Assorted content to end your week. – Anthony Leonardi writes about the reality that COVID-19 is intrinsically more harmful than “ordinary” respiratory viruses due to its continuing effect on the immune system. And Chinta Sardathan discusses new research showing that the fallout from COVID infection includes higher rates of dementia
Continue readingTag: Electoral Reform
Views from the Beltline: MPs reject democratic upgrade
Canada is a very free country, but unfortunately not a very democratic one. Not when our electoral system consistently gives us governments that most of us don’t choose. For example, during the decade of the Harper government, the Conservatives never even managed to get 40 percent of voter support. The
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Tuesday Morning Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Cordell Jacks writes about the need for an economic model which evolves beyond the short-term exploitation of people and the planet. And Jessica McKenzie interviews Charlotte Kukowski about the importance of reprioritizing in the context of readily-apparent feedback loops between inequality and the
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Electoral reform—to be or not to be?
Once again our hopes rise. Or do they? At their recent national policy convention the Liberals voted to back a citizens’ assembly on electoral reform. Specifically, the convention resolved that “the Liberal Party of Canada urge the Government of Canada to establish a non-partisan National Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Tuesday Morning Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Stephanie Desmon interviews Ziyad Al-Aly about the reality that anybody infected with COVID-19 faces a substantial risk of heart problems as a result. And Moira Wyton examines what British Columbia could be doing to limit the spread of the Kraken sub-variant, while Paul
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Afternoon Links
Assorted content to end your week. – David Wallace-Wells examines a few of the false narratives which are limiting our response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Sarah Wulf Hanson and Theo Vos write about new research showing that most cases of long COVID have arisen out of seemingly mild initial infections.
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Thursday Morning Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – Andrew Nikiforuk examines what we know about – and what we should be doing in response to – the Kraken COVID-19 variant which is running amok in parts of the US and beginning to spread in Canada. – Whizy Kim writes about
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Tuesday Afternoon Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Tracey Harrington McCoy reports on still more research showing significant brain changes caused by long COVID. Joseph Oliver writes that sick kids need people to mask up to alleviate the intolerable pressure on our health care system. And Anne Sosin, Lakshmi Ganapathi
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Melody Schreiber writes about the perfectly awful timing of Joe Biden’s wrong-headed declaration that the COVID-19 pandemic is “over” even as a particularly damaging wave was cresting. And Troy Farah reports on new research showing that the treatments which previously offered some means
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Afternoon Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading. – Emily Henderson discusses new research showing the harm COVID-19 does to the central nervous system. And Stuart Layt reports on a new study suggesting that it damages the DNA in people’s hearts (rather than merely causing inflammation as an ordinary flu virus would).
Continue readingSong of the Watermelon: National Post Letter
Electoral reform opponents are once again pulling out the old Israel canard. I’ve responded with a letter attempting to set the record straight in today’s National Post: Electoral reform Re: Think you want electoral reform? Kelly McParland, July 9 According to Kelly McParland, “Israel has a proportional representation system of
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Afternoon Links
Miscellaneous material to start your week. – Farah Hancock offers an informative look at the circumstances where people are most likely to share air in ways that results in COVID transmission. And Nam Kiwanuka highlights the need for messaging about the ongoing pandemic which is both internally consistent, and paired
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Nathalie Schwab et al. study the results of autopsies, and find that COVID-19 appears to be the actual cause of death even for many patients treated as having died of other causes. Eva Hejbol et al. examine COVID’s wide range of effects on muscles as
Continue readingTHE FIFTH COLUMN: Can Proportional Representation Save Our Parliamentary Democracy
Parliament – Etymology The English term is derived from Anglo-Norman and dates to the 14th century, coming from the 11th century Old French parlement, “discussion, discourse”, from parler, meaning “to talk”.[2] The meaning evolved over time, originally referring to any discussion, conversation, or negotiation through various kinds of deliberative
Continue readingTHE FIFTH COLUMN: Now Comes The Necessary Part Ontario Edition
Nevertheless, and irrregardless of and notwithstanding that federal-provincial jurisdiction exists the actions that are necessary for the next Ontario government to take are the same as those the newly elected federal government needs to take. It’s the same electorate and the same Canadians and the same solutions that are required.
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Tuesday Morning Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Gary Mason writes that Saskatchewan and Alberta are tragically showing the rest of the country what a COVID-19 disaster looks like. CBC News reports on a predictable spike in COVID-19 following Saskatchewan’s Thanksgiving weekend. And Zak Vescera uncovers the Moe government’s choice
Continue readingThe Cracked Crystal Ball II: Post Election Calls For Electoral Reform
In the wake of voting for our 44th Parliament, there are numerous calls out there to move Canada to some form of Proportional Representation (PR). I am sympathetic to these calls for reform – our current system of elections really does not give us a government that reflects the diversity
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: #Elxn44 Roundup
News and notes from Canada’s federal election campaign. – Dru Oja Jay discusses how activist movements can maximize their impact in a second consecutive minority Parliament by demanding meaningful and lasting change as the price for NDP support. – Andrew Jackson notes that timidity in presenting a sharp progressive contrast
Continue readingTHE FIFTH COLUMN: Now Comes The Necessary Part
We can argue all we want over whether the election was necessary but what is definitely necessary is the government tackling the pressing issues of the day, issues that have been pressing for decades and in some cases since before Confederation. Indigenous Reconciliation The longest standing issue in Canadian political
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Morning Links
Assorted content to end your week. – Katherine Wu, Ed Yong and Sarah Zhang set out six rules which will shape how we handle the next wave of COVID – including recognition that vaccination alone isn’t going to be sufficient to avoid a tragic human toll. – Yasmine Ghania reports
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