No End in Sight to Saudi Blitzkrieg
Saudi Arabia isn’t done with its recalcitrant rival, Russia and that’s tough news for every petro-state, especially our own. Oil giant Saudi Aramco will proceed with the reduction of its…
The Mound of Sound
We’ve Gotta Do Better than This
It’s bad enough that grocery store shelves are empty of paper towels, toilet paper, flour, sugar and other essentials. Blame that on hoarders. However, why has the news media stopped…
Italy Pulls Out the Stops to Produce Ventilators, Calls In the Military
European countries now deep in the throes of the corinavirus, Covid-19, are racing to increase production of ventilators that, for patients in intensive care, can mean the difference between life…
Are You Ready for Lockdown?
According to Foreign Policy, the Covid-19 pandemic is heading only one way – toward lockdown. Politicians won’t admit it yet, but it’s time to prepare—physically and psychologically—for a sudden stop…
This Speaks Volumes But the Message is Dire
India, the second most populous nation, has 137 confirmed cases of Covid-19. Pakistan is reporting just 236 cases. Those low, low numbers spell trouble for the Indian subcontinent, South Asia,…
Still Unclear About Covid-19? MiT has Links
MiT’s tech review, The Download, is often a font of great information you won’t find in the funny papers. Today’s edition opens with the editor-in-chief explaining that the life you…
Comparing Covid-19 to the Spanish Flu is Pointless
There are plenty of graphs and charts circulating that convey the idea that this novel coronavirus is a trifle compared to the savage viral contagions of the 20th century. That…
Small Batch Distilleries Step Up to Solve Sanitizer Shortage
Beamsville, Ontario’s Dillon’s Distillers is diverting some of its whiskey operations into producing disinfectant alcohol and hand sanitizer needed to help combat the Covid-19 pandemic. In the States, a number…
Should Government Put the Manufacturing Sector on a Wartime Footing?
During WWII America mobilized the country’s industrial base and put it into armaments production. Automobile manufacturers switched rapidly to churning out tanks by the thousands and car plants built giant…
Pandemics and Bad Habits
“Here’s to a bad plague and a vicious season.” I heard that line from an old friend, a former naval officer. Apparently it originated from subalterns, junior officers, in the…
You’ll Be Needing to Wash More Than Your Hands
The BBC has a very timely article on our new global virus and how it can be transmitted. Hint: public transit may not be a good idea. There has been…
While We’re On the Subject of Pipelines
It’s not just human health that’s in jeopardy from the Covid-19 pandemic. The fossil fuel industry is taking a pounding. Part of it is the decline in energy consumption from…
What’s Better Than Givenchy of Christian Dior? And Trump Tries to Scoop German Vaccine.
Hand sanitizer, that’s better than fancy fragrances. And who’s okay with that? Louis Vuitton, Hennesy, Moet – the company that produces those high end fragrances and cosmetics. Answering the patriotic…
Nikiforuk – Welcome to the "Age of Pandemics"
Does Covid-19, the latest pandemic, herald a new era? For years climate scientists have warned that among the many perils posed by climate change would be the spread of disease.…
Another Obituary for the Mango Mussolini
Another pundit proclaims Trump’s political career DOA. This time it’s Republican pundit, Peter Wehner, writing in the Atlantic. “They’ve simply lost time they can’t make up. You can’t get back…
"The Joke is Over"
It’s almost too much to hope for but The Guardian’s Richard Wolffe sees a silver-lining in the Covid-19 pandemic. For three long years the world has been treated to the…
Covid-19. We’re In It For the Duration.
It’s a bit worrisome when our leaders come out with misleading narratives on something as serious as a pandemic. In the case of Donald Trump that’s to be expected. Others…
Is Recession in Our Future?
The Royal Bank of Canada figures that, between the Covid-19 pandemic and the engineered collapse in world oil prices, recession is in our near future. The bank is predicting Canada’s…