UPDATED: Will They Or Won't They?

No doubt, the temptation is great. With a stroke of a pen, the Liberal government could curry massive favour from both powerful corporate forces and the flying public, ordering striking Air Canada flight attendants back to work pending binding arbitration, whereby the labour dispute is put before an arbitrator for final resolution.

Such a decision would be a massive mistake and a grave injustice to collective bargaining in general and the striking personnel in particular, yet I fear that is precisely what our 'new' government will do. 

Consider the powerful forces calling for arbitration: Air Canada itself, which estimates a revenue loss of $50-60 million dollars per day. As well, 

[b]usiness groups have meanwhile warned of the damage a protracted dispute will do to the economy and have called on the government to consider all its options for ending the dispute — including imposing binding arbitration.

The request for  arbitration was sent to Jobs Minister Patti Hadju, who, for now, wants the two sides to keep bargaining. But how much real bargaining can there be if the hope/expectation is for government intervention?

The previous government, led by Justin Trudeau, ordered binding arbitration for both striking railways and B.C. port workers; in both cases, it could be argued they did so in the national interest, given the role both play in the economy and. that they exist almost as essential services. The same, however, cannot be said about air travel, especially when alternatives to Air Canada exist.

Brock University labour professor Larry Savage has this to say about the threat of arbitration:

“Management at Air Canada is taking a strategic cue from employers in the ports and the railways,” said Savage. 

While he said there is “a long tradition” in Canada of government intervention in labour disputes, Savage said the increasing reliance on Section 107 of the labour code is “troublesome” because it allows the minister to take action without any parliamentary debate, as would be necessary for governments to pass back-to-work legislation. 

“It also highlights how easily collective bargaining rights can be trampled on,” said Savage. 

“When the government swoops in only at the behest of employers, it undermines our entire system of labour relations.” 

The response from CUPE, the flight attendants union, was unequivocal.

The Air Canada Component of CUPE has respectfully urged Employment Minister Patty Hajdu not to intervene pursuant to section 107 of the Canada Labour Code thereby permitting collective bargaining to continue and allowing the parties to negotiate a resolution.

The integrity of the collective bargaining process depends on allowing the parties to reach a resolution through free and fair negotiations, without undue interference.

Rather than continuing to negotiate in good faith, Air Canada appears to have anticipated government intervention and has opted to suspend meaningful discussions, contrary to its legal obligation to bargain in good faith.

On August 12, 2025, Air Canada unilaterally declared an impasse and withdrew from the bargaining table. It has not returned. On August 12, 2025, unbeknownst to the Union, the Company made an extraordinary and premature request to the Minister seeking the application of section 107 to prevent a strike or lockout.

It is clear from Air Canada’s submissions to the Minister that it had planned to withdraw from bargaining and ask the Minister to interfere with the bargaining process.

The mere prospect of ministerial intervention has had a chilling effect on Air Canada’s obligation to bargain in good faith. Air Canada’s request for intervention should be denied. Such a decision would reaffirm the principles of free collective bargaining and compel Air Canada to return to the bargaining table – where it ought to be – and engage meaningfully in negotiations, where it is likely that the Parties may be able to reach an agreement.

You can read the full statement at the link above.

Finally, I leave you with a satirical video, a link to which a commentator left on my previous post that perhaps puts things into their proper perspective:

UPDATE: Well, they did. Captured as they are by big business, the Carney government has announced the end of the strike by mandating binding arbitration. You can read this pathetic tale using the link.

We Condemn Slavery, But Also Kind Of Like It

No person in his or her right mind would favour slavery. Other than white supremacists and Christian nationalists (neither of who meet the criterion of the first sentence), no one sees anything benign about exploiting people's labour and paying them little to nothing in return.

Yet many also kind of like it. Consider how we so readily will summon Doordash, UberEats, etc., likely with the full knowledge that the couriers of such are living on subsistence wages. Of course, that is not really slavery, since some remuneration is granted, however paltry.

There is, however, one field of endeavour that comes pretty close to meeting the definition of slavery. Who is being held in bondage? Air flight attendants.

On my last flight, there was a 3:40 delay taking off. Despite my efforts, thanks to an Air Passenger Bill of Rights as porous as Swiss cheese, we received no compensation. The true victims of this delay, however, were the Air Canada flight attendants. During this protracted delay, they had to deal with cranky passengers and try to meet their needs, all while receiving absolutely no compensation. As you probably know by now, attendants are paid only for their time in the air. Passenger seating, safety demonstrations, etc, are duties conducted gratis.

And it is this iniquitous inequity the Air Canada attendants, represented by, CUPE, are prepared to strike over.

Air Canada says it will begin cancelling flights on Thursday ahead of a potential strike that could see more than 10,000 flight attendants walk off the job this weekend.

The country's largest airline said the gradual suspension of flights — which would see more cancellations on Friday, before a complete cessation of flying by Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge by the weekend — would allow for an orderly shutdown.

About 130,000 customers a day could be affected by a disruption, according to Air Canada.

Air Canada, like many other major airlines, doesn't currently compensate its flight attendants for the work they do before boarding and after deplaning, according to CUPE. Ground tasks include things like safety protocols and assisting passengers.

The starting salary for the attendants could most charitably described as abysmal, and their paid work, on average, amounts to 75-80 hours per month.

According to the union, entry level pay for a flight attendant is about $1,950 a month.

And the 'free labour they provide is extensive: 

They are not reimbursed for assisting people who have mobility problems, running the boarding process, helping with deplaning, or even pre-flight safety checks, work the union estimates comes out to an average of 35 hours a week for which the average flight attendants is not paid.

Now much is being made about how the carrier has requested arbitration which the union refused. As well, they are being offered a 38% increase over four years, which is misleading, as that figure includes improvements to pensions and benefits. The real sticking point in all of this, however, is the issue of unpaid work, for which the carrier has offered an anemic response:

The carrier has proposed paying flight attendants 50 per cent of their wage for work done on the ground, but the union is asking for 100 per cent.

"Air Canada is not an anomaly in this, but coming out of a 10-year deal, this is something that we're trying to correct," said [Wesley] Lesosky [president of the Air Canada component of CUPE], adding there's been a "big push globally" for this kind of compensation to become the standard.

The literalist may say there is no slavery here, since all cabin attendants are there by choice. That's one way to look at it. But on the other hand, one could say that about many workplaces where people toil but have little influence over their conditions. For the sake of survival, they labour there. After all, almost everyone needs to work. If we are lucky, we land in a congenial company, but that is not the case for many. 

Is it really such a revolutionary thing to suggest all, including cabin attendants, are entitled to both fairness and dignity in their place of work?

The American Taliban

 I'm not a white nationalist; I'm not a fascist;  I'm not a racist; I'm not a misogynist.

- Doug Wilson, senior pastor of Christ Church in Idaho

None of what follows should be at all surprising to those who regularly follow the devolution of the United States into an autocratic/theocratic state. Also not surprising is that Pastor Doug is a favourite of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who has gone on record as saying that women have no place in military combat roles. As it turns out, he sees little place for women in any role outside of housewife and baby-maker, as evidenced by his full-throated endorsement of Wilson.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has reposted and praised a video interview of a self-described Christian nationalist pastor whose church doesn't believe women should be allowed to vote.

Doug Wilson, senior pastor of Christ Church in Idaho, said during the interview with CNN that, "Women are the kind of people that people come out of."

"The wife and mother, who is the chief executive of the home, is entrusted with three or four or five eternal souls," he continued.

 In the CNN interview, Wilson also defended previous comments where he had said there was mutual affection between slaves and their masters. He also said that sodomy should be recriminalized. The Supreme Court invalidated sodomy laws in 2003.

In his repost of the interview on the platform X, Hegseth added, "All of Christ for All of Life."

Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell told NPR in an emailed statement on Saturday that Hegseth is a "proud member of a church affiliated with the Congregation of Reformed Evangelical Churches," which was founded by Wilson.

"The Secretary very much appreciates many of Mr. Wilson's writings and teachings," Parnell also wrote.

Should you have the inclination and the stomach, you can watch the CNN interview here. 

In response to this, Hillary Clinton responded:

You know how people called women hysterical for predicting the right wing would take down Roe v. Wade (which they've done) and then attack access to birth control (which they're doing)? Hear me when I say that women's very right to vote is next.

I've always held the view that everyone is entitled to his or her perspectives and opinions, as long as they don't infringe upon others. Clearly, however, the Christian nationalist movement has its forceful designs on all of America; indeed, they ape the Taliban in their fervour to suppress women, and they see it as their holy mission to convert the nation to that retrograde position. 

One cannot help but remember another holy mission of an earlier time. It was called the Crusades.

It's a Double-Edged Sword

With artificial intelligence now able to generate convincing fake news, decreasing numbers of people will be able to differentiate between it and a reality defined by knowledge, wide reading and critical thinking. For many, one picture has become worth a thousand words of 'truth'.

The tool is now frequently used by the far-right, but it occurs to me that a.i. generated imagery is a double-edged sword, one that can be wielded as a weapon against the Amerika's fanatics. What follows is not so much fake as it is predictive of the near future under Trump's land of the 'free' and home of the 'brave'.

When that future arrives, will enough Americans have the cognition to recognize the true source of their misery? Expect much resistance from the far-right, and substantial counter offensives.

On Binary Thinking And The Gaza Genocide

I read an interesting column the other day. In it, Janice Kennedy reflects on our tribal natures, natures that promote binary thinking. 

... one side or the other, black or white. Shades of grey are forbidden.

Condemn the Israeli government for the catastrophe in Gaza, and you’re antisemitic. Don’t condemn it, and you’re Islamophobic. Our capacity to understand nuance, make distinctions and accept complexity seems increasingly like a dying intellectual art.

Kennedy observes that in this age of rabid social media, the propensity for bifurcated thinking has deepened and spread. The internet has much to answer for in this regard.

As a teacher, I always felt it was part of my job to help cultivate critical thinking skills, skills that can only gradually develop through thought, analysis, and reflection. The world badly needs those skills today.

The latest announcements by Israel to occupy Gaza are an opportunity for the world in general, and Canada in particular, to break free of the stigma of criticizing the Jewish state and take concrete action that morality demands. No one should believe Netanyahu's claim that it will only be a temporary measure; past practices suggest it will ultimately be annexed by Israel.

Given the history of the Holocaust and it prior unstinting support of Israel, Germany is taking a bold move in reprisal.

The German government will not approve any exports of military equipment that could be used in the Gaza Strip until further notice, chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Friday in response to Israel’s plan to expand its military operations there.

Merz said it was Israel’s right to disarm Hamas and to seek the release of the Israeli hostages but “the German government believes that the even tougher military action in the Gaza Strip decided upon by the Israeli cabinet last night makes it increasingly difficult to see how these goals can be achieved”.

Under these circumstances, the German government will not approve any exports of military equipment that could be used in the Gaza Strip until further notice.

The release of the hostages and negotiations for a ceasefire are Germany’s top priorities, Merz said, expressing deep concern over the suffering of civilians in the Gaza Strip.

Germany’s parliament said in June that export licences for military equipment to Israel worth €485m ($564m) were granted between 7 October 2023 and 13 May 2025, reports Reuters.

Canada, despite its stout denials of  sending such equipment, needs to immediately cease its military exports to Israel. However, that should only be for the first step. It also, in my view, needs to suspend its free trade agreement with the Jewish state. It would send a powerful message of condemnation over the ongoing genocide in Gaza, as well as Netanyahu's annexation plans. 

Canada could take a page from Ireland's recent actions.

 On June 25, the Irish government introduced the Occupied Territories Bill, a landmark piece of legislation aimed at aligning Ireland’s trade policy with international law.

The bill prohibits the import and export of goods and services to and from Israeli settlements located in occupied Palestinian territory, outposts deemed illegal under international law by the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

The issue of Israeli settlements is not merely a political or moral concern; it is fundamentally a matter of international law. In July 2023, the ICJ issued an advisory opinion reaffirming the illegality of Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. The Court urged states to refrain from any support—whether through trade or other means—that could sustain these unlawful settlements.

While Ireland's actions deal only with the occupied territories, Canada should go further, leading the world in expressing its revulsion at Israel's ignoring of international law, law that is supposed to protect all.

We live in fraught times, times when  public and political morality often exist only as passing whims. For the sake of all, including our collective soul, we need to act with resolution and dispatch.

Like A Minimally Skilled Magician

Like a minimally-skilled magician, Don Trump is directing his demonic disciples to engage in a form of clumsy misdirection only those with minimal cognitive skills would be fooled by. Such desperate attempts are necessary, presumably because The Boss has much to divert public attention from: the Epstein files which, despite prior promises, he is refusing to release, fueling all kinds of speculation about his own involvement with the late pedophie. Then there was his transparently bad decision to fire the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Erika McEntarfer, because he didn't like the less-than-flattering job numbers released. 

The raging tyrant has turned to his disciples for relief, most notably  deputy chief of staff, Stephen Miller, and attorney general, Pam Bondi, working in tandem to create a new 'reality', one asserting criminal culpability in the 'Russiagate hoax'.  Out of deference to those of delicate constitution, here is but a brief clip of Herr Miller:

"The Russia collusion hoax against President Trump remains the single greatest hoax and the greatest assault on our democracy in the history of this country," says @StephenM. "It was a coup, and I'm using that term literally ... One egregious felony after another."

Now that the talking points have been established, which the MAGATS will likely see as an indisputable truth, Pam Bondi is preparing for 'legal' action against the foul perpetrators, no doubt paving the way for future show trials.

Attorney General Pam Bondi convened a grand jury investigation centered around the “Russiagate” probe on Monday, the latest bid by Donald Trump to wage war against Barack Obama for the FBI investigation of his first presidential campaign.

The direction by Bondi does not mean that charges for Obama or members of his team are imminent. Instead, the move allows prosecutors to issue embarrassing subpoenas and gather testimony, while launching a fishing expedition. Attorney General Pam Bondi convened a grand jury investigation centered around the “Russiagate” probe on Monday, the latest bid by Donald Trump to wage war against Barack Obama for the FBI investigation of his first presidential campaign. 

This action is entirely at odds with the truth, as earlier investigation showed.

According to Gabbard, the Democratic administration’s top intelligence chiefs, at the behest of the president and his team, changed those conclusions to insinuate Russia’s support for Donald Trump.

But in reality, the intelligence assessments released by the ODNI at the time were backed up by the verifiable facts of the matter: Russian-backed hackers targeted the Democratic National Committee’s servers and published information in an effort to sabotage Hillary Clinton’s campaign and sow discord while performing no similar feats against Republicans or Trump’s campaign. 

Trump and other members of his administration have suggested that Obama and others are guilty of “treason” over the supposed doctoring of reports. Gabbard claimed that a “coup” was launched by the 44th president, whose successor went on to gather his supporters in Washington where they attacked the United States Capitol in 2021 after he lost the election.

In the Benighted States of America, truth, justice and morality are under constant attack. Export more, and much worse, in the upcoming months.

 

 

 

 

 

Manufacturing Reality: Truth Enrages The Tyrant

     '

For anyone capable of real thought, it should be very clear that the increasingly unhinged Don Trump is using his presidency to manufacture his own reality. And anything or anyone that challenges that reality faces severe consequences.

Take, for example, the matter of statistics. Having previously extolled the numbers produced by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, he is now firing its head, Erika McEntarfer, because he doesn't like her most recent statistical facts. The termination came

• hours after the agency reported that job growth in the U.S. had slowed to a near-halt.
• “We need accurate Jobs Numbers. I have directed my Team to fire this Biden Political Appointee, IMMEDIATELY,” Trump posted on Truth Social.

Her crime, for want of a better word, was reporting the creation of  a mere 73,000 jobs in July, far below what the market had anticipated. There is likely a strong correlation between those numbers and the impact of Trump's insane and illegal tariffs working their way through the American economy.

Prior to Friday’s report, Trump repeatedly has championed the strength of the labor market. After the June numbers had been released initially, the White House put out a statement calling it a “June Boom.”

The weak jobs report Friday preceded a sharp drop in markets, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average off more than 500 points and the tech-focused Nasdaq off more than 2%. Treasury yields also slumped.

And speaking of manufacturing his own reality, in a transparent ply to gain the 'cooperation' of convicted sex offender Ghislaine Maxwell, the Bureau of Prisons has moved her to a minimum security camp  in Texas, a dormitory-style incarceration usually reserved for white collar criminals. One can assume this is in preparation for an appearance before Congress and an eventual Trump pardon, since federal rules expressly forbid sexual predators from such a cosy, cosseted environment.

Take a look at the first story on NBC Nightly News.

Don Trump's almost daily assaults on truth and morality surely offend all who have a moral compass or, in the case of MAGATS, an addiction to conspiracy theories.

Will any of this be enough to break the back of his presidency? One lives in hope.

His Naked Ambition

By now it should be clear to most rational people that the emperor has no clothes. His naked ambition to rule the world is becoming quite, quite clear. And unless nations stand in unison against him, Emperor Trump will have his way.

Take his massive abuse of power, currently wielded by the cudgel of tariffs. Consider, for example, his treatment of Brazil, as reported by the New York Times.

The United States on Wednesday made good on its threats to apply 50 percent tariffs on Brazil two days ahead of schedule and slapped sanctions on the Supreme Court justice overseeing the criminal case against former President Jair Bolsonaro.

Trump appears to have two reasons for going after Brazil. First, its president, Lula Da Silva, will not bow down before Rome, openly criticizing Trump's heavy-handed tactics. 

“I think it’s important for President Trump to consider: If he wants to have a political fight, then let’s treat it as a political fight,” Mr. Lula told The Times. “If he wants to talk trade, let’s sit down and discuss trade. But you can’t mix everything together.”

Secondly, the Emperor doesn't like the way Brazil is treating his friend, former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro.

Mr. Trump is targeting Brazil for what he calls political persecution of his ally, Mr. Bolsonaro, and illegal censorship of conservative voices online. In an executive order on Wednesday, he said actions by Brazil’s government and Supreme Court “threaten the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States.”

The Supreme Court Justice, Alexandre de Moraes, is facing sanctions.

The Treasury Department sanctions against Justice Moraes would revoke his U.S. visa and freeze any U.S. assets, as well as generally prohibit many financial institutions from doing transactions with him. 

The sanctions against Justice Moraes were issued under the Global Magnitsky Act, a measure that is usually meant to punish foreigners accused of serious human-rights violations or corruption.

Interfering with the sovereignty of other nations is apparently now part of the Emperor's remit, and it is now striking closer to home as well. Canada's tentative recognition of Palestine as a state has provoked his anger and consternation.

Donald Trump has threatened Canada after it moved to recognise a Palestinian state, reacting to Mark Carney’s announcement by saying that signing a US trade deal would now be “very hard”.

Despite other nations, including the U.K.,  moving to recognize Palestine without trade retaliation, Trump seems to have Canada specifically within his sights.

Trump ... reacted to Carney’s decision by posting on social media: “Wow! Canada has just announced that it is backing statehood for Palestine. That will make it very hard for us to make a Trade Deal with them.”

Trump’s latest broadside at Canada comes amid other attempts to use tariffs as leverage over the domestic and foreign policies of other nations.

The 20th century saw a broad coalition of countries banding together against the threat of world domination by power hungry, depraved forces. Can the 21st century afford to do anything less?

We Can't Afford To Look Away

As much as the world might wish to, none of us can afford to look away from the horror of Gaza, the man-made genocidal starvation underway, orchestrated by Israel. While the majority of us feel helpless in the face of such abject suffering, the widespread knowledge of it is forcing governments to act. Right now it may be only with words, but one hopes that will soon escalate into concrete actions, including sanctions against the rogue nation.

Already, that knowledge has forced Israel to loosen its death grip on aid;  it is clearly in response to worldwide condemnation, condemnation that is fueled by all of us bearing witness to the atrocities happening in Gaza. Whether this miniscule increase in aid will save lives remains to be seen.

You may wish to skip the following video; the first few minutes graphically show the toll starvation is taking on Gazans. After the video, I am reproducing some letters to the editor about the situation.

And these letters attest to the widespread moral repugnance the world is feeling:

What I know about the situation in Gaza: Israel should not be presiding over the starvation of defenceless civilians, July 25

The images of starving Palestinian children and the stories of those who were killed or maimed trying to secure food for their families recalls the inhumanity perpetrated on the Jewish people during the Second World War. While leaders of powerful nations greet one another with handshakes and smiles as if they were buddies meeting up at a bar, children in Palestine are experiencing the same sort of fear that Anne Frank once did. That people who were once oppressed could become the oppressors leaves me questioning my faith in humanity.

Giselle Déziel, Cornwall, PE

For weeks, we have witnessed civilians being shot as they’ve tried to access food. And it’s not only the health ministry in Gaza that’s listing the casualties. Palestinian and international doctors serving in the region have been reporting on the casualties that arrive daily at their hospitals. As of July 13, the United Nations confirmed that 875 Palestinians were killed seeking food, 201 on aid routes and the others at distribution points. Thousands more have been injured.

Israel has been blocking humanitarian aid, bombing supply convoys and shooting civilians waiting for food. Canada must now take action by imposing a two-way arms embargo on Israel, sanctioning Israeli political and military leaders and refusing to do business with companies complicit in the illegal occupation. Unless the international community acts, Palestinians living in Gaza will continue to be trapped in a cycle of hope, heartbreak and hunger, waiting for assistance and praying for a ceasefire.

Debbie Hubbard, Kelowna, BC

On Monday, July 21, Canada joined Japan, New Zealand, and 23 European allies in calling for an immediate end to the war in Gaza, and stating they were prepared to take “further action to support an immediate ceasefire and a political pathway to security and peace for Israelis, Palestinians and the entire region.”

These are just empty words. What “action’ are you going to take and when are you going to take it? Now is not the time for words, but for action — while there are still people alive in Gaza.

There can be no further delay. For  thousands  in Gaza  it is already too late.  

 Our leaders are far from powerless if they act together. They must tell the Israeli government what it has to do, when it has to do it, and what sanctions they will impose  if it doesn’t.

Clearly, we cannot depend on the U.S.A. President Donald Trump, whose evident contempt for human life and for the rule of law knows no bounds, has already stated that he wants the Palestinians out of Gaza, and is providing the Israeli government with everything it needs .

 It’s up to the leaders of the democratic world to  end this. 

Robert Burns McDonald, Montreal QC

We all have a role to play in helping end the Gazans' suffering, whether it be by bearing witness to it or taking actions we deem efficacious. To do anything other is a grave disservice to both the people of Gaza and our collective humanity.

The Door Is Slamming Shut

I have been retired from teaching high-school English for almost 20 years. When I look back, I realize how fortunate I was to have been able to spend the bulk of my career free from too much interference from administrators and public sentiment. For me, teaching literature was the gateway to helping create analytic skills, reading appreciation and, perhaps most importantly, critical thinking skills. Honest inquiry was sacred in my classroom, and nothing was ever really off-topic, given the range of human experience that literature encompasses: human dignity, cruelty, exploitation, savage monopolistic business practices (read The Grapes of Wrath for a full display of those qualities) among them. 

Alas, that is no longer the case. I doubt that I could thrive or even survive in today's atmosphere, an atmosphere that sees increasing restrictions on what can be discussed in the classroom. 

A temporary ban on students sharing their family’s culture in class. A parent-organized Pride event moved outside school hours. Teachers afraid to answer students’ questions around the Israel-Hamas war.

Over the past academic year, Toronto parents and teachers say activities and discussions that would typically be normal to have in the classroom have suddenly become a source of fear and confusion — and they pin the blame on an edict dropped by the Ontario government last September.

Ahead of the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7 attacks, then-education minister Jill Dunlop issued a memo to Ontario school boards to keep “political biases” out of the classroom to ensure these spaces remain “safe, inclusive and welcoming for all students and staff.”

Given the risk-averse nature of today's school administrators, that memo is having a chilling effect, even though the directive is vague as to what constitutes political biases.

Can civic lessons on who is prime minister continue as normal? What about sex-ed lessons on different genders and sexualities? Class discussions around race?

“Nothing is neutral,” said Carl James, a professor and the Jean Augustine Chair in Education, Community & Diaspora at York University. “The curriculum cannot be seen as outside of providing and producing a way of seeing things.”

The Star spoke to a number of Toronto teachers and parent, many of whom do not wish to be identified for fear of reprisal.

When a public speaking competition was coming up at the elementary school of Zoë Wool’s child this past year, the west-end parent said students were invited to write a short speech on an important issue.

But when Wool’s child wanted to talk about Palestine, she said they were told it was “not a good idea.”

Wool said the incident came around the same time the school’s principal allegedly put a blanket ban on students sharing their culture in class — but that the ban was later lifted after the principal met with parents.

Neither Wool nor her child is Palestinian (they are Jewish), but she worries about the impact the ministry’s memo will have on those who are.

“Palestinian families are being given the message by the Ministry of Education that there is something wrong or dangerous or problematic about their very identity and history and that acknowledging their existence puts other kids at risk,” Wool said.

The Palestinian issue has presented a problem for many. 

Palestinian teachers who spoke to the Star said they, too, felt constrained by the province’s edict, even when students ask them questions about their heritage. 

“I’m too scared,” said a Palestinian TDSB elementary teacher, who explained how she doesn’t answer her young students’ questions on what the Palestinian flag and watermelon pins attached to her fanny pack represent.

Amongst the other casualties of the memo are Pride events, now being forced to take place outside of school hours. Indigenous issues may also be sidelined.

Unfortunately, some of the public (and they are usually a loud minority) conflate discussion and information with indoctrination, preferring that children learn in a sterile and contextless environment.

However, we have already seen where that has taken Americans, further down the road of prejudice, intolerance and ignorance. If we allow the door of critical inquiry to slam shut here in Canada, will we not follow the same trajectory?

 

Trump Gets Fact-Checked

I'm not sure about the prospects of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell keeping his head attached to the rest of his body after this brutal fact check of Trump.

President Donald Trump’s attempt to shame Federal Reserve Board of Governors chair Jerome Powell over the cost of a long-running renovation to the central bank’s Washington headquarters went horribly wrong on Thursday when Powell had a ready response for the president’s accusations during a tour of the construction site.

 Trump said the cost of the years-long project was now “about $3.1 billion” rather than the $2.7 billion previously stated by Powell.

“So we're taking a look, and it looks like it's about 3.1 billion went up a little bit or a lot. So the 2.7 is now 3.1 it just came out,” he said reading from a piece of paper, as Powell looked on and shook his head in the negative before interjecting.

The chairman replied: “I haven’t heard that from anybody” and asked if the paper Trump was reading from came from the central bank.

At that point, Trump handed him the paper and continued talking while Powell pulled out his reading glasses to look.

He then told the president that the higher number he was claiming included a separate project that wasn’t part of the renovation at issue.

“You just added in a third building,” he said.

He told Trump that he was mistakenly counting long-completed renovations to a building named for William Martin Jr., who served as Fed chair from 1951–1970, as part of the renovation of the Fed’s main headquarters.

 

Lese majeste, eh? The Don never forgets a slight.

Stay tuned for the decapitation.

Look Over There! - Nothing To See Here

With all the troubles in the world, and all of the evil things that Trump and his henchmen have done, it almost beggars belief that the only thing the MAGATS obsess about is the release of the Epstein files. While there is nothing to suggest that Trump himself is implicated in the notorious pedophilia of the late Epstein, I suspect the thing Don worries most about is the probability possibility that he was fully aware of what the 'financier' was up to with underage girls, perhaps even expressing admiration for his depraved appetites.

Be that as it may, Trump is doing everything in his power to divert scrutiny. The first diversion is the release, two years ahead of schedule, of all the files on Martin Luther King, most of them compiled by the FBI under the direction of J. Edgar Hoover, a racist who saw the rise of Black people as a threat to American social stability. (If you want a very comprehensive portrait of the longtime head of the FBI, I highly recommend the meticulously researched G -Man: J. Edgar Hoover and the Making of the American Century, by Beverly Gage.)

"Trump releasing the MLK assassination files is not about transparency or justice," said the Rev. Al Sharpton. "It's a desperate attempt to distract people from the firestorm engulfing Trump over the Epstein files and the public unravelling of his credibility among the MAGA base."

The King Center, founded by King's widow and now led by Bernice King, reacted separately from what Bernice said jointly with her brother. The King Center statement framed the release as a distraction — but from more than short-term political controversy.

"It is unfortunate and ill-timed, given the myriad of pressing issues and injustices affecting the United States and the global society," the King Center said, linking those challenges to MLK's efforts. "This righteous work should be our collective response to renewed attention on the assassination of a great purveyor of true peace."

King, despite his heroic battles on behalf of Black people, was no saint. He was quite the womanizer.  I suspect it is that titillating aspect of the files, essentially the Hoover-orchestrated illegal invasion of King's privacy through bugging devices and wiretaps, that Don hopes will deflect from the Epstein controversy.

Then there is the lame attempt to get the release of grand jury testimony that led to Epstein's indictment. Even if it is released (highly unusual given the secret nature of grand jury testimony), it likely would have no reference to Trump. 

As well, there is the sideshow of Trump's attorney-general, Pam Bondi, sending her deputy, Todd Blanche, (Trump's former personal attorney) to interview Ghislane Maxwell, currently serving a 20-year sentence for her part in procuring young girls for Epstein's vile pleasures.

"President Trump has told us to release all credible evidence. If Ghislane Maxwell has information about anyone who has committed crimes against victims, the FBI and the DOJ will hear what she has to say," Blanche said in the statement posted by Bondi on X.

Does anyone with half a brain (admittedly, that excludes the MAGATS) believe that Maxwell, who is trying to appeal her sentence and perhaps hopes for a presidential pardon, will say anything bad about her potential saviour?

Finally, there is the preposterous and profoundly hypocritical behaviour of Mike Johnson, the Republican Speak of the House. You may recall that only recently he was calling for the full-disclosure of all files relating to Epstein. That sudden whiff of spine quickly transmogrified into his usual craven subservience to Trump.  

 House Speaker Mike Johnson on Tuesday ground the House of Representatives to a screeching halt in order to block Democrats from bringing up amendments calling for the release of files related to sex trafficking financier Jeffrey Epstein.

The speaker’s decision to virtually shut down procedure in the House of Representatives — a week before Congress’ summer break — comes as President Donald Trump continues to receive criticism from all sides for his handling of the promised release of all government files related to Epstein. 

The move to halt the action of the House Rules committee came after Democrats repeatedly tried to introduce amendments to force the disclosure of files related to Epstein, who was found hanged in his New York prison cell in 2019.

I was going to end the post here, but I've decided to leave you with something even more outlandish (except, again, to the MAGATS): an A.I. generated fake video of Obama being arrested in the Oval Office. 

Can things get any worse in Amerika? That is, of course, merely a rhetorical question.

 

A Note About Progressive Bloggers

Just a brief note: I was in recent contact with Scott Tribe, who operates the Progressive Bloggers aggregator. It appears that, owing to financial considerations, the website is down for the count. The only thing I can suggest is to do what I have done: bookmark your favourite bloggers and check regularly for new posts.

I'd like to thank Scott for all the years he has put into the site. I know that it has made a real impact on my blog in driving traffic to Politics and its Discontents, and I shall miss it a great deal.

A Timely Warning

I think all of us are aware of the multitude of scams being practised at any given time, be it the granny scam ("Hi Gramma, I was in an accident and am in jail. Please send money for my bail"), computer phishing scams, romance scams, etc. Most of the time, we assume they target the elderly or the lonely, and we are certain we would never fall for such deceptions.

However, as the following item makes clear, the scams have reached a new level of sophistication that even young people are falling victim to them. I present this only as a public service, the message being we can never let our guard down these days. The particular bank involved here, Scotia Bank, will accept no responsibility here, even though there should have been red flag protocols in place before this man lost $25,000.