This and that for your Sunday reading. – Thomas Walkom points out that most Canadians have far more reason to fear an austerity-fuelled recession than any foreseeable level of inflation. J.W. Mason points out that the U.S. Fed is similarly looking to squeeze workers over inflation that has nothing to
Continue readingTag: pierre poilievre
Northern Reflections: Trump Of The North
In his quest for the leadership of the Conservative Party, Pierre Poilievre is following Donald Trump’s playbook. Susan Delacourt writes: Show him an institution and Poilievre will knock it down — the Bank of Canada, the media, anyone deemed a “gatekeeper,” or the World Economic Forum. He doesn’t just disagree
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Ross Barkan takes stock of the reality that the U.S. has allowed a million people to die of a disease whose transmission could largely have been prevented, while Alexander Quon reports on the latest data showing that official death totals in Saskatchewan significantly
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: About That Conservative Leadership Campaign
It would seem that the leading contender for the helm of the federal Conservatives, Pierre Poilievre, brings neither credit nor credibility to his party. H/t de Adder Bruce Arthur writes about the divisive tactics of this strange man, tactics that seem in many ways reminiscent of the nonsense that goes
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 readingAccidental Deliberations: Tuesday Morning Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Elisabeth McClymont et al. study the risks COVID-19 creates for maternal and perinatal outcomes, while Jessica Widdifield et al. find that vaccines are particularly effective at reducing the severity of COVID for people with immune disorders. Jacquie Miller reports on the calls
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Abdullah Shihipar discusses why there’s every reason to resist the pressure from self-serving politicians and business groups to succumb to COVID-19. Hannah Flynn discusses the long-term brain injuries traceable to long COVID in primates. And Steve Schering examines the hospitalization rates for children
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Stephen’s Ghost
The Conservatives are stuck. That’s the lesson behind Pierre Poilievre’s quest for the leadership of the party. Michael Harris writes: Poilievre’s camp is hitching his alleged vaulting popularity to the notion that size matters. They’re coming to his rally in droves—by the hundreds. And the usual suspects in the media
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Morning Links
Assorted content for your Friday reading. – Gavin Yamey et al. observe that a push for vaccine equity – and the retention of public health measures until it can be achieved – are musts to avoid foreseeable sickness and death from COVID-19. And Gregg Gonsalves calls out the recklessness and
Continue readingThe Cracked Crystal Ball II: Pierre’s Libertarian Economy
So, putative CPC leadership front runner Pierre Poilievre wants to rejig our economy and monetary policy to use cryptocurrency. In Poilievre’s mind, central banks have “too much power”, and expanding the role of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology in our monetary system would start to break that power down. In particular,
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Morning Links
Assorted content to end your week. – Winnie Wan Yee Tso et al. study the severity of the Omicron BA.2 COVID variant, and find that its rate of deaths and severe outcomes is no less severe than previous variants in children from 0-11 in particular. Guy Quenneville reports on the connection between
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Our Unhealthy State
I am not one of those who chortles when political parties fall into embarrassments or controversy; such events only serve as fodder for opposing parties eagerly driven to earn more political street cred. Those antics do not benefit democracy. I speak first as an Ontario voter, despondent at the meagre
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Will They Fall In Line?
I tend to think that, if the Conservatives choose Pierre Poilievre as their leader, they will wander in the political desert for quite a while. Chantal Hebert has a warning for people like me: Think again. Think Stephen Harper: If you are not a Conservative supporter and are nevertheless cheering
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Take Him Seriously
Pierre Poilievre is a clown. Nonetheless, Susan Riley writes, it’s time to take him seriously: Random journalists, subject-matter experts, and others, try to counter Poilievre’s facetious boilerplate—“lets give Canadians back their freedom, so they can take back control of their lives!”—and a lot of people are simply turned off by
Continue readingNorthern Currents –: The Conservative Party has become the political arm of the trucker’s convoy
The Conservative party has made a turn to the hard right. No doubt they want to swallow up lost voters further to the right that have turned to the PPC. What this means in practice is an outright rejection of any public health measures that actually prevent Covid infections and
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Leadership Under The Microscope
I need ammunition, not a ride – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky With those six words, the Ukrainian President has put leadership under the microscope. His is the kind of courageous example that most people would long for in their politicians, but have likely long ago dismissed as a fond notion
Continue readingNorthern Currents –: A left-wing case against Justin Trudeau invoking the Emergencies Act
The central issue with invoking the Emergency Act is twofold: First, it is a step too far in consolidating state power against dissenting citizens. Second, police already had the tools they needed to deal with the occupation in Ottawa but chose not to. If the police had exhausted all their
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Such A Quandary
With such a fluid situation in Ottawa, what are opportunistic demagogues to do? H/t Theo Moudakis Recommend this Post
Continue readingNorthern Currents –: Pierre Poilievre is no friend of the working class, despite his pro-worker ranting
Poilievre’s announcement to run as Prime Minister touches on working-class issues, with a mood of plausible, genuine sincerity. He even mentions the working class by name. Of course, Poilievre doesn’t care about the working class at all. His solution to alleviating poverty in Canada is to put the social welfare
Continue readingNorthern Currents –: The truckers convoy promotes social harm, not “mandating freedom.”
The organizers of the covid convoy have been demanding they speak to the manager of Canada. While they claim to fight for freedom and “vaccine choice,” this couldn’t be further from the truth. What all the elements within the spectrum of supporters of the convoy have in common is the
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