The Global Attack on Press Freedom
To Trump, they’re the “enemy of the people.” To Rodrigo Duterte, they’re “sons of bitches” who are “not exempt from assassination.” A prominent Filipino journalist, Maria Ressa, has been convicted…
2020
UN Human Rights Council to Debate Racism
The United Nations Human Rights Council will convene Wednesday to discuss racism and police violence. The HRC scheduled the debate at the request of the 54 nation Africa Group. Burkina…
Monday Afternoon Links
Assorted content to start your week. – Jonathan Watts reports on new research showing that even existing worst-case scenarios may underestimate the severity of the climate crisis. Anna Kanduth and…
Where In the World Are We Going?
Legendary economist, Nouriel Roubini, warns there won’t be any quick fix to the economic upheaval across the west. He figures it will be like the Great Depression – only worse.…
Is 5 the New 3?
Like it or not, climate science depends heavily on computer modelling. It’s how scientists can try to predict future outcomes of changes that have not yet occurred. For example, “if…
Of Empty Words and Unicorns
This week we’ll see something happen in Canadian politics that will be as close to a “normal” event as we have in a long time, although being the age of…
Talking about The Calls for Police Reform on “The Arlene Bynon Show”
This morning I joined Arlene Bynon on “The Arlene Bynon Show” on Sirius XM’s Canada Talks 167, along with Alise Mills. We discussed the growing calls for police reform in…
Paying attention: Focus and distraction in the digital age
Today’s most popular social media platforms are essentially ad-revenue-creating attention machines. Their success hinges on their power to bring content to users, users to content, and users to users in…
140Law: Top 10 Legal Headlines for the Week of June 15, 2020
140Law: Here are our Top 10 legal headlines for the week of June 15, 2020. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Wise Law Office (@wiselaw) on Jun…
Cerberus for The 21st Century
There is a gulf — a growing gulf — between Trump World and the real world. Francine Prose writes: Given how busy most Americans are these days – home-schooling their…
140Law: Legal Headlines for the week of June 15, 2020
Here are our leading legal headlines for the week of June 15, 2020 from Wise Law on Twitter: US demands Britain hand over Prince Andrew to be questioned over Epstein…
Working Less is What We can do to Repair the Economy
Before the pandemic too many people spent too much of the time working instead of living. Now, the opposite is true with employers in North America firing people left and…
Strange Fruit
H/t Michael De Adder Those who say the police are just doing their job are just not paying attention. Be warned. Both of these videos are hard to watch: This…
The new Ford is still a Model T.
Not to be confused with products of the Ford Motor Company, today’s comment is about Ontario premier Doug Ford. It harks back a hundred years to that time when you…
Canada Should Declassify, Deconstruct and Defund the RCMP
The RCMP’s Emergency Response Team (ERT) participates in a training exercise in Ladysmith, Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Photo courtesy the Ladysmith Chronicle. The ongoing debate about whether racism exists in…
Covid Journal, June 14, 2020
Loblaws and Metro have cut ‘danger pay’ for essential workers while raking it in with Covid and continue to avoid social responsibility by skirting mask requirements for workers. Boycott them.…
Racism in Newfoundland and Labrador #nlpoli
An expression of power and privilege Some people in Newfoundland and Labrador are talking about racism. This is good. Unfortunately, they are talking about racism somewhere else. This is bad.…
417 and Still Rising
Atmospheric CO2 levels have hit 417 ppm, the highest level in about three million years and that means the highest level in human history. The last time the atmospheric carbon…
As the clamps come off cases will likely rise….
Lockdown restrictions are easing, in my part of Ontario you can now dine at a restaraunt provided there’s a patio. I’ve been out on the tennis court several times and…