The battle is joined. The Democratic and Republican tickets are now complete. On November 3rd, Americans will go to the polls and…no, hold on, odds are that only slightly more than half of eligible Americans will vote for their new President. But remember, Donald Trump won just 46.1% of the popular vote in 2016 (compared
The Plague-Ground – How to shrink Trump’s base Read More »
This past week, two Canadian writers penned breathtaking pieces that insist you stop, read, think, set them aside, then read again in a couple of days, as I did, because they are, if not life-changing, then at least soul-searching. The subject of both articles is the belief that America’s time has passed. But their lessons
The Plague-Ground – Two voices, not in the wilderness, crying. Read More »
Actually, Immersive Van Gogh is the only show in Toronto, and is one of the handful of live events in the entire world – beyond one-night stands at hollowed-out or plant-filled concert halls. How it survived when virtually every other arts event on earth was postponed is a story of immigration, true grit, great taste and
The Plague-Ground – The best show in town. In any town. Read More »
If you’re in Canada, you could join the 37 million of us near the back of the line. An article this week in the McGill Medical Journal tells a troubling tale: “75 million syringes but nothing to put in them: what is Canada’s plan for a COVID-19 vaccine?” Over 100 labs around the world are
The Plague-Ground – Where will you be when the vaccine arrives? Read More »
There are endless tentacles to the WE-Trudeau-Morneau inquiry. One that remains curiously unprobed is this: Should donors to international charities pay their travel expenses or should the charity pay them? The obvious answer is, the donor pays. Always. Of course!….. which I wrote about last week. But it seems I was wrong. Last Wednesday, just
The Plague-Ground – When does a donor tour become a junket? Read More »
Black Lives Matter has spawned many ideas to attack racism. One of the oddest is to do away with blind auditions, which professional orchestras have used for 50 years in order to eliminate sexism. Back in the early 1970s, the top five orchestras in the US had fewer than 5% women. It took another decade
The Plague-Ground – Are blind auditions deaf and dumb? Read More »
The fate-of-humankind question isn’t “When will a vaccine arrive?” It’s also: “Who will take the vaccine?” Two things happened last week to help us answer both. Last Tuesday, the heads of five Big Pharma companies offered their “quick and honest assessment” of their COVID-19 vaccine candidates to members of the US Congress. AstraZeneca plans to
The Plague-Ground – Is the cavalry coming? Read More »
You’re a wealthy donor to a great cause. You are deeply committed to it and have given money persistently over the years to support it. You are asked to go on a Donor Tour to Africa or Central America where you get to see first-hand how your generosity is being put to work. You don’t
The Plague-Ground – Let Me Count The Ways Read More »
Back in the 1980s, violence against women was so awful that the São Paulo police force set up women’s police stations in areas where the abuse, assault and death were worst. These single-gender outposts soon spread from Brazil to Argentina, Central America and Africa. They didn’t spread because they were trendy, but because they worked.
The Plague-Ground – Empathy — With Guns Read More »
Rooting out rogue police officers in Canada can be harder than jailing drug lords. There’s the culture of ‘never-ask-never tell’. Plus the fact that it’s near impossible to find out which officers have been disciplined, demoted or thrown out. Plus the people who do look into bad cops are often other cops. But that is
The Plague-Ground – New Thoughts on Bad Cops Read More »
I won’t write about the loucheness of Justin Trudeau, his need to feather his mother’s nest, his whac–a-mole conflicts of interest; nor the conflicts of his Minister of Finance and Chief of Staff; nor forcing his officials to be economical with the truth in explaining the preposterous coincidence of an unsolicited proposal arriving on their
The Plague-Ground – Justin Not-So-True Though Read More »
Lead a blameless life and communicate only via carrier pigeon. That feels like the only way to avoid the people who are toppling reputations these days and cancelling free speech in the name of defending it. This happened to two Toronto women recently and their stories and fates reveal just how intolerant tolerance has become.
The Plague-Ground – A Tale of Two Women in One City Read More »
