The most brutally moving aid poster I’ve ever seen is of an emaciated child sitting with an empty food bowl. The caption reads: “I was hungry and you formed a committee to discuss the matter. Thank you.” Afghanistan calls for an update: “I am dying, and you imposed sanctions to solve the matter…’… Read the rest
The time has come to put Dr Seuss at the top of the reading list for university students, academics and administrators. Not the books, but one of his many intelligent and useful quotes: “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”… Read the rest
A teacher escorting American teenagers on a “cultural immersion” trip to Rome once told me the hardest part of the job was ensuring the school’s “zero tolerance” policy was enforced. The smallest sip of wine at a meal…a quintessential element of Italian culture…could cost the teacher her job. I find it a bit difficult to square that with a teenager’s“right to bear arms” at a public protest.… Read the rest
Homo sapiens began migrating from Africa to Europe somewhere between seventy and 100,00 years ago. In relatively short order they overwhelmed the humanoid species already there. The European Union seems to see the migrant crisis on the Belarus-Poland border as the modern incarnation, which begs the question: Why are they handling it so badly?… Read the rest
The man from the “Ministry of Silly Walks” just stepped on cancel culture, and in a rare turn up, the increasingly pernicious culture rather than the stepper, ended up with the moral equivalent of dog droppings on its shoe.… Read the rest
Having delivered lines of brave words, glowing promises and sweeping commitments to curtail climate change, the principal actors have left the stage of COP 26, the ‘last, best chance’ to save the world. Their resumés don’t bode well for the play’s climax, however. We the audience can only hope Shakespeare got it wrong when he wrote: “An overflow of good converts to bad.”… Read the rest
The lone maple among the white pine and spruce outside the window of my “writing nook” transformed into autumn colours so subtly I only registered differences every few days. As the days grew shorter and colder, the leaves became more vivid, and suddenly, they’re gone. The barely perceptible pace of change gave me pause to reflect that rather than saving time, the nano-second fast technology at our fingertips speeds its passage.… Read the rest
The loons have been talking more frequently of late, the haunting call known as the “wail”. One of four sounds loons use to communicate, ornithologists believe its few notes speak volumes. Human communication, by comparison increasingly brings to mind the first lines of Harry Nilsson’s signature song: “Everybody’s talking at me/I don’t hear a word they’re saying/Only the echoes of my mind”.… Read the rest
Paddling a kayak across a pristine lake provides not only solace for the soul, but often as not, unexpected lessons. Early one morning this week, I came upon a cluster of male merganser ducks frolicking, fishing and preening. It occurred to me that the lake I love is populated with migrants.… Read the rest
The “new normal” of protecting everyone from anything and everything has reached the level of social media inanities like the ‘TikTok’ challenge. The National Football League is imposing penalties for “baiting or taunting acts or words that may engender ill-will between teams”. Experience makes me doubt 350-pound linemen are in imminent danger from gestures or name-calling.… Read the rest