Oh–What’s a Teacher to Do?
Starting next Friday, secondary students in my board will be forced to be in a room with about 15 other students they might not know, many of whom will take…
covid-19
Order saying Alberta schools won’t have to enforce social distancing lands like a sucker punch
Whoever it was in the Alberta Government that decided it would be a good idea to risk springing the news on the public that COVID-19 social distancing rules won’t apply…
Lessons We Must Learn From COVID-19 to Build a Better Society
Community is the key to the future. Those societies that are fairing best in responding to COVID 19 are those with a strong sense of community. America’s dismal response is…
Most give their country a thumbs up on COVID
A recent Pew Research Center survey of 14 advanced countries indicated that most people (a median of 73 percent) believe their country has done a good job of dealing with…
What Alberta’s School Re-entry Plan Teaches Us About Trust
On July 21, the UCP government announced 750,000 students will return to school in September under the government’s re-entry plan Scenario 1. Scenario 1 means in-class learning under near-normal daily…
Plague Update: Fixation on Ventilators morphs into Ventilation
“There’s no perfectly ‘safe’ level of ventilation because we don’t actually know what ‘safe’ is, since we don’t know how much exposure leads to transmission,” Angela Rasmussen, a Columbia University…
So long and see you soon — AlbertaPolitics.ca will shut down for a week
AlbertaPolitics.ca is shutting down for a week. I expect to be without a wifi connection for much of the next seven days, so if there are posts at all on…
A Torrent of Good News About Our Understanding of COVID-19
Dr. John Campbell has been the most levelheaded individual providing regular updates on the state of COVID-19 that I’ve been able to find (other than government and academic reports). Since…
Americans Do Love Their Snake Oil
Fortunately, people like Anderson Cooper have the real cure: I had to phone a friend to turn on CNN and watch Anderson Cooper mocking with a serious face the MyPillow…
The COVID-19 emergency may not be over, but your hospital parking fee holiday is
It was a big deal back in April when the government of Alberta suspended hospital parking fees for the duration of the coronavirus pandemic. Health Minister Tyler Shandro was Johnny…
Know Your Limits
Having worn glasses since I was nine, I learned early in life about limitations. Being myopic meant having to accept that I could never become an airline pilot, play most…
The idea that Site C has gone past the point of no return is a falsehood.
Dear Carole James and Nina, COVID 19 is not the most crucial issue. The idea that Site C has gone past the point of no return is a falsehood. We…
The Bottom Line
While the emphasis thus far has been on the fact that wearing a mask protects others from contracting Covid-19, new research suggests that they are also effective in protecting the…
Illusions of knowledge #nlpoli
Last week,testimony in the travel ban case by the province’s chief medical officer Dr. Janice Fitzgerald and epidemiologist Dr. Proton Rahman confirmed the extent to which decisions taken by the…
Covid Update
Lockdown Turns Out To WORSEN Public Health Outcomes, Causing Deaths From Cancer & Other Diseases To Rise Dramatically Collateral damage matters This is important to understand: deaths from cancer,…
Donald Trump and the Unravelling of America
Donald Trump is starting to panic. He can see the writing on the wall, and he now realizes that he is heading for defeat in November. So he is now…
"at your library" in the north island eagle: columns published since re-opening, parts 2 and 3
Ancestry Library: Your Library Can Help You Discover Your Roots As the lockdown began, I posted some “At Your Library” columns that were suddenly irrelevant, among them a column about…
"at your library" in the north island eagle: columns published since re-opening, part 1: library takeout
Since the lockdown ended, I’ve been writing my column in the free local newspaper again. These columns seem very specific and not of wide interest, but since I started collecting…
Plague Update: Science In Use
Right Wing media started this year telling people that the new Coronavirus was the flu, and would cause no deaths in America. Fast forward to August and almost 150,000 Americans…