President Joe Biden has slammed “capitalism without competition” as raw exploitation and says he’s gunning for the megacorporations that control so much of the global economy. This is not going to go down well with America’s “bought and paid for” Congress for whom those same corporations (think Koch Brothers) and
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Accidental Deliberations: Musical interlude
Bonobo feat. Jordan Rakei – Shadows
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib Mk. II: A "Must Have" for the JT Fan Club
For a ridiculously low, low, low price of just $45 (USD) you can have your very own Justin Trudeau bobblehead. The statuary is produced by the legendary National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum. They offer a second version of a bearded Trudeau but it lacks the realism of
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Afternoon Links
Assorted content to end your week. – Bruce Arthur writes that Doug Ford’s photo ops around empty hospital beds don’t signal any useful accomplishment when they’re not paired with solutions to the staffing crisis. Jessie Anton reports on the alarm bells sounding about Saskatchewan’s health care system, while Nathaniel Dove highlights Cory Neudorf’s recognition
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib Mk. II: Those Who Author Their Own Misfortune Should Accept Consequences
Triage for everyone. Where medical resources are inadequate, triage is the time-honoured way to sort out those who will be treated and those who will not. In Canada, Covid has had us doing a form of triage almost since the first wave. Special resources were allocated to trying to keep
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib Mk. II: O’Toole – Let’s "Accommodate" Anti-Vaxxers
And he thinks he’s prime ministerial talent? Erin “Wrong Way” O’Toole can’t help but make a fool of himself. Canadians unwilling to be vaccinated against COVID-19 should be accommodated through measures like rapid testing, Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole said Thursday as health experts warned the lightning-fast spread of the
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib Mk. II: Six Million Canadians Back Trump?
Lawrence Martin writes that a sizeable minority of Canadians, six million, support Donald Trump or his ideology. It’s a number – more than the population of British Columbia – that’s not easy to fathom. It shows how susceptible Canada is to American currents. It suggests that as we watch
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib Mk. II: Al Jazeera Sees the Faint Echo of 9/11 in 1/6 and Shines a Light on Canada
Al Jazeera sees the 1/6 insurrection on Capitol Hill as a perhaps unwitting effort to complete the job begun by a different gaggle of fanatics on 9/11. Canada also takes a blast for the “sensible centrists” in our media (and government) who appeased the Mango Mussolini. It is worth recalling
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Thursday Morning Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – CBC News reports that Saskatchewan’s children’s hospital is among the health care facilities with an internal outbreak, while Laura Sciarpelletti talks to some of the parents begging the provincial government to limit transmission in schools. – Moira Wyton reports on British Columbia’s
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib Mk. II: Biden – Democracy Is At Risk
On the anniversary of the January 6th insurrection, president Joe Biden has said what so many have been saying lately, America’s democratic Republic is in peril. Unlike many of those who spoke out before him, Biden put the finger of blame directly on one person, his predecessor, Donald Trump.
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib Mk. II: Coyne Mulls Chaos on Our Border. Is Anschluss In Our Future?
Andrew Coyne accepts that chaos is coming to the United States, if not at this year’s mid-terms, then by election year 2024. Coyne doesn’t presume to predict what the United States will become except that, at best, it will be on the authoritarian side of a vestigial democracy. The growing
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib Mk. II: Jimmy Carter Fears for America’s Democracy
Jimmy Carter reflects on the insurrection of last January 6th and the perilous road ahead . One year on, promoters of the lie that the election was stolen have taken over one political party and stoked distrust in our electoral systems. These forces exert power and influence through relentless disinformation,
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib Mk. II: This Is Sounding All Too Familiar
The Weather Network just posted its latest national update for January and February. The cold snap that has hammered the West is expected to relocate to central Canada. You’re welcome, Ontario. As the frigid air leaves British Columbia it will be replaced by warmer, wetter air off the Pacific.
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib Mk. II: This One is Different. Omicron Reshapes the Workplace.
While the media has focused on Omicron’s limited lethality compared to earlier Covid variants there’s much more to it than ICU beds and fatalities. Our medical officer of health, Bonnie Henry, is warning employers to prepare for a third of their staff to be grounded by the Omicron variant. One
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Madhukar Pai and Manu Prakash discuss how artificially limited vaccination is allowing COVID variants to get the jump on any attempt to protect public health, while Felicia Ceban et al. find that widespread fatigue and cognitive impairment are among the prices of letting
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib Mk. II: Always Look on the Bright Side of Life. The Climate Crisis as Satire.
In 2006 we considered Idiocracy over-the-top satire. Today some people think it’s a documentary. Today we’re churning out movies that satirize climate breakdown. Which films kept you entertained over the holidays? Was it Silent Night, the sweary festive Britcom starring Keira Knightley? The courtroom drama Naked Singularity, with John Boyega
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib Mk. II: George Monbiot, Film Reviewer
The Guardian’s venerable eco-scribe, George Monbiot, has branched out into movie reviews. Singular. He’s only reviewing the one, DiCaprio’s latest, “Don’t Look Up.” For George, Don’t Look Up is art imitating life, the mass media in particular. The movie is, in my view, a powerful demolition of the grotesque failures
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib Mk. II: Women in Peril?
Hard to believe. Women undergoing surgery might do better with a woman’s hand wielding the scalpel. Women who are operated on by a male surgeon are much more likely to die, experience complications and be readmitted to hospital than when a woman performs the procedure, research reveals. Women are 15%
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib Mk. II: Hydrogen Bikes. Yamaha and Kawasaki Collaborate on New Motorcycle Engine
This is already sounding too good to be true. Two of Japan’s top motorcycle makers are developing a hydrogen-fueled engine for future bikes. Hydrogen is seen as a clean fuel for internal combustion. Instead of CO2, it emits H2O, water. There’s a snag. Kawasaki has even launched its own
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