Tag: coronavirus
Susan on the Soapbox: Budget 2020 and the Snake
On Feb 27, 2020 the Kenney government released Budget 2020. The day it was tabled it was under water, less than two weeks later it drowned. It sank beneath the surface once and for all because of a snake (or some other creature) in a wild animal market in Wuhan,
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: The Cartel Still Rules … Sort of
It isn’t easy to convince nominally free-market Albertans that monopoly and government interference in the market made us rich, but of course they did. Nothing has contributed more to the province’s coffers than OPEC, the oil-producing countries’ cartel. OPEC’s control of supply has kept oil prices well above what a
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: On the Subject of Pandemics
The illness and death toll from the coronavirus, or COVID-19 as it is now known, steadily advances. As I write, the bug has sickened over 95,000 people and killed over 3,300, mostly in China. It still has a long way to go to match the flu which annually takes hundreds
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Coronavirus Update – Panic or Propaganda? Both? Or Simply Mass Insanity? All The Above
As of today, the mass media hype and hysteria over the latest exotic virus continues to spread, unabated. In its wake, mass insanity is spreading nearly as fast. Let’s step back, and look at the figures, to try and gain some much-needed perspective. As of today, 3,200 people have died
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Viral Fads? Collective Escapism Through Displaced Fear?
I could be wrong, but every indicator to me so far is that the latest virus scare is vastly over-hyped, as they almost always are. Still it’s at 2,800 death toll globally, and that is in comparison to 650,000 deaths a year from the flu (actually non-influenza flu-like infections,
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Coronavirus: The latest in over-hyped threats & DANGERS
Read my essays, Danger and Delusion, and, Reality Check, on my blog and Twitter. Poverty, hunger, and obesity are vastly bigger killers than any infectious disease. Boost your immunity naturally, and don’t believe the hype. The “flu” kills 650,000 a year, mainly the impoverished, homeless, elderly and immune-compromised. And
Continue readingThings Are Good: No Better Time than now to Work from Home
For many office workers there is little reason to go to the office thanks to the advances in technology (it seems the only reason to be in an actual office is to be watched by a manager). The environmental gains from telecommuting are obvious and the cost saving for workers
Continue readingMontreal Simon: The Coronavirus and Canada’s Bigot Epidemic
The images are apocalyptic, and the torrent of hysterical news stories are enough to make anyone reach for a face mask, or a hazmat suit.But so far at least the coronavirus cannot even be compared to the far deadlier influenza virus.And in Canada, with only a few mild cases, this is the biggest threat.Read
Continue readingWarren Kinsella: The racist face of disease
[I literally forgot I wrote this for Maclean’s during SARS, many years ago. A watchful reader posted it on Twitter, so here it is again.] THE MORNING SUBWAY is usually jammed with bodies. Dozens of Toronto commuters stand wherever they can find a few inches of space, swaying as the
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