This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Bruce Arthur laments the message being sent by Ontario’s government that there’s no need to care about other people in the face of an ongoing pandemic, while Norm Farrell discusses British Columbia’s sliding back into a neglect phase. Anne Flaherty reports on the
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wmtc: what i’m reading: the leak: great junior graphic for the young activist in your life
It starts with a trip to the dentist. Ruth Keller swears she brushes her teeth and flosses daily, yet the cavities are piling up. The dentist lectures, her mom scolds. No one believes that Ruth takes proper care of her teeth — but she does. Then Ruth and a friend
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Afternoon Links
Miscellaneous material to start your week. – Andrew Nikiforuk writes that the decision to stop doing anything to limit the spread of COVID-19 is opening the door for a forever plague. Olivia Bowden and Kenyon Wallace report on the start of a summer COVID-19 wave in Ontario, while Cindy Harnett
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Afternoon Links
Assorted content for your Sunday reading. – Irelyne Lavery reports on the increasing number of Canadians needing medical attention for the flu as COVID-related protections have been scrapped. And Wallace Immen reports on some of the possibilities to try to improve a health care system which has been put under
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Afternoon Links
This and that for your Sunday reading. – Yan Wang et al. examine the feasibility of a zero COVID policy, and find that the even the development of the Omicron variants hasn’t ruled out containment through appropriate interventions. Kirsten Wiens et al. study the spread of COVID-19 in U.S. schools,
Continue readingwmtc: the end of roe and how we got here
With the unprecedented leak of the SCOTUS draft brief, and official confirmation of the politicization of the Court, we see the final nails pounded in Roe v. Wade — a turning point which somehow still shocks many people, despite the exceedingly clear regression to this point over the past 40 years.
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Morning Links
Assorted content to end your week. – Zak Vescera reports on the combination of high rates of hospitalization and virtually nonexistent vaccination that’s resulted from Scott Moe’s surrender to COVID-19. And Nicholas Larsen et al. add autonomic dysfunction to the list of post-COVID symptoms which are common even among people
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Tuesday Morning Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Mustafa Hirji discusses how basic public health protections offer the best chance of controlling the spiraling harms from COVID-19 without resorting to lockdowns. Andrew Woo writes that the elimination of regular testing and reporting at the provincial level is making it impossible
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Morning Links
Assorted content to end your week. – Caroline Chen discusses the reasons why we’re still waiting for COVID vaccines for children under 5 – leaving the people least able to protect themselves to bear the full weight of irresponsible declarations of surrender against the pandemic. Benjamin Ryan reports on the
Continue readingwmtc: frank showler: called to be faithful
Frank Showler, born in 1919, died last week at the age of 102. Frank was a foundational figure in the social-justice activist community, seemingly participating in every demonstration, rally, vigil, and campaign. It was a universal saying: It’s not a demo until Frank shows up. And show up he
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Evening Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Gavin Yamey, Abraar Karan and Ranu Dhillon write that the COVID pandemic is far from over even in the U.S. where the Omicron wave is receding. Frederik Lyngse et al. study (PDF) the transmission of Omicron and find that vaccination is indeed effective in
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Morning Links
Assorted content to end your week. – Elian Peltier reports that Denmark’s message that the COVID pandemic is over has predictably given rise to a new – and particularly dangerous – wave as people abandon even the most elementary care to avoid community transmission. And Brittany Gervais reports on the
Continue readingA Puff of Absurdity: Lunatic Fringe?
I’m a bit of a social media addict, but I quietly wandered away from Facebook last summer when too many people I know in real life were making fun of people wearing masks. A quick peek back finds far too much support for this inane convoy making a mess of
Continue readingNorthern Currents –: Abolish public transit fares – for social justice and climate change
Public transit is much more than getting from point A to point B. It is implicitly linked to broader societal issues like climate change and social justice. Eliminating user fares would be a great first step in the right direction.
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Sarath Peiris discusses the Saskatchewan Party government’s utterly feckless pandemic response – which they’ve apparently decided to keep in place for the rest of the Omicron wave. And Abdullah Shihipar points out the folly of expecting individual choices to resolve a collective action
Continue readingA Puff of Absurdity: Chomsky’s Lessons from 2021
Yanis Varoufakis spoke to Noam Chomsky, at DiEM25, about what 2021 has taught us. In a nutshell: the wealthy puts profits over people to their own detriment (e.g. patent rights over vaccines, which provoked mutations) and will only help with climate change if they can profit without taking risks. We
Continue readingwmtc: take a social media human rights challenge: write for rights 2021 #w4r21
Advanced planning is no match for the calendar! Despite my early preparation, December 10 — Human Rights Day — still caught me off-guard. I haven’t reviewed any cases or set any time aside. I recently finished an excellent book called Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World.
Continue readingwmtc: get ready for write for rights 2021 #w4r21
Write for Rights, Amnesty International’s annual global human rights campaign, begins on December 10. I like to think of W4R as a month-long event, and generally spend the month of December — and often part of January — writing my letters. Amnesty recently sent this: 5 ways you can get
Continue readingwmtc: tom morello on the iww and the soundtrack to the good good fight
In October, The New York Times published this piece by musician and activist Tom Morello. I’ve read it several times, and shared it on social media, and still I can’t stop re-reading and listening. When something moves me like that, you know I have to preserve it on this blog. I
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