the term “The Big Sprawl,” and it alarmed me to hear that between now and July 1, 2022, the Doug Ford government is forcing every Greater Golden Horseshoe municipality to rush through planning decisions to lock in 30 more years of outdated and environmentally damaging residential, commercial and industrial sprawl.
It seems to me that this goes hand in hand with their attitude towards the building of Highway 413, the appointment of Norm Sterling as head of the Greenbelt Council, and the rampant use of MZOs (Ministerial Zoning Orders), decisions that are designed to make developers and land speculators even wealthier.
Policies of this sort are heavy-handed and dictatorial, blatantly harmful, unnecessary, and not what the people of Ontario want.
It’s time to stop urban boundary expansions, and firmly and forever protect farmland and natural areas.
It appears that Doug Ford's attempt to use the Covid crisis as an opportunity for misdirection while he enriches his developer cronies is not wholly successful, eh?
Saturday, April 24, 2021
Ineptitude Writ Large
H/t Patrick Corrigan
Sometimes I feel embarrassed to be living in a province as benighted as Ontario. But then I realize that it is neither me nor my fellow citizens (for the most part) who are the clueless and the incompetent. That distinction is one the Doug Ford-led provincial government has the dubious honour of bearing.
I have chosen but three of a wealth of letters in today's Star attesting to that fact:
I cannot tell you how safe I felt waking up to know that all those essential workers would not be able to take the day off and go to a golf course. How brilliant to close the courses!
Great job, Doug! You sure know how to hold your ground in the face of the hordes of doctors and scientists and experts who implored you to do the one thing you could to save this province: institute paid sick days. You sure know how to take a position and stick to it (beyond any reasonable amount of time).
And how to sort out the meaningless measures and make them look as though you are doing something. I mean, moving, initially, to close down those swamps of infection, children’s playgrounds.
A brilliant move! Imagine, we thought you weren’t up to the job!
Yes, I certainly feel safe.
Elizabeth Young, Georgetown
If warehouses and factories are the primary sources of COVID-19 transmissions, why were they not targeted initially to be closed for the next few weeks?
Why are all vaccines not being immediately redeployed to their essential workers?
Why has the provincial government not yet introduced paid sick leave benefits?
If playgrounds have been proven to not be a source of COVID-19 transmission, then why were children facing increased restrictions that would further jeopardize their mental health and well-being?
If Doug Ford is continually unwilling to follow the advice of health-care experts, then why will he not resign and let someone take over who is willing to make the choices that will best protect the health and safety of Ontarians?
David Tepper, Thornhill
Once again, Premier Doug Ford and his cabinet have failed us. They, together with Ontario’s chief medical officer, have proven themselves to be incompetent and morally bankrupt in their handling of the pandemic.
Once again, despite receiving consistent and persuasive advice from clinicians, epidemiologists and their own medical-scientific advisory panels, and, in the face of an unprecedented, unsustainable and extremely dangerous health care crisis, they have once again failed to take the actions required.
Ford resorts to bluff and bluster while playing fast and loose with the facts and tries to deflect the blame to others. He and the cabinet have caused and continue to cause so much avoidable sickness, suffering and death.
Our health-care system and the people who work in it have been perilously damaged, while at the same time the business community also has been seriously damaged.
The government has consistently failed to grasp that, in this pandemic, trying to balance the economy and public health ends up damaging both, whereas a strong focus on public health minimizes damage to the economy.
I am angry, outraged and deeply saddened.
Terry Donaghue, Toronto
There are times when ineptitude causes irritation or minor annoyance. Clearly, this is not one of those times.
Friday, March 26, 2021
A Fluid Situation
In what can only be described initially as a fluid situation, assuming he wandered in from a nearby water body, a beaver proceeded to a Toronto subway station, presumably to sample the wonders of Ontario's capital. This tourist invasion 'threat' led to an immediate closing of the station,
Animal control officers arrived at 8 a.m. and did a “safe recovery,” allowing the station entrance to be reopened.
He also wanted to assure the public that the beaver was safe.
Well, that's the official story. Here is the real scoop: