Thursday, October 31, 2019
ARE YOU AFRAID TO VACATION IN MEXICO?
ARE YOU AFRAID TO VACATION IN MEXICO?
Some people have told me that they are afraid to go to Mexico because it is too dangerous. We have spent two months in each of the last two winters in Mazatlan and are booked to go again in January 2020. In all the time we have spent there, we have never really been afraid for our safety. In many countries that appear to be potentially dangerous, local and national governments very much value the tourist dollar and want to maintain a positive, profitable tourist trade by providing a strong police presence. So I generally feel safe, but there are a few cautions you should know about.
If you want to get picky, I am aware of three fairly significant problems that might cause a person to be concerned. Everyone has heard of the drug cartels that operate in Mexico and the ongoing conflicts between cartels and the government army. The illicit drug business brings between $13 and $49 billion into Mexico each year. Mexico is the major source of bringing drugs into the USA and the gangs that control the business can be very ruthless and murderous. It is estimated that over 140,000 Mexicans have been killed in the drug wars over the past few decades. These wars have been marked by brutality, intimidation, bribery and mass killings. As a tourist, I am aware of the situation, but honestly believe that the tourist is not the target and need not fear unless they themselves are involved in drug use or trafficking on a street level. Call me naive, but I visit without any fear of the drug world.
Another major Mexican problem has to do with the regular theft of gasoline from Mexican refineries and from gasoline pipelines. Thieves with trucks often steal gasoline by tapping into pipelines that crisscross the country. On January 18, 2019, while we were there on vacation, a pipeline transporting gasoline exploded in the town of Tlahuelilpan, in the Mexican state of Hidalgo. The blast killed at least 137 people and injured dozens more. Mexican authorities blamed fuel thieves, who had illegally tapped into the pipeline. Locals were killed while filling buckets and pails with gasoline as it shot into the air. It has been reported that over one billion dollars of gasoline is stolen annually by gangs, who can easily sell the gas to locals. Since we do not drive in Mexico, I have no fear of the stolen gasoline enterprise.
I do have some apprehension about the third major Mexican problem. Before 1997 the USA did not import avocados from Mexico. Since 1998 however, the exporting of avocados has become a $2.3 billion dollar industry. Our dishonest cronies from the drug cartels have become interested in the “green gold” market that the avocados represent and have been stealing shipments, intimidating and kidnapping growers, and generally trying to take control of this industry as well. Growers are now arming themselves into local militias and a new war between avocado thiefs, the drug cartels, and the avocado industry has just added more woes to the life of the hard working Mexican farmer. Who knew that avocados would become as deadly a product as heroin and cocaine!
When we vacation in Mexico, I don’t use drugs or buy gasoline, so I have little fear in these two areas. I have to be a little more cautious however when I shop for avocados in the street or super markets, but I will take my chances. I will just put on my don’t-mess-with-me teacher’s face, squeeze the avocados gently, and toss a ten peso coin to the salesman in payment!
If you have what it takes, and you want to come to Mexico this winter, give us a call! I will definitely protect you in the avocado market!
Tuesday, October 29, 2019
WHAT IS THE BIGGEST 21ST CENTURY PROBLEM?
WHAT IS THE BIGGEST 21ST CENTURY PROBLEM?
Since we entered the 21st Century over nineteen years ago, the world has undergone many extreme changes from the previous century. Which developing problem is the scariest?
- Global warming with increased temperatures, hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires, droughts, and other climatic issues
- The new danger posed by terrorism around the world, especially since 911.
- Political upheaval in countries in all parts of the globe - the Middle East, Egypt, Libya, Sudan, Somalia, Syria, and the global refugee problems that have resulted
- Political and social unrest in almost all countries, to varying degrees, marked by economic uncertainty, increasing poverty, the rising cost of living and major disparity issues
- US and global gun violence, lone assassins using guns or vehicles or bombs, and major increases in security risks everywhere.
This is only a very short list of some of the significant events in the world that have often taken front stage and made the headlines in the past two decades. I propose that the greatest new problem that has raised its ugly head in our recent history is none of the above.
I would suggest that the most significant problem that has emerged in the past twenty years is our loss of confidence in all of our media sources as to what is the truth and what is fiction. As I grew up, when I read of some event or listened to a speaker, I was naive enough to believe that what they said was probably true and I did not question them.
Today, I and many others, have totally lost that confidence. Now when I hear a news report or read some headline, I immediately ask myself, “I wonder if that is true?” No longer do I just accept the word of a president or a prime minister or a priest or a doctor or a lawyer without some skepticism or at least reluctance.
In one way, my newly developed sense of questioning is a good thing because it forces me to be more observant and to attempt to find additional information to support or clarify something that I used to accept on blind faith. On the other hand, it is very disconcerting to always feel that we have to be cautious in all that we see and hear that is news related. It was much easier in the past to believe the parish priest when he preached, or believe the doctor when he said everything was OK.
This decline in public confidence has changed the temper of our world. It leads to more questioning, more uncertainty, more stress and leads to more groups of people trying to strongly sell a particular perspective on a certain issue. More people now protest everything, from increased plastics in the oceans to the treatment of ethnic minorities in foreign countries.
This declining confidence in what we can and should believe is also reflected in a few new expressions that have recently evolved that further muddy the waters of what is true. American politicians and newscasters regularly have referred to “fake news” and “alternative facts”. A shadow of doubt seems to cloud almost any news pronouncement. The ultimate blow to my acceptance of what I read and view was made by Rudolph W. Giuliani when he pontificated that, “Truth isn’t truth.”
On that final note, I rest my case!
Sunday, October 27, 2019
IS IT EVER TOO LATE TO LEARN THESE SKILLS?
IS IT EVER TOO LATE TO LEARN THESE SKILLS?
As our world races along, our young children and grandchildren are carried along by forces far different than we experienced as kids. Their world today often centres around technology, computers, iPhones, iPads, video games, Instagram, and social media. None of these elements existed when I was a child.
My life was enriched and shaped by exposure to a wide array of activities that had no connection to technology. I maintain that the things I learned as a child has held me in good stead over the years. How many of my childhood activities did you experience? Did you ever:
-fish with a bent pin hook on a piece of string and catch minnows
-play by a river where he can throw rocks and set a night fishing line
-make a slingshot from a tree branch Y and learn to use it
-make a hut or cave to share with your friends
-make a snow fort that you can actually play in
-learn how to ride a bike, swim and skate
-play marbles -regular, potsies, big circle and chaseys
-play anti- I- over, frozen tag, and pom pom pull away
-fish from a rowboat on a quiet lake
-walk along the rails on a railway track
-toboggan and sled down a big hill
-play games like hide and seek, round and round the icebox and run sheep run
-have a jackknife that you learn to throw into the ground
-fly a kite in a good wind
-learn how to make a whistle from a seed pod or a twig
-shoot a BB gun at paper targets
-play lots of baseball catch and make up games for yourself
-go on hikes and get dirty and muddy
-make a snowman every chance you got ( and snow angels)
-make a smudge pot to keep away the mosquitoes in summer
-learn how to start and build a fire with one match
-eat raw vegetables right out of the garden ( a little dirt is fine)
-plant and maintain your own little garden patch
-gather a pile of dry leaves in the autumn and bury yourself in it
-draw pictures on a frosty window with your fingernail
-make your own bow and arrow
-learn how to clean a fish
-hunt for gophers or rabbits with a snare
-learn how to row a boat and paddle a canoe
-learn the constellations so you can find them on a dark night
-make a periscope with two mirrors
-make a telephone with two cans connected by a piece of string
-learn how to skip rocks on water
-play scrub, hit the bat, 500 and redeemers with a ball and bat
-learn to use a yoyo and have fun with a pea shooter
-play hopscotch, skip a rope and make a clothes pin gun
-have a stamp collection, at least for a little while
-learn how to whistle through your fingers
It’s never too late to teach your young children or grandchildren any of the above. These activities may not be high tech, but I still think that just about any kid would have a lot of fun learning them. What do you think?
Thursday, October 24, 2019
MUST I APOLOGIZE TO FELICITY HUFFMAN?
MUST I APOLOGIZE TO FELICITY HUFFMAN?
My legions of blog followers will, without a doubt, remember the “So You Think Life In Prison Is Easy, Eh?” blog that I posted in September regarding the sentencing to prison of actress Felicity Huffman for her part in the college admissions scandal in the US. I am afraid I was a little insensitive and flippant when I identified a number of the conditions that Huffman would face in prison. Her hours of sunbathing and TV watching were restricted and she was forced to make her own bed and only shop in the concession once a week. Little did I realize that her confinement would be much more traumatic. Today, I read two articles that described her incarceration woes.
One newspaper article headline screamed, “Huffman a wreck in jail”. It reports, “Horrified Felicity Huffman has turned into a shattered wreck behind bars. The shamed actress has cried non-stop, barely eaten and lived in fear she’d be targetted by fellow cons as she rots in the FCI in Dublin, California. The constant screams, yelping and banging rammed it home that she’d been thrust into a living hell.”
“Each day seems to last forever,” tattled a prison snitch.”She feels so alone with so much time on her hands.” Terrified of a confrontation, Huffman has turned into a recluse, said the spy. “She tries to hide her pain, so she doesn’t come across as weak”. But alone in her cell, she’s a crying, blubbering mess. And the pampered star can barely stomach prison food. Felicity never imagined how revolting the food could be.
I can’t vouch for the honesty or integrity of the prison snitch, but despite a probable small cash donation to his rehabilitation fund by National Inquirer, he is probably a person of character, just reporting the facts. The second news report is much more believable, I think when you consider the source.
Former jailbird Martha Stewart, the ex-con insider trading queen, took it upon herself to comment on a recent paparazzi photo of Huffman wearing a prison jumpsuit. Steward reports, “She (Huffman) should style her outfit a little bit more. She looked pretty schlumpy. She made a horrible mistake and now she’s paying for it.” If Huffman relaxes this evening and reads the two reports above, I am sure that Stewart’s criticism will no doubt be the most hurtful and damning. No woman, regardless of the occasion, wants to have her wardrobe dissed and scoffed upon, especially by Martha Stewart, the fashion guru of the eggs benny and mimosa sipping crowd.
So today, I am kind of ashamed that I might have been too harsh in my earlier blog about the kind of minimal security institute that Huffman would be held in. And my biggest concern now is what might happen to her in the last seven days of her sentence, when she has already undergone so much pain and anguish in the first week of her two-week sentence.
I am going to have to undergo some sensitivity training soon if I am not more careful! Perhaps I can start with a “Sorry, Felicity - I can feel your pain!”
My legions of blog followers will, without a doubt, remember the “So You Think Life In Prison Is Easy, Eh?” blog that I posted in September regarding the sentencing to prison of actress Felicity Huffman for her part in the college admissions scandal in the US. I am afraid I was a little insensitive and flippant when I identified a number of the conditions that Huffman would face in prison. Her hours of sunbathing and TV watching were restricted and she was forced to make her own bed and only shop in the concession once a week. Little did I realize that her confinement would be much more traumatic. Today, I read two articles that described her incarceration woes.
One newspaper article headline screamed, “Huffman a wreck in jail”. It reports, “Horrified Felicity Huffman has turned into a shattered wreck behind bars. The shamed actress has cried non-stop, barely eaten and lived in fear she’d be targetted by fellow cons as she rots in the FCI in Dublin, California. The constant screams, yelping and banging rammed it home that she’d been thrust into a living hell.”
“Each day seems to last forever,” tattled a prison snitch.”She feels so alone with so much time on her hands.” Terrified of a confrontation, Huffman has turned into a recluse, said the spy. “She tries to hide her pain, so she doesn’t come across as weak”. But alone in her cell, she’s a crying, blubbering mess. And the pampered star can barely stomach prison food. Felicity never imagined how revolting the food could be.
I can’t vouch for the honesty or integrity of the prison snitch, but despite a probable small cash donation to his rehabilitation fund by National Inquirer, he is probably a person of character, just reporting the facts. The second news report is much more believable, I think when you consider the source.
Former jailbird Martha Stewart, the ex-con insider trading queen, took it upon herself to comment on a recent paparazzi photo of Huffman wearing a prison jumpsuit. Steward reports, “She (Huffman) should style her outfit a little bit more. She looked pretty schlumpy. She made a horrible mistake and now she’s paying for it.” If Huffman relaxes this evening and reads the two reports above, I am sure that Stewart’s criticism will no doubt be the most hurtful and damning. No woman, regardless of the occasion, wants to have her wardrobe dissed and scoffed upon, especially by Martha Stewart, the fashion guru of the eggs benny and mimosa sipping crowd.
So today, I am kind of ashamed that I might have been too harsh in my earlier blog about the kind of minimal security institute that Huffman would be held in. And my biggest concern now is what might happen to her in the last seven days of her sentence, when she has already undergone so much pain and anguish in the first week of her two-week sentence.
I am going to have to undergo some sensitivity training soon if I am not more careful! Perhaps I can start with a “Sorry, Felicity - I can feel your pain!”
Tuesday, October 22, 2019
CAN SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME TO UNDERSTAND?
CAN SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME TO UNDERSTAND?
I readily acknowledge that I am not the smartest patient in the asylum, and I require someone to explain a lot of things to me, such as the following government initiative. The federal government wants to provide supervised injection sites within all federal prisons. It involves inmates having access to needles so that they can inject themselves with illicit drugs in a supervised setting with nursing staff present.
There are just a few issues and questions about the above initiative that are troubling to me. My limited understanding is that inmates of federal prisons have committed some serious criminal offense that has resulted in their incarceration. They can generally not be categorized as “nice guys or gals”. They have forfeited many of the rights and privileges of law-abiding citizens and as a consequence, there are many former activities they no longer have access to. They can not come and go as they wish, they can not go to restaurants and movies, and they can not get drunk or high on drugs as if they were free.
Because our inmates have very restricted privileges and are closely supervised by prison guards, they do not have access to alcohol or drugs. Corrections Canada has long tried to keep drugs from entering prisons but acknowledges that contraband drugs regularly find their way to inmates. Well, let’s stop there! Has the Canadian penal system admitted that they are incapable of preventing illicit and illegal drugs from entering our prisons? Are they admitting that the drug dealers are smarter than any security or screening system we could devise? It appears that is the case, and in my opinion, it is not only a very sad commentary but a condemnation of our prison operations!
If our prison system is so incapable of stopping drugs from getting into our prisons, then it appears there is only one logical next step. We - the prison system - will make needles available to drug-using inmates. A needle exchange program within the prison will prevent inmates from sharing needles and spreading diseases like hepatitis C and HIV. Well isn’t that thoughtful! We wouldn’t want to allow our incarcerated criminals to put their own lives or their fellow con’s lives in danger!
Despite the risks of sharing needles, our prison guests still share needles as they find the logic so hard to understand. In order to eliminate any more stress from their lives, Corrections Canada wants to introduce the supervised injection site program so that our societal guests remain happy and healthy. A nurse, who might be conducting some other more meaningful service, is probably ecstatic that she is managing to keep another junkie alive for another day.
In my opinion, the entire situation above is completely unacceptable. Why are we providing, in our prisons, the support to drug addicts to safely continue their practices, rather than trying to stop or minimize them? Why isn’t the money spent on needle-exchange programs and safe injection sites used to develop more successful screening procedures to prevent drugs from entering our prisons?
If anyone can help me understand this conundrum, please get in touch! It would also be very comforting to me to know that our government would be as supportive of my needs for medications and health care as an aging senior as they are to convicted felons who are given special treatment to prevent them from overdosing on the contraband hard drugs that they need. Very comforting indeed!
I readily acknowledge that I am not the smartest patient in the asylum, and I require someone to explain a lot of things to me, such as the following government initiative. The federal government wants to provide supervised injection sites within all federal prisons. It involves inmates having access to needles so that they can inject themselves with illicit drugs in a supervised setting with nursing staff present.
There are just a few issues and questions about the above initiative that are troubling to me. My limited understanding is that inmates of federal prisons have committed some serious criminal offense that has resulted in their incarceration. They can generally not be categorized as “nice guys or gals”. They have forfeited many of the rights and privileges of law-abiding citizens and as a consequence, there are many former activities they no longer have access to. They can not come and go as they wish, they can not go to restaurants and movies, and they can not get drunk or high on drugs as if they were free.
Because our inmates have very restricted privileges and are closely supervised by prison guards, they do not have access to alcohol or drugs. Corrections Canada has long tried to keep drugs from entering prisons but acknowledges that contraband drugs regularly find their way to inmates. Well, let’s stop there! Has the Canadian penal system admitted that they are incapable of preventing illicit and illegal drugs from entering our prisons? Are they admitting that the drug dealers are smarter than any security or screening system we could devise? It appears that is the case, and in my opinion, it is not only a very sad commentary but a condemnation of our prison operations!
If our prison system is so incapable of stopping drugs from getting into our prisons, then it appears there is only one logical next step. We - the prison system - will make needles available to drug-using inmates. A needle exchange program within the prison will prevent inmates from sharing needles and spreading diseases like hepatitis C and HIV. Well isn’t that thoughtful! We wouldn’t want to allow our incarcerated criminals to put their own lives or their fellow con’s lives in danger!
Despite the risks of sharing needles, our prison guests still share needles as they find the logic so hard to understand. In order to eliminate any more stress from their lives, Corrections Canada wants to introduce the supervised injection site program so that our societal guests remain happy and healthy. A nurse, who might be conducting some other more meaningful service, is probably ecstatic that she is managing to keep another junkie alive for another day.
In my opinion, the entire situation above is completely unacceptable. Why are we providing, in our prisons, the support to drug addicts to safely continue their practices, rather than trying to stop or minimize them? Why isn’t the money spent on needle-exchange programs and safe injection sites used to develop more successful screening procedures to prevent drugs from entering our prisons?
If anyone can help me understand this conundrum, please get in touch! It would also be very comforting to me to know that our government would be as supportive of my needs for medications and health care as an aging senior as they are to convicted felons who are given special treatment to prevent them from overdosing on the contraband hard drugs that they need. Very comforting indeed!
Sunday, October 20, 2019
WANT TO SLEEP IN DOWNTON ABBEY OR IN A BLIMP?
WANT TO SLEEP IN DOWNTON ABBEY OR IN A BLIMP?
Over the past few years, travelers have access to a lot of different accommodations besides hotels and motels. The Airbnb industry has allowed anyone to rent out their house, cabin, boat, apartment or even motor home to willing renters. This month three unique Airbnb opportunities have caught my attention - a night in Downton Abbey, the Goodyear Blimp or “Barbie’s” pink Dreamhouse in Malibu? Quite a variety of options.
Barbie’s iconic pink house is located in the heart of Malibu, the ocean-front Dreamhouse features two bedrooms, an infinity pool, an office ("to start planning who you want to be"), a movie theater, and a walk-in closet where guests can model life-size versions of some of Barbie's most iconic looks. Note: for women guests only, not gents!
Booking for the Dreamhouse opens on Oct. 23 at 2 p.m. EDT. Barbie writes that the experience is a "once in a lifetime chance, which means the Dreamhouse will only be booked once." The lucky guests will check in from Oct. 27 through Oct. 29. Booking is listed at $60 per night.
If you prefer something more traditional, the owners of Highclere Castle — the set of Universal’s iconic Downton Abbey period drama — have listed their home on Airbnb at a rate of £150 (approx. $187). In a one-night-only listing, Earl and Lady Carnarvon are inviting one lucky couple to “live like royalty” at their 100,000-square-foot, 300-room estate in Hampshire, England.
The chosen pair will be invited to share dinner with the Earl and Countess in the state dining room, followed by coffee in the library. They will then retire to one of the gallery bedrooms with views overlooking 1,000 acres of parkland.
If you are looking for something more offbeat, how about the Goodyear blimp? The famous Goodyear Blimp will become a temporary Airbnb rental for whoever’s lucky enough to nab a reservation when it goes live on Oct. 15.
One-night stays in the blimp will be available for the evenings of Oct. 22, 23 and 24. The blimp will be stationed in a hangar in Mogadore, Ohio before it lifts off to Ann Arbor, Michigan to provide overhead coverage of the football game between Michigan and Notre Dame.
Reservations will cost $150 per night, plus taxes. That fee includes access to the blimp, including overnight accommodations for two people and room for four friends during the day.
As I explored further options, I found that on the Airbnb website you can rent an igloo, a treehouse, a safari tent, a Hobbit house underground, a plastic bubble, a bamboo palace, a private island, and a converted yellow school bus. Personally, I am a little more set in my ways and will take a high rise condo with hot running water, wireless internet, and a smart TV. My wants are incredibly simple!
Over the past few years, travelers have access to a lot of different accommodations besides hotels and motels. The Airbnb industry has allowed anyone to rent out their house, cabin, boat, apartment or even motor home to willing renters. This month three unique Airbnb opportunities have caught my attention - a night in Downton Abbey, the Goodyear Blimp or “Barbie’s” pink Dreamhouse in Malibu? Quite a variety of options.
Barbie’s iconic pink house is located in the heart of Malibu, the ocean-front Dreamhouse features two bedrooms, an infinity pool, an office ("to start planning who you want to be"), a movie theater, and a walk-in closet where guests can model life-size versions of some of Barbie's most iconic looks. Note: for women guests only, not gents!
Booking for the Dreamhouse opens on Oct. 23 at 2 p.m. EDT. Barbie writes that the experience is a "once in a lifetime chance, which means the Dreamhouse will only be booked once." The lucky guests will check in from Oct. 27 through Oct. 29. Booking is listed at $60 per night.
If you prefer something more traditional, the owners of Highclere Castle — the set of Universal’s iconic Downton Abbey period drama — have listed their home on Airbnb at a rate of £150 (approx. $187). In a one-night-only listing, Earl and Lady Carnarvon are inviting one lucky couple to “live like royalty” at their 100,000-square-foot, 300-room estate in Hampshire, England.
The chosen pair will be invited to share dinner with the Earl and Countess in the state dining room, followed by coffee in the library. They will then retire to one of the gallery bedrooms with views overlooking 1,000 acres of parkland.
If you are looking for something more offbeat, how about the Goodyear blimp? The famous Goodyear Blimp will become a temporary Airbnb rental for whoever’s lucky enough to nab a reservation when it goes live on Oct. 15.
One-night stays in the blimp will be available for the evenings of Oct. 22, 23 and 24. The blimp will be stationed in a hangar in Mogadore, Ohio before it lifts off to Ann Arbor, Michigan to provide overhead coverage of the football game between Michigan and Notre Dame.
Reservations will cost $150 per night, plus taxes. That fee includes access to the blimp, including overnight accommodations for two people and room for four friends during the day.
As I explored further options, I found that on the Airbnb website you can rent an igloo, a treehouse, a safari tent, a Hobbit house underground, a plastic bubble, a bamboo palace, a private island, and a converted yellow school bus. Personally, I am a little more set in my ways and will take a high rise condo with hot running water, wireless internet, and a smart TV. My wants are incredibly simple!
Friday, October 18, 2019
SHOULD PAPER BE OUTLAWED IN ALL SCHOOLS?
SHOULD PAPER BE OUTLAWED IN ALL SCHOOLS?
One of the childhood games that we used to play in school was dodgeball. Two teams took turns throwing a soft rubber ball at players on the other team, who were confined to a circle, in order to eliminate them from the game. When one team was eliminated, the teams switched roles. We had a lot of fun. When the game was over we all remained friends and no lasting grudges were formed.
Today, groups are claiming that dodgeball is too dangerous for kids to be playing. Dodgeball has been banned from schools in Texas, Maine, Massachusetts, Utah, Maryland, and New York under the claim that the game is unfair and exclusionary. Children are being assaulted and marginalized, and the unfair victims of powerful forces.
My own experience was a simple one. I tried to hang around the back of the circle or near the edges of the circle trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. I was usually hit in the legs or back by the ball and left the circle to bide my time. I was not intimidated, scarred for life, or made to feel inferior or a victim. It was a GAME!
Today, educated minds searching for some meaningful topics to earn a research grant are scraping the bottom of the barrel to find topics that do not really need to be researched. For example, another blog -to-come studies the effects of sleeping in a dark room and its relation to weight gain. I didn’t know this was a pressing social problem. Some desperate researchers from UBC decided that it was time to demonize a childhood game until they can come up with a better research question.
Our advanced educators, after some of their own analysis, generated some media coverage with their “findings” that concluded that dodgeball must be eliminated. “Dodgeball reinforces the five faces of oppression defined (by theorist Iris Marion Young?) as marginalization, powerlessness, and helplessness of those perceived as weaker individuals through the exercise of violence and dominance by those who are considered more powerful," reads the abstract of the study discussed recently at the Canadian Society for the Study of Education in Vancouver.
That sounds like another attempt by desperate university researchers to draw totally unproven conclusions to a non-problem. Dodgeball is not developing Ninja or Nazi warriors intent on overthrowing the weak and challenged. Nor is it inflicting serious pain, any more than playing hockey or basketball, to the children in our schools. Children who might go home feeling inadequate or crying are more than likely experiencing problems that go well beyond their failings at playing dodgeball.
Our schools have become sanitized, by well meaning but overprotective parents, in banning all kinds of children’s games. Playing tag or baseball or football or Red Rover have all been stopped in our school yards because a child might get injured.
It’s time to get serious folks! If a child suffers a paper cut in school, do you think we should ban sharp edged sheets of paper?
Wednesday, October 16, 2019
IS GRETA THUNBERG FOR REAL?
IS GRETA THUNBERG FOR REAL?
I don’t know if I am becoming the world’s biggest skeptic or more of a senile senior? ( No response is necessary!) I have been examining the work of 16-year-old Swedish climate activist, Greta Thunberg, and a lot of questions have been plaguing my shrinking mind.
Greta Thunberg is a Swedish teenage environmental activist on climate change, whose campaigning has gained international recognition. She began by holding her own protests on the steps of the Swedish parliament and her perseverance has exploded into a global movement encouraging students worldwide to conduct similar demonstrations. She has spoken at a climate conference in Poland and addressed the United Nations where she rebuked world leaders for their failure to significantly address climate change issues. She is currently traveling North American delivering her message.
I am very supportive of her message and her perspicacity, but I have a lot of troubling thoughts. Greta is a very young girl who appears very intelligent but has been diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome, OCD, and selective mutism. In spite of some of her health issues, she appears to be very committed and driven. I sometimes wonder is she self-driven or is someone else in the driver’s seat. I have no proof of my latter question, but it is very hard for me to believe that a sixteen-year-old is that mature and focussed without some external guidance.
Her mother has also been a long-time environmental activist and is on the verge of soon publishing a new book on the issues. Greta’s emergence on the international scene will certainly elevate the interest and profit in her mother’s book. Am I just skeptical or senile? Her mother’s involvement in environmental issues has no doubt helped nurture Greta’s interest and that is not a crime, but is there a slight self-serving motive also at play?
Greta’s father and grandfather were both actors and involved in theatre. Has the thespian influence of her father somehow helped shape her very sharply worded and blunt criticism on the floor of the United Nations? Greta’s speech was without a doubt a very passionate, attention-getting “performance”. Am I just suspicious or senile?
The role of a globe-trotting champion, fighting to prevent further deterioration of our planet, cannot be an inexpensive endeavour. I have not found any source of extraordinary financial support that would allow her to travel extensively, or live abroad as she appears to be doing. I am sure there are some supporters who assist with expenses, but again I have an unfounded speculation that there is something or someone behind the scenes that we do not know about. Skeptic or senile?
In her very short activist career (less than a year), Greta was unsuccessfully nominated for this year’s Nobel Peace Prize. I certainly concur with the decision based upon the actual changes that she has initiated and how her cause has contributed in any way to enhancing global peace. The Financial Post (Sept 25) also questions how “a 16-year-old teenager who has mastered the art of regurgitating political slogans and simplistic world views is offered up as an intellectual leader, a wise prophet who possesses such sweeping knowledge and understanding of the world of science, politics, and economics that she can lecture world leaders — and be nominated for a Nobel Prize”.
Without a doubt, Greta is a very extraordinary young lady, who certainly has achieved global attention and recognition in the area of climate change. It is a significant step, but can it overcome all of the political and corporate agendas that will place power and profit above environmental causes? I will just have to wait and wonder. How about you?
Monday, October 14, 2019
COULD YOU SURVIVE WITHOUT ANY WATER?
COULD YOU SURVIVE WITHOUT ANY WATER?
In our daily lives we are often confronted with endless examples of disaster and personal tragedy. We are well aware of hurricanes in the Bahamas, earthquakes in Japan, wild fires in California and tornadoes in central US. Snowstorms bury New York regularly and major floods decimate thousands in countries all over the world. We are readily sympathetic, feel sorry for victims, and may even be moved enough to make some charitable donation. Within days however, the sufferings of thousands are usually flushed from our minds and we carry on with our lives. I guess this is normal behaviour when one is not directly affected.
Today, I would like to just stop for one moment (or one blog) to examine in more depth the actual realities that are experienced by the victims of one tragedy that exists today. I have chosen the event in Zimbabwe where the government has shut off the water supply to over 2 MILLION residents. The decision has resulted from years of drought, contaminated water reservoirs and the high cost of water treatment in this impoverished African nation. Residents can line up for hours to obtain 20 litres of water a day. Can you imagine the chaos and stress?
On a personal level, if the two million residents of Calgary and Edmonton were informed that there was no longer a safe water supply and we would be without water, it would mean:
no water for drinking or cooking
no water for washing machines or dishwashers
no water for showers or baths
no water for personal hygiene or tooth brushing
no water for cooking or coffee (imagine that!)
no water for sanitizing any item or object
no water for toilets or washrooms
If there were no water available, except in very small amounts:
could schools stay open without toilet facilities?
would hospitals be able to cope?
how would all downtown businesses deal with it?
we would close laundromats, carwashes and greenhouses
lawns, shrubs and bushes would soon die
could any restaurant or food outlet survive?
If this condition were very short term, most of us would cope. On the other hand, if it extended for weeks and months, what would happen? Besides the obvious unsanitary conditions that would evolve very quickly, various diseases would begin to flourish. We would also be faced by an increasingly angry and agitated community. Any water source would be hoarded and whenever any commodity becomes scarce, people tend to become more militant and aggressive. Would we see mob violence and lawlessness? How would you visualize life in your home, in Calgary, after months without water? How often and how long would you stand in line to collect 20 litres? It’s a pretty frightening scenario in my mental movie!
When I think about the current situation in Zimbabwe after my little reflection, I become much more sensitized to their reality. Although I don’t know that I will act much differently, I do know that I have much greater sympathy and empathy.
Again, we are reminded how much we take for granted the simple task of turning on the tap to obtain clean water and how blessed we are to be living in Canada!
Thursday, October 10, 2019
HOW DO WE IMPROVE ELECTION CAMPAIGNS?
HOW DO WE IMPROVE ELECTION CAMPAIGNS?
I am sure that most Canadians are tired of the endless, repetitive, election rhetoric that has been swirling about for the past month. With a federal election in a week we have been inundated with the regular name calling, mud slinging and finger pointing. A recent event I read about in Mexico has caused me to develop a plan that will make electioneering much more meaningful and responsible in the future. Let me explain my brilliant plan!
Eleven people were arrested in southern Mexico after the mayor of their village was dragged out of his office, tied behind a pick-up truck and dragged through the streets. Police intervened to free the mayor, who reportedly suffered no major injuries. It was the second attack by farmers demanding that the mayor fulfil his campaign promise to repair a local road. What a novel approach!
I would suggest that all political parties be required to register publicly all of their official election promises with a neutral agency. All promises would be costed out and then by election day each party would prioritize their promises. The ultimate winning party would then be held accountable to deliver on their promises within a reasonable amount of time or face dire consequences. I am not suggesting party leaders be dragged behind a truck down Sparks Street in Ottawa, but perhaps by an ATV over the parliamentary lawn! I’m joking of course, but the concept of responsibility and accountability has to become a component of currently meaningless election promises.
Election promises fit into the same category as a six year olds Christmas wish list to Santa Claus. They are both excessive and even small children know that they will not get everything they ask for, but they would still be overjoyed to have Santa deliver one or two of their top wishes. I am sure that Canadians would be just as happy to receive one or two of the top registered government priorities.
In 2015, when Justin Trudeau was filling the air with endless promises if he was elected, two of his main promises were to introduce a new electoral reform to the present system and to balance the Canadian Federal Budget by 2019-2020. Within a year of being in office, Trudeau scrapped his promise for a new electoral system because he found out how difficult it was to deliver. It was too hard work, so he just pitched it onto the scrap heap with hundreds of other failed or ignored election promises from the past.
His biggest failure, in my opinion, was campaigning on a balanced budget agenda and then failing miserably, with no consequences. Currently, the federal budget deficit is about $20 billion, a far cry from a balanced budget! If the CEO of a major corporation missed his budgetary target by $20 billion, I am sure that he would now be posting his CV on job search websites. But, Justin just smiles, and with his shirt sleeves rolled up, tosses out another dozen promises, that will probably evaporate into the cosmos after the election.
We need a system to make election promises more of a legal binding contract than a pie-in-the-sky fantasy. Then, the government might be far more effective and efficient in delivering on priority programs and initiatives than writing just another letter to Santa Claus like we do now! What do you think?
PS Although I don’t wish to appear cruel or vindictive, I can’t help smiling as I visualize the PM being dragged feet first up Parliament Hill by a woman on horseback, for breaking his election promises!
PPS Do you think Jody Wilson-Raybould can ride a horse?
I am sure that most Canadians are tired of the endless, repetitive, election rhetoric that has been swirling about for the past month. With a federal election in a week we have been inundated with the regular name calling, mud slinging and finger pointing. A recent event I read about in Mexico has caused me to develop a plan that will make electioneering much more meaningful and responsible in the future. Let me explain my brilliant plan!
Eleven people were arrested in southern Mexico after the mayor of their village was dragged out of his office, tied behind a pick-up truck and dragged through the streets. Police intervened to free the mayor, who reportedly suffered no major injuries. It was the second attack by farmers demanding that the mayor fulfil his campaign promise to repair a local road. What a novel approach!
I would suggest that all political parties be required to register publicly all of their official election promises with a neutral agency. All promises would be costed out and then by election day each party would prioritize their promises. The ultimate winning party would then be held accountable to deliver on their promises within a reasonable amount of time or face dire consequences. I am not suggesting party leaders be dragged behind a truck down Sparks Street in Ottawa, but perhaps by an ATV over the parliamentary lawn! I’m joking of course, but the concept of responsibility and accountability has to become a component of currently meaningless election promises.
Election promises fit into the same category as a six year olds Christmas wish list to Santa Claus. They are both excessive and even small children know that they will not get everything they ask for, but they would still be overjoyed to have Santa deliver one or two of their top wishes. I am sure that Canadians would be just as happy to receive one or two of the top registered government priorities.
In 2015, when Justin Trudeau was filling the air with endless promises if he was elected, two of his main promises were to introduce a new electoral reform to the present system and to balance the Canadian Federal Budget by 2019-2020. Within a year of being in office, Trudeau scrapped his promise for a new electoral system because he found out how difficult it was to deliver. It was too hard work, so he just pitched it onto the scrap heap with hundreds of other failed or ignored election promises from the past.
His biggest failure, in my opinion, was campaigning on a balanced budget agenda and then failing miserably, with no consequences. Currently, the federal budget deficit is about $20 billion, a far cry from a balanced budget! If the CEO of a major corporation missed his budgetary target by $20 billion, I am sure that he would now be posting his CV on job search websites. But, Justin just smiles, and with his shirt sleeves rolled up, tosses out another dozen promises, that will probably evaporate into the cosmos after the election.
We need a system to make election promises more of a legal binding contract than a pie-in-the-sky fantasy. Then, the government might be far more effective and efficient in delivering on priority programs and initiatives than writing just another letter to Santa Claus like we do now! What do you think?
PS Although I don’t wish to appear cruel or vindictive, I can’t help smiling as I visualize the PM being dragged feet first up Parliament Hill by a woman on horseback, for breaking his election promises!
PPS Do you think Jody Wilson-Raybould can ride a horse?
Tuesday, October 8, 2019
DO YOU SUPPORT RAINBOW PAINTED CROSSWALKS?
DO YOU SUPPORT RAINBOW PAINTED CROSSWALKS?
Although my mind seems to lead me in a lot of unconventional directions, I have not really considered the colour of crosswalks before. I just read an article where the Moncton NB City Council has been having a difficult time deciding how they really feel about the issue. Just a month after they voted against painting rainbow coloured crosswalks, they changed their mind. This is obviously a much more serious topic than I imagined.
After initially vetoing the multicoloured crosswalks, the city compromised by installing rainbow flags along a couple of the main streets. The city had painted some crosswalks in 2017 to show their solidarity to the LGBTQ community, but it abandoned the practice last year citing safety concerns. To further complicate the issue the provincial Department of Transportation told municipalities it did not approve rainbow crosswalks because they violated federal guidelines. You can only imagine how my mind is trying to grasp the aspect of “safety concerns” and “federal guidelines” when it comes to coloured paint on a city street!
Do you sometimes feel that our local and provincial (and probably federal) government are inhabited by a species that is lacking common sense, is short of meaningful work to do, and have difficulty separating the wheat from the chaff? Whether a crosswalk is marked with yellow or white stripes or a rainbow of coloured stripes can hardly present a safety risk. And having a government department develop guidelines for this issue simply baffles me.
If I prefer black and white stripes, and the LGBTQ community prefers rainbow stripes can we expect other groups to submit other alternatives? If the French majority in Quebec request blue, white and red strips to symbolize their French flag and heritage would it be allowed? Could Italian communities appeal for red, green and white stripes for the same reasons? How about no stripes and let everyone play Russian Roulette in the streets like they do in Viet Nam. Possibilities are endless.
Well, this story does have a very happy ending. The Moncton Council has again approved the rainbow crosswalks, and along with the flags they have approved, they are probably leading the country in this critical issue. I didn’t know that New Brunswick was that progressive!
Again, it baffles me that such controversial issues as crosswalk paint colours or public art projects can consume so much political time and effort. I would have thought, probably mistakenly, that roadway repair, drinking water purity and low cost housing projects would be more important issues on local government agendas. But again, what do I know?
Although my mind seems to lead me in a lot of unconventional directions, I have not really considered the colour of crosswalks before. I just read an article where the Moncton NB City Council has been having a difficult time deciding how they really feel about the issue. Just a month after they voted against painting rainbow coloured crosswalks, they changed their mind. This is obviously a much more serious topic than I imagined.
After initially vetoing the multicoloured crosswalks, the city compromised by installing rainbow flags along a couple of the main streets. The city had painted some crosswalks in 2017 to show their solidarity to the LGBTQ community, but it abandoned the practice last year citing safety concerns. To further complicate the issue the provincial Department of Transportation told municipalities it did not approve rainbow crosswalks because they violated federal guidelines. You can only imagine how my mind is trying to grasp the aspect of “safety concerns” and “federal guidelines” when it comes to coloured paint on a city street!
Do you sometimes feel that our local and provincial (and probably federal) government are inhabited by a species that is lacking common sense, is short of meaningful work to do, and have difficulty separating the wheat from the chaff? Whether a crosswalk is marked with yellow or white stripes or a rainbow of coloured stripes can hardly present a safety risk. And having a government department develop guidelines for this issue simply baffles me.
If I prefer black and white stripes, and the LGBTQ community prefers rainbow stripes can we expect other groups to submit other alternatives? If the French majority in Quebec request blue, white and red strips to symbolize their French flag and heritage would it be allowed? Could Italian communities appeal for red, green and white stripes for the same reasons? How about no stripes and let everyone play Russian Roulette in the streets like they do in Viet Nam. Possibilities are endless.
Well, this story does have a very happy ending. The Moncton Council has again approved the rainbow crosswalks, and along with the flags they have approved, they are probably leading the country in this critical issue. I didn’t know that New Brunswick was that progressive!
Again, it baffles me that such controversial issues as crosswalk paint colours or public art projects can consume so much political time and effort. I would have thought, probably mistakenly, that roadway repair, drinking water purity and low cost housing projects would be more important issues on local government agendas. But again, what do I know?
Sunday, October 6, 2019
IS GLOBAL STUPIDITY ON THE RISE?
IS GLOBAL STUPIDITY ON THE RISE?
The population of the world is increasing exponentially. The collective intelligence of the world’s population does not appear to be keeping pace. Hardly a day passes without at least one example of incredible stupidity or ignorance. This week, three glowing examples of head shaking stupidity, again confirmed my hypothesis : the larger the population grows, the dumber we become!
Stupid example #1 : I recently confessed that I have been harassed by a number of collection agencies. When I sold my house in Dalhousie on October 31, 2015 I cancelled all my utilities, cable and internet well in advance. Direct Energy has been sending me an invoice for $36.88 for electricity charges from Nov 1 to Nov 12, 2015 on a house I no longer owned. My explanation that I was no more responsible for the energy charges to a property that I no longer owned, fell on deaf ears. I refused to pay and I thought my explanation was fairly straight forward and understandable. My “negligence” was turned over to a number of collection agencies that I have ignored.
Today, after four years, I received another letter from Direct Energy in the mail. Expecting further harassment, I was delighted instead to read that Direct Energy made a positive adjustment to my invoice and reduced the claim to $27.99 - a fabulous concession. I am now only going to have to avoid paying this smaller invoice for the rest of my life. I just wonder how much money in terms of manpower, postage etc they have spent to collect this unjustifiable amount?
Stupid example #2 : Vaping has become a big issue. Vaping involves the inhaling a vapour of a mixture of nicotine, flavourings and assorted chemicals, that are released when an electronic cigarette heats the chemicals. We read daily reports of deaths and respiratory induced hospitalizations of over a thousand individuals who have vaped. The relationship between the practise of vaping and potential death appears to have a positive correlation to me. That same correlation appears to escape millions of youth who feel that the evidence is not convincing, or they are immune to poisoning or they are super human. Super stupid appears a more appropriate description.
Some of the stricken victims of vaping are now suing one of the e -cigarette companies because the company said that e-cigarettes were safer than smoking real cigarettes. The fact that the affected believed the marketing advertisements of an e-cigarette company, but did not believe the cautions and warnings of health professionals, pretty much says it all. Group stupidity is alive and well.
Stupid example #3 : A British Columbia judge imposed a $2000 fine and six penalty points on a woman’s driving license when he convicted her of distracted driving. The defendant was travelling at over 60 km/hour when she was spotted by a police officer eating with chop sticks in one hand and a bowl of spinach in the other. The officer indicated that the driver did not place a hand on the wheel when he observed her, all the while shovelling food into her mouth with the chop sticks.
The accused, of course, was irate and felt that she had a very good explanation. She informed the judge that she was going “no more than 10km/hour over the speed limit” and she had three fingers of her left hand on the steering wheel while holding the bowl with her thumb and index finger. Apparently she felt that her three finger grip allowed her total control of her vehicle. And believe it or not, the judge did not buy her explanation.
I am so looking forward to discovering more evidence next week that further illustrates the rising tide of global stupidity! I am sure I won’t be disappointed!
The population of the world is increasing exponentially. The collective intelligence of the world’s population does not appear to be keeping pace. Hardly a day passes without at least one example of incredible stupidity or ignorance. This week, three glowing examples of head shaking stupidity, again confirmed my hypothesis : the larger the population grows, the dumber we become!
Stupid example #1 : I recently confessed that I have been harassed by a number of collection agencies. When I sold my house in Dalhousie on October 31, 2015 I cancelled all my utilities, cable and internet well in advance. Direct Energy has been sending me an invoice for $36.88 for electricity charges from Nov 1 to Nov 12, 2015 on a house I no longer owned. My explanation that I was no more responsible for the energy charges to a property that I no longer owned, fell on deaf ears. I refused to pay and I thought my explanation was fairly straight forward and understandable. My “negligence” was turned over to a number of collection agencies that I have ignored.
Today, after four years, I received another letter from Direct Energy in the mail. Expecting further harassment, I was delighted instead to read that Direct Energy made a positive adjustment to my invoice and reduced the claim to $27.99 - a fabulous concession. I am now only going to have to avoid paying this smaller invoice for the rest of my life. I just wonder how much money in terms of manpower, postage etc they have spent to collect this unjustifiable amount?
Stupid example #2 : Vaping has become a big issue. Vaping involves the inhaling a vapour of a mixture of nicotine, flavourings and assorted chemicals, that are released when an electronic cigarette heats the chemicals. We read daily reports of deaths and respiratory induced hospitalizations of over a thousand individuals who have vaped. The relationship between the practise of vaping and potential death appears to have a positive correlation to me. That same correlation appears to escape millions of youth who feel that the evidence is not convincing, or they are immune to poisoning or they are super human. Super stupid appears a more appropriate description.
Some of the stricken victims of vaping are now suing one of the e -cigarette companies because the company said that e-cigarettes were safer than smoking real cigarettes. The fact that the affected believed the marketing advertisements of an e-cigarette company, but did not believe the cautions and warnings of health professionals, pretty much says it all. Group stupidity is alive and well.
Stupid example #3 : A British Columbia judge imposed a $2000 fine and six penalty points on a woman’s driving license when he convicted her of distracted driving. The defendant was travelling at over 60 km/hour when she was spotted by a police officer eating with chop sticks in one hand and a bowl of spinach in the other. The officer indicated that the driver did not place a hand on the wheel when he observed her, all the while shovelling food into her mouth with the chop sticks.
The accused, of course, was irate and felt that she had a very good explanation. She informed the judge that she was going “no more than 10km/hour over the speed limit” and she had three fingers of her left hand on the steering wheel while holding the bowl with her thumb and index finger. Apparently she felt that her three finger grip allowed her total control of her vehicle. And believe it or not, the judge did not buy her explanation.
I am so looking forward to discovering more evidence next week that further illustrates the rising tide of global stupidity! I am sure I won’t be disappointed!
Friday, October 4, 2019
SOME FASCINATING INFORMATION ON MILITARY USE DRONES!
SOME FASCINATING INFORMATION ON MILITARY USE DRONES!
The title of this post, “What Do You Know about Drones?,” caught my eye because I recently made an effort to learn everything I could about drones of the military kind. I have just completed a book entitled “The Tragedy of American Science: From Truman to Trump,” about half of which is devoted to the extreme militarization of American science. Two of its 22 chapters discuss drones. The book is now in the hands of the publisher, Haymarket Books, and is scheduled for publication on May 5, 2020. It is already listed in the Haymarket catalogue:
https://www.haymarketbooks.org/books/1467-the-tragedy-of-american-science
The first of the two chapters, “Video-Game War,” explains the main thing to know about military drones: They are mass murder machines. American civilians tend to think of drones as relatively small contraptions, like the cute little quadcopters we sometimes see buzzing overhead at sporting events and elsewhere. But the military drones’ wingspans often match those of midsize jet aircraft, and they can launch cruise missiles and drop 500-pound bombs. The Air Force’s Reaper drone, for example, is 36 feet long and has a 66-foot wingspan. It can carry 3,750 pounds of attack munitions, including laser-guided air-to-ground Hellfire missiles, the weapon most frequently launched from U.S. drones.
A console operator in Nebraska targets humanoid avatars on a computer screen, squeezes a trigger on a joystick, and instantly rains death upon dozens of flesh-and-blood human beings in Pakistan. The act of killing is sanitized and dehumanized by geographical and emotional distance. Traditional military values nostalgically exalted by old soldiers, such as courage and honour, lose their meaning in the context of drone warfare. Even the illusion of glory is gone.
Armed drones were first used in battle in Afghanistan in late 2001, and then rapidly became ubiquitous. The Bush-Cheney administration extended their use beyond declared war zones, a monumental step in the progression toward permanent, globalized American warfare.
A total of 57 drone strikes were authorized on Bush-Cheney’s watch, but that was just for openers. Barack Obama in his first year in office carried out more drone strikes than George W. Bush did in his entire eight-year tenure. Obama earned the ironic sobriquet “President Drone” by launching almost ten times as many strikes—563—as Bush and Cheney had.
Obama also vastly expanded the presidential prerogative to wage war with no congressional oversight, a precedent the Trump administration warmly embraced. In October 2017, more than 240,000 troops in at least 172 countries and territories were fighting what the New York Times calls “America’s Forever Wars.” American forces were “actively engaged” not only in Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen, and Syria, but also in Niger, Somalia, Jordan, Thailand, and elsewhere. “An additional 37,813 troops serve on presumably secret assignment in places listed simply as ‘unknown.’ The Pentagon provided no further explanation” [NYT Editorial Board, Oct. 22, 2017].
While drone technology and the proliferation of remote-control warfare have already created a nightmare scenario for humanity, there is, I regret to report, much worse on the horizon. The second of the two chapters on drones in my book explains that if there is a class of weapons more to be dreaded than remote-controlled drones, it is drones that are not remotely controlled. The coupling of remote-strike capability with artificial intelligence (AI) throws open yet another Pandora’s box. Remote-control murder was bad enough—now we are faced with fully automated murder.
The euphemism used by military policymakers to describe their robotized warfighters is “lethal autonomy.” A Washington Post article [Sept. 19, 2011] envisioned “the future of the American way of war” as one in which “drones hunt, identify and kill the enemy based on calculations made by software, not decisions made by humans.” An aspect of AI of particular interest to the military is facial recognition, a key step in enabling robot drones to memorize faces of targeted individuals from photographs, pick them out of crowds, follow them home, and kill them—all on their own, all without the guidance of human operators.
Although almost everything having to do with autonomous weapons research is highly classified, the American military has openly declared its intention to devote major attention and resources to it for years to come.
As depressing as all of this sounds, Ken, I have actually ended the book on a somewhat hopeful note. Ever the optimist, I have tried to project a possible way out of the ultramilitarization trap. That’s too much to go into here, though
I also want to thank you, Ken, for the information you provided about the use of drones in agriculture. Although drones originated in military research during the Vietnam war, they have become—as many military research efforts have—a “dual use” technology, with civilian as well as military applications.
Cliff
The title of this post, “What Do You Know about Drones?,” caught my eye because I recently made an effort to learn everything I could about drones of the military kind. I have just completed a book entitled “The Tragedy of American Science: From Truman to Trump,” about half of which is devoted to the extreme militarization of American science. Two of its 22 chapters discuss drones. The book is now in the hands of the publisher, Haymarket Books, and is scheduled for publication on May 5, 2020. It is already listed in the Haymarket catalogue:
https://www.haymarketbooks.org/books/1467-the-tragedy-of-american-science
The first of the two chapters, “Video-Game War,” explains the main thing to know about military drones: They are mass murder machines. American civilians tend to think of drones as relatively small contraptions, like the cute little quadcopters we sometimes see buzzing overhead at sporting events and elsewhere. But the military drones’ wingspans often match those of midsize jet aircraft, and they can launch cruise missiles and drop 500-pound bombs. The Air Force’s Reaper drone, for example, is 36 feet long and has a 66-foot wingspan. It can carry 3,750 pounds of attack munitions, including laser-guided air-to-ground Hellfire missiles, the weapon most frequently launched from U.S. drones.
A console operator in Nebraska targets humanoid avatars on a computer screen, squeezes a trigger on a joystick, and instantly rains death upon dozens of flesh-and-blood human beings in Pakistan. The act of killing is sanitized and dehumanized by geographical and emotional distance. Traditional military values nostalgically exalted by old soldiers, such as courage and honour, lose their meaning in the context of drone warfare. Even the illusion of glory is gone.
Armed drones were first used in battle in Afghanistan in late 2001, and then rapidly became ubiquitous. The Bush-Cheney administration extended their use beyond declared war zones, a monumental step in the progression toward permanent, globalized American warfare.
A total of 57 drone strikes were authorized on Bush-Cheney’s watch, but that was just for openers. Barack Obama in his first year in office carried out more drone strikes than George W. Bush did in his entire eight-year tenure. Obama earned the ironic sobriquet “President Drone” by launching almost ten times as many strikes—563—as Bush and Cheney had.
Obama also vastly expanded the presidential prerogative to wage war with no congressional oversight, a precedent the Trump administration warmly embraced. In October 2017, more than 240,000 troops in at least 172 countries and territories were fighting what the New York Times calls “America’s Forever Wars.” American forces were “actively engaged” not only in Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen, and Syria, but also in Niger, Somalia, Jordan, Thailand, and elsewhere. “An additional 37,813 troops serve on presumably secret assignment in places listed simply as ‘unknown.’ The Pentagon provided no further explanation” [NYT Editorial Board, Oct. 22, 2017].
While drone technology and the proliferation of remote-control warfare have already created a nightmare scenario for humanity, there is, I regret to report, much worse on the horizon. The second of the two chapters on drones in my book explains that if there is a class of weapons more to be dreaded than remote-controlled drones, it is drones that are not remotely controlled. The coupling of remote-strike capability with artificial intelligence (AI) throws open yet another Pandora’s box. Remote-control murder was bad enough—now we are faced with fully automated murder.
The euphemism used by military policymakers to describe their robotized warfighters is “lethal autonomy.” A Washington Post article [Sept. 19, 2011] envisioned “the future of the American way of war” as one in which “drones hunt, identify and kill the enemy based on calculations made by software, not decisions made by humans.” An aspect of AI of particular interest to the military is facial recognition, a key step in enabling robot drones to memorize faces of targeted individuals from photographs, pick them out of crowds, follow them home, and kill them—all on their own, all without the guidance of human operators.
Although almost everything having to do with autonomous weapons research is highly classified, the American military has openly declared its intention to devote major attention and resources to it for years to come.
As depressing as all of this sounds, Ken, I have actually ended the book on a somewhat hopeful note. Ever the optimist, I have tried to project a possible way out of the ultramilitarization trap. That’s too much to go into here, though
I also want to thank you, Ken, for the information you provided about the use of drones in agriculture. Although drones originated in military research during the Vietnam war, they have become—as many military research efforts have—a “dual use” technology, with civilian as well as military applications.
Cliff
Wednesday, October 2, 2019
WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT DRONES?
WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT DRONES?
I must admit I did not know a lot about drones. I know that a number of individuals use them for entertainment, flying them as a kind of modern day remote control airplane. The military is probably the largest operator of drones for surveillance, spying, and targeted bombing. Other than that, I admit to being dronistically challenged. Until recently!
On a summer trip to visit relatives on a Manitoba farm, I was totally unaware that at present, 80% of private drone use is for agricultural purposes. The reasons include the need to regularly and cheaply monitor crops to improve management and yields,. Near-infrared sensors can be tuned to detect crop health, letting farmers react and know if they need to apply fertilizer or spray for insects.
My friend, Stan, who farms, also owns a gravel pit on his property. Three large pyramids of gravel intrude into the skyline near his home. I asked Stan how he kept track of the number of loads of gravel that truckers extracted from the piles, since there was no locked gate to prevent theft. Although users are supposed to record the number of truck loads taken, it is not a very reliable procedure.
To determine the amount of gravel that has been removed, the company that manages the pit, uses drones to fly a complex series of grid passes over the piles and the drones record the heights of the piles with geographic coordinates. From the drones measurements, the amount of gravel that has been removed since the last fly over can be determined very accurately. Who knew? Definitely, not me!
Other interesting uses of drones that my research unveiled include:
-They were used in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi for filming skiing and snowboarding events for television.
-Drones can be used to deliver small packages, pizzas, letters, medicines, beverages etc. at short distances
-After a natural or man made disaster, a drone provides a quick means to gather information and navigate debris
-With thermal sensors, drones can quickly discover the location of lost persons, and are particularly useful at night or in challenging terrain
-A drone could potentially be used to “drop in supplies” to an otherwise unreachable location
-Drones can provide fast access to high-quality, real-time visual inspection of power lines, oil and gas pipelines, transmission towers, buildings and bridges, wind turbines and rotor blades
-The presence of drones has proven to serve as a deterrent to poachers and illegal loggers and can also monitor salmon, rabbits, seals, and sea lions providing new insights into animal behaviour
-They can help with crowd surveillance and public safety and help in monitoring criminal activity, crime scenes and fire investigations
-Sending drones into hurricanes and tornadoes provides new insight into their behaviour and trajectory
I can now admit that I know a lot more about drones than I did before I visited Stan’s gravel pyramids. On that note, class is dismissed! Be prepared for a pop quiz on Monday!
I must admit I did not know a lot about drones. I know that a number of individuals use them for entertainment, flying them as a kind of modern day remote control airplane. The military is probably the largest operator of drones for surveillance, spying, and targeted bombing. Other than that, I admit to being dronistically challenged. Until recently!
On a summer trip to visit relatives on a Manitoba farm, I was totally unaware that at present, 80% of private drone use is for agricultural purposes. The reasons include the need to regularly and cheaply monitor crops to improve management and yields,. Near-infrared sensors can be tuned to detect crop health, letting farmers react and know if they need to apply fertilizer or spray for insects.
My friend, Stan, who farms, also owns a gravel pit on his property. Three large pyramids of gravel intrude into the skyline near his home. I asked Stan how he kept track of the number of loads of gravel that truckers extracted from the piles, since there was no locked gate to prevent theft. Although users are supposed to record the number of truck loads taken, it is not a very reliable procedure.
To determine the amount of gravel that has been removed, the company that manages the pit, uses drones to fly a complex series of grid passes over the piles and the drones record the heights of the piles with geographic coordinates. From the drones measurements, the amount of gravel that has been removed since the last fly over can be determined very accurately. Who knew? Definitely, not me!
Other interesting uses of drones that my research unveiled include:
-They were used in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi for filming skiing and snowboarding events for television.
-Drones can be used to deliver small packages, pizzas, letters, medicines, beverages etc. at short distances
-After a natural or man made disaster, a drone provides a quick means to gather information and navigate debris
-With thermal sensors, drones can quickly discover the location of lost persons, and are particularly useful at night or in challenging terrain
-A drone could potentially be used to “drop in supplies” to an otherwise unreachable location
-Drones can provide fast access to high-quality, real-time visual inspection of power lines, oil and gas pipelines, transmission towers, buildings and bridges, wind turbines and rotor blades
-The presence of drones has proven to serve as a deterrent to poachers and illegal loggers and can also monitor salmon, rabbits, seals, and sea lions providing new insights into animal behaviour
-They can help with crowd surveillance and public safety and help in monitoring criminal activity, crime scenes and fire investigations
-Sending drones into hurricanes and tornadoes provides new insight into their behaviour and trajectory
I can now admit that I know a lot more about drones than I did before I visited Stan’s gravel pyramids. On that note, class is dismissed! Be prepared for a pop quiz on Monday!
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