The Next Time We Complain About High Gas Prices
While I have no doubt that a great deal of oil-company profiteering is taking place these days, we really do need to put our complaints into perspective: Heartbreaking photo by…
2022
Sunday Afternoon Links
This and that for your Sunday reading. – James Tapper reports on the UK’s soaring rates of long-term illness caused by COVID-19, while Tara Madden writes about the utter uselessness…
The Convoy From Hell and the Trump Cons
Uh oh. Grab your masks, and some air freshener, the convoy from hell is hitting the road again. And they're inviting everyone to honk up a storm, and bring lots…
We Will Have To Choose
Ukraine wants NATO to protect its skies — something the alliance, up to this point, has refused to do. We really are caught between a rock and a hard place.…
The Rancour of Ranking.
The idea of voting with ranked or preferential ballots is an idea that should never be implemented. If there are only three or four candidates on the ballot, it really…
Today’s News: Small Mercies
Thank heaven for small mercies, at least — because as awful as things are, at least TFG (The Former Guy) isn’t still president: Person, Woman, Man, Camera, TV https://t.co/1ptv7kcil4 —…
On Masks, Ventilation, and Contact Tracing – Yes, Again!
On Monday I presented to my school board to try to persuade them to keep masks even if (when) Ford removes mandates and to allow me to keep my Corsi-Rosenthal…
My latest: no more spying on people – in Russia or here
Do you think Vladimir Putin spies on his employees? Of course he does. He’s literally a former KGB spy. And Putin has established a vast surveillance infrastructure in Russia —…
Putin, the Evil Emperor
Vlad Putin is a malevolent little shit who learned what little he knows of humanity in the dungeons of Lubyanka. His greatest achievement was to persuade Boris Yeltsin to take…
Saturday Afternoon Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading. – Kent Sepkowitz examines the many and severe symptoms of COVID-19 which are emerging long after initial infections have been treated as “mild”. –…
Russian Oligarchs and Entities Sanctioned by Canada
1. Sergei Borisovich Ivanov Former First Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Description Sergei Borisovich Ivanov is a Russian senior official and politician who has served as the Special Representative of…
Saturday Photo: More Bad News on Climate Change, But Winter Is Terrific Here
March 5 here, and there’s still a lot of snow on the ground. This has been a great winter for skating, playing in the snow, skiing (I guess, I don’t)…
Tunnel Vision
The National Post reports that Andrew Scheer will support Pierre Poilievre for the Conservative leadership: Former Conservative leader Andrew Scheer will support Pierre Poilievre’s bid for leadership. The announcement will…
Covid Journal, Mar 5, 2022 (WWIII Edition)
In this week’s edition, I ask why we’re spending so much on domestic and international security when it’s not being used. The post Covid Journal, Mar 5, 2022 (WWIII Edition)…
Is Kenney Coming Home?
No, no, not to Alberta. Don’t you think that Alberta premier Jason Kenney really misses the Ottawa scene? Don’t you think he has found those Alberta conservatives are far too…
Today’s News: Oops
I deleted one of my tweets today. It was, of course, about the situation in the Ukraine and in it, I supported the NATO decision not to implement a No…
Perennial favourite, Five Little Indians, returns to top of independent bookshops’ Alberta bestseller list
Here are the lists of the top 10 fiction and non-fiction titles sold by independent booksellers in Alberta during the week ended Sunday, Feb. 27, 2022. The lists are compiled…
Ukraine—a hard power lesson for Iran … and others
In December, 1991, as the Soviet Union crumbled into dust, Ukrainians voted overwhelmingly for independence. Thus was created something of a nuclear problem. The new country was the world’s third…
Musical interlude
Bob Moses & ZHU – Desire
Fifteen bad Ukraine narratives
Photo by Artem Kniaz/Unsplash Especially when deepened by the fog of war, idiocy comes in many mutually reinforcing forms. Let’s examine and get past some problematic thinking on the Russian…