First of all what is a non-American doing commenting on American politics in the middle of an American election. Do I hear people screaming foreign interference. Well so be it. As long as the United States is the world’s most militarily powerful nation and not reluctant to use that power
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THE FIFTH COLUMN: What If The Next President Of The United States Is Not Mentally Competent For Office ?
My surprising take on that is that it won’t make much difference. Many experts are already suggesting Trump is verging on dementia and his rambling nonsense seems to confirm that. However, who really believes Trump is in charge here. Call them the Alt-right, White supremacists, Christo-fascists, or whatever, they have
Continue readingTHE FIFTH COLUMN: Canadian Diversity and Right Wing Hate of Justin Trudeau
Yes, Justin Trudeau is a mediocre Prime Minister, but that is not why the right hates him. Nor is it because of carbon taxes or provincial vaccine mandates or lockdowns. It is because of perhaps the one thing he has excelled at and that is promoting Canadian diversity. There are
Continue readingTHE FIFTH COLUMN: The Scourge of the Internet
No I am not writing about the fear and hate mongering taking over the Internet although they are the greatest evils of the Internet. And I am not taking about corporate social media with all it’s evils of turning the customer into the product, at least it can facilitate communication
Continue readingTHE FIFTH COLUMN: Annual Report on Kanata South Pathways Deterioration, Spring 2024
Another year has gone by and it is time to report again on the deterioration of the Bridlewood and Glen Cairn pathways in Kanata.Bridlewood Glen Cairn Previous ReportsSpring 2023 Bridlewood & Glen Cairn Spring 2022 BridlewoodSpring 2022 Glen Cairn Spring 2021 Bridlewood
Continue readingTHE FIFTH COLUMN: Doug Ford: Should we be thankful for small mercies ?
So is there anything good to say about Doug Ford. Well he is not Pierre Poilievre or Danielle Smith. At least Ford does not seek votes by appealing to people’s fears and hatred. He is more of an old fashioned corporations know best, privatization will solve all our problems, capitalist
Continue readingTHE FIFTH COLUMN: How the Fossil Fuel Industry Can Save Itself and the Planet
The fossil fuel industry seems to have a romantic fascination with “all the oil in the ground”, a fascination that shields it from financial reality. There are two things absolutely true about the fossil fuel industry. It has a finite end because there is a finite end to the oil
Continue readingTHE FIFTH COLUMN: Housing As A Right
Should housing be a right. That is the question. But the real question is what would that mean and how do we make it more than a token right but an actual effective right. In North America we had this mythology that everyone could own their own home. That has
Continue readingTHE FIFTH COLUMN: On Television Part 3 – Cutting The Cord, Where We Ended Up
The Fifth Column first talked about “cutting the cord” in June 2019 in my post On Television that looked at the history of television from broadcast TV and rabbit ears through Cable TV to streaming services delivered via wi-fi. In July 2020 I posted On Television Part 2 – Cutting
Continue readingTHE FIFTH COLUMN: The Election Issue That Dare Not Speak It’s Name
What election am I referring to – whatever one is next in whatever jurisdiction you are in. Yes I am talking about that which we dare not speak – the need to change our economic system before its ultimate collapse. Karl Marx predicted the collapse of capitalism, and it was
Continue readingTHE FIFTH COLUMN: What is Wrong With The Internet ?
Yes, I know we could write a book, but essentially what is wrong with the Internet is the way we use it. The public changed has the way it uses the Internet to the benefit of a few monopoly tech companies and those that want to spread disinformation because laziness
Continue readingTHE FIFTH COLUMN: Is There a Conspiracy to Break and Then Fix Health Care ?
So how would this work. I suggest first you underfund public health care as well as simply not spending budgeted funds. As the public facilities fail to meet the needs you claim private facilities are needed. You then transfer funds from public to private facilities further reducing the public facilities
Continue readingTHE FIFTH COLUMN: AI Has Nothing To Do With Intelligence
AI Has Nothing To Do With Intelligence AI has nothing to do with intelligence but people believe the marketing hype, mostly because we have a distorted idea of what intelligence is, largely do to the media. Take the quiz show “Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader” that says in
Continue readingTHE FIFTH COLUMN: Is There Hope For Palestine
I wrote this in November 2007 on the hope for a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: The solution essentially comes down to understanding the most and least that each side can accept. We could argue forever whether the State of Israel should have been created the way it was but,
Continue readingTHE FIFTH COLUMN: Franzis Black and White Projects Professional 6 Photo Film Emulation Versions
This is a demonstration of the film emulation capabilities of Franzis Black & White Projects. I cannot vouch for the accuracy of the emulation provided by this software but it is indeed an interesting idea. I have not included all the options available but have selected a few film types
Continue readingTHE FIFTH COLUMN: Palestine – What If
Balfour Declaration (November 2nd, 1917) “His Majesty’s Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil
Continue readingTHE FIFTH COLUMN: Remembrance Day and Righteous Wars
When I was growing up in the 1950s and 1960s Remembrance Day was a very solemn occasion. There were still a lot of World War II veterans participating and even some from World War I, as well as veterans from the Korean War (sometimes referred to as a “police action)”.
Continue readingTHE FIFTH COLUMN: All Photography is “Photoshopped”
A pretty bold claim but what do I mean by it. Well I do not mean “photoshopped” in the sense of someone going through their photo collection post divorce and removing their ex-spouse from all their family photographs. I mean something more subtle than that. The appearance of every photograph
Continue readingTHE FIFTH COLUMN: What If We Had A Different Non-Political Form of Representative Government
I have been thinking about what a non-political from of representative government might look like and whether it could be considered democratic or not. One model came to mind, a Council One Hundred that would set policy, provide Cabinet Ministers and oversee the government administration. With 50 peoples representatives chosen
Continue readingTHE FIFTH COLUMN: Fernbank Road Pond Photo Versions
Slideshow of photos taken along the Fernbank Road Pond in Stittsville in July 2023 with my Panasonic Lumix FZ100 camera and edited with Photoshop Elements 2023, Simply Good Pictures 5, Franzis Color Projects 6 Professional and Franzis Black & White Projects 6 Professional. (View in YouTube to view full screen)
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