FROLITICKS

Satirical commentary on Canadian and American current political issues

Jun 5

Weapons Sales by Canada and the U.S. Complicit in Supporting War Crimes by Saudi Arabia

by bcurry

Saudi Arabia and its regional allies, mainly the United Arab Emirates, entered the Yemeni government’s war against the Houthi rebels in 2015, and began a wide-ranging aerial bombing campaign involving more than 150 airstrikes on civilian targets in Yemen.  The United Nations calls the situation in Yemen the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, as it is estimated that the war with Yemen has killed more than 230,000 people as a result of the fighting or its indirect consequences, such as hunger and outbreaks of disease.  The war has pushed the impoverished Yemen to the brink of famine.  During this nearly decade-long war, both the U.S. and Canada fournished weapons, including F-15S/SA planes and Canadian-made light armoured vehicles (LAVs), artillery systems, and heavy machine guns.

In 2021, the Biden administration in 2021 announced an end to U.S. military support for “offensive operations” carried out by the Saudi-led coalition and suspended some munition sales.  However, aircraft maintenance contracts fulfilled by both the U.S. military and U.S. companies to coalition squadrons carrying out offensive missions have continued.  Canada’s military exports to Saudi Arabia actually increased in 2021, making the Saudi kingdom Canada’s top export destination for such goods after the U.S. —  64 percent of the total value of non-US military exports that year.  In 2020, a review was undertaken by the Canadian government of weapons sales to Saudi Arabia, which concluded there was “no substantial risk” such transfers of military goods were “used to commit or facilitate violations of international human rights law, international humanitarian law, or gender-based violence”.  However, Amnesty International and Project Ploughshares have declared that the Canadian government’s review misinterpreted, or ignored, key pillars of the 2013 Arms Trade Treaty, an international agreement signed by Canada regulating the international trade in conventional arms.  Contrary to what the federal government has said, they believe that Canada continues to ignore its international obligations to the Arms Trade Treaty.  On the other hand, the U.S., under Donald Trump, dropped out of the Arms Trade Treaty in 2019 for obvious misplaced domestic reasons.

Despite the fact that both countries have supported the kingdom, there have recently been signs of discontent with Saudi actions in Yemen and human rights violations by the Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.  The murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey in 2018 by the Saudis did not help.  Nevertheless, we now have a planned trip by President Biden to Saudi Arabia to discuss increasing their production of oil, thereby helping his administration to lower gasoline prices in the U.S.  Although the U.S. helped diplomatically to arrange for a truce in the conflict between the Houthi in Yemen and Saudi Arabia, the horrendous damage was already done in both civilian casualties and infrastructure, including homes, hospitals and communication towers in Yemen.  Since 2015, human rights groups investigating the airstrikes on Yemen have identified more than 300 that violated or appeared to violate international law.  Even as early as March 2015, Internal State Department documents noted that U.S. officials worried that coalition airstrikes may have violated the rules of war.

While the world is paying close attention to possible war crimes by the Russians in Ukraine, countries such as the U.S. and Canada have been probably aided, through the provision of weapons to the Saudis and their allies, similar atrocities in Yemen.  In addition, within the kingdom of Saudi Arabia there are a number of alleged human rights issues, including the imprisonment of political activists.  However, these concerns have not been enough for the U.S. and Canada to cease their military support to the country.  One has to believe it’s more about the oil than it’s about the revenue from exports of military weapons and maintenance contracts.  Alas, there are no comparable bans on the export of oil from the region compared to existing European, U.S. and Canadian bans on the import of oil and gas from Russia.  Despite unresolved diplomatic disputes between the Saudis and both our countries, access to oil reserves unfortunately continues to drive our immediate foreign policies in the region.

Arms Trade Arms Trade Treaty Canada Foreign Policy Oil and Gas Oil and Gas The Middle East US

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May 29

When It Comes To Domestic Gun Violence, The U.S. Leads The Way

by bcurry

This May, the New York Times noted that, according to the first comprehensive federal tally of gun commerce in two decades, the U.S. is in the middle of a great gun-buying boom.  The data shows no sign of the boom letting up as the annual number of firearms manufactured has nearly tripled since 2000 and spiked sharply in the past three years.  No surprise there, even during the pandemic.  According to a 2018 survey conducted by the non-partisan Switzerland-based Small Arms Survey, there are today around 400 million guns in the U.S.  Again, according to the Small Arms Survey, the per capita number of guns in the U.S. has continued to rise to about 1.2 guns for every person by 2018.  According to the Congressional Research Service it had roughly doubled from 1968 to 2012, from one gun for every two people to one gun per person.  The majority of these guns are manufactured in the U.S.  However, historical surveys from the University of Chicago research center NORC show that the percentage of American households that own guns has decreased from about half in the 1970s to about a third in recent years.  Otherwise, certain households possess multiple weapons, and it is those households that support gun ownership with few if any government restrictions.

Recent tragic mass shootings have once again raised the issue of so-called ‘gun control’ among supporters of the National Rifle Association (NRA) and those wanting increased restrictions on the sale of guns, most particularly assault-style long guns.  However, assault weapons are rarely used in the crimes, where the weapon of choice is a handgun.  Nevertheless, the ability to purchase an assault rifle has become easier, especially after the 1994 federal assault weapons ban was lifted in the U.S.  What is crazy is that many on both of the two sides tend to support increased background checks on persons purchasing guns, hoping to reduce the chances of guns getting into the hands of persons with known violent or radicalized behaviour. 

Still, gun makers like Daniel Defense, the manufacturer of the assault rifle used in the Uvalde, Texas, school shooting, continue to aggressively market their products using its direct-to-consumer business model.  The approach is aimed to make it easier to buy military gear by simply ordering it from Amazon.  Their on-line marketing is geared to appeal to young people, especially teenage males who are “Call of Duty” video game enthusiasts.  Starting off initially with contracts to produce weapons and accessories for the American and British militaries, by 2009 Daniel Defense had expanded to make guns for consumers.

However, according to the New York Times, the aggressive marketing by the gun industry has hit some companies.  Earlier this year, gunmaker Remington settled a $73 million (U.S.) settlement with the families of children killed in 2012 at the Sandy Hook school in Newtown, Connecticut.  The families claimed that Remington marketed its assault rifles improperly, including weapons appearing in the “Call of Duty”, which both the Connecticut and Texas school killers often played.  One can only assume the parents of the latest school mass shootings will most likely take Daniel Defense to court under tragically similar circumstances.

What is so sad is the fact that buyers have openly capitalized on the loosening of gun restrictions by the Supreme Court, Congress and Republican-controlled state legislatures.  The Republican Party is clearly aligned with the interests of gun lobbyists and the NRA, as evidenced by the appearances of former President Trump and Republican Senator Ted Cruz at the NRA’s totally inappropriate convention in Houston, Texas, just a few days after the May 24th school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.  Not surprisingly, they defended gun rights, all be it with some obvious misleading claims about the efficacy of gun restrictions, gun ownership trends and school shootings.  Unfortunately, after every mass shooting, driven by fear and calls for increased restrictions on gun ownership, gun sales often go up in certain states.  As I’ve blogged in the past, this is a cycle that tragically never seems to end.

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May 17

The Role of Conspiracy Theories in Radicalizing North American White Folk

by bcurry

As the recent tragic shooting and killing of innocent blacks by a young white supremacist in Buffalo, New York, demonstrates, there is the growing role of conspiracy theories.  The racist ‘replacement theory’ has become a common far-right ideology and has been connected to multiple mass shootings carried out by white supremacists, including the 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, 2019 mosque shootings in Christchurch, New Zealand, a Black church shooting in Charleston, South Carolina, in 2015 and the 2019 shooting of Hispanics at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas .  Unfortunately, its central ideas are now promoted not just by violent extremists, but by right wing media personalities like Fox News host Tucker Carlson.

The conspiracy theory’s more racist adherents believe Jews are behind the so-called replacement plan.  Broadly speaking, the roots of this ‘replacement theory’ are deep.  In the U.S., one can point to past and current efforts to intimidate and discourage Black people from voting.  The antagonists’ view this as replacing” white voters at the polls — dating to the Reconstruction era after the 15th Amendment made clear suffrage couldn’t be restricted on account of race.  More recently, white nationalists marching at the Charlottesville, Virginia, rally in 2017 chanted “You will not replace us!” and “Jews will not replace us!”

There are Americans and Canadians who believe in conspiracy ideas about immigrants being brought into the U.S. and Canada as part of a political plot to increase non-white voters in support of so-called ‘liberal’ and ‘left-oriented’ political parties.  Besides Fox News, many of the followers prefer watching right-wing networks such as OANN or Newsmax.  Access to such networks is readily available on both sides of the border, often via the Internet.  Extreme nationalist groups in turn promote such conspiracy theories on their on Web sites.  Thus begins the radicalization of young whites, men in particular.  Regrettably, like other conspiracy theories, the ‘replacement theory’ has even been taken up by some right-wing politicians.  The fact is that such theories have no place in the traditional conservative thinking, and certainly not in their platforms.  In the U.S. in particular, one needs Republicans in particular to disavow such theories.

Don’t think for a moment that this theory is only believed by a small number of Americans.  In a poll released last week, the Associated Press and the NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that about 1 in 3 Americans believe an effort is underway to replace U.S.-born Americans with immigrants for electoral gain.  The attention paid by many Republican politicians to what they see as a leaky southern border along the U.S. has been interpreted, at least by some, as a nod to the concern of white people who worry about being “replaced.”

However, while the majority of followers of replacement theory do not overtly promote calls to arms, there are smaller groups of white supremacists who are inclined to support violent tactics.  Indeed, they consider those behind the above noted horrific mass shootings as being saints in their eyes.  They sadly don’t hesitate to use such theories as a means to justify the use of violence.

The question for governments and societies is how to combat the spread of such conspiracy theories and the resulting climate of hate that they support?  There are no easy answers.  It may not be enough to just treat the associated violent behaviour as hate crimes, after the fact.  What is most likely needed is to confront and outright disown such theories and the resulting disinformation, especially emerging from certain media sources.  Political and spiritual leaders have to step up on a daily basis to speak against such divisive conspiracy theories and to promote unity and mutual respect among our citizens.  This will take a massive effort, particularly as hate mongering has simmered in our society for decades.  Much more has to be done to de-radicalize our youth in particular.  De-radicalization is the on-going process of hopefully changing a person’s belief system through such means as peer group and family intervention and various education schemes.

Canada Extremism Extremist Groups Extremist Groups Racism Racism Terrorism US

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May 9

The Internet Was a Blessing Until It Became a Curse

by bcurry

A judge just threw out Donald Trump’s lawsuit against Twitter that challenged his ban from the social media platform.  U.S. District Judge James Donato rejected Trump’s claim that Twitter violated his right to freedom of speech guaranteed under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.  He simply declared that Twitter is a private company, and ‘the First Amendment applies only to governmental abridgements of speech, and not to alleged abridgements by private companies.’  When Trump’s account (with over 88 million followers) was suspended by Twitter, he went on to set up his own platform Truth Social which apparently has not done very well.  Now, the question arises over whether Twitter’s takeover by Tesla CEO Elon Musk will offer Trump a possible return to the social media platform.

Marshall McLuhan, a well-known Canadian philosopher whose work was among the cornerstones of the study of media theory in the late sixties, coined the expression “the medium is the message” and the term “global village”.  He is credited with predicting the World Wide Web (WWW) almost 30 years before it was invented.  Little did he know, having passed away in late 1980, of the incredible eventual impact on our daily lives of the Internet.  The Internet is this generation’s equivalent to the telegraph, the telephone and the fax machines that allowed us to communication instantaneously and broadly across the globe.  However, as a marvellous communication tool, the Internet has also proven to be more susceptible to the spreading of misinformation and disinformation than any other means in modern times.

When one talks of ‘misinformation’, one is normally referring to suspect, invalid and often poorly researched information passed on by persons to other persons via social media for example.  Often such information is transmitted without real malice, but simply and inadvertently by persons accepting the information as being valid or such that supports preconceived views, referred to a ‘confirmation bias’.  ‘Disinformation’ on the other hand is where someone is deliberately providing false information in support of their causes, goals or conspiracy theories, similar to what we would view as propaganda.  Unfortunately, we are seeing a lot more disinformation being conveyed via the Internet then ever before.  States or organizations that want to control the flow of information for their own purposes are notorious for facilitating the spread of disinformation, especially as a form of mind control within their borders.  One needs to go no further for examples than Russia, North Korea and Iran.

Unfortunately, during the Covid-19 pandemic, certain groups within the U.S. and Canada began disinformation campaigns against the public health measures introduced by many governments to deal with the tragic consequences of Covid on our lives.  The information was used to justify anti-vax, anti-mask, anti-lockdown and other public health mandates, regardless of their evident effectiveness in controlling the spread of Covid and reducing the number of associated deaths and hospitalizations.  These campaigns of course led to numerous protests in both countries easily and quickly arranged via social media, often tying up scarce government resources.  In addition, groups have used the Internet to spread ridiculous conspiracy theories, the most notable being that which promoted the belief that the results of the 2020 Presidential election were affected by corrupt voter fraud.  This culminated in a mob of Trump supporters attacking the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, after Trump repeatedly said that he would never concede the legitimate election.

We must do a better job of educating future generations about the potential pitfalls of relying on one or two sources for information, particularly those who rely on non-verifiable and suspect origins.  We need to be much more suspect when assessing the accuracy and validity of our Internet sources, be they found in social media or on websites.  I might suggest strongly that we include mainstream news media and websites provided by objective professional organizations as an integral and regular part of one’s information sources.  Perhaps this is easier said than done.  After all, access to information via social media in particular is quick and dirty.  Regrettably, this is what the purveyors of disinformation and misinformation are counting on.

Canada Coronavirus COVID-19 Donald Trump Mainstream Media Media Social Media The News Media US

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May 5

Impact of Robotics on the Workplace Increased With the Pandemic and Won’t Stop Any Time Soon

by bcurry

For some time now, I’ve been following the use of robotics when it comes to various forms of employment.  Obviously, we have seen the emerging use of robotics in manufacturing and assembly operations, such as in the automotive industry.  However, now we are increasingly seeing the use of robotics in the health care sector, the retail sector as depicted by Amazon’s newest warehouses, the construction industry, and even in the restaurant sector.  The pandemic resulted in even more robotics use as a means to better ensure the health and safety of workers from contact with other workers, patients and air-born viruses in workplace environments.  Experts see organizations adopting robotics increasingly to perform otherwise unsafe or stressful workplace tasks, such as caring for patients in a hospital who are in quarantine or isolation.  They also argue that the use of robotics is not about replacing employees who would traditionally be performing certain tasks, but rather providing an overall enrichment of safety in these environments.  For example, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), over the past two years, more than 1 million American healthcare workers were infected with COVID-19 and more than 4,000 of them died.

Now, enter the emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) and its application to the field of robotics and automation.  AI will allow various forms of user-friendly robotics, including for example advanced remote-controlled humanoid nursing robots in the health care sector.  AI will enable the robot to learn repeated tasks.  Once a robot has repeatedly performed a task, such as removing a blanket from the patient’s bed or retrieving specimens, it will be able to do these tasks without being given step-by-step instructions.  Advances in robotics and AI will see other uses in not only so-called blue collar work, but also in various forms of white collar work.  In the past two years, automation and AI tools have become sophisticated enough to influence professionals and white collar work.  Administrative assistants, radiologists, financial advisers — and now lawyers — have all become the targets of such software.  McKinsey & Company, a global management consulting firm, estimated back in 2017 that 35 percent of all professional tasks can be automated these days.  JP Morgan has already marshalled an army of developers to build software that can do in seconds what it took lawyers 360,000 hours to do previously.

The fact of the matter is that future workforces will work hand in hand together with robots and processes using artificial intelligence.  The implications for workers are varied and enormous.  The current and next generations of workers will have to fully educated, trained and comfortable with this new reality.  As in the past, along with new technologies comes a demand for new skills and knowledge.  There is no sector that is immune to advances made in robotics and AI, some obviously more than others.  As we are already seeing shortages of skilled workers in certain sectors, there will be greater pressure placed on organizations to compensate through the use of automated processes.  Also, whether by design or accident, many of the countries with the most rapidly aging populations already have the most robots.  According to the International Federation of Robotics in 2016, the nations with the highest density of industrial robots included South Korea, Japan and Germany.  At that time, the U.S. ranked eighth among the countries.  With their ageing populations, the use of industrial robots will no doubt increase in both Canada and the U.S. if they are to effectively compete on the global scene.

The pandemic has increased our awareness of our vulnerabilities when it comes to maintaining productivity and private and public services.  One can certainly expect that most sectors will be examining the future ways to avoid the negative impacts of pandemics and climate change on their workforces.  One means to dealing with the changing labour force demographics will be to investigate potential other uses of robotics and AI.  It’s happening now, and there is no stopping the changes that will come about.  Emerging demands will require fresh, dynamic solutions.

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Apr 29

Like in Australia, the Problem of Gambling Addiction in North America Comes to a Head

by bcurry

Back in 2005, a study in the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry found provinces that have casinos and large numbers of video-lottery terminals (VLTs) per capita also had some of Canada’s highest rates of problem gambling.  What reminded me of this issue was a very recent article by Samuel Tuck in Addiction News Now about the current situation in Australia.  He notes that Australia, while it is home to less than half a percent of the world’s population, has 20 percent of the world’s VLTS — further noting that 80 percent of VLTs are located outside casinos.  The result is a nation with the world’s worst average gambling losses: About $1,000 per adult each year.  In addition, as with many gambling addicts, easy access to VLTs can fuel suicides, domestic violence, insolvencies, employment loss and financial crimes.  Apparently, the VLTs, called “pokies” in Australia, are everywhere: in pubs, corner stores, restaurants, sports facilities, entertainment centers, etc.  Of course, the gambling industry says that VLTs are legal, regulated and enjoyed responsibly by millions of Australians.

Of course, gambling is big business, and VLTs are no exception.  As in Canada, thousands of Australian jobs depend on the gambling industry and it brings in billions of dollars to state governments and retailers.  Samuel Tuck compares the power of the gambling industry in Australia to that of the gun lobby in the United States.  As reported by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation last year, he notes that that the gambling industry had donated at least $60 million to the three major political parties over the past two decades.  In Canada, provincial governments have gambled big on gaming and lotteries, collecting almost $14 billion in revenue each year.  However, a 2016 poll by the AngusReid Institute found that one-in-four Canadians (26%) reported they were personally affected by problem gambling – either because they’re struggling with this addiction themselves – or because they have a close relationship with someone who is.  Most say necessary help for this problem has not been forthcoming. Canadian studies have also found three to four percent of teenagers and adolescents in their early 20s have a serious gambling problem compared to 0.8 to two percent of the adult population.

To top it off, companies and businesses are going after the growing youth market.  They are introducing a new class of machines, aimed at attracting younger players who grew up with more skill demanding video games.  Adding an element of hand-eye coordination, however simple, is just one way slot makers are labouring to broaden the appeal of the insistently bleating devices that have proved so popular among older players.  Besides new devices that provide an extra payoff for game-playing dexterity, manufacturers have developed communal games that link clusters of machines — which are proving popular with people under 40. Coming soon are VLTs with joysticks, which the industry expects to be particularly popular. Others machines will allow users to play in tandem or against one another, much as they do in many Internet games.

Although experts recognize gambling addiction, it is not usually treated as an illness in the same way as alcoholism and drug addiction.  Limiting access to gambling sources, such as VLTs, is a first step.  However, persons with addictions to gambling may be harder to detect as their symptoms are not so obvious.  The costs of gambling addiction to society and families are great, often the result of employment and productivity losses and mental-physical impairment.  The fact is we do poorly in providing support/counselling services for gambling addicts and their families.

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Apr 24

When It Comes to Treating LGBTQ in American Schools, What Happened to Their Parental Rights

by bcurry

On March 28, 2022, Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into the Parental Rights in Education bill into law.  The Act now bars instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through the third grade.  Critics had dubbed it the “Don’t Say Gay” bill which in turn suddenly sparked a national war of words, particularly among the LGBTQ community.  On top of which, the legislation created opposition by Florida’s Disney World against Governor DeSantis.  This has led to the Florida legislature to vote to undo the special district that Disney operates in, potentially affecting Disney’s ability to build new attractions, creating potential hiccups in transitioning to many of its current public services and increased expenses for Disney — which could mean higher prices at the gate.  The resulting economic impact could be massive.

What is even more important is the impact on the rights of LGBTQ parents and gay or transgender students.  Much of the justification put forward for such laws is that it protects the rights of parents, who by all concerned are non-LGBTQ parents.  Those opposed to the law argue that the Act centers around whether it would prohibit the “instruction” or “discussion” of sexual orientation.  Critics of the law say its language “classroom instruction,” “age appropriate” and “developmentally appropriate” is overly broad and subject to broad interpretation.  Consequently, teachers might opt to avoid the subjects entirely at all grade levels for fear of being sued by parents as now permitted under the law.  Opponents of the law also say that banning lessons about gender identity and sexual orientation marginalizes LGBTQ people and their presence in society.  DeSantis appears to love playing with smoke and mirrors.  Andrew Spar, president of the Florida Education Association, said the law is nothing more than a political wedge issue for Republicans.  He notes that elementary schools, especially in kindergarten through third grade, currently don’t even teach these subjects, much like “critical race theory”.

Moreover, there is little recourse left open to LGBTQ parents or students other than filing complaints with federal officials when they believe they are experiencing discrimination in school.  Subsequent to the bill’s passage, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said that his agency “will be monitoring this law upon implementation to evaluate whether it violates federal civil rights law.”  However, as everyone knows, such processes can often take years to implement, leaving LGBTQ parents and students in the lurch and prone to harassment.

Florida is not the only state that considered such a law, as a number of other conservative states have moved in a similar direction.  Take for example Alabama.  There you have the second openly gay lawmaker, Neil Rafferty, sitting in the state legislature.  As a Democrat, he has spent much of his current term in the Alabama Legislature working to prevent new restrictions on gay and transgender young people.  Mr. Rafferty appealed to his colleagues and constituents with Republican proponents on the basis of their conservatism, arguing that they had no business involving themselves in the decisions of parents, doctors and children.  “Where’s the freedom in that?” he asked. “Where’s small government in that?”

Indeed, there appears to be a fair amount of hypocrisy in the current legislative push by Republicans aimed at protecting some parents’ rights, to the detriment of other parents with different values and circumstances.  It’s obvious that this sudden obsession with eliminating any instruction on sexual orientation — including the LGBTQ history in American — and the banning of related reading materials from libraries is nothing more than a political ploy aimed at securing votes from the social conservative rank and file.  But at whose expense and which freedoms?

With so many more important issues to be concerned about today, does one really need to be sidetracked in this manner?  The mental wellbeing of all students, including LGBTQ students, needs to be addressed, especially in light of the negative impact of the pandemic on their education.  Surely, legislators have better things to do than to play politics with children’s lives and those of their parents!

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Apr 22

Support for and Opposition to the Death Penalty in the U.S. is Mixed Bag

by bcurry

There is the incredible case in Texas of Melissa Lucio who faces execution by lethal injection on April 27th unless action is taken by the state’s parole board and Governor Greg Abbott.  The 53-year-old domestic violence victim and mother of 14 has been on death row since her trial over the 2007 death of her two-year-old daughter.  However, her lawyers argue she “falsely” admitted to killing her daughter after hours of intense police questioning, and that her daughter’s death was an accident and not the result of having been beaten.  The case of course has drawn a lot of attention on the national scene and among state lawmakers in Texas.

Once again, there is rising opposition against the death penalty in the U.S.  For example, the news outlet, The Independent, and the nonprofit Responsible Business Initiative for Justice have launched a joint campaign calling for an end to the death penalty in the U.S.  High-profile executives like Ariana Huffington, Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg, and Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson are part of this initiative, as well as a number of American celebrities.  At last count, there are twenty-seven states across America that still have the death penalty on the books, including Texas.  Amnesty International notes that for every eight people executed in the United States since the 1970s, one person has been wrongfully convicted and later exonerated.  That’s the ones we know about who were exonerated before they were killed.  According the Amnesty International, for the 12th consecutive year, the U.S remained the only country to carry out executions in the Americas in 2020.  After 17 years, the Trump administration had resumed federal executions, eventually putting 10 men to death over five and a half months.  Among Western industrialized countries, the U.S. remains the only country with the death penalty.

In Canada, capital punishment was abolished in 1976 by the Canadian government.  Instead, Canadian courts can impose life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.  However, there is a segment of the population that supports the reinstatement of the death penalty for murder in Canada.  According to a poll by Angus Reid in 2012, a majority of Canadians polled supported reinstating capital punishment, particularly as a perceived so-called ‘deterrent’.  However, this support “drops considerably” when given the choice of life in prison without parole.  Today, the fact is that no federal government would dare support a return to capital punishment as it is not politically a high priority in Canada or an issue with much public support.  It’s highly unlikely that any government or political party would suggest bringing back the death penalty.

According to Amnesty International, by the end of 2020, 108 countries (a majority of the world’s states) had abolished the death penalty in law for all crimes and 144 countries had abolished the death penalty in law or practice.  The fact of the matter is that in those conservative American states, often governed by Republicans, there is little possibility that the death penalty might be banned and replaced entirely by life in prison without parole.  Nevertheless, some states have introduced moratoriums on executions which may or may not continue depending on the politics of the day. 

Once again, the high-profile case of Melissa Lucio, where there are so many unresolved questions surrounding the case and the evidence used to convict her, has raised concerns over the continuing use of capital punishment.  Despite such cases, it appears highly unlikely that the affected state legislatures would be willing to once again debate the use of the death penalty.  It will be very interesting to see whether Texas Governor Greg Abbott will spare the life of this unfortunate woman and mother who appears to be innocent.  The real question is how many innocent people are you okay with being punished so that a guilty person can be executed?  I would answer: “One is too many!”

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Apr 16

Tackling Systemic Racism Which Continues to Exist in American and Canadian Schools

by bcurry

School segregation in the U.S. is defined as the separation of students based on their race to the extent that an institution can be racially predominant by black students or white students.  Currently more than half of all students in the U.S. attend school distracts with high racial concentration.  Racial segregation in schools has a long history that leads up to modern times.  Although enforced racial segregation is now illegal, American schools are more racially segregated now than in the late 1960s, especially in the Northeast U.S.  Much of de facto segregation between Black, Hispanic and White students is the result of where public schools are located and their respective tax base in support of the schools, often referred to as ‘residential segregation’.  Many of the underlying problems of segregation haven’t been solved, even if it’s no longer legal.

Unlike in the U.S., the vast majority of Canadian public schools are financially supported by the provinces, given that each province is responsible for education under the constitution.  While property taxes do support a portion of funding for schools, the province guarantees that additional funding is allocated based on the number of students.  This reinforces the need to ensure adequate funding intended to provide equal access, teaching and curriculum in each school district.  However, this does not preclude the issue of systemic discrimination occurring in schools where visible minorities, including Black students, are in attendance.  Most boards of education don’t deny there is systemic racism in their schools, and have introduced measures in the last few years aimed at dealing with it.  In Ontario, the Ministry of Education conducted a recent review that showed a disproportionate number of Black students are streamed into applied courses — meant for students seeking to go to college instead of university — regardless of academic performance.  This is referred to as ‘streaming for students’ which led to implicit biases whereby a disproportionate number of Black students were prevented from going to university instead of community colleges.  As in the U.S., the review also disclosed that many more Black students received suspensions than White students relative to their proportion of the student population.

Many American schools are segregated by ethnicity and poverty, and for some minority students — particularly the soaring Latino population — the segregation is also by language.  As a result, even the highest-achieving Black and Hispanic students are often denied access to advanced math and science courses in the later grades, although such access is more commonplace for their White peers.  In Canada, the same can be said for new immigrants in particular who, because of their presumed ability in English and their accents, are often forced into remedial classes despite good academic capabilities. Thus, they are being unfairly held back.

Some students believe a key solution is to hire more Black and other teachers representing visible minorities in both countries.  As the population becomes more diverse, it seems only too obvious that such teachers would be in a better position to understand and appreciate the daily challenges that non-White students face on a daily basis.  For example, in a 2016 census of teaching staff, one Ontario school board showed seven percent of staff members identified as Black, while 67 percent identified as White.  That’s in contrast to a student census, which showed 10 percent of its students were Black, while 13 percent were White.  The lack of ethnic diversity among teaching staffs can do nothing but accentuate the prevalence of systemic racism in the eyes of Black, Hispanic and other visible minority students.

While things have improved somewhat in both American and Canadian schools, a lot more needs to be done to deal with systemic racism in the education systems.  In order to ensure equal opportunities for all young people, more funding and resources are needed to raise the standards for public education in each country.  There is an evident need to ensure that school board members, administrative and teaching staffs are sufficiently educated themselves about systemic discrimination and its resulting effects on the future of these young people.  No issue could be more important as there will be even greater population diversity in the coming years.

Canada Education Education in U.S. Race Relations Racism Racism US

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Apr 7

Is the Separation of Church and State Still Possible in the U.S. and Canada?

by bcurry

In both the U.S. and Canada, several religious groups attempted during the pandemic to have certain public health restrictions thrown out by the courts, but to no avail.  They argued that governments were infringing on their rights of assembly and religious freedom, which they felt were guaranteed by their respective constitutions.  However, the courts ruled that there was no such violation of rights since the broad-based restrictions were not specifically directed at religious gatherings, but were directed at places where normally the public would gather, often involving mandated lockdowns. 

Now, I’m no constitutional expert, but under the circumstances the imposition of health-based restrictions appeared to be more than reasonable.  Indeed, many churches, synagogues, mosques and other religious entities were more than happy to comply with the restrictions in their places of worship.  They did so out of concern for the safety and health of their congregations in light of the real dangers attributed to the pandemic.  No one’s specific religious beliefs were placed in jeopardy, and no constitutional rights were violated.  Let’s face it, no one was being persecuted, and churches found alternative ways to effectively serve their parishioners and communities.

Despite all of this, there is little doubt that religious fervour has been heightened among some Christian movements in particular, as evidenced by the growing political involvement of such groups.  Increasingly, right-wing political movements are taking advantage of many believers who are importing their worship of God, with all its intensity, emotion and ambitions, to their political life.  Politicians like Donald Trump had jumped on this band wagon, waving a bible back in June 2020 in front of St. John’s Church in Washington DC for a photo opportunity.  Talk about someone who is obviously irreligious wanting to garner support for his own political ambitions.  For some of his supporters, right-wing political activity itself is becoming a holy act and is often evident at his rallies.

Both the U.S. and Canadian constitutions are designed to prevent any one church or religious institution from having undo influence in the daily act of governance.  This of course is based on the fundamental principle governing the separation of church and state in each country.  However, this does not mean that certain religious groups will not attempt to influence which political parties or candidates are elected.  As in the case of their opposition to government mandates during the COVID pandemic, they spear head other causes such as the ‘right to life’, opposition to gay marriage, and the promotion of conspiracy theories.  Their attitudes are largely framed by an apparent desire to build a nation that actively promotes a particular set of Christian beliefs.

I firmly believe that many of these religious right-wing groups are feeling threatened by what is happening within both countries.  Immigration and high birth rates are moving the population to one of greater cultural and religious diversity, such that within the next decade white Americans and Canadians of Christian faiths will be outnumbered.  They believe that the predicted changes will undermine their Christian values, such that one often hears them, many of whom attend charismatic or evangelical churches, talking about ‘taking back the country.’  With over a hundred million evangelicals in the U.S., their voices make it hard for many politicians to ignore, especially Republicans, seeking election or re-election in many states.  Many are also attracted to populist movements wherever they may emerge.

Just as some churches attempted to support certain political entities in the past, their leaders and parishioners will do so in the future.  The danger is that the abyss between those who promote a state religion and those who support the separation between church and state will continue to grow.  As history has shown, such conflict could eventually lead to dangerous influences on public policy.  Policy which after all results from governance that reflects the current values of the majority of Americans and Canadians, regardless of their particular secular or religious beliefs.

Canada Populism in Canada Religion Republican Party US US Politics

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